Launching Project Derrick

It’s been a pretty dull few weeks a… iugyw..s u wwiuuv viui vevv

Someone is hacking my bl… Gro… Gordon, no, Gorddddd….

hello!

gordon here from different cloth, taking over from alex. I’d like to make an announcement.

after intense lobbying at both a low and stratospheric level, indie gaming consortium different tuna are delighted to announce that they have successfully secured financial backing for project DERRICK.

different tuna is comprised of independent games companies different cloth & Tuna as well as mercurial artist RONZO.

Funding for the project has very generously and very wisely been provided by 4ip and Screen Yorkshire.

Project Derrick

an initial concept sketch for project DERRICK is provided above (click for larger version).

further details of the project cannot be released at this stage – mainly because nobody knows what they are yet. nevertheless, the consortium do promise an intense gaming experience unlike any other, which i will now attempt to describe:

imagine you have just trodden on a fork. now imagine you are also a giraffe. further imagine your long neck is stuck in an orange press. multiply that sensation by twelve. and a half.

project DERRICK is scheduled for release in the second half of 2011 on PC, Mac & console if they accept it.

I’d like to thank alex for the use of his blog.

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Eufloria for iPhone and iPad

As Rudolf Kremers recently announced on the Eufloria blog, we’re to work on iOS versions of the game to be released next year. We’ve known Rudolf and Alex for a while; indeed we were neighbours at GDC on the IGF stand. To have the chance to work on Eufloria is tremendously exciting as we think it’ll play really well on platforms such as the iPad.

If you don’t know Eufloria, it’s a rather wonderful indie strategy game with procedurally generated graphics. You can buy the PC version from Steam or preferably direct from the Eufloria site. It’s also in development for PlayStation 3.

How we hope it will look!

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What Indie Games Shall We Play?

We’re about to start an all new independent game with the lovely Di… gaaaargh, I’ve just been gagged. What was I saying about being free to blog what I wanted?  Never mind, I’ll reveal all in a few days, probably after we’ve been to the pub for our first project meeting. You think I’m joking…

In preparation, we’re going to have something of an indie games day here on Tuesday. Our Chris does not really know the indie games world so we need to expose him to its wonders.

What games do people recommend he plays?

Suggestions so far (pulled from Twitter):

Eufloria
Braid
Samarost
Darwinia
The Life Of A Pacifist Is Often Fraught With Conflict
Limbo
Shadow Complex (is this really indie?)
Eliss
Fieldrunners
Passage
Snapshot Adventures
Blueberry Garden
Cut It
Under The Garden
Skullpogo
The Path
Don’t Shit Your Pants
ToriBash
World of Goo
Machinarium
Saut
Gesundheit
Mount & Blade
Recettear

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Size Doesn’t Matter Day Part 2

Yesterday was Size Doesn’t Matter Day, organized by Jamie Cheng from Klei, when game developers talk about how the length of a game is or isn’t important relative to its other merits.  First Alex wrote his thoughts, now Anthony Flack now has his say. We’ve included links to more blogs at the end of this post.

So, it’s “Size Doesn’t Matter Day” today? A worthy topic of discussion for a game designer, if ever there was one. I don’t think I would ever say that it doesn’t matter – I’ve probably spent more time over the last ten years pondering issues of game size and game scope than any other design element – but if there is one message that I would like people to take from this discussion, it’s simply that BIGGER ISN’T NECESSARILY BETTER. A game’s size should be appropriate to the game’s form, and what constitutes an “appropriate” size may often be smaller than you think.

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Size Doesn’t Matter Day

Today is Size Doesn’t Matter Day, organized by Jamie Cheng from Klei, when game developers talk about how the length of a game is or isn’t important relative to its other merits. I’ve included links to several other blogs at the end of this post. Anthony Flack has also posted his thoughts.

We’re all talking about game length, something uppermost in my mind as we plan how long to make Cow Patrol on iPhone/iPad. I say how long, perhaps I really mean how deep – how much replay value we plan to have.

One of the most comment complaints from game journalists is that games are too short. As has become obvious within the many reviews of indie hit Limbo, a high quality game will still be pulled up and criticised over game length.

One of the most common questions publishers ask when pitched a game is, “how long is it?” On the assumption that they aren’t just being over-friendly, what they really want to know is how long it will take to play through the game; they want to know how much bang they get for their buck.

But how long is a game and how long should it be?

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