Like Ethan, I come up with crazy game ideas from time to time. I'll use his idea format to keep things consistent. Enjoy!
Game name: Boss Run
Genre: Arcade/platformer (score based)
Camera view: Platformer (or 3/4)
Graphical style: Cartoon realistic
Gimmick: You are the boss
Gameplay: Imagine you're playing any random game, and you reach a boss. First time you reach it you play around a bit and figure out how to hurt it. You probably die. Second time through you've figured it out and you start doing some decent damage. You die again. The process repeats and you steadily get better until you can finally beat the boss. In Boss Run you play the role of the boss, and you watch that process. The player comes in for the first time, a cutscene happens, you maul the player. The second time the player skips the cutscene and is a bit smarter. It steadily gets harder and harder until the player beats you, and you are given a score based on something. You'll be able to select from different bosses all over the game, but the bosses that would usually occur at the beginning of the game (the really easy ones) would be the harder ones.
Plot: A generic plot, player is trying to save the world or something.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Junior Research Paper 1
Last year in high school (my Junior year), I chose the video game industry as a topic for research. Now I am posting it on this very blog to be looked at. I've taken out the sources that I used (because I feel like you guys don't care, but if you do, let me know). Anyway, not all of the views that I show in this are ones that I still hold today. But nonetheless I thought it was interesting.
At midnight, in a convenience store in the middle of a restless city, a woman walks in and buys a pack of cigarettes. Following her in line is a man waiting to buy a beer bottle, another man with a cup of coffee, and finally a man who is about to purchase the game World of Warcraft. All of these people have something in common; they all are feeding an addiction. The man with the online game won’t be looked at by society in the same way as the woman with cigarettes. Nevertheless, gaming addiction has become an increasing issue as the industry itself grows. Adolescent minds are being morphed and influenced by the videogame industry; an industry that is similarly young and constantly changing.
The child of increased technological innovation and the desire for a quick fix of entertainment, videogames started as a way for developers to entertain the masses and make money, similar to other kinds of media. In arcades, players would be required to use a quarter for one play, which was not a very long time per quarter. Developers needed a way to draw kids to their industry, and the way to do this was by making the games addicting, and giving them the ability to be replayed and repaid for.
Although games can convey emotion and are assembled using several art forms, a main focus of games, both past and present, is to grab a player by his collar and never let him go, and, perhaps, stealing his pocket change along the way. Developers have an almost bully-like relationship with players, making the story of videogames a story of corporate manipulation.
At midnight, in a convenience store in the middle of a restless city, a woman walks in and buys a pack of cigarettes. Following her in line is a man waiting to buy a beer bottle, another man with a cup of coffee, and finally a man who is about to purchase the game World of Warcraft. All of these people have something in common; they all are feeding an addiction. The man with the online game won’t be looked at by society in the same way as the woman with cigarettes. Nevertheless, gaming addiction has become an increasing issue as the industry itself grows. Adolescent minds are being morphed and influenced by the videogame industry; an industry that is similarly young and constantly changing.
The child of increased technological innovation and the desire for a quick fix of entertainment, videogames started as a way for developers to entertain the masses and make money, similar to other kinds of media. In arcades, players would be required to use a quarter for one play, which was not a very long time per quarter. Developers needed a way to draw kids to their industry, and the way to do this was by making the games addicting, and giving them the ability to be replayed and repaid for.
Although games can convey emotion and are assembled using several art forms, a main focus of games, both past and present, is to grab a player by his collar and never let him go, and, perhaps, stealing his pocket change along the way. Developers have an almost bully-like relationship with players, making the story of videogames a story of corporate manipulation.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Ethan's Game Idea Journal 5
Every Wednesday (at least, for now) I will be releasing game ideas. Some of these will be from an actual document that I have these ideas in, and eventually I will just be using this format for new ideas that I make up on the spot. If you wish to use one of these ideas for a game, please ask me in the comments section. In reality though, I realize people could do anything with these, so I'm not really planning on using these ideas anytime soon.
Game Name: Deadly Wager
Genre: Platformer (Hub)
Camera View: Platformer
Graphic style: Cartoony
Gimmick: Every level is a speed run/ghost trial.
Gameplay: You have to race a ghost (not a copy of yourself, literally a ghost) who is very fast across lots of levels. This is a take off of time trials in certain games where you race a “ghost” who has done the course before you and can be seen during your run. In the case of this platformer, it will play a lot like RunMan/Sonic, so speed based. You will have to beat the ghost to the finish, of course, to beat the level.
Plot: The ghost is a man who has recently died, and the ghost came out of his body. You are the Grim Reaper. You tell the dead man that he has been damned, and he argues his fate. You tell him that if he beats you on a series of obstacle courses in hell, he can go to heaven.
Game Name: Deadly Wager
Genre: Platformer (Hub)
Camera View: Platformer
Graphic style: Cartoony
Gimmick: Every level is a speed run/ghost trial.
Gameplay: You have to race a ghost (not a copy of yourself, literally a ghost) who is very fast across lots of levels. This is a take off of time trials in certain games where you race a “ghost” who has done the course before you and can be seen during your run. In the case of this platformer, it will play a lot like RunMan/Sonic, so speed based. You will have to beat the ghost to the finish, of course, to beat the level.
Plot: The ghost is a man who has recently died, and the ghost came out of his body. You are the Grim Reaper. You tell the dead man that he has been damned, and he argues his fate. You tell him that if he beats you on a series of obstacle courses in hell, he can go to heaven.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Forums
In the past, I talked about how I was first introduced to the pixel art universe on a forum. I was introduced to that forum because of another forum. I love forums- first of all, it's a place to meet people with similar interests as you (it's like a bar, except without all the attractive females). Furthermore, if you make a post or a new thread, it's likely to be seen by a lot of eyes (unlike a blog, where if you post a comment, it's second fiddle the post itself). Also, like a Wiki, it's an archive of information; don't know how to do something in Photoshop? Before you make a post, do a little search, and it's possible that you won't even need to wait for a response.
Something you definitely didn't know- Abscure itself started off as a forum. And yes, that was really stupid. But here's the thing- I didn't know how to make a website! It was just the best option available to me. I used the forum to build up "hype" for a crappy FPS I was making with FPS Creator. I advertised the crap out of the forum, and in like half of a year I got less members than I have gotten Twitter followers in like a month. Point is, it didn't work out. So forums aren't perfect for everything. On the other hand...
With Stencyl, the forum was an absolute necessity for me to learn. Yes, I know it's supposed to be easy, and maybe I'm just stupid, but I did need all of the help I could possibly get for the simplest of tasks. But the community there is awesome. Have a question? There's a place to ask. Have a suggestion? It's likely that your suggestion will be seen and maybe even taken into consideration. Have a work in progress? Post it away and get feedback. Have a finished game? Hell yeah! Post it.
In the end, I spend a huge chunk of my time on forums, in terms of my Internet usage. I've never been a fan of chat rooms (eww) and I'm definitely not a Skype guy. I like Facebook and I like Twitter, but for different reasons than for forums. I like blogs, and I like blogging, but there's a different kind of community when it comes to forums. We need all of the different types of social networks we can get, and some of my favorite communities are forums.
Something you definitely didn't know- Abscure itself started off as a forum. And yes, that was really stupid. But here's the thing- I didn't know how to make a website! It was just the best option available to me. I used the forum to build up "hype" for a crappy FPS I was making with FPS Creator. I advertised the crap out of the forum, and in like half of a year I got less members than I have gotten Twitter followers in like a month. Point is, it didn't work out. So forums aren't perfect for everything. On the other hand...
With Stencyl, the forum was an absolute necessity for me to learn. Yes, I know it's supposed to be easy, and maybe I'm just stupid, but I did need all of the help I could possibly get for the simplest of tasks. But the community there is awesome. Have a question? There's a place to ask. Have a suggestion? It's likely that your suggestion will be seen and maybe even taken into consideration. Have a work in progress? Post it away and get feedback. Have a finished game? Hell yeah! Post it.
In the end, I spend a huge chunk of my time on forums, in terms of my Internet usage. I've never been a fan of chat rooms (eww) and I'm definitely not a Skype guy. I like Facebook and I like Twitter, but for different reasons than for forums. I like blogs, and I like blogging, but there's a different kind of community when it comes to forums. We need all of the different types of social networks we can get, and some of my favorite communities are forums.
Monday, March 28, 2011
The "Jak and Daxter" Series
I've said it a billion times on this blog. I love Jak and Daxter. And now I'm going to break down why I love this whole series.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
The first time I played it, the bright and beautiful Sandover Village sucked me in and never let me go. I remember struggling the first few times I played it all the way through. It's kind of a tough game- some missions are pretty hard.
But it's all worth it. After all, the environments, characters, and everything else are all working together. The game is kicking on all cylinders. I can keep playing the game over and over because it's almost like I miss some things that go on- every time I play it I love it even more.
Once I got all of the power cells in a save file. That unlocked a custscene that was the link between the first game and Jak 2! It shows how they find the time-machine thing. Which is cool. I didn't really follow the hype for the new game, and was surprised when I found out that...
Jak 2
It's in the future! There's guns! Jak can talk! When did this all happen? Why did this all happen? This is change! I don't like change! Make it stop! Why can't this just be Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy 2?
This ran through my 10-year-old mind as I opened up my copy of Jak 2 on release day. That was a big day in my life. October 14, 2003 was not only when Jak 2 came out, but also when a horrible, horrible disaster occurred.
Point is, I was scared. I was scared this game would let me down. It was a long and difficult game, but... it awesome! I loved racing around the city, and the open world part/GTA thing made you feel like a "renegade".
The story was good, and it got me excited for...
Jak 3
For some reason, I didn't even buy this game. And honestly, I'm glad I didn't.
I played a lot of the game, but didn't finish. I liked the feel of the desert, the feel of the temple, and the gameplay wasn't all too bad. But it just... wasn't as good. And I needed it to be good.
Maybe if it were an IP, with different characters, I'd like it. But I was comparing it to the earlier games. Relative to the past entries, it just didn't compare. I've recently watched an LP of this game, and now I know everything that happens to our friends. It was a funny ending, but...
What if the series would have just stayed on the course of Precursor Legacy? What would happen? I think a similar thing would happen. I would just compare the series to the first game. Jak 2 gave me a totally new flavor, something completely different. Because of that, I was able to look past the first game and not compare it to the first game. But when Jak 3 was so similar to Jak 2, it failed in comparison. This is pretty interesting stuff, I guess.
Thanks for reading.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
The first time I played it, the bright and beautiful Sandover Village sucked me in and never let me go. I remember struggling the first few times I played it all the way through. It's kind of a tough game- some missions are pretty hard.
But it's all worth it. After all, the environments, characters, and everything else are all working together. The game is kicking on all cylinders. I can keep playing the game over and over because it's almost like I miss some things that go on- every time I play it I love it even more.
Once I got all of the power cells in a save file. That unlocked a custscene that was the link between the first game and Jak 2! It shows how they find the time-machine thing. Which is cool. I didn't really follow the hype for the new game, and was surprised when I found out that...
Jak 2
It's in the future! There's guns! Jak can talk! When did this all happen? Why did this all happen? This is change! I don't like change! Make it stop! Why can't this just be Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy 2?
This ran through my 10-year-old mind as I opened up my copy of Jak 2 on release day. That was a big day in my life. October 14, 2003 was not only when Jak 2 came out, but also when a horrible, horrible disaster occurred.
Point is, I was scared. I was scared this game would let me down. It was a long and difficult game, but... it awesome! I loved racing around the city, and the open world part/GTA thing made you feel like a "renegade".
The story was good, and it got me excited for...
Jak 3
For some reason, I didn't even buy this game. And honestly, I'm glad I didn't.
I played a lot of the game, but didn't finish. I liked the feel of the desert, the feel of the temple, and the gameplay wasn't all too bad. But it just... wasn't as good. And I needed it to be good.
Maybe if it were an IP, with different characters, I'd like it. But I was comparing it to the earlier games. Relative to the past entries, it just didn't compare. I've recently watched an LP of this game, and now I know everything that happens to our friends. It was a funny ending, but...
What if the series would have just stayed on the course of Precursor Legacy? What would happen? I think a similar thing would happen. I would just compare the series to the first game. Jak 2 gave me a totally new flavor, something completely different. Because of that, I was able to look past the first game and not compare it to the first game. But when Jak 3 was so similar to Jak 2, it failed in comparison. This is pretty interesting stuff, I guess.
Thanks for reading.
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