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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Trip


I was reading through the uploaded content of this old UK, mostly ZX Spectrum- centered mag called CRASH, which ran from 84 to 92 and had about 100k circulation at its height. Pretty big, moreso in those times. And, among much else which some might not find as interesting, I found this interview with legendary EA founder, Trip Hawkins, from issue 46, from November 1987, during the Personal Computer World Show, an annual (from '79 to '89) trade fair held in London, organized by Personal Computer World, another magazine (which only closed 2009, though).

http://www.crashonline.org.uk/46/pcw_ea.htm
Anyway... Even though the interview is made in the old school style of article form, and not in direct speech, it's a very interesting read, and one can see how right Trip was in how he saw the industry would evolve from then.

The advent of the standard Windows-run IBM computer for game development, developing games for an older generation and women... even how he compares games to other art forms and sees the need to make them about real life and people.

And of course how in '87 you can already see a hint of what's going on his head which will ultimately lead to the unfairly ill-fated 3DO.

Overall, a very interesting piece on this somewhat forgotten genius.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Mazembe through to WCC Final!


After beating current CONCACAF champions Pachuca from Mexico 1-0 (Bedi) last friday, Tout Puissant Mazembe, the R.D.C. four-time African Champions (and current two-time consecutive winners), faced a difficult challenge against Internacional de Porto Alegre, representing CONMEBOL. After all, only teams from Europe or South America had ever played in the final.

But today the African spirit was raised higher by the goals of Kalungu and Kaluyituka which defeated the Brazilian team and have sent Les Corbeaux de Lubumbashi through to the World Club Cup final in Abu Dhabi.

The team will face either Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma from South Korea or Internazionale Milan from Italy, who play tomorrow.

After the historic hosting of the World Cup earlier this year in South Africa, history was again made. Or was it? Let's see if, come next Saturday with a little luck, and a lot of heart, we might have the first African Club Champion of the World!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Way of the Samurai 3 short review


What it means to follow the path.

WoS3 is the first game of the series on this generation of consoles, debuting for the first time on a Microsoft machine, after 9 years of Sony exclusivity. The premise of this 3rd game is however unchanged: you play the role of a ronin (an unemployed samurai, so-to-speak) during a particular conflict; this time the story/ies unfold in the Amana county during the Sengoku period (the civil war which ultimately led to the unification of the country). Four factions can be aligned with, the result of which shapes your playthrough’s unique story.
Indeed for a game which develops itself unto the general idea of an almost Shakespearean setting (one can understand Akira Kurosawa’s obsession with the writer in his period-films), and that places the burden of unfolding that drama solely on the actions of the player-character, giving so much emphasis on understanding the character’s ambitions, it is more than a little queer how little relevance and presence the lead is granted: the player is forced inauspiciously into the role of stage director, an almost invisible presence in the production. This is not to say that effort was not made to go against this, although it seems poorly executed. You can make very egotistical choices to attain more powerful roles within the drama, you can decorate yourself with a slewth of accessories and apocriphal customization options, but these aspects seem to detract even more from giving charisma to your character. In the end, you either become a walking anachronism or an invisible mute.

The best way it did manage to give relevance to your actions (the one way to define yourself in the world of Amana), is through the reaction you ellicit from vulgar NPCs (but rarely in story sequences). Generally, you’ll become well loved, loathed or ignored in the various regions and to the various factions that compose the meta-world. This leads to the game’s main source of charm, as characters might kick you, praise you, or follow you around, considering your actions. The variety of responses are a good way to compensate for no voice-overs in non-story sequences, as they’re quite varied and entertaining.
This might constitute the most relevant and charismatic of a game that does little to distance itself from its predecessors storywise and rewards players with sandbox tinkers, like the before-mentioned accessories, invisible mode, instant-kill difficulty or being able to play as an NPC you’ve blunted.

This little world gains credence as per the people that inhabit it. You have the snooty castle soldiers, the rude rebels, the annoyingly humble peasants and the greedy merchants. Their character flaws, despite slightly exaggerated, but within reason, give a layer of humanity to the game, and are a far cry from the robot-personality of most western open world games. This is better emphasized in the new partner system, which allows you to develop relationships throughout the game, enabling you to know some otherwise irrelevant NPCs a little better.

Above all, WoS3 is a game that prides itself in its uniqueness. There is a constant feeling that not everything has been seen, and of an incredible depth that isn’t avaiable on the first playthrough. Its fault is that it pratically purportedly takes away most of its juice from the casual player and rewards only the most hardcore gamer. While a single playthrough might take some 3 or 4 hours on your first try (and can be concluded much quicker), the game is actually meant to be played for dozens upon dozens of hours, as you finally understand just what it means to follow the way of the samurai.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Into the Wilderness










Moving the Goalposts


I put on my raincoat to make it rain
And sure enough the skies opened up again
I dreamed of you as I walked to the shops
You were dancing with the wallies on Top Of The Pops

Once in a while
Gennady Gerasimov deops his smile
And you can see that his aim's
A portfolio pregnant with gains

He's been up all night
Moving the goalposts

Like a jackdaw with a fiery brand
Spread the news all over this land
Robin Hood and his Merry Men
Are never, never, never coming back again

I don't believe that love should be pain
So could you please rub my back again
I think it's safe to leave tham in the park
Let's blow out the candles and kiss in the dark

Heavens above
Can this sticky stuff really be love!
Don't get dressed yet
Not yet

We've been up all night
Moving the goalposts

-Billy Bragg

Another World - 15th year appreciation

"The creation is an iterative process where we progressively refine our ideas."
- Eric Chahi

Despite having reviewed the 15th Anniversary Edition of Another World earlier, only recently did I have the pleasure to explore the addendi of the package, namely the making-of featurettes. Comprised of two small notebooks (one of them Chahi's technical programming scrapbook, which I'm afraid I could grasp nothing of) and a video, they do however give a relevant, albeit short, insight into one of the most accomplished works in the medium, and certainly the prime reference back in the times of its release.

The 'Design' notebook, subtitled as a 'Development Diary' compares Chahi's paper sketches with the game's final version. Rather than just an image gallery, we're presented with commentaries from the author. More often than not, hardware restrictions forced a lot of toning down, an interesting concept on a game that is visually so rich, even if somber.

One page focus on the 2nd level's enigma, escaping the prison. It's amazing how Chahi's design process was already so progressive back in 1991, something which became even more apparent in the video feature. His personal handwritten notes on this gameplay puzzle, centered on the necessity of escaping and the possibility from which that escape should become (who should be the liberator? The player? Someone else? Fate?).
This segues into one of Another World's staples on a game design perspective, according to Chahi, the initial idea to develop around defense, rather than attack. Once again, limiting technology got in the way, but this managed to carve its way into gameplay by the use of the player-generated force fields. Still, the clear intent of using Lester as a survivor, as the odds seem to always be against him, rather than a Green Beret who'd take down an entire alien world with his handgun, was a clear correspondence with the fight-or-flight attitude, so differential to the majority of game's of the time (and presently as well).

Later on in the notebook, Chahi emphasizes the importance of rhythm in gameplay. While it's true that the possibility of death is present in almost every screen, elliciting frequent replays while breaking up the action, it's also hard not to realize what he's on about. Much like the simpler shooters Chahi undoubtedly played some years prior to starting this game, the exhilaration of gameplay must stem from being in-sync with the rules of the game. This mental and mechanical coordination based upon the game's brilliant cinematic aesthetic evolves the game from a Dragon's Lair twitch-finger reactional gameplay, to a progressive and absorptive experience. The experience of rhythm, and the quest to keep the game within rhythm is a quintessential, even if hardly grasped, feature of player gratification, in detriment of 'level-ups' and scoring systems.

The video seems to be a TV-style program, as suggested by its presentation, assembled by Nolife, a french cable channel whose focus includes geek culture and japanese pop music (apparently).
During its short 17 minute run, we're treated to Chahi's discussion of the game. Above all, his concern on making something different and his very distinct vision shine through. Other highlights include the presence of Jean-François Freitas, the talented composeur, whose soundtrack was also remastered for the re-release. Without further ado...