Archive for August, 2006
Violent games
by Pedro Silva on August 8th, 2006
“Resident Evil 4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. God of War. It might read like a list of Game of the Year nominees, but it’s actually a sampling of games from Family Media Guide’s released on Nov 2005 the Top 10 Most Violent Video Games list.
Based on content assessments provided by sister company PSVratings, the parent watchdog group Family Media Guide released the list of titles on Thanksgiving, at the start of the holiday shopping season, stating that “this year, some of the most ultraviolent video games ever created are being made available.” While the 10 titles were all a cut (and probably a kick, and perhaps a stabbing) above the rest in terms of violent content, the group did not put their top 10 in any specific order of odiousness.
Not everyone agrees with the appropriateness of the titles on the list. For instance, Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification refused to classify 50 Cent: Bulletproof, effectively banning the game in the country and suggesting it isn’t appropriate for anyone. 50 Cent himself, on the other hand, went on the record last week saying that parents could use his game as a teaching tool for their children”.
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The 10 most violent games named by Family Media Guide and the reasons given for their inclusion are as follows:
Resident Evil 4–”Player is a Special Forces agent sent to recover the President’s kidnapped daughter. During the first minutes of play, it’s possible to find the corpse of a woman pinned up on a wall–by a pitchfork through her face.”
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas–”Player is a young man working with gangs to gain respect. His mission includes murder, theft, and destruction on every imaginable level. Player recovers his health by visiting prostitutes then recovers funds by beating them to death and taking their money. Player can wreak as much havoc as he likes without progressing through the game’s storyline.”
God of War–”Player becomes a ruthless warrior, seeking revenge against the gods who tricked him into murdering his own family. Prisoners are burned alive and player can use ‘finishing moves’ to kill opponents, like tearing a victim in half.”
NARC–”Player can choose between two narcotics agents attempting to take a dangerous drug off the streets and shut down the KRAK cartel while being subject to temptations including drugs and money. To enhance abilities, player takes drugs including pot, Quaaludes, ecstasy, LSD, and ‘Liquid Soul’–which provides the ability to kick enemies’ heads off.”
Killer 7–”Player takes control of seven assassins who must combine skills to defeat a band of suicidal, monstrous terrorists. The game eventually escalates into a global conflict between the US and Japan. Player collects the blood of fallen victims to heal himself and must slit his own wrists to spray blood to find hidden passages.”
The Warriors–”Based on a ’70s action flick that set new standards for ‘artistic violence,’ a street gang battles its way across NYC in an attempt to reach its home turf. Player issues several commands to his gang, including ‘mayhem,’ which causes the gang to smash everything in sight.”
50 Cent: Bulletproof–”Game is loosely based on the gangster lifestyle of rapper Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson. Player engages in gangster shootouts and loots the bodies of victims to buy new 50 Cent recordings and music videos.”
Crime Life: Gang Wars–”Player is the leader of a ruthless street gang, spending time fighting, recruiting new gangsters, looting, and of course, more fighting. Player can roam the streets and fight or kill anyone in sight for no apparent reason.”
Condemned: Criminal Origins–”Player is an FBI serial killer hunter in one of the first titles for the Xbox 360. Game emphasizes the use of melee weapons over firearms, allowing players to use virtually any part of their environment as a weapon. The next-generation graphics provide a new level of detail to various injuries, especially ‘finishing moves.’”
True Crime: New York City–”Player is a NYC cop looking for information regarding the mysterious death of a friend. Player can plant evidence on civilians and shake them down to earn extra money.”
Fonte: GameSpot
Killer 7
by Pedro Silva on August 8th, 2006
One of the most interesting games on Capcom’s upcoming release schedule is Killer 7, the cel-shaded shooter from Japanese designer Goichi Suda. In fact, despite being originally slated for release in 2003, Killer 7 has been a perennial fixture of the publisher’s coming-soon calendar for nearly three years, thanks to a series of delays.
The latest of these delays occurred this week, when Killer 7, which had been set to ship in the US next week, was quietly pushed back to the first week of July. “The official ship date for Killer 7 is 7/5, with the game hitting store shelves on 7/7,” a Capcom rep told GameSpot. “This way, stores will have Killer 7 on 7/7. Kind of a cool play on dates.” Capcom did not offer any reason for the delay other than “the usual process of getting the game through production.”
Killer 7’s development has become fairly infamous over the years. It first gained notoriety for being one of the “Capcom 5,” a quintet of titles originally thought to be GameCube-exclusive. However, like Viewtiful Joe and Resident Evil 4, Killer 7 was eventually announced for the PlayStation 2 as well. Both versions of Killer 7 will ship simultaneously.
Another upcoming GameCube game–this one a definite exclusive–has also been delayed. Nintendo confirmed to GameSpot that Geist, the spooky first-person shooter from Florida-based n-Space, will now not ship until August. It had been originally slated for a 2004 release before being pushed back to 2005. In March, Geist was confirmed for a June release.
By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
See the videos of these brilliant game
Podcast´s of video and computer game topics
by Pedro Silva on August 8th, 2006
A podcast covering a variety of video and computer game topics. A new show every two weeks.
Will ‘Casual’ Games Dominate the Future of the Industry?
by Pedro Silva on August 8th, 2006
They are the professional analysts whose job it is to research, keep track of, advise their clients, and opine to the media about the gaming business. Analyze This cuts right to the chase: Rather than reporting on a subject, and throwing in quotes by analysts to support or refute a point, Gamasutra offers up a timely question pertaining to the business side of the video game industry and simply lets the analysts offer their thoughts directly to you.
Each person’s opinion is his or her own and will (probably) not necessarily agree with their fellow colleagues’.
Question: Nintendo is betting on a more “casual gaming” experience for the Wii, and Microsoft has found success in Xbox Live Arcade. “Simpler” games have already achieved enormous success on the Nintendo DS. (Over on the PC gaming side, for several years now, Web games such as Yahoo!’s gaming service have done extremely well, and EA’s The Sims franchise has been a long-time staple for that company.) So could casual gaming be the future for the entire video game industry?
In relation to the first question, what do you think could be the future for “traditional” video games, where graphics realism takes precedence? Could this market shrink into a niche?
If the casual gaming audience is indeed potentially larger, why are most developers still so fixated on sophisticated graphics and selling to a young male demographic that appears to be shrinking in overall number?
By Howard Wen
Source: http://gamasutra.com
ludologia e ensino juntos
by Pedro Silva on August 4th, 2006
“Typehype is a collection of interactive games focusing on developing typographic skills. This project employs game-based learning techniques to supplement a traditional college undergraduate design education.”
Destaque ao post “TIPOGRAFIAS + TYPEHYPE” em http://mouseland.blogs.ca.ua.pt
Aprende jogando em: www.typehype.net
Dom natural para brincar
by Pedro Silva on August 4th, 2006
“Os Humanos, possuem um dom natural para brincar. Não o perca.”.
“Trabalhe menos, jogue mais.”
XBOX mosquito
Micro Vision - Nintendo
by Pedro Silva on August 3rd, 2006
Para comomorar 20 anos de existência do primeiro sistema de entretenimento da Nintendo, foi lançado uma versão comemorativa do Game Boy na sua mais recente versão Micro a fazer lembrar de forma obvia e intencional o primeiro comando da consola nintendo.
Saiba mais em: http://micro.gameboy.com
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Para o lançamento do novo produto portátil da Nintento, a agência Leo Burnett (Sydney) criou anúncios onde mostram minusculas criaturas que apenas podem ser vistas através de microcópios, a jogar com o seu novo Game Boy Micro. Assim temos uma campanha que comunica de uma forma interessante a principal característica do produto: o seu reduzido tamanho.
The Making of Grand Theft Auto
by Pedro Silva on August 2nd, 2006
“The one thing that everyone agrees on is that they didn’t make Grand Theft Auto, but that’s not strictly fair: the other thing that everyone agrees on is that everybody made Grand Theft Auto. Talking to those that worked for DMA Design back in the late ’90s it’s difficult to get anyone to claim significant credit for themselves, although they’re generous with praise for others. Development of Grand Theft Auto, or Race’n’Chase as it was originally known before a clash with a Matchbox slot-car racer forced a change, was collaborative and often tempestuous, and as a consequence it’s extremely difficult to pin down the specific turning points, even for those who were there at the time.” …
This article was originally published in the July 2006 issue of Edge (E164).
Experimenta a PSP
by Pedro Silva on August 2nd, 2006
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Descobre um mundo de entretenimento com a PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable).
Rent-a-Hero
by Pedro Silva on August 2nd, 2006
Getting tossed into the wily world of online gaming as a fresh-faced amateur can be a daunting experience at the best of times, with seasoned 24/7-playing vets never quite eager to ease newcomers into their world. The Wall Street Journal (mirror, via slashdot), however, reports that getting trained in the ways is just an email away, with an increasing number of professional players turning to paid game coaching.
The Journal profiles gaming-lessons.com, one such site offering willing teachers in a number of competitive titles like Halo 2 and Super Smash Bros. Melee, and the E-Sports Entertainment Association, whose enterprising teachers for hire can list their relevant experience in games as want ads. Prospective students, though — who pay a reported range of $20-65 (£10-35) an hour for lessons via the PC and Xbox Live — might have to leave their egos at the door at the thought of being schooled by gaming-lessons’ youngest instructor, 8 year old Halo 2 player ‘LiL Poison.’
Fonte: www.edge-online.co.uk