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On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Awesome
Runefox wrote to point out that the boys at Penny Arcade have passed around the first trailer for their upcoming episodic PC game. Kotaku is link/hosting a flash version of the trailer, and a high quality one is on GameTrailers. As Runefox says: "While almost all can agree that the graphics, as they are now, will give small children nightmares, so, too, can most everyone agree that the Fruit F***ker is simply awesome." Earlier this week Gabe put up a post with more information on the game, and owns up to maybe having put out the trailer 'too soon'. "We were worried though that people might think this was going to be a 2D game if that's all they saw. So we decided at the last minute to attach some of the 3D work we've got. It's extremely early and it's missing some effects like cell shading and a few others.In retrospect we probably should have held of showing it but we were excited and we jumped the gun a bit. We still have a lot of work to do in order to really define the look of the game." The best tidbit: You'll be able to make your own PA-style character to fight alongside the boys. Good form.
Doesn't look all that entertaining. Aside from the Penny Arcade fanboyism there doesn't appear to be anything in that game worth buying.
I have known about this game as soon as it was announced, but I still have no idea what platforms it will be available on. Based purely on that lack of info, I would guess that it's only playable on a PC.
Is it just me, or do you hate it when people say "Is it just me..."?
Self-Serving Tripe is GO!
can most everyone agree that the Fruit F***ker is simply awesome.
So awesome, the editors have to add an extra *. And leave out the question mark.
Actually, I rather like the artistic style of the game. The environment seems a mix of Sam'n'Max crossed with Zelda. Cartoony, but well drawn and believable while not trying to push the "realism" button too much (like many games do nowadays).
Of course that says nothing of the gameplay or plot, but I'll keep an eye on this one to see what the reviews say about that.
It's very interesting to see Penny Arcade on the "other side of the fence", so to speak ... on the side of being a game developer, rather than just talking about them. You can definitely see this influencing some of their comments and blogs, for example their recent article on the controversial Denis Dyack / Too Human podcast. Dyack was on the EGM show lambasting one of the writers for calling last year's E3 demo "terrible". While he sounded quite insane and childish at times ("I'm telling you my game is awesome, you just have to believe me!"), he did make some interesting points regarding the state of media/press in the industry, especially when it comes to the notion of previewing really early builds of games.
At first, I was surprised to PA have such a calm response to Dyack's outburst. Other bloggers have said rather unpolite words to Dyack. But it makes sense, particularly because PA was probably in the middle of trying to make a similar decision. Should we show this early trailer of the game, or not? When it's "your baby", it does become quite personal if someone does criticize it really harshly.
-- jchenx
Penny Arcade is for people who don't get Megatokyo.
As Gabe and Tycho are often proponents of the 2d / Oldschool style of gaming, I had hoped their game would be 2d or at least pseudo-2d like Paper Mario. The intro looks great, the 3d stuff just doesn't do it for me at all, and it was a big letdown to see that come on screen. It looks like someone through together Penny-Arcade inspired Quake 3 models. Hopefully the end game will look more like the 2d art we've come to love. That said, I'll reserve judgment until it's finished, and buy it either way because I like what they do (making me laugh Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - and ChildsPlay) and wish to support them.
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You could argue that PA should be able to tell if they do make a bad game, and then decide not to ship it
That said, I give them enormous kudos for going on this venture and wish them the best. But I'm not going to hold them up to the same high standards you guys seem to be. Do I want a game that I have fun with? Sure! But "best adventure game of all time" is a lot to ask for
-- jchenx
Megatokyo is for people who don't get laid.
Best tidbit? I disagree: Mac compatibility is the best tidbit.
Finally, an awesome mac game. That's not WOW.
It's important to keep in mind that Gabe and Tycho (Mike and Jerry) are not actually writing a single line of code for the game. They are helping guide the creation of the game, but they really aren't development studio, and as such, they aren't really developing the title.
They are obviously going to have a good deal of input during the process, but to say "let's see how good a game they can make" is a bit silly.
It would be like saying that J.K. Rowling makes crappy movies if you don't like the Harry Potter series. While she very well may make crappy movies, she really didn't make the Harry Potter movies.
I've been a PA reader and a PVPonline reader for a couple of years now. Kurtz dropped his game references long ago, except for his occasional mentioning of WOW. His characters run a gaming mag - yet they never mention games anymore..(?).
Tycho and Gabe still do a lot of game references - but recently, its been console only.. and I was saddened to se no mentioning of the one most acclaimed PC games of recent time ( winning PC game of the year 2006 at Gamespot and doing exceptionally well in most reviews): Company of Heroes. That game has changed the RTS genre.. and should be reason enough for people to get back in front of their monitors and realize that gaming is not all Zelda, Tekken and Final fantasy.
I felt more intune with the PA crew, back in their Tribes days - but i still admire and respect them. I just wish they're metion some pc games, now and again (other than WOW).
Their gametrailer looks sweet.
- Mad, ingenous - they've both left you puzzled -
And if you'd prefer to play the trailer from mplayer, get the flv here: http://trailers.gametrailers.com/gt_fanmovies/um_1 001887-78768-PAteaserMASTER-1174019034.flv