26 Jul 2011
In late 2006 (yes, this story starts five years ago) Microsoft released the first version of XNA, a development platform for writing games on the PC and Xbox. It put all the nitty-gritty details that generally plague game development behind a modern type-safe programming language (C#). It let developers focus on the more interesting aspects of game design. As someone who has dabbled in game development in the past, this simplified platform sounded like a great way for me to get back into it.
I wanted a project that fit me and my personal strengths, so I decided on a 2D game where I could provide the art with old fashioned pen and paper. This would accomplish two things: it would give me an excuse to reconnect with the visual arts, and it would produce a different visual style from most of the other stuff out there. I imagined a sketchy hand-drawn style, like doodles in a notebook come to life. Of course I wasn’t the only one to have this idea, and in fact many games have come out in the years since with this style. Many have fallen short because they fail to embrace the look completely, while others have pulled it off brilliantly (like the enjoyable Parachute Panic). But from my perspective at the time, it wasn’t a look that had been done.
In grade school I used to draw stick figures doing terrible awful violent things to each other. It’s one of those things little boys do to vent their natural homicidal tendencies (medical term: testosterone), similar to throwing rocks and blowing stuff up with firecrackers. The thing that somehow makes this sort of thing vaguely less disturbing is that… well, they’re stick figures. It’s cartoon violence at its most cartoon state. I’m not going to get into a discussion about violence in media right now - I’m just presenting this a data point.
The trick with violence is that you need a morally justifiable sponge to soak it up so that the audience doesn’t feel morally queasy. Very few realistic targets hold up to that job, so we’ve invented all sorts of other options to fill out the ranks. In particular, zombies are somewhat of a violence loophole. They’re almost indistinguishable from their living counterparts, yet for some reason we heartily approve of them meeting their (second) end via a chainsaw. I think it’s the outnumbered survivalist viewpoint that allows us to use a certain “vigor” in our zombie eradication methods. It’s not as simple as the “its your or me!” factor; it’s the “its you or… oh god where did you all come from… must… escape… aaaaarrrrrgh!” factor.
Where am I going with this? Well, when it comes to video games, violence is a common crutch because our brain easily understands “death == losing”. And when it comes to violence, zombies are a generally agreeable adversary. So when I decided to make a game, I decided to make a zombie game. It’s also possible that its just because I had recently rolled off of playing Dead Rising. In going back to unravel the timeline I remembered that I’d actually already posted about the topic of zombie gaming here in 2007. That post was actually a product of me thinking about what sort of game I wanted to make. And that exercise led me down the path of discovering modern designer board games. Which it turns out has turned into quite a hobby for me.
Well, despite the crazy cascade of events that this project kicked off, you’ll notice I never released a game during all those years. In 2008 a version of XNA was released that supported the Zune device. At the time I worked on the Zune team at Microsoft, and developing for our little music player seemed like a fun goal. So I took what I had built before and adapted it for the small screen. I got it pretty far along, but in the end I lost steam because there frankly wasn’t any market to release it to. It was fun as a toy for myself, but it would never be more than that.
A couple years later XNA added its fourth platform: Windows Phone. In the years that had passed, the iPhone had become a great market for indie game developers. And I had software that could run on a phone, more or less ready to go. So I got it up and running as soon as the developer tools were available. But I never quite pushed it out the door and on to the marketplace. Why? Well, full disclosure, I worked on Windows Phone. And I was too busy busting my butt on that product to have any free cycles to work on some programming side project. I code for a living; it’s rare for me to get the capacity for additional coding.
It took me another year to find the time and finish the project. I decided to rework the art style, switch to a female protagonist, streamline the touch controls, build the features you expect of a phone game (e.g. save/resume), and of course polish it all as much as possible. The end product is something that I’m proud of, but it isn’t anywhere near as grand as the ideas that initially got me started. It’s a simple little action game. That’s it. I think it’s a good little action game, and I haven’t played anything quite like it on Windows Phone, but it is a little bit of style over substance. I’m okay with that. This is my first ever release as an independent developer. Now that the hard part is out of the way I can hopefully tinker more and work one some of those deeper ideas.
MustEatBrains is now available for download for Windows Phone here.
19 Jul 2011
Mostly on this blog I’ve posted about consumptive experiences. Video games, board games, movies, music… in short, “media.” I experience media, in whatever form, and then sometimes I post thoughts about it here. However I do feel like part of life is adding to the conversation, not just being a consumer. Writing is one form of contributing (given the sort of writing I’m doing is derivative, not purely creative, but it’s something). However there is a key way that I’ve been working on contributing over the past couple years that I haven’t mentioned here at all.
I’ve always had some aptitude for committing visuals to the page. But art is one of those things where in our youth we’re all equals and over time the skill level spreads out dramatically. Through school I drifted in that awkward middle space: expressive enough to be considered artistic by normal people, but not nearly good enough to actually be an artist. That’s it there, isn’t it? Artistic vs. artist. Or maybe more appropriately: “artist-ish.”
As I continued taking classes in school it both became clear that I had some knack for this, but also that I lacked the skill and inspiration to really do anything meaningful with it. Skill is something you can work on, and the inability to understand the incremental improvements is something that most people see as a brick wall when it comes to art. Inspiration is something else entirely, in that it’s difficult to manufacture. The short of this story is that I let art slip out of my life, much like I did for music. And while I know that for a variety of reasons that I’m not cut out to be an artist, there is a great need in my life for creation and art is a fantastic way to satisfy that need.
So it is that about two years ago I did something about it. With the help of a dear friend, I left my comfort zone of pencil and paper and picked up a paint brush.
I started with watercolors. And I think this piece here is the first I was happy with. Yes, it’s Metroid fan art. Remember what I said about inspiration being a problem? Sometimes you need to borrow a spark.
Before too long I worked my way into acrylics. I started on canvas paper, not wasting real canvas on my initial fumbling. This piece here is one that I like. Bats are adorable.
The next step in confidence was canvas board. Still not real canvas, but a larger vote of confidence. This one of a kraken attack is one that I like.
Painting is meditative; working with physical colors is a wonderful (if unforgiving) experience. I also sit in front of a computer all day, so I wanted to keep my distance from digital painting. But it has a place, especially as a means of experimentation. This piece here is one of the digital paintings I’ve done.
I’m now at the point now where I feel like I can use real canvas and not be wasting it. This guy here is a return to the subject matter of that original watercolor. I like him for many reasons, but not least of them is how much growth the piece shows.
Waste a canvas? Ha! How about eight? This project is a series of paintings, which I’ve failed to adequately photograph together. I’m very happy with them. The next step is to figure out how I’m going to hang them, because I’m now willing to hang my own art in my own home. Progress.
With all this exploration in color and texture I felt like I earned the right to return to the cold hard world of pen and pencil. I just completed a rather ambitious project in that space which you’ll be hearing about here very soon.
That’s been my journey so far. I will try to comment on it more here as I feel is appropriate, but if you really want to track what I’m up to the best way is via my DeviantArt page. You can get a feed on that, and I’ve also added that as a gallery widget to this blog on the right.
17 May 2011
Continuing our pictorial journey through Middle-Earth…
We left off our journey arriving at the town of Bree. Here you can see it at nighttime.
More ruins from ages past.
Ah, the swamp with the neeker-breekers. Which of course in the game are not just an audio component, but big bugs that you have to squash.
More swamp. I took a ton of shots of the swamp because I found it so oddly beautiful. The low sun hitting the haze, with all the ruins poking out of the muck… not exactly inviting, but not exactly an eyesore either.
We’ve worked our way out of the swamp and into the Lone Lands. Here you can see Weathertop, also known as the ruined tower of Amon Sûl. In the game you can play out a nighttime defense against a ringwraith raid.
South of Weathertop there’s this rundown inn along the main road (which of course Strider avoided as much as possible).
Some ruins in the Lone Lands. In the background is the fort of Ost Guruth, which isn’t covered in the fiction at all but does serve as an important quest hub for players in the game.
We’ve worked our way out of the rather desolate Lone Lands and into the area known as the Trollshaws. On account of, well, the trolls. But when it’s not pouring rain and you’re not getting bagged by a wandering troll it can be quite lovely.
Speaking of trolls, here are a few famous ones. Bert, Tom, and William can be found as the stone statues that Bilbo and company left them in.
Here’s a river going through part of the Trollshaws. Not the river, mind you (by which I mean the Bruinen, the river that Elrond used against the Nazgûl).
South of the main road and the great river’s ford it all empties into a little lake.
We’ve crossed the river, climbed up and down, and have now descended into the valley of the elves: Rivendell.
Some of the nice architecture of Rivendell.
Here we’ve stepped inside the Last Homely House: Elrond’s home. Apparently he doesn’t live humbly.
At least Elrond knows how to entertain. In his decadent dining hall you can find old Bilbo, happy to play the riddle game with anyone who’s willing to chat with him. Nothing like a creepy old hobbit walking around asking you what’s in his pocket.
29 Apr 2011
In the book High Fidelity (and the movie too, for that matter), the main character is obsessed with making “Top 5” lists and categorizing his music collection. There’s a moment where he decides to organize his records autobiographically - the order in which he experienced them. I’ve always been intrigued by that idea: trying to express one’s journey in life through the music that accompanied it. So I’m going to do just that, except instead of sorting stacks of records I’ll be producing a playlist.
Unlike the character in the book I have no intention of organizing every single piece of music I own in such a matter. Really I just want to capture the inflection points. The problem is that as soon as you introduce choice into this exercise it becomes an entirely different activity. In defining the timeline of my life, what music was most important?
Do I choose songs that represent the evolution of my taste in music? Or do I choose songs that are steeped in personal memory? Sometimes hearing a song can take me to a time, or to a specific feeling. Some songs are tied so tightly to poignant memories that hearing them transports me to an exact moment. Clearly a musical timeline of my life has to include these songs. They may not represent me musically, but they do represent my human experience.
As I’ve tried to put this list together it’s become clear that I can’t just do one or the other. A progression through my music tastes alone is soulless; a trip through the highlights of emotional moments lacks context. There needs to be an intentional blend in order to achieve a sensible storyline. It’s a tricky task, and one I’ve been working on for months now.
I’ve finished reconstructing my timeline, and now it’s down to the logistics of writing, linking, and presenting this to the vast anonymity of the internet. Let this post serve as an introduction to the project. The next time you hear about it we’ll jump right into the early years of my exposure to music. Everything from Bob Marley to Michael Jackson to even New Kids on the Block. You heard me, I’m baring it all.
25 Apr 2011
I’m generally not a fan of landscape photography. Maybe it’s because the subject matter is infinitely patient. In general the photo will have everything in focus, and whatever is being captured has been there longer than you or I. There’s no immediacy to it. Sure, mountains and trees and waterfalls are pretty, but I just don’t know what a landscape photo is telling me other than “doesn’t wherever you are now suck in comparison?”
While writing my series on Lord of the Rings Online I decided I wanted screenshots to go with it, and that for some reason it was important that they be personally taken screenshots instead of stock images from whatever the internet had to offer. As I went about I decided I really enjoyed the hunt. No longer was I just some hero in Middle Earth; now I was some hero with a camera.
Once I started I just couldn’t stop, and I quickly gathered far more photos than I needed for my article. So I’ve decided to post them here as a visual journey through Turbine’s rendering of Middle Earth. I feel like I was a little harsh on them, because truth be told there are many beautiful scenic areas in the game. Anyway, here you’ll find no rants about game mechanics, just pretty pictures and some light captions. Enjoy.
It seemed natural for these photos to follow the hobbit journey from Hobbiton to Rivendell. Here we have Bag End in all its cozy glory. And excellent place to host a dozen dwarves.
A cute little hobbit hole cut out of the hillside. I’m thinking maybe this whole rectangular door things is overrated.
Frodo was found of hikes into the woods around the Shire. I imagine this forest path might have been one of his favorites.
Hobbits are none to comfortable around the water, but they have on big beautiful river running through the Shire. In classic hobbit fashion this river is named “The Water”.
They’ve gotta get over that river somewhere, and here’s one of the crossings at nighttime with a Bounder keeping watch. He probably doesn’t see much action, and more than likely is drunk on the job.
It’s daytime in this shot, but this is the Buckleberry Ferry where the hobbits escaped the black riders into Buckland.
I know they were trying to shake those scary black riders, but I don’t think going through the Old Forest was the brightest idea. It is not a happy place.
Here we have Old Man Willow, luring all passersby into a blissful slumber.
We’ve emerge from the Old Forest into the Barrow Downs. Cairns and tombs, oh my! You can’t take two steps without stumbling over reanimated bag of bones. This is where players will likely experience their first dungeon instance.
North of the forest are beautiful fields that would have provided a much more enjoyable path. But I guess the big open is just begging for a Ringwraith to swoop through and gobble you up.
All throughout the land of Middle Earth are ruins of ages past, such as this one.
And here we see the town of Bree, looking perfectly pleasant in the day light. For low level characters this is their main hub for banking and auctions. I guess it’s a more friendly place if you’re not trucking around the One Ring of Power.