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Telling stories: The next hurdle for story telling
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.What's next for in-game story telling? In this, our final segment looking at video game narratives, our collective of industry professionals offer insight into what they believe is the next big challenge facing the evolution of story telling in the games we play.
FanPoll'08: XBLA Game of the Year
This year has brought us a slew of incredible Xbox Live Arcade titles so whittling the list down to five contenders is a difficult task. In the end the top honors went to the five titles we felt delivered on all promises made and showcased greatness, even through their shortcomings.Read more about these five nominees:A Kingdom for KeflingsBionic Commando RearmedBraidGeometry Wars 2Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Voting closes at 12:01am on December 30, 2008. Results will be revealed on December 30, 2008. <a href ="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1226539/" >FanPoll'08: XBLA Game of the Year</a> <br/> <span style="font-size:9px;"> (<a href ="http://www.polldaddy.com"> surveys</a>)</span>
Telling stories: The games that got it right
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.It's rare that story tellers get all of the pieces of their narrative to fit together exactly right in any medium. But in this industry, where story shares a balance with gameplay and endings often get the short end of the development stick, weaving a complete and compelling tale must be a daunting task. Now, gifts unwrapped and bellies full, our panel of industry personalities sound off on those games that they feel were up to the challenge, delivering storytelling experiences above and beyond their peers.
Telling stories: How much is that ending in the window?
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.Epic Games' Michael Capps recently caused quite an uproar among gamers with his suggestion to offer the conclusion to games as premium DLC rather than as part of the core experience. As the latest in our continuing week-long feature, we asked our panel of industry personalities what they thought of the proposal. Interestingly, much of the group was noticibly more tight-lipped in their responses than when answering other questions.
Telling stories: What's up with lame endings?
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.While narrative has taken on a larger role, time and again we end up being left unsatisfied in the final moments with endings that fail to wrap up stories in interesting or compelling ways. In our continuing week-long feature, we asked our diverse collection of industry personalities why so many endings in the games we play leave us cold.
Telling stories: Balancing gameplay v. narrative
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.How important are stories? How about endings? Over the next week this diverse group of personalities sounds off on these and other story-driven topics, starting today as we open up by asking whether or not narrative shares an equal burden as gameplay in carrying the video game experience.
Capcom shoots down Bionic Commando, new Street Fighters on Wii
We're just going to have to give up on this whole Bionic Commando thing. Capcom can't get it on Virtual Console, and, according to statements made by Christian Svensson, VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development, the downloadable Bionic Commando: Rearmed isn't going to happen on Wii either (though you can pretend it is, thanks to Mike!) He said on the Capcom forum that because of WiiWare's stringent file size limits, "It would not be an inexpensive process and I'm not sure the result would be completely satisfactory."The same is true of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, or, as it would be known on the Wii, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Remix: "It couldn't ever be Wiiware, even at 480p." Although Svensson offers the faint notion of a future disc-based release. "We'll see how it does on its current platforms and then maybe we'll see." That's a lot of seeing!In the same info-tastic forum post, Svensson mused once more on the possibility of Street Fighter IV. "In theory, with reasonable downgrades in visual quality including resolution reduction, yes." He raised the very valid concern of how to map the traditional Street Fighter control scheme to the Wiimote and Nunchuk (Tatsunoko uses a different control scheme). Our answer: arcade stick bundle. Look at Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Guitar Hero: Wii games with bundled peripherals sell fantastically.[Via Nintendo Everything]
Revolutionary: Go Go Bionic!
"Let me tell you about the game I played when I was still young..." Growing up, I was familiar with the name Bionic Commando, although I'd never played it for myself. I've had lots of conversations with friends about old games, and they'd reminisced about some game with a guy that swung around on a grappling arm. Yet strangely enough, none of my friends could remember what the game was called. When it was announced that Bionic Commando was to receive a re-imagining, I finally was able to match that game my friends loved, with the title. With the hype for the new game, I caught my first glimpse of the old 8-bit classic in promotional videos, and I really felt like I'd missed out on something special. But my disappointment quickly turned to anticipation when it was later revealed that the game would also be remade in 2D for download on all the popular home consoles! (raucous cheering) But not the Wii! (sound of crickets) Long-time Nintendo fans love to remember the old times, but we don't hold dear the memories of being repeatedly snubbed out of multiplatform ports. With GlovePIE running and Wiimote in hand, I turned to the PC version of Bionic Commando: Rearmed.
'Summer of Arcade' behind XBLA's best month yet
Newly released figures show that the "Summer of Arcade" wasn't just a windfall for gamers; it made Microsoft some serious scratch. MS reports that it saw a 58% increase in Arcade title purchases during the five-week "event," amounting to a 67% increase in revenue generated by XBLA in August – a new monthly record for the service. The company itself acknowledges that the quality of the titles was crucial to the gains. "The reason for all of this success? The games were really good," it said in a press release. Xbox Live general manager, Marc Whitten, promises that, "The focus on quality games doesn't stop with the Summer of Arcade." So ... we're due for a "Fall and Winter of Arcade," then? Whitten called out upcoming XBLA releases such as Portal: Still Alive, South Park, and R-Type Dimensions as examples of a new wave of potential Arcade hits. "We have plenty more great titles coming out in the next few months and beyond that we think will continue to fuel this incredible momentum," he said. Wait, back up ... did he mean the R-Type Dimensions that hasn't been officially announced yet?
Bionic Commando Rearmed scores super first-week sales
Ben Judd, Capcom's Bionic Commando, er ... commander, reports in his latest blog entry that the PSN/XBLA/PC release, Bionic Commando Rearmed, saw combined first-week sales of 130,000 copies across the three platforms. The news prompted Judd to exclaim, "Holy fiddlesticks!" Judd qualified his excitement, saying, "That may not seem impressive compared to package titles that sell in the millions but compared to other digital titles that is a friggin juggernaut!" Seemingly very pleased with not only the reviews (which are averaging above 80%) and sales of his first game as producer, he made a point to let gamers know how they've impacted Capcom's digital strategy going forward. "Basically, we have set a standard in digital gaming," he said, adding, "The bar has been raised and you have let developers around the world know that if they invest the time, money, and heart into making (and remaking) some great games, you will support that initiative." We have a pretty good feeling that, following the success of BC:R, Judd's going to have a much easier time getting Capcom brass behind whatever project he chooses to tackle next.
BC Rearmed week one sales exceed 100K
Well good lord. After its first week of availability, Bionic Commando Rearmed has sold 130,000 copies. Capcom's own Ben Judd reported the news on the Bionic Commando blog with the appropriate fervor, saying, "Holy fiddlesticks!" He followed up his elation saying that while the sales pale in comparison to retail titles, 130,000 copies qualifies Rearmed as a "JUGGERNAUT." One of the important and overlooked elements of this story is that Rearmed was made available on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and PC, so we're not sure exactly what percentage each service pulled. Regardless it's obvious that Rearmed has struck a chord and Judd notes that this proves that gamers do enjoy seeing the games of yesteryear made available again, so long as they are "done right" and for the right price. We couldn't agree more.
The Best of Big Download: August 18-24
Games Convention generated a ton of new HD trailers for upcoming PC games and we have them ready to download, along with a ton of original content and news stories. Indeed, there were a lot of new PC games announcements this week (more than at E3). Take a look at all of them on our site:Exclusive Features Reviews: Check out our reviews of the PC version of Bionic Commando Rearmed and the latest chapter of American McGee's Grimm. Hands-on previews: Check out our hands-on impressions of Aion, Battleforge and Battlefield Heroes BigVersus: Our latest game comparison column takes a look at the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Bionic Commando Rearmed. Big Iron: Our latest PC hardware column takes a look at power . . . power supplies for your rig that is. Big Ideas: Our latest column on themes in gaming takes a look at the so called "new games journalism." Alt-Tab: Our newest column takes a look at RTS gameplay conventions and how Relic could change them with Dawn of War II. Freeware Friday: Our latest look at free PC games is the classic Nethack. BigCast: It's our regular podcast with team members chatting about all things PC gaming.
Last chance: Win Bionic Commando Rearmed
Only a couple of hours to go before we put an end to our Bionic Commando Rearmed giveaway and pick some winners folks. You have until 12:00 Noon eastern time today to submit your entry, so hurry up and get to it if you haven't already. We can tell you from personal experience that Rearmed is a pretty sweet game. At least it' pretty sweet until you start trying to attain the Elite Commando achievement. Then it becomes an exercise in frustration. But hey, there are three whole difficulties below Super Hard, so there's bound to be one that's right for you! Head over to the official giveaway post and enter.
Bionic Commando and Rearmed comparison videos
GameTrailers has put together another one its "totally bias" videos comparing Bionic Commando Rearmed to Bionic Commando. We're sure the NES fanboys are already all in a twitter about how Capcom was too lazy to port Rearmed to the NES and how this is an unfair juxtaposition of the two games. Capcom totally should have made a port of Rearmed for the NES so GT could make a proper comparison video. Quick, someone start an online petition to rectify this! It's all so unjust! Check out Part 1 of the comparison video above and Part 2 after the break. Sweet mercy, look at the graphics on the NES! It's like two Atari 2600s duct-taped together.
Bionic Reminder: Win Bionic Commando Rearmed
It's high time we reminded everyone out there that we're giving away five copies of Bionic Commando Rearmed. We've got to give them away, and we figured we might as well give them to our favorite people, our dear readers. So, if you want a crack at winning your very own Bionic Commando Rearmed XBLA redemption code, head over to the official contest post and enter. Don't forget that you can enter once a day, so come back and enter tomorrow to increase your chances. Now get the heck out of here, you nerd!
Fanswag Weekly: Bionic Commando Rearmed [update]
[Update: This giveaway is now closed and the winners have been notified via email. Check your spam boxes, kids!] You know what? Bionic Commando Rearmed is just swell. It's a great game and it deserves a good home. With just a simple comment donation, it could be part of your home. What we're trying to say here is that we've got five (count 'em, five) download codes for Bionic Commando Rearmed to giveaway. What do you have to do to snag one for your very own? Simple, just follow these instructions: The key feature in Bionic Commando Rearmed is, obviously, the bionic claw. Leave a comment on this post telling us what you would do if you had your own bionic claw. Only one comment can be left per calendar day eastern time. Posters of multiple comments during the same calendar day will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until 12:00PM Noon eastern time, Friday, August 22, 2008. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec). On Friday, we'll pick five winners via a random drawing. Five winners will receive an Xbox Live redemption code to download Bionic Commando Rearmed, worth $10 each. Complete giveaway rules can be found here
Bionic Command: Rearmed special challenge rooms codes
Back in February, Capcom held a contest for those of you who wanted to design your very own Bionic Commando: Rearmed challenge level. Now, Aaron Sedillo's design (shown above) has emerged victorious. Eurogamer, GamesRadar and IGN also have their own special challenge rooms. During the screen where you see only the logo and the words "Press START" are shown, that's when you must enter the code. You can access each room with the following codes, enjoy! Aaron Sedilo's room: Right, Down, Left, Up, L1, R1, triangle, triangle, square, square, Start Eurogamer room: Down, Up, Down, Up, Left, L1, square, L1, square, triangle, Start GamesRadar room: R1, triangle, square, square, Up, Down, L1, L1, Up, Down, Start IGN room: Up, Down, triangle, square, square, triangle, Down, Up, L1, L1, Start
Bionic Commando Rearmed available now on the EU PSN Store
Okay, color us confused, but kind of impressed. We were just tipped off that Bionic Commando Rearmed, that awesome current-gen re-imagining of the old Capcom classic, is now available on the European PlayStation Store. "Surely not," we thought. We wrote the European store update up yesterday and BCR was nowhere to be seen.Nevertheless, the tip was correct. Bionic Commando Rearmed is now available, in both full-game and demo form, on the European PlayStation Store. For UK patrons, you can hookshot the game for £6.99, while those of you who deal in Euros (Brodie-san, we're looking at you) will need to part with €9.99. Nice work SCEE. So, have you bought it yet? Why not? Go get![Thanks Wilester]
PSN Thursday: Bionic Commando Rearmed, Street Fighter Alpha
This week's PSN update is just overflowing with machismo. We've got Bionic Commando Rearmed grappling against Hitler Master-D and the world warriors battling it out in Street Fighter Alpha. Just a note of warning, SFA does not support online play -- come to think of it, neither does Bionic Commando Rearmed. It's all old-school offline gaming up in this joint. There's plenty of new videos to check out this week and we're looking forward to seeing what this BioShock PS3 theme looks like. The grimps over at PS3 Fanboy have this week's European update hanging from a thread of silk over in their garden. Check out this week's NA PSN update after the break.
Bionic Commando Rearmed not on Steam tomorrow
Capcom's Christian Svensson informs on the company's site that Bionic Commando Rearmed won't be available tomorrow on Steam. Apparently, Capcom and Valve could not come to agreeable terms at "the last minute," meaning the game will have to be purchased through other outlets. BCR will be available tomorrow on Direct2Drive at 8AM Pacific and on other sites later in the day. Considering Steam has become many people's trusted go-to PC digital distribution source, it appears the group getting hurt most by Capcom and Valve's standoff is the consumer. It's worth pointing out that the game is available now and $5 cheaper on consoles ... just saying. [Thanks, AtomicPlayboy]
