(Originally published on Kick Punch Jab, a game website that burned out far too soon.)
As the shooter glut threatens to swallow us whole, it’s heartening to know that someone is out there crafting games like Papo & Yo. The someone in this case is Minority, a small Canadian developer that sprung from EA Montreal’s loins. The game in question is a stylish buddy puzzler in the vein of ICO or The Lost Vikings.
(Originally published on the LA Canvas website, back when our humble hobby was represented in that magazine.)
It has become all too easy to forget what a truly great gaming idea looks like. We have been so inundated with iterative shooters and action games that a weapon shooting flames can almost seem innovative. Over the course of four games, Tim Schafer and his Double Fine Productions have fought back against the me-too machine, gracing gamers with telekinetic campers, heroic heavy metal roadies, and other clever inventions. In short, they’ve got the creativity thing down pat. But as much as I admire their work, at times I wish they would lavish the same attention on gameplay that they do their worlds, characters, and stories.
In Stacking, we at last have the compelling gameplay experience to go along with all of those great Double Fine ideas.
(Originally published on LA Canvas website.)
Shut the door. Take a seat. We need to talk.
Now, It has come to my attention that you haven’t been using Dropbox. Don’t ask how I know; it’s my job to know these things. This incredible free program has been available for over a year now and you keep ignoring my invitations to sign up for an account. I figured you just don’t like cool free stuff, so allow me to educate you on the subject.
Dropbox is a file hosting service that enables you to store media files in a designated folder, which you can then share with your friends. Heard a cool new song? Drop the MP3 in the box. Got a photo to share that you don’t want all of Facebook to see? Drop it in the box.
What’s great about the service is that all the work is done in the background. You drop files in the folder, and the uploading happens automatically. Then, when I go to take a look at what you’ve shared with me, I don’t have to download anything; it’s there for the taking. Therefore, heed this warning: the next time you send me a link to one of those sites where I have to wait 45 seconds before downloading a music file, I will hurt you.
Also, the dog eating your jump drive is no longer a valid excuse for not getting your homework done. You see, Dropbox is ideal for working on a project on your work computer, and then picking up at home. Just — say it with me now — drop it in the box.
Dropbox is available for every operating system under the sun. Sign-up is free and comes with 2.0 gigabytes of storage, although paid plans with greater storage capacity are also available. So go ahead, accept my invitation, and let’s get sharing!
(Originally published in the spring of 2010 on Explicit Gamer, a videogame website that vanished into the ether overnight)
We have been blessed with a console generation that seems to extend to infinity. Sony won’t utter a whisper of the mere possibility of a next machine; Microsoft prepares to roll out its motion-based Natal functionality for the 360; Nintendo counts the billions earned from the Wii and DS which don’t have to be sunk into research and development. Nevertheless this current cycle will end, and if you listen closely, you can hear the buzzwords of the future: 3D, voice recognition, digital distribution, cloud computing. What you can’t hear, what these company’s representatives won’t dare let slip, is one from the past: backwards compatibility. Indeed, there is a frightening possibility that these technological marvels residing on the digital horizon will not play the games which you and I currently own.
Pixels and Pynchon 