I was looking for some cool games in the Lego webpage and I must say they have the best advergames that you can find around the internet.
Lego has a politic of allowing credits in the games, this means that the developers can put their names in the game to show their families and friends and say “look!, that’s me!”.
I’m sure that this impacts directly to the quality of the game. How?. Simple:
Videogames industry is about people in a very complete way, that means that you need to keep in mind not only the people that will play the game, also the people who actually make the game. That’s because all the people working in the industry are trying to create something that makes them feel proud.
Professionally speaking, what’s the point of making something cool if nobody will ever realize you did it?
I’m sure that allowing credits in the game is one of the best ways to get commitment from the development team.
There is a common mistake think that games for little children are cheaper than games that are targeted for other audiences because the game mechanics are simpler.
Children under five years old don’t know how to read, so the information that usually is on text must be voice acted. That means that you have to pay an actor in order to get those assets and that is a big part of the budget that can easily overpass the development cost.
The “bunny town” games from the Disney page is a good example of this: LINK
The above link can’t be accessed from all places due to geotargetting. If that is your case, try the following link, in Spanish: LINK
Keep that in mind when designing a game targeted for children under 5 years old.
I have had several jobs. Banks, software consulting, Video Game Studios and so on.
So, I have had several bosses too. One of the aspects of my bosses that I always like when was present, and also one of what I miss more when is not there, is what I call the “always there” habit. That means that my boss was always there when I need him.
In my current job, my boss is always there. When I come to the office, he is already there. When I go home, he stays (I think that he has a sleeping bag under his desk).*
If you are a boss, always stay close to your team. Teams need leaders. Don’t throw the objectives and wait that the team take all the decisions needed by voting or meetings.
A person with the capability and the vision to solve ties in the opinions is needed more often that you think.
* Don’t take me wrong, I disapprove crunch time and extra hours.
I remember a chat with an old friend that tells me something about the game Portal, from Valve. He says that during the play testing sessions, the players get bored after 15 or 30 minutes of playing. The game was very flat.
The game designers solve the problem adding a story to the game. That keep hooked the players to the game. They solve the puzzles only to see “what happens”.
One of the most powerful tool to add narrative to the game are the scripted events. That is pieces of code embedded into the levels that triggers events when something happens. Like the player crossing a door or destroying something by shooting.
You can make, for example, that a door shut just behind after crossing it, or a building goes down by shooting a gunpowder barrel.
A good example of this is the Half Life series, they are full of scripted events. That makes the game full of memorable events.
Bottom line: Add memorable moments to your game by scripting events. Don’t let it flat.
