The VG Thought Commune

A group for playing and analyzing video games ranging from the well-known to the obscure. Open to everyone!

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This month’s game is SINS OF A SOLAR EMPIRE

In May 2016, we’ll be playing Sins of a Solar Empire! Hit us up if you’re interested!

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The Commune - Interview with Francisco Portalo Calero (Paco Portalo)

Paco Portalo recalls his time working on Bugaboo and discusses its design principles.

Paco Portalo is one half of the Paco & Paco team, which developed Bugaboo (The Flea). Here, he explains his history with video games, the conception of Bugaboo, and how its design came together.

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The Commune - Arsenal (Axiom Verge)

Axiom Verge offers a large variety of abilities for getting around and killing stuff. How do they stand on their own, and how do they complement each other?

Axiom Verge offers a number of pickups that give the player new toys. With a constant stream of new abilities and guns, the game is constantly changing. First, we discuss tools for exploring the environment. What role does each one play, and how does it flesh out Axiom Verge's gameplay? Then, we consider the gun selection and its impact on combat.

Art by Kelsa Healthy Hutomo!

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The Commune - Interview with Eduardo Mena

Eduardo Mena, a professor of computer science with an interest in video game history, discusses the history of Spanish game software and the impact of Bugaboo.

Eduardo Mena collaborated with Francisco Portalo Calero, also known as Paco Portalo, to write a history of Spanish game software, "Los videojuegos como paradigma de innovación en los orígenes de la industria del software español." Eduardo is a professor of computer languages and systems, although he is also involved in retrocomputing. Here, we talk about the history of Spanish game development.

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The Commune - Interview with Mike Hanson

Mike Hanson, developer of Flix the Flea, details maze design and difficulty curves.

Mike Hanson of Psychotic Psoftware developed Flix the Flea for PC. Like Bugaboo, Flix jumps through caves and dodges dragons. However, the game is 10 stages long, and it introduces a variety of enemies and graphics. Here, Mike talks about his theory behind crafting each level's routes and his approach to difficulty.

[vgcommune]

The Commune - Interview with Ed Linley

Ed Linley details maze design and jumping controls in Bullet Pea and Bugaboo (The Flea).

Bullet Pea is an iOS/Android game where players guide a two-legged pea through giant caves. The Pea can only jump left or right, and its jump distance is measured by a power gauge. The control scheme takes inspiration from and builds significantly upon Bugaboo (The Flea).

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The Commune - Thomas Happ (Axiom Verge)

Thomas Happ speaks on story, map design, and purpose in Axiom Verge.

We speak with Thomas Happ on a range of topics regarding Axiom Verge. How does its map design influence the flow of the game? What meaning lies in its story and gameplay? Throughout, Thomas offers his personal experience from designing the game as well as his intentions in its design. Thomas Happ on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AxiomVerge Axiom Verge on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AxiomVerge/

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The Commune - Tutorials (Intermission)

How do games help us learn the skills required to succeed?

Art courtesy of Shubbabang!

Games employ tutorials to make sure players understand the skills required by its challenges. How do these lessons flow, and how successful are they? We reflect on the topic with the help of "The Many Ways to Show the Player How It's Done With In-Game Tutorials" posted on Game Design & Development Tutorials by Paul Suddaby.

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OmegaFox1994

Flame Bloody Break

Commune member Spike is now streaming Flamebreak. an overhead shooter with RPG elements. Check it out!

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The Commune - Discourse (Undertale)

Is dialogue in Undertale genuine?

We discuss Carolyn Petit's essay, "Ain’t No Room on Board for the Insincere: A Look Back at Life Is Strange, My Favorite Game of the Year", which speaks (in part) about Undertale. She argues that "the way to avoid killing in Undertale isn’t through honest, open communication. It’s through manipulation and evasion." We consider her arguments and move on to cover dialogue in Undertale as a whole.

[runnerartwork]

Fab Human Confuses Papy!?

A Commission for Golem from the VGCommune. They do a lot of interesting game analysis on themes and mechanics. Check’em out!The fantastic Player character confuses the Great Papyrus. I had a lot of fun drawing this!! Hope you guys enjoy it!!Human, I fear you’ve either been spending too much time with Mettaton or watching Jojo with Alphys!

[vgcommune]

Awesome artwork for the latest podcast! Many thanks!

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The Commune - Right from Wrong

What gives Undertale its sense of morality?

Near the start of Undertale, Toriel tells players that they should never fight with foes. We commonly understand this as a moral decision because we value peace as a good and violence as an evil. What moral message does Undertaleconvey, and how do we come to understand it?

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The Commune - Interesting Choices

In Undertale, is the choice between peace and war interesting?

Undertale's combat system gives two major choices: acting and fighting. If you act, you can work through a series of dialogue choices and eventually spare the enemy. If you fight, you can damage and eventually kill the enemy. We break down how to play through each option, what happens after you play through an option, and finally, how to compare one option against the other.

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Axiom Verge

Our next game is Axiom Verge! Hit us up if you’ve played it.

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1992 was the year that marked Mario’s first meeting with an irreverent villain, who would go on to become an important part of his life and future adventures. 

In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, the mischievous and evil Wario made his dastardly debut.

[fiskburger]

@vgcommune it was a while back we did it but hey

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The Commune - Purchases

20XX provides a number of upgrades--none of them for free.

In 20XX, the player can find or buy upgrades. What is the underlying economy? How do you decide whether to take an upgrade or leave it?

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The Commune - Random Design

What level design does 20XX construct using its procedural generation?

20XX is a platformer in the vein of MegaMan, only its levels are generated on the fly. What kind of levels does this process make? How are levels distinct from one another, and how is one run of a level different from your next run of it? How are the game's challenges influenced by its procedural generation, a seemingly random level design? Michael Cook hosts the yearly Procedural Generation Jam. For our second segment, we discuss his article "More Unpredictable Stuff" in light of 20XX.