GlitchHiker is a game created by us, Paul Veer, Laurens de Gier, Jonathan Barbosa Dijkstra and Rutger Muller for the Global Game Jam 2011 & as such, not actually a Vlambeer game. GlitchHiker was a game that could go extinct on a global scale depending on how well players all around the world played and would visibly and audibly deteriorate as it slowly died. The game has died since its release and is now permanently and globally unplayable.
Last week, we launched Super Crate Box iOS & as you might’ve heard, it’s being doing well. By now – only 5 days later – 20.000.000 crates have been collected worldwide (which comes down to 150.000 per hour!), the game once almost made it into the top 25, it got a New & Noteworthy status & was even featured on the games page on the US. We’ve been pretty overwhelmed by all thepositivereviewseverywhere – even if you count the criticism about the controls – the majority still seems be able to use them with great efficiency.
In other news, GUN GODZ for Brandon Boyers’ Venus Patrol Kickstarter is nearing completion! Just last week, as we were revving up to launch Super Crate Box iOS, we played through the entire game from A to Z for the first time. We’ve had a great time listening to KOZILEK’s amazing hip-hop beats (on an related note, if you dig Super Crate Box’s OST, grab it here!). This means that the game should be in your hands (if you pledged!) really, really soon!
We’re back at the Vlambeer offices again after our participation in last weekends’ Global Game Jam. We joined up with usual suspect Paul Veer, designers Laurens de Gier and Jonathan Dijkstra and last but not least, the excellent audio-do-it-all Rutger Muller. In the past weekend, a minimum of hours of sleep was had, lots of internet videos were mashed into a single music video and most of all, a lot of games were made.
This years’ theme for the Global Game Jam was “extinction”. Our attempt at the theme was called ‘Glitchhiker’ – a game that was dying itself. We would explain it, but Matthijs Dierckx of Dutch game industry magazine Control wrote a great article on the game on the magazines’ website. As its in Dutch, I’ve translated it here.
“ The game was sick. It tried to be playable, but its decline was clearly visible. The screen revealed distortions, glitches; increasing in both intensity and frequency.
Curious about the sick game, numerous players took what was likely to be their only chance at their game. In grueling sessions they gave the game a try. And the game obeyed. It offered – as good as it could – exactly that what it was created for: entertainment.
Just a few players were able to give the game back more energy than it gave them. Sometimes, there was a spark of hope. But they faded quickly. A next player would bring the game closer to its end. Then another one. And another one. And then.
Then it was over. Done. The game disappeared from existence.
It was Sunday-evening around the clock of nine, when the server-script executed its inevitable task. GlitchHiker was extinct.
Jan Willem Nijman and Rami Ismail, the creative and technical brain behind indie-award-magnet Super Crate Box participated in the Dutch edition of the Global Game Jam in Hilversum. Together with their usual freelancer Paul Veer and they were joined by designers Laurens de Gier and Jonathan Barbosa Dijkstra; audio designer Rutger Muller completed the team. Together, they tackled the assignment of creating a game within 48 hours.
Afterwards, the team was holding two awards. The jury – among others Triumph CEO Lennart Sas and former Codemasters VP Jurrie Hobers – had just declared the game as winner of the event when the results of the votes of all ‘competing’ team was announced. GlitchHiker was, according to the masses, the best game this GameJam had conceived.
It’s not hard to see how both parties ended up with the same conclusion. Nijman and his team had devised the ‘terminal’ game. Visually attractive it lured the player to participate. The catch: whoever scored less than a 100 points partook in the destruction of the game. Scoring over a hundred points gave the game an energy-shot of sorts. Who scored less was partly responsible for the demise of the game ['Extinction' was the theme of this Global Game Jam].
After having the game explained to them, many of those interested were in doubt whether they still wanted to give the game a try. Hectic visuals, the beautiful distraction of the glitches – it wasn’t that easy to score 100 points. Players and viewers appeared to quickly become emotionally attached to the game. That led to doubts about playing the game or not and that in turn led to guilt in players that didn’t reached 100 points.
Emotional involvement? It was almost as if was art. No. It WAS art.”
Our own Jan Willem designed and programmed the game – including all its glitches – in just under 48 hours. Rami Ismail of Vlambeer created the website, the server backend and the API for Jan Willem to implement in that same time, while also managing the team itself. We would like to thank our fellow Aardbevers for their great work. Laurens de Gier, besides helping design the game, took care of the iconic website header that visualized the health of the game. Jonathan Barbosa Dijkstra, also for helping design the game and for the creation of its official trailer. Paul Veer for the great animations and the devising of the attractive art style for the game. Rutger Muller for his amazing adaptive music and for being the one who brought us on the track of the ‘glitches’ by mentioning glitch-music.
All that is left for us to say is thanks to everyone who tried to keep GlitchHiker alive. Sadly, the game has gone extinct and while it can still be downloaded, isn’t playable anymore. GlitchHiker went down around six hours after the deadline of the Global Game Jam.
Rami on januari 10, 2012 |
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Rami Ismail
Jan Willem Nijman