Phase

Phase is a music game for the iPod. It presents the player with a Guitar Hero-like interface. Markers move down the screen in three columns and the player must press either left or right on the click wheel or the centre button as they reach the bottom of the screen. There are also ‘sweeps’ which require the player to shift from button pressing to using the click wheel as they would for scrolling through the iPod. It’s a solid adaptation of the iPod’s controls, even if it does nothing to imply any general suitability for gaming.

Like Vib Ribbon, Phase constructs its stages from your music collection. Tracks placed in a special playlist in iTunes will become available in-game following syncing with the iPod. The most notable aspect of Phase is the quality of the generate stages. In Vib Ribbon you could rely on the relationship between the music and the levels being deterministic, but not much more. In Phase we get stages that match the structure of the music across varying scales, or are at least close enough for apophenia to kick in. There’s the occasional moment that feels like it must have had a human hand behind it. I’m curious if the software behind it was developed specifically for Phase or if it had been knocking around Harmonix for while waiting for an application.

The excellent implementation of the central mechanic isn’t matched by the containing package. Track selection is performed through a menu system broadly similar to the iPod’s own but minus the multiple refinements that go unnoticed until they’re taken away. There’s no way to construct playlists for the game’s “marathon mode” where you play through five songs back to back. This means you play through the tracks either in the order they appear in the alphabetical listing or as they appear on the album. A generous spin on this would be that it encourages you to play out tracks that you wouldn’t otherwise try out in-game, but it still left me wanting something like the “On-The-Go playlist” feature of the iPod software.

Bryan Gale : 27 Aug 2008 22:20 |  Tags: Game Review |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Flash developers at Warwick?

I’ve been playing around with Flash for a couple of months now, replacing Java as my primary platform for game development, and I’m curious if there are any other students here who work in Flash. I’d be interested to see what other people have produced.

Among programmers I’ve spoken to there seems to be some misconceptions about what Flash development entails. The latest version of Flash allows various way to approach development, and is just as friendly to programmers as to artists and animators. I’m using Flex Builder Pro, an Eclipse-based IDE which allows entirely code-based Flash development (it’s also free to students).

Bryan Gale : 03 Mar 2008 13:53 |  Tags: Actionscript Flash |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

First experiment with Perlin noise and Papervision3D

(Roll mouse over to activate)

The texture is generated from a 3D volume of Perlin noise, from which a bitmap for the surface of the sphere is then pulled. This dodges the problem of visible seams or distortion around the poles of the sphere, since it is effectively carved from a 3D material rather than simply wrapped in a 2D material.

Though I've implemented the noise generator in ActionScript, I've cheated here and embedded a pre-generated texture in the Flash file so I don't freeze anyone's browser. The lack of threading in ActionScript means that before I can generate the texture at run time, I need to change my code to split the work between frames.

Bryan Gale : 25 Feb 2008 21:22 |  Tags: Actionscript Flash Papervision |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Every Extend Extra

Title:

Every Extend Extra (PSP)

Publisher:

Disney Interactive

ASIN:

B000JXNRVM

Rating:

Not rated

Freeware title Every Extend presents a compellingly radical mechanic. The player controls a ship whose sole attack is self destruction. Random arrangements of explosive blocks float across the screen, and the player’s aim with each ‘suicide’ is to trigger a chain reaction that will score enough points for her be awarded at least one extra life. It’s a cunning system that draws attention videogaming’s necessary concession against reality of repeatedly resurrecting the player’s avatar. Peppering play are two key collectable items. Quickens increase the speed of the blocks and the rate at which they appear from the screen’s edges, which in turn increases the potential for creating massive chain reactions. Time Extensions, yielded by projectile firing mini-bosses, add ten seconds to the initial minute and a half the player is given to rack up points before the game’s boss appears. The player then has around one minute to defeat this boss which will take damage in proportion to the length of the explosion chain causing it.

The first play of this game could be cause for disappointment. Its space shooter styling and two-part level/boss structure imply multiple stages with new enemy types and power-ups, but in barely three minutes Every Extend will have revealed almost all the content it has to offer. But further plays make it apparent that this isn’t miserliness but generosity. Play for high scores, and in return for a few minutes of your time Every Extend offers a thrilling and addictive experience. By constraining play to such a short period, players are forced to closely examine and correct the flaws in their performance, eventually achieving a feeling of mastery over the game’s space – deftly collecting items from the tightest of gaps between blocks, precisely predicting how explosions will cascade, developing reliable intuition for when to detonate and when to wait for a more rewarding opportunity. This is hardcore gaming condensed for the casual gaming audience. This is what Q Entertainment ignore in their PSP update, Every Extend Extra.

The initial disappointment is addressed head-on by giving the game a number of stages, each with its own visual and audio style. While each is remarkably pretty, new skins do not provide a satisfying reason to progress though the game, and unfortunately nor do the minor variations in the gameplay that occur from stage to stage. Dividing the game in this way serves mainly to encourage the player to focus on mere completion rather than refinement, which is at odds with how this game should be enjoyed. Another damaging change is the details of how the player is penalized for losing their ship to a collision with a block. In the original a five second time penalty is incurred. This has a definite effect on the final score and so provides a strong incentive for one more go to try to avoid such a mistake. In Extra, the player loses her Quickens and has them scattered about her ship where they can be collected again. On paper this is a skilful piece of design, an implementation of adaptive difficulty (allowing the player to ramp up the speed of the game but bailing them out if it’s too fast to handle) that does not rely on hidden or ill-fitting logic and isn’t open to cynical exploitation. In practice though the panic caused by trying to rapidly recollect the Quickens often leads to further losses, giving the game a frustrating staccato rhythm.

However, not all the changes in Extra fall flat. The ability to charge-up the ship’s death throe explosion, though at first appears to require powers of premonition to exploit, encourages a greater degree of forethought and offers a further path of development for players wanting to raise their game. On balance there are enough positive changes to make Extra worthwhile, even for those who have already mastered its inspiration. It is hard to shake the feeling though that Every Extend’s concept has been less respected and improved than simply commandeered to support a PSP-flaunting lightshow.

Bryan Gale : 27 Apr 2007 18:27 |  Tags: Boar Game Review |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Kirby: Power Paintbrush

Title:

Kirby: Power Paintbrush (Nintendo DS)

Publisher:

Nintendo

ASIN:

B00095LIC0

Rating:

Not rated

Kirby: Power Paintbrush is HAL Laboratory’s bold reinvention of the 2D platform game. Abandoning traditional input methods, Kirby (a pink blob with eyes, in case you weren’t sure) is controlled using the Nintendo DS’s touchscreen and stylus. Drawing on the screen will paint a rainbow for Kirby to travel along, and tapping him will give him a speed boost. Enemies can be tapped to stun them, and various pieces of on-screen scenery can be interacted with using the stylus. Though the control scheme feels strange and gimmicky at first, it soon becomes intuitive, and gives Kirby’s world an impressive tactility.

The opening level is a superb demonstration of what this control scheme can offer. The amount of vertical freedom granted feels new to platform games. Most importantly, it is simply a fun way to control your character. In its finer moments, Power Paintbrush evokes memories of the Mega Drive Sonic games. The difference is that it is that you are the one drawing the ramps and the loop-the-loops, and never do you feel like you are merely watching a character dash about the screen, it is always you in control. The penultimate level stands out, doing away with platforms almost entirely, asking you to use your drawing skills to defy gravity. Furthermore, the ability to interact with everything on screen, not just that which your character can reach, opens the way for challenges that will feel fresh even to veterans of the 16-bit golden era of platform games.

Disappointingly, the game does not maintain such high standards throughout. Many levels feel like they have been designed with scant regard for the unique control system. Often I was left aching for D-pad controls and a jump button. Certainly this is a game that is at its best when trying new approaches and making full use of the DS’s touchscreen.

Fittingly for a game whose story involves a witch turning Kirby’s world into a painting, Power Paintbrush’s artwork is impressive. The worlds are vibrant and varied, rendered in rich oil painting colours. However the inhabitants of Kirby’s world lack the charm and character found in, say, Yoshi’s Island. The music ranges from unremarkable to mildly grating, and is done no favours by the DS’s tiny speakers.

Beyond the main game, there a variety of modes such as time trial and ink trial, where the player must complete levels with strict limits on how much ink they have to draw rainbows for Kirby. While these may be seen as a cheap way of extending Power Paintbrush’s lifespan, they are surprisingly compelling and will certainly please those who enjoy spending hours working on their high scores. Also worthy of note is the drawing subgame which involves watching patterns being drawn on the screen and then copying them. It may not sound fun on paper, but with the strict time limit, and the rating it gives you for accuracy, it is a remarkably addictive challenge. All the included subgames lend themselves well to very short bouts of gaming, so can provide entertainment even if you have no more than a couple of minutes to spare.

Given that Kirby: Power Paintbrush was developed with no similarly controlled games to look to, HAL deserve recognition for how much they get right first time round. It is a shame however, that the quality of the experience provided is not more consistent.

Bryan Gale : 06 Jul 2006 00:13 |  Tags: Boar Game Review |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

We Love Katamari

Title:

We Love Katamari (PS2)

Publisher:

Electronic Arts

ASIN:

B000CC15U0

Rating:

Not rated

The King Of All Cosmos went on a bender and accidentally destroyed all the stars in the sky. To fix this he sent to Earth his five centimetre tall son, The Prince, to roll katamaris to replace the stars – a katamari being a strange sphere that picks up anything smaller than itself, which then adds to the size of the katamari snowball-style, allowing ever larger objects to be collected. This was the plot of the critically acclaimed, and never released in Europe, Katamari Damacy. In We Love Katamari, you again, or most likely for the first time, take control of The Prince. However, in a self-referential twist, you are now rolling to satisfy the requests of fans gained by The King Of All Cosmos following the release of Katamari Damacy.

Stripped of its story and Lemon Jelly stylings, down to the raw mechanics, it would be hard to see Katamari as much more than a novelty. But the appeal lies in its unashamedly childish sense of humour. There is the game’s central visual gag, the katamari itself. The sight of people and wildlife fleeing in terror from this ridiculous amalgamation of random everyday items is uniquely entertaining. The sound effects that items make as they are added to the katamari also amuse, particularly those for living creatures – the unholy cacophony made by collecting a clowder of cats, or the bizarre mix of screams and laughter from rolling up a crowd of people, for example. In fact, the game itself is a piece of surreal, participatory, physical comedy. It helps immensely that the katamari isn’t simply modelled as a sphere. Collect an item barely smaller than the katamari, and it becomes unbalanced and unwieldy, lurching as it rolls.

Like the best children’s literature, We Love Katamari tempers this lightness with a distinct dark streak. Between missions, we are given the story of The King Of All Cosmos’s troubled childhood and turbulent relationship with his father. Failing a mission leaves The Prince quivering with fear of his own father’s wrath, and with good reason.

We Love Katamari’s levels are remarkable pieces of design that skilfully support an avatar whose size can increase by several orders of magnitude through the duration of a mission. The realization that objects that define the very structure of a level for a small katamari, walls, houses, hills, are up for grabs by a larger katamari is a memorable videogame moment. There is only a bare minimum that cannot, theoretically, be rolled up. On every scale Katamari’s world is full of incidental details, ranging from a cat’s tea party, with mice making their escape along paper chain decorations, at one extreme, to a rampaging Godzilla at the other. It is the desire to see all these, rather than the desire for a higher score or faster time, that drives repeated plays of each mission.

Katamari’s flaws are few. Unwelcome mid-level loading pauses, controls that can frustrate in the heat of the moment, and the odd occasion when the script falls flat, stretching to be funny but succeeding only in being weird, are about their extent. Like Killer7, We Love Katamari displays unwavering confidence in its design. It is an original idea, executed with aplomb, and through sheer force of personality We Love Katamari cannot fail to raise a smile.

Bryan Gale : 05 Jul 2006 22:56 |  Tags: Boar Game Review |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

New Super Mario Bros.

Title:

New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS)

Publisher:

Nintendo

ASIN:

B000ERVMI8

Rating:

Not rated

New Super Mario Bros. is a return to roots. Not simply because it’s Mario, finally, in a platform game, but because of Nintendo’s construction of this game as a direct sequel to the NES original – an alternate Super Mario Bros. 2.

The generosity of modern Nintendo games has been abandoned here. As in the original, most of the game is spent one or two mistakes away from failure. The most anachronistic left-over is the time limit imposed on each level – forgiving enough to have no impact on a first play-through, but restricting enough to be a minor annoyance when scouring a stage for every last secret. It’s difficult to see any justification for its inclusion, other than to evoke memories of Marios long past.

But that is a large part of this game’s goal. New Super Mario Bros. is arguably one of the most cynically nostalgia-inducing games ever made. Right from the recognisable opening chime, this is a game designed to play off the memories of those of us who spent a parent-worrying amount of our childhood playing Nintendo games, and who were later blown-away by the arrival of Super Mario 64. It is this other genre-defining Mario game that is permitted to form a lesser set of influences over NSMB.

The most apparent of these is the animation of Mario himself. Though the game is steadfastly two dimensional, Mario is rendered as a 3D character, allowing a fluidity of movement not otherwise possible. A number of moves have also been lifted from Mario 64 and translated into 2D. The ability to rebound off walls with a well-timed kick has the greatest impact on play, but sits entirely naturally with the abilities Mario has always had.

Though without any significant innovation to fall back on, this is a game that succeeds or fails on the quality of it’s level design, on how much entertainment can be wrung from the self-imposed restrictions. In this regard, New Super Mario Bros. can barely be faulted. Differing play styles are catered for admirably. Those who choose to dash through a level as fast as possible will find, providing they hold their nerve, that enemies, platforms and obstacles line up so as not to disrupt the joyful sense of momentum. Those who take their time will find NSMB to be a richly interactive world, upon which much jubilant destruction can be wrought – whether it be by their own hand, or from a well thrown Koopa shell. The latter allows the player respite to sit back and watch the sometimes surprising levels of destruction unfold.

The placement of collectables strikes a careful balance between generosity and daring the player to take risks. The secrets areas of each level are never hidden so obscurely as to frustrate, yet hidden well enough to provoke a pleasing feeling of luck and smugness at their discovery.

It is thus clear, that though much of the raw material for New Super Mario Bros. is over two decades old, Nintendo have not let their mastery of the platform genre, developed in the intervening years, go to waste.

Bryan Gale : 03 Jul 2006 23:59 |  Tags: Boar Game Review |  Comments (4) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Fahrenheit

Title:

Fahrenheit (PC DVD)

Publisher:

Atari

ASIN:

B0009WXQHS

Rating:

Not rated

Creator David Cage would probably baulk at Fahrenheit being labelled an adventure game. The implied years of videogame baggage don’t apply here. Judging from his preface in the manual, he would prefer you call it an interactive emotional experience. You can’t blame him; Fahrenheit is something special.

The game opens with protagonist Lucas Kane, a man supernaturally possessed, murdering a stranger in the men’s room of a New York diner. Playing as Lucas, you are given the task of unravelling why he was made to commit this crime. You will also play as detectives Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles as they track Lucas’s trail. As in The Fugitive, you will want to root for both sets of characters, despite their opposing aims.

The cinematic aspirations of Fahrenheit are clear. For the bulk of the game the screen is kept free of health bars, progress meters and the like. Camera angles are mostly fixed, and because of the sedate nature of the game this doesn’t frustrate as it can in some action orientated titles. Fahrenheit makes good use of split screen, often using a separate panel to indicate where you should head next. It’s an elegant solution, and infinitely more subtle than having arrows bounce about the screen. The orchestral score is excellent throughout, and it is to its credit that you won’t notice it unless you are listening for it. Scattered about the game world are collectable tokens that will unlock bonuses such as deleted scenes and ‘making of’ videos. While such extras are welcome, the method by which they are revealed is unfortunate, since the tokens scream ‘videogame’ and break the illusion of realism.

Between story exposition and cerebral challenges, Fahrenheit contains Simon-says style action sequences, permitted by Lucas’s brush with the supernatural granting him enhanced strength and reflexes. As indicators flash up on the screen, you must press the appropriate buttons. Miss too many and you are made to restart the sequence. The action is well choreographed (given the lack of direct control it would be a disappointment if it wasn’t) but wears its Matrix influence on its sleeve. One particularly impressive sequence sees Lucas in a parking lot, dodging cars as Fahrenheit’s villain uses his powers to propel them towards you. Sadly these sequences do little to make you feel involved in the scene. Often a series of button presses must be fully completed before any kind of response is shown, leaving you feeling disconnected from the action.

Now, onto the meat of what elevates Fahrenheit above the level of the average adventure game. David Cage has created a game that allows you to engage with the three main characters in a way that is engrossing and unfamiliar. Had the voice acting and facial animation not been up to scratch this would not have been possible, but thankfully both are superb. Lucas, Carla and Tyler each have a virtual pet-style meter representing their mental state. Though it may seem a blunt instrument for representing the complexity of human emotion, it succeeds in making you think about the effects of your actions internal to your character. It may lead you to giving Carla a drink of water, or making flashback-prone Lucas switch off his television before news of the murder appears.

The illusion that these are real characters is one that you’ll be compelled to preserve. One scene sees Lucas walking through a cemetery to place flowers by his parents’ grave. Though getting to the next stage faster would simply require holding the down shift key to run, this is a solemn moment, and you’ll want to respect that. It’s a rare game that causes you to follow real world societal rules when only virtual characters are watching.

The downfall of Fahrenheit is the story. For the first half of the game, when the solution to the mystery is pure potential, the story is strong and allows for a good deal of character development. But slowly Fahrenheit’s strengths are lost, as the game becomes less about the characters and more about the increasingly bizarre situations they are placed in. In the final act things take a turn for the absurd, and the power to suspend disbelief is stretched beyond breaking point.

Certainly this is a game that showcases the power of the medium, proof positive that games can excel at providing experiences beyond blasting aliens. Despite its flaws, Fahrenheit is not just a pointer to future promise, something that one may hope will influence the next generation of game designers. It is an affecting and well crafted game, and one that demands to be experienced.

Bryan Gale : 03 Jul 2006 18:02 |  Tags: Boar Game Review |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem