http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/i
What? That game doesn't use the internet at all, why would it be blocked by a firewall? Oh well, computers are strange.
What? That game doesn't use the internet at all, why would it be blocked by a firewall? Oh well, computers are strange.
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/multim
Another review. He goes into something even I missed -- that the game uses a second-person perspective ("you" rather than "I" or "he/she"). I actually didn't even notice that until this review pointed that out.
Another review. He goes into something even I missed -- that the game uses a second-person perspective ("you" rather than "I" or "he/she"). I actually didn't even notice that until this review pointed that out.
Instead, by using the second person, the game just makes me scratch my head and wonder why I can’t cope with existence anymore. I’m not proposing the game would be better in the first person, Thornton clearly intended me to have these intense moments of reflection while playing. But at the same time, I’m not sure what to make of a game that induces them by blasting me out of the experience. Should a video game ever do this? I don’t really know.
Been working on the ID editor still. Here's two screenshots of a level in play and in the editor.
Wynand agreed to write the story for a new optional custom campaign (made in the level editor), so this new version of the game may also have some new story (although it probably won't be directly related to the main game's story).
It should soon go into playtesting, as soon as Wynand finishes the story up and I finish the example levels up. Then a few weeks after that, provided there are no bugs I can't fix, the current version of the game will be replaced by this version.
Wynand agreed to write the story for a new optional custom campaign (made in the level editor), so this new version of the game may also have some new story (although it probably won't be directly related to the main game's story).
It should soon go into playtesting, as soon as Wynand finishes the story up and I finish the example levels up. Then a few weeks after that, provided there are no bugs I can't fix, the current version of the game will be replaced by this version.
I'm taking a short break from working on SD to finally finish up ID. Currently I'm working on a bunch of new levels in its level editor, which is pretty fun work because it's not much more work than playing ID itself. I wish I had made that level editor first rather than last, it would have saved a lot of time (and am happy I learned my lesson for SD).
I plan to create a bunch of new levels in the level editor, because there were a lot of ideas I had for levels that I never got to use when making the 100 in the game. My current plan is to have a training mini-campaign for each Point (three new levels each that focus on interesting aspects of that Point), and to have one or two normal-sized new campaigns.
Hopefully I'll get this done in a week or two and return to SD; meanwhile I'll be waiting for the other people on the SD team to create more resources to work with (Orchard and Long already did a fair amount to work with, especially Long, who finished more than half of the soundtrack already, but I want to give the other three (Komera's enemy sprites, Wynand's game text, Harlock's cutscene illustrations) time to catch up).
I plan to create a bunch of new levels in the level editor, because there were a lot of ideas I had for levels that I never got to use when making the 100 in the game. My current plan is to have a training mini-campaign for each Point (three new levels each that focus on interesting aspects of that Point), and to have one or two normal-sized new campaigns.
Hopefully I'll get this done in a week or two and return to SD; meanwhile I'll be waiting for the other people on the SD team to create more resources to work with (Orchard and Long already did a fair amount to work with, especially Long, who finished more than half of the soundtrack already, but I want to give the other three (Komera's enemy sprites, Wynand's game text, Harlock's cutscene illustrations) time to catch up).
Immortal Defense music is now on last.fm, if anyone cares for it:
Main soundtrack itself (of the original music created for the game): http://www.last.fm/music/Walter+Eres+an
Ending song to ID (from Crazy Mary, my mother's boyfriend's indie band): http://www.last.fm/music/Crazy+Mary/_/C
The stage select music was a public domain track by Helen Humes but she has so much music on there and I don't remember its exact track name, but here is her profile page: http://www.last.fm/music/Helen+Hume
Main soundtrack itself (of the original music created for the game): http://www.last.fm/music/Walter+Eres+an
Ending song to ID (from Crazy Mary, my mother's boyfriend's indie band): http://www.last.fm/music/Crazy+Mary/_/C
The stage select music was a public domain track by Helen Humes but she has so much music on there and I don't remember its exact track name, but here is her profile page: http://www.last.fm/music/Helen+Hume
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/i
Random review I found for ID that I hadn't come across before. Apparently I have a mobygames profile now? Unfortunately they got the release date wrong (it was June, not Feb).
Random review I found for ID that I hadn't come across before. Apparently I have a mobygames profile now? Unfortunately they got the release date wrong (it was June, not Feb).
1. http://gemtowerdefense.com/ -- I bought an ad there -- $40 for 100,000 impressions. I really like that flash game (even if it's just a typical TD game) so I like supporting the game's author too.
2. I hate banks; my debit card number somehow was stolen, someone charged money to my checking account causing an overdraft fee, I called and canceled the debit card and I may or may not get back the money they charged (about $100), but I probably won't get back the overdraft fees either way (about $50). :( :(
3. I started playing Breath of Fire 4 (it's the only game in that series I never played) and it's kind of annoying so far; in the first town and the first dungeon the camera is such that it's impossible to see where you're walking or which way to go, I'm not sure how that got through their testing.
2. I hate banks; my debit card number somehow was stolen, someone charged money to my checking account causing an overdraft fee, I called and canceled the debit card and I may or may not get back the money they charged (about $100), but I probably won't get back the overdraft fees either way (about $50). :( :(
3. I started playing Breath of Fire 4 (it's the only game in that series I never played) and it's kind of annoying so far; in the first town and the first dungeon the camera is such that it's impossible to see where you're walking or which way to go, I'm not sure how that got through their testing.
Another fan-made video of Immortal Defense -- this one is a guy beating the intended-to-be-unbeatable boss. That music isn't from the game, he added it in.
http://theangrypixel.com/blog/2008/01/2
Another review of Immortal Defense, a pretty in-depth review too. Thanks to fyrewulff for pointing it out to me.
"It is hard to say this without spoilers, but I’ll do my best: This is a game that will force you stop. It will force you think about the world around you, your very mortality and the price you would pay to become immortal. It will LIE to you on a level that Portal never would have dared to go. And you know what the worst part is? You will KNOW it’s lying to you. You will know it is all a lie but you will not want to believe it. Even as it becomes clearer and clearer – even as the inevitable comes right into your sight and starts to strangle your very mind, you will refuse to believe it."
Another review of Immortal Defense, a pretty in-depth review too. Thanks to fyrewulff for pointing it out to me.
"It is hard to say this without spoilers, but I’ll do my best: This is a game that will force you stop. It will force you think about the world around you, your very mortality and the price you would pay to become immortal. It will LIE to you on a level that Portal never would have dared to go. And you know what the worst part is? You will KNOW it’s lying to you. You will know it is all a lie but you will not want to believe it. Even as it becomes clearer and clearer – even as the inevitable comes right into your sight and starts to strangle your very mind, you will refuse to believe it."
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showth
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showth
Two threads on Something Awful about Immortal Defense (thanks to Tim for pointing it out to me). Surprisingly it's not all negative OMG PRETENTIOUS STORY BAD GRAPHICS like I usually get on forums like that.
If anyone has an account there, could you post in those two threads and mention that a lot of the questions they're asking are answered in the game's FAQ on the site's forums? That site requires a fee to register an account to post with, so I don't have one.
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showth
Two threads on Something Awful about Immortal Defense (thanks to Tim for pointing it out to me). Surprisingly it's not all negative OMG PRETENTIOUS STORY BAD GRAPHICS like I usually get on forums like that.
If anyone has an account there, could you post in those two threads and mention that a lot of the questions they're asking are answered in the game's FAQ on the site's forums? That site requires a fee to register an account to post with, so I don't have one.
Someone making a video review of my game! I just found at at random while browsing YouTube too. He actually did a better job making this video than I did making mine.
I'm realizing that most of game development isn't actually development, but improvement. An example is Immortal Defense -- I basically made the entire game in the first six weeks, and after that it was just adding nice features, polishing, improving, finishing resources (graphics and music), balancing, playtesting, removing bugs -- that stuff took 80% of the work, actually *making* the game (the part that I most enjoyed) was only the first 20%. But the other 80% was necessary, if tedious. Not totally unenjoyable but not as enjoyable, and usually more frustrating.
Now that I'm working on another game (Saturated Dreamers), I realize again how much more fun that first 20% is than that last 80%. I'm envious of people like Miyamoto and Kojima, who only really spend time on that first 20% and have other people do the other 80%. But the sacrifice they make in exchange is not having a hand in every little detail of a game, so each has its advantages.
Now that I'm working on another game (Saturated Dreamers), I realize again how much more fun that first 20% is than that last 80%. I'm envious of people like Miyamoto and Kojima, who only really spend time on that first 20% and have other people do the other 80%. But the sacrifice they make in exchange is not having a hand in every little detail of a game, so each has its advantages.
I'm trying something new starting today regarding productivity. I found that I do my best work in short bursts and when it drags out I get nothing done and am too easily distracted, so what I tried today was limit myself to 2 hours of work per day on ID, and the idea is to try to get as much done in that period as possible, and if I don't finish something then, I won't be able to work on it again until the next day; this creates a feeling of scarcity and increases motivation.
http://pics.livejournal.com/rinku/pic/0
If you've played Mario Paint, that dog represents undo, just like the 'undo dog' in Mario Paint. I drew the icon and added it today. The level editor still needs quite a bit of work, but it's at least at the fairly functional stage now.
That text and such is just placeholders, that's not a real level.
Next I'll try 2 hours of SD (saturated dreamers, my next game).
EDIT: I created an interesting movement system for SD: http://pics.livejournal.com/rinku/pic/0
Let me describe it. Moving your mouse more than 75 pixels away from your character moves the character in that direction, and the further the mouse is from the character, the faster the character moves toward that location. Moving it within a 75 pixel circle around the character (shown) simply changes the character's direction, and you can use can "shoot" (use some effect like shining a light or shooting a line to hook onto things) by clicking within that circle.
The disadvantage to this system is that you can't shoot while moving. But this isn't as bad as it sounds for this game, it's not a game where the object is to kill enemies; instead it's about avoiding them and adapting to their behavior.
The advantage of this system is that you can play the game using only one mouse button and mouse movement (I may use the second mouse button for something later), and a big advantage is that unlike most games with mouse movement through a world you don't need to constantly be holding down the mouse button, simply moving it somewhere will make your character move there. One thing that bothered me about Aquaria was that you had to constantly hold down the mouse button in order to move, and to move quickly you had to continuously click it, so this system avoids that.
http://pics.livejournal.com/rinku/pic/0
If you've played Mario Paint, that dog represents undo, just like the 'undo dog' in Mario Paint. I drew the icon and added it today. The level editor still needs quite a bit of work, but it's at least at the fairly functional stage now.
That text and such is just placeholders, that's not a real level.
Next I'll try 2 hours of SD (saturated dreamers, my next game).
EDIT: I created an interesting movement system for SD: http://pics.livejournal.com/rinku/pic/0
Let me describe it. Moving your mouse more than 75 pixels away from your character moves the character in that direction, and the further the mouse is from the character, the faster the character moves toward that location. Moving it within a 75 pixel circle around the character (shown) simply changes the character's direction, and you can use can "shoot" (use some effect like shining a light or shooting a line to hook onto things) by clicking within that circle.
The disadvantage to this system is that you can't shoot while moving. But this isn't as bad as it sounds for this game, it's not a game where the object is to kill enemies; instead it's about avoiding them and adapting to their behavior.
The advantage of this system is that you can play the game using only one mouse button and mouse movement (I may use the second mouse button for something later), and a big advantage is that unlike most games with mouse movement through a world you don't need to constantly be holding down the mouse button, simply moving it somewhere will make your character move there. One thing that bothered me about Aquaria was that you had to constantly hold down the mouse button in order to move, and to move quickly you had to continuously click it, so this system avoids that.
Writing in LJ or writing text in general feels bad sometimes, because I'm going from the realm of the concrete and particular to the realm of the abstract and symbolic, and the latter isn't as real (although it's still real in a sense). I would prefer to just sit and watch cats be cats and so on. But doing that won't help me figure out what part of the body the human soul is hidden in (Fedora Spade reference if anyone gets it). But maybe the cat soul...
Speaking of Komera (mentioned last entry), something she said to me once years ago which I'm sure she's forgotten came back to me just now: I was thinking that the task I've set myself (to induce more beneficial traits in people and reduce their less beneficial traits, through games) is likely futile in the face how how difficult it is to change anyone over the age of about five (and even then). But she once said something like 'although you might do nothing of good to anyone in your life, you can provide some part of some future good that some other things could combine with to finish it, and the good will appear suddenly, even though it seems as if your efforts had no results, it was preparing the way for latter results' (she said it simpler and probably better than that, but I'm going from memory).
Jonathan Blow (the guy who made the indie game Braid) said something similar in one of his interviews: that although the individual influences of a game may be insignificant and unobservable on the individual sale, when you add up all the tiny bits of nearly negligible good that a game does on one person and multiply it by the number of people who it happens to, it becomes significant on the larger scale.
And I know both of those ways of thinking may simply be a way to trick yourself into thinking that a game (or whatever your one thing is) is doing more good than you think. It's too difficult to measure, but that doesn't mean it's unmeasurable or unfathomable.
As I was reading through the Immortal Defense forum while compiling that FAQ for it today, I was struck by how much praise the game had, just pages and pages of it. And that type of thing is fun, but it's not really what I make games for or care about, I'd be interested far more in people describing if the game has impacted their life in any way, or made them think differently about something, but just saying it's one of the best games they've played or one of the best stories they've experienced or how much they enjoyed it etc. etc. doesn't really convey much. And of course it's not fair to ask such a thing of them because most people don't know how something effects them, since the relation is too complex and indirect.
I'm also now reminded of one principle of Karma Yoga: that one should do work as well as one can and work as hard as one can but not be attached to the results of it, just accept the results that come as outside of direct control. One should always learn from and adapt to the results, but it's a bad idea to become discouraged or reject them, because results flow naturally from causes, there's no way causality can cheat you, and most of the causes aren't under your control. It's like in pinball machines, you can play really well after experience but how the ball bounces isn't predictable even then.
Speaking of Komera (mentioned last entry), something she said to me once years ago which I'm sure she's forgotten came back to me just now: I was thinking that the task I've set myself (to induce more beneficial traits in people and reduce their less beneficial traits, through games) is likely futile in the face how how difficult it is to change anyone over the age of about five (and even then). But she once said something like 'although you might do nothing of good to anyone in your life, you can provide some part of some future good that some other things could combine with to finish it, and the good will appear suddenly, even though it seems as if your efforts had no results, it was preparing the way for latter results' (she said it simpler and probably better than that, but I'm going from memory).
Jonathan Blow (the guy who made the indie game Braid) said something similar in one of his interviews: that although the individual influences of a game may be insignificant and unobservable on the individual sale, when you add up all the tiny bits of nearly negligible good that a game does on one person and multiply it by the number of people who it happens to, it becomes significant on the larger scale.
And I know both of those ways of thinking may simply be a way to trick yourself into thinking that a game (or whatever your one thing is) is doing more good than you think. It's too difficult to measure, but that doesn't mean it's unmeasurable or unfathomable.
As I was reading through the Immortal Defense forum while compiling that FAQ for it today, I was struck by how much praise the game had, just pages and pages of it. And that type of thing is fun, but it's not really what I make games for or care about, I'd be interested far more in people describing if the game has impacted their life in any way, or made them think differently about something, but just saying it's one of the best games they've played or one of the best stories they've experienced or how much they enjoyed it etc. etc. doesn't really convey much. And of course it's not fair to ask such a thing of them because most people don't know how something effects them, since the relation is too complex and indirect.
I'm also now reminded of one principle of Karma Yoga: that one should do work as well as one can and work as hard as one can but not be attached to the results of it, just accept the results that come as outside of direct control. One should always learn from and adapt to the results, but it's a bad idea to become discouraged or reject them, because results flow naturally from causes, there's no way causality can cheat you, and most of the causes aren't under your control. It's like in pinball machines, you can play really well after experience but how the ball bounces isn't predictable even then.
http://pics.livejournal.com/rinku/pic/0
For some reason the Thais (the Thai? what's the plural of Thai-people?) were the first to pirate Immortal Defense. I blame![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
komera! (joking)
For some reason the Thais (the Thai? what's the plural of Thai-people?) were the first to pirate Immortal Defense. I blame
komera! (joking)Syndicate
