Games in the making...: Games start with an idea, an inspiration, a theme... than this idea needs to evolve into an interactive experience. Below are few of the ideas that i worked on, or still working on. You can download the first prototype for each one and try it for yourself.

The spirit of CorpoMonster:

It's fascinating how i find myself in video game situation even in the most mundane daily events. Have you ever read a bank's contract? It's all in code, you better find the hidden clues or you'll end up selling your soul to them :0.

What about malls? Attacked by adds, promotions, overzealous buyers and sales people (AAAAHHHH!!)

My favorite remains the labyrinth experience of airports 8(, even Pacman wouldn't find his way around! 1kg over and you'll have to empty your bags 10 times, go back and fourth 20 times, being searched 30 times... you get the point.

I guess by now you guest what CorpoMonster is all about :D. The idea is to take our beloved game heroes and let them deal with real life 'monsters': Corporations (AAAAAAHHH!!):D.

The journey starts with (a very tanned :D) Pacman in the airport, trying to catch his flight back home...

THE SPIRIT OF SMART WEAPONS:

yes, yes, we get it, video games are violent! Now that we got that out of the way, one thing to know about video games: the importance of its 'weapons'. Almost all games have them. By weapons we don't mean only guns and swords, but any item/tool that helps eliminate an 'obstacle'.

The characteristics of a weapon can define the entire game dynamic. For example, with a knife, you need to be close to your obstacle. This increase your chances of being detected but guarantees an elimination once you're close. On another hand, with a sniper gun, you have to be far to use it properly. This gives you less chances to get detected, but more chances to miss your target (etc.)

I wanted to experiment with weapons and see how their characteristics affect a gameplay. I started with the knife and a sniper gun because of their obvious differences. But even with much more subtle differences, the gameplay can still be affected greatly.

Future Directions:

The goal is to conceptualize several different levels based on the same basic elements, each designed to adapt to a different weapon. Thus, the next step would be to come up with new weapons and its mini games.

At the end, i want to design one major level adapted to all the weapons. The player will have to figure out the proper strategy to use with each weapon to be able to win the game.

PROTOTYPE:

Software used: Flash CS3.

The goal is to get the white ball. You have to study the environment first, and see the best way to reach that ball without getting killed. Patience is always good too! pay attention, you can't just walk around and explore freely. Every small detail and lost second can kill you, so pay attention and make sure you read the rules before you start playing.

PS: You need Flash Player to be able to play the prototype (you can download it below).

THE SPIRIT OF THIS DAMN BALL!

This game started as an experiment with 3d gameplay with Blender in particular. But, unintentionally, it ended up being a game of patience. Some players seems to find it easy to finish, others feel like punching their screen after few minutes. One thing for sure, you need to try it several times before you get the hang of this Damn Ball!

PROTOTYPE:

Software used: Blender

You're the Yellow ball and you have to reach the yellow cube. For a perfect game, you have to collect the 14 green small balls on your way.
Attention: the ball can't swim. If it falls in the water you'll lose control over it.

Controls:
Up Arrow = go forward
Down Arrow = go backward
Right Arrow = go right
Left Arrow = go left
Space Key = Jump

The spirit of Depression...

Our hero lost his beloved one in an accident and now he has to accept the tragedy. Based on the 5 stages of grief (Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance), the hero has to go through the 4th stage (Depression) before reaching the final acceptance. This first prototype takes a deeper look at this 4th stage in particular, and lead the player through the dark world of depression and loss.

Reflections:

It was interesting to work on this one. It's the only game so far in which i incorporated my own style of illustration.

On another hand, for all of you who thinks that games are only about saving princesses, this one is especially for you."Depression" is not the kind of subject covered by games usually, so it was interesting to see how we can approach the subject from a gamer point of you.

I had already worked on this subject before, but from an illustrator point of view. It was interesting to see how my experience differed from one medium to another while still working on the same subject.

Future Directions:

Well there's no future to this one. Its real purpose was to discover the challenges of conceiving a game from a 3D perspective, and the Challenge was definitely worth it!

Advice: if you like this kind of game, try this 2 games: RollOn, Marble Madness

Future Directions:

I really liked to work on this one, trying to create an interactive experience based on a concept like "death" or "loss" was challenging.

I'm putting this one on the side for now, i might come back to it later. Eventually i would like to create levels for all the 5 stages.

PROTOTYPE:

It's a point and click puzzle game. The goal is to solve all the puzzles. By solving them, the player will advance through the depression phase until he gets to the final acceptance stage.

PS: If you're not familiar with AGS, please make sure to read the AGS Interface below before you start playing.