Begin mei vond in Barcelona de Ficomic plaats, de grootste stripbeurs van Europa. Tussen al het stripgeweld stond een opvallende houten constructie met vier ‘gamebedden’ en enorme tv’s, waar kleurrijke games op gespeeld konden worden. De oranje mast met rood-wit-blauwe vlag in het midden maakte duidelijk wat er aan de hand was: hier stonden Nederlandse games. Klik verder voor een video en een sfeerverslag.

Nederland was dit jaar gastland van de Ficomic, en naast de nodige stripgerelateerde uitwisseling was er daarom een stand met vier creatieve Nederlandse games van de afgelopen tijd (de games waren geselecteerd door ondergetekende!). Phil Kersley-Baker van jongerenhangout Masmas, dat de stand in opdracht van het Nederlands Consulaat had gerealiseerd, geeft een sfeerverslag:

I wanted to give you a rough round-up of what went on at the Ficomic, with my opinions and the opinions of the public who, effectively, tested the games over the 4-day period. Our specially designed ‘gamebeds’ were in constant use throughout the exhibition, with people often running to grab a free sofa to learn about and enjoy the games on our 50” screens. The strong point, in my opinion, of the four games chosen was the variety between them:

Rocket Riot (Codeglue)

Probably the most popular of the 4 games due to its easy gameplay. The sofa was in constant use with groups of youngsters queueing at times to play, and during the few moments that no-one was waiting we, the staff, would take advantage and have a quick game. There were two main arguments for its success: the ease with which it could be learnt, explained, controlled and played and the simple, yet beautiful, graphics.

The self-explanatory nature of the game meant that very little guidance was needed, regardless of the gaming knowledge of the user, and this made it an ideal addition for this type of event when people just want a quick introduction and to try out the game for short periods of time. In less than a minute the user was able to play independently and was free to enjoy the game. In a word, and very simply put, the game was ‘fun’.

The simple, almost retro, graphics also pleased throughout the 4 days. Older users fondly recollected the games consoles of their childhood or adolescence, and the slightly wild explosion of pixels during the gameplay attracted both players and spectators.

It was, though, when more controllers were used in 3 or 4-player mode that the game really moved into its element and provoked genuine laughter among groups because the chaotic nature in which blocks were broken up combined with the simple human interest in ‘blowing up your friend’ was balanced brilliantly with the controlled zooming in and out of the screen.

Quite a few people asked about the availability of the game: how it could be bought; if it could be bought on disc or only through downloading; if it was also available on the other consoles; the price. When told it was only 6 euros almost all were pleasantly surprised as it’s a fraction of the price of other games and easily affordable to have a simple laugh with friends.

Greed Corp (W!Games)

This game definitely had a dedicated following, but for one type of customer who was accustomed to and interested in strategy-based games. It perhaps was the most complex game to explain, and more so in this type of event. Really it was necessary to explain it properly and sit with the user for various rounds until they had got the hang of it, and for an inexperienced gamer it was a test of patience. Others who were used to the Age of Empires-style game could generally pick it up fairly quickly without too much supervision, but they were in a minority.

It was necessary to play the game for a good 15 minutes or more to understand the entertaining aspect of the game and so quite a few people left before they really got to grips with it. However, those who stuck with it generally stayed for quite a long time because the game in itself was well designed and because they wanted to know and understand every element of it.

More than one group exclaimed how beautiful the graphics were, and it was the game that really caught the attention of the graphic designers that came to the stand.

Swords & Soldiers (Ronimo Games)

Comparable to Greed Corp in that one had to spend a while playing the game in order to see the fun of it, the first two minutes of gameplay were fairly slow until the user could build up a strong enough army and start advancing. We found that the easiest mode in which to play the game in the environment of the Ficomic was in ‘Skirmish’ as all the options were available from the start and so the develoment of the game was quicker.

While some thought it was pointless simply clicking on the button and that the rest was automatic (some believed they would be able to control the soldiers and didn’t see the point of just coordinating the army), others stayed for a while, allowing themselves the time to see the challenge of the game.

Graphically most were enthused by the fun, cartoon-based action, but in terms of interest about the game’s availability for buying this was perhaps the least popular of the four.

Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: Rush (Two Tribes)

Along with Rocket Riot this was probably the most popular game of the Ficomic. Initially I had thought (and it seemed) that the game would principally be popular amongst an older generation, but over the course of the 4 days we saw that the game could be enjoyed by all generations. From large groups of 13 year olds through to groups of families and older couples it was clear that the game squeezed out one element of human nature: that everyone likes a challenge.

The game could be easily picked up and explained, and the ease with which one could understand the brilliant tutorial meant that people really wanted to stay for a long time playing, and rather than give up when the game became more complex (as was the case in Greed Corp and Swords & Soldiers), they scratched their heads and really became determined to finish the puzzle.

The two main modes of the game, directing the cubes and the Rubik’s cube itself were both popular and attracted many spectators, also thinking how they would complete the puzzle and in many cases would sit and try to help out, creating a hugely sociable atmosphere. Opposed to the traditional introverted and individualistic nature of puzzles, crosswords and sudokus, Rush actually invited conversation and collaboration.

Quite a few groups asked to know the name of the game and where it was available, so I really feel that the game had its market. The vast majority of people were doing the ‘Easy’ puzzles, and so the lifespan of the game, including the ‘Medium’ and ‘Difficult’ modes would be a long one.

Closing words

It was obvious that every game had its particular audience, although Rocket Riot and Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: Rush appealed to a large range of people and, when combined with the fact that they could be easily explained, were the main success stories. In simple terms, the games were mostly used by three categories of people: groups of 3 or more youngsters (12-18 years old), young families of 3 or 4 people and couples of some 25-30 years old, but we even had a couple of women, approximately 80 years old, very excited to be playing Greed Corp!

We were well situated to get people to the stand, being next to the toilets, the bar and the huge Microsoft Xbox stand. I firmly believe that Masmas offered a perfect platform on which to exhibit the Dutch games as one important benefit that we offered was that, while there was hardly anywhere to sit in the whole hall, our homely gamebeds were a very comfortable option (often housing up to 8 people) and the customers were enticed to play our selection of games (despite the best efforts of the Microsoft juggernaut and their massive range of games). I, for one, was quite presently surprised by the level of the games coming out of Holland and I believe that many of the users felt the same thing.