Wow.. That's fun...

I'm a tech head. I'm the guy in the basement of the code base trying to pump out 6 extra frames before a beta. And as such, When I look at a game, I look at the technology of it more than the game play. It could have the greatest turn based combat ever... I really don't care... Unless they have a technical process that I don't understand, I really don't care about it.


But, sometimes, I have to stop and nod to the titles that make this industry go around.

Portal was a phenomenal game. Combining great brain puzzles, a good graphics engine (built on a successful franchise company and engine) and a half sadistic, dark and twisted plot, how could it not be a win? I loved portal. I laughed all the way through it. I did go back and play through it 2 times just to make sure I caught everything, and still had fun the 2nd time through! That makes it worth it.

I just finished Super Paper Mario for the Wii. I have to say that I haven't seen a game with as many new ideas, and fun ways to entertain the player. The 2D to 3D puzzles were a great addition. The fact that the game made fun of nerds, geeks, and cellphones is something You don't see in most mainstream games, and was quite refreshing to me.


Games like these make me stop and think about what it takes to make a fun game. Not a fun product, or a AAA product, but a fun game.

Sometimes it's good to get perspective on what you're really doing in this industry. Would I make casual games? Maybe. It would be nice to ship a game sooner than once than every 4 years. Things like Wii and XBLA open doors for tech heads like myself to innovate in our areas to make design decisions to make better games. I still don't think the money is there, although I think Portal can be considered a casual game, (in the sense that you can sit down, play for 5 minutes, get up, and walk away) which I hope opens up more doors to bring the money in. I think that will help convince companies that their side projects don't have to be AAA titles on the time. Have a team doing smaller games, pump them out sooner, have fun with it. Because I tell you, everyone focused on crunching to get a whale out the door doesn't help morale after a while.

Sometimes it's good to do something that reminds us to have fun at work. I mean shit, we do make games right?