Joystiq

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is, like, totally popular and stuff

Ross Miller — 2008-05-04T15:45:00+00:00

Stop the presses! We are like, so totally stoked right now. Cut to the 14:28 mark of the latest Penny Arcade podcast, "Making an Impression." So speak'th the cartoon-inclined hosts:

"Hey, Disincentives won best webcomic for that week."

"Yeah, we did ... it's always nice to win."

"I feel like champion (my fri-end)."

Oh yeah, baby, that's right, we're famous enough to be on the second-greatest podcast around! So while we clutch the (CW)TB signature we have written on the back of a business card from when we ran into Tycho at GDC 2007 (note: thanks for putting up with our "trade show noob" geek-out 14 months ago, T-Bo), check out our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics; voting is after the break.

Multiplayer (Sharcbate)
02 (Super Effective)
So Close, Yet ... (2P Start)
Ancient Ways (Angry Stick)
My Greatest Achievement (Dueling Analogs)
Koffing and Weezing (Monday Night Crew)
Life Strategies (Penny Arcade)
What it Should Have Been (Game Boyz)
Game of Chance (Digital Unrest)

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A look back at GDC 2007

Ross Miller — 2008-02-13T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo DS, Features, PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, GDC

Next week, the Joystiq crew will pack their precious belongings (a laptop, some clothes, and a towel) before flying off to the 2008 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. So now seems about as good a time as any to reflect back on last year's GDC for a taste of what's to come. Sure, there's a dearth of playable demos when compared to E3 or TGS, but what other trade show can say they redefined the role of adhesive in internet conversations?

Keep reading for our remembrances of the keynotes (what's Game 3.0 again?), last year's big news (Harmonix and EA are doing what?), the sessions and interviews (the Wii is how many Gamecubes duct-taped together?), and the whole culture of GDC (Miyamoto made quite a splash).

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A look back at GDC 07: a taste of culture

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-02-13T16:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Features, GDC

We're definitely not big-time executives getting driven around everywhere, so make no mistake about it, running around and covering GDC can be exhausting! Need evidence? Well, in the picture above you'll see the blogger photo-frenzy that occurred one evening after our dear editor Mr. Grant passed out cold of exhaustion (no liquor or pharmaceuticals involved). Sure, there's a lot of news and business related things going on at GDC, but we still find time to have some fun and write about the cultural things going on within the industry.

There was definitely one big name at GDC last year who requires no introduction: Miyamoto. People waited in an incredibly long line last year to hear the father of Mario, Link -- and in many ways, Nintendo -- speak. Some people had life altering experiences after meeting with his holiness, while others showed their love by simply serenading the man; however, the best use of Miyamoto's time at GDC was certainly his guest appearance in a Mega64 skit where he gave an award-winning performance as a man faced with the horror of seeing his own creation in cos-play form.

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A look back at GDC 07: all the news thats fit to post

Jason Dobson — 2008-02-13T16:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Features, GDC

GDC is always a hotbed for game-related news, and 2007 was no different as a flurry of announcements made during the annual event gave attendees plenty to talk about while waiting in line for sessions or sipping unspecified beverages in a haze of drunken exhaustion. Let's take a look back at which announcements came to pass, which were left unceremoniously forgotten, and which ones still have us scratching each other's heads like a pack of spider monkeys.

It was at GDC 07 where EA finally broke the silence and confirmed that it had slipped into bed with rhythm game virtuoso Harmonix with plans to publish the studio's next game. That game, of course, was Rock Band, though at the time the future of that announcement was the subject of much debate. After all, it's still popular to look at EA as an evil megacorp, and the partnership between it and indie fave Harmonix was not met with universal acclaim. Not that it matters now, as we're far too busy belting out lyrics to Roxanne.

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A look back at GDC 07: interviews and sessions

Scott Jon Siegel — 2008-02-13T16:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Features, GDC

Beyond the keynotes and news stories, the 2007 Game Developers Conference packed an incredible amount of content within the walls of San Francisco's Moscone Center. A number of memorable sessions leave us teary-eyed with nostalgia, as we wonder if GDC 08 can possibly top the frenetic schedule of last year's event.

Before GDC proper even began, the Mobile Game Innovation Hunt passed out free beer and noisemakers to its filled-to-capacity crowd for the most professional form of game criticism. And speaking of professional criticism, Maxis developer Chris Hecker certainly made waves at the Game Publisher's Rant session, when he infamously referred to the Wii as "two Gamecubes duct-taped together," generating enough fanboy fuel to power a small star. The small but oh-so-significant comment unfortunately became the focus of the session's media coverage, but we were still able to talk to Vivendi's Nichol Bradford about her own impassioned presentation.

Elsewhere, music was most certainly in the air, as iNiS VP Keiichi Yano discussed the success of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan on DS, and the difficulties of bringing the quirky rhythm title to the US as Elite Beat Agents. Musical inspiration could most definitely be found in Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, who made his first public appearance in America at GDC, and discussed the secrets of designing good game audio.

There was no shortage of inspiration at GDC. Loco Roco designer Tsutomu Kouno inspired designers with tales of the game's development, while LittleBigPlanet developers Media Molecule inspired studios to put their best feet forward when approaching publishers. Thatgamecompany was doling out inspiration as well, with its founders talking about their fast transition from graduate students to PS3 developers. We even found inspiration out on the streets of San Francisco, in the forms of Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell, and its designer Dave Grossman!

Innovation was also a big part of the GDC experience, with the Experimental Gameplay Sessions demonstrating a series of audio-inspired titles, as well as choice words about the PSP puzzler Crush, and Valve's darling Portal. For innovation a bit further off the beaten track, the Game Design Challenge called for its competitors to devise a game using a needle and thread interface, a task which Tetris designer Alexey Pajitnov walked away from victorious. Kudos to the industry vet for showing that he's still got it.

For those worried that new innovations may abandon the classic tropes of our medium, there were certainly GDC sessions dedicated to gaming's history. Game show fans could tune in to The Metagame, where panelists debated over whether Guitar Hero was in fact more culturally sophisticated than Parappa the Rapper. A wholly different type of panel talked about the ten most important video games of all time, and Castlevania director Koji Igarashi was close at hand to remind us that 2D games will never die.

When we weren't attending sessions or interviewing personalities, we were playing GDC's wide assortment of games. We were sucked in by Super Paper Mario's 2D/3D gameplay, and floored by the speed, shimmer, and shine of Forza 2. Katamari-esque de Blob, now bound for Wii, was still in its nascent PC stages when we check it out on the IGF show floor. The Behemoth's Castle Crashers was also looking quite lovely (where's that game been for the past year, anyway?). We also spent a little -- ahem -- personal time with sex sim Virtually Jenna, and threw down cellphone-style in Gamelab's conference-wide game, Gangs of GDC.

At GDC, we work damn hard to bring you the most coverage, so you better believe that we play hard, too. And who needs sleep, anyway? We'll sleep when we're dead. Or on the plane. Whichever.

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Witness 'The Metagame' in action, thanks to MTV

Scott Jon Siegel — 2007-11-15T15:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture

It ran at GDC 2007; we reported on it, but you didn't get to see it. Now, MTV has hosted a special edition of The Metagame game show, as part of their "Gamer's Week" Coverage, and Stephen Totilo has posted the highlights for mass consumption.

The Metagame, designed and hosted by Frank Lantz of area/code and Eric Zimmerman of Gamelab, pits two teams against each other in a battle of video game smarts. Each round, teams move pieces on the game board to form comparative statements between two games (such as "Halo would make a better movie than Half-Life," or "Virtua Fighter is sexier than Super Mario 64."), and argue these statements to earn points. Vying for victory this time are MTV's Stephen Totilo and Tim Kash, versus Newsweeks' N'Gai Croal, and fellow journalist Heather Chaplin, author of Smart Bomb.

The debate is heated, hilarious, and only the slightest bit pretentious. We'd definitely enjoy watching more designers, developers, and press-members argue the semantics and specifics of the industry's most influential games. Any chance of picking up the show full-time, MTV?

Update: Due to silly legal restrictions, the video posted above is not viewable in the UK or Canada. Apologies for any confusion or irritation this might cause.

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Off the Grid: I was a student scholar

Scott Jon Siegel — 2007-03-23T13:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Features, GDC

Every other week Scott Jon Siegel contributes Off the Grid, a column on gaming away from the television screen or monitor.

Since I couldn't find anyone to play Robo Rally with me this week, I thought I'd take this opportunity to instead discuss my experience as one of the IGDA's Student Scholars at this year's Game Developers Conference.

For the past seven years, the International Game Developers Association has been sending students interested in a future career in video games to GDC. A panel of professional game developers judges all the submitted applications, and each year 25 students are selected to receive free passes to the event. Each student is also paired with an industry mentor, and all the scholars are given an orientation session for the conference, and a tour of a local studio. I was honored to have been chosen as one of this year's student scholars, and found my first GDC experience to be all the more worthwhile as a result.

The three-day conference started on Wednesday, so Tuesday morning we met as a group for a special orientation session. A few of the scholars had already met up the previous night, as part of an unofficial pre-GDC get-together. Some of the student scholars were undergrads, but others were graduate students, and the group ranged widely in age. The disciplines and interests of the students varied widely as well, with artists, designers, coders, and audiophiles all equally represented. Part of our orientation had to do with simply meeting each other, exchanging business cards and conversing with peers who might very well be industry bigwigs in a few years; some of them just give off that vibe.

Darius Kazemi, game developer and self-described "eager beaver of the industry," met up with us before lunch to go over some networking basics. Darius blogs about effective networking, and was more than happy to share some of his advice with us. He encouraged us to not be shy about introducing ourselves to people, as everyone at GDC is there to do just that. He also recommended that we bring a lot of business cards, and focus on what he calls "weak ties" -- that is, the people you have 2-minute conversations with, rather than the people you've known for years.

Some of the industry mentors were present for this orientation, and those mentors had an opportunity to meet and chat with their students over lunch. We were assigned our industry mentors prior to GDC, and many of the scholars had already been in contact with or met their mentors. The IGDA tried hard to pair students with people in the industry who shared their interests. The mentor's job was to enlighten the student on his or her experiences in the industry, as well as give advice on good sessions to attend, and answer any questions that may arise. Many mentors also took it upon themselves to introduce the students to peers and colleagues. My mentor did just this, and I met many people who I would have otherwise not run into because of this.

After lunch we took a short walk over to local MMO studio Perpetual Entertainment. Perpetual's hard at work on two massively-multiplayer games at the moment: The mythology-based Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, and the equally-exciting Star Trek Online. We got a chance to see a lot of the work put into the games, and key individuals from both development teams sat down with us to discuss the design work, team management, art-direction, and programming that goes into such large-scale titles.

This was all before the conference proper even began. Tuesday night was the IGDA members-only party, and GDC kicked off Wednesday morning. Armed with some of the networking skills from my orientation, and meeting occasionally with my industry mentor, I was able to make the most out of the three-day conference, and walk away with more than a few contacts that may be valuable after graduation.

If you're a university-level student interested in the game industry, then GDC is a logical destination. Oftentimes, however, the cost of a pass on top of travel and accommodation expenses can be prohibitive. The IGDA's student scholar program exists for just this reason, allowing students who might otherwise not attend the Game Developers Conference to take part in the event, and make the most of the three days of sessions, panels, and networking opportunities. GDC 2008 is a while away, but it's never to soon to start thinking about it. For those interested in applying for the student scholarship, here's some advice to help your application stand out:

Be passionate - If there was one thing that all the student scholars had in common, it was passion. None of us were "thinking about" breaking into the industry; we were all "going to" break into the industry, come hell or high-water. If you're applying for the scholarship, you're telling the judges that this is your dream job, and you should make it clear that scholarship or no scholarship, you're going to pursue that dream. If you're passionate, you should also be able to show other ways in which you're preparing to enter the industry. Make them know you want it.

Have something to show - It's helpful to have a website to reference in your application, which can direct the judges to examples of your work. If you're a sound person, you should have audio files. If you're a designer or programmer, you should have games. If you're an artist, you should have artwork. Your portfolio doesn't have to be perfect (see below); the important thing is to show that you're working. If you don't have anything to show them, GDC 2008 is a little less than a year away. Get started.

Discuss what you can learn - Nobody's infallible, and as important as it is to come off as confident in your application, it's also important to let the judges know what you can learn at GDC that would be unavailable to you elsewhere. Once the sessions are announced for the conference, find ones that match your interests, and mention several in your application. Show that you've done the research, and that GDC will assist you in developing and broadening your skills.

Be honest - It's important enough that I'll mention it twice. If you have shortcomings in your field, don't hide them. Talk about them, and discuss how certain sessions will help you overcome those weaknesses. The student scholarship is meant for people who still have a lot to learn, and the judges will want to know that GDC will be a growing experience for you.

I hope this feature was helpful to anyone thinking about applying for the scholarship. For the non-digital gamers, I'll get back on topic next time.

Scott Jon Siegel is a fledgling game designer, and fancies himself a bit of a writer on the topic as well. His words and games can be found at numberless, which is almost always a work in progress.

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Readers pick best webcomic: Hecker the Traitor

Ross Miller — 2007-03-22T16:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Nintendo Wii, Online, Polls, GDC

It may have required some background knowledge of 300 and Chris Hecker to understand, but the Joystiq webcomic lovers chose via parliamentary procedure 2P Start's entry as the best webcomic of last week.

Second place went to Penny Arcade and third from Scott Johnson's Extra Life. Thanks to everyone who voted and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!

Here's the breakdown:

Quick, to the archives!

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Japanese hardware sales, Mar. 5 - Mar. 11: GDC ruined everything edition

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-03-17T01:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, GDC, Business

Much like the gruesome aftermath of an unexpected shark attack, it was difficult to miss the fact that a crucial part of us recently went missing. Last week, the Japanese sales charts were mysteriously absent, leaving nothing but a festering hole on the front page and a severe bout of dizziness for all involved. Of course, the blame is to be firmly placed on the shark -- here meaning the Game Developer's Conference held in San Francisco.

We were ill-prepared when it devoured our energy in one terrifying gulp and by the time we filmed a special video "skit," it had become all too apparent that we had little acting, humor, writing or basic conversational abilities. Instead, we present a gallery of miscellaneous GDC images, many of which depict Joystiq staffers in various states of tomfoolery and general ineptitude. If you are truly outraged by the lack of last week's charts (presented after the break!), use these images to identify us and then punch us in the face.

- DS Lite: 108,512 3,302 (2.95%)
- PSP: 56,175 9,981 (15.09%)
- Wii: 44,494 13,477 (23.25%)
- PS3: 32,115 11,885 (27.01%)
- PS2: 14,585 779 (5.07%)
- Xbox 360: 3,333 46 (1.36%)
- Game Boy Micro: 812 7 (0.87%)
- GBA SP: 679 59 (7.99%)
- Gamecube: 240 63 (20.79%)
- DS Phat: 119 7 (6.25%)
- GBA: 13 12 (48.00%)

Source: Media Create]

See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts

Gallery: Joystiq @ GDC07

Japanese hardware sales for Feb. 26 - Mar. 4:

- DS Lite: 111,814 24,314 (17.86%)
- PSP: 66,156 34,054 (33.98%)
- Wii: 57,972 20,534 (26.16%)
- PS3: 44,000 24,685 (127.80%)
- PS2: 15,364 310 (2.06%)
- Xbox 360: 3,379 804 (19.22%)
- Game Boy Micro: 805 102 (11.25%)
- GBA SP: 738 297 (28.70%)
- Gamecube: 303 20 (6.19%)
- DS Phat: 112 20 (15.15%)
- GBA: 25 34 (57.63%)

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Today's flattest game video: Super Paper Mario

Zack Stern — 2007-03-16T00:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo Wii, RPGs, GDC, Video

We fought through the GDC crowds to give you our impressions, and this GameTrailers interview about Super Paper Mario shows off the game's creative controls. While it's just one of the Wii's titles, here's hoping this April game brings showers to counter the perception of the Wii game drought.

Anticipate the rain -- and watch the video -- after the break.

Paper cutout Mario and friends image from Paper Forest and GotOrion.

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Today's best friendiest video: Fable 2 dog

Zack Stern — 2007-03-14T00:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, Adventure, RPGs, GDC, Video

We previously covered Peter Molyneux's Fable 2 talk at GDC, and now the most-watched video at GameTrailers shows off Fable 2's dog, letting us take a closer look for tonight's video. Molyneux stresses not to scrutinize the graphics and that only the dog is worth looking at in the demo's current state. Overlooking the work left to be done, the dog seems to be well animated and deliver a lot of emotion; hopefully this companion will add more depth to the game.

See the dog demo after the break.

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Castlevania's Koji Igarashi: 2D games will never die!

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-03-13T06:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, GDC

Bringing his GDC presentation, "The Light and Dark Sides of 2D Game Production," to a flag-waving close, Konami's Koji Igarashi defiantly declared (via an enthusiastically projected slide) that "2D games will never die!" Though the Castlevania designer's train of thought seemed to switch several times during the talk -- no doubt exacerbated by the wonky on-the-fly translation -- his point eventually emerged as a light at the end of the tunnel.

Igarashi explained that as 3D games grow more complex and require greater effort from artists, 2D games provide an advantage by being easier and cheaper to design. Though he argued that the perspective generally allows players to better judge distance in action games, he was largely focused on the production side of things. Pixel art and backgrounds can be reused throughout multiple titles, he noted, allowing designers to spend more of their time on other aspects of the game.

A unique challenge for modern consoles, however, is adapting to the much higher display resolutions. More on-screen pixels means more detailed art, in which case drawing beautiful 2D assets might become just as strenuous and laborious as creating 3D character models. As such, Igarashi is treating the upcoming 2.5D Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles as an experiment -- can the dynamic presentation of 3D titles and the cost-effective design of 2D gaming get along? We'll find out later this year.

Gallery: Koji Igarashi @ GDC

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Spore's power struggle: freedom vs. beauty

Ross Miller — 2007-03-12T22:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Simulations, Strategy, GDC, Casual

What is a magic crayon? If you're envisioning Harold and his purple outlet of creativity, you wouldn't be far off from the intended metaphor. Chaim Gingold, design lead for Spore's editors and cell game, described the magic crayon as a toy that is simple to use and yet gives the user enough power to create something they'll appreciate.

Gingold kicked off his presentation, one of the last after a marathon of lectures and roundtables at this year's Game Developers Conference, by defining a magic crayon through example. Photoshop is not a good magic crayon, for example, because it is very hard for most people to use. Neither is Super Mario Bros., since you are not changing anything in the world. Kid Pix fits the schema for a magic crayon, as does the Mii creator, which is an "absolutely beautiful, wonderful magic crayon," he said.

"Soft mastery, you do something, you look at what's done, you give and take," he said. "Hard mastery is all about control and imposing your will." Gingold gives The Sims as an example of soft mastery and Civilization as hard mastery. Statistics have shown women are more interested in soft mastery, while men enjoy hard mastery, he said. Soft mastery is much easier to develop.

A facet of Spore is an exercise in Flow, a mental state where a person feels completely immersed in what he or she is doing. (Yes, That Game Company's flOw is inspired by this idea.) To accomplish that, Gingold explains that he has had to sacrifice some creative freedom in order to ensure what he terms disproportionate feedback, defined by a user not having to do much to get a lot back.

It is at this moment that Gingold stops to laud LittleBigPlanet. "My head explodes when I think about this program," he said.

The creature editor

The creature editor was the first and hardest to make. "It's also the only required editor in the game," he said. Gingold sought advice from the art department, noting that they asked how one would start a sketch a creature (in this case, draw a bean). From there, more options to the vertebrae were added. Complete control was not given, but from the rules given to the body, arms and legs, the computer will know how to properly animate the creature while the user can still make some beautiful, if not bizarre, creations. (See Robin Williams test the creature editor at E3.)

Other than the original blueprint, Gingold noted that he lived by the rule that if graphic artists were able to do produce amazing work, then it might be a bit too complicated. Many Venn diagrams are shown, redefining possibility (what the user can make), probability (what the user is likely to make) and desirability (what the user wants to make). Gingold shows some backend software that shows what the beta testers have been making, and his team has been using that to help set the freedoms and limitations of the editors.

The building editor

Magnetic poetry was an inspiration for the building editor, which Gingold wanted to work so that it would take "three clicks to make something good ... You also want to support the 1,000 clickers who make amazing things."

Pre-made content was not working, so Gingold decided to define elements of a building for the editor: body, roof, window and door. The team focused on making all the pieces available fit together and make something that looks cool. He returned to the idea of cohesion; now that the building parts are defined, the computer can help decide how all the pieces fit together (e.g. system can now help player add more bodies and roofs to a house, knowing how they fit.)

"Players don't necessarily know what they like and don't like, but they do know whether they like it or not once they get it," he said.

One-button design is discussed; Gingold praises games like Diablo and The Sims (heh, of course) and even applications such as E-mail and Firefox for the one-button simplicity of the interface. He also praised hardware such as the iPod and Wii remote. Not mentioned is the super cool and easy-to-use Steel Battalion controller.

Gingold talks about giving players a certain order to perform tasks. "Remember those cartoon books? Step one: draw a circle. Step two: draw a line. Step three: draw Mickey Mouse?" The audience has a laugh with Gingold. We're still pining for this game, promised for a 2007 release.

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GDC's i am 8-bit preview art exhibit

Christopher Grant — 2007-03-12T20:24:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, GDC

Though we didn't manage to make our way to the i am 8-bit art show last night at San Francisco's Gallery 1988SF, we did stop by the preview exhibit at Moscone's North Hall. Situated between the IGDA lounge and the XNA challenge area. What we found rendered our cerebral functions momentarily shut down.

According to the showcase's description, "the theme is simple -- over 100 artists put their old-school 80's gaming memories to paint, ink, sculpture, plush, and other bizarre mediums all in the name of pixels! It's an experiment in interpretation, shining a spotlight on an era when games were dominated by character." We're fond of the Mega-Man fanboy's dismayed loss.

The full gallery, dubbed Version 2.007, will be on display April 17 through May 21.

Gallery: i am 8-bit at GDC

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Mega 64's "ruined" Mario skit

Ross Miller — 2007-03-12T19:59:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Retro, Online, GDC

Mega64 contributed a few new skits to the Game Developers Choice Awards last week to much applause and laughter, including a pretty poignant piece on Feel the Magic XX / XY (we're still waiting for that one to pop up on the internet). One in particular made the crowd scream more than anything else that night. The YouTube description reads thusly: "A skit that went great until some guy made it all awkward."

We won't spoil the rest, so check out the video after the break.

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Suda 51 announces 'The Silver Case' remakes for DS

James Ransom-Wiley — 2007-03-12T18:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Adventure, GDC

During a GDC presentation last week Grasshopper Manufacture frontman Suda 51 revealed that his studio would be remaking its first two games, porting them onto DS. The two installments of a mystery-riddled adventure series, The Silver Case (PS1) and The Silver Case Word 25 (mobile) were released only in Japan. Because these are both text-heavy adventures, there's a good chance the remakes will never be localized for non-Japanese markets either (Objection?!). Sure, you could import, but if you can't read the text featured in the image here, don't bother.

But don't fret either, Killer 7 fans jonesing for a Suda fix have No More Heroes to look forward to. Peep the new footage and decide if this Wii game will live up to its ultra-violent billing.

[Via DS Fanboy]

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Another side to Chris Hecker's duct tape rant

Ross Miller — 2007-03-12T13:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, GDC, Casual

If you've followed the Game Developers Conference at all, you probably heard about Maxis programmer Chris Hecker comments that the Wii is nothing more than two GameCubes duct tape together (though, to be fair, that's a 0.5 upgrade from comments that the Wii is "GameCube 1.5"). We're willing to wager that "Product X is just two Product Ys duct tape together" is on track to becoming a popular phrase in gaming circles.

Kim Pallister of Microsoft Casual Games has risen to Hecker's defense, which ultimately led to an apology we feel was somewhat coerced by his overlords at EA and Maxis. The major point in Hecker's argument is that having an innovative control system "should not give them a 'get out of jail free card' on the fact that they have delivered an underpowered machine," according to Pallister's interpretation. And by underpowered, Hecker is referring to computations and not the graphics system, which puts his rant in line with what he said last year that the PS3 and Xbox 360 also underperform in terms of computational power while focusing on a graphics-heavy system.

We're not going to take sides on his point that Nintendo needs to "recognize and push games as a serious art form," though the statement does make for a great discussion. We will say all three companies have pushed for more involvement with independent developers. (Microsoft has Castle Crashers and Roboblitz, Sony has flOw and LittleBigPlanet and Nintendo has Line Rider and possibly Telltale's Sam & Max.)

Don't forget about the heap of praise that the IGDA community gave Hecker just last year after winning the Community Contribution Award. Though, to be fair, that award is just two IGF awards duct taped together.

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GameJew stalks Miyamoto, sings him a song

John Bardinelli — 2007-03-12T10:26:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, GDC, Video

Most fans stalk their role models for a handshake, an autograph, or a quick photo. Not Jonathan Mann, a.k.a. GameJew. Sporting a full Mario costume and carrying a guitar, Mann tailed Shigeru Miyamoto at this year's GDC hoping to get a chance to sing him "his song." It took five days and several brush-bys, but in the end Jonathan got his wish. Check out the video and pray to the gods on Mt. Olympus that the song doesn't get stuck in your head.

Although it is kind of catchy.

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Are gay characters becoming a 'non-troversy'?

Alexander Sliwinski — 2007-03-12T06:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, GDC

For the second year GLBT members of the gaming industry had roundtable discussions to explore their place in the business. Issues like an International Game Developers Association special interest group were discussed, along with establishing Human Rights Campaign corporate equality index numbers for all game companies. The developers who didn't have domestic partner benefits at their companies believed that it was a simple oversight, not a decision point, by their employer. One of the stand-out moments was the discussion over the 'non-troversy' of gay game characters.

Designer Jeb Havens who led the roundtable sessions coined the "non-troversy" phrase to explain the Bully boy-on-boy kiss. An incident that many believed would blow up, but ended up being a bullet point. The non-troversy continued last week with Peter Molyneux's announcement that gay relationships would be allowed in Fable 2, even though it was an "accident" in the original Fable. As the roster of gay characters increases, which according to a recent study are wanted much more in RPGs, could gay characters become non-troversies in games like a Gears of War sequel? The film V for Vendetta was used as a prime example of how the gaming industry could incorporate gay issues that don't distract from the game's story, but actually help propel the plot.

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Moving The Sims from PC to Wii

Zack Stern — 2007-03-12T04:32:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, PC, Nintendo Wii, Simulations, GDC, Business, Galleries

At GDC, Maxis Game Designer Robin Hunicke spoke about her process of transferring The Sims to the Wii. Her team was excited to be working on a Wii title because of its new controller and Nintendo's history, but Hunicke's most important lesson was to stay true to the defining elements of a franchise instead of starting over for a new console.

Hunicke said, "The Wii is so cool ... oh my gosh. ... Almost everyone on my team is a Nintendo fan. Almost all game developers are Nintendo fans. ... We were really excited to build a [Wii] game." But since the team began work well before the console's launch, they only had tradeshow experiences and Nintendo ads to approach the MySims design.

Hunicke noticed the clean lines, family oriented approach, and tactile aesthetics of the early Wii marketing material. She followed those elements instead of trying to build the game around flailing controller movements. Hunicke said, "We wanted to bring The Sims to the Wii in a way that we could say we were at home on the Wii."

Gallery: MySims design process

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