Sunday, November 9, 2008
Fast Food Mascots in Street Fighter Alpha
11:00AM Owen Good | Taking us up to midday, some humour. I find this fitting because I may be working in a fast food restaurant come Christmas. It’s a long hilarious story whose punchline rhymes with “schmaid schmoff.” No not from Kotaku. Anyhow, I’m super pissed the Hamburglar is not in this game. Nor the Fry Guys. Then again, when was the last time you saw Wendy’s bewbs? Ronald as a laconic Joker-esque figure is a nice touch, although my guess is they’d have to tone down his finishing move just to get the T-for-teen rating, too. More »
Where Was the Editor on This One?
10:00AM Owen Good | This is a terrible trailer. We’ve all been over the morality discussion of World War II games, or any game that simulates an actual war in which real people we know fought. For this genre, that hard rock accompaniment to Call of Duty: World at War’s launch trailer is atrocious, and I certainly hope it’s not going out on television (where the trailer is much better). “NO RULES?” Is this a UFC montage? “NO FEAR?” What, we’re reducing World War II to a rear-window sticker in a white trash lowrider? Where’s Calvin pissing on Japan? More »
Bender/Fenix Voice Actor: ‘It’s a Double Nerd Boner’
9:00AM Owen Good | John Di Maggio says being the voice of both Futurama’s Bender and Gears of War 2 protagonist Marcus Fenix is “a double-ended nerd boner.” Whoa wow TMI there, bro. In a two-part 20 minute interview with WJFK-FM’s Chad Dukes (second part on the jump), Di Maggio holds forth on being the it voice for two disparate sets of supa-fanboys, among other topics. More »
New Xbox: Parties and Photos
8:00AM Owen Good | On Gamerscore Blog, Major Nelson explains the functionality of two new features — parties and photos — coming to the new Xbox dashboard (nyah, nyah, didn’t say “experience”) on Nov. 19. There are more screenshots and a video narrative of the two features at the link. More »
News
How a Game Designer Outgrew Games
7:30AM Maggie Greene | In an interesting opinion piece over at GameSetWatch, designer Brice Morrison expounds on why it is that he ‘outgrew’ games — even though he’s a designer. It’s not exactly treading any new ground (any ‘why is gaming an immature medium?’ essay traverses the same ground), but it’s an interesting perspective from someone who has built a career on designing games — games that he says he’s outgrown. What do we need more of? Boring games (sort of): More »
EA Hit with Two New Anti-DRM Class Action Suits
7:00AM Owen Good | Two people filed suit in federal court against Electronic Arts back in October, alleging the SecuROM digital rights management installed on their machines by a trial version of Spore Creature Creator, and a full version of the Sims, constitutes unlawful and deceptive business practices. More »
On the Headaches of MMO Billing Structure
6:30AM Maggie Greene | Gene Hoffman, CEO of Vindicia (a billing and fraud protection company), has some words of wisdom regarding the headache that is billing and payment for MMOs — be they the more ‘traditional’ subscription model or the free to play model. Obviously, there are benefits and downsides that come with each model, and companies are constantly trying to negotiate a balance between profit and player happiness. Even the vaunted subscription model comes with its own problems and a variety of structures within that model: More »
‘Crossing Boundaries’: The International Flavor of Gaming
5:30AM Maggie Greene | The transnational character of gaming is one that opens up a wide range of opportunities for the industry, but comes with a number of pitfalls as well — and, as Mathew McCurley argues at the Escapist, has far-reaching negative consequences, especially in term of content. Trying to navigate the tricky waters of censorship and varied expectations of what is OK (and what’s not) in a variety of countries can mean developers play it safe in an attempt to ensure that their game will reach a wider audience: More »
News
Proto-Pong Honored at Nuclear Laboratory
5:00AM Owen Good | Some might think the men who wrote what is credited as the first video game ever, Tennis for Two, might regret not patenting his work. If they did, however, the United States government would have owned that patent. And it’s fascinating to consider the Department of Energy as a founding investor in the multibillion-dollar video gaming industry of present times. More »
