Sunday, May 20, 2012
By: Matthew Doucette
Xona Games' philosophies are born out of years of gaming and game development experience. Read about our history here. Here's a sample of the mentality that goes into our games:
Our "Game Code":
Our "game code" is paramount to every game we produce. It is a code that has been in development by the founders ever since early elementary school, which describes how games should be designed. Some quotes we've pulled up from various sources:
"I've been developing a game code about proper game play and control since I was 7 or 8." - Jason, Shmups Forum
"When Jason Doucette was in elementary school he started compiling a game code, which was basically a list of do’s and don’ts when developing a video game." - Duality ZF in Hometown News
"The brothers compiled their own philosophies into something they call “Game Code” – a list of do’s and don’ts collected from video games they played in their youth. Jason adds that while the Game Code doesn’t necessarily guarantee success, it does guarantee high quality: an element publishers want." - Xona Games: Canada Business Feature
Empower the Player (Duality ZF Philosophy):
A philosophy born from Duality ZF, our first official game:
"Give the power to the player. The game’s difficulty should arise from enemy strength, not player weakness."
This idea empowers the player, instead of inhibiting them. In other words, to create difficulty, increase the challenge, do not decrease player performance. We want the most out of our gamers. We want to showcase their skills. Our pitch video for Indie Game Challenge 2011 showcases more Duality ZF and Xona Games philosophies:
Duality ZF - Indie Game Challenge 2011 Pitch Video (long cut)
Also see:
About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.