Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (1)
Like several of the people on my buddy list, I’ve been playing XBLA gem Limbo. The game, with its eerie settings, story, and gameplay is trumped only by its striking visual style: black and white silhouettes amidst a silent film’s grainy design. The experience is borderline beautiful, and will probably still be beautiful when the eventual next gen and next next gen consoles debut.
It got me thinking about what other games will be just as good to look at in 10-15 years’ time. What makes a game’s visual style stand the test, and truly be “timeless”?
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Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (2)
We know: it’s 2010. And yes, we’re still fans of the occasional spin on Rock Band or Guitar Hero, though the series have become repetitive in recent years and milking is undoubtedly in full swing. The music rhythm game genre has slowly (but surely) become this generation’s DDR.
But, there’s still opportunity in there, somewhere: Rock Band is becoming more simulation-based (real strings!). Guitar Hero is getting more “gamey”, with pseudo power ups and a more fantasy-based story. Now may be the optimal time to experiment with the genre. That’s why we are offering up a sidequest for the band games, one that may be different enough to spur a whole new niche of a game genre.
We present to you: Guitar Hero RPG.
Now, why the hell hasn’t it been made yet?
Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (0)
Category : Featured, News
Tags: dance central, donkey kong, free to play, goldeneye, ipad, iphone, just dance, medal of honor, modern warfare, music, rhythm
Click here for Part 1 of the trends review | Part 2
As technology advances and pushes the limits of gaming, there has been an inevitable resurgence in classic gaming standards, with possibly none more so evident than the return of several franchises that older gamers fondly remember. Along with these classics come their play mechanics, seeded in memories of Friday night college gaming in dorm rooms with friends huddled around glowing 19″ CRT screens.
This third and final part of the trend report focuses on the “safe mode” in game development this year, as well as the advances in multiplayer gaming, music rhythm game divergence, and dance music games.
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Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (1)
Category : Featured, News
Tags: 3D, augmented reality, dance, e3, e3 2010, e3 expo, modern warfare, portal 2, sequels, trends
Each year, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) showcases the games and technology that we will be playing over the foreseeable future. Often, that can mean products that are debuting in the Fall, or even those that are 1-2 years away from completion. These products guide the industry in design and technology for years, as consumers flock to those products that they find more enjoyable.
This year’s E3 continued that formula. The products that were on the show floor and behind closed doors displayed clear trends and direction for 2010 and onward as to what game designers and publishers are proposing to the gaming public. From technology, to visual design, to the cultural sphere around gaming, this year’s show was more subdued in blockbuster announcements, instead focusing on revision and evolution over revolution. Over the next few days we will discuss the leading trends that were apparent at the event. This is part 1 of 3.
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Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (1)
“How cool would it be if..?”
Those are the words at the top of the homepage of Boston (Maynard)- based game developer 38 Studios. That’s the kind of question that all of us have asked at one time or another after finishing a game, usually one that we love. “How cool would it be if… there were no weapons in this game? How cool would it be if… instead of cars there were skateboards to travel around the game world? How cool would it be if… Mario slow down time?”
We had some time during E3 to spend with Founder/Chairman of 38 Studios, Curt Schilling, to find out why that question is so important to him and his company, and how it will shape their vision of the future of MMO games.
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Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (1)
There is always something magical about a Nintendo press conference at E3. Is it the respectable Reggie and Miyamoto? The instantly recognizable legacies of names like Mario and Zelda? Or is it that Nintendo pushes games and fun above all other aspects? I can’t quite pinpoint it, but I do know that whenever Nintendo presents they hold an almost Apple-like grip on the gaming press; we stop and listen for the big N, no matter what our fanboy affiliations may be.
This year Nintendo seemed to do what Sony and Microsoft didn’t: build upon mega-reveal after mega-reveal of games and hardware that we wanted/didn’t expect to see to the point of near religious-like convulsion. Nintendo essentially said “You can have your technological breakthroughs, we’ll make blockbuster games that people want to play. Oh, we also have technological breakthroughs.”
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Posted by Ryan Gan | Comments : (0)
Immediately after Nintendo’s press conference, I got a chance to play the upcoming Zelda game for the Wii, entitled The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Nothing was revealed about the story of the previously un-subtitled Zelda game during Nintendo’s press event. It’s look? It looks like it has the skeleton of Twilight Princess (with the presence of adult Link) and the flesh of Wind Waker in color and shading. This was kind of glossed over too. In fact, Shigeru Miyamoto spent most of his time discussing something more important — how players would use the Wiimote, Nunchuck, and Wii MotionPlus to control Link in Skyward Sword. Continue Reading
Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (0)
We’ve just left the Microsoft E3 2010 press conference, where much fun was had, and are primed and ready to share our thoughts and the breaking news. Microsoft chose this year to push a big focus on the casual, with an hour’s worth of Kinect/Live talk amongst a splatter of a few core titles.
What went down wasn’t as glitzy or glamor-filled (or terrifying) as the Cirque du Soleil event from the night before, but a much more refined experience focused on gameplay, live demos, and hardware.
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Posted by Dalibor Dimovski | Comments : (1)
Category : Featured
Tags: 3DS, ds, ipad, iphone, iPod, playstation, ps3, ps4, psp, psp2, wii, wii2, wiihd, xbox, xbox 360, xbox 720
With E3 just around the corner (next week!) we’ve come upon the annual tidal wave of game and hardware announcements. While we are knee deep in this current generation of game systems, the horizon of the next next gen is opening upon us. Nintendo has already stated that their next portable hardware, the 3DS, will be revealed at the conference. While it may be time for a refresh for the portables, now on the market for 6+ years, the dominoes are beginning to fall indicating the impending reveals of the next consoles we will be purchasing.
But, are we ready for them?
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Posted by Ryan Gan | Comments : (2)
Editor’s Note: This feature is full of spoilers for Alan Wake and Bright Falls. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
More often than not, videogames are used as a medium to convey a story to a player. In this hi-def era of gaming, developers are sometimes compelled to move the plot in their games forward with scintillating cutscenes. This often leaves players with a kabob in the form of a game disc — alternating morsels of gameplay and cutscene. This method of telling a story may or may not leave the player satisfied, but there are merits to implementing other narrative devices in games.
Narrative devices are used in film and literature in order to feed certain information to the audience in such a way that they receive the intended message, theme, or idea behind a piece of work in way that will optimize the experience. For example, the careful pacing of flashbacks in American History X highlighted certain events that were occuring in the film’s “present time.” This pacing, the flashbacks, and the lack of color in the flashbacks helped set a certain mood in the audience and told the story in a more effective way.
However, the use of the narrative device is not only limited to the director or author. Videogame developers use narrative devices when they write and design games. Alan Wake is one game in which players are allowed to learn about the story through a variety of methods. In designing its game this way, Remedy has provided players with a single, enriched experience in the form of a layered story. Each layer — a narrative device — is intended to unveil information or set mood and tone for the player. As a result, Alan Wake shined not only because of the story it told, but how it was told. The use of narrative devices in Alan Wake made for a more enriched story, allowing players to experience the game and learn about the plot and setting in a myriad of ways. Continue Reading
