April 16, 2008

Xbox 360 mag article reprints: My snarky games industry column

writing.jpg

Nov 06
EAxploitation. A piece on whether EA deserves the tidal waves of hatorade they get from fanboys.

Dec 06
You can't spell 'analyst' without 'anal. It's about analysts talking out of their arseholes.

Jan 07
Games that make you cry, AKA making games can make you cry. How making games can potentially deflate you to the point of tears.

Feb 07
The Oprah Effect. I really don't like her despite having never met her. I'm a judgmental prick and happy with it. In this piece, I try to figure out what kind of game she'd like. This is before the world knew of Wii Fit I think. She'd probably dig that. Also, here is the original, ruder, snarkier, funnier un-edited version of this piece. They really edited the hell out of it.

March 07
Not Very Super-heroes. A rant about shitty superhero movies and the disappearance of testosterone action flicks. Rambo 4 really made me happy when it eventually came out.

I'll put more up later in the week

The D.A.M articles

writing.jpgThese are articles I wrote for Digital Artist Management's newsletter. Some of them are good, some could be better. I'll update this as new ones are done.

Indie Developer-focused pieces
An interview with Introversion: Indie devs who made it
An interview with Chris Bateman; designer, award winning writer, design theorist / philosopher and generally good bloke
GDC and the steady rise of Indie gaming
More support for the Garage Developer
Trying to go Homebrew Part 1
Trying to go Homebrew Part 2
A much earlier piece on Indie gaming and homebrew devs. Can you see a pattern yet?

Hollywood and Games
In prep of the Hollywood and Games Summit
Hollywood and Games or Art VS Money?

Other stuff
E3 2006 Pre-show
E3 2006 Post-show
I-Phone: Saviour of Mobile Gaming and the Indie Developer?


March 16, 2007

OPRAH WINFREY CAN MAKE OR BREAK THINGS (especially through sitting on them)

Oprah Winfrey ruined one of the best pubs in my area, because she told everyone it has “the best burger in America”. The rotund harpy knows what she’s talking about too. I mean LOOK AT HER. I’d definitely trust her opinion on ingestibles as she’s clearly well-versed in ingesting them.

Read more . . .

December 16, 2006

Updated: Konami Europe 'denies' Metal gear Solid 4: Coming to Xbox 360

snaketraje.jpgAndy Robinson from CVG contacted Konami and got told "Konami has no plans to bring Metal Gear Solid 4 to the Xbox 360 at this time,". Read into that how you like.
http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=152210&skip=yes

Meanwhile, Luke Smith from 1up wrote something far more intelligent (sorry Andy - you know I love you in a totally heterosexual way dude):
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3155964

Original story here:
Sony can't be happy to lose another big exclusive.

Earlier this week, the information of Metal gear's non platform exclusivity was imparted to me by way of a dev source close to the team who cannot be named by pain of death. It's coming a few months later than the PS3 game, but it's happening folks.

This is said to be because publishers - including Konami - don't believe there'll be enough PS3s out there by the time the game hits because of the blu ray diode failure issues.

Now all I need is VF5 and I won't have to buy a 3rd console!

I'll get official comment from Konami in the week, but it is Saturday and this came pretty much from the horse's mouth, so you can count on this being legit.


DB

Update: Some nice people linked us here:
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/17/heightened-rumor-metal-gear-solid-4-not-a-ps3-exclusive/

Also, can you fanboys in the comments box give it a fucking rest with platform wars? It's not a football team or a country, it's a fucking machine made by a giant corporation that wants your money. GET OVER IT.

December 8, 2006

Interview with a dude actually doing something about the shitty state of the games biz

chris%20bateman.jpgEnter Chris Bateman. Knows his onions, uses his balls to make a difference AND a nice fella to boot. Mine hat be tipped.
http://www.damagents.com/newsletter/enews37.html

Also, his blog is most excellent thoughtful reading for designers aspiring and professional:
http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/

November 21, 2006

An excellent hands on preview of Afterburner Climax

Afterburner%20Climax%20Hornet.pngVery well written too! *coughs*

http://www.ukresistance.c...-multimedia.html

October 27, 2006

Next Gen Afterburner; Afterburner Climax hands on impressions

Afterburner%20Climax%20Hornet.pngWeirdly enough, the big sites didn't want to buy this, so here it is for your reading pleasure / pain.

In short, the game ruled and it looks bloody gorgeous. Not surprising as it works off Lindburg hardware aka Next Gen shizzle.

As for videos, they're linked here and will be further added to later...

Note: This was originally written for 1up and thus geared toward a different style of writing (i.e., more professional) than what I normally write for this site. So it may not be what you expect. It also has two short paragraphs on the Preview 2006 show, which was shit and hammers home that the Arcades in London are truly a dying business.

Read more . . .

October 12, 2006

Pretty much EVERYTHING presently known about Fable 2

peter_molyneux.gifCourtesy of an in-depth 'experiments in Fable 2' talk at GDC London. It sounds utterly awesome, mainly because their attitude to the game seems to be to improve on current system and innovate as much as possible. As a fighting game nazi, I was impressed with the solution they came up with for the fighting engine. I was also annoyed as I had similar concepts for a personal fighting game a while back, but am not yet in a position to be able to realise them. Such is life.

By the way, this is LONG. Well worth a read, but get a cup o tea. Also, once 1up puts up the MP3 of my 1 on 1 with him at GDC, I'll update this bit again. I found Pete M to be a very genuinely passionate person in regards to making games and he quite clearly plays them or just reads a shitload about them. Either way, he genuinely gives a shit about making great games and for that, I give him the respect. [tips hat]

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154242

September 23, 2006

Art gallery thing in L.A with napkins and twisted drawings

Hear%20Gallery.jpgSo i went to some gallery in a pretty shady part of L.A and was pleasantly surprised to NOT find it full of pretentious twats. It contained some pretty dark and twisted art, some random bands which I missed and a fight between two girls on the stairs. It also had free drinks.

http://www.people-food.com/photos/sgezari/
http://www.people-food.com/photos/

Mo' below...

Read more . . .

September 5, 2006

Canadian Rock Gods 'Rush' Everywhere in Games

Ok; so I know Rush are hardly the hippest, and most cool bad of the day, but back in the day they were THE band of the smart rock fan, and it seems todays developers were around in THE day ...

Read more . . .

July 17, 2006

EA's hot summer night. Awesome games announced. No really!

Alyx%20from%20Half%20Life.jpgPortal was by far the best thing there. EA is getting its shit together for 2007 and beyond. Seriously. I am not joking.

http://games.kikizo.com/news/200607/075_p1.asp

June 19, 2006

Mass Effect - the game for those who were disappointed with Shadowrun

Squad.jpgSet in the future with spaceships, aliens n shit.

For me, the best things about Mass Effect are being reading people's INCREDIBLY DETAILED body language cues to pick the right thing to ask/say in relation to in-game goals, the expert construction of the in-game environments and the richness of atmosphere. Overall, the game thus far is nothing short of stunning. True next gen. Mo' inside...

Read more . . .

June 10, 2006

Dreamworks on PS4 and shared CG assets

Pretty good piece what I wrote ages ago.
http://games.kikizo.com/news/200607/037.asp

May 27, 2006

X:Men 3 - the Last Stand against decent films

xmen3crap.jpgA PUBLIC SERVICE ANOUNCMENT; DO NOT SEE XMEN 3 [SPOILERS WITHIN]

This is possibly the single most insulting film I have ever seen in my life. If you loved the first two films, or even marginally enjoyed them, please do yourself a favour by NOT watching this utter shit. 'Borrow' it off the internet if you have to see it, but DO NOT PAY WITH MONEY.

Read more . . .

May 26, 2006

Everything about E3 goes here

E3-Color2.jpgIn this pile of links, we have:

The Sony Conference, with game impressions and videos >>>

The Nintendo Conference, with game impressions and videos >>>

And the Microsoft Conference, with game impressions and videos [to be added] >>>

There's also singled-out impressions for Bioshock, The Darkness, Assassin's Creed, New Super Mario Bros (a review), Mass Effect, God of War 2 and a few others soon to be added to this list, as well as the much-coveted (by about three people) Noooz awards!

Oh, and don't forget our utterly awesome interview with Yuji Naka, regarding the next NiGHTS game!

May 22, 2006

Afterthought summary of E3 part 2: Wii and the Nintendo Conference. Footage and screens too

E3-Color2.jpgThis one was everything a drooling Nintendo fanboy could've wanted. Mario, Zelda and Metroid all in one show. A Starfox on DS announcement and further details on the Wii - like its persistent 'always on' net connection so you can have updates be auto-downloaded to your machine while you sleep.

I only got to play three titles - Super Mario Galaxy, Super Monkey Ball and Sonic: Wild Fire - but I did manage to get impressions from friends to share on the ones I didn't.

The verdict so far on the Wii controller is that the simple games like Wii Sports (snigger) work well, but Zelda and Mario become unneccessarily overcomplicated, which doesn't quite fulfill the goal for which Wii was intended.

Read more . . .

Street Fighter Alhpa fans - your new god has arrived

SFalphahypertitlescreen.jpgStreet Fighter Alpha Collection will feature a 'Hyper' mode which works just like Super Street Fighter Hyper Fighting or whatever it's called. The one where you can pick various versions of characters against other versions. It also contains the 'ISMS' from Marvel Super Heroes, SF3, SF2 and Darkstalkers, among many more awesome features.

They need to bring this shit to Xbox Live. Oh yes they do. And a wi-fi joystick.

Read more . . .

May 17, 2006

The Darkness PS3 and Xbox 360 - impressions

darknessthumb.jpgFucking awesome. A collaboration between Take 2 - publisher of two of my other favourite E3 games, Prey and Bioshock - Union Entertainment - a game production house in Santa Monica, and the Shaolins at Starbreeze, who previously spawned the awesome Chronicles of Riddick.

So far, The Darkness looks great, has some interesting gameplay ideas and is possibly the first game I've seen where you feel as if you're a powerful monster, stalking your prey. At least, that's the vibe I got from watching it be played out by Jens and the dude with the awesomely long wizard's beard.

I think this is my 'not able to play it but can appreciate it by watching a playthrough' game of the show.

Read more . . .

Updated: Afterthought summary of E3 part 1: PS3 and the Sony Conference

E3-Color2.jpgSony.

Oh boy.

Many in the business see them now as how Nintendo was back in the early N64 days, making stupid decisions rooted in the hubris of being market leader.

[videos and screen links now enclosed]

Read more . . .

May 14, 2006

Updated: Bioshock impressions and additional screens

biothumb.jpgThis is one of my candidates for E3 game of the show. It's a close run between this, The Darkness and Super Mario Galaxy for me.

Mo' below. Full impressions sandwiched in the screenshots

[New impressions and media links at base of page]

Read more . . .

That study I did on platform games three years ago...

scientist.jpgFuck it. Might as well put it up for free download now that I've got far more advanced shit coming soon...

If you like looking at the inner workings of games on a more intimate level, download this. Some of the info is rather dated indeed, but there is gold in there.

DOWNLOAD HERE >>>

May 13, 2006

Assassin's Creed game impressions

Picture%201.pngThanks to the magic of friends with connections, we got snuck into a lovely presentation of Assassin's Creed on Next Gen consoles (currently being pimped as PS3 exclusive - timed or otherwise).

First impressions were definitely favourable. More in the link.

Read more . . .

Exclusive: Assassins Creed: NOT PS3 exclusive

Picture%201.pngBloody hell. Day of the exclusives it would seem.

While talking to a Ubi employee who asked not to be named, he accidentally let slip that Assassin's Creed is being developed on 360 as well. When we asked what 'exclusive' meant upon catching him out, he shut up, but we'll assume exclusive means 'timed exclusive'.

So there you go.

May 12, 2006

Exclusive! Yuji Naka CONFIRMS new NiGHTS game in development

nights-title.jpgLast night at the Sony party, I bumped into Yuji Naka and had a conversation with him. It went like this:

Me - [drunk and shouting] "Yuji Naka! You made Sonic!"

YJ - [smiling politely] "Yes!"

Me - [drunk and shouting] "I loved it! Thanks!"

YJ - [smiling politely] "Thank you."

...conversation continued at link below...

Read more . . .

May 11, 2006

Hands on impressions of EVERYTHING coming this Saturday. Possibly even Friday

This is because I love you all and I'm awesome.

Basically, any game that I can get my hands on, I will (and have been doing) and you're going to know everything I can gather on it.

So come back to the site then if that's what yer after.

Also, Sega put Wii in my hands for the first time. It was okay. More details on Friday/Saturday...

DB

May 9, 2006

Sony conference - a detailed rundown of opinions

e3.jpgHow Warhawk played and what it was like being bored to death for half an hour while being shown Gran Turismo: embarrassment edition.

Also, here's a transcript of the whole thing, conveniently laid out for you by a certain Mr Bramwell:
http://eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64373

Read more . . .

May 3, 2006

A piece I did on what's to be expected at E3

Stuff on what you'll likely see from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
http://www.damagents.com/newsletter/enews20.html

April 28, 2006

Questions I want to ask Nintendo at a press conference

wee2.jpgIf you find immaturity disgusting, go away.

Read more . . .

April 27, 2006

Updated: It's about Wii. New name for Nintendo's Revolution

rvo5.jpgThis is easily the DUMBEST NAME EVER. It's spelt Wii and pronounced 'Wee'. As in piss. How lame.

Here's a video link >>>
Official Logo >>>
The fanboys respond with the power of Photoshop >>>
More fanboy comedy here >>>

Press release enclosed at the link below. Try not to giggle. I've recently added a 'childish translation', for those who find toilet humour amusing.

Read more . . .

March 28, 2006

My brother Mark went to New York for Saint Patrick's Day

He hated it and wrote about it here. Well... actually I just copy pasted it from an email he sent round, but still; I'm posting it here, because being his older brother means I'm allowed.

Read more . . .

March 23, 2006

Updated! Nintendo announces hot buttered sex for all

1.jpgZelda on DS, Sega Megadrive/Genesis and PC Engine classics downloadable on Revolution's Virtual Console. What more do you need? Zelda video link inside!

Read more . . .

March 22, 2006

Updated: The Sony PS3 keynote from GDC - the cliff notes version, now with pics!

real-ps3-front-2.jpgIncluding a teaser of The Getaway on PS3, Ratchett and Clank on PS3 and some less than stellar 'real' versions of the bullshit trailers they showed off last year at E3. As negative as that lead in is, the online stuff was VERY interesting, as was the cross-company asset sharing. That's IF they pull it off.

Read more . . .

March 20, 2006

Exclusive! Spiderman 3 villains confirmed. Spoilers within

spidey3teaser4mz.jpgSpies within the special FX industry send forth details of the villains we WILL be seeing in Spiderman 3. If you don't want the film ruined for you, DO NOT read this.

Read more . . .

February 14, 2006

Splinter Cell: Double Agent - details on the game

That sadly won't be out this month as promised. Possibly the first Splinter Cell game I've ever given a shit about.
http://games.kikizo.com/news/200602/075_p1.asp

February 8, 2006

Possibly one of the best features on Prey you will likely read

Oh yes. Details on multiplayer, weapons, single player features, vehicles, minimum PC specs, possible Xbox 360-only features...
http://games.kikizo.com/news/200602/037_p1.asp

January 28, 2006

Arcade Show 2006 report: Part One

The Arcade Show - ATEI - is the European equivalent of the AOU show in Japan. The games on show included:

virtuatennis3.JPGTime Crisis 4
Virtua Tennis
Fist of the North Star
Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova
Konami's Bishi Bashi-inspired 'Ashaaan!'
Pro Evo Soccer 2006 (online)
Virtua Striker 2006
Dragon Ball Z
Metal Slug 6
And a fair few more quirky titles.

In this part, we'll only cover the list upto Tekken.

Read more . . .

January 4, 2006

The Noooz Games and Shames of the last Generation Award list

Here are the official Noooz awards. If your game isn't in there, we probably never played it. If it was sh*t, we've probably forgotten it ever existed.

Read more . . .

November 23, 2005

Xbox Zero Hour: Zero people attended?

According to this piece it would seem. I wonder who wrote it. Hmmm...
http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2005/11/xbox-360-origen-zero-hour-us-launch.html

November 4, 2005

X:05 game impressions - sorry it's taken so long for me to get round to this

It's been a busy month. Thankfully, I've got a little breathing space today and so, I post this for ye all to shout 'OLD' at, or simply enjoy.

You'll find some hands on reports of Perfect Dark Zero, Gotham 3, DOA, Ridge 6 and Kameo, as well as some visual impressions from what I couldn't touch.

Read more . . .

August 26, 2005

WHY HOLLYWOOD AND GAMES ARE STILL WORLDS APART

Originally published in the Friday E3 2005 edition of MCV

Over recent years, we have heard stories of the games industry unashamedly imitating, integrating into and even surpassing the world of Hollywood. This article attempts to show where things are at now and the current truth behind 'Hollywood Games'.

Read more . . .

September 14, 2003

Links to people talking about my research

scientist.jpgGamasutra
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10325

Wired
http://blog.wired.com/games/index.blog?entry_id=1533706

AOL
http://games.aol.co.uk/article.adp?id=20060714185509990001

Shack News
http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?comments=43262

Designers basing tutorial design on my research
http://blog.doublejumping.com/2006/08/21/ingame-tutorial.aspx

David Kennerly comparing my work to Joseph Campbell's!!!
http://finegamedesign.com/

Compliments from PlayStation Disorder:
http://playstation-disorder.com/comments.php?blog_id=224&

Armchair Arcade:
http://armchairarcade.com/neo/taxonomy/term/59

Got Next
http://www.got-next.com/features_read.php?id=378

Quoted on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_and_video_game_genres


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