National Game Development Month

The month of June is National Game Development Month!! Here's the general idea from the website (here):

Have you always wanted to make a game?
Do you already make games, but feel stuck in a rut?
Have you tried to make games before, but have no idea where to start?
Do you like the energy of game jams, but want more time to actually finish your work?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should participate in National Game Development Month in June!

We're building a community of game makers who can encourage you to start and help you finish the game that's been dancing in your imagination for years. Come give it a try.

So, by the end of June I am going to have a pretty well finished game, and I'm going to do the best that I can to document the process, even though I am traveling and on vacation. I've always wanted to design a deck-building game (here's an explanation of what that kind of game entails), so that is where I am starting. I'm also pretty excited about The Book of Jer3miah (here) online web series, recently released by Deseret Book on DVD, so I am thinking that will serve as the theme for the game.

The plan right now is to give quick updates via Facebook, with weekly updates popping up here on the blog. I'll do my best to document my thought processes, the methods I use to test the ideas, etc. I am very interested in getting others involved as playtesters, and am not completely opposed to the idea of collaborating with someone on the design itself. That being said, if you have any inkling to contribute, please let me know. I would also love to hear from others who are interested in participating by designing their own games during the National Game Development Month.

Chad of React! Games Talks Helam

 

With the recent release of Helam: A Stripling Warrior Quest from React! Games (link) and Deseret Book, I thought it would be great to hear a little about it's design and development. Chad Lee, owner of React! Games agreed to an interview. Our questions are in italics, followed by his answers.

Can you tell us a little about how you got into game design?
Quite by accident. One day, back in 1994, I was having a really bad day at work and for no reason I can explain, I looked in the want ads for another job (while still at work) and saw a small ad for a video game company looking for an artist. I took a couple pieces of paper with drawings on them and applied. They called me a few days later and hired me as a character designer and that is how I started. Since then, I went on to be an animator, which is my favorite. After video games, I went into advertising, then started my own animation studio called Studio 4d1 (link)…which is a dumb name, I know. I did that for about 8 years then started React! Games.

Can you tell us about React Games, how it came to be, the games you’ve developed, how many people work for React Games, etc.?
I started React! Games back in 2008 to remake a game called “Archon” (link) which was developed in 1983. That was our first game, which was released in 2009 and we’ve released over 25 games since then. Our latest, which we’re very proud of is Presidents Run (link)…which started out as a test project and was initially finished in 16 days. We currently have 20 people working here and our projects are quite varied from mobile to PC and Facebook.

How did the idea for Helam start? Can you walk us through the process from idea to actual game? What was your main objective or goal with the game?
I’ve always wanted to do a Book of Mormon game. As a Native American, the Book of Mormon was an essential part of growing up. I learned, as an early child, the stories of Alma, Ammon, and Helaman. We wanted the Book of Mormon to come to life for young kids and what better way to immerse someone than by way of a game. Our designer and co-founder Brad Moss headed up the design and storyline for the game and we pitched it to Deseret Book. They were ready for it and it wasn’t much of a struggle on their end to decide to do it. It was a low budget game in the beginning, but we put in our own money, heart, and soul and went way beyond the budget, but it was something we had to do. At one point, near the middle of production, we almost cancelled it because of various reasons, but a few miracles happened and we were able to finish it all because of the team that was working on it. If you think working at a video game company is all fun and games, I can tell you it is hard work…some of these guys worked 16-19 hour days for weeks at a time to finish the game, and they did it. Since this was going to be the first legitimate attempt at a Book of Mormon game by a studio, we had to make it look and play great. I think we exceeded our goal given the amount of time and budget we had. We finished the game in less than a year.

Any possibility of seeing Helam on the iPad?
If there are enough people who would want it on the iPad, we’d make a version for that too…the game mechanic would suit the iPad very well and that is where I play most of my games.

(So, if you want to play Helam on your iPad then you better let React! Games know!)

Will there be any other LDS themed games coming from React Games?
There is a coloring and puzzle app on the iOS called “Heroes of the Book of Mormon” which is on the store now, but we’ll have to see how the market evolves. Unfortunately, our games need to make money and since the LDS market is niche, there isn’t a lot of demand or an easy way to recoup money for a high cost game.

Do you collaborate with designers from outside of React Games or do you take game design submissions from others?
We generally do our own design within React! although there have been situations where we’ve collaborated with clients and their designers, so yes…we’ve done both.

Thanks Chad for your time. We appreciate it!

Helam: A Stripling Warrior Quest: A Review

Excel Entertainment and React Games teamed up to bring us "the first major Book of Mormon video game." Helam is an exciting adventure game set in the Promised Land in which you will ENLIST allies, SEARCH and COLLECT clues, and FIGHT (probably my son's favorite part).

The game begins with Helam (you the player) trying to help his sister escape from the cave and make her way back home. You must do your best to protect your sister as you encounter enemies and help her cross dangerous terrain. You do this by moving the mouse pointer where you would like to go and clicking. Once you encounter enemies you only need to approach them and then combat will ensue.

In close combat you select your moves first, (as do your enemies), after which the battle takes place. You have the option of attacking (red), powering up (yellow), or defending (blue). Enemies start out easy and progressively get more difficult and more powerful! That tiger is quite powerful with 519 hit points. But this same idea applies to the player. As you defeat enemies and complete quests you collect experience points which help you level up and become more powerful as well. It's very important to collect as many herbs as you can carry, as these help restore hit points that you lose during battles.

Additionally, you can collect tools that help in your quests. For example, in your village you collect a shovel from the guards, which allows you to dig and find several other helps in your quests. One exciting event in the village is the burning synagog, you have to help put the fire out. It was very cool to see how they had portrayed places of worship for the Nephites. It's also cool to see how they wove aspects from the Book of Mormon history into the game. For instance, you encounter a man in the village, Amilon, who is telling the people that Pahoran needs to be removed from the Judgment Seat. He believes that a king should be set in Pahoran's place, someone like King Mosiah, who will do a better job of protecting the people. I guess I had just never thought about the fact that there were probably some who wanted a king for "righteous" reasons, or what they thought were righteous reasons.

I only had one problem with the game. Many times on the levels throughout the game there are places where it is fairly easy to get "stuck" or it is hard to move Helam around because of un-walkable areas jutting out or narrow passages that make it difficult to stay in the walkable area. This is fairly annoying, but it can be somewhat alleviated by just holding down the mouse button while moving the cursor around the screen. In this way, Helam just follows the cursor and it is easier to guide him around.

Overall, I think the game is a lot of fun and that many people will enjoy it. The artwork of the game is beautiful, and like I said, they did a great job in portraying the Promised Land. It is also fun fighting enemies and working to figure things out (be sure to find all 3 relics on each level).

My 7 year old son also enjoys the game so I'll leave you with his thoughts (embedded below).