daniel-benmergui
Latest
Dev puts Storyteller on hold to turn Ernesto RPG into a full game
Ernesto RPG is a "quick RPG" played entirely in clicks on a field populated by pixelated icons. Start at a cave and form a path to another cave by clicking on icons right next to each other, such as medkits, poisonous spiders, weapons, tunnels that may or may not be insta-death traps, and enemies; level up, make it to the exit cave and proceed to the next level. It's shockingly addictive (and free). It's also from Storyteller developer Daniel Benmergui – Storyteller won the Nuovo award at IGF 2012, and it's still a work in progress. It asks players to put scenes of a comic strip in order to complete the requested actions. Now it's on hold while Benmergui tries to turn Ernesto into a full, commercial game. "I love Storyteller, I think it's an important game and I want it to be released soon, but I've been working on it for three years now and I am starting to feel creatively numb from always dealing with the same project," Benmergui writes. "There are a few important things to work out before I am able to release it, so there's no way I can rush it to completion. Storyteller still needs time and more hard work to be a great game." Benmergui says developing Ernesto will give him much-needed perspective on Storyteller and experience in launching a full game. He plans to be done with Ernesto in less than three months and he emphasizes that this does not mean Storyteller is canceled.
Storyteller preview: In the eye of the beholder
"Wait, save that. No one's done it that way before. You made it more complicated."Daniel Benmergui reached out to grab the mouse and save a screenshot of my panels in his comic-book narrative game, Storyteller, where I had just concocted a tale of love and loss based on the page's prompt, using a trio of static characters. One click and Benmergui let me regain control – he resumed his place over my shoulder in a quiet room off of the main GDC concourse, paper and pen in hand, taking notes on my visible thought processes as they played out on-screen.It didn't feel as if he were judging me for any missteps or silly lapses in narrative logic – In Storyteller, there are no right or wrong answers, as long as the setting is satisfied. It's up to the player to concoct her own story, based on prompts such as "Adam is heartbroken but recovers," "Tim betrays Adam for money but kills himself out of regret" and "A mother murders her own daughter out of jealousy."
Gaming poet Benmergui announces a comic-book puzzler, 'Storyteller'
Daniel Benmergui creates games as if he were a tortured artist trapped in a game developer's body, and his newly announced project, Storyteller, appears to be from his lighter Existentialist-Satire period. Benmergui calls Storyteller his "most ambitious project," mixing comic-book style narrative with a "more 'gamey'" feel than his other experimental titles, Today I Die and I Wish I Were the Moon. Benmergui makes games out of poetry (or poetry out of games; or nothing out of nothing for the nihilists in the audience) and in 2010 he was a Nuovo award nominee at the Independent Games Festival for Today I Die. He plans to make Storyteller more visually striking than his previous works, with a heavy puzzle element, and is hoping to finish it in a year's time for Mac, PC and iPad.
TUAW's Daily App: Today I Die Again
I seem to have started off the week with some quality experimental gaming on the iPhone, so let's continue that trend with this great title called Today I Die Again from indie developer Daniel Benmergui. I met Daniel at IndieCade 2009 in Culver City, CA, and this is one of a few "games" he's brought to life. I put quotes around "games" because they're more like interactive stories. Benmergui's apps combine sometimes absurd graphics with words and sounds to create vignettes of experience, sometimes uplifting and witty, and sometimes sad and thoughtful. As of this writing the app is a free download, though I'm not sure how long it will stay that way given that it's being featured as a Free App a Day. But even if the price has gone back up, you can play through the game in its entirety for free online, then go buy the app if you want to support Benmergui and his terrific work. Make sure to play some of his other titles, too. I especially like I Wish I Were the Moon and Storyteller, but they're all good. Benmergui was doing his work even before Apple's platform was publicly available, but the App Store has been and continues to be a great breeding ground for very independent developers. Maybe we'll do a whole week here of interesting experimental games like these.
