Archive for the ‘art’ tag

Free Games I Like: Home

Posted at 12:21 by Joe Martin with 12 comments

Joe Martin
Another short post for another short game – Home is a tiny pixel-art game from Increpare about what it’s like to fall apart, bit by bit.

There isn’t a huge amount to say about this game as the entire experience lasts just five minutes at most and the artwork and mechanics on show have been streamlined to the extreme. Everything in the game has been trimmed down until all that’s left is a clunky orange graphic that would look outdated on a Spectrum.

The idea is simple: your name is Charles and you’ve just been put into an old people’s home. Your life is simple and easy, which is good because you’re not really capable of much. All you have to do is manage your four simple needs; food, friendship, going to the toilet and getting a good night's rest. Simple.

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Written on 12th November 2009
Tags art, download, free games, free games i like, games, gaming, home, indie, mac games

Free Games I Like: Small Worlds

Posted at 11:51 by Joe Martin with 12 comments

Joe Martin
This blog post will be, like the game it’s about, small. I don’t really have a huge amount to say about Small Worlds, which was developed for a recent Casual Games Competition with the theme 'Explore', other than that it’s a remarkably elegant and effective piece of pixel-art brilliance.

A game which only ever alludes to having a deeper plot, Small Worlds opens with a single line before jumping to the gameplay – “There is too much noise”.

The gameplay itself is simple. At the start of each of the five levels the viewpoint is zoomed in on you – a small red line with a pale face and zero animation. The aim of each level is then to find the exit, which returns you to a hub level before you move on to the next world. There’s no fighting, no skill trees and no enemies. It’s just a gentle and rather lovely paced matter of exploration.

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Gaming Podcast 5 - Art, Advertising and Attitude

Posted at 10:35 by Joe Martin with 12 comments

Joe Martin
The fourth Gaming Pocast from the CustomPC and bit-tech team, again hosted by Joe and this time with Harry, Mark and Antony joining in for plenty of discussion about the latest events in the games industry across all platforms.

This week we talk about whether games journalists should have to develop games as a qualification, whether games can ever really be considered as an art form and why we've all been put off by the new advertising for Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.

We also talk about the pending release of Windows 7 and why Joe isn't going to upgrade, as well as whether Valve might have a hidden dark side. Chilling stuff.

We've got a new prize to give away in the competition this week too, so listen closely and if you can guess the game we're describing then send your clearly labelled emails to Podcast@custompc.co.uk - and remember to put 'Gaming Podcast 5' in the subject line, or drop your thoughts in the forums.

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Presentation versus Graphics

Posted at 11:16 by Joe Martin with 1 comments

Joe Martin
Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking about what exactly makes graphics in a game good and why it is that some of my favourite indie games look better than the latest games despite having lower polygon counts.

What exactly is the difference between good graphics and great presentation?

To put it simply and dryly, good graphics are the type of unneeded visual flair that cause jaws to drop and eyes to dry. It’s hard to specifically define because it’s both indistinct and ever-changing thanks to the nature of the business, but good graphics generally means high polygon counts, lots of explosions and loads of light sources. Everything should be dynamic and smooth.

Good presentation however is totally different. It’s a singularity of vision that works itself through an entire game, emanating from core to keyboard. It’s how the graphics are used and the way that elements of the story are told through visual cues.

For me, the difference between graphics and presentation can be illustrated through one simple comparison.

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Written on 23rd February 2009
Tags art, doom 3, freeware, graphics, half-life 2, indie




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