Openbracket

Looking for games

Well I am looking for some new web games to play and this is how I would like it to work.

If you know of a really good game, send me a link through the comments. I will NOT sign up using a referral link. I will sign up normally through the main page. If you own a game, please include that information in a post.

Please do not email me. Just leave a comment, since I get emails about the comments. But if you are an owner and want to give me a beta or special account, then you can email me.

What I will do for every game I sign up for is this: I will do a week long review of game. I will cover everything from interface to graphics to gameplay to the community. So if you think you have a great game and want some free advertising, leave a comment and I will play your game and review it.

I will be brutally honest in my reviews but I mean no offense. I feel that if mistakes aren't pointed out they can't be fixed or improved upon and will only eventually get worse.

So everyone! Suggest to me your favorite web games and I will try them!

Future of Web Gaming

What do you see when you think of the future of web games? What is going to to pull this genre out of the niche that it's currently in, and out into the mainstream? Will it be AJAX? Or maybe flash integration? Possibly better graphics?
Personally I don't think these will be the kickers for the next 'gen' of web games. And I'm sure some of you who read this article or my blog regularly have an idea of what I'm going to say next. The most important thing that will pull web games out of its little corner niche will most likely be game play. This is where some may start to get confused but I'm going to set things straight. Using better technologies DOES NOT mean it will improve game play.

Let me give you an example, a rather popular one: Weewars.
Now this game is pretty advanced, utilizing some great technologies. But does just because it has a really slick interface make it a good game? No. Don't get me wrong; Weewars is fun, but I wouldn't give it the game of the year for game play. Game interface or technology usage maybe. Plus I really love that they are pushing the genre with new technology but that isn't enough. The game itself is very limited. You have a handful of units, and you goal is to beat the other player. Simple, fun - but only for a period of time and then the games start to look the same, and start being played out the same ways. Overall the game is lacking in the game play department. But this is a far cry from the worse example (I mean no offense to the game or it's makers so please don't bash).

Now a game that I loved for game play reasons was TornCity. That game was addictive. Nothing special technology wise. Just plain php and html. But god it was fun. I had options, I could play the way I wanted, I could do what I wanted. If you go to TC now, it's dying due to lack of innovation and expansion, but in it's hay-day it was great.

But it still wasn't enough.

What I see when I think of the future is a game the resembles Renaissance kingdoms, but... fun. I see a game where players activity take part in how the game world is form, how items, money, everything works in the game. I see a game play style that is a mix of traditional Pen and Paper RPGs and current MMORPGs. I see a living, breathing world where players can shape events. I see a world where new content is not just being created by the admins or GMs, but by players. Where content isn't added every few months, but very few days.

And this can be achieved with basic PHP/HTML but people now want the fancy AJAX menus or options since they know they exist. Which is fine. AJAX is a great technology that will allow us to push or games further, but as I stated, it isn't enough. So what is keeping designer/developers from creating such huge intertwined games?

One reason, would some people aren't recognizing that they need to actually sit down, and spend two or three months developing their games on paper before looking at a computer. Another would be the sheer size and difficulty to produce/maintain something of this scale. But this is where I believe many are wrong. A game that in depth, that completed as the one I see when I think about the future of web games wouldn't be that difficult to create or maintain.

Sure there's going to be a mountain of coding involved, but it won't be overly difficult. And maintaining: that's only as difficult as your custom tools are bad. The same applies to adding new content. We soon won't be able to produce web games by ourselves (which I don't think we should be doing now). We will eventually need a team of coders and a group of designer to successfully create a enjoyable game. Long is gone the day where I will play a game, even casually where I can't foresee a in depth, ever changing game play model.

Some may disagree with my visit of the future, and think it's all in the technology. But I see technology as just a medium, a support, not the driving force of games. Game play is and has always been the thing that revolutionizes a era of gaming, pushing it forward, and I don't think that will ever change.

Creating your community

What drives people to play online games? Why would I want to play an online browser game when I can play a game with graphics by myself, or even on online? There are two reasons I believe people play browser games: One is that they offer a (hopefully) in-depth/enjoyable game that can be played anywhere, and two, the community. So why do some people over look the building a proper forums/chat system and for those games that do realize this is important, are there any ways we can improve upon this?

Well before we start trying to improve it, lets examine the standards: Forums, Shout Boxes, and IRC. Pretty standard and most of these are seen in most games. I can honestly say I don't know of a game that doesn't have at least one of those. But I don't know how a online browser game could function without one of them. Anywho, these are great ways of communication for players and a lot of games do a pretty good job of implementing them. Alas, with our field, there is always room for innovation or improvement.

So, lets start on IRC. IRC (Internet Chat Rely) has been around for a while and is an extremely easy way for groups of people to easily and quickly communicate. Unless you plan on writing your own client, there isn't really a way to improve IRC. It's when people don't use IRC is when the problem arises. I will use an example: FurtureCriminal. Instead of using an IRC client, they use instead a HORRIBLE flash based chat. The problem is they can't afford a IRC server. Understandable, but you can make one for free on one of the large, pre-exisiting networks. Why I support IRC so much is that it is the BEST way for a group of players to have live chat. Plus, your players can decide how they want to connect to the channel. Be it ChatZillia, mIRC or Xchat, they can use a client they enjoy.

Next, let's do an over view of forums, shout boxes, or whatever else that uses a database. These things should all exist *IN* game. I should not need to long into the game and the forums separately. I shouldn't need to leave the game to communicate with other players. A game that does forums pretty good in TornCity.  My forums and character account are connected. So when I browse the forums I can easily click on a persons name and bring up their profile.  You can do the same with your shout boxes, etc. This leads to a possibility that I am openly exploring for several of my designs: Forum activity can lead to character bonuses, experience etc. Why would you want to do this? Well the main reason is an activity community makes the game FAR more enjoyable in my opinion. So, with a forums that is tied into your character account it would be easy for developers to create features that integrate the players activity in the forums.

This, of course, leads to the problem of spamming, flaming, etc. I have been thinking about how to get around it and the easiest way I think would be a two pronged solution: The first would be a group of moderators and flags. By flags I mean other users could reports spam/flames by flagging another person. But all this is pointless if there is no deterrent hen your giving out experience or points for activity. So with flagging, it sends a report to the mods. The mods can review it. If the person flagged was spamming/flaming they loss points, while the person that flagged them gains some. And if a flag is wrong, the person will be docked points. This will eventually lead to a self moderated forum here for 90% of the time (I believe) people would behave themselves. You could of course have your spam sub forum where so points are gained for posting but it lets player let steam off.

I'm sure some people will disagree with me about the points for activity. That's just a design I am playing with because I personally think it's a good idea. But even if you disagree with the points, having the forums in game using your character account is a point I'm not willing to concede. Yes, it takes more effort to do, and when you initially launch a game you may use an external forums but you should set it up so that when you integrate the forums in game that it is smooth and not just a hack job. But I bet you your community would far rather an ingame board instead of an external one. As I said it makes it easier to track players and makes life easier and quicker for those that want to use your forums.

As always I am open for debate. Or other ideas. I sure as hell can't think of every possible way this can be done. But for me, this way makes the most sense from a design usability point of view.