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Games of 2011: GROOVE COASTER

I’ve spent a lot of time in 2011 playing games, but not a lot of time writing about them. Instead of my usual end-of-year game recommendations, I’d like to tell some stories or share some thoughts about the ones that meant the most to me this year. I’ll be posting one a day until Christmas. See all Games of 2011 posts.

GROOVE COASTER

Genres come and genres go. The first person shooter came in strong in the 90s, languished a bit in the middle part of last decade, before exploding again over the last few years. Real time strategy tends to ebb and flow entirely around when Blizzard releases titles. Pinball, despite some nice digital options lately, is unlikely to ever stage a real comeback.

Rhythm games, after experiencing their explosion between 2000-2007, went into a sharp decline for the last three years. This isn’t to say there weren’t some excellent releases (see: Rock Band, Singstar), but they didn’t translate into overwhelming success. When Activision opted to shelve Guitar Hero instead of trying to keep squeezing blood from a stone, you know it’s a bad time for the genre.

But the last year has seen a modest return, primarily in the form of camera-controlled dancing games (Harmonix’s Dance Central, Ubisoft’s Just Dance). Given the explosion in mobile gaming, it’s not surprising to find that there’s increasing options on the iOS front as well.

My choice this year is not from Konami – jubeat plus too simplistic, REFLEC BEAT too complex, both requiring IAPs to have any real substance – but instead Taito’s GROOVE COASTER. The game comes from the Infinity Gene Project, the same team that brought us 2009’s excellent Space Invaders Infinity Gene.

Groove Coaster is a pattern tapping rhythm game. Your icon will move down a twisting, turning line and indicators will appear in front of you. When you cross them, you tap the screen. Simple, really – although later levels and hard difficulties add held notes, swiped notes, and tap-repeatedly notes. (Thankfully, it avoids the common iOS music game failure of requiring people to shake the device while playing, which has never worked right in any game I’ve played.)

The game comes with a wide variety of songs over a range of genres. There’s leaderboards, unlockable bonuses, three difficulty levels per track, and even has some IAPs for additional songs (of course). It’s well presented, well packaged, and just a solid, well-executed music game. And sometimes, that’s enough to make something worth playing.

GROOVE COASTER is available as a Univerisal iOS app.

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Games of 2011: The Tiny Bang Story

I’ve spent a lot of time in 2011 playing games, but not a lot of time writing about them. Instead of my usual end-of-year game recommendations, I’d like to tell some stories or share some thoughts about the ones that meant the most to me this year. I’ll be posting one a day until Christmas. See all Games of 2011 posts.

The Tiny Bang Story

Colibri’s The Tiny Bang Story has some flaws. It is remarkably short — I think my play-through clocked in just over three hours. There’s not much of a story. There’s no incentive to go through the game more than once.

But even with its impairments, TBS is worth a jaunt through. It is part hidden object game, part traditional puzzler, part adventure game, all wrapped in gorgeous art and sound. It’s a welcome vacation from the flood of twitch games that are the bread and butter of the gaming industry.

Think of it as a palate cleanser of a game, one that’ll put a smile on your face and refresh you for whatever’s next on your list.

The Tiny Bang Story is available for Mac and PC.

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Games of 2011: Tiny Tower

I’ve spent a lot of time in 2011 playing games, but not a lot of time writing about them. Instead of my usual end-of-year game recommendations, I’d like to tell some stories or share some thoughts about the ones that meant the most to me this year. I’ll be posting one a day until Christmas. See all Games of 2011 posts.

Tiny Tower

There’s no avoiding it: the era of digital distribution is finally here. It has brought us many joys – sudden sales and new pricing models, better patch and upgrade management, and the concept that reinstallation should be allowed as often as necessary.

It has also brought pain, the most prominent of which is the dreaded microtransaction, small monetary charges for game content. In the iOS world, this is generally accomplished through what is dubbed in-app purchases (IAP). IAPs have gotten a bad rap not because of their existence, but because of their use. Given the endless joy the games industry derives from squeezing cash from customers, IAPs rapidly devolved from “buy new content” to “buy a power-up” to “buy a power-up you can’t advance in the game without”. This slippery slope lead to some great feel-good stories this year, such as “8-year-old buys $1,400 worth of Smurfberries and “Tetris Finally Gains a Subscription Fee“.

But again, IAPs are not themselves evil. Even in freemium world-builder casual games where you’re selling progress boosters, it’s possible to do it in a way that doesn’t break the game. But most game developers and publishers don’t have interest in finding that balance. Monetization is a more critical deliverable than thoughtful game design.

Tiny Tower isn’t on my list because it’s a particularly deep or compelling game. It’s most a time filler — some might call it a cow clicker — with a bit of style, humor, and grace. It is pleasant enough, but also addictive enough that one gets a sensation of relief when you delete it off your device, realizing how much free time you’ll get back when you’re not restocking shops every waking moment.

Tiny Tower *is* on my list because NimbleBit found the balance. IAPs are available to fill your coffers with “tower bucks”, which can be used for a variety of purposes to advance your tower. But there is no pressing, game-breaking need to purchase them with real money to progress in the game. The game happily throws them at you regularly – bonuses for fully stocking floors, or putting someone into their dream job, or even because it’s their birthday. Through diligent play, you can accumulate enough for every optional upgrade in the game without spending a dime.

Kudos to NimbleBit for wanting to make a game that appeals to both those who will splurge on virtual goods and those who don’t care to. I wish more developers would spend the time to find that balance.

Tiny Tower is available for iOS as a Universal app, as well as for Android.