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GDC Online 2010: Hands-on and preview of WINtA
WINtA is probably the best brand new game that I've seen so far at GDC Online 2010 (this week in Austin, Texas). It's a title published by a group called OneBigGame, which is a nonprofit video game publisher. They commission and publish games, which are created for free by luminaries in the video game field, and then they sell them to customers for money that goes straight to charities around the world. Founder Martin de Ronde took the stage at GDC to allegedly talk about how to take an app from iPhone to the iPad, but what he actually did was show off this really amazing game and music platform, and he gave a road map to where the iPad version will eventually go. "WINtA" stands for "War is Not The Answer," which is what game creator Masaya Matsuura felt after September 11th, and that's what he wanted to transfer into game form. WINtA itself is actually a rhythm game -- Matsuura is well known in the gaming community for making PaRappa the Rapper, which is a highly regarded PlayStation game known for pioneering the genre that eventually launched Guitar Hero and Tap Tap Revolution. de Ronde approached Matsuura under the OneBigGame banner, asking if he would create a game to sell for charity, and with the help of Dutch developer Triangle Studios, Matsuura came up with WINtA. The app will be out on the App Store for free later this year. Check out more, including a video of the demonstration, after the break.
First screens of Major Minor's Majestic March look ... Parappa-esque
click to enlarge There are few games with an aesthetic as immediately recognizable as Parappa the Rapper, so our expectations were understandably high when we first read about Parappa designer Masaya Matsuura and Parappa artist Rodney Greenblat's latest collaboration: Major Minor's Majestic March.Publisher Majesco (enough with the M's!) has released the first batch of screenshots of the Wii-destined marching game and we're not disappointed. Sure, the screens aren't knocking the collective wind out of us the way Parappa's 2D-slash-3D graphics did back in 1997, but c'mon, look how cute the whole thing is!%Gallery-15021%
Matsuura: third-party troubles limited mostly to non-games
A couple of weeks ago, Parappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura commented on the "DS software bubble," saying that it was increasingly difficult for third parties to sell games on the DS. He discussed the issue a bit more in a talk with GamesIndustry.biz, clarifying that he doesn't necessarily think it's a system-wide issue. In fact, it's relegated mostly to the genre in which the most saturation has taken place: the non-game. "...maybe at the end of 2006 to 2007 many titles - sequels - lost [money]. Very few titles are getting much better. This means, especially for the Brain Training titles or non-gaming content, it is getting difficult right now."So those of you who were livid at the Major Minor's Majestic March director for saying something not entirely positive about something Nintendo-related can calm down now. He is saying something that a lot of DS gamers already know: there are too many knockoff training games.
Newsweek gets the skinny on Major Minor's Majestic March
When we first heard about Major Minor's Majestic March, we, much like you, were confused. We had never asked for a game about a marching band, we hadn't ever really thought about it. But, as the game was developed by Parappa masterminds Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat, we had to, in accordance with federal law, believe. Now, after reading Newsweek's feature on the game, we're officially intrigued for reasons other than its pedigree.You'll want to read the full piece, but we're interested in the way that, serving as the band's drum major, you'll be able to not only set the pace of the music but dynamically effect it. Other interesting nuggets from the interview include the fact that Matsuura is happy he doesn't know much about Nintendo's upcoming Wii Music, as well as his thoughts on the Guitar Hero series. (Spoiler alert: They need more Insane Clown Posse.)
Parappa creators' Major Minor's Majestic March revealed
We hope you don't mind trading a rapping puppy for a tuba-playing pig. The first information and character art from Majesco's new collaboration between Parappa creators Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Alan Greenblat has been released. The game is called Major Minor's Majestic March and takes place in a town full of marching bands. As Major Mike Minor, your job is to use your "special" bandleader's baton (the Wiimote, obviously) not only to keep the rhythm of your marching band, but to attract new players into it, and even pick up items.The sound of your band (as it plays new arrangements of over 30 well-known marches) changes as the instrumentalists following you change. Oh, and of course the game is, in true Greenblat style, really cute. We'd like to direct you to our gallery featuring the first character art!%Gallery-15020%[Via GamesPress]
Parappa creators bringing 'Major Minor's Majestic March' to Wii
Yeah, yeah, we're intrigued by the possibilities of Wii Music but, like you, we're disappointed by that game's apparent lack of marching! Someone at Majesco apparently feels the same way, because the company today announced Major Minor's Majestic March for the Wii.Featuring the talents of Parappa the Rapper designer Masaya Matsuura and artist Rodney Greenblat, the game will ask players to use the Wii remote to "keep tempo, recruit new band members and pick up valuable items." The release promises eight "whimsical" locations, a "dynamic procession" of up to 15 instruments and 25 "popular marching band songs." We hope they can secure the rights to some of the hits from Sousaphone Hero. The promise of conducting our own version of "Stars and Stripes Forever" by Holiday 2008 is just too delicious to contemplate.%Gallery-15021%
