Category Archives: General

General, Grimm

Traffic Bump

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Traffic Bump

Traffic Bump

Last week we tried something new: Pitching a game concept in a public forum, via my blog. The motivation was simple: Reach as many potential publishers and end-users as possible without having to leave my office in Shanghai. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of reaction, but I have to say any expectation I had was blown away by the tremendous amount of press coverage, flickr visitors, YouTube watchers, and user comments generated.

Spicy Horse is now talking with 30 different publishers worldwide about the BaiJiu Racer concept. And user feedback on the art style and concept has been extremely positive. Seems that pitching a game concept via the net might actually work. The next big hurdle will be to secure an actual publishing deal. Of course what comes next is generally kept private until an official announcement is made. So while I’m all for the new-style method of pitching games, I’ll keep the remaining process traditional – and confidential. When I have public news to announce, you’ll be the first to know.

In the meantime, we’ve got more Grimm on the way this week. Halloween is just around the corner, Grimm’s a dark little guy, and wouldn’t you know it, the two go together like steak and knives. This week’s upcoming episode is a visit to the famous tale of “The Master Thief” and is chock full of vampires and zombies, scares and frights.

What’s that you say? There were no vampires or zombies in the original “Master Thief”? Huh, someone better tell Grimm and quick!

BaiJiu Racer, General

BaiJiu Racer Concept Announcement

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Widescreen BaiJiu Race

Bai Jiu Racing

Today we’re going to try something a little different: Pitching a video game concept!

Traditionally when I’ve pitched game concepts the process involved face-to-face meetings with potential publishers, use of our agents (CAA) back in Los Angeles, and lots of traveling. Well, I’m getting old, China is FAR from the rest of the world, and the Internet can do a lot of amazing things, so here’s a game pitch for the next generation:

Announcing “BaiJiu Racer” – An MMO-lite racing game concept with China as the core theme. The concept has been in focused pre-production for the past three months here at Spicy Horse. Working with our Chinese publishing partner ICEE we’ve crafted a solid Game Design Document, Technical Design Document, Art Bible, Visual Target Demo, and Development Plan. Together these materials constitute a compelling pitch for a title we think will be a strong competitor in the worldwide, lite-MMO, online racing category (think “Kart Racer”).

A lot of teams dream of a “Mario Cart” or “KartRider” killer – and we think our concept goes a long ways towards being a viable contender. For one, it’s the first Chinese cart racing game developed with an authentic and original Chinese art style, set in real-world locations, and featuring some of the funkiest racing vehicle designs the world has ever seen (inspiration coming from actual Chinese vehicles). We’re focusing on semi-realistic (and fun) physics-based racing dynamic, going light on the power-ups, and throwing in a lot of visual action. Check out the art and video to see the result.

A few key features and differentiators:
* Distinctive art style featuring a timeless portrayal of everyday Chinese people and locations
* A clean and clear graphic style for UI
* Core gameplay focused on skill-based racing, avoiding fun-killing power-ups
* Strong narrative backbone and emotional drama – “everyone can be a hero”
* Unique and interesting vehicle designs based on real-life Chinese vehicles
* Track locations that reveal a China few foreigners have seen
* Risk reduction in production through use of 3rd-party tools and engine (UE3)
* A fast and efficient project schedule built on Spicy’s proven development processes

Our Chinese publishing partner ICEE has a lock on the publishing rights in China. What we’re looking for now is a publisher interested in the remaining world-wide rights. We might also be open to territory specific deals with the right partners.

To learn more about BaiJiu Racer and what’s on offer, you can do the following:

Visit my Flickr Account to view a collection of concept artwork related to the project.

Visit my YouTube Channel to watch a video of sample game play, primarily intended to show the art style working in-engine.

Finally, email me to request information (GDD, TDD, budget, schedule, etc) relevant to deciding if the publishing rights are a fit for you.

Spicy Horse has established itself as one of the strongest independent game developers in China. Following the success of Grimm we’re growing and expanding to leverage our core talents, process oriented development methods, and inspirational location. If you’re interested in learning more about the studio, our capabilities, and our ideas, let me know!

General

Japan & Tokyo Game Show

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Fujiya Hotel

Fujiya Hotel, Hakone, Japan

While the Spicy Horse team enjoys a much needed rest during Chinese National Holiday, I’ve spirited away to Japan. Spent a few days enjoying some clean air, trees, and waterfalls in the scenic hills of Hakone Japan. In the peace and quiet I found it possible to really focus on design and writing for the next game. In Shanghai I was starting to feel distracted to a point of creative uselessness. Amazing what some trees can do to cure distractedness.

Now in Tokyo, preparing for a few days at Tokyo Game Show. Going to be talking to publishers about the growth of Spicy Horse as a viable worldwide game development studio. Have a game concept to pitch – a cool twist on the classic online kart racing genre. And finally, meeting with Spicy’s new publisher to discuss The Next Big Thing.

All in all, a good break from the office.

For those of you waiting for the next episode of Grimm – just a few more weeks to go. In the meantime, some pictures from the Japan trip on my Flickr Stream. Enjoy!

General, Grimm

“Girl Without Hands” Review

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Hun King

Hun Warrior King

Steven Wong over at Big Download has written another positive Grimm review. In the review Steven says:

We were also very pleased to find Grimm taking stronger liberties with the story, changing it from a deranged story about fate into a revenge tale. Justifications are provided to help fill in some of the glaring plot holes and leaps of logic. In the end, the daughter gains retribution against her father. It’s not a happy ending, but it’s certainly a satisfying one. As an added bonus, Grimm’s intervention transforms everything into a dark, bloody and truly wicked world. Characters are portrayed with boxy marionettes, but it’s still great to see their heads on pikes while blood rains down.

American McGee’s Grimm is headed in a good direction with its episode-by-episode gameplay adjustments. Even with the added difficulty, the entire game can still be completed in less than thirty minutes.

What I appreciate about Steven’s reviews is that he’s clearly someone who enjoys the game as it was designed and isn’t down on it for not being something different. This is directly opposite the approach of eternally put-upon reviewer Jimmy Thang over at IGN, who approaches weekly reviews of Grimm in hopes that between episodes the engine, genre, play style, graphics, and general “hard-coreness” of the game have been completely overhauled and/or replaced.

He’s yet to realize this is akin to looking for a goat in a bicycle shop.

This contrast in response is one I’m seeing in players and reviewers alike. And I’ve thought about it quite a bit. I think about it because we designed Grimm’s presentation and mechanics to be gradually evolved over the course of episode releases. Listening to user response and feedback is critical to informing the decisions we make about how the game evolves.

Feedback of the “this is great, I love it” sort is nice, but as useless as the “the graphics engine is still the same” type. Neither is quantifiable, objective, or realistic enough for us to utilize in developing future episodes. Still, Jimmy’s approach to review and final judgment suggest a reader should skip a particular episode until it reaches a certain acceptability level in terms of platform gaming, graphics engine sophistication, and power-up distribution. He ignores the fact that the game is a FREE invitation for the audience to be involved in the feedback loop and evolution of the game.

Ultimately, this rigid application of static critique to a medium that is dynamic – interactive! – indicates a lack of awareness about the innovations in our industry, its products, and its audience.

Then again, some people are fond of goats. Bleat.

General, Grimm

Grimm Episode 4 – “Puss in Boots”

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Cat Giant

Puss No Boots

Another week, another episode of Grimm! This time around Grimm visits the well-known tale of “Puss in Boots” – to ridicule the idea that an intelligent, talking cat would be selfless servant to a bumbling imbecile.

Check out the trailer on YouTube. Then head over to GameTap to check out the latest episode for FREE (during the first 24 hours after launch). (Why do I sometimes feel like a car salesman? Sigh.)

During the week since we released Episode 3, Grimm garnered further praise from reviewers and players alike. Maximum PC gave a 7 score on a combined review of the first two episodes, saying:

To begin each episode, Grimm narrates a puppet show version of a fairy tale as it has traditionally been told. The snarky commentary grants these sequences undeniable charm, which is further enhanced by the simple character models and animation. The pastel colors and blocky figures make the game look like a storybook illustration come to life.

Great review! Although they incorrectly state the game is rated “M” and warn against exposing kids to it. Actually, it’s a Teen rating, so a little exposure might not completely warp your children.

The “target audience” question is one I’ve seen a few times now. I guess the fact the question exists says something about our product positioning (or lack thereof). And I’ll be the first to admit the “aim” is quite wide. I think that’s partly a result of the core mechanic: We’re working with “children’s tales”, but striving to make them darker. Things start off looking “Disney” and end up looking Manson Family. So the target audience depends entirely on which side of the tale you’re looking at.

Another way of stating it: Each episode starts as “E” but the game goal is to convert everything to “M”.

Makes me wonder if Grimm could be used as an instructional video for ESRB reviewers. “See this flower? This is E. Now see how the flower converts into a child’s skull with blood shooting from th eye sockets? That’s M.”

Ultimately, the narrative goal of all this “transforming things to dark” is to resuscitate fairy tales once breaming with bloody, nasty, scary, LIFE. Somewhere during the Disney-facation of children’s entertainment society decided that “protected children” grew up to be to better, healthier adults. Perhaps. Perhaps not.

Personally, I’m inclined to believe our mental “defenses” work best when inoculated through exposure and adaption. Same way our immune system functions. Children exposed to the dirty, gritty, caterpillar eating, dog poo playing, window licking reality of the world develop better and stronger immune systems compared to tykes raised “in a bubble”. We don’t live in a bubble – so we have a hard time living in the real world when raised in one – works whether we’re talking about mental, physical, or “other” aspects of our being.

I say, “Let your children eat caterpillars! And let them play Grimm!”

Just don’t blame me if they take to running around peeing on everything.

General

Who’s the Wiiner Now?

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Xmas Wreath

“Christmas = Money”

Nearly two years ago I made some pretty bold statements regarding the Next-Gen Console Wars – asserting that Nintendo’s Wii would dominate, and was the only platform that should be called “next-gen”. From the interview with Computer and Video Game News:

McGee told us he thought that Nintendo would be the true next-generation champion for gamers adding, ” I sense that Nintendo is going to capture the hearts of gamers while Microsoft and Sony stab each other in the neck for market domination. Nintendo is focused on innovation and games. The other guys are focused on making money.”

Controversial views indeed, but McGee seems certain that Nintendo speaks to the true gamer’s soul, while picturing the other two monolithic corporations as engaged in a massive bunfight not for gaming, but for cold hard cash. Harsh or right on the money?

I received a fair share of negative response, and rightly so, everyone is entitled to their opinions. But this morning I read the following article on Game Daily:

Nintendo is like a freight train – it’s got huge momentum and you better not be standing on the track. The Japanese giant today revealed first quarter fiscal results that show a 33.7 percent rise in profit to 107.3 billion yen ($993 million) and a 24 percent increase in net sales to 423.3 billion yen ($3.91 billion).

That’s nearly 1 Billion Dollars earnings in the 1st quarter of the year! Wow.

My comments of two years ago still stand. When your focus is market domination and making money you ignore the pure joy of creating something simple and fun. Wii has been compared to a “toy”, called an “expensive niche device”, and been labeled a “fad”. The irony is these comments always come from the people running the “competition” – not even realizing that they were never in competition with the Wii. Never could be. And despite their best efforts to emulate the controller scheme, interface, and content – will always be playing catch up. There is no victory in the battle when the “hearts and minds” of gamers (civilians, not die-hards) were lost at “hello”.

Still, others might see the light; some analysts forecast that Wii could be the “best selling console of all time”. They understand that the mass market isn’t interested in a “console war”. If anything, the idea of competing technology, difficult choices between storage formats, and testosterone fueled marketing campaigns – all drive consumers towards the Wii. The only people who win in a console war are the marketing departments.

There’s an analogy to be made here between a defense industry which desires a state of perpetual war and a marketing industry in need of the same. I’ll leave it to you.

The “Establishment” (whatever/wherever it might be) fears nothing so much as it fears innovation. Innovation is change. It opens new frontiers, threatens old boundaries, and forces more innovation when the status quo is still earning mountains of money. Nothing wrong with mountains of money – but when it becomes the only goal, it creates poisoned wastelands and unsustainable ecologies. Oops, I’ve lost track, are we talking about the game industry or the world in general?

On that note: Wii is just what the game world environment needed – the “hybrid vehicle” of consoles. Gamers get it. And we should all hope the industry eventually gets it too.