The Mad Peacock

You got to see this!!! World of Goo Trailer 2

I have never considered myself a indie gamer before.
The last few weeks however I have been playing indie games more and World Of Goo looks like another stunner, looking forward to playing it on my Mac!. I am impressed by the passion and gameplay creativity that 2Dboy’s 2 man team is bringing to this project and I think original and creative game mechanics is what is drawing me into the casual and independent space. There is definitely more gameplay creativity going on in games with budgets below $1M than there is in the AAA $15M+ space.. sad..

I have been working on pricing for upcoming versions of Gamebryo and games like WOG have got me thinking.. “Should I be making Gamebryo available to these independent teams?” How could I make it financially attractive to them and viable for Emergent?

So I have this new PS3 and a new HD TV and I am eager to purchase content.. so why am I ok paying $160 for 6 Blu-Ray films I already have on DVD but I cant bring myself to purchase a game?

It comes down to character and value for money. I have watched Alien Resurrection many many times.. I like Ripley, I have watched her grow from a freighter crew member in Alien; weak, frightened, with little fight in her to an alien/badass hybrid who kills aliens for fun! The other characters in the film are fun too. I particularly like Ron Perlman’s character Johner. I enjoy watching this film, I like these characters, they make me feel good… its like visiting with friends.

For the price of a DVD ($13) I have 20+ hours of entertainment, cost per hour is 65c and falling. Even when I reinvest in the movie in Blu-Ray ($35) the cost per hour is still going to be just $2.50 an hour and falling each time I watch it.

A game on the other hand.. $55 for an average PS3 game I will only play for max 10 hours before getting bored, and never play again.. thats a cost per hour of $5.50 and it will not fall any lower over time.

So why don’t I play all the way through and why don’t I replay games? To analyze this I considered the 2 games I do play time and time again and tried to analyze why.

Age Of Empires - I have purchased this game many times, for PC, then for Mac, then for PC again (lost the original) and I purchase all the expansion packs.. I like this game because every time I play it is different. The levels are generated at load time so no 2 game experiences are the same. Compare this to Half Life (a game I really enjoyed playing once) a second playing would have me going down the same path with the same puzzles and the same monsters to kill.. boring.

Fable - I have played Fable many times, each time with a focus on a different mix of skills (magic, archery or swordplay) and that changes the game. Also (and I think this is key) Lionhead invested in character development. I played the character as a boy, I watched him and his family grow up, get torn apart and helped them reunite. I know why the enemies are why they are, the complexities of their characters are woven into the story. I like the world of Fable, I know its history, I know its people.

F.E.A.R - This is an example of many games, I know nothing about my character of the others in my unit, don’t know why I am here, I am not invested, any of them could die and I would not care. My path through the levels is very linear (many doors blocked by fallen cabinets of some type or the unimaginative security shutdown.. and the skills I have are available from the first moment and don’t appear to evolve. The levels are long and tedious with the same enemies spawning in the same place every time. Fun for a few hours of fragging but I regret purchasing it, after 5 hours I am bored and have put it aside. cost per hour $11, thats expensive, anyone want to buy it?

Nvidia have released “The Cg Tutorial” book for free online, its been out for some time but I am told it is a reasonable introduction so I will be giving it a go…
The Cg Tutorial - Chapter 1. Introduction

As you can see from the links below Bottlerocket is pulling back the curtains on Splatterhouse. Its on Gamebryo so I have had the pleasure of watching it grow and evolve, I know where they are taking it and WOW… without revealing anything I can say that the team is taking this IP and pushing it to the max!

LOVE IT ALREADY!

Read more about it and see more screen shots on the following links…

The new Splatterhouse - The MagicBox Forums
Jamess 1UP Blog: Splatterhouse is back, celebrate its 20th anniversary with us

Over on Pitchfork they have compiled a list of the 20 worst album covers of 2007

When I was a teenager I would draw new album covers for my favorite LP’s. AC/DC, IronMaiden or The Meteors. I wish I could find my album covers but I am very pleased I cant find the photos of me at the time..

Today album art is only viewed in iTunes and as this list shows some bands appear to have completely given up on the challenge of creating (or commissioning) great art to go with an album.

Looking back these were some of my favorites

What is your favorite album cover of all time?