So last night in a moment of sheer boredom because I couldn't find a Left 4 Dead server I did the unthinkable, I downloaded Peggle for the first time. This was the mythical casual game that I've heard some people relate it to crack, the ultimate casual game that made Pop Cap rich. I played it for exactly 10 minutes then un installed it never to be seen on my computer again. Now I could just rant about how much it sucks but I find it interesting to explain why I didn't like it.
There is a difference between being easy to learn and difficult to master and just being simple. In the former the easy game play is just the foundation for players who want to master the game to build on. However in the latter there is nothing else there, sure you can dress it up with some flashy lights but the game play will never grow beyond what is shown in stage 1-1. There is no true control in Peggle, once you shoot the ball it is out of your hands. I felt like I was just going through the motions and finally at stage 1-5 I decided to walk away. Now granted that there is an expert mode but unless it lets me shoot multiple balls at once or has some kind of obstacle to avoid then it is just more of the same. This is really the main crux when it comes to casual games.
So far every casual game I've played is a one trick pony, now that doesn't mean its good or bad but unless you're wowed by the first level then the game is not for you, which is the case for me with Peggle. A few days ago a family member caught me playing World of Goo and said how I like to play the simplest games. Here is the main difference between a game like World of Goo and a game like Peggle. Both have simple mechanics however World of Goo builds on top of that, each world requires a different type of thinking to succeed. Games like Peggle plateau in terms of complexity after the first level. Being able to create a game that looks simple at first glance but really isn’t is a great trait of a game designer.
Before I end it I want to say that my thoughts on Peggle are completely my opinion and should no way interfere with someone else's thoughts. I have enjoyed casual games in the past such as Wyx and the Fable of Souls; however Peggle is not for me.
Josh
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Butting heads at the game design table.
In honor of me finally owning all the X-Com games I decided to start documenting what I think would be a true successor to the franchise. While the idea itself isn't ready for me to show the world yet I do have an unusual story and challenge regarding a game design decision.
One of the many benefits about being a gamer and creating a game idea is that I have an understanding of what most gamers will do when faced with certain decisions. One of the hallmarks of an excellent strategy game is having interesting decisions for the player to make. You can substitute tough for interesting and the point still stands. In my strategy title one game mechanic I've come up with is that like X-Com you will receive spoils from successful missions; however what you do with them will be quite different. There are several groups who coexist with your group , a military group , scientific, etc, each group will create different equipment (weapons, armor, etc) based on which one you sell your spoils to. Obviously the military guys are the way to go for the best weapons, but they won't help you much in terms of defense. You can focus on one group for the entire game and you will still be able to beat the game, but you can diversity your equipment and tactics by dealing with multiple groups. Sounds good so far, except this is where I ran into a problem.
I started to think about what I would do when faced with this mechanic and what I would do is subvert it to my will. I would go up each group so that I could easily pick and choose the best equipment ruining the decision of the designer which is me in this case. Now putting aside the split personality argument for a second I needed to think up a way to force gamers to deal with this decision by actually making a decision. After some thought and pacing around my room not only did an idea hit me, but a way of adding more things to do in your home base other then placing troops into ships.
The idea was to make it harder and rarer to make a sale with the spoils and in the process forcing the player to decide which groups to focus on. Now, one of anything is easy to come by however 5 or 10 is more of a challenge and lets add the detail that everything you bring back is considered "raw materials" and needs to be refined. Now the player must include space in their base for equipment that refines X amount of item into something sellable.
One aspect of game design that I think a lot of designers forget, is actually playing the game. In an entry I made earlier I talked about how important it is to have outsiders play your game for testing, however the people making the game should still test the game as well. There are various little things that can go a long way in improving a title beyond game play which I like to call "Quality of Life" improvements, which I have an entry about soon.
Josh
One of the many benefits about being a gamer and creating a game idea is that I have an understanding of what most gamers will do when faced with certain decisions. One of the hallmarks of an excellent strategy game is having interesting decisions for the player to make. You can substitute tough for interesting and the point still stands. In my strategy title one game mechanic I've come up with is that like X-Com you will receive spoils from successful missions; however what you do with them will be quite different. There are several groups who coexist with your group , a military group , scientific, etc, each group will create different equipment (weapons, armor, etc) based on which one you sell your spoils to. Obviously the military guys are the way to go for the best weapons, but they won't help you much in terms of defense. You can focus on one group for the entire game and you will still be able to beat the game, but you can diversity your equipment and tactics by dealing with multiple groups. Sounds good so far, except this is where I ran into a problem.
I started to think about what I would do when faced with this mechanic and what I would do is subvert it to my will. I would go up each group so that I could easily pick and choose the best equipment ruining the decision of the designer which is me in this case. Now putting aside the split personality argument for a second I needed to think up a way to force gamers to deal with this decision by actually making a decision. After some thought and pacing around my room not only did an idea hit me, but a way of adding more things to do in your home base other then placing troops into ships.
The idea was to make it harder and rarer to make a sale with the spoils and in the process forcing the player to decide which groups to focus on. Now, one of anything is easy to come by however 5 or 10 is more of a challenge and lets add the detail that everything you bring back is considered "raw materials" and needs to be refined. Now the player must include space in their base for equipment that refines X amount of item into something sellable.
One aspect of game design that I think a lot of designers forget, is actually playing the game. In an entry I made earlier I talked about how important it is to have outsiders play your game for testing, however the people making the game should still test the game as well. There are various little things that can go a long way in improving a title beyond game play which I like to call "Quality of Life" improvements, which I have an entry about soon.
Josh
Sunday, December 28, 2008
2008, the year of the downloads.
As another year winds down I'm officially declaring it the year of the downloads. The main theme that I remember most about this year is the growth of the download market across the board, as well as numerous unique titles released through it. The reason why this is as important as it has helped alleviate several problems with developing niche titles in the Indie market.
Being an independent developer can be great, you can work at your own speed making the games you want without having anyone telling you otherwise; however there are a few things holding you back. First is the market itself, niche titles made by Indies do not find themselves in a retail store as the games aren't mainstream enough to be able to be placed next to Halo 3 or Final Fantasy. Speaking of retail stores, the cost to get a game on the shelves would probably blow most indie developer's budget. Thanks to the rise of the digital market, developers have found a way of getting their games to the gamers without having to deal with the stores. Now here are some great examples of downloads over the year.
Mega Man 9 (XBLA): Of course I had to mention it and one of the prime examples of the benefits of digital content. There is no way in hell Capcom could have released MM9 in the stores today (in 1994 yes) and have it be profitable. Add in the price of marketing and stocking the game would have made it a disaster. However with the savings on making the game downloadable and of course the retro graphics, made it a hit I believe; hopefully give Capcom ideas for a MM 10.
Bionic Commando Rearmed (XBLA): Even though I did not like BCR due to its difficulty and game mechanics, I still need to give the developers credit for an excellent remake. Expanding on the original while still providing a great graphical update makes it a great addition to XBLA.
World of Goo (PC and Wii): Now this is what I'm talking about, a unique game which could have only come from an indie developer. The game truly oozes style (no pun intended) and makes me relive my days of playing Jenga as I try to build a tower. The developers were even nice enough to release the game with no copy protection.
Good Old Games (PC): While not an actual game, I've been dreaming of a service like GOG for some time. The ability to buy legitimate copies of hard to find games at a low price guaranteed to work sounds like a dream to me. GOG already has access to several hard to find classics and the site should only grow from here.
Braid (XBLA): Well duh, after I put it on my best of list; I couldn't imagine this title being released in the retail market but quality is on its side and it is one of my favorite games this year.
With this short list, I probably didn't even scratch the surface of the indie market. 2008 has proven though that retail isn't needed for your game to be a hit. Even though the cost to develop a game has risen dramatically, it has become a lot easier to get your game to the people; as the indie market has proven, you don't need millions of dollars to create an amazing game.
So happy New Year, I'm ringing it in with the X-Com collection I bought off of Steam, so now I officially own a copy of the X-Com series. I'm also ringing it in with the fact that I'm going to go bankrupt with all the games I still need to buy... well technically I don't need to buy them but you get my point.
Being an independent developer can be great, you can work at your own speed making the games you want without having anyone telling you otherwise; however there are a few things holding you back. First is the market itself, niche titles made by Indies do not find themselves in a retail store as the games aren't mainstream enough to be able to be placed next to Halo 3 or Final Fantasy. Speaking of retail stores, the cost to get a game on the shelves would probably blow most indie developer's budget. Thanks to the rise of the digital market, developers have found a way of getting their games to the gamers without having to deal with the stores. Now here are some great examples of downloads over the year.
Mega Man 9 (XBLA): Of course I had to mention it and one of the prime examples of the benefits of digital content. There is no way in hell Capcom could have released MM9 in the stores today (in 1994 yes) and have it be profitable. Add in the price of marketing and stocking the game would have made it a disaster. However with the savings on making the game downloadable and of course the retro graphics, made it a hit I believe; hopefully give Capcom ideas for a MM 10.
Bionic Commando Rearmed (XBLA): Even though I did not like BCR due to its difficulty and game mechanics, I still need to give the developers credit for an excellent remake. Expanding on the original while still providing a great graphical update makes it a great addition to XBLA.
World of Goo (PC and Wii): Now this is what I'm talking about, a unique game which could have only come from an indie developer. The game truly oozes style (no pun intended) and makes me relive my days of playing Jenga as I try to build a tower. The developers were even nice enough to release the game with no copy protection.
Good Old Games (PC): While not an actual game, I've been dreaming of a service like GOG for some time. The ability to buy legitimate copies of hard to find games at a low price guaranteed to work sounds like a dream to me. GOG already has access to several hard to find classics and the site should only grow from here.
Braid (XBLA): Well duh, after I put it on my best of list; I couldn't imagine this title being released in the retail market but quality is on its side and it is one of my favorite games this year.
With this short list, I probably didn't even scratch the surface of the indie market. 2008 has proven though that retail isn't needed for your game to be a hit. Even though the cost to develop a game has risen dramatically, it has become a lot easier to get your game to the people; as the indie market has proven, you don't need millions of dollars to create an amazing game.
So happy New Year, I'm ringing it in with the X-Com collection I bought off of Steam, so now I officially own a copy of the X-Com series. I'm also ringing it in with the fact that I'm going to go bankrupt with all the games I still need to buy... well technically I don't need to buy them but you get my point.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Taking apart your baby and putting it back together.
No not literally of course you sicko. One of the toughest things anyone creative can do is to tear apart something that they've created and try to rebuild. A few weeks ago I went to the East Coast Games Summit and had my reverse lord of the flies game idea critiqued at the game pitch. The idea was liked, however the main suggestion was to go further with my sociological aspect and less on combat. Since then I've come to the conclusion that the best way to do that would be to drop the undead angle completely and focus on mutants and humans. I've been racking my brain about this; this was one of the main concepts when I first thought up the game, how would this impact the design? After some soul searching and some walks to clear my head, I came to two important decisions.
One being this idea is mine and the success or failure of it is completely on my shoulders. Yes the game itself (if it is ever made) is a group project, however the game play itself is completely from me and I have to make the final call on it. Second if I can't come to a decision about this, then what right do I have to call myself a game designer in the first place? Another fact about creating a game, when coming up with major decisions it is not a democratic process, it is more a dictatorship. At the end of the day someone has to stand up and decide for the group and be done with it, no more arguing about what if.
I now have greater appreciation for bringing in people outside of the development to look at your work; it is true, working on a project for so long can make you oblivious to certain flaws. The trick is to know how much to listen to these people and when to stick by your original work. For my idea I'm going to play up the mutant angle more and give more personality to the mutant king. I decided to reintegrate the idea of undead as basic mutant grunts; they will still be a threat early on and will now become more powerful as the mutant king improves his troops. However they will not be the main problem, instead the mutant king will have a bigger presence in the city. Now the player will find opposition from other survivor groups along with the growing power of the king.
Getting down into the detail of your idea has got to be one of the most challenging elements of design, and is truly what separates the designers from the dreamers.
Josh
One being this idea is mine and the success or failure of it is completely on my shoulders. Yes the game itself (if it is ever made) is a group project, however the game play itself is completely from me and I have to make the final call on it. Second if I can't come to a decision about this, then what right do I have to call myself a game designer in the first place? Another fact about creating a game, when coming up with major decisions it is not a democratic process, it is more a dictatorship. At the end of the day someone has to stand up and decide for the group and be done with it, no more arguing about what if.
I now have greater appreciation for bringing in people outside of the development to look at your work; it is true, working on a project for so long can make you oblivious to certain flaws. The trick is to know how much to listen to these people and when to stick by your original work. For my idea I'm going to play up the mutant angle more and give more personality to the mutant king. I decided to reintegrate the idea of undead as basic mutant grunts; they will still be a threat early on and will now become more powerful as the mutant king improves his troops. However they will not be the main problem, instead the mutant king will have a bigger presence in the city. Now the player will find opposition from other survivor groups along with the growing power of the king.
Getting down into the detail of your idea has got to be one of the most challenging elements of design, and is truly what separates the designers from the dreamers.
Josh
Friday, December 19, 2008
End of Ages
For those like me still lamenting the death of Ensemble Studios, a great piece is up on Crispy Gamer. The three part feature looks at how ES got started; how they ended and can be found here, please note this links to part 1 and there are 2 others on the website. It's never a good thing when a game company gets shutdown but I really took the death of ES hard.
ES has done a lot in their time; even though they have only worked on the Age of series it has garnered them numerous awards. Age of Kings (their first title) manage to compete against the monopoly of Westwood Studios (another great company) and Blizzard in the late 90s for RTS dominance. They have never made a game that failed which is no small accomplishment; from playing their games over the years you could tell that this was a company that cared for their products. Now that doesn't mean the company didn't have a few slip ups over the years.
Age of Empires 3 had a rough start, patches to the game actually removed important game mechanics by accident and not everything was promised made it into the game. Going back further Age of Mythology had trouble in the market as people didn't think it was part of the Age of franchise (what, people didn't notice the ES logo on the front?! but I digress). The company was called to create a new strategy title in the Halo universe for the consoles, which would become their final PC game. Even though AOE3 would be their last game it will stand the test of time as one of the most interesting RTS games out there.
AOE 3 started out as another real world setting RTS title, it had your Rock Paper Scissors like strategy and unique sides with their own advantages and disadvantages. The first big difference was the Home City, a way of having Collectible Card Game like mechanics into a RTS. You would build your deck with shipments (AKA cards) that can be sent over from your homeland to assist in your fight to take over. These cards range from a quick influx of units, to unique researches and equipment further improving your strengths. I LOVED this idea, as it easily destroyed one of the main complaints I have about RTS games, having the game play become mundane. In most RTS games you can figure out the main tactics of someone by the side they use, in AOE 3 however the deck of cards each person has can have a huge affect on their play style making it impossible to know how someone will fight until you play them. Add in random resources on maps kept the game from becoming too predictable, but ES did not stop there.
Over the lifetime of AOE 3, two expansions were released that turned the game into something else entirely. The first one "The War Chiefs" added Native American sides to the game, with their own unique way of handling things, they could perform rituals improving certain areas of their base at the cost of not having villagers gathering resources, and one side didn't have any cavalry units and instead had special infantry for that role. The original nations receive the end game bonus of Revolution allowing them to have an end game counter to the other factions. If you thought that things couldn't get any bigger, it became huge after the next expansion.
"The Asian Dynasties" would be the last and would impact the game play the most. TAD was guest designed by Big Huge Games which did the Rise of Nations series and they brought numerous interface and quality of life improvements to the game. More importantly they added another unique group of sides, the above mentioned Asian Dynasties with of course their own unique units, cards and researches. Wonders (Real life Monuments) returned to the series for TAD giving unique bonuses to whoever can build them. By the end, the world of AOE 3 was huge, perhaps too huge as the amount of details to keep track of could easily overwhelm a new comer to the series. Still AOE 3 will probably remain as one of the most feature enriched RTS titles ever made.
The reason why I'm still upset is that the studio did nothing wrong, as mentioned none of their games were commercial flops and the talent at the studio was overflowing. We may never know the real reason why Microsoft pulled the plug on ES and that pisses me off. With studios that produce bargain bin quality titles every year still in existence, losing such a prominent game studio is absurd. This is one of the main reasons why if I ever do own a game studio in the future, I will fight tooth and nail to keep it independent so that crap like this cannot happen. Now I should end this before I get myself anymore worked up. At least ES ended on a high note for PC gaming and will be remembered as one of the best, I do wish that everyone at ES good luck and hoped that they have found more work since the studio's closing.
Josh
ES has done a lot in their time; even though they have only worked on the Age of series it has garnered them numerous awards. Age of Kings (their first title) manage to compete against the monopoly of Westwood Studios (another great company) and Blizzard in the late 90s for RTS dominance. They have never made a game that failed which is no small accomplishment; from playing their games over the years you could tell that this was a company that cared for their products. Now that doesn't mean the company didn't have a few slip ups over the years.
Age of Empires 3 had a rough start, patches to the game actually removed important game mechanics by accident and not everything was promised made it into the game. Going back further Age of Mythology had trouble in the market as people didn't think it was part of the Age of franchise (what, people didn't notice the ES logo on the front?! but I digress). The company was called to create a new strategy title in the Halo universe for the consoles, which would become their final PC game. Even though AOE3 would be their last game it will stand the test of time as one of the most interesting RTS games out there.
AOE 3 started out as another real world setting RTS title, it had your Rock Paper Scissors like strategy and unique sides with their own advantages and disadvantages. The first big difference was the Home City, a way of having Collectible Card Game like mechanics into a RTS. You would build your deck with shipments (AKA cards) that can be sent over from your homeland to assist in your fight to take over. These cards range from a quick influx of units, to unique researches and equipment further improving your strengths. I LOVED this idea, as it easily destroyed one of the main complaints I have about RTS games, having the game play become mundane. In most RTS games you can figure out the main tactics of someone by the side they use, in AOE 3 however the deck of cards each person has can have a huge affect on their play style making it impossible to know how someone will fight until you play them. Add in random resources on maps kept the game from becoming too predictable, but ES did not stop there.
Over the lifetime of AOE 3, two expansions were released that turned the game into something else entirely. The first one "The War Chiefs" added Native American sides to the game, with their own unique way of handling things, they could perform rituals improving certain areas of their base at the cost of not having villagers gathering resources, and one side didn't have any cavalry units and instead had special infantry for that role. The original nations receive the end game bonus of Revolution allowing them to have an end game counter to the other factions. If you thought that things couldn't get any bigger, it became huge after the next expansion.
"The Asian Dynasties" would be the last and would impact the game play the most. TAD was guest designed by Big Huge Games which did the Rise of Nations series and they brought numerous interface and quality of life improvements to the game. More importantly they added another unique group of sides, the above mentioned Asian Dynasties with of course their own unique units, cards and researches. Wonders (Real life Monuments) returned to the series for TAD giving unique bonuses to whoever can build them. By the end, the world of AOE 3 was huge, perhaps too huge as the amount of details to keep track of could easily overwhelm a new comer to the series. Still AOE 3 will probably remain as one of the most feature enriched RTS titles ever made.
The reason why I'm still upset is that the studio did nothing wrong, as mentioned none of their games were commercial flops and the talent at the studio was overflowing. We may never know the real reason why Microsoft pulled the plug on ES and that pisses me off. With studios that produce bargain bin quality titles every year still in existence, losing such a prominent game studio is absurd. This is one of the main reasons why if I ever do own a game studio in the future, I will fight tooth and nail to keep it independent so that crap like this cannot happen. Now I should end this before I get myself anymore worked up. At least ES ended on a high note for PC gaming and will be remembered as one of the best, I do wish that everyone at ES good luck and hoped that they have found more work since the studio's closing.
Josh
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Josh Bycer presents the first annual Josh Bycer award show.
Welcome to my video game award show, honoring some of the best games of this year. Unfortunately even though this is a blog entry, we went over budget already so no body painted women here. Now it is my duty to tell you that this award show has massively sold out, only games I've played this year will be up for awards. Games that the majority loved will probably not be mentioned at all. So if you would like to complain please send a free copy of the insulted game and I will get back to you sometime by next year's award show. Now let's begin with no particular order:
Best handheld game:The World Ends With You (NDS) I have to give credit to Square-Enix when they want to make something different and weird they can definitely do that. A J Pop RPG where you control two characters at once in combat fits the bill nicely. Using every feature of the NDS in some regard while throwing out tiresome cliché RPG conventions makes it one of the best handheld games I've played.
Best multi player game:Left 4 Dead (PC and 360): It's not every game that makes gamers want to work together for the greater good instead of high scores. Valve continuing the trend with great shooters after Team Fortress 2 has scored another winner with L4D. This game has been the cause of me gaining over 50 friends on Steam in less then a week, and has providing much in the way of teaching me useful survival tips for when the zombies come.(Yes I know they're not really zombies but you get my point).
Best RPG:Kings Bounty: The Legend (PC): It's not everyday when I fall in love with a game that I haven't heard anything about prior to buying it. From positive posts on game forums and an entry on Rock Paper Shotgun I decided to pick it up while it was on sale. A long time ago I swore off of CRPGs, but I'm glad that I didn't miss this one. With an excellent combat system, bright visuals and touching that collector's itch of mine with numerous things to find in the world makes Kings Bounty one of my favorite games this year; also it managed to beat out The World Ends With You for my favorite RPG.
Best Wii game: Um, hold on a second (shifts through notes)..........(Runs down stairs to check game collection)........(Runs back up) ahem:No More Heroes: Well this was not a good year for the Wii for me, in fact I couldn't remember the last Wii title I bought this year. Since I have a huge love for Suda 51 we have a unanimous winner for No More Heroes. One part beat em up, one part insane ride with deserts. Also if this is any indication I'm reserving this award now for MadWorld for the 09 award show (Go Clover Studios... part 2).
Best Playstation 2 game:Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4: My love of the SMT series goes back to my time with Nocturne, so it should be no surprised that the latest game in the series gets a mention here. Doubly so for being the last PS2 game release this year that I can remember.
Best 360 game:Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Easily the biggest surprise this year for me, considering how I almost wrote off the game completely a few weeks ago. With some amazing visuals and scratching every itch of my gotta collect them all side, makes this one of the best. The designers really designed this game for the user to have fun with the challenges and it is such a breath of fresh air to play a game where the rules of the world can work for the player instead of against them.
Best party game:Rock Band 2: (Pick a console) Rock Band 2 wins hands down by being the first game that my entire family actually sat down to watch and play. With three of us on the instruments and the rest rocking out it was a grand time to be sure, however I did not get on the mic, which could have ruined the evening right there.
Most artistic game:Braid (XBLA): Taking the 2d platformer into new strange directions, Braid has been the talk of the internet with amazing visuals, beautiful music and the lovely game mechanic of time manipulation. With a story that is still anyone's guess makes it the winner of this award.
And there you go the games I truly loved this year. Now as a hardcore gamer I played a lot more games then the ones mentioned here and a lot of them were good, but these are the ones that stood out among the rest in my opinion.
Best handheld game:The World Ends With You (NDS) I have to give credit to Square-Enix when they want to make something different and weird they can definitely do that. A J Pop RPG where you control two characters at once in combat fits the bill nicely. Using every feature of the NDS in some regard while throwing out tiresome cliché RPG conventions makes it one of the best handheld games I've played.
Best multi player game:Left 4 Dead (PC and 360): It's not every game that makes gamers want to work together for the greater good instead of high scores. Valve continuing the trend with great shooters after Team Fortress 2 has scored another winner with L4D. This game has been the cause of me gaining over 50 friends on Steam in less then a week, and has providing much in the way of teaching me useful survival tips for when the zombies come.(Yes I know they're not really zombies but you get my point).
Best RPG:Kings Bounty: The Legend (PC): It's not everyday when I fall in love with a game that I haven't heard anything about prior to buying it. From positive posts on game forums and an entry on Rock Paper Shotgun I decided to pick it up while it was on sale. A long time ago I swore off of CRPGs, but I'm glad that I didn't miss this one. With an excellent combat system, bright visuals and touching that collector's itch of mine with numerous things to find in the world makes Kings Bounty one of my favorite games this year; also it managed to beat out The World Ends With You for my favorite RPG.
Best Wii game: Um, hold on a second (shifts through notes)..........(Runs down stairs to check game collection)........(Runs back up) ahem:No More Heroes: Well this was not a good year for the Wii for me, in fact I couldn't remember the last Wii title I bought this year. Since I have a huge love for Suda 51 we have a unanimous winner for No More Heroes. One part beat em up, one part insane ride with deserts. Also if this is any indication I'm reserving this award now for MadWorld for the 09 award show (Go Clover Studios... part 2).
Best Playstation 2 game:Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4: My love of the SMT series goes back to my time with Nocturne, so it should be no surprised that the latest game in the series gets a mention here. Doubly so for being the last PS2 game release this year that I can remember.
Best 360 game:Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Easily the biggest surprise this year for me, considering how I almost wrote off the game completely a few weeks ago. With some amazing visuals and scratching every itch of my gotta collect them all side, makes this one of the best. The designers really designed this game for the user to have fun with the challenges and it is such a breath of fresh air to play a game where the rules of the world can work for the player instead of against them.
Best party game:Rock Band 2: (Pick a console) Rock Band 2 wins hands down by being the first game that my entire family actually sat down to watch and play. With three of us on the instruments and the rest rocking out it was a grand time to be sure, however I did not get on the mic, which could have ruined the evening right there.
Most artistic game:Braid (XBLA): Taking the 2d platformer into new strange directions, Braid has been the talk of the internet with amazing visuals, beautiful music and the lovely game mechanic of time manipulation. With a story that is still anyone's guess makes it the winner of this award.
And there you go the games I truly loved this year. Now as a hardcore gamer I played a lot more games then the ones mentioned here and a lot of them were good, but these are the ones that stood out among the rest in my opinion.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The nuts and bolts of something new.
A few weeks ago I ranted against Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (Or BK for this entry), well after hearing some recommendations and a $15 off sale of it I decided to pick it up, text problems and all. What I found was one of the more inventive titles this year and could be one of the better games I've played.
The story is a satire of the platform genre, a being known as the Lord of Games is tired of the same old fighting between Banjo and Grunty (evil witch of the series) and has created challenges to see who will win everything. This is all fluff however for the game play, the challenges themselves. Each world is made up of timed challenges which will reward the player depending on how well they complete them. However once you look under the hood so to speak, you'll find something very different.
BK is not a platformer, I'm going to say that again so that it sinks in, BK is not a platformer, sure you run and jump but those skills will not be helping you here. Every challenge in this game is done with vehicles, some you'll have to use a preset one, others you create your own. Each challenge has a time limit and three levels of rewards, basically bronze, silver and gold. Earning jiggies (BK world equivalent of stars) unlocks new worlds which are earned for getting a silver or gold rank on a challenge. You can find boxes in the over world that contain parts to be used in the editor or buy new parts and blueprints (already made vehicles) from the local shops, now then let's head to the garage.
For those who want to see everything BK has to offer, you will be spending a lot of time in the garage. Most vehicle blueprints while good, will most often only net you a silver, to completely master a challenge you'll need to either alter a vehicle or create your own. This is where BK shines, as the editor is incredibly powerful and allows users to create land, sea, and air vehicles and combinations as well. Using physics vehicles respond realistically no matter how unrealistic you make them. The part variety is astonishing from numerous engines, to weapons and even parts that let you drop parts of your vehicle like a space shuttle. In many ways the BK vehicle editor is similar to Spore's creature editor , but I have to give the nod to BK. Changing your creatures in Spore will not change the game play, however in BK you will see almost immediate differences as you create your dream car/plane/boat.
The design of the worlds is amazing; this is what it means to have style. The first time I took my helicopter around the first world I was shocked with how good it looks. The bigger more open worlds are better then the smaller ones, but everything has that sheen to it. Credit has to go to the over world, filled with nooks and crannies where parts wait make it one of the more enjoyable places to muck around in.
Now I've been raving about this title for the last few paragraphs, but there are a few problems with the game. First the game starts off really slow and doesn't ease the player into vehicle creation in my opinion. I would have liked to have seen more tutorials on vehicle construction and using some of the more advanced parts. You really won't have enough breadth and depth of parts to build your custom vehicles until a few hours in. Then there is the text issue, as mentioned the text is close to unreadable on SDTVs a patch is in the works but no one knows when it's coming. I would have liked to have seen challenges not built around a time limit such as building a vehicle for someone to use and being ranked for it. Still you get what you put into BK; gamers who like building their own stuff are going to love this game. I am amazed with the turn around of Rare Ware these past few years; first with Viva Piñata and now BK they have risen from the ashes of game mediocrity. If BK is proof of a new direction for Rare Ware, then I can't wait to see what happens next from them. I haven't thought like that since the N64 was popular.
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts gets my entire line of J-vehicles, because if you can't get to your destination without destroying everything in your way, then what was the point of going in the first place?
The story is a satire of the platform genre, a being known as the Lord of Games is tired of the same old fighting between Banjo and Grunty (evil witch of the series) and has created challenges to see who will win everything. This is all fluff however for the game play, the challenges themselves. Each world is made up of timed challenges which will reward the player depending on how well they complete them. However once you look under the hood so to speak, you'll find something very different.
BK is not a platformer, I'm going to say that again so that it sinks in, BK is not a platformer, sure you run and jump but those skills will not be helping you here. Every challenge in this game is done with vehicles, some you'll have to use a preset one, others you create your own. Each challenge has a time limit and three levels of rewards, basically bronze, silver and gold. Earning jiggies (BK world equivalent of stars) unlocks new worlds which are earned for getting a silver or gold rank on a challenge. You can find boxes in the over world that contain parts to be used in the editor or buy new parts and blueprints (already made vehicles) from the local shops, now then let's head to the garage.
For those who want to see everything BK has to offer, you will be spending a lot of time in the garage. Most vehicle blueprints while good, will most often only net you a silver, to completely master a challenge you'll need to either alter a vehicle or create your own. This is where BK shines, as the editor is incredibly powerful and allows users to create land, sea, and air vehicles and combinations as well. Using physics vehicles respond realistically no matter how unrealistic you make them. The part variety is astonishing from numerous engines, to weapons and even parts that let you drop parts of your vehicle like a space shuttle. In many ways the BK vehicle editor is similar to Spore's creature editor , but I have to give the nod to BK. Changing your creatures in Spore will not change the game play, however in BK you will see almost immediate differences as you create your dream car/plane/boat.
The design of the worlds is amazing; this is what it means to have style. The first time I took my helicopter around the first world I was shocked with how good it looks. The bigger more open worlds are better then the smaller ones, but everything has that sheen to it. Credit has to go to the over world, filled with nooks and crannies where parts wait make it one of the more enjoyable places to muck around in.
Now I've been raving about this title for the last few paragraphs, but there are a few problems with the game. First the game starts off really slow and doesn't ease the player into vehicle creation in my opinion. I would have liked to have seen more tutorials on vehicle construction and using some of the more advanced parts. You really won't have enough breadth and depth of parts to build your custom vehicles until a few hours in. Then there is the text issue, as mentioned the text is close to unreadable on SDTVs a patch is in the works but no one knows when it's coming. I would have liked to have seen challenges not built around a time limit such as building a vehicle for someone to use and being ranked for it. Still you get what you put into BK; gamers who like building their own stuff are going to love this game. I am amazed with the turn around of Rare Ware these past few years; first with Viva Piñata and now BK they have risen from the ashes of game mediocrity. If BK is proof of a new direction for Rare Ware, then I can't wait to see what happens next from them. I haven't thought like that since the N64 was popular.
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts gets my entire line of J-vehicles, because if you can't get to your destination without destroying everything in your way, then what was the point of going in the first place?
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Where's Jung when we need him?
Another year brings us another Shin Megami Tensei game (or SMT) from Atlus. Persona 4 is technically the sixth game in the series if we count P3 FES as one and we only got half of P2 in the US (long story, don't ask). Here is my review of what could very well be the last great Playstation 2 title.
P4 is not a direct sequel to P3 story wise, it does however come with the numerous game play changes P3 made to the series. The basic story is that you once again play the nameless silent Protagonist who arrives in a town for a year, a strange channel that appears at midnight leads you to discover another world which has some connection to people ending up dead in the town. To save these people you and your friends will have to enter the world and fight off creatures called shadows with the help of your personas. For the non psychology people out there, persona is a term coined by Carl Jung to describe an emotional mask we wear to hide our true self from the world. In P4, personas take the shape of various creatures each with their own attacks, strengths and weaknesses to take into account. In SMT fashion hitting an enemy with their weakness will give you an extra attack; however the same can happen against you. The game play of P4 is one part rogue like, one part dating Sim and one part RPG... I'll elaborate on that.
Each day of P4 is split between different sections (morning, school, evening, etc) you can choose what you will do during your free time. You can join clubs or go on dates to improve your social links which in turn will make your personas stronger during fusion (the ability to fuse two or more into one brand new persona). You can also try to improve your personal stats which will effect conversations and may unlock new links. Going to the local food court will let you enter the strange world with your friends and you'll explore dungeons with randomly generated floors as you try to reach the big boss at the end. Unlike P3 there is no limit to the number of fights you can get into in a day so go nuts with your leveling needs. Now I'm not going to bore you with all the tiny differences between P3 and P4 but I'll mention some of the bigger ones, improved loading times, can control your teammates in combat and the ability to warp to any area you want by pressing the square button . I also have to give a shout out to the localization team for superb writing and voice acting, which has become a huge hit with the SMT series.
Overall P4 takes the throne away from P3 (and P3 FES) and is now the most accessible SMT game in the series. The amazing part which I really need to give credit to the developers for is that the game hasn't been simplified or dumb down to make it accessible. Simple tweaks to the game to smooth out some of the wrinkles in the game play and interface have really improved the game compared to previous SMT games. It's funny that the farther you go back, the more difficult and obtuse the games become. Still I would suggest snatching up any copies of Nocturne if you see them; you'll thank me when you see the price for it on EBay. By now we, the Atlus fan base with our knowledge of limited print runs have already got our copies, we're just that good. Now if you did not like P3's game play at all, then P4 will not change your mind, however fans and newcomers alike should pick this up. P4 is easily one of the best JRPGs out there and most likely going to be the last excellent Playstation 2 game. Persona 4 gets one cuddly mascot, I mean his cuteness is un-bear-able (if you played the game you'll know why I had to say that).
Josh
P4 is not a direct sequel to P3 story wise, it does however come with the numerous game play changes P3 made to the series. The basic story is that you once again play the nameless silent Protagonist who arrives in a town for a year, a strange channel that appears at midnight leads you to discover another world which has some connection to people ending up dead in the town. To save these people you and your friends will have to enter the world and fight off creatures called shadows with the help of your personas. For the non psychology people out there, persona is a term coined by Carl Jung to describe an emotional mask we wear to hide our true self from the world. In P4, personas take the shape of various creatures each with their own attacks, strengths and weaknesses to take into account. In SMT fashion hitting an enemy with their weakness will give you an extra attack; however the same can happen against you. The game play of P4 is one part rogue like, one part dating Sim and one part RPG... I'll elaborate on that.
Each day of P4 is split between different sections (morning, school, evening, etc) you can choose what you will do during your free time. You can join clubs or go on dates to improve your social links which in turn will make your personas stronger during fusion (the ability to fuse two or more into one brand new persona). You can also try to improve your personal stats which will effect conversations and may unlock new links. Going to the local food court will let you enter the strange world with your friends and you'll explore dungeons with randomly generated floors as you try to reach the big boss at the end. Unlike P3 there is no limit to the number of fights you can get into in a day so go nuts with your leveling needs. Now I'm not going to bore you with all the tiny differences between P3 and P4 but I'll mention some of the bigger ones, improved loading times, can control your teammates in combat and the ability to warp to any area you want by pressing the square button . I also have to give a shout out to the localization team for superb writing and voice acting, which has become a huge hit with the SMT series.
Overall P4 takes the throne away from P3 (and P3 FES) and is now the most accessible SMT game in the series. The amazing part which I really need to give credit to the developers for is that the game hasn't been simplified or dumb down to make it accessible. Simple tweaks to the game to smooth out some of the wrinkles in the game play and interface have really improved the game compared to previous SMT games. It's funny that the farther you go back, the more difficult and obtuse the games become. Still I would suggest snatching up any copies of Nocturne if you see them; you'll thank me when you see the price for it on EBay. By now we, the Atlus fan base with our knowledge of limited print runs have already got our copies, we're just that good. Now if you did not like P3's game play at all, then P4 will not change your mind, however fans and newcomers alike should pick this up. P4 is easily one of the best JRPGs out there and most likely going to be the last excellent Playstation 2 game. Persona 4 gets one cuddly mascot, I mean his cuteness is un-bear-able (if you played the game you'll know why I had to say that).
Josh
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Consequence , the missing link between game play and story.
There is one aspect of story writing that I've yet to see any video game handle decently, the idea of consequence and punishment to the player. In other mediums we can see the character being punished and the outcome of this event in the narrative, however in video games this plot device goes against the game play. If the player is punished due to some random story event and it ruins the game for them, I bet the player will be very annoyed. I believe though that is possible to show punishment and have it work with game play to produce an excellent story in video games. Let's start with a few of the worst examples I've seen.
A few years back Quake 4 tried to be creative by having a major plot twist which happened to be announced a week or so before the game was released. The twist was that the player became half human half alien species and spent the rest of the game like that. I was really hoping that this would bring huge changes to the game play; instead all it did was add fifty more health points to the player. What about taking away some of the player's original weapons, or giving him something new? This was a huge missed opportunity, but it was in a FPS my next example is a lot more serious.
Everyone should know by now that I don't like Bioware and my next examples come from two of their more recent titles Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire (Did not play Mass Effect.) In both these titles there are numerous decisions for the player to make determining their next action; however none of these show any tangible consequence. I'm so sick and tired of RPGS that the only thing that happens to you from doing something evil is +5 evil points to your stats. Now I haven't played Fable 2 yet, which should send Corvus into a shock after I revealed I haven't played the Ultima series so that could be an example of a game doing it right. The problem is that the story and game design are always in conflict with each other, easily proven by my next example.
Final Fantasy 7 has a now classic example of a major plot twist, spoiler warning now for a game that came out about 10 years ago, Aeris died. For the story it was sad moment that made gamers cried around the world, however in the game space it was a horribly stupid event that made me laugh while I watched it. You're telling me that a single sword through the chest is fatal; being hit by a fireball the size of a continent isn't? Of course there are those magical phoenix downs that work on everything except for this. The sad part is the designers made no attempt at explaining this tragic event. Then there is the fact that this moment had no effect on the game play, all you needed was another person who had healing powers and problem solved. At least Final Fantasy 6 gave each person unique abilities making their lost important to the game play. Moving on, here are my examples of possible game ideas showing both good and bad consequences to a major decision.
First bad, let's take a standard fantasy medieval world and have the player utterly destroy a town that provides the majority of steel for the land, by doing this swords become rare and hard to find making swords more valuable then gold. Knights can no longer defend their homelands without swords or the steel for armor and now wander the land doing random jobs. Archery becomes the main profession for warriors causing the forest to be cut down faster due to increase supply. As you can see there is a huge ripple affect both benefiting the player (less need to worry about melee attacks) and hurting the player (harder to find armor, economy weaken). Now here an example of a major bad event towards the player that has good consequences.
In the same fantasy world the player is asked to sacrifice one of his arms to appease an angry deity to save a major city. By doing this the player loses the ability to dual wield, can't use two handed weapons or wield a shield and sword and a lost to the player's max health. However the player now has universal appeal across the land from the villagers for the brave sacrifice and will give him major discounts on anything he wants; people will also come to the player's aid for whatever quests that needs to be done. In this case a major event has a huge effect on the game play and both punish and reward the player at the same time.
In order for both game design and story development to evolve, there needs to be major consequences for the player and they need to affect the game play as well as the plot. If you want gamers to make big decisions in your games, then those decisions need to have big effects on what happens afterwards. We need to get away from having these major "point of no return" moments at the last part of the game and work on gradual cut off points based on all the player's actions. Because if there is anything less realistic then surviving an explosion the size of a planet, it's spending 50 hours as an evil bastard and clicking one choice to completely redeem yourself.
Josh
A few years back Quake 4 tried to be creative by having a major plot twist which happened to be announced a week or so before the game was released. The twist was that the player became half human half alien species and spent the rest of the game like that. I was really hoping that this would bring huge changes to the game play; instead all it did was add fifty more health points to the player. What about taking away some of the player's original weapons, or giving him something new? This was a huge missed opportunity, but it was in a FPS my next example is a lot more serious.
Everyone should know by now that I don't like Bioware and my next examples come from two of their more recent titles Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire (Did not play Mass Effect.) In both these titles there are numerous decisions for the player to make determining their next action; however none of these show any tangible consequence. I'm so sick and tired of RPGS that the only thing that happens to you from doing something evil is +5 evil points to your stats. Now I haven't played Fable 2 yet, which should send Corvus into a shock after I revealed I haven't played the Ultima series so that could be an example of a game doing it right. The problem is that the story and game design are always in conflict with each other, easily proven by my next example.
Final Fantasy 7 has a now classic example of a major plot twist, spoiler warning now for a game that came out about 10 years ago, Aeris died. For the story it was sad moment that made gamers cried around the world, however in the game space it was a horribly stupid event that made me laugh while I watched it. You're telling me that a single sword through the chest is fatal; being hit by a fireball the size of a continent isn't? Of course there are those magical phoenix downs that work on everything except for this. The sad part is the designers made no attempt at explaining this tragic event. Then there is the fact that this moment had no effect on the game play, all you needed was another person who had healing powers and problem solved. At least Final Fantasy 6 gave each person unique abilities making their lost important to the game play. Moving on, here are my examples of possible game ideas showing both good and bad consequences to a major decision.
First bad, let's take a standard fantasy medieval world and have the player utterly destroy a town that provides the majority of steel for the land, by doing this swords become rare and hard to find making swords more valuable then gold. Knights can no longer defend their homelands without swords or the steel for armor and now wander the land doing random jobs. Archery becomes the main profession for warriors causing the forest to be cut down faster due to increase supply. As you can see there is a huge ripple affect both benefiting the player (less need to worry about melee attacks) and hurting the player (harder to find armor, economy weaken). Now here an example of a major bad event towards the player that has good consequences.
In the same fantasy world the player is asked to sacrifice one of his arms to appease an angry deity to save a major city. By doing this the player loses the ability to dual wield, can't use two handed weapons or wield a shield and sword and a lost to the player's max health. However the player now has universal appeal across the land from the villagers for the brave sacrifice and will give him major discounts on anything he wants; people will also come to the player's aid for whatever quests that needs to be done. In this case a major event has a huge effect on the game play and both punish and reward the player at the same time.
In order for both game design and story development to evolve, there needs to be major consequences for the player and they need to affect the game play as well as the plot. If you want gamers to make big decisions in your games, then those decisions need to have big effects on what happens afterwards. We need to get away from having these major "point of no return" moments at the last part of the game and work on gradual cut off points based on all the player's actions. Because if there is anything less realistic then surviving an explosion the size of a planet, it's spending 50 hours as an evil bastard and clicking one choice to completely redeem yourself.
Josh
Friday, December 5, 2008
Moving forward with my job search.
I wanted to post this yesterday but I got distracted by the awe of the Ghostbusters game.After visiting the East coast games summit and talking to some of the guys at the IGDA meeting, I decided to take a major step forward with my resume and job hunt. Thanks to a resume critique I've remodeled my resume and from now on I'm going to post my game designer resume as my main resume on all the major job sites.
In the past I've used two resumes, one aimed at jobs in the games industry which I emailed to all prospective companies and one for jobs in the computer industry that I posted to job sites. Looking over my resume as I altered it I came to the decision that the latter is useless now. My skill set is so targeted towards a game designer or QA position (for now) that I really cannot fit into another industry. I fully understand programming logic but I can't match someone who enjoys programming and does it everyday of their life.
So what does this mean for me? I think at this point I am more then ready for a position at a game company, and that my skill set more then proves that point. For you, the guy/girl on the streets looking to break in my suggestion for you is to pick a tract (programming, art, design, etc) and tailor your resume specifically to it. Don't listen to parents or advisors who say to focus on a more general resume, people in this industry are looking for specific unique individuals, not the umpteenth programmer. You need to make yourself stand out while still looking professional, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the games industry is a fun business, but it is still a business.
It's been awhile since I've been generally optimistic about breaking in, my old standard resume was viewed by several game companies over at gamasutra and I can hope that this one will be examined more closely by hirers.
Josh
In the past I've used two resumes, one aimed at jobs in the games industry which I emailed to all prospective companies and one for jobs in the computer industry that I posted to job sites. Looking over my resume as I altered it I came to the decision that the latter is useless now. My skill set is so targeted towards a game designer or QA position (for now) that I really cannot fit into another industry. I fully understand programming logic but I can't match someone who enjoys programming and does it everyday of their life.
So what does this mean for me? I think at this point I am more then ready for a position at a game company, and that my skill set more then proves that point. For you, the guy/girl on the streets looking to break in my suggestion for you is to pick a tract (programming, art, design, etc) and tailor your resume specifically to it. Don't listen to parents or advisors who say to focus on a more general resume, people in this industry are looking for specific unique individuals, not the umpteenth programmer. You need to make yourself stand out while still looking professional, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the games industry is a fun business, but it is still a business.
It's been awhile since I've been generally optimistic about breaking in, my old standard resume was viewed by several game companies over at gamasutra and I can hope that this one will be examined more closely by hirers.
Josh
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Still not afraid of no ghosts.
Finally some good news, not about a job or anything like that, but the Ghostbusters video game is officially being developed again and will be released this June. A new trailer is making its way across the various game sites and I had a grin on my face for the entire trailer.
Now as a hard core gamer I've been preconditioned to look at any movie based game as a buggy horrible time. So I would like to say the following to the developers, please don't screw this up. Like most gamers I have fond childhood memories of the Ghostbusters and I don't feel like having them destroyed by a bad game tie-in. To add to the movie based goodness, information regarding the Chronicles of Riddick 360 update has surfaced. Information meaning that it's still being developed and not cancelled.
In other news, I had a great time at the Philly IGDA meeting last night and can't wait for the next game jam.
Josh
Now as a hard core gamer I've been preconditioned to look at any movie based game as a buggy horrible time. So I would like to say the following to the developers, please don't screw this up. Like most gamers I have fond childhood memories of the Ghostbusters and I don't feel like having them destroyed by a bad game tie-in. To add to the movie based goodness, information regarding the Chronicles of Riddick 360 update has surfaced. Information meaning that it's still being developed and not cancelled.
In other news, I had a great time at the Philly IGDA meeting last night and can't wait for the next game jam.
Josh
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sonic fizzle.
If there is one thing most old school gamers can agree and lament on, is the slow and painful death of Sonic the Hedgehog. I remember a time when Sonic was one of the hottest properties around; Sonic Team was a well respected development house that we all couldn't wait to see what would come next from them. Ever since the fated jump to 3d we've seen the series go down hill; with already negative reviews of Sonic's latest game the trend is continuing. This leads me to ask “what the hell happened?” over the course of this entry I’m going to look at Sonic’s past for the cause and give my own answer to saving this once beloved franchise.
Let's begin by going back to the early 90s, before the time of memory cards, 3d and Xbox live, a time where the console war was being played out on two fronts, Nintendo and Sega. Sonic beat Mario to be the first character on an updated platform with the Sega Genesis, however Nintendo would release something that would win the war in my opinion and seal the Hedgehog's fate. Super Mario World was released and became a system seller for the Snes if there ever was one, also it was in my opinion one of the greatest 2d platformers ever made. I believe this is where the war turned for Nintendo and sealed Mario's place as the winner. While Sonic was technically more advanced then Mario we never saw the series advance game play wise as Mario did from the NES titles to the SNES. That's not to say that Sonic never had a hit, I consider Sonic and Knuckles with Sonic 3 linked in to be one of the best Sonic titles ever made. Even when Sonic moved to the Sega CD and we were given a new Sonic title with Sonic CD, it was still more of the same. This leads me to ask the following “why did we ever enjoy Sonic titles in the first place?"
I've spent a good portion of my child hood playing both Mario and Sonic; yes I was neutral during that console war. Even though Mario was slower paced then Sonic, I believe that Sonic had a greater skill level then Mario, thanks to their views of power ups. In all the Mario games you can keep whatever item upgrades you have from level to level which can make a huge difference in difficulty. However in Sonic you begin each new level with a blank slate requiring that the player to have the skill to continue on or Sonic is done for. I also think in my opinion that Sonic had a greater variety in boss fights, with fond memories of eagerly waiting to see the next contraption I'd have to fight. Now let's look at when things turned south for the Hedgehog.
3D was a major factor in the games industry and required most franchises to change to keep up with the times. Mario with its slower game play style was easily adapted to the new format with Super Mario 64, but it wasn't so easy for Sonic. While Sonic tried to emulate 3d earlier with Sonic 3d Blast, the game failed to impress thanks to the camera system which would become a constant problem in future Sonic titles. Sonic fans had to wait till 1999 with the Dreamcast before getting their hands on a new sonic platformer . I admit I enjoyed Sonic Adventure but it never captured the joy of the original titles. After the adventure series wrapped up, came one debacle after another for the franchise. There was that Sonic teams game which was just stupid in my opinion, taking one character and weakening him down requiring two others to have one complete character. Then there was Shadow the Hedgehog which tried to make Sonic extreme, because nothing screams Sonic the Hedgehog more then dual wielding Uzis, personally I hope someone was fired for this game. Now while some hope has been restored with the handheld Sonic games that have been released, 3D Sonic is in the coffin at this point.
The two main problems with 3d Sonic titles these days are the camera and the game play. With the camera, there is no way for a traditional 3d camera to keep up with Sonic's speed. This has lead to numerous deaths from the camera, mostly with jumping. When jumping is the weakest part of a platformer you know there is a problem. Game play however is the big concern; to be frank the classic Sonic game play isn't enough for a full 3d retail game. Sega knows this and have been trying to alter the formula with recent Sonic titles, however while it isn't enough it is still great game play that Sega keeps on breaking with every new game. The reason why I liked Sonic Adventure was that Sonic Team got the game play right, it had Sonic's speed and fast game play, with each character providing something new. Sega has to learn not to take away from Sonic, but to add in other departments. This at long last leads me to my epiphany and how I think we could save the series.
I don't know if you ever read the comics or watched the cartoon series like I had, but after going through the cheesy world of the games, the creators decided to mix things up. The series rebooted into a dark world where Sonic was a part of a resistance group fighting Dr. Robotnik (I will never call him Egg Man, just like Princess Toadstool). Instead of having a fat bumbling oaf as the villain, Robotnik was a maniacal mix of Darth Vader and the terminator. There was a sub plot of him turning Sonic's grandfather into a robot who wanted to capture Sonic. Robotnik had already won with the world looking grim and polluted and it was up to Sonic to try to take things back. This leads me to my grand plan, a complete reboot of Sonic the Hedgehog, or in other words “Sonic Begins” cue ominous music.
I can picture an open world game before Sonic gets his blue coat. Where Robotnik has won and the world is ruined, showing the steps of Sonic turning blue and joining the resistance. Similar to Crackdown with jumping becoming the main attraction, Sonic's speed would be here. As the game goes on Sonic becomes faster allowing him to run up walls, over water and just about anywhere. Sonic will be able to use vehicles along with his trademark spin attack, blasphemy I know as he attempts to take back the world. I can also picture huge boss fights with the variety seen in the classic Sonic titles as Robotnik uses his robotic generals to stop you. No more plot devices of the power of friendship and rainbows will save everyone; this is a fight for survival.
My plan is high risk and treads that fine line between a clever reboot bringing back the old fans and making new ones and destroying everything the fans held dear to the franchise. However at this point, I think a huge risk like this is needed for the franchise. All the good will from the classic series is just about gone and while Sonic can continue in 2D on handhelds, a big budget Sonic title will still have the negative stigma of past failures. I hate to sound vain but I hope somewhere a Sega exec is reading this, I was once a huge fan of the Sonic series and I've been burned too many times supporting Sonic Team to buy a new title. I do believe that if this takes off, Sonic could become a contender again to Mario and finally have a successful 3D game.
Josh
Let's begin by going back to the early 90s, before the time of memory cards, 3d and Xbox live, a time where the console war was being played out on two fronts, Nintendo and Sega. Sonic beat Mario to be the first character on an updated platform with the Sega Genesis, however Nintendo would release something that would win the war in my opinion and seal the Hedgehog's fate. Super Mario World was released and became a system seller for the Snes if there ever was one, also it was in my opinion one of the greatest 2d platformers ever made. I believe this is where the war turned for Nintendo and sealed Mario's place as the winner. While Sonic was technically more advanced then Mario we never saw the series advance game play wise as Mario did from the NES titles to the SNES. That's not to say that Sonic never had a hit, I consider Sonic and Knuckles with Sonic 3 linked in to be one of the best Sonic titles ever made. Even when Sonic moved to the Sega CD and we were given a new Sonic title with Sonic CD, it was still more of the same. This leads me to ask the following “why did we ever enjoy Sonic titles in the first place?"
I've spent a good portion of my child hood playing both Mario and Sonic; yes I was neutral during that console war. Even though Mario was slower paced then Sonic, I believe that Sonic had a greater skill level then Mario, thanks to their views of power ups. In all the Mario games you can keep whatever item upgrades you have from level to level which can make a huge difference in difficulty. However in Sonic you begin each new level with a blank slate requiring that the player to have the skill to continue on or Sonic is done for. I also think in my opinion that Sonic had a greater variety in boss fights, with fond memories of eagerly waiting to see the next contraption I'd have to fight. Now let's look at when things turned south for the Hedgehog.
3D was a major factor in the games industry and required most franchises to change to keep up with the times. Mario with its slower game play style was easily adapted to the new format with Super Mario 64, but it wasn't so easy for Sonic. While Sonic tried to emulate 3d earlier with Sonic 3d Blast, the game failed to impress thanks to the camera system which would become a constant problem in future Sonic titles. Sonic fans had to wait till 1999 with the Dreamcast before getting their hands on a new sonic platformer . I admit I enjoyed Sonic Adventure but it never captured the joy of the original titles. After the adventure series wrapped up, came one debacle after another for the franchise. There was that Sonic teams game which was just stupid in my opinion, taking one character and weakening him down requiring two others to have one complete character. Then there was Shadow the Hedgehog which tried to make Sonic extreme, because nothing screams Sonic the Hedgehog more then dual wielding Uzis, personally I hope someone was fired for this game. Now while some hope has been restored with the handheld Sonic games that have been released, 3D Sonic is in the coffin at this point.
The two main problems with 3d Sonic titles these days are the camera and the game play. With the camera, there is no way for a traditional 3d camera to keep up with Sonic's speed. This has lead to numerous deaths from the camera, mostly with jumping. When jumping is the weakest part of a platformer you know there is a problem. Game play however is the big concern; to be frank the classic Sonic game play isn't enough for a full 3d retail game. Sega knows this and have been trying to alter the formula with recent Sonic titles, however while it isn't enough it is still great game play that Sega keeps on breaking with every new game. The reason why I liked Sonic Adventure was that Sonic Team got the game play right, it had Sonic's speed and fast game play, with each character providing something new. Sega has to learn not to take away from Sonic, but to add in other departments. This at long last leads me to my epiphany and how I think we could save the series.
I don't know if you ever read the comics or watched the cartoon series like I had, but after going through the cheesy world of the games, the creators decided to mix things up. The series rebooted into a dark world where Sonic was a part of a resistance group fighting Dr. Robotnik (I will never call him Egg Man, just like Princess Toadstool). Instead of having a fat bumbling oaf as the villain, Robotnik was a maniacal mix of Darth Vader and the terminator. There was a sub plot of him turning Sonic's grandfather into a robot who wanted to capture Sonic. Robotnik had already won with the world looking grim and polluted and it was up to Sonic to try to take things back. This leads me to my grand plan, a complete reboot of Sonic the Hedgehog, or in other words “Sonic Begins” cue ominous music.
I can picture an open world game before Sonic gets his blue coat. Where Robotnik has won and the world is ruined, showing the steps of Sonic turning blue and joining the resistance. Similar to Crackdown with jumping becoming the main attraction, Sonic's speed would be here. As the game goes on Sonic becomes faster allowing him to run up walls, over water and just about anywhere. Sonic will be able to use vehicles along with his trademark spin attack, blasphemy I know as he attempts to take back the world. I can also picture huge boss fights with the variety seen in the classic Sonic titles as Robotnik uses his robotic generals to stop you. No more plot devices of the power of friendship and rainbows will save everyone; this is a fight for survival.
My plan is high risk and treads that fine line between a clever reboot bringing back the old fans and making new ones and destroying everything the fans held dear to the franchise. However at this point, I think a huge risk like this is needed for the franchise. All the good will from the classic series is just about gone and while Sonic can continue in 2D on handhelds, a big budget Sonic title will still have the negative stigma of past failures. I hate to sound vain but I hope somewhere a Sega exec is reading this, I was once a huge fan of the Sonic series and I've been burned too many times supporting Sonic Team to buy a new title. I do believe that if this takes off, Sonic could become a contender again to Mario and finally have a successful 3D game.
Josh
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