The Making of FTL

FTL Early Build

I’ve been a bit of an FTL kick recently and so I was thrilled to see that the team behind FTL gave a talk at this year’s GDC. The released early screen shots of the game (above) and what the early testers thought of everything from the combat to the art.

They also had some interesting things to say about what it’s like to develop the game in a very public way. The game got funded via Kickstarter and their success brought both positive and negative elements to the game and it’s development.Essentially, expectations went way up and so too did scope (and the challenges inherent in that).

They have already posted their slides from their talk and you can download them here. Before going their slide deck I suggest reading Armless Octopus’s writeup of actually being there for the talk as it provides context for the slides as well as some additional insight.

Now to spin up my FTL…



March 29th, 2013 by Adam

Round-up of Good GDC Vault Presentations

GDC-Logo
Sadly, I’m not going to GDC this year so to make up for it, I scoured the vault to find presentations I previously enjoyed as well as new ones (to me). I thought I’d share some of my favourite talks for other people who, like me, are missing out on this year’s fun.

The GDC Vault has a nearly every presentation and panel from previous GDC events. There is a ton of content within it which is really good and you should go through it to find stuff directly related to you. Below, are links to some choice GDC presentations from 2011 & 2012.

All the links are to free content in the vault (some  presentations that have only slides below may have video for paid accounts).

 

From GDC 2011:

 

From GDC 2012



March 25th, 2013 by Adam

RPS on RCR

When I first heard of Retro City Rampage I thought it was rather esoteric and I questioned the ability to cohesively put together all these disparate games in a way that made sense to a contemporary gamer. Rock Paper Scissors (RPS) recently reviewed Retro City Rampage (RCR) and it address my previous thoughts, sadly it seems that RCR fails to live up to the games it’s paying a homage to.

From the review:

I get it. I get that our rich, shared history of gaming across many decades is something we want to celebrate and that there is cosy soul-warmth to be had from seeing these familiar scenes again. But perhaps there’s more to be done with it than just pointing at it, as though we’re in some hyperactive museum where all the exhibits are on motorised wheels whizzing around the hall at speed while the tour guide screams a disassociated pepper spray of facts and lies about them.

Moreover, I’m not sure that the game in which all these things are indelicately placed is all that much of a good time, or at least not on a par with the joy it clearly feels in its nostalgia. It is a minor technical marvel for sure, cramming in a slick, busy open world rendered in 8-bit 2D as well as rapidly-changing scenes based upon games of yesteryear. There is a large space to run around in, wielding many weapons and driving many cars, maybe suddenly hopping into a side-quest in a near-indestructible tank with infinite ammo, maybe running into a laundry and smashing all its washing machines to steal the change inside ‘em.

Read the full review.



October 22nd, 2012 by Adam

PBS Short on Indie Video Games

The video game industry is now bigger than Hollywood, with hundreds of millions of dollars spent developing these interactive experiences. But there are also small-scale developers working in the indie game realm, creating unique and experimental video games without the budgets of the larger “AAA” games. These indie game developers devote time, money, and take great risks in a quest to realize their creative vision. They deftly balance game mechanics & systems, sound & visuals, and an immersive storytelling experience to push the gaming medium into revolutionary new territory. Much like indie music or indie film, the indie gaming movement provides a creative outlet for game designers who want to work outside of the mainstream.

Via bOing.



October 4th, 2012 by Adam

Something to Follow: Tiggit, the Indie Game Installer

Tiggit is like Steam but for free indie games. Also like when Steam first launched it’s Windows-only so if your a Mac user like me then you’ll have to wait (or use Boot Camp). You can follow Tiggit’s progress on their blog.

With a total of 336 games (and demos) so far this should be a neat way to stay in the loop about indie games. The project is open source and if your next game is free and runs on Windows then you can have your game listed.

Here’s a brief on the features:

Features:

  • Contains over 300 freeware games (and a few demos)
  • New games added continuously
  • No account or registration required


May 8th, 2012 by Adam
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