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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Procedural Level Generation

I've always been a fan of procedural level generation in games and think it's gotten short shrift as of late. I stumbled upon this presentation that explores maze generation algorithms--

http://www.jamisbuck.org/presentations/rubyconf2011/index.html 

And thought they could be tweaked and employed for use in Project Unknown or another game in the future. Maybe a roguelike.

5 Games To Consider

Thinking about possible mechanics for the game I'm working on, Project Unknown. It's a fast-paced action/platformer/fighting game with a cinematic camera and a heavy emphasis on speed. Inspirational games that came to mind were--

Devil May Cry -

Intense, stylish, fast paced action. Memorable character design on the protagonist.

Muramasa: The Demon's Blade & Dishwasher Samurai -

Gorgeous visuals and flashy, intense 2D combat.

Super Mario Galaxy -

Excellent dynamic tracking camera.

Pitch

Made my design pitch for "Elemental WizKnight," a cooperative action puzzler with resource management elements, last week. Some of the most memorable and satisfying gaming moments I can recall have happened in games that emphasize teamwork and clever resource use. Hope it gets selected!

Hello EAE!

Test, test, 123! This is my first EAE dev blog.