Messages

2926

TalkBack / Re: Super Mario Galaxy 2 to Feature Traditional World Map

« on: March 22, 2010, 11:04:18 PM »

Galaxy's hub was one of its few flaws.  I'm very happy to see this change.  Galaxy 2 seems to focus on interesting level designs, so a map makes it much quicker to get to the point.

2927

TalkBack / Re: INTERVIEW: High Voltage Software's Joshua Olson

« on: March 22, 2010, 02:33:15 PM »

There are several possibilities:
- They wanted more traditional controls/MotionPlus was not suited the type of game they were making
- They couldn't get MotionPlus controls to perform better than what they already had
- Those who are proficient in that type of programming are scarce compared to artists - it's easier to replace models/camera angles than the core mechanics of the game
- MotionPlus wasn't ready/development support was limited at the particular point of the development cycle - it's probably not coincidence that there still aren't many other MotionPlus games out, and that it's often not used effectively

2928

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Wii Vitality Sensor *expanding the blue ocean*

« on: March 22, 2010, 12:21:28 AM »

If there's one thing I learned at GDC, it's that there's a disconnect between control simplicity and control effectiveness for different groups of players.  As gamers, we tend to infer a strong connection between the two, but for a large percentage of non-gamers, it turns out that perceived simplicity -- even when effectiveness is near zero, trumps everything.

2929

TalkBack / Re: INTERVIEW: High Voltage Software's Joshua Olson

« on: March 20, 2010, 04:06:40 PM »

Did they mention and I missed it that Tournament of Legends aka Gladiator game is now going for a T for Teen rating?

Yeah.

2930

TalkBack / Re: INTERVIEW: High Voltage Software's Joshua Olson

« on: March 20, 2010, 03:17:40 PM »

I don't think it was "too late," just that they didn't want to spend the time redoing their controls from scratch.  It controls more like a traditional 3D fighter, not like the Sony demo, which means they would have had to essentially redo the game's entire control scheme.  I'm not sure when HVS got MotionPlus units, but AiLive said Nintendo was tweaking them practically until launch, so it might have been hard to develop for until that time.

2931

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Grinder: Hunter The Reckoning + Left4Dead

« on: March 20, 2010, 03:01:46 PM »

No.  Check out our interview-- it's all up in the air right now.

2932

TalkBack / Re: INTERVIEW: High Voltage Software's Joshua Olson

« on: March 20, 2010, 02:54:15 PM »

The rest of the interview is up!

2933

TalkBack / Re: Tokemeki Sequel to Use 4-Gigabit DS Card

« on: March 20, 2010, 01:36:12 PM »

If the Playstation Final Fantasies were to ever come to the DS, they would be very big game cards that would be well over 1 Gigabyte a piece. Most of this is due to full motion video.

No they wouldn't.  Video compression technology has improved significantly since the PlayStation era.

2934

NWR Feedback / Re: What happened to the birthdays?

« on: March 18, 2010, 05:34:17 AM »

Fixed.

2935

NWR Feedback / Re: Post malfunctions..... it can't just be me.

« on: March 18, 2010, 05:25:49 AM »

Are things any better?  The new release supposedly has a lot of editor changes.

2936

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 18, 2010, 05:23:55 AM »

Don't forget Game Crazy. Game Crazy is the closest thing in the States to a direct competitor for Game Stop. Unfortunately they are starting to follow similar practices to GS from what I hear.

I forget Game Crazy because I have never even SEEN a Game Crazy.

2937

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 17, 2010, 07:57:16 PM »

I bet Capcom could have put out a demo as a Free item in the Wii Shop.  But it would have been way too big for the Wii's memory.

2938

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 17, 2010, 07:09:27 PM »

I've had problems with Best Buy too, mostly in regards to sales and getting games in on time. I actually don't like Target at all. They have an extremely limited selection (at least, mine does), worse than Wal-Mart, and the stuff I actually go there in search of is never, and I mean NEVER on sale for more than like $5 off.

Yeah, I'm a CAG, so I very rarely actually go to Target, I was just saying if you're going to pay full price, it's an option where they don't treat you like ****.  I buy the large majority of my games online, where better deals are usually found.

2939

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 17, 2010, 05:45:15 PM »

If I need a large-volume game immediately, I'll just go to Target where I don't have to put up with any of that crap.  Or, I know it's not an option for most people, but I can go to Fry's and get the game at a discount, even new.  If I need an obscure game, I'll use Amazon or eBay (I've never been able to find any obscure games at Best Buy).

One example regarding Best Buy: My roommate tried to get a laptop during a Black Friday sale.  After waiting for hours in line, they try to give him a laptop with a bunch of extra software he didn't want preloaded.  And he would have to pay for all of it.  The alternative was to wait for several more hours for them to uninstall it.  On top of that, the return policy wasn't standard because they had opened the computer to install the software.  Bait-and-switch bullshit.

2940

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 17, 2010, 05:33:44 PM »

Indeed.  The only place I avoid more than GameStop is Best Buy.  I have my own set of horror stories regarding that place.

2941

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 17, 2010, 01:08:32 PM »

Funcoland is what turned into Gamestop. I remember those days.

Actually, GameStop ate all of the other game retailers: Funcoland, Babbage's, Software Etc., EB Games, Rhino Video Games (and several other international retailers).  Those other stores used to be a lot more interesting before GameStop took over the entire market.

2942

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 17, 2010, 04:27:24 AM »

The Gamestops around here have generally been good -- except for their policy of "resealing" games with a sticker and selling them as new.  When they tried to pull that on me, I demanded the used rate.  They said it was corporate policy and they couldn't do anything about it, so I made them refund it, and they did so without protest.  Too bad it was the only copy in the store.  It's because of that and their general used games rip-off racket that I usually avoid the chain completely.

2943

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 16, 2010, 11:26:56 PM »

Also, and don't take this the wrong way, is there a specific criteria on NWR as to what is a blog post and what is an editorial?

We're going to be merging and reorganizing these two sections soon.  The Editorial label will mean they've been fully edited and are meant to provoke deeper discussion.

2944

TalkBack / Re: EDITORIALS: At GameStop, Freedom Has a Price

« on: March 16, 2010, 11:25:00 PM »

Capcom was giving these discs away at GDC, so I thankfully didn't need to get the Gamestop experience this time.  They are obviously meant to be free.  Heck, at GDC, I asked for one, and the rep handed me three.

Regarding Gamestop... I take Zogby online polls that are occasionally e-mailed to me.  Usually, the questions involve political opinions, but the last one I took had some interesting questions relating to gaming.  They were asking which specific retailers I use, online and offline, to purchase games, new and used, and reasons why.  But what I found most interesting was the inclusion of a free response section where I could give my opinion of Gamestop (they alone were singled out for this).  I wonder what they were looking for (could it be related to all of the negative experiences such as this that pervade the internet?).  Anyway, be on the lookout for the results from Zogby.  If you're interested in getting these kinds of polls, you can sign up here: http://interactive.zogby.com/pollregistration/registration/index.cfm?refsite=tell

2945

TalkBack / Re: INTERVIEW: High Voltage Software's Joshua Olsen

« on: March 15, 2010, 11:54:35 PM »

Yes, I think I asked most of your questions.

2946

TalkBack / INTERVIEW: High Voltage Software's Joshua Olson

« on: March 15, 2010, 09:35:52 PM »

We talk to the producer of The Conduit about lessons learned from that game, as well as what we can expect from their upcoming games.

High Voltage Software is a game developer located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, one of the few developers left near Chicago.  Initially developing licensed games, the company has grown tremendously over the past few years to well over 100 employees.  Their parking lot has overflowed into surrounding lots.  High Voltage’s labyrinthine office hides groups of talented artists, designers, programmers, and testers.  The company even has its own motion capture studio, Red Eye Studio, located nearby.  The Conduit, an acclaimed first-person shooter for the Wii, was their first completely independent design.  We sat down with Joshua Olsen, producer of The Conduit, to talk about lessons learned from the development of that game.  Later, we chat about their upcoming games, Tournament of Legends and The Grinder.

Read the interview...

[supposedly a blast to play]

2947

TalkBack / Re: Rage of the Gladiator Interview with Ed Roman

« on: March 15, 2010, 04:55:27 PM »

I am really thinking of getting this game, looks like it has fantastic production values and is supposedly a blast to play.

It wasn't when I tried it.

2948

TalkBack / Re: Super Mario Galaxy 2 to Feature Super Guide

« on: March 15, 2010, 03:37:51 PM »

I wonder what the status actually is.  I was surprised at how unfinished the build at the media summit was given its upcoming launch date.  I think there's a reason they didn't allow footage and it didn't show up at GDC.

2949

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Interested in Future Kid Icarus Title

« on: March 15, 2010, 03:18:35 PM »

Maybe everybody should create a Kid Icarus microgame in WarioWare DIY.

2950

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Interested in Future Kid Icarus Title

« on: March 15, 2010, 02:42:57 PM »

And how exactly do I make my voice heard?

That's always the problem.  There doesn't seem to be a line back from global consumers back to Nintendo in Japan.