Coffee Talk Archives - Page 21 of 68

Coffee Talk #478: The Sony PlayStation Mascot Is…

On Friday, my industry pal Michael and I were talking about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Obviously the game it’s most compared to is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. The characters in Sony’s upcoming game simply don’t have the history of the characters in Nintendo’s games. That isn’t to say that the Sony characters…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Intelligentsia’s Panama El Machete, Jim Lampley’s The Fight Game on HBO, or Charlize Theron as Snow White, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

On Friday, my industry pal Michael and I were talking about PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Obviously the game it’s most compared to is Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. The characters in Sony’s upcoming game simply don’t have the history of the characters in Nintendo’s games. That isn’t to say that the Sony characters are bad or inferior; they just haven’t been around long enough to invoke the feelings of nostalgia that the Super Smash Bros. games conjure.

The conversation moved onto discussing Sony’s mascots. Nintendo has a host to choose from, like Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Samus, etc. Millions of people automatically think of the Microsoft Xbox when Master Chief is mentioned. As for Sony…there are several candidates, but which ones stand out to you? Some great characters have been revealed for PlayStation All-Stars, but most of them are relatively new. Even the game’s oldest ones — Parappa the Rapper and Sweet Tooth — aren’t exactly mascot material.

In the original PlayStation days, there was an effort to make Crash Bandicoot the Sony PlayStation mascot. That was dropped when the character went to Unviersal Interactive. A generation of mascot making was lost as Crash and Spyro made way for Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank. They were joined by great characters like Sly Cooper, Cole MacGrath, Kratos, etc.

Sony Defense Force members will say that the company simply has a lot of great games to choose from and that Microsoft put too many eggs in its Halo basket. Microsoft fanboys will argue that Sony has done a poor job at establishing its mascots. What say you? Are you a Kratos worshipper? Is Sackboy your man? In your mind, who are the best Sony PlayStation mascots?

Coffee Talk #477: Powerful Deaths in Movies and TV

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Justin Bieber hanging out with Triple H, your least favorite vegetable, or missing your second home, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Two days ago, a few of you were teasing RPadholic smartguy on Google+ Messenger with faux spoilers right before he saw The Avengers. He was warned about the deaths of Apollo Creed, Albus Dumbledore, Tupac Shakur, etc. The whole thing got me thinking about big deaths in movies and television. Since we’ve already discussed memorable deaths in videogames, let’s use today’s column to talk about deaths in movies and TV that moved you.

As for me, I’m going with Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It was immensely shocking at the time. I had no idea that good guys in movies could die. In retrospect, the death scene wasn’t the best; a collapsing brown cloak isn’t the most dramatic or visceral way to become one with the Force. That said, my concept of life and death wasn’t developed yet. Even with fiction, my mind hadn’t been tainted by the many rebirths of many Marvel superheroes. Seeing Obi Wan Kenobi die just rocked me.

Now it’s your turn! What movie and TV deaths are you going with? Will you pick one of the many deaths of Sean Bean? Were you moved by a noble sacrifice or hyper-violent annihilation? Please leave your favorite deaths in the comments section!

Coffee Talk #476: Making Games Without Coding

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Floyd Mayweather’s surprisingly exciting victory over Miguel Cotto, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2012 inductions, or remembering MCA, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Do you ever dream about making your own games? Perhaps you have a sweet game in your head, but can’t get it on screen because of a lack of coding skills? Here are two visual programming tools that can help you make games without knowing how to code. First up is GameSalad Creator. This robust editor allows you to make games for Android, HTML 5, iOS, and more. It offers an almost shockingly diverse amount of options, including a robust behaviors editor. GameSalad Creator is free, with a more powerful Pro version available for $299.

A simpler and more focused visual programming tool is Codea for iPad. This $9.99 editor allows you to make games for the iPad on the iPad. It offers a mix of drag-and-drop and straight code editing. To give you an idea of what Codea can do, TwoLivesLeft has published Cargo-Bot. While it’s not as diverse or as powerful as GameSalad Creator, Codea offers a surprising amount of power considering its price and platform.

Don’t expect either of these editors to let you make the next Skyrim or Gears of War. These tools are meant for people that don’t know how to code or don’t like to code. With that in mind, of course the options are relatively limited. That said, they do offer numerous and powerful ways to unleash your inner game designer.

Are any of you interested in making games this way? Do products like GameSalad Creator and Codea interest you?

Coffee Talk #475: Consoles With a Two-Year Subscription

One of the most interesting rumors this week was The Verge’s exclusive on Microsoft offering its Xbox 360 console with a two-year agreement. The company will allegedly sell the 4GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle for $99 with a two-year service agreement. The monthly cost for Xbox Live Gold service would be $15 and a warranty…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the possibility of Mariano Rivera’s career ending with an ACL tear, Demi Moore changing her Twitter handle from @MrsKitcher to @JustDemi, or flying to Sweden for a games conference, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

One of the most interesting rumors this week was The Verge’s exclusive on Microsoft offering its Xbox 360 console with a two-year agreement. The company will allegedly sell the 4GB Xbox 360 Kinect bundle for $99 with a two-year service agreement. The monthly cost for Xbox Live Gold service would be $15 and a warranty would cover all two years of the service contract. Would you be interested in buying a console this way?

On paper, it looks like a compelling option. The up-front cost is low and the total cost of ownership isn’t much more than buying everything outright. Of course that’s all based on today’s prices. With a customary price drop in fall, the deal wouldn’t be as appealing. It will also be interesting to see what the terms of the contract are, particularly the early-termination fee.

For customers in certain countries — America and Canada immediately come to mind — the sales tactic is familiar. Mobile phones are sold with a subsidy and contract requirement. Perhaps some gamers would feel just as comfortable buying a console in a similar fashion.

Naturally, I want your thoughts on the matter. Kindly vote in today’s poll and let me know if you’d buy a console that required a two-year service agreement.

[poll id=”148″]

Coffee Talk #474: Apple Should Buy…

One of my favorite recurring RPadholic jokes is, “Google should buy…” No matter what the topic or how serious the conversation, I can always count on someone like RPadholic N8R to say that Google should buy this or that. During Apple’s last earnings call, CFO Peter Oppenheimer mentioned that the company has…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the awesome leg room in seat 9B, the New York Knicks battle against evil fire extinguishers, or Mister Softee, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

One of my favorite recurring RPadholic jokes is, “Google should buy…” No matter what the topic or how serious the conversation, I can always count on someone like RPadholic N8R to say that Google should buy this or that. During Apple’s last earnings call, CFO Peter Oppenheimer mentioned that the company has around $110-billion. This has caused many pundits to suggest that Apple should buy many things.

The most common call is for Apple to buy a social network. In the last week, I’ve read several articles on the merits of Apple purchasing FourSquare and/or Twitter. Others believe that mobile payments are the future and that Apple should buy Square. Some are calling for Apple to either buy a mobile network or set up an MVNO. Over at Slide To Play, I asked the cats over there if Apple should buy its own game studio. What do you think Apple should do?

Apple has a chance to shake up multiple businesses with all the cash at its disposal. It has an opportunity to make major changes, transforming things forever and for better. Or it could just stick to its core competencies with consumer electronics, expanding in more predictable and conservative ways. What, if anything, do you think Apple should buy?

Coffee Talk #473: Judging Student Games at USC

Instead of my usual evening of WWE Monday Night Raw, I spent last Monday at the USC School of Cinematic Arts judging student projects. My excellent friend Joseph Olin teaches a graduate school class there called The Business of Interactive Media. The projects covered a wide range of topics. I got to see traditional…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, devouring New York pizza, devouring New York chicken parm sammiches, or Ashton Kutcher going on vacation with Mila Kunis (nooooooo!!!), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Instead of my usual evening of WWE Monday Night Raw, I spent last Monday at the USC School of Cinematic Arts judging student projects. My excellent friend Joseph Olin teaches a graduate school class there called The Business of Interactive Media. The projects covered a wide range of topics. I got to see traditional games, social networking apps, educational projects, and even a modern interpretation of Hindu scriptures. The projects were very cool…

…but not as cool as the students! It was inspiring and refreshing to hear pitches from MFA students instead of people already in the gaming business. You could feel the passion and energy as the students spoke about their projects. There was a certain purity in their visions — a charming mixture of smarts, bravery, and naïveté combined with a lack of experience that didn’t let them know, “Hey! You can’t do that!” It was beautiful to watch, listen to, and learn from these cats.

The shocking part was that I offered a bunch of suggestions on how to monetize their projects. As most of you know, I’m not the most business-minded person in the world. So I was surprised that I became that guy for one class. “This would be a cool project for Microsoft Surface. Have you thought about partnering with MS?” “This seems like a project XXXX would grossly overpay for!” “How about partnering with AT&T to sponsor an event like Coachella and using your app to sponsor signal trucks?” I felt a little dirty trying to taint these pure visions. Ha!

Anyway, that was a brief rundown of my Monday spent judging interactive media projects at USC. It was a lot of fun and very inspiring. Thanks to Joseph and all the MFA students for the experience!

Coffee Talk #472: “Yes!” vs. “What?” vs. “Ask Him!”

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, United Airlines being ruined by Jeff Smisek, Metta World Peace’s disgusting elbow shot to James Harden, or loving Bobby Valentine’s Red Sox woes, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Catchphrases are an important part of professional wrestling. “If you smell what The Rock is cooking,” “That’s the bottom line,” and “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man,” are phrases we all know and love because of pro-wrestlers. Then there are secondary phrases. I’m talking about short lines that wrestlers say and fans chant. The recent Daniel Bryan “Yes!” phenomenon got me thinking about these types of sayings.

Of course the greatest secondary catchphrase of all time is Ric Flair’s “Whooooooo!!!” It’s simply awesome. No matter what wrestling company and no matter the size of the crowd, you can always count on hearing “Whooooo!!!” after a knife-edge chop is delivered. That’s amazing and powerful. As for the others, I’m a huge fan of Chris Jericho’s “Ask him!!!”. Steve Austin’s “What?!?” is used (and abused) by millions of fans, even when it’s not appropriate.

Please participate in the battle for the #2 secondary pro-wrestling catchphrase of all time by voting in today’s poll and leaving a comment! If you need a refresher on these catchphrases then check out the videos below before casting your vote.

[poll id=”147″]

Coffee Talk #471: Videogames Starring Musicians

Over the weekend, I played two iOS games starring legendary musicians: Frederic: Resurrection of Music HD and Jazz: Trump’s Journey. They feature Frederic Chopin and Louis Armstrong, respectively. Both were pleasant surprises that reminded of other great videogames featuring musicians. Some of you will recall that…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Game of Thrones seasons two starting to get excellent, MLB’s classy celebration of Jackie Robinson, or Tim Tebow getting booed at Yankee Stadium, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Over the weekend, I played two iOS games starring legendary musicians: Frederic: Resurrection of Music HD and Jazz: Trump’s Journey. They feature Frederic Chopin and Louis Armstrong, respectively. Both were pleasant surprises that reminded of other great videogames featuring musicians. Some of you will recall that I’m a total mark for Britney’s Dance Beat and Journey (the awesome arcade game, not the crap Atari 2600 game).

Those pleasant memories gave way to nightmares about musician games that weren’t so good. 50 Cent: Bulletproof (ironic name considering the man’s numerous bullet holes), Power Factory Featuring C + C Music Factory, Revolution X, and Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style are just some of the crap games I’ve played that star musicians. It seems like there are three flops like Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker for every chart-topper (figuratively speaking) like Britney’s Dance Beat.

Naturally, I started dreaming up my own musician videogames. A platformer starring the original members of Kiss would be cool. A bloody beat-’em-up (Super Smash Bros. style) featuring pop divas like Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, The Spice Girls, etc. sounds awesome. The ultimate would be an HD remake of Journey. That game was so ahead of its time! Music, platforming, shooting, and more in a 1983 arcade cabinet?!? Unheard of!

I’d love to hear more about your experiences with videogames starring musicians. What were some of your favorites? What were the ones you hated? What’s the videogame/musician combo of your dreams?

Coffee Talk #470: Contributing to Kickstarter-Funded Games

Thanks to Double Fine’s wild success on Kickstarter, several developers are looking to use the service to fund and self-publish their games. A few weeks ago, we had a fun conversation about alternative publishing models and how they can boost creativity. Today I’d like to talk to you about Kickstarter-funded games. A few of you…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, watching Coachella on YouTube, Kanye & Kim, or Mariano Rivera possibly retiring after this season, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Most developers that seek Kickstarter funds don’t have the reputation and sheer lovability of Double Fine (Tim Schafer is awesome and Anna Kipnis is awesome + hot). How do smaller or lesser-known developers catch your eye and open your wallet? As for me, there are several ways developers can get my money. The Banner Saga features my favorite videogame genre and talent from one of my favorite developers of all time. A lot of people are interested in Republique because they’ve heard of Ryan Payton from his days at Kojima Productions and 343 Studios; having Metal Gear Solid and Halo 4 on your resume helps, but I’m going to contribute because Ryan is cool (a technical term).

How about you? What factors would make you contribute to a Kickstarter-funded game? And when will one of you business geniuses start a modest Kickstarter pitch for my site?!? I totally suck at money stuff.

Coffee Talk #469: Are You Paying Attention to Gaikai?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the surging Boston Celtics, specialty beer bars, or waiting for the new Powerfox & Ponymane video, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Even though many of you aren’t sold on streaming, I recommend keeping an eye on Gaikai. The company has been making all sorts of interesting moves that make the service appealing to hardcore and casual gamers. On the enthusiast side, Gaikai keeps adding great content; recently the company announced that it’s the only streaming service to offer Mass Effect 3. On the casual side, the company just announced that its games will be available on Facebook. A fantastic videogame library, broad reach, and (from what I’ve seen so far) sound technology — Gaikai seems to have it all. So why aren’t you paying attention?

Part of it has to do with the newness of it all. Streaming is a new way to play games. After decades of playing games on cartridges and discs, it seems foreign. As the X-Men have shown over the years, many people fear and hate what they don’t understand (yes, I’m overstating things). Part of it has to do with some gamers (still) being (way too) attached to physical media. Collectors love hoarding boxes; streaming totally goes against that. I’m sure there are some reasons that I’m not thinking of, so I’d love to use today’s column to get your take on Gaikai.

Have you been paying attention to Gaikai? If not, check out the company site to learn more about the service and its sweet game library. What do you think? Say Gaikai was playable on one of your favorite sites (like this one!) would you use it? Scream and shout in the comments section (please)!