Today I felt like gaming. A feeling I haven't had in a long, long time. This urge pops up every now and then, but I usually forget about it just as quickly. Today I didn't. The feeling returned.
I used to love playing games in the past and played loads of PC games during my teens. I wrote several posts on this theme, months ago, and will link to them underneath this post.
My Younger Brother
My brother - who is 9 year younger than me - was spoon fed with games. He got the chance to play games like Wolfenstein before he even spoke German ( Difficult joke here. Let's say that he was very young when I played - thus he played - this notorious WWII game ) You know how it goes with little brothers, they tend to get interested in what their older brothers do...
My Short Bout of Programming
In my mid teens, I remember getting myself some books on programming and the making of computer games. I did the best I could, to try and understand the basics of QBasic and Turbo Pascal. But - for several reasons, I never really got into it. Who knows, perhaps my witch of a maths teacher was the reason for me loosing interest in everything slightly mathematics related. Or, perhaps, the universe just had different plans for me. Perhaps the universe wanted me to join Steemit.
Let's Cut to the story of my brother here
In his very early teens - at the start of this century - he started programming his own games. He discovered a freeware tool called 'gamemaker', that made it possible for non programmers to make games all by themselves. Being a designer with plenty of ideas, this was just what he needed. He started on a prolific quest of making dozens - perhaps even a hundred - of more or less finished games. It ate up most of his time, besides school but the little boy was passionate. And our mother, worried at first, soon gave up on telling him how much time he could spend in front of the computer.
Brothers in Games
All this took place, around the time that I left my parent's house. But - whenever I visited or my brother visited me - it was all about games. And, I can tell you one thing, I was probably the one who playtested almost all of his games, when possible. And, being the older brother, I made sure to pay him plenty of compliments. I guess I was trying to give him the kind of confidence that I never really got, while growing up. And, besides that, most of his games were just plain fun and fun to play! :>)
Flash Forward to the Now...
It's more than 15 years later, and the little company that he and a classmate started in 2010, really took off. They made a name for themselves in the indie game world and put The Netherlands on the map again.
The last two years or so, after releasing their biggest game ever, a game that they laboured on for two years, they decided it was time to take a break and recharge their batteries. My brother started traveling the world with his girlfriend and his companion went his own way his and - not too long ago - got married.
You gotta Scratch that Itch
I guess my brother couldn't help himself. The game making itch was hard to ignore. So, about a year ago, he started to work on a smaller game. The type of project that more in line with what he used to make in his early days. Less work and more fun. This time, he decided to collaborate with his girlfriend - who is also in the gaming industry - and two of their close friends. As is the case for bloggers on Steemit (take me for example), most indie gamemakers can work wherever they want, by just carrying their laptop with them. So that's what they did.
Although, in the end, their 'little' game took up a little more time and energy then they had aimed for, it was released not too long ago and I am sure that they are pretty happy with the result and its success.
Alright, I'm going back to what I was planning to do tonight, playing this game and - in the meantime practicing my Portuguese.
Because, here's the fun thing. As I told you at the start of this post, I felt like gaming tonight. I decided to open my Steam account and was about to play the remastered version of the awesome 1998 game 'Monkey Island'. I then thought, why not play my brother's game, MINIT, that he gifted to me.
I playtested this game quite a lot - while spending time with my brother and his girlfriend, This took place, before I left The Netherlands and while they were actually there temporarily.
BACK TO THE NOW
I started the game, went to the MENU to check the controls and discovered something that I had forgotten about. You are able to play the game in several languages! Being in Portugal and focused on improving my Portuguese, I decided to pick Portuguese. This put an immediate smile on my face. Playing my brother's fun game and learning Portuguese along the way, must be the best of two worlds!
I am not a game reviewer and I am biased, as I know the brains behind this game very well. But believe me when I tell you this adventure (type game) is worth going on. It is extremely cute, loads of fun and not time consuming at all. It takes a minute per turn, hence the name 'MINIT'. And you can play as many - or few - turns in a row as you like. But, be careful, it's extremely addictive.
Alright, I'm going back to playing...
In case I piqued your interest, the game itself can't be found on Steemit but you can find it on Steam and multiple other platforms. Here's a link to its website: MinitGame
All images in this post are screenshots from MINIT
Earlier gaming posts written by me:
My Favorite PC Games: Winter Challenge, 1991, Dangerous Dave (1990, Prince of Persia, Titus The Fox (1992), Skyroads (1993), Lotus and, last but not least: My Fav PC Games Back to the 80s