To Cut or Not to Cut?
Cut-scenes have long been the bane of many gamers’ existence. Sure, gamers love story, but cut-scenes often interrupt gameplay, and thus many gamers skip them to get back to the interactive portions that make a game a game. In the end, cut-scene development money is wasted, and gamers end up bumbling through games confused and unsatisfied. So is there a solution? In a recent Gamasutra article, Andrew Vanden Bossche set two fundamental guidelines for including cut-scenes in games: 1. Words must never interrupt the game. 2. Words must never be skippable. Intrigued? Take a look at Bossche’s article, “Analysis: Skippable Cut-Scenes and How They Work in...
Minesweeper: The Movie
Recently, we were tasked with adapting a game to a movie. After pondering some games with strong story lines, I decided to go instead with Minesweeper, the classic puzzle game that has provided countless hours of fun for PC users worldwide. The movie Minesweeper features Ethan, a cop who has devoted his life’s work to studying mines and tracking a particular criminal group known as the Planters. Flashbacks early in the movie reveal that Ethan’s father died from a mine explosion when Ethan was just a kid, thus providing motivation for his intense interest in mines. After a routine detonation exercise goes terribly wrong, Ethan questions his expertise and resigns from the force, sending his life spiraling out of control. At his lowest point, the police chief visits him, requesting his assistance with the latest lead on the Planters, who are planning to plant a massive mine field in the Vancouver harbor for a fireworks festival. Reluctant, Ethan hangs on to a copy of the Planters’ encoded map but promises nothing. Another flashback later that night reveals the map’s connection with Ethan’s late father, and suddenly, the numbers and symbols on the map begin to make sense. The map leads him to a warehouse where he confronts Simon, the leader of the Planters. After some questioning, Ethan realizes that he and Simon share more of a past than he could ever have imagined. Who would’ve thought that such a seemingly simple puzzle game could yield such a complicated story line? Sony and Paramount – if you’re interested, let’s...Creating Fun
On my way back into town from a wedding this weekend, I decided to start sketching out some ideas for my next level design concept. Being on an airplane without internet access, I had to draw inspiration from the resources available to me, namely the various airport maps within the in-flight magazine. As I was sketching, I could feel the guy in the seat next to me eyeing my drawings curiously, checking my progress every so often to sneak peeks at room layouts, weapon placements, and ideas for cinematics. In that moment, as I saw myself through his eyes, I remembered what an incredibly fun and creative field game design is. Every day, I get to pull inspiration from movies, news, science, and the world around me to create entertaining interactive experiences. I’m in the business of creating fun, and what can be more fun than...National STEM Video Game Challenge
All I can say is, it’s about time. Last week, Obama announced the National STEM Video Game Challenge, challenging game developers to promote interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through video games. The competition includes two categories: a youth prize for middle school students and a developer prize for emerging developers. The games will target grades pre-K through 4 and will surely inspire many innovative ways to incorporate education and video games. Entries will be accepted from October 12, 2010, through January 5, 2011. Can’t wait to see the...
Rooftop Rumble
Capture the flag. Such a straightforward game, yet with infinite possibilities. Some of the most memorable CTF maps have been incredibly simple – two bases connected by a winding road. Other maps include transporters, secret passageways, and flying vehicles. Over the past couple of weeks, we were tasked to work in pairs to create our own CTF levels using the Unreal Engine. Several brainstorming sessions in, my partner Chris and I decided on a rooftop CTF level featuring a variety of pathways on multiple levels. Take a...Quest to Learn
What would happen if the school curriculum were entirely built around video games? New York school Quest to Learn is on a mission to find out. To learn more, read the NYTimes Magazine article “Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom.” Definitely a worthwhile read guaranteed to change your outlook on the future of schools and...
H2OMG
Introducing my latest game concept, H2OMG: H2OMG is a photorealistic physics-based puzzle game in which you play as the various states of water, using different temperature zones to change between solid, liquid, and gas in an effort to gain as much mass as possible by colliding with other H2O molecules while in the liquid state. As steam, you play in first person, flying around in any direction, but you risk losing mass as your molecules separate. As water, you play in third person on a 2D plane, but while your movement may be limited, this is the only state in which you can gain mass. As ice, you play in third person in a 3D platforming environment, jumping around while maintaining mass. You must utilize the different states of matter in tandem to help you increase your mass as much as possible while navigating toward each level’s finish line collection beaker. With real world applications and simple mechanics, this game is guaranteed to have you saying...
Pixel Art
If you think about it, many of the most memorable game character sprites were created through painting pixels on a screen. Mario and Pacman are not remembered for their fancy 3D shading but rather for their classic iconic looks. Good pixel art involves an intricate knowledge of color and lighting. You must choose the best shades for shadows and highlights, then paint them over the right pixels to make your pixel art come to life. You only have so much space, so you have to make every pixel count. Here’s my latest pixel art character – a hobo monkey whose knapsack doubles as a weapon/water balloon/intimidation...
Culture Shock
What’s inside you, on every surface you touch, in the air you breathe, and an integral part of every living thing around you? Why bacteria, of course, and in my latest game idea Culture Shock, you will have the chance to get up close and personal with the ubiquitous microorganisms. Culture Shock is a casual first person shooter game in which you play as a scientist racing against time to zap mutant bacteria in a petri dish. Similar to a sniper searching for a certain target, you must watch the colony carefully and patiently as the bacteria reproduce, finding and shooting the bacteria that differ from the majority. At first, mutants are easy to spot, as they display variations through obvious external traits, such as color, size, and shape. However, as their antibiotic resistance increases, mutants become harder to find as they start to blend in with their peers. You must protect your bacterial culture, finding and zapping all the mutants while saving enough good bacteria to ensure the survival of the colony. Microscopic battles. Macroscopic...Pause
Well into the second term of this incredibly intense year, projects and deadlines are looming over us as the general craziness starts to ramp up. Food and sleep have been tossed to the back burner, and most waking moments are spent half-heartedly performing the tasks of daily life while mentally grinding away at the next great game idea. In the whirlwind of it all, it can be extremely easy to groan about the unwieldy workload, the demanding assignments, and the human need for sleep – an evolutionary weakness if I’ve ever seen one. However, if I just pause and breathe, I realize what an amazing experience this is and how unbelievably lucky I am. Here’s why: 10. I get creative challenges every day. I used to complain all the time about being stuck in jobs where I was just entering data all day, performing endless and mindless tasks that seemed to accomplish nothing. Now, more creative challenges are added to my plate on a daily basis, pushing me to think on the fly and outside the box. 9. Vancouver is an awesome place to live and work. I live four blocks from the beach in a neighborhood full of organic markets and cute shops. I get to bike to work every day while watching the waves and mountains. Life is grand. 8. My instructors are well-known industry professionals with years of experience. Unlike some previous teachers and professors I’ve had, the instructors at VFS seem to really know what they’re doing. Why? Because they’ve done it. They’ve worked on popular game titles and movies, rubbing elbows with the top...Student Project Disasters
What can go wrong in a student game project? Tons. With so many moving parts, tight time restrictions, and limited experience, student projects can encounter countless obstacles, from technology challenges to critical miscommunication. So what’s the best thing to do when heading into a student project? Why, learn from others’ mistakes, of course. Here’s a good place to start: Student Project Disasters! How to Turn Knowledge From Failed Games Into a Boon For Your...
Cubic Clash
Deathmatch. Sounds scary, eh? That’s because it is. But it’s also fun. Deathmatch levels are ones in which you go in to shoot and kill other players with the goal of achieving the most kills and/or being the last one standing. Of course, there are also navigation challenges and stealth skills to consider, adding to the fun of the level. My deathmatch level is aptly named “Cubic Clash.” As you might have guessed, the shape of the level is a cube. Three floors high with roughly nine square rooms on each level. Take a...
Split Personalities: The Platformer
Who doesn’t love platform games? From Donkey Kong and Mario to Frogger and Doodle Jump, anyone can find a platformer to love. Over the past week, I’ve been refining an idea for a single screen platformer. Here’s the result: Combining the basic skills of color mixing with the challenges of spatial perception, Split Personalities is a single screen puzzle platform game in which players guide two characters through various colored platforms, turning the characters into the primary colors (red, yellow, or blue) necessary to form each level’s target secondary color (green, orange, or purple). The two characters occupy opposing sides of a split screen, moving simultaneously through different platforms. Not every platform is present on both sides of the screen, however, so as long as one character lands on a platform, the other character will occupy the same physical space on its side, even in the absence of the same platform. Each time a character lands on a platform, it absorbs that platform’s color. In order to complete each level, characters must arrive at the target door suited in the primary colors necessary to create the door’s secondary color. In this case, the target door is purple, so one character must be blue and the other red when arriving at the door. In addition, evil paint monsters will jump around, changing the colors of various platforms. Players will race against time, earning bonus points for faster level completion. No playable version yet; just a high level concept....
Put Down Your Pencils
Multiple choice tests have been a classroom assessment staple for decades. I remember many years of listening to teachers drone on about filling in the circle completely and making my mark heavy and dark. But what exactly do multiple choice assessments test? Process of elimination? Best guess strategies? Certainly not actual real world knowledge, right? This is exactly what the U.S. plans to overhaul within the next few years. Secretary Arne Duncan announced on Thursday that 44 states will share $330 million to work with university professors and testing experts to design a new series of assessments by the 2014-15 school year. Instead of testing students’ abilities to find trick answers or eliminate wrong ones, these new tests will require students to design experiments, manipulate parameters, and collect and analyze data. Sounds a little bit more like the real world, eh? Not only that, the new tests will be computerized, so teachers will receive instant feedback on student progress and misunderstandings and will be able to use that information to better tailor lesson plans. At least, that’s the hope. So where do games come into all of this? Essentially, if the new tests are well designed, they should resemble a series of games. If you think about it, each game you play is essentially a test. You build your skills through conquering obstacles, then use those skills to reach an objective. Similarly, students will “level up” in class, then use the assessments to manipulate virtual variables, testing their skills in order to achieve a goal. For young people today, games are fun, and school is not. Thus, the more we...What Motivates You?
Solid game design rests on a thorough grasp of psychology. If we can start to understand what motivates us in real life, we can create games that motivate us, and vice versa. Combine game motivation and real life motivation, and you’ll get some really motivated people. Take a...
UDK Is Unreal
Creating a level from scratch can be fun. You get to decide where to put different obstacles, how to guide players, and when to provide rewards. Creating a level using unfamiliar technology, however, can be downright intimidating. Recently, we started using UDK (Unreal Development Kit), a game engine created by Epic Games that provided the basis for games like Gears of War, Bioshock, and Mass Effect. Luckily, with a manageable assignment and supportive instructors, our first experience in the UDK pool was more of a gentle splash rather than an embarrassing and painful belly flop. When working in UDK, you can build through a variety a views: top, side, front, and perspective. This is all to ensure that the assets are integrated seamlessly, providing total gameplay immersion. Our assignment was simple: create two rooms linked by two corridors. Here are a few screenshots from the level I created: Hopefully, with more practice, I’ll soon be able to create entire cities in UDK. Stay...