Design VS Fun.

I was reading a forum topic about an H game the other day. In the topic, some of the players were complaining about the fact that the main character couldn't run.

The first thing that came to mind was that the player's movement was limited in order to complement the design. After all, there's a big difference between something like Castlevania, where you can't jump over most enemies, and Mario, where you have more freedom of movement but cant take as many hits. Hell, if you could just run and jump over everything in Castlevania like you could in Mario, you'd probably finish the game in a flash, and all it's subtle design considerations would be blown out of the water.

Of course, none of that really matters to a player when the first thing they think is "I want to run". Would they enjoy that H-game more if they could run, even though it would kill the design as intended by the developer?

This got me thinking about design in general, and how what I look for in a game has changed over the years. I used to like games where your character could do, for lack of a better word, "cool" things. Freedom of movement, fast paced combat, acrobatic moves, what I was looking for in a game wasn't sleek design or challenge, I just wanted to do things that seemed cool and fun to me. Anything that wasn't just going around and hitting stuff with a single attack, like Casltevania. As a kid, if you asked me if the original Castlevania would be better if you could run around doing flips in the air, attacking in multiple directions and doing multiple hit combos, I would have thought it would be way better.

Now, however, it's the opposite. Anytime I see something with more linear and refined design, it's like a breath of fresh air. I want every hit to count, I want every part of a level to be there for a reason, I want to have to think before I approach any obstacle. I'd play Castlevania Rondo Of Blood over something like Symphony of the night any day.

Yet, as a game developer I need to keep in mind that it's not all about super refined challenge-based design. Sometimes people just want to do fun stuff. Sure, in Mario you don't need to jump on a bunch of koopas in a row to get a 1-up, but you try anyway because it's fun and satisfying in and of itself. You throw a shell up in the air and then catch it again, hitting 3 enemies out of the air, even though they posed no threat, not because you had to in order to proceed, but because it was just fun.

It seems that achieving the perfect balance between what the player wants to do, and what you want them to do is the real challenge. Balancing the challenges players present themselves with and the obstacles you set before them, and making the means to overcome either fun and satisfying. I've yet to do something like that.

*Thinking out loud concluded*

Same Old Story,

Tell me if this sounds familiar,

You come up with a simple idea. Something that could be easily executed. However, the more you think about and develop it, the more interesting or unique it becomes until finally, you feel as though it's an idea that shouldn't be wasted by a botched attempt. Twists and interesting concepts will only have the greatest impact the first time around, after all, so it's easy to come to the conclusion that you should set such an idea aside and pursue it in the future when you feel you have the skills to do it justice. Even if it means having dozens of concepts locked away that the world may never see.

I guess only time will tell if 10 years down the road this kind of mindset pays off or not. In the meantime though, it's making my job very difficult. Though I suppose an abundance of ideas is better than a lack thereof, so there's that.

Story

Anyhow. Since I've decided to do something simple, focusing on execution rather than complicated gameplay mechanics, my only hurdle is coming up with a story idea that doesn't spiral out of control in it's premise and complexity. Seems to me that it's about finding a balance between story, and self contained events. For instance, consider the following example,

"At the behest of the king, a hero sets out to slay a demon lord who wishes to claim the throne."

As long as the story remains so simple, the actual plot is merely what happens along the way. Perhaps the hero comes across a village of vampires, or is captured by bandits. As a plot it's nothing more than a series of circumstances that the hero must face in order to accomplish her goal at the end. However, when considering such a story I instantly think,

"Perhaps it's revealed that the demon lord is actually that same hero, who has come back in time in order to rebel against the king, having stood by and watched as her homeland was destroyed under his corrupt rule?"

Suddenly, the purpose of the plot changes. Does the hero experience doubt? Does she feel guilty over the actions of her future self? Do her goals change along the way? This becomes the plot's purpose. It's about the development, where everything leads. The end is the outcome of an encompassing story, rather than the accomplishment of a simple goal that has been established and maintained since the beginning.

So the question is, where to strike the balance? Is it about the story as a whole, or individual scenarios tied together by a simple goal? A combination of both? I guess it all depends on how far your willing to take the story, and how important it really is to the game as a whole.

Anyhow, back to work.

...

Edit: And no, I don't need help with the story, or advice on creating one. This is just me thinking out loud. -_o

The Tower of Indecision

Well, it's been a while since my last post, and thus far my thought process has looked something along these lines,

That is, a mess of ideas.

I'm not going to bore you with the details of why I'm having a hard time deciding what it is that I'm going to make. There have been some technical difficulties with Game Maker when it comes to Japanese Fonts, priorities have shifted around a bit, I've realized some things about myself that in the long run will prevent me from...limiting myself in a few ways that I may have. Overall the last month has been a whole lot of thinking, drawing, and making sprites. Also, writing blog posts that don't get posted because they're too long and convoluted.

So, where does that leave me? Well, I've decided what I'm going to make. Though it may disappoint those of you who were expecting something exceptionally unique or different, it's not anything special. My goal is merely execution, and setting a high standard for any games I create in the future.

"....Uhhh, that's vague, so what are you doing exactly?"

You'll see. 

"You haven't actually decided yet, have you."

Pfffft, what? Of course I have. I know...what I'm not going to do, and that's almost the same as knowing, right?

"No, stop procrastinating. We want to see pixels fucking each other. Iris Action is taking too long." 

ALRIGHT FINE, I'm starting tomorrow. Sheesh. I'll have a precise list of everything that's going to be in the game within a week, as well as the initial player sprites. I'll also have some concept art and a run down of what I'm going for in terms of style, tone, etc.

Happy? Good.

Status Update

For those of you who are wondering why I haven't posted an update in a while, I actually did write a few posts. One about piracy and poor commercial software practices, one about the story of my next game, and one about a Castlevania game I played recently and how games have changed over the years. I just didn't publish any of them, because I'm a perfectionist and couldn't put what I wanted to say into words. (I probably only publish 60% of the posts I write, seems like a lot of them just turn into me talking to myself and convincing myself of what to do.)

Oh, and and I went to the hospital to get some symptoms checked out that are often indicative of cancer. I don't have cancer, though, so that's good.

Now, to give you an update on my next game. I'm not going to go into it too much, but I will say that it involves ghosts who possess people and creatures, and a lantern that can capture them, represented by the flame it burns. Make of that what you will, and feel free to guess what the hell the game will be like.

The character design for the player won't be either of the earlier concepts. Originally, I came up with a plot for the knight (something with a different setting and gameplay), but decided that it's not something I want to tackle just yet, for various reasons. I've yet to come up with the final character design.

That aside, I'll be starting the game in the next few days. Not just thinking about what I want to make, or working on the template, but starting to work full time. Break's over. Within a week after starting I'll have everything planned out, in terms of enemies, locations, etc. It's gonna be...a lot of sketching. In between being burnt out from drawing, I'll also be making some music, since it also helps me brainstorm and get a better idea of the tone I want to go for. 

The planned development time for this game will be 4 months from the time I start, unlike Kurovadis, which could have been completed in two months, if I had been doing it full time, like I will be from here on out.

Anyhow, that's it for now.