Game-related ramblings.

Tag: One-handed Games Page 2 of 3

Perchance To Dream: Proteus

Ed Key and David Kanaga’s Proteus is the kind of game that sparks heated debates about whether or not it is actually a game. Personally, I think such debates are silly. Who cares what we call it? The important questions are whether Proteus is worth playing, and why (or why not). To decry it as not being a game is to name it unworthy without providing any reason. I know that humans are wont to label and categorize everything, but when this leads to argument over the labels of things rather than the things themselves, we’re missing the point. But I digress.

The reason Proteus sparks such debates is that it lacks the standard goal-oriented design that most players expect in games. There are no enemies to kill or challenges to complete. Proteus is, essentially, a surreal island to wander and explore, with a striking visual style and excellent sound design. It has also earned gushing praise from nearly everyone who’s played it, which caught my attention. It has inspired poetry. But the real reason I decided to play it now is a passing comment I saw, describing Proteus as a meditative experience, something to play at the end of a long day to de-stress and relax. Given how busy I’ve been lately, some zen relaxation sounded pretty good.

Going The Distance In FTL

I’ve written about FTL before, and if you’re unfamiliar with the game you should probably read that post first. Here, I’m assuming readers have at least a passing knowledge of the game.

Back when I first wrote about FTL, over a year ago, I didn’t think I’d stick with it that long. In fact, my exact words were:

Still, I don’t think FTL will keep me hooked as long as some more involved roguelikes (and roguelike-likes), but its simplicity is really where it shines. It’s easy to learn, and offers just enough options to make multiple plays interesting and fun. It may become frustrating to have to unlock each ship, depending on what’s required, but even with just the two I have I can easily see myself jumping in for quick games or extended sessions well into the future.

Turns out my fears about FTL’s staying power were completely unfounded. I’ve gone back to FTL regularly in the last year, in my quest to unlock more ships (and alternate layouts for the ones I already have), and I’ve learned that FTL is actually a lot deeper than it seemed at first. With developers Subset Games announcing a free expansion to be released soon, I decided it was high time to write about why I keep going back.

Trenchcoat Time: X-Noir Demo

Diligent readers may remember that I quite liked the massive, free Japanese-style role-playing game Master of the Wind. Since it was completed, developers Solest have been working on two other games, the short puzzle game Labyrinthine Dreams (which recently had a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund an art overhaul), and the detective game X-Noir. X-Noir was announced first, and the news about Solest’s Kickstarter campaign reminded me to catch up on their catalog. So I decided to take X-Noir for a spin.

Very, Very Fast: Race The Sun

Why do humans enjoy moving at high speeds? Apparently it is because the speed triggers a neurological response to danger, and the brain releases a mixture of adrenaline and endorphins to help cope with the perceived threat. This mixture is responsible for the “rush” that many people find so pleasurable. The problem with this is that moving at high speeds is, in fact, dangerous, which is why we’ve developed ways to simulate the same feelings while minimizing risk. Riding a rollercoaster, skiing down a mountain, and more mundane activities like going down a playground slide or swinging on a swing set are all ways to mimic the feeling of moving fast while staying relatively safe. But the only way to be completely safe while feeling like you’re moving at high velocity is to not move at all, and mimic the feeling in some other way. Like in a game, perhaps.

There are many games that involve moving really fast, but few of them are as pure as Race the Sun. It’s a game about steering a solar-powered craft as it chases the sunset, dodging obstacles and trying to keep moving for as long as possible. Because when the sun goes down, your ride is over.

Upgrade Your Gray Matter: Kanye Quest 3030

If you’re like me, you’re a fan of the album Deltron 3030. Because it’s awesome. A hip-hop concept album about the year 3030, with production by Dan the Automator, turntables by Kid Koala, and rapping by Del tha Funkee Homosapien — what’s not to like? If you are even more like me, then you’ve been wondering when the follow-up album, Deltron Event II, is going to come out. Production began on the album way back in 2004, and the album’s been plagued by a series of delays ever since. The latest word is that it will release on October 1 of this year, but the album has missed release dates before. So I guess we’ll see.

In the meantime, why not play Kanye Quest 3030?

Indie Time: Swords and Sorcery — Underworld Gold

Longtime readers may recall that I was quite impressed with Might and Magic Book One, a game originally released in 1986, when I played it for the first time a few years ago. Impressed enough, in fact, that I honored it with the very first History Lessons post on this blog. Well, it turns out I’m not the only one who likes that particular brand of old-school role-playing. Swords and Sorcery — Underworld Gold is an homage to the first two Might and Magic games, created (as they were) by a single person.

Now, the word “homage” does not fully capture just how similar Underworld is to those early games. The six-character party, the first-person turn-based movement, the 16×16 grid maps, the combat system, and even many specific spells are pretty much copied from the first Might and Magic games. In fact, the original version of Underworld had almost no graphics, just like Might and Magic Book One. Underworld creator Charles Clerc later made a slew of design changes and bug fixes, and hired an artist to redo all the graphics, resulting in the newer, shinier Gold edition.

Actually, let’s talk about those graphics first.

Roguelike Highlights: Iter Vehemens Ad Necem

New readers may wish to read my introduction to roguelikes first. Also, know that you can click on the screenshots for larger versions.

“Iter vehemens ad necem” is a Latin phrase meaning “a violent road to death”. The game Iter Vehemens ad Necem, known as IVAN for short, is a roguelike that is aptly named. Most roguelikes are hard, and end with the player’s death the vast majority of the time, but IVAN takes a special, cruel pleasure in killing the player in the most violent ways possible. A typical session might see you get caught in a spider’s web, poisoned by said spider, and left to die slowly, vomiting the whole time. Or you might get stuck in a bear trap and assaulted by a zombie that gives you leprosy, so you must watch helplessly as your limbs fall off, until the leg with the trap on it falls off, which frees you… but then you have to try and roll around without limbs and eventually starve to death. Or a kamikaze dwarf might detonate next to you, causing the wands you’re carrying to explode, blowing your arms and head off and leaving your corpse to dissolve slowly in a cloud of acid rain.

Sound like fun?

You Shouldn’t Play Vigil: Blood Bitterness

Okay. I bought Vigil: Blood Bitterness several years ago for about $1 during a super-sale, which saw the entire Meridian4 catalog going for very cheap. I checked out the sale for Shadowgrounds (which is an excellent game) but decided to browse the rest of the catalog, and Vigil: Blood Bitterness caught my attention due to its stark black and white visual style. The description implied a point-and-click adventure game, set in a strange futuristic world with a dark and forboding atmosphere. I decided it was worth $1 to check it out, but then I promptly got distracted by all sorts of other games, and only got around to trying it recently.

I actually played it before I injured my wrist, but given that it is entirely controlled with the mouse you could easily play it with one hand. But you shouldn’t.

Roguelike-like: FTL

Readers who are unfamiliar with roguelikes may wish to read my introduction on the subject first.

It seems that everyone in the world is playing FTL. It’s one of the first Kickstarter games to be finished (although it was already under development before its Kickstarter campaign), and it’s captured everyone’s imagination. It’s easy to see why: a spaceship management game, which has the player shunting power to different systems and frantically ordering crew-members to put out fires, all while making Faster Than Light (FTL, get it?) jumps to escape the rebel fleet, is something we don’t usually see. The roguelike elements — the randomized encounters and brutal difficulty that force the player to try and try again — seal the deal. Best of all, it can easily be played with one hand, being almost entirely mouse-controlled. The only key needed is the spacebar, for pausing the action to issue orders, and if you’re like me you even go to the trouble of mapping that to a spare button on the mouse [EDIT: I had to use my programmable mouse to do this; the game does not actually allow for remapping controls] for a true one-handed experience (if you’re not like me, it’s OK; reaching over to the spacebar with one hand is still very easy).

Most who have written about FTL focus on the great player-generated stories it facilitates. Here’s one example; here’s another. Since I’ve already done that extensively for my favorite roguelike, I won’t take that approach here. Instead I’m going to talk about FTL’s design, and why I think it works so well.

History Lessons: Master Of Magic

New readers may wish to read my History Lessons Introduction first. Previous History Lesson posts can be found here.

I couldn’t stay away. At first I thought I’d just take a break from games while my wrist healed, but soon I gave in and started looking for games I could play with one hand. Fast-paced action games were out of the question, unless I could play them entirely with the mouse, so I started looking at turn-based options. Roguelikes would work, of course, but I wanted something with a longer playtime. Eventually I settled on Master of Magic, the 1994 fantasy-themed strategy game by Simtex. While Simtex are perhaps more famous for creating the first two Master of Orion games, Master of Magic garnered a loyal community of fans, many of whom are still playing it today.

Most players describe Master of Magic as a fantasy version of Sid Meier’s classic Civilization series, and while Master of Magic certainly has its differences, the description is fairly accurate. Much like Civilization, players in Master of Magic start off with a single city and must expand their empire by managing production of buildings and armies, exploring the world map, founding or conquering new cities, and eventually encountering other empires controlled by computer players. But this all takes place in a fantasy world, where the players are powerful wizards and there are all manner of monstrous creatures to encounter or recruit as they vie for supremacy. And best of all, it can be played entirely with the mouse, and it’s all turn-based so I have as much time as I need to make decisions. Perfect!

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