While I typically refuse to review my own games, This little gem is going to be an exception. Generic Defense Game was built and distributed as an experiment to get some insight on the current state of the independent web-based gaming community.

Because of the nature of this game, I am actually going to review/score the actual experiment rather than the game itself.

The experiment was to create a game in a genre that has been completely over-saturated with carbon copy games, and distribute it to see how much money and popularity I could exploit from it. I wanted a game that would both mock this type of game, but would also make no pretenses at being original in any way. And so the concept of ‘generic’ defense game was born.

Within 2 days of starting, I had the basic engine for a run-and-gun shooter game, and so it came time to decide on what you would be defending, and what you would be defending from. I knew that I had to use zombies, because it’s illegal to hate a zombie game. But I didn’t want to just straight up copy other crappy games, or the experiment wouldn’t stand out enough to make a point. So I toyed with some other retarded objectives… and decided I would just make the game so generic… ALL my objectives could be dumped in.

As I started having fun with the overall ridiculousness of the game, I figured I may as well add a mouse-only mode and spliced in a turret defense system. From that point I started getting carried away designing mediocre weapons (the pellet gun is an obvious tip to this part of the design), generic texture filled backgrounds.. and minimally animated bad guys, which I could copy and paste and do some small tweeks for even more generic bad guys.

For the audio, I used a bunch of generic gunshot sounds, recorded some lame death grunts, and raided the Newgrounds Audio Portal for some royalty free music. It didn’t sound too bad in the end, but I assure you… there wasn’t much effort in the sound production.
Once I had it all together, I knew the game was starting to step beyond the original scope… but I didn’t care, I was having a good time just making something stupid. I did make sure to not add in any back-story, or actual ending… lest we end up with a polished action game rather than a generic game with minimal substance.

Now it was time for phase 2, securing some money and getting the game distributed. I was going to approach a site like Armor Games or Crazy Monkey Games for a sponsorship, but I decided to have a chat with Greg from Kongregate about the game first. I knew the other sites may not ‘get it’, and would just fork over money so they could stuff their game libraries a bit more with exclusively branded content, then spam it around the web and enjoy the kickbacks.
I needed a partner that could provide the same level of branding, but still let me control the experiment in a few ways. Kongregate got the concept and was more than willing to sponsor the game for more money than these types of games should ever warrant. They also allowed me to include Mochiads (in-game advertisements) in versions of the game that would be distributed, which was another experiment I had been dying to try.

The ads in the game were a real surprise to me. I did not expect the high level of performance the would ultimately yield. For the most part, developers can probably make a lot more money with these types of advertising than they can with a typical sponsorship. It’s amazing to me that more people aren’t taking advantage of them.
Once the sponsorship and advertising was secured, it was time to distribute the game. With some suggestions from Tom Fulp of Newgrounds.com, and some assistance from the Kongregate and Newgrounds communities, I was able to get the game posted on a lot of high-performance game sites and even got it through on Digg.

The launch of the game was a massive success… half the people hated it… half the people loved it… half found it too hard…. half found it too easy… EVERYONE played it.

By the first weekend of the launch, the game had been featured on most of the sites I submitted it to, and the in-game ad was making about as much money as all the advertisements on psychogoldfish.com combined. In 3 weeks, I was able to create a game that was popular enough to generate a generous sponsorship, and a long-term revenue stream from in-game ads.

So the experiment was a huge success… but at the same time… the findings are disturbing to me.

Some people are wondering what actually inspired this experiment. Obviously, making money is a big part of it all… but it really started the day I reviewed “Endless Zombie Rampage“. This game, while not the worst defense game, was the proverbial ‘last straw’.

I have been in this industry for nearly a decade, and I was there to see it rise from a small group of people making games just for fun, and producing really original and entertaining work. Now, a lot of commercialized sites have made it possible to earn a pretty good living in this industry without having to build your own income generating websites. These commercialized sites kicked off a whole new generation of talent, and really helped to raise the bar in quality…at least.. that was how it started.

Today, everyone from high-school kids to seasoned vetrans, are whipping off generic games (not just in the defense genre) because the big commercial sites will dish out $500 or so, for pretty much anything that works (and even some things that don’t). The casual players tend to stick to these commercialized sites, because they brand all the games they sponsor to the degree that the players feel these sites are where all the games are coming from. For many casual players… these are the only sites they check for new games.

This is great for these sites, as they build strong user bases, and stronger revenue streams. This is good for the developers because they can earn sponsorships without having to put fourth a great deal of effort. This is bad for the industry because the quality content is being buried by the quantity content.

Anyone old enough to remember the Atari 2600 will probably have, at least, a basic recollection of what happened to the game industry back in the 80’s. What started as an industry with a few brilliant games, swept into a viable market where commercialized publishers with no hands on ties to the industry wanted to get their piece of the pie. They contracted massive quantities of generic games and clones of popular titles to the point consumers no longer knew the good games from the bad. The big companies were able to put out small games at bargain bin pricing, which is where a lot of the gamers at the time went to find new games. After a while, people stopped enjoying the games, and didn’t bother looking around to find the good titles, rather… they just quit buying in general.

I see the similarities between the piles of generic games that almost killed the gaming industry in the 80’s, and the generic titles that are being produced today. Eventually the casual players are going to lose interest, and only the established companies (the nintendos of the indy community, if you will) will have a shot at staying alive.

This experiment has completely validated that it pays more to make a bunch of generic games, then it does to push the envelope. It’s no wonder nobody in the media takes this section of the game industry seriously, the industry doesn’t take itself seriously, save for a handful of sites like Newgrounds and Kongregate.
Check out the game, and let me know what you think about the current state of indy web-games.

[ Try Generic Defense Game ]

While many games have edgy titles with clever word-play, or fancy buzz words, ‘Endless Zombie Rampage‘ (by Sean McGee)  is so much more than a mere title.  It’s a complete description of all the game has to offer.  Endless zombies….

You will have to forgive my cynicism, you see… after playing ‘The Last Stand‘ my hopes for the defense game genre were sparked after having been extinguished for years. Then I played this pile of mediocrity and it pissed on the embers of my newfound hope, leaving only a smelly column of urine steam.

First, lets explore the graphics in this game.  They are okay, but there is NO variety here.  There is a base that’s got no detail… the hero who’s legs only move front to back no matter what direction you walk, and the zombies, which are all the exact same sprite with some color swaps.

Like ‘edgy’ games of the 90’s, this game relies on blood to make it ‘cool’.   Well, if blood is enough to make a game good in your opinion, this game deserves to be published on every major console, because it has plenty of that. Unfortunately… if blood is the only reason you buy a game… you can’t play it anyway because you are 12 years old and the ESRB rating would be too high for you.

The sound on this game is on par with any generic defense game… it has gun shots… blood splatters and one background loop.  The loop is actually decent… a nice moody ambient deal that would work well with a better game.

At it’s core, this game is just a generic bit of crap whipped off in no time at all to get some money from CrazyMonkeyGames, one of many sites (*cough*ArmorGames*cough*) that is more concerned with branding a large quantity of games rather than being associated with quality.  Not that there is anything wrong with that… if it makes money, it’s hard to fault them for it. I just can’t help to think back to the old Atari days when publishers used to shell out for any crappy old game too. The strategy almost killed an entire market.

In this game, you run around a big patch of dirt and aim with whatever gun you happen to have, at generic zombies.  They take a lot of ammo to put down, and the reload times are just painful. The mechanics keep you frustrated rather than satisfied with shooting the crap out of whatever you can.

The zombies are all the same, barring some variances in their speed and health.  AI-wise… there is nothing special about any color of zombie.

When you survive a day, you are rewarded with exp points that you can cash in for weapon upgrades.  While this feature COULD have been enough to make a player strive to unlock things, the rate at which you are rewarded is slower than a paraplegic track star with downs.  It took till about day 4 before I could get a weapon that was going to be any better than my basic pistol, and after all the mundane repetitiveness I had to endure to get that far, the novelty of having a new gun was short lived. Don’t bother trying the other game modes if you die… they aren’t really any different… the zombies just change their primary target.

On that note, dying in this game is actually a relief.  You can quit playing… and while you don’t feel like you accomplished anything, you at least have some closure.
I would be willing to bet that if this game wasn’t a ‘zombie’ game, it wouldn’t have nearly as much publicity.  You see… you HAVE to like zombie games.  If you admit to finding the zombie genre boring and over-saturated, all the Romero and Resident Evil fanboys will harass you endlessly on your local bbs, and your e-reputation will be destroyed. That would be a shame…
Reflecting on this game… I can’t honestly say it’s really ALL that bad… I’m just disappointed… again.

Give it a try and tell me what YOU think.

[ Survive the endless repetition! ]

I have never been a big fan of stationary defense shooters.  Most of them are simply the same thing over and over with little to no variety, and no real sense of accomplishment.  Today, I decided to give one of these games a try…

The Last Stand, by Con-Artists, is a zombie survival game where you stand behind a barrier and shoot zombies.  Yep, it certainly sounds boring already doesn’t it?

As I played this game, my first thoughts were… “Oh joy… another over-rated, generic defense game!” and I started shooting zombies with little enthusiasm.

Then as I finished the first round I fixed up my barricade, and found some other survivors….

As I continued to mash my mouse, I started to appreciate the artwork.  The zombies are all quite unique, using a variety of interchangeable parts to randomly generate several types of zombie.  The background changes from night to day as time goes by, and overall, it’s a nice looking game.

A few levels in and I started getting a nice crew of survivors, and had picked up some new guns, including a bad-ass shotgun.  I started becoming interested in seeing what everything else was like,

I hadn’t really given the audio much thought, but I suddenly became aware of the eerie ambient music that was playing.  It really helped set the mood, and managed to convey a sense of urgency without relying on a fast tempo.  I also noticed that, while the weapon and death sounds were all okay, there was a lack of zombie moaning and chatter from the defending humans.  This didn’t really hurt the game so much as keep it from feeling more like a movie.

Then I got the chainsaw.

While the gameplay starts out as any generic defense shooter, you begin to realize the weapons are all balanced in different ways.  Some are more offensive, like the hunting rifle which lets you kill efficiently from long-range, and some are defensive, like the chainsaw, which converts your barricade into a big-ass meat grinder.

The way the zombies vary in speed, and some even charge at your perimeter, keeps you on your toes as you have to decide what part of your base to defend, and how to defend it at any given time.

This game is so much more than a frantic shooting game, it has a real element of strategy to it that I actually found enjoyable.

As I finally realized this game was great, and that I was having fun… I survived day 20, and won the game.

In spite the fact I was angry that my fun was over, I can’t help but smile.  This title reminded me that you can never judge a game by it’s genre.

[ Play The Last Stand ]

Fans of Wii-compatible games, rejoice!  Extra-Toxic has partnered with Nintendo to deliver an amazingly addictive and original experience.

Chick Chick Boom pits you against the maniacal Poster Bunny who is hording a collection of official Nintendo desktop wallpapers.

In typical Nintendo fashion, you will be pitting cute little critters (in this case, orb-shaped chicks) against each other in an arena setting.

The art is really stylized and cutesy, but not overly impressive but it does have a kind of ‘Loco Roco‘ thing going on.
The sounds in the game are great and match the look of the game, as does the music, which does get annoying after a while, but doesn’t quite make you want to shove a bic pen in your ear until your eyes turn blue (or red if you are auditing taxes at the moment).

What makes this game such a pleasant experience is the interface.  In order to win you have to select an attack, and then you need to trace a symbol to execute it.  Based on how well you trace, your attacks have more impact.  This sounds simple, but you also have to trace symbols to get your chicks to avoid oncoming attacks, so the amount of time you have to trace a symbol can be quite brief when reacting to things.

Even with my Wacom tablet, this game was pretty challenging in later levels.  I can only imagine how hectic it would be with a WiiMote.

Each level you beat unlocks an official Nintendo desktop image you can download, which is a very cool reward system for this game, but once you have unlocked them all, the single player gameplay doesn’t leave much replay value.  Still, for a free game… it’s pretty damn good.
This game would be awesome as either an online multiplayer game, or a 2 player Wii game, so let’s hope there is a follow up title in the near future!

[ Play Chick Chick BOOM ]

Five ’til by JMTB02 is a nice addition to the “4 sec games” genre but with an actual plot and a bit more than 4 seconds to know what the hell is going on. Around 30 seconds per level, which is nice for old and bitter people like me.
Nice action and decent art. While it could be spruced up art wise it in no way detracts from the great game play. Some better backgrounds and better explosions would flesh it out more, but you’re going so fast trying to get crap done you hardly notice it, unless some dumb reviewer mentions it then you can’t help but notice.

Sound effects and audio are well played except after I beat the game and listened to the end music for 10 minutes before I closed the window. Other than me zoning out, nothing annoying with what you hear.

ANGRY FIST SHAKING MOMENTS: for some parts where you have to use the mouse I REALLY wish I could see what part of the icon that got changed I’m actually using. The wire cutting took me several tries because it’s different than the glass cutting. Not sure if that’s just a minor bug but yeah, on the wire cutting it should show where your actual arrow cursor is for the hit area, where you click.

Other then that, game play was freaking great. Combining several different aspects of game play I loved helped. I like this approach better then the 4 sec games (which I won’t link cause I don’t want to remember that much to beat a game) as you get some time to learn the controls. I might just be old and bitter though. I also like how if/when you lose a level you start back with the same amount of time remaining when you started that part. Great game to play and get better at, mostly for me since I want to get better then a -C, haha.

[ Play Five 'til ]

This game, pardon the pun, is a hidden treasure, especially for anyone looking for something quick and simple to play.

Pirates & Treasure, by Tim Drew, is basically a small collection of mini-games bundled together with a very funny story of one pirate captain’s quest for rum and riches. Fans of games like WarioWare will want to check it out.
The art is very simplistic and stylized, but very well presented, and fits the lighthearted nature of the game quite well. The sound is pretty good, mostly ambience and effects, but they fill the silence of your lonely, lonely life well enough.

The gameplay isn’t anything spectacular. It’s mostly simple point and click or arrow reaction type mini-games, but the overall variety of play makes this game so much fun.

The only bad thing I have to say ’bout this game is it’s too short. When you beat it (in about 10 minutes) you will unlock the minigames gallery, which has all the games you just beat, plus one new sliding square puzzle.

Even though it ended to fast, and there’s not much replay value, the first play-through is a lot of fun, so give this game a go right now, or ye’ll be walkin’ the plank matey!

[ YARRRR!!! ]

Yawn, another defend your crap you say? LIES!! This is a great defend game with a nice twist. Deflector by Free World Group has a nice little space station to defend BUT you have no weapons, only a deflector (I wonder if that has anything to do with the title) which you use the mouse to draw to intercept incomings.

What I instantly got some morning wood off of it was the classic invaders feel/look to it. Had the stupid song going through my head the whole time. DUN…DUN…DUN…BWEEEW….DUN. Luckily the music wasn’t like the classic and went well through out the game. Oh, and has just a bit better graphics then invaders ; ). The effects of the enemies charging up before shooting will save you much hair pulling and cursing so pay attention.

What’s not to like about this game? It gets !#@$@$# hard! Although there’s power ups, if you don’t hit them you ain’t getting ‘em. While this makes for a nice feature it does make it a pain untill you get used to how the projectiles will bounce of the deflector. With 3 difficulty settings and the great level designs you’ll be playing this for awhile, if you don’t punch a hole through your monitor first haha.

[ Play Deflector ]