Curmudgeon Gamer
11 May 2007
On game preservation and GameTap
Simon of GameSetWatch has posted excerpts from a recent email conversation he and I had regarding GameTap and similar services, especially with an eye toward game preservation. You can go read it yourself.
I'll only add here that I meant to get in a mention of Save the Whales, a game which was reportedly distributed online-only and was almost lost to the digital abyss. Did I mention it was an Atari 2600 game? That's right, a game distributed through a modem to an Atari 2600 over 20 years ago. Anyway, it apparently wasn't a great game, but it didn't have to be fun to be important.
Ok, I'll add one more thing. That is not a picture of me in Simon's post. Honestly.
I'll only add here that I meant to get in a mention of Save the Whales, a game which was reportedly distributed online-only and was almost lost to the digital abyss. Did I mention it was an Atari 2600 game? That's right, a game distributed through a modem to an Atari 2600 over 20 years ago. Anyway, it apparently wasn't a great game, but it didn't have to be fun to be important.
Ok, I'll add one more thing. That is not a picture of me in Simon's post. Honestly.
Labels: atari, business, copyright, emulation, gametap, history, online distribution, steam, virtual console, xbla
--jvm at 00:50
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06 March 2007
Microsoft's XNA Dream-Build-Play Contest
A week after flash-gamed-turned-real-game Alien Hominid HD was released on XBLA, Microsoft announce that they're running an XNA game design competition for budding developers. Coincidental? Probably not.
The way I see it, Alien Hominid HD has set a precedent. It's living proof that independent games developers can get ahead with Microsoft. While the game has been around since its Flash game prototype in 2002, the original console release in 2005 was virtually impossible to acquire in stores (I certainly didn't spot one) and this re-release on XBLA gives it the potential to reach a very significant audience, many of whom are more than likely prepared to drop 800 Microsoft points for it.
This ties in well with XBLA itself; it really needs more indie games. Josh over at Cathode Tan has an article up about what the XNA competition might mean for developers, and that's well worth a read, but this should also affect gamers. People are going on the record stating how digital distribution is becoming the only real way for independent developers and Microsoft should really be listening to this. Seriously listening, not just running a little competition for good PR.
Microsoft have people eating out of their hands right now when it comes to XBLA: a mere mention of the notion of porting some classic game over (no matter how much of an April Fools it's likely to turn out to be) is enough to satiate our lust for speculation. Clever independent games would be a godsend, certainly beating seemingly endless reams of arguably lousy retro titles, hastily updated with HD graphics. The mistake Microsoft are making with the XNA competition is saying how only one game will get released on XBLA. They should be more accommodating: it should be many games.
Imagine a year where something unique is released every other week. It would be incredible. Alien Hominid is a start, but it's an update of a game that's already been released twice. Original, new, independent games would be a great way forward. Quality isn't exactly an issue: if people are prepared to pay for Time Pilot and Root Beer Tapper they're probably willing to buy whatever Microsoft decide to sell. It would turn XBLA into a varied, interesting distribution platform instead of a retro dumping ground with the occasional decent title.
The way I see it, Alien Hominid HD has set a precedent. It's living proof that independent games developers can get ahead with Microsoft. While the game has been around since its Flash game prototype in 2002, the original console release in 2005 was virtually impossible to acquire in stores (I certainly didn't spot one) and this re-release on XBLA gives it the potential to reach a very significant audience, many of whom are more than likely prepared to drop 800 Microsoft points for it.
This ties in well with XBLA itself; it really needs more indie games. Josh over at Cathode Tan has an article up about what the XNA competition might mean for developers, and that's well worth a read, but this should also affect gamers. People are going on the record stating how digital distribution is becoming the only real way for independent developers and Microsoft should really be listening to this. Seriously listening, not just running a little competition for good PR.
Microsoft have people eating out of their hands right now when it comes to XBLA: a mere mention of the notion of porting some classic game over (no matter how much of an April Fools it's likely to turn out to be) is enough to satiate our lust for speculation. Clever independent games would be a godsend, certainly beating seemingly endless reams of arguably lousy retro titles, hastily updated with HD graphics. The mistake Microsoft are making with the XNA competition is saying how only one game will get released on XBLA. They should be more accommodating: it should be many games.
Imagine a year where something unique is released every other week. It would be incredible. Alien Hominid is a start, but it's an update of a game that's already been released twice. Original, new, independent games would be a great way forward. Quality isn't exactly an issue: if people are prepared to pay for Time Pilot and Root Beer Tapper they're probably willing to buy whatever Microsoft decide to sell. It would turn XBLA into a varied, interesting distribution platform instead of a retro dumping ground with the occasional decent title.
--Martin at 20:52
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13 January 2007
Ms. Pac-man's dirty little secret
The review of the Xbox Live Arcade version of Ms. Pac-man makes me angry. Not the review, per se, but that dirty little secret that the big media feel like they can't mention in public:
To my knowledge the only thing approximating this mode is the fast mode offered by Tengen's cartridge version of this game (on SNES and Sega Genesis, perhaps others). Even there, it's not quite what you'd expect and the Ms. gets a pair of wings on her head or something to show that she's going FAST! Every other version -- on the many incarnations of the Namco Museum, particularly -- is the slow-as-molasses original.
So why do we keep getting the same lame version that no one actually likes? And why can't someone reviewing the game for a big site come right out and tell Namco how much the slow version stinks?
Update: Just so it's clear: slow original vs. fast modification. I prefer the latter, but Namco doesn't even offer the option. (Possible exception noted in comment below by JohnH.)
No one actually plays the original Ms. Pac-man.That's right. The original game is a plodding exercise in frustration. What we all really enjoy is a rousing game of the sped up version of Ms. Pac-man that has dominated arcades everywhere since -- well, a very, very long time.
To my knowledge the only thing approximating this mode is the fast mode offered by Tengen's cartridge version of this game (on SNES and Sega Genesis, perhaps others). Even there, it's not quite what you'd expect and the Ms. gets a pair of wings on her head or something to show that she's going FAST! Every other version -- on the many incarnations of the Namco Museum, particularly -- is the slow-as-molasses original.
So why do we keep getting the same lame version that no one actually likes? And why can't someone reviewing the game for a big site come right out and tell Namco how much the slow version stinks?
Update: Just so it's clear: slow original vs. fast modification. I prefer the latter, but Namco doesn't even offer the option. (Possible exception noted in comment below by JohnH.)
Labels: ms. pac-man, namco, xbla
--jvm at 02:50
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