GameOfTheBlog.com

Name this game!

2008-11-14T11:09:00.005-06:00

"[BLANK] is all about the emotions associated with family and teenage angst," said Nick Harper, the game's creative director. "We've taken that philosophy and turned it into gameplay mechanics that will be fun and challenging.

I know what you're thinking..."Sixteen Candles", right? Unfortunately, that is not the correct answer.

BREAKING NEWS: Yaris De-Listed From XBLA With No Warning

2008-10-30T11:02:00.004-05:00

"In an interview at the Tokyo Game Show in Japan this week, Microsoft corporate vice president John Schappert backed away from that perception a bit, saying the information about XBLA de-listing had been taken out of context and that there was no plan to do any such thing."

"We will also give a three-month notice before delisting any title."

LIES.

From the Collectibles section of the XBOX 360 Store

2008-10-08T18:09:00.004-05:00

SKU: 609555417945
White matte laminated euro shopping bag with shoulder length handles in white with a cardboard bottom. Bag size 12" x 8" x 14".

Style Number: 451603 XBOX

Price: $2.15

SKU: 609555393294

This 8.5 X 11 inch spiral bound notebook with 90 sheets of lined paper offers plenty of space for those who dare to dream.

Style Number: 711702 X360

Price: $7.65

From the Guinness World Records: The Videogame for the Wii press release

2008-09-29T13:16:00.003-05:00

"Accessible game mechanics enable anyone to grow the longest fingernails ever seen..."

Visit the Endcap Of Forgotten Games

2008-09-26T10:55:00.007-05:00

I found this in a Microcenter ad from a month or so back. I see at least 3-4 games here I (don't) need to buy.

Does anybody else find this funny? Because I think it's really funny.

I think we need to come up with a name for that strange, sad, hobo-like forgotten game endcap mascot. I bet he'd get along famously with the denizens of The Island Of Misfit Toys.

UPDATE: I've decided he should be called Lil' Cappy, but Frank likes Cappy The Endcap Game better.

I Escaped from Ike to GDC

2008-09-15T10:03:00.003-05:00

Just got into Austin last night from Houston. Due to Hurricane Ike, the power was still out at my apartment. No flooding at my place, but the heat and humidity were somewhat unbearable.

I feel a bit guilty escaping Houston and leaving my wife and kids behind(who just had/are having both of their birthdays-we might not be able to have the parties this weekend) but I had this trip planned for months and the wife told me to go. There is no school through Wednesday(at least) and the only thing to do is to wait for the power to come back on. Don't have my camera with me, but maybe I can take some decent cell phone pics to upload when I get back. I'm also meeting a bunch of people in person that I've only spoken to online. Hopefully I can stay the entire time, but it matters whether my paycheck comes through as scheduled and things stay stable back home.

Wish me luck!

Ballance Impressions

2008-08-12T21:07:00.005-05:00

See, I got a halfway decent video card for my new(ish) computer so I've been trying out some actual 3d PC gaming as of late. And of course, since I'm a cheap bastard the only games I'm playing are under 5 bucks each. The latest was found at a Dollar Tree:

Ballance

It's basically a puzzle-heavy cross between Monkey Ball and Marble Madness. Some of the puzzles are amazingly devious from looking at some vids of the later levels. Which I probably shouldn't have done since now that I've seen how crazy hard it gets, there's no way I am going devote the amount of time required to get good enough to get even halfway though this game. I gotta respect the brilliant level design though. Here's a clip of a nicely paced run through an level that was available only online from the developer's website. Keep in mind that one of the major gameplay elements is transforming your ball into paper(which looks like wadded up newsprint!), wood, or stone which affects the speed and weight.

If you found that interesting, check out this speed run of the same level.

The horrors of inpependent gaming.

2008-08-11T23:32:00.007-05:00

Played a bit of Wik and the Fable of Souls from the PC version I got at Half Price Books for three bucks. Wik was interesting, but I'm not sure I'll play it again anytime soon, it was a little too Lemmings-ish for me. The disc had a bunch of other independent game demos so I tried the claymation art shooter Platypus which I had seen on shelves for the PSP. It wasn't a great shooter that I could tell, but it was terribly fun to play and has amazing Commodore 64-inspired music(EDIT - turns out the music is composed entirely of C64 game remixes).

Then I popped onto the website and read the incredibly depressing story of how one guy made essentially made(everything but the engine) the whole thing by himself, only got paid 2,000 bucks to do so, had his house burn down during the process, and then lost the ability to sell it on his website. Then when the PSP version came out, he saw that his name wasn't mentioned at all in the credits.

Whee.

EDIT: I was able to read that messageboard thread more and there's an interesting post from the lead programmer for the PSP version.

Pac-Crap

2008-06-24T23:16:00.003-05:00

I know that video game history is rife with wonderful tales of Pac-Man ripoff s, but they never cease to amuse me.

Shirtless and alone In space with only a politically questionable arcade game to keep you occupied...

2008-05-21T15:43:00.004-05:00

Sometimes you come across something that is so unexpected and unnecessary that you have trouble accepting the fact that it actually exists. "Bin Laden Basher"(from the Creative Engineering, Inc., the creators of Showbiz Pizza's Rock-A-Fire Explosion) is one of those things:

"We built one prototype of this unusual, politically motivated game in the tradition of "Wac-A-Mole". While we have no plans to go into production, we will sell the prototype to a collector of unique games."

I have so many questions.

How could the DS market possibly be in danger of an 'Atari Crash'?

2008-05-07T14:56:00.002-05:00

"...actually, and again, and this is those whispering voices saying this, but you've started hearing the phrase "Atari crash" pretty frequently. People are talking about how the second "Atari crash" is around the corner. And Nintendo is the one that has to figure out a way to stop it."

"Nintendo put a lot of thought into the original, and ran some really cool commercials for it. But some of these companies just slap something together, put the word "brain" in the title, and release it. There are a ton of them, and barely any of them are interesting."

Is this really necessary?

2008-03-19T21:41:00.003-05:00

Was anybody really asking for these?

Did someone do research about how a game would sell better if it just had more chicken-related content?

Is there a large enough subsection of the populous that feels the urge to hunt, attack, and shoot chickens that there has to be some sort of socially acceptable video equivalent for this deranged mindset to live out their sick poultry violence fantasies?

I think we all know the answer.

Mankind's Greatest Achievement?

2008-02-27T13:33:00.006-06:00

Last Christmas, my 5-year-old daughter wanted nothing more than a 300 dollar robot pony. It crushed my heart to tell her that she would never get one and even wishing wouldn't help but I feel like she learned a valuable life lesson.

I wonder if this Taffy TV Video Game would be a suitable replacement:

It appears to be made by Senario who don't have an easily accessible website, but man I want buy one of these so bad.

How can I resist buying a product that proudly exclaims:

"Huge Inflatable Pony Controls the Game!"

I mean shit, what am I supposed to do? That's got to be the most persuasive advertising since I received a spam e-mail with the irresistible header "An All Monkey Jazz Band!!"

Thanks to Frank who found this miracle of modern technology on GameSniped.

Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition: Secrets

2008-02-07T10:49:00.002-06:00

I picked up the PS2 version of Twisted Metal: Head On yesterday and had a bit of fun with it. It was nice to see all the extra production info, too bad the game isn't not online.

Before you play the section of the four never before seen Twisted Metal Black 2 levels, ther's a video describing that the sequel to Twisted Metal Black was halted because 6 of the production members died in an airplane accident on a celebratory ski trip. The story goes that two years later on the exact date of their death a note was sent to Sony pleading to release the completed levels...signed by the six dead game makers(dun Dun DUNNNNNN!!). After you beat the 4 levels on hard, you can see the note which reads:
We are disappointed to hear of your decision
To keep the world from seeing the last
Of our work
...We Beg of You...
Show them all what we have done...
Show them our last earthly deeds
...If you doubt our existence look to the
Dark past for proof that we are who we say
For in the dark past you will find proof
That we know what the future will bring...

And do not forget...
The truth lies in the greenery of Paris...
...To the left the truth is revealed...
This is why we have come back...
...To let you know what awaits...

The disc also has a half hour documentary entitled "Twisted Metal: The Dark Past" and right at a portion where they're speaking about the Paris level in TM1, numbers flash quickly throughout the rest of the film(I wasn't able to capture the first one):

Using a basic numbered alphabet code it spells out "Twisted Metal is Coming On PSThree". Jaffe has previously mentioned that the game would include clues to the next game that his new production company Eat Sleep Play was making, so that appears to be it. I'll bet those signatures contain additional clues/jokes.

Big thanks to the posters at GameFAQs and NeoGAF so the quick info. I'd seen the numbers while watching is last night and was planning to decode it today, but they beat me to it.

Games I Bought And Then Didn't Play That Were Released In 2007 - Now With Previously Unannounced Bonus Content

2008-01-26T11:49:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are the games I picked up that were released in 2007 that I didn't actually play along with the reasons why. Special Bonus Content at the bottom!

Adventures of Darwin - A lot of these "bought but didn't play" titles were purchased to support the release of unique budget games. I love a lot of the ideas of the Simple 2000 series and so far Adventures of Darwin is the only one released in the US. Europe, the wonderland of budget PS2 games, has seen many of them released with full translation so maybe more will show up over here but with D3 having a serious presence in the US and releasing award winning games I'm not holding my breath.

Fire Pro Wrestling Returns - For 15 bucks, I had to pick up this one too see what all the fuss was about. 2d wrestling on the PS2, how could I pass it up?!

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - 20 bucks, another GTA game I'll probably never finish. I have the other four(!) for the PS2, I had to complete the set!

Th3 Plan - Reviews aren't great but the gameplay and presentation seem interesting. 3.33 well spent.

The Red Star - Still kicking myself for not having played this yet, especially since it was such a hassle to find a sealed copy at Gamestop. Someday...someday.

Brave: The Search For the Spirit Dancer - I actually played through this in the last month and it's a great character-based 3d platformer that only Dave Halverson and I can truly appreciate. From what I can piece together, it was originally developed by Vis Entertainment(who then went out of business) and later picked up by Evolved and ultimately published by SouthPeak. Looks great, plays well, and the level design is stunning. The only problem I have apart from some difficulty spikes is that the camera control should have been a bit more dramatic to show you more of the impressive landscape. Southpeak is releasing a remake just entitled Brave for DS, Wii, and PSP. Hopefully they'll market it a bit better this time because it's worth experiencing.

BONUS FOOTAGE - Here's a few I played from 2007 that I forgot about until Just. Right. Now.

Crazy Frog Arcade Racer - Actually just the Euro-only Crazy Frog Racer 2 renamed for our delicate American minds. I guess this rules out getting the original over here. Sigh. It's pretty awful gameplay-wise but it looks somewhat nice, and there's a bad rhythm game thrown in for now reason. The novelty is very much worth the 3.33 I paid for it.

Lumines Plus - I was excited to play this and tried to, but I just didn't get the gameplay. I tried though. Oh, how I tried.

Mountain Bike Adrenaline - Another from the three "3 for 9.99" PS2 game packs I bought on Black Friday. The weird shimmery tesselation(or whatever) effect on everything is disconcerting and takes a bit to get used to. All in all, a terrible game in everyway, but a good game based on this sport should still be made.

Games I Played That Were Released In 2007 - Part II

2008-01-19T15:45:00.000-06:00

As promised, here are the rest of the Games I Played That Were Released In 2007. Looking over it, there's only two PS2 exclusive titles, how sad.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - From what I've been able to gather, the PS2 version is exactly the same as the 360 and ps3 version, only with lesser graphics. This in itself is pretty amazing, considering the console's age. Or maybe they held back so that all four major console versions would be the same. Already the increasing complexity of the next round of console is widening the gap between multiplatform titles, with most losing content or features(Rock Band and The Simpsons Game) or just making a completely different game(the upcoming Ghostbusters). Anyways, this is a great game, they borrowed a lot of ideas from Bully, lots to do, wonderful use of the maurader's map as a guide to the next task, up there with best looking PS2 games.

Jackass: The Game - Looks and plays better than you'd expect. If you're not a fan, don't expect it to convert you, but if you are, it's very very fun.

Meet the Robinsons - The only non-PS2 version game I played on this list and one of the last Gamecube game released. It ties very well into the movie's story and emulates the (highly underrated)film's look well. Nothing too special, but very well done.

Game Of The Blog's 2007 Game Of The Year

Raw Danger - Yet another game I obsessed about... but I actually played through this one! Not graphically impressive in any obvious way but contains an engaging multi-faceted story that is probably the closest form of urban exploration you'll get in a videogame. The empty crumbled city is effectively creepy yet peaceful and the brief action sequences are exciting, harrowing and well placed. It does get a bit too Japanesey, design-wise, with the strict save system and level progression. I would have preferred an easier way to repeat levels to see more of the branching storyline. Also, the caucasianation process was entirely unneeded. Here's to hoping that Downfall: San Francisco actually exists because it sounds similarly awesome.

Rock Band - I was lucky to have a friend who has the 360 version and got to first play the game as it was designed, live with four people. He later hooked it up on the screen at a movie theatre and it feels almost as good as actually playing live. The drums are awesome, the vocals are super fun, but yet again, the PS2 version is sorely lacking. The world tour game is strangely absent and just like Dancing With The Stars, the on-screen action is just video footage. This FMV band info is strangely absent from most major reviews with Gamespot going as far as to say "the character modeling and animation still look great, and a lot of the visual filters the other versions had are on display here. Granted, it almost seems like the game is just running full-motion video of characters from the PS3 or 360 versions playing because the game uses a lot of the same band members over and over again". I assume they didn't spend much time replaying the songs. IGN doesn't even mention the graphics. Luckily, my old original Guitar Hero SG works with it and it also recognizes the Logitech mic from Karaoke Hero. I look forward to picking up the drums when they're released separately.

Shrek the Third - It's better than the other Shrek games if that's saying anything. The film was aggressively terrible, the game is just the normal afterthought. Some interesting spots here and there(the mechanical version of frogger was interesting) but unmemorable as a whole. The cut scenes are amazing though, someone needs to put all of those online. They're done in a cut out puppet style, the intro one can be seen in this video starting at 1:30.

The Simpsons Game - Probably more fun for big Simpsons fans, especially a nerdy gamer ones. Due to the cel-shaded graphics, the PS2 version looks almost exactly like it's next gen brothers, but the entire town of Springfield that can be accessed between levels in those versions is reduced to just the Simpsons house in this one.

Next up: Games I Bought And Then Didn't Play That Were Released In 2007!

Games I Played That Were Released In 2007 - Part I

2008-01-09T12:24:00.000-06:00

I play a lot of older games(mainly because I only own a PS2 and Gamecube and also usually have to wait until they drop in price) so my list of Games I Played That Were Released In 2007 is small enough that I will subject you to brief reviews of all 17.

Alvin and the Chipmunks - A terrible rhythm game complete with confusing gameplay & graphics that have nothing to do with the song that's playing. I played through the whole thing in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Even worse? Slowdown...in a rhythm game. Since there are a lot of well known songs(40!) done Chipmunk-style, I'm surprised this hasn't gotten a soundtrack release(even indirectly), it's the best part of the game. Sadly, the actual movie soundtrack is mostly R&B & Hip-Hop tunes. Make sure to check out their version of Phantom Planet's California.

Arthur and the Invisibles - One of the better 3D platformers I've played on the PS2. Beautiful graphics, voice, and control. For those who like the genre(I'm lookin' at you, Halverson!), an unheralded gem.

Bee Movie Game - Although it truly captured the tedium of being a lowly worker bee with it's constant stream of mandatory jobs in between the interesting parts, it's a great licensed kid's game with lots of various things to do. Maybe the best stab at a "GTA for kids" style game so far. Also, providing his own voice is further proof of Seinfeld's commitment to the project.

Biker Mice from Mars - Awful horrible trash. I was only able to stomach playing a half hour of this UK only garbage. BREAKING NEWS: As I was searching out the box art for each of these, I found that this was actually was released in Americatown in early June. With such universally reviled gameplay, I'm amazed that SCEA let this one slip through.

Carol Vorderman's Sudoku - I got a bit obsessed with this earlier in the year, mostly because it was one on the earliest horsemen of the coming tidal wave of strange PS2 bargain releases but after playing it for a bit, I probably never will again. It's a great game, just not entirely my bag.

Chulip - Here's another game I spent too much time thinking about and then hardly played after buying it. It's one of the most unique console titles ever and I look forward to setting some time aside to fully experience it's complete freakishnessism.

Dancing with the Stars - Decent rhythm game that actually evokes ballroom dancing steps while using the controller...if my thumbs were Stacy Keibler's feet. Not sure if the dance pad movements are as interesting. Sadly, all of the onscreen dancing is just video(ballroom dancing mocap!) and the song list is filled with random original pieces, but gladly it all looks incredibly creepy.

God of War II - Incredibly well done and an amazing swan song for the PS2's stellar library. Playing as a weakened and defenseless Kratos near the beginning of the game was one of my favorite gaming moments. Quite possibly the manliest game ever made.

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s - Mostly due to the weak number of songs, this collection is highly underrated, even getting called "aggressively awful dreck" by the pinnacle of videogame critique, Playboy.com. If they had just added 10-15 more songs and/or dropped the price 10 bucks it probably wouldn't have been so harshly received. "Only A Lad" is worth the price of admission alone.

...

And really, what's wrong with not changing gameplay and just adding new songs? it's not liek there aren't 25 different freaking versions of beatmania for the psone and PS2 in Japan(grumble grumble).

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Boss battles aren't that fun or even predictable(I beat Tom Morello after 20-30 tries but when I won it seemed random, when I got to Slash and Lou I took then out in the first try), the product placement was excessive(I bet Morello just loves being introduced by the Axe deodorant Bom Chicka Wah Wah strippers), and the character models questionable. I played the PS2 version, which brings up a whole 'nother list of ups and downs. Here they are...in list form:

Downs: The lead singer looks even more freakishly Muppet-like, the drummer has only two arm positions, no star power animations for the regular characters, no Bret Michaels(even thought the video of his mocap session is still on the disc), and worst of all...no breast physics

Ups: No Bret Michaels(HA HA, GET IT), a Budcat logo guitar, and vastly better unlockable characters than the ps3/360 version(Elvis and a robot!)

OTHERWISE, it's awesome and one of my favorites of the year.

The last seven Games I Played That Were Released In 2007 will be revealed soon!

X-Treme Gaming Update - Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Game

2008-01-03T15:15:00.000-06:00

So after playing through the PS2 version of Strawberry Shortcake: Adventures In the Land Of Dreams(crudely renamed "The Sweet Dreams Game" for uncouth Americans such as myself) in all of 4 hours or so, I was perusing the instructions for some helpful gameplay tips(Which I did not find. Hopefully publishers The Game Factory or developers Eko System will read this and respond with directions on how to unlock higher levels of difficulty) and noticed the odd feeling of the outside cover.

It was slightly rough and textured, not the smooth glossy finish that usually adorns most official Playstation 2 manual covers.

I scratched at it slightly, listening to the sound as my dirty fingernails attacked its unusual surface and then...

what's...that smell?

OH NO, it couldn't be...

Strawberries

The game manual for Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Game has a strawberry scented scratch and sniff cover.

The Bee Game VS Bee Movie Game

2007-10-17T14:56:00.001-05:00

For no reason other that to virtually shake my finger disapprovingly at Midway, I present to you the DS box covers for Bee Movie game and The Bee Move Game:

(For those not familiar with the anime television series that originated in the mid 70's and was mainly popular in europe only, click here.)

Brutal Legend Surfaces

2007-10-12T15:40:00.001-05:00

I was glad to see of the confirmation of Double Fine's Brutal Legend by way of magazine cover and even more excited by the revelation of a 45 single in this frustrating Kotaku video(conveniently located behind the jump as usual). Hopefully someone will post a clean version where they're not playing it backwards, adjusting the speed/tone, and talking during the whole song.

Doing some simple searching, I find that domains for Riggs Records, Tainted Coil, and Corpse of Hope were all registered on August 24 of this year.

Also, Corpse of Hope is already a song title from the Austin/Denver hardcore band Severed Heads Of State. Listening to song samples on their myspace and record label pages, they are definitely not the same people behind the music.

I'm surprised no one has uploaded scans of the article as I'm most interested in the gameplay and platform. This would definitely be a system seller for me if I could afford to buy a new system!

EDIT: This Something Awful forum post has more details including

"other voice talent included Lemmy from Motorhead as your bass player and healer, Rob Halford as the antagonist, and Ronny James Dio as an unannounced character, additionally there's gonna be original music from Zakk Wylde, Skold(?), Wolfmother, and Judas Priest."

and this direct quote:

"...Their first stop is the Crushing Pit, where many of the young men of the village have been abducted in order to mine for ancient car parts. Without tools they're left to endlessly smash their heads against the wall, building up grossly disproportionate neck muscles. Lars wonders aloud what can be done with a bunch of listless kids who only know how to bang their heads all day. 'Start a revolution' Eddie Intones."

but most importantly:

"Coming out on PS3 and 360", "Zelda type game" , "game focuses on large conflicts with many enemies at once", & "Grounded in the familiar, the third-person action of Brutal Legend pulls the player back from the strange and into the conventions any action game is familiar with - at least at first."

Strange Video Games In Today's Modern Arcade Vol. I

2007-09-16T13:59:00.000-05:00

As a parent of young kids, I see a lot of weird arcade titles that only exist in child oriented gaming locations such as Chuck E. Cheese and in this example, Incredible Pizza. I took pictures of some of the more interesting ones. Click the pics for larger sizes and makes sure to check the company websites for more weird titles.I'm not sure if they got Rick Dees' permission for the title, but Disco Duck from Coastal Amusements is basically whack a mole for your feet.
This was a really nice and elaborate cabinet for Fishin' Time from ICE(Innovative Concepts in Entertainment Inc.)
The one that takes the cake though is this Gone Fishing cabinet from Tsunami Visual Technologies, Inc./JVL Corp. As you can see, it's just s single giant button that whacks a fish for distance. Yes, it's an arcade version of that penguin whacking Flash game from Yetisp ort s.

Austin video game finds

2007-09-07T12:51:00.000-05:00

(As I'm writing this, I'm sitting right next to the voice actor portrayed "Big Rigg" in 50 Cent: Bulletproof....right next to him, the guy who was "Mobster" in the same title)

In the last couple of evenings, after the conference has wound down for the day, I've been able to find a few places around Austin to check out some video game stores.

On the first day, I was able to check out Game Over Videogames. They have a large selection of games for pretty much every major American console ever made, but sadly no copies of Banjo Kazooie or Tooie. There ware also lots of gaming shirts, toys, etc. The prices seemed a bit high for some things but then again, I haven't shopped for classic games in while. They did have a tempting copy of Buffy The Vampire Slayer for the Xbox but I passed. I wish someone would open up a similar store in Houston but I'm not holding my breath.

The second day, I drove up and down Lamar Blvd to check out various shops I haven't visited in around a decade(Waterloo Video: wish there was something like that in Houston, Planet K: I don't remember it being as much of a head shop).

I went to two Half Price Books and actually found some PS3 and 360 titles, if I had either system I'd proabably snap them up at 30 bucks each. I settled for a PS2 copy of Midnight Club Racing for three buck and a Yakov Smirmov videotape of his Branson act.

Cheapo Discs & DVDs seemed promising with Simpsons Skateboarding PS2 for 10 bucks and Bust-A-Groove psone for only three. Sadly, the former was scratched and the latter turned out to be a bootleg. I settled for Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time PS2 for 7 bucks.

I also ran across a Goodwill store that was beautifully organized and had stuff I've never seen in my town such as an Xbox and and original Gameboy with a case and tons of games.

I dared not to ask prices, I'll just imagine they were 20 dollars each and remain happy in my blissful ignorance.

Top Gun slot "machine"

2007-09-06T15:50:00.000-05:00

I hesitate to even call this thing a slot machine, it's more of a gambling videogame(they call it Sensory Immersion Gaming):
As you can see from the marquee, they got all of the major stars(Kelly McGillis, Anothony Edwards, & Val Kilmer) I asks the guys with WMS about this and they sais it was because "you're Maverick!", but I wonder if licensing had more to do with it.
They've also produced many other themed casino machines based on such properties as Hasbro board games(Monopoly), Clint Eastwood's likeness(Dirty Harry, Fistfull of Dollars) and even Green Acres.

I think I'll wait for Mr. Belvedere Video Poker.

Austin GDC - Habbo Hotel

2007-09-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

This the the biggest room yet:
A lot of the sessions that have interested me the most here at the Austin GDC are the ones relating to online communities. As a parent with two young girls, one rapidly becoming a tween, the interactions and community psychology of online worlds is something I've been paying attention to more and more. I was able to see two keynotes today, the first from Sulake lead designer Sulka Haro. Here's a few things I found interesting.

In Finland, cellphones are common enough among teenagers that the initial sales were SMS based, directly selling the in game furniture items that you decorate your room with(called furni),but when the game introduced a UK version, they moved to selling credits for money which turned out to be one of the most complicated things in the game. Worldwide there are around 100 different ways that they sell credits.

They use the idea of one in a million when thinking about users figuring out loophole in the game. With 80,000,000 users 80 will find the loophole.

With advertising, they're try to get away from standard avenues such as banners and heading more toward branded items, such a a Mountain Dew couch. It's been very successful with branded items becoming more valuable than readily available item that might even have more functionality.

Some items are apparently worth up to two thousand real-world dollars, they recently calculated the total market value of all existing items at around 550,000,000.

When dealing with cheaters and scammers, the fear of their parents finding out what they've been doing is a much worse threat that jail time.

In a recent survey, 70% of habbos wanted a foreign friend but only 44% have a positive attitude toward foreigners(!). So many Finnish teens crowded the Japanese hotel when it opened that they had to develop IP blocking technology to prevent the Finns from overtaking it.

He doesn't like the terms web2.0 or game 3.0 for Habbo since they've been doing it for almost 7 years. Also dislikes the term User Generated Content. It's too generic and makes users sound like content creating robots. Prefers the term "player created activity". Proud that Habbo is a non-violent non-game.

He then showed some of the content of Habbo(which has gotten pretty insane since I dabbled with it 5 years ago.)

There is now a music mixer and audio samples that can be bought. Habbo was silent for 6 years and now music is everywhere and most is player created. The resulting music can be bought for about 15 cents an album and burned to a CD.

He showed a room that looked like a McDonald's with people standing in line to order and as he said "people are role-playing a minimum wage job". There was also a police station with people acting a police officers, there are numerous armies, mafias, pretend gambling casinos. He pointed out that they can't actually do anything malicious, it's all just role play. There are also record stores and he also showed off a room with 20 rare expensive items that totaled up to 200 dollars. Since that particular item is no longer offered it's actually worth much more now. He then showed a room of people dressed in brown role playing as horses "for hours and hours and hours."

Habbo is almost completely user driven and they try very hard not to define content. There are no pre-defined feedback loops, no in-game rewards for doing anything. Players get enjoyment from fame gathering or just loving to play. The players usually know what's hot before the designers do. He has to resist the temptation to think he knows that the users want. In other MMOs community managers end up becoming superstars in the world and they try to avoid that like crazy.

A couple of examples of in game Habbo transitioning out side of the game world, Habbo-themed wedding invitations and cake topper for a couple that met in the game and the "pool's closed" phenomenon - a giant raid by 4chan that temporarily shut does the US hotel and is now a t-shirt and meme repeated by people who might not even know what it originally meant.

Far Cry 2 To Have Orphanage Burning Mini-game

2007-09-05T16:23:00.000-05:00

...is a headline that you'll never see. Mythical orphanage burning was a hypothetical mission that you might get sent on if you acted like a complete bastard in a game that was designed to react to a player's previous actions in the game.

Another interesting bit in the talk "Familiarity breeds contempt: Building game stories that flow" by Ubisoft's Patrick Redding was an example game called "papaRatzo", a free-roaming title where you play a photographer rat in a London that's eternally night time and your task is to take embarrassing and incriminating photos of mythical creatures called "Cele-Brites".

The game sounded so awesome I sort of glossed over the example it was used for. I've also been up since 4:30 am driving for 3 hours. Here's a picture of that big room.

And here's a picture of the next room I was in:

It was uncomfortably small and packed but the talk about "community influencers" in MMOs was very interesting. I really never knew such a thing existed and it's a deviously clever use of your userbase. I attempted similar community interaction(on a much smaller scale) when I used to have a live talk show on cable acces tv. I still talk to people I met on those message boards and get togethers.

I also took four pages of illegibly written notes for seemingly no reason.