Posted on January 1, 2012 - Tags:
Farewell Continental, Switchfoot, Driver San Francisco, Mission Impossible, Zelda Skyward Sword, The Electric Light Orchestra, Mario Kart, Portal 2, Nintendo 3DS
Games i've played, music i've listened to or movies i've seen in 2011.
From left to right, up to down :
Farewell Continental - ¡Hey, Hey Pioneers!: Side project of Justin Pierre (Motion City Soundtrack). A beautiful surprise and the best record i've heard this year.
Switchfoot - Vice Verses: The eighth studio album by this American alternative rock band is their best.
Driver San Francisco: This game is the answer to the question How to make a cool racing game in an open world.
Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol: The new action film benchmark. Good job Brad Bird (The Indestructibles, Ratatouille) !.
Zelda Skyward Sword: When Nintendo teach you how to make a clever level design. However, the formula will need to be changed for the next one.
The Electric Light Orchestra: This year i've discovered an old 70's band that rocks. So much better than most ot the actual music.
Mario Kart 7: The best Mario Kart ever.
Portal 2: if Pixar were making video games it could look like this one.
Nintendo 3DS: Few games but good nintendo games, and the 3D will makes you cooler.
Posted on August 8, 2011 - Tags:
Super Nintendo, Game design
It's always fun to read old video game magazines and see what the journalists was thinking about games & hardware at that time.
Recently I hang out on abandonware-magazines.org, a french website that host lots of scan of old french magazines. The first video game magazine in France was Tilt in 1982, and it was talking about games, computers, consoles, softwares, ...
So, I started to read some issues of Tilt and found an interesting article about the Super Nintendo in the issue #87 (feb 1991). It was the first time they played the Super Nintendo and gave their opinion. And something surprise me :
Translation : "However, if the buttons are easily accessible, we must make serious efforts to memorize their functions and to use them without error. When you run Mario in the middle of a group of attackers, the slightest mistake is fatal and it is very easy to activate a button instead of another.
It is likely that most programs to be developed on this console will probably not use all of these buttons. It is possible to master complex controls like this with some training and may facilitate the use of richer programs, such as simulations."
From a today point of view it's funny to read that knowing that actual controlers have more sticks and buttons making them more complex. But I'm pretty sure that today casual gamers have the same kind of remarkes regarding the X360 or PS3 controlers. The simplier controlers of the Wii is surely a key of its success.
The WiiU controlers is also easier to use because of its tactile screen that can be used instead of buttons, with a forms & look that fit the fonction like in Zelda Ocarina of Time on 3DS.
The cover and the full article from the Tilt issue #87 (feb 1991):
Recently I hang out on abandonware-magazines.org, a french website that host lots of scan of old french magazines. The first video game magazine in France was Tilt in 1982, and it was talking about games, computers, consoles, softwares, ...
So, I started to read some issues of Tilt and found an interesting article about the Super Nintendo in the issue #87 (feb 1991). It was the first time they played the Super Nintendo and gave their opinion. And something surprise me :
Translation : "However, if the buttons are easily accessible, we must make serious efforts to memorize their functions and to use them without error. When you run Mario in the middle of a group of attackers, the slightest mistake is fatal and it is very easy to activate a button instead of another.
It is likely that most programs to be developed on this console will probably not use all of these buttons. It is possible to master complex controls like this with some training and may facilitate the use of richer programs, such as simulations."
From a today point of view it's funny to read that knowing that actual controlers have more sticks and buttons making them more complex. But I'm pretty sure that today casual gamers have the same kind of remarkes regarding the X360 or PS3 controlers. The simplier controlers of the Wii is surely a key of its success.
The WiiU controlers is also easier to use because of its tactile screen that can be used instead of buttons, with a forms & look that fit the fonction like in Zelda Ocarina of Time on 3DS.
The cover and the full article from the Tilt issue #87 (feb 1991):
The story of the well-known developer of the Halo series. It's really interesting, especially the early years and the part about the Halo genesis.
Click the picture to see the video
Click the picture to see the video
Posted on July 11, 2011 - Tags:
Forza Motorsport, Game design
I'm curently playing Forza 3 Ultimate Edition. I like racing games and played a lot of them since Formula One & Gran Turismo on Playstation. This Forza 3 is for me the best racing game but it doesn't mean that it's perfect.
Forza 4 has been announced at the E3 and will improve the game, but, from my point of view, it's always missing something to be the ultimate racing video game.
For me a racing game must be related to two things : cars & racing competition. Let me explain.
Cars
People who's playing that kind of game like cars, like buying cars, like having lot of cars in their garage, like washing them, like tuning them,...
In Forza 3 you can decorate and tune your cars and... that's all. Ok it's the main things but it could be better.
Your garage looks like a list of cars. If you want informations about your cars (the circumstances of the making) you must go to wikipedia. However it's something that will be fixed in Forza 4 with the Auto Vista mode.
Most of the time you don't have to buy cars because the cars you unlock during the main mode allow you to participate to most of all the races. Buying cars, choosing the one you dreamed of it's a big part of the pleasure in a car games. Seeing races you can't participate in because you don't have the right car in your garage it's interesting. It tease to player, give him the motivation to earn more money to buy the right car.
I understand this car unlock system because it's rewarding and make the game more accessible (the game show you automaticaly the right cars you must choose for each race). BUT I think they've gone too far. By making it more accessibility they've removed all the teasing, and made the main mode boring after several hours.
Gran Turismo doing this right by teasing a lot. However the bad thing in the GT series is that you must do several time the same races to earn enough money for buying the right car for the next race. In fact the good solution would be between GT and Forza.
For what I kown about Forza 4, they want to make it even more accessible by proposing to the player only race you can participate in with the car you have. I'm afraid it's not the right solution.
Racing
In what Forza is good is in the racing experience. The track looks realistic, the cars behaviour seems real, the oponents AI is clever and agressive at the same time. Your tires can go bad, you can ruin everything in your car if you hit things.
What's missing? Changing weather & the excitement of the race. Doing qualifications, brandish your trophy with a big bottle of champagne is a big part of the pleasure in the race. In Forza it's a bit too impersonal. It's a menu page who congratulate you with you position and the XP points you won.
Turn10 know what to improve now :)
I've spend some times to make it looks good
PS: all the screenshots here are made by me (the jpg compression of the screenshot system is sadly a bit too high). I've made a replay that you can see here, but the system is not easy to use. I can't upload more than one replay from the game, and, because it's in wmv format, you can't upload it straight to YouTube.
Forza 4 has been announced at the E3 and will improve the game, but, from my point of view, it's always missing something to be the ultimate racing video game.
For me a racing game must be related to two things : cars & racing competition. Let me explain.
Cars
People who's playing that kind of game like cars, like buying cars, like having lot of cars in their garage, like washing them, like tuning them,...
In Forza 3 you can decorate and tune your cars and... that's all. Ok it's the main things but it could be better.
Your garage looks like a list of cars. If you want informations about your cars (the circumstances of the making) you must go to wikipedia. However it's something that will be fixed in Forza 4 with the Auto Vista mode.
Most of the time you don't have to buy cars because the cars you unlock during the main mode allow you to participate to most of all the races. Buying cars, choosing the one you dreamed of it's a big part of the pleasure in a car games. Seeing races you can't participate in because you don't have the right car in your garage it's interesting. It tease to player, give him the motivation to earn more money to buy the right car.
I understand this car unlock system because it's rewarding and make the game more accessible (the game show you automaticaly the right cars you must choose for each race). BUT I think they've gone too far. By making it more accessibility they've removed all the teasing, and made the main mode boring after several hours.
Gran Turismo doing this right by teasing a lot. However the bad thing in the GT series is that you must do several time the same races to earn enough money for buying the right car for the next race. In fact the good solution would be between GT and Forza.
For what I kown about Forza 4, they want to make it even more accessible by proposing to the player only race you can participate in with the car you have. I'm afraid it's not the right solution.
Racing
In what Forza is good is in the racing experience. The track looks realistic, the cars behaviour seems real, the oponents AI is clever and agressive at the same time. Your tires can go bad, you can ruin everything in your car if you hit things.
What's missing? Changing weather & the excitement of the race. Doing qualifications, brandish your trophy with a big bottle of champagne is a big part of the pleasure in the race. In Forza it's a bit too impersonal. It's a menu page who congratulate you with you position and the XP points you won.
Turn10 know what to improve now :)
PS: all the screenshots here are made by me (the jpg compression of the screenshot system is sadly a bit too high). I've made a replay that you can see here, but the system is not easy to use. I can't upload more than one replay from the game, and, because it's in wmv format, you can't upload it straight to YouTube.
Posted on July 1, 2011 - Tags:
Poster, The Get Up Kids
Posted on June 20, 2011 - Tags:
Club Nintendo, Mario
Every gamers knows the Club Nintendo. You buy Nintendo games and game systems, you find a card in them with a code and you earn points in the Club Nintendo to buy stuff in the catalogue with your points.
Six month ago I decided to subscribe to the Club Nintendo for the first time and to register all the Nintendo games i bought since almost 10 years! By registering my Nintendo 3DS with Pilotwings Resort 3 month ago I finally reached 7000 pts. In the French Club Nintendo nothing cost more than 7000 pts, and with that you have the choice between the Super NES controller for wii, or a Super Mario Character Figurine.
Well... I was thinking that my love for the nintendo games could give me something more interesting than that.
Six month ago I decided to subscribe to the Club Nintendo for the first time and to register all the Nintendo games i bought since almost 10 years! By registering my Nintendo 3DS with Pilotwings Resort 3 month ago I finally reached 7000 pts. In the French Club Nintendo nothing cost more than 7000 pts, and with that you have the choice between the Super NES controller for wii, or a Super Mario Character Figurine.
Well... I was thinking that my love for the nintendo games could give me something more interesting than that.
Posted on February 19, 2011 - Tags:
Formula One, Playstation, MSR, Dreamcast, PGR, Xbox, Xbox 360, Geometry Wars, Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations is closed since yesterday (18 february 2011) and it was a really great studio to my eyes. I played a lot of their games and that's always sad to ear that kind of news. So let's go back to what they've done.
Formula One (Playstation - 1996)
The second F1 game I bought (the first one was Grand Prix Circuit on Amstrad CPC), that was a thrilling experience: Real drivers and real races, all in 3D with changing weather (The races through the rain was incredible). I played it a lot, and I remember playing it "in real time", with the same number of laps than in real life (between 1 & 2 hours to finish a race). Since then I didn't play a F1 game as good as this one, even if the last Codemasters game is great.
MSR Metropolis Street Racing (Dreamcast - 2000)
That was surely the best racing game on Dreamcast. Moreover it has its own special personality: you drive with style in real-life cities listening to radio stations that seemed real too.
The game introduced the Kudos system, the game currency. To win Kudos you need to do stylish tricks during the race and finish in a good position. If you want to win more Kudos you can change the difficulty, but you take some risk cos' if you lose, the previous amount of kudos win for the race will decrease.
To unlock chapters you need to reach a certain level of Kudos. This system was original but made the game hard for me at that time, that why it has been simplified in the PGR series.
The real cities, the almost real radio stations (which music has been written by Richard Jacques) and the fact that the hour in game depended on the real-life time (set in the console options) created a very special experience. If you wanted to play at night in London you needed to play at night to if you live in France (where i am). That's why I usually drove in San Franscico in the morning and in Tokyo at night (corresponding to the afternoon in France). You really had the feeling of travelling through each city, more than in any other game since then.
The PGR series (Xbox & Xbox 360)
I played PGR2, PGR3 & PGR4. To me the gaming experience was less memorable than in MSR. Despite this, this series added a lot of great ideas in a racing game: photo mode, solid online & a visual benchmark in HD racing games.
Geometry Wars (XBLA - 2007)
It was the first big game on the new XBLA platform proving that this new way of buying games could be interesting. Also, The TRON-like design has been since used by a lot of others developers in XBLA games.
For further information you can go to the wikipedia page or the official page.
Formula One (Playstation - 1996)
The second F1 game I bought (the first one was Grand Prix Circuit on Amstrad CPC), that was a thrilling experience: Real drivers and real races, all in 3D with changing weather (The races through the rain was incredible). I played it a lot, and I remember playing it "in real time", with the same number of laps than in real life (between 1 & 2 hours to finish a race). Since then I didn't play a F1 game as good as this one, even if the last Codemasters game is great.
MSR Metropolis Street Racing (Dreamcast - 2000)
That was surely the best racing game on Dreamcast. Moreover it has its own special personality: you drive with style in real-life cities listening to radio stations that seemed real too.
The game introduced the Kudos system, the game currency. To win Kudos you need to do stylish tricks during the race and finish in a good position. If you want to win more Kudos you can change the difficulty, but you take some risk cos' if you lose, the previous amount of kudos win for the race will decrease.
To unlock chapters you need to reach a certain level of Kudos. This system was original but made the game hard for me at that time, that why it has been simplified in the PGR series.
The real cities, the almost real radio stations (which music has been written by Richard Jacques) and the fact that the hour in game depended on the real-life time (set in the console options) created a very special experience. If you wanted to play at night in London you needed to play at night to if you live in France (where i am). That's why I usually drove in San Franscico in the morning and in Tokyo at night (corresponding to the afternoon in France). You really had the feeling of travelling through each city, more than in any other game since then.
The PGR series (Xbox & Xbox 360)
I played PGR2, PGR3 & PGR4. To me the gaming experience was less memorable than in MSR. Despite this, this series added a lot of great ideas in a racing game: photo mode, solid online & a visual benchmark in HD racing games.
Geometry Wars (XBLA - 2007)
It was the first big game on the new XBLA platform proving that this new way of buying games could be interesting. Also, The TRON-like design has been since used by a lot of others developers in XBLA games.
For further information you can go to the wikipedia page or the official page.
Posted on January 19, 2011 - Tags:
She & Him, Music video
She & Him is the band of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, piano, ukulele) and M. Ward (guitar, production). If you like 60's pop songs you will like the song and the video!
Click the picture to see the video
Director Jeremy Konner
DP Logan Schneider
Editor Jeremy Konner
Producer Billy Parks
Executive Producer Jeff Pantaleo
From the Album "Volume 2", available at Merge Records - mergerecords.com/s/30243/
Director Jeremy Konner
DP Logan Schneider
Editor Jeremy Konner
Producer Billy Parks
Executive Producer Jeff Pantaleo
From the Album "Volume 2", available at Merge Records - mergerecords.com/s/30243/
< PREVIOUS PAGE |
NEXT PAGE >
Most used tags: