Video: Designing Greedy Bankers - Complexity from Simplicity

I just posted up a video about how I designed Greedy Bankers to foster complex strategies from simple mechanics.

I plan to make a series of these videos, so if there's anything you'd like me to discuss, expand on, or experiences you'd like me to share, please let me know!

Update: Greedy Bankers Now Available! 33%-Off Launch Sale!

Greedy Bankers is now available from the App Store!

Follow this link to find it on the App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/greedy-bankers/id417814882?mt=8

More information about the game is on the Greedy Bankers website.



As an indie developer this is very exciting for me, as it's the first time I've brought a game to market. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it goes down well, and working very hard to spread the world. So if you know anyone who may enjoy the game, or be interested in reviewing it, feel free to pass on the message - I appreciate it!

Frequent updates are on the Greedy Bankers Twitter feed: @greedy_bankers and also on my personal twitter feed: @agaitcheson

Greedy Bankers for iOS: Designing Accessibility and Complexity

When I first came up with Greedy Bankers in June 2010, my intention was to create something simple to pick up, but with a depth that keeps you playing and trying to discover new strategies. I had been exploring real-world strategy games in the months previous to producing the first prototype, and desired to create a game where the player could explore deep strategies from a simple set of building blocks.
Beginning work on the iPhone version of the game, I knew I wanted to maintain the drive for complex gameplay, but realised I had new opportunities to make it even more accessible. The touch screen offered the potential for an even more intuitive interface for new players, and I hope to build up a community and a gentle sense of competition between players trying to maximise their scores.

Designing for Accessibility and Simplicity

The sliding-tile control system had been successful in my earlier Shifty Trains, which had proven popular with new gamers, so for the Windows prototype it made perfect sense to build on that. Using only the mouse, and avoiding the use of buttons, reduced the need to learn a control system. Translating this to a touch screen made it even easier for players to get to grips with, as players could use a single finger to play the entire game, and it resembled physical sliding-tile puzzles even more. Testing out the iPhone beta on new players was an exciting experience, as it was obvious how easy to pick up and explore the game was.

Greedy Bankers - out this month!

I did it! It's been quite an adventure, and as I always say to myself, this is only the beginning! Greedy Bankers has just been submitted to the App Store and is awaiting approval. I expect to release the game before 28th Feb.

So how does it look? Well, Greedy Bankers has changed a lot since last time you saw it, and is far more feature-rich than it was before. I fully designed the Banker characters, and am very happy with how they turned out in the end. To the left is a screenshot of the game in action, and more can be seen from the Greedy Bankers website.

I am very excited to see how the game does. Though I have been an indie developer for many years now, this is my first commercial release, which makes it a big landmark for me. But there is more to come! I have just started work on the iPad version, which will have even more game modes to make full use of the large tablet screen, including local multiplayer. The adventure has only just begun!

In the coming week I will post some more details on the game, how it has evolved, and the challenges I have faced re-developing the game for a new platform. Watch this space!

Creating Simple Animations for Games

Participating in game jams, 48 hour competitions, and small amateur game productions, I've noticed that a lot of people have trouble creating simple animations. Often programmers feel they do not possess the art skills, or skilled artists don't know where to begin with game animations. Creating simple game animations isn't as difficult as it seems, and most people just need a prod in the right direction.

Thus, here is my introductory directed prod. If you have any tips to add or disagree with anything I say, feel free to comment me here or on twitter, and I'll gladly include your tips in the article - the more we can teach and learn the better!

A Year in Video Games: My Top 5 for 2010

2010 has been a great year for me in both gaming and game development. Being, as I am, perpetually late to any party, rather than list the best things that have been released or developed this year, I'm going to list the top 5 best things I've discovered.

Merry Christmas, a happy new year, and I hope you all discover something cool too!

5. Consolevania/VideoGaiden

I always have a "thing I'm watching when I should be going to sleep," and in January and February of this year, it was low-budget game review show Consolevania (and its BBC counterpart VideoGaiden). I love games criticism and it's creators, Glaswegians Ryan MacLeod and Rab Florence, are great fun to watch. It's got a very edgy sense of humour, so it's not for the easily offended, but these guys really know what they're talking about.

It goes back to 2004, and fizzled out around 2008, but if you enjoy looking back at cool stuff you might have missed when you were following the hype, this might pick up a few surprises.

Rab and Ryan are also pretty knowledgeable about their subject, as this opinion piece on violence in games shows, bucking the traditional gamers' view on the subject.

Designing the Bankers: Part 3

See also: Part 1, Part 2

The final set of banker concept drawings are below. Please let me know what you think!

I worked on a new design, based on a "greedy banker" stock image a TIGSource user found. I made him fatter, and gave him a monocle, and a waistcoat, which allowed me to add in a bit of colour. The green/yellow light glow has a kind of money feel about it. This guy looks a bit more like a "fat cat," so to speak.

Designing the Bankers: Part 2

See also: Part 1, Part 3

Below is the first set of greedy banker designs I came up with. As always, any feedback is very much appreciated! As with the game itself, I'd love to involve followers in the design process, and all the comments I get help me improve the designs. So please, let me know what you think!

The banker design began with a simple biro sketch based on the ideas I'd been carrying in my head

Designing the Bankers: Part 1

Part 1: Introduction and my design intentions

Part 2: First banker design

Part 3: Two more banker designs

Greedy Bankers for iPhone is making fantastic progress, with the gameplay elements really coming together. It's still a little rough around the edges, and I've not balanced the drop rates yet, but it's already proving fun to play. It's become clear that the artwork and animation is a big job which I need to get on with before the game can progress further.

With that in mind, I decided to spend the past week entirely on artwork, and trying to pin down a clear design for the "Greedy Bankers" of the title. These characters had always been in my head, as part of the setting the game takes place in. I'd always imagined the player as part of a big Greedy Banking corporation, working away in a secret vault.

It's that time again! Warwick 48 Hour Competition!

This weekend I hopped up to Warwick University to take part in the Warwick Game Design 48 Hour competition. This term's competition had possibly the oddest theme yet, which I am proud to be partially responsible for: Evil Ventriloquist's Dummy.

I joined forces with Tim Monks and Jess Nickson to create Satan's Toyshop, a spooky run-and-gun where you have to fend off hoards of possessed dummies an teddy bears, while protecting the innocent toys.

Play the game on my website here

There was a grand total of six teams in this term's competition, with three to four members on each, making it the biggest competition the society has seen. Warwick Game Design seems to be going from strength to strength, attracting more and more members and industry speakers - hats off to the new exec for their hard work!

PIXELearning, a Coventry-based serious games developer, will be judging the entries. I will post up the other competition entries, along with the results, as soon as I can.