When I was 9, my dad got me a computer game that looked like nothing I had ever seen before. I had watched for years as he shot down purple bunnies in Duke Nukem’ and destroyed much more terrifying enemies in Doom (and played the incredibly boring PGA golf game but you know, no ones perfect) in graphics that I found absolutely amazing. This game, however, introduced a whole new idea to me. From the first time I played The Neverhood (which I recently found out was a pretty rare occurrence, it only sold 42,000 copies), I wanted all game graphics to be claymation based. Claymation seemed so perfect for video games, giving the character’s a dose of corky personality that you simply did not get from other as at the time (especially because in the early 90’s, everyone was trying to get “edgy” instead of giving characters depth). To this day, having clay-based graphics can greatly improve the personality of your game, turning it from a hum-drum blaster to a friendly, yet challenging competition. One such game I have come across recently that exemplifies my claymation theory is the independently developed online blaster Aqua Rhapsody.
At its base, Aqua Rhapsod
y is an easily understood shooter where your only goal is to defend your floating castle from weird little sea enemies. Almost anyone could pick this up and quickly grasp the game play concept and be able to execute the skills needed without a lot of trouble. You basically point and click the attacking hordes to destroy them with your laser beam (don’t even ask me how that would actually work under water, I’m letting it go due to the fact it is a video game) and your castle will escape to the surface unscathed. As you continue through the levels and reach for that high score, the enemies do come at you a bit faster but that’s the only real learning curve going on here.
Granted, Aqua Rhapsody is quite a bit simpler and less involved then my beloved Neverhood, but the claymation ascetic has a similar effect. What sets this game apart from others of its kind is how fricken’ adorable they have everything by using clay to depict the underwater world. It takes a game that could have been immediately dismissed and turns it into a delightful experience. That happy floating castle, with its clay smile staring you in the face, calls to you to protect it. The child-like ascetic of the clay gives these inanimate objects far more personality then any Mario castle.
Another uplifting feature to Aqua Rhapsody is the creators insistence that his game to shared for free. He calls to you from the beginning to send this game to your friends and to keep it in free spaces on the internet so that everyone may enjoy it free of charge. This is a wonderful and new trend in independent gaming that I can’t help but think will inspire the next generation of game designers. In a world where Xbox and Playstation are doing everything they can to kill the used game market and even monopolize the indie game sphere for profit, it raises my sprits to see future designers taking gaming into their own hands. For new and innovative games to progress, this is what we need more then anything.
Aqua Rhapsody is a perfect example of an enjoyable five minute break game (I really wish I could port it to my Droid to be honest). With its corky clay graphics, it really has stolen my heart and I’ll continue to try and improve my high score for at least a few weeks. If you would like to play Aqua Rhapsody for yourself, go to http://www.indiedb.com/games/aqua-rhapsody and click the link to play online.