The gamma 256 contest was held by the Montreal-based Kokoromi collective in november 2007.
The requirements for entering the event were to submit a playable video game whose resolution had to be equal to or less than 256×256 pixels. The event received many brilliant submissions, amongst which were indie hits Passage, Bloody Zombies and Mr Heart Loves You Very Much.
This has “spatial constraint” written all over it!
Space is the most logical constraint to consider after time. It is also one of the most obvious constraints I might talk about, due to its widespread use.
Over at Gamasutra:
Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games announced today that developer Firaxis is currently working on Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization for PC, set to be released this fall. A “complete reimagining” of the original Colonization, it again puts the player in the role of one of four European powers seeking to establish colonial dominance over the New World. (more…)
Time has long been thought as a negative constraint to game development. Huge, multi-million dollar productions sometimes last for 3+ years and still manage to feel incomplete at the end, sometimes even requiring a patch to run properly. The general assumption is that more time and more money will forcibly yield a better game. However, this is periodically proved false.
What is a game? What is a game made of?
Is it built from the bottom-up? Top-down? Can it be without characters, levels, points? Does it need a story? Can it be boring, or make us cry? Does it need to have X or W, Y or Z?
There have been many different approaches to answering this question. Academics, professionals, journalists, and others have their own approach, mostly based upon previous work on media theory or using their field of expertise as a measuring stick.
(more…)
Yesterday was the final presentation of our prototypes before a panel of industry figures, including Jordan Mechner and Benoît Sokal.
My filters let this slip through today:
barkpeeler anatomicosurgical subdistinguished recontribute epigonium advisedly subtreasury upspring
Yeah, spam bots will try to find the most remote words to distinguish themselves from most spam and thus fool our filters. It made me think, let’s all hope that spammers don’t start using algorithms like the one I’ve used on poesysteme to create new words.
Although receiving spam made with my game might be flattering, I must say.
Update:
They seem to come in herds:
redoubtably hysterogenous globoseness precartilaginous licentiousness squelchingly armature shriekily
trowlesworthite hierograph siskin zenick judger cataractwise overdeeming cornerway
educative shaglet pixilated anthodium mowland paleostylic gebur unode
phacoscope ozokerite unbitten hepialid caledonian quoteless avijja quetenite
Just lovin’it…
I haven’t been able to give any sign of life lately due to the fact that M.A.Z.E. has to be delivered monday.
I’ll manage to have a lot of info on it around wednesday, I think.
The series of conferences is drawing to an end. A quick recap on what happened yesterday and today.