You can call it jumping on the bandwagon if you like, because that’s pretty much what we’ve done here, but we have now launched a channel on Twitch TV, which has become the de facto Internet standard for livestreaming in the gaming world. We’re thrilled to join Twitch, and are working now on programming ideas (so please let us know what you’d like to see!). In the meantime, as pretty much just a “test,” I recorded myself playing the first few levels of Insaniquarium, with commentary, just to make sure it all works, and to experiment with the idea of doing video versions of my periodic “From the PopCap Vault” blog pieces, in which I go through our back catalog to talk about old games. Dumb idea? Fun idea? Get a real job? Let me know what you think. Oh, and buy Insaniquarium! One of our best games ever!

Watch live video from PopCap on Twitch

Greetings, earthlings, and happy Monday! It is time, once again, to pry open the PopCap vaults, Geraldo Rivera style, in search of long forgotten or just perhaps slightly less hyped PopCap gold. One thing we’ve learned over the years is that people tend to like our games, but they don’t always necessarily know that we made them. Actually, that goes for some of us at PopCap too, especially the more absent-minded and bewildered amongst us. And then there are the games that, sadly, and sometimes unjustifiably, hardly anyone remembers at all — good games that never fully got their due.

Take, for example, the case of Talismania, from 2006. Here we have a fun, challenging, and charming puzzle game, one that — like all the great PopCap games — starts out simple but gets increasingly complex as you progress, and one that, unlike some of our games, doesn’t ask you to match three of anything. Yes, in this game, we explored an entirely different mechanic! Not only that, but you get to play as King Midas, which not even supposedly “cooler” games like Halo let you do. The guy turns stuff into gold, which we’ll take over an uncharismatic, helmeted alien killer any day.

In any event, you play as King Midas, though not on one of his better days. It seems that the King’s Midas Touch has accidentally transformed his daughter, Marygold, into a golden statue. Zeus, slumming from his throne on Mount Olympus to appear in this computer game, has agreed to help Midas transform Marygold back if Midas uses magical talismans to make money to spend on others rather than himself. As you solve each of the game’s puzzles, builders will take the coins you earn to build structures for local townspeople in need, thus fulfilling Midas’ obligation and saving Marygold. Yes, it is a heartwarming tale with a message: That it is better to give away your money rather than hoard it for yourself. And you can follow Midas’ example and give your money to us to play this heartwarming tale for only $9.95.

About the game itself, it has a few cool things going on. You are presented with a grid of hexagonal tiles, inside of which are sections of a pathway. You must rotate the tiles to line up the pathway, while collecting the two or more talisman tiles that appear on each level. As you clear the talismans, you earn coins, with each level requiring a certain amount of coins to complete. Talismania boasts one of PopCap’s cooler musical scores, performed on classical instruments and sounding vaguely Greek-like at times, as well as a goofy cartoon style created by longtime PopCap artist Matt Holmberg. Once you complete the game’s Story mode, you unlock a Hero mode in which you do basically the same thing, but now with a timer.

What Talismania lacks in visceral thrills or action it makes up for in more methodical strategic thinking. Plus, again, you get the valuable lesson that it is better to share your riches than keep them for yourself. We like to think of ourselves not just as game makers, but also as teachers — philosophers, if you will — imparting valuable life lessons upon you as you spin the hexagons around and collect coins. No, it may be no substitute for a college degree, but for anyone who tells you computer games are immoral or a source of social decay, Talismania stands proud as a beacon of wisdom and reason. Just as I was a better person for writing this blog post, you’ll be a better person for playing this game. Congratulations.

But sometimes you don’t want a roller coaster. Sometimes you want to ride the teacups. And sometimes what your heart longs for is a quiet, tranquil glide along the canal in a gondola.

If you think that sounds crazy, that's because you haven't tried it yet.

When we put up our poll on Tuesday, I was pleased as punch to see not only a fair percentage of votes but even a comment in support of my pick, Venice! (Perhaps more than one comment… the reply of “add me” is a little ambiguous. “Add” you to the list of folks who’d love to see Venice for iPad?  Sure thing!  ”Add” you as a friend?  Coming on a little strong there, guy. “Add” you to the menu? Wrong post, buddy, Zombie’s on Wednesday.)

And sure, 6% isn't much, but Zuma is unfair competition.

BlogRiders may have picked up on our quiet love for Venice over the last year. We have a tendency to bring it up in almost any list of games. When I wandered around the office asking people to name their favorite PopStrip, more than one simply exclaimed, “Gondola!” And yet, I suspect not everyone has actually played this little gem of a game, and I hope to change that.

The first thing you’ll notice about Venice is the absolutely beautiful art.

Well, and the kinda creepy baby. You get used to him.

The colors are rich and vibrant, the backgrounds filled with vines and flowers against deep red bricks, aged stones, and skies the lush hues of sunrise, dusk, and everything in between. This game is just so pretty to look at, it’s good for the spirit.

And then there’s the deceptively simple gameplay. You start out with that tutorial above, and you think, “Aim and shoot shapes? Easy.”

Like fish in a barrel, so are the shapes from the gondola. Or so you imagine.

But there’s so much complexity that develops over the course of the game. The obstacles add up, and there are slots you just cannot shoot at directly — you have to use the planes and angles to bounce the shapes into place, like a game of billiards. Then the obstacles start moving, and you not only have to plan around their angles, you have to wait for them to line up just right.

Here, for instance, I utterly failed to line up my shot to get that wind tube to deliver the heart to its home. It will ricochet all over the board, and I'll have to chase it down to avoid sinking.

That need for patience and deliberation, to me, is the heart of Venice. You can’t rush through it. If I want to challenge myself with speed and reflexes and decision-making on the fly, I’ll take on Iron Frog mode in Zuma’s Revenge.  But if I want a challenge that’s more like a zen state, I go for Venice every time.  It’s a soothing experience that pleases the eye and stimulates the mind.

So that’s my pitch for my preferred candidate. Download the free trial (right now it’s PC only, but together we can change the world), give it a go, and then, if you haven’t already voted in the poll, go do that too.  You don’t have to vote for Venice… but I wouldn’t be surprised to see its percentage rise throughout the day like the water level of the canals.

Insaniquarium
If it’s remembered for nothing else, Insaniquarium (how great a name is that?), first made in 2002, will be known as the game that dared ask the question: What would happen if aliens invaded your fish tank? It may also be the game that, in retrospect, paved the way for Plants vs. Zombies, as this was the game designed by George Fan (then of Flying Bear Entertainment) before he went on to make PvZ.

As in PvZ, Insaniquarium starts off deceptively easy. It’s just a couple of fish in a bowl, and all you have to do is feed them. It seems so easy at first that it hardly feels like a game. But things ramp up soon enough, as, um, aliens begin to periodically burst through some kind of extra-dimensional portal into your fish tank and proceed to eat your fish. Based on decades of science fiction, you might think that aliens might aim a little higher, in terms of galactic conquest, than eating a bunch of guppies, but, no matter. These are apparently tiny aliens without much ambition. All you know is, if you don’t want to see the Game Over screen, you need to kill the aliens and protect the fish. Once your last fish has been eaten, you’re done.

Insaniquarium starts easily enough. But just you wait.

So here’s where the game gets interesting: As you keep the fish alive, they begin to drop coins. You need to collect the coins to buy fish food and a host of upgrades, including weapons, other creatures, and various other power-ups to stave off the aliens, as well as to purchase the three egg pieces you need to complete the level. Beating a level unlocks yet another new aquatic creature with all new powers (just like the plants in PvZ) which you can then use in subsequent levels. And, again as in PvZ, you’re only allowed to bring in a certain number of creatures each level, so you must pick and choose wisely before starting a level. By the time you get to the game’s final levels, what at first felt like a rather mellow little aquarium simulation has now become a full-on, frantic, super-challenging game of time and resource management, in which you are constantly trying to balance the feeding of fish, collecting of coins, and killing of aliens, with a million things happening all at once on screen. It is gloriously frenetic.

It doesn't take long in each level before things start getting crazy.

What’s most interesting about Insaniquarium, looking back on it nine years later, and in light of current game design, including our own, is how much it forces players to experiment and discover on their own, rather than having everything spelled out. New upgrades will appear in a level with zero explanation of what they do or why you should use them — it’s up to you to buy them and figure it out. Nor does the game explicitly spell out how to kill each new alien type as it appears. In those “old days,” even casual games demanded a bit more “work” and thinking by the player, but the satisfaction of figuring it out, of course, only adds to the sense of reward when you beat it.

As in Plants vs. Zombies, you earn new, cooler items as you go along. But you can only bring a few into each level, so choosing which to take is key to the game's strategy.

If you’re a Plants vs. Zombies fan and have been anxiously awaiting whatever comes next from us for that franchise, give Insaniquarium a shot. We actually still sell the game for PC (not Mac, sadly!), and you can play for free on the Web, too!

And if you’re an old fan of this game and want to chat about it with us, or ask us questions, or even learn about the game’s fun Easter Eggs, come join us in the discussion on the game over at our new PopCap Forums right here!