Symphonic Fantasies - Fantasy III: Chrono Trigger/Cross

Dear Gamers,

Exploring the web, looking for videogame musical arrangements, I stumbled upon 'Symphonic Fantasies', one of several Symphonic Game Concerts. Kingdom Hearts, Secret of Mana, Chrono Series and Final Fantasy Series. Result: I was completely blown away upon listening to each piece, especially the Chrono series one. 

I'm no expert music critic, but the feelings these pieces evoke are strong and unique. I especially like the moment when they combine 'People seized with Life' and 'To far away times'. Too beautiful to express with words. 

The pieces make you feel so much... going in a profound adventure, reminiscing your gaming experience, feeling the weight of a future that was never meant to be, and even the feelings the people that were erased from history. The story was way too complex, but if followed, it delivered a very, very deep meaning. 

Chrono Series really have some of the best pieces of music in gaming history.

Sample: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RfPrbGV8dQ

Harvest Moon - Game Concept

Welcome back gamers.

In the Game Design Master I'm currently attending, we were given the task to create a Game Concept documento for an existing game. In an attempt to polish my game design skills, I have written the concept for the first Harvest Moon game. I am uploading it for your reading pleasure.


Harvest Moon - Game Concept Document

Game Profile
WORKING TITLE:    Ranch Story (Harvest Moon)
GENRE:                      Life Simulation / Business Simulation
PLATFORMS:             SNES
GAME MODES:         Single Player
AUDIENCE:                9+

Description
Ranch Story is a game where the player takes over a run-down farm in the country-side. His objective is to revitalize the farm and turn it into a successful business before the deadline falls. Labour consists of tending crops and taking care of animals according to the weather and season, while socializing with the local villagers and even attending festivals in the nearest city.

This game aims at being an entertaining and heart-warming life simulator, giving the player the chance to choose how he wants to live (although always leaning towards the good side).

Setting
The setting of the game is a small village in the country-side, where life is peaceful and villagers are good-natured. The keyword here is ‘interactive village’. Every character has his or her chores to do, places to visit and daily schedules, according to the season and weather.

The main character is given two years and a half (game-time) to get the farm working before his parents come to test his progress. In that time, apart from working in the farm, the player is encouraged to socialize with villagers and date some of the few bachelorettes in town. Through present-giving and daily talking, he can end up getting married with one of them, moving together and having children.

When the game ends, the player’s progress is tested and different scenes may trigger according to his achievements. Getting married, being a father, turning into a successful farmer and being loved by the villagers are some of them.

Core Mechanics
•    The game is a farmer responsible for a run-down farm. His objective is to revitalize it before time runs out, turning it into a successful business.

•    The player has many ways of earning money: he can buy and plant seeds, take care of animals or forage for wild fruits in the mountain.

•    Each year is divided into four seasons, and each season into thirty days, run by an internal clock where each day is about five minutes long. Time passes when the player is outside, while it freezes when the player is indoors.

•    Weather varies within each season. Each seed can only be planted in a particular season and has a different way of growing. While spring turnips can only be harvested once, summer tomatoes can be harvested many times. Every seed has to be watered in order to grow. There will be a total of five possible crops to grow.

•    The player will have a variety of tools so as to work in the farm. There will be a watering can, a hammer, a hoe, a sickle and an axe.

•    Animals require more care, as they have to be fed every day. The player may have cows and chickens. Cows give milk and chickens lay eggs every day. The player may incubate eggs in order to get more chickens and breed cows in order to get calves.

•    The village consists of a couple of shops (where the player will get his tools and seeds), a bar (where characters will gather at night), a main square (where festivals will take place), a church and some houses.

•    Villagers have different schedules according to day and weather. While people stay indoors in rainy days, they may go to the mountain in sunny days or go to church on Sunday mornings. When getting married, some schedules may change!

•    Each season has a couple of festivals taking place in the village square. From a Flower Festival (where villagers will dance together) to an Egg Hunt (where finding the hidden eggs will earn you prices) to a Harvest Festival (where every villager throws a vegetable in a pot) to Starry Night Festival (where you’ll spend the night with your sweetheart in a special place).

•    The player can also upgrade his tools through sidequests and customize his house through expansion. A sprinkler can be bought in exchange of your watering can, a golden axe can be found if you complete a small event. If enough wood is gathered, your house may be expanded and customized.

•    If the player has successfully revived the farm, he may keep playing indefinitely. 

References
There are no similar games in the market. The most similar game would be a mix of Sim Farm and some Dating Simulator. Animal Crossing and FarmVille are similar games which came out long after this game, though with some different mechanics.

Risks
•    The game, being a niche genre, may rely upon good reviews and propaganda in order to sell well.

•    A balance has to be formed between working at the farm and socializing in the village, and taking over the farm has to be challenging yet not too hard. Failing to find this point may result in the game not being fun to play, or being too frustrating.

Indie Games Pack... part one!

Indie Gamer Sebastian reporting... today I'll talk about some indie games I've found. Indie games are independently developed, generally by a single person or small team and without financial support.

Indie games are perfect games to explore concepts. I love it when experimental games try exploring how narratives work in a videogame, or develop games with eccentric or particular artistic content, even minimal sometimes. What we're gonna see today is about some videogames I've found over http://indiegames.com, which try out different approaches to story-telling and evoke emotions from the player in different ways.

...BUT THAT WAS YESTERDAY
http://jayisgames.com/cgdc9/?gameID=11
This game is... simply beautiful. It's art is bright and clean, and the setting evokes nostalgia from the player (a snowy setting, a dog, memories).

Basically, what you do in the game is platform for a bit and move the story forward, trying to understand the main character's story. Platforming was somewhat connected to the story, but could have been more cohesive. However, what stands out from this game is how it handles the main character's personal story. Telling the story through a mix of interactive-activities and scenes, music follows the mood of the scenes carefully and help the player make this story their own. The most important characters in the game bear distinctive colors, which holds a meaning as well.

The game talks about the main character's best friend, ex-girlfriend and loyal dog, how he connects with them, and what he discovers from his interactions with them. The game makes the player think about encounters, life, how each day gives a chance to learn. The game is loaded with metaphors, as just the main events of the story are told and details are omitted (so as every person may identify with these events, I believe). Finally, the game gives a message of self-growth and advancing in life by resolving personal struggles... and this was even integrated into the gameplay. How? Read on.

Each of the main characters teaches the main character a 'move' he could not use before. To reach the end of the game, the main character has to use all of these moves... which he learned from his past friends. The game masterfully communicates the meaning outlined above and even integrates it into gameplay. Metaphoric, huh? Very curious and fun game, from which we can all learn something about. Games which help in solving personal struggles have always been quite interesting to me, and this game proves to be successful in giving a hopeful message. By learning from our experiences, we can move on in life.


LOOMING
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541333

Wow... I played this game for a couple of hours, I believe. To me, it was reminiscent of Myst, as the main player's main task is exploring an ancient deserted civilization.

The game has the player explore a place called 'Looming', which holds the remains of an ancient civilization. Throughout documents and artifacts, the player progressively learns more and more about the tribes which inhabited this place and their affairs and problems. There's a screen which holds how many artifacts you've found (discovery journal), and an indicator telling you how many 'special events' you got. Each time you exit Looming, a 'special event' is launched, which enables you to know more about these people and the main character, and progress is saved. The game's minimalistic approach to graphics and music attracted me, and the fact that the player was really small helped in building a huge world surrounding him. Huge worlds often turn me off, but the fact that there was a discovery journal motivated me to finish it, giving a reason to all the exploration (so as to complete the journal).

What I liked the most was that the game kept me thinking the whole time, wondering about the people who lived in the area, about why the main character is actually there, about why they became extint, and about what exactly is Looming. It made me explore the whole place a lot of times in order to find all artifacts so as to discover 100% of the story. It was the perfect example of a gamer who moves forward so as to discover more about the game's world. Most important, the game's world is described by the notes and artifacts you find, apart from the actual world you see. I believe the idea of 'exploring so as to discover the past' is a pure implementation of archeology in gaming... and actually, it works! It's a great motivation for the player, and I will remember it when designing games. Keeping the player's mind active motivates the player to keep playing, reduces frustration and increases fun.

Conclusions
Very well, the games we've seen today give us a couple of ideas on how to tell a story in a game.

The first game presents the interesting idea of conveying a message through gameplay and interactive scenes with almost no text in the whole game. The game centers in one main character and his past relationships, giving little importance to the actual world which surrounds him. However, the story is told, and the idea that the main characters learns from his past experiences is integrated into gameplay.

The second game is a bit of the opposite from the first one. Minimalistic graphics and a lot of text, small focus on the main character and big focus on the game's world. It's interesting how fun a game turns out to be when there're things to be discovered. The sole existence of a "table of discoveries" made me search every corner of Looming so as to fill it out and learn all of the world's secrets. The game has the player filled with doubt and curiosity, wondering about what happened to the previous inhabitants and the civilization, having him search for objects and learn about them, as every artifact carries a story behind it. 


All in all, they're two experimental and interesting games I hope somebody likes (apart from me, that is).