Messages

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TalkBack / RE:Metroid Mismatch Mega-Thread

« on: November 20, 2005, 07:58:59 AM »

The winners are something else, I have to say. I suspected I didn't have a chance. I like the first one the best.

My iPod commerical spoof:

Its DeviantArt Page  

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TalkBack / RE:PGC Announces Metroid Mismatch Contest

« on: November 19, 2005, 11:36:26 AM »

Cool contest, I enjoyed creating my entry, even though it's pretty clear at this point that I didn't win.

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TalkBack / RE:Resident Evil to Nintendo DS!

« on: August 24, 2005, 01:47:44 PM »

Wow, you guys are sure down on this. I've never played the first one, so I'm looking forward to it. Also, I think all the cool stylus interaction they're talking about makes up for it being a remake. Heh, they could also make the microphone record sound, so that if you make even a peep the zombies will come right for you. Then you can sweep the blood off the screen and shout "Who else wants some!?!" and get a response. Priceless.

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TalkBack / RE:Nintendo Announces Release Dates For Rest of 2005

« on: August 22, 2005, 02:35:33 PM »

On my must buy list is Tracy Memory, Mario Kart, Mario & Luigi and Animal Crossing. I'll give King Kong, Mario Party, Stikers, Mario Baseball, Fire Emblem and maybe even Pokemon a rent.

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TalkBack / RE:EDITORIAL: The Moment

« on: June 30, 2005, 05:45:26 PM »

I certainly agree with you about Wind Waker, the final fight with Ganondorf is the highlight of the game. I got the impression that Ganondorf already realized he's failure before the fight. Every now and then he stops fighting and just laughs at the rain. I thought that was very powerful, and a first for a game villain; they never seem to expect defeat.

As for that moment of player character connection, I think that's when the game has done it's job. And it's my opinion that the future of gaming is increasing the frequency of those moments, the suspension of disbelieve. I think the game with the best player connection I’ve seen in actually Eternal Darkness. With the aid of the sanity effects, and the constant emptiness of Alex’s grandfather’s mansion, you really feel her fear, you see what she sees, you read and learn what she learns, and you become engulfed in the story. I really noticed it has taken hold when I first learned of the ancient city under the house. After that chapter as Alex, you still can’t go into the basement, and the current state of the city is hidden from you, but you know of its presence and fear it. That’s powerful, and it’s a power games are just beginning to realize.

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TalkBack / RE:New Zelda Info from Aonuma

« on: June 24, 2005, 07:40:16 PM »

I agree with him that full-out voice acting doesn't belong in Zelda. Text-based character speech is more like book dialogue, and not movie dialogue. It should be something you can read at your own pace, without having to feel like you need to listen to a voice-over. People sometimes think all games want to be interactive movies, when this is just not the case.  A movie is always fast-paced, always actionful, whereas a book can go on forever about nothing at all. Furthermore with a book, if you don't like the slow parts, you can skip to the more interesting parts, just like in a game.  If you try to flip through text in games that have voice acting, it gets cut off, and that's sloppy; if it can't match the players pace, it doesn't deserve to be there.

And I've got to say, I love this guy.  Everything he says is golden. Twilight Princess is going to be amazing, because all these little justified details add up.  

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TalkBack / RE:EDITORIAL: The HD Debacle

« on: June 21, 2005, 04:06:32 AM »

I'm one of those people who's not dreaming of HD, and I'm having trouble understanding the difference it makes on games, especially to your average game, which will probably look about the same graphically as games in this generation. So I agree that this is chiefly a PR problem, and you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that most game reviewers are the "money is no object" type of gamer, and are HD ready. But I’d like to emphasize that this is no coincidence, and Sony has implied that the reason they support things like output to two individual HDTVs with PS3 is to appeal to the game media. Frankly, I respect Nintendo doing things their own way, whether they please the journalists or not. Let’s hope this all blows over, and Nintendo wins over the populace in the end by price, service and content.

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TalkBack / RE:Revolution Downloads and Wireless Connection Detai

« on: June 07, 2005, 07:15:06 PM »

Ah well, too bad about the free 221 games out of the box rumors being false.  Should have suspected that myself, though; Such a collection of free games would undercut the classic series released on GBA, making them out to be quite the rip off. George Harrison was probably misquoted in saying that classic Nintendo games would be free - it did sound like he was hinting at the system discussed above. Still, I hope the download service ends up being a classic gamer's dream come true, cost or no cost.

Also, while I'm glad their making a USB hotspot for those without wireless routers, I hope this device will not be required even if you already have wireless LAN.

Also I hope Pikachu is still in Smash Brothers this time 'round.

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TalkBack / RE:Nintendo E3 2005 Press Conference Summary

« on: May 17, 2005, 09:08:17 PM »

Just like Miedo said, Nintendo didn't have a lot of groundbreaking information to deliver this year (Save maybe Smash Brothers Online, and downloadable Nintendo games), so I wouldn't blame them for not whipping up the crowd (Not to mention the Revolution's look was circling the web before the show, so that probably stole some of their thunder). It's not like people were jumping up and down in their seats at Sony's conference. I, for one, liked what I saw, and I can't wait for Zelda and Nintendo online services.

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TalkBack / RE: BLAH BLAH BLAH: GameCube 64

« on: April 05, 2005, 07:03:10 AM »

I think this is the first time I've understood the arguement that Nintendo are themselves responsible for their poor third party support. The way people talk about it, you'd think they beat them like red-headed step children. The bottomline is that they have poor third-party support because they themselves make excellect games for everyone, setting a high standard and often a childish theme. At least, that's the arguement as I understand it now. Frankly, I think being the first system out, having low development costs and online play are more important, all stuff the Gamecube also lacked. The Revolution, however, should have all these things going for it, as well as being backwards-compatible to the Gamecube.  Therefore, not only will the Gamecube be the first Nintendo console that will not die outright in the next-gen, but the revolution plans to fix the major issues with developers. So, "Don't let april fool you." -George Harrison  

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TalkBack / RE:PGC’s Happenin’ Holiday Card Contest

« on: December 24, 2004, 04:37:20 AM »

The art for my submission is here.
My friend's submission, which is awesome, can be found here.    

[dafunkk12]

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TalkBack / RE:Washington Post Says GameCube is

« on: December 04, 2004, 03:17:11 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: dafunkk12

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
Nintendo isn't failing or anything remotely like it (unless the only measure of success in your eyes is marketshare). But they are a relic of the past, a "Mastercraftsman" type of figure in the videogame industry who is now being replaced by Sony's and Microsoft's "factories" that democratize the gaming medium. This is not to say that Nintendo is worthless, far from it. They should be treasured and preserved for who they are, and the values they still hold in their development of games that very few companies share.

That was beautiful.  ::applause::

Yes, it would be a great simile, if making great games was just like making great cars; When all that matters is that next years model looks slicker, is more powerful and has more features. If you think that is true then this discussion if over - we part ways on that point. To me making truely great games is an art, just as with songs, books and movies. Therefore no matter how large and big the business of making games is, the mastercraftsmen will never die, and democracy only replaces true direction.

[Kairon]

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TalkBack / RE:Washington Post Says GameCube is

« on: December 03, 2004, 07:29:00 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
I agree pretty much with IanSane. This article points to the public perception of Nintendo's home consoles, whether or not it is factually true.

And thus, it also points to a disconnect between Nintendo's corporate and developmental culture and modern gaming culture. Let's be serious: Nintendo was and still is built around Shigeru Miyamoto's legacy. This is the guy who's latest game is about gardening (Pikmin 2)... how culturally relevant is that to gamer's in the US, or even Japan? Urban areas have no more green space, and how many boys do you know who are actual avid gardeners?

Let's face it, most mainstream gamers nowadays would call Mr. Miyamoto himself gay.

Not to say that it's their fault. No, not at all. Gaming isn't even going down the tubes. It's just that when you look at this from a larger perspective, you realize that the time for Nintendo to lead the industry as only Nintendo can has passed. Nintendo saved videogames in '84, tyranically revived it with the NES, presided over a golden AGE with the 16-bit era, and finally, with the PSX, had allowed videogaming to reach a point where it could go mainstream, where it could progress into another company's expertise.

Nintendo isn't failing or anything remotely like it (unless the only measure of success in your eyes is marketshare). But they are a relic of the past, a "Mastercraftsman" type of figure in the videogame industry who is now being replaced by Sony's and Microsoft's "factories" that democratize the gaming medium. This is not to say that Nintendo is worthless, far from it. They should be treasured and preserved for who they are, and the values they still hold in their development of games that very few companies share.

But Nintendo had their "turn" as the prime example of videogaming. It's time to let the next kid have their "go."

Besides, who knows what DMA (I refuse to call them Rockstar North!), Maxis, or Bungie can innovate in the field of videogames that Nintendo would never have come up with?

Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

You paint a terrible picture of the gaming world today. I assure you it's not as bad as you make it out to be. I think that the industry can handle more than one concept of what makes a good game.

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TalkBack / RE:Washington Post Says GameCube is

« on: December 03, 2004, 05:04:34 AM »

Hey guys! Turns out the guy who made that statement, Rob Pegoraro, will be in a live chat Monday, December 6 at 2 p.m ET. You can tell him what you think directly.

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TalkBack / RE:The Treehouse Interview

« on: December 01, 2004, 06:24:56 AM »

I love the US translation of Paper Mario 2. They did an amazing job with it, so if you've missed it by playing the import, you should really give in another go in english.

Where was there a white-chalk-outline in the japanese verison of PM2?

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TalkBack / RE:Nintendo Film Studio is a Go

« on: November 29, 2004, 05:45:55 PM »

I'd just like to see some original anime with one of the franchises. A Paper Mario cartoon would be awesome; Tons of likable characters, the plot’s already laid out for them, and they'll have a field day with the paper gimmick!

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TalkBack / RE:Editorial: Feature Hungry

« on: November 25, 2004, 05:27:09 AM »

Quote
After all, what do a touch screen and microphone have to do with each other?

What I find funny about this statement is that one of my Computer Science teachers really loves the idea of a touch screen and a microphone control scheme, and he said so long before anything about the DS came out. He pictures a war application where you circle, or draw symbols on a map while making voice commands. Both the voice command and what is drawn are the combined input. For example, circling an area on a map while saying "move here."

Every game for the DS is going to take this criticism because it is a console of features, features many critics don't really see the use for, because anything done with them can be done with normal gaming controls. But this ignores what makes a good control scheme. A good control scheme is the most intuitive it could be for the application You certainly don’t need touch screen and voice commands to move troops on a map. Hell, you could just go into a command prompt and type “move soldiers to 45,45,45” or something. But I hope I don’t need to tell you why that’s not the best choice. What’s great about the DS, why Nintendo’s Reggie referred to it as the “Developer’s System,” is the level of choice. Developer’s should be able to pick what controls they feel fits their game the best, and this is the first time a console has allowed that. I think that’s something, and I respect Nintendo for their decision.

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Podcast Discussion / RE:Prize Radio Trivia Results for 11/19/2004

« on: November 20, 2004, 02:45:55 AM »

Lokno: 0
I almost had a point...

[Spak-Spang]

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TalkBack / RE:MS Vice Presidents Comment on PSP vs DS

« on: November 09, 2004, 07:32:59 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Spak-Spang
Lokno:  I disagree.  I don't think people view portable gaming as a luxury device for gaming...

Well, I guess I'm not going to get an agreement anytime soon, eh? You may disagree with me, but I'm not going to disgree with anything you said. In fact, I'm only trying to say that I don't believe the GBA fall out of use because of these new consoles, and I don't think you disagree with me there. Reggie has recently stated that Nintendo is marketing the GBA to gamers around the age of 14, and the DS to 17 year olds. They expect these console to survive to together, and so do I.

[couchmonkey]

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TalkBack / RE:MS Vice Presidents Comment on PSP vs DS

« on: November 09, 2004, 07:18:56 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
I disagree, Lokno.  I think that the Gameboy Advance will enjoy a long, profitable retirement...

Again, I think it's a mistake to imply history here, when the Gameboy has never been replaced. The NES and PS1 ( Not PSOne, that's that silly smaller Playstation that replaced it) were replaced. I'm saying the DS is not a replacement for the SP, and you didn't do a lot to refute that here. If people are in fact interested in more and more portable devices, then they can certainly handle the GBA and the DS and the PSP all in the same market together.

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TalkBack / RE:MS Vice Presidents Comment on PSP vs DS

« on: November 09, 2004, 05:51:03 AM »

My opinion on the DS and the PSP are that they are both consoles of excess: you don't have to shell out for these things if you, like the average gamer, already own a GBA and PS2. I originally thought that the DS is port-proof what with it's abstract features, but it is quite the opposite; just look at Nintendo's first launch game, Mario 64 DS, a expanded port. As for the PSP, it's a tiny PS2, if not a little weaker. Any games exclusive to it will be a waste of a developer’s money. Both these consoles are for the gamers who have everything.

So, that said, both fo these console are risky, and when all is said and done, and as Bach said it, the GBA is still king in this market. Do not confuse what's going on here and Nintendo 64 vs Playstation, be it similar. The portable market is a 2D market, with simple graphics and low developer costs. A switch to disk media isn't the golden key here, when battery life and skipping problems will no doubt be packaged with it. I agree they will both sell, but it's not going to be anything to write home about.    

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TalkBack / RE:Nintendo DS Japanese Shipment Numbers

« on: October 27, 2004, 08:07:31 AM »

I heard there are currently around 2 million registered DS in the US. Is there any word on how many DS they'll have ready for launch?

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TalkBack / RE:Editorial: PlayStation or Xbox?

« on: October 25, 2004, 07:24:48 PM »

My answer is decidedly "neither." Nintendo will weather this storm, and they'll be back on top, that I’m sure of. For proof of that, realize what they’re up against, and that they’re still making money in the face of it. In the short term, I’m glad to have PM2, the finest Mario RPG yet.

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TalkBack / RE:Final Fantasy III on DS

« on: October 07, 2004, 05:04:56 AM »

Sir, you underestimate my awesome.

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TalkBack / RE:Final Fantasy III on DS

« on: October 07, 2004, 04:46:38 AM »

I'd much rather have Final Fantasy VI. Your probably right that this is just III, but would be a thousand times more awesome if it was VI.