Opinion Hated Ep 7

Breaking Dawn Part II, Skyfall, video games, and stuff!

Opinion Hated Episode 6

Opinion Hated Ep 5

The Game Changer

I've made it no secret that I am a huge fan of Tim Schafer. Anything he or his studio puts out is pure gold (I just so happen to be the owner a beautiful signed Psychonauts poster). This has been an incredible week for Double Fine and Tim. First there was the news the Notch (the guy behind minecraft) basically offered to publish a Psychonauts sequel. Then there was this, the KickStarter Revolution.

Last month one of my favorite bands, Five Iron Frenzy, came back from the grave using Kick Starter. Now Double Fine has done something similar, but with different implications. While Five Iron was able to call on old fans to revive a band broken up for 8 years, which is amazing, Tim Schafer did something a bit more important. Now this isn't an article about how great Kick Starter is, we all know it's awesome. No, this is how Kick Starter could change the way games are made.

More than anything Double Fine's success is a wake up call (or warning) to publishers. Middle men might not always be necessary. Just because Tim managed to make a million dollars in a day doesn't mean that now every game will have easy funding. The fact of the matter is there are already tons of game projects on kickstarter, and most haven't even broken $1000.

What Tim Schafer and Double Fine are proving right now is that fan funding can work, and incredibly well at that. Granted Tim has a lot of goodwill behind his name with gamers (just look at his resume), so not every game/developer will get a million dollars in under 24 hours. The important thing here is that he did. The best outcome is that publishers start to act with a bit of humility when handling someone else's property, knowing in the back of their minds the power fans now have.

Games have been waiting for something like this. Every medium of artistic expression eventually finds it's way to the masses, and in doing so, becomes easier to execute on a higher level. Film just recently went through this transition, literature did a long time ago. Now, games are becoming easier to make, and have a new way to be funded. This is good, very good.

I'll leave you with this delightful tidbit. Fox news once said that a fan funded project was out of the question at the moment (the moment being several years ago). The show in question: Firefly.

Opinion Hated Episode 4

Jeremy and Matt discuss many things including but not limited to: Resistance 3. Fable 3. Battlefield 3. 3 Stooges. 3's a crowd. 3's Company. okmaybenotreally

When We Retire The Old Guard

We live in an incredibly fascinating time. The rate at which technology is changing and integrating with what we consider standard day-to-day life is increasing at an exponential rate. This leads to an interesting thought; so much of what we live is "unprecedented". This plays a particularly intriguing role in our so called "gamer culture", that niche little section of society that most people reading this blog live in or around.

Gaming as a medium is still rather young, and as such, the first generation of children weened on this wondrous art have since entered adult hood. These men and women are now gamings "Old Guard". those nostalgia loving, console war surviving, 8 bit heroes who now control the b/vlog-o-sphere which our societal niche dotes upon. The problem is, gaming is no longer a niche hobby. Video Games are growing up, but the "Old Guard" of gaming isn't.

This really does boil down to being an opinion, but I am tired about hearing how games used to be more engaging, difficult, and all around better experiences. The reason this gets under my skin is because it is [for the most part] nostalgia. There is nothing wrong with nostalgia, I think it's awesome, the difference is I can admit to myself that the games I played as a child have evolved into something greater than the sum of their original parts.

I believe we will get to see this evolution first hand as the PS2/Xbox/Nintendohadsomethingright? generation gets older. I'm honestly curious to see how these kids fair amongst the hordes of now older and entitled Gen X'rs. The kids that grew up playing PS2 games are going to defend Jak and Daxter with the same furver that someone who grew up playing Nintendo defends Super Mario Bros 3. Further than that, children who are growing up with Xbox 360 now are going to defend their time and console.

My son's first (generational) console will probably be the Playstation 4 (or whatever the next gen is). I can only imagine how things will be when he is older. Defending the legitimacy of the PS4 against the nostalgia laden hipsters claiming 360 was the greatest console of all time. I just barely missed out on being a part of gen X. I remember playing NES, but my first console was a Genesis. So I went straight to 16 bit, and did my catching up a few years later. I was an odd duck, I never bought into the "Sega does what Nintendon't" console wars. That wasn't my prerogative, playing good games was (and still is).

Don't get me wrong, I love retro games. I even think they hold their own in the "games as art" discussion. But it just seems silly to me to act like the NES is the end-all when it comes to gaming, or that things aren't (at the very least) just as good as they were 20 years ago.