For those of you who couldn't watch Double Fine's live stream for Brütal Legend, here are some notes. Maybe someone recorded the stream for YouTube so you can see Emily microwave her grandma's pathetically unmetal CD collection.
The devs expect Brütal Legend to appeal to many kinds of gamers. It has action, open world gameplay, a deep plot with lots of cutscenes, and the humor isn't all inside jokes. They say you don't have to be a headbanger to love the game.
Gamers into exploration should love it. It's full of emergent gameplay. "Roughly half the world is unlocked from the beginning" of the game. The rest is opened up as you progress through the story. You can continue to explore and interact with the world after you've finished the plot.
The world is massive... full of variety and wacky stuff. It's big enough that the game includes world map (I'm assuming in-game). Within the world are tons of cool mini-locales giving tribute to this or that, as well as "objects of power" to discover. You dig up buried metal to unlock songs and Deuce upgrades.
A wide variety of creatures, each with its own custom animations. One dev mentioned passing by some headbangers in the game and hearing them say "We're just running around kicking ass!" or something to that effect.
Through the game, you acquire upgrades for your axe (the Axe of Ormagoden), for your guitar and for the Deuce / Druid Plow (your hotrod). Guitar solos act as combat skills. One was shown that brings a fiery zeppelin crashing down onto enemies. Another literally melts the faces of enemies.
Erik Robson said that "as the game progresses, you take over territory.... It's not uncommon to see your patrols clash with enemy patrols.... Patrols grow over the course of the game".
Missions vary greatly, from racing in the Deuce to "helping a mortar operator aim his mortar". There was mention of "secondary missions that get unlocked as you progress".
Brad Muir is one of the devs who worked on Brütal Legend's multiplayer. He said Double Fine "took a page out of Blizzard's book" by first focusing on the wants of hardcore players, and then ensuring gameplay is accessible to everyone. The single-player mode builds up to the multiplayer, unlocking units and preparing you for the more complex systems. Competing players can choose the same faction. The factions were designed with "a high level of asymmetry", meaning that each feels very different from the others, like in Starcraft. It's "really an action game at its heart"... at least as much action as strategy, so don't think of it as RTS gameplay. Here's a multiplayer tutorial video from the game:
The game's characters and beasts were designed with a lot of displayed meaning, a lot of symbolism. For example, Eddie has the big hands of a roadie who is always working with them. Dark Ophelia is like a bride who was left at the altar, with a perpetual rain cloud over her head, clothes torn from walking obliviously through briars and such. A lot of it's pretty crazy, like an enemy who "vomits a bunch of rats onto the battlefield". One of Eddie's moves is a kick accompanied by a devil-horns rock salute.
All animations was done by hand... no motion-capture. There's a lot of detail put into Eddie's facial expressions. Tasha said Jack Black is "kind of a cartoony person" and showed how expressive his eyebrows and mouth are. She showed how cutscenes are made -- first with storyboarding, then timing out the scenes and figuring out camera angles using static models.
There will be an art book.
And that's all I've got. Rock on!
Showing posts with label game pointer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game pointer. Show all posts
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Ormagoden's not happy
The only thing better than a heavy metal tribute game is a metal tribute that doesn't take itself seriously.
This coming Thursday, Rocktober 1st, Double Fine will be broadcasting live from the Brütal Legend site with interviews, giveaways, and everything metal.
Download the demo, or the world dies!
... which isn't necessarily bad, because everybody knows metal is stronger than death.
This coming Thursday, Rocktober 1st, Double Fine will be broadcasting live from the Brütal Legend site with interviews, giveaways, and everything metal.
Download the demo, or the world dies!
... which isn't necessarily bad, because everybody knows metal is stronger than death.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Brütal awesomeness
Fanaticism is alright where heavy metal is concerned.
I used to sleep to music like that (my brother would say he couldn't sleep without the radio on). Pantera, Judas Priest, you name it. My entire life has had a metal soundtrack. "Children of the Grave" is just one great tune Tim Schafer has seemingly divined from my past. And, I swear, listening to Jack Black in this game is like a typical conversation with my cousin Danny. It's like this game was made just for me.
Maybe that's why I'm the only one who uses the umlaut. In any case, I think this 16-minute preview speaks for itself. Say it with me...
Brütal Legend!
In the words of my cousin:
I used to sleep to music like that (my brother would say he couldn't sleep without the radio on). Pantera, Judas Priest, you name it. My entire life has had a metal soundtrack. "Children of the Grave" is just one great tune Tim Schafer has seemingly divined from my past. And, I swear, listening to Jack Black in this game is like a typical conversation with my cousin Danny. It's like this game was made just for me.
Maybe that's why I'm the only one who uses the umlaut. In any case, I think this 16-minute preview speaks for itself. Say it with me...
Brütal Legend!
In the words of my cousin:
Then the Lord said, "Let there be rock." And Aaron said, "No, let there be metal, and let it be heavy."
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
hopes for Mass Effect 2
While reading this Bioware interview, I thought of how important character moods are to stories.
I love the idea of party members in a game responding to my actions in ways that fit their individual personalities. If an NPC companion accepted or rejected a series of player actions in a dramatic way, like leaving the party, that would be an impressive story event. But it seems games up to this point have relied purely on dialog to lead up to such events.
It would be so much more effective and emotionally moving if each character's grade of approval or disapproval was represented in realistic ways... like facial expressions, movements, and tone-of-voice.
Anyway, that got me thinking about my hopes for Mass Effect 2.
Bioware seems to have addressed some of the issues of the first game, such as the time spent in inventory management. I'm looking forward to experiencing the adjusted combat.
DIALOG
I still believe it's important that not all conversations adhere to a single pace. Excited and heated conversations should be quicker than relaxed ones. That means shorter pauses in between lines of dialog and terser language.
I also think Alpha Protocol's team has improved Mass Effect's dialog system by limiting time for players to choose a dialog response. There can be a good argument for leaving it unlimited. But limiting time has the benefits of making dialog flow more naturally and also mimicking the impulsiveness of real conversation.
As I wrote at Write the Game long ago:
EXPLORATION
Of course, my main concern and doubt is exploration. Will planet exploration be just as crude and boring as it was in the first Mass Effect? As an exploration-focused gamer, the first game was a huge disappointment for me. Bioware led gamers to expect a variety of solar systems and planets that could be explored apart from the main storyline. The sad reality was very basic and sparse content copied onto every planet, and every planet being only a slight variation of the same bleak and empty landscape.
Since Bioware hasn't discussed this problem in interviews or trailers, I'm inclined to think planet exploration will be just as uninspired in Mass Effect 2. But one can hope.
STORY
A less severe issue is that many of us who played the first Mass Effect -- especially those who had multiple characters making different choices -- will have forgotten what happened and what choices we made. And there's no way to review. We could only replay the original (start over) to refresh our memories. If Bioware could design some sort of flashback at the beginning of each sequel, it would be immensely helpful. The idea is that the player sees or hears a montage of the most important moments and decisions from the previous game.
VEHICLES
Then, of course, there's the Mako controls. Halo 3's controls for tanks were much more intuitive for me. I don't know if most gamers feel the same way, though I did hear others complaining about the Mako.
Anyway, Mass Effect 2 isn't at the top of my list, but I do look forward to playing it. I expect exploration will disappoint again and I'll be annoyed by the lack of some dialog options, but the adventure and combat should be fun.
Are there other issues from the first game you hope have been addressed? Have your expectations changed since the first Mass Effect?
I love the idea of party members in a game responding to my actions in ways that fit their individual personalities. If an NPC companion accepted or rejected a series of player actions in a dramatic way, like leaving the party, that would be an impressive story event. But it seems games up to this point have relied purely on dialog to lead up to such events.
It would be so much more effective and emotionally moving if each character's grade of approval or disapproval was represented in realistic ways... like facial expressions, movements, and tone-of-voice.
Anyway, that got me thinking about my hopes for Mass Effect 2.
Bioware seems to have addressed some of the issues of the first game, such as the time spent in inventory management. I'm looking forward to experiencing the adjusted combat.
DIALOG
I still believe it's important that not all conversations adhere to a single pace. Excited and heated conversations should be quicker than relaxed ones. That means shorter pauses in between lines of dialog and terser language.
I also think Alpha Protocol's team has improved Mass Effect's dialog system by limiting time for players to choose a dialog response. There can be a good argument for leaving it unlimited. But limiting time has the benefits of making dialog flow more naturally and also mimicking the impulsiveness of real conversation.
As I wrote at Write the Game long ago:
Mass Effect steps so close to realistic decision-making that the occasional frustration the player feels from being limited to only a handful of potential dialogue responses can be significantly greater than in past games, such as Bioware’s own Neverwinter Nights.Unfortunately, this problem will almost certainly reappear in Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins, because games can't perfectly simulate the creativity and individuality involved in real human conversation. That said, Bioware can probably avoid the most disappointing conflicts by having many testers play each dialog tree to discover various persons' expectations.
For example. An NPC once requested that I do something unethical to achieve a good goal. I was hoping for a dialogue option that would let me say that I approved of the goal but not the method. Instead, my only way of refusing the NPC’s request was to say the goal wasn’t worth my time.
Mass Effect enables the player to define Shepard’s personality to an unprecedented extent, but it may corner the player into acting in violation of that same personality at times. The game suffers from its own prowess.
EXPLORATION
Of course, my main concern and doubt is exploration. Will planet exploration be just as crude and boring as it was in the first Mass Effect? As an exploration-focused gamer, the first game was a huge disappointment for me. Bioware led gamers to expect a variety of solar systems and planets that could be explored apart from the main storyline. The sad reality was very basic and sparse content copied onto every planet, and every planet being only a slight variation of the same bleak and empty landscape.
Since Bioware hasn't discussed this problem in interviews or trailers, I'm inclined to think planet exploration will be just as uninspired in Mass Effect 2. But one can hope.
STORY
A less severe issue is that many of us who played the first Mass Effect -- especially those who had multiple characters making different choices -- will have forgotten what happened and what choices we made. And there's no way to review. We could only replay the original (start over) to refresh our memories. If Bioware could design some sort of flashback at the beginning of each sequel, it would be immensely helpful. The idea is that the player sees or hears a montage of the most important moments and decisions from the previous game.
VEHICLES
Then, of course, there's the Mako controls. Halo 3's controls for tanks were much more intuitive for me. I don't know if most gamers feel the same way, though I did hear others complaining about the Mako.
Anyway, Mass Effect 2 isn't at the top of my list, but I do look forward to playing it. I expect exploration will disappoint again and I'll be annoyed by the lack of some dialog options, but the adventure and combat should be fun.
Are there other issues from the first game you hope have been addressed? Have your expectations changed since the first Mass Effect?
Monday, April 06, 2009
Spore: Galactic Adventures trailer
I haven't played Spore in months now, but the recent trailer for the Galactic Adventures add-on has me thinking it might be time to play again.
My main complaint about Spore has been that it's more toymaker than game. The creation tools are excellent and offer so much variety. Unfortunately, there's little you can do with them until you reach the Space stage. Actual gameplay is so sparse and shallow (though there are a few fun dynamics in the Creature stage).
Judging from the Galactic Adventures trailer, EA seems to have listened to feedback like that and has offered players something more like an actual game with rules, goals, and progression.
Still, there's another reason Spore quickly lost its shine for me. By the time you reach the Space stage, your design decisions no longer affect anything other than visuals. Gameplay is still personalized to a degree by the order in which you do things like terraform, conquer, and form alliances. But spaceships all work the same regardless of design, and your creature is just a talking picture in the dialogue screens. The Space stage would be more compelling if design decisions really mattered and led to unique experiences.
Spore players would share their stories, and not just their designs, more often and with more enthusiasm if each player had experiences which are truly unique and personal. It's not much fun telling someone a story they already know.
My main complaint about Spore has been that it's more toymaker than game. The creation tools are excellent and offer so much variety. Unfortunately, there's little you can do with them until you reach the Space stage. Actual gameplay is so sparse and shallow (though there are a few fun dynamics in the Creature stage).
Judging from the Galactic Adventures trailer, EA seems to have listened to feedback like that and has offered players something more like an actual game with rules, goals, and progression.
Still, there's another reason Spore quickly lost its shine for me. By the time you reach the Space stage, your design decisions no longer affect anything other than visuals. Gameplay is still personalized to a degree by the order in which you do things like terraform, conquer, and form alliances. But spaceships all work the same regardless of design, and your creature is just a talking picture in the dialogue screens. The Space stage would be more compelling if design decisions really mattered and led to unique experiences.
Spore players would share their stories, and not just their designs, more often and with more enthusiasm if each player had experiences which are truly unique and personal. It's not much fun telling someone a story they already know.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
war, off the battlefields
I've always wanted to play a game about war away from the battlefield.
If you watch a lot of movies and documentaries, you start to associate war only with soldiers and epic battles. But what's war like for civilians? What's it like for the small groups of soldiers in between and separated from major battles? There's a little of this in films like The Longest Day and The Scarlet and The Black.
Well, it looks like Pandemic's open world game The Saboteur might offer me a taste of that experience. From this Unscripted 360 interview with Lead Designer Tom French (I can't believe nobody has mentioned the irony of that name): "you can drive straight out of the city limits [of Paris], into a sweeping French countryside, on to neighboring French chateaus to other towns and even across the border into Germany".
This isn't a game about a soldier charging into enemy emplacements with helmet and orders. This is a game about an Irish racecar mechanic with a grudge against Nazis, ala Indiana Jones, stuck in occupied France. And it's even inspired by a true story.
I'll be most interested to see how the "Will to Fight" feature works and how the lives of the oppressed Parisians is portrayed. In any case, wandering around a war-torn country without being a formal part of that war should be fresh and exciting. I'll see if I can interview someone form Pandemic sometime to learn more about The Saboteur.
edit:
Another upcoming game, Velvet Assassin, developed by Replay, has a surprisingly similar setting. Also inspired by a true story (Violette Szabo), it's about a civilian in Nazi-occupied France killing Nazis. It seems to be a more linear game focusing on stealth kills and a dark, gritty atmosphere. IGN has some info on it here.
If you watch a lot of movies and documentaries, you start to associate war only with soldiers and epic battles. But what's war like for civilians? What's it like for the small groups of soldiers in between and separated from major battles? There's a little of this in films like The Longest Day and The Scarlet and The Black.
Well, it looks like Pandemic's open world game The Saboteur might offer me a taste of that experience. From this Unscripted 360 interview with Lead Designer Tom French (I can't believe nobody has mentioned the irony of that name): "you can drive straight out of the city limits [of Paris], into a sweeping French countryside, on to neighboring French chateaus to other towns and even across the border into Germany".
This isn't a game about a soldier charging into enemy emplacements with helmet and orders. This is a game about an Irish racecar mechanic with a grudge against Nazis, ala Indiana Jones, stuck in occupied France. And it's even inspired by a true story.
I'll be most interested to see how the "Will to Fight" feature works and how the lives of the oppressed Parisians is portrayed. In any case, wandering around a war-torn country without being a formal part of that war should be fresh and exciting. I'll see if I can interview someone form Pandemic sometime to learn more about The Saboteur.
edit:
Another upcoming game, Velvet Assassin, developed by Replay, has a surprisingly similar setting. Also inspired by a true story (Violette Szabo), it's about a civilian in Nazi-occupied France killing Nazis. It seems to be a more linear game focusing on stealth kills and a dark, gritty atmosphere. IGN has some info on it here.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Peggle
Check out Peggle, if you haven't already. I think it's one of the best arcade games on Xbox Live, and the PC version is currently selling for just five bucks.
It seems to use billiards for inspiration. You try to aim precisely, to anticipate how the cue ball will ricochet, to hit some targets before others, and there's even a moving pocket at the bottom. In fact, it's almost like a marriage between billiards and pinball.
Unlike billiards, you get points for everything you hit. And though the formation of targets is the same every time on any particular board, the placement is different. The goal of the game is to knock out all of the red targets with ten cue balls (you can win extra balls through points or special green targets). In addition to targeting your cue ball, you also have to time your shots. If you ball is picked up by the moving pocket at the bottom, you get it back. Other times, the targets are moving.
Much of the fun is in believing you know what's going to happen when you shoot your ball, and then beingsadly happily mistaken. Sometimes your ball will ricochet a dozen or more times before finally falling.
The other big factor is dynamics. As I said already, the placement of red, green, and blue targets on the board is different every time. This is huge, because it means you must use a different strategy each time you play the same board. Also, depending on the board, hitting the green targets does different things (adds pinball flippers, splits the ball into two, guides your next shot, etc), and you can eventually select which effect you want the green targets to have. There's a wide variety of boards, including ones with moving targets and obstacles.
I'm not going to review the whole thing. I haven't played the Challenges or multiplayer yet, but it's worth the price even without those modes. I've been frustrated a couple times by not being able to reach some targets (because I aimed earlier shots wrong or just bad luck), but the experience has almost always been enjoyable. So, as I said, check it out.
I've come to really respect PopCap Games. Feeding Frenzy and Zuma are also among the best arcade games on Xbox Live, and Bejeweled is a nice go-through-the-motions stress relief. I'll have to try some of their others.
It seems to use billiards for inspiration. You try to aim precisely, to anticipate how the cue ball will ricochet, to hit some targets before others, and there's even a moving pocket at the bottom. In fact, it's almost like a marriage between billiards and pinball.
Unlike billiards, you get points for everything you hit. And though the formation of targets is the same every time on any particular board, the placement is different. The goal of the game is to knock out all of the red targets with ten cue balls (you can win extra balls through points or special green targets). In addition to targeting your cue ball, you also have to time your shots. If you ball is picked up by the moving pocket at the bottom, you get it back. Other times, the targets are moving.
Much of the fun is in believing you know what's going to happen when you shoot your ball, and then being
The other big factor is dynamics. As I said already, the placement of red, green, and blue targets on the board is different every time. This is huge, because it means you must use a different strategy each time you play the same board. Also, depending on the board, hitting the green targets does different things (adds pinball flippers, splits the ball into two, guides your next shot, etc), and you can eventually select which effect you want the green targets to have. There's a wide variety of boards, including ones with moving targets and obstacles.
I'm not going to review the whole thing. I haven't played the Challenges or multiplayer yet, but it's worth the price even without those modes. I've been frustrated a couple times by not being able to reach some targets (because I aimed earlier shots wrong or just bad luck), but the experience has almost always been enjoyable. So, as I said, check it out.
I've come to really respect PopCap Games. Feeding Frenzy and Zuma are also among the best arcade games on Xbox Live, and Bejeweled is a nice go-through-the-motions stress relief. I'll have to try some of their others.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
CoD6 suggestions
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is one of the best games on the 360. But no game's perfect, so here's some changes I would make for CoD6. I'll also throw in some ideas for the campaign.
SINGLEPLAYER
American troops and our allies are stationed all over the world at any given moment. So how about some settings we're not used to seeing (southeast Asia, north Africa, South America, etc)? If the Middle East is again the focus, then possible settings include the caves of Afghanistan or a battle within a single building, such as a school or ampitheater.
Weather is a major factor in warfare. Hell, it has outright won or lost battles and even wars. Show us. Gusts of wind can displace tossed grenades and spread fires. Tropical rain can disrupt vision, slow movement, and make ways impassable. A sandstorm could trap enemies together
Soldiers don't just work and interact with fellow soldiers. Make civilians, combatants and non-combatants, a part of gameplay. In fact, you might include one level in which the player goes on a light-hearted hunting trip with a local civilian, to bind the player emotionally to the town or whatever he later defends and remind the player that war isn't always constant battles. I suggest hunting because that is a civilian activity based on the same basic gameplay (shooting), requiring less scripting and new assets.
Introduce friendly fire and civilian casualties. Both are a part of every war. If well implemented, this could get more emotional investment from the player.
CO-OP
Take your cues from Left 4 Dead. As I've said before, that game has the best representation of dependence and sacrifice of any game I've played to date. Brotherhood is a central theme in every branch of military, and cooperative gameplay is where that needs to shine.
Sacrifice is key. Enable the player to give to fellow players and companion NPCs in ways that hurt his own character and his own playtime. Regarding NPCs, I've written before on empathy. Regarding fellow players, consider the example in Left 4 Dead of one player telling others to leave him or her behind to save themselves... a request which means the person is no longer playing for a while, only watching and talking to the other players (sometimes feeding them valuable intel)... though obviously it's usually better if all players remain playing.
MULTIPLAYER
Every time the player goes to the "Select Class" screen, show a number by each class to indicate how many allies are currently playing each class. That will allow versatile players to fill in the gaps; help us see which roles are needed at any given moment.
Allow us to mute players without having to go to their gamercard screen.
Again, weather. If it was different from battle to battle (the same map), that could make for a fun dynamic.
You might be able to encourage a better social atmosphere by enabling players to vote each other up or down in a leadership ranking, separate from combat ranking. Real militaries do not promote soldiers purely for weapon skills and combat prowess, but also for exemplary social actions... like taking risks for other players, going back for injured comrades, helping others to improve, offering inspiration, and basically providing for the needs of others. How exactly to reward players for such behavior, I'm not sure. But it would definitely be worth it to promote sacrifice and philanthropy in the multiplayer community through tangible rewards, similar to a Purple Heart or Silver Star.
Again, sacrifice. Allow a player to give ammo to an ally, thereby depleting his own resources. Or allow a player to "cry for help", making his icon on allies' maps blink, to indicate he could use backup when he finds himself the only one guarding a flag in Domination or having run out of ammo.
What are your ideas?
SINGLEPLAYER
American troops and our allies are stationed all over the world at any given moment. So how about some settings we're not used to seeing (southeast Asia, north Africa, South America, etc)? If the Middle East is again the focus, then possible settings include the caves of Afghanistan or a battle within a single building, such as a school or ampitheater.
Weather is a major factor in warfare. Hell, it has outright won or lost battles and even wars. Show us. Gusts of wind can displace tossed grenades and spread fires. Tropical rain can disrupt vision, slow movement, and make ways impassable. A sandstorm could trap enemies together
Soldiers don't just work and interact with fellow soldiers. Make civilians, combatants and non-combatants, a part of gameplay. In fact, you might include one level in which the player goes on a light-hearted hunting trip with a local civilian, to bind the player emotionally to the town or whatever he later defends and remind the player that war isn't always constant battles. I suggest hunting because that is a civilian activity based on the same basic gameplay (shooting), requiring less scripting and new assets.
Introduce friendly fire and civilian casualties. Both are a part of every war. If well implemented, this could get more emotional investment from the player.
CO-OP
Take your cues from Left 4 Dead. As I've said before, that game has the best representation of dependence and sacrifice of any game I've played to date. Brotherhood is a central theme in every branch of military, and cooperative gameplay is where that needs to shine.
Sacrifice is key. Enable the player to give to fellow players and companion NPCs in ways that hurt his own character and his own playtime. Regarding NPCs, I've written before on empathy. Regarding fellow players, consider the example in Left 4 Dead of one player telling others to leave him or her behind to save themselves... a request which means the person is no longer playing for a while, only watching and talking to the other players (sometimes feeding them valuable intel)... though obviously it's usually better if all players remain playing.
MULTIPLAYER
Every time the player goes to the "Select Class" screen, show a number by each class to indicate how many allies are currently playing each class. That will allow versatile players to fill in the gaps; help us see which roles are needed at any given moment.
Allow us to mute players without having to go to their gamercard screen.
Again, weather. If it was different from battle to battle (the same map), that could make for a fun dynamic.
You might be able to encourage a better social atmosphere by enabling players to vote each other up or down in a leadership ranking, separate from combat ranking. Real militaries do not promote soldiers purely for weapon skills and combat prowess, but also for exemplary social actions... like taking risks for other players, going back for injured comrades, helping others to improve, offering inspiration, and basically providing for the needs of others. How exactly to reward players for such behavior, I'm not sure. But it would definitely be worth it to promote sacrifice and philanthropy in the multiplayer community through tangible rewards, similar to a Purple Heart or Silver Star.
Again, sacrifice. Allow a player to give ammo to an ally, thereby depleting his own resources. Or allow a player to "cry for help", making his icon on allies' maps blink, to indicate he could use backup when he finds himself the only one guarding a flag in Domination or having run out of ammo.
What are your ideas?
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
hopes of 2009
I've been unable to think of anything fresh these past couple of days, so I'm just going to list the games I'm watching in 2009 and give some brief thoughts on each. I haven't heard or read anything about some of these in a while. I'm not certain about any of them, but they all have my hopeful.
GODFATHER 2
I'm hoping to have a copy of this in the coming weeks. The first Godfather game is fun, but lacks depth. The sequel seems to have far more dynamics, including rival gangs that will try to take your territories while you're taking theirs. Those dynamics should add some replayability and personalized gameplay. We'll see.
BACKBREAKER
Finally, someone's trying to put the physical dynamics and unpredictability of real American football into a video game. Finally, you can take pleasure in some hits being harder than others. And the developers are obviously trying to shake up other elements of the game as well. I haven't seen any updates in a while, but I have high hopes for this one.
THE AGENCY
James Bond (007) on one side, John McClane (Die Hard) on the other. True FPS action and over-the-top, straight-faced silliness. This seems to be an MMO that drops a lot of the baggage that usually defines MMOs. It looks to be a lot of fun, and perhaps might even show the industry how to make games rather than rat mazes.
SECTION 8
I hadn't heard of this game until a few days ago. Players can drop onto any spot of the battlefield, a feature Medal of Honor: Airborne proved can be a lot of fun and adds replayability. Bots are provided for both offline and online fragfests. Multiplayer matches include the possibility of missions which coax players out of their usual routines. And the game seems to include a number of dynamics to spice things up. It's caught my interest.
FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4
Round 3 is great, but Round 4 sounds like it will require more tactical thinking from the player. This could be a nice upgrade to a great series.
BORDERLANDS
A Mad Max setting with RPG-like advancement and a Diablo-esque loot system. Little has been shown yet, but I always love the combination of guns and cars. Placed in an open world, and my interest is peaked.
CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2
... or whatever you want to call it. Call of Duty 4 is a monumental game -- a fun, intense single-player mode and the first multiplayer fragfest that I've thoroughly enjoyed since the original Perfect Dark. The customization and leveling in multiplayer was pure genius. Hopefully, Infinity Ward will push the genre, but not so much that they abandon what made their previous work great.
BLOODBOWL
Honestly, I know nothing about this one, except that it's based on a unique and brutal boardgame that I loved as a kid. Fast, brutal action and brazen silliness work so well together when artfully combined.
TOM CLANCY'S HAWX
Co-op dogfights in modern jets? Count me in. The game looks fun, but I'm left to wonder about replayability. Clear, concise missions can be fun, but I wouldn't buy the game unless there was something to do after I've completed all those missions. If HAWX includes enough dynamics and customization of gameplay, then this one could be a blast. It would be great if they'd allow players to select a vehicle for each single-player mission, the way MoH: Airborne allows players to select weapons.
GUITAR HERO: METALLICA
Yes, St. Anger sucked, and I don't much care for the new stuff either. But as a rocker raised on songs like "Don't Tread On Me", "Battery", and "Harvester of Sorrow", I can't wait to blare it through my TV and play along. These music games really are a unique and fun way to enjoy your favorite music. It doesn't hurt that Corrosion of Conformity, Children of Bodom, and other great bands have some tunes in this game.
GHOSTBUSTERS
Alright, so this one could be just a typically shallow and linear Hollywood hackjob. But hey, it's Ghostbusters! Coming from a film IP, it would be easy for the writers to prioritize a linear plot over interaction and personalization, but here's hoping it will turn out well. I'm glad the actors are all involved.
SACRED 2: FALLEN ANGEL
I half expect this to be mediocre, but it would be nice to play a Diablo-type game on a console for a change. I know they've been on consoles before, but this will be my first (not counting Too Human, which really isn't the same).
BRUTAL LEGEND: ROADHSHOW OF DESTRUCTION
I almost forgot this one! Brutal Legend is a tribute to the music that made my childhood. With many favorite musicians on board with development, and a comedic actor who has already dedicated many works to the subject (Jack Black), it's looking good. Once again, action mixed with comedy and over-the-top scenarios. As my old band's singer used to always say, "you better axe somebody!"
What have I forgotten? Halo Wars and Aliens: Colonial Marines could be cool, but I'm expecting them to be merely alright.
GODFATHER 2
I'm hoping to have a copy of this in the coming weeks. The first Godfather game is fun, but lacks depth. The sequel seems to have far more dynamics, including rival gangs that will try to take your territories while you're taking theirs. Those dynamics should add some replayability and personalized gameplay. We'll see.
BACKBREAKER
Finally, someone's trying to put the physical dynamics and unpredictability of real American football into a video game. Finally, you can take pleasure in some hits being harder than others. And the developers are obviously trying to shake up other elements of the game as well. I haven't seen any updates in a while, but I have high hopes for this one.
THE AGENCY
James Bond (007) on one side, John McClane (Die Hard) on the other. True FPS action and over-the-top, straight-faced silliness. This seems to be an MMO that drops a lot of the baggage that usually defines MMOs. It looks to be a lot of fun, and perhaps might even show the industry how to make games rather than rat mazes.
SECTION 8
I hadn't heard of this game until a few days ago. Players can drop onto any spot of the battlefield, a feature Medal of Honor: Airborne proved can be a lot of fun and adds replayability. Bots are provided for both offline and online fragfests. Multiplayer matches include the possibility of missions which coax players out of their usual routines. And the game seems to include a number of dynamics to spice things up. It's caught my interest.
FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4
Round 3 is great, but Round 4 sounds like it will require more tactical thinking from the player. This could be a nice upgrade to a great series.
BORDERLANDS
A Mad Max setting with RPG-like advancement and a Diablo-esque loot system. Little has been shown yet, but I always love the combination of guns and cars. Placed in an open world, and my interest is peaked.
CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2
... or whatever you want to call it. Call of Duty 4 is a monumental game -- a fun, intense single-player mode and the first multiplayer fragfest that I've thoroughly enjoyed since the original Perfect Dark. The customization and leveling in multiplayer was pure genius. Hopefully, Infinity Ward will push the genre, but not so much that they abandon what made their previous work great.
BLOODBOWL
Honestly, I know nothing about this one, except that it's based on a unique and brutal boardgame that I loved as a kid. Fast, brutal action and brazen silliness work so well together when artfully combined.
TOM CLANCY'S HAWX
Co-op dogfights in modern jets? Count me in. The game looks fun, but I'm left to wonder about replayability. Clear, concise missions can be fun, but I wouldn't buy the game unless there was something to do after I've completed all those missions. If HAWX includes enough dynamics and customization of gameplay, then this one could be a blast. It would be great if they'd allow players to select a vehicle for each single-player mission, the way MoH: Airborne allows players to select weapons.
GUITAR HERO: METALLICA
Yes, St. Anger sucked, and I don't much care for the new stuff either. But as a rocker raised on songs like "Don't Tread On Me", "Battery", and "Harvester of Sorrow", I can't wait to blare it through my TV and play along. These music games really are a unique and fun way to enjoy your favorite music. It doesn't hurt that Corrosion of Conformity, Children of Bodom, and other great bands have some tunes in this game.
GHOSTBUSTERS
Alright, so this one could be just a typically shallow and linear Hollywood hackjob. But hey, it's Ghostbusters! Coming from a film IP, it would be easy for the writers to prioritize a linear plot over interaction and personalization, but here's hoping it will turn out well. I'm glad the actors are all involved.
SACRED 2: FALLEN ANGEL
I half expect this to be mediocre, but it would be nice to play a Diablo-type game on a console for a change. I know they've been on consoles before, but this will be my first (not counting Too Human, which really isn't the same).
BRUTAL LEGEND: ROADHSHOW OF DESTRUCTION
I almost forgot this one! Brutal Legend is a tribute to the music that made my childhood. With many favorite musicians on board with development, and a comedic actor who has already dedicated many works to the subject (Jack Black), it's looking good. Once again, action mixed with comedy and over-the-top scenarios. As my old band's singer used to always say, "you better axe somebody!"
What have I forgotten? Halo Wars and Aliens: Colonial Marines could be cool, but I'm expecting them to be merely alright.
Friday, January 02, 2009
new appreciation
I'm still recovering from the holidays, and still have family visiting... and there's SEC teams playing bowl games today, so I don't have much to say today. But here are some short thoughts.
I was given Guitar Hero: World Tour for Christmas, with just the guitar and another. It's my first music game, ironically enough, and I'm loving it. After some nagging from my visiting sisters, I bought Rock Band 2 as well so I could have drums and a mic. Rock Band seems to have a hell of a lot more DLC, and great stuff ("Electric Crown" by Testament, "Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue, old Metallica, etc), but so far (it's still early) World Tour feels better and is more challenging. I'm loving both.
I'm looking forward to experimenting with World Tour's recording studio. As a songwriter for over 15 years, I'm hoping to create all sorts of stuff. I'm not sure how versatile or effective it is yet.
These music games have me enjoying songs in a whole new way. I wonder how games can help us to appreciate other things, like literature, in new ways. The main barrier to good translation of literature is still dialogue, for which AI remains insufficient. But perhaps designers can compensate elsewhere.
There's a LOTR: Conquest multiplayer demo on XBL today! It will be a while before I can try it out, but I recommend it to anyone. It's fashioned after Star Wars: Battlefront, and I consider that one of the best games of all-time; so much replayability and so much variety. I look forward to stomping on you all with my oliphant.
I was given Guitar Hero: World Tour for Christmas, with just the guitar and another. It's my first music game, ironically enough, and I'm loving it. After some nagging from my visiting sisters, I bought Rock Band 2 as well so I could have drums and a mic. Rock Band seems to have a hell of a lot more DLC, and great stuff ("Electric Crown" by Testament, "Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue, old Metallica, etc), but so far (it's still early) World Tour feels better and is more challenging. I'm loving both.
I'm looking forward to experimenting with World Tour's recording studio. As a songwriter for over 15 years, I'm hoping to create all sorts of stuff. I'm not sure how versatile or effective it is yet.
These music games have me enjoying songs in a whole new way. I wonder how games can help us to appreciate other things, like literature, in new ways. The main barrier to good translation of literature is still dialogue, for which AI remains insufficient. But perhaps designers can compensate elsewhere.
There's a LOTR: Conquest multiplayer demo on XBL today! It will be a while before I can try it out, but I recommend it to anyone. It's fashioned after Star Wars: Battlefront, and I consider that one of the best games of all-time; so much replayability and so much variety. I look forward to stomping on you all with my oliphant.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
BfME2 and more
To anyone who has played LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth 2 on the 360 or another console, please try the game out on PC. I got the console version for Christmas, and it doesn't hold a candle to the PC version. The console version is alright. The PC version, with much better controls and the War of the Ring mode, is a masterpiece.
I've got a big family, including close extended family, so I always get a lot of presents around Christmas. This year, I got the console version of BfME2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Fallout 3, and Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix... and I just bought myself Bioshock on the PC for five bucks through Steam (awesome deal!). And my sister bought herself a Wii, with Wii Sports and Wii Play.
I know I'm going to be obsessed with Fallout 3 once I begin, so I'm saving that 'til after I've put in time with the other games.
GH: World Tour rocks! I had heard that real guitarists have trouble with it. But I've been playing for over 15 years and I find that my experience helps me. That's probably because I play a lot of games as well. There's not many DLC tracks yet, but I'm sure there will be soon. I'm disappointed that so many songs aren't available in Head-to-Head multiplayer (not at start, anyway... perhaps they unlock). And as a songwriter, I'm thrilled by the possibility of publishing some compositions of my own, but the recording studio seems to be unnecessarily arduous and ineffectual. It tries too hard to make the note sequencing simple and similar to the rest of the game, rather than just using individual buttons to act like FruityLoops. Anyway, this is my first instrument game, and they're definitely on my must-have list from now on. It's a great way to enjoy music.
I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy the Harry Potter game, but I do like the idea of wandering around a 3-D Hogwarts. I'm a sucker for elaborately detailed settings that are so rich in imagination.
Yesterday was my first time to play a Wii. My initial impression: awesome, but poorly introduced. We knew enough to play and have fun, but exactly how our characters played was largely be accident. It's fine not forcing us through long tutorials at the beginning, but give us the option to learn. Anyway, we enjoyed both games, but Wii Play was especially cool. The air hockey game is awesome!
Any recommendations for Wii games? Not for me, but for a woman who hasn't played many games since the original Nintendo. My sister loved the original Mario Kart on the SNES (who didn't?), so I'm thinking she'd like Wii version. Boom Blox also seems like a possibility.
Does anyone else have Guitar Hero: World Tour? A band might be in order. Unless I'm mistaken, the controller is compatible with Rock Band, so perhaps I'll pick that up sometime. The reason I never picked up a music game before is because they cost so much more than normal games.
I've got a big family, including close extended family, so I always get a lot of presents around Christmas. This year, I got the console version of BfME2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Fallout 3, and Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix... and I just bought myself Bioshock on the PC for five bucks through Steam (awesome deal!). And my sister bought herself a Wii, with Wii Sports and Wii Play.
I know I'm going to be obsessed with Fallout 3 once I begin, so I'm saving that 'til after I've put in time with the other games.
GH: World Tour rocks! I had heard that real guitarists have trouble with it. But I've been playing for over 15 years and I find that my experience helps me. That's probably because I play a lot of games as well. There's not many DLC tracks yet, but I'm sure there will be soon. I'm disappointed that so many songs aren't available in Head-to-Head multiplayer (not at start, anyway... perhaps they unlock). And as a songwriter, I'm thrilled by the possibility of publishing some compositions of my own, but the recording studio seems to be unnecessarily arduous and ineffectual. It tries too hard to make the note sequencing simple and similar to the rest of the game, rather than just using individual buttons to act like FruityLoops. Anyway, this is my first instrument game, and they're definitely on my must-have list from now on. It's a great way to enjoy music.
I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy the Harry Potter game, but I do like the idea of wandering around a 3-D Hogwarts. I'm a sucker for elaborately detailed settings that are so rich in imagination.
Yesterday was my first time to play a Wii. My initial impression: awesome, but poorly introduced. We knew enough to play and have fun, but exactly how our characters played was largely be accident. It's fine not forcing us through long tutorials at the beginning, but give us the option to learn. Anyway, we enjoyed both games, but Wii Play was especially cool. The air hockey game is awesome!
Any recommendations for Wii games? Not for me, but for a woman who hasn't played many games since the original Nintendo. My sister loved the original Mario Kart on the SNES (who didn't?), so I'm thinking she'd like Wii version. Boom Blox also seems like a possibility.
Does anyone else have Guitar Hero: World Tour? A band might be in order. Unless I'm mistaken, the controller is compatible with Rock Band, so perhaps I'll pick that up sometime. The reason I never picked up a music game before is because they cost so much more than normal games.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Conquest!
I don't know about you, but this is how I'm going to kick off the new year! LOTR: Conquest!
The first Star Wars: Battlefront is one of my all-time favorite games. Quick, fluid, dynamic action with lots of variation and using a classic setting. Conquest seeks to apply the same basic model to LOTR, and it looks like Pandemic has done a pretty good job. In fact, the game seems to have even more replayability than its predecessor. Considering I can still enjoy Star Wars: Battlefront after years, that's pretty impressive.
I'll probably pick it up on the 360 -- my primary gaming platform these days (PC being my other favorite). All modes are available single-player and multiplayer, offline and on. That includes split-screen and online co-op. The game includes both a good and an evil campaign.
I can't wait to play as a troll, ride an oliphant or warg, fire arrows down from Helm's Deep, launch a catapult, and wreak havoc with the Balrog!
Keep an eye on this one. It could be another classic. Pandemic's one of the more consistently good development studios.
The first Star Wars: Battlefront is one of my all-time favorite games. Quick, fluid, dynamic action with lots of variation and using a classic setting. Conquest seeks to apply the same basic model to LOTR, and it looks like Pandemic has done a pretty good job. In fact, the game seems to have even more replayability than its predecessor. Considering I can still enjoy Star Wars: Battlefront after years, that's pretty impressive.
I'll probably pick it up on the 360 -- my primary gaming platform these days (PC being my other favorite). All modes are available single-player and multiplayer, offline and on. That includes split-screen and online co-op. The game includes both a good and an evil campaign.
I can't wait to play as a troll, ride an oliphant or warg, fire arrows down from Helm's Deep, launch a catapult, and wreak havoc with the Balrog!
Keep an eye on this one. It could be another classic. Pandemic's one of the more consistently good development studios.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Mirror Edge 2D webgame
There's a great 2D Flash version of Mirror's Edge over at Borne Games. You can immediately play through the beta at that link and offer any feedback to the developers. The full flash version will apparently be free.
This first level (surprisingly long) is fluid and fun, though I wonder why the developers chose the "S" and "/" keys for jumping, rather than the Spacebar, which seems more standard and is certainly more natural to me.
Publishers are definitely experimenting a lot these days with internet marketing. This Flash game does a great job of mimicking the Mirror Edge experience I had in the Xbox Live demo. The game encourages replay to try for the fastest, smoothest possible run. It's about momentum, and few games are.
I'm undecided on the 360 version of Mirror's Edge. Because the demo is only a training level, the experience is broken up. I can only guess that further levels have fewer story pauses and are more open to individual choices. The longer it lets me run, jump, and slide in one continuous experience, the more I enjoy it.
This first level (surprisingly long) is fluid and fun, though I wonder why the developers chose the "S" and "/" keys for jumping, rather than the Spacebar, which seems more standard and is certainly more natural to me.
Publishers are definitely experimenting a lot these days with internet marketing. This Flash game does a great job of mimicking the Mirror Edge experience I had in the Xbox Live demo. The game encourages replay to try for the fastest, smoothest possible run. It's about momentum, and few games are.
I'm undecided on the 360 version of Mirror's Edge. Because the demo is only a training level, the experience is broken up. I can only guess that further levels have fewer story pauses and are more open to individual choices. The longer it lets me run, jump, and slide in one continuous experience, the more I enjoy it.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
a sweet October
Graphics have definitely improved over the years:
I've got my copy of Dead Space, but haven't dived into it yet. Once the sun goes down.
I'll probably write something up on it and Saints Row 2 in the coming weeks.
I've got my copy of Dead Space, but haven't dived into it yet. Once the sun goes down.
I'll probably write something up on it and Saints Row 2 in the coming weeks.
scripted choices
Lionhead has come up with a cool and relevant flash game to advertise their upcoming 360 game. I call it relevant because it gives people a taste of the sort of choices they might have to make in Fable 2.
It's interesting and fun, but it demonstrates the problem I mentioned when playing Mass Effect, the inevitable consequence of offering players scripted choices: the designer can't include or even think of every choice different players would choose to make in a given circumstance. Scripted choices are still worthwhile, but the player should also be able to choose in less restricted ways.
It's interesting and fun, but it demonstrates the problem I mentioned when playing Mass Effect, the inevitable consequence of offering players scripted choices: the designer can't include or even think of every choice different players would choose to make in a given circumstance. Scripted choices are still worthwhile, but the player should also be able to choose in less restricted ways.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Iron Grip: Warlord closed beta
Isotx is taking applications now for the closed beta of Iron Grip: Warlord, their unique FPS/RTS hybrid.
I worked for Isotx very briefly and was privileged to offer a small contribution to the Iron Grip lore. So I'm excited to see the game start to reach fruition.
Warlord continues from Iron Grip: The Oppression, a Half-Life 2 total conversion mod that you can find here. What makes The Oppression a unique multiplayer game is that one side plays the game as an FPS while the other side plays as an RTS.
Warlord, on the other hand, is not a mod. It's a full commercial game that takes place in a different corner of the Iron Grip universe (which is huge) and follows the same style of gameplay. Isotx decided to revamp the graphics earlier this year, and it shows. The game's looking good:
I worked for Isotx very briefly and was privileged to offer a small contribution to the Iron Grip lore. So I'm excited to see the game start to reach fruition.
Warlord continues from Iron Grip: The Oppression, a Half-Life 2 total conversion mod that you can find here. What makes The Oppression a unique multiplayer game is that one side plays the game as an FPS while the other side plays as an RTS.
Warlord, on the other hand, is not a mod. It's a full commercial game that takes place in a different corner of the Iron Grip universe (which is huge) and follows the same style of gameplay. Isotx decided to revamp the graphics earlier this year, and it shows. The game's looking good:
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Freaky Creatures
I've been pointed to a pretty cool game concept by Abandon Interactive that seems to include the sort of replayability I often talk about. There's a trailer for Freaky Creatures here.
I'm impressed by how unique the game is. Most of the game elements can be found elsewhere, but it's an interesting combination of features.
It's basically a PC-based 3D online fighter game (I'm guessing it's turn-based, but I could be wrong). The hook is that you create your own character through both visuals and skills.
Starting with a basic creature of your choice and a color scheme, you can cycle through a number of head ornaments, body ornaments, and select a weapon for each hand. Weapons have stats, so that selection is not just visual. Next, you select five skills from a list. Then, name your fighter and give him or her a themesong (how exactly that works, I don't know yet).
Finally, you enter a lobby and battle other players' unique creations. Victories win you Creature Credits, and your creature levels up.
You can create a lair for your creature and interact with it, if you want to. There's also a chat window. And players can form teams, too.
From the trailer, it seems the game is aimed primarily at kids, but I expect that's only reflected in chat moderation and lack of gore. I've never played a fighter game on the PC before. And this is unique as arena games go, so I'm curious how this will turn out.
Abandon says there are "over 3.2 billion creatures" possible, so my main concern at the moment is the game's pricing model. How vital are purchased add-ons to gameplay? The game comes on a reusable USB flash drive "bundled with collectible action figures" for 20 bucks, which makes me think of collectible card games.
The Freaky Creatures site has some browser-based mini-games up, including a fun air hockey game (with some cool, if rudimentary, dynamics added). That makes me wonder if players can interact through their creations in ways beyond fighting and chatting. Wouldn't it be great to play air hockey and other mini-games with the same avatar you use for deeper 3D gameplay?
If you're not familiar with the company (I wasn't), Abandon co-published Dark Age of Camelot. They're also behind the upcoming Max Payne and Alice films.
They're taking beta signups now. Abandon expects the game to release sometime next year.
Freaky Creatures might be worth keeping an eye on. What do you think?
I'm impressed by how unique the game is. Most of the game elements can be found elsewhere, but it's an interesting combination of features.
It's basically a PC-based 3D online fighter game (I'm guessing it's turn-based, but I could be wrong). The hook is that you create your own character through both visuals and skills.
Starting with a basic creature of your choice and a color scheme, you can cycle through a number of head ornaments, body ornaments, and select a weapon for each hand. Weapons have stats, so that selection is not just visual. Next, you select five skills from a list. Then, name your fighter and give him or her a themesong (how exactly that works, I don't know yet).
Finally, you enter a lobby and battle other players' unique creations. Victories win you Creature Credits, and your creature levels up.
You can create a lair for your creature and interact with it, if you want to. There's also a chat window. And players can form teams, too.
From the trailer, it seems the game is aimed primarily at kids, but I expect that's only reflected in chat moderation and lack of gore. I've never played a fighter game on the PC before. And this is unique as arena games go, so I'm curious how this will turn out.
Abandon says there are "over 3.2 billion creatures" possible, so my main concern at the moment is the game's pricing model. How vital are purchased add-ons to gameplay? The game comes on a reusable USB flash drive "bundled with collectible action figures" for 20 bucks, which makes me think of collectible card games.
The Freaky Creatures site has some browser-based mini-games up, including a fun air hockey game (with some cool, if rudimentary, dynamics added). That makes me wonder if players can interact through their creations in ways beyond fighting and chatting. Wouldn't it be great to play air hockey and other mini-games with the same avatar you use for deeper 3D gameplay?
If you're not familiar with the company (I wasn't), Abandon co-published Dark Age of Camelot. They're also behind the upcoming Max Payne and Alice films.
They're taking beta signups now. Abandon expects the game to release sometime next year.
Freaky Creatures might be worth keeping an eye on. What do you think?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Red Alert free; hurricanes
If you haven't heard already, EA's letting anyone download the original Command & Conquer: Red Alert for free today at this site. You can also get Red Alert 2 "free" if you pre-order Red Alert 3. I'd say that's a hell of a deal for folks who were already planning on buying Red Alert 3.
If you've never played a Red Alert game, I can't say I'm sure you'll enjoy the original (just because it's so old), but it's definitely worth trying. The only RTS series that compares in popularity is Starcraft. Red Alert was my favorite RTS until I played LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth 2.
edit: I tried for hours to get the original Red Alert working on my Win XP -- the Win 95 version and the DOS version -- but to no avail. I give up. I hope you have more luck with it.
On another note, hurricane Gustav could knock out my internet for a while.
I live just north of Houston. Right now, Gustav's aimed for New Orleans (city of my birth), but I've been watching hurricanes long enough to know that the weather forecasters are only making educated guesses and this thing could turn at any time. Even if Gustav doesn't turn, it might spin out tornadoes here or drop enough rain to knock out the power. I'm too far inland to worry about it, really. It's the people on the coast who need your prayers, but I'm just letting you know I might not update this site for a while after Monday.
If you're one of the folks evacuating or travelling through Louisiana right now, be aware that gas stations are running out of gas and not all of them will have more delivered anytime soon. Some relatives of mine just drove back to Houston from Mobile. Ironically, they said I-10 was alright (they travelled in the middle of the night), but Texas is diverting traffic around Liberty and other areas. 1960 east of Houston (the route I usually take to 90) is closed off.
Hurricane Hannah's looking like it might hit the Florida keys soon.
May God keep you safe.
If you've never played a Red Alert game, I can't say I'm sure you'll enjoy the original (just because it's so old), but it's definitely worth trying. The only RTS series that compares in popularity is Starcraft. Red Alert was my favorite RTS until I played LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth 2.
edit: I tried for hours to get the original Red Alert working on my Win XP -- the Win 95 version and the DOS version -- but to no avail. I give up. I hope you have more luck with it.
On another note, hurricane Gustav could knock out my internet for a while.
I live just north of Houston. Right now, Gustav's aimed for New Orleans (city of my birth), but I've been watching hurricanes long enough to know that the weather forecasters are only making educated guesses and this thing could turn at any time. Even if Gustav doesn't turn, it might spin out tornadoes here or drop enough rain to knock out the power. I'm too far inland to worry about it, really. It's the people on the coast who need your prayers, but I'm just letting you know I might not update this site for a while after Monday.
If you're one of the folks evacuating or travelling through Louisiana right now, be aware that gas stations are running out of gas and not all of them will have more delivered anytime soon. Some relatives of mine just drove back to Houston from Mobile. Ironically, they said I-10 was alright (they travelled in the middle of the night), but Texas is diverting traffic around Liberty and other areas. 1960 east of Houston (the route I usually take to 90) is closed off.
Hurricane Hannah's looking like it might hit the Florida keys soon.
May God keep you safe.
Monday, August 25, 2008
NotKnownSurvivors
The guys at EA making Dead Space have come up with a pretty interesting marketing ploy. Basically, it's web-based 3D detective mini-game in which you can explore one room of the spaceship Ishimura to learn some Dead Space backstory and enjoy a miniature drama involving two of the ship's employees (a security worker and you, the geeky organ replacement surgeon who is infatuated with her).
It's also a contest to win a free copy of Dead Space, but what really makes it interesting to me is how relevant it is to the retail game. Like Bioshock, Dead Space relies heavily on atmosphere, and this mini-game provides a small taste of that. Be sure to have the audio on, because that's what really makes this worthwhile. If you spend more than just a minute in the mini-game, you'll be surprised by what you hear.
This isn't your average marketing scheme. It includes a surprising amount of voice-acting (well done, too). And elements like the computer's AI personality draw you into the sci-fi setting. EA's planning on adding something new to this every Monday until the game releases.
It's a cool and original idea. I hope other developers come up with marketing like this.
It's also a contest to win a free copy of Dead Space, but what really makes it interesting to me is how relevant it is to the retail game. Like Bioshock, Dead Space relies heavily on atmosphere, and this mini-game provides a small taste of that. Be sure to have the audio on, because that's what really makes this worthwhile. If you spend more than just a minute in the mini-game, you'll be surprised by what you hear.
This isn't your average marketing scheme. It includes a surprising amount of voice-acting (well done, too). And elements like the computer's AI personality draw you into the sci-fi setting. EA's planning on adding something new to this every Monday until the game releases.
It's a cool and original idea. I hope other developers come up with marketing like this.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Montessori learning in Spore
If you buy a child one game in this year or next, buy Spore. It's an inherently educational game and teaches many lessons.
As a child, Will Wright was educated by the Montessori method. Montessori learning is basically learning through experimentation; self-directed interaction with objects and relationships. This is the sort of learning that permeates Spore.
Players intuitively learn through their experiments basic concepts of structural biology; how the shape, size, and orientation of various body parts combine to form aptitudes and behaviors.
In the tribal and civilization stages, players intuitively learn basic concepts of government. They learn about resource management, the necessity of defense, diplomacy, and civic engineering.
In the space phase, players are exposed to the first detailed 3-D model of space -- an achievement significant enough to earn Wright an invitation to demonstrate Spore at NASA. Kids and adults can be exposed to concepts like black holes, quasars, asteroid and ice belts, and perhaps the many phases of a star's life cycle.
Of course, like with any teaching tool, some guidance is good. For example, Spore begins with the panspermia/exogenesishypothesis guess. When your child asks you why scientists would think the possibility that life began elsewhere and arrived on Earth via meteors is any more credible than life beginning here on Earth, you can say, "Because scientists can be idiots, too."
More generally, Spore provides inspiration for learning; enthusiastic questions which parents and teachers can use to open broader or more detailed lessons. After a child has equipped his or her creature with horns, spitters, plating, or claws, you can use that to open discussion of the countless defense mechanisms not included in the game. As children paint their creatures, you can introduce them to concepts like camouflage, feathers, or exoskeletons. No matter what they're playing with in Spore, it's a great occasion to point out the wondrous variety of life and beautiful logos which pervades our universe.
Spore is one of the best examples of potential for educational games. Like trips to museums and zoos or time spent out with nature, it can be an invaluable inspiration for learning. Learning should not always be fun, but it certainly can be.
This sort of educational value is an important part of the future of video games as they become increasingly mainstream. No work of art or product is free from social responsibility.
As a child, Will Wright was educated by the Montessori method. Montessori learning is basically learning through experimentation; self-directed interaction with objects and relationships. This is the sort of learning that permeates Spore.
Players intuitively learn through their experiments basic concepts of structural biology; how the shape, size, and orientation of various body parts combine to form aptitudes and behaviors.
In the tribal and civilization stages, players intuitively learn basic concepts of government. They learn about resource management, the necessity of defense, diplomacy, and civic engineering.
In the space phase, players are exposed to the first detailed 3-D model of space -- an achievement significant enough to earn Wright an invitation to demonstrate Spore at NASA. Kids and adults can be exposed to concepts like black holes, quasars, asteroid and ice belts, and perhaps the many phases of a star's life cycle.
Of course, like with any teaching tool, some guidance is good. For example, Spore begins with the panspermia/exogenesis
More generally, Spore provides inspiration for learning; enthusiastic questions which parents and teachers can use to open broader or more detailed lessons. After a child has equipped his or her creature with horns, spitters, plating, or claws, you can use that to open discussion of the countless defense mechanisms not included in the game. As children paint their creatures, you can introduce them to concepts like camouflage, feathers, or exoskeletons. No matter what they're playing with in Spore, it's a great occasion to point out the wondrous variety of life and beautiful logos which pervades our universe.
Spore is one of the best examples of potential for educational games. Like trips to museums and zoos or time spent out with nature, it can be an invaluable inspiration for learning. Learning should not always be fun, but it certainly can be.
This sort of educational value is an important part of the future of video games as they become increasingly mainstream. No work of art or product is free from social responsibility.
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