Long Strange Trip, Part 5: You Win Some. You Lose Some.
by Paul Dana · 04/05/2014 (10:27 am) · 7 comments
Long Strange Trip, Part 5: You Win Some. You Lose Some.
This is part 5 in a series of blogs that documents the wondrous journey of Plastic Games as we learned the hard way how not to make games. Part One is here
We last left you, dear reader, at the end of Part Four. We had a better game, and we were about to win an award for it - and then take two years to fail to complete it. You can download the 2003 IGC Version here and play it for yourself.
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Main Screen
So we had our new premise and new name for the game: Bit Shifter. The (computer) world is under attack by a Virus! You must shift Bits to the Virus to clean it up, meanwhile the Virus spawns mobs that fight you. This first version of Bit Shifter was very simplistic in it's implementation. The world was a world of green hills and trees. It did not look like a computer world. The Virus was red patches on the ground. The mobs that spawned were just red colored turrets.
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Loading Level 1 Gateway
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Loading Level 2 Heatsink
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Playing Heatsink
Still - it was fun. It was satisfying to clear a level and fun to fight the enemies while you ferried your little bit robots around. We even had CO-OP play at this early stage. We later had to abandon co-op play in favor of finishing the game, but that was a sad, sad, day for me. Co-op is my favorite style of play. It was hard to remove that, and I vow yet to bring it back!
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Loading Co-op Level 3 Tranz Port
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Playing Co-op Tranz Port
We went to IGC 2003 and won Best Single Player game. People found the idea compelling and liked flying around in the ship. However we were at the conference. We explained how to play the game to everyone who sat down. Also people pointed out that, while the action was fun, the strategy was ultimately lame. The virus didn't really DO anything. Cleaning it was like cleaning up a stain on the ground.
Disappointment Landmark Two
So Sad Again!
1. Nobody could understand how to play unless we explained it.
2. Action was fun but strategy was stale
3. Perception issues - it was hard to see where the virus was.
4. Hard to pick up bits - no Bit Beam existed at this time you had to run into bit.
This was disappointment landmark number two in a series of such landmarks. It will take several installments of the Long Strange Trip to outline all the disappointment landmarks on the journey from 'Droids' to 'Bit Shifter'. The astute reader will notice yet another multi-year gap between the previous installment and this one, and the similarity of wording. This represents a pattern in how we dealt with the disappointments
1) cause - we finally do real play testing and find out why our game doesn't work
2) disappointment - we get sullen about it, then we get mad
3) fix - we change the game to address that issue
4) abandonment - we get more sullen and lose interest in the game for a year or more :)
Anyway, so this time round the disappointment cycle (2003-2005) we really only addressed the lack-of-strategy issue. We added two of the elements to the game that have made it the fun, distinctive game it is today, namely: the Datastream and Spreading Virus. If the Virus reaching the Datastream you lose and the level replays. Furthermore the Virus spreads more quickly on some parts of the terrain than others, sending out 'fingers' of virus that might threaten the Datastream at other locations. These were great features, and helped, but ultimately were not enough.
Play Bit Shifter Alpha right now!
Keep in mind we have solved all these issues as of today, 5-April-2014, and you can play the game right now if you like. The Alpha version is available from Desura here. Keep in mind this game uses the original Torque Game Engine, not T3D, when evaluating our 'retro' art style. :-)
Next Time on Long Strange Trip...
So that's this part of the story. The next installment Better, But Not Enough talks work on the game from 2003 to 2008. We did a lot to the game in this time. We continued to improve the strategic elements of the game, added Zor Paths, added the bubble up state to the Bits, and more. But we really did very little about the lack of teaching the game, and the lack of good feedback for actions like finding virus and picking up Bits.
Please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube:
Twitter: twitter.com/PlasticGamesLLC
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BitshifterGame
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/PlasticGamesLLC
This is part 5 in a series of blogs that documents the wondrous journey of Plastic Games as we learned the hard way how not to make games. Part One is here
We last left you, dear reader, at the end of Part Four. We had a better game, and we were about to win an award for it - and then take two years to fail to complete it. You can download the 2003 IGC Version here and play it for yourself.
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Main Screen
So we had our new premise and new name for the game: Bit Shifter. The (computer) world is under attack by a Virus! You must shift Bits to the Virus to clean it up, meanwhile the Virus spawns mobs that fight you. This first version of Bit Shifter was very simplistic in it's implementation. The world was a world of green hills and trees. It did not look like a computer world. The Virus was red patches on the ground. The mobs that spawned were just red colored turrets.
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Loading Level 1 Gateway
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Loading Level 2 Heatsink
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Playing Heatsink
Still - it was fun. It was satisfying to clear a level and fun to fight the enemies while you ferried your little bit robots around. We even had CO-OP play at this early stage. We later had to abandon co-op play in favor of finishing the game, but that was a sad, sad, day for me. Co-op is my favorite style of play. It was hard to remove that, and I vow yet to bring it back!
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Loading Co-op Level 3 Tranz Port
IGC 2003 Bit Shifter Playing Co-op Tranz Port
We went to IGC 2003 and won Best Single Player game. People found the idea compelling and liked flying around in the ship. However we were at the conference. We explained how to play the game to everyone who sat down. Also people pointed out that, while the action was fun, the strategy was ultimately lame. The virus didn't really DO anything. Cleaning it was like cleaning up a stain on the ground.
Disappointment Landmark Two
So Sad Again!
1. Nobody could understand how to play unless we explained it.
2. Action was fun but strategy was stale
3. Perception issues - it was hard to see where the virus was.
4. Hard to pick up bits - no Bit Beam existed at this time you had to run into bit.
This was disappointment landmark number two in a series of such landmarks. It will take several installments of the Long Strange Trip to outline all the disappointment landmarks on the journey from 'Droids' to 'Bit Shifter'. The astute reader will notice yet another multi-year gap between the previous installment and this one, and the similarity of wording. This represents a pattern in how we dealt with the disappointments
1) cause - we finally do real play testing and find out why our game doesn't work
2) disappointment - we get sullen about it, then we get mad
3) fix - we change the game to address that issue
4) abandonment - we get more sullen and lose interest in the game for a year or more :)
Anyway, so this time round the disappointment cycle (2003-2005) we really only addressed the lack-of-strategy issue. We added two of the elements to the game that have made it the fun, distinctive game it is today, namely: the Datastream and Spreading Virus. If the Virus reaching the Datastream you lose and the level replays. Furthermore the Virus spreads more quickly on some parts of the terrain than others, sending out 'fingers' of virus that might threaten the Datastream at other locations. These were great features, and helped, but ultimately were not enough.
Play Bit Shifter Alpha right now!
Keep in mind we have solved all these issues as of today, 5-April-2014, and you can play the game right now if you like. The Alpha version is available from Desura here. Keep in mind this game uses the original Torque Game Engine, not T3D, when evaluating our 'retro' art style. :-)
Next Time on Long Strange Trip...
So that's this part of the story. The next installment Better, But Not Enough talks work on the game from 2003 to 2008. We did a lot to the game in this time. We continued to improve the strategic elements of the game, added Zor Paths, added the bubble up state to the Bits, and more. But we really did very little about the lack of teaching the game, and the lack of good feedback for actions like finding virus and picking up Bits.
Please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube:
Twitter: twitter.com/PlasticGamesLLC
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BitshifterGame
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/PlasticGamesLLC
#2
@Paul : Blast from the past! Long strange trip is a very good descriptive :) Best of luck with Bit Shifter! Good gameplay never dies!
04/05/2014 (4:18 pm)
@Demo : Saw that video over a year ago and I still think back to it; an honest rundown of the user experience from the user's point of view. Things to keep in mind when designing anything.@Paul : Blast from the past! Long strange trip is a very good descriptive :) Best of luck with Bit Shifter! Good gameplay never dies!
#3
That reminds me, I need to write it part 2 of my post mortem of Airship Dragoon ... ;)
Long Strange Trip Part 4 2011, part 5 2014 ...Hopefully part 6 will be posted sooner!
04/06/2014 (9:48 am)
Quote:
... as we learned the hard way how not to make games.
That reminds me, I need to write it part 2 of my post mortem of Airship Dragoon ... ;)
Long Strange Trip Part 4 2011, part 5 2014 ...Hopefully part 6 will be posted sooner!
#5
04/07/2014 (10:41 am)
Welcome back Paul! Its good to hear from you!
#6
Oh...and anyone who wants a gift key to play the game for free, just let me know. We need to draw as much attention to the game as we possibly can, so we are handing out gift keys like Pez at this point. :-)
Email me at paul@plasticgames.com with either your Desura name (if you already have an account) or the email you want me to use for an invite.
04/08/2014 (6:11 am)
Thanks for all the kind words...and yes let's hope part 6 takes shorter than 3 years, eh? :-)Oh...and anyone who wants a gift key to play the game for free, just let me know. We need to draw as much attention to the game as we possibly can, so we are handing out gift keys like Pez at this point. :-)
Email me at paul@plasticgames.com with either your Desura name (if you already have an account) or the email you want me to use for an invite.
Torque Owner Demolishun
DemolishunConsulting Rocks!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTYet-qf1jo
I am sure there is plenty of reading that can be done to help with game interaction issues.