Gaming Gaming Gaming
Recently I went through our yearly export control, IP, etc. training, and this line caught my eye:
[Company] IP Policy: A contract or supplier agreement with IP provisions is needed if [Company] provides IP to an outside company or requires ownership or rights when working with an outside company. Absent an agreement to the contrary, the creator is the owner.
Sounds a lot like copyright law, doesn't it? I know I'm a broken record preaching to the choir, but little blurbs like this just further support my stance on copyright whereas anyone claiming otherwise is ignorant or lying. Call me names, rant, rave, and get mad, but it's not about what's (subjectively) "fair"; it's about what's legally right.
Let's talk games now.
Lucidity is a side scrolling game with cute storybook like graphics. Available on Xbox Live and PC, you drop randomly generated pieces, much like Tetris, in the path of the main character in order to allow her to make her way safely to her goal. Complaints I've read include some control issues, blocks not settling properly in place at times, and high difficulty at later levels. Overall, people have good things to say about it though, and after playing the demo, I'm leaning towards getting it myself. The one down side so far f ro me was that the mellow music, unhurried pace (at least at early levels) and overall peaceful setting can induce sleepiness.
That reminded me of multiple games we saw at PAX 2009.
With bright colors, lots of movement, and cute graphics, CarneyVale: Showtime was fun and easy to get the hang of, though perhaps not easy to master, right away. Classified as a "vertical ragdoll platform game for Xbox LIVE" you play as a circus acrobat "trying to rise up the ranks by performing acrobatic tricks and death-defying stunts through increasingly complex arenas. You can manipulate a wide variety of props to get Slinky through the challenges he faces. Catch and fling Slinky toward ever-greater heights using trapeze-like grabbers."
The PC game, Closure, in contrast, is much simpler graphically and thus less eye catching, but once we took a moment to watch the gameplay of this puzzle like game it got my interest. Patches of darkness create holes in the game world where you player and objects can fall. By moving the light sources, you manipulate the path of objects and thus move your character to the goal. Anything that you can't see doesn't exists, making for some really inventive game play opportunities. It (or part) is playable for free online, so check it out.
Machinarium is a puzzle adventure game about "a little robot who's been thrown out to the scrap yard behind the city must return and confront the Black Cap Brotherhood and save his robot-girl friend." i find it difficult to give such games the time and attention needed on a busy con floor, because this type of game takes time to place, and is best tackled sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of your favorite beverage beside you. Consequently, I didn't get a good feel for it at PAX. The graphics though stand out, and there's a demo available on the website. Amanita Design also have their short web games Samorost and Samorost2, flash based adventure/art games, available.
Last is an XBox Live game, Shank. An action adventure bloody fight em up side scroller, I liked the cartoonish art style, a mix of cell shading and 2D. Did I mention the blood? There's lots of it. Though there is no release date, it was fun to watch.
[Company] IP Policy: A contract or supplier agreement with IP provisions is needed if [Company] provides IP to an outside company or requires ownership or rights when working with an outside company. Absent an agreement to the contrary, the creator is the owner.
Sounds a lot like copyright law, doesn't it? I know I'm a broken record preaching to the choir, but little blurbs like this just further support my stance on copyright whereas anyone claiming otherwise is ignorant or lying. Call me names, rant, rave, and get mad, but it's not about what's (subjectively) "fair"; it's about what's legally right.
Let's talk games now.
Lucidity is a side scrolling game with cute storybook like graphics. Available on Xbox Live and PC, you drop randomly generated pieces, much like Tetris, in the path of the main character in order to allow her to make her way safely to her goal. Complaints I've read include some control issues, blocks not settling properly in place at times, and high difficulty at later levels. Overall, people have good things to say about it though, and after playing the demo, I'm leaning towards getting it myself. The one down side so far f ro me was that the mellow music, unhurried pace (at least at early levels) and overall peaceful setting can induce sleepiness.
That reminded me of multiple games we saw at PAX 2009.
With bright colors, lots of movement, and cute graphics, CarneyVale: Showtime was fun and easy to get the hang of, though perhaps not easy to master, right away. Classified as a "vertical ragdoll platform game for Xbox LIVE" you play as a circus acrobat "trying to rise up the ranks by performing acrobatic tricks and death-defying stunts through increasingly complex arenas. You can manipulate a wide variety of props to get Slinky through the challenges he faces. Catch and fling Slinky toward ever-greater heights using trapeze-like grabbers."
The PC game, Closure, in contrast, is much simpler graphically and thus less eye catching, but once we took a moment to watch the gameplay of this puzzle like game it got my interest. Patches of darkness create holes in the game world where you player and objects can fall. By moving the light sources, you manipulate the path of objects and thus move your character to the goal. Anything that you can't see doesn't exists, making for some really inventive game play opportunities. It (or part) is playable for free online, so check it out.
Machinarium is a puzzle adventure game about "a little robot who's been thrown out to the scrap yard behind the city must return and confront the Black Cap Brotherhood and save his robot-girl friend." i find it difficult to give such games the time and attention needed on a busy con floor, because this type of game takes time to place, and is best tackled sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of your favorite beverage beside you. Consequently, I didn't get a good feel for it at PAX. The graphics though stand out, and there's a demo available on the website. Amanita Design also have their short web games Samorost and Samorost2, flash based adventure/art games, available.
Last is an XBox Live game, Shank. An action adventure bloody fight em up side scroller, I liked the cartoonish art style, a mix of cell shading and 2D. Did I mention the blood? There's lots of it. Though there is no release date, it was fun to watch.