Gamer Grow

Special thanks to Nick Bakewell for jamming out on his real guitar, and Jrhee for reminding me to make the video. Check out the small version over to the right!

Games have become increasingly flashy and cluttered with special effects, numerous enemies, bombastic sound, and poor representation of these elements in the overall balance of the gaming experience. It is obvious that games don't have to be this way, and, if you trace the history of gaming from before we had controllers and computer processors, you'll find that games thrive on simplicity, straightforwardness, and elements that clearly communicate their function and rules. Such values I privilege in my assessments of videogames. After all, at the end of the day, if you have two equally fun, challenging, and deep games but one has a high learning curve that involves hours of play before the player can begin to train their eyes to sift through the gallimaufry of graphics, and the other is so cleanly presented that even those who aren't into gaming at all can watch you play and not only understand what's going on but offer helpful comments and/or advise, then it is clear t...

In an article at 1up.com called " So You Want to Make a Game " several indie developers are interviewed about their craft. I lifted a few quotes from the articles that fall in line with the approach I'm taking with my games and that support the kind of critical-thinking we do here on the blog. Go find the mechanic at the heart of a favorite title It's important to start a game off at the core by thinking about the core mechanic. For Desktop, Preece created a game based solely on the real-time strategy genre's "mazing" mechanic -- forcing units down a path of destruction -- and banning any feature that didn't interact with that primary mechanic . Preece's approach to game developing involves focusing solely on the primary mechanic/function of his game. Mario is like that. There's already some interesting things about Mario when you're just moving him around. He's got a bit of inertia. If you hold the jump button, he'll jump a litt...

In this podcast we, my brother and I, talk about Everday Shooter and GuitaRPG. The show also features a "special guest." As I promised there is a new design challenge ready and waiting for all of you to tackle. DOWNLOAD CRITICAL-CASTS #5 HERE I'll have the latest GuitaRPG demo and the Design Challenge post up soon. Show Notes: Mass Effect Review on the blog Everyday Shooter Website Geometry Wars IGN: Ikaruga Design Challenge #3: Spoony Bard IGN: Glory Days 2 We out.

Take your favorite RPG (or any RPG) and describe an element from that game (battle system, menus, story, scenario, etc.). Tell what it is, why you like it, and try to comment on how that idea can be combined with music and incorporated into GuitaRPG. Ex. Fire 1, 2, & 3 Final Fantasy Series Magical Spells. Collecting a wide variety of spells many of which increase in power. Each spell in GuitaRPG could be a small musical riff/phrase that can be used by executing a specific button combination. The resulting sound of music will correspond to the "spell" in one way or another. Perhaps Fire 1, 2, & 3 would be a rock guitar riff that increases in difficulty as your fingers burn their way across the "frets." Feel free to post as many ideas as you want with as detail of RPG stories as you want from your past. Kangaeru ne (Think about it)

If you listened to the latest podcast, you know that I've been mulling over how to approach solidifying the level design for GuitaRPG. Here's a short list of all the elements I've been tossing around... Enemies How they move How they attack How the represent music How music is made through their interaction with the player Player How to have 4 players without them crowding each other How the player moves considering the limitation of the Guitar Hero controller Coordinating moving/music/and attacking HUD power meters combo meters roulettes and other notifications RPG stuff Turned based/Real time Random Battles world map/dungeon map/battle area How all these elements work with music Well now I have the answer. In my head at this moment, I'm battling in GuitaRPG and I'm having a blast. I know that doesn't mean much for you guys because you can't play what I'm thinking. I'll surely get to work pumping out a demo of my mind. In the meantime, let me just s...

Charlie Wilson's Advance Wars (referred to as CWAW from here forward) is the name of a game that is built into a sort of matchmaking service using the online muliplayer functionality of Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. This game merges elements from the turnbased strategy, ARG (alternate reality game), and communication genres of videogames. Inspired by the major motion picture Charlie Wilson's War, CWAW creates an environment where politics, money, and power is free to circulate between the involved players, and a world where one player can covertly turn the tables of a war. In order for such an elaborate set up to function, the necessary elements of war and politics must be set. These include choosing sides, picking one's battles, and obtaining and distributing wealth of any kind. Choosing Sides: CWAW can function optimally with 10 participants. Though the engine can support more than two warring factions, for the purposes of this write up I'll keep things simple by onl...