Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Episode 18 - Power Rangers Meets Final Fantasy Meets Dragons
This episode Marc and JJ talk about what it really means to be a villain in video games, as well as going over their top 5 open world/sandbox games!
http://archive.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Episode 17 - Our Top 5 Games of 2013
This week we go over our top 5 games from 2013, and knock out a quick
review of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for the Nintendo
3DS!
http://archive.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Episode 16 - Our Top 5 Plot Twists We Didn't See Coming
Spoilers!....Well not really. In this episode we take you "To the Moon", and then back down to Earth to recruit the 108 Stars of Destiny in the first game in the "Suikoden" series. We also talk about our top 5 plot twists that we didn't see coming!
http://archive.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Episode 15 - Our Top 5 Underrated Video Game Characters
Reviews, reviews, and more reviews! We take a look at a couple of indie
games that you may not have heard of, as well as the first game in the
Amnesia series, and Dead Island! Marc and JJ also stage an intervention
for one of Brian's video game habits!
http://archive.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Spotlight: Long Night Q&A with Trickster Face
We had a chance to talk to developer Trickster Face last week about their Kickstarter Survival Horror Game, Long Night. A demo of their upcoming game is available on their website: http://www.trickster-face.com/
TFN: How would you describe Long Night to someone who knows nothing about it?
Trickster Face: Long Night is a third person survival horror about intimate fears coming from family drama. The characters are a bunch of teenagers in an American holyday camp in the 90’s. The player will have to understand the meaning of the fears to face them and use his intelligence and instinct to survive this supernatural night.
TFN: In your Kickstarter video you say, "Survival Horror is more than shooting hordes of monsters." Can you elaborate on how this thought has impacted your game design?
Trickster Face: With Long Night, we choose to remove the weapons from the game design and focus on reflection above destruction. The gameplay was design to answer directly to the scenario and vice versa. It means that all features (exploration, chase, riddles and bosses) make sense in the story. For example, you will not have out of context riddles (find the jewel to put it in the statue to find another item, to finally open a door, to progress). In Long Night, resolve a riddle will help you to understand the psychology of the character and find direct way to face the fears.
TFN: Are there any games, movies or other sources that have inspired and influenced Long Night?
Trickster Face: Of course Long Night was inspired by many sources, like “it” from Stephen King (and his work in general), the urban legends, Silent Hill 2 for the psychological aspect, Resident Evil 1 for its atmosphere. In the movies, we were inspired by classic horror like Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Friday the 13th… We want to build Long Night as a love declaration to the horror gender.
TFN: How do you feel the long-form storytelling of video-games enables you to explore fear in ways movies (which are typically shorter than three hours) cannot?
Trickster Face: Long Night use an approach closer to the TV shows. We take the video game time to dig into the characters back story. We want the player to feel intimate with those teenagers so they can relate to their own life, past and present.
TFN: Can you describe how player agency has been beneficial and also challenging in designing a Survival Horror game?
Trickster Face: During the development of Long Night we focus on the reward of the player’s implication. Meaning that more the player interact and explore, more knowledge and more horror events he will get. We build the scenario with several level of interpretation so, as a player, you can build your own Long Night experience. It gives to the game a replay value and above the possibility to discuss about your vision of the story with other players.
TFN: What has your experience been with the Kickstarter process and is there any advice you’d offer to aspiring game designers looking at the platform?
Trickster Face: Well, we can say about Kickstarter that it requires a lot of work of presentation and communication. It’s a really living platform, so it’s difficult to be noticed when you’re surrounded by so many ideas. Today, making a game became easier with the accessibility of development tools, but the consequences are that the press is submerge by interesting projects. So, our advice to any game designer looking at this platform, could be: “Don’t come with just an idea, but bring some concrete to your audience so they can understand your project better”.
TFN: Our podcast is known for doing Top 5 lists every week, Long Night promises to be a truly frightening Survival Horror game. What are your Top 5 Survival Horror games?
Trickster Face: Top Five horror games of Trickster Face
1 Resident Evil Rebirth
2 Silent Hill 2
3 Resident Evil Code Veronica
4 Project Zero 2
5 Alan Wake/Obscure
TFN: Thanks for taking time to talk to us! Is there anything else you’d like to say about Long Night?
Trickster Face: Thanks to you for giving us the opportunity to talk about our first born: Long Night.
Our ambition is to make a game very close to the player, because that’s what fear is about, intimacy…
This isn’t a game about psychosis and unbelievable stories. It’s a game about you, me and the truth inside us.
Check out the Long Night Kickstarter and consider donating over at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1102758921/long-night
TFN: How would you describe Long Night to someone who knows nothing about it?
Trickster Face: Long Night is a third person survival horror about intimate fears coming from family drama. The characters are a bunch of teenagers in an American holyday camp in the 90’s. The player will have to understand the meaning of the fears to face them and use his intelligence and instinct to survive this supernatural night.
TFN: In your Kickstarter video you say, "Survival Horror is more than shooting hordes of monsters." Can you elaborate on how this thought has impacted your game design?
Trickster Face: With Long Night, we choose to remove the weapons from the game design and focus on reflection above destruction. The gameplay was design to answer directly to the scenario and vice versa. It means that all features (exploration, chase, riddles and bosses) make sense in the story. For example, you will not have out of context riddles (find the jewel to put it in the statue to find another item, to finally open a door, to progress). In Long Night, resolve a riddle will help you to understand the psychology of the character and find direct way to face the fears.
TFN: Are there any games, movies or other sources that have inspired and influenced Long Night?
Trickster Face: Of course Long Night was inspired by many sources, like “it” from Stephen King (and his work in general), the urban legends, Silent Hill 2 for the psychological aspect, Resident Evil 1 for its atmosphere. In the movies, we were inspired by classic horror like Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Friday the 13th… We want to build Long Night as a love declaration to the horror gender.
TFN: How do you feel the long-form storytelling of video-games enables you to explore fear in ways movies (which are typically shorter than three hours) cannot?
Trickster Face: Long Night use an approach closer to the TV shows. We take the video game time to dig into the characters back story. We want the player to feel intimate with those teenagers so they can relate to their own life, past and present.
TFN: Can you describe how player agency has been beneficial and also challenging in designing a Survival Horror game?
Trickster Face: During the development of Long Night we focus on the reward of the player’s implication. Meaning that more the player interact and explore, more knowledge and more horror events he will get. We build the scenario with several level of interpretation so, as a player, you can build your own Long Night experience. It gives to the game a replay value and above the possibility to discuss about your vision of the story with other players.
TFN: What has your experience been with the Kickstarter process and is there any advice you’d offer to aspiring game designers looking at the platform?
Trickster Face: Well, we can say about Kickstarter that it requires a lot of work of presentation and communication. It’s a really living platform, so it’s difficult to be noticed when you’re surrounded by so many ideas. Today, making a game became easier with the accessibility of development tools, but the consequences are that the press is submerge by interesting projects. So, our advice to any game designer looking at this platform, could be: “Don’t come with just an idea, but bring some concrete to your audience so they can understand your project better”.
TFN: Our podcast is known for doing Top 5 lists every week, Long Night promises to be a truly frightening Survival Horror game. What are your Top 5 Survival Horror games?
Trickster Face: Top Five horror games of Trickster Face
1 Resident Evil Rebirth
2 Silent Hill 2
3 Resident Evil Code Veronica
4 Project Zero 2
5 Alan Wake/Obscure
TFN: Thanks for taking time to talk to us! Is there anything else you’d like to say about Long Night?
Trickster Face: Thanks to you for giving us the opportunity to talk about our first born: Long Night.
Our ambition is to make a game very close to the player, because that’s what fear is about, intimacy…
This isn’t a game about psychosis and unbelievable stories. It’s a game about you, me and the truth inside us.
Check out the Long Night Kickstarter and consider donating over at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1102758921/long-night
Monday, December 30, 2013
Episode 14 - Top 5 Things We're Looking Forward to in 2014
This week we take a look at the top 5 things we're looking forward to in 2014! We also have reviews on Bioshock and Final Fantasy 2, and talk about what it really means to be "Next Gen." We also have our first contest!
http://archive.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Spotlight on: Reset
Marc got a hold of Theory Interactive Ltd. last week to ask them a few questions about their upcoming First Person Mystery Puzzle game, Reset. While they are tight-lipped about the plot behind the game, they have a few videos out showcasing AAA visuals and challenging time-travel puzzles. If you are an Oculus Rift fan or just a fan of atmospheric puzzle games, head on over and consider donating!
TFN: How would you describe Reset to someone who doesn’t know anything about it?
Theory Interactive: Reset is a First Person Puzzle and Open World Mystery solving game with a strong emphasis on story and atmosphere. A Sci-fi Noir mystery. The main game mechanic in solving the puzzles is the ability to skip back in time to co-operate with your previous self or selves.
TFN: Games like Portal and Antichamber have helped expand the First Person Puzzle genre but it is still quite small and fresh compared to others. What was it that drew you to the genre? Have you encountered any unexpected challenges?
Theory Interactive: Portal was a real eye opener for me. It was a very pure game but at the same time it was the deepest game I've played story wise. It was a game that succeeded in playing me, a very powerful experience. I feel that games have great, mostly untapped potential in making players experiencing stories, rather than just telling them. It is this aspect that I find most intriguing. I think a game that concentrates more on mental challenges rather than just reaction challenges is more suited to engage the player in a deeper way over all. I don't know if we've encountered unexpected challenges, I'd say all challenges are more or less unexpected.
TFN: You have been very guarded about revealing the plot behind Reset, telling us only that it will take place on a fictional island in the Galápagos and involve time travel. We would normally ask a few questions regarding plot, instead, can you describe the philosophy behind your decision to keep it under wraps?
Theory Interactive: This is a decision based on our goal to get the player to experience the game more deeply. It's likely that you understand the decision once you've played the game through.
TFN: The sights and sounds of Reset are beautiful and build an amazing sci-fi noir atmosphere. Can you tell us some of the sources you’ve drawn inspiration from?
Theory Interactive: I guess all things sci-fi play a big role in the background, but mostly works that are a bit more enigmatic, challenging and not necessarily ending happily are more closer to Reset. We are kids who grew up in the 80's and 90's so a lot of inspiration simply comes from works that emerged in that era.
TFN: Your Indiegogo description mentions you both previously worked for Futuremark and that Reset runs on Praxis, an engine youve developed in-house. Given your tremendous technical experience, is there a feature youve built into Praxis that you dont see other studios focusing on?
Theory Interactive: Technical knowledge is one of our strong points and a of course an interest. Lighting has been one our main focuses from the beginning. Not creating hugely complex geometry but focusing on light reacting realistically on surfaces and in the atmosphere. We we're a bit head of times when we released the first trailer a year ago, but now you can see the bigger studios focusing the same way. It's a natural progress. When computational power is available it's more efficient to simulate rather than do everything by hand.
TFN: What has your experience been with the Indiegogo process and is there any advice you’d offer to aspiring game designers looking at the platform?
Theory Interactive: We'll this is a tough one. It's been a ride of emotions so far. And being such a tiny team has brought it's own challenges. For example I've had to take care of my kids for many days during the campaign when they we're ill (nothing serious, normal flus and vomit diseases), and we weren't prepared for that. Since the campaign is only for a certain time, being away from the project at that time means that we can't drive it forward. We should have been more prepared for the whole length of the campaign before we even started. This isn't really a platform specific advice, but planning the whole thing through properly, at least the major updates (which should be frequent enough) will go a long way. And of course having a big enough community around the project is essential especially for the start. I can't really compare to other platforms since I have no first hand experience. Indiegogo was our choice, because it's basically the best way to go from where we are. Kickstarter is unavailable from Finland directly, and it would have been too big a task for us to set up a business representation in the US or UK just to get the campaign going.
TFN: Our podcast is known for doing Top 5 lists every week, your game promises to feature challenging, mind-bending time-travel puzzles. What are your Top 5 mind-bending games?
Theory Interactive: I think the aforementioned Portal and Antichamber hold the first two places. I enjoyed The Misadventures of P.B.Winterbottom quite alot, and it's kind of a 2d sibling to Reset. Oldie but goldie Day of the Tentacle is awesome of course. The upcoming Parallax seems very intriguing, looking forward to that.
TFN: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us! Is there anything else you’d like to communicate about Reset?
Theory Interactive: Thanks for the great questions. Although fallen behind, the Indiegogo campaign is not over yet, so now is the perfect time to purchase a Christmas present for yourself or a friend for... Christmas 2014!
Check out Theory Interactive Ltd.’s First Person Mystery Puzzle game, Reset, over at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/reset--4
TFN: How would you describe Reset to someone who doesn’t know anything about it?
Theory Interactive: Reset is a First Person Puzzle and Open World Mystery solving game with a strong emphasis on story and atmosphere. A Sci-fi Noir mystery. The main game mechanic in solving the puzzles is the ability to skip back in time to co-operate with your previous self or selves.
TFN: Games like Portal and Antichamber have helped expand the First Person Puzzle genre but it is still quite small and fresh compared to others. What was it that drew you to the genre? Have you encountered any unexpected challenges?
Theory Interactive: Portal was a real eye opener for me. It was a very pure game but at the same time it was the deepest game I've played story wise. It was a game that succeeded in playing me, a very powerful experience. I feel that games have great, mostly untapped potential in making players experiencing stories, rather than just telling them. It is this aspect that I find most intriguing. I think a game that concentrates more on mental challenges rather than just reaction challenges is more suited to engage the player in a deeper way over all. I don't know if we've encountered unexpected challenges, I'd say all challenges are more or less unexpected.
TFN: You have been very guarded about revealing the plot behind Reset, telling us only that it will take place on a fictional island in the Galápagos and involve time travel. We would normally ask a few questions regarding plot, instead, can you describe the philosophy behind your decision to keep it under wraps?
Theory Interactive: This is a decision based on our goal to get the player to experience the game more deeply. It's likely that you understand the decision once you've played the game through.
TFN: The sights and sounds of Reset are beautiful and build an amazing sci-fi noir atmosphere. Can you tell us some of the sources you’ve drawn inspiration from?
Theory Interactive: I guess all things sci-fi play a big role in the background, but mostly works that are a bit more enigmatic, challenging and not necessarily ending happily are more closer to Reset. We are kids who grew up in the 80's and 90's so a lot of inspiration simply comes from works that emerged in that era.
TFN: Your Indiegogo description mentions you both previously worked for Futuremark and that Reset runs on Praxis, an engine youve developed in-house. Given your tremendous technical experience, is there a feature youve built into Praxis that you dont see other studios focusing on?
Theory Interactive: Technical knowledge is one of our strong points and a of course an interest. Lighting has been one our main focuses from the beginning. Not creating hugely complex geometry but focusing on light reacting realistically on surfaces and in the atmosphere. We we're a bit head of times when we released the first trailer a year ago, but now you can see the bigger studios focusing the same way. It's a natural progress. When computational power is available it's more efficient to simulate rather than do everything by hand.
TFN: What has your experience been with the Indiegogo process and is there any advice you’d offer to aspiring game designers looking at the platform?
Theory Interactive: We'll this is a tough one. It's been a ride of emotions so far. And being such a tiny team has brought it's own challenges. For example I've had to take care of my kids for many days during the campaign when they we're ill (nothing serious, normal flus and vomit diseases), and we weren't prepared for that. Since the campaign is only for a certain time, being away from the project at that time means that we can't drive it forward. We should have been more prepared for the whole length of the campaign before we even started. This isn't really a platform specific advice, but planning the whole thing through properly, at least the major updates (which should be frequent enough) will go a long way. And of course having a big enough community around the project is essential especially for the start. I can't really compare to other platforms since I have no first hand experience. Indiegogo was our choice, because it's basically the best way to go from where we are. Kickstarter is unavailable from Finland directly, and it would have been too big a task for us to set up a business representation in the US or UK just to get the campaign going.
TFN: Our podcast is known for doing Top 5 lists every week, your game promises to feature challenging, mind-bending time-travel puzzles. What are your Top 5 mind-bending games?
Theory Interactive: I think the aforementioned Portal and Antichamber hold the first two places. I enjoyed The Misadventures of P.B.Winterbottom quite alot, and it's kind of a 2d sibling to Reset. Oldie but goldie Day of the Tentacle is awesome of course. The upcoming Parallax seems very intriguing, looking forward to that.
TFN: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us! Is there anything else you’d like to communicate about Reset?
Theory Interactive: Thanks for the great questions. Although fallen behind, the Indiegogo campaign is not over yet, so now is the perfect time to purchase a Christmas present for yourself or a friend for... Christmas 2014!
Check out Theory Interactive Ltd.’s First Person Mystery Puzzle game, Reset, over at http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/reset--4
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