Thanks to the popularity of such motion-based systems like the Wii and the 360′s Kinect, “minigame” has almost become a dirty term in the industry. You think of Wii Play, Carnival Games or one of the hundred other minigame collections that have come out over the years and plagued us with their tedious mechanics and uninspired gameplay. Not all minigame collections are bad, but most have been pushed out to make a quick buck off the gimmicks of these new control devices. In light of these releases, I want to show that minigames still have a place in the industry, and can potentially be our hope and saviors from potentially monotonous gameplay. READ MORE
Disclaimer: No nuns were harmed during the writing of this column.
Perhaps this isn’t necessarily something that needs defending, but now’s as good of a time as any to discuss moral choices in games. They seem to be popping up everywhere these days, especially in games that don’t really need them. They allow for developers to give players multiple endings, but those endings (like the choices that precede them) are usually on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. What if you don’t want to be as good as Superman or the incarnation of evil? READ MORE
Video game franchises come and go all of the time. To think, just three years ago the Guitar Hero brand was one of the biggest in the industry. In five years, even Call of Duty may not be as prominent as it used to be. We all expect the Marios and the Final Fantasys of the world to be around as long as video games are, but what about those franchises that don’t make it? It’s always nice to see them return, but is it always for the best? READ MORE
Freebird Games’ To the Moon is a game that has had me thinking for quite a while. It explores themes in way I’ve never seen done in a game before, and does it in a highly original way. I would love to further discuss the game’s themes and story bits in greater detail, but I want to avoid discussing spoilers when so many people have yet to play To the Moon. Instead, I’m going to focus on the more general themes that drive this game and how other games could benefit from using similar concepts. READ MORE
Video games have a tendency to attempt a grand finale during their last acts, giving us a large, epic battle against something we have been preparing for the entire game. Sometimes, these moments come out of nowhere, but sometimes it leads to a final act that is exact what we might expect it to be. And yet, games rarely deliver. Final acts in games are generally bad, and even some of your favorites might suffer because of it. In the long run it might not matter, but to leave the player with an unsatisfactory or lazy conclusion might ruin their feelings on the entire game in the long run. Generally speaking, final acts in games tend to be missing something that everything prior to them did so well. READ MORE
Narration is not something you often see in games. For fans of film, narration as a means of exposition is something that is not unheard of. In games, especially outside of cutscenes or story moments, is not something that is often explored. At least I thought it wasn’t, until I played this year’s indie darling, Bastion, and discovered my love for narration all over again. Of course, Bastion is a much smaller game that doesn’t leave as much open in terms of exploration or choice. It made me wonder, could Bastion-style narration work in an open-world game? READ MORE
You grab your equipment, strap on the utility belt, and make sure your cape is adjusted all before putting on the mask. You are a superhero. Actually, you’re not, but you really want to be. Games have been trying to get players into the role of superheroes for years, but very few have actually been able to accomplish that feeling of truly being behind the mask. It’s not an easy task to accomplish, although some recent releases have proven that, with the right ideas in place, you can make the player believe he has powers too. READ MORE
Games these days are often compared to feature length films in terms of writing and presentation. Unlike movies, games have more components beyond mere storytelling quirks; they are interactive, allowing for the story to become more in-depth and personal. None of this is new, though. We all know about how games and films can compare and just why the constant comparisons are, quite frankly, completely off base.
Where the two do compare is how the creators intend on grabbing hold of an audience. READ MORE
Imagine you’re sitting down one day, enjoying another gaming session with the latest new release. You find your character on an important mission to prevent the assassination of some sort of important political figure. You have two ways to approach the situation: go where you think the assassination attempt will take place and try to stop it there or, using intelligence you gathered earlier on in the game, track down the group planning the entire thing. READ MORE
Grand Theft Auto III changed everything. The GTA series is one of the most popular in the history of video games, but it was Grand Theft Auto III that really made the largest impact. Being able to go anywhere and do anything you wanted was, at the time, something we just never thought could happen. Today, a sandbox game is nothing special; we see it in a lot of games today, with implementations ranging from great to pointless. What is it about these games that are so attractive to gamers? READ MORE
