I just came across this great article in the New Yorker profiling Ciff Bleszinski, the 33 year old design director behind such games as Jazz the Jackrabbit, Unreal, and most famously, Gears of War.
While mainly aobut Gleszinksi, the article does give an interesting look into how video games as a medium have changed over the years.
The new games fill in all the gaps, and they have also done away with many of the symbolic prerequisites of video-game play, such as the number of “lives” a player has, the score, health bars, and so on. In Gears, there is no score. The player gets a single life; if it is forfeited, one must start again at the nearest passed checkpoint… Gears requires the ability to think tactically and make subtle judgments based on scant information, a constant awareness of multiple variables (ammunition stores, enemy weaknesses) as they change throughout the game, and the spatial sensitivity to control one’s movement through a space in which the “right” direction is not always apparent. Anyone who plays modern games such as Gears does not so much learn the rules as develop a kind of intuition for how the game operates. Often, there is no single way to accomplish a given task; improvisation is rewarded. Older games, like Super Mario, punish improvisation: you live or die according to their algebra alone.
The article deals mainly with the character of CliffyB, Belszinski’s persona as the new generation of game developers. Gone are the ideas of bespecked nerds slouched in their parents basements hacking away at code for hours at a time.
Bleszinski is a Lamborgini driving rockstar, who just happens to make very awesome games. A great article and well worth the read.
Three titles are available from the PlayStation Store with the PixelJunk moniker: Racers, Monsters, and Eden. I wasn’t that impressed with the first title. The second was interesting and had some strategic elements that gave it depth. However, the third title in this series is a sight (and sound) to behold.
PixelJunk Eden is a 2D platformer with visually engaging graphics and immersive sound that bely it’s simple premise. The visual experience is a less comical (but every bit as “trippy”) as LocoRoco. This E-rated title is conceptually abstract and involves freeing pollen to grow plants that allow you to access more of the garden and collect “spectra.” Yea, I’ve played the game and that description doesn’t make much sense to me either, but trust me, this is truly worth playing.
Eden also has a number of really unique features too. For example, if you own a PSP, you can play the game on it using the Remote Play feature. It also has multiplayer capability (for up to three people) so that you can share the experience with your friends. And to top it off, the title has a built-in video capture capability that allows you to record sessions to the harddrive and upload them directly to YouTube.
I could go on for a while on this one, but I put it right up there with flOw and Everyday Shooter. It is a simple title that is fun to play with others. Because of the potential for frustration, I wouldn’t recommend it for children under five. But it’s a great title to play cooperatively with up to two others in the household.
Many point to certain titles currently available and identify them as fine examples of gaming as art. This certainly qualifies and does so while still maintaining the emphasis on gaming. Enjoy!
Sackboy (or Sackgirl, depending on gender) is the hero(ine) of an upcoming PS3 game entitled Little Big Planet. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, this promises to be far more than just a videogame.
“Play Create Share” is the tagline for Little Big Planet. The premise is that this title is much more than a game. It is a world building environment. What is particularly impressive about this experience is that the interface with which individuals can create their own levels is not only user-friendly, it’s fun!
Before I get carried away, please understand that Little Big Planet is not the first game to offer this the ability to design levels. I had the opportunity to jump on the game-mod bandwagon for the original Quake a number of years ago. I found great satisfaction in designing my own virtual worlds to share with others. In fact, this isn’t even the first console-based title to offer this option. I enjoyed creating levels in the original PlayStation version of Lode Runner and the PS2 title TimeSplitters. However, the robust toolset and mind-boggling flexibility of the design architecture makes Little Big Planet a true evolutionary step. When one considers the ability to share levels through the PlayStation Network, it offers a venue through which we all can share our creations.
In addition to the tools and textures that are part of the system, one can use the PS3 Eye camera to capture images and map them onto surfaces as well!
Little Big Planet is scheduled for release on October 21st (just over one month away). I know that I have been looking forward to this title for a long time. I hope to create some levels customized for my children that will inspire and motivate them and, eventually, I look forward to helping them discover the wonder of creation for themselves!
What can I say? Is this Sony’s attempt to merge HDTV and the AIBO and hope that it catches on like Nintendogs? We’ll see, but the interactive nature is interesting. The real question is whether or not they have incorporated the AI from the AIBO in the software. If it could develop and learn, this concept could have some merit. Nothing like giving your kids a chance to have a pet that can’t make a mess to see if they will get bored or not.
But no matter how cute or intelligently programmed such a virtual pet is, it can’t curl up on your lap on a cold winter’s night. Though I love my LCD TV, it’s not the same. And though pets aren’t inexpensive, the cost of a PS3, HD display, an EYE camera, and this software can go pretty far to adopting and taking care of a little critter from your local animal shelter.
Still, if you aren’t sure that your kids are quite ready for the responsibility of a pet and you already have the hardware, this might be an opportunity to test the waters. (My daughter really thinks that the reason cats have tails if for her to be able to grab them. I hope that she doesn’t have to learn that lesson the hard way.) Also, if you’re child has pet alergies, (my son appears to be allergic to dog and cat dander), This could give everybody a little pet fix without the Benadryl.
Yet again, this could just be a “gateway pet.” You be the judge!
I had to jump on here and post this quickly. It’s a commercial for the upcoming Viva Pinata game. For those of you who aren’t in the know Viva Pinata is a strategy game in which you try to raise Pinata shaped animals and a garden for them to live in. It’s a fun game and the sequel looks to be just a s good as the original. If you’ve never seen any of the Halo 3 promotional videos you may want to watch this one first.
For the 17% of you Canadian men who game in the nude, PLEASE MAKE SURE THE DRAPES ARE CLOSED!
Kotaku brings us news from a Microsoft survey in which the results show that gaming in the nude, while not commonplace, is at least happening! Now I’ve played my DS in the car, at the doctors, etc but never buck naked. I’m curious to find out what kind of games they are playing. I wonder if it’s a paticular genre that is best played in your birthday suit?
Pic from dbking’s Photostream, licensed under Creative Commons.
For the 17% of you Canadian men who game in the nude, PLEASE MAKE SURE THE DRAPES ARE CLOSED!