Convolution Blog

We are pleased to announce that tomorrow (April 14) Fowl Invaders will be free to download from the iTunes store for 24 hours!

Please enjoy!

Galen

Well, after many long nights (weeks, months, etc…) the latest update is shipped to Apple for review. In the mean time, here’s a video for you to feast upon!

Just a quick screen shot from the soon to be released update 1.1 of Fowl Invaders for iPhone.

New Weapon... packs a little punch

I just recently joined a new site, established by British charity SpecialEffect, called gamebase. It’s a kind of social networking site (facebook like), with a focus on bringing together people to share and discuss games and gaming for disabled people.

I recommend those interested have a look:

http://www.gamebase.info

I signed up immediately.

Cheers,

Galen

New Indie Life pages were being planned for this holiday season, unfortunately, with all the current turmoil of moving and all, it currently doesn’t appear likely that there will be new episodes coming before the Holidays really set in.

Not that we’re giving up hope entirely (there’s always hope )!!

If you haven’t read any yet, check them out (http://www.convolutioninc.com/index.php/indie-life-menuitem)
If you have and would really like to see more (now or in the future) please drop us a line and let us know.

Thanks,

Galen
(Owner, Convolution)

Convolution is in the process of completing our move to Newfoundland, Canada. Please forgive any gaps in updates, it’s quite a move

Galen
(Owner – Convolution)

Work has begun on the first patch for Fowl Invaders! The primary focuses will be graphics and performance improvements.

If anyone has the game and would like to pitch an improvement/bug/etc.. you can either e-mail your suggestions to galen at convolutioninc.com or simply respond to this post

Thanks,

Galen
(Owner: Convolution)

2 days ago my wife and I were talking about my latest game, my proposed next game, and where convolution should go from there. During that discussion the topic of children who are challenged, common worries of parents of those children, and the state of support for both groups took a central place in our talks.

One disorder in particular stood out, FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder), a terrible disorder that affects children around the world, knows no social, economic, or racial boundaries. FASD is a social disorder, is 100% preventable, and is widely misunderstood by both medical professionals and general population alike. While I won’t even try to articulate the details of FASD here (there is a vast amount of information available through printed, electronic, and internet searches) I will net out some of the things we discussed:

These children (and adults) have the following key challenges (not a complete list!!):

• They mature very slowly (it’s not uncommon to be half their chronological age mentally)
• They often have average  range IQ
• They have great difficulties making and keeping friends
• They often have ADD (Attention deficit disorder) or ADHD  (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and a host of other “clinical” disorders in conjunction with FASD
• They look “normal” (there are some subtle physical signs in early childhood, but they often go away with age)
• They speak very well (this is a particular pain point, given they sound average or above average but do not completely understand what they are saying)
• They have great challenges understanding cause and effect (which leads many to have trouble with authority figures and the law)
• They desperately want to be part of a social group
• They are easily mislead
• They have great difficulties learning (and then retaining what they learn, they can forget things they apparently have known for some time (some times it “comes and goes”), but this is hard to accept for most people who assume the person is “being funny” or “being cheeky”
• Most sadly, they are aware they are different but can’t fix the problem(s).

The last point is one of the most tragic to me.  It’s very difficult to have a serious mental disorder and function day to day, but when you know, and want all the things others want, but cannot figure out how to succeed….  In fact clinical depression is very common as these people reach teen years and beyond.

So, why say all this?  What does this have to do with games?  Well.. These kids can (usually) play video games.   Video games can hold the attention of most kids as well as TV and ADD/ADHD kids are no different (although durations should be more closely monitored for the children we’re talking about).

Now, complex games are more challenging for them than their peers, often leaving them watching for some time as a peer plays for an hour after they have been “eliminated”.  They are also challenged to separate fantasy from reality, making the “common” popular video games a poor choice (with the main themes revolving around killing, combat, etc…).

Parents of these kids are just regular people.  Many are adoptive parents.  Support in any form is not as easy to find as you’d think.  They worry, and wish for many things.  One of those things is that their “special” kids could interact with other kids (sometimes including non-affected siblings) in some normal way.

How can we, in the game industry help?  That was my quandary, and the net of my discussions with my wife the other night.  My answer (rightly or wrongly):

Build games designed from the ground up to “level the playing field” for these (and other) special needs kids.  Now not a new concept, there is research and work done on games for a variety of special needs from blindness, deaf, physically challenged, and so on.  But as with much about this, and similar, disorders there is little attention being paid to their particular challenges.  What would a game for these kids look like?  Well, here’s some of my initial thoughts:

• Consistency.  These kids learn slowly, and often need to relearn.  Don’t change the nature of things on the fly (if a red button stops something here, it shouldn’t shoot in the next scene).
• Easy to learn controls.
• More verbal feedback (than simply relying on “mood/setting” music and popup text)
• Either setting based, or (clever) game internal discovery based “augmented play”.  For kids who physically can’t perform the triple button move controllers up-right-left-left-push, craft a schema where players requiring assistance can perform advanced moves without needing the dexterity of a double-jointed cat
• Avoid negative based themes (like killing).
• Promote positive game themes
• Incorporate seamless learning, that promotes basic learning (memory, problem solving, etc…) without necessarily being obvious (yes there’s room for specific education based games, but adding these things, not for the sake of challenging game play alone, but intentionally to reinforce known learning techniques can help)
• Play to the strengths of these people (they do have them), let the normal people play catchup for once
• Rich story lines, now a goal of many games, but don’t dumb down the story (plots and sub-plots).  They can enjoy a good story like the rest of us.

Most of all, create games that appeal to challenged and non-challenged children alike.  We can’t fix the problems they face, but to provide these kids a way to play, discuss, and just plain feel normal when interacting with peers on a “level playing field” is the least we can do for them.

I know one of my goals, and my company’s goals for the coming years.. to build something better in support of those who have been overlooked.

Sincerely,

Galen (Owner, Convolution)