and
Adventure Time
Katamari Damacy funSuper Meat Boy
Arrested Development
In
Those stories don't mean much on their own, do they? It's the worlds that those characters exist in, the significance of the characterization of each principal player, and the way they interact with each other that stick with you (not to mention the amazing music, acting, direction of photography, and editing that make them come to life). If you tried telling the story of
Adventure Time
Music games have had their time in the limelight, sadly opting to fade away than burn out. It's curious then that a big name publisher like Ubisoft would take the time to try their hand at this seemingly dead genre with
Rocksmith
Tactical destruction
Battlefield 3 is released on 28 October for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360
So why is it necessary to interrogate games in this way? And can we really have a games award that garners as much mainstream coverage - and intellectual debate - as the Turner prize or the Bookers? Do we want one? Gamers can be rather defensive about the wider significance of the medium, screaming 'it's just a game!' into internet comments sections as soon as any deeper consideration begins.
GameCity is taking place from October 26-29. The winner of the prize will be announced at a special event on the last day of the festival.
HaloHalo
There's a formula that's developed, of sorts, in the few instances we've actually managed to organize
Not that poor gameplay tends to be an issue, either; sure, we screw around on the whole a great deal more after a certain amount of alcohol is flowing through each of our veins, but great things happen regardless of sobriety level as well. An impromptu TB40 session was called for last night (which I missed the memo on, and had to settle for adobo-seasoned tilapia and mezcal as my picked poisons), and our last game saw two non-friends and the married couple dropping just as a capture the flag match began on Utopie (which, normally, is a map I despise), leaving us at four fairly buzzed men against a team of eight (later seven). Despite this, I basically ended up throwing all fear out the window, and snagged two of our eventual trio of flag captures (the second of which causing a ragequit by one of the opposing team's members), defeating their mere single cap and winning us the game. Who says alcohol impairs your reflexes? The guy driving the 'hog on both my pickups seemed juuuuust fine, thank you very much.*
It's not classy, by any means, and there are probably better things we could be doing with our time, but honestly? When it's normal for most of us not to see one another for months at a stretch, lucky if we can get together in person once a year, it's great to have a way, once a month or so, to unwind with awesome, fun people and get a little stupid on the cheap. Taco Bell and 40oz nights help all of us cast aside both the wear and tear of everyday living, and of everyday Reach multiplayer; it's a jungle of racists, elitists, and homophobic tweens who should be in bed already out there, and it's nice to have a bit of liquid aid in not caring what they say or think about you.
That said, there have only been about a dozen sunny days all summer, so the rest of the time I've been full swing on The Swindle, my new steampunk cybercrime caper game. It's going really well, but I'm still laying the groundwork, really: the basics of movement are there, and the level editor's in. It's now just a case of getting enough game elements in to actually make a workable prototype of a level.
I'm still not entirely sure what the solution is - I'm considering making death a temporary inconvenience progress-wise (similar to the Vita chambers in Bioshock), but a massive inconvenience in terms of in-game currency (which is what the game's all about). It's a difficult juggling act, and I'm still not 100% sure what the solution is...
Well, because I'm making a game about stealing things I'm keeping a close eye on Monaco and Subversion - both handle the concept VERY differently to mine, but it'll be interesting seeing how they go about certain gameplay elements we're bound to have in common.
Last week, I asked you to tell me about a moment in your gaming career that really made you work hard. Today, bbain tells us a great story about how difficult it was to unlock The Kid in Write a blog on our current topic, Relaxation, before Monday. -- JRo
My favorite games tend to be ones that are quite difficult. Beating them requires a lot of dedication and patience. I expect my games to be tough and challenging rather than a cake walk; something that I have to work hard at to overcome. Those are the most fulfilling gaming experiences for me, as I actually feel that I've accomplished something upon beating them.
Soon I made my way through all of the Dark World levels to The End. Surprisingly, it took me slightly less time to beat the Dark World End than it had taken me to beat the Light World End. This gave me a great feeling of accomplishment, as if I was finally beginning to master the game.
Oh god, why is it raining saw blades?!
At this point, I only had a few things left to do. I still had to beat that warp zone and get the last remaining bandages, beat The Kid's level, and beat most of Cotton Alley (Light and Dark Worlds). All of these tasks seemed pretty impossible. Since I was tired of trying the warp zone, and I wasn't progressing any further in Cotton Alley, I decided to give The Kid's level another shot, although I had no intention of actually beating it.
I somehow calmed myself down and kept going, and eventually I finally reached her and beat the damn level! I celebrated, and could hardly believe I'd done it! Of course, each warp zone consists of three stages, so there were two more stages to beat before I could lay claim to The Kid. I tried the second stage for awhile, but couldn't manage to make it down the second moving platform without dying, so I stopped playing and turned in for the night, but left the game on to save my progress.
