Friday, September 23, 2005
No surprise there
Breaking News:
"If you take one thing away from this conference, then it must be that Perfect Dark Zero will be to 360 what Halo was to the original Xbox," said Microsoft this week as it revealed its Xbox 360 retail launch plans.
Hmmm.... where have I heard that before?
April 25, 2005
"If Perfect Dark Zero lives up to the hype (the G-Pinions hype since on one else is talking about it now...) it will sell systems. It will sell many, many systems. In fact, word is MS is trying to ship between 3 and 5 million Xbox 2 by the end of this year. If those systems sell you can bet that the majority of them will be bought with the expressed purpose of playing PDZ. Microsoft will push PDZ to be the next Halo: CE. How many people do you know who own an Xbox and don't own Halo?"
Heck, loyal readers of G-Pinions have known since March 8 of 2004 that Perfect Dark Zero would launch alongside the next Xbox:
"I fully expect PD0 to be an XBox 2 launch title."
Ok, I admit that I did have my doubts that Perfect Dark Zero really would live up to the hype I created. After a lackluster debut on that horrible MTV unveiling followed by a complete no-show at E3, it was hard to be optimistic. Rare has been down for so long that, at times, it seems impossible that they would ever get up again. Has there ever been a time in the history of human existence where a person or company was on top of the world for a long stretch, fell like a meteor back to earth, and then somehow regained that top spot? Perfect Dark Zero sitting at the throne of the First Person Shooter Castle and vaulting Rare back into the limelight would be akin to Rome rebuilding its empire or Eric Lindros winning MVP. To say the least, the odds are stacked against them.
"If you take one thing away from this conference, then it must be that Perfect Dark Zero will be to 360 what Halo was to the original Xbox," said Microsoft this week as it revealed its Xbox 360 retail launch plans.
Hmmm.... where have I heard that before?
April 25, 2005
"If Perfect Dark Zero lives up to the hype (the G-Pinions hype since on one else is talking about it now...) it will sell systems. It will sell many, many systems. In fact, word is MS is trying to ship between 3 and 5 million Xbox 2 by the end of this year. If those systems sell you can bet that the majority of them will be bought with the expressed purpose of playing PDZ. Microsoft will push PDZ to be the next Halo: CE. How many people do you know who own an Xbox and don't own Halo?"
Heck, loyal readers of G-Pinions have known since March 8 of 2004 that Perfect Dark Zero would launch alongside the next Xbox:
"I fully expect PD0 to be an XBox 2 launch title."
Ok, I admit that I did have my doubts that Perfect Dark Zero really would live up to the hype I created. After a lackluster debut on that horrible MTV unveiling followed by a complete no-show at E3, it was hard to be optimistic. Rare has been down for so long that, at times, it seems impossible that they would ever get up again. Has there ever been a time in the history of human existence where a person or company was on top of the world for a long stretch, fell like a meteor back to earth, and then somehow regained that top spot? Perfect Dark Zero sitting at the throne of the First Person Shooter Castle and vaulting Rare back into the limelight would be akin to Rome rebuilding its empire or Eric Lindros winning MVP. To say the least, the odds are stacked against them.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Hard Labour
Before RPG Maker 3, I had never before played a game that so deftly straddled the line between enjoyable gaming experience and oppressive torture. Don't get me wrong, in strictly objective terms RPG Maker 3 is fantastic. Just about everything you would imagine an RPG creation game could contain is on display here. And that is both this game's biggest strength and most glaring weakness. As much as I love creating my own characters and levels from scratch, I have never before attempted to create an entire adventure. While I certainly have a small appreciation of just how much work goes into creating even the crappiest of games, I ultimate realize that I would never have the patience to construct a full title on my own.
Hold on, don't leave yet. I'm sure I scared some of you off with all that talk of torture and thankless toil, but RPG Maker really is quite fun. If you can force yourself to forget about all the things that still need to be accomplished and instead focus on the task immediately in front of you, it is as silly as any other creation tool out there. However, don't go in expecting to churn out an RPG in just a few hours. I made the mistake of jumping in without any idea of what I wanted to do and, after realizing my character would never live in the world I created and the back story made no sense, I scrapped my entire project. Unlike Graffiti Kingdom, you need an actual plan before you begin construction. So let me walk you through just what needs to be done.
First, you need to think of a story. Specific characters and locations aren't necessary now, but every extra detail you can think of will help immensely in the future. The way the game is structured dictates that the actual story isn't written until a few hours into the development, but you need to at least have a general theme in mind. From there, you have to create a world. This is actually the only element of the game that lets you draw freehand. There are eight different types of terrain available, from grasslands to desert and even ocean (I only wish it was filled with pudding instead of water). It's kind of lame that lava is cold and hard rather than hot and melty, but the rest of the terrain is what you'd expect. You need to know a story before this so you create your map accordingly. I decided to make only three dungeons so I put my town in the middle with three branching paths going to the rest of the world. If you screw this up now you'll be pissed that you have to redo it later on.
That part is easy - but then it gets kind of hard. You are able to play with the elevation as well and, for some reason, this is completely unintuitive. You can't actually tell what can be walked on and trying to make everything level is way too hard. Furthermore, only the center part of the map can actually be interacted with. That means the entire outer border can have all the terrain and mountains you wish, but you'll never be able to step foot on it. It would have been nice to know that before I wasted time creating a world I wouldn't be able to use.
After making the world (complete with the option to name it, designate the atmosphere and season, and how often you are attacked) you have to make towns and dungeons. Towns are a piece of cake, you merely choose from one of twenty or so pre-made varieties. Dungeons, however, are quite intricate. Basically, you have to plot out everything by hand. You need to draw a basic wall outline, as well as place stairs, traps and crumbling walls wherever you see fit. It's long and sometimes tedious, but it's quite rewarding when all is said and done.
Are you getting tired reading this yet? It's a very complicated game, what do you expect?
Creating characters and monsters comes next. You have to create both your party and the non-playable characters from scratch. It's easy enough; simply assign them a class and whatever skills you want, but creating an entire town of citizens takes quite awhile. Considering that you'll have to type text for all of them, you'll spend five or so hours just on that. Fun or no? You decide.
Monsters are slightly more fun, though being able to import characters from Graffiti Kingdom would have made this infinitely better. Teaming a dragon up with a golem and giving them 20 hit points between them is fantastic but, once again, creating a slew of creatures can be tedious.
Now that standard character creation and town building is complete, it's on to the truly difficult stuff. Every scripted action in the game is considered an "Event" and all of them must be completed beforehand. There are hundreds of different actions you can create - from having someone join your party to finding money on the ground - so aspiring game designers will never grow tired from too little in the options department. This is the longest part of the game, and probably the most important, so make sure you don't rush through it.
It's a good idea to write the story while you're creating characters and events. When you create every character and town you'll have to think up a brief description for them. If you chose to, you can also make any character you come in contact with offer up a short soliloquy. You'll need to think up a good prologue and ending, as well as reasons why this quest is taking place at all. Again, this is long and difficult, but the easy interface means all of the blame is on your shoulders if you fail to entertain.
Honestly, if you want to create a good RPG that lasts more than an hour, expect to put about twenty hours into simply learning what to do and making it all fit together. Unfortunately, the actual gameplay is merely average - taking a cue from Graffiti Kingdom - so most of the enjoyment will come from the actual creation of the game. Another huge strike against the is the bland art style; it's a shame that there isn't a more robust drawing tool - it's just not as much fun going through a dreary-looking world.
Anyway, I give this game my highest recommendation if you've always wanted to make your own RPG (Scott...) and my lowest recommendation if you only like Barbie Horse Adventure games. Also, if you're planning on buying this make sure you have a USB keyboard - it would be nearly impossible without it. I should say that I am not actually done with my quest quite yet. Though I have put in about 8 hours, I still have to flesh out just about everything I've done thus far. Check back later when Nick reviews my finished RPG. Watch out Square, Queynte and Taint are coming to get you!
Hold on, don't leave yet. I'm sure I scared some of you off with all that talk of torture and thankless toil, but RPG Maker really is quite fun. If you can force yourself to forget about all the things that still need to be accomplished and instead focus on the task immediately in front of you, it is as silly as any other creation tool out there. However, don't go in expecting to churn out an RPG in just a few hours. I made the mistake of jumping in without any idea of what I wanted to do and, after realizing my character would never live in the world I created and the back story made no sense, I scrapped my entire project. Unlike Graffiti Kingdom, you need an actual plan before you begin construction. So let me walk you through just what needs to be done.
First, you need to think of a story. Specific characters and locations aren't necessary now, but every extra detail you can think of will help immensely in the future. The way the game is structured dictates that the actual story isn't written until a few hours into the development, but you need to at least have a general theme in mind. From there, you have to create a world. This is actually the only element of the game that lets you draw freehand. There are eight different types of terrain available, from grasslands to desert and even ocean (I only wish it was filled with pudding instead of water). It's kind of lame that lava is cold and hard rather than hot and melty, but the rest of the terrain is what you'd expect. You need to know a story before this so you create your map accordingly. I decided to make only three dungeons so I put my town in the middle with three branching paths going to the rest of the world. If you screw this up now you'll be pissed that you have to redo it later on.
That part is easy - but then it gets kind of hard. You are able to play with the elevation as well and, for some reason, this is completely unintuitive. You can't actually tell what can be walked on and trying to make everything level is way too hard. Furthermore, only the center part of the map can actually be interacted with. That means the entire outer border can have all the terrain and mountains you wish, but you'll never be able to step foot on it. It would have been nice to know that before I wasted time creating a world I wouldn't be able to use.
After making the world (complete with the option to name it, designate the atmosphere and season, and how often you are attacked) you have to make towns and dungeons. Towns are a piece of cake, you merely choose from one of twenty or so pre-made varieties. Dungeons, however, are quite intricate. Basically, you have to plot out everything by hand. You need to draw a basic wall outline, as well as place stairs, traps and crumbling walls wherever you see fit. It's long and sometimes tedious, but it's quite rewarding when all is said and done.
Are you getting tired reading this yet? It's a very complicated game, what do you expect?
Creating characters and monsters comes next. You have to create both your party and the non-playable characters from scratch. It's easy enough; simply assign them a class and whatever skills you want, but creating an entire town of citizens takes quite awhile. Considering that you'll have to type text for all of them, you'll spend five or so hours just on that. Fun or no? You decide.
Monsters are slightly more fun, though being able to import characters from Graffiti Kingdom would have made this infinitely better. Teaming a dragon up with a golem and giving them 20 hit points between them is fantastic but, once again, creating a slew of creatures can be tedious.
Now that standard character creation and town building is complete, it's on to the truly difficult stuff. Every scripted action in the game is considered an "Event" and all of them must be completed beforehand. There are hundreds of different actions you can create - from having someone join your party to finding money on the ground - so aspiring game designers will never grow tired from too little in the options department. This is the longest part of the game, and probably the most important, so make sure you don't rush through it.
It's a good idea to write the story while you're creating characters and events. When you create every character and town you'll have to think up a brief description for them. If you chose to, you can also make any character you come in contact with offer up a short soliloquy. You'll need to think up a good prologue and ending, as well as reasons why this quest is taking place at all. Again, this is long and difficult, but the easy interface means all of the blame is on your shoulders if you fail to entertain.
Honestly, if you want to create a good RPG that lasts more than an hour, expect to put about twenty hours into simply learning what to do and making it all fit together. Unfortunately, the actual gameplay is merely average - taking a cue from Graffiti Kingdom - so most of the enjoyment will come from the actual creation of the game. Another huge strike against the is the bland art style; it's a shame that there isn't a more robust drawing tool - it's just not as much fun going through a dreary-looking world.
Anyway, I give this game my highest recommendation if you've always wanted to make your own RPG (Scott...) and my lowest recommendation if you only like Barbie Horse Adventure games. Also, if you're planning on buying this make sure you have a USB keyboard - it would be nearly impossible without it. I should say that I am not actually done with my quest quite yet. Though I have put in about 8 hours, I still have to flesh out just about everything I've done thus far. Check back later when Nick reviews my finished RPG. Watch out Square, Queynte and Taint are coming to get you!
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Art even you can appreciate
Sunday, September 18, 2005
TGS: Why was I not in Tokyo?
I guess I should pick a starting point. I'll go with the 360. Firstly, we have a date, as Tom mentioned previously in passing - November 22nd. The thing about Microsoft is that they can't keep a secret to save their lives. I mean, if you ever sneak a cookie from the jar, just eat it and be happy. Don't tell Microsoft - even if you split it with him, he'll still tell mom. Pretty much every rumor, from the 360 name to PDZ at launch to two SKUs to "latter half of November", everything, has ended up almost right on the nose. The fact that a pic of the system leaked days before it was even shown, while the PS3 system, games and every last bit of info managed to stay behind the curtain until Sony chose to reveal it (ditto for Nintendo) is a testament to just how bad this company is at keeping their mouths shut. I could quite easily see a division of their marketing team devoted to thumbing through the Yellow Pages, calling random names and releasing bits of information about everything they plan on doing for the next four years. Something this consistent can't be accidental.
Getting back on track, the release date was fairly anticlimactic this late in the game, though I think it would have taken a Midnight New Year's Eve release to stir me from my indifference about the details. Well, I will say that Japan are a bunch of lucky mofo's for getting an all-inclusive premium SKU, at $50 less than ours no less. Not that Microsoft will win them over anytime soon in the Land of the Rising Sony, but at least they haven't botched EVERYTHING. Despite my gripes, I'm still excited for the system. PDZ and Oblivion were my main interests going into the show, and neither were even shown on the floor (or behind closed doors, as I understand it). So what mystery third game will I now be purchasing at launch? Shockingly, it will probably be Kameo. Gamespot's lengthy developer interview/walthrough video is absolutely stunning, and bumps it up to a day one purchase for me. Don't get me wrong, the art design still makes me want to piledrive a bag of babies into a wood chipper, but every other aspect of the visuals completely floored me. The shape-shifting gameplay looks really, really fun, and at over twenty hours long (so help him if he's lying), I see no reason not to play it. Oh, right, and CO-OP.
What else did the 360 have going for it? Dead Rising still looks like mindless, gruesome fun, Gears of War looks as stunning and badass as ever (and the only game to compete with any supposed PS3 in-game visuals thus far - more on that later), and, um Treasure are working on a new 3D game with 2D gameplay. Which is cool. Yeah, not a whole lot of new stuff going on with the system, but it's enough for a seemingly damn solid launch line-up (which...*sigh*...has yet to be announced), some very cool Live and system functionality to play with, and a handful of games to look forward to down the road a bit. That sounds a bit too much like a certain portable system now that I read it aloud, but let's try and look at the upside of the similarities. Oh, and next-gen Sonic was looking pretty snazzy, but I don't believe that it's system-specific at the moment.
So, PS3? Sony didn't have much of a next-gen presence themselves at the show outside of some rolling trailers, but what was announced and shown elsewhere at the show was enough to keep everyone's expectations incredibly high. Firstly, there's the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailer. Even if you don't give a crapshaith about the series, you have to respect these truly next-gen graphics, and the mood and realism that they can convey. Of course it's all about the gameplay, but those who think that visuals aren't tied intrinsically to EVERY facet of a game are not as wise as you and I. Kojima has always rolled in real-time, and I believe this is no different. MGS3 is probably the prettiest PS2 game, so I can easily believe this coming from the PS3.
A bit of Devil May Cry 4 was shown, Vision GT (Gran Turismo) looked entirely stunning, and a handful of very random sequels (Stuntman 2, Alone in the Dark, Way of the Samurai, and yay! Gradius!) were announced. There was a good amount of original games talked about as well, but they are just names at this point, with very little actually shown. Until then, I'll get excited about sequels if I must. Oh, and I cannot forget Warhawk. Incog made two of the most purely fun games this generation (and were money in the last), so having them aboard is a big, big point of interest for me. And the game looks awesome.
Also, I should say that I really like the "look" of the PS3 games that have been shown thus far, and I don't just mean from a sheerly technical level. While most 360 games seem to share a similar, high-end PC look to them, PS3 stuff just seems easier on the artistic eye for me. Maybe it's to do with the Cell processor (pure speculation, I don't know the first thing about the hardware), but things just look right. It doesn't seem like just a leap in resolution, it seems like an entirely different level and approach. I'll probably bring that up again in the future when I can explain it better (and more has been shown for both systems).
And then there's the REVoLUTIoN, or whatever the hell it will end up being called. I pretty much agree with everything Tom said in the previous two posts. I actually might even be a bit more excited. I think it's a brilliant move by Nintendo, and if this doesn't cement gaming in every home in the country, nothing will. PS3 versus 360 will no doubt be the battle of the near future, but everyone will buy a Revolution AS WELL as their competing system of choice. It's just so different, and looks like so much fun. I can't see many Third Parties warming up any more than they have for the Gamecube, but as long as the system is cheap and Nintendo releases a half dozen games a year, I'm fine with it. Hopefully it's as successful as the DS at being an innovative system everyone wants to play (and develop for now, as a result). And I'll say it now - Zelda at Revolution launch. You'll see.
What's left? Well, nothing of interest was shown or announced on the DS, but it has a pretty packed future as it is. The PSP seemed to have a pretty solid show (competition is good), including one game which I really, really want, Loco Roco. Gorgeous 2D animation, simplistic enthralling gameplay. Speaking of which, Katamari PSP looked good, even if the control scheme (D-Pad as one analog, face buttons as the other) seems silly. Oh, and then there's Every Extend Extra, Mizuguchi's ridiculously-titled new game. Which will be money, no doubt.
My game of the show? New Okami trailer.
Getting back on track, the release date was fairly anticlimactic this late in the game, though I think it would have taken a Midnight New Year's Eve release to stir me from my indifference about the details. Well, I will say that Japan are a bunch of lucky mofo's for getting an all-inclusive premium SKU, at $50 less than ours no less. Not that Microsoft will win them over anytime soon in the Land of the Rising Sony, but at least they haven't botched EVERYTHING. Despite my gripes, I'm still excited for the system. PDZ and Oblivion were my main interests going into the show, and neither were even shown on the floor (or behind closed doors, as I understand it). So what mystery third game will I now be purchasing at launch? Shockingly, it will probably be Kameo. Gamespot's lengthy developer interview/walthrough video is absolutely stunning, and bumps it up to a day one purchase for me. Don't get me wrong, the art design still makes me want to piledrive a bag of babies into a wood chipper, but every other aspect of the visuals completely floored me. The shape-shifting gameplay looks really, really fun, and at over twenty hours long (so help him if he's lying), I see no reason not to play it. Oh, right, and CO-OP.
What else did the 360 have going for it? Dead Rising still looks like mindless, gruesome fun, Gears of War looks as stunning and badass as ever (and the only game to compete with any supposed PS3 in-game visuals thus far - more on that later), and, um Treasure are working on a new 3D game with 2D gameplay. Which is cool. Yeah, not a whole lot of new stuff going on with the system, but it's enough for a seemingly damn solid launch line-up (which...*sigh*...has yet to be announced), some very cool Live and system functionality to play with, and a handful of games to look forward to down the road a bit. That sounds a bit too much like a certain portable system now that I read it aloud, but let's try and look at the upside of the similarities. Oh, and next-gen Sonic was looking pretty snazzy, but I don't believe that it's system-specific at the moment.
So, PS3? Sony didn't have much of a next-gen presence themselves at the show outside of some rolling trailers, but what was announced and shown elsewhere at the show was enough to keep everyone's expectations incredibly high. Firstly, there's the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailer. Even if you don't give a crapshaith about the series, you have to respect these truly next-gen graphics, and the mood and realism that they can convey. Of course it's all about the gameplay, but those who think that visuals aren't tied intrinsically to EVERY facet of a game are not as wise as you and I. Kojima has always rolled in real-time, and I believe this is no different. MGS3 is probably the prettiest PS2 game, so I can easily believe this coming from the PS3.
A bit of Devil May Cry 4 was shown, Vision GT (Gran Turismo) looked entirely stunning, and a handful of very random sequels (Stuntman 2, Alone in the Dark, Way of the Samurai, and yay! Gradius!) were announced. There was a good amount of original games talked about as well, but they are just names at this point, with very little actually shown. Until then, I'll get excited about sequels if I must. Oh, and I cannot forget Warhawk. Incog made two of the most purely fun games this generation (and were money in the last), so having them aboard is a big, big point of interest for me. And the game looks awesome.
Also, I should say that I really like the "look" of the PS3 games that have been shown thus far, and I don't just mean from a sheerly technical level. While most 360 games seem to share a similar, high-end PC look to them, PS3 stuff just seems easier on the artistic eye for me. Maybe it's to do with the Cell processor (pure speculation, I don't know the first thing about the hardware), but things just look right. It doesn't seem like just a leap in resolution, it seems like an entirely different level and approach. I'll probably bring that up again in the future when I can explain it better (and more has been shown for both systems).
And then there's the REVoLUTIoN, or whatever the hell it will end up being called. I pretty much agree with everything Tom said in the previous two posts. I actually might even be a bit more excited. I think it's a brilliant move by Nintendo, and if this doesn't cement gaming in every home in the country, nothing will. PS3 versus 360 will no doubt be the battle of the near future, but everyone will buy a Revolution AS WELL as their competing system of choice. It's just so different, and looks like so much fun. I can't see many Third Parties warming up any more than they have for the Gamecube, but as long as the system is cheap and Nintendo releases a half dozen games a year, I'm fine with it. Hopefully it's as successful as the DS at being an innovative system everyone wants to play (and develop for now, as a result). And I'll say it now - Zelda at Revolution launch. You'll see.
What's left? Well, nothing of interest was shown or announced on the DS, but it has a pretty packed future as it is. The PSP seemed to have a pretty solid show (competition is good), including one game which I really, really want, Loco Roco. Gorgeous 2D animation, simplistic enthralling gameplay. Speaking of which, Katamari PSP looked good, even if the control scheme (D-Pad as one analog, face buttons as the other) seems silly. Oh, and then there's Every Extend Extra, Mizuguchi's ridiculously-titled new game. Which will be money, no doubt.
My game of the show? New Okami trailer.
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