At the recent Independent Games Festival held in San Francisco, California gamers got to see what little money and some real creativity can do. While tons of games were shown at the festival, only the best of the best were able to take home the honor of an IGF award.
The grand prize went to the 2D physics puzzle game Crayon Physics Deluxe. In it the player uses a crayon to draw objects that are used in the game to overcome obstacles. Seumas McNally, the creator of the game, walked away with a $20,000 prize and the envy of indie developers everywhere.
Other stars of the show included Fez created by Montreal developer Kokoromi. It took home the award for Excellence in Visual Art for its unique pixilated style. While the graphics are wonderful, the real draw is the gameplay in which the character must climb to the top of a 3D pile of platforms, but only in two dimensions at a time. The game allows the player to rotate the tower so they can make their way to the top, but the key is to figuring out which way to flip the tower so the platforms are in the right spot. (more…)
Of all the things GDC is known for, it is considered the premiere opportunity for companies to show off the latest technology to revolutionize video games. Sony got an opportunity to show off its latest advance known as head tracking, which uses the Playstation Eye to track the player’s head movements and simulates a virtual reality display.
While the explanation leaves something to be desired, the possibilities when it comes to gameplay are endless. Imagine playing a shooting game and being able to move your body to peek around the wall you’re hiding behind.
Although no announcements have been made yet on how Sony plans on using this technology, it seems Sony may have come up with something to challenge Nintendo’s golden Wii. (more…)
Oh the weather outside is frightful…haha, just kidding you! I am definitely not going there, or out there! Burr is it cold, like an Eskimo Pie. Which, by the way, my kids will only know of from reading history books now, thanks to the Covenant. Look, I enjoy a good intergalactic war as much as the next guy, but wars are fought on other planets and not ours. We fight them there so we won’t have to fight them here.
Still, I suppose things could be worse on a war devastated earth. Yesterday Huge found a ping pong table somehow and we organized a tournament. Go figure. Then, of course, we were attacked by the Flood and they devoured half of the guys alive from the inside out. But that ping pong table sure was fun while it lasted!
I received an e-mail from cousin stationed on Mars today, as well. Apparently all hell has broken out up there. It sounds like I may have gotten the slightly better job assignment. I keep waiting to hear back from Cortana, but she’s disappeared away into some online game world that is essentially abandoned since the mass extermination of humanity began. I suppose it’s very much a vacation for her in there with no virtual humans around to bother her. (more…)
It doesn’t show much, and what it does show looks obviously not from the game. Still, the mere thought of a potentially good Speed Racer (one has not been made since the days of the original PlayStation) has funs all in a flutter. The game looks like it will be heavily inspired by the movie, more so than the cartoon. That means Hot Wheels inspired tracks and less of an anime look. That’s fine, as long as you get buzz saws in the front of the car, right?
A 24 year old man from Alabama is attempting to defend his murder of an 80-year-old by claiming video games made him do it. Gamers should be quite used to such negative press by now. It seems at least once a month such a story makes headlines and the gaming community gets up in arms. What’s interesting, however, is that these defenses never seem to quite work. Suppose you can hand it to lawyers for persistence.
Unfortunately, such claims are hurtful in multiple ways. First, and most obviously, they are disrespectful to the family of the victim. Trying to write off a cold blooded murder as someone’s delusional bonus level of Grand Theft Auto doesn’t really give them the respect of simply admitting the murderer was just a bad, bad person. Second, such defenses hurt the gaming community. Look, gamers can cause themselves quite enough problems without having other people help them look bad. Lastly, true cases of videogame inspired crime are hurt by others trying to cash in. It’s similar to how depression isn’t taken as seriously since everyone is on anti-depressants now.
The actual case involves a young man breaking into the home of an 80-year-old widower; apparently to rob a vault he believed to be there. If you’re squeamish, now might be the time to turn away. He then proceeded to stab the man 70 times and gouge out an eye. Some of this was even apparently recorded on a desperate 911 phone call made by the attacked. The 80-year-old did manage to fire off a gun and hit the attacked with one round, though he did survive the attack. The old man was not quite so lucky. (more…)
The Mario Kart Wii news has been spewing like a geyser as of late. First, was the news of the game’s imminent release. Then, news of Miis and online play. Now, comes news of what many had pondered; exactly how many players can battle against each other at once? The short answer? Eight.
The longer answer comes from Jeux France who posted an image (posted above) of the game’s battle mode featuring eight characters listed on the game’s mini-map. So, what does this mean for the game’s addictive multiplayer? Not much, actually. Eight players will be plenty to enjoy the battle mode with, and it certainly could have been worse. Recall Excite Truck and how it only allowed two player races? (more…)
Game trailers used to simply be called commercials, but ignore that for the moment and focus on what is possibly the best trailer for a game in over a decade. Why is it so great? Mostly because it would so easily slide into the commercial lineups of the 8 and 16-bit generations. Recall those blast processing and Sega scream ads? This one is at least their equal. There isn’t much to say without spoiling it, but it will both make you want to play Sega Bass Fishing, and embarrassed that you do.
Why did you start playing video games? Was it for the instant feedback they provided? Their mind bending stories? Or was it simply for the chance to be transported to somewhere else? Another place? Another time? Classics such as The Legend of Zelda and Zork certainly took gamers on a journey from the normal to the surreal. Today, though, the message seems to be to make games as realistic as possible, and forget the imaginative spark that began so many quests those years ago. Namco hopes you haven’t forgotten completely forgotten that will to discover, as it has announced Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 in North America. Click on the image for a full sized version.
You can’t keep a good zombie down. Or zombie game, for that matter. Capcom was quite successful last year with their port of Resident Evil 4 to the Wii, and they’ve decided to try it again this time with Resident Evil Zero. If you’re unfamiliar with the title, it was the first Resident Evil title developed exclusively for the GameCube (assuming you don’t count the remake of part one). Folks, it’s the Street Fighter II syndrome all over again.
Capcom is one of the most notorious companies for cashing in on its titles, and no incident is more famous than Street Fighter II. After the runaway success of Street Fighter II in the arcades, Capcom issued update after update in the form of new arcade games, and eventually home console ports. It became a running gag that Capcom couldn’t count to three, except with the Mega Man series, which was seeing about ten new releases a year at the time. (more…)
While it is certainly easy to pick apart games and gaming culture, it is just as easy to note the things done right by games. If you have a friend who just can’t wrap their mind around the idea that gaming can be good, let them settle in for five points on why gaming is not all bad for you.
They bring people together.
Say what you will about video games keeping kids indoors and away from outdoor sports and activities, it’s hard to argue that playing video games is not a group activity. Classic multiplayer titles such as Contra to modern multiplayer legends like Super Smash Bros. show that gaming is something best done with others. While the recent push into online gaming may have made many worry that gaming was soon headed back under the rock of isolation, it also welcomed new party games such as Rock Band and Buzz: The Trivia Game.
Madden Football is a party game with its own unique atmosphere surrounding it. Step foot into any college dormitory across the nation and you are likely to find a group of young men playing Madden tournaments. Just like real sports, it even invites onlookers and fans who root for either team. While real football games are in no danger of being replaced, many other social activities such as playing cards seem like relics of the past to many young people. (more…)
At the recent Independent Games Festival held in San Francisco, California gamers got to see what little money and some real creativity can do. While tons of games were shown at the festival, only the best of the best were able to take home the honor of an IGF award.
Of all the things GDC is known for, it is considered the premiere opportunity for companies to show off the latest technology to revolutionize video games. 
A 24 year old 
You can’t keep a good zombie down. Or zombie game, for that matter. 
Say what you will about video games keeping kids indoors and away from outdoor sports and activities, it’s hard to argue that playing video games is not a group activity. Classic multiplayer titles such as Contra to modern multiplayer legends like Super Smash Bros. show that gaming is something best done with others. While the recent push into 
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