Cloud Pirates - First Impressions

https://pirates.my.com/en

Cloud pirates is, as you may have guessed, a game about captaining a floating pirate ship.  Which is super cool.  The game is centered around team-based fights in several traditional styles like deathmatch and area control.

One thing I enjoy right away, is that the controls are relatively simple, and twitch reflexes are not needed.  A strategic view of the battlefield is much more important than having good reflexes.  The speed is not very fast, so there is a little bit of time to collect your thoughts and then commit to a plan of action.  The downside of this is if you get caught in a bad position, you will probably get taken down.  This leads to a focus on strategic thoughts like an RTS, but without any worries of having to manage a lot of moving parts.  After playing three rounds, I am really enjoying this game.

The Signal from Tolva - First Impressions

http://www.thesignalfrom.com/

My first impression of this game is that it is a fairly slow paced shooter with a neat concept.  The idea here is that you are remotely controlling a robot on the surface of the planet Tolva.  The main mission is to find the source of a mysterious signal that is emanating from the planet.  You will do this by marching around mechanically, destroying other robots along the way.  I'm not sure why yet, but it is definitely interesting enough to keep playing.  So far the intro sequence, graphics, sound effects, and ambiance have impressed me.

A Story About My Uncle

Game:  A Story About My Uncle
Creator:  Gone North Games
Link:  http://gonenorthgames.com/games/a-story-about-my-uncle/

Synopsis:  A 3D Platformer where you go looking for your eccentric uncle in a magical world.

One thing I noticed, right off the bat, is the seamless tutorial.  The game developers have done a fantastic job of slowly integrating you into the game's movement mechanics all while introducing you to the story.  What is basically a tutorial, feels like part of the story and gives you the chance to try it out and learn to move around the world.  I just watched an episode of Extra Credits today about the accessibility of games versus the ease of a game, and I immediately thought of what a wonderful job they did with ASAMU.

MORE COMING SOON...

One Finger Death Punch

Game:  One Finger Death Punch
Creator:  Silver Dollar Games
Link:  http://store.steampowered.com/app/264200/One_Finger_Death_Punch/

Synopsis:  A stylized stick figure martial arts fighting game which requires only two button presses, left or right mouse button.

Compelling:  This game makes me a laugh a lot with its odd sense of humor, simple graphics, and occasional interruptions where there is a stick figure impalement or decapitation.  But most importantly, this game induces a strong state of flow.  See:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)  I was very surprised to learn I have already played for 7 hours.  The game also adjusts the difficulty (through the speed of the enemies) based on how well you are doing, so it really keeps you at the edge of your abilities.  Which results in a very rewarding gaming experience.

Take Away:  Flow can be a strong motivator and will bring your players back to the game time and again to achieve that same sense of flow.  Games can and should make fun of themselves.

Why am I here?

This is going to be a journal of my gaming experiences, from the perspective of a game developer.  I am going to focus on a brief description of the game played, the characteristics and mechanics that I feel are compelling, and what I can take away from the game.