Category: Videogames
-
The Calls Are Coming From Within the Ice Level!
Previously on Spectre Collie, I made the claim that storytelling in “passive” media like books and movies isn’t as passive as people like to think. A well-told story demands that the audience stay actively engaged in the telling, processing what’s come so far and anticipating what happens next. The interesting thing is: this is so…
-
My Life as a Shut-In
Nintendo’s WiiWare service went live last week. To help pass the time until the release of SBCG4AP, other companies have graciously agreed to release their own games. One of those games is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, which I downloaded to “check out for a few minutes,” to see how the…
-
Going through the motions
In the universally-praised game Grand Theft Auto IV, you play as a swarthy immigrant recently arrived in a new country, beating up the locals and fighting gang leaders on a quest to pick up some coin and get a date. I liked this game better when it was called Super Mario 64! Man, that joke…
-
Going through the motions
In the universally-praised game Grand Theft Auto IV, you play as a swarthy immigrant with a weird accent, recently arrived in a new country. The game’s much-acclaimed, complex storyline has you fighting the locals, occasionally stealing their vehicles, while you wander around an enormous game world, taking on the local gang leaders who are trying…
-
From the people who made that game “Rabbit Dog and Bunnyman”
I’ve gotten back into the Homestar Runner site lately. It’s pretty cool; y’all should check it out. Especially the new toon they put up today. No, seriously, check it out. That’s about as cool as videogame promos get. This one is good too: As is the teaser, which was released on April Fool’s Day: In…
-
There’s no second chance to make a first impression
Rejecting the idea that endlessly branching paths and infinite content yields to better interactive entertainment
-
There is no places for writers in the games industry.
Last week there was a bit of fallout on the internets from an article titled “The Case Against Writers in the Games Industry”. It was by a game designer named Adam Maxwell, and it basically makes the claim that having a dedicated writer on a development team is a waste; it’s always better to have…
-
People Living in Competition
In case there were any doubt that EA and Harmonix are trying to turn Rock Band into a whole platform instead of just a videogame franchise, the release of the Rock Band music store should put that to rest. They did such a good job with the design of this thing, it’s almost eerie. It’s…
-
Search for all youtube videos tagged “Satan”
Today Telltale announced the finale of Sam & Max Season Two, titled What’s New, Beelzebub?. This is the one where everything goes completely off the rails, leaving everyone confused, horrified, and entertained. As evidenced by the last trailer: I’m really glad we didn’t do machinima shorts for this season, because it means that time &…
-
World of Goo
I’m not going to even try to think up a clever title for this one, since the game in question is so purposefully wry that adding more here would be overkill. But it’s a good game, and it’s called World of Goo, and you can pre-order it to get a preview copy (for Windows) right…
-
Touch-a touch-a touch-a touch me, I want to be Ghibli
Any game company would envy the amount of buzz around Professor Layton and the Curious Village for the Nintendo DS. For months, it’s been getting breathless previews from writers who wanted it RIGHT NOW!!!, and since its release it’s gotten extremely positive reviews. It’s not hard to see why; it’s got stellar production values. You…
-
Link’s Quiver Capacity
On his blog, Lore Sjöberg announced his new project: a weekly video podcast for his Alt Text column at Wired. The first episode rates Link’s weapons. According to his blog, more will be available on Wired’s YouTube page or via iTunes subscription. Seeing as how it’s a video with drawings, and more often than not…