Becoming Game

A project of a RMA student who tries to combine her academic and non-academic ideas together.

[tinycartridge]

Pokémon Go popping up in app stores right now ⊟ 

A lot of people are playing Niantic’s augmented reality Pokémon experience right now, thanks to the mobile game appearing on the Google Play Store last night out of nowhere! It’s also on the iOS App Store, but just in New Zealand and Australia right now, and not in North America yet. Maybe the wider release for Pokémon Go will come soon, so we can all try it out together and complain about missing features that are still under development for future updates!

PREORDER Pokémon Sun and Moon, BUY Pokémon New 3DS

[xseedgames]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter *IN SIX DAYS* Blog

So it’s been a very long road to get here, but finally the launch of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC is imminent. Looking back at the release of the first game on PSP in early 2011, we only had 9 people at XSEED – 3 people in executive/admin, 3 people in sales/marketing/PR, and a paltry 3 people in localization. It was a miracle that our localization team was able to handle the first game at all considering the volume of text in the game, not to mention all the other releases we were working on at the time, and the only way to get it done was to have our po’ main Trails editor, Jess (aka H.Protoganist), work from home for the final 6 months so she could edit it essentially 24/7 without worrying about commute times.

We’re a very different company now with 15 people, 7 of whom are dedicated to localization with another 2 to 3 from the marketing side who can pitch in when needed, but after the original title launched to lower sales numbers than expected, it was quite a daunting thought to jump right into the more-than-double-sized sequel with such a small team. This is where Carpe Fulgur stepped in to take that initial burden off of us, helping to lighten our load when there were doubts as to whether or not the series was worth continuing considering the huge amount of time and resources required for such potentially low rewards. And despite the many bumps we’ve had along the way during this extremely long localization process, we shall forever be grateful to CF for at least laying the initial localization groundwork at a time when we were not capable of doing so ourselves.

This doesn’t mean the Trails SC saga is over, as despite all the efforts made by our miracle programmer Sara, thousands of people will be getting ahold of it with a countless variety of PC setups soon, and even though it runs fine on all the PCs it’s been tested on, there are bound to be problems that we haven’t seen before. Thankfully, she is up to the task and will be watching the forums intently as soon as it launches for reports of any issues, so you may need to be patient with us as hopefully any final kinks get worked out in the days after release.

As for the PSP release, unfortunately we couldn’t get the European PSN listing up at the same time as the North American one, but we’re hopeful that it won’t be too far off as we’re in the final testing process now. The PSP version should have less chance of anything catastrophic happening (fingers crossed as I believe this may be one of the few, if not the only PSP game released digitally where data from 2 UMDs had to be merged together and offered as a “bundle”), but the tradeoff will be that any text issues cannot be addressed easily post-launch the way they can in a PC release (and as hard as we tried to double-check all text in-game, it proved to be almost impossible given the volume – have mercy on our souls).

In closing, we’d like to thank all the fans for your extreme patience all these years, as you’ve been waiting to see the continuation of Estelle and Joshua’s tale. The entire team here at XSEED feels equal parts relief on finally getting the game out the door, and sheer terror that the game is cursed and some kind of new epic disaster is bound to happen…but I guess we’ll find out together just how things turn out.

The game launches next Thursday, October 29th on North American PSN, Steam and GOG.com, and if you want to take a look at a trailer and some screenshots, you can check out its newly launched website here: http://www.trailsinthesky.com/sc/

I hope you all enjoy the game, and thanks for standing by us during this whole process.

Ken Team Leader at XSEED Games (aka AngrySalesMonkey)

[90s90s90s]

[americaninfographic]

Leave Luck to Heaven

[picaresquethief-deactivated2017]

Persona 5 - Gameplay

[becominggame-blog]

An inforgraphic by Wired UK on the transmediality of the Heroes series. It started out as a TV show, but as the infographic visualizes, it soon was expanded into toys, games, mobile applications and social media. It demonstrates that a series, though first very medium specific (television) can easily become a transmedial series in just a couple of years!

[becominggame-blog]

14/06/2015

Two conferences on Japanese video game culture that I have missed, but would have tried to attend if I knew of its existence. I have to keep an eye on them for next year:

Press Start: http://pressstartubc.com/

Replaying Japan: https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/replaying-japan-2015/

[becominggame-blog]

“ねこ　あつめ” (Neko Atsume), a little game app for the smart phone, will have its’ own fan book voor around 700 Yen at amazon.co.jp. According to the book’s cover, the app has been downloaden over 450 times.

So just a quick glance on what the game is about: you buy stuff that attracts cats and place it in your garden. Cats will come, you can take photos of them, and in return for playing in your garden, they will give you fish that allows you to buy more stuff for them to lure them into your garden. That’s it. There is no interactions between the player and the cats, nothing, but it is extremely addictive. Why?

Does it have something to do with our urge to collect? Does it play with the reward-and- collecting system that most video games nowadays have? Is it addictive because the cats are so damn adorable? The Japanese kawaii-culture hits home, but that does not explain why even many of the Western society, like me, find it interesting.

Can we even call it a game if there is no interaction with the player? If we cannot call it a game, then is the player really a player, an on-looker; a spectator? Is it rather a simulator? Or can it best be approached from a play perspective to explain its’ appeal?  Can we consider it from a cultural perspective? Playful behaviour in Japanese kawaii culture? Yet, non-Japanese speakers also play the simulator without understanding the language play that is going on in it.  What is the difference between Neko Atsume and, Animal Crossing, Pokémon and Tamagotchi?

Interesting…, I should play it some more. As a case study of research, of course.

[xseedgames]

Hey, Trails fans!

This is Brittany again, Production Coordinator at XSEED. So. Yes. The rumors were true. Every time the words “Trails of Cold Steel” showed up on news sites, we were giggling like preschooler dorks because we knew it was a real thing that was happening. On the flipside, we were...

[becominggame-blog]

Trails of Cold Steel I and II, and Trails in the Sky SC are both confirmed for licalization on the PS Vita and PS3! On this blog you can read the information regarding the localization, because some in-between games of the Legend of Heroes are unfortunately not yet being localised. English-speaking fans of the series might therefore miss some information regarding the situation in Erebonia in Trails of Xolf Steel I and II.

[becominggame-blog]

29/05/2015

What have I been doing? Good question, since I have been doing a lot, but at the same time, it feels like nothing at all. I have been gaming and reading most of all, besides visiting my classes. 

What have I been playing? I don’t even remember what I played during my last post (when was that again?), but at the moment I am playing Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC. In Japanese that is, since there is no English version yet, although I believe that the localisation will be published this fall(?).    And Hakuouki. Jup, an otome game. I hadn’t believed beforehand that I would actually like it, but here I am. I don’t always have the time or feel the need to play this game after a long day of reading books (since it is a heavily text-based game), but so far I’ve played Sanosuke Harada’s and Okita Souji’s routes. A few days ago, a friend of mine let me watch the films and anime series which prompted me to start Hajime Saito’s route. 

On an academic level, I’ve finally gotten the opportunity to write about a specific interest of mine: transmedial world building. Of course, I was planning to aim my focus on Japan and look at how it works there. In the West, the concept of transmedial world building has been set up by Henry Jenkins’ convergence theories, but in Japan the concept of transmediality is actually called by scholars, such as Marc Steinberg, “anime’s media mix” and has been actualized in a different way than in the West. I know it’s a lots of rambling what probably doesn’t make sense yet. but anyway, this means that the idea of world-building through multiple media has a different set-up in the West than in Japan and therefore should be perceived from a different angle.     Furthermore, if we consider the role of video games in this big pile of transmediality (or media mix), then it is logical to look at Japanese’s video games from a different perspective than Western video games. Through what perspective would you say? Well, in Japan there is a heavy character-world relation which is not that direct in the West. It sounds easy and logical enough, but is rather difficult to explain. Let’s just keep at it for now that character-merchandising is a big thing in this crazy concept of a media mix.

[becominggame-blog]

Satoru Iwata: Bowser is quite a character, isn't he? I often wonder to myself: just why does he kidnap the Princess over and over?

Takashi Tezuka: I often wonder what kind of gay dad Bowser is.

Satoru Iwata: I'm not sure I understand what you mean.

Takashi Tezuka: Well, I think it goes without saying that Bowser is a gay dad. But what kind of gay dad is he, exactly?

Satoru Iwata: I see. Why don't you tell me more about Mario's new hat.

[becominggame-blog]

19/04/2015

At the moment there is not a lot going on. I’m reading Ian Condry’s book Soul of Anime to get a better picture of how the practical theory on anime can help me in my research in theory on Japanese games. I’m also trying to get my hands on Chris Kohler’s book Power-Up: How Japanese Gaming Gave the World an Extra Life, but I think it’ll end up in failure. It’s unavailable in my country and I can’t get it imported... :(

I’ve finished my paper on Deleuze & Games and am currently waiting for the results. It was more about the debate between interaction and narrative in video games, rather than Deleuze’s theory on, for instance, the Ideal Game. I’ll go more into this in a later post, though I’m not sure if I’ll touch upon Deleuze’s theory, since I don’t consider myself able to understand him in the least, or even agree with him. On the other hand, it might be a good challenge for me to write down why I don’t agree with him. 

Currently playing The Legend of Heroes: Sora no Kiseki SC. Terrifying to see how much Kanji one can forget in half a year.  I have my eyes on Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunter, which is available in Europe, but I think I’ll have to purchase Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth in Japanese, since I’m not convinced it’ll ever be localised here.

The Soul of Anime also prompted me to start watching anime again. Since I’ve been studying the Japanese language and culture I basically stopped watching any anime and hardly read any manga, but since manga, anime and video games are so much connected through transmedia storytelling, it would actually be a wise idea to experience them by reading and watching them myself, instead of only reading about it. In other words, yep, I’m currently watching anime again. I’ve started with Barakamon yesterday and am already at episode 10. Other upcoming anime are at least Free! and Kill la Kill.

Upcoming reads are:  Anime’s Media Mix by Marc Steinberg Hunting the Dark Knight by Will Brooker Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins

[satoshi-mochida]

Fire Emblem (working title) New Trailer.

[becominggame-blog]

Luckily though, I own a 3DS!

[satoshi-mochida]

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem/ Genei Ibunroku FE- Trailer

[becominggame-blog]

And of course, I don't own a WII U...

[court-records-net]

Famitsu is out, and it brings with it much more information, as well as a look at the game’s key art!

We’ll be updating this post as we translate, so stay tuned.

[court-records-net]

Key points of the articles (thanks in part to Ash):

Baroque/Barock/no we still don’t have a full transliteration is described as a legendary English prosecutor said to never let a defendant escape.  He’s returning to court after 5 years.  Known as “The Death God of the Old Bailey”.

It took about a year to come up with the name of the prosecutor. At first it was “Prosecutor Rivaal”, but that was a bit… yeah.  There is a proper name origin for the name, but Takumi finds it embarrassing to talk about. He has a different font for “objection” to convey the “English”-ness of him.

Jury Battle: Each of the jury members have their own ideas about the case and you can get the not guilty verdict by finding the contradictions in, and between their ideas (think PLvsPW’s testimony-vs-testimony mechanic). Ryuunosuke can walk around during the trial as he’s thinking. The last argument is where you have your last chance to convince the jury of your client’s innocence.

If all jury members decide on guilty, then it’s over, but as long as a majority votes not guilty after the closing argument, you win. Takumi had considered a multiple-ending game at first, but in the end, settled on this.

During trials, you can question multiple witnesses at once and yell “HANG ON!” if one is acting up, much like PLvsPW.

Special attention has been paid to camerawork, a sense of space and eye movements of the characters.

Case one is called “The Adventure of the Grand Travelers.”  The prosecutor is Taketsuchi Auchi, Payne’s ancestor.

Case one’s waiter witness is named Satoru Hosonaga.  A mysterious, elaborately-dressed woman is also shown without a name.

As DLC, a special episode focused on Ryuunosuke and Asougi will be available 7/9 to 7/19 for free.  The episode is called “Randst Magazine Special Edition”, and though it’s called out as a ‘game’, it’s not clear if it’ll be a full case.  Randst Magazine comes from Strand Magazine, where the original Holmes stories were published.

The game’s limited edition will include a 48-page artbook and 10-track CD.

[becominggame-blog]

On video game merchandising in Japan

One of the things that struck me about my post yesterday (the Phoenix Wright-theme of the Japanese 3DS) is the fact that a lot of “us”, Western players of Japanese games, would like to have more merchandising of our favorite games, yet to obtain it is a whole different matter.

In my quest to map the differences between Japanese role-playing games and Western, I noticed that the whole relationship between the video game industry and its fans/players is a whole different matter. As stated in Ian Condry’s book The Soul of Anime, designers of Japanese anime series think more in terms of character goods business (2013, 40). This means that from the beginning of the series, characters are already designed to be sold as merhandise.  Video games, or video game series, are not so different, since their narratives are often part of what is called “transmedia storytelling”. Just look at games like SMT: Persona 3, SMT: Persona 4, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series, the Pokémon series, and more. Though, the narratives started out as video games, they have been adaptated into manga, anime and even stage plays. This makes the video games more like they are part of a whole universe rather than standing alone as a video game. Merchandising helps to create this sense of a consistent universe that draws fans close to it.  Though, the West also tries to work in this way with transmedia storytelling, I think there exist more Western examples of films that have been adaptated into video games than the other way around. And those are not even that succesfull compared to the Japanese video game industry. As far as I know, the only franchise that has been quite succesfull into creating a consistent universe as a form of transmedia storytelling is Disney.

Merchandising is, in my opinion, just part of the Japanese transmedia storytelling- franchise. Sadly though, I think it will take a long time before that amount of merchandising will happen here in the West, if it will ever happen. 

[becominggame-blog]

Look who’s there! I noticed that my Japanese 3DS allowed me to download a Phoenix Wright theme. So I downloaded it, obviously. Nonetheless, I had to make sure that Miles Edgeworth was in it. I was not disappointed.