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Look and feel
Next up were design and technical decisions about how to present the
gameplay and interface. "High Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic
Games"* had just hit the shelves and was a great refresher on the
evolution of games, as well as a trip down memory lane for those of
us who grew up on Space Invaders and Zork.
In the current climate of multimillion dollar game budgets, High Score
was a potent reminder about the primacy of ideas and solid gameplay,
and we took a lot of inspiration from classic adventure games like
Zelda and Space Quest.
Visual references for the world came from an eclectic range: light
bulbs and lava lamps, Dr Seuss and Mambo, Red Dwarf and Futurama,
and a whole bunch of other sci-fi landscapes that have been subliminally
etched into our minds. But one of the best sources of inspiration
was the BBC documentary "The Private Life of Plants".
Features that missed the cut
Some of our initial interface concepts included a map and an inventory, both of which don't appear in the final game. The map was deemed too much of a drain on resources, and unnecessary: the cavern complex isnít too huge, and part of the fun of classic adventures was slowly creating your own map on paper.
An inventory often involves clicking and dragging to select items, and our primary focus was the power of language. Like magic incantations, Torking would interact directly with the world around you. Everything you needed to do to get your ship free would be achievable by Torking, and by figuring out what was important to the Torkians.
« Genesis of Tork | Making
the language | Wrap Up
* ěHigh Score! The Illustrated History of Electronic Gamesî by Rusel
DeMaria & Johnny L. Wilson, Pub: McGraw-Hill/Osbourne, 2002 (ISBN
0-07-222428-2)
By Nectarine; full credits.
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