LOL

image via siliconera

LOL by the makers of Chibi Robo, forces YOU to make the game. multiplayer ONLY

The Graveyard by Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn

image from IndieGames.com

"The Graveyard is a very short computer game designed by Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn. You play an old lady who visits a graveyard. You walk around, sit on a bench and listen to a song. It's more like an explorable painting than an actual game. An experiment with realtime poetry, with storytelling without words."

rachel said - "nice sound."

Download the Trial version of The Graveyard.
Mac or PC

The question marks wild and with disdain. A post on selectbutton.

"I'm having a discussion about game design with some other guys, and we eventually ended up having a conflicting definition of "game".

They say that a game needs to have a challenge and a goal to be a game. I on the other hand think that interaction is enough to make it a video game.

The main things that need to be discussed are:

Challenge: Does the game have to make the player show some skill in order to complete it to be a game? A game that makes it impossible to not reach the goal, is not a game? What if I play a shoot 'em up with unlimited lifes and don't care about high score? Am I not playing a game? What if I play a puzzle game, but I always use a walkthrough when I get stuck. Am I not playing a game? What about games that just let you continue even if you fail? Not games? An RPG where you can't lose battles is not a game?

Goal: Does the game need a goal to be a game? A game where you can do lots of stuff, but doesn't really have any way to complete it is not a game? MMORPGs are not games? How is a goal defined at all? What about message games that have as a goal to tell the player about that message, are they not real games?

Player's making a game a game: What if the game does neither offers a challenge or a goal, but the player can make it himself a challenge or a goal (like in MMORPGs)? Does this not count? The people I discussed it with are claiming "If the game offers to cheat, everyone will do so." and also "If you have to create the challenge yourself, it's not a challenging game and thus not a game because it lacks the challenge aspect."

Fun: Does a game need to have the goal to be fun to a player to be a game? What about message games again? Can you consider it fun to get the message of a game designer via some interactivity? I mean Passage is not really fun to play or is it? But it's a game, right? On the other hand I think most games are worthless if they are not fun, but they are still games, aren't they?

Interactivity: Does interactivity define a game? Obviously anything that's not interactive can't really be a game... if they'd remove the battles in The Bouncer it would probably be considered a movie even if it was for PS2, right? But taking a look at it the other way around, if something is interactive, is it automatically a game? What about some kind of interactive movie where you can decide how it continues, is that a game? Is it only a game if you need to decide in a limited amount of time (thus adding challenge)?

What about games where you only "fly around" in an imaginary world and explore it. You can interact with its objects, but there's no goal and you can't die. It's only about exploration. Is that not a game? Is that only a game for 5 year olds and younger?"

Responses to This Person's Query or Whatever

5 Days a Stranger

5 Days a Stranger reminds me of this Onion review for The Shivah. 5DaS however was not reported on by The Onion.

Exploding With Energy Invincible Bangai-Oh!

Apparently there is Treasure's new Bangai-Oh! for Nintendo DS whereupon one can save level edited things as mp3's which output to your computer through the headphone jack and add new levels in through the ds microphone, musically

as was said by somebody "not even the total inadequacy of nintendo hardware can hold treasure's genius back"

Lost Odyssey

The primary focus is this video:



Characters designed by Takehiko Inoue (the comic Vagabond)

Music by Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy)

Scenario by Hironobu Sakaguchi (Creator of Final Fantasy)

Story by Kiyoshi Shigematsu, author of novels that get turned into movies with movie posters like this:

So, Hironobu Sakaguchi says, "So, Kiyoshi Shigematsu is a very famous writer in Japan, and writes short stories that have special human touch elements in them. And those are the things we haven't seen in games, and those elements haven't really fit into games, but I wanted to put that kind of element into the storyline."

"The reason I've used Kiyoshi Shigematsu as part of this project is because we don't see enough emotion in videogames yet. Whether to do with family, or some other emotional elements - something that bring tears to your eyes. The main element in these games is often fighting or whatever, but I want these emotional elements. I think the main character, who has been living for a thousand years and can't die - he has a thousand years of memories"

This text I found somewhere. "The upcoming plot-heavy RPG will feature several "1000 Year Dream" sequences, 34 to be precise, each designed to flesh out the narrative penned by Japanese author Kiyoshi Shigematsu; and each told not through cut scenes, but rather with text, taking upwards of 5 to 10 minutes to read."

video game box art

I just thought that was a neat box 1992.



And the following are drawings of "March Bear" by Rodney Alan Greenblat; a titular character for Masaya Matsuura's grand follow up to Parappa the Rapper -Major Minor's Majestic March- for Wii.

Interactive Media : Saturday, January 26

Shin Bokura no Taiyo 3 (Boktai 3) - unreleased

The only somewhat unfinished English Patch can be found here.


Advance Wars 4 - Days of Ruin 2008
End war.

Interactive Media : Wordjong

Now I can play this instead of Scrabble to act like I have an obsession. Wordjong might just supersede Tetris as the legendary "Nintendo DS multiplayer puzzle game". The NY Times called it a sleeper hit of 2007. Plus it's got the wifi.

Showcase : Audiosurf

mp3's are translated into a "3-dimensional" track which you can then "surf".

Audiosurf BETA Download is free, PC only.

Pocket Physics

Pocket Physics is a reduced version of Crayon Physics for DS minus any "game" elements. It seems to be purely about physics/drawing/animation experimentation.

Here is a video of the creator of the original Crayon Physics, playing Crayon Physics



Both are freeware.

Crayon Physics Deluxe

Pocket Physics

Download Crayon Physics Prototype (PC Only)

most interactive 2007

Persona 3


Half Life 2 Episode 1+2


Portal


Resident Evil 4


Sam n Max Episode 1


Kororinpa


F-Zero X


Super Mario Land 2


Little Samson


Global Defense Force


Elite Beat Agents + Ouendan 2


DsOrganize


JDS Project


self check outs


Samantha Field's curtain installation/light interplay at de Cordova


- not on the list -

oblivion
bioshock
super mario galaxy
legend of zelda - phantom hourglass
phoenix wright 3
etrian odyssey
psychonauts
metroid prime 3 - american bullshit.
sam n max episode 2
IKEA's online store


- honorable mention -

Well. It is still 2007 and I forgot a few.


Famicom Detective Club 2 (the above image is from the original Famicom Tantei Club for NES, which has never been translated)


Suddenly, I am totally into Super Mario Galaxy.


Fire 'n Ice. I recently found this little gem for the original Nintendo system.


Shining Force Gaiden - Sword of Hajiya for Game Gear

Music

The music for Super Mario Galaxy is full on classical/orchestral in parts. Pairing a jaunty classical piece with the Mushroom Kingdom is something. Don't you think?

Looking Forward to Art

-Wynne Greenwood's Tracy + The Plastics Culture for Pigeon DVD/LP combination I ordered from Japan. I think you are meant to play the record in time with the dvd?



-Lightgun games on Wii with Rachel (2 Player).
Ghost Squad and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles

Yosumin DS + NEVES

Yosumin DS 2007 - Square Enix puzzler, played this until I fell asleep last night.


Neves 2007 - Seven backwards. nice and unassuming, literally a puzzle. I play this waiting for videos to render at school.

WiFi

See that WiFi symbol in the upper right corner?

It would be nice if you would battle me sometime.

Wii