Im Playing: Super Meatboy

I cannot imagine in wildest of my dreams that a platformer which looks like a 8bit game I used to play in my school days can be so addictive and fun. This boy made up of meat, that small blood soaked, cube shaped which I have to control can be so difficult yet extremely entertaining. Difficult because the gameplay is constructed so well that it can make anyone from a school boy to a old man crazy. And extremely entertaining  because of the innovative levels,visual style and music in the game.



I'm particularly impressed with the intelligence this platform game has been made. The designers Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes  have kept the objective of the game very simple: "To rescue the Bandage Girl from evil Dr.Fetus". And what the Meatboy has to do is jump around all the obstacles, slide beneath walls, avoid saw blades etc. in all varied 300 levels divided across various chapters. Too good for aplatformer, isn't it?
Well as of me, I never thought that I would find a platform game so difficult to crack. Still struggling with the levels that keeps my heart pounding.

I'm playing: Call of Duty MoD3

So today I have completed this most entertaining and thrilling installment of Call of Duty and my impression was "Hey,was I into a action movie or what?". Yes having played this game in Campaign mode for almost 9 hrs made me feel as if I was in a movie playing the role of a Action Hero. The cinematic sequences in the missions, the spectacular visuals, the engrossing story and the way it is portrayed in the game is something that can happen only in CoD. Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer have definitely raised the bar by polishing the gameplay experience. And I must say I'm thrilled.

 This is because I really play very selective First Person Shooters and those fps's should meet the following criteria:

• The game must have an extremely good gameplay from the very start of the game.Believe me there is nothing big turn off than a boring start with a pesky mission. MoD3 holds you to the game play from the very first level when you have to barge into the Stock Exchange Building to blow off the tower. Now this kind of gameplay ignites the urge to play further.
• The graphics must have to be engrossing. Like when you are busy shooting the bad guys it is not just that you are shooting and the guys are dying around you. It is the environment around the player that builds up the engrossing nature because of the visual content. In MoD3 you will find that the elements around you even the tiniest one like the effects of the frag grenade, the responsiveness and AI of the bots, the movements of things around you, the details of the environment, fire,wind,explosions, climatic conditions everything is so lively and feels so real. And more so ever the visual details of the equipments you carry and the expressions of the AI counterparts just make you feel Wow!!!
• Third and not the least the Story. Yes, nothing can build to a great gameplay and graphics than the well scripted and well crafted story line. A story to the level, mission and to overall game is the sole element which emotionally connects you to the game. This emotional touch makes your heart feel  each aspect of the game. Because the story includes the Characters in it, the pretext of the game, the base on which the whole game starts and ends with. Mod3 takes from the where it is left in Mod2. And completes with the killing of the Makarov. The blending of all characters namely Yuri,Price,Frost etc. into the story is truly emotional.

So all in all when I wanted to rate this game on IGN.com I divided my rating into these three parameters and it turns out that this game is a definite 9 pointer on a 10 point scale. I'm satisfied with this installment though i found the campaign mode very small compared to other fps games in the market but the multiplayer feature filled that gap for me. Cheers!

I'm playing: Portal 2

"Intelligent, Innovative and Massively Entertaining " - Game Informer


Recently this game Portal 2 have made me crazy. I mean, the day I have started this title I'm not able to think about any other game. I'm completely mesmerized by this awesome FPS rather FPP (First Person Puzzle) game. Yes this is one kind of game where you don't have any variety of weapons or guns or armors or accessories nothing. All that you will be having is a PORTAL making device, which shoots nothing but one Blue and one Orange colored Portal. Portals which can take to from one place to other in a blink of an eye.

Sounds boring you say? now let add some detailed review of this game and then make your decision.

New Laptop??... Time for new games now :)

After few unlucky and bad days I have my new laptop with me. Now time to start with the games again. After a long gap from my gaming days, Im back. This time started the the download with Portal 2.

Its a complete 7 GB download. And will have to burn my laptop for that. But the game is worth it. after playing the initial version of this game, which included around 12 test chambers and showcased basic touch of the game, i am a total fan. And puzzle games are my favorites. I remember plyaing puzzel games like Lupin the Third and Da vinci code on the PS2. Those were a different breed of games in all. Portal2 joins there league. Infact Portal creates its own league which is going the change, actually have changed the way people will play games.

right now im badly waiting for download to get over. Have to the collection again. Bad days... tata bye bye.

My Java Applets

I have started developing video games using java applets. Ironically i have tried to start with the high end tools like Unreal Engine, Unity, Torque game builder but finally im finding java applet game development a good learning source for game development. I know there is lot to be done to make a mark but it is good to start with the basics right?

Also java applets are not so bad. If some security features are ignored then its the best tool for any rookie java developer to get into gaming. Here is why, the java applet life cycle is easy to understand and implement. Also when the multi threading capability of java is available then it is quite interesting to work on game development.

What actually im doing is learning step by step the essentials of game programming. The essentials include:

• Game Lifecycle.
• User Interface.
• Painting.
• Navigations.
• Artificial Intelligence.(chasing algos, pathfinding algos etc)
• Collision Detection and other physics elements.

The initial game i have developed has a "simple chasing algorithm" implemented where the an animated red demon (a sphere ) is chasing a animated blue man(another sphere). A Collision detection logic is implemented where if the demon catches the man(one sphere touching another sphere) the game is over. Points are awarded in the form of Seconds(time) ie for how long can the man survive the chasing demon. To add some spice i have made the demon to grow like a blob overtime.

The title link, of this blog will take you to my Technical Blog on my website(http://www.gauravnavgire.co.cc/).

Please feel free to add comment, criticize, like.