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Month: December 2008

  • The Home trainwreck

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    Last week Sony’s Playstation Home finally emerged from its cave into an open beta for all Sony PS3 owners. Over 1.5 years after its initial unveiling at GDC 2007 and in development supposedly from 2005, Sony Home is still highly unfinished. It’s still under development. There are features that will be added in the upcoming…

  • Cartoon Friday: Modern kids have it so lucky

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    (Because I can’t talk about games every weekday, Friday is now where I can talk about one of my other interests: cartoons and animation) Welcome to the first Cartoon Friday blog entry. Every Friday I hope to throw out some random thoughts on cartoons, animation, and the animation industry. Note that unlike with games, I…

  • 15 years of cyberdemon killing

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the seminal PC title, Doom. If you don’t know Doom then you probably don’t play games at all. Doom was one of the most significant and influential games ever released (and probably the most influential PC game ever). Doom influenced games in profound ways, from cementing the FPS as…

  • Return of the Giana Sisters

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    Michael Lee
    in

    In news that brings a smile to my face, the cult Amiga classic The Great Giana Sisters is now being reborn on the Nintendo DS. Now just called Giana Sisters DS, it looks pretty close to a full re-imagining of the original than a simple remake. It looks like a competent platformer with nice little…

  • Indie dev tales: Platypus

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    Michael Lee
    in

    Platypus was released today on the iPhone. I’m not going to link to the app though, not until I at least know that the creator is getting something out of this. If you don’t know the story, check out the making of here where the creator Anthony Flack describes the mistakes, trials, and tribulations behind…

  • Just having a Global Game Jam

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    Someone once said that videogames might be the most complicated piece of software for any programmer. Games combine just about every facet of software design and engineering plus require a deft touch in design and implementation to not only get a properly working game, but an enjoyable one. It’s no wonder the hardest part about…

  • Dying is easy, good design is hard

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    In the post from yesterday I went over a few of my complaints about the new Prince of Persia and the general trend towards less and less difficulty in games. One of the chief complaints with Prince of Persia 2008 is the conspicuous lack of dying by the prince. Rather than falling to your doom…

  • No challenge, no problem

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    Prince of Persia is one of the seminal classics in videogame history. Designed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989, this beautiful platformer became instantly known for its unforgiving difficulty. Death was swift and constant during the entire game and nearly everything was lethal to our prince. It was undoubtedly one of the most frustrating…

  • Upcoming project

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

  • Wii Music and the future of music games

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    by

    Michael Lee
    in

    A few weeks ago Nintendo released Wii Music for its Wii game console. The latest in the line of “Wii” games, Wii Music has been received to mixed reactions to say the least. Reviewers have had a hard time coming to grips with the intentionally perpendicular direction Nintendo has chosen to take the “music game”…