From the perspective of players rather than designers, Project Spark makes it remarkably easy to conceptualize, model, texture, test, tweak, and perfect a video game level. The result of your delicate brushing, painstaking attention to detail, and on-the-fly iteration and additions, however, is a playable result that’s considerably less interesting than the act of actually creating.
This is an exceptional tool for those interested in making something they can be proud of, but not necessarily for those who have to play their pal's new creation.
It’s tough to tell who Project Spark is for. Its cute, goofy, and pleasant fantasy aesthetic gives it the veneer of a children’s game -- it reminded me of the recent Crash Bandicoot titles. The stuff you use to make this bubbly world come to life, no matter how simplified, is likely beyond the brainpower of most kids who’d want to play the games in Spark. (No offense, I’m sure your kid is super smart, this just gets...complicated.)
Perhaps, then, this is for parents, something they can enjoy with their kids. Mom and dad learn the various mechanics behind building AI behavior, if/than statements, level layouts, quests, character pathfinding, and other qualities like the speed your projectiles fly, the damage you take when bumping into an enemy, and the effects of each button input. In crafting a world with effortless brush strokes, plopping taverns into populated towns, and sticking side-quests on the road to a mission of greater importance, parents would then have a space for their sons or daughters to explore.
The most prevalent game type Microsoft and developer Team Dakota currently have on display is that of a third-person action/adventure -- think Fable or Zelda. That said, by tweaking the player perspective variables, you can change the genre of the game you’re designing. First- and third-person shooters join 2D platformers and twin-stick shooters, as well as Diablo-esque dungeon-crawlers in the options.
Project Spark is a flexible tool, and it’s smart. Visual cues, like unpainted textures or immobile enemies, show you where your world needs work. Meticulous players will love messing with the procedurally generated terrain to design a level that hinges on defend/find/rebuild objective types. Adding soft, rough, or eroded edges to terrain, too, gives players (builders?) additional ways to nitpick until everything is exactly right. If you’re feeling brave, there’s an even more complicated editor than the basic radial wheel/touch-screen drag-and-drop that allows you to write and edit cutscenes, dialogue choices, and story beats into your world.
Perhaps in time we’ll see extraordinary people doing extraordinary things with an extraordinary editor. Project Spark is, after all, a more digestible version of a video game engine, such as Unreal or Frostbite, engineered so most anyone can understand it. But early on, as impressed as I am with what it allows players to make, I’m not thrilled with what it allows them to play.
It’s a strange mixture of complex and rudimentary. That’s kind of fascinating, though, isn’t it? Project Spark seems to speak to the greater idea of designing a game: It takes a lot of work, time, effort, and retrying to make something simple function -- making it fun for someone else to play? That takes even more.
Look to IGN for more on Project Spark soon, including its downloadable content plans (additional themes to come, so if you don't like fantasy, wait it out) and more details on how it functions on Xbox One, Windows 8, and tablets.
Mitch Dyer is an Associate Editor for IGN's Xbox 360 team. He’s also quite Canadian. Read his ramblings on Twitter and follow him on IGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
No comments:
Post a Comment