A Hardy Developer's Journal – as written by indie adventure game developers

There are fewer things more enlightening about what is really wrong with a game than play-testing, and if you’re lucky, physical play-testing with a real, breathing person. The creator of a game always views things in a certain lens that skews the true perception of what’s going on, what’s needed, and what’s really visible to the player. For instance, in some of the play-tests I’ve had, I would run into a recurrent problem about the player’s visual direction–I want the player to go a certain way, open a certain door, or go down a certain ramp–but what’s the obvious direction for me is not the obvious direction for the player. (more…)

I’m a big admirer of Czech animated movies. The Czech school of animation really perfected the thing that is so great about this medium – making the most real behave unreal. First, start by reconstructing frame by frame our experiences with objects like plants, machines, and all types of grit. And then twist them around and attribute with a completely different nature. In this kind of manner, the game Machinarium by Jakub Dvorak and Amanita Design offers us a whole city created and inhabited by a population of machines (more…)

Heed

I’m sure that anyone who has played a game at some point in their life has wondered “I wonder if I could do this?”. While I don’t often make a habit of discussing game development with people outside of the various online communities I frequent, I know that people have at various points mentioned to me that they’d love to have a go at making their own game – just that they don’t feel that they have the time or skills to take the first step.

Seeing as you’re reading this, I feel it is safe to assume that you’ve already considered making a game. You’ve probably already come up with some ideas, maybe even started building a few into code and graphics – heck, for all I know you may have finished more games than I have.

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This time we introduce Borut Pfeifer who already has a career in the gaming industry and is a specialist in AI design. Now he set up to create his own independent game that while may not be an adventure game in the strictest sense, nevertheless is definitely within our scope of interests. Firstly, the main heroes have an enticing quest to accomplish. Secondly, it relies a lot on character interactions that represent real life people interactions. Finally, the game goes directly for what almost every game designer seems to yearn for (more…)

Marek and his wife

High Res 2D is coming back to the adventure genre! And it doesn’t stop with the recently released Machinarium and The Whispered World haunting your senses with their beauty. The story continues with The Trader of Stories – a fresh new escapist fantasy world that extends beyond just the video game medium. It’s the work of yet another talented Polish adventure game developer (and draughtsman, and writer, and chemist) Marek Rudowski. (more…)

A once cheerful land of forests, mountains and magic has succumbed to permanent winter. A permanent winter conjured up and constantly renewed by the terrible black fire attacks of a mighty ice dragon. As a result most human inhabitants have turned into ice statues and the prospects of the handful that are still able to keep their blood reasonably warm are no better. One of those is an old woodsman who lying ill in his bed has just explained the situation to his daughter in a speech very nicely stylized to archaic jargon. (more…)

There’s little doubt that travels to hidden magical dimensions often become the greatest secret desires. To kids anyway. And in a way we’re generously provided with all kinds of Narnias, Harry Potters or Simon the Sorcerers that allow to taste a bit of this sort of experience. So if you fancied at least one of the imaginary places from those pieces of fiction you’re now invited to venture into the world of troubled vampire pizza deliverers and pizza molding magicians via Pizza Morgana. (more…)