Published by Charles Joseph July 13th, 2008
in Games and Links.
David Sirlin’s long-awaited, online collectible card game, Kongai, has finally been launched over at Kongregate. After initially finding the game uninteresting I was convinced by our friend Nash to give it another try. I’m glad I did, because it really is a great game.
Unfortunately the great game is hidden under a terrifying interface, making the best way to learn the game an in-person tutorial from someone who already knows how to play (which is actually a lot like real card game). On top of this there’s a lot of lag and a few server glitches right now that might cause you to lose games even when your victory is imminent (this seems to happen less on ranked matches). Also, there’s no ability to play with your friends, which is ironic for a game hosted on a social software site. Finally, the card distribution is draconian, so when someone uses an incredible combo on you it’s basically impossible to throw together a deck and try the move out for yourself.
None of that, of course, is David Sirlin’s fault (except maybe the interface stuff) and he deserves credit for creating a really compelling and rewarding game. Everyone should try it out.
Published by Bob July 4th, 2008
in Games.
In honor of Independence Day, I’m posting my latest game, in its own way a rumination on the nature of life, liberty and freedom of speech in the 21st century. This is basically what I wish I could’ve finished in time for my thesis, and while there’s still a few typos and errors here and there in the text that I’ll be fixing as I go along, I can honestly say that this is a game I stand by (even if it is a work-in-progress until I decide otherwise).
Click the picture to open the game. For the uninitiated, here’s the essentials– press the arrow-keys to choose phrases, press the spacebar to speak, and press the enter-key to cancel your phrases and choose something else, or move to the next screen of text. Up says Yes, Down says No, Left asks a Question and Right gives an Answer. Whatever you do, don’t run out of light-bulbs.
Anyway, that’s it for now. Until next time, pleasant dreamers, be thankful that the founding fathers managed to establish at least one semi-regular three-day weekend…
Published by Charles Joseph June 16th, 2008
in Games and Links.
Every now and then I play a video game that really shows what’s possible with the medium. A game where the context and the gameplay are tightly woven, with the meaning reinforced by every element, from the smallest player action to the larger possibility space. It’s even better when a game like this is really about something. Something that sticks with you long after you’ve stepped away from the screen.
Link
Published by Charles Joseph June 9th, 2008
in Games and Links.
There’s a pretty great Arkanoid-style game up on Kongregate called Mr. Bounce. Goes to show that old games never die, they just get retooled.
Published by Charles Joseph June 2nd, 2008
in Games and Links.
Ian Bogost has a post on his blog about a game called Identity Hero. To him it’s a great example of a game simulating the features of a product. To me it’s another example of how mechanics obviously don’t have innate rhetoric and so can be given any context by just slapping the right graphics and text on top of them.
Protip: In addition to adding an ‘O’ to the end of any word to make a game, see “Coin-o“, you can also put ‘Hero’ after any noun to create a compelling and accurate (albeit abstract) simulation.
Published by Charles Joseph May 20th, 2008
in Games and Links.
Ian Bogost (or at least his company) has a new game out about federal spending called Budget Hero. The game has you selecting up to three goals for your budget, such robust defense, environmental safety, etc., then increasing or decreasing spending in several areas by play ‘cards’ particular to each category. Underneath it all you can track the surplus or deficit of your proposed budget and the percentage of the GDP that you’ll spend. When you’re finished just click a button and see your decisions play out over 20 years.
The game should win an award for confusing/bad interaction/UI design. It’s alright though, because all you really need to do is click on ‘Taxes’ and then play the card that says “Repeal the Bush tax cuts, tax the rich”. This will generate enough money to pay for almost any of the goals that you selected. Yay for procedural rhetoric…
Published by Bob March 31st, 2008
in Teaser and Games.
I said I’d get out of Power Point sooner or later.
A pleasant dream of things to come …
(Note: If the SWF doesn’t open by itself after unzipping the file, try putting it in a web-browser. I’ve still got to get my Flash legs, here.)
Published by Charles Joseph March 21st, 2008
in Readings, Games and Links.
For those of you who are studying ARGs this semester, some the former members of ‘Mind Candy’, the creators of Perplexcity, have founded a new company called ‘Six to Start’ and their first project is called We Tell Stories. Made in collaboration with Penguin Books, the project is a series of stories written by professional authors exploring digital fiction. However, I have heard a rumor that there is an ARG hidden somewhere in the website, so happy hunting:
We Tell Stories
On a related note, Adrian Hon (one of the founders of Six to Start) recently gave a talk about stories in games at a Barcamp in Brighton, England. You can get a summation of the lecture at the Guardian Unlimited’s games blog here and Mr. Hon has posted his slides on his own blog here.
Published by Charles Berkeley February 14th, 2008
in Games.
…of growing up with weapons in Kentucky. This is a really simple game. No depth at all. I love it.
Dodge the Bullet
Published by Bob February 10th, 2008
in Games.
http://www.divshare.com/download/3748406-477
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and you don’t know how tempting it is to make another game about suicide just for the occasion. Instead, however, let’s put a slightly more optimistic face on the grim occasion, and try a more upbeat game of inevitable failure. See, in all the work I’ve been putting into my dialogue-driven games, I realized that there was one already existing genre of games that I’d been ignoring entirely, and one that had potentially the greatest potential for narrative, gameplay and emotional connection:
The dating-sim!
Continue reading ‘The Designer’s Dilemma: Geek Love’
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