Videogames don't NEED to be violent

As much as I enjoyed the Bulletstorm demo last week, I really have been thinking about violence in videogames lately. As much as I love over the top weapons and the option to "kill with skill", right now I am casually playing two very fun games that either have no violence, or have violence as an auxiliary mechanic. You don't always need to bet on Duke.

The first is a game for Android and iPhone's called A Game Developer story. Developed by a small Japanese studio called Kairosoft, the game is skinner box gameplay to the core. You play the role of a small game developer trying to hire the right staff, develop games and consoles, and make as much money as you can in 20 years. The game is way too much fun and for roughly $4 USD you can't get much better. Between commutes and just being bored I am easily 30 hours in. It's a fun mechanic, could be a lot deeper if it wasn't a game for phones, and even as a shallow waste of time is very good at what it does.

The other game I picked up on Impulse for $9.99 USD is Caesar 4. The game is a city builder based on the Roman Empire (as the name may suggest) and the main gameplay element is juggling. It's about expanding your resources, providing food and amenities for your populace, growing your economy, defending yourself from invaders, and keeping Rome happy all at the same time. There is combat in the game, but it is a secondary mechanic; it is not the reason you boot up the game. It is just another aspect to juggle along with making pots and making sure the middle class has enough booze.

Granted there are probably better, contemporary examples of compelling non combat gameplay....

I played the Bulletstorm Demo and I still haven't Sexually Assulted anyone....

There has been a lot of buzz about Epic Game's shooter title Bulletstorm developed by People Can Fly, so I figured I would lower myself to the disgusting prospect of playing through the demo recently released. Despite the assertion by experts that violent videogames such as bullet storm turn seemingly normal people in to deranged rapists, I have not committed any sexual assaults as of yet. Granted the demo was only approximately 10 minutes of game play and I have no hard scientific data to back up the fact that playing the full retail release won't turn me in to such a deviant sociopath, but so far so good.

Now I'm not usually one who enjoys such games. By my disdain for the way shooter and action titles tend to be marketed to us, video game's core demographic, you would probably assume I would loathe and abhor the mere fact this game has been generating the excitement it has, but you know what; the demo was really fun.

From the beginning of the short tutorial video until the demo is over the game is driping with a campy, over the top gratuitous bravado that is very reminecent of Serious Sam. There was some plot about space pirates flying around but I didn't pay much attention and I really didn't need to. What's important is that this game has a brutal and childish flair for just running around murdering aliens.

This game seems to be going for what I call the "Die Hard Effect." You can do the same thing that has been done a million times as long as you do it better and with more style than everyone else. I didn't see anything new here, but what I did see was a fast paced, immature guilty pleasure shooter that looks amazing and seems to be fun where it counts. Let's see how this game does when it releases on February 22nd.

Oh Telltale, where art thou?

Telltale has been getting a lot of press lately by announcing and releasing classic adventure games based around licensed properties. Just in the last day there have been reports of games based on Jurassic Park, the comic Fables, and AMC hit show and graphic novel The Walking Dead. Are Telltale games really the smartest PC developer in existence?

It doesn't take a marketing or business genius to see what they are doing. License some mid to high level IP, churn out as many games with their existing technology as they can with an episodic model, then sell exclusively digitally on platforms like Steam and their own digital store to make an absolute killing with the only overhead going to writing and production. I suppose you can create a lot of content while recycling the same adventure game mechanics that really haven't changed at all in 24 years.

Their most recent release of Back to the Future episodic games has garnered them moderate critical success, but is it for the IP or the game itself? I have doubt this business model will be very successful, but is it really any better than Facebook and social games? At least there you can find thought and innovation, even if the gameplay is shallow and minimal.

Dead Island's Trailer is Amazing for a Few Reasons

Last night (EST) the Dead Island trailer was released to the world and has blown up like Hindenburg. This trailer is absolutely amazing (not perfect but I'm not here to bitch this post) and is the newest of very high quality dramatic videos with the setting as zombie apocalypse. The team at Polish developer Techland clearly understand what takes a campy subject like zombies and makes it real and human. This short isn't about the end of the world, it's about the end of a family.



It reminds me very much in tone to AMC's brilliant television show Walking Dead, based on the comic of the same name. Once again it is not a zombie show, it is a drama where the setting is zombie apocalypse.

With that said we can only speculate about the gameplay. IGN's announcement article describes the game as a first person melee game with RPG elements. You can have up to 4 friends playing together and coming in and droping out seamlessly. Not like L4D at all. This makes me really nervous about the game living up to the awesomeness of the announcement trailer as do we really need another L4D with little to no guns and RPG elements? Forget the zombie game part, don't we have enough FPS's with RPG elements?

Here would be GooseyB's Dead Island. Take the journey with me on this one. Survival Horror 4X RTS. Think Civilization meets RE4. You heard me. Early game you are tasked with exploring a giant, randomly generated map rounding up survivors and evading, not fighting the zombie hordes as they are sensitive to sound and would overwhelm you. Next it would be about establishing a basic society. Get a camp together, scavenge resources, keep everyone fed and safe. Do you make one big camp and pool resources at the risk of having a zombie outbreak wipe out all of humanity, or do you make smaller camps and spread your resources thinner? Once you get that handled it's on to starting up production and research to fight/end the zombie infection and then using developed soldiers to fight back. There would be so many tough decisions and emotion to the whole thing. Think World War Z the game!

That concept is already copyrighted guys; no stealin'! Bottom line lets hope Dead Island is as awesome as the trailer.

RustBot and Other Projects

So another part of my life besides video games is music. I am right now a part time musician with a budding production company. We already have contracts and money from some local Boston acts and I will be spending a lot of time in SpeakEZStudios making some extra coin. Of all the pop and hip-hop projects we have lined up the project I am most excited about is working on the sound for an independent game my friend is working on called RustBot.

The game will be about scavenging materials and mechanical pieces and assembling them into machines, structures, robots, and whatever else you need to achieve your goals. I have volunteered (hopefully there will be a little scratch in there for me eventually) to write music and make sound effects. I am really psyched to get started as soon as I can.

Because of the kind of steampunk, patchwork robot theme I am definitely feeling a lot of noise beats, synthy and distorted bass lines and arps, and definitely some cool ambient pads and sweeping effects. Doing beeps and boops for the robotic creations will also be really exciting. Seeing as though I have no coding ability it will be a great experience for me to be part of at least some process.

The goal is to have a rough, pre-alpha build put together by PAX so we can start showing it off and getting feedback. Stay tuned for more!

I Love Felicia Day BUT......

The nerd net is abuzz this morning that geek heroine Felicia Day’s mystery project will be a 6 part live action webisode based on BioWare’s fantasy universe Dragon Age. I feel so alone as I seem to be the only one who is a little bit wary of this decision and her ability to produce a quality product here. Before you label me as a troll or set my house on fire let me elaborate.

I love The Guild. I have seen every episode multiple times and new seasons are always very exciting. The last episode of season 3 was definitely the highlight for me. I think Felicia day is a very talented comedy writer and also very good at playing her role. She did such a fantastic job with The Guild that even my wife, who’s gaming taste doesn’t go beyond You Don’t Know Jack, Worms, and Rock Band, absolutely loves the show as well. To sum it up; I am a huge fan.

With that said I wouldn’t hire Jerry Seinfeld to write for Dexter, I wouldn’t hire Notch to write the story for Mass Effect 3, and I wouldn’t hire Felicia day to write a “dark fantasy narrative” because it is not in her resume or demonstrated skill set.

To quote Felicia herself, “I wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world.” This is what really makes me nervous. An aspect I really enjoyed about DA:O is that Ferelden felt very authentic. There weren’t any elves saying “that’s wack” or any hip hop dwarves. There was no lute hero. All there was just a different (sorta but that’s another post) twist on fantasy fare that had a unique and immersive feel. Dragon Age isn’t really about humor. That’s not to say there isn’t any room for it, but I don’t think it should ever be shoehorned in for its own sake. I love humor like I love violence like I enjoy anything; when it’s appropriate.

Felicia is also quoted as saying “I put every bit of effort into making this something that gamers should be proud of.” This also rubs me the wrong way for a few reasons. Why not make this something everything can be proud of? We gamers are often a fickle bunch who have been trained and conditioned for years to accept subpar writing, acting, and plot development as gold. I would like to see the team produce something that anyone who isn’t a gamer can appreciate. I have a lot of friends who love fantasy writing but can’t stand video games, or don’t have the patience to put in the requisite 30+ hours to play through DAO plus another 25 for the DLC.

Now I hope to be proven wrong. I hope this series is amazing and I am reduced to just a pessimist who doubts everything that is right in this world. I love Felicia Day and think it’s amazing that she exists as a celebrity (famous for being a home grown nerd). I will just wait to get excited about this one. Now if they hired this guy we would be cooking with gas!

On Valentine's day talk about a game you love

Happy Valentine's day everyone! Before I get into it I am just psyched to have had the foresight to make reservations at one of the fanciest North End restaurants here in Boston for me and the loml (love of my life) at Bricco. Epic noms tonight!

So it being Valentine's day I figured I would extol a game that has always had a very warm space in my heart. That game would be the 1994 cyberpunk cult classic Shadowrun on the Sega Genesis (not the junk shovelware game for the SNES). This game was so far ahead of it's time and if any mechanics, formula, and setting deserved an update for the AAA market today it would certainly be Shadowrun. 17 years ago it featured a rather large open world, second gameplay mechanics with hacking "the matrix" (interwebs), a flawed but very unique leveling system, and many mechanics that flowed very well into each other and have warranted many playthroughs throughout the years.

The plot is serviceable, but not the highlight. You hear of your brother's death and rush to Seattle in a post modern time where corporations have more power than the government; ie every cyberpunk story ever. You meet various people, kill a lot of random mythical creatures, and perform a lot of nefarious jobs called "Shadowruns" (I see what they did there) to unravel the mystery of your brother's killer and foil the plot of some ancient demon to eat a lot of old stuff. The story always feels as a vehicle to guide the player through exploring the world and the different mechanics.

The sheer scope of this game on an 8 meg cart 17 years ago is mind blowing. With major publishers bringing back X-Com in name only, and with open world games like Red Dead Redemption and Saint's Row 2 selling the way they do, I think that a modern reboot of this franchise would be very well met. There is so much character and richness to the setting, and with simple updates of the computer hacking, combat, and job mechanics could make a great 40+ hour single player experience that would very easily find a large audience worldwide. Even if it never does this game will always have a place in my fondest memories. (Awwwwwwww)