Valve means to fix the low billing of the song in the game with the Portal 2 Music Video Contest.

I don’t know how to fix the problem of not enough people playing amazing games that represent some of the most creative work I’ve seen in years.

In any case, the point of this post was that it’s awesome when things you love come together.

So that doesn’t mean much to everyone, but it means a lot to nerds like me. If you’re unfamiliar with Felicia Day go watch Dr. Horrible or The Guild and get back to me.

Here’s a couple stills of and an interview with Felicia Day on location and rocking a great costume.

Update (Feb 18th): Here’s the first trailer.

Jack Wall did excelent work on the first two Mass Effect games, but Mass Effect and Mansell is like peanut butter and jelly!

For the details, check out Mansell’s recent interview with The Quietus where he also muses on composing the score for Black Swan and working with Aronofsky.

Interviewer: Is that why you wouldn’t play LEGO Star Wars with Megan Fox on the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen?
Shia: Correct. Who wants to play the Wii version of LEGO Star Wars. I’d rather eat glass.

Read the full, but sadly short, interview on BigDownload.

• Mass Effect 2 kicked off the awesome with this trailer which confirms what we’ve always known in our hearts. Sheppard is alive! Plus, how can I resist some awesome Nine Inch Nails in the background. From what I’ve seen it looks like BioWare is doing exactly what they should with the sequel to one of my favorite games, including enhancing the shooting with new weapons and a better control scheme while keeping everything pretty much the same. All that remains to be seen is what happens to the maligned Mako which I expect to hear about shortly. BioWare has acknowledged that in needs to be revamped and I expect they’ll deliver on this (I’m still pulling for a hovercraft/helicopter type craft which could explore in the air but only fight while on the ground.)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic I can’t help but double-down on BioWare after seeing this wonderful cinematic trailer for BioWare’s upcoming MMORPG which is worth watching even if you’re not a gamer (it’s pretty much a Star Wars CGI short film). I’m quite excited by all the positive things I’ve been reading about this game. Here’s to hoping it turns around my distaste of all things MMO.
• Uncharted 2 takes everything you know about adventure movies (specifically ones staring Dr. Jones) and creates a game out of all those great cinematic moments to the point where playing the game feels like staring in your own adventure. Watch this trailer and tell me it doesn’t look like the Indy sequel you always wanted. The first Uncharted rivaled any of the best action movies and I don’t think the second will have any trouble meeting that mark. I’ve been enjoying the recently-released multiplayer beta quite a bit as well. This game alone is reason to have a PS3
• Pixel Junk Shooter is a puzzle/shooter with a great retro vibe. This trailer highlights the gameplay which has a great retro vibe to it along with some very fun looking lava water flow puzzles. The past 2 PixelJunk games have been a blast and this one looks like the best yet.
• Dragon Age is a game I’m honestly trying to avoid any press on as much as possible because my anticipation has already reached critical levels. If you somehow remain unconvinced, watch this trailer (which I’m avoiding) and let me add these notes: ‘dark fantasy’, ‘spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate’ and finally ‘BioWare’.

So in summary, we’ve got 3 big nerdy archetypes: Star Wars (Old Republic), Indiana Jones (Uncharted 2), and Tolkein/D&D (Dragon Age) themed games. The top 5 list also has 3 BioWare games (because they’re like crack for me).

PS: Want to know the worst announcement of E3? Three words: Wii Vitality Sensor. I hate Nintendo.

• Braid and Mirror’s Edge share an award for reinventing platforming, a genre I normally dislike, in new and supremely creative ways. Braid is probably the most creative video game I’ve ever played while Mirror’s Edge has some of the slickest design aesthetics.
• Far Cry 2 and Burnout Paradise share another award for bringing great open-world gameplay to their respective genres (shooter and driving respectively). Both succeed because they make learning the environment (be it shortcuts through city streets or sniper hills over mercenary camps) just as important as raw driving or shooting ability.
• Left 4 Dead, Resistance 2, and PixelJunk Monsters all get awards for perfecting co-op gameplay. The best parts of these games are impossible to win without good team-work, but that requirement feels more like an opportunity than a burden.
• The Witcher Enhanced Edition and Mass Effect for PC prove that even great games can be better with some polish. Both games suffered from dramatically long load times in their original forms but that is no longer much of an issue in the improved versions. The Witcher also received the kind of polish that it always deserved in its Enhanced Edition which smoothed out the uneven dialog and cumbersome inventory management. Mass Effect also got some inventory improvements in the PC version along with better squad control. There are two take-away lessons here: it’s hard to do an RPG right but extra work can make a big difference. I hope that publishers looking to rush RPGs out the door in the future take note of this; some great RPG games have died unnecessary deaths because of hurried ship dates (See Vampire: Bloodlines or Knights of the Old Republic II).
• Sins of a Solar Empire get big kudos for transplanting the one-more-turn ad-infinitum addictiveness of games like Civilization into a RTS game that’s nearly impossible to stop playing. It’s so good, in fact, that after two marathon games when it first came out I’ve been loathe to pick it up again because I worry it will consume me.

Aspyr announced plans for a online digital-download store back in May 2006. The service, dubbed Gamerhood at the time, was intended to help increase Aspyr’s exposure at a time when retail presence for Mac games was shrinking from what was already small to minuscule (thanks, in part, due to the onslaught of iPod accessories at the Apple store).

Instead of only being able to sell boxed copies of their games, Aspyr would sell their entire catalog online for near instant gratification (as fast as you could download). The hook is convenience of digital delivery and the ability to have a limitless back catalog of older games for in addition to the newest hits.

If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is, online delivery wasn’t a new idea even back in 2006 as the iTunes music store and Steam, a PC gaming service which allowed for downloads of some big titles like Half-Life 2 on the PC side. Macworld has an interesting interview with Aspyr’s president Michael Rogers where he compares and contrasts the service with Steam and iTunes, and lays out grand plans for Gamerhood and stating “For us it’s about getting the experience right first.”

Ironically, more than 2 years later, Aspyr has done anything but get it right. Though Aspyr does have a GameAgent software program for Macs it seems to be only half functional; it shows the Aspyr catalog of games and can help determine if you machine is compatible with a certain game but that’s about it. A recent update added the ability to check for updates to games in the catalog but, in my limited experience, the program repeatedly recommended the same update but never correctly applied it.

Now, Aspyr has finally launched GameAgent.com as a venue to sell their games but the service itself is run through third-party e-commerce provider DigitalRiver (their logo even appears as the site’s favicon) and not integrated into their GameAgent software. Macworld detailed the arrangement earlier this year and provided some basic information on why the service has taken so long to launch which sites issues with “trademarking the service name, securing a URL and other business-related issues.” (By the way, Aspyr, next time you want to launch a product in less than 2 years, let me know and I can help you secure a domain in 10 minutes.)

However, if Aspyr wanted to ‘get the experience right first’ they would have kept this one under the rug for another few years, because GameAgent.com is a seriously flawed implementation of the original idea. The site only offers two products at launch, the headlining Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Mac and a Mac version of the edutainment title futureU. But it’s not the lack of titles that is the problem here, it’s the DRM. Here’s a direct quote from the GameAgent FAQ:

Can I switch to a new machine and still have my games?
Yes, but only if you have purchased the Extended Download Service (EDS). EDS essentially allows you to download your purchase again for up to two (2) years, in the event your computer crashes or the downloaded file becomes damaged or corrupt. It can be thought of as an insurance policy in case anything goes wrong with your computer or the downloaded product. [...]
You are also allowed to activate your game up to 3 times with a single serial number.

How will GameAgent.com handle piracy issues?
Each game that you download is, by default, locked to your computer. A game can only be played on the particular computer where it has been authorized.

I’ll summarize: You ‘buy’ a game, but you can only download it once unless you pay $5 per game for ‘insurance’ (which only lasts for 2 years). You can only play it on one computer at a time which must be authorized. You can only authorize 3 computers (or possibly the same machine after a system change) ever.

Might I add, that the price for this convenience, Call of Duty 4 sells for $55. Amazon lists Call of Duty 4 for Mac for $49 at the time of writing.

This kind of BS is just ridiculous. Even Steam, the closest/most-well-known analog to GameAgent offers better terms than these. When you buy a game from Steam, you can download it again whenever and however often you like, for as long as you like. You can play it on any machine you authorize with your account and their prices are usually in line with retail (if not cheaper). There is no download insurance, there are no time limits, there are no activation limits.

GameAgent’s terms are even worse than the recently decried DRM-issues with Spore, which was bombed with 1-star reviews on Amazon for its DRM policy which is tame by comparison. Other companies, like Good Old Games and Stardock are going so far as eliminate DRM from their products and establish a PC Gamer Bill of Rights decrying restrictions such as activations and download limits.

So why, in this time where people are pushing back against DRM so strongly are Mac gamers getting the shaft? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because they don’t think we’ll notice or know better. Maybe because they just think they can because there’s not that much gaming on the Mac. But, in my mind, policies like this only make the platform weaker. I expected better of Aspyr.

PS: It’s worth noting that there are digital download game stores for Mac, though I am not familiar with specific DRM policies I’ve had good experiences with several. They include MacGameStore.com, Virtual Programing, Ambrosia, and, Blizzard.

The newest Halo game is hugely outdone by BioShock in single player and Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty 4 in multiplayer… so why should I bother with Halo at all? Oh yes, I remember, because I enjoy hearing the words homo and fag as insults.

In summary, Halo 3: Why Bother?

In some poorer news, it was also announced that the game would be pushed back from December to February 10th here in the US. Oh well, it gives me more time to secure a Wii instead of fighting for one with soccer moms this Christmas season (since this and Mario Kart are really the only games I’m interested in playing on the Wii).

(Via Ars: Opposable Thumbs)

It certainly looks like it’s being done ‘right’ (meaning adhering to the classic traditions) rather than the filthy POS that was known as Bomberman: Act Zero. It’s good to see that Hudson pulled their head out of their ass after that one.

Check out the trailer for the new game known, very surprisingly, as Bomberman Live.

I can’t say I’m a fan of the costumes but I am a huge believer in 8 player mayhem so who am I to complain? I’d even venture to say Bomberman (done right) is the purest form of multiplayer video-game.

Go Go Red Bomber!

“Meh.”

I mean, I only played Wii Sports, but I really don’t understand what the big deal is about. I see Wii like computer solitaire: a complete waste of my time. Are people that hard-up for simple games? (Answer: yes, apparently so, because the casual gaming market is in the middle midst of an explosion.)

Yes, the motion controller is kind of cool. Yes, it does bring some new dimension to the games. But no one seems to realize there is a trade-off that comes from this controller. Designing a game around the motion control means you leave the traditional schemes behind, and with that you sacrifice a lot of depth because the Wiimote is not really a precision input device like a button. Sure it makes a great pointer but so does a mouse (plus, a mouse is hundreds of times more sensitive). So you loose a lot of accuracy from the motion control and this means you have to make your game ‘looser’ to compensate.

It’s akin to the difference between playing Halo with your Xbox controller joystick or playing with the mouse a keyboard: when you play with a joystick the game takes this into account and gives you a margin of error (auto-aim). On the flip side, mice are accurate to the point that an auto-aim feature in a shooter would be considered kiddie mode or outright cheating. The difference between the Wiimote and a joystick works on the same level. The game has to make assumptions that you’re doing the right thing as long as you’re close enough even more so than a the joystick. This makes the experience feel sloppy to me and it ruins the whole illusion that “Wow, it’s like I’m really swinging the bat.”

So yeah, I’m done with the Wii at least until they get the next Super Smash Brothers out (which I’ll be playing with a GameCube controller anyway).

Disclaimer: I’m a mouse and keyboard PC gamer (I’m lumping Macs with PCs here). I was raised on the likes of SimCity, Civilization, and WarCraft. My favorite games are mostly hard RPGs (D&D) and real time or turn based strategy games. I like games where there is a lot of tactical decision making, where you have to think a lot, and where you have to work the math and numbers on your units/characters to succeed against your opponent. I’m exactly the wrong type of gamer for the Wii I think.

But honestly, if I really wanted to bowl, I would go bowl. At least then I would feel like my physical actions were having a strong impact on the outcome of the game.

Finally, a sequel to one of the best RTS games ever.

I mean, he codes, he blogs, plays video games, he composes, and he sings: I want to be Cabel when I grow up. (Editor’s note, graduating from college would be a good time to start that grow up thing).

Who else would film bugs in Saints Row then edit them together with musical theatre? I present to you: Buggy Saints Row: The Musical

(Also, I would ask that someone grant me that kind of free time for personal blog-worthy projects… please?)

While I want to be excited about this (it’s hard to argue with new Firefly…), but I can only see it ending really badly. The thing that made the show (& subsequently, the movie) awesome was the well written dialog and interaction between all the unique characters. All of this would inherently lost in a MMO. Yes, the futuristic western setting would still be there and makes an interesting premise for a game, but it doesn’t make it Firefly.

Oh well, the projects is years away in any case.

Update (12/11): More info on the project from Wired News.

Anyone?

Not that there’s something wrong with it… it the trailer looks fantastic and the music definitely sets the mood, but it still seems like a very odd choice for a trailer.

Update (11/12/06): Kottke, as usual it seems, has more info here.

I don’t know if the MacBook is really what I want since it doesn’t have a good graphics card to play games (with Boot Camp) but it’s such a tempting little machine (and one really needs a tower for games anyway). I’d rather have something smaller than a 13″ model, but there’s no indication that Apple is ever going to make a smaller laptop (if they do I might have to loose the MacBook).

The private equity firm Elevation Partners has announced the formation of a creative and management partnership with Pandemic Studios, LLC and BioWare Corp., two leading independent video game developers.

There’s a bunch more information about the deal and the two companies on the press release page so I won’t regurgitate it here, but here’s a few points I found interesting.

• Thankfully it seems, at least from the press release, that Elevation Partners is interested in allowing both companies to retain their independence as developers. The companies won’t be merged to create some bastardized version of their former selves, and the funding will allow games to be created without the focus on artificially imposed build targets, deadlines, and rushed releases often associated with traditional game development. Greg Zeschuck, joint CEO of BioWare explains this best: “Great video games… are an art form, as lovingly crafted as a film, musical score, or novel. That means taking the time work [the] magic. Fans are the real winners in this deal, because we will now have the resources and creative discretion to make the right decisions for our products.” As some may know, I’m a huge BioWare aficionado, so news like this is music to my ears. Here’s the deal BioWare: whatever you need for Dragon Age is yours: My eternal soul? Where do I sign?, Dead babies? Cute, cuter or cutest ones? You get the idea (would you please update the Dragon Age website now though?).
• Original intellectual property (IP) is really played up in this deal (the press release notes each company has several in house IPs). I think it’s exciting that original IP is being supported in this way as it would be nice if the industry could cut itself off of the licensed property “crutch,” not that all licenses are bad (see BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic) but they’re often used instead of focusing on making a good game. Additionally, if you look at some of the stuff that Blizzard is able to do by having control over their own IP with games like World of Warcraft, you can start to understand the power of original IP over the licensed kind: Blizzard doesn’t have to get approval from say, Tolkien’s estate, to make changes and add features to the game and instead gets to focus their time on creating an exciting, original, and addictive alternate world. The other reason original IP excites me is that I know there are lots of exciting stories and original ideas out there that will never get get out if the gaming industry continues to rely on sequels and movie licenses.
• The last thing I found notable about the deal was a list of some of the Elevation Partners team members, which includes such notables as John Riccitiello, former President and COO of Electronic Arts (I imagine he knows something about game development), Fred “Fists of Fiscal Rage” Anderson, former CFO of Apple, and Bono, the singer for a little band known as U2 among others. It’s quite a powerhouse.

Overall, it looks like an exciting time and I’m hoping for the best for both development houses. Just continue putting out the goods guys (and BioWare, seriously, call me about Dragon Age okay?).

As some of you know, I have a little place in my heart for BioWare and now I’m considering getting a 360… [Okay, so it's a rather large place.]

-Doom 3
-El Ballo
-Myst V
-X2: The Threat

I own Doom 3 and can attest to it being a wonderfully scary graphics fest. If you have the horsepower on your machine, give the demo a try. The other three I haven’t had a chance to play yet but they all look pretty good. El Ballo is a platformer in the vein of MegaMan. Myst should need no explanation (though this game interestingly moves to full 3D; I’m undecided on that). Finally X2 is a 3D space game somewhat similar to the great Escape Velocity (though, y’know 3D).

Download and enjoy your un-productivity!