[simbstudio-blog]

9 Lives

Here's the game I was talking about months ago that I never finished but I feel it got pretty far just needs some more tweaks until I would consider it finished I feel it's pretty easy and doesn't need much explanation it's another INFINITE JUMPER if I haven't lost you yet then go ahead and give it a try WAD or Arrows to move and yes W and UP can make you jump higher

Go ahead and...

:::::Play here:

http://db.tt/DeLxHAjb

[simbstudio-blog]

Shmup Prototype

For the past couple days I've been working on a shmup prototype I thought I would share I think it feels really good, but would like some others thoughts. 

It's an arena shmup with a heavy focus on how the ship feels when moving. Anyways check it out. 

How to play:

::::::Put on some music I have no sound effects or music in place yet

Seriously read this if you're planning to play

1. Move with WASD

2.Shoot with left mouse button

3.Aim with mouse

4.When the BOX IN THE CENTER OF THE SCREEN turns white you can go pick up extra ammo.

Important stuff!!!!

1.YELLOW/ORANGE ENEMIES can only be defeated if there is at least ONE RED and ONE GREEN and NO BLUE enemies on screen.

2.PURPLE ENEMIES can only be defeated if there is ONE RED and ONE BLUE enemy on screen and NO GREEN enemies.

3.WHITE ENEMIES can only be defeated if there is ONE OF EACH PRIMARY COLOUR on screen.

PLAY HERE::::::::::::::::::::::

http://db.tt/vKRHvith

[simbstudio-blog]

Quick Update

So I've been fine tuning the gameplay for my game and the past few days have been about making it run as fast as I possibly can so that if there ever has to be more objects on screen than I'm currently using than it won't bog down. Also the search for an artist has definitely not been working I think I may end up having to try and do my own which sucks but could be a good experience for me.

[simbstudio-blog]

Cautiously Optimistic

My current project is actually going along very well I have a level that's perfect for testing. Best of all though I actually have it running on my phone, making me a very happy camper. Still looking for an artist though.

[simbstudio-blog]

Artist Wanted

Looking for an artist to create the look for my game. Message me if interested.

[simbstudio-blog]

Back in Buisiness!

Focus this time idiot.

[simbstudio-blog]

Hey! How is it going on the game developin' front?

To be honest not so well. I've been swamped with schoolwork and my job. Also I've found the need for a real artist. How are things for you? 

[simbstudio-blog]

My Growing Collection

Still need Ghost Recon:Shadow Wars, Steel Diver, Mario Tennis Open, Monster Hunter, Cave Story, and if they ever release a single card with a bunch of downloadables I'd love for it to have Pushmo, Crashmo, Dillon's Rolling Western, Sakura Samurai, Ketzal's corridors, and the upcoming Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move(I would've bought that on it's own on a cartridge). This list obviously is not including any upcoming boxed releases otherwise it would be a lot longer.

[simbstudio-blog]

Point of view

I'm not a professional gamer I don't review games for money, and I certainly don't play them for money. Tonight I just beat Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and I had a blast. The graphics are lovely, and the humour and charm on more than one occasion had me actually laughing audibly, and the gameplay itself is a natural extension of the original's, and the depth of it all astounds me. During my playthrough I had only died twice, and I never got fed up with a puzzle( I found them quite natural, and never obtuse).

Dat's some nice looking snow there Luigi.

This doesn't mean I'm amazing I think it just shows my experience with gaming, and familiarity with the original(Being one of my first games on my Gamecube). Well I decided to read some reviews and see where everyone stands on the game. I read Gamespot's review by Carolyn Petit. She gave it a 6.5.... I was dumbstruck. How could such a fantastic game in my eyes look like a 6.5 to her. Let's break it down.

The Good

Atmospheric haunted mansions are a pleasure to explore   

Satisfying environmental puzzles   

Terrific, often-humorous animations.

The Bad

Absence of checkpoints can lead to repeating lengthy stretches   

One key combat sequence is a frustrating challenge, not a rewarding one.

Her point on the game.

As you can see the good points for the game are everything I can agree with. The only negatives she points out are no checkpoints and having to repeat lengthy stretches and one particular fight( towards the end right before the final two bosses) being frustrating. I just played this encounter I'm presuming she's talking about, and I beat it on my first runthrough. From my perspective, it was difficult but it was a test of your skills you've been training throughout the game, it pushed me to my limit, but I did it. This made me think what if I had died, after all I did find it difficult. How would I view this fight? Would I find it a frustrating, unfair punishment forced upon me by the developers? I don't know. I do know that the difficulty skewed her review score by probably a considerable margin(difficulty being her only downside mentioned). It's possible death was so annoying because it meant having to go back potentially 20-30 minutes of gameplay, and that would be extremely annoying, and understandable to me why someone might not enjoy it as much.

A similar experience from not too long ago was the last fight in Metal Gear Rising. Every review I have read including a video review by one Chris Stuckmann(one of my favourite movie reviewers on youtube check him out) , have pointed out this being an extremely difficult fight. When I played the boss the first time I didn't die anywhere near 40 times like some have( I died about twice). After I had died though I discovered that you can stop the boss from healing while he's doing it. Yet no review I've read has completely disregarded the game due to one difficult fight. This is probably due to a better treatment of death(e.g less time to get back to where you were). 

Finally I'd just like to say that no matter who you're speaking too even if it's a game you find amazing when you hear that they didn't enjoy it, ask why. It might be a reason other than, "Graphics are shitty," it might be that they just played the game completely differently and this is something you would have never experienced.

[power-supremacy]

So I’m minding my own business playing Luigis Mansion: Dark Moon, when I catch something in the corner of my eye during one of the levels. I zoom in a little closer, to see what it is, and I see this.

WHAT IS THIS.

WHAT IS THIS THING, NINTENDO, AND WHY IS IT CREEPING ON ME THROUGH THE WINDOW.

[simbstudio-blog]

http://iam-jacks-smirkingrevenge.tumblr.com/post/35741400918/xxjungleteemoxx-its-a-mysteryyyyy That totally reminds me of this thing from Super Mario 3d Land... Have fun sleeping tonight.

[simbstudio-blog]

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance A Review.... of sorts

Note: I will not be mentioning the use of the non-word Revengeance as anything other than pure unfiltered genius, that a lot of people probably were not, and still are not ready for.

My history with the Metal Gear franchise starts not on any Playstation but on Nintendo's own Gamecube. I bought Twin Snakes( a reimagining of the first game in the Solid series) when I was around 13, and the game kicked my ass. Up until this point in my childhood I'd never been kicked around by a game harder than the first time I tried to play this game. It was hard, it felt clunky, it felt slow, but I kept playing, I mean after all this was shortly after I had beaten the gamecube remake of Resident Evil 1(also hard as balls), so I felt that no game could take me. It took a couple weeks and picking up and putting down the game until it finally clicked. I was playing it wrong. Ever time I saw someone I tried to take them out, the game wasn't clumsy... I was. I wasn't a stealth master, I wasn't a hero. This was the first game that really asked me to step up my game. I loved every minute of it.

"Also known as the "you will never use this perspective" perspective"

From there my love has only grown. The first stop upon getting my Ps3 was getting Metal Gear Solid 4( I didn't own a Ps2 at this point so I had missed out on 2 and 3). I beat that game probably 4 times straight. One of my early favourites on the console. Last year I bought Metal Gear Solid 3 on the 3Ds, and the Metal Gear collection. I played them through in order starting with Peace Walker,Metal Gear Solid 3(3Ds version), Metal Gear Solid 3,Twin Snakes, Metal Gear Solid 2, and finally Metal Gear Solid 4. I started to play the original games Metal Gear 1 and 2, but haven't made any formal attempt to actually complete either(I do find 2 to be truly amazing knowing when it was released). I spent about 5 days doing this, watching every cutscene, upgrading my base in Peace Walker(amazing game), tranquilizing everyone( except those I chose had to die), and generally feeling amazing. That was a good week.

"Apparently I'm pretty good..."

Forward to this past Tuesday. Finally, after years of teasing a cancellation, and rebirth Metal Gear Rising was finally released. I'd preordered it, and wasn't sure what to expect. I mean this was developed by two different studios. Platinum Games came in and saved the burning remains of a project left behind by some junior members on Hideo Kojima's team. Platinum is a very different studio from Hideo's team. They focus on hardcore action(protip: Go buy Madworld for the Wii one of my favourite action games), while Metal Gear as a series is usually basked in nuance and slow to realise masterful controls, but not constant heart pounding action. How would this game marry the two? Very well. The complaints I had in my previous post still stand. Artistically weaker than the other games in the series(and some of Platinum's own efforts), and on normal mode perhaps a bit easy. However that hasn't stopped me from beating the game twice, and on my way through a third time. This game is fun at the end of the day. I think right now I would put it up there with Resident Evil 4, for replayabilty alone. The AI is also fantastic, there were several times where I would just let them hit me to see what would happen. The more I play, the better I get, the better I get, the more I want to play, just so I can up my grades on a level or take down a Metal Gear like it was nothing. Raiden is whiny, it doesn't mention anything about his family(other than a passing sentence about how they're safe), it doesn't explore a lot of things, it doesn't answer any questions about what has happened to Snake or Otacon since the Patriots fell. It took some time but I realise now, that it doesn't have to.. It's not perfect, it's not very long, it doesn't look or sound top notch, but it does something every Metal Gear Solid game has done for me. It makes you feel good.

"You done good guys, done good."

Did it, would do again

What I've experienced

The campaign twice

The cutscenes once(once is enough)

I've only ever played with the High Frequency Blade(I've almost upgraded the Fox Blade though) and have never used the weapons unlocked by beating bosses

I've only unlocked 3 skills dodge, jump cut, and something else that I can't remember right now but it's obvious they were all I require to kill everything

Beat the final boss with losing only 20% of my health(Note on that by the way. When he starts recharging his health go in and use blade mode to distract him, he can only recharge 3 times so if you've distracted him 3 times then he will no longer recharge)

Likes

Swordplay

Enemy AI

Speed and fluidity of movement

Dislikes

My earlier rantings

Quotes: "Holy Crap that guy grabbed me by both my arms from behind so his friend could hit me!!!!!", "Holy SHIT!!!!!!", "Sunny is supposed to be ten here?... Okay Japan enough is enough.", "Just wait till I've saved!!!".

[simbstudio-blog]

So I got Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance yesterday. I played it for a few hours, and started to really get into it. A full review is likely in the near future. For now, here's a small list of things I like and things I don't.

Likes

The sword system

The focus on offense over defense which is very rare this day and age

The speed of Raiden

A reference to the second Ninja Turtles Movie

Dislikes

I have yet to actually die in the game(I've gotten very close but never actually died)

The environments more often than not feel like they weren't built around  the games platforming mechanic(Although one level where you control a robot had some surprising platform mechanics)

The graphics are somewhat lackluster for me personally. No where near the quality artistically as Metal Gear Solid 4 or Vanquish

So yeah, it's definitely fun, and the gameplay saves some of the presentation issues, but I can't judge it's overall quality. Right now, I'm thinking afterwards I'll play through Vanquish, and compare the two(Vanquish is probably the better game but I think Revengeance has better ideas).

[simbstudio-blog]

Quick post to sort of go along with my previous one. Another game developed by Vasco is this http://www.seriusgames.com/Randobot.html. It's called Randobot, it's pretty good and I've just finished it. It's not nearly as replayable as Freeway Fury 2, but it's another showcase of this man's talent. His games are so unique gameplay wise. Randobot is a platformer RPG that actually feels like an RPG. Without spoiling too much, I will say, it exposes the genre's insides and leaves it all out in the open. There is a lot of grinding and frustration, but hardcore RPG players I think will find a lot to love, while more action oriented gamers may find it only backs up why they don't like RPGs. If you have a few minutes to save the universe, give a shot.

[simbstudio-blog]

Browser Based Gaming

Recently I've started playing some old favourites of mine online, this naturally included playing some Gravity Guy. Well while I was playing I thought, "Hey I wonder who made this game?". I checked the credits and game design and programming was done by a man named Vasco Frietas. One Google search later and I was at his own website(link here: http://vascof.com/Games.html). I decided to look around see some other games he has made(curiously he never mentions Gravity Guy, but he has a game called G-Switch which obviously was the template from which Gravity Guy is built upon). I came across this game called Freeway Fury 2, and I thought, "That sounds stupid... let's play it!".(link here: http://vascof.com/FreewayFury2.html)

Freeway Fury 2 is fantastic. The difficulty curve is high, but the gameplay is simple. You learn by playing and the more you play the better you get. If you're really good the levels become your playground hopping from car to car, ramming cars, and generally messing everything up. In fact it feels very much like if Hotline Miami had driving missions between stages. Also like Hotline Miami, if you're new you will die a lot, and it can be just as frustrating. It's a very deep gameplay system and it will last you much longer than you would expect from a browser game. Give it a try and please get back to me on what you thought of it. If anything deserved an improved commercial release this is definitely it.

10/10 would do.

Genre: Fuck em'up Driving

What I've played so far: Over 3 hours 16 checkered flags beat the final boss and unlocked everything in the Free Ride.

Loved: 

Chaining Combos

Free Ride Unlocks

Rhythm of a combo

Hated

Playing through the game and not exiting properly only to find the game didn't save my first run through

Taking so long to figure out the rhythm for jumping

[kohenari]

It’s February 1, so you know Twitter is lighting up with white people — mostly teenagers, which makes me so incredibly depressed — who are just baffled or angry about the fact that there’s no white history month when there’s a black history month.

There are thousands of these; I just grabbed a few for posterity.

[simbstudio-blog]

White history month, also called every day of history class throughout school. These people need to quit whining and celebrate parts of their country's history they probably have no idea about.  It's for one month out of the year, it wouldn't hurt to consider others contributions to society, I mean other than old white dudes. P.s. this ----> #NotRacist (<--- Doesn't mean it's any less offensive)

[simbstudio-blog]

Resident Evil 6

Let me start by saying everything bad about the game so far(only about 7 hours in). The art direction has taken a nosedive for me personally, some characters look completely different(Ada Wong) and others simply look... off.

What Ada Wong looks like for reals.

A bad Ada Wong cosplayer.

Some of the puzzles have been simplified to the point of embarrassment. A great example of this is in Leon's campaign there was a "puzzle" where a riddle on the wall was pretty obvious already but then text appears in the top left corner stating exactly what I needed to do. Thanks I would have never figured out I needed to shoot the bells on my own. Enemy design is weaker than in previous installments. Level design can feel claustrophobic, and too linear more often than needed. Boss battles have been stronger in previous titles and for a game in the main series to drop the ball so hard is saddening. Please next time just one story. Finally the camera during cutscenes is clearly handled by the cameramen from Paranormal Activity.

I hear he only charges $10 an hour.

Now some positives. Characters have never felt so natural to control. Gone are tank controls and the dodge mechanics feel great. The sense of speed is greatly increased and running feels great. Overall mechanically the game has made some great new decisions and were well implemented a sequel with these mechanics kept and refined would be welcome. Some puzzles were actually pretty good and can make the player feel clever. Partner AI is much better than in 5 to the point that I would say I relied on my partner during harder areas, whereas in 5 I felt like I was babysitting. Speaking of partners the new characters in the game are actually much more likeable than other recent additions to the series. Finally some horror is back and the game can create some great atmosphere. 

Pictured: A tender embrace.

After Revelations on the 3DS and this I have hope for a bright future for the series. As much that this game did wrong mechanically I find it very fun, and well done. Revelations and Mercenaries on the 3ds were both very fun bringing the series back for me. Revelations is a fantastic game all around but I felt like it didn't change or add any new gameplay to the series. Six has added some great new things while falling down pretty much everywhere that Revelations exceeded in. I believe the next numbered sequel will be a full return to form and have as big a spot in my heart as 4. It is a series that has struggled for the last few years and barring a heartless spin off that shall remain unnamed they have been picking up the pieces after the disappointment players felt after 5. 

More of this please Capcom.

P.S

For the record I enjoyed 5. The only issues I have are the partner AI, no additions to the base gameplay, and by making it so action focused it turned me off a bit. So while some will tear it apart I will admit it was a great game simply a let down after the masterpiece that was 4(which is one of my favorite games of all time).

[simbstudio-blog]

Ninja Gaiden and Black Ops II

I've just beaten Razor's Edge and started playing Black Ops II. First things first having never played the original version of NG3 I can only judge Razor's Edge on it's own. I loved it. The mechanics in this series have always been very tight and this one is no exception. Also I heard that the difficulty in the original was casual friendly. That was not the case in this updated version. It's very true to the series and as a whole very good but the first few missions are fantastic. Note: Did anyone like the Uncharted 2 like scene in the village? Or the God Of War 3 type boss about 3/4 through? Black Ops II. What can I say? I haven't bought a game in the series since 3, and I haven't enjoyed it since Modern Warfare. The games were never horrible after that, but I never felt like they added anything either. Well I heard some good things about this, at first though, it seems not much had changed. Until the future missions. Something new happens. I get access to a stealth suit, a new mechanic(at least for me), then I notice something else. If I shoot into a room there's an echo location effect that shows me any enemies near that shot area. These two things were actually quite impressive and added some much needed depth to the gameplay. Then it's back to some old school missions, but wait... what's this? A horse and a large open desert mission, and multiple layered environments? Pretty cool. The coolest thing though? A horse that controls better than Assassin's Creed 3's horse... in a First person shooter... yeah that was nice. Finally the last mission I played so far and the final thing that made me say you know what? This game is pretty good. A tactical mission straight out of advance wars(or battalion wars, damn I miss those games) this is what the series needs. It's not perfect but it works, and it's giving a stale series a good shot in the arm. I hear these mechanics are similar to what planetside 2 and dust 514 are doing. However a single player experience means developers can carefully orchestrate some good difficulty curves. In closing Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge: fantastic, and Black Ops II(so far): pretty good(Still think they should give characters some weight and less scripted allow me the option to discover places to use things like the flying squirrel suit thingie, that would be sweet...