Open World or Intricate puzzles: Pick One

Players are constantly reminded that they’re shackled to a mechanistic land.  There is no illusion of freedom because the gears that keep the player and Hyrule in lockstep are imminently legible.  You read the landscape all too easily; you know what it’s asking of you.  One of the greatest offenders occurred early on with A Link to the Past: most bomb-able walls became visible.  What had been a potential site of mystery in the original Legend of Zelda (every rockface) became just another job for your trusty keyring.  Insert here.  Go on about your business.

Hyrule is a big place

It needs to make most of the map accessible from the beginning.  No artificial barriers to clumsily guide Link along a set course.  Players know that game; they know when they’re being played.  Link must be allowed to enter areas he’s not ready for.  He must be allowed to be defeated, not blocked, by the world and its inhabitants.

If Link could traverse the entire map from the beginning, he would undoubtedly discover that there was only one place to go that served the main quest. I can get lost in a single zone, so I don’t think a bare landscape would be fun our helpful. If you go with the locked down approach though, what becomes annoying is all of the clues that you are given and even interrupted with (READ: Navi, Meri, Boat, Fi). If you are already confined to a limited area, you need less clues. The puzzle is inherent.

Labyrinths

have to push a block here or there, but the real test was finding your way through a maze and surviving.

What is described here can best be described as labyrinthian design, which of course does not feel like design at all to the player. Mazes usually have all the appeal of a haystack that may or may not contain a needle. Not my idea of a fun adventure, anyway.

It’s not radical to suggest that Zelda fans would prefer a game that is elegant rather than convoluted.

I agree with all my heart.

The Adventure of Link had actually demanded things of me, had forced me to up my game.

Nostalgia aside, lets be objective about this game. Like most games from the era, Adventure of Link suffers from a crucial gameplay flaw. The difficulty level is so high that the game feels unfair, not challenging. While these early titles offer examples of great game design, they also exemplify poor game design at every turn. When the player feels helpless to attack or defend, and that is not the explicit goal of the design, then there is a problem. The critical player thinks to himself that the enemies seem to be poorly designed if his attack can not hit them unless he learns to execute strange postures and movement patterns with the precision of a robot. Or if an enemy is able to strike again before Link can recover.

Last year, I made a discovery about myself. I was searching for the answer to one of those simple questions whose answer can sometimes be elusive but is of great importance. What am I on the Earth to do?

I thought I would find the answer by pondering the future of my life, and my future legacy. But I realized that that’s where my question is coming from. I needed to look elsewhere for the answer. I started looking backward instead, and I realized that I have been given gifts and passion and it is in bringing those to the forefront that I can become the best version of myself.

I discovered that I need to make a video game.

And not just any video game. The Video Game. If my working life only produced one product, what would I want it to be? A video game. If I could only make one video game, what would it be? If I could only write one kind of story for the video game, what would the story be about? This is self expression. I need to express the ideas I’ve had since youth with the skills I’ve developed since then.

I think that for my entire life I’ve wanted to make a video game. I remember in kindergarden I drew cross sections of ant hills. There were red ants. Black ants. And when they mixed, there were fighting ants. Dead ants. The drawings were formulaic. There was a surface, there were tunnels winding underground, and there were ants. Lots of ants. I loved inventing new ant hills and finding new things to do with this simple formula.

I was designing a game, I think. Even if I was only playing at designing a game. I didn’t know much about computers at the age of 5. This was 1991. And it would be years before I would take up an interest in programming (I wish I could go back like Biff Tannen and show myself how to do it).

The designing trend continued through all my schooling, though with different types of games I progressed. Each game had its own rules. Even today, I can remember how to design scenarios on paper in all the games I played at creating. There were space battles, there were Indiana Jones style archaeology adventure games, there were puzzle games, etc.

As I looked back on all of those designs I invented with so much detail it was clear that that was what I really wanted to do. And I was shocked when I realized that I possessed most of the skills necessary to make a video game, I just need to improve and combine them. I’ve always drawn. I’ve studied animation. I’ve made sprites for web design. I’ve always been analytical, paying careful attention to details. I’m a self taught programmer. I have a BFA in Graphic Design. I’ve been interested in music for a long time. And I possess a great appreciation for the fine arts, including storytelling (novels, films).

So I’m making a game. I’m doing it alone (with input from trusted friends). It will take years. When the game is maybe 60% done, I’ll be able to share more. Down the pipe I’ll shed light on the name, genre, style, platforms, characters, etc. I’ll also share art and videos, etc. But for now, I’m brewing. I’m iterating. I’m keeping secrets.

Announcing a new website for Moonlings! Yes, moonlings.com is here!

How did this happen? I’m about to tell you. At length.

When Steve Jobs passed away a month ago today, I was shaken. Despite my prediction that his death would be imminent at the time he stepped down from his role at Apple as CEO, I was unprepared. Here’s the guy that gave us personal computers. Gave us MP3 players that were usable. Gave me the only phone I ever wanted to use. The list goes on but others have doen it better justice.

The point is, I felt lost. In a world without your hero, what do you do next? What do you believe now? Who should you follow now? I was without direction. Jobs wanted “to make a ding in the universe.” I think he did. He was a big deal, but after enough time, even he won’t be remembered. So of course neither will I or my work. So what’s the point in it all? I’ve recently found answers in Ecclesiastes.

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God.

Ecclesiastes 2:24

And again:

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Orientation. You are mine.

My work seeks after greatness; I want to find satisfaction in my toil. When I’m not working I’m being happy– eating and drinking– the way that all the living ought to each day. And in all of this I’m trying to do good. I’ve taken as my personal mantra the family motto of my mother’s maiden surname. The Sinclair family motto: COMMIT THY WORK TO GOD.

Thankfully, this new orientation gave context to words he spoke at the June 12, 2005 Stanford commencement that I treasured yet struggled with. Here’s an excerpt:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Full text and video

All of these reflections caused me to decide to follow God and follow my heart. This is the first step in what I hope will be a life-long journey, the principles of which are simple enough to remember always, yet they emphasize being present in the moment.

To begin with, I made a list of everything I needed to do to create the greatest Moonlings site I could. Then, to make sure the site got online before my “Moonlings Presents: Thirteen Days of Halloween” project launched, I drew a line somewhere fairly high in the list. I set out to accomplish everything above the line before that project’s launch date, so that I wouldn’t put off my dreams any longer.

When your hero dies, you have to remember that as you honor and celebrate their spirit in a part of your heart; they’re still with you. There is no replacement for Steve and there never will be, but that’s okay. What we loved about our hero, we own a part of in our own souls and we live it out in our lives.

He told his colleagues at Apple not to ask “What would Steve do?” after he was gone. He said to just do what’s right.

Sometimes you just gotta find a vision you can sustain and stay interested in long enough to output some work. I designed this for my sweet wife who geeks out over Buffy.

From Bowser with Love is a chiptune collection featuring music found at 8bitCollective (http://8bc.org/). This started out as a “best of chiptune music” playlist but after introducing some of my friends to the concept of 8bit music, I decided to put together a collection for those new to the genre.

Tracklist

1. Venetian Mirrors Raw Cut – Monomania
2. Vestige – SMILETRON
3. Duracell [LSDJ] – Hurrigame Boy
4. You’re Playing With A Wolf – MisfitChris
5. Stratocumulus Clouds – Malmen
6. Some Melodies Are Like Flowers : Just Emo – Ultrasyd
7. turkoid – coda + cancel
8. Umbra – Fighter X
9. Fjords – SMILETRON

Download the album