Just wanted to share that Polygon has a big article up this morning covering Alex Seropian and his new tablet shooter, Morning Star. I haven't finished reading it yet but figured that some of crowd here would be interested in hearing what some of the ex-Bungie crew are up to these days. Looks interesting!

Looks interesting!

The title says that he wants to change video games again, and change shooters on tablets again. A lofty claim!

"Our game is completely touch-to-shoot," says Bertone. "It's meant to be played with two fingers. Anywhere on the screen I want to shoot, the weapon's going to follow me and that's where I'm going to shoot. I can target. I can do precision damage."

It will, for all intents and purposes, be a hardcore shooter on a tablet. The trade-off, Bertone says, is the game will do much of the moving for you."

So basically, we have a light gun arcade game, except that you are basically playing it with the gun pressed against the screen. Sounds really new and innovative. Next.

So sad to see these guys making this stuff.

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So basically, we have a light gun arcade game, except that you are basically playing it with the gun pressed against the screen. Sounds really new and innovative. Next.

Crap.

Thanks for the link to this article!

I'm excited to see someone tackle shooters on a tablet. I've said before that efforts thus far have been a bit cumbersome to control and lacking in precision. I'm also excited to see story brought to mobile gaming, and the use of the digital comic companion is an innovative one. I hope they succeed in their efforts to redefine the mobile shooter.

Alex and John talk more about the subject of story in mobile games in this GDC presentation given last year.

Polygon followed-up yesterday's article with an interview: http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/7/31/4513284/alex-seropian-interview

It's disappointing that it seems to be going the full light gun route. I think there's some interesting ideas that can come out of shooters that use discrete positions (Hybrid did this really well), or use natural inputs for movement in an FPS(The Drowning on iPad).

I won't judge fully till I see the game, but it sounds disappointing.

It's disappointing that it seems to be going the full light gun route.

Don't write off light gun games. There's some good ones out there, so the genre itself is not bad; it's just that the people making them actually understand how to make games!

See, if you start with an FPS as the base, it's about 2 things really:

1. Moving through 3D space
2. Shooting stuff

So if you make your player hold a gun, as of now this doesn't leave hands free to look and move, so these games moved for you on rails. However, because this portion has been simplified, they instead ramped up the shooting portion. Aiming and firing a gun for real is challenging, so these games had tons of enemies, they pop out quickly and brutally, and often times you'd have to shoot the projectiles they fire at you to stay alive, manage your ammo and reload at the appropriate time, not hit innocent civilians, etc. They understood that if you simplify one portion, you have to make the other portion more complex.

But if you're just going to tap a place on the screen to shoot, you are making the shooting portion less complex. Have you ever played duck hunt sitting right next to the TV, pressing the gun against the screen to easily shoot the ducks? You get to level 99 and it loses all challenge. You utterly ruin the game.

In five minutes I knew this was a bad idea, which shocks me that professionals (who are Bungie alum no less) don't see it.

Extra Credits is right in their episode about touch screen gaming: you need to really think about using it properly. As far as touch screens go, I think the following genres would be enhanced:

1. Turn based Strategy.
These games often take place on a grid, and using gestures to scroll / rotate the camera, select units and structures, and choosing actions from a menu would be completely natural.

2. JRPG
In much the same way, instead of using a menu to scroll through attack / spell choices, just touch. Outside of battle, you press where you want your character to go. Dialogue boxes could be scrolled through with swiping.

3. SIM
Sim City type games would be badass. Draw roads and zones by dragging your finger, swipe to move the camera around, pinch to zoom the camera in and out, 2 finger rotate to rotate the camera etc.

4. Adventure
Menu driven or point and click adventure games are perfectly suited for touch screens.

5. Hack and Slash
With some work and a good developer, this might be good. Have your character skills in a bar on the bottom, tap one to select it, and tap the enemy to use it. Could be just as easy as using hotkeys and the mouse.

6. Puzzle
Puzzle games, like adventure games, are perfectly suited for touch screens.

7. Rhythm action

I can see rhythm action games working, since tapping the screen on the beat is really no different than tapping a button to the beat.

That's it I think. Everything else, and you are handicapping your game.

See, if you start with an FPS as the base, it's about 2 things really:

1. Moving through 3D space
2. Shooting stuff

So if you make your player hold a gun, as of now this doesn't leave hands free to look and move, so these games moved for you on rails. However, because this portion has been simplified, they instead ramped up the shooting portion. Aiming and firing a gun for real is challenging, so these games had tons of enemies, they pop out quickly and brutally, and often times you'd have to shoot the projectiles they fire at you to stay alive, manage your ammo and reload at the appropriate time, not hit innocent civilians, etc. They understood that if you simplify one portion, you have to make the other portion more complex.

But if you're just going to tap a place on the screen to shoot, you are making the shooting portion less complex. Have you ever played duck hunt sitting right next to the TV, pressing the gun against the screen to easily shoot the ducks? You get to level 99 and it loses all challenge. You utterly ruin the game.

In five minutes I knew this was a bad idea, which shocks me that professionals (who are Bungie alum no less) don't see it.

Have you played the game, or at least seen it be played?

Extra Credits is right in their episode about touch screen gaming: you need to really think about using it properly. As far as touch screens go, I think the following genres would be enhanced:

<snip>

That's it I think. Everything else, and you are handicapping your game.

So help or hurt, those are the only choices?

I think I liked that a little better than the Jason interview from several weeks back, but that probably has more to do with the interviewers than the interviewees.

Jason and Alex both sound like great guys, and it's cool to get to read interviews with both of them so recently.

I'm excited about Morning Star. I've actually been thinking of selling my iPad because I just don't use it enough, but I'm thinking I'll hold on to it for a while longer.

Kerm

This one had me busting up laughing

Marty:
"Ok, Christina, Britney, and Miley all had the same reaction to working for Disney. Will Alexander Seropian be the next to twerk?"