News

Industry / News — 6 Comments
17
Jun 10

The doubtful promise of Kinect

“By taking the controller out of the equation, Microsoft has solved a problem that didn’t exist.”

Tom Chick, Fidgit

One question nags at me about the-technology-formerly-known-as-Natal: what’s it for?

Have people really been hanging out for a breakthrough in motion-controlled gameplay? I don’t think so. I think core gamers and the wider market alike are politely disinterested – in the legal sense, of “not having the mind or feelings engaged”. They may yet be convinced, but they’re not clamouring for this.

So what, right? Nobody knew they wanted a Wii until Nintendo told them. And this is, pretty clearly, an attempt to improve on the Wii. Microsoft is doing what Microsoft has always done best: take someone else’s successful idea and build on it. Continue reading →

Industry / News — No Comments
16
Feb 10

Lies, damn lies, and statistics

Or, why reporters get a bad rap.

Maths is hard. Well, it’s not really, but many people, for whatever reason, decide that it’s too hard for them. Unfortunately, sometimes they go on to use that lack of knowledge to do damage to not only themselves but the industry in general. Enter Kotaku, stage left. Continue reading →

Industry / News — No Comments
20
Jan 10

This is Week – Compassionate Gamers Edition

Inside looks, charitable companies and even more Italy …

The Good

Irrational Behaviour Podcast

There’s a lot more that goes into the creation of a game than what can be gleaned from reviews or the dot points on product packaging. But Irrational (formerly 2K Boston), the design crew behind Bioshock, have begun putting together a monthly podcast (a bit of a trend amongst developers/publishers) aimed at giving the public a closer look at the world of game design. The first episode is out now and it focuses on the excess fat and plain old rotten bits that were cut from of some the developer’s highly regarded games. An incredibly interesting listen, it manages to prove that creating something great is as much about what you put in as it is what you leave out. Continue reading →

Experience / Industry / News — 2 Comments
11
Jan 10

This is Week – Abused Feelings in 3D Edition

A week of emotions and far too much work…

The Good

Every Day The Same Dream

The real world not getting you down enough? Want to be reminded of just how monotonous and soul destroying your daily routine is? Every Day The Same Dream is the perfect antidote to the mindless escapism offered by the majority of games out there. Created over six days as part of the Experimental Gameplay Project, a monthly competition that also spawned the intensely addictive Canabalt, Every Day the Same Dream is a veritable Flash-based companion to Émile Durkheim’s famous examination of alienation, anomie, and suicide; making your way through the game is like playing an interactive version of a Radiohead videoclip. It’s depressing, open for interpretation, thought provoking and utterly brilliant. Continue reading →

Experience / News — No Comments
4
Jan 10

This is Week – Overpriced Latin Edition

Sometimes people take games a little too seriously.

The Good

Games Which Are Not About Killing

Flower’s wistful environmental message may be a little two-dimensional and, even with its relatively enjoyable gameplay, it was never really going to be the Game of the Year™. However, considering it’s part of a medium so focused on battle, bloodshed, and characters who are made up mostly of growth hormone, testosterone, and cleavage, it’s incredibly refreshing that a game about petals floating in the breeze can even be on many people’s consideration lists for the Most Important Titles of 2009™. Continue reading →

News — 2 Comments
21
Dec 09

This Is Week – Tri-ism Edition

The Good, the Bad, and the things that are sapping productivity.

Dualism is such a tired concept. Good/Bad, Man/Woman, Fool/Genius, you’d think that by now we’d have moved beyond a view of the world invented before the birth of Christ . So instead of just looking at the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ that’s occured over the week in game-related news, why not add another random category to the mix. That’ll be groundbreaking, won’t it? We can call its theoretical base ‘Tri-ism’.

The Good

L4D2Public Consultation About an R18+ Rating For Videogames

Two way, open discussion on a topic that affects our country’s citizens? What is this we’re living in, some kind of democracy? Finally releasing a discussion paper on Australia’s rating system and calling for submissions on the topic may be seen as a token effort by many, but it’s a start. Let’s just hope that the 1337 speaking population and all those with Xbox Live attitudes are too busy pwning noobs to reply. Continue reading →