What games to load onto your new smartphone or tablet · 10 January, 11:27 AM
As a public service of sorts, I rounded-up the latest Android and iOS games that people should consider loading onto the devices they got for Christmas. Among them, my current favourites Infinity Blade II, Jetpack Joyride, and Where’s My Water. The full list ran in the Georgia Straight.
Glitch gets Katamari creator, then unlaunches · 10 January, 11:24 AM
In the latest edition of the Georgia Straight I write about why “Glitch”, the clever, social MMO being developed in Vancouver, had a “big unlaunching”.
This was just a few months after Keita Takahashi, the creative creator of Katamari Damacy, joined Tiny Speck’s dev team.
Bastion, Portal 2, Skyrim among multiple finalists for Game Developers Choice Awards · 5 January, 11:14 AM
An action brawler, a platform puzzler, and a fantasy role-playing game each received five nominations for the 12th annual Game Developers Choice Awards.
Bethesda Game Studios’ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Valve’s Portal 2 are joined by Eidos Montreal’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, FromSoftware’s Dark Souls, and Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham City in the category of game of the year.
Supergiant Games, the creator of Bastion, is one of five studios being recognized for best debut. BioWare Austin, Eidos Montreal, Re-Logic, and the now-defunct Team Bondi are the others.
The Choice awards are notable because they come from peers. Winners are chosen by a group of 500 people working in the video-game industry who are invited to the jury.
They will be handed out in a San Francisco event on March 7 during the Game Developers Conference.
The full list of finalists for the 12th annual Game Developers Choice Awards:
Best Game Design
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios)
Dark Souls (FromSoftware)
Innovation
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (Toys For Bob)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
Johann Sebastian Joust (Die Gute Fabrik)
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi)
Best Technology
Battlefield 3 (DICE)
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi)
Crysis 2 (Crytek Frankfurt/UK)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Naughty Dog)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game
Tiny Tower (NimbleBit)
Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo)
Jetpack Joyride (Halfbrick)
Infinity Blade II (Chair Entertainment)
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (Capy Games/Superbrothers)
Best Audio
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
LittleBigPlanet 2 (Media Molecule)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
Dead Space 2 (Visceral Games)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Best Downloadable Game
Stacking (Double Fine)
From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier)
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
Outland (Housemarque)
Frozen Synapse (Mode 7)
Best Narrative
Portal 2 (Valve)
The Witcher 2 (CD Projekt RED)
Bastion (Supergiant Games)
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Naughty Dog)
Saints Row: The Third (Volition)
Best Debut
Supergiant Games (Bastion)
Team Bondi (L.A. Noire)
Re-Logic (Terraria)
BioWare Austin (Star Wars: The Old Republic)
Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)
Best Visual Arts
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Naughty Dog)
Rayman Origins (Ubisoft Montpellier)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (Ignition Japan)
Battlefield 3 (DICE)
Game of the Year
Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios)
Portal 2 (Valve)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Eidos Montreal)
Dark Souls (FromSoftware)
_cross-posted at the Georgia Straight
Star Wars: The Old Republic lives up to its cinematic predecessors · 20 December, 09:54 AM
As BioWare, EA, and Lucasarts release Star Wars: The Old Republic to the masses today, here’s my interview with Greg Zeschuk about the development of the MMO and a capsule look at the game itself.
It’s something special. Whether it can convert enough players into long-term subscribers remains to be seen, but given BioWare’s track record, I’m not betting against them.
It’s certainly worth trying out.
Talking about the worlds created in film and games · 13 December, 09:46 AM
At the end of October, I was privileged to moderate a panel discussion as part of Merging Media 2011, a conference exploring transmedia productions and opportunities.
I was joined by a group of knowledgable and talented creators from the entertainment industry:
- Caitlin Burns, a transmedia producer for New York-based Starlight Runner
- Scott Jones, writer and presenter on Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run
- John Meadows, writer on two Ubisoft games (Avatar, Lost: Via Domus
- Adam Sigel, a writer and producer working on John Woo’s The Red Book
- Armando Troisi, narrative director for the Halo franchise for Microsoft
- Ian Verchere, a cofounder of Roadhouse Interactive and the creative designer for Family Guy Online
They all had experience in both worlds – film/television and video games – and our conversation was, I think, interesting, and we touched on a number of issues that come up when films become games, and vice versa.
The panel was recorded, and is now available for viewing on YouTube. I’ve embedded the player here for your convenience.
Tech gift guides · 2 December, 01:31 PM
Again this year I was a contributor to the Globe & Mail’s technology gift guide.
Trigger Happy's holiday gift guide for gamers 2011 · 2 December, 01:24 PM
This week’s Georgia Straight is the annual gift guide, and included in there are my suggestions for the video games you should be getting for the gamer on your list.
Reviews: Lego Harry Potter, Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Modern Warfare 3 · 2 December, 01:15 PM
A bunch of other reviews have appeared in the past couple of weeks, too.
I look at Lego Harry Potter: Years 5–7 in the Globe & Mail.
The two latest Mario games – Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 – get compared in the Straight.
And in Fast Forward I review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Reviews: Revelations, Modern Warfare 3, Skyward Sword, Kinect Sports, Motionsport Adrenaline, The Last Specter · 2 December, 01:00 PM
My reviews of three big games published in the Straight last week: Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
Also last week, I compared Kinect Sports: Season Two and Motionsports Adrenaline.
And finally, a standalone review of Professor Layton and the Last Specter.
Reviews: Skyrim, Sesame Street, Forza 4, The Gunstringer, Sideway · 17 November, 04:18 PM
In last week’s Straight were my reviews of some key fall video games, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, Forza Motorsport 4, The Gunstringer, and Sideway: New York.
