08.03.07
Beware the Budget
I have a problem. It’s one of the problems I am most embarrassed about, but there’s no reason to hide it. I gotta get it out and face it so I can work on solving it. The problem is that I’m no good at designing casual games.
I think the problem stems from the fact that I never play them. I’ve played some of the classics of course, including the old arcade games that used to be hard-core but are now considered casual: Pac-man, Tetris, Bejewelled… and my all-time favourite, Breakout (aka. Arcanoid, aka. Aquanoid, aka. Action Ball, etc.) I also played a lot of Solitaire once, when I had nothing better to do (during elementary school before I discovered game modifications). But in the last 10 years, the only casual games I’ve played are Sudoku, Bookworm Adventures, and the Peggle demo.
Almost all the games I play are AAA titles. Action games, roleplaying games, adventure games, platform games, and even the occasional strategy game. I play games with stories - if a game has a good story or allows me to create one, I’ll play it. But stories seem oddly incompatible with casual games. The most story you can get out of that is “…so I was just about to miss the ball but there was ONE brick left on the screen, up in the corner, and somehow my mind just shut down and by pure instinct I moved my mouse to barely hit the ball and…”. This is all good, but it’s not exactly dramatically satisfying, is it? I mean… you pretty much had to be there.
Now, if I was in a position to design AAA games, then this wouldn’t be much of a problem. I’d have limited my job opportunities a little, but I could just stick to what I can do: Making games with stories. Unfortunately AAA titles these days cost at the very least $5 million USD to develop, and that’s not exactly the sort of funding I have access to right now. In other words if I ever hope to get up there, I need to do some smaller games. Basically my choice is between text-heavy games with 2D graphics or casual games with no story at all.
What I want to ask is, if anybody reading this cares enough to post about it: Have you ever played a small story-based game with good visuals? Or a casual game with a story? Is it possible to have a story in a casual game at all, or is it too important to the genre that there be no storyline at all so players can pick up a game and play it for 20 minutes at a time?
EER said,
August 4, 2007 at 01:06
Most of the games I play are A titles as well, probably some B titles here and there.
I don’t remember ever playing a casual game with a story _and_ good visuals. The only things that come near that description are small mods for Morrowind I’ve played.
However, I do know that the neighbours (whose computer I fix relatively often) play casual games with a ’story’, however the graphics don’t look extremely awesome and the gameplay is really puzzle oriented. As a reward for solving a puzzle you’d get some cutscene in 2D.
For me, a casual game would be a game that I can pick up, play for five minutes, complete something within that timeframe and feel good about myself. Like minesweeper. I don’t think a story is important in that type of game, but a story may add to the addiction factor - what happens next?
A problem of awesome graphics with casual games is that the target audience may not have the hardware for it. Think about your grandma, ask what SHE does all day and make that into a game. That might be an interesting experiment. (although you may end up with a game about knitting patterns ;))
Jonas said,
August 4, 2007 at 01:09
I’d end up with a game about watching TV and trying to remember what you’ve just seen in spite of your Alzheimer’s
But yeah, perhaps I need to forget about the idea of casual games because holy hell am I not interested in games that are pure gameplay. Casual games are like the… like the cheap paperback romance novel of computer games.
Perhaps I need to have a better look at indie story-based games. I must be able to find something that isn’t just puzzle-oriented!
Puzzles suck
EER said,
August 4, 2007 at 01:25
Check out And Yet It Moves: http://www.andyetitmoves.at/
It doesn’t really have a story that I know of, but the gameplay is awesome.
Since you’re interested mostly in stories … If you want to tell a story, in a casual way, use films/cinematics. That’s what they are for. Immersive games are by definition not casual, I think.
And a game about watching TV and trying to remember what you’ve just seen … well that sounds like memory puzzle (Concentration, in EN) to me
You’d have a grandson to visit and play a game, if you solve the puzzle within the time you could remember his name correctly and score points. Mmmmm. Adventures rule!
Jonas said,
August 4, 2007 at 01:36
The Alzheimer’s Adventure.
I smell a law suit.
Smike said,
August 4, 2007 at 13:25
n00bs.
The amount of n00bosity here is consuming the internet itself. QUICKLY, I MUST SAVE US ALL!!!
I have one game company that will change the way you think about “casual” games. Four games they made in particular completely satisfy all of the above criteria. If casual games are the “cheap paperback romance novel of computer games,” which I think is a wonderfully apt way of describing them (Bravo!), than this company is D.H. Lawrence.
(Also, keep in mind that “romance” novels are essentially the sole domain of women, and casual games are essentially the sole domain of men. To me, this makes the analogy even more intelligent, given that it works by saying that their primary audience is one particular sex. Still, if using the literary world, I would offer the additional analogy that casual games are like the ‘cheap paperback sci-fi novel of computer games,’ for the male connection. Both are bad.)
First of all, I have played and designed casual games since forever. I love them. Ryan actually has a bit of an obsession with them, and he’s introduced me to many of my favorites of the category. And in my opinion, you are missing out on some of the greatest games EVER - games that are easily better than many of the games I often see on “Top [Completely Arbitrary Number]” lists - by not going to Ambrosia Software. They’re an Apple-exclusive outfit these days, but much of their best stuff is for PC too. Meaning Escape Velocity Nova.
Oh my god, Jonas. If you’ve not played that game. Holy jesus I get goosebumps just THINKING about it. I mean, it’s fucking EPIC, like only the Might and Magic series and a few D&D-based games are (Torment comes to mind as one). And with the mods - oh the massively ridiculous amount of mods and add-ons and even a few TCs FOR CHRISSAKE - the thing is just endless and vast, like the wide universe it is set in its self.
And yet, it’s also really a casual game. I mean, the graphics are very nice, but only because the ART is nice. The engine its self is practically nothing - it’s all 2D and features nothing more complicated than glow-effects and overlapping animations. Of course, that makes it easy as hell to mod. I modded that thing for months with Ryan in the old days of EV 1 and 2 (”EV Override”). “Nova” is the third in the series. It’s okay to just play Nova, though, because it’s basically just the newest version of the same basic EV game, but with a new story and races, etc. Plus, I think someone made a couple mods that TC Nova into the other two games, which is precisely equivalent to the purpose of “DX: Reborn”. Of course, you’ll never actually get through any of them. Two reasons for that: there’s WAY too much stuff to do (similar to Bethesda’s games), and it doesn’t actually ever end - it just continues into infinitum.
So I think besides the obvious suspect of the ease of gameplay and really “optional” immersion, the other reason it is ultimately a “casual” game is that it just doesn’t have a finite existence. A REAL story has a beginning, middle, and end. It has no end. And the rest is done in a way that you can pick it up and put it down anytime, because it’s mostly made up on the spot like GTA or an MMO.
Therefore, arriving in the Spring of 1996, it may very well be the very first truly open-ended RPG. That is to say that it PLAYS very much like an MMO, but it is in fact totally single player. Really it’s a part of game history for that reason. Designers should damn well know the name “Escape Velocity” as a real pioneer, even if it’s doubtful that it ever influenced anyone, given that Meridian 59 came out very soon afterwards.
But there’s just too much to say about it. It’s an amazing game, an amazing feat of many people adding so much to it with all the available add-ons and mods, it has an astounding number of things to do and a wide variety of stories, and it’s easily one of my favorites, one of Ryan’s favorites, and one of a small collective of hardcore EV fans’ favorite games of all time. People who have really played it seem to love it with a similar passion to how much others love games like Deus Ex or Might and Magic or Torment. And it’s easy to say it has influenced my thinking as to where the bar should be set with regard to quality.
Of course, all that said, it’s not an A game. It’s casual, it’s not fantastically immersive, it has no real story and no ending. It’s easy and fun to play for twenty minutes or a couple hours here and there, and it’s boring to play for really long stretches. But given how truly elegant and perfect an RPG - and how excellent a game in general - it really is underneath all the casual busy-work, I think most designers would be downright red-face embarrassed and somewhat shamed of their own much more complicated and expensive works if they ever actually played it. I mean, I loved Morrowind. But better than EV? Probably - but it’s damned hard to classify, given that I’d much rather replay EV Nova.
As for other Ambrosia games:
In their puzzle game department (with some added strategy and general fun), I think their best and most popular straight shot at the genre is “Bubble Trouble.” They’ve done MANY puzzle-games.
But without a doubt my second favorite game of Ambrosia’s, right after Nova, is “Harry the Handsome Executive.” Quite a game. It’s a puzzle game SORT OF - but it also has an action/adventure element with a pretty hilarious little story (yes, an actual story in a puzzle game) and some GREAT humor all throughout. Definitely a great game.
And here’s a fun possibility: many years after I had played through “Harry,” Burden of 80 was released. The similarities are MANY, and I think it’s possible that Scott has felt Harry’s influence - I certainly have - it’s forever changed the way I think about wheeling around in an office chair trying to avoid work! One of many questions I hope he answers in his postmortem.
For reference, here’s a list of all of Ambrosia’s games, beginning way down at the bottom in 1994 with the most polished and fun-to-play version of “Asteroids” ever: their original masterpiece, “Maelstrom.”
But I’ve not played any of their stuff post-2003, so I can only recommend those I’ve named here: Bubble Trouble, Harry the Handsome Executive, Maelstrom, and the entire EV Trilogy - but particularly EV Nova.
Jonas said,
August 4, 2007 at 14:05
Wow long comment!
Reading about EV, it sounds a lot like Space Rangers 2, which is a game I’ve been very impressed with but find difficult to play for more than an hour at a time. I wouldn’t call it casual though, it’s too huge and involving, it has too many features and is really just too complex to be called casual. Although I play it as a casual game, other people find it very hard to stop playing once they’ve started, because like EV it never ends.
By the way I think you’re wrong about casual games being the domain of men. Even though it might’ve improved my analogy, I refer you to this recent Gamasutra article describing how “women still make up 74 percent of all paying players online, with male participation half that for free casual titles”. Perhaps your perception of casual games differs slightly from the general definition of the category?
Smike said,
August 4, 2007 at 15:46
Or perhaps my perceptions are just OLD. That’s blown my mind. THERE’S A GOD DAMNED CASUAL GAMES ASSOCIATION?!? I had no idea the world had changed so much while I’d been in this cave over here. I think I’m still living in the nineties when I played so many of them.
Looks like your analogy can’t possibly be improved, it’s right on.
Also funny about that report is the games they mention. My god, I sincerely wish those weren’t the popular favorites.
“Space Rangers” looks like a total rip-off of EV, about six and a half years after the fact. Amazing how the world works, how somebody can just completely get away with that. I’d wager that both Nova and Override are a significant step-up even with their lesser engines, though. I mean, looking at what’s on the site, it appears to have even less direction than EV. Which I thought before was impossible. Also there appear to be two key differences: one, EV can be as simple or as complicated as you want it - there’s nothing inherently complex in the entire game - and two, it’s ultimately the KIND of game which any one talented game designer with a great deal of passion and intelligence could aspire to create on his or her own, and in a relatively short time. I mean, find an artist and an engine and you’ve basically got what they had. Although technically speaking, ATMOS, the guys behind the writing, were TWO guys - which is like one but with more arguing.
Jonas said,
August 4, 2007 at 17:05
Well EV / Space Rangers / [insert clone here] is definitely the sort of game I could see myself working on. I would describe it more as an indie game than as a casual game, but it seems like a precarious and ill-defined distinction.
Smike said,
August 5, 2007 at 10:14
Would another post here be considered SPAM? Because I think I’ve already kept that promise - that I would SPAM your BLOG. But I just want to make sure that I do.
It is an ill-defined distinction, but I can also tell you this:
in the ninties, they didn’t HAVE indie games OR casual games. The first time I heard those terms was 2001. Before that they were just called shareware. Or time-wasters. And you should really think about games like “Harry” too. That one’s another fine rarity, and another type of game a lone designer would doubtless earn praise and respect and awards for creating these days.
Jonas said,
August 5, 2007 at 16:53
No you should feel welcome to post whenever you please. Comments are good, they make me feel important.
And yes I figure they are recent terms.
Gelo said,
August 13, 2007 at 00:47
http://www.davelgil.com/wordpress/?page_id=128
I haven’t played it, but I’ve heard its quite well done.
-Gelo
___________________
“If you ask for a teacher, ask for a teacher of the heart.”
-Sun Myung Moon
Smike said,
August 13, 2007 at 16:41
“And here’s a fun possibility: many years after I had played through “Harry,” Burden of 80 was released. The similarities are MANY, and I think it’s possible that Scott has felt Harry’s influence - I certainly have - it’s forever changed the way I think about wheeling around in an office chair trying to avoid work! One of many questions I hope he answers in his postmortem.”
He just put it up. The answers I was hoping for are not there, but an excellent read. Spread the word, J.
Jonas said,
August 13, 2007 at 17:20
I did! He actually sent me a mail about it. Hilarious post-mortem!
fox said,
August 13, 2007 at 23:18
I recommend “Cave Story - Doukutsu Monogatari” http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/ ! I lreally love it and it contains surprisingly much story. It’s definitely more of an oldschool jump’n'run, though.
For other independend games check out http://indygamer.blogspot.com/ and http://freeware.remakes.org/ !
For a little Wolf3D go to http://www.glenrhodes.com/wolf/myRay.html
Jonas said,
August 14, 2007 at 00:02
Heheh fox, all those links got your post caught up in my spam filter
Cave Story doesn’t really look like the sort of game that has any story at all, but if I find the time I’ll check it out. It’s on my list! Right next to Betrayal at Krondor from Abandonia.
fox said,
August 14, 2007 at 00:37
Yes, you really should giveit a try and I am inteested in what you think about it. There’s also an wiki-article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_story
Smike said,
August 14, 2007 at 16:32
OMG - 19 Comments is a Teh Jonas’ BLOG RECORD!!! Have you ever got anywhere near 19 comments before?
Jonas said,
August 14, 2007 at 19:14
I count 17 comments, and so does the system. Although I guess with this comment and your inevitable reply to it, that’ll make 19. Of course if you count your excrutiatingly long comment as 3 posts, which is far from unreasonable, then your count is indeed the correct one.
Smike said,
August 14, 2007 at 20:06
Wow, that’s true - this could be considered TWENTY ONE with that post! Congratulations, Jonas, on your record-shattering 19 OFFICIAL COMMENTS!!!* Quite a feat. Plus, in twenty days from now, your BLOG will celebrate its 2nd Anniversary! Yes, this is indeed a historic month for Teh Jonas’ BLOG.
There should be cake or something.
* and possibly even more!
Jonas said,
August 14, 2007 at 21:39
Do not mock the small-time-ness of my blog
Smike said,
August 14, 2007 at 22:42
NO!! TEH JONAS!! I would not mock your extremely important BLOG! it is an HISTORIC TIME, REALLY!! REALLY HONEST TO GOODNESS CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO DIE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP. Really. An historic month, and if I had a pie I would send you that pie. Rhubarb. RHU-barb pie. Even.
Really I would. Your BLOG is a fascinating historical account in the making of an internationally renowned Danish Game Designer, a coiner of such terms as “Timbuktu Immersion” and “Fish Gaming,” and the idea-man behind the seminal “Woeful Dane Interactive,” creators of the industry-revolutionizing “Hamlet” interactive game design system, and the powerfully influential “Elsinore” game engine.
I mean the whole concept of being a witness to that is, is… riveting! With pie!
21 NOW!!! THIS RECORD IS BEING SHATTERED MORE TIMES THAN BABE RUTH’S HOME-RUN NUMBER!!!
Jonas said,
August 14, 2007 at 23:35
We have two words for such posts as your last one, Smike. The first word is “ego-stroking”. The second word is “sarcasm”. They form a very unpleasant combo for maximum damage.
Smike said,
August 15, 2007 at 02:37
Oh hush, you know I love you.
I just couldn’t stop laughing, I mean I was initially just going to post ROFL, but then I couldn’t stop laughing by the ideas my extremely evil mind began to conjure, and I don’t know. To paraphrase Oi: I’m beginning to think I might be evil.
“What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven?
We are arrant knaves, all; believe none of us.”
Because the truth is there’s a lot of truth up there mixed in with the patronizing sarcasm, and you’d be missing out on what I’m saying if you couldn’t tell the difference. There’s personal milestones, and there’s the big picture. And in the big picture we’re all just a gnat on the ass of the cow you drive by along the side of some farm up north on the E45.
The question you’ve gotta ask, then, is why do you think I’m still around posting this comment?
[aside from actively trying to avoid work for the past two months]
Jonas said,
August 15, 2007 at 02:53
Regardless of how true I thought your post was (and while I don’t think 20 blog comments is much of a personal mile stone, I do agree one has to make the distinction you describe), I have to assume you’re being extremely sarcastic, because if I take any part of your post at face value and come out with a big honest thanks and it then becomes clear you were being seethingly sarcastic, awkward silence will ensue
Smike said,
August 15, 2007 at 03:25
Well I have much better things to do with my time than mess with you for no reason at all. I’m not that evil. I’ll only ever sprinkle or mix in the sarcasm. I’m not going to make a whole post out of it. Just like my old boxing coach used to tell me, “You should use your head more and rely on your guard less - it’s not infallible.”
Jonas said,
August 15, 2007 at 03:41
I have no idea what that means, but it sounds very Hollywood.
Smike said,
August 15, 2007 at 04:04
I’ll explain tomorrow in the hope that you’ll GO TO SLEEP!! Stop staying up so late, FFS. Your brain is very angry with you these days.
Jonas said,
August 15, 2007 at 13:28
It was only 5 am when I went to bed. Just an hour past my usual bedtime
Smike said,
September 25, 2007 at 00:36
[30!]
“You should use your head more and rely on your guard less - it’s not infallible.”
To be clear, it’s more like that’s what he was TRYING to say. It might be a direct quote, but I doubt it. It was years ago and I got hit in the head a lot. Of course, so did he (Mike “Machine Gun” Marinoble if you want to look him up). Of course, he meant it literally - dodge, perry, and recognize the punch BEFORE it gets to your face - don’t just stand there with your guard up and think you’re going to block every hit. But here’s my point:
Don’t play it safe all the time. Know when to take risks. Trust your own intellect and your instincts. Go with what you think’s RIGHT instead of what’s politically CONVENIENT. I notice you take the PC route far too often. It’s OK to be afraid to fall on your face, but you can’t let it run your life or it will end up dragging you yellow into cowardice - and dogs can smell a coward from his leaking bladder.
Jonas said,
September 25, 2007 at 16:58
The PC route? I think you lost me.
Again.
Smike said,
September 25, 2007 at 17:55
The POLITICALLY CONVENIENT (aka the euphemism “Politically Correct”) route.
Example: someone like Cid is being an ass to you. You go diplomatic and passive aggressive. Someone is sarcastic? Diplomatic and passive aggressive. Unsure about the sarcasm? Diplomatic and passive aggressive. Those actions define who you are. That isn’t a bad thing, but you have to ask yourself if that’s who you WANT to be. A lot of it is genetic and culture - Danish isn’t American or Australian and I’m not saying it should be. But you should at the very least TRY to disengage automatic and trust your head a bit more in determining if a particular moment is the right time to take a risk, instead of figuring ALL choices can be run on auto-response 1-A. Because lemme tell you, the more you fail; the more you fall on your face, and the more you lose, then the more interesting your life will be, and the more you’ll have a good idea of what to do the next time.
If you want to write or design dynamic characters in games, then YOUR life has to be full of failures and accomplishments, and it generally has to be interesting, or your characters will be seriously ill-informed.
Be embarrassed. Make mistakes. Fall. Get hit in the face a time or two.
The best time to learn from these risks is in your youth when it doesn’t actually mean a damn - no matter how important or serious it may feel at the time. Melville didn’t write Moby Dick by standing on the shore.
Jonas said,
September 25, 2007 at 19:42
If you’re telling me to be an asshole in order to make great stuff, then I’d rather be a generally nice guy and continue to make mediocre things.
Jonas said,
September 25, 2007 at 20:23
Oh and you probably shouldn’t judge me from what you see me write on OTP. It’s kinda my board and I have to be careful about how I use my admin power.
Smike said,
September 25, 2007 at 21:03
Why am I discussing this here? How funny. 34 is a good number. TO THE EMAIL!