Alt+Games is a blog about games by a couple of gamers. Role-playing
games , computer and console games , board games etc. Focus on games that
enable playing together , whether in the same room or over the net. We
try to feature interesting stuff you don't hear from elsewhere.
So, this is supposed to be my introduction page, right? What if I jus made a catchy song about myself? (yeah. been reading too much of Moore's Top 10 recently).
Too much stuff to do, too many games to play
I'd like to direct too, and make miniatures out of clay
I end up with my laptop staring the FM tactics screen
This has got to stop how f**k those SI guys are mean
(chorus) I'm a roleplaying wiimotetoting javacoding motherfragger
yes, a hippieloving dramateaching handwaving it-worker
I used to research games for full-time work that is
kick ass and take names of learning game hit and miss
But now that's just a hobby among the other ones
I'm into drama, bobby, and neo-leftist eco nuns
(Chorus)
Okay, that wasn't so great. No matter, that's it for now. Maybe some more later. Maybe even a pic!
Some general facts: I live in Helsinki, Finland. Right now my gaming priorities are as follows: role-playing (the traditional table-top kind), board games (preferable light games that are greatly impacted by the social interacion, say like Citadels or Bang!), Wii games (Guitar Hero still rocks, Mario Kart is getting there) and multiplayer computer games. I play a lot of Football Manager too, but that's none of your business. It's not like I'm addicted or anything. My contact information.
Last five articles by me:
Evoke fixing the World?
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Evoke, the new serious alternate reality game by Jane McGonigal, kicks off on March 3rd. That's next Wednesday, folks. I'm interested about experiencing and dissecting the game and I hope that you are too.
So, what's in the genre definition serious alternate reality game? Alternate reality games (Wikipedia) or ARGs use real world as a platform and leverage multiple media to mix fictional elements with the real world elements. Serious games are essentially games for other purposes than pure entertainment. McGonigal puts Evoke in her 'Invent the Future' category of games. The previous major gamein the similar vein McGonigal was involved with was World Without Oil (Wikipedia), which received wide media coverage, but contrasting reviews about its effectiveness of actually fixing the world.That's what I thought, at least, but turns out that I can't find the reviews I seem to remember. Here's one example of a review of World Without Oil calling the game basically a bore.
Anyhow, when I've discussed this game and similar games with people (there was a discussion on Ropecon and we had a reading group session last Autumn in Helsinki that included a lot of talkabout this matter) and read other discussions, such as this on on Story Games that have included critical viewpoints of the ability on these kinds of games to have an effect of fixing the real world.
This is why I'm particularly interested in exploring the game. I'm interested in discussing the game with other people with a critical
eye on the effectiveness, impact or the idea of this game. What does it
do well, what does it lack, what is it made of and so on. I've already signed up for the game and I hope you do as well if you want to discuss it with me.
The discussion I'm proposing can take place in blogs, forums or even face to face when possible. I really think that McGonigal's views on games changing the world are valuable and worthwhile, however I'm not sure that World Without Oil or Evoke represent the pinnacle of this frame of thinking. And I'd like to leverage people to think about what direction the pinnacle might lie.
Are you interested? Please sign up to the game and let me know!
There's really not that much info on what the players will actually do in the game, even what kinds of elements they will interact with. Here are some resources to Evoke (see the web site too) and McGonigal's thinking about world-fixing games in general:
My family just received a new member this Monday. It is a baby girl we like to call X (there's a bit of mystery for you :), Supergirl and The Thing. Everyone involved is fine and in good health.
On much smaller news Alt+Games also got a new graphical look last Weekend. I was never completely happy with the old one, mostly because of the wacky banner graphics I threw together (sorry 'bout that :). The template is Jamba from JoomlaShack with a green-black color scheme, the Alt+Games logo is based on the old one but this time it's sleek, cool and toned down and not ugly at all.
The icon banners in the right-hand top corner of the site are new too, there will be more of them later. Most of the banners are based on icons from MySiteMyWay , a very good source for royalty-free icon graphics.
There's potential for more changes, we'll see about the schedule. Maybe our Supergirl can help.
Hammerfight (was: Hammerfall) on Steam
Friday, 05 February 2010
I just found out that the amazing physics based hammer-swinging game, Hammerfight by Russian Konstantin Koshutin and previously known as Hammerfall is available to purchase on Steam for €6.99. It has actually been available for a while as fun-motion.com reported it last Autumn. I'm gonna get the game so I can see how much has been improved and added to the commercial version compared to the free demo. I'll write a review afterwards, so wait for it (or get the game yourself if you are curious enough).
I did a feature on the Hammerfall demo on the old Alt+Games site, and now seems a good time for a re-run in the new site. Here you go:
I think that the FunMotion blog entry about this game started it. The Hammerfall v0.21 demo posted on a Russian GameNow.ru forum by a user with nickname GKosh has raised interest and inspired numerous blog post among indie game bloggers recently. I dl'd the demo and now it's official: I'm joining the bandwagon. Hammerfall is indeed a very promising and innovative action game demo for Windows machines.
Steampunk Action
The player controls a stempunk-style flying copter thingy which drags a massive rock on a chain behind it. The basic idea is to swat at enemies by swinging this rock-in-a-chain. The copter is controlled with the mouse; the rock follows behind following the laws of physics (yes, this game uses physics engine, too). The player can swing the rock into action with a circular flying motion.
Throwback: Drums in Arcade and at Home
Thursday, 04 February 2010
A while back I posted a video of a Japanese drum arcade game that I shot in an arcade in Tokyo. That was in the old Alt+Games site, so here's the re-run.
After that incident a lot has happened in the drum game scene. Taiko no Tatsujin has been available in the western world for a while (athough I like the songs in the Japanese versions more) and more importantly the genre of band games has introduced the plastic drum sets into our living rooms.
I got the chance to play the drums on Guitar Hero World Tour a while ago at my friends Juha's and M's place. While my performance was nothing of the sort featured in the video below, I could immediately see the charm of drum-set-banging gameplay. To me the whole thing seemed to be a lot closer to the real thing than the guitar playingin Guitar Hero. Actually when I think about it the interface is exactly the same as in a digital drum set (minus the quality).
That said, it's really hard for me to get so excited about the drum set games as to actually get a drum set controller myself. The music games are essentially recycling the same concept over and over with only a few changes. I'm getting bored with the basic concept a bit. Something really cool needs to surface for me to sacrifice the space needed for the drum kit in my living room.
But, here's the video, please enjoy. Pretty sophisticated, ain't it?
Story Gaming The News
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Roughly a year ago we played a game about the conflict in Gaza as it happened and was all over the news. It's a game I've returned in my thoughts right through the year (and in here, sorry about that :). Something ticked; all the players knew what the game was about, the discussions were lively after the games. And now I'm thinking if this could be a pattern that I could try to reproduce.
There are many global news stories capturing the attention of the global population each year. Last year it was the Gaza, the downturn of the economy, Obama, Afghanistan was and is still in the limelight, the climate talks in Copenhagen etc.
For me playing games about these news stories would be a way to understand and to explore viewpoints of the narrative that we consume through media. I personally often have hard time grasping the systemic view of these kinds of events through news. Instead I feel some kind of anxiety and frustration and the need to go on with other things. But I think something valuable could be learned by exploring these news events through story games.
I've started a thread on Story Games where I ask what kinds of news event people would be interested to explore with story games and what games would they use and how. You can also comment here.
Ps. News Gaming is not a new idea. Gonzalo Frasca launched the website
newsgaming.com in 2003. The site contains two browser games, MADRID
(about the terrorist attacks in Spain in 2004) and September 12th.
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