Retrospective: Second Nature World
A look back on my first video game project from 2002, a 3D VRML-based adventure called Second Nature World. If you like overly-complex controls and limited gameplay, you’re in for a treat.

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Dave and Martin discuss creating Cameron and Ashley, reaching the pre-alpha stage, composing the game music (with a preview of the main menu theme), playing Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii, and answering listener questions. Have questions for the next podcast? Feel free to leave them in the comments section below. Thanks for listening!

With the success of the Wii, the broader definition of video games is becoming less about pressing buttons and more about greater immersion in on-screen experiences; the first steps toward full-on virtual reality. Check out this recent demonstration researcher Johnny Lee gave, showing how the Wii could be transformed into a virtual whiteboard or head-tracked 3D environment.

We just reached pre-alpha status the other day, which basically means almost all of the core features are in the game…now it’s just a matter of squashing bugs, adding in final designs and assets, and polishing everything up. So there is still a lot of work ahead, but this is a great milestone to reach. Thanks to everyone on the Atmosphir team for all of their recent hard work. Podcast #3 is hopefully coming next week.

I realized something last night. I’ve had Bioshock lying on my coffee table, unfinished, for about 3 months now. Bioshock - a game of the year, a franchise starter, a serious case for games being considered art - and yet there it is, incomplete and stacked under a magazine.

What have I been playing instead? Super Smash Brothers Brawl matches and Rock Band songs.

It made me realize how different my gaming routines have changed as I’ve (arguably) matured and entered the working world. I look back on the open-ended schedules I used to have. When Wind Waker came out for the Gamecube, I played straight through the 20+ hours of gameplay over the course of 4 or 5 days between classes. My roommates and I in Baltimore were addicted to Animal Crossing and Timesplitters 2 for an entire summer. And during one grad school semester break, I managed to plow through the 70+ hours required to beat Tales of Symphonia - probably the most time I’ve ever spent on a single player game.

I used to love those marathon play sessions, but now it’s more difficult to find the time to do all that, particularly due to a consistent work schedule. When I come home and plop down on the couch, there’s no way I would want to tackle a 70+ hour game now. It would have to be split up over weeks or months of playing, and the chances of me making it all the way through would be slim. I would probably go a week or two without playing. I would probably forget where I was in the game, what I had to do, and why I should care. Bioshock is apparently a 20-hour game, but even that seems daunting to me (although you can save at any time, and objectives are easy to keep track of via menu screens).

So when I’m playing with a limited amount of time - as little as 15 minutes and no more than 2 hours - I gravitate towards the bite-sized experience instead. I’ll play a few online Smash matches or a few Rock Band songs, and feel satisfied and content. But it pains me to know that I have this incredible “longer” game sitting on the sidelines, falling victim to the time constraints of the professional world.

Man, I miss summer vacation.