Ugly Baby Studios » Gaming

Review: Pokemon Soul Silver

Nathan Blush — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:28:08 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to review Pokemon Soul Silver, the newly remade version of Gameboy Color classic, Pokemon Silver. I have some experience with the series, having previously played through Pokemon Diamond, which was part of Generation 4 of the Pokémon series, along with Pearl and Platinum. The new version of the game introduces 3D animation into the gameplay mix, creating an impressive visual experience.

As a fan of the Pokémon franchise, having played through at least one game from each generation, I really enjoyed this game. There are a number of new and different gym puzzles this time around, which make the game more interesting and fun. The new story line in the game was great, and added positively to the overall experience. You play as a 10-year-old, trainer on a quest to save the world from two very destructive Pokémon™, Dialga and Palkia, who control time and space. You’ve already seen them: they are the mascots for these remakes, appearing prominently on the front of the box. Giratina is the mascot for Platinum, and controls the Distortion World. It’s a little mind blowing that a 10-year-old kid would be given this kind of power and responsibility, however as with any sequel, they always look for bigger and better. And oh how they get better and better!

HeartGold and SoulSilver were released in September of 2009 in Japan, and made their way stateside in March of 2010. These remakes are similar to the GBC games except for some changes. This game includes all 493 Pokémon, and is compatible with the Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum games. The gyms are completely remade including the 3-D elements introduced in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. The gym leaders can be battled repeatedly at much higher levels, giving the player more challenges. Menus are now opened with the DS touch screen rather than a button, making it easier to use items. The battle sequences remain the same as in previous games, wherein you use the touch-screen to order your Pokémon to attack, use items, switch Pokemon or run from the battle. What I do find pleasing, as someone who played the original, is the fact that the PokéGear has a function on its radio that allows you to listen to the original songs on the different routes that you travel through on your journey to be Pokémon Master.

The storyline follows the original with only minor changes. 3-years have passed since Team Rocket took over Silph Co. in Kanto (the region where Red, Blue, and Yellow versions took place) and no one has heard from them since, except for a few minor appearances trying to steal Slowpoketails for profit on the black market, or trying to capture Gyarados from the Lake of Rage. The main goal is to control Pokémon around the world using the Goldenrod City Radio Tower. In Gold, Silver and Crystal, very few of the Rocket admins and executives were given names or had distinguishable features, but this time around each is given their own look and Pokémon so they stand out from their lackeys. Another aesthetic Ienjoyed was introduced in Platinum. Each gym leader, elite 4 member, and Red, are given their unique animated battle sprites and intro. Red, if you don’t already know, is the game adaptation of Ash Ketchum from the anime, and he also represents the character from Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Another aspect I found interesting is the Pokéwalker, which allows the player to transfer Pokémon to a little Poké Ball shaped “Tomagotchi” type device, and as the player walks, the Pokémon gains experience and can travel through different worlds.

Overall I find this to be an improvement from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. Many of the aesthetic changes are very cool to look at, which makes the game more interesting to play even while evoking a nostalgic reaction for Pokémon Silver. I recommend this game both for the hard-core Pokémon fan and those just starting out.

Now to wait for the upcoming new Generation 5 which is to come out in Japan in the fall. The new games Pokémon™ Black and White.

Mass Effect 2 Review

Jason Ward — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:50:59 +0000

It’s fair to say that Mass Effect 2 is a pretty awesome game. So awesome, in fact, that if the ‘net could burst from an overfilling of positive reviews, this is the game that would have doomed the whole damn thing. Going into the experience I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I’d finished the first Mass Effect, and while it was a pretty good game I felt like it lacked in a few areas, not the least of which was a dry-as-dirt first quarter spent wandering the Citadel like a chimp on a banana hunt. So it goes without saying, then, that when I approached the new Mass Effect I was pretty much steeled for a dull introduction to what would eventually be revealed as a pretty good game.

I was wrong. Mass Effect 2′s intro is among the most exciting, gripping, well executed game opener’s I’ve ever seen. If it had been a CG cut scene I’d have been on the edge of my seat, but getting to actually play through that explosive, shocking–the list of adjectives could go on for days–introduction, well…had me on the edge of my seat, fiddling with thumbsticks as I desperately tried to save Commander Shepard and her crew from certain doom.

Perhaps my favorite part of the new game is having the ability to pull my existing character from the first Mass Effect into the new game, with an opportunity to make a few different choices in career and appearance. I opted to change neither, of course, and begrudgingly accepted that I would now start over with my character’s level progression. I was rather surprised and pleased to learn that although I was starting at a “low” level again, this time around my Shepard was actually much more powerful than in the previous game, which in turn made the leveling seem more satisfying than I’d expected it to be. Far from making me feel artificially powered down, instead it seemed more like my Shepard had been down for awhile and just needed a little loosening up.

In Mass Effect 1, I played as close to “neutral” as possible, but ended up with a slight leaning toward Paragon. This time around, I made a role playing choice: death had changed Shepard, and she would be hardcore Renegade. As the game progressed there were, I’ll admit upfront, a handful of choices I made that scored me paragon points, though in the interest of posting no spoilers I won’t tell you which those were. For the remainder of the game, however, I managed to steer pretty closely to the Renegade side, even taking cognizance of Samara’s statement that she might have to kill me once we’d completed the mission; thus, when the opportunity presented itself, I chose to kill her and recruit her evil daughter, Morinth, figuring she wouldn’t kill me unless I opted to sleep with her. Well…maybe not sleep.

ME2′s combat and weapons/upgrades management system is greatly simplified and streamlined compared to its predecessor. Gone are the long hours of sifting through countless iterations of ammo types and levels, or various levels of weapons of every sort. In its place is a slick, easy to use interface with a leaner set of options that, while taking away some of the flexibility of its predecessor, greatly improves the player’s ability to outfit each member of his or her team with the best gear quickly and efficiently. Too, the new combat system is much more TPS (Third Person Shooter), and the player’s ability to aim well really pays off. Headshots are your friend. Except when they’re aimed at your head, of course.

Visually, ME2 is a delight, with a wide variety of different locales all rendered in gorgeous detail. The sci-fi trappings are not just futuristic, but they also look used and lived-in, creating a sense of a galaxy populated by living, breathing people. There are the occasional graphical glitches that seem to be the hallmark of the HD generation, with little bits of pop-in here and there, but for the most part it’s hardly noticeable. It’s also fair to say that you’ll be so engrossed in the story that you probably won’t notice most of the little glitches even when they do happen.

The 5.1 mix is fantastic and really works to enhance the mood of the game. I tend to play in darkness as much as possible, with the surround sound cranked up so as to really immerse me in the experience, and ME2 did not let me down. From environmental sounds to enemies trying to flank me, the audio track is rendered with superb attention to detail and had me completely living in the experience within minutes of powering on the game.

Enjoyed:

Virtually everything. Mass Effect 2 is a cornucopia of goodness, and I feel comfortable calling it the best game of this generation so far. The artwork, audio, voice acting, writing and gameplay all work together with the precision of a well crafted symphony, sucking the player into the experience in ways that few games ever will.

Disliked:

The fact that the game ended at all comes to mind immediately, but thanks to the DLC the game can go on for a bit longer. If there’s one thing I dislike about the experience, it’s that there hasn’t been enough DLC to keep me happy yet. The other thing I wasn’t fond of is the fact that the lesbian love experience is nonexistent this time around. I played my Shepard as a female and had previously established a relationship with Liara, so I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to continue that.

Would have changed:

Beyond the obvious “no graphical glitches,” which I accept as par for the course in the HD generation, my big gripe really is just with the reduced accessability to the love interest of your choice. There’s plenty of hetero-love to be had, but the fact that the first game allowed gay relationships while the second one doesn’t seems like a step backward, so I’d have carried that element forward. Hopefully it’ll return in Mass Effect 3.

All in all, Mass Effect 2 is a top tier game well worth your time and money, even at full price. By now it’s possible to find it on discount pretty regularly, so don’t let anything stop you: if you own a 360, this is a shouldn’t-miss experience.

Mutilate Rogues in WOW 3.1 Patch

Luke Lancaster — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:01:34 +0000

As a Mutilate-Spec Rogue in PVE, I experienced minute changes to my rotations for producing pve damage. This minute change, however, was to my benefit. Whereas before I needed to reapply a self buff continuously, I now only have to activate it once per minute-if combat even lasts that long. The Buff in question [Hunger for Blood increases damage by 15% and last for one minute, and requires a bleed effect on ones target(Though it isn't required to be a self produced Bleed effect). The part that was removed from [HFB] was the removal of bleed effects from the user, though it isn’t really a necessary function for pve.

Where there are Pros there are Cons, however, and the downside of the secondary function of [Hunger for Blood], makes it a useless talent in pvp. Sure, you get a damage buff, but in pvp (battlegrounds especially) you rely on burst damage to down an enemy quickly; using this cuts into the amount of energy you have left and slows your ability to react quickly to an opponent using his/her pvp trinket to remove a stun. Also, some classes that use deadly bleed effects, such as Warriors, stack these effects with no way to remove them. Without the aid of a healer, you will die even after you have slain your opponent. Prior to this patch you could easily remove these bleed effects and be right back to dealing insane burst damage for the faction of your choice (Alliance/Horde).

Nintendo DS My Weight Loss Coach

Juliet Flores — Fri, 08 May 2009 08:20:21 +0000

Everyone at some point in their lives wants to improve their health, but adapting to a more healthy life style entails a lot of details. Eating healthier and being more physically active can be somewhat of a challenge when we’re not used to it. Honestly, I cannot remember nor do I have the time every day to journal about what I ate, how many calories I consumed or if participated in any exercise activities. I’ve attempted to keep track of my daily progress, but in the face of a busy life I haven’t had much luck. Hey, tracking this stuff is important to me, not only to see how far I come in the end, but to focus on my ultimate goal. So, I decided to hire myself the most affordable personal coach a person on a budget-especially my budget, oh paycheck granting gods-can buy.

My personal coach goes by the name of “My Weight Loss Coach” (Ubisoft). It’s a fun way to keep track of your progress to becoming a healthier individual! The game comes with a pedometer which you plug into the Nintendo DS on a daily basis to keep track of the distance traveled throughout the day. In my first two days I managed to climb Mount Everest without even having to pack for the trip…hey what more can a person ask for? It has motivated me to keep on walking, take the stairs at the office, park further away, and to go that extra lap around the block, just to get those steps adding up on the pedometer. I want to see what else I can climb!

In the Daily Session you keep track of on the calendar your pedometer reading, the challenges given to you by your “Coach” in order to track your physical activity for the day. Depending on how physically active you were it will give you a distance bonus to your next milestone…who knows, without even knowing it and without breaking much of sweat you may have completed an Olympic Marathon. Awesome!

Your Daily Session also tracks food balance. Food balance is somewhat genius. At the end of the day you give a detailed account of what you ate and it will give you on the food balance a total of calories consumed according to what you ate. You get to drag from the food groups the servings of food you ate and feed your coach from general fruits, vegetables, different kinds of meats-almost anything you can find on the food pyramid-yes even fast food. This feature of the game has to be my favorite, which probably tells you I eat too much fast food. I always wanted to keep track of my calorie intake and this is as easy as it gets. I am now eyeing the fruit bowl more enthusiastically then I do the cookie jar. Usually.

If you want to invest in a fun way to keep track of your progress, become more aware of your weight and overall gain a healthier life style, go out and get Nintendo DS My Weight Loss Coach. It’s easy to use, not to mention fun, provides you with healthy tips, and personally I look forward to keeping track of my progress at the end of the day. Keep in mind that buying the game and turning it on will not magically make the extra “fluff” around the middle go away; it is up to you to make the changes. The game is a tool to keep track of your progress, see how far all your hard work takes you and motivate you to become a healthier person. So, clip on the pedometer, put on your running shoes, turn up the tunes on your MP3 player and report back to your coach! Soon you will see not only was it fun but it was so worth it.

I’ll try to keep you guys posted on the healthy improvements I make with My Weight Loss Coach. Till then, get out of the way-I have mountains to climb.

The Learning Process: Art and Design, Part One

kelleyfrisby — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:13:44 +0000

So, hi! My name is Kelley Frisby, and I’m an unsuspecting victim in the indie game process (LOL). Truthfully, I’m a traditional artist who saw a unique and interesting challenge in front of her and jumped head first without thinking of all the obstacles I was about to come into contact with. When initially approached to join with Ugly Baby Studios and their premier game, Exhumed, I thought to myself, “Oh, no. I can’t do that. I draw cute things, girly things, things that parents read to their children before bed.” What do I know about zombies and video games? Not that much apparently, but it turns out I am a quick learner. I took my ridiculously expensive art school education and did some research.

I played House of the Dead at the arcade, I shot Rabbid bunnies with my boyfriend’s wii-mote, I remembered the secrets hidden in the pipes that I thought even Mario had forgot. I even took a few lessons from American McGee’s Alice and you know what all that did for me? Other than having a shit load of fun, it actually confused me more. I saw so many interesting concepts and styles that I truly admired.

But at the same time I was lost as to where to take the look of these zombies. So I went with what I DO know, and that’s composition and characters. I started small and reworked things. I went back to my traditional education and pulled out my art books. I took inspiration from the people who have always inspired me, Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, artists like Edward Gorey and Arthur Rackham…then I started really thinking about how the games look would be influenced by my artwork and I started brainstorming ways to keep this new and unique and yet creepy and zombie-ish.

For some odd reason I kept visualizing the old movie posters of the 40′s and seeing rockabilly girls and I thought: Pin Up Zombie! She was reworked many times, but ultimately the pieces fell into place…a few pieces even fell off, but we won’t discuss that now. I initially went with the idea that if I combined the look of the old zombie films with the popularity and attractiveness of the Pin Up girl that it would make for an interesting and fun look.

All this lead me to the main character we have now. That and the fact that the game’s Man in Charge, wanted an overall hand drawn look to the game that seems to be lost in today’s video game world. Not lost completely, I’m told, but few and far between. Looking through the games I’ve been playing recently I’d have to agree. So today, in my first of a few Behind the Scenes Exhumed pieces, I will showcase not only a few of my progress shots, but point out a few of the latest and greatest art styles I’m really enjoying right now.

As mentioned above, I am not primarily a gamer, I am not an expert on these things. I am still new, still learning, still discovering some of these stories and pictures for the first time. But my artist’s eye tells me a lot. While I can admire and respect the talent it takes to create some of these 3d masterpieces out there, I get so much more enjoyment out of some of the simpler designs. The designs and art styles that don’t seem like much but are really beautiful and inspiring in their simplicity.

Games like: World of Goo and Lost Winds have such a wonderful sense of style. I think a lot of people out there miss just how hard it is to sometimes keep things clean and simple, to not overload your viewer with every tiny detail. That’s a talent not many can boast: the ability to communicate with simplicity and elegance. Line work and subtlety, finding the perfect color palette; those aren’t just simple things to discover and create. Looking at the upcoming remake of A Boy and His Blob I would much rather get lost for hours in that game, where everything was created in a specific style for a made-up world, born of the imaginary. It’s what makes us lose ourselves in these games in the first place. They are not real life. We can lose ourselves in the imaginary and forget the reality of our everyday lives for a little while, and it’s the very rare artist who can achieve this far more difficult goal.

In the next part, we’ll showcase a step by step progression of the building up of a character concept for our game!

Nazi Zombies Strategy Guide (Call of Duty)

Scott Pohlers Games Columnist — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:57:58 +0000

Call of Duty: World At War

Nazi Zombies Strategy Guide

Map: Verrückt

Number of Players: 2

Highest Level Achieved so far: 24

Done right the strategy will consistently take you to at least level 18 – 20 with only two players working together. It relies mostly on strategy, some skill, and some luck. I realize there are people out there who get to level 1000 or more by glitching or running the Zombies in circles. This strategy is not meant to break records its just a fun way for you and a couple friends to have some intense encounters and maybe progress a little further than the norm.

ALWAYS start on the American side; you’ll know it’s the American side because the chalk drawing of the M1 Garand will be in front of you. If the game starts you on the German side (Kar98 will be in front of you) just restart until the game gives you the other side.

DON’T BUY ANYTHING IN THE STARTING ROOM. Use your pistols. 4-5 shots into the oncoming Zombies followed by knifing them when they come close will net you the most points. Your goal is for one person to collect 1950 points and the other person to at least have 1200 points. The person with 1950 then opens the door to the next area, which I call the Thompson room for obvious reasons. Everyone buy a Thompson and start using it as soon as the door is open. Typically if playing with 2 people, this should happen no later than mid-way through round 3 and possibly by the end of round 2.

Hold the Thompson room. Stay in this room and rack up points. There are 2 windows facing the courtyard, a breakaway wall (around round 5 they start coming through here) and the doorway to the first area that you were in. Typically one guy covers windows and the other doorway and wall. Either way your goal is to accumulate points so let some Zombies in so they can drop things like 2x, max ammos, and insta kills. Only hit bombs at the end of rounds or if desperately needed. A nice feature is that the bomb always gives you 400 points as well. Move upstairs in the break between round 5 and 6 otherwise the running zombies will cause havoc in the downstairs.

BEFORE GOING UPSTAIRS CHECK YOUR THOMPSON AMMO IF IT’S LESS THAN 100 ROUNDS BUY SOME MORE

Once upstairs immediately progress through to the next room (determine door opening duties amongst partners so that you all have about the same amount of money). The room you are now holding is the one with the grenades on the wall and the unlit green (slight of hand) fast reload perk machine. You have two areas to watch, the window in the adjacent room and the hallway that leads to the main room with the stairs. Keep using the Thompson and grenades. Your goal is for you and your partner to accumulate around 6500 points. This should happen by the end of round 6 or 7. After which, the following sequence of events needs to occur:

Step 1. Acquire Points around 6500 (more is actually better but this will do)

Step 2. Leave a Zombie alive at end of round (should be 6 or 7), crawlers are preferable

Step 3. Someone opens door to kitchen area

Step 4. Someone opens door to power room (usually the other person however sometimes points are not distributed equally)

Step 5. Flip the power switch

Step 6. Grab Fast Reload/Slight of Hand Perk 3000 points (both players)

Step 7. Go back downstairs to Thompson room, back to starting room, through the now opened door to the German side.

Step 8. Grab Juggernaut Perk 2500 points (red machine with cross on it) Typically one person grabs this and the other opens the stairs. The one that opens the stairs will need to come back for it, usually in the lull between the next round.

Step 9. Open Stairs

Step 10. Kill Zombie that you have kept alive up until this point if you have not already done so

Step 11. Have the person with both Perks watching the long hallway that contains the Double Tap Perk and the person with the Slight of hand perk watching the window on the balcony.

Important thing to remember at this point is to keep an eye on ammo and funds. Once the Thompson runs out of ammo buy the MP-40 (1000 points) off the wall on the upstairs area (near Double Tap machine). The double barrel shotgun is also a good investment for the guy on windows as long as they have the quick reload perk. My friend and I have survived using just these 2 weapons up to round 20.

Hold these two positions until you are killed by an onslaught of the undead.

Some Tips for holding this area:

- Make sure everyone gets the juggernaut perk as soon as possible

- Grab MP-40, Double Tap perk, and Bouncing Betty’s as funds increase

- Grab shotgun if needed

- Around round 11 or 12 try to keep one Zombie alive at the window (constantly repairing the window so he doesn’t burst through) so that the other player can run back through the level to the power room to grab weapons from the mystery box. Hopefully by this point at least one player has a surplus of points. The following weapons are the most desired: Ray Gun, M1919 Browning Machine Gun, MG42 Machine Gun, and possibly the Ppsh and sawed off double barrel shotgun, but the first 3 are the main ones your aiming to get.

- Also try to make the teddy bear appear. Why you ask? It refunds you the money and moves the box closer to your holding spot. The box will either move to the Thompson room in the dark corner, the juggernaut room, or to the left of the broken wall in your upstairs defense area (this is the closest most ideal place)

- NEVER EVER OPEN THE OTHER DOOR IN THE POWER ROOM OR THE OTHER DOOR AT THE END OF THE DOUBLE TAP HALLWAY. Opening the other door in the power room isn’t the end of the world, but it will cause another random box location to occur and this one is even further than the electricity room. Opening the door at the end of Double Tap hallway is suicide because the Zombies will flank you

- Past round 15 start using the electric fence traps located on the balcony. This gives you a rest and is a way to conserve ammo. Once triggered it lasts for one minute, it then must recharge before it can be retriggered (I believe 1 – 2 more minutes) it beeps when it can be retriggered.

- On bouncing betty’s. Always place them behind you so that you can lead hordes of Zombies into them for maximum damage. Betty’s will not hurt you or other human players. Use them to create traps and fall back points.

- On Ray Guns. The Ray Gun is the most powerful weapon in the game especially in the realm of Nazi Zombies and it is almost a near necessity for one person on the team to have it, so that you can progress past round 20, as it’s the only weapon that still retains some semblance of stopping power at that level. However, it has a severe drawback: splash damage. If you shoot at a wall, window, or Zombie that is too close to you the splash back damage from the Ray Gun will kill you, causing you to go down and lose all of your perks. So be careful and try to shoot Zombies from a distance (shooting your partner with the Ray Gun has no effect).

Blogging the Process

Jason Ward — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 06:09:06 +0000

So as you might be able to tell from the relative lack of activity on the site of late, we’re pretty busy with something? What is it, you ask? Well, we’re not quite ready to spill the full set of beans yet, but it’s a game. Yes, a video game. For a console. Ah, but which console, you ask? The answer should be fairly obvious, of course, since only one console offers official support for Indie games: Xbox 360, specifically the Community Games service. More details to come later.

Beyond that, however, I have to tell you that the process to date has been incredibly educational. While we’re making excellent progress to date we’ve had a few hurdles, not the least of which was simply finding enough time in everyone’s busy schedule (all of us have lives and jobs that don’t include this process, an unfortunate by-product of the need to eat). Among some other challenges, though, are things you wouldn’t necessarily realize are as difficult as they are. For starters, defining an appropriate art style was incredibly difficult, and our very talented art crew has worked really hard to come up with a look that is both unique and interesting while still being very professional. We’ve looked to some great classic titles for reference, but we’ve also been very inspired by a lot of the hand painted “retro” stylings of upcoming titles like the A Boy and His Blob remake for the Nintendo Wii.

Another point of much difficulty is simply the design aspect, especially in nailing down a lot of concrete details. Working on that angle comes with its own set of worries, many of which for me are wrapped up in the desire to not be a dictatorial asshole, so I try to make sure and get as much input from the rest of the team as possible on anything I do. This has a benefit in that we’re able to come up with some really cool ideas by bouncing things back and forth off each other, but the drawback is that the process can come to a complete crawl for long periods of time while we’re busy hashing out the pros and cons of everyone’s ideas.

Probably the biggest mistake I’ve found myself making is that we didn’t firmly nail down enough of our gameplay specifics prior to beginning work on some of the art. Luckily this hasn’t cost us much time, however, it could have been a major problem, especially if ours were a bigger production. I’m actually only just now nailing down a lot of the last specifics, thanks to input from the rest of the team, who’ve had some really brilliant ideas that are both unique and have the potential to be a lot of fun (and let’s face it, if you’re game isn’t fun, it’s not much of a game). Luckily our project isn’t overly huge or complex (in fact, I enjoy the relative simplicity of the concept), so we should be back on schedule before too awful long.

And so, of course, this is where I ask if anybody in the Indie Community has thoughts on this process of game development, and what your experiences and lessons might be. As we move forward I’ll continue to blog about our progress and process, trials and tribble-ations, and hopefully we’ll be able to help some of you other indie’s avoid some of the mistakes we’re bound to make along the way. At this point the best piece of advice I have to give you is just this: accept that you’re going to make mistakes, you’re going to be wrong sometimes, and don’t bother worrying about these facts. Just try to learn from your flubs and move forward the best way you can manage, and you’ll do just fine

A narrowing of focus

Jason Ward — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:20:26 +0000

Over the past few years we’ve covered a fairly broad range of topics on this site, blogging about anything even tangentially related to the Games Industry. At the same time we’ve provided period reviews of titles both big and small on all platforms. Heck, we’ve even covered Industry Events such as E3, E for All and others, with our team of…well, admittedly lazy but quite zealous geeks marauding about assorted booths taking pictures of scantily clad babes, playing stuff that hasn’t been released and generally having a good time.

But the raison d’etre of the Ugly Baby Studios team has always been the development of fun ideas, especially those relating to games and animated shorts. We’ve participated in (and actually did pretty well at!) film festivals with ridiculously short deadlines, we’ve worked on Mod projects, and generally had a good time doing all of it. Now it’s getting a little more serious, and so we’re honing in the focus of both our team and our site. As we move forward from now, we’re zooming in on Independent Games, with a special focus on XNA and Xbox Live Community Games (XBLC), which may just be the most significant turn to ever hit a games console or the Indie Developer scene. We’ll have some announcements coming a little further down the pike with regards to this topic.

As always, UBS will remain a blog, and as such we’ll do periodic reviews, though we’ll focus these on Indie Games (or their demos if we’re too cheap to buy the full game). We’ll blog about tools and techniques that you can use in your own Indie Games, and we’ll interview and have conversations with other Independent Development teams who’re working on their breakaway masterpieces as we speak. Any way you slice it, though, this narrowing of focus and reinvigoration of purpose will enable us to deliver a superior experience as we move forward, and we hope you’ll join us.

If there’s something specific you’d like to see covered, by all means let us know! We’re always open to hearing from you and believe me, we read every email we get from those who feel the need to drop us a line. If we can make your experience on the web a better one, don’t hesitate to tell us how.

Indie Developer Interview: Binary Tweed

Jason Ward — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:58:27 +0000

Recently I had the opportunity to talk a little with Binary Tweed Managing Director Daniel Jones about the studio’s upcoming game release, Clover. If you haven’t heard, Clover will be the studio’s first foray onto the Xbox 360′s new Community Games service, which for the first time allows Independent Developers legal and authorized access not only to put their games onto a legitimate games console, but to sell them for a profit. For countless small teams without the resources to get on the radar of the big publishers, this is a veritable dream come true. For the Games Industry as a whole, this is an opportunity for hitherto undiscovered talent, both in skill and in gameplay concepts, to create a name for themselves.

In pursuit of that we’re pleased to speak with Mr. Jones and thank him for his time. Without further ado, Binary Tweed!

UBS: What factors drew your team to create a game for the new Xbox Live Community (XBLC) games service?

DJ: XBLC has dramatically lowered the barriers of entry to large-audience games development. The biggest draw of the service has to be the extremely large user base combined with a piracy-proof delivery mechanism.

UBS: Working with XNA, have you found the technology to be limiting in any way or has it allowed you to express the vision you wanted to? What would you say is the biggest strength of using XNA to create a game for XBLC? It’s biggest weakness?

DJ: So far XNA hasn’t limited us in any way, and there are some very impressive titles being developed using the technology. Being a C# library, it’s mostly object-oriented which brings with it the strengths and weaknesses of C# itself. I come from a Java background and by comparison C#’s documentation and APIs just aren’t as well thought-out and presented, but moving to an OO language helps move games development away from the ‘hacking’ mentality that C++ can lend itself to.

The biggest strength of XBLC development is probably not XNA itself (although being based on a high-level OO language enables this) but the community that Microsoft have been nurturing. For the most part there are some really friendly and helpful people on the Creator’s Club forums.

Coming from an enterprise Java background looking in on the games industry, it’s always seemed that games development has suffered from the closed nature of the business. There’s a great deal of information sharing present in the J2EE development community, and a lot of great open-source projects. Hopefully the Creator’s Club will start going some way to emulate this more collaborative approach.

UBS: From screens released for Clover it appears to be completely 2D, but of course a screenshot doesn’t always tell the whole story. Is there any use of 3D elements (ie, models) in the creation of Clover? If so, what sorts of challenges have you seen with implementing your artwork?

DJ: Clover is completely 2D. I do all of the programming, and whilst I’d like to think my object-oriented design skills are fairly good, my 3D maths isn’t all that hot. We needed to deliver a title that worked within our constraints, which is one of the reasons for choosing the genre that we did.

I’m also not sold on the idea that 3D is the answer to all the world’s woes. I personally thought that transition from 2D to 3D in the Saturn/PlayStation era was a dark period for gaming, with a lot of mediocre titles developed as a result of resources being spent getting to grips with then-new technology rather than focusing on creating a great experience.

UBS: What methods are the artists employing in the creation of the game’s Watercolor effects? Are pieces hand painted and scanned or are they created in software?

DJ: The artwork is first sketched in pencil as apart of the concepting process, and then a ‘final’ version is drawn on heavy paper. These are coloured in watercolour paint, outlined in pen, and then scanned in. We try to do as little digital manipulation as possible, but there’s some colour correction and tidying up that goes on in Adobe Photoshop.

To answer the previous question, one of the challenges has been maintaining consistency of colour when working in a physical medium. Additionally we also have two artists working on the project, so there’s a certain amount of stylistic consistency that also needs to be maintained.

UBS: What programming / art tools do you use? Does Binary Tweed make substantial use of any Open Source or Freeware tools or do you primarily use commercial software?

DJ: XNA ties you into using Visual Studio, so we don’t have much choice in IDE. Other than that, we try to use Open Source as much as possible if only to lower costs! I’m writing this in OpenOffice, and I use GIMP for our tiling system. I’ve always been a big fan of EditPlus, too.

One of the most painful parts of transitioning from J2EE to XNA development was having to move away from the open source Eclipse IDE. Whilst it has its fair share of bugs, it’s an incredibly powerful and versatile application, and Visual Studio comes nowhere near to matching it. I need some resourceful fellow to write an Eclipse plug-in to support XNA…

UBS: What are the big challenges of being an independent developer? What are some of the rewards?

DJ: The challenges are many. Funding, credibility and resourcing are the most prominent in my mind. So far Clover has been completely self-funded, and with XBLC sales figures still under wraps I dare say no-one in their right mind would have invested in such a project.

Funding also raises secondary problems that the majority of consumers aren’t going to consider when making their purchasing decision. Being based in central London, most of our costs are simply paying rent and bills, and so time really is money. As much as I’d like to have a team of 20 people working on Clover for a year to make it the masterpiece I know it could be, we have to make sure it gets into the marketplace and earning money within a certain time frame.

The rewards are much the same as any form of start-up business. I get to choose my own path, work only with people I choose to, and don’t have to put up with the herculean levels of corporate ineptitude I’ve experienced elsewhere. I’m very much looking forward to when we’ve brought a title to market, and can start looking at other opportunities and hopefully working with some great people.

UBS: What advice would you give to those would-be Indie Devs out there who don’t have a clear idea of where to start?

DJ: It’s a tough question. I’d say first and foremost that some degree of business experience is vital, so you can know how large companies work, how to communicate in a professional manner and how to negotiate deals and manage staff. Project management is also a key skill when you’re on a tight budget, so that should also be at the top of people’s lists.

A lot of people tend to focus on the technical first, and while this is obviously an important part of engineering any product, there’s little point spending months working on something only to have the project fail, or to market the product inadequately.

UBS: How do you see the Indie Games market today in light of the emerging Downloadable games market? Do you see space for Independent studios amidst the sea of big names?

DJ: I think there’s a great opportunity there for independent developers. As the video games market matures, we’ll see more refined taste from gamers who have been buying titles for over 20 years. There will always be a large number of people ready to snap up the latest blockbuster, but there’s going to be an ever-increasing number who are looking for something a little more niche.

I see the games industry starting to look a little more like the music industry. There are people who listen to chart tunes as they get ready to go out on a Saturday night, and there are people with very specific tastes who really appreciate the most technically-crafted works with a certain message.

UBS: Xbox Live’s Community Games service has made the console market accessible to Indie developers for the first time in an official capacity (sans hacking/modding/etc); would you like to see similar services from Nintendo and Sony?

DJ: Absolutely! There’s a reason why the United Kingdom was once one of the world’s hotbeds for developer talent, and that’s reason was the Sinclair Spectrum. One of the main strengths of XBLC is not necessarily what it’s doing, as Sony did something similar with PlayStation Net Yaroze a few years back, but the fact that it’s taking these titles to a very large audience. If Nintendo were to do something similar and open up Wii development, I’m sure there would be a lot of very excited people.

UBS: A common problem with Indie Developers is finding talented staff that is willing or able to work with little to no compensation while developing that critical first product. Have you had to contend with these issues, and if so, how have you managed to work around them?

DJ: I’m lucky to know some very talented people with a broad range of skills, so I’ve been able to call in a lot of favours. Many are keen to help just as they find the medium so interesting. Even my account manager at the bank was thrilled to be involved in a games development project!

UBS: If you find some reasonable success with your efforts on the XBLC, do you envision extending your reach to services such as PSN and WiiWare?

DJ: We’ve invested a lot of time and money into the artwork of Clover, and so it would make sense to With the services mentioned we’d need a publisher on board, so a lot of our future possibilities depend on the performance of Clover. In an ideal world, there’d be a port to every platform where it made financial sense.

I’d like to thank Mr. Jones for taking the time out to talk with me about Binary Tweed and Clover, and on behalf of both myself and the Ugly Baby Studios team, I wish you all the best success and look forward to purchasing my copy of Clover on launch day!

Same old crap: Different game

Mike Kukuk — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:59:44 +0000

How games remain just the same as they have always been.

Although I will use FPS as an example in this article, I realize that Resident Evil: 5 is not one. I compare to that genre because AI need is often strict, as are graphics (closer adjusted view = higher GPU requirements, texture fidelity, etc.) and large levels to keep pacing. Also, FPS games (for some, like myself) offer more immersion, (first person = me, not some puppet I control) yet, many will submit that they can cause motion sickness or sometimes feel like they are ‘looking out a window.’ Many sub-genres have been done ‘FPS-style’ a few times with muted success, but I still personally find little to be immersed into when staring at any 3rd person character’s butt (or even over a shoulder).

What I will be discussing here and critically pointing out is gameplay fundamentals that have not changed. This translates to elements that remain exactly the same as when the very first games were conceived.

Graphics
Graphics can be pretty, people are wowed over them. Reality-wise, only a minimum of feedback is required in this area to perform or achieve any desired effect. Graphics have become like the too popular big breasted girl syndrome – offering mass cleavage but no personality underneath. The true requirement graphics must meet falls into feedback, but is typically delivered via beautiful texture mapping or special effects.

Primary purpose of Graphics = player feedback.

Artificial Intelligence
Sad to say – there is no such thing. “A.I.” actually refers to the illusion of intelligence, created by commands telling animated objects to go through a command set like “If this = this, then, go do that.” As complicated as pathfinding (pre-placed game world paths for “AI” to follow) can be, it is remains just a set of commands that those objects follow to ‘search’ for the player. Game AI has changed very little since the very first video games were created… thats nearly 40 years.

Primary purpose of Game AI = Direct opponents, followers or objects of rescue or protection.

Manipulable objects
These give the player the illusion of having control over and interaction with the game world, whether they are merely objects to destroy (like mushrooms in centipede) or bricks to bump (Super Mario) or statues to move for some reason (like Resident Evil).

Primary purpose of Manipulable Objects = player interaction.

Sound effects
Audio can be important, interesting, intriguing, haunting, scary, thrilling and heart pounding. Yet, sound effects primary purpose is to reveal information to the player and deliver feedback so game play can proceed.

Primary purpose of Sound Effects = player feedback.

Controls
Well thought out control systems (like ease of comprehension in button use & placement) universally connects players via immersion into the the game world, promoting the ‘illusion of actually being there.’ Bad controls force difficulty, frustration, impede and obstruct any effort on the players part to try and enjoy, destroying any possible seamless interaction in said world.

Primary purpose = game world connectivity.

Arenas and areas: linear hallways or free form, open worlds
Open areas containing places to go, things to see, interact with, use as cover, etc. From a simple open rectangle having only a few squares, to the most realistic 3D map, the principle remains the same, it is the area in which game play takes place. While some are confining & claustrophobic, others are open, freedom promoting vistas.

Primary purpose = game world & environment.

Music
Music can provide feedback and foreshadowing, yet as a rule should not be forced upon the player (like Halo). Ideally, the player will be offered choice to allow or eliminate, and therefore the game will have a separate ambient track, if such elimination is chosen.

Primary purpose = immersion into game world & environment, and setting of feeling and ‘tone’.

Story
This is usually the reason to play, the tale, the main characters story, what causes interest, or the backdrop for the game. It is not necessary to pay attention to the story, as many stories can be ignored and still enjoy the game; yet it still provides a base framework around which the game is constructed, no matter how simple.

Primary purpose = backdrop.

The typical videogame generally will have all these elements in some amount and variety, from the most simple to the most complicated. These are the elements I am speaking of when I discuss gameplay fundamentals, as they do not have to be complicated in order to exist. They can be created and utilized in very simple and creative ways, and nearly every successful video game that was created before games that are now being published had these elements too.