new posts

posts/Beyond the Boundary - Archery in Tactics Ogre.html

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+<p><figure><img src="/images/2017-01-26/a.jpeg"></br></img></figure>
+<time datetime="2017-01-26">2017-01-26</time></p>
+
+<p>Recently I managed to complete Tactics Ogre on the PSP (played on my Vita). Not the greatest feat, but considering how little time is available to me to play games, I was still rather satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>Besides being a through and through fantastic game that manages to give me many small puzzle-like battles, it is one of those games that manages to paint a thrilling story with just some chibi-super-kawaii sprites that are far more brutal than their stumpy little pixel limbs communicate.</p>
+
+<p>My favorite element though, didn’t occur to me until pretty far into the game (and would surely have made the previous skirmishes far more easygoing): The range of archers is Tactics Ogre is a truth with modifications. The full truth is that they can shoot beyond what the game indicates. In fact, if you have some highground, they can shoot far beyond the indication.</p>
+
+<p>This is some <em>half-blood-prince-crush-the-creature-with-a-silver-knife-to-get-the-good-juice-level-secret-skills-shit-dawg</em>!</p>
+
+<p>Really, the game told me the rules, and allowed me to go beyond them, without breaking anything (maybe except the balance). And what made it feel even better, was that I felt like I really knew the tiny crevices of knowledge and skill to play Tactics Ogre.</p>

posts/Entering the Quotidian of RPGs.html

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+<p><time datetime="2017-01-25">2017-01-25</time></p>
+
+<p>I can’t be the only one who experiences a sort of tranquility when playing an action game and everything just works. The rhythm of the play: Running ahead, shooting, dodging, reloading, and adapting.</p>
+
+<p>I often attribute this being in the flow to action games, but I realized, there is a great wonder to it when more quiet games like RPG’s have a flow you can achieve.</p>
+
+<p>It’s when the setting, story and systems coalesce into a sort of everyday-like quality, and I simply play the game as if I live that world, and the life available to me, is enough, because I tacitly accept that the game world is what it is, and isn’t trying to be more.</p>
+
+<p>Playing Fantasy Life on the 3DS and more recently Final Fantasy XV, there is a joy and danger in this.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>In Fantasy Life I would spend time raising the levels of my character in various classes, perhaps sometimes spending a little too long crafting exquisite furniture that I could sell way above market price.</li>
+<li>In FFXV I’ve been living it up in Duscae, undertaking mundane fetch-quests, duking it out with wild-life and mechanical, medieval paratroopers, and trampling the flora with my beautiful giant bird.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>In Fantasy Life, and soon I expect, in Final Fantasy XV, my overparticipation in the everyday-like (the quotidian from the title) results in me feeling like the game has presented all it had to offer and I have tasted all I needed to.</p>
+
+<p>It’s definitely a sad experience in games with a larger overarching narrative to complete, but we all play games in different ways, and I definitely feel like it’s a wonderful facet of video games, that they can allow us to have a short taste of different daily life, that might be far more exciting than reality, yet (due to the necessary structure of becoming increasingly powerful and experienced in a gameplay loop) eventually feeling like even the life of a magical god-prince is boring enough to move on to something else.</p>
+
+<p>To eventually become boring isn’t a trait I’m striving for in Sodagirl, but it being a rather quiet game, letting players experience a different kind of everyday-life seems like quite a noble goal.</p>

posts/Game Design of the Floating Point World.html

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+<p><figure><img src="/images/2017-01-31/a.jpeg"></br></img></figure>
+<time datetime="2017-01-31">2017-01-31</time></p>
+
+<p>A few years ago I read some game designer (Jonathan Blow maybe?) note that his favorite recent game was Assassin’s Creed (the first one?) because it utilized 3d space so well. That is, the game wasn’t just represented with 3d graphics, it actually took place in 3d space: Navigation, exploration, sometimes combat. It was a cool thing to observe, because until then, I had just thought that 2d was 2d and 3d was 3d.</p>
+
+<p>What then, was the point of 3d, if the gameplay didn’t actually use 3d space? What did we gain when we went from SNES to N64?</p>
+
+<p>I think the answer is a combination of the extra dimension and new hardware.</p>
+
+<p>When programmers have to think about how to represent a game world in code, they have to imagine how numbers can represent details. Until then 3d games, things usually existed in a grid. The pixel art makes this obvious, and the fluid nature of games like Mario, makes you forget that everything is placed on this grid. Yet the controls gave it away. Pressing really fast, I might be able to move a character 1 pixel, but I could never move half a pixel.</p>
+
+<p>This changed when games became 3d. The game worlds were no longer placed on an easily distinguishable grid. The architecture might have been simple in the beginning, it was already more organic than had ever been possible before.</p>
+
+<p>The analog stick of the Nintendo 64 was a great way to more easily navigate these worlds. By tilting the stick in various arcs and degrees, I could circle around targetted monsters in Ocarina of Time, like in the Wolfos battle pictured above. The Z-targetting system allowed smooth movement where I could navigate relatively easily navigate the non-grid-based terrain, while still remain focused on an enemy.</p>
+
+<p>It’s really quite impressive that so many games of that time successfully handled not only going from grid-based 2d games to more free-form worlds, but that they occasionally managed to successfully include fun, vertical gameplay simultaneously, is really something.</p>

posts/Greedy Hardware, Neat Game Design - Crystal Chronicles & Diablo III.html

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+<p><figure><img src="/images/2017-01-30/a.jpeg"></br></img></figure>
+<time datetime="2017-01-30">2017-01-30</time></p>
+
+<p>I didn’t really read any gaming magazines’ commentary on the GameCube when first unveiled, but I imagine it can’t have been far from what I thought at the time</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+  <p>“Oh cool, you can connect your handheld to it, everyone gets their own screen then. Wait, I NEED four GBAs and four cables to even play the new Zelda game?”</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>And then I didn’t play the new Zelda game.</p>
+
+<p>Then came Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, a game with its own little backstory on how it even came to be on a Nintendo console, which is kinda interesting, but what’s more interesting, is that it was a pretty fun game, with some beautiful graphics, super unique music, and a couple of great/annoying mechanics. You had to work together in multiplayer to carry around a chalice to keep the poison air at bay.</p>
+
+<p>As a pure hand ‘n slash kinda game, the GBA connectivity seemed like a prime example of corporate greed that would only result in fewer people actually playing the game, because who the fuck could afford all that shit.</p>
+
+<p>Then years later, I was in this sweet little café-bar in Kyoto, Café La Siesta, and played Puyo Puyo while waiting for my meal. It occured to me that I’d love to have my own bar, and in this bar, I would want a GameCube with four GBAs connected to, so that patrons could play Crystal Chronicles while drinking. So I went to various second-hand electronics stores and bought old GBAs and cables, and later got a copy of Crystal Chronicles.</p>
+
+<p>Having finally assembled all the little pieces needed to even fully enjoy the experience, I realize that the hardware setup is the optimal solution, since it was actually available. See, since everyone had a second screen available for their personal use, individual players could manage their spells and inventory without breaking the flow of the game. I love this, and the benefit is immediately apparent.</p>
+
+<p>But just to underline how perfect a solution this was, lets look at Diablo III for the Playstation 4. This is pretty much the same game, but without the chalice-system and without personal screens.</p>
+
+<p>Diablo III is a great game, also on the PS4, but the need for a second screen is immediately obvious, as me and my friends had to completely destroy the flow of the game every time someone had to fiddle with their character.</p>
+
+<p>Even the chalice-system is vindicated, since the couch-experience almost demands that players have a reason to interact with each other both on-screen and on the couch. Very little inter-player interaction seems part of the normal Diablo experience. This never seemed like a problem before. It was still a lot of fun mowing down monsters with friends, every player on their own computer, but still gathered in the same room. But on the couch, the game quickly yearned for a reason for players to work together/fuck over each other. I got the feeling that I was trying to play Diablo III, while 3 other guys were crowding my personal screen. With the chalice-system, we had to communicate and coordinate, quickly depending on each other, cursing the weakest link and desperately trying to work as a team.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes game hardware seems forced and clunky, introduced only to increase profit, but any development that is based on giving designers more options, can definitely become of great benefit for the players, if the designers are able to communicate these advantages.</p>
+
+<p>Clearly no one managed to do this for Crystal Chronicles, and it is indeed sad that no one remade this game for the Wii U with the second-screen controller interface-conundrum solved with 3DS’s. It’s all too bad really, but it taught me to keep my mind open for later times when Nintendo added weird hardware gimmicks to their new consoles.</p>

posts/Nyoki Nyoki Stream.html

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+<p><time datetime="2017-01-24">2017-01-24</time></p>
+
+<p>(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlX9vqyNuH8)</p>
+
+<p>A great to show that I’m extremely out of touch, is by exposing my lack of knowledge of game streaming.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever. I just discovered gaming youtube, a sub-youtube for game streaming, and with it found this stream of (and correct me if I’m wrong) a general streamer and a pro puyo puyo player, battling each other in the new Nyoki Nyoki. It’s great stuff.</p>
+
+<p>I absolutely love Puyo Puyo, and Nyoki Nyoki looks great as well. In fact, I tried for so long to make Sodagirl more arcade/action-puzzle-like, like Puyo Puyo, but in the end, the design took me elsewhere. Nonetheless, I love this type of game and this stream is so relaxing.</p>
+
+<p>The story of Nyoki Nyoki is kind of interesting as well. Compile, the original company behind Puyo Puyo, was run by Masashitsu ‘Moo’ Niitani and the game is credited to him as well.</p>
+
+<p>At the peak of Puyo Puyo popularity, they were making money hand over fist, but with a steady stream of failing games, the Puyo Puyo games got handled, and eventually became controlled/owned, by Sega. Moo fell on hard times and up till recently worked in a convenience store. Nyoki Nyoki is his big shot at a comeback and I wish him all the best of luck!</p>
+
+<p>I should mention that towards the end,the stream degenerates into a mess of cake eating and cameras pointing at nothing at all. It’s really quite amazing.</p>

posts/Pikmin 3 - Calm Genocidal Multiplayer.html

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+<p><figure><img src="/images/2017-01-27/a.jpeg"></br></img></figure>
+<time datetime="2017-01-27">2017-01-27</time></p>
+
+<p>Something strange happened, and the section praising the multiplayer of Pikmin 3 disappeared from <strong>every single review</strong>, so I thought I’d append it here…</p>
+
+<p>Usually when I play multiplayer in video games, I find that it’s either a quite stressful (and rewarding) experience because a high degree of alertness is required at all times, or it’s a calmingly mind-numbing experience because I simply go through the numbers, but with friends.</p>
+
+<p>Pikmin 3 showed me it could be different. In the Bingo Battle mode, two players race to collect fruit while fighting wild life and occasionally (often) obstructing each other’s progress. But the race to collect fruit and the inability to effectively kill each other, made me experience a quite calm and relaxing competive affair.</p>
+
+<p>In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a game before that has an actual competitive multiplayer mode I could play when I wanted to relax!</p>
+
+<p>Additionally, there’s also a multiplayer mode where you work together with another player to kill enemies or gather fruit. This is one of those cases where the Wii U gamepad shows its brilliance. I and the person I play with take different role depending on our controller:</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li><p>If I use Wii remote + nuchuck, I become a sort of direct force, hurrying towards known goals.</p></li>
+<li><p>If I am holding the gamepad, I become the strategist, coordinating our two-man team, keeping tabs on un-collected fruits and planning routes for future improved attempts.</p></li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>Pikmin 3 is a classic of this generation and a game not praised enough. It gave me Calm Genocidal Multiplayer, and Tactical Local Berry Picking.</p>

posts/Starting the Day Playfully.html

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+<p><figure><img src="/images/2017-02-01/a.jpeg"></br></img></figure>
+<time datetime="2017-02-01">2017-02-01</time></p>
+
+<p>Having so little time to play games recently, I’ve been thinking about how I might make a shorter play time feel just as satisfying.</p>
+
+<p>It could be about habits. One habit I like, is that I like to read before I sleep. Gaming just before bed wakes me up (the bright screens and all). Another habit is that the first thing I do every morning is to make a sleep-deprived bloody sacrifice to the God of Black Liquid and Caffeine. The minutes I spend grinding beans and brewing, wakes me up. It’s meditative and yet filled with antificipation.</p>
+
+<p>This is a very short time span though, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if a tiny, miniscule play session could be inserted while I drink the coffee, and help me prepare for the day?</p>
+
+<p>I think a good game for waking up in the morning would have to either give me energy, lightly exercise my mind, or set the mood. It would also have to be satisfying in very short bursts, without the possibility of giving me a sour day if something fails.</p>
+
+<p>The last bit might be a question of willpower, but it’s probably a good idea to at least try and use a game without a low chance me making me mad for the first hour or two after I leave the apartment.</p>
+
+<p>Candidates for me, would be Animal Crossing: New Leaf, or some JRPG where I just try to walk a little bit in the game, maybe do one or two battles and really enjoy them, or some offlife MMO-like game where I could just do one simple hunt.</p>
+
+<p>A game like Picross 3d: Round 2 might be a great idea as well. It’s sort of trivial, and yet feels like it’s working the brain muscles. Damnit though, I want to go on a an adventure!</p>
+
+<p>I think I’m gonna try with Etrian Mystery Dungeon though. I’ve had this for a few months and havn’t found the right time to really dig into it. Had to finish the Tactics Ogre, you know. Tactics Ogre, huh? That would’ve been a good one as well. Etrian Mystery Dungeon seems to have a nice balance between party-preparation and some simple puzzle-like combat sessions, that I could try and restrain myself to just a cup of coffees worth in time. Let’s see how my mornings feel in a few weeks.</p>

posts/Switch and Cartridge-Based Apps.html

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+<p><time datetime="2017-01-23">2017-01-23</time></p>
+
+<p>Cartridges seem to be a thing of the past, and yet for a few reasons, I’m enarmoured with how the Switch is trying to bring them back.</p>
+
+<p>From a technical standpoint, it’s the only way. Can’t really cram a fullsized blu-ray disc into a handheld. And going full digital with no physical media is too Apple, even for Nintendo.</p>
+
+<p>The good reasons, for us as gamers though, builds on my the switch isnt just nintendos new handheld, it’s the first real gaming tablet-theory.</p>
+
+<p>This probably sounds either obvious or completely pretentious, but I think it’s really hard to truly appreciate something that you don’t physically own. There are only a select few apps on the app store that I truly appreciate. Some because of my very specific likens that brought me to them, some because they are just so damned good, and a single one because it’s no longer available legally, so it’s just mine.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there are also quite a collection that I should appreciate far more than I do, and one of the reasons is that they are just ephemeral programs on my little computer, conceptually no different than the calculator or clock programs. And this is sad. Good games should have some way of standing out and buy into them with my time and money, I want to feel like the game is worthy of investing in, with my real free time, not just toilet breaks or waiting in line at the grocery store.</p>
+
+<p>Mobile games are now mostly designed like that, and it isn’t good for games and it isn’t good for people who truly enjoy investing themselves in games that require time and skill.</p>
+
+<p>So here comes the Nintendo Switch, a gaming tablet with a very (tablet-wise) unique and profoundly retro solution to giving each game a respectful spotlight: What if the apps came in little physical cartridges that you insert into the tablet to play, and if the cartridges were bought in rather pretty boxes you could line up on your bookself?</p>
+
+<p>It sounds idiotic to describe it, but the important part is that the individual applications mean nothing to the other tablet makers. They provided good software to make them, and a super functional and easily accessible distribution platform. But for console makers, every game is prize. That mentallity gives better games, and could give much better apps.</p>