Happy new year everyone and thank you for playing my games in 2009! =)

What will the new year bring? For one thing it will bring many new exciting games that I’m going to develop! This is going to be my best year yet.

In previous posts I’ve spoken about how I want to develop smaller games and release something more often. Lately I’ve also been thinking about how I want to make more artistic / mature games, and reach wider audiences.

Not much has come of these ideas yet! I haven’t released anything since Focus even though I thought I would. I have been working on a few small projects regarding “expression through gameplay” but they haven’t been able to excite me too much. I’ve noticed that the amount of fun I have developing a game is very much comparable to the amount of fun it will be to play, and forcing myself to make “expressive” games isn’t really working.

What kind of games do I want to make? What kind of developer do I want to be? It’s becoming more clear now, and I will fully investigate these themes this year during my final, personal school project. It’s going to be exactly what I want and I will be able to focus purely on my work.

What to expect in the near future?

I’m working on a very interesting Flash platformer game with a fellow developer, which should come out this month. I’ve also recently started a new game in Game Maker (8) which is already showing potential to be one of my best games. I can’t wait to finish those!

Except it’s maybe to quick to be looking back, oh well.

Focus is doing pretty good so far! There’s not a lot of coverage for it, but the reactions are very positive. I’m also very glad that many people could enjoy it (a “Thank You!” for all the comments on the previous post!). It’s also featured in the latest Bytejacker (ep 064) and you can vote for it as “free indie of the week”!

I think Focused is a polished, challenging game for those who like that, and explores a new gimmick but isn’t innovative beyond the existing frameworks. I like to compare it to Torque (a game I made a year ago), a polished, challenging take on the Geometry Wars-kind of games. Just like Torque Focus isn’t getting as much coverage as I hoped. I think this is because these games have a steep difficulty curve, and it takes a while before you get to the good stuff (or before you’re good enough to be able to truly enjoy what the game’s about). It seems like simple innovative ideas work better.

Of course it’s not a bad thing; a more difficult, hard core experience; something that particularly works for a smaller part of the audience. It’s just that as a creator, I want my work to be enjoyed by as large an audience as possible.

For this reason I feel I need to return to making simpler, more innovative games. Games that worked very well for me in the past:

1. Karoshi series
2. Deaths
3. Execution
4. You Probably Won’t Make It

I’m trying to figure out what it is that makes a game do well, and I’m getting a better understanding of it. Each of these games has a clear gimmick that feels new/original, and (AFAIK) hasn’t been done before. (Perhaps Focus’s gimmick hasn’t been done before, but it’s closer to existing ideas; in the end any idea is a combination of existing ones, it’s just that the further you’ve moved away from them, or the less you can trace back the existing ideas, the more original it is).

I believe some of the ideas (in the games listed above) also work on a different social or psychological level.

…I’m still in the midst of thinking, working out my theories (”theories”), thinking about what I’m gonna do, and what I want to do. I’m excited about what’s going to come (because I don’t know, but I have vague ideas). I hope it will be interesting for you as well. Because that’s my goal.

Oh, and a last note on Focus, here’s a nice comparison picture a friend of mine made:

Coincidence?

(screenshots don’t do it justice. gotta see it in motion)

It’s done! Download here

Over 50 stages, unlockables, enchanting music, and above all very solid, difficult-but-let’s-try-one-more-time gameplay.

Please enjoy.

Update: Please note, on some keyboards using Space in combination with 2 arrow keys causes problems (not all 3 keys will be registered). If so you can change the Focus key to CTRL on the start-up screen.

Focus
Over 50 stages, lots of enemies, puzzles, addictive action-packed platformer.
Please check the video below. (Make sure you watch in HQ!)

Coming November 17th!

Focus is a 2D platformer game with a teleporting mechanic called “Focus Mode”. You’ll be fighting your way to freedom through a world consisting of mysterious caves filled with rather unfriendly flying robot enemies. Inside your “Focus Field” everything will move in slow motion so you can easily dodge missiles and other things you don’t want to touch.

Definitely a case of “hard to master”. : )

Wow. I’m busy. The last year of my study. It’s fun, working on just one project with a small team, being able to completely focus on just that. Fun but very busy. I also do Japanese each and every day, often simultaneously together with school work or personal projects. There’s less time to make mah gamez.

My new game is expected to come out next weekend early next week. In keeping up with the tradition, it’s

1. A 2D platformer, with
2. Some gimmick

It’s very difficult, but addictive. “Just one more go” is the feeling I want to create. For this game I’m collaborating again with Jake Almond, who does the sound design and music. It’s great for people who are into it. (”indie gamers”, or something?).

After this game, I want to make shorter games. Simple concepts based around 1 idea. Not huge games with >25 stages. It’ll be interesting. It’s difficult to make short games you know, things grow big easy and ideas aplenty. Not this time!

Ugh. It takes long to finish things up. For me, when the game “is about done” I’m usually at 50% in terms of time investment. I’m not really a perfectionist either, making games just isn’t easy. Keeping it small is a real skill, and it’s necessary if you want to make many games. And if you want to be good you need to make many games.

I’ve been thinking about how I design games. I don’t really have “a way” and most is based on “intuition”. Maybe it’s trial-and-error. I’ve just tried so many things that I start to get a good idea of what works (especially in terms of the kind of games I make). Each project is a learning process. I notice many hobbyists work on one big game for a long time (and often never finish). It’s bad. From releasing many things and learning from other people’s feedback and opinions, you’ll get better each time. Another thing is that, especially with video games, it’s hard to predict how someone else will play it. By trying again and again, letting people play again and again, you’ll get better at predicting this. You can’t expect your work to be great on your first try.

Was this interesting? I didn’t think so. Oh well.

Back from Japan that is!
I had an amazing time, learned many things, made many friends. A bit sad to be back

Back. Back to work! I’m working on a new game in Game Maker at the moment. Although it’s a reworking of an older concept I’ll implement a couple new ideas.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about different kinds of games, how we can create different experiences for the player. Games not just about “fun” but also other emotions. I’d like to make something experimental again, sometime.

But don’t worry, what I’m working on now is full of pure, awesome gameplay. I hope to be back with something great. First, I want to make this more “traditional” game since I need to get back into game-making a bit. Let’s see whether I’ve still got it
After this is done, who knows. I might go back to Flash or even try making my own iPhone game. Either way I’m searching a bit for the next great idea similar to “Karoshi”. Something really simple yet creative.

Ah, the mysterious iPhone game I worked on probably comes out next month. Getting the approval etcetera seems to take more time. Unfortunately I have nothing to show yet.

Hope to have something, anything, new sometime soon

Hello readers,

if you haven’t left my blog yet!! :’(

I apologize for not updating much! Writing about myself isn’t really my thing. But here’s a little update.

I’m still very much enjoying studying in Japan; unfortunately in a few weeks it will come to an end. From now on I’ll be even more busy!!

Japanese

My Japanese is improving as usual. Currently I’m reading a book on Game Design, (and not just a translated book, it’s by a Japanese game designer). It’s interesting and thus fun to read. It’s about something I know and like (love?) and as such easier to follow. Plus, I’m learning 2 things at once.

I really notice that when I’m reading about games or game design it’s easier than other subjects, and this is because I’ve read a lot on this subject. Similarly, recently I’ve been reading through Death Note manga’s; and after a few volumes it was getting easier since the the same words kept being used. Manga (Japanese comics) are also a great (fun!) way to learn Japanese.

Fun

I believe having fun is essential to learning. Which means it’s also essential to learning a language. Especially as far as Japanese goes, textbooks are out-dated and incredibly boring (also consider, that in this day and age we have the internet and other sources for much better and more interesting material!).

When something is fun; when you WANT to do something, it ‘ll teach you much more in the end.

In fact, I once learned when studying Game Design, why we actually have fun. Did you ever think about that? Why do humans have fun?? Apparently, fun has come into existence through evolution, to make us do certain things that increase our probability of surviving. Hunting, collecting things (food?), sex, social interaction, learning, etc. Many of these things can be found in games, because they’re fun. It also shows how men and women (in general) like different kinds of games.

Sadly, the word “learning” is often associated with boring classrooms. In most or maybe all games you play you’re actually learning something. Learning how the game works, learning the best strategy to complete certain objectives, learning how to become really good… When there’s nothing left to learn the game becomes boring. For this reason online multiplayer games have longer lifes, because you can keep adapting to other players.

So…… I’m not sure where I was going with this, but either way my conclusion is that FUN is essential to learning. However, of course it’s possible to have a lot of fun but still not learn much (Japanese, in my case). For this reason it’s important to combine FUN with EFFECTIVENESS (if you want to be successful). And perhaps that applies not just to learning a language but to life in general.

Many things I’ve learned on fun and being effective can be found at alljapaneseallthetime.com, a website I really recommend if you want to learn Japanese (or any language).

iPhone

The iPhone game we’re building at the University is working (well, what we have now is), and it’s pretty cool. The concept is neat and original, and we have good artists and a great musician. Unfortunately the programming is lagging behind big time (please note nobody including me had much experience with C!) and as such also tweaking the game isn’t yet possible. However I hope it will finish up to one neat package in the end. Maybe I’ll post a teaser image in the next few weeks.

Piccas

I haven’t shot many interesting pictures (of) myself (yet?) but here are a few with me and fellow game design students from Holland! The project group I had joined for the first few weeks (before I left for Japan) made a study trip and visited Kyoto as well. (The project involved brain-storming and prototyping a new game-interface thingie for mobile phones (Vodafone), and because there was a Japanese exchange student, and because Japanese mobile phones are “hella” awesome they also went to Japan).

Interesting picture I think. (I’m the guy in the blue shirt.)

Perhaps we were looking at that temple! (Now in the back.)

Karaoke is always fun! (A must-do when coming to Japan.)

Interesting fact: The guy in black in the middle is Peter Groeneweg, who programmed the first Flash Karoshi game. Speaking of Flash and Karoshi……

Games

Super Karoshi hasn’t been announced properly on this blog, unfortunately, but it has sort of in a sneaky way by posting a link to the new Karoshi website (previous post). The game is doing great and has already been played millions of times! I’d like to thank everyone and hope they had loads of fun! The game’s a little easier, perhaps less frustrating, perhaps too easy. The new Super Karoshi mechanic works well and adds fresh ideas I think. Other outside-the-box puzzles rely on text too much at times, and are getting overdone though there were a number of cool ones. Overall, I think I created a smooth package that adds enough new ideas to be interesting again but is also easy to get into for new players. Overall it received very good grades (and slightly higher than the first Flash version) on the portals. However some of the indie games community want to see me doing something new, which is also understandable.

New games? I’m working on some projects (other than the iPhone game), but am rather busy at the moment to do much. Expect new things in the future. I hope an improvement in my work will be visible.

——-

I hope it was an interesting read.

I made a new website specifically for the Karoshi series, to have a nice place where I can put them together.

Hope you like it!

<<hey guys>>

hI guyz. So sorry for not updating this in a while. I’ve come to the conclusion I’m not much of a blog-updater. I’ve been busy recently and haven’t done much with games, so there wasn’t much to update about. Though actually, everything I’m doing is still related to games in a way.

<<what have i been doing??>>

As you might know I did an internship at a Japanese game company recently. I went back to Holland after that (end of January this year). Back in Holland I continued studying Japanese among other things. (Also joined a school project at my university which was actually Japan-related. Something with mobile phones, it’s still ongoing).

I was back in Holland for 2 months and it was pretty busy. Apart from YPWMI I didn’t have time to finish any other games…

<<where am i now?>>

I went back to Japan a few weeks ago. I’m currently in the most northern part of Kyoto, half into the mountains. It’s a pretty beautiful area. Especially recently since the weather was great and the cherry blossoms are slowly going from white to pink.

<<why am I here?>>

This time I’m in Japan to study. I’ll be following a semester at Kyoto Seika University.

<<what is Kyoto Seika University>>

This university is pretty much all art. There’s a lot of interesting things going on here, and the other students are cool people too. It’s great to be together with many other creative minds.

The university offer courses on various art forms, from architecture to textile to sculpting to traditional painting, and even have a whole manga (Japanese comics) department. What I’ll be doing is called “Digital Creation”.

<<what’s my study and why is it awesome>>

Digital Creation has lessons on story design, web design, graphic design, movies and also games. I have yet to choose exactly which lessons I’ll be following (they start next week), but all seem pretty interesting. One of them I’ll be sure to follow since we’ll be making an iPhone game, and the teachers are prominent Japanese game designers (Chrono Trigger anyone?). So yeah, I really look forward to that!

Last week I had orientation on the lessons.

In Japanese.

<<so, I speak Japanese now?!!>>

Well, a little. It’s getting better and better, and especially now I’m back in Japan it’ll improve greatly. I’ve been studying hard and am still studying hard each day. It’s a great feeling to notice you suddenly understand something you never understood before, or to suddenly be able to read something and totally get what it means.

My listening and speaking skills are still basic, but I’m usually able to hold simple conversations. My reading skills are better, which is uncommon. During the orientation lessons powerpoint slides and paper handouts have helped a lot to make me understand more, however I’m sure over time my listening/speaking will get much better (being in Japan and all). I’m already noticing this happening.

<<Studying studying Japanese>>

In addition to just studying Japanese I’ve done a lot of research on HOW to study. This seems very important to me, since it has helped me make my studying much more effective and make me use time more efficiently. I can write a lot more on that and want to do that sometime (right now I’m also still developing my theories etc). So if you’re interested check back on that later.

<<but WHY? isn’t Japanese like the difficultest language like EVER?>>

The Japanese use Chinese characters (kanji) to write. They imported (stole? ) these from China long ago. (Though there are many many Kanji, nowadays the Japanese use a set of about 2000 and a bunch of other old/rare ones that you might encounter sometimes.) However this wasn’t enough to write Japanese since many Japanese words where difficult to write with these characters. So they invented another set of characters that they use in addition to the Chinese ones. Much later many English and some other foreign words got imported and they invented yet another set of characters to write these. These 2 new sets of characters represent pronounciations whereas the Chinese characters represent meanings (their pronounciations are often different depending on context).

2000 kanji and if you learn them all you’re still not sure which pronounciation to use when. Not to mention many look similar so they’ll confuse the hell out of you. Sounds difficult? The Japanese must be crazy people right? My theory is they do this to make it difficult for foreigners to live in Japan…

(Please note I’m not sure I’m correctly representing the history of the Japanese langauge).

Also note that Japanese isn’t as difficult as I make it sound, and there’s many ways of making it easier. (This is what I’ll write about later).  In fact grammar is pretty easy as is pronounciation. Japanese is probably easier than most languages, the only thing is that it’s just very different.

Oh, yeah, why am I studying Japanese? For one thing, it’s just a challenge, and apart from that I really like this country. I already did an internship here, and after my graduation I really want to get a job in the Japanese games industry (and stay here for at least a while).

<<Um, that’s all great but,.. any games coming out soon?>>

I’m actually still working, now and then, on a new project. It’s supposed to come out in the next couple weeks, I hope I’ll be able to find enough time to finish it soon. It’s developing slowly but steadily.

Please look forward to that!

—

Hope it was interesting to read.

I’m doing a new personal project now which is part of my study at the Utrecht School of the Arts.

It goes like this: Every day I make (atleast) one game prototype within one hour. This includes thinking about what I’ll make, so I have to disregard any previous ideas I had.

The result will be at least 21 prototypes, improved prototyping skills, and hopefully some interesting work/conclusions/directions/developments/(i don’t know). You see, this is very different from how I usually work. Usually, I think about my concepts a LOT, until I come up with something interesting. However I’m pretty quick with Game Maker so programming isn’t as much as a barrier (and I work around that a lot).

I don’t know where this’ll go, but taking a different approach could lead to interesting outcomes. At least I hope so… Well, you can check it here, since I made a special blog for it:

21prototypes.blogspot.com

So far there’ve been 2 days. I’m curious to see how it develops.