Areas

Areas is an abstract minimal 2D Flash-based shooter. The player controls a ship that fends off expanding white circles from filling the play space. The player completes each level by surviving for a set period of time: they lose if they are crushed by the circles.

Areas uses a no-click interface: the game is controlled solely by the position of the mouse, including all menu navigation and options. The reasons for this aren’t clear - the suggestion that it’s designed for playing on the Wii doesn’t hold up – but it’s probably artistic whimsy. It doesn’t quite work: there are moments when it screams out for a left-click (especially in the menus, which are unclear). However, it throws up an incidental quirk that alters the game from Geometry Wars and other similar two-stick shooters.

You control a cursor with the mouse. If the cursor is far from your ship, the ship approaches it a proportionate speed. At short range, the ship stops and fires towards your cursor. You can’t simultaneously move and fire. With a limited range of fire, the player must frequently consider whether to sacrifice firepower for position – the “difficult choice” that constitutes all gameplay.

2D shooters are about negotiating space. The movement and location of enemy fire defines locations you can’t go, and the smaller the safe areas are, the more likely you’ll be killed. They’re usually about controlling space too: destroying enemies creates new safe spaces, because bullets stop coming from that location. Usually everything is moving, so the player needs to think about where the safe spaces will be in the future.

In Areas, the only hazards are the relentless white circles that fill the play area (a much larger black circle). They appear randomly, and can only be checked by player fire. Contact with the circles is not fatal, and there are no lives: the player is only pushed back by the expansion. Many levels end with the player fending off the wall of white that approaches, while running the clock out. It’s genuinely claustrophobic.

Of course, with every enemy circular and expanding, it’s not obvious where the strategy in positioning lies. Enter the “magic circles”, areas left by destroyed circles that alter fire passing through them in various ways. Some split bullets in two; some expand bullets; some turn bullets into lasers, or rockets, or absorb bullets to power an explosion when they expire. But their effects combine: bullets may be enlarged, multiplied and then directed to the nearest circle. Under its frantic surface, Areas is a puzzle game. Most shooters are: spatial problems solved through vigorous gunplay. Some lie closer to puzzles (such as Ikaruga), while others lie closer to technicolour carnage (step forward, Robotron 2084), but all require a little thought to navigate with skill.

It's trying too hard to be an art piece, and it has a few balance problems, regarding its later levels and luck with the magic circles, but Areas is a game that demonstrates, more than a traditional example, what lies at the heart of the shooter.

It's been a while

...since I posted, partly because I've been unwell. However some things I'm currently writing are:

• An in-depth look at Areas, which I think is really great
• A few other Kongregate reviews
  
• A good look at Call of Duty 4, and what it tells us (and doesn't tell us) about war
• Thoughts on God of War, Resident Evil 4 and Killer 7
• A diary of my descent into the dark heart of World of Warcraft
  

In other news: how good does Audiosurf look?

MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction

Mutually Assured Destruction is a Missile Command clone, updated in the modern idiom: polished graphics, cities with recharging shields and the upgrade grind that so many flash games mistake for a genuine difficulty curve. It’s a well-executed but ultimately traditional interpretation. However, the sound in this game is incredible. An apocalyptic Wagnerian score conveys the desperation of your defence. The chorus loops intensify until it feels the end of days is raining through your headphones. Explosions and missiles are crisp and pleasing too. The skilful use of sound elevates a good game to a truly great experience.

Meritous

Meritous is a PC freeware game of exploration with a novel combat mechanic and a strong touch of the roguelike. You control Merit, a rogue psychic exploring the Orcus Dome, an area of natural power that has recently been abandoned. You must explore the ruins room by room, searching for items to reactivate the ley lines that power the city. Your progress is blocked by “the shadow”, enemies that fire some manic shooter-inspired bullet patterns.

The battles against the shadow are unique. Your psychic attack must be charged and unleashed as a shockwave. Longer charging leads to a more powerful attack, but also a longer recharge time. You could charge immense attacks before entering a room, but some enemies need to be hit several times: the long cooldown time of these attacks will leave you vulnerable. Your attack clears bullets, while your shield takes up more space as it gets stronger, making evading enemy bullets a very complex and satisfying task. As the attack hits every enemy in range, the game splits from ordinary shooters: accurate timing is the new concern. Positioning is only important in terms of evading enemy fire.

Crystals dropped by defeated enemies can be cashed in for upgrades to your attack, shield and cooldown rate, allowing you to confront meaner shadows deeper in the city. This, combined with the world’s procedural generation, gives the game the feel of a dungeon hack. The randomly generated city isn't really beneficial – it isn’t something you might care to replay once you’ve finished it, and there’s little benefit in knowing the layout except it saves you time. In fact, the most interesting areas appear to be re-written, whereas the randomly-generated rooms feel samey.

The game gets too easy near its end, where you are capable of dealing with pretty much every foe the game throws at you. The only risk comes from stumbling into surprisingly small rooms, where the concentration of fire is too great to apply any skill, or the boss rooms, which are a good change of pace and difficulty. There are a few clumsy control issues too - when you touch a door you are teleported immediately to the other side. You can find yourself blundering through several unknown shadow-filled rooms by accident in this way, which usually leads to your demise.

This game is a great mechanic welded to the wrong game type. The shockwave-shield mechanic is brilliant, but while this could act as the cornerstone of an inventive shooter, instead it is the sole attraction of a routine collect quest.

What is this?

Hello. My name is Gareth Briggs, and I'm an amateur game designer. Welcome to my blog. This is intended as an outlet for my opinions on contemporary game design. Although I specialise in computer games, which are the main focus of this blog, as far as I'm concerned anything that may be called a game may be considered here.

This blog will contain three things.

First, I'll review games I'm currently playing for a game design perspective. They'll be reviews in the artistic sense - no scores or buying advice, just judgemnet and critique of games against their own ambition, and appraisal of that ambition.

Second, I'll offer thoughts on design issues thrown up by games I've reviewed. These will be more in-depth and will hopefully offer some insight on the significant questions posed by contemporary game design.

Finally, as my skill improves I'll exhibit some games I've written myself. These will be a combination of updated classics and new works that showcase my ideas on good and creative game design.

I welcome comment and debate (although abusive or inappropriate posts will be removed). Although this is about contemporary game design, I will consider many older games here, with the intention of illuminating modern practice. Also, if you want to see something specific, make a request - I am open to suggestion.