Man, I’ve been f’n biz-ee. Lots been going on, more so than usual actually, hence the lack of updates. All is calm now, though that won’t last for long. So I guess now is the time for yet another all over the place, semi-stream of conscious post!
Video Games: Serious Business
First off, been working away on a game concept most of this past week. Remember me how I was asked to look at an upcoming project and offer my two cents, and ended up getting ruffling the feathers of the programmer? Well I guess what I said ultimately made sense, hence why I still got the call and the further evaluation was requested. Though I’ve yet to hear if I will most definitely will be part of the team once things finally go into motion…. fingers crossed, of course. At this point, I’m dying to get my hands on any game to mend and mold, though it certainly helps that this particular thing has tons of potential!
Can’t go into details, of course, though I did casually mention to a colleague of mine what I was doing, and he actually brought up a fairly valid point… Given that I write about games as a source of income, wouldn’t also designing them be a major conflict of interest? Ummm, no. Well, depends really. Now, if this game I was working on were being published by, say, Konami or Capcom, there most definitely would be. I’m still under a very air-tight NDA, so I can’t provide any details, such as who is behind it, but I will ask everyone this: when was the last time anyone ever heard me say a damn thing about the casual game market? Exactly. So since that’s really not the space I really write about or critique…
Nonetheless it was a fair observation, especially given that I’m somewhat known in certain circles for my war of words with another somewhat high profile game journalist who was double dipping, but what made the comment especially ironic was how this particular person works for a publisher which has a reputation within the industry of being grade A unprofessional assholes, one that I had a major falling out with most recently (yet again), but that’s all once again behind the scenes nonsense that I really shouldn’t get into, even though I’d love to. Lord knows the cheap attention wouldn’t hurt, but a third party is involved and I wouldn’t want to drag them in the mud. So I’ll just move on!
The Road To SPX Begins Now
I guess the other big thing is that SPX is literally right around the corner! Regarding my autobio comic project, UNLUCKY, I actually sent out a bunch of stories to various folks to illustrate well in advance (relatively speaking), in hopes that I would have more than just one new installment to debut at a show. At absolute best, I was hoping to have three on-hand, but now it’s looking like I’ll have enough material for a far more realistic two issue. Though as of this writing, I have yet to receive any finished artwork, so there might be in fact only one! So once more, fingers crossed.
Though aside from the comic, the most relevant news, at least around here, is that I’ve decided to finally go ahead and create my very own video game zine! I forget if I’ve already mentioned it before, but a while back Joel suggested it, since I knew so many folks who write about games that could contribute, and as I began telling others of this idea to gauge interest, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that many were indeed excited enough to want to jump on board! Even folks like Dave Roman who is like the busiest guy in the world and is backlogged with writing commitments till 2012! But since I really want something extra in time for a show that goes down in less than two weeks, the first installment will simply compile stuff I’ve written here, as well as Gamasutra and GameSetWatch (finally spoke to Simon on Friday, who had been all tied up with the Austin GDC, and he gave me his blessing and permission to reprint selected pieces), with some new material. I’m also pleased as punch to announce that Raina Lee, the woman behind what most consider to be the best damn video game zine ever, the 1Up MegaZine, will be providing the foreword! Plus, just got word that Hilary will be illustrating the centerfold, which is a sultry, video game vixen, a personal favorite of mine, rendered in her usual fantastic stylings!
And of course, in addition to selling my wares, I’m just looking forward to the show itself, especially since I had to bow out last year. I apologize for the already way too cryptic post, but yet again, this is territory I should perhaps not tread, at least on such a public level. Then again, those privy to the entire situation might be inclined to agree with the belief that saying something at this point might not be the worst idea in the world. Lord knows I have plenty to get off my chest about; the problem with taking the high road with those that only wish to get under your skin is how one somewhat runs the risk of looking the fool by sitting by idly and silent. But I simply have way too much on my plate to make time for high school drama. Yet I must say… just discovered that there’s a Nerdlingers site, and the page that lists all the 2006 recipients oddly enough doesn’t have me listed! Gee I wonder why.
EDIT: Someone just pointed out that my award is featured on the splash page! It would then seem that I have not been completely forgotten. Actually, more like someone was simply careless when it came to erasing the past. lulz
Yes, Believe It Or Not, I Actually Have Correspondents
But SPX isn’t the only show coming up; the second New York Anime Fest goes down this upcoming weekend, and back to Hilary, she will helping me out with coverage! Mostly because A) she know a helluva lot more about anime and manga than me, and B) I will also be busy at the NY Games Conference, which starts a day earlier!
And before all that is a Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe event (I believe I’m gonna have Dave Mauro and Joe Salina handle the write-up for that one since I’ll be too busy the very next day with the NY Games Conference), an IGDA event (had to miss out on their very first “game show” where local developers tried to outsmart each other with video game related trivia for prizes last week because of work), plus two separate Sony events! And one of them is yet another 24 hour game jam at Parsons, which actually went down this past Saturday. Though instead of covering it in its entirety (let alone participate in one) because I honestly had something better to do (which I’ll get to in just a bit), I’m simply going to be there when they announce the winners later this afternoon.
Additionally, and this isn’t confirmed, but for a while now Jason has suggested that I try to get this site translated into other languages, and it might actually become a reality quite soon! Into Japanese to be precise. Which would be seriously pretty awesome! Though according to my records, my biggest audience, outside of the States, is a tie between Mexico and Germany!
Becky, The Farmer’s Daughter Versus ICE COLD
Before going any further, may as well mention what went down last weekend: last Friday I went to see Goldfrapp at Radio City Music Hall with Katie. I myself was not all that familiar with Goldfrapp beforehand, whereas Katie is a diehard fan, so the show was a pretty awesome introduction to her work! I guess I’m officially a fan. It’s a nice fusion of folk and dance and girls got some awesome pipes, which were only enhanced by the fantastic acoustics. It was also my first time at Radio City, and I’ve never heard a better sounding show, ever. It was so damn amazing that I’m really interested in seeing that super silly/stupid Rockettes Xmas show! One weird thing was how whenever any of the super happy gay guys in the audience (and there was a veritable sea of them, up front) said anything, it sounded as if they were speaking backwards, I guess due to the funky acoustics.
Oh, and the opening act was Martha Wainwright, and she pretty much sucked balls. Nothing much else to say about her, so moving on! Afterwards, Katie and I had a late night meal at the Hudson View diner around the corner from our apartment, which I will no longer be going to, thanks to the French onion soup that ravaged my bowls till 4 in the morning. Hence why I was not in any shape for the mid afternoon Lighting Bolt show I was supposed to check out with Joe Salina in Brooklyn. Instead, Mooney came over to dwelve into my sizable library of old, late 90s professional wrestling on VHS. It was a real walk down memory lane for Mooney, while for Katie it was an introduction to the last golden age of wrasslin’. Time to fess up: another reason for this belated update is that I had planned on digitzing some of what I’m about to talk about, to produce screenshots, with the actual end goal of uploading some of the goodness to YouTube for the world to enjoy, but again, just been too preoccupied, plus that stuff takes a long time to do anyway.
Anyhow, we kicked things off with my ECW mixtape; every Saturday night during college, I wasn’t out and about partying, I wasn’t hanging with some girl, no, I was at home watching the original ECW on the MSG Network at 12:30. And the tape is a “best of” from that time, though we only scratched the surface; some classic promos from Taz and the Dudley Boys, when they were still young and hungry and crazy, as well as New Jack, who to this day is still insane. Plus matches of course, including the infamous barb wire match between Sabu and Terry Funk; the best/worst part is still Sabu place Funk on a table, covering his body with wire, then wrapping himself with wire as he screams in pain, then jumping on Funk. Now that’s sports entertainment! BTW, for those of you who haven’t seen Beyond The Mat, seriously, SEE IT NOW.
Next was the one and only pay per view by WOW. And what’s WOW? Stands for Women of Wrestling, from the same guy (and its a dude, of course) behind GLOW, or Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. You could say WOW was GLOW version 2, updated for the late 90s (well, its technically version 3, according to the internet, but I totally missed the Powerful Women of Wrestling whenever that was on). But whereas the WWF at the time was offering women in the squared circle that were supposed to fit into the new “realistic” state of mind that had become so popular, which oddly enough translated to their females looking and acting like soft core porno hoes, WOW’s stable of ladies harkened back to a far more innocent time, when wrestling was far more cartoony, more wacky (hence one of the reasons WOW bombed, I would imagine). Granted, they could barely wrestle like the rest of them, but at least you had variety; there was a farmer’s daughter, a salsa dancer, a basketball player, an angry punk chick, a super strict teacher, a tough biker chick, a super spy, a duo of corrupt cops, a trio of angry black chicks from prison, a cheerleader (with an eye patch, cuz someone obviously watched Twin Peaks), a scientist that accidentally ingested poison and now has super powers, the possible girlfriend of Mortal Kombat’s Sub Zero, and a chick with a multiple personality disorder. This last one, who called herself Jacklyn Hyde, particularly her entrance video and costume, is what made Katie?s jaw literally fell to the floor upon first sight. Her opponent, the aforementioned one-eye (also black) cheerleader was simply icing on the cake!
Though the PPV was the culmination of everything that was awesome, but also horrible with the product. The crowd for the most part didn’t care; by the end of the show’s run, the audience was nothing more than local boys and girls club, not paying hardcore wrestling fans. Despite all the amazing characters, most were used in any meaningful manner. Most had no storylines, so the matches didn’t matter; it would have been nice to have a reason to get behind the construction worker as she attempted to beat up the cowgirl. That was mostly due to the lack of bad guys (or girls), and even WOW’s very own Vince McMahon, David McLane, was mostly involved in a stupid running storyline involving him stalking Oprah that never really paid off. The matches were also simply not that great; aside from Becky the Farmer’s Daughter and Riot (both of whom could really move in the ring), most could barely do the most basic of moves. Plus they were all super short, which worked out okay for the weekly television show, but on the PPV, there ended up being like 9,000 matches, which just wore you out (well, in this case, Katie). But the worst was the last one, a game match, which simply proved that blood in a women’s match simply does not work. Mooney noted that I might be the only person in existence to have a copy of the show on tape. And if you look across the net, it’s clear that virtually no one knows or remembers the show. Yet, oddly enough the website is still open; it would seem that McLane wants to keep it going. And if there is a God out there, he will succeed.
Katie had to thrown in the towel immediately afterwards as previously mentioned, so it was just us guys as I popped in an old Japanese death-match tape, of a single contest that took place on a remote island. It was between accomplished Japanese wrestler Hiroshi Hase and the hardcore Indian grappler Tiger Jeet Singh. The whole thing was a train-wreck of epic proportions, with the best part being when Singh lights his tent on fire before the match, with both men rolling around shrubbery in the middle of the contest as a close second. Professional wrestling is already pretty silly in a closed arena, but taking it outdoors, out on the grass, brings it to a whole new level of stupidity/awesomeness. Afterwards was a highlight tape featuring assorted electrified barbwire for rope matches, mostly from the legendary Japanese hardcore promotion FMV (by the way, as of his writing, no one has yet to vote for the Japanese deathmatch option on the poll…. hmmm). The best matches was one that took place by the side of highways, another that took place in a forest at night, while it rained, and finally one where the ring was afloat in a gigantic swimming pool, and anytime someone was thrown into the water there was a large explosion. Alas there were no sharks in the water, which I heard is sometimes part of the package. Next was a highlight tape of all women Japanese wrestling, which was half in-ring action and half cheesecake, lounging at the hotel pool, video diary vignettes. Best part here was how one of the women had a traditional Mexican mask on, but sporting a clown’s nose on it. And of course, not only did she wear this in the ring but by the pool as well, while getting a tan. Viva la wrestling!!!
Somehow, Someway, IGA Will Make Castlevania Work In 3D, So Help Him Jesus
Moving onto later in the week, this past Tuesday was a press event in the city held by Konami, which is kinda rare of them, so needless to say, I was pretty amped, especially when I got wind of the stuff that they would be show. Including…
So I finally got the chance to play the new Castlevania fighting game for the Wii, Castlevania Judgment. And how was it? Eh…. Okay I guess. Certainly not the worst thing in the world. But diehard Castlevania fans will scream bloody murder for certain.
It was explained to me the producer of the series, Koji Igarashi, aka IGA, is determined to bring the franchise to the third dimension. Why? Because “it basically has to, like all things.” Okay… And since the previous attempts hasn’t worked out so hot, in IGA’s opinion (as well as most players, as evidenced by the not so stellar sales of Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness), he’s at a point in which he seems almost willing to try anything out, including a brawler. Though it was also noted that it?s not a fighting game in the strictest of the sense. Despite the fact that it has, you know, a life meter, a combo meter, combo attacks, all that kind of stuff. As for the game itself, I had no problems picking up and playing you simply wave the Wiimote around to unleash the whip or sword (only two characters were playable at the time, Simon Belmont and Alukard), and the stick on the nunchuk moves your character around. The A button is for secondary attacks, you know, daggers and axes, all pick-ups from the series, which is supposed to auto aim when unleashed, though I had a bit of trouble on my end (though the game is not complete, so I can’t give it too much grief). Super attacks are achieved when one has collected enough hearts and simply hits the button of the crosshairs of the Wiimote. So no complex button combinations or anything. Visually, it… looks like a Wii game alright. The character designers that everyone more or less hates at the moment is not from the series’ regular artist, Ayami Kojima, but from Takeshi Obata, the manga artist mostly known for his work on Death Note. And, to be honest, I’ve seen a few of his illustrations for the game, and they look fantastic (not as good as Kojima’s, but very nice nonetheless), yet none of it has made the trip to the Wii in any spectacular fashion. As for the change in artist, again there’s a reason: IGA wants his game to resonate with a younger, hipper audience, the kind that has embraced the Wii. And as well as know, hardcore gamers, which are mostly what Castlevania fans happen to be, are not exactly catered to in general when it comes to Nintendo’s latest home console.
Anyway, the game worked well enough, but the controls were hardly precise, which is kind of necessary for a brawler, traditional or not. It’s less Street Fighter and more Power Stone, with you running around, interacting with other objects, and even extra bad guys getting in the way (though the environments I were in was hardly all that interactive, with no varying levels and obstacles and the such). Overall, kind of a disappointment, but no more so than any other 3D Castlevania, really. I applaud IGA’s attempt at doing something different, but in this case, it just doesn’t work, though maybe because of technical constraints. Hence why maybe that other 3D fighter, the one in the arcades, with an actual whip as the controller could be better.
For those of you completely disgusted by the Wii game or simply the idea of the series in 3D, well there’s always the good old 2D formula as provided by the DS! I only gave Order of Ecclesia a spin for a few minutes, but it certainly felt like the Metroidvania that many have grown to love, or groan at. The only major differences this time around is that the lead character is a lady (this is the second time for the series I believe, the first one being Castlevania Legends for the original Game Boy, which was supposed to be the first adventure in the timeline, and was so bad that it was completely struck from the series canon) and zero touch screen nonsense (thank God). Unfortunately, the character illustrations, instead of being all anime-like as before (which again everyone hated), is not back in the hands of Kojima, but someone that seems to be an awkward in-between of the two. Too bad, And of course, I had to ask, like everyone reporter out there, why doesn’t IGA do a nice, fully realized for the home console 2D game with ultra high res, silky smooth sprites, but its the same answer as before: “Well, he’d love to, but its up to his bosses to make the ultimate call.”
Rock Revolution, as everyone has already noted, is way late to the music game party, one that they basically helped to create, with Beatmania, Guitar Freaks, and a bunch of other Japanese only arcade titles. So you would think after so much time that Konami would have something truly special, right? Nope. The game simply can’t hold a candle to Guitar Hero or Rock Band. First off, it only comes with a drum set; guitars from those other guys is what you’ll be using, and while I do applaud Konami championing the notion that the musical instruments up such cross compatible, and smartly realizing that everyone already has live six plastic guitars are home collecting dust, the fact that they simply don’t offer their own makes the game scream like a “me too” product to only really consider when you’re bored of the real choices.
Anyhow, somewhere along the line, the decision was made to make Rock Revolution a mostly drum-oriented experience. Well first off, the kit itself just looks ugly; whereas the other drum kits available looks sleek, and most importantly are collapsible, this one is not. Next, the game is just too hard; even on easy I failed out real quick, thanks to the fact that you have seven different inputs to manage. Also not helping is the somewhat boring track-list, and how none of them are master recordings. It’s also not much of a video game per-say; forget about star power or any such equivalent. Now, this is the Xbox 360/PS3 version we’re talking about…. you Wii folks won’t have to bother with a large and ugly drum set, no siree. Instead you’ll be air drumming. Yay. So either you can get Nintendo’s Wii Music and move your Wiimote and nunchuck to “play” Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or Rock Revolution to play a bunch of songs from bands that you generally don’t mind, but all the songs that you kinda don’t give two shits about. Though Quiet Riot’s Cum On Feel The Noize is always awesome, as is Motley Crue’s Doctor Feelgood, and I am embarrassed to admit to having a soft spot for Dream Theater’s Pull Me Under. Sorry.
I recall Silent Hill 5, or Silent Hill Homecoming getting bashed quite a bit, especially in comparison of the new Siren game for the PS3 when it came to head to head screenshot comparisons. Though what I played looked stellar. Very atmospheric and super creepy, as was the audio, which I got to listen to via headphones, and is the absolute way to properly experience the game, unless one has a proper surround sound set-up. Gameplay-wise, I have relatively little to complain about, though I did find combat to be kinda chunky. Also, as much as I’m looking forward to my review copy, I already know that it’s going be hell on the eyes trying to play it on a standard def set.
TECHNOTRON
Other highlights from last week, real random and (relatively) quick-like:
- While going through my Dreamcast collection, which I always do around this time of year, to mark the anniversary/birthday of the system, I decided to finally show Katie the real deal regarding Shenmu (she’s a big fan of the sailors video and the Mega 64 spoof). First I popped in Shenmue The Movie, which is all the cut scenes from the first game, assembled as a film, which was actually shown in theaters in Japan (seriously). She simply couldn’t believe such nonsense. Afterwards, I actually played a bit of the first game for her, to show that it wasn’t some big, stupid joke. Talked to the wacky hot dog guy for a bit, stopped by the Tomato Convenience Store for the awesome jingle, and then bought about 30 different capsule toys, all in a row. Again, Katie was in complete disbelief. I too still don’t get the game and can’t understand the rabid fan following it has developed, and this coming from a diehard Sega/Yu Suzuki fanboy. Shenmue is fucking dumb.
- Speaking of movies, finally showed I’m A Cyborg But That’s Okay to Hilary. She didn’t like it all that much. Eh, it?s not for everyone. I should have insisted on Survive Style 5+, though she did want to watch Rain in action before seeing Speed Racer. Also, a sappy, yet somewhat trippy, semi-downbeat and slow paced romantic comedy that takes place in an insane asylum is perhaps not the best thing to view when jolly and drunk, but I unfortunately did not have a copy of Wizard People: Dear Reader handy.
- Finally put on the gloves for the first time in seemingly ages with Mike. And for the rest of the week, even last night, I got plenty of folks wondering what the deal is with my knuckles; they’re still all bloody and bruised looking. Which is cool of course, and its fun telling people it?s because of boxing. Though the exact reasons, that being its because the glove tends to expand after a while, from all the friction, which then leads to chaffing, is hardly as exciting as “its from bare knuckle brawling.”
- Apparently when Katie tried to wake me up one morning, she asked “What time did you go to bed last night?” And my response? “Technotron.” I was also apparently pissed off when I answered as well. I still have no idea.
- As for what I’m currently playing on my own time, two things I’m not is Yggdra Union and Rock Band. Regarding the former, the UMD that Atlus sent me, for whatever reason, just doesn’t work! I wonder if there’s a conflict with my PSP’s custom firmware? As for the latter, MTV/EA sent me the game… sans instruments! Maybe they’re on the way, separately? I guess I have both Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery to keep me occupied in the meantime, but I’m kinda aggravated by RPGs that don’t allow you to save until three hours into the game. Each time I’ve tried starting up both titles, I always get an important call, or an urgent email, or realize I have to head out twenty minutes in.
- Had dinner with Dave Mauro on Friday night. Apparently, I’m not the only one who gets needless attention and aggravation when playing a portable game system while on the train. There is NOTHING worse than when some random jerk-off asks to play your system.
- Found out Canada’s very own Phil Fish will be coming to town for Blip Festival 08 and crashing on the very same multi-colored couch that resides in my living room for the event! Hopefully he’ll bring along a copy of Fez for me to exclusively check out (and write about here) in return.
- Also, another bit of awesome news, which I really shouldn’t talk about, mostly because its still all so early, hence why I’m burying it in the odds & ends portion of this post: after many months of developing ideas of cartoon shows and working on scripts, one of the concepts I’ve been working on with my collaborator (who I believe wants to stay anonymous, since he likes to be all mysterious and all that jazz) is going into production! Basically, once I’m done with SPX, the pilot will be first thing I’ll be working on.
Nice Fangs!
Finally, coming into the home stretch… Saturday night was the Punk Rock Poster Show at the Showroom, in the heart of St. Marks. Some of the best artists creating the best posters for punk rockers and related acts today were featured…
… Including the excellent work Mr, Joe Simko, naturally!
The place was packed, with numerous notable faces. Everyone from the Beat’s Heidi MacDonald to the Beer Drinking Fool’s Richie Reingold, Had to explain to him that the last horror night that he unfortunately missed out on was nothing to feel too bad about; he had bet on Killer Nerd on being the best of the bunch, and it most certainly was not as some might recall. Though next time, I’ll be bringing along Nothing To Fear, since that bears repeated viewings. No idea when the next horror night will be, but Joe has apparently unearthed some crazy zombie Hitler flick, can’t wait!
Here’s Joe again, with Richie….
… The BDF (and Scum City) front man passed along a CD to me, for some other music project that he’s involved in I believe, though to what extent I’m not certain of. Still haven’t had a chance to listen to it, to be perfectly honest, but if the cover is any indication, I’m fairly certain it’s already album of the year candidate…
And here’s a faraway shot of the area that Joe’s stuff occupied, June with a bunch of people in the foreground. Keith and Anney were also present, though you can only see a bit of Keith to the right…
Finally, myself and Katie. Heidi’s boyfriend was impressed by my threads, which I was somewhat embarrassed to admit was from Urban Outfitters, since I try to only wear video game shirts from Japan or the UK, but I do believe I still looked stylish enough to hang with Ms. Skelly…
Oh, and Misfits alum Dr. Chud was in attendance, naturally (Joe’s been the main artist for Dr. Chud’s X-Ward, and most recently Gorgeous Frankenstein, the new band headed by Doyle that Chud is also part of). I always take the opportunity to chat with the guy, even though I bet he hardly remembers me. This particular evening, he had just gotten fangs surgically implanted. And he was drunk. Plus he hit on Katie, right in front of me, and his girlfriend:
Dr Chud: “Hey man, is that your girl?”
me: “Yeah.”
… Chud immediately forgets what I just said…
Dr Chud: “And where are you from?”
Katie: “Pennsylvania!”
Dr Chud: “Where abouts in Pennsylvania?”
Katie: “Bethlehem.”
Dr Chud: “What part?of?Pennsylvania is that? New York?”
Katie: “Ummm….”
Dr Chud’s Girlfriend (sounding rather annoyed): “New York?isn’t in Pennsylvania, it’s its own state.”
No Longer Part Of The Club
And last night… was NOT Rumbo in Dumbo 12 as previously announced. Damnit. Apparently its been reschedule for the same weekend I’ll be out of town for SPX. FUCK. Better yet, Mooney tells me that, if I wanted to, I could actually enter the ring as a referee if I was seriously interested in such a gig. Needless to say, I am pretty tempted.
Anyhow, instead last night was Stephen Totilo’s birthday get-together.
The festivities took place at the Soda Bar, in Brooklyn. Among the topic of conversations were Steve’s “kung fu dilemma” and his current favorite game, some air traffic controller simulation for the DS. The subject of the world’s fair also came up somehow, and I ended up passing along the tale of my being there at Expo 86 when some gardener’s head got sheered off by a roller coaster and it landing on the roof of the building right next to me as my family and I had lunch. Pretty much everyone thought I was bullshitting, but I swear it happened! Granted, I was nine at the time, and I was also certain that I saw a scene in the original Star Wars where Darth Vader goes down to Hoth and shoots both Luke’s aunt and uncle right in the back, which I was dead certain would reappear in the Special Editions, but did not.
Also relieved some bad news: Steve got himself a HD as a present. He was the only other serious gamer I knew that swore by standard definition sets. In fact, whenever I would defend myself was playing games like a caveman, I would always go “Well Steve Totilo also feels the same way, that they’re overrated, and doesn’t need one!” But now, no more…
