Archive for May 4th, 2008
« Previous EntriesDesigning 2D Avatars for Games [Fashion Matters]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Danc at Lost Garden has done a number of essays relating to indie game design; quite a few of them involve his own 'prototyping tiles' and how best to put together a good working model if you're not terribly talented in the art department. Last month, he posted an interesting look at designing 2D avatars for use in games. A few little lessons for would-be character designers? One key point is that fashion matters:
I dress like the guy in The Fly. My closets is filled with row upon row of identical pragmatic clothes. I wouldn't know the difference between a cardigan and a camisole if my life depended on it (I actually had to look it up.)Yet many avatars, especially those in online games, are ultimately about fashion and style. The cut of the fabric is important. The patterns matter. The colors...don't even get me started on the colors. It is no surprise that some online game companies (like StarDolls) build up such an expertise in fashion that they are launching their own real world clothing lines. So I've been reading women's fashion mags. It's a whole different world out there.
Oh, how we suffer for our art. Of course, there's more in the little essay than fashion tips, but it's a nice little primer on what goes into putting together even the simplest of avatars.
The joy of 2D avatars [Lost Garden]
Forbes: GTA IV is a Threat to the Wii [Console Wars]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Forbes' Brian Caulfield asks if Grand Theft Auto IV, which isn't available for the Nintendo Wii, will finally take some of the shine off that console and slow its sales. He doesn't directly answer that question, but points out the Wii's missing out on a $400 million party. Further, "It's one of a series of good games that will each convince consumers that there is a lot of good content on the other two boxes," an analyst says in the piece.
And if the Wii's sales might is because it appeals to casual gamers, then it's going to miss out when a title for more traditional gamers releases and starts doing gangbusters business. If a title for the Wii is that good, it's easier to port it over to PS3 or the 360, Caulfield points out. Not so in reverse.
Here's his scoresheet:
Sony: Fresh off victory in the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war, which will help move consoles long-term. Plus GTA IV looks better on a PS3.
Microsoft: "Best-in-class online experience" which will see tons of DLC to keep it competitive and reaping money off GTA IV.
Nintendo: Pretty much zilch, and kind of backed into a corner. "It's hard to imagine how the sprawling world of Grand Theft Auto IV — which already taxes the multicore processors powering the XBox and Playstation — could be recreated on the Wii," Caulfield writes. This goes for other games like it down the road, too.
Verdict: "Wii won't die, for sure. But Grand Theft Auto IV may have just given a new lease on life to the Playstation 3," Caulfield writes.
How Grand Theft Auto IV Threatens the Wii [Forbes]
How to Charge Your Gadgets Around the World [Travel]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
The Wired How-To wiki offers a complete guide to staying plugged in while you globe-trot, pointing out this especially bookmark-worthy world electriciy guide, an index to plugs and voltages for dozens of countries around the world.
Ian Bogost on Advertising in Games [Money Money Money]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Ok, so a billboard in a driving game may make sense — but what about games where it doesn't make sense? As Ian Bogost points out, "Would an orc order pizza? Does a dystopian planet from the future need a pacer drink?":
This untapped potential of games upsets the very foundation of advertising as we know it. Instead of surrounding us with images that reflect lives unlived, games can allow us to try out hypothetical lives with new products, people and ideas. To realise this potential, advertisers of both goods and viewpoints must stop blindly inserting their billboards into games or creating feeble copies of the cornerstones of videogame pop culture. Instead, they must start simulating the products, public policy positions, charitable interventions and other worldly ideas in new games - games worthy of our attention.
I'm not sure I want to see advergames all over the place, but if we have to put up with in-game advertising, a little more sophistication would be welcomed.
Advertisers have yet to unlock the power of play [The Guardian]
More on the GTA-Drunk Driving Foofaraw [Gta Iv]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
A TV station in Savannah, Ga. is out doing what Crecente and I commonly referred to as the "gratuitous local." In other words, it's a national story that doesn't have any impact specific to your locality, but you sure can dream up some because it's the kind of story that's real easy to assign. The Grand Theft Auto IV Drunk Driving story fits perfectly, and we will see versions of this for two months, if not more.
Now, you stick a camera on a cop and ask him about drunk driving, real or virtual, and what the hell do you think he's gonna say? WSAV-TV does just that and the results are predictable.
But I'm going to try to see the good here.
This is from Lt. Scott Simpkins, a traffic commander in Savannah's police department.
"Some people are going to say it can be used as an education as well as a game, this is just a game, you know you have to pick and choose your battles. Well, I'm here to tell you, Scott Simpkins as a father, I'm picking and choosing this battle," said Simpkins [who has two sons, 10 and 12 years old]That's legit. That's fair. And if what he's saying is, any drunk driving component, no matter how secondary or nonessential to the gameplay, is another reason children under 17 shouldn't be allowed to play the game, I have absolutely no argument. It's an M-rated game.
And to its credit, the station went to online forums for gamer comment:
One says: "to anyone who hasn't driven drunk, it exaggerates the effects to a degree that i'm sure would scare someone from ever trying to really drive drunk, so it's actually helping their cause."Well, rather than being cynical about it, why not say something like, "Great. For the adults who play this game, I hope this gives them an idea of how stupid and self-destructive it is to drink and drive.""Immediately, I think well good, that's the kind of response I'd hope to see, but I think that's going to be a small number," says Simpkins.
Why is it valid to assume that all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world, but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message?
Latest Version of Violent Video Game Lets Players Drive Drunk [KSAV-TV Savannah, Ga. via GamePolitics]
Zhengtu Tearing Up the Chinese Market [Giant On Fire]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Steve at PlayNoEvil is, I think, as interested in the Chinese MMORPG Zhengtu Online as I am: the game is breaking (or re-writing) a lot of MMORPG rules and currently ruling the domestic MMORPG roost in China. While nosing around PNE, I discovered that — on the heels of the announcement that Zhengtu hit over 2.1 million peak concurrent users — China Daily took a look inside Giant Interactive (developer/operator of Zhengtu) and its tracksuit-wearing CEO. Of particular interest are their marketing strategies:
[CEO Shi Yuzhu] chose the second- and third-tier cities as the battlefield. "Most gaming firms focus on major cities, but in fact second- and third-tier cities are a gold mine," he says. "If you want to post posters in the Internet cafes in big cities, you will be charged (by the owners). But in smaller cities, it can be free and you receive a warm welcome from the owners."In large cities consumers tend to play more games at home, while Internet cafes are the preferred sites for most in smaller cities and rural areas.
Shi now has a 2,500-strong marketing team, which regularly checks whether ZT Online's posters are posted on the walls of the Internet cafes across the country and sell prepaid cards to players to enable them to gain points required to play games. That is quite different from other companies' practices of promoting games mainly in cyberspace.
And how is Giant Interactive trying to attract more women to their stable of games?
He is also hiring a number of attractive female players to play in Internet cafes. "We are giving them virtual golden coins worth 6,000 yuan per year, which are equal to 500 yuan in the real world, to encourage them to play and stay in the games," he says.His ultimate goal is to make the game more fun and lure more male players, especially first time gamers.
"In fact in China's cyberspace many male players are very willing to pay the bills for their female counterparts", he says.
It's an interesting look at a very interesting company. Time will tell if Giant can keep this momentum going.
Breaking the rules [China Daily via PlayNoEvil]
FrameByFrame Makes Stop-Motion Videos a Breeze [Featured Mac Download]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Mac OS X only: Make your own stop-motion animation videos using your iSight webcam or connected video camera with freeware application FrameByFrame. I showed you how to document your parties with a freeware time-lapse application, and now FrameByFrame is taking care of the stop-motion video angle. It's easy to use, and the results—Lego samples of which you can see on the download page—are very impressive. FrameByFrame is freeware, Mac OS X only.
No Carmen Electra in Wii Stripper Pole Game? [Pole Dancing]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Of course, that assumes there will even be a Wii stripper pole game. Peakaboo Pole Dancing says it's in talks with developers and publishers but, you know, "talks" doesn't exactly mean "deal." But Peakaboo, to MTV Multiplayer, confirmed that the sensuous Ms. Carmen Electra probably will not have any role on this pole, despite an announcement that implied she might.
Additionally, [Peakboo Rep Simon] Kay said the game probably won't involve Carmen Electra. When I asked if Electra was ever asked to be involved in the first place, the response was no. But is there a chance she could be involved in the future? "Unlikely... but not impossible," Kay said.I think Peakaboo is going about this all wrong. Instead of developing a stripper pole ostensibly for women to exercise, what it needs to do is create Wii Lapdance Seat for male gamers. That would sell. While your dancer avatar gyrates on the screen, you have to keep your hands on the armrests at all times, and the Wiimote, affixed to your head, assures that you stare ashamedly at her naked body while never making eye contact.
Wii Pole Dancing Intended for Fitness, Fun for Men and Women [MTV Multiplayer]
The Difficulties of Designing For a Diverse Market [Nice Try]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Chris Bateman of Only a Game has an interesting look at Super Mario Galaxy from a game design perspective — especially in terms of trying to satisfy an increasingly diverse audience with a blockbuster title. Looking at several aspects of play (verbs and emotions of play, the camera, lives, and co-star mode), Bateman reaches some conclusions about the successes and failures of Super Mario Galaxy. The question is, can those problems really be remedied when you're coming in with so many competing interests?
It's biggest problem, the handicap it is largely unable to throw off, is that it is the latest in a long line of Mario games and must struggle to balance not only the varied play needs of the modern gaming audience against each another, it must do this against the backdrop of a franchise history unparalleled by any other game in existence. The weight of this history is too much to be overcome in some cases. Between these competing forces, it was always going to be difficult to innovate and amaze, and certainly this game could not hope to exceed the wonderment that Super Mario 64 could provide with its dynamic (and unrepeatable) transition from 2D to 3D.
It's a lengthy but interesting look at a popular title and worth (as almost all Only a Game essays are) spending some time with.
Super Mario Galaxy [Only a Game]
Five Ways to Simplify Complex Controllers [Controllers]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Arriving yesterday in the mail, as if laughing at me, was Assassin's Creed, courtesy of my restarted Gamefly subscription. I had forgotten to change my game queue (I also got The Warriors on PSP. WTF?) So, really, if I were to seriously play Assassin's Creed within a week after getting GTA IV, we're talking about a length of time spent indoors that borders on being incarcerated.
Anyway, this is hardly news, but AC has a control system that will take me a week to get comfortable manipulating. The game is a perfect example of how increasingly complex controllers will give rise to increasingly complex-to-control games. GamePro has a list of 5 suggestions for paring down the buttons and options.
• Reduce the number of face and shoulder buttons
• Merge "Start" and "Select" into one button
• Lose the D-pad
• Use motion-sensing controls (Newton, anyone?)
• Add attachment peripheral (Newt-chuk, anyone?)
Sounds good to me, but I think this is more a question of developer discipline in keeping character control lean and uncomplicated. A lot of extra buttons on a controller will eventually be used of course, so a redesign that strips out some of the lesser-employed options can't hurt. But the controller is not the game.
Five Easy Ways to Fix Complicated Controllers [GamePro]
Get Complete Help Files for Any Google Service [How To]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
It can take awhile to figure out all the shortcuts and features in the ever-growing list of Google web applications. The Google Operating System blog unearths a quick URL hack to display a Google app's entire help file—normally split up on cross-linked pages—in easily-saved and printable HTML. Head to the app's "support center," usually found at, for example, mail.google.com/support/, and add ?fulldump=1 to the end of the URL. Hit the Google Operating System link for direct, download-able links to the most popular apps' full help files.
Will Wright’s Design Philosophy [Philosophical Ramblings]
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Kieron Gillen has a new interview with Will Wright up over at The Guardian, discussing Wright's game design philosophy (more or less):
"What I want to do is craft this landscape of experiences where the player has a huge degree of control over what they encounter," he says. "I think that's what games have as an advantage over any other form of media; that the player is half the author of the experience if the game is done well - or even more so. I think this is the first form of medium whic