A Sunday Spent at PAX East 2014

Posted on by Colin McMahon

Yesterday I found myself, unexpectedly, at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East: one of the largest gaming industry conventions on the east coast. To say that it was a pleasant surprise to be there would be an understatement. I am always thrilled to attend and am already looking forward to (hopefully attending) next year. At this convention, a majority of major western game developers tout their new products. Recent releases and upcoming titles are always heavily featured. While new game unveilings are still saved for E3, PAX East is definitely a growing convention. This year saw the announcement of Civilization: Beyond Earth, marking one of the first times that a major title has been announced at PAX East. Did I see any announcements yesterday: no. Did I hear some information on upcoming games that I cannot put on my website: yes. That said, there are still plenty of highlights to mention.

1. The Oculus Rift and Virtusphere

The future of interactive entertainment might very well be just around the corner. I could (and plan to) spend a whole article on the wonder that is the Oculus Rift. While the technology has only been mentioned recently for nefarious reasons (looking at you, Facebook), it still is a wonder to behold. Sadly, I did not get to try this piece of technology firsthand, but I watched the reactions as many players, for the first time, experienced virtual reality. They looked amazed, they looked stunned, they looked… well kinda silly with that thing strapped to their heads. Also present was the virtusphere, a ball-shaped apparatus designed to enhance the virtual reality interface. Again, I did not get to try this tech firsthand but it is amazing to me, truly amazing, that the stuff of science fiction will be hitting retail markets later this year. Pieces of technology like this may be a sign that the world could like very different in just a couple of years.

The Oculus Rift on the left and the Virtusphere on the right.
The Oculus Rift on the left and the Virtusphere on the right.

2. Project Spark

Xbox One’s (also available on PC) most intriguing project was front and center in the PAX East exhibition hall. Project Spark may be a game creator without parallel. How crazy is this game? People have already created Minecraft within it. Let that sink in for a minute… yep. In the demo I saw, the player was creating a castle adventure game, all in a matter of minutes. The Xbox One controls appeared to be functioning well and there weren’t any apparent technical glitches. This amazing product keeps right on rolling.

It really is amazing to watch how quickly the creation takes place.
It really is amazing to watch how quickly the creation takes place.

3. the Bioware Panels

Ultimately, these were the only panels I had the good fortune of attending yesterday. Luckily for me, all three that I attended were wonderful. The highlight was a designer signing where I got to have lengthy conversations with Dragon Age: Inquisition designers, including Andrew Farrell, Dean Roskell, Jason Barlow, Jessica Merizan, and Mike Laidlaw. All of these people were amazingly friendly and highly informative about the game creation process. I learned several new insights regarding Dragon Age II (which I’ll save for a later article) and some information regarding Dragon Age: Inquisition.  Unfortunately, that is one of the things I can’t really talk about but let’s just say… I’m excited for the game.

Dragon Age: Inquisition sounds like a best of both worlds combination of the first two titles.
Dragon Age: Inquisition sounds like a best-of-both-worlds combination of the first two titles.

4. Slash

I could go on and on, but I feel like there is coverage enough out there for most of the products I observed. I will instead spend my last point mentioning a card game called Slash. PAX East has a large section devoted entirely to board games, and one of the highlights of this is that it allows local developers a chance to show off their product. Slash: Romance Without Boundaries (full title) comes from a small developer located in New Hampshire. Slash is reminiscent of Cards Against Humanity (in the sense that you may focus on subjects that make you sound like a horrible person – in the best way). In Slash, players pair famous fictitious characters together in romantic bliss, and the player with the most amusing pair wins each round. Unlike Cards Against Humanity, however, this game allows interjection. If a player feels that the couple chosen isn’t the most ideal, he/she can name a substitute pairing and defend it with a wild story of how the two hooked up. I know, to most (normal) people, this might not be your thing. For creative weirdos like myself, however…

I am always proud to support a local developer, and I was happy that Slash gave me that opportunity.

I am already looking forward to many evenings with this game.
I am already looking forward to many evenings with this game.

PAX East represents a great opportunity for people, with a passion for gaming, to stay current with the state of the industry. The Expo Hall is widely entertaining and the provided panels are always supremely educational. This event is a must for any creative soul looking for ways to express themselves. Nerds and geeks can have a lot of fun too.

As evidenced by this geek.
As evidenced by this geek.

Where's the Hype for Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8?

Posted on by Colin McMahon

Another day, another article expressing disappoint in Nintendo.

Yesterday marked a special Nintendo Direct, one devoted to revealing details about one game and one game only: Super Smash Bros. (for Wii U and for 3DS… this game needs a better title). For thirty-nine minutes, Nintendo talked and for thirty-nine minutes, I listened. I cannot say it bored me to the point where I shut it off halfway through, but one thought was materializing in my head as I listened: I should be more excited than this. Not the first time I’ve had that thought during a Nintendo Direct. The one before the “special Smash Bros. edition” also didn’t catch my attention too much either. The focus of that one: Mario Kart 8. Hold on, Mario Kart? Smash Bros.? These two series are nothing short of awesome and arguably the best things coming out from Nintendo these days. I think both games will be great, I already own a Wii U, so why don’t I really care?

There is one than one reason but the main problem is this: too safe. My main reason for sticking with Nintendo, despite their numerous problems, is their creativity. I believe that this is a company that does not simply make games to make money. Call it naivety, call it romanticism, but I really do believe that most people who work at Nintendo are passionate gaming artists who like to make fantastic worlds never before seen (and impossible to exist in the real world). You know: people who are excited…. but these games don’t sound exciting.

Scratch that, Mario Kart 8 started out as a really cool idea. A racing game that allows players to break gravity to compete along the walls and ceilings? Suddenly all the courses change, all the options change: the game encounters a fundamental change. New and different, pushing the boundaries of gameplay: this is why I love Nintendo. But that wasn’t what they talked about last time Mario Kart 8 received a Nintendo Direct. Koopalings, and a late-May/early-June release date. Yay.

Oh man, I wasn't going to pay sixty bucks before but now: gotta have my koopalings.
Oh man, I wasn’t going to pay sixty bucks before but now: gotta have my koopalings.

This coming on the heels of an announcement made by the current Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, that the Wii U would not experience any more periods of drought between big titles. Oh, good to know that I’m just imaging the three months between the release of Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze and Mario Kart 8. Also, seriously koopalings? I say this as a longtime fan of both Mario and Mario Kart games: who cares? Yeah, each racer performs a little differently in Mario Kart, but more racers just sounds like “hey, why don’t know how else to separate this game soooooo you can play as even more obscure Mario villains! Remember Super Mario Bros. 3? Man, we were so cool back then!”

If Nintendo had chosen to focus on the new video recording feature in Mario Kart 8, the one that (I believe) let’s racers record their highlights and post them online to the Miiverse, now that sounds more interesting. The internet, that fad that Nintendo seems to believe will die out any day now, represents a gateway to a lot of interesting changes that they could be implementing into their games.

Let’s go to Smash Bros., a series that I really love. One of my favorite gaming announcements ever was the reveal of Solid Snake in the first Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer. It represented such an insane new direction for the series: characters I would never have expected to be in a Smash Bros. game may now be in a Smash Bros. game… except that was it. Nintendo has never since matched that excitement with any Smash Bros. announcement that has occurred since then.

Sonic? Who cares, he is a dying figurehead of Sega. I guess it’s kinda cool, for nostalgic purposes. Even Mega Man, who hasn’t eroded his reputation the way Sonic has, has also faded from the current video game world. At the time that Brawl was announced, Sony was touting the new Metal Gear Solid game. It was like Nintendo had snatched away all of their thunder with one announcement: “yeah, cool you have a Solid Snake game but can he fight Mario in it?”

Boy, too bad Nintendo doesn't pretty much own Platinum Games. Imagine Bayonetta in Super Smash Bros.! Wait...
Boy, too bad Nintendo doesn’t pretty much own Platinum Games. Imagine Bayonetta in Super Smash Bros.! Wait…

The announcement rippled out past Nintendo circles to affect the industry. I guess this is the point I have been driving at: who, outside of Nintendo and their diehard fans, cares about all these new announcements?

Yesterday Nintendo revealed that Charizard and Greninja would be joining the Smash Bros. roster as new characters. Cool, more Pokémon… exept Charizard was already in Brawl and who really cares about Greninja? Take a good look at that Pokémon, doesn’t he remind you of someone?

All I could think of.
All I could think of.

Yeah, Ryu Hayabusa, of Ninja Gaiden fame,  might not have been quite as exciting as Snake, but his inclusion would have gotten a lot more people invested. Instead, Nintendo crafted a Smash Bros. reveal that left me thinking: “boy, there sure are a lot of Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon characters in this game, I wonder what series are selling best for Nintendo right now?”

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe people have looked at these past two Nintendo Directs and have been swayed into purchasing a Wii U. That is the point after all: to generate excitement (which equals dollars) for Nintendo’s struggling console. I just don’t think they’re really doing that.