Anyway:
Sorry for the lack of posts this week- things have been very, very hectic. Tons of design needs + lots going on at home (trip to LA, my oldest going to Kindergarden for the first time and trying to come up with a good, functional schedule with that in mind, reading legal documents that put me to sleep, trying to get a level of the ultra fantastic Bangai*O spirits made for the contest but missed the deadline,etc,etc,etc...)...So I've been bizzy. Will try to get a video update today or tomorrow.
Meantime, saw on Neo-Gaf that Snowblind Studios was making this XBLA game called DEATH TANK and went to the SBS webpage to see if there were screens. There were not but there was this:
Not sure what it's from- concept art from a new game? From an old game? I dunno.
I have appreciated alot/all of the Snowblind games in the past, respected the top down 'Gauntlet meets D&D rule set' titles they did (I get the whole SOE/Snowblind Norrath/Chapions thing all confused...are they the same?!?)...and wait, didn't they do the Balduer's Gate action game too?!?! So confused.
Either way, I appreciated them, but never got into them all that much. Perhaps I should give them a second chance, but I got bored real fast walking into Inns and being told to go kill some rats in a basement. I get that that is the genre and D&D folks are used to starting slow and building up, but for me, that is just too dull.
But again, I thought they seemed like very, very well made games and I know they have their legion of fans.
But so I saw this image and, like I said, I don't know if it's from a new or old game. But MAN I see this and go: I SO WANNA PLAY THAT GAME!!! I so wanna play a D&D flavored multiplayer game with 4-8 people in my party and be sent on intricately designed quests that call for platforming, puzzle solving, and combat.
Not a big WOW guy cause- hell, I dunno why...but I'm not so much about the level grind. The whole fascination with/addiction of leveling up a character is missing from my DNA. Never got swept up in Diablo fever or WOW fever for that very reason. And it seems so many RPGs are about that kind of stuff. But I want an RPG that puts most of the focus on living the fantasy promised in the amazing concept art: the traps and puzzles and monsters and amazing locations to explore. To me, that = RPG...not spending 10 hours trying to find the purple cloak of doom to show off to my friends. I mean, that has its place, but it's not the stuff that gets me jazzed about D&D style worlds.
Anyway, so there is one more useless tidbit you get to know about me. :)
Oh, and I played THE LAST GUY demo last nite- that's pretty darn cool. Not sure if the full game will keep me interested that long but I do like it. I'll wait for more reviews (I saw the 9.0 IGN one!) and see if it's my cup of tea. It's actually kind of useful being an independent developer making a lot less money now than I did at Sony. I ain't eating mac and cheese and ramen every nite (not that I would mind, I LOVE those things!) BUT money is MUCH tighter now that I ain't a Sony man anymore. No complaints, and it's actually kind of cool because suddenly I look at 10 bucks for a game in a new light. To me it used to be: ah,10 bucks, whatever...10 bucks for 45 min of fun=good deal.
But now? I mean, yeah, I got SOME cash to burn, and it's not like us Eat Sleep Play folks are little Dicken's characters pressed up against the window of the inn and begging for scraps. But these days I am more aware of what I spend and 10 bucks for that game- at the moment- seems kind of high. Not that I don't like the demo- thought it was great! But seems like it'll get kind of samey after about 20 minutes. Am I wrong?
But isn't that amazing? Back when we put out Calling All Cars I had a totally different take on it. So I am very appreciative of this new perspective. Maybe it will make me a better designer!
Ok, so I really gotta get back to level design. So lemme update a bit later today or tomorrow, catch up with ya'll, cool?
Hope all is well with everyone!
David
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16 comments:
The quote is from "Beverly Hills Cop 2" when Axel is in the bar with Rosewood and Taggart (passing as "Gerald Ford"). Axel Asks for a coke and he gets charged 7 or 10 dollars.
I watch too much TV
$10 bucks is $10 bucks...that's not what hurts. It's the $60 games that kill your wallet. Triple A titles are expensive I realize that, but when you live paycheck to paycheck like most of us do, you really have to pick and choose. I really want Drake's Fortune AND Ratchet & Clank:TOD, but I can't afford both. Whichever one I choose I lose out on the other. Sad it has to be that way.
I don't think you're wrong about "The Last Guy" - I was just telling a friend exactly the exact same thing the other night. Evacuating a city is a pretty cool concept, and the game had my attention for about 10 minutes, but the way it was executed just couldn't keep me interested for very long. The core mechanic of setting up a line of evacuees just doesn't do it for me, because I don't FEEL like I'm evacuating a city. Of course one can never fully tell with a demo, because they might take the game in a different direction past the first level, but I'm not going to spend $10 to find out and possibly be disappointed.
Jaffe, can I be your editor? :)
"10 DOLLARS?!? I *GET* CAN GET BLOWN FOR 10 DOLLARS!"
Honestly Jaffe, if I could find the PSN cards, I would buy a $10 card and email it to you so you can get this game.
I've played this demo like 50 times literally and I went and dropped another $10 on my Wallet to pick it up when I get home. (Already had money set aside for Warhawk expansion.)
This game has great potential to be a DLC giant. Adding new cities for a few bucks every few months will be awesome! I actually enjoy the music. lol As quirky as it is, I love it. I'd like Trophies, but I'm a Trophies whore. I admit it...
LOL @ "not spending 10 hours trying to find the purple cloak of doom to show off to my friends."
Last Guy demo... I will probably buy this game if it's $10. Why -- it's not more of the same. It's something different with a throwback to old school gaming. I really enjoyed the game. PSN has some very unique downloads, this title dovetails nicely with that.
Will we see any Twisted Metal PS3 at PAX? I was looking for it at the GC and E3 before that. :P
I'm still kinda on the fence on the last guy...love the music and the old Pac man vibe I'm getting from it but it seems to be little high priced to me. Feels more like a $5-7 dollar game. I'll probably still get it though.
Downloadable games truly are a revelation this generation. Frankly I'm not overly impressed with what's going on with XBLA, but Sony's approach with titles like FlOw, Flower, the PixelJunk series, and then larger titles like Warhawk and Siren has blown me away.
I'd also like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed CAC, best multiplayer fun I've had since the days of playing multiplayer with my bro in Mario's 1v1 mode. I know you've talked about rethinking the wrapper for that game because you think it served the wrong audience, but I thought it had plenty of character and stood out.
PS. If you play Baldur's Gate again, try doing so with a friend, it's a heck of a lot more fun, I could never get through a game like that without someone to fight over loot drops with.
Cool art cover.
Anyway, I wanted to fully prove that ESP is designing a new Twisted Metal game. Here is a quote right before Head-On for the PS2 came out. It was during an interview with Jaffe, Scott Campell, and some Gamepro guy.
"Listen, if you want to know what our next game is, it's absolutely revealed if you have a sharp eye in Twisted Metal Head On: Extreme Edition. It's hidden really, really, really well. And just because it's hidden in Twisted Metal doesn't mean it has anything to do with Twisted Metal. That's why it's so well hidden. It's a really cryptic riddle we put in there."
And here's the link to read other shit regarding the game.
http://www.gamepro.com/ctl/legacy/index.cfm?family=news&genus=news&extra_1=article_id=157068
Anyway, Scott and Jaffe re honest guys. I highly doubt that it's a lie. But Jaffe cannot confirm this, or even reply to this because it's way too early. I just thought I should share that. And don't get your hopes down if you think there isn't going to be a new TM. Regarding from his last video response.
Ohh man I loved those D&D dungeon crawler games on the PS2. My brother and I sat down and played through Dark Alliance in one weekend.
I actually interviewed at Snowblind to work on one of their last PS2 games quite a few years back, Champions of Norrath I think. Pretty small company then, can't imagine them being too much bigger now.
That image is pretty cool though.
"But these days I am more aware of what I spend and 10 bucks for that game- at the moment- seems kind of high" That's one hundred percent how I Felt about Calling all Cars. To short a game with not enuff upgrades and only five places to fight. Not worth Ten bucks.
I dont like D&D Games.
They are to much oldschool for me.
I like Rpgs like Gothic,morrowind and witcher.
Greetings to jaffe and all god of war fans,
robin from switzerland:)
I love Calling All Cars. A game that the wife and I can play together, competitively, and still have lots of fun instead of one of us getting frustrated and abandoning it. Totally worth $10.
The Last Guy ... well, I bought it yesterday but was too busy playing the incredible Warhawk updates to play it. Jetpacks are so fucking sweet -- and if you're low to the ground it's like some speedy Armored Core action. Rad.
In the end, the only justification for a game's price is whether or not you had fun. If you had fun, then it was worth the money. If you didn't have fun, then you got ripped off.
Didn't read this post yet but I thought you might wanna know that Devil May Cry creator is paying really close attention to God of War.
man, i love that idea of a team game where platforming and puzzle solving is involved, (and combat too!)..
i mean, i picture it being like GOW, where all your friends are playing along, all working together to solve puzzles and take down epic bosses.
now, it wouldn't have to be MUCH like GOW, just similar in the way the character runs, jumps, and moves, the way the game feels.
anyways, The Last Guy is a BLAST, but i too felt as though after a few hours, the game would probably lose its charm. i mean, it is kind of the one same game mechanic over and over, isn't it? the difference being that there are different monsters, and different powerups, etc.
the coolest thing is that its all ACTUAL aerial photography of cities! it almost feels like we're playing the game on google maps! only, more crisper images, and man, i have to admit the music is pretty catchy.
i might buy the game. if only just to see San Fran, or something. i wish they'd do my city. :p
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