Catch the Doodle Bug!

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!

The rise of the "digital dark ride"?

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!

What could have been: some Maximo 3 concepts

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!