Global Game Jam '12

The 4^th annual Global Game Jam event was held this weekend; after tens-of-thousands of contestants, hundreds of world-wide sites, dozens of countries, 24 hours, and 1 theme, it has concluded.

My contribution to this superb yearly event was served on team Pink Tutus as the enemy and spawn programmer.  And the game?  Perpetuam Memoriam ("Unbroken Memory" – not cliché, right?) is a game of mind horror of your own making.  Delve into the nightmarish space of trippy imagination in this too lucid dream.  Want to play v0.6, the submitted version of Perpetuam Memoriam to the Global Game Jam site?  Go here.

The game may seem clunky, but rest easy; know that Bryce Fosheim (the primary programmer - his blog) and I are going to pound-out enough code for Pertetuam Memoriam to reach v1.0.  Games of Taste will have posts keeping you, dear reader, updated on the evolution of the game.

Though GGJ doesn’t actively give awards to the hundreds of teams competing, Dakota State University’s site has had a tradition of attributing various recognitions and prizes to the local groups.  Here are the awards given out:

• Jammer’s Choice – Run, Adam, Run
• Most Likely to Smash Controller – Madness
• Best Audio – Perpetuam Memoriam; honorable mention – ShapeScape
• Best Visual Art – Run, Adam, Run
• Edgiest Game – Reset; honorable mention – Perpetuam Memoriam
• Best Narrative Design – Cooking Snakes; honorable mention – Guardian Legend
• Most Interesting/Innovative Mechanic – Blob the Builder; honorable mention – ShapeScape
• Best Overall Game – Run, Adam, Run; runners up – ShapeScape; Blob the Builder

All these games are superb, and I’ll be checking them out in short reviews soon.  Other than that, GGJ was a blast.  Go to the site to see if there’s a location near you for next year’s competition; if no location exists, strive to make one!  GGJ is an exciting time that no-one is excluded from, and that no-one should keep going without.

Hope to see your game online next year.  In the between time, keep reading Games of Taste for further updates, links to some fine GGJ games, and some tasty reviews.  Until next time, take care!

P.S.  It is biased, but here is the short review of Pertpetuam Memoriam v0.6.

• + 4-way gravity control and shifting mechanics.
• + Over 400 articles of finished assets.
• + Driven narrative, with a new premise on the demons of the mind.
• + Vast levels interconnected to optimize level flow.
• + Strong sound-design.
• - Single enemy AI.
• A fix: Code the other enemies in the game.
• - Un-implemented animations.
• A fix: Program the animations to loop appropriately.
• - Only v0.6!
• A fix: Finish v1.0!

James Chattin Portfolio - Winter, 2011-2012

"Psychlo"
Progressive Character Design
Photoshop

"10 K Volts"
Game Character Rendition
Photoshop

"Grab It"
Game Concept Art
GIMP

"Looking Upon Clouds"
Game Atmosphere Concept
GIMP

"In Water"
Water Effects Piece
GIMP

"Quad Lingua Form"
Game Monster Exploration
GIMP

"Slog"
Class Assignment
Ink Pen, Watercolors

"The Mists of Maleficent"
Scene Exploration
Photoshop

"Boogie Man"
Tim Burton Competition Entry
Photoshop
Awarded for the Technical Advancement for the Performing Arts

"My Fair Thing"
Lighting Demonstration
GIMP

"Dead Space 2 Rocks"
Technique Exploration
GIMP

Contact for work:

James M. Chattin

jmchattin@pluto.dsu.edu

Deus Ex – A Human Revolution

 I was going to name this post, “Deus Ex – A Gaming Revolution,” but that’s too easy.  Deus Ex: Human Revolution is really a remarkable game of depth and design; what a swell time it was to play.

Let me just say that Deus Ex is a massively deep game; many levels to any structure, hidden paths, trinkets everywhere, and a solid stealth game built around a story of depth truly make this title one deserving of the many award nominations it received last year.  The designers orchestrated a living, breathing world in the near future.  This soon-to-be reality has issues of its own, very real issues that are only beginning to rear ugly heads in today’s news and science.

The world of Deus Ex provides the perfect setting for the tale that is played out.  Cyber warfare, mainstream hacking, devious corporate espionage, mega structures, class inequality, and global plots grip the player in a fiction that is readily understandable.   Even grander than the plotline is the fiction that can be discovered throughout the environment that, if read, can affect choices you make in the game because of the foreshadowing now bestowed upon the player.  Oh, and the motives for the powers-that-be are most certainly not as clear as they’d have the player believe them to be!

While delving into the lore provided in D.E.H.R., the tasks required to progress the story can be accomplished by any number of fashions.  Decide to sneak into the police HQ through the roof?  Or crawl through the sewers?  Or just blow-away the cops that block your way?  The secret paths opened by certain unlocked abilities grant even more paths.  Just the take-downs offer choices in whether to brutally destroy the enemy or put them into an abrupt sleep.  But, every option given is also given with a number of risks, consequences, and rewards for the player’s hard work – 30 minutes spent to get from one floor to another is something to expect for a stealth player; 2 minutes of quick-footed shootout with much respawning is the road of the combatant.

Once the smoke clears and the bodies are hid, there looks to be some issues concerning some of the visual deliveries of the game.  At times, I was impressed enough with the feeling that I was watching a top-notch film, the story being rendered beautifully before my screen.  At others, however, the poor mouth movements, stiff ligaments, and pasty skins made me think one thing: why are some games, even now, still needing to catch-up to the characters of the humble-FPS Half Life 2???

Shying away from the sheer points of gameplay interests within Deus Ex, I must admit that I was greatly distracted by the sheer many points of interest within the game world itself.  A great number of hours were spent picking through every drawer, reading each lost eBook, and grabbing every piece-of-junk that could be scoured from locked offices and alleys.  Deus Ex: Human Revolution is certainly a time-sink for those players who enjoy eating-up every word of lore, discovering the most hidden locales, and gathering each piece of gear that packrats love.

I had a great time playing a game that is a solid stealth, lore strewn adventure I’ve engaged in.  Ever an engagement, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a game that takes the next steps of human revolution of choices in a tight-sneak game, while pushing the envelopes of storytelling to new realms that will hopefully be making an appearance in future titles.  While many hours may be sent into the experience, nearly every hour will be enjoyable for any lover of games with a sense of depth; how deep the player goes, though, is ultimately their choice.  Take care with your decisions.

• + The feel, at times, of living in a box office movie.
• + Tight, well versed controls.
• + One of the best stealth experiences there is.
• + Plenty of story within a living world of depth.
• + Get as many hours and events in a play-through as desired.
• - Pasty stiffness inherit in all characters.
• A fix: Include more checkpoints to ensure better graphical quality.
• - Unmentioned, but the load screens are very long for a modern title.
• A fix: Don't attempt to include as much data at one time; dynamically apply content.