Archive for October, 2009

30 October, 2009 | No comments

GBGames: Game Suggestions for the New Wii Owner, Part 5

pIf you#8217;re like me, you recently obtained a Wii and have almost no idea what games released over the past three years are worth playing. I asked for advice from friends, family, coworkers, and Twitter followers, and I received quite a few suggestions. a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-ownerPart 1/a, a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-2Part 2/a, a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-3Part 3/a, and a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-4Part 4/a revealed 20 games I was told I needed to play, and today I present the next five games, in no particular order./p
pb Mega Man 9 /b/p
piMega Man 9/i (rated E) is a WiiWare title takes the series back to its roots. The art design, audio, and game play are familiar to anyone who played the original game. Even the limited-edition box art was created to look like it came from the late 80s! Like most games in the series, you have to fight through 8 stages, each with its own boss. When you defeat the boss, you earn the ability to use his/her attack move. /p
pThere is even a Legacy Mode which makes the game pretend to be running a lower powered system. Sprite flicker is something any NES fans could tell you about, and now you can see it for yourself./p
pb World of Goo /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00213JM9O?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B00213JM9OWorld of Goo/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B00213JM9O width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated E) is also a WiiWare title, created by indie game developer 2D Boy. It#8217;s a physics-based game in which you connect the balls of goo to form structures in an attempt to get the required number to escape to the exit. Of course, the levels are designed to make it tricky, so you have to figure out the best way to connect your balls of goo together. There are different kinds of goo, which requires you to use them in the most appropriate way. /p
pIt#8217;s a humorous puzzle game, and the highly reviewed Wii version allows four players to participate at once. /p
pb A Boy #038; His Blob /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FG9MWE?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B002FG9MWEA Boy and His Blob/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B002FG9MWE width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated E) is another game based on a blobby character and one that is a re-imagining of an original NES game. This version of the game was created as an update, and fans of the original game will find that it is a bit more casual in nature, allowing anyone to pick it up and play. Feeding the blob jellybeans turns him into different objects depending on the flavor, and you#8217;ll make use of this feature to solve puzzles and progress through the levels. /p
pI never played the original game, which is a shame because I always read about it in #8220;Nintendo Power#8221; back in the day. The new game is a beautiful update. I wonder if there is a way to turn the blob into a brick wall in this version#8230;/p
pb You, Me, and the Cubes /b/p
piYou, Me, and the Cubes/i (rated E) is a strange physics puzzle game in which you throw tiny people at the cubes on the screen, all while trying to maintain balance. You#8217;re trying to get as many people to stay on the structure without falling off, but it#8217;s tricky. Some of the cubes have special properties, and they rotate after each stage./p
pWhile the controls can be finicky, especially when rotating the camera, and the difficulty curve can get steeper than many might like, iYou, Me, and the Cubes/i is a well-made puzzle game, available through WiiWare./p
pb The Conduit /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HKPUKC?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B001HKPUKCThe Conduit/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B001HKPUKC width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated T) is a first-person shooter that has been praised for its high quality graphics and intuitive, customizable controls. It features a science fiction-based universe involving an alien invasion and conspiracy. The graphics engine was capable of creating imagery above and beyond what most people thought the relatively low-powered Wii could do. /p
pWhile the story is widely considered to be mediocre, the game play is superb. There is a multiplayer option, allowing up to 12 people to join a game, and if you#8217;re friends, you can use the Wii Speak chat feature as well. /p
pb Order Up! /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00182QCYM?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B00182QCYMOrder Up!/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B00182QCYM width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated E) puts you in the role of a restaurant#8217;s chef. While iCooking Mama/i is the big name in cooking games, iOrder Up!/i focuses on the pressures of putting together entire meals for multiple paying customers. As orders come in, you need to optimize your movement through the kitchen. You can#8217;t focus on making one dish perfectly because other orders are waiting. You need to multi-task, fixing various meals together. /p
pSee the a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcyeteczWggiOrder Up!/i trailer on YouTube/a to get a better idea of what the game is like:/p
p/p
pbAnd that#8217;s 25/b/p
pI hope this list of 25 Wii game suggestions helps you. I had fun researching these titles, and I can#8217;t wait to play many of them. Feel free to use one of the icons below to suggest this series to others, and make sure to leave a comment below to let me know what you think about these choices./p
pSee the rest of the series:/p
ul
li a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner/Part 1/a /li
li a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-2/Part 2/a /li
li a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-3/Part 3/a /li
li a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-4/Part 4/a /li
/ul

28 October, 2009 | No comments

GBGames: Game Suggestions for the New Wii Owner, Part 3

pIf you#8217;re like me, you recently obtained a Wii and have almost no idea what games released over the past three years are worth playing. I asked for advice from friends, family, coworkers, and Twitter followers, and I received quite a few suggestions. a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-ownerPart 1/a and a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-2Part 2/a revealed 10 games I was told I needed to play, and today I present the next five games, in no particular order./p
pb Mario Kart Wii /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XJNTNS?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B000XJNTNSMario Kart Wii/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B000XJNTNS width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated E) is the latest game in the iMario Kart/i series. It features various racing modes for one or multiple players as well as Battle Mode, which is my personal favorite from any of the games. It even lets you play online with the Nintendo WiFi connection. There is a Mario Kart Channel you can get for the main Wii Menu which allows you to play against friends online and send them your best time trial sessions as well. /p
pI played iMario Kart Wii/i this past summer at a party, and we all had a blast. You can drive regular karts or the new motorbikes, race on plenty of new tracks as well as some classic ones from previous games, and choose between Nintendo characters or any Miis you created. /p
pb Yoga Wii /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DT159Q?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B002DT159QYoga/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B002DT159Q width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / for the Wii (rated E) isn#8217;t so much a game as lifestyle software, similar to titles for the Nintendo DS. It keeps track of your balance and movement using the Wii Balance Board and Wii remote. iYoga/i features three modes. One is Story Mode, which sounds the most game-like. Training Mode teaches you new poses. Routine Mode allows you to go through a series of poses which are either provided by you or the in-game guru./p
pIn case you#8217;re wondering, I#8217;ve participated in yoga twice in my life, and both times were in the last year. Yoga forced me to bend, twist, and stand in ways my body couldn#8217;t remember doing before. When you#8217;re breathing hard, shaking, and sweating from trying to hold your body in a position that doesn#8217;t seem like it would require much effort, you realize that yoga is pretty hardcore. Also, have you seen the people that do yoga regularly? They#8217;re hawt./p
pHaving the ability to do it in the privacy of your own home, at your own pace, with practically one-on-one instruction from a game that keeps track of your progress sounds fantastic. /p
pb Boom Blox /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YDIYFG?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B000YDIYFGBoom Blox/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B000YDIYFG width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated E) was designed by the famous filmmaker Steven Spielberg. Yeah, I didn#8217;t understand that either, but this game is a lot of fun. There are various play modes, including multiplayer party modes, and a built-in editor so you can create your own levels. The game features blocks, some with special properties, that are stacked up, and you generally try to knock them over, although some of the levels require building instead of destroying. /p
pMy favorite game was a Party Mode called Warlords. Each player takes turns throwing cannon balls in an attempt to get rid of all of the shiny blocks in their opponents#8217; castles. Using the Wii remote, you can try light tosses or heavily whip the ball across the level, taking out as much of the walls and towers as you can. A number of times a rivalry between two players will come to an end only for the winner to realize that a third player remained untouched throughout the battles. You have to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. B-)/p
pb Wii Play /b/p
p/p
pa href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KRXAGE?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B000KRXAGEWii Play/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B000KRXAGE width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated E), even with mixed reviews from the critics, is the best selling non-bundled game of all time. It features 9 games, all of which are playable by two players, and it comes with a Wii remote to let you take advantage of it. Among the games to play are #8220;Shooting Range#8221;, #8220;Table Tennis#8221;, #8220;Laser Hockey#8221;, and #8220;Billiards#8221;. There#8217;s a fishing game, a cow racing game, and a couple of games involving finding or posing Miis. /p
pMy favorite is #8220;Tanks!#8221;, which requires you to move, aim, and shoot all of the enemies on a level to progress to the next. Your shells can bounce off of walls, which allows for trick shots, but be careful because your shells can hurt your ally, too. If you#8217;ve ever played the classic game iCombat/i for the Atari 2600, you can think of this game as a heavy upgrade./p
pb Wii Sports Resort /b/p
p/p
pAnother game in this series? a href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001COQW14?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B001COQW14Wii Sports Resort/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B001COQW14 width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (rated E) makes use of the Wii MotionPlus, which makes the Wii remote much more accurate. There is a Table Tennis game in this one, but due to the better control accuracy, you can add spin to a ball, making the game much more strategic and true-to-life. There are sports games such as basketball, golf, bowling, and frisbee, as well as field games such as archery, swordplay, and canoeing. /p
pI haven#8217;t had a chance to play it or make use of the MotionPlus technology, but the improved accuracy sounds like a great thing to have. It#8217;s too bad more games don#8217;t make use of it, but the game does come with the controller supplement, and you can see the a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_MotionPluslist of supported games/a to find other games you might be interested in./p
pb And that#8217;s 15 so far#8230;/b/p
pWe#8217;re only halfway through the week, and there#8217;s still more to come. Make sure to come back tomorrow to see the next 5 and the rest of this series. Feel free to use one of the icons below to suggest this series to others, and make sure to leave a comment below to let me know what you think about these choices./p
pSee the rest of the series:/p
ul
li a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner/Part 1/a /li
li a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/game-suggestions-for-the-new-wii-owner-part-2/Part 2/a /li
li Part 4 /li
li Part 5 /li
/ul

26 October, 2009 | No comments

GBGames: Game Suggestions for the New Wii Owner

pAfter years of waiting, I purchased a Nintendo Wii. A friend#8217;s uncle was selling the Wii, 9 games, and a few controllers and peripherals for a little over $200, and I couldn#8217;t pass up the deal. /p
pWith the recent price drop, I#8217;m sure I can#8217;t be the only one who has a new Wii and has no idea what games to purchase. So I did what anyone would do. I asked for advice. Friends, coworkers, family, and Twitter followers were all too happy to offer suggestions./p
pOver the next week, I#8217;ll list out over 20 games that people have suggested I go out and buy, in no particular order. For today, here#8217;s the first 5 in the list./p
pbNo More Heroes/b/p
p/p
piNo More Heroes/i (rated M) features a badass named Travis Touchdown, who ends up killing a ranked assassin and becoming ranked himself. He now has to defend his rank, and he decides to try to become the #1 assassin with all the rewards it entails. The game was highly praised by most reviewers. It#8217;s incredibly bloody, at least in the North American version, so if violence and gore aren#8217;t your thing, you might want to pass on it. I haven#8217;t played it myself yet, but watching a few videos on YouTube, it#8217;s now on my list. The game play is open-ended, although it is a bit more linear than iGrand Theft Auto/i games. The game play reminds me of a href=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019SY1D4?ie=UTF8#038;tag=gb0f-20#038;linkCode=as2#038;camp=1789#038;creative=9325#038;creativeASIN=B0019SY1D4MadWorld/aimg src=http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gb0f-20#038;l=as2#038;o=1#038;a=B0019SY1D4 width=1 height=1 border=0 alt= / (also rated M), which I have played, but it seems much more tame in terms of blood and violence. Of course, if you#8217;ve played iMadWorld/i, you know that#8217;s not saying much./p
p bSuper Mario Galaxy/b/p
p/p
piSuper Mario Galaxy/i (rated E) is the third 3D platformer in the series, the previous two being iSuper Mario 64/i for the N64 and iSuper Mario Sunshine/i for the GameCube. iSunshine/i sold and reviewed well, but it had its share of critics who claimed the game seemed unpolished. If iGalaxy/i can be considered a comeback, it was definitive. Everyone loved it, and there are few complaints. Guinness World Records a href=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=209385ranked it 29th/a out of 50 on its list of the top console games of all time based on the game#8217;s initial impact and lasting legacy. /p
pIt#8217;s not a bad suggestion at all! It was one of the games that I got in the bundle, and while I have only played it for part of one evening, I can see it being a lot of fun. Everyone I#8217;ve talked to had nothing but praise for this game. Also, it#8217;s has support for two players! I recall reading a blog post about how much fun it could be to join a friend or family member. One person can play the main game while the other can help him/her collect items./p
pI#8217;m still not happy that a modern console game has a concept of lives. It#8217;s not an arcade game, so it#8217;s not like I need incentive to pump more quarters into it. I#8217;ve already purchased the game, and limited lives does nothing but frustrate me. Then again, I was told that the game is similar to iSuper Mario World/i for the SNES in that it is easy to have a ton of lives without losing them often./p
pbResident Evil 4/b/p
p/p
pFor a long time, I was frustrated because I purchased iResident Evil 4/i (rated M) for the GameCube, but I couldn#8217;t play it because I lost the first disc when I brought the game over to a friend#8217;s house. It turns out that buying the game a second time for the Wii is supposed to be worth it, so that#8217;s good news. The Wii version takes advantage of the unique controls. If you are into survival horror, everyone told me that this is supposed to be the game to get. It#8217;s on my list as well./p
pBut, real quick, for people who have played it before, how scary is that chainsaw-wielding guy with the bag on his head?! I didn#8217;t get to play the game much, but when I did, I could not find a way to survive the early mob he was leading. I thought I had secured a makeshift barricade, but the next thing I know, they#8217;re swarming in from the windows and knocking down the doors! I can#8217;t wait to try again with the Wii version./p
pbMuramasa/b/p
p/p
pI never heard of iMuramasa: The Demon Blade/i (rated T) before coworkers and friends and Twitter users swamped me with the knowledge. It#8217;s an action role-playing game set in a feudal Japanese era, and it was sold out in Japan within a week of being released. It allows you to use three different control schemes based on your preference, and it offers multiple difficulty levels, different playable characters, RPG elements, unique art and musical scores, ninjas, and swords. /p
pSome complained that the action is repetitive, but I just watched some video of it. It looks very similar to a game I wanted to develop myself, so I definitely want to try it out. And quite frankly, playing the role of a ninja probably can#8217;t get old. Just sayin#8217;. /p
pbPunch-Out!!/b/p
p/p
piPunch-Out!!/i (rated E10+) was considered a great successor in the series, and some of the additions make it a great party game as well. It has a two-player mode, for one thing./p
pIt#8217;s very similar to previous titles in that it#8217;s a boxing puzzle game. Each opponent has a weakness, and you have to figure out how to exploit it while timing your moves. Most of the boxers are featured in previous games, such as Glass Joe and Bald Bull, bringing back fond memories for those of us who played the original game when Mike Tyson was featured. /p
pbTomorrow#8230;/b/p
pAnd so ends the first five highly suggested games on my list. Make sure to come back tomorrow to see the next 5 and the rest of this series. Feel free to use one of the icons below to suggest this series to others, and make sure to leave a comment below to let me know what you think about these choices./p

23 October, 2009 | No comments

Game Producer: Ogg Or Wav?

div class=tweetmeme_buttona href=http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gameproducer.net%2F2009%2F10%2F23%2Fogg-or-wav%2Fimg src=http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gameproducer.net%2F2009%2F10%2F23%2Fogg-or-wav%2F height=61 width=51 //a/divNote: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
pWhy?/p
bIf you liked this entry, feel free to a href=http://www.gameproducer.netvisit GameProducer.net/a to read more similar articles./b

21 October, 2009 | No comments

GBGames: Generating Buzz for Indie Games

pPaul Taylor of Mode 7 Games, creators of iDeterminance/i, wrote an article for Gamasutra called a href=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4117/building_buzz_for_indie_games.phpBuilding Buzz for Indie Games/a which I think ties in and expands upon Christopher M. Park#8217;s a href=http://gbgames.com/blog/2009/10/advice-for-aspiring-indies/advice for aspiring indies/a that I wrote about last week./p
pHe starts by emphasizing marketing, quoting Tim O#8217;Reilly#8217;s message that obscurity is a bigger problem than so-called piracy./p
pMost marketing books and articles will tell you that marketing should start with product creation, that if you created a product before finding out if anyone wants it, you#8217;re going to fail. Taylor and Jeff Tunnell will argue that the nature of the video game industry makes it harder to predict what people will want to play. Who would have thought that iWorld of Goo/i would have been the success it is? /p
pThe bottom line for Taylor: if you are passionate about something, it will be easier to develop, but you#8217;re going to need to find a way to get it in front of people. The more mainstream the product, the easier it is going to be, but the wackier it is, the more work you#8217;ll need to put into marketing. And given that you#8217;re an indie, you#8217;re probably not trying to make something pedestrian or mainstream in the first place. /p
pHe talks about the importance of building your presence early on. All you have is simple concept art or a crazy programming demo? Post them up! SOMEONE is bound to care about them. Look at a href=http://www.dejobaan.com/Dejobaan Games/a for an example. I remember seeing early videos of iAaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity/i before I even knew what it was. a href=http://www.wolfire.com/Wolfire Games/a has a development blog that constantly gets updates with technical details, concept art, videos, and general information about the business of making games. These two indies give their fans a place to rally for them./p
pTaylor wrote a four page article with marketing tips, taking you from concept announcement all the way through to post-release. Read the entire thing, and check out the links at the end of the article for more information./p

19 October, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Grappling Hook

strongPlatform: Download (Mac, Windows) #8212; /strong

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/10/grappling_hook.phpimg alt=Grappling Hook src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_grapplinghook.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
On the list of things that are more useful in video games than they are in the real world, grappling hooks are certainly near the top. Acquiring a grappling hook in the real world is positively thrilling, until you start thinking of ways you can actually (and legally) use it. Fortunately, the aptly-titled Grappling Hook isn’t grounded in reality. The puzzle platformer from SpeedRunGames is filled with 22 levels of quick-thinking grappling goodness that is sure to keep you zooming around for hours.strong Tagged as: /stronga href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/demodemo/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/downloaddownload/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/gamegame/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/indieindie/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/macwinmacwin/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/physicsphysics/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/puzzlepuzzle/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/rating-yrating-y/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/speedrungamesspeedrungames/a

16 October, 2009 | No comments

GBGames: Advice for Aspiring Indies

pBack in August, Christopher M. Park of Arcen Games gave a href=http://christophermpark.blogspot.com/2009/08/advice-for-aspiring-indie-game.htmladvice for aspiring indie game developers/a. /p
pHe has a number of observations after releasing his first game, iA.I. Wars/i, and my favorite part is categorizing what class of indie game you might have your hands on. He separates them into three main groups: Indie Darlings, Undiscovered Gems, and Hobbyist/Nonprofessional./p
pKnowing which category you#8217;re in is important because it allows you to realize what you can do to improve sales and get publicity. It is very important to recognize if your game is part of the last class. If you think you are running a business, but you don#8217;t set your priorities so that you treat your business as one, it will be an uphill battle until you admit that you haven#8217;t been dedicating the time and effort that a business calls for. /p
pAnother set of observations I liked: art is really important, but it#8217;s usually not as important as most people think it is. Releasing a finished game with placeholder art is much better than not, and you can always release an update or a sequel or a completely new game with better quality. /p
pAs a side note, I used to think that graphics were much less important than I think they are now. Thanks to my time spent in the a href=http://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.comGame Design Concepts/a course and in Twitter conversations on the topic with a href=http://twitter.com/krystmanKrystian Majewski/a, I#8217;m now of the mind that the audiovisuals are as much a part of the design of a game as the mechanics. /p
pMajewski said:/p
blockquotepOtherwise, you run into a situation where you have an addictive game with exchangeable, hollow visuals. A growing problem today./p/blockquote
pBottom line: art is really important, but don#8217;t let it be an excuse for not finishing your game./p
pPark#8217;s other big observation echoes what you might hear from any discussion about marketing and sales. Refine your story. Tweak your copy. I love that Park gives multiple examples of emails he has sent out over three months. /p
pThe article has some good nuggets of information, so I would suggest reading it in its entirety. It#8217;s not going to detail a plan for you to follow, but it is always a good educational opportunity to see what someone#8217;s business looks like when it makes contact with the market./p

14 October, 2009 | No comments

Game Producer: The Reason Why I Hate The Game Braid

div class=tweetmeme_buttona href=http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gameproducer.net%2F2009%2F10%2F14%2Fthe-reason-why-i-hate-the-game-braid%2Fimg src=http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gameproducer.net%2F2009%2F10%2F14%2Fthe-reason-why-i-hate-the-game-braid%2F height=61 width=51 //a/divpBefore serving the meat of this topic, here#8217;s a little background#8230;/p
pYou know what happens if you are afraid to promote your game? /p
pYou would be quite screwed, since nobody will promote your game for you. /p
pHere#8217;s one guideline I follow:/p
ul
li#8220;Be darn proud of the stuff you do.#8221;
/li
/ul
pWhen I talk to some indie developers (developers who have far more experience than I do - my company is just an infant at the time of writing this post) and ask about their game I sometimes get shy replies where people wonder #8220;if their game is good enough#8221; or #8220;if others have done better games#8221; or whatever. It#8217;s natural to think that way. After all, developing the game is not that easy thing to do - finishing a game is even harder (I#8217;ve finished 3 games that have generated any revenue, and now doing my 4th one which is a much bigger project). /p
pHere#8217;s how I think about this:/p
pbPieces of shit/bbr /
Games are not #8220;shitty!#8221; even when somebody says so. If somebody comments a game saying #8220;shit#8221; that just means what goes between his ears. Shit. Or shitty thoughts. Or to be more exact: he just doesn#8217;t like your game. /p
pbWhy I hate Braid/bbr /
It would be foolish to assume that everybody would like all games. For example, there#8217;s this game called iBraid/i that#8217;s been praised and said how good it is and all that. I hated every moment playing it. /p
pDoes that mean Braid is a bad game, or that Braid sucks, or that Braid isn#8217;t innovative. Nope - it just means that I don#8217;t like Braid (and that type of games). Simple as that. I can honestly say that I won#8217;t spend any more time playing Braid, but I do have a huge respect for how successful the game has been. It#8217;s sold a lot and everybody is talking about it - so respect. I hate the game, but praise the developer./p
pFor the record: I must say that I simply don#8217;t like platformer games where you jump over things. Even if they have the go-back-in-time-and-do-stuff feature, to me they are still platformer games where you jump over things. It#8217;s not Braid that I really hate. It#8217;s any game that#8217;s platformer game. I just don#8217;t like them./p
pbSo, why I really don#8217;t hate Braid and what people should do/bbr /
People should think using their own brain and not listen to some random blogger. /p
pBut, anyway. So, in reality I don#8217;t hate Braid. I just made that up so that I can get a more controversial blog post headline (that#8217;s a practical marketing tip by the way). In reality, I don#8217;t much care about Braid or platformers, and I think the crucial thing here to realize is:/p
ul
liYour game is not about you
/li
liYour game will be hated by many
/li
liYour game will be disliked by very many
/li
/ul
pBut luckily:/p
ul
liYour game will be liked by some
/li
/ul
pAnd that#8217;s where the Holy Grail is. That#8217;s where we gotta aim. It#8217;s no use to try to get everybody to like your game (or you end up having this massively-multiplayer-singleplayer-cooperative-team-deathmatch-captureflag-roleplaying-strategy-action-racing-hiddenobject-casual game for hardcore gamers). Nobody would care (and you#8217;d run out of budget faster than winter comes in Finland - and believe me, that#8217;s fast). /p
pWhat we can do is to pick our audience#8230; pick the right audience and get those selected members who like our game. Then cater more for that audience./p
pI won#8217;t buy Braid nor any other platformer where you jump, jump, jump, but that doesn#8217;t make those games bad. They just aren#8217;t for me. Maybe they are for somebody else, but not for me./p
p(iNow, go buy that a href=http://braid-game.com/Braid/a - even if I don#8217;t like it, it doesn#8217;t mean that you shouldn#8217;t at least check this game what many other people praise./i)/p
bIf you liked this entry, feel free to a href=http://www.gameproducer.netvisit GameProducer.net/a to read more similar articles./b

12 October, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Mobile Monday

strongPlatform: Mobile (iPhone, iPod Touch) #8212; /strong

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/10/mobile_monday_38.phpimg alt=Mobile Monday src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_mobilemonday.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
Bit of an old-school throwback on this edition of Mobile Monday, showcasing the classic Wolfenstein franchise working in a new genre that’s based on that genre the way it was back when Wolfenstein wasn’t so classic. Did that make sense? Sure it did! Now go play Wolfenstein RPG!strong Tagged as: /stronga href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/blogblog/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/iphoneiphone/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/itunesitunes/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/mobilemobile/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/mobile-mondaymobile-monday/a

9 October, 2009 | No comments

Jay Is Games: Link Dump Friday

a href=http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/10/link_dump_friday_134.phpimg alt=Link Dump Friday src=http://jayisgames.com/images/icon_linkdump.gif align=left width=50 height=50 //a
Greetings from the world of tomorrow! This week, Link Dump Friday takes a totally legitimate and not at all fabricated look at emyour/em future, intrepid reader! It is a future of rampaging mechs, massive explosions, kidnapping goo monsters… holy cow, the future is terrifying! You go ahead and enjoy your deadly future filled with monstrosities, friend. We, uh, we think we’ll stay here. strong Tagged as: /stronga href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/blogblog/a, a href=http://jayisgames.com/tag/linkdumplinkdump/a

« Next entries