TOJam #3

By: Derek Yu

On: July 22nd, 2008

Jim McGinley, author of the amazing Mario Inna Space, informs us that the 3rd Annual Toronto Game Jam ended last month and was a resounding success. The theme this year was “cheese,” and entrants were asked to develop a game in 3 days that incorporated cheese, a goat on a pole, and the sound of the TTC subway door closing. 34 games came out of the jam, and it’s pretty impressive (and unique) stuff.

Here are the ones that Jim recommends to TIGSource readers:

a game about bouncing (First Place, depicted above) – an atmospheric abstract game where you have to “grab” bumpers and dodge missiles. Faint smells of Everyday Shooter and fl0w reminisce… and no, that sentence doesn’t mean anything, but it sounds like it does!

Debugger (Second Place) – a game where you smash bugs by hitting keys on your keyboard. Each key corresponds to an area on the screen.

Cheese is War (Third Place) – a multiplayer-on-one-keyboard game where the goal is to topple a tower of cheese onto your opponent.

flowers of error – a drag n’ drop “anti-shooter” by Jonathan Mak and Pekko Koskinen.

Super Cheese Repulser – a one or two player game where the gold is to get a piece of cheese to a mousetrap using a “repulser.”

Office Smash – smash up your office using physics!

Goats Amoré – in Jim’s contribution to the competition, you play a cheese that has to earn the respect of other cheese in order to find a goat. Um.

Some of the games require XNA Framework, and Office Smash requires Unity. But if you wish to live vicariously, there are videos of each game accompanying the downloads. Thanks, Jim!

TIGdb: TOJam Games (still being added)

Experimental Gameplay Workshop 2008

By: Derek Yu

On: December 18th, 2007

Jonathan Blow has called out for submissions for the Experimental Gameplay Workshop in 2008. The EGW is a series of live presentations about innovative or interesting game designs (both WIP and finished). It’s part of the Game Developer’s Conference that takes place in February.

Past games have included Katamari Damacy, Ragdoll Kung Fu, early versions of Braid and Everyday Shooter, Jim McGinley’s Jugglin’, Kyle Gabler’s Experimental Gameplay Project, and Masaya Matsuura’s visual-rhythm game Mojibribbon (depicted left).

Participants are expected to give a 10-15 minute live presentation about their game, including slides, and answer questions at the end of their presentation. The deadline for submissions is January 15th.

The Games of Gamma 256

By: Derek Yu

On: December 12th, 2007

I know it’s been awhile since Gamma 256 ended, but I just got around to playing the entries. (Some of them at least!) I was expecting good things, but managed to be blown away regardless. There are some really interesting ideas in here!

Each of the 10 games mentioned below are are compatible with both the keyboard and the Xbox 360 gamepad. Enjoy!

Bloody Zombies is the brainchild of none other than Petri Purho, who seems never to run out of interesting game ideas. I don’t know if I really need to say more about this one other than “blood surfing on a lawnmower.”

The arthouse kids are ostensibly peeing their pants with delight over Mondrian Provoked, Jim McGinley’s kaleidoscopic feast for your optic nerves. I really like the way you slide around against the sides of the various obstacles in this game, and the ending blitz of special effects is inspiring!

1A90 is a glowy shoot ‘em up where the background is a cellular automaton. Whenever your ship’s bullet (which you can design and redesign at the beginning of each level) strikes an enemy, it pastes itself into the background and sets off a series of chain reactions based on the ruleset of each level!

Sunset Runner has you hopping across the top of a moving train in an attempt to save your “best friend” before he/she/it gets squished. A fun, fast-paced, and difficult game from the King of Grinds, Guert!

StdBits, named after “the low-level pixel blitter in classic Mac OS,” is an abstract exploration game, where every screen has its own unique look. Beautiful visuals and music make this entry a stand-out.

Célu, by Alec Holowka, is a dreamy platform game inspired by Le Petit Prince. In the game you leap from planet to planet and soar through the stars.

Namako Team’s Dive is a brilliantly-realized underwater game where you plumb the depths of the ocean and interact with good and bad creatures using sonar. The atmosphere in this one is top notch.

Mr. Heart Loves You Very Much is a nifty little puzzle game that has you pushing rooms and rotating the level to get to your beloved Mr. Heart. A fun and original idea made better by super-cute retro pixel art.

Nick Sheets’ Doomed Planet is a B-Movie throwback that puts you in control of a UFO looking for victims (for probing?). I really dig the “movie reel” backdrop for this fun little game.

Our final Gamma 256 game is Passage, a poignant exploration of life, love, and the passage of time. My suggestion is to play the game a few times before you read the developer’s statement about what the game means to him.

Jugglin’

By: Derek Yu

On: September 22nd, 2007

I really like games that have a simple theme and stick to making me feel like I’m really doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Nikujin makes me feel like a ninja, Death Worm makes me feel like a great big ol’ sandworm, Star Wars Episode VII makes me feel like a Jedi…

And Jugglin’ makes me feel like I’m jugglin’, yo! Not only that, but it lets you create your own tricks (e.g. “Holy Shit I am Good,” my amazing 13-ball trick, shown on your left!). And the loose, no-pressure structure makes the game frustration-free. Which is one aspect that is definitely not like real juggling.

I’m always surprised by how independent developers are able to get at the essence behind an idea and really distill what’s fun about it!

(Jim McGinley, the creator of Jugglin’, also entered the awesome “Mario Inna Space” into our B-Game Competition. He also happens to possess the uncommon mind which is behind the hilarious “”http://www.bigpants.ca/index.htm">Mister Happy Bigpants" comics.)