by
Probably the most powerful tool in the game player’s arsenal is the jump ability. 90% of games depend on it. Today, I want to go into different approaches to the jump, their roles and the realism behind the jump ability.
This is the most fantastic game I’ve played in a long time.
Download it free: http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/ (PC & Mac in Japanese + English Translation Patch)
Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead suggested this game a while ago (Feb 8th) and I just downloaded and played it. He says it’s been 5 years in the making. I know nothing of it, but surely I’ll be learning more. For now, it is much too late and my work in the morning starts much too early.
-Christopher J. Rock
—EDIT: I’ve played this a ton and it really is great the whole way through. Tons to do, tons to love. It’s really a beautiful game. I insist you go download and play it right now.
Less than a year ago, I threw together a demo for a game I called “Meteor Henry.” It was based on the idea of creating a “natural” environment for the player by trying to close the interactivity gap between the on-screen world and the player’s nervous system (mostly by making the mouse the primary form of control and giving it intuitive uses, almost as a limb). I hoped to demonstrate simplified physical concepts that I had been observing in Kung Fu class (mostly methods of energy conservation, or efficiency of movement, with an emphasis on circular motion).* The game required quick reflexes, coordination, quick thinking, and puzzle solving skills.
I’ve decided to make this game my first project to be released with Sokay so look forward to some previews. The original coding is a bit outdated and not very efficient (I did it in a number of days) so I’ll have to do some updating before uploading a demo. I’ll also be adding in some new features that I’m very excited about, but it should come pretty soon.
While speaking with a friend, I realized a statement I should’ve made in the previous post about Art (if you didn’t read it, please do!). It was about my inclusion of naturally occuring objects and phenomena (things not created by humans, like Clouds) as Art. I suppose I took the acceptance of this idea for granted. I shouldn’t have because it’s actually quite strange.
I see a lot of posts these days about art and games. I like that. It’s about time these discussions get going and I’m excited that they’re happening in a very grassroots sort of way. However, while the subject’s discussion pleases me, I find most comments on it to be flawed, to say the least. The truth is that most game developers and players have put little or no study in art, but have been forced into it by the advancement of games and their obvious artistic elements. I would like to provide a groundwork for future discussion by offering my own idea of what art is and I hope my philosophy can help others expand their applications of artistic concepts. First we’ll have to clarify our language a bit and create a general sense of the world of art, then I will categorize art into a number of perspectives to better describe the value of a given work in a concise and accurate manner. All of this is being done very briskly, so please respond with any questions.
Ladies and Gents, I’d like to introduce myself by saying a bit about how this blog got started. I met Bryson at the beginning of summer ’06 when I started work at Liquidgeneration.com, and since then we’ve discussed much of games, players, and the world we live in. We’ve discussed much of our dissatisfaction and much of our love for the interactive medium that games have become.
We’ve set some goals. One of my goals involves this blog, and its maintenance as an honest expression of my ideas on games. Another involves constant game experimentation, as an extension and illustration of the ideas within this blog. And the rest involve a number of larger projects that shall be presented here in the future.
My specialty is in Flash development. I believe Flash to be an incredible tool of unappreciated power and I hope to play a role in rectifying that lack of appreciation. It does have the technical ability to compete with even the best of console or computer games, though its mastery demands a more creative use of resources and ultimately a more creative perspective on gaming. However, neither of those are so difficult to achieve that Flash games should remain as bland and unrespected as they currently are on the internet.
I have studied a number of artistic crafts throughout my life and arrived at Film and Games because I am fascinated by their complexity and their comprehensive integration of so many other art forms. I’ve played with both of these mediums since high school, currently study Film at California State University, Long Beach and study Games independently. Collegiate Game programs turned me off because I found their approach to be generally shallow and believed I could learn more of games on my own and by applying what I learn of Film. That decision has so far proven to be the right one.
So you’ve got an idea of who I am and what I want to do. By all means, challenge me. Post your disagreements. Tell me I’ve failed. Say I act or speak hypocritically. None of us will make any progress if we are too timid to challenge each other.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m making things up as I go along, but then again, so is everyone else. If there was a guidebook somewhere, a set of rules we could follow that laid everything out, we’d have finished this game stuff years ago. There are no rules and there is no wrong or right education. If you’ve played video games, that’s all the degree you need. You’re as educated as anyone else is, so speak your mind.
Without feedback, what the hell good is a blog doing either of us?
-Christopher J. Rock
