Posts Tagged: This is Week

Culture / Experience — 2 Comments
9
Feb 10

This is Week – Generous Edition

Giving, Remembering and Missing Out.

The Good

Games for Good

It’s a dangerous world out there. Not only is it filled with snakes, spiders and Steven Seagal, it’s also got a hefty population of grandparents with a seemingly endless supply of embroidered hankies to dish out at any present-giving opportunity. Like gift-laden suicide bombers, they lay in waiting, their payload dressed up as if it were just one of the many wrapped offerings under the Christmas tree. Maybe this is where the phrase it’s much better to give than to receive came from. It may be true when it comes to receiving gifts from the elderly, but it’s not always the case. The two can be equally gratifying, as OneBigGame have shown by allowing us to purchase Chime – developed by SingStar studio Zoë Mode – on Xbox Live Arcade. Not only does ‘sixty per cent or more’ (whatever that means) of your 400 MS points go towards kid related charities, but it’s also a fantastic game which mixes music and puzzles even better than Lumines did. It’s like paying to be part of a fun run for charity, only it’s actually fun. Continue reading →

Culture — No Comments
3
Feb 10

This is Week – Cultural Melting Pot Edition

Language, race and verbal communication.

The Good

Games speaking in their Native Tongues

We can handle foreign films in their original spoken forms, so why is it that we have an inability to immerse ourselves in the multiple languages that could appear in our games? Even Avatar, with its make-believe lexicon, had large chunks of its spoken audio translated into text (albeit, via an incredibly horrible font).  Thankfully games like Metro 2033 are proud enough of their origins and feel strongly enough about their settings to offer up the ability to play in their original language, in this case Russian. I may be the only one, but I long for a day where localisation returns to its written roots – except this time sticking within the bounds of English grammar. 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 →

Culture / Experience — 2 Comments
28
Dec 09

This is Week – Just Missed Christmas Edition

The True Spirit …

Even though the entire videogame industry goes dark over the final two weeks of the year, it doesn’t mean that there’s no news to talk about, especially when squeezing blood out of stones is one of your favourite pastimes. Yes, I’m aware that sounds creepier than it was supposed to, and I like it that way.

Time to PlayThe Good

Time to Play

Sometimes the prospect of dropping out of work or getting fired seems pretty appealing. Finally having time to play all those games that we’ve been meaning to get to would be a reality. That fantasy probably won’t ever come true in a way that’ll put food on the table, but at least there’s Christmas break, which will at least get us all part way there without disappointing our parents any further than we already have. 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 →