Everybody Edits is a must-see for everyone interested in gamedesign. In many ways this casual game is kind of radical in its design choices. After the game started, you can choose between “play levels” or “join level edit session”. If you choose to “join level” you will be thrown into a huge level with many other people, who play the same level. (In that sense, this game is also a “massive multiplayer” experience.) The levels do not necessarily have a fixed “goal”, but maybe you will find yourself struggling through mazes, trying to reach the “end” of the level (sometimes there are crowns to collect). Now what is radical about this? Some levels has dependencies included, like blue-keys, toggling blue walls, green-keys toggling green keys etc.. But not always this keys are in reach. Sometimes you have to wait, until some random player in this huge level will toggle the key, in some place of this level: this is a random dependency of a random player.

There is more radical random in this game. Let’s go to the level editor! You will be just thrown into a level-edit session. Along with other players from the internet, there is a lot of activity going on in each level-edit session: everybody can edit the level at the same time. You navigate, by playing with your player sprite and can add or remove blocks with the mouse. So editing and playing is also at the same time. Just while many other players from around the world are doing the same: playing, building and modifying the same level… This adds up to a really random experience, but people “swarm behaviour” is still “wise enough” to really build “intelligent parts” in each level (besides really useless and insignificant parts). Because the levels are huge I even doubt, if anyone would have the guts to simply edit one single level from beginning till end. Maybe only the social-aspects allows the levels to complete.

Everybody Edits is a little bit of everything: a multiplayer experience, a online-social experiment, collaborative game-design and a great piece of interactive art. There is also a cool development-blog online. (via)

Playing Space-Invaders will never be the same, after watching this!

Yes, you want to come to Cologne tomorrow to visit and experience the Evoke 2010. Since the demoscene party “Breakpoint” last year closed its doors permanently, the Evoke is now the biggest demoscene-event in Germany. Expect enthusiastic artists, making cool stuff with their machineries. Expect a great party with lots of music and nice people. And experience some great compos on a really, really big screen with an awesome soundsystem.

Need more reasons? Sure, look at this video from the Breakpoint 2010 to understand, that sceners are not only good at programming, coding and composing, but that they also know how to party. Better not miss this event. In case you really can’t attend, follow the livestream at demoscene.tv.

Breakpoint 2010 Impressions

And this is the official invitation for the Evoke 2010:

PS: Sorry goes to the Platine-Cologne staff, who I forgot to announce. Nevertheless, exhibition and party was interesting and intense.

Up Down Ready (alternate link) is a refreshing small experimental game, that explored the minimal game mechanics of pressing the keys up and down on the keyboard. The aim is basically to “avoid obstacles” in changing scenes. There is the moment of surprise, because every scene got a variant of the basic core-play: sometimes you steer an airplane, sometimes a jumping horse… The mechanics of every scene are instantly understandable within seconds (otherwise this game would be unplayable). Maybe the best about this game are the cool graphics – a good demonstration, that graphics do make a difference. The process of game-making is (or will be) a little bit documented at updownready.net

PS: Thanks Corin for the hint to this game. Here is some thankful linklove to the Freeplay Independent Games Festival

Scene from “Walk or Die”.

Jordan from NecessaryGames.com asked me, to point to a vacation-project called with the name “GameTrekking“, he plans to make. It will be about “world-travelling making games about it”. Jordan generally is interested in alternative ways of storytelling and experimental games and new forms of interaction. He released some interesting works at the NecessaryGames-site, for example the game “Walk or Die“, that is really minimal and conceptional.

For GameTrekking he wants to make a little world-travel and make games about the experiences at the vacation. The goal in mind: to support games as a narrative art. Each game should be released for free and also with the source code (let’s hope, that he will not use too esoteric programming languages like he partly did in the past…).

Learn all about the project at Gametrekking.com. Jordan searches supporters for GameTrekking-project at Kickstarter.

Some Drawing

Muro Toolbox

There are more and more online-drawing tools appearing, that are based on the new school of html5, css3 and JavaScript. The popular community-art site Deviant Art kicked of their own drawing-tool “Muro” and this is one of the best I’ve seen so far. You can not only draw (including “generative drawing brushes”), but also have filters and a undo-buffer at hand. The tools are really fun playing with and logged in users are also able to buy more brushes. The app is “Wacom ready”, if you install a special browser-plugin from Wacom. Great tool!

Neco Touch (authors webpage) is a tiny flash(punk) game, that would make up a really great party-game – if it would be a little be more difficult! In order to meet the cute kitten, you have to steer a moving cross to a color-matching circle. Really basic gameplay, and very fun. Well rounded by the japan-like pixelartwork and the light jazz music. “If your points reach a million you win, if they reach zero you lose.” Unfortunately the score-system isn’t very balanced, so it takes ages to even win or loose a single round! Some minor tweaks would make this really a great game!

PS: This game was inspired by the “games by artworks” compo!