Ludus Novus » gamesetwatch

Character Progression in F.E.A.R.

Gregory Weir — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:28:20 +0000

I’ve resumed writing for GameSetWatch. My latest column just went live; it’s called Character Progression in F.E.A.R., and it’s about how increasing the player character’s options instead of increasing their strength can prevent a game from feeling flat.

F.E.A.R. was an odd game for me. The shooting part was fun and pretty and it was just the right amount of difficulty (or sometimes a bit too hard), but the rest of the game was… not very interesting. The horror elements rarely grabbed me, the story was almost pastiche, and the dramatic twists were clear to me after the first level. That’s not even bringing up one of the most offensive video game characters in recent memory. Hey, it’s a fat guy! And he’ll get bumbling clown music! And you’ll know that you’re about to meet him again when you see food wrappers scattered around. Seriously.

So while F.E.A.R. is technically advanced for its time and well-designed from a gameplay perspective, I was ready for it to be over about halfway through. And that’s never a situation you want a player to be in.

The Video Game Album

Gregory Weir — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:04:09 +0000

My latest column has gone up at GameSetWatch. It’s about a rare and intriguing animal: the Video Game Album. Occasionally, several games will be released as one package. In the article, I discuss Odin Sphere, Kirby Super Star, and The Orange Box.

One work I didn’t discuss in the column, because it seemed a bit incestuous, is my recent IF piece, The Bryant Collection.
Read the rest of The Video Game Album...

Interplay in Left 4 Dead

Gregory Weir — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:08:13 +0000

GameSetWatch just posted my latest article. It’s called “Interplay in Left 4 Dead,” and it’s about how the various kinds of enemies in that game interact to become stronger than the sum of their individual strengths.

L4D is such an astonishingly complex game. So much more can be said about it, and I expect to get at least one more post out about how the weapons all work together. This is a game that, like Portal, has clearly been fine-tuned and adjusted to a glossy finish. But while Portal was cut down and simplified to make it a smooth, well-crafted ride, L4D was cut down to a tangled knot of gameplay interactions, making it this chaotic, complicated, minute-to-learn-and-lifetime-to-master enigma of a game.

Personality in TF2

Gregory Weir — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:03:04 +0000

My latest article is up over at GameSetWatch. It’s called “Personality in Team Fortress 2,” and it’s about how the memorable characters in TF2 enhance the gameplay experience by reinforcing character roles.

The Orange Box wins in my book for best characters in a 2007 video game package. Alyx and Eli Vance, GlaDOS, and the TF2 cast together are an amazing accomplishment, especially when you realize the games were released on the same day by the same company.

Scale in Katamari Damacy

Gregory Weir — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:19:14 +0000

My latest column just went up at GameSetWatch. It’s called “Scale in Katamari Damacy,” and it’s about how Katamari Damacy uses scale to highlight the advancement that’s inherent in just about every game, and how it can be applied to games that aren’t about rolling up everything in the world.

Postmortem: “(I Fell in Love With) The Majesty of Colors”

Gregory Weir — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:51:15 +0000

In place of my usual column at GameSetWatch, I was requested to do a general postmortem of “The Majesty of Colors” this time. I’ll point you that way if only for the inclusion of my initial design sketch for the game. It was an interesting experience writing the piece; usually, this sort of evaluation involves more than one person, so it’s easier to pick out successes and failures. When everything is your fault, it’s tricky to pick out specifics.

Because of the forum of GSW, I left out a few points that I was tempted to include. Here are a few of them.

Read the rest of Postmortem: “(I Fell in Love With) The Majesty of Colors”...

Hope for the Future

Gregory Weir — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:18:26 +0000

Premier video game industry news site Gamasutra just released their top 5 indie games of the year. Number one is Daniel Benmergui’s wonderful “I Wish I Were the Moon,” which I’ve mentioned before. Number two is “Everybody Dies,” third-place winner in the 2008 Interactive Fiction Competition and a game I’ve yet to play. These two selections give me a great deal of hope for the future of interactive entertainment.

Read the rest of Hope for the Future...

Puzzle Quest and the Best of Both Worlds

Gregory Weir — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:03:15 +0000

Over at GameSetWatch they just put up my latest column. It’s called “Puzzle Quest and the Best of Both Worlds,” and it’s about genre fusion in the world’s first match-3 RPG.

Integrated Character Creation in Spore

Gregory Weir — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:54:11 +0000

My latest column is up at GameSetWatch. It’s entitled “Integrated Character Creation in Spore“, and it discusses the technique of integrating gameplay with character creation instead of making it a totally separate mode.

The Goo Variations and Jill Off Harder

Gregory Weir — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:42:02 +0000

My latest column is up at GameSetWatch. It’s entitled “The Goo Variations” and it describes a game design pattern that I’ve dubbed “Variations on a Theme,” as demonstrated by the incredibly stellar World of Goo.

Additionally, Anna Anthropy released an expanded version of her cruel-in-a-nice-way Mighty Jill Off last week, and it’s now clear that she has a spike fetish. Highlights of the even harder Second Tower: when the level decays as if the cartridge has been loosened in the slot, the (Jesse-Venbrux-inspired?) segment where the player must die and trust the game to take care of her, and the absolutely adorable alternate ending cutscene.

No Quit Without Saving

Gregory Weir — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:59:17 +0000

My latest column is up at GameSetWatch. It’s about the “no-quit-without-saving” option on Mount&Blade and why it’s a great way to solve the saving dilemma in game design.

Love Transcending Death: Challenge Versus Story in Calamity Annie

Gregory Weir — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:51:07 +0000

My first column for GameSetWatch was just posted at their site. It’s called “Love Transcending Death: Challenge Versus Story in Calamity Annie,” and it’s about how that game does something very interesting to help bridge the gap between players who play for challenge, and those who play for story.

The plan is for me to write every two weeks on GameSetWatch. I’m quite excited about being able to contribute to their great site.