The new Tim Schafer/Double Fine production is called Brutal Legend. It appears to be about a heavy metal roadie who goes to some alternate universe in which he cuts people in half with an axe and sprouts bat wings.
All to the tune of "The Mob Rules" -- which gets HUGE points from me.
Looks great!
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
EA WTB Bioware/Pandemic
It's been about a week since the surprise announcement that EA is going to buy Bioware/Pandemic. Industry analysts weigh in on the subject, and all seem to agree it was a good move on EA's part. It will be very interesting to see the games that come out of this merger/partnership/buyout. The best point made in the above article, I think, is that the games that both Bioware and Pandemic make (RPGs, action-adventure) nicely complement the games that EA makes (sports, driving, movie licenses).
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Top 5 Consoles
As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I started to think about the best gaming console systems EVAR. Why? Dunno.
1. SNES - The apex of 2D gaming and features some of Nintendo's finest first-party titles ever.
2. PLAYSTATION 2 - Seriously, how many games have been released for this thing? Something like 124,000? The best value bar none, and still going.
3. ATARI 2600 - Gaming in its purest form, when graphics didn't matter and it was all about gameplay. Not to mention the fond gaming memories.
4. DREAMCAST - Poor, poor Dreamcast. You were so much better than the PS1! And you had some great games! And a fine controller, too.
5. NES - Not only did the NES bring gaming back from the dead, it had River City Ransom. That alone puts it in the Top 5.
Creeping up: the Nintendo DS is my current favorite platform. It's so sassy!
1. SNES - The apex of 2D gaming and features some of Nintendo's finest first-party titles ever.
2. PLAYSTATION 2 - Seriously, how many games have been released for this thing? Something like 124,000? The best value bar none, and still going.
3. ATARI 2600 - Gaming in its purest form, when graphics didn't matter and it was all about gameplay. Not to mention the fond gaming memories.
4. DREAMCAST - Poor, poor Dreamcast. You were so much better than the PS1! And you had some great games! And a fine controller, too.
5. NES - Not only did the NES bring gaming back from the dead, it had River City Ransom. That alone puts it in the Top 5.
Creeping up: the Nintendo DS is my current favorite platform. It's so sassy!
Maple Story Ads
Some folks at work yesterday were talking about the new Maple Story TV ads which have been cropping up on cable. They are certainly attention-grabbing, although their effectiveness is debatable. (Hmmm, reminds me of an ad campaign for a certain all-you-can-eat games subscription service.)
Snails:
Fish:
Pig:
Despite the weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird vibe, I have to admit that there's a certain charm to the line, "Is that pig wearing a gentleman's hat?" But: the fact that we do not see even one image from the game in these ads -- to tie it back to the live-action silliness -- is a shocking creative error in my opinion.
The ads can also be found here, on the Nexon site that launched in conjunction with the ad campaign. Wish them luck!
Snails:
Fish:
Pig:
Despite the weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird vibe, I have to admit that there's a certain charm to the line, "Is that pig wearing a gentleman's hat?" But: the fact that we do not see even one image from the game in these ads -- to tie it back to the live-action silliness -- is a shocking creative error in my opinion.
The ads can also be found here, on the Nexon site that launched in conjunction with the ad campaign. Wish them luck!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Halo 3 Psychologists
You probably saw last month's Wired cover story about the development of Halo 3. Microsoft's testing lab for the game studied an extraordinary number of gameplay elements to fine-tune the game for the largest number of players.
Today, NPR reports on the same thing, noting the "psychologists" that Microsoft employs to test Halo 3's playability. I've often scoffed at the mainstream media's insistence that game companies hire psycohologists to make their products "more addictive" -- but in this case, it appears to be the case.
Gee, I wonder if anyone is gonna buy this thing? Find out tonight at midnight!
Today, NPR reports on the same thing, noting the "psychologists" that Microsoft employs to test Halo 3's playability. I've often scoffed at the mainstream media's insistence that game companies hire psycohologists to make their products "more addictive" -- but in this case, it appears to be the case.
Gee, I wonder if anyone is gonna buy this thing? Find out tonight at midnight!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Reviews = $$$?
Great article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about Metacritc and its relationship to game sales. Side note: I love Metacritic.
Some may think that paying a royalty to a licensor for a poor-quality game (or poorly-scored game) somewhat bullyish, but I really don't see it that way. Why are there so many craptacular licensed games? Because when developers and publishers know they can make a quick buck off of a licensed property, it's not necessarily in their best interest to make a GOOD GAME.
(Actually, I think it is, if you read my earlier thoughts on the matter.)
However, for the Time-Warners of the world, well, they would rather have a better game. As mentioned in the article, Time-Warner may take an additional royalty from a publisher who makes yet another stupendously bad Batman game.
If sites like Metacritic actually help us get good licensed games, then I'm all for it. What's interesting is, as the article points out, many games sell well despite bad scores, such as Spider-Man 3. Hell, if they didn't, there wouldn't be any Spider-Man 4 to look forward to, right?
Some may think that paying a royalty to a licensor for a poor-quality game (or poorly-scored game) somewhat bullyish, but I really don't see it that way. Why are there so many craptacular licensed games? Because when developers and publishers know they can make a quick buck off of a licensed property, it's not necessarily in their best interest to make a GOOD GAME.
(Actually, I think it is, if you read my earlier thoughts on the matter.)
However, for the Time-Warners of the world, well, they would rather have a better game. As mentioned in the article, Time-Warner may take an additional royalty from a publisher who makes yet another stupendously bad Batman game.
If sites like Metacritic actually help us get good licensed games, then I'm all for it. What's interesting is, as the article points out, many games sell well despite bad scores, such as Spider-Man 3. Hell, if they didn't, there wouldn't be any Spider-Man 4 to look forward to, right?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Metroid Manga
Hey, check out this pretty cool web comic about Samus Aran! I can't tell if it was authorized by Nintendo. Heck, I can't even understand it, because it's all in Japanese!
Fortunately, some of the nice people on the internet have a translation of the comic available, so check it out!
Fortunately, some of the nice people on the internet have a translation of the comic available, so check it out!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Zzz Hospital
You know, if I ever get down about the projects I work on, at least I can be satisfied knowing that I am not making a game like the creatively-named Zoo Hospital.
Sure, this game basically sounds like an animal version of Trauma Center, but seriously, look at that prone panda in the screenshot! "Help! I'm nearly extinct and trapped in this lousy game!"
Do I really want to "discover how best to calm stressed species through soothing touch" or "administer injections, apply ointment, pull teeth, remove deadly microbes, X Ray organs and much more"? There's even two-player co-op. Wow!
Sure, this game basically sounds like an animal version of Trauma Center, but seriously, look at that prone panda in the screenshot! "Help! I'm nearly extinct and trapped in this lousy game!"
Do I really want to "discover how best to calm stressed species through soothing touch" or "administer injections, apply ointment, pull teeth, remove deadly microbes, X Ray organs and much more"? There's even two-player co-op. Wow!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The Difficulty With Games
Last week, GameSetWatch pointed to a really nice article about difficulty in games. Entitled "Game Design Essentials: 20 Difficult Games" the writer, John Harris, takes a designer's point of view when describing 20 of the most difficult games imaginable. This is really my favorite kind of videogame "think" piece. Taking an academic approach to some seriously difficult (and obscure) retro titles is both informative and fun to read. (And totally free of snark -- hooray!) If this were a mainstream piece, it would have been called "The Twenty Most Difficult Games of All Time." Instead, this is a carefully thought out list with some really good reflections on what designers can learn from the successes or mistakes of the past. I only wish the writer had carefully listed the platforms of each game!
In my humble opinion, the concept of "difficulty" is essentially the designer's balancing act between fun and challenge. Too much fun, and a game becomes a cakewalk -- unless that is the designer's intention. Too much challenge, and a game becomes deadly and too punishing. The key is to find the appropriate mixture of these elements so that the player enjoys the experience while also feeling a sense of accomplishment as a result of his/her actions. Creating a successful difficulty curve is one of the designer's toughest tasks. When factoring in the complex systems of modern titles, it is amazing to see when the difficulty tightrope is walked successfully.
Makes sense, then, that so many of the games on the list are older titles. With the rudimentary designs of yesteryear, it was probably easier for the designer to streamline the difficulty curve. Hell, you don't get much more "streamlined" than Kaboom!
Anyway, I really enjoyed the article, and I had some of my own games that I thought worthy of the list. Most of the games I thought of were lessons in what not to do, as opposed to being illustrative of good design. But then again, I'm the type of player that doesn't have much patience for difficulty, and will quickly give up and move on as opposed to banging my head against a pixelated brick wall.
Game: Battletoads
Platform: NES
Developer: Rare
Year: 1991
Description: This game is the stuff of legend. No one I know could ever beat it. The flying/racing levels, in particular, required such rote memorization of the obstacles that the fun ceased to exist. I have watched speedruns of this game just to see if it actually had an ending.
What We Learned: The guiding principle of "one mistake and you're toast" is not a good design conceit.
Game: F-Zero GX
Platform: GameCube
Developer: Amusement Vision
Year: 2003
Description: No surprsie that this game was developed by the same guys who made Super Monkey Ball (on the list of Gamasutra's 20). This game is T-O-U-G-H, and requires some of the highest "player skill" requirements this side of a monkey-filled sphere. Like Harris points out about Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero is totally fair. If you can't win, it's not the game's fault. You MUST have the driving skills. I actually adore this game...to a point. And I mean that quite literally: I got to a spot in this game and just COULD NOT PASS IT. Like Battletoads, there are some missions that require rote memorization of obstacles. I hate rote memorization of obstacles.
What We Learned: F-Zero GX had great graphics, awesome physics, a robust feature set, with impressive cut-scenes and scripting rarely seen on the GameCube. Too bad the game was TOO HARD to enjoy all the cool content. Deisngers: don't build an awesome theme park and then erect a 50-foot wall of rote memorization of obstacles around it.
Game: The Adventures of Bayou Billy
Platform: NES
Developer: Konami
Year: 1988
Decription: You're a guy that looks like Crocodile Dundee, and you have to save your girlfriend. To do this, you must get through fighting levels, driving levels and shooting levels. I remember bringing Bayou Billy home and being really excited to play it, but about 15 minutes in, I was like, "What the hell?!?" The game quickly demonstrates the concept of "unfair" design, in the sense that no amount of player skill will allow significant progress. The house's odds are simply stacked against Mr. Billy. He can't fight, it's hard to drive, lose all your ammo and you lose a life. When does the fun begin? Answer: it doesn't.
What We Learned: If anything, Bayou Billy reminds us to try to avoid mixing our gameplay styles. Only the most clever have been able to pull this off. (I'm thinking of games like Deus Ex, often called a "shooter/rpg" hybrid.) In other words, if you set out to make a fighter/driver/shooter, you will most likely do all of those things badly, instead of one thing really well.
Game: Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Platform: Various, Genesis
Developer: Capcom
Year: 1989
Description: Seriously, how could a game from the Ghosts 'n Goblins/Ghouls 'n Ghosts series NOT make the "most difficult" list? Only the leetest gamers have ever beat one of these games. I know I've never come close. But I did watch a friend of mine "beat" the Genesis version back in high school. When he defeated the last boss, we got to the end screen...and learned that the entire game was all a dream! Time to do the whole thing over for real this time. What?!? Oh, no you didn't...oh, yes you did. I think we gave his Genesis the finger, turned it off, and went outside.
What We Learned: This is true of almost any game, book or movie that isn't "The Wizard of Oz" or TV show that isn't "Newhart". Designers: don't tell us "it was all a dream" at the end, or we will feel cheated and hate you forever and then blog about you.
Game: Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space
Platform: PC
Developer: Digital Eel
Year: 2005
Description: Obscure game alert! I've written about this game before. It's actually a game of the hybrid variety mentioned above. Sort of a strategy sim meets space shooter. What's cool about it is that the galactic map is randomly generated each time you play, and there is enough variety in the types of enemies and resources and obstacles (and so on) that it feels like a new experience each time you play. Thing is, you won't get very far! I've never actually completed a mission in this game. I always die!
What We Learned: Sometimes, repetitive failure actually inspires the player to keep playing instead of just giving up. There are a number of other games that demonstrate this principle, but I like to think of Weird Worlds as a really good example. If you can make failure fun, you're not necessarily making the game too difficult. Failure simply becomes part of the experience. Despite never really succeeding at this game, I continued to want to play it. I wish I still had it installed on my machine!
Anyway, there were other games that I wanted to list above, such as Blaster Master (NES), Viewtiful Joe (GC, PS2), Pokemon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire (GBA), even GTA San Andreas (PS2, XB). But I need to get back to work!
In my humble opinion, the concept of "difficulty" is essentially the designer's balancing act between fun and challenge. Too much fun, and a game becomes a cakewalk -- unless that is the designer's intention. Too much challenge, and a game becomes deadly and too punishing. The key is to find the appropriate mixture of these elements so that the player enjoys the experience while also feeling a sense of accomplishment as a result of his/her actions. Creating a successful difficulty curve is one of the designer's toughest tasks. When factoring in the complex systems of modern titles, it is amazing to see when the difficulty tightrope is walked successfully.
Makes sense, then, that so many of the games on the list are older titles. With the rudimentary designs of yesteryear, it was probably easier for the designer to streamline the difficulty curve. Hell, you don't get much more "streamlined" than Kaboom!
Anyway, I really enjoyed the article, and I had some of my own games that I thought worthy of the list. Most of the games I thought of were lessons in what not to do, as opposed to being illustrative of good design. But then again, I'm the type of player that doesn't have much patience for difficulty, and will quickly give up and move on as opposed to banging my head against a pixelated brick wall.
Game: Battletoads
Platform: NES
Developer: Rare
Year: 1991
Description: This game is the stuff of legend. No one I know could ever beat it. The flying/racing levels, in particular, required such rote memorization of the obstacles that the fun ceased to exist. I have watched speedruns of this game just to see if it actually had an ending.
What We Learned: The guiding principle of "one mistake and you're toast" is not a good design conceit.
Game: F-Zero GX
Platform: GameCube
Developer: Amusement Vision
Year: 2003
Description: No surprsie that this game was developed by the same guys who made Super Monkey Ball (on the list of Gamasutra's 20). This game is T-O-U-G-H, and requires some of the highest "player skill" requirements this side of a monkey-filled sphere. Like Harris points out about Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero is totally fair. If you can't win, it's not the game's fault. You MUST have the driving skills. I actually adore this game...to a point. And I mean that quite literally: I got to a spot in this game and just COULD NOT PASS IT. Like Battletoads, there are some missions that require rote memorization of obstacles. I hate rote memorization of obstacles.
What We Learned: F-Zero GX had great graphics, awesome physics, a robust feature set, with impressive cut-scenes and scripting rarely seen on the GameCube. Too bad the game was TOO HARD to enjoy all the cool content. Deisngers: don't build an awesome theme park and then erect a 50-foot wall of rote memorization of obstacles around it.
Game: The Adventures of Bayou Billy
Platform: NES
Developer: Konami
Year: 1988
Decription: You're a guy that looks like Crocodile Dundee, and you have to save your girlfriend. To do this, you must get through fighting levels, driving levels and shooting levels. I remember bringing Bayou Billy home and being really excited to play it, but about 15 minutes in, I was like, "What the hell?!?" The game quickly demonstrates the concept of "unfair" design, in the sense that no amount of player skill will allow significant progress. The house's odds are simply stacked against Mr. Billy. He can't fight, it's hard to drive, lose all your ammo and you lose a life. When does the fun begin? Answer: it doesn't.
What We Learned: If anything, Bayou Billy reminds us to try to avoid mixing our gameplay styles. Only the most clever have been able to pull this off. (I'm thinking of games like Deus Ex, often called a "shooter/rpg" hybrid.) In other words, if you set out to make a fighter/driver/shooter, you will most likely do all of those things badly, instead of one thing really well.
Game: Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Platform: Various, Genesis
Developer: Capcom
Year: 1989
Description: Seriously, how could a game from the Ghosts 'n Goblins/Ghouls 'n Ghosts series NOT make the "most difficult" list? Only the leetest gamers have ever beat one of these games. I know I've never come close. But I did watch a friend of mine "beat" the Genesis version back in high school. When he defeated the last boss, we got to the end screen...and learned that the entire game was all a dream! Time to do the whole thing over for real this time. What?!? Oh, no you didn't...oh, yes you did. I think we gave his Genesis the finger, turned it off, and went outside.
What We Learned: This is true of almost any game, book or movie that isn't "The Wizard of Oz" or TV show that isn't "Newhart". Designers: don't tell us "it was all a dream" at the end, or we will feel cheated and hate you forever and then blog about you.
Game: Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space
Platform: PC
Developer: Digital Eel
Year: 2005
Description: Obscure game alert! I've written about this game before. It's actually a game of the hybrid variety mentioned above. Sort of a strategy sim meets space shooter. What's cool about it is that the galactic map is randomly generated each time you play, and there is enough variety in the types of enemies and resources and obstacles (and so on) that it feels like a new experience each time you play. Thing is, you won't get very far! I've never actually completed a mission in this game. I always die!
What We Learned: Sometimes, repetitive failure actually inspires the player to keep playing instead of just giving up. There are a number of other games that demonstrate this principle, but I like to think of Weird Worlds as a really good example. If you can make failure fun, you're not necessarily making the game too difficult. Failure simply becomes part of the experience. Despite never really succeeding at this game, I continued to want to play it. I wish I still had it installed on my machine!
Anyway, there were other games that I wanted to list above, such as Blaster Master (NES), Viewtiful Joe (GC, PS2), Pokemon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire (GBA), even GTA San Andreas (PS2, XB). But I need to get back to work!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
It's A Small World, After All
Though it was previously reported that Sony was going to buy mini-MMO Club Penguin, turns out that the Mouse House got the goods. Disney may pay up to $700M! Okay, just how many original MMOs could you make with that kind of cash? We'll see if the audience was worth the sticker price.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
WTS Wolf Pee
Wolf Quest is a new free game coming later this year, which allows kids to go online with a wolf and form "packs" with other players. This game showed up on a number of the game blogs today. While the video is indeed terrible, and the environments staggeringly barren and ugly, the game is an interesting concept. (I'm not sure what it's going to teach, though, other than wolves like to howl, pee and kill elk.) Hey, at least it's not dwarves and orcs for the gabillionth time. The game trailer is also here on Gametrailers.com.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
CGE 2K7
Sure, some people go to Comic-Con, but the REAL nerds go to the Classic Gaming Expo, which was held this past weekend in Las Vegas. Wired's Chris Kohler has a collection of entertaining and informative entries on his blog. All the usual suspects were there, including David Crane, Garry Kitchen, Al Alcorn, et al. Bleep bloop bleep.
Monday, July 30, 2007
More FusionFall
YouTube has the trailer up and running:
Fan reaction at Comic-Con was wildly positive! Everyone seems to be excited about the new look for the characters and the general creative direction. Kids had fun with the game, too. It really couldn't have gone better, actually.
Fan reaction at Comic-Con was wildly positive! Everyone seems to be excited about the new look for the characters and the general creative direction. Kids had fun with the game, too. It really couldn't have gone better, actually.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
FusionFall Trailer
I can't figure out how to embed this, but check out the FusionFall trailer here on the Warcry Network.
FusionFall
It's out of the bag...I will be trolling the web today, but caught a glimpse on Kotaku this morning. Stay tuned for more hits from teh internets.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Chore Wars
This is seriously awesome. Using Chore Wars, you can create RPG characters and level them up by doing chores in real life!! This is one of the kookiest gaming applications I've ever seen. What fun! "But daaad, if I don't get to wash the dishes tonight my dark mage can't equip his Eternal Fire staff!"
Destructoid brought us the link.
Destructoid brought us the link.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
FTWintendo
I just watched Nintendo's E3 press conference, and...wow. Who would have suspected that Nintendo would be in the position they are now, even as early as one year ago? I know it's a lot of PR song-and-dance, but Reggie's presentation was pretty awesome. Nintendo DS: 40 million units sold worldwide. Wii virtual console: 5.6 million game downloads. Super Mario Galaxy on November 12. Super Smash Bros. Brawl on December 3. Metroid Prime 3 just around the corner...will it come packed with the Wii Zapper? Or will it be with Umbrella Chronicles? Mario Kart for the Wii next year, with the Wii Wheel. Not to mention Zelda, Dragon Quest and so on and so forth.
Interestingly, Miyaomoto's big presenation at the end -- Wii Fit -- was sort of a dud. I can see what they are going for, but can real fitness people take those exercises seriously? All I'm seeing is a more interactive version of Wii Play, and a peripheral that will make awesome snowboard/skateboard/surfing games.
In any case, it's amazing and somewhat gratifying to see Nintendo on top of their game (no pun intended) yet again.
Interestingly, Miyaomoto's big presenation at the end -- Wii Fit -- was sort of a dud. I can see what they are going for, but can real fitness people take those exercises seriously? All I'm seeing is a more interactive version of Wii Play, and a peripheral that will make awesome snowboard/skateboard/surfing games.
In any case, it's amazing and somewhat gratifying to see Nintendo on top of their game (no pun intended) yet again.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Gold Farming on Marketplace
Great story last night on public radio's "Marketplace" program: gold farming regulation in South Korea. Best part is the closing interview:
Them Koreans love them some virtual commerce!
Gagliano: Do you ever stop and think, "There's all this money and all this time and effort — and now laws and trading associations — being built up over these items that don't exist?"
Park: I would say never.
Them Koreans love them some virtual commerce!
Friday, July 06, 2007
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