Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Narrative in games

John Carmack once said that story in games is nice, but not really very important.  I disagree entirely--the narrative of a game sets up a players role and gives him/her impetus.  I consider story and role inhabiting once of my primary motivations for seeing any game to its conclusion--a good, solid intro that makes me believe in my mission gets my blood pumping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXLmDRwxAUU

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Sensei Games

I've been playing a lot of HOTLINE MIAMI recently and am absolutely in love with it.  It's hard as nails, but, like Super Meat Boy, gives little to no penalty for failure.  As a result, it's what I like to call a "sensei game."  It is structured to teach you to become a master.  It is extremely challenging, but it wants you to succeed and helps you to achieve success.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Vitality in games

One thing I think has been truly lost in games as of late is "vitality"--by that, I mean the feeling that a gameworld is really alive, that it's a palpable place that can be visited.

Modern game development focuses its efforts entirely on what is likely to be seen and leads to a feeling of being towed through an amusement park ride rather than the feeling of wandering through a mysterious world bursting with possibilities.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

End-Game Challenge Content

Thinking about Attraction, I believe it's very important that we add in some end-game super challenging content somewhat equivalent to Super Meat Boy's end-game levels.  It's tremendously satisfying to successfully apply all the skills one's learned throughout a game experience at a masterful level to cap things off.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Project Unknown Retrospective

So, Project Unknown did not get chosen, which is unfortunate.  I think the intense puzzle combat was a fresh mechanical blend that had some real potential.  Everyone was busy, and we didn't flesh out the mechanics as well as we could have to make the best pitch.  I think if we'd really expanded on the core concept with some richer gameplay, we could have shown something very compelling that would have reflected the final product more accurately.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Inspiration Drain in Sequels

I've been playing Counterstrike: Global Offensive recently and it brought to my mind a certain trend I see with "refresh sequel" titles--games that get a new coat of paint and rerelease every several years.  That trend is inspiration drain.


A game's first iteration often comes from a passionate, quirky team with personality, delivering a product out of its own desire, intoxicated with the novelty of a fresh idea, and it shows.  It's often laden with quirky, memorable devices and content.  The following versions often strip these quirks out or reference them half-heartedly and then replace the missing content with generic, well-accepted industry fair.  I'm referring in this instance to the vehicles of CS 1.6.  Where did they go?  They were weird, glitchy, and a total blast.  Gone now, forever.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Games with Conviction

Over time, I've realized that one of the qualities I admire most in games is "conviction." I like games that believe wholeheartedly in their universe and believe in the player's role in it.  I like games that don't cheapen their setting by including overly cliched elements, pop culture references, and/or product placement.

Probably most controversially, I vehemently dislike games that include any form of in-game monetization.  I think injecting real-world purchasable objects into a gamespace usually completely destroys the integrity of the world, its immersive capacity, and the experience a designer is trying to create within it.