Thoughts on 2013

The  new year carries the promise of new consoles, Steam-boxes and big name releases. But there's an interesting new trend that emerged in 2012 that hopefully won't get lost  - the rise of successful story-driven indie releases.

Source: Freebird Games

There's been a huge growth in the indie scene since the launch of the Xbox 360. Small releases are gaining acceptance and generating financial returns on platforms from Xbox Live Arcade and Steam to a slew of indie-focused marketplaces like Desura.

Retro aesthetics and arcade mechanics defined the space for years - relegating more thoughtful works to the shadows. But 2012 seemed to change that. Small teams of indies, with the specific goal of engendering a given emotional response, popped upduring the year. The style of simple, focused design is similar to what Team Ico achieved a decade ago.

These days indies and smaller studios are just as likely to experiment with story-telling as they are with mechanics, and long may it continue. The Walking Dead may have raised some questions about what constitutes a 'game,' but it still took numerous game-of-the-year awards. 

I've already written about Dear Esther at length. Here are some of the other games that stood out:

People are astonishing

Two amazing examples of how videogames allow creativity to flourish surfaced recently. They're also examples of just how insane people can be.

First is a recreation of the city of King's Landing from Game of Thrones. @Polygon reports that 100 builders worked for 4 months to hand-build the city in Minecraft. 


The results are beautiful. 

source: Polygon.com

And a few days ago, news emerged of a battle that erupted in Eve Online when a ship accidentally jumped into enemy territory. @testedcom reported losses of $17,000 in real-world money as a result of the miss-step. The first couple of minutes of this video, showing the 3000 player battle, is worth a look.

2012 Review - The Playlist

What did I play in 2013?

Super Crate Box (iOS)
MGS 3 HD (PS3)
Dear Esther (PC) review
Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
Mass Effect 3 (PS3) comment
Waking Mars (iOS)
Bit Trip Runner (PC)
Braid (PC) comment
Journey (PS3)
Limbo (PC)
Psychonauts (PC)
10000000 (iOS)
Super Hexagon (iOS) article/interview
Bastion (PC) comment
Dyad (PS3)
Minerva's Den (PS3) comment
P3 Biotic(PC)
Bulletstorm (PS3) comment
Batman Arkham City (PS3) comment
To the Moon (PC)
Thirty Flights of Loving (PC)
Cart Life (PC)

2012 Review – In defence of Mass Effect

It’s interesting to watch the tide of opinion turn on a game. Last year it was Skyrim - in 2012 it was the turn of Mass Effect 3 to suffer the brunt of revisionist commentary.

Alas poor Morton.
Source: Bioware

Games coverage is driven by hype and with time enthusiasm wanes. Impressions of a game can pivot quickly from positive hyperbole to negative.

The complaints leveled at big-name releases aren’t always core to theor experience either. There were some bizarre criticisms leveled at Mass Effect 3.

Some commented on the pacing of the game - they found it odd that Shepard and his crew had down-time mid-mission, or that they would take side-missions off the beaten path. Casablanca, Apocalypse Now and Zero Dark Thirty are just some examples of the slow rate of progress during missions in war.

Other complaints are more valid. The sense throughout the game that Shepard is a small cog in far-reaching machine was well conveyed. So why did the story descend into chosen-one nonsense with the future of the galaxy resting in his hands?

Read it: Ken Levine Article on Polygon

Bioshock Infinite Artwork
Source: Polygon.com

Ken Levine is an interesting man to listen to. And he makes great games. 

Chris Plante at Polygon has written an excellent longform article on Levine's past, his motivations, and his methods when approaching game design. And I think you should read it.

"BioShock games are the hardest kind of games to make that I've ever worked on. I think sometimes people on the team look at the old timers and wonder, 'Do these guys have any idea what they're doing?' Because we know part of the process is not knowing, but discovering. But that's hard for people who haven't been through it before to always understand." - Ken Levine

The piece weaves together an interview with the history of the development of Irrational Games. Also, Polygon's feature layouts are incredible.

Read more at Polygon.com

Bulletstorm - Why did I ever doubt you?

The chaos of combat
Source: Giantbomb.com

People Can Fly tried to reinvigorate the first person shooter with Bulletstorm. But did they succeed? The FPS is a genre so staid that, despite drawing huge crowds for annual installments of its heavy-hitter titles, it seems to have lost relevance for many gamers.

The FPS hasn't changed all that much over the years. The deep rut it’s worn through gaming makes it difficult for developers to contribute anything original.

People Can Fly’s addition? Allow the player to close ground quickly. And it’s just enough to shake up the experience.

Bulletstorm is littered with excellent set-pieces
Source: Giantbomb.com

Bulletstorm introduced a leash to pull enemies out of cover. An environment that makes full use of the tool was then built around it. The level design revels in the chaos it invites. There’s a cohesion and inventiveness to the game that reminds me of a polished Nintendo title.

The leash allows the player to manipulate their environment directly, replacing traditional doors and switches. It functions as a powerful weapon too; pull down a walkway or leash an explosive and kick it towards and enemy to upset the status-quo.