Review: Bloc November 19, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Game Reviews , 1 comment so farGame: Bloc
Developer: Metacreature Games
Version: Full version
Platform: Xbox 360, Community Game
Long time readers might remember that I used to write the occasional review of indie games that I enjoyed. Well, that feature is back. Today’s game is Bloc, one of the launch games in the Xbox Community Games program.
At first glance, Bloc looks like a dual-stick shooter, like Geometry Wars or Robotron. But as soon as you fire it up, you’ll realize that’s not what’s going on here at all. Instead of firing in the direction you aim the right thumbstick, you fire by pressing one of the colored face buttons, and your ship launches a missile of that color. You destroy enemies by hitting them with their matching color. The trick is that you rotate your ship with the triggers or bumper buttons, and that might mean you start firing in a direction you didn’t expect.
And that’s the innovation in Bloc. Instead of thinking “press up to fire up,” you have to “press red to fire red.” But my brain just can’t do it! I’m so terrible at this game, and yet I just keep coming back. I think that’s a sign that the creators have done something right. If you’re like me and just can’t get your brain wrapped around the colors (and believe me, I’ve tried), you can go into the options and turn on “Color Assistance.” It adds the letters A, B, X, and Y, onto the appropriate colors. I’m guessing this mode was added to help colorblind players, but it helps me a ton.
Also, for added silly fun I recommend getting out your guitar controller, and giving that a go. You have four color buttons, and your fifth fret button rotates your ship. You control with the dpad on the guitar. It really changes the game up a bit.
I’ve had alot of fun with this game, and I recommend it. The demo is up on Xbox Live now. If you have an Xbox 360, go give the demo a try.
Some press
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a comment- Ars Technica - Meet your Xbox Community Game launch
- GamerBytes - Top 5 Games Launch XNA Community Games
The game’s art style and platforming action are incredibly simple, but there’s something strangely attractive about the game’s oldest of old school design.
It’s the only 2D platformer of the bunch, and despite its rather mundane graphics, it reminds me of a few 1990 shareware titles I used to play. I did end up buying Being, and for the half an hour to an hour it took to finish it I had fun.
Purchased November 15, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 2 commentsToday I was lucky enough to make it into the final round of users who received early access to the New Xbox Experience. That means I was able to buy Being today!
While I realize that this stuff isn’t likely to make me rich, and it’s not the start of a new career, it’s definitely made me very happy. This has been a dream of mine for a very long time, and I’ve finally gotten off of my behind and made it happen. Thank you very much to all the people who helped make this possible!
It will be awhile before I have anything to show off from my next game, but I’m already experimenting and learning the things I’ll need to bring it to life. I’m not stopping now!
Being on Community Games November 7, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 5 commentsI didn’t think it was possible to be more excited than I was when I posted the approval letter. But this totally trumps it. The ZMan from thezbuffer.com captured some screens of what Being looks like in the Community Games section on the Xbox 360.
Thanks, ZMan!
(Click for larger images.)
Being is approved
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , 1 comment so farI just got the most awesome email ever. I had to run around giving high-fives to everybody I work with. Allow me to share.
Dear Chounard,
The XNA team is delighted to tell you that your community game has been approved by your fellow Creators. You should see the game appear within 48 hours of the time of this message on the community games area of Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
Your game should also show a status of “Approved” in your Creator profile at http://creators.xna.com within that timeframe.
If you receive this email, but do not see your game in either location within the approval timeframe, please use the feedback form on the creators.xna.com site to let us know, so we can track down any issues.
Since you are now a successful game author, you might consider sharing your tips and tricks on forums.xna.com, celebrating, or just bragging a little.
Thanks again for making our community great!
The XNA Team
Before and after October 30, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a commentMy wife has given me the final level of Being. The game is now very close to 100% completion. While she always plays down just how much work she’s done to help make the game a success, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you some before and after images of the final level.
It took me a long time to piece these images together, but if you notice any oddities, it’s probably because I was rushing to get them stitched together. I think you’ll agree that it’s a pretty amazing difference.
Please note: These screens are taken from the level editor, and there are some game play objects missing that are added by scripts while the game is running. (Switches, platforms, the final enemy, etc.) So if it’s looks like there are things missing, that’s why.
Before and after - click for bigger versions (WARNING! Very large images.)
Platformers October 21, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Uncategorized , add a commentI haven’t been doing much real game development work lately. I wrote a prototype for a puzzle game, but it was a failure. While I might revisit it someday, it’s certainly not my next game. Instead, I’ve started work on my next platformer. I don’t need to prototype that, because Being was the prototype.
But instead of working, I’ve been playing other platformers.
- Cave Story
- Within a Deep Forest
- An Untitled Story
- Treasure Hunter Man
One of the big success stories for what’s possible as an independent developer. It really is an amazing game, and news of its upcoming WiiWare release made me nostalgic, and I had to play it again.
While Knytt Stories is the game I’ve read more about, WaDF is my favorite of the games from Nifflas. I’ve played all the way through twice. It’s surprising how attached I got to a little ball.
I really enjoy the boss fights in this game. This game makes me giddy with all the exploration you can do. I have to admit that it can get pretty frustrating trying to get through some of the difficult areas. How crazy is it that I went grinding for money so I could furnish an apartment for my little guy?
This is a new one from Bernie, who has a bunch of freeware indie games to his credit. I had alot of fun with this game, and played until I’d collected all of the items and achieved both endings. I feel a need to play his other games now.
All of these games are free to download and play, and I highly recommend them.
Line Segment Intersection October 7, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Game Development , 2 commentsEarlier today, somebody in #xna asked how to find the intersection of two line segments. This is something that comes up pretty regularly, so I happened to have the answer handy.
Seeing stars October 1, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Being, Game Development , add a commentOne of the complaints I received about the version of Being I submitted for Dream Build Play was that there wasn’t much point to the game. And that’s absolutely true. You just jump around, make your way through the levels and eventually end up back where you started. I’m working hard on changing that.
At the end of each world, you’ll rescue one of your friends who has been kidnapped by the evil Zargon and find one of the magical stars. Once you’ve collected all three stars, you’ll get access to another doorway and have to face Zargon himself.
This gave me another chance to play around with my little star particles I liked so much. Here’s a screen of what it looks like when you’ve found them all.
(Click for larger version.)
Dream Build Play entries September 30, 2008
Posted by Jesse in : Uncategorized , 5 commentsLooking at the gallery page there’s over 280 submitted entries. That’s insane! I knew going in that I didn’t stand a chance to win anything, and that I was only entering because it’s fun to participate, but I’ve been really blown away the the quality of some of these games. (Note: The gallery page seems to have disappeared, so I removed the link to it, but the rest of this post should be fine.)
I present some of my favorites, in no particular order.
First up is Bloc from Metacreature Games. It looks similar to a dual-stick shooter, like Geometry Wars, but it plays quite a bit differently. I enjoy this game a great deal, but I have to admit that I’m completely terrible at it.
Next up is Zeit2. This game marries a side-scrolling space shooter with a time rewind ability similar to what’s in Braid. Instead of undoing your mistakes, though, you use this to take out more enemies and getting special attacks by shooting at the previous version of yourself.
This next one is An Awesome Game Where You Shoot Stuff And It Blows Up And You Win The Game. (An Awesome Game for short.) It’s a Metroidvania game (a term used to describe games that combine elements from the 2D Metroid and Castlevania games), with tons of clear influence from other games. This trailer is insane. (The game is nuts too. In a good way.)
And finally, here’s Battle Tennis. I don’t really need to say much about this one, the video speaks volumes.
