IGC Game Impressions. Post them here

#1 Robot Smackdown pleasantly surprised me.

Tubetwist was everything it was made out to be. Really great game (a little too challenging for the loud and distracting setting, I can't wait to play it in the comfort of my home). Absolutely deserving of its prizes.

Marbleblast on the 360 was great. Worth the money, for sure. While I was a bit disappointed with Microsoft after the show, Arcade looks like it has a good chance at reviving the social/party game.

The new Lighting Kit by John Kabus looks sweet. Especially the day/night environmental stuff (which I think will be sold seperately, not sure)

Many others looked great, including a few I can't remember the names of (the flying robot Third-person shooter looked really great)

The biggest impression made on me was from the people themselves. Lots of talented, motivated, fun people. It was my first show, and it was a blast. See ya'll next year.

#2 Id also like to hear peoples impressions / opinions, there are games in that list I havent heard mentioned before.

#3 I'd really like some usable feedback on Basic Bob. I've gotten some already, but I'd like ot know what issues people ran into while playing it.

#4 Re: Basic Bob
Cool graphical style.
Got the water cannon, but couldnt put out the fire until I killed all those fuzzy dudes which seemed kind of odd.
Then I got the missles but I couldnt figure out how to shoot them, so I pretty much stopped there.

#5 Ok. That sounds like what others have said. I have placed a small overlay on hte screen that tells you what al lthe buttons are. Would that have helped? f was the key to switch weapons :)

#6 I'll be posting a rather large list.... sometimes soon (have mad homework to do, which is why I haven't been on forums or irc)

#7 Honestly most the people i talked to didnt like Tube twist. (too boring, etc)

but i'm not one for puzzle games, so i dont know if what they have carries any weight.

i thought robot smackdown was good

a lot of the games listed i didnt see at all. maybe they were only put on 1 or 2 computers, which is rather disapointing.

#8 Unfortunately, I had a hard time playing any game accept Gish and Blockland. Those seemed to be very popular and popping up on every screen at IGC in the playing center area. We had Illumina up for a few hours each day with no more than 5 people on at once (LAN), but it was usually closed out of to play Gish :P Most of the time we were listening to the breakout sessions or talking with fellow developers.

We had Camelot Galway on one computer, and a vid of Terra on another computer that seemed to be shared with a lot of games so it didnt show very much. Illumina we did manage to get some players on, but not near as many as we hoped.

#9 Blake: i noticed what would politely be called "marketing"... that being whenever a computer was free some people were going around starting up a certain demo. I didnt notice this for 'gish' or blockland, but it's what i saw a lot.

Also, I didnt see Illumina or Terra on any of the computers I was fiddling with (4 PC's out of the computers there)

granted i spent most of my 'try' time friday, but still.

#10 That's weird..I never saw a Terra demo there or a Camelot demo either.

#11 @Jason

Unfortunately that's the way that you have to market your game, this wasn't a trade show thing but a general attitude that I think everyone who wants to make a commercial game needs to realise. You need to be agressive in how you market and bring attention to your game, people need to know its there and need to know that they should be playing it. Not everyone could afford posters or had positive word of mouth for their product going into IGC. In fact I saw quite a few developers that were sitting back and impatiently waiting for someone else to market their game for them versus taking the bull by the horns, grabbing some friends and starting up a game.

Some games were popular because they were different, others were popular because they were simple. What it really came down to is that the successful single player games such as TubeTwist and Facade were popular not just because they were good products that had a different style of gameplay and some great implementation, but because they were easy to get into. You could get into TubeTwist or Facade with just five minutes of game play and feel comfortable with what you were doing. With the multiplayer games the popular ones were the ones where people got into quickly and were yelling, screaming and having a good time with "high fives".

IMHO there is a lot that you can learn and take back from the LAN center aside from gathering feedback regarding your own product and it is my sincere hope that many of you there did just that.


@Everyone

I didn't get to play a lot, most of my time at IGC I spent networking with others (which as a side note I felt many people did not do properly at this years IGC, especially many of the new guys to IGC) but here are some quick thoughts on a few games...

TubeTwist - Fun puzzle game, easy to get into and easy to enjoy. Its very obvious to see why this game is close to being released.

Venture Africa - Looks very fun, game play is a little slower which allows you to enjoy your mass mayhem that you can cause when you introduce a lot of Crocodiles to a herd of Zebras :) Its definately one of those games you are going to see on the market within the next year.

Basic Bob - I just didn't get it.

Air Ace - You had to ask Phil for a private demo of the game. It looks pretty cool but even by Phil's own admission its still a bit out so we should expect to see some pretty cool things from this in the coming months.

Golden Fairway - Nice. We have a great Links calibre game on the PC again and its done by a great team out of St Louis using Torque. You can definately see the production values here in this game.

HackIT - HackIT is one of those games where there is a lot of unique style and polish that has been put into the product to deliver a great thinking puzzle game. I believe they are just looking for a publisher while they finish off their Release Candidates.

Twin Distress - A mindless puzzle game of matching. I didn't get the "line of sight" matching requirements and there were a few things that I felt were too behind the scenes for the end user such as not having a timer that shows when the next board resorting will take place. The art was OK but didn't feel too consistent.


Logan

#12

Quote:
Basic Bob - I just didn't get it.

You run around and kill bumbles. It's not rocket science.

#13 My quick impressions:

Hack-It
Very polished, but at the end of the day the game is a sliding puzzle. I know I keep asking people to scale down their games, but this is simply not enough. I understand that Marcus is now working on Realm Wars 2, which shows tons of promise. I wish the amount of work and polish that is around the sliding puzzle was put into something a little more engaging.

Facade
This is one of the most interesting games I have played in a LONG time. Of course, at 800M, the download size is a very large impediment to any kind of money making. Good luck to the developers though, they are taking a chance and making something very worthwhile.

Determinance
There is some promise in this game. I have always liked games that attempt to make direct interfaces. It just feels good to me to move my mouse and have it directly swing the sword. If the play mechanic finally gets worked out, the art and presentation of this game will need a lot of work to be viable. My initial thought is that the direct input play mechanic combined with hand to hand combat will not work over an internet connection, so a single good single player game will need to be added in order to have any chance for being a commercial product. Trying to sell a game that only works on a LAN would be too hard.

Tube Twist
After three years, this game has finally reached the point of nearing completion. The puzzle get hard too fast and the mouse interaction to place parts needs reworked (I gave Justin some suggestions for how to fix it, and I think they are implementing it). As somebody mentioned, puzzle games are not for everybody, but I love them. Once these few things are fixed, GG already has tons of distribution lined up for the product.

Twin Distress
Nice T2D implementation of a match two in a time frame game. More fun than I thought it would be, and we already have distribution lined up if the game can be polished enough. We are more excited about the other game that Max-Gaming brought to IGC (but, it was so good that we didn't show it on the floor).

X-Box 360 Live Arcade Games
I thought most of the XBLA360 games were kind of weak (other than Marble Blast Ultra, of course). I loved Wik on the PC at last year's IGC, but the straight port over to XB360 just didn't work. Of course, I have always loved Mutant Storm as evidenced that GG was the first company to publish it, but I think the XB360 implementation needed more, like multi-player. Geometry Wars was a one trick pony with one cool effect. Joust was SLOW! We worked our asses off on Marble Blast by totally reworking all of the art and shaders, adding in a new high fidelity networking system for precision multi-player, etc. Of course, it is still MB at heart, but I think we will be rewarded. We love MB and have been well rewarded by making this game, but we are ready to move on. I am sure the competition in this channel will heat up at an exponential rate, but we are totally excited about what our next games in this channel will be.

Oust
Jeremy has an interesting game on his hands. Some cool characters added into this king of the mountain game play mechanic has promise.

Gish, Golf?
I LOVE Gish. The new multi-player modes are a hoot. Very creative and fun. Golf? has me befuddled. I love the swing mechanism, but the interface for the rest of the game is just plain weird. Driving the cart is not fun, and does not add to the game in my opinion. The first time it is kind of cool, but after that, it becomes a hindrance. That said, I think Chronic Logic is one of the most creative companies creating some of the most interesting products on the planet.

#14 Robot Smack Down
LOVE IT! We are working with Justin and 21-6 to make it more than anybody could imagine. Nuff said.

E.R.V
Well, nobody can bat 1000:) 21-6 threw together this little rescue vehicle demo for IGC. As far as I could tell, it wasn't working very well for me or anybody else. Way too hard. Needs to be outside, not in interiors. Oh well, that is why we prototype ideas.

Wild Life Tycoon
Nice, professional, right sized.... and published already. Great job, Andy. This is a text book case of a professional developer picking a tool, focusing on what the tool can do (not what it can't), making a game, and now, making a living making his own games.

Shelled
Had a long conversatino with Josh on this one. This product went way off the track. Originally envisioned as Orbz ++, it is now in no man's land with mini games inside a sci-fi GUI with cartooney turtles and menus with hard core textures and back drops. Is this supposed to be a game for casual players of core gamers. If it is trying to be both, it will get neither. Focus. I have given Josh this message, and he agrees. I hope I ma not being to hard on it in public, but that is how we learn.

Illumina
Normally, when I see teams attempt to make a big FPS, I think that they won't make it even if they have a nice start. Illumina probably stands the best chance of any that we have seen. I hope the team can stick with it and get bring this game to completion.

Dimension
Awesome! Robert Clegg has been working on this educational project for at leat three years now and his efforts are finally paying off. 21-6 did an awesome job of development on this title. RObert has done an awesome job of following his vision, raising venture capital, building a company, and keeping the dream alive. It is paying off. Tests of kids using the product show that it is rasing their grade rate by a factor of two.

Realm Wars 2
Wow! So good that GG will be partnering with MG to bring this product to life.

#15 Aerial Antics - I love Pilot Wings and AA definitely has always reminded me of that game, which is a good thing (since there aren't many games like PW anymore). Adding in multi-player is huge and will give AA the longevity that it needs to be around for years to come (or as long as Jeremy continues to build on that IP).

Air Ace - I got a private demo from Phil and was really impressed with the physics. It took a while to get used to flying with a mouse but once I did, I was addicted to flying around close to the sweet looking terrain/water and doing loops / barrel rolls. This game has a lot of potential and I'm excited to see Phil digging in to finish the game.

Basic Bob - This game has the feel of a platformer and is a good example of how to use stock torque features to make a game. Not only do you shoot the little fuzzy guys but you solve puzzles (like putting out the fire on the bridge with the water gun). The main problem I saw people have with the game is that the door in the starting cabin would not open all the time. When the door doesn't open, there is no way out which frustrated players enough to try another game before exploring more of Basic Bob. I personally got stuck trying to get to the third island and decided to move on to other games.

Camelot Galway - I watched a bit of this game over shoulders and it looked pretty hot but I didn't get any time to play it.

Colonial Wars 2120 - I didn't play this game nor do I believe I saw it being played.

Dark Horizons Lore: Invasion - I wanted to play this one but didn't get a chance. That's probably because we know MGT so well and can get an early version any time.

d-Racer - I saw this racing game running on one machine and being played by Brett Fatori. Even though it looks similar to last year, I understand most of the internal tech has been improved drastically. That said, the game still really looks nice and I'm hopeful to see the game get some momentum now that the GG/BT merger is complete.

Determinance - Wow did this game make me feel like a flying super hero in the matrix! Using the mouse to so directly control the weapon arm of the model was unique to say the least. The cloth system for the cape really made me feel like I was floating. It was a little bit hard to fight other players as I found it was more like jousting than sword play basically flying toward another player, taking a hack at them (with the sweet mouse controlled arm/sword), drifting by, turning around, and charging again. Still, this was one of the more unique games I saw at the show and I think probably has that something special it needs to stand out.

#16 Facade - Probably one of the most talked about game at the show as people discussed strategies and experiences trying to get the couple to break up or get together or even to figure out how to get kicked out of the apartment as quickly as possible. I actually saw this game on G4 Cinemtech a month ago or so and was very impressed. Getting a chance to play it was awesome.

Flash Bios - Formerly Bit Shifter, this game looks really hot. The levels and artwork (comics, etc) are quite vibrant and unique. The production value has definitely improved over this last year. The game itself felt like a bit too much shooting but I'm biased from a couple years ago where the focus of the game was more about picking guys up and dropping them off to knock out the virus which I preferred. That said, I don't think Paul and Jason are far from having a completed game with Flash Bios which is damn exciting in itself.

Golden Fairway - I saw this played over the shoulder but didn't really play it myself because it's a another golf game, of which I have played many. I didn't really see anything that made the game stand out as unique but then again I'm not sure it's supposed to. MVP Online has been developing golf/sports games for many years from what I understand and it shows in the production value of Golden Fairway.

HackIt! - I played an early version of this game a month or two before IGC and I loved it. The game play is classic drawing from those little hand-held sliding puzzles which is a perfect game mechanic for the casual game market. The visual style was very strong combining 3D environments with some great 2D user interface and notifications (like the boom graphic when you run out of time). I had a problem with the tutorial that introduced the game as it had many different dialogs to dismiss and a lot to read. It was also a deterrent that the tutorial actually has you fail a puzzle in order to learn how to play which was a negative feeling that could have been avoided. This is a great game that just needs a better tutorial to get the player into the game faster and on a more positive experience.

Illumina - The game looked hot in the Torque Lighting Kit demo however when I tried to play it I ended up in an extremely dark level where I could hardly see anything which was frustrating. It struck me as ironic that the first level I tried was so dark considering the game was called Illumina. It appeared that the game was being coded during the conference and some new builds were put out on the machines which either addressed the lighting issues I saw or ended up showing a better demo level. In either case, I watched some folks playing it over the shoulder and the game looks really good and had some cool features like smacking another player with the but of your gun and a cool "night vision" effect.

Kachino - A creative 2D game that I saw in a private demo with Adrian (MGT). The game wasn't installed on the show-off machines for reasons unknown (but I'm sure they were probably good). If it were to have been played by the attendees, I think it would have been received well and been a contender in the player's choice awards.

#17 Marble Blast Ultra - Seriously, this game is now so sexy it's almost a crime. GarageGames continues to build on this IP with each new version instead of just porting it from platform to platform and it shows. The new multiplayer mode is something I know Mark has talked about for a while and is now a reality a damn addicting one at that.

Minigolf Mania - I really wanted to see this game in action as each year it gets better and better. However, I don't believe it was installed anywhere which made me sad ;(.

Noopie Adventure - This game was an experiment, per say, by Anthony R. from MGT. I saw a bunch of people try it which means it had some appeal both in the name and the visual style. The tutorial was a bit rough and the ability to hit the gems with the spline-based weapon was difficult while also flying around but the game has the basics to be a creative platformer so I hope Anthony takes it to the next level.

Nutcraker's Revenge - I didn't get to try the game but saw a few people confused trying to figure out what this was. It seemed the demo of the game was pretty simple but was intriguing enough to get peeps to fire it up. I'll probably email Joshua shortly after this post to see if I can get a personal demo copy.

Realm Wars 2 - MGT has really started generating some momentum behind this previously slated community project. From hand-to-hand combat to horse riding, RW2 is starting to look like a pretty unique game in the FPS genre. The new level that Logan and team put together has some nice "mood" to it and even looked a little "WoW" like. There wasn't enough multiplayer going on this weekend in general but RW2 was still deserved of the best Multiplayer Game at the show for the variety of combat styles (weapons, hand-to-hand, and bows).

Shelled - An exciting foray into the "artillery" style game genre, Shelled has the concept and IP to make a sellable game. I would have like to see this game played multiplayer more than it was but it was hard this year to get other people to join you since there were so many games being played (many of which were single player).

#18 Snappy - I didn't get to play this third game installed by RTG and so I'll again probably ask for the private demo copy from Joshua the next time I get a chance because it looks intriguing.

Steel Sentinels - This is essentially a battleship game that I really wanted to play but never found on a computer I managed to find open. Getting games installed on all 50 machines was a chore this year especially with so many people playing games on them. Hopefully next year we can all get more organized with game installs so that every game is on every machine.

Terra: Formations - Yet another game that slipped through the cracks for me. Damn, I wanted to try it to!

Twin Distress - This is a classic color matching game that has serious potential in the causal bubble-popping game space. Top selling games like Zuma are remakes of old games too and do extremely well. If MGT gets this polished up and with enough game modes, they could have a good seller on their hands.

Wildlife Tycoon: Venture Africa - Andy has done a great job at promoting this game and after playing the game I figured it was a shoe in for best single player game or best overall. Pretty much everything about this game has hit written on it and I wouldn't be surprised if it's in a box by this time next year.

#19 @Chris

True but I guess I was just expecting something more with Basic Bob. With its unique look and feel I felt like I should be having mad Mario fun.

#20 @L Foster: I'm not saying that marketing tactic is bad.. heck if I had a game I'd do the exact same thing (well, admitidly i think i'd exploit the system a little more than that even)

But you are right... a lot of people dont know how behave in the big bad world of pimping yourself.

Me too, but heck, I'm trying :)

t2d.net forever! heh.

ps: I really loved the small tight games from.. errr "Scott" something... they wernt torque based, but 3dGameMaker based (and i think 1 written in director?) Capture the frag, [Something]Battlegrounds, and Sword vs Skill were really, really freakin great prototypes.