Wednesday, June 30, 2004
i go to school on July 12
i can't wait to see my classes. The catalog has neat class names like 'on the nature of fun'. Awesome.
something to ponder
If ICO was so good, why did it fail? Everybody says it's great, everybody references it when the subject of game design comes up. Why wasn't it a success?
Have you ever noticed that
Japanese games always use the game rendering engine somehow for the credits? Even if it's just characters dancing or walking by or something. it must be a tradition or something. i think it's cool.
one other thing
about Stretch Panic that nicely plays into the whole 'twisted fairy tale' motif. A neat little feature. You can see and play with all the models for the bosses in the game. you can rotate all around them and even put different textures on them. There's even a mirrored texture where you can actually see an animated picture of the main character waving back at you. pretty neat, huh? Also, pretty useful, because you can check your progress, see how many of your sisters you've freed, and whose left to go. Good feature. But the twisted part of it is that you use it to humiliate bosses you've defeated. You have the stretch ability in the Hall of Shame, so you can pull out and snap their helpless bodies. Rather sadistic fun.
Why do they always put new cover art on when they bring games to America?
Why do they always put new cover art on when they bring games to America? Really bad new cover art. They were doing this when i was back at Sega and they still haven't learned. Sega did the same thing for Guardian Heroes. Put just awful cover art on it. Here, see. (i love this cover. not only is it ugly, it's wrong. it appears to show one of the six playable characters fighting what is actually his ally. Wonderful. How did this get by? No one with any experience with the game looked at it, that's how. Like i said, Marketing people.) They probably thought the original art was too anime-like. Back before that was a selling point. Guardian Heroes was a Treasure game, too. Poor guys, always getting the shaft. That's why they're 'cult' and not 'mainstream'. but not the only reason, as their games still have flaws- and sooo... back to Stretch Panic and its flaws.
why do manuals in American games suck so bad?
why do manuals in American games suck so bad? If you've ever imported games from Japan, for instance, you'll know that they have beautiful manuals. Full-color printing, nice paper, good-looking art, sometimes they're even written in the 'theme' of the game world. Manuals in america are all exactly the same: The World of "insert game here", Getting Started, Main Menu, Controlling "insert character here", and my favorite- Notes. A blank page. They always have it.
Actually, i know why. it's because manuals are handled by the Marketing dept. in American companies and by the Art dept. in Japanese companies.
Actually, i know why. it's because manuals are handled by the Marketing dept. in American companies and by the Art dept. in Japanese companies.
Treasure games- Stretch Panic and the pure joy of physics
Ah, Treasure. such good games. All their games, they make you learn a unique gameplay mechanic, something entirely unique. It's usually a little hard to get the hang of at first (which is why i think their games never do that well-(and for other reasons (of which more later))), but it always, always pays off. Pretty soon you're doing cool stuff with it, coming up with your own strategies, and discovering those strategies were already thought of by the creators. Sometimes there's even levels built around them.
Which is why i think Treasure makes 'gourmet' games, 'connoisseur' games, or to put it another way, games for gamers. Also, Treasure games are always incredibly weird. Even for Japanese games, they're wierd. I think they're great. But not a lot of people like that. A lot of people are turned off by unfamiliar stuff. But they're some of the most creative and original games around.
The other thing about Treasure games is that they never tell you anything. They make you figure it all out for yourself. It's logical, it can be figured out, but you gotta do it yourself. Kind of the Zen Master approach to gaming. An example of that in Stretch Panic, the game i'm gonna examine here, would be this: There are three types of damage you can do in Stretch Panic. Actually four. they correspond to the different attacks you can do. They fill up a star-shaped pie chart that represents the damage done. Not the health, the damage. Like the opposite of a life bar. anyways, you can defeat a boss with any type of damage, but red damage gets you points, and green damage you get by using your super special attack. It's the only way to free your sisters in the boss battles. Which is the point of the game.
I had to figure all that out for myself. The manual wasn't much help. See what i mean about hard to get the hang of? There's a certain threshold you have to get over, beyond which it gets really cool. Probably not a lot of people will. But hardcore gamers will.
Stretch Panic (called Freak Out in Europe and Hippa Linda(Stretching Linda)in Japan) is a game about stretching. In the same sense that Super Mario 64 was about running and jumping. In the most basic and simple sense, 'running and jumping is fun'. All the gameplay comes out of that simple mechanic. For Stretch Panic it's stretching. Stretching is fun.
The story actually integrates with the game well. It's a gothic fairy tale about nonconformity, a sort of Ugly Duckling story. You were laughed at and mocked by your sisters for being different, but now it's your unique skill that gives you the power to save them. The skill of scarfery. You've got a familiar, a sort of magic pet that takes the shape of a scarf so you can carry it everywhere. The scarf has a hand on the end of it which can be used to reach out and grab and stretch anything in the world. So you set out to free them, one by one. Accumulate. A video game thing. Because of the numbers.
The game is basically all boss battles. The bosses are your sisters. It's really incredibly simple, because the point is the gameplay. Using the stretching. Stretching is cool, once you get the hang of it. You couldn't do it without the analog stick. It feels very stretchy and non-mechanical. You can do damage to bosses by plucking and releasing a lot of times quickly, or you can hold on for a longer time, stretch them farther out, and then release for more damage. It's really unique.
There's a trick to it. That's the short review of the game. Each boss has a trick to defeating them, where you have to use your stretch power in a new way. And you can figure it out. It's not something cheap, like you have to have a certain weapon to defeat a certain boss. just a certain skill.
Now for the bad stuff. It's not like the game is all good, and its flaws are what prevented it from becoming a success. To start at the most superficial level, the cover art was really poor. Covers are really important, i think people don't understand how important. And the cover for Stretch Panic really hurts it. It was Published in America by Conspiracy entertainment, a smaller publisher, with presumably a smaller budget for cover art.
As for the game itself, bad decisions were made. For instance, there's an aiming mode, where you the camera snaps into place directly behind you. You can lock on to a target and move around it, complete with a very cool 'tunnel vision' lens effec, but... your character's head is so large, that it very often obscures your view of your target. So annoying. They really should have gone for a first-person view (this makes the most sense if you're aiming). Or a camera position that was just a little higher. Or make the player character transparent, like in Super Punch-out.
but you know, there's pleasure to be had. if you master some skills.
Which is why i think Treasure makes 'gourmet' games, 'connoisseur' games, or to put it another way, games for gamers. Also, Treasure games are always incredibly weird. Even for Japanese games, they're wierd. I think they're great. But not a lot of people like that. A lot of people are turned off by unfamiliar stuff. But they're some of the most creative and original games around.
The other thing about Treasure games is that they never tell you anything. They make you figure it all out for yourself. It's logical, it can be figured out, but you gotta do it yourself. Kind of the Zen Master approach to gaming. An example of that in Stretch Panic, the game i'm gonna examine here, would be this: There are three types of damage you can do in Stretch Panic. Actually four. they correspond to the different attacks you can do. They fill up a star-shaped pie chart that represents the damage done. Not the health, the damage. Like the opposite of a life bar. anyways, you can defeat a boss with any type of damage, but red damage gets you points, and green damage you get by using your super special attack. It's the only way to free your sisters in the boss battles. Which is the point of the game.
I had to figure all that out for myself. The manual wasn't much help. See what i mean about hard to get the hang of? There's a certain threshold you have to get over, beyond which it gets really cool. Probably not a lot of people will. But hardcore gamers will.
Stretch Panic (called Freak Out in Europe and Hippa Linda(Stretching Linda)in Japan) is a game about stretching. In the same sense that Super Mario 64 was about running and jumping. In the most basic and simple sense, 'running and jumping is fun'. All the gameplay comes out of that simple mechanic. For Stretch Panic it's stretching. Stretching is fun.
The story actually integrates with the game well. It's a gothic fairy tale about nonconformity, a sort of Ugly Duckling story. You were laughed at and mocked by your sisters for being different, but now it's your unique skill that gives you the power to save them. The skill of scarfery. You've got a familiar, a sort of magic pet that takes the shape of a scarf so you can carry it everywhere. The scarf has a hand on the end of it which can be used to reach out and grab and stretch anything in the world. So you set out to free them, one by one. Accumulate. A video game thing. Because of the numbers.
The game is basically all boss battles. The bosses are your sisters. It's really incredibly simple, because the point is the gameplay. Using the stretching. Stretching is cool, once you get the hang of it. You couldn't do it without the analog stick. It feels very stretchy and non-mechanical. You can do damage to bosses by plucking and releasing a lot of times quickly, or you can hold on for a longer time, stretch them farther out, and then release for more damage. It's really unique.
There's a trick to it. That's the short review of the game. Each boss has a trick to defeating them, where you have to use your stretch power in a new way. And you can figure it out. It's not something cheap, like you have to have a certain weapon to defeat a certain boss. just a certain skill.
Now for the bad stuff. It's not like the game is all good, and its flaws are what prevented it from becoming a success. To start at the most superficial level, the cover art was really poor. Covers are really important, i think people don't understand how important. And the cover for Stretch Panic really hurts it. It was Published in America by Conspiracy entertainment, a smaller publisher, with presumably a smaller budget for cover art.
As for the game itself, bad decisions were made. For instance, there's an aiming mode, where you the camera snaps into place directly behind you. You can lock on to a target and move around it, complete with a very cool 'tunnel vision' lens effec, but... your character's head is so large, that it very often obscures your view of your target. So annoying. They really should have gone for a first-person view (this makes the most sense if you're aiming). Or a camera position that was just a little higher. Or make the player character transparent, like in Super Punch-out.
but you know, there's pleasure to be had. if you master some skills.
Friday, June 25, 2004
Meta Gear Solid 2
a very sophisticated and well-made game. One of the only games that not only works on multiple levels, but even contains many levels in the first place. Maybe i should say 'layer' instead of the frequently-used game term 'level'.
anyway, there's a lot to discuss with regards to Metal Gear, and i'll probably get to it later, but one thing i just noticed was that there are visual themes running throughout the game as well. Like the hexagon. The Plant where most of the action takes place is a cluster of hex-shaped towers. the title screen itself has symbols for chemicals used as graphic elements- they're hexagons. A later level has you running about in a world that may or may not be a VR simulation (i mean, within the game's story, not in 'real life', where you (the player) really are playing a VR simulation-see what i mean?) and glowing hexagons appear under your feet. Hexagons everywhere- a visual theme.
i think this is great, putting this amount of thought into the graphics. It isn't just 'try to make everything look as real as possible'. It really is art. When i make a game, i want to put that much thought into all aspects of it.
this game really is art. i'll definitely be writing more about it in future.
anyway, there's a lot to discuss with regards to Metal Gear, and i'll probably get to it later, but one thing i just noticed was that there are visual themes running throughout the game as well. Like the hexagon. The Plant where most of the action takes place is a cluster of hex-shaped towers. the title screen itself has symbols for chemicals used as graphic elements- they're hexagons. A later level has you running about in a world that may or may not be a VR simulation (i mean, within the game's story, not in 'real life', where you (the player) really are playing a VR simulation-see what i mean?) and glowing hexagons appear under your feet. Hexagons everywhere- a visual theme.
i think this is great, putting this amount of thought into the graphics. It isn't just 'try to make everything look as real as possible'. It really is art. When i make a game, i want to put that much thought into all aspects of it.
this game really is art. i'll definitely be writing more about it in future.
here's a shitty article about games
http://www.igda.org/columns/ivorytower/
no permalink, sorry. I'll bet the writer doesn't update very often anyway.
hilarious stuff. the story of a metaphor stretched to the breaking point.
In a sense, Game Studies are the new Space Invaders . Just like the menacing aliens, their appearance provoked both amazement and diffidence. Game studies have been often perceived as a menace, something that needs to be wiped out at sight. For a long time, academics have been considered like ‘aliens', intruders, and trespassers by game designers, game journalists, game players, and even by other academics, who felt the urge to defend themselves from the apparent invasion.
after awhile, i realized that he's not really talking about games at all, but just defending his job. Game Academician. wow.
i leave you with this:
CNN stands for Counter-Strike News Network. Read: it is not just about polygons and power ups any more.
no permalink, sorry. I'll bet the writer doesn't update very often anyway.
hilarious stuff. the story of a metaphor stretched to the breaking point.
In a sense, Game Studies are the new Space Invaders . Just like the menacing aliens, their appearance provoked both amazement and diffidence. Game studies have been often perceived as a menace, something that needs to be wiped out at sight. For a long time, academics have been considered like ‘aliens', intruders, and trespassers by game designers, game journalists, game players, and even by other academics, who felt the urge to defend themselves from the apparent invasion.
after awhile, i realized that he's not really talking about games at all, but just defending his job. Game Academician. wow.
i leave you with this:
CNN stands for Counter-Strike News Network. Read: it is not just about polygons and power ups any more.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
my other blog
it's about drugs. Thought i'd link to it here because there's some overlap between drugs and games. Don't think there isn't.
meatparticles.blogspot.com
caution: may be incoherent
meatparticles.blogspot.com
caution: may be incoherent
about games
i also plan to discuss games here on EiD. Not so much review them as to describe what makes them work or not work. You know, to learn from them.
i mostly play console games. They're cheaper, and far more innovative, than PC games. i like a good FPS or RTS from time to time, but my PC is shit, so i can't run the new stuff. Maybe i'll get a new one when Half-life 2 or Doom 3 comes out. Maybe. But see, that's my point. Sequels.
i like weird, quirky, original games. Music games, shooters. I also like un-original but well-polished games like the Final Fantasy series. Also, good art in a game is a big plus, just because i'm a visual person. Sound too, good sound is a must. Not a lot of people pay attention to sound, but if a game has good sound, it's an awesome experience. An example? Okay, remember in SSX, when you jump, did you notice that all the sound changes? They do a flanging effect or something on the music when you're in the air and it seems like the world recedes and there's nothing but you. It makes a little 'zone' for you. And that's the point of games, to enter the mental space called the 'zone'. you know what i mean if you've experienced it. SSX. the music in that was just great too. Good enough to listen to by itself and with enough variety that you don't hear the same song over and over again. But you do perk up when your 'favorite' song comes on. But the best part was the 'Untracked' level. it had no music. That's genius. Knowing what to leave out.
Games i don't really care for are sports games, racing games. They're fine as far as they go, and a perfectly valid genre, with as much right to exist as any, but just for me, i can't get into any game that has reality as its goal. Games to me are about doing stuff you can't do in real life.
i mostly play console games. They're cheaper, and far more innovative, than PC games. i like a good FPS or RTS from time to time, but my PC is shit, so i can't run the new stuff. Maybe i'll get a new one when Half-life 2 or Doom 3 comes out. Maybe. But see, that's my point. Sequels.
i like weird, quirky, original games. Music games, shooters. I also like un-original but well-polished games like the Final Fantasy series. Also, good art in a game is a big plus, just because i'm a visual person. Sound too, good sound is a must. Not a lot of people pay attention to sound, but if a game has good sound, it's an awesome experience. An example? Okay, remember in SSX, when you jump, did you notice that all the sound changes? They do a flanging effect or something on the music when you're in the air and it seems like the world recedes and there's nothing but you. It makes a little 'zone' for you. And that's the point of games, to enter the mental space called the 'zone'. you know what i mean if you've experienced it. SSX. the music in that was just great too. Good enough to listen to by itself and with enough variety that you don't hear the same song over and over again. But you do perk up when your 'favorite' song comes on. But the best part was the 'Untracked' level. it had no music. That's genius. Knowing what to leave out.
Games i don't really care for are sports games, racing games. They're fine as far as they go, and a perfectly valid genre, with as much right to exist as any, but just for me, i can't get into any game that has reality as its goal. Games to me are about doing stuff you can't do in real life.
a title is very important
the title for this blog comes from a wartime Disney educational cartoon about how the Nazis supposedly indoctrinated their children. i chose it because it reminds me of the 'video games are bad for children' debate which always comes up every few years or so. Usually when a republican president is in office.
Personally, i'm happy that videogames are now ranked with rock music, drugs, and dungeons & dragons as leading corruptors of youth. okay, maybe not so happy about dungeons & dragons.
It was either this title or 'Murder Simulator'. Maybe when i found a game company that's what i'll name it.
Personally, i'm happy that videogames are now ranked with rock music, drugs, and dungeons & dragons as leading corruptors of youth. okay, maybe not so happy about dungeons & dragons.
It was either this title or 'Murder Simulator'. Maybe when i found a game company that's what i'll name it.
lengthy non-interactive intro cine
hey. i'm a long-time college student (on and off, you know the deal) and this summer i'll be transferring into a school that gives degrees in video games. Specifically, this one:
http://www.aicasf.artinstitutes.edu
i thought game people might be interested in seeing what goes on, what getting a degree in games might entail, what kind of classes you take, what kind of freaks you meet, and so on.
i love games. i'm part of the first generation that grew up with video games and i've watched them change and grow throughout my life. However, for thirty-plus years, there's never been a school that's given degrees in this new art form. I know, there's DigiPen up in Seattle,they've been around for awhile, but that's not quite the same. They're owned by Nintendo, so it's kind of like a feeder school for them. Also, i don't live up there. So i jumped at the chance for this one.
I've worked in the industry before. I started out as a tester, worked at various companies, Sega, LucasArts, Mindscape, never really got anywhere. Don't get me wrong, being a tester is a good job, especially for someone young. But it's really hard to move up. If you're any good, they need good people in test, and if you're not, then you're not likely to move up either.
I eventually made my way up to game artist, did some modelling and texture mapping, shipped two games (on time, i might add) but then the company was bought up and they let all the internal artists go, which also happens a lot. Eh. So i decided to start over with the school thing. Let's see what it's like.
http://www.aicasf.artinstitutes.edu
i thought game people might be interested in seeing what goes on, what getting a degree in games might entail, what kind of classes you take, what kind of freaks you meet, and so on.
i love games. i'm part of the first generation that grew up with video games and i've watched them change and grow throughout my life. However, for thirty-plus years, there's never been a school that's given degrees in this new art form. I know, there's DigiPen up in Seattle,they've been around for awhile, but that's not quite the same. They're owned by Nintendo, so it's kind of like a feeder school for them. Also, i don't live up there. So i jumped at the chance for this one.
I've worked in the industry before. I started out as a tester, worked at various companies, Sega, LucasArts, Mindscape, never really got anywhere. Don't get me wrong, being a tester is a good job, especially for someone young. But it's really hard to move up. If you're any good, they need good people in test, and if you're not, then you're not likely to move up either.
I eventually made my way up to game artist, did some modelling and texture mapping, shipped two games (on time, i might add) but then the company was bought up and they let all the internal artists go, which also happens a lot. Eh. So i decided to start over with the school thing. Let's see what it's like.
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