Got to Go is a game most likely named after what its creators shouted when the professor started playing it to determine what grade it was getting. At least it doesn't overstay its welcome. The entire game only consists of a tutorial and one stage, after which the game completely breaks. Actually, Got to Go seemed to have an odd sense of humor about itself, almost like it was tacitly acknowledging how broken it was. At the end of the tutorial, you are greeted with a screen that reads "Tutorial Cleared!" and when you complete the stage, you are greeted with the same exact screen with the word "tutorial" scribbled out in red ink with the word "Stage" written above it. No, I'm not joking.
Usually, I praise a game for being a tightly wrapped experience, but this one's just too anemic. It simply didn't have enough time to effectively explore all of its mechanics, of which there are a surprising number (considering the game is only about 5 minutes long). The jumping physics are standard and the upgrade system is kind of fun for the 2 seconds during which it lasts. The hitbox on your character is a little large, but that only lead to one annoying death,
All-in-all, it's just another unfinished platformer. Nothing about it is horrible, but that's because the designers quit before they could screw up.
That's all for now, I got to go.
Until next time, decide whether to stay or go.
Links
I did it!: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24631
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Good Morning Bird
Good Morning Bird is another audacious step toward learning how to completely integrate all aspects of a game into the game's mechanics themselves. In this case, we're talking about the music. Yes, that first sentence wasn't just an expertly crafted amalgamation of words, it also contained a pun! The last game on the list to try this (or at least the last one I remember) was entitled Audacity. That game pulled off the whole "2D music platformer" thing decently. Its main flaws were that the notes that played when you picked up stuff were just a bit out of sync with the rest of the "song" and that there was no save feature (grrr).
Good Morning Bird seems to have fixed both of those. There were only a few moments when the notes were out of sync (but that's to be expected for a game this experimental), and the game is short enough to not need a save feature. So, is this it? Have we reached an apex of game design? Has the perfect platforming musical experience been crafted? Well...no, but hey, Good Morning Bird is a damn good try.
First off, let's talk visual design. There are no graphical glitches and the game is decently colorful and exciting. I'm not an artist, but I daresay any problems you may have with the visual design are personal preferences. I, personally, loved the visual design. There's something about that half-egg on legs that makes me go "daww."
Next, game feel. This is where the game took a big misstep for me. Your hitbox is a bit larger than it should be, and enemy patterns are just a bit too fast. The snakes are the worst culprits. They bounce merrily up and down so fluidly and so rapidly that it's a huge pain to time your passage over or under them accordingly. Not to mention, your character is just a bit too slow, giving that feeling of "come on, hurry up, dammit!" when you bear down on the right arrow key hoping, to no avail, that the little birdie will get a move on.
If you can get past that, though, Good Morning Bird is a neatly wrapped, fun experience. That's all for now. Until next time, stay musical.
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25907
Good Morning Bird seems to have fixed both of those. There were only a few moments when the notes were out of sync (but that's to be expected for a game this experimental), and the game is short enough to not need a save feature. So, is this it? Have we reached an apex of game design? Has the perfect platforming musical experience been crafted? Well...no, but hey, Good Morning Bird is a damn good try.
First off, let's talk visual design. There are no graphical glitches and the game is decently colorful and exciting. I'm not an artist, but I daresay any problems you may have with the visual design are personal preferences. I, personally, loved the visual design. There's something about that half-egg on legs that makes me go "daww."
Next, game feel. This is where the game took a big misstep for me. Your hitbox is a bit larger than it should be, and enemy patterns are just a bit too fast. The snakes are the worst culprits. They bounce merrily up and down so fluidly and so rapidly that it's a huge pain to time your passage over or under them accordingly. Not to mention, your character is just a bit too slow, giving that feeling of "come on, hurry up, dammit!" when you bear down on the right arrow key hoping, to no avail, that the little birdie will get a move on.
If you can get past that, though, Good Morning Bird is a neatly wrapped, fun experience. That's all for now. Until next time, stay musical.
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=25907
Gobs of Color
If you've read my Claustrophere review, you probably know that I'm a big fan of the "inevitable demise" story framework. Of course it won't work for every game, but there's something about fighting your hardest in a fruitless battle that just brings up all sorts of introspective thought, at least to me. Why do I keep fighting even though I know this war zone will be my grave? Would it not be more moral and logical to simply lay down my weapon and spare the lives of my enemies, who will win the day regardless of their casualties? What am I fighting for in the first place? Who am I, even?
In the case of Gobs of Color, that questioning process goes something like this: "Why d-" and then you're dead.
Gobs of Color is a short, Asteroids-esque shooter with a difficulty curve that will beat you senseless. Each of my playthroughs lasted less than a minute before I was consumed by the pastel-colored space monstrosity. If there was ever any thought in your mind that I confuse "frustration" with "extreme difficulty," let this review put those worries to rest. This is perhaps the most difficult game on the list so far, and never once did it get frustrating.
What I like most about this game is that it scores you on two separate things that are only tangentially related: score and time survived. See, the only way to rack up points is to shoot the Crayola globules, but doing so makes them explode and spread out, making them more likely to hit you and chip away your health. Thus, the game allows for two distinct types of playstyles: pacifism and aggression. What's better is that it's completely up to the player to decide which playstyle is preferable...huh, maybe this game is deeper than I initially thought.
This game is short, sweet, unique (kind of), and challenging. It definitely gets my seal of approval and it's perfect for anyone who needs some quick sensory stimulation after a mentally draining stretch of homework or filing taxes or what have you.
That's all for now. Until next time, stay colorful and gelatinous.
Links
Space Play-doh: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=8724
In the case of Gobs of Color, that questioning process goes something like this: "Why d-" and then you're dead.
Gobs of Color is a short, Asteroids-esque shooter with a difficulty curve that will beat you senseless. Each of my playthroughs lasted less than a minute before I was consumed by the pastel-colored space monstrosity. If there was ever any thought in your mind that I confuse "frustration" with "extreme difficulty," let this review put those worries to rest. This is perhaps the most difficult game on the list so far, and never once did it get frustrating.
What I like most about this game is that it scores you on two separate things that are only tangentially related: score and time survived. See, the only way to rack up points is to shoot the Crayola globules, but doing so makes them explode and spread out, making them more likely to hit you and chip away your health. Thus, the game allows for two distinct types of playstyles: pacifism and aggression. What's better is that it's completely up to the player to decide which playstyle is preferable...huh, maybe this game is deeper than I initially thought.
This game is short, sweet, unique (kind of), and challenging. It definitely gets my seal of approval and it's perfect for anyone who needs some quick sensory stimulation after a mentally draining stretch of homework or filing taxes or what have you.
That's all for now. Until next time, stay colorful and gelatinous.
Links
Space Play-doh: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=8724
Friday, April 19, 2013
Gnomble (kinda)
An interesting thing happened the other day. I had some spare time, so I decided to go back and replay some old DigiPen games (because why else would I be keeping them all on my hard drive?) and I clicked, out of pure curiosity, on Data Runner. Much to my combination of surprise, delight, and dismay, it actually worked even though I declared that it was broken on this very blog.
This got me feeling kind of guilty. I felt like I should give that combination of Tempest 200 and the most annoying level of Spiderman 64 the review it deserved. Then I got thinking: what other games did I deprive of a review just because it didn't work for me? How come I can declare a game broken just for installing incorrectly, which seems to have been the case for Data Runner (and, indeed, Gnomble) yet I can spend half an hour searching for an alternate download of Crazy Cross?
At the end of the day, it just all comes down to a lot of factors: how busy I am, my mood, etc. There are going to be times when I don't review a game that has potential.
Fear not, though, for there is hope. Remember a while back when I got my buddy Luis to do my job for me? Well, I'm not above accepting other people's work for my "reviews" of broken games. If I say a game is broken but you can get it to work and you feel like writing up a short review, by all means, send it in. Also make sure to send me your name (or alias) so I can credit you. I know my audience isn't that big...not even close, actually...but still, there's a chance that someone out there would be willing; I'm gonna take it. After all, my miniscule audience has already proven that they care enough about these games to make contributions (that's right, Yose, I'm talking to you and your impressive fix for Claustrophere), and that was before I somehow managed to get at least one viewer from Poland...
Trust me, I'll review games myself whenever I can, but sometimes the cookie just doesn't crumble in my favor. It's like of the girl from Julie and Julia went to the store to buy the ingredients for her newest dish and they just didn't have any...stuff happens.
Well, that's all I got today. Until next time.
This got me feeling kind of guilty. I felt like I should give that combination of Tempest 200 and the most annoying level of Spiderman 64 the review it deserved. Then I got thinking: what other games did I deprive of a review just because it didn't work for me? How come I can declare a game broken just for installing incorrectly, which seems to have been the case for Data Runner (and, indeed, Gnomble) yet I can spend half an hour searching for an alternate download of Crazy Cross?
At the end of the day, it just all comes down to a lot of factors: how busy I am, my mood, etc. There are going to be times when I don't review a game that has potential.
Fear not, though, for there is hope. Remember a while back when I got my buddy Luis to do my job for me? Well, I'm not above accepting other people's work for my "reviews" of broken games. If I say a game is broken but you can get it to work and you feel like writing up a short review, by all means, send it in. Also make sure to send me your name (or alias) so I can credit you. I know my audience isn't that big...not even close, actually...but still, there's a chance that someone out there would be willing; I'm gonna take it. After all, my miniscule audience has already proven that they care enough about these games to make contributions (that's right, Yose, I'm talking to you and your impressive fix for Claustrophere), and that was before I somehow managed to get at least one viewer from Poland...
Trust me, I'll review games myself whenever I can, but sometimes the cookie just doesn't crumble in my favor. It's like of the girl from Julie and Julia went to the store to buy the ingredients for her newest dish and they just didn't have any...stuff happens.
Well, that's all I got today. Until next time.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Gloom
That's right, you all know what time it is. Time for an Andrew Nack game! Let's see how this one holds up.
Another thing I found interesting is that the instructor for this game is none other than James Portnow, who writes for that Extra Credits thing I always link you guys to. Now that I think of it, why doesn't every game team credit their instructor in their projects? Ah whatever. The point is, this game is the product of a game designer whom I greatly respect and a game design instructor whom I also revere. Needless to say, my hopes are high.
Well, it certainly was an experience...very different from the typical...um...what the hell is this, anyways?
If you were to ask Andrew Nack, he'd probably say it's a "platformer RPG that focuses on minion control mechanics." I agree with that for the most part, though I'm not sure how much of an RPG it is just because you can upgrade minions. That's like calling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare an FPSRPG because you can put mods on your guns. Also, calling them "control mechanics" is a bit generous. The minions seem to do whatever they want for the most part
okay, that's a bit harsh. In all honesty, I think the controls are designed pretty ingeniously because I genuinely couldn't tell you how they work. They just...do. Honestly, I think that's Andrew Nack's strongsuit. He can really deliver on flow.
The story, while taking a backseat to the mechanics, is decent. I think I know a little bit about Portnow's storytelling preferences from watching Extra Credits, and this game is rife with them. Very little is explained about the characters and setting of the game, and when it is, it's always explained via chatter and otherwise auxiliary text. The game is never interrupted for the sake of storytelling or instruction, which is just one of the many reasons this game can send you into a trance and make you forget that reality exists...or does it?
at its core, Gloom is about getting from one place to another by mastering the mechanics. It allows for many varying play styles and the plethora of upgrades makes this game a replayable, unique experience. That said, there are some things I didn't like about it...well, really only one thing...a stylistic thing, too.
First off, let me say that in terms of visual design, you don't get much more talented than Nack. I'm a huge fan of the style of his other works, but this one...eh...it's a bit too....Limbo for me. Everything is a silhouette with the exception of the bright, glowy eyes of the characters. Couple that with the dark backgrounds and it's just a little too confusing to look at for my tastes. Of course, that's not helped by the fact that the characters don't seem to have any individual physics themselves. They're all just ragdolls to be thrown around in different sequences by the physics engine. In fact, the whole game kind of plays like a really in-depth Happy Wheels map.
Oh well. This is still a great game that I had fun with. It may not be perfect, but it tried something new. Not only that, but this is probably the most intricate game of Nack's that I've reviewed yet. I was never one to accept excuses, but I think "I'm one guy who had to design and program characters, levels and a crapload of upgrades" works in this context.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay imaginative.
Links
Hail the Great Pig: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26419
Another thing I found interesting is that the instructor for this game is none other than James Portnow, who writes for that Extra Credits thing I always link you guys to. Now that I think of it, why doesn't every game team credit their instructor in their projects? Ah whatever. The point is, this game is the product of a game designer whom I greatly respect and a game design instructor whom I also revere. Needless to say, my hopes are high.
Well, it certainly was an experience...very different from the typical...um...what the hell is this, anyways?
If you were to ask Andrew Nack, he'd probably say it's a "platformer RPG that focuses on minion control mechanics." I agree with that for the most part, though I'm not sure how much of an RPG it is just because you can upgrade minions. That's like calling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare an FPSRPG because you can put mods on your guns. Also, calling them "control mechanics" is a bit generous. The minions seem to do whatever they want for the most part
okay, that's a bit harsh. In all honesty, I think the controls are designed pretty ingeniously because I genuinely couldn't tell you how they work. They just...do. Honestly, I think that's Andrew Nack's strongsuit. He can really deliver on flow.
The story, while taking a backseat to the mechanics, is decent. I think I know a little bit about Portnow's storytelling preferences from watching Extra Credits, and this game is rife with them. Very little is explained about the characters and setting of the game, and when it is, it's always explained via chatter and otherwise auxiliary text. The game is never interrupted for the sake of storytelling or instruction, which is just one of the many reasons this game can send you into a trance and make you forget that reality exists...or does it?
at its core, Gloom is about getting from one place to another by mastering the mechanics. It allows for many varying play styles and the plethora of upgrades makes this game a replayable, unique experience. That said, there are some things I didn't like about it...well, really only one thing...a stylistic thing, too.
First off, let me say that in terms of visual design, you don't get much more talented than Nack. I'm a huge fan of the style of his other works, but this one...eh...it's a bit too....Limbo for me. Everything is a silhouette with the exception of the bright, glowy eyes of the characters. Couple that with the dark backgrounds and it's just a little too confusing to look at for my tastes. Of course, that's not helped by the fact that the characters don't seem to have any individual physics themselves. They're all just ragdolls to be thrown around in different sequences by the physics engine. In fact, the whole game kind of plays like a really in-depth Happy Wheels map.
Oh well. This is still a great game that I had fun with. It may not be perfect, but it tried something new. Not only that, but this is probably the most intricate game of Nack's that I've reviewed yet. I was never one to accept excuses, but I think "I'm one guy who had to design and program characters, levels and a crapload of upgrades" works in this context.
That's all I got for now. Until next time, stay imaginative.
Links
Hail the Great Pig: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=26419
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Glo
meh.
I'm tired and frustrated today, so it's gonna be one of those reviews. It's not like this game gave me much to work with anyway. I ragequit pretty early on.
First off, let's talk about the control scheme. This is one of those "enemy-hell" kind of games where there are always a million and a half enemies on the screen and it's your job to dispatch them all. You never run out of ammo, and the special weapons are timed, meaning not only does the game not punish the perpetual use of LMB, it promotes it. I feel like if I had a mouse, it wouldn't be that much of a problem (especially if it was my old mouse where you could press a button and it would treat the mouse buttons as toggles rather than holds), but I have to say that this setup made the game very uncomfortable to play. Being a game that is not enjoyable physically certainly is falling at the first snail on the racetrack that you've mistaken for a hurdle.
The aesthetic is bland. The only appeal comes from the "neon light" look that I'm really getting tired of now. There doesn't seem to have been any real thought put into the enemy or level design.
Which leads me into the big problem. The reason why I ragequit. See, after a while, I realized that you automatically shoot towards your cursor, so I could just not touch my trackpad and circle-straffe around everything and be untouchable. Apparently, the game knew that I'd found out how to exploit it, so it decided to pull a complete 180 from being unfairly easy to unfairly...well, unfair. I was immediately blindsided by 5 enemies at once who drained all my health before I even realized I was taking damage. I was then taken to the very beginning of the stage.
A game that is designed like this does not deserve to be played. nope.
ok so maybe "meh" doesn't quite sum up my discontent for this game, but eh. It's what I'm feelin
That's all for now. Until next time, stay indifferent
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24641
I'm tired and frustrated today, so it's gonna be one of those reviews. It's not like this game gave me much to work with anyway. I ragequit pretty early on.
First off, let's talk about the control scheme. This is one of those "enemy-hell" kind of games where there are always a million and a half enemies on the screen and it's your job to dispatch them all. You never run out of ammo, and the special weapons are timed, meaning not only does the game not punish the perpetual use of LMB, it promotes it. I feel like if I had a mouse, it wouldn't be that much of a problem (especially if it was my old mouse where you could press a button and it would treat the mouse buttons as toggles rather than holds), but I have to say that this setup made the game very uncomfortable to play. Being a game that is not enjoyable physically certainly is falling at the first snail on the racetrack that you've mistaken for a hurdle.
The aesthetic is bland. The only appeal comes from the "neon light" look that I'm really getting tired of now. There doesn't seem to have been any real thought put into the enemy or level design.
Which leads me into the big problem. The reason why I ragequit. See, after a while, I realized that you automatically shoot towards your cursor, so I could just not touch my trackpad and circle-straffe around everything and be untouchable. Apparently, the game knew that I'd found out how to exploit it, so it decided to pull a complete 180 from being unfairly easy to unfairly...well, unfair. I was immediately blindsided by 5 enemies at once who drained all my health before I even realized I was taking damage. I was then taken to the very beginning of the stage.
A game that is designed like this does not deserve to be played. nope.
ok so maybe "meh" doesn't quite sum up my discontent for this game, but eh. It's what I'm feelin
That's all for now. Until next time, stay indifferent
Links
https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=24641
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Glitch
To me, naming a game Glitch is even more of a death sentence than naming a book "highly combustible pages" or a movie "someone dragged a key across the film."
Much to my delight, Glitch does nothing to deserve its name, in that it is one of the best games on this list so far. Yes, it's no secret that I'm a fan of the FPS, but there's a good reason for it. I have no problem tearing apart bad FPS games like Echo. Before this turns into some genre war, let me say that I judge all games equally, regardless of the genre. I have my preferences, but so does everybody. If I don't like an RTS, for example, it's not just because I find no joy in micromanaging things that feel so distanced from me that I may as well just be a spectator, but it's moreso probably because it conveys its instructions through text dumps, has graphical problems or what have you. I swear, I'm a totally credible critic.
Anyways, Glitch is one of those "beautiful in its simplicity" kind of things. As you guys can tell, it's late and I'm tired, so I'm not going to go into huge detail or spend tons of time looking through my blog archive for games to compare it to. I will, however, highlight some of the things I enjoyed about Glitch.
First, let's talk visuals. The stills for this game make it look absolutely awful, but once the polygons are in motion, it really becomes a feast for the eyes. All the colors are bright and contrasting, making everything easy to see.
The level design is...well, it's a bunch of narrow square platforms that connect on all four sides and wave up and down like the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Simple, but allows for a lot of variety (which is a good one-sentence review of this game as a whole).
What really sold me is the game feel. Usually, when I've been playing a game for about half an hour and I haven't died yet, I'll say "okay, let me just kill myself so I can see what the game over screen is like and get bloggin." I couldn't bring myself to do that in this game. I had to keep playing because I was just having too much fun. I attribute this mainly to the weapons. Each one is varied enough to be fresh when you pick it up. You can only hold one weapon at a time, but the stage is always littered with pickups. Dodging enemy fire and taking down tough targets is an immensely rewarding experience. This game definitely earns my seal of approval.
Links
pew pew yaaay: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1470
Much to my delight, Glitch does nothing to deserve its name, in that it is one of the best games on this list so far. Yes, it's no secret that I'm a fan of the FPS, but there's a good reason for it. I have no problem tearing apart bad FPS games like Echo. Before this turns into some genre war, let me say that I judge all games equally, regardless of the genre. I have my preferences, but so does everybody. If I don't like an RTS, for example, it's not just because I find no joy in micromanaging things that feel so distanced from me that I may as well just be a spectator, but it's moreso probably because it conveys its instructions through text dumps, has graphical problems or what have you. I swear, I'm a totally credible critic.
Anyways, Glitch is one of those "beautiful in its simplicity" kind of things. As you guys can tell, it's late and I'm tired, so I'm not going to go into huge detail or spend tons of time looking through my blog archive for games to compare it to. I will, however, highlight some of the things I enjoyed about Glitch.
First, let's talk visuals. The stills for this game make it look absolutely awful, but once the polygons are in motion, it really becomes a feast for the eyes. All the colors are bright and contrasting, making everything easy to see.
The level design is...well, it's a bunch of narrow square platforms that connect on all four sides and wave up and down like the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Simple, but allows for a lot of variety (which is a good one-sentence review of this game as a whole).
What really sold me is the game feel. Usually, when I've been playing a game for about half an hour and I haven't died yet, I'll say "okay, let me just kill myself so I can see what the game over screen is like and get bloggin." I couldn't bring myself to do that in this game. I had to keep playing because I was just having too much fun. I attribute this mainly to the weapons. Each one is varied enough to be fresh when you pick it up. You can only hold one weapon at a time, but the stage is always littered with pickups. Dodging enemy fire and taking down tough targets is an immensely rewarding experience. This game definitely earns my seal of approval.
Links
pew pew yaaay: https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1470
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