DigitalMania Studio

Indie video game studio

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A non gamer’s epiphany

Father, forgive me for my sins. I’m ashamed of myself. I should have known earlier that it was much more than just video games! 

Forgive me, Father. I didn’t know what I’ve been missing. I was a little spoiled brat who was too narrow minded to think that she could have really enjoyed it if she just tried it! 

How did I spend my childhood?

well, I don’t quite remember, I didn’t have any big hobbies.. 

Nothing remarkable unfortunately.

Father, forgive me please. I didn’t quit any school classes to play Counter Strike games with my friends in arcade centers. I never went to an arcade center. I never slept singing any Need For Speed cool songs. I never dreamt of being immersed in a Metal Gear Solid’s fascinating theme.

 How did I enjoy life?

 Frankly, I didn’t Father.

I know I should have seen the signs. I always found that my gamer friends had much wider imagination than I had. I always noticed that they were different from me. Now I know why!

Now I know that they were better in choosing friends because they are used to carefully pick their allies and even more prudently their opponents. 

Now I understand why they are better project managers than I am. How couldn’t they be, when they spent all their lives concocting plans and overcoming improbable circumstances? 

Now I see why Nietzsche said that what is good is “all that heightens the feeling of power, the Will to Power, and the power itself in man”. Isn’t gaming the best way for a child to put his hands on this power?

Oh I’m sorry.. I shouldn’t quote Nietzsche..Ok, forgive me Father.

Forgive me for wasting all these years. I was only living one life while my friends were living so many! How stupid I was!

Oh you have a problem with that idea too ? there is only one life after death?

I see.. Forget what I just said, and please forgive me Father.

My point is, I’m aware now of all the years that I lost, of all the magic happening in a parallel universe.. Excuse me?! There is no parallel universe? It’s a metaphor, Father!

You know what, thank you for your time but I will explore the gaming world without your help or approval!

What are you saying Father?

I won’t make it on my own? 

You are challenging me!

Well, I’m joining DigitalMania and I’ll be exploring their gaming universe!

I’ll even publish my experience through their Tumblr and Twitter accounts!

Hasta la vista, Father!

[digitalmaniastd]

How to make VR useful in the                       real world ?

VR, what is this?

VR is a set of technologies giving you as a spectator the impression to be immersed in real or imaginary environments.

With this technology, you are no longer required to be in front of a screen but plunged inside it.

In order to live this experience you must acquire a VR headset  allowing you to view the contents. A whole new world welcomes then the user.                                     

Why VR ?

VR has been developed in order to offer 360° experiences, which may be used in different ways such as videogames, watching movies, viewing pictures…etc.                                

 Is this technology useful?

In my opinion I’ll say yes ! VR gives you the ability to explore the world while sitting on a sofa in your house, also it allows you to live experiences that you may not have the chance to live in your everyday life.

                                       Is it safe ?

Well that depends. As a user you have to use it with moderation so that you find a perfect balance between reality and virtuality. Also I advise you to have a person with you so that you do not fall or walk into a wall.

                           How can we make it more useful ?

If we want to make this technology useful in real life, we have to develop more educational applications. Imagine a history course with a teacher talking about the World War and being able to show his students the experience.

To quote our CEO, Walid Sultan Midani in an interview he gave to Wamda a platform of integrated programs that aims to accelerate entrepreneurship ecosystems throughout the MENA region :

“ We can use VR to revitalize something we already have. And for Tunisia this is definitely tourism. So, if you come to Carthage and you put a headset on, with VR or mixed reality, I can make you feel the life of a Carthaginian guy 2,000 years ago. As well as for educational purposes there is also the training of those in various fields, from medical to military. ”

A.B

[digitalmaniastd]

Pokémon Go epic fail or GG ?

Pokémon Go, what’s this ?

Pokémon Go  is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game  developed by The Pokémon academy, Nintendo and Niantic. The game allows players to capture, train, battle virtual creatures called « Pokémons » who will appear on their mobile screen such as they are part of their world.

What about the gameplay ? Take your phone, launch the game, connect your google account and GO !

- Create an avatar :

The first step is to create an avatar, to do so, you’ll have to choose your hair, t-shirt, eye color, bag..etc.

Now that it’s done, you can see your avatar on the map.

- Pick your first Pokémon :

Faithful to the first Pokémon game, pick a Pokémon between Charmender, Squirtle, Bulbasaur but if you runaway from them 4 times, you will have the chance to pick PIKACHU !

Your first Pokémon caught, you will now start your race to become the best Pokémon trainer around the World, I guess the question is how ? All you have to do is to capture,train, fight as much Pokémons as possible that you will find while walking around your city.

- Walk and discover your world :

While walking through your city Pokémons will appear on your screen, you can choose either to catch them, or to ignore them. The more your level is high, the more the Pokémons you discover are strong.

Also while travelling you will discover Pokestops which will offer diverse items such as pokeballs, potions..etc and Arenas in which you will leave your Pokémon to fight but which is available only to level 5 players.

Is the game such as the trailer ?

Unfortunately no, the game is not as we thought it would have been. Interactions with other players are possible but they are very limited. We thought that we will be able to see our Pokémons fight in the arena and seeing interactive things but it is not the case. We thought we could exchange Pokémons with other players, same here, we still do not have this option.

 My experience?

On my first day at DigitalMania, the team presented me the game Pokémon Go, once I have installed it, everyone wanted me to try the Pikachu trick, so I did that and well to be honest I wanted him.

And here starts the adventure, walking around Tunis and looking for Pokémons. At the beginning the game was boring, I didn’t see the point in hanging around Tunis just to find some Pokémons then « Nosferati » appeared. I said awesome, time to fight some Pokémon, Nosferati appears in the street and what is the point of the battle, capturing him without fighting him…

Well, a Pokémon game without fighting… awesome ! Then people told me I could take my Pokémon to the Arena once I’ll be level 5 to make him fight. So I kept catching Pokémons, and making them evolve for a whole week and then comes the day when I’m level 5, time to go to the arena.

I decide to make Pikachu fight and he’s against Abra, guess what, when you fight you just keep taping on the screen to attack… oh my god what a feeling ! So the question I have is this a joke or what ? Because honestly this game in my opinion is an Epic fail, i’ll keep playing because well, there is some cool parts like hanging  around the streets and looking for Pokémons but mostly i’ll wait until they make an update offering us the real Pokémon experience.

A.B

[digitalmaniastd]

What Game Should I Play Tonight: Faster Than Light (FTL)

FTL is a game developed by Subset Games in 2012 and has benefit with a major update in 2014 with the Advanced Edition patch. Funded with Crowdfunding via Kickstarter, FTL is an indie game that worth playing. As being a roguelike, this game will keep you occupied for long hours.

What is FTL?

FTL is space flight simulator where you control a Federation cruise escaping the rebel fleet. You will have to traverse 8 sectors to fight the rebel flagship (the final boss) at the 8th sector. Each sector is composed of a dozen of planets and stars where you will meet allies and enemies from different races. You will have to defend civilians, fight small rebel’s spaceships, explore and investigate as many beacons as you can without being caught by the rebel fleet, otherwise, the battle will be very hard and you risk taking too much hull damage. Each explored beacon will provide you some loot. It could be fuel; missiles; drone parts (to activate your drones) and scraps (the currency of the game). AAlong the adventure, you will have to upgrade your ship to be prepared to fight the final boss. 

The game look simple, but the most interesting part of the game is the strategy you will use to face your enemies. Indeed, the game is based on RNG (random number generator). Every event you’ll face is randomly generated. You can just increase your chance of victory by enhancing you ship.

Graphics

FTL is a nicely made pixel art game. The fact is the graphics are not the most important parts of the game. However, the UI (User Interface) is very clear and very easy to use. 

Music

The music fits exactly with the game theme. Its futuristic themes will keep you in stress during combat phase.

Gameplay

The gameplay is simple and difficult at the same time. Your main mission is to explore and face enemies to earn scraps and weapons to be able to win against the rebel flagship. As you will be stronger, the enemies will grow stronger too. And because the game is all about strategy, each enemy is unique and you have to adapt your strategy on what he will do. The easy game mode is not that easy because every mistake could be lethal for your ship and your crew. So imagine what could be the hard mode … 

Game lifetime

The game lifetime is very generous. You have 10 ships, each ship have 3 different layouts and the game have 3 levels. Imagine the number of times you have to replay the game to unlock all the achievement and all the ships. You will never feel replaying the same game because every new game is generated procedurally and the random aspect of the game is omnipresent.

Global review

FTL is an amazing roguelike strategy game. If you master the balance between defense and attack, you win the runs. Nevertheless, don’t forget, RNG is vicious… ;)

[digitalmaniastd]

Just Cause 3

Just Cause 3 is finally here. However, after few hours I put the game in the tray. For me, Just Cause never should came out.

Just Cause is similar to those games we loved 10 years ago. Freedom Fighters or True Crime, are good examples. Just like the first Die Hard movies where we have a Bruce Willis in god mode style, Just Cause 3 at first sight, is extremely enjoyable and fun. Nevertheless, when the game starts, you realize how much aberrant are the actions of Rico Rodriguez.

Rico defies law of physics (YES! At this point, it become ridiculous even for a video game). He can fly with his wingsuit without any restriction. He opens and retracts his parachute whenever he wants (it’s acceptable when you don’t see that, like in Far Cry 3). The main character is so cheated that he falls 20 meters without receiving any damage. In addition, I didn’t mention the ultra-cheated grapples, the fact that he receive tons of bullets without any effect or the number of useless quests available. And so on and so forth – listing it all would take a while.

Avalanche Studios developed a game that provide a huge liberty of action in the gameplay. The physics engine is very permissive and the gameplay is not bad in itself. However, the credibility of the game is affected by neglected details.

As I talked about in my previous article “What Game should I Play Tonight?”, the main purpose of a game is to feel like a hero. For that, we have to be fully immersed in the game (it wasn’t my case). Just Cause is a Saint’s Row like without its touch of madness. We incarnate a real man with real weapons and we have to kill real persons.

Just Cause 3 is no longer relevant in an era where we talk about video games as an art. This feeling came mainly because I’ve finished the excellent Castlevania 2 before starting Just Cause and the gap between these two games was so big.

[digitalmaniastd]

AI in video games

Artificial Intelligence is present everywhere. In our phones, our TVs… Even our best friend Google, is governed by an AI. If these AIs have for mission to calculate impossible equation, or to processing multiple data at the same time, AI in video games have another mission, and that will be the topic of this article!

2001: The Space Odyssey

The first video games were multiplayer games! Derivate from board games, they needed two or more players to start a game. Pong, considered as the first real video game on arcade, was a two player game. Later, and with the emergence of the first home console like Atari 2600 or Commodore 64, players had the possibility to play alone with the single player mode. However, imagine what could be a game without any opponent! You walk around killing motionless characters. You will definitely throw your console in the bin and never touch a video game again (hopefully, you didn’t). To avoid this case, developers had the mission to recreate human reaction in the console’s chipset to add challenge to the game. AI in video games is born!

Pong: One of the first games

The first AI were very basic. They had the mission to shoot when they see you, or they move to your direction if they are far away from you. You are probably  laughing while reading this, but it was considered as an innovation at that time. Players were amazed when they saw that. Shortly afterwards, and with the release of the first Pacman, Artificial Intelligence evolved a lot. The ghosts don’t just try to kill you, but they do their best to bait you. INCREDIBLE! How was that possible?

Space invaders: The AI Shoot you at your actual position

AI regroups a certain number of rules. Each rule was designed to make the machine look more human. Algorithms are created, for example, to find the best way to reach your characte’s position: it’s called Pathfinding. Imagine the map as a huge matrix. Each point has its own coordinates. And the machine has to find the shortest way to reach you by calculating all feasible paths. It is called Dijkstra Algorithm. The A* Algorithm is more efficient and uses less resources. However, it takes more time because it calculates only a single trajectory at a time. Each algorithm has its pros and cons. Developers juggle between thousands of algorithms to create the best AI for the game.

Dijkstra Algorithm

Back to Pacman. We notice that ghosts have different states. On patrol, on chase. They change their states depending on your position in the map and depending. The 3rd state is the evade state. When Pacman eats a power up, the ghosts become vulnerable and they try to escape Pacman. 

Pacman being chased by ghosts

We can also notice this change of state in the first Metal Gear Solid or in the famous first Half-Life. Both of these games are known for their advanced AI. The soldiers in the first Half-Life protect themselves, take cover, attack and retreat if you are stronger and they even try to bait you if needed (in my opinion, this AI aged over 17 years, is more reactive and more efficient than the actual Assassin’s Creed AI). Nevertheless, the Half-Life AI uses the same principles than the Pacman’s AI. They change their states depending on your position and on what are you doing. They attack you when they see you (chase state). If you shoot them to death, they try to take cover to stay alive (evade state). And if they don’t see you, they patrol to find you (patrol state). 

Half-Life soldiers

Of course, this kind of AI is infinitely more complex than the Pacman AI. Nevertheless, they have the same base and the same aim: Imitate human reactions.

[digitalmaniastd]

Walking Simulators… or the bad name for Story Telling Games

Nowadays, we see more and more games known as “Walking Simulators”, like Homesick, Dear Esther or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. In my opinion, this designation of “Walking Simulator” is a little bit incorrect. But it is not our main subject. So, welcome to the world of Story Telling Games!

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

It’s true that these kind of games are based on exploration more than anything. We have some interaction with the environment to resolve riddles and puzzles. But the story told by the narrator is extremly immersive. We are dropped somewhere where we have to understand what’s happening to us. And there is this little voices talking to us and helping us to have an overview of the situation. Let’s take the case of The Talos Principle : We are dropped on an island alone, lost and without any indication. And there is this voice that sounds like Zeus’s voice calling us “child”. With its help and with the multiple clues we found all along our adventure, we start building the story and understanding the why and how of things.

The Talos Principle

The Stanley Parable

But what makes such games really immersive and really attractive ? In fact, what I call story games are based on ambiance. Every detail has been designed to make the player be in someone else’s shoes. Video games have this role! And story games perfectly succeed in that. Of course, the game must be a quality game to create such an immersion, and if mastered, the narration can take us far far away from where we are. That’s why generally narrative games are FPS. It increase the immersion and the sensation of what we are in reality : HEROES! (I explained the concept in my previous paper called “What Game should I play Tonight” ).

Everybody’s Gone to Rapture

After every story game (or call it what do you want) I played, I feel reborn! I feel like I’ve never played a game before. That’s the goal for such games. The achievement is not finish the game, but to live it. You need to be focused with every detail, every leaf floating, every note of musique played… Just because it’s in the order of things!

Story games are a new fresh air for the video game industry (most of them are indie games). I urge you to try these kind of games, you’ll not be despointed!

Homesick

Dear Esther

Gone Home

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Stanley Parable

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Inspiration in video games

I always ask myself this question: From where video game creators get inspired to develop their games? If many developers use old games to improve the concept, there are many ways to get inspired to create video games.

Literature

According to me, the most important inspiration source is literature! The best AAA games are inspired from books. The Witcher series or Metro 2033 are good example of games inspired from literature. With literature, we have the advantage of an amazing story telling. The main characters are already created (their descriptions, their stories, their life…) and we just have to split the adventure into main and side quests. A lot of work needs to be done in order to create a game that is as close as possible, in content, to the original work. (e.g: the character modeling must be as close as possible to the original book description, the story must remain faithful …). Otherwise, the gap between the game and the book might disappoint fans.

Movies

Despite the curse around the adaptation of movies into video games, movies are a good inspiration and could even surpass the original work. The different Star Wars games (FPS, TPS, RST…), The Lord of The Rings trilogy (RST, TPS …), the mythical Golden Eye on Nintendo 64… all these are amazing games inspired from movies. 

Remakes 

Being inspired from old games is the easiest way to create amazing games. You already have the story, the characters, the game balance and all the key components to create the game. However, the challenge lies in updating the gamplay and the design, to enhance them with the current tastes. For example, the announcement of Final Fantasy 17 had the effect of a bomb, during the last E3. Of course, we have the knowledge of Square Enix in game development, but the original Final Fantasy 17 was so amazing that we can predict that the remake will more amazing than the original work.

Myths and legends

The myths and legends make us dream! Hercules flying with Pegasus, the battle of gods upon the Mount Olympus or the epic battle between Achilles and Hector, every myth and legend could be an inspiration for a video game. And we have a lot of these stories! It’s an incredible potential that video games developers do not hesitate to use into their games.

Historical events

The first though when you listen “Historical events” in video games, is to think to RST games like Commandos and Age of Empire or to FPS games like Call of Duty and Battlefield for their amazing adaptations of epic historical events. However, developers can use historical events but with an alteration of the reality, like the Assassin’s Creed series. 

Board games

Board games could be an inspiration for video games, not for their content but for their rules. We all know that video games are based on a huge number of rules. That’s why Board games are the greatest inspiration for game designers. If you master the creation of rules for a board game, you will be a great game designer.

There are many and many source inspiration... and as long as we have a brain, our imagination will remain the best source of inspiration!

[digitalmaniastd]

Bagra : Just Dance (Official Teaser)

The new mobile game of DigitalMania Studio will be available very soon! 

Stay Tuned

[digitalmaniastd]

What game should I play tonight? : Hotline Miami 1 & 2

Back to our indie game review series. Today we are going to review 2 games. Two mythical games for me because the developers knew how to revive an old gameplay system with top down view, like the first GTA. The developers, DANNATON Games, mastered the gore pixel art concept, by providing a pleasurable gameplay where we have to explode everybody on our way. The Hotline Miami Series is rich… very rich ! And that’s what we’re going to see in this article.

Graphics

Ahhhh the pixel art… what a concept ! Difficult to exploit, but if mastered, it has an infinite potential. The first Hotline Miami is a piece of art in itself and the second release of this game « Wrong Number » is even more incredible. Dennaton Games successfully created a perfect ambiance between pixel arts and glitchy 80’s neons. And the burst of blood is so enjoyable that you want to repaint all the levels with the pixelated blood. :D

Music

For me, the OST is THE key compoment of the game. Never heard such a catching music. In the middle way between retro music, disco and techno, the soundtrack pushes you to kill more and more, to become a real war machine. And even if you die one thousand time, you will continue until you clear the level. Plan good speakers or headphones… You will not be disappointed ;)

Hotline Miami OST:

Hotline Miami 2 OST :

Gameplay

The gameplay is pretty simple : KILL EVERYBODY! For that, you need quick reactions to avoid the enemies coming from everywhere. And the massacre rythm is fluid. The arsenal is impressive, you have bats, hammers, guns, M16,UZIs, … but the arsenal is not the main mechanics of the gameplay. It’s the masks ! After each level, you will earn a new mask that gives you specefic competence.

There is masks that provide you lethal punches, or a masks with lethal throwing weapons, … Each mask is special and fits with a specific level. Of course you can finish the game using only a unique mask but using the other ones offers more challenge and a more diversified gameplay.

In Hotline Miami 2, the number of mask has been reduced to focus on the gameplay itself.

You no longer play with only one character who wears multiple masks, but you will can between multiple characters. Each character has a specific mask and a specific competence (e.g Tony has lethal punches, Alex & Ash are two characters one with a gun the other one with a chainsaw).

There is also another difference between the two games. Wrong Number is more fluid than the first Hotline Miami (The developers made the gameplay more reactive).

Story

The story may seem optional in this kind of game, but Hotline Miami has a very complex scenario with multiple ends and a deep psychological journey. For the first Hotline, you incarnate Jacket, a protagonist newly registered in an organisation called « 50 Blessings ». He receives calls indicating his next target. After several hours of gameplay, you will notice that you did not understand the scenario. It looks like a David Lynch movie with an interior travel in the middle way between reality and hallucinations.

It’s useless to talk about « Wrong Number » because the scenario is even more complex (too many protagonist, too many periods, …). And the scenario is directly related with the first Hotline Miami (game where we understand only 1%). Hummmm….

Anyway, Wrong Number talks about a bunch of people who are directly affected by the actions of Jacket (the main protagonist of the first episode). They follow the same path but for different reasons (vengeance, fanaticism, reckoning, seeking fame…). But the most important parts of the scenario are in the details! Be attentive ;) 

Game Lifetime

If you are a speed runner, you will be able to finish the games in 30 min max. However, as a new player you will find the game very difficult, you will need 6 to 8 hours to finish the each game (counting the fact that you have tried to understand the story). It’s quite honest for a game that costs $10.

Global Review

The Hotline Miami series is amazing, unique and very immersive with its OST, its gameplay mechanics and its incomprehensible scenario. The only disadvantage of the game is its difficulty. Some times we become insane because we keep repeating the same action again and again and again…

Anyway, try it!! You will not be disappointed.

If you like hardcore games where you have to kill many bad people, don’t forget to download Funky Shooter, our new mobile game. Funky Shooter will challenge your skills while bathing in a funky atmosphere ;)

Available on Google Play :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Digitalmania.FunkyShooter

[digitalmaniastd]

Funky Shooter Next step after game release

Finally, our new mobile game came out. Funky Shooter is a success considering the development time. We had hundreds of downloads with the first release in just few days, but what happens after the game release?

We always try to listen to our players’ feedback, and take those feedbacks into consideration to improve the game. We are working on a second release to enhance the game experience. The first release of Funky Shooter was simple with only one rule; kill as many robbers as possible without being shot and without killing hostages. We are aware that’s not enough!

So after the release, the DigiCrew continued working on other projects like Bagra or Belote. But 2 members of our team were focusing on game enhancement by adding some nice game content like a leader board, an achievement board and many other small surprises.

However, Google play is filled with shooter games but what makes us different from other game developers, is the hardcore and addictive aspect of Funky Shooter. Hardcore because of its one death shot concept and addictive by its funky ambiance. The mixture of these two components, created a balance that motivates the player to accept the challenge. And even if the game is addictive, we need to improve it as much as possible to attract a larger number of players.

Enough from Funky Shooter, what about our other indie games?

Bagra is almost ready and the teaser is on its way, this game benefited from a graphical overhaul. As you can see in the picture below, the new homeland is full of colors and environmental details.

Beat The Beats is knowing a huge success. Our Virtual Reality experience is invading all the country, allowing users to be immersed in a new digital world.

So many good things are happening :)

[indievideogames]

Funky Shooter

You are a funky cop trying to prevent a bank robbery. Stop as many robbers as you can while trying not to shoot the poor hostages.

Beware, the bad guys become more and more dangerous, so Funk Them Up.

Funky Shooter is available on smartphones and tablets for free.

[digitalmaniastd]

Funky Shooter is available on smartphones and tablets for free ==> https://goo.gl/6crrEr

You are a funky cop trying to prevent a bank robbery. Stop as many robbers as you can while trying not to shoot the poor hostages.

Beware, the bad guys become more and more dangerous, so Funk Them Up!

[digitalmaniastd]

What game should I play tonight? : Ori & The Blind Forest

As promised, here we are for the our first review of the indie game Ori & The Blind Forest. And what a game! It have been a while that I did not enjoyed such experience. It was a wonderful journey full of emotions. On this, let's detail different aspects of the game.

Graphics

The first thing you say when you start playing is… WAOWWW! how did they manage to create such an atmosphere full of life, colors and animations! And the lighting is just… perfect!!! I’ve never seen such an optimisation for a 3D game… What? It’s a 2D game? Impossible!! It could not be a 2D game!! Nevertheless, and after some researches, it has proved that the game is a 2D game. One of the most wonderful 2D game I’ve ever played. Various environments, each one with a different theme, different flora and fauna.

Music

The music, composed and orchestred by Gareth Coker, fit exactly the context of the game. It reveals the magic all along Ori’s journey. Even in the most stressful moments of gameplay, the music is here to increase the immersion and to remind you that you have done right… you are a hero which has a mission to accomplish. The complexity of the composition is delicious, I felt like the small boy waiting for Santa Claus. Just listen to that preview!

Gameplay

The game is a standard platform game with some innovative gameplay mechanics. It has the same scheme than all the MetroidVania-like. Some locations on the map are unreachable until we unlock a certain skill. That’s why we have many round trips to do to completely finish the game.  

The gameplay mechanics are little bit complex. We have many competences that provide many possibilities to pass the obstacles. We can use the different skills of Ori to make our way. However, once you finish mastering the competences, the gameplay become very nervous and provide a real pleasure with a huge flexibility.

The puzzles and the obstacles are very well thought. The solutions are simple but your dexterity will make the difference. That’s why Moon Studio made Ori really reactive.

The boss fights (which are in reality Ori vs mother nature) are very impressive and very stressful where your reflex are severely tested. The slightest misstep causes death and you have to restart the course from the beginning. Which is, for me, one of the few disadvantages of the game. Sometime you will have to restart the entire course from the beginning again and again just because you missed the last jump.

Story

The story is simple: bad vs good. But the atmosphere, the music and the story telling make you falling in love with Ori. That cute little white fox is endearing. Like all the good people of this world, they have friends and friends are very helpful. I will not spoil the story, but you will enjoy the small story from the beginning.

Game lifetime

To finish Ori & The Blind Forest at 100%, estimate playing 10h. However, you can finish the game without unlocking all the competences and without taking all the orbs (what I’ve done :p). It took me 8h to reach the final cinematic. 8h of pure pleasure!

Global review

Ori & The Blind Forest is magical, is wonderful and it’s a real a breath of fresh air for the 2D games. Moon Studio worked very hard to provide a game with an innovative gameplay and a wonderful level design. All the components fit perfectly with the spirit of the game. The few disadvantages of the game are the difficulties of some passages (you play normally for 1 hour then you spend 30min to pass one obstacle). The other remark is concerning the absence of checkpoint in the “boss fights”. They are very short but repeating the same thing several times just because a small jump makes me hysteric.

Anyway, I recommend Ori & The Blind Forest. You will not regret the journey ;)

See you for the next review

[digitalmaniastd]

When a game came out from nowhere

Generally we focus on our games 24/7. But sometimes, our developers start working secretly on some side projects! They just talk about it to some DigiCrew members that could help them to finish this quest, but never to managers (to preserve the surprise effect).  

It’s the case of “No Sh’Robbery” project. Yakin, our Unity 3D artist (he is a developer, but I consider him as an artist), was bored working on our VR experience “Beat The Beats”. He had the idea to work on a mobile game. A kind of hardcore casual game. The principle is simple, stop as many Sh’Robbers as possible without being shot. The more Sh’Robbers you stop, the better Sh’Cop you will become. But be careful, there is the hostage running around the field. If you shoot one of them, you will lose. 

The main idea is to have a game providing a retro design with a kind of funky music (like the animated serie “Funky Cops”).

It’s a good surprise when you see a game coming from nowhere. All the team is playing to the beta version and it’s pretty addictive.

The game will be released very soon under a different name! Stay Tuned ;)

[digitalmaniastd]

What game should I play tonight?

This question torments my mind every day! What game should I play at home? When you look at the huge amount of hardcore games available in stores like Steam or casual games in AppStore or Google Play, you realise that there are too many games which are worth to be played.  But each type of games have their advantages and their disadvantages.

I’m not going to debate on Hardcore gamer vs Casual gamer. Both are gamers, all are eager for challenge. Sometimes, casual games are more difficult than hardcore Games. The gameplay mechanics are just different but both provide a real pleasure. It’s no longer an era where we have to waste time on this kind of debate. I’ll gladly play a casual games if it would allow me to have some fun.

The problem remains unresolved! What should I play tonight? It’s at this moment that I asked myself a question. What is the ultimate goal of a game? What a game is supposed to provide? Why should I spend a bunch of dollars in something virtual? In my case, I think that video games are a kind of trip, a journey where, while sitting on my chair, I could visit new worlds, discover new cultures, new landscapes and new lives. Yes! Sometimes, when a game is really good, I feel the pain of Max Payne, I become an extreme athlete like Tony Hawks and I fly like an eagle such as Ezio Auditore. All these emotions and feelings made me a little bit addict to video games. I finally become what I really want: A HERO!

But when we become older, our choices become restricted! We want to play games with impressive graphics, with an immersive story, with, with, with… And generally, with the combination of these factors, I never found a game that fit my need of travel… my need to become a hero. So, I let people choose for me. I flip through review sites pages. They talk about blockbusters all times like Assassin’s Creed, GTA, Batman or The Witcher. These games are great! They are so amazing that sometimes you feel that it become a bit too perfect. Like a pizza when it became industrial, you miss the handcrafted dish, the traditional pizza made by the pizzaiolo of the corner.

That’s why I turned to indie games. You feel that the game is made by artists, by a bunch of passionate people who have only video games to express their feeling. They spend years and years to create a game with less than 10h of gameplay. But, what a game! Usually, we are impressed by amazing graphics and when we found pixelated games, they are not given their importance. Hotline Miami is an excellent example. The graphics are very basic. Just like the first GTA. I cannot describe the pleasure I had when I finished the game. It’s simple, I want MORE!! The soundtrack is amazing, the gameplay is amazing, the graphics (Pixel art) are amazing and the story… is just super immersive. I’m the character… I become the hero again.

This article is just an introduction for a series of review about indie games called “What game should I play tonight?”. Each month, I will review one indie game (Hardcore or Casual) I really enjoyed. 

Stay Tuned ;)

[digitalmaniastd]

Bloodlust in video games

Gamers generally look to satisfy a need. Whether a need for speed, a need for escape, a need for a different world… but the most pervasive need is Bloodlust, an insatiable need for violence. And to satisfy this need, some people make wars, buy AK-47, hunt… and there are some people who play video games.

The bloodlust is a real gold mine for entertainment industries and game creator are no exception to this rule. When you see blockbusters like Call of Duty, Mad World, The Evil Within or Mortal Combat, you notice how much bloodlust generate revenues. Even indie games are getting into it. Super Meat Boy, Hotline Miami, Hatred… all these games are successful by satisfying that need.

But let us analyse the phenomenon.

The bloodlust came from 100 000 years of history where humans lived like animals. We are driven by our hunter instinct. We are carnivores and hunters, and 10 000 year of civilisation will not change what we are in reality. The bloodlust is written in our DNA.

Nowadays, we live in the illusion of citizenship. We hide instincts with veils and we are shocked when we see some blood. But the world is full of violence, full of blood and people killing each other for some resources. Consequence, we became more and more acquainted with this kind of vision as we can see it every day on Facebook or on TV news. That’s why fiction exists.

By the way, let’s talk about the cinema industry! A huge machine exploiting our bloodlust to generate huge amount of revenue. Rare are the films where there is no deaths, gunfights, blood… and consumers want more, pretexting it is just fiction. If we watch films like Saw or Final Destination, it’s just to satisfy that need. But cinema remains not immersive enough for some people, they need more interaction with violence.

Back to video games! Until now, video games offer the best way to satisfy our bloodlust. We are a part of the action where we choose to kill or not. And we choose the manner we kill with. The more gore the death is, the better is the final score :p And it’s really enjoyable. We enjoy exploding heads, cutting into pieces horde of monsters and aliens, seeing walls covered by zombies’ blood. It’s a part of us… a part of our hunter instinct.

But video games is a sensitive product because we cannot control who will play the game and what impact will have the game on young gamers. That’s why there are ranking video game systems that help customers to choose the games. In the other hand, game creators try to excuse violence with a story, with the fact that the character is a gangster or killer (or the world savior). But in the end, it could be compared as a world of “Ultra Violence”.

Games like “Hatred” are good example of “Ultra Violence”. They are games where we can satisfy our bloodlust without complexes and without any excuses. Where we can override a moral built during 10,000 years.

But this kind of games are they really considered as games? In my opinion, video games are a part of the art industry, where beauty and magic should merge leaving the ugliness of the world far behind. Using bloodlust is just a manner to generate more revenues and to satisfy a need temporarily. Games like “Hatred” or “Grand Theft Auto” are just transient games, nicely done, to provide the best experience possible, but they will never arrive at the level of “Half Life” or of “The Vanishing of Ethan Carter”.

I prefer to think that video games are an art, and the art doesn’t need to create polemics. It have to inspire people to be better and give them a new vision of life (not a new vision of violence).