Shoulders of Giants

Now as you’re probably aware, I'm big on the Ouya, I think it’s got the potential, and the interest, to be a fun addition to everyone’s already overcrowded TV cabinet. However as good as the hardware sounds, and as good as the message of openness sounds, the console and OS are just the blank canvas that developers use to craft the worlds and experiences that imprint themselves in our memories forever. To further the hype, I’d like to look at the ideas and games that already exist, and show what Ouya developers need to have in mind to fully push the boundaries of this little box.

It's a fruit thing...

Do you know what I fucking hate? Mobile phone games! Games... on mobile phones! They're inconvenient, generic, power hungry bastards. If this is casual gaming then there's no wonder why I'm only having a casual relationship with my phone... yeah I got the innuendo too, yuck. My point is that, for someone who doesn't have a car and doesn't want a car, or just like to sit about the house, mobile gaming could be so useful as to be compulsive, yet it infuriates me how little there is for someone like me. I'm fed up of flinging birds, chopping fruit and pressing... fucking... JEWELS! I'm fed up of games that have 1 dimensional game-play mechanics, no storyline and no attempt to recreate the experience of home gaming, be it casual or hardcore.

It's the whole idea that this is what casual gaming is all about that really gets to me. Do you know which games I'd consider my favourite casual games? Pokemon Red/Blue, and The Legends of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages... and a Link to the Past once it was ported to the GBA. Why? Because you could dip in and out of the game as you pleased, and play for as little or as long as you wanted too, and you could hop out of the game at any time. It didn't matter if you were half way through a puzzle, because you'd be right back where you left off when you resumed the game. There was no waiting for a game over screen, and it didn't feel like the levels were deliberate bite-sized chunks, they felt very organic. On top of that, the stories were immersive and deep, they felt like what we've come to expect from a big name title, because that's what they were! And yet I could still just grab a quick 5 minutes in the back of my parents car on the way to some ill fated swimming lessons.