Page 39 - Old School Gamer Magazine Issue #40 FREE Edition

DON’T WASTE TIME... LOOP IT!
The old single screen action games are rather one-dimensional, but then again there is no way to win games like these. The goal was to keep playing as long as possible in the face
of mounting challenges. I have a name for
this style of game. I call it “meditative,” for the simple reason that it is very easy to get into a meditative state while playing them and time just stands still at that point. Compare this with modern, big-scenario type games. Here there’s a role to play and increasingly complex missions to carry out. I call this style of play “socio-dramatic.” In a socio-dramatic game you aren’t just playing out a simple action scenario, you are playing out a role in a contrived drama. This is a far cry from the meditative, simple action game of yesteryear, yet the underlying principle remains the same. You still loop your time away.
it is more than just button mashing, it requires carefully orchestrated motion of several pulsing, swirling, color animated objects. This is followed closely by the biggest payoff I could work up in 4K bytes, all with a layered sound scheme that also pays off with lots of rhythm, punctuation, and attenuation. It also features an ambient sound that was taken right from the laboratories of classic sci-fi films.
I believe this is what makes YARS’ Revenge so cool.
It’s one of the first games to compile all those elements together into one cohesive message/strategy/design. And it was all done with one very specific goal in mind... keeping you in the loop!
MAY 2024 • WWW.OLDSCHOOLGAMER.COM
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