These last days I’ve seen quite a few articles on the ‘net mentioning MySpace’s recent “Data Availability” program which will make them share data with, among others, Yahoo and Twitter. This revelation is often mentioned alongside DataPortability, a framework for combining information from different social networking sites. I’m all for solutions like this; I love the thought of having data being accessible from everywhere (as long as it’s in a controlled manner). Not that I see much point in it, myself - I can easily add what’s needed manually to the few social networking sites I’m active on. But I love the idea.
One problem is that this is yet another attempt at creating an open standard that can be used by anyone and everyone. I’m sure that DataPortability thinks that it’s special and unique and brings something new into the disarrayed online world…but I’m also sure that OpenSocial feels the same way, just as FriendFeed and who knows how many others. Looking at DataPortability’s FAQ page it seems that they are aware of the problem of constantly re-inventing new standards; they want to use existing standards effectively instead. …But in a controlled manner. According to their recommendations. …Which sounds like they are trying to impose a standard, after all. One good thing about DataPortability is the fact that they won’t try to make a centralized storage point for all data - unlike FriendFeed, which sounds like utter bollocks.
Anyway, good luck to all of them, and I’m not stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth: if DataPortability (or some other standard) becomes a wide-spread way of sharing data I’ll definitely look into how I could use it in upcoming projects. For example…Spandex Force 2. I could imagine some cool uses such as importing personal information into the game, accessing photos that can be converted into an in-game avatar pic, or sharing pictures of impressive victories. Amongst other things.
I suspect that this could even be used for cross-game character data. It’s the old utopian dream that fanboys have yearned about for years and years: imagine that you’re playing an RPG and that you’re pretty fond of Mr. Fagball (as your character might be called). Then you want to play another RPG - or even a game of a completely different genre - and you could now have the option of using Mr. Fagball in that game as well! Yayness! Of course, it would probably work like utter crap if it was implemented badly, but I could imagine that static character traits could be shared even though game-specific data isn’t.
For example, if Mr. Fagball is a character in an RPG his STR stat might be at 16. Even if this would be possible to translate into strength in a strategy game, it might be completely ludicrous - the strategy game could become totally broken. However, if the RPG game stored information about Mr. Fagball’s pot-bellied appearance, that could (possibly) be of use in the strategy game as well. Like a cross-platform Mii. Except that this sharing wouldn’t have to stop at mere appearance; if data was gathered through social sites as well, personal information could be utilized by the game in order to make an uncannily scary experience.
“Give it up, Moop-Gleez! Your evil plans are brought to an end!”
“So, Mr. Fagball… You have come to destroy me? I think not - I know your weakness! You made out with Patrick’s sister last weekend, and if you don’t throw down your sword right now I’ll e-mail him and tell!”
“NOOOOO!”
PopCap, developer and publisher of casual hit games such as Bejeweled, Peggle and Bookworm Adventures, have funded a study that shows that playing casual games relieves stress and improves your mood. Maybe I’m just a tad cynical, but my initial response to that is a raised eyebrow and a “no excrement” look on my face. I’m not really surprised that playing a cute casual game results in joy and less stress. Isn’t that pretty much the whole point?
And wait a second… This study was funded by PopCap? Hm… If I were a bit more cynical I would almost suspect that the study is intended to point out the obvious, and that they’re doing this purely for PR reasons. Especially since the games mentioned are - wait for it - Bejeweled 2, Peggle and Bookworm Adventures. But that couldn’t be the case, could it?
Also, I really don’t think there’s enough data present in the press release or in the slides accompanying it. It’s little things, like the following snippet:
In all cases, the changes in stress levels and mood were measured in comparison to a control group that experienced a Web-based activity similar in physical and mental nature to the game-playing groups.
Exactly what Web-based activity was this? And how can they assert that it’s similar in physical and mental nature? A similar mental nature would be something intended to stimulate positively, like…um…a game. Which would mean that they played a web game instead of a downloadable game? And how exactly are they confirming that the physical natures are the same? Playing a game is a much more involved experience for me than just, for example, browsing the net; even if they per definition both involve moving the mouse and sitting on my ass, the physical experiences are subtly different.
But seriously, the study was interesting and confirmed my intuitive belief that games help me relax. And there’s probably loads more information in the actual paper for those who wish to check up details about the study. That wouldn’t be me, though - I prefer to complain.
Either way, go casual games for making us all relaxed and happy! Now I feel like playing some Magic Farm.
Recently I wrote a little rant in which I complained about hidden object games. “They’re linear,” I grumbled, “and dull and static and they make no sense!” I went on to analyze the genre a little and came up with a hypothesis: I hate hidden object games for two reasons:
- They’re too dull and you end up spending too long on a single static screen.
- They’re too linear and don’t allow for experimentation and exploration.
Well, after playing Dream Chronicles 2 I have to revise my theory somewhat. I’d never played the first game, and I don’t think I will…but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the third part whenever it arrives, ’cause DC2 was actually fun! *Gasp shock*
This is Dream Chronicles 1, but really, does it matter? It’s just here to give you a picture to look at, so you don’t get bored halfway.
Yes, the game is pretty much a hidden object game. Yes, the game features lots of static screens where you have to find the objects in order to proceed. But, and this is a big but, there’s a small amount of exploration involved and the storyline actually makes a little sense! The story isn’t groundbreaking in any way: your husband and daughter have been captured by the queen of the fairies, and it’s up to you to first escape the fairy prison, then find help in the mortal realm, and finally rescue your hubby plus daughter. Nothing new there, but there’s good pacing, and there are optional minigames that reveal even more of the story.
The biggest benefit of the storyline is that the whole fairy setting makes the puzzles and object searching somewhat more plausible, though. Fairies are notorious for being nasty critters who play mindgames and mess up people in various cruel and unusual ways. It makes perfect sense that, in order to battle a fairy queen, the player has to face a number of diabolical puzzles! I can’t say the same for Cate West and a bunch of other hidden object games I’ve played, so this definitely makes DC2 more bearable in comparison.
But the best thing about the game is probably that it doesn’t feel like a hidden object game. It’s not until you’ve passed a number of puzzles that you slowly get the sinking suspicion that you’re indeed playing something hidden-ish. “Heeey, wait a minute! I’m clicking around the screen looking for bits and pieces! Isn’t this…”
When I realized what I was doing I still kept going though, because there’s a major design choice that makes DC2 different from the other hidden object games: there is not a single timer in the entire game. Seriously, there is not a single static screen where you’re faced with an hourglass and a ridiculously large number of minutes you have in order to find a ridiculously large number of irrelevant objects. The game is completely un-timed which makes it tolerable even to me. And - thank Dog - there’s no penalty for clicking around wildly either.
Granted, those two facts make the game easier. But I would rather play an easy game that I’m actually interested in completing, than a 30-hour long game that makes me frustrated, annoyed and bored at every turn. Go, KatGames, go! Keep up the good work!
Hat-trick! I haven’t been blogging much lately, but today it’s the third day in a row! And I have a very interesting topic to bring up: hidden object games, and why I hate them.
First things first: hidden object is a genre that give you a screen cluttered with items, and it’s up to you to find all the correct ones within a certain time limit. That’s it. Seriously, that’s it…and still, people love these games. A few days ago I tried a number of popular titles such as Cate West: Can’t Remember the Rest of the Name, and Big City Adventure: Sydney, Australia. I had tried a number of these games about a year ago, and expected that a lot had changed. But no, it’s still almost the exact same gameplay. The presentation was brilliant, but the gameplay didn’t fascinate me at all.
Okay, I have to admit that there have been some changes: today’s games often feature heaps and heaps of different kinds of minigames in between the find-the-object screens, and these minigames are often very fun and exciting. Unlike the main screens.
Back to my dislike of these find-the-object screens. At first I thought that it was a fluke that these games did well, but it seems pretty proven that people love this style of game; and the point was driven home to me just when I was getting fed up with Abra Academy: Returning Cast after 15 minutes. I’m paraphrasing the conversation that occurred:
“Sweet mother of f-ck! I’m so bored at this game! I’m uninstalling this right now!”
“Hey, what’re you playing? Let me see.”
*Click click*
“Okay, are you done now? Seen enough?”
“Wait a sec…”
*Click click click click*
“Come on! I’m bored! I want to do something else!”
“No, wait! I have to finish this level!”
*Click click click…*
To my amazement I saw someone get instantly hooked by the game I was bored to tears with!
I started thinking about why I don’t like the gameplay, and I think it can be summed up in two things:
- I really really don’t like spending too much time just looking at a single screen.
- Too linear. I get very annoyed when I have to find ten random objects for no apparent reason. Adding a thin story on top of the game doesn’t help; I don’t see a reason why I can’t pick up any other similar objects, or try different things to find out which objects I really need. I think it smells too much of someone ordering me what to do, when I want to decide the best path for myself.
Now, time for an interlude. My new game, with the working name Wildhollow, will be a sim/management/adventure game where the main goal is to breed exciting (and valuable) new breeds of animals that you can sell. However, in order to do so you need to bring new genetic material to your stock. That’s where the adventuring aspects enter.
At first I thought of something along the lines of Harvest Moon. You’d breed animals and, once you have young animals, you could bring them along to travel the world and expose them to various mutagens give them new characteristics by magical means. This would be how you evolve your stock and eventually breed the most valuable animals. But I soon dropped that idea; it sounds pretty far-fetched to carry around your animals, and it would cost a lot to make everything animated like that.
Instead, the current game design revolves around static screens. You have a world map where new locations will be revealed continuously; at first you may only see your farm where you can watch your animals run around and play, and a nearby town where you can buy new goods, talk to people, or find items that are lying around. Talking to people and finding the correct items will eventually lead to other places, and the world will expand to show more people and items and even more locations. This is quite obviously derived from adventure games.
But all of the sudden something struck me: one thing that you always do in an adventure game is to look for items half-hidden in the background. Just like in the hidden object games. It may be an obvious connection to you, but for me it was slight shock realizing that a genre I love share features with a genre I cannot stand.
And the irony grows even more: just the other week I was asked if I’m pondering a hidden object game for my next project. “Not at all!” I replied. ….But I probably will end up with some hidden objects in my game. It kind of annoys me to think that when Wildhollow is finished there’s bound to be people comparing it to hidden object games, even though the inspiration comes from completely different places.
Since I’ve issued yet another press release regarding Spandex Force I might as well show it here as well. This regards the awesome Spandex Force photo contest that I’ve announced!
The actual press release follows:
To celebrate the upcoming release of the superhero-themed puzzle RPG Spandex Force, independent game developer KarjaSoft have announced a heroic photo contest.
Bring out your halloween costume and submit a photo of yourself dressed up as a superhero! Five copies of Spandex Force will be given to the funniest, most original and overall best entries. Extra credit will be given for inventive superhero names and an amusing background story for the hero. For more information and a couple of inspirational example photos, go to:
http://www.spandexforce.com/contest.php
“I couldn’t find any disgustingly tight spandex for the example photos,” laments Miro Karjalainen, owner of KarjaSoft. “But you can see me pose as Prince Harming and the Dubious Desperado at least.”
The last day to submit an entry is February 14, and winners will be announced on February 16.
Spandex Force is a tongue-in-cheek puzzle game with RPG elements, available for Windows and Mac. For screenshots and downloads of the beta version of Spandex Force, visit:
http://www.spandexforce.com
Come on - send me a picture at contest@karjasoft.com!
I’m sure you’re dying to know how people have reacted to the Spandex Force beta which was released recently. I sure am, at least! Or, I would be if I didn’t already know.
Overall, I must say that I’m pleased with the reception. I’ve received positive feedback, and people do seem to enjoy the game. Sales from the game’s webpage are up to what Sheeplings sold during six months; granted, I poured more into this second game, but it’s still going better than I thought. I wonder what will happen when I announce the proper release in a little while, along with a photo contest! (Intrigued? You should be. Stay tuned for more information!)
Other positive notes include that the game is mentioned on Gamershell, IGN, Gamespy and other news sites. Still no whisper about it on Gamespot, despite a press release I sent there, but maybe that will change after the real release. Other places have also picked up news about the game; for example Lesbian Gamers and Gay Gamer. Hmm… I wonder if it has something to do with the spandex?
As for feedback, most of what I’ve received comes from forums and e-mails. I won’t toot my own horn, but the concept seems to work very well, and the variation in the minigames works its magic for most people. But - as always - there’s just no pleasing everybody. Here is a list of user reviews, and Spandex Force has received both praise and scorn. And speaking of more scorn, here’s a scathing review from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. I was initially crushed until I started analysing the complaints and compared them to the positive feedback I’ve received. I’m first to admit that my game isn’t as “good” (subjective term of course) as Puzzle Quest; I don’t have the budget or the time for that amount of polish. But I’m not competing directly against Puzzle Quest either - I’m targeting another set of customers. Sure, there’s some overlap - myself for example! I like both casual games and hardcore RPGs. But while Puzzle Quest is aimed at the RPG crowd, my intention is to bring something exciting to the casual crowd instead.
I doubt that this is obvious, though, so I think I’ll have to be prepared for some bad reviews coming up comparing Spandex Force unfavourably to Puzzle Quest.
Back to more positive things, I received a request for a Linux version of the game, and I figured that it shouldn’t be much of a problem. True enough, I’ve done some initial testing and I think I can get it to run on Ubuntu at least. I’ll probably only support Ubuntu, and then have a “see if it works for you - good if it does” clause for other distributions. There’s no way I’m going to offer support for multiple distributions - Linux is simply too problematic. I don’t think I’ll actually gain much from having a Linux version either, but it’s a good learning experience at least. Incidentally, the person asking for a Linux version also mentioned that this game would fit well on Nintendo DS, and even supplied a hint about a publisher working with DS. I’ll see how the game is received after the release, but hey - who knows. Thinking about playing my own game on a DS almost makes me come. Not that you wanted to know that. And not that it’ll happen. But it sure would be nice…
Anyway, I’m feeling positive about the upcoming release. I’ve optimized the game a little, sorted out a Mac bug, received many suggestions for improvements, and the game is slowly coming together properly. The biggest thing left is to playtest the game thoroughly and balance it even more. I really hope people will be pleased about the game’s length - I anticipate that it’s well over 8 hours game play in it, and quite possibly more along the lines of dozens of hours. That may sound cool to you, but for me it sounds like damn hard work, playing through the whole game….again….and again.
The title is from my press release announcing that Spandex Force is officially in beta stage now. It’s been noted that this press release seems slightly confused. “Okay, the game is in beta and they [that is, I] would like to hear comments and suggestions what to do before the final release… But the game itself doesn’t mention much about being in beta state, and you can buy the game! What’s up with this?”
Well… I think the terminology has gotten a bit confused, and I’ve been forced to apply the beta label without much thought. First of all, I was only releasing test builds up to 0.4; people tested it and gave feedback. Not much more to that. But after 0.4 I decided to set up the order page, since a few people had expressed interest in purchasing the game. But lo and behold! It appears that when I accepted affiliates for Sheeplings I’d unthinkingly allowed some people to be affiliates for all my games - which meant that Spandex Force became available for them to sell as well!
One thing led to another, and before I knew it I was receiving traffic from a few sites; quite a few downloads in fact. That’s when I decided to release 0.5 - an in-between release that’s fully playable and corrects most issues - and decided to call it the official beta. I didn’t want people to believe that 0.4 or 0.5 was the final version of the game, so I decided to make a press release to state that there will come a newer version later. But of course, the game itself doesn’t care much about what label I’ve put on it - it just happily states its version number.
So I guess people who expected the game to be more opaque about being in “alpha,” “beta” or “final” are a tad confused.
Either way, the game is both in beta and for sale; I don’t see a conflict there. It’s playable and enjoyable to the end as it is, and those who buy the game now get the current full version as well as the final release once it’s done!
Game design is a strange beast. Yesterday I made build v0.4 of Spandex Force, my new puzzle/RPG/adventure game; it’s coming along very nicely, and with this release all main functionality is present. But after I’d finished the build I had a look at my notes from half a year ago, and early screenshots. The game is very much the same in spirit, but many design choices differ between my original drafts and the soon-to-be-finished product.
One important thing that differs is the scope. In the finished design, the player’s hero has just gotten a job as superhero of Vigilance Valley - a city troubled by minor crime and wacky super villains. In the original design I had planned a more involved process where the hero would start out as “city hero” and eventually graduate to “world hero.” This shift would be very visible: the city screen would feature minor villains and citizens in need, and the world globe would feature global threats and major super villains. This would have been interesting…but totally unnecessary. The game’s budget would’ve increased by a magnitude (well, maybe not; but it would have doubled at least) and the game would have taken months more to develop. I doubt that the benefits would have outweighed those consequences.
And speaking of scope, another thing that I was planning from the beginning was a more involved story inspired by Bildungromans. It would tell the story of how the hero grows from fledgling whippersnapper to responsible self-sacrificing hero. I had planned a structure where the first three episodes would be stand-alone, but then a subtle plot involving a villain trying to frame the hero would emerge. The hero would try to find out information through the following episodes, and eventually meet the ultimate villain in the next-to-last episode. Inspired by Watchmen, after our hero had beaten the villain he would explain to the hero that it’s too late anyway - the Evil Plan(TM) was already set into motion a long time ago. Our hero would race to stop the Evil Destructive Device(TM), only to discover that it’s too late to stop it. Panic! What to do! He would sacrifice himself to protect the city…and everything would go black.
…And had I had my own way, that would have been the end of the game. But, of course, I had to think of a happy ending. So I pondered a final episode after this, where the hero wakes up weak and sore, and supervillains whom he have already beaten have teamed up to take revenge on him in his weakened state. Almost like the fight-all-the-bosses-before-the-final-boss in the Mega Man games. It all would end in a heartwarming scene where the people of the city aid the hero and he defeats everyone. Yay!
But that’s not how things turned out. Instead, I chose a format where every episode is stand-alone, and there’s no on-going storyline in the game. “How dull,” you exclaim now, “that totally sucks!” From an artistic point of view: yes, this is the worse choice. But I think it will work better from a gaming point of view! The game focuses on easily accessible minigames, humour, and instant-get-in-the-game-ness. That approach conflicts with a deeper storyline; if nothing else, it becomes difficult to jump into the game if you’ve had a break for a few weeks. Instead I chose episodes that you can finish in about an hour (depending on the episode) and clearly defined sub-tasks within each episode. Each subtask only takes 15 minutes (or something like that), so you get constant updates on the episode’s plot.
Old concept showing the early city screen and some dialogue.
But there are other design issues on a lower level that differs between then and now. For one thing, at first I intended to make Spandex Force into a game that would have been much more of a Puzzle Quest clone. The current implementation has many strictly different puzzle mechanics: Catch ‘n Match, Slide ‘n Match, Shoot ‘n Match, Click ‘n Drag, mini-minigames…and last but not least, the two types of puzzle battles. But in my original notes I only planned on doing the puzzle battles - nothing else! I had thought of a system with slightly different game modes: standard, simultaneous, and so on, and the type of villain you fought against would decide which game mode it would be. Supervillains would have a very special mode; the villains would have the simultaneous mode; and the henchmen would have classic modes. But after some prototyping I quickly abandoned this game design. It wouldn’t have given enough variation, and the simultaneous mode was…too chaotic. Play Spandex Force and, when you come to a battle, imagine that you both perform your actions simultaneously instead of turn-based. Sure, it opens up to great things like stealing your opponent’s cascading matches…but it would be too action-oriented, and impossible to have a clear overview.
Old prototype of the puzzle battle game. Can you see which game I received inspiration from?
If things go well with the first game I just might implement a better simultaneous version in Spandex Force 2, though. 
And speaking of Spandex Force 2, here’s another thing I had to consider:
- If I made the game with a very large scope I would put all my eggs into one basket. If the game fails I will have lost a lot.
- However, if I choose restraint and lessen the scope, I can see how the game fares. If it does awfully and it’s because of the game design or the theme…then it’s not worth making a sequel. But if it does well I’ll gain a lot of feedback that I can use to implement an even better sequel.
- This sequel can then use many of the discarded options from the original design. For example, it can revolve around a global hero instead of a city-based one, and experiment with innovations to the minigames.
- Also, if the first game does well enough, I can implement something that I didn’t dare in the first game… Multiplayer! Puzzle battles online, where you can defeat other heroes and villains! I think this would be absolutely brilliant but I don’t have the resources to pull it off unless Spandex Force does reasonably well.
So, here’s to hoping that I can make Spandex Force 2 soon!
The stranger parts of the blogosphere is ablaze with anticipation for Ron Gilbert’s new game project: DeathSpank: Episode One: Orphans of Justice. You should be too. Why? Let me present the evidence…
- Ron Gilbert is the man behind Maniac Mansion and the first two Monkey Island games. Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island were utterly brilliant in every way. Thus, we can deduce that anything Ron Gilbert touches will be instantly turned into solid gold. Unless it’s fluids, in which case it might be turned into liquid gold. And, of course, as we know from the story of Midas, this means that Mr. Gilbert must be amazingly tough to survive despite all his food and drink turning into gold.
- If you read Gilbert’s announcement you’ll notice that he describes DeathSpank as “the perfect melding of a Monkey Island style adventure game with the wicked RPG game play of Diablo.” Sweet mother of fuck; this is going to better than the day I won the Nobel prize and saved the Olsen twins from a collapsing building!
- I have nothing else, but all good things come in three.
Seriously, I think this could be an amazing game. The combination of witty humour, old-style adventure gameplay, and Diablo RPG-ishness sounds better than anything I could possibly imagine. It all sounds so obvious when you look at it in hindsight: what can one do to make the addictive gameplay of Diablo even better? Add humour and adventure puzzles!
The only concern I have is whether or not this will be a successful venture, commercially. I’d love to see DeathSpank become a great success; then we might see more adventure-Diablo clones…but I feel pretty sceptical that the General Public(TM) will want a game like that in this day and age where gamers tend to move to either of the extremes: hardcore and casual games. I hope my fears are unfounded though, and that a game that mixes the best of both worlds will be well received.
Ξ December 20th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Games |
…And I’m all out of ass. Go watch the Duke Nukem Forever trailer. Do it right now!
http://kotaku.com/335793/duke-nukem-forever-teaser-trailer
If the game ever comes out it won’t be the best game ever, and it won’t be worth the 10 year wait, but I have a feeling it’s gonna be a complete riot to play. One of the comments on Kotaku says it best:
Who cares if its not the best looking game around, or doesn’t have feature X or feature Y. Its fucking Duke Nukem.
Amen.
Trivia of the day: did you know that - unlike many think - the line “it’s time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I’m all out of gum” is not from Army of Darkness…and that it isn’t an exact quote? The correct line is “I have come here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and I’m all out of gum”, and it’s from the movie They Live. Go watch that one as well.
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