tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14811854120149449472024-03-13T18:42:02.531-07:00Garry's Gaming Blog<i>Any system, any genre, any decade, any game....</i><hr><br><b><big><big><big>Garry's Gaming Blog</big></big></big></b>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-53320165513943714462020-07-27T14:35:00.001-07:002020-07-27T14:38:15.398-07:00Non-Games and utilities in the 'Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FU1w4PjvV2Y/Xx8wLq2PTXI/AAAAAAAACjI/rOCZQnmlAXwM3FDcUItScVj7ZfpQZaN-gCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/BRJESide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="346" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FU1w4PjvV2Y/Xx8wLq2PTXI/AAAAAAAACjI/rOCZQnmlAXwM3FDcUItScVj7ZfpQZaN-gCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/BRJESide.jpg" width="100" /></a>So I got this bundle, and after downloading a handful of the obvious 'better known' games, I started to noticed a few asset packs and non-game applications in there.<br />
Being the curious type I Googled for non-games software in the bundle, and came up with... well pretty much nothing! And that's where I left it for a while.<br />
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It was only after discovering that a full version of Pico-8 was in there that I began to become a bit more interested in finding out exactly what other games creation type software may be lurking in the depths of the bundle. Around the same time I watched a YouTube video where they were reviewing four or five different asset packs from the two or three I had initially noticed, and they commented that they may have missed some, they had.<br />
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By this time I had pretty much decided to trawl through the whole thing (so you don't have to đ) and find out if there was anything interesting in there.<br />
It turns out that some stuff was pretty much as expected and some wasn't.<br />
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That YouTube'er rewed a handful of asset packs, see below for a list of the ones I found:<br />
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<b>Asset Packs:</b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kenney Game Assets 1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>20,000+ <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Game assets for use in your games!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">CanariPack 8BIT TopDown<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">8/16BIT 16x16 Tileset, Animated Sprites, Music,SFX</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">HUGE pixelart asset pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">1500+ Tiles pack, characters and some animations</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Heroic Asset Series: Overworld<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tiny animated 16x16 tileset with 64 colors!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">HPS Cartography Kit<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hex tiles for custom cartography. over 400 map tiles</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Multi Platformer Tileset<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Various 2D side-scrolling environments on pixel art</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixel Art Medieval Fantasy Characters<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pack of high-quality fantasy pixel art characters.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixel Art Infinite Runner - Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Make a Infinite Runner Game!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">RPG Items - Retro Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">591 retro styled item RPG items</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Top-Down - Interior Tileset<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A versatile interior tileset for your top-down game</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">CanariPack 1BIT TopDown<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">1BIT 16x16 Tileset, Animated Sprites, Music and SFX </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Tiny Adventure Pack Plus<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Asset pack for game development.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lava Caves - Fantasy Pixel Art Tileset<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fantasy Lava Caves tileset</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lil' Dragon - Pixel Art Tiles </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Top Down tileset inspired by old RPGs</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Gentle Forest "Mana Seed" Pixel Art<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A fully featured RPG forest, hills, rocks, and water</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Heroic Asset Series: Buildings Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tiny animated buildings pack with 64 colors!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Heroic Asset Series: Icon Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tiny 16x16 icons with 64 colors!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Dungeon Tileset - Top Down RPG<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">A pixel art dungeon tileset.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixel Art Platformer Painted Style </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A live painting in Pixel Art!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Heroic Asset Series: Creature Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tiny animated creature pack with 64 colors!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Low Poly 3D City Builder<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Royalty free 3DGame Assets .</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Deep Forest - 16 Colour Tileset<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Limited 16 colour palette tileset</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">8bit Overworld Tileset<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A retro flavoured topdown tileset </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Glitch Brushes: Dithering & Text<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Digitally paint with the power of glitch (photoshop)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Glitch Pixel Brushes II<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Digitally paint with the power of gᡞlᡞ̜iĚtĚ´Ě chĚáˇ! (photoshop)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Glitch Brushes Maze & Organic Textures</span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Digitally paint with power of glitch</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixel Button Prompts Tile Set </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Keyboard and Gamepad</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Extended monster pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">48 different monsters</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">PIXEL ART METROIDVANIA A</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">sset Pack with tiles and animated sprites</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photoshop Inkers<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photoshop Assets</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photoshop Real Pencils<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photoshop Assets</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Relaxing Ocean SFX - Audio Asset Pack</span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Relaxing ocean SFX recorded in Scotland</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kawaii Game Icons </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">50 Kawaii Icons</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">BearFX Explosions Pixel VFX Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">High quality pixel art explosion effects</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Three Red Hearts [Music Assets] <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">24 seamless Chiptunes</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixel art Forest<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Make your own forest!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Japanese City Game Assets<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">118 static (32x32) tiles + 8 animations</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">PIXEL FANTASY RPG ICONS<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">87 different sized icons for fantasy RPGs</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Low Poly Auto Racing Car Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Royalty free 3D Game Assets</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Paid RPG Pixel Art Assets 2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A downloadable asset pack.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Medieval Town and Country Bundle<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>I<span style="font-size: x-small;">nteriors and Exterior town tiles, characters, more</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">PVGames Sci-Fi<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sci-Fi tiles and characters</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">8-Bit Sound Effects [100+ SFX]<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Perfect for retro games, game jams, mobile games</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">FunkyQuadZ - 3D for Construct 3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Funky</span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">QuadZ - 3D Sprites and 3D Camera Control</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">SC: Monster Pack 1 - DELUXE EDITION</span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">40+ monsters, 5+ variants each, over 1000 files</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Essential Pool Billiards Table Asset Pack</span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Royalty free 3D Assets for Virtual Reality Games.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Lo-Fi Stellar Skirmish<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A starship-themed asset pack</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Modular Cartoon Dungeon <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Props and Tileset Pack. </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">3D RPG game assets</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">RPG Town Tileset<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">32x32 Tileset for RPG</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">PIXEL SPACESHIPS <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Shoot'em Ups Assets [HD]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">SNES Original Soundtrack Collection<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A collection of 9 SNES like tunes </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Flappy AirShip GF/X Asset Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fantasy AirShip GF/X Kit (2D)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Mini Loops<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">5 second music loops for games</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Old Man Character Sound Effects<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">A collection of 'old-man' sound effects</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Medieval Chibi Cartoon Character Pack</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Character Pack for Fantasy Games (3D)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Gothic/Haunted Castle Tileset <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">(32x32) Character Pack </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Classic JRPG Music Pack /Medium Pack</span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Music for RPG projects</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Swords Pack x6<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">The pack contains 6 types of swords</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Voxel Currency<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">9 voxel art currency symbols</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Swords and Daggers Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">The pack contains 6 types of swords</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Platformer SFX<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Classic Retro Sound Effects</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cassette<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Play. Pause. Rewind. A library of tape sounds.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Modular Walls Asset Pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tile-able Walls, Ceilings and Floors (textures for 3D)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">DungeonGameAssetPack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Castlevania inspired</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Outdoor Adventurer Tileset<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pixel grass and dirt path tiles, stage characters, cat</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Forest zone bitsy tile pack<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Make your own forest zone</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">models of a retro dog and scene in Blender</span><span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blender Assets</span><br />
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The content of these packs vary wildly in styles and genres, but the average content is good to high, and certainly can lift a bar to the beginner developer as far as graphics and sound goes.</div>
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Next I looked for non-games programs in general, but particularly for Game-Creation based utilities. It turns out there were a few apps, but this was pretty much a mived bag. There were five utilities that could, at least loosley, be described as games makers: PICO-8, PQ93, Make your Adventure, DragonRuby, and ADLENGINE. The rest being a hodgepodge of add-on modules to existing products, database, and graphics utilities.<br />
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<b>Applications:</b><br />
Mu Cartographer<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>Experimental Colourful Exploration Machine<br />
Hex Kit<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>Hex Mapping tool for table top RPGs<br />
DragonRuby Game Toolkit<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>An intuitive cross-platform 2D game engine.<br />
Tape<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>Project management for artists and designers<br />
PQ93<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>A fantasy console for making small games<br />
PICO-8<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>A fantasy console for making, playing and sharing<br />
Electric Zine Maker<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>A print-shop and art tool for making zines<br />
Construct 2/3 Pseudo 3D <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>A pseudo 3D system made in construct no plugins<br />
Snapshot Shaders Pro (Unity)<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>23 image effects for Unity HDRP and URP<br />
VR Drum Studio<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>A VR Drum Studio<br />
Twitch.tv IRC Interface for GameMaker<span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>Extension to connect GameMaker Games to Twitch<br />
Make your Adventure<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>Turn your idea into a game, without programming<br />
ADLENGINE <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>Roleplay / Text Adventure Engine<br />
mMcFabs's Texture to SkyBox Converte<span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span>Convert flat horizontal textures to sky-boxes<br />
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And I would say that's the bulk of the game-design assets and utilities. Some, like PICO-8, are very good, and this also gives yo acces to a vast range of 'virtual cartradges' many of which are remakes of older games, and many are ndw, or prototypes of games that have since had a full indie release made.</div>
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Around a third or so of the bundle, is made up of non-computer table-top and RPG/LARP type games. This is an area I know little to nothing (well nothing really) about. So it's probably best to leave that for someone else to talk about.</div>
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The other small bunch of things I did, rather more surprisingly, find were books, comics and zines. </div>
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I haven't looked through much of these, and have tryed to lump all non-computer based 'Written Word' works into one category, but I think it's fair to say this is a rather diverse (to say the least) group in both style and content. </div>
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<b>The Written Word:</b> <span style="font-size: x-small; white-space: pre;"> </span><i>(Books, Comics, Zines, & Tutorials)</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">My Friend Took Me To A Feline Therapy Place For My Anxiety And Iâm Starting To Wonder Where The Cats Are?</span></div>
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- An illustrated light novel about dealing with anxiety, cats, </div>
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The Stellar Beacon: Hope-punk Issue<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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- Zine with optimistic sci-fi adventures and essays on pop culture</div>
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GRIPHOTIKON | BOOK 1 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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- A zine detailing the life of an animal people, living inside a mail slot.</div>
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Dirty Town Quick-starter Zine<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div>
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- A ttrpg Zine about Pigeons. Wait, really? Yes! Get ready for their corny adventure</div>
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I Signed Up To Be The Substitute Familiar Of A Struggling Witch To Pay My Bills And I'm Just Now Realizing... </div>
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- An illustrated light novel about magic, witches, familiars, and gender feels</div>
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Avery Chase - EP1 : Apparition<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Avery Chase EP1</div>
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SOULS & STRIPES<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>UT/DTR comic anthology</div>
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SINS - The RPG - PDF<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Award-Winning Supernatural Post-Apocalyptic RPG</div>
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Philip K. Dick's Tony and the Beetles<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The war. Always the war.</div>
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Fall Diary<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Diary comic collection.</div>
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Blind Men<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A boys' love visual novel about a supervillain and the spies that try to stop</div>
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Okay, Hero<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A series of essays on the Metal Gear Solid games</div>
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Hitboxes and Hurtboxes<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Learn how to setup hitboxes and hurtboxes in GameMaker Studio!</div>
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Gourmet Street: Fantasy Street-Food Adventuring<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A zine about bringing the greasy beauty of street food to your urban rpg</div>
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Worlds Without Master Issue 3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A PDF magazine of sword & sorcery tales, games, and comics. Includes Swords Without Master!</div>
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Penicillin Issue #1<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Weird RPG Zine</div>
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Penicillin Issue #2<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> The follow up to the acclaimed first issue of Penicillin</div>
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Penicillin Issue #3<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> The third issue of the World's Other Only RPG Zine</div>
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Way With Worlds Book 1 Crafting Great Fictional Settings. A helpful guide to world-building</div>
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Skill Points<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> An RPG zine about learning through play.</div>
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The Watching Book<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A zine of oracular culture, and an rpg to play with it.</div>
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Procession<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> A short zine about the miracles and monstrous </div>
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HG101 Presents: <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> The Guide to Classic Graphic Adventures</div>
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There are a few other things scattered around the bundle, that defy any of these categorisations, and the Table-top/RPG games are also very diverse. There are also some Paper based utilities for defining this type of game. All of which I feel that I don't know enough about to judge</div>
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Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-77076712182093267622015-10-11T11:12:00.002-07:002015-10-12T16:08:19.333-07:00Shenmue 3 - Finally being made after 14 years.<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><i>Not too </i>long ago in a land far far away, a not-so-simple</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;"><b>games-maker</b></span><span style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;"><b> called </b></span><span style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;"><b>Y</b></span><span style="color: yellow;"><b>u Suzuki</b></span><b style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;"> produced a rather unusual</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;">& often </b><b style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;">misunderstood </b><b style="color: yellow; font-family: inherit;">game named Shenmue</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">And so the saga </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">begun</span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></b></span></div>
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<b>Nowadays it's become a bit of a thing to say how awesome and historically important the Shenmue game is, or was, to the current gaming industry. But this wasn't always the case...</b><br />
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I remember picking up the boxed sets of Shenmue One and Two for the Dreamcast from a second-hand games store, for around ten UK pounds <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(17ish US dollars)</span></i>, a good few years ago. They were both in good condition and had all the original packaging intact. In fact, it looked like they were hardly used!<br />
Of course that was before the game had really began to gather much of a 'cult following' status, and definitely before it became mainstream, or in vogue, to know about and 'like' the Shenmue franchise. Remember that this is a game that cost more than any other to make at the time of its release, and then (more or less) bombed in the high-street stores!</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You could ask 'Why is Shenmue like Star Trek?' And the answer would be the same... <b><i>Because of the fans! </i></b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shenmue 3 was made because the fans wanted to see an end to the story that </span>episode<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 2 left on a </span>cliffhanger<span style="font-family: inherit;">...</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, yes that is a valid answer... But I can't help but think there is a bit more to it than that...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The recent </span>resurgence<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in interest was brought about due to, possibly </span>deliberate<span style="font-family: inherit;">, speculation on the part of the die-hard fans. However, this had spawned a new mainstream revival of interest in the old games. And as more </span>information<span style="font-family: inherit;"> was spread about the games, more people got interested in them. Suddenly it was popular, and in </span>vogue<span style="font-family: inherit;"> to say how important the </span>original<span style="font-family: inherit;"> games were to video games history, how it was a misunderstood </span>classic<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and how unjust it is that it was never finished. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The advent, and </span>subsequent<span style="font-family: inherit;"> growth in popularity, of </span>crowd<span style="font-family: inherit;"> funding begun to look like one possible way to bring the long sought-after, and </span>dreamt<span style="font-family: inherit;"> about, title to life. Even then the </span>announcement<span style="font-family: inherit;"> at the Sony conference was a </span>palpable<span style="font-family: inherit;"> shock, even to some die-hard fans, many of </span>whom<span style="font-family: inherit;"> had begun to </span>despair<span style="font-family: inherit;"> about the legal and </span>copyright wrangling that surrounded the IP<span style="font-family: inherit;">..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Shenmue 3 is an end to a long unfinished story. It is a nod to the loyalty of the die-hard fans that never gave up hope, and it is very much a product of the current gaming culture, or should that be counter-culture. So is this just an interesting </span>curio, an<span style="font-family: inherit;"> offshoot from the beginnings of big-budget indie-gaming?</span><br />
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When first released Shenmue was doing technical things game-mechanic wise with NCP behaviour etc. that later 'smash hit' games like the Grant Theft Auto series only 'cleverly' pretended to do. <span style="font-family: inherit;">After all, at one time this was the biggest </span>triple<span style="font-family: inherit;"> A game out there and it </span>definitely<span style="font-family: inherit;"> was ahead of it's time in many respects, possible in too many areas all at once, and a large proportion of the game-buying </span>public<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of the time didn't quite know what to make of this strange new world, where they were left to wander around on their own whilst NCP characters went on about their own </span>business<span style="font-family: inherit;"> in real time.</span><br />
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Certainly it's become more common for programmers to revive their older Intellectual Properties (IP) through the crowd-funding route, and Shenmue can definitely be seen as being at the pinacial of this movement. <span style="font-family: inherit;">But it is also an indication of gaming to come? Will a </span>success<span style="font-family: inherit;"> here lead to other mainstream </span>relics<span style="font-family: inherit;"> being dusted off and given a fresh new </span>crowed<span style="font-family: inherit;">-funded life? Of it Shenmue 3 </span>doesn't<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>succeed<span style="font-family: inherit;">, will it bring a downturn in other older IP being re-done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Could a really </span>unsuccessful<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Shenmue 3 even kill of this </span>resurgence<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of older IP being re-launched via crowed-funding</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Why not? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are going to produce a crowd-funded project Kiskstarter is probably the premium, and best, platform to do it in. But maybe that's not the correct answer to the question.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Maybe the question is, "Why did Shenmue 3 need to be a crowed funded game?" The answer to that isn't as simple as it may perhaps first appear to be, and many different reasons have been given at differing times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lets take a quick look at the facts:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sega spent a lot of money on the </span>original<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Shenmue, and got rather severely burned.</span></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">There was some rather </span>unpleasant<span style="font-family: inherit;"> legal </span>wrangling<span style="font-family: inherit;"> about who owned </span>what<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>intellectual<span style="font-family: inherit;"> copy wrights.</span></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Yu Suzuki left Sega.</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Time </span>moved<span style="font-family: inherit;"> on, and the unique game-play nature of Shenmue become commonplace.</span></b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The IP faded from the </span>psyche<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of the average mainstream gamer.</span></b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These facts alone are not conducive to spending a large amount of cash on something that would be seen as a very big commercial risk. </span>Unfortunately<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that is how the gaming industry works now. A mainstream game needs a </span>recognisable<span style="font-family: inherit;"> IP that people are currently playing and would be willing to pay out their cold cash for, in order to play the next </span>instalment<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This state of affairs is what lead to the popularity of the indie-games industry, and crowed-funding projects, in the first place. So if Shenmue 3 was ever going to be made the chances are it wouldn't ever be by a major </span>publisher<span style="font-family: inherit;">. We just don't have that creative culture in the mainstream games industry </span>any more<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm not knocking the mainstream, it is now so big that it has to be the way it is in order to function, grow, and survive. An </span>unfortunate<span style="font-family: inherit;"> side-effect to this is that innovation it is no longer </span>economically<span style="font-family: inherit;"> viable for the </span>major<span style="font-family: inherit;"> publishers... <i>and this is where the indie industry </i></span><i style="font-family: inherit;">steps in, crowed-funded or otherwise!</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-87456214418926452212015-09-19T06:30:00.002-07:002015-10-11T11:24:04.333-07:00Artsy, not Fartsy...<span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: large;">In the Beginning...</span><br />
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There has always been an element of 'art' that has existed, and grown, alongside but generally separate <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(or underground)</span></i> from mainstream computing, long before the computer games industry was invented. Likewise the 'can computers make art' debate has existed from the very beginnings of the medium.<br />
Even the early Teletype operators used to send text generated pictures to each other.This was the beginnings of what became knows as ASCII Art, arguably the first true 'art' produced solely by using machines. Arguable, because some still say it was nothing more than akin to computer graphite. Is graphite art? Well that's a question for a different blog...<br />
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Sticking with computer generated art, Conway's Game of life was possibly one of the first computer programs that could ever be considered a true form of computer art - rather than 'traditional' art made on a computer. The 'game' was based on a cellular automaton thought experiment originally devised by John Horton Conway, a British mathematician, in 1970. His 'game' had no user interaction other than the placing of the first cells in a grid. These cells ether 'lived,' 'died,' or 'reproduced' on each turn of the game, based on Conway mathematical rules.<br />
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The rules to 'Game of Life' were few and simple, but many intricate 'living,' evolving designs could be made from the placing of the original 'seed' cells.<br />
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This zero-player 'game' was typically written for most of the 1970's mainframe, and mini, computer systems.<br />
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During the 1980's it was a typically included in various how-to programming books and listings magazines as a teaching program for most 8Bit micro computer machines.<br />
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Most 8Bit home computer systems of the late seventies and early eighties generally had simple painting type programs for them, and some interesting pictures were produced on these very limited canvases, but unlike 'game of Life' this was 'art' made <i>on </i>a computer, not made <i>by </i>a computer. As resolutions grew over time, this type of art faded as computer pictures became photo-realistic.<br />
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<b>ASCII Art was still very much alive during this era, especially in the BBS world.</b><br />
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The BBS art scene had a thriving, if still somewhat underground, community of different groups all vying to make the best ASCII art, which was generally distributed through, and used to brighten up, the text based Bulletin Board Systems of the day.<br />
Although this was an 'art' style that could only be produces using computers, like the early painting application output, or the even earlier Teletype operators, it was still made <i>on </i>or with computers, not <i>by </i>computers.<br />
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<b><i>But some people aimed to fix that...</i></b><br />
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: large;">Art by Numbers...</span><br />
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Jeff Minter was one of the first 8Bit games programmers to start playing around with what he coined 'Light Synthesizers.' The first commercially available 'Light Synthesizer' application Jeff made was 'Psychedelia,' released for the VIC-20 in 1984.<br />
The program allowed the user to make light patters in an on-screen grid using the joystick. Unlike most later programs of this type the patterns were not generated by music, although Jeff recommended you 'play' the patterns whilst listening to music.<br />
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Jeff went on to produce more 'games' on this theme, including Colourspace, Trip-a-tron, VLM 2, and Neo, using, various systems, refining the display and introducing music as a direct input to the on-screen graphics generation. A concept that was later picked up by most PC, MAC and Console based music players. But 'Psychedelia' was probably the first commercially available application to hold the seeds of this idea, and may be the first real attempt at an 'Art Game.'<br />
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Llike most things, there could be a counter clam to the fist computer generated art argument.<br />
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At, <i>almost</i>, the same time as 'Psychedelia' was being released, others were already attempting to produce fractal pattern generating programs for the early systems, although most initial attempts at this were very slow and low-resolution.<br />
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By the time 16Bit home micro computers and XT PC systems were around fractal generating applications could produce fairly high resolution representations of the Mandelbrot and Julian sets, in a good amount of colours, although zooming still took some effort.<br />
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Unlike the previous music or action based procedurally generated patterning software, fractal generation could produce exactly the same image given the same set of starting conditions every time, and the amount of possible images is limitless.<br />
So was this pure computer generated mathematical art? Some said yes, others no - because there was no thought to it, no soul!.<br />
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And that was pretty much where the debate stopped, for most people, for a fair amount of time...<br />
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: large;">Welcome to the new age...</span><br />
<i><b>So what has changed, and when did it happen?</b></i><br />
When did the humble computer game become the computer 'Art' game? Honestly I have no idea. Some people would say it never did. Others would point to various different 'origin' games and applications.<br />
But can anyone really point to one thing and say: ' That's it, that's the one that started Art Games right there?' Personally I don't think so.<br />
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If there is a fundamental difference in the new wave of art-games, it is in the thinking behind 'what is art?' In the beginnings of computer art people were looking to see if computers could independently make something which could be considered 'art.' And the answer is probably that people will forever have to agree to disagree, because at the end of the day it's a personal decision. So the new question is 'can people create a valid art form solely for and using the medium of computers?' See what they did there? Well if not you may want to take a minute to think about it before reading on... ;)<br />
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The following is only my list of 'games' that I, personally, think were influential in the 'can games be art' debate, and deserve a mention for daring to be different<b>:</b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">1998 </span> ⢠LSD Dream Emulator - Sony PlayStation<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i> (that's <b>PlayStation</b>, not - One, 2, 3, or 4)</i></span><br />
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This was the first truly free-form 'game' I had ever seen. You basically just walk through a dreamscape, with no real goal, task or explanation other than discovering what's out, or in, there. In this sense it may be both 'open world,' 'sandbox,' and possibly the first 'walking simulator' game.<br />
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At release time some said LSD Dream Emulator was too free-from to actually be called a game. Where is the story, the point, people said. To which the reply was invariably along the lines of, 'Well there isn't any. It's not that type of game,' by those who liked it.<br />
Funnily enough, almost two decades later I still see the same conversation being played out all over the internet regarding most, if not all, off the following titles...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">2009 </span> ⢠Flower - Sony PlayStation 3, 4, and Vita<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vymOrTgrwpo/Vf1VJCiL4vI/AAAAAAAABn4/1WaK-JElNKM/s1600/flower.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vymOrTgrwpo/Vf1VJCiL4vI/AAAAAAAABn4/1WaK-JElNKM/s200/flower.gif" width="200" /></a>There is a basic game mechanic to Flower, in that you have to blow past specific flowers in order to advance your progress through the world. Although as game mechanics go it's minimal to say the least. If you think about it, it's the same game mechanic Pac-Man would have had if there were no ghosts!<br />
So it obviously isn't the forced collection aspect of the game that makes it an early Art Game classic in many peoples eyes. It is of course the aesthetic, and the feelings it evokes in the player, or observer, that make people like it. And much the same thing can be said for any painting hanging in a gallery. If you 'get it' you 'get it', if you don't, well... you don't. Art?<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">2009 </span> ⢠The Path - MS Windows, and Mac OS<br />
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Generally <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(erroneously IMO) </span></i>marketed as a Horror Game, this is one of the first fully formed 'Art House' game I played that attempted to elicit an emotional state, and some serious thought, through the medium of a computer game rather than an animation or live action film. It was one of the first games to explore what interactivity, free choice, could bring to the art mix.<br />
In 'The Path' you have to walk along a straight path to Grandmas house, through a forest, using a variety of young girl characters of differing ages. Each of which have been told to stick to the path at all costs. The game can be finished by walking each character directly forwards to Grandmas house, but you experience and learn nothing. Instead you must head off into the unknown woods,with each character encountering an event that causes an, age appropriate, epiphany. I have seen reviews that hated this game, even to the extent of calling it a 'rape game' a view at which I was completely bemused, first off there are absolutely no 'rape' scenes in this game and secondly all the encounters are obviously intended to be metaphors for the various 'coming of age' trials people experience through their life. Also, as far as I can tell and contrary to what some reviews has said, nobody actually dies in this game . I'm not saying this game is perfect, as with most of these types of games there are flaws, but this is another one which <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(IMO) </span></i>received an undue amount of hate reviews.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">2012 </span> ⢠Journey - Sony PlayStation 3, and 4<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wO2L7t4vMzY/Vf1VNG3nmUI/AAAAAAAABoM/Ui7LG9T73HE/s1600/jour.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wO2L7t4vMzY/Vf1VNG3nmUI/AAAAAAAABoM/Ui7LG9T73HE/s200/jour.gif" width="192" /></a>'That Games Company' took what they achieved with Flower and this time added a strong but still ethereal story element - something that isn't easy to achieve!<br />
Again there are simple 'object collection type' game elements, although this time these are largely optional. You may find all the shrines to find out more about the back story. You can find glyphs that increase your prayer scarf, which allows you to jump/fly longer... but you don't have to. Journey is (mostly) built on open levels within a liner game framework, but it does give you the feeling of being lost and exploring an open and largely empty world.Again the replay value is all about the way this game makes you feel.This was possibly the first 'walking simulator' game that received overwhelmingly positive reviews, in general.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">2012 </span> ⢠Dear Esther - MS Windows, Mac OS, and Linux<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VMGdEk4SRpk/Vf1VG-XhCxI/AAAAAAAABns/l-xdvJ-s_e0/s1600/est.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VMGdEk4SRpk/Vf1VG-XhCxI/AAAAAAAABns/l-xdvJ-s_e0/s200/est.gif" width="167" /></a>So what happens when you take all of the game-play elements out of a story/emotion led game? Well you get Dear Esther. And if you 'get it' you get a really thought provoking story. If you don't get it you end up with the type of 'I wasted my money on this non-game rubbish' type hate reviews that probably brought it a far larger audience that it would other wise have had. So a big thank you to all the haters for that ;)<br />
Dear Esther is practically all metaphor, and is a 'walking simulator' game it it's purest form, but in my opinion it's no worse off for that. It is set on an unnamed Scottish <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(each man is an...)</span></i> island, with no goal other that exploring and moving forwards.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">2013 </span> ⢠Gone Home - MS Windows, Mac OS, and Linux<br />
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It took me a while, and some persuasion, to eventually take a look at this one. I initially assumed it was something it wasn't. What it actually is, is an expansion of the concepts found in Journey and Dear Esther, with the main character being able to work their way through the story by being able to interact with everyday objects. The story is a simple domestic one about ordinary people, but the game-play is in the discovery of this story as you find out about the lives of the people. If this sounds boring to you then perhaps it will be, then again perhaps not...<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">2015 </span> ⢠Everybody's gone to the Rapture - Sony PlayStation 4<br />
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I admit I haven't given this game a lot of time as yet, but I have seen enough to know that it is interesting it its own right. Although having read early marketing blurbs, I believe the end product is not quite what it may have originally been intended to be, and perhaps could have benefited from having a bit more 'Gone Home' type interactivity. This is the aesthetic of 'Dear Esther' taken to a whole new level, and it does introduce a <i>very </i>basic 'find the collectable items' type game-play, but <i>(at least to me, so far)</i> it doesn't appear to hide the linearity of the game as well as 'Journey' does, even though there are multiple paths through this game, and Journey is completely linear in its level design. With this type of game it's all about the feel of the thing. But still a good aesthetic evolution of the genus, and this is a genre that is largely about the aesthetic, and the mood it sets.<br />
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<span style="color: #ffe599; font-size: large;">Not Fartsy...</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Aci9MYdUMo/Vf7fNZzVd3I/AAAAAAAABpA/yU85NvQ297s/s1600/m1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1Aci9MYdUMo/Vf7fNZzVd3I/AAAAAAAABpA/yU85NvQ297s/s200/m1.png" width="133" /></a>I think some people still get a bit hung up on the 'snobbery' or elitist notions of 'Art' somehow not being for everyone, which is of course ridiculous.<br />
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We now live in a world where we are surrounded, some would even say bombarded, by 'art' every day. It comes from the TV screen and Monitor and attempts to make us buy things, or teach us something, or simply entertain.<br />
All art doesn't have to be high-art, and even high-art doesn't need to be exclusive. I think art, in the broader sense, has found it's way into mainstream computer games, just as it is finding its way into other media.<br />
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<b>There is no good reason Computer Games can't have their share of high-art, just as the other entertainment mediums do.</b><br />
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<br />Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-9002223971116452302015-06-19T18:06:00.001-07:002015-06-19T18:08:49.055-07:00AR v VR.<h2>
Are we now seeing the next step in console evolution?</h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm writing this in the aftermath of an E3 conference that definitely had a very real tendency towards Virtual Reality <i>(VR)</i>, and Augmented Reality <i>(AR)</i> gaming.</span><br />
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Now, both of these technologies are hardly new, Ether in concept nor in, largely failed, real world implementations. Although we now we seem to be at a place where the technology; and equally importantly, its cost; has caught up with consumer expectations, making large scale VR and AR devices not just commercially feasible, but viable in mas-produced marketplace, perhaps for the first time...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xq2noWx6zpk/VYBmmAy8EvI/AAAAAAAABgg/LE-dyFfFmjE/s1600/orift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xq2noWx6zpk/VYBmmAy8EvI/AAAAAAAABgg/LE-dyFfFmjE/s200/orift.jpg" width="200" /></a>The main runners in this new technology race are a bit of a mixed bad of contenders. Some of which don't seem to have completely found their feet yet.<br />
The much hyped 'Oculus Rift,' in whichever flavour you chose, appears to be a definite contender. Sony have their version and, at the time of writing this, the production version of the Rift has already been made and is ready for mass production and shipping in the near future.<br />
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But the Oculus is far from alone...<br />
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We've already have the, rather pricey, Google Glass augmented reality system.<br />
Although to date this particular implementation of the AR technology has not proven to be hugely popular, and its impact on the general market has been negligible to put it mildly.<br />
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And google Glass is far from the only competition. More AR and VR products than ever before are ether being considered, released, or in prototype phase just now. Some of these are going for the general PC and or Consoles peripheral market. While others are already looking at taking a more insular route by making their own bespoke VR technologies. Once these propitiatory devices are out there you may find yourself locked in to a particular device for any given franchise. Now a market full of alternatives isn't necessary a bad thing, but a market full of locked propitiatory devices could become a rather expensive proposition.<br />
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To quickly recap:<br />
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<ul>
<li><i>Virtual Reality - </i>VR<b>:</b> is primarily an attempt to fool our predominant sense of sight into thinking we are immersed in another 'virtual' world. It attempts to do this be removing the 'real' world from our vision entirely, and presenting us with a new 3 dimensional space for us to explore. Although it does have its 'serious' real-world uses it is ideally suited for gaming, and has the potential to open up games in a way we literally haven't seen before.</li>
<li><i>Augmented Reality - </i>AR<b>:</b> is exactly what it sounds like, our current reality with an invisible digital 'screen' overlay. This 'overlay' can be used to give driving directions, point out places of interest, <u>play games</u>, or perform any number of other tasks. Although AR is rooted in the real world, and has many non-game uses, it also presents us with a new and very interesting sandbox for gaming with almost limitless possibilities.</li>
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Ether way, the immediate shape of things to come does appear to be in the form of a rather awkward looking pair of out-sized goggles or glasses.<br />
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<b>So what is best, VR or AR?</b><br />
Obviously this is a loaded, and rather unfair, question. But that won't stop it being asked. As with all things the answer is simple... Whatever is best, is whatever you like the most. Having said that I don't see a huge overlap in the use of the devices, even though they do share the same basic technologies.<br />
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<b>What does this mean, if anything, for 'traditional' consoles and computer gaming? </b><br />
Well, if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say probably not a lot for the foreseeable future. Further down the line we may see VR, and to a lesser extent AR, split into its own marketplace and genres of gaming . In much the same vain as hand-held gaming is split just now.<br />
Then again if the VR platform proves popular enough, both with the public and with the games manufacturers, there is a chance that it could take over the mainstream gaming market completely. In my opinion I think AR is a bit of a different prospect. I do expect to see the use of this grow, but more as an addition to our existing technologies rather than an out-and-out replacement for anything. I think a lot of current devices could 'grow-into' AR.<br />
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<b>What impact would an substantial, or even predominant, market share for VR based gaming system have on the type of games produced for the mainstream audience? </b><br />
Well nobody actually knows just now, but I could hazard a guess at even more streamlining of the first-person shooting franchises, as this would tend to lend itself perfectly to the VR .medium. AR on the other hand could open up different prospects entirely. Augmented reality could mean anything from playing Minecraft 'through' your living room wall to playing 'a nice game of chess;' or bridge, or ma-jong, whatever really; on your Coffey table with a random stranger on the other side of the planet.<br />
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I believe there is a real palpable difference between AR/VR and all previous non-standard control devices. Everything from dance-mats and the eye-toy to the move, and every other non-standard gadget in-between, have all been aimed at a specific group of people using specific software. AR has the potential to be very non-specific and could rival the keyboard, mouse and joy-pad as the standard interface device. VR offers a much more mediate, literally in-your-face, experience that can bring a real difference to the way we 'see' games, and can be much more than a new interface gimmick.<br />
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At the time of writing this there is no way to know if these technologies will be taken up on mass, or where they will take us if they are, but at long last it does now look like we are at a point where it is both feasible and practical for VR and AR to be mas marketed.<br />
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With the prospect of VR and AR for all, the future is definitely meta-shaped...<br />
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<br />Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-62027571673981342632014-07-07T05:35:00.000-07:002014-07-07T05:49:40.696-07:00A Fictionally Interactive OddityâŚ<h2>
âŚOr, why the death of the text-adventure has been greatly exaggerated.</h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">What is a text adventure?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>There are those that would dismiss text-adventures as gaming-dinosaurs
that rightfully died out decades ago.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>And to be fair I suppose it is now possible that a
generation has grown up without ever seeing, let alone playing, the genre.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Or
perhaps you only know them as their latter-life nom-de-plume of âInteractive
Fiction:â a name that a lot of purists loathe with a passion, and although
I wouldn't place myself firmly in that camp, I must admit that I do
prefer the name âText-Adventure.â</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">So what is it? Well, itâs essentially a story-based text only puzzle
game, where you communicate with the computer by typing in common-language
phrases and the computer responds. This response may be based on any number of
conditions, not least of which may be your location, items you are carrying,
objects or characters that share your location, things you may or may not have
already done, or how you have actually phrased your commands. And if
all that sounds confusing and dull, you may be half-right. Confusing â
undoubtedly, but dull? Like anything else that entirely depends on the player.
There are people, like me, who began playing text-adventures in the early to
mid-eighties, and still occasionally find something interesting in them now.
But there is also a dedicated core of people still playing old and new
text-adventures, and there is no shortage of new interactive fiction being
written. So the text-adventure is still very much alive and not an
extinct dinosaur medium at all. Hopefully this blog will go some ways to
showing you the how, why, and whereâs of thisâŚ<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In The BeginningâŚ</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ok, so most people know text adventures started 'some time around 1975' when programmer Will Crowther wrote the </span>eponymous<span style="font-size: small;"> 'Advent;' or Adventure, (but he could only have a 6 letter name) later to be renamed 'Colossal Cave;' on a PDP-10 </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">mainframe</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;"> computer. Within a couple of years this had gone viral through the fledgeling Arpanet, and was run a a variety of both Mainframe and Mini computer systems.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">And that's where text adventures stayed... until 1978, when the first game to make any real inroads on to the very resource-limited </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Home Computer market was, the sometimes unfairly overlooked, '</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Adventureland</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">,' by Adventure international: which was basically Scott Adams and his wife (at the time). But in 1977</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">, deep inside the bowels of a mainframe,</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> another monster was beginning to take form. Simply knows as 'Dungeon' this monster</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> would soon awake and become the mighty 'Zork,' by a then little known start-up company</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"> called Infocom...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">After that, text adventures quickly boomed on the home computer, and the more business orientated personal computer markets, </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">becoming</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> big business almost overnight. With companies like Infocom, Adventure International, Level 9 and magnetic Scrolls, </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">among</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> others, regularly making the top 10 best sellers list for every platform they published for.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Old School ClassicsâŚ</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is probably the only computer based media where the best of the
commercial releases from the mid-eighties can still compete directly with the
best of the modern era. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Any top-10-games list is ultimately
subjective, but I think itâs fair to say the following games are âclassicsâ in
the true sense of the word for various reasons:</span><br />
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<b>1) Colossal Cave (Adventure)</b><br />
<b>2) Zork I</b><br />
<b>3) Adventure land</b><br />
<b>4) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy</b><br />
<b>5) The Leather Goddess of Phobos</b><br />
<b>6) The Pawn</b><br />
<b>7) A Mind Forever Voyaging </b><br />
<b>8) The Hobbit</b><br />
<b>9) Fish!</b><br />
<b>10) Knight Ork </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The list could go on... for a very long time... And I've missed out a lot of my favorites, but I think each of these games brought something new and in some way unique to the genre, whilst many </span>others<span style="font-size: small;"> simply had brilliantly captivating stories.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The IF SceneâŚ</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">So text-adventures may have been all but commercially defunct by the end
of the eighties, but they didn't die, they went underground and
stayed there for a long time â developing and evolving in the commercial
darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The <b>I</b>nteractive <b>F</b>iction community (IF for short) kept on developing the
medium; they made new more advanced tools. They hosted competitions, and
produced more involved and experimental storytelling techniques. The
community even produced its own text-adventure programming names who begun to gather an </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">emerging </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">reputation in a world existing completely under the radar of the
commercial gaming industry, and mainstream gamer, but this all went towards
making a thriving and very inventive IF scene.</span><br />
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If interested in IF you could do worse than taking a look at <a href="http://ifdb.tads.org/"><span style="color: #f1c232;">The Interactive Fiction Database</span></a> and The <a href="http://ifdb.tads.org/"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Interactive Fiction Archive</span></a>, both of which have much more to say on the subject than I do.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In one sense the IF community is responsible for making a slew of very
âmodernâ text-adventures, b</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ut in another sense they are still very much old-school, by design. Most early IF appeared to come from the rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction Usenet groups, for the writing and playing of text based adventure games. And the structure was initially still very close to that of the </span>original<span style="font-size: small;"> text adventures.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">This </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">design </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">is largely because they have strong views of what a text adventure is,
and isn't. They may push the envelope, but they still stay within its
boundaries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">If someone makes a game that falls out with these boundaries a lot of
the community wouldn't entertain it. And this attitude may have
led to a rather insular progression of the medium.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not that I'm saying there's anything inherently wrong with this. A stalwart attitude has made the community what it is today, and it is exactly what the majority of its patrons want. Although it isn't necessarily a model that
will ever re-appeal to a modern mainstream audience. But, for the most part,
the IF community really doesn't care.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In The MainstreamâŚ</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqRsenjP1GY/U7nxTSEPUtI/AAAAAAAABX0/IIqSP4eH5UM/s1600/kindlzork.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqRsenjP1GY/U7nxTSEPUtI/AAAAAAAABX0/IIqSP4eH5UM/s1600/kindlzork.JPG" height="320" width="182" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Text adventuring has long since faded into the mists of mainstream time, and when it does appear it is only as </span>curio of times gone by. <span style="font-size: small;"> You may still find a couple of small text adventures tucked away in the bowels of</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"> PSN, hidden away in the mini-games of the PS Home space. But I </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">dough that text gaming will ever return return to the computer or console games machines. And if that sounds a bit enigmatic, well... There is a new, and ever growing, market nowadays. A market of readers, not joy-pad button mashers, and that market is of-course the e-reader users. It's by no-means a certainty, but people are looking at this market with a view to a more lucrative interactive fiction outlet than that of the closed-community of the current IF brigade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">In a world were more people use their hi-tech smart-phones for good old-fashioned text-messaging more than anything else, anything is possible... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">After all, you are <b><i>reading </i></b>this blog aren't you? Not watching/listening to a vlog...</span></div>
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Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-85567482206154489322014-07-06T16:36:00.005-07:002015-09-20T06:12:09.104-07:00When is a TV not a TV?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2>
...When It's a Vectrex.</h2>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiTCV1qrPTo4Q17Ep_BsODBsnURwVdVWp5X3N0Vmzyo8zOL2BW" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiTCV1qrPTo4Q17Ep_BsODBsnURwVdVWp5X3N0Vmzyo8zOL2BW" /></a><b>Welcome to the wonderful world of the Vectrex. The worlds one and only vector graphics bases console. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Now you may think you have seen vector graphics on everything from old home-computers right up to modern day browser based games. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>But the chances are you really haven't. </b><b>What you probably have seen are line-based games made up of pixels, on a CRT rastascan or LCD matrix based screen.</b><br />
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Ah, you say, but all computer graphics are made out of pixels. Well no actually, vector systems displays aren't, and only a handful of Arcade cabinet games from the eighties, and the Vectrex console; by Milton Bradley, no less; have truly been capable of proper vector graphics.<br />
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So what is a vector display? Well, it's all about the way a cathode ray tube (CRT) screens 'gun' writes the image you see on the screen, and only CRT based screens can display true vector graphics.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0e7e5sSm3M/U59z7TN97AI/AAAAAAAABWo/bp4viAHWprE/s1600/vecarc.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0e7e5sSm3M/U59z7TN97AI/AAAAAAAABWo/bp4viAHWprE/s1600/vecarc.JPG" width="144" /></a></div>
Basically, in a 'normal' TV the 'gun' fires at the top-left of the screen, and carries on to the top-right, before going back to the left and drawing another line directly underneath the first one. In this way each frame of a TV picture is built up one line at a time, ending at the bottom-right of the screen. The gun then jumps back to the top-left to begin the next frame. This type of picture build up is called a rastascan image, and was the standard way for all CRT based TVs and monitor systems to display images. But there was another way for a CRT system to display images... It could move the 'gun' directly over the screen's surface, drawing a line from one point to another, and this line is the only way a real vector graphic can be produced. Obviously this display system wasn't any good for displaying TV programs, or conventional computer graphics. But amidst the chunky graphics of the 8, and even 16 Bit era, it did have one major advantage, it could display a high-resolution image that could be manipulated quickly by the relatively slow processors of the day. The trade off being that any image had to be made up of line-drawing type graphics, thus the iconic look of games like Tempest, Star Wars, and Battlezone were born. And many vector graphics fans would add another game to this mighty list. Not another arcade behemoth, but a loley built-in game shipped with a little known console from the eighties, made by a toy manufacturer.<br />
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<b>That console was of course the MB Vectrex, and the game was MineStorm.</b><br />
<a href="http://www.8bitrocket.com/images/minestorm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.8bitrocket.com/images/minestorm.jpg" /></a><br />
Complete with colors screen overlay, this was the very first vector graphics based home console game the world had ever seen.<br />
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And what did the world do?<br />
... Well mostly it shrugged and passed it by.<br />
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKPogooXEKQ_RjvxqjRBeQ76GZ-UftZ--RXMX2XnXi9iQC40Dv" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKPogooXEKQ_RjvxqjRBeQ76GZ-UftZ--RXMX2XnXi9iQC40Dv" /></a>Although you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you read the advertising blurb of the day.<br />
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Then you would have to find it first.<br />
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About the only time I saw the Vectrex at launch time was in mail order catalogs.<br />
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<b><br /></b>
<b>The fall and fall of the Vectrex....</b><br />
The Vectrex first appeared around November in 1982, just in time for Christmas, but at $200, or around ÂŁ180 (yes I know that doesn't add up) it was a bit on the expensive side for a TV-Games system. And you could, at least, double that price for today's equivalent value. Unfortunately it seemed that at the time people didn't quite know what to make of the (expensive) Vectrex. It was made by MB, so was it a toy? If it was a TV games machine, like the Atari VCS, why did it come built into its own TV - that you couldn't even watch TV on? They may seem laughable questions now. But at the time people just didn't have the context to understand the Vectrex. A state of affairs that relatively quickly led to its commercial demise. One good thing to come out of this, albeit years later, was the releasing of the machines entire commercial games catalog to the public domain, so there's no such thing as pirate Vectrex ROMs. It also lead to a thriving home-brew scene, and many of the best ever 'top ten' vectrex games lists regularly include home-drew titles. Arguably the best games for the Vectrex were produced years, if not decades, after its commercial demise. Not bad for a Machine that more-or-less died and failed to gather much following at its launch.<br />
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<br />
<b>Peripherals...</b><br />
<br />
The vectrex wasn't without its official peripherals. I say 'official' because these were relatively little peripherals produced by the manufacturer. Although the Vectrex community has come up with many creative peripherals since the machines commercial demise.<br />
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQke14Mf0voJgX5cN3ySX6SgEph1OebFIvgGL0k2OgogAWcJr5A" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQke14Mf0voJgX5cN3ySX6SgEph1OebFIvgGL0k2OgogAWcJr5A" /></a><img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGbIugYK7GKpLpHissFTxyYyY-9QhbrCWTzFMRwOZ0FajGtx-1Xg" /><br />
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<b>Home-brew...</b><br />
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A surprisingly long-lived and industrious home-brew community has sprung up around the Vectrex, and is still going strong. You will find everything from those 'top ten' level games to utilities and how-to blogs on programming, to multi-carts containing all the original commercial games lineup, to hardware plugins allowing you to run your own creations, or downloaded games on a Vectrex. No to mention the various add-on controller mods and goodness knows what else... Even now new things are still turning up from the home-brew and mod community!<br />
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A good list of home-brew can be seen at the <a href="http://vectrexmuseum.com/vectrexgamemodules.php" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #f1c232;">Vectrex Museum</span></a> site.<br />
A, still maintained, list of all Vectrex games, including home-brew can be found at the <a href="http://vectrex.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Vectrex_games"><span style="color: yellow;">Vectrex Wiki</span></a><br />
<br />
<b>My Games...</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
And then there's all the rest, and that's where my games probably come in. There are a lot of people like me who program for the Vectrex just for the sheer fun, the difference of it. Outside of a specialized arcade board its the only integrated piece of equipment you can get that allows you to program for real vector graphics, and this is a very unique environment that can't be truly replicated, even by today's power-playing behemoth games machines. I think it's this quirky difference, uniqueness and simplicity that makes the Vectrex fan base persist with a decades old machine using, by today's standards, antiquated technologies.<br />
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If you haven't heard of the Vectrex before I'd heartily recommend taking a look. There are some good emulators out there, <a href="http://www.vectrex.fr/ParaJVE/"><span style="color: yellow;">ParaJVE</span></a> probably being one of the best. But bare in mind that you can only really get the true feel of the machine from playing the real thing, simply because it is so different from any other console ever made. If you want to take a look at my efforts you can go to my Vectrex page at the top of this blog.Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-83519868447608957582013-12-09T08:04:00.000-08:002013-12-09T14:43:27.317-08:00The Revolution Has Been Televised...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XkocyBAkBJY/UqXtYkGHSRI/AAAAAAAABG4/kqDeds1yEc8/s1600/rt-icon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XkocyBAkBJY/UqXtYkGHSRI/AAAAAAAABG4/kqDeds1yEc8/s1600/rt-icon2.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">M</span>y grandparents remembered a time before television. My parent talked about a time where only one or two houses in their street had a TV... Black and white of course, with a whole three stations. I myself remember the hype when a forth station was added to this lineup only to be followed, some years later, by a fifth. By this time our family TV was a whopping 28" and in colour with almost twice as much stations as it used to have, and not only that... I could also plug my VIC-20 computer into it and actually play games on there as well. Surely we were now truly living in modern times...<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">O</span>h how long ago that seems. Now here I sit in front of our modest 42" flat screen HD digital TV watching SKY and wondering if theres anything more interesting on NetFlics or LoveFilm, whilst typing this into one of our three tablet devices, and checking for e-mails and tweets on my smart phone. But if my teenage self could suddenly jump from then to now all this would be secondary, amazing, astounding, but secondary... Because underneath the TV sits a PS3. And there's an Xbox 360 and a PC in the bedroom, and what would I think when I switched ether of these, now aging, devices on - well, what would I think after wiping the drool away from my gaping mouth, that is?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I</span>nteractive media is an integral part of life for most of us now, and no part of this has grown more than the video game. We now have two generations of adults; middle-aged, and young; who have mostly grown up with some form of computer and or video games, even although it's only started to become mainstream within the last twenty or so years. It was very much with these thought in mind that I recently sat down to watch a few documentary films about computing in general and video and computer gaming in particular.<br />
<br />
This is a review of sorts, mostly it is my own personal take on these films. So it may be prudent to remember where I'm starting from...<br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Moral Combat:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uT0NJHhOdOQ/UqTwS_qAY8I/AAAAAAAABF4/Vxnqsca698E/s1600/moralk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uT0NJHhOdOQ/UqTwS_qAY8I/AAAAAAAABF4/Vxnqsca698E/s200/moralk.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></b></li>
<li>First off, many people would say that this is a film that there should have been no need to be make, as the film tackles the negative attitudes to violence in videogames. But the truth is many people now have an issue with video gaming. Even if it is, as some would say, a manufactured issue mostly conjured up by the media and opportunist politicians looking for an easy scapegoat. To many people the issue is real, and I think this film goes a long way towards educating those people to the facts at least. It may not be able to convince someone towards one way of thinking or the other, but then that's not what this film is about. It gives a refreshingly balanced view of the various arguments over the years, and allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions. The only gripe I have is that the trailer shows a very strong anti-games bias... perhaps to court controversy, and I would say it isn't the best advert for a what is actually a well balanced, and un-sensationalist film - based on a very sensationalist subject.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Life 2.0:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ggkygi2TvSk/UqTwScLSGVI/AAAAAAAABF8/Q31-faVjVUE/s1600/life20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="91" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ggkygi2TvSk/UqTwScLSGVI/AAAAAAAABF8/Q31-faVjVUE/s200/life20.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
</span></b></li>
<li>Now this one truly disturbed me. People have argued about the effect violent video-games have, or have not, had on children since the time of space-invaders. But never before have I seen evidence of the virtual world getting out-of-hand as much as in this film. Yes, I know the cases they followed were intended to illicit a shock reaction, but it was the broader implications, especially the financial aspects of Second Life that truly astounded; and I have to admit a little bit both bafflement, and concern. I now get the comparison between the 'virtual environment's,' they don't like you calling it a game, currency and the invention of bit-coins: both being virtual currencies that only hold a virtual value in cyberspace because of their (supposed) inability to be digitally copied. But the film did show that VR can affect the real world, at least in the cases of the people followed by this film. Their 'virtual life' very much intruded upon and changed their behaviour in the real world, mostly to their detriment... Something that 'violent' video-games has never been proven to do. This film did sensationalise its content, perhaps more than a bit, and did appear to have an agenda. It was still an interesting and informative film though, and I would recommend it to someone who has no idea what these virtual worlds are all about. Just take a pinch of salt along with you...</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Indie Game - The Movie:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u73_DCibo9Q/UqTwSezUjmI/AAAAAAAABF0/ObBAqe6M2Nc/s1600/indigame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u73_DCibo9Q/UqTwSezUjmI/AAAAAAAABF0/ObBAqe6M2Nc/s200/indigame.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
</span></b></li>
<li>To many this was the definitive Indie Games documentary, and it did pick some very good cases to follow. It just makes me wonder how much footage of failed projects they had left on the cutting room floor. The film basically follows the developers of FEZ, Super Meat Boy and Braid, as they struggle to get their games to the masses. Their is some bad language and fairly raw footage in this one, but I think it does capture the commitment and frustration of the developers well, although the processes shown are already becoming a bit dated as the industry is changing it's attitudes to Indie developers and Indie publishing.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FcXFkM-d4po/UqTwSuGGcuI/AAAAAAAABGI/JzshVZlAs8k/s1600/kingofkong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FcXFkM-d4po/UqTwSuGGcuI/AAAAAAAABGI/JzshVZlAs8k/s200/kingofkong.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
</span></b></li>
<li>And now we have a bit of a strange one. The King of Kong follows the hi-scoring exploits of Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchal and as they compete for the all-important high-score in the ancient Donky-Kong arcade cabinet game. This is actually a good entertaining film, that doesn't take itself too seriously. It also does a good job of explaining where the hi-score culture came from, and how it is still very much alive within a certain community of hard-core arcade gamers. Although solidly chronicling the Donky-Kong battle it does touch on other high-scorers, and both explains and explores the hobby/obsession in general. Perhaps another one to be taken with a pinch of salt though.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Minecraft - The Story of Mojang:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qr1skrOLuU4/UqTzHJ8RhzI/AAAAAAAABGY/7kehr5-ifVI/s1600/mojang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qr1skrOLuU4/UqTzHJ8RhzI/AAAAAAAABGY/7kehr5-ifVI/s200/mojang.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
</span></b></li>
<li>Well, this one is exactly what is says on the box... The story of Minecraft is the story of Mojang, and it's a very interesting story at that. Arguably the bigest 'breakthrough' Indie game to date, Minecraft has generated millions in revenue, and is now recognised as a household name. Everyone from pensioners to preschoolers can, and does, play Minecraft, and this is the story of how it got to where it is, and of the people involved and affected.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Downloaded:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cEusZHnh0Pg/UqTzGR8wclI/AAAAAAAABGc/oYQhEpL9IM8/s1600/downloaded.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cEusZHnh0Pg/UqTzGR8wclI/AAAAAAAABGc/oYQhEpL9IM8/s200/downloaded.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
</span></b></li>
<li> You've heard of Napster, right? You know the one. The nasty music pirating software that almost brought down the poor little nieve music industry. Well, thats what some would have you believe anyway. The main question asked here is: "Is what you have, probably, heard from the media the whole truth?" This film attempts to tell the real story of the big-bad-napster and the evil depraved hackers behind it in a non judgemental just-the-facts manner. It does this through a lot of candid interviews from both sides of the fence, and is quite telling and definitely interesting, especially if you remember the media hype that surrounded the software and people involved. It is mainly a 'talking-heads' movie, and can get a bit dry if you aren't very interested in the subject matter, but overall I found this a very informative watch.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">Get Lamp:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-beBhEtGdYdA/UqTzGZqJwaI/AAAAAAAABGg/whw6XA4rRPc/s1600/getlamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-beBhEtGdYdA/UqTzGZqJwaI/AAAAAAAABGg/whw6XA4rRPc/s1600/getlamp.jpg" /></a></div>
</span></b></li>
<li> It has to be said that one of the earliest types of games I really spent a lot of time on were text-adventures. Nowadays it's long since changed its name to Interactive Fiction; and may be more than a bit niche, hidden, and perhaps even mainly forgotten; but it's still very much alive. Given the drastic changes in technology and computer games in particular, I find this somewhat amazing and somehow more than a little reassuring. As you have probably guessed by now Get Lamp is all about the wonderful world of text-adventures, both then and now. This is a fairly in-depth exploration of the medium, it's history, and current status. The film is obviously shot by someone who likes the medium, but that doesn't mean it contains bias views or has any form of agenda. I would recommend this to anyone who has a passing interest in Interactive Fiction, remembers these programs, or is even slightly curious as it's an interesting and informative look at an almost forgotten piece of computer and computer games history.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-size: large;">BBS The Documentary:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4DDfVrY9DM/UqTzGTdRw6I/AAAAAAAABGs/7_yzO0CTUkc/s1600/bbsdoc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4DDfVrY9DM/UqTzGTdRw6I/AAAAAAAABGs/7_yzO0CTUkc/s1600/bbsdoc.jpg" /></a></div>
</span></b></li>
<li>Not a film as such, this is actually a documentary series. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of Bulletin Board Systems, or BBS for short. It does a good job of exploring a rather closed pre-internet on-line culture, that most people didn't know existed. It explains the, by today's standards very limited, computer and networking ethnology used, but the main focus of all the programs is firmly on the people involved, their interests, goals, motivations, and how the BBS phenomenon has affected their lives. This series of documentaries is a detailed and candid look into the lives of the people concerned, possibly more so, than it is about th e technical aspects of their 'hobby'. Again there is some fairly raw footage in this, grievances are aired and adult situations, including divorce and adultery, are recanted. This documentary series shines a very bright light into the rather murky pre-internet world of electronic communications that would otherwise have remained in darkens for the vast majority of the public. This is definitely a very informative and enlightening series that I would urge anyone interested in communications or the beginnings of the Internet to watch..</li>
</ul>
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<div>
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Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-82180059905144548912013-10-22T04:09:00.000-07:002013-10-31T05:35:04.655-07:00Will iOs7 be the straw that broke Appleâs back?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VMJtYVTDojg/UmZTaWewnuI/AAAAAAAABDY/hj3i8jxChlk/s1600/appleworm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VMJtYVTDojg/UmZTaWewnuI/AAAAAAAABDY/hj3i8jxChlk/s1600/appleworm.JPG" /></a></div>
<b>Has the mighty Apple finally managed to slightly annoy its, traditionally very loyal, core user-base?</b><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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You may think their products are overpriced. You may get annoyed at their unnecessarily non-standard connectors, or become frustrated with their closed operating system and insular software licencing policies. But if you do then you probably aren't an âAppleiteâ and definitely not on their target customer base.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
<br /></div>
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<b>Was the latest iOs7 upgrading a step too far for too many established users?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Apple has prepared a very successful business model through their plug-and-play approach to their systems, and I can see the appeal of these types of product to their target audience, who are for the most part, average non-technical consumers. But this time Apple appears to have missed the mark with the look of their new desktop. And in line with Apples own policy, the âlook,â along with simple no-fuss functionality, has always been one of the most important selling points. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Yes there were teething problems with the new operating system, then to be fair most new operating system have these, but this time a significant portion of the established user base seems to have taken a general dislike to the fundamental look and approach of the new desktop. Has Apple pulled a âWindows 8â and pushed their vision of a modern desktop upon a consumer base that doesn't want it? A quick Google search would seem to support this hypothesisâŚ<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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<i>An example quote from a âtypical?â Apple consumerâŚ</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">No it didn't solve my problem. I just have to wait out my contract. </span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">This update is so rubbish I will not get another Apple phone. </span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">It used to be a classy stylish phone not anymore not with this update. </span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Personally I canât see this being a huge game-changer for Apple...</b><br />
... but it should be a wakeup call, much as Vista was, and Windows 8 is becoming, for Microsoft.<br />
People donât like 'fancy' or radical change for the sake of it, and they have the right not to share in the âcorporate vision of the futureâ of any large corporation. Add to this that there are many alternatives that are now just as good as Appleâs product and significantly cheaper, and iOs7 could end up as a costly mistake. Apples saving grace has always been their high profile image for producing âqualityâ products that have a certain aesthetic, not to mention a certain status, value <i><span style="color: #ffe599;">( ergo the 'classy stylish' mindset shown in the above quote)</span></i>. But image can change rapidly, itâs happened many times before, and will happen again. Houses built on sand and all thatâŚ</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Donât get me wrong...</b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cG1Eee3-1FI/UmZaSqhlPeI/AAAAAAAABDk/3Wxjra7ISdE/s1600/ios7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cG1Eee3-1FI/UmZaSqhlPeI/AAAAAAAABDk/3Wxjra7ISdE/s1600/ios7.JPG" /></a>I'm not an Apple-basher. In our household we have one full-sized and one mini iPad, and 2 iPods, as well as three apple desktops (of varying vintage). I do think Apple has done well to make a place for itself in the modern electronics landscape. But nothing is set in stone, and a few bad decisions can have disastrous effect. It happened to Atari and Sega, it almost happened to Sony, and may yet be happening to the mighty Nintendo. Right now Apple is still riding the wave of popularity, but if the tide can turn on those companies, which are also primarily leisure-based electronics, Apple shouldn't be complacent. And they shouldn't be relying on their, not insubstantial, loyal consumer base to bail them out or forgive their blunders.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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I'm not one of the people, who appear to be waiting for Apple to fail, but I have seen it before, and if they donât stem this bad flow of opinion for iOs7, I think they may be in danger of the tide beginning to turn... <o:p></o:p></div>
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Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-77160770936659952952013-10-18T03:15:00.000-07:002013-10-22T04:40:45.786-07:00Different format, same gameâŚ<span style="font-size: large;">Or, when did competing systems start to run the same
software?</span><br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vcqTg_8WEiM/UmEIsqgoBXI/AAAAAAAABDA/BdKsDREL-HM/s1600/ttl.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vcqTg_8WEiM/UmEIsqgoBXI/AAAAAAAABDA/BdKsDREL-HM/s1600/ttl.bmp" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>If, like me, you are old enough to remember the 8Bit console
and home-computer era you will no doubt remember
the slew of arcade game conversions, which steadily began to
appear for practically every known 8Bit format. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>These </b><b>various implementations were often </b><b>rather <i>interesting </i>to say the least...</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Some were remarkably good, others simply awful,
but they all had their own very unique take on their parent game. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was
largely due to the limitations and eccentricities of the various, and varied,
hardware platforms of the time. But a not inconsequential part of the success, or
failure, of these conversions was also down to the programming teams
responsible for re-writing the parent, arcade cabinet, game for the home
hardware.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Both conversions and original
games produced for multiple platforms during the 8, 16, and to a certain extent
the 32Bit era were often all very different in their look, feel and
playability. I'm not saying this was a good or bad thing, itâs just a fact. Sometimes
the games shone on a particular platform, other times all the versions were equally
as good or bad as each other. But they were invariably distinct, with the
platform running the game being clearly obvious: except perhaps between a hand
full of 8Bit Atari and Commodore 64 titles, but there are generally always some
exceptions to most rules.<span style="color: #fabf8f; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themetint: 153;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0mal25nTe3M/UmD--EyB5CI/AAAAAAAABCo/ImT8cxItXUI/s1600/spotthepc.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0mal25nTe3M/UmD--EyB5CI/AAAAAAAABCo/ImT8cxItXUI/s400/spotthepc.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #20124d;"> There was a time when the PC lagged </span></span></span></b><b><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="color: #20124d;">behind its 8Bit contemporaries. </span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: aqua; mso-highlight: aqua;"></span></b></div>
<a name='more'></a><b><br /></b>
<br />
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The big change seemed to come with the 64Bit consoles, the post-PlayStation,
and PS1, era where the modern gaming age as we now know it became firmly
entrenched in general western culture. This was the time of the mighty Sony PS2
and its ill-fated cousin the Sega Dreamcast. If you looked at many of the
cross-platform games available for these machines without seeing the hardware you
could be forgiven for not knowing what hardware was actually running any given
game, a situation that didn't particularly change when Microsoft and Nintendo both
released their latest consoles into this generation. And by the advent of the next
generation of consoles, the PS3 and Xbox 360, it was commonplace of multi-platform
game to run of the same basic code base; which was invariably written on PC hardware
anyway, and portedâŚ<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here we come to the pivotal point, games software stopped
being written ether directly on and for specific systems; or on emulators for
those systems, by small groups or individuals; and started being written for the
mass consumer market from a central development environment, by a large development
team, and ported to the relevant platforms. If these approaches sound at all similar,
be assured they are fundamentally not. Iâve worked both on individual programming
projects and as part of commercial development teams <i>(not for games programs, but I've heard that games development is worse
than the general applications market)</i> and the similarities are non-existent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, I'm not saying that the old way of doing things is best
and the new way is wrong. Both approaches have their merits and shortfalls. In
the time of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and all the rest of the 8Bit
systems it made economic and commercial sense for a lot of programs to be
written using the actual hardware they were being designed to run on. In some
cases it was the only option, but later it became easier, cheaper and more convenient
to use slightly better systems with emulators and cross compilers to produce
the code for these 8Bit home micros.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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By the time computer gaming really became the norm all mainstream
development had migrated to proper professional games development teams, not
just programmer-developers but teams of artists, designers, producers, and musicians,
as well as the more traditional programming staff. And without this type of
development we couldn't have the massive industry, or the very complex and
visually stunning games we have today. Personally I think itâs just a bit unfortunate
that the personality all those disparate 8 and 16Bit systems displayed has been
lost.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lnv9-vxd5E8/UmD-6gEmLWI/AAAAAAAABCg/pwWp3mt7oz4/s1600/canyoutell.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lnv9-vxd5E8/UmD-6gEmLWI/AAAAAAAABCg/pwWp3mt7oz4/s320/canyoutell.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Today a multi-platform game on the PS3 and 360, or PS4 and
Xbox One will invariably look pretty much identical to its rivalâs version, a</b><b>nd there are very good reasons for this. </b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The
general development code, graphics etc. are produced centrally for all the end
systems, and later ported to run on the specific hardware. Sometime a game is written
with a specific platform in mind and later ported to another, sometimes not.
Sometime it is produced more generically and made to work on the relevant
platforms once the main development has been completed. So you pretty much are running
the same code and seeing the same visuals for a current blockbuster game on any
modern platform.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8xxt1dj0hek/UmECUqO_-mI/AAAAAAAABCw/kpULXRnEA4Y/s1600/bjsp64.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8xxt1dj0hek/UmECUqO_-mI/AAAAAAAABCw/kpULXRnEA4Y/s320/bjsp64.bmp" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>In contrast just take a look at BombJack for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64, </b><b>and compare
this with any big-budget mainstream game for the PS3 and 360. </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Because the 8 and 16Bit hardware platforms were dictating
the nature of the âportsâ most home computer versions all looked fairly
unique, while modern systems are now powerful enough to abstract the actual
hardware out of the equation to a large degree, and pretty much show you any screen
display layout they want to. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Again I'm by no means saying this is a bad thing,
but I do think the choice of system doesn't really come down to specifications
any more, but more down to personal choice for a lot of people. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Up to the 32Bit era
a lot of decisions were much more specification driven for much more people,
although there have always been fans since the Atari VCS, Colecovision, and Intellivision
arguments. So nothing much changes there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-91145371090056080282013-09-04T06:27:00.001-07:002013-09-06T07:29:29.265-07:00Show me the moneyâŚ<span style="font-size: large;">⌠Or why are so many Indie start-ups asking for crowd-funding?</span><br />
<br />
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<h3>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wDt870--v8/Uicy3Lz1y1I/AAAAAAAAA-4/M1PcfXDd8Rg/s1600/indi4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wDt870--v8/Uicy3Lz1y1I/AAAAAAAAA-4/M1PcfXDd8Rg/s320/indi4.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you recognise the four games on the left? Well, a lot of people will, and all of them are independently produced games, what are commonly referred to as 'Indi-Games.' </span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
But there are many levels of 'Indi' game makers... </span></h3>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A</b>s you may or may not
know, I've been dabbling in the wonderful world of no-budget PC indie games
lately, and one thing I very quickly noticed was the amount of individual start-up programmers and small two-to-three man teams that are now asking for up-front funds from crowd-funding projects like Kick-starter. Then they usually complain
bitterly that nobody is giving them any money for their brilliant ideaâŚ</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, not to be harsh
or anything, but why should they? And more to the point why âexactlyâ do you
need it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've looked at quite a few projects, many of which
seem to be nothing but an idea, and canât for the life of me see where these
asked for thousands would be going. Generally their case isn't helped much by
the complete lack of explanation over where the money will be spent, and I have
seen some very well laid out Kick-starter projects that explained exactly where,
and when, each penny of the money would go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be honest I can't see that many of these projects
are any more ambitious than some of my own. And I donât need any money to
develop those, just the will, a half-way decent computer, my brain, and some
time⌠Although youâd be surprised how difficult it could sometimes be to get
those things together in the same room and talking to each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YGSxKyNrfxo/UiczCUkvdjI/AAAAAAAAA_A/SgEK-acdfNE/s1600/steam.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YGSxKyNrfxo/UiczCUkvdjI/AAAAAAAAA_A/SgEK-acdfNE/s1600/steam.bmp" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>T</b>ake a quick look through Steamâs âGreen Lightâ system
and you will soon come across âgamesâ that really only exist in some would-be
game designers head. Now, I'm not saying thereâs anything wrong with people
bringing a good game idea to the table without having the technical expertise
to produce the game themselves. Very few ambitious games, especially 3D games,
are imagined, built, and drawn by one person. You need a range of specific skills to do
this, and it generally takes a dedicated team to produce even passable results.
This seems to have led to a culture of âIndie game developersâ people who want
to âproduceâ the game, but not necessarily program it, write the music, or make
the graphics themselves. Again I'm not berating this as a concept, but unless
they are part of a team whoâs members do have the necessary skill-set, they
would have to purchase these skills⌠and I suppose thatâs where the money comes
in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I can
understand the enthusiasm these people have over their idea. Itâs their baby
and they want to see it released and flourishing. Iâm also fairly sure some
people see it as a quick and easy way to make money. To them Iâd only say: âIt
is not.â To the rest I have to point out that their enthusiasms wonât be immediately
taken up by the great unwashed masses, especially if you are asking them to
open their purses and wallets. In general people will pay for rubbish they know
over a good concept thatâs new and unproven, sad but true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>S</b>o whatâs the answer? If I knew that Iâd have a
popular Indie game and be rich⌠Well maybe not, but from what I've read in the
press and seen on documentaries the people who did hit it big didn't have any
magic formula ether. Most (with the possible exception of Phil Fish) will
freely admit that they got lucky - mostly after a great deal of hard work and perseverance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQ-wnmskH7w/UiczSTVS_cI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ZwH3ZYxziT8/s1600/desura.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="124" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQ-wnmskH7w/UiczSTVS_cI/AAAAAAAAA_I/ZwH3ZYxziT8/s320/desura.bmp" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My only advice, for what thatâs worth, is to use
the skills you have to your best advantage and make games in your own time; for
free, without any outside funding; and then distribute your first efforts for
free through the various Indie development sites and forums. But donât advertise
your games on forums, as this may be seen as spamming, and will only get you
banned. Itâs not glamorous and it wonât make you rich. But you will learn what works
and what doesn't. Then make a game that you think is good enough to sell, with
the aim of getting it onto a âpremierâ site like Desura. If you are lucky, and
you have done some advertising, you may get a trickle of sales. Congratulations,
you are now an indie programmer. Next you wait for your very first irate
customer, oh yes â make it and they will come⌠Now all you have to do is rinse-and-repeat
for several years until you hit your âAngry Birds.â<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Donât copy Angry Birds, or Plantsâ vs Zombies, or âCut
the Rope,â or anything else though because those are done already, and you need
to come up with something brilliant and original⌠Good luck with that.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-85439130032098765682013-05-28T03:49:00.000-07:002013-05-28T04:12:50.546-07:00Should story based action games be difficult?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">So Iâve been playing some relatively modern and mainstream games lately, and itâs obvious they are all very-much story based and designed to be completed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The thing is some parts of some of these games seem to unnecessarily bog-down the progression by being harder than the vast majority of the game. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, donât get me wrong. I like arcade games with a high difficulty curve, but these are action games, designed to be completed within a certain time-frame. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the problem occurs when you get a boss stage or level that seems to grind the game by forcing you to play through it again and again before you can progress the story, or when a certain part of a level is suddenly and unexpectedly hard. If you arenât used to hard game-play it soon becomes infuriating rather than challenging, chiefly because it is holding you up from progressing in the all-important story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know some people have complained about mainstream gaming becoming increasingly easier and designed to be completed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(the walk-through game, as some have called it)</i> but if it is a story based game I want to be able to hack/slash or shoot my way through that story without coming up against an inappropriately placed hard grind â whether it be a boss or a particularly difficult part within a level. I can see how this could be interpreted as bad level design. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I donât think the idea of a âwalk-through gameâ is inherently bad. Surely itâs the experience that matters most, and these games are generally designed to take a set number of hours to complete. So any sticking point is just that, a point where you are stuck and unable to perform the main goal of progressing through the story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Am I taking the story part of these games too much to heart? Are there people who play these solely for the experience of playing? If so then it mutes my point slightly, but not so much as to make it redundant. Personally if I want a technical challenge Iâd go for an arcade-based experience, not a vast sprawling game that bills itself largely on its immersive story aspects. I apologise if it sounds like Iâm getting at one particular game or series here, Iâm not. But if you have a game in mind itâs probably because if follows this pattern.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I do like hard arcade games, but I donât particularly like a high level of difficulty in a story based action game, where the sudden difficulty just detracts from your progressing in the story. <span style="font-family: Calibri;">Iâm not saying this is particularly new problem ether. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some of my favourite past games series are also guilty of this â especially when you encounter overly hard end-of-level bosses, most of which just descend into a continual grind until you eventually get past the sticking-point, because thatâs how I invariable see these encounters. And surely that isnât a good frame of mind to foster.</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">An extreme example of a story-based âgameâ could be seen as something like âDear Estherâ where it is all about the story and pretty-much no âgameâ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(if by game you mean shooting, twitch reactions, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or traditional puzzle based gameplay) </i>â not necessarily a bad thing when itâs done well, but obviously not for everyone. On the other hand, imagine your frustration if there were an âUnder Defeatâ or âIkarugaâ level hard arcade section slap-bang in the middle of a GTA game, the frustration level for most players would surely cause a few broken controllersâŚ<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I know âdifficulty levelâ is always going to be a subjective thing and for that reason there are generally various levels of difficulty setting on most games, but that doesnât negate the bad level-design of (relatively) too demanding sections suddenly appearing in platform games, or for the inappropriate and game-stopping appearance of an unexpectedly hard or complex <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>âgrindâ type boss. I feel relief and some annoyance when I get past these types of situation, not the sense of accomplishment I suspect the creators intended. I think itâs important to make the distinction between the overall difficulty setting of a game and that of the unexpectedly complex, difficult to understand, or otherwise demanding sections within it. Itâs all about balance, what can be seen a ânormal;â in one game could be interpreted as frustration in anotherâŚ<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what do you think? Should a story-based action game have a setting where most people can easily âwalk-throughâ the action, and finish the story? Or do you think a game is all null-and-void without the âchallengeâ of harder than average sections?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-77002707596630538872013-03-22T06:34:00.003-07:002013-03-22T06:52:44.326-07:00MUD in your EyeâŚ<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To those who donât know <em>(is there anyone)</em> MUD stands for <strong>M</strong>ulti <strong>U</strong>ser <strong>D</strong>ungeon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a games genre, it has been around from the very beginning of on-line gaming, and almost from the beginning of multi-user gaming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>MUDs are predominantly multi-user text based adventure games: the type of thing that is now referred to as âInteractive Fiction,â although that label is generally reserved for stand-alone single player games.</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The term MUD was originally coined in 1978 by Roy Trubshaw; a student at Essex University, in England; who wanted to make a multi-user version of the âZorkâ text adventure games he had played on the university systems. Although Trubshaw wasnât solely responsible for developing the game to the form it was most widely known, and played, in he did coin the phrase and lay the groundwork.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People will disagree about what exactly happened next, but arguably the MUD game got its first major break when it was released on the pre-internet subscription-based âCompuServeâ dial-up computer network. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GVsK9F4zPHw/UUxKAaRJ-lI/AAAAAAAAAxI/-fTtOp3M13U/s1600/compusrv.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GVsK9F4zPHw/UUxKAaRJ-lI/AAAAAAAAAxI/-fTtOp3M13U/s1600/compusrv.bmp" ssa="true" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both prior to, and after, the commercial ââCompuServe MUDâ release most MUDs were, and continued to be, run as hobbyist systems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These hobby-MUDs were invariably run from Dial-up Bulletin Board Systems <em>(or BBS for short)</em> and although these were free to use accessing them often involved hefty call charges. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the BBS era, and even after the CompuServe period, MUDs were still mostly only accessible to a niche on-line user base: modems were not a common item at the time. At ether 300 or 1200 baud, most modems were relatively slow to use, expensive to purchase, and could be even more costly to run.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most home computer systems of the time were not connected to any networks, and the average home user had little idea, or interest, in the budding on-line computing phenomenon. But it was during this time that the, albeit niche, world of the MUD began to grow, and it did eventually start to spill out into the wider games-playing market of the day: which was still admittedly very niche compared to todayâs mainstream industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magazines like âC&VGâ were beginning to gain a decent readership, and they did run articles on the MUD phenomenon. Even Sinclair User got in on the act with <a href="http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/044/mud.htm" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">this article</span></a> published in issue 44, on November 1985. I remember reading these articles with interest and awe, but like many other readers a modem would not be a viable option for some years to comeâŚ</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, as the MUD gained in both notoriety and popularity a thriving user community began to coalesce around it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A typical MUD in the heyday of the phenomenon would be invariably be a text-only multiplayer adventure game based on a standard phantasy type world, where the players would interact with the system through a text-parser. The parser was a command-line interface which took simple âspoken language likeâ commands and translated then into game actions, or not as the case may be. But it also allowed the systemâs users to chat with each other in real-time, and this aspect of the MUD became the real community maker. It was this community aspect that transformed the MUD from a simple computer game into something more. Many people grew some of the very first on-line friendships through MUD boards. In a lot of cases they invented their own, culture, etiquettes, and even language â MUDSpeke, although they were still very welcoming to newcomers. I know because by this point I was there⌠although due to telephone bills my on-line time was rather budget limited.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Telnet based dial-up BBS and MUD world was already in decline by the time I was finally able to join. A new on-line phenomenon was very rapidly gaining in popularity; you may have heard of it, it was a little known thing called the âWorld Wide Webâ and it ran through a new strange type of loosely interconnected network called âThe Internet.â We didnât fully understand it, and were all convinced it would never catch onâŚ</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But hay, MUD sticks. The internet was far from the end on the multiplayer MUD. Instead of dying the concept took to the browser-based Web and grew in a myriad of ways, some more recognisable that others. Some MUDs have included graphics to varying degrees, and some adopted a more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_(video_game)" target="_blank" tooltip="What is this?"><span style="color: yellow;">ROGUE</span> </a>like style of play. But even now the core MUD still lives on. But even now the core text-only MUD still lives on. I think itâs just that, for some, thereâs something about the internalisation of text and imagination that can never be replaced by any form of graphics based medium.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>here have been a good many browser based Web MUDâs over the years, one of the more notable of which was the officially endorsed â<span style="color: yellow;"><a href="http://discworld.starturtle.net/" target="_blank">Disk Worldâ MUD</a></span>. Based on the bestselling Diskworld series of novels by Terry Pratchet, this text-only multiplayer adventure put you into the strange and fantastical Diskworld, where you could meet and interact with its inhabitants. The web-based MUD was fairly successful, possibly based on its lucrative licence, but the old-style telnet based systems were still very much alive, and have survived up to the time of writing this very blog.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>The following list gives some good varient examples of MUDs:</strong></span></o:p></div>
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BBS-Type MUDS â</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="telnet://fuskermud.net:7777/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;">Fusker MUD</span></a><span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="color: white;">- (A MUD - Multi-User-Dungeon, standard type, Site)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="telnet://anime.muck.com:2035/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;">AnimeMuck</span></a><span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="color: white;">- ( A MUCK - Multi-User-Chat-Kingdom Site)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="telnet://dvorakgame.co.uk:6250/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;">DvorakMUSH</span></a><span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="color: white;">- (A MUSH - Multi-User-Shared-Habitat <em>[or Hack]</em> Site)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="telnet://mongoose.moo.mud.org:7777/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fff2cc;">Mongoose</span></a><span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="color: white;">- (A MOO Site: a later Object-Oriantaed MUD derrivative)</span></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong> Web based MUDS â</strong> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://discworld.starturtle.net/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd;">DiskWorld MUD</span></a><span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="color: white;">- (A web based Mud type site based on the Diskworld series of books)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.hollowgame.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd;">The World Called Hollow</span></a><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: white;">- (Another web based Mud type game that was quite popular)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fce5cd; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.aardwolf.com/play/index.htm" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: black; color: #fce5cd;">Ardwolf</span></a><span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: white;">- (A heavily formatted MUD that's best played with a dedicated client program)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A simple Google search can turn up a whole host of web, and even telnet, based MUD games. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Try one, and you may be surprised by how addictive a text-based MUD can becomeâŚ</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The MUD and its derivatives, is a relatively underground, or hidden, genus but one that has continued to live on long past its hay-day and is still relatively popular. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And long may it continueâŚ<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-11946075895343359422013-03-16T16:48:00.001-07:002013-03-19T04:02:01.444-07:003D Runes â and a return to 2D gaming...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fSny2PcN5iw/UUT_aWJUs0I/AAAAAAAAAuw/hJYQRmrQPzI/s1600/rsoldopen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fSny2PcN5iw/UUT_aWJUs0I/AAAAAAAAAuw/hJYQRmrQPzI/s320/rsoldopen.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I remember first playing Runescape around a year and a half to two years after its inception, and even at that time there were those players that complained about the 'old-fasioned 2D graphics' the game used.</span> </div>
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But nowadays it seems the old Runscape game, <i>now referred to as the 'original' version</i>, is being reinstated due to popular public demand: in fact it was by an overwhelming player vote... </div>
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So it begs the question, are these the same players that were complaining about the 2D game in the first place? And if not, who or what has changed?</div>
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I remember there being some reticence and concern from a small percentage of the 'veteran' players when the 3D version was first announced, but on the whole it was very much greeted as a good thing by the community. Although even then, some players still complained that it looked 'too old.' I can only assume this was in comparison with the platform specific MMORPG programs of the time. </div>
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So what has changed? Runescape is now massively more popular than it was back then and has become something of an on-line browser-based gaming stalwart. But surely that means that the vast majority of its players are 'new' at leasty in terms of not being around when the original 2D version was at its peak. So why the overwhelming desire to see it return now? Perhaps with the proliferation of 'realistic' 3D games available now people don't see 3D as the 'magic games-playing formula' that they once did. Maybe the rose-tinted 3D glasses are beginning to slip. Is opinion maybe now becoming split or polarised between two camps, or is the playing-filed just settling down after the 3D explosion, and becoming wider and more encompassing again? Personally I think it may be a bit of both.</div>
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Look at the retro-gaming boom that started to take hold around ten years or so ago now.<br />
At first people thought nothing of downloading ROM's for older consoles and playing these on public-domain or 'free-ware' emulators.</div>
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Ah yes, I can hear the collective 'that's pirating' gasp already, but back then this type of 'pirating' idea wasn't even in the public consciousness.</div>
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You have to remember that these were dead games, for dead and previously forgotten systems, so what harm was the retro-gaming hobbyist doing. And in a fairness the answer was probably none. After all you couldn't buy these old games any more. But as the retro boom got bigger the money men became interested, old IP's were suddenly gold-dust, and cease-and-desist orders were put on the up-front ROM's sites.<br />
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Then came the, now all too familiar, retro-compilations for the current generation systems... And these old game were suddenly back in big 'commercial' business, along with the 'ROMS are piracy' message.<br />
I'm not saying they weren't legally entitled to do this, and businesses are in busines to make money. They saw a niche market becoming viable and jumped, they were able to take advantage of the situation and did.<br />
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So although they killed a hobby, it could be argued that this did spawn a whole new generations interest in older-style gaming, and even though I was one of those hobbyists, I'd say that was a pretty good trade off...</div>
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If the retro-revolution didn't happen we may never have had the Alternative, Art, and Indy gaming scenes that we see today. And I personally think that would be a very bad thing, because that takes us back to my original point: why the massive demand for the reinstatement of the original 2D Runescape game?</div>
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Of-course I do think that this is at lest in part due to the continuing efforts of a small group of die-hard fans, although it wouldn't make economical sense to run new servers to cater for this group alone.</div>
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But there can't be all that much of a percentage of players who want it back based on a sense of nostalgia, as most players today werenât around to play the 2D version, so what or who does that leave? </div>
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Well, what it leaves is a very large pool of people who now see the merits of 2D gaming, people who now look past flashy 3D graphics, <i>perhaps because they are now so commonplace</i>, to what works best for a game.</div>
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More and more people are now becoming 'games-savvied' and are starting to look back at the history of their favourite games series, something that seems to be especially prevalent in the RPG genre. Now, surely this widening of the, now mainstream, gaming public's interests and perceptions can only be seen as a good thing. Just maybe it means that big-time commercial gaming won't be generic FPS gamesforever... well I can only hope. </div>
Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-43580385059939667922013-02-26T11:05:00.001-08:002013-02-26T11:20:45.224-08:00Programming language fan-boys (and girls)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wow! Iâve been programming in one form or another all my working life (20+ years) and had no idea that such a thing as the programming-language fan-boy existed until I recently started looking into which language would be best used to program an independent computer game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I</span> was using C#.Net
at work lately and I've just discovered the XNA tool-kit, which can be used to
develop games for MS Windows, Windows phones, and the Xbox 360... And I have access
to all of those.
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After a quick play; <i>it
isn't busy at work lately, weâre waiting for a systems upgrade
before starting the next project</i>; I can definitely say I've developed
a bad case of 'shiny object syndrome.'
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I don't have any ideas
as yet, but I probably will be writing something using this system,
if just to see what I can come up with, so Iâve decided to give writing my own Indi game a decent go. Iâll probably write it to work on windows to begin with and maybe try to get it on to xbox-live or something. Although unlike a lot of the comments Iâve read on various message boards, Iâm going into this with my eyes open, and with realistic expectations.</div>
I do currently program commercial programs for a living, just not games ones. I have learnt a lot of languages over the years, as and when I needed them, but havenât really given any one system much more credence than the others. I do have a personal preference for older (lower level) non-object-orientated stuff. I mostly use VB.net just now, and sometimes find myself fighting it more than using it. C# seems to be a bit better, because I think it gives you a bit more freedom in your code, but I still find these object-based very high level languages restrictive. Then again, I program a 30+ year old video games console in assembly language (<i>machine code</i>) for fun, so I freely admit that my view may be slightly scued in this.<br />
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<b>There do seem to be a couple of constants though:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>1) The current commercial games producers (especially the console-based ones) pretty much exclusively use C++ for producing game code. So if you are planning to gain employment by a commercial games published you should learn to use, and probably also build up a portfolio in, the C++ language.</b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>2) If you are planning on building and distributing an independent game yourself, the language you use to write it isnât really that relevant, and may mostly depend on the platform, or platforms, you intend to release your game for.</b></span></b></span></b></span></div>
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</b></span><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he fan-boy-isms in programming do seem to be centred on games programming in perticular, and the participants do all (mostly) seem to fit into a specific age and experience demographic. Not that Iâm dismissing this, just stating a fact as Iâve observed it. Not that Iâm saying the wider world of programming doesnât have its advocates and naysayers, but Iâve never seen this directed with such ferocity, fervour, zeal, and conviction as in the world of <i>(indi?)</i> games programming.
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<span style="font-size: large;">I</span>âve read a lot about people saying C++ is best for games; because itâs low-level, the industry standard, and that itâs also harder to learn; making much of the fact that it has no âgarbage collectionâ and you need to âmemory manageâ the systems variables yourself.</div>
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<li>Now, I think this can be misleading. To me at least, the original C wasnât all that low-level in the first place. Yes you could do some low-level things, but that dosn't make the language itself low-level. </li>
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I remember first programming in Turbo Pascal, and thinking it very high-level at the time. Even some of the old home-computers' ROM based Basic languages had you changing, reading and calling memory addresses directly, as well as directly managing memory space. Some even let you directly add assembly language routines, so thatâs all fairly low-level stuff. Assembly, now thatâs proper low-level, and Iâm certainly not saying that there arenât advantages to that in certain situations.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I</span>âve also heard it said that the newer high-level languages, especially the .Net languages are easier to understand, hence better to learn and start off on.</div>
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<li>This I would have to disagree with, if only on a purely personal basis. Perhaps itâs because I started my career way-back-in-the-day; where we had standard COBOL , Pascal and the new-ish C; no object-orientated stuff, but I initially found it extremely restricting and frustrating to be âforcedâ to do things the high-level, black-box centric, VB.Net and C#.Net way. </li>
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Itâs true that high-level can mean less freedom, but it can also mean les (low-level, or machine hardware based) problems, more intrinsic compatibility (depending on the systems used), and perhaps most importantly simpler and faster development times. A side-effect of this being that the code produced will have other standard-library things in there and may run slower than that produced in a lower-level language: but this is by no means a given. On the other hand, if well written, high-level source code is intrinsically easier to follow, hence debug.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">S</span>o what have I come away with after reading all this fan-person debating?<br />
Well funnily enough itâs âUse what you want to use, unless you are aiming to get a job with an existing commercial games manufacturer. In which case use C++.â<br />
No huge reveal there then... But be aware of any platform restrictions this decision may put on your code.<br />
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For most independent games development I think the speed differenced between say, the unmanaged C++ and the managed C# (.Net) would be negligible, regardless of the many voices that site this as a reason to go the low(er)-level route. Iâm assuming they wouldnât advocate writing a modern PC game entirely in Assembly, especially since a lot of these self-same people also seem to advocate the use of pre-rendered âgame enginesâ and various black-box type multimedia library systems. Come on, you canât really argue both side of the fence folks. Although having said that, a fair few independent developers seem to take great delight in re-inventing the proverbial programming-wheals to their own specifications. Good for them, I say. We have quite enough âengineâ generated sameness on the shelves already, thank you very muchâŚ<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he current games industry seems to forget that itâs been shaped by the spectacular failures of the past just as much as by the runaway successes. Without past developers experimenting with the media, the industry we have today may not even have existed. For all their turbulence, the independent programmers and a lot of the upcoming programmers/developers do have a passion and the urge to create. I just hope the current trend of increasing exposure to the non-mainstrem continues, grows, and flourishes. In the eighties there was no such thing as an âalternativeâ game, they were all alternative.Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-18332478898400044672013-02-21T07:56:00.000-08:002013-02-21T08:03:54.583-08:00100% Machine Code Games!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> remember, back in the 8Bit home-computer days, when this was the marketing cry for âqualityâ games, or supposed quality at least.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hen home systems like the ZX 81, VIC 20; and to a lesser extent the later ZX Spectrum, and commodore 64; ruled the home-computer markets, and first generation consoles like the ATARI 2600 were just becoming seen as âold hat,â written in machine code was seen as a majour selling point. There had originally been an initial glut of games written in some form of BASIC, as the language was generally included on the ROM of most home computers, and was designed to be easy to understand and quick to pick up. Now donât get me wrong, Iâm not dismissing Basic in any way, shape, or form at all here. This was undoubtedly the introduction for many people, of a certain age-range, into a career in the IT industry. And the current IT workforce has a lot to thanks these systems for. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But back then it was all about programming games, something most people with a home-computer had attempted to varying degrees of success.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">You couldnât have grown up in eighties Britain without seeing this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(or perhaps a slightly cruder variant)</i> running on every micro system displayed in Boots, Woolworths, John Menzies, or WH Smiths...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">B</span>ut the Basic language wasnât really designed to produce arcade games, and the limitations quickly became apparent to both the programmers and to the gameâs players. The solution was to include native â<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">machineâ</i> code (MC) in these programs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This âMCâ code was simply code written to run directly on the machines processor, without the need to be interpreted like a program written in the Basic language. At first this often came in the form of MC-routines called from within basic programs. These routines generally performed some particularly processor-intensive task. But this trend quickly turned into the laudated â100% Machine Codeâ game as sure indicator of quality. Nowadays we may scoff at the idea of a game hand-written in machine-code using Assembly language, but back then it really did, or at least <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">could</i> make a huge difference to speed of operation, and to what was achievable, on the limited hardware resources, once the limitations of Basic were removed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The often fabled wizards of technology responsible for producing these mysterious entities were placed on golden metaphorical pedestals, and vast fortunes were made<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (and sometimes lost) </i>seemingly overnight , by people who were approximately the same age as all those bedroom coders who were also the target audience for <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the magical â100% MCâ games. At the time writing machine code games was generally perceived with an air of mystery and complexity that only a select few geniuses could master. You may scoff, but remember the technology was still very new, and a lot of these people were generally producing games either on their own or as part of a very small team, and nobody got paid until the games started selling. It was a very different time for computer gaming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span> was one of those bedroom coders, eagerly learning basic and looking with envy at the machine-code games being produced by the increasingly famous select few. Unfortunately the gold-rush didnât last long. By the time more people were learning how to program at the level of the first â100% MCâ games the industry had moved on. Software houses had popped up, and games produced by teams, some even having dedicated graphics artists, started to dominate the games charts. This marked the end of the beginning for the computer games industry. But without those early bedroom-coders and their â100% machine codeâ games we might very possibly not have the Zillion Dollar industry thatâs so much a part of todayâs popular culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">S</span>o donât forget, or dismiss the pioneering games that made it all possible:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-44823830236555772272013-02-07T07:51:00.000-08:002013-02-10T15:24:20.836-08:00A Review of NeverEnd. (PC)<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="background: gray; border-bottom: medium none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-insideh: 1.5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: 1.5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;"><tbody>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Iâve decided to have a look at those quirkier or somewhat left-of-centre games that got panned in the general press and internet review sites. </b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">First of all I intentionally picked a few games that I had never heard off, which consistently got low reviews from the main media sources, and then I did some internet research, before playing them with an open mind whilst remembering the on-line and in-print comments. </b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I intended to see if I thought all these games are genuinely awful, or if there is possibly something more to the general review trends? After all thereâs truth to the old axiom âknow your audience.â</b><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Me, well Iâve absolutely no idea who reads this stuff: So this oneâs for you <i>Anon...</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Panned Games - Review 2: NeverEnd.</span></u></b><br />
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The second game on my âPanned Gamesâ list is NeverEnd, an old-style fantasy based RPG game for the PC. <br />
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This one got a Metacritic score of a whole two stars, then came the usual, band-waggon jumping, derogation on YouTube and various other 'games fan' blogs. <br />
It subsequently gained a bit of an anti-fan following in certain gamming-circles. <br />
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<b>But was this deserved?<o:p></o:p></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b> The lead character is female, but not necessarily in a â<i>Cor look at them pixles</i>,â Lara-Croft type of way...</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #fff2cc;">Following thw fall of the evil Enakhaan, the powerfull wizard Sarthaan - banished all non-human magical beings to another realm, amongst those that were driven from their land were noble warriors and mages from the race known as Auren. Now, only a few remain, lost in a world that hates them.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #fff2cc;">Agavaen is a young Auren, living as an outcast and travelling with a band of thieves.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #fff2cc;">Her magical powers are starting to grow and now, aged 20, she is beginning to wonder what her future might hold</span></i>.<br />
And so says the blurb, but what does this mean for game-play?<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>he game is played over a series of fixed viewpoint backgrounds, some of which scroll as you move the character through them. Camera angles, and distances, vary from scene to scene, in much the same way as the original Resident Evil games did, although the overall feeling here is much more spacious, although some internal locations do give a good claustrophobic feeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
This is basically a pseudo 3D third-person RPG adventure game, set in a fantasy world populated by the usual characters, but the plot does have a decent story-arc and progresses at a steady pace. None of the plot puzzles are too obscure, and although the story progression is fairly linear you do need to put some thought into it in order to advance. You also need to continually level-up during the adventure, but again this is fairly even paced and experience should accrue steadily as you progress through your quest. I only had to stop and âtrainâ in order to proceed on a couple of occasions, and then not for very long. The story is fairly involved and relies on puzzles just as much as levelling-up to proceed, with enough side quests and interactive characters to keep it interesting. You can also gather a party of fellow adventurers to help you out with the fights, this 'party' aspect is handled well enough, with some characters being integral to the plot and some not.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b><br />
Iâve heard this referred to as a âGirls Game,â apparently in a derogatory manner, although Iâm not sure why. The lead character is female, but not necessarily in a <i>âCor look at them pixles,â</i> Lara-Croft type of way⌠Although some of the characters arenât exactly dressed for winter.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>F</b></span>ighting is turn based, and all seemed very intuitive and easy to grasp, with more complex and powerful weapons, armour, and spells etc. becoming available to you as the game progresses. <br />
There is also a certain degree of resource management involved, as you can only carry and wear a limited amount of items, so some swapping and decision making is required.<o:p></o:p><br />
None of this gameplay is exactly new or innovative, but then it wasnât intended to be. <br />
This game looks and plays like what it is, an old-style Nintendo/Sega-esque RPG, with a <i>(relatively)</i> new and shiny lick of graphical paint.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span>he original release of NeverEnd had a game-play bug that could potentially result in a player becoming stuck, and unable to completing the game. An upgrade patch was quickly released to fix this, as well as update some of the graphics etc., and should be applied to any version of the game. But hay, potential bugs never did MS Windows any harm, right? <br />
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Seriously though, I saw this game panned for its graphics, which I think are perfectly adequate for the type of game it is, and for its game mechanics, which would have been a bigger problem if they were indeed very bad or broken. <br />
Unfortunately I think the biggest quibble about the games mechanics was based on the fact that this superficially looks like a third person action game, but is in fact a turn based RPG game.<br />
And to be fair it does say that on the box. <br />
Taken for what it is, and not for what some people thought it should be, I think this is an adequate and playable little game. It doesnât push the gaming envelope at all. But it isnât âhorribly brokenâ ether, as Iâve heard it described before. The graphics are adequate for the job in hard, and although there are some slight glitches in the combat system this isnât enough to detract from the playability of the game. Although it may not be for the type of player who drools over the graphics in the latest and greatest top-budget FPS, and expects flawless action based gameplay. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>N</b></span>everEnd isnât flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it does have a certain steady-paced allure, quirkiness, and retro-charm about it that makes it a decent game, especially for the old-style RPG enthusiast.<o:p></o:p><br />
I think it deserves at least a 5.5 out of 10, on any open-minded list.<o:p></o:p><br />
Not mind-blowing, but playable and enjoyable; if you like 'propper' turn-based RPGsâŚ<o:p></o:p>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-24715578144089916192013-01-17T05:18:00.001-08:002013-02-08T06:56:04.500-08:00Will 2013 be the year TV Console gaming changed forever?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>eâve already seen TV-Top gaming creep into the living room with the release of the OnLive TV console, and we've heard of the proposals to include streamed on-line gaming options in future TV-Top Video-Streaming media devicesâŚ<br />
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But, with both Google and Steam getting ready to release their own TV-Top games consoles, should we all be looking forwards to the advent of a completely new wave of, console-like, gaming?</div>
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<a name='more'></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">S</span>teamâs big pictureâŚ</b></div>
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Team has already introduced their âBig Picture Modeâ into the existing software client, and this is unashamedly intended to be used on TVâs with a game-pad type of controller.</div>
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So Steam is already looking to get away from its computer-only image?</div>
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And what really is Steamâs Big Picture?</div>
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Well, the Steam Box console is initially set for release in 2013 and is a customised Linux powered black-box device that will let you download and play the steam catalogue through a TV.</div>
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But itâs more than this...</div>
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The Steam service will be a âOne Stop Shopâ where your computer-based profile will also be instantly available through your TV, via the Steam Box.</div>
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Will this lead to a dramatic resurgence of the PC as a leading gaming platform?</div>
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I donât know, but by its open and upgradable <span style="font-size: x-small;">(hardware and software)</span> nature, PC gaming has always been at the bleeding-edge of technical ability and innovation.</div>
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Steam has also always encouraged Indy development as well as keeping a good back-catalogue of older games in circulation.</div>
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So a system like the steam console may result in a markedly increased interest in all types of PC games, not limited to the current generation of big-sellers, and personally I think that can only be a good thing for the games industry and for gamers.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">O</span>ooh yah, another Top-TV console!</b></div>
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The other heavy-hitter looks set to be the OUYA.</div>
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This is an Android based system that is also due to be released sometime in 2013, this time through the Kick-Starter project.</div>
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The OUYA console will be able to download games from the Google Play and Amazon Apps stores out-of-the-box.</div>
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So like the Steam Box it will have a vast range of software available on launch.</div>
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Because this existing software resource is so diverse the OUYAâs main controller is set to be a bit of a hybrid affaire. This has a combination of two analogue joysticks, a D-Pad, and eight buttons, as well as a touch-pad. All of which are built into a light-weight wireless hand-held device.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">OUYA specs:</span></span></b></span></div>
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Although there is bound to be some crossover, I donât think the OUYA and the Steam Box are going to appeal to exactly the same markets, and with a possible sub ÂŁ100 price-tag for each, many people may purchase both.</div>
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Iâm not entirely sure what 2013 and beyond will bring to console gaming, but surely the release of systems like these, and possibly their imitators, will have some effect on the next generation of âtraditionalâ consoles released by Sony, Microsoft, and possibly Nintendo. </div>
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I think on-line is definitely already on its way, whether we like it or not.</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">What do you think?</span>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-49715612542827195802012-11-28T02:10:00.000-08:002012-11-28T03:40:54.883-08:00Electro-Mechanical Magic.<h3>
Lets take a look at some pre-electronic arcade games. </h3>
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<b> What was in the arcades before the advent of video games?</b><br />
<b> If
you said one-armed-bandits and slot machines you are half right. Because mechanical
based arcade games machines shared the floor with the more long-lived pin-ball
machines and bandits from far before even I was born.</b><br />
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<b>These arcade games machines were all initially
very much mechanical based.</b></div>
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Iâve read first-hand accounts from the people responsible
for building these machines and it appears that, towards the end of their run
at least, the building process became more of a suck-it-and-see âblack artâ than
a precise science. Many of the people responsible for fixing these electromechanical
marvels would freely admit to ânot know exactly how or why they worked in the
way they did half the time.â The âscienceâ of these machines had evolved into
an âartâ in much the same way early bedroom-coders would later forge the
beginnings of the multibillion dollar/pound video-game industry.</div>
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One of the most collectable of these is the âWorld Seriesâ
game released by Rockola in 1937.</div>
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This was pretty much a mechanical device, but
did have some minimal electricity-run components, so technically this was an
early electro-mechanical gaming device.</div>
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In the mid to late sixties it was quite common to see a
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Although initially more table-like and model-based in design, much of these
slowly begun to change into the more recognisable 'cabinet' format that would
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By 1970 Midwayâs S.A.M.I. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Surface to Air Missile
Interceptor)</span> electromechanical cabinet had a recognisable, albeit massively chunky
and tall, arcade-cabinet type shape to it.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GzIac5dbhM8/ULThUGTgFsI/AAAAAAAAAlg/OXx_DPkfcC8/s1600/KsBox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GzIac5dbhM8/ULThUGTgFsI/AAAAAAAAAlg/OXx_DPkfcC8/s1600/KsBox.jpg" height="200" width="159" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Killer Shark arcade cabinet by SEGA was released in <span class="st">1972, and was an entirely electro-mechanical based shooter cabinet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d6NjydAm1hY/ULThcxnogAI/AAAAAAAAAlo/RTFApXe5MIc/s1600/ksInsd.jpg" height="171" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" width="200" /><span class="st"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="st">In
this game you had to shoot a shark as it flickered around the screen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="st"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="st">This was
done by aiming a hefty metal gun bolted to the front of the cabinet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-omips25CQGw/ULThqZtjvmI/AAAAAAAAAlw/JEOOvWNSl20/s1600/ksScren.jpg" height="150" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" width="200" />The shark animation was produced by a flywheel type device
that threw an animated analogue image onto the backlit projection screen.</div>
You really had to play these machines in order to appreciate
how different they felt, compared to their early digital counterparts.<span class="st"> </span><br />
<br />
<span class="st">There were a few slightly different variations
of this cabinet, not all of which used the shark template.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="st"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="st">Although very simple by todayâs standards
this was one of the first games to be played out on a screen, of sorts. These machines
stayed around through the late seventies, and in some cases even into the </span><span class="st"><span class="st">early </span>to mid eighties.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: blue;">You can catch a glimpse of a âKiller Sharkâ
machine in action on the original âJawsâ movie.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
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</div>
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<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KR05KayfmX0/ULTh6LNEDFI/AAAAAAAAAl4/yLeMXpuxM_A/s1600/bally_space_flight.jpg" height="320" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" width="230" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The dying edge of the purely electro-mechanical era brought
games like âChopperâ by Bally Midway, released in 1974.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although the play-area
of this game was electro-mechanical based, the main brains of the operation used
digital-logic housed on a PCB, but it was still helped out by some
electromagnetic logic circuits as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By this time the death knell was well and truly sounding
for electromagnetic circuits as the digital upstart rapidly gained ground.</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
But if Space-Wars, Pong, Space-Invaders and Pac-Man were the mega-dinosaurs
of video gaming, then surely these electromechanical machines are positively
Cambrian in their lineage. They provided the basic building blocks for the
evolution of the arcade cabinet-based video-game as we knew it, and without
that there may not have ever been a video/computer games industry at all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think they should be remembered for that...</div>
</div>
Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-53884097998182406712012-11-22T14:17:00.001-08:002013-01-17T05:47:30.584-08:00A Review of AMY (PS3 & Xbox 360)<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="background: Gray; border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-border-insideh: 1.5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: 1.5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2PYNqfDxv-M/UKzkDFhHdRI/AAAAAAAAAjc/v3A7k_0TmOM/s1600/nsgametm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2PYNqfDxv-M/UKzkDFhHdRI/AAAAAAAAAjc/v3A7k_0TmOM/s1600/nsgametm.JPG" /></a></div>
<b><span id="goog_2056434278"></span><span id="goog_2056434279"></span>Iâve decided to have a look at those quirkier or somewhat left-of-centre games that got panned in the
general press and internet review sites. </b><br />
<br />
<b>First of all I intentionally picked a few games that I had never heard
off, which consistently got low reviews from the main media sources, and then
I did some internet research, before playing them with an open mind whilst
remembering the on-line and in-print comments. </b><br />
<b>I intended to see if I thought all these games are genuinely awful,
or if there is possibly something more to the general review trends? After
all thereâs truth to the old axiom âknow your audience.â</b><br />
<br />
<b>Me, well Iâve absolutely no idea who reads this stuff: So this oneâs for
you <i>Anon...</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Panned
Games - Review 1: AMY</span></u></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BWE_Vx41NVg/UKy5se8o6SI/AAAAAAAAAio/S8NI2RoEBHI/s1600/iamindx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BWE_Vx41NVg/UKy5se8o6SI/AAAAAAAAAio/S8NI2RoEBHI/s1600/iamindx.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>The first game on my list was AMY by </b><b><span class="st">VectorCell</span>. This is a first person horror-survival
game, where you take control of, </b><b>Lana. A character who, as well as trying to
survive in an epidemic ridden world, also has to take care of Amy, a young girl
who appears to have some undisclosed form of </b><b>autistic communicative difficulties. </b><br />
<br />
<br />
The back-story revolves around your attempts to escape the city with Amy in
tow.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</xml><![endif]-->The game-play is primarily puzzle based, with the Amy âcompanion characterâ having
three main functions. The first being that you must keep Amy safe; this is done
ether by keeping her close (calling for her and holding her hand) or by hiding
her. The second function of Amy is to aide in puzzle solving. This can range
for something as simple as getting her to crawl through a space where the main
character couldnât fit and press a button to activate some mechanism or open a
door etc, to more complicated puzzles where you must place her in certain
positions in order to perform some action(s). Then move her around with a
combination of instructions; getting her to move and perform a series of simple
commands that help accomplish a task; always bearing in mind that she is
more vulnerable when away from your direct control.</div>
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</xml><![endif]-->The third, and most intriguing, function of Amy is to protect your protagonist
from the infection. When separated from Amy the main character will slowly become
infected, leading to your eventual death if you canât find Amy in time and donât
have any serum handy.</div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 279.0pt;" valign="top" width="372"><div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Amy
can perform simple tasks, when prompted, and this does add a certain
additional puzzle element to the game.</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The game also has a melee based combat system (of sorts), although this definitely isnât
a combat orientated game. The combat process basically consists of one attack
move and seems to be added very much as a secondary measure, to be used as a
last resort. The main stay of the game is definitely in the survival vain, with
the emphasis very much on stealth, hiding and running away from the infected. <br />
<br />
Animation and voice acting is not cutting-edge, to say the least. The
opening graphics scene looks dated when compared to todayâs top-end action titles,
but that really isnât what AMY is about. I would say the animation and acting
is adequate, although more in a straight-to-TV B-Movie sense rather than a top
end A-list encrusted Box-Office smash. Anyone playing Amy with the expectations
of it being a GTA style action based first-person shooter is bound to be disappointed
by the presentation, and more importantly the game-play. But taken for what it
is, a decent low-budget survival-horror type game with an interesting twist, AMY
can deliver a fairly immersive experience.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="background: Gray; border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 59.4pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
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<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 279.0pt;" valign="top" width="372"><div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Anyone
expecting AMY to play like a contemporary FPS is bound to be disappointed.</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WTByXbr4S3I/UKy6Ye90YnI/AAAAAAAAAi4/DzIMuwRgGkk/s1600/am1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WTByXbr4S3I/UKy6Ye90YnI/AAAAAAAAAi4/DzIMuwRgGkk/s1600/am1.jpg" /></a></div>
Although by no means perfects I do think AMY got some undeservedly bad press.
This may be in part due to the nature <i>(out of vogue game-play style and genre) </i>of
the game, and partly due to the somewhat dated graphics and acting, which would
have been considered excellent for a PS2 or Xbox game, or decent current-gen if released five
or six years <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">earlier</span>. If you like older; more sedate, and some would say slow or repatative; puzzle based survival-horror
games like the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill series, you may still find a decent
game in this, despite the bad reviews from the contemporary mainstream press
and the derogatory comments found from current âgamers.â Remember that those
comments are only one personâs opinion. Not that Iâm putting anyone down for
their opinion. I should be the last person to do that, as reading this very
Blog would show that my own opinions can vary quite drastically from the norm.
But these generally do seem to be the opinions of a certain demographic of
gamer, one that has come to expect certain things from a new game, and thatâs
fine...<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes some of these expectations include things like cutting-edge lifelike
animation, and seamless character/voice acting â and of course these arenât bad
things to expect from a game, but when a reviewer equates these traits with
making or breaking a game on their own... Well thatâs where I would start to
strongly disagree.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</xml><![endif]-->Maybe it does look and play like a PS2 or Dreamcast era game,
but thereâs nothing inherently wrong with that. I donât think the game is âbrokenâ
by a bad design, as some reviews say. I think some people simply wanted, or expected, it to be
something it is not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think AMY may be a tad too slow, and dare I say repetitive,
for todayâs market. Not that repetition is necessarily a bad thing. The more
experienced gamers amongst us were weaned on repetition... Hell, I like SHMUPS
for goodness sake.</div>
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<br />
<br />
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<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 279.0pt;" valign="top" width="372"><div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">AMY may have the look and and feel of a PS2 or Dreamcast game, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that.</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
If AMY had come out at the time Resident evil and Silent Hill were at
their peek the reviews may have told a rather different story. AMY does have its
good points, But combat definitely isnât one of them Although to be fair this doesnât
seem to have ever been designed as a combat game, and personally thatâs one of
the things I like about it. Iâm not saying AMY is a great game or that you should rush out and get it.
But I donât think it deserved the reputation, and in some cases downright
hostility, that it got. You can get it for budget prices now, and thatâs
probably about right for what is essentially a budget title. If pushed Iâd say
5... Maybe 5.5 out of 10, worth a few pounds if you like stealth based survival-horror
games. But donât get it expecting an FPS, as it isnât and the combat system,
such as it is, will not thrill you.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uy2j6nmUAf8/UKy6FIC_9sI/AAAAAAAAAiw/l38HalZXgg8/s1600/am210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uy2j6nmUAf8/UKy6FIC_9sI/AAAAAAAAAiw/l38HalZXgg8/s1600/am210.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
So is it really a case of âIGN gave it a 2 out of 10, so it must be awful. Lets
make fun of it.â Well, for a minority it possibly is, but for most itâs
probably not really the case, not directly at least, but I can see why it wouldnât
appeal to new gamers. <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mind you, I donât think the developerâs comments did much to
endear the general game-playing public to their product ether...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
This wonât be to everyoneâs taste, but behind it
all there is a decent game mechanic, and it is not a âgod awful game,â believe
me. I have played some âgod awfulâ games in my time and this is not at the
bottom of the heap. <br />
<br />
Remember, the mainstream feeds of the mainstream, and the mainstream eats
and sleeps FPS just now. Thatâs just the way it is, so there's no
point grumbling about it. <br />
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<br />Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-68360191328431556562012-11-20T07:09:00.001-08:002013-01-17T05:35:23.635-08:00The best indie games on PSN and Xbox Live<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SLd0srW5nyI/UKuWQnjyBRI/AAAAAAAAAgc/qCVzWtqzTzg/s1600/indie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SLd0srW5nyI/UKuWQnjyBRI/AAAAAAAAAgc/qCVzWtqzTzg/s1600/indie.JPG" width="171" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Indie, or Independent, game releases have been gaining
momentum and notoriety on the PC for some time now. And over the past few years
they have turned into a legitimate force on the two main console platforms as
well...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The main problem with Indi games has generally been deciding
exactly what an Indie game is. Some people seem to forget that âIndiâ simply
stands for âindependentâ and generally try to define the games by their game-play or
genre, normally calling anything thatâs outside the mainstream gaming gamut and
âIndieâ game. This never really works though, because thereâs nothing to stop
an Independent developer making a game which is firmly within the mainstream
game style, and some of the major developers have released the odd quirky game
over the years..</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The grey-area comes in trying to define exactly what an
Independent publisher really is, and isnât. Although, I think itâs faire to
define a few <span style="color: #cccccc;">(but still rather fluffy)</span> rules...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They are not financially backed by a publisher. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They are generally promoted by small or start-up companies.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They tend to be produced by individuals or groups, who may
form small companies. </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They generally rely heavily on on-line âdigital-distributionâ
markets.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They tend to have much less <span style="color: #cccccc;">(or no)</span> resources and budget
than mainstream games.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They are not limited to an allocated budget or development
schedule and time-frame.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Development is not generally steered by any controlling <span style="color: #cccccc;">(corporate)</span>
interests.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They do not require publisher approval: many self-publish.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">They often rely on the artistic ability, creativity, imagination,
and experimentation</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> of an individual or very small team.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because the average Indie software house or private
developer does not need to follow any type of project guidelines, or to comply
with the current market forces or trends, independent games gave gathered a
reputation for innovation an/or a certain quirkiness that sets them aside from
the mainstream. But really that can be just as much incidental as by design.
Independent developers donât have access to the vast graphical and budgetary
resources a mainstream, publisher backed, title has. It may take one graphic
artist six months to animate a tin of beans in a huge mainstream blockbuster
game. An independent programmer may have produced most of <span style="color: #cccccc;">(if not all)</span> the
entire game in that time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With these guidelines set, I decided to have a look through
what, in my humble opinion, are the top 10 best PSN and XboxLive âIndieâ offerings.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: orange;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So here, in no
particular order, are my choices:</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Braid:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jonathan
Blow</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN,
Xbox Live</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g0uiO8Xaw5g/UKuY8A1b4MI/AAAAAAAAAg8/kb87PkOiTfY/s1600/brade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g0uiO8Xaw5g/UKuY8A1b4MI/AAAAAAAAAg8/kb87PkOiTfY/s1600/brade.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An obvious choice maybe, but for good reason, this is a very
clever time-based puzzle game dressed up as a 2D platform game. Definitely one
of the Indi winners, Brade has made a lot of money, and impact. Showing just
what can be achieved with little budget and a lot of imagination. It was
pretty-much universally audited by the gaming press, an attitude that was
passed down through many mainstream gamers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Braid
has a simple <span style="color: #cccccc;">(and I believe intentionally hackneyed)</span> premise; the protagonist,
Tim, must attempt to rescue a princess from a monster; but with an
exceptionally complicated game structure. Movement consists of left, right, and
jump but with the help of time manipulation you can change the position of
objects and even position your previous self in order to gain access to
previously inaccessible areas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Canabalt:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Experimental
Gameplay Project</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN,
Xbox Live</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T9YUEPwYSWs/UKuZECQ9UqI/AAAAAAAAAhE/Ne5RVsN_cdw/s1600/Canabalt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T9YUEPwYSWs/UKuZECQ9UqI/AAAAAAAAAhE/Ne5RVsN_cdw/s1600/Canabalt.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Originally a Flash game, this took the internet gaming
scene, then the wider world of gaming, by storm. Proof, if proof were needed,
that a simple but compelling concept can gather all the hype and momentum of a
fully publicised mainstream release.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>The
premise, and operation, of Canabalt is simple â Run, run from the crumbling
city. Jump when you see a gap... Keep running... Thatâs it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Journey:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thatgamecompany</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TXCteLXouI/UKuZVJi-BHI/AAAAAAAAAhM/M6kOHToDkSc/s1600/Journey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TXCteLXouI/UKuZVJi-BHI/AAAAAAAAAhM/M6kOHToDkSc/s1600/Journey.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Iâve seen Journey referred to as a âsemi-<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">indie game</span>â in the press, although I
must admit Iâm at a loss as to why it should be âsemi-indi?â The makers
Thatgamecompany are still a small independent software house after all. I can
only credit this to the false belief that any really-good 3D third-person game
canât truly be produced by an âIndie,â which is of course complete and utter
nonsense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Journey
is an open-world third-person puzzle-based exploration game. And when I say
open, I mean open. The playerâs character falls to earth somewhere in a remote
and seemingly deserter dessert. The character looks towards a distant mountain
and the rest is up to you. No further explanation or help is given. You get a
real feeling of remoteness, loss, and loneliness whilst playing Journey, and
the shifting dessert scenery combined with the almost subliminal soundtrack
makes for a very immersive experience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 23.4pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 23.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Noby Noby Boy:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 23.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Keita
Takahashi</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN
</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GXNiVFkVxwo/UKuZhIRNtKI/AAAAAAAAAhU/D134LgB0cmI/s1600/Noby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GXNiVFkVxwo/UKuZhIRNtKI/AAAAAAAAAhU/D134LgB0cmI/s1600/Noby.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keita Takahashi works for Namco Bandai and this game was
released by them, but I believe it can firmly be called an Indie game because
the spirit is truly independent and the game was the brainchild of one man...
Who happened to have some contacts, but you canât blame him for that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 9.0pt 1.0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Noby
means âstretchâ <span style="color: #cccccc;">(amongst other things)</span> in Japanese, and the premise of the game
is to stretch your sausage-like âBoyâ as far as possible by eating things. The
more you eat, the bigger you get, and the more you can eat...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to get as big as you can then give
your âlengthâ to the Noby Noby Girl who is stretching her way through our
solar-system towards the Sun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh dear, it all sounds so wrong when you write it down!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
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<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">flOw:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jenova
Chen & Nicholas Clark</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-smyKW8PH8tY/UKuZrj3BnTI/AAAAAAAAAhc/zJaMvlJtG9g/s1600/flOw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-smyKW8PH8tY/UKuZrj3BnTI/AAAAAAAAAhc/zJaMvlJtG9g/s1600/flOw.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another game that was originally released in Flash, it got
more that 100,000 downloads within the first two weeks of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>release, before being converted to the PS 3.
This is one of those games that more-or-less have a goal, but the game is in
the playing, not necessarily the achieving. This game is what the first stage
of âSporeâ should have been.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>In
flow you must guide a small segmented-worm type of micro-organism around an aquatic
2D world in an attempt to consume other organisms, in order to grow without
being eaten yourself. How you grow and what abilities you gain entirely depend
on your diet, you can even eat and regenerate parts of yourself. A definite
case of âyou are what you eat.â The game is based on a series of âplanesâ
more-or-less levels that the player can switch between whilst growing their
creature.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fez</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Polytron</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Xbox
Live</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jQbHlwzYqJU/UKuZzahtM3I/AAAAAAAAAhk/HajCXwhwm00/s1600/Fez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jQbHlwzYqJU/UKuZzahtM3I/AAAAAAAAAhk/HajCXwhwm00/s1600/Fez.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fez
does for perspective what âBraidâ does for time, i.e. it muddles it all up and
gets you very confused... But In a good way. Fez is based in a fully formed 3D world, and
is basically a platform-based puzzle game. The twist is that you must traverse
this 3D world through an ever changing series of 2D screen views.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>You
play Gomez, a two-dimensional character who suddenly finds himself in a 3D
world. Again a nonsensical story is used as a backdrop to the game-play. But
really we all know you donât need a complicated <span style="color: #cccccc;">(or cohesive) </span>story to hold up
game like this. You progress through the game by moving around the 2D plane of
view by switching the 3D area around until previously inaccessible areas become
reachable, with the goal of collecting 32 cubes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Flower:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thatgamecompany</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XtjV80GK7kQ/UKuZ67Ai1DI/AAAAAAAAAhs/0FBfjhr5d6Q/s1600/Flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XtjV80GK7kQ/UKuZ67Ai1DI/AAAAAAAAAhs/0FBfjhr5d6Q/s1600/Flower.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Flower is one of those programs that some say shouldnât technically
be labelled a âgame.â I would have to disagree, but then I donât have as tight
a definition of âgameâ as some. There is a goal to Flower, and you do progress
through âlevelsâ for lack of a better term. So the game elements are there.
What you donât have are any guns, or enemies to shoot at. This is basically a
scenery-manipulator-em-up... But if that sounds dull, it isnât.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>In
flower you start of as one lonely petal, and you must float through the wind to
collect more petals from the flowers that litter the landscape. The more petals
you collect the bigger you get and the more of the landscape you bloom. You
must bloom all the flowers in each are to progress to the next.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Datura:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><span class="st">Plastic Studios</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUwrlwbEmUA/UKuaEfrjv_I/AAAAAAAAAh0/S71pj4pH5cY/s1600/Datura.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FUwrlwbEmUA/UKuaEfrjv_I/AAAAAAAAAh0/S71pj4pH5cY/s1600/Datura.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a relatively short puzzle based first-person moral adventure
game based in a surreal forest. The player isnât told any back-story and is
left to wander the forest and discover the truth of their circumstance. The
game was apparently written by the independent house for PSN so Iâm not sure if
it will ever be released anywhere else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>The
controls of Datura will be familiar enough to anyone who has ever played a
first person game. The puzzles left like of a mixture of early Resident Evil
and Myst type problems. There are several unique mysteries/puzzles to solve and
you can get a good or bad outcome for each. The final outcome, if there is one,
is to finish the game with all the good puzzle endings, and the outcome of the
puzzles affects what you see towards the end of each play-through.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Limbo:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Playdead</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN,
Xbox Live</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UDLIOwB6Mok/UKuaM-6T61I/AAAAAAAAAh8/_CCQTyztIWE/s1600/Limbo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UDLIOwB6Mok/UKuaM-6T61I/AAAAAAAAAh8/_CCQTyztIWE/s1600/Limbo.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another 2D side on platform game with heavy puzzle elements,
Limboâs stark visuals, fluid life-like movement animations, and compelling
physics based puzzles set it head and shoulders above the crowd. And is
possibly the closest contender to Braidâs 2D side-on platform Indie crown.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>In
Limbo you play the part of a nameless boy who awakens in a dark and foreboding forest.
You arenât told much of a back-story, apart from the fact that the unnamed boy
is searching for his sister. Basic movements are left, right and jump. When you
reach puzzle locations you can perform other actions like climbing, pushing and
pulling objects.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 480;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Machinarium:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 312.7pt;" valign="top" width="417"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Amanita
Design</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">On â<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PSN</i></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lk6yC5UqURA/UKuaUw-UcbI/AAAAAAAAAiE/1rM0ZFwp9sw/s1600/Machinarium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lk6yC5UqURA/UKuaUw-UcbI/AAAAAAAAAiE/1rM0ZFwp9sw/s1600/Machinarium.jpg" width="147" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a classic point-and-click puzzle based adventure
game, very much in the Lucas Arts style, but with absolutely no dialogue
whatsoever, spoken or written. Each hi-resolution scene has been individually
and lavishly hand-drawn, as have all character and background animations. This
was financed entirely from the savings of the 7 independent developers involved
with the project. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 9.0pt; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">¡<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>The
game is set in a dystopian future where robots are the only form of remaining
intelligent life. The player controls Josef, a robot who has just been dumped
in the garbage pile outside a huge city. You must find your way back into the
city and find out what has happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I realise not all
these games will appeal to everyone, but they are all finely crafted examples
of their type and fall well outside the current mainstream gaming boundaries.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What would you pick? </b></div>
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<![endif]-->Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-81277070134322263442012-08-12T08:48:00.000-07:002012-08-12T13:15:26.031-07:00A review of Slender:<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Are horror games getting more or less horrific?</span></strong></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With the rise of a plethora of big-name horror based games, and game-series; released for the PS2, original X-box, and even the Dreamcast; it looked like horror, and survival horror in particular, was a genre that was here to stay by the 32/64Bit era.<br />
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<strong>Then something happen.</strong></div>
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I'm not entirely sure what, why, or when but the <i>(planning and resource based)</i> Survival-Horror game suddenly seemed to die out. </div>
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By the time Resident Evil 4 came out it seemed to popularise the notion of far more action based 'horror' games, and the RE series never returned to it's roots after this, apparently, despite recent proclamations to the contrary. Not that I'm blaming RE4 for this demise, but in the current climate most commercial horror games are taking the RE4 action based route, and not necessary basing their new games around the purer 'horror' aspects that a lot of the older games did. Some of the independents, on the other hand, seem determined to get right to the beating heart of what makes a horror game. And Slender is one of those games gaining a reputation in the scare stakes...<br />
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Many Indie publishers seem to be taking a different route, one that taps much more directly into our fear response. In some cases these programs practically strip away the 'game' leaving us with an almost pure interactive 'horror' experience. Some programs based on the <a href="http://www.scp-wiki.net/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">SPC Foundation</span></a> <em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(<strong>S</strong>pecial <strong>C</strong>ontainment <strong>P</strong>rocedure)</span></em> series off 'Files,' or short stories, are a good examples of this.</div>
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I've looked at a few variations of the game programs based on the SPC 87 File, titled 'The Stairwell' and have been suitably impressed at how little program it takes to produce a real feeling of trepidation. This included the origonal SPC 87, SPC 87-B, and the newer SPC '<a href="https://scpcb.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Containment Breach.</span></a>' The latest 'Containment Breach' project seem to be planning on making more of a game that the earlier set-peices, so it remains to be seen if this is less immediately scary. Although '<a href="http://garrysgamingblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/run-but-no-gun.html" target="_blank" title="See my blog post..."><span style="color: lime;">Amnesia: The dark decent</span></a>' does a good job of making a modern spychologicaly scary game. So it can do done.</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, enough background... On with the Slender review:</span></strong></div>
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Apparently the 'Slender Man' mythology was born of an attempt to create a new urban myth by the nice people over at the '<a href="http://www.somethingawful.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Something Awful</span></a>' website.</div>
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The Slender Man is a tall skinny figure in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. Oh and he also has that old horror stalwart, no face.</div>
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His hobbies include abducting children, sending out audio/video interferance, outstretching his arms and/or legs; Stretch Armstrong style, I kid you not; and sprouting tenticles from his back. Oh, and he can also hypnotise you if you look directly at him. </div>
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So when I started to read good things about the <a href="http://slendergame.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Slender game</span></a> I got interested. </div>
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The game itself seems to be a simple 'find the objects' affair, where you have to search various sites within one sandbox location for eight notes hidden around the play area.</div>
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You are hampered in this endeavour by 'The Slender Man' who seems intent on doing, whatever it is he does, to you. On the up side he's quite easy to run away from. When you 'look' at him for too long or are too close your screen is completely covered by, static like, interference and you hear a white-noise crackle, a very vague image of the Slender Man's head is then shown and - You Are Dead, game over.</div>
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For me the 'Slender Man' character graphics didn't seem to be quite up to par with the rest of the game, and I think this character is a pretty integral part of the play. </div>
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Unfortunately I donât think the game quite lives up to the hype, at least for me. </div>
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First off, you will need a fairly high specked PC to run this at its best. It can run with a low frame-rate even on a medium sized system and I'm not entirely sure why. </div>
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In practice there is a lot if dull and repetitive scenery, accompanied with likewise dull and repetitive sound. Because of this walking around quickly becomes annoying. The intentional darkness of the game, which is illuminated only by torchlight, added to the annoyance by hindering exploration rather than heightening the players sense of anxiety and claustrophobia, which I assume was supposed intention.</div>
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I resorted to pointing the view in a certain direction, then putting a weight over the 'forwards' key in order to explore the main area. Using this method I did find a few locations that were a break from the now terribly boring trees. Unfortunately these areas, like the building structures and the fuel-drums; or whatever they were, I couldn't see them properly because it was to dark; were also just as monotonous as the trees.</div>
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I also ended up turning the sound down, because the footstep effect really began to get annoying, and this is a pity because games like this heavily rely on sound to build up that all important atmosphere.</div>
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Much of the buildings seemed a bit strange, as in purposeless, and the sudden base drum thumping sound effects etc. obviously intended to build up atmosphere, were very quickly recognised for what they were - background effects designed to build up tension. Not that there's inherantly anything wrong with that. </div>
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This was done well in SPC 87, but here? Well... 'Obvious technique is obvious..." </div>
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I'm not so sure the 'screen distortion/interference stuff' adds anything apart from nausea ether. </div>
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Suffice to say I never found any of the eight notes on any of my play-throughs...</div>
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Apparently there is also a multi-player version of the game possibility under development, that could be interesting.</div>
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Yes, I know I probably didn't play this correctly, but this was because the game's overall mechanics 'prevented' me from getting involved in it, hence 'playing incorrectly.' This is all a pity, because I usually like the way indie developers are going in general, and really did want to like this game.</div>
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Perhaps it is just me. I know many people like this. Maybe this is a good example of 'horror' for the FPS generation... But personally I can't see it. For pure First Person eeriness I say 'Dear Esther' paints a much better atmospheric picture than this, and the ghosts in DE seem to be sad reflections of peoples lives, not scary at all.</div>
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I'm not saying Slender is a terrible game, as a free mod it's Ok. Maybe I just went in with too high an expectation after reading some glowing comments.</div>
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As I said this is all just my subjective opinion though, and for the download price of <b><a href="http://slendergame.com/download.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Free</span></a></b> there's no reason not to take a look and form your own opinion.</div>
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I be interested to hear what you think. </div>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-52925767330791365742012-07-28T17:21:00.003-07:002012-07-30T14:53:32.723-07:00The games you will never see!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">So... you think this post is going to be about unfinished and/or cancelled games...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Well you're wrong!</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A</span>fter accidently discovering an audio-only game called <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://www.desura.com/games/blindside" style="color: yellow;" target="_blank" tooltip="Get it from Desura now.">BlindSide</a> on the Desura site I decided to have a rummage around the Internet to see if I could find any more titles like this and discovered the unique, strange, and sometimes apparently quire disconcerting world of Audio Games.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A</span>udio games seem to have their roots in the add-on speech synthesisers that could be used with some old-style text adventure games <span style="color: #cccccc;">(or interactive fiction, as they are now known)</span> before a niche market for games aimed at the blind user emerged. With the advances in sound control these games made came an opportunity to appeal to a wider, and more commercially lucrative, audience. The Audio game is fast becoming a recognised subgenus that is now making some important inroads into mainstream gaming platforms.<br />
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Now, <span style="font-weight: normal;">BlindSide</span> wasnât the first game I've ever played where the core game-play relayed on sound. In E0 <i style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">( Enemy Zero)</span></i> from the wonderfully eccentric <b>Warp Software</b> you had to 'hear' your way to the enemy, although it did also heavily rely on graphics for it First-Person type game-play. <span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">BlindSide </span>was the first game I'd ever played where the entire game-play consisted only of sound, but it wasn't the first game I'd heard of to do this.<br />
There was another Warp game called 'Real Sound: Kaze no Regret' <em><span style="color: #cccccc;">(Regrets in the Wind<span class="t_nihongo_help noprint"><sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Installing_Japanese_character_sets" title="Help:Installing Japanese character sets"></a></sup></span>)</span></em> released for the Dreamcast console in 1997 which purportedly relied entirely on sound!<br />
Unfortunately I never got a chance to play it as it was Japanese only.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">S<span style="font-size: small;">o what do you do in BlindSide?</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">W</span>ell, this is an audio-only survival/horror type mystery game where you suddenly wake up to find yourself blind... </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="http://www.desura.com/media/iframe/648758" width="560"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://www.desura.com/games/blindside/videos/blindside-trailer">BlindSide Trailer - Desura</a><br />
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The world is fully 3D formed, and your position within it is fully tracked at all times, with the character telling you when and what you have bump into. As if this isn't disconcerting enough you can also hear strange sounds; initially growling and snarling noises, all around you; as well as the fixed-point pleas for your return from your companion, which come from different directions as you blunder around. And this is where BlindSide really pumps up the atmosphere. It uses a simulated surround-sound technique to conjure up a very real sounding sound-scape that really does make you feel immersed in this featureless world of darkness. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You need to play with headphones on to get the propper game-play effect, and I strongly suggest a blindfold. You can just close your eyes but you <u>will</u> open them at some point, ruining the atmosphere. </span></div>
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In the perpetual darkens your imagination quickly begins to fill in the missing visuals, and ultimately imagination is far superior to any graphics anyone could possibility produce! The lack of graphics really is a major feature of this game and defenetly not just a gimmick.</div>
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I would heartily recommend this!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">N</span>ow for something similar that Iâve only ever seen in proof-of-concept type videos and articles...</div>
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<b>Deep Sea: </b>Described by one reviewer as "The scariest game ever"</div>
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An 'Independent Propeller Award' finalist, this audio-only offering takes the sensory deprivation experience to the next level. The played dons the rather sinister looking modified gas mask contraption, which includes noise-cancellation headphones along with blacked-out eye holes. This plunges the player into complete darkness and silence, it also increases a sense of claustrophobia, as breathing is laboured through the mask This is all designed to illicit a fear response even before the game begins.</div>
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A flight-stick like joystick is then placed in the players hand and the game starts.</div>
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The actual premiss of the game is terrifying simple. You have to track and locate an unseen foe underwater through the use of a sonic ping. A series of recorded audio messages will help you towards your pray by providing simple instructions like "It's far to the left," and that's pretty much it. Well, apart from a little audio trickery the game plays on you. Microphones in the mask pick up the players breathing and loop an exaggerated version of this back to then over the games audio, increasing the players sense of panic.</div>
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It's the oppressive mask and the almost instant sense of claustrophobic fear that really make the game, the audio is only the last tool used to pump up the players imagination into overdrive.</div>
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So this 'game' really isn't anything you should expect to see out on the wii (or anything else) any time soon!</div>
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<b>Papa Sangre:</b> and now something for those of you using iOS...</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span><span style="font-size: large;">You are lost, deep in the darkness of the land of the dead. Your eyes are useless to you here â but your ears are filled with sound. And what is it you can hear ⌠?</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span><br />
<strong>So says the blurb of </strong><a href="http://www.papasangre.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="color: yellow;">Papa Sangre </span></strong></a><strong>another rather strange little game, for the iOS systems.</strong><br />
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From what I can make out, you are dead and this all seems to be set in a rather macabre underworld...</div>
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Your movement is controlled by touch-screen, with you swiping, runing and tapping your fingers over variouis controll markers on the screen in time to walk forwards and turn left or right etc. It's quite an involved but also quite intuative controll system, once you get started. You can't really play this with your eyes shut though, which is a shame because that aspect seems to add so much to the previous games.</div>
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A real-time '3D audio' engine is used to provide the sound in this one, and it's the first game to use this type of system on a hand-held platform. Essentially more of a 'Thriller' game than the other two.</div>
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Again the storyline and game premiss is simple. Youâre stuck the afterlife: in Papa Sangreâs palace to be more precise. All you know is someone is in danger and needs your help. You need to save them and escape.</div>
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So these are my Audio-game picks...</div>
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Thers a decent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_game" style="color: yellow;" target="_blank">Wikipedia Page</a> that covers audio-games in a much brouder range and depth of subjects if you are interested in further reading. </div>
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</div>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-77232078421841124852012-07-20T03:26:00.000-07:002012-07-20T03:26:12.009-07:00Google goes OnLive as Sony gets Gaikai!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Welcome to the heavyweight game streaming wars...</b></span></div>
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Two things happened in the world of on-line game-streaming recently:</div>
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1)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Sony
bought over Gaikai, currently the only real rival to OnLive.</div>
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2)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Google
signed a deal to incorporate native OnLive support into Google TV.</div>
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At first sight this may not sound like much of a problem,
just the integration of this emerging technology into the more established
marketplace... Well on first sight maybe, but this has already caused some unease
even before any set-top devices utilising these technologies have been released.
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Google and OnLive have announced that both the OnLive service
and its proprietary controller device will be incorporated into the Google TV
service. Support for the controller will be âbaked inâ to the software, and the
streaming service will be available as a Google TV app, regardless of the
manufacturer producing the set-top hardware.</div>
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This means that set-top boxes like Sonyâs <a href="http://www.sony.co.uk/product/google-tv-products/nsz-gs7" style="color: yellow;">NSZ-GS7</a>, which
incorporates Google TV, would âin theoryâ be capable of running the OnLive games
streaming system. There was some initial speculation that this would indeed be
the case, but then support for OnLive seems to have been quietly pulled. </div>
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Sony has obviously bought Gaikai to provide the same, or fairly
similar, functionality with its own range of hardware, so wonât want their proprietary
hardware used to run the competition. Iâm not saying that the Gaikai service is
bad here; quite the contrary, itâs because itâs a good system that this situation
has arisen; but surely this state of affaires raises some serious marketing
issues for Sony, even if they donât admit it. This has led to speculation of
Sony âbanningâ the use of OnLive (a third party developer in this situation) on
their devices due to Sonyâs purchasing of Gaikai, and it isnât exactly good PR
to be seen to publicly âbanâ anything based on itâs possible effect on your profits,
although Iâm not saying it doesnât make sense or isnât understandable. After
all, itâs a bit like being able to run Xbox Live through PSN! Good for the
consumer, but not so hot for the manufacturers profits.</div>
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But this isnât a theoretical battle, Sonyâs game-streaming competition
has already started, the <a href="http://www.vizio.com/costar/"><span style="color: yellow;">Co-Star</span></a> set-top box from Vizio is built on similar
hardware to Sonyâs box. This also incorporates Google TV, but more importantly
it is shipping with the OnLive application built in as standard. Although
Google TV isnât where it wants to be, they are hoping this new range of lower priced set-top system like the <span style="color: orange;" title="(so ÂŁ75ish in the UK... maybe!)">$99 dollar</span><span style="color: darkorange;"> </span><span style="color: orange;" title="(formerly the VAP430 range)"> Co-Star
</span> will turn things around, and they seem to be willing to put their money where their mouth is, so watch this space...</div>
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If all this shown anything I think it shows that on-line
game streaming services are definitely going to become a force to be reckoned
with. They are here now, and I believe they are here to stay. It will be
interesting to see what influence this has on future generations of consoles. What
exactly is a games-console in a world where a set-top box, Blu-ray player, or
whatever other device can play your favourite games without you purchasing anything
but on-line rights to play?</div>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-51496225361372967332012-07-09T05:26:00.000-07:002012-07-09T05:38:46.656-07:00All your clouds are belong to us!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fgxib9TBF2E/T_rEeDZpf-I/AAAAAAAAAbs/J4MsFWUyFj8/s1600/cloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fgxib9TBF2E/T_rEeDZpf-I/AAAAAAAAAbs/J4MsFWUyFj8/s200/cloud.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Have you ever wondered why the Internet has always been
represented by a cloud symbol?
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Well a cloud is intangible; it doesnât have any defined
shape, and is in constant motion. When viewed from a distance it seems like a
tangible entity, but when examined up-close all sense of structure and solidity
is lost. Sound familiar?</div>
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Simply put, the Internet has always been one large unmappable
information-cloud.</div>
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Now a staggering amount of personal information is beginning
to accumulate, and float around, in this cloud. This information only looks set
to increase with the advent and growth of âCould Computingâ resources. As the
Internet will be offering increasingly interactive, and personalised, remote
services </div>
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You may not have heard of it but in late 20011 a group of
researchers from Ruhr University in Germany released a paper called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"All Your Clouds are Belong to
us."</i> This caused quite a bit of restlessness within the âcloud
computingâ fraternity, as the paper revealed basic security vulnerabilities in
various cloud platforms including, but
not limited to, some of Amazon's services.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Amazon has since released a
statement to say all these issues have been resolved.</i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Head in the clouds...</b></div>
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Iâve mentioned could computing before, but to many people
itâs still a very fluffy concept. The hype-machine has been in overdrive the
last few years, but the basic premise of âThe Cloudâ and âCloud Computingâ is hardly
new. This has been around since the beginnings of computer networks. Some of the
first systems I ever used could be said to be âin the cloudâ in all but name:
mainly because the ânameâ wouldnât be coined for several decades!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cloud computing, in
its basic form, simple means storing the programs and data you use on a remote
system, and allowing you access to these resources from local hardware. Thatâs
it! Anything else is just, well... âFluff.â</b></div>
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The âlocal hardwareâ may be a computer, but may just as
likely be a games-console, an internet
enabled TV or DVD/Blu-ray player, or any of the increasing range of bespoke
devices now being offered for internet based services.</div>
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You can watch a movie, or an entire TV-series, from a
virtual video library through services like Love Film or NetFlix, or play
virtual-games through OnLive and Gaikai, all of which provide cloud services.</div>
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Today most peopleâs established ideas of cloud use, such as
applications like the Google office suite, are in a state of rapid change. I
donât think itâs an exaggeration to say that cloud applications are expanding
on an almost daily basis, although most of these are probably destined go
unnoticed by the majority of people.</div>
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The Cloud now had an extensive user-base, and the chances
are you may have already used a âcloudâ service without even noticing. Has
anyone in your house ever played the massively popular browser-based Runescape
on-line MMORPG game? Well that definitely falls under the auspice of âcould
computing,â as does the innumerable variety of web-based on-demand audio/video
services, yes even YouTube!</div>
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Usage of Web-based application-suits and data-storage sites
are also on the rise, so it should come as no surprise that this increasing
market is being targeted by the advertisers and data-gatherers that are already
so prevalent and adapt at data-mining the browser-based Web.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LjvV3YSXWdw/T_rI43mfwaI/AAAAAAAAAb4/_V6CdWeLP3k/s1600/cld.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LjvV3YSXWdw/T_rI43mfwaI/AAAAAAAAAb4/_V6CdWeLP3k/s200/cld.png" width="200" /></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hiding from the cloud
miners...</b><br />
<b> </b> </div>
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The sometimes shadow-like data-miners are undoubtedly already in the clouds.<br />
<br />
But
is their presence any scarier than that on the more established Internet? </div>
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Well a few, not very advertised, things to bear in mind
about the cloud are:</div>
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1)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>The
physical machine; on which any data, along with any executable applications;
you use is solely controlled by someone else.</div>
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2)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>You
should always read the terms and conditions... Yes I know we all skip past
this, but it may be very important to know exactly where you stand, especially
if you are storing personal data on a cloud-based service. </div>
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Who has (legitimate) access to
your data?</div>
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Where in the world is your data physically
stored?</div>
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What processes and procedures are
in place should your data become unreachable, corrupted, lost, or hacked?</div>
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3)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Unless
the service you are using is community based open-source; freeware, or possibly
a charity; the provider company is in business to make a profit. So usage will
probably involve some form of payment, ether directly or indirectly. And
indirect payments generally revolve around some form of micro-transactions
and/or advertising.</div>
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4)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span>Disclosing
your personal details to anybody requires a certain degree of trust. And a lot
of hysteria has been generated around on-line transactions being especially
open to misuse. Now Iâm not scare-mongering here, of course the Internet is now
a legitimate way to purchase goods and services, but like any other market it
has its fraudsters. Be aware of whom you are giving details to, of what details
you are providing, and of the security measures put in place to guard your
personal data, finances, and anonymity.</div>
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Advertisers want to know who you are and what you buy and
many cloud services may provide a certain degree of information about you and
your habits to any interested parties, unless they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">specifically</i> say they wonât in those âterms and conditions.â</div>
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Data selling has always been a quick way to make good money
on the internet. And although, just like marketing calls, this may be an
annoyance it isnât really a great threat to your personal identity or security.
But there have always been those less scrupulous miners who are after the
hidden nuggets of more personal, and potentially lucrative/damaging,
information.</div>
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Many cloud sites were found to be susceptible to XML and XSS
based attacks as well as being open to certain JavaScript code based vulnerabilities.
Several being serious enough to allow an interlopes access to create new
machine images and gateways into the services, or even in some cases to start
and stop the virtual machines, effectively crashing the systems!</div>
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Many notable individuals, and quite a few corporations, have
publicly expressed concern about the cloudâs ability to safeguard personal and
otherwise sensitive information from thieving hands. The debate rages on, with
both the pro and con points of centralised cloud-based resources being
constantly debated</div>
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Service level agreements from cloud providers are important
for user safety and legislation is still a bit 'fluffy' on what protection this
should provide by law.</div>
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Obviously any legitimate providers will take the best steps
they can to make sure your personal data as secure as possible. It isn't in
their interests not to! But like any other on-line enabled media the data can
theoretically become vulnerable. So you should bear this in mind when signing
up to anything on-line, not just with regard to cloud services.</div>
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So does this really mean âAll your clouds are belong to us?â<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Are there dark clouds looming over the
horizon, or are they already raining upon us?</div>
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</div>
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Well to be honest I personally think itâs probably no more
than the usual Internet risk, which in some cases is less that the real-world
fraud risk. Commercial PEN Tests (network penetration testing) routinely bring
back system vulnerabilities; itâs a recognised side-effect of the ever-marching
progress and evolution of computer systems. As such itâs something to be dealt
with rather than feared. The modern form of Internet based cloud computing
services are relatively new, so some teething-troubles are to be expected.</div>
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Provided you take reasonable care and responsibility with
the services you pick and the information you divulge, remember itâs not just
bank details that can be of use to dedicated internet wrongdoers, I think you
should be reasonable secure. I also think way too many people have put way too
much personal information out on the web. Most people are very surprised by
what can relatively easily be discovered about them by simple web search... far
less by detailed and intrusive data-mining techniques! Who knows what a system
hack could uncover... Well I suppose Sony do, but thereâre not telling!</div>
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I donât see any reason to not use properly maintained and
managed cloud services, but I do pay attention to what personal information is
available on these sights, and to what my legal status is in the event of
something going wrong... After all I never thought PSN would get hacked, and
that my bank-details <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">may</i> have been
stolen!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>S</b></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">o </span></b>what has all this got to do with games? Well lots
actually...</div>
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<a href="http://www.onlive.co.uk/play-video-games-free" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5i2MSjjfWdc/T_q_wsIQQTI/AAAAAAAAAbY/Jc40FsVe83o/s200/ol.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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OnLive has shows that a totally cloud-based gaming service can work
NOW, not tomorrow, not next week, but NOW, this very second. If you havenât already
you can go to OnLive right after reading this blog, sign up (or in) and start
playing a game that your hardware may not physically be capable of handling...
because it isnât your hardware thatâs running the program, itâs some server in
the âcloudâ somewhere. I think games are a good visual example of what cloud
computing can achieve.<br />
And with Sony buying over <span class="st">Gaikai (another
browser-based cloud gaming platform), things are only set to get even more
interesting. What (if any) impact will this purchase have on the Playstation 4
console for example? Sony is keeping rather tight-lipped at the moment, but as
they say... âWatch this space!â</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="149" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGFf94w_gKI/T_rAkE4l_oI/AAAAAAAAAbg/lnCkYaaGDO8/s1600/SG.jpg" imageanchor="1" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGFf94w_gKI/T_rAkE4l_oI/AAAAAAAAAbg/lnCkYaaGDO8/s200/SG.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" width="200" /></div>
<span class="st">If they can prove your identity and money is
safe and they can provide you with access to an increasingly complex and
advanced gaming platform without the need to continually upgrade or buy ever-more
powerful (and expensive) hardware, why wouldnât the average gamer embrace
on-line cloud gaming? On-line purchasing had been coming in the back-door via
PSN and Xbox-Live for some time now... largely unnoticed.</span><br />
<span class="st">More recently many
big-name publishers are being much more brash and up-front about providing
on-line download access to their latest games.</span></div>
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<span class="st">The on-line and cloud move is coming, what
shape that cloud take is yet to be seen...</span></div>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481185412014944947.post-2958086547772148192012-05-05T01:32:00.000-07:002012-05-05T16:45:46.451-07:00Dear Esther: The world's first Interative poem?<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Review Of: 'Dear Esther' by 'The Chinese Room.' </b></span><br />
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I've heard a lot of rubbish said about 'Dear Esther,' both from the pro and anti lobbies.</div>
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So I decided to give my own take on this rather unique peice of entertainment software.</div>
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Okay, I didn't call it a game, you probably noticed that, well I'll come back to this latter...</div>
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<br /></div>
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The program was originally released in June 2008 by '<a href="http://www.thechineseroom.co.uk/" style="color: yellow;" target="_blank">The Chinese Room</a>' as a 'Half Life 2' MOD. Later a much-improved stand-alone version was subsequently provided as a full stand-alone release through<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/203810/" style="color: yellow;" target="_blank">Steam in 2012</a>. This is also now available through the</div>
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<a href="http://www.onlive.co.uk/games/details/dear-esther#&type=bragclips" style="color: yellow;" target="_blank">OnLive</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>service.</div>
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'Dear Esther' is essentially an interactive story at heart. There are no puzzles to solve and no guns to shoot. In fact there are no protagonists at all, so any weapons would be a mute addition...</div>
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The story is told by allowing the 'player' to wander freely through a 3D landskape, where the plot progression is marked by peices of auidio being delivered over the ever changing background music at randome points as the player progresses through the landscape. This audio loosly describes a journey, or back-story; through seemingly disjointed peices of a letter, or the unnamed narrator's reflections.</div>
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Technically the new version more-or-less follows the same basic story as the original MOD, but it runs as a stand-alone game with much improved graphics and sound. In addition to this, the play-area has been increases, as has the story content.</div>
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I've often seen people slating this version, saying 'I won't pay money for a commercial release of a MOD.' Well to them I would ask if they have ever seen the difference betwear the stand-alone game reworking against the origonal MOD?<br />
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The diferences are striking to say the least: </div>
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<li>First off the graphics are vastly superiour in the full-game version, being compleatly redone and IMO impruved almost out of all recognition. </li>
<li>Secondly the game has been expanded both in breadth of playing arera and in depth of story.</li>
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The overall effect of all this makes for a much more impressive experience. You are most defenetly not paying cash for a commercial re-release of a MOD.</div>
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The difference really is like chalk and chiese IMO. And remember you can still download and play the MOD for free, as long as you have 'Half Life 2.'</div>
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Dear Esther is an award-winning and critically acclaimed title, and IMO it deserves this recognition. It also purportedly 'made its costs back in the first five and a half hours on sale.' Not bad for what some called an art-house indi game. But there has even been quite a heated debate over whether or not 'Dear Esther' can in fact be called a 'Game'<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>(quotes and all)</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>but I can't fail to think that those slating it as 'not a game' are failing to get the point. After all, If it isn't a game then it isn't a game. Surely the proof of any entertainment-program is whether or not it entertains. And to me it does a very good jobe at what is does. What it defenetly dosn't do is '<span class="st">Call of Duty</span>'<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>or and other FPS you care to mention</i>. Because 'Dear Esther' is not a FPS. Surely by definition you can't have a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>F</b>irst<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>P</b>erson<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>S</b>hooter game without any shooting. Then the makers never said it was an FPS. </div>
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Would I call this a game? To be honest I'm not sure, I also don't think it matters what I call it, except good. So is it, as some of the more arty reviews say, an Interactive poem? Well, like youre take on 'A Game' it's all down to definition, 'A Poem' is largely what people think a poem is, and if you think it is a poem then, for you, it's a poem: just like whether or not you think it is a game.</div>
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I think this works well as an interactive story-book, one step aside from an e-book perhaps. Defiantly innovative, but maybe not enough action for some. In fact 'Dear Esther' is all about atmosphere and story. In this respect the free-roaming playfield works extreamly well for me. I live by the shore in semi-rural Scotland, and the evocative scenery in this looks like it could be just over the next hill, or around the next craggy outcrop down the cost. Some places do look eerily familiar, similar to things I see on a daily basis. We even have a stone circle nearby... although it is not as grand as the one shown in the game. I believe this does give a good impression of the wild and lonely landscape of modern rural Scotland and the storyline fits the solemness of the visuals. It may not be for everyone, but I'd definitely recommend you try thr free 30 minute preview on OnLive. You could probably get as far as half way through the 'game' in this time, if you knew exactly where to go and went in a straight line not looking at the scenery, but that's exactly what 'Dear Esther' isn't about. It's not about finishing the 'game' it's about the journey. It's about standing on a hillside, listening to a sad story, and watching the grass blow in the wind...</div>
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As I said, not for everyone.</div>
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At the time of writing this 'The Chinese Room' is in the process of making a spiritual followup called '<a href="http://www.thechineseroom.co.uk/rapture.html" style="color: yellow;" target="_blank">Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.</a>'</div>
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Is this the future of the 'Visual Poem?' Well that remaines to be seen...</div>Garry G.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10413895048743576038noreply@blogger.com0