DreamFeel

Somehow in the past year I have convinced myself to only publish a blog if I have either finished a game, which seems to coincide with rare planetary alignments, or written some monumental 5000 word treatise on the nature of being. And even more recently I've started thinking that I might only post if I have both, that is the thesis and a new game that exemplifies it! Because of this the only piece of writing I've managed to get out was a revised edition of an almost 12 month old paper on minimalist narratives. Expectation, or maybe pretension, is the enemy of productivity and this second guessing has a slowing effect in producing anything. So! Fuck that. Let's just talk.

Way too much more after the jump...

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Developed for the Jennifer Ann Crecente Memorial Group to raise awareness for Teen Dating Violence, YourSpace is an interactive story for iOS that mimicks a social network app.

The game begins as 17 year old teenager Liz receives an insistent invite to join YourSpace from her boyfriend Jack, and soon everything begins to unravel. Players control every choice Liz makes as she interacts in YourSpace with Jack; Emma, her friend; and Andrew, her neighbour, over the course of three days.

Teen dating abuse affects one in three adolscents. Girls and women between the ages of 16 and 24 are most affected, but dating abuse can affect people of any gender. Visit JenniferAnn.org for more information.

Credits
Art: Sam Gross
Design & Code: dreamfeel
FX: Ross McWilliam
Music: kayfaraday
Writing: Lyndsey Moulds & dreamfeel
  

Cross-posted to Gamasutra.

This was written, a bit more formally than presented here, last year during my Master's at Abertay University, Dundee. I thought with Ludum Dare 26 coming to a close this was an apt time to repost and would love to hear any thoughts.

Suibokuga - Shek Ho (2007)
Abstract
Writing in computer games is often criticised; the narrative of most contemporary mainstream titles is expositional, obvious and largely redundant. I argue that we shouldn't worry about ensuring every player knows perfectly what is happening at every moment. Instead that by leaving purposeful but known gaps and ambiguity we can give a player's imagination room to breathe and engage with the material as they do with the game itself, and thus create stronger expierences.

First we will look at art movements and theories in other media, such as Hemingway’s ‘Iceberg Theory’ and ‘Pure Cinema’, to demonstrate the power minimalist techniques can have. Secondly we apply these minimalist concepts to the allure of ‘retro’ games and explain why many contemporary games such as ‘A Slow Year’ have come to draw on those aesthetics again. Thirdly we look at minimalist techniques which are already pervasive in many modern titles such as the fragmented delivery of ‘Dear Esther’ or the embedded narrative of ‘Amnesia: The Dark Descent’. Finally to conclude the author looks at why such techniques may not always appeal, and why experimental games and fostering audiences for them are vital for the health of the industry.

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Bayou was created by myself & Sam Gross for Ludum Dare 26 over three days with the theme of Minimalism

Game Jolt page.

Steer with A and D
Move forward with W

Look with the mouse
Aim with right mouse button then
Throw with left mouse button

You are in the swamp. It it is night. You have a single spear.

Web

Download PC
Download Mac
Download Linux

We recently finished a neat demo of Shu and it's been great to get feedback on the game. Afterwards we put out a little trailer, let me know what you think.



IGN also did a fun playthrough video.

"This is like what having friends would feel like."

At long last, nearly 9 months later, the game has been released for free online. Find the download under demo through here or visit my page for the game here (with a slightly more up to date build). You can also buy the rights to the game if so inclined. Here's the trailer I made just prior to launch:



To see some ace coverage and a Let's Play follow after the jump.

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I've now returned from an incredible week in San Francisco for GDC, and before that a couple of inspiring days in London. I'm sure lots of writing will come of this ("Paranomical and the divine", "Found futures in Lost Levels", "Kachina, or how to transforms jokes into poetry" and other similarly glib titles). First, I'd like to bring to bring everyone up to speed with some of these recent events to warm the blog up.

At the top I'd like to mention BAFTA Scotland's New Talent awards in which I was awfully honored to have Fuaim nominated. These awards recognise recent gradutes or new practioners who have made an impact across all arts & media from animation and film, to composition and interactive entertainment. It meant a lot to have my little game considered next to 'The Rig' and 'Mr. Montgomery's Debonair Facial Hair', the Dare 2012 game from the fine folks at Dapper Hat Games. Here's a ten second video I made for the event (which I should add has been much improved since the original version that hit in December).



For a few more things, including another award nomination and Lost Levels, click through and follow after the jump.

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