Someone who works for Arkedo Studio, the folks responsible for Big Bang Mini on the DS and the Arkedo Series on XBLA, let it slip a few days ago (on NeoGAF) that the Parisian developer recently killed a rather promising-looking--in my opinion, at least--Natal project.
The name of said project: 2-Finger Heroes.
According to the Arkedo staffer (supposedly Arkedo Studio CEO Camille Guermonprez), the game was set to be a side-scrolling "beat 'em up" with a twist: Players would use their fingers to control their on-screen counterparts' legs.
As for the game's story: Guermonprez said it would be "a silly tale of friendly invaders who did not have enough time to scan the entire human body! So they are left on Earth as merely fingers (yup, scan was 3 percent complete), but with the WILL TO LIVE AND FIGHT THEIR NEMESIS, THE GIANT FOOT FROM OUTERSPACE!"
Why was it killed? "One of the designs flaws of this, apart from the fact that it demanded some very precise pattern recognition from the Natal system, is that it would have been HELL to localize," Guermonprez explained. "Yup, what can be understood as the victory sign in France, could be a terrible insult in the UK, for instance. And we are not even talking about Italian. Oh, the possibilities..."
For more mockups of 2-Finger Heroes, check out this NeoGAF post--and then shed a tear (or two) for what could've been a very cool game.
Did you know that none of the WiiWare games Nintendo has published were developed in house? Well, it's true.
The amazing Art Style titles, for instance, were developed by Skip Ltd., while Dr. Mario Online Rx was developed by Arika. Even the Pokemon WiiWare titles were "outsourced"--with Ambrella handling My Pokemon Ranch and Pokemon Rumble and Chunsoft handling the as-yet-unreleased-outside-of-Japan Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games.
Second parties aren't the only ones picking up Nintendo's slack--third parties like Capcom, Frontier, Gaijin Games, Hudson Soft, Konami and Square-Enix have helped make WiiWare the distinguished download service it is today.
That trend looks to continue in 2010, thanks in large part to the following third-party titles:
1. And Yet It Moves (Broken Rules)--Now this is a platformer with panache. For starters, there are the game's superficial aspects: The protagonist has been drawn with pencil and the worlds he progresses through look like they're made of ripped and crumpled paper. And then there's the gameplay, which allows the player to spin the world in 90 degree increments in order to solve puzzles.
2. Bit.Trip Runner (Gaijin Games)--I only recently tried the first Bit.Trip title, Bit.Trip Beat, thanks to the free demo available on the Wii Shop Channel. Truth be told, I'm not (yet) very good at it, but it doesn't really matter because I have a blast even while I'm getting my butt kicked. I'm hoping Bit.Trip Runner, which Gaijin Games is calling a "rhythm platformer," is a little less hellacious, but who am I kidding? I'll buy it regardless.
3. Heartbeat (Capybara Games)--I know next to nothing about this game, but I want it anyway. What I do know: It's being made by Capybara Games, the company responsible for a pair of critically lauded titles you may have heard of: Critter Crunch and Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes. As far as I can tell, Heartbeat is a bit more abstract (OK, a lot more abstract) than Capybara's previous products. In fact, it looks more than a little like Nintendo's esoteric Electroplankton. If Heartbeat contains even a smidge of that cult classic's sublimity, it'll be well worth whatever it ends up costing.
4. Max & The Magic Marker (Press Play)--I've been salivating over this game since it was unveiled early last year. The only way I can describe it is to say that it's like a wicked mashup of Kirby Canvas Curse and Crayon Physics. Who wouldn't want to play a game like that? What seals the deal (for me, at least) is that it oozes cuteness and charm. Yep, it's my kind of game all right. Thankfully, it seems I'll be able to buy it soon enough, as it was just released in Europe. (Here's a trailer for the title, in case you've never seen it in action.)
5. NightSky (Nicalis)--Before I say anything about NightSky, I have to mention that I'm also awaiting (eagerly) the release of two other Nicalis games: Cave Story and La-Mulana. That said, I'm awaiting the release of the moody NightSky with even more eagerness. I can't even say why, really, as once again I don't know much about the title--other than it's a pensive, physics-based platformer. Assuming the finished product expands on the premise on display in this early trailer, I'm sure it'll be worth picking up.
6. Zombie Panic in Wonderland (Akaoni Studio)--Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of shooters. At all. So why am I excited about the release of this one? I know this is going to sound crazy, but I love the fact that at least one of the game's environments is filled with what looks to be cherry blossom trees. Also, the main character wears a pink scarf while wielding a machine gun. And then there are the zombies--which are an incongruous combination of creepy and cute. Yeah, I think this might be the first shooter to earn a spot in my heart (and on my virtual game shelf).
Engadget.com recently reported that Amazon will soon roll out a "Kindle Development Kit" that will allow folks to create "active content" for the popular e-reader.
Although Amazon doesn't specify in its announcement what "active content" means, it more than likely means games. Heck, the image accompanying the announcement (below) shows a Sudoku-sporting Kindle.
It would be great if a few text adventures--or even graphic adventures--appear alongside all of the Brain Age-esque, solitaire and Sodoku games that are sure to swarm the Kindle Store when the service launches later this year.
You know what I find funny? The headline above (stolen from this NeoGAF thread) could have introduced my last few posts, too.
It works best for this one, though, as it has to do with Sony's forthcoming PlayStation Network reality show, "The Tester."
What's up with the "do not want" attitude, you ask? Well, the point of the show is to watch 11 people (ranging in age from 22 to 36) compete to win "a gamer’s ultimate dream job--an official PlayStation game tester." (More information about the show can be found here.)
Now, I've never been a game tester, but everything I've ever read about the experience suggests it's rather repetitive and doesn't pay all that well. Also, aren't most developers desperate for testers--and, as a result, willing to take on anyone with a pulse?
If any of the above is true, doesn't that mean that viewers of "The Tester" will be watching people compete for jobs they could have obtained if they'd just picked up the Yellow Pages and called someone at Sony Computer Entertainment America?
It all seems like a waste of time to me, but who am I to judge?
I wish I could say I was surprised when I read that Square-Enix will soon release iPhone/iPod Touch ports of the first two games in the Final Fantasy series.
My actual reaction: "Huh. I thought they'd already been released on every possible platform?"
Anyway, in case you've never played the NES, MSX2, Wonderswan Color, GameBoy Advance, PlayStation, PSP or mobile phone versions of these games, you'll be able to do so soon if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch (and if you live in Japan, at least for the time being).
Yep, I'm gay. And I like video games. Old Japanese games and systems are my favorites--the Famicom, PC Engine, original PlayStation and GameBoy, especially--but I like plenty of newer ones, too. If you have similar interests and you don't mind perusing a blog that's got the word gay in its name and is practically slathered in pink, you'll probably enjoy your time here. I'm also on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, by the way. Oh, and my Switch Friend Code = SW-5852-5514-6897.
