Creating a Video Game on a whiteboard

Game Prototype

Originally uploaded by

shiitake

Every year or so my friend Jon and I talk about making a video game. We decided to actually take some action starting this month. I think we're probably going to use something ridiculously simple to make the game. And I think our friend Todd might help also.

I firmly believe it could be very easy for us to get caught up in the technical aspects and completely miss the game aspects.

This happens with musicians I know all the time. You can get caught up in buying new guitar gear and trying to get a certain tone or delay. But of course the song is pretty horrible so nobody wants to hear your perfect tone on your awesome gear.

Our game might be something like Trine (PC) vs Adventures of Lolo (NES); several characters with unique abilities have to work together to solve puzzles.

Here's a map I drew in my cubicle of how the game could work.

Each stage represents a different character with a unique power/skill and each lettered box (A-C) represents a room containing a puzzle they have to solve to move into the next room. This helps the player understand that character's power. The square in the middle represents the three characters finally teaming up to tackle bosses.

It's just an idea.

Nothing revolutionary or unique about it.

But it's one step closer to actually making something.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, a Winner.

I love movies but have a hard time actually watching them. It's mainly an issue of time I think. Nevertheless, we finally sat down and watched Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World last week.

I must be in the target demographic because I pretty much tracked with the movie note-for-note: video games, comic books, band angst (!), being a crappy boyfriend even though you want to be a nice guy (!!), gin & tonics. I was so-so on Michael Cera and not at all sold on Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character (f'ed up hair and skin weirded me out). But 30 minutes into the movie I was convinced and I ended up really enjoying how the writer and director handled their relationship. The fight scenes were also great.

When the movie came out several reviews focused on how the characters weren't likable but in rom-coms most of that stuff scales, right? The tension in most Rom-Coms comes from a misunderstanding that could be resolved with one or both of the characters being honest or serious character flaws stunting the relationship. There is obviously overlap: my character flaw is my inability to be honest.

Perhaps the characters were hard for someone over 40 to "get" but I don't see how they're any more unlikable than a couple in and other rom-com. Pretty early on they were having meaningful conversations about the relationship. I liked the bedroom seen after Romona says they won't have sex and Scott basically replies, "This is nice... I think this is something I needed." The catoonish fight scenes seem just as plausible as the romantic hurdles in Bridget Jones's Diary, Pretty Woman or Sex and the City.

I might even look to buy this movie when it comes out.

Hydrophobia and Last Generation games.

After a long week of work and band planning I finally found a bit of time to play Hydrophobia.

So far it seems like a cool action game. Sort of a mix of Beyond Good & Evil and Dreamfall. Obviously having a smart, female protagonist minus the fan-service is a big part of that but it also looks pretty last-generation in terms of graphics.

I had a lot of fun with the last-generation of games so I don't mind. Hydrophobia looks like it would have been a decent xbox original game 5 years ago. The game is supposed to be cutting edge because of all of it's water physics. So far that has primarily been running down halls that are flooding while water appears to be dripping down the screen. That part is just OK. The sci-fi setting and characters are what I really like. Also there are not a ton of XBLA games that are doing the 3rd person action complete with a decent story. So water physics notwithstanding the game is actually doing something pretty unique!

Every week it seems I hear about another last generation game that is being updated for the current consoles. It used to be that we'd just see a sequel to a game - but the proliferation of HD has really just given developers a fairly easy way to extend the life of a game that is several years old. Instead of spending millions of dollars on developing a new game you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars updating all of the game textures to HD. I don't imagine it is an easy task but it must be easier that having to start from scratch. If/when 3D takes off I doubt it will be that easy!

There are so many games for the last generation that I never got to play that I'm actually really excited to be able to pick them up again. This makes more sense considering that both Microsoft and Sony are attempting to extend the lives of their consoles for at least 2-3 years. If last generation games are updated and bundled with their sequels or (better yet!) available simply for download through Xbox live/PSN - I will meet them with my wallet!

Here are a few games I know are being re-release and a few I HOPE will be re-released.

• Beyond Good & Evil (confirmed for XBLA)
• Ico/Shadow of the Colossus (confirmed for PS3)
• Sly Cooper (confirmed for PS3)
• God of War (released a while back on PS3)
• Halo 1 & 2 (Wishlist) - Microsoft would be mental not to bundle and release these
• SSX (Wishlist) - XBLA has no sport titles do they?