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Grad-School Thesis Becomes PS3 Game
Posted by
kdawson
on Wed Nov 29, 2006 01:49 AM
from the hitting-the-bigtime dept.
from the hitting-the-bigtime dept.
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes, "USC student Jenova Chen's Flash game, 'flOw,' attracted interest from Sony, which commissioned an enhanced version that will be sold through its PlayStation Network, WSJ.com reports. From the article: 'Gameplay is incredibly smooth, particularly for a Flash game. But it's the design touches that set flOw apart. Players will notice faint outlines of the creatures lurking at lower depths, a foreboding sign that vicious manta- and squid-like enemies await. The water darkens as the creature advances to deeper levels. The game's ambient sound is somewhat hypnotic. The intuitive controls and design simplicity are among Mr. Chen's mandate: build immersive games for people who don't consider themselves gamers. 'My parents and grandparents don't play games. My girlfriend, she doesn't play either,' he says. 'I want to make games that those people can appreciate.'"
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The folks at the Tokyo Game show are sending back high resolution screens of titles like Heavenly Sword and Warhawk, but a smaller title that will be on the console is available to play now. Recommended by Tycho in Friday's post to Penny Arcade, the game fl0w has more to offer than just good looks. It's actually a part of a designer's thesis, using the concept of flow theory to make a title more enjoyable for the player. Despite its roots in academia, this beautiful gem may go on to have a fond place in the hearts of console gamers. Joystiq has a hands on with the PS3 version: "FlOw was running at 525p (480p) -- the graphics were akin to what we've seen the Nintendo Wii produce. We aren't sure if the title will available brick-and-mortar or as a download (or even packaged in the console's hard drive). If priced correctly, flOw could end up an essential title similar to what Geometry Wars represents for the Xbox 360 -- a small, casual game with mass appeal sold for pure profit." Download the game, and give it a try.
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Eurogamer has details of Sony's online strategy for the PlayStation 3. Finally. The long article goes into the process by which you log into the service, some of the things you can expect to find online, the different aspects of user accounts, and finally some details about the PlayStation Store. From the article: "As to the content that will be available, Sony is still playing its cards close to its chest to some extent - but one thing the giant firm is clear on is that the PlayStation Store will grow to encompass more than just new game content and demos. Alongside the free and paid-for game content, the store will also play host to a wide range of new titles developed specifically for download (the first of which, fl0w, was shown off at TGS - dozens more PlayStation Store exclusive titles are being worked on around the world thanks to an initiative which Sony launched at GDC last year) - and as Ken Kutaragi revealed at TGS last month, it'll also be possible to buy PSone and PS2 classics you missed out on, as well as a selection of PSP games, from the PlayStation Store, and download them directly to your PS3." After all this time, it's nice just to know there is an online strategy.
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"My girlfriend, she doesn't play either." (Score:4, Funny)
Re:"My girlfriend, she doesn't play either." (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:"My girlfriend, she doesn't play either." (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Sigh, I miss the lucas arts adventure games days. Crap graphics, damn good fun.
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh and look up Nintendo -> Wii. Sheesh. Everyone always drags out this tired argument of "Games today don't care about anything but graphics" and ignore all the hojillion great games we have available that aren't all about the shiny graphics. We have more choice in gameplay NOW than ever!
Parent
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Are the graphics-obsessed gamers of today simply victims of advertising? Programmed to forget what impressed them yesterday and to discard everything that isn't NEW NEW NEW?
What was gorgeous on the PS2 (ICO, for instance) is now in the category of HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE? Games from Xbox 1 that made me drop my jaw once (DOA3) are now crude, primitive reminders of a forgotten time? Or how about that "terrible" GameCube with that "awful-looking" and "low-res" Resident Evil 4 game that came out not that freakin' long ago?
It's getting so boring! In my world, you have to go back 20+ years to start talking about most things looking ugly. And what about games like Metroid on the NES? Aren't those great graphics? Didn't that old Mac game Dark Castle have incredible graphics? What about the first Prince of Persia?
No, no, no. Not to today's zombie consumer gamers or zombie whore game reviewers... If it came out more than a year ago or if it's on the Wii, it's got crappy graphics.
The first Half-Life, every Zelda game, POP: Sands of Time, Morrowind, Halo, you name it... Fun to play? Sure. But I guess the graphics are now crap, crap, crap, crap, crap...
Parent
You must have missed it. (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:You must have missed it. (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Good (Score:4, Insightful)
I sat down and played the game. It was fun, and had an extremely simple and intuitive interface. For a flash game it had quite a high degree of polish. I'm not sure of its replay value as it stands however. As you suggest, I played for about half an hour but don't find myself feeling any particular desire to continue or go back to it. The weakness, ultimately, is the relative sameness of the gameplay as you advance - there simply isn't anything particularly new or different; nothing to aspire to achieve. Of course in a full blown version there will likely be rather more effort put into developing and extending the levels so that new material can be introduced as you proceed - perhaps the "evolution" steps could introduce significant new skills so as to overcome new challenges etc.
So I guess I both agree and disagree with you. Yes the game, as it stands, is intriguing but lacks replay value. On the other hand the base is reasonably strong, and if someone creative can expand upon that to creater a longer fuller game experience... so much the better.
Parent
Re:Good (Score:5, Informative)
I'd have to agree with you, and I will admit that I did enjoy it for that half-hour.
As the biggest problem I see with turning it into a "real" game, it lacked any conceptual hooks whereby you could flesh it out into something that would take significantly longer than that half hour to finish.
I suppose they could add bigger, meaner enemies (though by the lowest depths, the enemies had already gotten absurdly complex - More than once, I found myself chasing a fast enemy in tight circles, slowly wearing it down by eating 10 of its energy pellets for every 9 it nabbed from me). They could stick in artificial "quests" such as the old standby of find-the-keys and save-the-princess-slash-hostage. They could break it into more expansive worlds for each depth (though then how do you prevent the player from killing 27,416,318 bunnies at the first level by locking the controller in a tight turn for a week, then breezing through the rest?), but just about anything you tack onto it would detract from the original intuitive UI design.
Oh well, good luck to Sony with that. Perhaps they will make something good out of it - I suppose, with a lot of artificiality tacked on, they could manage something as playable as E.V.O. for the SNES. And in five years, when the PS3 goes for $50 and its games for $10 on the used market, I might even pick it up and give it a try.
Parent
Re:Good (Score:5, Informative)
Part of the problem with the game is there are no obvious instructions as what you're meant to do. It turns out you eat everything in site (except the blues & reds that move you up and down). You even eat the humongous creatures by going for the spots in their body. Once you get all the spots the creature (without it eating you in turn), it will dissolve into bits that you eat.
But it is a trippy experience and I can see that the game could be fleshed out in interesting ways, or even make a cool screensaver. BTW, Want to know what happens when you get to the bottom? You start again in an orange ocean as a different creature.
Parent
Next level you become circle monster (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:Good (Score:4, Informative)
While I really cannot legally spill any details about any of the current projects that are in this department, I will say if you enjoyed the original flash game, the enhanced version will be a treat.
Rest assured, the idea was not raped.
Parent
Re:Good (Score:5, Funny)
And you can build houses out of it (if you buy enough units)
And "PS3" upside down looks like "ESd"
*And* it fits in your pocket ! (if you have very large pockets)
What a deal !
Parent
You want your grandparents to game? (Score:4, Funny)
Also for PS3's "older crowd"... (Score:5, Funny)
It's a sort of FPS/RTS hybrid game. The atmospherics alone are going to blow your mind.
Parent
Squid??? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't mean this to be a troll.. I'm just saying things like Nintendogs are a little more compelling than "Find the darker water with the giant squid. Then kill it, and you'll find even MORE, DARKER squids!"
For non-gamers, Cute puppies > Ugly squid, that's all I'm saying.. and that's not even bringing Sims 2 into it.. my girlfriend couldn't understand why I liked building houses and stuff until she actually got the hang of it. Now it's one of her primary relaxation games, and frankly, her being entertained is worth a hell of a lot more than what I spent on it (especially since it frees the TV up for me to play Saint's Row hehehe)
Not a fanboy of any system, just my own experience and opinion
Call me crazy, (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Call me crazy, (Score:4, Interesting)
But if you RTFA it turns out the creator of flOw is now actually on the Spore team. I'm shocked.
I just wonder if he was hired before or after they had already created the underwater stage of Spore. I would guess after, but it's still amusing.
Parent
Get it here (Score:5, Informative)
The direct links are still alive
Try the Coralized links first
Offline Version
ftp://intihuatani.usc.edu.nyud.net:8090/Cloud/flo
http://intihuatani.usc.edu.nyud.net:8090/Cloud/fl
The SWF
http://intihuatani.usc.edu.nyud.net:8090/cloud/fl
-ftp://intihuatani.usc.edu/Cloud/flow_04142006.zi
-http://intihuatani.usc.edu/Cloud/flowing/flow_04
-http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/flowing/core.sw
Great Game (Score:4, Interesting)
Definitely something everyone should try out. Keep in mind though that the Flash game itself is incomplete, but you can post on the forums to give suggestions and discuss the concept with the creator.
Not much depth (Score:5, Insightful)
For a game thats touted as being so excellent, its pretty boring and shallow.
I played fl0w for about 30 minutes.. you just grow this creature in a pretty limited fashion by eating things on different z-depth levels.
The stuff I've read on flow is all about freedom of choice, and playing how you want, and being simple to pickup, and the sense of satisfaction - After 30 mins, it becomes extremely boring, there is no sense of satisfaction, and it gets surprisingly hard (well i guess its hard.. these other huge "creatures" try to eat some bulby bits off you.
Perhaps there is some amazing part of fl0w that I've missed - other worlds, a "level up" feature, some ability other than swimming to the mouse cursor
This game is not fantastic, however, the ideas behind its design are great
Re:I've Always Wanted to Say This... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent