Tag Archives: games
Time limits and player punishment
So I came across a Flash adventure game called Broken Bone’s Complaint. The art is nice, the animation is good. It has higher production value than most Flash games out there. The basic story is you’re some kid having a nightmare where he’s in some kind of monster world with skeletons and stuff.
You know, for kids
I just read a BoingBoing post The Case Against Candy Land and I mentally joined it with some stuff I had been reading about the history of Sesame Street, thanks to this guy’s blog.
Good game visuals
Further to an earlier post where I criticized the visuals of an online chess game, I figured I’d post a couple games that do the visuals right.
Since ripping off Ferry Halim is in vogue right now…
I didn’t see the Olympic rip-off of Ferry Halim’s Winterbells but I did get to see this:
http://www.bannerblog.com.au/2008/04/offset_the_evil_panda.php
This also looks like a Winterbells clone. But some of the ways in which it differs serves to underline what was so good about Winterbells.
It has the same basic idea. In Winterbells, you control a rabbit that hops on bells, which disappear when you jump on them. In this banner ad, you control a panda that hops on rainbows.
Graphic design of a chess game
This chess game is hard on the eyes. I think the transparency wasn’t really necessary. And the dominant visual element on the screen? This thing:
Video games as accomplishment simulator
Carrington Vanston posted about video games. This is similar to some thoughts I’ve had before. He says:
That’s the big lie of video games: the illusion of activity.
Batman Batman Batman
The first game I programmed was a text-based choose-your-own-adventure about Batman. It was a series of nested “if” statements. The only loop was at the beginning, when it did the theme song: (Also in text)
Nana nana nana nana
Nana nana nana nana
Batman!
Nana nana nana nana
Nana nana nana nana
Batman!
I don’t think I still have the Pascal files for this.
My first video was a fake commercial shot for school, all edited in camera. It was for a fictional soft-drink called Carbonated Beef.
Horror game
I played this M&M horror game for about an hour and only got 40 out of 50. Some of them gave me trouble because I wouldn’t have classified them as horror, (A Clockwork Orange?) or because I was thinking a little too literally to get it. (Six != Sixth)
Space Invaders
I think I never properly gave Space Invaders credit, but I’ve played it a bit lately, and I’ve got to give it props. That’s a game that worked very well within the hardware limitations.
For example, the fewer invaders there are on the screen, the faster they move. This means each level has a natural escalation in difficulty. But it also means the computer always moves one invader per frame, which maintains a consistent load on the processor.
Ferry Halim phones it in
The Crossing, the latest game on Orisinal is kind of lame. I stopped playing when I still had three extra deers, because I had lost interest.
Now, I’m not saying this just to complain that the free game that a complete stranger made for me is not good enough. I will use this to illustrate a factor in making a game fun.