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Thursday 21 February 2013

Why We Love To Game


As much as I love it Bioshock will never really be remembered for its high concept ideas or the way it plays around with the lack of autonomy within an FPS. The legacy is Andrew Ryan, and Rapture, and in most cases it'll be remembered for that scene with the golf club, and for Sander Cohen and Fort Frolic. Bioshock 2 had Sofia Lamb and the Big Sister, and an even more dilapidated Rapture falling apart at the seams.  As faulty as either game are they are strong and that’s because of their character relationships and their location more than their originality.

This is the case for a lot of games these days and you can usually pick one of the following as the key reason for people to develop the ‘fan-boy’ syndrome.

The protagonist is always a good starting point; an interesting life or personality trait can bring a player into the world as if it was their own. LA Noire for example wasn’t the most content driven game but the characters acted, looked and felt like all the different people you pass in the world around you. Even chatting to a character for a few brief moments gave them a background in your own mind and implemented certain agendas behind their actions without the need for the player ruthlessly interrogate them.


Heavy Rain was another example of this with its crystal clear facial animations and communication techniques. Both games spin off in wildly different ways but the storyline and the investment of the characters made sure people stayed around until the end.

There are also more stoic examples of characters that drive home the adventure of the game you are playing. Gears of War has Marcus Fenix; the large, fairly intelligent muscle shield. Uncharted has Nathan Drake; the witty, smart-mouthed Indiana Jones mirror. These characters might not be the Average Joe’s of the world but their sometimes ‘one-sided’ approach makes their games easy to follow and their intentions easy to understand. They don’t have the twist and turns of the interactive storylines but follow linear paths that don’t differentiate no matter how many times you play through. Sometimes it’s the over-the-top effects and easy to follow gameplay that the fans what to feast on. It isn’t always about interaction as much as fun!

Sometimes it’s the protagonist polar opposite that draws the player in. Take Borderlands 2 for example; the four playable characters don’t say a lot but the cast of quest givers and the overly confident Handsome Jack make the player want to reach the end. This isn’t due to the fantastic character driven scripts or interaction but the damn arrogance of the ‘bad guy’. Handsome Jack is the most fleshed out NPC of recent years, with his rich array of derogatory sayings, he is now one of the most loved enemies ever created and won a host of awards last year. Interestingly you only ever see him once or twice and beyond that he bombards you with witty remarks over the radio.

While some players drift into characters and interactions, others crave vast worlds and non-linear gameplay. Take the Elder Scrolls series for example; a rich open-world environment littered with interesting quests and rewarding loot. This series has never had the best storylines but give the player a chance to do what they want almost from the very start. You can spend hundreds of hours in these games without even starting the main questline. It’s an amazing achievement but one that some fans’ don’t enjoy – it’s often the case that players will like a bit of hand holding during their playtime and this massive world has little to none of the tutorials that fit in nicely with the franchises of Call of Duty or Fifa. It’s a known fact that large experiences like the heavily invested worlds of Bethesda are too daunting for some.

The environment of a game-world is often a key ingredient for most gamers. One of my friends in particular loves the recent Fallout cannot invest an interest into any of the Elder Scrolls outings (despite the barebones gameplay being remarkably similar).


Sometimes it’s the vastly different offerings that make a game so synonymous with its fan base. Take the Zelda games for example; although some have shifted from the norm lately – I’m looking at you Spirit Tracks, the games are usually set in the large, colourful and remarkably diverse world of Hyrule. This glorious and sometimes bizarre setting harbours secrets and puzzles galore. Every stone and every corner has something unique to find or do and the almost linearly specific dungeon to dungeon requirements contradicts the open world gameplay nicely. Every time you pick up a new weapon or device the game opens up a little more of the world for you to explore as these all have effects on the open world around you as much as the creatures you are trying to defeat. The Ocarina of Time, and the fan favourite Links Awakening, are often requested for HD remakes and you can easily track the increase in 3DS sales when the OOT remake was actually released.

Fanboying (or fangirling for all you politically correct readers) depends on what type of gamer you actually are. If you are a part time gamer then there is a chance are you aren’t going to enjoy the large scale environments of Skyrim, Fallout or World of Warcraft. Hardcore games however are probably going to enjoy the games they can really get their teeth into more than the slim offerings of a linear shooter. Whether it’s the simulation of sport in a game like Fifa or the personalisation of the Mass Effect series – we all have something we love and something we hate. Chances are there is someone you know with a differing opinion already and that’s why games are great. Wouldn’t life be boring if we all enjoyed the same things?

And on that note – I Seriously Didn’t Enjoy Wind Waker!

Why Nintendo Were Direct


In just over 30 minutes Nintendo’s new ‘Direct’ broadcast managed to make a better case for the future of the Wii U than the entirety of the last 12 months and any of their recent E3 outings combined. Nintendo have always been a quite and secretive company but the release of the 3DS and now the Wii U had both been hampered by the lack of vocal advertising from the Japanese powerhouse.

Nintendo have simply put a tablet driven device in front of us and asked that we imagine the possibilities – on our own. Unfortunately our imaginations have limits, in particular when faced with something completely new, so we need to see some examples of the future before we have any idea what they might be going for.

However, these mental transitions happened at considerable speed and when your system suffers to feature any new content for two months after its launch your looking at a downturn not unlike the 3DS. People started looking toward the tablet and mobile markets as well as the aging generation of consoles from Microsoft and Sony.

Nintendo did something remarkable in their direct broadcast though that has put the big developers and publishers to shame. They are often secretive but they manage to consistently find ways to format their content delivery in ways that shakes the direction of peoples vision – what was seemingly a peripheral vision is now in the eyesight of gamers everywhere. The Big N delivered dozens of new games, showcased ideas for the tablet controller and showed off what to expect in, not only months, but years to come.

The Wii U is not only home to innovative play styles, but epic, core experiences rivalling the grandest endeavours ever.

Even more interesting the showcase was completely Nintendo exclusive and the glee of what was shown has certainly wet mine, and many thousands of other peoples, appetites. The brilliant of Yoshi’s Island won’t be appearing on your smartphone, the gorgeous Wind Waker won’t make it onto your Sony system and Microsoft won’t be licensing Super Smash Bros’ anytime soon.


These improvements are what made today so remarkably potent. Nintendo has started to provide a real sense of strategy for their marketing of the Wii U and it wouldn’t surprise me to find Microsoft and Sony following the personalise announcement route (potentially for their new systems too).

That is really what made the Nintendo Direct conference so potent, and not just the AAA announcements that no-one predicted, for any gamers who actually can about games this was probably the biggest 30 minutes of the last 18 to 24 months. The GamePad’s innovation means nothing without games, the Miiverse social community doesn’t matter either, not does the fact the original Wii remotes and games work on the new hardware. Nothing matters for any ‘Video Game’ system without compelling games. Features and ideas, although great, only matter when combined with good quality software.

More than simply confirming games and services, Nintendo have done something very clever. It has tipped its hand towards what ought to be a very powerful display at E3 2013. Assuming this isn’t the entirety of its presentation they have confirmed a 3D Mario, a new Mario Kart and Smash Bros. It’s a time when the other publishers will be focusing on presentations for their new hardware and Nintendo are looking to carve a niche in an otherwise hardware related show.

Microsoft and Sony will be where Nintendo were last generation - attempting to convince gamers that remarkably similar visions are somehow radically unique. Meanwhile, in the booth next door, Nintendo’s innovation will be on display, playable by all.

And that underscores the opportunity we’ve all suspected Nintendo might have, even if it’s taken the publisher a while to embrace it. Regardless of the ‘limited’ system power the diverse range of exclsive Wii U titles are still showing exciting prospects. In some ways the announcement of the HD Wind Waker trumped everything else but this is only because of the huge fan-base the game already has. It’ll be an interest 12 months for the Japanese company with their eShop starting to flourish as well.

Nintendo’s vision is taking shape, moving from the theoretical to the real, even with some proposed games sitting on the distant horizon they are giving more and more people a reason to get involved. But it must be said that the company isn’t necessarily building upon a lead, but making up for lost time – and that’s the most interesting thing. Anecdotal evidence continues to suggest Wii U suffers in the minds of gamers, due in part to a lack of information leading the masses to draw their own conclusions. With brand new consoles from Sony and Microsoft on the way, there are considerable challenges ahead for a platform that by any definition will simply lack the power of its counterparts, and perhaps by extension widespread third party support.

Nintendo can’t and won’t stop now and the ‘Direct’ announcement program is definitely the best way to show the fans what the Wii U inevitably wants to deliver. It’s difficult for me to say it, but, Nintendo still need to do more. People are always cautious of change but in less than 30 minutes they have once again showed their ‘outside-the-box’ thinking. I want to see more from Nintendo not only because it assures us that the 3DS and Wii U have a future, but because watching this vision of the future is a sight to behold.


Illumiroom


During Samsungs keynote at CES earlier this week, Microsoft unveiled their new IllumiRoom technology. Principally this turns the entire room around your TV into an extension of the screen itself. Microsoft’s official site confirmed that IllumiRoom uses the Kinect sensor and a projector ‘to blur the lines between on-screen content and the environment we live in allowing us to combine our virtual and physical worlds.’

This new technology will augment the area surround the television set with project visualisation to enhance the entertainment experience. The Kinect sensor is used to map the geometry of the room in question and helps to adapt the projected visuals ‘in real time’ to match the display of the console.

In the video demo shown at the conference, Microsoft showed off several different applications for this technology. They explained that the footage was ‘captured live and is not the result of any special effects added post production’.

IllumiRoom appears to be the realisation of the immersive display experience that Microsoft patented last year, which aimed to make gaming ‘more realistic’ but eliminating ‘out of context images’ that site next to your TV.

Whether or not IllumiRoom will tie-in with the next Xbox iteration of Kinect remains to be seen but Microsoft have already confirmed that more details will be revealed at the ACM SIGCHI Conference in Paris in April.


Pokemon X & Y


This week marked an important time in the handheld market as the Pokémon Company International and Nintendo official blew our minds with the announcement of new instalments in their key franchise. Interestingly the pre-announcement speculation was about a new movie or spin off title so this event went down even better than expected with the industry as a whole.

Pokémon X and Y will mark the very first entries in the next generation of Pokémon (which is Generation VI, for those of you keeping check). They’re also the first set of core games to use the 3D graphical capabilities of the 3DS system. Marking another first for the series – both games have been confirmed to be launching worldwide in October this year. This means that all Pokémon fans will be able to start the game at the same time rather than watching the Japanese market for 6 months first.

Outside of the trailer and the screenshots released very little has actually been revealed but speculation is already growing. Of course most of the information listed below is speculative but based on the usual formula we can expect this to be pretty close to the truth.

Firstly the biggest announcement was the introduction of new Pokémon to the series again and therefore new starters – Chespin (Grass), Fennekin (Fire) and Froakie (Water). These actually look like reasonable character designed but if Fennekin is another final form Fire/Fighting monster I’ll kill myself.

The trailer showed off the new dynamic battle camera. No longer stuck behind your critter it looks like we’ll be treated to several angles and movement dependant on attack, and possibly battle area. It should make the usual experience grinding a bit more exciting and with such a large move pool this has to be a welcome addition for most fans.

Incidentally the 3D Pok̩mon models look very similar to those in the Pokedex 3D Pro application that released late last year (and ironically was touted in one of my previous articles as a stop gap for these animations in a core game РGO ME!)

Although the trailer was brief, at around 1 minute, it did also give us a glimpse of the legendary monster titles in the game names. The monsters themselves look like the letters of the games with the Y-shaped bird monster Yveltal and the X-shaped deer Xerneas on show.

It also appears, from the trailer at least, that you will be playing as either a male or a female trainer who maybe a bit older than in previous generations. That could just be down to the new viewpoint but who knows….

It’s also worth noting that the cute mouse Pokémon Pikachu was also on display. It’s probably therefore a safe assumption to think that this new installment will not be a new Pokémon only game, a’la Black and White, as you appear to be able to catch monsters from the previous generations too. This also means that trading between these instalments and the DS generations will likely be a possibility sooner rather than later.

The trailer also showed off several varied locations from standard towns to roaring deserts. Interestingly one of the shots shows the trainer running down a route that appears to be marked with a ‘3’. This could be interpreted that the map layout and progression will be akin to the other games of the past. There is also ‘long grass’ on show and waiting trainers for all you Pokémon battle needs.

One other side note is that we can also see the male trainer rollerblading through a city. Some people have already speculated that this could replace the bike as the fastest means of transport as we also get a shot of the female trainer running over a bridge. Another point worth noting is the Eiffel Tower style building in the background of the shot, suggesting that perhaps this region is based on ‘Europe’ or ‘France’.

There also appears to be several puzzle areas on display within the trailer which, due to past histories, are likely to be gym trials. The first one is almost certainly a gym with a symbol on display on the two columns by the front door. The room materialises from nothing and could outline a psychic gym again. The second shows some ‘electric’ style webbing which you can bounce on and also some vines to swing on. This could well be the return of a bug or poison gym.

Finally there is also a temple of some kind with giant columns of fire. If this is also a gym then it’s probably the largest yet but then again it could also show that the standard world map will also have different puzzles and movements based on the different routes. Perhaps it is somewhere you meet one of the legendary monster, perhaps even the flying Yveltal.

It going to be an exciting year for Pokémon Masters everywhere and it is sure to also include several minor releases over it’s duration. How many more monsters will there be? How big will the gameworld be? Will there be any changes to the tried and tested formula?

Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below….


Making a Universe in WWE13


On Monday night I sat through my first WWE PPV for almost 5 years (excluding the yearly Wrestlemania event) and found myself wondering how the wrestling genre had progressed from the Smackdown and No Mercy games that ruled my life in on the N64 and PSOne.

It was this intrigue that got me to pick up WWE 13 and this week I have been busily running through the ‘Attitude Era’ mode as well as the WWE Universe. As a teenager my evenings often consisted of playing the Smackdown 2 career mode, and the Universe Mode of WWE 13 shows a lot of dramatic improvements to the formula I loved – not that I’m surprised.

Universe mode adds a lot of new customisation but a few odd designing decisions made by THQ means that some of these disable the very things that separate it from randomly generated Exhibition options.

Looking at any WWE 13 fan message board shows numerous posts expressing confusion over ‘Universe’ Mode and the lack of cut scenes and storyline developments. Players can edit the schedule of matches in any way they want and even add in new shows. Players can also edit a whole match card; adding stipulations, title bouts and changing participants. The problem is that using these features in any way can cancel feuds, storylines and partnerships. Apparently this wasn’t a problem last year and the customisation still allowed these stories and relationships to continue.

This appears to be a massive step backwards and if you want all the bells and whistles then you really need to let Universe Mode run itself.

I have however had a lot of success in editing the mode to my liking and regularly see the cut-scenes and storyline developments that have made this a great mode.  Firstly you should know that your Universe is going to be dramatically different from the WWE programming and to every other player. If you want to play a WWE matchup - do it in Exhibition.

The key to my Universe Mode being so successful is the initial setup I have gone through. You need to develop a basic idea of what shows you are going to run so that you can organise the roster properly and, although it seems tedious, micromanage the ranking systems, stables and enemies for each superstar. This will help Universe detect exactly what you are after and run with it as it would the standard setup.

What I did was delete every single rivalry and ally for every single superstar, created or original, in the game. From there, I set up both rivalries and allies for each superstar the way I wanted universe to work in my mind and for my feuds to develop. For example I got The Rock and HHH back to being rivals and set them next to each other in the rankings to ensure the bouts came thick and fast.  
I also really enjoy technical wrestling so I set up a feud between Chris Jericho and C.M. Punk; making these two guys the most intense rivals of each other. I also wanted Daniel Bryan (who I remember from Indie wrestling a few years ago) to be involved as well as a created version of Kurt Angle that I downloaded off the community creations server in the game. I made all those guys standard rivals.

Personally I didn’t change the schedule but I can imagine that this guide will allow you to tack on extra events here and there. The second most important step, behind rivalries and allies, is the rankings order. To ensure I got Universe Mode to bring my four-way into fruition I made sure that all of these superstars were the top 4 contenders for Punk’s title. You will want to try and flesh out a good mix of faces and heels into your rankings; try booking people you want to feud together as well as adding rivalries to ensure that Universe Mode has a good idea of how to push forward your expectations.

The other things you must remember are:

·         Matches must be played to ensure rivalries are created and continued. If a match does not give you the opportunity to interfere then the Universe Mode is scheduling a storyline/cut scene to happen.
·         Remember do not change anything on the card or all of your hard work is likely to be cancelled! That means don’t change attires, add managers, change participants or change match stipulations.

If you ‘MUST’ tweak things then I would encourage you to book feuds through the minor show. Again if you have the interfere option available then the Universe system is unlikely to have set a feud for the superstars already. These are the only matches I would change – although don’t blame me if your whole experience collapses – you have been warned. Using this customisation, amend the match on offer and then interfere with the character you want to be included in the feud (usually the heel) and get him/her to attack the other party.

On a side note if you want a tag team to stay together in Universe Mode, don’t trust turning off the option to split teams up. Users have reported Universe Mode splitting up their teams even without this option enabled. I have found success with the old method of including a third person in the stable from the “Inactive” brand. I put all the Divas in that brand and then include one of them in the stable of the team I want to keep together.

The last thing you should know is that you need to keep checking your rivalries and allies. I check them for every superstar after each PPV. Delete any you don’t like and add ones that you want to see Universe Mode do something with. The rivalry and ally screen should be your best friend. It is something you should check often and change whenever you don’t like the direction something is going. This is your best way to alter Universe Mode.

If you have done all this, chances are Universe Mode will do a pretty good job of making it interesting enough to keep you engaged. In my universe the epic four-way resulted in an extended run of Kurt Angle holding the title for nearly a year, feuding with everyone from the Rock to Sin Cara. Feuding superstars often interfere in each other’s matches, attacking one another at every opportunity to get the upper hand.

Please let me know how this works for you on twitter @somemanwithplan in the comments below. Also feel free to add in any other tricks of the trade – let’s improve through sharing……