Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
English Country Tune
Verbs, Scenes, Resistance
The control scheme of
English Country Tune
seems basic: you “move” a flat tile across a three-
dimensional structure of cubes, flopping from one side to the other as you move each space.
The complexity in the use of this simple verb arises from the various and unusual properties
of the other abstract objects that are affected by your movements: spherical “larva” that obey
different pulls of gravity depending on which side you approach them from; cubical “whales”
that must be pushed by moving into beams of light that extend from their six faces; spaces
that punch patterns of holes in your tile or cover one of its sides in ink that can be painted onto
other spaces; switches that freeze the whales and larva in place, letting you climb on them; and
much more.
Each of
English Country Tune
's worlds examines one or two of these objects in depth, challeng-
ing the player with complex puzzles that explore the space of possibilities arising from the
objects' associated mechanics. The final worlds start to combine many types of objects at once,
creating complex dynamics that are, by that stage of the game, oddly intuitive to the player
despite coming from a universe of simple but strange behaviors. In a couple of the game's
worlds, the player is even asked to take on the role of designer and given a different set of tools
and verbs to complete the challenge of building an
English Country Tune
level that has certain
properties.
Platform:
Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS
Price:
US $5 (Windows, Mac Linux), US $3 (iOS). Free trial also available.
http://www.englishcountrytune.com/
Even Cowgirls Bleed
Verbs, Story
What happens to a story when the protagonist has only one verb?
Even Cowgirls Bleed
is a short
story-game that reveals more of the story when the player “moves crosshairs” over highlighted
words in the text that makes up the game. Putting a word or phrase in the crosshairs causes
the main character (a would-be cowgirl and sharpshooter) to shoot whatever's mentioned.
There's one other possibility: a button labeled “Holster” appears to the side of the story text,
switching back and forth as the story proceeds. To keep your gun holstered, you must move
your mouse across the text, sometimes leading to an inadvertent discharge of the gun. This
simple mechanic conveys the feeling of an itchy trigger finger and results in a story in which
