Back In The Race, Baby!

Oh snap guys, where do I begin...

Well, as you guys know, I've been in the wilderness looking for game programming jobs for a whopping eight months (June 2013-March-2014).  It's been hell having to sit on the sideline and watch my friends' dreams come true and watch Sumo Digital/Sega jobs come and go.  I've spammed resumes to numerous game and simulation studios in the Southwest US.  I've done numerous phone screenings from recruiters and have taken a couple of written tests too.  Needless to say, I've gotten use to the phrase "we're not looking for someone with your skill set," which is the blandest way to say "you suck" without any good feedback on what to improve on.

But that's all changed now.  I am in sunny Austin, Texas at my new job in a inconspicuous game studio.  I'm honestly not telling you where I'm working.  All I know is out of all the butchered job applications, this place flew me in for an interview which resulted in a 2-hour written test, a 1-hour interview with two programmers, another 1-hour interview with two other programmers, and a 30-minute interview with two producers.  A 4-and-a-half hour long interview.  Thankfully I knocked it out of the park and everything that could've went well did.  The tides turned in my favor for once, thank God!

Again, I'm not inclined to tell you where I work.  It's not a racing game studio nor is it affiliated with Sega.  It's a place that treats me well and has the potential to be better than my previous two jobs.  I am in debt to them because if not for this generous offer, I'd still be out on my ass because I had no other leads at any other game studios.  Seriously, this company has been very nice to me thus far and I no longer have the disdain I once had for them.  Now not the time to be a hipster!  Don't let Reddit circlejerkers or personal vendettas get in the way.  Seriously, the Reddit crowd is useless.  Those slovenly neckbeards grovel and complain but they don't contribute anything of value besides shitty gaming memes.  Get off your ass, get a gaming degree and a job, and make your own games for once.  Otherwise, shut the fuck up.

I have to work hard to impress my coworkers.  I'm serious when I say this because through grief comes wisdom.  I learned what not to do at my previous jobs and now I have a chance to put that wisdom to work.  Also, I have nothing else to do in Austin so why not sell myself wholly to my work?  I need to make money anyway so I'm going to hone in on my work as much as possible.  The fear of being fired for a third time lingers in my head and I have to power through it and get my stuff done and NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.

"Gentlemen, it is better to have died as a small boy than to break the build," said no one ever (until now).

Also, a little solace to my firing at my previous job.  Basically, when I was let go at the end of May, the game I was working on was canceled in November and a bunch of people were laid off.  That was the last green-light they needed to pass before they could go gold with it.  But they failed.  Did I have anything to do with it?  I'd like to wish that them firing me was the reason it failed but not very likely.  Needless to say, there was a bit of schadenfreude to be had but it was short lived once I realized "damn, now I have more people to compete against for job openings."  Sadly I cannot tell you what game I was working on.  This haunted game has sunken to the ocean floor and anyone who dares explore it will be cursed.  So yeah, my previous three months of work completely destroyed but at least I don't have to worry about whether my name would be in the credits or not (odds are it wouldn't, man, fuck you guys).

Still, I'm not exactly feeling good about our Sega chances regardless.  Sega hasn't filled me with optimism lately.  The Wii U and its Sonic games are an abysmal failure in terms of sales.  Sonic Boom is looking more like a cash grab to sell more toys and permanently change Sonic's image for the worse.  Sega of Japan reeks of xenophobia as they are denying service/banning non-Japanese players on Phantasy Star Online 2.  Then Sega loses the Shenmue license!  That's more of a good thing since Sega won't use it for anything good so give another publisher (Sony?) a chance to work with it.  And--what's this?  Nagoshi-san is counterfeiting his own money now???

100 million yen, what a baller.

Yush, Sega is boring me.  Though this mini-resurgence of Sega racers (Sega All-Stars Racing, 90's Arcade Racer, Model 2/3 emulators) do buy us some time to seize the return of the glorious Sega racing golden age.  Gotta get back to business!  Had a wet dream a few days ago of Daytona USA 2 in Xbox One/PS4 graphics.  Needless to say that was a hella good dream.  Let's do it boys and girls!!! :D

Inquiring About The Public's Opinion Of SEGA (Part 2 With Sonic) ...

CLICK HERE TO READ PART ONE.

This is a part two of a rant about irrelevant and stupid Sega is.  I left off talking about how Sega and Sonic are one of the same.  If you're in doubt, the best example of Sonic's dominion over Sega is the Sumo Digital line of games.  First was "Sega Superstars Tennis," a game that, despite the nostalgia, was okay at best and didn't sell well.  Then comes "Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing," a better game with more Sega nostalgia, but they put Sonic's name in the title for good measure because "Sega" is a dirty word that doesn't get the fans buzzing.  Finally, they release "Sonic All-Stars Racing: Transformed," the best of the three games but they completely removed Sega from the title altogether.

This is as embarrassing as having a Christmas display without the word "Christmas."  Casual fans mocked the game as being "another shitty sonic game" while Sonic fans (yes, the dreadful always-whining fanbase you love to hate) tried to assert dominion over it, even going as far as to complain "why is sanic driving a car???"  They all completely missed the point and that is this was a SEGA game, not a SONIC game, but people can't shut the fuck up about Sonic when it comes to Sega, can they?  Sonic already has three series of racing games dedicated to him (Sonic R, Sonic Drift, Sonic Riders) so why can't they go muck those up and leave All-Stars Racing to the Sega fans as a whole???  (yes, I did go on this spiel multiple times already, but it's one that needs to be drilled into your friggin heads).

SONIC FAN: SUMO PLEASE GIVE US MORE SONIC CHARA--

DARTHS0L: NO DAMMIT!!!

Now look.  I do like Sonic the Hedgehog though I wouldn't call myself a diehard fan of the franchise.  If Sonic keeled over and died, I'd fear more for Sega's well-being more than anything.  To me, Sonic 3 and Sonic Adventure 2 will be the pinnacles of Sonic games in terms of fun and storytelling and they haven't been surpassed yet.  To me, those games were "cool."  The new Sonic games aren't and I'd probably feel embarrassed to tell my friends if I did play them.  Hell, the Internet loves to make a mockery of Sonic and I can't blame them.  Here's two reasons I came up with for Sonic's ineptitude.  They're rather common sense, but I'll explain it the best way I can.

1. There's no consistency left with these games.  Every single new title tries to reinvent the wheel.  Of the post-SA2 era, Sonic Generations seems to be the one people like the "most" but still, you get complainers anyway.  Case is, there will never be a "good" Sonic game for a long, long time.  And even if you get that "good" game of yours, Sega will mix things up again the next time!  It's like that Twitch Plays Pokemon experiment in which 60,000+ users are constantly kicking a ball around in the general vicinity of where it should go but in a manner that pisses everyone off.  The fans want way too much input and usually get it, even if it reveals new flaws in the process.  More 2D!  More 3D!  More speed sections!  More puzzles!  Only Sonic and Eggman!  More new characters!  More old characters!  Less melee sections!  Easier!  Harder!  Hand the game over to Nintendo!  Let Dimps do it!  Get Yuji Naka back!  It's like before every Sonic game, you must be given an index card with all the game's problems and nuances.  They don't call the Sonic fanbase the worst fanbase on the Internet for no good reason.  Then again, when your fanbase was exposed to the radioactive waste that was Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog, of course that's going to leave a permanent mark.

Also, who the hell is buying Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games?  The first one was intriguing--mini games featuring Mario and Sonic characters!  Cool, it's worth a shot!  Now we are on the FOURTH title???  Is this some psychological experiment to see how far Sonic fans will go to support the series???

2. I really don't know how to say this without ruffling a few feathers so here goes.  Post-SA2, the Sonic cast of characters has become entirely unlikable.  If SA2 was a movie, I could potentially sit down and watch it all the way through.  Sonic 06 and Shadow, as inept as they were, had okay stories that kept me interested enough to beat the game.  After that, sayonara Sonic, because your storytelling has degraded to shit.  The characters have become predictable: Sonic is a smartass who is never threatened by anything and always wins by himself, Tails is a useless nerd, Knuckles is braindead, Amy is a psychopath, and Robotnik is an idiot who's just a speedbump to Sonic's awesomeness.  It's so cheesy and incoherent it reaches to Zelda CD-i levels of bad.  I don't care if it's Sega of Japan or the tag-team duo of Warren Graff and Ken Pontac (of f**king Happy Tree Friends, for God's sake) writing the plots, they can't do this shit anymore.  I did watch part of that "Sonic Dissected" series again, especially the part on humor and Sonic Colors, and it's really eye opening how much potential they missed out on these games.

Of course, in the context of the "cool" theme I was going with before, these Sonic game cutscenes CAN be enjoyable...but from a storytelling perspective, does it even compare with the dialogue from more respected game franchises like Halo, Mass Effect, Fallout, etc.?  No.  If I told people I played Fallout recently, I'd get pats on the back.  On the other hand, if I told people I played Sonic Colors recently, I'd get my ass kicked.

Also I'll go ahead and say this.  Fuck Jason Griffith's voice.  I can't stand him as Sonic.  His voice is so damn boisterous it just accentuates all the things I dislike about this new Sonic.  There, I said it and I mean it.  I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in thinking this.

Two more links to click on that I read.  Here and here.  Now that Sonic is officially part of the Nintendo family, you get Sonic: Lost World which is basically Sonic with Nintendo's greasy fingers all over it.  The gameplay is "meh" all over again and it doesn't strike me as memorable or good like previous entries.  All I see is the Yoshi's Island DLC and that anti-climatic ending (compliments of geniuses Graff & Pontac), both of which make me want to punch a baby.  I think the less said about this game, the better.  Why Sega is still riding the sinking Nintendo fail-boat, I dunno.

So what's next for the blue blur?  Sonic Boom.

Oy vey, this is tricky.  Especially Knuckles, MAH GAWD, KNUCKLES, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU???  Sega is on record saying the game is not canon, which is codeword for, "if this game sucks, we'll pretend it never existed."  While I do commend Sega for allowing Big Red Button Entertainment (a Western studio formed from some Naughty Dog guys) to come up with their own interpretation on the franchise, I'm afraid if this game/cartoon/toy combo (yes, Sega is going all in with this new style) is a success then hey, guess what--maybe Sonic Boom will be a permanent rebranding on the Sonic franchise for the new generation of gamers!  That...really doesn't make me happy considering how much squandered potential they had over the last 10 years of Sonic that they're sealing with concrete.  I mean I kinda liked Sonic with the Soap shoes and without the duct tape.  But hell, like I said, I don't give a damn what they do with Sonic, just as long as Sega gets money, right??? :D :D :D

UPDATE: So yeah, Sega released a behind-the-scenes for the game and TV show.  It looks nice (albeit somewhat generic) but the characters and plot sound cheesy...like a Westernized Sonic Heroes (bad) with juvenile Sonic Colors humor (terri-bad).  Sonic dresses like Nathan Drake because Naughty Dog devs think this is Sonic's ultimate "adventure," okay, because the last decade of games weren't adventures at all.  The VA's and jokes still piss me off.  I'm not too optimistic but it sounds like the game devs had a lick of sense to what they were saying and doing so I'm not going to denounce it just yet...



You know, back to what my original point about Sega being cool, here's what I'd do about it.  And frankly, it's not going to work without talented, dedicated individuals, but here goes!  My bullet points:

> DO SOME HOUSE CLEANING!!!  I have a hunch Sega is swimming with inept employees.  Get 'em out of here.  I want to see skilled employees at Sega who are emotionally invested in the company and actually like the games they make.  Employees who are willing to take a bullet for Sega.  Okay, maybe not that far but you get the message.

> START ADVERTISING BLUE-SKY GAMES AS COOL AGAIN!  Grow some balls.  As a gamer, I'm sick and tired of being trampled by the grey-sky, realistic, doom & gloom games.  Start making colors fashionable again.  Come out and say, "so-and-so game is cool" and actually mean it.  Aim for that 18-35 year demographic.  Steal the cool baton back!

> STOP DROPPING THE SONIC FRANCHISE ON ITS HEAD!  Again, Sega lives or dies by the Sonic franchise.  What can be done about it?  Well, find that niche again between speed and platforming.  Cut down on the bland storytelling and bad jokes.  Bring in other characters that actually serve roles rather than stand there and act stupid/clueless.  And most importantly, give Sonic WEAKNESSES because an invincible protagonist is BORING.  Again, read the thousands of other Sonic articles out there for hints on how to improve Sonic! :)

> STOP PUBLISHING BAD GAMES!  Stick with Football Manager and Total War.  Kill the Aliens franchise, I don't want Gearbox taking any more of your money.  Speaking of which, stop using publishing as a crutch.  You should do this...

> START PROTOTYPING GAMES AGAIN!  What's beautiful about a lot of Sega arcade games is that they're small yet concentrated experiences.  Daytona USA only had two cars and three tracks but it's one of the most memorable racing games ever.  Sega needs to start churning out small in-house games, maybe posting them as online arcade or mobile titles, see what works, and then expand upon them if they are successful.  This allows you to get publicity, revive old IPs, and experiment with things that work.  Genius, right?

> RELEASE SHENMUE 3!  Oh, what's that?  You might've lost the Shenmue trademark because of inactivity?  Well get it back and make it anyway!  Help old man Yu Suzuki out!!!  He's the man that made Sega the ex-superpower that it was, you should return the favor to him and the stalwart Sega fans! Cheers!

Come on Sega, I know you can do it.

Inquiring About The Public's Opinion Of SEGA...

As I sit here mulling over the bowl of cereal I don't have because my family forgot to buy some, I got to thinking about our dear friend SEGA once again.  You see, brand recognition and popularity is what helps keep companies in business.  So this leads me to ask this vital question...

Do you think Sega is "cool" anymore?

Where does Sega go on the Cool Wall?

Top Gear, telling you how it is since 2002.

Now.  Some of you will say, "Well of course Sega is cool!  They made some kickass games!  Who cares what people think of Sega?"  You're sorta right.  Us Sega hipsters got this little circlejerk going on and screw what anyone else thinks!  But it is IMPORTANT what other people think of Sega.  Sega cannot survive alone cause of a couple of fanboys on the Internet, they need a portion of the Average Joe gamer demographic to run out and invest in their stuff too.

See, that's what I mean about being "cool."  The term "cool" as in "genuinely interested in their products."  Being cool is important--it's how crap pop music, TV, movies, and video games manage to be relevant despite lacking any original content or substance at all.  Being "cool" is neither a good or bad thing--it's like handing off the baton or being "King of the Hill."  You gotta reach out and grab it somehow.  Sega was cool back in the 90's!  Sonic the Hedgehog!  Game consoles!  Arcades!  Kickass!  People loved that stuff.  But nowadays, everyone has written off Sega as a decayed corpse as they flock around the Western developers--FPS, RTS, adventure, MMO's with "realistic/grungy/shockingly depressing" hi-res graphics.  In other words, the complete antithesis of Sega! :(

This whole "cool" topic came about reading this compelling article about Nintendo and violent games' places in the marketplace.  Basically how the concept of "family entertainment" that Nintendo has relied on for so long has eroded over the last decade.  Think about it....what are the most popular games these days?  Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Halo, Gears of War.  Games with copious profanity, violence, and (some) sexual content.  They sell Halo and GoW toys in kids/family stores though MS/Epic shrug at the thought of directly advertising violence to kids.  Case in point, these games have claimed the "cool" mantle.  Realistic, gritty games are in vogue, clean happy games are out.

How did this happen?  You can name many reasons.  Kids look up to teens/young adults for what is cool--adults play violent games, so do kids.  The concept of a "family" has diminished--we spend less time face-to-face and have high numbers of single parent households therefore.  We've conditioned ourselves to violence and the "Jackass generation" that we hardly flinch at the idea at our of kids disrespecting each other.  I'm not a sociologist so I won't pursue the issue longer but look at this point mentioned in the article--55-60% of parents do not check nor do they even care about ESRB/PEGI ratings.  This is ridiculous.

But don't get me wrong...I'm not blaming violent games for society's problems, nor am I saying you can't enjoy these games yourself.  But these kind of games are adverse to Sega's M.O., plus don't you get tired of people realistically shooting, stabbing, blowing each other up?  Why is it that whenever anyone unveils a non-violent, colorful game, it's a cringe-inducing kids title, a shameful freemium game, or both?  Also would you let this kid play Call of Duty?  There's thousands of kids like this every day.  Boy, violence is good for them!

EDIT: This YouTube video makes another good point about game popularity--YouTube Let's Plays.  Nintendo has been vigilant in the past about taking down any YouTube gameplay videos.  Other companies, notsomuch.  I'm not a Let's Play watcher but I can see what they're getting at here--YouTube clips are basically free advertising and Nintendo better accept that soon.

And what does Nintendo, Sega's last ally in the war against gray skies, do about it?  SUCK AT EVERYTHING!  The Wii was a success cause they advertised it to that core young-adult demographic and did a great job with the motion control stuff.  Now the Wii U gives us some awkward gaming pad and is advertising itself to...little kids?  I swear, I saw a Toys R Us commercial last Christmas with little kids harping on a Wii U sales deal.  Is THIS the game console that the mainstream demographic (18-35 year olds) going to buy?  Especially with its outdated graphics and same old games from last generation?  I'm not a graphics junkie but at least Sega's new releases were top-notch technology (i.e. Scud Race/Daytona 2 being years ahead of the N64/Playstation).  Seriously, the 3DS is the only thing keeping Nintendo alive.  I still don't know how Pokemon remains relevant as ever these days, especially since all I hear from Pokemon nostalgists is bitching about how perfect Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow was (news flash--there were "bad" Pokemon in that game too) but shit, if it makes Nintendo money, then great.

Nintendo is a company I want...no, NEED to succeed in order to establish "balance" against Sony and Microsoft.  Now they are throwing their arms up and open for acquisitions or mergers?  RED FLAG!!  The fact Sega has hooked its anchor to Nintendo's sinking ship (in the form of Sonic games exclusive for the Wii U) is suicidal.

You want a kids console?  Buy a V-Tech.

Now, time for a pop quiz!  Get out a sheet of paper and writing utensil.  Write down up to five things that you think Sega has done that was "cool" at any time in its history.  You have thirty seconds, now....GO!

...

Time's up!  Compare your list to mine.  If you're like me, you've probably written down a list of things like this:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog!
2. Expertise in home consoles!
3. Expertise in arcades!
4. A backlog of vibrant blue-sky games that made fun the primary focus!
5. A brash, edgy marketing campaign!

Now, let's run through this list and compare them to the Sega of today.  Home consoles?  Sorry, Sega put the kaibosh on that in 2001 so let's cross that out.  Arcades?  Those are dead in the West and the only stuff we see are mediocre and never live up to the 90's so cross that out too.  Blue-sky games?  HA, please spare me, Sega does the bare minimum to keep their legacy from eating dust by releasing sparse, straight ports of their games to cash in on nostalgia from the fanboys so let's cross that one out.  Brash?  Edgy?  Name for me ONE bold thing that Sega has said or done.  No "Sega does what Nintendon't" or Sega screams.  Almost all of Sega's official advertising is done through their online blog site as they cut and run like a scared puppy.  So cross that one out as well.  So what does our list look like now?

1. Sonic the Hedgehog!
2. Expertise in home consoles!
3. Expertise in arcades!
4. A backlog of vibrant blue-sky games that made fun the primary focus!
5. A brash, edgy marketing campaign!

Yes, it's true, love it or hate it, Sonic IS Sega.  Sonic is the only thing that Sega has going for it...the only thing Sega hasn't given up on in the last 22 years, even dragging the franchise through the horse shit that was the post-SA2 era.  Seriously, just listen to the first forty seconds of this Giant Bomb video and you'll see what I mean.  "Sonic" = "Sega"  I'll probably talk about this in a Part 2 next time cause I'm tired and have gone on for too long, good night all.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PART TWO.

Was Having A "Good" Day

...until I saw this on Reddit Gaming...was like 6th or 7th from the top of the page.

Let the Burnout/Split-Second spooge-fest begin!  I love how we can't even play the "less realistic racing games plz" card anymore cause it descends to this:

"Hey Eric, like the new Forza/Drive Club?"
"No, I'm tired of realistic games, they should be more focused on gameplay and being fun."
"Oh so it's like Burnout, that's awesome!"
"No...something a little more colorful and lighthearted and...not bro-tastic."
"How about Mario Kart!"
"No, I mean something more arcade-like, fast-paced, and skill based!"
"...Need for Speed?"
"....>_>"

I think I've had the above conversation like twenty times in my life already.  Bah, Sega can't win.

New Nascars Don't Play Well With Video Games

So the Sprint Cup has started Preseason at Daytona.  They're showing off new 2013 cars like these:

I like race cars, but when they overshine them, it sucks (see Daytona USA 2001).  The cars look a bit off to me, like they were designed nice and tight for circuit racing (which is strange since this is NASCAR, not Australian V8 Supercars).  But the new 2013 cars are going hella fast at Daytona and everyone seems to like them.  Everytime NASCAR changes their car designs, there's a few "boohoo, it sucks" complaints but let's get racing cause I can't wait for NASCAR again, geez.

I thought the 2011 cars looked cool...I just hope the designers aren't trying to turn NASCAR into F-Zero, I'd have nightmares if real-life drivers wore tights and appeared in Nintendo fighting games.

So I was casually watching Speed footage of the "Preseason" and everyone was standing around in the garage.  The topic started to sway towards video games.  Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (whom I will never have pity on ever again for being an "Enemy of Sega" and beating Danica Patrick in that big Sega race Nov. 2012) was playing Words with Friends on the iPhone (Zynga, GAAAAYYYY).  And Juan Pablo Montoya (who had yet to test the 2013's car capabilities versus 2013's jet dryers) was playing CSR Racing on the iPad, a popular drag racing game with a NFS/FnF style. I saw this game before...my dad was playing it and some Trials/Linerider dirtbike game (with engines that sound like BB guns) on his iPhone.

After this clip that I'm sure no one saw, the camera goes over to Bobby Labonte for a brief interview.  He's asked "what kind of game would you give for Darrell Waltrip to play?" to which Bobby replies, "A fishing game."  And then Darrell Waltrip comes on to say "Shoot, I don't play no video games or fish, what'chu kids talkin bout there with those fancy electronic devices."  Then they go on to talk about Kyle Busch's car and the video game discussion is over.  In other words, no progress was made between race drivers and race games.  Gamers and gearheads still continue to look at the other side's stuff and think "what the f*** is that s*** they're messin with."

Ya know what would be great?  If we could get Daytona USA, OutRun, or even freakin Super Sprint in the hands of one of these race car drivers.  You'd THINK that race car drivers would appreciate race car video games, don't you? Especially hardcore balls-out racing games that bring the blue skies and that sense of speed RIGHT TO YOU with no firesuit required. Surely a legit race car driver can truly say THAT'S A GODDANG GREAT RACING GAME THERE my programmer friend. I GOTTA GET BALLIN ON THAT NEW SUPER SPRINT GAME.  Speaking of race car drivers in games...

DANICA, YEAH IF YOU COULD PLAY SEGA ALL-STARS RACING: TRANSFORMED ON TV,

THAT'D BE GREAT...

But this leads me to my next point and it's a pretty crappy observation I made from a decade of browsing countless Internet chats/forums.  I think there's a dichotomy between the two types of racing games--the sims and the Mario Karts.  On one hand, you got diehard auto racing fans are only seen playing the sims like iRacing, NASCAR: The Game, and F1 by Codemasters.  On the other hand, you got plain old gamers who'll get into Mario Kart, Burnout, Need for Speed but they have no interest in real life racing (the "NASCAR is rednecks turning left for 5 hours" crowd).  Almost like the other insults their intelligence.  "Arcade racers makes a mockery of the sport," versus "Racing sims are too boring."  Take your pick.

Why can't we have both?  In Sega Racing Games?  I almost think Sega is caught in limbo there.  Like Sega takes real life cars & settings and run with it--they embellish real life, look here.  Oops, can't have that apparently.  You talk about the "Sega Racing Nation" and it's a place run on niche cult classic fuel--like NASCAR fans won't list Daytona USA as being "one of them" while  mainstream gamers just can't be arsed into playing something requiring practice & determination like OutRun 2.

It's probably why Danica Patrick's Sega All-Stars Racing campaign bombed--because we have a REAL LIFE DRIVER (appealing to racing sims people) trying to sell an ARCADE RACING GAME (played by gaming nerds who have no idea who Danica is).  It's like trying to advertise motorized scooters on Disney Channel.  Herp derp, we still love you Danica & Sumo Digital.

Seriously though, if I ever meet a real life race aficionado (someone who sticks a Dale Sr. "3" on their rear windshield or something) who's obsessed with crap like Mario Kart (or better yet, SEGA ALL-STARS RACING), I'll flip my s***.  Ok guys, we're all gonna be real life NASCAR/F1/Indy/Rally/Le Mans/V8/Touring as well as arcade racing fans now.  Problem solved, goodnite.

Questions For DarthS0L (Again)

Wow, we're back to Sega All-Stars Racing: Transformed talk.  You know, you have to admire the patience & fortitude of someone like Sumo Digital PR Guy DarthS0L who goes through thousands of questions & complaints from the fans.

When I think of game design, I like the idea of communicating with the fans about the game design process.  Usually when a AAA-studio works on a game, they're the lords of the county--you never speak to them, you have no input, they are cold and distant.  But some good devs want to be among the plebeians, let them know they are appreciated, and seek their input.  I hope as a game designer, I get the opportunity to do this as well.  To give the fan base some voice and make them feel involved & valuable.

Problem is if you give a mouse a cookie, they're gonna ask for milk and much more...  Steve AKA DarthS0L answered more than enough questions (and complaints) in this one Sega forum thread, plus many more across numerous websites like Sonic Stadium.  It's one thing to be a cool guy--it's another to be a cool guy who has to deal with a ravenous fanbase with tons of questions like "please put characters X, Y, Z" in the game" and "why is this game so hard," among other hard-to-answer questions.

Worst of all, remember the Golden Rule of the Internet--everything you say will be sealed in stone forever.  So Steve can say one stupid thing or spoil one spoiler and he's done.  Like here's Steve critiquing the poor reviews of the SART Wii version.  Also, Steve "leaked" that the PC version wouldn't be out until next year and everyone went nuts over it.  They also went nuts over the "no more Sonic characters" comment.  People are just putting so much pressure on one guy.  So think about that the next time you wanna get pissed and run to the Sega forums to complain about Ryo Hazuki not being a playable character and why you're having so much trouble beating Traffic Attack on A-class.

I did burden Steve with a few questions in that thread but they're good questions.  The posts he responded to are here and here.  These were asked a few months ago but for archive purposes, I'm posting them here to be saved FOREVER.  No pressure or anything, Steve!  Italics is my question, bold is his question.

Pertaining to the Hornet again. I really like the character. I read your previous response for the roster selection but what was the reason behind the Hornet in specific? Where did this begin--did Sega approach you with this? Or was it something Sumo came up with themselves? Or were fans requesting the Hornet in large numbers? I know the Daytona USA port was release not long ago but I never thought the Hornet would appear in a different type of racing game altogether (a kart racer).

Speaking of which, the Hornet is going to be DLC for Ridge Racer Vita. You heard of that? Hornet's in Fighters Megamix, Ridge Racer Vita, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing. I'm impresed.

I suggested the idea of a multiple SEGA vehicle character as we always get requests in for the Hornet, AfterBurner jet, Hang On bike etc etc etc. Originally we planned to do multiple vehicles per surface and pick one at random, but we had to restrict it to 3 due to memory. The VMU as a driver was put forward by SEGA QA incidentally, as soon as I saw that I get Rex to make it happen :P


This has bugged me a bit although it barely detracts from the game. Why is there no speedometer in the game? Did you consider one and was it cut at some point?

We don't show a speedo as we have plenty going off on screen as it is, you care about your position, lap, weapons, overall position with other players and all the scoring going off. Besides, we'd have to fake the speed on a speedo as you're actually travelling at over 180mph. Real world scales don't mean much in this game :P

So this one is more off-topic. I'm talking about Sumo Digital themselves. You answered a previous question about artists so here's a programmer question. I know it's probably not your area of expertise but I want to know a little more about what goes on there pertaining to programmers. Are there certain things you're looking for in potential programmers? And is there anything in particular that they all are working on or know about or so forth? I'm sorry if the question & answer is so vague. I'm a budding game programmer myself and I want to know more about what the game industry is like, especially Sumo since I'm interested in the games you all are working on.

Typically the games are written in C++, though that's not the only language we use. Games coders have to write fast effecient code as it's all about the speed of operation. It's more and more unusual that we'll take on self taught people unless they're industry vets. Best advice I can give is look at a suitable games course, or get involved with a mod or indie game group. Just as artists need a portfolio, being able to point to software you've developed is equally important for a programmer. It could equally be a dissertation you did in a given field too. Programmers like artists can specialise, so rendering, networking, audio, animation, tools and more. You don't have to be able to everything :P

Did you ever consider the idea of 10 different colored Hornets: the AT (red-blue-white), MT (red-yellow-black), and Players 1 thru 8 (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black, Pink, Light Blue, Orange)? Ten Hornets online...I think that would be the second best thing to a new Daytona USA game

Without getting too spoilery - this wasn't on the cards. You've probably noticed once one person picks a characters someone else can't select it. So it's sort of ruled out on those grounds. Plus we don't do different paint jobs - mostly as they wouldn't work for all characters. I can see where you're going with it though!


Did you ever visit Sega of Japan? Did you meet Toshihiro Nagoshi, Yu Suzuki, or any Sega legends?

Yes, I've been over to see SEGA of Japan a number of times on this project (in fact most of the production crew have). As such I've had the pleasure of meeting many of original creators. I won't name drop, but at least a few you've mentioned and more!

Also, did you ever think about stopping by the old OutRun Online Arcade board at GameFAQs just to say hi? I remember when you posted there and I know you're busy but you're a cool dude--we'd love to hear from you again. Once you're done answering the thousands of questions, that is.

I do think about it! One of the things I've had to pull back on though is how many forums I attempt to cover. I check here, SSMB and NeoGAF daily - plus a few forums I look at outside of the world of SEGA. On previous games I was spending wayyyy too long on different forums - I do miss the GameFAQ's chat mind :P

Yeah that's all.  He's still around, doing a post-mortem on TSSZ News, giving a GREAT interview on the state of arcade racers on EuroGamer (I should comment on this one later), so go track him down if you like but give him a break.  Until next time...

damn I wish I had fans flocking to me over Super Sprint but no dice

Gamers Too Defensive Of Games

This is a really brief post came up a few moments ago.  I'm reading a post on Kotaku and every once in a blue moon, they post something actually interesting.  An adult (with a child) who was affected by the Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook shootings has given up on violent video games, saying they affect him too personally.  Which is totally understandable and I agree with the premise of the editorial more than I don't (so Mario is too violent...ok that's strange).  I haven't lost any family or friends to gun violence so it's not as personal to me but I still don't like the premise of innocent people getting shot by criminals and psychopaths.

But as usual, looking at the comments, gamers go into butt-hurt mode.  This ALWAYS happens whenever some critiques the general premise of video games for any reason (from Jack Thompson's "lets ban games" to some smart kid's "games are a waste of time, go read a book")--the most common being "they're too violent."  The guy never blamed violent games for anything but the imagery of people being shot is too much. "Obviously you are being too affected by an image on the screen and can't discern between video games and real life," they say, among other demeaning things.

This leads me to my point.  Aren't video games considered art?  I mean that's another thing gamers are adamant about--that games are some creative art form (that's passed around for sixty bucks and used to yell at other people online then disposed of...brilliant) and anyone who says otherwise is "ignorant" and just "doesn't get it."  I think games are art...sort of anyway.  Art in the most plain term is basically "creative expression of human beings" from things like Crayola drawings to how we rearrange our furniture around the house.  So in theory, games can be considered art in the way they are visually represented, their gameplay, etc.

Therefore, if one of the main purposes of art is to elicit certain types of emotion and games are art, isn't it natural that we'd be affected by games in some way?  Like if I see overly violent games and I don't like it, isn't that understandable?  Hey, there are paintings (and music...and movies) with violent/macabre themes and even if they're not real, we still get moody over them.  So if someone sees a video game with people getting shot, then isn't it natural for some people to have negative emotions?  Even if, once again, the people are merely 1's and 0's and not real?

The amount of violence that one person can take is relative anyway.  Like there's a spectrum to violence.  TimeSplitters (the first two anyway) is a good example of a goofy FPS that portrays violence in a way that most everyone can digest.  Then there's Call of Duty and Perfect Dark which are "okay" in terms of violence that I still have no problems playing.  Then there's stuff like Manhunt, Gears of War (people getting sawed in half), and MW2's No Russian level that are beyond my taste.  This isn't just based on amount of gore--slaying monsters in God of War is probably more acceptable than killing human beings (possibly innocents) in a less gory manner (we relate more with humans' emotion of course...why some of the best stories told through various mediums involve human beings).  Doesn't mean I wish those games were never made (or that they're bad...I know Gears is a good game) or that I disrepect people that play them (I have many friends who play M-rated games) but personally, I'd just stay away from those if I could.  To say that it's ridiculous to be hurt by video games means that anything from video games is acceptable and that's just crap.  There's only so much violence people can take from games.

Meh, that's my opinion anyway.  To reiterate, violent video games don't make people do violent things (hell, E-rated games like Madden or Mario Party can rile up just as much violence).  I could post this on Kotaku (if I felt like dealing with hundreds of rebuttals for no reason) but A. I can't post on that site for some reason and B. there's no use dealing with those guys anyway.  I'm done here.

When Liberty Goes, So Does Sega

It was a mediocre day for multiple reasons, Sega included.

But first, I would like to briefly mention Thursday's Supreme Court ruling.  Five out of nine Justices have made it mandatory to buy healthcare or else you'll face a fine, something that can be seen as unconstitutional (citizens are forced into commerce).  That's 2700+ more pages of regulations that you must abide by.  It may not seem as "epic" as that Skyrim expansion but just come back in 5-10 years and tell me which one's more important then.

I don't claim to know a lot about politics...it's dirty business no one likes to hear but with big elections coming up soon, let me say this in layman's terms:  Do you like authority?  Do you like being told what you can or cannot do?  Most of us would say "no" because it's common sense and these absurd video game/SOPA bills from recent times are still burned into our memory.  So even if you want nothing to do with politics, would you encourage and/or vote for candidates who will intrude your life with even more of the same?  Who will hire more faceless bureaucrats to regulate everything from businesses to cars, from energy production to food?  Who will pass more and more of these endless laws?  Who will print & spend money on the taxpayer's dime?  Are these guys able to make better decisions than you and I?

NOTE: I'm not suggesting anarchy.  I'm suggesting we follow the US Constitution.  The Founding Fathers listed a bunch of things the government can NOT do--nowadays, our politicians are all about what the government CAN do.  Big difference.

Sorry--I know we all want to fly away to this perfect little blue-sky world where the "worst" thing that happens is Sega releases a bad Sonic game but it gets much heavier than that in real life.  But you know where I'm going with this so I'll stop.

Anyway...there goes Sega of Europe & Australia.  Offices shut down and more jobs lost though their HQ remains intact.  I've been thinking for the last couple of months--"Well, Sega can't get any lower where they are now," and then they fall down another notch and then I really begin to wonder if they'll assume room temperature in the next couple of years.

CUMON SEGA STEP IT UP!!!!!

So Sega is reaffirming their confirmation to focus on four IPs only: Football Manager, Total War, Aliens: Colonial Marines, and Sonic.  Did you ever imagine years ago that Sega would need to rely on the mundane like FOOTBALL MANAGER or ALIENS to survive???  Speaking of which, Aliens is made by Gearbox, an American company out of Plano, Texas so what's Sega involvement outside of publishing, I really don't know.  And where the hell is Yakuza?  Here, read this quote:

"The big IPs are becoming bigger. Whether that's FIFA, Call Of Duty or Assassin's Creed, those titles are just becoming bigger and bigger and it's harder and harder to break into the market with new IP." - Jurgen Post, some Sega dude

Ya wanna talk big government: well, let's talk big video games.  I believed for a long time now that video games are becoming bigger and more popular until it's become this big, bloated abomination and games are deemed "failures" if they sell less than 5+ mil copies.  Take a look at what they're doing with these video game consoles, trying to make too much out of them that it actually hinders playing the game itself.  Sega is too fragile to do things "their way" so you get very little in terms of innovation--the same sterile crap that gets them by and nothing else.  You aren't going to see a plethora of games out like you did back in the Arcade/Genesis/Dreamcast games anymore.  The "Good Old Sega" is NEVER coming back until this current gaming model disintegrates and everyone stops pissing themselves over games with $15 mil+ budgets.  Until then, enjoy the Dreamcast ports released far & between and pretend it's Sega's glory days again.

I can keep kicking Sega while they're down but what's the use.  Sega fans are just used to being sent through the Ass Kicking Machine on a daily basis so we're just numb to it all.  I don't know if actual Sega employees read this but we wish you the best but damn, it's so hard to get optimistic for anything anymore.

BTW, I guess I'll conclude with my job search.  I cannot go into much detail now but we're all looking for job/internships.  I cannot delve into much information right now.  I did the unthinkable and applied to Sumo Digital as a "Gameplay Programmer."  Yes, Sumo Digital in the UK (healthcare for everybody!!).  A reply back two weeks later said I needed more experience which is understandable and at least I'm glad they read my resume.  At least they seemed "okay" with hiring a foreigner.  I'm not surprised but still, what a bummer.  BTW, Sega of Europe also has plenty of job openings, one for "C++ Programmers."  I didn't apply there yet but...so what?  If Sega of Europe was going places, I'd say "yeah" but now, I'm hesitant.  If you live in the UK, have game design experience, and like Sega racers, APPLY TO ONE OF THESE PLACES IMMEDIATELY!!!

Getting experience here in the States is the best option and the best place to do that is at none other than Electronic Arts but that's still a toss-up right now.  Then I have some more leeway on where to go.  It's just strange cause it was only a few years ago, you had dreams of working at the place you love to be doing what you want the most.  Yet here I am and my main focus has shifted from doing what I love to just getting paid.  Cause working at EA or some small-time social game studio isn't my dream but what choice do I have?  Oh, Sega, if you didn't tease me so much, then maybe I could live a NORMAL life and get paid and be happy for once.

The Future Of (Lousy) Interactive Entertainment

Help, I'm suffering from ear barotrauma and it's pissing me off.  EDIT: I think I got fluid buildup in my ear, that sucks.  Nevertheless, it's time for a post!  Recently, I was browsing the Internets as usual and I came across a funny slideshow.  The gradual change of Super Mario Bros. from the past to the present.  Here's the photo album.

It goes from this serene image:

...to this horrible abomination:

More supplemental material!

Oh boy, another fun-filled rant about "casual" gaming is ruining everything!  As usual, Call of Duty is the culprit.  If you're a 4chan/Reddit poster, then this is all too familiar.  So I'm going to cut to the chase.

The way I picture it, the computer/console gaming world has morphed into this behemoth consisting of video games, movies, music, social media, YouTube, motion controls, 24/7 downloadable content (for a sizable fee), you name it.  You can't simply "play games" or "update Facebook" anymore in a vacuum.  It's the Wal-Mart Syndrome...you go there to get everything you need, you get the "whole experience."

Bring this with you on a desert island and you're good!

Problem is, it obfuscates the primary reason we turn these things on in the first place and that is to PLAY GAMES, not to be disturbed by these other things I have little to no interest in.

I read an article from a friend's blog a long time ago (thanks Dave).  Basically, the Xbox 360 is no longer a game console--it's an entertainment hub.  Fair enough...Microsoft populated the new 360 dashboard with all this online crap so let's just bypass it.  Yet--and I'll throw this in here too--even if you stick to just playing the damn games, they aren't really "games" anymore...they're movies too (sort of).  Interactive as playing a game but as expedient as watching a movie--follow the instructions, watch the cutscenes, and be done with it in hours.  Not the first time I said this but let me delve into it further.

All the cutscenes, tutorials, linear hold-your-hand gameplay might as well substitute for "interactive stimulation" or something.  Don't get me wrong, some games clearly call for plenty of cutscenes (like Yu Suzuki's Shenmue) or tutorials/instructions/limitations (pretty much any strategy game), but they've gone way too far with many action-based games like FPS and racing games.  And this becomes a BIG issue when more production value is put into these side things than the actual gameplay itself (which is why I get pissed at games like Need for Speed which are basically rehashes of the same material in a different package).

Just for kicks, I looked up the definitions of the term "game" and "movie" on Dictionary.com.

Game (noun) - a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators.

Movie (noun) - redirects to Motion Picture (noun) 1. a sequence of consecutive pictures of objects photographed in motion by a specially designed camera (motion-picture camera) and thrown on a screen by a projector (motion-picture projector) in such rapid succession as to give the illusion of natural movement. 2. a play, event, or the like, presented in this form.

While a video game can be a movie (sequence of pictures), can a movie be a video game (competitive activity of skill)?  Food for thought...

Speaking of food, here's the schtick I was leading up to this whole time.  See Seinfeld Season 9 Episode 4 titled "The Blood."  George is on a date with his girlfriend when she lights up a vanilla incense.  The scent makes George ravenously hungry during a makeout session.  Therefore, George starts eating pastrami sandwiches at intimate moments..."Food and sex, those are my two passions!  It's only natural to combine them!"  This causes George to behave strangely when eating in public much to Jerry's chagrin.  Later, George goes for the trifecta...he smuggles a handheld TV into the mix.  Needless to say, his girlfriend caught him in the act and immediately broke up.

The point is you gotta keep 'em separated!  It's just strange because we've come so far in terms of technology, we're supposed to be "happier" with our newer games.  But messing around with these new consoles, it's a hassle to deal with the clutter of big-budget "movie-games", online subscriptions, perpetual DLC & advertisements, annoying online communities, over-reliance on game servers, RRoD's, and so forth.  Back then you occasionally blew on the cartridge and that's all you needed to play the game.  It was amazingly simple but it was first and foremost a game, not some bizarre digital amalgamation.

Seriously, tossing away all racing games for a second, I think Goldeneye on the N64 was one of my most favorite games ever.  Yes, it's massively outdated and is not as playable on your worn out N64 joysticks.  But I think it was awesome to run around unlocking cheats and beating the game on 00A using my wits and a few strategy guide tips to get by.  Nowadays, everything intrudes on the game itself that it just sucks.  My appeal for this current generation of games has been waning ever since.  Maybe I'm having a "grass is greener" moment, but eh.  Let's all be indie developers and make more GAMES first and foremost--yeah, that would be cool, bro.  Get in a time machine and travel back to 1998, best of both next-gen and previous-gen games, that's the ticket...

Greatest Day In Motorsports

Sup people, just wanted to let you know this May 27, 2012 is going to be awesome.  There will be THREE big races today: Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500, and Coca-Cola 600.

Monaco in the morning, Indy in the afternoon, Coca-Cola in the evening.  Gonna be tough waking up at 7:30 AM to see the Monaco race!  I live in Eastern time so if you live west of me...well, it's gonna be rough.  I'll sleep on the couch with the TV on if it need be.

There's big significance in each of these races.  The Monaco Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500 are two of the three "Triple Crown of Motorsport."  And the Coke 600 is the longest race of the NASCAR season.

I don't have much to say about any race yet.  I talked about Indy Car/Formula 1 in general a year ago.  After the races are though, I'll probably append my thoughts to this post later.

Oh yeah, just a friendly reminder.   Try not to run out of gas on the final lap...is that right, Junior???

Anyway, one more thing.  The Nationwide race was today, as usual.  And Joey Logano drove the Gamestop car complete with Hitman hood decals and jumpsuit.

Joey's hood has sported many video game decals in the past, such as Modern Warfare 2, Little Big Planet, Bioshock 2, God of War some number, and Lego Batman.  I wonder if this'll loosen gamers up to NASCAR even the slightest since we all know that NASCAR is about rednecks, turning left, and wrecks, right???  I don't think hardcore gamers care but whatever--this'll remains the SOUTH'S sport and dem city boy noobs can't take that away from us...

EDIT: Here's my response after seeing all three of Sunday's races.  The pre-race ceremonies were awesome.  Monaco was funny because there was a wreck within the first five seconds.  Always funny when cautions come out 5 seconds into a race (see Martinsville 2012).  When Webber won, he sprayed champagne on the cameramen/photographers, lol.  Indy 500 was good--Sato's ballsy maneuver on the last lap was crazy...he cut inside Franchitti on Turn 1 but spun out cause he hit the Forza "insta-spin" white strip.  And Coke 600--loved the Memorial Day stuff.  Kasey Kahne won so at least someone "new" got the trophy.  Junior predictably finished in the Top 10 without a win.  So that satisfies my racing fix for now.  Expect more racing stuff in the future.

How To Save G4 Television (Not Really)

This is on the heels of Adam Sessler's and Kevin Periera's departures from the so-called-titular gaming cable channel known as G4.  The 4 G's stand for Games, Gear, Gadgets and Gigabytes, BTW.

Now, I don't watch G4.  Used to watch it a bit years ago but now I stay the hell away.  I'm not even a TV person anymore.  I leave the TV on Speed Channel and listen to it as I work.  But I still have some pity on G4 since I'm a "gamer" and so is G4.

The main problem I have with G4 is that I always felt like it insulted my intelligence.  Whatever original programming that station has consists of a bunch of gloating airheads who use dumb catchphrases like "fus-do-rah" or "the cake is a lie" or "epic fail."  And they oogle over models at Comic-Con (yes, I'm talking about Olivia Munn and the "Olivia's Rack" segment).  And then they air reruns of Cops, Cheaters, and The Man Show.  Literally, I just checked G4's schedule for the next six hours and there's X-Play, Revenge of the Show, and 3 hours worth of Cops.  That's all you got???

I'm sorry, but I'm not a toolbag.  Not all of us are energy drink hopped-up nerds who sit around in our underwear playing World of Warcraft or Xbox Live 10 hours a day.  Gimme a break.  Even though I found Adam Sessler irritating in the past, at least the dude knew his stuff and brought some new ideas to the table.  He made you think a little.

 Yes, Adam, you may be a bastard, but at least you're a magnificent bastard.  Like me.

Browsing through sites like Kotaku, Reddit, and GameFAQs, I doubt I'm going to heavily invest in another "mainstream" gaming channel.  But these are some common sense ideas I'm going to throw out a Top 10, no, Top 14 list of ideas to help you guys out.  Since I know very little about what G4's airing these days, they may doing a few of these things anyway.  Here goes:

------------

1.  Ditch Cops, Cheaters, The Man Show, etc.  Literally, I just checked the channel's lineup for the next six hours and it was all Cops, all the time.  This is a gaming channel, not Spike TV.  Try to focus in on shows that have to do with  gaming and technology, not dudes running around with guns or women.  Also, no more juvenile jokes like "Revenge of the Kha'ak" from X-Play a few years ago.  Yes, this is real.  And yes, the "kha'ak" was blurred out.

 If I wanted to watch crap on TV, I'd sit through a To Catch A Predator marathon.  It's got cops, girls, and controversy...it's got it all.

 
2. Channel the old TechTV/early G4.  Bring back some decent shows like Icons.  Documentaries help!  We want shows that are both educational, fun, and not idiotic.  Even if the show is old, at least try to keep it interesting.  Like Angry Video Game Nerd--it's meant to be informative as well as entertaining in the long run.  But here's some an episode of Icons you should like:




Wow, Yu Suzuki on cable TV.  It's a miracle.


Holy cow, Yuji Naka's got some nice wheels (Lotus Elise).

3. There are three things that many websites/news channels focus on--News, Opinions, and Fan Stuff.  Focus on this.  There needs to be more "radio-esque" shows.  Have one or a roundtable of pundits report the news, take in some calls, give out some fan polls, make it feel like we're getting involved in the process.  Even if they dish out game reviews, allow some fans to offer a counter-opinion so the hosts don't develop this superiority complex.  Sites like GameSpot, Kotaku, and Joystiq get gamer feedback all the time--why can G4TV air some of their feedback too?

4. You can't cover ALL gaming with just one or two shows.  Gaming is such a BIG thing so you gotta break it down into many pieces.  How about some shows that are dedicated to specific aspects of gaming?  How about a show on FPSes.  Another on RTSes.  Another on MMO's.  Another on RPG's.  Another on sports games.  Another on--dare I say--racing games!  Throw out some news, a few reviews, get some fan involvement in there.  Also throw in some shows on gaming hardware, computers, new gadgets, etc.  Revenge of the Show doesn't count.  Air a new episode at least once a week, even if it's just for 30 minutes.  Get gamers of ALL interests involved.  Show 'em some love.

5. Channel some of the more successful online brands that have sprouted up recently.  Like Giant Bomb.  Or Machinima.  Or Mega64/Rooster Teeth.  They've put out some clever stuff.  There's a reason why people are browsing them more than your channel.  Like check out these YouTube vids--they're pretty interesting:

Warning: Bad language.

Dumbass kids on Xbox Live


Stuff about Black Ops

6. Gaming competition shows.  Holy cow--who would've thunk it?  Isn't gaming about competing against other people???  Get some MLG, EVO, or CPL coverage in here.  These events go on all the time.  Seriously, I have a friend at FIEA who watches Starcraft 2 competitive streams all day.  Or if the pro circuit is too heavy for you, make a casual gaming show like the old Button Mashing on GameSpot.

Button Mashing aired back in GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann/Alex Navarro days (before Giant Bomb).  Basically, three people near the GameSpot offices came in for three rounds of competition.  First round--go through three console games and accomplish menial tasks like "kill 2 guys on Mega Man" or "get in a car in Grand Theft Auto" as quick as possible.  Fastest 2 players go to the next round where they try to identify a bunch of games from a bunch of spliced game clips.  The player with more correct answers goes to the final round where they challenge one of three GameSpot editors at their favorite game (i.e. Tecmo Super Bowl, Guitar Hero, Street Fighter II).  Beat the editor and you win some GameSpot swag.  Lose and you go home with just the GameSpot t-shirt.  Still a fun, simple idea that wouldn't take much effort to produce.



EDIT: There was once an old G4TV show called "Arena" which featured LAN events between teams of gamers.  It aired from '02 to '04.  Don't know why they canned it but that's G4 for you.  Making room for more Cops reruns.

7. Do your convention event/interview footage.  Like E3, Comic-Com, Blizz-Con, GDC, whatever.  But be rational report the news.  Talk with big shots like Gabe Newell or Cliff Bleszinski.  EDIT: Try to get interviews with Japanese guys too--yes, do the translator interviews with guys like Miyamoto or Inafune.  Then you can gloat but don't act like nerds.  Seriously, if you didn't get the memo by now--act like men, not like geeks with the mentality "I am nerd, hear me roar."  Avoid phrases like "noob" or "epic fail."

8. Bring in a show that contains nothing but user-created & submitted content off of YouTube.  Like some Super Mario Bros. movies, a gaming speedrun, a Minecraft creation, or a funny glitch.  Just some cool stuff for us to watch.  But no YouTube Poops, just say no.

9. No more Bit Monkeys.  The concept is okay but the humor is so juvenile...guys calling each other douchebags and hitting each other in the head with bats.  A missed opportunity.  This coming from a guy who's a game programmer who longs for the games of the 80's/90's.

10. AND ESPECIALLY NO AWARDS SHOW LIKE THE SPIKE VGA'S.  HELL F***ING NO.  If you want to do an awards show, don't blow it out with a bunch of self-gloating celebrities and other talking heads.  You'll make gaming look bad.

11. Air the old Mario & Sonic Cartoons, but only at 1 am since they can be cringe-inducing for 20+ year olds to watch at times.  And air The Wizard or some other vidya game movie like Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc. once a month.  HA, scratch the movie part.



12. Follow these steps:

1. Make the Mass Effect cartoon a reality.
2. Get lots of viewers.
3. ???
4. PROFIT.



13. LAST DITCH EFFORT TO GET VIEWERS.  BREAK GLASS ONLY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.  Air My Little Pony.  I'm not a Brony but it will help you guys out, I swear.  At least it's not The Man Show so I'll let it pass...reluctantly of course.

 That's some EPIC WIN right there.

14. The Golden Rule: What will non-gamers think of our channel?  Will they look at us like we're serious about games like any other everyday interest (cars, sports, food, travel, politics, etc.)?  Or will they look at us like a bunch of morons caught up on a massive nerd-gasm orgy of crappy memes, Comic-Con cosplayers, and Mountain Dew?  Think about it.

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That's the list, have fun and please don't "frag the messenger."  If you do all these things, Adam may come back and you may restore some sanity to gamer culture.  Now get working, G4, cause times are changin'.

Call Of Duty & GameFAQs...Two Of My Favorite Things

You know guys, I'm at home with my family.  I'm feeling pretty good right now.  Super Sprint online is coming along nicely though I still got a lot of work to do.  So I guess that's why I don't have a lot to say for now.

I want to make this brief about Sonic & Sega Racing 2.  It's good we got gobs of info on the game so quickly.  Nice to see the fanbase (albeit, a small one) hyped up about it.  I suggest, against all disdain I have against GameFAQs, to visit the Xbox 360 and PS3 boards and post, post, post.  EDIT: Actually, no, there's too many typical GFAQs trolls, just don't go there, it's radioactive.  Though most of the current hype is directed towards Skies of Arcadia hype which really isn't my forte so I'm gonna pass.  Though there's some beautiful course artwork worth checking out.

Also kind of miffed that every time I view Reddit Gaming EDIT: including Reddit Gamernews (I also love the rage comics), you see jack about anything Sega related...except for maybe Sonic.  They're obsessed with Half-Life 3, Skyrim, and Mass Effect (as is basically every other gamer I know IRL) so what else is new.  At least Kotaku & Joystiq will occasionally talk about Sega.  Man, if it weren't for hideouts like the OOA GameFAQs board or the Supermodel 3 forum to get my Sega fix, I think I'd snap and punch a baby.

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But heck, that's not the point right now.  About a day or two after Sonic & Sega Racing 2's announcement, guess what comes up...the announcement for Black Ops 2.  The dam exploded and thus the gaming world's next big thing is upon us.  If you really want to learn more about the game, check out the Giant Bomb article.  Basically, it's 2025 and it's human versus robots.  The game'll also have a branching single-player which sounds a heck of a lot better than Modern Warfare's crap campaigns.  And it'll have more multiplayer options, horses, slightly better graphics while maintaining 60 fps, yada yada yada.

Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, I barely acknowledge Modern Warfare 3's existence at this point.  I just jumped from Black Ops 1 to 2.  Modern Warfare 3 was lousy and unmemorable to me (IN MY OPINION GUYS) -- it's only purpose was to conclude the storyline with Soap & Captain Price as well as the new Survivor mode.

But about Black Ops 2.  I'm seeing so many ads and promos for this game which seems unprecedented in my lifetime.  So many ads for a game that's coming out in SIX MONTHS.  Clearly, Treyarch & Activision are looking to crack the 10 mil copies sold mark again, maybe 20 mil!  And this is where I get scared.  This isn't just a triple-A title--this is a quadruple-A title.  I'm terrified that that these big, bloated run-of-the-mill mass marketed games with hundreds, maybe thousands of employees will take over.  How many game designers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?  Well, thousands I guess, assuming it's a damn polished lightbulb that costs $25 mil to make.

EDIT: Was scanning through TV stations when I saw the Black Ops 2 trailer on E! News, a show about movies, TV, celebrities, music, etc.  You're kidding me, right?  The line between video games and movies is being blurred more and more each day.

And Call of Duty has basically divided the entire gaming culture--you either like it or despise it.  I think Call of Duty is good (but not great) fun but I can't take the massive amount of weight that boggs down on the game.  Despite my interest in Black Ops 1 (hell, I'm 15th prestige and it makes me ill), I can't see myself getting hyped for Black Ops 2 at all.  Maybe if it continues the zombie storyline but other than that, forget about it.  I'm starting to err in favor of smaller games that feels specifically tailored to me.  One can wish...

Seriously, I can't be arsed into commenting about Call of Duty anymore.  Everyone gets their own personal victory out of ripping it a new one even though it doesn't mean jack s*** in the big picture.  Game'll still sell billions of copies and permeate the culture.  Watch as Activision laughs their way to the bank.  If you don't want to play the game, just ignore it and live well since that is the best "revenge."  Oh well, tell me about Burnout, Split/Second, EA, GameFAQs...I can't help but to talk trash--it's in my DNA.

Meh, I still wish we'd get a TimeSplitters 4 although Crytek (wait, where's Free Radical???) has squashed all rumours that have been floating around in recent times.  I'm pissed.

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Now, about GameFAQs again.  This site sucks but on occasion, it does one or two things right.  There's one stellar Top 10 that's entitled "Top 10 Skeletons in Sega's Closet."  It mentions 10 games that Sega should've released with the #1 being a certain Yu Suzuki adventure game we all know too well.  Also takes pokes at Nintendo, hahaha.  But it's very comprehensive and deep so if you're curious, I highly recommend it.  Though I would've put Scud Race/Daytona USA 2 ports somewhere on that list cause I'm biased, lol.

But that's all the good I've seen thus far--now onto the bad.  First of all, these GameFAQs Private Message Board contests are getting way out of hand.  First, the barrier of entry was to make a good YouTube movie or picture and hope it gets chosen by some secret cabal (I ranted about this before).  Now it's simply "post on Twitter and a random person will be picked."  They're like t-shirts shot out of the cannon at sporting events--they mean nothing anymore.

Also, another thing, and this has to do with another fun contest that GameFAQs puts on.  GFAQs will do these "Name That Tune" contests in which a bunch of vidya game songs are posted and users have to submit a list of games that these songs are from.  Get the most answers right and win some free karma.  Who cares.

But anyway, May's list happens to be game over tunes (I'm not even gonna bother embedding this).  What, you couldn't include Sega Rally or Daytona USA?  Come on man, those are classic.  The list includes throwaway answers like Mario, Zelda, and Sonic so why leave it out?  Throw me the Sega diehards a bone for once.  The rest of the list surely includes a bunch of Square, Capcom, and Sony games so big shocker there.  I know this is a petty complaint but I can't miss the chance to know GameFAQs down a peg and feel that certain self-gratification that means nothing to everyone else.

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Anyway, this is one of the few posts in a long, long time in which I haven't used pictures or embedded YT vids.  This streak must outlast Dale Jr's losing streak so here's a picture of angry Glaceon which sums up my opinion on everything:

zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba man that was hard