Memo to Game

Wonderputt - 'Crazy Golf Just Got Crazier'

I have always had a preference for crazy golf, or adventure golf as Wonderputt insists on calling it. It is the Alice in Wonderland of otherwise conservative golf. It is the deliberate room for imagination. It is the place where anything goes and little is required.

Oh, sure, it's still golf. You get a ball. You use the mouse instead of a would be golf club. You point, you aim, you determine your strength and you hope for the best. Sometimes you get a hole in one. Other times you will be hopelessly hitting the ball over and over only to have the ball, on more than one occassion, end up the way it came.

Yes, like most golfing games, if not all of them, Wonderputt has its players stood between a ratio of dumb luck and sheer bouts of frustration. Thankfully, its creators were aware about the latter which is probably why the game forever throws at you colourful, polished visuals and a looping track fit for meditation.

The visuals, though undeniably beautiful, will perhaps not be appreciated by those who cannot focus on golf balls the size of gnats on their computer screen. Even for those who can focus on such golfballs will perhaps be in agreement that Wonderputt is in bad need of a zoom function. Imagine if you were playing Super Mario Bros. and were forced to play each level from the same view as the map screen.

Otherwise, Wonderputt is a joy to play. A multiplayer option would have been beneficial - particularly online. As a single player game, Wonderputt will fill your crazy golf fixation every now and then. You'll probably want to return to it, not just to top your score, but also to appreciate the game's overall presentation as well. So soothing, so calming... when it isn't busy being frustrating.

PLAY IT! [link]

The Binding of Isaac: Flash in Fullscreen

Those who clocked The Humble Voxatron Debut a couple of days ago may have witnessed a new condition to the purchasing arrangements. It turned out those who purchased above the average selling price (about $3.70 at the time) would not only receive Voxatron but also a further two titles and popular titles at that: The Binding of Isaac and Blocks that Matter.

Personally, I am overjoyed they are offering The Binding of Isaac into the fold as I really enjoyed playing (and replaying) the demo. However, one major selling point in the full version, which I suspect would be generally regarded as a minor one, is the use of a fullscreen option.

Playing The Binding of Isaac on Newgrounds was all well and good but you couldn't help but be restricted by the fight mass that went between the playing screen and... well, everything else that made up the web page.

You see, a fullscreen option, to me, is a big thing for flash games. And as much as we might like to say The Binding of Isaac is anything but flash, that its 'indie' or 'successful' or 'fucking epic and you better not be comparing it with the likes of someone's first attempt at flash', Isaac is, fundamentally, a flash game whether we like it or not.

I think we should like it. Flash games are nothing to be ashamed of. Flash has been proven as a useful tool for making computer games including those that are indie and successful. Yet here are the web pages themselves with their masses of text and imagery which appear to convey something of an embarrassment for flash games. Where is the fullscreen option when you need it?

When I played a game called Cat Astro Phi, I so badly wanted it to be fullscreen. I wanted to be immersed in its sci fi enviroment. I wanted to be able to focus on things without squinting so hard that it got me wondering if I'd need to visit Specsavers after a detour to A+E.

This isn't just about one's game playing experience or level of accessibility. This is about status. Flash games deserve respect. Flash game creators deserve to respect themselves. Hosting sites ought to help with the ability to create a fullscreen option. Gamers need to combat the notion that they're whoring themselves over second rate rubbish.

This is about quality gaming. This is about flash in full. You know we deserve better, we all do. With games like The Binding of Isaac, we're getting there, just about. Really though, what we're in need of is something of a revolution. Flash games need to go fullscreen, full scale, right now.

Voxatron: First Impressions on Adventure Mode and The Minecraft Effect

Voxatron is Minecraft for adventure nerds. It is for the kind of player who destroys rather than builds. In my previous Voxatron related entry, I described the game as being an action shooter. Now that I've played the game for reals, I can now confirm this is a fair assumption. There has been action. There has been pixel blood flying all over the place. There has been shooting. There has been shooting of  different kinds.

In fact, let's talk about the shooting, which isn't entirely restricted to shooting (there is some sword swinging involved at momentous occassions), but it is almost that. You can collect a 'Build' weapon. The 'Build' weapon fires square shapes which, if they hit the surface, will solidify into a useable platform. The 'Build' weapon is your ticket to reaching higher platforms, often where a select number of goodies are stored.

Then comes the actual building of levels, perhaps one could describe as building Minecraft style, though this is done separately, in an editor available from the main menu. Obviously, an editor can never be anywhere near as user friendly as the game itself, though the 'build it up/tear it down' thesis applies to both, it is in the editor where such builders will reign supreme.

I am making some concrete comparisons between Voxatron and Minecraft, perhaps too concrete for some, but I think it is important to observe, and to articulate, that which is inspired and that which gives inspiration. Voxatron, in my opinion, is inspired by Minecraft. Voxatron is riding, what I like to call, the wave that is 'The Minecraft Effect', not through the games themselves, but by how they're being developed and perhaps even how they're being promoted.

Voxatron is not a straight carbon copy of Minecraft - oh, not at all! Voxatron has brought with it its own surfboard for the aforementioned wave and with it some bells and whistles. That the developers of Voxatron have roped charities into its debut is novel, at least to me. Although it is important to note indie games are perhaps better not to follow the same path and treat it as singular, it is a path that has been lit, so far, by two great titles.

And now, a quick summary of Voxatron on Adventure Mode: Looks good, sounds OK, bit quiet at times, plays well though, lots of weapons, lots of enemies, really annoying iddy biddy enemies that seem to love killing me when in big swarms, creative power ups, enemies in the later dungeon rooms with interesting attack patterns, difficulty challenging, restarted quite a bit. Oh, and that bit with the snail.

A Game For Two Players!?! 'Roadeo'

I will never understand games that require two players, probably because there aren't two of me.

Anyway, should you be lucky enough to have you and another person nearby, you each may play one half of this multiplayer driving game, called Roadeo.

I say this is a driving game. It's actually one half driving and one half construction. I say this is construction when I mean this is road building as if you were rolling out a piece of everlasting carpet.

There are two modes, Versus and Co-op. Versus is apt to cause some arguments. For instance, the road builder may, layout permitting, create as many turns as they wish. For the driver, this might seem like they're receiving driving lessons from an embittered mage. Still, it's not all rosey for the road builder, for they are five times wider than the car and therefore must consider the path ahead, littered with pylons, bridge stands, buildings and so on.

Admittedly, I didn't have a friend to play this with. I didn't even have an enemy, or a frenemy, for that matter. I've got a cat, but as of playing, she was too tired at the time.

As a result, I attempted to play Roadeo all by myself. Anyone attempting to do the same is recommended to play Co-op. It is possible to designate one hand for the road and the other for the car, though playing this way isn't easy. To get the most out of Roadeo, I think you need to be a cross between a pianist and a pilot and have a fascination for cars and road construction. Or, you know, have a friend nearby, in your, you know, actual real life.

It's not as if Roadeo's asking for much...

PLAY IT! [link]

The Humble Voxatron Debut

The likes of Rock, Paper, Shotgun and The Indie Games Weblog seemed to have caught wind of a project that has taken off like a rocket - and it's not even bonfire night yet!

The Humble Voxatron Debut offers Voxatron, an action shooter with free updates and its own level editor, for any price you like. In addition to choosing the price, you can then go on to split the total and decide how much goes to the developers and how much goes to their selected charities, including Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child's Play.

As of writing, the project has generated over 60,000 purchases and an income of over $220,000. However, my favourite detail sits at the top of the project's 'Top Contributors' list where a certain @Notch has provided a total of $2,000...

This is some debut, that's for sure.

This offer won't last forever, though (less than two weeks, as of writing). Watch the above video. If Voxatron appears to be your bag, then you can purchase it and contribute to its selected charities here.

Unlock

Unlock is a competition entry in which the central theme was escape, or perhaps, the lack of it. In Unlock, you play as the omniscient assistance to a pixelated humanoid whose sole intention is to, you’ve guessed it, escape the world in which he finds himself in. In this case, the world of Unlock is one made up of a twin set of multicoloured blocks, some of which can be controlled by the player, some of which can’t.

 

Each level has the humanoid stand at the near left. Your objective is to get him to reach the far right. Although the humanoid is in much need of escape, you will receive no help from him other than when he is commanded to move right as if he were a depressed, perhaps drunk version of Sonic. The humanoid can be stopped with the help of a well placed block, but if he becomes trapped or falls from the screen, you must start again.

 

Difficulty wise, Unlock is a smooth, forgiving ride. There are no limited lives for which you must tackle through its ten or so levels. Also, the difficulty curve is steady, although I must say, in terms of puzzle solving, things seem to run out of steam towards the end, requiring repetition more so than the solving of a riddle.

 

Unlock’s presentation will win you over thanks to its ability to show and not tell. With its static mist, use of colour and music which loops discordant, ambient beats which, while not a million miles away from a ZX Spectrum, do manage to set the tone and even affects the mood of the gameplay. This is one game which shows you do not have to pile on the monochrome in order to create an emotional setting.

 

Don’t get me wrong, Unlock won’t have you crying into your hanky or feel anything special toward its main character who remains anonymous from beginning to end. Still, we do experience something unique, I think, when we’re not feeling moments of frustration. Sure, some levels will have you mash the restart button as if it were part of an unresponsive lift, but this may be part and parcel of the eventual puzzle solving satisfaction one feels when they, you've guessed it, escape.

 

 

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Rank S or Soiled Underwear? Featuring 'Hide' the Game

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Installing, Playing and Making Initial Comments on the full version of Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Also includes an Amnesia Top 5 List of Impressive Things or Things That Impress Me, Anyway...)

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Phase 2.0 Has Begun!

It's official. Memo to Game has begun Phase 2.0!

 

Want to know what its about? You can read the mission statement here.