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The Daily Grind: Would you like more sprite graphics?
Back in the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, nearly all video game graphics were produced as a series of animated pixels, or "sprites" as they're more frequently known. Sprites have evolved from the basic pixel-block format seen in old Atari games to being complex collections of fluid animation, producing graceful and evocative art. Of course since each and every frame of a sprite's animation has to be hand-drawn and can often be quite involved, vector-based three-dimensional graphics have become the standard for games both online and offline. World of Warcraft and other triple-A titles are never likely to be dominated by sprite graphics, since the result is usually less character customization, more work for the art team, and only a negligible actual benefit. But what about you, the player? Do you like seeing games where the landscapes and avatars are rendered with sprites instead of polygons? Does it give you a sense of nostalgia and familiarity? Or do you dislike the style and want to see a move away from what was once the predominant graphical style? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's The Daily Grind!
System Flaw commercial shoots up your living room
You know, living rooms (or parlors, for you weirdos out there) are damn boring -- it goes double for outdoor patios. Luckily, System Flaw is attempting to address your home and its surroundings' severe deficiency in fun as one of the first DSi-only games. Utilizing the handheld's built-in camera, it populates your real-world locale with virtual enemies to shoot down in a kind of first-person shmup. It's an interesting concept, as you can see for yourself in the video past the break. [Thanks, RupeeClock]
Babies Party their way onto Wii
The most notorious game in Ubisoft's Imagine series of girl-focused casual games is headed to the Wii -- as a party game, of course. Babies Party combines the babysitting theme of the DS game with 30 minigames including (according to the press release) "memory games, puzzles, coloring and cutting up activities."You can choose to play either as a baby or a babysitter. It's unclear exactly how the gameplay will change, but we imagine that there are different minigames involving taking care of babies as opposed to being babies. As with pretty much every Wii game that gets announced, Babies Party will support the Balance Board in some games.Babies Party enters the exciting genre of baby-based party minigames created by the Korean arcade series Come On Baby, which also made use of innovative controllers.%Gallery-23971%
