Worth Reading: 10/05/12

I'm with Jeff, Nights is not a terribly good game.

MAN, that Punch-Out!! Kickstarter Book looks awesome... I really wanna see how that turns out.

@zeekthegeek said:

The Earthworm Jim artist Doug Tennapel is kind of a shitheel. He turned his previously funny comic in to a really awful homophobic political platform and started a flamewar with his fans last year. Really distasteful, cruel man who doesn't give a fuck about his audience. Buyer beware

Yeah, coming to the realization that he's an enormous piece of shit a few years ago was such a travesty for me. The Neverhood and Earthworm Jim to a lesser extent are some of my favorite games ever. It's actually ruined the games for me. Here's a pretty good example of his writing:

We all pretty much know that most Democrats can't be trusted and that's reflected in this marriage poll. It's not that Democrat women are ugly, because we've seen too many cute ones out there. The men aren't hideous either, unless you think a soft, effeminate man hen-pecked his whole life by his domineering mother is hideous. The main reason people don't get married is out of a fear of divorce-- a fear of a breaking of vows. And Democrats talk with their feet when it comes to making commitments with those who philosophically have no grounding to keep any commitment. Did Obama shut down Gitmo? Will he get health reform finished before August recess? Is he going to cut taxes for most Americans?

I go to dinner with a bunch of Hollywood Republicans every month or so and I'll tell you one thing, the women are easy on the eyes, none more conservative or good looking than my Beloved. Republican women are happy, they don't mope around like victims or screech about how terrible men are for being men. The men at these get-togethers are happier and generally sport less hair product. Married men are polled to have more sex and more satisfying sex than singles so Republican men have another great quality over their unmarried Democrat counterparts.

Misogyny not good enough for you? How about some nearly-extremist nationalism?

Individual countries pale compared to America. So contrast my relative shame as a global citizen with my pride, excitement and honor of being a member of the United States of America. Our country is the best. I'd say that we're not perfect, but I hate opening any kind of door for the America haters to drive their Prius through.

[...]

So it pains me to watch my President stand among the G20 leaders as he works hard to fit in with a bunch of really stupid countries.

There was an article referring to Obama as 'Chairman President' and a post with that fucking Coexist parody and a lot of gay-bashing and all kinds of great stuff like that.

I mean, feel free to separate the man from his art if you can, but I just can't. He's just such a goddamned fucking turd. It's pretty heartbreaking, really.

@kidman said:

Fun fact: that Kameo for original Xbox is now floating around the internet. It's a bit buggy from what I've heard, but appears to be almost complete (just buggy).

That's pretty interesting. You don't see that kind of leak happening very often, other than the well-known examples of Star Fox 2 and Thrill Kill. (also the PS1 version of Baldur's Gate, which I have played. It's not very good)

"...it’s going to be me playing scary video games in the dark and screaming like a girl, but that’s not what it always has to be..." : Don't forget spilling your drink of choice all over the place!

Also, @Slab64, this button needs to be a necessity on everything this site puts up and for everything I ever do. I want this button readily available for me to push at my convenience!

good read

Thanks so much about the article on Gametrekking. I have really enjoyed this. It covers all three of my loves; Asia, Video Games, and trekking. Big thanks to Patrick for his thorough work!!!

How desperate does somebody have to be in order to use somebody else's gaming habits as part of a smear campaign? I have no idea what's worse; that, or the fact that people in our society are actually going to to take a look at that and say " I will not vote for her not because of her ideals on certain topics, but because she like to play as a murderer in those video games!". Fucking society.

Reading a lot of the stuff Patrick links to makes me realize that there are a ton of people writing about video games today, many of them are crazy, and I'm glad I decided not to try to break into the field.

Gametrekking was an amazing read and introspective, Thank you for the heads up, the world needs more Jordans. ;)

Too bad we missed the scariest part of Spookin' With Scoops, which is when Katie finds the mess on the couch.

Thank you Patrick, this will keep me pretty busy during the (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend!

@Manhattan_Project said:

Its hilarious that the indie game video is full of people saying how different the process is and how unique they are and then half the games they show are 2d platformers, most of them with pixel art. And Leigh Alexander saying that when unique things happen in games its indie games that produce them... yeah I guess stuff like Bioshock really wasn't that unique.

In any medium, most of the content is average crap that can be completely ignored, indie games are no different. For every Bastion there are dozens of generic 2d platformers and for every Bioshock there are dozens of CoD clones. All that video does is make me hate the indie game community.

Neither the indies nor the big budget games have innovation if the games they are doing aren't based on a good concept. Independent developers have a chance of making stuff different from the big companies out there, that's a fact. They don't follow certain rules thus creating a more creative environment for their work. I don't think that's true for every game though. There are shitty indie games as well as really fucking good big budget productions.

I think that video is a bit pretentious but you have to agree indie devs can make some really damn impressive stuff from time to time. That said, calling yourself an INDIE DEV is fucking dumb. Why not just calling themselves designers? or developers? What difference does it make if you work for a big company or not? Let the game speak for itself.

@Manhattan_Project said:

@fisk0 said:

@Manhattan_Project said:

Its hilarious that the indie game video is full of people saying how different the process is and how unique they are and then half the games they show are 2d platformers, most of them with pixel art. And Leigh Alexander saying that when unique things happen in games its indie games that produce them... yeah I guess stuff like Bioshock really wasn't that unique.

In any medium, most of the content is average crap that can be completely ignored, indie games are no different. For every Bastion there are dozens of generic 2d platformers and for every Bioshock there are dozens of CoD clones. All that video does is make me hate the indie game community.

While I do see what you mean, gameplay wise Bioshock wasn't all that revolutionary either, it was the spiritual successor to System Shock, and played a lot like those two games, but generally much closer to a traditional FPS than the System Shock games were, with their heavy focus on inventory management, item puzzles and research. Where both Bioshock and many indie games shine is in setting, themes and narrative, not necessarily gameplay. That said, there are a lot of indie games that experiment with gameplay as well.

Many? I would'nt say that. Just because we don't hear about the average ones like we do AAA games doesn't mean they aren't there.

Point is that it doesn't matter whether its indie or big budget, what matters is the people behind the game.

Even if the majority of all indie games are crap, I'd still say there are many indie games doing interesting things. And it's not exactly like the majority of AAA or B level games are best represented by Bioshock, Deus Ex or System Shock 2 either. Just like in the indie scene, the majority of all games are dumb, formulaic imitations of earlier and generally better games. Still, the sheer amount of games in existence today still allows there to be many good, interesting or even great games, even when the majority of it is all shit.

Oh damn, I missed that System Shock 2 music link. The System Shock 2 soundtrack may be the greatest video game soundtrack composed so far, hearing the original multitrack mixes instead of the 22khz versions that got included in the game is fantastic, and the gear list was pretty interesting.

@fisk0 said:

@Manhattan_Project said:

Its hilarious that the indie game video is full of people saying how different the process is and how unique they are and then half the games they show are 2d platformers, most of them with pixel art. And Leigh Alexander saying that when unique things happen in games its indie games that produce them... yeah I guess stuff like Bioshock really wasn't that unique.

In any medium, most of the content is average crap that can be completely ignored, indie games are no different. For every Bastion there are dozens of generic 2d platformers and for every Bioshock there are dozens of CoD clones. All that video does is make me hate the indie game community.

While I do see what you mean, gameplay wise Bioshock wasn't all that revolutionary either, it was the spiritual successor to System Shock, and played a lot like those two games, but generally much closer to a traditional FPS than the System Shock games were, with their heavy focus on inventory management, item puzzles and research. Where both Bioshock and many indie games shine is in setting, themes and narrative, not necessarily gameplay. That said, there are a lot of indie games that experiment with gameplay as well.

Many? I would'nt say that. Just because we don't hear about the average ones like we do AAA games doesn't mean they aren't there.

Point is that it doesn't matter whether its indie or big budget, what matters is the people behind the game.

Jenn Frank always ends up writing (or saying) something that moves me in really strange ways and I love that. There's definitely no one out there writing the way she does about games.

As for the Killzone chat video. I do love the virtual keyboard there, but it wasn't actually a Killzone specific feature, most PS2 games with online multiplayer used that (at least Champions of Norrath and Battlefield 2: Modern Combat), as well as the Network configuration program (which for some reason wasn't built into the PS2 OS, even in the later PS2 Slims where the network adapter was built in, you needed to have Netplay capable games, where the program was often included on the disc). Seems like that was part of the PS2 netplay SDK or something. Pretty weird that they went with a much clunkier keyboard on the PS3.

I never played "Nights" and according to Jeff its a good thing :)

@Manhattan_Project said:

Its hilarious that the indie game video is full of people saying how different the process is and how unique they are and then half the games they show are 2d platformers, most of them with pixel art. And Leigh Alexander saying that when unique things happen in games its indie games that produce them... yeah I guess stuff like Bioshock really wasn't that unique.

In any medium, most of the content is average crap that can be completely ignored, indie games are no different. For every Bastion there are dozens of generic 2d platformers and for every Bioshock there are dozens of CoD clones. All that video does is make me hate the indie game community.

While I do see what you mean, gameplay wise Bioshock wasn't all that revolutionary either, it was the spiritual successor to System Shock, and played a lot like those two games, but generally much closer to a traditional FPS than the System Shock games were, with their heavy focus on inventory management, item puzzles and research. Where both Bioshock and many indie games shine is in setting, themes and narrative, not necessarily gameplay. That said, there are a lot of indie games that experiment with gameplay as well.

Hey Patrick. I think you and Jeff should have a one on one about Nights. I think it's hilarious how Jeff craps all over it but as someone without any opinion of the game, I'd love to hear from two people who have opposite views on it. I'd like to know how much Jeff actually doesn't like it and how much of his hatred is for comedic affect. It would also be nice to hear what you like about it because I tried reading the Cristian Nutt article but it came off as too defensive. Also, I can't wait to watch your test video. I'll have to re up my subscription to see it when you start the series next week.

I really like @patrickklepek 's very candied talks about what he's thinking, and what's happening every week.

Also that video with Jake Soloman pretty accurately represents the Maryland video game store crowed.

love these

@Manhattan_Project: Yeah, they were definitely overselling the indie concept. There are some neat concepts that come from indie games, but its not like high production games are completely devoid of innovation.

Its hilarious that the indie game video is full of people saying how different the process is and how unique they are and then half the games they show are 2d platformers, most of them with pixel art. And Leigh Alexander saying that when unique things happen in games its indie games that produce them... yeah I guess stuff like Bioshock really wasn't that unique.

In any medium, most of the content is average crap that can be completely ignored, indie games are no different. For every Bastion there are dozens of generic 2d platformers and for every Bioshock there are dozens of CoD clones. All that video does is make me hate the indie game community.

@MooseyMcMan: ya that was pretty great. I hope it does good too, I loved the demo!

No one can ever defend what Nights has done.

Just watched the Spookin' test, and it's exactly what I had hoped for (minus the technical issues, of course). I'll have to get my membership going again in time for its premier.

I was pleased to hear that Patrick's horror game commentary is a lot like mine: top of the head, self-calming rambling mixed with sudden cursing and trailing off when the nerves start getting shot. I'd love to talk horror with him one day, as we seem to be of the same mind about it.

Why did Patrick link to Eurogamer's 6/10 review and call it "blistering" when he could have used Tom Chick's 1/5 review?

http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/10/02/the-old-school-and-oblivious-resident-evil-6-is-out-of-africa-and-out-of-ideas/

And I think their 9/10 review of Nights is a better defense than Nutt's piece.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-05-nights-into-dreams-hd-review

@Neurotic said:

That defence of Nights is something you'd see from a blog post here or on another forum. It's knee-jerk and belittles people who don't like the game or are indifferent to it, assuming they are so because they're stupid and can't understand it. The phrase 'That's a bunch of horseshit' in reference to people's opinions on the game told me all I needed to know about the rest of the article. The fact that he didn't read a review because it used a mild turn of phrase such as 'the game doesn't hold up well' also speaks volumes.

Well put.

That Punch Out book was really neat. I totally would have bought that at a reasonable price.

@Dezztroy said:

@Dozeworthy said:

@Mr_Misery said:

Uncharted 2 article:

Guns are violent but swords are not. That is stupid logic and bad parenting.

Last I checked society wasn't plagued by sword violence.

No, but it's definitely plagued by knife/other bladed object violence. And knives(or well, daggers) are a major part of sword-fighting.

I read that too, and I just have to ask, do they not let their kid watch indiana jones or a bond movie? Pretty much my childhood right there.

@patrickklepek So about Spookin' with Scoops...please don't take this the wrong way, but the framerate in your test run was basically unwatchable, and for something that's going to be behind a paywall I'd expect at least Youtube Let's Play levels of technical stability. Maybe that's a problem with streaming from the same machine your playing on and that machine being a Mac, I don't know, but Slender isn't Crysis.

These are my favourite articles on Giant Bomb. Keep it up, Pat!

Great stories this week, thanks for linking to Spookin with Scoops. Missed out on it the other night

Man, ever since I heard about the Game Trekking thing, I've wanted to do something similar. If I'd been a better programmer when I was trekking in Mongolia, I could have made some amazing things from what I saw there. Yet another wasted opportunity.

One of my highlights on GB, loving Worth Reading Patrick!

That defence of Nights is something you'd see from a blog post here or on another forum. It's knee-jerk and belittles people who don't like the game or are indifferent to it, assuming they are so because they're stupid and can't understand it. The phrase 'That's a bunch of horseshit' in reference to people's opinions on the game told me all I needed to know about the rest of the article. The fact that he didn't read a review because it used a mild turn of phrase such as 'the game doesn't hold up well' also speaks volumes.

@algertman said:

I'm fine with Jeff not liking NiGHTS. I just wish he wouldn't shit up quick looks of games he doesn't like.

Thank you! Jeff sometimes seems like the crotchety old man of the group, what with the negativity and pickiness. It's good to offer another perspective, but I find that the others are more willing to give a game a chance, and look beyond a few "flaws". That fits my style more, so I take that into account when watching or reading articles here. However, there have to be people who appreciate Jeff's way of looking at things, and I'm sure he's been helpful to them.

I've never played NiGHTS, and going by what I've seen in videos, I'm not sure that it's my thing, but I'll definitely have to give it a try now. (If only to help keep Sega going.)

I just want to call out again the animation in Nights. Whatever you think of the gameplay (it's great, by the way, basically Trials with Sonic's ring collecting mechanics, how it's not been ported to iPads yet is a mystery), the fact that Nights flies around automatically spinning and swinging, being driven from his/her chest and adapting his/her limbs to the direction of motion, eventually realigning with the direction you're going was such a feat on the limited hardware of the Saturn.

People discuss the merits of the game, but I haven't seen anybody call this out yet, which is a damn shame.

@JackOhara said:

I enjoy your articles, but you should put more effort into not 'writing like you talk', it feels like I'm reading something from IGN.

I didn't understand the "The Gametrekking Omnibus" section. I don't think it's a great idea to point out what an ethics violation might look like then proceed to commit and ethics violation. I think staying away from Kickstarter projects is a good idea for reporters. I do salute you for full disclosure.

@Dozeworthy said:

@Mr_Misery said:

Uncharted 2 article:

Guns are violent but swords are not. That is stupid logic and bad parenting.

Last I checked society wasn't plagued by sword violence.

No, but it's definitely plagued by knife/other bladed object violence. And knives(or well, daggers) are a major part of sword-fighting.

Fun fact: that Kameo for original Xbox is now floating around the internet. It's a bit buggy from what I've heard, but appears to be almost complete (just buggy).

I enjoy your articles, but you should put more effort into not 'writing like you talk', it feels like I'm reading something from IGN.

I just saw both parts of Spookin with Scoops test and I thought it was fantastic.

It is vital that you know nothing about how Slender works because once you know the tricks (there are a good number of them) it becomes infinitely less scary. I know you said you wont be going back to Slender, but I really feel that you should personally experience how the sense of dread ramps up as you get more pages. It's always fun to see people react to these types of things.

I was surprised that despite the simple look of Where Am I it still got a nice scare out of me. The constant ticking of the sound and increasing distortion doesn't let you focus on where the scare is going to come from. It's an interesting way of building tension since you don't think it'll keep going as long as it does.

@Mr_Misery said:

Uncharted 2 article:

Guns are violent but swords are not. That is stupid logic and bad parenting.

Last I checked society wasn't plagued by sword violence.

Uncharted 2 article:

Guns are violent but swords are not. That is stupid logic and bad parenting.

Great WR yet again, Patty! Thanks.

Edit: Ha! Looks like Valve took some pretty overt *cough ripped off* inspiration from Guerrilla for their newfangled Big Picture text input... Wow. I feel like those Dutch boys deserve a lot more credit now for trying to push something old into the future.

Kameo Xbox Original looks almost exactly like Kameo Xbox 360 to me. Huh.