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Tag: The Power of Paint
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{{Infobox VG| title = Tag: The Power of Paint |image = |developer = Tag Team |publisher = [[DigiPen]] |designer = '''Engine:'''<br/>Brett English<br/>Tejeev Kohli<br/>Pongthep "Bank" Charnchaichujit<br/>Ted Rivera<br/>'''Art:'''<br/>Josh Jones<br/>Tyler Woods<br/>Tatsuang "Tan" Tantakosol |released = 2008 (PC) |genre = [[Video puzzle game|Puzzle]], [[First-person action game|first-person action]] |modes = [[Single player]] |platforms = [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] ([[DirectX|DX9]]) |media = |requirements = |input = Keyboard, mouse }} '''Tag: The Power of Paint''' is a [[first-person action game|first-person action]] and [[video puzzle game|puzzle]] hybrid [[video game]], developed by Tag Team, a group students from the [[DigiPen Institute of Technology]], for the [[personal computer]] (PC) in 2009. The game's core mechanic is the use of a special paint sprayed from the player's paint gun to impart physical properties to surfaces, which, in turn, affect the user's movement. ''Tag'' won the [[Independent Games Festival]] Student Showcase award in the same year. The project team has since been hired into the [[Valve Corporation]], using the concepts of ''Tag'' as new puzzle elements to their game ''[[Portal 2]]''. ==Gameplay== [[File:Tag-power-of-paint.jpg|thumb|left|In ''Tag'', the player uses a paint gun to spray surfaces with three types of paint so that they can then arrive at difficult-to-reach locations.]] The player is tasked with maneuvering through greyscale cityscapes, which serve as platform-orientated puzzles. To solve each puzzle, the player must use a paint gun that has the capacity for an unlimited quantity of three types of unique surface-altering paint. However, the cans for each paint type must be located in the level before the player can use that particular color. The earliest to be accessed is the green paint, which allows players to jump on horizontal surfaces, or bounce off of vertical surfaces. The second paint, red, causes the player to rapidly gain momentum. Blue paint, the final type, enables the player to walk on any surface, regardless of whether it is a vertical plane or ceiling. The paint gun also has a removal feature, which erases any paint that has been sprayed down. Players are able to use a combination of the paints to help solve the puzzles: the player can coat two sides of a narrow vertical space with green paint to execute a [[wall jump]] to climb up, or can lay a path of red paint followed by green paint to create a long-distance jump. The player can only die if they fall from a great height, though should this happen they would invariably be revived either at the start of the level or at the most recent checkpoint. ==Development== ''Tag'' was developed by a team of seven students as part of their course at [[DigiPen]], and took approximately 18 months to create.<ref name=digipen>{{citeweb |url=https://www.digipen.edu/studentprojects/tag/ |title=''Tag'' Wins Best Student Game Award at the 2009 Independent Games Festival |publisher=[[DigiPen]] |accessdate=2010-03-08}}</ref> This process included the writing of a complete 3-D game engine from scratch.<ref name="dev interview">{{Cite video | url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd1bogHS58A | title = Independent Games Festival Student Showcase Winners, 2009 | date= 2009-04-17 | accessdate= 2010-03-08 | publisher = Chroma Coders | people = Tejeev Kohli | medium = Interview }}</ref> Their initial concept involved emulating the playground game of [[tag]], using paint to tag other players; the development of their base engine for this prototype took about four months. However, this idea was dropped when they found that the painting mechanic was more enjoyable than the actual tagging. For the second prototype, team included the former with additional [[power-up]]s that could be collected. Yet this decision was also revised and power-up functionality was finally transferred to the paint itself, a process that required the developers to redesign the game substantially five months before its projected release.<ref name="dev interview"/> While gauging the initial reactions to ''Tag'', they found that players were easily frustrated with elements of the game. In response, the team developed an in-game editor to quickly iterate playtesting feedback into the level design. Although the developers chose to limit the length of the game to around a half-hour, to render it eligible for the Independent Games Festival, they agreed to produce a more professional version once they had obtained sufficient funding.<ref name="dev interview"/> ==Reception== ''Tag'' won the Student Competition at the [[Independent Games Festival]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.igf.com/2009finalistswinners.html | title = 2009 Independent Games Festival Winners | year = 2009 | accessdate = 2010-03-08 | publisher = [[Independent Games Festival]] }}</ref> The developers have been praised by industry journalists for the music, the complexity of the puzzles, and the integration of the graphics with the game's mechanics. [[IGN]] proclaimed it to be the second best independent game of 2008, a "compelling piece of puzzle design", and one they hoped would develop into a full-scale commercial product.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://pc.ign.com/articles/947/947994p2.html | title = Independent's Day Vol. 17: Top 10 Indie Games | first = Travis | last = Fahs | date = 2009-01-23 | accessdate = 2010-03-08 | publisher = [[IGN]] }}</ref> [[Gamespot]] commented that the game was a cross between ''[[Portal]]'' and ''[[Mirror's Edge]]'', and applauded the simple and integrated mechanics.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/portal/news.html?sid=6233944 | title = Indie Spotlight - ''Tag: The Power of Paint'' | publisher = [[Gamespot]] | author = MAMerrific | date =2009-04-01 | accessdate = 2010-03-08 }}</ref> Since the release of ''Tag'', the students have been brought on as developers for [[Valve Corporation]]. Their work was incorporated into new puzzle elements involving the paint concept into ''[[Portal 2]]'', in a similar manner that another DigiPen project team, ''[[Narbacular Drop]]'', was brought into Valve with their work forming the basis of ''Portal''.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62689 | title = Valve Hires DigiPen Team; Seemingly for Portal 2 | first = Brian | last = Leahy | date = 2010-03-08 | accessdate = 2010-03-08 | publisher = [[Shacknews]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://e3.g4tv.com/games/xbox-360/63787/portal-2/articles/71011/E3-2010-Portal-2-Preview/ | title = E3 2010: Portal 2 Preview | first = Jake | last = Gaskill | date = 2010-06-18 | accessdate = 2010-06-19 | work = [[G4TV]] }}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www.digipen.edu/studentprojects/tag/ Tag: The Power of Paint] at [[DigiPen]] {{Half-Life series}} [[Category:2008 video games]] [[Category:Puzzle video games]] [[Category:Video games developed in the United States]] [[Category:Windows games]]
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