A Cryptic Message

So I know I said there would be some news coming up (and then I told you to save your game with that pun-tastical FaceBook graffiti I made so long ago). Well, here it is: a month from today I start my new job as a game master at Cryptic Studios...at least, if my background check comes back ok, which, I'm not sure why it wouldn't.

What does that mean exactly? Still figuring that out. In case you don't know, Cryptic developed City of Heroes before NCSoft bought it, and they are currently working on Champions Online and Star Trek Online. The job is full-time, but contract, so I will continue to do some writing on the side for the time being, I think. That said, I may actually enjoy having days off -- three a week, to be exact. Just think -- I can PLAY VIDEOGAMES (and tennis!), study more Japanese, spend more time with friends, all without that nagging, I-should-totally-be-working-so-hard-right-now feeling.

The job is in Los Gatos. It may not be exactly a six hour round trip commute, but...you know, it's close enough to six hours that you can say six hours. It's a long commute, and yes that's because I don't have car, nor a license to drive one, and will be hopping multiple public transportation systems and hopefully investing in a bike. Maybe a car is a good goal, although of course I'd much rather read/sleep in the train than pay for gas. I have been looking into moving, but there are so many incentives to stay put that I just don't know if I could handle leaving.

I almost wonder if I can really handle leaving the journalism side of the fence. It's really more of a straddle right now, but a full-time job, contract though it may be, is certainly a leg over. I.e. I have more of a leg over the industry side of the fence right now than I do over the journalism side, despite the past 2 years of writing experience. How do I feel about that? Well, of course, I'm thrilled; legs over fences, feet in doors -- no matter the metaphor, it's a good thing. Bitter sweet, of course, but I think I can be very happy as long as there are videogames involved, and there are tons of things I could pursue in either direction, so I'm glad to have more open doors (or...fence gates).

This blog will not be about work, but the games I play in-between and what gets me excited about games in general (and I can tell you it is more than 4 player local co-op in Noby Noby Boy despite the ridiculous awesomeness of that).

GD-GD-GDC!

So so so it is that wonderful time again when we all ramble on over to the Moscone Center to think about how games are made. I have a ton of work to do (before, during, after), but I think I am finally excited -- was worried it just wouldn't happen.

Anyways, this post is just a big peace out. Look for a digest of news/previews later.

Go forth and purchase Henry Hatsworth!

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventures is already one of my favorite games on DS...soooooooo buy it, heh. If you like platformers, match-3 puzzle games, giant robots, and monocles, this is a no brainer -- and if you don't, then what the hell is wrong with you?

;p

Check here for more info if that delightfully brief description hasn't piqued your interest enough. Yeah, I'm still crunching on work. Hopefully I'll be able to make a real post soon...

Fallout 3 from the next room over

I realize that this could be taken out of context in many ways, and perhaps my VATS guy looks sort of like a zombie...but OH WELL.

My roommate bought Fallout 3 (for 360) this weekend and has devoted nearly all of his waking time to playing it. I have been attempting some diligence at work (MadWorld, Mana Khemia, etc.) in my room, but I keep hearing snippets of conversations and reloading guns (I assume), clicks of menus, white noise. I wonder when my day with Fallout 3 will come? I have at least one friend who has played it three times already. 

GLORY BE!!!!! (Co-op in Noby Noby Boy)

High concept, low quality.

I think I might be able to die happy now. Who's gonna come play with me?

Update -- another thought: Do you think the update will also include some more background music? That WAS Boy's other daydream. GLEE :D 

Another update: Oh, hey, there's even a new one. #3 is about hairstyles for the house o_O Insane, but I like it. This is swiftly becoming one of my favorite games of all time. 

There may be news...

at some point soon. Until then, uh...don't forget to save your game :D


Yes, this is old/nostaglic art. I'm that lazy/resourceful. The panda didn't save his game, though, and now look at him--SO SAD! Don't let this happen to you.

SingHero?

I count that as a massive name fail, Activision Blizzard. Gotta be VOX Hero.

Co-Op on Rev3 (and their theme song)

I can't say that I like the new theme song better than either of the old 1-UP show tunes, BUT I can say that it is growing on me and that the animation is cute. Plus, the logo! Very smart. I can also say CONGRATULATIONS to the guys for landing such a sweet gig. Make sure to go check out the first ep--they even cover MY FAVORITE GAME ;p

Also: side note:

HOLY COW!!! The official site is really groovy now. Did you see that Boy has some daydreams that are eerily similar to all of us boy-lovers' daydreams? Do you think they might come true?

Noby Update: Is this GOTY yet?

Unexpected and crazy things happen everyday in Noby Noby Boy. For some reason I never see this getting old. I know, I know--it's only March, and early March at that. You know that the moon is ruled by furries, though, right? Everybody knows that.

三十秒勇者 (30 Second Hero)

Finally got around to toying with 30 Second Hero the other night. Originally heard about it at IndieGames.com, but if you click that link don't read the comments unless you want the game spoiled! It's more of a puzzle than an RPG and it's probably better if you learn how to play for yourself.

In fact, I'm sort of bummed that I read the comments, lol, since once you know the secret you can't unlearn it. And the game turns out surprisingly simple...

which makes me wonder what the new PSP version is going to be about. I'm gonna find out, so stay-tuned ;D

Hindu Mythology: Where is it?

I watched Sita Sings the Blues the other day, and was thinking how coolly it presented The Ramayana. It's not a work most people are likely to randomly pick up on their own and enjoy, but by presenting it in parallel with a modern story and adding some music and flash comedy short-type narration (very geeky and funny)--not to mention making it free to share under a Creative Common Atribution-Share Alike License--Nina Paley has entertained a lot of people, and probably inspired them to learn some things, too.



Outside of the Little Big Planet level, I can't really think of any games that reference much Hindu mythology. Is that just me? We've seen plenty of Greek and Norse stuff, but I bet something interesting could be done with Hindu myths, too. I'm not even that familiar with them, myself--I guess it's always been Rama's blue skin that attracted me to the whole idea since I was a kid--but I'm pretty curious, and also curious about what game devs could come up with.

Mahabharata: The Dawn of Kaliyuga seems to be dead, and we haven't heard any news about the Ramayan 3392 A.D. MMO in a lonnnng time either. Does anyone know where these projects are hiding?

Looking forward to Dante's Inferno even more...

after sitting in on EA's panel at WonderCon on Saturday.

Executive Producer and Creative Director Jonathan Knight, Senior Producer Justin Lambros, and Lead Concept Artist Jeff Adams were on hand to discuss how they are going about adapting Dante's Inferno (from The Divine Comedy) into a videogame.



Dante Alighieri wrote the original poem and it's his actual unrequited love, Beatrice, whom he journeys to hell to save in the story. His depiction of hell (in the Italian vernacular--uncommon for the time) really set the tone of the classical afterlife in the West.

There are nine circles--perhaps you have heard of them? ;D Limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The first five, the upper circles, are sins of the flesh, while the last four, the City of Dis (Hell), are considered worse since they stem from malice and are intended to hurt others. Considering that there are nine levels laid out right there (leading deeper and deeper into the center of the Earth) the setting was pretty easy to adapt.

They said a couple times that there was "no reason not to be faithful" to the original poem, so the key characters have made it through intact: Dante, Beatrice, Lucifer, Virgil (the guide), as well as specific monsters like King Minos and Cerberus.

Obviously some liberties were taken as well, but they enumerated three ways they changed things up:

1. "Less talking"

The poem has a lot of dialogue, and while the game will feature some of it, it wasn't all necessary. It's an action game! They want to keep things moving.

2. "Larger antagonist role for Lucifer"

This make sense to me. I mean, who's the biggest boss you can imagine?

3. "Enhanced hero"

I.e. they needed to create an action hero out of a geeky poet. The helmet design is inspired by the common presentation of Alighieri with his laurel leaf head accessory, and obviously the character's love for virtual Beatrice is as strong as can be conveyed. They even drew on some family history and made their version of Dante a vet of the Crusades. Similarities end there, though, as we go on to see that the videogame version of Dante kicks things off most badassedly by killing Death and stealing his scythe.

The story continues as he arrives home from the wars to discover that his finacée (Beatrice, although in real life they didn't get that far) has been murdered. Turns out Lucifer decides to seduce her soul. Dante will have none of that, so he breaks into hell, but he'll have to face his past sins and come to terms with the fact that maybe it's things he has done that have condemned his beloved. Entering into this process is the tapestry sewn directly into Dante's chest. It looks like a cross, but apparently carries important scenes from his life. Is that corny?

For some reason despite that bizarre note, all of this has me really intrigued. It sounds very God of War (and supposedly plays somewhat similarly as well), but, you know, I like God of War, and who doesn't? Plus the source material can't be beat. Knowing, too, that it's a lot of people from the Dead Space crew who are working on it, is really exciting, since Dead Space is the best games I've played recently (along with Henry Hatsworth [tanget, lol] which is out soon also from EA). Apparently they also got an academy award nominated writer to do the script, although they didn't say who.

In terms of the actual design process, I was happy to hear that they were first and foremost considered with how the game would actually play--that is to say, primarily combat. They were focus testing combat before they even put any of the art in.

That's not to say art wasn't important, and especially in a project like this there is so much to draw on. What is hell like? They wanted it to be dark and oppressive, but not "heavy metal" or overly gory. In the end, they were so into Wayne Barlowe's stuff, that they hired him for a while. He contributed some awesome ideas like having Charon actually be the boat down the river to the land of the dead, instead of just an old man running the ferry. His interpretation of Cerberus is really different from anything I've seen, and also totally creepy and nasty. Usually you think of Cerberus as just a big black dog with three heads, but this one is red and sort of alien looking. Actually, you can catch him in action in the latest trailer:



Gross, right? Is he puking blood at one point? Anyways, I'm really jealous of people who got to do the hands-on last week! Can't wait to check this out.