Slashdot Mirror

I think, if you look carefully enough, that a number of the articles posted at Slashdot Games aren't from the 'usual' sites, and there's plenty of interesting, alternate views out there.

How about Gamers With Jobs, GamerDad, Insert Credit, DIY Games, Terra Nova, Skotos, Curmudgeon Gamer, and GamesIndustry.biz? That's just off the top of my head.

And, of course the normal response applies - if there are alternate views and intelligent comment that aren't being covered here, then write it up, and send us the link - we'd love to include it.

This is a phase that everyone goes through. Either because of something in your life (often something subtle) or just a batch of mediocre games that temporarily sour your opinion of the entire medium, you stop playing games for awhile. I did the same thing when I was around 17. I stopped playing games for about a year or two straight and missed out on most of the interesting games that were released for the original PlayStation. But it wasn't a part of "growing up", "putting away childish things", or some other moronic platitude that non-gamers would give you. It's just a temporary change in the way you choose to entertain yourself.

This is something that we all do on a regular basis, but we don't really notice it until it strikes a medium that we actually care about. Personally, there was a time when I watched at least a couple of movies on DVD every week, burning through them at about the same rate as most regulars buyers/renters do. But now I haven't watched a movie on DVD in a good three months or so, but I haven't even noticed it. Why? Because I don't visit six or seven movie sites a day, but I do visit Insert Credit, GameSpot, Video Fenky, GAF, The Magic Box, Penny Arcade, and Slashdot Games just about every day. If you're actually posting on this site, then I'm guessing that you have a pretty similar set of sites that you visit.

I'm guessing that you'll pick up something really good in about a year or two and then you'll be addicted again just like the rest of us. But then again, if you really are of the mentality that "games are kids stuff", then maybe you'll deprive yourself of them forever. I really don't see how Metal Gear Solid or Knights of the Old Republic are any more childish than any of the TV shows or movies that I watch, but that's just me. Maybe that's why I really don't see myself abstaining from video games as I grow up any more than I see myself suddenly abstaining from television, movies, or music.

I really don't see a problem with the game reviews I read. Now I know some of you may disagree with their ratings and opinions, but IGN has well-written reviews that cover just about every aspect of the game. A high profile game like Final Fantasy X-2 or Prince of Persia will usually be around 5 pages.

On the other hand, smaller fansites like Insert Credit have reviews that aren't based on the normal categories, but unfortunately the reviews are not timely enough to make the important purchasing decision on release day.

While on the subject, let me just say that print magazines are worthless now that GameFan is gone. EGM has gone downhill quite a bit, and is now trying to be Maxim for gamers.

And thanks for no goddamn Penny Arcade links, it's becoming the goatse.cx of the Games section and people are getting fucking modded up for it.

They make an excellent comparision not only to mass-media coverage of games, but also to most writing from within the industry. Pretty much all of the reviews are long, over a page, but they also get to go much deeper on the reviewer's thoughts about the game, which really gets back to the core of what "reviewing" and "criticism" in the artistic sense is all about - personal opinions and insightful commentary.

Many reviews treat art(in a variety of forms - music and movies get similar treatment to games at times) as a commodity, which means listing positive and negative aspects by a pre-made rubric and then coming up with a grade based on that. That works fine if you're trying to determine which toaster is the best, but some people want, for example, fast action games and other people want slower puzzle or strategy games, regardless of demographic, and so a "fits-all" rubric is clearly flawed from the start.

There are some sites, however, that are treating games as more than just entertainment forms. I feel that Insert Credit is doing a fine job of analyzing games and gaming with a critical eye, as opposed to just writing trash like many of the other game-centric web sites do.

Actually, once I found Insert Credit I stopped visiting any other sites. It's clear from their writing that the contributors love what they're doing, and they're not just pandering to the lowest common denominator. Check out the 'reviews' of F-Zero GX or The Wind Waker to see what I mean.

There are some sites, however, that are treating games as more than just entertainment forms. I feel that Insert Credit is doing a fine job of analyzing games and gaming with a critical eye, as opposed to just writing trash like many of the other game-centric web sites do.

Actually, once I found Insert Credit I stopped visiting any other sites. It's clear from their writing that the contributors love what they're doing, and they're not just pandering to the lowest common denominator. Check out the 'reviews' of F-Zero GX or The Wind Waker to see what I mean.

There are some sites, however, that are treating games as more than just entertainment forms. I feel that Insert Credit is doing a fine job of analyzing games and gaming with a critical eye, as opposed to just writing trash like many of the other game-centric web sites do.

Actually, once I found Insert Credit I stopped visiting any other sites. It's clear from their writing that the contributors love what they're doing, and they're not just pandering to the lowest common denominator. Check out the 'reviews' of F-Zero GX or The Wind Waker to see what I mean.

The new Nokia 7600 Phone, the latest in our line of products that we'll tell you that you love but you'll hate anyway!

At least this product's announcement didn't include as much BLATANT STUPIDITY as previous ones...

P.S. I accidentally smashed the faceplate all to hell on my 5165 two days ago... Any sugggestions as to a good/inexpensive brand/model to go with besides Nokia? Preferably a Gate phone?

(Aside: Anyone who thinks a game can't (or shouldn't) be art needs to take a look at Ico.)

In either case, though, my point still stands.

Initially, the plot seems long winded, trite, and completely nonsensical (and indeed it's supposed to be the latter, at least). However, I might recommend this fine article by Tim Rogers delving into the postmodern nature of the story (I know, artistic discussion on /., what am I thinking). After reading that, play through the game again. I guarantee you'll find it much more enriching and enjoyable. I know the round I played after I read it was the first round in which I didn't find Rose to be a longwinded annoying bitch.

There is little doubt that we are coming closer and closer to a "market correction" (and not just in the US, see the "What's Wrong with the Japanese Gaming Industry" series at tokyopia.com). The hows, whens, and whats of the issue, however, are really rather hard to predict. There are a few developments I predict for the future of the "gaming industry", which may or may not directly result from said market correction:

1) Shorter games at cheaper prices - This has already been brought up several times, but I think this will be one of the major themes in the future. If gamers truly are searching for "cinematic experiences", then why do many modern games promising to deliver on this account run 40 hours, when the average movie runs around 2? Shorter games will be the perfect forum for testing the new ways of telling stories that have yet to be developed (and which will most likely be pioneered from smaller and/or open-source independent development houses).

2) A resurgence of older games - Say a big industry powerhouse suddenly finds itself publishing games for a market that is no longer investing in the big-budget rehashes that said powerhouse has been investing, well, big-budgets in. It won't take too many $20 million dollar investments to flop before the company starts hemmorhaging. The answer? Tapping into the incredible backlogs of intellectual property that the company has at its fingertips, possibly stretching all the way back to the 8th bit generation. What better way to recoup on failed development investments than by re-releasing older products with little development investment required? This would mean that we finally see legal emulators released on new-generation consoles (what a major coup for Nintendo, if they were to suddenly to gain a huge chunk of Sony's marketshare simply by releasing an official SNES emulator and working with developers to ensure quality re-releases!)

3) Gaming will find its Voice - Maybe not directly related to the Crash, one development that is certain will be a rising interest in looking at video games from an "academic" perspective. Institutions such as the IGDA and publications such as Game Studies are heralding a new age of vdeo gaming discussion, criticism, and theory. And as we well know there have been several calls-to-arms among the video game journalism crowd (which the quality members of will also help to fuel the desire among gamers to get their hands on some of the older games through their nostalgic advocacy of previous classics). It is only a matter of time before a common language for game theory is developed. After that, the sky won't even be a limit!

4. Innovation based on older technologies - If you were thinking this category is just an excuse to throw out some links to Tenebrae screenshots, well, you were right (and stop reading my mind already!). Do yourself a favor and feast your eyes on some of these (Tenebrae) and these (Tenebrae2). These engines are based off the GPL'ed Quake 1 source, people! I mean, OMFG! T2 could be on par with Doom3 (in terms of capability, if not performance...yet), and it is _open-source_! Under the _GPL_! Which means it can only keep getting better! Alright, I better stop here or else I'll exceed my quota of exclamation points...

5) Convergence of Media - Check out this excellent article from gamesindustry.biz that contains speculations about Sony's long-term plans. Better believe the PSP will be my "Walkman" once it's released!

Okay, I think that is all I have to say for the moment. I am very excited fo

IGN: You've told us once that you think the sight of a frightened girl is one of the most beautiful images. Can you elaborate on this?

I'd be happy to. After all, how else can you explain people's obsession with a petrified, hot-grits covered Natalie Portman?

With that said: in my opinion, the only thing worth reading in the entire lot of it was WARNING SIGNS THAT YOU ARE A BAD VIDEO GAME JOURNALIST , the majority of which is applicable to most forms of journalism.

Most of the remaining ten sections can be summed up in the following way:

• Games are cool.
• No, I don't mean, "way cool, dude." I mean, they're art, okay? And screw anyone who doesn't get that.
• I am a very important person and you should care about what I have to say.
• I have had sex.

And really, that's about it. When I read Tim Rodgers claiming that the line "For many years, there was a hole deep in my body. I tried to fill it, with booze, and countless women. Then, along came Final Fantasy III," was the one that opened his eyes to the possibilities of game journalism, I wanted to vomit. Any real jouranlist will tell you that making yourself the story isn't precisely the object, and to do so in such a pretentious way is to show a lack of respect for your readers, who don't give a rat's ass how many women you (claim to have) banged.

Tycho wrote a segment of this article in his usual lucid manner. They probably should have linked to that one first if they didn't want everyone to hurl and go no further.

Tycho's Entry

I know I'm going to be modded down for this, but it's gotta be said; the author of both articles is very full of himself, prefering to talk about "enlightened" gaming and how games were so much better "back when *I* was a kid," and yet barely discusses the subject matter at hand, good game endings. The first article is particularly bad about this. The author discusses the so-called glory days of games and moans about how modern games don't hold a candle to the good ol' games of yor, without justifying his opinion in the slightest. (His comments about games "winding down" nearly drove me up a wall.)
The second article is just plain BAD! It's like jumping into the middle of a dialog where you don't know what is being discussed. There's at least two voices in each part, and neither goes into any detail about the mentioned game. I've played some of these games and I was still confused.

I know I'm going to be modded down for this, but it's gotta be said; the author of both articles is very full of himself, prefering to talk about "enlightened" gaming and how games were so much better "back when *I* was a kid," and yet barely discusses the subject matter at hand, good game endings. The first article is particularly bad about this. The author discusses the so-called glory days of games and moans about how modern games don't hold a candle to the good ol' games of yor, without justifying his opinion in the slightest. (His comments about games "winding down" nearly drove me up a wall.)
The second article is just plain BAD! It's like jumping into the middle of a dialog where you don't know what is being discussed. There's at least two voices in each part, and neither goes into any detail about the mentioned game. I've played some of these games and I was still confused.

Hey, now, it's a console game site.

. . . Well, mostly. It's mostly console-centric. There's one little piece of an article about Neverwinter Nights back from January, and that's about it. Other than that, the author prefers to keep PC games to himself.

The name of the site is "insert credit," which implies something of an arcade/console concentration. Few PC games require the insertion of a credit, unless you're talking about Everquest or Magic: The Gathering Online, and the "credit" in those cases is hardly the same thing as an arcade credit.

The author -- really, he's a nice guy, really -- most likely has played most of the PC games you mention, and would have mentioned them had he, in the beginning, been at all concerned with putting PC games in his list. He was apparently not so concerned, however, and only wrote about console games. In truth, however, the author does indeed love PC games, and he loves them enough to refer to them as "PC Games" rather than "PC Videogames" or -- for shame -- to lump them in with "videogames." This is not segregation on his part; if you'd like, consider it the same level of affection a father shows his favorite son when he gives him the larger bedroom.

In fact, the author is, right now, mildly distracted from his Neverwinter Nights by Slashdot Games and emails from people about Slashdot Games, so he'll get back to his module now.

Yeah, and "Konnichiwa" translates directly as "HOW ARE YOU GENTLMEN!!"

I believe there's a, uh, another article also relating to Akihabara and/or gaming experience stuff on the same site, in which the guy talks about the best game store in world being in Shiki, Saitama.

Shiki ROM HOUSE, for my money, is the best videogame store in the world. I used to like Kami-Fukuoka's ROM HOUSE better. These days, I hang out in the Shiki location about four hours a day, so I'm starting to like it better.

There's some odd videos involving Mario-statue-fondling and a special appearance from Penny Arcade on page three.

Hmm.

Yeah, and "Konnichiwa" translates directly as "HOW ARE YOU GENTLMEN!!"

I believe there's a, uh, another article also relating to Akihabara and/or gaming experience stuff on the same site, in which the guy talks about the best game store in world being in Shiki, Saitama.

Shiki ROM HOUSE, for my money, is the best videogame store in the world. I used to like Kami-Fukuoka's ROM HOUSE better. These days, I hang out in the Shiki location about four hours a day, so I'm starting to like it better.

There's some odd videos involving Mario-statue-fondling and a special appearance from Penny Arcade on page three.

Hmm.

The GP32 doesn't have a rechargeable battery, DOES NOT HAVE A INTERNAL LIGHT, is much larger than the GBA SP, doesn't play GBA games, and costs at least $150.

So why exactly is this so great?? It's designed to be a portable gaming unit, and there's already a better/cheaper/BRIGHTER portable gaming unit, so why did /. even bother covering the GP32?

If you want to cover something, cover this: new GPi

It's the new GP32, adding:
--16 Megs of internal memory
--operates on Linux OS: Kernel 2.4
--web browser
--multimedia player (including Divx)
--text viewer/editor program (aka word processor)
--built in Li+ rechargeable battery
--INTERNAL LIGHT

That's what slashdot should be covering, the GP32 is about 2 years too late.

The GP32 can't even been seen as an issue due to its pure lack of power. While it has a higher MHZ rating it doesn't have any special hardware to deal with sprite effects, background effects and more...

With a much more powerful processor and 8MB of RAM, GP32 can emulate GBA's hardware effects in software. I've owned a GP32 for about half a year, and a GBA since launch date. Many GP32 games meet and exceed GBA graphics, such as Astonishia Story R.

Plus, a GBA emulator for GP32 is in the works. TONS of other systems, including NES, GameGear/Sega Master System, and SNES are already emulated well on GP32. Despite all this, however, the one thing really keeping GP32 back from direct competition is Nintendo's stranglehold on the handheld industry and the Game Boy's huge library of games.

For more information about GP32, check out my old handheld site, InsertCredit, and GP32news.com.

When GP32 came out, people accused it of being too similar in design to Game Boy Advance.

Now, it looks like Nintendo has decided to borrow Gamepark's design for the GPi , a notebook-style GP32 device (not yet released) that has a touchscreen, built-in mobile phone, and runs Linux.

See for yourself:
-- GBA SP
-- GPi

Another interesting thing about this is that both devices are updates to existing platforms: GBA SP from GBA, GPi from GP32. Perhaps Nintendo sensed a potential threat from Gamepark and decided to become more competitive?

When GP32 came out, people accused it of being too similar in design to Game Boy Advance.

Now, it looks like Nintendo has decided to borrow Gamepark's design for the GPi , a notebook-style GP32 device (not yet released) that has a touchscreen, built-in mobile phone, and runs Linux.

See for yourself:
-- GBA SP
-- GPi

Another interesting thing about this is that both devices are updates to existing platforms: GBA SP from GBA, GPi from GP32. Perhaps Nintendo sensed a potential threat from Gamepark and decided to become more competitive?

Well maybe you should have a look at this It's not a GBA it's a GPi, a GP32 (korean handheld by Gamepark) merged with a cellphone. It uses Linux 2.4 kernel, can run GP32 games/utilities and homemade software (including stuff like ScummVM), play divx and mp3s, connect to the internet, etc etc The only drawback is that it hasn't been released yet, at least to my knowledge.