Video Games

Last updated 3/15/05

_______Video Games_______________________________________________________

The following page deals with my project involving video games (this term is used to lump all forms of games under – computer, video, etc.). I've included my notes and writings related to this project along with images and the actual games themselves. This is a work in progress and will continue to be updated.

I believe this medium has countless areas that have not been explored yet. It combines so many features from so many mediums into a single form. Video games include images, sound, animations, text, etc. The one characteristic that distinguishes it from others is that it requires a user to be actively and progressively involved in its development. With the exception of nonlinear narratives, their demands are similar to those presented by books. I approached much of the project with this idea in mind, as a sort of technological extension of literary genres.

SPELUNKER

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Scene:

This is an excerpt from a game called Spelunker that I am working on. It shows a dialogue between two characters in the game. There aren't any controls in this segment. In other parts of the game, the arrow keys move the main character. The mouse moves others. Esc allows you to quit the game at any time.

Spelunker began about two years ago. It was created initially to test out the capabilities of the game making program I was using. The project is an introspective examination of the act of game making itself and involves caves, missing persons, misguided texts, and encounters with existential characters.

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This is another game that is in the works called birdman. It's a little more simplified. I was more concerned about drawing and moving around in drawing space with this one.