Coffee Talk #103: Your Silly Gaming Quirks

Last week I went out to lunch with a friend that’s in the gaming business. He mentioned that he only plays scary games during the day and saves the lighthearted stuff for night. For example, his recent gameplay sessions included Dead Space in the afternoon and Band Hero at night (I play my Band Hero at night, so I can so I can?).

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, Pinoy power prevailing on Saturday, your favorite bit of GDC news, or pole dancing, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Last week I went out to lunch with a friend that’s in the gaming business. He mentioned that he only plays scary games during the day and saves the lighthearted stuff for night. For example, his recent gameplay sessions included Dead Space in the afternoon and Band Hero at night (I play my Band Hero at night, so I can so I can?).

I was totally prepared to lean into him and call him a wussy gamer…but then I remembered that I only watch scary movies during the day or with every light in the house on at night. Ha!

Do you have any quirky gaming habits similar to my friend’s? Do you play survival-horror games at night? Or are they something you have to experience during the day? Leave your gaming quirks in the comments section (please)!

EA Signs 38 Studios’ (Curt Schilling) First Game, Project Mercury

Electronic Arts has announced that it has partnered with Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios to publish Project Mercury for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Here’s a clip from the press release:

Electronic Arts Inc. today announced an agreement with 38 Studios, LLC to publish the company’s first video game, an epic single-player role-playing game codenamed Project Mercury. 38 Studios is the creative enterprise of World Series MVP and avid gamer Curt Schilling. Project Mercury is being developed at Big Huge Games, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 38 Studios, under the leadership of Ken Rolston, former lead designer of the critically acclaimed hits, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The game marks the first entry into the company’s vast universe created by New York Times best-selling fantasy author R. A. Salvatore, with artistic direction by Todd McFarlane, renowned artist and creator of Spawn.

The game has a chance to be huge for the business. Rolston will bring the quality that he’s known for, but it’s the other creators that will get mainstream press for Project Mercury. Obviously Schilling is known for being one of the best pitchers in MLB history, R.A. Salvatore has millions of fans from his fantasy novels (Drizz’t rules!), and McFarlane buys really expensive baseballs (okay, he makes cool comics and toys too). I’m definitely interested in the game, but I’m more interested to see how mainstream outlets cover it.

What do you think of Project Mercury’s dream team?

Final Fantasy XIII Launch Party: The Search for Reona Rewis

As promised, here are some photos from Square Enix’s launch event for Final Fantasy XIII. The company took advantage of the GDC setting by having numerous high-profile developers in attendance. People like Tim Schafer (Double Fine), Corrinne Yu (Microsoft’s Halo Team), Mark Cerny (Cerny Games), Yoshinori Ono (Capcom), and Chris Taylor (Gas Powered Games) were in the house. The venue was super cool, decked out in all sorts of FFXIII decorations. Naturally, my mission was to find Leona Lewis, aka Reona Rewis singer of the FFXIII theme song “My Hands”. Here’s what I saw.

I got to the party late, due to a short flight delay. Reona Rewis was not at the entrance.

Just in case you forgot what company was throwing the party and which game it was for, Square Enix had these handy reminders.

Here’s some cool FFXIII art and a poster autographed by the development team.

I still couldn’t find Reona Rewis, but Shacknews‘ Garnett Lee is always fun to hang with.

Danny Masterson from That ’70s Show was spinning. I had to ask a friend, “Who the hell is Danny Masterson?”

The excellent Joseph Olin, president of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, is always fun to catch up with.

To the window…to the wall, the venue was decked out in cool FFXIII decorations.

I want to play games on a large screen with a DJ spinning and two girls dancing in front of it.

The girl on the left was definitely getting funky. I reviewed her — 8/10.

Still no Reona Rewis, but I found 1Up’s Alice Liang and 343’s David Ellis.

I decided to head to the VIP area. Maybe Reona was hanging out there.

VIPs got to play the game too.

1Up’s Sam Kennedy was hanging out with a woman that might have been Reona Rewis.

The chick had a L’Cie tattoo on her leg…as opposed to “My Hands”. *snicker*


Coffee Talk #102: Game Changers in 2010

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2010 is kicking off and, as always, it’s interesting to the trends that are dominating the show’s programming. While enthusiast gamers and writers are interesting in things like PlayStation Arc (of the Covenant?) and OnLive, there are more people here that are interesting in emerging markets — mobile gaming and social gaming.

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, Sting’s heel turn, Brooke Hogan’s ridiculous push (again), or your favorite color, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2010 is kicking off and, as always, it’s interesting to see the trends that are dominating the show’s programming. While enthusiast gamers and writers are interested in things like PlayStation Arc (of the Covenant?) and OnLive, there are more people here that are interested in newer, burgeoning markets — mobile gaming and social gaming.

Mobile gaming has been a big part of GDC for several years, but it’s bigger than ever in 2010. Obviously the iPhone market is enormous and potentially lucrative, but Google and Palm are at the show, pushing Android and WebOS gaming, respectively.

Social games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars have been immensely popular. At this year’s GDC, the next generation of social games are being discussed and shown off. Developers are working on improving the visual quality and overall experience of social games. In many ways, they’re more attractive to developers — cheaper to make, easier access to consumers, etc.

Gamers like you and me are most interested in the latest console games and technology, but these trends in gaming can’t be ignored. They’re already huge and getting bigger all the time. Today I wanted to see which trends you think are the most important. Do you see social games getting bigger and getting console-level graphics? Do you think mobile games will become bigger and more like PSP titles? Leave a comment and let me know (please)! Or do you prefer to bury your head in the sand and stay safe in the traditional console world?

Housekeeping: Off to San Francisco for FFXIII and GDC 2010

In about two hours I’ll be doing to subway/LAX Flyaway Shuttle combo to catch my flight to San Francisco for the Final Fantasy XIII launch party and Game Developers Conference 2010. I’m excited to go, catch up with friends, and visit my old home, but part of me wishes I was stuck at home this week for FFXIII, Pokemon SoulSilver, the TNA/WWE wars, and American Idol. Ha!

While I’m gone, I’m counting on you guys and gals to keep me informed of what’s going on in the world outside of GDC. You’ve been doing a phenomenal job of keeping me informed on Lost — so much so that I don’t actually have to watch it. I’m really looking forward to your reactions on TNA/WWE going head-to-head (Sting, Jeff Hardy, and RVD on TNA tonight?!?).

I’ll be posting stories, previews, and lots of pictures from San Francisco. It’ll be like you’re going to GDC with me! When I get back, I promise there will be Xbox Live Arcade Uno!!! There’s some Newcastle Brown and Boddington’s in the fridge. Try not to burn the place down.

PlayStation Arc to Have Nunchuk Accessory?

NeoGAF poster “ichinisan” claims to have seen Sony’s motion controller, known as the PlayStation Arc, and revealed that the device has a nunchuk-like add-on. Sony is holding a presentation on Wednesday during Game Developers Conference 2010 and all signs point to the company focusing on the PlayStation Arc during the presser. With that in mind, it’s possible that ichinisan has seen a pre-production model. Here’s what he/she had to say:

Nunchuck has an analog stick at the front, below that X and O and below that a D pad. Underneath is L1 and L2. Its actually long, not like the Wii Nunchuk.

As for the Wand it has one very big button on top and then all four facebuttons (X,O,Square and Triangle) and underneath is a big trigger called T.

I’m guess the doubling up of X and O across the two is to keep full compatibility with single Wand set-ups.

The description sounds totally plausible. Assuming that it’s accurate, what do you think of the Arc’s setup? Are you more or less interested in it after hearing about its (rumored) control scheme?

Source via VG247

Apple iPad Advertisement Hits the Oscars

I didn’t watch the Academy Awards last night, but a bunch of friends sent me texts and Twitter messages when a new iPad commercial aired during the show. I’ve posted it as a conversation piece and would love to hear your thoughts on it. It definitely has the usual Apple slickness, but does it make any of you want the product more? The iPad is launching on April 3, so expect the media blitz to continue!

Final Fantasy XIII Mega-Post!!!

With Final Fantasy XIII being released this week, I thought it would be nice to collect all the videos and stories on the game in one mega-post. For your convenience and entertainment, here they are!

Final Fantasy XIII Announcement Video (the one with the massive tool)

Final Fantasy XIII trailer with English voice actors

Leona Lewis (aka Reona Rewis) plays Final Fantasy XIII

Wired.com’s Chris Kohler Talks Final Fantasy XIII


Blog Posts

FFXIII graphics comparison

Poll: Which version of FFXIII are you buying?

Coffee Talk: What’s your favorite Final Fantasy game?

20 FFXIII screens

FFXIII Xbox 360 limited edition bundle details

FFXIII special edition details

Read FFXIII Zero Promise in English

13 FFXIII screens

FFXIII Japanese television commercial

FFXIII soundtrack sampler

Yoshitaka Amano’s take on FFXIII

Coffee Talk: Create your own videogame beverage

FFXIII Suntory beverage commercial

Mega 64 makes fun of the FFXIII launch date announcement

FFXIII North American box art revealed

How weapons level up in FFXIII

FFXIII Crystallium system explained

FFXIII gestalt mode: Bahamut and Brynhildr

Nokia 5230 Nuron for T-Mobile: A Compelling Cheapie Alternative

If you’re looking for a capable phone, but don’t want to shell out big ducks on a Google Nexus One or pay premium service for an Apple iPhone or Motorola Droid then you should consider Nokia 5230 Nuron for T-Mobile. I’m rarely interested in budget phones, but the Nuron offers consumers great value and great capabilities (in addition to a remarkably stupid name). The handset costs $69.99 with a two-year contract or $179.99 unsubsidized. Where it gets really interesting is that it will not require a premium data plan; the $10 a month Web2go option is all you’ll need.

In addition to the a low handset price and inexpensive service, the phone comes with free turn-by-turn GPS navigation and access to Nokia’s Ovi Store. The phone uses a Webkit-based browser, though it’s not as good as the ones found on the iPhone, Android phones, and Palm WebOS phones. The good news is that you can find a browser that’s more to your liking in the Ovi store, as well as a slew of other apps.

The downers include the lack of WiFi, a low-resolution camera, and the…not-quite-so-smooth experience of Symbian. Still, for the price you’re getting a ton of capabilities. Heck, I’m even thinking about going with this phone and spending the money I’d save on a monthly iPad service plan.

Let me know what you think of the Nokia Nuron for T-Mobile and if it interests you!