So, I got myself on the full version of Spore for one very long night. I de-installed it right after I got to the civilization stage because I found it very addictive and I’ve decided to buy it. In fact, there is a special edition I fancy. So Spore is defiantly on my “to-buy” list as soon as I get some time.
Here are some quick insights:
Continue reading “Spore”
Recently, I have found out that I am at the cutting edge of urban culture trends: I was doing Urbex the whole time. Urban Exploring that is. Wikipedia informs:
Urban exploration (often shortened as urbex or UE) is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities.
Jokes aside, it’s alway strange to find out that the things you “just do” are in fact being performed systematically as part of a sub-culture somewhere. I remember it started when I went exploring the Warsaw metro with my dad back when I was a kid. Although, we weren’t as hardcore as those guys:
On the other hand, I did my recent explorations for Illucinated which was explicitly designed to tap into various recent cultural movements. I actually went ahead and listed them in my thesis. Too bad I missed Urbex back then. However, now that I found this connection, I think it shows that I’m on to something. Back at c/o pop people responded very well to the Urbex-themed levels.
But wait, that’s not the whole story. There is this strange feedback loop. Urbex is sometimes called also Vadding which comes from VAD, which is an permutation of ADV, which comes from the game ADVENT aka CollossalCave Adventure, the first Text-Adventure ever. Apparently, at MIT, the first Urban Explorers were called after the game because their activities were so similar to what you did in Text-Adventures. The bizarre thing is that Illucinated is supposed to be a modern type of an adventure game.
So anyway, I thought it might be wise to share locations with other Urban Explorers in Cologne. So I started a Flickr Group called “Urban Exploration Cologne”.
So, yesterday I had a somewhat successful night photo session. I went to the hobo-shit-infested bridge again to get some descent coverage for Illucinated. I didn’t want to use the location at first but now time is running out. Besides, it IS a remarkable place and it fits well into the overall theme of the game so instead of searching for something better (which might never come) I’ve decided to use it anyway.
The photography was quite tedious. I had to make 30 seconds exposures to get enough light in and even then at some places I had to help out with a flashlight. If I got enough coverage, this might be my last excursion for Illucinated, which is good since I got a nasty cold on the weekend I’m currently recovering from.
But generally, my mood is pretty low as the game is nowhere as far as it should be for the upcoming IGF deadline. I’m considering dropping out. But then again, Braid and Aquaria weren’t quite finished either and still won. I guess this is the moment where I have to eat my words and risk shooting below my expectations. Getting anything done is ALWAYS better then giving up. I also consider going for the student competition instead of the main competition. There are no prizes but I believe the chance to get an award are better and there is no cost involved. What do you suggest?
Just a quick shot, it’s always nice to observe things corresponding to what we learn at KISD. This time, it’s regarding product design. Not strickly game design but it’s about the PSP.
During the project “Sparschwein” (Piggybank), Herr Horntrich gave us a hint saying that chamfering all edges is no way to make an attractive form.
Well, what do you know? The PSP slim did exactly that in an attempt to make the handheld more hand-friendly. The result? A cheap, toy-like feel, as if the cheaper material wouldn’t reduce the preceived value and build quality already.
But I didn’t realize so clearly that the form was heavily contributing to that, not until SONY announced the newest model, nicknamed PSP Brite.
To make clear the “evolution” and the differences, I compiled the following image. Red marks the sharp edges and green the chamfered ones. Note how the Slim lost the hard edges (dotted line), and the Brite has now both, giving it a nice rhymthm. The source images were found on gamefront.de, except for the PSP phat.
check out the edges
again, without distracting lines
I’m tempted to buy this revision, since it looks like what it should have been in the first place. (Yeah I know, Nintendo needed a second try, too.)
Now if it only plays Divx/Xvid natively and is less picky about the H.264 profile than up to now… wait, that’s why I got the Archos 605. Hey Sony, take a leaf out of Archos’ book if you want to tout with PSP’s media playing capabilities.
So tired of stepping into hobo-shit I’ve decided to leave the urban jungle for some real jungle. If I have to wade through shit I want it to be raw, wild shit. I tried to get around Cologne/Bonn Airport on my Mountain Bike to maybe find a nice spot for Illucinated and possibly try myself at planespotting.
The area around CGN is a nature reserve called Wahner Heide. It was great to be mountainbiking trough forest again. Reminded me of Darmstadt, the place where I grew up. However, my Bike was stored in the basement for too long and it seems to be in need for some repairs. I found myself praying that my handlebar wouldn’t come off at a crucial moment. Also because of some military base at the airport, getting to a spot where you can see the planes landing is very hard. Even if you do – the sight is not so great because the elevation of that area is quite unfortunate. Getting around the airport is really tough too with TONS of fenced-off areas everywhere and sometimes even no real paths for bikes or pediestrants. If you want to go planespotting on CGN, go by car. Also I’ve discovered that I seem to have a kind of phobia of extremely loud sounds. Or maybe I’m just not used to it. Or maybe I should have brought earplugs. Or maybe I’m just not a planespotter.
In other news, I got me a Flickr Pro account and I’ve uploaded some more photos from CG 2008.
Just to be clear about “Hardships”: Imagine it’s 4 in the morning, pitch dark, you are inside a jungle on a secluded abandoned railway bridge and searching through the bushes you step into moist, diarrheal human shit.
(But geotagging is fun!)
The 10 Gnomes series by Mateusz Skutnik was a big inspiration for the current project I’m working on, Illucinated. I’m currently in contact with Mateusz and he is a very nice, down-to-earth guy with a great sense for visuals (check out his graphic novels!). I can’t really remember if I decided to use photography in Illucinated before or after I saw 10 gnomes but the mere existence of the game series was an assurance for me that it can be done.
Mateusz recently told a little story on how the newest part of 10 gnomes came to be. He had to endure some hardships in getting to the right location, dealing with weather, shooting permissions and so on. In fact, this is not the first time. He also had some stories about episode 4, episode 5 and episode 7. It’s funny how simply by choosing a similar technique I encounter so much similar problems.
My game will only have 4 locations but I choose to do the shooting by night which means I need a tripod which makes me much more visible. I have also much more severe restrictions on the kind of locations I can use because my game is much more spatial and the layout of the location is more relevant to the content. I also need location which have at least SOME lightning. So I end up walking for hours trough the night in very risky locations, being attacked by giant (mutant?) spiders and being chased away security guards (Germany is much less relaxed then Poland). I spend days searching for good places on Google Maps only to find out that the route which looked simple from space is actually fenced off (HOW do you get AROUND the Cologne/Bonn Airport without a car?!?). Then you maybe found the right spot and it starts raining.
But the experience is amazing at the same time. It brings so much physical experience into the Game Design. It becomes almost like a game itself. Like a strategic version of Parkour. You start seeing places in different ways. Every time you see a path in the bushes your reflexes to investigate kick in. Going by some piece of architecture you wonder how it will look in the night and you start appreciating seemingly mundane routes in the cityscape.
If you got 6,40€ to spare, here is a nice way to spend it: get yourself Digidrive. It is a game from the Bit Generations we’ve already talked about. It is also one of the last two titles from that series still available over at Play-Asia and it is even DISCOUNTED. Trust me, getting the other ones is much more expensive and inconvenient. And why would you do such thing when Digidrive REALLY is a Highlight of the series? Even the guys from GameLab agree.
Don’t even try to understand the screenshots, they are confusing. Explaining the game is difficult too. It is generally a very simple, short action-puzzle game with lots of exciting rules which add a nice strategic layer to it. It also features great music, crazy visuals and a VERY handy automatic save/continue function for mobile playing. If you always wanted a Bit Generations game it’s now or never. With the discount, I don’t think it will stay available for long.
(Oh and if one of my colleagues decides to grab it: Guys, I’ve got a Play-Asia coupon… and I might want to add something to your order)
So, I was at GC 2008 for a day. It was nice seeing EA Cocoon stand being resurrected again. I think we did a good job designing it after all. I just wished I could claim more authorship in designing it. I was in the project but we were separated into different teams and my team’s design didn’t make the final cut.
I just wanted to get out some brief observations:
As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve ordered a set of Moo MiniCards to use them as business cards. The company offers a very simple procedure to upload your own images and oder the cards over the Internet. They are sold in packages of 100 cards which is perfect for business cards. Sure, you can order elsewhere 1000 or more for less money, but what will you do with 1000 cards? You will never give them ALL away and after half a year you will start hating the motif or your address changes. You can print each and every MooCard with an individual motif and they have an exciting format.
As you can see they come in a small plastic box with a cheeky slogan – very British and very Web 2.0. Here are some more insights with more photos:
