Owner: Game Musings URL:www.gamemusings.com Join Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2007 16:06:43 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A look at the games industry by a veteran game developer. Site statistics:Click here
Return of the Point and Click Adventure 2007-06-30 05:52:00 I love that casual games is a space where older game genres can be reborn and updated for today's players.The puzzle game genre which was left for dead in the stampede to 3D has more than made a home in the space with the likes of Bejeweled, Zuma and dozens of other games. The Eye Spy style of games that were a blip on the PC game landscape many years ago have made a resurgence with some cool new twists to the game play with the likes of the Mystery Case Files series.And now the humble 2D point and click adventure is starting to come back. Azada from Big Fish Games and Dream Chronicles from KatGames are very reminiscent of Myst in their look and storyline, but are 2D point and click through and through. The player has to solve some brain bending puzzles on single screens or locations in order to progress in a linear fashion. As each section is solved more of the mystery is revealed.These games are more analogous to Myst than Monkey Island but I don't think it will be long befor Read more:Return
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Ah, Club Nintendo, I Wish I Could Join You! 2007-07-05 07:42:00 Because then I could get this super cool game (which Insert Credit has translated the name as Zekkyo Senshi Sakebrain):Click on the above image to go to the Nintendo
site and play the video - you'll see why its so cool!Basically, it's a multi-player Power Ranger type game where you play with friends via WiFi - but it's voice activated.That's right, you get to shout a command in order to transform into your character - then join your friends to defeat bad guys - all the while shouting "Punch!" and "Kick!" into the DS microphone.At least, that's what I think it's all about. My Japanese isn't that hot.It's available for just 500 points... but only if you live in Japan.Here's hoping they release it for retail in the West. I know I'd buy it!Johnwww.passfieldgames.com
Brainiversity Reschedule 2007-07-03 06:48:00 Brainiversity has been rescheduled for a July 8th launch - which is less than a week away. So keep your eyes peeled. I'll post links to the sites when they're available.By the way, Gamasutra has published The History of Zork - a good read if you're a fan of interactive fiction. What I loved about the old Infocom adventure games was the huge variety of genres they covered including romance and pirates (Plundered Hearts), fantasy (Enchanter), detectives (Deadline), sci-fi (Planetfall), circuses (Ballyhoo) and comedy (Bureaucracy).And they had the best packaging ever!
More Brain Age/Training 2007-07-07 07:34:00 Today I picked up More BrainTraining
(as it's known here in Australia). As a fan of this genre I was curious to see what Nintendo had done to improve the formula over the last game.I've only just started to play, so I can't really comment on the content - but one thing that did surprise me is that it's pretty much the same shell as the previous game - even down to the same visual look of the menus.I wonder how much it cost Nintendo to produce?www.passfieldgames.com
Brainiversity Out Now! 2007-07-11 06:05:00 I'm proud to announce that Brainiversity is complete and available for download right now!For the uninitiated, Brainiversity is a brain training style of game. It has 16 unique brain activities covering Language, Math, Analysis and Memory, a Daily Exam mode and a Chart function to record your results every day - plus a host of other cool features.You can find out more from the official Brainiversity web site.In other news, I'll be attending the Casual Connect conference in Seattle next week. It's actually a birthday present from my wife, which would have to be one of the coolest presents ever. The show will make a welcome change to the yearly E3 pilgrimage I used to make!Well, enough chit-chat, go and download Brainiversity right away!www.passfieldgames.com
Off To Seattle 2007-07-14 23:11:00 I'll be heading off to the USA tomorrow to attend the Casual Connect conference in Seattle
. There are lots of really cool sessions and some great speakers - so I'm looking forward to learning heaps while I'm there.I'm going to miss Leigh, Ella and Zac - but luckily I've got Skype so we'll be in touch a lot - and I'm only gone for a week.I have my iPod loaded up with some cool music that I got for my birthday, including the new Prince album, Planet Earth and the new Crowded House album, Time on Earth. Hmmm, Earth seems to be a common theme...I also got The Making of Star Wars - an awesome book that is sadly too big to take with me. I'll be reading it as soon as I get back!I also got a lot of other cool stuff for my birthday - the trip to Seattle from my wife being the biggie - but I got some authentic Sake and serving cups, a bottle of butterscotch Schnaps, some scratchies, a Robot Chicken DVD, chocolate, a cool shirt, a gift voucher and some video games. But best of all I go
The Show's Over Folks! 2007-07-20 22:43:00 After days of going to bed very late and getting up very early I managed to sleep in this morning. Which was a good thing because by the time I visited the local Borders book store the throng of Harry Potter fans had been and gone!And no, I didn't pick up the latest Harry Potter. I've got to read the last two books yet. I did manage to pick up a book on Flash (so expect a web version of Brainiversity) and the latest copy of Edge game magazine which I will read at my leisure while feasting on Seattle's finest pizza tonight. Ah, it's good to relax.I've been constantly in touch with Leigh, Ella and Zac which has made the trip a lot easier - and I have plenty of show schwag for the kids including a stuffed Lex from PopCap's Book Worm, a chuzzle, a pink NeoPet dragon, a magnet man from Reflexive and a whole lot of other goodies.In other news, Brainiversity is up on Oberon - so check it out here:http://gamecenter.oberon-media.com/Well, I gotta go, I think the pizza has arrived!www
Sleepless In Seattle 2007-07-19 03:33:00 Today was the second day of the Casual Connect conference. Only one more day to go and it's all over for the year. So to celebrate the awesomeness that is Casual Connect I went out and partied!First up was the very cool PopCap party at a swanky night club. I managed to get my photo taken in a pool of Chuzzles with fellow Aussie Darren Baker. I may post the photo sometime soon.Then we headed over to the Seattle
Museum for the Mumbo Jumbo party. Memphis Radio Kings were playing and they did a great rendition of Prince's Purple Rain. Charlie and Tim (lead singer and guitarist) mixed it with the crowd and were really nice guys - plus Tim knew who Rodney Rude was!The conference itself has been a blast. I've learned heaps about the casual games industry with a lot of knowledge that can be applied to the casual and core gamer markets. And the vibe at the conference is really nice and quite different to GDC or E3 (the old one) - everyone is laid back and approachable, and there's a
Making Games on the Cheap 2007-07-26 07:18:00 I've written an article for PC Powerplay magazine detailing how you can make games on a shoestring budget. I use Brainiversity as an example of how you can use a number of inexpensive or free development tools to build your game.The article is in Issue#42 of PC Powerplay magazine and should be available in all fine Australian newsagents from today!Details on the latest issue can be found here at the PC Powerplay site.I hope this inspires more people to make games. Often the hardest thing to getting started is knowing how to do it and what tools the "professionals" use. Once you know it can be done its a lot easier to do it yourself.www.passfieldgames.com Read more:Games
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Back in Oz! 2007-07-25 14:57:00 Woo hoo! I have returned from Seattle.The trip was awesome and the people I met at Casual Connect were great. As I mentioned before the vibe at the show was very different to E3 and GDC, it was a smaller, more intimate event, super well organized, and the information was excellent.But, it's great to be back with Leigh, Ella and Zac. I brought back lots of cool stuff for the family - however I had to wait a day to give it to them as my luggage decided to stay an extra night in Los Angeles! I was a little worried as I had packed my laptop and most of the cool stuff I got in my bags and had very little with me as carry on. But all worked out well in the end and Ella and Zac have their Bookworms and Chuzzles :-)I've got a lot of stuff to do now that I'm home, mostly in regards to Brainiversity, which seems to be doing very well (touch wood!) - so that should keep me busy until the weekend. Then I will begin the Flash version of some of the activities - first up will probably be "Ad
Flash - a-ah - saviour of the universe 2007-08-02 14:44:00 Right now I'm getting my head around programming (or should I say "building") with Flash
. It's quite different to writing games in C - I think the biggest hurdle is getting used to the idea of movie clips and converting graphics and stuff to symbols.Anyway, I'm sure it will all be second nature within a week or two. First up I will be converting a Brainiversity activity over to a web playable game. This will coincide with some changes to my site - I want to make it a little more central for all the stuff I have floating out there on the web.At the moment I have a number of different web sites and not much cohesion between them. So I will be making an "all things John" portal. That's a little while off yet, first things first is getting my Flash game up and running!www.passfieldgames.com Read more:saviour
Paper Mario 2007-07-31 16:55:00 The Wii shop is a great place to find a lot of gaming gems that I missed the first time around.I picked up the N64 version of Paper Mario
for 1000 points last week and have been having a blast playing it! It's such a cool game and looks great given its age.I was originally going to buy Resident Evil 4 on the Wii (I missed playing it the first time around too) but I figured Paper Mario
was a better choice as I can play this with my daughter. And I'm glad to say I made the right choice as she loves to join in and play "Mario Stars" as she calls it. With a bunch of cool games coming out in the next 6 months things are looking great for the Wii. I'm really looking forward to Mario Galaxy - the idea of letting a second player use the controller to freeze enemies is great - this could be an awesome way to play games with my kids.www.passfieldgames.com
Gamezebo review of Brainiversity 2007-08-04 08:25:00 Gamezebo has just review
ed Brainiversity and they liked it. My favorite quote is "Hey! This game is making me smarter already!" Click here to read the rest of the review.www.passfieldgames.com
High Score 2007-08-07 06:50:00 Right now I'm learning how to make games in Flash. And I'm loving it.Playing a game in a browser is a bit like magic to me - I was never really quite sure how it was all done. But now I know! I'm quite excited about building a game that people will be able to play online... as soon as I get a game up and running I'll launch it on Casual Games Arcade.While I've been delving into Flash I decided to try and understand that other black art - PHP. I want to add an online high score table to my games - doing online stuff is something that I really do view as magic and PHP seems to be the answer. Thanks to the interweb I've managed to find the necessary information and have gotten a test program up and running.So now I'm doubly excited!www.passfieldgames.com Read more:Score
One Step Closer to an iMac 2007-08-09 15:57:00 When I upgraded my PC just before Christmas I was seriously considering getting an iMac.I love Apple's design and how they integrate a lot of cool software into their systems... but as I spend most of my time coding for PC I decided to go for a Windows machine. I did some research into Bootcamp and it seemed like a lot of effort at that stage to make it work (I think it was still in Beta).But now the new iMacs are out and they look damn sexy (and I believe Bootcamp is out of Beta) so I'll definitely be making the switch when I upgrade again. Of course by then the iMac will be even thinner and have way more cool stuff.In other news, my boxed copy of Flash CS3 Professional arrived yesterday - and just in time as the free demo version was about to expire. Working through my tutorials I've so far managed to write a simple breakout game and a small space invader clone. It takes a bit to get your head around the concept of movies and timelines, but it's quite powerful and easy to use Read more:One Step
V1.02 live! 2007-08-13 08:19:00 I just finished uploading version 1.02 of Brainiversity to www.casualgamesarcade.com. As I mentioned yesterday this version has a few minor tweaks, but nothing too major.Now that that's done it's time to get back to the Flash version!www.passfieldgames.com
Brainiversity 1.02 2007-08-12 15:52:00 I've been making a few updates to Brainiversity ready for the release of version 1.02.It's mostly minor stuff like changing the date format to be MM/DD/YYYY, fixing up some spelling to match the US spelling standard, and doing some internal changes so the dialog box system works better. You probably wouldn't notice the changes.That's what I like about online distribution - you have the ability to take feedback from end users and implement them in a timely manner. If anyone has the original game they simply have to download and re-install - and voila! they have a new version with the changes in place.I've also been moving forward with my Flash development and have some cool ideas for my new improved site. As I mentioned I'll be wrapping all of my web sites together under one banner in the hope to make it easier for people to find all my games and stuff.www.passfieldgames.com
HP Laptop 2007-08-17 11:42:00 I bought a new laptop this week - it's a HP Pavilion dv6000 and it's sexy. It's piano black and silver with a faint smattering of grey curved lines over the casing - the overall effect is really nice.It's got all the usual stuff you'd expect from a laptop - DVD burner, built in web cam, etc. plus a few other neat things like Altec Lansing speakers, wide screen super bright LCD screen and light scribe direct disc labeling (you flip your DVD and it burns a label onto the disc - which is very cool).I've just installed Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition and am now installing Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows Server 2003 R2 - which the PopCap Framework requires. It's late and I'm tired, but I want to get this done before I hit the sack.While waiting for the installs to finish I've been working on the first Brainiversity Flash game which is the Add It Up activity. Expect to see this online sometime soon!www.passfieldgames.com Read more:Laptop
Brainiversity in PC World Canada magazine 2007-08-18 17:57:00 PC WorldCanada
magazine has an article on brain training games called "Healthy Games: The new face of video games".They mention Brainiversity as an example of a PC downloadable brain training title along with the new Ubisoft Life Coach series for DS.Not bad - and the game hasn't even rolled out to the major portals yet.www.passfieldgames.com
Add It Up Flash Game Live (BETA) 2007-08-24 09:04:00 Well, the first of the 16 activities from Brainiversity is now playable online at Casual Games Arcade. I literally finished the code about 10 minutes ago, so it hasn't had the most thorough of testing - but that's where you come in! If you get a chance, please give it a go - and let me know if it doesn't work in your browser.It works on the Wii except for a minor graphics glitch which I'll iron out later. But for the most part I can actually play a portion of Brainiversity on my Wii - I must say it feels weird playing my own game with a Wii Remote.The online version doesn't have all the features of the downloadable version like charting, stamps and the Daily Exam mode - but online daily charting is something I'm thinking about adding. It would also be cool to be able to see the daily charts of other players too. If it's not too difficult I'll have a crack at adding that in soon.www.passfieldgames.com Read more:Flash
Flash Game Coming 2007-08-23 16:32:00 Okay, I'm new at this Flash
thing... so this weekend I'll be putting my first flash game, the "Add It Up" activity, up on my site for a beta trial. If anyone out there would like to give it a go, do so, and let me know if it works in your browser."Add It Up" Flash VersionI'll put the link to the web version up this weekend, so check back then!www.passfieldgames.com
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet 2007-08-27 05:16:00 How cool is this?Comic creator Michel Gagné working on a cool game based on his beautiful artwork - called InsanelyTwistedShadow
Planet. It appears to be a quirky side scroller with lots of UFO action. Nice. His web site says that he's currently seeking a publisher... surely it's the sort of game that Microsoft or Sony would snap up for XboxLive Arcade or Playstation Network?I got a few copies of his Zed comic signed at comic con a few years back, as well as a copy of his animated short, Prelude to Eden, on DVD. His stuff is really beautiful and the animation and visual style of the game looks great!Watch the game in action here.Big thanks to local comic luminary Frank L. Weber for pointing this out to me.www.passfieldgames.com
Add It Up Online Now With Charting! 2007-08-29 17:03:00 It's still in Beta, but the Add It Up activity from Brainiversity is now online to play and includes charting functionality.What this means is that you can play the game every day and chart your progress as you get better (or worse) with your math skills. Check it out here.As I said it's still in Beta and may have bugs. Please let me know if you find any!Oh, and if you like the online version then you should download the Deluxe version - it features a lot more nifty features like full screen graphics, animation, more user profiles, the ability to compare charts, Daily Exam mode, etc. and 15 more activities.www.passfieldgames.com Read more:Charting
fl0wer 2007-09-26 06:57:00 fl0wer is the next game from thatgamecompany, the developers behind the entrancing fl0w. I'm not quite sure what the game is all about but you can check out the trailer here. If it's anything like fl0w it will no doubt be a very beautiful, hypnotic experience. It's good to see some interesting stuff in development on the major consoles. The download services that Xbox Live and PSN offer really opens the door for creative projects with smaller budgets. thatgamecompany aren't the only ones producing some interesting results. Echochrome is another game that is pushing boundaries. It's best described as an M.C. Escher puzzle game that you really have to see to appreciate - check out this youtube clip of the game.
Weekend DS Action 2007-09-21 13:24:00 I picked up two DS games this week - Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time and Elite Beat Agents.They're both older games that I somehow managed to miss first time around. But I wanted to play them before the new Zelda hits the DS - a game that I am really looking forward to. No doubt my DS time will be totally consumed by it when it launches in around 3 weeks time!In other news, the whole family is off to Australia Zoo this weekend - Ella is excited about seeing the crocodiles and elephants. Should be a fun day! Read more:Weekend
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Making Games On A Budget - Part 4 2007-09-18 05:18:00 This is the fourth and final part of the Making Games
On A Budget article that I wrote for PC Powerplay, an Australian gaming magazine. I hope you got something out of them!Selling Your GameSo, you made a game. You’ve tested it. People like it. Now what?It’s time to sell it to the world!There are a number of services that will provide digital rights management (DRM) solutions and handle payment transactions for you. Most have no initial set up costs but will charge you a fee for every unit you sell. Trymedia, RegNow and Plimus are just a few options.You can also elect to sell your game via affiliates. These range from big portals to fan web sites and every game you sell you will have to split the profit with the DRM provider and the affiliate - but the upside is you get immense exposure.I chose Trymedia’s ActiveMARK technology for Word Shake and Brainiversity due to its simplicity. Once you sign up it’s a simple process to start selling online. You upload your exe fil
Making Games On A Budget - Part 3 2007-09-15 15:38:00 This is part three of an article I wrote for PC Powerplay, an Australian gaming magazine. This time I discuss how to produce graphics, sound and beta testing on a budget. The next and final installment is due soon. Enjoy!GraphicsOkay, we’ve got our programming sorted out. Now how do we create graphics on a budget? Luckily there are some inexpensive options available.Photoshop is a great art package, but is probably a bit too expensive for the average hobbyist. For Brainiversity I also used ArtRage 2, which for my below average art skills provided a better result with freehand drawing than Photoshop. The limited edition of ArtRage 2 is free but for USD $19.95 you can get the full edition which lets you use layers.For more pixel perfect art I used a package called Pro Motion. It’s USD $29.95 for the lite version and is great for creating traditional 2D sprite graphics and animation.I also used GIF Movie Gear to create my desktop icons. You can use the free trial version to cr Read more:Games
Making Games On A Budget - Part 2 2007-09-13 14:43:00 This is the second part of an article I wrote for PC Powerplay, an Australian gaming magazine. More to come in the next few days. Enjoy!How To Find TimeBefore I start talking about the development environment and tools, there’s another really important aspect of game development to think about. This is finding time to actually make a game.Chances are indie development is not your full time job, so the key here is to find small slices of time and use that time well. It might mean giving up an hour of TV a night or spending less time in World of Warcraft. Now an hour a day may not seem like a lot of time, but over a week it almost adds up to a full working day. Use the time wisely. Resist the urge to surf the web and get stuck into work as soon as you sit at your PC. If you’ve kept your game small enough you’ll be surprised at how quickly it will start to come together. For a cool tip on how to be more productive check out this article from Life Hacker about Jerry Seinfeld Read more:Games
Making Games On A Budget - Part 1 2007-09-11 15:01:00 This is an article I wrote a few months ago for PC Powerplay, an Australian computer game magazine. I'm going to reprint it here in parts over the next few days. Enjoy!Making Games
on a BudgetIntroWe’ve all heard the stories. The days of the bedroom programmer are long gone. Now it takes a hundred or more people and tens of millions of dollars to make a game.Well, I’m here to tell you that it ain’t true. All you need is a computer and some talent and you can make a game. Heck, you may be even able to make a buck or two while you’re at it.Using my latest casual game, Brainiversity, I’m going to show you how you can use free tools and a little elbow grease to make games. I’ll be focusing on the tools I use to handle programming, graphics and sound as well as the digital rights management software I use to sell games online.Getting StartedEverything I’m going to talk about is free, or close to it - but there is something you’ll need to bring to the table. That’s so
Brainiversity Out In The Wild! 2007-09-07 05:50:00 Hurrah! Brainiversity has just started to hit the major portals on the web.So far I've found it on Pogo and Comcast - and there are more to come. If you haven't played it yet, all I can say is "What are you waiting for?" - download it now!In the meantime, another brain training game was released this week and while it rated well on Gamezebo, Brainiversity scored higher :-)More news as it comes to hand.
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