304: The Number of the Ben

Projects...

2012-01-16T06:18:00.000-08:00

So. This month sees the release of 2 old projects of mine (^_^ and Fragment) and the release of a new one. Does this mean I need to find something new to work on?

Absolutely not. That image up there shows all the games I consider "Current projects". The number may have dropped by three in the last week or so, but I've already added one back to it, and I don't doubt another couple more will get added at some point.

It's not that I won't get around to finishing these games though (although some probably will collect dust forever), sometimes it takes me a year or more to turn an idea into a proper game. It's just that instead of writing ideas down, I sketch them out as scenes, introductions, playable sections, that sort of thing. That way, when I go back to the project, I have a totally clear idea of what it looks like.

Yes, I work on too many different things at once.

No, that isn't going to change any time soon.

^_^

2012-01-14T01:04:00.000-08:00

Around the end of 2010 I was working on a silly little game that I called "^_^".

After finishing up all the Bake Sale stuff that I had to do, I went back and had a bit of a dig through my old files and found it, and realized that I probably only needed to spend a day or so to get it finished up. I went ahead and did this yesterday, and the result is that the game is finished and available for you to play.

It's quite odd, was a little bit of an experiment to build and at the time had the nicest background I'd drawn. The weirdness might put some off, but perhaps some of you will enjoy it anyway.

If you're interested, you can download the game: here

Cheers!

2012

2012-01-09T03:16:00.001-08:00

Holy potatoes! No new post since July?

Did I even do anything in 2011? Well, sure, it was a great year! We got to release the first ~airwave~ game, made <3 for a Mags competition, released a demo for City, saw the release of Blackwell Deception (the first Wadjet Eye Games release I've helped out on) and also made a couple of Oceanspirit Dennis games, one of which managed to get into that funny old Pirate Kart that was put together for the IGF.

But surely that's not all that happened?

Of course not!

For the last couple of months of 2011, we were working furiously away at our keyboards putting together games for something called the AGS Bake Sale. What is it? A fun idea where a whole bunch of AGS developers jumped in and made games with the aim of raising some money - money which will be donated to a charity called Child's Play.

So what did Ben304 and friends put together for your entertainment pleasure?

Two very different, but hopefully very interesting projects!

The first one is a game that I'd built quite a while ago and handed over to my Long Term Wingman of Funk Sebastian Pfaller. He has finished it up and glazed it and baked it freshly for you, dear reader, and I really love how it turned out! Graphics by me, writing by the both of us (most of the words I wrote have been improved by him, and most of the worst he wrote are better than the ones I wrote!), and enough puzzles to keep you playing for a while. I played through the finished game the other night and had a great time, so I think you will as well! Here's a preview:

The second project was baked from scratch specifically for the Bake Sale! With twice the fiction but only half the science, I put together (with some great audio help from both qptain Nemo and Kenneth Hyde) a surreal outer atmosphere scavenger hunt with a few feelings and a lot of talking called Falling Skywards. It was quite a stressful project to make, but we finished right on time and I'm pleased with how it turned out in the end. A small preview:

It's an exciting start to the year, and man, do I have some cool plans for what I wanna do next. Some people tell me that they can't find enough ideas they like to work on - my problem is that I have far too many ideas and wish I could work on them all at once!

The AGS Bake Sale starts around January 20th (if all goes as planned), and there are a stack of amazing looking games put together and all ready for your playing pleasure. I hope you'll peruse our wares and take home a bundle of delicious digital delicacies in exchange for a donation to charity.

It's gonna be a great year, ladies and gentlemen, and I look forward to seeing you when we open our bakery!

Something!

2011-07-10T06:36:00.001-07:00

With the last day of the AGS release something activity upon us, I have released the demo of City. I've never released a demo before, so it's certainly an interesting time, and I have to thank qptain Nemo for writing some music for it for me, Sebastian Pfaller for writing me some Neo Cyber-Goth poetry for it and a whole bunch of people for testing it for me and pointing out my bad decisions and mistakes.

For you, though, there now exists the option to try out this little slice of the game and see what you think. Your feedback is most definitely welcomed!

Control scheme experiments...

2011-06-25T01:35:00.000-07:00

When I started making City, I wanted to do things differently. I had made a whole bunch of games where the control method was "Left click uses/talks/walks, right click looks" - a comfortable, effective control scheme that is very common for modern adventure games. However, I thought I should try to experiment. I had made a couple of short experimental games without inventory or right clicking for their puzzles (Heed and !) and I wanted to try to expand on the idea of having only a single mouse button with which to interact with the world, while still keeping inventory items.

My reasoning was this: For items that players can use, I always write a boring "It's a door" description for the look function, and for items that they can't it's always a detailed description of that thing with a "I can't pick that up" response for the left click. My idea was that I could get rid of the boring descriptions for the things that you can use, and remove the standard "Can't do anything with that" responses for the things that you can't. I would eliminate all pointless feedback - after all, I can *see* that it's a door. I don't need the player to say that aloud, it adds nothing to the game at all.

To counter the fact that some things I wanted to have both responses for, I developed a multi-purpose card that would unlock doors, allow you to buy things and the like. It almost became a sort of additional verb, albeit one that was stored in the inventory and only usable in a few spots.

The problem, however, was that every time you wanted to make a call now, or open a door, you had to mouse up to the inventory, click, mouse back down to the hotspot and then click again. This doesn't sound like much, but doubling the amount of clicks needed for simple, common interactions is pointless. I wanted to keep the look response, and yet I wanted players to be able to do these things (after the first time) with a single click. It simply wasn't working in a way that wasn't frustrating.

Another thing that made me realize the unsuitability of this type of interface for a game where I am trying to put in as much detail as possible was that, in order to have items in my game, I either need to make them automatically used by a player once they have them (not an option I was happy with in this case, though I've used it before), have a hotspot you can mouse over/click to clear the currently selected item (I've put this in an interface as an additional method, but don't think it is intuitive/simple enough to use as a primary one) or, the old standard, use right clicks to clear inventory items back to the standard cursor.

This meant that, although I'd removed right clicks from one part of the game, I still had to have them for this part, meaning that players still had to use the right mouse button. I hadn't actually streamlined my interface... I'd merely made it less consistent with itself and more frustrating.

And so, I went back and put in the right mouse button as the look button, and reworked the whole lot. To counter my initial issue of bland, meaningless feedback for various things, I'm doing my best to write more interesting descriptions for unused functions. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than having a frustrating interface.

I've experimented with a few different interfaces in my time - selecting specific actions from a list when you click something, using a verbcoin, single mouse button without inventory items - and I still find the "left click does things, right click makes the character comment on them" one the easiest to design around.

I still plan to keep experimenting with them, but for now, this works fine.

Colours of the World

2011-06-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

When I first started working on City, I had been playing quite a bit of Metroid Prime, and one of the things I wanted to use was an idea that was directly inspired by such action based games. In a lot of platformers and the like, each world is presented with a unique colour scheme which, aside from giving each world their own theme, also helps to break up the monotony that comes with 2d side scrolling graphics.

As you can see above, I planned to give each of my different areas a different colour scheme. The style I created for the graphics is an extremely simple one in terms of colour palette - I use a single base colour (dark purple) to start with, then work with 2 different highlight colours to paint the scene. It's a 3 colour palette, blended together to create the scene. This still allows plenty of opportunity for different ambient and focal lights, while allowing me to keep the scenes of each area looking very consistent.

When I went back to look at the game after over half a year, however, the first thing that I decided needed to go was this idea, and for several reasons. Firstly, it's hard to get a colour palette balanced just right, especially if you're trying to match it with older scenes. That means that I was spending ages each time I wanted to sketch out a new area just to get the colours right.

Secondly, I based my user interface graphics around the colour palette from the first area. This means that it looks great and matches everything in that area, but as soon as you go to the next area it looks quite out of place. Having an interface that matches the rest of the game stylistically is important, and so this was an issue for me.

The final problem was that it didn't feel exactly like going to a part of the same city, and I really want to keep a consistent feel between areas. There will be a bunch of different areas, but I very much want them all to feel like a part of the whole city.

This means that I'm back to painting backgrounds with a mere 3 colours. I still feel that there is plenty of potential for variety in the scenes - how successful I am with this remains to be seen.

To Hide or Reveal?

2011-06-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

As I receive testing feedback from players and start putting together the first parts of the next part of City (the second part, seeing as I have completely ditched what existed as the second part earlier), I start to get the opinion that I have absolutely no clue at all how exactly to build what it is I am trying to build.

Initially the game existed as a linear adventure game with lots of bonus stuff to do just for fun, but the more I've worked on it, the more I've given these bonus things *effect* in the game world, and what once existed as strange easter eggs for the player to find now have real gameplay and story consequences.

But then I realized how well some of these things are hidden, and I realized that some really major subplot stuff depends on players following some pretty well hidden clues.

Now, I love putting little easter egg jokes in games. Absolutely adore it. Nothing pleases me more than somebody saying in a comment or an email that they noticed a little joke I've hidden in the game and knew what it meant. There are some jokes in my games that I doubt a single person has actually found yet, and some that I completely forget about until someone tells me they found it.

But the things in City are no longer just little jokes to make you smile. There are actual *reasons* for these things now, aside from a little wink to the player. And I worry that I've hidden them too well.

Test reports have been interesting so far. It's fun to see someone's reaction when they try something and find a secret and let me know about it - it makes it feel like it's actually worth putting these things in the game. But I think, going forward, rather than making one main path with a bunch of hidden stuff, I'm going to focus less on hiding things and more on simply making more choice for the player. A lot of the choice stuff I've added in so far happens quite subtly and so you may not even realize that an element was triggered by your actions, which I think is in some ways a good thing and in some ways a bad thing. I want players to be aware that the things they do in this world have consequence, but at the same time I want it to feel as organic as possible.

In any case, this morning I added another subtle hint to a thing that provides hard to discover hints for two more things in the demo, one of which makes you a bit of extra cash and one of which (if you make a certain choice) could lead to you changing a character's life later on in the game.

And to think this was originally just a way to hide a fun animation in the game. The possibilities here for additional content are beginning to overwhelm me, and as daunting a prospect as this all is, it's also very exciting.

Once again I find myself with the feeling that I'm not trying to just build a game anymore, but a whole world of which you are allowed to see and influence a part of. That's a very powerful feeling, and one that fills my mind with concepts that I want to try.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, it's time to get back to painting. This world won't build itself, and I have so very much of it I want to let you experience.

Options!

2011-06-17T14:21:00.001-07:00

When I first started making City, it was an adventure game. As an adventure game, one expects to get stuck at certain points on puzzles, but the way City is going I really want to make such things optional for players who *like* solving puzzles, rather than a necessity to play the game.

One part of the demo has really been bothering me lately. Everyone who seems to play it gets a bit stuck on this part, and if I was making an adventure game that's fine. I'd usually just adjust what the characters say to give the players a better hint at what to do. In fact, I nearly did that here, too.

But then I remembered, I'm not making a normal adventure game anymore. I want City to be different, to give you choices. So today I am putting in a second path, involving two elements, to beat the demo's obstacle. Where once there were two steps you had to take, you can now choose between two different options for the first step, and two different options for the second step. I plan to adjust them slightly so the less obvious one is slightly more rewarding, but in effect both allow you to finish the demo.

The point of doing all this when I could have solved it just as easily by making one of the characters give you a hint? I want to try and adjust the demo slightly to better fit with the concept I have for the rest of the game. I've been worried that the demo is now too linear, and this removes some of that worry from my mind.

Anyway, time to go for an early morning walk and then go and build my ideas into the game. Release something has now been going for over a week and the thread is full of amazing stuff, so if you haven't checked it out, do so, and maybe even release something of your own. There's also now a release something themed Sprite Jam that even has an awesome City themed entry! What with this and the swarm development activity it's a super exciting time over at the AGS forums, and there's something for pretty much everyone to join in on!

Money?

2011-06-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

As I fill City's demo up with the final few touches before sending it off to a couple of testers, there's still an element that I have some uncertainty about.

In it's current form, the game feels to me like a sort of RPG without combat and stats, and while it has puzzles, I'd like to think it will eventually turn into a point and click game where most of the puzzles are optional.

This may leave one wondering about where the gameplay is. My plan is to have you fill the role of a newspaper journalist, who visits certain locations in the city and uncovers little stories to write about. I want to have it so that you may go to an area with perhaps 15 stories, but only really need to find out write about any 5 of them to continue the game further. Most of these will be small self contained stories, like sidequests in an RPG, but I am also deciding how I want to work it in so that some of the stories fit with a major story arc that runs as the game's main plot.

The thing that makes me uncertain now is whether I should implement a form of currency into the game and use it as a play mechanic. I've already had prompts asking you to confirm whether you really want to use your Omnicard (identification, keycard and account access in one card) when you go to use it on things that cost money - such as making a telephone call or buying a soda, and it's something that has been on my mind since I first started working on the game.

Rather than have all the items as one does in a point and click game, I want to have things that you can buy whenever you wish. Upgrades to your character (via "Neuro-Apps" - software that interfaces directly with the brain), items that you can use in the game world to help you in various ways, telephone calls to gain more information on something... I even really like the idea of being able to bribe characters.

Let's say you have a bouncer outside a nightclub and you wish to get in, but he refuses to allow it. Imagine if you could sneak around the back and break in through a window (dealing with certain consequences as a result), or do something for the guard to prove your worth (typical adventure game style) or simply spend some of the money that you've earned on bribing him. If you spend the money, you may not be able to get that neuro-app you wanted but you will then gain access to the club, which has more information to collect, perhaps unique items to buy/find...

It also allows for other similar choices - perhaps a store is selling something you want to buy, but it's very expensive. You could help the seller out with a problem of his and receive a discount on the item - effectively it's another job that earns you money, but in this case the choice of whether to do it is presented under a different guise, and rather than earning you money in general, it saves you money on one specific thing.

There are two problems I've foreseen with this so far. The first was "What if you run out of money and can't ride the train anywhere?" The two most satisfactory conclusions I came to was either 1. That's it, game over, sorry or 2. Make it so you don't need to pay to ride the train (I've invented a story relevant reason). I came up with other options as well; a friend showing up to help you out with a free train ticket (felt too... easy, I guess) and having a way for players to *always* make money in each location (felt too hard to implement), but so far I think I'm sticking with having a story reason for why train tickets don't cost money.

The other, and this is something I discussed in brief with qptain_Nemo, was... is money in this sort of game fun? Does it really add to the gameplay, or is it just another annoying thing you need to keep tabs on?

The more I think about it, the more hopeful I am that money can add another level of depth to the game, and not just depth, but another level of gameplay choice. To me, that sounds... if not fun, at least satisfying, for that's what I'm really aiming at. If I wanted games that were purely fun I'd be focusing on building reflex testing games - I'm aiming for something less compelling in that sense and more compelling in a story and interactivity sense, I guess.

For the moment, I guess I'll try working money into the demo and see how it goes. If it doesn't work, I doubt it'll be too much effort to strip it back out. I'm still not convinced of which way to go, but trying it out sounds like a good way to find out.

As ever, any feedback on the issue would be appreciated! I'm totally new to game design ideas like this, and the concept of focusing on gameplay that isn't just puzzles is not just fresh and exciting, but also a little daunting with the amount of scope that I can see in it.

Time to make a cup of tea and get back to coding and animation, anyway!

Response

2011-06-15T13:27:00.001-07:00

Quick note: This contains spoilers for an unreleased game project of mine. If you want to avoid minor spoilers, probably best to skip this for now.

A week or two ago, I spent a bit of time sketching out a 640x480 res scene as part of my weekend drawing practice. It was a snowy scene with a young lady at a train station, the train pulled up because of the snow on the tracks. I went to bed after painting the scene up, but as I was lying in bed I thought "Wouldn't it be fun to write code for leaving footprints in the snow?". I knew Infinity String had footprints for its snow (and beautiful graphics in general, really), and I knew how I'd do it, and thus I found myself coding footprints in snow at 4am in my underpants.

I ended up with something a little bit like this, if you're interested. (although the original walkcycle was much worse, and it took some patience and a decent dose of Muybridge to get it looking like that).

That's not what I'm really interested in discussing here, though. The really interesting part, for me, was when I sent it off to a few friends to have a look at. There were some compliments on the graphics, some jokes about the awful walkcycle but, what I noticed the most, was that everyone I sent it to spent time just walking around leaving footprints in the snow. I'd send it off to them, they'd give me a "hey, that's kinda neat" comment, and then there'd be 5 minutes of waiting for another response while they filled the walkable area up with footprints.

I got into discussion with another AGS member, uoou, about this on Skype. We came to the conclusion that there is something inherently satisfying about being able to leave your mark on a world. It helps the world feel alive, make it feel real. A more reactionary world is a more interesting world because we find ourselves compelled to see how it will react to us.

When I started building City, one of my biggest influences at the time was, believe it or not, Lego kits. When you get a Lego kit as a kid (or, in my case, in my twenties :D) building is only half of the fun. The other fun comes from actually playing with the Lego, and I noticed that the more moving parts and special functions a kit has, the more fun one can have with it. A space ship that splits up into 3 seperate space ships, carries a vehicle inside it, has an alien prison capsule and has a spring loaded missile is more fun to play with than, say, a spaceship that you simply build and fly around making the appropriate noises.

I wanted to build a world that had moving parts, hidden things, exciting secrets to discover. To that end, I've almost abandoned traditional adventure game ideals in my concept of how the game should be designed. Rather than having a set, specific list of tasks that must be completed, I want to have a broader array of things to be done, most of which are optional. The demo I am working on is still very much based in adventure game format, but beyond this point I'd like to have the game broaden out more into a city in which various things can be done, the majority of which are non-critical for game advancement.

Probably the strongest example of how I am trying to accomplish this in City so far is the graffiti I am working on building into the game. In one location in the demo, you can find a can of spraypaint. If there are no other people visible on this screen, I want to make it so that you can tag various objects with the can, leaving much of Specular Street (the street the demo takes place on) covered in graffiti. In one location, as you can see by the screenshot above, you can even write your own tag. This is a gimmick, to be sure, but there's something - to me - that is quite satisfying about writing a little note from myself and leaving it in a game world.

But, I don't want it to end there. There's a news terminal in the demo that has a few news stories for you to read. What I plan to try and do is have a new news story appear on the terminal if you tag a certain amount of objects, reporting on the fact that vandals have run loose on Specular Street, covering it in graffiti. You will also have the ability to clean the graffiti you've done off, with the right items - and if you have done enough graffiti to get this news story, then clean enough of it up, I want a new story on the terminal about how citizens are fighting back against the graffiti, and how they're taking the matter of keeping the streets clean into their own hands.

It's cheesy, gimmicky and kinda easter egg-ish, and doesn't affect your ability to finish the demo in any way whatsoever. What I do want it to do, though, is to affect how certain NPCs react in other areas of the game. Let's say you put lots of graffiti on the walls - the next time you come back, there could be a police officer in the area that otherwise wouldn't have been there, keeping an eye out for vandals. Perhaps if you clean the graffiti off and trigger that second news story instead, there will be a tagger out, fighting back against the "concerned citizens" and sticking it to the man, or a concerned citizen who has shown up to join the fight and clean up graffiti.

It's ideas like this that excite me in game design. Rather than hiding something and when we find it having the game tell us "Achievement Unlocked" or "Trophy Earned", why not change the world a little to reflect our actions?

To be honest, I don't know how sustainable this philosophy is in terms of making a larger scope game. It's obviously going to be a lot of extra effort than simply having a set path of puzzles like I usually make. For the scope of a demo, at least, it's very satisfying to build a game like this, and if it works, I'd love to try and expand it into a larger world than 5 little scenes.

Anyway, I've got graffiti to go and put into my game, and I've wasted enough time here. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the concepts, of course, so please do leave comments!

City

2011-06-14T00:49:00.001-07:00

Last November I posted a screenshot of a game I'd been working on for a while under a blog post called Exploring. I'd been working on it for a while, at that point, slowly adding things to it, but it wasn't long after that the project kinda died, as projects sometimes do.

Recently, however, with the release something activity going on over on the AGS boards, I thought I'd go back and polish up the first 5 rooms and release it as a demo of what I had envisioned. I'd always sort of considered it a rainy day project in my brain, and what better time to work on an old rainy day project than for a release something?

Thus, I went back and dug up the old files. Checking the very first scene I built for the game, when I was just starting off, I noticed that the day I started working on City was *exactly* one year from the day I started the Release Something thread, and thus thinking about working on it again, to the very day. With that delightful piece of synchronicity in mind, let me tell you a little about City.

The game started as a setting mish-mashed from a bunch of games whose worlds I loved. Deus Ex, and more so the sequel, Omikron: The Nomad Soul, Messiah, even Metroid Prime to some extent, as well as tiny touches of Planescape: Torment. Though I've only played a bit of it, I'll throw Anachronox in there because the demo of that was an *enormous* influence on me as a young gamer, and I do mean to go back and complete it some day (along with Omikron, the only other game in that list that I've yet to play through).

What I wanted to do was to build a cyberpunk style city that still felt relevant to present day cities. I wanted to make it kinda mysterious, inviting to explore whilst still a little intimidating and strange. One of the major things I wanted to also do was to add lots of optional interactivity to the game, to give greater freedom to the player, and also to be a little bit more fun.

So, as I returned to the build of the game I had sitting on my hard drive, I had all these memories of the exciting concepts and philosophies in my mind... and how disappointed I was.

I got annoyed at the way the main character spoke. I got annoyed at the graphics, at the walkcycle (I spent a full day a week or so ago re-learning how to animate walkcycles, mind you), I was frustrated by the plot which felt shoehorned in because, hey, games need to have plots, right? The dialogues were tedious, uninspired and left me feeling that my game had been turned from a point and click exploration game into some cheap adventure game with a couple of extra gimmicks. Even the control scheme annoyed me. If the actual way you play a game annoys you, how is anything beyond this most basic element supposed to be fun?

And so, I went and I dug in the code. I've been touching up graphics, adding animations, bumping the contrast (I painted these scenes originally on a very poorly balanced screen). I deleted the second part. It felt like it didn't fit, and while I like a few elements, the whole of it didn't impress me at all. I had 17 backgrounds sketched out for the game... 12 of these I now consider unusable. I'm peeling back the fluff, the stuff that I feel is tacked on and taking the game back to how I originally envisioned it.

The plot? Gone. I don't even really know what the current plot is, actually, but the one I had before didn't fit the characters I wanted to create, so it's gone. I have a rough idea of how I can incorporate elements from the original storyline, but for the purposes of the demo, a small introduction, I am satisfied with killing the "complex" (cheesy, bland, uninspired) plot I had and sticking to basics. There's enough story to get you playing, but from then it's more character based that over-arching storytelling for the moment.

I've fixed most of the interface issues that bothered me, although I've still quite a bit of work to do there.

Most importantly of all, to me, I've gone back to trying to make a world that reacts to you as a player. There's more stuff to do, more stuff to find in this small 5 room demo than other games I've worked on. I have doubts that some of the things will actually be found by anyone, but I always get surprised at who notices what in my games. There are puzzles, and there is an end to the demo, but I hope that people won't stick to linearly trying to solve the puzzles. I want to go back to what made adventure games fun for me as a kid, which wasn't solving obtuse puzzles. It was interacting with a world, and seeing interesting things happen as a result.

I don't know if this will make for a fun, satisfying game. I don't know if I will have the energy to expand the game beyond a 5 room demo. But I am *excited* about this, it's reinspired me in a big way. After releasing ~airwave~ - I Fought the Law and the Law One I needed a break, and focused mainly on working on Blackwell Deception and a little bit of tinkering here and there on the second episode of ~airwave~. <3 was built on a whim, and started 2 weeks into the mags month, which is a foolish time to start working on a game, but somehow we built a game before the month was out. After spending a week or two doing Blackwell stuff (not much to do now!) and being a little uninspired in general, it's great to be back working on stuff that feels exciting and inventive.

The release something deadline is the 10th of July, so between then and now sometime, I expect to release a 5 room demo of City. It'll be something of a re-imagining whilst keeping the major things that I wanted it to be. After that, who knows? I don't know if I could ever sustain the energy needed to build a full city with the level of detail that I am trying to fill these 5 scenes with, and I have other projects I want to work on too. I hope you'll try the demo, anyway, and would love to hear some feedback.

I'll let you know when it's ready.

Release Something!

2011-06-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

We're having a Release Something over on the AGS Forums!

If you're an AGS dev and you have some old dusty screenshots, animations, tech demos, prototypes, modules, music, demos.... even that old game that is *this* close to completion but you haven't bothered finishing up yet, head on down to see what other AGSers are showing and get inspired!

Deadline is july 10th - and I'm definitely working on polishing up an oldish demo of my own for show!

‹3

2011-05-31T03:09:00.000-07:00

I know, I haven't been around much lately, but I *have* been a busy lad.

This month, with the help of qptain Nemo I built a little MAGS game. We didn't start until the 13th, and got distracted by a load of things in the middle, but still somehow managed to have a basically finished game of some description.

There's bound to be bugs, for we simply didn't have the time for a beta test, so do let me know if you find any.

If you'd like to try playing <3, you can do so here.

Prototype

2011-03-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get an idea and instead of just writing it down or sketching it out, I build a prototype to see how it'd all work - sometimes you don't know how well something will work until you actually feel it for yourself in game.

Recently, I built this prototype of a "rooms within a room" idea that has been kicking around my head for a while. I've been wanting to do something like this since I made !, but only just thought of this way of doing it the other day, and would be interested to hear any feedback on the concept. If you'd like to try out the basic prototype, you can do so here.

There are no puzzles or real interactions yet, but it should give a reasonable idea of how it will all work in the end.

High Res

2011-03-08T22:50:00.001-08:00

Just found this today when discussing game design with some people! Often I've been asked if/when I'll move to high res and usually the answer is "Why bother?", but I have experimented with the idea in the past, as can be seen here.

This is a screenshot from a working prototype of a platformer design that has been kicking around in my head for years now. It never got very far - this screenshot has been sitting around for over a year now, and I doubt I'll ever work on this build of it (although I still have the design firmly in my head and love it very much).

The biggest issue with games of this resolution is, of course, animation, so until/unless I get better at drawing characters consistently at a high resolution, I will most definitely stick to lower resolutions for now.

Who knows what the future holds, though?

Snapshot

2011-03-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Over 1.75 million pixels - that seems like such a lot!

I was going through some old pictures while having a break from drawing today, and decided it'd be fun to collect some of the screenshots/concept art/prototype placeholders I've drawn over the years into a single image. It's certainly not an extensive list, there are a whole bunch of other projects that I didn't like enough to throw in here or couldn't really fit, but it is a pretty good representation of the last few years of my drawing and painting.

Hundreds of sprites, dozens of backgrounds, thousands of frames of animation, and even a few games at the end of it. There's some never before seen stuff here; some never to be released, some probably to be released at some point, and some to be released soon - as well as some of my favourite screenshots from some of the games that I've released.

It's been a fun ride, and I've learned a lot - and hope to learn a lot more. Now excuse me, I've some drawing to go and do.

The Second Step

2011-02-23T03:57:00.000-08:00

~airwave~ - I Fought the Law, and the Law One has been out for nearly a week now, and the reception has been encouragingly positive. Feedback seems to show that the world and characters are engaging enough that players are interested in seeing more, the musical theme of the game has been very well received and I've gotten some great suggestions from players that I can incorporate.

Now, however, comes something that I have to do that I've never done before: Build a sequel.

Obviously it isn't really a sequel; I took my original story and split it up into a number of chapters, so it's really more of a continuation than a separate second part. This provides some challenges that I am quite conscious of, though:

- I need to make sure that, even though it's a single smaller part of a greater story, the game can be played as an individual unit, so that if players have forgotten plot elements they aren't left wondering characters are doing certain things. The story needs to have a clear, engaging beginning and conclusion, which ties it to both the previous game and the next one seamlessly.

- I need to introduce a whole new setting without losing it feeling like it is disconnected from the setting in the previous game. The location needs to feel different without feeling like a whole new world.

- A whole new bunch of characters need to be introduced, and they need to be engaging and memorable, with personalities that complement Elodie's personality and allow her character opportunity for further development.

Being my first sequel ever, I'm quite nervous about it. I really love the first game, and am glad it has been well received, and I don't want this to feel like a weaker second part. After establishing the location of Wave, it feels like hard work to go and build Eda City knowing that people probably would like to go and spend more time around Wave.

I'm still trying to sort the game's plot out - obviously I have the major plot points mapped out, but am still quite unclear on how exactly they tie together - something that needs to be compelling.

These things, however, do develop somewhat naturally over time, and I'm not stressing too much about it just yet. I've still plenty of other things to keep me busy for now, and aside from giving Elodie a change of clothes and a couple of backgrounds and characters being sketched out, the game only exists in my head.

We'll see how it gets from there to my (and yours) computer soon, I hope.

~airwave~ - I Fought the Law, and the Law One

2011-02-15T12:05:00.001-08:00

The first part of ~airwave~ is finally done!

It's been a crazy time trying to remember how exactly it was I managed to make games before whilst still having a job and a band and actual time off, but we survived somehow, and the game is now available for you to play, should you so wish.

Check it out here.

Mockery!

2011-02-06T00:14:00.000-08:00

So! Today was a nice quiet Sunday, and with no backgrounds to paint for any games in progress, I decided it would be a fine day to draw a mockup for an adventure game! I love drawing little adventure game scenes, even if they never turn into actual games.

I played Eternally Us again for the first time in ages last night, and was pleased by how lovely Steve's falling snow looks, so I decided to spend my mockup time drawing a snowy kinda scene. I'd spent quite a bit of my morning looking through Paul Lasaine's stuff, and so quite unsurprisingly ended up painting a kinda fantasy scene suitable for a point and click adventure. Compared to the snow scene in Eternally Us, this one looks much nicer - I've started using a lot smaller brushes and painting at actual size rather than painting large and downsizing, and it seems to be paying off.

Painted the scene in just over an hour, drew the character in just over half an hour, all the while listening to the delightful album Cinéma by those shoe gazing folks known as The High Violets.

Speaking of Eternally Us, the AGS award nominations for 2010 have been announced, and it seems we got quite a few noms for EU. Big thanks to everyone who voted, we got more nominations than I honestly expected to get, so what a lovely surprise.

Anyhow, back to work on real AGS game stuff!

Old vs New

2011-02-04T00:13:00.000-08:00

(click for bigger image)

So. The final scene is finally painted, nearly all the animations are done and in the game, almost all of the bugs and suggestions my testers have made have been fixed/changed/added and I'm nearly ready to write the last scene into the game. We're definitely close to the first part being released now!

As I finished the final scene, something I'd been putting off until I was sure I really wanted it in the game and had the time to do it, I saved it to the backgrounds folder and had a look through all the backgrounds of the game. It's not a huge game - and it's only the first part - but there's an interesting range of backgrounds. I designed some nice locations in the town of Wave, where this first part is set, and enjoyed painting them all. However, sometimes the initial concept sketches for the backgrounds - which I did nearly a year ago - are totally different to how they ended up.

The image above shows how I envisioned two scenes for the game initially, and then underneath how each scene turned out in the end. In some cases, where I had drawn 2 adjoined rooms in concept sketches I ended up combining both parts into a single background, indeed, I'm starting to use depth a bit more, particularly in my indoors scenes.

In other cases, I totally changed the shape, layout and colour palette of a location, to make for what I feel is a more visually immersive location. It's interesting to see how much has changed from when I drew the concept sketches to how the scenes ended up, and how much my style changed in that time.

I haven't posted all my concept sketches here, of course, because I want to save some surprise for when you actually play the game, but I felt it would be interesting to share these otherwise never to be used concepts, and the contrast with the final piece.

In Progress

2011-02-01T04:03:00.000-08:00

Recently I picked up an old concept for a game and decided I had come up with a good enough plot to actually start building a game out of it. Therefore, a few weeks ago I sat down and spent a weekend putting together enough graphics to make the first part of this game. With quite a bit of plot to cover, I've decided to try releasing the game in short chapters, to let people play the game while I work on bigger projects and real life things.

It's not very often that I wait nearly a whole year to develop an idea into something I like enough to turn into a game, and I'm proud of how the first part has come together, featuring what is some of my favourite examples of my graphics and writing to date. This first part is very nearly done, it's completely playable and missing only a few animations, bugfixes and audio before it is complete, as well as polishing up some of the dialogue.

Therefore, I'm confident enough to announce the first part of the game will be released soon, and look forward to seeing what people think!

SURPRISE!

2011-01-03T02:14:00.000-08:00

SURPRISE!

LostWinds (WiiWare)

2010-12-10T03:59:00.000-08:00

LostWinds was, at the time of my playing it, both the best and only WiiWare game I'd ever played.

Somehow I managed to own a Wii for several years without bothering to check the WiiWare games that were on offer - this was clearly a mistake on my behalf, as LostWinds is really very splendid. It isn't very long, or very complex, nor does it have amazingly mind blowingly high poly high res graphics.

What it does have is clever, yet simple gameplay, a visual style that really does look most beautiful and a sense of design that I really felt satisfied with. You play as two characters - a small boy called Toku that you control like a normal character, and the wind spirit Enril that you control with the remote. Combining their abilities feels very satisfactory; Enril can lift Toku up, move elements such as fire and water and even take care of enemies with the right direction. The formula is very effective and shows off what motion control can really add to a game, rather than the pointless waving around that many games seem to limit themselves to.

The music and graphics are absolutely delightful. If you look hard you will see the edges of polygons, but this hardly matters. The setting that has been created here is gorgeous and evocative, and proof that technique will triumph over technology.

I must say that, even by my very relaxed standards, the game did feel a little short and/or underwhelming in terms of gameplay. There is, however, a sequel that remedies this and that I will be reviewing soon, and even with this in mind, I still most heartily recommend LostWinds to any Wii owners that haven't already tried it out. It is beautiful, fun and an absolute gem.

Deception!

2010-12-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

For some time now, I have been working with the well known Dave Gilbert - putting together some pixels to match his design and story ideas, and after a few early prototypes he decided to build the next chapter in his much loved Blackwell series - titled Blackwell Deception.

Working on animations for a Blackwell game for me is pretty darn cool - the people who have done the animations for the previous games are people I really admire and respect, and who all make me look like a total newbie :D

I've mentioned the game to a bunch of people who all are thrilled that Dave is making the next story in the saga, and while I've had lots of adjusting to do style wise, it's been a cool learning experience! Aside from Dave, I'm working with other cool and mega talented people; Indrek Plavutski whose stuff I admired since I was a total newbie to making games, Thomas Regin who has done music for *loads* of games and someone called Daniel Rubenstein that I know nothing about except that he's drawn some really stylish portraits for the game.

Anyway! He's finally announced the game, and you can read a little bit about it here, as well as checking out a couple more screenshots. We're not sure about release dates yet, but progress is steady and the game is all starting to come together.

This will also be the first commercial project I've worked on, and thus a pretty exciting thing for me :D

Half-Life 2: Episode One (PS3)

2010-11-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

Half-Life 2: Episode One is the best Half-Life 2 episode I've ever played.

It's also the only Half-Life 2 episode I've ever played. Once again, this is a total lie, but at the time of writing I hadn't played the second one (for obvious reasons), so let's pretend for a moment that I'm writing this just after finished the game.

Half-Life 2 had a very ambiguous ending, explaining very little and leaving many questions as to the future of its characters. This picks up exactly where the game left off, and starts giving us an idea about what happens next.

Pacing and gameplay wise, it is pretty much spot on. To me the episode seemed less focused on shooting tactics and more on intellectual obstacles - one could almost accuse the game of having puzzles. There's still plenty of action though, and it remains most satisfying to charge through sections of the enemy base. Unlike Half-Life 2, there isn't much focus on large, expansive outdoor areas, so I feel that the epic scope of the previous game is lost a little, but the game certainly makes up for this with its strengths.

One of the biggest strengths is probably that the lovable Alyx Vance stays by your side a lot more. Although there were a number of characters to interact with and fight alongside before, much of the game was a lonely affair broken by short moments in the company of others. I feel that the story is much more interesting with another character joining us in the journey - especially one that is written as believably as Alyx.

Half-Life 2: Episode One feels like a natural extension of the previous game, and no doubt it was intended to be this way. I played it almost immediately after playing Half-Life 2 and it really does feel like the next chapter in the story. It seems as though Valve turned to the episodic release format to allow more regular additions to the storyline, focusing on quality over than quantity, and it definitely works well here.

One thing is for sure - for any player that enjoyed Half-Life 2, Episode One is a must buy. For anybody who hasn't tried Half-Life 2, what are you waiting for?

if (Games != Art) {

2010-11-23T04:18:00.000-08:00

Perhaps as gamers and as developers we take games too seriously. I played Flower the other day, as well as some indie "art games" and it got me thinking more about the whole games as art issue.

And made me think "Who cares?"

Does it really matter if people file our preferred form of entertainment under the category we desire? Does it change the nature of games if suddenly people consider them to be art? Roger Ebert stated something similar in his denial of a game's ability to be art (which he later amended).

I guess my main concern with something being considered "art" is that it loses its original form and begins to resemble something else entirely. I've played quite a number of "art games" (and have even been accused of producing them myself) and the trend seems to be stripping away gameplay in favour of presenting a message.

I don't see why this is necessary. I believe games can be just as poignant, just as evocative and just as inspiring when made in the traditional manner - if not even more so. Instead of looking at titles like Flower - which strips away a sense of narrative and elements such as characters and things like emotional impact except on a metaphorical level - why don't we look to games such as Beyond Good and Evil or Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn or, yes, Planescape: Torment?

Why don't we study Grim Fandango or Dreamfall: The Longest Journey and focus on how the writing of the characters is fused with the gameplay rather than pushing our experiments in design towards post-game interactive experiences? I know I took away a lot more from any of the games listed above than I did from Flower because of the fact that they had characters that I could relate to, characters that I disliked that I grew to love, all with personal issues and challenges; something I can directly relate to as a player rather than trying to interpret metaphors and oblique, esoteric references to emotions.

I'm not saying I don't enjoy games like Flower. But on the same note, I think there are more efficient, effective and accessible ways to express emotion or a point of view than abstract expressionism. For me, art truly succeeds when I as a participant (on the receiving end as well as the creating end) walk away from it contemplating new ideas. And I know when I visit an art gallery, the post-painterly abstraction pieces rarely influence me in a way even nearly as effective as those creations more accurately representative of elements in the real world.

Are games art? I don't really think it matters anymore. But when I finish a game like Planescape: Torment - or even a small section of the game - I walk away from the experience with a head full of ideas, things to be inspired by and contemplate.

A good game can change the nature of a man. That doesn't necessarily mean games are art.

But it does mean they matter.

}

Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)

2010-11-21T19:44:00.000-08:00

Animal Crossing: Wild World is the best Animal Crossing game I've ever played.

It's also the only Animal Crossing game I've ever played - thankfully, or else I'd probably have never gotten anything else done.

Usually I only review a game here once I actually finish it, but this is a game that doesn't really have an end to it. Like The Sims, Animal Crossing just keeps on going.

Unlike The Sims, however, the focus is less on building your own houses and more about running around doing small tasks to make friends and money. It's not so much "gameplay" as it is a series of activities, but there's something quite addictive about it all. Whenever you think you've seen all that Animal Crossing has to offer, something new and totally unexpected pops up, or one of the residents moves town, leading to someone else moving in.

One of my favourite things about the game is the totally oddball nature of it all. The characters are charmingly well written, and conversations are blissfully free of any concern for keeping it sensible. Considering other life-sim games (such as The Sims) don't even really allow characters to have much of a personality or individuality, it's endearing to be walking around town and have the local fitness/coffee fanatic tell you how he swam laps in a pool full of java all morning, or find amusing messages washed up on the beach.

This brings the game to life, it makes what would otherwise be a series of various collection tasks interesting and fun. Animal Crossing without the quirky sense of humour and random events would be one of the dullest games I can imagine. And yet, the characters are very simply written - they have their basic personality traits and they stick to them. It almost feels like procedurally generated dialogue flavoured with a few embellishments to spice things up. All the conversations you have will be based on a standard format, and you'll notice them repeat eventually, but the little characterizations throughout are what keep them from getting too stale.

I like this a lot for the simple reason that I can see the potential this simple tactic has. It allows even minor characters to be given actual character with very little effort - and while I am certainly not saying this is how characters should be written in general, it is a potentially useful way to write interactive dialogs for even the most unimportant characters in a game and still make them a unique character.

Animal Crossing: Wild World is the sort of game that I played even though I wasn't really quite sure why I kept coming back to it. It compelled me to find out more about it's inhabitants, to work until I had the best house and paid it all off, to get all the varieties of fruit tree growing in my village and collect all the different fossils. And yet, there's no end game, no point at which you can put the game down and say "I accomplished the main goal in this game".

Perhaps the main goal is simply to have fun, and spend some of your day inhabiting this little town full of unique characters, even if you don't really know why. That is something I can certainly feel that I accomplished.

Exploring

2010-11-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

See that screen there? It may be rough and unfinished, sketched out hastily, but what that represents is a small part of an entire world. I painted that screen, I named the characters, put graffiti on the wall and decided what that graffiti stands for and why it was done. I littered the ground with a newspaper, and I wrote a news story about a company in that world. I named the shop, gave it a reason to exist and a personality. This is my world. Sometimes people are allowed to visit it, and I have had plenty of help in creating it, but the fact remains that at some point I decided I wanted to create a world, and this is what I created.

For me, this is the most rewarding part of making games.

Deus Ex remains one of my favourite games to this day, and one of the reasons is because the world is very well characterised. It may be set in the real world in the future, but it is littered with news articles, emails, companies and non player characters, all with personalities and opinions. Enemies in Deus Ex aren't just there to stop you from collecting cherries - they stand for something, they've joined a side and they give the world character. You can pick up a book in the game and read it - often this will have nothing to do with the game's story at all but it builds the world, fills it up with life and detail.

Planescape: Torment is another one of my most favourite games, and this does a similar thing. When you walk around the street, talking to various civilians, you will find they stand for something, they have ideals and personality quirks and they are interesting. When you fight someone in Torment, you aren't just fighting faceless enemies. You're fighting creatures who belong to something, who play a role in the greater scheme of things.

For me, one of the greatest things about an adventure game is the ability to explore a world. I want to learn about the secrets a designer has hidden, I want to know more about the main character by hearing what they have to say when I ask them to look at things or try using two things together. For me, adventure games represent the opportunity to really discover worlds; a backdrop is no longer simply a scene to shed blood against or build a base on, it is a living, interesting location that I can walk through and experience.

This is something I've been trying to keep in mind more and more as I work on games. Build a location, breathe life into it and make it mine. I want people to feel the same excitement that I feel when I walk through a new world, taking in the sights and talking to it's inhabitants. I want to give players the chance to really explore an environment, not just build rooms simply to house a few more puzzles.

Perhaps, some day, I'll figure out how to do it well.

Heavy Rain (PS3)

2010-11-20T00:04:00.000-08:00

Heavy Rain is the best game I've ever bought that comes with origami paper and directions to keep you occupied while the game installs.

It's also the only game I've ever bought that comes with origami paper and directions to keep you occupied while the game installs and, let's face it, that's a darn shame. More developers should give us something interesting to do while the game installs! Why didn't my copy of LEGO Batman come with a LEGO Batman figurine to put together and pose on top of my television?

Being an owner and fan of Quantic Dream's two previous efforts, Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy and Omikron: The Nomad Soul (though I'm yet to complete the latter), buying Heavy Rain was something I had planned to do since I first heard about its development. Heavy Rain, unlike the previous two games, places the emphasis away from surreal science fiction and more emphasis on a psychological thriller style tale of murder, but is still the story based puzzler that I've come to expect from the developer.

It really feels like the natural evolution of the Quantic Dream formula. Indigo Prophecy moved away from Omikron's open world and more adventure gamey style into a post adventure format where half of the puzzles were keeping character's emotions stable and the fight scenes and shooting scenes (which weren't particularly brilliant in Omikron) were replaced by copying screen prompts in a simon-says style manner. Heavy Rain sees this formula developed into a very strange hybrid creature which plays something like The Sims mixed with a standard adventure game. You have to do all the actions the character does by holding down buttons, wiggling thumbsticks, all to open drawers, have a shower, prepare food or investigate crime scenes. I understand this is to build immersion but at times it does feel a bit annoying.

This gameplay, however, takes second stage to the story of the game; it's clear that David Cage is trying to push games towards interactive movies, and Heavy Rain has a script that has some definite high points. There's intense drama and some very sweet moments as well - and it's a very adult game; drugs, violence, nudity and swearing - Heavy Rain doesn't hold back on any of these. The graphics are some of the most realistic I've seen in a game yet - a playthrough of this game would look like a rather drawn out CG animated movie, and this helps convey the atmosphere very well. At one point in the game I was quite disturbed by one of the actions the game had tasked me to complete (of course, it was optional, but I wasn't going to give up that easily).

The fact that the game lets you make choices without actually failing is a positive in my opinion. You can have a major character die and still not lose the game - here success isn't measured, you merely affect the outcome of things in the story. I like this as a concept, and I will be interested to see if/whether it gets explored more and more often in games in the future.

However, despite all of these points which seem to illustrate how wondrous Heavy Rain is, there's definitely some weak points. As I mentioned, as interesting as the control system is, I can't help but feel it's a bit offputting and annoying. I much prefer the post adventure gameplay employed in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (minus the action and stealth sections). Also the story, while almost consistently well told, takes a turn at one point that I couldn't help feeling disappointed at, and there were elements told beforehand to setup this twist that simply weren't rationalized in a way that satisfied me. At that point in the game (quite near the end) I felt that the narrative - which until then I had considered to be very well delivered - was ruined and I found myself much happier accepting the outlandish science fiction stew that was the second half of Indigo Prophecy than the disappointingly cheap twist employed here.

Overall though, the game does what it sets out to do well, and for those looking to create immersive interactive stories, this shines as a beacon of ideas that are generally well executed and delivered. The success of the game speaks volumes about the appeal of this style of game if done well, which is a very encouraging thing indeed for adventure game fans like myself.

A wordy review, but Heavy Rain is one of those games that demands discussion simply because of what it is trying to be and the success it has received despite it's unconventional style. It is by no means what I considered a perfect gaming experience, but I enjoyed the game and like many of the ideas has showcased to the gaming world. Quantic Dream will be people to watch.

Portal (PS3)

2010-11-18T22:44:00.001-08:00

Portal is the best game that lies about cake that I've ever played.

It's also the only game that lies about cake that I've ever played. And it's lies about cake, and the overall personality this game brings to the table, that sets it apart from most other similar games.

Puzzle games are everywhere - from the classics like Myst and Riven that (when my brother got it, anyway) came with a notebook for keeping notes in - something almost essential to solving puzzles in the games - to modern, everygamer style affairs such as the Professor Layton games that keep you playing even if you get stuck by giving out hint coins during the game.

Portal isn't really a puzzle game, per se, but it's hard to label it as anything else. You are given a setting, you are taught the rules, and then you must work with these rules to overcome obstacles. The puzzle design is devious and just right, but I think what really makes the game shine is that charm that it brings to the table. It's funny; darkly funny in a sinister way. Where Monkey Island or Sam and Max games might have you laughing about one liners, Portal has a very innocent and yet oh-so-twisted sense of humour at the same time. It reminds me of the Milkman Conspiracy in Psychonauts (surely that game's finest hour) with the way it presents "characters".

For me, this is what makes a puzzle game worth playing, beyond simply puzzle design. Even the best puzzles are boring if experienced constantly without any character to back them up. Portal keeps one smiling as it keeps one thinking, and this seems to be it's greatest triumph. You're bound to remember the humour for far longer than you'll remember the puzzles.

Tie it all up with stylish graphics and, yes, an endearing song to finish with, and it's no wonder Portal took the gaming world by storm.

Recommended? Yes. If only to see what all the fuss is about.

Mirror's Edge (PS3)

2010-11-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

Mirror's Edge is the best game I've played that led to EA taking down Dr Tim Langdell in court and maybe losing all his 'EDGE' trademarks.

It's also the only game I've played that led to EA taking down Dr Tim Langdell in court and maybe losing all his 'EDGE' trademarks, shockingly enough. But, Langdell's nonsense aside, there's a game here that I bought and played and finished and now I will use words to tell you about it.

Something interesting happens whenever I mention Mirror's Edge to people; they either go "Oh, I really didn't like that!" or "Yeah, that was fun and interesting!". It seems to be one of those titles that really polarizes opinions. But I didn't really love it or hate it - I enjoyed it, and thought it ended in a satisfactory way, but it certainly didn't seem as awful as half the people I talk to make it out to be or as amazingly splendid as the other half do.

I think the whole concept - free running mixed with combat - is a very nice idea. The game feels very satisfying when you figure out a neat line and pull it off flawlessly. When you sprint up to an opponent and disarm them, it's similarly rewarding; Mirror's Edge puts a far bigger focus on speed and control than it does on normal combat. However, it takes quite some time to get used to, and the control doesn't always feel as responsive as I would have liked. There were moments when simple maneuvers took me multiple tries, and that feels frustrating.

Visually, the style is superb. Lack of realism aside, the art direction is bold, brave and simple yet stunning. It's impressive to see a game craft a style that feels so unique that it is instantly recognizable, particularly in the FPS genre where things often looks very same-y.

As for the story? It's there. It's not breathtaking or particularly inspiring, but it does a good job of keeping the main character motivated and introducing characters as it goes. Yes, there's a twist and a betrayal but I've played so many games with a twist and a betrayal now that it almost seems the standard way to write a game plot.

I think, though, there's something stopping Mirror's Edge from being quite as iconic as it could have been. Somehow I feel that more could have been done with the style - perhaps bigger, more breathtaking outdoors setpieces, or setting the game up to feel more action intense. Aside from a few intense moments, most of the game feels just like running around on roofs, looking for doors and dodging bad guys. I would have preferred to see a little bit more variety in the outdoors settings, as I am sure that far more could have been done with them.

So. Mirror's Edge. It's challenging, pretty, quite unique in style both visually and in terms of gameplay. The fact that so many people dislike it suggests that it's a hard one to get into, but the fact that it can be picked up for really rather cheap these days means that it's none too risky an investment if you don't mind sticking with games through the challenging bits.

Half Life 2 (PS3)

2010-11-17T03:05:00.000-08:00

Half Life 2 is the best PlayStation 3 game I've ever played.

It is also the only PlayStation 3 game I've ever played. Actually... that's entirely untrue, but at the time of playing, it WAS the only one, so let's pretend we've stepped back in time a little.

I never managed to get into the original Half Life - something about the graphics perhaps threw me off, plus I was never really into FPS games back then. However since then I've found a fondness of the genre, and upon buying myself a PlayStation 3 I spotted The Orange Box for it for a very reasonable price considering the content. Thus the purchase was made, and I entered an exciting new world of City 17 that was only, y'know, 6 years old.

Half Life 2 is the best pure action FPS game in my collection. I say that with plenty of conviction - the introduction establishes the setting of City 17 in an incredibly subtle, detailed and clever way - and once you get a gun there's rarely time to pause for breath.

Yes, I know, you all know this by now, but the game is 6 years old and still manages to feel so current - beyond current, even. It's clear why the game has managed to capture so many imaginations. The game keeps throwing new things at you whenever you get used to it, and it really does feel like a never ending learning experience. This is game design at it's finest; Valve does not let you relax or the action to stagnate at any point. Right up to the very last part of the game you will be figuring out how to proceed in the game.

The NPCs are also quite lovable - funny, expressive and memorable. They add flavour and colour to an already full game and make the few quiet moments as memorable as the heart-poundingly frantic firefights that never lose their intensity.

I never could get into the first Half Life, but playing this makes me say that I should go back and try again. If it's anything like this, I'm definitely missing out.

Bunnies!

2010-11-06T23:19:00.000-07:00

Hello.

I haven't blogged on here for a while.

But I have been busy drawing and making games and things still.

Some of the things I have been drawing have been for Dave Gilbert, along with another AGS person called InCreator.

Also, STOVE!

Also I have been making a small one room game for fun and excitement.

The screenshot above is a screenshot from that game that I just mentioned in the sentence before this one.

Hopefully it will be ready for you to play with your personal computer at some not too distant future time (although I am coding it so it is taking way longer than it ought to).

Astro Galaxy Mega Quest VIIII: The Half Moon of Ray'don, Chapter 008.52 - Sci/Psy/Psi/SighBots of the Past (Historical Simulation Series)...

2010-08-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

...Editor's Choice Edition

This was built months ago but it never got released. So now I am releasing it.

Take control of the Master Chef and, with the help of his lovely sidekick, brave danger and certain death in order to make your way into a base on a planet far from your home! Left click interacts, right click looks.

This game was designed to recapture the feeling I got when playing classic Sierra adventures as a kid (and still get!). Characters graphics by AngelicCharon. Music by funkmast. Assistance in various ways including writing by kaputtnik. The rest by me.

Download

PS: Sorry.

Metroid Prime (Wii)

2010-08-12T03:13:00.000-07:00

Metroid Prime is the best Metroid game I've ever played.

It's also the only Metroid game I've ever played.

Well, not actually, I played a few minutes of Metroid Prime Hunters on a friend's DS but that was years ago and I don't actually remember any of it. So I stick to my previous statement.

Anyhow. The short of it:

Positives:

-The graphics... this is an 8 year old Gamecube game ported to Wii controls and it still looks great. Lots of detail and lovely effects despite the fairly low poly graphics.
-Gameplay is so darn well balanced that most other FPS games I've played are just lazy in comparison. Exploration is encouraged and rewarded.
-Midi music that still sounds great.

Negatives:

-Not today, folks.

Metroid Prime is awesome. I loved it quite a bit. Good game, really it is. And it came in the Metroid Prime Trilogy... so I still have 2 sequels to puzzle and blast my way through!

Some Little AGS Tricks

2010-07-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

In the couple of years I've been fiddling with AGS scripting, I've picked up a couple of tricks that I've learned from others and from fiddling, and also shared with a few others. There's nothing mindblowing in here, but perhaps some of them can be useful to those of you interested in using AGS.

- The Game.DoOnceOnly(); function can save you a fair bit of time and save you messing around with various variables and the like. Good for whenever you just want to do something a single time - which in adventure games are a fairly regular occurrence.
- If you try to use a sprite with an alpha channel on a gui without a background image that also has an alpha channel, it won't show properly. If you don't want a background image, import a blank png with an alpha channel for the background. If you have trouble with this, try drawing a pixel at 1% opacity on the image then importing it.
- When using a limited palette or avoiding black in general, the font outline can stand out and be a bit ugly. Use game.text_shadow_color to change it to whatever you want.
-If you keep all of a character's animations in a single view aside from speech animations, after calling an animation the game stores that loop as the character's talking loop. Therefore if you try to get the character to talk after running animation stored on loop 7, the game will try to play the speech loop at 7 - which probably doesn't exist, or is some special speech loop. After running an animation, try resetting the character's loop to match what direction they are facing to avoid characters suddenly changing direction when they start talking.
- If you have a special talking loop, simply use character.LockViewFrame() to lock it to that when you want them to talk in that direction, and place it after the other 4/8 in your talking view, then unlock them after the dialogue has ended.
- Use custom icons! They make your game look a ton more professional!
- When using custom text window guis with custom border images, make sure your border images aren't too wide. I generally stick to 1 pixel wide - otherwise you may find that the border sprite can jut out from the corner. This is particularly hard to spot if you're using alpha channel based border images, but still looks odd.
- Importing sprites is a darn lot easier with the quick import sprites and assign to view functions of the AGS editor.
- Inventory items are a lot easier to use if you make a small pointer graphic for them as well - which is easy enough to do.

Hope these prove useful - if I think of more I will most definitely share them.

Another Code: R - A Journey Into Lost Memories (Wii)

2010-07-30T04:01:00.000-07:00

Another Code: R - A Journey Into Lost Memories is the best game I've ever played in which the main character has both a Nintendo DS and Wii remote in their inventory.

Unsurprisingly enough it is also the only game I've ever played in which the main character has both a Nintendo DS and Wii remote in their inventory - and the whole device idea actually works pretty well. The fact that the player character interacts with the world with the same controller that you control them with allows for some quite interesting gameplay ideas, and never feels too out of place.

Positives:
-Interesting story with quite engaging, dynamic characters. Learning all of the characters' stories is rewarding in itself - many of the main characters have interesting secrets to discover.
-Though most puzzles are quite simple, there are some very nice and creative ones hidden in here. There were some definite "oh!" moments in here, which is always nice.
-Nicely presented with both sound and graphics.
-Well implemented controls mean walking around and exploring are both very easy - I actually liked the considerably linear movement system quite a bit.

Negatives:
-Slow pace means that it takes quite a while to become invested in the story. Yes, I know it is an adventure game, but even by my relaxed standards this game was pretty slow paced.
-Some of the gameplay feels a little bit too simple, but this wasn't too much of a bother.
-There aren't more games on Wii like this!

Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. It's less puzzley than most adventure games, but unless you get incredibly insulted by games being fairly simple, I'd say it's worth a look. Some unique ideas scattered through a rather engaging, if drawn out, story.

On another note, this is the sequel to a Nintendo DS game that I will most probably be purchasing!

Messiah (PC)

2010-07-24T03:34:00.000-07:00

Messiah is the best game in which you control a cherub that I've ever played.

It's also the only game in which you control a cherub that I've ever played. Now imagine that!

Messiah is one of those games that I was never able to try when it was first released, but still remember. The idea and setting made a pretty big impression on me, and after playing Undying and going on a bit of a nostalgia trip through old magazines and demo cds that I have stored up, this surfaced and I thought "I'd love to try that!". Thankfully GOG.com have it at a reasonable price and working most smoothly with modern systems with no hassle! Hooray!

Positives:
-Interesting setting - a comedy take on a cyberpunk style world like in Blade Runner (I think. I still haven't seen that film :( )
-Interesting concept - instead of playing a single hero or a specific class, you possess different characters and use them as tools.
-Some interesting puzzle elements amongst the action.
-Licensed music! By Fear Factory - THE first metal band I ever properly listened to. I have one of their shirts ^__^ (and besides, the industrial metal stylings of FF really suit Messiah's game world perfectly)
-It's a 10 year old game... but still looks surprisingly nice for its age.

Negatives:
-Controlling the character took me quite a while to get used to. No targeting reticule is a bit odd on PC, and controls seem slightly sloppier than I would have liked.
-Some annoying bits - combat is difficult and basically involves possessing each person fighting you until your host dies, then moving on until there is only one human left.
-Because you can control all of the characters, very few of them are actually interesting beyond appearance. Most NPCs have about the same level of personality as the pedestrians in Carmageddon - with such an interesting setting it would have been really fun to see more characters that take advantage of it.

Messiah is a hard game to recommend because it is a hard game to "get into". It took me quite a while of actually playing the game to start enjoying it properly, and the game never really sucked me into the story as much as I'd like.

What it was, however, was a reminder of a time when companies - like Shiny and publisher Interplay - were not afraid of making games that were different and trying new things. The setting itself made me nostalgic for the strange and quirky games I used to see all the time as a kid and that I do my best to look out for amongst newer games.

If you're willing to forgive the fact that Messiah isn't the player friendliest of games to check out, you may just find that you will enjoy it quite a bit - and it's super easy to find, unlike some older games, due to the fact that gog.com have it on their website.

All My Character Look Exactly the Same...

2010-07-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

It amused me to compare the concept/mockup pics of three very different game ideas of mine that I've jotted down/sketched out (and in one case, designed & built some of) and realize that all of the player characters I've drawn in the past few months look... pretty much exactly the same.

Well... at least I'm consistent, I guess ^_^

Clive Barker's Undying (PC)

2010-07-16T07:18:00.001-07:00

Undying is the best Clive Barker game I have ever played.

It is also the only Clive Barker game I have ever played, and judging from what I've seen of Jericho and the two Nightbreed games, as well as the fact that Demonik never actually got released, it will probably stay that way for a while.

But that's not to say I didn't enjoy Undying. Not at all. Far from being a typical FPS, Undying mixes some very creative elements in with all the shooting and running around finding keys.

Positives:
-Interesting story based around diverse characters with plenty of fragments of exposition scattered throughout the world for those interested.
-Spells add not only tactics to the combat but also puzzles and additional information on the story - with good effect.
-Well paced gameplay for the most part, with interesting battles and puzzles that aren't too easy.
-Sound design is very atmospheric and adds to the immersion considerably.

Negatives:
-Graphics look dated - for those who never played games back when this was released, it will all look very blocky and angular. For those who remember when games were like this, nostalgia allows one to look past such things.
-At times the game felt a bit directionless, with some sections having me wandering around the map in circles aimlessly.
-The final boss battle. What was up with that?

I've never really been a fan of horror stuff, but Undying doesn't really come across as a pure horror game, thankfully. Depsite having some creepy parts, it is still quite accessible to those not overly fond of the genre.

If you want a good, creative FPS with a very low price that doesn't need a super high end machine to run, Undying is a beautifully atmospheric tale, with plenty of action to boot.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)

2010-07-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Fragile Dreams is the best game I've ever played that feels like an interactive anime film.

It's also the only game I've ever played that feels like an interactive anime, but if you've been reading any of my more recent reviews, you were probably expecting this. Though filled with flaws, the positives were still enough that I was quite satisfied with the game, despite feeling it could have been done better.

Positives:
-The world you are given to explore is beautiful, and a joy to explore.
-The idea of running around shining your flashlight with the controller works very well.
-The characters - if a little hit and miss at times - are generally well written and getting to know them and their story is handled nicely, with some beautiful and also sad moments.
-Great audio all round, between voice, effects and music.

Negatives:
-Combat! No lock on button, strafing is hard, weapons break constantly, enemies are hard to hit... there's not very much to like about the combat, but thankfully that is not the focus of the game.
-It all feels very anime at times - not that this is a bad thing, but if anyone is turned off by anime (and I know people who are!) then this just won't be very enjoyable.
-Gets tedious at times; some of the quests have you backtracking and running around looking for things for ages.
-Sometimes gets a bit directionless and leaves one wondering where to go/what to do next.

It's hard to recommend this game to everyone because I am sure there are some out there who will dislike it immensely. However, if you can stomach some very anime moments, some clumsily implemented combat and think that exploring the beautifully realized ruins of a world much like the world of today is a tempting offer, it's most worth checking out.

If not, know that you're missing out on a fairly unique gaming experience which, despite some glaring flaws, proved to be quite enjoyable.

Dead Space Extraction (Wii)

2010-07-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

Dead Space Extraction is the best lightgun style game I've ever bought.

It's also the only lightgun style game I've ever bought, but we won't dwell on that. While I was nervous at first to see how much I could enjoy such an on rails experience, I soon got sucked into the ride.

Positives:
-Great graphics, nice use of lighting to create atmosphere.
-I enjoyed seeing each character develop and being able to play as each one. Actual story in a game where I didn't really expect any.
-The gameplay isn't just shooting foes - you also have other tasks to complete, extras to pick up, and abilities to use that make the game more satisfying than how I pictured it; merely aiming and shooting. Extra elements like stasis and quicker reloads (if you get the timing right) keep things more interesting.
-Game difficulty is just about spot on.

Negatives:
-Took a fair while to get used to not being able to control movement.
-Most of the bits that felt like they were intended to be scary came off as a bit silly (this didn't bother me too much, as I don't really look for horror as a rule, and there will still a couple of moments that caught me).

After finishing the game, I'm not really sure what to think. On one hand, I found it a quite fulfilling experience - I got to try a new genre of gaming and it was a well polished, well paced affair. The style, while linear, allows the developers to pace things exactly as they want to, which I felt was a bit underused. There could have been a few more personal moments with characters, but this didn't bother me too much.

I wouldn't say that this has instantly converted me to lightgun games - I made sure I read enough reviews of this and picked it up for a low enough price to make sure I was fairly certain I'd consider it a purchase of reasonable value... and I am sure that there are many, many worse lightgun games out there. If you've never tried a lightgun game, and are curious, this is probably a quite sensible place to start.

No More Heroes (Wii)

2010-07-13T01:24:00.000-07:00

No More Heroes is the best game designed by Suda51 I've ever played.

It's also the only game designed by Suda51, but that's besides the point. No More Heroes is a great, if relatively unknown, game.

Positives:
-The game plays something like Grand Theft Auto without the stealing cars, and with much more of the hitting people with laser swords.
-The game is incredibly quirky - something that I always appreciate in a game.
-Gameplay is fun, well paced, controls well and is still challenging enough to make you work for victory without being unfair.
-Although a little washed out for my tastes, the game is very stylish.
-The characters and story are actually quite interesting, behind their outrageous surfaces.

Negatives:
-The open world felt quite pointless and the game might have been better with some streamlining.
-Although I wasn't put off it personally, some may be taken aback at the reckless abandon with which the game destroys the fourth wall. In a sense, it doesn't so much break the fourth wall as it installs a door, walks out of the tv onto your couch and asks if you have any snacks in the fridge.

If you have a Wii, a good sense of humour and don't mind a bit of action, look for this game. It should not cost very much, and is well worth a try. Initially I was a bit reluctant to get it, but encouraged by very positive comments from a fellow AGS chap, took the plunge and am glad I did. I know I will be getting the sequel.

Tomb Raider Underworld (Wii)

2010-07-12T04:19:00.000-07:00

Tomb Raider Underworld is the best Tomb Raider game I've ever played.

It's also the only Tomb Raider game I've ever played, but we won't let that detract from it. To make reviews slightly more concise, I am going to break it down to what I did and didn't like:

Positives:
-Fantastic graphics and atmosphere, art design really built the immersion.
-Some *very* clever puzzles.
-Fluid controls (for the most part)
-Beautiful, beautiful underwater exploration parts.
-Interesting (if slightly quirky) story.
-Focus on exploration over combat. Feel like an actual archaeologist rather than a soldier who happens to be looking for relics as well.

Negatives:
-The little combat the game had was quite weak and frustrating.
-Some camera issues - particular in the last part of the last level (to the point where I nearly said "I cannot get past this one bit because this camera is at an angle that makes this impossible")
-Sometimes it felt a bit directionless - one could wander around for 30 minutes looking for a single ledge to jump onto.

Overall, I really enjoyed the game. I don't think I've ever had so much fun exploring as I did going around in the underwater sections, diving through forgotten ruins. I was interested in the fact that the game is basically an adventure game with direct control elements - much of the puzzle was figuring out how to get to the next part, but as I mentioned before, the puzzles that the game did have felt very clever to me.

As an action/adventure hybrid this gets a big thumbs up in my book, and is definitely worth a try.

I Interviewed Someone Else!

2010-06-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

That's right folks, I interviewed that Sebastian Pfaller chap you should all be quite familiar with by now over at A Hardy Developer's Journal.

Puzzle Kingdoms (DS)

2010-06-07T01:19:00.000-07:00

Puzzle Kingdoms is the best game I've ever played that mixes RPG style tactics with casual game style block matching.

It's also the only game I've ever played that mixes RPG style tactics with casual game style block matching. That's right, in order to attack your enemies and cast spells you have to match coloured blocks. Lots of them.

What interests me about this idea is the blending of two genres with fairly successful results. The story is hardly as deep as the story in some RPGs, but the gameplay is, considering its nature, impressively enjoyable. Most of the time spent playing is on the battle screen, where the tile matching is done, but in order to win here you must also prepare your forces well before battle.

It's interesting to see the two elements working together. If you really focus on the tile matching but don't prepare your army well before the battle, you're not going to have the firepower or spells available when you've matched enough tiles to use them. If you spend plenty of time organizing your forces and unlocking new troops, but don't play carefully when matching tiles, you won't get enough chances to use this force.

It's also a good example of how a simple mechanic can be used over the course of an entire game without getting overly dull due to the addition on new elements. Matching blocks forces you to make difficult choices about which blocks you need the most, which blocks you have to avoid your enemy getting, whether the move you're considering will give the enemy an even better move next turn... it's hardly deep tactical strategy, but does admirably well with what it's got.

Puzzle Kingdoms, then, was an enjoyable game. I think it serves as an example to designers that simple gameplay can be embellished to more interesting and challenging levels with the addition of other ideas, which is something we can surely do with our adventure games. I enjoyed beating the main campaign, and will keep these thoughts in mind for future games that I design.

Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand That Feeds (PC)

2010-06-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand That Feeds is the best hidden object game I've ever bought.

It's also the only hidden object game I've ever bought, but that's besides the point. While I'm not usually interested in HOGs, I hadn't played a casual game all year and this one has 100% more Steve Ince than other HOGs. I'm shallow like that.

This makes it kinda hard for me to judge it, but I'll try. The basic premise is that you play two detective in a new unit, that being Special Enquiry Detail, and you have to investigate a murder for you first case. Gameplay is a mix between looking for objects hidden in backgrounds, doing police type work such as dusting for fingerprints and puzzles such as cracking safe combinations.

The story itself is well told, with enough twists and mystery to keep the Sherlock Holmes fan in me well satisfied. It feels a little like watching a television drama that you can take part in, and I didn't mind this at all. I particularly liked that effort was made to give each of the main characters a specific personality. I would have liked conversations to be interactive rather that merely something I observe, but understand this is regular behavior for casual games.

It's a very nice game to look at - whilst the backgrounds seem to be mostly photo montages, there are flies buzzing, steam from hot coffees, dust particles, even a television playing a music video... this really adds to the atmosphere. Audio wise the music and ambient sounds were very nice (I particularly like the title screen theme). I felt the voice acting was a little off, but was glad it was there anyway.

The only thing that I felt a bit weak was the gameplay. While I didn't mind hunting for hidden objects, it rarely felt relevant to the case at hand. A detective story lends itself perfectly to have players hunting around for clues and evidence to the case, and when I was actually looking for hidden objects that were case relevant I enjoyed it very much. Sadly most of the object finding isn't really looking for evidence... it's more about finding bananas and thermometers hidden deviously in the backgrounds.

The actual puzzles were great, and I enjoyed them quite a bit - enough to keep me busy for a while but not so many that they got dull and annoying. My favorite parts were the police work sections, where I had to do things like photograph evidence and dig through dumpsters looking for clues. These parts are well designed and put together... I would have absolutely loved it if the game was filled more with these and less with finding the number 23, a lily, slippers, chinese doll (10) and a sparrow.

For those who don't mind casual games and want a well written, good quality experience, Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand That Feeds should fit the bill nicely. It's my first casual game for the year, and I'm glad I played through it.

Resident Evil 4 (Wii)

2010-05-30T08:21:00.000-07:00

Yet another review! Pff, you know I can't make games without "research"!

Resident Evil 4 had always been one of those games that I never really "got". One of my old bosses loved it so much that he bought his Playstation 2 to work one day to show me at lunch. People seem to put it on top lists and all sorts of things... and I could never see why. I bought it because I had been nagged into liking it by several people, took it home, played 14 minutes of it and put it back on the shelf to collect dust, quite unimpressed.

However, after finishing Moon and The Conduit, I really wanted something else to play. I found a few cheap games online and ordered them, but in the wait for them to arrive by post I was still interested in finding something to play. I saw this; and had been willing to give it to someone with a Wii who was interested when I found such a person, but thought "I might give it another shot".

And finished it in a day and a half.

The basic premise is that you have to rescue the girl and stop the bad guy, saving the world in the process.

Most of the action involves walking/running around, shooting/kicking/knifing/exploding infected brain controlled people, who from now on I will refer to as "freaks" to make things easier. One can see that a lot of effort has been spent to make fighting these freaks interesting. You can set them on fire, push them off ladders, kick their heads off, shoot their legs out... even the projectiles that they throw at you can be blasted out of the air with your gun. Most of the shooting is done with the Wii remote, which does a fine job of letting you aim around at freaks, even if it takes a while to get used to.

There are also some relatively simple puzzles to solve, big old boss fights with super freaks, action sequences, on rails shooter bits... even a part where you play as the girl that is being rescued, running around with no gun, throwing fire at freaks to defend yourself.

The whole thing feels very much like a big budget action movie. Boss fights encourage you to use environmental props to fight, and while it's a tad cheesy, it's also quite satisfying. Nothing beats sliding over a giant freak's head on a cable, dropping to a control panel and then opening the doors to the pit of lava as he steps on them whilst lumbering towards you.

Graphics do a good job of conveying a creepy atmosphere, the audio is very atmospheric and the story has enough detail to justify smashing heads in.

For a game that I owned for 2 years and disliked until very recently, I had quite a bit of fun playing Resident Evil 4. I wouldn't put it in any of my top lists, nor do I feel the urge to replay it, but I'm glad I gave it a second chance and finished it. It was a little longer than I thought necessary, but that's probably due to my love of shorter games.

It's a hard game to recommend seeing as I found it very hard to get into, but if you're like me and are not really sure about it, definitely give it a second chance. Everyone else will likely tell you it is a good game worth playing anyway!

Sauce!

2010-05-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

Towards the end of last year I had the gall to release a game with the ludicrous title "!". Although it may look like a ridiculous affair at first, with it's preposterously low-fi graphics (drawn in the most ghastly 1970s linoleum colours I could create), pathetically low tech interface (single button gameplay and no inventory items? What on earth!?) and ridiculously illogical story/puzzles/whole, behind the nonsense lies a game that I really tried to make enjoyable.

I always planned to release the source code while making it, but thought I had lost it. Last night I was digging through old backup files and found it, as complete as it had been on the day of release! Playing through it, I was surprised at how much fun I had doing so. It's very contrived, but people seemed to like it as well - and the soundtrack is my most favourite of Sebastian's scores to date.

Anyhow, I've uploaded the source code for any who may wish to have a look around. You can check it out here for the price of a roughly 10mb download.

In other news, Dualnames has released his long term project, the graphical remake of the old Hitchhiker's Guide text adventure. I enjoyed the text game long before I read any of the books, and even contributed a couple of graphics assets to the game. If you haven't tried it already, you can find it here. Make sure you have your towel nearby when playing.

Moon (DS)

2010-05-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

I know, all I seem to do lately are write ups of games I've played. I am working on actual games as well, but heck, I have played through hardly any games this year, so now that I have some free time I am doing my best to catch up!

Moon is a game I had my eye on for a very long time, and then one day saw it on special and grabbed it right then and there.

The game is a science fiction horror-esque FPS which takes place, for the most part, on the Earth's moon. Other than blasting through levels with assorted ray guns and alien cannons, you will also find yourself driving around in a moon buggy, controlling a remote droid around ducts and fighting robo-alien level bosses. For a handheld experience it's a remarkably varied affair.

The first thing that caught my attention is how smooth it is. Considering the fact that it is a 3d FPS on a handheld... it's phenomenally fluid. The graphics for the most part are perfectly atmospheric; there are a couple of textures that are a bit blockier than their surrounds, and the whole thing looks very 1990s, but again, it IS a handheld game and uses the technology remarkably well.

Story-wise the game is a fairly typical affair, with enough interesting elements to keep things intriguing until the end. A nice touch are consoles scattered throughout levels, each displaying various snippets of backstory that add to the creepy atmosphere. It won't blow your mind, but does the job admirably.

Gameplay wise it took me around four and a half hours to beat - which doesn't really seem like much, but felt quite satisfying at the end. There are a few bonus levels to unlock which are really nothing more than shooting galleries, but it is nice to have that extra touch.

One thing I really liked about the game was the way it kept things varied. Just as you get bored of shooting enemies, you have to use your little droid to get past gates. When you start tiring of running through corridors, all of a sudden there's a boss fight. When you're sick of being indoors altogether, they throw you outside into a moon buggy and let you drive around. New guns are spaced evenly throughout the game's progression to give you new toys to play with on a regular basis, and new types of enemies appear to make them worth trying out. It's a simple thing, but it really adds to the game.

All in all, Moon is good fun. It's a well designed shooter that makes the absolute most of it's technology and is a good few hours blasting through robo-jerks in space. To any fans of creepy science fiction and first person shooting who happen to own a DS, I'd recommend it!

The Conduit (Wii)

2010-05-24T09:25:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that I've had my doubts as to whether the Wii could handle first person shooters and be fun. However, I'd seen The Conduit get some positive reviews and saw it for extremely cheap, so I took the plunge to see whether there was any real substitute for mouse + keyboard.

The Conduit is a game about fighting secret conspiracies and slimy space critters with buckshot and rayguns. That's really the best explanation you can probably get. The game was developed to be a cheesy Hollywood style science fiction action fest, and that's exactly what it ends up being. The story gives you enough excuse to blast away hundreds and hundreds of enemies without making you think too much, and even the few twists that it offers are very unlikely to come as a surprise.

The gameplay, however, is great. The Conduit is all about shooting, and it does it well. There are tons of different weapons to choose from in three different categories: The everyday hot lead launching human weapons, the spiky, slimy and organic Drudge weaponry and the glowing, high tech ray guns of The Trust.

Rather than letting you find new weapons one by one as you progress through the game, The Conduit allows you to choose from a variety of weapons in each stage but limits you to carrying two. This means you'll swap between all sorts as you blast away through the levels, as your ammunition counts dictate. You're unlikely to run out of ammo in this game, but you probably will have to swap your guns as you go.

The controls work well with nice, smooth aiming and the effective waggle to throw grenade maneuver making grenades a very effective addition to your tactics. Aiming is never a chore, and the Wii remote shines surprisingly well here.

As for the actual gameplay content, it's fairly standard shooter fare. You'll make your way through levels, with various traps, ambushes, sniping opportunities and the like along the way, as well as the occasional boss battle/section. In addition to guns you're given a device called an All Seeing Eye which acts as a sort of jack of all trades useful gadget. It is used to unlock doors, collect game secrets, hack terminals, remove enemies' cloaking defenses, disarm traps, read and find secret writings hidden on walls... and if you don't use it on any of this stuff, it puts out a magic trail for you to follow to the next checkpoint (a clever idea). It adds a nice touch of interest to an otherwise straightforward shooter.

The presentation is superb, with some incredible graphics considering the platform and atmospheric audio.

Overall, The Conduit was worth buying - although I did get it quite cheap. The single player campaign lasted just under 6 hours, and therefore fits into my 5-15 hours preferred range. The gameplay was entertaining and whilst I doubt I'll play it through again, I enjoyed the experience this time around.

Rabbids Go Home (Wii)

2010-05-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

Good lord! Another review! And it has been so long!

Actually I finished this game ages ago... but haven't really finished many games this year, so there's been no build of up games I've played through to write about. Anyway, busy times are over so I now have the time to do this sort of nonsense...

Rabbids Go Home is a game that I bought and sat down to play having absolutely no idea what to expect.

All the most popular games are about collecting things. Pacman was about collecting yellow blocks. Pokemon is about catching little animal things. Starcraft is about collecting gas and minerals. The Sims is about collecting hot tubs, newspapers and other sims willing to "woohoo" with your sims.

If you're reading this blog, you've played adventure games before, and therefore are comfortable with the kleptomaniac protagonist character so popular in the genre. Therefore this game should leave you feeling, in some ways, right at home.

Rabbids go home is a game about collecting things. Actually, it's a game about collecting everything. Dogs. Toilet paper. Cows. Fire extinguishers. The clothes worn by people wandering around the levels. The list goes on.

Basically, you control sociopathic rabbity things (again, adventure gamers should be comfortable with this type of character) who run around putting everything that is and isn't nailed down into a shopping trolley (or inner tube, or jet engine... depending on the level), play manic but catchy music and scream "BWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH".

It sounds pointless... and in a way it is. There's no deep story (although some of the mini stories in the game are funny; particularly the nurse/patient love story). The gameplay is varied enough, with time limits and enemies to keep in mind, but it is still basically about collecting as much junk as possible then going and adding it to the pile after each level (until the pile is big enough to reach the moon, obviously).

However, the humour and presentation keep it fun until the end. The graphics are cute and charming, the characters say funny things along the way that had me chuckling and aside from the groovy soundtrack, the game includes licensed music that you're sure to recognize playing in lieu of muzak through shopping malls and the like.

Anyway.

It's silly, colourful, fun - and varied enough that I enjoyed the whole thing. It's not gonna blow any minds or change the way you view gaming as an interactive medium.

But if you're bored, have a weekend to fill and want to have a bit of a chuckle, Rabbids Go Home is pretty darn ok.

(I really need to write less in these summaries of finished games)

Oceanspirit Dennis: Mighty Pirate

2010-05-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Oceanspirit Dennis comes to you in an all new adventure!

OCEANSPIRIT DENNIS: MIGHTY PIRATE

Life partner Ray has gone to play adventure games and Oceanspirit Dennis must win his love back by starring in an adventure game of his own!

Once again it's a crappy joke that I put very little time/effort into so please download only if you have a sense of humour in your inventory.

This link has links to both the game and crappy source code.

Also I promise I have been working on real game stuff as well... this was gonna be my art practice time for the day but I got distracted by the idea ^__^

Updatey Type Things:

2010-05-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Two updates for you:

Shifter's Box - Outside In has been translated into German by the super patient Selmiak; which can be downloaded from here.

AND

Oceanspirit Dennis: Scourge of the Underworld has been ported to Silverlight by the multi-talented Clarvalon and his astounding XAGE engine. Play now and marvel at the potential of games in a browser!

Oceanspirit Dennis: Scourge of the Underworld

2010-05-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

There's been a bit of a commotion over on the AGS forums lately and the old "Make an RPG with AGS" topic has resurfaced.

I thought one of the ideas was hilarious so turned it into an actual crappy joke RPG using AGS. Don't play if you're looking for a rewarding experience!

DOWNLOAD!

Eh, what can I say - it was a nice way to spend an hour and a bit making - and a fun way to get in my art practice for the day!

The Interview With Erin Robinson

2010-05-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Some time ago that mischievous Ponch postulated that if I were to interview Erin Robinson then we could turn off the internet and get on with our lives as normal.

However it seemed like everyone else had asked her the same questions about the same things over and over - so I decided to come up with the Seven Questions That You Have Always Secretly Wanted to Ask Erin Robinson But Never Had the Guts to do so!

This is not an interview with Erin, folks, it is THE interview with Erin!

1. The most important question comes first: If you had the chance to create your own video game themed restaurant, which game would you choose as the theme and what special dishes would be at this restaurant?

Katamari Damacy; anything you can get to stick to a ball of rice, you get to eat for free. The biggest rice ball of the day gets a prize. Regardless of the size of the rice ball, your father is very disappointed in you.

2. If you had the ability to choose to incorporate a previously unused sense into one of your games (ie, taste or smell), which would you choose to incorporate, and what sort of gameplay would you base on this new sense?

I'd make a paintball simulator that would inject the taste of paint into your mouth if you got shot in the mask. Wait, did you mean one of my existing games? Okay...rescuing the goldfish injects the taste of paint into your mouth.

3. You've worked with both Dave Gilbert and Vince Twelve. If they were both giant robots, what would be their individual powerful super weapons, and what paint designs would their respective robo-shells sport?

I've never met Vince, so I assume he actually is a giant robot. How else could he blend in in Japan? I'm guessing he'd be painted like a transformer, but with sunglasses on to protect his secret identity. I'm not sure what kind of gun he'd have (photon beams? Laser bullets?), but it'd definitely have a custom GUI.

As for Dave, I imagine he'd be painted like a New York taxicab and have a gun that shoots hot coffee. Starbucks, of course. It's what launched his game dev career, so I can only imagine it would help in crime-fighting.

4. Let's pretend you've just been assigned to lead designer of the new Guitar Hero/Rock Band game and the theme for this game is "Guitar Hero/Rock Band: Terrible Buskers". What are the top 3 awful busking songs that'd be the first on your list, and what plastic instrument would you introduce to the franchise for players to play out of time with?

Oooh, tough one. I've seen my share of terrible buskers. For the instrument, it's a toss-up between "squeeze-box" and "out-of-tune violin". The songs would be 1) a cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" (so you'd play a cover of the cover) 2) Snoop Dogg's "Drop it like it's Hot", and 3) the entirety of Pink Floyd's "The Wall." If you pause the game your character either starves to death or moves back in with his/her parents.

5. If you had to marry an adventure game puzzle/action game sequence/strategy game battle etc, which would you choose as your husband, and what would your vows be?

I want to get married to that serpentine sequence in Half Life 2 where the helicopter drops mines on your air boat. I'd vow never to stray too far out of the path of the mines, and the helicopter would vow not to drop any mines while I was scratching my nose. The world is not ready for our love.

6. What cheat code should be in every single game, regardless of genre or difficulty?

I should be able to fight the last boss of Tyrian just by hitting the Q button.

7. If you were a level boss, what would be your crippling weak spot, and what special item would we have to make use of in order to get to this weak spot? (I promise I am not trying to steal your horde of treasure...)

I cannot be placed in direct sunlight for any length of time or I will die. But I counter that by wearing lots of sunscreen and never leaving my computer. So I guess if we were in a boss battle you could kill me by taking away my computer and making me go outside. Wow this is sort of depressing me. Way to go, Ben304. Way. To. Goooo.

(Buy Puzzle Bots).

Eternally Us

2010-05-01T02:56:00.000-07:00

After a very interesting month, Steve and I are pretty darn proud to announce our first proper release - our entry to the April MAGS competition called Eternally Us.

Not only is it the first proper game we've made as a team, it's also fully voiced by a fantastic cast of awesome people.

The link is to the right, as usual folks, I do hope you enjoy :)

Less Talk More Rock

2010-03-27T19:20:00.001-07:00

Today I read this.

It's probably the best advice on creating games I've ever read.

Hooray :D

Winter's Shadow

2010-03-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Haven't been around much in the past month, sadly, and need to update this place with news and the like.

For now, there's a Winter's Shadow trailer.

Enjoy :)

On Drawing Backgrounds

2010-02-04T00:44:00.000-08:00

Over on the AGS Critics Lounge I've finally gotten around to doing a quick background drawing tutorial.

Those of you interested in game design/illustration/pictures may find it interesting, and maybe even a little bit useful.

Hope

2010-02-01T02:45:00.000-08:00

I managed to convince that Colin Loafshorts guy to make a 48 hour game with me this weekend.

So we did.

You can download it by clicking the new banner in the games section there - the one that says "Hope".

I'm about to go and play it through to the end for the first time myself.

Then I'm going to watch Ghost in the Shell for the first time as well.

Today is truly a day of firsts. Hooray for my exciting life :D

Crash of the Titans (Wii)

2010-01-28T02:35:00.000-08:00

Whilst doing the end of year game round up a few weeks ago I realized how boring it is to read lots of boring words about all the commercial titles I beat over the course of 6 months. I thought it might be nicer to write them one by one as I go instead, and even steal pictures from Google image search to make the write ups more colourful. If this gets boring or annoying let me know and I'll go back to big long spiels that you can ignore all in one go.

Celebrities have gotten into a strange habit of naming their children some very strange things. Whether it be Fire Vai, Moon Unit Zappa or Margarine Chandler (in some strange parallel universe where I am a celebrity parent). Whether for a child or pet bandicoot, I have to say that "Crash" is a plain stupid name. And this is a stupid kid's game.

Instead of ultra realistic graphics like Crysis and Stalker, Crash of the Titans has stupidly colourful worlds - from deserts to glaciers and toxic junkyards. Instead of realistic combat Crash of the Titans has stupid pretend kiddy combat - like Tom and Jerry. Instead of spouting blood your enemies shout out fourth wall breaking one liners when they are defeated. That's just stupid.

So stupid is Crash of the Titans that the cutscenes pay tribute to all manner of cartoon styles - from South Park to Dragon Ball Z - and do so without managing to look lame.

Also the game is a platformer. That's just stupid - I demand that the developers add iron sights!

The main gameplay feature is mind controlling lots of big mutants that you beat and taking control of their special abilities to solve puzzles and get through stages; something like a cross between Messiah, Mario and Nanobots. Although I got a bit lost at times the game was never super hard and the boss battles were all quite simple - even the final one.

In short, theologists, bus drivers, video game journalists, Dimmu Borgir fans and other equally jaded and cynical people will probably think this game is stupid.

The rest of us will realize that stupid kids' games don't have to worry about making everything totally cool and realistic and groundbreaking and therefore can focus on actually being fun. The only question now is "Why can't us adults have games that are pure and simple fun as well? How come kids get all the wacky fun games?"

Stupid kids.

(PS Play Psychonauts and Beyond Good & Evil)

Pastels

2010-01-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

I've accidentally started collecting anime movies. In the past I kinda thought that anime was just big robots and giggling schoolgirls and wasn't really interested, but then I discovered that people in Japan make animated films that are not only entirely devoid of large robots and annoying children, but are also really, really good.

Anyway, this recent discovery has led me to trying out a sunnier, more pastel palette for this concept piece I did based around a short game idea I wrote in my head (and later in my notebook) this morning.

Certainly very different to my usual approach to colours, but I kinda like it.

The Future

2010-01-19T03:25:00.000-08:00

Hey folks.

Quiet start to the year from me so far - but good things are happening behind the scenes, of course.

Nothing major to discuss now, but if you head on over to Gnome's Lair you can read an interview that I did.

Oh, and it's even got a screenshot and the teensy tiniest bit of information about the project I'm working on at the moment.

Hope you've had an enjoyable start to the decade :)

The Rest of the Roundup

2009-12-31T10:10:00.000-08:00

Alright! 2009 is over – and as I did at the end of last year, I'd like to discuss the games that I played during the year. I already covered the games from the first half of the year here, so here's a look the second half.

In the first half of year I was mainly playing games on the Nintendo Wii. Around the middle of the year I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a Nintendo DS, so the second list for the year is very DS game heavy. Please note that I've only included commercial games (I play far too many free ones to remember them all :D ). Also, whilst I played through the main campaign of all these games to the end, I don't try and get 100% achievements or anything like (not very often, anyway).

Time Gentlemen Please (PC) – You lot should already know all about this one. The folks that made Ben There, Dan That! return with the sequel that builds on the strengths of the original and gets rid of most of the weaknesses. Colourful, funny, clever and cheap – it's a very sensible choice to add to your “games to get” list if you've not already played it.

Metal Slug 7 (DS) – Once I'd decided to buy a DS and went looking for games to buy, I knew I had to have this. Although portable, it retains all of the insanely stylish graphics, superbly fluid animation, rocking soundtrack and intense gameplay of the others in the series. New vehicles and weapons keep things interesting even if you've played all the others in the series. Big stompy robot boss battles, a parachute themed level and tanks falling down waterfalls... what more could you want? (don't say “a storyline”, please ;) )

Peggle Dual Shot (DS) – I wanted Peggle for PC and then I saw it on DS. Sometimes you have to make a decision, so I chose this version of the game. It has like a billion levels, some of which are really quite challenging, special DS features which kinda make it a bit more interesting (nothing groundbreaking though), but in the end... it's Peggle and it's on a DS. If you hate Peggle then this isn't going to suddenly bring about a change of heart, but for the rest of us it's sweet, sweet peg breaking goodness.

Sonic Rush (DS) – It's the little blue hedgehog guy that runs faster than any spiky fellow really ought to. You all know of him, and most of him have probably at least played a Sonic game once. Sonic Rush is, basically, a racing game disguised as a platformer. And that's exactly what I want in a Sonic game. Getting the perfect line can be very challenging but when you finally get that flawless run it's oh so very satisfying. The boss battles are also nice and tough (the last one had me for a fair while), so expect plenty of playtime, even for a game that is paced super quickly.

Full Throttle (PC) – This one had been sitting on my shelf for ages and then one day I noticed it there and said “I really should play that!” So I did. And it is incredible. For once an adventure game from the 90s had puzzles that I could actually understand (surely not!?), plus it has a beautifully rich colour palette, great animation, a well told story... it's basically the full package. Never does it feel boring or drawn out, never was I stuck for a frustrating amount of time using junk on other junk to try and solve a stupid puzzle and to wrap it all up it had interesting (if sometimes a tad awkward) minigame based puzzles. It's an adventure game where you also get to bust some skulls, and well worthy of the title “classic”.

Artist Colony (PC) – Woah... is that a... a casual game? Yes, actually, I try to make sure I play a casual game or two every now and then just for something a bit lighter in design. Like a comic book compared to a novel, or pop music compared to... well, anything else in my collection, casual games offer a simple, easy to play alternative for those times you just don't really want to kill another 900 minions. Artist Colony is fairly simple at first, and one spends a lot of time sitting around watching. Soon enough, though, the game turns into a well executed management affair with lovely graphics and a cute story as well. I personally found the pacing at the end absolutely perfect, and was constantly clicking to make sure everything was done but never at a speed that felt overwhelming. A nice bit of entertainment for a few hours.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS) – If you read the first half of my gaming year you'll remember that I loved the first of Layton's adventures. I was a bit worried that the sequel wouldn't be as good, but my fears were unfounded. This one is even better. The same charming presentation and gameplay style of the first one with some improvements here and there. At first I thought the story was a touch less inspired, but by the end of the game I was completely sucked in – and what a beautiful ending! It's still totally puzzle based, but it's so darn good you won't mind for a moment.

MegaMan ZX Advent (DS) – I never had a Gameboy Advance but one of my school friends had one, and it was on this that I discovered MegaMan Zero. I knew that if I was going to buy a DS I was 100% committed to buying a MegaMan game on it, and not one of those RPG ones, either. ZX Advent is so much better than the one I fell in love with – graphically it hasn't come far (I consider this a good thing as I loved the graphics in Zero) but the gameplay has evolved into something incredible. Action and adventure in perfect balance, superbly tight controls that never let one down and a ton of abilities to try (Atlas' Buster Editor ability is the coolest special ability I can remember) and good use of the touch screen – I can only hope they'll keep making games of this caliber for the system.

Star Wars The Clone Wars: Jedi Alliance (DS) – The Star Wars game I played on Wii left me a bit underwhelmed with sadly uninspired level design, despite all its efforts to be a good game. Thankfully this managed to feel interesting the whole way through. The combat is simple enough to be picked up quickly and at times feels a touch unresponsive but for the most part it's very good, and the puzzles are scaled well to be slightly more difficult as you progress. It's a less story based than the other SW game I played this year, but still manages to do a fine job of giving us a playable version of a well known universe.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS) – I've been playing Grand Theft Auto games since the second one, so it wasn't really that much of a shock to enter the universe from the top down perspective. Still, after absolutely loving Vice City, San Andreas and Bully, one is bound to be disappointed by a mere handheld title... right? Wrong. Chinatown wars is fantastic. As soon as one gets used to the controls, it's just as good as the others I've played, with the characters written to make you laugh at them and want to hurt them at the same time (which is a good thing as one ends up hurting most of them in the end), and the great little touch screen minigames mix in seamlessly with the rest of the game. I did miss a licensed soundtrack, but the reason such a thing couldn't be included is really rather obvious. If you like the other GTA games and have a DS, buy it.

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (DS) – That Ian guy I sometimes mention on this blog once got me to watch him playing Ninja Gaiden and for all I could see, it was really just a whole lot of bashing things up. But hey – I love bashing things up. This got a favorable review and I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about. Basically, one plays the game by talking to some NPCs, then going and hitting about 200 monsters with one's sword, solving a really simple puzzle, and then hitting a level boss while avoiding getting hit. Repeat roughly 13 times and you've got Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword in a nutshell. Strangely enough, I really rather enjoyed it. It's refreshingly honest about that fact that it's basically about hitting things, the fact that one must rotate the screen to play is interesting and works well, as do the touch controls, and the story... well, it gives one a reason to hit things, if nothing more. One thing that slightly perplexed me was the way that the game says “Okay, time to fight the final bad guy” - and then after this fight goes “Good job! Now, time to fight the real final boss!”... only to reward us with “The bad guy is dead! Time to go and fight the actual proper final bad guy that was the bad guy all along!”,“Okay, now that bad guy is dead, now this next fight is the actual proper honest last battle we promise this time”... etc. I understand the concept of having a greater story and story twists and such, but telling me that the next battle is the actual final battle five times in a row is a touch odd.

Brothers In Arms DS (DS – obviously :P) – I like first person shooters on the PC. Mouse and keyboard work seamlessly together to give one control and anything else I've played feels worse by comparison. But a touch screen and d-pad should be pretty close, right? Well, almost. It works well, but it still feels clunky. I had no idea what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised by the level of detail put into this game. It's very playable and enjoyable paced despite some needlessly frustrating sections. But, more importantly, it's a portable FPS and it works pretty well. It's not perfect, but it is well worth the price of admission.

Bleach: Dark Souls (DS) – If I were to try and describe every element of the gameplay and story of this game (well, the ones I understand at least a little bit) it'd take me all day and probably sound really complicated. The characters fit into groups and ranks and the like that is probably very well detailed somewhere, there must be a billion moves/combos/powerups/special moves/super moves and the back of the case tells me there are 44 characters to play as (I know I played as a fair few going through the story). Learning the basic backstory would probably take an entire week and a pad full of notes and venn diagrams (I mentioned this to a friend and she says it makes more sense if you've seen the tv series). At the end of the day, though, the game is basically about fighting and playing minigames. Sometimes fighting while playing minigames. The game has a card system for powerups that I couldn't work out the rules for, so I stuck with the set deck, but which seems like a nice idea. For the rest of it, the story seems like an excuse to fight and play the games. Often I found myself laughing because I'd go to fetch someone from lunch to help someone out and they'd fight me before they'd come with me... just for the sake of it. Also, the story made about as much sense as “Bad things start to happen, so we fight, they keep happening so we keep fighting, good things happen so we fight still (but there's more minigames now too!) and then a really bad thing happens so we fight some more.” I didn't realize the final boss fight was the final boss fight until the credits started to roll, but all this aside it's a fun and fluid fighting game. I'm sure lots of people understand this and probably smirk at those like me who just can't get a hold of what is going on in the story. Play for the action, not the story.

Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles (DS) – I played the first AC game on PC last year and liked it quite a bit. When I saw that a version of the game had been made for DS, I was skeptical to say the least. Still, horrified curiosity got the better of me and I just had to try it. It's actually quite a fun game; it feels a lot more like a 'game' than the first one, and the story is about as complex as the opening paragraph in AC, but it's still fun and challenging. My biggest complaint was that every now and then one found a spot in a level that was incredibly well designed and an absolute joy to play, but the rest of the game was fairly standard fare. It leaves me thinking they could have pushed their level designs a touch further and really made this a memorable experience rather than just an enjoyable distraction, but I had fun and was nowhere near as disappointed as I expected to be.

Mahinarium (PC) – If you haven't heard of this game and are reading my blog then I'm incredibly surprised. Basically, you play as a little robot that doesn't talk who has to stop bad guys and save his girlfriend. Oh yeah, and the puzzles are really, really good, the graphics are amazingly evocative and the whole thing is an absolute joy to play. If only they'd let us right click! (Yes, I know I designed two single button games this year, but at least right clicking in those didn't bring up that ugly menu)

Wandering Willows (PC) – Towards the end of the year I found myself all DS-ed out, and wanted something simple, easy and yet still compelling. This caught my eye and I tried it, and found myself impressed enough to get the full thing. If Nintendo allowed Pokemon and Animal Crossing to breed, the result might be something a bit like this. It's simple to the point where you'll never actually get stuck, charming enough to keep you playing and quirky enough to keep you amused. Somehow the game manages to break up repetitiveness by throwing in new elements just at the right time, and every time I got to the point where I was thinking “This is getting a bit dull” something new would happen, and I'd go off exploring again. It's not complex, it's not challenging, but it is compelling enough to hold my attention to the end.

Dream Chronicles (PC) – Yes, another casual! Dream Chronicles plays something like a simplified Myst game – the puzzles all take place in single rooms, and are all of fairly basic difficulty (although some of the ideas in here actually impressed me), the story is pretty simple and a lot of the non puzzle gameplay amounts simply to just finding stuff. Happily, it's pretty and sounds great, well paced, if rather on the short side, and if you get stuck it won't be for very long. Probably won't satisfy hardcore gamers. Did satisfy me.

Dream Chronicles 2 (PC) – Guess I must have enjoyed the first one, hey? Dream Chronicles 2 is presented as the second chapter in the same story, and that's almost exactly the way it plays. The puzzles are a touch more interesting this time, and the story is a touch more complex but it's basically the exact same game. Sadly, towards the end it turned into more of a hidden object game – the only point I got stuck was trying to find tiny objects which were hidden around the rooms for one puzzle. Apart from this frustrating moment, it was a satisfying experience, if still rather short.

So, that's the year – 30 games in the finished pile (including the halfway list) and a lot of good times had playing them. Well, not quite. Aside from playing games, I had a pretty darn good year making them as well. 2009 was an incredible year for myself, and I have to say thanks to everyone for playing the games, helping me make them, comments, emails... you guys are great!

I have no idea what 2010 will bring. There's some really exciting stuff I'm working on but I'm wary of announcing anything yet. I hope that I can bring you at least a couple more games to play for 2010... and if not, I hope you'll have plenty of fun with all the other games you play anyway.

News, News, News!

2009-12-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

No new alpha builds for now, as I have been busy doing all sorts of interesting things. However, I do have some other things to mention!

Firstly, I have written a post mortem piece on that Featherweight game, so if you want to see what I think of it a few weeks on, head on over to Gnome's Lair!

In XAGE news, Dan now has proven that Awakener can run on a Mac over on the XAGE blog, and he goes into depth about some changes that are really good ideas!

And finally, SSH has put up a poll on the AGS blog to see which of my games you lot like the most. If there was a poll for polls that amuse me the most, I'd vote for this one! Funnily enough, the votes seem to be all over the place :D

Yes, I know I haven't uploaded the source files for ! yet. I will do it soon :)

More Rubbish

2009-12-20T05:38:00.000-08:00

Despite a vast number of distractions today (Hooray for the internet!) I got some more work done on the game.

Mostly just adding puzzles and junk in so far, so it doesn't look that much advanced from where it was yesterday - but putting things into the editor is always where I slow down, so I kinda expected it.

If anyone is actually interested, next alpha is here.

! seems to be going reasonably well in the 2 days it's had online. Most people are happy with the puzzles, which was my #1 goal here - and though I know I'm never going to make something that everyone likes, it is nice to see that the majority like it.

If no bugs have been reported by tomorrow, I'll throw the source files up here on the blog for anyone who is interested to have a poke around.

Assorted Silliness

2009-12-19T04:51:00.001-08:00

First things first, here's another silly little comic. I hope you enjoy =D

Secondly:

Not only did yesterday mark the release of !, it also marked the day that my cheap, old, limited version of Photoshop gave up the ghost. Seriously, I tried installing it on 2 different computers, uninstalling, restarting - no matter what I did, nothing worked. Deciding I could probably do with a newer version of PS Elements anyway, I jumped online and ordered myself a new copy in the mail. Sadly, this is going to take a while to get here and thus I'm stuck here with no Photoshop and time on my hands (I tried using GIMP and just got frustrated).

So. I kinda told myself that ! would be the last short game for a while, because I have some big projects that I really need to focus on.

But time off work means I need things to keep me busy, so I thought "It can't hurt too much to just make another *tiny* game that only takes a few days, to keep me busy until I get new Photoshops". Because I'm going to be working on the game pretty much every day, I thought it'd be fun to post what I've done at the end of each day for you lot to see - kind of like a development diary, I guess. So far the game is called Fictional Memories (but I don't like the name at all) and there's only 2 rooms and one real interaction, but most of the day was spent getting a few little graphics together and cursing the fact that our power went out for a few hours. It's only the first day, so don't expect heaps.

I'd love to get some feedback on this as I won't be looking for beta testers this time, seeing as it will be such a small game. I personally think the colour palette is awful and have considered changing it, but haven't done so mostly due to laziness. If you feel like testing it out, feel free to download the first alpha here. Otherwise, feel free to look at the screenshot and tell me how far I've fallen when it comes to using good old GraphicsGale to do my graphics.

Oh, and yeah, the first few puzzles are probably going to be very odd. Actually, all of the puzzles will probably be very odd. But hopefully they'll start making sense at some point :P.

!

2009-12-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

YES

IT IS OUT

CLICK THE SIDE BAR THING

Nerdy Jokes Yay

2009-12-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

Hmm, I really should have warned you folks about the fact that I went quite silly whilst making backgrounds for these comics. Hey, I had fun. Anyway, here's another one for you to groan at - this is probably one of the nerdiest jokes I've ever though of, and I'm dreadfully ashamed of my past self for actually being willing to commit such a thing to pixels.

Seeing as this was all done with mouse and line tool, the lines are pretty horrible and uninteresting, but doing 'lineart' has always been a weakness of mine. I am actively trying to improve upon this in the last week and have been making myself practice doing strictly line sketches in between my normal background drawing and the like. If you're interested to see how far I've come, here is my sketch page from yesterday:

And yes, this does mean I am considering doing something a bit higher resolution in the future.

Nearly!

2009-12-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

I know I said that ! would be out soon and it's not out yet, but we've nearly got it done (just one more tune, folks!).

In the meantime, I was digging through an old hard drive and found something rather amusing (to me, anyway). A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away I drew some cruddy webcomics for a friend's website. They're pretty badly drawn (this is back when I used to use MSPaint for drawing :P ) and most of the jokes probably only make sense if you are me... but instead of letting them rot on my hard drive (the friend's website has long since shut down) I thought it'd be fun to post one up here. I already posted one ages ago here, but this one made me smile so much I just had to post it.

If anyone is actually interested, I can probably be convinced to upload a few more. Otherwise, stay tuned for !.

And More!?

2009-12-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

The third of my four Design Taught in Pitfalls is now up on A Hardy Developer's Journal.

It contains my musings upon the really hard bits - you know, the parts of game building after the first 2 weeks where it's not new and exciting anymore and starts getting hard to stay motivated. This is where heaps of people I know stumble and I'm quite certain it's the #1 reason that games get abandoned, so of the 4 articles, this is probably the most relevant.

And if you're sick of words, well, there's a screenshot of my oh-so-nearly-done new game up there. You know, just in case you need further incentive to go and have a look at the article.

Check it out!

Random News

2009-12-02T00:44:00.000-08:00

Two little random pieces of news:

Firstly, I have been interviewed by CaptainD over on his blog, which I guess you can read if you're not bored of what I have to say yet (I won't hold it against you if you are, honestly).

Secondly, something that surprised me as much as anybody else! Jake over at TellTale games apparently liked the silly secret Dancing Winslow animation I made for IWWHIIWWHITOMIROTPG (I'm getting quicker at typing that!) that he turned it into an actual smiley for the actual TellTale actual forums. I don't know what to say to that except umm... "woah"?

IWWHIIWWHITOMIROTPG: The Game!

2009-11-28T21:55:00.001-08:00

Monkey_05_06 asked me to draw pictures for a silly + short fan game of a fan video of a game series based on an old game series.

I did.

You can download the game here.

Coming Soon! (yes, again)

2009-11-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

What's this!? A new banner in the shiny and still quite new "Games:" section! Oh dear, don't tell me there's already another one nearly ready for release!

Yes folks, I've got a mildly chaotic little experiment of a game coming for you soon. I started working on that final puzzle tonight and got roughly 1/3 of it done (it's an easy puzzle to build, but getting the characters' lines right is a time consuming process).

If Awakener was a spiritual successor to Shoot, I Got Abducted!, think of this one as a spiritual successor to Man Boy vs Doctor Sock. And no, Awakener was nothing like Shoot!, nor will this be anything at all like Man Boy vs Doctor Sock save for the mindset I went into the game with.

Also, I've decided to release the source code here on the blog once the game has been out for a little while and I'm satisfied there aren't tons of bugs. I've commented tons of lines, so those of you who are brand new to AGS scripting might pick up a neat trick or two, and those who are already familiar with all that stuff still might enjoy finding some of the little jokes and easter eggs I've hidden in the game's scripts :D

But hang on a minute... why haven't I put the title in the banner yet?

And is that a 5 colour palette?

Good Lord...

More Rambling!

2009-11-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

For those who didn't notice it on the AGS site:

The second part of my 4 part 'Design Taught in Pitfalls' ramble is up on A Hardy Developer's Journal.

And if you're bored by the things I write, you can at least go there and look at the pretty pictures. There's one there you probably haven't seen before (well, not in its finished form anyway =D )

It's also probably a lot more relevant to most designers than the first one!

Intervju

2009-11-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

Carl-Johan Johanssen of Swedish gaming blog Blog 'Em Up asked me to do an interview about Featherweight (or Fjädervikter) and making games in general, and you can read it here.

If you're interested in that sort of thing.

And can understand Swedish :B

Thanks for the article, Carl!

The Future

2009-11-19T01:35:00.000-08:00

I always like to do a mockup every now and then - means I can draw a world and one or more characters without the added work of going and turning it into an enjoyable story. Did this one today and thought it might be fun to post it on here.

I started putting a few little extra touches in while drawing the Featherweight backgrounds - stuff like stronger sky gradients and more obvious light glows, and while it's nice to learn things bit by bit, I am starting to feel like all of my backgrounds are starting to become a bit 'samey'. I pushed myself to try something new with the Awakener background, but here I am back to the same style I've been doing for months aside from a few minor little touches I've learnt along the way.

I'm not complaining or saying it is necessarily a bad thing, but it does seem like I could benefit from trying to draw a wider variety of things. Not that there's anything wrong with weirdo sci fi stuff, I guess. I have some stuff in mind that I'd like to try, so if I can break the habits I've allowed myself to form, I'll see about pushing myself further with this drawing business.

All talk of drawing aside, I decided it would be kinda fun to turn my attention towards another silly experiment game rather than a 'normal' adventure game for a little while, and whilst it has already been started I'm not really pushing myself to get heaps and heaps done because I feel like a bit of a break anyway. I managed to finish a couple of DS games this week, so it's been a nice relaxing time with much less looking at AGS scripts and animation frames and much more time looking at other people's games.

Oh, and some complaints about puzzles aside, Featherweight seems to have been received pretty well, which is awesome.

Stay tuned for more info about the weirdo experiment 'game' :)

Featherweight!

2009-11-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

Alright, taking only slightly longer than predicted in my announcement post, despite making tons of unexpected changes, I am proud to announce that Featherweight is now available for download, and possibly even enjoyment!

You can get the game from the link in the shiny new 'Games:' box off to the right there!

In other amusing news, I thought it would be a bit of nice sentiment to save my 1337th post for announcing Featherweight, and upon doing so and checking my profile to send a PM or 6, I noticed this:

Ah, Bigbluecup.com, will your ways ever cease to amuse me?

I doubt it.

Blog Renovations!

2009-11-14T05:59:00.000-08:00

Just a quick bit of news - with (what I hope) is the final beta of Featherweight sent out to testers after a ton of tweaking, I decided to do a little bit of mucking around on here; meaning that I have now got a "Games:" section!

It's pretty simple (the first html I've written in like 5 years!), and Arjon tells me off for not making it chronological (something I'll consider fixing), but I'm pretty proud of it. If Peder isn't too busy, I might get him to teach me how to do mouseover highlights (another Arjon suggestion :P).

Who knows, maybe I'll even make a new banner at some point? o_O

Design Taught in Pitfalls

2009-11-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

Igor Hardy, of the varied and insightful adventure game site A Hardy Developer's Journal asked me to write a little bit of an article about, among other things, getting inspired and staying motivated when developing one's own game.

Sadly, I got a touch carried away and wrote more that I really should have, so we've decided to split it up. Part 1 of 4 can be found here, with the next part due to appear in 2 weeks!

Enjoy :)

Coming Soon(ish. I think): Featherweight

2009-10-30T06:08:00.001-07:00

Some time ago I did a background for a competition on the AGS forums and decided that I really liked the style and would like to do a game in that style.

Not one to waste resources, I took the background and started writing a short story around it.

This story is called Featherweight.

With all the stuff I've had going on this month I'm amazed that I can even post this before the month is out, but I'm pleased to say that real world distractions aside, I've just zipped up the beta and sent it off to some testers.

Sebastian gave me some ideas that helped me push this game into some new territory - while there are the usual "use junk on other junk" puzzles and some Shifter's Box style puzzle game puzzles, there's also some new gameplay stuff in there when compared to my previous work, so it will be interesting to see the reaction it gets. I've also tried some small but interesting new things in the graphics and writing departments (whether anybody else notices this is yet to be seen), so it's been an interesting process.

There's still a lot of work to do on the game - mostly polishing graphics, but also editing some writing and adjusting some of the puzzles - but here's me saying that if all goes well (which it sometimes does), you can expect to see Featherweight in a couple of weeks.

See you then!

EDIT: After some feedback I have decided to go through and make some of the puzzles more elaborate, so it might take a little longer to get out than previously anticipated (depending on how hard my ideas are going to be to create). Hopefully this will mean a more enjoyable game in the end :)

I'm a Convert!

2009-10-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

Lots of interesting news to talk about lately - and this might possibly be one of the most interesting pieces of news:

I've been interested in Dan Alexander's XAGE engine as soon as it was clear that it was going to mean that we had the possibility for developing for other platforms than the PC - most notably being the Xbox 360 (although browser based games would certainly be something many will be interested in).

I'd been in contact with Dan a couple of months back when he asked to use a background of mine in his game The Fourth Wall. We'd since discussed various things about developing for XAGE, and it was something definitely lurking in my mind.

Thus, when going in to build Awakener, one of my main goals was to keep it suitable as a conversion test subject from the AGS to XAGE engine. This meant keeping scripts clean and easy to read, gameplay nice and simple (no crazy Shifter's Box puzzles) and making a game worth spending the effort to convert on. Apparently I succeeded on at least one of these points, and I am pretty darn excited to see that Dan has posted a video of Awakener running on his Xbox360 on his blog.

There's still work to be done on the conversion process (see here), but these are certainly most interesting times indeed.

Nice work, Dan!

An Interview!? ME!?

2009-10-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

They've obviously run out of interesting people to interview over on the AGS blog, so they've decided to interview me instead.

Hopefully it raises more questions than it answers ;)

Captain Hat!

2009-10-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

I swear, nothing pushes one's abilities like creating an hourgame. I haven't done one since Jelly, and all the cool AGS kids were having a competition today. Sadly, their normal 7:oopm time is the awful time of 3:00am for me, so I decided to do a little hourgame all by myself.

The end result is this: slightly chaotic, barely coherent and hopefully comedic. Done in exactly one hour (I used every single minute of it, too!) and with a massive 3 colour palette, Captain Hat is a romantic point and click adventure that you'll surely remember for years to come.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!

(left click uses + talks, right click looks, and the inventory is invisible due to time restrictions - so Captain Hat automatically uses new items when you left click objects)

One year on...

2009-10-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a year since I started blogging. I would do the usual thing and complain about not having enough time and real life taking over and the like, but to be honest, I've had a pretty good twelve months.

In the time since I've started The Number of the Ben, I've released 4 short AGS games - weird graphical experiments (Annie Android: Automated Affection), weird science fiction theories (Shifter's Box - Outside In), weird story/design/gameplay experiments (Heed) and a little world full of weird little characters (Awakener).

Despite all of this weirdness, these four games have been incredibly well received; I've been extremely honored to find them mentioned on sites such as the Indie Games weblog, Tigsource, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, JayIsGames and Gamasutra (among others), and even more honored and surprised to find one of my games mentioned in the PC games magazine I've been reading since about the age 9. Interesting times, indeed.

I've managed to learn a very satisfying amount of things about graphics, animation, design, scripting and writing. The amount I've evolved as an indie game developer has been very pleasing, on almost all fronts. And all this has only shown me how many new things I can aim at learning.

What the next 12 months will bring is hard to predict. I have my hopes for what I can achieve, but setting out a list of goals and saying "This is what I will do with the next year" has never been my thing. If I can release another four short games and improve to the same extent I've improved this year... let's just say I'll be very pleased.

Here's to The Future! :D

Awakener Released

2009-09-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

I remember Dave Gilbert talking about how he feels every time he releases a game, and thinking to myself "If Dave still gets the feeling, I guess it never goes away".

In other words, Awakener has been released here and I am nervous about it, as always.

I'm gonna go have a shower and pretend I can ignore the fact that I really, really hope people like it.

Coming Soon: Awakener

2009-09-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to make a short, one room game similar in play style to Shoot, I Got Abducted! all year, and have started a couple but have always gotten distracted.

However, I've finally had a bit of time to sit down and put something together - in the form of a colourful little one roomer called Awakener - and it is getting close to the stage where I'm ready to release. I still have a few interactions, an ending, a couple of little features and animations to add, but I've been scripting and animating a whole bunch of things, and Sebastian has been making sounds and music from his new secret base in Spain, and it is starting to actually look like a game.

The game should be ready... soonish - basically as soon as I can get around to finalizing all the little details. Until this time, however, feel free to have an Awakener screenshot:

I look forward to seeing what you guys think of it! :D

More Graphical Stuff

2009-08-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to have a long overdue cleanup of my desktop, and while I am fond of my Metal Slug 7 wallpaper, I thought it would be nice to have something fresh.

I couldn't find anything I really liked online, and was sick of searching, so I decided to try something I've always wanted to try: making my own.

I've always been enamored with game promo art, so I thought I'd try my hand at doing a similar style of scene and this is the result (the style is intended to be something of a cross between Psychonauts and Earthworm Jim):

(note, clicking on this takes you to the rather large original image)

Some of the elements are a little rough, and it isn't as clear as it could be (as I drew it smaller then resized it), but I am quite pleased with how it turned out. Perhaps next time I'm looking for a fresh new wallpaper, I'll have another go at something like this.

General Gaming Update and a Small Preview

2009-08-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

Well, as of roughly yesterday it has been a month since I started obsessing over my latest project. I hit the first of several milestones earlier in the week by getting the first act ready for testing and response so far has been quite interesting.

I celebrated hitting this milestone (by which I mean gave myself a break from working on the game) yesterday by finally getting around to playing Full Throttle (I never got very far the first time I started playing it), and I really, really enjoyed it. I managed to finish it in about 6 or 7 hours I guess, and I can't believe I left such a gem sitting on my shelf for so long. I wish there were more adventure games around like this now - although I have to say I really enjoyed the recent AGS game Death Wore Endless Feathers - Disk 1 and am really hoping that all four episodes of this game get released. If you haven't played it yet, I can't recommend it enough.

The day before that I spent an hour or so finally beating the F-Zone of Sonic Rush on my DS, bringing my finished (commercial) games for the year to seventeen, so I am well on track to match last year's efforts.

I've also been eying quite a number of older games for sale up on GOG.com and have plans to buy the second Simon the Sorcerer game (I really loved the first) and Oddworld: Abe's Oddysey at some point in the near future. I also really like the look of some of the RPGs such as Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator and Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader, so I'll keep those in mind as well.

Reading a number of reviews of my last little project Heed has been quite interesting. I made the game at a point in life where I had very little free time, yet my frustration at how little I'd done in AGS drove me to create something. I learnt quite a lot building the game (as I always try to - if you do not try different things then any hobby is bound to get dull and uninspiring eventually) and whilst I don't think it is a game whose playing style I'll pursue (except perhaps in portions where I feel it is suitable), I am glad I made the choice to create it. The amount of downloads it has gotten, considering the extremely unconventional style of the project, has really been quite surprising.

As for the aforementioned game project that has been consuming my life for the last 30 days, I'll end the post with a small screenshot. The second act is underway, and the road ahead is a long one, so my apologies for the lack of posts and I hope you have all had as much fun with your game playing and making as I have in the last month :)

Interactive #10

2009-07-15T05:22:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, it is done. This is the last interactive.

Thank you to those who followed me on this experiment. I really do appreciate it :).

Now to see if anyone actually likes it...

Interactive #9

2009-07-10T02:32:00.000-07:00

What, no green bits?

Interactive #8

2009-07-05T00:22:00.000-07:00

"Yes please, Alice, that last cup was splendid!"

Interactive #7

2009-07-02T07:11:00.001-07:00

Surprise.

I feel that I need to rewrite the introduction to this chapter to explain the story better and to make it read nicer, but this will do for the moment.

The Year so Far

2009-06-30T03:27:00.000-07:00

I don't just enjoy making games - I really enjoy playing them as well. Last year I set my sights on playing through at least one game per month for the entire year - making a goal of 12 at least, which I easily beat with my final total of 20. This year, I set myself no goal but set out to play as much as possible, and have already beaten 12 games at the halfway mark. Last year's list was quite heavy on the PC side, so I've spent more time playing my Wii this year, and have really enjoyed playing through a number of titles on it. I also very recently purchased my very first handheld gaming system in the form of a Nintendo DS, and even though I've only had it for a few weeks I've already got a couple of games notched up on the "played through" list, and a few more that I've got my heart set on purchasing.

PC:

Indigo Prophecy - After enduring months of nagging from that Ian guy I once mentioned (I swear I was going to buy it eventually anyway) I finally bit the bullet and bought it. And finished it the same day I installed it. A really nice example of a well told story with some interesting gameplay - both adventure and action. The closest thing to this in my collection is Dreamfall - although this was less linear. Nicely executed, and definitely worth the admission price.

Beyond Good and Evil - I was a little unsure what this one would be like, but after playing for about 30 seconds I was already in love. Beautiful environments, characters, soundtrack, graphics, gameplay and story. I'm really starting to grow fond of action adventures, and with games like this it is easy to see why. Lots of fun little sidequests to do, and some very memorable moments. Why aren't there more games like this on PC?

Nintendo Wii:

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - Okay, so I played through all but 2 levels last year, and finished it in the first hours of the very first day of 2009. But I still finished it this year, so I'm putting it here. Very different from the regular Tony Hawk's games - both in terms of game style and control, but still quite entertaining. The characters were all amusing, even if they were shameless stereotypes, and there was enough variety in the game modes that it wasn't just a case of "going as fast as possible" each race. Not too difficult, but a few genuine challenges in there to keep one working for it. A successful twist on an established formula.

Guitar Hero: World Tour - It's a little difficult for me to claim that I've 'finished' this one, as I was too stingy to fork out the cash for the microphone and drum kit. But I've played through the guitar and bass sections, so it's as finished as I can get it. Personally, I enjoyed Guitar Hero 3 (the only other plastic guitar game I own) more than this - both the presentation and the song selections felt a little weaker in this one for me. Still, an enjoyable way to keep one's self entertained, and twice as much fun if you get to have a bash at it with some friends.

Prince of Persia: Rival Swords - The last time I played a Prince of Persia game, our hero was running around in a dungeon in his pajamas, dying. A lot. Skip forward a fairly good chunk of years and he's starred in a whole bunch of sequels and reinventions and whatnot, and people like him enough that Ubisoft have decided to let me own one of his adventures on Wii. I thought this was a very nicely done game - I enjoyed Assassin's Creed last year, and this felt quite similar except that the jumpy puzzles were a lot more focused (linear) and the combat was quite different. Lots of nice boss battles (I love boss battles) and lots of nice variation in levels kept me interested in the story until the end. Very cool!

Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip - I really loved the presentation of this game; the smooth, clean visuals oozed style and colour, and the interface was all very friendly. An interesting control method that took some getting used to but was quite effective once learned, and a whole bunch of likeable characters and levels to unlock kept things flowing the whole way through. Good fun all the way.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - I thought this was a fairly nice game. Lots of graphical variation, plenty of moves and abilities to upgrade and a story which was compelling (especially considering that I have now seen all 6 of the movies). It was fun running around and using the force with the Wii controls, and it all worked fairly smoothly... however, I got bored towards the end due to what seemed like repetitive level design. After about the 3rd level each stage seemed like a repeat of a previous one with different graphics. Even the boss battles weren't varied enough to keep things spiced up. Not a bad game, but I felt it needed more variety to live up to it's potential.

Skate It - Three board sport games on Wii this year, and all very different. Skate It was fun the whole way through - the control scheme worked suprisingly well and it was nice to see a skating game with the focus on getting clean lines (as opposed to grinding cemetaries to wake hordes of undead). Heaps of things to keep me busy until well after the final credits rolled, and some of the tricks and lines you have the ability to try are really quite challenging. Less colourful than the other 2 board sport games for the list, but certainly no less fun.

Lego Batman - I really liked both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones Lego games, so I was very pleased to see that this was the same formula with different abilities and therefore new challenges. This game was absolutely packed with things to unlock, and had tons of missions to play through, so it certainly kept me busy for a while. Brand new setting with the same great gameplay and humorous method of story telling - this one appealed to me from the start!

Deadly Creatures - It's quite difficult for me to express exactly how much this game impressed me. The setting was a great idea, the gameplay was balanced beautifully by switching between the two very different 'characters' at the end of each level, and the story was an interesting two layered plot (told from two seperate perspectives (both of which are on one layer)). It has fantastic environments, huge (but real!) bosses, brutal finishing moves and some really great level design. The graphics, music and sound ooze atmosphere and there's a well balanced mix of exploration, fighting and puzzles (if you can even call them that!) that left me feeling completely satisfied by the end.

Nintendo DS:

Professor Layton and the Curious Village - The first game I played on the very first handheld gaming system I ever owned - this one had it's work cut out for it! Thankfully, Layton delivers the goods, and beautifully. It's unashamedly puzzle based, and proper puzzles at that, but it never gets ridiculously convoluted or dull and the story flows at an excellent pace, with plenty of twists and turns (although if you find the clues, it is quite possible to figure out a number of the twists before they're revealed in game). Artwork and music are very compelling and really set the atmosphere, and the characters are all wonderfully memorable (I particularly liked the guy who was always angry). A very enjoyable initiation into handheld gaming.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - I played my first Zelda game ever last year (Twilight Princess) and I liked it. I really, really liked it. This is my second, and it changes a lot of things from the first game I tried; it has a completely different setting, different graphic style - hell, even the method of control is not even remotely similar to Twilight Princess. Thankfully, however, the magic is still there. I was a little doubtful about the effectiveness of dragging Link around on a touch screen, but it all works beautifully - both combat and puzzling through the game's wonderful dungeons. Despite being a smaller game, it's thankfully still packed full of dungeons and some of the gameplay design really made me stop playing for a minute and appreciate the creativity and thought that has gone into the game. The graphics are completely different in style but still totally adorable, the music is as sublime as it ever was and the gameplay is easily as enjoyable as that in Twilight Princess - and the story, whilst not overly complex compared to some, is still charming and had me laughing out loud in some places. The Legend of Zelda strikes again, and once more I am left watching credits roll with my breath most definitely taken.

It's been a very enjoyable 6 months of gaming for me so far, and I'm really excited about some of the games I hope to purchase for the second half - as well as some of the ones on my "to finish" list that I'm looking forward to going back and finishing. Here's hoping for an equally enjoyable second half of the year!

Interactive #6

2009-06-15T06:27:00.000-07:00

Actually less interactive than the average sock.

But a major turning point in the story (well, if this story can be said to have major turning points, this is it).

Interactive #5

2009-06-14T01:59:00.000-07:00

Just a very short one today, folks. Proper gameplay and plot events coming soon :).

Mockups!

2009-06-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

After painting the next Interactive background scene, I was really quite unexcited with the notion of painting more green backgrounds without any variety, so I decided to paint a red and blue one. I stuck it with some older stuff, and present to you my outdoor scene mockup medley:

Although I am getting quite comfortable with drawing this style of background, I have a lot of things I want to improve - namely my ability to draw indoors and city backgrounds. However, it is nice to have made a start on tablet painted backgrounds, and I'm happy with the way that they look!

The next post will be another Interactive ;)

Interactive #4

2009-06-10T04:33:00.000-07:00

You know the deal by now, folks :)

Interactive #3

2009-06-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

Now with chapter selection screen so you can skip the boring parts you've already seen.