HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-01-18, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018. PAGE 19.
Blyth native's 'Way of the Passive Fist' on the way
Playing defence
In Way of the Passive Fist, above, which includes music and sound design work by Blyth native
Orie Falconer, the trick is to block and dodge attacks, rather than go on the offensive. Falconer
has been working on the game for over a year and it's now set to release in the coming weeks.
(Courtesy photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Within the next few weeks,
Household Games will release Way
of the Passive Fist on all major game
platforms. It has been a labour of
love for the team, which includes
Blyth native Orie Falconer who
designed the game's music and
sound effects.
The game is a new take on a
classic game genre, affectionately
known as a "beat 'em up" that
demands players pummel as many
enemies as possible to get to an end -
level boss. Way of the Passive Fist,
however, turns the typical "beat 'em
up" game on its head and rewards
players for playing defensively,
conserving energy and tiring out
their opponents.
Falconer, the son of Kevin and
Lorie Falconer, first became
involved in the project in 2016. He
had worked at Vast Studios, which
creates video games for cell phones,
where he met Jason Canam, a man
Falconer has essentially been hired
to replace at the Toronto studio.
In Canam, Falconer said it was the
first time he had met another video
game developer who was as
passionate about the craft and the
world of video games as he was and
Falconer instantly felt a kinship with
him.
The two would go on to meet once
again at the Toronto Game Jam, an
annual competition that tasks video
game developers with creating a
game from scratch in just two or
three days.
Canam saw what Falconer was
working on in the competition,
specifically his sound and music
work, and had what Falconer
remembers as a "great reaction" to
his work.
"He said, 'this is what video
games sound like,"' Falconer said,
adding that Canam felt the work
Falconer was going in the
competition was very genuine.
He and Canam would go on to
work together on a handful of
different projects, so when the
concept for Way of the Passive Fist
Enjoying the fruits
Blyth native Orie Falconer is seen here at one of the many
gaming conferences he's attended thanks to his work on
Way of the Passive Fist, which will be released in the
coming weeks. (Photo submitted)
was on the table, Falconer got the
call. He said he was thrilled to have
that opportunity.
Falconer was then provided with
stage breakdowns, settings and
artwork to aid in his creation of both
music and sound effects.
Because of the accessible nature
of the game, Falconer said that
crafting the game's sound effects
was one of the most interesting
challenges he's had in his career.
Because the name of the game in
Way of the Passive Fist is defence,
the game's creators wanted an audio
cue every time an enemy was about
to attack. And, because of the
rhythmic nature of the game, that
was quite a challenge.
However, Falconer said that
because of how the game is
designed, it's accessible to gamers of
all stripes, even those who are
visually -impaired.
"We wanted it to be accessible to
all," Falconer said. "No matter what
kind of gamer, we wanted to allow
all people to play."
Way of the Passive Fist takes place
on a desert planet that's too close to
a volatile sun. The heat has turned
the world into a wasteland and
becoming exhausted is akin to a
death sentence. It's this setting upon
which the game's strategic
foundation is built.
The Wanderer is at the heart of
Way of the Passive Fist. He is a
character who defends himself by
blocking and dodging enemies,
allowing enemies to tire themselves
out, leaving them vulnerable to a
simple shove or tap on the head to
defeat them once they've essentially
defeated themselves.
Early impressions of the game
have been positive, as its creators,
including Falconer, have been
making the rounds in recent months,
attending video game conferences
throughout the United States to help
spread the word.
Canam has said that the game's
inspiration came from a very famous
moment in gaming history, referred
to as "Moment 37".
Moment 37 refers to a famous
contest between the world's best two
Street Fighter players in 2004. In
what's seen as a remarkable
achievement in the world of
competitive gaming, one player
performing his character's most
powerful attack and his opponent
completely nullified it through a
series of perfectly -timed parries. He
took no damage from the attack and
was able to counter-attack and win
the match.
Canam has said that Moment 37 is
often cited as the most significant
moment in competitive fighting
games and it served as the
inspiration for Way of the Passive
Fist.
Work on Way of the Passive Fist
has been tremendously creatively
fulfilling, Falconer said, adding that
it has been one of the highlights of
his career and something he's always
wanted to do.
Falconer is passionate about his
work, saying that many modern
video games have lost their way in
terms of music, compared to the
heyday of video game music in the
late 1980s and early 1990s.
That music, he said, was very
melodic, driving and energetic. If
done correctly, Falconer said, the
music should almost play a character
role in telling the story. With
different music for a specific level or
character, music should share in the
DNA and style of a game, although
sadly that has not been the case in
recent years.
"The music should be part of a
game's identity," Falconer said.
Falconer has now been working in
game development in Toronto for a
number of years. The Blyth native
studied the craft when it was in its
very early stages.
"I remember playing a game
called Metal Gear Solid and really
appreciating the way it told its story.
It was so much different than any
other medium," Falconer said.
"There were moments where things
like saving data in the memory card
and the game's box itself had a direct
impact on narrative and
progression."
Falconer's love for video games in
high school led him to seek out
education options in video game
development in the early 2000s. He
would go on to study Video Game
Development and Entrepreneurship
at the University of Ontario Institute
of Technology in Oshawa. When he
was in his first year, the course was
still in its infancy. In fact, those who
took the course in its first year had
yet to graduate when Falconer
started his time at the school.
He said he found the education he
was receiving fascinating, but
admitted that it wasn't for everyone.
A running joke throughout the
course, Falconer said, were the
students who arrived thinking they
would spend their days playing
video games, when nothing could be
further from the truth.
Days were grueling, Falconer said,
going over the behind -the -scenes
development of a game in
excruciating detail. Not only were
the technical aspects of game
development explored in detail, but
so too was the business behind
creating a game.
Falconer said he felt right at home
and loved the course, even as others
found it wasn't exactly what they
were expecting it to be.
"As a gamer, you have some sense
of the game's creation through what
you can see in terms of objectives
and animations, but there's so much
more work behind the scenes that
you can't see," Falconer said. "You
might watch a movie and get an idea
of what the director decided on in
terms of story or actors, but there's
also set creation, score, camera
lenses, budget, etc. Learning how to
create an interactive narrative where
the player leads the way, the
different tricks of creating an effect
or focusing a player's attention one
way while you change the world
around them was all very fascinating
to me."
After graduating, Falconer went to
work as Vast Studios, working there
for several years. He has since
moved on to work for the California-
based PlayQ Inc. on a freelance
basis, designing levels for the game
Charm King, played on cell phones,
while working on Way of the Passive
Fist.
While a firm release date has yet
to be pinned down, Falconer said the
game will be released within the
next month. It will be available for
PlayStation 4, XBox One and on PC
through the digital distribution
platform Steam.
The game has already been made
available to play at various public
displays, including last year's PAX
(Penny Arcade Expo) West
conference in Seattle and at the
Canadian National Exhibition in
Toronto last August, among others.
For more information on Way of
the Passive Fist or Household
Games, visit their website at
household-games.com.
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