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GameSetWatch ends its six-year vigil
One of the best sites to find posts about vintage NES music mixtapes, Virtua Hamster, and Sengoku pedometer games is leaving us. GameSetWatch, UBM TechWeb's "alt.game" blog, is going on "semi-permanent hiatus," after six years of operation. "So, why are we stopping?" asked EIC Simon Carless in the farewell post. "Well mainly, we're seeing an increasing overlap with sister site IndieGames.com, just in terms of some of the best material out there being indie-related." Carless also noted that "mainstream game blogs are doing a much better job nowadays of including the weirder and alt.links in amongst their gaming news." Of course, so many of our weirder links came via GSW ... The site will remain online, so as odd as it is for us to go tell you to read someone else's site, you should really take a day to go through GSW's wonderfully eclectic archives.
Code of Everand browser MMO teaches kids about traffic safety
The United Kingdom's Department for Transport has launched a free browser MMO, Code of Everand, that teaches traffic safety to children. It does so through a fantasy theme with direct parallels to real world dangers -- streets are Spirit Channels, glowing energy streams populated with many dangerous beasts. The Spirit Channels crisscross the map of Everand and make travel perilous. That's where the players come in as Pathfinders, explorers trained in the techniques that allow for safe passage across the Spirit Channels. Pathfinders learn important safety lessons along the way in their journey to discover the secrets of Everand. Code of Everand was developed for the UK Department for Transport by NYC-based firm Area/Code over the course of two years, reports Game Set Watch. Area/Code has a long track record of creating cross-media games for advertising and media firms, television networks, and even major consumer brands. According to Area/Code's site, they've taken innovative approaches to games in the past -- "online games that respond to broadcast TV in real time, simulated characters and virtual worlds that occupy real-world geography" and "game events driven by real-world data". Interesting concepts. If you like the idea of games used as an effective educational tool, you can see the animated trailer for Code of Everand after the jump.
See the prototype Big Daddy prototypes from BioShock 2
As you're no doubt aware, you'll be playing as the very first Big Daddy in 2K Marin's upcoming BioShock 2. If you're craving a bit more insight into just how said Big Daddy came to be, 2K's just dropped some concept art showing the development of the hulking bruiser.The final product looks cool, but are we the only ones that would have totally dug this armored Terminator Big Daddy? Just us? Fair enough.[Via GameSetWatch]
The winner of the Mark Jacobs Award for Corporate Community Achievement is...
Yes, you didn't blink when you read the title. Of course, the award was made by Alex Litel of "Bell, Game, and Candle" at GameSetWatch and it's meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it really shows how connected Jacobs is with all of the Warhammer Online hype.Litel's article showcases the many press release quotes that just make you tilt your head in confusion and wonder why exactly someone wrote that for marketing purposes. Quotes such as Cliffy B calling the original Gears of War "...just a tease, an appetizer to Gears of War characters and new style of gameplay" just to ramp up marketing for Gears of War 2.Litel inserted the Mark Jacobs award because he thought it would be unfair to include Mark Jacob's quotes in with the other quotes he gathered. With all of the passion Mark puts behind his marketing promises, including Jacobs's quotes would turn the article into a countdown of Mark Jacobs moments. So, the quotes were left out, but the spirit of Jacobs remained alive and well.If you want to see all 50 quotes, and which quote got the coveted award, head on over to GameSetWatch and check out Litel's article. We certainly got a few chuckles out of it.
Keeping the wife happy: Wrath style
Isn't it fascinating to think of the people behind the toons you see running around your screen? Do you ever just find a quiet spot next to a busy marketplace or popular crossroads in game and just people-watch? Although it's sometimes fun to venture a guess at the real lives behind the virtual ones, we may overlook the increasing number of families who play these games together. Husbands and wives. Fathers and sons. Mothers and daughters. The combinations are almost endless.In a recent article over at Game Set Watch, Michael Walbridge takes a look at the inner dynamics of the family gaming habit. He tells an all-too-familiar story of one family member (in this case his wife) who wants nothing more than to play Wrath of the Lich King upon release, yet he has sworn off WoW for good, in lieu of Warhammer Online. When his wife finally realizes that swearing off WoW for good really means "for good" this time, it nearly brings her to tears. Will he give in and rejoin his wife at Wrath's launch? Will he continue with WAR, crushing his entire family dynamic? You'll have to check out the story to find out!
A community analysis of Warhammer Online
GameSetWatch recently put up an article that takes a look at the current state of the Warhammer Online community. They came out with a pretty clear census, saying it's still too early to decide. Granted there is mention that often times playing Warhammer Online can feel a bit lonely, even when people are around. The article attributes this to the fact that grouping is so very easy in WAR that nobody really has to talk to one another. We're inclined to agree, if you're not in a guild things can get a tad lonely. That said, the community in the game is definitely strong and given a few months time we should have a much clearer picture of the state of it. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Recommending MMOs to friends
In his latest weekly column for GameSetMatch, Simon Parkin talks to the friend who took over his Final Fantasy XI account when he moved on from the game. Since he sent her his account information and deleted the game from his hard drive, he has been nagged by a feeling of guilt. Did he ruin her life by introducing her to the time-sucking grind of MMOs? He discovered that while she does spend large amounts of time in the game, she is happy for the time she has invested. She has made lasting friendships within the game and while she would not try other games, she doesn't regret her adventures in Vana'diel.Most of us find a balance between the total immersion of these virtual worlds and the demands of real life. And many real life friendships come from time spent in-game, which should be no surprise given that most relationships spring from common interest. On the other hand, we all know someone who spends far too much time in our shared worlds to be healthy.So here's the question: knowing how enjoyable MMOs can be, but also knowing that they have the potential to take over one's life, how comfortable are you in recommending them to your friends?
World in a World of Warcraft
With Wrath of the Lich King coming out very soon, and four years of the game's history behind us, it's nice to just sit back and read something about the basic fundamentals of World of Warcraft. In a recent article over at GameSetWatch, they've dissected what WoW means to the average person and why it has become so popular. As the article admits itself, yes, this is in fact another World of Warcraft article. However, it approaches the game from a slightly different angle as the author realizes what the game is all about retrospectively. It's not a beginner's guide to the game, but more like a beginner's guide to what to expect from the people who play the game, and what to expect from yourself if you're getting into the game for the first time. It's certainly worth a read. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
A snapshot of today's gold-selling/power-leveling market
GameSetWatch, the alt.blog on CMP's Gamasutra network of sites, has up a discussion with a gold-farming boss. "Mr. Smith" is one of the owners of a gold-selling site, and submitted an article looking at the current state of the virtual currency market - from his perspective. Smith makes two interesting points in his discussion: that power-leveling is now the 'growth industry' for RMT services, and that the newest workforce in the marketplace is ... wait for it ... North Korea.The cost of these power-leveling services has also dipped considerably as new players enter the marketplace. Competitive pressure has dropped the price from about $6/level to more like $2.50/level in World of Warcraft. All 70 levels now averages about $250, down from a high of almost $500.
GameSetWatch picks top 5 freeware games
Of all the different video game features, the one that's most desirable is obvious: Being free. Now, GameSetWatch has picked their top five games of the year that have the irresistible feature of being deliciously, decadently without cost. What makes the list so special is how varied and original these game are, with GSW putting a heavy focus on indie-developed titles.There some on the list you may be familiar with (Chain Factor for instance), while others may be completely foreign to you. Either way, if the last few weak release weeks have left you hungering for something more substantial, you just might find a few filling meals on the list.
Game length in MMOs and elsewhere
Back when I was in college, when we asked a professor how long our papers should be, he answered thusly: "Like a skirt-- short enough to keep it interesting, but long enough to cover the subject." More and more, it seems that you could say the same thing about videogames. In days past, the length of a game was a selling point-- the more gameplay you could get out of it, the more the game was worth. And so MMOs especially ask for a lot of investment, and were asked to give a lot of gameplay in return. I used to beat old NES and Game Boy games in minutes, and now, like Fullbright, I've got days and weeks logged in the MMOs I play.But is that a good thing? I hate to keep harping on it, but Fullbright brings up Portal for me (a game that seems destined to redefine what we think of as games this year)-- there's a game that only takes a few hours but delivers an experience that lasts much longer than that. In terms of MMOs the current trend seems to be both towards shorter gameplay and less investment for that gameplay.MMOs may be the exception here-- you sit down to create one character, and heading into a persistent world should make you want to be there. But with many MMOs on the market than before (and an older, busier audience than ever), the trend seems to be headed towards shorter games, not longer. That's not to say that a great game shouldn't cover the subject (no game should end before its time), but designers are feeling more and more pressure to make things short enough to keep it interesting, rather than throwing in random FedEx quests to brag about a few more hours of gameplay.[Via GSW]
Game Informer defends GTA IV 'exclusive' coverage
Kevin Gifford's Game Mag Weaseling is a column run on GameSetWatch where he discusses coverage by the game magazines. In a recent article about Game Informer's "coverage" of Grand Theft Auto IV, Gifford said the piece was full of "glorified feature lists enhanced with developer quotes and insulated by hundred of words of filler."Well, Game Informer's Editor in Chief Andy McNamara wasn't going to take that lightly, writing to the site, "I fail to see how getting world exclusive content that you can't get anywhere else isn't offering our readers something unique and worth the price of a magazine?"Essentially where Gifford and GameSetWatch stood their ground was that the coverage felt managed by Rockstar -- well, of course it was. Rockstar gave GI the pictures, quotes and whatever else they wanted to. It's not like GI infiltrated the Rockstar building and retrieved the information for their readers. There was some deal made and GI got the exclusive -- good for them, it shows the muscle that comes with 2 million hard-sold Gamestop customers subscribers. If you're happy with that ending and don't want to hear a potential spoiler, enjoy that ending for this post and don't look after the break!
NIS America open to releasing titles on non-Sony systems
Jeffrey Fleming from Game Set Watch had a chance to interview RPG fan favorite publisher NIS America (Disgaea). In the interview, he asks if NIS plans on just keeping Sony platforms as their target for game releases. Here's their response:"For a long time, NIS America has been releasing titles for the PS2 and PSP, so some people might think we are solely dedicated to Sony, but that is not true. Our goal is to provide quality games and services to all game fans, and looking ahead, there are several platforms that can help us reach out to a broader audience and gamers can expect surprises from us. Of course, we will also continue to work closely with Sony, providing great games for PS2/PS3/PSP users as well."So while they have no intentions to be a Sony exclusive publisher, they do plan to still support them. Here's hoping our favorite portable continues to get the NIS love.
Metal Slug model to drool over
Metal Slug fansite Metal Slug Database has put up this gorgeous looking Metal Slug model that fans of the series should certainly appreciate. It's a resin model kit and assembly and painting is needed, so if you did buy this, it's unlikely it'd look as good as the image above. It's unclear if the model is official or not, but it's officially awesome. If only the model came free with copies of Metal Slug Anthology for PSP, then it would be the ultimate collectors edition. Do any readers love Metal Slug still like myself? [Via Game Set Watch]
A history lesson about punching faces
Those that have had a PSP since launch may know that Darkstalkers was one of the first games on the system and certainly still one of the best fighters on the handheld. But for those that only know the PSP version or don't know the interesting and varied history of Darkstalkers, you may want to check out Gamespy's Hardcore Gaming 101 write up on the spooky brawler. Even fans of the series may not know facts like Darkstalkers was the first Capcom fighter to have a Super guage and air-blocking or the number of Darkstalkers characters that appeared in Namco X Capcom (a game I'm still sad never came to the US). Cheer up your next gaming party with Darkstalkers trivia or have unhealthy thoughts over the Lilith art. The choice is yours. [Via Game Set Watch]
Famitsu primer for the uninitiated
GameSetWatch's Kevin Gifford published a piece that finally explains what the big deal is with Japanese game magazine Famitsu. Not caring what Famitsu thinks about games is a big faux pas in the industry. Those who dare state publicly they could care less what some random Japanese magazine thinks are shunned in some circles. Most of the time journalists who cite the magazine for being über have never even read it -- but apparently it's respected as the holy grail of game journalism, so in the words of the Beatles, we'll follow their words of wisdom and "let it be."Gifford explains that the multi-editor score card originated with Famitsu and EGM went on to copy it. According to the article, Famitsu's scores actually matter though because they've been said to directly influence sales. The magazine has also not been immune to the shrinking print publishing industry, losing almost 40 percent of its circulation in the last six years. Gifford's piece gives a great rundown of this supposedly venerable magazine. He should have called the article: Everything you always wanted to know about Famitsu* but were afraid to ask pretentious geeks.
PlayStation 4 is forthcoming ... so what?
There is a piece circulating the internet on comments made by Paul Holman, VP of Technology for SCEE, where we claimed that we would not see a PlayStation 4 until at least 2010. Unfortunately, 2010 is never actually quoted by Holman, implying that it might have been a fabricated/sensationalized number created by the article's author, David Richards, at SmartHouse.Here's what we gather from the article: following one analyst predictions that were circulating the internet (notice a trend here?) that predicted Sony's executive shift would result in them leaving the hardware market, Holman states that, "to say that there will be no PS4 because of a management change is a bit far fetched." That is the only thing he says about a PlayStation 4, yet the article uses the topic, with an unsubstantiated number, as its headline. The article has been picked up by many press outlets either as "at least 2010" or just plain "PS4 arriving in 2010."We're not going to say anything regarding their spelling and punctuation, but the 2010 claim (at least 2010, mind you) is not supported by any quotes from Holman. GameSetWatch also tackles this issue, both specifically and generally.The rest of the article discusses the new-gen PlayStation 3 firmware (we've blogged this). What you should take from the article is that a PlayStation 4 will arrive, eventually, but a launch year is not yet being discussed. And read the full article, as the headlines can be misleading or worse, as in this case, unsupported by the article itself.Last month, Ken Kutaragi told BBC that he wanted a PlayStation 4 "within the next decade." Maybe we can say, then, that PS4 will be out by 2020? Nah, let's not be presumptuous.
Retro look at extreme exaggeration in game adverts
"Do not have any other arcade machines before Me. Do not represent such arcade machines by any stories or pictures of anything in the heaven above, on the earth below, or in the water below the land. Do not bow down to arcade machines or worship them. I am God your Lord, a God who demands exclusive worship."Obviously someone from Neo-Geo forgot to read the Bible. We all know that we're supposed to bow down and worship our [fanboys, insert your console of choice here] on a daily basis. Arcade machines are for heathens.GameSetWatch has posted a brilliant article that highlights several examples of "visual hyperbole" being used in video game advertisements. The article looks at several examples where the marketing department might have gone a little too far, although in retrospect we're glad they did because it gives us the chance to laugh our socks off at their outrageous attempts to get people to buy their games.[Via Vintage Computing]See also:Lara advert portrays her massive buttHitman ad with undertones of rape
