61 Frames Per Second : eegra

I Hate the Video Game Industry

Cole Stryker — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:30:00 GMT

I suppose I've developed a reputation for being something of a curmudgeon. Most of my posts here are accusatory and caustic, and I spend more time writing about things I don't like than things I do. That's why I consider Patrick Alexander over at Eegra to be a kindred spirit.

Like Patrick, I play precious few video games. I guess that would seem odd to readers, considering that game journalists are supposed to be experts. There might be one or two games released each year that capture my heart. Desktop Tower Defense was the last game that really brought me to my knees, and that was released years ago.

Furthermore, I can't relate to those who really get off on game industry stuff. News! Previews! Screenshots and Trailers! All the marketing and wooing and it's all so much fluff and grandstanding. If I were to quit writing about games, I would only follow a few websites that focus more on game theory and serious criticism. I don't care if Capcom employees are bisexual. I don't care if the Xbox is being released in a special color. I don't care about cosplay or Olivia Munn or Jonathan Coultan or Jack Thompson. And if I see one more gaming-related cake...

Patrick explains:

You see, I love videogames, but I hate... I hate the videogame industry, I guess. That includes the ‘enthusiast press’ – I hate this contrived idea of ‘gamers’ and ‘gaming culture’; I prefer the idea that videogames are a thing, and all sorts of people have individual experiences with this thing, among many other things, and a person’s experience might overlap with many other people’s experiences, and another person’s might not. And thus, videogames are culture; they are a part of culture. I prefer this idea because it is the correct one. When people say ‘gaming culture’, they should be saying ‘gaming cult’. They could also easily say, ‘religious nuts’.
There are denominations and everything!

Ugh, I know, right? Shut it down. All of it.

One of the things that I always thought was so tragic and true and hilarious about the Simpsons Comic Book Guy is that you never see him smile. He never derives joy from his massive collection of nerdy paraphenalia, as if he doesn't do it for the love of the thing, but rather for the ability it gives him to lord his superior taste and awareness over those pathetic philistines who enter his shop. This is how I see most readers and writers of the enthusiast press.

I'm bored of all the chatter. I want to recapture those feelings of adventure and freedom that video games brought me as an eight-year old, when video games were nothing but fun.

Ron Workman Calls Out Destructoid for Sloppy Journalism

The Future of Games Journalism

Kenichi Nishi and Kenji Eno’s Newtonica Brings iPhone Gaming Into the Realm of Awesome

John Constantine — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

I have been, in general, pretty resistant to the iPhone mania that’s overtaken many hundreds of thousands of folks. They’re attractive little devices but, well, them things are expensive. Plus, it remains to be seen whether or not it will come into its own as a gaming platform. The version of Spore Maxis has cooked up looks like a neat diversion but not many other games seem particularly interesting. For example, a friend of mine downloaded Super Monkey Ball and told me that when the game wasn’t crashing his iPhone, it was a chore to actually control anything. Newtonica, a new game from the ever fertile mind of Kenichi Nishi, now has me chomping at the bit to actually hand over some cashey money to Steve Jobs. Why? For starters, Nishi was the field designer on Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger, the founder of Love-De-Lic, and the designer of Skip’s Chibi-Robo. That’s what you call a pedigree right there. Also? Newtonica’s soundtrack is by Kenji Eno. As I recently discovered, Kenji Eno rules. Looks like the actually gameplay, not dissimilar to the Bit Generations title Orbital which Nishi also had a hand in, will be a hoot too.

Core Gamers has an interview with Nishi that’s worth a read so go check it out already.

As always, much love to Eegra’s Patrick Alexander who alerted me to Newtonica’s awesome existence. That said, damn you for making me want an iPhone, Patrick.

Related links:

Kenji Eno is A Mule of Epic Proportions
Trailer Review - Captain Rainbow
Alternate Soundtrack: Orbital vs. The Notwist
Many Colors in the Hardcore Rainbow
WiiWare: Nintendo, Babe, It Just Isn’t Working Out

Indie Dev Moment: Eegra Shindig Ends, No One Got Laid, Awesome Games Got Made

John Constantine — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Way back in April of aught-eight, our favorite internet savages at Eegra got it in their heads to host an indie games competition. Known worldwide as the First Annual Game Makin’ Shindig, they called for strapping minds to create games based around the central theme of “colour” (the u comes from some kind of Australian brain disease I’m not familiar with.) Now, as July comes to a close, the Shindig has come to a close and, while no one involved apparently got laid, nine games have been created, all of them damn interesting. The top prize winners ColourWise, Colourblind (tied for third), the Eegra-ly titled Spectrum Spelunker: Shoot Blocks to Win the Game, Also Jump and Run: Starring Hue, and top-dog Go Beryllium are all deserving champions, excellent games made even more excellent by their abundant freeness.

Second Place: Spectrum Spelunker

First Place: Go Beryllium

Make sure to check out the runners-up, particularly Space Safari and Tinte if for no other reason than they look awesome.

61 Frames Per Second salutes our brethren across the Pacific for promoting independent games creation.

Sidenote: The Ten Orangest Game Characters of All Time, eh? We know when we’re being laughed at!

Sidenote Two: The only runners-up I actually played were Space Safari and Tinte. Mostly because they looked awesome.

Related links:

Webcomic Watch: Eegra
Indie Dev Moment: Scarygirl

Bringing Sexy Back: Street Fighter Dress-Up Party!

John Constantine — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Yes, this slinky black number that can be unlocked for Chun Li in the imminent and fine looking Street Fighter 4 is an ample slice of cheesecake. It is not, in itself, bringing sexy back in any way, shape, or form. Cheesecake, as our good friend Patrick Alexander over at Eegra so deftly illustrated, is nothing new in fighting games. Nor are alternate costumes for the exaggerated characters that populate them. What is bringing sexy back is the thought that, ultimately, we’re going to be able to play dress-up with our Street Fighter characters as new content is released in both arcade iterations and home versions of the game. Here’s my thinking: that slinky black dress on Blanka. That will strike fear into all opponents!

Many thanks to Siliconera for the fantasy.

Click here for more Bringing Sexy Back.

Related links:

Webcomic Watch: Eegra
For Love of the Game: Street Fighter One
Street Fighter HD Update – Hitbox-O-Rama
Street Fighter HD Makes Me Freak Out

Webcomic Watch: Eegra

Peter Smith — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Videogame-themed webcomics are a mixed (and dizzyingly numerous) bunch; for every powerhouse like Penny Arcade, there're a few hundred semi-comedic fan-fictions stapled together from sprite sheets and MS Paint doodles. It's always a relief to find something with some genuine craft put into it. The relatively new Eegra's got craft in spades — artist Patrick Alexander deploys an impressive range of visual styles — but it's also got a glorious mix of old-timey wordplay and visual grotesquerie. Just behold the character model Alexander speculates will appear in Soul Calibur VII. It's one thing to make the obvious point that Soul Calibur is more about T&A than gameplay these days; it's another entirely to render that obvious point as some kind of monstrous T&A slug. Eegra is one to watch, and if it occasionally lapses into familiar "cloyingly beloved children's character is actually a murderous psychopath" gags, it usually does so with so much visual and verbal wit that it's hard to complain. Anyone who can render Pac-Man as a Victorian dandy who finds his meal of dots "ripe as a deb and juicy as the ensuing gossip" has made it into my Firefox bookmarks for life.