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2old2type Ep 88: Over Under Over

Posted by DSmooth — 2009-07-03T08:28:47-04:00

Episode 88 of 2old2type Radio, the official podcast of 2old2play.com, has been posted and is ready to please. Read on for more information.

DSmooth and Codemonkey celebrate the one-year anniversary of the resurrection of 2old2type Radio with another great episode. They handle the usual dose of new releases and gaming news, plus an extra huge batch of listener calls. This week is a must listen.

If you'd like to post comments on this episode, or questions for the next one, feel free to use this forum post.

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Squeeballs Party

Posted by Drost — 2009-06-30T17:45:45-04:00

Graeme Monk from Eiconic Games, Ltd. took time out of his busy schedule to talk with 2o2p about Squeeballs. For those of you who enjoy family games with motion, Squeeballs might be the game for you.

I know many of our readers have yet to hear about this game. Can you please give us a few details about this game?

Monk � Squeeballs are cute, cuddly, small plush toys with a maniacal sense of humor and mischievousness. On a secret island the Squeeballs come to life and are tested to ensure they meet the arduous standards of modern toys. In Squeeballs the player is given the fun task of putting the Squeeballs through their paces in numerous testing environments and under some inventive testing purposes. Those that pass the tests are shipped to market, those that fail are �recycled�!

Squeeballs is coming out for the Wii, DS & 360 this fall. After the announcement of Sony�s motion control, will this game be ported over to the PS3 down the road?

Monk � It�s a little early in the day to say for definite, but it�s certainly a possibility. The game was initially developed on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 using Performance Designed Products� (PDP) Freedom technology. Since the announcement of Sony�s new motion controller, the Freedom will be exclusive to Xbox360. The control interface between the two systems is highly likely to be similar so supporting PlayStation3 with the current game shouldn�t be too difficult a task. All I can say is watch this space.

What engine are you using to make this game?

Monk � Moai is our own proprietary engine and tools pipeline. We took the decision to develop the engine and pipeline ourselves as it gives us complete control over our technology and we�re not then reliant on a third party. This gives us the advantage of tailoring the technology to the game, allowing us to maximize the content and experience. Since its inception Moai has been regularly updated and part of that process is to support the Freedom controller. Our control interface works closely with the raw and processed data that we receive from the Freedom units. Throughout the production of Squeeballs we�ve worked closely with the PDP team to ensure we�re updated on the latest hardware and thus ensure the game supports it to ensure a more involving and in-depth gaming experience.

How many different games will there be to play?�

Monk � There are 11 different games to partake in. There are also more than 150 mini game challenges that allow the player to try the techniques of the ultimate test engineer. The games were developed specifically for the game and the Freedom controller. They range from the recognizable, e.g. 10 Pin and Golf, to the more surreal such as Paint, Cooking and Stampede. We tried to imagine the kind of games that kids play with cuddly toys and then use that influence to design each of the test facilities. The result is often chaotic, especially at the higher testing levels, but always fun and brings a smile to all; kids, parents and even the elderly! The game can also be played in Head-to-Head mode where players can challenge one another to achieve the best scores and also allows for direct competition rather than just taking turns on the controller. Head to Head was really fun to develop as the interaction isn�t just on screen but between players themselves. There�s something deeply satisfying watching Dad trying to beat his son at some of the games and the expressions from both, one you just wish you could capture and bottle!

The Wii uses the Wii-Mote & Nunchuck controller for this motion-controlled game. How will the 360 version be able to provide this same level of motion fun?

Monk � The game was designed from the outset to support a single controller which is the design methodology of the Freedom, so the Wii only uses the Wii Remote. However, the Freedom controller is more accurate and has additional capabilities to that of the Wii Remote, so when we developed the Wii version we looked at each of the games and how the potential control methods would differ. Those that were significantly different were redesigned but we kept as much as possible between the two. What is interesting is that we have been able to allow gameplay on Wii that was thought we wouldn�t be able to support. So we are developing Squeeballs that not only supports motion control on Xbox 360 but also has some unique gameplay on Wii. The result is both versions differ over the other in some way but are still extremely fun to play.

Will there be any other attachments other than the remotes that are needed to play this game for the 360?

Monk � The game will be shipped with everything that the player needs to play the game, i.e. the game, the sensor units and the controller. If a friend has bought the game as well, then the controllers can be shared to play the Head to Head mode. Additional controllers may be sold separately but they won�t be required to play a majority of the game.

Will there be DLC for Squeeballs?

Monk � It has been something that has been discussed internally. We�re looking at providing theme packs and gamerpics as part of the DLC system. As for extending the game content itself we�re going to leave that for the time being and investigate it further for the next project. Our Moai system does allow us to update the core game in order to support additional content so I wouldn�t rule anything out.

What is one of the best moments for the team so far working on this project?

Monk � Too many to choose from! We�re a very tight knit group of developers so we have lots of great moments, with quite a few coming out of the gameplay not quite behaving how it should do. Such moments allowed us to refine and add subtleties to the controls. There probably isn�t one defining moment but the experience of seeing the Squeeballs develop over time was really enjoyable and one that we very much would like to take further. Looking back over the project it�s amazing to see the journey that they have taken. Each of the Squeeballs has developed its own personality and we�ve plenty more ideas for what they can do, the kind of mischief they can get up to and some superb ideas for new Squeeballs. We�re very much hoping that we�ll experience the same moments and more for the next project.

Squeeballs and the Freedom controller release this fall for $70 (includes game, sensors and one Freedom controller).

The Worst Ever Q and A

Posted by Drost — 2009-06-29T16:47:44-04:00

Bubba, tired of being nice to you miscreants, decided insulting everyone would be more fun than writing something meaningful. Enjoy.

Well, I tried being �popular.� Quite frankly the return on that investment was not what I had hoped. So I�m going to throw this shit wagon into an 180◦ slide and see if I can�t just offend the crap out of everyone.� For those of you worried about my immortal soul, don�t sweat it.�

There is no God.�

He�s a fairy tale like Santa Claus and Paul Revere.

Grow up.

That being stated, here�s my list of some of the worst things ever�

Worst Game Console Ever: The PS3, obviously. Sony knows it. You know it. I know it. Even the mouth-breathing jizz-bag fanboys who shelled out $600 for a glorified Blu-ray player know. Let�s do the math together, shall we?

$600.00 - Cables Not Included + Little Big Planet = Worst Console Ever�

You can stop now with the sheep-like bleating to get doodi to remove the �PS3 Sucks� graphic.� It�s there for a reason and all the whiny half-baked-faux-grass-roots-advocacy-whine-a-thons you stage won�t change that fact.� It won�t convince us you�re right either.� We will not share your pain.� Go shine a trophy.

Worst Song Ever:� Wonderful Tonight. This song was the inspiration for this column. While stuck in traffic two out of my six preset stations were playing this garbled schmaltz-fest at the same time (what kind of pussy stations do you have programmed into your stereo? -- ed.). It pissed me off so bad it made me want to throw a four-year-old out an eleventh story window and then write an even worse song about that.� If you�re a rock star take Pete Townsend�s advice and die already�before you get old.

Oh yeah, if this was your wedding song, kill yourself. First, kill your wife, then kill yourself. You are trite and superfluous people. Stop breathing my air.

Worst Fiction Genre Ever:� Fantasy. Don�t even mention Tolkien to me.� If one more person mentions the fact that he invented his own language to me I�ll shove a replica sword up their ass.� Two words -- Asperger�s Syndrome. He invented his own language because nobody else wanted to talk to his deluded ass. Rip the cover off your new copy of the Elfstones of Shannara and read it on the plane. Adding more writers does not make a book better.

Worst Clan Ever:� The Cabal. I don�t even know anything about it. I just know J-Cat has something to do with it and it reeks of poorly wrapped Tampax in that forum. Girl Gamers Suck.

Worst Movie Ever:� Spaceballs. Mel Brooks was funny once. Once. Nothing after Blazing Saddles was even remotely watchable and Spaceballs was proof that John Candy deserved to die young. I only wish he had left more orphans.

Worst Blog Ever: Kittenmag�s. It started off awesome. Like a runaway truck loaded with pastel nighties careening in slow motion into a Jewish singles dance. But now it�s like a Russ Meyer movie on network television. Oh, and by the way you testosterone laden-socially-retarded-drooling-fuckwits, she�s a dude. It�s the interwebs. Dudes do that sort of shit all the time.

Worst Xbox Live Teammate for Any Game: Markus. Want a clan started and then abandoned? How about somebody to pick up that last health pack after he just finished healing himself?� Who forgot to close the door to the safe room in L4D? Who just jumped out of the back of the hog to grab the Banshee?�

Markus. That�s who.

Worst Roommate Ever:� "Bobby from Rutgers." Yup. For a second consecutive column I'm throwing my nephew under the bus. First he couldn't see through the machinations of one of the world's oldest cons and now he's getting the boot from his fifth different living arrangement in a calendar year as yet another group of drunken frat boys have decided they've had enough of him. He still has my wife and his mother convinced that he's just made some poor choices roommate wise. All I can say is that in all five of these dorm rooms/apartments/sub lets/dumpsters there has been one common denominator.

Worst 2o2p Member Ever:� Mike James. Waaah! Nobody�s paying attention to me! Waaahhh! I�m leaving! Waaahhh!� Nobody noticed I left! Waaahhh! I�m coming back!� Waaaahhh! Let�s all play Peggle. And seriously dude, associate�s degrees are a joke.

Worst �Eff You to the New Guy� at a Job Ever: �Hey let�s give him the office in the middle of nowhere and not give him a printer.� I�m e-mailing timesheets to my friend that works in the hospital and then walking down two flights and underneath a city block through tunnels festooned with medical waste to pick it up off a printer in the morgue. It�s like the goddamn hospital scene in Jacob�s Ladder.

Worst Podcast Ever: 2old2type Radio Episodes 38-87. DSmooth is so completely self-absorbed and carb-deprived he honestly believes he created online multiplayer. Ask him. He�ll deny it like this ... �well I�m not saying it I invented it. But it wouldn�t exist if it wasn�t for me.� His ego has launched him out of the phylum and species into his own ginormous-headed master race where even his children are mere receptacles of his genetically superior DNA rather than individuals. Codemonkey is being celebrated by the American Medical Association this summer as the newest cure for insomnia. If misinformation is a virus these two are patient-zero of the swine flu pandemic. They�re the Jonah Falcon of the podcasting world. And that�s bad. Really, really bad.

Worst Pop Star Ever: Michael Jackson. Way to touch kids then die.

Dick.

Worst City Ever: Chicago. Trust me I�ve been there four times and will be headed back again August 6th-10th for another lost weekend with you yokels. Got a problem with that? Buy a ticket and kick my ass. Line forms to the left.

Now onto the questions!

Snuphy asks:�

�

I don't have anything funnier than this. Add your own caption.

J-Cat Asks: Hey! How about I just come on out to Jersey and cave your smart-ass head in with a baseball bat?

Oh Yeah? You and what army?

J-Cat Asks: Maybe I won't even fly out there, maybe I'll just parcel post you some anthrax. Would that be better?

I'm not even sure you can joke about stuff like that without getting into some kind of trouble with the feds.

All right. Truthfully, I'm just about out of questions. I have a few saved up for later releases of games and a few that I can't think of anything funny or trenchant to say about so go here and post some more for me. You can also go here to report me to the appropriate authorities. But you don't want to do that. I'm whimsical and pithy.

2old2type Ep 87: Roll Out

Posted by DSmooth — 2009-06-26T07:50:07-04:00

2old2type Radio Episode 87, the official podcast of 2old2play.com, has been posted and is ready for your listening pleasure. Read on for more information.

DSmooth and Codemonkey have prepared a heaping dose of the 2old2type goodness you all love. They cover the hot new releases, the biggest gaming stories of the week, and handle some listener feedback - both positive and negative. Overall, a great, slightly-oversized, episode.

If you'd like to post comments on this episode, or questions for the next one, feel free to use this forum post.

Please check out our sponsors: and

�

Direct Download | Subscribe Now | What Is 2old2type? | RSS Feed

(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com

�

A Peek At V3.0s Look

Posted by doodirock — 2009-06-24T18:32:03-04:00

After a few months of trial and error, constant feed back from SCC members, and donations from the community, I'm happy to show off what should become the new face of 2old2play.

SCC (Senior Citizen Card) members have already been working with me and the designers to help guild the new look of 2old2play, but we think it is time to share the design with the rest of the community. For version 3, our goal was to keep the same feel as Version 2 has, with a bit more refinement and polish.

We started by stripping out a lot of the bloat that we have accumulated throughout the years of V2's launch and tried to refine the areas of navigation, log-in, donation, and news. We also wanted to brighten up the text and create a better contrast that is a bit more easy on the eyes. After all, the idea of a dark contrast for older gamers never really made much sense in the first place.

We then wanted to make blogs a bit easier to sift throughout all pages so we added arrows on both sides. This way you wont have to go to the blogging page every time you want to look beyond the top 7. In a similar move we tried to make clans much more accessible on the home page by creating one area for people to search, research, and learn more about the clans of 2old2play. The main focus is to get more people into more 2o2p clans faster, so we hope this is yet another step in that direction.

All the babbling aside, thank you so much to all the members that helped to fund this design with their donations from SCC, Events, Art Auctions, and site donations. We are now looking to complete the next phase of development and can't wait to share more information once it's available. If you have any suggestions, ideas, or reasons to bitch, please feel free to do so here. Without further adieu, I give you v3.0.

Click To Make Larger

Oxytocin - Harmonix Crew Drops Musical Endorphins

Posted by DSmooth — 2009-06-22T09:00:15-04:00

Waterborn sat down with the members of Oxytocin, a hip-hop/electronica/geek core ensemble that is made up of various employees from Harmonix.

They talked music, video games and how working in the gaming industry can affect an artist's outlook on music.

Listen to the interview to get acquainted with Oxytocin Crew, then make plans to check them out live this Thursday, June 25th at the Good Life, 28 Kingston St. in Boston, for a FREE concert. The show kicks off at 9:00 pm, so be sharp so you don't miss anything.

You can either download it here, or stream it below:

�

2old2type Ep 86: Wolfram Alpha Knows All

Posted by DSmooth — 2009-06-19T06:57:50-04:00

Episode 86 of 2old2type Radio, the official podcast of 2old2play.com, has been posted and is ready to please. Read on for more information.

Like an atomic bomb, DSmooth and Codemonkey drop another great episode on you this week. From the biggest gaming news stories of the week, to this week's new releases, to listener feedback, the episode is chock full of everything listeners demand.

If you'd like to post comments on this episode, or questions for the next one, feel free to use this forum post.

Please check out our sponsors: and

�

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podcast@2old2play.com

�

2old2play Community Get Together

Posted by doodirock — 2009-06-15T14:58:19-04:00

Put your kids to bed early on June 19th and meet your fellow 2old2players online to play some of the games you already enjoy. We will be starting at 7 pm CST and going until about 10pm. Beat up on your fellow 2o2p members in one of these four games: COD 4, COD W@W, Halo 3 and GOW 2.

Without getting complicated, this is how it will work:

If you are into Halo 3 CoD, GOW, and more, add �a2o2proom1� to your Friends List. If your thing is the COD games, add �a2o2proom2� to your Friends List. At 7 pm CST, sign in and we will pull you into a party and set you up with other 2old2players.

This is a great opportunity for you to meet some of the people behind the scenes on the site and really understand what we�re all about.

The follow is a list of Press and Writers, Site Moderators and Popular Bloggers that you will be play playing with:

BigOne � GOW2

Caesar � H3

Pearly � Peggle

Durty � H3

Tdrag � COD5 W@W

NoGame22 � COD W@W

MikeJames � COD4

Waterborn - COD4

J-Cat � COD4

DSmooth � H3

Don�t be shy. Send your friend requests out and be ready for a great night of gaming and getting to know the 2old2play community!

2old2type Ep 85: Virtual Rock Paper Scissors

Posted by DSmooth — 2009-06-12T07:58:34-04:00

2old2type Radio Episode 85, the official podcast of 2old2play.com, has been posted and is ready for your listening pleasure. Read on for more information.

DSmooth and Codemonkey return to their regularly scheduled programming this week. After the oversized E3 episode, the boys are back to covering the new releases, top gaming stories of the week, as well as a bunch of listener feedback. Toss in some virtual rock paper scissors and you have a great show.

If you'd like to post comments on this episode, or questions for the next one, feel free to use this forum post.

Please check out our sponsors: and

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(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com

Jetson's E3 '09 Report (part 1)

Posted by Drost — 2009-06-11T13:41:16-04:00

As it turns out, 2o2p did have a man on the ground during E3. Here's Jetson's take on what he saw.

�

Introduction

This is my 7th time attending E3 and it's nice to see it back on track. It's still not the behemoth show that imploded back in '06 but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Although it's a little smaller with fewer companies attending, it's now actually possible to navigate the isles and hear the game reps demoing their wares.

Disclaimer

I am a Xbox gamer and for the most part only cover X360 games. Even with only one platform to worry about there is no way I can play all the games at E3, so I mostly choose the titles that interest me, and hopefully some of you. One of the things that keeps me coming back to E3, besides the obvious (to play games) is the chance to talk with the game developers who are so passionate about their games. My brief write-ups for the most part don't contain all of the details found on the major sites, but rather my impressions of the various demos and/or the game developers intent for the final product.

Halo 3 ODST - Bungie/Microsoft, Shipping Sept. 22, 2009

Let me start with one aspect of 1st/3rd person shooters that's never discussed, but in my opinion is an important game design element: FOV (field of view). All shooters (all games, really) have a virtual lens through which we view the game world. Developers like Id (Quake), Epic (Unreal) and Valve (Half Life, Left for Dead) use a wider lens (shorter focal length), which I prefer, while other companies like Bungie use a narrower lens. Then there are companies like Dice who can't make up their mind and go narrow on Battlefield Bad Company's singleplayer and wider on multiplayer.

One of the first things I noticed (and appreciated) during my time with Halo 3: ODST was the wider FOV. It's only 10% according to Paul Bertone Design Director, but it really made an impact with me. Paul said because there is no radar to alert you of bad guys and because the performance of the game engine has been optimized they were able to widen the FOV and still keep the framerate steady. (Wider FOV means more stuff happening on screen).

Microsoft's Tina Wood interviews Bungie's Paul Bertone

The demo I played is a new four-player co-op mode called "Firefight," is akin to Gears of War 2 Horde mode. You and your teammates share seven lives as you duke it out with wave after wave of Covenant baddies. After you expend your lives and the rounds end, you are treated to a scoring screen where you can see who is the winner and loser of your group. Headshots count higher as do multi kills etc. Skulls make a return and in Firefight they are randomly turned on/off thought the rounds.

On the left side of the HUD you can see the Skull icons

In the original Halo game you needed health packs to replenish your health. Now that mechanic is back for your Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. You also have a small regenerative shield, but the only way to get your health bars back is with health packs. You can't dual wield or jump quite as high. Gone are the X button-deployed gadgets. Now the X button turns on a visor setting which brightens up dark environments and helps you locate friends and foes with a tracer outlines around them. I asked if there will be any new vehicles Paul said with only a one year development cycle they would have been too difficult to implement.

Even with those changes ODST still looks, feels, and plays just like Halo 3. I feel any fan of the franchise will want to grab it on day one.

Alpha Protocal-- Obsidian Entertainment/SEGA; Shipping Oct 2009

I went into this demo knowing absolutely nothing about this game and came out the other side very optimistic about it. Billed as a 25-hour 3rd-person action/spy RPG, Alpha Protocol appears to be greater than the sum of its parts. The bullet list of features may not impress you as anything new, but they all seem to come together in a somewhat fresh package. First off, the overall spy network that makes up the game's foundation is just fun to play in. Sure, it's over the top, but that's part of the fun.

�
The tag line, "Your weapon is choice," was hammered home to us as the developers explained their take on the dialog tree. They mentioned Mass Effect and Fallout 3 as inspiration. In Alpha Protocol there is no good/bad meter, no halo or horns. They call their system, "Stance." Your choices are more about your rep. Your morality is ambiguous. The dialog tree choices are also timed. You have about 10 seconds to pick your response. This is to help keep up the tension. If you don't make a choice the game will make it for you based on past actions, stance etc.

Here you can see your dialog choices:

Like any good RPG, you will have many skills and weapons/gadgets to upgrade. You won't be able to upgrade all of your skills so you need to pick a class like stealth, for example, and upgrade the appropriate skills. There are always multi ways of completing a mission. The gun play action and graphics are not anything special but considering the type of game seem perfectly fine. There were some set pieces that blew up nicely in the demo. There will be no vehicles to pilot but there may be some on rails sequences.

The 50-person development team has been working on the game for three years and has recorded thousands of lines of dialog reflecting all the different paths you can take.

I loved Mass Effect and Fallout 3 and look forward to this game as well.

Rogue Warrior -� Rebellion/Bethesda Softworks, 3rd quarter 2009

This will be short. This game is based on real life ex-Navy SEAL-turned author Dick Marcinko. You actually play as him in the game. You have many hand to hand combat moves you can pull off as well as an assortment of weapons. Frankly this demo did not impress me at all. It had generic written all over it. Now that's not to say the final game won't be better, but based on the little slice I was shown it's a pass for now. Doesn't even deserve a picture. Ouch!

Stay tuned for part 2. More games to come including, Battlefield 1943, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Homefront, Brink and much more.

2old2play News Feed

2old2type Ep 88: Over Under Over

(773) 527-2961 podcast@2old2play.com

Squeeballs Party

The Worst Ever Q and A

2old2type Ep 87: Roll Out

(773) 527-2961 podcast@2old2play.com

A Peek At V3.0s Look

Oxytocin - Harmonix Crew Drops Musical Endorphins

2old2type Ep 86: Wolfram Alpha Knows All

(773) 527-2961 podcast@2old2play.com

2old2play Community Get Together

2old2type Ep 85: Virtual Rock Paper Scissors

(773) 527-2961 podcast@2old2play.com

Jetson's E3 '09 Report (part 1)

Introduction

Disclaimer

Halo 3 ODST - Bungie/Microsoft, Shipping Sept. 22, 2009

Alpha Protocal-- Obsidian Entertainment/SEGA; Shipping Oct 2009

Rogue Warrior -� Rebellion/Bethesda Softworks, 3rd quarter 2009

(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com

(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com

(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com

(773) 527-2961
podcast@2old2play.com