Linkout (15/11/09)
November 15th, 2009
Link Out: My attempt at a monthly collection of recommended readings from around the interwebs
Thank you for your patience over this past week as I’ve been rounding out my last major university assignment (ever!). Fortunately, I’ve got no exams so I’m basically free for a week until I start my 4 week long TESOL course which’ll likely continue the disrupted flow of new posts leading into Christmas. *sigh* I have plenty to write, but little time to apply myself, so we’ll see how this next week fairs.
As tradition would have it, it’s been a long time between links (ZING!), so I’d like fix that for now:
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Movie Trailer
Finally we get to see how the Prince of Persia movie is shaping up, and as the trailer clearly showcases it looks fairly promising. As another Hollywood blockbuster, that is, but for the same reasons I criticized the Sands of Time game, it looks like the movie will be another western parade though a superficial interpretation of the Middle East. Yay!
Otherwise, the film appears to draw most of its influence from The Two Thrones, things could be worse I suppose.
Forums – To Read, or Not To Read – Too Much Imagination
In keeping with the Prince of Persia theme, the following post is taken from the blog of Ben Mattes who you might know from his role as a producer on the later Prince of Persia games. His post, primarily regarding community forums, shares some interesting insight into the mindset of developers towards the enthusiast community.
I really wish there was greater interaction between the two parties as the analysis here and elsewhere around the interwebs is basically the type of well thought out feedback from concentrated play testing that most companies would pay money for. They can get it for free from us! Furthermore, considering the effort that some of us put into our writing, I think that most enthusiast writers (along this vein) would be profoundly motivated by any engagement with developers. I know that some of the people from Sony Bend have read my articles on Syphon Filter, which makes my heart skip a beat. Although, I’ll admit, I was considerably less enthusiastic about PopCap’s response. Still, any interaction is likely to have a positive effect.
I’m guilty of throwing Eurogamer a few too many links in this segment, but with such well articulated analysis and opinions (Simon Parkin’s powerful review of Modern Warfare 2 is one of the best pieces of writing I’ve read all year) it’s difficult not to be enthused. The above video chronicles the rise of the website from humble beginnings to it’s current state. The multiplatform, Australian equivalents such as PALGN will have to grow some serious editorial balls before they can attempt to contend with the likes of Eurogamer.
COLUMN: Battle Klaxon: The People Power of Valkyria Chronicles – GSW
Battle Klaxon is my favourite new column over at GameSetWatch. Quintin Smith, who incidentally also works for Eurogamer, covers niche gems neglected by the mainstream games press, describing what made them so special for the people who played them. Valkyria Chronicles is an ideal choice for the column, I’ve played a bit of this Fire-Emblem-meets-Final-Fantasy-Tactics-SRPG-hybrid, but am yet to make enough headway to make any qualitative observations. What I can say though is that I’m an ardent, SRPG purist who adores both of the two previously mentioned titles, so Valkyria Chronicles will probably come to sit in the middle of those two titles. Almost every blog in my feed reader is now centred around retro and/or niche titles, so Battle Klaxon is a welcomed addition to the diet…
Metal Gear – MSX and NES Comparison – Hardcore Gaming101
…as is Hardcore Gaming 101. Yes, this site is not new to me, I’ve been reading them for years, and yes I’ve known about their new blog since it had launched. For some unfathomable reason though I forgot to subscribe to the site the first time round back in July/August and it flew off my radar. Thankfully I spent a few hours whoring out the backlog recently and have left suitably impressed. I chose the above, Metal Gear article as my favourite post on the site so far as it reflects the exhaustive dedication that Kurt Kulata and his crew of contributors put into their work. Mega effort, well done folks. Kurt was also recently interviewed on the first episode of the Racketboy podcast, props to those guys too.
I’ve kind of strayed off the path myself when it comes to reading the Brainy Gamer blog, simply because my tastes have adjusted to more analysis/criticism-heavy reading, rather than Michael’s handful of general commentaries (great stuff, naturally, but very general, lacks explanation and example). With that said though, Michael is very good at summarising community consensus. His article reflects on his personal response to the mainstream rollercoaster of game release. Rather than playing the latest AAA blockbuster on the scene, Michael is finding that he prefers the smaller, older and perhaps even neglected titles of the industry. I can definitely sympathize with his feelings here. I stopped trying to chase the mainstream rat race years ago and it’s been wonderful because I save money and get to blaze my own path of writing, rather than bucking to popular trends. This is a superbly written post which intersects with the ethos of the site, so do take a read.
The Monthly Grind: Final Thoughts on Demon’s Souls – The Grind
Considering it’s niche appeal, Demon’s Souls has been receiving a great deal of coverage from blogs and the enthusiast outlets. I’ve been following the conversations myself and I think Kat Bailey is the furthest ahead of the curve on her analysis of the title. In concluding on her one month play through of Demon’s Souls she draws on her analysis and discussions with others to explicate on the different viewpoints regarding the title—the split being that players find it either unrelenting in difficulty or a supremely rewarding experience—she backs the latter and uses her deconstruction of both perspectives to persuasively argue in favour of the title. It’s clear that much consideration has been put into dissecting the different interpretations and to this end I’m very impressed. The Mt. Fuji anecdote and bad Thai food metaphor (gosh, so true) are expertly handled and make the article personal and therefore meaningful. This is a good article to highlight the strengths of the medium.
Extra Links
A First Look At Two of The PS3’s Newer, Funnier Ads
Proof that Sony have some of the best marketers in the world. ^_^
The last few months of delicious links
Linkout (24/8/09)
August 24th, 2009
Talk about dated! Some of the articles of reference here were posted months, possibly years ago. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. Still, despite my lack of timeliness this past month (3 months?) worth of links are quite good, I hope. I also decided to cull half the blogs in my feed reader due to a lack of time and a lack of authors actually discussing games. Narrative (secluded from gameplay), philosophy and unrelated anecdotes make for wonderful distractions, but are rarely ever insightful. You won’t find much of that here though;
Time Extend: Zelda – Majora’s Mask – EDGE
I linked to some writing about Majora’s Mask in my last Link Out post, but this is much better. The author here concentrates on a handful of elements that made Majora’s Mask such a unique play experience. They focus on the overarching friction that differentiates Majora’s Mask from Ocarina of Time, deeply rooting itself in melancholy emotions.
There was another fantastic Time Extend article on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time which eloquently examined the game’s meta-narrative and purity.
China Bans Gold Farming!! … Er … But In Fact It Hasn’t
Back in June/July there were reports that the Chinese government had banned gold farming which were rather dubious in their backing. I’d read reports on Eurogamer and Kotaku (perhaps on Good Game too) which all featured the same headline, but the details simply didn’t justify the headline.
Gathering of Monster Hunters – guardian.co.uk
I’ve been very much intrigued by the Monster Hunter series as of late, particularly in the way Capcom is marketing the latest PSP title in Europe. They’ve began a self professed push to get PAL players into the series, and considering they give a damn about us, I can’t help but give one back. Although I didn’t think much of their Resident Evil 5 campaign of finding body parts scattered around London, this move highlights inventive consideration geared towards the PAL market, which can only be a good thing.
What They Play 18: Columbine 10th anniversary
The music in Return to Castle Wolfenstein is pretty meh, so throughout the romp I was exhausting a list of podcasts and eventually found myself listening to archived recordings from the site What They Play. The site is run by John Davidson and hence worthy of your respect and consideration, furthermore it’s a site targeted towards parents which sets the tone for some more mature discussion. The highlight of my run was podcast #18 regarding the 10th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. The conversation isn’t entirely related to video games but Columbine debate is interesting nonetheless.
Beyond Beeps: Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker – Press the Buttons
Like many I presume, I started listening to Michael Jackson again following his tragic passing. After hearing some of the Moonwalker (Megadrive) music on Retronauts I started hunting down the original sound files. Coincidentally in turned out Matt from Press the Buttons posted some music streams, so I just listened to those. Very cool.
SOCOM 4 and Syphon Filter 5 listed as in development
I don’t want be so trite as dare say this but; ’nuff said.
Tech Interview: WipEout HD/Fury – Eurogamer
Sometime ago Eurogamer started a feature titled Digital Foundry which has now been given its own blog. The segment originated as a dumping ground for those shallow Xbox 360/PS3 comparison videos and has now expanded into something a little more technically driven as the above interview with Wipeout developers Studio Liverpool showcases. I’ve completed the new Fury expansion and am yet to talk about it, so take a squiz here in the meantime, it’s an entertaining read.
Digital Foundry also did some similar work interviewing the folks behind Super Stardust HD, inside includes some choice pro-tips too.
Metroid Prime Trilogy Video Game, Developer’s Voice Featurette – GameTrailers.com
Metroid Prime Trilogy; what a great excuse to replay such a gorgeous selection of games. I’m currently attempting Metroid Prime 3 for the third time now, I haven’t finished it yet which is sadly disappointing. I have strong sentiments towards the series and therefore enjoyed this video piece.
And a bunch of Metal Gear comics…
Sometime ago I finished reading the comic series The Last Days of Foxhound which consists of 500 individual comics in a series format. I was surprised that I’d never heard of this series years ago. Furthermore, I recently found another, much smaller, bunch of hilarious Metal Gear comics. This series which summarises each of the MGS game is objectively superior to The Last Days of Foxhound but both are well worth a read for any fans. I really dig the way The Last Days of Foxhound covers its bases on the lead up to the Shadow Moses incident. How had I never seen these before?
Link Out (7/6/09)
June 7th, 2009
G’day G’day. Another round up of links to chip away at your busy life. Not much pre-post commentary this time, other than that it seems that I’ve diverged from my one month cycle. If you’re getting too antsy, feel free to check out my delicious account.
Some of you might have caught word that I had a brief lunch with Daniel Purvis some weeks ago. Yeah, that’s true. He’s a good bloke and I’m surprised just how many topics we shared in agreeance. He wrote this convincing essay for one of his uni classes recently, really clean writing, he presents the argument well – ya know, the kind of quality writing you wouldn’t find here.
Block Check #1 and #2 – Critical Gaming
If you read other blogs around this sphere of ours, then I recommend taking a squiz at these posts to see if Richard has covered someone you read. He certainly squeezed out the weaknesses in my Metal Gear Solid 4 essay (which I confess to). A number of these show ponies endorse “critical discussion” of video games, but are they well versed in the art? Perhaps not, me thinks.
EXP Podcast #24: Cultured Gaming – Experience Points
You can probably imagine the selfish glee I took when I received an email by these two gents to inform me that they’d conducted a whole podcast about my ‘The Place of Games in Culture’ article on GameSetWatch. I think they handled it quite well too, you should definitely have a listen.
How To Be Me: Matt Chandronait, Area 5 Founder & Producer
My brother downloads the weekly exploits of ex-1UPers in their new show Co-Op. The show is similar to podcasting actually, in that you’re listening in on the conversation of others. It’s all about interesting dialogue and that’s what the team provide here. The game choices and guests are always well made, as too with the production values. This interview is with Matt Chandronait regarding the operations of the show.
Talking about 1UP, Scott Sharkey wrote this great feature compiling over a hundred quality indie titles worth checking out. I’m currently on hiatus from playing indie games since I’m in Australia and have a stack of bought games to drill through (this will change early next year when I go back to China though). There’s never a better time to savour the delights of indie games. The list features a number of standout titles as well as a few I’m unfamiliar with.
I’ve unsubscribed to this blog to maintain a tighter schedule as the bulk of Jason’s articles in fact say very little, which is unfortunate as he’s an intelligent writer. I just wish he’d stop trying to keep up with everyone else’s news and instead focus on what he can offer as an observer. He does this occasionally and they make for great reads. This short piece is a good example of that, even if he is liberally stealing from others.
Liberty City Lotto: I’m Rich! – PixelVixen707
Some rather amazing stats on the scratch cards in GTA: Chinatown Wars. PixelVixen also wrote a masterful interpretation of the story which is an essential read.
Smash Bros. Brawl Tutorial Videos – Sirlin.net
That critical-gaming dude Richard Terrell linked me to fantastic selection of tutorials for Super Smash Bros Brawl. Even if you only play for fun, it’s well worth watching the series.
Dinosaur Land On Parade – Press the Buttons
Nothing turns my nostalgic dial like artwork from the classic Mario titles. I’m am forever in debt to Matt Green for this one. Seriously, the artwork is super apt.
Majora’s Mask – Nintendo’s Fluke – 4cr
I’m including this link not because I think it’s a fantastic analysis of Majora’s Mask (it’s alright) but rather I hope that someone will attempt to understand the way Majora’s Mask creates it’s overpowering sense of dread as well as the implications within the social and cultural aspects of the game, and share this through writing.
I love desktop customization even though I’m rather terrible at it. I’ve been going to Gamewallpapers.com for a few years but unfortunately they lock away most of their good content. Desktop gaming is a good alternative for retro themed wallpapers.
Other assorted links
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Genesis TV Spot
Too Human versus the enthusiast press: Video game journalists as mediators of commodity valu
Interview: Making Plans For Zeebo – GameSetWatch
How Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time Breaks Language Barriers – Siliconera
Sony Computer to launch seven Indian games this year
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