Finding the Essence

Wario Ware had the right idea. This game, in its own quirky way, took a look at games and stripped the established formulas and conventions down to their bare essence: simple forms, simple functions, and simple goals. To keep things fresh throughout the franchise history, Wario Ware games have embraced the power of a governing gimmick. After the first Wario Ware game was released on the GBA, the following Wario Ware used gimmicks of twisting (tilt-pack), touching (DS), motion controls (Wiimote), and,if you include Rhythm Tengoku, music.


Not only are the Wario Ware games a smorgasbord of quick fire micro games, but they are also jam packed with creative additions that range from arcade games to what can only be described as "doodads," "toys," and "other." To give an example of what can be found in the "other" section, there is a "game" where players squeeze water out of an old wash towel that has been conveniently dipped in water. It doesn't have a goal, and it's not quite a game. But it's kinda fun and intriguing. It is a little "game" like this, when included in the whole package, that helps make Wario Ware Twisted a game where all ideas are welcome.

Such whimsical "games" would never see the light of day if they were packaged on their own. Games like Wario Ware and Wii Fit are perfect for housing these small bits of gaming. One of my favorite games in WiiFit is Lotus Focus. In this game players assume a cross legged sitting position on top of the Wii Balance Board. The idea of the game is to sit as still as possible as you filter out outside distractions from the space around you. If you happen to live by yourself and you don't have a pet to distract you either, the game does a pretty good job providing a few environmental noises.

On my first tries I lost very quickly. Unlike other games, in order to master this one, I had to master my physical self. Understanding the path I had to take, I calmed myself down, entered a meditative state, and sat completely still for three minutes thus beating the mini game. Lotus Focus is unlike anything else I've experience in gaming. If it wasn't for WiiFit, I don't think I would have ever come across the game. It would be hard to imagine finding a short, simple mini game like Lotus Focus for sale on WiiWare (I'm ignoring the existence of Pop).

Now with the Wii Balance Board in my arsenal, I've started designing small nuggets of gaming that are simple tech demos of the kind of innovative design that can only come from the Wii. In the spirit of Wario Ware, Wii Sports, and WiiFit I intend of making something small that can stand out on its own. This week I'll be breaking down traditional gaming design elements and formulas to better illustrate the design paths I'm taking with my current projects. Stay Tuned.

Just a Few Things on My Mind....

Following in the footsteps of Gears of War and becoming an honorary member of the "If One Is Good" club, Resident Evil 5 will feature a co-op "campaign" so that two people can get in on the action at any time.

The screens and video of RE5 so far look very similar to RE4. I have always felt that the team had possibly run out of ideas, and they were just making a prettier version of RE4 on the 360 and PS3. Now, the new features of RE5 are simply what every other shooter is doing or has done. Along with co-op, players can snap to cover and shoot around walls. Sound familiar?

To be fair, the RE5 team is also adding a dodging system from a game they had previously released on the PS2 called God Hand. We'll have to wait and see how much these new mechanics changes the gameplay. In the long run, if RE5 comes out and it's basically RE4 times two, don't look so surprised. Do the math. (Even if it is RE4 x2, it'll still be amazing).



On a completely unrelated note, while playing WiiFit recently, I was reminded of a design element that I really appreciate. When navigating the menu's of WiiFit or WiiSports, you can either use the pointer or the D-pad to get around. Most of the Wii game's I've played strictly allow one or the other. Once again Nintendo has created an excellent example for other to follow, and nobody does.

Failing to incorporate a feature like this is the most egregious in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Sakurai did all the work designing big colorful distinctive buttons on all of his menus that are perfect for pointing, yet he failed to add pointing based menu controls. I can understand that he didn't want to use any of the Wiimote's unique controlling feature in Brawl fighting gameplay because of how untested and risky that would have been. But designing pointer controls for a menus isn't very hard or risky. And with a team of over 300 people working on the game, it's a shame no one bothered to.

I find it amazing that game developers can blatantly copy other games and fail to copy features like the WiiSports/WiiFit menu navigation system. Though such a system is small and not as important as gameplay elements, including such a system shows a level of dedication and attention to detail that is reflective of the dedication throughout the rest of the game. In other words, it's not that Nintendo makes a great menu to make a great game. Rather, Nintendo designs and seeks to create the smoothest and most enjoyable experience for the player no matter which part of the game they're currently involved in.

Where Wii Fits

Everyone seems to be sharing their WiiFit stories. So, I figured I'd contribute one of my own.

It all began last summer, when I was trying to design a fighting engine that would allow for the player to use their whole body to simulate actual martial art moves like the ones found in Avatar: The Last Air Bender. I figured that the motion controls in the Wiimotes could handle the arms and upper body movements, but I could never find an adequate way to translate the motions of the feet, lower body, and balance through Wiimotes. I didn't want to resort to tying Wiimotes to my feet. Little did I know that my design thoughts were on the same train of thought that lead to the creation of the now famous Wii Balance Board.

The moment my eyes saw WiiFit being unveiled by Miyamoto during the E3 of last summer, everything fell into place. WiiFit, more specifically the Wii Balance Board, fills in the design gap concerning full body motion controls. Once again, Nintendo had created a device that filled a unique design space helping them continue to pioneer and innovate. If you thought the Wiimote was radical with less buttons than ever and a one handed design, then the no-buttons, no handed Wii Balance Board is radical to the next level.

Over the course of the next year, I continued to design my Avatar game and much more. Designing with the whole body as a controller opens up more possibilities for unique and intuitive game design than shoulder buttons, and analog sticks ever did. And in December when WiiFit launched in Japan, and I found myself tracking the launch in detail, I realized that WiiFit was one of my most anticipated games. Good thing Brawl was there to distract me until summer.

To make a long story even shorter, I brought WiiFit home yesterday. Between everyone in my family, we put in 5+ hours on it. All of Nintendo's goofy promises hold up in my case. With Wii Sports my dad played more than I did, and he even beat all of my scores in Bowling and Golf (his best game was a -5 on 9 holes). Just like Miyamoto said, WiiFit makes you more aware of your body and the physical condition of others giving people a way to share, compete, and encourage each other to get and stay healthy.

The whole game, if you can call it that, is fun and delightful. When booting it up for the first time, I got the sense that I was in movie placed in the future where families have interactive and highly portable exercise machines complete with digital training companions. It's a a bit surreal every time the game tells me I'm a bit wobbly. I find myself saying "how do YOU know!?" even though I know the exact technology behind the Wii Balance Board.

There are some games that we just play and then put away or sell back to gamestop. But games like WiiFit can't be tossed around so casually. Such a game transforms the player in a significant and real way. There's something about actually doing it; actually putting your mind and body to a task that has been almost entirely removed from videogames. Doing a real push up to push up. Jogging in place to jog in the game. I want to capture both of these ideas in my next mini project.

Using the bluetooth adapter I purchased earlier in the year, I have successfully connected the Wii Balance Board to my PC, and have started programming a little something that will hopefully transform the player, giving him/her a new level of awareness about their bodies and themselves, while delivering a narrative/story element in a new way.

I should have a download for the project by Monday. Stay tuned for details. In the meantime, go get your feet on WiiFit. It fits perfectly into my life.