Category: Videogames
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I’m thinking of a number between 1 and You’re Dumb
Since this is about adventure games, I feel like I should make my usual disclaimer explicit: this is a personal blog, I don’t speak for my company, and vice-versa. Any opinions I spew out here are not necessarily my coworkers’; in fact, when somebody at work tells me, “I read your blog,” it’s most often…
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It LIVES!
The Spore Creature Creator demo went live on EA’s site today, with the $10 version available tomorrow. I’ve been playing around with it a little bit, and if the complete game has even a fraction of the detail and attention given to the creature creator, Maxis has knocked this one way out of the park.…
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The revolution will be playable on your television
There’s something inherently sad and a little pathetic about being addicted to a videogame. Worse by several orders of magnitude — measured in units that I will from now on call dorkstroms — is being addicted to a videogame that’s not even out yet. The demo for Civilization Revolution came out last week, and I’ve…
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Who’s in control here?
That’s Alexander Haig. Look him up. Also: This post has spoilers for BioShock and Grand Theft Auto IV, in case you’re paranoid about that kind of thing. Previously on Spectre Collie, I made the claim that videogame developers can learn more from “non-interactive” media than just how to make more cinematic cut-scenes and more literary…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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
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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…
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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…