The Madness: Puzzle horror

Here's my sister Andrea's review of a recently released Ren'py game. It's the first time I've seen Ren'py used to make a puzzle game, and I was impressed. Here's her take:

What does it mean to be insane? Perhaps you’ve heard that it’s doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Or perhaps you know the legal definition:

Insanity. n. mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.

The Madness, a free psychological horror/puzzle game by Gliese Productions, explores both those definitions as you dwell in the mind of the disturbed protagonist.  As you change reality to match memories of the past, you start to uncover the awful truth…

Its puzzles, based on interacting with items in the environment, sometimes require connecting information from several clues.  Most are challenging; a few are maddeningly difficult.  Choosing one of the easier difficulty levels allows the player to skip some of the harder puzzles, but then they have to live with not knowing the solution.

Just as if you really were inside the protagonist’s head, there is very little exposition, but item descriptions and narrative subtly convey hints about the true reason for the madness and the protagonist’s character.  

While the puzzles are creative and challenging, where the game really excels is its ability to make the player not just notice madness, but to feel it. The game’s creepy sketches and evocative music also elucidate solutions to puzzles and unnerve the player.  

There’s only one thing that prevents me from whole-heartedly recommending this game, and that is the ending.  Though it makes sense and gives closure, it is disturbing and disheartening.  I certainly can’t recommend this game for anyone with trauma triggers, or who is sensitive to horrifying and/or depressing content.  But if you are yearning for a taste of dark insanity, The Madness delivers.

Okay, I understand exclusives now

Lately I've been playing my 3DS a lot with Animal Crossing, and in that weird everything-must-be-useful way, I felt sorry for my Vita. So I bought the visual novel Sweet Fuse: At Your Side on it, which has some elements of an otome dating sim (your character is a woman and you get to choose which guys to hang out with). The setup is just as artificial as Zero Escape, and the puzzles aren't interactive, but it hits the visual novel spot, and it's a game that's not on Steam.

Wait, I think a game not being on Steam is a good thing? What weird world am I in?

I think I'm finally understanding the psychology behind exclusives and why many of the commenters here refuse to buy Sweet Fuse because it's a PSP, not a Vita game. As a gamer with a lot of consoles, I have more than one console because there are specific games you can only play on each console. The PS3 has a lot of JRPGs like Ni No Kuni and the Wii has the Mario and Zelda games. I don't have an Xbox 360 because I don't care about Halo, and every other Xbox game I wanted to play has been available for PC (eventually). So when I see a new game available on the Vita that I can buy on Steam or Gog for half the price (or sometimes even 80% off on a good sale, I'm looking at you, Puddle), I'm not all that excited about it. I am, however, excited about PSP games because I've never owned a PSP.

I do want exclusive games to justify my Vita purchase (as if the 40+ hours I spent on P4 Golden weren't enough justification?). But the way I see the Vita going, it's turning into a more expensive vehicle for indie games, with a only a few cool exclusives. I'm trying to understand why everyone doesn't buy the same indie games on Steam when they're cheap. It's probably because a good gaming PC is a lot more expensive and complicated than a console, and maybe people don't know about nice, cheap PC games? Or maybe my question should be: Why aren't PSN sales as awesome as Steam sales?

I think Sony's fans are just willing to pay more for games, and maybe they aren't as cutthroat about prices as I am on Steam. There's also less expectation of huge sales on the PSN, so people probably buy games when they want them and don't wait for them to go on sale. I think people spend more money overall on huge sales though, but that depends on having a huge library. So hopefully with Sony going micro-console on the Vita (though not in the US yet), the library will get much bigger and I can feel more justified in waiting around for a good sale. Or maybe PSN prices will always be higher... thoughts?

Android's best visual novels

It's hard to find good visual novels for Android. I know, because I've played some awful ones. Thankfully, my sister Andrea has picked out three of her favorites in another guest post:

Visual Novels for Android

Combining the prose of a novella with the decision-making of a game, these are some of the best visual novels I’ve played recently:

Days of the Divine

Set in an ancient Asian-fantasy setting, ancient gods waken and you mediate their conflicts as a shrine maiden. Three vastly different endings, plot twists, and solid characters are accompanied by beautiful art and soundtrack. Available for Win, Mac, Linux, Android.

Nanolife

From the same developers, but with a completely different tone and theme, this visual novel has you take the part of an MMO character who thinks the game world is real. Funny and sweet.  Available for Win, Mac, Linux, Android.

a2 ~a due~ 

Polished, poignant visual novel about a young woman who’s forced to manage her father’s orchestra, with themes of overcoming language barriers and parental expectations. Available for Win, Mac, Linux, Android.

Non-disappointing indie Android tablet games

While I have a lot of gaming devices, I don't own an Android tablet. My sister Andrea does though, and she's written up some blurbs of some familiar (and some new) games as they play on an Android tablet (her words below):

Since I purchased Humble Bundle 6 (not available anymore, sorry!) full of Android games, I thought I would see how my Nexus 7 functions as a gaming device. I was pleased to find some real gems; Android is a great platform for indie developers because anyone can develop for it and release games with no fees.  While there’s still plenty of ad-heavy, clicky, freemium “games” out there, the games below are all polished gems worth trying.  

Note: Though I played all these on Android, some are currently only available on Android with Humble Bundle 6.

Aquaria

Beautiful, relaxing game where you play as an ocean creature uncovering ancient magical powers. Spells are cast by playing various notes (similar to LOOM, though much less cumbersome), and are used both to fight monsters and solve puzzles. Available for Win, Mac (Android with HB 6)

Organ Trail

Rachel mentioned this one; I played it long enough to beat it and it is quite fun, especially if you played the original Oregon Trail as a kid. Expect to die your first time or two until you figure out the game. Unlike Oregon Trail, it has several different mini-games and more complex dynamics; you can upgrade your car, or learn combat skills; you can do jobs for money or brave the zombies to scavenge supplies. Available for every platform.

Pulse

Simple, yet addictive rhythm game with hip chillout music. Available for iOS (Android with HB6).

Frozen Synapse

Turn-based strategy combat game with fascinating atmosphere and brutal AI. Available for Win, Mac Linux, iOS, Android.

Fractal 

A hip, hexagon puzzle game that is both challenging and relaxing. Available for PC, Mac, iOS (Android HB6).

Nightsky

A puzzle platformer where you roll a ball across a twilit landscape.  It has a beautiful atmosphere and can be quite challenging (sometimes frustrating?). Available for Windows on Steam (Android with HB 6).

Broken Sword - Director’s Cut

Somehow I missed this adventure game when it originally came out in 1996. Full of mystery, conspiracies, templars, and artifacts, it’s a great point-and-click adventure, with remastered art, sound, new playable character, etc. Great fun for any adventure game fan. Available for iOS, Android, Mac, PC, DS, Wii.

Other Android Games

Yesterday

Speaking of point-and-click adventures, here’s another fantastic one. It deals with stolen memories, arcane rituals, and lost rites. The plot is well-paced, with delicious twists and poetic imagery. Mature content. Available for Win, Android.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Explanation of what it is and its appeal.

I've given in and I started playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I hesitated for a long time because I had tried City Folk for the Wii and found it kind of boring. I guess I feel like if I'm going to go to the trouble of booting up the Wii, I should be able to play something and get a tangible amount of progress done towards winning a game. But for some reason on the 3DS I've stuck with it thus far (I suspect that its trendiness, and the non-demandingness of the 3DS contributed). I'm both impressed and overwhelmed by how this game expects me to play almost every day.

If you haven't played any Animal Crossing games, it's kind of like the Harvest Moon franchise, in that you harvest/gather/catch various things and sell them at a profit, except Animal Crossing occurs in real time. So there are certain things that only happen on Sundays, and holiday events for things like Christmas and Halloween. In New Leaf, you are the mayor of a little town, complete with animal neighbors who ask you to give them things and make up catch phrases for them.

typical AC

Aside from the ecological carnage you can inflict (uprooting flowers, catching endangered fish, and chopping down trees being foremost), the game is non-violent. The social features of New Leaf are probably the best I've seen for a 3DS game (okay, they're the only online features I've ever used in a Nintendo game, period). If you so choose, you can open your town up to having visitors from your list of 3DS friends, or you can go visit them. You can visit the villages of non-friends through the dream world, and you can play minigames internationally through the island.

Having friends who will let you visit their town is also strategically important, as your home village fruit sells for more in other towns, and if you get into turnips you stand a better chance of not losing all your money if your friend has a spike in turnip prices while yours are declining (it's called the stalk market). I love how the social features aren't vital but make certain aspects of the game easier.

The day-to-day play of New Leaf isn't very gripping. You can dig up fossils, talk to your neighbors, buy furniture/clothes, and donate new creatures to the museum. I think the real satisfaction from New Leaf comes from watching your town and collections grow. Of course, all the hours you put in increase your emotional attachment to the game too. It's not just about collecting things though. It's also about how you display your items and how you design your town.

dragon quest tileset

In some ways New Leaf is like a more contained version of Minecraft. If you're good at pixel art, you can make custom designs for floors, walls, furniture, and clothing right in the game. It's possible to make your own skin for your Minecraft character, but it's not as accessible. Sharing and stealing patterns is also really easy in New Leaf; just scan a QR code and you're done. None of this downloading a file, putting it in the right directory, and rebooting stuff. It's really fun to wear a dress designed by someone in Japan, or put down a tile set designed by a hardcore fan. I hope other games can incorporate these creative features, because they're really fun (it reminds me of Little Big Planet and Sound Shapes)! Now if only I could create a cool tileset...

PS Check out this horror village, Aika village, that someone made their animal crossing town into (start around 4 minutes in). Remarkable!

Our Ouya arrived! Some blurbs.

It's small and cute.

Our Ouya arrived yesterday! Acius had to do some display wizardry with the TV to get the resolution right, but other than that it was pretty easy to set up. It's definitely running on Android! And anyone can develop a game on it for free! I love the graphic design of the Ouya UI so far--sans serif fonts with logical category names that don't have too many subcategories.

The controller came out pretty well. The batteries are actually in the handles, which feels both clever and kind of a pain to replace. The analog sticks work wonderfully, but I'm wishing the D-pad were more precise. I'm not sure why, but the D-pad doesn't always do what my fingers tell it to. I'm hoping there's some sort of pattern to the madness that I'll get used to.

There aren't that many games yet, but I played a few so I thought I'd give 'em some blurbs. All games on the Ouya have some sort of playable demo or trial; trying them is free! :-)

Favorites so far:

before Acius fixed the display it looked too large. Also, Harry Potter road trip!

The good:

Organ Trail gives me some nostalgia and makes me snicker like a 6th-grader. I love simulation games (yes, it is a zombie version of Oregon Trail), and so far the zombies aren't too scary (I didn't get very far though, since their trial is timed... I might buy it). There's also some real strategy going on with what kinds of provisions to take along and when to go searching for stuff.

I played the demo for Puddle a while ago on my Vita. It's a physics-based game where you're tilting liquid around to avoid obstacles and whatnot. I thought it was too hard then. I found it easier on the Ouya since you can only tilt so far.

Platformers are easy to make but hard to make well. League of Evil starts out with fun things like double and wall jumps and has kind of a Super Meatboy vibe to it. Playing this game actually made me want to get out my Vita and play some more Guacamelee, since I felt like the platforming was tighter there. It's hard to tell if it's the game or the controller who is letting me down here, but it's still fun.

The maybe-you-will-like them:

Abbigale and the Monster: a cute puzzle game that does the two-player-characters-mirrored-who-have-one-control thing. I found it frustratingly difficult, but I liked the aesthetic (simple pixel art) and music.

The Ball bills itself as a FPS puzzle game. Admittedly I didn't get too far but I really didn't like the horror vibe going on. I think it was the music and the skulls, and the promise of enemies later, but it turned me into a chicken. It feels like it's missing little things like foot noises and good voice acting.

No Brakes Valet is a silly, simple car manipulation game. Cars come into the parking lot at breakneck speed, and you have to slow them down and park them for tips. Difficult.

The things-need-to-change games:

Polarity is another FPS puzzle game and its puzzle rooms remind me of Portal. I want to like it but something is a little off about some of the physics. I should come back to it, since I like puzzle games, but I have some other more polished FPS puzzle games to finish.

Vector is a Parkour game the looks pretty sharp. You do things like jump, speed up, or duck depending on your environment. I think it has some in-app purchases, which rub me the wrong way (I much preferred Organ Trail's timed demo).

Maybe I'm being too harsh a critic on these mostly indie games. I feel like with Steam sales being what they are, indie games have to compete with professional studio games, and to do that they should offer something another game isn't already doing better. I'd love to see more games with an engaging, semi-branching story, although I know that the target demographic for Ouya games is probably the more "hardcore" set that people assume just wants platformers and shoot 'em ups. Anyway, I'm excited to see what other games crop up for the Ouya (and also relieved that Ouya made good on their Kickstarter promise).

For those of you still waiting on your Ouya--I got my "it's on its way!" e-mail about 17 days ago. After two weeks I was going to e-mail them, since my tracking number wasn't working, but it turned out it actually was in the mail.

What bad inventory puzzles can teach us about objects

Inventories in adventure games are getting a little hate, and perhaps with good reason. Ron Gilbert boasts that The Cave has no inventory; this review of Penumbra assures you that there are no inventory-based puzzles, and the makers of Hamlet have “no inventory” as a feature. If you’ve played more than one adventure game, you’ve encountered the frustrating situation of an inventory-based puzzle; sometimes you simply try every item and then try to combine them with themselves until you find a solution (or if you’re like me, you just look it up in a walkthrough). These types of puzzles are rightfully hated because all too often, an inventory item is a one-use hidden key that solves one puzzle.

The main problem with inventory puzzles arises when the expected functions of an item do not match the in-game functions of an item. Consider the monkey that’s later used as a monkey wrench in The Secret of Monkey Island. It’s a use that would only make sense in a videogame. Or consider the “put gems in a pile of honey” puzzle from Kings Quest V. While these puzzles are illogical, they ironically force us to see inventory items more abstractly, in a way that an object-oriented ontologist would be proud of.

Object-oriented ontology is just one way to describe the idea that humans and the uses they have for objects don’t describe the entirety of objects, and in my argumentation, their uses. When we look at natural resources, we’re always thinking of how they can help humans and other life forms (which is only natural, given our states of humanness). When an idea arises, it’s often dismissed if it doesn’t concern humans, or our wants and desires.

Now, it would seem like a videogame, which is designed for humans to use and enjoy it, would depict objects in a human-centric way--that is, most objects in a game are there to fulfill some kind of puzzle or make a joke. But the very strangeness of some inventory puzzles undermines our expectations of how objects can serve us, and further alienates us from how humans normally use objects. It forces us to confront the very nature of the inventory puzzle, which is that “x (with y) used in z way solves the puzzle.”

Inventories can include items that aren’t physical objects. Trauma Team has patient symptoms and murder clues as inventory items, and the Ace Attorney series has statements and ideas as item types. Lost in Shadow had your character collect memories, and Resonance allows you to refer to past events in your “long-term memory” section of inventory.

To name a memory, and object, or a thought--is to both reduce it to less than it really is and to allow us to manipulate it. An object is more than its name, but without using that name or icon, we cannot think about what we want to do with it. But virtual worlds are different. An item in a game will have a verbal and pictorial description (including within the game’s code) that completely describe how the item works in that world.

These ideas-as-objects in a game are both what they say they are and not. You’ve probably experienced a moment like in Hotel Dusk where you know what you need to do but your character doesn’t. That time in Ace Attorney where you present evidence that contradicts the testimony, only to have it not be the “right” thing. It’s frustrating, yes, and maybe the designers could have done better, but if we ignore them for a minute and just look at the game they produced as an object, it’s an object that teaches us how unsympathetic computers are. How computers do exactly what we tell them to do, and they don’t have feelings.

I’m in awe of how objects, even man-made objects, can teach us things unintended or unknown by their designers.

I initially write this piece for something else, and now a few months later I figure I might as well publish it here, even if it is kind of weird and might not accurately reflect OOO. Also it is kind of obviously/painfully inspired by Bogost's Alien Phenomenology.