Dumb Nostalgia

ARQuake: A Way to Play Quake Without the Need of A Mouse & Keyboard

2010-09-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Close, John Donoghue, John Squires, and Philip DeBondi, four honours students from the University of South Australia, have created a fully functional augmented reality version of Quake that they've entitled as "AR Quake". ARQuake has been around for nearly a decade but footage of it hasn't been available until about two years ago when a few videos were uploaded to Youtube.

ARQuake is a version of Quake that utilizes physical space and movement to play. You are inserted into the game and instead of relying on thumb sticks and buttons to defend yourself, your own movements and actions determine your in-game survival. The console that runs ARQuake is a large machine that is assembled out of a laptop, a GPS system, goggle headset, and an inertial orientation sensor. Once the device is properly assembled, the player wears it like a backpack and fastens the headset. The completed ensemble looks a tad like the Virtual Boy's specially challenged nephew.

In order to make playable levels, you would have to make a map of a desired location and download it to a GPS, and once you have the locale mapped out, you would have to add in monsters, power-ups, etc. After all the programming is finished, the games runs quite well. (Bear in mind that this is a proof of concept tech demo that doesn't show off ARQuake's full potential)

Sure, there are some kinks to be ironed out, but those videos are from eight years ago and the game is still being worked on today. A gentleman by the name of Dr. Wayne Piekarski has been working on improving the game in recent years. Unfortunately, there aren't any current videos or screenshots of what he's done to the project. I wouldn't get my hopes up for purchasing this console someday. The development team has no intention of making ARQuake a commercial product, and even if they did, they would have to get id Software to green-light this game and it probably won't be too cost effective to mass produce a machine that requires a lot of pricey bells and whistles in order to run one program.

While we won't ever have the privilege of fragging friends in our back yard, we can at least sit and marvel at how interesting augmented reality games are. Maybe in the near future, we'll see an indie developer take a crack at another augmented reality first person shooter. With devices like Kinect and Playstation Move becoming more affordable and accepted amongst mainstream gamers, we might see some upcoming titles that combine reality and fantasy in new and unique ways. Only time will tell. -Addison Gumprecht-

Demise of Rental Chains

2010-09-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

I drove into town today and saw something that deeply saddened me. There were two different Movie Galleries and Blockbusters with huge "Going Out Of Business" banners hanging over the main entrances. For the past few months, I've been hearing on and off that big-name rental chains like Movie Gallery, Blockbuster, and Hollywood Video were shutting down all across America and it seems that it's finally effected my town. It felt like forever since I had stepped into a Blockbuster so I thought I'd take a look inside for old time's sake. It was a depressing sight. People cradling armloads of movies and games to purchase, empty racks strewn about, lots of vacant floor space where kiosks once were, retail and rental cases scattered across the floor, and it just feels upsetting to be there. It's sad to see that a once popular practice is now fading away and never coming back.

I'm sure that everyone reading knows that this is all because of video on demand services such as Netflix. I remember when their whole advertising campaign focused on making rental shops look bad in comparison and consisted of quotes like "Take the drama out of renting". I guess they can't really take that angle anymore, they've succeeded in driving the competition out of business

I was born in 1994 and while I'm still quite young, I had the opportunity of growing up in a time before Netflix and Hulu were all the rage. The reason why the demise of rental chains is so upsetting to me is because I've got quite a history with them, namely Blockbuster. Some of my earliest memories are when my family would go to Blockbuster every other weekend and pick up a new movie and game.

I have Blockbuster to thank for my eclectic taste in games. As a kid, my parents didn't always have $50 to throw down on the newest titles, so we resorted to renting. I got to play through most of the 32/64 bit era classics thanks to the broad selection offered by my local rental shops. By the age of six I was playing and watching my family play games such as Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, Syphon Filter, Tomb Raider III, The Spyro the Dragon trilogy, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, etc, etc.

Not only did I experience new games from rental shops, I also expanded my collection by buying up some of their games. Most of my Sega Mega Drive and original Playstation games are from Blockbuster's "For Sale" aisle. My copies of Syphon Filter and Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition have little Blockbuster sticker receipts printed on the back of the boxes that list the console platform and the date they were offered for sale. I also think I have an old Genesis Madden cartridge kicking around that has a "Please rewind this VHS" sticker plastered on the back of it.

In more recent years, I've started heading to Movie Gallery to scope some game deals. I've picked up factory sealed copies of Quake 4, Katamari Damacy, and Crackdown for less then $10 a pop. I have saved alot of money on triple A titles by buying from Movie Gallery but I also screwed myself out of making a boat load of cash one night. Around six months ago, when Movie Gallery was radically lowering their prices to keep their heads above water, They had a stack of sealed copies of Chrono Trigger DS for $20 a piece. I was an idiot and passed on them not thinking about how hard and expensive that game would be to obtain in later years given the fact that the Super Nintendo cartridge alone goes for ridiculous sums of money on popular internet auction sites.

Content delivery services like Gamefly and Netflix are great and practical, but there's something to be said about going to the store and checking something out.

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Island of Forgotten Games - Qix: Neo

2010-07-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

Qix: Neo is an overlooked retro revival of Taito's classic, Qix, that was released back in 2003, way before retro revivals became a common practice. Qix gets the Space Invaders: Xtreme treatment with stylized graphics and new elements added to the gameplay.

The original Qix was very limited and basic. There was a flying enemy who patrolled the board and little buggers on the border of the playing field who would zap you if you took too long to make a move. Qix: Neo expands on that by giving you a plethora of new enemies that all require specific strategies to beat them.

Each level has it's own boss and set of enemies that have their own unique attacks and very distinct behavior. Some of the more notable enemies are things such as amoeba-like squares that are magnetically attracted to you once you start drawing a line, there are lady bugs who rotate in place and dart across the map in unpredictable directions, some levels have cockroaches that trail in random patterns but always seem to converge toward your line at the worst moments, and later on in the game you'll come across flies that propel themselves like grasshoppers off of the ledges you have drawn.

The bosses featured in each level are related to the theme of the picture you are covering up. For example, in the stages where you are chiseling away at an image of something that involves machinery, then you'll be facing off against a robot of some sort. Each boss has it's own special attack. Some are snake-like robots that wind and crawl through the environment and shoot bullets at you in a bullet-hell style, there are giant robotic cubes that bounce wildly around the play field and occasionally pause to fire off a missile in all four cardinal directions of the board, and you'll also square off against and giant fly mech that shoots lasers out of every pore on it's body.

Aside from new foes, new obstacles are also thrown into the mix. In the original Qix, as long as you were on the border of your lines, you were safe; That's not always the case with Qix: Neo. When you start a new level, you have 999 points of an energy shield and it gradually counts down to zero. When it hits zero, the projectile attacks that bosses fire can harm you on the side lines. Concrete blocks are scattered throughout the layout in later levels. These blocks obscure certain areas of the map and you can't draw through them. The only way to play with them is to work around them.

When you add up all of the new mechanics, things get progressively more challenging. The later stages have concrete blocks in some of the most inconvenient places and you have to sit and rethink your course of action. Meanwhile, your energy shield is depleting and you have to deal with a new boss and it's wave of enemies.

---Why it didn't catch on---

There were three big reasons that kept this game from getting the attention it deserved.

The first problem was that it was released for a dying console. Qix: Neo was released in 2003 for the original Playstation and by that point, the system was on it's death bed. The very final run of Playstation games that were cranked out were mostly shovelware quiz games and lackluster software that was thrown together to make a quick buck. Only games with name brand recognition, like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, managed to make profit that late in the Playstation's life. Qix: Neo had no way of distinguishing itself from the abysmal budget software that flooded the Playstation release calendars and as a result, it got lost in the shuffle.

The second reason is that the game was released ahead of it's time. In 2003, the average gamer wanted something that was an immersive, technological masterpiece that pushed their console to the limits. Games like Metal Gear Solid 2, Grand Theft Auto 3 & Vice City, Halo, Silent Hill 2, and SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals were all the rage and all of those games were as realistic and advanced as you could get for the time. Now-A-Days, retro revivals and feux retro games are the "in" thing to do. If Taito would've waited about five years, Qix: Neo could've been the next Space Invaders: Xtreme or Arkanoid DS.

The third and final reason is that I don't think the average gamer at the time knew how good a retro revival could be. I've had this game sitting in my closet for years and just got around to understanding how great it is. When I bought it back in 2005, I played it for five or so minutes and thought that I had been ripped off. I thought that Taito was trying to make money on the same game just repackaged with slightly prettier yet outdated graphics. I didn't play it long enough to understand what it was trying to be and how good it actually was.

Qix: Neo is rather tricky to find if you hunt for games at your local pawn shops or flea markets. It was released so late in the Playstation's life that not many copies were produced. Luckily, it can be found for next to nothing on popular internet auction sites. If you can't enough of games like Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Space Invaders: Xtreme, or Mega Man 9 then it would be in your interest to seek this game out.

Qix: Neo feels like the very last dying gasp of classic gaming, but it also feels like the very first baby step in the retro revival craze.

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Island of Forgotten Games: Omega Boost

2010-07-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

This column was originally published December 18, 2008 on Destructoid.com.

Omega Boost is one of the best action/shooter games on the Playstation, and nobody knows about it. Developed by Polyphony Digital (the Grand Turismo team), it's one of the only games to completely capture the Macross mech feel and style for a console game.

The plot is a silly mish-mash of ideas about the Omega Boost mech going back in time to stop the super computer ALPHA CORE from taking over the world of the future (Seriously, what is with video games and giant super-computers? Three of my columns have games that feature evil super computers in their plots.) It also features one awesomely cheesy intro, complete with amateurish live actors and music by the band Loudmouth.

But the game itself? WHEW! Fantastic. Not only does this game show what the Grand Turismo team can do on a game that doesn't involve cars, but a big chunk of the Panzer Dragoon team, as well as lead programmer Yuji Yasuhara, also worked on this, and it shows. The combat in this game is essentially Panzer Dragoon with mechs, with the mech designs of none other than Shoji Kawamori, designer of the Macross saga, giving the game a timeless futurist look, closer to classic shooters like Gradius and R-Type than the sleeker world of Zone of the Enders, not to mention this is one of the best looking games on the PSX, with visuals that miraculously still hold up today.

The gameplay is fast and fun. Your mech can turn in 360 degrees in all directions during battle, as well as use it's back boosters to quickly turn in the opposite direction while firing. The game also has a lock-on system and shoot system, which then sends out a barrage of laser guided missiles, Macross-style, into oncoming enemy waves. The gameplay is fast and furious, and the frame rate never dips below 30 fps, making the game run as smooth as silk.

The game is not without it's faults, however. For one, it's too short. As good as this game is, you're left with wanting more, with only 9 main levels and 9 bonus levels, the game could've used a few more missions and zones. Also, this game gets extremely difficuly by Zone 5, separating the boys from the men, so don't go in expecting a cake walk, you really have to know the controls inside and out for this game. Nonetheless, it remains a riveting and wholly exciting last hurrah for the original Playstation.

Why Didn't it Catch on?

One word: Marketing. For a game being published by Sony in-house, you'd think they would've thrown their weight behind this game when it comes to marketing, not so. Omega Boost was plagued by negative media in Japan reporting the game gave players motion sickness while playing (pansies), which killed sales in the land of the rising sun, and was released with little to no fanfare in the U.S. I came across this game only because of a demo display that a local Target store had up for it in the summer of '99, and bought it as soon as I could.

Very few people know about this game, which is a shame, because it is definitely one of the best mech action games available for any system. It's too bad Omega Boost tanked so badly, now the development team is stuck making racing games instead of unique projects like this. I implore everybody who owns a PSX, PS2 or compatible PS3 to track down this title, new copies are available on Amazon.com for less than ten bucks, it's well worth it.

An Interview with Brian Provinciano

2010-07-02T01:12:00.000-07:00

I've been writing about and investigating the history of Retro City Rampage for the past few months. Brian Provinciano, the creator of Retro City Rampage, stumbled upon my articles and was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to do an interview via email.

---
Addison: Brian, what was it like growing up? How was your childhood?

Brian: I wouldn't be where I am today without my parents! They're amazing, but the really funny twist is that they were originally afraid that video games would impair my future! Needless to say, I eventually convinced them otherwise. From not being allowed to play Mortal Kombat when I was young to its re-release being one of the first titles I worked on in the industry, read on for the thrilling tale!

The NES was the coolest toy out there when I was young. I remember playing Super Mario Bros as early as four years old over at friends houses. My parents didn't want one in the house, in fear that video games would be detrimental to my future, haha. They held the NES on a stick to keep me in line. If I was good all week, they'd rent the system, which came with SMB/Duck Hunt... if I was REALLY lucky, I'd be able to rent another game too. I'm sure we'd paid for the system in all the times we rented it!

Of course, like any other kid with access to Packard Bell 286 PC, I found a loophole and was able to play games on that. Though my parents got me such stellar titles as “Grade-A Math” and “Spell it Plus!”, one great afternoon in 1990 my Dad bought me Activision's Ghostbusters II for DOS! It wasn't a platformer, but I still played the hell out of it. It was Ghostbusters, and a GAME! Yeah in those days nothing beat a platformer! Another funny memory being when my Dad asked me to turn the volume down, but I couldn't! It was the PC SPEAKER, and IT was in control!! Years later, the shareware movement became the greatest thing to happen to the PC for years to come, with such favorites of mine as Commander Keen.

Back to the consoles, my Mom finally got us a SNES the Christmas it launched, another pillar of my fond memories! I loved those simple days where I could play Mario World over and over for a year straight without even needing to look at another game!

Addison: How did you get into gaming and programming?

Brian: The programming all started with art! One of my fondest memories growing up was when my Dad arranged a visit to an animation studio here in Gastown, Vancouver.

See, the trip to the studio stemmed from the fact that I'd wanted to be an artist from the time I was born. An amazing guy named Rob Davies was kind enough to let us come in and show us around. I think I must've been 8 or so at the time and I brought my art “portfolio” with me. I'll never forget when Rob called everyone else over to look at my drawings. They applauded them like they were masterpieces jolting me full of motivation for years to come.

Eventually I decided that my art was destined for video games. I remember one my first pieces being a Sonic the Hedgehog mock-up level in MS Paint. Amazingly, years later I was lucky enough to work on the two Sonic titles for PSP, a dream come true! Anyway, toiling away making game art in MS Paint but unable to find a programmer, I reluctantly started learning to do it myself. My sister found some Basic books at the library and I began tediously typing in hundreds of lines of code.

I was lucky enough to later find a program called Klik & Play, which allowed me to pretty much just do art and still get things going. Getting that program though was a long process! It came on a stack of floppies, and one didn't work. I sent it back and waited for a new one. What I got back were just the disks, so I had to get them to send the book... but they didn't send the install key, so I had to phone again! What bumps in the road, but I was determined! When I finally got it installed, I was the happiest kid around.

Eventually I jumped into C++, plowing through book after book. When I set my mind on something, I put my all into it. I couldn't wait to finish high school to get going, so I started taking part time programming classes at BCIT during my grade 9 and 10 years on evenings and weekends. I believe I attended their last Assembly language class before x86 ASM was deemed obsolete for the curriculum. However, it was far from obsolete for me! Being interested in deep down low level programming, I chowed down on diassembly, got into electronics and everything. My only regret being the solder fumes that it subjected me to. Despite keeping the garage door open and having a fan, it was still awful. I was too motivated for my own good in soldering the hundreds of wires to get my circuit working, haha. It's good people these days have CPLDs, FPGAs and simulators. I even etched a PCB once, a success, but not something even back then that I was going to do again! Understanding how hardware works though has been instrumental to my programming skills. A key reason why I've been so diligent with Retro City Rampage's authenticity, making exceptions only for the sake of gameplay and function.

Addison: What sparked the idea for Retro City Rampage?

Brian: My love for GTA, my love for the NES, and my desire to both create my own open-world game and something 8-bit. Being the multitasker that I am, I killed two birds with one stone!

Addison: Describe the lifespan of Retro City Rampage from start to finish, including all of the rebrandings and etc.

Brian: There are only two games in the timeline, Grand Theftendo and Retro City Rampage, both open-world retro games, but both completely separate.

Grand Theftendo was an actual NES game, and an ode to GTA3. Written in assembly language, it ran on the original hardware using the MMC5 mapper chip. The same chip used in Castlevania III. I began sketching things up in late 2002, learning 6502 assembly language and drawing the background art.

By the fall of 2004, its development had reached the point where you could roam around an 8-bit version of GTA3's Portland, use weapons, grab cars, collect hidden packages and play some simple missions. It was fully running, but in the big picture that's really only the beginning when we're talking open-world games.

While the goal of that game was to deliver a 2D 8-bit experience functionally equivalent to that of the 3D PS2 game, my focus shifted around 2005. I became less interested in impressing the world with a technological feat and more interested in creating something so fun to play, people couldn't put it down! Retro City Rampage was born. An original title, made authenticity retro, but for modern platforms, with fun at its forefront. By creating an original title, my creativity bloomed and it evolved into a title far beyond a simple GTA clone. As for “Retro Theftendo”, that was the working title for Retro City Rampage, and has no relation to Grand Theftendo otherwise.

Addison: What can you tell us about Retro City Rampage that hasn't already been said elsewhere. Details on the plot, specific mission details, etc.

Brian: There's a power-up with ears and a tail that allows you to move around above people's heads.

Addison: You've been working on Retro City Rampage for the better part of a decade, are you happy with the finished product? Is there anything you would have done differently?

Brian: I'm happy to say that it's exceeded my expectations. My only enemy was time, and I sincerely wish I could've finished it before Mega Man 9.

Addison: What are you planning on doing after Retro City Rampage? Is it going to be retro-themed as well?

Brian: Everyone, go out and buy Retro City Rampage when it's released! I want the capital to make a sequel!

In addition to that, I've already been discussing other possibilities with colleagues of mine, and have plans for a diverse portfolio of titles which consists of of my epic three pillars! The big change will be that future projects will be team efforts, thus not taking nearly as long to finish.

Addison: Were there any problems you ran into during Grand Theftendo's development? Like hardware limitations?

Brian: Nothing show-stopping. However, due to MMC5's sprite bankswitching limitation, there was only one car type at once, though it could be in one of four colors. In addition, as all know, the NES was limited to 8 sprites per scanline, meaning a maximum of ¼ of the screen's width could have sprites on it, and that's not even accounting for overlap. Being the case, having too many cars on screen at once was terrible for flicker. One solution would've been to make the cars smaller, but that's a double edge sword because then you just have more empty roads on screen.

Addison: If you could go back in time to when you first started development on Retro City Rampage, what would you tell yourself?

Brian: Wow. I can't believe how long I've spent on this. I would've recruited people from the beginning and made it a team effort. I also would've taken time out to jump on the iPhone launch bandwagon to help fund it!

I also would've reminded myself how much time the business side takes up. I can go over a week without even touching the code or art and still be working long days!

Addison: Thanks for your time Brian. I sincerely appreciate it.

Brian: Thanks Addison! It's been great to reminisce on old memories that brought such joy into my life!
---

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Final Throws of The PS2

2010-06-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

Most Gamestops have started putting out "under $10" bins of Playstation 2 games near the check-out counters. At this point, it's pretty clear that Gamestop has started the gradual process of phasing out their Playstation 2 inventory, much like how they did with the original Playstation.

There's a lot of fantastic games in tip-top condition going for dirt cheap. Playstation 2 games are now in the perfect "sweet spot" when it comes to dying consoles. The system is on it's death bed and it's best-selling titles are piling up in used bins by the dozens and there is little to no demand for them at the moment. If you are thinking about picking up a game like Shadow of the Colossus or Yakuza, now is the time to jump on it because I don't think the games will get any cheaper than this. We don't have too much time before the games become hard to find and go for overblown prices on eBay.

Most of the games in the PS2 bargain bin are in paper sleeves. The tops of the sleeves are open so it's okay to check the condition. I was expecting most of the games to look like they were scrubbed down with sand paper, but to my surprise, most of them are still in pristine condition. Even though the games are missing their case and manual, if you manage to find a complete copy with a scuffed up disc years down the road, you can frankenstein together a mint copy with your disc-only copy.

As I browsed some of the racks, I noticed some of the best Playstation 2 games are going for ridiculously low prices. Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 are going for as low as $9.99 in complete form. The various Resident Evils and Final Fantasies are ranging from $9.99 to $14.99. Star Wars Battlefront I & II are about $4.99 complete and in good shape. Yakuza for $9.99 in the factory seal. Extermination in a paper sleeve for $2.99. Klonoa 2 for $4.99 in a sleeve. Half-Life for $7.99 complete. Parappa the Rapper 2 for $6.99 complete. The list goes on and on.

If you want to expand your Playstation 2 collection, it'd be best to do so now before the prices roll back up.

-Addison Gumprecht-

Duke Nukem Out of Legal Tumoil Forever

2010-06-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

3D Realms/Apogee Ltd. and Take-Two have settled any legal entanglements regarding the development of Duke Nukem Forever. The lawsuit settlement document was recently leaked on fileshack.

http://www.fileshack.com/file.x/19329/Duke+Nukem+Forever+Lawsuit+Settlement+Court+Document

As of May 28, 2010, "The above action, including any and all claims that were or could have been asserted by the parties, is dismissed with prejudice in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement executed by the parties on May 14, 2010,"

What this means is that there will be no legal troubles surrounding Duke Nukem Forever in the future, but the game still needs to be completed and it is still far from finished.

-Addison Gumprecht-

GrandTheftEndo Is Finally Getting Released

2010-06-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

After spending nearly a decade in development, GrandTheftEndo is finally getting released. It won't be an NES ROM as Brian originally promised, but it will be available on Wii-Ware this Fall under the name "Retro City Rampage".

There aren't any large in-game screenshots at the moment but the small thumbnail images featured on the promotional poster (above) share a strong resemblance to Retrotheftendo.

If you want up-to-the-minute updates on Retro City Rampage, go to http://www.retrocityrampage.com/ and subscribe to the official newsletter and follow Brian on Twitter. His Twitter name is http://twitter.com/RetroCR

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Island of Forgotten Games: Kabuki Quantum Fighter

2010-06-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

This column was originally published November 3, 2008 on Destructoid.com.

The NES had its string of weird-ass and whacked-out ideas for video games, including such possible future columns as Monster Party, Samurai Zombie Nation, and A Boy and His Blob. But none will ever beat the over-arching weirdness of Kabuki Quantum Hair Fighter.

The game starts with a sequence complete with ridiculously slow text about a computer virus taking over the Earth's missile defense system in the year 2056, and our hero, Scott O'Connor, selflessly volunteers as a test subject for a program that will allow him to take on a new, digital form in a digitized world of the computer infra-structure to defeat the virus. His new form is, yes, Kabuki Quantum Fighter. Don't ask me how an Irish-American guy is transformed into a Japanese theater character, nor what Japanese Kabuki theater has to do with computers, it doesn't make any sense, and that's partly why it's awesome.

The digital world of Kabuki Quantum Fighter is ridiculous. So ridiculous, I wouldn't be surprised if this game gave younger kids nightmares back in the day. The enemies in this digital world look like they'd be more at home in a Castlevania game than in a world inside a computer. Toad Men with swords, robot dogs, giant heads that shoot lasers and fire, robot dogs with swords, it's absolutely whacked!

The backgrounds give a very distinct Batman NES vibe, really dark and black with color details here and there, like giant beating hearts! I know my computer has hearts in it, does yours?

And the best part of all? Your character! His basic attack? His hair! He swings his giant Kabuki wig at enemies that get in your way. For a real good laugh, try out a turbo controller and hold the B-button so he's constantly banging his head, it looks just like James Hetfield in his long hair days!

The game plays really closely to the Ninja Gaiden / Batman style of side-scroller: Lots of running and jumping around and hitting enemies as they get close to you, with a boss at the end of every level.

Why Didn't it Catch on?:

Now the game IS fun, don't get me wrong, but let's be honest here: Was there really a demand for games about Kabuki actors inside Hellish computers in 1990? Add to that the fact that the box-art is less than enticing to the average consumer seeing this on the shelves, and you have a title that could've declared itself DOA, which is too bad, as the final screen of the game features the main character bowing and asking to check him out in his next game, which never appeared.

Despite (or because) of it's bizarre exterior, Kabuki Quantum Fighter is all-in-all, a fun little platform / action game. If you're a fan of the Ninja Gaiden series or its equivalents, definitely try this out, it'll be worth your time, if only just so you can tell your friends you played Kabuki Quantum Fighter.

Note: This game was originally published by the now-defunct HAL America. HAL America is long gone, but I bet you can guess what happened to the development side of the company in Japan, can't you?

GrandTheftEndo Update

2010-05-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

Great news to anyone who has been wondering about Grandtheftendo, it appears that the game has resurfaced under the name Retrotheftendo. There is a new website you can visit but unfortunately, the site itself displays nothing more than a logo and a release date.

After checking the new website, I searched around the internet for a few hours and I found some interesting new tidbits about Retrotheftendo. I have found Brian's contact information. I would love to do an interview and I'll see if Brian wants to get in touch but I won't make any promises.

After finding Brian's contact info, I stumbled upon a website that has some program files from the game that are free for download. It's mostly just audio files with a few screen captures of the development kit being used.

http://www.sfu.ca/~leonardp/BigPark/Retrotheftendo/

I did some research on some of Brian's friends and business partners and it turns out that Leonard Paul is working on the sound design for Retrotheftendo. Leonard Paul has worked on games such as Sonic Rivals 2, Death Jr. 2, Face Breaker, and a few others. You can read his track record in sound design by clicking the link below.

http://www.sfu.ca/~leonardp/Joe/JoeBonar-ACRONYM-May2009-LeonardPaul.pdf

The last little scrap of information I could dig up was a small section of an archived IRC chat that had some of Brian's friends talking the about game.

------
[April 7 - 2009]
[20:13:41] chatting with bripro about C++/CLI
[20:14:03] ask him about grandtheftendo :p
[20:16:05] :)
[20:16:11] retrotheftendo, you mean?
[20:16:23] we hung out when he was in SF for GDC a few weeks ago
[20:17:54] *** jdm has joined #scummvm
[20:18:17] aah I see, he changed the name
------

For those of you who are out of the loop and are interested in this project, I posted a story a few weeks ago about Grandtheftendo (which is now Retrotheftendo) that goes into great detail about the game and what happened to it. I'll leave the link below.

http://dumbnostalgia.blogspot.com/2010/05/story-behind-grandtheftendo.html

Hopefully, I'll get in touch with Brian and have some new information to share.

-Addison Gumprecht-

Problematic Ports - Volume 3 - Doom for Super Nintendo

2010-05-31T08:37:00.001-07:00

Doom has gone down in history as one of the most successful FPS games ever. whenever John Carmack is interviewed about the success of the original Doom, he will often boast, "Microsoft had conducted a survey in the mid-90's that reported that there were more copies of Doom (Shareware) installed on PCs than Windows 95."

Doom was a wild success on the PC, and what better way to expand the audience and make more money than to port it on every major console on the market. Williams Entertainment published Doom for most home platforms at the time and all of them had varying degrees of quality. The 32/64 bit consoles had rather solid ports of Doom that accurately replicated the PC version but the 16-bit ports of Doom were mediocre at best.

The Super Nintendo port of Doom is downright dreadful. The graphics and controls were severely compromised to make the jump to SNES. The only interesting thing about this version of Doom is that it's the only red colored SNES cartridge. I like to associate the red cartridge in my mind with the "Quarantine: Smallpox" signs. Think of this as a warning sign to all retro game enthusiasts.

Now that I've expressed my personal distaste with this port, it's time for another flaw breakdown image to elucidate on why Doom for the SNES is so terrible.

1: Much like the 32X port, the SNES port has a border that shrinks the screen size and lowers the resolution.

2: Where did the floor textures go? The green acid pools in the first level look like puddles of Vick's Vaporub. The ceiling textures are also missing in action. With environments that lack detail and have barren surfaces with monsters thrown in, the game starts to look like a padded room through the eyes of a schizophrenic.

3: Doom is compatible with the SNES mouse. Unfortunately, in order to move forward, you have to constantly scoot the mouse forward and this only advances your character one step at a time. However, there is a way to play with the SNES mouse without getting carpel tunnel. Just invest in a treadmill, and to walk, just rest the mouse on the moving treadmill; problem solved.

4: Enemies and other objects are very hard to make out in the distance. It looks like somebody smeared Vaseline and Vagisil all over my PC monitor while Doom is running in DOS-Box.

5: This bullet-point is more of a question than a complaint. How did this game make it past Nintendo's censorship boards? The N64 port of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 has girls in bikinis censored out of the loading screens, but very little editing was done to this gore-fest. Tasteful bikinis are way too much for the kids to see, but I guess we can allow a game that features demons getting curb-stomped by a space marine wielding a chainsaw.

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Island of Forgotten Games: Alundra

2010-05-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

This column was originally published October 3, 2008 on Destructoid.com.
Alundra, Alundra, a game after my own heart. As a dyed in the wool lover of classic Super NES adventure games like Illusion of Gaia, Secret of Mana, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (No duh) Alundra left a big impression on me when I first saw the ads for it in the Summer of 1997. Here was the pinnacle of the technologies that gave us those classic top-down adventure games, now popping up on the Playstation. And from the developers of Landstalker, to boot!

The game follows the adventures of a young boy named Alundra, who is plagued by horrendous nightmares. These nightmares prophecy that young Alundra will be the chosen one destined to save the world from darkness. After a storm leaves him ship-wrecked in the small town of Inoa, Alundra's adventure begins when he must take up the battle against a group of forest monkeys to save the villagers that have adopted him as one of their own.

Simple, yes, but there's more in the telling than the tale. Much like the Dark World in Link to the Past, Alundra can sometimes enter the Nightmare World, the world within our dreams, to save friends while on his journey. These parallel dimension areas are excellently inter-woven into the narrative of the gameplay, giving the game a larger scope, and putting secondary characters in harm's way, sometimes leading to their deaths, a rarity in this genre.

The dungeons in this game are not only fantastic, but also extremely difficult. Much like the best puzzles in the Zelda series, each dungeon has a number of brain-teasers that'll make you scratch your head and really push yourself to think outside the box to move on. This is still sometimes considered one of the hardest games on the original Playstation.

Graphically, the game has very nicely detailed 2-D backgrounds and character sprites, looking like a richly textured SNES game. The whole game has a very earthy feel, with lots of natural tones and environments with lots of texture. Character animation can sometimes look more limited than the technology at the time could do, but it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things. It looks and plays enough like an SNES RPG that more fluid animation could've pulled the player out of the experience the game is trying to build.

The music, the MUSIC! The music in this game is phenomenal. Composer Kohei Tanaka's score quickly can go from a very melody-based sound for villages and fields, to a very atmospheric effect for dungeons and the nightmare world. The soundtrack actually reminded me a lot of Mitsuda's score for Chrono Trigger, it's that good.

So if this game is as amazing as it seems (completely honest here, it really is) why have so many people not heard of it? This really should be up there with the classic action RPG / adventure offerings on the SNES, as well as other Working Designs published titles like Lunar. So why isn't it?

Why Didn't it Catch on?:

Alundra was released at a peculiar time for the video game industry. More and more games on the next-generation systems at the time were being developed with 3D graphics, and two-dimensional games were seen as a dying breed of the past. Consider the fact that Sony actually published Alundra in Japan, but Sony Computer Entertainment of America refused to localize and publish it here, and you can see where the industry was going. Working Designs ultimately published it in the U.S. (with Psygnosis handling the game in Europe) and gave it a strong (for Working Designs) advertising campaign in the U.S. buying ad space in EGM, Game Informer and Gamepro for full-page ads.

The game was released in the winter of 1997 to fairly positive reviews. IGN gave it an 8.5 out of ten, Gamespot gave it an 8.8, and EGM gave it an 8.6.

As per the norm of Working Designs, only an initial print-run was made to keep demand up and to avoid discounted bargain copies at major retailers. It's somewhat rare, but isn't expensive like many classics of the Playstation era like Final Fantasy VII and Working Designs own Lunar:Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue.

Today, when I ask people about the game, I rarely will hear anybody has heard of it, let alone played it, I'm met with blank stares. In the last month of asking a ton of people if they've played Alundra, only one person has said they've played it, to which they enthusiastically followed up with "I can't believe somebody else has played it!"

Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that 2D games were a dying breed by late 1997, and gamers had already had their taste of Final Fantasy VII. Anything else would be a step-down to them, which is a shame, because if Alundra had been released for the SNES in 1995 or '96, it may have been considered a classic of the adventure genre. As it stands, it was a mild curiosity item to many in '97: an out of date dinosaur in a modern three-dimensional world. Don't write it off as many did, it just may be one of the best games nobody's played on the Playstation.

Note: There was a sequel released in February of 2000 in North America. This is a sequel in name only, as it's story has absolutely nothing to do with the original game. And it's in 3D.

Problematic Ports - Volume 2 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for N64

2010-05-09T16:30:00.001-07:00

In 1999, Neversoft started a series of games that would become the household name of skating games - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. This series was a multi-platform success with ports on everything from Dreamcast to Game Boy Advance. As you could imagine with so many ports, not all of them are going to be great.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was the last game released for Nintendo 64 in the United States and it was a pretty bad note to leave off on. The reason why this port was so disappointing was because of how unimpressive and outdated it felt. The Playstation 2 was out at that point and it's port of Pro Skater 3 felt like a brand new experience with it's improved control and next generation graphics.

The original Playstation ports of Tony Hawk games looked great because the graphics engine was overhauled with each new iteration. The N64 ports used the original graphics engine for each new sequel. By the time Pro Skater 3 came out, the N64 port looked like a hacked copy of the original Pro Skater that was attempting to play the new levels.

The lack of updates also resulted in levels that were far too ambitious for the engine to handle. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 had some rather large and nicely detailed environments for the time but most of that was lost on the N64 because of the draw distance that wouldn't let you see beyond 50 feet.

The control was another issue for the N64. the Dreamcast and Playstation controllers always felt perfect and easy to use for trying to do a crazy line of tricks. The N64's controller wasn't exactly preferable for a skating game due to the odd button layout. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to memorize which button was responsible for what command, but on other platforms, I learned the controls within minutes.

Let's do a breakdown of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 with a screenshot addressing all of it's flaws.

1: The first thing you'll notice is the miserable draw distance obscuring your view of landscape.

2: After a few minutes of trying to do tricks, you'll realize that the controls haven't been re-adjusted since 1999.

3: You'll have a problem trying to complete certain level objectives (Collect S-K-A-T-E) because you cannot see them in the distance.

4: You'll ask yourself "Why didn't I sell my N64 after Majora's Mask and Perfect Dark?"

5: The disappointment you have knowing that the $70 you blew on this game could've been put towards a shiny new Playstation 2.

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Island of Forgotten Games: Metal Storm

2010-05-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

This column was originally published August 21, 2008 on Destructoid.com.

There are those games that defined a generation. Mention Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid and any gamer worth his salt will know what you're talking about. There are also the titles that are so horrendous, so three week old carton of milk bad, that any gamer will cringe at the mere mention of a title like Shaq-Fu, Bebe's Kids, or Deadly Towers.

But what about the games that are neither? What about the titles that may have been good games, even great ones, but due to unseen circumstances never caught on like they should have, resulting in full bargain bins around the country? This is the column for them: The Island of Forgotten Games.

Metal Storm. Quite possibly one of the best games Irem has ever made. What if you took the action gameplay of Contra, mixed with the shooter hell of Irem's R-Type series, then threw some anti-gravity boots into the blender? Metal Storm would be what came out. I think I'll leave it up to the back of the box description to summarize this particular gem:

"Battle Station Cyberg's massive computer that keeps throughout the solar system is no longer user friendly. It's gone wildly out of control. The LaserGun it operates has already destroyed Neptune. Earth is its next target.

As a high-tech hot shot, you must enter Cyberg's core and activate the system's self-destruct mechanism. Mankind is relying on your know-how and toughness to see this thing through. But time is running out...

Oh yes, one more thing. The powers of your "Gravity Flip" Suit are essential for a successful outcome to this mission. The Suit empowers you to proceed both upside down and rightside up as you dash to put this computer permanently "On the blink."'

And yes, that pretty much describes the awesomeness that is in store for the player.

As the description entails, the big part of this game that makes it fresh and stand out from the crowd of NES action games is the gravity mechanic. Considering this is the NES we're talking about, this must have been a programming miracle. The gravity-flipping mechanic is so unique, it's still impressive almost 20 years later.

Plus, this game is hard, I mean REALLY hard. Considering this was made by the same team that made the original R-Type, that should be no surprise, but then factor in that with the gravity mechanic, this game just became doubly hard, forcing you to make split second decisions about your movement either upside or rightside up. If you make the wrong choice, you're toast. The first one or two levels are balanced enough to get the hang of the gravity switching, but it gets hard fast. Only the committed should bother with Metal Storm.

Graphically and sonically, the game is actually really nice still, opting for a complex Japanese mech look for the game. Most of the mech designs actually reminded me a lot of anime like Macross and Robotech. And the bosses in this game are huge walking, rotating jumbles of pipes and gyros, and most of these bosses also force you to use your gravity powers to the best of your advantage.Special mention must be made of the explosion effects in the game, which are very nicely animated and still stand out today.

Why didn't it catch on?:

I have my own theories, the biggest of which being that Super Mario Bros. 3 came out only a few months earlier than Metal Storm, basically stealing any and all hype on the NES for the next few months. Metal Storm probably just got lost in the post-SMB 3 hype like many of the underrated classics of the NES (which will be discussed in future columns.)

Second of all, the gravity mechanic, while very cool, is hard to communicate through descriptions and screen-shots of the game, it's one of those ideas which needs to be seen to be understood. By not seeing the major selling-point of the game, most consumers wrote it off as another standard action game that the NES was pumping out its entire lifetime.

Metal Storm was a game that was definitely ahead of it's time to the point that many of it's time didn't get it, and unfortunately is not seen as one of the all-time classics of the NES era because of it. Used copies of the game regularly go for five to ten dollars on used game sites, so do yourself a favor and pick up a copy so Metal Storm will be unknown no longer!

-Zach McCue

Problematic Ports - Volume 1 - Mortal Kombat for Gameboy

2010-05-08T17:17:00.001-07:00

The 90's were a prosperous time for fighting games. Virtua Fighter, Tekken, Street Fighter, and Killer Instinct all had their start around fifteen years ago. Each of these games had their own little core fan bases that loved their respective series for their own specific reasons. People loved Street Fighter because of it's pick-up-and-play gameplay that was easy to learn but hard to master. Virtua Fighter was well regarded due to it's technique driven gameplay. Tekken was popular because it had the depth of Virtua Fighter, but it was far more accessible to the average gamer. Killer Instinct was well known because of it's crazy combos.

Last but not least, there was Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat's claim to fame was it's over-the-top violence and fatal finishing moves. Mortal Kombat fans anxiously waited for a home/handheld port of their favorite fighting game. Acclaim released ports of Mortal Kombat across multiple platforms the year after it's initial arcade release, some turned out better then others.

Mortal Kombat for the Gameboy is perhaps the worst port of any Mortal Kombat game. The main issue that most people have with it is that it's hardly playable. The collision detection is rather sketchy, there is a 2 second lag between you hitting a button and something happening on-screen, and the game runs so slow that most of the thrill of Mortal Kombat has been lost in translation.

Let's analyze what’s wrong with this port by doing a screenshot breakdown.

1: This game, while impressive looking in screenshots, runs at about three frames per second. It's so slow that it seems like uppercuts have a load time, and I'm not joking. You have to see it in motion to beleive it.

2: The characters themselves take up about a quarter of the screen. While it was a nice looking effect for the time, it doesn't help when the A.I. obliterates you because you are always in range of a sweeping kick.

3: After about 45 seconds of play, boredom will kick in and you'll reach for the power switch.

4: Rayden? Did you mean Raiden? This is probably the only time there has been engrish transration in a game that was natively in english.

5: The last terrible thing about Mortal Kombat is not pictured here, but it's the disappointment you have knowing that you just spent $30 at Funcoland for a mangled port of your favorite arcade fighter.

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Story Behind GrandTheftEndo

2010-05-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

If you've been following the NES homebrew scene over the past few years, you may have heard about a game called GrandTheftEndo. GrandTheftEndo was originally supposed to be Brian Provinciano's 8-Bit envisionment of Grand Theft Auto 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System but later evolved into being a brand new Grand Theft Auto game set in Liberty City. This game was increadibly popular on homebrew forums, retro gaming blogs, and video game websites until a few years ago when the game's production came to a halt and the creator vanished from the internet.

GrandTheftEndo was the brainchild of Brian Provinciano, who was a canadian game designer that specialized in homebrew. Before GrandTheftEndo, he had made an emulator for Gameboy Advance that played classic DOS Sierra adventure games such as Leisure Suit Larry and King's Quest. Another attribute that makes Brian and his creations impressive is that he did everything by himself. He had made the entirety of GrandTheftEndo on his own. All the graphics, character sprites, artificial intelligence, and even the assembler that he used for this project was programmed and made completely from scratch by himself.

GrandTheftEndo was in devolopment and covered in the news for approximatly 6 years. The project started life in 2002, when Brian started sketching out locations from Grand Theft Auto 3 on graph paper. In 2003, he started designing his own assembler called "The NES High Level Assembler" in order to craft GrandTheftEndo the way he envisioned it. Development began and an official website was established in 2004, and soon after, GrandTheftEndo became extremely popular when retro game enthusiasts posted in forums and blogs about Brian's ambitious project. Popular publications like 1UP, Kotaku, and Wired interviewed Brian about his technological masterpiece. By 2005, The media buzz had mostly died out because most of the aforementioned publications had already covered his game in the prior year and had long since moved on to other more important subjects. In 2006, popularity skyrocketed back into full-force when magizines like Gamepro (Issue 209, February 2006, Page 44) who overlooked the game at first, started to take notice.

Brian originally intended to create an 8-Bit remake of Grand Theft Auto 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System but after taking potential legal complications into consideration, Brian set out to make his own Grand Theft Auto game set in Liberty City. Howard Wen of 1UP.com did an interview with Brian in 2004 where he stated, "It was my initial plan to re-create GTA3 on the NES. However, to keep things safe legally, I began changing all of the characters' names, then dialogue," says Provinciano. "As well, although I had re-created some missions from the original GTA3 for testing, the final game will contain all original missions. You could think of [Grand Theftendo] set in a similar city but with a different character and missions."

After GrandTheftEndo became one of the most anticipated homebrew games in history and after Brian was interviewed by nearly every major gaming publication, he disappeared. In the Spring of 2007, Brian stopped updating his website, and eventually, the website became a broken link. The official GrandTheftEndo website has been dead since December 2007. If you attempt to visit it today, you will get a "404 - PAGE NOT FOUND" error. Brian never announced anything that might've been detrimental to the devolopment process, and he also never said anything about his personal life that might've disrupted the game's release. Nobody truly knows what happened to the game or Brian. All of the journalists who wanted to do a follow up interview with Brian will never be able to because all of his contact information was only listed on his now defunct website.

Now that information regarding GrandTheftEndo is very rare and often incomplete or inaccurate, it's very hard to tell how far Brain was in completing the game. There are five remaining screenshots that are still floating around the internet. From what I gather from the screenshots, he managed to get the mission "Mario's Girl" to function and he had a decent amount of Portland City mapped out. However, Anything else said about GrandTheftEndo that isn't a direct quote from Brian can be classified as pure speculation. As to what happened to Brian Provinciano, nobody really knows. He hasn't worked on anything since production on GrandTheftEndo ended. Some say that he had personal issues that needed to be dealt with, others speculate that he has died. Until Brian returns and enlightens us, we will never have any concrete information on the demise of GrandTheftEndo.

-Addison Gumprecht-

DLC Is Here To Stay

2010-05-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months, I've found myself reading more and more news stories about new download-only games released on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Just last week, I was reading a forum post about Sonic 4 and After Burner Climax coming to current gen home systems in a DLC-only form. I was quite excited to see Sega releasing some new games through a digital means of distribution. However, from what I've read, I seem to be one of the few who are embracing the future of DLC. It appears that many people are displeased with the fact that Sega isn't offering physical copies for some of their newer games. Some claim that Sega is just being cheap and doesn't care enough to drop a few dollars on production, and others claim that DLC is killing the gaming industry and declare that they will never buy a download-only game. After reading these negative thoughts about DLC, I looked back to previous announcements of download-only games like Mega Man 9. It surprised me that even as far back as two years ago, people were up in arms about Capcom not releasing boxed copies of Mega Man 9.

These people don't seem to understand that DLC is going to be a big part of the future of games, like it or not.

If you think about it, most games that are offered as a download only title are games that have a niche audience. I'm sure that certain demographics like retro game fans are a large enough user base to be profitable, but imagine if Capcom went the whole way and spent more money on making Mega Man 10 a boxed product. Capcom would make far less profit on a physical game than on a DLC exclusive game due to the amount of money spent on printing manuals and cover art, molding plastic cases, and stamping discs. Digital distribution not only cuts out the middle man and allows for better profit, but it also helps make games cheaper.

A large contributing factor as to why games are so expensive today is that it takes money to make a physical product. When you drop 60 dollars on the latest games, you're not only paying for the game itself, but you are also paying for the manual, the box, other miscellaneous products that the game may come packaged with (i.e. posters and T-shirts), and you are also paying a certain amount of money to the store that is selling you the game (because that store needs to make enough return profit to stay in business). With DLC, games cost far less because you aren't paying for all of the individual components that go into a boxed product. Instead, you are just paying for the piece of software from the company. I could see downloadable games like Mega Man 10 going for about $30 in a physical form as opposed to the $10 they cost now as a DLC exclusive.

Another solid example of why DLC is helping the industry is that it helps make games much easier to shop for. When I walk into a Gamestop or EB Games, I see numerous racks, aisles, and shelves of games that I either don't know about or care about. If the download services of this current generation didn't exist, the already crowded game stores would just get progressively more and more cluttered to the point of it being unreasonable. If you think about it, digital distribution has had a huge effect on the way games are offered. I can purchase games that are specific to my interests through services such as Steam, XBLA, or PSN, and physical retail space is commonly used for big triple-A titles that catch the attention of a large general audience.

Thanks to the rise of DLC, indie developers like James Silva are able to support themselves and make quality games. If this console generation were a strictly physical media generation, indie developers wouldn't have a place for their games outside of a few obscure flash websites. It would be the same as the last console generation. Sure, the occasional exception like Alien Hominid might slide through, but how many other indie games did you see become successful during the previous console generation?

Even though I've been praising DLC throughout this article, I do have one major concern. Many games are coming out in a download only form and other physical titles are getting expansions and bonus content that's strictly DLC. My concern is what's going to happen years down the road when I want to play these games and content and the services they're offered through are long gone. At any time I want, I can turn on my Xbox and get the latest download only games and have them for years, but what happens when Microsoft shuts down the 360's servers and my hard drive kicks the bucket? Thankfully, a few of the companies behind current triple A titles are making boxed copies of their products containing all of their DLC on a second disc. Bethesda did that last year with the Fallout 3: Game Of The Year Edition. However, Bethesda is one of the grand exceptions to the rule when it comes to releasing boxed copies. This issue can't be debated any further as the future of DLC preservation is uncertain. We'll just have to wait and see how things play out and hopefully, we won't be shit out of luck a decade from now when our console hard drives crash and the online services behind them have long since been shut down.

Another potential problem with DLC is how the transition to the next generation of consoles will be. I love DLC, but I will be very upset if Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony expects us to re-purchase all of our DLC for the next generation consoles, when we've already bought them during this generation. Nintendo has already done this recently with the release of the DSi XL. Any DLC that you purchased with a DSi isn't transferrable to a DSi XL and Nintendo expects you to pay for all of your downloads again. I certainly hope this isn't indicative of the future of DLC.

In conclusion, digital distribution is helping the industry in a multitude of ways. It makes games cheaper to make, buy, and easier shop for. It has also given indie developers an outlet for their products. There is a downside of the uncertain availability of these products in the future, but with download-only games becoming progressively more commonplace, it's very clear that DLC is going to be a big part of the future of games.

-Addison Gumprecht-

The Day EGM Died

2010-05-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

I remember it like it was yesterday. The date was January 6, 2009. I was going downstairs to see if there was a new episode of the Retronauts podcast to download and I was also going to head over to Sega-16.com to browse the forums. It was just like any other day, until I see a topic in the forums entitled "1UP.com sold to UGO Corporation". A small scared and frantic feeling came upon me. The topic had a full transcript of the official announcement. The letter announced the layoff of half of the 1UP team and that Electronic Gaming Monthly and certain 1UP podcasts will be discontinued. I was reading the letter and couldn't believe it. I rushed to 1UP.com, hoping it was just a sick joke.

There was a feature on the homepage as soon as I loaded it. "1UP is now a UGO Publication". That feature said the same as I read before. By this point, I was increadibly worried about the uncertain future of 1UP and all of it's writers. I was going to each and every one of my favorite journalists' blogs in an attempt to see who was hit by the layoffs. So many bright, young minds were simply dismissed from their hard-earned positions. I can't remember the complete list of who all was let go, but to name a few; Matt Chandronat, Ryan O'Donnel, Shane Bettenhausen, James Milke, and Jay Fresche were all effected by UGO's cutbacks at 1UP.

The event was not only tragic to those who lost their jobs, but also to those who lost great co-workers. I recall going to Jeremy Parish's 1UP blog and seeing him really depressed and distressed about the whole ordeal. That really hit home with me because I've idolized Jeremy Parish since I was just an 11 year old kid who loved to read his retro articles in the back of Playstation Magazine. To see my favorite idol completely broken up over something was utterly devastating. To make matters worse, Jeremy and a few other journalists at 1UP included pictures from around the office. It hurt so much to see all of my favorite writers cleaning out their offices, hugging and shaking hands goodbye, and just generally looking defeated.

After the reality of the situation had finally sunk in, I went upstairs to lay in bed. I spent most of the night crying over the possibility that my dream career may very well stay a dream career due to the "death" of 1UP. I felt so crushed. The month before, I had just became active on Gamespot and Sega-16 as an amatuer games journalist. That is what I really want to do with my life and to see the game journalist career field be compromised was a huge blow to my hopes, dreams, and self esteem.

The next day when I came home from school, my mother had just came back from Books-A-Million. She looked at me and said, "I picked you up a new game magazine, I hope you like it.". I took the magazine out of the bag to discover that it was a factory sealed copy of the last EGM to be released on news stands. I got a bittersweet feeling when I saw it. Later that night I never got around to opening it. Instead, I just placed it in my rubbermaid container that I use for the storage of my game magazines. I eventually forgot to make time to read it.

About 2 months later, I rediscovered that new copy of EGM. At that point, EGM had been off of news stands for weeks and there was no chance of ever getting another copy of the last EGM. I thought about opening it and then came to the conclusion of leaving it sealed. I figured that It would be best if later in life, perhaps when I'm writing for 1UP or a similar publication, that I can have this EGM as a time capsule from my youth. A last remnant of my childhood.

-Addison Gumprecht-

Welcome to Dumb Nostalgia

2010-04-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to Dumb Nostalgia! A blog dedicated to old games and the memories surrounding them.

Starting on the second of May, I will be posting a few new articles to kick-start the blog. I have quite a launch line-up planned. To give you a hint at whats to come this Sunday, here's the article titles:
- The Story Behind GrandTheftEndo
- The Day EGM Died
- DLC Is Part Of The Future Of Games

Another article that's going to be released in May:
- ARQuake (Working Title)

Hope you will enjoy the blog.
-Addison Gumprecht-