A platformer interspersed with evasive story snippets. I will undoubtedly buy this.
+:
A lovely soundscape. Chimes when enemies are struck, piano bgm and rain pouring down... the mood is pensive and thoughtful, making the story somehow meaningful.
-:
The 'movement' felt wrong initially with no acceleration to speak of, instant stops and little bounce after jumping on an enemy.
I was almost ready to write the game off when the trial first ended but I played it again and then - now understanding the 'darkness' mechanic and the ramnifications of the new rolling skill - a 3rd and 4th time, eventually managing to complete level 2 within the time limit.
Lesson: Carefully chosen sound and music can do wonders in setting a mood. I found the character's animation a little jerky but having the graphics all adhere to the same restrained mood gives the game a weight that made me more eager to retry it.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
XBIR: A Dreamland Chronicles Game
Pages from a webcomic, navigatable on your TV. Accompanied by a short quiz essentially testing your reading comprehension. Seems almost worthless, given that the comic is freely available online.
+:
The comic itself seems good.
-:
The format seems completely unsuited to displaying the comic. Scott McCloud once mentioned that folk should be making webcomics in landscape orientation to fit a screen better. On a TV with lower resolution, the problem is exarcerbated. The controls to zoom, move and 'quick-move' the page offer nearly all the navigation I could have hoped for (though I would have preferred 'quick move' to jump a screen rather than to the extremities) but in the end, it's still a square peg/round hole.
The fact that this is a free webcomic me wonder if this app was ever really meant to make money or if it was just meant as a marketing exercise to draw people in. In my case, it's been a success at drawing in a new reader.
LESSON:
Maybe not every game is meant to make money?
Or maybe that adapting something to a new medium takes a lot of work and it might even be simpler to rebuild it from the ground up.
+:
The comic itself seems good.
-:
The format seems completely unsuited to displaying the comic. Scott McCloud once mentioned that folk should be making webcomics in landscape orientation to fit a screen better. On a TV with lower resolution, the problem is exarcerbated. The controls to zoom, move and 'quick-move' the page offer nearly all the navigation I could have hoped for (though I would have preferred 'quick move' to jump a screen rather than to the extremities) but in the end, it's still a square peg/round hole.
The fact that this is a free webcomic me wonder if this app was ever really meant to make money or if it was just meant as a marketing exercise to draw people in. In my case, it's been a success at drawing in a new reader.
LESSON:
Maybe not every game is meant to make money?
Or maybe that adapting something to a new medium takes a lot of work and it might even be simpler to rebuild it from the ground up.
Monday, 10 May 2010
XBIR: A Bomb's Way
A platformer. Collect objects in each stage whilst avoiding enemies to progress. Collect objects in a certain order for bonus points. The world can be rotated into one of 4 orientations.
+:
Rotating the world is an unusual ability. It's always empowering to be able to do things in a virtual environment that you can't in real life, whether it be rewinding time, jumping 20metres or rotating the world. Though the ability isn't used to create puzzles, it is used to turn the single-screen levels into a more interesting playground, with more possible paths to take.
-:
Random movement. I don't think the RNG is needed in this game. There were certainly times when a flying critter just lurked around a group of objects, rendering them unattainable, until the timer ran out.
Attained a score of 2,200ish once I finally understood how we're meant to know the 'correct' order in which to collect items. I enjoyed it and would have bought it if it wasn't for the random enemy movement. That just caused loads of frustration.
Lesson:
Don't use random numbers unless their presence has been considered. No-one likes dying because of what they perceive as an unfair situation.
+:
Rotating the world is an unusual ability. It's always empowering to be able to do things in a virtual environment that you can't in real life, whether it be rewinding time, jumping 20metres or rotating the world. Though the ability isn't used to create puzzles, it is used to turn the single-screen levels into a more interesting playground, with more possible paths to take.
-:
Random movement. I don't think the RNG is needed in this game. There were certainly times when a flying critter just lurked around a group of objects, rendering them unattainable, until the timer ran out.
Attained a score of 2,200ish once I finally understood how we're meant to know the 'correct' order in which to collect items. I enjoyed it and would have bought it if it wasn't for the random enemy movement. That just caused loads of frustration.
Lesson:
Don't use random numbers unless their presence has been considered. No-one likes dying because of what they perceive as an unfair situation.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
XBIR: 3D Infinity
Whilst a ship flies through a series of tunnels, we move it on a 2D plane, avoiding hazards and shooting enemies for points.
+:
Focus. There's something lovely about a game that only has one play mode; only one level. Given the score-based nature and the memorisation required, a single level - which you will be replaying the first few minutes of repeatedly, learning the best paths and constantly beating your high score - works far better than having multiple.
-:
Lack of a decent high-score table. 10 lines, showing your previous bests. Is that so much to ask?
-:
I found the signalling (of what would hurt you and which part of the screen it would end up) really poor. Given the constant 'camera' twists and turns, the only way to know which orientation you will reach a pole at is to either predict the camera correctly or to memorise it based on past failures. 2-3 minutes in, a blue 'E' appears that I failed to pick up on 3 attempts, certain I passed straight through it. On the 4th I miraculously picked it up. You can't move around the periphery of the screen and when combined with the camera movements, there are a few times when it's unclear whether we must pass over or under an obstacle.
The game is entertaining and contains some visceral thrills. When playing though, I feel like I'm constantly getting annoyed at it. Though the constant twists etc. add some graphical excitement, in the end I feel they detract from the game.
Lesson:
Pauses in the action can work as well as pauses between notes in music. There are some tunnels devoid of action that last a few seconds. Though initially annoyed at this, I now think that they add to the fun - offering a valuable respite and avoiding overloading.
I suppose a straight on a racing track is much the same, in a way.
+:
Focus. There's something lovely about a game that only has one play mode; only one level. Given the score-based nature and the memorisation required, a single level - which you will be replaying the first few minutes of repeatedly, learning the best paths and constantly beating your high score - works far better than having multiple.
-:
Lack of a decent high-score table. 10 lines, showing your previous bests. Is that so much to ask?
-:
I found the signalling (of what would hurt you and which part of the screen it would end up) really poor. Given the constant 'camera' twists and turns, the only way to know which orientation you will reach a pole at is to either predict the camera correctly or to memorise it based on past failures. 2-3 minutes in, a blue 'E' appears that I failed to pick up on 3 attempts, certain I passed straight through it. On the 4th I miraculously picked it up. You can't move around the periphery of the screen and when combined with the camera movements, there are a few times when it's unclear whether we must pass over or under an obstacle.
The game is entertaining and contains some visceral thrills. When playing though, I feel like I'm constantly getting annoyed at it. Though the constant twists etc. add some graphical excitement, in the end I feel they detract from the game.
Lesson:
Pauses in the action can work as well as pauses between notes in music. There are some tunnels devoid of action that last a few seconds. Though initially annoyed at this, I now think that they add to the fun - offering a valuable respite and avoiding overloading.
I suppose a straight on a racing track is much the same, in a way.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
XBIR: 360 Mega App Pack HD
'Rumble Massage', calculator, simon game, button masher, 'Fortune teller', calculator, a clock an RNG and a game that you need to buy to try.
+:
In 'Shiatsu' mode, the controller surprisingly good on my belly or back.
-:
I've never understood why someone would want an alarm clock or a calculator on your 360. Considering the time it takes to start the game and other inconveniences, a calculator on a PC (failing a 'real' calculator) seems insurmountably more practical.
I suppose there's a larger question as to whether the concept of a 'rumble massage' is worth buying into. Not really as good as a human hand at massaging the points that matter like the neck, it has its own qualities - namely the frequency of vibration - that are irreproducible by humans. In any case, this isn't the sort of thing I'm personally interested in.
LESSON:
Some things can be surprisingly enjoyable.
+:
In 'Shiatsu' mode, the controller surprisingly good on my belly or back.
-:
I've never understood why someone would want an alarm clock or a calculator on your 360. Considering the time it takes to start the game and other inconveniences, a calculator on a PC (failing a 'real' calculator) seems insurmountably more practical.
I suppose there's a larger question as to whether the concept of a 'rumble massage' is worth buying into. Not really as good as a human hand at massaging the points that matter like the neck, it has its own qualities - namely the frequency of vibration - that are irreproducible by humans. In any case, this isn't the sort of thing I'm personally interested in.
LESSON:
Some things can be surprisingly enjoyable.
Friday, 7 May 2010
XBIR: 2win Ghost
The console equivalent of a 'Mouse Game' with 2 characters. Each is constantly falling, will cause you to fail the level if it touches certain obstacles and is controlled by one of the 2 analogue sticks.
+:
Instantly intriguing concept. I was looking forward to what this new twist would engender.
+:
Reapers say 'OOOOOoooooooOOO yeah'. I found this funny and cute.
-:
A massive difficulty spike in the final level of the demo - both characters must be passed through a small gap. An easily implemented form of difficulty, it's challenging but not particularly interesting. And the difficulty doesn't match the cute graphics.
-:
In the levels available, the idea is never really taken advantage of.
-:
The hearts (collectibles) are never explained. Are they even counted? Does collecting them actually give any advantage?
I wish this game were pushed a little further - that the designer had actually followed through with some of the possibilities. Seems half-baked and not worth playing if you only want to play good games.
Lesson:
When making a game with a twist, let the challenges come from the new space the twist creates - not just the same old challenges.
+:
Instantly intriguing concept. I was looking forward to what this new twist would engender.
+:
Reapers say 'OOOOOoooooooOOO yeah'. I found this funny and cute.
-:
A massive difficulty spike in the final level of the demo - both characters must be passed through a small gap. An easily implemented form of difficulty, it's challenging but not particularly interesting. And the difficulty doesn't match the cute graphics.
-:
In the levels available, the idea is never really taken advantage of.
-:
The hearts (collectibles) are never explained. Are they even counted? Does collecting them actually give any advantage?
I wish this game were pushed a little further - that the designer had actually followed through with some of the possibilities. Seems half-baked and not worth playing if you only want to play good games.
Lesson:
When making a game with a twist, let the challenges come from the new space the twist creates - not just the same old challenges.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
XBIR: 2176 Supernova Storm
Another 'Asteroids turned into a Deathmatch' game.
+:
Clear signals - controller rumbling a warning each time you're hit.
-:
The skills it seems to mainly test (calculating the correct angle to rotate the ship to to land your shots) is exactly the sort of thing that I don't find massively fun and that computers will always be better at.
-:
The powerups you can collect seem to encourage 'turtling' and are an annoying form of positive feedback.
-:
At many points of the map, with dark bg and dark foreground objects (with only a small rimlight), crashing into rocks or failing to see your ship when it respawns are the rule rather than the exception.
This is the sort of game that I might play for far longer than I ought to - trying to work out what I'm missing. Well, after 22 minutes, I think I can say that if I haven't found the fun yet, the game shouldn't be hiding it so much.
LESSON: Don't add extra elements until the basics work.
+:
Clear signals - controller rumbling a warning each time you're hit.
-:
The skills it seems to mainly test (calculating the correct angle to rotate the ship to to land your shots) is exactly the sort of thing that I don't find massively fun and that computers will always be better at.
-:
The powerups you can collect seem to encourage 'turtling' and are an annoying form of positive feedback.
-:
At many points of the map, with dark bg and dark foreground objects (with only a small rimlight), crashing into rocks or failing to see your ship when it respawns are the rule rather than the exception.
This is the sort of game that I might play for far longer than I ought to - trying to work out what I'm missing. Well, after 22 minutes, I think I can say that if I haven't found the fun yet, the game shouldn't be hiding it so much.
LESSON: Don't add extra elements until the basics work.
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