It seems Grand Theft Auto V is on most people’s minds these days, and for good reason. With any new GTA game, there are conversations about its importance in medium, some of the game’s more controversial scenes and, most importantly of all, the three protagonists. While GTA V isn’t the first game to introduce multiple protagonists, it is the first of its scale that split the story between the protagonists and allows you to switch between them at will.
Conceptually, it’s a neat trick, but it adds a whole new dynamic to a series that could have easily become stale. Most importantly of all, it shows how such a narrative can work, which leads me to believe it could have a place in other games as well.
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Lords of Waterdeep is still a great game that sees a lot of play in many groups, but maybe it’s getting a little old by now. And did you ever notice that sixth agent space on the round five holding area? Obviously that board was designed with expansion in mind, and that expansion has finally arrived with Scoundrels of Skullport. Or, more accurately, expansions. READ MORE
Genre 101 is a series that looks at the past and present of a game genre to find lessons about what defines it. This week, guest lecturers Andrew Passafiume and Chris Dominowski unravel the ins and outs of the JRPG.
A world of adventure
Chris Dominowski: While Black Onyx is generally seen as the first real JRPG, Dragon Quest broke new ground in the nascent genre by giving the Eastern flavor of role-playing its own identity, and began distancing itself from series like Wizardry or Ultima. The game sported a manga-esque art direction by Akira Toriyama, a vast world then unseen on home consoles and a greater emphasis on a top-down perspective. With all that in place, and with future entries in the series depending more on story and characters, Dragon Quest became one of the most celebrated franchises among Japanese gamers. READ MORE
This year has already been a bountiful one for fans of local multiplayer games. From heavy hitters like Diablo III and Rayman Legends to scrappy indies like Legend of Dungeon and BombSquad, there’s been a lot to enjoy. But the year’s not over yet! Here are the titles that should be on your radar for party play this holiday season. READ MORE
WayForward’s Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Kickstarter campaign comes to a close this week, having already reached its needed total and heading toward stretch goals. We talked to Matt Bozon, series creator and WayForward’s creative director, about the origins of the franchise and where it’s going today.
Snackbar Games: What was the original inspiration behind Shantae? What was the impetus behind the use of Metroidvania mechanics?
Matt Bozon: My wife Erin designed the character – a hair-whipping belly dancing genie – and I created the world around her. At the time (1994), Super Metroid had just appeared on the scene, and the Castlevania series had only Simon’s Quest in terms of an exploration-style approach. So even though many of the mechanics (hair-whipping, sub-items, day and night) were inspired by Castlevania, the feel of the world and the quest were more like Metroid or Zelda: A Link to the Past. This has become more formulaic as of late, but back then there were very few examples of how to make a game like this. We looked at Goonies 2, Rygar and even Gargoyle’s Quest as examples. READ MORE
