Three New PuzzleScript TrashGames by Me.

Before the end of the year I uploaded a bunch of new games to my itch.io page. These games represent the early stages of my getting back into PuzzleScript and game development in general. They’re pretty poor games, in all honesty, but the ideas behind them are OK. I also see them as a stepping stone to much better games. After working on these mediocre releases I’ve already got better games ready to launch and in development.

But whatever, here are some notes on the design of each game.

Trigger Happy – Weapon Gimmicks in Video Games

With this post I want to take a look at weapons in video games that are mechanically unusual. They can’t just look weird, they need to to do something different than they would in other, similar games. The question is, what do these unusual behaviors add to the game play experience? Let’s take a look at a few different examples to see.

Fun on Your Phone – Hidden Gem Mobile Games

Mobile gaming is the future of gaming. It’s by far the most prolific and intuitive gaming platform available. Despite its potential, mobile gaming is often misused by developers. But it doesn’t have to be. Below is a brief list of some of my most favorite mobile games. These are going to be less well known offerings that I feel highlight the strengths of the platform.

Making Fun – Game Development for Absolute Beginners

Creating your own video game is a very daunting task. It’s a craft that incorporates coding, graphics, sound, game design, and basically everything else under the sun. There are many different pieces of software to help you along: Game Maker Studio, Unity, Construct, plus others. I’ve tried out the three mentioned in the previous sentence. They’re all good, and are a good choice to start out. But recently I decided to try a new program that I feel is the best for absolute beginners: Pico-8.

Buddy Systems – AI partners in Video Games

AI partners in games have changed a lot over the years. Sometimes these end up as the dreaded “escort mission” where it’s your job to protect the partner. Other times they can be invaluable assets to your cause. Let’s look at a select few examples to explore different ways this mechanic is handled.

Why Lumines is the Perfect PSP Game

“Tetris made Game Boy and Game Boy made Tetris.” – Henk Rogers.

Tetris on Game Boy is one of gaming’s greatest killer apps. The simple and addictive gameplay was enhanced by the portability of the Game Boy. While either alone would have been classics, together they were a phenomenon. While not as wildly successful, Lumines is to the PSP what Tetris was for the Game Boy.

Planescape: Torment Captures the Ideal Dungeons & Dragons Experience

Planescape: Torment is the classic PC RPG developed by Black Isle and written by Chris Avellone. What sets Planescape apart from its peers is its unique setting and writing quality. As the title implies the game has an overall melancholy mood, but its lightened with doses of humor throughout.

Parasite Eve: Squaresoft’s cinematic RPG (Review)

In the 1990s Square was making a big push towards making video games more like film. Starting with Final Fantasy VII with it’s very impressive opening cinematic and character focused story. This continues throughout their remaining SNES games, and into the PS1 era. Emphasis is placed upon story, cutscenes, and visuals. This comes to a head with the bombastic cinematics of FF7 and its later siblings. Each of these games felt like RPGs that utilized filmic elements to help tell their story, but never truly “cinematic” RPGs. That title is most aptly applied to Parasite Eve. It packs many filmic elements together with innovative RPG mechanics to create a very unique experience.

Why you should check out Holedown.

Nowadays most of my gaming is done on my phone. Usually it’s a simple, abstract puzzle game. My go to games are Drop 7, Hungry Cat Picross, and especially One More Brick. There’s a strong chance I’ve played One More Brick more than any other game in my entire life. This includes the notable time sinks World of Warcraft and League of Legends. It combines simple gameplay with progression systems and doesn’t eat up too much of my attention. It’s the perfect game to play while listening to a podcast or a half-watching a video. Recently a tweet  brought a new ball bouncing, brick breaking game to my attention. This one promised deeper gameplay than One More Brick. So of course, I had to check it out. My thoughts ahead.

How Final Fantasy VI lets players create their own protagonist.

I’ve finally finished Final Fantasy VI for the first time. I’ve been a fan of the Final Fantasy series for a long, long, time. Despite getting FF6 on the Final Fantasy Anthology back in 1999, and again on GBA 2007, I never made it more than halfway through the game. My feelings about the game ran hot and cold over the years. The magazines super hyped it up to me as a kid, but I kept bouncing off the actual game. It’s also seems to be the #1 fan favorite amongst the FF community, but I could never understand why. Now, in the year 2018, I’ve got FF6 once again. This time on the SNES Classic. I’ve finally beaten it! With many more years of experience, and a much closer analysis I think I finally understand what makes this game so special. I’ll be going all in on spoilers, so if you haven’t played this game yet, go play it. It’s a classic for a reason.