I'm back from the Penny Arcade Expo! I had a lot of fun in Seattle (my first time visiting) despite my feet and calves throbbing after three days of being up on them, showing off our games. I have to say, I expected the place to be bigger. My only other major expo experience was E3 in 2006. Otherwise, the people were all really cool and the atmosphere was one of a kind. I met a lot of really interesting people, including the folks who were demoing N+ and Kim from Bioware, who was demoing Mass Effect. We got a chance to quickly talk about testing such a massive game
My highlights for the show were playing N+ and Castle Crashers. They are very unique and satisfying experiences that are a perfect fit for Live Arcade. I watched people play Metroid Prime 3: Corruption over their shoulders; it looked amazing on the massive plasma screens they were playing on. I'll definitely be picking this game up if I get a Wii. The Mass Effect demo was amazing. Despite some who were disappointed or not awed, I think it really showed off the little details that are going to make this one of the greatest games ever.
I spent the majority of my time demoing our upcoming Wii game, de Blob. Originally developed by students in Utrecht, it puts the player in control of the rebellious Blob who is acting out against the evil Inkt Corporation by literally painting the city red, or whatever color you want. It was on the inside of our booth, so I don't think as many people saw it who could have, but it still managed to draw a large crowd when they did see it. I even had a few people tell me that it was their favorite game of the show which made me very happy. It still has quite a while in development and test before it hits store shelves, so I hope that marketing can get the word out in the mean time.
"Everyone knows that testing a game thoroughly is essential to its quality," is the debatable first sentence in a Gamasutra post from Microsoft's Gamefest concerning a forum on how they overcame testing the massive size of Crackdown. While the article is sparse in detail, it provides an overview of what steps were taken to ensure that the game was thoroughly hammered. Essentially, due to the overwhelming scope of the game world that was compounded by the fact that much of the game rose in the y-axis as well, much of the testing was automated. Environmental bugs, including the placement of items and graphical seam issues, numbered well above the 10,000 mark. I have not seen many multi-platform games get that high in total, let alone one bug type.
Not content with just selling the latest iteration of our annual franchises, THQ is seeking some cerebral assistance for the direction and design of our upcoming games.
We typically rely on people to tell us what they think. Using EmSense technology, it's not what people say, but what they're thinking about it. And that's so much more accurate.
Going above and beyond the standard focus groups, EmSense uses technology that "measure people's brain waves, heart rate and sweat responses while they played the military-theme game." That military-themed game is Frontlines. I haven't had any hands on time with the game but it looks promising from what I've seen. This seems like a great idea, and I'm all for creating experiences that interact with the senses and emotions.
This game, Saboteur, was announced a while back but a new teaser trailer as hit and it definitely has my interest piqued. Set in Nazi occupied France during World War II, it follows our protagonist as he hunts down Nazi and taking them out for coming between him and three of his favorite things: "his friends, his car and his women." While the premise sounds, well, a little goofy, some of the game mechanics and art direction look very good. Much of the game play appears to be stealth based and the color palette of the area shifts from monochromatic to color as occupied areas are recaptured. I'm going to have to keep my eye on this game as the game gets closer to shipping next year. In the meantime, check out the cool trailer.
In his most recent stunt along his crusade against all things gaming and Take Two, Jack Thompson sent a complaint letter to the FCC. His issues stem from the fact that several Bioshock ads were aired during Friday's WWE SmackDown episode. He claims that Take Two are aggressively targeting all of the "children" who watch wrestling much the same way cigarette companies targeted them with Joe Camel. He even cites Rockstar in the despite the fact that they have nothing to do with the game. Their evil ways must be infecting the entire company. The wrestling is fine for the kids but not the thirty second spot for a mature themed video game; the irony is very thick. Chris Kohler at the Wired's Game|Life said everything I wanted to say. Only he did it sooner and better.
Thompson provides no viable solution, but it's okay, because the problem he's describing isn't even a problem at all.
First up is a Penny Arcade comic from Monday. This was absolutely hilarious to me on many levels. Firstly, it caters to my insatiable appetite for achievements. Secondly, in one week's time I'll be at the Penny Arcade Expo so I probably won't be able to post next Friday.
The comic is influenced by last weeks Stranglehold demo. I downloaded it and played through it once. Then I deleted it. A lot of people I talked too really enjoyed it. They pointed out that it really fits John Woo's style (flying pigeons and all) and it was a lot of fun. I agree for the most part on both points. However, I had a really hard time suspending my disbelief as Chow Yun Fat's character's stiff animations slid awkwardly across every surface like Hong Kong was covered in a thin layer of very slippery ice. The graphics had that really shiny 'next-gen' look that really creeps me out. And the action was so loose, the aiming reticule flew all over the screen looking for enemies that seemed to pop out of every nook and cranny imaginable. I did like the concentrated aiming bits, but the rest just ruined it for me. Thankfully I will pass when this game comes out.
The second offering is a video clip from Yahtzee Crowshaw. His pointed and uproarious commentary was first brought to my attention on Game|Life and he has been quickly snatched up by the Escapist Magazine to do a weekly show, called Zero Punctuation. The first video explores the Heavenly Sword demo and the Resident Evil 5 trailer. Do your self a favor and watch his other videos as well. Below he lambastes Fable but the Darkness video is great as well.
I haven't been terribly impressed by any controls to date on the Wii. I recently laid out what I thought makes or breaks a game's motion controls. Crystal Dynamics did a fantastic job resuscitating the Tomb Raider franchise, and I think they may go three for three as the following video lays out their controls for the upcoming Wii version. They aren't trying to do anything too crazy; simple flicks of the wrists for dodging and the Pointer for shooting and looking. The more complex moves come in the form of environmental puzzles and exploration when the action slows down, aka the actual archaeological stuff. This is definitely the right direction. I may have to check this out when it ships and hope that other developers take note of the controls.
The Wii offers a new ways to design and, ultimately, to play video games. Unfortunately, it has been a struggle that even, in my opinion, Nintendo has yet to over come. This week saw the release of EA's Boogie which has been met with some wildly varying reviews. Stephen Totilo at MTV's Multiplayer Blog took the chance to chat with the game's lead designer, Jean-Charles Gaudechon, and discuss his reaction to the reception the game has received.
When I see a 3 out of 10, I think it's people completely hermetic to it, just not getting it.
I understand his consternation, seeing as he has devoted a good chunk of his life to creating this game. However, from a gamer's point of view, the game is not an easy thing to understand. The game, on the surface, appears to be an amalgamation of two genre's: karaoke and DDR. The only problem is those two games seem to do the job better on their own and the combination is not like chocolate and peanut butter. I have yet to play the game, but I see a major problem with game play. The article states that the dev team had trouble linking Wii Remote moves with dance moves, and for very good reason. Dancing is a full body exercise, it's not just in the hands (at least not good dancing). I think a limitation of the Wii Remote is that it can only simulate certain actions and feel natural. Dancing is not one of them. This is where Boogie fails and DDR succeeds.
At the end of the article Stephen asks a series of questions that boils to: what makes a good Wii title? It got me thinking. I spend a good chunk of every day looking at our Wii titles and have been largely dissatisfied.
Firstly, graphics are important. The Wii is not and never will be able to display photorealism or compete with the 360 and the PS3 graphically. However, they still have the potential to look fantastic. The only stopping every game from looking as good, if not better, than games like Resident Evil 4, Okami, or God of War is budget. The importance in this area is to pick an art direction and run with it. Show some passion and dedication to the game's look. Don't just slap some assets together or reuse last year's. It's about making an impression and it does matter. I think Boogie succeeds here because they took a unique look and let it permeate throughout the game, like Katamari, Paper Mario or Rayman.
Controls has definitely been the make or break feature for Wii games. Unfortunately, it seems to break more games than not. The accelerometer and motion controls can only detect so many movements. Therefore, movements need to be kept simple or the effect is lost. Boogie and SSX Blur are good examples of this. They both seem to use complex combos of movement that aren't easily conveyed between the player and the game. But it is a balance, because if they are too simple, they appear tacked on and gimmicky. I would like to see my actions reflected on screen in a realistic, nearly, 1:1 ratio. This is why I think that only certain movements will translate. Swinging, pointing and slashing are examples of what have worked and what will work in the future. It is also an indication of the limitation of the system as they are motions along a single axis. Better designers than me will come up with special uses but only time will tell. The worst case scenario for Wii controls is when arm flailing will garner as much success as someone who is concentrating on the "correct" controls.
Designers on Wii games have an uphill battle. There are no easy solutions in this new paradigm for control schemes. Personally, I don't see too many good things on the near horizon from anyone but Nintendo, and I'm really not into too many of those games.
I took just over thirteen hours to download the demo (7PM last night to 9AM this morning) but it was definitely worth the wait. The game looks like awesome cherry cheesecake: sweet. It is evident that a lot of love went into the entire process. Water has never looked so hot. It is most definitely not "just another just another f**king PC FPS." The action is smooth and frantic. It took me only about forty-five minutes to get through the demo but it had a lot to offer. The game has drama, suspense, atmosphere, intrigue, sheer heebie-jeebie moments... my thesaurus has run out of adjectives. It's cliche, but I had two distinct games come to mind while I was playing the demo: Condemned and Oblivion. Since these have been two of my favorite games on the 360, this is a very, very good thing. Especially since the best elements of these two games are ratcheted up, like they're hopped up on Eve. My insatiable desire to get my hands on this game is now at a breaking point. Thankfully, we only have a week or so longer to wait.
Resident Evil 5 trailer is racist?: No. You only have yourself to blame for feeling that way. Not all black people live in Africa. My first impressions were that they could have been in on a Caribbean Island, like Haiti, as well. Additionally, they are Zombies, not people. Please stop there. Thank you.
GTAIV delayed! Nooooo!!!: Damn, now what am I going to get my wife on her birthday? Now, was it technological challenges or the PS3? I'm going with technological problems on the PS3.
Marathon on XBLA makes you sick: No shit, I nearly needed a bucket after only five minutes. Thank god for demos or I would have been a very pissed off camper.
It's seems that G4 Media had a problem with my Xplay clips and had them removed from YouTube. Oh well. I'll probably just start posting some screen captures or something from my intern gig. In the meantime, enjoy this clip from the upcoming Wii game: Zack and Wiki. Now, is it just me, or is this dirty? First, there's the naked child and then the falling tree! I must see sexual innuendo in everything.
I'm back! I spent the last week in Mammoth camping. Above is a picture of me chasing a bear out of our campsite. That was kind of scary, but Cinnamon (the Bear's name according to the camp host) was quite timid. Still, I knew that if she wanted to, she could have taken any one of us.
While camping I had the idea that a wilderness survival game would make an interesting serious game topic. You know, kind of a upgrade on the Oregon Trail format with some Snake Eater thrown in.
