Tag: PC Gaming

Coffee Talk #351: Do You Use Subtitles in Videogames?

In yesterday’s Coffee Talk, I was surprised to learn that a bunch of you prefer movies with the subtitles turned on. For games, I always have the subtitles turned on. How about 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, the hotness of mermaids, liking the song “African Child”, or continued iPad 2 production delays, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

In yesterday’s Coffee Talk, I was surprised to learn that a bunch of you prefer movies with the subtitles turned on. As I explained, English is a second or third language for several of my friends, family members, and playmates. Subtitles help us all enjoy movies together. That said, I often leave subtitles on when I’m watching alone. For games, I always have the subtitles turned on. How about you?

I’m a writer. I need to read. In addition to videogame stuff and tech commentary, I’ve scripted videogames and comics. Reading is one of the best ways to improve writing. I’ve “borrowed” techniques from my favorite columnists, comic-book writers, videogame writers, and more. So for me, leaving subtitles on in videogames adds to my enjoyment and serves as a study tool.

And you ladies and gents? Do you prefer your games with or without subtitles?

GagaVille and Words with Gaga Coming to Facebook

Lady Gaga is teaming up with Zynga to expand her reach through the use of social gaming. Coming soon are GagaVille and Words with Gaga. I’m pretty sure you can figure out what those games are. In case you can’t, here are some wise words from VentureBeat’s “Dancing” Dean Takahashi:

On May 17, Zynga will launch GagaVille, a neighboring farm in Zynga’s FarmVille game. This will be a Gaga-inspired farm inside the game which will showcase Lady Gaga’s style and themes from her albums and videos. It will have things like crystals, unicorns and sheep on motorcycles. Users will get exclusive access in FarmVille to songs from Gaga’s Born This Way album before it is released on May 23.

In Zynga’s Words With Friends mobile game, there will be a Words With Gaga contest. If a player plays the special Gaga word of the day, they will be entered to win tickets to a concert on Lady Gaga’s next tour, plus a signed copy of Born This Way. Users will be picked randomly from May 17 to May 26 in the U.S.

Confession: I like Lady Gaga. Her music is catchy, she seems to genuinely love her fans, and I love the work she does with the gay community. I also think she’s hot in that “crazy girl” way. Most of you know that I love word games like Scrabble, WordFeud, and Words with Friends. With that in mind, I’m sure as hell going to play Words with Gaga. Who’s coming with me?!?

Source

Manny Pacquiao Videogame Coming to Android, iOS, and PC

Fresh off his drubbing of “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao is set to star in a videogame called Manny Pacquiao: Pound For Pound coming to Android, iOS, and Facebook. Set for a Summer 2011 release, the game is being developed and published by Karkadann Games. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Created for a casual gaming audience, and developed for PC, mobile, iPad, iPhone and Facebook, “Pound for Pound” Volume 1 takes gamers through narrative arcs, intense action and addictive game play, as Manny the martial arts action hero battles through the underground world of heinous villains on a mission of justice. Gamers not only wield Manny’s legendary combination of pummelling punches, with his lightning fast hands, but also a full arsenal of kicks and martial arts weaponry. Additionally, players will be able to customize and develop Manny into the ultimate mixed martial arts defender to fight hundreds of the most infamous enemies on a high-stakes fight.

I’ve never heard of the developer, but I’m excited for the game as a Pacquiao fan, an iPad 2 owner, and a Filipino-American. Even if the quality isn’t great, I’m sure I’m going to play the hell out of it simply because of Pinoy pride. Plus, it’s Manny Pacquiao fighting like Bruce Lee accompanied by a pet wolf! Next to Final Fantasy Tactics, this is the iPad game I want the most. I’ll try to get more info from the publisher. Until then, you can follow the game’s Facebook page.

Thor: Bring the Thunder Flash Game Rules!

Thor: Bring the Thunder is a charming Flash game that has the Norse god of thunder parading around in a Super Mario Bros.-like platform game. The game is perfect if you need some motivation to see the movie or are coming off the film’s high. It’s cute and fun.

While the sound effects are old school and appropriate, I enjoyed playing the game while MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” was playing on my PC. It’s awesome when you time a Mjolnir attack with the lyrics of “Stop. Hammer time!!!”

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m going to give Pilotwings Resort more time this weekend. I’ve liked what I’ve played, but I was expecting more. Perhaps a dedicated weekend of flying around in 3D will help me warm up to the Nintendo 3DS. Of course I’ll be playing games on my iPad 2 too. I’m still loving Civilization Revolution and Final Fantasy III on iPad. They’re both awesome, but in very different ways. Naturally all gaming activity will be dropped during the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley fight on Saturday.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #346: Gaming While You’re Sick

Yesterday it was 90 degrees in Los Angeles…and I spent most of the day under a blanket. It absolutely sucked to be sick and weak on such a beautiful day, but I think I made the best of it…

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, Lorenzo Lamas taking his wife’s name, “Sugar” Shane Mosley’s chances against Manny Pacquiao, or new iMacs, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Yesterday it was 90 degrees in Los Angeles…and I spent most of the day under a blanket. It absolutely sucked to be sick and weak on such a beautiful day, but I think I made the best of it. My gaming habits are a little different when I’m sick. I like to dumb it down a bit and stick to games that I can play blindfolded. I spent most of of my couch time playing Civilization Revolution and doing random battles in Final Fantasy III. I watched some motion comics and WWE documentaries. While I didn’t get to enjoy the beautiful day, it was as good a sick day as I could have imagined.

What kind of games do you play when you’re sick? Are your sick games different than your regular games? How about other nerd activities like movies, comics, and TV? What kind of media to you devour on your sick days?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I have a bunch of video editing to do this weekend. Since my PC is not up for the challenge, there will be a lot of rebooting. This will give me time to play Final Fantasy III and NBA Jam on my iPad 2. It’s such an awesome entertainment device — great for games, Netflix, music, and more. I’ll probably buy an external keyboard and Pages so that it’s not all fun and games. My other devices are getting jealous and want to see the iPad do some work too.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I started playing the iPad version of Final Fantasy III last night. It’s barely different from the iPhone version. That said, it’s still a great version of a really deep game. I love the Final Fantasy job system. While the graphics are relatively new (based off of the Nintendo DS remake), it’s crazy that gameplay that’s more than 20 years old is still so engaging. Aside from that, I’ll be breaking up the RPG excitement with Civilization Revolution. That game is just awesome.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Coffee Talk #340: Are You Ready For What’s Next in Gaming?

Gaming is at a crossroads. Big changes in the business are already underway and even bigger changes are on the horizon. What do you think of all the change that’s happening in gaming? Will you change with it?

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, Steven Tyler dropping F-bombs on American Idol, Dr. Dre defeating Death Row, or your favorite Zamfir performance, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Gaming is at a crossroads. Big changes in the business are already underway and even bigger changes are on the horizon. Epic Games’ Dr. Mike “Busta” Capps recently chatted with Industry Gamers about the changes happening in the gaming business. While they’re exciting from a gamer’s point of view, they’re scary to developers and publishers:

We have not been this uncertain about what’s coming next in the games industry since Epic’s been around for 20 years. We’re at such an inflection point. Will there be physical distribution in 10 years or even five? Will anyone care about the next console generation? What’s going on in PC? Can you make money on PC if it’s not a connected game? What’s going on in mobile?

Tons of really scary things… It used to be, ‘Well, of course PlayStation 3 will be successful because PS2 was amazingly successful.’ But can you say for sure that you know everyone’s going to jump to the next generation? I sure hope so — I’m going to try to make some great tech that will make everyone want to. But it’s scary.

If there’s anything that’s killing us [in the traditional games business] it’s dollar apps. How do you sell someone a $60 game that’s really worth it … They’re used to 99 cents. As I said, it’s an uncertain time in the industry. But it’s an exciting time for whoever picks the right path and wins.

Digital distribution, mobile gaming, and social gaming are challenging traditional game makers and publishers. These relatively new forces are also challenging traditional gamers. I’m reminded of friends in the ’90s that loved PC gaming, but couldn’t adapt to a console world. I’m reminded of friends that loved 2D fighting games more than anything, but couldn’t deal with the shift to 3D. These friends are no longer the gamers that they once were.

What do you think of all the change that’s happening in gaming? Will you change with the times? Or are you perfectly comfortable with the disc-and-console model? Will you resist change and hang on as long as you can? If you don’t like what the future holds for gaming, will you look for another hobby? As for me, no matter what happens in gaming, I’ll be like Jefe from The Three Amigos: “I’m still here El Guapo!”

Coffee Talk #339: Frame Rate and You

One of my coworkers at GameSpy was huge on frame rate. His eyes were not happy with games running at anything less than 60 frames per second. Some people at the office were amazed by…

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, T-Mobile releasing three interesting products this week, royal weddings, or Pia Toscana on Dancing With the Stars, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

One of my coworkers at GameSpy was huge on frame rate. His eyes were not happy with games running at anything less than 60 frames per second. Some people at the office were amazed by his ability to quickly detect frame rate, others thought he was obsessed over a technical feature that doesn’t contribute to the fun factor in games.

What are your feelings on frame rate? Is running at 60 frames per second important to you? Do you not care about the actual rate so long as it’s consistent? Does a smooth frame rate contribute to a game’s fun factor? Or is it something you don’t really notice or care about? Share your feelings in this filmic edition of Cofee Talk (running at 24p).