Published by Bob July 4th, 2008
in Games.
In honor of Independence Day, I’m posting my latest game, in its own way a rumination on the nature of life, liberty and freedom of speech in the 21st century. This is basically what I wish I could’ve finished in time for my thesis, and while there’s still a few typos and errors here and there in the text that I’ll be fixing as I go along, I can honestly say that this is a game I stand by (even if it is a work-in-progress until I decide otherwise).
Click the picture to open the game. For the uninitiated, here’s the essentials– press the arrow-keys to choose phrases, press the spacebar to speak, and press the enter-key to cancel your phrases and choose something else, or move to the next screen of text. Up says Yes, Down says No, Left asks a Question and Right gives an Answer. Whatever you do, don’t run out of light-bulbs.
Anyway, that’s it for now. Until next time, pleasant dreamers, be thankful that the founding fathers managed to establish at least one semi-regular three-day weekend…
Published by Bob June 17th, 2008
in Dispatches.
Today on the Dispatches, we reach the end of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and perhaps the end of the Solid Snake’s story, altogether. But just because the Metal Gear saga’s over doesn’t mean the series isn’t about to continue, in all likelihood.
Continue reading ‘Dispatches: Metal Gear Solid 4, Part Three; Or: Dulce Et Decorum Est’
Published by Bob June 15th, 2008
in Dispatches.
Today on the Dispatches, we cover the next stretch of Snake’s journey, all the way from the jungles of South America to the darkness of Shadow Moses, with a little bit of Eastern Europe along the way, and explore how Kojima manages to save this game from his own poor plotting with good old fashioned hunting and surrealism.
Continue reading ‘Dispatches: Metal Gear Solid 4, Part Two; Or: Peace Is Our Profession’
Published by Bob June 13th, 2008
in Dispatches.
Today on the Dispatches– oh, who am I kidding? Like none of you saw this coming…
Continue reading ‘Dispatches: Metal Gear Solid 4, Part One; Or: Why We Fight’
Published by Bob June 9th, 2008
in Dispatches.
Today on the Dispatches, we finally reach the finish line of Suda 51’s No More Heroes, a real piece-of-work in every meaning of the phrase.
Continue reading ‘Dispatches: No More Heroes, Part Three; Or: Raise High the Beam Katana, Carpenters!’
Published by Bob March 31st, 2008
in Teaser and Games.
I said I’d get out of Power Point sooner or later.
A pleasant dream of things to come …
(Note: If the SWF doesn’t open by itself after unzipping the file, try putting it in a web-browser. I’ve still got to get my Flash legs, here.)
Published by Bob March 19th, 2008
in Dispatches.
This week month solstice on the Dispatches, we return to the Garden of Madness. Don’t expect too much in the way of landscaping, though…
Continue reading ‘Dispatches: No More Heroes, Part Two; Or: A Perfect Day For Bloodfish’
Published by Bob February 10th, 2008
in Games.
http://www.divshare.com/download/3748406-477
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and you don’t know how tempting it is to make another game about suicide just for the occasion. Instead, however, let’s put a slightly more optimistic face on the grim occasion, and try a more upbeat game of inevitable failure. See, in all the work I’ve been putting into my dialogue-driven games, I realized that there was one already existing genre of games that I’d been ignoring entirely, and one that had potentially the greatest potential for narrative, gameplay and emotional connection:
The dating-sim!
Continue reading ‘The Designer’s Dilemma: Geek Love’
Published by Bob January 29th, 2008
in Dispatches.
It’s taken a while now, but in the new action smörgåsbord No More Heroes the Nintendo Wii finally has one of those lynchpin titles necessary to prove its strength as a console in the long run– an original, exclusive third-party game that capitalizes on the best aspects of the system’s motion-controls while delivering a universally solid gameplay experience. Furthermore, it’s from one of the premier modern gaming auteurs, the ever avant-garde Goicha Suda, creator of the Gamecube curiosity Killer 7. As such, it stands as one of the most perversely satisfying and deeply frustrating gaming experiences of the next-gen generation, and even half-way through at this point, I feel like I’ve got more to say about it than most other games I’ve played in quite a while. Not all of it is good, of course, but that’s so much the better.
What I can say is this: No More Heroes is quite possibly the most important game that may ever be released for the Wii, and very probably the single most offensive piece of shit I’ve ever laid my thumbs on. Strangely enough, both these sentiments come from one of the game’s defining features:
It’s pretentious.
Continue reading ‘Dispatches: No More Heroes, Part One; Or: For Esme, With Love and Rockets’
Published by Bob January 25th, 2008
in Games.
http://www.divshare.com/download/3600625-1dc
Game design, like writing, can be a lonely job. At least that’s my experience. It makes a certain amount of sense, as I’m the type who concentrates on the single-player experience. In that sense, solitary design is just as empowering as solitary writing, though it falls prey to the same obstacles, especially when it comes to ideas. When you’re at a loss for words, you call it writer’s block.
When you’re at a loss for rules, though– well, you can read the title of this article, can’t you?
Continue reading ‘The Designer’s Dilemma: Picking Up the Pieces’
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