Discussions with Devs: Magic Pixel Games

The second of episode of Discussions with Devs has arrived!  It can now officially be called a series.  Today, I sit down with Holden Link from Magic Pixel Games.  It was founded back in 2010 by several game industry veterans with a mission for fun.  Holden and I talk about how the studio was founded, their latest game Carnival Island, and developing games for motion control platforms.  Enjoy!

As always, if you have any suggestions for future episodes then comment below or email me at ryanjsuter@gmail.com  And thanks!

Discussions with Devs: Tarver Games

It's done!  Below is the first installment of Discussions with Devs, your guide on the awesome journey through the Indie dev community.  In the show, I talk to Chris Cross from Tarver Games in Long Beach, CA about his current project Cold War 2.0, working in Unity 3D, and his blog (jimtarver.blogspot.com).

Enjoy!

A big thanks to Chris for working with me and being my guinea pig on this project.

This is a shortened version of the interview.  I will post the full version at a later time.

Game Review: Draw Something

Two weeks ago I saw some people playing Draw Something on their iPads.  I downloaded it on my phone and started playing the modern-day Pictionary game for myself.  I've had a lot of fun playing it so I thought I'd write a good review for the world to see.  It's a turn-based social game where players take turns drawing and guessing pictures.  The game revolves around a central mechanic that records your drawing and plays it back to the guesser.  It connects you and your friends through Facebook and is available on iOS and Android platforms.

One of the reasons I really like this game is because it is so accessible to people.  It's really simple, you just pick your prompt then draw your picture.  The game gives you three prompts, an easy, medium, and hard word.  After you pick your prompt you can draw whatever you want to get your point across.  This opens the doors for boundless creativity.  I like seeing the creative side of my friends and family.  I'm not playing with any da Vincis or van Goghs, but it's fun to see everyone's artistic ability no matter what the level.  Though today, I had really hard time figuring out a drawing of what was allegedly a bed.  The best part about playing with friends is using inside jokes in the pictures.  Playing a Twilight drinking game a few weeks ago turned out to be great material for one of my proudest masterpieces.

But the game isn't without it's problems.  The biggest let down is the small amount of words to choose from.  I've had words repeated against the same people in less then ten moves.  One time my friend drew an Ewok and the next turn the hard prompt I got was also Ewok.  I understand that the game makers want people to buy the full version to get more words, but I thought that was just a little ridiculous.  However, this is just a small complaint against an otherwise very fun game.

All in all, I would recommend this game to anyone who has a compatible device.  It's free, it's fun, and any can play it.  So what are you waiting for? Go Draw Something!**


**(I'm more than slightly ashamed for that, but I couldn't help myself.)

Discussions with Devs: The Plan So Far

For a while now, I've been tossing around the idea of doing Skype interviews with Indie game developers.  I've mentioned it to a few people and they all seemed to like the concept.  If you're interested, here are some details about the project:

• The title of the project is called "Discussions with Devs"
• They segments would be 5-10 min video Skype interviews
• We would talk about the studios, what inspires them, how they got into it, and their latest game of course
• The objective is to have fans get to know the developers behind their favorite games, get the developers some free publicity, and offer insight into the Indie community and the future of gaming
• My girlfriend, Lauren McLaren, wrote the theme music

Here is the title intro for the upcoming segment:

  A few weeks ago, I discussed it with Richard Williams, a former coworker of mine from THQ, and he was nice enough to put me in contact with a guy named Chris Wright.  Chris, is starting up a business in Melbourne, Australia called Surprise Attack that does PR and marketing for Indie devs, so he seemed like the perfect person to talk to about my idea.  Yesterday, I chatted with him via Skype and got some very good pointers on working with Indie developers and where to start searching for good studios.  After my talk with Chris, I finally feel prepared to start sending out feelers to potential interviewees.  However, the whole gaming industry is on hold right now due to GDC, so even though I've already heard back from some people they won't have an answer till next week.  But that's OK, cause I still have some issues to iron out.

There are some websites that are doing similar work, including toucharcade.com.  That website follows all the different games and trends in the world of mobile developers.  They even do a weekly podcast that I've been listening to.

All-in-all I'm really excited for this project.  If you have any suggestions for my show, or ideas for potential interviews, post a comment below or email me at ryanjsuter@gmail.com. And thanks!

League of Legend's Black Eye

(IF YOU ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH LEAGUE OF LEGENDS, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO READ THE ABSTRACT THAT I WROTE ABOUT IT.)

Have you ever gone to a sporting event with really rude fans?  You’re there to have fun, but that drunk guy three rows back is hell-bent on ruining the experience.  This is League of Legend’s black-eye: their community of players.  I want to make it clear that I love playing League of Legends (LoL) with my friends online.  Unfortunately, some of the reasons why I love the game are also the inadvertent causes of its major flaw.  There are no natural filters (i.e. low skilled people are not deterred from trying the game because it is free).  And emotions are elevated because of the high level of competition.  This often leads to teammates fighting over game chat, blaming others, and over all rude behavior.  The developer, Riot Games, continues its campaign to improve its community (The Summoner's Code and The Tribunal), but it remains an often immature and hostile environment.

League of Legends debuted in 2009 and is based on a free-to-play model so that anyone can get on and try it out.  If you really like LoL and want to support Riot Games, you can throw as much money into it as you want, and if not then no big deal.  I love this because it’s a win-win for the developer and gamers.  However, no cost barrier means there is nothing to deter casual gamers.  Now, this is not a bad thing by any means, because people should be encouraged to try new things.  But, casual gamers will have a hard time with the learning curve, unless he or she is naturally skilled or has friends that are willing to teach the ins and outs.

Learning the ins and outs is crucial in League of Legends as it is also a fiercely competitive game.  It has a tutorial, as well as options for AI opponents, but sooner or later you’re going to want to play with other people.  The only way to get good at playing real people is by teamwork and a willingness to learn.  This is where the community starts to break down.  When most players start losing, they just give up the fight and harass the weak player instead of trying to explain what that person did wrong.

I really like the game and I’m sure I’ll blog about it in the future.  However, dealing with the community has a huge psychological toll.  So if you feel like I do, make sure you try and teach others when they fail.  Also make sure to report players with bad behavior as that is the only way to kill a troll.

BTW, if you'd like to join me and my friends my tag is rstrojan.

League of Legends Abstract

Tomorrow, I'm going to be talking about why I like, and dislike, League of Legends. If you are unfamiliar with LoL (or video games in general) then here is an abstract that I wrote that explains it. If you'd like to watch some gameplay you could go to YouTube or just watch it stream live on CLGgaming.net. Here is the official LoL website.

League of Legends

An abstract review by Ryan Suter

League of Legends is a team-based action-strategy game from the growing “multiplayer online battle arena” genre (MOBA). MOBA games are exclusively played online. Characteristically they release with a small number of heavily tested and well-balanced maps. Traditional story elements, including back story, world story/context, map descriptions, character bios and lore, are expressed in-game as well as on the web. MOBA games are designed around competitive matches that have high replay value.

The main objective in League of Legends (LoL) is to destroy the enemy Nexus by breaking through the enemies’ defenses. Two teams of five players control unique hero units called Champions. Players must use skill, strategy, and map elements in order to gain an advantage in an otherwise equal playing field.

LoL is set up with two bases in opposing corners that are connected by three lanes. Two layers of defenses protect the lanes.

· These defenses are balanced to provide a level playing ground for each team.

· Stationary towers are the first layer of defense. They prevent the Champions from walking straight into the enemy base.

· Endless waves of AI controlled robots (minions) are the second defense. They are designed to protect their lanes and towers. Champions kill the minions and towers in order to gain experience and gold.

Champions are fundamentally balanced, however over the course of the game they differentiate themselves with their items and abilities.

· Experience is used to upgrade abilities.

· Each ability for every Champion is unique in some way.

· Gold is used to purchase items that can give bonus statistics or abilities.

· Items can compliment a player’s Champion or counter an enemy.

Players need to use strategy and teamwork to win games. When picking teams, players need to choose Champions that will compliment their teammates.

· Well-rounded teams are harder to counter.

· It is important to communicate with teammates in order to know when to engage or retreat during a team fight.

· Winning or losing team fights can dictate the victor, as it gives the winning team an advantage.