Digital Dave

After a few weeks of piecing together designs and prototypes I’ve isolated in on the next idea that will release under the iGotIt Games hood. It can be difficult to balance an idea with what is possible realistically. I can’t start a project without having a clear goal in mind and a basic idea fleshed out within several pages. I was working on a design/prototype called Monkey Vine that I was really excited about, but the more the design evolved, the more I realize it was going to be difficult to do financially – so I had to put it on the back burner. I can only invest so much into these projects, and every decision matters a mega-ton, so I need to find a design that doesn’t require so much outside work and is smart. You are measured by the decisions you make so try and make them with the best judgement that you can given your experience. Try not to beat yourself over with a hammer and make sure you’re applying what you’ve learned from your past endeavors.

A blog post I read recently enforced the idea of not chasing current trends. Well, Monkey Vine was chasing a current trend (distance games). If you can’t do something that is meaningfully different than a current trend it doesn’t make sense to follow it. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever be better or even at the same level. Monkey Vine was going to be an expensive project and I didn’t feel like it was going to offer significantly more than what was currently out there.

So, insert, -the new project name-. Back when I was in grade school I created this game with a friend on paper and played it with him all of the time. Well, during a recent run I began thinking about that paper-based game. Since we made that around 20 years ago there have been games that echo similarities, but nothing that is the same. The game will utilize the iOS 5′s turn-based multiplayer API, along with a pixelated art direction. I have adapted the game design to a couple of games that I admire (Angry Birds, Battleship) and also games that echo a simliar goal (Advance Wars). I developed a basic prototype that revolved around the core gameplay mechanic and had a few folks playtest it locally. The general consensus was that they saw potential and were excited about the future possibilities so here we go.

Today iGotIt Games signed Will Olthouse who provided an awesome pixel art concept for the game. I’m really excited to see how this game turns out with his style.

I really hope to be far more open about development of this game so feel free to follow along and throw a grenade my way if I slack off.

I’ve finally isolated a new idea worth pursuing. Megan approached me a few weeks ago with a idea revolving around a big theme on the app store right now – how far can you go? I liked the theme a lot but had a hard time pulling out interesting gameplay mechanics. I do not want to just simply create a Doodle Jump or Canabalt. I also do not want to create a shallow game. I’ve learned quite a bit through my last three projects that have given me insight that I can pull from. I feel like I have a fun design that should finally introduce some depth which I’ve neglected to implement far too much in the past. We’ll see once that early playtest session hits.

For far too long I’ve neglected ‘What makes this game good, even great?’ Normally when I play video games I don’t sit and analyze them as I play. I play them for what they are and I either enjoy the experience or I become bored and quit. I don’t moan, cry or berate the developers. I don’t sit and say, “I love this because I’m doing x, y and z!” If I become bored and quit I rarely ever touch it again. If I really enjoy the experience I might play a few more sessions over a week or two and then drop it. It is a rare case that I play a game for any serious amount of time – only a couple of MMOs (not these days, sadly) and Starcraft 2 fall into that category.

Needless to say, in the past few months I have been paying more attention to the games I’ve played.

Most recent example, Velocispider. I played this over and over because it feels smooth, the weapons are really cool, the creatures various are interesting, the graphics are easy on the eyes and I am a pretty competitive person. This game lasted a week! I don’t play it much any longer mainly because I hit a high score wall where I found it too tough to get past (after 4-5 plays of failing at the same high score spot).

The other day I came across an article, What Makes Games Good, which is an outstanding read.