Ninjabee hints at fireball-tossing Avatars

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 23rd 2009 at 4:00PM }

Here's an interesting one. Ninjabee, creator of some of the better XBLA games out there (Cloning Clyde, A Kingdom for Keflings) recently posted a somewhat cryptic Twitter message. The tweet reads simply, "Here's the big news for the day: Ever wanted to throw a fireball with your Avatar?" The message is followed by a link leading to the image above, with the somewhat less cryptic message, "Soon you'll be able to use your Avatar in ways it hasn't been used before..."

First, the obvious answer to the question is a hearty "yes." We want our Avatars to do a lot of things, including some of the things they aren't allowed to do. Second, just what is this message all about? Dare we hope that Ninjabee is working up some kind of Avatar fighting game, perhaps in the manic style of Super Smash Bros. or possibly, dream of dreams, Power Stone? We've reached out to Ninjabee and will let you know as soon as we hear more.

In the meantime ... speculate.

Tags: avatars, ninjabee, xbla

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Shimrra @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:04PM

That would be awesome.

LilTmac2003 @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:25PM

Didn't Major Nelson say on 'Attack of the Show' that soon you'll be able to do some fun stuff with Avatars?

I'm assuming this is what he meant.

Storm Eagle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:29PM

Unless Olivia's talking, I'm not paying attention. Hell, if she's on the screen I'm not watching anything else.

alienterrorist @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:48PM

Yeah, but i hope thats not all they do with it. Imagine street fighter with only 1 attack.

Chicago Mafia @ Jun 23rd 2009 6:42PM

A fighting game using your avatar would be....awesome. Make it so, Ninjabee.

whylekat @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:05PM

I speculate that avatars are dumb, pointless, and just a scheme for more micro transactions. =P

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:08PM

I hate the avatars. I LOVE THE NINJA BEE though...

Anemos @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:07PM

So our Avatars will be able to slap some blue alien booty in Mass Effect 2?

Storm Eagle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:09PM

It's Avatar: The Last Avatar.

Throw Fire, Spit Tidal Waves, Spew Tornadoes, and Cause Earthquakes with EVERY STEP!

Zerokku @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:17PM

Although I know I'm in the minority, Avatar was seriously one of my favorite animes in years. Especially books 2 and 3.

Storm Eagle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:27PM

I know Avatar for the 360 gives you the easiest 1000 gamerpoints EVAR! And that's all I know about Avatar. Either of them. (No thanks to James Cameron)

Mr Khan @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:52PM

One of the best examples of American animation in the last decade or so, easily

Uncontrol @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:03PM

avatar wasn't anime arggghhh

also i found book 3 disappointing after the amazing clusterfuck of book 2

Zerokku @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:16PM

@ Mr Khan

Glad to see I'm not the only one.

@ Uncontrol

I called it that for lack of better words, since it's quite similar to that kind of style, and I'm not sure what the proper term is =P Books two and three are pretty equal to me, though three may edge out ahead.

Gun Barrier @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:29PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8tqejTeo78

avatar with people 0_o

Sly @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:37PM

gun barrier, i stopped watching after it said "m. night shyamalan"...

Zerokku @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:45PM

@ Gun Barrier

Oh god. That's the first I've seen of that o_O

I want to say I'm cautiously optimistic, but I'd be lying.

Elmoogle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:17PM

Won't Natal ruin the whole "things avatars can't do" since the first thing every fifteen year old male is going to do is make with the dry humping?

Rob @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:20PM

fifteen years old nothing, every male from 15 to 25 is going to try that.

Storm Eagle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:31PM

Are you insinuating that every male within that age bracket is going to *gulp* dry-humping Milo?

Jack Spicer PSN: watsuke @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:32PM

Stay classy Xbox owners.

Storm Eagle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:34PM

Thanks for stopping by...

Jack Spicer PSN: watsuke @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:36PM

And stay classy, im Jack Spicer.

Sly @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:39PM

hey, i'm fourteen going on fifteen and i didn't think of doing that. i did think of teabagging them though... still, that's a bit better, right?

Hashbrown Hunter (OneGiantCluster.blogspot.com) @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:20PM

I'm guessing that if it is a new game, then it will be along the lines of Rag Doll Kung-Fu so as to avoid any graphic violence. But a Super Smash Bros. type of Avatar fighting game would be awesome.

Petebot330 @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:21PM

I’d still like to know why half of my avatar’s T-shirts are soccer jerseys...

Rob @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:23PM

Someone really likes soccer?

hatmantc @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:22PM

didnt they just have an article saying that Avatars arent suppose to have weapons

Storm Eagle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:28PM

They didn't say anything about their bodies being weapons ;)

fidgetwidget @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:23PM

I suspect this is DLC for A Kingdom for Keflings, seeing as they have said (a few months ago) that they were working on some, and that news about it would be coming soon. I would hope that news about the DLC would come before a new game...

Just my two cents.

sony boy @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:28PM

i bet it's fireball fights with the natal thing in a snowy forest.

Spartacus @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:30PM

I just want MS to either produce, or allow more customizations for avatars to make them more game related rather than sim and mii look-alikes. Why does my avatar have to wear regular clothes? Why can't I dress him up in Halo power armor or Street FIghter IV outfits? I want my avatar to be a COOLER, more customizable version of the old gamerpic- which WAS actually game content related.

I want to be able to display my favorite games or at least genre of games visually by my avatar like I could with my gamerpic. Isn't that the point?

Storm Eagle @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:33PM

No. The whole point of the Avatar is to market a Sim-ish feature to the casual/family masses. Tweens eats that shit up.

kftgr @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:43PM

Because if games let you do that, it'll make their upcoming Avatar marketplace useless. It's a $ issue.

Spartacus @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:57PM

Uh, I didn't say MS couldn't SELL said outfits. It doesn't make any fricken difference dollar wise whether they sell you jeans and T-shirts or game related clothing.

I'm just saying I'd rather dress my avatar in "in-game" attire rather than boring non-game related crap. That's what an avatar is for. On any message board where custom avatars are permitted, how many people post realistic representations of themselves? Not many. No, instead people post idealized or stylized art that represents something about themselves and their tastes and more often than not, the avatar relates to the message board it is posted on (game themed, car themed, audio themed etc).

Snowblind @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:01PM

Achievement unlocked avatar gear is coming soon, we've already seen the ODST armour. We also know there's an Avatar store coming, so you can bet they'll be more things like that you can buy..

Also, Major Nelson showed off an E3 trophy as a "prop" for avatars to hold. This was only for those who attended E3, but it's fairly safe to assume they'll be more stuff like that coming.

Spartacus @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:04PM

Hey Snowblind, do you have any links for that info? I'd be interested in reading up on it. Thanks...

Snowblind @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:06PM

Here you go :)
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/01/microsoft-announces-avatar-marketplace-unlockable-apparel/

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/06/03/At-E3_3F00_-Come-by-and-get-the-first-Xbox-Avatar-prop.aspx

Spartacus @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:11PM

Well dang. Ask and ye shall receive... I retract my original complaint. Now I'll just complain that it isn't free and that I can't get it now, lol.

Letters2Kay @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:35PM

The only thing I want to do with my Avatar is get rid of it.

Blue_Falcon @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:38PM

It's NinjaBee, so I'm on board for whatever they have up their sleeves.

mikazi @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:38PM

Kameha-me...oh wait, forget i said that :/

joshua.nash @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:41PM

looking at the pic i get the urge to yell hadouken

Dami?L? Moreno @ Jun 23rd 2009 4:46PM

really!! why hasn't capcom given us a remake of power stone 2, in glorious HD, with online matches, and ranks and all the sweets stuff from nowadays!

power stone 2 just kicks @$$ !!! please capcom please please please !!! I'll even give you 1600 billy bucks!! =(

Danny @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:57PM

Sweet! Now Xbox miis (i mean avatars) can do silly things!

Zerokku @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:43PM

@ Gun Barrier

Oh god. That's the first I've seen of that o_O

I want to say I'm cautiously optimistic, but I'd be lying.

Zerokku @ Jun 23rd 2009 5:44PM

Blargh fucking comment system. Supposed to be a reply at the top.

pibs @ Jun 23rd 2009 6:30PM

I thought avatar tas was great. And the fact that they didn't whore out the series (like with insane amount of fillers) makes it better than "some" anime. I have a feeling that M.Night is gonna mess up the live action :/

Anyways anything that makes the 360 avatars useful is alright with me.