Back in the Swim

So, here I am at Williams Street, the same place I started almost ten (!!!) years ago when I began my employment with Cartoon Network. At the time, the longest I had ever held a job was 14 months (at MTV Networks), and I was convinced that my time with CN would last about as long as the next opportunity waited to present itself. Well, the next opportunity never really arrived...at least until I jumped ship to work on the GameTap project. But even so, I've been working for Turner Broadcasting for almost a decade, and my new desk is about ten feet from the first desk I ever had here. Shows you how far you can go!

Does Anyone Remember Laughter?

It appears to be just an image, but Kotaku's mere suggestion of a Led Zeppelin Rock Band gives me a rock 'n' roll boner. I can't think of too many other bands -- at least ones that don't have Stones, Guns or Roses in their names -- that could support their own entry in a music game. (And no, I'm not talking about the Stone Roses.) It saddens me to think that Guitar Hero might not nab these particular guitar heroes, but nevertheless...Stairway to Eleven!

Top Ten: Best of the Decade

The boys over at Player One Podcast have made their picks for the best games of the decade, and it inspired me to do the same. I've previously selected a Top Ten overall, and this list will definitely crib from that one. So without further ado, here are my Top Ten Games of the last ten years:

1. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2, 2004)
2. Resident Evil 4 (Wii, 2007)
3. Metroid Prime (GC, 2002)
4. Guitar Hero (PS2, 2005)
5. Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC, 2002)
6. Fallout 3 (X360, 2008)
7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004)
8. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS, 2007)
9. Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC, 2002)
10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GC, 2002)

If I could only play the above ten games for the rest of my days, I would be disappointed, but not unhappy. Those are some awesome games. A few notes on the above: I had a very difficult time choosing between Eternal Darkness and Super Smash Brothers Melee, but ultimately went with Eternal Darkness because of the clever insanity effects and the fact that I played through it multiple times. The original Guitar Hero, despite not being the best game in the series, was the one that came out of nowhere to blow us all away and inspired some truly great theme parties. Everyone has their favorite GTA game, and mine was San Andreas, simply because of the gangsta setting and awesome soundtrack. Plus, I loved the "turf war" minigame that was basically a game in itself. And finally, I know that Jedi Outcast is not the best Star Wars game ever, but it was the first Star Wars game (that I personally played) that actually made me feel like a Jedi. By the end of the game, you are picking up Stormtroopers with your Force powers, choking them, and then flinging them through the air to their doom. This was AMAZING.

The other PC game I wanted to add was Unreal Tournament, as we used to play heated matches after-hours at work...but that game actually came out in 1999. Holy crap!

Happy New Year from Steam

Ring in 2010 with the best holiday prices that Steam has to offer! Valve did some amazing deals over the holidays, and though many were extremely tempting, I only walked away with Braid for $2.49. Yes, that's TWO DOLLARS AND FORTY-NINE CENTS. Steam has done some awesome experimentation with their pricing over the last year or so, and customers (and hopefully, developers) have really benefited.

The sale is almost over, so you only have a few more hours to grab Torchlight for $4.99. Really, there's no excuse.

Jack Emmert, Man of Many Quotes

So I am going through some old stuff on my desk and I found the notepad that I used at Austin GDC 2008. I already posted a recap of 2009, so this is more than a little late. But I've gotta post some great quotes from Jack Emmert, the chief creative officer at Cryptic Studios. Mr. Emmert has a reputation for being a colorful character, but this was the first time I ever heard him give a presentation. (I am not sure what the title of the presentation was, but it could've been this one.) In any case, the context of the conversation concerned the launch of City of Heroes. (Champions was still almost a year away from beta.) Agree or disagree with Emmert, he is clearly a smart guy with some pretty strong opinions about what makes a good and/or successful MMO. Here are the gems I jotted down while in the lecture hall, so judge for yourself.

"If you don't have it at launch, you can never add it."

"Players will do anything to get XP as quickly and as efficiently as possible."

"No nerf ever caused a statistical drop in user base."

"Worry about the players you've got."

"After the first month, you lose two-thirds of your players, but the ones who stay - you can't get rid of them."

"People will make it as unfun as they possibly can if they think there's something to gain from it."

"Your forums are a valuable source of information."

"Don't listen to marketing."

"You're seeing an absolutely catastrophic evolution in the MMO industry, and as a fan, you should be terrified."

"When we talk about IP, we ask, 'Does the name evoke the meaning of the game?'"

"Release a game that is good and entertaining, and it is what it is."

Now that Champions has released, I wonder what new things Emmert has learned, and how he might revise or elaborate upon some of the sentiments above.

Thanks for the Fan Art

Check out this awesome piece of fan art by Deviant Artist, chidoriashi. Purty sweet! Thanks, chidoriashi!

Speaking of "thanks" -- I forgot to post about the FusionFall Thanksgiving event (I hope you got your turkey helmet), so I just thought I'd mention that some other holiday stuff is in the works. Keep your eyes (and/or bananas) peeled!

3D Dot Game Heroes

My kind of game. Looks amazing:



Atlus will be bringing it to North America. Too bad I don't own a PS3.