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Dipity
So, my previous post, "Cost of games, slice of the pie, and business opportunities", has caused a bit of stir -- most of which, despite my urgings, haven't made it into the comments of that post.To...
(Here are my single-player impressions for Halo 3: ODST. I'd like to give co-op and Firefight impressions as well, but my yahoo friends who also bought the game never have time to play this title, ...
This is more of a biz dev(ish) post, because I want to talk through the cost of games, and use this post as a possible launching point for some other biz dev topics.Since I think some of the indust...
OK, I meant to follow up fairly quickly from my basically Q3 list of upcoming games, and got distracted -- Largely because I've been playing several of those games, and some from the new list: Game...
OK, this needs to be a bit ranty / rambly.I was at a great game industry networking gig last night. It was a big turnout, representing a bunch of companies, disciplines, and skill levels. And it's ...
Crap in a kolache, I totally blew past The Tokyo Game Show, which is normally a pretty important gamer milestone (largely consumer, though there are a couple of biz-dev-ish days that precede the bu...
(First Impressions.)OK, I need to spend more time with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 ("M-UATU", for those who have been paying attention).I've been looking forward to it for a looong time, and it's am...
I downloaded and played the new Crash Course DLC for Left 4 Dead with some co-workers last night.Very different, in that there are pickups (weapons, ammo, etc.) freaking _everywhere# (at least comp...
I made one session amidst the day of mind-numbing negotiations, and that was Damion Schubert's "The Loner":"This talk explores one of the more interesting puzzles of massively multiplayer game desi...
After a wicked busy (but productive) burst of partner and Customer meetings, I went to the post mortem for licensee KingsIsle's title, Wizard101 - "Wizard101 - Lions and Tigers and Ninja Pigs, Oh M...
I had to duck out early for a partner meeting, but I wasn't going to miss an opportunity to catch any bits I could get from the AGDC session, "Lead with Your Gut: How Courage and Common Sense Impro...
Day 2 of AGDC started with the Blizzard keynote, "The Universe Behind World of Warcraft":"Design and implementation is only part of the process in running a massively multiplayer game. Maintaining ...
I'm on the road a lot lately the last several weeks, so that means I'm DSing it.Having missed Chrono Trigger the first time around, I'm now playing it on the Nintendo DS, and it's stellar.Being upd...
Another video, now that the Game Developers Conference Austin has kicked off?Sure. Why not.
(Placeholder; full post coming when I get back to a PC.)My final session of the day was "Making an XBLA Game in 6 Months: A Splosion Man Postmortem":"Coming off the award-winning PC and Xbox Live A...
After a needed break from sessions for work meetings on the Exhibition floor, I ducked in to "AGDC: Emerging Trends in Gameplay: The Blurring Lines Between Casual And Hardcore":"The line between wh...
AGDC kicked off in earnest with the keynote, "From Dragons and Daggers to Kart Racing, Cooking and Concerts...It's a Whole New MMO World":"In MMO development, companies can slip into habitual proce...
Heading back to the indie summit, I attended the very polished (and perhaps most important) session so far, "The Blurst of Times: How to Make a (Shader-Heavy, Physics-Based, 3D) Game in 8-Weeks":"M...
The final indie summit session I attended was "AGDC: Effective Marketing For Indie Game Developers":"How do you use your own website, social networking channels (from Twitterthrough IRC and beyond)...
Finally breaking free from the toy job shenanigans (don't get me wrong, I'm grateful), I gave the independent games summit again - glad I did. The session was "How To Operate Your Indie Game Busine...
Taking a selfish break from the business tracks to feed my internal fanboy with "The Super Heroes' Journey: Storytelling in MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2", which comes out today:"Building a strong nar...
Next up was "The New Indie Hotness", from Offworld's Brandon Boyer:"Want to know what?s sparklingly new and fantastic in the world of independent games? Using his sekrit underground contacts, Indie...
After a brief intro of the whys and wherefores of the Independent Game Festival and related Independent Games Summit, the summit kicked off with Gaijin Games Mike Roush's session, "AGDC: The BitTri...
I'm in my home stomping grounds of Texas for the Game Developers Conference Austin. Rather than spend words on it, here's a half-a$$ed video intro to the week. I'm hoping to do several travelog / v...
I'm gearing up for the Game Developers Conference in Austin (I'm in TX now), prepping presentations for new stuff that's coming down the pipe for stuff from the company.Catch up with us while we're...
I'm playing the new Batman: Arkham Asylum game on the Xbox 360, and I've been pretty impressed so far.This is a solid, dark treatment of the license, the full game is more polished than the demo (w...
(Or maybe it's toe-to-toe.)Regardless, while a lot of GDC Europe and Gamescom did not float my boat (and Microsoft's presser certainly didn't), I am excited by the recent Sony / Microsoft tête-à-tê...
Batman: Arkham Asylum ships Tuesday (tomorrow), and since it looks like the best Batman video game since …*, it feels like I should call it out, and in particular, this deal from Toys “R” Us. Whil...
Gahh!The toy job has got me wicked behind, so despite working in the game industry, I haven't been able to do my normal pre-event post.This week is GDC Europe and Gamescon 2009 -- check to the left...
I picked up Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer for the Nintendo DS because I wanted to play a polished roguelike on the handheld.Liking it so far, though I think after it, I want to find a darker...
I'm a bit of a Mortal Kombat fan. I'm a comic book fan. I sooo wanted to be a fan of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.Unfortunately, so many things worked against the title for me, that I'm not a fan....
So, Warner Bros. has bought the once-great Midway.Which begs the question -- what will Midway do next?Part of me hopes they'll be working on "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" games. Only becaus...
OK, Conan is an oldish 360 game, and I finished it months ago, but I've been meaning to write about it ever since. Reason for the delay is the final boss battle (more on that later).This a the kind...
I wanted to grab a quick platformer for my recent cross-continental travel, and I'd heard good things about The Legendary Starfy for the Nintendo DS.It's a fun, goofy, solid little NDS 2D platfrom ...
I'm playing Dragon Ball: Origins as one of the half-dozen titles I'm rotating through my Nintendo DS.This is a fun little, stylus-dependent game, and it's a great gift to franchise fans. Its implem...
I'm finally giving up on Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, even though it's a great game.Co-workers Vince and Mike shamed me into playing it, I'm glad they did, it's awesome, but I've been stuck at the v...
I played the Ninja Blade demo for Xbox 360, and I've decided this is one of those cases where the demo isn't enough for me to decide whether or not to buy this game.I mean, I've been looking forwar...
I played id Software's Orcs & Elves, because I'm a fan of the first-person dungeon crawler genre.While not the best entry in the genre (for me), Orcs & Elves is a fun, engaging, fairly addictive Ni...
I'm digging that this year's sequels (Fallout 3, Call of Duty: World at War, etc.) are so top-notch.I'm really enjoying Gears 2, but taking freaking forever to get through it, since I decided to pl...
I'm a big fan of the adventure genre, and while I too often bemoan its decline, Bethesda's adventuring RPGer Fallout 3 is scratching that itch with a now-gen fury.Granted, I'm early into it, and my...
I'm curious to see how the Xbox 360 price drops change the retail landscape (or not), with the $199 Arcade version the cheapest now-gen console on the market. Dunno if Nintendo will follow suit, bu...
Just a few quick updates on the toy job front.Forbidden Terror on Station Z, our "Zombies on Rails Shooter in Space" gameplay / tech demo from GDC08 is now available to the masses, via Emergent.net...
Monday nights are weekly Halo 2 fests online with known friends (Wednesdays alternate between Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4). Camaraderie as we're all now scattered to the wind, my tie to my Austin bud...
I've been playing the Xbox 360 demo of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.I know this is just the demo, but _this_ what being a Jedi should feel like -- lightning powers, grabbing and throwing tie bomb...
I've been wicked busy at the video game job, so my coverage of the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig has been ... non-existent.You can find tagged GC '08 coverage at Kotaku and IGN:Kotaku.comIGNMy t...
One of the initiatives I've pushed most recently as the Product Manager for Gamebryo at Emergent Game Technologies is making a bunch of waves in the industry:Gamebryo Casual.This is the full versio...
This is an update to my last post about a Friday (August 22) evening mixer at Dave & Buster's in Austin, TX.I won't be there, but you should be. Tell 'em I sent you.The officialness is here, but he...
Austin's got a few top-tier video game folks that have recently become available; this message is for them (and anyone else interested in a gig):Emergent Game Technologies is hiring video game prof...
Cheap Ass Gamer has its weekly deals up, and there are a couple in particular of which to take note.On the games front, if you don't own the earned-excellence that is Call of Duty 4, you can pick i...
I need to write more later, but is there a better combo of gamer geek homage, accessible gameplay, clever puzzling, and thematic depth?Probably ... In an alternate universe!
Ok, here's the deal: I suck at fighting games. Like tushie handed to me wrapped in puff-pastries kind of suck. That makes them not fun to play for me, when my opponent is some Know the Uber Throw B...
I'm off to Los Angeles for a whirlwind trip for the toy job (EGT), and likely won't be fitting in any auditions or even game developer / publisher meetings while I'm there (and likely couldn't give...
Over at the Unofficial Emergent Game Technologies Website, I've posted the first of (hopefully) many podcasts I'll be doing for EGT.My guest (Dan Amerson, Technical Director for Gamebryo) and I sho...
Every year, Comic-Con becomes more and more the "everything" pop culture mecca.I'm not going this year (not that last year was enough), but I will be watching for that peanut butter and chocolate m...
So what's up with Emergent Game Technologies and / or the Gamebryo game engine recently?On the Gamebryo-powered games front (at least retail), there's Space Chimps from developer REDTRIBE and publi...
I'm tired, but it's been a big day on the announcement front.You can catch my live tweeting of the Microsoft press conference.Biggest announcement was Final Fantasy XIII coming to Xbox 360. Other c...
E3 starts Monday, with the console pressers on Monday and Tuesday.I'm excited to see what shakes out, but there are a number of titles and rumors that have me pumped.On the titles front, I'm going ...
Ahead of its E3 keynote, Microsoft has made official the rumored $50 price drop for its 20Gb Xbox 360, ahead of the release of the new, replacement 60Gb version.Not only can gamers get the 20Gb ver...
As Product Manager for 3D engine Gamebryo, it probably makes sense for me to -- at least every once in a while -- summarize what's happening on that video game front. Aside from our recent release ...
In preparation for next week, I brought back the "E3" link on the top left side of my page, and added a few of the big dogs that come to mind -- including their scheduled press conferences.On the c...
(Forgot to post this this morning.)It's Bungie Day 2008 ("the seventh day of the seventh month ..."), and there are some online and Xbox Live goodies for download -- with the Xbox Live goodies most...
I'm away from the official list, so the only Gamebryo-powered release that comes to mind for this week is Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution.The demo's available online, and is a solid console off...
I mentioned I work for Emergent Game Technologies, the company behind the Gamebryo game engine.I'm pretty proud of our tech being foundational in somewhere around 200 titles. There are also 100 or ...
All right, this installment of Gaming Last Night (GLN) recaps me, playing Dragonball Z: Burst Limit, and ...(... wait for it ...)... breaking 4000 on my Xbox 360 Gamercard.Which is ... dunno ...Wel...
I'm about an hour and a half and three chapters in to Dragonball Z: Burst Limit. This is a solid licensed fighter, but limiting it to that would be a disservice. For fans of the creative intellec...
I'm writing this post, knowing it's going to piss people off.I'm writing it for at least a couple of reasons.The first is to generate discussion -- about what I think are pretty important topics.Th...
I so dig Ninja Gaiden, so I was stoked when the demo for Ninja Gaiden II finally came stateside (last? WTF?). The demo gives that sense of amazing ninja bad-assery, which is great, but ... This m...
Here's a decent article (and part of a series) on more mature video game criticism: "Zarathustran Analytics in Video Games, Part 9: Flaws in Criticism Today".You should read the article (and the se...
Gamebryo 2.5 has shipped -- the newest version of Emergent Game Technologies's game engine and tools (check out the new Terrain System), and my first release since joining the company as Senior Pro...
Insomniac Games, geniui behind things like Ratchet & Clank and Resistance: Fall of Man, are moving to Raleigh-Durham Studio by January 2009.Why am I excited? I'm now in the Triangle, and this bring...
Remember how Sony said the difference between them and Microsoft was Microsoft charges for Xbox Live, but Sony would be free?Sony just introduced Qore, a "a highly interactive, monthly lifestyle ga...
Best new deal this week may be the $100 Blu-ray gift card you get if you buy a PS3 at Wal-Mart. It's the 40Gb version, but someone let me know if get this if you buy an 80Gb Motorstorm backwards-co...
I like character creation mechanics in games.I like having a unique character, and the option to customize the way I want to, if I have the time and / or inclination.What I don't like is having to ...
I discovered Dipity.com's (you gotta love 2.0 naming) timeline generation tool.Here are my game-related timelines:Gaming -- Includes posts from my (this) gaming blog, and from my "I'm Playing" mini...
GameSpot.com has a feature comparing the graphics of the PS3 and Xbox 360 through specific games (Assassin's Creed, Half-Life 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, Call Of Duty 4, Burnout Paradise, Rainbow Six Ve...
I spend a lot of time on Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360. I'd say for FPSes, CoD4 is my current favorite single and multiplayer game (yea, verily even unseating Halo 3). There are some good mission...
The Microsoft Xbox 360 Spring Showcase Round Up and Electronic Arts's Spring Break Games Day are overlapping, and those two events plus some other announcements have me excited. (And thank you, kot...
I'm so looking forward to Mirror's Edge, EA Dice's parkour- (and I think, Breakdown-) inspired first-person ... thing.
Speed Racer for the Wii is out now, and it's built on my company's Gamebryo engine.Check it out and let me know what you think.
Grand Theft Auto IV hits this week, and the deals are a-flying -- particularly for Xbox 360 new owner wannabes.You can get $50 gift cards from Best Buy (Xbox 360 only) or KMart (360 or PS3, and the...
I found this a wee bit (painfully) funny.Check out the Flash loading logo for the SCEA PlayStation Website:Look similar to anything else in the game space? ;-)
OK, it's arguably vaguely gaming related (except for the stereotypical gamer / otaku overlap being like 97.8%).But it's (A) Neon Genesis Evangelion, (B) Revoltech toys, and (C) stop-motion.So, if y...
Ah, it's my national holiday.Since happenings beyond my control have removed me from creating the brilliant events that could have been, instead I'm going to point to gaming related shenanigans tha...
Major life happenings have derailed my gaming fixations.Though I don't know when I'll get back in the interactive saddle, I need your help figuring out where to spend my gaming time once I get ther...
Indie games in the mainstream!I'm wicked impressed, and want to file this under "little guys with great marketing concept make good". 2D Boy -- "a brave new indie game studio based in S...
Gary Gygex, Co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, died in his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, at 69 years old.There's probably a hit points joke in there somewhere, but I'm just too saddened by our los...
I don't normally just post a press release, but I haven't had a chance to jot down my GDC thoughts, and this thing's time-sensitive.If you want to download, play, and review XBLA Creator Club games...
I'm in the final throes of getting ready for my first Game Developers Conference. And though I'm new to the game industry (at least on the non - voice - acting - and - blogging - professional side ...
So, I'm bummed Microsoft and Marvel pulled the plug on the Marvel Universe MMO.And I'm not just upset because I've Made Mine Marvel for more than two decades. It's not just because I'd like to see ...
Going to the Game Developers Conference in a couple of weeks?I am, and I'd like to chat.I'm booked pretty solid with meeting licensees, partner meetings, IHV hookups, and doing presentations.But if...
Check your local Best Buy, but I'm seeing a Sunday circular price of $37.99 for Halo 3 ($22 off list).Of less interest to many (but perhaps more interest to a very select, demographically complex f...
Kudo Tsunoda, former boss of now-defunct Electronic Arts Chicago (shuttered last November), is now over at Microsoft.Tsunoda, the rock star (both in work output and persona), has Fight Night 2004 u...
So I'm torn.I like Star Wars. (Pre-new trilogy.)I'm also a big Soul Calibur fan.But putting Darth Vader and Yoda in Soul Calibur IV?I need to think about this.Your thoughts?
See also:The Games of 2008: Q1The Games of 2008: Q2Lotta good games coming in 2008. Quarter three's typically the slow one of the year as publisher's lose their audience to summer, and feel out whe...
(See also, "The Games of 2008: Q1".)The further out we go into the year, the more sketchy things get on the release front.But here are the games that ring my bell to one degree or another for the s...
2007 is now a distant memory, and while I've still got to finish The Orange Box, Assassin's Creed, and Mass Effect (and, um, Viva Piñata), I'm already looking to the games of 2008.So what's up for ...
I had folks ask me about one of my recent posts, where I said,"And stay tuned -- there's another reason I'm coming clean about me and Emergent."No, I didn't forget to write that particular post -- ...
I tooled through the Acme Arsenal demo today on the Xbox 360, because (1) I was watching a bunch of Looney Toons cartoons I downloaded through Xbox Live Marketplace, and (2) It was made with my com...
Looks like my annual shopping recommendations and awesome deals post isn't going to happen this year, so check your local papers for whatever happens this Sunday before Christmas.There some 50%-off...
I'm online listening to the Activision Blizzard Webcast, and will be sort of live blogging, so refresh often.This thing has been the works for at least a year.Blizzard has an revenue of $1.1B, and ...
So, I've been a bit cagey about my new gig in the video game biz.I have my reasons, but I may as well shake things up:"Hi, my name's Adam Creighton, and I'm a Senior Product Manager for Emergent Ga...
I've been playing Assassin's Creed since it came out this week. I'm busy with a move and a new job in the video game industry, so I don't have time to do a review right now. So, let me just say i...
Conan's going through a resurgence. Besides the Dark Horse comics and collectibles, he's got not one, but two games coming out -- Funcom's MMO Age of Conan next March(ish) for the PC and Xbox 360,...
I played the Xbox Live single-player demo for Clive Barker's Jericho from Codemasters / Alchemic Productions / Imajica Productions, Inc. (not to be confused with the TV series). Not bad. It's a "...
I finished Halo 3 a week ago, and am just now getting around to posting my thoughts on it. Brass tacks? If you love Halo and Halo 2, you'll love Halo 3. ;-) Actually, if you really enjoy twitch...
BioShock, quite simply, is the best game I've played this year, and maybe the best the last two or three years. The game looks gorgeous, has interesting play mechanics put together in a way that ...
The more I play Halo 3, the more I like it. And while in my earlier post I said in my first impressions "the graphical fidelity is a bit improved over the multiplayer beta", that's not fair at al...
Yeah, I was there for a lackluster (and poorly handled) midnight launch. I have my Legendary Edition, and have been playing for around four hours. It's great fun -- especially cooping through camp...
I downloaded and played through the Spider-Man: Friend or Foe demo on the Xbox 360, and the title has promise. It's kind of a mish-mash of brawler and super lightweight Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. ...
I've been playing the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer beta. I should say trying to play it, as it's been pretty much an internal grudge match to do it. Gameplay and mechanics are pretty solid, I reall...
Been playing the BioShock demo that went up on Xbox Live tonight. Freaking rocks. Gorgeous, stylistic game I like adventure games. I like games with atmosphere and story. I like games that make m...
Wow, if you haven't yet, you should check out the Namco Bandai Eternal Sonata demo from disc 73 of The Official Xbox Magazine, or download it from Xbox Live Marketplace. I'm not really into Japane...
Friday night, I hit a buddy's all-night "unplugged" party. Aside from poker, fine beverages, and premium cigars (provided by yours truly), it was a heavy board game night. Two of the attendees ar...
I seriously think things look graphically prettier on the beta tonight. I'm sure I would have noticed drifting snow on Snowbound, and the bases look more ... metallic ... Sucky night for me, thoug...
I'm having fun with Halo 3. I'll probably put through more serious paces this weekend, but so far, so good. I mean, it's beta, so there's really no need to complain. And they're figuring out the ...
After a slight delay, I'm playing the Halo 3 multiplayer beta. So far, it's fun. I've only seen two of the three maps, and have done almost exclusively individual slayer (and one game of oddball, ...
I've been playing the Xbox 360 demo for Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia, and it's a fun little romp. I've been looking forward to this title for some time, and it delivers on a bunch of front...
After playing Gauntlet Seven Sorrows the other night, when a buddy came in from out of town Monday, we decided to dig out our mutual favorite original Xbox co-op game Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes. T...
I've wanted to play Gauntlet Seven Sorrows on the original Xbox for some time. Due to external happenings and a request from my East Coast gaming buddy Dajoti, I rented the game Friday night. Thi...
Microsoft and Ubisoft just made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 1989 arcade, available over Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). If you want to read a review about what's OK in the game, go to GameSpot.com....
Crackdown is an impressive, fun, and fully worthwhile sandbox game. I was irritated about the marginalizing of Crackdown as a "Halo 3 beta pack-in", but I'm sure the cross-promotion hugely helps t...
I downloaded the Japanese Xbox 360 demo for Armored Core 4 yesterday. I need to spend some more time with it, but so far I'm happy. I'm a fan of all but the latest Armored Core entries, and this ...
The demo wasn't enough, so I'm playing the full version of Crackdown. This game'll probably seriously be sucking my life away. And it stands on its own and rocks, so ignore the cutesy headlines ...
I recently discovered the Windows PC recreation of Dungeon Master, Return to Chaos (RTC). I first played Dungeon Master in the 80s on my Atari 520ST, and it's probably my all-time favorite game. D...
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