We also had a worthwhile entry from Martin K., and it's not because the title it's about was very near and dear to my own heart—though that was a nice touch. Sadly, Martin was ineligible for the contest due to his country of residence and flouting of the deadline, but I want to publish his words here anyway.
Two thousand and seven was a good gaming year.
OK, like any other year we had the filler entries, the see-if-it-sticks trash and re-iterations of "franchises" long past their sharky moments—games most of us have been buying on habit, or worse, misconstrued loyalty. Then, we had the decent entries: games, which even though not new, have been released on a more sparse schedule, with plenty of thought in-between iterations (SMG jumps frantically from the middle rows, shouting "Me! Me!"). Even with plenty of iterations, those games somehow manage to re-invent themselves each time, leaving us with the fresh "Hey, I like this even better!" taste in our mouths. And then, 2007 had its brand-new, got-it-right-from-the-first-try titles. Enter Dewy's Adventure. But before that..
Occasionally, a game makes me realize what's wrong with the status quo of the industry today. Somehow, for the past three years I've had the dubious pleasure of this experience once every year, and in 2007 it was Dewy's Adventure that made me think "Wait a minute; why aren't the rest of the games coming out today like this one?'. For reference, in 2006 it was Excite Truck, and in 2008 it was Lost Winds, which had similar effect on me. But for now we will leave those respective titles alone, reserving the right to return to them on a different occasion.
So, what grabbed me and shook me in Dewy's? Simple: the very essence of a game—its learning curve. The way the player gets bit by bit on par with the game's mechanics, its rules, its challenges, its mindset. Or, in other words, the path of the game. That thing which starts with the game telling you "Dude, you suck!" and ends with the game silently nodding at you with respect. It's the very same thing I seek in all activities I deem "entertainment", be they physical activities like mountain biking, or light pastime like videogames. The sense that you've mastered a game to the point where you can perform (almost) anything you want within its bounds. At that point the uninitiated bystanders who happen to be seeing your performances start thinking "Hey, that's fun! I want that too!", not realising the effort and failures it took you to get to that point. Heh, the fun is walking the path, people. Walking the path...
Dewy's gets that right. It starts with making you take baby steps, sometimes watching you roll down-hill, but eventually taking you to a level of performance that can be dubbed nothing short of acrobatic. All that in a plain-as-rock control scheme. That, mates, is the sign of a masterwork. It also brings to a lot of "Dude, the controls suxxors!!!!1!!1" and "This game has those things that hurt my ego, I'm calling it a dud." responses. Well, sour grapes, folks. But don't be ashamed; that's the nature doing its natural selection thing.
I, for one, am fed up with being spoon-fed in my games today by marketing deparments and "creative directors" alike. Newsflash for those: that does not make me buy your games anymore. But, OK, enough on that. Back to why Dewy's is a Good Game™.
Dewy has a lot of charm. It's both inconspicuous and lovable, once you get to know it. Such things come from the serious effort of the developers. Here I could throw at you a metric ton of technical lingo (the dreaded techie bullet points), but I'll spare you this and just say that the people behind Dewy's knew what they were doing technically, and they had the talents to bring charm. I'll just plainly mention the fact that Dewy's shares many of SMG's technical merits, and I bet you know how SMG is regarded technically on the Wii platform. "But how come it was not universally praised for those then?" one would ask. Well, you know how many people, game reviewers not excluded, can't see further than their noses? Said fact is, that most people's noses are quire short.
Dewy's is deep. I have in excess of 50 hours logged with the game (been playing and re-playing levels), and I still don't have 100% of its secrets uncovered, nor have I exhausted the game's fun. There are still nooks and crannies I have not visited and "Eureka!" moments I have not experienced. To top it all off, there's even a level editor.
I am still not done with this game, and frankly, I am not sure I will ever be.
Hope you enjoyed our contest. Thanks for your entries. I hope you'll consider looking around a bit past your familiar franchises, comfortable genres, and flashy screenshots next time you go to buy a game.
When a game dies, it doesn't just go to Clearance Heaven; special teams might be dismantled never to assemble again, developers might become doomed to crank out kiddie franchises till the end of their days, and publishers and retailers decide more and more often that it's safest not to take a chance. That is the kind of environment that's going to kill gaming faster than any "casual" focus could ever hope to do.
But most of all, you might just miss out on the sort of experience that reminds you of why you got into gaming in the first place... a lovingly-crafted unique treasure that, quite simply, makes you smile.
Dewy's Adventure, an alternative angle
Two thousand and seven was a good gaming year.
OK, like any other year we had the filler entries, the see-if-it-sticks trash and re-iterations of "franchises" long past their sharky moments—games most of us have been buying on habit, or worse, misconstrued loyalty. Then, we had the decent entries: games, which even though not new, have been released on a more sparse schedule, with plenty of thought in-between iterations (SMG jumps frantically from the middle rows, shouting "Me! Me!"). Even with plenty of iterations, those games somehow manage to re-invent themselves each time, leaving us with the fresh "Hey, I like this even better!" taste in our mouths. And then, 2007 had its brand-new, got-it-right-from-the-first-try titles. Enter Dewy's Adventure. But before that..
Occasionally, a game makes me realize what's wrong with the status quo of the industry today. Somehow, for the past three years I've had the dubious pleasure of this experience once every year, and in 2007 it was Dewy's Adventure that made me think "Wait a minute; why aren't the rest of the games coming out today like this one?'. For reference, in 2006 it was Excite Truck, and in 2008 it was Lost Winds, which had similar effect on me. But for now we will leave those respective titles alone, reserving the right to return to them on a different occasion.
So, what grabbed me and shook me in Dewy's? Simple: the very essence of a game—its learning curve. The way the player gets bit by bit on par with the game's mechanics, its rules, its challenges, its mindset. Or, in other words, the path of the game. That thing which starts with the game telling you "Dude, you suck!" and ends with the game silently nodding at you with respect. It's the very same thing I seek in all activities I deem "entertainment", be they physical activities like mountain biking, or light pastime like videogames. The sense that you've mastered a game to the point where you can perform (almost) anything you want within its bounds. At that point the uninitiated bystanders who happen to be seeing your performances start thinking "Hey, that's fun! I want that too!", not realising the effort and failures it took you to get to that point. Heh, the fun is walking the path, people. Walking the path...
Dewy's gets that right. It starts with making you take baby steps, sometimes watching you roll down-hill, but eventually taking you to a level of performance that can be dubbed nothing short of acrobatic. All that in a plain-as-rock control scheme. That, mates, is the sign of a masterwork. It also brings to a lot of "Dude, the controls suxxors!!!!1!!1" and "This game has those things that hurt my ego, I'm calling it a dud." responses. Well, sour grapes, folks. But don't be ashamed; that's the nature doing its natural selection thing.
I, for one, am fed up with being spoon-fed in my games today by marketing deparments and "creative directors" alike. Newsflash for those: that does not make me buy your games anymore. But, OK, enough on that. Back to why Dewy's is a Good Game™.
Dewy has a lot of charm. It's both inconspicuous and lovable, once you get to know it. Such things come from the serious effort of the developers. Here I could throw at you a metric ton of technical lingo (the dreaded techie bullet points), but I'll spare you this and just say that the people behind Dewy's knew what they were doing technically, and they had the talents to bring charm. I'll just plainly mention the fact that Dewy's shares many of SMG's technical merits, and I bet you know how SMG is regarded technically on the Wii platform. "But how come it was not universally praised for those then?" one would ask. Well, you know how many people, game reviewers not excluded, can't see further than their noses? Said fact is, that most people's noses are quire short.
Dewy's is deep. I have in excess of 50 hours logged with the game (been playing and re-playing levels), and I still don't have 100% of its secrets uncovered, nor have I exhausted the game's fun. There are still nooks and crannies I have not visited and "Eureka!" moments I have not experienced. To top it all off, there's even a level editor.
I am still not done with this game, and frankly, I am not sure I will ever be.
Hope you enjoyed our contest. Thanks for your entries. I hope you'll consider looking around a bit past your familiar franchises, comfortable genres, and flashy screenshots next time you go to buy a game.
When a game dies, it doesn't just go to Clearance Heaven; special teams might be dismantled never to assemble again, developers might become doomed to crank out kiddie franchises till the end of their days, and publishers and retailers decide more and more often that it's safest not to take a chance. That is the kind of environment that's going to kill gaming faster than any "casual" focus could ever hope to do.
But most of all, you might just miss out on the sort of experience that reminds you of why you got into gaming in the first place... a lovingly-crafted unique treasure that, quite simply, makes you smile.