Joystiq

Puzzle & Power Packs: PSN-only games on UMD this Oct.

Christopher Grant — 2008-09-04T11:27:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP

Despite a higher percentage of broadband penetration in Europe, and the introduction of a PC-based PlayStation Store for the PS3-less, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has still opted to wrangle up the bits of some of the PSP's download-only titles for UMD distribution in themed "packs".

The first two packs (there are "more Collection Packs to be released throughout 2009") are the Puzzle Pack - cramming the mischievous Lemmings with the excitable Go! Sudoku and Go! Puzzle - and the Power Pack - an odd grouping of Syphon Filter: Combat Ops, the more contemplative stylings of flOw, and the rhythm-happy Beats. The Puzzle Pack is slated for a European debut in "mid" October while the Power Pack will come along right behind it, in "late" October. We've asked the fine folks at SCEA to comment on a North American release so, until then, let's just assume this is Europe-only.

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Joystiq E3 hands-on: flower (PSN)

Ross Miller — 2008-07-21T07:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Simulations, Casual

Before E3, the last time we heard anything about flOw dev Thatgamecompany's newest project was November 2007. Cut to last week, when TGC Creative Director and co-founder Jenova Chen guided us through an early build of their upcoming PSN title flower (note the 'o' is now lowercase).

Like flOw, it's really hard for us to confidently form an opinion on the abstract idea (check out PS3 Fanboy for their praises). We hope Sony decides to release a demo with this game. Videos and previews will not do flower justice; it's a game worth trying for yourself.

Gallery: Flower

According to Chen, the entire game was inspired by finding a balance between urban life and desire of nature, hence the working subtitle "life in balance." If flOw is a haiku, he said, then flower is a poem. The two games share many similarities: simple controls, no tutorials, and an atmosphere best described as "soothing." However, what flower has that its predecessor lacks is structure and Trophies. (Chen explained that Trophies are being mandated by Sony, however the developer is implementing them in "an interesting way.")

"We can already predict flower's reviews: It's a soothing and interactive piece of art, but it's not a game. And we're perfectly fine with that."

Each of the flowers on your apartment windowsill opens a level, considered the flower's dream sequence. In the one we played, we used the Sixaxis the glide the petal around a hilly and tree-less field (newsflash: The petal cannot crash), and any button pressed lets you speed up the trajectory.

As you flow-t around the level, bumping into other flowers will increase your botanical army. Groups of activated flowers unlock more flowers to touch and can turn a yellow patch of earth into a lush growth. Chen said that each level will have different objectives and it is up to you to figure out what they are. There are also secrets in each dream, he said, although we didn't find any in our brief demo.

Chen dubbed the game "intellectually M-rated," but for the ESRB, we're confident it'll be E for Everyone. We can already predict flower's reviews: It's a soothing and interactive piece of art, but it's not a game. And we're perfectly fine with that. Chen said they are contractually obligated to produce one more game for PSN. If the naming and analogy trends continue, we look forward to next year's "short story" flowerpOt.

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This Week in Review: A Smashing Start

Ross Miller — 2008-03-07T21:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

Welcome to This Week in Review (formerly This Week in DLC), where we round up all the hands-on impressions and game reviews (including Metareviews) from the Joystiq Network. This week's megaton title should come as no surprise whatsoever.

Nintendo Wii

Xbox 360

X3F TV: Dark Sector hands-on
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (also on PS3)

PlayStation 3

Metareview: Army of Two (also on Xbox 360)
Review: LOST: Via Domus (also on Xbox 360)

PlayStation Portable

Review: flOw

Nintendo DS

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GDC08: The top PSN downloads since launch

Andrew Yoon — 2008-02-21T02:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, GDC

Congratulations to flOw for standing atop of Sony's list of best selling PSN purchases since the Store's debut over a year ago. It's great to see stellar games, like Everyday Shooter and Super Stardust HD, earn the sales recognition they deserve. But, why such high sales of Mortal Kombat II? Guess nostalgia (and bargain price) help loosen the wallet of potential buyers.

For the list of top downloaded demos from the PSN (and European figures), check out PS3 Fanboy.

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GDC08: Hands-on with PSP's flOw

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-02-20T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PSP, GDC

The good news is that nothing has been lost in flOw's translation to the PlayStation Portable. The bad news, however, is that something has been gained. Though the aesthetics and soothing audio of the PlayStation 3 version have been mostly preserved, SuperVillain Studios' pint-sized port has been "gifted" with with far more precise control, courtesy of the system's analog nub.

Unfortunately, what would normally be considered to be an improvement introduces a mechanical, almost rigid feel to the relaxed and fluid movements in flOw. It's a bizarre complaint -- oh no, the control is more responsive! -- but in the dreamy context of flOw, an increase in precision isn't necessarily in the game's best interests. We should have considered throwing some quotation marks around the word "game" (just like that), as its serene atmosphere and aimless immersion still manages to evade such precise definition, even on a smaller screen.

In terms of content, flOw is unchanged from its bigger brother. You'll still steer an aquatic creature through beautiful blue waters, gobbling up lesser beings and steadily expanding your size, the game's vague approximation of a health bar. As you dive deeper, you'll aim your chomping appendages at larger creatures and eventually unlock other forms with which to explore the depths. Though the twitchy nub turns flOw's serenity into a bit of staccato swim, the game is still unique enough to warrant some leisurely play -- especially if you don't have access to a PS3.

Expect flOw to arrive on the PC's PlayStation Store on March 6th at a price which a Sony representative assured us would be "right in line" with the console game's $5 price tag.

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flOw bringS anNoying cApitalization to psP (on March 6)

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-02-08T12:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP

Posting on the official PlayStation blog, SuperVillain Studios has announced that serene swim sim flOw is expected to surface on the PlayStation Portable early next month. The comparatively puny version will include all of the content from the PlayStation 3 game (with the exception of its expansion pack) while eschewing SIXAXIS motion control for analog nub rubbin'.

It's unknown how much you'll have to splash out when the downloadable title washes onto the PC's PlayStation Store, but we'll be sure to put up a fuss if we think we're getting pond* by the price.

*We are so very sorry.

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flOw swims to PSP

Scott Jon Siegel — 2008-01-31T09:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Portable, Sony PSP, Casual

Thatgamecompany's flOw is finally floating from the PS3 over to the Playstation Portable, CVG reports. The PSN title (which started out as a graduate thesis) will soon be available for purchase and download from the PC-based Playstation Store, where it can be beamed to the PSP for on-the-go underwater trippy creature-eating... stuff.

According to CVG, the PSP version will likely remain largely unchanged from the PS3 original. Though no release date was given, CVG speculates that flOw may appear alongside today's scheduled PSN update. We can't confirm, but that would be neat.

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FlOw dev discusses blossoming new project

Ross Miller — 2007-11-29T11:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3

If the Tokyo Game Show trailer was any indication, flOw developer Thatgamecompany is not shying away from abstract projects. Speaking at the Montreal International Games Summit (via Gamasutra), TGC President Kellee Santiago explained how music played an important role in the the initial development phases of Flower. Two musical pieces were commissioned to set the tone of the project, according to Santiago, to "get everyone on the same page... doing sample audio tracks to evoke the emotion [will] keep everyone's work consistent."

Details about Flower itself are rather scant, aside from confirmation that at least part of the game has to do with growing flowers. Said Santiago, Flower involves the "possible emotional impacts of the feeling of growing a flower, and possible interactions as the sun." The title is due out on the PlayStation Network sometime in 2008.

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PSN games Everyday Shooter, flOw (and more) on sale for $5

Christopher Grant — 2007-11-21T03:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

Sony's latest PS3 promotion asks, "When was the last time $4.99 brought you hours of entertainment?" We don't have the heart to remind them that bunches of XBLA games - like Space Giraffe - are only $5. Also, that coloring book we bought last week for less than $5 has brought us dozens of hours of entertainment ...

Regardless, here's the deets of their promotion: four of the highest-profile (and, as luck would have it, best) PSN downloadable titles are being offered for the low, low price of $5. Did you miss the normally $10 Calling all Cars' discounted $5 price last month? Well, the gods at Sony have granted you a second chance. How about indie-darlings Everyday Shooter (normally $10) and flOw (normally $8)? Pick 'em up for, you guessed it, $5 each. Last on the list is PixelJunk Racers (normally $7), which will also be available for $5.

You've got until November 29th to catch 'em all and add them to your collection of Black Friday steals.

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Warhawk, fl0w expanding in December

Scott Jon Siegel — 2007-10-18T04:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, Casual

Expansions are coming for popular Playstation Network titles fl0w and Warhawk, according to Game Informer magazine. Firing Squad reports that a recent issue of the magazine reveals expansions in development for both downloadable titles, with planned releases in December.

The Warhawk expansion will introduce a dropship into the game, which can pick up and relocate ground vehicles. The fl0w expansion, meanwhile, will add a multiplayer mode to the abstract game, as well as a new playable creature. While expansions for Warhawk are a no-brainer, it remains to be seen how typical downloadable content will fit in with the incredibly atypical fl0w.

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Today's most flowery video: 'fl0wer' trailer

Scott Jon Siegel — 2007-09-21T00:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, TGS, Video

If the title looks like a blatant ripoff of indie fave fl0w, that's because it's actually the same developer. Thatgamecompany, that game company which brought abstract underwater battle to PSN, is working on a new game, announced via a short, artsy trailer at the Tokyo Game Show.

We don't know much (okay, anything) about fl0wer -- only that it's being developed for PS3, and that it's not yet playable. Based on the name, we expect that it will at least be a spiritual successor to fl0w, which started as game designer Jenova Chen's graduate thesis. View the serene teaser after the break, and let the speculation begin.

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Catching up with Thatgamecompany

Ross Miller — 2007-07-13T06:43:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, E3

FlOw has come a long way since being part of a master's thesis for then-University of Southern California student Jenova Chen. Now the title is the number one download on the PlayStation Network. We had the chance to speak with Chen and fellow Thatgamecompany co-founder Kellee Santiago about what's been going since we last heard from them at the Game Developers Conference.

The developer is still very positive about their decision to sign a 3-game deal with Sony and say they have been very good to them, according to Santiago. They are still working inside the Sony offices. When we mentioned the success of flOw, Chen remarked that they see it more as a challenge.

Though they can't reveal any information on the upcoming project, Chen considered it ambitious, with no previous reference material. He used an illustration metaphor, that they can always illustrate known game mechanics, "but now we're trying to sketch it ourself," he said. We thought flOw was a pretty ambitious title, so it'll be interesting to see what they really consider far out of the norm. According to the duo, information concerning their next title is hopefully going to be released this fall.

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Indies and consoles: an imperfect system

Ross Miller — 2007-05-31T22:56:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Online, Business

According to Gamasutra's Simon Carless, the independent scene is facing an uphill battle when developing for consoles, specifically in the realm of digital distribution. Carless argues that the difficulty in bringing a title across all platforms, both for technological and business reasons.

Other than some retro titles (e.g. Joust), a very small number of downloadable title are appearing on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Capcom's Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is one of the few exceptions, and Capcom's Christian Svensson said it required "considerable coordination" to get the titles on both consoles, which indicates to us that less established independent houses would have insurmountable difficulty.

Carless notes that Sony's collection, retro games aside, are predominantly first party (though we should note that flOw went to Sony because they actively sought out the independent title). Nintendo has always talked about bringing original games to the Wii, and there have been murmurings of a Game Channel, but so far all the only tangible indication of a non-Virtual Console title is Impossible Mission.

Carless' analogy to the film industry (three separate formats for theatre chains), though admittedly ham-fisted, does not account for industry history. It may be unfair to the independent developer, but there hasn't been a time when gaming was controlled by a single format. Sure, development teams are now much larger and require a bigger budget, but that hasn't stopped smaller teams from succeeding with Geometry Wars, Ragdoll Kung-Fu, and Alien Hominid (pictured). The state of indie games isn't ideal, but it seems to be getting better. We say keep on fighting, Simon.

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PlayStation Network garners 1.3 million users

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-04-20T18:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Online, Business

A Gamespot report reveals the first usage statistics for the PlayStation 3's online network, the astonishingly named PlayStation Network. According to Sony, over 1.3 million users have signed on to the free service, 600,000 of them being based in the United States. All together, users have downloaded 3.7 million pieces of content.

"Users have downloaded 3.7 million pieces of content!"

Thank you. It's not explicitly mentioned how many of said pieces are PSN games, but individual sales data for Blast Factor, fl0w and others may be released at a later stage. Comparing overall statistics to those of Xbox Live shows Microsoft's service in the lead with six million users (an unknown percentage of those paying for a Gold subscription), but it's to be expected given the PS3's comparatively recent launch. With some strong online titles and more free services, the PSN stands every chance of overcoming its growing pains and becoming more competitive. Of course, consumers would stand to benefit most if things stayed neck-and-neck. After all, Xbox Live's no good to us dead.

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Living Game Worlds III: The Game Mechanics of Reality

Ross Miller — 2007-04-03T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Features

Is the games industry burdened by its reliance on game mechanics? Speaking at the Living Games World Conference at Georgia Tech in Atlanta last week, Tracy Fullerton, a game design theorist and assistant professor at the University of Southern California Interactive Media Division, plead her case that the commonly used game mechanics are in a way impeding our ability to expand into new content themes.

Fullerton began by defining the root terminology. "We've talked a lot about serious games ... but I thought I might be nice to back up and bit and really kind of question what is that a game is," she said. "One of the things that I like to do is break things down and build them up again."
Breaking down begins with defining what a game is. Formal elements include rules, procedural elements and mechanics. Fullerton provided an example of when she asked her students to create a game without rules. "They just scratch their head," she said. Fullerton also cited dramatic elements (premise, character, story) and dynamic systems.

Game mechanics are defined as discreet units of game structure. "They're sort of the LEGO system of what we put games together," she said. They very often model some simplified aspects of reality. Genres referenced include:

Strategy. The classic strategy games focused on movement, territory and capture / killing (e.g., Chess, Go). "When Chess evolved, it actually stood for a type of rationality above a sense of chance in life," she said. Modern strategy games retained classic mechanics while incorporating hidden information, real-time decision making, more players, and chance. Fullerton said that it was a re-envision for a less rational world.
First person shooter, the digital model of tag and roughhouse play. The world is hostile and unknown, individual or team survival is imperative. Killing enemies is key to survival, but direct combat is the only mode of expression.
Role-playing games. It was the evolution of table-top war games but instead of playing with groups of units, you play a single unit. Mechanics include character creation, exploration, combat, acquisition and trade.

The dirty little secret, as Fullerton described it, is that most game designers don't design new game mechanics: it's hard and risky, the game industry is built on the marketing of existing genres and there is no strong inclination towards designing expressive game mechanics. "Usually what they'll do is 'tweak' [existing] mechanics," she said.

Defining serious games

So how would one define serious games as a genre? There are no unifying mechanics, but the games do borrow from predecessors. "Are we starting from scratch? No, we are borrowing from classic mechanics," she said. September 12 is compared to Missile Command. Ayiti: Cost of Life is compared to The Sims. Darfur of Dying, Fullerton notes, contains elements of both Sim City and Frogger (for the part where you have to carry water).

"What i think is interesting about [these examples] is that these are taking classic game mechanics and are twisting what games do," she said. Fullerton described these situations as what she called a fantasy of disempowerment.

Concerning the modding of classic mechanics, "the reason I think it's important to acknowledge that is that it's going to reach a moment where [we] don't have the mechanics to do what we want," she said.

Already there are examples of games that have tried to present an idea that was distorted by its mechanics. Fullerton cites Super Columbine Massacre RPG, Waco Resurrection and 911 Survivor as games where the mechanics took away some of the intended message.

Understanding how game mechanics and the content objectives interrelate are imperative, she said.

Night Journey

Fullerton concluded with demonstration on her latest project for USC. Night Journey, made in collaboration with artist Bill Viola, is "about a personal journey through spiritual enlightenment," she said. Described as "mechanic lite," the game is told from a first person perspective and involves exploration and lapses of day and night. A two-minutes demo of the game is given. The color scheme is grey and heavily filtered so that you would be "unable to touch what you see," she said.

An owl is seen in the trees, its whole appearance masked by a filter reminiscent of television static. A bird flies overhead. After many moments of muddled vision a bright source of light glows in front of you and fades off as you back away.

You can prolong nightfall, but eventually the sun sets and you dream about your experiences. The owl, bird and source of light (which is actually a small shack) is revealed to be works from Viola and are presented here in vivid color.

The ultimate goal of the game is still points-driven, in the classic sense. To find the "points," however, you must traverse slowly at times. "You can move fast through the world," she said, "but if you don't stop you will miss these points. If you relinquish control, the game will 'help you' to find them in visual ways and other ways of feedback. Your goal is to ultimately find those points. You have to relinquish some sort of control to get those points."

No silver bullet

Fullerton acknowledged that the process of creating a new mechanic is hard, timely and costly, but that new mechanics or judicious usage of existing mechanics are the only way we will be able to express new ideas through tame play, she said.

"We must learn to express ourselves in the unique language of game mechanics in order to successfully meet the challenge of constructing 'living' game worlds," she said.

See Also:
Playing with Controversy: The Case of Super Columbine Massacre

[Update: In the interest of clearly conveying all pertinent information, we added that the event occurred at Georgia Tech.]

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A numerical history, and future, of flOw dev That Game Company

Ross Miller — 2007-03-10T20:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Simulations, GDC, Business

On the first floor of Moscone's North hall last Friday, flOw developer That Game Company presented their storied origins. Co-founders Jenova Chen, who took a brief recess from the company to help on the DS version of Will Wright's Spore, and Kellee Santiago, met at the University of Southern California.

"I don't see [video games] as being any different [than other interactive media], it's all story telling," Santiago said.

Chen, who affirms that his proudest work is flOw and Cloud, explained their place in gaming with an ever-popular culinary allegory. Think of Gears of War as steak and World of Warcraft as chicken. Let's give lettuce a relation to Nintendogs and fish can be Brain Age.

"Let's say you focus on chicken, but somehow you find a way to make it accessible and customizable," said Chen. The according Power Point slide shows the chicken transition into a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. "That also expands the audience or customers. How can you make existing games more accessible to wider audiences?" Does that mean flOw is a bowl of cereal? All we know now is that we're quite famished.On the first floor of Moscone's North hall last Friday, flOw developer That Game Company presented their storied origins. Co-founders Jenova Chen, who took a brief recess from the company to help on the DS version of Will Wright's Spore, and Kellee Santiago, met at the University of Southern California.

"I don't see [video games] as being any different [than other interactive media], it's all story telling," Santiago said.

Chen, who affirms that his proudest work is flOw and Cloud, explained their place in gaming with an ever-popular culinary allegory. Think of Gears of War as steak and World of Warcraft as chicken. Let's give lettuce a relation to Nintendogs and fish can be Brain Age.

"Let's say you focus on chicken, but somehow you find a way to make it accessible and customizable," said Chen. The according Power Point slide shows the chicken transition into a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. "That also expands the audience or customers. How can you make existing games more accessible to wider audiences?" Does that mean flOw is a bowl of cereal? All we know now is that we're quite famished.

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FlOw almost was a Wii title

Ross Miller — 2007-03-09T15:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Simulations, GDC

Speaking about the history of upstart developer That Game Company at GDC, President Kellee Santiago revealed an extremely interesting tidbit as to where flOw was heading on consoles. Two companies were interested in the title: Sony, as we all are now aware of, and Nintendo.

"That was the hardest decision we ever had to make, choosing between Sony and Nintendo," admitted Santiago. Speaking during the Q & A, Santiago clarified that "they weren't right for us at the time. Sony kind of came to us with the process of incubation ... They helped us get our studio started." Nintendo did not approach them; the team actually cornered them about Cloud at a prior Game Developers Conference. FlOw creator Jenova Chen chimed in, saying "in the end, we are game makers and not console makers," expressing his satisfaction working with Nintendo on other projects. That Game Company did not rule out working on the Wii in the future.

From our current impressions, we think Nintendo missed a golden opportunity here. We'll have more on That Game Company's presentation later in the day.

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Sony unveils launch lineup for Euro PlayStation Network

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-02-28T13:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, Driving, Fighting

The PS3's launch day in Europe is set to be filled with wanton punching, devastating explosions and utterly callous driving -- and when new PS3 owners finally get home, they can experience even more of that. Sony has announced a trio of downloads that will greet European PlayStation Network users on March 23, namely Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (costing £6.99), Blast Factor (£3.49) and the Gran Turismo HD trial (£0).

Other games slated for the online network are:

30 March: Super Rub-A-Dub, a touching study of the social intricacies found in a group of inanimate ducks!
6 April: flOw, a relaxing aquatic adventure with many a mingling microorganism!
13 April: Go! Sudoku, a game stunningly devoid of ritualistic suicide!
20 April: Go! Puzzle, a gripping crime thriller following a fugitive jigsaw piece!

If all that isn't worth registering on PSN, perhaps James Bond will talk some sense into you. He has a gun, you know.

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FlOw, Q-Bert and a Ridge Racer demo coming this Thursday

Jared Rea — 2007-02-21T16:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, Driving, Online

Playstation 3 owners will have something other than Virtua Fighter 5 to choose from this week as Sony will be releasing two new titles for their online service and a relic from the past in demo form.

The long awaited aquatic enigma FlOw will be making its way to the Playstation Network with a price tag of $7.99. Joining it will be the perpetually-hopping, foul mouthed, not to mention terrible roommate known as Q-Bert. We may not have anything nice to say about the guy, but his game is a classic and will be available for $4.99.

And in case you passed it up at launch, a free demo of Ridge Racer 7 will be made available and capable of that magical resolution of 1080p.

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Swim. Eat. flOw.

James Ransom-Wiley — 2007-02-02T21:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Action, Online, Simulations, Video, Rhythm

flOw's migration onto PlayStation 3 has been a slow evolutionary process. But as promised, Sony has delivered the game trailer (above) to PlayStation Store on time, suggesting that flOw itself is also on course; now set to arrive near the end of the month. Is it time to start considering Sony's service as a viable player in the downloadable (casual) games space? Or do we wait for Calling All Cars?

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