Patrick Curry’s Thoughts on Game Design

I just couldn’t resist the urge to do one more sequel idea before the year was out. And Blast Moves is still one of my favorites…

Description:

The year is 2496. You spent the last two years blasting aliens in your trusty spaceship, and it’s time for a well-deserved rest. Just as you’ve settled into a new home on a recently colonized world, the aliens spring a surprise attack… This time you don’t fight with your ship and your feet, but with your chroma-sword! Once again it’s time to get off your butt and save humanity!

Platform:

Nintendo Wii

Why it needs to be made:

I finally got my hands on a Wii, and I was pretty surprised by the experience. I really enjoyed the games a ton, and even though I was warned beforehand, I was still surprised to wake up sore the next day. For the first time since the PowerPad, there’s a game system that ships with everything needed to get players off the couch.

Description:

You must be wondering… what’s a chroma-sword? Well, it’s like a laser-sword, except it shoots out swathes of colored light like a giant cybernetic paintbrush. And luckily the aliens that have invaded your colony are sensitive to light, and you can use it to knock them out. Some of them are sensitive to the entire spectrum of light, while others can deal with all colors of light except for one. But beware the aliens that can change color (which happens to the beat of the soundtrack).

It’s up to you to change the color in your chroma-sword to match up with the enemies, adding a bit of rhythm gameplay to the mix. Swing your sword to disable the aliens that are nearby, then take aim and blast them to finish them off. You get to decide just how much sword-fighting versus shooting you do depending on the situation and the immediate threat… oh, and just how tired your arm gets swinging the Wiimote around.

Why it will be fun:

There’s no doubt blasting aliens is fun. And right out of the box Nintendo has proven that the Wii controller is fun to swing around and fun to use as a pointer. Blast Moves 2 simply gives you a reason to seamlessly do both, and when combined with the fun of classic shoot-em-up gameplay, I think it would add up to a fun, healthy experience.

Final Thoughts:

I’m seriously considering getting a Wii just for the fitness aspects of the system. I’ve always believed that you can make a game out of any experience, and at times I’ve been able to do that with working out at a gym. But if I can work out while playing a real-life videogame, then I’m sold.