December 2010
1 post
Every time there’s a pristine birthday cake in the break room, waiting to be devoured during some god-awful work birthday party, I wonder what people would say if I secretly cut out and ate the name from the cake and left the rest for the party later on.
August 2010
1 post
Ridiculous things people say
Hahahahahaha.
Fans will be thrilled of a chance to return to Neverwinter: Neverwinter Nights is widely regarded as one of history’s greatest RPGs.
April 2010
2 posts
Revisiting Rapture
There’s so much to say about Bioshock 2, much like its precursor. It deserves a thorough dismantling of its use of rhetoric and gameplay. Like Delta in the watery ecosystem of rapture, Bioshock 2 makes you part of its systems, and the result is wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that when it becomes necessary to end the game (and the story of Delta), and the experience becomes much more...
Dwarf Fortress 0.31.01 is out
One of the most awesome and important games OF OUR TIME, and I don’t think I can overstate that, just got a massive new update. Go get it.
March 2010
1 post
Prepare yourself for at least a moderate level of...
It’s kind of amusing that having fun with a game requires this much prior knowledge. Or that anyone thinks you need to know all this to enjoy Just Cause 2, which to me has seemed nothing if not boredom-proof.
April 2009
1 post
Halo Wars
At first, it doesn’t seem at all like Halo, much the same way that eating a Reeses peanut butter cup in the shape of the bat signal doesn’t remind you of Batman.
Later, you realize that Halo doesn’t signify all that much anyways, at least not anymore. But that doesn’t stop Halo Wars from being a shapeless, uninspired mess.
March 2009
2 posts
Recalibrating Warcraft
In what has been a fairly surprising experience, I’ve recently spent some time going back through the Warcraft games, with the most emphasis on Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft. It’s been surprising because my memories of these two games are different - Warcraft III, which dropped while I was in college and which I put an enormous amount of time into, remains a...
October 2008
5 posts
Halloween Fallout
I’m not a big fan of Zombies. Vampires I like. Werewolves? Fucking awesome. I can even get into mummies every once in awhile. And I liked that one Unicorns album about being a ghost (you know, the only they ever made). But zombies never did anything for me. Maybe it’s that they have always been an excuse for the horror genre to play with allegory and social commentary, both of which...
Star Wars: The Old Republic
I guess it’s a bit better than the name I came up with.
Massively Knights Multiplayer of the Online New...
It’s happening.
I have no idea what the KOTOR MMO will look like, but if I had to guess I would say that it will be an online massively-multiplayer roguelike, with ASCII graphics and optional tilesets, with hardcore permadeath and one gigantic server.
What makes Dwarf Fortress different?
I was talking to a friend who hadn’t played DF yet, and this is the story I told to demonstrate the differences between Dwarf Fortress and, well, every other game that exists. A common problem in Dwarf Fortress is pet overpopulation. Dwarves, it seems, are not keen to follow Bob Barker’s advice. I had a fortress that was going quite well, my dwarves happily churning out food, drink,...
Hinterland impressions
Hinterland is out. My initial impressions are positive, but I’ve only put about 45 minutes into the game so they are definitely initial. I like some of the more esoteric design decisions, like how you control only one character even though you are doing city-building, adventuring in a party, and lots of other things that usually allow you to control more than one person. It makes it feel very...
September 2008
1 post
The Department of Missed Opportunities
As I play through Spore, I can’t help but think about all the things I wish they had done. It’s a great game, and I want more. I want the decisions you make in the editor to matter more in the game. I want more of the “interaction of verbs” that Will Wright mentioned in that first GDC talk. I want a more robust and evolved take on combat and movement in the creature phase....
July 2008
5 posts
New Dwarf Fortress is out
YES
Awesomecast
Gamersiwthjobs is one of the best gaming podcasts out there, and this week’s episode has a terrific discussion about, as they call it, the cross-pollination of pen-and-paper roleplaying and videogames. It’s well worth listening to, especially the part about the limits of MMORPGs and online gaming.
The most boring announcement ever
www.dragonage.bioware.com
Look, I’m going to be honest. Dragon Age sounds great. The pedigree is awesome. I love Bioware games. But jesus christ you have to do better than this. A video on SpikeTV? At 1:00 AM? Fucking 1:00 AM IN THE MORNING? I’m asleep then! Just put the damn video on your splash-page and be done with it.
Seriously… I mean, I fucking F5ed all day for this...
Starcraft II looks really boring
From Blizzard’s FAQ on the SC2 website:
How will StarCraft II be different from StarCraft? StarCraft II will run on a vibrant new 3D-graphics engine that will be capable of rendering beautiful landscapes as well as massive individual units and army sizes.We’re also introducing a number of distinct new units to the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg, and even some of the familiar units that...
Is Blizzard too conservative?
In an otherwise laudatory post, Fallout 3 producer Ashely Cheng bemoans Blizzard’s decision to “stay on the conservative side of game design” with Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2. I think this is a pretty interesting assertion that deserves some exploration. Is Blizzard too conservative?
My immediate reaction is yes, Blizzard is too conservative. This was the first thing I thought when...
June 2008
12 posts
Is Ninja Gaiden 2 Tomb Raider (with more blood)?
I’ve been playing Ninja Gaiden 2, which is a very good game ( so far, at least ), and it’s occured to me that it’s really engaging not only my action gamer side of the brain but also my explorer side. The exploration is kind of a meta-game - NG2’s geography is almost entirely linear, and while there are lots of nice vistas there is rarely any discovery in terms of landscape...
A nugget of Dragon Age info
Remember Dragon Age, Bioware’s gritty PC-exclusive take on fantasy roleplaying? It’s okay if you don’t, because we haven’t heard anything about it for quite awhile, but there’s a tiny bit about it in a Sonic RPG interview up at Gamasutra:
Did you adapt the BioWare dialogue tool? I saw it demonstrated at Austin GDC. MD: We’re actually not using the one that was...
Soren Johnson vs. Jeff Green
Here is a great Soren Johnson interview on 1up, where he talks about Spore, the PC Market, and other things.
In some ways I’m still very unclear about the “game” part of Spore. Obviously there’s a game in there, but how constrained will it be? Will the constraints necessary for the game thematically detract from the freedom of the editor, or will they work well together?
Is Spore hot coffee waiting to spill?
People are already creating amazing things with the Spore creature creator (I realise this isn’t the best example of something amazing, but damn it I loved that game), stuff that probably even the most forward-thinking smartey-pants at Maxis never dreamed of.
People are also, of course, making penis monsters and walking, yelping goatsecx dolls. And, trust me, creations that are far more...
Sporations
So the Spore Creature Creator is out, and everyone is playing Dr. Frankenstein. Here are some of my favorites so far:
First of all, one of mine - the Sharkomonster. That .png at the bottom, by the way, is all you need to load up Mr. Sharkomonster into your own Creature Creator:
One thing that becomes immediately apparent when messing around with Spore is that making cute monsters (ala Monsters...
I took a bike ride this weekend. It had stormed the previous night, and one section of the bike path was covered in mud at least an inch high. When I saw it, I briefly panicked; I’m not very skilled as a rider, and I wasn’t sure if I should push through the thick muddy path, which might lead to a sliding bike and getting very muddy as I fell into the brown muck, or if I should get off my bike and...
The Drubbing
May NPD numbers:
Hardware numbers:
Wii - 675,100 units
Nintendo DS - 452,600 units
PlayStation 3 - 208,700 units
Xbox 360 - 186,600 units
PSP - 182,300 units
Oh hey, the Wii is still kicking everyone’s ass into outer space. More interesting are the software numbers, where we see that both the 360 and PS3 have only two(!) software titles in the top 20. The Wii has a bunch.
It...
Important announcement
Stop saying that Spore has been in development for eons. It hasn’t been. It’s been in development since 2000, yes, but most of that development has consisted of working on the procedural generation and that was done by a very small group of people. Development in earnest probably began sometime around 2004. 4 years is not that long for a AAA game.
Dawn of War 2
I am excited. 1up has a preview of Relic’s Dawn of War 2 up (and supposedly a podcast coming soon with impressions) and I really like the direction they’re going. They’re personalizing the game, adding in RPG elements like consistently identifiable commanders, drops, and persistent squads, all wrapped up in a Mass Effect-esque barrito of main and side quests which can be accessed...
Sleight of hand
I just can’t get into card games. As a much younger man, I played Magic: The Gathering until the sun came up, but ever since then, and because of those experiences, collectable card games have always had a certain funk on them that has made me perpetually apprehensive about the card mechanic.
So I’m a bit dismayed that Solium Infernum sounds so fucking awesome. It’s basically a...
Another Spore trailer
More Spore. I can’t wait to slip that hot creature creator into my hard drive.
Happy trails
Unless you’re out of work or a college student, you probably don’t have all the time you want to play games. Lo! I offer succor for your discontent, in the form of videos about games. The 1up network has a new show called RSVP. It’s modeled off that Dinner for Five program and features Valve’s Erik Wolpaw, the guy who worked on Everyday Shooter, and another guy who heads...
May 2008
19 posts
Penny Arcade overload
OK this is the last post about Penny Arcade for awhile, but I found this cool podcast where the PA guys play Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition with a DM from Wizards of the Coast, and it’s just too cool and funny not to share.
Rain-slick precipice of darkness update
I said yesterday that I wasn’t sure about the combat - I am now sure. The battles in this game are very good.
Penny Arcade: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of...
So I downloaded the new Penny Arcade game yesterday, and like many I imagine, I was struck by how good the thing is. It shouldn’t be good! This is where those loud-mouthed big-word-using web-comic-making game critics get their utlimate come-uppence, right? Actually, I like Penny Arcade, so I never wished them any ill will. But it takes a certain confidence to make a game just because you...
Those crazy German kids
This Shacknews preview of Far Cry 2 makes it seem like the game is going in a very interesting, decidely non-linear and Stalker-like direction. I’ve heard a variety of good and bad rumblings about the project, but at least you have to like the ambition. I particularly liked the fact that you have NPC allies who can die, and can’t be brought back in any way. Eastern European game...
Mass Effect review
Clicken thee unto this link, and inhale the soothing vapors of Eurogamer’s Mass Effect PC review. Mass Effect is an excellent game, and this review does a good job of investigating why that is. Sometimes it’s difficult to unentangle an emotional response to a game and specify the hoary threads of reason that evoke that reponse, but that’s exactly what’s necessary when...
New Spore video
Here is a new Spore video that focuses on the creature creator (which is coming out in about a month). This video is so deliciously packed with content and insights into what the game is about. I especially love the icons on the top-right that constantly update to tell you what kind of food your creature eats, how fast it moves, its attack rating, etc. The awesome thing is that these are all...
Dwarf Fortress interview
If you’ve lately caught yourself thinking “man, it would be great to hear an interview with that guy who made Dwarf Fortress,” then you’re in luck. Because right here is an awesome interview with Tarn, the guy who makes Dwarf Fortress. The podcast lasts about 90 minutes and the interviewer seems to have more than a cursory amount of knowledge about the game, which is always...
The paper chase
The NPD figures for consoles and software don’t mean a whole lot to me. They’re interesting, but in the way that reading about politics or intellectual property law can be interesting - I don’t understand much of it, and I certainly don’t have anything smart or prescient to contribute. I am confident in one thing, however: the console war, or race, or whatever it is, is...
Shine a light
Read this Kieron Gillen piece on Gears of War right now, because it is excellent and well worth the five minutes it takes to get through it. Good writing informs while it entertains, and this piece does that in spades: I had never really put together how the dichotomy between western and eastern juvenalia in the games industry shakes out, but Gillen lays it out very nicely in this piece. Speaking...
Not chosen
Apparently, NBA Ballers: Chosen One is not very good. Making a good basketball game is extremely difficult, but NBA: Homecourt, which was by no means a perfectly realized basketball simulation, had the right mix of disparate design elements to be fun and addicting, especially when played in short spurts. Part of Homecourt’s draw was that, after making your own personalized...
SecuROM, DRM
I don’t know what to think about all this bruhaha. DRM for PC games is as inevitable as the sun coming up or water being wet. It’s hard for me to get worked up about it because I can’t imagine any probable future where it doesn’t happen, and ubiquitously.
Use your six-axis to steer Legolas' arrow in...
Pandemic is making a Lord of the Rings game. It’s called The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. According to their PR, TLOTR:C will allow players to jump into any battle seen in the films, as well as some extras, and let you play out the battle any way you see fit. I guess that could be fun, if the combat mechanics are interesting. But no one has really done melee combat with weapons very well;...
Ken Levine's X-Com
I forgot to mention that I’m super excited about Ken Levine remaking X-Com, which I happen to think is a fantastic idea. I have no idea how you update X-Com and make it into a AAA title. But I’m not Ken Levine and I wasn’t the lead designer for the best game released last year, so that’s ok. I expect nothing but the best.
Is open-world a genre?
It may be quibbling, but do open-world games constitute an emerging genre? It doesn’t seem like they should, because all the term “open world” does is describe a lack of geographical linearity - it would make more sense for the genre to be “driving games” or “murder simulators.” I joke. I imagine this is an argument that was extensively hashed out years...
The prevailing current
Sometimes I find myself confounded by mainstream gamer opinions. For instance, I had no idea that Medieval Two: Total War was considered to be a bit of a dissapointment after Rome: Total War. I’m by no means a strategy game maven, but I thought both products were immensely satisfying. On a somewhat related but tangential note, I heard some commentators on a gaming podcast describing Grand...
Will Wright interview
There’s an excellent interview with Will Wright about game design and game design theory over at The Guardian. Wright’s discussion of his “abdication of authorship” is particularly interesting: “My focus started shifting more and more to players, and what they were doing,” he says, “Because I found that fundamentally as interesting, or more interesting,...
Iron Man
I’ve always liked Iron Man, the weapons-dealer turned superhero who fights communism (or something). Why? I’m not exactly sure. Maybe it has something to do with the four-color expression of American Transcendentalism, or dealing with the zeitgeist of the Vietnam-era, or even some sort of genetic pre-disposition due to Tony Stark’s singular stature as the only mainstream...
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1up asks the question: Are we what we play?
1up has an interesting feature about what the roles we play in videogames have to say about ourselves and the conception of self. This is my favorite one, but they’re all worth reading. My reaction to the question is that it’s a complicated one, and also one that tabletop gamers have been considering for decades. I’m not sure what games tell us about yourselves, and part of the...
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Welcome to the 21st century (GTA IV impressions)
Grand Theft Auto IV is, from all accounts, a truly massive game with literally hundreds of hours of play locked inside, so after playing for two hours this morning I feel completely confident in giving you some rock solid impressions. First of all, I’m playing on the 360. I haven’t noticed any significant texture pop-in issues. There is some pop-in, but all the stuff I’ve...