#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a Videogame Journalist

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote> 

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JohnSollitto

So, I’m a huge comic book fan (if some of you don’t know). The fact that there is a game out about the heroes of the DC Universe fighting each other made by the studio that made Mortal Kombat has officially made this half of my year.

That and the fact that you can play as Aquaman and beat the crap out of people.

Fun character choices aside, there’s something interesting going on with the game Injustice: Gods Among Us that hasn’t really been seen for gaming franchises: a mobile iOS tie-in game.

Now, some of you might be saying, “Well, that’s not entirely unique or new. Those things have been done.” Yes, of course they have.

However, what I think separates this tie-in game on from others is that this one will actually affect your console version of the game. Most mobile tie-ins do nothing but capitalize on the hype and rush of enthusiasm for a title. There are numerous time-waster games that only relate in name and nothing more.

Injustice’s tie-in grants rewards in the form of alternate costumes for your console game. That’s right, they’re cosmetic rewards, but let’s take a second to think about that. Another game that actually rewards you with game content. Sure, it’s kind of lame content, but the idea that there is more to do with the franchise is actually kind of cool. Plus, this also gives you a way around having to purchase all of the costumes with real money.

Of course, getting the costumes is hard and you have to really spend some time to do the work, but I really feel this is a good step for mobile gaming.

There are very few titles that I can think of that really rewarded the owner of a console after playing a mobile game. The only one that really jumps out for me is Pokemon because if you owned any of the Pokemon Stadium games, you could import your team from the Gameboy and play with those on your N64. That’s really it.

The difference there is that the mobile platform was made by Nintendo as well. The fact that mobile iOS devices are now being recognized as a viable platform for a company like Warner Bros. is actually surprising.

I talked a little bit about the mobile market growing a while back, and I think this is quite possibly the best thing that I’ve seen in terms of big titles and tie-ins.

This type of project is the exact kind of thing that could keep smaller companies in business and give some opportunities to new people getting into the industry. Mobile gaming companies are becoming larger and larger in the market place.

Sure, they may be content mills, producing game after game to keep the lights on. But, if a company could produce a few solid titles, they could continue to build off of those and make a really great reputation.

Mobile games might actually be something to look forward to, rather than just the next installment of Angry Birds.

Just some food for thought.

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!

Check out his gaming site too!

So, I’m a huge comic book fan (if some of you don’t know). The fact that there is a game coming out about the heroes of the DC Universe fighting each other made by the studio that made "Mortal Kombat" has officially made this half of my year.

That and the fact that you can play as Aquaman and beat the crap out of people.

Fun character choices aside, there’s something interesting going on with the game "Injustice: Gods Among Us" that hasn’t really been seen for gaming franchises: a mobile iOS tie-in game.

Now, some of you might be saying, “Well, that’s not entirely unique or new. Those things have been done.” Yes, of course they have.

However, what I think separates this tie-in game on from others is that this one will actually affect your console version of the game. Most mobile tie-ins do nothing but capitalize on the hype and rush of enthusiasm for a title. There are numerous time-waster games that only relate in name and nothing more.

"Injustice’s" tie-in grants rewards in the form of alternate costumes for your console game. That’s right, they’re cosmetic rewards, but let’s take a second to think about that. Another game that actually rewards you with game content. Sure, it’s kind of lame content, but the idea that there is more to do with the franchise is actually kind of cool. Plus, this also gives you a way around having to purchase all of the costumes with real money.

Oddly enough, neither of them are using their rings.

Of course, getting the costumes is hard and you have to really spend some time to do the work, but I really feel this is a good step for mobile gaming.

There are very few titles that I can think of that really rewarded the owner of a console after playing a mobile game. The only one that really jumps out for me is "Pokemon" because if you owned any of the "Pokemon Stadium" games, you could import your team from the Gameboy and play with those on your N64. That’s really it.

The difference there is that the mobile platform was made by Nintendo as well. The fact that mobile iOS devices are now being recognized as a viable platform for a company like Warner Bros. is actually surprising.

I talked a little bit about the mobile market growing a while back, and I think this is quite possibly the best thing that I’ve seen in terms of big titles and tie-ins.

This type of project is the exact kind of thing that could keep smaller companies in business and give some opportunities to new people getting into the industry. Mobile gaming companies are becoming larger and larger in the market place.

Sure, they may be content mills, producing game after game to keep the lights on. But, if a company could produce a few solid titles, they could continue to build off of those and make a really great reputation.

Mobile games might actually be something to look forward to, rather than just the next installment of "Angry Birds."

Just some food for thought.

#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a Videogame Journalist (Goodbye, Old Friend)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote> 

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JohnSollitto

On April 3rd, I woke up to disturbing news.

One of my all-time favorite publishers, LucasArts, had closed its doors as a development studio.

Since George Lucas sold his company and all those under LucasFilm to Disney, I had been wary about Mickey Mouse doing some house-cleaning.

Sure enough, LucasArts was hit and is now only we can only look forward to games about Star Wars and Indiana Jones coming from companies that bid high enough to be able to handle a game that Disney decides they want to produce.

While it is true that LucasArts has not produced a decent game since Battlefront or Battlefront 2, it is unfortunate to know that two very promising and much anticipated games are now canned, or at least put in indefinite suspension until Disney decides that it is time to bring them back to the public eye.

Why is this upsetting to me? Well, for one, I wanted to work at LucasArts. From my very first journey into the Star Wars universe outside outside of a VHS or the movie theater, I have been captivated by the work the company did.

Not only did they produce top-notch flight sims like TIE Fighter and Rogue Squadron, but the cheeky point-and-click adventures for the computer provided hours of family entertainment and intellectually stimulating fun.

What has Disney produced? I hesitate to say a load of sub-par games as the Epic Mickey franchise is both fun and unique, but honestly, when was the last time you played a Disney Interactive game? From cart racing to movie tie-in games, Disney has released nothing but games that many people just acknowledge and don’t really take seriously.

This is not to say that LucasArts has done anything of note recently that would shatter the cosmos. Some might debate that the Force Unleashed series was actually okay if you ignore the second game, but the last game that I remember Disney producing that wasn’t a racing game based off of Cars was the Tron game and I still want my money back from that.

I’m worried. While Bioware and other companies have stepped up to the plate and made games like Knights of the Old Republic, there’s just not enough in Disney’s powerhouse to make me feel like they’ll do good with Star Wars brand when it comes to video games.

In a similar vein, THQ recently shut its doors and sold off all of their franchises to those willing to buy. I’m not sure if it’s something in the air or if there really is trouble in Paradise, but there have been some closures and big layoffs in the gaming industry.

For companies dedicated to making games that people enjoy and love, they’re sure on some hard times.

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!

Check out his gaming site too!

#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a Videogame Journalist (Mobile Gaming)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote> 

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JohnSollitto

So, I’ve been doing some very interesting work since I’ve graduated school.

I’ve got numerous things going on, some of which I can’t talk about, but one thing I’ve been working on has been a site called Game Mob that is going to focus solely on mobile gaming.

Now, I’ve been vocal about mobile gaming in the past. Maybe not on this site in particular, but to my friends and colleagues I’ve mentioned that I didn’t particularly like it. However, starting to work on content for this site has actually changed my tune quite a lot.

Perusing the mobile gaming market in the last month or so has exposed me to a TON of mobile games that are both fun and creative. They’ve definitely changed my opinion from thinking that the world was full of Angry Birds and Words with Friends.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of time wasters like that out there, but for every one of those there are a dozen good games that are undiscovered and passed-over.

Take for example the game Life is Magic. Not a fantastic game, but boy oh boy was I addicted to it for a couple of weeks hardcore. My girlfriend and I spent hours playing that game together and fighting monsters.

What was really unique about it, at least to me, was that the game map changed depending on where you were geographically at the time. It tapped into Google maps or the GPS of your phone and found out where you were in the world, and spawned little dungeons and caves around you to fight. Not only that, but you could visit the magical and medieval version of Starbucks or Sports Chalet to get quests or buy upgrades.

That little thing was just enough to make me smile and giggle a little bit when I started playing each day.

Then there was the game Vector for which I recently wrote the script of a video review. You all know free-running and parkour right? All that crazy stuff that was in the Daniel Craig James Bond movie? Well this game has that in it and you just run from bad guys while free-running. It’s awesome!

Now some of these games you have to pay for and some of them you don’t. I can’t get mad at that. I really can’t. These are small teams or companies pumping out games to keep the lights on to make more games just like this so that they can save up enough to make a bigger game. At least some of them are. But what I can’t abide is the blatant money squeezing of some of the bigger companies.

There are some companies, I won’t name names, but there are some out there who will give you a great game for free, but constantly try and charge you at every turn to try and get a quick buck out of you. They’ve got ads in their games, they’ve got multiple titles, and they’re a big company. So why do they do this?

Sure, every company needs to make the most out of their product. I get that. But is this how a mobile company really works? Is this what’s needed for mobile games to survive? Finding clever ways to make the gamer pay for things they may need or may not want to pay for? It’s a little sad that these companies need to do that.

I’m not sure if it is the fact that there’s so little money in the mobile market or it’s just the business model of that company, but I feel like something has to change to make some of these really great games that are hidden in the App Store or Google Play Store, rise up and survive without having to try and get gamers to pay a lot of cash for stuff that should just be in the game.

I’ll be writing more as Game Mob goes into production, but I’m excited for this new opportunity and to see where this part of the industry goes.

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!

Check out his gaming site too!

#Nerdsunite: A Return to Black Mesa

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Sean. He has a really rad site called Violent Gamer, and he's here today to talk about some of the latest and greatest in the gaming industry. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT SEAN !!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @violent_gamer

It's still alive! That's the big news. Black Mesa Source is a complete modification that is recreating Half Life 1 in the Half Life 2 source engine. The developers have been working on this mod since 2005, often with a dozen or so people working on the mod. Back in 2008 they released a trailer that looked fantastic and showed an expected release date of 2009. They didn't release Black Mesa Source in 2009 and since then most people assumed that mod had died, especially since news and updates for it ended sometime in 2009. Nathan Grayson Rock Paper Shotgun did an interview with the project lead of Black Mesa Source, Carlos Montero, earlier this week and he explained what has happened since then. Most importantly he explained that they are still working on the mod and they are hoping to have something out for it in the near future. Before I go over some of the really interesting parts of that interview let me show you the trailer that got everyone so hyped up for Black Mesa Source back in 2008.

Looks pretty spectacular right? Well they wanted to release the mod back in 2009, but they have had very many difficulties. There has been numerous problems with quality control, meaning parts of the mod were not up to snuff with the level of quality that other parts, so they have spent a long time trying to keep the quality of everything consistently high. They have also had problems with internal communication and dealing with their team of developers who are located all around the globe. In the interview Carlos explains that one of their biggest problems has had to do with balance. They've had to a lot of work trying to make Half Life 1 meet the modern standard and trying to keep make it not too challenging for modern gamers. If you want to see how the Black Mesa Source has been developing they have a nifty Time Line available that shows what has been publicly released for it. On that timeline it is interesting to see where they implemented their media blackout. Since 2009 they felt quite bad about hyping up the game and then not releasing it, so that's why they haven't been hyping it up anymore in anyway. Now that it's nearing release, again, we may start to see a lot more on it.

Black Mesa Source still doesn't have a solid release date and the only thing Carlos was willing to say, with some prodding by Nathan, was that they are working very hard on getting something out to fans soon-ish. The game is entirely custom at this point and had thousands of custom textures, sounds, dialogue and models. Hopefully someday we will see the fruit of their labor. It looks to be a splendid trip back to Black Mesa and Half Life 1. If you would like to read all of it head on over to Violent Gamer. Thanks for checking it out.

Black Mesa Main Website: http://www.blackmesasource.com/

#nerdsunite

click here to follow Sean on the twittah!

#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a videogame journalist

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's John Sollitto

There’s something about the phrase “Character creation” in a game’s description that makes our eyes go wild with joy and possibility. I mean, who doesn’t love putting a virtual version of themselves into a game and slaying a dragon or buying a huge house and throwing crazy parties in it?

The evolution of character creation was slow. Of course it started out in those pen and paper games we all love, and when PC gaming and console gaming came around, well there was just nothing stopping us. And it’s not just games where you fight hordes of monsters or save princesses.

I bought Fight Night Champions the other day. Why? Cause I like boxing and I like beating people up, that’s why. Don’t judge me. But I bought it and I was looking through the game modes and found out that you could create a little boxer dude and have him go through a career in boxing, fighting made up boxers and real ones. How could I resist?

So I made digital John Sollitto, seen here:

And off I went. Really the big thing about making a character for me is that level of immersion. It’s letting you do all those things you’ve always wanted to do but never could, to fully escape reality. It’s why people read books, or watch movies, except you’re inside of it and your decisions influence the outcome. It’s your tale.

Sports games do this all the time now and thankfully so because I am crap at some of the games in real life but by god can I catch ANYTHING in Madden or score six hat-tricks in a string of hockey games.

Of course you get people who are like, “Why don’t you go out and ACTUALLY play soccer?” Why don’t I do that? Because I’m terrible at it and I want to play in the FIFA World Cup one day and if I spend $60 I can go there in a second and be amazing and win, as opposed to training my whole life and maybe getting there.

Is it so wrong to live out a dream in digital form? Can’t we just escape reality and turn our volume up on max and watch ourselves score goal after goal in glorious succession to the roar of the crowd? Or what about seeing ourselves climb to the top of a mountain and defeat a dragon?

I literally jumped up and down in my house when I defeated Wladimir Klitschko in Fight Night. The dude is a MONSTER. He had like 7 inches and 20 pounds on me and I KO’d him with a straight crack to the face! IT WAS AWESOME. I mean look at him! He’s crazy looking! He’s like the non-blonde Ivan Drago.

What I’m trying to say is that video games offer us just as much of an escape as other forms of art and literature. Games are glorious and I honestly don’t know what I’d do without the little digital Johns running around in the video game universe saving worlds and winning title matches. They’re fun, what else is there to say?

I think the industry has finally realized that immersing the player in the game creates a level of investment that you honestly can’t replicate. It’s ingenious, it’s incredible, and I applaud game devs.

However, the more this happens the better the immersion has to be because if people feel cheated with a character they’ve created and feel that their level of freedom is cut off, then creating a character can backfire. We’re seeing that now with the Mass Effect debacle.

My favorite is when they tell you that the player has “INFINITE LEVELS OF CUSTOMIZATION” and what they really mean is “You can change the character’s clothes and weapons! And choose their skills! But you have to be the same character because that’s our story.” There’s nothing wrong with this, but there is misleading market speech when you say “character customization.” That phrase comes with so much expectation now that there should be more specificity to diffuse potentially disgruntled customers.

I’m so excited to see what the future of the industry brings, especially with so many cameras and facial technology coming to the front. We’re about to see a lot of our own faces in games, and not just the best recreations we can do. THE FUTURE IS NOW!

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!