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Weekly News We Care About Wrap Up – 12.8.06

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Analyst predicts doom for blu-ray
A study has found that HD DVD has more positive buzz than the Blu-ray, at least partially because Sony is backing the Blu-ray format. I will now do my part to add to the negative Blu-ray buzz — Boo Blu-ray!

Maybe real issues would be taken seriously if there were violent video games about them.

Democrats focused on what really matters – videogames
“We all share in the responsibility of making sure our children play age-appropriate video games, and I’m pleased that the ESRB and retailers are working together to educate parents about the video game ratings and make sure they are enforced. As we enter the holiday shopping season, it is important that parents have the information they need to make informed choices that are right for their families,” said Senator Clinton.

How’s that war going? Global warming is over, right?

The Democratic Party will not be worth anything until they solidify the moderates and the liberals in the country. →  Look upon my works, ye mighty, and read!

Fear the Mystic Balloons

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I find most freeware games to be temporary distractions, but every once in a while I get hooked on one longer than usual. Such is the case with Mystic Balloon. Originally a cooperation between two Japanese developers, this puzzle game was translated a few days ago by Derrick Sobodash.

Mystic Balloon’s plot is simple, as are both music and graphics. But the puzzles are rightfully the heart of the game, and there are a lot of them.

Our forecast for tomorrow is mostly cloudy with a chance of ice and springs.

In this puzzle game, you make your way through individual 2-dimensional puzzle map-areas – similar to Lolo – but in Mystic Ballon, gravity has an effect and there aren’t enemies – the game is pure puzzle, and controls are tight so mistakes are the player’s fault.

Objects found in the game range from springs and blocks to clouds, ladders, keys, ice… and I’ve just touched the surface. The only movements available to the player are jumping and picking up objects, but the objects offer the diversity necessary to keep puzzles interesting and varied. →  The post still burns.

Thoughts on immersion and graphics

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Is immersion really dependant upon graphics? In a recent piece, Craig theorized that this rationally follows from the assertion that attention to detail creates immersion. I think his premise is correct, but ultimately graphics and immersion are not as tied together as we would assume. Expectations are hugely important and cannot be left out of the equation.

A gamer raised on Xbox games may find it difficult to get into an SNES RPG.

Expectations can exist internally and externally. Those internal to a game have already been discussed on this site and are important, but so are external expectations. A new gamer playing a particularly detailed Atari game may not be immersed now, but had they played it first in 1984, they may have been.

Graphics and immersion are often only related when examining games from different systems and eras. And sometimes this isn’t even true. A classic RPG on the SNES, played by someone who grew up with those titles, is probably still pretty immersive. →  Read Band 2

Untranslated Games on Gametap

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So I was cruising through Gametap the other day, looking for new additions I might have missed out on. During this time I came across an interesting little game called Battle Golfer Yui. What makes it surprising is that the game was never released in America, but instead was a Japanese only release on the Sega Mega Drive. I’m not sure how or why Gametap included it, but they do acknowledge that its quite impossible to play through all the modes without understanding Japanese, and even tell you how to navigate to the quick play mode.

Anime Babes and Golf.

Upon further investigation, I discovered that it isn’t alone. There’s also at least one Wonder Boy release from Japan as well, and this time they warn that it might not even be possible to play without knowing Kanji.

So what does this mean for us gamers? A lot and a little. While its not easy or even possible for most gamers to play through these titles, its a good sign that a big service like Gametap isn’t afraid to shoot for something so obscure. →  Read like G did.

I may need more than my Wii

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I’ve recently been known to say that even if no other companies support the Wii, I will be very happy with it. With first and second party titles like Metroid Prime 3, Wario Ware Smooth Moves, Mario Galaxy, a new Super Smash Brothers, a new Mario Cart, a new Fire Emblem, a new Advance Wars, and the prospects of a new F-Zero, Starfox, Pikmin, and Paper Mario, how could I ever be at a loss for great games to play?

After some deep meditation (unless meditation is thinking about nothing, then it probably wasn’t that), I have concluded that while it is true I will always have good games to play on the Wii, the idea of not having a lot of interesting smaller games on the system saddens me. So much so, that I have begun entertaining the idea that I should one day get a PS3 (assuming small developers can even afford to make games for Sony).

You see, ever since I began renting games for my Genesis, exploring the lesser known titles has been an important part of what gaming is to me. →  You’re tearing me apart lamers!

We don’t play games the way they should be played

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Over the last few years, I have come to realize that I, like many of you, play video games incorrectly. We don’t play them the way they should be played. And this goes double for you RPG nuts out there (I’m looking at you, videolamer staff). I bet that most of you just blaze through games, trying to either beat them as quickly as you can or leveling up to a point where only Cartman and the South Park gang can top you. Well stop it. You’re missing out on an enjoyable experience with your games if you think getting to the ending credits is the reason we play them.

This guy really knows how to enjoy a game.

I remember playing Ocarina of Time for the N64 way back in 1998. I got it the day it came out, and played it for a month straight. It was amazing, but I never just sat back and took in the splendor of the game. →  Show me the reading!

Series Retrospective: Wild Arms

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As far as RPG series go, one of the smaller ones you don’t hear too much about is Wild Arms. They are the only RPGs I’ve heard of that try to tackle the Wild West as an overall theme, and tend to blend in fantasy and science fiction elements to keep the game interesting for more traditional RPG fans.

Although the plot and setting differ significantly between any two members of the series (with one exception), there are some trends, such as the Guardians, which are summons characters can equip and use. All of the games also have the blessing of Michiko Naruke’s composition talents. Although she was not able to do the full composition for 4, all of the games have excellent music which adds greatly to the atmosphere – in fact, it was hearing the music that brought me to revisit the first and go on to try the rest of the series.

One main trend of the series is a lack of consistent localization. →  The Adventures of Cookie and Read

Matt’s Take on Episodic Content

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In a Gamasutra interview earlier this week, Scott Miller of 3D Realms gave his input on episodic content. Ya know, that thing that Valve seems to love right now.

He seems to dislike the fact that new episodes take too long to be released after each other. And judging from the fact that Half-Life 2: Episode 2 has been delayed until Summer 2007, he does have a valid point. He also thinks that they shouldn’t end with cliff-hangers.

And you’re probably dying to know what I have to say on the subject. Hey, that’s why I put my name in this blog entry’s title:) Well, I won’t keep you waiting any longer.

I completely agree on both points. I think that episodic content has a long way to go before becoming a stable form of expression in the video game market.

Yes, when I played HL2:E1, I was very disappointed that it ended with a cliffhanger. It made the whole experience very anti-climactic. →  The post still burns.

Thinking about my Wii

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When will WiiDS (pronounced “weeds”) games come out? I am looking forward to making my girlfriend hold the DS, which I can assume will display only a map for about every game with connectivity, while I play Wii games. She has tried to explain maps to me before and it never works out because we both have terrible senses of direction and tempers. Threatening to kick her out of the car will probably be less effective when sitting in the living room playing video games so I’ll have to come up with a new threat for getting me lost. Not knowing where I am while driving costs a few minutes, but in a game can cost me my life.

Here is a good idea for a game. Take notes, Nintendo. The player with the DS frantically draws monsters (or stick figures, depending on their artistic ability) and quickly assigns them basic AI, while the Wii player fights those same created monsters with his remote controlled sword/gun/2×4. →  I’ll get a job later, for now I’m going to read this

Weekly News We Care About Wrap Up – 12.1.06

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Analyst predicts Sony will leave the hardware business
This may be completely stupid and absurd, but then it just may make sense. The recent management shuffle at Sony, some believe, is an indication of things to come. Kutaragi, the Sony hardware guy, has been promoted out of the way and now Kaz Hirai, a software guy, is in charge of Sony’s game division. The theory goes Kutaragi has fucked things up too much and the PS3 may cost Sony money, so by removing their hardware guy and putting in a software guy, they can transition out of hardware and focus on developing software only.

This is slightly hard to believe if only because I was completely unaware that Sony has a significant software division. Ueda and Jaffe aside, what does Sony have to offer gamers? Everquest 3? Untold Legends: The Same as Last Game? If you count studios like Naughty Dog and Psygnosis that they bought, maybe their software division is robust enough without their hardware department. →  An article approaches.
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