Tuesday
10Nov2009

The Demoscene & Lingering Afterthoughts: The Argument for Interactive Art (Pt. 1)


It's hard for me to believe, but it's been almost 10 years since the days when I spent nearly every waking, non-school hour on IRC. Now, this isn't some hacker story; it has a purpose. Those many years ago, one of my friends happened upon a very unusual tech demo enclosed within a 64 kilobyte file.

 

Actually, let me correct myself; it was 63.5 kilobytes. Yeah, those extra 500 or so bytes seem negligible, but they were pivotal to the purpose of that particular demo.

 

The demonstration in question was, and remains, .the .product.

 

Boy, has the demoscene come a long way.

 

Having found its way into non-passive media, it's left me mulling over the old question but turned on its head. For better or worse, it stirs up that tumultuous debate once more but, this time, with a twist.

 

For all their bluster, people argue that video games can be, should be.. are art. Today, I ask from the other end of the spectrum: Can art become game?

Click to read more ...

Monday
19Oct2009

Diamond in the Fluff: a Critter Crunch Review

 

 

1983 was a landmark year for video games. Dragon's Lair, a cel-animated adventure game, landed in arcades to great fanfare. "It's the most awesome game I've ever seen in my life," claimed some. The full-motion video adventure captivated many, but any subsequent attempts to capture the feeling of playing a cartoon were either lost on most or fell completely flat.

 

25 years later, Capybara Games, a small studio in Toronto, Ontario, is picking up that long-forgotten torch and re-igniting it. And with a little luck, their effort will shine as a beacon through the fog of process showing that inspiring art and addictive play truly can be united for a complete experience.

 

With Critter Crunch, Capybara has created one of the most beautiful packages you'll find in a game from any developer; independent or otherwise.

Click to read more ...

Wednesday
07Oct2009

Select PlayStation Network Games Now Available on Amazon

First-party PlayStation Network games have been added to the roster of Amazon's ever-growing digital distrubution line-up.

65 titles spanning across PS3, PSP, and original Playstation games are now up for grabs through the online retailer. In addition, various game add-ons, such as LittleBigPlanet level packs and PAIN characters, are also available for purchase.

Currently, only United States residents are eligible for the use of codes distributed by the retailer.

Monday
05Oct2009

Sparkster Rockets Back Into Action

Sparkster, the jet propelled, blue armored 'possum, is making his return in the latest retro revival to come out of Konami, Rocket Knight. In development from Climax Studios, Rocket Knight features 3-D graphics on a 2-D plane and promises to carry all of the hectic platforming game play that the original series did so well. Known for their work on Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Climax Studios and Konami are set to push Rocket Night to Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network.

For those who have forgotten, Rocket Knight Adventures was a Genesis platformer with a heavy emphasis on speed and accuracy. Starring an opossum wearing a suit of blue knight's armor and a rocket strapped to his back, the gist of the game really was pretty well conveyed in it's title. It wasn't too long before it's sequel, Sparkster, arrived for the Genesis and Super Nintendo, bringing us more of the same frenetic action, but since then the sword wielding, high-flying 'possum has faded away into memories. Until now.

Friday
02Oct2009

Fried Chicken!: Queen DLC Announced for Rock Band

Not content announcing a few songs that at least a few people are going to want every week, Harmonix has thrown down the gauntlet. With the entirety of Abbey Road being released for The Beatles: Rock Band on October 20th, it was already going to be a hard day on the wallets for Rock Band aficionados.

But then they has to go and do something like this.

A ten pack of Queen DLC will be hitting the standard Rock Band store on October 20th, featuring a cornucopia of universally loved hits: 

  • Another One Bites the Dust
  • Crazy Little Thing Called Love
  • One Vision
  • Fat Bottomed Girls
  • I Want It All
  • I Want to Break Free
  • Killer Queen
  • Somebody to Love
  • Tie Your Mother Down
  • Under Pressure 

Pricing is currently unannounced, but based on most previous DLC releases, individual tracks will cost $2 and there will be some sort of discount for buying the full package. But let's face it, it's taken two years for Queen to hit Rock Band, most of us are ready to just give Freddie and Harmonix our wallets, oil ourselves up, and share the vision together.