First things first: now that the deadline for artwork submissions has “passed”, so to speak, I think it’s time to give a tally of sorts. I have received a total of fifteen scenes, which will definitely be more than enough for what I need, so I won’t accept any more unless you’re really, really burning to join in on the fun, in which case I might make an exception or two. Four of these scenes have already been written, which means that there has been progress, so to speak. I can’t really give much of an estimate as to when this project will be up for public consumption, though, particularly given that I’m now working full-time at Hothead and there’s no telling how much of my creative energy this will eat up in the not-too-distant future. [1]

I will, however, reveal that the title will be Des Rêves Élastiques Avec Mille Insectes Nommés Georges, or DREAMING for short. Yes, I decided to revisit my love for obscenely long titles, last seen in TGTTPOACS, except this time you can, you know, actually pronounce the acronym. Plus, this time, the title’s in French, so you know it’s all artistic and avant-garde and stuff. Titter titter.

All right, now that the administrivia is over and done with, let’s get to the real topic of this post, which is the difference between a story-based video game and a movie. Now, this is something that’s frequently brought up whenever people discuss the role of storytelling in games. I get the impression that to most gamers, the difference is “gameplay”, e.g. dexterity challenges, logic puzzles, and anything else with rules, goals, and clear win/lose states. The argument therefore is — and forgive me in advance if I’m attacking a straw man here — that if you remove all the gameplay, all you’re left with is a “movie”, and usually one that is highly inferior to everything in your prized DVD collection, to boot.

But wait, there's more! »

I read a post over at Man Bytes Blog today about themes of isolation, how they’re so popular in movies and such these days, and how not enough games intentionally exploit said themes, even despite the fact that games are inherently isolating. And then I felt really really good about myself because lo and behold, my most recent games actually do deal quite a bit with isolation in their subject matter. Of course, being a little indie designer whose work attracts a niche audience the size of a protozoa, no one really cares all that much. Still, maybe that Corvus Elrod dude might get a kick out of the fact that hey, not all proponents of “games as art” lie purely on the side of theory. Some of them, you know, actually make stuff.

But wait, there's more! »

The blog MusEditions wrote a fascinating little piece about music in computer games, and Cubert and TGTTPOACS are mentioned therein. I tend to agree with the author in that a game’s music is truly a huge factor that increases my immersion therein; perhaps a big reason I really got into LucasArts adventure games in my pre-teens was precisely because they put such emphasis on music to convey atmosphere. I suppose this is why I’m so flattered that someone has said the same about my own games. Although I know I’ll never have the talent and specialized training of Michael Land, Peter McConnell, or even Jared Emerson-Johnson, I do try and make the best effort possible to recreate the same atmospheric effects through music that influenced me in the classic Lucas games. I’m hoping to do this even better in Chivalry; though the music samples are a bit shorter in order to facilitate continuous looping effects (and to save me some time and space), I’ve been playing with a variety of different styles that I think fit well with the fantasy atmosphere. Time will tell if I actually succeed, I suppose.

On another note, I’ve recently been made feature editor at the somewhat dormant yet soon to be revived Adventure Developers. My my, the writing gigs just keep piling up, now don’t they?

Today, my captive audience, you are all in for a real treat, for I have finished my first-ever one room game using the Lassie engine! It’s called “When We Were Kids”, and you play a little girl who’s just gotten her beloved handheld gaming system stolen by the school bully. It’s also my first real attempt at creating an adventure game puzzle with multiple solutions. And it’s completely playable from within your web browser. So, check it out already. It’ll only take a few minutes of your precious time, after all.

In other news, there’s a lovely little interview with yours truly at I Eat Games, in which I talk about Cubert, TGTTPOACS, and life. You should all definitely check that out as well.

This evening, I played Cubert Badbone after not having touched it for ages, or at least what seems like ages. I can’t believe it’s already been four years since I made that game, and at the same time, I can’t believe how much I’ve grown up since then.

Playing games you made a long time ago kind of feels like coming across a box of your old school stuff, and seeing the drawings and writings you made back when you were a kid. On one hand, you cringe a bit because of their relatively terrible quality compared to what you’re capable of making now. On the other hand, you feel all happy and fuzzy because they bring back so many happy, fuzzy memories of the time you made them.

But wait, there's more! »

Look! Look! I’ve infiltrated the Telltale blog! And with content of significantly better quality than the blogs I tend to post here, to boot! Go check it out, if you haven’t already.[1]

Oh, and in case you care, I also made the TGTTPOACS website brighter and more aesthetically pleasing last night. At least, I find it more aesthetically pleasing. You might think it looks horrible. But I don’t care what you think.

So, E3 really was quite the experience. I have a nice little writeup written about it, which should be going up on Adventure Gamers sometime in the nearish future. (EDIT: Ah, there it is! I’m on page two.) Since some of you reading this blog mentioned booth babes, I should mention that I ended up seeing much fewer of them than I had expected, meaning I only had a chance to smirk slightly rather than put myself in full-on raving feminist mode.

On said trip to E3, I also discovered that I could beat everyone on the Adventure Gamers staff at Tetris DS. And I don’t even own a Nintendo DS. (Yet.)

Anyway, I’m back (obviously), and I started working at Telltale this week, where we make your dreams come true in the form of episodic adventure games. Those of you familiar with the amateur adventure scene might be interested and/or amused to know that I sit across from Mark Darin of Pinhead Games, who also happened to write that Sam and Max comic strip generator I posted about last week. How awesome is that?

Even more awesome is the fact that today, I participated in a Sam and Max brainstorming session with Dave Grossman and Brendan Q. Ferguson. Now THAT was tons of fun. I’ll let you all know whether any of my suggestions ever make it into a final game.

Oh, and before I forget, someone put up another very, very nice review of TGTTPOACS. Check it out!