Yeah, yeah, long time, no post. I've been busy working on some very cool projects, one of which is actually game-related, so I've reduced the amount I'm blogging.
In any case, I wanted to pop in and direct your attention to something I really want to succeed:
Project Eternity
Obisidian has made some really great games, such as KotOR2, NWN2, Alpha Protocol, and Fallout: New Vegas. They've also got a lot of the team members (of Black Isle fame) from some of the old Infinity Engine games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment.
They announced a new Kickstarter project today, Project Eternity. You can read up on the Kickstarter page, but they essentially want to make something that hearkens back in spirit to those old Infinity Engine games, and I found myself absolutely overcome with a desire to give them my money. If this succeeds, it will be the manifestation of a pro-consumer model the likes of which are not only ideal but only possible in this modern age.
I love this. I want this. Take a look at this, and see if it's a good fit for you. I hope it is. If you're not sure, try some of the games I mentioned above and see what you think.
For now, while I wait for this to get funded, I'm gonna pre-load some Borderlands 2 and download some Black Mesa Source. This is going to be a great weekend!
Good luck, Obsidian, and please let me know if I can do anything to help!
Blaine
20120914
20120620
20120614
Mobile Gaming is Terrible Again
I used to mock people who played mobile games. I'd insinuate, or even flat out state, that mobile games (DS + PSP) were mostly terrible kiddy versions of games, and I wasn't wrong. Then Hotel Dusk happened. Then Phoenix Wright happened. Then, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions happened. Things were looking up.
Since then, mobile games, mainly via iOS, have exploded, and have thus been properly watered down for the slack-jawed anti-intellectual masses. This is good and bad.
The good is that we got Angry Birds. The bad is damn near everything else that came out.
As I see it, we should be working to make mobile games more like games that can't be mobile. Throw in a 'save anywhere' feature on the mobile version, and you're good to go.
Granted, PC gaming has been there for years. I've been able to play any PC game I wanted on the road for a number of years, but it's difficult to deploy that setup in a vehicle while on a road trip, or on a train. This is where the PlayStation Vita comes into play (and maybe even some phones.)
The Vita has some serious horsepower, and should be the home for straight ports of PlayStation 2 & 3 games, and based on my experience with MLB 2012, continuing the same season on both devices is easy and a great way to play the game.
What I'm hoping happens is that the wall between 'home' gaming and mobile gaming goes away, and the two converge into one. It'd be great to have a deep RPG on the iPad, play it on the go, then come home and stream it to my TV via AppleTV. Same thing with the PS3 and Vita.
Steam Cloud has made this simpler than ever. I used to map my 'My Documents' folder on my laptop to my gaming desktop and set it to sync for offline, so that saves would stay concurrent, but I don't need to do that anymore for most games.
Get rid of the gimmicks, stop catering to the lowest common denominator, and focus on the technology and richness of experience.
What say you? What's your ideal gaming experience, both at home and away?
-Blaine
Buy my book!
Since then, mobile games, mainly via iOS, have exploded, and have thus been properly watered down for the slack-jawed anti-intellectual masses. This is good and bad.
The good is that we got Angry Birds. The bad is damn near everything else that came out.
As I see it, we should be working to make mobile games more like games that can't be mobile. Throw in a 'save anywhere' feature on the mobile version, and you're good to go.
Granted, PC gaming has been there for years. I've been able to play any PC game I wanted on the road for a number of years, but it's difficult to deploy that setup in a vehicle while on a road trip, or on a train. This is where the PlayStation Vita comes into play (and maybe even some phones.)
The Vita has some serious horsepower, and should be the home for straight ports of PlayStation 2 & 3 games, and based on my experience with MLB 2012, continuing the same season on both devices is easy and a great way to play the game.
What I'm hoping happens is that the wall between 'home' gaming and mobile gaming goes away, and the two converge into one. It'd be great to have a deep RPG on the iPad, play it on the go, then come home and stream it to my TV via AppleTV. Same thing with the PS3 and Vita.
Steam Cloud has made this simpler than ever. I used to map my 'My Documents' folder on my laptop to my gaming desktop and set it to sync for offline, so that saves would stay concurrent, but I don't need to do that anymore for most games.
Get rid of the gimmicks, stop catering to the lowest common denominator, and focus on the technology and richness of experience.
What say you? What's your ideal gaming experience, both at home and away?
-Blaine
Buy my book!
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