Smart Art

I have finally finished my second game, a RPG version of the PS1 version of Metal Gear Solid. It was quite hard to focus on (as I mentioned in my previous post) but I finally got there. 

The game was a little short. If you knew what you were doing you could get through in about ten minutes.For the length of the development time against the length of the game time, I was a little disappointed. However looking at it objectively with the relatively small game world and the creation of tile sets the development time would be more economical with a larger game world. 

The game is complete though and I was relatively happy with the quality of the work.

Onto the next project!

I have a game about pirates in the pipeline and I have written a draft of the script and really gone to town on character development. I want to leave this game until I can do the concept justice. So I have a small project to do about a little boy lost in a mythical land. Original I know!

The big difference with this game was the art style. Instead of "realistic" graphics I have decided to do the graphics based on sketches in a book. Think the map in Lord Of The Rings. This minimalist style will fit in with my minimal skill level. Hopefully this will work and not look too confusing.

Back to the drawing board!

Hocus Focus!

I am currently finishing off my second project with RPG Maker VX Ace. It is a RPG version of Metal Gear Solid. I have endeavoured to do the graphics in the game myself instead of relying on the standard tile sets and graphics.

This lead me to my first problem as I have had to learn how to use the open source image editing program GIMP to do the graphics as Paint (which I am most familiar with) does not support layers. After I had learnt how to use it, it was plain sailing.

I have cheated a little and used the concept art of the enemy troopers instead of drawing them myself. But the backgrounds and tile sets were all created by me.

While knee deep in learning the intricacies of RPG Maker VX Ace and Gimp I am hitting a small issue. I am finding it hard to focus on one game at a time.

I seem to have loads of ideas for a game and really develop them into workable concepts but I get easily side tracked with new ideas. The problem being that I would rather do the more creative stuff than fiddle around fine tweaking technical issues. 

I'm not a finisher. I have alot of good ideas but very little follow through. My teacher told me this when I was seven so it must be true. I am determined to do this though. Perhaps setting goals and milestone might get me to be more productive.

I have decided not to start anything new until I have finished my current project absolutely 100%. I need to stick to this rule or I'll end up with a stack of half-finished projects.

So you wanna make a game?

I have always wanted to work in games. I have had a history of education in computer science but didn't like doing the boring stuff. My degree didn't include any game related stuff so I never pursued a career in games. Well until this week that is.

I listened to the Games Radar podcast from a little while ago named "How to Make a Video Game" with the guest Matt Hackett. He is an independent game developer and had a lot to say on how to get into the games industry. The main thing that stuck with me is that sentiment that "Games companies don't like people who can do things, they like people who do do things".

Having a basic knowledge of coding and scripting but not enough to make a game without learning a massive amount of technique, I had a look at various game making software packages, the most famous one being game maker. The indie game Spelunky was created with game maker so I knew there was some real potential to work with.

However I have recently played the game Cuthlu Saves the World. Based on HG Lovecraft lore the game is a well written parody lampooning traditional game clichés. Now I might not be brilliant at coding but I can write a half decent script so I could see that this was up my street. To The Moon was also created using this software. After a look at some other options I downloaded the trial version of RPG Maker Ace.

I decided to make a simple game utilizing the in game resources provided. Consisting of a small world map and a couple of small dungeons I created a game called "Vampire Winter". It took about a week's worth of evenings but I had a working game. It was quite fiddly to get the hang of but there are an absolute ton of resources and tutorials on-line both official and user made.

The game has a simple over-world map with a couple of locations and a final dungeon. I put in a couple of NPCs and a trader. I also added a trader with a small supply of weapons and potions. I put themed mobs in the different areas, for example spiders in the woods and werewolves near the final dungeon. The boss was in a castle and had a bit of dialogue with the player controlled characters before proceeding to fight.

All very simple and to be honest more of a learning exercise than anything. I feel that I have the groundings of the tools and I'm getting the hang of how to do some fancier things with it.

This is always something I have wanted to do and I'm glad I've got myself finally motivated enough to do something about it. I would eventually want to get a game onto X-Box Indie Games as a target but this is very far off. First things first, I need to make a game and that means a whole lot of work. Watch this space!

Morals, schmorals.

So I'm playing Mass Effect 3. There were two main points that I got from the game. One amazing and one annoying.

The first point is the annoying one. That damn galactic readiness really got my goat. I played a little on-line and bumped up my readiness. All was good. That was until I noticed my readiness had dropped down. One quick Google search and I found out that it dropped down every time I turned on the game.
I understand that this was to get the on-line community playing regularly but unfortunately it had the opposite effect with me. I didn't want to play unless I could really bump up my readiness on-line in a long session, not the thirty minutes to an hour I can usually fit in. The way it was all tied in was good and the on-line game is excellent but I didn't want to destroy my chances of getting a good ending without playing a game on-line. To be honest it is only a small sticking point in an otherwise excellent game.

The second point is the amazing one. I've dutifully played as a paragon all through the series. I've always tried to do the right thing. I saved Wrex on the first game, stopped the young man joining the mercenaries in the second game and generally been a great guy. Now I've hit a part of the game where the Geth and the Quarians are at each others throats and you have the choice to side with one or the other and are chosen to wipe out a whole species. A WHOLE SPECIES!
I honestly didn't know what to to and sat staring at the screen trying to figure out a way to keep both alive. Realising I couldn't, I was tried to justify one over the other and came up with nothing. I didn't have the option to solve the situation and let them work together because I hadn't done a certain mission so I had no choice but to make a choice. I went for one in the end and it stayed with me through the rest of the day. I questioned myself over and over and felt truly guilty about the choice I made.
No other medium has made me this emotional. I've watched films and read books that have made me question the character's motives and ideals but Mass Effect 3 made me question mine. It blew my mind and made other games such as Bioshock or Grand theft Auto 4 that attempt to force moral choices pale in comparison. Maybe it was the fact I wasn't as emotionally invested in the nameless guy in Bioshock or Niko Bellic as I was in a Shepard that I had spent 90 hours making choices and shaping the character.
When choices in games are done right it is profound. The fact that video games can make me feel like this is a testament to the power that the creative video games have and how more powerful than other platforms they can potentially be.

Cheater, Cheater. Compulsive Eater

I'm dead against cheating. Be it in a multiplayer or or a single player experience.
I do tend to use a guide if I'm stuck. Good game design can negate this as more often then not as it is because I don't know where to go or it's not clear what to do. Rarely I've used a guide just to get through a game if it has taken me quite a while, such as the original Mass Effect because I had both sequels ready to go.
I really regret using a guide to finish Braid because it somewhat tarnished the completion of the game. However this made me get through Portal without using any guides or YouTube clips at all.
aThere was once a game of Zombies which I was in that got to a mid thirties round using glitches but it was so unrewarding and boring I would jump out of a game if people wanted to use glitches. Which at one point was most of the players.
Some single player cheats take the fun out of a game. The Riddler challenges in Arkham City wouldn't be as rewarding if you could just cheat your way through. Even games from the 8 bit era which were worryingly hard felt hollow when cheating.
When it's time to use a guide or any kind of hack or cheat then that's down to the individual concerned. There is nothing wrong with that as long as it doesn't harm the actions of other players (for example in a multiplayer) game then that's fine. It is down to you and whether you can genuinely enjoy an experience if you are just running through just to get through.

Achievement Unlocked 10G

I'll come out and admit it. I am a total achievement whore. Maybe not in the same league as someone who has bought NHL 6k but it's been on my watch list on E bay more than once.
I'm don't generally 100% a game but if there is a nice juicy achievement on the table I'll try and go that extra mile. I'll even go back and revisit older games I've completed if I've read up on them and I can get a few more achievement points.
Gamers often bemoan the lack of value in current games but features that add value like achievements do can only be a good thing. At worst it's a bit of annoying thing to pop up on a play through of a game but that is a feature that can be turned off. At best well designed achievements can add a a massive amount onto  a games lifespan.
I really like the way that achievements and trophies can allow the developers of a game to be more creative. I would have never glided as far as I did using my cape in Arkham Asylum without achievements. I wouldn't have played through Lollipop Chainsaw twice to get the best ending or completed Marvel Vs Capcom 3 with every character. it not only stretches the player but the developer can show off little bit of greatness that maybe overlooked in a main story arc. I probably wouldn't have played Minecraft for as long as I did with being pulled along by the carrot of achievements.It even makes mundane things like "kill X amount of Y" quests to seem not so much of a grind when you get a nice shiny reward.
I genuinely miss achievements when I play on my 3DS and doing that extra bit of work in a game sometimes feels like a wasted effort.
Achievements have polarised me towards my 360, maybe it's because I have more gamer friends on Xbox live or because my PS3 decided to wipe it's hard drive. I'll generally buy the Xbox version over a PS3 just so it bumps up my achievement score. It is a simple point system which makes it easier to understand than trophies but I still have that proud moment when I got a platinum trophy for Fallout 3. The fact I bought some DLC and my completion went down to 50% didn't help but I still had that shiny platinum trophy.
They also bring back a nostalgic flavour of high scores that has drifted away in the last ten years or so. Maybe it's competitive beast trying to get out of me but I love comparing my achievements with my friends for bragging rights.
They are one of the most important innovations to happen this generation and nothing beats the Pavlovian response of pure joy when you hear that little "blip" and the text block pops up. I hope that the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo see the importance of the achievements and the like and embrace them for the next generation of consoles.

Everyone Loves A Quickie

Leaping over a zombie's slavering jaws, stunning enemies with pom poms and decapitating them to release glorious rainbows. All said I was quite taken by Lollipop Chainsaw. The combat lacked the finesse of  Arkham City or brutality of the God Of War series but this was offset by the Buffy on steroids main character and fantastic knowing, quirky style was fantastic. 
I had been chopping up zombies for a good fifty minutes but had to leave the house. I hadn't seen a save point yet so I went to the pause menu, but no save. I foolishly assumed that it would save at checkpoints and exited my game. Unfortunately after restarting it I was staring at a cut scene from the start of the level. No chance to go back. So I lost nearly an hour of precious game time.
To rub insult to injury I looked on the Internet and found out I was only ten minutes from the end of the level.
I think that games with long play times times definitely have a place especially with story driven games but with today's technology a few more save points wouldn't hurt. Obviously there are memory constraints but if Fallout 3 can keep up four years ago then surely today's games should be fine.
Living in a household with a single telly where not everyone plays games long gaps between saves can cause problems. As a man who lives with his girlfriend can testify, Corrie waits for no man.

Minecraft Mistakes

Minecraft on a console?
Yes I'm late to the party, but dammit I'm not a PC gamer. The creature that is Minecraft has dug it's claws into my body and laid little eggs of happiness under my skin.
I have always loved creative games. From playing around with level editors for the original Red Alert (back when I was a PC gamer) to recently making levels on Little Big Planet. Even little things that we take for granted like character editors or customising load outs, I would spend hours obssesing over.
The unfortunate thing is that console games have never really  given me the ability to scratch that creative itch until I downloaded the 360 version of Minecraft.
It's the massive lego kit I've been dreaming of.
I had loads of fun making a tower to live in. I dug long winding tunnels that snaked under the landscape. I enjoyed getting most of the achiements even though it took ages to get enough iron to make 500 meteres of track. I even made a portal to The Nether in my basement. I'd hit a nice place in the game and wanted to start making fancier and impressive structures. I felt like king of my world.
I then made the big mistake of looking for ideas online.
If you want to feel like everything you've ever done in the game is boring, simple and crude just type Minecraft into youtube.
I had the same problem comparing my simple Little Big Planet levels with the cream of the crop of user generated content online.
I get that these massive amazing structures are time consuming projects but I can't spend hundreds of hours making these creations. Therein lies the rub with user-generated content. Someone can always spend longer or I hate to say it be a bit more talented and make a city sized  masterpiece compared to the weekend you wasted building a poor man's Canary Wharf. 
But the one thing that made me carry on is it might not be amazing but it's mine. After I got over the fact I'll never make an underwater super city. I got back into it and I made some 70 foot tall pictures of 8bit  sprites that flexed my creative muscles and this set me off again.
Don't be jealous of people with too much time on their hands. Just be proud of what you do, add it to the on-line pile and improve on what you did.  Oh and don't look at YouTube.

Careful What You Wish For......

So it's finally happened. After years and years of gamers complaining about the yearly franchise model for sports games and how it would be easier just to download an update for a an existing game. EA have released a premium price DLC instead of a  new summer tournament FIFA game. Unfortunately it hasn't been met with an entirely positive reception.
There have been complaints about the lack of new features. But without the pressures of creating a new game and having to deliver new content the publishers may have thought all people really want is a updated roster and fancy new kits.
The price has also been condemned (costing £19.99 or 1800 points depending on your poison). I hate to get on the side of these so called greedy publishers but come on, who thought it was going to be super cheap. The licenses cost an immense amount and that cost is always going to get passed onto the end consumer.
Companies need to make money and a massive update for a massive franchise was never going to be a small purchase. Hell, you have to go out of your way to get an indie game for less than 1200 points now. The potential niche of Euro 2012 game is also a point that shouldn't be overlooked."But football is the biggest sport in the world!" you may cry. But it's not. With Olympic year rolling round (especially in the UK with the games being based in London) erstwhile football fans may be tempted away from their impulse purchase of a football game with I dunno something with Jessica Ennis plastered across it.
It's interesting that EA have dipped their toe in the water and I hope that the numbers work out because I think this a really good model for these sorts of annual games. The possibility of just summer tournaments being released as large updates could be a turning point for the annual sports series is an exciting prospect and on which could defiantly kick start the digital distribution of full games.

Why Games shouldn't have boob jobs.

I got into the Halo series a little bit late. I got Halo 3 on the cheap for the X-Box and had an excellent time. So I went and bought ODST and really enjoyed that even with all the weird flash back plot. I grabbed the special Edition of Halo: Reach and really got into that. It became my on-line shooter of choice for six months. Having just played Halo: Anniversary Edition, I've come to the conclusion that I don't like H.D. remakes. 

I didn't mind at first, I loved the lush graphics marvelling how far we'd come with every stab of the select button. I started to get into the story and was itching to know how it played out. 

Then an hour or so in, like an ageing Hollywood star with a few wrinkles it started to show it's age. The Ghost couldn't boost which ruined my main tactic of running over grunts when faced with a group of Covenant. The corridors of the Covenant ship were long and windy and it felt like a decade old game no matter how gorgeous it's visuals were. It was was the little things that really showed it up.

Now I think that 343 Industries have shown a remarkable amount of respect towards the franchise and this was obviously a stepping stone to show they can do great work before they make Halo 4. Maybe it would have been a poisoned chalice to mess with a such a revered game and they didn't want to risk the wrath of the Internet forums by changing it. But they could just ironed out the wrinkles maybe done a bit of a directors cut and put in some of the features of the newer games in the series. I would have much preferred that to bumping up the graphics to eleven.

This experience put me off getting The Metal Gear H.D. collection because that is a franchise I love and I don't want to sully my admittedly rose tinted memories of it. 

I do love older games and I think that certain games will always hold up.. We have medium that is more than just looks. I spent an whole day completing every level in Super Mario 3 on the NES a few weeks ago. It's game play still holds up and the graphics although simple are still clean and cartoonish enough to work. I also got a bargain bin copy of Zone Of The Enders on the PS2 and smashed through that in short order.

So I think that games shouldn't have boob jobs. I think we should appreciate the ones we love in all their gorgeous sagging glory.