Will Ooi

In Memoriam: a Dead Rising retrospective – Part 2

Will Ooi — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:42:59 +0000

This is the second part of In Memoriam: a Dead Rising retrospective, looking back on the game's influence on the reinvigorated popularity of the zombie genre, and the controversial design decisions that defined its core identity. Having examined the title's roots in Capcom's first foray into Survival Horror and its thematic inspirations from George A. Romero's Dead films in Part 1, this time we'll assess closer the game design and mechanics that made, but for others, broke, Dead Rising, along with the incredible demands of the unlockable, pretty-much-as-crazy-as-it-sounds, Infinity Mode. Players would get used to that awkward image of Frank West's back as he stood at the urinal overwriting that one save file of theirs, yet another potentially last pee being performed for the umpteenth time prior to heading back out into the expanses of Willamette Mall in a combined state of fear and curiosity. Players would also become overly familiar with that annoying walky-talky ringtone whenever the mall's security officer, Otis, would phone in at the most inopportune moments with more 'Scoops' on what strife some other poor sods had gotten themselves into on the other side of the mall, phoning back in anger if Frank had the nerve to hang up on him as he balanced his very survival with a large bottle of orange juice and an electric guitar in each hand, perhaps also whilst running away feverishly from some pyromaniac throwing molotovs and driving explosive remote-controlled toy race cars in his general direction. As a general rule, these ringtones signified impending doom. Dead Rising fans would even get used to seeing those same story cutscenes playing over and over again after being forced to restart from the very beginning, probably catching themselves mouthing lines of dialogue as if it were a favourite movie. And despite all of these annoyances, for those who still chose to persevere by drawing inspiration from some remarkable source of inner strength, seeing their improved progress get utterly destroyed thanks to either another mistimed save or a horrendously unexpected and unprepared-for boss battle as the game mockingly asked whether they'd like to give it another go, from scratch, players would definitely get used to that Groundhog Day sensation of End of the World proportions: sick to death of this horrible, ceaseless purgatory and wishing that all these problems, these zombies, this...nightmare... would just go away forever.~

Also seen on Gamasutra and Galaxy Next Door

In Memoriam: a Dead Rising retrospective – Part 1

Will Ooi — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:46:19 +0000

This blog is a tribute to the original Dead Rising, the game that helped usher back into mainstream consciousness the lovable appeal and popularity of the Zombie Apocalypse, a genre now near-oversaturated and encompassing almost all forms of media. Whether it be the hilarious Undead Nightmare expansion to Red Dead Redemption or real-life "Zombie Walk" social-event-meets-cosplay events, would any of these tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating moments truly have been possible were it not for the fun people had photographing female zombie knickers for high 'Erotica' scores through the camera lens of the game's everyman main character, Frank West, himself clothed in a tight-fitting red rose dress direct from Willamette Mall's high-end fashion section? Wait, what? That wasn't how you played the game? No way.

Esteemed origins Japanese developers Capcom had previously frightened a generation of players in the mid-90's with its original entry to the Biohazard/Resident Evil series, simultaneously coining a new term for the experience as we came to grips with the jump up in quality of the 32-bit generation. "Survival Horror" made its debut on the original Playstation and took gamers on a horrific expedition through a sprawling mansion and secret underground laboratories populated by nightmarish creatures, forcing them to salvage scarce healing and ammunition resources - knowing full well that the more the player explored the game setting, the more risk they'd encounter. The need to conserve bullets wherever possible, accompanied by both a harsh difficulty level and limited amount of in-game ink ribbons to simply even save one’s progress, ensured that the 'survival' aspect of the title was alive and well, even if that meant that the selectable player characters, Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, often weren't. Add to that a 'horror' attribute stemming from classic moments such as the infamous dog-jumping-through-the-window trick, the unsettlingly gorgeous but deliberately claustrophobic pre-rendered backgrounds and just as limiting "tank-like" control scheme which always kept players within the grasp of the game's multiple and grotesque enemies, Resident Evil was an instant, terrifying success. ~

Also seen on Gamasutra and Galaxy Next Door

Gazing

Will Ooi — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:36:31 +0000

She is a forward thinker Dreaming up the plans and machinations for our grand future. Whereas I – I mull over the past. Of what’s now long gone, and all that’s occurred. Together we become neutral, fixed firmly in the present, Tussling between that which we’ll gain and all that we’ve lost. Complementing each other [...]

A Memory of Game Exploits and Player Integrity (but also Friendship)

Will Ooi — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:34:11 +0000

Inspired by a particular Tumblr blog, drawing this map has brought back a flood of memories and emotions. Around about 1997, I was hooked on the original Command & Conquer, having first read about it in one of those great 90's UK game magazines (CVG I think it was) and deciding to get it on the Sega Saturn. (As an aside, I used to always hate how reviews of the Saturn version criticised the gamepad controls, especially the inability to assign teams of units to buttons - but you could! It was the PS1 version that didn't have that function!) After pouring hours into the game, and gaining perhaps far too much satisfaction in slowly building up a ridiculous and unnecessarily large GDI army to crush and torment those enemy NOD bases (I used to have my units wait patiently outside their barracks, annihilating any newly produced men as soon as they walked out), I had finally met my match. I mean, as far as difficulty levels and player feedback went, I'd gotten used to playing all night and failing missions, using that trial-and-error experience and coming back stronger the next time round. But wow...this one stage. It was almost as if there was hidden karmic balance code on the disc, keeping track of the number of enemy soldiers I'd brutally vanquished and just waiting for the right time to punish me for it and striking down with furious anger. And with the debut of the NOD Flame Tank unit, all it took was one, slow-moving, ugly-looking but devastatingly monstrous vehicle to achieve such righteousness.

[Gamasutra Feature], [Mapstalgia]

Review Scores That Make Us Feel 10/10

Will Ooi — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:40:42 +0000

Standing about halfway in the queue at a quarter to midnight, the sense of expectation and anticipation was overwhelming. Having waited over a year since the first trailer had been released, it was as if we were all lining up for one of the great film premieres; an unveiling that could be announced with pride to our future descendants, akin to that of attending, say, the world's first screening of Return of the Jedi/King: "I was there". In such a scenario, our unnamed grandchildren-to-be would probably look up at us with awe, envisioning themselves the coming of the next great trilogy that would eventually serve to define their own generations. But in this scenario? No, not quite...

[Gamasutra Feature]

Unmasking the Gamers: Tim Cain – Industry Veteran, Programmer, and Original Creator of Fallout

Will Ooi — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:47:28 +0000

This is the latest edition of an interview series, “Unmasking the Gamers,” humanising the people who play video games: the real character controlling that fictional character; the person behind that First Person game. Previous interviewee(s): Brendan Stapley, Andrew Doherty, Cody Winn, Chris Avellone Part 1, Chris Avellone Part 2, Jason Bergman, Chris Avellone Part 3, JE Sawyer To continue the recent trend of this series and having spoken previously with Obsidian and Bethesda team members about Fallout: New Vegas, in this edition of Unmasking the Gamers I had the privilege of chatting with one of the key members and creators of the franchise itself, Mr Timothy Cain. Having had a hand in titles such as Fallout, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines in a career spanning three decades, we discussed the evolution of the gaming industry, his experience in setting up the now-defunct Troika Games studio, some of his career highlights, and a bit more about the man himself.

Will Ooi: Hi Mr Cain, thank you very much for taking part in this interview series, and first of all congratulations on securing a role at Obsidian. How do you feel about this move, and what does it mean for your and Obsidian's future plans? Tim Cain: I really enjoy working at Obsidian. I know many of the people there from our time at Interplay or Troika, and I have played all of Obsidian's games, so in many ways this new job was the smoothest transition I have ever made. Everyone there has been very friendly and welcoming, and I am excited to be back in the RPG game space. But I should explain that I am a temporary contracted employee at Obsidian. I am considering joining another company in the spring of 2012 and have been talking with them since August, so in the meantime I am working at Obsidian on one of their games as a senior programmer. My contract extends thru March of 2012, at which time all parties (myself, Obsidian and the other company) can decide what the next step should be.

[Gamasutra Feature] & [Fallout Wiki]

Searching for the Humanity in Human Revolution

Will Ooi — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:46:21 +0000

*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

Jensen looked for the staircase amongst the near-deafening, conflicting distractions of bass-heavy dance music and the raised voices of tangibly multilingual but otherwise unidentifiable background chatter in the immensely crowded Hive nightclub. Were it not for his augmentations, he thought to himself, the noise of this busy Hengsha social scene may have caused some discomfort; although that had now been replaced by those sudden interruptions from colleagues coming in through the InfoLink embedded in his skull.

But that wasn't the hardest thing to get used to. It was the knowledge that everything he could see would be instantly relayed back onto a voyeuristic screen in some cold, sanitised facility hidden away in shame and secrecy. By comparison, that constant threat of intrusion by - quite literally - a voice in his head, cutting short his own thoughts when he dared even to daydream for a mere moment, was somehow less invasive.

*Incoming transmission*.

~ [Gamasutra Feature]

Unmasking the Gamers: JE Sawyer – game developer, biker, and cat lover

Will Ooi — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:38:42 +0000

This is the latest edition of an interview series, “Unmasking the Gamers,” humanising the people who play video games: the real character controlling that fictional character; the person behind that First Person game. Previous interviewee(s): Brendan Stapley, Andrew Doherty, Cody Winn, Chris Avellone Part 1, Chris Avellone Part 2, Jason Bergman, Chris Avellone Part 3 Following the release of Fallout: New Vegas' final DLC, Lonesome Road, and with the upcoming Gun Runners Arsenal add-on approaching, this edition of the series features a chat with the Lead Project Designer Joshua E. Sawyer about getting into the industry, linking in-game worlds with real life considerations, religion, overcoming game cancellation disappointment...and cats =)

WO: Hi Josh, thank you for your time. Please tell us about yourself, your role at Obsidian, and what your interests are. JS: Hi, Will. I'm glad to be a part of the series! I'm a project director at Obsidian and I've been in the game industry for about twelve years, most of that as a designer. Project directors are the "lead of leads", on the team, the individuals who define the high-level goals and scope of the project and help keep things focused on quality and consistency. Though technically part of the production staff, project directors have a somewhat adversarial relationship with the project's lead producer (in the case of Fallout: New Vegas, Larry Liberty). The project director defines the direction, but the lead producer tracks resources and effectively "writes the checks", serving as a voice of sanity for scope and scheduling. My game development interests are primarily in finding ways to give the player more meaningful choices in how they build and use their characters and in how they can influence the story. I'm also a fervent, possibly fanatical, advocate of strong core mechanics. "Good for an RPG" is an insult, and no player or developer should settle for that level of quality. Outside of video games, my interests are varied but shallow. I enjoy bicycling, motorcycle touring, firearms, languages, music, history, and a bunch of other things I never feel I explore in enough depth.

[Gamasutra Feature] & [Fallout Wiki]

Unmasking the Gamers: Chris Avellone – game designer, writer, and former ‘unlucky schlep’ – Part 3

Will Ooi — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 02:48:01 +0000

This is the latest edition of an interview series, “Unmasking the Gamers,” humanising the people who play video games: the real character controlling that fictional character; the person behind that First Person game. Previous interviewee(s): Brendan Stapley, Andrew Doherty, Cody Winn, Chris Avellone Part 1, Chris Avellone Part 2, Jason Bergman. As we near the release of Fallout: New Vegas' fourth and final DLC, Lonesome Road, this edition of Unmasking the Gamers similarly sees the last instalment of a discussion with Obsidian Entertainment's Mr Chris Avellone, lead designer for three out of the four content add-ons. Having spoken previously about RPG design, his work on Alpha Protocol and personal interests, this interview finale focuses specifically on Fallout, the creation of New Vegas, as well as the goals of its narrative-driven DLCs.

WillOoi: Could you see the Fallout series taking place in a different setting? Seeing the post-apocalyptic world from the perspective of a Chinese character, for instance. Mr Chris Avellone: Character perspectives aside, the ability to properly give context to that setting is more difficult the more removed the developers are from that location. There's likely a good reason why Bethesda did F3 in Washington DC, for example, and why Obsidian took the West Coast/SoCal region - we know more about the area where we live (or the areas that the Project Director, JE Sawyer, can ride to on his bike) than, say, China. Not having intimate insider knowledge of a location I feel makes the level design for those areas weaker as a result, not to mention the comments you'll likely get from folks living in those areas about getting various details wrong. WO: You were initially the lead of the cancelled Interplay Fallout 3, Van Buren. Did much of your original vision of the game differ from Josh Sawyer and the rest of Black Isle's final design documents? MCA: I believe most of it was changed, except for Denver, which remained largely the same as far as I could tell from the docs. The revised take on the Circle of Steel was different (for me, they weren't evil, they were just hardliners who thought the rest had drifted from the original principles of preserving tech and policing their own rogues - kind of like Internal Affairs), same with the central prison/quarantine facility, the Hanged Man, etc. Still, that just gave me the opportunity to include locations like Old World Blues' Big MT in the DLCs, so it all worked out. And plus, it's always fun to drop references to the old tribal groups that I'd created (Twin Mothers, Hangdogs, the Ciphers, etc.). Also, the Prisoner's Dilemma was a core theme in the original spec, as well as the conflict with the rival "player character group" and the reactivity spawning out of that. All that being said, Van Buren was shaping up to be great with the direction, it's a shame it got cancelled. I feel Interplay could have made it clearer they had no interest in PC-only titles earlier and saved a lot of expense and time.

[Gamasutra Feature] & [Fallout Wiki]

Felix & Natsuko

Will Ooi — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 03:11:12 +0000

A rising sun gazes atop the orchid flower of petals five Shining and luminescent, bringing life from her eyes He is amazed by the brightness that allows him to see All the joys she has conjured, all the love she's set free

The orchid has ventured afar, influencing and embracing new friends And the sun has envisioned him along her soft steps, from end to end But this day forth, together, they will connect and they will show That from tomorrow on this bright orchid is kindled by his blooming sun's morning glow