Tag: The Power of Paint
Encyclopedia
Tag: The Power of Paint is a first-person action and puzzle hybrid video game. The game was developed in 2009 for Microsoft Windows
by Tag Team, a group of students from the DigiPen Institute of Technology
. The game's core mechanic is the use of a special paint sprayed from the player's paint gun to impart physical properties to surfaces, which, in turn, affect the user's movement. Tag won the Independent Games Festival
Student Showcase award in the same year. The project team has since been hired into the Valve Corporation
, using the concepts of Tag as new puzzle elements to their game Portal 2
.
to climb up, or can lay a path of red paint followed by green paint to create a long-distance jump. The player can only die if they fall from a great height, though should this happen they would invariably be revived either at the start of the level or at the most recent checkpoint.
, using paint to tag other players; the development of their base engine for this prototype took about four months. However, this idea was dropped when they found that the painting mechanic was more enjoyable than the actual tagging. For the second prototype, team included the former with additional power-up
s that could be collected. Yet this decision was also revised and power-up functionality was finally transferred to the paint itself, a process that required the developers to redesign the game substantially five months before its projected release. While gauging the initial reactions to Tag, they found that players were easily frustrated with elements of the game. In response, the team developed an in-game editor to quickly iterate playtesting feedback into the level design. Although the developers chose to limit the length of the game to around a half-hour, to render it eligible for the Independent Games Festival, they agreed to produce a more professional version once they had obtained sufficient funding.
in 2008. The developers have been praised by industry journalists for the music, the complexity of the puzzles, and the integration of the graphics with the game's mechanics. Travis Fahs proclaimed it to be the second best independent game of 2008, a "compelling piece of puzzle design", and one they hoped would develop into a full-scale commercial product. Gamespot
commented that the game was a cross between Portal and Mirror's Edge
, and applauded the simple and integrated mechanics.
Since the release of Tag, the programmers have been brought on as developers for Valve Corporation
. Their work was incorporated into new puzzle elements involving the paint concept into Portal 2
, in a similar manner that another DigiPen project team, Narbacular Drop
, was brought into Valve with their work forming the basis of Portal.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
by Tag Team, a group of students from the DigiPen Institute of Technology
DigiPen Institute of Technology
DigiPen Institute of Technology is a college located in Redmond, Washington which has a focus on computer science, computer engineering, and art with emphasis in creating video games.- History :...
. The game's core mechanic is the use of a special paint sprayed from the player's paint gun to impart physical properties to surfaces, which, in turn, affect the user's movement. Tag won the Independent Games Festival
Independent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference, the largest annual gathering of the indie video game industry. It was founded in 1998 to assist and inspire innovation in video game development and to recognize the best independent video game developers...
Student Showcase award in the same year. The project team has since been hired into the Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
, using the concepts of Tag as new puzzle elements to their game Portal 2
Portal 2
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
.
Gameplay
The player is tasked with maneuvering through greyscale cityscapes, which serve as platform-oriented puzzles. To solve each puzzle, the player must use a paint gun that has the capacity for an unlimited quantity of three types of unique surface-altering paint. However, the cans for each paint type must be located in the level before the player can use that particular color. The earliest to be accessed is the green paint, which allows players to jump on horizontal surfaces, or bounce off of vertical surfaces. The second paint, red, causes the player to rapidly gain momentum. Blue paint, the final type, enables the player to walk on any surface, regardless of whether it is a vertical plane or ceiling. The paint gun also has a removal feature, which erases any paint that has been sprayed down. Players are able to use a combination of the paints to help solve the puzzles: the player can coat two sides of a narrow vertical space with green paint to execute a wall jumpWall jump
This article is about the video game move. For its real-world counterpart, see wall flip.A wall jump is a technique players can execute in several video games.-Technique:...
to climb up, or can lay a path of red paint followed by green paint to create a long-distance jump. The player can only die if they fall from a great height, though should this happen they would invariably be revived either at the start of the level or at the most recent checkpoint.
Development
Tag was developed by a team of seven students as part of their course at DigiPen, and took approximately 18 months to create. This process included the writing of a complete 3-D game engine from scratch. Their initial concept involved emulating the playground game of tagTag (game)
Tag is a playground game played worldwide that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to tag or touch them, usually with their fingers. There are many variations...
, using paint to tag other players; the development of their base engine for this prototype took about four months. However, this idea was dropped when they found that the painting mechanic was more enjoyable than the actual tagging. For the second prototype, team included the former with additional power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s that could be collected. Yet this decision was also revised and power-up functionality was finally transferred to the paint itself, a process that required the developers to redesign the game substantially five months before its projected release. While gauging the initial reactions to Tag, they found that players were easily frustrated with elements of the game. In response, the team developed an in-game editor to quickly iterate playtesting feedback into the level design. Although the developers chose to limit the length of the game to around a half-hour, to render it eligible for the Independent Games Festival, they agreed to produce a more professional version once they had obtained sufficient funding.
Reception
Tag won the Student Competition at the Independent Games FestivalIndependent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference, the largest annual gathering of the indie video game industry. It was founded in 1998 to assist and inspire innovation in video game development and to recognize the best independent video game developers...
in 2008. The developers have been praised by industry journalists for the music, the complexity of the puzzles, and the integration of the graphics with the game's mechanics. Travis Fahs proclaimed it to be the second best independent game of 2008, a "compelling piece of puzzle design", and one they hoped would develop into a full-scale commercial product. Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
commented that the game was a cross between Portal and Mirror's Edge
Mirror's Edge
Mirror's Edge is a single-player first person action-adventure video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. The game was announced on July 10, 2007, and was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2008. A Microsoft Windows version was released...
, and applauded the simple and integrated mechanics.
Since the release of Tag, the programmers have been brought on as developers for Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
. Their work was incorporated into new puzzle elements involving the paint concept into Portal 2
Portal 2
Portal 2 is a first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to the 2007 video game Portal, it was announced on March 5, 2010, following a week-long alternate reality game based on new patches to the original game...
, in a similar manner that another DigiPen project team, Narbacular Drop
Narbacular Drop
Narbacular Drop is an environmental puzzle video game developed by Nuclear Monkey Software. It was released free online in 2005 on PC . It was the senior game project of students attending DigiPen. The gameplay consists of navigating a dungeon using an innovative portal system...
, was brought into Valve with their work forming the basis of Portal.
External links
- Tag: The Power of Paint at DigiPen