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.

2717 Posts

Shredder’s Revenge Behind The Scenes with Tribute Games
DotEmu & Tribute Games released a three part behind the scenes documentary about their upcoming brawler Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. The first doc video talks about how they came to make the game and approach it from a design perspective, part two focuses on game design and part three is the art of the game.

It’s a great behind the scenes look at the game and each part isn’t too long. I found myself wanting a bit more which is all good as the game launches tomorrow. I imagine I’ll write my thoughts on some point after I play it so check back for my early thoughts. So far the game seems to be getting nearly universal acclaim, which is an awesome thing to hear.

Behind the scenes #2: The Shell-design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ociR5tj-z4Y

Behind the scenes #3: The Art of the Turtles : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVNuNSiKTj8

The XBox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022
Clocking in at over 90 minutes the XBox & Bethesda Games Showcase was jam packed with gaming goodness. The standout announcements were more information about Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Overwatch 2 (now Free to Play and launches in October), Ark 2, Minecraft Legends, Diablo IV (launching in 2023), Flight Simulator free Halo update & Starfield.

It was a really fun event to watch but there were almost too many games to process and by the end some games ran together in my mind too much. That said, I am excited about a few games and we got a few news bits that were new.

Diablo IV Necromancer Diablo IV showed it final character in the Necromancer. So far no characters in Diablo IV are original and that's disappointing. I'm not saying the characters we are getting won't be incredibly fun but it would have been nice to get some new class in Diablo. Say what you will about Diablo III but it introduced a few new characters at launch and it's expansion. We also got a 2023 launch year for Diablo IV which is exciting.

Minecraft Legends There isn't much more information available about Minecraft Legends except whats in the trailer. That said, the official website has this information about the game.

"Discover the mysteries of Minecraft Legends, a new action strategy game. Lead your allies in heroic battles to defend the Overworld from the destructive piglins."

Minecraft strategy game? I'm totally in.

Starfield Possibly the most anticipated game in the upcoming XBox release lineup, Starfield dropped a ton of gameplay and information. While not trying to be dismissive, Starfield seems like the best story aspects of Fallout and Skyrim and are adding an entirely new space flight and dogfighting system along with the ability to travel to and explore over 1,000 planets! This game looks huge and while I was watching it with friends they noted that this looks very similar to No Mans Sky. No Mans Sky with a Bethesda coat of paint sounds awesome to me and I hope that you can go beyond upgrading the ship you start with and maybe purchase or steal other ships. Also, it would be totally awesome to get your own starbase somewhere, or build a base on an asteroid or a small moon.

With that, I'm curious what more Bethesda has to show off about what Starfield will be. I would have thought Starfield would launch with some form of Multiplayer mode and I wonder if they are going to reveal that at some point?

How Does Top Gun Maverick Stack Up to…. The Second Top Gun Game on NES?
You know… question of the ages kind of video here. I’m sure the results of the video will in no way surprise you.

“ Top Gun: Maverick is finally here after years of waiting, so how does it stack up against the other Top Gun 2? You know, Top Gun: The Second Mission for the NES! Which is better? The game? Or the movie? That's the battle we're going to settle today!”

Diablo Immortal Could Be The Most Popular Diablo of All Time
Diablo Immortal launched on iOS, Android and PC today and I've been playing it a couple days now due to a sneaky launch for folks that per-registered for it. I didn't pay money, just clicked a per-registration button a handful of months ago and it all worked out.

Diablo Immortal Is Good, In Fact It's Really Good

Diablo Immortal is so good I'm actually surprised it's as good as is it. It's a tale as old as time too, company makes free to play mobile version of game and game kinda sucks. But in my time with Diablo Immortal up to level 20+ the game has been nothing short of really good.

My biggest fear would be that Diablo Immortal wouldn't feel like a Diablo game on a phone but they've nailed the controls and things work. It's a hybrid between the best control controls of Diablo III and PC and feels great to touch. Occasionally the fight will get away from me, but a few taps and I'm in control again and slaying with ease.

I'd figure there would be zero story to speak of but not only is there a story present, it might be better than the story in Diablo III. Don't get me wrong, I love campy stuff and Diablo III serves it's story with such camp you might as well be playing the game in the woods. That said, it often is a bit much and the bosses constantly mustache twirling and threatening you gets old fast. Diablo Immortal's story is lighter in that it's not dialog heavy, but much is done with the art, scenery and sparse voice acting that make it better. Frankly, Diablo IV could take notice here, less is actually quite a bit more.

So They Just Took a Huge Feature From Diablo IV

Because of the always online nature of Diablo Immortal they swiped a pretty big sell of Diablo IV in that you can see folks running around and it's really easy to party up if you want. It's not annoying and folks often ignore you but you can pop over and help someone fight some monsters if you want and it totally works. This was also a huge feature of Diablo IV and it's here no big deal.

I'm really excited for Diablo IV and I bet how they will handle this will feel better but... is Diablo Immortal competing with Diablo IV a bit? Which leads me to my next point...

Will Diablo Immortal Be The Most Popular Diablo Game of All Time?

Diablo Immortal is incredibly easy to download and play. I bet most people have phones than can play this game and if you like the franchise, it's easy to download and play. And with that, I wonder if this game might be the most popular Diablo game ever? Frankly I think hack and slack games with loot make a ton of sense as free to play games and ... will Diablo Immortal be huge? From what I've played of it so far, it has all the right stuff to be I just hope it's not so eclipsing it dwarfs Diablo IV because I really want to play it.

Diablo Immortal's PC Port Is Superb

When Blizzard announced a Diablo Immortal PC port I was very happy. I'm also happy to say the PC port is superb but not perfect. It's great to get a bit more screen size and use the mouse as Euclid intended. That said, the mouse can get lost and it's not obvious what's going on when it does. I bet they will sort that all out because already it's so awesome to go from your phone to tablet to desktop seamlessly.

Hopefully Diablo stays Immortal

I'm only 20+ levels in and so far I've felt zero free to play bullshit. Not saying that's not coming, I just haven't seen it yet. Hopefully the game allows me a reasonable time through it to experience the story and some other characters without paying it a mint but I understand that's not always how it is.

With that, based on what I've played I hope Diablo stays Immortal and we get even more added to it. Games like Call of Duty Mobile and Clash of Clans are still going strong and have incredibly large fans. Hopefully Diablo Immortal does well because so far, it's a lot of fun for free.

Get Borderlands 3 For Free on the PC Epic Games Store!
The Epic Games Store continues to give away free games and this months game is something special in Borderlands 3. While the reviews are not perfect, it's garnered fairly universal praise for it's gameplay and improved mechanics. Some took point with the characters and story but if you love Borderlands, this is a solid entry to the series. Oh and it's free.

Sadly, it's not free in perpetuity so head over to the Epic Store and grab it before the deal expires on May 26th!

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/borderlands-3

Nintendo Switch Sports Brings A Classic Wii Game To The Switch!
Switch Sports launched last month and I picked it up the day my kid got sick. I figured if we were going to be inside a lot, Switch Sports would be a great thing to play and be active. Simply put, if you enjoyed Wii Sports and have a Switch, Nintendo Switch Sports is a must purchase. In my opinion, Wii Sports was one of the best video games of all time and the fact that it was a pack-in title was a great idea that caused the Wii to be incredibly popular.

So far, I've only played a handful of matches of Bowling with my son and his far favorite is Chambara (a game where you swipe swords at each other until someone falls over into the water). Nintendo Switch Sports uses the joy cons that operate similarly to the Wii Remotes. I'd say the joy cons are just as good as the remotes but the problem I find is that when the Switch is behind my TV they are way less accurate. It's not a hard problem to fix, I just put the switch in front of my TV but it's a bit annoying and I wish the bluetooth on the Switch was a bit more powerful than it's not for the joy cons. If you have muscle memory built up from Wii Sports, Switch Sports controls are slightly different. It's not a big deal but we found ourselves bowling wrong quite a few times before the new control scheme clicked for us (you don't let go to release the bowling ball).

Any video game that's fun and gets people up and moving is great in my book. Wii Sports was a classic game and Switch Sports really does seem to have taken that game, gave it a great modern coat of paint and put it on the Switch. I've heard Golf is coming as a free update later and that seems like a fun thing to try. I'm surprised it took Nintendo this long to update Wii Sports & Wii Sports Resort but I'm happy they did and the results are quite fun.

Evil Comes Everywhere: Diablo Immortal Launches on Mobile & PC June 2th!
Diablo Immortal is coming to mobile and PC June 2nd, which is good news for everyone. They are billing it as the first MMOARPG Diablo game which, if mostly accurate, seems great. While a lot of mobile games are fun I don't play them long as I burn out pretty quickly on the light mechanics and progression blocking that free to play games typically come with. With all that said, it should be fun to have PC & mobile cross play and the game looks like Diablo III on your phone and if it's in that ballpark the game should be quite fun.

"A battle for the ages draws near. The Burning Hells’ flames flicker and crackle in anticipation, an omen they seek to communicate—Diablo Immortal™ is coming! On June 2, brave adventurers in most regions* will take up arms against the demonic forces of Skarn, Lord of Damnation, as they uncover events taking place between Diablo II and Diablo III.

Community feedback has been imperative to the development of Immortal and has influenced the game in many ways, as you’ll come to see. One recurring piece of feedback we especially took to heart was the desire to play Immortal on PC. Well, we are most pleased to announce this has been made a reality—in addition to releasing on Android and iOS devices, Diablo Immortal will also be free-to-play for Windows PC upon launch in Open Beta.

This is an especially proud moment for us to announce, as Immortal represents a handful of firsts for both the Diablo franchise and Blizzard. Upon launch, Immortal will be the largest Diablo game we’ve released, home to more distinct zones, unique encounters, and satisfying ways to cut down demons than ever before. Immortal is also the first Blizzard game to be built from the ground up for mobile, delivering the same AAA demon-slaying experience you love but to be played from anywhere.

Lastly, Immortal is the first MMOARPG Diablo game—providing the opportunity to socialize, play, and explore the world freely with other players in ways never previously experienced across the Diablo franchise."

https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo-immortal/23787371/diablo-immortal-a-new-plane-of-hell-opens-for-mobile-and-pc-on-june-2

https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo-immortal/23797159/making-diablo-immortal-for-pc

“Misery Accomplished” Welcomes You To Things Not Turning Out The Way You Thought
If you didn’t know, back in 1998 I started a band called Roy with my friend Paul. We played a lot of shows in Portland back then and released a few songs and some albums. After a very long hiatus we’re back and I’m posting about the new album here and I hope you are into hearing about it. If not, feel free to skip this for the video game and film stuffs you usually come here for.

Misery Accomplished is an album about achieving your goal and it not turning out the way you thought. Some people might call it a concept album but it might be more appropriately thought of as a reality album. When I started writing the songs for Misery Accomplished a year ago we were mid pandemic and I had no idea I was going to go through a divorce. I thought the concept of Misery Accomplished was for someone else, and in a way I was lauding my political and social thoughts that were for people that had nothing to do with me. Thing is, when my life took a turn for the horrible, Misery Accomplished became something I thought about a lot and only recently realized is the most autobiographical thing I’ve ever created.

A new Roy album is something I’ve thought about for a few years but decided to actually do when my friend Will gave me his old Casio LK-100 keyboard. To-date we’ve only used one Casio keyboard and an acoustic guitar to write all Roy music. A new-to-me Casio keyboard felt fresh and I liked the idea of Roy dueling with Casio keyboards, which is a sound featured on nearly every track on the album. One day when I was with my son I plugged in the new keyboard Will gave me and started writing an early chorus for “If JJ Abrams Rebooted the Little Mermaid.” Finley immediately started singing it with me and it was one of the most fun moments I’ve had in my life. I don’t think Misery Accomplished would exist if he didn’t keep singing the song over the next few days. Finley is featured on the chorus to “If JJ Abrams Rebooted the Little Mermaid” and I hope to do more songs with him.

When I initially wrote the song “Chris Hemsworth Abs” I thought the song was a joke about things other people experience. Darkness? Pain? Grief? It was a song where the punchline was what other people experienced but as time passed I realized it was everything I was going through. During the worst parts of the divorce I listened and played that song a lot. It was a song written by a much happier me and it felt like he was time traveling to sing it to me when I was at my worst. Literal time travel? No. But it’s a song that makes me feel better when things feel like shit.

When we were writing songs for Misery Accomplished Paul decided to take front and center singing and writing duties on two songs in “Mammoth Army” and “Freedom (Freight Train)”. “Mammoth Army” is a song he’s been working on here and there for over 10 years and I’m glad he finally finished it. The song recklessly flies down the track as it musically smashes into everything and to-date is one of the most involved and well constructed Roy songs we have. It feels like a full journey start to finish and it’s nothing like a song I’d write.

I wrote the song “Netflix and Die” on my iPad and didn’t think of it as much more than a funny take on the popular phrase Netflix and chill. But recontextualizing the song for where I am now, it’s a song wondering if I'd ever experience a relationship in the way others do. It’s hard to process the loneliness of a relationship in its ending death march that takes years without end.

Start to finish Misery Accomplished was only eight songs and after the worst parts of life happened we added two more to it. After the song “Misery Accomplished II” the bullshit ends and I take a breath and we wrap the album on two songs Freedom (Freight Train) and Freedom (Hurricane). A few weeks after my wife told me she wanted a divorce, in one of the lowest points in my life I wrote a song and recorded it on my iPhone and sent it to Paul. I was going through some heavy feelings and I wrote something in all of that. I want to be really clear here, I absolutely did not want to put Freedom (Hurricane) on Misery Accomplished. Over the months we worked on the album Paul said I should record it and I went through several drafts of the song, changing it to be a bit more upbeat. He kept suggesting I record a version like I did when I was at my lowest point and that’s what’s on the album. Me at the lowest point I’ve ever experienced writing a song about the only thing that mattered, my relationship with my friend. Paul decided to take that concept and wrote a completely different version of the song called Freedom (Freight Train). Thing is, even though his version came after and is a variation on mine, I think his is a better song. That said, I really enjoy that it’s two perspectives on the same relationship. I think that’s what relationships are or should be, two people saying the same thing in a way where both messages become something better, unique and also the same.

You can listen to Misery Accomplished today on nearly all the music and streaming platforms. Head over to our website to get all the links to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Bandcamp, YouTube and more.

https://royband.com/misery-accomplished.html

Minecraft Is Still Really Fun To Play With Kids!
I love playing video games with my son. He's almost 6 recently we got into Minecraft together. I found the physical Switch version of Minecraft on sale for $20 and figured that was a great time to pick up the game and play it with him. He immediately was hooked on the game and we went about building our first house inside a mountain and crafting our area to our mutual satisfaction. Minecraft is a well understood and widely played game at this point so nothing I'm saying is news to anyone but it's fun experiencing awesome things for the first time with your kid. Our cave house was built up to be a small castle of sorts so we can peer over the edge at night and see all the Zombies, Creepers and Spiders that spawn below. We've also built up a quite large wheat field, animal pen and treehouse above it such that we can hear and watch our animals make way too much noise at night.

It's impressive how many little updates have come to Minecraft since I played it first years and years ago now. The Switch version is incredible and Mojang has taken great lengths to not only make the game playable on a controller but actually quite fun. The Switch version is slower than the PC version in terms of loading but once you are in the game things run along quite well.

We don't have grand ambitions for our area but it would be pretty cool to find where the Villagers are staying around us. Since we're on the Switch I can't do a map hack to peek where that might be and I haven't found a way to zero in on where they may be so for now, I think we'll have to just explore a lot around us.

For now, we are having a lot of fun playing the game together, or I suppose I play the game and we talk about what we want to do. At some point when he's older I image we'll play multiplayer Minecraft in our own world but for now it's fun to just share in building our house and world together this way.