Random happenings and unlikely situations

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?

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Windows Phone 7

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:

1. 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.
2. 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

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.

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