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DS Daily: Reformulated
We thought we'd do a little thought experiment today. The DS is home to a few games that combine two unrelated genres unexpectedly, to varying results: the (nominally) rhythm-based brawler Draglade, and the puzzle RPG Puzzle Quest, to name two. We'd like you to come up with a design idea for a game combining two divergent genres or styles? How about a real-time strategy game about one-on-one fighting? Or an abstract music-based racing game? No idea is too crazy -- not after Puzzle Quest.
The Daily Grind: Favorite Genre
In the MMO market, the fantasy genre seems to dominate. You've got your World of Warcraft, your EverQuests, your Lord of the Rings Online... but sometimes the same old, same old does get boring -- and we're starting to see more games on the market covering other genres. So, what's your favorite MMO genre? Is it the old standby of fantasy, or do you enjoy your gaming a little less traditional?
The Daily Grind: Pick a genre, any genre
For today's edition of The Daily Grind, we thought we'd ask you what you were looking for in your next big MMO? Are you one of the many for whom fantasy is the universe you want to escape into? Or are you looking for something new? I know many of us were sad to see Perpetual's title Gods and Heroes get shelved, as Historical MMOs are definitely a cool concept. Personally, I have to admit, I'm hoping someone will eventually option someone like Phillip K. Dick or William Gibson and we'll see a strong cyberpunk MMO in the Sci-Fi genre. How about you? If you had your pick of any genre that you'd like to see some new MMOs in, what would you pick? Would you like to be a dark elf, or a civil war soldier? Take the poll, leave your thoughts, and let's see what you all want. What genre do you want to see more MMOs in? Fantasy Horror War Sci-Fi Historical Puzzle Sports Super-hero Real-life Something else you didn't list (comment below please) Free polls from Pollhost.com
Xbox 360 only 17% shooter games (22% of 'good games')
The Xbox 360 has a reputation for being a shooting man's console. If it runs and guns, it must be Xbox 360. Turns out that's not so true, but it took until now for site to lay it all out. FPS Source gave us the numbers and X3F came along with an easy to understand pie chart. Originally taking what FPS Source believed is the console's current 137 title library, they discovered the FPS genre makes up 11% and the Third Person Shooter genre is 6%, with the most common genres being sports and action/adventure titles.Over the last couple days since FPS Source wrote the original piece, some people have become quite passionate on the subject. There's been a few updates, a little give and take, and someone even made a new chart, using scores from Metatcritic, showing that 22% of the good games are shooters. There is also criticism because sports games, like Madden, are just the same thing with a different number every year, so they shouldn't count multiple times. The point is that even with the back and forth, shooters are merely a facet of the Xbox 360's identity. With any luck, games like Blue Dragon, Mass Effect and the beautiful Eternal Sonata (try the demo) will help round out those hard shooter edges that the Xbox still gets pegged with.[Via X3F]
Why the expansion isn't revolutionary (and why it shouldn't be)
Big announcements (at events like BlizzCon) about expansions (like Wrath of the Lich King) always bring up the question of whether the planned updates to the game are any good or not. If it were just a regular patch people might complain about a particular buff or nerf, or lament that they have no chance or desire to see a particular new dungeon, but no one would expect a mere patch to totally revolutionize the MMO genre. Expansions though, for some people, are supposed to be the thing that doesn't just expand the game, but changes the face of the entire gaming world. "More of the same" is just not good enough for them. But as much as I, too, would love to see more innovation in MMO gaming, and even World of Warcraft in particular, I have to tell you, folks, Blizzard is made of mere mortals and some of you may be setting your expectations a bit too high. No WoW expansion can ever totally revolutionize the MMO genre, because at this point the genre is mostly WoW. While there are, of course, other games out there, WoW is the current MMO superpower, with a population larger than some countries of the world -- it defines the standard upon which to improve. To "revolutionize" the genre, you'd need a different, better game, because for WoW to change too drastically would mean turning the game into something other than what it is: replacing the current game with entirely different mechanics, ways of playing, even reasons for playing altogether. Expecting WoW to become something other than what it is unfair, even if that were to be an improvement, because then it wouldn't be WoW anymore. It could also be a financial disaster to keep the name but change the game, as the fiasco with Star Wars Galaxies proved (read up here to find out how their "revolutionary" New Game Enhancements turned out).
DS Daily: Genre talk
So, we gotta ask: what's your favorite genre, if you had to choose? That's a tough one for us; honestly, tastes tend to change day to day and by what's in front of us. We love action and we love puzzles, and sometimes we prefer racing or RPGs. But if you had to pick -- even if you can only narrow it down to two -- what do you think would win out in a battle for your tastes?
DS Daily: Dream fighter
Let's face it: there aren't many decent fighters for the DS. Japan received the superb Jump Superstars, featuring an insanely large cast of everyone's favorite anime characters, but was not seen fit for localization. While DS Fanboy is all about hopes and dreams, we're also about violence; with that in mind, what fictional characters would you like to see slug it out? We eliminate standard Nintendo characters; we already have Smash Bros. for those rivalries. We're talking real pirate vs. ninja stuff here. Suggestions among our staff have included Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea against Nemo from Finding Nemo, and the singer of Bananaphone against Charlie the Unicorn.
DS Daily: Overabundance and dearth
The number of DS games given stateside release is now probably beyond 500 (we'd count up all the entries here but we're too lazy), but as in college campuses around the country, diversity can be a tricky beast. We've seen some great titles across the board, of course, but haven't you felt that the DS was a bit lacking in some areas, while watered down in others?The most obvious absentees are the general JRPG and fighting genres. RPG experiences themselves aren't too difficult to come by, but standard fare (outside of remakes) is a bit harder to find. By and large the best fighting game for the DS, Jump Superstars, has never even been localized. When it comes to puzzle and racing genres, however, we're flooded with low-polish trash. Which genres do you feel are over- or under-represented, and of which would you like to see more?
Telltale Games looking to the Wii
Telltale Games, the studio currently in charge of the Sam n' Max titles, has recently put out a calling for a Wii programmer. Among the very long list of necessary technical experience, the final line includes a requisite love of adventure games. Seriously.So, is SnM coming to the Wii? Rather contrary to their namesake, the company remains tight-lipped. An official forum post by the developer reads: "We haven't made any announcements about why we're hiring a Wii developer and we really really haven't said that we're working on a Sam & Max game for the Wii. If we do such a thing, you guys will be the first to hear about it, surrounded by 800 gigantic trumpets and probably some cherubs or something. But as of right now, you're talking crazy talk."Crazy-talk is the only kind we deal with, people. Our guess? Sardonic canines and whack-job lagomorphs are coming to a Wii near you.
DS Daily: The new book?
The adventure genre peaked in the early to mid 90's. And then it crashed. Hard. As it trudged along through the years, essentially dead but for rare gems like The Longest Journey, it slowly faded from the minds of modern gamers.The point-and-click capabilities of the DS have certainly given the once-zombified genre a much-needed jolt. We've seen excellent offerings, including the superlative Phoenix Wright series, the soon-to-be-released Hotel Dusk: Room 215, Trace Memory, Lost in Blue, and a few others (let's not even mention the ScummVM homebrew project). But the DS gives these games something they could have never had in the nineties: absolute portability. It's almost as though these games compete directly with the classic novel, something which has never really been seen even amongst the myriad of gadgets anyone can go out and readily purchase.Our question is this: how does a DS adventure game compare to that of a classic book? What would you rather whip out on the way to work? Phoenix Wright 2 has had our hearts and minds in a legal grip for days on end. You may not look as smart as those punks reading Vonnegut, but that's okay. You look cooler.
Joystiq interviews Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Q Entertainment
In our final interview from the Develop Conference, Jen and I had a quick chat with Tetsuya Mizuguchi from Q Entertainment (and Rez fame) about the problems western developers face in trying to tackle the Japanese market, Rez 2 (he regrets never making it) and the issue of games that are critically successful, but don't sell so well (Rez again).Earlier on in your career you worked on titles like Sega Rally, Channel 5 and Rez. These are all very different genres and styles of game. What's inspired you to create such varied styles in your games?I don't care about the genre. Somebody once told me that I'm "hopping genres", but I've never really cared about genres. I always think about the human being, the wants that I think people have. Their basic instinct. So my games speak a universal language, so everybody can feel what is fun.
MMORPG's After World of Warcraft
Love it or hate it, WoW has changed the face of the MMO genre. The Escapist considers how things have changed since WoW has taken over. When you have such a successful game, how can in development games break hope to break into the market? There are a lot of up and coming games dealing with exactly this issue. Now, whether the next big MMO will simply be a further refinement of WoW's model or something entirely opposite - only time will tell. But the MMO's of the future can't help but be a response, of some sort, to WoW's huge success.
Apple adds Comedy genre to iTMS, or: why I'm going broke
Apple has sealed my death sentence by adding an all-inclusive Comedy genre to the iTunes Music Store. I call myself a dead man because this top-level genre covers everything from audio and video content to audiobooks from all the big names, and as soon as my fiancé finds out how much I'll be spending in the ITMS from here on out, I fear my days are numbered. Highlighted names and comedians include Lewis Black (a personal fav), the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Chris Rock and the Family Guy Live in Vegas album. Laugh it up boys and girls.[via iLounge]
