Alright this is a pretty simple list, in my opinion these are the top 10 games, you really 'must' play before the end of this generation. Well - if you can at least, not suggesting you buy hardware specifically to play individual titles. I'm going to be avoiding games that I feel hit there stide, within the last generation and focus on innovative, and unique experiences - so I hope you'll understand why some of your favourites may not be on here.
This list is comprised of the games that have made genuine advances, in there respective context (genres) and games which I feel will be the influential titles that other developers will be looking to, to produce there own games. They're not the best in every aspect, but each of these has at least one definitive trait which I think anyone can say has been unparalleled within it's context, within the industry, this generation. This is just my list though of course, based on my own opinion - let me know what you think of it, and what your own 'must play' games have been this generation.
Note: Listed in no particular order, and the bracketed games under each list item, are just 'honourable mentions' who offer similar to the game that was mentioned, so came close to being mentioned in that games place.
Batman Arkham Asylum
Batman Arkham Asylum, is undoutably the very best superhero game ever created. Hell, it's within the top 5 action adventure games I've ever played. This game shows how stealth-action should be done, whilst engaging you with a great story, and believable world. I felt their was very little that Arkham Asylum could have done better - but I'm sure Arkham City will prove me wrong.
Braid
Braid is kind of hot topic, specifically as generally used as the 'video games as art' example, on top of that some people consider the game pretencious, or perhaps a little too hard. However, underneath of the 'pretencious' artsy side of Braid, there's an amazing Puzzle platformer. However 'deep' you want to go into Braid, it should be an undoubtably enjoyable experience, the best of it's kind even. (Flower, Limbo)
Geometry Wars 2
Geometry Wars 2 shows how retro should evolve (another good example would be the more recent Space Invaders Infinity gene). Geometry Wars 2 abides by the typical mechanics of a dual analogue shooter, whilst amping up the intensity with absolutely beautiful, ever changing gameplay. Geometry Wars 2 is probably the most addictive, downloadable game I've played this gen. It's stunning how something so amazin can be built on mechanics so simple. Thank you Bizzare Creations. (Rif Everyday Shooter)
Demon's Souls
Demon's Souls, shows gamers how risk = reward. The harder the challenge is, the more rewarding it is to succeed. It's not neccesarily for everyone, true! If you don't have the patience, you'll only get to expeince the risk, and then in turn frustration... but if you can stick at it, there's very few games that offer a sense of forfillment like Demons Souls. Not that difficulty is all this game has on offer though, the atmosphere of this game is thick, it's definitely a 'believable' and in turn, immersive experience. (Mega Man 9, 10)
Little Big Planet
Hell, anything that let's you experess your own imagination, through a new medium is cool, but when that medium just happens to be an awesome, physics based platformer. You have a great game coupled with ridiculous amounts of depth. Creation mode itself however is kind of similar to Demon's Souls however... except less probable to result in frustration. The feeling when you create a 'good' level is really great. (Halo Reach, Modnation Racers, Garrys Mod)
Red Faction Guerilla
If you've played the game, you know what I'm talking about here. It has never been more satisfying to drive a vehicle into a house. The destruction mechanics are amazing! A great game for messing around, on top of that - the multiplayer just so happens to be one of the best this generation. (Battlefield: Bad Company)
Mass Effect
Mass Effect, the first game where I've really felt that my choices had consequence. Kill entire races, change the entire galaxy, it's amazing what you're actions can do, and how much depth the selections lend to the game. Of course, on top of that Mass Effects depth is multiplied endlessly, with it's diverse character development mechanics. Perhaps most importantly, the game manages to break away from the cookie cutter sub-real time battle systems with its real time Third person shooter mechanics, making it an absolutely amazing blend of two genres, and a truly inovative series. (Dragon Age Origins)
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Showing posts with label Brent Hecht. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brent Hecht. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
ICO & Shadow of the Colossus: Fairytale worlds built of careful attention
Ten years, two games: Team Ico knows how to leave you wanting more. While it has been fun to replay God of War and Sly Cooper, few series are more deserving of a re-release in HD than ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Maybe you were never able to snag one of the relatively rare copies of ICO, maybe your PS2 struggled with framerate during SotC, whether this is your first experience with ICO and SotC or you're returning to well for more awesome you won't be disappointed. It's hard to believe the games were made a generation ago, they're just so stinking good - and good-looking.
The fairy-tale worlds of ICO and SotC suspend disbelief and are the two finest examples of gameplay centered storytelling. With relatively few cutscenes and even less dialog/voiceover, this is a story you play through, and the experience is richer for it. If you've already played Ico and SotC, this next time with Ico is that much more poignant. Ico is young boy with a pair of horns, and a sacrifice. Locked in a chamber by a group of men and left in the strange castle, he escapes his stone prison and in trying to leave finds and frees a young girl, Yorda, from a cage. They may not speak the same language, but they're the only living thing they've seen (aside from some wily pigeons) and that makes for a strong bond.
As you direct Ico and Yorda through the puzzle-riddled castle, you will notice something strange: Team Ico has made an entire game around everyone's least favorite mission type. Yes, a game - an exceptional game - that boils down to an escort mission stretched over a framework of really cool puzzles and platforming. Yorda needs help up ledges, across chasms, and most of all protection from shadow creatures. As Ico, you don't have much in your arsenal: jumping, pulling, pushing and whacking the shadows with a big stick (later, a sword) are your staple moves. The puzzles are very integrated, with ledges, ladders, doorways, and relatively few traditional Zelda-like moments of pressure plates and switches. Occasionally Yorda pulls her own weight by opening Idol Doors, and when you rest on a couch together you get to save your game. The rest of the time she tries to be as helpful as possible, sticking by your side and eschewing the traditional damsel role of wandering off with the words "kidnap me, shadow monsters" stamped on her forehead.
There isn't a lot of direct confrontation in ICO, it all comes down to those persistent shadows as they spill up out of swirling smoke-monster blackness at the most inopportune times. Some can walk, some can fly, and some can only scuttle across the ground, and they all want to drag Yorda into an inky black pit. Only able to knock Ico back, if they successfully pull Yorda down with them it's Game Over. There are no combos, special moves or advanced weaponry, you are a little boy with a stick and you wield it accordingly: in desperate, flailing motions. At some point you realize you're rescuing Yorda not as a mission-objective or game chore, but because your heart is beating in your throat while the shadow monsters try to take her away, your Yorda. At some point you realize that you care.
Similarly themed, in Shadow of the Colossus you play as a young man named Wander who must slay sixteen colossi to rescue a girl. A barren, open world, this is not a game for agoraphobes. Wander is alone with his horse (and some lizards and birds), as he seeks out the colossi which are, tautological as it may be, enormous. These are the bosses of all other bosses, and the experience of SotC is searching the world for epic boss battles - truly "epic": each colossi is so massive, so powerful, and each battle so challenging that they're the stuff poems are sung about, Homer style.
Wander must find ways to scale each colossus and seek out weaknesses in their hard skin (marked by sigils) that his sword can pierce. Oftentimes you will have to find a spot low on the body to stun the colossus, giving you time to scramble to a better spot - and scramble you will. Like Ico, Wander isn't really anything other than determined. He doesn't free-run up a colossus, he doesn't leap nimbly from point to point, he climbs slowly - sometimes painfully so - as the colossus shakes him loose. His grip depletes, he can't hang on forever, so latching on and scaling the monster forthwith is not an option. No, this is a measured attack of finding places to balance, regain stamina, and progress. The colossus isn't going to just let you climb up and start stabbing him, either, and it will try to dislodge you throughout your attempt; you are little more than a tiny buzzing bee with little jabs of your eensy sword. As frantic as a colossus battle can be, it's equal parts patience and puzzle solving as you navigate their unique architecture and the world below you gets further and further away.
Fortunately, Wander has his trusty steed that always comes when you whistle and is helpful in catching speedy colossi - and getting away from others. Then there's that pointy sword that's good for, well, swording and reflecting the sun's light to point you toward the next colossus, and their vulnerable point. Also, there's a bow, which is best for shooting lizards. OK, it has infinite ammo and can stun a colossus if you hit them on a raw patch, but otherwise it's like throwing feathers at a wall. When going up against things called "colossi" it's not much, and you will feel very, very, very small - and even more alone. With each majestic colossus you slay you'll wonder, "Why?".
But that's all pretty much the same, so what's new? Both games are re-mastered at HD resolution, with anti-aliased graphics, 30 frames per second, and the option of stereoscopic 3D. Updated visuals and 30 fps really mean just that, and the games are lovely. Textures are re-worked, particle effects are added, ICO runs in 16:9 - this is love in 7.1 surround sound. There will still be moments when the games show their age: save slots, or when scrambling through a window the game "loads". "Loads", because yes, there is a very 2001 load, but it loads so quickly you barely have time to think the words, "How quaint", and it's over. In both ICO and SotC the art design is brought into focus, the worlds become more impressively beautiful. Yes, these are PS2 games, with PS2 graphics, but their design is magnificent.
The Trophies are not of the shoe-horned in, easy to achieve variety, either, and add real value for the serious ICO & SotC fan looking to prolong their game experience (finish ICO in under two hours? Four, okay but TWO?). There are other little extras in the games best left unspoken - though like the first time around you will want to wait until after the credits roll, and if you finish ICO before firing up SotC Agro will have a blaze! Additionally, after completion there are English translations for Yorda and unlockable two-player mode.
Controls are as unique as ever - Triangle is jump, X is drop down, O is interact and R1 grabs. It's easier to see in practice, but this means that when running with Yorda or clutching a fistful of colossus your hand is effectively clawed into a hand-holding position. Just try telling me that isn't thoughtful game design. Then there are those small moments, like when having Ico turn a giant crank you notice he has an easier time pushing from the outer edge than the inner, or that when he swims he holds the sword up above the water. Games of scale, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are fairytale worlds built of careful attention.
ICO & Shadow of the Colossus collection is available Tuesday, September 27, 2011 for $40. Get it.
The fairy-tale worlds of ICO and SotC suspend disbelief and are the two finest examples of gameplay centered storytelling. With relatively few cutscenes and even less dialog/voiceover, this is a story you play through, and the experience is richer for it. If you've already played Ico and SotC, this next time with Ico is that much more poignant. Ico is young boy with a pair of horns, and a sacrifice. Locked in a chamber by a group of men and left in the strange castle, he escapes his stone prison and in trying to leave finds and frees a young girl, Yorda, from a cage. They may not speak the same language, but they're the only living thing they've seen (aside from some wily pigeons) and that makes for a strong bond.
As you direct Ico and Yorda through the puzzle-riddled castle, you will notice something strange: Team Ico has made an entire game around everyone's least favorite mission type. Yes, a game - an exceptional game - that boils down to an escort mission stretched over a framework of really cool puzzles and platforming. Yorda needs help up ledges, across chasms, and most of all protection from shadow creatures. As Ico, you don't have much in your arsenal: jumping, pulling, pushing and whacking the shadows with a big stick (later, a sword) are your staple moves. The puzzles are very integrated, with ledges, ladders, doorways, and relatively few traditional Zelda-like moments of pressure plates and switches. Occasionally Yorda pulls her own weight by opening Idol Doors, and when you rest on a couch together you get to save your game. The rest of the time she tries to be as helpful as possible, sticking by your side and eschewing the traditional damsel role of wandering off with the words "kidnap me, shadow monsters" stamped on her forehead.
There isn't a lot of direct confrontation in ICO, it all comes down to those persistent shadows as they spill up out of swirling smoke-monster blackness at the most inopportune times. Some can walk, some can fly, and some can only scuttle across the ground, and they all want to drag Yorda into an inky black pit. Only able to knock Ico back, if they successfully pull Yorda down with them it's Game Over. There are no combos, special moves or advanced weaponry, you are a little boy with a stick and you wield it accordingly: in desperate, flailing motions. At some point you realize you're rescuing Yorda not as a mission-objective or game chore, but because your heart is beating in your throat while the shadow monsters try to take her away, your Yorda. At some point you realize that you care.
Similarly themed, in Shadow of the Colossus you play as a young man named Wander who must slay sixteen colossi to rescue a girl. A barren, open world, this is not a game for agoraphobes. Wander is alone with his horse (and some lizards and birds), as he seeks out the colossi which are, tautological as it may be, enormous. These are the bosses of all other bosses, and the experience of SotC is searching the world for epic boss battles - truly "epic": each colossi is so massive, so powerful, and each battle so challenging that they're the stuff poems are sung about, Homer style.
Wander must find ways to scale each colossus and seek out weaknesses in their hard skin (marked by sigils) that his sword can pierce. Oftentimes you will have to find a spot low on the body to stun the colossus, giving you time to scramble to a better spot - and scramble you will. Like Ico, Wander isn't really anything other than determined. He doesn't free-run up a colossus, he doesn't leap nimbly from point to point, he climbs slowly - sometimes painfully so - as the colossus shakes him loose. His grip depletes, he can't hang on forever, so latching on and scaling the monster forthwith is not an option. No, this is a measured attack of finding places to balance, regain stamina, and progress. The colossus isn't going to just let you climb up and start stabbing him, either, and it will try to dislodge you throughout your attempt; you are little more than a tiny buzzing bee with little jabs of your eensy sword. As frantic as a colossus battle can be, it's equal parts patience and puzzle solving as you navigate their unique architecture and the world below you gets further and further away.
Fortunately, Wander has his trusty steed that always comes when you whistle and is helpful in catching speedy colossi - and getting away from others. Then there's that pointy sword that's good for, well, swording and reflecting the sun's light to point you toward the next colossus, and their vulnerable point. Also, there's a bow, which is best for shooting lizards. OK, it has infinite ammo and can stun a colossus if you hit them on a raw patch, but otherwise it's like throwing feathers at a wall. When going up against things called "colossi" it's not much, and you will feel very, very, very small - and even more alone. With each majestic colossus you slay you'll wonder, "Why?".
But that's all pretty much the same, so what's new? Both games are re-mastered at HD resolution, with anti-aliased graphics, 30 frames per second, and the option of stereoscopic 3D. Updated visuals and 30 fps really mean just that, and the games are lovely. Textures are re-worked, particle effects are added, ICO runs in 16:9 - this is love in 7.1 surround sound. There will still be moments when the games show their age: save slots, or when scrambling through a window the game "loads". "Loads", because yes, there is a very 2001 load, but it loads so quickly you barely have time to think the words, "How quaint", and it's over. In both ICO and SotC the art design is brought into focus, the worlds become more impressively beautiful. Yes, these are PS2 games, with PS2 graphics, but their design is magnificent.
The Trophies are not of the shoe-horned in, easy to achieve variety, either, and add real value for the serious ICO & SotC fan looking to prolong their game experience (finish ICO in under two hours? Four, okay but TWO?). There are other little extras in the games best left unspoken - though like the first time around you will want to wait until after the credits roll, and if you finish ICO before firing up SotC Agro will have a blaze! Additionally, after completion there are English translations for Yorda and unlockable two-player mode.
Controls are as unique as ever - Triangle is jump, X is drop down, O is interact and R1 grabs. It's easier to see in practice, but this means that when running with Yorda or clutching a fistful of colossus your hand is effectively clawed into a hand-holding position. Just try telling me that isn't thoughtful game design. Then there are those small moments, like when having Ico turn a giant crank you notice he has an easier time pushing from the outer edge than the inner, or that when he swims he holds the sword up above the water. Games of scale, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are fairytale worlds built of careful attention.
ICO & Shadow of the Colossus collection is available Tuesday, September 27, 2011 for $40. Get it.
May I Please Share My Grief With You?
Disclaimer: the following is not an opinion therefore, I shall state one right now in order to amend such regulations: the PS3 sucks. Take note that that was sarcasm, with a tinge of regret.
It all happened yesterday, when my friend and I were playing a serious level of Dead Nation, and suddenly, the PS3 froze and shut down; only to stare at us with a flashing red light. I quickly read online and discovered that it was an overheating issue, which was strange because we had only been playing the game for approximately 40 minutes (trust me, it was only one level and don't say I'm bad at this game because I already know that).
So, I decided to reboot it while holding down the power button in order to attain the reset option. The PS3 shut down and gave me the blinking red light. I attempted to start it in Safe Mode, but that too failed. It provided me with the screen; however, as soon as I began pressing the D-pad on my DS3, the system shut down. After a couple of hours of just leaving the system alone, I attempted again, and instead it gave me a yellow light for less than a second before going back to the flashing red light. Also, the fan doesn't seem to be working which perhaps is the biggest issue.
Oh, it's probably smart to say that this baby was a 60 GB launch model, right from day 1. It's a system I absolutely cherish, but now I'm afraid that if I send it in, they will give me a different model. Which is fine, but the real crunch pertains to all my save data, which I refuse to do all over again!
I contemplated on purchasing a newer, slim model, but the lady at Sony Customer Service told me that if I swap the HDD that is in my broken PS3 and insert it into the new PS3, the new PS3 would automatically reformat the Harddrive, literally effacing all that invested time.
In essence, I'm rather confused or hesitant about which course of action to take. Have any of you guys faced such situations and what did you do? From now on, I will regularly back-up my hard drive. Learning sucks!
It all happened yesterday, when my friend and I were playing a serious level of Dead Nation, and suddenly, the PS3 froze and shut down; only to stare at us with a flashing red light. I quickly read online and discovered that it was an overheating issue, which was strange because we had only been playing the game for approximately 40 minutes (trust me, it was only one level and don't say I'm bad at this game because I already know that).
So, I decided to reboot it while holding down the power button in order to attain the reset option. The PS3 shut down and gave me the blinking red light. I attempted to start it in Safe Mode, but that too failed. It provided me with the screen; however, as soon as I began pressing the D-pad on my DS3, the system shut down. After a couple of hours of just leaving the system alone, I attempted again, and instead it gave me a yellow light for less than a second before going back to the flashing red light. Also, the fan doesn't seem to be working which perhaps is the biggest issue.
Oh, it's probably smart to say that this baby was a 60 GB launch model, right from day 1. It's a system I absolutely cherish, but now I'm afraid that if I send it in, they will give me a different model. Which is fine, but the real crunch pertains to all my save data, which I refuse to do all over again!
I contemplated on purchasing a newer, slim model, but the lady at Sony Customer Service told me that if I swap the HDD that is in my broken PS3 and insert it into the new PS3, the new PS3 would automatically reformat the Harddrive, literally effacing all that invested time.
In essence, I'm rather confused or hesitant about which course of action to take. Have any of you guys faced such situations and what did you do? From now on, I will regularly back-up my hard drive. Learning sucks!
Go Home Dinosaurs! Hands-On
It’s a Fire Hose Games’ title, so you know two things straight away: it’s going to be silly, and tetris-style puzzle pieces will have a role to play. In Go Home Dinosaurs!, a tower defense title about protecting your BBQ from dinos, the former is a given and the latter? Well those puzzle pieces are the tower footprints, which can make tower construction perfectly tricky.
Waves after wave of gauche dinosaurs are crashing a neighborhood BBQ hosted by the local mammalian populace. In most TD games you’re like the hand of god, but in GHD you have an avatar: you control the friendly neighborhood gopher. This industrious fellow can tunnel under the game board to pop up and harvest coconuts (currency) from trees, as well as function as a portable tower. He will attack from any place on the board, and is generally a very helpful guy.
I’m not sure which mammal is responsible for tower design, but they’re a little willy-nilly in their construction with no regard to uniformity! Early on in the game the towers are made of simple shapes, like the 1x2 basic guerrilla tower that you can squeeze in pretty much anywhere. Level 2 introduces the laser tower, and you begin to see the dastardly Fire Hose scheming: the laser tower is a large “L” that fires along only two directions, and is fixed at that stubborn 90 degree angle. Throw in Level 3’s bulky Meteor Magnet (because you need to wipe the dinosaurs out to extinction!) and you’ve got definite land resource management issues - and piecing the puzzle together gets even more fun.
It is a very early build, but Fire Chief Eitan Glinert assures me that the fundamental gameplay is there, and staying. Things that we didn’t get to see but are already in the works include a Tesla coil style lightning tower, and the bulk of the multiplayer scheming. If a Tesla coil seems like overkill, you either haven’t fought dinosaurs, or tasted good BBQ before. After one successful round you get to choose a new card for your next upgrade like slow, an amped-up laser, or trees that yield more coconuts. You want plenty of ripe coconuts to purchase your towers with, so let the coconuts grow before shaking them all down! These upgrade cards will be part of the multiplayer interaction as you trade them with other players for different upgrades.
The dinosaurs turn into bacon, steaks and explosions of feathers when they perish in the face of your mighty Tower Defense skills, and while this is an early build the graphics are bright, engaging and clear. There are funny messages that crop up along the bottom, though Glinert said that these are largely for those folks watching at PAX - which I think is for the best because during gameplay I didn’t get to read them, and their location competed with the bottom section of the level.
The mouse controls are very accessible, and while playing GHD I noticed something really cool: the crowd of people lining up and sitting down to play were equal parts grown-up and kid. Fire Hose Games could have set up lines for “Under 12” and “Over 12” at each of their stations! Playing next to a brother-sister duo while they went to town destroying dinos, I realized, “Wow, here is a tower defense game that my 7 year old nephew and i can fight over!” That is pretty awesome, especially since I need to work on my sharing.
With a tentative Spring 2012 release window, the hope is for the BBQ to come to PC, consoles and iOS. Look for my interview with Eitan Glinert tomorrow!
Waves after wave of gauche dinosaurs are crashing a neighborhood BBQ hosted by the local mammalian populace. In most TD games you’re like the hand of god, but in GHD you have an avatar: you control the friendly neighborhood gopher. This industrious fellow can tunnel under the game board to pop up and harvest coconuts (currency) from trees, as well as function as a portable tower. He will attack from any place on the board, and is generally a very helpful guy.
I’m not sure which mammal is responsible for tower design, but they’re a little willy-nilly in their construction with no regard to uniformity! Early on in the game the towers are made of simple shapes, like the 1x2 basic guerrilla tower that you can squeeze in pretty much anywhere. Level 2 introduces the laser tower, and you begin to see the dastardly Fire Hose scheming: the laser tower is a large “L” that fires along only two directions, and is fixed at that stubborn 90 degree angle. Throw in Level 3’s bulky Meteor Magnet (because you need to wipe the dinosaurs out to extinction!) and you’ve got definite land resource management issues - and piecing the puzzle together gets even more fun.
It is a very early build, but Fire Chief Eitan Glinert assures me that the fundamental gameplay is there, and staying. Things that we didn’t get to see but are already in the works include a Tesla coil style lightning tower, and the bulk of the multiplayer scheming. If a Tesla coil seems like overkill, you either haven’t fought dinosaurs, or tasted good BBQ before. After one successful round you get to choose a new card for your next upgrade like slow, an amped-up laser, or trees that yield more coconuts. You want plenty of ripe coconuts to purchase your towers with, so let the coconuts grow before shaking them all down! These upgrade cards will be part of the multiplayer interaction as you trade them with other players for different upgrades.
The dinosaurs turn into bacon, steaks and explosions of feathers when they perish in the face of your mighty Tower Defense skills, and while this is an early build the graphics are bright, engaging and clear. There are funny messages that crop up along the bottom, though Glinert said that these are largely for those folks watching at PAX - which I think is for the best because during gameplay I didn’t get to read them, and their location competed with the bottom section of the level.
The mouse controls are very accessible, and while playing GHD I noticed something really cool: the crowd of people lining up and sitting down to play were equal parts grown-up and kid. Fire Hose Games could have set up lines for “Under 12” and “Over 12” at each of their stations! Playing next to a brother-sister duo while they went to town destroying dinos, I realized, “Wow, here is a tower defense game that my 7 year old nephew and i can fight over!” That is pretty awesome, especially since I need to work on my sharing.
With a tentative Spring 2012 release window, the hope is for the BBQ to come to PC, consoles and iOS. Look for my interview with Eitan Glinert tomorrow!
Hands-On Miegakure
Miegakure is a game of the fourth dimension. Featured for an hour at Chris Hecker's Spy Party booth the Sunday of PAX, it only took a few moments of gameplay and speaking with creator Marc ten Bosch to see why Hecker would appreciate the game: both Hecker and ten Bosch are wildly smart and making wildly smart games.
Miegakure is about existing in a three-dimensional world while exploring a fourth physical dimension, and what that means. In many places the gameplay is conventional three-dimensional platforming, but in order to solve the puzzling levels you have to use that 3D platforming in conjunction with the fourth dimension. What amounts to a simple button press is a bit mind-boggling.
As ten Bosch explains, "I'm a programmer so I knew that I could make a game in more than three dimensions, but I didn't know what that would be. Then, I started reading about it, and there's a lot of books that talk about it. The most famous one is "Flatlands" and it talks about how if you were a two-dimensional character on a two-dimensional plane that runs inside three-dimensional space, what kinds of things could happen, and that it would feel like magic. I felt like that was the game I should make, but in one more dimension where you're stuck in a three-dimensional plane inside a four-dimensional one, and all the cool stuff that you could do if you could move in four dimensions, and have that be the levels in the game."
As three-dimensional creatures, we cannot see the fourth dimension, but ten Bosch can program it so that we can explore it in gameplay. Tackling the levels and puzzles I had to wonder, at some point is it better to just turn off part of your brain? Sort of, according to ten Bosch, "Sometimes I'll program something because I know what the math is about, but I have no idea what it's actually going to look like until I program it and then try it in game. I know how this works, it's just math - and then you see it and wow, I don't even understand what's going on. So I have the same discovery as the player, initially."
With the notion of making the mathematical concept of the fourth dimension something that players can come to understand through gameplay, Miegakure can sound a little intense. Fortunately, things unfold simply enough. Dropped into a three-dimensional hub world scattered with gates, each gate transports you to a level that needs solving. You can jump, interact with objects, rotate your view of a level and make use of the fourth dimension. That last one is kind of impressive, no? In practice, the best I can describe it is that each stage is comprised of multiple sub-levels that exist as three-dimensional platforming spaces. Within those levels are what you need to get to the gate, but you can only occupy one at a time. By using the fourth dimension each sub-level of a stage appears as slices of that stage, and moving between them and back into the third dimension allows you to manipulate the space and objects within it to solve the puzzles. Beginning, for example, on a level with a wall of mountain in the middle, you can see the exit gate on the other side. Swap into the fourth dimension to cross a space that the mountain occupies otherwise, then swap back, placing you on the other side of the obstacle. The gameplay is very addictive - you've no sooner solved one mind-bending puzzle as you're clambering to the next gate for another!
Within each level are characters that can offer advice, or sometimes just idle commentary, as well as maps that you can collect that make it easier to swap between the areas while using the fourth dimension. These maps are training wheels, you can avoid picking them up for a greater challenge, and ten Bosch says that, "After awhile, you should be able to hold all of the world in your head, right?" We'll do our best, Marc!
As the game progresses even the characters will fall away, because once you become a four dimensional object characters just don't really make sense. Where early on you interact with a wooden block as a three-dimensional object, eventually it can be aligned along the fourth dimension allowing you to see parts of it in each world. Later, there are objects the player can rotate around a fixed point in the fourth dimension, as well. Largely a solo project, ten Bosch works with a 3D artist and modeler. The visuals we see in game now aren't final, and as he points out the cubes morph but the trees do not - yet.
Reaching a stage's exit gate takes you back to the hub stage to travel through more gates, some of which transport you to 2D explorations of the dimensional idea just so you can see more of what ten Bosch is getting at with the Flatlands concept. While you may feel a bit brain dead thinking about it, there is no actual death in game: I leapt down a crevasse and was happily dropped right back into the level! Once all the gates in a world are cleared, you have to figure out how to manipulate the fourth dimension to get to the next hub world full of new levels. I had to laugh when I struggled initially, because it was clear that if I couldn't figure out how to get to the next area I probably wouldn't be able to solve those puzzles. Talk about scaling difficulty!
Playing Miegakure makes you want to talk about it intelligently, and even now I'm not sure I'm up to the task. Marc ten Bosch has made the fourth dimension something you can enjoy through gameplay, and that works for me - Edwin A. Abbott can have the rest!
Currently in its second year of development for PC/Mac/Linux and one unannounced console, look for Miegakure in 2012.
Miegakure is about existing in a three-dimensional world while exploring a fourth physical dimension, and what that means. In many places the gameplay is conventional three-dimensional platforming, but in order to solve the puzzling levels you have to use that 3D platforming in conjunction with the fourth dimension. What amounts to a simple button press is a bit mind-boggling.
As ten Bosch explains, "I'm a programmer so I knew that I could make a game in more than three dimensions, but I didn't know what that would be. Then, I started reading about it, and there's a lot of books that talk about it. The most famous one is "Flatlands" and it talks about how if you were a two-dimensional character on a two-dimensional plane that runs inside three-dimensional space, what kinds of things could happen, and that it would feel like magic. I felt like that was the game I should make, but in one more dimension where you're stuck in a three-dimensional plane inside a four-dimensional one, and all the cool stuff that you could do if you could move in four dimensions, and have that be the levels in the game."
As three-dimensional creatures, we cannot see the fourth dimension, but ten Bosch can program it so that we can explore it in gameplay. Tackling the levels and puzzles I had to wonder, at some point is it better to just turn off part of your brain? Sort of, according to ten Bosch, "Sometimes I'll program something because I know what the math is about, but I have no idea what it's actually going to look like until I program it and then try it in game. I know how this works, it's just math - and then you see it and wow, I don't even understand what's going on. So I have the same discovery as the player, initially."
With the notion of making the mathematical concept of the fourth dimension something that players can come to understand through gameplay, Miegakure can sound a little intense. Fortunately, things unfold simply enough. Dropped into a three-dimensional hub world scattered with gates, each gate transports you to a level that needs solving. You can jump, interact with objects, rotate your view of a level and make use of the fourth dimension. That last one is kind of impressive, no? In practice, the best I can describe it is that each stage is comprised of multiple sub-levels that exist as three-dimensional platforming spaces. Within those levels are what you need to get to the gate, but you can only occupy one at a time. By using the fourth dimension each sub-level of a stage appears as slices of that stage, and moving between them and back into the third dimension allows you to manipulate the space and objects within it to solve the puzzles. Beginning, for example, on a level with a wall of mountain in the middle, you can see the exit gate on the other side. Swap into the fourth dimension to cross a space that the mountain occupies otherwise, then swap back, placing you on the other side of the obstacle. The gameplay is very addictive - you've no sooner solved one mind-bending puzzle as you're clambering to the next gate for another!
Within each level are characters that can offer advice, or sometimes just idle commentary, as well as maps that you can collect that make it easier to swap between the areas while using the fourth dimension. These maps are training wheels, you can avoid picking them up for a greater challenge, and ten Bosch says that, "After awhile, you should be able to hold all of the world in your head, right?" We'll do our best, Marc!
As the game progresses even the characters will fall away, because once you become a four dimensional object characters just don't really make sense. Where early on you interact with a wooden block as a three-dimensional object, eventually it can be aligned along the fourth dimension allowing you to see parts of it in each world. Later, there are objects the player can rotate around a fixed point in the fourth dimension, as well. Largely a solo project, ten Bosch works with a 3D artist and modeler. The visuals we see in game now aren't final, and as he points out the cubes morph but the trees do not - yet.
Reaching a stage's exit gate takes you back to the hub stage to travel through more gates, some of which transport you to 2D explorations of the dimensional idea just so you can see more of what ten Bosch is getting at with the Flatlands concept. While you may feel a bit brain dead thinking about it, there is no actual death in game: I leapt down a crevasse and was happily dropped right back into the level! Once all the gates in a world are cleared, you have to figure out how to manipulate the fourth dimension to get to the next hub world full of new levels. I had to laugh when I struggled initially, because it was clear that if I couldn't figure out how to get to the next area I probably wouldn't be able to solve those puzzles. Talk about scaling difficulty!
Playing Miegakure makes you want to talk about it intelligently, and even now I'm not sure I'm up to the task. Marc ten Bosch has made the fourth dimension something you can enjoy through gameplay, and that works for me - Edwin A. Abbott can have the rest!
Currently in its second year of development for PC/Mac/Linux and one unannounced console, look for Miegakure in 2012.
The PS3 will remain in third place until late 2014
N4g has attracted gamers of all types and has become the preeminent home for gamers and fanboys of various allegiances.
One of the most pointless, albeit heavily debated, issues on the N4g comments section is the ongoing worldwide sales numbers of PS3 and Xbox360 hardware.
The thesis for this blog is not to instigate hateful retaliation or start a flame war.
Instead, this piece merely hopes to demonstrate, with official Sony and MS data that:
1. Subjective sales surveys such as VGchartz and 'active install base research' are flawed and meaningless
2. The PS3 has indeed outsold the 360 worldwide every year since its release in 2006 according to official data
3. The 360/ps3 gap is officially at 3.5 million
4. The PS3 will not catch the 360 until September 2014 according to official data.
Currently the PS3 is thought to be in third place, with the 360 holding a narrow lead over the ps3 in worldwide sales.
Despite launching a year later, PS3 fans maintain that the ps3 has outsold the 360 every year since launch and is rapidly closing the initial sales gap of almost 9 million consoles.
Curiously, repeated posts on N4g speculate that the ps3 may have even caught the 360 in worldwide sales, citing 'research' on active install bases that reports higher ps3 statistics.
However, in truth these reports are likely flawed in much the same way that VGchartz reports are flawed - both are based on limited samples and subjective inferences. As a consequence, these reports are, at best, merely rumours.
Unfortunately such subjective and meaningless rumours are oft favoured by fanboys, as they lend credence to their fanboy agenda.
Realistically, the only accurate guide to hardware sales come from the financial reports that both Microsoft and Sony make to their investors. In these reports, both companies are required by law to supply performance data to their investors.
Despite the fact that this information is readily available to the N4g community, it is rarely used or accessed.
Most likely, N4g users do not know where to look, or do not like the information as it does not fit their agenda.
In the interest of objectivity, I have provided the relevant links:
http://www.microsoft.com/in...
http://scei.co.jp/corporate...
What is particularly important to consider, is that the information in these links is required to be accurate by law.
Thus, we can be assured that this information represents the lawfully required best practice of quoting hardware sales. Indeed, it is infinitely preferable to any other 'research' or 'survey' that is mistakenly quoted by the community.
The only caveat to this official information is the 'lag' introduced by the retrospective nature of accounting in financial quarters. That is, as soon as the information is published it is effectively 'out-of-date' until the next financial report.
Nevertheless, it provides and effective measure that is second to none.
Using this official company data, we are readily able to see that the ps3 has marginally outsold the 360 worldwide since 2006.
Sorry, 360 fans, it is true.
The most recent official reports put the ps3 at 51.3 million sold, while the 360 is at 55.8 million sold.
As can be seen in the reports, in the 5 years that the ps3 has been available, it has closed the original gap of 9 million by only 5.5 million, to 3.5 million.
None too shabby!
PS3 fans are right to point this out - much to the chagrin of 360 fans that care about sales.
Astoundingly, however, this is where Ps3 fanboys get stuck.
They fail to consider the implication of the long term sales that have manifested to date.
On closer inspection, the average rate of growth is too low!
Over 5 years, the ps3 has gained 5.5 million in total sales on the 360, representing an average yearly gain of 1.1 million or less.
Using this long term sales rate, we can estimate at what date the PS3 will finally be even with the 360 in worldwide sales.
The official ps3/360 gap is 3.5 million today.
Thus, to close this gap, assuming the ps3 continues to outsell the 360 in the exact same way it has done for 5 years, will take until September 2014.
Proof:
Sept 2011 Gap = 3.5 million
Sept 2012 Gap = 2.4 million (This year ps3 outsells 360 by 1.1million)
Sept 2013 Gap = 1.3 million (Again, the ps3 outsells 360 by 1.1 million)
Sept 2014 Gap = 0.2 Million (Again, the ps3 outsells 360 by 1.1 million)
As can be seen, when we use the official data, and we make the assumption that the ps3 will continue to outsell the 360 at exactly the same rates as it has done for the last 5 years, we see the ps3 remain in third place until nearly 2015.
Of course, this news will likely anger or even infuriate ps3 fans on N4g.
Nevertheless, the numbers don't lie.
September 2014.
You heard it here first.
One of the most pointless, albeit heavily debated, issues on the N4g comments section is the ongoing worldwide sales numbers of PS3 and Xbox360 hardware.
The thesis for this blog is not to instigate hateful retaliation or start a flame war.
Instead, this piece merely hopes to demonstrate, with official Sony and MS data that:
1. Subjective sales surveys such as VGchartz and 'active install base research' are flawed and meaningless
2. The PS3 has indeed outsold the 360 worldwide every year since its release in 2006 according to official data
3. The 360/ps3 gap is officially at 3.5 million
4. The PS3 will not catch the 360 until September 2014 according to official data.
Currently the PS3 is thought to be in third place, with the 360 holding a narrow lead over the ps3 in worldwide sales.
Despite launching a year later, PS3 fans maintain that the ps3 has outsold the 360 every year since launch and is rapidly closing the initial sales gap of almost 9 million consoles.
Curiously, repeated posts on N4g speculate that the ps3 may have even caught the 360 in worldwide sales, citing 'research' on active install bases that reports higher ps3 statistics.
However, in truth these reports are likely flawed in much the same way that VGchartz reports are flawed - both are based on limited samples and subjective inferences. As a consequence, these reports are, at best, merely rumours.
Unfortunately such subjective and meaningless rumours are oft favoured by fanboys, as they lend credence to their fanboy agenda.
Realistically, the only accurate guide to hardware sales come from the financial reports that both Microsoft and Sony make to their investors. In these reports, both companies are required by law to supply performance data to their investors.
Despite the fact that this information is readily available to the N4g community, it is rarely used or accessed.
Most likely, N4g users do not know where to look, or do not like the information as it does not fit their agenda.
In the interest of objectivity, I have provided the relevant links:
http://www.microsoft.com/in...
http://scei.co.jp/corporate...
What is particularly important to consider, is that the information in these links is required to be accurate by law.
Thus, we can be assured that this information represents the lawfully required best practice of quoting hardware sales. Indeed, it is infinitely preferable to any other 'research' or 'survey' that is mistakenly quoted by the community.
The only caveat to this official information is the 'lag' introduced by the retrospective nature of accounting in financial quarters. That is, as soon as the information is published it is effectively 'out-of-date' until the next financial report.
Nevertheless, it provides and effective measure that is second to none.
Using this official company data, we are readily able to see that the ps3 has marginally outsold the 360 worldwide since 2006.
Sorry, 360 fans, it is true.
The most recent official reports put the ps3 at 51.3 million sold, while the 360 is at 55.8 million sold.
As can be seen in the reports, in the 5 years that the ps3 has been available, it has closed the original gap of 9 million by only 5.5 million, to 3.5 million.
None too shabby!
PS3 fans are right to point this out - much to the chagrin of 360 fans that care about sales.
Astoundingly, however, this is where Ps3 fanboys get stuck.
They fail to consider the implication of the long term sales that have manifested to date.
On closer inspection, the average rate of growth is too low!
Over 5 years, the ps3 has gained 5.5 million in total sales on the 360, representing an average yearly gain of 1.1 million or less.
Using this long term sales rate, we can estimate at what date the PS3 will finally be even with the 360 in worldwide sales.
The official ps3/360 gap is 3.5 million today.
Thus, to close this gap, assuming the ps3 continues to outsell the 360 in the exact same way it has done for 5 years, will take until September 2014.
Proof:
Sept 2011 Gap = 3.5 million
Sept 2012 Gap = 2.4 million (This year ps3 outsells 360 by 1.1million)
Sept 2013 Gap = 1.3 million (Again, the ps3 outsells 360 by 1.1 million)
Sept 2014 Gap = 0.2 Million (Again, the ps3 outsells 360 by 1.1 million)
As can be seen, when we use the official data, and we make the assumption that the ps3 will continue to outsell the 360 at exactly the same rates as it has done for the last 5 years, we see the ps3 remain in third place until nearly 2015.
Of course, this news will likely anger or even infuriate ps3 fans on N4g.
Nevertheless, the numbers don't lie.
September 2014.
You heard it here first.
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