Hey, guys!
Well, I can’t say I’ve been all that busy lately. Truth be told, aside from a few small projects—and one major, ball-is-rolling-this-is-going-to-happen project—I really haven’t been doing the creative thing much. That is to say, I’ve been gaming, heh. Now, before you get to thinkin’ that I’ve been just lazin’ about; let me explain a few things!
First, Neomyn is still very much alive. In fact, it’s more so than it has been to date. When my computer crashed a few months ago (a problem that has recently been remedied, thank you H&R Block) I had decided to take action to keep my creative baby in the air. With this goal in mind, I contacted my friend Ruthie Collins and contracted her services as an exceptional artist to take on the rolls of coloring. Now, as I’d explained in previous posts, Ruthie is a mother and has had to juggle the daunting task of coloring Mr. Woronchak’s lineart with the tasks one associates with motherhood; as well as teaching an art class, if I’m not mistaken. That said, she has had a bit of a slow going getting the pages colored and has, thus far, finished two. But, let me say this, those two pages are mind-blowingly awesome in their quality! I’m really hoping she can replace the stylus for her tablet soon so that I can finish lettering these pages and get them submitted finally.
I’ve no doubt we’re going to at least place in the top 5 for the month we compete.
As for the “Super Huge Mega Awesome Project” I mentioned above…
I’ll have more on that when we are further along and ready to share the monster we are creating. Also, when we have an official name for who “we” are, heh…
Now, on to gaming!
Roughly five years ago I had taken my first real step into the Adventure genre of gaming with a unique and admittedly bizarre game called Indigo Prophecy on the Playstation 2. Developed by Quantic Dream and originally released as Fahrenheit (the name was changed for the United States and Canada releases to avoid confrontation over similarities to Fahrenheit 9/11), Indigo Prophecy was the tale of a series of murders plaguing New York and the people who are unavoidably pulled toward each other as the story unfolds. If this sounds familiar, that’s because I’ve used a similar description when discussing my anticipation for Heavy Rain; Quantic Dream’s latest effort to change the adventure genre and, I dare say, the gaming experience as a whole.
Now, right away I should point out that it is relatively difficult to properly categorize Heavy Rain as a game. Hell, it’s hard to call it a game at all. In truth, Heavy Rain is closer to an interactive movie than a video game and is, in fact, touted as such by the developers themselves. The fact that you—the “player”—are using your DualShock 3 controller as the tool for which you weave the lives of four strangers together lends little, if any, credence to Heavy Rain being a game. Yes, it is sold as a game, but, really, I think this is only because your local WalMart’s electronics section doesn’t have a shelf for “Interactive Drama.”
Yet.
Okay, semantics aside, Heavy Rain really is unlike anything I’ve ever played before. There are comparisons to Indigo, sure, but that’s more like pointing out things that you can tell grew into the mechanics you are using now. The “control scheme” employed herein is something of an artistic expression of what it would be like to map human actions to a series of analogue sticks and button presses. I mean, strictly speaking, it is quite simply the best all-around use of the DualShock’s SixAxis controls I’ve fumbled with to date. Quantic Dream doesn’t just shove motion control into their game for the novelty of, well, shoving motion control into their game. What they’ve done is take specific actions—such as striking or putting out a match—and assign motion controls to them so that you actually feel like you’re performing the very thing your character is doing! Yes, I am aware that Nintendo has been doing this for quite some time and, in fact, has built a tiny little empire out of doing it well. But, with Heavy Rain, the designers utilize the motion controls as a tool for putting you into their story, not a gimmick (albeit a good one) for selling consoles.
Oh, and the story! I’ve only played through Heavy Rain once so far and, thus, only experienced one of the many versions of Quantic Dreams’ gritty opus. However, that one time was enough for me to sit here and type this without pause…Heavy Rain has some of the best writing I’ve ever seen in a video game. Especially one of this nature; that is to say, a story that revolves around real people doing real things (and, make no mistake, the first hour or so of gameplay is almost oversaturated with “real”) and not some space marine blowing the head off of the galaxy’s latest threat. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy saving the galaxy on a regular basis, but, sometimes, I like to be reminded that real life can be just as rewardingly dramatic.
Though, if you’re a father, as I am, the aforementioned drama in Heavy Rain can be a bit…uh…heavy.
On top of solving the case of the Origami Killer (of which there are a multitude of possible outcomes, I’m lead to believe), I have also spent some time boldly going where no man has gone before. Well, that is, no man without a decent computer and a subscription key. Yes, I have recently fully re-embraced my inner Trekker—that’s with an “er” not an “ie,” got it?—and started an account in Star Trek Online. With Bean on the way and the very real possibility that I will not be able to purchase every new game that drops, I had decided to enlist in a new MMO and, though I’d originally set out to play EVE, it was Star Trek’s ridiculous customization and mixture of space and ground combat that won in the end.
Now, before I get going here, let me get some of the standards out of the way. Star Trek Online is not a perfect game. It’s a new MMORPG and, as such, is absolutely going to have its fair share of bugs. These games are designed to be played for a long time and, as such an endeavor would almost assuredly need, will take some time for Cryptic to iron out the kinks. But, enough about what STO isn’t. Let’s talk about what it is.
Pretty. First and foremost, Star Trek Online is one of the prettiest games of this type I’ve ever experienced. From the standards of space to the random planets within continually generated systems, from the textured details on your infinitely customizable uniforms and player-created aliens (we’ll touch on that in a second) to the particle effects of space combat. Star Trek Online is, for lack of a better word, gorgeous. The only down side to this is that it sucks up a lot of processing power; something I think will hurt it a little in the long run given that Cryptic has to compete with World of Warcraft—the one MMO that seems to be designed to run on damn near any system with power. But if you’ve got a system that’ll keep up with it, STO is a spectacle to behold.
As for gameplay, well…
To start, Cryptic’s calling card customization is present and accounted for. This time, instead of using their engine to craft endless costume designs for super heroes and their nefarious counterparts, Cryptic has given the player to create and alien life! It would take me far longer than I’m willing to dedicate to this post to even scratch the surface of how deep this system goes; suffice to say, one could lose an entire day simply creating one’s avatar. From there, though, the customization spans into uniforms for your crew (also fully customizable!) and the ship you operate; for these, though, the choices are a bit more limited, though not by much!
Okay, so how’s the game actually play, you ask? Well, if you’ve ever played a game like this, the ground combat controls are fairly basic. There are some game-specific nuances that help ground you in the universe the game represents—and this is done well—but the meat of the controls are very basic. Space combat, on the other hand, is something of a stand-alone aspect of the game; which is good since it pretty much makes up a good 2/3rds of the gameplay. Ships control like one would think they should: different classes/sizes move at various speeds, boast class-appropriate shield/hull/weapon stats and are boast customizable (there’s that word again…sheesh) weapon loadouts and placements. But, above all, everything about it is Star Trek. From sounds to visuals, you have no doubt that you are in the world created by Roddenberry.
And that’s the thing I like most about it. I’ve played games that offer me a chance to live the life of a character inside a world I’ve only ever seen from the outside (-cough-Star Wars Galaxies-cough-) and this is the first one so far that lives up to its claims. From the very start, I felt like the captain of my own Federation starship.
Now, if only they would allow me to actually sit in the damn’ captain’s chair!
Well, I can’t say I’ve been all that busy lately. Truth be told, aside from a few small projects—and one major, ball-is-rolling-this-is-going-to-happen project—I really haven’t been doing the creative thing much. That is to say, I’ve been gaming, heh. Now, before you get to thinkin’ that I’ve been just lazin’ about; let me explain a few things!
First, Neomyn is still very much alive. In fact, it’s more so than it has been to date. When my computer crashed a few months ago (a problem that has recently been remedied, thank you H&R Block) I had decided to take action to keep my creative baby in the air. With this goal in mind, I contacted my friend Ruthie Collins and contracted her services as an exceptional artist to take on the rolls of coloring. Now, as I’d explained in previous posts, Ruthie is a mother and has had to juggle the daunting task of coloring Mr. Woronchak’s lineart with the tasks one associates with motherhood; as well as teaching an art class, if I’m not mistaken. That said, she has had a bit of a slow going getting the pages colored and has, thus far, finished two. But, let me say this, those two pages are mind-blowingly awesome in their quality! I’m really hoping she can replace the stylus for her tablet soon so that I can finish lettering these pages and get them submitted finally.
I’ve no doubt we’re going to at least place in the top 5 for the month we compete.
As for the “Super Huge Mega Awesome Project” I mentioned above…
I’ll have more on that when we are further along and ready to share the monster we are creating. Also, when we have an official name for who “we” are, heh…
Now, on to gaming!
Roughly five years ago I had taken my first real step into the Adventure genre of gaming with a unique and admittedly bizarre game called Indigo Prophecy on the Playstation 2. Developed by Quantic Dream and originally released as Fahrenheit (the name was changed for the United States and Canada releases to avoid confrontation over similarities to Fahrenheit 9/11), Indigo Prophecy was the tale of a series of murders plaguing New York and the people who are unavoidably pulled toward each other as the story unfolds. If this sounds familiar, that’s because I’ve used a similar description when discussing my anticipation for Heavy Rain; Quantic Dream’s latest effort to change the adventure genre and, I dare say, the gaming experience as a whole.
Now, right away I should point out that it is relatively difficult to properly categorize Heavy Rain as a game. Hell, it’s hard to call it a game at all. In truth, Heavy Rain is closer to an interactive movie than a video game and is, in fact, touted as such by the developers themselves. The fact that you—the “player”—are using your DualShock 3 controller as the tool for which you weave the lives of four strangers together lends little, if any, credence to Heavy Rain being a game. Yes, it is sold as a game, but, really, I think this is only because your local WalMart’s electronics section doesn’t have a shelf for “Interactive Drama.”
Yet.
Okay, semantics aside, Heavy Rain really is unlike anything I’ve ever played before. There are comparisons to Indigo, sure, but that’s more like pointing out things that you can tell grew into the mechanics you are using now. The “control scheme” employed herein is something of an artistic expression of what it would be like to map human actions to a series of analogue sticks and button presses. I mean, strictly speaking, it is quite simply the best all-around use of the DualShock’s SixAxis controls I’ve fumbled with to date. Quantic Dream doesn’t just shove motion control into their game for the novelty of, well, shoving motion control into their game. What they’ve done is take specific actions—such as striking or putting out a match—and assign motion controls to them so that you actually feel like you’re performing the very thing your character is doing! Yes, I am aware that Nintendo has been doing this for quite some time and, in fact, has built a tiny little empire out of doing it well. But, with Heavy Rain, the designers utilize the motion controls as a tool for putting you into their story, not a gimmick (albeit a good one) for selling consoles.
Oh, and the story! I’ve only played through Heavy Rain once so far and, thus, only experienced one of the many versions of Quantic Dreams’ gritty opus. However, that one time was enough for me to sit here and type this without pause…Heavy Rain has some of the best writing I’ve ever seen in a video game. Especially one of this nature; that is to say, a story that revolves around real people doing real things (and, make no mistake, the first hour or so of gameplay is almost oversaturated with “real”) and not some space marine blowing the head off of the galaxy’s latest threat. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy saving the galaxy on a regular basis, but, sometimes, I like to be reminded that real life can be just as rewardingly dramatic.
Though, if you’re a father, as I am, the aforementioned drama in Heavy Rain can be a bit…uh…heavy.
On top of solving the case of the Origami Killer (of which there are a multitude of possible outcomes, I’m lead to believe), I have also spent some time boldly going where no man has gone before. Well, that is, no man without a decent computer and a subscription key. Yes, I have recently fully re-embraced my inner Trekker—that’s with an “er” not an “ie,” got it?—and started an account in Star Trek Online. With Bean on the way and the very real possibility that I will not be able to purchase every new game that drops, I had decided to enlist in a new MMO and, though I’d originally set out to play EVE, it was Star Trek’s ridiculous customization and mixture of space and ground combat that won in the end.
Now, before I get going here, let me get some of the standards out of the way. Star Trek Online is not a perfect game. It’s a new MMORPG and, as such, is absolutely going to have its fair share of bugs. These games are designed to be played for a long time and, as such an endeavor would almost assuredly need, will take some time for Cryptic to iron out the kinks. But, enough about what STO isn’t. Let’s talk about what it is.
Pretty. First and foremost, Star Trek Online is one of the prettiest games of this type I’ve ever experienced. From the standards of space to the random planets within continually generated systems, from the textured details on your infinitely customizable uniforms and player-created aliens (we’ll touch on that in a second) to the particle effects of space combat. Star Trek Online is, for lack of a better word, gorgeous. The only down side to this is that it sucks up a lot of processing power; something I think will hurt it a little in the long run given that Cryptic has to compete with World of Warcraft—the one MMO that seems to be designed to run on damn near any system with power. But if you’ve got a system that’ll keep up with it, STO is a spectacle to behold.
As for gameplay, well…
To start, Cryptic’s calling card customization is present and accounted for. This time, instead of using their engine to craft endless costume designs for super heroes and their nefarious counterparts, Cryptic has given the player to create and alien life! It would take me far longer than I’m willing to dedicate to this post to even scratch the surface of how deep this system goes; suffice to say, one could lose an entire day simply creating one’s avatar. From there, though, the customization spans into uniforms for your crew (also fully customizable!) and the ship you operate; for these, though, the choices are a bit more limited, though not by much!
Okay, so how’s the game actually play, you ask? Well, if you’ve ever played a game like this, the ground combat controls are fairly basic. There are some game-specific nuances that help ground you in the universe the game represents—and this is done well—but the meat of the controls are very basic. Space combat, on the other hand, is something of a stand-alone aspect of the game; which is good since it pretty much makes up a good 2/3rds of the gameplay. Ships control like one would think they should: different classes/sizes move at various speeds, boast class-appropriate shield/hull/weapon stats and are boast customizable (there’s that word again…sheesh) weapon loadouts and placements. But, above all, everything about it is Star Trek. From sounds to visuals, you have no doubt that you are in the world created by Roddenberry.
And that’s the thing I like most about it. I’ve played games that offer me a chance to live the life of a character inside a world I’ve only ever seen from the outside (-cough-Star Wars Galaxies-cough-) and this is the first one so far that lives up to its claims. From the very start, I felt like the captain of my own Federation starship.
Now, if only they would allow me to actually sit in the damn’ captain’s chair!
