mr boss' design lair

Passing the test!

2012-01-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

I often get requests for asipring designers for examples of game design documentation. While there are some shown in Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design, there are many many more than I have created over the years. I have decided to post several of my game designs. Hopefully they will inspire and (or at least) amuse you. But rather than start with a design from a completed game, I'll start with one that got me a job instead.

A design test is where a team asks a designer to create an example of gameplay based on a set of criteria. There is usually a descriptive portion and a "draw what you mean" portion of the design test.

This test was from 2003 when Sony Santa Monica was interviewing me for a designer position on a little game called "God of War." They were looking for someone who could create boss fights and this is what I came up with: "Occulus, the sewer horror!" You can see why they hired me as it bears resemblance to a certain multi-headed boss I later designed for the game! Sometimes things are meant to be!

Thanks for a great 2011!

2011-12-31T08:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Here I am!

I just wanted to thank everyone who bought, read, supported, promoted and illegally downloaded
"Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design" in 2011.

I especially want to thank everyone who posted or e-mail me this year. Thanks for letting know that you are using "Level Up!" as a teaching tool. Your online and Amazon.com reviews were really appeciated (you did write a review, right?) And those letters saying "thanks" really made my year! I'm so happy to have such awesome fans and I can't wait to play your games!

My 2012 new year's resolution? Post much more frequently of course but I'll have plenty of reasons to do so because I am almost done writing the NEXT BOOK - which I can't wait to tell you all about... but first I have to draw over 250 illustrations!

So have a very happy new year, I wish you all of the best in 2012 and I'll see you on the Design Lair real soon!

Best,
Scott

Still not dead.

2011-10-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

So, I might be the world's most infrequent blogger but I'm not dead. I've just been busy. Let me sum up this summer for you:

1) The final EARTH's video game design class finished up with the kids making their own levels. I realized that 8 weeks wasn't enough time for them to really get comfortable with the tools so next year's class is either going to have to go longer or I'm gonna have to have them dive in on week one.

2) I left my job of (almost) 7 years at THQ.

3) I started a new job at Walt Disney Imagineering. If any of you have been reading this blog, you know the significance of that to me. And no, I a) can't get you into the park for free and b) get you a job at Disney (yet) and c) make that change to the attraction you think they should make.

4) I'm writing another book. I don't want to spill the beans on what it is yet, but if you liked "Level Up!" then you will like this one.

I hope that tides you over for now and look to this space for some exciting announcements soon!

This week in class!

2011-05-20T07:56:00.001-07:00

Hooray! The Ventura County Star ran a great article on our video game class today. You can read the full article here.

After basking in the glow of their glory, the kids are gonna roll up their sleeves and do some intensive learning this week.

They've got a lot to learn about the LittleBigPlanet Level Editor but they're smart, I'm sure they're up to the challenge!

EARTHs class... Friday the 13th style!

2011-05-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

This week in the EARTHs game design class, the students focused on team work. Focused might be a little loose a term as we had guests that day... a reporter and photographer from the Ventura County Star newspaper who had come to check out the class. I'll post the article when it goes live! (Thanks VCS for coming out and talking to us!)

With the help of the Hawaiian hat, we the kids drew names to determine the design teams for the rest of the class. Friday the 13th weirdness was in the air as the students made some odd-defying draws to pair up their teams.

With their teams matched up, the students then worked on coming up with a story genre for their level and some potential story beats. They included:

Pacific theatre combat (which will be fun to see how they create a level without any shooting!)

Hearts (and villages burn) in Romantic Horror

Video Game themed action with heroes trapped in a virtual world

Techno-Thriller with heroic computer hacking

and Meat-Evival Times complete with cows in shining armor! A really cool and diverse selection of genres. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with them!

Finally, the students got their hands on LittleBigPlanet where they roared through the two-player tutorial missions! (I think they were just happy to play games and take a break from all of the thinking!) So far, so good!

Next week: MAPS!

Robot in the Corner Podcast interview

2011-05-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

So about a month ago, I gave an amazingly fantastic interview with the boys at "Robot in the Corner" (Titus, Wes and Dean) who do a podcast for Game Informer's website.

I was on fire. I was hilarious (if I do say so myself), I was doing voices, I was telling stories... and at the end of the 2 hour interview, the RitC guys told me the show didn't record.

Flash forward a month and I finally got around to take 2 of the interview. It's a fun interview in which we learn, we laugh... dare I say... we love video games.

Listen to it HERE! NOW!

This week in class...

2011-05-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

The first week of EARTHs video game design class went pretty well - at least according to my kids - When I asked them what their favorite part of the class was, I was releaved when they said it was activities they did and not just that they got to play arcade games before the class started.

Highlights of the class included when one of the students gave an incredibly accurate description of what an oscilloscope does and how it works, when the class decided that "kung-fuing" was an appropiate game genre and when no one fought over the game controllers but all patiently took turns. (I was really proud of them and I'm not even their Dad!)

So, what's going on this week? Here's the sneak preview:

This week, we're going back in to ancient Greece to learn about genre...

... to a galaxy far far away* to learn about story...

... and take a page or two from a certain video game design book on how to write a story.

I'm looking foward to it!

* Oh, by the way, May the Fourth be with you!

What's a video game class about anyway?

2011-04-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

Many of you have asked about this video game class I'm teaching at EARTHs school this week, so lucky you, I decided to give a SNEAK PREVIEW!

Week one - where to start? The students (or the "lucky 13" as I'm calling them) are going to begin with the basics - WHAT is a video game?

We're going to learn about WHO makes video games...

We're going to learn a little about the HISTORY of video games...

We're going to brainstorm some ideas for video games and then... we're GONNA PLAY SOME VIDEO GAMES! I'm looking forward to it!

I never had an afterschool class like this.

2011-04-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

This week I finally start a project that I've been planning for almost two years... and I'm really nervous.

Back in 2009, my 7 year old daughter was taking an after-school animation course and I thought "How cool is that? I wish there had been an animation class when I was a kid." Which got me thinking if her school might be interested in a class on video game design?

The class wouldn't be just about making video games, but actually about the important things you do when making games like brainstorming, collaborating on ideas, giving constructive criticism, taking your dreams, putting it on paper and working together with others to bring those dreams to life.

Around the time I was musing with these ideas, I read about a program called HASTAC and the National STEM Game Design Competition - President Obama's initiative to get technology into schools via various means including Playstation 2 and a great game called LittleBigPlanet.

As a HUGE fan of LittleBigPlanet, I had been playing the game with my own two kids and was creating our own levels. I started researching how I could get a grant from the $2 million that the MacArthur Foundation was contributing to the HASTAC program.

However, after six months of being shuffled around by the people at HASTAC, the MacArthur Foundation and Sony (where I used to work) I still wasn't any closer to getting a start on the class or obtaining any equipment. When I finaly did talk to someone at HASTAC, they told me the program was actually a competition and not an on-going program. I must have missed reading that the first time around. And when I found out that the kid's school summer programs were being administrated by the local Parks and Rec (who required teachers to be trained educators - something I'm not) I thought the class was sunk.

Discouraged, I stopped pursuing the idea... until I was attending the San Diego Comic Con where two Sony marketeers were demoing the Marvel Comic add-on for LittleBigPlanet. I figured, what the heck, if anyone knew about the program, it would be these guys. The guys at the show didn't know much about the program but one of them gave me a number of someone from Sony Entertainment who did.

Upon returning from the show, I contacted the Sony marketing rep with the hopes of getting Sony to donate PS3, Monitors, Games - anything that would keep me from spending about 4G of my own cash (the estimated cost of the class.)

Sony was intrigued with the idea and very generously donated copies of the game LittleBigPlanet but couldn't help out with the hardware. The other burst of enthusiasm came when I talked to the Principal about the class and she wanted it to happen regardless of how the other after school classes were done - which means I didn't have to do it through Parks and Rec and I didn't have to be an "official" teacher. I had my green light and not long after, the games from Sony arrived! We were back on track!

Re-encouraged, I explored several user-donated programs like Kickstarter to raise the additional capital for the hardware - as I braced myself for some major fundraising, I received an e-mail from the school Principal - the local Time Warner was funding the class! The additional donation allowed us to buy monitors, PS3s and extra controllers and classroom supplies!

So as I write this, things are pretty much in place and I start class this Friday at EARTHs academy with thirteen 4th and 5th graders. I've given talks to hundreds of people with no problem, but this time I'm actually nervous. I hope they like the class. Today my daughter gave me this bit of advice: "Daddy, don't make the class boring."

I'll do my best.

Imagineering!

2011-04-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

As you might have figured out, we're big fans of Disney parks and the imagineers here at Mr. Boss' Design Lair.

ImagineeringDisney.com is a fantastic blog that shows lots of behind-the-scenes of the making of Disney magic.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Westlake Village Levels Up!

2011-03-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

I'll be signing "Level Up!" at my hometown Barnes & Noble in Westlake Village, CA on April 8th starting at 7pm!

Start thinking about what you want for your unique level design and I hope to see you there!

Red Faction? I'm all over that game!!

2011-03-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

See what Darius Mason is doing up there? He's saying WOOOT! 'cause he's so darn happy for me!

The latest games that I was involved with here at THQ is Red Faction: Armageddon - if you like blowing everything up including horrible aliens, then this is the game for you!

What's even cooler, is if you Pre-Order RF:A at Amazon or GameStop, you get a free download of Red Factions: Battleground, a game I worked on. If you like blowing things up (including your friends) while driving around in vehicles, then this is the game for you!

If you Pre-Order RF:A at Wal-Mart, you get a FREE copy of the Red Faction Comic Book I WROTE! (with Paul DeMeo) If you like reading about guys who blow each other up, then this is the comic for you!!!

Let me repeat this... The comic book I wrote will be carried in 2,907 Wal-Marts! Very Nice!!

Write it down!

2011-03-23T08:28:00.000-07:00

I've been working as a creative manager for a major video game publisher for several years and the one thing I still don't get is why development teams are so hesitant to put their designs on paper. It's not that I'm unsympathetic to their reluctance - there's been a silent war within the industry for years about the need for game design documents (GDD) - especially when the results are 300 page tomes that no one wants to read. But that doesn't mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Personally, I'm a fan of Mark Cerny's "Method" - which inspired many of my own views on game design documentation - Cerny promotes a "Macro Design" which is no more than five pages that covers the character and moveset, exotic mechanics, level structure, size and count, level contents and the games' overarching structure. In Level Up! I share my own version of the game overview that I call the "ten pager" which adds in the topics of story telling, AI and bonus/DLC materials.

I think I have a pretty thick skin when it comes to criticism and sometimes it still bothers me - it stems from the fact that no one likes to be wrong. I understand the feeling that when ideas are put down on paper, they become "real things" and therefore subject to criticism.

You get the feeling that the designs become locked in stone and can't be changed. Teams have often told me that they don't want to create paper designs because it takes away from time that could be spent putting the design into the game code.

But what I find ironic is, THIS IS THE FUN PART OF MAKING GAMES! Where the sky is the limit! You can come up with anything at this point as long as you can dream it. Sure, you'll eventually have to be grounded by reality but I find creating gameplay designs to be the least stressful part of the job.

Now I'm sympathetic to these concerns regarding time and scheduling but it in all honesty, it doesn't take that long to write down a design. If you spread the work out or work with others, it can go that much faster.

So here are seven reasons why you need to get your designs down on paper:

1. Paper designs allow you to get a picture of the entire game's scope. I was once shown the paper designs of Galaga and the entire game was all there on paper - before a single pixel had been drawn or a line of code written.

2. You can work out size, distance and proportation relationship before building a character or level. Plus it prevents you from having to resize models.

3. You can quickly find descrepancies in pacing, combat, rewards, economy and even story if you use tools like a beat chart.

4. You can spot where the player might be given too much information at once to help ease confusion or information overload

5. You can determine where you might need to add something new and help promote good flow in your game.

6. The human mind is a slippery thing and it's easy to forget good ideas. Get them down before they're gone forever!

7. You get cool artifacts as reminders of your thought process - plus if you don't use a design, you can always save it for another game!

Hopefully I'm convinced you (even a little bit?) to why you should document. Let's hear your reasons!

Nerds! at Wondercon!

2011-03-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

I love attending Wondercon - it's big comic book convention that's not as crazy as SDCC but still pulls in lots of great guests.

Every year I consider giving a talk and this year I decided to put my money where my mouth is. So with the help of a few friends, I present to you:

FRIDAY, APRIL 1

12:30-1:30
Room 104

Nerds! The Secret Origins of Game Designers

Comics. Movies. Games. Did you know that a life of fandom might be perfect training for a career as a video game designer? Learn the secret origins of industry veterans Haden Blackman (Star Wars: the Force Unleashed 1 & 2, Batwoman), Tim Longo (Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Star Wars: Dark Forces), Jason Weesner (Tomb Raider: Legend, Vectorman), and Scott Rogers (God of War, Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design) as they share how their love for all things nerdy led to successful careers in video games...and how you can start your own career too!

Wondercon is held in San Francisco at the Moscone Center South. You can get tickets and info here.

See you there!

2011-03-20T15:03:00.001-07:00

Game, Set, Watch is already a great video game blogsite, but its sister site is the one I'm currently excited about.

FingerGaming is one of the better sites I've found on tablet gaming - and considering how many titles are out there, it's good to have a resource that helps you track down cool and interesting games.

Check it out!

GDC signing!

2011-03-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The GDC signing was a HUGE success! Level Up! completely SOLD OUT at the show!

I drew over 25 unique levels for Level Up! readers!

I got to meet many nice people from all corners of the world!

MANY THANKS to everyone who stopped by!

********

Hey all!

I will be signing copies of Level Up! At the GDC bookstore in the Moscone Center South from 1-3 pm on Thursday March 3rd.

You don't have to attend GDC to go to the signing.

Come by, say hi and get your FREE unique level design and MYSTERY GIFT (while supplies last!)

See you there!

"Do Books HAVE T-Shirts?"

2011-02-17T19:53:00.001-08:00

That's what someone recently said to me.

Well, THIS BOOK DOES!

There are so many awesome designs based on artwork from "Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design," I don't know which one I want to wear first. Maybe I'll wear all of them at once and walk around like that kid in "A Christmas Story"!

What are you waiting for? Christmas!??

You can get your official LEVEL UP! T-shirt right here!

The Game Designer's Manifesto

2011-02-04T06:11:00.001-08:00

I've been recently interviewing lots of game designers and one of my questions is "what is your game design philosophy?"

I figured if I asked a question like this, I'd better have one for myself ... and it turns out I do. I rediscovered my "Game Designer's Manifesto" in an old notebook and have transcribed it here for you.

**************************************

GAME DESIGNERS MANIFESTO

1. I will be open to good ideas no matter who and where they come from.

2. I will focus on the "moment to moment" gameplay without losing sight of the whole project.

3. I will work out ideas and concepts on paper, in prototypes and in discussion before committing other people's time, energy and effort to work.

4. I will accept that change happens and is neccessary as long as it is not constant and arbitrary.

5. I will strive to lock down the "Three C's" (Camera, Control, Character) as soon as possible and not change them unless absolutely neccessary.

6. I will communicate ideas and changes in design with team members and work with them on how best to execute those ideas and changes.

7. I will play my own game as often as possible during the course of production.

8. I will play other people's games in order to expand my own knowledge.

9. I will always follow a negative comment with a "because" and be open to civilized debate if disagreements arrise.

10. I will provide feedback as quickly and clearly and in person if possible.

11. I will give a positive comment when providing feedback.

12. I will create gameplay that enables and empowers the player towards success.

**************************************************

I hope all you current and future game designers take these points to heart - or are inspired to cultivate your own "game design philosophy."

Catch the Doodle Bug!

2011-02-04T02:14:00.000-08:00

I love sketching out ideas for new games and making paper designs. I also love seeing other people's designs (Ever since I first read "The Art of Star Wars" I got bit by the concept art bug)

Obviously the guys at http://gamestorm.tumblr.com/ love these too and are showcasing the "napkin doodles" of game developers.

It's fun and inspiring stuff - always great to see the creative mind at work! Who knows, you might see one or two of my designs up there one day!

PARTY!! Well, kinda...

2011-01-27T16:36:00.000-08:00

HEY ALL MY GDC ATTENDING FRIENDS!

This year I am making good on a 15 threat to have the "I didn't get invited to the Sony Party Party" at GDC.

OK, so it's not so much of a "party" and more like getting together to have dinner and an evening of talkin' about making and playing video games but without all the bad appetizers and the threat of losing your hearing.

If you are interested in joining me, please contact me via the e-mail address on this website.

More details coming soon!

Wolfenstein 1-D

2011-01-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

I'll let the game's description sum it up:

"In 1992, Wolfenstein 3-D revolutionized video games and created the 3D first-person shooter genre. Now, after decades of development, Wolfenstein 3-D has been converted to breathtaking, epoch-making 1-D. You can now play the game in a single, dazzling one-pixel line."

Star Wars Laffs

2011-01-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a little something I thought of on the way to work today...

Pip Pip Cheerio!

2010-12-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Foyles at 113-119 Charing Cross Road in London England is in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest bookship in terms of shelf area and number of titles on display?

Well, one of those books is "Level Up! The Guide To Great Game Design" and I'll be at Foyles on Saturday December 11th from 10:30 am until they kick me out signing copies!

Remember every copy of Level Up! gets an unique level design drawn just for you!! So, put on some warm clothes and come on by to say "hi!" - see you there!!

And it makes a great Christmas gift!

2010-12-01T11:31:00.000-08:00

Yeah, that's me on Electric Playground talking about Level Up!

You can watch it right here!

I Think I've Found My Limit For Video Game Violence

2010-11-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

SPOILER ALERT - if you haven't played Call Of Duty: Black Ops yet, you might not want to read this - despite the following, I do recommend the game - it is a highly polished, exciting experience... with one exception.

In COD: BO you play a black ops agent who participates in many "wetwork" missions over the years starting in 1960's Communist Cuba and going through Viet Nam and beyond (I haven't finished the game at this time of writing)

At the start of the game, the player is offered an opportunity to skip "graphically violent" sequences. In the previous COD game (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) this sequence had the player cast as a (ANOTHER SPOILER) undercover agent who participates in a terrorist attack on an airport. The player is given the option to gun down innocent civilians who flee in terror and beg for their lives.

Or the player could also choose to not gun down the innocents and just follow along with the terrorists as they did their dirty work. Either way, the story still progressed, but the player could choose to opt out of the violence - kind of the gaming equivalent of being a "conscientious objector."

COD:BO does has the same start of game prompt, but this time the violent act was so odious I was actually stunned by it. In it, the player is told to smash a glass window. Which I did. Then the character puts a pieces of broken glass into the mouth of an interrogation victim and is prompted to punch the victim in the mouth.

...

Now, I understand the place of violence in games. I've found myself defending the use of violence in games on several occasions. To confess, I had no problem gunning down the victims in COD:MW2. But this torture sequence felt so gratuitous, so wrong, that I couldn't bring myself to press the button.

After a few seconds, the game went ahead and punched the victim for me (not once but twice) so the story could continue, but it left me feeling really bad.

Bad about being given the option to do such a heinous act (no more heinous than gunning down hundreds of enemy soldiers I suppose but in a shooter, that's part of the territory), bad about my character who I had perceived as a "good guy" up until this point and bad for the state of gaming in general. That this is what it takes to get attention in games these days. As much as I respect the Treyarch design team's work, this sequence just felt like it went too far and left a bad taste in my mouth. (no pun intended)

Like I said before, COD:BO is a great game. It is definitely worth your play time. It's well designed, very exciting, very cinematic. The controls are great and the camera is great. It's an admirable effort, especially considering what the company went through earlier this year.

But it didn't need a torture scene to be a great game. And it's sad the team didn't realize that.

The top 5 scariest games

2010-10-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Halloween is almost here and what better way to spend it, then with a scary video game?

Here's five that scared the crap out of me:

The Uninvited (ICOM Simulations)

Sure the graphics don't look like much, but this game was the scariest thing you could find back in 1986 - good story, clever puzzles and some genuine scares.

Alone in the Dark (Infogrames)

As far as I'm concerned, the first true horror video game was this 1992 PC game. The graphics were considered pretty awesome for the time (check out that 50 polygon rocking horse in the above image!) and true 3D gaming was still a new thing. This game was all about mood and it had it in spades. Great story, creepy sound effects and great pacing. A classic.

Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)

The game that cemented zombies into the hearts of gamers everywhere. Despite a few head-scratching-ly obtuse puzzles, the sadistic typewriter save system and wretched "tank" controls (which I argue actually adds to the player's feeling of helplessness), Resident Evil 2 is a fantastic game filled thick with mood, awesome sound and cinematic design and genuine scares (alligator any one?)

Siren (SCEA)

One of the things I love about Siren is while it is set in a very traditional Japanese location - which gave a western player like myself a feeling of unfamiliarity throughout. The game feels is steeped in helplessness - only been rivaled by the recent Heavy Rain. When you realize that not all of the 10 playable characters are going to survive the game (despite your best efforts) a feeling of fate and doom settles on you. Then there is the sightjacking. Seeing an enemy coming (or even worse looking around to realize he's STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!) is truly terrifying. If all of this wasn't enough, Japan Studio's method of using real actor faces on 3D models dips deep into the Uncanny Valley, right into creep-ville. A truly scary game.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional Games)

I just started playing this first person survival horror game, but it builds such great mood and creates such great scares, I had to add it here. The player doesn't even get the option to fight the monsters, all they can do is run and hide and pray that it goes away. Beautiful visuals, great sound design and unique play really makes this one not to miss.

October is the time for tormenting children

2010-10-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't played Limbo on XBLA, you are in for a treat. Limbo is the creepiest game I've played in awhile without being overly trying to scare you.

If you already have played Limbo and you are looking for another game that brutally kills small children, then look no further than Gretel and Hansel 2!

This game not only looks beautiful - with WATERCOLOR ARTWORK (!!!) - but it also has a very macabre sense of humor. It's obviously not for kids.

You can play Gretel and Hansel 2 here!

In full Zombie Mode

2010-10-14T10:19:00.001-07:00

A lot of game designers and players have been telling me lately they are suffering from zombie burn-out. I can understand this feeling as zombies are in A LOT of games (close to 250 by my last count!) however, there's no denying that zombies are popular and there's a reason why they are so popular (at least to us video game designers):

Zombies are the perfect video game enemy.

Why don't you ruminate, while I illuminate with these ten reasons:

1) Zombies are creepy! Well, duh, but as a former video game artist, I can tell you that zombies are fun to draw. Go ahead. Draw one. RIGHT NOW!

Hey, that turned out pretty good! Are you sure you haven't done this before?

The truth is no matter how gross they are, rotting, skeletal, bloated, grotesque, humanoids just look cool. They are horrifying and they evoke a response of fear and revolution from a player. Which is good, 'cause they're suppose to be scary and that's plenty of motivation to get a player to run or blast 'em!

2) Zombies 'plode real good! They show off effects and gibbing particle systems and make the players go "ooooh!"

3) Zombies work in a variety of genres: They work in horror, they work in sci-fi, they work in action, they work in fantasy. They work in shooters, platformers, brawlers, action games, adventure games, fighting games... even puzzle games! See that image above? It's from "Rock of the Dead" a music/zombie game. THEY WORK IN EVERY-THING.

4) Zombies can be scary... and funny! Put a funny bear head on a zombie in Dead Rising? Hil-larious. The ones in Plants vs. Zombies with the traffic cones on their heads? Comedy gold.

5) Zombies come back. A zombie is shot and falls to the floor. But if it gets back up, no player is going to yell "CHEAP!" The player expects it. (Heck, I'm a little disappointed if it doesn't) And as a game designer, any enemy that can provide "double-duty" is one worth having in a game.

6) Zombies (turtle) are in Mario games. As I always say, if they're good enough for Miyamoto, they're good enough for me.

7) Zombies travel in packs. The best basic enemy is one that can be replicated when it makes sense. This means ninjas, masked terrorists and zombies. Pirates? Not so much.

And with new technology that allows you to swap parts and decorations, you can push 100's of them on the screen with no two looking exactly alike!

8) Zombies eat players. If you were to ask anyone what the worst way to go is, I'm sure "being eaten by something else" would rate pretty high up on the list. And that's just creepy (see point #1) Fortunately, because zombies have to get up close to eat you, this allows the player some time to blast them with a shotgun or chop their heads off with a katana or simply run away. That's gameplay, folks.

9) Zombies inspire interesting gameplay - sure, shooting zombies in the head is always fun, but creating barricades to keep the zombies out, protecting helpless (hapless) NPCs, the constantly advancing waves of undead work great for shooters to brawlers to tower defense type games.

10) Anything can be zombified. OMG is that a ZOMBIE BEAR?!!! (I just want to go on the record as saying we had zombie crocodiles in Maximo back in 2001)

As a result, Zombie Mode" has become all of the rage in gaming. Every major game has one. Here are some of the better ones...

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare - Cowboys? Zombies? Count me in. Low-tech weapons like reloadable six-shooters, bowie knives and lassos are not as effective as a chain-gun or flamethrower and therefore zombies become a much greater threat to the player.

Call of Duty: World at War Zombie Mode - two words. Nazi Zombie. Add the word "jetpack" onto that and you have the perfect video game enemy. The CoD zombies are particularly cool as they have glowing eyes. I don't know what it is about glowing eyes, but they're almost as cool as jetpack. Zombie mode is nothing new to the CoD franchise, but my personal favorite is in Black Ops where you battle zombies as President John F. Kennedy.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - To play this you need the zombie code. On the game's title screen, simply input down, up, right, down, up, right, down, up, right, right, right -- that's "DUR DUR DURRR", presumably the sound a zombie makes. It doesn't add too much to the game other than some enemy graphics, but c'mon Scott Pilgrim vs. Zombies!

So maybe the next time you see a zombie in your favorite game... be a little more sympathetic to the game designer and then blow those zombies away!!

If it's October, It must be time to update my blog.

2010-10-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

As you might have already noticed, I'm really slow about updating my blog. Sorry.

It doesn't mean I'm not thinking about things to blog about, I'm just not doing it. However, I am going to make a "End of the Year" resolution (why wait until the New Year?) to update with a post once a week. I might fail miserably, but I'm gonna try.

And since it always helps to put my money where my mouth is, here's a preview of a few topics:

Video Game Box Covers Should Not Be Like Movie Posters
Everything I learned about Licensed Games I learned from Batman
The 10 Things a Publisher is Thinking During A Pitch Meeting
Survival Horror Games Aren't Dead... yet

Check back and see you soon!

Great sci-fi that would make great games.

2010-08-29T00:34:00.000-07:00

Once in awhile, a website's post inspires me to write up a very long response. This time, it was io9's "10 awesome science fiction stories for gamers" - which was based on the premise that the list included 10 awesome sci-fi stories that had yet to be made into games.

However, I felt that their list didn't really cut it.

So I offer up my own "10 awesome sci-fi stories that would make a great game and haven't really been done justice if they already have been":

Ender's Game: Sure, every space-faring RTS feels like Orson Scott Card's book, but what hasn't been done is the "Zero-G strategy/shoot-em-up" that composes the first half of Ender's school daze.

Logan's Run: By William Nolan and George Johnson. Sci-Fi Survival Horror. 'Nuff said.

I am Legend: While Richard Matheson's book strattles the line between Sci-Fi and Horror, this is another candidate for a Survival Horror game. Or, howabout a "Tecmo's Deception" style game where you build traps to lure the vampires to their demise...

The 10th Victim/Hunter Killer: The 10th Victim was a pretty poor movie based on Robert Scheckley's book series, but while the competitive nature of "The Big Hunt" has been often imitated in many FPS death match modes, no game has ever quite captured in the way it plays out in the book.

Dream Park: Take World of Warcraft and let you choose the genre - that's the basis of this fantastic (and predictor of MMO's and LARPing by at least 20 years) book by Larry Nivens and Steve Barnes.

Snow Crash: IIRC there was one attempt to make Neil Stephenson's book into a game, but it never captured the Saint's Row meets Neuromancer vibe the game should have. At the very least, sword-fighting melee combat is a must.

Sunshine: Danny Boyle's 2007 would make for a great survival horror game in the tradition of System Shock. Hard Sci-Fi, IMHO, is pretty overlooked in gaming.

The Lensmen: E.E. "Doc" Smith's Galactic Patrol of "cops and robbers" in space (and pre-cursor to the Green Lantern Corps) would make for all kinds of great gaming experiences. "Grand Theft Auto in Space" is the obvious choice.

The Automatic Detective: A. Lee Martinez's hard-boiled noir story with the detective cast as a killer robot with a heart of gold would make for a great adventure game.

Flash Gordon and/or Buck Rogers: Other than the Colecovision "Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom" and the Commodore 64 "Flash Gordon" game, I don't remember any video game based on either of these two classic sci-fi properties since the mid-80's. Laser blasters and swordplay, cigar-shaped rockets, jetpacks, space pirates and evil space dicators? Count me in!

Got any of your own suggestions? Post them in the comments section!

Michel Gondry

2010-08-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

"Every good idea borders on the stupid."

I used that quote from Michel Gondry in Level Up! and I did because have a lot of respect for him and his work. Even though we live in a world overflowing with creative imagery, some how his visions remain unique and very personal.

So when I recently discovered "The Work of the Director: Michel Gondry" I found his list of his "10 principles*" and who he learned them from.

1) My Mother: We don't fall from the earth because we are attached to it.

2) My Father: You're gonna be all right.

3) Mr Lefoll (school teacher) An infinite straight line goes forever.

4) A friend of my parents: Draw from real life, not from a picture.

5) Physics teacher: When you do a demonstration, don't use the word "because" but "so" instead. In others words, don't start with the consequence to find the cause, but start with the cause to find the consequence.

6) French teacher: Your life is as interesting as any celebrity's life on TV. Tell me about it.

7) Guy Bouart: Even if it's just a fly, it's alive. Don't play with it.

8) Jean-Louis Bompoint: You have to finish your project.

9) Bjork: Follow your instinct.

10) Julie Fong: You are much stronger than what you think.

11) George Bermaan (my lifetime producer): Don't ask the question if you expect a negative answer.

12) My brother Twist: You can't be in love with your girlfriend everyday. It comes and it goes and it's normal. But in always comes back in general.

* just like Gondry to have twelve "ten principles"

Dorks in the forest!

2010-07-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

You can hear me talking about video game design, Level Up! and other junk on the Dork Forest Radio internet show today at 2pm.

Just follow the link to the Dork Forest!

Come meet me at Comic Con!

2010-07-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

Wanna meet me in person? I'll be attending San Diego Comic Con signing a FREE COMIC BOOK that I co-wrote!

Come to the THQ (booth 5145) on Saturday July 24^th at 11:00am

What's the book? Stay tuned for the big announcement!

Why can't I combine Warrior and Ship to get a Pirate?

2010-07-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

Is it a game or merely a pass-time? The puzzle game DoodleGod presents an interesting dilemma.

First of all, it has nothing to do with Doodling. And you aren't really God in it - more like an Alchemist. And yet DoodleGod is fun and very addicting. Think of it as a simple (and free) Scribblenauts where logic plays a bigger part in solving the puzzle.

The goal is start with the four elements (Fire, Water, Earth and Wind) and create natural and technological advancements by combining them together two at a time. What makes this work is the great graphics and presentation.

It's not a bad way to kill a couple (or several hours)

What? A level designed just for YOU!

2010-07-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

So many of you have been asking me just I mean when I say "I will design an unique level just for you?" The answer is: Anything you want! All you need to do is buy a copy of Level Up!, find me at a trade show (like E3 or GDC) or a book signing and decide is:

1) Who is your main character
2) Who is their arch-enemy
3) What is the object of their desire
4) Where does all this action takes place

The fun has already begun! Check out these custom-made levels!:

My lovely wife wanted her level to be Disneyland's Haunted Mansion with a security guard blocking her way to me with an engagement ring. (It's a long story)

Another Level Up! reader wanted his level to be himself at Disneyland with his goal a plate of Mickey Mouse Pancakes. Watch out for that bad-tempered Goofy! (I'm sensing a theme here...)

This Level Up! reader wanted the Flash fighting the Trickster in Central City!

See? Whatever you want! I look forward to designing YOUR level when we meet!

God help me, this looks so delicious...

2010-06-22T20:47:00.001-07:00

OK, you know how the title of this website promises "other nonsense" than video games? Well, here we are.

(just what does this have to do with bacon?)

While looking around for "explosions" on Google image, I came across an intriguing listing for something called "The Bacon Explosion."

The Bacon Explosion is: cooked bacon wrapped in sausage wrapped in woven bacon strips which is then barbecued.

Did you see that picture above? OMG! It looks SOOOO good!! The recipe for those of you brave enough to try it at home can be found here.

Bon appetite!

Level Up! advance copies in hand!

2010-06-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

That's right, I received my advanced copies of Level Up! this weekend and it is thick!

Here are ten reasons to pre-order at your favorite e-tailer or bookstore (or just click link to the right!) Level Up! RIGHT NOW!

1) It has over 15 years of video game design experience packed into one book
2) Over 400 original illustrations and diagrams
3) It's funny (at least that's what I'm told)
4) It contains a full outline for writing a Game Design Document and making pitches
5) It has hand exercises to prevent cramping from playing games
6) It contains an award-winning chili recipe
7) Did I mention it's thick!? (almost 500 pages of Game Design goodness!!)
8) Anyone who buys the book is entitled to a custom made unique and free level design
9) All the cool kids are doing it
10) I will be your best friend forever

Level Up! due out June 11th!!

2010-06-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Things are really heating up here at Level Up! central!

First off, Level Up! has an official release date - June 11th (just in time for my birthday! Did I mention it makes a great gift?)

Secondly, there is a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) 94 page preview of the book at Amazon.com including the introduction by Danny Bilson, the infamous "wife-blinder" chili recipe and the debut of "Farm Wars" the greatest game never made!

Don't forget there's plenty of time to pre-order a copy of the book - just click on the link at the right!

Enjoy!

A little advice

2010-05-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

A co-worker of mine just had his first child - which reminded me of the time when my own first child was born.

For those of you who haven't been there, even though we do almost none of the work, being a expecting father can be pretty stressful. besides all of the worrying about whether you are going to be a good dad (or at least better than your own dad), you worry about whether your wife is going to get through the pregnancy alright, that the baby is going to be healthy, that the doctor doesn't screw anything up like dropping the kid on the floor or cutting the wrong thing during the circumcision.

Once the pregnancy was over (which happened around six in the morning) and all the tests were done and Mom and baby were all cleaned up and all the family and friends had come and gone and everyone had finally settled down for the night (this was around 9 pm), I finally felt like I could relax.

A gigantic weight of nine months of worry lifted off of my shoulders and for about five minutes, I experienced the greatest peace in my life. Pure, unadulterated relief.

And then I looked over at my new daughter and I realized I was going to have to worry about this little person for the rest of my life. And then the weight came slamming back down twice as hard as before. But that's OK, that's what being a father's all about too.

So my advice to my co-worker and everyone else out there is to savor those fleeting moments of peace and happiness. They don't come that often, but when they do, they sure are great.

Two great things that taste great together!

2010-05-12T13:42:00.001-07:00

One of the first handheld games I ever owned was the Nintendo Donkey Kong Game N' Watch a friend of mine brought back for me from Japan. I loved that thing and sadly had to sell it while in college for some rent money. SIGH.

Years later, I designed the hydra boss fight for the original God of War - It's a pretty well-loved level and pretty damn hard, but had some great visuals (Par for the course with the talented GoW team)

How do these two topics go together? Behold!

The mad geniuses at Swing Swing Submarine created Greek and Wicked - a mash-up of Old Skool tech and New School cool... and it is glorious!!

By the way, have you ever wondered what inspired the "Kratos in the jaws of the Hydra" sequence? Well, wonder no more.

Exclusive Level Up! excerpt!

2010-05-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

While Level Up! The Guide To Great Video Game Design isn't due out until July, I wanted to share a sneak preview of the book with you:

YOU CAN DESIGN A GAME, BUT CAN YOU DO THE PAPERWORK?

A Japanese game director once visited the studio where I worked to impart his wisdom to our team about his philosophy of game design, which mainly had to do with how much money his latest game had made. As he was leaving, he asked our team a cryptic question: “I believe making games is like fishing” he said. “When I return, you will tell me why this is so.” If he had been wearing a cape, I’m sure he would have swooshed it mysteriously as he left.

I spent a lot of time thinking about just exactly how making games was like fishing. In the end, I decided that making games is nothing like fishing. Fishing is quiet and slow and involves waiting for something to happen that may never happen. I also decided that this game director was full of crap. So I developed my own analogy.

Making games is like making chili (bear with me — it’ll make sense). Like making chili, you first need a recipe and that recipe is the game’s documentation. Having the right recipe is important. You are not making soup or stew. You want to make sure your documentation not only has what is in it, but how it can be made: just like a recipe. Be sure to follow the recipe, but be mindful that it will have to change, especially if something doesn’t go right. And, just like making chili, remember that you can season to taste. Some parts of the game will be “meatier” than others and you will want to adjust your game to make those parts more pronounced.

Next step is to assemble the ingredients. Just as a chili needs ingredients, a game’s design needs people and tools to make the game. You’ll also need the right equipment to make your game, just like you’ll need spoons and pots and pans and a stove to make your chili. However, you might not have exactly what you need on hand. Sometimes you will have the team and resources you want, sometimes you have to improvise with what is available. That’s OK; I hear cowboys made some pretty good chili with nothing more than a campfire and a tin can.

Add these ingredients together. The beauty of chili is that it usually works no matter how you prepare the ingredients. You can carefully cut and chop everything or just throw it together in a big pot. Some game productions are very methodical and well organized. Others are a mad dash to get all of the elements into the game as soon as possible. Just make sure you follow the recipe so you don’t forget anything. Prepare the ingredients in the right order. Always brown the meat before you add it to the pot. (I learned that one that hard way.)

In chili, everything is brought to a boil and then left to simmer. Crunch Time reminds me of boiling: a frantic burst of energy and effort to get everything in and running. However, if you boil for too long, you can ruin the chili, burn the pot and catch the stove on fire. Games and studios have been destroyed by too much crunch time, so be responsible. Game polishing and bug squashing reminds me of chili simmering. Chili isn’t ready the moment you finish assembling it. You need to take the time to make it just right. Games, just like Chili, need time to be iterated on, improved and seasoned. Bugs, code, art and design problems with the game, need to be found and fixed. That takes time. Allow for that time - just like you need to allow for cooking time for chili. Sometimes it’s good to let the team play with a part of the game to find out what works and what doesn’t. I find that chili always tastes better the day after you have made it.

Your chili may need something added to it at the last minute to make it work. Unless you’ve royally screwed it up, chili can usually be salvaged. I’ve seen troubled games get turned around in the eleventh hour. However, I don’t recommend making games this way. It can lead to stomach upset. Chili can also deceive. It may look horrible, but still taste delicious. Some games may not be perfect or even pretty, but if they have good gameplay they can still entertain. Good games and good chili satisfy soul as well as the stomach. (Or the head - if you think with your stomach.)

You see? Making games is exactly like making chili.

Who's the Boss?

2010-04-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Bossrush is a great fun internet game and idea that I'm surprised no one thought before now. In it, you play as the boss in a top-down shooter.

Go play Bossrush now!

Now THIS is art!

2010-04-14T18:45:00.001-07:00

Two years ago, I reviewed Passage, the "game" from Jason Rohner.

If you never got around to playing it, never fear, you can just play the Ten-Second version instead.

How to kill creativity.

2010-04-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

We often talk about how to be creative, but we rarely talk about what can kill it.

Youngme Moon posted a video outlining his 14 points on how to kill creatativity. I'm sure we're all guilty of doing at least one his points. For those of you who'd rather get the straight info, here's a transcript of his video:

1. Play it safe
2. Listen to that inner voice – what if someone thinks it stupid
3. Know your limitations – pigeonhole yourself
4. Remind yourself it’s just a job.
5. Show you’re the smartest guy in the room – make skepticism your middle name
6. Be the tough guy – demand to see the data/there’s no evidence this will work
7. Respect history – give the past the benefit of the doubt
8. Stop the madness before it can get started – crush problem ideas early
9. Been there, done that
10. Keep your eyes and mind closed.
11. Assume there is no problem.
12. Underestimate your customers. That’s not what they’re asking for.
13. Be a mentor and give advice to others.
14. Be suspicious of the “creatives” in your organization
15. When all else fails, act like a grown-up - get back to work.

I've got nothing

2010-04-01T09:55:00.001-07:00

I'm always torn about April Fool's Day.

I appreciate when someone does a great April Fool's prank (like today's Google changing their name to Topeka) and love reading about them, but I felt like I've never come up with something epic... or even good... for an April Fool's joke. Usually they just come off as cruel.

Conversely, my 8 year old daughter is fascinated by the concept. In the first hour after I woke up, she tried to "April Fool" me three times. Once by telling me that the stove was broken. (To which I replied "What are you doing using the stove?"), the second time that she didn't love me (there's that cruel streak) and third that there was a big spider in the bathroom. That last one was pretty good because she had drawn a picture of a spider and set it on the toilet. Maybe she can teach me a thing or two.

Anything's better than resorting to Rick Rolling

This brings me to thinking about April Fool's jokes in gaming. We've had Christmas Games...

...Halloween Games...

...even Groundhog's day is represented...

...but April Fool's day is woefully under-represented.

I guess the closest thing to an April Fools prank shows up in Metal Gear Solid's Psycho Mantis Boss fight where the character reads your memory card and spouts off all of the titles you've played. Then he uses his psychic powers to "move" your game controller (actually activating the controller's actuator.)

But MGS is an amateur compared to the pranking in Eternal Darkness. As the game's heroes lose their sanity, the game tries to convince you that your character's head has popped off, the video has gone black, the volume has turned off, the game has crashed or deleted your save files. Fantastic, especially if you don't know it's coming. It's especially impressive because this type of pranking requires dedication and planning throughout the entire game design. Which must be why you just don't see it that often in games.

Here are a few things I've realized about putting pranks in games:

1) The player can't see it coming. The fun of pranking comes from the surprise/shock of the prank. It's like a scare but going for the laugh rather than the scare. Although often the two go hand-in-hand. (as Eternal Darkness went for)

2) The prank has to make sense within the context of the game. The MGS and ED pranks made sense because they were tied to the game's hardware. If you go too "out-there" it's just going to feel completely random and confuse the player.

3) Gamers are really good about keeping secrets. Player's did a great job not spoiling the ending to Bio-Shock or Portal or Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter. They want others to get pranked/surprised just like they did.

Eternal Darkness came out in 2002. I think it's time for another good "prank the player" game. I wonder who will step up to the plate?

As for my own April Fool's prank, I guess I'll have to come up with something good for next year. Happy April Fool's Day!

Now in 3D

2010-03-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

Nintendo has just announced that the next version of the DS will feature glass-less 3D graphics. As several people around the web are guessing just how they are going to pull this off, I found this video showcasing an I-phone app called "Word Fu"

Sadly, the game play isn't getting very good reviews but the technology is pretty cool. It's worth taking a look just for the tech.

However, all of this talk about 3D in games and movies has got me thinking about whether it is really "the next big thing" - which leads me to the logical thought about 3D movies. I think I saw EVERY theatrically released non-porn 3D movie that came out in the 80's. (There's a really good list that includes everything including theme park rides and IMAX movies here)

This includes:

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The wretched Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone

The awful MetalStorm: The destruction of Jared Syn

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And the truly terrible Treasure of the Four Crowns.

There's something magical about an object coming right out in front of your face. I still remember being mesmerized by the floating potato/asteroid from the beginning of Captain Eo. (Why take it from me? Grab your red/cyan 3D glasses and watch it for yourself! By the way, They're showing Captain Eo again for a short time at Disneyland. I've got to go check it out!)

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But 3D was just a gimmick used (twice!) by desperate movie theater owners to lure audiences away from their TVs. The battle is as the internet, gaming and TV draw modern audiences away from the movie theater. How long will the 3D phenomena last? Until audiences get tired of paying extra for it, I'd guess.

So what does this mean for gaming? I was reading a thread about 3D technology and a game developer quipped that "all games are 2D anyway" - which is a good point. 3D doesn't matter unless we are using it for more than visuals. Right now, 3D just means that you can see depth or maybe the sides of objects. (If that's all you need, then check out the cool Nvidia glasses that can convert any game to 3D with little to no work from the developer.)

I hear you say "It will help the player become more immersed in the game!" I retort with games are already immersive enough. People are starving themselves to death while playing video games! How much more immersive do you need it to be? While I don't think 3D is anything more than an enhancement to a game, I know (OK, I hope) that the industry is smart enough to treat it more than "Dr. Tongue's 3D House of Wax."

What will it mean to truly make 3D games? Here's some thoughts:

1) Games play is based on depth perception. This is tricky because video games have got really good at eliminating the need for depth perception. Think about a video soccer game. In soccer, depth perception matters alot. You use it to estimate how close the ball or an opponent is from you, how far you are from the goal so you can gauge the strength of a kick, how far down the field you are going to have to run and for how long before you get to where you want to go. Games have successfully boiled soccer down to this:

Granted, there is a lot missing from this version of soccer, but the basic gameplay and feel is still there - moving up and down the field, passing, getting into position to score, trying to block/intercept an incoming shot.

So how is a full 3D version of soccer going to play any better? Not with the addition of a 3D camera. The above version shows me more than my human eyes could ever show. I can see the position of the ball, all of the players and their relationship on the field at a glance. Other than getting outside and some exercise, the video game soccer game is a superior version to reality.

So really, what I'm getting at is, developers will have to answer the question "What games will be best for 3D?" Not everything will be best for 3D although I'm sure we'll see every a 3D game in every genre at the next two or three E3s.

I think a good game to showcase depth in 3D is something like Operation.

Operation requires having to move the tweezers past the electric buzzer layer. That layer matters because to touch it means failure. Depth becomes part of the challenge, not just something to make things look prettier.

2) Games will have to utilize the concepts of "behind", "above", "below" and "around". But games already do this functionality pretty well. Many games allow the player to examine a 3D object in the game world or inventory by moving and rotating it around in space and video gamers have been used to moving around in 3D space since Castle Wolfenstein. But what about the manipulation of objects? I'm not talking about Hidden object games (which I predict we'll be seeing many games use the "lift up and examine" mechanic until we're sick of it.) I think the real advancement will be in the building and creating space. Think of it, you can have a complete collection of 1000's of virtual Legos to build and create with without having them scattered all over your house and stepping on them with bare feet in the middle of the night.

Sadly, we're going to see alot of 3D Hidden object games as a by-product. While I have nothing against these "games", I don't think of them as games. They're more like puzzles - things to do when you can't go outside to play. Expect to see the "lift up and examine" mechanic to be over-used until we're sick of it. And another thing, ultimately, how much reality do we really need in our games? ">Sony Move demo video. Sure making a map appear out of thin air and lying it down on a virtual table is cool, but the more I think about that video, the more I wonder do we want to replicate reality?

3)Complimenting the simplification of reality - because of technological limitations, video games are excellent (not just really good, but excellent) at reducing real world actions into simple controls. I don't know about these motion controllers. I've made several Wii games and the more the development teams worked on them, the less motion controls they built into their games. Video game controls are a brilliant design in efficiency. They allow you to do very complex moves with a minimum of effort. Look at God of War for example. While the player can pull off some pretty complex combat moves, severely complex moves like killing a boss and mundane activities like opening doors and chests have been reduced down to a simple button press at the right time. Compare that to Heavy Rain which takes simple activities like opening a refrigerator door, walking up a hill or starting a car and makes them complex player actions with multiple stick moves and button presses. Players are over the Wii motion controls already. Is Move or Natal going to re-excite or will they react to it the same way people react to the Wii? A part of me believes that players want their games to be real-looking but not real-playing.

Ultimately, I'm sure 3D will bring some cool things with it and push visuals and game play towards reality, but the trick will be to remember that it's still just a game. To paraphrase George Lucas "A special effect is a tool, a means of making a game. A special effect without gameplay is a pretty boring thing."

We're number six! We're number six!

2010-03-12T16:15:00.001-08:00

A co-worker pointed out that Maximo: Ghosts to Glory was voted the sixth hardest PS2 platformer over at IGN.com.

Not in the top five, but then again, do your really want to be in that top five? I'm happy with six.

I hate not being at GDC

2010-03-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

The game developer's conference is going on RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT in San Francisco and I'm not there.

And I hate that I'm not there.

When I first started in games, I asked my employers to send me to the show (as many other companies do) and I was told by my bosses that "GDC is just a place for people who are out of work to go to distribute their resumes." I believed this nonsense for many years. Then one year, Capcom Studio 8 head Dave Siller recommended that I attend. He was very positive about the conference and knew it would be good for me.

(Thanks Dave)

And he was right.

While GDC is a really good place to distribute your resume (and check out the latest tech and see some really great student and independent games), the GDC at it's best is a way to hear some of the most important thinkers and creators in the industry talk about how they work, how they think, their mistakes and their successes. It's very inspirational and informative. Even the bad lectures (though you shouldn't feel compelled to stay through the whole talk if it's not helping you - there are too many other ones going on at the same time) can be educational as they provide great food for thought and conversation.

The conversations. That's actually the part I miss the most about GDC.

I have been in some great roundtable discussions that have been helpful to me in my career - being the same room with game developers I would normally never get a chance to talk to, discussing game development.

Even when sitting at one of the big round table in the main hall while waiting for a talk to start, I have been known to strike up random conversations with interesting people. One conversation literally lasted two days as the person and I talked through the night about making games.

(That slide needs more pictures)

So, if GDC is so great, why aren't I there right now? I intended to go. I even intended to speak at the show. I wrote and submitted a talk proposal that passed the first round of judging (it was called "Why I Hate Fun" and supposedly, it made one of the judges laugh so hard that he shot Mountain Dew out of his nose) but it didn't pass the second round and to be honest, I knew it wouldn't. It was too thin on content and I knew it. I was literally thinking about asking the panel to remove my submission when they let me know the had passed. Not a surprise and frankly, a bit of a relief. (Which brings up the question - Why was it so thin, Rogers? Because I was literally spending every waking hour I wasn't working or spending with my kids working on my game design book.)

Actually, I'm fine with it not being accepted. It re-taught me a valuable lesson about being professional and being thorough with my work. When I didn't get into the show for a talk, I asked my work if they could send me and they just didn't have the budget for it. I should have booked a flight and a hotel room (or crashed with a friend) because I had a chance to get discounted tickets, but even that was too expensive and I threw out my back... blah blah blah. Now I just sound like I'm making excuses. Anyway, I miss not being at GDC. You just don't feel like you are taking part in the industry if you aren't there. And you bet your ass I'm going to be there next year.

At least I can read about it on-line.

Shank!

2010-03-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

I love 2D games. I admit it, I'm an art-school educated snob who loves his games to have personal artist expressions. I like seeing "the artist's hand" in the work. I'm not a huge fan of pre-rendered gorgeousness. I'd rather have style over realism any day. In comic books, all of my favorite artists are ones with very unique styles like:

Kyle Baker

Mike Mignola

Kevin Maguire

Evan Dorkin

Ben Caldwell

What I love about Shank is that it has a very definite style and carries it all the way through the game. It's not out yet, but I'm based on what I've seen, I can't wait!

Warstorm!!

2010-03-01T16:50:00.000-08:00

Back in the late 90's I became addicted to crack. Not actual crack that you smoke, but crack that some men call "Magic the Gathering."

If you don't know what Magic is, I'll wait while you Wiki it.

Ah, you are back. Good. I started playing Magic around the year it came out. I was a pretty early adopter. I didn't have a Lotus or a Mox, but pretty much everything else. The problem was, I have a little problem. Call it a personality disorder or an addiction. I had too much disposable income and not enough sense. I bought booster packs all the time. You see, games that have additional buyable content - Heroclix, Warhammer 40K, any CCG - they are all made to suck money out of my pocket. I had so many cards that a friend and I (another game designer - co-incidence?) used to play what we called "Iron Man" Magic - whenever a card was destroyed, we ripped it up. WE HAD THAT MANY CARDS.Then I had no one to play against. (even the Iron Man guy) Then I moved. Then I had no friends that played Magic. Then I had lots of boxes of Magic cards sitting around my house for over 10 years. Then I grew resentful of those boxes. Then I gave those cards away to a kid I knew who was interested in Magic. No more Magic for me. (By that time I was into Warhammer 40K)

So no Magic for me for about 12 years. I was cured.

Then came Warstorm. It looks like Magic, there are cards with elves and fighters and demons and orcs and they line up real nice and they even fight the game for you. And oh look, you can buy packs of cards or individual cards or decks just like Magic. And you can use "fake" in-game money or you can USE REAL MONEY to buy more cards. And you don't have to worry about storing them - because they aren't real! And I know have friends all over the internet to play against - and they don't even have to be on-line for me to play against them.

The end (or the beginning) to this story is that I am re-addicted to crack. It is virtual crack, but crack none the less.

Who wants to play?

Get some closure

2010-02-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

Kotaku has been running a really good feature on indie games. Their most recent entry on Closure has pointed me to a game that is extremely original and atmospheric.

In it, you are a character that can only see by the light he carries. But Closure gives you a good reason to be afraid of the dark - you see (or don't see - ha ha), whereever the light isn't is where you can fall to your death. Mix a stylish scratchy art style with a moody soundtrack and you have a sinisterly clever puzzle game. It reminded me of the old Mac classic Dark Castle. (and that's a good thing!)

Worth playing!

Time to Level Up!

2010-02-16T11:39:00.001-08:00

I am very very proud to announce my new book "Level Up! The Guide to Video Game Design"

"Level Up!" is a practical guide to game design, chock-full of proven tricks and techniques from all my years of game design, as well amusing stories and over 400 original drawings and diagrams. If you've followed (and like) this blog or attended any of my talks, you'll have an idea of what this book is like.

"Level Up!" is available NOW for pre-order at Amazon.com (and other fine e-tailers of books) - please do me a huge favor and pre-order a copy today!

Big announcement coming next week!

2010-02-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

OK, so I know I'm lousy about updating this blog. But that's because I've been busy with something BIG!

Keep posted, I'll let you in on all the details next week!

Tuper Tame

2010-01-06T12:44:00.001-08:00

Is it Mario Bros. or is it Tetris?

It's BOTH. You have to play Tuper Tario Tros. - it's very compelling and has got my mind spinning to what other great games would taste great together...

Pac-Man and Burger Time?
Sinistar and Quake?
God of War and Legend of Zelda?

The Horseman Cometh!

2010-01-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the release date for Darksiders - a big sprawling action adventure game from the talented team at Vigil Games that I had the pleasure to help make.

If you like killing demons with giant swords, fighting through dungeons while solving massive environmental puzzles, gigantic bosses and trampling down bad guys with a kick ass horse with fire for hooves, then you should buy Darksiders. You will not be disappointed.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

There's some big things coming in 2010. Big things.

Stay tuned!

Pac-Man World!

2009-12-08T16:37:00.001-08:00

Thinking about working on Pac-Man World fills me with pleasure and pain. It was a very difficult process and we had almost no idea what we were doing, but I made a lot of great friends and we made a hell of a game.

You can read all about it at the Playstation Museum where they have great article and a whole mess of my game designs too!

Another blast from the past!

2009-12-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

Pac-Man Ghost Zone was the first version of Pac-Man World I worked on for Namco.

It was canceled (technically, it morphed) into Pac-man World but you can read all about in this great article at Playstation Museum.

You find some interviews and lots of drawings by yours truly including these:

I have no idea why I didn't post this before...

2009-12-07T09:57:00.001-08:00

I'm sure everyone on the internet has already played Canabalt, but here's a link anyway.

Just add code and art!

2009-11-29T18:27:00.000-08:00

Another fun site I found on the interwebs: It's a "make your own Atari 2600" label. Just import your art and viola! Instant cart art!

Sounds like the perfect tool for those awesome 2600 homebrewers I've read about.

Why not make one yourself?

Sadly, no Barbara Crampton... but...

2009-11-25T21:27:00.000-08:00

I am constantly amazed at the little gems that are stashed all over the interwebs. I found one tonight called "Deanimator" based on Lovecraft story "The Strange Case of Herbert West" (aka the "hero" in the movie Reanimator)

Skinny little Herbert has nothing between him and a horde of undead but his trusty six-shooter - which seems like it always need reloading. It also features some very nice animation. Pro-Tip: Use your mouse cursor to select the zombies rather than just "aiming" and shooting at the zombies.

It's very simple, very moody and very effective.

Pay $400 to read this post.

2009-11-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

I just played Upgrade Complete, a very amusing shooter over at Kongregate - in which you have to buy and upgrade EVERYTHING in the game - including your ship, the graphics and even the copyright screen. It's a great statement on the state of micro-transactions.

I hope they do a second version as the game play is a little unchallenging - the enemies don't even fire back and there are no sound effects and I would have liked to see the graphics get really ridiculously detailed as they got upgraded but then again, it's just about you obsessing about getting more coins.

All-in-all a fun concept.

Mickey Moose?

2009-11-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

Mr. Boss goes international!

For those of you who missed me at GDC, I will be presenting "Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned From Disneyland" at the Montreal International Game Summit on November 16th in the Westmount Room at 16:00 (that's 4pm for you Americans)

Make sure you drop by and say "hi"!

The rise of the "digital dark ride"?

2009-10-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

I've noticed an interesting trend lately in the casual gaming market (read Wii) that ties in nicely to this halloween season: Mature rail-shooters that are trying to capture older audiences with scary/violent content but light gameplay.

Dead Space: Extraction and House of the Dead: Overkill both take control of the character's movement and the game camera in favor of action and atmosphere. I haven't played Toy Story Mania 3D yet, but if it is anything like the Disney's California Adventure theme park ride on which it is based, it will move the player around from mini-game to mini-game. And yes, I know TSM3D isn't mature rated - but it is based on a dark ride.. more on that in a second.

But what I find very interesting is that the creators of JU-ON: the Grudge (based on the series of Japanese horror movies) refer to their game as a "haunted house simulator" (it's even right on the box)(Side note: Their "second player mode" allows the player to scare the first player rather than help them with gameplay... a neat idea which I am curious to see how it is executed.)We all know that one of the gating factors of a video game is player skill. If skill is removed from the equation, will it make it more appealing to players who are normally turned off by lack of skill? does it still make it a "game"? or is it something else... like a "digital dark ride"?

You could argue that the "dark ride as game" concept has been around ever since Castle Wolfenstein 3D or Myst. Anytime the camera is used as a stand-in for the player, the game becomes about the emotion of the player rather than any skill (other than shooting).

As someone who takes inspiration from dark rides and haunted houses for level design, I find this "haunted house simulator" concept intriguing. Just how much "game" is required to qualify it as a game? I've been quoted on saying that Disneyland's Haunted Mansion is one light gun away from being a first person shooter, but what about the opposite? Are games primed to be a dark ride with a little player interaction such as waving a wii-mote at a target and pulling a trigger? What is more important for a game to be: something for the player to experience or something for player to conquer with skills?

I plan on playing and reviewing all four of these titles this month, so play them yourselves and let's talk about them!

"Why didn't anyone tell me about these?"

2009-09-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like Henchmen 21 from the Venture Brothers. Howcum no one told me about the "Awesome" series of cartoons? If you haven't seen them yourself, they're damn funny and incredibly accurate. (but not for the kiddies)

Their creator Egoraptor obviously had the same experience with "Shadow of the Colossus" as I did. }:P

Yeah, I know... it's obnoxious but...

2009-09-17T10:07:00.001-07:00

Everyone's doing it. And now, so am I.

mrbossdesign@twitter

Join the fun!

Is it Rocktober yet?

2009-09-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

Brutal Legend is coming in October and I CAN. NOT. WAIT!

This intro movie should be used in screen writing classes as an excellent example of how to introduce a character in a game. Bravo Double Fine!

Scribblenauts

2009-09-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Today is the release day of Scribblenauts - the latest game from my pals at 5th Cell. (Who also did "Drawn to Life")

Scribblenauts is a very clever puzzle game for the Nintendo DS where anything you type comes to life. Write a Tyrannosaurus? Get a Tyrannosaurus. Type Rickroll, get Rick Astley. Then the two of them fight! Who will win??!! And that's not even the game!

You can pick up a copy at the link below (hint hint) and find out when you enter "Scott" (that's right, I'm also in the game - kind of :)

Six for six!

2009-09-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

I was shopping at a local Toys R' Us today and I saw a promotional kiosk selling older PS2 games for $9.99 ($5 off if you buy two!) - one of the games being sold was Maximo vs. Army of Zin, a game I was lead designer on while at Capcom. I picked up a copy to send to a relative but then I noticed something... it was a "Greatest Hits" version.

For those of you who don't know, Greatest Hits status is awarded to games that sell over a half a million units. It had always bugged me that Zin never reached Greatest Hits as I think it is an excellent game. Well, now all six playstation games that I contributed to the design of are all greatest hits! (Pac-Man World, Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness, Soul Blade, Maximo, Maximo vs. Zin and God of War)

Hooray!

This has nothing to do with game design, but...

2009-09-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

As many of you know from this year's GDC talk, I like Disneyland.

I won't embarass myself by telling you how many times I've been to the Magic Kingdom this summer alone (more than most people go in their lifetimes) but tomorrow I go for a special reason. It is the (un) official 40th anniversary of my favorite attraction: the Haunted Mansion.

Built in 1964 and finally "populated" by ghosts in 1969, the Haunted Mansion is the easily (IMHO) the world's best dark ride. It serves as a constant inspiration to me as a game designer - the way it uses space, sound, lighting and simple but effective effects to bring its 999 grim grinning ghosts to life. But my favorite phantom isn't even in the ride.

This the infamous Hatbox Ghost. This fine fellow appeared only for the first month of the ride's life and was quickly taken down because his effect - which gave the appearance of his head disappearing from his body and appearing in the hatbox - never worked correctly. Here's what he looked like... actaully, this is a full-sized reproduction - an item you can bid on at the upcoming D23 expo - isn't it gorgeous? If only I had the money and space...

Anyway, rumor has it that the Hatbox Ghost will be returning to the Haunted Mansion during the 40th celebration. Well, I just can't missing welcoming the old boy home if it is true. So tomorrow night at midnight, I will be crusing along in a doombuggy, hoping to catch sight of a hatbox clutching ghost.

Ultimate PS2 library!

2009-09-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

OK, I can't afford to get EVERY game on the PS2 (my favorite gaming platform... well not counting the Vectrex), but I've been amassing a moderately impressive PS2 library for some time.

Here's what I have:
Alien Hominid
Batman: Rise of the Sin Tzu
Batman Vengeance
Beyond Good and Evil
Bully
Capcom Greatest Hits vol. 2
Chulip
Destroy all humans!
God of War
God of War 2
Guitar Hero
Grand Theft Auto 3
Grand Theft Auto Vice City
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
Escape from Monkey Island
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Harry Potter Quiddith World Cup
Haunted Mansion
Ico
I-Ninja
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Justice League Heroes
James Bond: Everything or Nothing
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Katamari Damacy
Kya: Dark Lineage
Lego Batman
Lego Indiana Jones
Lego Star Wars
Lego Star Wars: Original Trilogy
Leisure Suit Larry Magna Cum Laude
Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
Mad Maestro!
Matrix: Path of Neo
Metal Slug Anthology
Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty
Mark of Kri
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
Maximo vs. Army of Zin
Midway Arcade Treasures vol 2
Monster House
Onimusha: Warlords
Pac-Man World 2
Pirates: Legend of Black Kat
Pitfall: The lost Expedition
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Psi-Ops
Psychonauts
Ratchet and Clank
Rathet and Clank Going Commando
Ratchet and Clank Up your Arsenal
Red Dead Revolver
Resident Evil 4
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of Rome
Silent Hill 3
Simpsons Hit and Run
Simpsons Game
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus
Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Spider-Man
SpongeBob: Atlantis Squarepantis
SpongeBob: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Star Wars: Battlefront 2
Star Wars: Force Unleashed
Star Wars E3: Revenge of the Sith
Stuntman Ignition
Swashbucklers: Blue vs Grey
Tak and the power of juju
Tak 2: Staff of dreams
Tak: the great Juju challenge
Tak and the Guardians of Gross
Tomb Raider: Legend
Trapt
Twisted Metal: Black
Wall-E
Up
War of the Monsters
The Warriors

And here's what I planning on getting:
Okami
Klonoa 2
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 (Hey, Metacritic says it's the #1 PS2 game!)
Viewtiful Joe
Disaster Report
Red Faction
Mystic Heroes (which was great on the Game Cube)
Jak and Daxster (which I played to completion but for some reason don't own)
Ultimate Spider-Man
Devil May Cry

So, given all of those titles (and that I really don't play sports games) are there any must play or important PS2 titles missing from my collection? Post your recommendations below!

Ride 'em Darksider, RIDE!

2009-09-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, I've been spending some time here in Austin helping Vigil games with their upcoming title - Darksiders.

However, this isn't what this post is about.

It's about the AWESOME mechanical horse that THQ is showing at PAX. Check this thing out - it looks amazing! It even lights up from within with an eerie eldricth glow! Wish I was going just to ride it!

And don't forget to pre-order the game!

This blog brought to you by...

2009-09-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

As you might notice, there are now small ads linked to blog-entry related products at the end of the most recent blog entries.

If they offend you, then I apologize. However, if you are interested in buying any of the excellent products listed below, do me a solid and click on the link below. I get a very small portion of the profit from Amazon if you do and I have a very bad video game habit to support. :)

Thanks for your understanding and business!

BLURST!

2009-09-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the fine folks at Kotaku, I have discovered a new game site. http://www.blurst.com/ has several fine looking games with themes that only games on the interwebs can provide.

Minotaur China Shop (from Flashbang studios) might be the first "Man vs. himself" game I've ever played. You play a huge Minotaur who owns a china shop, helping other anthropamorphized customers buy the mug or grecian urn of their dreams. However, you move around like... well, like a bull in a china shop. Each time you accidently blunder into a cabinet and break something, you get more incensed with rage. You can either give into the rage, destroy the place and collect the insurance, or calm yourself with deep breathes and continue with your day. Something I think many of us can relate to.

An absolutely fantastic concept that reaffirms my idea that you can make anything into gameplay. Well done, Flashbang!

Galaga!

2009-09-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

I read a new story today about an Australian fellow breaking the world's record for Galaga and it reminded me of a story early in my career:

I was working for Namco during the mid-90's and I was sent to Japan to help out with some design work on an arcade game (IIRC, it was Tekken 2)

When I got to Namco's Yokohama tower office, I was given a tour including the arcade division where I'd be helping out. Their offices were small tables (the kind you'd find in elementary schools) literally wedged between gutted arcade cabinets, filing cabinets and fire-hazard stacks of old paperwork. I had heard Japanese work spaces were small, but our American cubicles were luxurous compared to these work spaces.

In one of these tiny spaces, I was introduced to a Japanese planner ("Planner" is the Japanese term for designer) who, as I was told, had worked for Namco for "a very long time." I asked him (via translator) what games he had worked on and he listed several off including... Galaga.

I bowed very deeply to the planner, telling him how much I loved the game as a child (to the amusement of the other employees with us) and the planner made a "don't go anywhere" motion with hands as he rushed back to his "office."

He returned with a stack of yellowing graph paper which he started to flip through. After a second, I realized he was showing me the ORIGINAL DESIGNS of Galaga! It was amazing to see the whole game on paper: the ship patterns, the controls especially the famous capture mechanic!

I felt like I had been allowed to touch the Declaration of Independance of gaming. It was quite an amazing experience!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it...

2009-08-04T09:39:00.001-07:00

This Friday, I have been invited to present my "Everything I Learned About Level Design, I Learned at Disneyland" talk to Disney's Imagineers.

As a life-long Disneyland fan, this is a HUGE honor for me - but I can't help worrying that they already know everything I have to say. After all, they built all of it.

Wish me luck!

Even 7 years later, Maximo gets great reviews!

2009-07-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Dave Siller, a great designer and one of my favorite bosses, pointed this out to me - a review of Maximo: Ghost to Glory for the PS2 in the latest issue of Edge. As you may know, Edge is a UK video game magazine with a reputation for being a tough game rater.

Imagine my surprise when they published a glowing review of the game seven years later! Imagine my surprise when I saw my Maximo 3 designs published in the article! (I wonder which blog-o-site they got those from? :P Next time, howabout a credit guys?!)

It's nice to see this game get some love - if you haven't played it, I highly recommend it. It still holds up even after all of this time.

Sorry I'm late!

2009-07-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

This summer has been super-exciting with lots of great things happening! Unfortunately, none of them have been blogging. I apologize to any loyal readers (if you are still out there!) but I'll be getting some fun posts together soon.

In the meantime, my "Best of E3":

Split Second (Black Rock Studio/Disney Interactive)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady/WBIE)
Darksiders (Vigil, THQ)
Zombie Apocalypse (I think that's what it was called - it is an PS3 or XBOX live game that reminded me of Robotron)
Brutal Legend (Double Fine, EA)

All of these games had playable demos that were fun and easy to play. I'm looking forward to playing the final versions of all of these.

I would have put Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (Ubisoft Montreal) on my top five list had there actually been playable code (well, playable if I were a member of the press) - there are lots of cool innovations that I'm looking forward to trying out.

Overall the show was competent and it was great to see an E3 that wasn't lame but there was no single "OH MY GOD I HAVE TO OWN THIS NOW!" game.

I think the industry is recovering from 2008 and we'll start seeing more of the super-star games in 2010 when the teams that makes the big hits (Nintendo's Mario and Link teams, Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Kojima, etc.) are reaching alpha with their "whatever's next"

Did you see any games that you liked? Tell me about them!

E3 is back!

2009-06-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

I love E3!

I've attended every one (with the except of the last two lamE3's) and I have to admit, I love the crowds, I love the noise, I love getting my hands on games months before they come out.

Some of the games I'm looking forward to getting my hands on?

Batman: Arkham Asylum (what Batman fan isn't looking forward to this?)

The Saboteur (very intrigued by the "color system" and the 30's setting)

God of War III (Still have lots of friends at Sony working on this one and they're very excited about it. Looking forward to seeing what they've made!)

Bayonetta (Come on, the lead character loses clothes with damage ala Maximo, has guns in her stilletto heels and can turn her hair into a giant monster! What's not to like?)

Red Dead Redemption (Always liked the original - even when it was a Capcom game - and I'm a big fan of the genre.)

Assassin's Creed II (The first game was pretty good, but I'm hoping that the second will solve many of the pacing and game play issues I had with the first.)

Brutal Legend (I have a lot of respect for Double Fine's Tim Schafer and always end up really liking his games. I assume this one will not be an exception)

Darksiders (I didn't work on it, but I have played some of it, and it definately feels like the heir to Maximo. Some great combat mechanics and the horse is very cool!)

Which games are you looking forward to seeing/playing at E3?

If you happen to be at E3, be sure to swing by the THQ booth. Not only do we have some kick-ass games this year, but you can say "hi" to me! I'll be manning the Drawn to Life Wii demo every morning.

See you there!

Very Short Game Review - BIOSHOCK

2009-05-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I'm instituting a new feature here at Mr. Boss' Design Lair - the VSGR - or very short game review. Hope you enjoy it!

GAME: Bioshock
Developer: 2K games
Publisher: 2K games
System played on: XBOX 360

BIOSHOCK is a FPS that has three great things going for it. 1) Great 1920's/30's art and sound design (which is odd 'cause the game is set in 1960), 2) Some cool upgradable weapons and power-ups (However, I really only used the Shotgun and the Electro Bolt) and 3) very high production values. Oh, and it has a pretty decent story, I guess. Though I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to have tanky deep sea divers armed with Arnold Schwarzenegger's gun from "Eraser" walking the halls of your underwater city with GLASS WALLS! Ok, that's four things.

What I didn't like: The game made a bad first impression on me. Originally I didn't buy the "slow down the pipe dream" plasmid so those were impossible. Also, it always seemed like enemies were blind-siding me with attacks which is why they must have put in the "ow! Where did that shot come from?" HUD device. And I never read the story-enhancing audio tapes. After minding these things the second time around, I found it enhanced my play experience.

In General?: I liked it. Enough to finish? Not sure. But I think it's worthy of the respect the industry has shown to it and hope others will take it's lead - especially in the gestalt department. (which is next to the lingerie department)

Are you a responsible game designer?

2009-05-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've recently been thinking about all the little things that can go wrong on a project and all the things that can be avoided early.

One developer I was talking to was telling me how they lost several days of production time just reorganizing the naming conventions of their files. Imagine being half way done with a project and realizing that you have to go back and rename EVERYTHING in the game? A nightmare.

So I thought of a few things to keep in mind when starting a game in regards to naming files and some other things...

1) Keep it to eight characters if possible.

I can't remember which programmer I worked with told me about this, but he said that any file larger than eight characters actually took up more memory. I don't know if I believe him, but I do know that several programs will only display the first 8 characters leaving you with a file that looks like this:

AirWorld...

AirWorld what? Air World War two? Air World Level five? Air World Enemy one? It could be anything.

2) Come up with an easy to understand shorthand for file names.

Make a consistent legend of abbreviations to name files. Air World could be "Air" or "AW" or even "A" - just make sure you don't create redundant named files. I found it's useful to name things phonetically. If you're not sure about how to name something, think of it like a personalized license plate. "Level Designer" becomes "LVLDSGNR".

Just don't get cute and name things using 8 for "ate" or something like that. Naming conventions are not a puzzle for the other team members to figure out. Otherwise your files will end up reading like the titles of Prince songs.

3) Group files accordingly.

OK, I'm guilty of this one. Having well organized files that separate various design assets is really important not only to you but to your co-workers. Generally organize files by stages of production (concept, pre-production, production) and/or by components of information (level maps, character, feedback) You should always ask yourself, "if I were to die tomorrow, would my team be able to find the results of my design work?"

This, of course, is even more important when creating assets to be used in game. Asset management software like Alien Brain, DevTrack, Perforce and Subversion can make or break your project's production. Pick the right one for you and make sure everyone uses it. And backup files often. (daily if not more!)

Speaking of files, there's one other area that gets neglected by teams during pre-production...

4) For God's sake, get those cheats working early!

Getting your cheat camera up and running early is one of the best things you can do for your production. Not only will it help you develop camera postitioning during grayboxing your levels, but also you can use it to help block out "puppet shows" for cinematics. It's extremely invaluable for creating videos and capture screens for marketing purposes. Remember, other people are going to eventually going to want these kinds of assets and they don't want to play through the entire game to get to that one cool spot in the level.

The same is true for player character cheats. Invulnerability, the ability to "fly" your character around, ammo adds, health adds, money adds, the ability to turn powers, weapons and abilities on and off are very important to get in as soon as possible. Not only does it make it easier for you to play and test your levels, but it allows you to show off your levels in the best possible light when your head of production or that guy from the press comes around.

Make sure your level cheats (the ones that take you from one world/level/location/checkpoint) to another is in early as well and MORE IMPORTANTLY easy to access. Don't make the player/tester have to enter the "Capcom code" just to bring up a level or feature. Make it as user friendly as possible. I know it's something that the final product will never see, but you will be living with this game for a year or two or three and getting around it easily will allow you the time to concentrate on the good stuff like design.

5) Make sure you communicate all of the above to everyone on the team.

It's easy to assume that everyone is keeping up with what you are doing, but make sure that this information is easy to find, easy to read and easy to understand. Just because you ARE writing "stereo instructions" doesn't mean it has to read like them.

Good luck!

Talk video up at the GDC Vault!

2009-04-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

The moment you may or may not have been wating for has arrived!

The video (with corresponding slides) of "Everything I learned about level design I learned from Disneyland" is now up at the GDC Vault.

However, I don't know if acces to the video is limited to those with all-access passes.

Anyway, here's the video!

Enjoy!

No time for games, Dr. Jones!!

2009-04-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

For the first time in my career, I am faced with a terrible (well, I think it's terrible) problem. I have a huge stack of games and no time to play them. You must understand, this violates everything I believe in as a game creator. Early on in my career, I vowed that I would never be one of those people in games who didn't play games. I worked with too many people who did (and some who even took pride in their non-game playing.)

In order to understand games, in order to make games, in order to be relevant, YOU MUST PLAY GAMES. So, I have a big stack of games. What I want from YOU (and I know you are out there) is recommendations of which ones to play first. Some of these I've started to play, others of them I haven't even unwrapped yet.

Here's the list:

Resident Evil 5
Left 4 Dead
Heavenly Sword
Viking

Bioshock (played two levels)
Half Life 2
Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction

Prince of Persia (2008)

Resistance 1

Resistance 2
Dead Space (played first chapter)

Kung Fu Panda
Crayola colorful journey (don't ask)

Psychonauts (played first two worlds)
Dawn of War II

Give me your list and I'll maybe I'll write up some mini-reviews!

Thanks in advance!

OK, I'm sure you're sick of reading these...

2009-04-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

But I'm not!

It's been almost a month since GDC and I'm still finding love for my talk around the inter-webs.

Ryan Shwayder's Nerfbat not only gave a nice review but his blog commenters bring up some good points. I guess I'm not the only person with great blog readers!

ETCKT blog gives a nice summation of my talk. Pretty good as ETCKT isn't even a gaming site!

Javier Elizondo's Twitter message says that the line was "insane" - Sorry you couldn't get in Javier, so make sure you read the slides!

According to Stephen Jacob's "Class Acts: The Post-GDC Notes" you really need to listen to the AV files of the talk to appreciate it. Thanks, Stephen! Anyone who created a "Banjo Hero" game is aces in my book.

Burn the Rope!

2009-04-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

I played "You Have To Burn The Rope" when it first came out, but a pal of mine recently reminded me of it. It's an action platformer with all the elements you need - a hero, jumping, object collection (fire), a puzzle, a boss and a big explosion at the end. Oh, and it takes about 2 minutes to play. But the best part of "You Have To Burn The Rope" is the ending credits song - which lasts about 4 minutes - twice as long as the game! Funny, brilliant stuff.

"You Have To Burn The Rope" reminded me of another game that I love - "Skullmonkeys" for the PS1. Besides the awesome clay animation, Skullmonkeys had the best soundtrack I've ever heard in a game - particularly the infamous bonus level song. If you haven't played the game, I recommend it, but beware, you will be throwing your controller as it is BALLS-HARD.

But that's the way we rolled back in those days.

I see STARS!

2009-04-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Sent to me by my old partner in crime Mark Rogers (no relation!) is the throughly addictive Hoshi Saga.

It's kind of like Wario-Ware but far more stylized and far more clever and some times downright impossible to fathom. There are three sets of 30 puzzles and there's at least one in each set that I have no friggin idea how to solve.

Great fun though and a great exercise in variations on a theme... find the star!

Lectures are even more awesome in Japanese.

2009-04-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

I've officially gone world-wide.

The Japanese gaming site: Inside for Business has put up a review of my GDC talk. And if my website translator wasn't broken, it's seemed to be a pretty favorable review!

And yes, that is me wearing a pair of mouse ears. See what you miss when you don't attend these things in person?

You can read the untranslated article here.

You might have missed it...

2009-04-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

In all the excitement of posting my GDC slides and follow ups, I forgot to finish a fun entry called "10 movies video games have completely ripped off (and what we can still rip off from them!)"

Well , it's done and ready for your enjoyment! Just scroll down below the GDC slides on this page or follow the "movies" label on the right.

Carded!

2009-04-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

One of the chotzkies they give GDC speakers is a deck of cards with faces of the IGDA board members and top rated speakers.

Well, thanks to my "top rated" lecture from 2008, "How to Make the World's Greatest Boss Battle and Why not to do it" - I was awarded with the distinction of being this year's Five of Hearts!

I just hope no one uses the deck to hunt us down like those Iraqi Death cards!

You liked it. You really liked it.

2009-03-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share a few more links to blogs and nice reviews from around the interwebs about my GDC talk.

Penultimate Level Design's Tinkergirl didn't actually attend the talk, but she obviously ended up at the Design Lair! Her (?) review is here.

Terminally Trivial twittered that he (?) attended and enjoyed the talk. Still waiting for that review though!

...and Stephen Jacobs (definitely a guy!) gives my talk a shout out on the Gamasutra Blog in his "Class Acts of GDC."

Thanks guys and gals for all the love!

I guess I DID say that...

2009-03-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Joystiq, one of the better video game related blogs I actually read, has printed a very complimentary article about my GDC talk. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/28/gdc09-disneylands-the-haunted-mansion-is-a-first-person-shoo/ - in which I am quoted as saying "The Haunted Mansion is essentally a First Person Shooter" - I was talking about the way the omnimover directs what the guest sees in the same way that the environment should direct the player in a FPS.

This article is already starting to make the rounds to all the news feeds. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a HUGE Haunted Mansion fan (I proposed to my wife there, but that's another story), so having my name and the Haunted Mansion actually be a searchable topic on Google is pretty darn cool!

Speaking of a Haunted Mansion FPS, check out this rad Counterstrike mod on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnFekqVATLU

Mr Boss goes BOINGBOING!

2009-03-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

BoingBoing is a very fine blog.

Not only do they update their blog far more often than I do, they also have impecable taste - which is why Cory Doctorow wrote a very flattering article about my GDC talk. He also takes great notes (now I know who to sit next to in class) and has a very cool business card.

You can read his write-up about my GDC talk here: http://boingboing.hexten.net/2009/03/27/gamedesign-lessons-f.html

And if you are visiting Mr Boss' Design Lair from BoingBoing, Welcome!

Everything I Learned About Game Design I Learned From Disneyland

2009-03-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are the slides from my GDC talk. We had a "sold out" crowd and I got to meet lots of nice people after the talk. Please share these with your friends and co-workers. According to show officials, video and audio will be available after the show. I'll post more info when I know it. Enjoy!

The TEN movies video games have completely ripped off...

2009-03-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

...and what we can still rip off... err, learn from them.

Ever since Miyamoto created his homage to the 1933 movie Kong Kong, video game designers have found inspiration (and downright thievery) in the movies.

Here's my list of the top ten mercilessly plundered movies and, more importantly, what can we still take from them for future video games...

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Ah zombies. We love to shoot 'em, hack 'em, stick funny heads on 'em, type with 'em. George Romero's sequel to "Night of the Living Dead" cemented the look and vibe of the zombie but more importantly, contributed to the gore factor that is commonly associated with the walking dead.

Exceeding Nazis as the universal enemy, Zombies are the staple of almost every FPS, Action, Platformer and RTS horror and fantasy game published within the last 15 years from the Resident Evil series to the Typing of the Dead. Dawn of the Dead also gave the video game industry other grist including the shopping mall as a level/world location (Dead Rising, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) and the police hero as fearless zombie fighter. (Resident Evil 2)

What's left to steal? The best bit of Dawn of the Dead (and other zombie movies like Sean of the Dead) is the emotion that are created when the hero realizes a character has been bitten and is doomed to zombification. Despite the fact that some argue that most horror games aren't even really horror games anymore - just action games with undead opponents - the true horror of something terrible happening to a loved one that is out of our control and the painful "I have to kill them" choice that has to be made is still almost completely devoid from the video game lexicon.

Star Wars (1977)

Of all the movies in Hollywood, no movie has been picked clean by video games quite like the orignal Star Wars. (I refuse to call it "A New Hope") Just like in George Lucas' space opera, most video game space battles are now based on aerial dogfights (Star Fox, Wing Commander series), "elegant weapons" looking alot like light sabers have found their way into the hands of many non-jedi characters (MegaMan X3, Smash Brother Melee, No More Heroes), the heroes can be found palling around with snooty robot companions (Ratchet and Clank) and hanging out at alien filled cantinas (The Space Bar), heck we can even play as space pirates in a "hunk of junk" smuggling space-pornography (Wing Commander: Privateer) - Star Wars' approaches to the Hero's Journey and the "used universe" has been done to death in games as it has become the bible for "classic" storytelling.

And I'm not even counting in this the legion of actual Star Wars games that have been published - from Star Wars Arcade to Star Wars the Force Unleashed. Almost every genre of game has ended up with the Star Wars license slapped on it. Remember Star Wars Chess and Super Bombad Racing? Star Wars is so used and abused, it's suffering from rugburn.

And don't even get me started on rescuing the princess.

What's left to steal? Has there been a game where the love interest turns out to be the hero's sister? Howabout a 7 foot tall furry best pal as the hero's companion? Options are slim here, folks.

Aliens (1986)

From the moment the Colonel Marines locked and loaded their first pulse rifle, the video game industry fell in love. From Doom to the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines, the rough and ready and heavily armed space marine has become the number one video game hero stereotype. Carrying more weapons than humanly possible, working their way through darkly lit hallways, blasting the hell out of any creature that pokes its head out of an airduct - pretty much sounds like every game made since 1987.

There isn't a space-creepy from Xenophobe to Captain Blood to Dawn of War 2's Tyrannids that doesn't owe something to H.R. Giger's iconic monster design and Ron Cobb's interiors can be found in every game with space horror elements from Contra to Dead Space. Sequences like Bishops harrowing crawl through the airducts have been used in countless video games, the "child-left-to-fend-for-herself" has been used in many a horror and FPS game like Resident Evil 2 and Bioshock. Like Star Wars, the Alien series has had a multitude of games based off of the actual movies, so this ones dried out as well.

What's left to steal? Outside of the official Aliens games, I don't ever remember a Power Loader vs. Monster sequence. The "soft human in the hard shell" versus a ravenous alien could make for some very exciting gameplay.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Ah, the movie that launched a hundred video games. Let us read off their names like a roll-call of the fallen soldiers of the Normandy landing... Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor: Allied Landing. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Call of Duty. Call of Duty 2. Medal of Honor Frontlines. Brother in Arms D-Day. Battlefield. Close Combat. Company of Heroes. Day of Defeat. D-Day.

Steven Spielberg's unflinching realism in portraying the Allied Forces' finest hour made such an impact on the video game community that games are still using it as inspiration. As the harrowing twenty-four minute sequence felt like a First Person Shooter, its visual and narrative style has trickled down into other shooters regardless of the genre. The movie's "band of brothers" cast of characters inspired military team gameplay like Mercenaries, Commandos, Deadly Dozen and the Rainbow Six series. Even playing as a "lead character" who eventually dies in action made it's way in the excellent Call of Duty 4.

What's left to steal? Outside of the Medal of Honor titles, there could be more games about Paratroopers (why not space paratroopers? - oh wait, didn't Ratchet and Clank do that?) and I don't remember a video game with any military guys flying gliders (although that didn't turn out to well for the guy in the movie, did it?)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Depite having the distinction of being one of the first licensed home video games, no movie has been ripped off more often than Steven Spielberg's (and George Lucas') Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Every ancient civilization the hero discovers from Lode Runner to Uncharted, every environmental death trap from The Legend of Zelda to Tecmo's Deception, the rise of Nazis as predominant video game enemies in Castle Wolfenstein to Bloodrayne, every rolling boulder from to God of War to Resident Evil 4, every video game snake that ever slithered from Pitfall to Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, every heroic archeologist protagonist from Tomb Raider to Tomb Raider Legends owes it all to the king of all action films.

What's left to steal? Outside of the mediocre Pursuit Force, the greatest action sequence in cinematic history; the Cario truck chase, has yet to be adequately ripped off in video game form. C'mon developers, get cracking!!

Scarface (1983)

Second only to Saving Private Ryan in the speed of games rapidly spawning from the genre, Brain DePalma's Scarface has left it's impact on the video gaming world - albeit 20 years late from when the movie was first released. Ironically, it was the movie's release on DVD that helped push it into the brains of the video game industry (as most game developers probably weren't even born when it first was released!)

You can argue that there have been other more influencial gangland movies (Godfather for example) but the combination of the perverted American Dream: the foreign newcomer who works his way up through the underworld, coupled with the sheer joy of being a criminal scumbag all started with Tony Montoya and his "little friend."

Al Pacino's portrayal is the poster boy for the thug life and his legacy can be found such games as the Grand Theft Auto series, the Saint's Row series, the 50 Cent games, Crime Life: Gang Wars, not to mention a game based on the actual movie itself.

What's left to steal? The idea of a hero addicted to a health damaging substance (cocaine in Tony Montoya's case) is intriguing. Both Redneck Rampage and Haze have played with this idea (beer and Nectar) but more on this idea could be expanded on.

Death Race 2000 (1975)

OK, I know what you are thinking. Other than the infamous 1976 video game, what impact did the Paul Bartel movie have on gaming? Well, first, there's the entire notion of video game violence. This is the one that started it all. And all the controversy that goes with it. The violent game as entertainment as seen in Smash TV and Mad World gets its roots with this film. And of course, you can thank this movie for the entire car combat genre. The Twisted Metal series, Vigilante 8 series, Autoduel, Full Auto series, hell, even Mario Kart owes it's creation to Death Race 2000's car-on-car action.

However, Death Race's greatest contribution to video games is the themed adversary. Without Frankenstein, "Machine Gun" Joe, Herman the German or Matilda the Hun, we would have never gotten King Hippo in Super Punch-Out, Blanka in Street Fighter, Voldo in Soul Calibur, any unusual or freakish themed character in any fighter, action, brawler or any other video game. This movie is the greatest unsung influence on gaming ever and you heard it here first at the Design Lair.

What's left to steal? Spoiler alert! At the end of the movie, the viewer learns that Frankenstein (John Carradine) is just one of a long line of "Frankensteins" who carry out assassinations as well as drive in fast and deadly cars. The theme of the replaceable hero is one that hasn't been exploited in games - which is odd because you'd think that with as many lives an average player goes through in the course of a video game, that it'd be a natural.

Blade Runner (1982)

Syd Myd's visual design has influenced almost every futuristic city skyline in video gaming: whether it's Final Fantasy VII, Ratchet and Clank or Shadowrun - from the giant video advertising billboards to the crowded murky, trash strewn streets.

But the biggest rip-off comes from Micheal Kaplan's costume design. The "anti-hero in a trenchcoat" has become the second most video game hero archetype (Aliens being #1). Graduates from this rip-off school of fashion include Dante, Max Payne, Kyle Katarn and those little tiny guys from Syndicate; not to mention every film character with a licensed game like Hellboy, Blade and Neo.

What's left to steal? Ironically, the Spinner or flying car, has not been a video game staple. Other than BeamBreakers - which mimics the environment of Blade Runner, There still has yet to be a game that allows the player freely switch between flying and driving.

7^th voyage of Sinbad (1958)

If the video game industry had to pay a royalty to Ray Harryhausen every time an animated skeleton showed up, I'd wager he'd be richer than Bill Gates. Ghost N' Goblins, Legend of Zelda, Diablo, Skeleton Warriors... you name it; if the hero wields a sword (or an axe or chain-weapon-thingee) you can guarantee they are gonna smash it into an animated skeleton. As of late, other creatures from Harryhausen's bestiary have been showing up: God of War, Legendary, Conan - it's only a matter of time before players are battling against the Beast from 20, ooo Fathoms.

Another thing taken from Harryhausen is the classic myth/fairy tale themes. The modern Prince of Persia series directly borrows heavily the Sinbad series while elements from God of War are clearly inspired by Clash of the Titans.

What's left to steal? What makes Harryhausen's creations so appealing is not just the excellent character design and strong visualization of classic mythological creatures, but the way they moved. As with Willis O' Brian's King Kong, you could see Harryhausen's master's hand in every creature's pose and action. Audience are savy enough nowadays to complain when something feels too "CG" - they are responding to the lack of "hand made" aestetic.

Robocop (1987)

Paul Verhoeven's ultaviolent cyberpunk film came out in 1987. NARC, the arcade game from Williams Electronics came out in 1988. Both featured cops with large guns blowing away baddies in an urban sprawl punctuated with vehicular manslaughter. Coincidence? The giddy violence in Robocop obviously inspired the team who later went on to make Mortal Kombat - the poster child for video game violence. Even though video game violence existed before these two games, never was it so much fun or so spectacular to off the baddies - a trend that attempts to yearly outdo itself even to this day.

But Robocop's influence doesn't stop there. The character design clearly inspired character design from 1992's Cyber-Cop all the way through to Halo's Master Chief and beyond. And one can argue that Robocop's POV and HUD system was the precursor of the FPS game.

What's left to steal? The script is phenomenal in quickly introducing a character, gaining sympathy for him in 15 minutes, killing him and then getting our sympathy back again. Even as a "mechanical killing machine" we still care about Robocop - something that is often left out of most video game characters.

Well, there you have it. 10 movies, 10 free ideas. Have any ideas or movie suggestions of your own? Post 'em below!

GDC talk time and place!

2009-03-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

I finally have a time slot for my GDC talk!

(The above image is what all the hung-over conference attendees will look like.)

Everything I Learned About Level Design I Learned from Disneyland

Speaker: Scott Rogers (Creative Manager, THQ)

Date/Time: Friday (March 27, 2009) 9:00am — 10:00am

Location (room): Room 2024, West Hall

Track: Game Design

Format: 60-minute Lecture

Experience Level: All

See you there!!

ENDORSED!!

2009-02-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my pal Jeremiah, I found out that my upcoming GDC talk "Everything I learned about level design, I learned from Disneyland" has been recommended by the Editor-in-Chief of Game Developer magazine! Cool beans! Maybe this will mean that someone will actually show up to the talk!

You can find it in the Febuary 2009 issue shown above. Or you can just look here:

Here I go again!

2009-01-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

If you are going to be in San Francisco attending the Game Developer's Conference on March 23-27, make sure you attend my latest design talk: "Everything I learned about Level Design I learned from Disneyland"

Even if you know EVERYTHING about level design at least come for the pretty pictures of Disneyland. Who knows, you might even learn something!

And as always, the slides of the talk will be posted to this site after the show. Stay tuned!

What could have been: some Maximo 3 concepts

2009-01-08T15:00:00.000-08:00

One of the games I almost worked on that I get asked most about is Maximo 3. Was there ever plans for a sequel? Was there ever code made? Was the storyline ever wrapped up? The answers are: Yes, Not to my knowledge and No.

As the second game ends with the promise of a third game (Maximo and his allies teaming up to find Queen Sophia) I thought it'd be fun to share some of the design notes I have left over from it. What makes it particularly interesting is that there are several coincidental parallels between what we were planning back in 2003 and what is found in the current Prince of Persia game.

I was lead designer on the project and the team was obviously influenced by the first Prince of Persia game that had come out that year. We had decided to set it in a Middle Eastern environment (What can I say? It was right after the invasion of Iraq - we all had the Middle East on our brains) and planned on pushing the already acrobatic nature of Maximo even further. Of course, there would be new weapons and mechanics and a new way of interacting with Grim, Maximo's best friend; who also happened to be the Grim Reaper.

I left Capcom in 2004 to go work on Sony's God of War not long after starting pre-production on the game. It was later cancelled and looking back on it now, it's not the direction I would go in if I had a chance to work on it again.

The battle claws are cool, but the story and the Middle Eastern environment just doesn't feel right anymore, the tone is just too grim (no pun intended) and there just are "not enough skeletons." Oh, and no way would I kill Tinker. Steampunk redheaded girls are just too hot!

Batman lands on Little Big Planet!

2008-12-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

I love Batman and I love Little Big Planet. So what could be better than the two of them together? Check out images from my latest LBP level:

In what will probably be a mistake - mixing education with entertainment - I try to teach the player about the history of Batman while making them jump past all types of hazards. Fight baddies, collect goodies and drive the Batmobile!

You can play it too on Little Big Planet. Just search for:

The History of Batman Part 1 (1939-1949) PSN: MightyBedbug

Heart it if you like it!

Current Top Ten LBP levels

2008-12-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

So I had written up a really detailed love letter to Little Big Planet - how much I really love playing the game, how great it looks, all the neat things it makes me research when making levels (Shadow Puppets, Turning devices, etc) - I put together images and lots of text... and then the blog tool crashed out.

So what I have instead is a Top Ten (OK, more than 10) list of really really cool LBP levels instead:

10. Star Wars PSN: shinta123 / Sack to the Future series (part 1, 2 and 3) PSN: Hymanator/Ghostbusters PSN:Stryden - These levels do what LBP does best - allows creators to make levels/homages to their favorite movies in the LBP/Sweded style. It's always fun to see what gets highlighted and left out. The Sack to the Future levels also features some very clever asset switching - some of which I'm still scratching my head over.

9. Burning with Dinosaurs PSN:Blue-Alloy/Fly me to the moon... PSN:thespaff - Two levels that show of the charm of the LBP graphics - allowing creators to make beautiful themed levels that feel like they've leapt off the wall of a kindergarten class.

8. Duck Hunt from the NEW - NEW GAMEPLAY PSN:shiftshift/Libidius.jp PSN: RRR30000 - Two levels that really show off the flexability of the LBP engine - both shooters in this case and both based on classic game - Duck Hunt and Gradius.

7. Little Dead Space PSN:DarknessBear - fantastic use of light and sound. A little light on gameplay but really rich on atmosphere.

6. Tick Tock Clock 2.0.1 (Episode 1) PSN:TOBSn08 - An extremely complex and playable level, Tick Tock Clock also looks very nice.

5. Jack McSetback & the Spikey Stone of Doom PSN: Wyth - The best of the "temple" levels I've seen - the gameplay is very solid and there are some nice touches, especially the use of realistic physics to trigger the temple's traps.

4. Sackhouette - Forest King's Request - PSN:Luckett_X - Luckett has mastered the "Patapon" silouette style and I'll be damned if I know how he does it. He has several in the series and be warned, they are all hard as nails. But really pretty to look at.

3. 300 Spartans - PSN:branditimus (also Escape the Burning Building) branditimus' levels are very straight forward, almost traditional, but he comes up with very clever ideas and visuals that make you forget that you're playing LBP. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next.

2. World of Colour - PSN:geosautus - (also Mad Mansion) - geosautus really understands not only what it takes to make a good playable level, but also does some neat trickery with reward systems. He is one of the LBP communities' most solid creators.

1. The Comic Book Adventures of Super Sackboy! - PSN:MightyBedbug - OK, this one is mine, but it's my blog! If you liked "Comic Zone" and fighting giant robots, then you'll like this. Make sure to heart me! Also keep your eyes open for my next one coming soon: The History of Batman part 1 1939 - 1949.