Down Time

Holiday time is the slow time, also the liver damage time.

I am currently on holiday, away from computers and therefore away from development. That’s not bad though, this is the opportunity to get my head out of the code and think about Node. A six hour train journey is a fine time to work abstract game mechanics and artistic direction out on paper.

It often feels like anytime not spent building is time wasted. I don’t need anyone to point that’s very wrong but it’s a hard feeling to shake.

Anyway here’s to a good two weeks of dev down time. It's all going to come together after New Year.

Internals

The last post was described to me as being very arty. I guess thats what happens when I write late at night.

My style of writing (and thinking) often swings between my two dominant states of mind. Firstly there is the Artist, wishing to express emotions and meanings. The part that pushes me on to make my mark, on people and the world. The second is the Rationalist, wishing to silence the Artist, and just fit in!*

So when the artist is in control I write poetically**, fueled on deep thoughts. I mostly re-write the artists work.

Anyway, back to Node***. This internal conflict rears it's head (my head?) often in development. Having recently finished my prototype, I've been showing it round to gage interest. One of the most interesting conversations I had was with the nice people at boredomresearch. They approached it from a far more artistic point of view than had really been discussed in earlier development. Though I have been looking at making an art game, I still largely felt it would be part of the game scene. What BR saw was the possibility for art, like gallery art.

Like a spanner in the works, the whole idea of gallery art made me start looking at Node again. I feel as if I am on a tipping point right now; on once side I could carry on making an art-game, or I could make art. The whole notion of displaying something in a public place changes the interaction of the piece, and so the approach I should take in development. The pc-game has much higher demands to wow the user and entice them in with the promise of entertainment. The gallery-game has a far more accepting user; they are there to explore, not get they're next kick. The pc-game is indy, the gallery-game is professional.

What I do? Where do I go?

A line can be drawn down the middle though. Games can be art, Art can be a game. This is the conflict of Artist and Rationalist. In the gallery, the Artist is king. In the industry, the Rationalist will win.

Maybe to become a true art-game developer, you have to be the Artist and the Rationalist. Not as separate waring factions, but a united front of practical idealism.

I don't know yet. I'll tell you in six months time.


* ... is that just the conflict between the left and right side or my brain?
** ie. badly
*** since I am far from knowledgeable about either writing or the inter works of the human psyche, I'll shut up about them

Looking and Seeing

originally from naccarato flickr
Coding has a strange disconnection from its goal.

When any other artist creates it is a gradual process, the picture forms before they eyes. They can move and adapt to the ebb and flow of success and failure, always aware of what they have and what they aspire to.

This seems not to be the case with coding. You have a dream, you plan, and then you drive blind towards your final destination distracted by implementation. Whether or not the piece is what you had technically wanted, it will undoubtedly have changed. Your perception of what it is and what it should be.

Maybe this is a particular phenomenon of building a game from scratch*. It has struck be repeatedly never the less. As the first version arrives, I can view all it's flaws and potential, a time of reflection follows.

The artist steps back and for the first time sees the picture. It's all wrong, but almost right.

Sadly I find that my prototype has done the unsurprising, and posed many more questions than it has answered. If I weren't running by ever decreasing project time constraints, I would dive right back in and make prototype v2. The playable version. Sadly the warm ups are over, and the race must begin.


* ... and working in an environment where few around me are as interested or as active.

But what is it?

Things are moving well towards something. I realise my descriptions of Node are poor at their best (and non existent at their worst), I've had this problem a lot recently, but I have a solution! It comes back to the prototype, which I'm finally done with, to explain all. It's not worthy of putting out into the real world, but a video of it will - I hope - give a taste of what is to come.

The quality really sucks. I'll attempt to host my videos in future.

Always Be Prototyping

At some point in my code development I was nearing I working (bad) UI engine. A system of floating 2D text and menus that could be coded quickly and (relatively) simply. That all sat on top of a 3D OpenGL, and had some nice interface*. It wasn't perfect but I liked.

I was merrily blasting away, preparing to start game engine development when I ran across a lecture by Jonathan Blow (specifically this one). A turning point in my approach.

With reinforced views I became far more optimistic about my future as a games developer**. Prototyping was the way forwards.

So things changed, I started hacking out big chunks of code out. I dumped the third dimension, and game elements started to appear. I mentioned previously I was struggling to explain my weird vision of global warfare in neon, that changed. My friends understood, my supervisor understood, and most importantly I understood what I was making.

Shot of proto-Node - Some buildings, some attackers, some fun

A drawing board for new ideas. I felt no restriction about clean flexible code (within reason) and started building whole unit interaction. Ideas would come to me, and I could jerry rig them in to see how they work visually and interactively.

Finally things were going at a pace I could really have some fun with!

On a final note though, over the last week*** I have started to suspect my higher design goals have suffered to the pull of gimmicks. Identifying the problem doesn't solve it. There is still a long way to go.

I'm building towards a presentation of my game in a weeks time, so I plan to make a video of the prototype soon. Also, for those who know me, I'm going to attempt some early play testing just to see reactions and opinions of the game.

* I know that this stuff can be done so easily using a games engines. I am almost certainly a fool for not using one. I have my reasons.
** Hell, I just have to finish something good! How hard can that be?
*** I'm still in prototype stage. The prototyping time has been prolonged further than I would have liked due to external factors.

Ideas

To take the next step would be to talk about the development of the game. This isn't an interesting step to many, if any, so it is reasonable to gloss over it. I've been writing lots of C++ code*. Instead I thought I'd look at what has been running though my head before I started writing code.

When I started considering this project I had an interest in games, an interest in progressive uses for the medium, and ideas of a grand future of games. The mindset that I started looking at my project was drastically different. Building the game was to me the logical conclusion to over a year of learning C++ and OpenGL. In an attempt to break away from a standard approach I sat down and thought really hard.

I started seeing ideas all around me. They played upon each other, changing, multiplying, and generally developing into something different and interesting.

I would have liked to have developed my idea on a concept, as piece of art exploring reality. In a way it may have. The exploration of breaking from mainstream games and understanding why people play games (and why I want to make them).

* here's the slightly less short version for those who really care: For the first few weeks I played with ideas of building a standard program framework from which I could spring new ideas into life with a matter of days. I haven't previously, and am on this occasion using a games library to help build my game. That got so far, but since I have neither the time, nor inclination to rewrite large sections of my code to be more flexible , it has been put to rest. It wasn't waisted time though, all the code I have written will be used in one way or another. Ideas change, scale scope mostly.

A Game Is Made

For the last six weeks I have been developing a small game for a final year project. I set out in my proposal to "...explore the possibility of making a complex artistic piece through interactive and visual content." and "I would endeavor to make fast and intuitive interaction that enhances the atmosphere and pace of the game."

The game has been going by the name of RealRisk in my head and in conversation, but it is not really a fitting name. It could be described as a deconstruction of a Real-Time-Strategy to primary elements, and then building something new with it's most basic concepts. Then again it could be a just be a Real-Time-Strategy.

Using easily understandable concepts such as; an attacker, a defender, and a building. With only a small number of elements to learn and control, the game becomes more open to new users but allows for complicated tactical decisions. The game will be intuitively complex.

Graphically minamlistic. Saying only what needs to be said.

I have found it difficult to describe the game to people on previous occations. Hindered partly by a drive to create something unique, and attempting to be overtly indie in my game design.

In coming posts I will catch up on ideas and changes that have happened in the last six weeks.

So let me begin

The final year of my education is getting into full swing, and I want change. The world of games needs to change. It needs to grow up. In what little way I can, I want to do my part.

Earlier this year I started following several highly informative blogs, almost all of which I discovered through IndyGamer (found on Google). They opened up a world of games that I had always expected to exist, but never found. Games trying to say something.

The Marriage (by Ron Humble) is a prime example of this idea and maybe a failure to achieve it. The game was built as an experiment, as a work of art. It's intention, like modern art, is not to necessarily to please but instead to promote thought and discussion. Go play the game a few times, think about it. As I said it isn't a perfect piece of art (read Tale of Tale's criticism)

What I took from the game? Games can be Art.

Then some months later I read the Realtime Art Manifesto, which felt like a kick in the back-side. After reading throught it, and then looking at what I'm doing, I started to feel that all my intentions and ideas had been built upon the concept of building a game. This foundation was inevitably cutting off paths and ideas. Something with almost no element of a game, and yet created a deep interactive environment. Why make a game? Are they just devices to keep the player hooked? Is it wrong, immoral to get a player hooked?

And then there is the idea of non-linear storytelling, and the forced mechanics of a linear plot. What if you existed in a story, and chose your own path?

This isn't the end of all that has been of what we call Games. It is more an attempt to understand the pure realtime interactive art, and what it can be. There's no reason to throw away your (digital) copy of Half-Life 2 for it's linear storytelling sins, but it's time to see what can really be achieved.

The Game will live on. There is a place for puzzles, but there are many more seats to be filled...

So that's where I am. Where now?

There are a lot of very good blogs looking deeper into games, the genres strengths and weaknesses*. I instead hope to build on these sources, and putting what I can into practice. Make games realtime interactive art.

* see: Artful Gamer, Arthouse Games, Only a Game, The Brainy Gamer

About

a little about the blog and it's writer

realtime Art
Charting Peter's attempts to make artistically driven games, interspersed with his thoughts on the subject.


Peter Dodds
Born in North-East England, studying Computer Visualisation and Animation at Bournemouth University.

last edited: 8th Dec 2007