Saturday Supplimental - New: What, Do You Own the World?

Why the Super Mario Movie Sucked
The title of this article may be dead wrong, but the content is good. This is an excerpt from the new book Generation Xbox: How Video Games Invaded Hollywood, which I think I need to read.

How Hollywood Managed To Not Screw Up Mortal Kombat, The Movie
More from Generation Xbox, this time with an accurate headline.

The Origins of Night Trap: An Excerpt from Generation Xbox
Maybe I don't need to find the book. It looks like half the stories are already online for free.

The Development of A Link to the Past
A 1991 Japanese interview with Miyamoto that makes me appreciate the third Zelda even more. I especially like when talks his attitude toward working overtime and getting enough sleep every night.

This Girl’s RPG Is No Cinderella Story
Level-5 made a game where you work at a hostess club (sort of like Hooters, but sadder and creepier, for those of you who aren't up on your Japanese culture). It's aimed at little girls. And you can date Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon. What, what, what?

This Season, Women’s Fashion is Inspired by…Video Games
These clothes are pretty much just clothes. Not, like, T-shirts with Koopa Troopas printed on them, or skimpy Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball cosplay nonsense, but clothes I can imagine real, not-nerdy, fashionable women wearing. When you think about the amount of effort put into iconic colour coordination in video game character design, the short leap to fashion makes perfect sense.

Nerd Room
An unscripted tour of the Angry Video Game Nerd's basement. Not much happens in this video, but I was happy to spend some time geeking out over his most impressive collection. Dude even owns a few game systems I've never seen anywhere else before.

Thank Christ: Xbox Live to feature even more advertising!
Yuck. I remember when Xbox 360 was first starting to find its legs, IGN ran multiple (sincere) articles about how Wii was a failure because you don't see enough ads in the system interface, so I guess some is happy about this news, but I say yuck.

Japan’s Social Game Publishers Limit Teens’ Spending
This is a small step, but I always applaud companies being responsible and holding themselves accountable.

Warren Spector "scared" about cost of next generation consoles
That is, the cost of developing games for next generation consoles. Sheesh. You and me, both, Warren.

Why Xenoblade Chronicles HAD to look like shit
Tying in nicely to the Warren Spector article above, here are more points in favour of "weak" hardware over bleeding-edge graphical technology.

 How do you own disorder?

'Til Sunbeams Find You

Guess who's turning twenty?

Kirby's Dream Land - First You Draw a Circle

We're reaching a point where many of today's most beloved video game characters are now several decades old. but few have managed to pack those years with as much variety as Kirby. Yes, Mario's taught typing, Pac-Man got shot with a sling-shot, and Sonic made out with a human, but Kirby's managed to extend beyond his comfort zone without embarrassing results. Kirby's Avalanche and Kirby's Star Stacker may not have been particularly inspired, but I can't think of a genuinely bad Kirby game.

Good on ya, little buddy. Here's to another twenty years.

Pac Watch

Three more Pac-Man wannabes for your consideration.

Pac-Man and His Clones - Part Two

I found an amazing YouTube series called "Let's Compare" while working on this one, in which people show footage from every different port they can find of old arcade games. I had to spend my younger years convincing myself that Atari 2600 Pac-Man and Donkey Kong really weren't that bad, even though I had played the real games in arcades. Looking at some of these comparisons, there's no denying it - home ports were mostly terrible, albeit in some fascinating ways.

You Can Do the Pac-Man

I've started a new two-parter about Pac-Man knock-offs, and I've managed to get through the entire first part without making any reference to that Buckner & Garcia song. Yay, self-restraint!

Pac-Man and His Clones

Take a seat, grab a bowl of Pac-Man Cereal, and get ready for more delicious derivatives on Thursday.

The New Crazy

Remember yesterday when I wrote about the need to cut back on my articles' length? Whoops.

I'm not saying I wouldn't go back and edit this down a bit if I had the time, but I do think there's a point here that's worth making. My rambling has a purpose.

Rayman, Globox, and Teensies On a Routine Expedition - The Land of the Livid Dead - Part Two

While researching this topic, I was reminded that The Land of the Livid Dead has actually appeared in the Rayman series before, in Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc. I forgot all about it, which isn't so surprising. I've forgotten almost everything about Rayman 3. It's one of only five games I've ever rented, and I beat it in a weekend. I had a blast with it, but even as I was playing, it seemed forgettable. A perfect rental, really.

Anyway, TLotLD is is better in Rayman Origins than it is in Rayman 3 because you don't have to listen to John Leguizamo.

What's a Sleestak?

I'm back with a new article, suckas.

Rayman, Globox, and Teensies On a Routine Expedition - The Land of the Livid Dead

Sorry for the unexpected disappearance last week. I'll leave it at "work was nuts." I know it's not a satisfying excuse, but something in my schedule had to give, and it ended up being this site.

The bigger issue is that I need to reevaluate my approach. I've gotten into the habit of believing that articles I create here aren't good enough for publication if I don't spend six hours researching, writing, and creating visuals. I wish I could spend twice that much time on this site every day, but I have, like, one reader, and I don't make any money off this. As much as it pains me, I can't justify putting that much energy into a hobby.

I kept telling myself that I would work overtime to write enough articles to make up for all the missing days last week, but it's not currently possible. Maybe one day I'll be able to fill every blank in the calendar, but the goal for now is to get back to daily updates. That might mean shorter, leaner pieces, or it might mean more sleepless nights. Probably a combination of the two.

All I know is that I have get ready for work in a few hours, and you can expect more Rayman Origins musings tomorrow. See you then,

Sunday Free Game - This is the Only Level

This is my favourite Flash game.

Play This is the Only Level

Gosh, I wish I'd come up with this idea. I'm so insanely jealous of designer/programmer jmtb02. What he/she lacks in a real name, he/she makes up for in brilliance.

I'm getting ahead of myself. I haven't said what this game is, or why you should care, and I'm going to keep it that way. This is the Only Level looks like a platformer, and it plays like a platformer, but it's not a platformer, and that's all I'm saying. The more you know before you play, the less you'll enjoy it.

Without saying anything about the content of the game, however, I do want to draw attention to the structure. As you play, notice how little happens when you die. The feedback you receive is perfectly minimalistic, yet perfectly communicative, and you're immediately returned to the game. There's a place in games, of course, for more elaborate death sequences, whether drawn-out animations or Mario's simple shrug-to-the-camera-and-jingle, but sometimes the best solution is an uninterrupted return to play. Even compared to Super Meat Boy, the delay between death and rebirth in This is the Only Level is miniscule. If you make a mistake, your progress is impeded, but you're not punished.

You must learn from your mistakes and prove your knowledge to succeed, and you are not discouraged from making mistakes. This is the secret to good teaching.

This is the Only Level is essentially a tutorial. This is a game that teaches the player skills, but, more importantly, this is a game that teaches the player to think and act according to its own internal logic. Most games (like most teachers) think that education must be solemn and straightforward. They lecture and they test. They demand perfection, with no room for trial and/or error.

This is utter nonsense.

Play the game, and pay attention to what you're being taught, as well as how you're being taught. Then feel jealous that you didn't think to make a game like this first.