Tag Archives: indie games

Inspirational Gamer of The Week: Almost Human Games

Posted by Chad Knick on

Imagine if you will that you are a gamer and you love playing games, or you would love to play games, but the accessibility of the controls made it inaccessible or impossible to succeed at playing said games. This is a situation that occurs for thousands, if not millions of gamers world wide with disabilities. This week though we have a case of a gaming company hearing the voice of one individual and changing the course of their games accessibility just from the sound of one question posed to them.

In January 2012 a small indie company called Almost Human Games began promotion of a game called Legends of Grimrock. It was set to be an old-school dungeon crawler RPG. The dungeons have tile based movement and so most actions are rather simplistic in nature. The real story here comes from a gamer, HarpoonIPA, who contacted Almost Human about their accessibility and why the option of on-screen directional movement arrows was actually a necessity in his case.

This is amazing - so I had to share.

HarpoonIPA is a paraplegic gamer who is required to use a mouth stick for any of his typing and so when HarpoonIPA explained the reason why accessible onscreen button controls were a necessity for his enjoyment and gameplay. The developers were touched by his story and, thus, set about implementing the onscreen HUD to the game. Developer, Petri Hakkinen, stated in an interview with Kotaku that:

” It was no big deal to implement it. I mean even it were to affect only the life of one single person, it is still totally worth it.”

The game will be released on April 11th, 2012 on Windows, Mac, and iOS – but this event truly speaks to me. I mean, as a designer, I’m constantly searching for new ideas and new methods that people are working on and trying to see how to best implement aspects into my own projects. In this story I think it speaks in droves the kind of impact small gestures like this can have.

Why don’t we have more onscreen HUD controls?

Why don’t we see more main-stream developers taking the reigns and reformatting their works to be more accessible?

I have to ask, is it a finance thing?

Is it a lack of desire to change control schemes, or do developers feel locked to the plastic control schemes presented by mainstream consoles?

Is it because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?

I applaud HarpoonIPA for speaking out and requesting his needs and desires to help the developers change their accessibility, and I applaud the developers for having the courage and wherewithal to follow through with it. Most gaming companies would have stopped this idea at the front door, because there’s so much consumerism and mass appeal that goes into production of most of these games. Indie games catch a break though, because they don’t often have to deal with all of the red-tape of a hierarchy system.

Badger Badger Badger Badger...MUSHROOM MONSTER!

My question that this poses is why? Why does it have to be indie houses that show the most attention to detail when it comes to creating accessibility? Why can’t the console market take steps to creating meaningful experiences like this? I’ve traveled many forums, talked to countless other gamers, and even having SOME options like this available to them would make their enjoyment of their gaming lives overall better. One thing I hate though above all are the folks out there who are able-bodied and who troll forums like Youtube and other major network sites and claim that the needs of disabled players shouldn’t be recognized because it will give them an ‘unfair advantage.’

Trust me I’ve seen hate bashing on some button remapping campaigns. Some able-bodied gamers believe that giving access to additions like button remapping or assistive controls will ultimately give disabled gamers an advantage in their gameplay. How much sense does this really make? None. I pose this argument to anyone who still thinks this is true: If you’re getting beat by a disabled gamer, and you’re able bodied, you seriously need to think about choosing a new game to play. They are playing at a disadvantage already, so how does giving them the ability to play on an equal playing field make it an unfair advantage for them?

Hmm - He's behind bars... now how to make a stew out of him?

Fellow gamers shouldn’t complain, instead, embrace and show love and support for your fellow gamers. Almost Human has and I’m so excited to see design studios doing this. I hope there’s more of it in the future. I believe a ton of MMO’s could benefit from onscreen HUD displays like this: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft, DC Universe Online – you name it, they could use it. I’ve also thought about the concept of voice recognition software too. I know that Bioware was working on voice software for the Kinect and Mass Effect 3, but I would love to see that same concept implemented into other games before I can truly say that it’s a step forward in gaming.

So here is to you Almost Human Games! You reached out to a gamer in need and changed your game for the benefit of, not only him, but countless new gamers who will play your title. You have not only my respect, but my admiration, and I wish you all the best of luck upon the games release April 11th, 2012! Time for me to go slay a dragon in some dungeon somewhere…

Development: MolyJam 2012 Wrap Up

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well folks, the wonderful MolyJam 2012 has come and gone, and now only the games remain. This quirky, out-of-the-box, off-the-wall range of ideas from the odd mind of a green pixel named Peter Molydeux, has brought some amazing concepts and, shall we say, very unique array of indie games from all over the world. There are so many that it certainly hard to cover ALL of them in detail within this one post, but I’m going to try and cover some of my favorites throughout this post. I hope you enjoy these odd titles as much as I did.

I haven’t had a chance to play all of these an most of these are Windows run games [ I learned from experience folks ] but if you’ve got the time and energy to take a look at some of these indie gems I totally suggest it. I’m only going to present a few of them, primarily ones that have content you can view here, but there’s so many that honestly you’re just going to have to gauge for yourself. Here goes, welcome to the world of Peter Molydeux and what his oddities have created.

MolyJam Seattle:

Unbearable 

Molydeux Tweet: “You are a bear but for some reason your oxygen comes from hugging people. Problem is that hugging people breaks their bones.”

 

MolyJam Australia:

The Spandex Parable

Molydeux Tweet: “You know, what if the aim of the game was to resist actually completing it? That kept me up all night yesterday.”

 

The Miner

Molydeux Tweet: “Imagine a world where people don’t talk, physical words are hidden underground. You must travel the world hunting ‘I’, ‘love’ and ‘you’.”

 

MolyJam Netherlands:

My Last Friend

Molydeux Tweet: “You’re a scarecrow in a world with just 1 bird”

 

MolyJam Montreal:

Friends ‘Til The End

Molydeux Tweet: “You play as a small boy with a remote control helicoptor that is alive and your friend, then you discover a nuclear missle inside it”

 

MolyJam Monterrey 

Plug and Slay

Molydeux Tweet: “What if you lived in a world where all guns are required to be plugged into wall sockets? Now THAT would be a tactical shooter wouldn’t it?”

 

All of these games are very simple, and most have surprisingly accessible mechanics involved. The most interesting aspect that I find comes from game jams like this, and why I feel we need to do this more often, is because it breaks us from the mundane. It tears us away from our FPS universe of game design which we, unfortunately, live in today. The games that I’ve posed here [ and the hundreds that were submitted worldwide ] are games that evoke something in us. An emotion comes over us and we’re invested in the game. Watch. You’ll see.

You may think that playing a game with a bear who needs constant affection, or playing a scarecrow who can’t move but desires love from another living creature is a boring concept for a game. Everyone has rights to their own opinions, but what intrigues me about these games [ all of the ones submitted to MolyJam ] is that they took simple concepts and made them into meaningful and intriguing games. So, whether you’re a ‘hardcore’ gamer and wouldn’t dream of touching an indie nugget for the life of you – or you’re a light-hearted video game savant who loves games for the art of it all – I severely suggest checking out the entire listing of MolyJam games.

Many of these games can be played from your computer, but some have added accessibility by allowing for use of a controller of your choice [ PS3, XBox – anything with a USB cord ] Now these are just a small sampling of the games that were submitted over the 48 hour period of MolyJam and so if you’re curious you can go and check out ALL of the submissions and download the games for FREE here:

MolyJam Game Archive

Note: Now folks, let us remember, these games were made in 48 hours. If you’re expecting high-end quality production value I’d try and lower your expectations. Some of the games are incomplete, lack certain physics standards, etc. Don’t let that take away from the enjoyment or the experience. These games are more about the fun and the emotion they evoke than anything else.

In closing folks, this past few days of playing these 48 hour nuggets of awesome has inspired me to truly start working on my own concepts as well and taking them from paper to actual production level. I’ll be using GameSalad, and or GameMaker, and so I’ll keep you folks posted as to when I begin that lush journey into the sea of indie building. I hope you all enjoy these games and get something out of their messages:

Games can be simple, evoke emotion, and have more meaning to a player than mere achievements and trophies. The days of old are gone. It’s time to open up a new slate and share ideas, meaningful ones, with the world.

 

Gaming With A Cause: The Humble Bundle for Android 2

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well, if this isn’t a glorious day? A glorious gaming day which allows me to provide more opportunity for gaming AND aiding my fellow gamer. Folks, if you haven’t heard of a lovely little program called the Humble Bundle. You’re missing out. Honestly, I’m kind of sad that I haven’t mentioned this before now – I apologize profusely. So, what exactly is this Humble Bundle thing? Well, it’s a collection of games that comes out on a rather regular basis. [ Opportunities vary so I’ll keep up with it and provide updates for sure! ] This month a new Humble Bundle has been released and here’s what you need to know:

The Humble Bundle for Android 2 is a game collection that helps charity, and if you’ve followed my posts, you know how devoted I am to giving back to gamers in some fashion. The proceeds go to help the Child’s Play charity and the EFF [ Electronic Frontier Foundation ] If you want to know more about the organizations you can check out the Organizations section of my blog. The glorious thing about this whole project is that you can pay what you want for the WHOLE Bundle! You get five wonderful games [ six, if you donate over the average donation! ]for one easy donation:

  • Snuggle Truck:
    • Snuggle Truck is a quirky game from developers, Owlchemy Labs, which puts you in the driver seat of a flat bed truck driver who delivers – what else? Snuggly stuffed animals. The quirk here is that, instead of your basic 9 – 5 traditional commute, you’re driving your flat bed truck into swirling, winding and twisting race tracks.

The cutest escape that's ever been attempted!

    • The goal here is to try and keep your lovely little stuffed pets within your truck at all costs and get them to a zoo that will provide their cuddly bits with all the care they deserve. You earn points based on how many pets you kept within your truck by the end of the track.
  • Canabalt:
    • Developed by Semi Secret Software, Canabalt is reminiscent of a traditional jumper game. Your character starts running as soon as the game starts and your score is based off how far you can run across the rooftops. It’s a very basic game, but it’s so exhilarating tense and fun. It can be played online for free, but you get it in a package for your Humble Bundle! How cool is that? The game continues to get faster and faster and the music is cinematic and intense. The bonus with getting this Humble Bundle version of Canabalt is that it allows for 2 player multiplayer! Enjoy!

Run Forest! Run!!

  • Zen Bound 2:
    • Zen Bound 2 is the sequel to Zen Bound by Secret Exit and it’s a wonderfully peaceful puzzle game. You are given a statue, reminiscent of a particular object, and then are required to wrap a piece of rope around it. Everywhere the rope touches gets lit up with color and thus – the concept of Zen Bound 2 is born! Enjoy this tranquil puzzle game that is both casual and mind-bending all at the same time!

How dare you invade my space? I shall bind you where you stand!

  • Cogs:
    • Cogs is another grand puzzle game within this Humble Bundle. This sliding puzzle game from Lazy 8 Games gives us steampunk junkies a bit of a swooning factor. The game essentials are as follows: Slide the pieces of pipe around until all the pipes and cogs connect correctly, to allow the actual puzzle to spring to life. How cool is that? Here’s particular rocket puzzle to get your lips smacking!

Rocket Man! Making sure my pipes are working' y'all!

  • Avadon: The Black Fortress:
    • Do you like RPG’s? Do you find turn-based RPG’s tend to have died off with all sorts of games other than Final Fantasy? Well then have no fear – Avadon is here! This game from Spider Web Software is vintage RPG. Battle across mass maps in an old-school RPG that will make you swoon for vintage consoles and the old days of gaming. Check out this screenshot of the game and you’ll see what I mean. Inventory, Parties, and RPG upgrade fun:

Oh look at how it's ma' inventory! Hot dog!

and …

  • Swords and Soldiers [ if you donate over the highest average donation]
    • Swords and Soldiers is a side-scrolling action game. You control a variation of warriors ranging from Vikings, Chinese warriors, and Aztec shamans to thwart off hoards of enemies as you go along your way through the side-scrolling environment. While this game is available on the SOE [ Sony Entertainment Network, or PSN ] who would want to pass up an opportunity to get the game by the use of a donation? The game is pretty addictive and the coloration is comical while still being entertaining and aggressive. Here’s a screenshot of the action:

This lil' Viking went to town, a' smashin' on a monster!

The games are available for practically every platform you could ask for:

  • Android
  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Steam

I’m a huge fan of these opportunities and I urge folks who are really looking for some great indie games to jump on this opportunity to help a wonderful cause. This Humble Bundle is going to be open for 5 MORE DAYS , so you won’t have long to grab these great games while you can! You’ll be helping children experience the joy of gaming and you’ll be helping yourself to the same thing! Here is a trailer from the Humble Bundle to you:

The Humble Bundle for Android 2

I see nothing but positives folks! Happy gaming to all! Enjoy the Bundle of joy!

 

Game of the Week: Continuity

Posted by Chad Knick on

Hey there fellow gamers. I’ve desperately been trying to find games that are accessible via a console setting for reviews – and trust me – reviews are coming for console games from Gastrogamer mark my words! I’ll sedate your gaming appetites for now though with a lovely little indie game developed by Guy Lima Jr. and Stefan Mikaelsson or as they are called Ragtime Games. The game is extremely fun, even given its simplistic nature and there’s already a sequel hitting the App Store for iPhone and iPads for 99 cents! So let’s take a look at the parent game: Continuity – shall we?

Continuity is a wonderfully simple puzzle mechanic game that relies on the use of the space bar and arrow keys [ on touchscreen devices it’s merely a touch mechanic to achieve all of the moves – accessibility ftw! ] and your goal in the game is to retrieve a key from one area of the puzzle and get it to unlock the door in another section of the puzzle. Pretty simple concept right? Well, for the first few levels I have to admit it’s pretty simple and addictive fun. The further you get though, the harder and more complex puzzles you’ll face and so it can be challenging, which is actually a great thing for indie game titles, as it allows these games to stand on the same interest level as say a mainstream title.

This is the first level - seems simple right?

The game gets more and more complex as time goes on, but the great thing is that the accessibility of this game is through the roof. The minimalistic style of the graphics allows anyone to play this game, albeit except the blind. The game is simple enough and doesn’t require much physical motion to accomplish [ I assume Continuity 2 is even more accessible with the mere touchscreen access. ]

You have to switch the tiles around to allow access to the door.

Continuity sometimes requires precision timing on switching the slides and timing your jumps, but other than that it’s a highly accessible title that anyone can play. The instructions are done visually and it’s a puzzle that can be played using simply one hand to control the arrow keys and the space bar. What I find most intriguing about this title is that I have seen plenty of ‘key grabbing‘ puzzle titles, but none have really grasped me like Continuity. There’s just something so graceful about this game. Perhaps it’s the etherial music that plays as you go through the puzzles, or the monochromatic color scheme – but this game takes my breath away at how a simple platforming game can be made so complex and beautiful.

If you like Continuity, then I recommend checking out Continuity 2 for iPad. It sounds like the game is far more intricate, but with the same simplistic style as before. It sounds as though it contains more levels than the original and the gameplay is more engaging than ever due to the touchscreen interface. I can’t wait to see what capabilities Ragtime has put out for this mobile installment of the game.

More complex puzzles = More love imo

Here’s a video of Guy explaining some of the changes coming in Continuity 2:

I’m in love with this game and even though it only has 30+ puzzles – they’re a challenge and they get your mind thinking. It’s something I think all people in this world need today. So, if you’re in the mood for a great accessible game title I suggest you give Ragtime Games indie classic a try. It’ll be worth it I promise! I can’t wait to see if I can get my hands on an Android market one, but alas, I guess I’ll have to wait till they make that decision. Till then I’ll be hoping and praying for when consoles begin to think up wondrous, accessible indie games like this. You have my love Ragtime Games. Thanks for making such an engrossing indie title that I can honestly say I’m looking forward to sharing with others!

Play Continuity Here:

Continuity

Game of the Week: Super Crate Box

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well, since we’ve seen a game like Kingdom Rush today, I figured I’d give us all a nice little hit of nostalgia and 8-bit gameplay fun. Super Crate Box is a brand new indie game from Vlambeer which will be showcased at this year’s PAX East in Boston. Now here’s a company who saw the complexity of their controls, reworked them and seem to have made a game that is far easier and more accessible given new mechanics. Here’s the point:

Alright, so in Super Crate Box, you play as a super amazing crate that must fend off enemy hoards that want to eat your tasty box contents. Each crate you acquire during the game will give you access to new guns and ammo that will help you mutilate the hoards of 8-bit enemies along the way. Now, I obviously have gotten my hands on the BETA version of the game. The newly refined iOS tablet/phone versions look like they control MUCH simpler than the BETA version. So, sadly, I have to discuss functionality of this version and compare it to the upgrade – so hold in there with me.

Super Crate Box is visually stunning, in a sort of, “Oh look at how vintage I am!”, sort of way. It gave a visual feel akin to the many times I played through Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. The platform shooter is amazing visual wise. The cute little crate wielding weapons of doom is pretty amusing and the aliens have just enough AI to make the game tense and appealing. Now, as far as the gameplay is concerned this is where it gets tedious and I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to rip bandaids off the wounds now.

Super Crate Box is probably far MORE accessible via a tablet or phone device, but the Mac and PC versions require an incredible amount of dexterity and precision to accomplish. This is because the key settings are all across the keyboard. There are a limited number of controls: Z for jump, X for shoot, and the Arrow Keys for movement. To actually make my crate-boy jump took some difficult finger movements to accomplish. Perhaps that’s just me, but the controls felt clunky and spaced out too much to make an accessible match fully possible. I would love to try the game out on iOS, because I think the game is a wonderful vintage installment.

Here’s a video of what the iOS tablet version looks like [ I want! ]:

If I could click the screen that would have helped too. If I could just touch a space on the play field and my crate-boy would jump to a platform and grab a box, etc. that would provide so much more fluid accessibility to the game. A couple of other things about the game that I found sort of difficult in my PC version: The options menu provides you a control scheme A or B, but it doesn’t tell you what the control scheme switch is – what buttons etc. This is frustrating, because I wish there was a “Mouse Only” control on here so that all actions could be initiated by a single touch. It would make the game behave smoother, perhaps that’s why they drafted the game for iOS, so that they could provide a smoother gameplay experience.

Vlambeer is a wonderful new company and I wish them the best of success, and great eye noticing the accessibility concerns from your PC draft. I think the change to iOS medium will give the game a more “NES” style of gameplay that you can hold in your hand. I’m hoping that this game becomes a cult hit. It’s already been an underground sensation since 2010, but now with all the kinks out and a more accessible platform maybe they’ll get even more people playing this wonderful game.

I brought this game to attention today, because I thought it was important for people to see how game companies can learn from initial launches of games and see where the accessibility lacks. This, in turn, can help them design and draft a more accessible version down the line.

Colorblind gamers may have some issues with some of the backgrounds and platforms, but the enemies are all very varied vibrant colors and so that makes spotting them much easier. Motion-impaired gamers will have a severely hard time with the PC version as it requires use of both hands and precision to pull off all the moves, and deaf players can play this game no problem, as it really doesn’t require the use of sound to play. Overall, it’s nice to see a game company recognize that their game could fit an accessible mobile market, and I’m excited to see the future of this game.

You can currently get Super Crate Box via iPhone, iPad, or in the iCade for .99 cents! This is an amazing deal and it’s got a lot of great gameplay value for a mere dollar! I’m unsure if they’ll be launching an Android version, but if I manage a convention this year I’ll try and see if I can’t ask if an Android version would be possible. This is a great example of how controls can make a game more difficult, but how developers can learn from that difficulty and turn it into a positive step forward in accessibility. I would also like to point out that games like this would also be wonderful on console formats! Wink Wink Vlambeer!

If you want to check out the PC/Mac version of it you can check out the link here:

( The PC version link is right underneath the OSX version in small print just fyi )

http://www.supercratebox.com/?p=downloads 

Happy alien-hunting, you gun-weilding future-Craters!

Game of the Week: The Warbler’s Nest

Posted by Chad Knick on

This week is an interesting one, because it veers a little different from what you’re probably used to in the video game world. I know that I generally love to talk about games and graphics and art advancements, but imagine if you will if all of that was stripped away. You now have no visuals, no sounds, no alternative stimuli that you’ve become so fond of in modern gaming. Do you think you could still enjoy a game if it didn’t contain these qualities? Well I aim to show that it is possible with this week’s Game of the Week:

The Warbler’s Nest by Josh McIntosh

 

 

The Warbler’s Nest is an interactive-text adventure [ and for those of you who know what it is you’ll be fondly reminded of Zork.] and through the glory of the power of words, the game intends on taking you through this adventure and mystery as you type along with it. At first, it may seem like a boring game, why would someone want to sit and type directions into a computer right? Oh, but how you’d be wrong there. The joy that comes from Warbler’s Nest is that it’s a fairy tale adventure lined with mystery and charm. The whole transition of using your imagination to depict the events being given to you on the screen changes the value of every piece of information and players should become deeply invested in trying to discover the mystery of this place.

The very first line is even intriguing:

Among the Reeds

> The familiar reed bank behind your cottage surrounds you, filling the damp space between your home and the river to the south.

It may not seem like much, but as a player there is some sense of mysticism about what is now around us. We become intrigued by the fact that there is a river close to our home, so perhaps we check there, or perhaps we turn back towards our home and check the house. The decisions that come up here are all up to YOU as YOU investigate this area around you. The suspense comes later in the game, and so I won’t give any of the storyline away if you care to play it. The fact is, this game does something that I don’t think a lot of current games allow you to do: imagine.

As children we grow up constantly playing, imagining, and creating our own worlds, our pretend lives, and even, often times, imaginary friends. Our realms of make-believe and mysticism are vast and well used, because as we imagine and grow we learn from our creativity. Games in the mainstream market hinder this creative spark in our brains. They take the enjoyment of visualizing an environment for ourselves out of the picture and clutter the scene with their own visual interpretations, forcing us to participate in a storyline the way they have depicted it.

McIntosh gives the world something that it needs right now: childhood whimsy, mystery, and imagination. He forces us to revert to our youth and examine a situation based on intuition and problem solving by using our own interpretations, rather than holding our hand through a linear progressive storyline. I feel that so many games can take away from this model that I felt I had to share it with the masses.

If you think about it logically this game does nothing more than the pen-and-paper matches of DnD, except that now McIntosh has basically programmed the Dungeon Master to respond to your inputs. This type of “I can solve this on my own!” intrigue and mystery is important to games, and I definitely see it being lost to a world full of handholding tutorials and linear games that guide you every step of the way. Allow us, as gamers, to explore, to create, to imagine and grow with the game. Gaming should be an immersive experience, not like a movie I just sit through and lack any interaction with.

There are some flaws to The Warbler’s Nest, and I can tell you from a design aspect, some moments of the game will annoy you. The boundaries of the game are clearly defined, but you’ll find yourself often doing quite a lot of backtracking to find out what paths you can take, gather items, etc. This shouldn’t annoy players who don’t mind adventure games and actually have a passion for the backtracking collective type. The issue I found is that you can get lost, and often times when you want to go somewhere, you can’t because the game’s programming states that you have to finish a task first before moving on. The game, overall though, is quite a grand statement to the world that games don’t require visuals to be fun. I spent hours trying to solve the puzzles, investigate the mysteries of my river cottage, and I loved how invested I became.

The joy I get from this game is that it’s accessible to everyone. It’s not a timed game, so you can take as long as you need to type your responses. The interface is easy to understand and it even has a helpful .pdf file available for access if you haven’t played interactive-text games before. The game is truly accommodating to the user, and for that, I’m thankful. There were some things, like an inventory layout, or a map pop-up, that I may have liked to see integrated, but the game stands alone on it’s own just fine without anything to hold your hand with. I definitely think any designer looking to see how games can be made simplistically, and with the same mysterious intrigue as some modern games – they should definitely check out this game at least once.

If you’re interested and would like to give your imagination a massage for a change, check out The Warbler’s Nest here. See if you can solve the mystery and let me know how you did. The game is rather short, but it’s an enjoyable slice of vintage-style gaming that I think everyone needs to witness. We all need to clean ourselves off in the pool of imagination once in a while don’t you think?

http://jmac.org/warbler/play.html

Enjoy folks!

Inspirational: Indie Game: The Movie

Posted by Chad Knick on

Hey there folks, so tonight, I can’t sleep. I’m driven mad by the desire to do artwork, create, imagine, sort out my ideas and my passions. I’m enthralled by the allure of what may very well, one day, be on video screens and consoles everywhere – but first I have to gather my pants together logically and realize something drastic. The video game industry that I see on television and news, and perpetuated in magazines is probably not going to be the same reality I’m going to have to face. It’s probably not going to be a walk in the park, and I’m probably going to get my face stomped on more than a couple of times by idea bashers and nay-sayers.

I’ve grasped this concept. Do I still want to move forward and be a game designer?

You bet your sweet Princess Peach backside I do!

Now this week I’m discussing a movie, that quite honestly, I’m ecstatic that something like this is finally being made! Those of you in the gaming world have probably heard of movies like King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters or Chasing Ghosts: Beyond The Arcade. Both of these movies are excellent documentaries of the old school video game arcade market, but now, the gaming industry has switched it’s attention to the indie circuit. The newest documentary to loom it’s lustrous digital locks in the face of the world, is a movie called Indie Game: The Movie.

The movie chronicles the game development process and interviews some of the most prolific indie game developers currently on the market. The creators, James Swirksy and Lisanne Pajot, take you on a journey through the lives of the designers and give you and inside look at the struggles trials and tribulations that game designers must overcome to succeed as independent entities in this industry. I personally can not wait till this movie comes out, and I want to see it in theaters.

If it doesn’t make it to theaters, I think I will be deeply saddened, but that just gives me even more incentive to buy a collector’s edition of the DVD whenever it’s released. If I get an opportunity to see the movie I will undoubtedly be writing a review for it, but I personally think that any designer worth his [ or her ] giga-bytes should definitely take a look at this movie. If you’re serious about getting into game design, it’s a really good glimpse inside of a very challenging field. It doesn’t scare me really, but rather, the movie gives me hope and inspiration to continue working hard towards my goals.

I know I want to be a designer for the video games industry, and the only way that I’m going to make it there is by having confidence in myself and practicing my abilities over and over until I end up with products like the fine gentlemen represented in the movie: Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes [ Super Meat Boy ]; Phil Fish [ Fez ]; and Jonathan Blow [ Braid ]. If you like any of these games, if you like games in general,  if you have a desire to see how games are actually made, or you’re just hankering for some cool nerdy movie art – I suggest you check this out!

I personally feel like, as designers [ or aspiring ones ] we become motivated and driven when we see other people’s successes. We begin to believe and have that ” I Can Too!” attitude like the books of our childhood emulated. Our minds begin to unfold the many vast ideas of our youth. Our childhood dreams and wishes come flowing out onto the paper, and if we use this sudden rush of inspired wisdom to the fullest, then success is surely in our midst. I feel like we grow as people from learning from other designers. We witness what they’ve done, how they’ve drawn, what mechanics they’ve implemented, what rules they’ve imposed, and we take the best and most entertaining to us and we warp them to fit games that we want to make. So – as you’re watching this, I ask of you, take away from this movie:

Drive, Inspiration, Motivation, and Determination.

Enjoy and I hope everyone gets a chance to go out and see the full movie!