Themed Tech

Southern California Parks will own 2012!

2011-02-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

It looks like 2012 will be an incredible year for Southern California. Not since 2004 have we seen so many additions made to theme parks in California. Back then the same three players (Disney, Universal and Sea World) all added new rides (with Tower of Terror, Revenge of the Mummy, and Journey To Atlantis) to compete for visitors time.

Sad thing was all three of those rides were just copies of rides from Florida. What made it worse was none of the rides really used experience from their prior iterations to really improve guest experience. For numerous reasons the rides were all built with budgets smaller then their predecessors and engineered as rides the parks would prefer to operate rather then rides guests would like to see.

However it appears the attitude for this decade will be completely different. Each park is executing its own ambitious expansion plan. Even though some of these ride systems have been seen, the instillations are more guest focused and something unique to the market is being done with each one.

Manta

I'll start by describing Manta which is Sea World's new bid for 2012 dominance. This was the last of the rides to be announced and so sadly will not be seeing as much time spent on its construction as the other projects are seeing. However getting this ride installed was no small accomplishment for Sea World considering how difficult it is to install ANYTHING in San Diego.

The ride will bring a MUCH needed thrill to the San Diego park that is lacking. The ride will be a MAC coaster featuring a launch that will bring it up to speed rather rapidly. The maximum height was sadly limited by the coastal commission to a mere 30ft though the maximum drop height is 54 ft thanks to building much of the ride underground.
Manta layout

While some details may not sound too thrilling (I believe the Atlantis ride already in Seaworld San Diego has a longer drop) the coaster itself is actually set to be quite action packed. When executed it should have rather impressive projection effects in its launch sequence and dip in and out of caves keeping the ride both fun and action packed (something the dumbed down Atlantis ride lacks).

The other exciting thing about the addition of this ride is the announcement that it will include an expansion to the manta exhibit present in the park. The line will actually take guests through manta tanks giving people something to be engaged in while they wait for the ride.

Views into the tanks will also be available to those who don't wish the ride the coaster. The whole expansion works great both for increasing the parks collection of aquatic creatures while giving the park a much needed injection of excitement.

Transfomers

Universals ride for 2012 will be a hybrid 3D darkride themed to Transformers. The ride system used comes from the award winning Spiderman ride which opend in Islands of Adventure last decade.

The ride seamlessly integrates real props and effects with 3D movie projections to create a new sort of immersive feel not felt in other attractions. You sit in a motion simulator base, that is connected to a vehicle, and you move between darkride scenes and 3D screens. Initial concerns were that the ride would not have the space that the Orlando Spiderman ride has but recent news seems to indicate the ride will actually be two stories and feature a elevator to solve the space issue (also some rumors that there will be some fairly impressive Transformer animatronics as opposed to relying on pure projection tech).

This ride system has never been seen on the West coast, so its good to hear that we're finally getting one. With the new improvements made in CG technology odds are good the Transformers will look much more impressive/realistic then Spiderman ever did.

Carsland

Finally the crowning achievement for 2012 will likely be Carsland which stands and one of the most ambitious stateside projects Disney's pulled off in recent history. It will be the crowning achievement of Disney's 1.2 billion dollar improvement project to California Adventure (a project that has included the World of Color show that opened last year as well as the new little Mermaid ride opening this year and several other large scale remodling projects that will reach completion in 2012).

Its almost unfair to compare this to the other projects as Disney has spent so much time on it. Outside of its Eticket Radiator Springs Racers attraction it will contain two flatrides, one of which is the rare Flying Saucers type ride no longer seen in many parks (think of bumper cars on a giant air hockey table).

Radiator Springs racers will take up something of 12 acres of land and the mountain range being designed for this area is a larger rock making project then even the work don on Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom.

The ride systems to the Racers is the same one experienced in Disney World's Test track though much more refined. The ride will be made much more interesting by an exstensive darkride segment through the town of Radiator Springs (as opposed to Test Track's rather bland car breaking tests and freezer segments). The outdoor segment will also be improved over Test Track by not only racing over real mountain terrain (Cadilac Range > bland testing ciruit) but your vehicles will race side by side with other cars.

Spoilers Video! (old construction)

Its actually pretty unbelievable to see all the construction going on right now, can't wait for next year! (even though this year has just barely begun...)

My recommendation is pick yourself up some CityPasses or pick your favorite :P can't really lose. Here's to this next decade being far more ambitious then the previous!

Scarywood 2010 Trip Report

2010-11-08T16:25:00.000-08:00

What a difference one year and a million dollars can make for an event!

I went to Scarywood this year, expecting a second maze and a few mild improvements around the park. After years watching Disney poor multiple millions into projects (sometimes with mediocre results), I lost faith in just how far a million dollars can go.

The difference between Scarywood this year and last was HUGE. In 2009 the event had some decent props and acting, but the experience as a whole came across as amateur hour (remove the good props and setting and it was comparable to something a Community College put on the night before in my hometown). Scarywood 2010 felt like the park was stepping up to match the rest of the industry, in Halloween events. There were four special attractions this year to compared to the previous years three. This year the features were Blood Bayou (walkthrough), Terror Canyon, ZombieWood Express and Timber Terror (coaster) running backwards. Unlike last year the park wasn't open in the day but instead opened as the sun set around 6:00.

The center of the park was set up as a scare zone for guests. Running with that areas carnival theme they added creepy clown scare actors that would follow guests around menacing them as they went through the area. The area was also decorated by clowns hanging from nooses and a few that were set up with motors that made them twitch. They also ran strobe lights and other effects that kept things disorienting and exciting. This area was almost an attraction to itself.

Terror Canyon made a return to the event this year and was MUCH improved. This maze was the highlight of last years event and was greatly improved upon this year. Last year the scares were great, but there were many areas where the path spread out and it became obvious that you were walking through the drained canal for their raft ride. The scenes last year also felt somewhat random (even had a Joker reference at one point). This year they introduced the scenario with a buss breaking down and psychopaths capturing and tormenting a troop of girl scouts (you even see the buss outside the line for the ride).

Terror Canyon had fewer actors this year, but compensated by placing actors in key locations, making it more about being disoriented (must've read my suggestions last year ;)). Previously there was a short part of going through dark corridors, with walls painted black and sharp corners, making it difficult to navigate. This year those corridors seemed at least three times as long. They also turned up the fog so dense it was hard to see more then a few feet ahead. Chainsaw wielders hid behind objects and jumped out whenever groups became distracted (usually by a girl scout crying for help or perhaps a body being eaten). These elements combined so well there was actually backup at different points when people were too afraid to keep moving forward.

Next was the ride on Timber Terror. This coaster was actually a surprise hit for me. It is normally a great ride, but I hadn't expected turning the trains backwards to give the ride as much extra thrill as it did. Not being able to see whats coming or how long each drop lasts made the airtime feel that much better (and Timber Terror is actually world class for its airtime).

After Timber Terror I made the long walk back to the front of the ride for Zombiewood express. Last year Midfright Express had been the weakest offering and something of a disappointment. This year the experience was completely different. The year before the ride lacked a clear identity, advertised as too scary for those under 12, yet using child friendly terms and lacking any kind of thrill. This year the adult premise was apparent right from the start (complete with cursing in the dialogue). The train had fencing added to it and the inside was covered in blood splatter (and a few warnings written in blood).

The ride starts its journey around the park introducing each train gets to meet its representative zombie hunter. The train passes several scenes were zombies are killed by the various hunters (they even use dynamite to prevent zombies from attacking beneath the rail). Midway through the journey the train stops and the actors get out for a fun zombie brawl (gotta use axes after all). The ending is still pretty cheesy (Elvis Impersonator sings...), but the live performers make the ride a fun adventure (100% better then last year). The improvements really moved the train up from an avoid to a must do.

Finally Blood Bayou was the newest attraction for the event. Located inside the parks large skating building (which I have ignored most trips to the park), this attraction was AMAZING. I couldn't believe they could make so many improvements to the rest of the park and still afford to put on such incredible show in this walkthrough. The outdoor queue was well themed, they placed red dye in the fountain to make the water turn blood red and also set up special lighting to accent it. Under the train track near the building you see a creep with a knife hiding. Stepping indoors my jaw dropped. The theming was massive, you end up inside a graveyard with a giant grim reaper swinging his scythe over the doors into the walkthrough. People are grouped off in this room which had plenty of other details if you waited long enough. Some of soil stirred in front of the graves and a few of the graves would burst open on occasion (this is still the queue not the attraction itself).

The maze itself placed you in several different settings, each well realized and intricately designed. The only real way to shatter the illusion would be to look strait up and see the ceiling of the building, otherwise the sets were tall and had plenty of detail. The walkthrough offered many great moments.

One such moment was, when I was distracted by overhead pipes hitting me with air, then having someone grab my foot from under some equipment (I think?), sending me spinning in circles to have a metal panel slam down and someone yell at me. Probably the eeriest thing was near the end, I made eye contact with this weird creature in a tree and then proceeded along the path. Feeling something skim my hair, I ducked down in time to see the creature swoop almost to the ground and then lift up into the tree in front of me. The creature landed in the tree, turned around and looked at me again shaking its head. Even when I thought the walkthrough was over I was surprised by a giant skull creature bursting from one of the walls and vanishing almost as fast. Blood Bayou made my night and I repeated it a few times because its quality was unbelievable (easily comparable to Disney grade special effects).

Last year I ended my review with a list of suggestions for improvements. However this year I couldn't really think of anything to complain about. Silverwood addressed all of my concerns for last year, picked a target and nailed exactly what the event should be. Only challenge left for them is to keep it fresh. Blood Bayou was a huge investment but if it ends up being the same thing for three more years, there could be problems (same goes for Terror Canyon). If this year was any indicator the event is going to be a must see again next year (if you didn't go this year go next!)

3DS, Nintendo's next handheld revolution

2010-03-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

Seems I was caught by surprise with this announcement, I literally thought it was an early April Fools joke. Nintendo has announced details on its next generation handheld system, and it will be 3D.

3D? not unlike the virtual boy?

More accurately the system will feature 3D effects but will not require special glasses be worn by the user. One report is that the 3D effect will be visible to the user but not necessarily visible to people watching the other screen. Supposedly the methods used can only be focused on a single individual which of course isn't a problem for a handheld device as handhelds are much more personal then TV based devices.

Because of these reports most people believe that the most likely method for accomplishing the 3D on the 3DS is head tracking. Head tracking is a method used to accomplish the illusion of 3D by constantly adjusting the image perspective to match that of the viewer using the screen. It was first demoed by a homebrew developer who wore a Wiimote as a hat to track were he was looking. Since then it has been adjusted into something simple enough that even the DSi's webcam can do it.

Of course it's also rumored that the system could use a form of layered LCD technology in order to generate the 3D effect as well. This rumor mainly comes as the layered technology is being put into use by some of the companies that presently manufacture Nintendo's screens. Layered technology works pretty much like it sounds, two LCD screens are placed ontop of each other with a thin layer separating them and the images are displayed on both with the gap between them used to simulate depth.

Since the 3DS won't be seen until E3 it's quite possible the system could use both (though head tracking would be most likely).

Other rumors about the system involve the possible inclusion of a 3D joystick of some sort which fits in line with Nintendo introducing new control technology with every system (though it could just be a new way of introducing analog to a portable as opposed to Sony's nub). Also the possiblity of it including rumble has been thrown around (not surprising as Nintendo as dabbled with rumble in many of it's other handhelds but has not yet offered it as a default option). In an interview earlier this year Iwata did mention the possibility of the system including gyro but we'll have to wait to see if anything else comes of it.

The greatest rumor is that the system likely uses Nvidia's Tegra chip, this would be great news as the Tegra does in most incarnations support high definition graphics. It's hard to say how things will go with the Tegra as Nintendo has traditionally turned to AMD for it's graphics needs and has apparantly met with both companies about graphical solutions.

Overall this news is great as it gives people like me new hardware to look for on the horizon (the DS has been growing stale with quite a few consumers). It also shows that despite its claims with the Wii Nintendo is still keeping an eye on the graphical horizon and making sure their systems remain visualy impressive. The 3D addition shows Nintendo is taking into account that as more companies entering the handheld market with hybrid devices, consumers will need greater reason to buy a gaming only device.
The last known detail on the device of course is it will retain backwards compatibility with the DS as well as likely having access to the DSi's online store. To be honest that information isn't nearly as useful as anything else.

It does make me think though, with all the people demanding the DSi provide downloadable Gameboy games, wouldn't the 3DS be able to offer downloadable virutal boy games? Of course this doesn't mean much as the virtual boy barely lasted on market for a year and most of its games were duds. However two games stood out as gems, Mario Clash and Virtual WarioLand and both of these I'd like to see get remakes (Mario Clash would be awesome as a downloadible!).

Mario Clash looks better in 3D

Nintendo's Media Summit

2010-02-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

I didn't attend the media summit held by Nintendo this week and I don't see the need to retread every detail of it. However felt it might be worth analyzing a few key announcements that were made during the event.
Mario and Metroid Launch dates:
I know that Nintendo had announced Mario as an early 2010 release when it was shown at last years E3. However I didn't actually believe we would see this game released until much later this year. Nintendo is has always had a habit of delaying releases for games especially Mario. First quarter releases aren't usually as good as Christmas releases. I had figured that Nintendo would hold off until at least fall to launch Mario Galaxy 2. Instead the game has been given a May 23rd release date.

Metroid was one I was less shaky on though I was curious as to how much work the game would need to see release. Metroid games haven't exactly sold much outside their fandom, so the June 27th release date isn't exactly surprising (though summer releases are usually uncommon in the gaming industry).

Maybe I should've had more faith in Nintendo, neither of these games required massive retooling. Mario Galaxy 2 had a pretty good head start both by reusing the code from its predecessor along with polishing up several levels that couldn't make it in time for the original games release. Time will tell how good a package this is, the first was great fun and if this one matches it in length and ups the challenge it could be a real hit for Nintendo.

As for Metroid I'm sure many had assumed, that with Team Ninja (makers of the Ninja Gaiden series) involved, the gameplay would be 3D beatdown. Instead it's essentially a sidescroller which fits as most of the original Metroid team (from Japan) created it as opposed to Retro Studios (creators of the Metroid Prime series). I'm personally dissapointed with this development as I'm not a 2D Metroid fan but I'm sure many dedicated fans will line up for this game.

Other Wii Releases:
Monster Hunter 3 from Capcom also had a presence at this event, as well as Sin and Punishment 2. Both these games will also be released by Nintendo in the coming months (April 20 and June 7 respectively). Monster Hunter shows promise in it's current interest rating on IGN but I'm unsure about Sin and Punishment. Both games have had limited exposure in the American markets and could probably do with a high dose of marketing to boost sales.

It does seem however that Nintendo is finally trying a bit harder with software releases. This lineup is very Asian centric though and it deserves a marketing push like the "Wii would like to play" series, but more focused towards gamers.

A new Prince of Persia game designed for Wii only was also shown. It will release May 18th. This game is designed from the ground up for Wii and looks fine. I'm not really a Prince of Persia fan so I'm not sure what to make of it. The design shows that Ubisoft has finally started putting out quality product for Wii. The marketing will likely tie in with the release of the film.

WiiWare:
Seems Nintendo may finally be awakening to the potential for original download content. They showed off again WarioWare DIY but also a game called LightTrax.

More Art Style: Light Trax Info

I have to say the design is interesting. Nintendo actually has several stylized racing/party games like this in Japan that have never been released in the states for some odd reason. I suppose they assume that American's won't take to the games but it seems kinda odd considering what we used to have in arcades. Finally Nintendo seems to be not only testing these games out for the states in the cheep/low-risk download market but also improving them (something Xbox arcade games have been doing for a while). They still need to release the rotating stick game (it's been referenced in Smash Brothers Brawl).

WarioWare D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) is also looking to be a great release. This game will finally push both connectivity and downloadable content forward (two areas that Nintendo has promised but done little to deliver in). Microgames can be made on the DS and then shared with the Wiiware counterpart. I'm unsure if the Wiiware game also includes level creation tools but both games do come with a set of premade games. For a cheep price this is will definitely be worth a download as the WarioWare Series has yet to let me down.

DSi:
The DSi XL was also on display at the event with a price of $185. They showed off several downloadable games for it as well as WarioWare D.I.Y (since it's a game for both systems). Photo Dojo looked pretty cool, it's a fighting game were you use the camera to create the game sprites of yourself doing the moves.

Overall I can't bring myself to be too excited about the DS. I've loved the system but I feel it is time to move onto better hardware, the DSi brings a few new ideas to the table but doesn't do enough. I do think the dabbling Nintendo is doing for the system could yield some exciting new material whenever they do get around to launching both a new console and handheld though.

In Summary:
This event caught me off guard as it's untraditional for Nintendo to have an event of any significance during this time of year. This event seems to show a strong commitment by Nintendo to bring up their software business focus which has dwindled in recent times. This is probably the most aggressive stance Nintendo's had for software in a long time. Everything shown at this event is slated to hit the market before or during June and nothing further out has been announced.

This does put alot of pressure on Nintendo for E3 as people will definitively care whats next and the company can't afford another Christmas Wii Music/Animal Crossing debacle. Nintendo has lost alot of faith from the gamers with this system so it's going to take alot of work to regain it but this is probably a good start.

I hope that Nintendo can learn the right lessons from these releases and do proper marketing. I also hope that the download content they're experimenting with plays well so they can upgrade their servers to polish up the online service they provide now as well as start investment in a more forward thinking online service in the next generation.

Army of Two 40th Day (review)

2010-02-03T16:00:00.001-08:00

Seems I'm on a co-op gaming spree. So... Army of Two?

Well I certainly enjoyed this game more then Super Mario Brothers Wii, but I'm not sure that it was more ambitious? I probably shouldn't raise the issue of laziness, as this is a game produced by EA after all. The game runs on the Unreal 3 engine (another staple of most modern games), so the visuals match up with what one would expect of a current generation product. The co-op works excellent but a two player game IS easier to develop then a four player one (and there are numerous cooperative shooters to imitate).

However none of that necessarily means lazy. What this game really nails is refinement. The enemies are fun to fight, the levels play out cleanly and smoothly. It features a weapons customization system that manges to be entertaining as well (who doesn't like a silencer made from a soda can?).

You run from situation to situation getting into large firefights. Breaking these up are hostage situations were you must use special skills like faking a surrender or synchronized sniping to outwit the terrorists. These situations add alot of value to the game and push for some team planning before running in and rescuing the hostages. Saving civilians provides power-ups, though it is possible to ignore most of them and move on if you don't want to bother.

One of Army of Two's unique elements was the aggro meeter. The game developers really emphasized this element of combat in the original game and it works great. Whoever has the bigger gun and shoots the most occupies most of the enemy's focus and allows another player to snipe or sneak attack opponents. Nothing is quite as enjoyable as your partner firing a grenade launcher strait into the air while you sneak up and pummel obviousness computer players to death.

The ability to exchange weapons between players has been removed (not that I played the first game much, so I can't say much for this system). In it's place is the ability to pick up and use any of the guns the enemy has dropped on a temporary basis (the temporary gun is dropped when you switch to your personalized weapons). You can boost your parter over ledges and areas. However the boosting is mostly automated in areas were it's actually required and is otherwise hard to find.

The biggest change of all is the games story. The first Army of Two was very campy and played out much like a stupid action movie. The characters were intentionally both over the top in their friendship and their ability to survive and kill people. I was especially amused at the rival mercenary in the original game who seemed to survive explosions/plane crashes and all sorts of other improbable things and seemed set to appear in this sequel (he's kicked out a window but never shown dead).

Instead apparently someone in EA actually got the idea to be ambitious and throw these two rather cartoony characters into a more realistic setting. 40th Day is basically a story of survival, the two characters begin on a routine mission but soon find themselves in the middle of a terrorist attack on China. The characters only motivation is escape (except near the end of the game...). You travel all over the city encountering gunfight after gunfight, broken up by the occasional hostage encounter/rescue.

New to the game is a morality system, at different points in the game players are asked whether or not to kill a character or in one case ask a child to use a gun. The system is interesting as after you make the decision the game fades into stylized comic stills showing what happens because of your decision. A surprising aspect about these decisions is the obviously good choice doesn't always lead to the happy outcome. This creates a since of balance for the game (in a way), though I would complain that some of the choices are based off of stupidly misleading information.

There is an achivement for chosing all of the good choices or all of the bad though this doesn't really effect the ending of the game. In fact the biggest letdown of the game is the ending. Simply put the moral choice provided for the ending is a trap, no matter which choice you make the game punishes you. If you chose the good choice the game will guilt you for how unhappy your character ends up and if you chose the evil choice the game guilts you for the lives lost to the terrorists. There is no magic combination of moral choices that change this outcome either.

It's probably more realistic to provide a no win situation in this game but it raises all kinds of issues (besides how they can manage the inevitable sequel). Games are played as a form of escapisum, thus most gamers are going to want a positive ending no matter how realisitic. I have personally enjoyed games with a sad/bittersweet ending (Grand Theft Auto 4), I'm not sure that I like how the game seems to trap me with this no win situation. I suppose my biggest problem is the game provides nothing to even take the edge off, your simply slammed for your decision and the credits roll.

How I'd improve it:
As far as suggestions for improving the game go, I'd only suggest retooling the ending. Create some variety in the games ending depending on the moral choices made earlier in the game to create an opportunity for a happy ending. If that isn't possible and even if it is, I'd also suggest separating the outcomes of the earlier morality choices made in the game. Basically when you make a moral choice, you should see an immediate reward/punishment for your choice. The long term impact of your decisions should be saved for the ending so that they can play out AS the credits roll so that even with a predetermined sad ending you can find satisfaction (or disappointment) in the outcomes of your moral choices. Such a move would tie the whole game experience together and make the ending more worthwhile.

Basically:
Overall ranking 8.0 or a B (I don't care about rankings, I like delving into design aspects). The game was competent and great fun. Shooters aren't the most innovative genre, but you can't go wrong with a great buddy game if you ask me.

"New" Super Mario Bros Wii (review)

2010-01-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

Well I'm over a month late in this (and the game has already beat any of the 3D Mario games in sales), but I figured that as a longtime Mario fan I might as well write my opinion New Super Mario Brothers Wii.
The Game:
There's been a fairly wide variety of opinions on New Super Mario Brothers Wii ranging from people that are happy to finally have more classic 2D Mario gameplay back to people who feel it's just a lazy cash in.

My opinion on the game is mixed. The game is fun... a bit. Its advertised as a four person platformer and one would assume that it would be best played this way... it's not. As a single player game it stands out as another superb set of platforming that Nintendo is known for. However once you add four players to the experience it can only be described as "gameplay designed to ruin friendships".

For some reason Nintendo decided that it would be great if all four characters could bounce off each other. This makes precision jumping a painful process. It motivates people to spread out so that they aren't inadvertently shoved around into hazards (such as pits/fire/enemies). However since the camera can only zoom out so far to accommodate all the players on a singular screen (it's single camera instead of split-screen), it begins to follow the lead character if you fall off-screen it's an instant death (adding much hatred for whoever moves the fastest).

When you die you come floating back on screen in a bubble (given there is at least one other player still living and you aren't out of spare lives), you can also end up in the bubble by pressing the A button thus allowing you to keep your power ups until your released. Another player can release you from the bubble by either bumping into it or hitting it with a fire/ice ball.

Seems fair enough, except you can't directly control were the bubble drifts, if you shake the Wii remote it will move in an arbitrary direction. The bubble does drift towards whoever is still alive, but this isn't always a desirable thing. Often the bubble pops when you'd rather it not, sending you plummeting to a second death. Worse the bubble slows down the momentum of whoever passes through it, causing the victim fall to their death as well. You can jump off the bubbles, but you can't directly move the bubble into a strategically useful position.

The game rigidly builds itself around the first player (player 1). Everyone can choose their character except the player 1 who MUST be Mario and NO-ONE else. The map screen gets more annoying as only player 1 can select the level and move the team around. After playing games like castle crashers, this system seems unfair and annoying (especially when player 1 gets distracted), sure the possibility that Mario doesn't rescue the princess arises, but it doesn't seem hard to create an alternate ending for the other characters.

Most of the problems are all based around the same set of issues. I find it confusing that Shigeru Miyamoto (the creator of Mario) has claimed to have planned this type of multiplayer since the Super Nintendo era. I can only assume that while he had the rough ideas for how the gameplay would work in theory, he spent no time actually testing the gameplay out in practice.

Many elements of the game are recycled from the New Super Mario Brothers game that launched on DS a few years ago. A few have argued that the models are from the DS game but I can't say for certain as there does seem to be a slightly better polygon count on the Wii version (or maybe just superior anti-aliasing).

I feel the most disappointing element is the recycled music. The music is exactly the same as that found in the DS game, and I personally found the DS music to be rather bland as it tried too hard to sound like the original Mario. Despite being identical in two games now the sound is easily forgettable in my opinion.

The levels, never really give a since of place or charm. It seems to intentionally hearken back to the NES era, having only three or four types of level, eight worlds, with the final world being fire and the middle world being ice and the other worlds being mostly the identical (perhaps a dessert and giant land thrown in somewhere). It often feels like it only wants to be as diverse as Mario 3 was but often falls short of even that level of diversity. The levels certainly aren't layered in the varied and entertaining style of Super Mario World (much less any later platformers).

The world map really reflects these weaknesses in design. While I enjoyed Mario 3, I can't help but miss the layered and incredibly interconnected map design of Super Mario World. It doesn't seem like it'd have been that hard to create something that would add a since of depth to the game as well as being entertaining to look at.

Why?:
So why do so many signs point to this game being rushed? Nintendo is traditionally a company that tells it's consumers that the games will only be launched when they are finished, and yet in this case they seem to have ignored that rule and pushed the game to meet a market deadline.

The answer to this question is most likely the declining sales of their system along with their own admission that last year's holiday lineup was weak. Nintendo had figured a year ago they could create simple games and endlessly skate by on the Wii's inertia while upholding its usual policy of meager releases for it's more dedicated user-base. However Wii music bombed and Animal Crossing's sales proved lackluster. So they've changed strategies.

Seems that Nintendo is beginning to realize that in this economic downturn they'd better stick with surefire hits. New Super Mario Brothers Wii was chosen because it was a sure fire hit from the start and could easily have it's development scaled to meet the deadline of a year. While I can't say for sure weather this game was really only in development for just a year, I do feel relatively confident in surmising that if it was in development prior to the poor holiday season of 08 (game sales wise, not hardware), it was not very far along.

This is both a good and bad thing, it shows that Nintendo is finally starting to listen to user feedback again and that they may even be developing a more market driven policy towards release dates. However this is all coming at the cost of quality, which is already fairly poor on Wii.

Fixing it:
I figure most issues in this game could have easily been addressed with an extra month of development. The changes I believe would help in order of positive impact are:

Limit Character Interaction- allow all the onscreen characters to walk through each other rather then bounce off each other. While some of the cooperative and grieifing ideas in the game were great and entertaining, they could easily be remastered by keeping the function of players being able to carry and throw each other. This lets interaction occur when players intend for it to and not all the time.
Allow us to control the bubble- the mechanic of bouncing off the bubbles is novel, perhaps it would be better if players were allowed to move the bubbles in at least vaguely intentional directions. It would ease frustrations as well as allow people to go to the bathroom while others continue playing the game.
Diversify the Soundtrack- Nintendo could have easily had a composer working for this game. Even if they didn't and intended to reuse tracks, they could easily used remixes and tunes lifted from a variety of classic Mario games rather then just tossing in the DS games soundtrack without a care.
Characterize the Levels- the backgrounds were unbelievably bland. There isn't even a need to create shockingly new locals, just take elements from Mario 64/Sunshine/Galaxy and crop them into backgrounds for the 2D levels, it adds value and gives the game an extra since of place.
Replace one of the Toads with Toadette- I know that they were afraid that a character like Wario or Peach would generate expectations of each character handling uniquely. However they never really tried for another creative solution and instead decided to cheaply paste toad twice. They could have at the very least used Toad's female alternate as a character option for players. (A Wario or Peach option would've still be nice if they handled differently and unlocked upon completion of the game though)

The only other fix outside of those quick ones I can think of would be to keep up with the times and add an online component. However that would take more then a month and is outside of Nintendo's closed view on the world. I do hope one day the company gets a forward looking view on the internet but that seems to be something for another hardware generation.

Final Thoughts:
New Super Mario Brothers Wii is still a very entertaining game when played in the right setting. Only play with four players for a few laughs on the earlier/easier levels. You'll probably want to play through the bulk of it on your own (or with one other highly skilled player), at least if you plan to hold onto your current friendships.

If you do decide to press with a group of four then make sure they are some of the best players you can find, and I wish you good luck!

Scarywood 09

2009-11-05T02:34:00.000-08:00

Ever since Knotts started its Halloween Haunt tradition back in 73, Halloween events have become something of a staple in the world of theme parks. In fact rumour has it Knotts gets half their yearly revenue purely from their haunt.

However despite being a theme park fanatic, I've never been to a real haunt event. So when I heard that Silverwood (closest park to home) was hosting its own haunt I jumped at the opportunity to see the beginnings of their new event.

Tickets were a great deal at only $27 and rumours were that some nights were being oversold, so my group ordered online and showed up on Halloween itself. Silverwood doesn't normally operate in the fall so Halloween would also be their last day of operation. The Park offered two special Halloween attractions. One was a Halloween layover of their traditional train ride across the property (Silverwood actually has a rather large acreage to it so the train travels through a bit of forest and other areas outside the traditional park grounds). The other attraction was a walk-through called "Terror Canyon Trail", which was placed in the drained flume of their "Thunder Creak Rapids" ride.

When I showed up on the 31st though I found that the park was fairly uncrowded and it seemed to remain so for the rest of the day. Most rides had no wait time and crowds seemed to materialise only around 6:00 (start time for the special events). There were daytime events for the kids like a Halloween trick or treat trail and a costume contest of sorts featuring Garfield and Odie. It all looked cute enough but since there weren't any kids in my party we just enjoyed the awesome custom wooden coasters until nightfall (Silverwood has four coasters but only the two wooden ones are truly one of a kind).

When 6:00 rolled around the music to the park switched over to more Halloween styled songs (including the theme to "Halloween" the movie). Guests were instructed to briefly all return to the main street area of the park while the rest of the park switched into Halloween mode. My group took this time to get in line for the train before the wait became too long.

The train took a while to bring around the track and get loaded so the ride didn't start until after 6:30. The overlay was interesting, basically they setup a few setpieces and areas around the track for a bit more show then is featured normally. Most of the scares were prop based with a few instances were live actors interacted with the people on the train. The three main events on the train ride were a ghoul who destroys the bridge, a hold-up by two ghouls who eat one of the guests on the train, and an extra stop that has zombies hop aboard the train and scare guests for a while before the train starts moving again. Overall I didn't actually care for the ride though. It felt much too childish then the signage implied. I really felt that if children were to have the daytime events then the nightime events should be more (especially when there are only two real attractions).

After we got off the train we decided to immediately go to the next special attraction. The train ride loaded on the mainstreet plaza so to get to the walkthrough we had to travel through the bulk of the house. The pathway from mainstreet into the park now had fog machines set all over it and a few actors posing as dolls and scarecrows to move subtly as you walked past them. The overall effect was great. The whole night-time atmosphere for the park was top notch and far above what I had experienced on the train ride.

The walkthrough continued this trend. There were several great scares and small areas to move through. They had even organised a few areas of the park as scenes with different themes and the actors were all very energetic and did their jobs well. If the train ride was based on props then the walkthrough was carried very well by its actors. The only complaint I can think of for the walkthrough is that there was only one (rumour has it there will be more in the coming years since this event has been considered a success by management).

After we were done with the attraction my group was tired so we headed back home. There was a magic show but the rest of my group didn't want to wait for it since we had a long drive ahead of us (which in retrospect is too bad as I hear the show is good).

Overall it was a great experience that I highly recommend, especially to those who can't make it to the big park events over in California or Florida. Theme parks are a great venue for this since their facilities much more capable then most spaces (comparing to your average haunted house in a rental space).

My Suggestions
Moving back to my original comments on the train ride. There were signs in-front of the ride that warned those getting aboard that the ride was not recommended for children under the age of 12. I however found that in its current condition this isn't the case. The ride wasn't really scary at all and had many childish moments that if anything discouraged the older rider. There were many areas were it was obviously trying to be more but couldn't quite reach it.

The language was one element that reflected a kind of confusion about were the age group would be for this ride. Instead of mentioning the ghouls feasting on our oragons they often spoke of how they would consume our souls (a very PG way of phrasing things) and the fact that they were callled ghouls rather then demons or anything that might convey a greater danger.

Though the bigger issue wasn't language but the audio in general. There was a character called scary jerry who was obvioulsy included simply for injecting humor into the narrarators lines but he often annoyed more then anything. The audio track often ran long and rambled alot more then it really should have. I was reminded of how Disney actually took a step out in recent years and cut back some of the dialog from the Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion. Sure some extra dialoge can give riders a few cleaver puns and more backstory but often a scary ride really needs to have a moment or to were the atmosphere reaches out to you. If the narrarator can't shutup then eventually riders start talking above the narrarator and the scary atmosphere will completly vanish.

The other issue was mainly in repetative props and not enough motion in most scenes. It could have been that because we were there for their last night they did not have full actors out but it did feel like more could be done to automate the attraction. If they could just get a few small motors working to make a couple of the bodies twitch in a few places that'd be a great effect. The Spiders likewise could be more bountiful and perhaps have more webbing placed along the leadup to the spiders themselves.

My basic suggestions in order of importance would be:

Muzzle the narrarator - have him only give backstory and only during dead spaces in the ride (such as traveling past the water park). Most of the backstory would be better given in the audio tracks for the queue (which were a bit too repetitive).
Add atmospheric tracks - basically in place of the narrator try getting a few subtle recording tracks of scratching and creatures walking through the bushes, and a good creepy whispering tracks. Discovery used to have a show called "A Haunting" that made great use of this kind of audio work, really set people on edge while they go through the forest.
Lighting - most of the lighting was alright, but study what works and what hasn't. My main suggestion would be to temporarily shut off the lighting to the bridge when it is supposedly blown up. It will add much more to the explosion effect that way.
Improve animation - get a few simple motors to create a twitching effect for the corpses or a since of life to the spiders. There are some great Internet guides for how to make ghosts swoop by using things like garage door openers, use those suggestions along with basic projection effects on the trees.

I hope that Silverwood can really evaluate how this years event went and make it even greater next year for everyone. I like the rumours of added attractions but I'm not sure what other rides they could really overlay. One candidate would be their log flume, however that ride isn't operable in the cold temperatures and had already closed ahead of the park due to the risk of freezing.

I think that I'd be fairly happy with even one more maze. If finding sufficient actors becomes an issue for them then I'd suggest doing one based more on funhouse style dissorientation. Such a maze could use motion sensor activated sounds for most of its effects along with only a few set actors and one roming one.

Of course with a park like Silverwood its probably better to expect a fairly slow improvement grade as their market isn't as great as that found in California (the park is based out of Idaho after all).

Best Buy trains employees to push Windows and missinform on Linux

2009-09-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

The slides were posted on a overclock.net but their photo bucket is overdrawn. The photos can be viewed at Ars Technia though.

Microsoft as part of windows 7 training is encouraging employees of Best Buy to slander Linux based products.

The slides I find most laughable is the updating one, as Linux has a much easier automatic update system then Windows at this point. They also exaggerate problems such as hardware compatibility and size of software library.

My personal experience has taught me that at this point, the only leg Windows can really stand on is gaming. All other forms of computing are better served on other OS's. I suppose there is a bit of slowdown in Flash rendering shared by both Mac and Linux based systems but that should become moot once HTML5 makes flash unnecessary for video playback (this should encourage Adobe to make some much needed improvements in their software).

With Google's own OS still gleaming on the Horizon and Microsoft feeling hurt by the Apple ads I suppose it only makes since to lash out at the competition. The sad truth is though Microsoft has over 90% of the market and it will be hard work for any of the competitors to take that away from them. Microsoft has long been the provider of the inferior product but their marketing giant just can't be beat it seems. So I suppose it just strikes me as petty that they are trying to use their market position to slander the competition.

Windows 7 will be a marked improvement over Vista. However it seems to me that Microsoft is always playing catchup when it comes to security and software features these days.

Disney buys out Marvel comics

2009-08-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

Just heard this news today (via Kotaku). This could mean huge things in the future not only in the films industry but also in the area of video games and theme parks.

I'm sure for now we won't see major changes, but I expect that the changes will be made over the next two years or so to bring Marvel properties in line with Disney's goals.

For now I'd expect all contracts stand and Sony Pictures will continue to do the filming and work on the marvel superhero lineup of films with Disney simply collecting royalties. However I can't see Disney allowing this to stay out of house for long.

Likewise I can bet that video game lisences won't change in the near future and Disney's own studios just arn't going to be up for any massive undertakings just yet (they haven't brought Kingdom Hearts in house yet so we'll see).

However my major interest lies int he fact that Marvel was supposed to get it's own theme park as part of a deal with the developing Dubialand project (a multi billion dollar project out in Abu Dubia that has hit some roadbumps in the current economy). Disney hasn't been a part of this project and mose signs point to Disney intentionally ignoring it. With Marvel now a part of the Disney family this could mean that Disney will pull them out of the project and bring more focus towards its Chinese park expansions.

I also think this could ultimatly be bad news for Disney's theme park competitor Universal Studios. They've developed themselves as the more thrilling alternative to Disney parks and relied heavily on Marvel characters for that image. Spiderman at Islands of Adventure is one of the most impressive darkrides in the US. However with this deal, Disney could force Universal to remove or alter the ride by refusing to renue the rights to Spiderman whenever that contract becomes due.

If Disney were to suddenly to deny renueals of character contracts with Universal that could cripple their competitor as it would take away much of Unviersals fighting strength while simultaniously creating a huge redevelopment demand. At this point Universal could be stuck in a bad spot in Disney's grasp as Disney will likely make for some hard negotiations whenever those contracts end up being due.

As it stands, most of Marvel's animated series are already featured heavily on Disney's XD cable channel so I suppose this marketing move has been a long time in the works.

Dell still thinks Linux has a future on Netbooks

2009-08-19T23:00:00.000-07:00

I found this article on Ars Technica quite interesting.

Essentially Dell is arguing that Linux penetration on Netbooks is once again climbing as many companies are finally getting it right. Dell also feels that online sales do Linux based Netbooks better justice then brick and mortar businesses.

I tend to agree with this analyses as most Internet buyers are more educated then your average joe that walks into the store. I also find it interesting that the article notes Dell is looking to use non Intel chips for their new line of Linux based netbooks. It's great to see the company taking risks and playing to Linux's strengths. Supporting more energy efficient chip designs is a good move for netbooks (arm based designs are also the choice of apple for devices like their Ipod/Iphone).

Most Linux implementations done by PC manufacturers have been poor but so far Dell has made the wise choice by pairing themselves with Ubuntu rather then trying to splinter off their own distro. By staying uniform with one of the most user friendly variants and instead sharing the workload, I believe Dell stands a great shot towards a Netbook that anyone can use.

I bought my dad a Ubuntu based laptop from Dell and am quite happy with it's performance and speed (much faster startup then most Windows PC's).

The article does note though that Dell remains a Microsoft centric manufacturer for the foreseeable future. I hope that Dell can eventually splinter off this franchise and work out a whole Linux series of products. The real trick would be to create a kind of designer look and feel to them the way Apple does with their products. This way there won't be as much a comparison made vs Windows but rather it will be viewed in the same light as an OS like OSX.

The future of Operating systems is looking very interesting as more applications enter the cloud and we have yet to see the rise of Google's own operating system chrome (which runs of the Linux kernal but will likely not be handled as a Linux distro)

GDC: Sony Reveals PS3 Slim, Slashes PS3 Price to $300

2009-08-18T14:33:00.001-07:00

GDC: Sony Reveals PS3 Slim, Slashes PS3 Price to $300

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Sega Does what Nintendon't

2009-06-10T23:56:00.000-07:00

Not all of you may remember the old 90's war between Sega and Nintendo. But many gamers do. Back in those days you used to see countess debates of who was better and what the benefits were to each. It was during those days that Sega started its ad campaign "what Nintendon't Sega Does". The message was simply that Sega provided gamers with experiences that Nintendo refused to.

Years later, Sega has fallen out of the hardware market and is a software publisher only. Already Sega has found a sort of kinship with their former competitor. While Sega may have had the more mature market segment back in the 90's they ultimately lost out to Sony (and later Microsoft). Sega's properties seem to find a home on Nintendo's consoles where people who enjoy Mario also hold an interest for his old rival Sonic.

Sega, like most third parties, has put forth many efforts to gain greater recognition on the Wii. While they have supported the system with the expected family friendly titles like Sonic and Super Monkey Ball. Lately they seem to have taken a new stance with the system. It is popular belief among gamers that the Wii is a system that doesn't offer much to the core gamer and that Nintendo is not interested in appeasing this market base. Thus Sega is now attempting to please this large market segment by publishing more "core" titles.

Witnessed in the fresh development of Sega's house of the dead series as well as the publishing of more niche titles such as Madworld. Sega is attempting to reach out to the 18-30 male audience typically interested in Sony or Microsoft's system and ignored by Nintendo. Sega also jumped on the opportunity to publish games for developer High Voltage once their game, "the Conduit" started to gain recognition in the core gamer groups.

What excites me most about Sega's recent moves is they also seem to hold a certain understanding that it will take time to rebuild "core" audience. Many of the early adapters who bought the Wii, moved on and shelved the system once they felt taht it did not have enough to offer them. Often developers and gamers look for a definitive ap (like Halo) to real in an audience to a hardware platform. But truth be told competition this generation is too high for it to happen. One game can never change the tides this late in the game, but a large library of titles usually can.

Sega's titles are turning a profit albeit moderate, but it fills a much needed niche on the Wii system. I believe that with the launch of more potentially wide appealing products such as "the Conduit" and next year with High Voltage's other shooter "the Grinder", Sega will have most likely found their stride.

What Sega really needs to do now though is get the word out to the public and to the teenagers and young males that don't necessarily follow news on the Wii. I would actually recommend bringing back their old tag line and showing a full montage of their future offerings. Sega has gotten much positive feedback in the review sector but if they wish to accelerate their success into further sales they will need an inventive marketing campaign. One that will show buyers that they can enjoy both Wii Sports and the latest brawlers.

Nintendo always responds to press and consumer complaints about lack of deep titles on Wii by stating that we should look to third parties. But in a world were most third parties are only providing the Wii with shovelware, Nintendo needs to be more specific. I recommend they point to Sega as one of the top dogs for "mature" titles on Wii. Thus as Sega moves forward with their strategy, I'd wish Nintendo could find some ways to coordinate with them as it would be mutually benificial.

Nintendo's E3 performance

2009-06-05T16:54:00.001-07:00

I've had a few days to think this one over, but my opinion has remained pretty much the same.

After the abysmal E3 performance that Nintendo had last year, I feel they've learned and corrected their mistakes this year.

Last year Nintendo had a very limited show were they did little to show games and mainly trumpeted their success. We saw titles such as Wii Music and Wii Sports resort flaunted about while the more traditional Nintendo audience went pretty much ignored.

Nintendo went into this conference needing to show something for everyone and focus on delivering software. On this level they more than succeeded. Many in the core gaming press had perhaps expected a big blowout news conference from Nintendo as perhaps a more apologetic way of making up for performance last year. Instead it seems Nintendo simply balanced the formula and delivered the kind of performance necessary of them in their current market position.

They nailed down their new casual audience with more in depth demonstrations of "Wii Sports Resort" and the announcement of a sequel for "Wii Fit". They threw out some great hardcore gaming announcements with the exciting announcement of "Metroid Other M" and "Golden Sun DS" (a RPG that many fans have been wanting for quite some time). Filling in the middle ground between these two sides was Mario. Two Mario titles were announced, "New Super Mario Brothers Wii" and "Mario Galaxy 2".

This was a perfect mix, Mario has always stood as a great gateway into more traditional gaming fair. People that would prefer to stay on the casual end of the pool saw more of one game which I would consider Nintendo's casual ringer (the first "Wii Sports" was a huge reason that people bought the Wii I can see Resort being an even bigger deal as it's a better package) and a new announcement in "Wii Fit Plus", I should also mention that Nintendo announced a new Vitality Sensor (I'm a bit skeptical about this one but we'll see were they go). The hardcore mix was the final balance that really showed Nintendo understood the desire for deeper storytelling in games.

Sadly though, while I can't see Nintendo balancing audiences any better, there were members of the press and the gaming community that felt letdown by Nintendo. The main pressure comes from the fact that both Microsoft and Sony debuted their own motion sensing systems at the expo. While the Wii Motion plus concept is over a year old and has yet to hit market there was just no way for Nintendo to really use it to counter other companies high concept ideas. I can't say what my opinion on what these concepts is until they actually launch though. Many gamers and members of press were excited about this seeing them as a one up to Nintendo's offerings. (If I were to hedge my bets though I'd place them on Sony who seem to have formed a superior version of the Wii's infrared tracking system by using a camera and colored light on the end of a baton like controller.)

However ultimately Nintendo is simply done in by its family image. Many of the more self defined "core" group that both watch and attend this event feel betrayed by Nintendo's new market. So now that Nintendo is trying to play both groups their old fans feel that they're only getting a bone thrown towards them. It's very strange to see this kind of all or nothing feeling come from a group of people but past experience has probably done alot to enforce this.

I feel most of this belief is caused more by Nintendo's more conservative stance on issues rather then any true desire to lose their old audience. It has to be tough to stand in Nintendo's place, as the gateway to new gamers while still dealing with many who have nostalgia for old Nintendo franchises. Nintendo is also held to a higher standard then most developers. Hence many gamers are disgusted by Mario Galaxy 2's reuse of the same game engine/setting despite this being common practice for many of the best selling franchises.

I could delve into more detail on alot of the facilitates of their show at E3. However I think I'll simply end this post with a suggestion.

If Nintendo wish to truly broaden the audience of their platform, they are going to need to find ways to encourage third parties to hold back surprises and debut them at their trade show. If Microsoft and Sony can announce games not developed internally at their main trade shows, then Nintendo needs to do the same.

There was more to Wii then first party at E3 and while many of those impressions were seen once writers hit the show floor itself. It would have had greater impact (especially on those watching from the distance) if Nintendo had debuted and shown personal confidence in some of these efforts at their press event. It is critical that Nintendo separate the assumption that they are the only company to produce significant titles on their console. If Nintendo wants gamers to believe that third parties will be the ones providing them with more "core gaming" experiences they need to push it more at events and not make it sound like a PR cop-out

Truely Next Gen

2009-05-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

The term next gen really gets thrown around alot this generation. It's kinda funny seeing as how all three are over two years old and while they've still got a few more years in them. We're nearing the place were we start talking about whats going to be beyond even this level of technology.

This generation Nintendo stated that it was dropping out of the graphics race and that the Wii would essentially be "gameplay over graphics". This created something of a riff in the gaming circles as to which was more important or if they were indeed separable. Graphics being such a part of good game design anyways and are generally a marker of quality product (how can it play good if they couldn't even make it LOOK good). It all comes down to a matter of necessity though. Can the essence of a game be captured without high end processors/ram and other equipment that the competition has? There are a few games that truly use next gen powers and truly can't be done on anything else. Sadly, just like Wii games that use motion well, games that truly use the increase in processing power are few and far between.

One of the few games that has really pushed the necessity of hardware improvements though has got to be GTA4. Most peoples images of the GTA franchise are firmly muddled in the last generation were it sold mostly of the hype of being a realistic game that let you get away with anything. Back then the game was anything but realistic. GTA essentially sold by seeing what controversial feature it could get added to the game to upset the press and feed on the attention to drive sales. So it was a surprising turn for many when GTA4 took a different route.

Instead of being a wacky and relatively offensive game (depending on your taste). GTA4 plays out a narrative much more like that of a movie. It is truly an experience that has to be seen to believe but the writers definitely manage to put in a certain tragic subtext to the story to show what a life of crime would cost a person. But what truly impresses about this game is the since of life the city has. Critics praised this game for it but you never really get an idea of how well this is pulled off until you experience the sweeping size and scope of the game.

Many games used the next gen bump to push ridiculously high amounts of polygons into character models and up the resolution of textures until their characters started to look like they suffered from a strange form of sleep deprivation. So it's refreshing to see that GTA instead chose to give their game models a nice polish up, and focus more development were it matters the gameplay. The driving mechanics work much better then most racing games and the physics engine both in and out of car easily rival most games in either market. GTA series now seems to be remarkably close to true mastery of all areas of gaming it dabbles in.

While I personally am not a fan of the content of crime games, the amount of gameplay that the engine contributes to the game cannot be ignored by me. I hope to see this engine reused in games of other genres ( a westerner is coming out soon on the engine). If games are to prove the necessity of the high end hardware they run on I want to see more integrated and seamless use of physics. Many games could benefit from just a subtle addition of some of the features. If a game is truly next gen it should increase the scope and size beyond what has been done before and truly make the game come to life.

Personally I hope that come next round of hardware, more effort is put into allowing more characters and details to be processed on screen rather then the ussual graphical fixes.

Where Wii should have been.

2009-05-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

It's pretty common for people on gamers forums to complain about what the Wii should have been at launch. I feel allot of these complaints though might actually be unreasonable given both Nintendo's history and their limited experience in many of the realms Wii entered into. I feel that as of this moment the Wii has finally reached the place it should have been at launch (realizing there is a difference between where they should've been at launch and where they should be two years later).

Online - Online DIDN'T launch with the system. Instead Nintendo chose to delay online until midway through their first year. This strategy had worked previously with the DS. The DS was Nintendo's first online system so the delay had been more excusable on that platform. Also as a handheld were the feature wasn't as commonplace the launch of online for the DS (even though its competitor the PSP had beaten it to the inclusion of this feature). Nintendo might have been banking on receiving the same second wave of interest they got with the DS, but they KNEW their competitors had those features ready right out the door the decision just seems foolish.
Wii Speak - The DS came with a built in mic, yet it took until its second batch of online games to support voice chat. It wasn't until Pokemon (several release waves later) that DS games really started to consistently use the mic for chatting on the internet. Nintendo saved Wii Speak for an E3 press conference of all things. They seemed to believe that they could somehow get positive hype from this. Nintendo believed that they were being innovative by making their chat solution more like speakerphone and less like a personal microphone. Sadly they're ignoring several things (like bad roommates) that will likely make it a hassle. Much like the DS the Wii is also not seeing much penetration of this feature, it will probably take another big release to force the feature into standardization. Of course the problem is confounded by Wii Speak being an accessory and not built in.
Storage Solution - The Wii launched with a pitiful 512megs of on board flash memory. This would have been acceptable had they not promised downloadable games. Many expected a solution to be coming out the same year, but instead it took two years to arrive. While Nintendo's argument that most people had not reached full storage saturation was correct they failed to realize most people would stop buying before they topped out. Eventually Nintendo launched the ability to play games directly of SD cards and once again they were stunned to find no praise.
WiiWare - The downloadable games that Nintendo featured were primarily there to make quick money off the company's large back catalog of games. While it was cool to sell off nostalgia, it didn't really push the system or it's capabilities. Nintendo waited until a year later to really get a system for publishing original games on their system. However at least in this case Nintendo seems to have realized the profit potential in a downloadable system and their DSi launched with original content first and retro content on hold.

The Lesson here is, don't be afraid to learn from your competition. Or perhaps don't be afraid to learn from your own experience. Nintendo's handheld teams and home console teams are actually two different groups. So it is understandable that not all studios would implement features at one time. But to ignore your own personal history is crazy. Glory comes from exciting new features not by following market trends years after they're standard for everyone else.

Nintendo claimed when entering the online market, that they would ignore what had already been done in favor of fresh innovation. But without knowing what has already been tried, how can you truly do something different? If your going to truly innovate on the market sometimes it still takes a certain knowledge of how things have evolved. Not everything you do needs to be a market disruptor.

Nintendo is now were they should've been two years ago. Now the best they can do is reorganize their corporate structure to better respond and polish the infrastructure they spent way too much time getting to market.

Rise of Interactive Attractions.

2009-05-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

In this era technology advances more by combination's of existing inventions, than it does by completely original developments (arguments about the existence of TRUE originality withstanding). The iPod and many other devices increasing gaming features at all times it's not surprising to see other industry's seeing how they can fit in with their systems. Thus theme parks have caught onto the trend, by building interactive darkrides.

The interactive darkride trend is nothing new to the theme park industry (it began in the 90's). But the obvious move towards a more video game like experience wasn't realized, until Disney built Midway Mania.

The ride combines allot of long older theme park concepts. The first being the classic darkride system which involves a relatively slow moving vehicle that goes past scenery indoors. The other is 4D effects. 4D movies themselves are something that have long since grown tired in the theme park market. Originally they were a cleaver spin on 3D movies, simply adding in quick gags like spraying the viewer with water or air guns. It sprawled out into moving seats/floors, artificial scent technology and hidden animatronics. But at this point most 4D ideas have already been done and 3D technology becoming prominent in local theaters.

When drafting Midway Mania, interactivity was probably the primary thought on the designers minds. To bring a game experience to a theme park audience wouldn't be doable if they had kept the theater design. So it's likely that the darkride system was simply used because it is an effective way to move a large amount of people through an experience at a reasonable pace.

The game aspects of the ride aren't especially innovative either. Essentially all of the games are different flavors of shooting at targets (makes since considering that guests only form of interaction is through pull string cannons). The success of the ride is based almost purely on the novelty of the experience (much like Wii mini games). From a development standpoint it really brings to mind minigame collections like Nintendo's Wii Play.

Don't expect a story or immersive experience you might find in more modern games. Also don't expect the trademark all encompassing feeling that rides like Pirates have offered in the past. You'll simply be carted from scene to scene aiming at different types of targets with different types of ammo. The scenes aren't really tied together much besides a few props and painted flats from the side, the 3D is done on what amounts to giant television sets.

The ride is impressive for now, but it feels almost like it's still in beta. It's likely Disney is holding back on this one. There has already been talk on how easy it is to reprogram and add in new footage to the ride (perhaps for Holiday overlays). It is perhaps for this reason that the rest of the decoration inside the attraction is so sparse. Though, that may be debatable considering how elaborate the queue is in both parks. The ride's presence in California Adventure fits with an entire midway area in that park. But they've also built it in their Studios park were the theme connection isn't as logical, and they're planning to build another in the America section of their Tokyo parks (again without much themed tie in).

As a technical showpiece though, Midway Mania shows a bright new more dynamic future for parks that may copy it's success. It will be interesting to see what other interactive innovations Disney's new initiatives will bring.

"Your life will never be Mundania when you play Midway Mania!"

Nintendo Wii - Going Forward (part 1.5) a continuation of online

2009-05-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

After discussions with friends and reading the latest on the "The Conduit" (a Wii game), here is a follow up of my original article:

The response that I've generally received is, "it is unacceptable for Nintendo to only allow friends to chat with each other. Microsoft allows personal networking and talking to strangers, Nintendo should use this model as well." I would disagree.

One of the main strengths to the Microsoft model is that it allows users to make friends more easily. Why should people go out of their way to try to meet people who play the same game (be it via online forum or actual real life social situations), when the game itself could easily facilitate those relationships? If your paying for internet access and using a computer, your already risking at least some form of interaction through the internet by one of your family members.

Given this, why should Nintendo maintain a layer of separation between social networking and your home console? One valid point is the fact that it removes risk of unwanted harassment through the gaming system. But it also stands that a profitable corporation could hire administrators to monitor and control activity over an online network. However it's expensive to pay for administrators and you have to consider were that budget comes from. If there is no subscription fee to the service, money would need to be taken from game sales. It becomes a hazy argument to make from the financing side.

Nintendo could institute a pay only system. But consumers will get a better deal, if they institute the system I proposed in my last article. A pay based online option could be added to their service at a later date. Nintendo has stated that it will investigate fee based online games at a later date.

Ultimately I don't think it's fare to the consumer to pay for a service that (outside of it's great messaging service) simply organizes the shaking of hands between systems (basically this means that most games don't run from centralized servers but rather one of the consoles selected by a Microsoft system takes up the server responsibility for the gamers). Not only is online gaming via PC already free, but so is messenger and many of the services Microsoft offers.

Some may see my idea of a friends only system as a cop out (in comparison to a open social network). But Nintendo has to contend with the family/nontechnical market they're bringing in. It all boils down to the children. While parents should have a better technical understanding of how systems work and how their children socialize, they generally do not. While I often side with those that argue it is the parents problem, I cannot deny that companies do have at least some responsibility to make life easier for parents. Nintendo is a family company and family means playing it safe. I also believe that a conservative stance (if executed the way I described in my previous article), is one that will allow for better experience to the non-technical group that the Wii attracts.

Uninitiated gamers are not likely to enjoy a game if their first interactions with it are generally negative. In fact most people wouldn't enjoy a situation were they not only perform poorly, but also receive verbal abuse. It's better marketing if the situation is positive and encouraging. Granted some will hold up online Role Playing Games such as World of Warcraft as examples were politeness is encouraged. However most online Roll Playing Games have the benefit of not being directly competitive but rather communal in their design (I hope to cover this subject further in later blogs).

It simply works better to make the option for playing friends online easy and intuitive. Keeping it simple for the average user should be Nintendo's first priority and I believe my suggestions would work best for the time being. With more experience and development time, I can see Nintendo easily forward and providing further service options for both casual and hardcore (most likely at additional cost). But I stand by my initial five recommendations, when it comes to out of the box online connectivity.

Moving on to the subject of the game, "The Conduit." High Voltage designed The Conduit as a game which will fill a lot of the needs other developers have ignored on the Wii. Its main press coverage has regarded it's impressive graphics. However The Conduit is also progressive in the way of online features.

Reading up on some of the latest features for this game; I felt the need to comment on one of the ideas the developers had, that I did not include in my five recommendations. Namely the ability to talk to friends of friends. While it's a novel idea allows for more freedom, it takes away from the control a player would have in who they can/can't talk to on the system. Granted there could be a place for a friends code forwarding system were you can recommend friends to each other (like what Facebook allows). But simply extending communication in a game, to friends of friends, is a shaky move depending on how family friendly you want to appear.

High Voltage is clearly going for the hardcore group with this game. I believe that it works to their benefit, in this case, and encourage other companies with similar aspirations to do the same. But I don't believe it needs to be a general guideline for online in general. Family games (and by extension mainstream Nintendo games) should avoid such a feature, in favor of relying on more direct control by the user.

That does it for now. I may add more of these online coverage updates as things change. The next update to my series "Nintendo Wii - Going forward" should be posted later this week.

Nintendo Wii - Going Forward (part 1)

2009-04-29T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is the first part in a series of articles I'd like to do discussing the Nintendo Wii and important developments it will need to make in order to maintain market dominance.

Most are familiar with the history of Nintendo, but I'll reiterate a bit. Nintendo started off this hardware generation in last place. However with the innovation of motion controls along with very strong prepackaged software (Wii Sports) the Wii has become the high selling phenomenon we know today. However while many are speculating at were the top will be for Wii sales, many tech experts and market analysts question how stable the foundation really is for this hardware platform.

The first notable issue is that the Wii seems to have a low attachment rate when compared to other platforms (attachment rate = how many games are owned by someone on top of just the hardware). It has also done a poor job holding the interests of the early adopter, the strange techno centric person who buys early and is generally responsible for getting buzz started on the next hot product. If Nintendo cannot retain these groups they may face an uphill battle in sales the next time around.

To that end I present you now with Nintendo's first step towards regaining confidence:

Online
This is an issue that needs no introduction to the hardcore gamer but I believe the details of this are a bit more complicated then most people give it credit for. I often feel that a solution hasn't been implemented because Nintendo is a Japanese country, and when comparing Japan to America there are some large social differences. Japan is much more dense population wise. Japanese gamers don't face the trouble of finding people willing to game at a given moment and likely have friends and family at a close distance for gaming. The life of an American can be quite different with college and other situations forcing people apart or living in a rual area all taking away from opportunities to enjoy multiplayer games.

Nintendo created the Wii with the goal of being open to everyone, or perhaps more honestly the Wii was designed to be the household system that everyone in a given household could enjoy in their own way. This fits with Nintendo's traditional market stance of being the "clean" company or perhaps the Disney of the video game world. The problem with this stance is it's hard to create a clear online service around it.

The major issue with any sort of console were a child is included in the audience of users is that there is the underlining fear of pedophiles and other unwanted solicitors assaulting you in your own home. Because of these issues it is most likely impossible to create a open online system in the vein of Microsoft's much praise Xbox Live service. However I would argue that while such a system is enjoyable by it's own merits and a surprising way to meet people and make friends, open online communication isn't completely necessary for a successful online strategy.

It is my firm belief that Nintendo's entire online strategy should rest purely on facilitating the connections of friends and people we already know. If users decide to create their own online forums that are not officially affiliated with Nintendo that is their own business and Nintendo should have no say in how those users behave (indeed this is likely why Nintendo closed down their own official forums over a year ago). Beyond this all the elements of a successful online communication system have been demonstrated on an individual basis between many Nintendo Wii/DS games. If these elements were all combined one would get the most optimal situation for a PG rated online system.

The five elements already presented by Nintendo are:

Friends Codes Fowarding (MarioKart Wii)- Friends codes are already overly secure, both players must have each others numbers making random friend connections impossible (imagine that you could only receive phone calls on your phone from people who's numbers you've only entered into your phone). There is no reason to have to have security beyond this and adding numbers multiple times is slow and inconvenient, if Nintendo consistently implements this feature it would facilitate more players communicating over their system and actually using their online game modes.
Wii Speak (Animal Crossing)- Communication is a must in multiplayer games. Laughing and teasing each other performance is something people do in real life and something that should be included in online games as well. Beyond this some online games require teamwork only possible if you can plan out strategy's with your teammates. Honestly I expect this feature to be used more by third party's but it was on the DS and there was no reason it took so long for it to come out. Nintendo needs to make sure it is used frequently in their first party games moving forward (Metroid Prime Hunters was the first to use Mic on DS but was followed by a slew of games that didn't use Mic which severely damaged online gaming on the system, until the release of Pokemon).
Rivals List (Metroid Prime Hunters)- This feature has surprisingly only been used in one game to my knowledge. It was a simple idea, allow random matchmaking without communication but say at the end of your match you decide you like the person you played a round with? They didn't cheat, or maybe their your competitive equal. You can't communicate with this person but the game allowed you to place them on a list so that when you hosted games on your DS they could link join in and play even though they couldn't talk with you. This kind of system would allow the online games to self screen and create a slight since of community while still keeping children from talking to strangers. It would reward good behavior and punish the bad. Truly the only flaw in Metroid Hunters implementation of this system was that you couldn't easily switch between searching for random matches and hosting friends matches (an error in the interface required users to sign out and then back in making the process to slow, if done on the fly Nintendo would have a winner here for decreasing many complaints about their online)
Who's Online Channel (Mario Kart Wii)- Another innovation that Mario Kart Wii brought was the ability to install a Wii channel that let you check to see if your friends were playing Mario Kart online without having to place the disk into the system itself. This allows users to make a decision about weather or not it's worth booting up a game quickly when they start up their system. If a more cohesive channel were introduced it would allow you to check which specific game your friends are using online so that you could join them without having to use trial and error on your whole library. Nintendo has already done things like take the Metroid Prime 3 specific preview channel and transform it into the broadly based Nintendo preview channel (for all games), similar should be done for Wii online.
Online Ranking System - This feature is present in most games already. However recently the creator of the popular Smash Brothers series decided to omit this feature. The rational was that oftentimes ranking systems are disheartening to new gamers, it feels pretty awful to start playing a game only to be constantly reminded how poorly you are fairing. However without a ranking system you often end up with the opposite problem, you don't know how tough your opponent will be and you have a certain feeling of pride developed as you move up the ranks (motivating continuous play). A ranking system is also necessary for the matchmaking system to make sure that players of equal skill are matched up (it's very demoralizing as a new player to go up against a slew of veterans because the computer doesn't know better). The way to solve both problems is to pull the ranking sytem into the background, it would always be present but a player could only view their rank by turning on the rank display on the options list. This allows skilled players to enjoy seeing their rank in progress while casual players can enjoy the game without being discriminated against.

With these five features Nintendo would have a system that while not perfect would satisfy most online complaints made by fans while also protecting Nintendo's family image.

There's also the one other element that Nintendo has been afraid of in their development of online games. When given the opportunity to name themselves, there are those who like to choose inappropriate names and offensive slogans to rebel against the system (in a manner of speaking). Most companies try to simply present slogans that experience can change online and they have no way of protecting themselves (which is true to some degree). But Nintendo as a company that likes to play it safe has done things such as completely removing names (ones again this was done in Smash Brothers).

I'd like to suggest a better option for this would be to allow names for people on your friends list to be uncensored completely (they're your friends and it's between you and them how they communicate with you). However for strangers rather then doing a harsh ban listing that confronts players with their actions being forbidden a more subtle system should be implemented. If you block people directly they will simply find more creative ways to slip sexual insults into their names. However if there is a ban list that exists such that when players go online it gives them a randomly generated clean name you will avoid bad press of rude people on your system and eliminate 90% of the drive people have to be jerks to each other.

I hope you've enjoyed reading my analasys of Wii's online service and how it can be improved. As I progress on with this series I will discuss things like proper execution of WiiWare, Games that would appeal to both casuals and hardcore and how third party's can better capitalize on Wii's market penetration.