61 Frames Per Second : amber ahlborn

Who Here Has Beaten Super Mario Bros “Lost Levels”?

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:00:00 GMT

A speed run video for Super Mario Bros. Lost Levels has been making the rounds and I just wanted to ask, how many of you out there have beaten this game yourselves? I have. It's evil, Nintendo Hard, and not terribly fun. That's okay, games don't have to be fun to offer a good experience (the topic of a forthcoming post actually).

I bought Super Mario All Stars for my SNES and battled my way through every Mario title on it. Super Mario Bros. 2 was actually the first Mario game I owned, and it took me half a year to beat it. Years later it didn't take me as long to beat Lost Levels (I'd gotten to be a lot better gamer y'see) and finishing that sucker was incredibly satisfying. Someday, when I'm feeling just slightly masochistic, I'll play it again.

Also, don't forget to Vote!

Think you're good?

This guy is really good.

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Viewers Choice: My Next Retrospective

Amber Ahlborn — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Many months ago I posted an in depth retrospective of the Metroid Prime Trilogy. It was truly a labor of love and I thoroughly enjoyed putting it together. Well, I'd like to do another one, and you get to vote for what I cover.

Obviously, I can only write about games I've played, so I've compiled a list of what games and series I'm interested in covering. This isn't a list of games I consider the best, just the ones I feel like I have something to talk about.

1) The 3D Legend of Zelda series (will cover Ocarine of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Phantom Hourglass)

2) Beyond Good & Evil

3) Prince of Persia (will cover Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and The Two Thrones)

4) Vagrant Story

5) The 2D Metroid series (will cover Zero Mission, Super Metroid, and Fusion)

6) Yoshi's Island (will cover Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story, and Yoshi's Island DS)

7) Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver series (will cover Soul Reaver, Soul Reaver 2, and Defiance)

8) Okami

9) ICO and Shadow of the Colossus

10) Ratchet & Clank series (will cover Ratchet & Clank, Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal, and Deadlocked)

11) Jak & Daxter series (will cover Jak & Daxter, Jak 2, Jak 3, and Jak X Combat Racing)

12) Sly Cooper series (will cover Thievius Raccoonus, Band of Thieves, and Honor Among Thieves)

13) Star Fox series (will cover Star Fox, Star Fox 64, Adventures, Assault, and Command)

14) Chrono Trigger

Please make your choice and post it in the comments section. After 30 days have passed I'll tally up the results and announce my next project. After that, all I ask is patience. When I did the Metroid Prime retrospective I replayed all three games, took notes, and worked on the post for quite a while. This will be a major undertaking and I hope you enjoy the results.

Vote!

Related Links:

Metroid Prime Trilogy Retrospective: Part One

Metroid Prime Trilogy Retrospective: Part Two

Metroid Prime Trilogy Retrospective: Part Three

Genres I'd Like to See on the Wii: 3rd Person Shooters

Amber Ahlborn — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Hello, developer studios? Yes, the Wii remote is motion sensitive. It's pretty nifty and I know some of you are super excited about he MotionPlus add-on. However, did you know the Wii-mote also has a pointer function? Yeah, that sensor bar thing with the infrared light. Oh? You keep forgetting about that function eh? Keep getting distracted by the wiggle waggle hmm? Well wake the hell up already because you're missing some golden opportunities!

Maybe I'm a touch off base here, but it seems to me that the pointer functionality is a little bit neglected within the Wii library. Considering how superior an experience the pointer offers over the analogue stick when it comes to aiming, you'd think, you'd really think, the Wii library would abound with quality titles that take advantage of that function, and you'd be wrong.

With that in mind, I'd like to see some third person shooters on the Wii. Many people focus on first person shooters when talking about how natural a match the pointer is, but I believe, and have for a long time, that the pointer would benefit third person shooters even more.

I am really not a fan of the FPS, the lack of peripheral vision bugs me especially if the action gets intense. Plus, I like to see the character I'm playing. Third person shooters are a lot more fun for me. I can see what's behind my character and the pulled out camera invites more usage of platforming and adventure elements. On the down side, actually aiming your weapons can be problematic.

Various solutions to the issue of aiming include auto aiming, lock-on systems, and even switching to FPS mode for precision shooting at the expense of movement, all of which see use in the Ratchet and Clank series. While convenient, they do remove most of the skill involved in actually aiming, as the game does the work for you. The weapons in the Jak games mostly rely on the auto aim feature. It works pretty well but only because the guns either have wide ranges of effect or spray bullets machine gun style. Even though you have little control over your aim, you're going to hit something.

Oh but would it not be fantastic to just point and shoot? To sweep the reticule across multiple enemies leaving a trail of lock-ons to fire off a missile massacre all while skillfully running and leaping? To do it all without having to hold down multiple buttons to strafe or relying on the game to do it all for you?

It's a perfect match I fantasize about. I dream of remakes or new entries into the Mega Man Legends series; a pair of games that suffered from some clunky controls. Or, holiest of holies, a third person Metroid game.

Where are the TPS games? Anything buried in a mini-game collection doesn't count. C'mon devs, this should be an obvious choice!

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Voicing Reasons: Why Does Voice Acting Suck?

Amber Ahlborn — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:00:00 GMT

With the exception of the hand held industry, the era of using text alone to convey dialog is ending. Voice acting in the video game industry is here to stay. Many games are trying (not always succeeding) to present more involved story lines with deeper characters. Character development is a particular interest of mine and I have some strong opinions about how to go about developing a good character. A problem I see a lot in games concerning character development is in how the game tries to get the player to connect with the character.

Here's a hint, elaborately absurd back stories only offer a cheap interest at best. Narratives about characters don't create connections. People get to know each other by listening to each other. That's the way we work in real life and thus, dialog (or internal monologue) is perhaps the most potent tool for creating emotional connections with characters. For games seeking to capture that connection, the portrayal of characters is of utmost importance. Obviously good writing would be a big help here, but even the best writing goes to waste if the voice actors can't portray their characters well.

So why is voice acting in video games often sub par? The knee jerk response might be “because game studios are cheap and hire crappy voice actors”. Well, yes, game studios are often cheap in this regard, but not in the way you might think.

The Brainy Gamer decided to delve into the problem of video game voice acting and in doing so, has revealed something pretty interesting. The problem with voice acting isn't one of talent but time and material (well okay, talent too as I'm sure some devs conscripted their voice crew from the programming department). No matter how good the actor; zero preparation time and zero knowledge of the character she's portraying is going to have a negative impact on the results. I actually had no idea myself that voice actors were typically given so little info to work with (I had always assumed the game industry followed the model set by the animation industry), and that revelation explains a lot of lackluster performances. Click on over, it's an enlightening read.

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Watcha' Playing Addiction Edition: Can't Stop Playing Rune Factory Frontier (Wii)

Amber Ahlborn — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:00:00 GMT

Hello, my name is Amber and I'm a Rune Factory-aholic.

It has been quite a long time since I marathoned a game. I'm still recovering from it actually, It being my weekend Rune Factory Frontier binge that saw me planting digital crops into the wee hours of the morning. I've stated before that I've never seriously played a Harvest Moon game, having recently cut my genre teeth on Rune Factory 2. Not only is Frontier a fresh experience compared to Rune Factory 2, it blows that game out of the water. I can enthusiastically confirm that combining a Zelda-esque adventure with Pokemon like collecting and wrapping it around a lite social sim with a side of farming and resource management equals one addicting experience.

I love this opening theme.

A major component of the appeal here is being given a nearly overwhelming number of things to do, and having to deal with the subtle strategy of fitting it all into your time limited day. I've played into the end of Autumn and thus far the game has proven to be incredibly robust, with numerous goals that don't involve endless fetch questing. Whatever Frontier is doing, it's doing it right because I'm hooked. My only major complaint is how much sleep this game has stolen from me.

Now if you'll excuse me, crops need watering, weapons need crafting, food needs cooking, monsters need taming, and dungeons need conquering. You may not see me for a while.

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Metroid All Mine

Amber Ahlborn — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:30:00 GMT

I've been a gamer for a long time and while it is true that I like video game related collectibles and clothes and whatnot, I don't exactly own much in the way of such things. Well okay, I have a small pile of Pokemon and Bahamut from Final Fantasy 8 and 10, and a scattering of Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, and Mega Man figurines. Still, I don't actively collect video game related stuff. That said, I did trip over something on Amazon.com that made me squee...

Lookie what came in the mail today.

You have read my profile, right?

Sweet.

This sculpture comes from First 4 Figures. I'd actually seen preliminary graphic renderings of this thing long ago but had forgotten about it, only to rediscover it after its limited run had sold out. Disappointed, I figured I'd probably missed my chance of getting Samus in her classic Varia Suit (this is iconic Samus, other suits like the Light Suit are cool and all, but this is true Samus Aran). Then, late one night while browsing random stuff on Amazon I found her and she was mine, monthly spending budget be damned.

And yes, that is a picture of my cat.

Related Links:

Metroid Prime Trilogy Retrospective: Part Three

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The Art of Metroid Prime, Echoes, and Corruption

BREAKING NEWS: Sony Announces Potential Price Drop for the PLAYSTATION............2. oh.

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:00:00 GMT

I have been waiting for a PS3 price drop, nay, expecting one for a few months now. I just want to see a show of hands here. Who out there, like me, is all ready to pick up a PS3 but only if it is priced within the range of sanity? The PS3 wasn't exactly setting the world aflame in sales prior to the global recession and so one wonders at Sony's stubborn refusal to accept that people, especially in this economy, are not willing to work extra hours just to afford their machine.

I could buy one at its current price, but I do not consider it worth it. To me, spending much over $300 for a video game machine is just slightly crazy. I really do not care how high end the hardware under the hood is. It's the software from which a console derives its worth. Sure, high end games look pretty and more power certainly will benefit some game designs, but looking at what's on the market, I'm not seeing the PS3's library proving this console is worth hundreds more than its competition or predecessor.

But hey, for all of you people out there who haven't bought your second or third PS2 yet, good news!.

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Not All Games Age Well

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:00:00 GMT

I've written this as a companion piece to my earlier post on keeping the games you buy. As I said earlier, If I enjoyed playing a game the first time, then chances are it'll have a permanent place in my game library. Some games, however, lose their appeal as they age, or as I age. One or the other.

Time has not been kind to every game I've loved. The Final Fantasy series in particular has suffered in this regard. Final Fantasy 7 is probably the best example of this. As with many, Final Fantasy 7 was my first Final Fantasy game. It was slick, dramatic, and exciting. I still have a soft spot for much of its cast and even continue to consume some of its spin off products like the eye candy fanservice movie Advent Children. I played through FF7 four or five times easily over a span of a couple years. Then, years later I played it again and discovered that not only had the shiny surface rubbed off, but the layer beneath was kind of cruddy. I still liked it but was much less forgiving of the flaws in the characters and story. It was time to say good bye.

Another game that hasn't aged so well for me is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I still like it well enough to keep it, but it no longer holds such high standing within the series for me. Majora's Mask fared much better and now sits as my second favorite 3-D Zelda.

One never knows what favored game of today might end up in the garage sale tomorrow. What about you? What games have you played that made a great first impression but failed the test of time?

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Do You Keep What You Buy?

Amber Ahlborn — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:00:00 GMT

I have over one hundred games in my library that span 4 console generations and 3 hand held generations. My collection is certainly not as impressive as some, but the point is I have a lot of older games. I also still play every last one of them. The idea of selling a game simply because I've played all the way through it is utterly foreign to my gamer psyche, yet, it seems many if not most gamers trade or sell games as soon as they're finished with them.

Most books in my library have been read half a dozen times, and I watch movies over and over again. Just because I know how it ends doesn't mean I can't enjoy revisiting the journey. That's not to say I never get rid of anything. Every now and then I'll do what I call a “cull” and pull out anything I have no desire to play or watch or read again, but most pieces of entertainment that captured my interest the first time will continue to do so. For me at least, replay value in a game I enjoyed is a given.

What about you? Are you a video game pack rat or do you have gamer ADD and immediately sell the old stuff to make room for the new?

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The 61FPS Review - Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (Wii)

Amber Ahlborn — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 02:00:00 GMT

This week I played my very first zombie game and even though this is not really my genre of choice, I did not hate it. Dare I say I even had some fun? I may have grinned a little at beating up the undead with a mannequin but I deny all accusations of laughing maniacally while running over zombie poodles with a lawnmower.

I really am not into horror. I'd rather read the Wikipedia article for a synopsis than watch a horror movie, and so it was with a bit of trepidation that I began Dead Rising: CTYD. Soon my fears were allayed when I discovered this was more like a brawler than a survival horror game. Thusly relieved, I snagged a shopping cart and proceeded to run down the undead like a possessed bargain hunter on 50% off sales day.

If Dead Rising were a movie, it would sit comfortably in the B movie horror/comedy sub genre. The story is pure B grade cheese loaded with ridiculous scenarios, peppered with plot induced stupidity. That's not to say it's awful. The unfolding of the story is interesting enough. The dialog is, well, not as bad as Capcom's usual efforts and the voice acting is decent. Ultimately it doesn't matter much because we didn't come for the writing; It's a Zombie Apocalypse and anything can potentially be a weapon!

And here is the heart of Dead Rising. You are Frank West, freelance photojournalist, trapped in a mall with thousands of zombies. You must survive for 3 days by any means necessary while also rescuing fellow survivors. It really is a great video game premise. The mall is loaded with mundane objects Frank can make imaginative use of. A good thing too, as the missions can be challenging. Zombies populate the mall in small clusters and will occasionally pop out of nowhere. Often I wished the camera was a bit farther away from Frank so I could see behind him a little, regardless, the camera didn't get in the way and the controls worked well enough. As you bludgeoned zombies with various objects, different flicks of the Wiimote or button presses would unleash different kinds of attacks. The zombies themselves were mostly slow. Some obligingly stood around doing nothing, giving you time to line up that shot with a saw blade or whatever else you wanted to throw. Just don't grow too complacent or the smarter, more aggressive enemies later in the game will eat your brain, and watch out for the dive bombing killer parrots.

A lot of the missions involved escorting survivors to safety. Thankfully, the AI did not suck. The characters would actually fight back if grabbed. Most importantly, they did not seem to have suicidal tendencies. I once did a little game testing on a MMORPG and one of the missions I replayed over and over again involved escorting a prince who's sole purpose in life seemed to be to aggro everything on the map.

The only aspect of Dead Rising: CTYD that really disappointed me were the visuals. As is so often the case these days, it aimed for a photorealistic style but fell short. The graphics are gracelessly utilitarian. The environments were appropriately detailed if a little rough, but the characters creeped me out. It looked like a lot of motion capture was used in the cut scenes and really, mixing different levels of realism is a no-no. The animation of the body and gestures were at a higher level of realism than the models, while the facial animation was at a lower level. The muppet-like mouth movements did not match the realistic faces and the body gestures only emphasized the lifeless mannequin-like qualities of the models. The end results often caused the non-dead characters to appear less life-like than the undead ones. The game was hardly an eyesore, but the characters did tumble a little ways into the Uncanny Valley.

There really was a lot going on in Dead Rising: CTYD and rather than try to go into detail on the miscellany, let me just end by listing a few of the oddities.

~ You can find all manner of alternative costumes for Frank in the clothes stores. Alas, I did not find any high heels to go with the dress I had him wearing.

~ Frank is apparently only a photographer in cut scenes, as you never get to make use of his camera yourself, not even as a blunt instrument.

~ The Wii remote pointer makes aiming guns a breeze, but you still have to use the analog stick to look around.

~ Why would anyone want to eat a piece of fruit dropped by a zombie?

Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop sets out to give gamers an arena to go zombie killing wild with whatever comes to hand and it succeeds. If watching the above video made you giggle (and you are hopefully older than 17), then this game is for you. This non zombie game fan gives it a B.

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Watcha' Playing: Fire Emblem – Shadow Dragon

Amber Ahlborn — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:00:00 GMT

For the longest time I was suffering a gaming dry spell. It's not that I had nothing to play, heck, I still have a backlog, I just wasn't in the mood. I got over it. Now I'm playing multiple games at once, something I almost never do, and one of those games is the DS remake of of the first Fire Emblem game.

Like many people, my first introduction to actual Fire Emblem characters was via Super Smash Bros. Melee. However, I had already been familiar with the franchise from reading about it in Nintendo Power and from the Internet. My first Fire Emblem game was Path of Radiance which was also my first strategy RPG. I was hooked, and so, it was with great anticipation that I awaited each new series release.

Just as Metroid Zero Mission was my chance to enjoy the first Metroid game, so it goes with Shadow Dragon. The story and character development is the barest of bones, lacking the more involved plots of later games, but the game play is excellent. I think I'm around half way through and, playing on normal, most battles seem not too difficult. Of course, since I accept no losses, I've had to restart a few times. My only complaint is over how the game makes the occasional character loss a necessity to see every stage. I guess I'll just have to make some sacrifices on my next play through.

Granted, the game could yet start ramping up into evil levels of difficulty but at this point I'd call Shadow Dragon a good introductory game for Fire Emblem initiates. The touch screen controls make selecting actions a zippy process and the segmented style of the game play is perfect for a hand-held system. Another interesting aspect is Shadow Dragon's online combat component which I hope to check out at the first opportunity. Here's to hoping Nintendo sees fit to remake the rest of the series in like fashion.

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Fun With Textures: Super Mario 64 Meets the NES

Amber Ahlborn — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:00:00 GMT

I'm not into the emulation scene and I don't do game hacks. My interest in these things is purely peripheral. I don't have the inclination to try it myself but I love to see what other people come up with. While looking around YouTube for something completely different, I found a video of what Mario's first 3-D adventure might have looked like if it had stuck with the NES aesthetic. Video beneath the fold.

That is pretty neat. It makes me want to see what other 3-D games would look like if given a similar retro face lift. Oh yeah, and for the curious, the sounds in the background seem to be coming from somebody playing a Mega Man X game.

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What's in my MP3 Player: Super Metroid "In Your Prime"

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:00:00 GMT

I could probably rename this feature “Amber's Metroid Mix Pick of the Month”. In my defense, Super Metroid has one of the best sound tracks ever and the Metroid Prime games have some really good moments too. This particular remix comes to us from “Big Giant Circles” who covers the Brinstar Red theme like never before.

In Your Prime is a massive electronica mix that just keeps evolving throughout its six minute run time. Quoting from the assessment at OCR, “...Big Giant spends the entire time upping the ante and bringing his A game. That's 'A' for awesome, aggressive, amplified, and arse-kicking, to name a few. This is a classic theme, and it's definitely been covered up one side and down the other, but I can't remember an arrangement that throws this many elements at it... if certain mixes are minimalist (and I think that's a helpful label), then this one's definitely maximalist.”

“A” game indeed. Click on over, read the rest of the write up and download! Wait, don't go anywhere yet, I have a bonus for you Metroid Music lovers. Reserve Tank: VARIAtions is a get well album that was put together for remixer “bLiNd”. The good news is that “bLiNd” is now doing fine, the other good news is this fantastic album is available for all to enjoy. Show it some love.

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A Few Thoughts on Wii Graphics

Amber Ahlborn — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:30:00 GMT

Slick

Right next to whether a game “sucks” or not, graphics is probably one of the most contentious topics in gaming and a typical source of pot shots aimed at the Wii. I recently wrote about my own feelings concerning the importance of graphics where visual quality is concerned, ultimately concluding that “it's the art, stupid!”. I might be biased.

Today I figured I'd explore the topic a little further in regards to my favorite current generation system, the Wii. Yes, yes, we know the Wii lacks the raw graphic power of those other systems, let's move on shall we?

I blame the current infatuation with photorealism for the Wii's graphic woes. Well, that's not entirely fair but it does feed into my point. When working with an artistic medium, and for now let's consider a game console a sort of medium, you play towards the medium's strengths. Oil paints are not superior or inferior to water colors. They're simply different. However, I would not choose water color if my goal was to paint a photorealistic portrait.

What is true in traditional media is true in digital form. Photorealism is easily the most technically difficult and graphically intensive art style. Read my Uncanny Valley series to see why. In order to come close to capturing reality in a game, a lot of the console's resources must be used. Everything from the interplay of light and shadow, to texture and mesh effects need to meet specific true to life qualities. This can be done on the Wii if the developer keeps tight reign over managing resources, such as in games that move on rails or exist in small arenas. These techniques function to keep the player's view within a limited area, and so the visuals in those areas can be at maximum detail without bogging the game engine down. Regardless, producing photorealistic graphics is not a strong suit of the Wii's more limited hardware. Yet, many developers seem intent on playing to the system's weaknesses when making a game not explicitly meant for general or younger audiences.

Assuming anyone listens to me, here's a little advice: pick an art style you can make look really good instead of one you can only half-ass.

There is more than one path to capturing a feel of gritty reality than copying Hollywood's take. The comic book industry has been doing “more real than real” visuals to tell adult stories for decades. The clean cartoon (yes, I said cartoon) visuals of classic anime like Akira certainly do nothing to diminish an intense, mature story. These are the resources best delved into when working in a medium not friendly to photorealism. Plus there's an added bonus. Nobody will ever confuse the likes of MadWorld or No More Heroes for the bazillion reality clones out there. Even the most random screen shot will stand out.

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Roundtable Discussion: Pushing the Envelope on Sex and Nudity

Amber Ahlborn — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:30:00 GMT

Relatively recently Grand Theft Auto news made waves by showing a full frontal male nudity scene. Now, this is hardly the first time a human being, male or female, has been shown nekkid in a game. You can at least go back as far as the reprehensible Custer's Revenge for the Atari to find a digital representation of male genitals. The question is, do we really need this sort of thing in a video game?

Amber's Take: Now, anyone who knows me also knows I'm a bit of a prude. I really am not interested in having certain pieces of anatomy on public display. That said, I don't have a problem with sex or the related bits in video games. What I take issue with is how it's used. I think the full exposure in the GTA scene serves no purpose other than to shout out "Hey, we did this because we could!"

For most of the scene, the camera teases around the main character and very strongly gets the message across that this guy has no shame. As a way of portraying a character trait, it's incredibly effective. There is no question the character is a slime ball. The final bit that shows his bits adds nothing other than a superfluous ick factor (all the more repulsive due to the character already sliding down the side of the Uncanny Valley).

Another thing I take issue with is when sex is used to trivialize people, usually women, in games. I think the force of my sneer actually radiated heat when I learned about the sex mini games that have been popping up in certain titles already drowning in their own testosterone.

Like violence, sex and basic human anatomy can be used to shock people. This in and of itself isn't necessarily a negative. Unfortunately, it's far too easy to use these elements in a cheap and base way, rather than as effective story telling tools or ways to drive messages home. If you want to shock my sensibilities, fine, more power to you. I only have a problem with games that insult my intelligence and use the medium to degrade and dehumanize.

Cole's Take: I cannot think of a single instance in which sexual content has improved a game. I talked about this recently when I discussed God of War. I think that sex is used so often in media because creative types and business people operate under the false assumption that sex sells. I won't get into it here, but I took a class back in college that put the theory to rest. Yes, in some cases, steamy content will increase awareness about a particular movie, game, or whatever, but all things being equal, sexual content rarely has a measurable effect on sales. Which is why I find it so bizarre that developers, like the GoW guys, think that they absolutely have to have sex minigames, lest they disappoint fans.

I feel about sexual content the same way I feel about excessive, gory violence. It's cheap. I'd just as soon go back and play Starsiege: Tribes, which had no blood or gore, than a Controversial M-Rated Shooter. Game mechanics are what excites my senses, not titillating imagery. If one really wanted to be turned on, there are many, many superior alternatives outside of gaming that can be used to exercise that unsavory impulse, if you know what I mean and I think that you do.

Joe's Take: I'm going to play a bit of devil's advocate here and say that for now, pushing the envelope just for the sake of pushing the envelope is a-okay. Videogaming is still a medium in adolescence, particularly in terms of how it is perceived by the public on a whole. In order to get on even footing with other mediums it has to do everything those mediums do, and has to do it in a way that gets attention. This actually makes "Hey, we did this because we could!" a valid reason to put in shocking content.

Of course the fact that this course of action is necessary for the overall health of medium doesn't defend certain crass, base implementations of shocking content, which of course can be horrendous and cause short-term damage to the perception of games on a whole. This is a sort of collateral damage, though. If you want to be able to expand the visual language of games to include the same taboo bits as cinema or HBO you have to let everyone (or rather, everyone willing to get an M or AO-rating) use the taboo bits, and not everyone will use them in a way that is within reasonable societal norms. The overall impact will still be positive, as it will create a genuinely mature way for games to discuss genuinely mature themes.

Note that I'm not defending any of Amber's examples. I've not seen the Lost and Damned content, and God of War's minigame, though maybe justifiable as a characterization device in the first game, did not need to be in the later games. Custer's Revenge was the most deplorable part of a thankfully failed experiment to create an adult games industry similar to the adult film industry--that sort of effort will always be consigned to the gutters, and isn't really relevant to games as a medium.

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Death in a Digital Age

Amber Ahlborn — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:00:00 GMT

No, not the type of death where you can hit start to continue, I mean real death. Some day you will die. Some day I will die. As they say, the one sure thing about life is that it will come to an end. But what the heck does this have to do with video games?

A couple days ago I read this interesting article. It touches on the reality of a digital age where a person's circle of friends and acquaintances extends far beyond the physical neighborhood. The people we buddy up with can be, not simply across the world, but individuals we've never met or even seen. Despite this separation, relationships are formed. So who tells your long time gaming buddies and social network that you've been missing your meet ups, not because you got bored, but because you're dead?

It's a topic I've thought about before, though in a more peripheral sense. I've been sick a few times and though my life wasn't in any danger I sure felt like I was dying. I'd think: if something did happen to me, who'd tell my Mario Kart crew? I imagined a sad little pile of message board IMs piling up in my in-box. As morbid as the topic is, it's rather nice to know there are actually sites like Deathswitch or Slightly Morbid set up to alert people that someone they knew online has passed away.

Related Links:

A Few Thoughts on Graphics

Death of the Rental Store

The Death of Death

A Few Thoughts on Graphics

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:30:00 GMT

If you feel that graphics are important, then obviously you must be a shallow gamer who only plays HD iterations of big budget shooter X.

If you say they don't matter then surely you're a casual gamer loser or retro gamer snob.

This false dichotomy seems to represent the default positions on where people fall when presented with the question: Do graphics matter? But what do graphics really matter? As a graphic artist, you'd think I'd consider them pretty important, and you'd be right. However, I feel that the wrong question is being asked here.

Of course graphics matter, and asking if they matter more than game play is little more than a distraction. A far better question in my opinion is: What purpose do graphics serve?

I feel the role of the graphic is to support the art style.

During the preliminary stages of designing a game, one of the jobs of the artists is to determine the aesthetic theme for the game. This would (hopefully) be worked out in sketches and refined before any in game art resources are even made. The job of the graphic is to create that aesthetic in the game, and how well it succeeds is how it should be judged.

If a game seeks to recreate the look of an ink and watercolor painting and succeeds, then it has good graphics. If seeks to create the feel of crayons in a coloring book and succeeds, then it has good graphics. If it seeks to recreate the look of a vintage NES game and succeeds, then it has good graphics. If it seeks to recreate reality and looks like this:

...and the goal was not to make somebody with the eyes of a dead fish. Then the graphics aren't so good (hit and miss I'd say).

All I ask of those who would critique the look of a game is that you not confuse technically advanced graphics with good graphics. A chromed turd may be technically impressive with its reflections and refractions and shininess, but it's still a turd. And on the flip side, do not condemn a game for lacking the bells and whistles and advanced lighting and shading if the art style it's representing does not call for any of that.

As an artist, it's really no surprise I'd put all the emphasis on the art and see the graphics merely as the tool used to express that art. It's not the quality of paint that makes the masterpiece, it's what you do with the brush.

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Too Many Crayons

Design Resurrection: How Capcom Finally Proved That It’s Game and Not Graphics That Matters

Abominations of Technology: Pre-Rendered Graphics

Watcha Playing: Sonic Unleashed (Wii) and Sega's Design Difficulties

Amber Ahlborn — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT

First an admonishment to Sonic fans. Granted, my observations are limited mostly to message board comments, but it seems to me that there is a certain segment of the Sonic fandom that will absolutely not be happy with Sonic unless he is running at high speed around loop-the-loops. Imagine if Mario fans turned their backs on the character every time he tried something different, and demanded that he stick to stomping on goombas. I admit I'm an outsider who's never been a Sonic fan, but I almost feel sorry for the little blue insectivore to be so hobbled, like a character actor forever doomed to reprise a signature role.

I've read reviews for Sonic Unleashed that were positive about the daytime stages where Sonic was doing his running thing and panned the night stages where Sonic transformed into his wolfish alter ego and engaged in a more platform and combat heavy play style. Honestly, I don't see the problem here. I like the werehog stages. Sonic controls pretty well in both forms and the game play is smooth. I'm really not a fan of the classic Sonic games but I have dabbled in them. I remember sampling a bit of Sonic 1 and 2, and seeing some of 3 played. Shockingly, the games did not focus entirely on running fast. There are slow stages with platform jumping and other stuff. When I hear the demands to return Sonic to classic form and just have him run fast, I wonder what games people are talking about.

When you get to play the various stages in Sonic Unleashed, be it with normal Sonic or werehog, the experience is solid. I certainly had fun with it. Unfortunately, the opportune word here is “when” you play, and here is my biggest complaint. The game is heavily segmented, with a whole lot of nothing between the stages which are mostly short and go by very quickly. There are a pile of tutorial stages at the start that are broken up into sections so brief the load screens lasted longer. Plus there are pointless, but apparently required, conversations with NPCs. By conversations, I mean you click on a village map screen and see an illustration of a person, read a bit of useless dialog, then click on some other random spots until you get the actual stage to open up. This is truly awful pacing, breaking to bits a game that would be so much more enjoyable if it was just allowed to flow continuously along.

It's not just Sonic Unleashed that suffers from this run away segmentation. I had the exact same problem when I played NiGHTS. Heck, It was even present to a lesser extent in Sonic and the Secret Rings. I'll be watching for it showing up in Sonic and the Black Knight when I eventually play that game.

I think the development team did a nice job polishing up Sonic Unleashed, and the werehog stages are enjoyable, so long as you aren't the type of gamer who throws a fit of Sonic isn't running at all times. But, Sega really needs to improve the flow of these games. If after an hour I've only actually played a couple stages while I've seen 7 loading screens and pushed through pages of pointless filler dialog, then there is something fundamentally wrong with the design.

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Sonic Unleashed is Filled With Lies

Sonic Unleashed's Silver Lining

Watcha Playing?: Spelunky

Watcha' Playing: NiGHTS Journey of Dreams

Amber Ahlborn — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

I'm on jury duty. Yep, I've been doing my civic duty since last week which means I've been going to the court house instead of work. I really did not want to get picked for jury duty but it's actually kind of nice. The experience is rather interesting and the hours are rather short, especially since I don't have to drive my typical 45 minute commute. I've been taking advantage of the extra time by digging into my backlog and pulling out a game I've had for months: NiGHTS Journey of Dreams.

As an old Nintendo fangirl, I never owned a Sega console, certainly never owned a Saturn. I do remember playing a little of the original NiGHTS on a demo station and watching friends play it, but really, the Wii game is my first serious experience with this franchise.

Footage of NiGHTS into Dreams for the Sega Saturn.

I really like the whimsical character and level designs, but I don't like how rough things look. Rough is actually the optimal word to describe most everything about this game. It looks a bit rough and plays the same. The basic concept for the game play is very relaxing but the count down timer, lack of visual and control polish, and some poor level layouts work against the easy going enjoyment I'd like to gain from this title.

NiGHTS Journey of Dreams for the Nintendo Wii.

I really wasn't a fan of the two children's stories or how the game dumps you back into the hub world after each mission, even though it seems to play in a purely linear fashion. Let's just go straight to the next mission and cut out a few loading screens says I. Last on my list of complaints deals with the controls. You have the choice of using the Wii's pointer (which felt imprecise to me), the Classic Controller, and the remote with nunchuck duo. I went with the last option but it was hardly perfect. Sometimes my little flying jester seemed to have a mind of his own. This was especially infuriating in the final battle when, for no apparent reason, NiGHTS would fly in the opposite direction I wanted him to go.

In spite of all of my complaining, the game has its moments. It is fun to fly around, the worlds are quite lovely, and the boss fights ... well, the boss fights look really cool but otherwise are a mixed bag. It can be hard to figure out what you need to do and that miserable count down timer adds an unwelcome element of frustration, doubled by having to repeat an entire level just to replay the boss if you fail.

I wanted to like this game a lot more than I did. I think there's a great concept here, but like Sega's other notable mascot, NiGHTS doesn't quite live up to his potential.

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Sega "Gets" the Wii

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Death of the Rental Store

Amber Ahlborn — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 01:00:00 GMT

I do not have a GAMEFLY account. Yeah, yeah, shock and dismay, I know. Sometimes my tastes can be a little archaic. Even though I'd rather do my *grocery shopping online I prefer a brick and mortar store for rentals since I rent very sporadically. One of these days, though, I'm going to be forced to embrace the modern age of online game rentals because my local Blockbuster really does suck.

We also have a Family Video but they're a further drive away and last time I checked, only had a marginally better selection. All of the little mom 'n pop places have long since vanished. Indeed, it was the end of an era I was personally sad to see go since my own parents were a couple of those mom 'n pops.

Way back when I was in grade school my parents ran a side business called “Video Train”, a movie rental store. I pretty much grew up with free rentals and no late charges ever. Soon after the NES came into its own, Nintendo games were added to the store's catalog and mom more or less put me in charge of picking out what games to put in the store. This is the reason why I never had much of a personal NES game collection, the rental store was my collection. This is also why I ended up with a subscription to Nintendo Power magazine.

As part of the business of running a rental store, my parents (mostly it was mom's business) would get various promotional materials and among those was a flier for Nintendo's brand spanking new magazine. To keep me informed, she signed me up for a subscription. The first Nintendo Power I ever got was issue # 1, featuring Super Mario Bros. 2 on the cover. I wish I still had that magazine. I remained a steady subscriber all the way into the year 2000. Prior to letting my subscription run out, and the main reason my enthusiasm faded for keeping the tradition going, was my mom throwing away all of my old issues without my knowledge (mother giveth and mother taketh away).

All good things come to an end, and when Blockbuster Video arrived in my town, that was the end of “Video Train”. Eventually I crossed enemy lines and started renting at Blockbuster. Alas, the game selection there has been downright lousy (remember, I'm a Nintendo fan, thus I must search the nether regions of the store to find anything). Why do they have a wall of Carnival Games but no Sonic Unleashed, Deadly Creatures, or, well, anything else I'm remotely interested in?

I guess it's the end of yet another era. Maybe I finally will sign up for GAMEFLY. Eventually.

* When I lived in the state of Washington, I didn't have a car so I did all of my grocery shopping from Safeway and Albertson's web sites and had my groceries delivered. It was awesome. No such service exists where I currently live. Boo.

Related Links:

A SNES Story

Nostalgia and Game Association

Wasted Rentals, Wasted Youth: Bram Stoker's Dracula (SNES)

Jerking Your Fans Around

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Console exclusivity; to gain sole rights to that singular game with hopes for drawing in the crowds. Game and franchise exclusives have been part of the strategy to gain fan following since the first video game machines began competing. In the early days, consoles had pretty distinct catalogs. It was easy to determine what games would appear on what systems and pick where to spend your dollars. These days almost everything not developed by a first or second party is cross platform (for the moment, we will be ignoring the Wii which plays by its own rules). However, don't think for a moment that exclusivity is a thing of the past, it has merely evolved into a new, sinister form.

Made possible in an age of downloadable content; extra levels, costumes, and other goodies are becoming the new system exclusives. An example of this trend was pointed out in a blog post by Zachary Miller. People who bought Tomb Raider: Underworld for the Xbox 360 are getting all sorts of new content while gamers who bought it for the PS3 are getting the shaft. In my opinion, this is a terrible way to treat your fans.

When games are exclusive to a system, or even when different versions of a game with unique content are made console specific (see Soul Calibur II as an example), fans know up front what they are getting and can make choices on which system to buy for which game. Downloadable content, however, is something that tends to come down the pipes later on, long after the game itself has been purchased. If downloadable content becomes the new console exclusive, consumers can't make informed choices about what version of a game to buy because not all of the information is available up front. One group or the other is going to end up punished for buying the game for the “wrong” system, and that's really not cool.

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Millions of Disappointing Tomb Raider Sales for Eidos

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Super Mario Speed Demon

Amber Ahlborn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Super Mario Bros. too slow for you? Try Hyper Mario Bros! If you don't develop a nervous tick after playing this game, then you're doing it wrong.

Language is no barrier here, I may not know what he's saying, but I know exactly what he means.

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Fami Star Wars: Just Because It’s In English Doesn’t Mean It Makes Sense

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Automated Musical Mario

Underrated: Mischief Makers

Amber Ahlborn — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Long before Wario shook things up on the Wii, a very odd little game that focused on the grab and shake mechanic came out for the N64. One of the earlier titles displayed for the N64, Mischief Makers was developed by Treasure. For those of you not familiar with Treasure, they are very well known for their 2-D shooters and for taking weird concepts and turning them into equally weird games, and we love them for it.

Mischief Makers was a 2-D platformer staring Ultra-Intergalactic-Cybot G Marina Liteyears, the robotic maid of lecherous Professor Theo. While visiting planet Clancer, the old prof is abducted and it's up to Marina to save her inventor/employer. You can cut the goof ball melodrama with a knife.

The game play centered around Marina's ability to grab just about anything; from objects, to enemy projectiles, to animals, to innocent bystanders; shake them and throw them. Shaking things would often reward the player with gems or cause the object to take on a new characteristic, like causing a missile to increase in power. The levels made full use of this play mechanic by offering elaborate platform and puzzle challenges.

Stages like this one really test your ability to maneuver.

The numerous boss and mini-boss encounters were especially a blast, demanding sharp reflexes and imaginative tactics to take down the screwball cast of enemies.

Yes, Marina is indeed riding on a cat for this fight. A cat she defeated in a game of dodge ball on the previous level.

Unless you're the type of person who takes gaming way too seriously, there's no reason not to love Mischief Makers.

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What's in my MP3 Player: Donkey Kong Country “Permutation”

Amber Ahlborn — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:00:00 GMT

I don't really like music with lyrics. I'm a fan of pure instrumental pieces. There are, of course, exceptions. A collaboration between OCR newcomer Nicole Adams and veteran “injury” has produced a song that I not only enjoy but tells a story about oppression and the struggle of maintaining individuality.

“Permutation” is easily my favorite Donkey Kong Country remix to date, please check it out for yourself. I think you'll be impressed by the skill of this piece of music's execution; mixing together excellent lyrics, a lovely voice, and a light electronica beat. As a bonus, Nicole Adams is one of the remix artists featured in an interesting and in depth article at WomenGamers.com, as worthy of a read as this MP3 is of a listen. Click on over.

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Bad Games With Good Music: Tales of Legendia

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Automated Musical Mario

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Probably something like a year ago I came across an amazing video on Kotaku. It was one of those self playing Super Mario World levels but this one was also musical. Alas, the video seemed to break on the page and there wasn't a YouTube version in existence yet. Ultimately I forgot about it. However, I've rediscovered this amazing little novelty and thought I'd share the love.

Keep in mind that nobody is actually playing this, all of the action is automated using Mario's momentum and reactions to obstacles. I don't even want to think about how much tinkering with timing it took to create this. I'll just say that I'm very appreciative of those wacky people out there who have the time and patience to create these masterpiece oddities.

Related Links:

Fandom: Gone to the Movies

WTFriday: The Mario Paint Music Showcase

I Only Took Piano Lessons as a Kid.

Integrating Mini-Games the Right Way

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:00:00 GMT

As a Wii owner, I've gotten awfully familiar with the concept of the mini-game. I imagine my fellow Wii fans are a little tired of them in fact. Mini-games, however, are not necessarily a bad thing and can bring vibrant variety to larger games when incorporated into the overarching play mechanics. Or at least that's their potential when utilized well. The best way to make use of a mini-game within the framework of the main game is to make it work within the context of the main game. When pulled off successfully, it enriches the experience. When not integrated well or even at all, the mini-game kills immersion.

Before I continue, let me offer a quick definition for mini-game. A mini-game is a task or challenge that works within its own set of rules and mechanics not present within the larger game that encompasses the mini-game. A simple example is the chocobo race in Final Fantasy 7. Even though you can ride chocobos outside of the mini-game, the birds operate differently and follow specific performance rules within the mini-game exclusively.

Speaking of Final Fantasy, as much as I enjoy the series in general I'll be tapping these games as providing my example for how not to use mini-games. The Sly Cooper series of games will be my example of how to do it right.

Suspension of Disbelief Failure.

Final Fantasy 8 worked hard to envelop gamers in its world. There were warring nations and enemies with mysterious motivations. The protagonists each had a hidden past and there were budding relationships to explore. There was also this card game called Triple Triad. I almost never actually played it, not because it wasn't a fun card game but because playing it seemed just so damned inappropriate. A prime example of what I mean occurred during an invasion of my base. I and my crew were running about, battling the enemy and saving our comrades in the midst of a deadly situation. However, in order to get some primo cards for my deck I had to put the disaster on hold and challenge an NPC to a card game.

Never mind the smoke and fire, the looming death ray, forget the screams of the wounded and the noise of gun fire; I gotta play me some cards. Nothing jerks me out of the experience faster than being slapped with a situation that screams “Hey!, you're playing a video game. These characters you're trying to connect with are freaking polygons and texture maps, now play some damn cards!.”

This is What Seamless Integration Plays Like.

After playing Sly 2: Band of Thieves and Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, I was struck by how these titles were bursting with mini-games. The main play mechanics of the Sly Cooper games involved lots of running and jumping, sneaking and climbing all over the environments. But there was also RC car racing and plane flying, pirate ship battles and ballroom dancing. Unique things to do were abundant, each complying with its own play mechanic and yet perfectly integrated into the game world's logic and plot.

RC Car challenge

Dancing with the Enemy

The best mini-games are ones that blend in to the point that they don't feel like mini-games at all.

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A SNES Story

Amber Ahlborn — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:00:00 GMT

The year was 1991, I was in 7th grade and the digital bomb had been dropped. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System had been released. For months prior I'd been drooling over the glossy spreads in Nintendo Power magazine featuring this baby. Little green dinosaurs and caped Marios frolicked in my imagination. I wanted this game console badly and I could have it, if I bought it myself. Otherwise I would have to wait a year for the holiday season to roll around again and hope I got lucky. Like many a game junkie, I just couldn't wait that long. I needed money.

How many of you lucky sods got an allowance growing up? I sure the heck never did, and there's just not much of a market for lawn mowing or lemonade stands in the Midwest's winter months. I did already have close to a hundred bucks I'd saved up but I needed to make another hundred plus to afford that shiny new SNES. Being an opportunist (and a light eater) I took advantage of my one source of regular income: my lunch money. My school had what they called an ala carte lunch program, where you could choose from a limited menu if you didn't want to get the regular hot meal. By subsisting on milk and the occasional pizza slice, I managed to save the bulk of my lunch money.

It took many weeks, but I finally had the cash and an exuberant shopping trip later, that SNES was mine. But now what did I do with it? Upon opening the box, I saw that there was no cable hook up. I had a TV in my bedroom but it was an ancient beast with a dial that only went up to 12 or 13 channels. It certainly didn't have any new fangled audio/visual ports.

My parent's TV, however, was brand new. I honestly don't remember how I managed to convince my mom to let me, but I hooked my SNES up in my parent's bedroom. It actually worked out okay since I had the house to myself for a couple hours after school every day. I spent that time in utter bliss, mauling my way through Super Mario World.

Mario, of course, was only the start. Even though I had an NES, I didn't play it that much. Most of the series I ultimately fell in love with were introduced to me on the SNES. It was there that I discovered Metroid and Zelda and Mega Man, and played my first RPG. Those were golden days. Alas, my beloved SNES saw a little too much use.

When I babysat the neighbor's kids, my SNES was an invaluable pacification tool. I didn't read them story books, I narrated Chrono Trigger. Unfortunately, all of that traveling and unhooking of cables had its toll on the system's connections. Eventually it simply stopped working and I bid farewell to my old friend. I did not go SNESless for long though, thanks to the SNES' new compact design. The very first console I ever bought with my own money, I bought twice.

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Nifty Nostalgia: Super Game Boy

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If You Don't Want to Succeed, Don't Tell Anyone About Your Game.

Amber Ahlborn — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:00:00 GMT

I dislike commercials. I especially hate those obnoxious flashing banners and ads that pop up when you accidentally mouse over some innocently underlined word. That said, advertisements are invaluable in getting the word out about a new video game, especially one that doesn't have an established following. How many times has some random gamer on some random message board declared that whatever excellent title was overlooked because it wasn't advertised?

The soon to be overlooked title of the moment is Deadly Creatures, a Wii exclusive action game staring a nasty pair of creepy crawlies. The game is out now and the early word on the street is that it's a quality title, but low and behold, THQ will not be running any television commercials for it. Has the game thus been doomed to obscurity?

How important is a TV presence? Are internet or print ads enough? I'm inclined to say that, even though TV doesn't enjoy the media domination it once did, it's still the prime venue through which the consumer public is reached. Individual ad quality aside, TV commercials touch some of the widest possible audiences and thus insert the existence of a product into the largest number of brains. This can only be good when a publisher is trying to build an audience for a new game. Lack of commercial presence has hurt a lot of games that deserved a fan base to go along with their critical praise.

On the other hand, advertising on TV is an expensive prospect and a gamble to invest that money into an untested product. Of course, if the product is untested, it really needs ads to help hook an audience...and round and round we go with this age old marketing dilemma.

Will Deadly Creatures succeed in spite of limited commercial presence? It certainly has been done before, especially when enthusiastic fans decide to spread the praise through word of mouth. Still, I figure a game about a spider and a scorpion will be a tough sell.

Meet the Scorpion

Meet the Tarantula

Related Links:

Looking Ahead: 10 Wii Games that I'm Looking Forward To in 2009. part 1

The Year in Press Releases

Where's the In-game Advertising?

Nifty Nostalgia: Super Game Boy

Amber Ahlborn — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:30:00 GMT

I have a Gamecube connected to my TV. It sits right next to my Wii. Why have the Gamecube, since the Wii plays GC games you ask? To play GB/GBA games of course! As much as I enjoy the games released for my portable systems, I have never liked the portables themselves. I don't like the tiny screens or the cramped way I have to hold them (and I have small hands). So really, it's no wonder I thought the Super Game Boy was The Best Thing Ever back in the SNES days.

The Super Game Boy, in all its chunky glory, kept an entire library of portable games from ever occupying my neglected Game Boy. Aside from allowing me to play GB games on my TV, there was one other neat little thing that I loved about the Super Game Boy, indeed, something that absolutely fascinated me when I discovered it: the animated borders.

When the SGB displayed games on the TV, it always placed a frame around them. There were a variety to choose, and Nintendo being Nintendo, they went the extra mile to actually hide clever little animations in these frames. If you left the system idle long enough, something special was bound to happen. Check out some videos of my favorites after the jump.

This is the border that I first saw animate.

As much as I love my GBA Player, it does disappoint in that its borders lack the clever animations that its predecessors had.

Hat tip to GoNintendo.com for reminding me these things existed.

Related Links:

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Nostalgia and Game Association

Art!: Classic Arcade Gallery

Amber Ahlborn — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:00:00 GMT

You would think that as a graphic artist I'd draw more. I have a real passion for creating characters but it's been ages since I drew any of my own ideas. The irony here being that I'm too busy with my day job art to work too much on my own art. I am hoping to turn that around though. One subject matter I've never done much of, however, is fan art. Sure, there's my Sly Cooper sculpture and I've drawn a few Ninja Turtles and Mega Man characters back in the day, but mostly I worked on my own creations. That's not to say I don't appreciate well done fan art and a gallery of very nice video game fan art is what I've discovered (Or was pointed to by a friend, thanks Ian!).

Check out this gallery at DrawerGeeks.com. They have a long list of galleries focusing on pop culture subjects and the work is really nice. You get three guesses as to which piece in the Classic Arcade gallery is my favorite. Click on over and bask in the visual talent.

Well, I feel pretty inspired. Maybe this weekend I'll blow the dust off my color pencils and see if I remember how to draw.

Related Links:

The Art of Metroid Prime, Echoes, and Corruption

Yeah, But Is It Art?: Oh, wait, it’s already art.

Crossing the Uncanny Valley: Part 5