KensterFox

Just did a bit of reading up on Introversion's game in development, Subversion. They're developing the game in the public eye, of sorts, posting updates on their progress over the last two years. They've developed some incredibly impressive tools for procedurally generated cities, from streets to buildings to rooms to internal systems. And yet, after all the reading I did on the game, not only did I have no idea what the game is, but I had the very strong impression that the designers themselves didn't, either. This was confirmed (in a manner of soeaking) in a Eurogamer interview designer and programmer Chris Delay did with Kieron Gillen:

Kieron: Of course, despite you doing this developing in public... you haven't actually revealed what the game's going to be about. We're seeing technology, graphic experiments, everything... but we have no idea what it is. I can't help but wonder if you're being a bit meta with the title "Subversion". By showing exactly what you're up to, without revealing what you're doing, are you trying to play games with people's expectations?

Chris: There's no attempt at manipulation or "playing games" in any of our blog postings - I'm just writing about the stuff we're prototyping on a day to day basis. It's true that I haven't yet cleared up the mystery and written anything like "this is exactly what the game will be", but that's mostly because we're not sure ourselves yet. We really are experimenting - as much with technology as gameplay. We've learnt from Darwinia that a game design can undergo seismic shifts during development, and we don't want to do a Molyneux and end up disappointing everyone when our game doesn't solve the world's energy problems.

My first reaction to reading this was glee at seeing a British developer describe their mouths writing checks their games can't cash as "do[ing] a Molyneux".

My second reaction, however, linked his answer with a recent song from They Might Be Giants:

I already know the ending, it's the part that makes your face implode.
I don't know what makes your face implode, but that's the way the movie ends.
It's in my Experimental Film, which nobody knows about in which
I'm still figuring out your face implodes in my Experimental Film.

Yeah, you're all gonna be in this Experimental Film
And even though I can't explain it, I already know how great it is.

Absolutely no chance a modern GTA game will be held in a city outside the United States. The humor/satire just wouldn't work. If they ever do that, it will be the death of the series.

For that matter, I see only two locations other than Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas that might work:

GTA: Lakewood - '40s era Chicago, extending perhaps to Detroit.
GTA: Capitol City - Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and perhaps Virginia Beach.

You want proof that Canada isn't just the 51st state? Here it is:

No city in Canada, not even Toronto, is American enough for a modern Grand Theft Auto game to take place there and the humor/satire still work.

Hee-larious.

The page for James M. Ward (http://www.giantbomb.com/james-m-ward/72-4596/) should be removed and the information merged with the correct page, James Kevin Ward (http://www.giantbomb.com/james-kevin-ward/72-6154/). His Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Ward_(voice_actor)) confirms his correct middle name.

This post relates to the new ME2 teaser trailer, so if you haven't seen it, go see it... somewhere. Like masseffect.com.

OK, you're back? Good.

Is Shepard really dead in Mass Effect 2? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that one way or the other, you're not going to be playing as Shepard in the second game.

When BioWare said that you'd be able to port your saves over from ME1, they never said you'd be playing as the same character. Instead, the save will affect ME2's backstory - for instance if you played a female Shepard and don't port your save over to ME2, then the supposedly dearly departed Shepard will be male. If you do port the save over, however, Shepard will be female. Other likely influences: whether Shepard was a Paragon, Renegade, or both, whether Shepard had a romantic liason with Kaidan, Ashley, or Liara (I can't wait to talk to my Shepard's asari daughter), whether Shepard killed the rachni queen on Noveria or the asari communicator on Feros, etc.

This is similar to what they did at the beginning of Knights of the Old Republic 2, where they had the player fill in details about Darth Revan which were variable in the events of KotOR 1 (male or female, Jedi or Sith). So BioWare's pulled this trick before, they're just finding a smoother way to do it.

Ark: Better not let Jeff hear you say that, or it's BLAP! BLAP! BLAP! BLAP!

Thought I should share this, because it's brilliant. This is the text scrolled across the scoreboard hanging over the Jiggoseum area of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

Latest Results...

Football: L.O.G. City  10 - Grunty Rovers 0...
Grottenham Coldspur 1 - Dullby County 3...
Jinjo Village 2 - Dingpot Town 1...
Twycross Athletic 4 - Trashton Villa 0...

Darts: Mrs. "Bullseye" Bottles is the new champion of the arrows, beating Gruntilda "Double Chin" Winkybunion even though Mrs. B couldn't see the board...

Tennis: A. Jinjo beat J. Talbot 6-0, 6-1, 6-0...

Basketball: Blubber Pirates 98 - Boggy Bulls 25...
Humba Heat 120 - Mumbo Magic 78...
Trophy Tigers 101 - Mr. Fit Maverics 100...

Is anybody actually reading this?

Boxing: Franklin "Furry Fists" Fizzlybear beat Professor "Punchbag" Pester by T.K.O. after 12 seconds of Round 1...

Golf: Frustrating Weekend Hobby Cup Round 2 - "Good Wood" Nabnut -5... "Eagle" Eyrie -3... Chris P. Putter -1... "Divot" Mayles Jnr. +1... "Any Old Iron" Price +4... G. Kirkhope +15...

Athletics: Mr. Fit set a new record of 45 feet in the Long Jump, only to be beaten by Trophy Thomas with his next jump of 46 feet...

Pool: "Lucky Break" Banjo beat "Cannon" Klungo 3-2...
Johnny "The Brown Ball" Dodger beat "Missin" Mary Maggie 3-0..
"Jump Shot" Jamjars beat Babs "Ball Buffer" Buffbrass 3-1...

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts must be boring if you are reading this rather than playing the game.

Cricket: Nobody in the U.S.A. can understand the rules, but Boringshire beat South Yawnshire by an innings and 265 runs to claim an old, dusty cup presented by an even older man...

Baseball: Pikelet Brown Sox 3 - Tooty Angels 7...
Jinjo Giants 9 - Minjo Dodgers 6...
Jolly Bandits 11 - Canary Mary Cardinals 2...

And finally, the sporting calendar showcase...

Dominoes: In the 134th Showdown Town Domino Marathon, held at Ye Old Empty Kettle, Lord Woo Fak Fak beat Weldar after 5 years and 172 days' play due to Weldar rusting away to nothing. Fak Fak wins the first prize of 50 pence and a bag of pork scratchings.

Avatars? Oh, those things. Don't even care.

But, dude, the whole Netflix-streaming-thing is getting mad use at my house.

I must not understand exactly what "Big Name in the Game" is supposed to be... if it's best voice actor, that's different, I guess.

But in any case, I definitely think Liam Neeson (James Vaultdweller, Fallout 3) should have been a nominee. I mean, come on, it's fucking Qui-Gon Jinn. As your father. Definitely should have been a nominee.