Another Not Real EXE...
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=594
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday, March 18, 2013
Erebus
Sorry to say, but this is going to be another somewhat anemic review. Not because the game is broken or I can't figure it out. No, this review is going to be short because I don't want to spoil the experience.
What I can tell you is that this game is SCARY. I haven't played much of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but, for sake of reference, I was more scared during Erebus than I was during that game.
One thing that I love about Erebus is that I think it's one of those games that can be studied. I think there's a valuable lesson to be learned here about just how invested someone can get in a blank-slate character. Throughout the game, there are no details given about who you are or what you're doing. Compare that with Amnesia. In that game, the first words to be uttered are "My name is Daniel," followed by some more backstory. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but if there was ever a game to prove to us that it's unnecessary, it's Erebus. The only things you get in terms of written exposition are orange wall etchings. That means the game has to rely on its mechanics and design alone to convey the story. I admire that a lot in a game.
That said, I do think a few things are underexplained. A few motifs or set pieces will occasionally pop up out of nowhere and perhaps be called back to a few times, but they don't really have any implications for your character. Fair warning: what I'm about to say is very minimally spoilerey, but still spoilerey:
BEGIN SPOILERY TYPE THINGS
Let's compare the gooey jamlike substances from Erebus and Amnesia. In Amnesia, the player has no idea what the jam is, and as such may even be tempted to stand on it. If he does this, however, he takes damage. This strengthens the perilous mood the game attempts to set. The walls are covered in this jam stuff, meaning you as the player are literally surrounded...encased, even, by danger. In Erebus, the jam just kinda chills there. You can play with it all you want and it won't hurt you. This only ends up hurting the game by giving the player the thought that he or she might be invincible. After all, the jam is arguably the most threatening thing in the facility, and you can bounce about on it merrily with no repercussions. After that, all the player really has to do is ignore the scary sights and sounds to completely uproot the entire feel of the game. This may seem like a huge flaw, but I honestly don't mind it THAT much. The creators of this game were, I think, trying to see how much fear, or even just feeling in general, they could deliver with the minimal amount of substance. In that respect, Erebus passes with flying colors
END SPOLIERY TYPE THINGS
I encourage anyone who reads this to play Erebus. If you're up for a challenge, play it at midnight during a thunderstorm or something, but it works during the day as well. Fair warning: the ending may seem disappointing or lazy at first, but when you get to it, just think about it. Think about why they chose to end the game like that. Think about the visceral human fears the ending plays to on the most personal of levels.
This game definitely earns my seal of approval. That's all for now. Until next time, stay alive.
Links
Oh God, what's that?! https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24654
What I can tell you is that this game is SCARY. I haven't played much of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but, for sake of reference, I was more scared during Erebus than I was during that game.
One thing that I love about Erebus is that I think it's one of those games that can be studied. I think there's a valuable lesson to be learned here about just how invested someone can get in a blank-slate character. Throughout the game, there are no details given about who you are or what you're doing. Compare that with Amnesia. In that game, the first words to be uttered are "My name is Daniel," followed by some more backstory. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but if there was ever a game to prove to us that it's unnecessary, it's Erebus. The only things you get in terms of written exposition are orange wall etchings. That means the game has to rely on its mechanics and design alone to convey the story. I admire that a lot in a game.
That said, I do think a few things are underexplained. A few motifs or set pieces will occasionally pop up out of nowhere and perhaps be called back to a few times, but they don't really have any implications for your character. Fair warning: what I'm about to say is very minimally spoilerey, but still spoilerey:
BEGIN SPOILERY TYPE THINGS
Let's compare the gooey jamlike substances from Erebus and Amnesia. In Amnesia, the player has no idea what the jam is, and as such may even be tempted to stand on it. If he does this, however, he takes damage. This strengthens the perilous mood the game attempts to set. The walls are covered in this jam stuff, meaning you as the player are literally surrounded...encased, even, by danger. In Erebus, the jam just kinda chills there. You can play with it all you want and it won't hurt you. This only ends up hurting the game by giving the player the thought that he or she might be invincible. After all, the jam is arguably the most threatening thing in the facility, and you can bounce about on it merrily with no repercussions. After that, all the player really has to do is ignore the scary sights and sounds to completely uproot the entire feel of the game. This may seem like a huge flaw, but I honestly don't mind it THAT much. The creators of this game were, I think, trying to see how much fear, or even just feeling in general, they could deliver with the minimal amount of substance. In that respect, Erebus passes with flying colors
END SPOLIERY TYPE THINGS
I encourage anyone who reads this to play Erebus. If you're up for a challenge, play it at midnight during a thunderstorm or something, but it works during the day as well. Fair warning: the ending may seem disappointing or lazy at first, but when you get to it, just think about it. Think about why they chose to end the game like that. Think about the visceral human fears the ending plays to on the most personal of levels.
This game definitely earns my seal of approval. That's all for now. Until next time, stay alive.
Links
Oh God, what's that?! https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24654
Sunday, March 17, 2013
EPIGate
This is another one of those "NOT REAL EXE" things. This time, when I tried searching the web for "EpiGate Game" the first result said "When blogging under one's own name can be used against you." This kind of gives me the feeling that looking any further into this game is going to sent some sort of cabal of gangsters after my head, so for now, file this one under "broken."
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=593
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=593
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Epicenter
I just have no idea what's going on in this game. We've had games with bad conveyance here before, but this...
I just don't have any words. There is legitimately nothing to analyze in this game because nothing got accomplished. All I did was fly around in a biosphere at like 2 frames a second with an overly confusing control scheme and no direction whatsoever. Maybe this game actually has...oh, I don't know...content, but I have neither the time nor the willpower to find it.
Until next time, stay.
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=443
I just don't have any words. There is legitimately nothing to analyze in this game because nothing got accomplished. All I did was fly around in a biosphere at like 2 frames a second with an overly confusing control scheme and no direction whatsoever. Maybe this game actually has...oh, I don't know...content, but I have neither the time nor the willpower to find it.
Until next time, stay.
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=443
Friday, March 15, 2013
Empyrean Contrata
Well played, DigiPen. You almost got me. For the first time since AEscher, I had to google the meaning of one of the words in a game's title. Turns out the word "Contrata" isn't even English, though. Dirty trick, guys. Low blow.
Alright, now let's get into the game. Empyrean Contrata is a nightmare in every sense of the word. It must have been a nightmare to build and it's certainly a nightmare to play. It's one of those Civilization-esque games that just does everything wrong. I've never played Civilization, mind you. It just never appealed to me, so maybe this is how Civilization players like their games. I wouldn't know. My opinion, though, is that this game is a crowded, choppy, unintuitive mess.
Let's run down the issues, shall we? First off, the framerate is preposterously choppy. All the textures are very simple, so I don't see any reason for this. Plus, I ran this game with Fraps just for kicks, and it said it was running at an optimal 60fps, meaning this is an inherent problem with the game, not a problem with my hardware.
Next, along that same line, the visuals are messy and ugly. Even when you look at a unit from close up in the "units" screen, it just doesn't look appealing. It's a frothy mixture of pixels that are all just different shades of the same color, though I suppose this is necessary considering how far back the camera is. It's zoomed out so much that all the textures just kind of blend in with one another, creating a very convoluted combination of dark, ugly pixels.
Alright, that's enough on the visuals. Let's get to the real meat of the problem. The GUI. Oh, the GUI. This is the textbook definition of sensory overload. I'm almost at a loss for words. Just getting through the tutorial text takes like 5 minutes of mindless left-clicking, but you need to go through with it because otherwise you'll know what 0% of what's happening on the screen means instead of the required 5%. Even after the instructions are spoon-fed to you, everything is conveyed so, so poorly. This game would give Egoraptor a heart attack.
You know what? I can't even go into detail about how poorly everything is conveyed in this game. Play it for yourself and experience how truly clueless a game can leave you.
The only positive purposes I can ever see this game serving are as follows:
1) for some reason, you really want to deter someone from the video gaming medium as a whole, so you show them this game and they never look back.
2) you use it as a learning experience. A what-not-to-do guide if you will.
That's all I got for now. This game tired me out. Until next time, stay organized.
Links
adfhgaikjafadf what?: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25112
Alright, now let's get into the game. Empyrean Contrata is a nightmare in every sense of the word. It must have been a nightmare to build and it's certainly a nightmare to play. It's one of those Civilization-esque games that just does everything wrong. I've never played Civilization, mind you. It just never appealed to me, so maybe this is how Civilization players like their games. I wouldn't know. My opinion, though, is that this game is a crowded, choppy, unintuitive mess.
Let's run down the issues, shall we? First off, the framerate is preposterously choppy. All the textures are very simple, so I don't see any reason for this. Plus, I ran this game with Fraps just for kicks, and it said it was running at an optimal 60fps, meaning this is an inherent problem with the game, not a problem with my hardware.
Next, along that same line, the visuals are messy and ugly. Even when you look at a unit from close up in the "units" screen, it just doesn't look appealing. It's a frothy mixture of pixels that are all just different shades of the same color, though I suppose this is necessary considering how far back the camera is. It's zoomed out so much that all the textures just kind of blend in with one another, creating a very convoluted combination of dark, ugly pixels.
Alright, that's enough on the visuals. Let's get to the real meat of the problem. The GUI. Oh, the GUI. This is the textbook definition of sensory overload. I'm almost at a loss for words. Just getting through the tutorial text takes like 5 minutes of mindless left-clicking, but you need to go through with it because otherwise you'll know what 0% of what's happening on the screen means instead of the required 5%. Even after the instructions are spoon-fed to you, everything is conveyed so, so poorly. This game would give Egoraptor a heart attack.
You know what? I can't even go into detail about how poorly everything is conveyed in this game. Play it for yourself and experience how truly clueless a game can leave you.
The only positive purposes I can ever see this game serving are as follows:
1) for some reason, you really want to deter someone from the video gaming medium as a whole, so you show them this game and they never look back.
2) you use it as a learning experience. A what-not-to-do guide if you will.
That's all I got for now. This game tired me out. Until next time, stay organized.
Links
adfhgaikjafadf what?: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25112
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Empyreal Nocturne
Three day weekend...motivation depleting...almost gone...still haven't posted on the blog...must...hold...on...
Empyreal Nocturne is one of the most praised games I've come across so far, being the winner of the 2008 IGF student showcase. Let's jump right in and see if the prestige is deserved.
Remember a while ago when I said Descension was like Space Deadbeef on the ground? well this is pretty much that minus the ground, but with a third-person 3D perspective.
I'm real tired, so I'm going to pro-and-con this one.
It does genuinely feel good to destroy your opponents. Unlike Space Deadbeef and Descension, which use very hectic music loops and visuals, Empyreal Nocturne uses a very calming, grey-skies visual style and no music to speak of (which I'd normally complain about, but in this case it enhances the mood). It's a very Shadow of the Collossus-esque feel, which certainly isn't a bad thing.
Honestly there aren't really that many flaws with the game. I only have two real complaints. First, I don't know who on the dev team thought it would be a good idea to use "S" to dive down and "W" to pull up, but they clearly haven't played Starfox recently. It's backwards and disorienting, and it really breaks the flow. It's unchangeable, too, so you just gotta deal with it, junior. Also, I know they're trying to go with a solemn and quiet mood, but a tiny little sound effect to let me know when I've been hit would be nice. Maybe they tried that in an earlier build and found the sky darkening to be a good enough indicator of health (which, by the way, I love. I wish more games were creative about that kind of thing and didn't just resort to the 'let's make the screen grow red and pulsate' route.) or that hitsparks and sound effects would be too distracting. If so, I withdraw my critique, but it's still a little annoying to dodge enemy fire because it can get difficult to tell when you've been hit.
All-in-all, I liked Empyreal Nocturne. I'm not blown away by it, but it was a fun and interesting experience while it lasted. I'm feeling a bit generous today, so I'll give this game my seal of approval. Until next time, stay peaceful.
Links
ohmmmmm: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=382
Empyreal Nocturne is one of the most praised games I've come across so far, being the winner of the 2008 IGF student showcase. Let's jump right in and see if the prestige is deserved.
Remember a while ago when I said Descension was like Space Deadbeef on the ground? well this is pretty much that minus the ground, but with a third-person 3D perspective.
I'm real tired, so I'm going to pro-and-con this one.
It does genuinely feel good to destroy your opponents. Unlike Space Deadbeef and Descension, which use very hectic music loops and visuals, Empyreal Nocturne uses a very calming, grey-skies visual style and no music to speak of (which I'd normally complain about, but in this case it enhances the mood). It's a very Shadow of the Collossus-esque feel, which certainly isn't a bad thing.
Honestly there aren't really that many flaws with the game. I only have two real complaints. First, I don't know who on the dev team thought it would be a good idea to use "S" to dive down and "W" to pull up, but they clearly haven't played Starfox recently. It's backwards and disorienting, and it really breaks the flow. It's unchangeable, too, so you just gotta deal with it, junior. Also, I know they're trying to go with a solemn and quiet mood, but a tiny little sound effect to let me know when I've been hit would be nice. Maybe they tried that in an earlier build and found the sky darkening to be a good enough indicator of health (which, by the way, I love. I wish more games were creative about that kind of thing and didn't just resort to the 'let's make the screen grow red and pulsate' route.) or that hitsparks and sound effects would be too distracting. If so, I withdraw my critique, but it's still a little annoying to dodge enemy fire because it can get difficult to tell when you've been hit.
All-in-all, I liked Empyreal Nocturne. I'm not blown away by it, but it was a fun and interesting experience while it lasted. I'm feeling a bit generous today, so I'll give this game my seal of approval. Until next time, stay peaceful.
Links
ohmmmmm: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=382
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Edgy Rangy
You know that feeling you get when you look in the fridge and there are all these elegant foods from a party you had the night before? You got lamb chops, filet mignon, what have you, and you know it's all really delicious stuff, but for some reason you decide to reach for the lunchables and juice pouch behind the acai berry juice? Well if the DigiPen game gallery were a fridge, games like Dreamside Maroon would be small, not quite filling, but very elegant escargots; Crazy Cross would be the 32lb steak that you can't feasibly hope to finish till next December, and Edgy Rangy would be the lunchables. It's not elegant, it's not particularly tasty, and it doesn't quite fill ya, but for some reason it's just what you wanted.
I get the feeling that putting this game on my hard drive is going to lead to at least a few experiences much like the ones I have on occasion when starting up my Nintendo Wii. I came there to start up another intense session of Trauma Center: Second Opinion, but then I see Yoshii, which I bought on Virtual Console, and get the urge to waste a few minutes before wasting an hour.
In fact, Edgy Rangy is a lot like Yoshii, but not quite as stylized, not quite as challenging and not quite as intuitive. In essence, what I'm saying is it's not quite as good, but it does have a certain charm, to be sure.
Edgy Rangy is your typical block-stacking game. You try and stack 3 or more blocks of the same color to get points. Get enough points and you move on to the next level. The game comes with 2 modes, Classic and Relay. Do yourself a favor and go straight for Relay. Trust me, it's better. In relay mode, the blocks don't just disappear if you stack them appropriately, you get to farm them and eliminate them yourself with spacebar. It adds some much needed depth to the experience.
The little tray on which you stack the blocks moves far too slowly, and the game feel is unsatisfying as a result. The hitboxes are also a little imprecise, but easy to figure out once you get the hang of it.
This is a game that you will quit out of boredom, not because it got too challenging. After the third level, I'd say all the charm is gone. They try and spruce up the experience with bonus levels, but honestly they are just as monotonous as the main game.
Edgy Rangy isn't that fun and it certainly isn't anything revolutionary. At the very least, it's a good little appetizer that you can use to get yourself ready for the main course.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay simple.
Links
stackin blocks dum de dum: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24358
I get the feeling that putting this game on my hard drive is going to lead to at least a few experiences much like the ones I have on occasion when starting up my Nintendo Wii. I came there to start up another intense session of Trauma Center: Second Opinion, but then I see Yoshii, which I bought on Virtual Console, and get the urge to waste a few minutes before wasting an hour.
In fact, Edgy Rangy is a lot like Yoshii, but not quite as stylized, not quite as challenging and not quite as intuitive. In essence, what I'm saying is it's not quite as good, but it does have a certain charm, to be sure.
Edgy Rangy is your typical block-stacking game. You try and stack 3 or more blocks of the same color to get points. Get enough points and you move on to the next level. The game comes with 2 modes, Classic and Relay. Do yourself a favor and go straight for Relay. Trust me, it's better. In relay mode, the blocks don't just disappear if you stack them appropriately, you get to farm them and eliminate them yourself with spacebar. It adds some much needed depth to the experience.
The little tray on which you stack the blocks moves far too slowly, and the game feel is unsatisfying as a result. The hitboxes are also a little imprecise, but easy to figure out once you get the hang of it.
This is a game that you will quit out of boredom, not because it got too challenging. After the third level, I'd say all the charm is gone. They try and spruce up the experience with bonus levels, but honestly they are just as monotonous as the main game.
Edgy Rangy isn't that fun and it certainly isn't anything revolutionary. At the very least, it's a good little appetizer that you can use to get yourself ready for the main course.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay simple.
Links
stackin blocks dum de dum: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24358
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