General Fandom Musings

I have a paper due in...oh, about ten hours. But I thought "What is more important? A blog or a paper?" And my answer was obviously very clear. Not to mention the huge guilt complex being cultivated by a certain person who shall remain unnamed....

During the Christmas holidays, I fell in love. With a TV show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be precise. I always thought that if I ever watched it, I would hate it. It just seemed so cheesy. But I kept getting strong recommendations for it and when I saw the first season for 20 bucks at Wal-Mart, I went ahead and got it. Had to pass the time somehow, right? After I watched the first disc, I was on Amazon ordering the entire series. Less than a month later, I only have two episodes of the series left (and I'm putting off watching them for as long as possible) and I'm halfway through season 2. Again. I'm an addict.

As much as I've loved my entrance into the Buffy fold, I feel like something is missing. I think its being able to watch the episodes back to back. Everyone out there who watched from the beginning is able to connect the episodes with whatever was going on in their life at the moment. And, considering the general age of the Buffy fan, it probably usually coincided pretty closely with what they were experiencing at the time (as far as high school/college goes anyway). And I'll never have that. I just have a month where I dropped everything in order to watch Buffy.

And I'll never have to spend the summer agonizing over who the hell is waltzing around pretending to be Buffy's sister. Or brooding over the death of Angel (so sad...). Because I was able to just pop the next disc in (screw the 9 AM class!) and keep going. There was no anticipation, no agony of waiting. And it did hurt my experience, I think. "The Body" was a trainwreck for me. I was a quivering lump on the couch afterwards. But I was able to just go on to the next episode and let the healing begin. I didn't get to process it. I don't think a lot of it has sunk in just yet: I have vague impressions of what happened in each season (the only way I can really differentiate is by counting the final bosses [and I just turned this into a post relevant to video games] of each season), but nothing has really crystallized for me.

The same thing happened with Firefly. And Queer as Folk. Freaks and Geeks. Beauty and the Beast (ok, I was still a baby when that came on, but still). I find out after the fact, and catch up quickly. Which leaves me where? And all the people who discover the series after me? Somewhere outside the fandom at large. They grew up with these characters. I just met them and received their entire life stories in a single month. It's an odd place to be in.

More Gold Analogies

I was thinking about what I said yesterday... about the shrinking gold mine. I like to re-read what I post actually in the format of the site. I find more errors that way... sometimes I fix them, sometimes I don't... but that’s neither here nor there.

I wonder if the success of the PS2 is actually what is harming the PS3. Granted, Sony has an arrogance about their console, but even still. Sony and resellers have made so much money selling games and controllers and memory units and the actual system (sometimes 2 or 3 times to a person) that it's not worth it for companies to carry and give priority to the PS3. The Xbox 360 has sold over 10 million worldwide. The PS2 has over 111 million sold worldwide. That’s over 10 times the amount of people that would buy PS2 games et al over Xbox360 stuff. And out of that 111 million how many of them are going to be early PS3 adopters? Obviously not too many.

So my thinking is this. Sony did too good of a job getting third party support and getting their system in the hands of everybody and their mother. They did such a good job that companies don’t even want to make room for their new products. They want to continue to bank on the old ones. And bank they will, until Sony stops sending shipments and cuts off support. One would think that would be sooner than later. But God of War 2 (a game that might have sold some PS3's) is coming to the PS2. Why? Because even the game developers don’t want to make a game for a system that nobody owns. They can sell millions of copies on the PS2, or thousands on the PS3... developers have their own gold, and they're not sharing

Why Shrink A Gold Mine

I was in Best Buy the other day and wandered into the game section, it’s where I always end up even when I know nothing I want is out. I saw an abundance of 360 titles, and accessories next to all the Xbox1 stuff. A ginormous PS2 section and even a decent GameCube/Wii section. And then I came across the saddest looking section in the whole store. The PS3 section.

Not only where there no PS3’s, there were no peripherals either! (controllers, cables, memory units, third party devices) It was a tiny rack, and it didn’t even have real games on it. They were empty PS2 theft prevention boxes with the cover art printed out on a crappy printer and just slid in there.



The piece of paper on the top right lists the titles available and the price. What’s even better is that there are 11 games on the shelf, and 15 games on the list… so not only did Best Buy put terrible printouts on the shelf, they didn’t even print the cover to all the games in their inventory? Seriously?

I saw a similar but not nearly as sad scene at Circuit City. They at least had the real games out, all of the ones they had, but no PS3 peripherals either. With still no PS3’s showing up in either store I guess they don’t feel the need to shrink their PS2 section. It is still getting new games, and I’ll bet both big box companies sell more PS2 games and accessories then they do for any other system. Why shrink a gold mine, epically to replace that valuable shelf space with games nobody can play because the system cannot be found… although there are reports of them being spotted by the dozen in some stores that is not the case as far as I’ve seen here in New York.

I know Sony has no control over the placement of their products and they certainly can’t force a retailer to purchase peripherals so this isn’t their fault. I know I pick on them a lot but just look at that image… it’s just so sad…

[Editors Note: This totally would have been up yesterday but my internet wouldn’t let me post for some reason… I liked it better when it wrote itself…]

The Faces Of Evil

I am addicted to Uno on Xbox Live. I am way to into it, living and dying by the turn of every card. The most interesting feature is the use of the Vision camera. It allows me to see the faces of the people who keep skipping and reversing so I don’t get to play a goddamned card. To all you people. I hate you. I am currently 15 and 28, the second best of my friend.

...I need to get out more.

Starting at 8bit

If you started playing video games at the time of 8bit dominance then you’re somewhere around my age, perhaps a little older. Kids growing up today are starting out with games and graphics we never would have dreamed of in the 8bit hay-day.

The other night I was visiting my cousin who is 6 years old… yes cousin not nephew, there’s a bit of a gap in age in my family… my uncle bought him one of those 50 games in 1 N64 looking controller games. He loves it, and was so excited to show me his new video game.

He loaded up the main screen and showed me this list of games. “Look at all the games I have,” he was so happy. He wanted to play “Spar” with me. It’s a wolf and a pig fist fighting 8bit style. It reminded me of the fighting in Blades of Steel. We then played a game called “Zero Gravity” where you have a parachute head and you have to bash other guys with helicopter heads. I was doing pretty well in that game, though the joystick on the controller is pretty terrible and actually got stuck more than once. Anyway he said to me “Have you played this game? You’re really good.” I had to tell him I’ve been playing video games since long before he was born and I hesitated and decided not to tell him that most games look a lot better than this. Didn’t want to break his heart.

So that got me thinking, when I was six the video games I played were pretty much on the same graphic level as the ones my cousin is playing. I was wowed by everything I saw and used my imagination to fill in the parts that were less wow. Especially in games where there was no real story that I was aware of.

While I think it would be great if he got a DS (I’m working on his mother… but its an up hill battle) playing with 8 bit games builds character and forces you to respect the games that came before today’s. I think the pre requisite for owning any current system is logging 100 hours on any 8 bit system.

Starting at Intellivision and ending at 360 and the build was gradual, so every generation has amazed me. After having thought for so long that there are too many kids today who don’t have the respect for old video games they should, but at the same time, I wonder how many other 6 year olds are starting at 8bit, and working their way up?

Evil

Ok, so maybe not evil. but i havent been a very good blogger have I. I'm sorry. It might be because we MAY be moving to another site... possibly. One where i can make thing my way, and pre date posts and they can appear on a schedule... but i'm working on it.

Anyway, hopefully somtime this weekend i can write a few thigns, i've had some stuff on my mind, and that should get me started and back to your regularly scheduled program.

Judging A Game By Its Cover

So here’s the deal. I’ve been looking at cover art recently. Partly because Joystiq has been running a contest where you modify the cover art of Capcom’s new game Lost Planet. Anyway, last night while I was finishing up my own version of the box art I found myself making fun of the box art.

Well, I went through my library of Xbox and Xbox360 boxes… I really wasn’t impressed. Most of them are just a picture of a guy in the foreground making a cool (I use the term loosely) pose and then other stuff receding into the background. Almost as if this is the main characters myspace photo. Box art should be just that art.

The cover as we know it is getting too standardized. Kind of like movie posters and dvd box art of today. Actually… very much like movie posters. Main guy in the front (usually someone like Hugh Jackman) and some scene in the background. My favorite poster (and later box art) is for The Conversation (1974).

Look at it. It’s very pretty, and fits the tone and the story of the movie. You’ve got crosshairs and people walking, a cityscape... the imagry there sets a mood right away and pulls you in. It’s also very nicely designed.

And then there is the Halo 2 cover. And while the Master Chief is looking pretty damn cool, it’s just a guy. And there is no real background. It’s mostly just a red sky. Nothing too grand really, it kind of says epic I guess… or that could be me knowing how it is because the name attached to it means so much to gamers.

I am trying to imagine myself as a neutral party. Looking at all the box art, a pair of Halo’s, Gears of War, even Pocket Bike Racers… even sports titles! I would think that many of these games are the same. Splinter Cell is nothing like Halo, which is nothing like any Rainbow Six title... and certainly none of those are remotly like Pocket Bike Racers which stands in a catagoroy with only Mario Kart.

Looking around myself I notice how poorly these things are designed. What have we been buying all these years? It’s the same covers over and over. I get comfort as I glance down at my Conversation box, knowing that there is hope out there. Seriously, I’m not sure what is worse though. Box art that’s all the same or box art that shows off graphics that are nowhere to be found inside the box are running rampant in this industry. It’s time for indy games It’s time for indy games to step up.

Indigo Prophecy had a sweet looking cover it made me really want to know more about the game and even drove me to their website. And honestly, I’ll say that I actually didn’t ever play Indigo Prophecy but that cover stayed with me, so that might be an even bigger compliment.



Don’t worry dear readers when I design the box art for Santa Takes Manhattan I’ll be sure to make it as innovative as the game play… or at least I’ll promise that it wont look like a movie poster in which The Rock is the star.

Oh, and if you’re curious (and I know you are) below is my take on the Lost Planet contest. It didn’t win. But it should have… it should have…



[Editors Note: Is it selfish of me to make the image I created the largest in the post? Yes. Yes it is]

Miniscule

Mini games are sooo in right now. Wii Sports, Assault Heroes, Rayman, Wario Ware coming soon... on top of that the best selling system (the DS) has loads of mini game carts. I’m thinking there are two reasons for this.

1) ADD. No, not with numbers… A.D.D… Which can probably be attributed to Sesame Street. People are getting shorter attention spans for many reasons. One of which is the content they watch when they are kids. Sesame Street is programming that is constantly bombarding kids with stuff all the time. And I think that may have a part of it.

So these people who were being bombarded as children have aged a little. Now they need to get a healthy dose of ever changing game-ness. And mini games are there to fill that void.

No need to dwell on long term stories or spend hours in a dungeon trying to navigate your way around to finding the boss. Just pick up the controller and change your mind every few minutes.

2) Time. Old people just don’t have the time to invest 20 or 40 hours into a title. With kids, and spouses and careers… ok, so they’re not old necessarily, but they are busy. And yet the game makers have responded by producing quick games that you can pop in with no real commitment. Because another string tying you down may not be something you want do deal with, and the thought of being fragged by some 12 year old might be more than your ego can stand.

The DS has kind of capitalized on grabbing the every day on the go person and pulling them into gaming. And if that every-day-on-the-go person has ADD… well that’s even better, because they probably want some entertainment while they are on the train, or in an elevator, or not doing their work

There are the Brain games of course… Brain Age being the big one as well as loads of other games like Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2. Where there is an outer lying story, but it’s broken up into tiny pieces and you can do a piece then stop and get back to your real life.

The GameCube kind of fell into a party situation at the end of its lifespan. Mario Party, Donkey Konga, and games of the like were pretty successful in my humble opinion. Well I guess it wasn’t just my opinion since the Xbox Live Arcade is just that… a bunch of small games that could probably be busted out at a party. Why else do they have so many arcade games? Because the arcade was the first place people got together and played videogames.

Now, back to where we started. We are currently in the era of the mini game. And the more outrageous things you can do with the controller the better. Weather you’re playing a guitar like controller, or swinging your arms around over your head the crazier the idea the more fun it is to do with your friends. I think that might be why Dance Dance Revolution is popular. Because when you do ridiculous things with your feet to ridiculous music, and everybody wins.

Selective Decisions

So my roommate just bought himself a 40 inch HDTV hooked up with 5.1 surround sound. He pretty much bought it to support his Xbox 360 habit since neither of us watch that much television. Along with his recent HDTV purchase he decided it was time to go choose a format for HD movies.

It was pretty much a no brainer for him since he already owns the 360 upgrading to HDDVD only costs 250 dollars, while a Blu-Ray player would cost a thousand… or the purchase of a PS3. So, yeah he went HDDVD. He got King Kong with the player, and had Superman Returns (since it was DVD and HDDVD anyway). We watched both and it was pretty spectacular. Seriously, it was awesome, and this is coming from a guy who is REALLY critical about how bad most stuff looks on DVD over projection in the theatre.

So today I decided to head over to the good old Circuit City to pick up another movie to add to our collection. After finding nothing good there, I moved next door to Virgin Megastore. Their selection was much larger but still only had maybe, maybe 20 titles for each format (Blu-Ray and HDDVD). On HDDVD there was a lot of Waterworld, Four Brothers, Aeon Flux (shudder) and Sky Captain. Nothing I was impressed by at all. But that Blu-Ray camp, chock full of Fantastic Four, and Mission Impossible. You know, the kind of big action movie you want from HD.

Anyway I was disappointed. I was hoping for something more. Especially after seeing F4… I’ve been in the mood to watch that movie ever since I saw the trailer for the new one. I was angry. I walked 15 minutes to Union Square (where both stores are located) and I was not about to walk back empty handed. I bought Superman II the Richard Donner Cut… I haven’t opened it and I’ll probably return it tomorrow. I don’t even want to see that movie. I just wanted to watch something on HD tonight but now that looks like it’s going to be out of the question.

I have no idea who will win this format war, and I’m going to sit out as long as possible. HD as a format is still getting its bearings and confusing the hell out of consumers and manufacturers, I’m not going to get a player until everyone is squared away.

To be honest I was perfectly happy with DVD until we got this gigantic screen and HD player. I think I may pick up Serenity (delicious) and well… that’s pretty much all I can think of that’s currently out right now that could even possibly look good. Everything else is terrible copies from the DVD. They’re just faking the better resolution. That’s cheap, that’s annoying, and I don’t like it.

Over all, right now, I’d say Blu-Ray has a better lineup of titles. Definitely in the action department. But I don’t think those titles justify the purchase of a thousand dollar player. I don’t think the HDDVD titles justify the purchase of a 500 dollar player. I think the whole thing is going to be pointless because discs are going to be obsolete. We’re going to have media centers soon and we’ll stream everything.

My suggestion is this. If you’re going to get a PS3 anyway, it might be nice to pick up some of your favorite movies on Blu-Ray. Otherwise, if you’re not, just buy yourself a DVD player that will upscale your DVD’s and wait this out. Seriously, it’s not worth it. The titles are crap, and they are just slightly up scaled DVDs.

Episodic

I dropped the episode thing... 50 seemed like a round number, plus the year has ended so it felt like it was time. You can however keep an eye out for my clever titles, they're not going anywhere.

The Coming Year

My must play list this year consists of Rainbow Six, Twilight Princess, Halo 3, Phoenix Wright: Justice For All, Super Mario Galaxy, LA Noire, BioShock, GRAW 2, and Forza 2… and that’s just off the top of my head. I’m sure I’m missing something… I just don’t know what.

Also I’d like to play through Gears of War once more. That’s a pretty hefty list… considering its January 1st and there will be other titles (probably on the DS) that I’ll get excited about that I haven’t yet heard of.

I know I’m going to take forever to beat Rainbow Six. I already own it, but want to play it co-op with two other people and schedules seem to clash. I still haven’t played Marvel Ultimate Alliance. I loved X-men Legends (1 and 2) and I know I’m going to love this game, but time does not seem to permit.

Forza 2, GRAW 2 and BioShock come out in March that excites me very much. GRAW 1 took up a lot of my time I’m happy to say, and I know GRAW 2 won’t disappoint. But March seems like forever from now and I am not a patient person when it comes to games.

Phoenix Wright comes out soon. I will most definitely have to pick that up. It’s the only thing that can hold me over until March. Cause I have a sneaking suspicion that Rainbow Six won’t even get started until February. Hmm… maybe I can squeeze in Ultimate Alliance.

Then there’s the matter of me acquiring a Wii. I was very very close to purchasing Twilight Princess on the GameCube. You don’t understand how much not being able to play this game is killing me. Zelda is my franchise of choice. It used to the ring tone on my cell phone, and I have been contemplating a TriForce tattoo for some time. Knowing there is a new Legend of Zelda is on shelves and I don’t own it is painful. I need a Wii… and Nintendo should send me one. (end rant)

Finally Halo, Mario and probably LA Noire (though that might get an 08 release) won’t be out until probably November… so that’s 11 months of waiting. And by that point there’ll be a whole ‘nother list of titles. It’s a vicious cycle.

Interview With Dave Ver Lee

Yesterday I got a chance to sit down with Dave VerLee from the band Corporeal (of Halo cover fame)and talk about everything from the bands latest album to the current state of video games. We did this using a futuristic technology called AIM... maybe you've heard of it?

Anyway, below is excerpts from that interview and at the bottom is a link to the whole interview. It's pretty interesting stuff (and kinda long so i didnt want it to destroy the front page). Also you'll notice that there is now an "Interview" section on the right hand side of your screen.

I again just want to say thanks to Dave for his time... Ok, here you go:

Eight: So if you will please state your name for the court we will begin the interrogation...er... interview.

Dave: Dave VerLee

Eight: ok, well i just wanted to say wow... I know a lot of people have seen the two Halo theme videos on YouTube and I’m really REALLY impressed.

Eight: you guys have a lot of talent.

Dave: thank you

Eight: so, first you're going to have to kind of explain the story behind the live performance. I had originally read that it was a High School talent show.. but thats not really the case is it?

Dave: No, it was a high school talent show. It just wasn't a competition. Libertyville High School calls it "Collage" because it is a collaboration of the different varieties of talent at our school. The story behind our performance is this: I got my Rolannd GR-33 guitar synth for Christmas our senior year, and playing around with it I found some pretty cool sounds. I am not really a halo fan, but our bassist, Robb Leu, is. We're in a lot of classes together, and eventually we came up with the idea of covering the halo theme. I arranged our piece by, including the Mario bit, and distributed the music to the band plus Hanah and the three blue sophomores. after a couple practices we performed and it was awesome!

Eight: it was most certainly awesome.

Eight: So where along the line did you think "what we need is a violin"?

Dave: Hanah was in my music theory class, and I've known her most of my life. When I think about the theme, I just think "violin solo". So all the puzzle pieces just kinda fit together.

...

Eight: it seems a lot of people really over look audio. Like getting a huge screen TV but not getting speakers and using the tiny ones that are built in.

Dave: yeah. I like using headphones for the "total emersion"

Eight: i c... i haven’t used headphones. But the TV i just got has a headphone port... worth considering

Dave: definitely

...

Eight: On Eight Bit Childhood i have talked about creating a game called Santa Takes Manhattan for online distribution... i have NO programming skills, and don’t even know were to start, BUT in the unlikely event that this game somehow gets started (let alone completed) will Corporeal do the music?

Dave: of course

Eight: that’s the answer i wanted to hear.

Dave: an it will rock

Dave: awesomely

Eight: fantastic.

...

There is more to the interview. You can read it here I took the liberty of fixing most of the grammar and spelling errors from our typing... though admittedly most of them were mine.