4 those who see(k) the art in games
Archive for September, 2008
Dead Space 1up Preview
0
I’m quite excited about it because I see very few adult games… even though as far as I’ve seen it’s only the violence that makes it that so far, but hopefully the story will be too, but I must say I’m not at all impressed by the visuals, and by that, of course, I don’t mean in terms of technology, but in the sense that I don’t see any inspiring artwork, it all just seems like "big metal room" to me. I wonder even to what extent you’ll feel lost/the same place, and i mean that in a bad way. But like I was saying: seeing how there’s soo many "all ages" games I’m still quite excited about one that sets itself up for an M rating.
(more…)
Risen – the return of Piranha Bytes
0I am not very impressed by the trailer… but I am impressed by the fact that Piranha Bytes will be behind it. From the people behind Gothic I expect quite great things and depth… I hope. Now if only they’d also do a console release…
Psychonauts
1What can I say other than that I totally recomend this game for a quite special experience. Traveling inside the many different minds, the pleasant differences, art styles, the variety from the torreador mind with the painting of dogs playing cards and the bull, the fascinating Napoleon experience, the mind of the monster which turns out to be the most civilized and in which you are the scary monster, and of course how could i not mention the 60s disco mind the teacher has! brilliant! Oh, and the love story is very cool & funny too! And the milkman conspiracy, of course!!!
PS: the movie qualities do not do this game justice. Even I have a tough time seeing them and while playing it i don’t remember having such problems.
Warhammer online trailer
03 years ago
by Void
in Cinematics
Well, normally you might even say i boycott MMOs … but this trailer had me hooked like I haven’t been hooked by a CG or even movie for a LOOONG time… every other moment I was surprised and curiously waiting what would happen next. I love stuff that breaks cliches and doesn’t let you easily guess the outcomes and the (invincible) heroes.
Zero Punctuation: Too Human
0
Well, I don’t usually agree with his language… but in this case it’s nice to have somebody attacking a game that seems to be about killing a kazillion billion monsters. In principle I like designers who do a game for design’s sake, but i wouldn’t call it that when the main game mechanic is killing hordes of enemies… i’d call that frustratingly "standard". That said i’m curious about the story and i did see some good artwork so… maybe someday…
untill then: wooow, this movie after the show totally got to me. It’s like my dream that i’ve only seen in a few books like Herbert’s Pandora trilogy: the story is more important than characters… and each time you think this is the hero and …
PS: i myself believe in constructive criticism, but i msut say Yahtzee has a wide culture both in gaming and in general and a very funny way of expressing throuh paralels :P That’s the trouble with smart people: they can even do evil things and get away with looking cool :P
Hey Ash, Whatcha Playing: Team Fortress 2
03 years ago
by Void
in Entertaining
Having two sisters… twins even, i can fully appreciate this… :)) Luckily they haven’t played Team Fortress 2… yet.
Life beyond death!!! (in a game)
03 years ago
by Void
in Game Design
David Cage, director of Heavy Rain, said that the game can continue even if the main character dies! wooow!!! This is the best sign i’ve seen from the games industry in years! for many years i’ve been hoping that games will break away from books/movies and stand out in what only they can do, nonlinearity… and this is one of the ways. how very very cooool!!!
From the videogaming247.com article
“I can’t really tell you too much about what the story’s about or how it’s going to work with the characters, all I can tell you that your character – the main character – can die, and the story will continue,” said Cage in a back-room demo the day after the conference.
“You can continue to play, without this character, of course.”
Cage was asked if this meant the player would move into a side-story if the leading character died.
“No, no,” he said. “It’s one big story.”
Room of an angel [silent hill 4]
0I’ve mentioned Akira Yamaoka’s “Room of Angel” before… but this video is just so powerful i have to post it on it’s own. To those who have played the game… well, at least to me, this video takes me on a heard moving emotional journey: the visuals are brilliantly chosen, great editing, even some sync-ing… concepts and … well… amazing vid. Coupled with the superb song it’s so powerful I’m even afraid of putting this vid out there in case it’s viewed by people who’s depth is not counterbalanced by joy for life. Life’s a wonderful thing. I think even those who don’t know the game could get an emotional rush from this. Or is it just my memories while playing it spinning in my heart? Still, I think anybody who says games can’t be/contain art might have a second thought after viewing this… all the lives across the globe it’s touched/moved to sensibilities of the heart and mind…
PS: the concept & illustration on Walter Sullivan shown here really moves me to his tragedy… his dream and suffering is I find very relatable, the orphan who … okay, i won’t spoil it for you…
orcs & dishes…
03 years ago
by Void
in Entertaining
I was looking for some video to post about the old game Heretic that would show it’s artistic value to me but i saw this banner… brilliant concept: a orc washing dishes. I’ve went to the site (click on photo), but unfortunatelly I don’t undestand most he’s saying, I think it’s soemthing about losing his job and now hating dishes :P I originally though it might be something about level grinding… the glory being taken out of games by routine stuff… but still, the concept of a orc washing dishes… had to post it.
Bonus Round 26: The Future of Gaming
03 years ago
by Void
in Games Industry
My opinion:
broader audiences – yes
need for content – yes
longer lifecycles – yes
"no new consoles" – no!
I totally agree that there’s a crysis of content, but i do believe there’s also a need for more powerful hardware. Nothing in the near future (except for Nintendo *maybe*), but in 5 years i think we will see machines with 4x the computing power, power which will be used for better lighting in games. The content problem will be somewhat solved by a shift of the industry to better tools for artists and a growth of the industry to draw in more artists.