Warning: the design tour has quite a few spoilers in it!
David Rosen of Wolfire Games posted his 4th design tour almost two weeks ago, and it’s about a game that I’m pretty familiar with – Aquaria! I’ve already mentioned this to David during our email discussions of the game and his tour, but apologies for not posting it sooner. I wanted to make sure that I gave the tour an adequate mindshare before I posted my response to it. (I’m also slightly hesitant to post news about my own games.)
First things first, I have to be honest and say that I was secretly hoping that David would do a tour of Aquaria, but I wasn’t sure if he had played the game or not. So yeah, I am pretty excited about it, considering the caliber of the other games he’s toured (World of Goo, Knytt Stories, and Gish). Thanks, David!
So anyway, my 2 cents (it’s actually more like a nickel) on his 2 cents:
Well, Aquaria has been out for over an Earth Year now (as of December 7th). Pretty hard to believe. I remember back in the day when it was all, “Why don’t these damn turtles move?!” And now look at it. All grown up and shipped and critically acclaimed and everything.
Here is the newest trailer ever, in honor of the game’s anniversary and, more excitingly, Big Update. This weekend, Bit Blot will release Aquaria version 1.1.1 (for Windows). This patch includes “widescreen, graphics and audio enhancements, improved puzzles, a new/awesome map system and more.” And a reduced price.
Alec and Derek have been working hard on this update since the game launched, addressing all the feedback the game’s received. (And that’s a lot!) If there was ever a time to get Aquaria, it’s now. (Yeah, I’m talking to you—no more excuses!)
Congrats, guys! A series of increasingly complex high-fives is in order.
NOTE: Dunno why this ain’t been posted yet, but a Mac version is also now available.
The latest Penny Arcade strip is about Braid! As far as I know, this is the first indie game they’ve mentioned directly in a comic, which is pretty cool. I personally enjoy PA so I’m glad to see them promote indie games through Greenhouse, PAX, and now the strip itself.
I wrung four and a half hours out of the finished product, coming into contact with genuinely huge concepts that hum with stradavarian fullness. You’re mad about five dollars? What? Shove your five dollars up your stupid ass.
Well, okay, maybe not that last part. At least not until rear ends start vending Cactus Coolers or bus tickets. What a waste, otherwise!
But in all seriousness, the pricing issue is another compelling problem for developers, especially an indie who can set his or her own price. It’s especially compelling because it’s become obvious that for some people (perhaps most people?), the price somehow enters into the equation that determines a game’s inherent worth. A game that costs more than it should cost becomes a worse game. Should that be the case? Should that idea be reflected in game reviews? I suppose it depends on whether the goal of the review is to help you make a purchasing decision or whether the goal is to evaluate the merits of a video game.
In Aquaria’s case, Alec and I priced the game at $30, $10 above what I guess is the “norm” is for downloadable PC indie games is, because that’s what we felt it was worth. We considered a lot of factors, from the quality of the game, to the effort we put into it, to plain ol’ numbers like how many hours of gameplay and how many assets we created. A lot of people felt it was worth what we charged, and a lot of people didn’t, which is fine. But some people took the pricing personally before they even played the game, which I’ll never truly understand.
I think the problem is that no one knows how much a game should cost, or how we should value games. Is a good, short game better than a mediocre, long game? What are pretty graphics worth to good gameplay? What about indie versus mainstream? Like with almost EVERYTHING about games, it’s just not as clear-cut as with other types of media. The industry is too young, and it’s just plain different, too.
But to quote Tycho once more:
You read a lot (in incandescent threads devoted to the topic) about how ten dollars is the “sweet spot” for Live Arcade titles, and that may be the case, but we should entertain the idea that its creator wasn’t trying to make an “Xbox Live Arcade Game.” Perhaps he was trying to make a good game, the best game he could, and Microsoft’s Broadening Initiative For Digital Content was the last thing on his mind.
In the end, I don’t think it makes sense to compare games to anything other than what you think is a good game. $15 is more than most XBLA games. It’s also about how much a 2-hour movie or an ironic t-shirt costs. I guess the question is… so what? What do you guys and gals think?
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:54:00 GMT
The Final Teaser.
Aquaria has finally been released! I’ll have (much) more to say about the game later, but as the Bit Blot site is down, I’ll just provide you with some hot, hot links for now.
Posted by Brandon "BMcC" McCartin
Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:03:00 GMT
You heard it right. After years of development, Aquaria, Bit Blot’s IGF Grand Prize winning undersea adventure game, is done and slated for release on PCs everywhere Friday, December 7th, 2007! The game will cost a mere $30 USD, which, believe me, is an absolute steal.
Heralding the launch will be a new Aquaria-related post on the Bit Blog (which you should be reading already) every day this week, featuring concept art, music, development stories, and Kenta Cho knows what else.
I was lucky enough to have worked on this little gem, and let me say, I am so proud to have been involved at any capacity. The game is all content, professional and polished on every level, and chock full of soul. Alec and Derek have slaved over it for a long, long time—and it truly shows. (Internet whiners take note!)
Anyway, before I get too sentimental, I just want to express how proud I am of The Bad Boys of Bit Blot. Through consistent determination and sheer passion they have created something wonderful and deserve every ounce of success they get. These guys are in it for the love of the game, one hundred percent. I know this first hand.
Student Showcase finalists are:
Base invaders, Invalid Tangram, Opera Slinger, Gelatin Joe, And Yet it Moves, Toblo, Euclidean Crisis, The Ball of Bastards, The Blob
Excellence in Audio finalists:
Aquaria, Bone: The Great Cow Race, Everyday Shooter, Fizzball, Racing Pitch
Finalists for Excellence in Visual Arts:
Aquaria, Golf?, Samorost 2, Castle Crashers, Roboblitz
The finalists for Design Innovation Awards:
Aquaria, Everyday Shooter, Armadillo Run, Toblo
Finalists for Technical Excellence:
Arcane Legions: A Rising Shadow, Armada Online, Bang! Howdy, Blast Miner, Band of Bugs
Best Web Browser Game finalists:
Bubble Islands, Gamma Bros., Samorost 2
Indie GameTap award. The three winners of this prize will share $50,000 and have their game published on the service.
First runner up: Blast Miner
Winner: Everyday Shooter
The Audience Award winner is Castle Crashers.
The Darwinia team introduces the finalists for this year’s SMAs:
Aquaria
Armadillo Run
Bang! Howdy
Roboblitz
Everyday Shooter
The 2007 Game of the Year prize went to Aquaria, the previously unhonored 2D fantasy game from indie shop Bit Blot. After stumbling verbally, one of its designers admitted, “This is a terrible speech.” But the massive applause proved the audience didn’t really care.
When the God of Indie Games Journalism requests something, you give it to him, by himiny!
Here’s a little teaser video that shows off some of the gameplay in the first part of Aquaria. Some of you were wondering how things move ingame. Hopefully this will convince you that it’s pretty fluid (har har)!
We mention on the game’s site that we’re using voicework in lieu of text-based dialogue (which you have to sit and click through). You’ll hear some of that in there, also. The actress is Jenna Sharpe, and the work she’s done for Aquaria is fantastic.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this little glimpse at the game (still in progress)! As we get closer to our expected release date, you can expect a lot more media and info.
So far only a couple of screenshots were posted for Aquaria. Perhaps we can coax Derek to post a boss screen capture, one creature design or two, maybe even a short gameplay video while we wait for the highly anticipated spring release? (hint, hint)
I’m actually quite tempted to add a new category entitled Aquaria.
On another note, is someone working on a translation for La-Mulana yet? It’s been getting a lot of rave reviews though the game is pretty hard for non-Japanese speakers.. (La-Mulana download link)
