Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Apple Announces the iPhone 6, and could make gaming harder

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus look fantastic, but with them come some issues for mobile games on Apple's platform. This comes from the fact that developers can no longer target a general device form factor. The iPhone has many games that play in portrait mode, including some of my favorites, but those will be harder to play on a larger phone where you can't comfortably reach the whole screen with your thumb when playing with one hand.

Due to the widely varying screen sizes in Android land, this has been the case with Android for a while now. Portrait games are few and far between on the Play store, but they're fairly popular on Apple's App Store.

Ultimately, this is... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/14/2014 at 07:45pm

After watching the video I am pretty stoked about the new set of iPhones and Apple Watch. That said, more than likely, I won't be picking either one up but I am really happy to see the direction Apple is headed.

iPhone 6: It seems most people like bigger phones and Apple is giving people what they want. Personally, I really enjoy the form factor of my iPhone 5S but a bit larger phone wouldn't be a problem. It would be slightly inconvenient in that I will have a larger indentation in my pocket with a bigger phone, but that's not a huge deal. I use my smartphone for a ton of stuff and have up to this point avoided getting a tablet because I just use my phone for everything. That said, a bigger phone would be even less of a reason to buy a tablet.

I am curious if the 5S form factor is now totally gone or if the iPhone 7 will feature 3 different screen sizes?

About people having a hard time making games it seems to me that people can target Android devices and whereas having one size makes things easier, it seems developers are doing fine. There are a zillion different screen resolutions on PC and it seems people have dealt with that even though it does complicate things some. Since I like diversity in devices, I see the new Apple phones adding to that.

Travis, when you upgrade are you going (size wise) 6 or 6 plus? The next time I will have the chance to upgrade will be around the 6S if I keep to my current carrier upgrade path.

Oh and I love the fact that the storage is 16G, 64G and 128G!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 09/15/2014 at 02:38am

I'll also be upgrading around the 6S timeframe. No way am I going plus, that is just too big. The few portrait games I've tried to play on my Galaxy S4 (work phone) have been pretty bad unless I use two hands, and I use one hand for my shopping list app all the time. I'm a little bummed that the 5/5S form factor is going away. Jobs mandated early on that you should easily be able to touch the whole screen with your thumb on which ever hand you were using, and I wish they'd at least kept that option around.

jdodson Admin wrote on 09/15/2014 at 02:36pm

They may but it seems likely that we will have only the two sizes going forward.

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Binding of Issac Rebirth Will Launch Nov 4th

Heading to the PS4, Vita and Steam November 4th The Binding of Isaac Rebirth is everyone's favoriate religious insanity rogue like SNES de-make. Getting a ton of new features including a form of local co-op, The Binding of Isaac Rebirth looks to be an interesting continuation of the original game that doesn't suffer from many of the core issues the original flash game suffered.

Interested in heading back to the basement to confront Mom?

Dead Space 3... Best or worst?

http://www.onlinegames.cat/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/dead-space-3-screenshot-3.jpg

I have now played all three Dead Space games, and have decided to make my voice heard about the third game in the series. Most of what I have to say is positive. However, there are quite a few things that were changed in the third game that i feel really take away from not only the series, but the genre. Before you dive in, this is mostly about the differences between the games, not the plot. Not quite as exciting, but please feel free to keep reading if you're interested.

First I'd like to say that Dead Space is considered a "Survival Horror" game, and you see this in bounds in the first game. You start off with a plasma welder as your only weapon, and you struggle... Read All I have now played all three Dead Space games, and have decided to make my voice heard about the third game in the series. Most of what I have to say is positive. However, there are quite a few things that were changed in the third game that i feel really take away from not only the series, but the genre. Before you dive in, this is mostly about the differences between the games, not the plot. Not quite as exciting, but please feel free to keep reading if you're interested.

First I'd like to say that Dead Space is considered a "Survival Horror" game, and you see this in bounds in the first game. You start off with a plasma welder as your only weapon, and you struggle through the game scavenging for health packs, weapon-specific ammunition, and save points. The game is truly frightening, not only because of the nearly sickening graphic pop-out violence, but also because of how desperately sparse your resources are sometimes. The game is constantly dark, and lacks a solid soundtrack, which leaves a lot of room for flashing lights to catch you off guard, and horrific sounds to jar you to the bone, whether someone is coming or not. Simply put, the game is like a very well designed interactive horror film.

The second game is nearly identical to the first with a couple well placed upgrades, like the ability to "run," which is really no more than a fast paced walk. Also, the main character Isaac has a voice in the second game. The gameplay is almost exactly the same, the story line is quite a bit deeper, and its maybe a bit harder overall.

The third game is so different it could almost be a standalone. The story is a continuation of the first two, and most aspects of the game are very similar, but there are so many differences in the game that I felt it necessary to tell the internet about it. To start, the game looks very different. The basics are the same, but interactive objects are different, the monsters look a lot different (mostly due to upgraded graphics i think, but they really look completely different), and the atmosphere is much different. Surprisingly, the game is still just as linear as the first two. This is definitely a game series that is solidly sticking to the linear video game instead of branching out to free reign. I am glad about this because I believe that being linear keeps the focus solely on the game instead of exploring, and in a horror based game, it doesn’t do much good to branch out anyway, it would just get you into trouble.

The store in the game is completely gone, and the upgrade system has been wiped and replaced. Instead of entering the store and buying ammunition, weapons, suits, you go to the suit kiosk and pick the suit your want which you get from purchasing them as DLC. In the kiosk you also use resources you pick up laying around (scrap metal, semiconductors, transducers, etc) to upgrade your suit instead of purchasing the upgrades with credits. Similarly, you go to the bench where you would before add power nodes to upgrade suit and weapons, and you craft your weapons out of scavenged parts and use the resources to make your own med kits and ammunition. Ammunition is now universal, and the amount of shots you get out of an ammunition pack depends on your weapon and how you upgrade it. You still have power nodes, but they are only for weapons, and they are specific. Reload speed, damage, rate of fire, and clip size.

The biggest difference to me is Autosave. In the first two games you could not save unless you found a save point which made the game even more intense because when you got into a stressful situation if you turn the console off and start later you start at the save point, which may be very far behind where you stopped when you turned the game off. I feel this strongly takes away from the game, as it takes away the stress factor, which is important in a survival horror game.

Well anyway, i'm done ranting now. I'd love to hear your opinions. Which game is your favorite, and how do you feel about the changes?

Borderlands 2 Coming To Linux

Recently Gaming on Linux contacted Aspyr about Borderlands 2 coming to Linux after someone detected some Linux builds in Steam.

"Michael Blair, Aspyr Media: Yes! BL2 Linux is absolutely real! We've been working hard on it for months and will talk about a release date as soon as possible."

This is great news as whenever 2K has been asked about this they have been pretty cagy about it. So the question for me isn't "when will Linux get it's gaming chance" I am not curious if it will remain as a viable platform. I guess the answer to that lies in the popularity of SteamOS and other unannounced platforms.

... Read All

Would The Box Art and Description Convince You?

Aaron of RetroLiberty posted an interesting video called "Earthbound Convinced." The premise is that Aaron reads off the text on the Earthbound box and shows off some of the game art and then asks if that was enough to convince you to buy it. It's not quite fair as Aaron's video is well cut and is more than simply reading off the box art but it does showcase what little information we had to go off to make choices as kids. That said, I had Nintendo Power and they did a great job hyping up whatever video games Nintendo wanted us to buy at the time, Earthbound included.

Earthbound, were you convinced?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 09/05/2014 at 03:12pm

The intro to the video says the premise of the series is on whether or not you would rent a game, based on the box art and text alone. If that's the case, then, yes, that would be enough to convince me. I don't think there was ever any point that I would purchase a new game (any game) outright, just by reading about it and looking at the cover, unless it was less than $10. That's what makes games such a weird entertainment medium. The cost of entry is so high, and most of the time you feel like you have to take leaps of faith just to purchase a game. Movies, books, music are all cheap in comparison, and can get away one-shots or a paragraph of text to convince someone to, say, drop $10 to sit in a theater for 2 hours. One trailer for The Matrix, showing the bullet-time effect, was all I needed to see to say "I want to go to there." The games industry hasn't been fond of rentals, or used games, and barely makes room for demos, which is one reason why Let's Play is so popular now, which seems to be gaining in favor, even among devs (or, at least, console makers). In fact, most commercials/trailers for games don't show much in the way of gameplay to any great extent. This has been something gamers have been used to seeing for decades, with either live action or CG animation taking precedent, especially in the older generations of games.

So, anyway, yeah. I'd rent just about anything with as little as a "hey, you should check this out." Purchasing, on the other hand, takes a bit more convincing.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/05/2014 at 05:07pm

Ah good point on the rental part. There were a few times I bought a game off the shelf based on the box and sometimes it was OK but most time it was terrible, looking at you Ultraman!

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Hive Jump Kickstarter Has A Few Hours Left To Go

Back this on Kickstarter!

"In the 24th century, humanity is at war with a hostile alien race. Outnumbered a million to one, mankind's only hope of survival is the J.U.M.P. Corps. Its mission is to fight the alien menace hive by hive and planet by planet.

Hive Jump is one part Spelunky, one part XCOM, and all parts alien ass-kicking. You and your friends assume the role of JUMPERS, and blast your way through subterranean alien hives in run-and-gun 2D platforming action. Kill aliens, avoid traps, collect resources, and defeat the hive queen lurking at the bottom of the hive to complete the JUMP."

Hive Jump is a cool Kickstarter that is only a 26 hours away(at the time I wrote this) from completing... Read All

Video Games In Movies Video Mashup

The Huffington Post created an interesting video mashup of Video Games in movies. The footage seems to be mostly comprised of 80's and 90's films.

Get psyched!

Civilization: Beyond Earth Looks Great And Coming To Linux

I haven't been too interesting in playing a modern Civilization game in some time. I enjoyed playing many hours of the original Civilization on DOS and had a really fun time with Civilization: Revolution but haven't found a love for a modern PC version. I have Civilization V and all the DLC waiting, but I haven't taken the plunge to actually try it out yet. That said, I saw a video for the new incarnation of Civ, Civilization: Beyond Earth that looks really intriguing. Taking a tip from Alpha Centauri, Civilization: Beyond Earth extends the scope of the typical Civilization game up the tech tree to sci-fi and other planets. Something sounds really exciting about a... Read All

Starship Rubicon Will Be Our First Published Game

A few months ago I posted that Cheerful Ghost was publishing it’s first game and today I am happy to introduce you to Starship Rubicon!

Starship Rubicon is a space shoot-em up that modernizes the physics and mechanics of Asteroids combined with the ship modification and roguelike elements of FTL.

In Starship Rubicon, Earth has been casually destroyed by a mysterious race of space-faring invertebrates. You are a fighter pilot whose cryopod has been collected by a possibly-insane AI, who has placed you in the unenviable position of being humanity’s savior. Shanghaied and alone, you must gather the remaining human survivors and traverse the surprising biodiversity of deep... Read All

scrypt Supporter wrote on 09/03/2014 at 02:14am

Interesting! Looks cool :)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/03/2014 at 02:58am

Yeah it's been a lot of fun to work on. Can't wait for people to get to play it.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/04/2014 at 12:07am

It seems interesting, I'm looking forward to seeing a game play video. Do you think there may be a demo in the works?

Travis Admin wrote on 09/04/2014 at 01:27am

Starship Rubicon: Jon Dodson is about to make you his bitch.

Travis Admin wrote on 09/04/2014 at 01:28am

You share a first name, I couldn't resist.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/04/2014 at 03:46pm

@GregoPeck: As far as a traditional downloadable demo, I am not sure. It's not on our development roadmap but we might get one out after launch depending how things go. If people want to try it, it will be playable at a OMSI event coming up in Portland.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 09/04/2014 at 03:47pm

@Travis: Thats awesome. :godmode:

Wick wrote on 09/04/2014 at 09:27pm

@GregoPeck:
The original game that was funded by the Kickstarter campaign is available for free at:

http://wickworks.tumblr.com/rubicon

Though so many things have changed in this new version I'd hesitate to call it a demo.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 09/04/2014 at 11:26pm

Cool, thanks for the link!

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Persona 5 Expected for 2015, PS3 and PS4, probably NA

Not officially announced for a 2015 release on PS4 in North America, but good enough for me! ATLUS had previously announced that Persona 5, as well as a handful of other Persona games, would make it to the West in the near future, though the big question here is whether the "PS4" in the above trailer is something that is meant for Japanese audiences only. With how well PS4 sales have been growing in the US, it seems likely that we'll see it sooner rather than later.

While I've never technically finished a Persona game, I've put plenty of time in them (Persona 3 FES, especially), and I can't get enough of Shigenori Soejima's artwork. The way his illustrations and the... Read All