Music

POP: Methodology Experiment One is a "methodology experiment," because Rob Lach created the music first -- and then designed a minigame for each song intended to fit the emotional feel and impulse of the tune. Not surprisingly, the music is quite good; the gameplay less so, though still interesting.

It's carried in nostalgic, lo-fi graphics reminiscent of the early arcade, and the gameplay varies greatly from minigame to minigame. If the controls and gameplay is a little rough, that's perhaps not surpising, since this is seven games in one. Each minigame lasts about three minutes -- not surprising; so do the songs. Three minutes is supposedly the "perfect" length for pop music, at least if you want radio play.

​​Halcyon is an abstract, match-two puzzle game exclusively on the iPad. Color triangles traverse from left and right along sets of strings. When two triangles of the same color face the same direction, they connect and are removed. You create perpendicular paths by sliding your fingers across the touch-screen to match sets. If wrong-color triangles collide, the game is over. When you remove enough matching sets, the level is complete and you repeat the process in the next level. The audio feedback tie-in is innovative and makes ​​Halcyona pleasure to play. When you move your fingers across the strings, it plays notes like a harp.

​​Halcyon is a 2011 Indiecade finalist.

The developer says "Attr-X is a pointless game," and, well, he has a point; indeed, under most definitions of 'game' it does not qualify as one, since there are no objectives, either inherent or self-imposed. Think of it as a software toy, therefore.

You move about a rather large virtual world (arrow keys to move and strafe, RMB to change direction and mouselook). It is an eerie and nicely conceived virtual world; nothing like photorealistic, but also not the Tron-like setting we've become used to in many indie 3D titles. It has an abstraction, but beauty, to it, a sort of surrealist virtual world. And the world is surprisingly large, for one created by a lone-wolf developer; indeed, there are subway stations at certain locations so you can move easily from one area to another. There's also a day/night cycle, so lighting changes dramatically over time.

Spirit Engine 2 is a near perfect RPG. It combines the kind of gripping story and dialogue that you find in interactive fiction with the character advancement and monster bashing of RPGs. The graphics are simple pixel art yet stylish with a hint of Japanese Anime flavor. Even better is the music; many indie games don't even have music, but for Spirit Engine 2 the talented Josh Whelchel, composed fanatastic soundtrack that weaves emotion into the dialogue. The story is well written, but almost completely linear--to the point that plot-altering choices may be an illusion. However, you forget about the linear plot, because you become focused on the the characters and how they deal with the problems they face.

Today I learned what Tim from Braid felt like. But then I played the sonic, click-harmonic beats of a shmup on acid puked out into code, and I'm just tap-tap-tapping because I think I'm making music in a visualizer. I still cannot tell to what extent I am making music or just listening to it. It's fucking fantastic, it reminded me of who I am. It's the mutant king of a sub-genre of triptastic games, outpacing Torus Trooper while out-tripping This Is Infinity.

In write-up of Daniel Benmergui's talk at GDC, it's mentioned that a "friend" showed him the poetry mechanic that he adapted for his game. That friend was Agustin Perez Fernandez and I know because I was there in the room rolling a J. His latest work could be his most defining yet, at least in terms of its artistic poise.

Hit or Not is a social network game on Facebook. It works like this: You listen to a clip of music from a band, and rate it. You lose or score points by how close your rating is to the average rating of other users. If you like, you can "sign" the band (the fantasy being that you're running a label), and if the band "does well" (rises in ranking) you gain additional game money. You can also "sell" acts you have "bought" for a one-time gain, a "predictions market" effect.

Think of this as the game equivalent of a webcomic. To follow this train of thought, the advent of the internet allowed cartoonists free reign in their work. It's like making an underground zine where everybody is a potential reader. All someone needs to make a webcomic is a scanner or MS Paint, but it wasn't till recently that Flixel was released and game developers were given the tools to rapidly create short, online little games. Developer Pixelate set out to make four of these experimental webgames for every week of December, and this is the fruit of his labor.

09 IGF Winner for Excellence in Design

Musaic Box marries a conventionally tedious hidden object (i.e., "hunt the pixel") game with an original and engaging tile puzzle game tied to music.

I advocate the use of certain mind-altering substances, particularly in collision with art. I'm open about this because I believe I'm right, the enrichment of the mind and spirit from these experiences vastly outweighs abuses in less meaningful contexts. The experience gains a holistic value from the altered chemistry, and the perspective is presciously unique. I once asked Mark Healy (of Rag Doll Kung Fu fame, now Little Big Planet) why designers seemed to do drugs less, on average, than other kinds of creative magnates.