jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012
  Admin

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2761 Posts

Pulp Fiction In 8-Bit
If you have seen the Pulp Fiction film I recommend you watch the video above. Fun to see how the game might play out on the NES. I particularly liked how it went to a Dance, Dance Revolution type game with the club dancing scene. My only quip with the video is that Dick Dale's "Misirlou" doesn't really translate well to 8-bit.

Steam Controller Drops the Touchscreen For Physical Buttons
http://i.imgur.com/JNQoJBf.jpg
According a few developer attendees at Valve's Developer Days Conference the new Steam Controller is dropping the touch screen in favor of physical buttons. From the image it looks like a standard D-pad layout and ABXY layout.

I know touch is the new craze but the physical buttons seem like a good move. What do you think, do you like the new buttons or would you prefer a touchscreen?

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/15/steam-controller-changes/

**addition**

Looks like Steam Machines will also support up to 16 controllers. Too bad, I was looking forward to 32 player game parties. Oh well.

http://venturebeat.com/2014/01/15/steam-controllers-support-16-simultaneous-connections-for-multipalyer-gaming/

Broken Age Part 1 Drops Early For Double Fine Backers
If you were a backer of the Double Fine Adventure or took part in a Double Fine Bundle that helped fund Broken Age, today you received your early access key. Double Fine has also released two trailers showing off the main characters from Broken Age. Broken Age intertwines these characters story and I can't wait to play the game and see how well they pull it off.

You should also watch Vela's trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuCErygUS_g&feature=share&list=UUQMxCuhm25CUS9MZKjZ2ihQ

Double Fine will release the concluding chapter of Broken Age later this year for everyone that purchases the game. Like all other Double Fine games, Broken Age is available on Mac, Windows and Linux.

Cowboys Vs Monsters: An Upcoming RTS Set in the Old West
Cowboys Vs Monsters is a really cool looking Indie RTS featuring... Cowboys. Still early in development, the game shows a ton of promise and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Not a ton of details have been released about the game so far, but from the video shown it looks very reminiscent of the Command and Conquer Red Alert with... Cowboys.

I am sure we can all expect a PC release and from the development blog it looks like it is running on an Android tablet as well. Wish them well and hope this game is playable in some form in 2014!

http://cowboysvsmonsters.tumblr.com/

Game/Show: Why Hasn't There Been Another Minecraft?
"We all know that Minecraft is huge! The overwhelming success of Minecraft undoubtedly surprised a lot of people given it's lo-fi graphics, fully open environment, and goal-less play. Yet, it has sold 33 million copies, and it's not just individual players who love it: it's in schools, and even the UN! The game's distinct qualities have made it a massive hit and critical darling, so you'd think it would have spawned tons of imitators. But it hasn't and we wondered why? Maybe the reason is that Minecraft isn't just a new game, but an actual paradigm-shifting invention!! Is this the case?"

As always a great video from Game/Show to start off 2014, that said I take a few points with it. First off Jamin doesn't seem to note Terraria, Starbound or Don't Starve as games that have come out post Minecraft. They also doesn't note games like Minetest that look to completely re-create Minecraft as free software.

If you look at the amount of games that have come after Minecraft, there is a clear trend to many of the elements that make Minecraft what it is. Survival and monsters coming out a night is being covered by Rust, Fortnite and Don't Starve. There are few new games where crafting and mining are the focus such as Starbound, Everquest Next and Steamworld Dig.

I sort of disagree with Jamin on this video as Minecraft has spawned many "Minecrafty" games as well as influenced other games core mechanics. Maybe none of them are as financially successful as Mojang's classic, but the genre is firmly established.

Steam Developer Days Posts Conference Schedule
http://media.steampowered.com/img/SDD/agenda_grid_2.png
After reading the Steam Developer Days agenda my desire to go to the event rose considerably. I hope the video from the talks is posted online because I would love to watch them all.

I do know of someone who is attending and I plan on talking with them about it. So I have that going for me, which is nice.

http://media.steampowered.com/img/SDD/agenda_grid_2.png

RetroLiberty & Traci Hines Review The SNES Classic Hook
Over the last year I have been enjoying watching the videos by YouTube sensation RetroLibery. Found his latest journey though the classic Super Nintendo game Hook to be particularly fun. Hook isn't a game I played much as lad but after watching this I wish I had. Not many video games made from film are good but a few on the Super Nintendo were. I particularly enjoyed Super Star Wars and always wanted to try Jurassic Park but heard it wasn't great.

That said RetroLibery's Hook review contains a mini-review of the film too so it's like a double rainbow neat. Drop a comment below with your thoughts on the Hook game or the film.

GOG.com Looks Back at 5 Years of DRM Free Games
"As a new year begins, and with 5 very successful years in the digital gaming market, GOG.com takes a look at its past."

I dig GOG's style as a company and wish them a happy 5 more years. It's a really easy site to navigate and when you find the game you want to buy, it's available DRM free. Many GOG.com titles come with digital art, game book PDF's and the game score which makes buying from GOG special. One of the reasons I picked up the Neverwinter Nights collection from GOG was to finally have Jeremy Soule's amazing score in my collection as I couldn't find it from any other source.

Valve Shows Off Steam Machines at CES
http://i.imgur.com/4egza7M.jpg
"Alienware and Valve, the developers of the world's largest online gaming platform and the creators of the Half-Life franchise, have been collaborating on designing the first dedicated Alienware Steam Machine gaming console."

Valve is showing off the Steam Machines that will release in 2014 right now at CES. As it turns out, Alienware is one such brand to enter the Steam Machine mix and I am really happy about this. Dell's Alienware might be a bit on the expensive end but it provides a pretty great value for your gaming dollar. Alienware has said it's Steam Machine will feature an Intel CPU and Nvida chip but not much more as they plan to talk more about it in detail at PAX East.

The other companies that will be building Steam Machines are iBuyPower, Falcon Northwest, Materiel.net, Alternate, Next, CyberPowerPC, Origin, Digital Storm, Scan Computers, Webhallen, Gigabyte, and Zotac. With prices ranging from $499 to $6000 it seems like we will have a pretty nice range of choices. I can't imagine wanting to spend a ton on a Steam Machine but after the market settles out I bet the prices won't stay high.

I encourage you to check out the photos The Verge has of some of the Steam Machine boxes as they really all do bring something different with each design.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/6/5282122/valve-13-steam-machine-partners

http://www.gamespot.com/videos/a-look-at-the-alienware-steambox/2300-6416734/ ( gamespot has a really great video of the new Alienware machine )

http://www.joystiq.com/2014/01/06/alienware-announces-valve-partnership-steam-machines/

Steam Machines are coming but one critical thing is the games. Currently Steam on Linux has a few hundred games but Valve has been working with publishers to port more games. They said they will unveil that sometime after Valve Developer Days.

**edit**

Valve just released a press release about new Steam Machine partnerships and CES as well as a PDF listing Steam Machine specs and prices.

http://store.steampowered.com/news/12175/?snr=1_550_552
http://media.steampowered.com/store/steammachines/SteamMachinesBroc_WEB.PDF

An Upcoming Zelda Game on the Wii U: Hyrule Warriors
Nintendo dropped a new trailer for the upcoming Zelda game Hyrule Warriors recently. Not a lot is known about the game but we can glean a few things from the video. First off it looks like you can swing your sword at bad guys. Secondly, it looks like you can attack many bad guys at once.

Seriously though, the game play does look great and I imagine because of the increased horse power of the Wii U they can make a Zelda game with a ton more enemies on the screen.

What do you think of Hyrule Warriors? With every new game it seems the reason to pickup a Wii U is more compelling as Nintendo is really hitting a segment of gaming that is very unique and interesting.