GameFam

Guess What I Forgot?

2008-03-31T21:33:00.001-06:00

It seems I forgot to post my first What They Play column last week, so here you go:

All Work and All Play

News You Can Use

2008-02-21T20:05:00.003-07:00

As Mayor Carmine DePasto's 13-year-old daughter said in Animal House, I got a lotta catching up to do. But I don't have a lot of time right now, so I'll just share my news via a quick couple of bullet points:

As you can tell from my updated profile, I am now a producer at EA Salt Lake, working on kid-friendly games. As a result...

...I will be writing a bi-weekly feature column for www.whattheyplay.com, the videogame guide for parents. The site got some good press yesterday from USA Today. I'll be cross-posting my columns here.

OK, that's all for now. But as opposed to my random, haphazard posting the last year or so, I'll be writing some restaurant quality stuff here in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned...

And Let The Church Say...

2008-01-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

Amen, MomGamer! Amen!

Colleen Hannon (MomGamer) has an excellent rebuttal to the misinformation that some "family" pundits have been putting out there regarding BioWare's terrific recently-released game, Mass Effect.

GamerDad: Mass Effect Misinformation

By the way, if you take a gander over at the right sidebar, you'll see that I have Mass Effect listed under "Games I'm Playing After My Kids Go To Bed", and not as a game I'd ever let my kids play, with or without me. It's rated M for a reason, people. Now go click the link and read the article.

Best. DS Game. Ever. (a.k.a. REVIEW: Drawn To Life)

2007-12-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting in the bathroom at work a few months ago...

...what?

Oh, the bathroom thing? Take it easy. I'm going somewhere with this. Trust me.

So like I say, I was just sitting there, minding my own business, leafing through one of the many game industry magazines put there for our reading pleasure, when lo and behold, I saw an ad that caught my attention.

Apparently, there was a game called Drawn to Life for the Nintendo DS handheld system, that was going to be hitting store shelves in the coming weeks. It seems that players would be able to draw their own characters, and play as them in the game. Intrigued, I ripped the ad out of the magazine...

...what?

Oh, the ripping out thing? Take it easy. I checked the other side, and there was nothing of value there. Trust me.

So like I say, I ripped the ad out of the magazine so I wouldn't forget the name of the game when I got home that night.

Anyhoo, fast forward a few weeks. I ended up getting the game, and it's been one of the best gaming discoveries I've ever made. My kids absolutely love it.

Once you start to play the active platforming part of the game, you will experience what is admittedly some fairly pedestrian 2D side-scrolling. You jump on some bad guys in Mario-esque Koopa-jumping fashion. You jump from platform to platform, hither and yon, collecting coins, hoarding snowballs, and trying to reach your next goal. All well and good, and your kids will enjoy it. But it's certainly not good enough to earn the kind of praise I lavished on this game earlier.

I could also go into more detail about the story. The Raposa, Mari, Jowee, the evil, power-hungry Wilfire, and the darkness he inflicted on the peaceful village. And so on and so on. Also all well and good. And your kids will enjoy the cute story as well. But like the platforming gameplay, the story is also not good enough to earn such over the top kudos.

True enough. So here endeth the part of the review about what makes Drawn to Life like so many other games...

---------------------------

...and here beginneth the part about what makes Drawn to Life truly special.

As you may have guessed, what makes Drawn to Life so amazing for kids is that they can use the stylus to draw their very own characters and play as those characters in the game.

With such a compelling, kid-friendly hook, it simply doesn't matter that the platforming gameplay has a been-there, done-that quality to it, and that the story is good but not awesome. The drawing mechanic is so delightful that it will raise those game elements to new heights. Like Michael Jordan elevating the play of the Luc Longleys and Steve Kerrs of the world, the drawing feature makes its teammates better.

Depending on their preferences, your kids can make their characters as simple as a stick figure, or they can spend as much time as they want crafting the ultimate avatar. There are also optional templates available. It's up to each child to make that decision on his or her own: they're in charge.

Speaking of being in charge, let me go back to the story for a second. While I did say that the story is good, but not great, what is great is that the story casts every player as "The Creator" and as such, every player gets to create his or her very own hero (as well as in-game elements like platforms, a forest, clouds, the sun, characters, snowball-shooting weapons, etc.).

So now let's review...

In Drawn to Life, your child is The Creator, and his/her custom-created character is The Hero.

Game.
Set.
Match.

So if you have a Nintendo DS, do what I did.
Go buy Drawn to Life, and your children's love with it. :)

EDIT: I forgot mention that there are only 2 save profiles. If you have up to 2 kids who want to play this game, then you're golden. If you have more, then you might have a problem. My son and daughter each have a saved profile, and when I wanted to play the game myself last week, I couldn't create my own without erasing one of theirs. Unless I just missed something and couldn't see how to do it.

EDIT #2: I also forgot to mention that this isn't the first game to come up with the create-then-play-with-your-own-custom-character gameplay mechanic. Magic Pengel and sequel Graffiti Kingdom tried this before Drawn to Life, far less successfully. While those games had to rely on the PS2 controller's analog sticks for character creation, Drawn to Life employs the DS' uber-intuitive and precise stylus, and that makes all the difference in the world.

Separated At Birth?

2007-12-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does the wicked awesome weighted companion cube from the wicked awesome Portal .................................

................................. remind any of you of the wicked awesome Gadgetron vendor from a certain wicked awesome video game franchise my kids and I love so well?

Come on, not even a little?

Just a smidge?

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Burlington Quote Factory

2007-12-02T00:12:00.000-07:00

Many people get pretty sick of the ubiquitous holiday ads around this time of year, but one (actually, two) in particular really grinds my gears - Burlington Coat Factory.

The first commercial features a young adult fashionista going over a list of things available at BCF (rich wools! luxurious leathers! saving money!) for a devilwearspradaesque boss/mentor/client type. And each one is punctuated by that most parishiltonesque of exclamations, "That's hot!"

So is heartburn.
* reaches for the Tums after seeing the commercial again *

The second commercial starts with a pair of French doors sweeping open to reveal an idyllic Christmas/nondenominationalholiday party. A woman asks a young girl, "so do you believe in Santa?" To which the girl cheekily replies, "I believe in cashmere!"

To which I ask, "What about the children? Won't somebody think of the children?!"

Each ad is craptacular enough in and of itself, but as a holiday ad duo, BCF truly reaches legendary status this year.

And I can't even give them the satirical benefit of the doubt, as some of my fellow game developers (you know who you are) have tried to do with Westwood's infamous Tighten up the Graphics on Level 3 commercial. Basically, as the thinking goes, it's so unbelievably ridiculous, it would have to be satire, wouldn't it?

Well, in Westwood's case, I know, and in Burlington's case, I'm guessing, that the commercials are both completely serious and completely clueless.

They should be so proud.
Keep up the good work, fellas.

I Read The News Today, Oh Crap

2007-11-07T06:40:00.001-07:00

As many have heard by now, EA Chicago is no more.

I can't go into any details about exactly what is happening, but I will say that EA Chicago was a wonderful place to work. I had the privilege of collaborating with a group of talented, passionate, awesome people, and I will sorely miss working alongside them each and every day.

That said, I'm optimistic about what lies ahead. Wish me (and all my Eachi peeps) luck. :)

EDIT: Since you're already here, feel free to check out my LinkedIn profile. And if you have any awesome openings in the video game industry, feel free to offer me one of 'em. :)

We Were On A Break!

2007-11-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

So yeah....
Took a break.
Had some stuff to do.
Back now, so let's get to it, shall we?

These days, when I get home from work in the evenings, my kids and I still play games almost every night, but since there's more homework to be done these days, our weeknight gaming sessions are much shorter than they used to be. Instead of, say, an hour and half playing a delightfully engrossing console game together, we'll usually have just 20-30 minutes before PJ time.

Now I don't know what that says to you, but to me, our new time constraints lead me to one inevitable conclusion regarding the best type of game to play - casual games. That's right, I said it. Casual games. You know 'em. You love 'em. And more and more with each passing day, you've played 'em.

For several years now, my kids and I have been playing casual games on RealArcade, Pogo, MSN Games, Yahoo Games, et al, and most recently, on Xbox Live Arcade.

Since I've been meaning to write about this topic during my little two-month hiatus, I don't have a list of specific games handy, but I'll start with a few that are top of mind, then add more in subsequent posts.

Diner Dash is one of the more successful casual games of recent vintage, and given the copycat nature of many casual games, several clones have popped up in the last couple years, with some being more successful** (Pizza Frenzy, Cake Mania, Teddy Factory) than others (Belle's Beauty Boutique, Big Island Blends).

** in terms of my family's enjoyment

My kids (my daughter especially) like this type of game a lot, because they find it both challenging and enjoyable, which, when they do well, is very rewarding. The one my daughter likes best is Sally's Salon. In making the natural comparison to Belle's Beauty Boutique, it isn't so much that Sally beats Belle in visuals, interface, characters, or even gameplay. Rather, it's the difficulty, stupid.

Belle just sets the bar too high. My daughter is pretty damn good at these games, and getting better every day. Yet invariably, even when she's in the zone, she can't reach the lofty goals set by Belle each time. And in fact, not that I'm God's gift to gaming, but damn it if I can't either. Sally's Salon, on the other hand, is challenging enough, but sets realistic goals that can be met with a combination of concentration and hand-eye coordination.

To the designers of games like these I'd ask them to please keep their audience in mind. As Chris Taylor said in an editorial that I posted about a few months ago, reward players, don't punish them. And while Sally offers the casual gamer the realistic goal of earning a carrot, all Belle gives you is yet more stick.

Embiggen Yourself! (Beautiful Katamari Demo)

2007-08-22T23:03:00.000-06:00

De-Freakin'-Lightful!

What was nice about this Xbox Live demo, in comparison to the demos for previous games in the series, was that you were able to pick up larger objects much more quickly. So while in the past, you might top out at a fluffy quadroped, this time around, by the time the timer expires, you're picking up adult humans and other items of that scale.

So yeah, this is really a horrible place to stop writing, but I'm pretty much done here.

Basically, it's the first Katamari game for the Xbox family of products**, so if you weren't a PlayStation kind of guy or gal for the last few years, your patience has finally paid off.

** Can you tell I just watched Top Chef***? Speaking of which, how the hell did Trey get sent home? I thought he could make it to the finals.

*** You know, like how host Padma Lakshmi**** always refers to the Glad family of products?

**** Is there a more annoying reality TV show host on TV? No really, I'm asking. She's worse than Season 1 host Katie Joel, which is saying something. Can someone please tell her that the word "food" (as in Food & Wine Magazine) does not have an umlaut?

Ratatouille Demo

2007-08-22T22:45:00.000-06:00

Before they went to bed earlier tonight, my kids and I played the Ratatouille demo that I downloaded from Xbox Live yesterday.

How was it?

Meh. Not bad. Not great. Your garden variety licensed platformer. What's funny is that my kids were having fun pointing out every time we ran into an invisible wall. If they were in college, it would have made a fun drinking game. They've also gotten good at pointing out other noticeable bugs like clipping.

But back to the invisible walls. To be fair, you could run around the demo level a good little bit, but there were plenty of times where we simply couldn't go where it seemed we should be able to. A lot of games use invisible walls, and that's usually not a big deal, but at least when you do it, how about not making it seem like a place you're supposed to go?

For example, the way the cheeses were arranged in the market, it seemed like we were expected to do the platforming thing to get to a higher level, but even though there seemed to be spaces in the cheese wheels specifically for climbing, we couldn't get where we wanted to go. Maybe that's a function of this being a demo build, but given that so many licensed kids' games do stuff like this as a matter of course, I'm not giving them the benefit if the doubt. Sorry.

Ratatouille is a perfect example of a mediocre licensed game that my kids would actually enjoy playing... until the novelty wears off in short order.

So in order to avoid whining when we don't buy the full version after playing the demo, or if I sell or trade a used copy of a game like this, I frame the issue as one of choice.

You can either keep a game that you like...

Ratatouille (OK)
Curious George (pretty good)
Cars (pretty good)
The Incredibles (sucky)
Over the Hedge (sucky)
etc.

...or you can keep a game that you love...

LEGO Star Wars (awesome)
Sly Cooper (awesome)
Katamari Damacy (awesome)
Ratchet & Clank (awesome)
Paper Mario & The Thousand Year Door (awesome - I haven't reviewed it yet, but I mention one of the few downsides in this post)
etc.

...and wouldn't you know it, they seem to make the right choice every single time. I'm so proud.

Ah Crap...

2007-08-08T06:46:00.001-06:00

...I missed Ian Bogost on The Colbert Report last night.

Stupid Barry Bonds.

WANT!

2007-07-27T18:45:00.000-06:00

LEGO Indiana Jones

Who Says Games Can't Be Educational?

2007-07-24T20:45:00.000-06:00

...or was it "Who Says Learning Can't Be Fun?"

Either way, I played Stateris** with my kids before bedtime tonight, and a good time was learned by all.

** Like Tetris, but with states........get it?

Who Says Games Can't Be Delicious?

2007-07-24T20:32:00.000-06:00

No. I'm not talking about the ubiquitous, shark-jumping Martha Stewart Wii cake.

I'm talking about this cool video featuring the authentic sounds from classic arcade games (Centipede, Frogger, Asteroids, Space Invaders & Pac-Man) with some yummy new video.

Of course, food as games/games as food isn't a new concept, since pizza is what inspired Toru Iwatani to create Pac-Man in the first place.

Done And Done!

2007-07-15T19:49:00.000-06:00

My kids finished 2 games today - Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, and Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure.

In between, we visited with family, played frisbee, rode bikes and went to a garage sale (no luck), but video games were the bread on our Sunday sandwich.

The former (Paper Mario) was the more significant accomplishment, since we had put in over 70 hours together over the last couple months playing the game. Finishing the game felt like turning the last page of a 500+ page novel. Despite a few annoyances here and there, we all loved Paper Mario: TTD.

The latter (Stuart Little) was a little more mundane. My kids had played the game more than a year ago, and in the last few months, had only played it here and there. And as of the last time they played, they were unable to get to the last level. But they picked Stuart Little up again a few days ago, and today, they reached the last level, so today, they finished the game. Simple as that.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm out.
G'night everybody!

I Like The Way Snrub Thinks!

2007-07-14T23:05:00.000-06:00

Man, was I pissed. So much time invested, only to be thrown away because of an infuriating game design choice.

My kids and I have been playing Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for the past few weeks, and we've enjoyed the hell out of it. It's been our default game that we play after I get home from work and before they go to bed.

But this post is about a phenomenon that really grinds my gears, and I'm using Paper Mario: TTD for illustrative purposes. I'll review it in more detail in the next couple weeks, so my apologies if some of the details here are little confusing.

I was methodically making my way down the Pit of 100 Trials, in order to level up a few times, and just as importantly, to get the ability to carry 20 items instead of only 10 (see? confusing, right?).

I was doing this myself because there was no place to save along the way, which meant that I couldn't share the "heady" experience of the Pit with my kids, who had long since gone to sleep. I was working my way through one of the more repetitive and tedious parts of the game alone, so that the next time we played together, we could spend more time on the fun parts.

I was on Trial 92 of 100. I had 96 Star Points, and you level up (and more importantly for this post, refill all of your health, attack power, etc. Did I mention that you refill your health?) at 100, which meant that as soon as I won this battle, I would level up and refill every power/ability that could be refilled.

Of course, I wasn't really worried about my health, because I had done a good job of using my health items to heal up during the battle. Also, I wasn't worried about whether or not I'd win the battle, since I was ONE MOVE from putting my opponents away for good. But first, the bad guys got to attack, which seemed like a minor nuisance, a mere formality on the way toward a glorious victory and a lovely level up.

Then, out of freaking nowhere, the bad guys unleashed holy hell on me, Mario slumped to the ground, and the wonderful words, "GAME OVER" filled up the screen.

And that was that. It meant that I had to start again from the very first level (EDIT: the first level of the Pit of 100 Trials, not the first level of the game) the next time I booted up the game. All that time I had put in was gone. And like I said up top, man was I pissed.

So yeah, about the title of this post:

A few weeks ago, Chris "Snrub" Taylor of Gas Powered Games wrote a "My Turn" guest editorial for GameDaily Biz about this exact subject. In the editorial, he wonders why game designers punish players instead of rewarding them (in fact, the title of the piece is "Reward Players, Don't Punish Them!").

Why indeed?
Why #$@%*&! indeed?

What's interesting is that I was planning to write about Chris's editorial a couple weeks ago but hadn't gotten around to it yet. And had I written about it earlier, I wouldn't have had this wonderfully convenient experience to so perfectly illustrate the point that he was trying to make.

So what do we learn from this experience? Besides procrastination FTW!, that is?

Well, one thing I learned is that while I still may be a noob as a game designer/producer, there are a few things that I believe that clearly conflict with many game designers more experienced than I. But that doesn't make them right and me wrong.

So I join the esteemed Mr. Taylor in imploring game designers out there, while challenging players is great, punishing them sucks.

The Great Game Giveaway

2007-06-06T18:55:00.000-06:00

Gaming community website The Great Games Experiment is having a promotion where anyone who registers between June 7 - 14 will be able to download a free game from the GarageGames store.

Dibs on Gish!

It's About Time!

2007-06-04T19:03:00.000-06:00

The ESRB is finally waking up and beginning to realize that it needs to spread its message OUTSIDE the insular sphere of the gaming world, and start talking to plain ol' everyday parents out there.

Up until now, all of the ads I've seen have been in gaming magazines. Talk about preaching to the choir! If you want to have half a chance to combat all of the self-serving politicians lusting for the quick win by targeting video games as the latest, greatest evil out there, you need to bring your message to the general constituency at large, not the small, politically insignificant (though the Video Game Voters Network is working on fixing that) subculture of 1337 pwn3rz.

Putting their message in places like Good Housekeeping magazine is a welcome, if overdue, development. Just keep it up.

Foxy Lady

2007-05-31T22:55:00.000-06:00

We seem to have a family of foxes living nearby. The other day, we watched from our bedroom window as a fox doubled back around the neighbors house, to outflank the poor little bunny sitting at the edge of our lawn.

At least, that's what we thought was going to happen. But just when the hunt was approaching its crescendo, the fox took a detour and wandered off somewhere.

Now, my kids aren't big fans of needless carnage or anything like that, but we've watched a lot of nature shows together, and they seem to understand and accept the whole food chain thing. So when that cute, fuzzy little bunny simply spent another hour or two, just sitting in that same spot, instead of running for its life, we were all a smidge disappointed.

EDIT: To clarify, we didn't want to see anything actually happen. We just thought we were witnessing some cool hunting strategy on the part of the fox, and we thought it might result in a little chase. So for a little while there, we had box seats for some wild kingdom drama.

On the upside, we did get to watch the fox scratch herself for a good 20 minutes. So...... that was something, I guess.

Hey, maybe we should let the fox loose in our basement and attic for an afternoon, to see if we have any mice lurking about. I hear she works on a contingency fee, which is payable in mice. It's a classic win-win. Yeah, I know. Not for the mouse. Screw mice. Mice suck.

Nothing like ending a post in a dark place, but there you have it.

Note: this is not "our" fox. I just thought it was funny.

Family Movie Night at the Museum

2007-05-20T21:05:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, we had a Family Movie Night with the kids.

This time, we chose Night at the Museum, starring Ben Stiller.

The movie held their interest the entire time, and both kids had several laugh out loud moments. They were still quoting their favorite lines earlier today. The movie had lots of harmless slapstick moments, and for the most part, was kid-friendly.

On the downside, there were a few moments that, while not a major concern, were just a smidge iffy. To wit:

1) Not a huge deal, but at one point, Ben Stiller's character told the miniature Roman not to be a "kissass".

2) Owen Wilson's cowboy character says "I ain't quittin' you!" to the aforementioned Roman guy, an obvious reference to Brokeback Mountain's "I wish I knew how to quit you!". Now, this will most certainly be over the heads of most if not all young children, so it's not that I had an issue with it personally. It's more that if there are parents out there who may be bothered by this sort of thing, just so you know, it's in there.

3) The feisty Capuchin monkey urinates on and then has a slap fight with Stiller.

Anyhoo, that's about it in a nutshell. We enjoyed it together as a family, and as long as you don't have a problems with the issues I listed above, your family just might, too.

Why, It Only Makes Sense!

2007-05-11T11:50:00.000-06:00

As I've been writing about for a while now, gaming parents are becoming less and less of a novelty, and more and more the norm.

ESA: More Parents Embracing Video Games

Settling In

2007-05-09T21:06:00.000-06:00

Boxes on top of boxes.
Kitchen stuff in the basement.
Basement stuff..... I don't know. Probably out in the backyard somewhere.
Barely room to walk, much less sit down.

For me, however, the enduring image of moving day is my children's backs. As I came downstairs, I turned to see my kids kneeling on the big leather chair, shoulder-to-shoulder, facing backwards, playing New Super Mario Bros. together. I would have taken a picture, but I didn't want to turn away to get my camera.

In general, the move went pretty well, though there were a few anxious moments here and there, mostly from the kids, who were understandably unsure about such a drastic change in their lives.

In such situations, where things change and kids are unsure about the solidity of the ground beneath their feet, continuity is a precious commodity. And while my wife and I took great pains to make sure our kids had as many comforting things to fall back on, video games played a prominent role in making our kids feel comfortable the first few days in their new home.

In particular, I tried to play as many familiar games as possible. Sure, I unveiled a new I Spy Game - I Spy School Daze (which we would have played together if my computer decided that I had enough @$#%*&! virtual memory). But for the most part, we played the same games that we had been playing the previous week, and I think that definitely made a difference.

Amidst all the chaos, my kids could count the fact that they could still play their favorite games with their dad. And that's why, although there are still many boxes to be unpacked and drawers to be filled, some of the first things we made sure to locate and set up were this computer & internet connection, the TV with the GameCube (we still have to track down one of the cords from the PS2), and the DS.

Of course, we did many other things as well. We played outside, read books, played with squirt guns, drew on the patio with sidewalk chalk, and lots of other non-gaming-related activities. But without question, my kids' ability to play some of their favorite video games the very first day in the new house helped make this move a very smooth one.

Moving Day

2007-05-04T04:59:00.000-06:00

We're moving today, which is why I haven't written about Bring Your Kid to Work Day yet. I'll do that when my new Internet connection is up and running.

Best! Day! Ever!

2007-04-27T14:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday's Bring Your Kid to Work Day at EA Chicago was truly outstanding. My kids and I had a wonderful, memorable day. I'll write more about it over the weekend.

Take Your Little Gamers To Work Day

2007-04-25T06:15:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is EA Chicago's Bring Your Kid(s) To Work Day, and my kids and I are very excited. We're going to take the train downtown together, which should get the day started nicely.

Naturally, all of this reminds me of the last time my kids visited me at work. And no, I'm not talking about this past October, when my wife and kids joined me for the grand opening of EA Chicago's new studio in the River North area of downtown Chicago. And since I mention it, that shindig wasn't the same as tomorrow promises to be. Oh, sure, there was a chocolate fountain and desserts galore, and my kids got to play Sims 2 Pets. That was swell. But other than that, the party was really for the grownups to have fun, especially the booming dance music in the arcade that made my kids cover their ears whenever they were near.

But I digress. What tomorrow makes me think of is the last time my kids visited me at my office during the workday - several years ago at ye olde folding carton company. What are some of the differences between those 2 times, you ask? Let's see now...

Makin' Boxes - Big drafty office to myself. No, really. I had to buy a space heater. :(
Makin' Games - big cubicle/action area that I share with smart, funny, swell folks who also love making games. :)

Makin' Boxes - my favorite thing about the office: I listened to sports radio, since I was told that I could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven, which is only fair, since my co-worker was allowed to listen to her headphones while she's filing, so I should be able to listen to the radio while I'm collating so I don't see why I should have to turn down the radio because I enjoy listening at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven.
Makin' Games - my favorite thing about the office: the people, the neighborhood, the arcade, the roof deck (coming soon), the fact that I can express myself by displaying as many pieces of flair as I want, and of course, the fact that I'm making games for a living.

Makin' Boxes - my kids' favorite thing about the office: free stickers
Makin' Games - my kids' favorite thing about the office: arcade games, snacks, having a happy Dad.

Makin' Boxes - job that just wasn't right for me. :(
Makin' Games - job I love. :)

I'm sure there are more interesting comparisons I can come up with. So I'll publish this post now and I may add more stuff if I think of it.

So let's just say I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

Must See TV

2007-04-18T22:08:00.000-06:00

This Sunday, I need to watch or Tivo Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. No, not so I can ogle the dreamy Ty Pennington (not that there's anything wrong with that). But because it will feature a company I respect doing something I greatly admire.

If you've read GameFam in the past, you know that I'm a fan of Insomniac Games, developers of the excellent Ratchet & Clank series.

Today I'm an even bigger fan of their work. Here's why (story below pasted from this article on Gamasutra).

In a refreshing story of industry goodwill, Resistance: Fall of Man and Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games has teamed with ABC's television program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to help a young boy who was recently paralyzed following an automobile accident.

The Lawton, OK boy, who counts video games among his favorite pastimes, was paralyzed last July when the family van lost control, collided with an oncoming vehicle, and flipped into a ditch. What's worse, two years prior the Westbrook family endured another tragedy, as James' father, then-SFC Gene Westbrook was hit by a mortar at an American camp mess hall in Baghdad, Iraq, an incident that left him paralyzed as well. On top of that, the day following James' accident, his father suffered a stroke, leaving him with further damage to his right arm and some memory loss.

James' mother, Peggy Westbrook, recovered quickly from the accident, but was left to take on the daunting task of trying to rehabilitate both her husband and son while raising the rest of the family. That task was made more difficult as the family had to maneuver two wheelchairs around their ranch home, which was not designed to be wheelchair accessible.

"We were immediately moved to do something special for the Westbrook family when we learned about their tragic situation and James' passion for video games design," commented Insomiac founder and CEO Ted Price. "For all of us at Insomniac, this opportunity to help such an amazing family with our game-making experience was a real honor.”

Insomniac developers marshaled their forces to produce what normally amounts to one month's worth of work in approximately one week's time, digitally inserting 9 year old James Westbrook's likeness into the upcoming PlayStation 3 title, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.

“We've never inserted a member of the public into our video games, and we think it's incredibly appropriate that James will be the first gamer to enjoy that unique experience," added Price.

The episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which will feature an in-depth look at Insomniac's efforts to help James and his family, will air on Sunday, April 22.

How awesome is that?

EDIT: I knew that this story reminded me of another story. Hey, like this one (Ben's Game)!

Jack Thompson: Bottom-Feeding Opportunist

2007-04-16T22:17:00.000-06:00

...or do you prefer Opportunistic Bottom-Feeder?

Even on a profoundly tragic day like today, when everyone else's thoughts and prayers are with the families of the innocent people who were murdered or wounded at Virginia Tech, he never misses an opportunity to inject his agenda where it doesn't belong.

Jackass.

UPDATE (4/17): Kotaku dissects some of that pesky lying that Thompson did on Fox yesterday.

Lying jackass.

Boom Boom Rock It!

2007-04-14T20:38:00.000-06:00

While I didn't have the privilege of seeing Boom Boom Rocket on a big screen like my esteemed colleague (we have a series of small screens at EA Chicago), I did play the Xbox Live Arcade demo a couple days ago, and so far, I likes what I sees.

Basically, Boom Boom Rocket is what I hoped Fantavision would be. We tried Fantavision a couple years ago, and while some may hail it as a good puzzle game, as far as kids are concerned, it was too much puzzle, and not enough game.

But especially when you play on the Easy setting, Boom Boom Rocket is a basic, DDR-style rhythm game (you can choose between colored arrows, dots, or Xbox 360 controller buttons) that rewards the young player with delightful fireworks exploding across the sky as you play.

My kids haven't played yet, but I showed it to my daughter yesterday, and she was most definitely intrigued. After they try it out, I have a feeling we'll be spending a few Xbox Live points to buy the full version. I'll letcha know how they like it.

The New Jan Brady

2007-04-12T21:32:00.000-06:00

For about a year and a half there, things were pretty easy.

I'd play a game with my kids...
Then write about it.
Play another game with my kids...
Write about that one.
Play yet another game with my kids...
Yup. Write about that one, too.

Since my job was to write columns and reviews about family gaming for GameDaily, I had no shortage of games to play and time to write about 'em.

The games came in, the columns went out.
The games came in, the columns went out.

Then I went and got myself hired at EA Chicago, which is freakin' awesome in a career aspiration kind of way, but which sucks in a having an endless supply of new games to play with and write about kind of way.

For the last several months now, I've been trying to figure out how to continue writing here at GameFam, while keeping the posts relevant, interesting, and plentiful. How did it work out? Well, seeing as how March '07 just went down in the books as my first completely postless month, not well. Not well at all.

Of course I still play games with my kids. Just not as many and not as often. But whether it's because I lack imagination, talent, insight, or whatever, I'm not sure how writing about playing the same game over and over again is either entertaining or informative for the reader.

On the upside, now we have more time to digest the games over the long haul. I had always felt that I was taking advantage of my children's love for games by throwing new ones at 'em every week. It was too much. It overwhelmed the system. Just as they got in the groove with one game, there was another game for us to play together, Sometimes that was good, but just as often, I wasn't so thrilled.

So after giving it much thought, I've decided that the only way for this ol' blog to stay afloat is for me to reinvent myself as a blogger.

GameFam's warm gooey center will still be games for kids and families, but I'm going to expand the description to include what it's like to be a gaming dad with gaming kids, with a job in the games industry. And maybe some other interesting unrelated crap along the way. We'll see how it goes.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this thing goes. For those of you still stopping by every once in a while, I hope you are too.

So, as I said in my very first GameFam post back in June, '05, stay tuned.

Now That's What I'm Talking About!

2007-02-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Sociologist Karen Sternheimer of USC brings a refreshing dose of sanity and perspective to the debate (such as it is) over the pop culture scapegoat of record - video games. As always, GamePolitics is all over it.

Yes, Please!

2007-02-28T21:50:00.000-07:00

As much as my kids love Sims 2: Pets, the recently-announced MySims is guaranteed to be a sure-fire hit at Chez GameFam. Sims 2 Pets is terrific, but I still have to play with my kids every time, because of the depth and complexity of the gameplay (more detail in a future post), as well as the fact that it's rated T.

The only real question is whether to get it for Wii (which we don't have yet, but will soon - oh yes, we will have it soon) or DS, when they come out in the fall.

Decisions, decisions.

EDIT (3/4/07): Did I mention that MySims is Robin's game? Oh, no I di'in? Well, it is. So there.

Here's the press release I grabbed from this Kotaku post:

EA Announces MySims Created Especially for the Wii and Nintendo DS Platforms

Popular Video Game Series Embraces Player Creativity, Customization and Personal Expression Through a New, Delightful Cast of Characters

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that the company is developing MySims™, the first game in a revolutionary new line from the developers of the blockbuster franchise The Sims, designed especially for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ platforms.

MySims introduces a charming cast of whimsical characters while delivering the creativity, customization and classic open-ended gameplay that has enchanted Sims players worldwide. Players begin by creating their own toy-like Sim that reflects their personal style and attitudes. From pig-tails and baseball caps to dreadlocks and Mohawks, the options are endless and the style is unlike any Sims game to date. By unlocking cool new clothing, hairstyles and accessories, players explore the game's incredible depth of customization and expression... and the characters are just the beginning!

Transforming the traditional Sims gameplay for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms, MySims moves the player to a delightful but disorganized town where - thanks to the easy and unique controls - they can re-shape everything and make it their own. The town is rundown, but the player can make it much more dynamic. Using a selection of building blocks, unique patterns and engaging creativity tools, players can design furniture and appliances, architect new homes and businesses, and re-define the entire MySims landscape!

As players explore and build up the town, they will get to know dedicated, long-time residents like the always-busy Mayor Rosalyn P. Marshall and Buddy - the mostly-lazy hotel Bellhop. Once things start to look up, they'll meet and choose from a variety of colorful, would-be residents. Will they build a restaurant for Gino Delicioso the Italian Chef, or will they help Ocean Breeze set up his Yoga studio instead?

Design is everyone's domain in MySims. From building a new Pizza Oven for Gino to putting the finishing touches on a new roof for Buddy's busy hotel, each completed task will help the town grow. As it expands to new areas, players will receive special building blocks, decorations and patterns which help customize their unique creations. From furniture and buildings to the town as a whole, every choice informs how residents and visitors feel and behave.

"We want MySims to provide a creative play experience like never before on a video game system," said Executive Producer Tim LeTourneau. "By giving players the tools to create literally any kind of world they want in MySims, we're reinforcing the idea that the players create the magic. Will the town support a plethora of spooky, mysterious townsfolk - or buzz with the laughter and smiles of fun-loving Sims? It's your call! In MySims, what players make... makes all the difference!"

MySims will be available for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms in fall 2007.

Product Specifications
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Electronic Arts
Ship Date: Late 2007
Category: Simulation

About MySims

MySims is the first game in a revolutionary new line from the developers of the blockbuster franchise The Sims™, designed exclusively for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. Explore a whole new world that's yours to transform with MySims. Socialize with the locals and uncover all sorts of useful and surprising treasures hidden throughout the town. Accessible and intuitive controls make it enjoyable to create Sims, build their homes, and interact with other Sims and their world. For more information check out www.Mysims.com.

Encore!

2007-01-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last year, I posted about Child's Play's wonderful year raising money for games, toys & movies for children's hospitals around the world.

This year, they tried to top the $1 million mark. And guess what? They Did It!! - raising $1,024,400.31.

Awesome!
Wonderful!
Fantastic!

Congratulations to Child's Play, and to everyone who helped top the million dollar mark...........

.................now let's do it again in 2007. Contribute today.

The GameFam 2006 "D'oh!-There's-Only-1-Week-Left" Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide

2006-12-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

If you've been keeping up with my recent posts, you know that there's no way that I can duplicate last year's GameFam Holiday Gift Guide. This one ain't gonna be nearly as comprehensive, well-organized, or visually delicious as the 2005 version.

So here are the games I recommend for your young kids this year. I'll link to the ones I've already reviewed, and I'll try to add some detail as the week goes on, but no promises.

Big Brain Academy (Nintendo DS)
Brain Age (Nintendo DS)
Clubhouse Games (Nintendo DS)
Dodge That Anvil! (PC)
Drill Dozer (Game Boy Advance)
Fashion Fable (PC)
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (multi-platform)
LineRider (FREE on PC, but there's a banner ad with a woman in a bikini at the bottom of the page - looks like it links to a site with adult content, so grownup supervision required for your kids to play this fun game)
LocoRoco (Sony PSP)
New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS)
Nintendo DS Lite handheld
Nintendo Wii console
Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends (Nintendo DS)
Pac-Man World Rally (multi-platform)
Professor Fizzwizzle (PC)
Rayman Raving Rabbids (Nintendo Wii)
Sims 2: Pets (multi-platform)
Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure (PlayStation 2)
Thrillville (multi-platform)
Tube Twist (PC)
Viva Pinata (Xbox 360)
Wii Sports (Nintendo Wii)

Thanks, geoGreeting!

2006-12-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

Because of the demanding hours of my job at EA Chicago, I'm not always at home when my kids go to bed. :(

For the first couple of months, I called and wished them a good night before my wife tucked 'em in, but that wonderfully quiet (usually) parent-child intimacy - that feeling of connection, love and protection, was understandably missing.

For the last week and a half or so, I saw a cool-looking app when browsing through digg, and it's changed this dynamic completely.

As I listen on the phone, my kids click on the link from the geoGreeting I e-mailed them, and I can hear them reading the letters and trying to decipher my message in real-time. I have a lot of fun thinking up fun messages to send, whether from books, games, movies, songs, inside jokes, etc., and they love discovering the new surprise message from Daddy - so much so that they miss getting their e-mail on the nights when I'm home.

It ain't the same as being there, but it definitely restored some of the connection that had been missing.

It's pretty cool, and I highly recommend it for parents who can't always be there at bedtime. In the meantime, give it a try, why dontcha?

You're Doing It Wrong!

2006-12-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

Remember the movie "Mr. Mom" from the mid- '80s?

At one point in the film, Michael Keaton's recently laid-off character tries to drive carpool for the first time, and as he drives into the school driveway in the opposite direction, swimming upstream against a raging torrent of veteran carpool-driving moms, one of them rolls down her window and shouts, "You're doing it wrong!"

In my case, it's actually a new job (as opposed to the lack of one) that has caused me to get wrong what once was so right. Clearly, for any regular readers (i.e. regular commenter WizarDru and some other delightful folks out there - you know who you are), I haven't been posting with anywhere near the regularity or depth of the preceding 16 months.

Basically, I've had to make choices about how to budget my time. Before I started working at EA Chicago, my two biggest chunks of time were spent 1) hanging out with my wife and kids and 2) writing about video games. Now I've had to add in a huge new chunk to the mix - work. And with the greatly reduced remainder, deciding between writing and family time is as close to a no-brainer as it gets. I love being a game developer, but my family will always come first, which is, ironically, why I enjoyed writing this blog and my GameDaily/AOL column in the first place.

Now I'm not saying that I'm going to stop writing. Not by a longshot. I just have to find a way to fit it into the rotation with greater regularity. Hey, if other insanely busy gamey-type folks like Robin, Kim, Clint, David, and many others can find the time to write interesting, intelligent, insightful posts fairly often, how can I not get my ass in gear and do the same?

So for the past 2 and a half months, I've been doing it wrong, but from now on, I'll do my best to get it right.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-24T00:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
I'll post some new stuff over the holiday weekend.
Stay tuned. :)

New Games

2006-11-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

There are a few games that have been released in recent weeks, or soon will be, that are most definitely on my family gaming radar screen. Here are a couple of 'em:

Sims 2 Pets: I already wrote a preview of Sims 2: Pets 3 months ago, but the game was finally released a couple weeks ago, and my kids actually got to play the game at EA Chicago's grand opening event last week. My daughter and son each got to create their very own animals using Create-a-Pet, and as I boldly predicted (actually, not so much a bold prediction as a gentle plucking of low-hanging fruit), they absolutely loved it. So I went ahead and bought a copy, and the next time my kids will see the game is inside some bright, colorful wrapping paper next month.

Thrillville: I loved this game when I saw it at E3, and in fact, it won one of my coveted post-E3 Fammy Awards. I took a whole buncha notes for a swell preview of the game, but before I could write it, I up and got myself hired by EA Chicago. I'd still like to write a preview of Thrillville in the next week or two, but in case I don't get around to it, I recommend it highly.

In a similar vein, I plan to do another GameFam Holiday Gift Guide this year, but given the time it took for the photos alone, this year's likely won't be as colorful or comprehensive as last year's. But with all the games I saw at GDC and E3 this year, and with all the great games we've already played together this year, I can't keep all that info to myself.

P.S. Still playing the heck out of LEGO Star Wars II.

REVIEW: Fashion Fable

2006-10-28T23:10:00.000-06:00

While my daughter likes games like Sly Cooper and LEGO Star Wars a good little bit, she also enjoys the occasional fashion-focused "girlie" game, like Fashion Cents and, for better or worse, Paperdoll Heaven.

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned in passing that she and I had been playing Fashion Fable together.

Just now, as I linked to that there Fashion Fable website above, I saw that they had a gameplay video which takes you through most of the points that I was about to make, so I'll just run those down quickly:

There's a backstory (which we really didn't pay much attention to) about a clothing designer whose clothes were echanted and turned into mischevious imps, and your task is to capture said imps, via a match-3 puzzle game.

While the match-3 game may have been done to death in the casual game space (see Bejeweled. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.), it's pretty varied and entertaining the way they did it here. There are lots of vibrant and colorful animals, flowers, and other fun stuff.

In addition, every few levels introduces the player to a new imp with unique properties which affect your strategy.

The one element of the puzzle portion of the game that annoyed the hell out of us was the music - the horribly repetitive, schlock wedding band music (as someone who has played in wedding bands, I knows it when I hears it), which never seemed to stop. The same song played over and over and over again, driving us freaking nuts. They finally switched to a different song, but that was only after we'd played it many many times.

Now for the fashion. Depending on how quickly you finish the puzzles, you earn money every time you capture the required about of imps, which completes the level. With your money, you can buy (and eventually sell) dresses, blouses, pants, shoes, hairstyles, and special items like teddy bears and bunny rabbits. You can also customize the colors of all of those items (even the teddy bear).

My daughter likes the puzzles, though she sometimes needs my help (which I'm only too happy to give) to clear the levels. But she loves the fashion stuff - putting together outfits and hairstyles? Fugghedaboudit.

Best of all, though, it's a special thing that she and I share for 20-30 minutes, after homework and before bedtime, just the two of us. And that, my friends, is as good as it gets.

Back To Work

2006-10-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

Ah, the end of a great weekend hanging out with my wife and kids.

A little reading books, a little crazy eights, a little Toy Story Monopoly, a little "tackle Daddy", and of course, a little LEGO Star Wars II. The full version of the game arrived on Saturday, and we've all been enjoying a great gaming adventure together.

Tomorrow begins another week of work, and not only do I work on games once I get to EA Chicago's offices, but I also spread the gaming gospel during my commute. On the days when I don't get up early to go to the gym, a friend gives me a ride, and naturally, we sit together on the Metra train.

The first time we shared a ride a few weeks ago, I pulled out my Nintendo DS Lite (or Fruit Loop DS), for a little gaming joy. Intrigued, my friend asked me some questions about this little hinged wonder, and after answering them, I asked if he wanted to take a swing at Big Brain Academy.

Fast forward to the day after tomorrow, the next time we share a commute. My friend will decide whether he wants to ignite his competitive fires, to see if his brain is heavier than mine (Big Brain Academy), or just relax with a little Ms. Pac-Man action.

Either way, it's all good. And I while my friend is a perfectly happy person with a terrific family, it's always nice to see other folks from my generation getting reacquainted with the joys of gaming, one train ride at a time.

So Yeah...............

2006-10-15T20:34:00.000-06:00

...............the whole blogging thing.

Holy crap, it's been a while since I posted anything here. Sorry 'bout that.

I have a good excuse, though. I've been at EA Chicago for 3 weeks now, and I couldn't be happier. I'm definitely in the right place at the right time. I walked into a milestone crunch my very first week, and it was a very cool way to feel like a part of the team from the git go. But I'll go into more detail about the ol' joberoo in future posts.

Despite the tough initial schedule, which eased up considerably after that first week, my wife and kids and I have been able to carve out some great quality time together. So far, so good.

We've been playing a lot of the LEGO Star Wars II demo, which, as I predicted a while back, is magically delicious. We also played a little of Pac-Man World Rally, but while it was pretty good, it's on its way back to GameFly for the full version of LSW II.

My daughter and I started playing a new game called Fashion Fable recently, and I'll write more about it in a future post.

That's all for now. In the future, I won't let so much time go between posts. 'kay?

Best. Cake. Ever.

2006-09-18T15:00:00.000-06:00

Ever wish you could rewind the clock and get another crack at one of life's major decisions, like, say, which cake to have at your wedding?

I do. At our wedding, we ordered raspberry & white chocolate, and the caterer, in his infinite wisdom, decided that what we really wanted was orange and dark chocolate, even though my wife hates dark chocolate. So we had that going for us, which was nice.

I'm not going out on a limb when I say that this one's just a smidge better.

via Kim's blog

Speaking of cake, here's a show the whole family enjoys together.

Ah, cake.
Sweet, sweet cake.
Is there anything you can't do?

Things Change

2006-09-14T14:30:00.000-06:00

Here's my final Dad's Take column for AOL Games / GameDaily

-----------

Things Change.

Don Ameche shared this sage insight with Joe Mantegna, in 1988's movie of the same name. And never were these words truer for me than they are today.

As of Monday, September 18, I will no longer be writing for AOL Games / GameDaily, or teaching video game history at Westwood College. Instead, I'll be working for Electronic Arts as a game developer. EA Chicago is a talented, dedicated, close-knit group, and I'm very excited to be joining them.

As I mentioned in a couple of previous posts, I aspire to be a producer in the video game industry, and Monday I take a ginormous leap in that direction. However, while it is undoubtedly the biggest step, it isn't the first. That came back in April of 2003, when I herniated two lumbar discs (the same injury I wrote about in my first GameFam post and my first GameDaily column). No, really. Bear with me; I'm going somewhere with this.

That fateful morning, I was getting ready to go to work when it felt like a giant rubber band inside my back snapped. And at that time, work was nowhere near as satisfying as my writing and teaching have been, and as I hope my game development career to be.

What type of work was I doing, you ask?

Hem...
Haw...

OK, fine. I was selling boxes. There, I said it.

That's no typo. No mistake.

I.
Sold.
Boxes.

I'll give you a moment to let that sink in.

I had graduated from business school just as the dot com bubble was bursting, and all the high tech marketing opportunities dried up like so many worthless stock options. So I took a job doing sales and marketing (mostly sales - ugh) for a folding carton company that supplied many major consumer packaged goods companies.

I was not the happiest of campers. I knew that I needed to find something that made me excited to get out of bed and go to work in the morning, and surprise, surprise, boxes didn't provide the joie de vivre (joie de travaille?) I sought. But as a husband and father, I couldn't just toss out a steady paycheck and health coverage, to go tilting at video game windmills.

So off I trudged every morning.
Every morning, that is, until April, 2003.

When my back went boom, I was in a lot of pain, but as it became clear that I had a surgical procedure and a long rehab ahead of me, it dawned on me that I was being presented with a rare opportunity to reinvent myself professionally.

Determined not to squander the painful gift I was given, I set about immersing myself in the world of video games. I played games by myself and with my kids. I played in the day. I played at night. I spent months researching both how to make games today, as well as game industry pioneers - the people who had made the 3-minute masterpieces I loved as a young 'un. When I wasn't sleeping from the painkillers (yes, I had a prescription), it was all games, all the time.

Although I was still in the middle of rehab, I put a video game-focused resume up on Monster, just to see what was out there, and hoping that by the time I found something, I'd be good to go.

About two weeks later, I was invited to interview for a position teaching about the history of the video game industry. I thought it was a joke. Me? Teach a college course? What are you, nuts? Sure, I have a consuming passion for video games, and I know a fair amount about industry history, but teach? In fact, I called my wife over to see the e-mail and share a chuckle with me.

Well, the e-mail wasn't a joke: the program director was dead serious, and, as it turned out, prescient. He saw something in me that I didn't realize was there. When you're passionate about something, it's a lot of fun to share it with other people.

To prepare for the class, I spent hours and hours putting together huge PowerPoint presentations with very little text and lots of pretty pictures, to accompany my lectures and hold my students' attention. And lo and behold, it worked. I enjoyed teaching, and I got a lot of satisfaction from helping out the students who needed the extra boost.

-----------

My teaching position allowed me to attend E3 2005, and when my bleeding ears and aching feet had healed, I set about sharing my knowledge of kids' games with other parents, who didn't have as much time to play games with their kids as I did to play with mine. I launched GameFam in mid-June, 2005, and shortly thereafter, I started writing this column for GameDaily.

I've loved every minute of it. As I began to find my voice as a writer, I was given remarkable autonomy to blather on about that which I deemed to be of value, yet when I needed advice or support, my editor always had my back. Thanks, Jill!

And the support I received from GameDaily was not just editorial. From the very beginning of our professional relationship, the GameDaily folks knew that I was looking for an industry job, but they never hesitated when I wanted to attend E3, GDC, and the Game Marketing Conference. Although they understood that I wouldn't be devoting 100% of my time to the website** at these events (what with the networking and all), they not only didn't give me flack, but they actively supported me in my quest, and they went above and beyond the call on numerous occasions. For that, I will always be indebted to the whole GameDaily team, and I leave on the warmest and fuzziest of terms.

Down the road, you may read another column of mine when I feel that I have something to contribute, to raise the level of discourse regarding video games and children. In the meantime, I wish the GameDaily team much success as they embark on this new chapter as part of the AOL Games family.

** By the way, before you get all up in arms about me shirking my responsibilities as a writer, take a gander at my GDC and E3 wrap-up columns, as well as some of my post-E3 game previews. I did plenty of darn fine work, thank you very much.

-----------

So Monday begins a new chapter, not just for me, but also for my family.

In the time since my back injury, I've had the blessing of an overflowing bounty of time to spend hanging out with my wife and kids. Clearly, that has come to an end. But whether or not I got a job in the video game industry, that would have ended anyway. Because now that I'm healthy and don't have to work from home, I would have had to go out into the full-time (and more importantly, full paycheck and full benefits) working world anyway. The only question is whether I'd be making games for EA or another video game company, selling cheese for Kraft, or, say, filling out TPS reports at Initech. My point is that all of these jobs are difficult and demanding. But only one provides me with a deep, intrinsic motivation to succeed, as opposed to the extrinsic motivation (i.e. paycheck) alone. Of course I have pride to succeed in anything I do, but I think you can see how it ain't the same.

My wife and I have talked to our kids about my new job, and about how my schedule will be changing. They're most definitely on board, and it gives them something fun to tell their friends at school. I'm sure there will be a few bumps in the road, but we've had bumps before, and we've always driven over them together.

I don't plan to ever stop playing games with my kids. From current kid-friendly favorites like Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, and LEGO Star Wars, to the upcoming T-rated frag-fests several years down the road, playing games with my kids will always be one of my favorite things to do. So while the quantity of time spent together will necessarily decrease, our joint gaming sessions will always be the very definition of quality time.

I also don't plan to stop writing about the games we play together. So while I bid a fond farewell to GameDaily for now, I will continue blogging. Especially in such a charged political environment, I believe I'm doing something worthwhile here. I just won't be able to do it as often, and I won't have the time to sit for hours, crafting masterpieces like this one ;). I'll probably do exclusively thumbnail reviews, and I'm looking into podcasting, but whatever form the new GameFam takes, I'll be around.

Now if you'll excuse me, my son will be home from school in a little while, and I promised him we'd play the awesome rhythm-game boss battle vs. Mz. Ruby......... again.

There's his school bus. Gotta go.

You stay classy, San Diego.

Wii Wanted It Cheaper & Earlier

2006-09-14T06:34:00.000-06:00

Nintendo's new Wii console will be released in North America for $250 on November 19.

At $200, I was definitely planning to pre-order a Wii.
At $250, I'm not so sure.

$200 would have been far and away the cheapest next-gen console launch price, but $250 is a hop, skip & jump from Xbox 360 core territory.

I know, it's not about the technology with Nintendo; it's about the gaming experience, and I support that wholeheartedly. But while I'm sure we'll love the Wii when we eventually get it, the game we want most - Super Mario Galaxy - won't release until next year anyway.

Bottom line, I haven't made any irrevocable decisions here. But for the time being, color me ambivalent.

Happy LEGO Star Wars II Day!

2006-09-12T06:55:00.000-06:00

Enjoy the blocky sci-fi goodness!

Holy Follow-the-Leader, Batman!

2006-09-10T00:18:00.000-06:00

A blocky caped crusader?

Say what you will about copying the hot trend and lack of original ideas. All I know is, my kids (especially my son) are gonna be all over a LEGO-botimized Batman.

Here's hoping they follow LEGO Star Wars' lead and not take themselves too seriously, making the game fun for kids and grownups alike. For the Batman version, I hope they do a lot of the campy stuff from the TV show.

Tune in next year (I'm guessing).
Same block time!
Same block channel!

Oh, and speaking of LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy hits store shelves on Tuesday. Are you ready for the big day? My kids and I have been playing the LEGO Star Wars II demos (PC & PS2), and as good as the first game is, this one's better.

REVIEW: Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

2006-09-07T16:49:00.000-06:00

Like Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, Sly Cooper, along with his band of merry thieving orphans, is a beloved figure in these parts.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves, which I reviewed last year, is one of my kids' all-time favorite video games.

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, which I'll get around to reviewing one of these days, is a terrific game as well. We had a great time playing it a few months ago.

Although Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is the first game in the series, we didn't get around to playing it until now. But the fact that we went out of order didn't affect our enjoyment of this game, which was considerable.

Since I already discussed the series' visual style and backstory, and addressed possible concerns about endorsing thievery in my Sly 2 review, I won't rehash them here. But like the 2nd and 3rd games in the series, playing Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is like exploring inside a great comic book.

As with many of the games we play together, we first played the demo of this game on a PlayStation Jampack disc. And based on that demo, I have to admit that I didn't think we'd like the first Sly game as much as we enjoyed the later versions, but as it turned out, I shouldn't have worried. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is an out-freakin'-standing game. The tight controls and sense of humor are present and accounted for, and the characters are terrific.

That said, there were a few issues, especially when comparing this game to its successors.

Clue Bottles: In Sly 2, smashing the bottles holding various clues wasn't an essential part of the game, but in this game, if you don't find the requisite amount of clues, you'll miss out on some valuable new skills and abilities. This is most unfortunate, because it's a pain in the ass to get them all, which means that backtracking (including dying on purpose so you could start from the top to take another (literal) whack at the clue bottles) is the order of the day. This gets easier when you earn a tool that reveals where all the clues are, but of course, you have to find all the clues on a previous level to get it.

Voice-overs: Most of the voicework is very solid, and I particularly appreciate that the same three actors (Kevin Miller as Sly, the underappreciated Matt Olsen as Bentley, and Chris Murphy as Murray) voice the three main characters throughout the series. The same can't be said of every character, and in fact, Inspector Carmelita Fox is voiced by a different actor every time, with this one being the worst of the three (beating out the Sly 3 version in a squeaker). Ironically, the best one is Alesia Glidewell - the very same Alesia Glidewell I criticized for her horrible job voicing the conniving Constable Neyla in Sly 2.

Controls: Muscle memory-related control confusion was another issue for me. If you want to run fast, you press the R1 button in Sly 2, but in the first Sly game, you have to press the triangle button. As a result, instead of running away from the rabid guard dogs, I paused for a leisurely look-see with my binoculars, resulting on a nice bump on the coconut.

Additionally, there is less free exploration than in Sly 2 and Sly 3, and Sly Cooper is the only playable character, as opposed to Sly 2 (Sly, Murray, and Bentley) and Sly 3 (Sly, Murray, Bentley, Carmelita, Dmitri, The Guru, Penelope, and Sly 1 villain the Panda King). Of course, this simply means that the series just keeps getting better.

Speaking of better things, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus has the best rhythm mini-game we've ever played (feel free to quote me on that one).

A few months back, I wrote one of my pituitary "mega-reviews" about the rhythm game genre. While the games I highlighted are full-fledged rhythm games, many many other video games incorporate at least one rhythm based mini-game into the gameplay. Some do it well. Some do it exceedingly poorly. But more often than not, it's an unwelcome intrusion - an annoying, unnecessary, discordant hurdle that interrupts the flow of the game; detracting from, rather than enhancing the gameplay.

That's not the case here. This game gets right what so many other games get wrong. The mini-game makes sense in the context of the level, and it excels both rhythmically and visually. The X, square, circle and triangle buttons don't simply move lifelessly across the screen on a conveyor belt. Oh, no. Voodoo mystic Mz. Ruby flings them at you like lethal rhythmic projectiles. Additionally, the platforming that leads into the mini-game is rhythm-based as well. As you make your way to battle Mz. Ruby, you have to avoid stalactites that rhythmically slam down like gator jaws, as you spire jump from peak to peak. My kids absolutely love this level, and although we've only been playing the game for a couple weeks, we've replayed it many many times already.

Here's Something We Hope You'll Really Like

2006-09-03T01:27:00.000-06:00

In the last few weeks, several outstanding videos have cropped up on the series of tubes we like to call the internets. Here are a few of the best. Enjoy!

Andy Roddick vs. PONG

Trackmania Sunrise - 1K Project II
Awesome video combining footage of 1000 cars!

History of Video Games

How Not To Be Seen

GTA Coke ad

Advergame: Friend or Foe?

2006-08-31T14:30:00.000-06:00

Cross-posted on GameDaily.

------------

"Mommy, can we buy Stouffer's mac & cheese?" comes the urgent request from the little man in the next room.

Silence.

"Oh, yeah. I mean... Mommy, can we buy Stouffer's mac & cheese... please?" comes the properly-formatted request from the little man in the next room.

"Why Stouffer's?"

"Because they use 100% real cheese!" comes the reply (no doubt followed by a silent "duh!").

"Oh. We'll see."

As all parents know, children are the dream target of many a marketing message, because they have not yet become jaded about advertising, and in fact, don't always recognize it when they see it. Or put another way, their bullshit detectors are still being assembled.

Over the past few years, companies have been taking advantage of a new and growing medium for their advertising messages - games. This phenomenon is called Advergaming. According to Wikipedia:

Advergaming is the practice of using games, particularly computer games, to advertise or promote a product, organization or viewpoint.

Advergaming takes several forms. For the purposes of this column, though, I won't be dealing with 1) in-game advertising (like the infamous Subway ads that were placed in Counter-Strike for several weeks), or 2) games like America's Army, a full-length console video game commisioned by the U.S. Army in order to immerse the player into all of Army culture, as opposed to combat alone.

Instead, I'll be focusing on games that companies put on their websites in order to attract potential customers. Often, though not always, the product itself is the character, or the treasure at the end - the very object of the game.

As I wrote in my first Dad's Take column, as well as my first GameFam post, it took a while before my kids and I started playing console games together. And although games for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube (not the Xbox) take up the majority of our joint gaming sessions these days, early on, advergames comprised a much larger percentage.

Here is a short list of some of the advergames my kids and I have enjoyed together over the past few years. This list is far from comprehensive, as it merely reflects the ones we've played and enjoyed most. If you're looking to stay abreast of the latest in advergaming, Water Cooler Games regularly writes about that very subject.

Wonka.com Game Central has a big list of games, but the Laffy Taffy 3D Pyramid Challenge was my kids' favorite. Explore a maze inside an old pyramid. Find flavor-themed keys to unlock corresponding doors. Collect pellets to power your all-important flashlight. Use ropes and secret codes to cross open spaces. But watch out for the big burping red guys!

Barbie. Ugh. Don't get me started on Barbie. It's enough already with Barbie. But what are ya gonna do? My daughter loves it, and she like to play some of the games on this site.

Ice Age. We found this site (based on the 2002 film) a few years ago, and my kids loved it. You find games by exploring several screen-sized levels. The games are well-made and fun. Some of their favorites are Whack-a-Skrat, where you can bludgeon Skrat with a fish, and Ice Track Derby, where kids can create their own tracks and then race on them as characters from the movie.

Wrigley's CandyStand / NabiscoWorld Games. Although these two websites are owned by two separate companies, they were both owned by Kraft when they were created, hence the striking similarities. Each site has a huge selection of games, some more fun than others. But everyone should be able to find something fun to play. My kids loved the mini-golf games, my son loved the Sumo wrestler-themed sandwich cookie battle, and my daughter's favorite is the Sims-esque Chips Ahoy! Fun Room Designer.

Too many television-based games to count. Some of the best are:

Nick Jr. Playtime

PBS Kids

Noggin

HBO Family

Cartoon Network

HIT Entertainment

On the bottom of the NabiscoWorld Games page, Kraft has put the following message:

Hi kids, when you see "Ad Break" it means you are viewing a commercial message designed to sell you something. Remember, if you are under 18 years old, you should get a parent's permission before you submit any information about yourself or try to buy anything online.

Well, there's a nice little bit of irony for ya. While it's nice to see that Kraft warns kids not to submit information by themselves, Kraft is well aware that the messages flagged as "Ad Breaks" are far from the only...what was it?... "commercial message designed to sell you something" made on these advergaming sites. By definition, every one of these games is designed to increase the brand equity of and loyalty to the product in children.

Marketers know that people buy products not only because of how they taste (or look, or sound, or mow, or copy, or... widgetize...), but because of how it makes them feel - the bundle of emotions associated with every brand.

To improve brand image among kids, companies use things like fun packaging and fun commercials. But unlike those fun commercials, which interrupt the chosen leisure activity of watching TV, advergames are the leisure activity itself.

So the next time your kids spot a familiar package on the lower shelves in the supermarket, the advergame provider hopes that that they will exclaim, "Daddy! that's the candy from that maze game! Can we get it, Daddy?!"

Silence.

"Oh, yeah. I mean... can we please get it, Daddy?"

It's all too easy to throw out the "gaming" baby with the "adver" bathwater (yes, that's horribly, horribly written, but you get my point), but especially if your family has a limited gaming budget (which, I assume, are 99.4% of the families out there), you're missing out if you dismiss all advergames out of hand. You just need to be there to filter the marketing messages your kids receive in game form. As with anything that touches the lives of children, the key is active parental involvement.

You know what they say: Keep your friends close, and your advergames closer.

Happy gaming!

REVIEW: Namco Museum (GBA)

2006-08-17T19:30:00.000-06:00

Namco Museum for the Gameboy Advance includes:

Galaxian (1979)
Galaga (1981)
Ms. Pac-Man (1981)
Dig Dug (1982)
Pole Position (1982)

Smell is one of the most evocative of senses. For example, when I open the trunk in my basement and take a whiff (as I am wont to do), I am suddenly transported back to summer camp in rural Wisconsin in the early 1980's. I can almost taste the bug juice and adolescent angst.

That's not to say that my old trunk is the only time machine around these parts. There's nothing like the smell of day-old hot dogs on the countertop grill, brain freeze-inducing cola Slurpees, and a freshly-opened pouch of Big League Chew, to bring me back to my local 7-Eleven, also in the early '80's. More specifically, these smells transport me to my favorite spot in front of their Galaga machine. Ahh, Galaga. Such fun. Such excitement. Such double-shippy goodness.

Galaga was one of my favorite classic arcade games ever, which is saying something, given the large mushy area that classic arcade games occupy in my heart. Which is why I was pretty happy when I got to play Namco Museum for the GBA, on the flight to and from GDC and E3 (moment of silence) this year.

My kids were also happy to play Namco Museum on a recent plane trip, but instead of the relatively difficult Galaga, their faves were Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, and Pole Position.

Dig Dug is such a happy little game, from the delightfully cheerful music to the bright backgrounds. My kids sometimes have to ask for help on the more advanced levels, but at least early on in the game, it's not too hard, and lots of fun. They both love blowing the crap out of Pooka and Fygar with Dig Dug's little bicycle pump... of death. As an aside, as I mentioned in my GameTap review, Dig Dug's "Joey" is one of the funnier (though not the most kid-friendly) A Day in the Extra Life animated shorts.

Ms. Pac-Man suffers from being a portrait game in a landscape world. So your choices are; 1) the tiny, cornea-straining full-screen mode, where the playable area shares the screen with an equal amount of black nothingness, or 2) scroll mode, where at any given time, you can see the entire width of the screen, but only half of the length. So although you may not be able to see Blinky and Clyde plotting their evil deeds somewhere offscreen, scroll mode is the better bet, because the entire GBA screen is playable. And once you start playing, it's the genuine article.

My kids enjoyed Pole Position, even though, like all driving games, it's tough to control the car with a digital pad. The result is that without the ability to make smooth analog changes in the car's heading, you end up driving all herky-jerky-like. One of the things my kids like to do as they drive around the track is to find the Dig Dug billboards along the side of the road.

Galaxian may be a slower, uniship version of its sequel, Galaga, but it will always be a special game for me, because of the role it played in arcade history. Before its 1979 release, the only color we got to see in games was when arcade companies would project the monotone game image onto a painted background, a la Space Invaders or Boot Hill. And just like the effect the big orange splot had on Mr. Plumbean's neat street, when Galaxian burst gloriously onto the scene, it was like a rainbow. It was like an explosion.

For the older kids, Galaga plays pretty well, though if you have to move the GBA up and down in the course of trying to hit the fire button fast enough, it can be tough to concentrate on a single spot on the screen.

In general, given the technological advancements made in the gaming industry in the last quarter century, the Gameboy Advance is just about the perfect vehicle for classic arcade games. These 3-minute, easy-to-learn, hard-to-master adventures are perfect for portable gaming, but not sophisticated enough to feel at home on the DS or PSP. And other than Ms. Pac-Man's pesky aspect ratio issues, the games are faithfully ported over with their sights and sounds as authentic as I remember them.

The only area that takes a significant hit is the controls. Even if we take Pole Position's steering wheel out of the equation, a teeny-tiny d-pad simply can't measure up to a robust, full-size arcade joystick, especially for North/South/East/West games like Ms. Pac-Man and Dig Dug.

As someone who lived through the golden age of arcade gaming in the late '70s and early '80s, I really get a kick out of seeing my kids enjoy playing the games I loved as a kid. Namco Museum for the Gameboy Advance is a terrific game for all ages, and will come in mighty handy on your next trip in the Family Truckster. And if the game isn't enough to satisfy little Rusty and Audrey, you can always stop off for a Slurpee break along the way.

You've Got Content!

2006-08-16T00:18:00.000-06:00

It's official...

AOL acquires GameDaily from Gigex.

More detail in this Q&A with the General Manager of AOL Games - AOL's Ralph Rivera Explains the GameDaily purchase.

I, for one, welcome my new AOL overlords. ;)

As a reminder, since I posted about them in May & June respectively, here are the features that AOL Games did for some notable Mom & Dad gamers:
Mother's Day Feature
Father's Day Feature
.

Ordinarily I'd Be Thrilled...

2006-08-12T21:00:00.000-06:00

...but I live in Illinois.

As I wrote in the comment section of Kim's blog:

As a game industry type o' fella, I'm thrilled, yet as a citizen of Illinois, some of those 1/2 million shekels are coming outta my pocket.

I couldn't be more conflicted.

More from the always relevant GamePolitics.
.

REVIEW: Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure

2006-08-10T14:30:00.000-06:00

Cross-posted on GameDAILY.

In reviewing Lego Star Wars a few weeks ago, I wrote about how my kids had begun to play more independently, instead of being more passive (or more accurately, intermittently active) consumers of the games we play together.

While they're still playing and enjoying Lego Star Wars (no surprise), my kids recently started playing another game that allows them the freedom to play by themselves - Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure.

From the game's title alone, we can deduce the following:

The game features the beloved Stuart Little (duh), in his recurring role as mouse-living-among-humans-as-member-of-family. And apparently, there have been 2 previous Stuart Little games.

Something about photos, or the taking thereof. Correct. In this case, Stuart accidentally knocks big brother George's photo album into the fish tank, and the game revolves around Stuart's efforts to re-create every photo in the album. Along the way, Stuart has...

...oh, you guessed it, huh? Well, you're right; a Big Adventure.

The interface in Stuart Little 3 is friendly and unintimidating, so just as in Lego Star Wars, my kids didn't have a moment's hesitation before plunging hip-deep into the Stuart Little pool.

From the outset, it is clear that Stuart Little 3 achieves a balance all too rare in licensed games for kids, in that it embraces the license without being too constrained by it. The game is true to the spirit, appearance and environments of the Stuart Little movies, yet it gives the young players enough freedom to feel that they are in charge of the adventure (as opposed to the unseen conductor of a train traveling on-rails). And speaking of that freedom, while there is a lot of open-ended, freeform gameplay, there is enough gentle guidance to make sure that the player doesn't feel lost or confused about what to do next.

Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure achieves a delicate balance in another crucial area - difficulty. While it is easy enough for young kids to play by themselves, it is also just challenging enough to keep them interested for more than just a few minutes. As for the controls, they feel intuitive and solid.

The game also teaches a nice lesson about responsibility. Even though it was an accident, Stuart ruined George's project, so it's Stuart's responsibility to replace it. In addition, in order to get some of the people to agree to pose for Stuart's camera, he needs to help them by performing good deeds and fairly easy tasks.

There is an EyeToy component to the game, but although my kids have been playing the game for a while, it hasn't come up yet. From what I've read, though, we're not missing much, as it's more of an add-on gimmick than a central component of the game.

If you were looking for more in the way of in-game details, here you go, in the form of one big stream-of-consciousness mega-sentence......... right after I psych myself up for the task. Ready?

Power...
Power...

(* channels Veronica Corningstone before her first newscast as anchor, while Ron Burgundy was busy crying hysterically about his dog Baxter, who had just been punted off the bridge by Jack Black's biker character, after Ron tossed his delicious-but-too-filling burrito out of his car at him while singing about taking Baxter to foggy London town, causing Black to wipe out on his bike, after which he said "That's how I roll" ............ did people even say that in the '70s? *)

Where was I? Oh yeah, the little mouse kid. And by the way, that wasn't the mega-sentence from hell. This is:

You explore several different levels (backyard, park, basement, etc.), trying to find the objects of Stuart's (via George) photographic desire, pausing along the way to collect Snowbell-bribing cat snacks (without which that darn cat won't lift a paw to help you - what is it with cats, anyway?), as well as shiny blue and yellow blobs to charge the flash (without which you can't take the pictures), and you get to dress up in several outfits (photographer, fireman, Native American, etc.) with corresponding abilities (taking pictures, spraying water, shooting arrows, etc.), and although the races aren't so easy, you get to ride/drive a garage full of unlockable vehicles, including skateboard, BMX bike, scooter, roadster, tank, dune buggy, hovercraft, motorcycle, helicopter, blimp, sailboard, speaking of which, not only can you easily switch vehicles in the garage, but when you move from land to water (or vice-versa), the game auto-switches you to the appropriate vehicle, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fun mini-golf and skateboarding mini-games.

* passes out from prolonged oxygen deprivation * Maybe instead of channeling the lovely and talented Ms. Corningstone, I should have channeled this guy.

So I think I've made it pretty clear what I think, but if you still need me to bottom-line it for ya, here you go: Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure is an out-freakin'-standing game for kids of all ages. Or to paraphrase the lovely and vacuous Brian Fantana, 100% of the time, it's fun EVERY time.

GameDAILY Download of the Day: Lego Star Wars II

2006-08-09T21:23:00.000-06:00

Here's the link to the demo for Lego Star Wars II: Original Trilogy.

Enjoy!

REVIEW: Nintendogs / PREVIEW: The Sims 2 Pets (a.k.a. Pets will do what Nintendon't)

2006-08-03T14:04:00.000-06:00

Cross-posted on GameDAILY.

So I'm browsing through my Google news aggregator home page, when lo and behold, I see that the top story on Sims 2 News is the following headline:

"CNet Video Interview With Sims Designer Robin Hunicke"

Hey! I know her! She's good people. Salt of the earth, that Robin.................................... except for the fact that she's a cat person.

Relax, people, I joke, I kid. I like cats. Really, I do. Some of my best friends are cats.................................... but really, dogs kick ass. They just have that certain... dogness about them. Cats? Please.

Before I get all the cat people up in arms, there's actually a reason for stirring up some pet-owner passions. So bear with me, 'cuz I'm going somewhere with this.

As some of you may remember from my review of Dog's Life, my family is most definitely a dog family. Last October, we lost our own beloved pooch of 10 years, and we were all suffering from acute doggie withdrawal.

A few months later, we got a Nintendo DS for the holidays, along with a copy of Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends, because that was the one that included beagles in the original group of breeds.

It was love at first sight. The puppies were indescribably cute, and we couldn't wait to get started. Unfortunately given the language recognition glitches with some DS games (e.g. saying "blue" in Brain Age), it took several tries and a surprisingly considerable chunk of time to get past the initial training/imprinting stage (where the player establishes the connection to the specific dog), which was frustrating.

At first, my daughter named her beagle puppy "Otter", after our dearly departed beagle, but my wife and I asked her to choose a new name, because it was just too painful to hear her training her new puppy using the name of the family member we'd lost just two and a half months earlier. So she chose another name and was on her way to making a new friend.

One of the best things about gameplay in Nintendogs is using the stylus to give your puppy baths and belly rubs. Physically "touching" your puppy really helps to cement the emotional relationship between child and dog.

My kids loved the fact that they could each choose their own puppy. My daughter had her beagle, my son chose a husky, and my wife picked a golden retriever. I was waiting for the yellow labs to be unlocked, but before that happened, our enthusiasm for the game trailed off considerably.

While there are many good things about Nintendogs, depth is not one of them. There is a great deal of repetitiveness to the gameplay. For example...

You enter a competition (e.g. obedience, frisbee-catching, etc.) to win some prize money, which you can use to buy supplies like food and grooming tools, or fun extras like ribbons and 3D sunglasses for your dogs. The competitions are fun... the first couple of times. But the problem is that even though it gets slightly harder each time, there isn't really a sense of advancement.

You leave your puppy alone for a month, while you visit your fabulous cousins in the south of France. Upon your return, you check on your dogs, expecting them to have run away (as the game warns that they will). Instead, you are eagerly greeted by a motley crew of filthy, hungry, parched pooches. After a bath and a few gulps of food and water, it's like you never left.

You take your puppy for a walk. You meet another puppy. They may get along. They may not. Nothing really happens. Your puppy poops and pishes. You don't have to clean it up (though the game tells you that you should). There's no penalty of any kind for befouling the sidewalk.

You take another walk. Second verse (and the third and the fourth), same as the first. Again, nothing really happens.

Although very very cute, Nintendogs is like a Bizarro World god game, where no matter what you do, you get the same results. This, of course, is exactly the opposite of what a god game is supposed to be.

Speaking of god games, if some of you are wondering why I started this column by writing about Robin (she's probably wondering herself), here's why:

The interview was about the upcoming Sims 2 expansion pack, The Sims 2 Pets, and it is very clear that Pets will have the characteristic Sims depth, customization, and realistic, real-time cause-and-effect gameplay.

And whether you're a dog person, a cat person, or would rather have a lower-maintenance pet like a hamster or a bird (do the parrots speak Simlish? - "Squawk! Kskrank! Glugiado! Squawk!"), The Sims 2 Pets can hook you up.

Until now, when playing The Sims 2 with my kids, we only play a little here and a little there, as opposed to doing more of a "deep dive" into what is an impressively deep game. We'll play for half an hour before bed, or 20 minutes here and there. And we always enjoy it together. When the fat alien man suddenly gave birth to a bouncing baby...... creature, my kids were on the floor.

The reason we haven't delved that deeply into the game is twofold. First, with so many games to play, we simply can't (nor do my kids want to) spend so much time playing one game above all others. Similar to World of Warcraft, if you try to get as much as possible out of The Sims 2 experience, it can be quite the time sink.

Secondly, The Sims 2 is rated T, and while that hasn't necessarily stopped me in the past (e.g. Ratchet & Clank & Dog's Life), there is the small issue of WooHoo, and given that getting laid is one of the goals in the game (depending on your character's personality, aspirations, etc.), that's a tad more mature than I want to expose my kids to right now. That said, though, there's a lot of great stuff for kids in The Sims 2, and we do have a lot of fun with the limited way we play.

So, as we shift our focus from hoochie to poochie, The Sims 2 Pets looks to be a lot more uniformly kid-friendly. My kids are going to love, love, love the Create-a-Pet function. Though they may try to create some realistic-looking animals, I can't wait to see some of the stranger creations they come up with. In a way, it's a more advanced version of the interchangeable body parts in Lego Star Wars II.

One way the game improves on Nintendogs is that there are consequences to how you treat your pets. If you don't treat them well, they will be taken away, which is similar to having your animal adoption privileges suspended in Zoo Tycoon.

Another way is that you get to guide and accompany your pets through their entire lifecycle, which is the way it works with all the Sims species.

All in all, it looks like The Sims 2 Pets will be both a solid addition to the Sims franchise, as well as a great option for pet-loving gamers.

To summarize, I realize that these two games aren't necessarily direct competitors, but given the subject matter, it's natural to compare and contrast them with each other.

My kids enjoyed Nintendogs. It was a lot of fun for a little while, and a little fun for the long run, the main reason being repetitiveness and lack of depth. So if you're looking for a deep experience with your virtual pets, The Sims 2 Pets will do what Nintendon't.

PREVIEW: LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy

2006-07-27T16:11:00.000-06:00

In writing this preview of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, I must have experimented with a dozen different opening paragraphs, to set the scene just so.

But why should I beat around the bush with cleverer - than - thou writing, when I can bottom-line it for you much more plainly and succinctly? So if you're pressed for time, feel free to stop reading after the following sentence:

LEGO Star Wars II , which will be released on September 12 (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, GameCube, PC, DS, PSP, GameBoy Advance), is chock full of delightful, kid-friendly awesomeness.

Actually, keep reading for a just a smidge more, as I take it one step further with this declaration:

LEGO Star Wars was great.
LEGO Star Wars II will be better.

Why do I say this?

Well, first, LucasArts is taking back the reins on this one (the first LEGO Star Wars was published by Eidos), which, given their stellar reputation for outstanding achievement in the field of excellence, can only be a good thing.

But let's get right to the actual in-game goodies, shall we?

LEGO Star Wars II features 50+ characters from the original Star Wars trilogy. This is great news for parents like me, for whom the first 3 Star Wars movies (officially episodes 4-6) occupy a warm, squishy, Pop-Rocks-eating, banana-seat-bike-riding place in our hearts. What made the first game great was not the story (Jar-Jar Binks, anyone?), but rather, the whimsical, immersive gameplay. So if you add the powerful draw of the original Star Wars trilogy into an already potent mix, you can't help but be excited. And for those of us who saw episodes 4-6 (many times), but skipped the more recent episodes 1-3, you'll actually be able to explain to your kids just what the hell is going on.

You can import save games & characters from the first LEGO Star Wars into this game. How cool is that? My kids have spent hours of independent, cooperative play with the first game, and the fact that they don't have to start from square one is terrific.

Franken-Star Wars! You can mix and match body sections to create your own custom Star Wars characters. Come on, people! Give it up! Storm Solo? Darth Lea? R2 Bacca? That's gold, Jerry. GOLD! It fits right in with the wonderful sense of humor that runs throughout the LEGO Star Wars series. I awarded LucasArts the Best Schwag Award in my E3 2006 Fammy Awards because of their terrific interchangeable LEGO Star Wars II parts. But what makes it more than mere cool schwag is that it is also smart marketing. Sure, LucasArts could have given out whole mini LEGO Star Wars characters, like the ones my wife and I bought for our son at the LEGO store in a local mall. But this wasn't schwag for schwag's sake, like a pen, keychain, or some of the other craptacular freebies I brought back with me from E3. In having interchangeable LEGO Star Wars II parts, they wisely melted down one of the main points-of-difference in the game into schwag form. Well played.

Instead of merely watching the cool vehicles drive/fly/hover by, you can build AND RIDE your own. Do I have to explain why that's great for kids? Didn't think so.

This game is more freeform than the first. Much of the first game was played on-rails, which was one of the few issues I had with it. LEGO Star Wars II will be more open-ended, which is something I always look for in a good kids' game.

There's a lot more cool stuff I could have included in this preview, but do I really need it? Have I not convinced you that this is going to be a terrific game for kids? Hell, I thought I did that after the first couple of paragraphs. All of the details are just gravy. So I guess my work is done here.............................. OK, fine. Here are a couple of fun little nuggets for you:

Chewbacca tends to rip the arms off his enemies. Of course, now that I read that, it may strike some as less than kid-friendly, but given that it takes place in the safe LEGO universe, it ends up being funny and cute, as opposed to scary or violent.

The Dewbacks poop LEGO bricks. Given how funny my kids thought the pooping was in Dog's Life, they'll be all over this one. When I told my kids about the pooping Dewbacks when I returned from E3, they were on the floor. Just wait 'til it happens when they're playing the game.

Anyhoo, come September 12, go buy it, ~~steal it,~~ rent it, whatever. But however you obtain a copy, just make sure you find a way for your kids to play it. Of course, since this game is fun for parents as well, they may have to wrestle the controller away from Mom and Dad. Or even better, since LEGO Star Wars II retains the low-maintenance, drop-in, drop-out cooperative gameplay of the first game, you can play together.

Oh, wait, I almost forgot the obligatory sentence written in Yoda-speak, so here goes:

This awesome game, you should buy.

Of Niche-Filling & Market-Targeting

2006-07-24T23:25:00.000-06:00

My esteemed colleagues at GameDAILY have been all over the videogame journalism beat these days, witness Chris Buffa's recent 2-part series; 1) Why Videogame Journalism Sucks, and 2) How to Fix Videogame Journalism.

But this post is about the recent "What Game Developers Hate About Videogame Reviewers" from the mysterious Mr. Media Coverage at GameDAILY Biz.

The reason I mention all of this is because of the following excerpt from "What Game Developers Hate About Videogame Reviewers". Specifically, this is one of the main reasons I started GameFam:

Developers hate game reviewers because they don't understand games that are targeted for a specific audience

"Game reviewers want every game to be Zelda."

That's what one developer told me. He said that the reality of game development is that most developers make games for a very specific target audience and the developers do their best to find and meet the needs of those specific gamers.

It's a frustration then, when game reviewers complain that the game is too "kiddie" or too "redneck" or too targeted to one group. That, after all, was the entire purpose of the game.

Developers of kid-friendly games pull out their hair over these kinds of reviews. Making games that are easy enough for kids to play without frustration is incredibly difficult. When a 30-year-old reviewer, honed with one-quarter Contra-level skills, calls the game too-easy and too-short, game developers go crazy.

In defense of the game reviewers, developers must understand that reviewers are writing for a target audience as well. They have to target their content accordingly and that occasionally means making fun of kids' games. Their core readers don't care anyway.

Still, good reviewers will always keep a game's target audience in mind when writing the review. This target audience will be one ultimately playing the game, and if a review shortchanges its interests unfairly, this audience will lose a degree respect for that publication.

That there, ladies and gents, is the industry crying out for the creation of a niche, and along with the gamermoms and gamerdads of the world, a few of us are trying our darndest to fill it.

REVIEW: LEGO Star Wars

2006-07-20T16:30:00.000-06:00

Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, Game Boy Advance

----------------

So many games we've played together.
So much fun we've had.

From SpongeBob to Sly Cooper.
From Zoo Tycoon to Roller Coaster Tycoon.
From Dog's Life to Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure.
From Princess Peach to the Prince of all Cosmos.
From Ratchet to... er... Clank.
And the list goes on.

My kids and I (along with my wife, of course) love to do many different activities together. Board games, playing with bubbles, creating things with their big bucket of LEGO pieces (note the deft foreshadowing), fun family trips around the Chicago area, family movie nights, and of course, playing "Jump on Daddy," though I think they like that last one a little better than I do.

But because of the important role that video games have played in my relationship with my kids, it will always be a special thing that we share. And it is the nature of that sharing (and sharing in general) that is the crux of this review.

For the past couple of years now, our joint gaming adventures have taken on a familiar pattern.

I reveal the new game.
There is much rejoicing.
We............... waaaaaaaaaaaait............... for............... the............... gaaaaaaaaaaaaame............... to............... looooooooooooooooad (especially for PS2 games).
And I start playing, while the kids watch our new interactive adventure unfold before them.

But just how interactive is their adventure if I'm the one with the controller in my hand? Oh sure, I often pause and ask the kids what they might do to pass an obstacle, and I wait until they come up with the solution. And they've gotten pretty good at it, actually. But that's really no substitute for controlling the action yourself.

After I'd played through a level or sometimes the entire game, my kids would sometimes ask for the controller and give it a go on their own, safe in the knowledge that I was always there to help if they needed it.

But they never wanted to take the reins from the very beginning. And although I was lending a helping hand, my motives were not purely altruistic, as I enjoy many of these games as much as they do.

So although I would always ask if they wanted to try out a new game before I did, the answer would invariably be no, and for a while, it was our own little win-win status quo.

That is, it was the status quo, up until we played LEGO Star Wars a few months ago.

We went through steps 1-3 (above) as per usual, but when it came time for Step 4 (I start playing), something strange happened; my kids started to play instead of me, and even better, they played together.

Just like that, my children staged a bloodless controller coup. And although part of me will miss the way things used to be, I couldn't be prouder, because they've come off the relative safety of the sidelines, to craft their own journey.

There are still games that are too tough for them to start playing from the beginning, so they don't necessarily start playing every game. But there has definitely been a shift, in that they no longer assume that Daddy plays the early levels of every game while they watch. The default is now that they play from the beginning, and if it's too difficult or intimidating, then it's Daddy's turn. Yes, I realize that video games aren't a microcosm of life in general, but it's always gratifying to see your kids be more intrepid and self-assured when trying something new.

So what makes LEGO Star Wars so special?

First things first. At least as far as my kids are concerned, Star Wars wasn't the draw here. Neither one has seen any of the Star Wars movies (Patience, kids. Soon, the movies you will see.), and before playing this game, they probably would have thought that Mace Windu was just another one of the funny names Daddy likes to make up when he's being silly. Now, of course, he's the purple lightsaber guy.

And while my kids are both big LEGO fans, they played other LEGO games on GameTap that didn't resonate as much as this game has.

Don't get me wrong. The lightsabers are awesome, and the LEGO-ization of the Star Wars environment is truly, truly delightful - a crucial part of what makes the game so kid-friendly. But in the end, when it comes to the games that my kids love best, it ain't the license. It's the gameplay, stupid.

Gameplay-wise, LEGO Star Wars is the best of both worlds. It not only offers an open-ended Free Play mode that kids love so well, but in addition, the story mode hits the sweet spot of being challenging without being too difficult. In addition, "dying" isn't very traumatic, in that you turn into a pile of LEGO pieces, and respawn in a couple of seconds. No harm, no foul, and more importantly, no nightmares.

Combined with their newfound sense of gaming independence that this game gives them, it's also a terrific catalyst for siblingular (Me fail English? That's unpossible!) teamwork. Sure, each one of my kids enjoys playing the game alone, but it isn't until they play together that the gameplay potential of LEGO Star Wars is fully realized.

The drop-in anytime co-op mode makes it very easy for my kids to play for as long or as short as they want, without affecting each other's gameplay (and when one of 'em is finished, I remind them that I'd be more than happy to step in and help........ assuming they want my company, of course. *sulk*). They run around together, pretending to be the characters they're controlling. They encourage each other and help each other to advance and overcome obstacles. And although the worlds they explore together aren't "real", there's nothing fake about the parental joy it gives us to see them playing together so generously and enthusiastically.

LEGO Star Wars also has tremendous replay value. Once you've completed a level, you have the option of going back and playing in the Free Play mode, which allows you to roam freely and switch characters on the fly.

Speaking of switching characters, each character has a unique skill-set that is needed at particular points in the game. Only Jedis can use the force to move, destroy or repair objects. Only droids can open certain doors. Only Jar-Jar Binks *shudder* can jump high enough to reach certain platforms. Only those with guns can shoot targets. Only those small enough can travel through the ductwork, etc.

There many other terrific things about LEGO Star Wars, not the least of which is that most parents will love it as well. As with many of the games I play with my kids, just because a game is kid-friendly, it doesn't necessarily make it a "kiddie" game.

This game is also a feast for the senses. It looks gorgeous, and the sounds are true to the Star Wars universe, which only adds to the immersiveness. And that's saying something, considering that we played the game on the PS2, the weakest of the current-gen (in the process of becoming past-gen) consoles.

Finally, if there is one thing that makes me even prouder than I am of their newfound gaming independence; prouder than I am of their growing teamwork skills, it is this. Without having seen any of the movies or reading a single review, they knew instinctively that a character as annoying and pointless as Jar-Jar Binks would be the ideal practice dummy upon whom to hone their lightsaber skills.

*sigh* They grow up so fast.

----------------

If any of you vaguely recalls that I wrote something about LEGO Star Wars in the past, you're right. It was included in my 2005 Holiday Gift Guide.

"Hey! You just scratched my lightsaber with your LEGOs!"
"Hey! You just vaporized my LEGOs with your lightsaber!"

Like chocolate & peanut butter, this combination may sound strange to some, but for some reason, it just works...really, really well. This is a terrific game for kids, and is one of the few kid-friendly games for the Xbox. EDIT: To clarify that last sentence, there are plenty of kid-friendly games for the Xbox that also appear on the PS2 and GameCube, but the exclusives are few & far between.

Happy 18th of July!!!

2006-07-18T20:20:00.000-06:00

Yeah, it sure isn't July 4th anymore, but here are some mementos of our fun day 2 weeks ago.

Because of the crappy weather at last year's Eyes to the Skies Balloon Festival, we were completely shut out of the balloons, which led us to dub it the Balloon-less festival, but this year, due to gorgeous weather, it was delightfuly balloon-full.

With this Flickr photostream (and especially this photo) as our inspiration, we had some fun with sparklers.

And of course, the obligatory oooh! and ahhh!-inducing fireworks.

PREVIEW: Viva Piñata (a.k.a. "Good Fuzzy")

2006-07-13T16:30:00.000-06:00

About a week after I launched GameFam last year, I warned parents about a game created by renowned developer Rare. That game, Conker: Live & Reloaded, starred a fuzzy little critter who was just as cute as the dickens. As it turned out, he was also quite the violent, profane, disgusting little bastard.

That would be a prime example of the phenomenon known as "Bad Fuzzy".

Later this year (Holiday, '06), Rare and Microsoft will be releasing Viva Piñata for the Xbox 360, and based on my up-close-and-personal look-see at E3, it looks to be a prime example of "Good Fuzzy".

As I wrote in awarding Viva Piñata the coveted Best New IP Award in my E3 2006 Fammy Awards:

Viva Piñata is not only bright, colorful and whimsical, but it also allows for a great deal of choices for customization and control, which lets kids find their own comfort level. If we had a 360, Viva Piñata would be at the top of my wish list (along with Fight Night Round 3 for after the kids go to bed).

A Plethora of Piñatas

So, how 'bout them piñatas?
You know 'em. You love 'em. They're fun at parties.

Actually, while those last two statements are certainly true, how well do you really know your friendly neighborhood piñata? Rare's take on the matter is that just as we didn't really know the secret lives of toys before Toy Story, we've been similarly clueless about what goes on when the piñatas are not busy spewing forth their birthday party bounty.

Well, starting in a few months, we'll be able to see how piñatas act in their downtime. In Viva Piñata, there are more than 60 piñatas to play with, and each has its own personality. Your job is to develop each one from its initial state into the kind of piñata that would make a papa piñata proud.

Along the way, you meet many other piñatas. Most are friendly, but there are a few that aren't so pleasant. Sure, you could bust one open and eat the candy. But candy from a "sour" piñata will make your piñatas ill, and nobody likes a sick piñata (quick side note: when you break open a piñata, it doesn't die. It gets banished outside the garden, and has to start over from square one).

So instead of getting any ideas about having your own little Whacking Day celebration, you're encouraged to rehabilitate the bad egg, by figuring out just what it needs to become tame.

In addition to the piñatas, you can also create, customize and develop every item in the garden. Some kids will absolutely love that part of the game, but the kids that prefer a lower-maintenance experience can craft just that for themselves. There are also "helper" characters who can guide them along the way.

As far as my kids are concerned, my daughter is going to love all the customization, while my son will definitely lean toward the lazily aimless free exploration that is at the heart of open-ended sandbox games.

There's also co-op play, and since the game is on the Xbox 360, Xbox Live will obviously be at the heart of the multiplayer experience. You'll be able to team up with other payers and explore other custom-made environments.

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

If I can take Henry Kissinger's famous line and shamelessly bastardize it for my own purposes, I'd say the following:

Just because Viva Piñata is part of a calculated, engineered-to-be-kid-friendly multimedia (there's also going to be a Viva Piñata TV show, launching in the Fall) strategy that is a central part of Microsoft's goal to make the Xbox 360 more kid-friendly than the Xbox is, doesn't mean it's not a good game for kids (whew!).

I approached cautiously, and came away genuinely impressed. So before you start muttering "that's how they getcha" about big bad Microsoft, give Viva Piñata a chance to win you and your kids over.

Once Microsoft finally drops the price of the Xbox 360 (soon may it be. amen.), Viva Piñata will definitely be the first game we buy.

If you already have an Xbox 360, and you want your kids to get in on the gaming joy (or even if you don't want to share, but your significant other said you need to find kids' games to justify the expense), I highly recommend that you get in on the good fuzziness of Viva Piñata.

And just because my kids love SpongeBob...

Break's Over

2006-07-12T21:55:00.000-06:00

Is it just me, or did it seem to anyone else like there were about a dozen "West Wing" episodes (including the series premiere) where President Bartlet told his staff that they had been taking it easy for a while, and it was time to get back to work?

For various reasons, none of them vacation-in-Fiji related, I've haven't posted for the last couple weeks. Sorry 'bout that. But starting with a preview tomorrow, I'm back in the saddle again.

REVIEW: Finding Nemo

2006-06-29T17:25:00.000-06:00

"Very pretty, Colonel. Very pretty. But can they fight?"

Now I realize that some whippersnappers out there still haven't seen Animal House (for shame!), and I'm taking an even bigger chance in referring to a movie from before I was born, but the above line, from The Dirty Dozen (1967), fits too well here for me not to use it. You'll see how in a bit.

Several reviews ago, I wrote that as big a fan as my kids and I are of SCEA's work, we were disappointed by My Street.

Similarly, as big a fan as my kids and I are of Finding Nemo the movie (and of Pixar's work in general), we were disappointed by Finding Nemo the video game.

Along with SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom and Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Finding Nemo was one of the very first console games my kids and I played together (or more accurately, I played while they watched).

But where SpongeBob and Sly Cooper ignited their nascent love for video games, Nemo tried his best to extinguish it. Bastard.

In a nutshell, the game is very pretty, but it can't "fight" worth a damn (See what I did there? Hello? Is this thing on?). Put less confusingly, Finding Nemo looks beautiful; it just doesn't play all that well, which is reminiscent of another ichthyologically-themed game I reviewed - Finny the Fish and the Seven Waters.

In both games, attractive undersea visuals are dragged down by subpar gameplay. But while Finny's failing was poor controls and cameras, Nemo's major problem lies in the game design. While Finny tries and fails, for Nemo, there's just no there there, most of the budget having likely gone to secure the license from Pixar.

The entire game; frustrating, tedious mission after frustrating, tedious mission, is played on rails, which is always a disappointment for kids who like to explore their surroundings.

What kind of missions are there? Well, let's see, now...

...There's the on-rails side-scrolling mission where you have to keep backtracking to pick up colored rocks and deposit in the matching collection area...

...There's the on-rails side-scrolling mission where you have to traverse a series of undersea caverns...

...There's the mission where you have to swim through hoops, not to be confused with the other mission where you have to swim through hoops...

...And who can forget the mission where you're swimming toward the camera, so you don't have time to align yourself with the quickly-appearing hoops you have to swim through?

Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with side-scrollers. I've enjoyed many a side-scroller in my day, sonny. The difference here is that Finding Nemo purports to be a 3D game, and it is anything but. It's just a big tease.

Some of the missions follow the movie script closely, and others less so, but in the end, none of it really matters. My kids loved Finding Nemo the movie, and were so ready to love Finding Nemo the game. But even with that strong a tailwind, the game couldn't deliver.

Finding Nemo was released three years ago, so by now, it can be had for less than $20, but you should save your cash, hard-earned or otherwise, for the many better kids' games out there.

Insane Jackasses, FTW!

2006-06-23T21:46:00.000-06:00

...or more accurately, Jon Stewart, FTW!

I loves me some of that Jon Stewart. He ripped the House of Insane Jackasses (a.k.a. the Unites States House of Representatives) a new one on Wednesday night's Daily Show. I was going to post the official Comedy Central media player version, but that one didn't include the Samantha Bee "on-the-scene" interview from San Andreas.

ENJOY! I sure did.

As always, the first site I go to for anything related to games & politics is, well, GamePolitics.

Girl Power?

2006-06-22T11:00:00.000-06:00

How 'bout kid power?
Or parenting power?
Or the power of common sense?

Sure, it's fun and all when my posts get mentioned in places like Joystiq, the Insomniac website, and in this case, Kotaku. Who doesn't like seeing the spike on their daily hit counter?

However, while I'm flattered by the attention yesterday, Eliza (Gauger, the Kotaku blogger who linked to my post) took my point about parents buying inappropriate games for kids, and strangely veered into girl power territory.

To clarify, I was "shocked and appalled" not because of that kid's gender, Eliza, but because of her age. As she grows ever-older (sigh), my daughter will be free to choose whichever careers or hobbies interest her, whether traditional, frilly, girly stuff, or something more fragtacular, which is usually associated with boys. And by the same token, my son will have that same freedom.

But along the way, my wife and I will be there to make sure that the activities our kids choose and the games they play are appropriate for their age and maturity level.

So...

...if my daughter wants to play baseball, great!
...if she wants to be a firefighter, more power to her.

and...

...if my son wants to play Disney princess dress-up, have fun!
...if he wants to be a dancer, no argument here.

But if, when they're 10 or 11, my kids want to play Grand Theft Auto (or even games I actually enjoyed, like Resident Evil 4), they'll just to have to get used to disappointment, because we wouldn't be doing our jobs as parents if we said yes.

As a reminder, I'm not against violent games, per se. It just depends on the kind of violence it is. The T-rated, weapon-focused Ratchet & Clank? Fine by me. BloodRayne? Not so much. Fantasy violence can be beneficial and even cathartic under the right set of circumstances, but that doesn't mean that anything violent automatically translates into empowerment, for boys or girls.

And in the case of the sad little chapter I witnessed on Father's Day, sorry, but I don't see anything the least bit empowering here.

On the upside, I thought Eliza's drawing was cute. :)

Kudos

2006-06-21T07:45:00.000-06:00

Another quality IGDA Chicago get-together last night.

Last summer, Lorne Lanning of Oddworld (moment of silence - EDIT: Not for Lorne, but for Oddworld Inhabitants in its previous incarnation) was the featured speaker, and last night, Kudo Tsunoda of EA Chicago stepped to the mic.

While there were definite similarities between the two game-makers - both Lorne and Kudo are charismatic leaders who gave highly informative and entertaining presentations, it was the differences between their two games that struck me.

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath was Psychonauts before Psychonauts. Both are wonderful, refreshingly creative games with original characters and a unique look.... that didn't sell nearly as well as they should have.

Meanwhile, Fight Night Round 3 is an absolute juggernaut. According to Kudo, it was EA's top-selling game, and the 2nd best-selling game in the industry, over the past year.

Both games were well conceived and brilliantly excecuted, yet such different fates befell them, which speaks to the importance of marketing in the games industry.

Although I've changed my career focus from the marketing side to the development side (producing), it doesn't mean that I suddenly hate marketing. Far from it.

As a lifelong gamer, as much as it would kick ass for the game sales to be merit-based - for the best games to sell the most copies - that's a pipe dream. You could have the best game ever created, but if you aren't willing or able to get the right branding message to the right people in the right place at the right time, then you're dead in the water, because the people who would love your game either don't know it exists, or are under the impression that it's a different game entirely.

To be fair, I don't think that most developers really hate marketing. They just would like to see more game marketers who "get" games. There are a few out there, but the industry needs more. For a while there, I was all set to become one, but then I realized that I'd much rather help make games than tell people about 'em.

Happy Father's Day!! ........no, really

2006-06-19T20:21:00.000-06:00

In May, AOL had a nice Mother's Day feature, and for Father's Day, they give equal time to just a few of the many dads in the video game industry.

Putting aside yesterday's frustration for the moment, that's what Father's Day is all about.

Happy freakin' Father's Day!!

2006-06-19T01:43:00.000-06:00

I was all set to wish dads everywhere a Happy Father's Day, complete with smily emoticons and pretty little hearts to dot my "i"s. It was going to be the feel-good post of the year.

Now, I'm all about angry, disappointed frowns.

Here's what happened:

Happy
We had a fun, relaxing family weekend, including a board game marathon on Saturday. We played Memory and Pick Up Sticks (technically not a board game, I guess), but the highlight was a thrilling, down-to-the-wire game of Sorry!, in which my son edged out my daughter at the very end. BTW, it goes without saying that I was a distant third place (my daughter clinched 2nd place on her next turn), and yes, I was trying - they formed an alliance.

Then today, we went to Seven Mile Fair - a flea market between Chicago and Milwaukee. Most of the stuff there was schlocky crap (this was our first and last trip there), but we did get a good deal on some flowers (my wife and I let each kid choose one of the flowers in the flat) and veggies for our gardens.

A few of the many vendors sold used video games, but I wasn't too impressed with the bargains, or lack thereof.

Decidedly Unhappy
At one of the video game stalls, I witnessed the following exchange between a father and his 10 or 11-year-old (I'm estimating) daughter:

Father: "This is the one you want?"
Daughter: "Yeah. This is the one."
Father: "Are you sure? What about that other one?"
Daughter: "No way. I played that other one like a thousand times already."
Father: "So this one? You're sure?"
Daughter: "I'm sure."
Father: "Okay."

Father buys game for daughter.

Daughter: "Thanks, Daddy!"

Now, if the games they were referring to were, say, Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper, or, say, Katamari Damacy and one of the many Mario games, then it would have been a heartwarming, life-affirming scene, one that I would have written a completely different post about.

But the two games they were talking about were not among the many great kids' games that have been on the market long enough to show up in a third-rate flea market.

Instead, despite the large letter "M" in the bottom left corner of each box, "this one", as referred to above was...

and "that other one", the one she'd already played a thousand times (which means she got it much earlier), was...

It's too late and I'm too tired to go into what this all means, and why it made me so sad and angry. Maybe I'll add it in later, or maybe I'll go with the less-is-more approach on this one, or maybe...

(beware - rant (in the form of a massive run-on-sentence) approaching)

...WTF, people?! I realize that most parents aren't going to be up on all the latest game ratings, and I realize the mainstream media is clueless about video games, but if there's one game that has been splashed all over the TV and newspapers (because that's the game that know-nothing, bandwagon-hopping, sensationalist, if-it-bleeds-it-leads "journalists" focus on as the poster child of the evil that videogames do), one game that every parent should know not to buy for their kids, it's G! T! freakin' A!

Good night!

Oh, and Happy freakin' Father's Day!! :(

EDIT: OK. I've calmed down a little. Hysterical ranting aside, if this sad little episode doesn't drive home the need for more education (for parents) and less demonization (of video games), I don't know what does.

Joint REVIEW: In The Groove & Ignition 3.0 Dance Pad

2006-06-15T16:41:00.000-06:00

Balloons? Check!
Cupcakes? Check!
Entertainment?...................................... ah, crap.

When my daughter turned seven years old a while back, my wife and I tried to come up with something fun for her and her friends to do at her party. We went back and forth a few times.

Should we rent an activity center like My Gym or Pump It Up? Invite a big horde of kids and let 'em run roughshod over the place for a couple hours?

Well, that would certainly be easy, but also pretty hackneyed (everybody else does it, and we wanted something with at least a bare minimum of originality) and too damn expensive.

How 'bout gymnastics, or cookie-decorating, or one of the other party themes her friends have done before? Well, some are better than others, but whether scheduling conflict or financial ridiculousness, none of those worked either.

Then it dawned on us. Our daughter likes video games and loves music, right? Right. So what if the girls played a rhythm game like Karaoke Revolution Party? Perfect, right?

Actually, not so much. When we took the game for a test drive a few weeks before the party, one thing became crystal clear. My daughter and her friends don't know any of those songs, and at their age, even the easiest setting is too fast and difficult for them to be anything but extremely frustrated. Next!

OK, let's see... no singing, no singing. Well, if singing is out, then how about...

DANCING!

That's it! Not only are dancing games beneficial for kids, but they're also a helluva lotta fun. And unlike singing games, the kids don't have to know the words, though there certainly is a learning curve. Of course, how hard can it be when a 5-year-old kid can master it? Anyhow, dancing it was.

So with that decision made, I had to find both the right game and the right dance pads. As it turned out, the pads were the easy part.

Having done a little research, the only pads I wanted were RedOctane's Ignition dance pads. We weren't about to buy an expensive arcade-style metal dance pad, and I didn't want my daughter and her friends slipping and sliding on thin, cheapie mats, what with those pesky liability issues and all. The Ignition pads seemed to be the perfect happy medium.

When my kids visited their cousins last summer, one of the games they played was Konami's Dance Dance Revolution. And while one of the mats they used (possibly an Ignition 2.0 or 3.0) was fine, the thinner, flimsier one had the dreaded double whammy - it slipped around, and didn't feel good under their feet.

So RedOctane sent me not one, but two Ignition 3.0 pads. They came in a big box, the arrival of which resulted in much rejoicing. By the way, if you buy one of these pads, make sure you set aside a few days to let it air out. When we took them out of the box, they emitted a strong chemical odor that required a few days to dissipate.

So with the pads checked off on my list, I had to find a game for the party.

Since I had hit a home run in my pad procurement efforts, I swung for the fences on the game as well. My first choice was Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, because it had DDR-style gameplay with the Nintendo characters my kids already loved.

Alas, it was not to be. While the Ignition pads are multiplatform (they work on PlayStation 2, Xbox & PC), they don't work with the GameCube, so even if I were able to find a copy of the GameCube-exclusive DDR Mario Mix, we wouldn't be able to use it with the Ignition mats.

And as it turned out, any compatibility issues were rendered completely moot by the fact that production shortages had made it harder to find a copy of DDR Mario Mix than [insert lame Jimmy Hoffa joke here]. Oh, sure, I could have spent upwards of $200 on eBay, but that would have defeated my whole don't-spend-a-lot-of-money strategy.

Lucky for me, RedOctane also included a copy of their own rhythm game - In The Groove - in the big box of joy. So that was easy enough.

Before the party, I went through In The Groove's extensive song list, and while none of the songs were specifically written for the kiddies, I had an easy time finding more than 25 age-appropriate songs to choose from.

In The Groove

For the birthday party, we used In The Groove's 2-player Battle Mode. As the word battle might suggest, it is technically competitive, but we tried to stress the "playing together" part, as opposed to "playing against."

As my daughter's friends began to arrive, she showed them how to play the game - how the on-screen arrows corresponded to the arrows on the dance pads. She enjoyed being able to teach her friends about something she liked to do.

Some of the kids were very intimidated at first, and for about 10-15 minutes, it looked like our dance party was on its way to being a colossal failure. Anticipating this possibility, we had EyeToy: Play 2 on standby, but we didn't have to use it, because everyone eventually joined in at their own pace. Some kids jumped into the deep end of the pool and did the trial and error thing, but most of them used a phased approach.

As each group of two played the game together on the pads, another group of two stood behind them, pantomiming their moves, kind of like the on-deck batter, timing pitches in the batter's box.

EDIT: What am I, drunk? Obviously, the on-deck batter would be timing the pitches in the on-deck circle.

In The Groove has 5 difficulty settings - Novice, Easy, Intermediate, Hard, Expert. When we tried the game out a couple of weeks before the party, Easy was too damn hard, so all of the partygoers played on Novice. However, even on Novice there was a difficulty progression, as the kids advanced to levels 2 and 3.

At one point, I noticed that there were still a few wallflowers, so my wife and I decided to give 'em a nudge. How, you ask? Why, by making complete asses of ourselves, of course. Remembering that Easy was no cakewalk, I suggested that we play on Intermediate, but no, my wife insisted on Hard. Way to crank it up to 11, honey. Actually, if Hard is 11, then Expert is probably somewhere around 25.

As expected, we looked like idiots, and the girls laughed and cheered wildly (especially when my wife beat me - Girl Power!), which was the point of the whole thing. And most of the remaining stragglers gave it a shot, which was nice to see.

Ignition 3.0 Dance Pad

In general, the Ignition pads felt good and performed very well. One thing that wasn't so great was the fact that the pads were extremely sensitive, so if you weren't standing in the exact center of mat, the menu started scrolling all over the place.

The Ignition pads provided secure footing for all. We used the pads on short carpet, and there was some slight gradual shifting over time. But no one slipped during the songs.

The pads held up very well, which isn't surprising, since the innards consist of thick, resilient foam. Granted, we didn't measure durability over time, and seven-year-olds don't pack the same wallop as a roving pack of dance-crazed teenagers, but some of those little kids were stomping on the pads like they were Neo trying to tunnel their way down to Zion.

So that was that. Despite the initial hesitation, my daughter and her friends had a fantastic time at our dance-themed party; so much so that a couple of the girls wanted to keep dancing through pizza and cupcakes. I know the game is lotsa fun and all, but c'mon, now. How 'bout a little perspective? It's pizza! It's cupcakes! It's pizza & cupcakes!

Speaking of fun party food, we also had a chocolate fountain lying around from a previous party, and the kids absolutely freaked over it. They dunked pretzels, marshmallows (small pieces only - safety first!), strawberries and bananas, painting their faces chocolate in the process. Which reminds me, if you plan to have a chocolate fountain at a kids' party, make sure you have a good supply of wipes on hand.

OK, I have no clue how to segue out of my chocolate fountain paragraph, so I'll just close by saying that In The Groove is a fun rhythm game, with enough options and flexibility for younger kids to have a lot of fun. Older kids will like it even better. And as for the Ignition pads, if you're looking for a high-quality foam dance pad, and you play on any of the PS2, Xbox or PC, you can't go wrong.

Party! Party! Party!

Thumbnail REVIEW: I Spy Fantasy

2006-06-11T21:10:00.000-06:00

So here goes the first of my catching-up/mini/thumbnail/quick-'n-dirty reviews...

I'll start off with an easy one - I Spy Fantasy.

What's easy about it is that I already reviewed a very similar game - I Spy Treasure Hunt. And like ISTH, ISF is a similarly fun, inexpensive game for kids. FYI, we also bought I Spy School Days, but haven't gotten around to playing it yet.

There are 3 areas to explore, each with its own theme:

Sandcastle
Outer Space
Underwater

Each level is fun and immersive, and you can replay them 3 times. You solve several mini-puzzles, and then put the resulting clues together to solve the larger problem (e.g. making the rocket take off).

Price-wise, I recently saw several I Spy games at TJ Maxx or Marshall's for $6.99. And if that's not cheap enough for you, there's even a free demo of the game that you can download. Enjoy!

Happy Fruit Loop DS Day!

2006-06-11T18:28:00.000-06:00

Due to Cabel and his excellent DS Lite video preview, we've been calling the new DS Lite the "Fruit Loop DS."

And while I was thinking about upgrading from the old fatty to the new phatty, Cabel's 3 reviews played a big part in my final decision.

"Old & Busted"

"New Hotness"

So as a result, we celebrated Fruit Loop DS Day with... a box of Fruit Loops and a new DS Lite (what'd you expect?).

I gathered the kids for the big surprise, and when I pulled out a Kellogg's Fun Pak-sized box of Fruit Loops, they thought that that was the surprise. And to tell the truth, they were pretty happy about the Fruit Loops. But when I told them that it was a clue about what the real surprise was, they guessed correctly what I was hiding in the bag, and they were so excited that they couldn't wait...

...yet that's exactly what we had to do - several hours worth, while the DS Lite was charging.

Here's a nice comparison photo I found at Joystiq.

June 9th?!?!?!?!?

2006-06-10T21:32:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the last day of school for my kids, and my wife and I picked 'em up together, with a little surprise. Instead of heading straight home like we usually do, we brought 'em lunch...

...and tickets to the opening day matinee of Cars.

When I held up the tickets and asked if they knew what they were for, my daughter asked hesitantly, "wait, what's today's date?"

"June 9th," I replied.

"June 9th?!?!?!?!?" they both screamed in ecstatic unison.

Apparently, they knew from the massive Cars marketing/advertising/merchandising barrage that June 9th was the opening day for Pixar's new film, because they nearly collapsed in a puddle of euphoria.

Short story shorter, we ate our picnic lunch and then enjoyed the show. While Cars isn't an instant classic like Toy Story 2, we all liked it a good little bit.

PREVIEW: Pac-Man World Rally

2006-06-08T16:49:00.000-06:00

Release Date: Late July, 2006 (per Namco @ E3)

Platforms: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PSP, PC.

In recent weeks, I've posted some fun do-it-yourself efforts to celebrate the joy of Namco's Katamari Damacy. Today, I'm going right to the source.

First, here's Namco's delightful Japanese KD commercial.

Second, and more central to the point of this preview, is the fact that our intrepid starmaker, the Prince of All Cosmos, has finally thrown off the shackles of his walk-everywhere, roll-everything workaday world, and hopped into his sweet ride.

In a few weeks, Namco will release Pac-Man World Rally, and Katamari Damacy notwithstanding, it's an old-fashioned Namco Museum hoedown, since many of your favorite old-school Namco characters are playable. From obvious choices like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and the ghosts, to classic Namco characters like Dig Dug, Frygar, the Pole Position car and the Galaga ship, the gang's all here.

The meat of the game is a Mario Kart-style multiplayer racing game, though you can certainly play it solo if need be.

And speaking of Nintendo's successful multiplayer racing franchise, I'm sure that many companies would love to borrow the successful Mario Kart formula for their own purposes. However, there are not very many that have the stable of fun, iconic characers to make multiplayer and unlockables a meaningful experience.

Many companies have lots of games...
...Fewer have iconic franchises...
...Even fewer have iconic characters...
...And fewer still have the kind of characters that would make sense in a cartoonish multiplayer racing game.

Namco is one of a select few companies (Sony Computer Entertainment being another) that can pull it off. Yes, I realize that Solid Snake (from Konami's Metal Gear Solid franchise) will be making a cameo appearance in the new Smash Bros. game for Nintendo's Wii console, but that's that's one of a few exceptions that prove the rule.

Don't believe me? Well, let's take a look at the rest of Konami's catalog. Sure, they've got Frogger and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I guess, but to achieve critical mass, they'd need a lot more than that. Would you be very excited about a Mario-Kart clone featuring the cast of Castlevania and the good townspeople of Silent Hill? Me, not so much. Yes, I know they have great games like Winning Eleven, But how do you propose we shoehorn the Real Madrid footballers into a racecar? What? Have Beckham drive the team bus? Actually, that might work... OK, now I'm getting sidetracked. You see my point, though...right?

But back to the game. In addition to the core racing mode, there's also a Twisted-Metal style Battle Mode, and despite the formidable title, is actually pretty fun and whimsical. In Battle Mode, you use several produce-themed weapons, but instead of mushrooms and banana peels, you employ the Banana Rammer, Watermelon Spitter and the Strawberry Guided Missile.

Bottom line, Pac-Man World Rally is a fun game that parents and kids will enjoy together. If you're a fan of Namco's characters and/or cartoony racing games, resist the temptation to dismiss it as simply a poor man's Mario Kart. I was ready to do just that before E3. Then I played it.

Inventory

2006-06-06T06:20:00.000-06:00

In the words of Mayor Carmine DePasto's criminally precocious daughter in Animal House**, I "got a lotta catching up to do."

For various reasons, none of them good, I have a backlog of games that my kids and I have played, that I have yet to review. Maybe it's because I couldn't think of the cleverest lead or pithiest ending. I'm not sure what my excuse is.

Although I occasionaly review games that aren't exactly new releases, I usually write about a game soon after we play it. In this case, however, there are games that we played a long time ago (e.g. Finding Nemo - not so hot, BTW) that I haven't touched yet.

Well, it's enough already. In addition to my normal, GameDAILY-driven review schedule of post-E3 previews (e.g. Cars) and longer, usually-review-based columns (e.g. Rhythm Games) on alternating weeks, I'm going to do my best to clear out the warehouse.

I may call 'em mini-reviews, thumbnail reviews, or just plain reviews. Time will tell. They'll probably be pretty short, and I can't promise that every one of these reviews will be the most scintillating writing in the world, but I may well go back and punch up the reviews down the road. With all the games we've played recently, not to mention all the new games on the horizon, there's no excuse for not ticking a 2-year-old game off my checklist.

Allrighty, then.

** Speaking of Animal House, I'm feeling pretty old these days. Every once in a while on one of the message boards I frequent (e.g. Cheap Ass Gamer, Chicago Bulls, etc.), someone will write, "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?" And invariably, that poster will get bombarded with a horde of attackers, raking him over the coals for not knowing history. "Germans?" they write, amazed at his stupidity, "It was the Japanese, you dumbass. Owned!!!" (isn't it enough already with the ownage, btw?). I realize that Animal House was made almost 30 years ago (holy crap), but isn't that one of the classics? Part of the canon that parents should be handing down to their kids before they shuffle off to college? Compared to today's debauchery, a dead, soon-to-be-chainsawed horse in the dean's office seems downright innocent, doesn't it?

GBA Multi-REVIEW: Franklin’s Great Adventures / The Koala Brothers: Outback Adventures / The Land Before Time: Into The Mysterious Beyond

2006-06-01T09:10:00.000-06:00

Until now, I’ve focused the majority of my time reviewing console games, with an occasional detour into PC land. Why? Because, quite simply, I write what we play. While my kids and I have been gaming together on consoles and our computer for about 3 years now, we only just recently added handhelds into the fold.

Between the Nintendo DS and Gameboy Advance, my kids immediately gravitated toward the DS, mainly because we started playing Nintendogs right out of the box. Or maybe they took a cue from their dad, who was so excited to get a DS that he was screaming and jumping around like the Nintendo 64 kid on Christmas morning.

But enough about Ritalin. Recently, my kids have begun to discover the Gameboy Advance as well, and to kick off my coverage of handheld games, I’m going to do a 3-for-1 review, taking a look at three games for the GBA, from Danish publisher The Game Factory. The three games are Franklin’s Great Adventures, The Koala Brothers: Outback Adventures, & The Land Before Time: Into The Mysterious Beyond.

Franklin's Great Adventures

Of the three, this game is by far the most ambitious, because it's really three games in one all on its own.

In Story Mode - the main mode of the game, it starts out as an adventure game, as Franklin explores his surroundings, stopping to meet and talk to various characters. A "friend gauge" lets the player know how friendly the new person is.

There is also a significant platforming component to this game, which is where the various playable characters come in. You can play as Franklin, Bear and Beaver, and each one has special abilities that the others don't. And you need to decide which character to control in order to move past an obstacle. For example, Bear can climb and move boulders, Franklin can jump and crawl under things, Beaver can swim, etc. Character switching is as easy as a click of the right shoulder button.

Finally, there are the mini-games, 16 in total. As you move through the game, you need to complete various mini-games, and once you complete them, you can play them any time you want in Mini-Game Mode.

My kids enjoyed this game, though there were a few times where they needed my help, when they were frustrated by some of the platforming. But as long as someone can help them here and there, this is a fun, challenging game for kids, and deeper than most of the licensed kids' games on the market.

The Koala Brothers: Outback Adventures

This was the early favorite for my kids, because it's the easiest to play. This is a mini-game-only game, and is better for short periods, as opposed to a game like Franklin, which can hold their attention for longer. Here are the 10 mini-games, in very rough order of preference...

Cold Ice Cream: If you've spent time on any children's websites, you've probably played a game like this before. Match the ice cream order by scooping the right flavor at the right time. Nothing revolutionary here. There must be something about ice cream's inherent deliciousness, 'cuz my kids loved it. Speaking of which, I just wanted to say that Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day is the best thing since sliced... I don't know... cake? Sliced bread ain't all that.
Josie To The Rescue: Classic 2D, side-scrolling platformer. Play as Josie the kangaroo, jumping here and there to collect food & drink, while avoiding obstacles.
Fishing: Since my kids liked Gold Miner Special Edition, they enjoyed this game as well.
Airmail: My kids didn't love this Super Cobra-esque game at first, but when I showed them that you could do loop-de-loops with the airplane, they changed their mind pretty quickly.
Hide 'n Seek: As you move around, you see a flash of movement, and you have to go find the friend hiding behind that rock, bush, etc. My kids didn't play this one much, but I thought it was pretty cute.
Help From Above: One of 2 "Sonic's ass" mini-games. In other words, you see the character from behind the entire time. FYI, the term was coined by the guys at Naughty Dog when they were developing Crash Bandicoot for the original PlayStation in the mid-'90s. In this case, you fly an airplane left, right, up & down, to collect wayward balloons. Not bad, but it got old fairly quickly.
Postman Alice: Another Sonic's ass game, only this time, you're delivering mail as Alice. Reminiscent of Paperboy, though the point of view is different, and you have fewer antagonizers.
Archie's Outback Tennis: Move left, right, up & down to return serve. Much easier to move along the baseline. So-so.
A Helping Hand: Side-scrolling, truck-driving game. Nothing special
Shopping at Sammy's: Frustrating controls ruined it for my kids.

All in all, not a bad game, but there isn't a whole lot of problem solving going on here, so your kids won't gain much other than a pleasant way to pass the time....

...not that there's anything wrong with that. ;)

The Land Before Time: Into The Mysterious Beyond

On this, my kids and I agree: Of the three games, this was the least favorite and least memorable. Like the Franklin game, you get to play as several different characters with unique abilities, but we missed much of that gameplay element, because my kids didn't have the patience to get very far in this game.

The part they did play was called Across the Gorges - a platforming level where you have to make your dinosaur leap from mesa to mountaintop. Pressing B to knock over dead trees so you can walk across a wide gap was fun...the first couple of times.

They did like stomping on some random prehistoric animals, Mario-on-Goombah style, and timing their cross-gorge leaps to avoid the pterodactyls. Other than that, they weren't too thrilled with this one.

----------

So that's it for my first handheld review. And now that the DS & GBA have squeezed their way into our family gaming rotation, keep an eye out for more to come.

DID I DO THAT? The Pac-Man Guitar - A Blogging Phenomenon Deconstructed

2006-05-29T10:46:00.000-06:00

Last week, after posting the Katamari photos from the Bay to Breakers Race and reading the ensuing comments, I was marveling at the amazing speed at which certain stories take off aound the world, and it got me thinking about a particular viral blogging episode from last year, and what role I may have played in it.

So let's begin with a question:

Does anyone NOT remember reading about the Pac-Man guitar late last June?

Ah, no hands in the air. Okay, maybe a few hands. While it was popular, it was no Star Wars Kid, Numa Numa Kid, or Boom Goes The Dynamite. In any case, I'll continue...

After posting about the Pac-Man guitar on June 16 (more detail in timeline below), and suddenly seeing it posted everywhere six days later, I thought it was a strange coincidence. However, since GameFam had only been active for 2 days when I posted about it, I thought that the chances were pretty remote that the blogospheric wildfire had anything to do with lil' ol' me.

Well, turns out I was wrong. I did a little research, and what I found was that while I wasn't the first to ever write about the Pac-Man guitar (more detail near bottom of post), I've been able to trace the posts from mega-blogs like BoingBoing, Gizmodo, MAKE: Blog, Joystiq & Kotaku, viral sites like Milk and Cookies, and even MP3.com & Suicide Girls, all the way back to my little GameFam post, written on my 2nd day as a real live blogger.

To clarify, I do this not out of ego or self-aggrandizement...well, mostly not ;) , but mainly 'cuz I think it's pretty cool to have played a part in something I've only witnessed from the sidelines (or bandwagon-jumped myself) before now.

Ready? Here goes...

June 12, 2005

My wife and I take our 2 kids to the Printer's Row Book Fair in Chicago, mainly because Justin Roberts is performing there. In addition to the Roberts performance that is actually the point of this entire post, the kids enjoy free popsicles, and we also see a Vovlo made out of Lego. A good time was had by all.

June 15, 2005

I launch GameFam with my first-ever post as a blogger.

June 16, 2005

I make my second-ever post on GameFam, writing about our experience at the Printers Row Book Fair, and specifically, focusing on the funky guitar that one of Justin Roberts' band members was using that day.

June 19, 2005

Robin, who was (and still is) a terrific blogging sherpa/sounding board, especially pre-GameFam-launch, posts about my starting GameFam in her blog, gewgaw, including a comment about and link to my post about the Pac-Man guitar.

June 21, 2005

Geek On Stun posts about the guitar, linking back to gewgaw

June 22, 2005 (The Big Day)

FFWD posts in the linklog (scroll down to June 22), linking back to Geek On Stun
MAKE: Blog posts at 12:31 a.m., linking back to FFWD. Commenter trivini mentions that he "saw a dude playing one of those last week at a children's concert in Chicago. (We were just passing by)." The plot thickens.
Boing Boing posts at 2:11 a.m., linking back to MAKE: Blog

So now that we've seen how the Pac-Man guitar made its way from GameFam to Boing Boing, all hell breaks loose, as the rest of the world jumps on ye olde bandwagon.

Gizmodo posts about the guitar, linking back to Boing Boing.
Music Thing posts about the guitar, linking back to MAKE, Boing Boing & Gizmodo
Extra Life posts at 10:25 a.m. No link.
MP3.com discussion boards post at 12:23 p.m., linking back to Boing Boing.
Searchviews posts at 3:57 p.m., linking back to Boing Boing.
Joystiq posts at 5:00 p.m. No link, but the writer thanks someone named matthew.
Kotaku posts about the guitar. No link.
Everything and Nothing posts about the guitar. No link.

You get the idea. Many many other blogs and websites posted about the Pac-Man guitar at some point on June 22. Those were but a few of the notable ones.

June 23, 2005

Viral video site MilkandCookies posts about the guitar. The link was submitted by a gaming blogger named Hellroy.
Loaded Pants posts about the guitar, The writer says that he read about it on the IGN boards, which I can't access, since I'm not a member.

June 24, 2005

After that, there are some more posts and links here and there, including the GamerDad message boards, and Suicide Girls, then the whole thing kind of peters out.

As I wrote early in the post, I wasn't the first to write about the Pac-Man guitar.

On January 27, 2005, five months before my post, Brad of Brad Sucks fame posted about the guitar. The post generated 2 comments, the last of which is on February 4, 2005. Between February 4th and my post on GameFam, nary a word about the guitar.

And waaaaaaay back on September 24, 2001, almost four years before my post, the guitar shows up in the Atari Age forums, but other than a few (7) comments the same day, nothing else happens.

Well, that's what I found out. Can anybody out there find an earlier reference to the guitar than September, 2001, or maybe a mid-June, 2005 post that beat me to the punch? Jes' lemme know if you do. In the meantime, anyone mind if I take the ~~credit~~ blame?

Anyone?

Beuller?

P.S. Any blogular bitterness that might be inferred (e.g. when I point out who did or didn't link to where they found the story), is completely unintentional. I had a lot of fun tracking this info down, and overall, I think the whole thing is pretty cool.

And The Ball Rolls On

2006-05-26T16:23:00.000-06:00

With props to Kotaku and preemptive apologies to new pal Cunzy11 (read the comments), how could I not share this nugget of stop-motion Katamari fun?

PREVIEW: Cars

2006-05-25T15:55:00.000-06:00

Release Date: June 6, 2006 (3 days prior to the movie release)

Platforms: Xbox 360, Wii (Fall '06) PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PSP, DS, GBA & PC. (basically, everything but the PS3).

Like death and taxes (or, say...toys, bugs, monsters, fish & superheroes), you can always count on Pixar to deliver a wonderful moviegoing experience for all ages. In the small world that is kid-friendly movies that parents can also enjoy, Pixar is the '27 freakin' Yankees. C'mon, just look at this murderer's row:

Toy Story
A Bug's Life
Toy Story 2
Monsters, Inc.
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles

That's cinematic gold, Jerry. GOLD! In fact, the "worst" one on the list is the very film that brought the CG revolution down from the stop-motion hills - the original Toy Story (I guess you could call that praising Pixar with faint damnation). And given what a monumental cinematic achievement Toy Story was, it means that Pixar is honing and refining their skills as they go. Scary good.

The latest feature film to carry the illustrious Pixar torch is Cars, which opens on June 9th. And while my wife and I won't be camping out at the local cinemegaplex starting June 8th, alongside the hordes of rabid Pixar fanboy/otaku/cosplay types, we definitely plan to take the kids to see it soon after.

On June 6th, THQ releases Fammy-winner Cars the video game on the following consoles; Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PSP, DS, GBA & PC. The game will also be a Wii launch title in the Fall (sorry, no PlayStation 3 version). Anyhoo, having seen Cars up close and real personal-like at E3, I thought I might preview it for you.

Cars is first and foremost a racing game, which is just fine, since developer Rainbow Studios has some serious chops in that area, with franchises like ATV Offroad Fury, Splashdown, MX Unleashed & Motocross Madness.

Often, as a way to achieve economies of scale (and avoid reinventing the wheel), game developers and publishers will copy and paste the engine from one game into another, assuming appropriately similar gameplay, of course. Of the games I've already reviewed, the example that leaps to mind is Activision's use of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 engine in Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure.

In this case, however, Rainbow built a brand spankin' new engine for Cars, and it shows. I watched the cars race around the track on both the Xbox 360 and PS2 versions, and the result is a much more refined racing look than the grittier offroading games that are a Rainbow staple. The level I saw reminded me to a degree of EA's NASCAR series, which, for a racing game, is a compliment.

Cars has more than 30 races and minigames, which cover not only scenes from the movie, but also areas that weren't explored on the big screen. Cars the game stars 10 characters from Cars the movie, as well as some special new characters that Pixar designed exclusively for the game.

Speaking of characters, since the game is based on a movie, and the movie introduces us to characters we're supposed to care about, there are several ways that the game takes care to preserve that connection between character and player.

First, although you spend much of the races looking at the backs ends of the cars, their personality shows through via the comments they make during the race.

Second, you can actually race backwards, so you can see your car's "face" as you race merrily along, butt-first.

And third, while you will be able to customize the cars' paint jobs, as far as body work is concerned, it's strictly no-touchy. Because these aren't simply cars. They're Cars. And just as you wouldn't perform surgery on Buzz or Woody (Sid's sadistic impulses aside), you don't get to do any nipping or tucking of Lightning McQueen, Sally, Mater, or even Chip Hicks.

As someone who focuses more on games for younger kids, I'm thrilled that Cars has an "explore" mode. If your kids aren't ready to enter the exciting, high-pressure world of competitive racing just yet, they can simply drive around and explore their surroundings in relaxed comfort. That's a huuuuuuge plus for me. Huge, I say. Have I said how huge a plus that is?

Finally, since I'm a guy who has had issues with video game voice-over quality in the past, I'm very happy to report that all of the actors from the film voice their respective characters in the game.

Well, I'm sold.
Is it June 6th yet?

Let It Roll, Baby, Roll!

2006-05-23T21:02:00.000-06:00

I probably would have posted this anyway, but since gewgaw is still out of commission, :( I see it as my solemn duty to pick up the Katamari baton and run with it.... by which I mean post this...

Katamari sighting at San Francisco's Bay to Breakers race

here's the direct link to the Flickr photo pool.

Enjoy!

Happy Week-After-Mother's-Day!

2006-05-21T21:09:00.000-06:00

Sorry I'm a week late. Last Sunday was the day I returned home from E3, and I've been busy with my joyous little family reunion, as well as putting together my inaugural Fammy Awards.

In honor of Mother's Day, AOL put together a nice feature about moms who play games with their kids. The piece fueatures, among others, Donna Kidwell and Brenda Brathwaite. Enjoy, but do it soon, since it probably won't be up for too much longer, what with it being a week after Mother's Day and all.

UPDATE: Looks like the link is dead. So stop clicking on it. You'll only frustrate yourself, and life's too short.

UPDATE 2: Looks like the link is back up, at least for now. So start clicking on it again.

Presenting...THE FAMMYS - The E3 2006 Dad's Choice Awards

2006-05-18T15:56:00.000-06:00

I came.
I saw.
I played many many games at E3 2006.

I left.
I flew home.
I brought back killer schwag for the kids.

But back to the games. Some were outstanding, some were disappointing, and most were on a sliding scale somewhere in between. So without further ado or unnecessary preamble, I present the E3 2006 Dad's Choice Awards - "The FAMMYS":

Most Family-Friendly Next-Gen Console
Nominees: Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3

What made the current-gen battle (between Sony & Nintendo) competitive were PS2-exclusive franchises like Katamari Damacy, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank, Dog's Life, Jak & Daxter, and the EyeToy series. This year, whether for the PS2 or PS3, there was nary a new one to be found on the E3 show floor (though there was a R&C title for the PSP, and actually, Sony will be releasing an EyeToy version of Lemmings, so I guess there was one after all, but still nada for PS3). And believe it or not, with Viva Piñata and downloadable classic arcade games through Xbox Live Arcade, the Xbox 360 slides into 2nd place....for now (remember, this isn't a projection into the future, this is as of E3 '06. I expect Sony to have a strong kid-friendly presence at E3 '07). Meanwhile, the House of Mario unveiled a truckload of first and third-party kid-friendly games for the Wii, which, by the way, will be priced far, far less than the competition. What I love most is that the Wii controller will make it much easier for parents and even grandparents to play games together with the children in their lives, and that can only be a good thing. And guess what? I haven't even mentioned the Wii Virtual Console, which will open up a vast treasure trove of old-school games. This one wasn't even close.

...and the Fammy goes to...Nintendo Wii!

Least Family-Friendly Next-Gen Console
Nominee: Sony PlayStation 3

No kid-friendly launch titles?
$600 for families without unlimited gaming budgets?
I don't think so.

Try me again next year, though.
Can we be friends in the meantime?
Call me!
*puts thumb & pinky up to side of head, in international sign for "call me!"*

...and the Fammy goes to...Sony PlayStation 3!

Most Family-Friendly Publisher
Nominees: LucasArts, Namco, Nintendo, Sega

Many other companies (Activision, Buena Vista Games, GameFactory, Midway (no, really), THQ) also had several kid-focused titles this year, but I chose to focus on these few, for their combination of quantity and quality. LucasArts had a very strong showing, with games like Lego Star Wars II and Thrillville, as well as Star Wars Galaxies and Indiana Jones 2007 for older kids. Namco had Pac-Man World Rally and Snoopy vs. Red Baron, as well as Ace Combat X (PSP) for older kids. Sega has the great-looking Sonic the Hedgehog, Wii-natural Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, and Charlotte's Web for the GBA. However, I don't see how any company can possibly compete with the oodles of excellent games for kids from Nintendo, including new Mario and Zelda titles for both the Wii and the DS/DS Lite. With games like Red Steel, I realize that Nintendo is trying to shed their kiddie image to a degree, but E3 '06 was quite simply a family tour de force by Nintendo.

...and the Fammy goes to...Nintendo!

Best Use of Wiimote
Nominees: Excite Truck, Super Mario Galaxy, WarioWare Smooth Moves, Wii Music, Wii Sports

Madden incorporates the Wiimote into its hiking, passing and kicking functions, but several other games took it several steps further. Super Mario Galaxy used controller waggles to spin and collect stars, and a point & click slingshot to beat the bad guys and collect gems. Excite Truck used the gyroscopic controls nicely, though it felt a tad awkward to hold the remote on its ends**. Wii Music let you play the drums and conduct an orchestra in a pretty intuitive way, and Wii Sports let you play baseball, tennis & golf in a fun, natural, easy-to-learn way. Both should draw a lot of non-gamers into the Wonderful World of Wii. But with 200+ microgames that require the player to hold the controller in any one of a dozen ways, WarioWare: Smooth Moves gets the most out of the Wii's revolutionary new controller.

...and the Fammy goes to...WarioWare Smooth Moves!

** Strangely enough, as I was writing this, I saw a commercial for Go-Gurt that was a tie-in with Pixar's Cars movie & game. The ad featured kids holding their rectangular Go-Gurt containers exactly like they would hold the Wiimote for Excite Truck.

Godfather 2 Award (Best Sequel)
Nominees: Guitar Hero II, Lego Star Wars II (Original Trilogy), Super Mario Galaxy

Call me a coward, but they're all so freakin' great that I can't choose between 'em.

...and the Fammy goes to...Guitar Hero II! Lego Star Wars II! & Super Mario Galaxy!

Caddyshack 2 Award (Worst Sequel)
Nominees: Chicken Little: Ace in Action, SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature From the Krusty Krab

Chicken Little - Take a pretty good kids' game and take everything but the combat out of it. Pass.

SpongeBob - I don't know what the rest of the game will be like, but the level I played in the Nintendo booth was a flying-on-rails shooter with controls that weren't so hot. That isn't what made SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom and The SpongeBob Movie game very good games for kids. The only reason this game doesn't share the award is that I don't know for sure that the entire game is combat-based.

...and the Fammy goes to...Chicken Little: Ace in Action!

Best Game Starring An Old-School Video Game Icon...Award
Nominees: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS), Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, New Super Mario Bros. (DS), Pac-Man World Rally, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Galaxy

I'm taking Zelda out of the equation (yeah, I know, blasphemy), because it's more geared toward older kids and adults. Pac-Man World Rally may be a Mario Kart clone (FYI, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and the ghosts are playable characters in Mario Kart Arcade GP), but it's a good clone, with playable characters including Rygar from Dig Dug and the Prince of All Cosmos from Katamari Damacy. Sonic looks great and should be much better than last year's Shadow the Hedgehog. But I've been a Mario guy for a good while, now, so it's between the DS & the Wii. I've played and thoroughly enjoyed both, but Super Mario Galaxy is more of a quantum leap for the franchise than New Super Mario Bros.

...and the Fammy goes to...Super Mario Galaxy!

Best New IP Award
Nominees: Elebits, LocoRoco, Spore, Thrillville, Viva Piñata

If this weren't strictly from a family perspective, then Spore would have won (see Holy Crap! Award below). As for the other four, Elebits looks fascinating, but I didn't get enough time to play it (consolation prize - Hidden Gem Award - below). LocoRoco should be fun, but although the control scheme learning curve isn't as steep as I thought after playing it at GDC, it's still steep enough to be frustrating for kids when they try to play for the first time. Thrillville is a fun, deep game that I think kids will love, but it's not exactly a revolutionary new idea (they also share the Hidden Gem Award). Viva Piñata may be a piñata-themed spin on the original Toy Story concept, but everything else is completely new. And though I'm not a big fan of the near-simultaneous VP TV-show launch, that's not nearly enough to keep me from enthusiastically recommending this game. Viva Piñata is not only bright, colorful and whimsical, but it also allows for a great deal of choices for customization and control, which lets kids find their own comfort level. If we had a 360, Viva Piñata would be at the top of my wish list (along with Fight Night Round 3 for after the kids go to bed).

...and the Fammy goes to...Viva Piñata!

Hidden Gem Award
Nominees: Elebits, Thrillville

This is somewhat similar to the Best New IP Award, but where games like Spore, Viva Pinata and LocoRoco had a lot of pre-E3 hype, Thrillville was only just announced during E3, and Elebits flew completely under the radar, at least under my radar. Thrillville is basically a deeper, lower-maintenance, more kid-friendly version of Roller Coaster Tycoon, and in fact, Chris Sawyer is involved in the development of Thrillville. I love the fact that it's much easier to create your own coaster than in RCT2. The game also has many (24+) fun mini-games, including midway-style games like go-karts, mini-golf, trampoline jumping, bumper car soccer, and Saucer Sumo (think Crash Bash or Monkey Fight from Super Monkey Ball), and classic arcade-style games as well, including boss fights. Elebits has Katamari-like potential, what with its pick-up-things-with-a-Half-Life-2-Gravity-Gun-esque ability to control objects, and the thrill of the hunt...at least the thrill of the scavenger hunt. You have to find the Elebits, which look like the love child of Pikmin and Boobah, so that they can restore power to your world and once again have the ability to marvel at the wonder that is a plugged-in lava lamp.

...and the Fammy goes to...Elebits! & Thrillville!

Woorth the Waiit Awaard
Nomiinees: Duke Nukem Forever, Infinium Phantom, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3

So whether iit's one of the two yet-to-be-released Biig 3 next-gen consoles (Wii, PS3), or fabled gamiing vaporware (Duke Nukem, Phantom), we've been waiitiing for these nomiinees for a good long tiime. Who truly deliivered on theiir promiise? Come on, now. Thiis one's a chiip shot.

...and the Fammy goes to...Nintendo Wii!

Best Next-Gen Sports Franchise
Nominees: Madden NFL 07 for Wii, Tony Hawk's Project 8

As a big fan of sports games, I saw a lot of great-looking next-gen sports titles at E3 this year. When it comes to the kiddies, though, many of the control schemes on the most popular games are just too complex, especially with all the fast-twitch button-mashing. So games like Madden NFL 07 for PS3 & 360, NBA Live 07, NHL 2K7, NBA 2K7, Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007, etc. look great, but they're out of the running, at least until my kids grow up a bit. Tony Hawk's Project 8 looks truly next-gen, and they give you the option of ditching your balancing HUD in favor of more realistic bodily cues (a la Fight Night Round 3). The question is how well the PS3 version incorporates the gyroscopic controls. As I wrote above, Madden NFL 07 for Wii incorporates the Wiimote into its hiking, passing and kicking functions. While I didn't get to play it personally, the guy who did seemed to pick it up pretty quickly, and said that it felt very intuitive.

...and the Fammy goes to...Madden NFL 07 for Wii!

Best Racing Game
Nominees: Cars, Pac-Man World Rally

I realize that older kids will enjoy games like Forza Motorsport 2 and Gran Turismo for the PS3. But for younger kids, this is a 2 horse race. If you want cartoony, then choose Pac-Man World Rally. If you want a game that plays more like a NASCAR game, then go with Cars. Either way, you can't go wrong.

...and the Fammy goes to...Cars! & Pac-Man World Rally!

Best DS Game
Nominees: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Lego Star Wars II, New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi's Island 2

There are many great-looking DS games from E3, I only had enough time to play a few of them. And while I enjoyed the stylus integration in Phantom Hourglass, I can't bring myself to vote against Mario. Your kids will definitely enjoy it, and if you yearn to go back to the days of Ferris Beuller's Day Off and Top Gun (both released almost exactly 20 years ago - crap, I'm old), you will, too.

...and the Fammy goes to...New Super Mario Bros.!

Best PSP Game
Nominees: LocoRoco, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Lego Star Wars II

In my 2005 Holiday Gift Guide, I mentioned that it was tough to find kid-friendly games for the PSP. These days, things are looking up a bit. The recent releases of Me & My Katamari and Daxter got the ball rolling nicely (pun unintended, yet left in the column for some reason), and the three nominees pick up where the first two left off. When I played LocoRoco at GDC, I was frustrated by the controls, but with a little more time to play (and a little explanation from an SCEA producer), it's better than it first seemed, though there is definitely a learning curve. So that was nice to see. In other news, the Lego Star Wars franchise kicks ass. But my fave is Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Although I miss not having a right analog stick on the PSP, the game stays true to the original, pre-Deadlocked spirit of Ratchet & Clank. PS2-quality graphics? Less armor? More Clank? Me likey!

...and the Fammy goes to...Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters!

So Close, Yet So Far Away Award
Nominees: Snoopy vs. Red Baron

First, the disclaimer. Snoopy vs. Red Baron looks great, is fun to play, incorporates several characters from the Peanuts world, and does stay true to Snoopy's WWI-combat-centric dream world (as well as to the Schultz family's wishes). So it seems to deliver exactly what it promises. I just think it would be amazing to be able to explore the Peanuts world and interact with all the classic characters in an open-ended, freeform way. That's not what this game claims to be, and not what it is, so I can't really fault it for that. I just hope that the game I really want is around the corner.

...and the Fammy goes to...Snoopy vs. Red Baron!

High Self-Esteem Award
Nominee: Kim Possible: What's The Switch?

It ain't that this game is so amazing, though it looked pretty good. I just like the fact that the Kim Possible franchise gives young girls a strong, capable, non-booth-babe-esque (I'm talkin' to you, Ms. Croft) female role model who can solve her own problems (and solve other people's as well) with a combination of physical ability and brains.

...and the Fammy goes to...Kim Possible: What's The Switch?!

Low Self-Esteem Award
Nominee: Bratz: Forever Diamondz

I realize that cartoons aren't supposed to be drawn to scale. I get that. Really, I do. But Bratz is a franchise for young girls that already focuses way too much on the superficial and materialistic. So I was less than thrilled to see that the Bratz girls looked like living lollipops, with large heads and, dare I say, cartoonishly thin bodies. I'm not saying that playing this game will necessarily lead to your daughters developing eating disorders (Anobratzia Nervosa), but it can't be helping them form a positive, realistic body image. I realize that people have been making similar arguments about Barbie for years, but it's the unique combination of body type, materialism, and the trash-talking attitude of the Bratz that disappoints me so. And above all, the point that needs to be stressed is that while Barbie may be sexualized, she is an adult, but Bratz are sexualized girls (sorry, girlz). It's just plain wrong. Stay away.

...and the Fammy goes to...Bratz: Forever Diamondz!

EDIT: I just noticed that there are many similarities between the 2 photos above. Both Kim Possible and the Bratz girl have impossibly thin proportions and bare midriffs. However, that's where the similarities end. 1) their attitudes are simply miles apart, 2) while most of the Kim Possible focus is on her abilities and overcoming challenges, most of the Bratz focus is on her appearance and overcoming wardrobe malfunctions, and 3) where Kim Possible looks street-smart, the Bratz girl looks like a streetwalker. I calls 'em as I sees 'em.

Holy Crap! Award
Nominee: Spore

Will Wright demoed the game personally, which only added to the mind-blowingness (blowingtude?) of the experience. My chin hurts from slamming into the floor so many times. The scope of this game is truly awesome, and I don't use the word as a generic term for "cool". Rather, I am trying to say that Spore is truly inspiring and worthy of gaming awe. The fact that you can go from the origin of a species and progress all the way to millions of interactive planets (when you include user-created content) is amazing, but what kids should love most is creature creation. The real-time cause-and-effect customization is a thing of beauty, even if the species that Mr. Wright created was not. :) You can choose 2 legs or 4 (or 12, I suppose), and depending on the number, size, shape and location of those legs, you can immediately see how it affects the way your creature moves. The size, shape and location of the body, head and mouth affect voice/roar pitch, etc. You get the idea. It's like interactive PlayDoh with biological, ergonomic, ecosystem, planetary, etc. consequences. Oh yeah, and you can kidnap a species from one planet, and plop it down on another, just to see what happens (I was gonna write that you could do the species-plopping thing just for shits & giggles, but then I remembered that this is a family column............D'OH!). Age level is TBD, as there was some shooting and creature-on-creature violence.

...and the Fammy goes to...Spore!

EDIT: Here's some more in-depth info on Will Wright's Spore demo, by Chris Buffa of GameDAILY.

That's it. I'm spent. That's my last game award. But we do have one more Fammy rattling around back here somewhere. For the final award of the evening...

Best Schwag Award
Nominees: LucasArts (Lego Star Wars II pieces), Namco Mobile (assorted Pac-Man collectibles), Nintendo (DS Lite case, Wii pin), Sega (Sonic comic book, Yakuza temporary tattoos, FullAuto 2 sticker), Sony (PlayStation-logo-emblazoned Ogio bag)

If this award were based on sheer schwagular volume, Namco Mobile would have won going away. If it were based on which my wife and I liked best, Sony would have taken home the coveted prize. But while my kids like their little Pac-Man tchotchkes, there is one thing they still haven't stopped playing with since I returned home from E3 - their interchangeable Lego Star Wars II characters. My son wanted to take one of the characters he made to bed with him the first night. It doesn't get any better than that.

...and the Fammy goes to...LucasArts!

Thanks for coming everyone!
See you next year!
Drive home safely.

FYI

2006-05-18T10:09:00.000-06:00

I'll be posting my E3 '06 Fammy Awards later today, but since it will be hard to search for info on individual games from the column in the coming weeks & months, I'm going to do individual previews of all the games I mention in today's article. I'll be borrowing heavily from what I already wrote, but I'll also add new info when needed.

That is all.

TWTWTW

2006-05-15T23:19:00.000-06:00

That Was The Week That Was, indeed.

Back from E3, with a ton of good stuff to share.

And what a difference a year makes. Last year, I went stag as a video games lecturer looking for a friend. This year, I went as a member of the GameDAILY editorial staff, and I got outstanding access to most of the publishers and developers, who showed me some terrific games for kids that will be released in the coming months.

The 2 best things about this setup were...

1) I didn't have to waste half of my time standing in line, and when I did have to wait to play the Nintendo Wii, it was only for 45 minutes, instead of 5-6 hours. As a result, I had that much more time to play and preview games.

2) Most of the people who demoed the games for me were producers, which is kinda cool, since that's exactly what I want to do. So my plan for E3 2007 is to be demoing games for the press my damn self (even though I fully plan to keep writing for GameFam for a good long time - note to self: double check blogging policy for company that hires me). Wish me luck!

FYI, my next GameDAILY Family column will run Thursday, when I'll reveal my E3 2006 Dad's Choice Awards (a.k.a. The Fammys^TM).

Before then, I'm sure I'll post some other stuff as well, but I have to sort out all the gaming goodness first.

You excited? Gosh golly, I sure am.

Off You Go, Then

2006-05-07T09:16:00.000-06:00

Actually, off I go. If possible, I'll try to post a bit from E3, but I won't be doing any kind of up-to-the-minute live blogging type stuff. There are way too many other quality sites that do exactly that. I'll be doing my previews of upcoming games, etc. after I get back. FYI.

'TA!

Got Schwag?

2006-05-04T16:00:00.000-06:00

Here's my latest Dad's Take column for GameDAILY Family:

How fondly I remember my mini Manneken Pis, from Brussels.

Or my tiki of Lono, the Hawaiian/Polynesian god of fertility, music & peace...made out of lava.

Less delightful was the Ball-on-a-Peg, which can best be described as a poor man’s Ball-in-a-Cup.

And then there are the snowglobes from....well, from the airport gift shop on the way home, probably.

When I was a kid, my folks used to bring back various and sundry little tchotchkes – souvenirs of trips taken and places visited. And while I certainly had favorites and...um...not-so-favorites, my siblings and I always appreciated getting something, because it showed us that no matter where on the globe they trotted, our folks were thinking about us.

Well, these days, I’m a parent, and my next trip is to E3 2006. So as a traveling dad, I want to, nay, must bring home some quality gaming schwag fer the young ‘uns.

Doom

No, not that kind of Doom. It’s been said that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. And eager though I am to look ahead to next week, I have to reflect on schwag bags of the past, to see what I can learn going forward.

Since I wasn’t yet a member of the fourth estate last year, I had to grovel for scraps with the rest of the hoi polloi. No fancy press kits or Xbox 360 faceplates for this guy. I had to earn my freebies, baby.

As I criss-crossed the 540,000 square feet of L.A. Convention Center exhibit space, I slowly and discerningly filled my basket, kind of like a Katamari ball with pinpoint steering.

Speaking of elegant clumps of stuff, as I cut and paste my way through this column, my mouse is gliding effortlessly across the Katamari Damacy mousepad that my family loves so well. How’d I earn it, you ask? Why, by bringing a cow-in-a-can for the Namco folks to glue onto the giant Katamari ball, of course.

Namco was one of the companies that made schwag hunters sing for their proverbial supper. And although I had games to play and networking to do, my kids come first, damn it. So I sallied bravely forth.

I played mobile Namco game after mobile Namco game, in order to earn some miniature rubber Pac-Man characters (though my kids would have loved the fuzzy Pac-Man hats the Namco staffers were wearing). I played long enough to obtain not only Pac-Man, but also Inky, Pinky, Binky and Clyde – enough latex to make Art Vandelay proud.

But my work wasn’t done yet, because while I could let my kids choose 2 ghosts apiece, I only had one Pac-Man. And while the pizza in which Toru Iwatani found his inspiration could easily be sliced up, I couldn’t do the same with my little Schwag-Man^TM. So what was I to do? I could have pulled a King Solomon with my kids, and offered to give each kid half of a chopped up toy. Or I could have politely asked for another one. Guess which one I did?

Taking a short break from the G-rated schwag, I fought my way through a veritable forest of sweaty geekery, in order to get a calendar that featured not only a month for We Love Katamari (September, I think), but also an autographed photo of Namco’s scantily clad, surgically-enhanced uber-babes. Now who do I know that would appreciate something that brought together Katamari Damacy and the objectification of women? That’s right, I gave the Namco calendar to Robin Hunicke.

Weapons of mass promotion (a.k.a. How my schwag almost earned me a body cavity search)

If I can impart one schwag-based lesson to my readers, it would be this: If you happen to obtain, say, two green foam hand grenades emblazoned with THQ’s Company of Heroes logo, with a pull string that makes them rattle, make sure you put ‘em your checked baggage, ‘kay?

‘Cuz I put them in my carry-on luggage.

Mistake #1.

Then I told the TSA agent about it at the security checkpoint.

Mistake #2.

You see, I actually anticipated the whole real-threats-get-through, but nail-clippers-and-foam-grenades-get-confiscated thing that seems to happen in American airports these days.

I figured that if the baggage screeners saw the outline of a WWII-era pineapple grenade, they would tear my luggage a new one, and that if it was in my carry-on, at least I would be there to explain and show them how harmless it was. Wrong! The agent told me that I should have put them in one of the bags I checked.

So, given the choice between surrendering something I knew my kids would like, and going back to stand in line at the counter to check one of my carry-ons with the grenades tucked safely inside, I chose Door #2. It was truly a pain in the ass, but when I saw the shining faces of my children looking up at me with joy in their eyes and a song in their hearts as I gave them their buzzing fake grenades, I knew it was worth the sacrifice (even I can’t write that kind of hyperbolic, syrupy drivel with a straight face). Easy for me to say, of course, since I’m not the one who actually made said sacrifice. My wife volunteered to fall on the grenade (get it?*) and stand in line, while I waited for her. Thanks, honey!

* EDIT: Just making sure y'all realize that I know that the falling-on-the-grenade joke was a bad one. The "get it?" thing is my written version of a sarcastic, self-deprecating rimshot. FYI. So does the fact that I feel the need to explain my writing after the fact mean I'm an excellent writer?

Lanyards and buttons and pins, oh my!

Some of my kids’ other favorites included...

• A playable demo of Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, complete with 2 pairs of Sly-shaped 3D glasses

• 2 Ultimate Spiderman flip books

• 2 Top Spin foam tennis balls

• 2 flashing red thingies (not to be confused with the 2 flashing blue thingies)

We got schwag, yes we do! We got schwag, how ‘bout you?

The Game Developers Conference is all about developers networking and learning from one another....and drinking. But in addition to enlightenment, inspiration....and inebriation, there was a surprising amount of schwag available on the expo floor and career pavilion. To wit:

• Nintendo DS Lite keychain flashlights

• Other flashlight thingies

• City of Heroes cards

• Folding frisbees (sorry, non-Frisbee-brand flying discs) from Radical

• Activision Hacky sacks

• Putt Nutz golf balls (yes, you read that right)

• T-shirts! T-shirts! T-shirts! (more for my wife and me than for the kids)

You say swag. I say schwag. (a.k.a. You’re wrong. Start saying schwag.)

As I prepare for another pilgrimage westward to E3...

...I look forward to previewing the many kid-friendly games that will be released in the coming months...

...I look forward to catching up with friends I haven’t seen in a while...

...I look forward to networking my ass off, in my quest to become a producer in this here industry...

...And yes, I also look forward to finding some fun stuff to bring back for my kids.

So I close by paraphrasing (and apologizing to) Horace Greeley...

Go west, young man, and don’t forget to bring home some delightful schwag for the chillens.

P.S. No freakin’ snowglobes.

DS Lite: North American Release Info

2006-05-04T11:07:00.000-06:00

June 11 / $129.99 / Polar White

That is all.

Good On Ya, Dr. Joyce!

2006-05-01T23:00:00.000-06:00

Until yesterday, this is the enduring image I had of Dr. Joyce Brothers, on the rare occasions when I tried to conjure up an image of her in my mind's eye.

For those of you who weren't around back in the golden age of SNL, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Gilda Radner's trapezoidally- coiffed commentator veered away from the point of her commentary, to rant about the sweat ball on the end of Dr. Brothers' nose.

But that was then. This is now.

Lo and behold, here is Dr. Joyce Brothers in her Seattle Post-Intelligencer advice column, making a helluva lotta sense!

DEAR DR. BROTHERS: I'm an old-fashioned mom, I guess, but I truly hate that my children are able to see violent television shows and play with toys and video games that seem, to me, needlessly bloody and violent.

Within our home, there are certain rules to be followed, in terms of what's allowed to be seen and what isn't, but I'm not so stupid as to think that we can police what our kids do and see every moment. They go to visit other families, and I certainly can't control their personal rules in terms of what's appropriate or what isn't. I think the government should step in and take more of a hand in this. -- J.B.

DEAR J.B.: I certainly agree that there's too much gratuitous violence in many video games that are deliberately marketed to youngsters, and I also believe there are consequences to this in that it does increase aggression in many youngsters. Instead of seeking ways to discuss disagreements, these kids are more likely to use physical means in an attempt to settle arguments.

Unfortunately, I'm sure neither you nor I want to live in a police state in which the government increases control over what we see, do and think. Censorship is a complex issue, because we first need to agree on and clearly define what's dangerous and offensive and what isn't. In the long run, children seem to be much more influenced by observing how their parents behave with each other, how they handle problems and crises, and what their ethics and beliefs are than by what they see or hear from others.

Now that's what I'm talking about!
Preach on, doc!

I've said it before and I'll say it again here...
When it comes to my kids, EVERYTHING is my responsibility.

Props to GamePolitics

Thursday's The Day!

2006-05-01T21:36:00.000-06:00

So now that you know more about the differences between the Nintendo DS handleld and the soon-to-be-released DS Lite, Thursday, May 4 is when we'll all learn more about the release date and price.

New Super Mario Bros. (DS) Video

2006-05-01T21:29:00.001-06:00

Nintendo just released the 2nd of 4 videos. Enjoy!

Props to digg

Live Super Mario Bros.

2006-05-01T21:29:00.000-06:00

Talent shows were never this much fun when I went to college.

:(
.

Wii (a.k.a. Wee! Wyy? Waa? Wtf?)

2006-04-27T16:17:00.000-06:00

In announcing the new name of their on-the-horizon next-gen console, Nintendo was hoping that the reaction to the new name, Wii, would be positive...

...something along the lines of "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

But so far, the reaction has been more like "Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy????????????"

...or a Jon Stewart-esque "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?????????????"

...or even "Wtffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff???????????????", from the potty mouths out there.

In the end, though, it's all about the games, right? Right. And this is especially true with Nintendo. But why put yourself behind the eight ball with a little naming weirdness?

I decided to check out the source, the Nintendo website, but it seems that many many other folks are as curious as am I, since this is what greeted me:

um.... whoops?

Thanks A Lot, Funny Man

2006-04-27T09:10:00.000-06:00

My kids weren't in the best of moods yesterday.
Why?
Because they were tired.
Why?
Because they didn't get enough sleep the night before.
Why?
Because they fell asleep a little later than usual.
Why?
Because they were too excited to nod off.
Why?
Because they were laughing too hard.
Why?
Because they had seen something very funny just before bed.
What?

This video about the difference between the new Nintendo DS Lite and the original DS.

FYI, this is the 2nd in Cabel's series of 3 excellent video reviews of the DS Lite.

The DS Lite, which will be released in the US at some point this year (hopefully soon), has several advantages over the original, especially as far as kids are concerned. For example, it's significantly (40%) smaller (easier for kids to hold), lighter (also easier for kids to hold), less top-heavy (also easier for kids to hold), brighter screen (easier to see in bright light or at an angle), better stylus (easier for kids to hold and use), better mic placement (easier for the kids to talk to their Nintendogs), and probably a couple other things I can't think of just now....... ...............................ooh! Better battery life. There's another one.

The review was both informative and entertaining.
We watched, we learned, we enjoyed. WE...WERE...CALM!!!!

Then the guy had to go and break out the breakfast cereal at the very end, and all hell broke loose.

Thanks a lot, Cabel. Thanks fer nuthin'......................except for the excellent review of the new DS Lite. That was nice.

So is it just me, or could anyone else go for a bowl of Fruit Loops right now?

GDC Recap: Kid-Friendly Game REVIEWS

2006-04-20T19:30:00.000-06:00

Here's my latest Dad's Take column for GameDAILY Family:

As I’ve written previously, last month’s Game Developers Conference was my very first, and on many levels, I was like a kid in a candy store, or to update a tired cliché, I was like myself in a video arcade, circa 1981 (the year we pumped 20 billion quarters into those big beauties). A full work week of knowledge, networking, & Negra Modelo. Good times, indeed.

I was going to write a whole preamble about my GDC experience, but seeing as this article is already well over 2000 words, that will have to wait for a future column. So without further ado, here are the kid-friendly games from GDC 2006, as played by my fam – the GameFam.

Ballistic

This game, created by students from Michigan State, was fairly reminiscent of a casual game my kids and I enjoyed on RealArcade a few months ago – Slyder Adventures. Both games require the player to rotate the playing environment around the player, instead of the other way around. One big difference is that Slyder Adventures is more colorful and whimsical, what with all the fruit, cheese, milkshakes and ice cream that you have to collect along the way. Ballistic? No fruit. No cheese. Just controls that were too difficult for my kids. My daughter tried out Ballistic for about three minutes, and then moved on to other pursuits.

Balloon Express

This game was sent to me shortly after I returned from GDC, so I’m lumping it in here, since many in this list are also casual games. My kids were excited to play this game, and it starts out pretty strong, with nice graphics, pretty balloons, and satisfying cha-ching sounds when you complete a successful delivery. It reminded me, to a degree, of GameLab’s Diner Dash. As you progress, you unlock new countries to float over. However, it is lacking in replay value. After a while, both of my kids got bored with the game. To be fair, we played mostly in Puzzle Mode, which can be very repetitive. However, Story Mode was too difficult for my kids to play, as it is much more fast-paced.

Braid

Up until press time, I was trying unsuccessfully to get my hot little hands on a demo of Jon Blow’s much-talked-about time-warping, mind-bending 2D puzzle-platformer. And unless I’ve made a horrible error, it’s because a public demo doesn’t yet exist. So I can’t really say how my kids would like it (difficulty-wise, etc.), but I’d love to play it for my own enjoyment.

Brain Age

When Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced that he would be giving out free copies of the soon-to-be-released-runaway-Japanese-hit Brain Age to those of us who attended his GDC keynote address, the place was up for grabs. You would have thought he said that anyone who owned a clunky old DS could exchange it right then and there for the soon-to-be-released-runaway-Japanese-hit DS Lite. But no such luck. Brain Age would have to suffice…for now. I’d recommend this game for older kids, but it’s way too tough for the Barbie and Bob the Builder set. Indeed, Brain Age was designed with senior citizens in mind (horrible pun unintended). My daughter did the exercise where you have to do a bunch of rapid-fire addition, subtraction and multiplication problems, and… it… took… a… little… while… for… her… to… finish… since… she… kept… putting… down… the… stylus… to… count… on… her… fingers. But while the game may have set her brain age somewhere up near Methuselah country, she had fun and got out of it what she wanted. Good for her. One problem we all had (daughter, wife, sister & me) was that the voice recognition was not, shall we say, working. We would clearly enunciate the word “blue” (for example), and although the color of the word we were looking was most definitely blue, we kept getting marked incorrect. More than a smidge frustrating.

Cloud

As soon as I saw this ethereal, dreamy game, which was created by students from USC, I knew immediately that my daughter would be very excited to try it out. What I didn’t know was whether that initial excitement could be sustained by the gameplay. As it turned out, both she and my son absolutely loved it at first, but were eventually put off by the fact that it isn’t too easy to control. Oh, they’ll probably still want to play it occasionally, but probably for only 5-10 minutes at most.

Crazyball

Not bad, not great. My kids didn’t spend a lot of time playing this one, so on the one hand, they may not have had enough time to form an opinion. On the other hand, they didn’t feel the need to play for very long. I tried it myself a few times, and while it’s mildly enjoyable, the controls can be frustrating (e.g. trying to make your ball move from one platform to the next). Frustration can be productive if the payoff is worth the struggle. In this case, it wasn’t.

Dodge That Anvil!

This is one of my kids’ favorites from GDC. It’s a fun, colorful game with a sense of humor; an interactive version of a Saturday morning cartoon staple – anvil meets noggin. You start out your training by learning to farm the carrot patch while dodging that beach ball, and as you might have guessed, once the actual game starts, the objects descending rapidly from above are slightly heavier. Truth be told, my son would have preferred to dodge raining beach balls all day, but he still enjoys the game.

Fish Tycoon

I received a copy of this game at the Game Marketing Conference in early March. Since the game operates in real time, it’s meant for older kids. Let me repeat that. Fish Tycoon is a real-time sim game. In Nintendogs, if you leave your pups alone for a few days, they’ll be famished, parched and filthy upon your return. If you leave your cute little fishies alone for the same length of time, they won’t be hungry when you get back. They’ll be 296 years old… and dead. Very, very dead. That’s just too much pressure for younger kids. However, as long as your kids don’t feel the need to take the overall goal of the game to heart, there is still fun to be had here. My daughter enjoyed raising and selling fish and watching them swim about, kind of like an interactive screensaver.

Glow Worm

My kids really enjoy playing this game, even though it’s pretty similar to many casual puzzle games we’ve played in the past. What sets Glow Worm apart is the terrific visual and sound presentation. It’s a feast for both the eyes and ears.

HamsterBash

I’m not sure if a demo doesn’t exist or if I just missed this one*, but I couldn’t find a playable demo for my kids to try. When I played this game at GDC, I thought it was a little too competitive for young kids, which shouldn’t be a surprise, as it’s a mod* of Unreal Tournament 2004. I can definitely see my son getting frustrated by getting knocked around by another player. In addition, I had a few frustrating moments with the controls.

* Actually, I think I answered my question. I may not be the most mod-savvy, but since I couldn’t play Garry’s Mod without a copy of Half-Life 2, it makes sense that I’d have to have a copy of UT 2004 to play HamsterBash.

Josh's World

The concept behind this game is truly noble, as it strives to provide a “positive African American role model for young children”. And with bright young Josh as your virtual tour guide through the interactive 3D playland, it does just that. However, when you compare it to the other games in this review (which may or may not be fair), it has a very basic, “homemade” feel to it. On the upside, the music is good, which probably explains why the only part my kids enjoyed was the music room. Other than that, it’s like a game you’d see on one of the many excellent kids’ websites out there. I think that many younger kids can enjoy themselves in Josh’s World, but given the other games that compete for my kids’ time, this one didn’t really have a chance.

Loco Roco (PSP)

Loco Roco

When I saw this game being demoed up on the big HDTV screen at the Sony keynote, my immediate reaction was that it played an awful lot like Gish, one of the big winners at the 2005 Independent Games Festival, and GameTunnel’s 2004 Independent Game of the Year. Little did I know that I was jumping into the breach of an already-raging battle. We don’t have a PSP, and the game hasn’t yet been released, but I played the game at GDC. While it is more bright and cheerful than the edgier, Goth-y Gish, I found the controls to be pretty frustrating. I assume that there’s a learning curve, which would eventually take care of the control issue, but for young kids, intuitive controls are mandatory.

Gish

Mystery Case Files: Huntsville

This game is very reminiscent of the various I Spy games my kids and I have played. But that’s actually a good thing, since my kids love I Spy. After finding the hidden objects, you have to rearrange squares in a new photo of the crime scene (don’t worry, they’re misdemeanors) to reveal the culprit in this whodunit adventure.

New Super Mario Bros. (DS)

Does the newest version of Shigeru Miyamoto’s legendary 2D side-scrolling platformer revolutionize gaming? No. Does it fully utilize the DS’ dual screens and stylus? No. Will your kids have an amazing time playing the game alone or against their friends? Ya darn tootin’. As for me, I enjoyed playing it in the Nintendo booth at GDC, and while I did get crushed, I did get a t-shirt for my troubles.

Ocular Ink

My son liked this game, created by students from Grinnell College, more than my daughter did, which isn’t a big surprise. He calls it “the eyeball game”. You control a rolling eyeball trying to defend itself from the advancing kidney hordes, which, depending on how you choose to look at the game, can be more or less icky. On the more icky side, the game features bodily organs and blood. But on the less icky side, the style of the game art is such that the kidneys look like random blobs, and the blood looks more like red ink. We avoid bloody games like the plague, and you may want to avoid this one, too, but you may decide that it’s OK. Your call. Gameplay-wise, it’s not meant for young kids, anyway. My son enjoys rolling around a bit, but it ain’t easy to actually accomplish any of the missions.

Palette

Pretty to look at. Frustrating to play. My daughter loves experimenting with colors, and she had to stop after about five minutes, never to play again.

Professor Fizzwizzle

If you’ve enjoyed playing Granny in Paradise, play this game, the runaway winner of the My-Kids’-Favorite-Game-of-GDC-2006 Award, instead. If you haven’t played Granny in Paradise, then forget I said anything, and play this game anyway. Professor Fizzwizzle is funny and whimsical, but it will also give your kids some non-Nintendo brain training. How? 2 words – Problem. Solving. I could almost hear the gears turning in my kids’ heads (not so easy amidst all the laughter) as they tried to figure out what to do next. The game has several paths, including two that are suitable for kids, though they’ll probably need some help as they advance in the game and the puzzles become more and more challenging. The game has a redo button, which plops you back to the starting point if you find yourself at a dead end. This allows for incremental learning. Figure out the first 25%, get stuck, start over. 50%, get stuck, start over. 75%... you get the idea. In addition, and probably coolest of all, you can create your very own puzzles with the handy-dandy level-editor. Now this is the way to learn physics.

Level Editor Screenshots

Putt Nutz

My kids enjoy a good virtual miniature golf game now and again, so I thought they might like this one. And they did… until we tried the other games I brought home/downloaded. Putt Nutz was pretty good, and we may yet play it again, but since it was one of the first that we played after I got back from San Jose, it kinda got lost in the deluge of other games that followed. The fact that they weren’t clamoring for it like they were for several other games which were also part of the same flood, supports my good-but-not-great assessment.

Rumble Box

If you have an issue with box-on-box violence, then avert your eyes, because that’s what this game, created by students from DigiPen, is all about. The look of the game is somewhat reminiscent of the Insomniac Museum from Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, but that’s only because they both show you what all those polygons look like before the artists do their fancy schmancy normal mapping tricks. And to be fair, Rumble Box does have a lot of pretty colors. Basically, you are made up of a bunch of boxes that stay together by sheer force of will. You have to fight your way out of a pit, which you do by turning your adversaries into the boxes from whence they came, then using your vanquished opponents (i.e. pile of boxes) to stroll to safety. My kids liked it, and they didn’t feel the need to hit stuff after they were done.

Insomniac Museum: R&C GC

Tube Twist

This is an interesting game that has a lot of promise. You need to use the various tubes at your disposal to create your own Rube-Goldberg-esque machine, so that your ball can reach its destination safely. Many of the tubes have unique properties, and the challenges is in skillfully employing the right piece in the right place. While my kids enjoyed this game a lot, it actually gave my son a nightmare, something about how the system becomes unstable and explodes in the opening sequence. So although we won’t be playing any time soon, I still recommend it for your kids.

EDIT: To be fair, there is as much problem solving in Tube Twist as there is in Professor Fizzwizzle. I just went into more detail on the other game because we played that one a lot more than Tube Twist, what with the nightmare and all. :)

To recap, at GDC, a good time was had by me, and once I returned home with a bunch of new games for my kids to try out, a good time was had by all.

Oh, No, They Di'in't!

2006-04-20T12:24:00.000-06:00

WTF?!?!? You have GOT to be freaking kidding me.

See Ya!

2006-04-16T08:10:00.000-06:00

Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya, especially since you're the one responsible for befouling what would otherwise be a good kids' game.

So bye! Don't let the massive loss of revenues hit you in the lack of corporate ethics on the way out.

REVIEW: Legendo's The Three Musketeers

2006-04-12T17:47:00.000-06:00

It was the best of games, it was the worst of games, it was a time of joy, it was a time of frustration, it was the spring of fun playing with my kids, it was the winter of fear and suspicion about sypware.

The Three Musketeers, developed and published by Swedish company Legendo Entertainment, claims to be the “first game ever based on the masterpiece by Alexandre Dumas”, and this may well be true. However, it also bears a striking resemblance to Dickens’ classic French Revolution-era novel, because this game is a tale of two games.

But more on that later. First, the game, which, judging by the demo version, looks cool and is fun to play.

Did I say cool? I think Legendo’s The Three Musketeers looks terrific. It has a uniquely striking comic-book-esque cell-shaded look, and it’s just a pleasure to gaze upon. Many gamers bemoan the fact that pre-rendered cut-scenes often look much better than the actual gameplay (machinima notwithstanding). In this case, the game looks better than the cinematics, which, while lovely, have a more traditional Flash-animation-based look to them.

So yeah, it sure looks purty, but in the wonderful world of video games, even gorgeous cell-shaded graphics are nothing without solid gameplay (Auto Modellista, anyone?). In this case, this classic side-scrolling platformer (though you get to travel around the occasional corner) is fun to play. The demo level is pretty basic, but the full game has some more challenging elements that are reminiscent of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, one of the best “grownup games” I’ve ever played.

You play as Porthos (at least in the demo you do), and you have to rescue your swashbuckling compadres, Aramis, Athos, and D’Artagnan, who have been kidnapped by the evil Count Xavier.

Given the subject matter, there are naturally swordfights, and some of the later levels have blade-embedded walls (a Prince of Persia staple) that must be traversed. However, the violence is very cartoony, and there is nothing graphic at all.

For my taste, I thought that the cut scenes were a little long (though not quite at the Metal Gear Solid 3 level), but maybe it was just me being impatient, since my kids really enjoyed watching the “little movies” between levels. So, in the words of Gilda Radner’s hearing-challenged Emily Litella from SNL’s mid-‘70s golden era, “never mind!”

OK, here endeth the positive part of the review. What follows is what made me want to chuck this game into the deepest recesses of the Bastille.

When I discovered a second demo of the game, I immediately downloaded it, figuring that I could not only make my kids happy, but also make this here review just that much more robust. However, when I clicked on the icon to play, I got a warning that StarForce (yes, that StarForce) had been installed on my computer. I immediately recoiled in horror, tossed my CPU in the shower, then proceeded to scrub it down like was Karen Silkwood’s workstation at the nuclear power plant.

Without going into too much detail, StarForce is a copy protection/anti-piracy mechanism that installs its very own device driver onto your very own computer. I’m not a big fan of that kind of insidious crap. Don’t ever install software on my computer without my consent. Homey don’t play that.

So what you do is completely your call. If you can somehow find a way to play the game and leapfrog the whole StarForce thing, then your kids should have themselves a fun game to play.

So what have we learned here today? Simply this: It is a far, far better thing to have a fun, great-looking game to play with your kids, but it is also far, far worse to wake up to a spyware-infected computer the next day.

Look Reeeeeeal Close, Now...

2006-04-09T23:33:00.000-06:00

...and tell me which rating is easier to see.

Is it the ESRB's "M" or the MPAA's "R"?
"Which R?" sez you.
"My point** exactly", sez I.

Let me know when you have an answer.
Take your time.

EDIT ** Actually, Brenda Brathwaite's point, which is why I linked to her post in the first line.

I Read The News Today...

2006-04-07T23:00:00.000-06:00

Oh, Boy

REVIEW: My Street

2006-04-06T17:22:00.000-06:00

My review of My Street is up at GameDAILY Family.

Sony Computer Entertainment has been very good to my kids and me. They’ve brought us countless hours of family entertainment, with such gems as Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, Dog's Life, Jak & Daxter, Hot Shots Golf, Frequency, Amplitude, Gran Turismo, and the EyeToy series.

So why then, in the name of all things entertaining, did SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment America) decide to waste our time by publishing a clunker of a game called My Street?

Maybe they wanted to have a unique kids’ game with online capability, which is becoming an ever-more crucial part of Sony’s strategy, especially in light of Microsoft’s insanely successful Xbox Live service. When My Street was released three years ago, Sony was just beginning to gingerly dip its toes in the online gaming waters.

OK, so you can play the game online. As Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) said to Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) on the front steps of the Philly police station in Trading Places, “Grand! Great! Thanks a lot!” So now what? What good is the ability to play online if the underlying game simply isn’t compelling?

Either way (online or off), My Street is a multiplayer party game which centers around the goings-on in a quiet suburban neighborhood cul-de-sac. In theory, My Street is a nice change-of-pace game for kids. In theory. In practice, it is plagued by a plethora of pervasive problems.

For a game that was clearly designed for kids, My Street is beset by frustrating gameplay. The competitive mini-games are poorly designed with bad controls and camera angles, and the only part of the game that might have been enjoyable is ruined by poor design.

A game like My Street is just crying out for freeform, open-ended gameplay. Alas, the game is plagued by so many invisible walls, I felt like a mime on the sidewalk, annoying the passersby. My Street could have been a lot more palatable with a little sandbox gameplay. Hey, now that I think about it, there was an actual sandbox somewhere on the block, but it was probably blocked by an invisible wall. ;)

Another annoyance is that you have to chase down some of the neighborhood kids in order to interact with them. They always seem to running this way and that way, hither and yon.

And once you finally corral one of these youngsters to give them their Ritalin smoothies, chances are pretty good that they won’t be very nice, as some of the kids in My Street are just plain nasty. Say, I have an idea. Let’s try to save the smack talk for games for older folks. Games like, oh, I don’t know, like Rainbow Six. In games for kids, as in life, mean people suck.

In the end, the only part of the game that my kids really liked was creating custom characters for themselves. So they got that going for them... which is nice.

So enjoy.......um....... enjoy playing other games, I guess.

Such A Talent...

2006-04-03T17:34:00.000-06:00

So I finally bought a new scanner that was actually new, as opposed to the previous "new" one, which...

clearly looked used (scratches, scuffing, etc.)
had mismatched serial numbers on the scanner and the box
had the seller's name actually written on the software CD with a black Sharpie,
reeked of cigarette smoke
resulted in the seller lecturing me about smoker's rights when I complained.

Thanks, eBay!

So anyhoo, after far too long, I can finally start to post some of my daughter's drawings of video game characters.

Enjoy!

Dog's Life: Smellovision

Katamari Damacy: The Prince at work

Sly Cooper: Still Life With Hook

Just SpongeBob being SpongeBob

Mario: Portrait of the Plumber as a Young Man, though, of course, Mario was a carpenter several years before he became a plumber.

Princess Peach & Daisy

You can see some of her previous work at the the very top of the right sidebar (the GameFam mascot), and in this post.

Back In Black

2006-03-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

...or, more accurately, Bad At Black, EA's recently-released uber-shooter.

As I've written a few times, after I put the kids to bed, that's when I play my beloved "grownup games".

Now don't get me wrong. I love many of the games my kids and I play together. It doesn't get much better than Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, Katamari Damacy, or some of the many Mario games. I also love sports games and racing games.

But there are also times when I just hafta see something get blow'd up, y'know?! So in the last couple years, I've rented many shooterific games via GameFly. Games like Resident Evil 4, Far Cry Instincts, Call of Duty: Finest Hour, Halo 2, The Warriors (punch-a-rific?), Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (stealth-a-rific?), God of War (blade-a-rific?), F.E.A.R. (creepy little girl-a-rific?), and the list goes on.

So after getting back from GDC, I finally opened up the new orange envelope that had been sitting unopened on my desk for a couple weeks, and pulled out Black. As is my wont, I played the game on Easy (not that there's anything wrong with that).

However, although I should have been tiptoeing my way through the underbrush, I was getting my ass handed to me at the border every single time! I had plenty of ammo and was blowing up all of the "red things", but my health (and the rapid depletion thereof) always got me in the end. Damn you, not-enough-health-packs-on-easy! Oh, and more importantly... damn you, not-enough-save-points! I had to play though the same damn early level just for the honor of dying at the exact same place every freaking time! Seriously, for someone who plays so many of these games, shouldn't I be less sucky at them?

Anyhoo, I've been thinking about adding general gaming commentary here and there, and this post is an example of just that. So, gentle reader, would you welcome this kind of occasional departure from the kiddy stuff, or would you rather I kept my eyes on the prize and stayed on my present course?

To clarify, family gaming is the raison d'etre of GameFam, and that will never change. I'll never write one of these posts instead of a kid-focused one. Only in addition.

What say you?

GDC Recap: Games

2006-03-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the kid-friendly games that caught my eye at GDC 2006.

Some seemed more promising, and others less so.

Some seemed very derivative of other games, and others completely and utterly original.

Some are as big-bidness as it gets (e.g. Nintendo & Sony), but most of the games on this list are independent games that were featured in the 2006 Independent Games Festival. Some were created by students, which is, to quote co-host (with Shiny's David Perry) Tommy Tallarico at said festival (which immediately preceded the 2006 Game Developer's Choice Awards) "cool!".

So far, my kids and I have played a few of them, and we have a bunch more to go, but they definitely already have a few early faves. For my next Dad's Take column for GameDAILY Family, I'll review the games in better detail (though not as much as a regular review, what with me having to write about all the games in one column).

For now, here's the list, in alphabetical order (the ones we've played so far are bolded):

Ballistic
Balloon Express ***
Braid
Brain Age
Cloud
Crazyball
Dodge That Anvil!
Fish Tycoon*
Glow Worm
HamsterBash
Josh's World
Loco Roco (PSP) **
Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
New Super Mario Bros. (DS) **
Ocular Ink
Palette
Professor Fizzwizzle
Putt Nutz
Rumble Box
Tube Twist

I think I got all of 'em that were on my list, but if I left one out, I can just shoehorn it in.

* For the sake of accuracy, I actually got a copy of Fish Tycoon at the Game Marketing Conference a few weeks ago. FYI.

** Since Loco Roco & New Super Mario Brothers haven't been released yet, my kids obviously can't play them yet, but I played 'em at GDC.

*** Balloon Express wasn't from GDC, but it fits into the general indie/casual game genre to which most of these games belong.