This Balenciaga bomber jacket ($1,174) has the right design and color scheme required for a great stand out piece. It draws design inspiration from the sea, and features teal scuba diving scale sleeves, and a turquoise body with a button front closure. How would you wear this? More looks below.
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The Game Developers Conference is far from over — actually, the show floor just opened today — but if bumping into people over the past couple days has been anything to go by, a PSN game called Dyad seems to be getting the best word of mouth at the show. Well, let me try that again — the Halo announcements, SimCity, Quantic Dream’s bundle of joy, and the Independent Games Festival probably win this award I just made up. But for the underdog word of mouth, I’m going with Dyad.
A couple days ago, I was able to play it for about an hour. Developer Shawn McGrath invited some media to try the game in his hotel room, each alone, with the lights off — “the cool kids’ way of playing it,” he said — which seemed odd, but made sense when I realized the game is a weird mash-up of Rez, a light show, a kaleidoscope, and a racing game. “Weird” is his word, by the way.
“Visual and quality issues were the number one complaint in Saints Row 2,” said Design Director Scott Phillips at a Saints Row: The Third postmortem at GDC on Thursday. Despite the retail performance of the second game, he explained that developer Volition couldn’t take success for granted. Producing a goofy breakout hit didn’t automatically give them the resources or insight to improve upon the game. Phillips documented how the team created a better and more cohesive experience by improving upon the last title’s tone, quality, and scope.
“How you’re going to say something can be more important than what you’re saying,” explained Phillips. Nothing could be more important for a game like Saints Row: The Third than setting the proper tone. He felt that the previous two games in the series suffered from incongruous emotional moments falling too close together — SR2 tasked you with committing a brutal murder in cold-blood after an extended “vehicle surfing” moment. He stated that the team on the first Saints Row “wanted to make…an MTV music video,” but that clashed with some of the goofier missions.
Once the game’s leads decided on the tone they would like to take, they found trouble trying to communicate that to their subordinates. “By the time Saints Row: The Third shipped, only 20% of the team had shipped a Saints Row title,” explained Phillips. “This meant that people didn’t have that automatic knowledge of Saints Row…We had a lack of buy-in as to what the game was. People didn’t know what they were making. Is fart-in-a-jar [weapon] too far? …I had to re-explain constantly.”
The leads responded by producing a short video featuring scenes from movies that fit the tone they were aiming for — Hot Fuzz and Bad Boys II among others. Those that still didn’t understand found help as the team produced prototypes and pre-visualizations. This reflects the need for better communication on larger projects like SR3, something that can be time consuming and expensive to maintain.
Since the team wanted to turn their breakout-hit franchise into a AAA tent-pole release, they stepped up their playtesting on the game extensively. This was done to ensure that things were paced properly and that the “holy-shit” setpiece moments would really blow the player away, while still keeping the moment-to-moment gameplay entertaining. All of those show-stopping moments required a significant investment of time and resources, and a designer’s imagination could have easily outpaced the ability and budget of the team. Phillips emphasized the importance of controlling the scope of SR3. Pre-visualization — like a studio might commission a movie — gave the team a clear idea as to what they should aim for. He showed the audience the pre-viz sequence for the game’s opening mission — where the player robs a bank, jumps out of a plane, and parachutes back into the vehicle, then out again. The rough sequence (which featured little more than marble white, untextured models) let artists and others learn what the leads were looking for. Previously the team relied on written communication which Phillips found to be vague and prone to misunderstanding.
The proper tone and score were only discovered through trial and error. Phillips explained that for the first six months of the game’s life it starred an undercover agent infiltrating the Saints. Retooling the story caused even more confusion. For over a year the game featured an Assassin’s Creed-style parkour system that allowed the player to effortlessly leap over cars, but processing limitations forced designers to remove the system that the team had spent a great deal of time implementing.
Problems like this are an unavoidable part of game development on even the smallest titles. But the economics of scale involved in modern AAA development exponentially increase costs, and a title has to sell more to stay profitable. Though Phillips didn’t address it directly, his talk reveals why “go big or go home” has become the mantra for hardcore console games in the past few years.
Take a look at the list of retro game post-mortems at GDC 2012, and Harvest Moon may seem out-of-place; after all, there’s no question that Gauntlet and Fallout changed the industry, but a niche farming sim? On the surface, at least, Harvest Moon doesn’t seem as relevant as the other old games being dissected this year, but this late Super NES release actually laid the groundwork for outrageously popular titles like The Sims and Animal Crossing by showing the world that day-to-day drudgery could make for a highly addictive experience. Original developer Yasuhiro Wada (now of Toybox) and Natsume Vice President of Operations Graham Markay sat down with me after the panel to discuss how such an atypical concept has been able to thrive over these past 16 years.
Harvest Moon owes a great deal of its success to cross-gender appeal; women make up nearly a third of the game’s Japanese audience, a percentage doubled by its American user base. But, initially, Wada never intended for Harvest Moon to strictly appeal to women; later in the series’ history, the “for girls” releases would feature the same essential experience as the games with male protagonists. And further down the line, male and female protagonists could be selected from the very start, allowing players to decide on their gender of choice without having to buy an entirely different game.
Wada explains the inclusive approach that makes his series so appealing: “[Harvest Moon] doesn’t dumb anything down for either gender. If you play as a guy it’s not like all of a sudden you’re this big, buff guy, and you get all the best equipment… And if you play as a female you’re [not] this [busty]-looking [character].” He added that his team didn’t always show such sensitivity; in the original “for girls” version of the PlayStation Harvest Moon, the game outright ends when your female protagonist gets married — sending an implicit message that made many fans uncomfortable. This problem was remedied in future versions of Harvest Moon, giving Wada a window into the importance of listening to fan feedback.
“Girls were playing the boys’ version to begin with,” says Natsume’s Markay, “They liked what they were playing, even though the protagonist was a male.” Wada added, “If there was a difference, the fan base would complain, and we wanted to avoid that.”
Little is known about Wada’s new venture, Toybox — named after the original Harvest Moon development team — aside from its mission statement of “We are gaming for Love, Peace and Earth.” Though this may sound a bit touchy-feely, Toybox has already won over the hearts of gamers worldwide with the announcement of a Deadly Premonition special edition, due at some point in the future for the PS3. At this point, it’s uncertain if Toybox will bring us the same gleefully creative Wada creations as the recent Little King’s Story, but anyone interested in his idiosyncratic, heartwarming touch should look forward to this year’s E3, where Toybox’s newest creations may be unveiled.
The latest attempt by Blizzard to regain former World of Warcraft subscribers comes in the form of the Scroll of Resurrection. To the company’s credit it’s a hell of an incentive to get back to playing what is still the world’s most popular subscription-based MMO, but I can’t help but wonder if it comes across as so desperate that it will make it harder to keep players coming back in the future without the help of another promotion.
Last year’s big ploy, which continues to this day, was to offer the game for free up to level 20, a scheme I think is smart for WoW and other, non-F2P MMOs. (Blizzard also offered a free digital copy of Diablo III to anyone willing to commit to a year of WoW.) The newly-announced Scroll of Resurrection is geared towards bringing back former subscribers rather than trying to attract new ones.
Current subscribers can send a Scroll to anyone who previously had an account that was subscribed to WoW for at least 30 days at any point in time. By accepting, the recipient will receive a week of free game time, a free upgrade to the digital version of Cataclysm (the most recent expansion pack), a boost of any one character up to level 80 (preparing him or her for Cataclysm’s content and level 85 cap), and a free transfer to the sender’s realm and faction (which you’d ordinarily have to pay for). If the recipient accepts the invite and ends up resubscribing, the sender receives a special mount: the Spectral Wind Rider for Horde or the Spectral Gryphon for Alliance.
World of Warcraft has been bleeding subscribers since shortly after the release of Cataclysm in December 2010, repeating a pattern we’ve seen time and again where subscriptions spike when a new expansion comes along and then slowly fade until the next one hits. The drop throughout the latter part of 2011 was not as severe as those we’ve seen previously, and the game continues to have over 10 million subscribers, so it’s not as if Blizzard is about to shut the game down or adopt a free-to-play model. Although the bonuses the Scroll provides are a limited-time offering — only the seven days of free game time will be offered after the Scroll’s first 90 days of availability — giving away the latest expansion before the next one has even been dated doesn’t seem like the sort of measure Blizzard would have taken in the past.
The Scroll of Resurrection can be sent in-game and through the Battle.net website; any current WoW subscriber can make use of each method once a day, allowing them to send out two per day. There is no limit to the total number that can be sent, meaning this isn’t exactly a limited offering — any former subscriber should have no trouble getting a Scroll sent to them. The supply may not be quite infinite, but it’s not exactly one-per-subscriber, either.
There’s also reason to be concerned that granting virtually anyone a level 80 character will upset things somewhat. While there are sure to be high-level players who aren’t experts on the game as it currently works, getting to that point typically means you’ve developed a decent grasp on the mechanics of your class. It’s the same reason many veterans in WoW and other games will encourage newcomers not to pay for someone to boost their character to the level cap — the journey to that point is not only part of the fun, it also provides you with the opportunity to master the many aspects of your class. You could be handed a character more powerful than anyone else’s, but if you don’t know what you’re doing it won’t get you very far.
This injection of potentially inexperienced level-80 characters could be a turn off to the hardcore players who have continued to subscribe to the game. While this does present the possibility of making that demographic angry, it could be that Blizzard feels confident they aren’t about to abandon the game they have invested so much time and effort in over such a thing. Still, players who have stuck around may resent the newcomers who didn’t have to earn the money for, say, their flying mount, which is given to boosted players for free along with “all class skills and spells up to level 80.” Creating a schism among players would not be good for the long-term health of the game.
But there is a different problem that could arise by providing such a massive incentive to former players to resubscribe. After this 90 days is up, the Scroll of Resurrection will still exist but only offer seven days of free game time to former subscribers. A few years ago that would have been more than enough to sign back up, but in a world where Blizzard has already handed out free expansions, realm/factions transfers, and character boosts? Signing up without getting some kind of extra bonus isn’t nearly as enticing.
With my subscription to The Old Republic still active, I don’t plan on resubscribing to WoW in the near future. But in August if the mood should strike and there is nothing special being offered to re-up my subscription, I could see myself waiting until I can take advantage of an offer making it more worth my while to do so. I don’t believe for a moment this will be the last time Blizzard offers more than a few days’ of free game time to get players back to playing, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way who would also be willing to wait to maximize the bonuses they get for resubscribing.
by Ryan Rigley
This weekend marks the release of Disney’s newest blockbuster, “John Carter,” an adaptation of the popular sci-fi novels first published in 1912 and featuring a hero of the same name. Largely based on the novel “A Princess of Mars” in which John Carter makes his first appearance, Disney’s “John Carter” tells the story of a Civil War veteran that is brought to Mars and imprisoned by the 12 foot tall, savage-like Martians that inhabit the planet. Eventually, John Carter makes his escape and is subsequently put to the task of rescuing the Princess of Helium, Dejah Thoris.
It’s a tale as old as time, being equal parts romance and action/adventure movie. However, that’s not the reason we’re looking forward to it. Sure, Taylor Kitsch plays quite the hunky John Carter. But it’s the 12 foot tall Martians and handful of other deadly space beings that’s got us really excited!
Tars Tarkas, played by Willem Dafoe, is the leader of the Martian warriors known as the Tharks. Their huge stature and green complexion reflect a very basic idea of what the majority of people think Martians would look like. There have been many movies that take place on the Red Planet throughout the years, each featuring their own individual interpretations of Martians. Here’s a list of some of our favorites!
» 5. “War of the Worlds” (1953)
Who could forget this classic movie adaptation of the H.G. Wells sci-fi staple? Although these Martians spend most of the movie flying around in their croissant shaped hovercrafts, we do in fact get a really clear view of them towards the end. Having really long arms and three lights for a face, the Martians in this movie bear a striking resemblance to the love child of E.T. and one of those Simon electronic memory-based games.
» 4. “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964)
The only reason this movie is even slightly popular is because of its appearance in the cult TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” in which Joel Robinson and two robots are forced to watch horrible movies by an evil scientist. “Santa Claus Conquerors the Martians” is indeed a very horrible movie, only made bareable by the hilarious commentary of Joel and the robots. In the film, the Martians are depicted as normal human beings wearing green jumpsuits and helmets with unnecessary tubes coming out of them. It’s laughably bad.
» 3. “Ghosts of Mars” (2001)
John Carpenter’s flop of a film, starring Ice Cube and Jason Statham, portrays Martians in a completely different way. Taking place 200 years in the future, a Martian police squad is given the order to retrieve a highly dangerous prisoner from a remote mining town on Mars. But they end up getting more than they bargained for when the ghosts of Martians past begin possessing them, driving the team to brutally murder each other. That’s right. The Martians in this movie are ghosts. Spooky, pale-faced ghosts with razor sharp teeth and lots of piercings to be precise.
» 2. “My Favorite Martian” (1999)
Based on the 60′s television show of the same name, “My Favorite Martian” is about a Martian who crash lands on Earth and befriends a News Producer, Jeff Daniels, and the object of his affections, Elizabeth Hurley. The Martian in this movie is Christopher Lloyd with a pair of TV antennae coming out of his head. Also, he has a really long, purple, tentacle-like tongue. How amazing would it be if you went to Mars and found an entire colony of Christopher Lloyds?
» 1. “Mars Attacks!” (1996)
This is what a Martian should look like. Tim Burton’s sci-fi/comedy masterpiece is actually inspired by a trading cards series first released in 1962. The trading cards, illustrated by Wallace Wood, depict the different stages of a full-scale Earth invasion by the hideous, cruel-natured Martians. Their huge external brains and skull shaped faces are the perfect reflection of the merciless brutality with which these Martians seize hold of our planet. In the film, they are even given their own language consisting mainly of loud, high-pitched shouts. Which is a huge plus considering that half of the Martians on this list are able to speak English for some reason.
List your favorite movie martians in the comments and on Twitter!
Next month, Nike Sportswear will be releasing a new trio of Blazer High models. Optioned in a pair of blues as well as a brown set, each variation notes a mixture of canvas and suede on the upper. White accounts for the contrast on all three, as can be seen in the branding, laces, and midsole. Again, expect these to hit NSW retailers sometime in April. [via EU Kicks]
Tags: nike-blazer, nike, nike-sportswear, blazer, blazer-high, blazer-high-vntg-nd, nike-blazer-high, nike-blazer-high-vntg-nd
By: Uptin Saiidi (@uptin), with reporting by Becca Frucht
Who would have thought rappers and Republican Presidential candidates were so similiar? If you followed Super Tuesday coverage, you’ll know that it’s not getting any more decisive for the political party. Despite having hopes of getting a clear frontrunner after 11 states had their primaries on Tuesday, there’s still uncertainty as both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum took leads, and Newt Gingrich won his homestate of Georgia. MTV’s Becca Frucht was in Georgia covering the primary, where she spoke with young voters attending a Newt Gingirch victory party. She softned the political tone of the party by quoting rappers and Republican Presidential candidates to see if people could distinguish the two.
And while you might not think rappers and Republican politicians would necessarily have any sort of similar quotes, you might just be surprised. Think you’ll be able to tell the difference? Give it a try yourself before you check out the answers at the bottom.
1. “Everybody wants a shot in this land of opportunity.”
2. “You can say I’m a hater, but I would argue I am a lover.”
3. “You’re child was the first to go with budget cuts.”
4. “I want to shift the entire planet and im doing it. i am now a famous persona, i represent real power.”
5. “Who let the dogs out?”
MTV News has you covered this election! Check back for coverage on all the primaries, and stick with Power Of 12 throughout the presidential election season.
Answers: (1) Nas (2) Rick Santorum, (3) Lupe Fiasco, (4) Newt Gingrich, (5) Mitt Romney Baha Men
T.I. was spotted wearing a Stussy Red Heather varsity jacket ($127) to the Atlantic Records hosted cocktail party thrown for himself and Trey Songz last night in Atlanta. This classic style varsity jacket features 100% cotton body with the SS link embroidery, snap buttons, two slit pockets, and ribbed detailing. Check out more pics below
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After feeling little soured on Super Mario 3D Land, I’ve gradually come around to enjoying the game more for what it is. Certainly hearing director Koichi Hayashida’s musings on the thinking behind 3D Land’s design has been illuminating. He delivered an interesting presentation yesterday at Game Developers Conference 2012 which outlined the development process, then met with me this morning for a more in-depth interview. The point that Hayashida kept circling around was that the game, being a “reset” of the 3D Mario series (as he calls it), was built with playability and functionality in mind first and foremost. This means that familiar elements of the past, like Super Mario Bros. 3′s Tanooki Suit, were added later as the team began fleshing out the game’s details.
He’s quick to clarify that the original plan for Mario 3D Land was not simply to borrow ideas from 1990′s NES classic. “There are simply a lot of fans of Mario 3 on the team,” Hayashida said. “It’s the game everyone seems to love most.
“I think it may be a generational thing,” he added, noting that he himself has been a fan of Mario since Donkey Kong, which came out when he was in grade school. (“Before I even knew his name was Mario!” he joked.)
As a point of fact, Nintendo EAD Tokyo’s pragmatic, design-focused approach to Mario 3D Land is what prevented the inclusion of familiar elements like flight for the Tanooki Suit.
“If we had tried to simply mimic the exact same use of the tanooki suit as in the previous games, you might have been able to do some things that didn’t make it into the final product,” Hayashida admitted. “But we were approaching it from a functional sense, not simply including the exact same elements that have been used in previous games.
“That isn’t to say we didn’t try it out! Of course we tried letting players fly around a little bit, but we realized very quickly that it wasn’t going to work out too well. We would fly around in debug mode and see all sorts of things that we would have had to change if we were going to let you fly in the game. It’s sort of like a movie set — as soon as the camera gets too high and goes over the set, you see the other side of the backdrop and things can get a little strange… which requires us to spend too much time managing what the player can see from any angle.
“There was always a discussion of whether or not flight was necessary from a game design perspective. So, that led us to — for example — a slight modification, which was the white tanooki Mario which powers him up and makes him invincible; you get it from an assist block, and it’s meant to ease the game once people have had a certain number of game overs. But it’s lowering the difficulty in an interesting way — rather than just flying over the game field and not having to worry about enemies or platforming, you don’t have to worry about enemies because you’re not taking damage from them. That allows you to practice your platforming. We felt like that was the right decision, because it eased the game in the correct way while still giving the player a chance to have some interaction with the course.”
Interestingly, the flight ability wasn’t excluded because of the “stereo window violation” Hayashida mentioned in his panel (a problem in which near-field objects in a stereoscopic image occlude one eye and break the illusion). Hayashida stresses that the ability simply didn’t fit the more linear, objective-focused levels the team had built versus his other Mario projects like Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy.
