As I mentioned earlier, last week, I went to my second GDC, which was very enjoyable, as always. Though oddly enough, this time around the actual conference sessions weren’t all that interesting. Or at least, not as interesting as I remember them being last year. Maybe because game developers, by and large, tend to keep saying the same things every year, but since I was a first-timer, it was all new to me. Then again, this year, people seemed a little more all-around optimistic about the state of innovation and creativity in games, perhaps owing to the success of things like Portal, which I promise myself I’m going to play once I finally get a new computer.

Was it still worth going? Definitely. Not just because I had an excuse to visit San Francisco, but because I got to be surrounded by game developers again for the first time in what seemed like forever. People who are highly intelligent, highly creative, and highly passionate about the same things I’m passionate about. Indie games, serious games, comedic games, games from the perspectives of women and other minorities, games that tell compelling interactive stories, and games that change the world for the better… you name it, I got to have a conversation about it with someone, in the flesh. And that’s really an experience I don’t get to have every day.

Personal highlights include the following: Marek Bronstring’s voice, which he’d completely lost early in the week resulting in him sounding like an evil swamp creature; meeting Dave Gilbert again, this time accompanied with his lovely British programmer girlfriend Janet (FEMALE PROGRAMMERS FOR THE WIN!) and occasionally Edmundo Ruiz, a guy I’ve known on the internet since the days of SCRAMM; seeing my Telltale buddies again and meeting a few of the new hires (and the pretty new office!) they’ve accumulated since I went back to school; and looking sadly at the IGF student finalists that completely edged out Chivalry for a chance at the awards. More to come soonish…

I remember when I first started posting on message boards some time in my early teens, how people, by and large, always tended to assume I was male unless I told them otherwise. My usernames were usually on the gender-neutral side, and my writing style back then was very concise and to the point; those factors, combined with the statistical likelihood of most forum posters in my spheres of interest being male, were probably what made people default to such assumptions about me, even though I don’t recall anything about my approaches being particularly masculine. It seemed like the only time people would really call someone’s gender into question was when they had a particularly feminine-sounding username or choice of words.

But wait, there's more! »

Oh my. It appears as though while I wasn’t looking, a bunch of people went and blogged about Pigeons in the Park. First there was Greg Costikyan over at Play This Thing!, who’d written a lovely, analytical shpiel about Chivalry earlier; this time around, he’s just as analytical, which is exactly the kind of feedback a young and relatively inexperienced kid like me needs to get better at this art thing. Then, apparently as a result of said exposure, I found this one guy who’s apparently making a game very similar to my work in terms of design, except it’s about a young man whose father has cancer, or so I gather. In any case, I’ll be keeping an eye out for it. [1] And finally, it looks like Emily Short has given the game a looksie as well. This, I find very impressive in particular since, as I alluded earlier, it was her conversational IF work that played a big part in inspiring this game [2] in the first place.

All in all, I have to say I’m very, very flattered.

Some time ago, I read this one rather lengthy article that compared third-person adventure games to “little theater plays with clunky movement, no dramatic camera angles and a distanced view that makes it impossible to see any facial expressions”. This comparison, of course, was made with the intent of proposing better cinematography in adventure games, which many have already attempted since said article was written back in 2003. However, my strange little mind began to wander, and I thought to myself, why do we even have to emulate movies, anyway? Why can’t we exploit this theatre aesthetic in a way that’s artistically meaningful? Hell, why can’t there be an adventure game that’s actually set on a stage?

But wait, there's more! »

First off, I’ve written a review of Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure over at Adventure Gamers, which I recommend you all check out. As you can see, I wasn’t all too impressed with the game as a whole, cohesive unit, but I see it as a very important game nevertheless, as it’s the first adventure game ever to feature Wii-exclusive motion sensitive gameplay, and might just be worth checking out just for that reason. I’m being very optimistic and hoping that someday, we might just see games with the same kind of gameplay, but better stories and themes.

Also, some guy decided to interview me, and the eager survey-taking side of me kindly obliged. Yay.

I see it’s been almost a month since my last post, so in an attempt not to sound like one of those people who only blogs about never updating their blog, I’ll instead share with you a few tidbits that have been preoccupying me for this past little while.

First off, I’ve been reading a bit. Recently, I’ve finished Persuasive Games by Ian Bogost, which was not only an interesting read, but also very useful in providing me with practical knowledge to inspire me in my own work. As well, I picked up Good Girls And Wicked Witches: Women in Disney’s Feature Animation, which appears to be a feminist critique of Disney movies. I’ve only just started, but so far, I’m very intrigued.

As for games, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my DS lately, as I managed to finally get around to playing the third installment of Phoenix Wright, as well as Hotel Dusk. Neither are particularly epic in scope, but both are very charming, engrossing, lovable, and just plain fun, and that’s more than good enough for me.

As for games I’m working on, I’ve got a thing or two in the works at the moment, but nothing I’m particularly ready to divulge as of yet. In the meantime, did you know that Chivalry recently got mentioned on Play This Thing! and Rock, Paper, Shotgun? I think this bodes well, as it signifies that the game is finally starting to get itself exposed to gamers at large, rather than just the adventure gaming community. Now, I only hope that said gamers will find something to like in it…

Finally, more than a whole two months after I released the game, the very last Adventure Architect article for Chivalry is online. A snippety snippet:

“Yet, despite this, what I find myself more concerned about is how Chivalry presents itself as an artistic experience; that is, how far does it come in reaching out and inspiring people in the same way that my favourite works of art do? Admittedly, I don’t think I’m the greatest of storytellers, and still have a long way to go before I get anywhere near where I’d like to be in that regard. That said, my impressions of my games are coloured by the fact that I know them inside and out, and therefore cannot see them as an audience would. This is where player feedback becomes important to me. It becomes my measuring stick to gauge where I am with respect to creating my ideal gaming experience, and what I can do to come closer to that ideal in future projects.”

Go on now, read the rest for some delicious postmortem goodness!