Audiosurf

I bought Audiosurf last weekend. I resisted buying it for this long on the grounds that when I got it, I wouldn't get anything else done for while. That turned out not to be true - it favours short bursts of play rather than extended sessions.

Some games draw you in for long periods. They tend to be either long games with a lot of story (for a game) and exploration - lots of new content per hour. I call these games "story-form", because even when they don't tell much of a story, they still follow a story arc. The story may be roughly "shoot this monster, flick this switch, another level done" but it's still a story, making sense to videogame aesthetic. There are save points and not too much backtracking - the player expects a reward of content for invested time. I'll talk more about these in later articles.

There are also well-constructed non-linear games. A good example is Football Manager - many otherwise non-gamers will lose about a month of their lives to the hypnotic exchange of matches and subtle tactical and squad alterations available. Yet it's not a story-form game - all the content is available at the beginning, and each player's story is unique.

There is another type of game that is deeply compelling for long periods, but not continuously. The classic arcade game is usually not fun for a very long time - try playing scrolling beat-'em-ups on MAME for hours straight - but sticks in the players mind. After a couple of games the player is satisfied, but wants to play again soon. (The similarity between this and the addiction pattern of narcotics is best left to other writers, I feel). Crazy Taxi is a great example: more than a few minutes of its hyper-bright and furious dashing leaves you sick and exhausted, but a break from the game leaves you wanting to play again.

Audiosurf has this magic property. After half a dozen games I'm pretty tired of playing, but I soon think of other songs I want to put through it. Perhaps the design of the game as a score attack sits badly with the curiosity of turning your music collection into a set of levels. With the choice of every mp3 in existence, why play any of them more than once? Surely exploring the results from different songs is more exciting?

There are other criticisms that can be levelled: the algorithm puts too much emphasis on sharp drums, meaning that snares can dominate the rest of the song. Sometimes this leads to a jerky effect for dance tunes that are supposed to be more sinuous than stop-start. A few more looks and colour schemes would be appreciated too, rather than general filters.

Still, I love it. I'm always tempted to fill five minutes with a quick go, and it always turns into half an hour. I hope that its novelty doesn't put other people off the idea: it looks like a bold development and further work on the song conversion algorithms could lead to even more exciting possibilities.

Advance Wars

Started playing Advance Wars a few days ago. I played it a little a few years ago, but I'd forgotten everything so I started afresh. The tutorial was impressive, introducing new units and aspects of the game with each training level. It reminded me of the "programmed" rules from the original Squad Leader. This approach suits wargames very well, but it's applied to most games in one way or another.

Programmed rules were about the only hope for Squad Leader to be comprehensible. It was a brilliant but demented squad-level WWII wargame . The scenarios introduced new concepts in stages. The first just had infantry, leaders and machine guns, that formed the core of the game. Each following mission introduced a few new counters and a fresh concept (say, radios, and calling in artillery strikes). By the end of the game, there was quite a party happening on the board, but you could understand it because everything was introduced sequentially, in digestible chunks.

Advance Wars demonstrates perfect programmed tuition. Each training mission has you defeating a powerful new enemy unit with specific counter-tactics: usually the starting unit locations give you the edge. The first mission, with just two infantry apiece in the open, works because the computer has one unit lagging so you can double-team each one with your two infantry. The positions also ensure you will get to strike first: guided by your assistant, you cannot lose.

The game is also secretly showing you something else: concentration of force. Bring two units to bear on the enemy's one, while denying him the same chance, and you will win. It's a principle of military strategy, one of the most basic.

At the end of the tutorial, you'll know how every unit works - which you'll need, because knowledge of the unit relationships and hierarchy are essential to success. Not knowing whether a "B Copter" can attack a "Medium Tank", or the potency of that attack, will hamper your success. With about twenty different units available, it's testament to the tutorial that it successfully teaches you all the information you require.