Upcoming
God of Warinstallmentoriginal game Asura’s Wrath combines exotic Asian mythologies with over-the-top gameplay in an attempt to cash in on what I’ve come to refer to as “epicness pornography”. Will the game industry ever escape this downward spiral of bombastic bullshit? Apparently not.
I’ve become a fan of Clay Shirky in the last few months, so I wanted to share a presentation of his on SOPA and PIPA. I know that the bills have been squashed, but the way he makes his argument, together with his conclusion, speak to the future of this problem more than the present. You can check it out after the jump…
It’s just the first draft, but I’m quite proud of it. With a few changes it would be good enough to publish as an article here, but I’ve also got the video to go with it, so now it’s just a matter of editing the script, recording myself, collecting more video, and editing it all together. I plan to do artwork to use in the video, so there’s that, too.
Most of you probably have a Google+ account but don’t do anything with it. Well, now you do: swing by our new G+ page and tell me…
- Your favorite article on this site
- What you think about the future of the Internet and law enforcement
- Whether Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was a good move
Do that, and we’ll be half way to creating a sense of community. Not that I want a community that much, but hey, maybe you do? Personally I enjoy the fact that you can simply upload a video. Maybe that’s where I’ll upload my MGS2 review video when it’s done.
You can follow us on Twitter or blurt something out @meta_gear. Social media stuff is often a lot more fluff than substance, with people echoing each other and never saying something new, so I don’t really fit in there, but at least I won’t be clogging up your feeds with nonsense right? Oh, actually, I haven’t said this in a long time, but if you guys have some guest articles or content you want me to feature, let me know. My email is metagearsolid@gmail.com.
And yeah, I could make custom domain email addresses and not have to use Gmail, but I like it better, so there. Technology.
So today’s the big internet protest day. You probably notice a bunch of places shutting down out of protest, kind of like, “Hey, imagine what the internet would be like if we had this shitty legislation.” It would suck, no doubt about it.
1up.com‘s Bob Mackey has written a hilarious parody article on “cancelled games you never knew about” — including one by perpetually creatively-restricted Hideo Kojima:
Hideo Kojima hasn’t exactly made a secret of his reluctance to stay onboard the Metal Gear Solid series; every time another sequel rolls around, it’s announced as his last — until Hideo quickly remembers the mafia-esque nature of the Japanese gaming industry means the only way out of Konami is in a body bag. Hell, if Kojima’s employers ever wanted to wreck their aging wunderkind, they’d simply have to mail an box containing his body of work to John Carpenter, James Cameron, and Ridley Scott, causing an avalanche of lawsuits to bury the famed developer until his inevitable death-faking and subsequent identity changing surgery.
Started and scrapped between the development cycles of Metal Gear Solids 2, 3, 4, and Peace Walker, Escape from Minako promised a less-stealthy take on Kojima’s standard style. The game put players in control of a humble robot manufacturer imprisoned at the evil Minako Corporation, forced to build a line of increasing complex and time-consuming behemoths against his will; throughout EFM’s ten stages, said protagonist would slay floors of cyborg executives, finally escaping at the end for a tearful reunion with his family and the concept known by many as “leisure.” When exposed to Kojima’s presentation for the game, Konami’s higher-ups couldn’t help but notice the strong allegory between Escape from Minako and Kojima’s actual working life. To counter such claims, the famed developer simply presented a picture showing the stacks of cash this new IP would bring in. The brass at Konami responded in turn with a 1:10-scale diorama depicting the money a new Metal Gear game would generate, complete with a model train that, when fully built, would carry an entire board of directors through tunnels upon tunnels of currency. A lesson for you would-be developers: when working on a pitch, never neglect the size of your money shot.
Well done, Mackey.
The gaming world is abuzz with this news, so you should know this by now. But for those who still don’t, it’s time to pay attention: a true strategic revival of the X-COM franchise is being made. Game Informer has the exclusive stuff.
Please watch the video on this page. It’s an interview with the actual designers, gushing over what they love about the original, and how dedicated they are to staying true to it. Not only do they force unfamiliar employees to become familiar with the game and appreciate it, but they are comprised of many former Microprose employees — meaning they’ve got the DNA of the original staff.
Base construction goes from a top-down layout to a subterranean sub-basement style
Interesting lighting schemes combined with bulky and distinct character profiles makes the whole screen look inviting and understandable
A beautiful globe promises the ability to strategically build bases and manage resources, ordering supplies and doing research to gain an advantage
For as cynical as I am, this game is making me hyped in ways I haven’t been in a long, long time. And actually, I’ve got a good feeling about this one too, although, there’s not much to say about it yet.
