Category Archives: Industry Now

Game File, Games and Software, Industry Now

The Spoiled War: Super Smash Bros. Not as Shiny as It Used to Be

September 29, 2014 Alex McCumbers

Super Smash Bros. comes out for the 3DS October 3, and while I am pumped up for the release, I feel less pumped than usual. I’m all about importing games. I think there’s nothing better than snagging up a game from Japan, usually one that will never be in the English language. I’ve known many a gamer who learned Japanese, just to play some obscure title or a hidden gem in a franchise, but for once, I have a bit of a problem with importing. It’s great that gamers all over the world get to see Super Smash Bros. early, even before the demo arrives; however, the internet has become incredibly saturated with leaked character rosters and popular YouTubers streaming the game.

Search Smash on Twitch right now, I guarantee someone is playing it.

I had to avoid one of my favorite Youtubers for a while. . .

While I love gaming personalities like Jwittz, I feel that these streams have jaded my relationship with the game. I’m incredibly passionate about the franchise, so settle in, because it’s Anecdote Time with Alex.

When I was a kid, my father agreed to buy me one of the newest game consoles for my birthday: the PlayStation or the N64. I was also made aware of how expensive the games were for each system: PlayStation games were about $30 – $40, while every N64 game was $60. Not only that, but the consoles themselves shared a similar price ratio. My dad practically begged me to get the PlayStation, but my Nintendo blood had already chosen for me.

The problem with that day was that we couldn’t afford a game, and this was before the days of trial versions being packed in with the system or before a bundle was released. I was left to stare at it for months. Then, a mystical game appeared and Christmas was steadily rearing its head.

Super Smash Bros. had a few familiar faces for me like Mario, Pikachu, and the hero from Zelda (for I had yet to learn his name). Yet, there was also this cool dude with an arm cannon and there was this fox. Playing that game was seeing parts of Nintendo I had no idea existed before. Note, these were the days when dial-up internet was the norm and in my rural area we couldn’t even get that for another 5-6 years. Turns out, the green guy is named Link and Samus is a girl. Not only that, but there are games like Earthbound out there that I had never heard of before.

His name is Link?! But for years his name was Alex, Zelda, or Fopquarf. . .

For me, and I’m sure many gamers, that was the magic of Smash Bros. Players would initially choose to play as their favorites, but then slowly learn about the strangers. This, of course, led me down a path to find those weird games and play them. Super Smash Bros. Melee had a similar effect on me. I had no idea who Roy was or why he talked in Japanese, but through Melee I learned that there are several other Fire Emblem games out there. This and the chance discovering of Mewtwo was the best for me and my friends. The trophy gallery quickly became an encyclopedia of Nintendo. It was all new, interesting, and a bit overwhelming.

Brawl did an okay job at hiding things, like epic boss battles and cool cutscenes. I did feel that game had way too many clone characters, or characters who fight in a similar fashion to others. I hated Wolf with every fiber of my being, seeing as there were hundreds who could’ve taken his place. Nevertheless, I had tons of fun with Brawl and it was one of the few reasons my household owned a Wii—and for the archery aspect of Wii Sports Resort. My dad is obsessed with bows and is one of the best mechanics in the area for the sport, so we spent many a happy hour trying to beat each others’ scores.

Dad, my step-brother, and I spent a lot of time perfecting our shots.

My point is that Super Smash Bros. used to be a series about surprises, mysteries, and discoveries. Sure, it’s a great party game and a rather deep fighter, but learning about those obscure characters is where I’ve always thought it shined.

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There is an equal amount of awesome and disturbing in this screenshot.

What’s worse is that Nintendo claims that the Wii-U version will have the same features. So, my hopes of something new on that console have also been dashed against a brick wall.

My culminating questions for the gaming community are thus, what are we losing when we choose to stream games that have yet to come out? Has the internet ruined that childhood-esque discovery and wonder? Do modern children even have those feelings?

Will these thoughts deny Nintendo a sale from me? No, I have big plans for the game; my step-brother and fellow lets player are going to play while on Skype. I expect that October 2nd will be a long, long day with me dragging ass at work on Friday.

Sakurai is enjoying my business a little too much.

In a way, I can’t really blame Nintendo. Its advertisement campaign is great, especially in the past couple years. Can I blame the streamers and YouTubers? No, not really. Everyone wants to have a ton of views and getting stuff early can skyrocket those numbers. I’ve been there and the drive is astounding.

Oooooh — It’s the simple things that are worth slowing down to look at.

What I can do is try to make the community more aware of what it has lost. Maybe this article will help change the minds of an indie developer who could release the coolest game out of nowhere. I can only hope.

I just miss that sense of surprise.

Title image by Marcos-Inu

Forever Classic (my Youtube gaming team) will also be having a little Skype party with the game after its release. More than likely we will be streaming the fun on our Twitch channel. Follow our Facebook Event Page for more details.

Game File, Games and Software, Indie Pennant, Industry Now

The Future of Storytelling: A Response to the Thoughts of Chris Charla and Benedetto Vigna

September 19, 2014 Alex McCumbers

Being a writer and literature enthusiast, I’m obsessed with narrative. Through words, we can transport ourselves into other peoples’ lives and experience their worlds. We can visit the abstract and experience impossible things to reach deeper understanding. Because I love stories, I’ve always gravitated towards video games with powerful—or at the very least, central—narratives. Games like Zelda, Legend of Dragoon, and Final Fantasy top my list of favorite games, not because their gameplay is the best or they have the best design or the best graphics, but because I like the stories.

This was one of the first RPGs I ever played. The story is fantastic and the art style is amazing.

In the past six or seven years, the gaming industry has evolved. Gamers have always heard about the success of game developers creating something awesome in a basement and it exploding in popularity, but the ease of which that can happen today is astounding. There are hundreds of game development tools that are easily accessible. Some programs don’t even need coding or knowledge of complex computing languages. In the past, game design was more of a labor of love, but now it’s more of a love of labor. All one really needs for game design is to have an idea and time to bring it to life.

One of the first decisions of Black and White 2.

I’ve always been a console gamer. Sure, I had a few PC games that my poor Dell could barely run, like Mech Warrior and Black and White, but none of those games really stood out or held my attention for long. The story wasn’t as important on the PC, so I gravitated to the PlayStation and Nintendo systems.

Last year, my laptop finally went kaput, even after I had pulled a Frankenstein and truly performed repair miracles. After that, I set out to build my own PC: for me, made by me. After all was said and done, I had a computer capable of all my creative outlets: writing, video editing, etc., but I also ended up with a gaming machine. I was pumped to play games like Skyrim, using mods. Instead, my Steam account slowly filled up with indie games. Now, I scour the internet in search of these brave and new ideas. My machine can play things with superb graphics, but I always end up playing simple indie games, mainly because they often explore new ideas.

Risk of Rain is one of my favorite PC games.

The gaming market is now filled to the brim with exciting new ways to tell a story and for others to experience it. Plus, most of these games are much cheaper than a new game for consoles. Luckily, services like the Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, and the E-Shop are bringing these games to life on each console. Those without a decent PC can enjoy many of these fantastic games. With these games being easily presented to a hungry consumer base, better games are making more money. That kicks off the chain reaction of the right designers having creative freedom and in turn making more games.

Chris Charla applauds the indie movement in his video.

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Motion controls are all thanks to that tiny speck in between his fingers.

Aside from just the ease of which games can be made, the way we play games has also changed. Even though I’ll never fully support motion controlled gaming, I will say that the possibilities that have opened because of it is amazing. Think about someone who can’t or has difficulty using a controller. Think about an older person who didn’t play Nintendo or Atari. The concept of a controller probably goes as far as a remote for the TV. What if people could play the same game or a different game in a way that’s accessible and fun for them? Do you know what we have now? A broader pool of people playing games.

Doom was one of the main reasons work was stalled in offices around the world.

Unfortunately, through the majority of my life, gaming has always been frowned upon by society as a whole, especially with stories that connected specific games to terrible tragedies. The industry was crippled when Doom was blamed for the deaths of innocents. Its a shame that such an impressive medium can be set back by simple media connections. Although, coupled with the negativity is the joy video games can bring. The popular charity Child’s Play has raised over seven million dollars this year. Minecraft is being used in classrooms by educators around the world, myself included at one point.

In twenty years, I’ve been hundreds of heroes, slain thousands of monsters, and saved millions of worlds. What other medium connects the experience with the one experiencing it? Gaming has for a while now.

As a medium, let’s explore what’s never been considered. Let’s see what’s never been seen. Let’s play what’s never been played.

For more on these thoughts, check out the Future of Storytelling’s Video Series.

Games and Software, Industry Now, Tech World

Inside Look With “Stamp” Creator Erick Ballesteros

May 28, 2014 Jacob M. Neff

Thanks to Stamp creator Erick Ballesteros, we now have an inside look at the new organizational app that is changing the way the world makes appointments! (The interview below involves staff writer Jacob Neff and Stamp creator Erick Ballesteros.)

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Q1. What is Stamp?

A1: Stamp is an iPhone application that empowers freelancing services to accept appointments at anytime with automated scheduling and calendar synchronization.

Q2. Why did you create such an app?

A2: I created this app to further the share economy within our communities. I wanted to empower anyone to become an entrepreneur or run their own business. You can think of it like Lyft. With Lyft, anyone with a car has the freedom to choose their own schedule and make some extra cash (full-time or part-time). Similarly with Stamp, anyone can share their own services/skills to supplement their income. I also wanted to encourage usage of our digital calendars because I feel like the majority aren’t taking advantage of one. By promoting it, Stamp’s service can only increase in satisfaction.

Q3. Why the name “Stamp”?

A3: I like the name stamp because it emphasizes a commitment being made. It can also tie into a time stamp for when selecting a time. There will also be a cross-reward system throughout different types of services for people to recieve great offers.

Q4. What makes Stamp different from other organizational apps such as Evernote, Google Calendar, etc.?

A4: Stamp is different from things like Google Calendar because Stamp has discover-ability and centralized profiles for services to link their Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn to let the client make the booking decision. In fact we integrate with Google Calendar to make things simpler and each appointment will automatically appear within Google Calendar. We also assign usernames to all services that sign up on our app. By doing this, we allow a very Twitter-esque feel to the app where people can not only stamp with people within their geographic vicinity, but also with people from all over the world (there I said it). This makes the scheduling process even easier for services that prefer to just share their usernames.

Q5. How has Stamp improved organization in your own life so far? Do you use your own app?

A5: I use Stamp to schedule business meetings with others and for workout sessions with my personal trainer. It’s really fun!

Q6. How many downloads does Stamp have?

A6: Stamp just launched two weeks ago on the app store. We have strong initial feedback and we are hard at work improving our service. Additionally, a web app is underdevelopment where the usernames will serve as the subdomain for each service provider using Stamp!

Q7. Where do you see Stamp going in the next 5 to 10 years?

A7: Over the next few years, I envision Stamp creating opportunities for developing nations. It will help many local economies while at the same time creating opportunities for two people to easily schedule with each other regardless of where they are located.

I would highly recommend Stamp for anyone with a full plate as it is an incredibly helpful way to organize appointments. Good news for iPhone users, Stamp is available now on the app store. Android users, hang in there!

Game File, Games and Software, Industry Now

SMITE: Hi-Rez Studios’ COO Todd Harris

May 28, 2014 Jacob M. Neff

Here at GIGA Geek Magazine, we are constantly on the lookout for new and exciting titles to introduce to gamers. Thanks to Hi-Rez Studios and their COO, Todd Harris, we are able to introduce a new Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game that has incredible potential for growth. The following Q&A session is the interview between GIGA Geek Magazine writer Jacob Neff and Hi-Rez Studios’ COO, Todd Harris.

What is SMITE?

SMITE is a battleground of the gods. It is the third most popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, the other big ones being League of Legends and DoTA2.

How did you come up with the name “SMITE”?

We wanted to combine the action elements of a 3rd-person shooter with teamwork elements. Since the gameplay revolves around powerful gods engaged in combat, the name SMITE works very well.

What makes SMITE different from other MOBA games?

The two big differences are: a. In SMITE the theme is mythology. So all the playable characters are gods and goddesses from around the world, all combined in a single setting, b. In Smite the combat gameplay is in 3D. We use a third-person camera right behind your god character while most other MOBA games use a camera that floats above the battleground. This change in the perspective of the camera makes the SMITE combat more action-oriented.

What are your favorite video games and did you use any elements of those games in the creation of SMITE?

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Where do you see SMITE going in the next 5 years?

More gods—we currently have over 50, but we release a new god about once a month; more items—items are different ways you can equip your god and more item options means more replay-ability in the game; and more competitive e-sports events—SMITE officially launched in late March and we held a competitive tournament for the best SMITE teams with a prize pool of over $200,000! In January 2015 we’ll hold an even bigger tournament and we see that continuing to grow in the next 5 years.

SMITE opens up an incredibly whimsical and magical world for it’splayers. I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game and will continue to play this game as more updates and add-ons are introduced.

Visit SMITE to learn more and play.

Games and Software, Industry Now, Science and Humanities, Science Zone, Variant News

Top 5 Gaming Tech at GDC 2014!

Video April 1, 2014 J.A.Montemoiño

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