A "Diamond" in the Rough

Hello there fellow puzzle gamers,

My name is Brian and I’m a co-author on this blog. I figured a good way to start out postings would be to talk about one of Core Concept’s games and compare it to the current gaming industry. My game of choice is Rich Diamond. Now I worked on this game back in the late 1990’s, so I’ve been playing it for a while. With the modern gaming industry becoming a billion dollar affair it’s really hard for simple games to compete with HD graphics and loads of hype.

The major point of interest, at least in my mind, about Rich Diamond (RD) is the game play. It’s one of those rare games that you can pick up and play for 5-10 minutes and be entertained and move on with your day, or you can play for hours on end trying to solve that next puzzle. As a young professional, I don’t always have the time to dedicate to long story-driven games, like when I was in college. RD allows me a quick break from work, a chance to flex my brain power a bit, and then get back to the task at hand. But as I mentioned above, RD is one of those games that sneaks into your mind and you’ll catch yourself sitting around wondering how to use that boulder to your advantage, or how to avoid that pesky robot.

The biggest draw for me is the mental stimulation and engaging, yet simple nature of the game. See gem, collect gem. Doesn’t sound hard, does it? So many games today have long, engrossing stories that really act more as interactive movies than simple games. And while I love a good story, sometimes the world simply doesn’t allow you to spend an hour and a half to reach that next check point, or two hours to beat those really long, difficult levels. RD is a fantastic mix of pick up and play, and play all night.

Now I know that I’m biased in my opinion of the game, being a former level designer, but I also own all 3 major “next gen” video game consoles. I do enjoy HD graphics, and interactive stories, but RD has always had a special place in my mind where the game challenges me to think several steps ahead (literally) rather than simply read and react. When ranking where RD stands versus newer technology I honestly have to say that the only games that engage me more than RD are ones that involve motion sensing technology and a small white console. If you’re looking for a game to challenge your mind, and really force you to think as you play, RD is a great choice. When it comes to games, newer may be flashier and cost $60 a pop, but I’ll take my dust-covered, gem collecting, spider smashing Rich Diamond any day of the week.