Indie Spotlight: The Ball

I think it would be safe to say that I’m not the only person that loved Portal. It was limited in what you could do, with your only tool being your Portal gun, but it was that limitation that allowed the game to focus and excel the way it did. Had there been traditional shooter mechanics in Portal, I feel like the game would have spread its unique gameplay opportunities, which is really what Portal is about in the first place, too thin. With all of that said, The Ball is cut very heavily from the Portal cloth.

Brought to us by Teotl Studios, The Ball began as a mod for Unreal Tournament 3, and was then released as a stand-alone game soon after the release of Epic’s Unreal Development Kit. For those not in the know, UDK is basically a free version of Unreal Engine 3 with a lot of the source code left unavailable. Even without the engine’s source code however, it’s still very possible to make just about anything with the proper know-how. Teotl Studios obviously has such know-how, because aside from the visuals, you would never know that it used to be an Unreal Tournament 3 mod.

At this point, I would try and explain the game’s story, but there really isn’t one to speak of. You’re basically just some archeologist or something that gets trapped in a cave that turns into some underground temple. Upon further exploration, you discover a mysterious looking gun with little to no purpose for the moment. It doesn’t take long though before you discover the Ball itself, and the gun you’ve found makes its use abundantly clear. With the gun, you can attract and repel the Ball. At that point and until the end of the game, the Ball is your best and only friend. It helps you solve puzzles, lights your way in dark areas, and is your offensive and defensive weapon. It is your baby, so take it with you everywhere you go!

Considering how important the Ball is then, it makes the game all the more devious in how often it keeps the Ball from you. When you’re not solving puzzles with the Ball, you’re solving puzzles to retrieve the Ball. It’s particularly rough when the game throws any enemy at you when the Ball is out of your reach. On those occasions, the best policy is to keep moving and not stop for even a second. It is helpful that the gun can slightly push your pursuers away, but it also can’t kill them. Speaking of the enemies, they can be quite effective in evading the Ball when you hurl it in their direction and even when you’re trying to hit them from behind. This makes combat much more intense and difficult than you might think. The Ball is controlled completely by physics, and thus your momentum and direction matter a great deal. It can also be difficult to bring the Ball back to you immediately after launching it because you need to stop the forward motion you’ve created and reverse it. This can cost you precious seconds when a horde of mummies are headed right for you. It’s not a problem, I just point it out because it adds to the intensity of combat.

The visuals in the game are very nice, especially considering the entire game is underground. All of the textures are high-res and detailed except for possibly the larger rock textures. That’s not a major issue though, because it’s rarely seen. The gun, Ball, and enemies are particularly well done, with the finest details covering every aspect of their models. The environments are well thought out, and make the puzzles appropriately difficult, but not impossible.

If I had any complaints about the game (aside from the weak story, which I can forgive because of the excellent gameplay), it would be in the sound. You’re going to be hearing the sound of your gun pushing the Ball around for roughly 6 of the 7 hours the game takes to complete. While it is a great sound, it’s so loud that it overpowers most of the other sounds and the music. The music I was able to hear was very nice, but I probably missed most of the score because of the Ball’s movement sound. The voice-acting was also admittedly bland and mostly uninteresting, but I will give the voice-actors an A for effort. You’ve gotta start somewhere right? I would suggest adding a little more enthusiasm to the performances, instead of just reading solely from the script. Keep practicing voice-actors, you’ll get it!

Overall, you’re going to be playing The Ball for its gameplay and not much else. Considering how great the gameplay here actually is though, I would say that any of the issues with the story and sound can be easily overlooked. Great job Teotl Studios! I look forward to whatever you come up with next!

The Ball Overall Score:

              System Requirements

• OS: Windows XP SP2, Vista, or Windows 7
• Processor: 2.0+ GHz or better (dual core recommended)
• Memory: 1 GB (2 GB recommended)
• Graphics: SM3 Compatible video card (GF6800 minimum - GF8800 or higher recommended)          
• DirectX®: DirectX® 9
• Hard Drive: 1.5 GB
• Sound: DirectX® 9-compatible