latestEvolution

Random happenings and unlikely situations

2010-07-29T00:15:39Z

One thing i hate when i'm playing a game is being lost; this isn't because i dislike exploration, but because it's not always easy to tell what the player can and cannot interact with. Because of this fact, exploration and problem solving are sometimes difficult to tackle. It seems that lately some games have taken a rather overzealous approach toward combating this problem. So much so that i think Zack Hiwiller's interpretation of Mario: 2010 might not be too far off...

That said this post isn't really about the fine line between lending the player a helping hand and taking the player by the hand. Instead it's about questioning the opposite scenario: what would a game that embraces random happenings and unlikely situations be like?

Boss fights... ಠ_ಠ

2010-07-21T05:36:47Z

Difficulty is a very difficult thing to tune; especially for a developer who, by the end of the project, has played their game to death and back again. And though some games have difficulty problems throughout the entire game, most games (that i finish) only let this problem show a select few times. During boss fights.

Boss fights, by their very nature, should be epic. When i finish one i want to feel great, like i've defeated my nemesis. I want to feel like i've overcome great odds to beat a foe whose pure strength was greater than mine, but whose mind obviously wasn't. I don't want to feel like i just beat i small child wearing full plate. And i certainly don't want to feel like i got lucky on my 5th or 6th try. I want to die.... but only one time!

Windows Phone 7

2010-06-10T05:26:02Z

My cell contract expired recently, so i've been looking at phones for the last couple weeks. After researching all the new options, i decided it was finally time for me to get a smart phone. Right about this time i also started thinking about mobile game development; and after looking at iOS4, Android 2.2 and Windows Phone 7 i've found that (as far as development is concerned) i'm most excited about WP7.

I'll try to keep this short.

I'm excited about WP7 for two main reasons:

XNA -- If you've ever looked into XBLA development, you've probably heard of XNA; it's a framework built on top of Visual C# that simplifies development for Xbox 360, Windows, Zune and now Windows Phone 7.
Brand new marketplace -- While lack of backwards compatibility might not be ideal for users, it's potentially great for developers. Put an application on an Android or iPhone and you're competing with thousands upon thousands of other apps. Simply put WP7 gives developers heightened visibility with less direct competition.

My solar system

2010-03-06T23:16:42Z

I found a pretty interesting flash solar system simulator recently called My Solar System. It's hosted by the University of Colorado and supports up to 4 objects at a time. Perhaps i'm a bit burnt out from some of the more epic battles in Shining Force, but playing around with masses and velocities has got me thinking about why i'm actually having fun playing around with mass and velocity!

Warning: i've always been a sucker for simulations that involve creating stuff, so if you have never enjoyed things like building houses in The Sims or coasters in Roller Coaster Tycoon.... you might find the rest of this post very lame.

Lag by design

2010-01-31T02:05:56Z

I listened to a program on NPR's Krulwich on Science podcast recently that i thought was pretty interesting. The program, entitled The Secret Advantage Of Being Short, discussed research going on that suggests different people experience the world with different lag which is tied (in some ways) to your height!

Help is on the way!

2010-01-17T01:29:08Z

Recently, i've been hearing a lot about the earthquake that devastated Haiti last Tuesday. And though it seems some people have a lot to say about the indecent, i have kept pretty silent...there are some things that i simply have a difficult time giving words to. That said, i am very glad others have been able to talk about it. Specifically, i am very impressed with Bungie and PopCap's response.

PopCap has announced that today (Saturday, January 16th), PopCap will donate everything you spend on PopCap.com to help the earthquake recovery efforts in Haiti.

Similarly, Bungie has a special edition of their Superintendent tee whose proceeds will go directly to the American Red Cross.

Even more impressive though, is Bungie's pledge to donate $100 per 1000 people who play Halo multiplayer from 00:01AM PST Wednesday, 1/20, through 23:59PM PST Thursday 1/21. To participate all you have to do is wear a custom circle and heart emblem like the ones pictured.

Hopefully i'll see you online!

Help is on the way! [PopCap]
Be a Hero! [Bungie.net]

Koopa Troopa Guitar

2010-01-01T00:43:47Z

Being a fan of music, games and music-games i was pretty excited when i saw this guitar on Reddit earlier. I'm almost at a loss for words...whomever made this obviously spent a lot of time and effort on it.

Thanks for sharing these pictures Virtute! Be sure to let your friend know i think he did an aweseome job.

I'm hoping he's a lefty or perhaps he's a little disappointed right now.

Castle Age

2009-12-20T08:15:36Z

Recently, i started playing Castle Age on Facebook. This was the first Facebook game i had ever played, so i wasn't quite sure what to expect going in. Generally, i've been pretty impressed with the game. I'd be lying if i said game play involved much more than clicking on different buttons, but it's still fun to play with friends that don't live as close as they used to. Moreover, a variety of "battle" types, items and almost weekly updates keeps things pretty interesting.

It's that time of year

2009-12-19T15:41:25Z

Child's Play is a charity started by Penny Arcade back in 2003. It's purpose is to donate games, toys and books to children in hospitals all over the world.

I've been giving to this charity for the past few years and i think it's pretty cool how successful they have been. It's nice to know that by giving to a good cause i am also helping to show people that games and gamers aren't all about violence.

This year, i'll also be donating in my parents names since they're becoming more difficult to shop for now that they're retired. Just a thought for any other last minute shoppers!

Teaching Players to Play

2009-11-14T23:17:56Z

The October issue of Game Developer Magazine featured an article describing different methods a designer can use to teach the player how to play their game. This includes methods as heavy handed as paused-play tutorials and as passive as control hints injected into dialog. Being both a designer and a gamer who usually hates the learning period of games, i found this article quite interesting.

One area i think this article left relatively untouched was how good games keep the player from forgetting the mechanics they have learned. While this isn't exactly what the original article was about, i think it's just as important.