The Giant's Drink

I'm Not Dead!

2009-12-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

I've just been busy - firstly finishing up another hectic summer in QA. Then, in September, I was promoted to Associate Producer in THQ's Kids and Family group. I plan to start posting regularly soon!

Fun Friday: ESRB Makes Things Sound Even More Awesome

2009-07-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

I love Scribblenauts. I love this descriptor from the ESRB even more.

Scribblenauts

Platform: Nintendo DS

Rating: Everyone 10+

Content descriptors: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief

Rating summary: This is a puzzle game in which players navigate a series of traps, puzzles, and enemies to collect stars scattered throughout the colorful levels. Players have the ability to summon different objects by writing/typing in the word (e.g., bike, spaceship, lion) and watching it come to life. If multiple words are entered in a sequence, different whimsical scenarios can be triggered: a bicycle can be used to jump over a baby; a bulldozer can clear away a shark; and cabbage can be fed to dinosaurs. Players can elect to summon "cartoony" versions of bats, bombs, guns, and flamethrowers. These types of items can be used to destroy objects or even other summoned items (e.g., a club can be used to hit an animal; steak can be attached to a baby to attract lions; rockets can be lobbed at a man). These triggered animations are minimally depicted and are usually accompanied by popping, musical sound effects; bright, star-shaped flashes; or small puffs of smoke. If players wish to, they may type in the word vomit, which causes a beige-colored lump to appear on the screen.

Via Kotaku and the ESRB.

Fun Friday: E3 is Over Edition

2009-06-05T20:49:00.001-07:00

WELL BAM there it is - REMIX from jaroshbarksdale on Vimeo.

The Morning After

2009-06-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess it's actually the night of the last day, but you understand where I'm going, right? This is my second time going to E3 and I think I'm detecting a pattern in how I feel about the whole thing. I think I like the "idea" of Es rather than the actual thing. The idea is that there is giant spectacle, with thumping music and booth babes. It's Christmas in June for gamers, as we get our hands on all the products that make us giddy before they're released. Then we actually get there and there are lines to play demos or to get a small piece of plastic. (Stupid Spirit Tracks stylus!) And end of it our feet hurt and you're left thinking, "That's it?" You lament all the things you didn't get to play with and what you may have missed out on. It's kind of like actual Christmas, isn't.

That being said, I can't wait for next year!

In the end, I did have a lot of fun. It's always great hanging out with a bunch of people you know in the industry and meeting new people. Speaking of meeting people; there were two people of note that I met. Firstly, I met Jeremiah Slaczka, lead designer at 5th Cell who is responsible for titles such as Drawn To Life, Lock's Quest and Scribblenauts. Secondly, I ran the man himself, Reggie Fils-Amie, president of Nintendo of America.

But the important thing is what I thought about the games I actually got my hands. Disappointingly, most of the games I was interested in were only being shown behind closed doors; Assassin's Creed 2, Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2 and DJ Hero. I did, however get my hands on some other stuff.

I played two games that used the Wii Motion Plus, and, sadly, I think it's a useless piece of plastic and circuitry. Both Red Steel 2 and Wii Sports Resort (sword dueling game) disappointed. Neither seemed to offer the precision that they suggested they would. In both, I still felt as though I was just wildly flailing my arms. They both also try to sense that how hard the player swings the Wii Remote in order to replicate a harder in hit in game but it just led to a sore shoulder.

Tony Hawk Ride was a mixed bag. I enjoyed the skateboard controller while street skating even if I think it will take time to get used to but Vert was a pain. Pulling off grabs really forces the player to squat down, something I noticed was very hard for most gamers. I think the real reason behind the peripheral is Activision seeing how far gamers will go beyond playing a toy guitar to embarrass themselves.

I enjoyed my time with Scibblenauts, Overlord 2 and even the Aragorn Wii game at the Warner Brothers booth. The new Super Mario Bros. Wii was fun but I wish there was some cooperation elements to contrast with the competitive aspect of the game. Both God of War 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks were solid successors to their previous entries. And while the train bits of Spirit Tracks was not very fun, at least I wouldn't have to pick up a $500 dollar system to play it.

From oer peoples' shoulders I saw Brutal Legend, Prototype, Arkham Asylum, Conviction and Halo: ODST. All of these impressed visually but I will wait patiently for demos on Live before making any purchase decisions.

And so, I guess the count down to next year has already begun. In fact there have already been an announcement for what will be announced next year. I can't wait!

Forget the MMO, Just Make This A Movie

2009-06-01T21:52:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, there are two things that I am not: a PC gamer nor a MMO player. Therefore, I may not be that excited for The Old Republic MMO. Regardless, Bioware returned the Star Wars franchise to its roots with Knights of the Old Republic on the Xbox. Now they plan to release an MMO in the same universe. Sounds cool and this trailer is all kinds of awesome, but we all know, game play will be nothing like this. So, I am suggesting to Bioware that they scrap all of this MMO nonsense, turn this story into a feature film trilogy and rake in the box office sales. It may not make as much money as a WoW but at least give yourself a chance to make back all of the money you are pouring into a potentially volatile market!

E3 2009

2009-06-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'll be at E3 tomorrow and Wednesday. I'll mostly be wandering around but I might be found at the THQ booth as well. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the following:

Mass Effect 2
DJ Hero
Bioshock 2
Assassin's Creed 2
The Saboteur
Muramasa
Brutal Legend
God of War 3
Whatever Nintendo/Sony announce tomorrow morning

See you there!

Grand Theft April (And A Bit of May)

2009-06-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

Life hasn't been all work as I did find some time to finally get back into GTAIV. It may have been a year late, but better late than never. Rockstar excelled at creating another living, breathing world to play in (even if the pedestrian banter did become a bit repetitive). Liberty City steals the show in its depth, breadth and diversity. I thoroughly enjoyed the story even when it seemed to meander into no mans land, drifting from away from the heart of the story, but the climax brought it all back around to a satisfying and shocking end.

Obviously, there are issues that persist from earlier entries in the series, namely combat. At this point, the developers should just rip off gun play from someone who does it right, like Epic's Gears of War style. And hand to hand needs to be overhauled completely. Button mashing never works and trying to finesse it was to sloppy as well. It was also a shame to see that the music stations didn't play as prominently as before. I can still remember most of GTAIII original music, Vice City's 80's sound track and San Andreas's gangsta rap, but Liberty City's music was largely forgettable and too eclectic.

After spending enough time to 100% complete the game (yes, I even took the time to kill every damn pigeon), I can easily say that I enjoyed every minute of it barring the frustration from some of the more difficult achievements.

I spent some time with GTA: Chinatown Wars as well. Unfortunately, not too many people bought the game, but it was well worth every cent. The smaller screens obviously shrink the viewing area, making driving and shooting somewhat difficult, but the developers made up for this by making cars more durable and a robust lock on scheme. Also, I have seen few games that put the Touch Screen to such fantastic use. From making and throwing Molotov cocktails to car jacking to keeping someone alive with shock paddles to guiding a parade dragon, the game continued to surprise me with new ways to use the Touch Screen. And because the circumstances vary widely and rarely overlap, the actions don't become repetitive or boring. Also, about the drug dealing aspect of the game, while controversial, there is something to be said about the basic supply and demand economics that it can teach.

I have yet to be disappointed by any of the Grand Theft Auto games since the jump to 3D, even the hand held versions. I have no doubt that Rockstar will continue to push boundaries and provide immensely entertaining games for years to come.

It's Been A While

2009-06-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

I spent the better part of my free time in May playing a 400 square foot game of Tetris as seen above. After laying about 1500 bricks, my masterpiece was complete and I had a (mostly) level, paver patio in my back yard. I think it came out quite nice and it was finished just in time for my son's first birthday. Wow, I can't believe how time flies!

Fun Friday: Cultural Differences Edition

2009-05-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Japanese have some bizarre games but this one is right up there with the best of them. It's not likely that this WiiWare title will make to us in the United States but it's a shame that we don't really get a chance to experience this stuff. It's too bad that even as we move to digital distribution we won't likely to get access to the many game that aren't necessarily intended for us as an audience. One can only hope that one of the buig three see some benefit in opening the gates to worldwide distribution of niche and culturally diverse games.

Fun Friday: More Good Than Evil Edition

2009-05-08T21:44:00.000-07:00

Kotaku has unveiled what may or may not be possible game footage from the upcoming sequel to Beyond Good and Evil. I'm guessing that it is not real-time, in-game footage but pre-rendered concept material at the very least. A lot of comparisons have been made to Mirror's Edge, which I can see, but that is probably because that title is lot more fresh in the gaming community's mind. But i think a better comparison would be to Ubisoft's own IP, Asssassin's Creed, as you can clearly see the character brushing NPC's aside and climbing in a similar manner to Altair.

Either way, it looks awesome and I would play this game in a heart beat. Hopefully, they'll release the original game in Xbox originals soon, as I have criminally never played it.

Fun Friday: I Wish I Had Minions Edition

2009-05-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

The original Overlord was a blast and it looks like the sequel will be just as much fun, if not more so. I could have a lot of fun with my own minions. They could take out the trash, change my son, do the dishes and much more. Then, I'd have more time to fun stuff, like planning my rise to global domination.

This series is also as close as I will get to an RTS.

6 Days in "Fail"-ujah

2009-04-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

So, after all of the controversy they stirred up, Konami has backed out of publishing 6 Days in Fallujah. Obviously, they incurred a heaping dose of wrath for what many considered insensitive and ill timed considering the conflict in Iraq continues at this very moment (my brother just returned from his second stint in Iraq, which was his third to the middle east). It is unfortunate that the very vocal minority will get their way in the short run and will have seemingly stopped the release of this game unless developer Atomic Games can find a brave new publisher.

It sad that the dichotomy of our industry is that we want the creative freedom to make "art" but can't stomach the potential financial loss if that backfires. But the scary thought of industry execs self censoring is not the only issue here.

Without knowing much more than the game existed, it's hard to say if we'll be missing anything at all. Would it have been just another shooter or would it have brought to new light what happened in those six bloody days? Would it have transcended above a "game" and deliver an experience that a documentary could not? That what the developer's proposed as they said that "games are not just toys."

I'm afraid I'm skeptical. It seems to me that they set out to create a linear, but vivid and accurate, recreation of the battle. It that sense they would most likely be very successful at telling the story they want but miss the point of what games can bring to the table. Games allow us to solve problems and make our own choices. Players are not led by a director through a scene but create their own story through play. Instead of going down the alley to the left, maybe the player leads his squad down the right and they are all ambushed and captured. Maybe the player successfully neutralizes the threat in Fallujah with minimal casualties and the skirmish is no longer as historically significant. Maybe the player decides the threat is too great (or not great enough) and never enters the city at all. These divergent paths change the course of history and take away from the developer's attempts to create "game-amentary."

There have been many, many war games. It is a popular setting as it lends itself easily to good versus evil, right versus wrong. But the Iraq war is not that black and white. Could Atomic Games create a game where there are no winners and the "good guys" die a lot? Sure, I like to think we could progress our medium to that level.

But it probably wouldn't be much fun. And it most likely wouldn't sell as well as the new Call of Duty.

Fun Friday: Epic Film Edition

2009-04-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

The motion picture had enough to live up too based on the game alone. Now that there's this short film, it doesn't have a chance!

Unexplored Game Mechanic: Debt

2009-04-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Debt is clearly a problem for many people, myself included, just look at the state of our economy. Unfortunately, there aren't too many ways for people to educate themselves on the subject, especially not in games. A while back, I gave some thought to how to design a game with the player managing his debt as a major component of the game play. Obviously this would be a game about educating the public, not necessarily entertaining them.

I envisioned an RPG-style game where the player had limited income resources and needed to rely mostly on loans and credit as a means of paying for in game necessities and items. The ultimate goal was to show the player how quickly one can drown under the weight of debt in the face of shrinking income and increasing interest rates.

Well, it seems someone has beaten me to the punch as Brian Haveri, a grad student, has released Debt Ski. This flash game is simple but quite effective at showing how hard staying out of debt can be. It's a fairly simple platforming game; the player moves a pig on a jet ski from left to right collecting "income," paying for necessities like rent and trying to avoid luxuries like iPods. At the of each level the player has to be in the black to keep playing or take on debt. If the player can't afford his necessities of accrue too much debt, it's game over.

Fun Friday: Not Worth It To Me Edition

2009-04-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

While the single player campaign turned out to be pretty darn good, I could not see how it would translate into a multiplayer experience very well. Needless to say, I skipped the $5 DLC and will continue to imagine that this is how it plays.

March Madness

2009-04-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't spend the month of March watching college basketball. Nope, I spent it catching up on some of the games I missed in the crowded holiday season.

The first game I tackled was Dead Space. This game hit on almost every cylinder. The atmosphere was brilliant and tense, especially the audio as I played through most of the game while wearing headphones. The controls were tight, allowing the player to move and shoot (unlike some other horror game) all while managing your inventory in real time. But it was all of the little things that made this game great. For example, the character's head moved with the cursor as the player navigated his HUD and that all of the pertinent player information was built right into the character model really drove home the immersion. With the minor exceptions that many of the missions were fetch quests and the 3D map was finicky (I remember it being much more fluid and readable in Metroid Prime), this game stood out for me as one of the great experiences of this last year.

The next game I devoted my time to was Mirror's Edge. This game, mush like EA's other gamble Dead Space, was served by beautiful art direction and audio. The parkour mechanics translated rather well to the first person genre and offered some brilliant moments of free running that were both nerve-racking and exhilarating. If that was the whole game, I would place it up with Dead Space as a must play. However, the hand to hand combat was absolutely dreadful and, unfortunately, is unavoidable at set pieces throughout the game. Which leads me to my next negative point about the game - if parkour is about going anywhere, why was there really only one correct path through the game? If the level design was opened up more to allow craftier players to find paths to avoid enemy encounters while other could charge through, run and gun style, this game would have far exceeded any one's expectations. That being said, it warrants a sequel if only to see where the developers can take this and hopefully improve upon said short comings.

I then moved on to Tomb Raider: Underworld. This game was a mess, with some sketchy controls and camera; the game even crashed a few times throughout my play through. In addition, many times I felt like I had no idea what to do next and I was forced to rely far too heavily on the hint function in the menu for direction. Unfortunately, this seems par for the course for a Lara Croft adventure, but I forged ahead anyway because, graphically, it was a pleasure to look at and the story line was intriguing because of how set up Norse myth as a basis for all other mythologies and the (fictional) reality that forged those myths. In the end, I would say that I had fun playing through the game but technical issues marred the experience.

I ended the month with Resident Evil 5. I know I've been tough on the game for its unwillingness to evolve but, you know what, I ended up really enjoying it. I still stand behind the idea that the game has one of, if not the worst, first impressions of any game ever. With the controls they way they are and then to throw the player right off the bat into a confined area with a boss and numerous fast moving enemies was a recipe for disaster and I image that many people who didn't give this game a chance was because he or she didn't get past this part. It's a shame because once this section is over, the pace settles down and the player can settle into a groove that lasts through the end of the game. I ended up playing through the game several times to get some of the additional achievements but the game gave me no incentive to try the Mercenaries mode, Co-op or the dowloadable VS. mode but I imagine someone that is a huge fan of the series would dive right in to them. At the end of the day, RE5 will have to go down as a contender for game of year (so far), which is not something I expected to say after my time with the demo.

Fun Friday: This Can't Come Soon Enough Edition

2009-04-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

When, I heard about the Big Sister a couple of weeks ago, I thought that it may have been an April Fools Joke. I was wrong and it became known that she was in fact going to be in Bioshock 2. Now that I've seen her in action, this game can't come soon enough.

Fun Friday: April Fools Edition

2009-04-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

While I did think Volition's Ostrich Hammer was pretty funny, Microsoft's Alpine Legend announcement made me chuckle just a little bit more.

Fun Friday: Giving In Edition

2009-03-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

I've discussed at some length why I hesitate to play Resident Evil 5. However, I broke down and started playing the game today. On one hand, this game creates an absolutely atrocious first impression with frustrating controls combined with an opening sequence that gives the player no time to come to grips with them. Even playing on the easiest difficultly so I am not punished as quickly and so I can try to enjoy the game somewhat, but that initial "boss" with the axe is still ridiculous. On the other, once I finally got past him, I started to get some of the same feelings that I remember Resident Evil 4 evoking.

Yahtzee does have a point about the inventory system; it makes absolutely no sense.

Fun Friday: Odd Mashup Edition

2009-03-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

I like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I also like hip hop. Do I like them together? Is it like chocolate and peanut butter? Not quite, but it is pretty awesome.

8tracks | teamteamwork | The Ocarina of Rhyme

Fun Friday: Real Life Achievements Edition

2009-03-13T19:40:00.001-07:00

Life would be some much more exciting if this were real. At the very least, I'd be more motivated. Funny thing about this video, one of the guys in the drinking coffee was an intern when I was there, 5 years ago.

Parents Just Don't Understand

2009-03-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

Over at GameSetWatch, James Portnow has posted an essay looking at the secret language that has developed in each of the different gaming genres as a way for the player to feel unique and special. One of the groups he asked to partake in the study was the parents of gamers. The following two quotes are from different people (I think) but are hilarious when read together.

I can't keep up. He comes to the dinner table and I try to be involved, but one week it's a 'dwarf enchanter' and the next it's 'Solid Snake.'
I don't know if he's talking to his friends about doing drugs or playing a game.

As a gamer and a parent, I think the notion that I could have no idea what my son is talking about is ludicrous. Granted, I'm a life long gamer who understands this language but I still think it stems from a lack of involvement in what interests their kids. Just as my dad had to learn about soccer when I chose that over baseball, I will have to learn whatever my son is into, whether that's gaming, sports, or whatever he gets into. And this attitude that gaming is a foreign language and detrimental to society will change as my generation gets older and has more kids of our own.

So, does anyone know where I can score some "Solid Snake?" I need a fix.

Bioshock 2 to Include Big Sisters

2009-03-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

The April 2009 cover of Game Informer has revealed what has already been rumored: Big Sisters. I really like their design, they appear sleaker, speedier, maybe even stealthier than our lumbering Big Daddies of old. One commenter I read speculated that they could be as agile as the spider splicer, which is a scary thought.

One thing that struck me is that in the original game, the Big Daddies foreshadowed what the player would become: a protector of the Little Sisters and a father figure for them, literally donning a Big Daddy suit. Does the inclusion of a Big Sister imply that the main character for Bioshock 2 will be a woman? I guess will have to wait at least for the next issue of Game Informer to find out.

Of course, this could also be an April Fools joke. If so, why, Game Informer, why?

Awesome Quote of the Week

2009-03-10T08:04:00.001-07:00

They buy the Wii games that they buy for the same reason that people go to McDonald's. McDonald's doesn't win a lot of restaurant critic awards but they are approachable, they're consistent, and you know what they're going to serve you.

-Michael Pachter on what it takes to make a must-have Wii game

Well, since I count the number of times I've been to McDonald's in the last ten years on one hand, that explains why I have so few Wii games.

Designed Frustration

2009-03-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

Capcom may or may not be aware that some people found the controls in the Resident Evil 5 demo to somewhat cumbersome to say the least, myself included. Either way, they are doing their best to defend it. Producer Jun Takeuchi explained,

We went in knowing that we weren't making a typical third or first person shooter; we were making a Resident Evil game. It was important for us to go with the design choices that would make the best Resident Evil game that we could. When it comes to Resident Evil, we feel that by imposing a restriction on the player you actually increase the tension that they feel while playing.

I really have to disagree here. Tension is not the same as frustration. The entire time I spent with the demo, about an hour, was spent fighting the controls. It had been a few years since I had played Resident Evil 4 but I couldn't get to grips with the controls. It wasn't even the fact that I had to stop to aim; I really think that when they brought the controls from the GameCube controls to the 360 controller, they weren't sure what to do with all of the extra buttons and made the controls overcomplicated.

The other problem I had with the scheme, and the idea that there the same as RE4 so what's the big deal, is that while they updated everything else, the controls stayed the same. There are more enemies and the enemies are smarter and faster but the player feels slow and dumb. It's not really a sound strategy to shoot a couple of zombies in the legs, run to the other side of the room, turn and repeat until they're dead. This tension, it's tedium.

Finally, I just finished plying through Dead Space. That game is tense. And guess what, you can shoot and run at the same time. Look for my thoughts on Dead Space later this week (preview: I loved it).

Fun Friday: Time to Dust off the DS Edition

2009-03-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

While I have yet to really play through GTAIV proper, this version for the DS, Chinatown Wars, looks more and more fun every time I see a new trailer for it. I like the look and game play style these videos project, it's very "arcade-like" and looks a lot less serious. This may just be what the series needs; a little injection of that old school fun.

Reaching Another Milestone

2009-03-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

It's been another year and a half since my first 10k, but I've done it again. Earlier today I reached a gamerscore of 20,000. Here are some of my favorite achievements earned along the way.

Paramour (Mass Effect) - I found out what all the fuss was about, and guess what, it wasn't a big deal. But you know what was, the game. It was awesome (except the driving sections, those can go).

Brass Balls (Bioshock) - I didn't need much encouragement to play through this game again but the challenge made it all the more sweeter.

Defiant (The Orange Box) - The best part about this secret achievement is that I got it without knowing how to get. Take that can and shove it, buddy!

Blade in the Crowd (Assassin's Creed) - Each and every time I stealth killed a enemy with the hidden blade, I was filled with great satisfaction. Should I see a doctor about that?

No-one Left Behind (Left 4 Dead) - I have never had so much fun playing with my friends in an online Co-op game.

Now, the Bad News

2009-03-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

News hit the Internet pretty fast today as one of our QA offices suffered quite a blow. As part of our company's plan to return to profitability, the vast majority of our testers in Champagne,IL will soon be out of work. Being on the Nintendo Compliance team, I had no direct contact with them as far as projects are concerned (they concentrated on PS3/360/PC testing), but it's never easy to hear that co-workers have lost their jobs.

Best of luck, guys, and we all hope that you land on your feet soon.

First, the Good News

2009-03-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot about this last week, but I have to give a shout out to the folks at Blue Tongue for the success that de Blob has achieved. Since launch in September, we've sold over 700,000 copies! Not bad for a non-Nintendo title.

Now if I can just find out how Deadly Creatures is doing...

Fallout 3: Looking Back

2009-03-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

I beat Fallout 3 last week. Wait, I need to repeat that: I beat Fallout 3 last week. We'll come back to that point latter.

Fallout 3 was at the top of my list of missed games this last Fall. I picked it up for my birthday and spent the better part of February exploring the vast wastelands of post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. In the end, I spent about 120 hours with the game which is about half of what I spent in the world of Oblivion. Since I had not played any of the previous Fallout games, Oblivion was my point of reference for what to expect. This may have tainted my early experience.

Right off the bat, I was trying to play the former like the latter and it just didn't work for me. In Oblivion, my character was a brutal yet stealthy melee attacker. I struggled with this at first until I reconciled with the V.A.T.S. system. It felt like the game was forcing me to play a first-person shooter or a ranged character from Oblivion (which I hated for the most part). As I grew more accustomed to the new system, it felt more natural and lent itself to more strategy even if I couldn't sneak up on many enemies. It helped that my character quickly leveled up rather quickly as well.

But at first, locales seemed far and few between in the beginning. Traveling the vast countryside most definitely captured the essence of a barren, oppressive and bleak world, almost to game's detriment. Playing in small chunks of time, about an hour, I was struggling to get from placed to place in one sitting due to sheer distance required to be traveled. Going back to the Oblivion comparison, there were always areas to explore between story checkpoints, I didn't have this experience in Fallout 3. And again, I reached a point where I abandoned the story quest and found myself exploring the wastes with great joy, moving from place to place rather quickly.

The story was largely forgettable (but Oblivion's was as well), involving some annoying fetch quests to advance with a few rather jolting turns. Which made switching gears from saving the world to just wandering the lands so much more appealing. It really becomes an open-world adventure when the player is left to their own devices and adopt the life they want to live, hopping from place to place, inserting himself into the lives of others and changing them for the rest of their lives. On one hand, I would almost like to see a game like this drop the player in a world with no story and just let them create their own way. On the other, the story provides structure but there is no way that the game should end just because the main quest is over.

These quibbles with the game may be due to the way I played and every one's experience will be different, but it still leads me to believe that the pacing was wrong throughout the game. There are abrupt shifts between nothing to do and too much to do or struggling against the enemies to feeling like a one-man, unstoppable army. But then again, I spent 120 hours with the game. I clearly enjoyed it, right? Well, of course I did. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped due to the sheer joy and satisfaction I garnered from Oblivion. Fallout 3 was a solid experience with a few hiccups, but left me longing for the return of the Elder Scrolls series.

Fun Friday: Oh Snap Edition

2009-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Most comedians fall very flat when attempting to host game industry events, but it seems like Jay Mohr did rather well at D.I.C.E. this last week. He spouted off some humorous one-liners but my favorite regarding Grand Theft Auto IV:

“If you want to watch an awards show about thugs beating up ho’s watch the Grammys.”

Now that is funny!

Look Ma! I'm on Joystiq!

2009-02-17T19:52:00.001-08:00

Fun Friday: Possible Reason to Finally Get a PS3

2009-02-13T21:52:00.000-08:00

Awesome Quote of the Week

2009-02-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

We doubt that Activision would try to sue. That would be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy.

-EA's response to Activision threatening to sue over the publishing rights of Brutal Legend

Street Fighter IV Lanuch Party

2009-02-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to the Street Fighter IV launch party in downtown Los Angeles. We got there a bit early and it was a good thing too; they turned away about 1500 people! The event was cool all around and with many, many stations set up with the game, it was not long before I got in a match. I played it on a PS3 with the standard controller, on the 360 with one of the Madcatz's arcade sticks and I played the game on an arcade cabinet. The graphics and game play were similar all around, which is to say gorgeous and smooth. I have to admit I ended up preferring to play with the standard controller over the arcade sticks. I was having trouble pulling off moves and I found out the Madcatz's sticks have a square box inside as opposed to an octagonal which was something I wasn't used too. I'm definitely glad I had the chance to try before I bought.

The actual highlight of the night was seeing DJ Qbert up close and personal. Ever since seeing the documentary Scratch about ten yeas ago, I have been into turntablism and their abilities never cease to amaze me.

Dead Rising 2 Confirmed!

2009-02-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

Yes! This is the best gaming news of the year so far. Dead Rising in my top five games of this generation and is up there with my favorite games of all time. I've mentioned before that I loved just about everything that game offered, even the things that most people said ruined the game. I don't want to assume anything yet but I am bummed that Frank West appears to be MIA. Hopefully we'll find out more in the near future. As long as they didn't neuter the gameplay, I will be very happy when this hits the shelves.

Back from the Dead

2009-02-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a while since my last post. Let's see, what's been happening? My son has become a wild animal now that he's nearly nine months old. I played all the way through The Force Unleashed (which was better than I thought it would), I started playing Castle Crashers (which was just as good as I thought it would be) and now I'm playing Fallout 3 (which is not as good as I thought it would be; strike that, it's just not as good for me as Oblivion was). I'll go into greater detail in upcoming posts.

In the mean time, at least I still have a job, for now. So go buy Deadly Creatures this week so it stays that way. Thanks!

Fun Friday: Thrown Under the Car Edition

2009-01-16T23:12:00.000-08:00

After reading last months cover story in Play Magazine, Ride to Hell looked very promising based on the description in the article and the accompanying concept art. Than I saw the above footage. I understand that it says "pre-alpha" in the upper corner, but it's still not a good first impression. At least, the video was funny.

Huh?

2009-01-16T22:59:00.000-08:00

So, I just finished Braid. I am not sure what just happened, but it was well worth the effort. Every puzzle designed in this game was brilliant. Many of them made my head hurt with and caused me to question my gaming abilities but the ones I solved on my own (I had to turn to the Internet for help on some of them) left me with an overwhelming sense of pride and satisfaction.

Jonathan Blow, the designer, set out to create a beautiful game that pushed genre boundaries and encouraged people to really think about what was going on. Personally, I don't think the game offered the closure provided by completing the game, and the complementary Achievement, but the game play was absolutely solid. I look forward to getting lost in another Jonathan Blow game, whenever that may be.

We Won A Major Award!

2008-12-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

It may not have been the best year for us at THQ, but at least it's going to end on a high note. GameSetWatch has awarded our Jim Huntley, global brand manager, with the "The Mark Jacobs Award for Corporate Communicative Achievement" for the following quote:

The game All Star Cheer Squad was designed with the growing number of girls on Wii and Nintendo DS in mind. We strived to deliver an authentic cheer experience for those players and believe this partnership with CoverGirl is a unique opportunity to do just that. The CoverGirl brand and its spokespeople are instantly recognizable among our target demographic and will further immerse players in the competitive cheerleading world.

Oh wait, I guess that was sar-cas-m. It must be french. I hope everyone on this list have egos that aren't fra-gee-lay.

Achievement Unlocked: Awesome Flash Game

2008-12-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

Achievement Unlocked | Armor Games

My love of achievements has been succinctly satirized in this awesome flash game. Play and enjoy!

One of My Favorite Games Ever May Grace XBLA

2008-12-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

If the ESRB is to be believed, Sega will be pimping more of its classic collection onto XBLA and PSN. One of those titles is Phantasy Star II. I just had a geek-gasm.

I was one of those lucky kids who had both a both a SNES and a Sega Genesis (the benefits of being the child of divorced parents I guess). I read Nintendo Power so I'm sure I knew what releases were coming out for the SNES but as far as the Genesis, looking back at my collection of games I must have chosen games purely on their boxart. And that doesn't really explain why I picked up Phantasy Star II. A JRPG? I wasn't really into anime or manga at the time but I guess I had played a couple of the Final Fantasy games even though I was partial to the Zelda series. Boy was I glad I did though. I still have the original game (with the well worn map and strategy guide) as well as a the GBA version that includes the first three games in the series.

I played the crap out of that game. I'm sure I played through the game numerous times, which is no simple task as it was easily a 40 hour quest. This was the first title the I became emotionally attached to as there is a major game changing moment about two-thirds of the way through the story. Also, it was epic, spanning two planets and countless dungeons. I have warm memories of spending whole weekends grinding my party in order to level up and learn the only spell that could help you defeat the final boss.

This can't come soon enough. Plus, there will be achievements.

Esrb: Sega Regurgitating More Genesis Games On XBLA, PSN

Fun Friday: QA Funnies Edition

2008-12-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

Game Developer's Matthew "Wasteland" has taken the task of infusing some funny into their industry leading magazine. His back page article this month tackles QA bugs, but not the good kind. Here's my favorite:

Put the game in the disc tray and start playing it.
Walk 56 steps to the left and drink the green potion.
Explore the caves and proceed to the point where the wizard talks to you, then skip the dialog after about the third panel. I forgot what it said.
Hit the attack button repeatedly for five minutes.
Pause the game and leave it on the Pause menu for about as long as it takes to make and eat a microwave burrito, I think like 15 minutes.
Unpause the game, turn on all of the cheats, warp to the vampire's lair and shoot the panzerfaust at him over and over as fast as possible.
Notice that the game has frozen.

I'm sure the developers response to this bug was either, "We'll fix it in the sequel," "But LotCheck/Certification didn't find it," or " Do you think we can get this waived?"

Fun Friday: Missed Opportunities Edition

2008-12-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

As the year is beginning to come to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on what I missed out on. I'm not a huge fan of lists but when I started thinking about the games on my list, it seemed quite substantial.

Fallout3 - And I loved Oblivion so much.
Castle Crashers - Bugs, plus it came out when we were doing a lot of OT.
Dead Space - Looked cool until I played the demo.
Prince of Persia - Hadn't been into the Prince since Sands of Time but looked promising until I heard that you could not fail.
Tomb Raider: Underworld - No rush, I knew it was just another Croft adventure.
Mirror's Edge - Wasn't convinced by the demo but I'm still intrigued.
Star Wars: Force Unleashed - Another title that came out while we were in OT.
Penny Arcade Episode II - No excuse other than I was distracted by other games.
Condemned 2 - The first is one of my favorite 360 titles. They seemed to lose the plot though.
Bully - I love Rockstar's work, but I never gave this one a chance.

Some Honorable Mentions include LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid IV, both of which I would have played if I owned a PS3. Also, I only scratched the surface of GTAIV (like six hours) so that might as well be on the list as well.

Update: Maybe it wasn't that bad that I missed out as some seem to have ended up being a little disappointing. Oh, and I started playing Force Unleashed this week. So far, it's not bad.

Movin' On Up

2008-12-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

As of this last Monday, I have been officially promoted at THQ. I am now a Compliance QA Project Lead. Which means I have people who report to me and my plans for world domination are well underway.

[/Manaical evil laughter and lightning]

Just kidding. Basically, myself and another former specialist have been promoted to take over more managerial and planning duties. Celebrations have been brief as there's much work to be done.

5th Cell Does it Again

2008-12-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

I've sung my praises for 5th Cell before and it seems they are unstoppable. With an exclusive reveal last Friday on IGN, I think they've cemented themselves as one of the most creative and daring DS developers out there at the moment (and probably the most sought after).

After watching the video for Scribblenauts, I immediately begin thinking of the possibilities this game has. The concept is simple yet has the potential to very satisfying.

Creative director Jeremiah Slaczka had the following to say about the player's possibilities when faced with a tree puzzle.

You could write "axe", and then cut the tree down using the object you spawned. You could write "shuriken" and throw that at the Starite in the tree and knock it down. It's all based on real physics and interaction, so there's nothing pre-canned. You could write anything though; imagine you write "goldfish" for some reason, well a goldfish would spawn and sit on the ground. It wouldn't help you at all in that puzzle, but you could do it.

Oh, how I can't wait to get my hands on this game.

Epic Demo Fail

2008-12-11T22:31:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I mentioned demo design, but I came across one that was particularly perplexing this last week. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix not only has the longest name ever, but it also has the distinction of having the shortest demo ever, if you only have one controller. I downloaded the demo on Xbox Live and fired up the trial version only to find out that only two-player local matches were available. I didn't have a second controller so, for me, the demo was over.

I imagine most gamers have a good idea of what the game play is going to be about in a Street Fighter title but one of SSF2THR's draw was the updated in game sprites. If I don't get to see them, how can I make a purchase decision? If the game is going to force me to play two-player, at least give me online in case I don't have anyone to play with. I count Street Fighter 2 as one of my favorite games of all time and this was almost an automatic purchase, but the demo totally floored me and I lost interest. Oh well, Street Fighter IV will be out soon enough.

Fun Friday: Big in Japan Edition

2008-12-05T21:01:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what these videos mean but they're awesome in every way. Good luck in Japan, Saint's Row 2!

Fun Friday: Thanksgiving Edition

2008-11-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

It's been a great year. It's been challenging but great. I can definitely say that I am very thankful for many things.

Firstly, I'm thankful for my growing family. I became a dad and a homeowner within two months. Both presented challenges but only the very best kinds. I'm also very thankful of my wife who is very understanding when it comes to my passion for games.
I'm thankful for developers Blue Tongue, 5th Cell, Yukes and Rare for giving me the chance to work on some great titles.
I'm thankful for the Xbox360 which this year has provided some of the best gaming moments I have ever had including the sensation of quietly executing a man from the shadows with a hidden blade, had Gandhi order a nuclear strike on cities of Genghis Khan, bitch slapped a mime while hunting down a giant fruit fucker, had my ass handed to me by an old school platformer (twice), had my garden decimated by hemlock, and survived the cornfields with three of my buddies against wave after wave of infected.
I'm thankful that I work in a place where someone has a copy that week's highly anticipated release, saving me from having to buy everything that came out this fall.
I'm very thankful that I still have a job and get to do all of this again next year.

This year was extraordinarily full of highlights. There were some very low lights in my personal life, thankfully only a few, but overall I think this can go down as one great year and I look forward to the next.

Fun Friday: Viral Marketing Douchebags Edition

2008-11-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

I was originally going to post this video of what looked like some really dedicated Guitar Hero fans and a lot free time on their hands. But then it was revealed that it was a hoax and funded by Activision to be "viral marketing." Boo. I think the video response above successfully captures the sentiment of many. (Although, I will concede that the original video is still pretty cool.)

Fun Friday: Left 4 Dead Edition

2008-11-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

Left 4 Dead comes out next week. I wasn't initially excited. Then, I saw this trailer. And then, I played the demo. Wow, was I wrong about not anticipating the enjoyment that comes with mowing down hundreds, if not thousands, of infected with three of your buddies. And yes, I said infected. These are not zombies; they can run. Zombies don't run. And Simon Pegg agrees with me.

Up and Away

2008-11-12T21:15:00.000-08:00

Pixar has recently released a second trailer for next year's new film, Up. As most may already know, THQ has the exclusive rights to publish games based on the Pixar license. A couple of summers ago saw the release of Cars and we had the second best selling game of the year only falling behind Madden. We had over a billion dollars in sales that year (with the help of a couple of quality PC releases and the WWE license) and things looked good. Fast forward a couple of years and things are not looking as rosy for my company.

One of the things that has taken the blame for our shortcomings have been the performance of this license. First, Ratatouille underperformed last summer and then Wall-E suffered the same fate this summer. Ratatouille's failure was justified because it was about a rat and people might find that "icky." But when Wall-E did the same, people said, "WTF? He's a robot, how did he not sell?"

I don't think it was a over saturated kids and casual market that did these games in (it didn't help), but rather that Pixar is creating movies that are way over our designers' heads.

I'm not saying that the designers didn't understand the movies; I'm saying that the themes did not translate into an interactive form very well. In fact, it's debatable if anyone could have done it at all. Games as art is a current hot button topic in our industry and the themes that Pixar put forth would trouble the best minds our industry has to offer.

Cars was a no-brainer: it's a movie about a car, who races. The design document must have written itself (I'm kidding). On the other hand, can Ratatouille or Wall-E be boiled down to a simple platformer? Remy teaches us in Ratatouille that anyone can become anything the want, regardless if he's a rat or a woman or French (sorry, I kid again). And Wall-E teaches us the importance of conservation and loneliness and the need to be loved even if you are just a robot with a single directive. Up looks like it depicts the feeling that life has passed one by and you're running out of time to seize the moment. These aren't simple concepts and they most certainly aren't conveyed by collecting 100 trinkets while hopping your way through a linear level.

I think our biggest weakness when it comes to the Pixar license is that we attack them from a literal angle and just allow the player to replay through the story. What I'd like to see us do is allow the player to step into the shoes so to speak of these dynamic characters and explore some of these deeper themes. I don't want to play the movie, I have the DVD for that. I want our license to create an experience that can be fun for all gamers but evokes the weight of the emotions that each film brings to the screen. It won't be easy, but I think it's possible.

Dead Rising 2 a Possibility: OK, I'm Listening

2008-11-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

All the major blogs have been reporting on rumors that Dead Rising2 is in development and it is being developed by western developer Blue Castle. The original has created two camps of people: those who absolutely derided the difficulty and save system and those who praised the game for the exact same reasons. I fall into the latter group and think it would be a damn shame if the western developers took a safe route and made the game more "casual."

Dead Rising Wii already has me angry enough but if the sequel is also neutered, well, I just don't know what I would do. If the original was not insanely difficult with an unforgiving save system nor placed tremendous stress on the player, we would not still be talking about the game today. If it was a straight-up, run-and-gun zombie killing affair, it would have been lost among the glut of all the other average action games that flood the shelves week in and week out.

But Capcom didn't want that. They took some chances and created an experience that few games have been able to duplicate or have ever done, for better or worse. So, the onus to make a choice is on Blue Castle or whoever may take over the duty of continuing story of Frank West - photographer, zombie-genocider.

Fun Friday: Ocarina iPhone Edition

2008-11-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

I always thought I preferred a blackberry over an iPhone, but now I need to reconsider that stance. This is the most awesome app yet. Yes, it is even cooler than the Lightsaber app.

Good Times

2008-11-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned before, 5th Cell are pretty good game developers. Apparently they're quite fun as well. When designer Matt Cox went on vacation, he returned to find his desk"drawn to life."

Let's see, a developer with talent and who likes to have fun, maybe they should be a part of out new strategic plan. Unfortunately, the executives don't ask me for advice very often.

YES WE CAN!

2008-11-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

This is a proud moment for our country and for my son's future. Thank you United States of America for restoring hope!

Gaming posts will now resume. :p

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

2008-11-03T23:05:00.001-08:00

That is all.

Fun Friday: Oh No You Didn't Edition

2008-10-23T22:10:00.001-07:00

Oh, yes we did! Of course it's been known for a while now but we are officially publishing 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, and admitting it. Of all of the titles that the Activision/Blizzard merger left up in the air, this is the title we pick up. Oh well, at least we couldn't make it any more ridiculous than it already is.

Fun Friday: Go on Rooney! Edition

2008-09-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing I love more than video games (besides my family), it's Manchester United. This should be obvious if you look at my Gamertag and Gamerpic on Xbox Live. However, my two passions haven't really intersected in about 6 or seven years. FIFA, as a series, has significantly changed over the years. It used to be quite arcade-like in game play, with a lot of "punching it in the old onion bag." As Pro Evolution has commanded a stronger following and therefore greater market share, FIFA has had to adapt. In doing so, they have built the game to be more realistic, but along the way, they lost something important: the fun.

Each of the demos for the current-gen FIFA titles have been unable to lure me back in. But this video does a good job of getting me excited for the possibility of 10v10 online play. Still, I'll have to hold out for the Pro Evolution demo, as they've finally snatched up some UEFA licenses, including the Red Devils.This year may the one that I finally pick up another football game.

Summer Has Finally Ended

2008-09-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

Posting has been light as of late, but I'm glad to say that while Summer is officially over, so is our ridiculous summer in QA. Since, as a company, we try to submit about 90% of our titles between the months of June and September, needless to say, saying it was crazy is an understatement. But it's appears to be finally over. I helped get SmackDown Wii out the door in early August and it passed Nintendo of America first try with Wi-Fi (I don't think too many other publishers can say that). The two other projects I was working on our now out the door as well as of today. August saw us work some crazy overtime but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and Fall should be significantly less stressful.

On the other hand summer was as usual, light on releases, so I was thankful for that. I finally crossed the 15k GamerScore threshold thanks mostly to Civilization: Revolution and Lego Indiana Jones. Civ:Rev was a lot of fun and hope to back to again soon. This is saying a lot because I absolutely loathe real-time strategy games. This game was fun and accessible and did away with a lot of micro-managing. The game was deep enough for me to feel that my decisions, for better or worse, were actually affecting my society without burying me in data and options. Lego Indiana Jones was a blast to play even though I was uninterested in the Star Wars games after playing the demo. A lot of the achievements were a grind but most were cleverly named and the humor throughout the game kept me motivated.

Xbox Live Arcade also saw a lot of releases in August. I started playing Braid and absolutely loved it until a save killing bug popped up and wiped my data. Bionic Commando was awesomely retro and brutally difficult. Castle Crashers is beautiful and humorous, but the same bug popped from Braid and I'm waiting for the patch. Needless to say, I will be returning to all of these games soon.

I just picked up Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, mostly because the original was a guilty pleasure and they priced it at only $40, I could not pass this one up. The game was everything I hoped for: more adorable pinatas, more environments, more everything but the same addicting game play with a few new twists. However, a word of warning: watch out for Hemlock! After cultivating a healthy garden of pinatas (some of whom I had become quite attached to), I became afflicted with a massive outbreak of Hemlock. This weed spreads incredibly fast, attracts pinatas like nerds to boobs and makes them poop sour candy when they eat it. After about ten minutes my entire garden population was decimated; all of my pinatas became sick faster than I could help and when I ran out of money, Dastardos swooped in and killed them all. This was one of the few times I absolutely despised autosave.

In the end, I skipped Too Human and Force Unleashed. I'll probably borrow them from friends, but with the likes of Fable II and Fallout 3 coming out, who knows when I'll get to them.

Oh, and go buy de Blob if you own a Wii. It's awesome and I want to work on more games like this

Fun Friday: Poor Bob Edition

2008-08-22T21:37:00.001-07:00

Voter Registration Coming to Xbox 360

2008-08-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

This is great. I would have never expected anything like this but kudos to Microsoft for making this happen. This is an extremely important and historic election coming up, and now there will be no excuse for everyone on Live to register and make a difference. Gamers' voices need to be heard; get involved and make a difference.

Now the real challenge will be getting gamers to the voting booth. Maybe Microsoft could set up Street Fighter IV cabinets or Gears of War 2 demos (I think it comes out the same week as the elections). Or better yet: Voting Booth Babes. Sorry, I was just thinking out loud here.

Pwn the Vote: Register to Vote on Your Xbox 360

Massive Damage

2008-08-21T22:06:00.001-07:00

It might look pretty...

2008-08-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

...but they're not pushing game play forward if it solely consists of quick time events. It seems like Quantic Dream, who also developed Indigo Prophesy, may need to start directing actual cinema instead of tacking on button presses and calling it interactive. At least it isn't porn.

Congrats to 5th Cell!

2008-08-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, 5th Cell is the developer for THQ behind Drawn to Life and the upcoming Lock's Quest. I had a chance to work on both of these games and, while not perfect, they both demonstrate what a developer can do when they understand the platform they are working on. They are both unique in style and design and are a worthy addition to any one's DS library. Drawn to Life did well for us and I imagine Lock's Quest will do the same. I eagerly look forward to their next project. Good job on getting the credit you deserve and keep up the good work!

Gamasutra - The Gamasutra 20: 2008's Breakthrough Developers - 5th Cell

Capcom Has Gone Mad (Catz)

2008-08-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Street Fighter II is one of my all time favorite games. If I could afford it, my house we be furnished with an original arcade cabinet. I played the arcade version every morning for about a year at a donut shop near my bus stop in junior high. I played the crap out of the Super Nintendo version when it came out as well. Needless to say, I was excited when the XBLA version was released two years ago. But it was missing something: a quality arcade stick.

Capcom recently hinted that they would be releasing an arcade stick to coincide with the release of Street Fighter IV (which I am very much looking forward to). This made me very excited, as I had visions, as may others I suspect, of high quality Hori arcade sticks that would make playing the game pure bliss without spending about $4000 on a cabinet.

Then the official announcement came today: Mad Catz will be making the official Street Fighter IV fighting sticks. Ughhh. I associate Mad Catz with cheap crap. They're like the WalMart of gaming hardware. While we have yet to see them yet, I don't have my hopes up. And in the mean time, this is very disappointing.

I guess I'll have to try and make my own. Oh, I just found out that Hori does make a 360 arcade stick. OK, all is well.

I Think I Found Kaiden's Halloween Costume

2008-08-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

All I need now is some tights for my King of all Cosmos costume.

Katamari Damacy King baby-hat - Boing Boing

See...

2008-08-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

I told you so.

The Overlord Will Return!

2008-08-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

I loved the original Overlord. It was a fun mix of action and strategy, with a lot of humor mixed in. I'm glad to see that sales weren't as bad as I feared and we'll look to not only get one sequel, but also Wii and DS versions as well. I guess that goes to show that when a developer releases a decent game in the summer months when there is little competition, people will buy it. Hmm, imagine that.

Besides, this game allows me to act out my deepest desires to order around my own little minions and have them do my binding. Oh, I may have said too much.

Three Overlord Titles Announced for 2009 | Game | Life from Wired.com

de Blob Devs Shaking Up Genres With Swords & Soldiers

2008-08-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

The original creators of de Blob are at it again. They're bring a "side-scrolling RTS" to WiiWare. While I don't exactly know what that means, you have to give them credit for their creativity and sense of style.

Speaking of de Blob, it should be out soon and I'm still as excited for it as when we first got it in to test. I think we did the original creators proud and it is definitely our best Wii game to date. The controls actually feel useful with the Wii Remote; not tacked on. I just hope that Wii owners go out and buy it. Then, hopefully, we will continue to make more innovative products.

Swords & Soldiers: de Blob Devs Bringing Swords & Soldiers To WiiWare

Running Out Of Ideas?

2008-08-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Apparently, EA ran out of mini games to add to a Wii compilation game, so they just decided to make the avatars grotesques caricatures of mostly b-list celebrities and athletes. Yikes! I know, I know, we're not much better, but at least we have cricket and bocce.

Celebrity Sports Showdown: Celebrity Sports Showdown In The Creepy Flesh

Fun Friday: Old School Edition

2008-08-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

I love this trailer for the upcoming Mega Man 9; it brings back some memories. I am not, however, looking forward to the supposed achievements! Bionic Commando: Rearmed has been brutal enough.

Time and Money Waster!

2008-08-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Minesweeper coming to XBLA: Pay money for a free Windows game

But hey, at least it will have achievements, right?

I Love Dessert

2008-08-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

In a post a while back, designer Raph Koster takes a common belief held in the industry and turns it on its head for me. It is common rhetoric amongst our ranks to place the blame for our increased risk aversion on the gamers, citing that the purchasing public is only out to buy sequels and established franchises. Hence, we have halo 3, GTAIV, MGS4, etcetera, ectetera.

But Raph makes a simlpe analogy for how this is wrong. Basically, we are used to saying that gamers like chocolate ice cream and if we ask them if they'd like more, of cource they're going to say yes. But the catch is: how is that same gamer going to know they want mango gelato if they've never had it? It's up to the developers and, more importantly, the publishers to start taking creative risks and offering crazy desserts we've never heard.

And, if you think about, many already are.

The glut of originality is starting to get stale, even for publishers. All you have to do is look at the the upcoming list of releases and there are a surprising number of original titles coming soon. Our proud to say that my company, THQ, has several titles coming up that I am really proud of, including de Blob, Deadly Creatures, and Darksiders. Even EA, a company a have historically dispised, has a number of interesting titles coming up such as Dead Space and There is also the upcoming Mirror's Edge.Brutal Legend and Wet.

As I think back, I have played a number of original games over the last year that I didn't know I would like until I played them: Zack and Wiki, Civ:Rev, No More Heroes, Portal, Puzzle Quest, N+, and Braid to name of few. Granted, many of these are smaller titles, but there have also been big budget risks such as Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed.

I have high hopes that the industry will find a balance point where sequels and franchises can coexist with the new and unproven. I say bring on more sorbert and flan! Now I'm hungry.

Raph's Website » Do players know what they want?

Fun Friday: Believe (Again)

2008-08-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Holiday Season Bloodbath

2008-07-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

While it's good for my wallet, I'm sad to see that Afro Samurai has been pushed back till January 27th, 2009. While an official release date may not have been announced, many retailers had it pegged for an October or Fall release, a long with just about every other title we know about.

I will never understand our industry's continued dependence on the holiday quarter for release schedules. Firstly, with the escalating costs of development and vast number of choices all competing for limited funds out there, makes little business sense to me to force a game on the public. Then, year after year, quality but lower profile games get over looked by the masses further enforcing the downward spiral of publisher reluctance to produce original IP.

I also see a drastic effect on overall quality as well. We have just over 70 skus in test right now. And that is just Nintendo platforms. With a nine man team, every game is not going to get the test time that they need. Granted we aren't testing the functional stuff, but those teams are stretched thin as well. The rush to hit dates is on and quality is the first to be sacrificed. Instead of pacing ourselves for the year and bringing more quality to store shelves, we burn ourselves out in the summer to get anything we can to Fall shoppers.

But, obviously, we aren't the only publisher with this mentality and I wish a few would start seeing that there are other months throughout the year. Especially when we almost always go from January to August with high profile releases very few and far between.

October was already going to be expensive with Fable 2 and Fallout 3 coming out. There's also Guitar Hero World Tour and Dead Space. Afro Samurai looks like a very fun game but it would have probably been relegated to a game I borrow from someone instead of full purchase. Being released in January may be the best decision their publisher has made.

Inspiration

2008-07-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

"All true renegades walk alone."

"Fear of the game."

The first steps are always the hardest.

MadWorld's Violence is Funny, Not Serious

2008-07-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

While I normally hate on everything Wii related, I have been drawn to the games that take a chance on the system. Games such as Zack and WIki and No More Heroes. I would have picked up Okami if I hadn't already played it on the PS2. So it should come as no surprise that I have been drawn to MadWorld, and not only because of its stark color palette and its graphic violence. This month's Nintendo Power offers some more information about the game straight from the game's producer, Atsushi Inaba. See, while the game is ultra violent, it should not be taken seriously.

We don't want this game to be dark and serious. One of the games that I played to better understand what constitutes "serious" violence was Manhunt 2. And although I personally like that type of game, when violence is portrayed so simply, that's when it becomes more serious and dark. When it's over the top and extravagant, it feels much more acceptable. That over-the-top expression is what makes it funny. That's why people laugh when they see violence in this game. It's not realistic. Nothing like this would ever happen in real life, which is what games should be offering to the audience.

Awesome quote. While I agree that over the top violence can be funny, for a while, something strikes me as odd about that quote. I'm sure people smarter than me could articulate that sentiment better than I could but the best I can come up with is that it seems shallow. Is this the mentality that is holding back games from achieving art status? Extreme violence has its place in movies and books but reflecting on what "does" happen in the real world is what lifts it to cinema and literature. But like many have argued, that probably does not make a good game. And that is our challenge.

Dead Rising Announced for the Wii, Neutered

2008-07-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

Dead Rising is in my top five games for the Xbox360. Its blend of action and story were very engrossing. It also made some surprising and polarizing design decisions. Many people either hated it or loved it. I was definitely in the latter.

The game was structured in a very open, non-linear fashion; allowing each player to forge their own path through the zombie infested mall. It allowed you to choose which bosses you wanted to take down and which people to try and rescue. Each subsequent play through could play out as a an individuals own mini zombie cinematic experience.

The save system and leveling up the character were a bit odd at first. In time, it all came together for me and made the game that much more enjoyable. By limiting the save locations and creating a very difficult decision upon death (start from the beginning with all of your accumulated stats or reload your last save), the game ramped up the stress put on the player. Some found less overwhelming and frustrating, I just like it heightened the experience. I had to weigh my options; should I save the couple with the wounded husband or the brothers who can defend themselves better? The leveling system adds another layer to the game that is not normally seen in action games. As Frank learns new moves and becomes more powerful, the game really becomes fun. And setting up crazy pictures for big points was good too. Since the experience carried over from game to game, it really encouraged multiple play-through.

Now we get word that Capcom is bringing the game to the Nintendo Wii. Only instead of a faithful, low-resolution homage to the original, we get a watered down, "casual" experience that wreaks of cashing in on the success of Resident Evil 4's outing on the same console.

They taken much of the flexibility out of the game by creating a very linear path to plot points and eliminating Otis's side quests. Apparently, the save system has been made "less frustrating" to appease the new herd of gamers on the Wii. The camera angle has been changed to the over-the-shoulder RE4 style which caused the developers so much problems they took the photography out of the game completely. Frank is a photographer, it's the whole reason he's in the mall! Not only have the elements that make Dead Rising what it is have hit the cutting room floor, the graphical power of the Wii buckled under the weight of hundreds of zombies on screen on once. This number has been significantly decreased, but I guess will have to wait to see the final game.

Lastly, they've thrown in the mandatory "because we can" motion gestures. I'm sorry, but dare I say it, increasing the player's stress and anxiety creates a better sense of immersion then waggling the controller to swing a baseball bat. The weight and pressure put on by my nervous system is much greater then wild flailing ever could be.

Fun Friday: E3 Edition

2008-07-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to go this year, but I don't feel like I missed much. I am excited for the the new Xbox360 dashboard with Netflix and avatars. I even more excited for Fable 2 and Fallout 3. Fortunately, we have Penny Arcade to summarize what we missed for those who didn't get to attend the big press conferences.

Nintendo Must Be Stopped

2008-07-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

When I saw the Wii Remote "Motion Plus" announcement first thing Monday morning boasting "more comprehensive tracking of a player's arm position and orientation.", I was angry. Then, as more information rolled out today, I became sick. This is why Nintendo is losing my favor. They are releasing peripheral after peripheral, packed in with "casual" games and making a killing. Not only should the Wii Remote have been doing this from the start, but not even Nintendo themselves have proven motion controls to be a reliable substitute for a standard controller. It did not improve Twilight Princess nor Super Mario Galaxy; the GameCube controller is better suited for Smash Brothers and Mario Kart Wii.

I see Wii Remote motion controls everyday, all day long, and have yet thought, "wow, I think we've finally got it." Motion controllers are a case of just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. If anything, more sensitive equals more programming headaches, as the developers are going to take all kinds of flailing about into account when they program what motion they hope their player will perform.

Then again, maybe I'm just bitter that they didn't announce Kid Icarus Wii.

THQ Does Something First

2008-07-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

This is old but I've been busy with the baby and work. I'm pleased that we at THQ have decided to do something that someone else hasn't already tried (well almost the first). So, that's encouraging. Unfortunately, it's unleashing Wall-E on the middle east.

Well, hopefully we'll at least get a chance in QA to look at it before any one else.

Fun Friday: Happy Forth!

2008-07-04T23:01:00.000-07:00

Fun Friday: Wall-E Edition

2008-06-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Everyone in THQ QA got to see Wall-E today as after successfully getting the game to retail on like every platform known to man, including the 2600. The movie was fan-freaking-tastic. I loved every moment. Andrew Stanton is a genius in my mind, and while Finding Nemo is a tough act to follow, he absolutely crafted a beautiful film. There is minimal dialogue, so the animators deserve a tremendous amount of credit for bringing these robots to life. Every movement is filled with expression that require no words, even in Eve, who's only facial expressions come from her eyes.

Things to watch out for include: the Mac startup sound effect (even though I prefer PC, I still loved this), Pong, and John Ratzenberger's voice, of course.

Fun Friday: Awesome Quote of the Week

2008-06-20T18:52:00.001-07:00

Warren Spector may wish for less 100-hour long games, but Todd Howard, Executive Producer for Bethesda and most recently, Fallout 3, said quite the opposite in an interview with IGN.

That I’ve never really grown out of my love of the 100 hour adventures of my Apple 2 days. The ones I would go to bed dreaming about solving. I crave moments of discovery in games, the moments of “can I do this?” and the sense that I have found something no other player has. I want my games to have that. I want length and depth and hint books that can kill a child if dropped on them.

I added the emphasis because that is the most hilarious thing I heard all week.

Confession Time

2008-06-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

I played, no, I take that back, I experienced Wii Fit today. I still don't think it's a game. But, I enjoyed it. I saw its merits. I heard a voice in the back of my head that said, "Buy this." Oh no. Damn you Miyamoto.

Spore Creature Creator Rocks

2008-06-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

Prior to trying this demo, I had no interest in Spore whatsoever. Will Wright is a genius but the Sims games have never kept my interest. Now I'm considering the full version of the Creature Creator and the game when it comes out. I haven't spent a lot of time with it but here's my first rough creation. He looks cute and adorable, until he rips your face off! The possibilities here are truly amazing and endless. Of course, my first creations were all phallic, but wasn't everyone's?

There Is Hope

2008-06-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

Kaiden will be one moth old this weekend. Time has seemed to fly by but I am loving every minute with my son. On the other hand, I'm a gamer and that part of my life has suffered terribly.

It may sound selfish but I have probably put in only about eight hours of gaming in the last month, mostly in Penny Arcade Adventures and my progress in GTAIV has come to a screeching halt. For a gamer who was regularly putting in three or four hours at a time with a 360 controller in my hands a few times a week, this has been traumatizing. I was starting to feel that my pastime was slipping out of reach as I took on my new role as Dad.

But Kaiden fell asleep early tonight and I was reading through some old articles that I had bookmarked a while back. One of those articles was from way back on May 11th called "All Grown Up: A Gamer Comes to Grips With Adulthood" and has rekindled my hope that gaming will eventually return to my life.

The newborn phase was exceptionally difficult, but before long Kaz got in tune with the patterns of life in his new family. He needed his diaper changed less often, didn’t want to eat on a constant basis, and actually started sleeping for more than an hour or two at a time. It seemed like when we weren’t looking, my wife and I suddenly had a little bit of room to breathe.

Obviously, it will never return to the same level it was, but it's encouraging to learn that there is hope. Plus, I will eventually share many moments gaming with my son as he gets older. That is, when I'm not teaching how to do a Cruyff soccer move or how to build a potato launcher.

Fun Friday: I Love the World Edition

2008-06-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

Not much else to say here but how awesome this is. I thought it was cool when they did it for all of the Discovery Channel shows, but this takes it to another level for me.

Two Of My Favorite Things

2008-06-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

MLS expansion team, the Seattle Sounders, have landed a shirt sponsorship deal with Microsoft. I think this is cool. As Kotaku mentions, it may not have worked out for the Dreamcast and their Arsenal deal, but Nintendo was sponsoring Fiorentina long before that, so it can't be a curse. I also think that Sony had the PlayStation logo on Lyon or Marseille's jersey in France, I can't remember exactly. I'm just glad the MLS has joined the rest of the word and is putting sponsors on the jerseys.

On the other hand, I hate this: Guitar Hero will feature during Colorado Rapids halftime show. This doesn't even make sense to me. I don't see the connection or relevance. But then again, it is the MLS, and they still thinks that a two division, season ending tournament is the best way to determine the champion. Go figure.

Mentors Rescue

2008-06-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

I remember doodling my own levels for NES games as a kid. I also remember entering a contest that appeared in an early issue of Nintendo Power where I attempted to design a game based around insect creatures (I didn't win). Unfortunately, nothing had seemed to survive the last twenty years for me to look back on for some frame of reference. That is until recently.

Since buying my house, my dad decided that there was no reason for any of my old stuff in his garage needed to stay and could be stored in my new garage. Amongst that pile of stuff was an old board game from 1989 called HeroQuest. I had totally forgotten about the game until that point and quickly remembered how much fun I had with the game at the time. After opening the box, some yellowing sheets of graph paper and note paper fell out of the instruction booklet.

Here, I had stumbled onto a map and quest I had created for the game. I guess, you could say it was one of my first complete game designs. The action revolved around saving your captured mentor from the evil Verag and seemed to rely heavily on my Zelda influences (the player needed to find the "Sword of Power" to defeat the end boss). I also included quite a few traps and enemies, I must have been feeling especially diabolical for an eleven year old at the time.

This game still seems to hold up and is easily customizable and seems to be a descent tool to explore level design. I think I may have to dust it off and design some updated levels for this game.

Wii and DS: Made for Each other

2008-06-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

This was news a long ways back (give me a break, I bought a house and had a baby). It was revealed that the Wii version of the Ghostbusters will use Wii-DS Connectivity to enhance game play. Essentially, the DS would be used as the famous PKE reader that was used in the movie. I love this design decision and implementation. This is much better than having Tingle drops bombs on unsuspecting foes.

Even longer ago, I attended the Wi Summit in Hollywood hosted by Nintendo and they went over this functionality for the Wii. The presentation was mostly boring but it sparked an idea while I was nodding off.

I've played a few card based games on several platforms, such as Uno on Xbox Live, but was disappointed that there was no way to play with friends in the same room because, obviously, every one's cards would be on the screen to see. With the use of the Wii-DS connectivity, the game could deal the cards to each player's DS and then each player would only be able to see their own cards.

It seems like a simple idea and I'm surprised that some developer has yet to take advantage of this feature in a meaningful way until now.

Baby Kaiden

2008-05-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

If you thought Tim Schafer's baby was cute, wait till you see my son! He arrived early last Thursday morning, healthy and vibrant. I am still reeling from "new baby fog" but hope to find a posting rhythm soon. Life is beautiful!

That's Not "In The Game"

2008-05-19T20:08:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, neither is this man. That's too bad. Even though I've been a Niner fan all of my life, Favre will go down as one of the all time greats in my book, and for most football fans I believe.

Do Over! Madden Mondays Week 6: EA SPORTS REWIND [GameStop Blog]

Fun Friday: It's a MadWorld Edition

2008-05-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is the trailer for Platinum Games and Sega's upcoming title, MadWorld. This game is most unexpected for what I have come to expect from a Wii title. No More Heroes raised the bar for off-the-wall, artistic action games, but this game just obliterated that bar. MadWorld comes to us from Hideki Kamiya, the developer who brought us Devil May Cry (loved), Viewtiful Joe (mostly loved), and Okami (loved), so I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this title.

Divergent Design Decisoins: The HUD

2008-05-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

This week's Microsoft Gamer's Day event saw new details emerge about some of Microsoft Game Studio's biggest impending releases. Something struck me as interesting as I was perusing the screen shots and reading previews.

Firstly, Peter Molyneux has his own interpretation of how a game should appear on screen from a preview with CVG:

It's a beautiful, striking-looking game, but what first catches our eye is how clean everything looks. There's no HUD to speak of, no health indicators, no item counts, not even a mini-map.

"If we're going to make a game that's really going to be dramatic, making people feel like they're not just looking through a portal at this world is really important. One of the problems with that is the mini-map," says Molyneux.

"We had one of those ghastly, distasteful things in the top corner of the screen, and our levels were getting so detailed that we realised that our mini-map was getting bigger. So we said, 'let's just get rid of it'."

And it does look amazing as indicated in the following screen shot.
On the other hand, Silicon Knights have taken the completely opposite approach when it comes to the "head's up display."
Wow! There's a lot going on in that image.

I love the simplicity of Fable2's design and will definitely be purchasing the game. However, I'm quite interested in Too Human as well but this screen shot is a bit overwhelming. I'm not sure if there's going to be a demo or not but I'm leaning towards trying before I buy this one.

Neversoft: All Does Not Seem Well

2008-05-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

Today we saw some images from the most current issue of Game Informer regarding the upcoming release of Guitar Hero IV. The pictures reveal that Neversoft have been developing their own drum set to accompany vocals and bass guitar as new additions to the franchise. This move is odd and I'm concerned for a company I truly care about since first playing the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series almost ten years ago.

Previously, we heard through Activision's earnings call, that Neversoft's yearly iteration of the Tony Hawk skateboarding game was dropped. Despite being a long time fan, my interest has been waning and I'm not surprised by this decision. The series was it's absolute best around THPS3 and proceeded to pile on feature after feature until the original spirit was crushed under the weight of unnecessary features and story. Skate ollied right over the competition, crushing Tony Hawk Proving Ground's sales. It was fresh and lean, and gamers bought it up.

Now we see a similar situation where a competitor has stolen the limelight a bit with Rock Band, and forced Neversoft to react. Unfortunately, their response has been an overzealous overreaction in both cases.

Guitar Hero is about pretending to be a rock God. Tony Hawk Pro Skater is about pulling off insane tricks and combos that are impossible in the real world. Both game's motivations rely on achieving and pushing the boundaries of a high score. Adding more instruments dilutes the Guitar Hero experience and as does increasing the realism in a THPS game. I have a hard time seeing why there is not room for both types of games on the market. Guitar Hero can appease the hardcore crowd with an ever increasing line-up of rock anthems and face melting solos while Rock Band allow those who want to get together with a couple of friends and emulate their rock band karaoke fantasies all while having a few drinks. By the same token, skate can exists for purists while the Tony Hawk series can indulge those with a looser attitude towards what can and can't be done on a skateboard.

Although there may be some suits at Activision sitting back and dictating Neversoft's direction, I urge them to take a step back and return to these series' roots. If everyone integrates their competition's features by saying "we can do that too, only bigger and better," games become homogenized. We need diversity and we need competition. This is what should be driving developers, not trends and marketing focus groups. If everything is the same, what's the incentive to by any of them?

My Guilty Pleasure Resurfaces, Twice!

2008-05-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Viva Pinata is easily my guiltiest obsession of this current video game generation. I'm not sure if it was the cuteness of it all or the achievements or what, but I couldn't get enough of the original game. Now, with great excitement, we hear not one, but two bits of Viva Pinata news. It's enough brightly colored awesomeness to cause my head to burst forth with chocolate candy exuberance.

Firstly, there's the leaked info and screenshots for Viva Pinata 2 for the Xbox360. I expect to hear more at Microsoft's announcement later this week, but the screen shots imply some darker undertones and possible co-op(?). Plus, there's snow! Ooh, I can't wait to hear more.

Then there's the confirmation that Viva Pinata DS: Pocket Paradise (yes, that is the subtitle) is coming soon. It's not really news to me, I've been working on it for the last few months (THQ is publishing), but it's nice to finally hear about it in the press and everyone can get as excited as we are about this game. The game is a near identical recreation of the full 360 version minus a few things here and there and it works brilliantly with the DS Touch Screen. The game came in test nearly perfect, it was a dream to work with Rare. Don't tell them, but I spent a lot of time early on just playing the game. ;)

de Blob Is Coming Soon, This Time I Promise

2008-05-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

de Blob Intro Trailer
I made some promises at last year's PAX that de Blob would be hitting stores early this year. Well the developers made me a liar, but it's for the best. In light of our struggles at THQ over the last year, the devs thought it was best to keep it in the oven a bit longer. The game is shaping up to be the best looking Wii game we have done and is set to do especially well with the gamers of all kinds. This time, I promise, de Blob is coming sooner rather than later.

Fun Friday: Graffiti Edition

2008-05-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to post an awesome video I saw for this week's release of Guitar Hero: Air Guitar Rocker. Unfortunately, the video was pulled from YouTube. Fortunately, Leigh Alexander at Kotaku posted this awesome graffiti art. Not only are games art, but they continue to inspire great art as well.