repostal

The Last Express

2008-12-04T00:00:00.003-06:00

"Narrative to me is an area that's evolved the least in games over the past 10 to 15 years. They're more beautiful than they've ever been, they're more fun to play, the controls are better, and they're more fluid, and yet they're not telling better stories. They're not better at telling stories than they were 15 years ago, and I don't feel like they're trying."

From an interview from a couple of the leads on Jordan Mechner's The Last Express, the 1997, critical success that, for other reasons, ended up being a commercial failure. I had never heard of the game, but its art nouveau rotoscoped style, it's emphasis on real-time gameplay and ambitious interactivity (having to be in a certain place at a certain time to hear a certain conversation, for example) has caused me to look the game up on ebay. I'll post something after I've played through it.

The article is here.

Immersion

2008-12-03T07:33:00.004-06:00

An interesting art/research project by Robbie Cooper.

"There is an account, apocryphally, from medieval times, of a person walking into a room and being confronted with the sight of a man transfixed. The man in the room is holding something in his hands, staring at it. His eyes are glazed. His lips are moving soundlessly. His soul is elsewhere. The onlooker, unsettled, concludes that the man has been possessed by an evil spirit. In fact, he is simply doing something the onlooker has never seen done before: reading a book..."

The full story is here.

Speed vs. Combat

2008-11-14T13:51:00.015-06:00

Dare I make a comparison?

and

I've played the Mirror's Edge demo and I've concluded, as I have with some beloved Sonic games, that I enjoy running more than fighting.

Someone in the editing room likes Sigur Ros

2008-10-15T21:45:00.003-05:00

A couple of trailers of fresh games that both feature the icelanding band.

I wish I were the moon.

2008-10-14T00:23:00.000-05:00

(play it here)

An adorable indie game featured at the TGS '08 Sense of Wonder Night.

The developer's site is here:

http://www.ludomancy.com/blog/2008/09/03/i-wish-i-were-the-moon/

2 games with windmills

2008-10-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a game that had a windmill:

Ico.

Here's a game that's coming out that also has a windmill:

Prince of Persia.

Here's something else they both have:

Characters that hold hands.

At least some of the time.

What I've seen of Prince of Persia exudes fantastical mystery. I welcome another game that contains two characters travelling with an environment that's a character unto itself, with its own secrets and history.

Let's hope the Prince's witty one-liners and the acrobating fighting he and Elika share help them approach the tremendous, wordless bond that Ico and Yorda had. It's a tall order, but maybe I just want something to tide me over until Fumito Ueda's team announces their next project.

Being a Bad Gamer

2008-06-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

I confess that I'm a bad gamer. I'll prove it to you. I haven't played any of Hideo Kojima's games. There. I'm now unworthy to be among the ranks of the astute. Which games do you think are of the "must experience" category? For some it seems like it's assumed that if you are a gamer, you've played certain games, like Ocarina of Time, for example (of which I've only played a few hours). It's funny because we're more forgiving of others not having seen TV shows or read certain novels or heard of certain bands (to the extent of taking pride our appreciation of obscure music). Games are certainly as diverse. Perhaps it's because we identify with games differently? I'm not quite sure. Anyway, I admit to appreciating Michael Abbott's Metal Gear Primer over at The Brainy Gamer. Even after watching hours of cutscenes, I still feel like I'm missing something. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Videogames and Sex in Perspective

2008-05-29T11:40:00.001-05:00

The treatment of sex seems to be a good indicator of the maturation of a medium. An interesting vid on the subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pEquofR2r0

Of course, it's not as simple as simply treating the subject of sex differently. We're all trying to sort out the implications of interactivity in the medium, naysayers and enthusiasts alike.

The Mundane in Gaming

2008-05-27T15:33:00.001-05:00

I was wondering why I found it refreshing to hang out in GTA IV or increase social links in Persona 3. While reading this article I realized that It was the mundane nature of those activities and the seemingly novel aspect of the mundane in gaming that compelled me. Only a few games have successfully conveyed the mundane. Some examples include Animal Crossing's real time outings or Shenmue's exploration. Usually the mundane occurs in isolated bursts or are non-core features, like vending a soft drink in Half-life or star gazing in Morrowwind. Any other games that have the mundane as a significant component, successful or not?

[In this editorial, Gamasutra Editor At Large Chris Remo takes a look at some of the alternatively laid back and frenetic design angles within Grand Theft Auto IV, making a case that it's the slow periods of gameplay that make the title's longevity as much as the big action sequences.] Having just played through Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV, whose story I completed a few minutes ago, I wanted to comment on the design ...

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Best Done Crispy

2008-05-12T13:03:00.000-05:00

Hooray for independent game journalism. Crispygamer.com is a veritable hub of game articles, podcasts and features which shy away from Big Media and quantified review systems, instead using a three tiered recommendation system: Buy, Try or Fry. Brilliant.

http://tinyurl.com/5zcozr

Misplaced Intro

2008-05-08T12:34:00.001-05:00

I suppose I should have written the intro first but I guess I deserve some beginners' slack. I blame it on being eager to spare the readers of my personal blog from my seemingly unread mentions of gaming. My goal here is simply selfish. I couldn't resist joining the conversation. I hope to input some original thought soon even if in the meantime I'm prone to reposts.

The Fence

2008-05-08T12:15:00.001-05:00

As gaming tries to define itself as a culture and a medium a generational divide between those who support it and those who are cautious of it emerges along with differences of opinion between those who value the filtering of journalistic peer review and those who value the freedom of discussion fostered by the blogosphere. I for one value the potential of game blogs to bring together academics and enthusiasts. By design they encourage discussion in a public forum.
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Why We Can't All Just Get Along (Moving Pixels)

The parallels between those taking sides in the battle over the merit of Grand Theft Auto and the battle over the merit of blogs as journalistic devices are striking.

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