Videogames are usually thought of as complete experiences that are crafted from the dreams and desires of a creative mind and the passion of a team of like-minded developers. There is a growing trend as of late to leave the canvas slightly unfinished for the player to input their own ideas and creative talents into a game. LittleBigPlanet is the best modern example of this new kind of game that relies heavily on the user generated content to fill in purposely made gaps. WarioWare: D.I.Y. (DIY) mashes the insane world of micro mini-games and user generated content together in a brilliant way that will make game developers out of anyone willing to pay attention.
For the uninitiated, WarioWare games take a comical approach to the traditional mini-game genre by injecting a huge helping of absurdist humor and featuring mini-games that last for a handful of seconds. It works perfectly for the Nintendo DS since the game plays to the handheld’s strength in portability. A WarioWare game allows gamers to squeeze in two to three mini-games even if there is literally only a moment to play. The rapid fire approach is brilliantly eclectic and the scattershot collection of games brings some strangely awesome gameplay no matter what the circumstance or context a WarioWare game is played.
Enter DIY. The crux of the DIY is it provides an entire suite of tools to create original games, comics and music in addition to professionally content already on the cart. User created games, in turn, can be consumed in the mix of mini-game bonanza or shared with friends over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. There is a loose story associated with DIY, which isn’t much to write home about but the moment-to-moment writing is. Wario will make inside jokes about the gaming industry and the relationship between Publishers (him) and the Developers (the player). There are simply spots where it is impossible to keep a straight face because the genuinely funny script that makes satirical commentary on what it is like being a developer. The task of creating brand new content might sound daunting but the tutorials and tools make DIY accessible to the most novice, wannabe game developer, even if it take awhile.
The process to create new content comes in tiers. The first tier isn’t part of game creation. Music and Comics are the easiest areas to comprehend without going through massive amounts of tutorials. Those modes also help act as practice for the real star of the game, the game creation. The second tier eases the player into the game creating by offering up games that are 99 percent complete and it is up to the gamer to fill into the few missing spots. The majority of time spent with DIY is in the third tier by dreaming up crazy games and making them a reality.
Tutorials take quite awhile to get through. They feel like they drag on since the ADD nature of the mini-games is a 180 from the pacing of the explanations of the tools used to make the games. The information is necessary but it might have helped the learning process if the tool icons didn’t take a whimsical appearance that makes it hard to discern what the tools actually do. When the training wheels come off, there is still trial and error when it comes to finding the right option. The benefit of learning the game design process, faults and all, is discovering a powerful creation tool.
Once the basics are nailed down, whipping up wonderfully strange micro mini-games is a cinch to do. The tools are remarkably flexible and allow for some diverse gameplay. The lovingly crafted games never get too deep or complex so it is easy to digest and keeps the burst gameplay elegantly simple when thrown in with the other similar games pre-loaded with DIY. Thinking of new ways to create a game or alter the win/lose conditions is something totally engrossing and makes DIY an easy game to recommend for anyone with the faintest interest in how games are made from concept to execution. If the power to create fails to connect with a gamer, for whatever reason, there is still plenty of game to still recommend this as one of the best WarioWare games. It is an unlikely scenario since DIY uses hooks by offering different ways to create content that all funnel back into making games.
The Rundown
Much like the “Game Maker 21” in the game spits out micro mini-games, DIY will spit out gamers interested in learning more about the process of developing a video game. Even if the interface is over-designed, this is the closest thing to a true evolution to Mario Paint this generation might see.
