I was out playing Super Contra on an arcade machine last week, and a non-gamer friend commented on how cool is it was that this game was side-scrolling, unlike that “other Contra” game he’d played on the Playstation, which just “didn’t feel like a Contra game.” After some investigation, I realized that he was talking about Neo Contra. I’ve written a few columns about the difference between video games and movies, and this conversation brought me back to that line of thinking…”What is a sequel in a movie, and what is it in a game? How do they differ?” In my mind, a movie sequel is theme and subject driven. For example, in the second Back to the Future, Marty goes to a totally different time zone, with some new tricks (flying cars and hover boards). In the fourth Star Wars, the much maligned Episode 1, we visit characters from the previous trilogy in a different time, but the through-line is the common fiction and character lineage. Those are both good ideas for a sequel (well yeah, maybe if the Star Wars ones had been executed well). They delve further into the subject matter of those worlds. For a video game, I think part of the issue is that video games always tend to follow movie models. And the issue with that, is that games have special needs that are unique to games, and nonexistent in movies. In the years before games, movies, TV, and radio were the main media of technological form. So it made sense in the early years of games to take a little of what movies do, a little of what software does, mix them in a bowl, and out comes a video game. However, I think time has shown that...

If you follow the history of console video games, it has generally followed this (very) rough progression: Low resolution 2D games of the Atari and Commodore era Rich, colorful 2D experiences with Nintendo, Sega Genesis, etc. Early 3D with the N64 3D for ever and ever from then on, with increasing graphical detail But, we can add to the long list of disruptive changes made by iPhones and similar devices the title of “2D revamped.” We’ve seen iphone hits like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds make more money than some 3D console games that cost many times more to make. Most console shooters, like Call of Duty, cost above the 30 million mark to produce, and that game is the exception; most don’t recoup their budgets. We could go into a whole conversation about the market’s shift from console games to mobile devices, but that’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax. Today, let’s talk about some of the great aspects of 2D games, and why they persist and even thrive nowadays. Unmatched for jumping and platforming The best way to approach this is to consider some remakes of 2D games that were made 3D. For example, Bionic Commando. This game came out at about the same time as a visual refresh of the original Ninendo game. When the smoke cleared, people really liked the refresh in 2D, but were disappointed by the new shiny 3D version. Think about it. You have a game that’s based on grappling and swinging, then try to add 3D? By adding that 3rd dimension, there is the added complexity of aiming in the right direction to grapple. The second disadvantage of 3D here is visibility and obstruction. Even in a 3rd person 3D game (where you see the...

We’ve all heard about how video games are infiltrating everyday life. Infiltrating it to an almost annoyingly offensive level. After reading a few trade magazines with such articles, I started thinking about parts of life that already have video game style rules. Consider the deep, intricate rules that you don’t even notice anymore..for example, how to decide which way to go when you’re walking straight at someone on the sidewalk. You kind of make eye contact, you tend to indicate slightly which way you’re going, etc. The same set of inherent rules are common in most of the things we do in everyday life; who goes first at an intersection, whether you should fold clothes one by one, or sort first then fold, etc. That is what makes video game design a pretty natural thing to understand. The best designs are made of sets of rules. So after years of thinking that way, I came up with a set of rules to one thing that we all encounter, at least those of us who drive to get groceries: Where to park in a grocery store parking lot to avoid door dents. But mostly, I’m writing this to show how something that seems like common sense actually has some pretty specific rules. As video game designers, this is how we approach things like character AI behavior. We make rules out of systems that seem totally organic. And I guess, as you can see below, we tend to do this all the time, even with the most mundane things. So here we go, the rules to parking at the grocery store, in order to avoid dents! I’m a VIP Rule If you have a nice car, never ever park across two spots. This one sounds like...

In the nerd and tech communities, we pretty much argue every day about why Apple is horrible or perfect. The one thing we all agree upon is that, just like politics, Apple is polarizing. Let’s gab about the very high level concepts of the debate. Walled Garden A few of the practices of Apple are referred to as the “walled garden.” I like the term ’cause the Secret Garden is one of my favorite musicals (Mandy Patinkin, he’s like butter!). But I digress. What the term means is that a lot of the elements are controlled tightly. For example, to publish an app on an iPhone, you must go through the Apple app approval process. On the contrary, Android has several app stores, and some of them have no strict approval process at all. In short: No apps (unless you have a hacked phone) run on iPhones unless Apple approves them. Hater: You are a tech guy and think that the “walled garden,” un-customizable vault of the app store hinders the ability of developers and individuals to write programs, install custom programs, and use the device for other purposes like teathering to laptops (giving a laptop internet through the phones connection) and shopping on other app stores. Also, if you have your music and other content on an Apple device, it can be hard to move it somewhere else, so you kind of become stuck. This is especially true of less tech savvy peeps. Most of these people have chosen Android for that reason. Android allows your phone to be your phone. If you are a rookie, you can follow the rules and keep it in somewhat factory condition. If you are super tech in nature, you can hack the crap out of it...

The word “immersion” is thrown about every single day at video game companies and schools. In the industry, it basically means the idea of making a player feel as if they’re part of the experience (or simulation). In layman’s terms, it means they forget that they’re playing a game and “become” the character. They forget they are sitting in a living room. This is similar to watching a good film or play; you are entertained enough to be transported to another place. So here, in the mini-rant of the month, I’m gonna talk about two very broken techniques of immersion and why they don’t work. Number One, The Mute Lead I’ve worked on a few games in which it was decided that we would have a mute lead. The intent: This is intended to avoid forcing the voice upon the character you control, thus allowing you to be immersed as the character. The result: The result of this is that it’s jarring. Humans are accustomed to interactions, and to have the star of the show not talking makes them seem passive and strange. We’ll talk about the famous Holodeck from Star Trek fame below, but here’s the point. Unless you are actually walking around, touching things, and talking to people, you aren’t gonna somehow identify with that character because he doesn’t talk. This underestimates humans and all the complexities of their ability to communicate. It underestimates our emotional sensitivity to the ideas of identity and character. On the other hand, if you create a really interesting, well-wrought character as the lead, the player may identify with them because they share personality traits, because they want to be heroic or brash like that person, or because they think they’re funny. See what I mean? People...