The genius of Puppet Combo

When I decided to start creating my own games I had one simple rule:

For the first project, I cannot receive any help.

The reasoning behind this is I want to see a complete game project through. From inception to release. This way, if I did collaborate on future projects I can know exactly what needs to be done.

There is however, one huge handicap when it comes to solo development.

Time.

Time is money, but in this case, time grows exponentially with every conceived idea. This is why I have decided to go low poly for my first project. Hell, maybe even each LIGHTMACHINE game. I could just tweak the style enough to make each project look different.

I took a DEEP dive into Indie Gaming and started researching low poly games.

One thought that kept ringing in the back of my mind was:

How the hell can I make a low poly game feel big?

Not big in scope, but big in entertainment value. Indie Games are a dime a dozen. Some are phenomenal, others are complete dog shit. I remembered Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker. Although that is a AAA-500-people-fuck-up-and-get-fired game they did something really smart. The re-used levels under missions called OPS. Here you could replay a level with a different character in order to complete a specific objective. Those objectives allowed you to grow your base and in many cases, arsenal.

Then I stumbled on Night Watch by Puppet Combo.

I have heard and seen games from Puppet Combo before. Fuck, I was following dude’s work since his early Pig Farmer Games days.

I then sat down for a masterclass in game design. In Night Watch, you play as a park ranger. And there is only one environment. The game is set in the watch tower.

Damn, I do want to write more about it, but you have to watch this in order to experience the magic.

Headphones on. Volume up. Lights off.

Sit down son, this is how it’s done.