Team Superfriends|Fighting the good fight

AFP - Horror film "The Final Destination" butchered the return of slasher-movie icon Michael Myers at the North American box office at the weekend, final figures showed Monday.

Rumors of Nintendo taking its Wii console to the next-gen level in the next few years have been flying around for a while now. And even though nothing official is known about the Wii HD, there are a few features that many are unsurprisingly predicting to see once the new Wii rolls around.

Last October, GameSpot cited predictions made by parental guidance group What They Play, which reported that the next Wii would feature HD graphics as well as “built-in high-storage capacity” in order to support Nintendo’s “greater emphasis on digitally distributed and backwardly compatible content.”

Well, it seems that this prognostication is looking more and more on the mark judging by comments made by Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter to IndustryGamers. When asked about the future of digital services, and what this will mean for game retailer GameStop, Pachter said, “The Wii Plus (HD) will likely have a hard-drive, and the Wii Channel will be the aggregator there.”

With more consumers willing and able to embrace digital gaming services, a hard-drive is an absolute no-brainer if Nintendo wants to catch up with the current generation with its next-generation Wii HD.

When do you think we’ll see an HD Wii?

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GameStop is well aware that digital distribution is the future of gaming. The company even appointed a general manager of digital media (after initially brushing off digital distribution). That said, two prominent analysts believe that things are gong to be difficult for America's largest gaming-specialty retailer. In a recent interview with Industrygamers, DFC Intelligence's David Cole said:

"GameStop's very existence will be perilous as digital distribution becomes more prevalent. Physical retailers have a mixed bag when it comes to moving to the online world. Further complicating matters is GameStop's dependence on the used game business which causes some conflict with the publishing community. It makes sense for GameStop to move into digital distribution, but the company's success in this area is far from guaranteed. It is a very different business from what they are used to and the competition will be intense."

Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter said:

"I think that they are too far behind digital services like Xbox Live. Over 70% of content sales happens on the consoles. If you have a 360, you don't need anaggregator , since Microsoft won't let you go to the Internet and download content anyway. This has been part of Microsoft's strategy from the beginning: THEY want to be theaggregator for their console, and Sony will follow suit with PSN. The Wii Plus (HD) will likely have a hard drive, and the Wii Channel will be the aggregator there."

To sum up, Cole said things will be challenging for GameStop, while Pachter said the retailer is pretty much screwed. Either way, there's still a lot of time for GameStop to transform itself. Even though smaller digital downloads are taking off, it will still be a long time before full-budget games are released via digital distribution. It's just too much bandwidth. How can you download a Blu-ray sized game when ISPs are capping, throttling, and/or shaping your bandwidth?

What do you think of GameStop's future? Does it have a place in a world where digital distribution is the norm? Will it be able to effectively adapt to a digital world? Do you see it being shut out of the software business, instead relying on console and accessory sales? Look into your crystal ball and let me know (please)!

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Big Fish Games (the creators of Mystery Case Files) is set to release a new point-n-click adventure later this week with Drawn: The Painted Tower. 

The new screenshots and trailers show of the dark and mysterious tale which should appease the hardcore among the genre. Players will look to enter a dangerous, painted tower (lead  was used perhaps?) as they search for a child queen who will one day rise to bring hope back to the land. Expect puzzles to be many and easy ones to be few.

Full developer-provided Q & A after the break.

 

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH ....

 

Brian Thomson, Art Director/Designer

Chris Campbell, Producer/Designer

 

Q: Drawn has a unique look and feel.  What was the inspiration behind it?

 

A: BT: I have always been inspired by mysterious and compelling imagery that has a darker dreamlike feel.  We really wanted to make the world of Drawn have an off-kilter and skewed feel to it, but still be a physical place you could relate to and be grounded in.  This world of stone and iron contrasts starkly with the painted world of Iris’s creations.  Her imagination is the thread of hope in the bleak world.  

A: CC: Well obviously Brian had some great ideas on how the world could look so his sketches were the biggest inspiration. He’s quick though so I learned to watch what I said. I would make a joke and *poof* there was a level. Another big inspiration for me was one night my wife and I watched the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Seeing Wonka’s factory looming over the gray urban landscape was pretty cool. Brian and I were kicking around a dozen ideas on where the game would take place at that point and that scene influenced the decision on why the game takes place in a tower. We wanted a confined location for dev time, but still magical and a giant tower seemed like it would work. The mechanics were inspired by every single adventure game that kept me up all night when I was young. Is this a good time to thank Roberta Williams for that?

 

Q: What makes Drawn stand out from other point-and-click adventure games?

 

A: BT: The player uses drawing and painting to feel a part of Iris’ world, to share with her the magic that makes her so special.  This union of the “real” and the drawn is what makes this game stand apart in my opinion.  Also, the puzzles in the game are a nice mix of complex and fun, while still feeling part of the world.  

A: CC: I agree – the whole drawing aspect is very different from a traditional point-and-click game. The painted worlds being part of the tower is also a nice departure. Having multiple worlds in an adventure game is almost expected, but having to repair paintings to enter them and then bring things out into the Tower world is different. I also like the fact that the higher we go in the tower, the more the rules are thrown out. We have some incredible looking environments that really do make Drawn stand out. Giant statues of Snails? Check. A room in the top of a stone Griffon’s mouth? Check.

 

 

Q: Drawn is more robust than a casual game; yet less time intensive than a hardcore game.  Does this game have cross-over appeal between both audiences?

 

A: BT: I really believe it does. This was a goal from the beginning.  It became a very interesting creative challenge to marry those two worlds by giving players a rare visual treat, while grounding them in something that is truly a point and click adventure game.  We never intended to have hidden object scenes and we pushed to keep the hint system dynamic and objective based.  On one hand we wanted to entice the casual player with something they may have never seen before while giving the hardcore audience a breath of fresh air in the form of an intriguing fantasy that can be played in a shorter amount of time for a fraction of the cost of their usual gaming fare.

CC: I think it has tremendous cross-over appeal. Adventure games for me have always been about that – an adventure. We want people to play Drawn and believe in the world that we created and want to see more. It has casual aspects like the hint system and objectives that new players might need to get started, but seasoned players can ignore those and forge ahead. I think it works great for both. To Brian’s point – it is nice to be able to play an adventure game and actually finish it as well which is something I’ve had difficulty doing as a working adult.

 

Q: How do you create the proper balance so that the game appeals to both hardcore gamers and casual players?  What are things you must include for each group?

 

A: BT: Honestly this balance was never something we laid out in a design document or plan of any sort.  Chris and I wanted to make a game we would like to play, we gathered together our combined inspirations, along with the teams’, and tumbled them around in each others’ brains with the faith that if we made something we loved, others might as well.  This turned out, in my opinion, to be the perfect chemistry.  

A: CC: Agreed. Drawn was a giant creative funnel. The team threw absolutely everything in the top and we kept refining it until the game was formed. As for balancing the game between casual and core – I think an adventure game naturally provides that bridge. We did some simple things with the game like the objective list and the nested hint system which were easy to use as a balancing dial. We do a lot of customer testing during development and getting to see someone play it was where we made notes on which objective were too abstract, or where we needed clear hints. That type of thing. Some objectives have 5 hints, some of them have 1. It depends on hard the puzzle is really. 

 

Q: Can we expect more games under the Drawn brand or more games from Big Fish with that cross-over appeal?

 

A: BT: With any luck, yes!  We intend to push further and cross more lines and walk further into this world we’ve created.  

A: CC: Absolutely. We’ve only explored one building in this entire town, and if you look out of the windows of the tower you can see how big this town is.

I've unfortunately not gotten to see it yet, but "The Baader Meinhof Complex" looks pretty great. Kurt Loder's endorsement is really all the prodding I need, and yet I've been assaulted on all sides by friends who have nothing but praise to shower on the movie. The based-on-truth story gives ...

Disney surprised a lot of tweeters this morning when the company announced its acquisition of Spider-Man and X-Men publishers Marvel Entertainment. Kevin Smith, Jeff Katz, Dax Shepard, and many others chimed in with thoughts on the purchase. Elsewhere, the tweets are still trickling in from those remembering DJ AM, including renowned ...

Xbox 360 releases this fall will be stuffed with plenty of unlockables and achievements, as well as in-game advertising, thanks to Massive Incorporated. "Guitar 5" and "DJ Hero," as well as "Band Hero" and "Tony Hawk: Ride," are just a few of the titles that the Microsoft-owned company has made ...

This fall, X-Play takes you to the biggest gaming events in the world, and brings you exclusive, inside previews and information about the most highly-anticipated game titles before their release. We’re covering BlizzCon, Halo: ODST, Pax 2009, Modern Warfare 2, Tokyo Game Show 2009 and much more.

Don't miss any of X-Play's fall specials.  It all gets started as X-Play presents Gamescom 2009, starting Tonight at 6:30PM. Catch a preview of Mass Effect 2, Castlevania, Star Wars: The Old Republic and a hands-on demo of Dirt 2.

And then, make sure you stay with us through the fall, as X-Play brings the world of gaming home to you. Here's the schedule.

• BlizzCon - September 4
• PAX 2009 - September 8 & 9
• Halo: ODST - September 10
• Brutal Legend - October 1
• Tokyo Game Show 2009 - October 6, 7 & 8

In the meantime, check out G4tv.com's Gamescom coverage here.

Regulators in the U.S. are considering consolidating different content rating systems we use into one, more comprehensive rating system. Play an "M" rated game, see an "R" movie and watch a TV-MA show on the television. Instead, TV, wireless telephone content and video games could all have the same rating system.

The FCC is considering the change to make it easier for parents and guardians to pick and choose what children see and listen too.

Broadcasters, along with trade groups for the video game industry, wireless providers including AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, and software makers such as Microsoft Corp., have voiced opposition to the plan. Basically, no industry wants the government to come in and start regulating. The ESA (video gaming's trade arm) takes issue with the idea that video games fall under the FCC watch at all.

Obviously, no industry is going to be in favor of the government regulating it, and it might not even be constitutional for the FCC to "step in," but what about the core idea behind the FCC's concern? Basically, the argument is that the rapidly changing media environment makes it very difficult to keep track of what content comes into your home.  Is learning 3, 4 or 5 different ratings system an unfair burden on parents trying to keep control over the images and music their children consume?

In a perfect world, the different industries would get together and institute a comprehensive and easily understandable system of rating that anyone could understand across all affected media. That would keep the FCC from stepping in and keep parents happy. Just as long as there's a rating equivalent of NC-17. *IE: This content is definitely for adults, but it is not pornography.) in every field, including video games, I'm in favor of it.

I regard rating systems as a necessary evil -- you can't dumb everything down to the level that children can tolerate, but you have to make it possible for people to raise children without exposing them to objectionable content. If I were in charge of the entire earth (and I may well be) I'd update the ratings system for movies and apply it across fields--it's the most understood, oldest, and (in my opinion) most useful rating system. Entertainment industries are almost always responsible when it comes to this kind of rating, and I imagine that will continue. Everyone's needs can be met without the need of the government to step in and start rating things.

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Playbill - "Goyband," a new feature film comedy starring Tony Award nominees Adam Pascal and Tovah Feldshuh, and Helen Hayes Award winner Erik Liberman, will have its New York City premiere Sept. 29 as part of Manhattan's JCC Film program.