2010-10-31, 06:32 PM
40 grand up front heh? That doesn't sound like an indie platform. I think a true indie studio would snub something like that. It sounds more like something for commercial studios trying to get rich off low spec half assed games.
One thing I've noticed on PSN is a ton of cheap sticker price "remakes" of classic games, like Rocket Knight, Eatherworm Jim, now Sonic, etc. They all have a kind of Donkey Kong Country pre-rendered feel, even though they're ostensibly 3D. Anyway even though by the books they're so much more graphically detailed than the originals, they come off feeling very disposable, because basically it seems like artists are just trying to fill in the extra pixels afforded by the HD format. And I dunno, it just doesn't fill right at all / ultimately has the effect of seeming much shoddier than the originals (which don't look that bad with a little filtering for those who like that) ...anyway, long story short, I'm sure maybe young kids used to CGI movies etc would leap right in without giving it a second thought, but to me they just feel about as soulless as most CGI movies presentation wise. In fact the only substantial CGI movies I can think of off the top of my head are not CGI at all, like Coraline for example. The only remake I've seen that was solid/an improvement on the original is RayStorm HD. It doesn't try to fill up every pixel. Just uses the extra definition for cleaner presentation.
I'm pretty skeptical of anything with a big budget I think these days. Sure an army of employees sometimes do produce marvelous feats comparable to the pyramids, however statistically speaking they mostly produce a ton of garbage in cultural terms. And I'm not even convinced the success stories are worth the sum of their parts.
Finally, I'm really up against the wall about "smart phones". The idea of indie outlets being relegated to phones pisses me off. I'm sure PC is still an option to them, but I'm really not a PC gamer, never have been, doubtful ever will be.
I feel like an old person questioning the value of the internet for example. I worry I'm becoming that old person when it comes to phones, and music players. I know everything about information technology and I just don't see the value of a phone that is more than a phone, or a music player that is more than an ipod shuffle; but not. I just "won" a shuffle-like MP3 player on Ebay that was 6$, that you plug a 6$ memory card (micro SD compatible) into, and I don't understand why anyone would want a music player that is more than that. Just make it 50 cents and make it last as long as it can before it can't hold a charge, and hell put a clock on it maybe (never seen a clock on a music player) and I'm good. Same for a phone... what kind of goofball would use a phone to access the internet, or as a keyboard, I just can't fathom.
I've known people that use phones to read/post on message boards, so I try to make my websites phone compatible, but I just can't imagine wanting to use a phone to access the internet. Getting email notifications, sure. Being able to upload images/videos to online storage, sure... but the internet?? It just seems to me like people are misusing technology as fast as corporations can churn out new misuses for technology.
That said if people want to replace their GameBoys with a huge ass phone, I get it. But I've never really thought of portable gaming as very portable (unless you're already carrying a huge purse and shit) or very enjoyable... unless you're into over simplified controls for over sophisticated games and tiny screens. I spend more time plugging my portables into big screens / playing that way. Oddly emulating portable games on a PC is one one of the few PC gaming experiences I can get into.
That said, I don't want playing a game to drain the batteries out of my phone, or my music, etc. If I was going to design such a hybrid device it would have at least three separate batteries (maybe the iPhone works that way, I wouldn't know)
Anyway, it's really stupid to try to make phones the proving grounds of indie games. Why should people have to buy a phone to play indie games? I bought a game platform to play games... that's not fair to the indies or their audience.
PS: Phones with cameras/video are a natural fit I think, and a good example of combining technologies. Of course one day people may have video phones, if it isn't determined the extra bandwidth will make you 100 times more susceptible to brain cancer / infertility etc. Cameras should probably even be mandated. Imagine a school where every kid had a phone/video recorder. I'm not a huge fan of schools, but it would be a much safer place. Personally I'm impressed with the MIT MediaLab project to give all kids in the world a portable computer / place to connect to the internet. The kids that have no access to schools but do have a computer I've little doubt will all grow up to be freaking geniuses within a generation. Still I'd be pissed if using the video recording function depleted my battery for making phone calls. Again I don't know enough about how phones are actually used. I have a cell phone, because owning a landline anymore is like being able to afford a salad, but I never use any of the features, and I'm sure the camera though fun for capturing a background, does not hold a candle to my digital camera.
One thing I've noticed on PSN is a ton of cheap sticker price "remakes" of classic games, like Rocket Knight, Eatherworm Jim, now Sonic, etc. They all have a kind of Donkey Kong Country pre-rendered feel, even though they're ostensibly 3D. Anyway even though by the books they're so much more graphically detailed than the originals, they come off feeling very disposable, because basically it seems like artists are just trying to fill in the extra pixels afforded by the HD format. And I dunno, it just doesn't fill right at all / ultimately has the effect of seeming much shoddier than the originals (which don't look that bad with a little filtering for those who like that) ...anyway, long story short, I'm sure maybe young kids used to CGI movies etc would leap right in without giving it a second thought, but to me they just feel about as soulless as most CGI movies presentation wise. In fact the only substantial CGI movies I can think of off the top of my head are not CGI at all, like Coraline for example. The only remake I've seen that was solid/an improvement on the original is RayStorm HD. It doesn't try to fill up every pixel. Just uses the extra definition for cleaner presentation.
I'm pretty skeptical of anything with a big budget I think these days. Sure an army of employees sometimes do produce marvelous feats comparable to the pyramids, however statistically speaking they mostly produce a ton of garbage in cultural terms. And I'm not even convinced the success stories are worth the sum of their parts.
Finally, I'm really up against the wall about "smart phones". The idea of indie outlets being relegated to phones pisses me off. I'm sure PC is still an option to them, but I'm really not a PC gamer, never have been, doubtful ever will be.
I feel like an old person questioning the value of the internet for example. I worry I'm becoming that old person when it comes to phones, and music players. I know everything about information technology and I just don't see the value of a phone that is more than a phone, or a music player that is more than an ipod shuffle; but not. I just "won" a shuffle-like MP3 player on Ebay that was 6$, that you plug a 6$ memory card (micro SD compatible) into, and I don't understand why anyone would want a music player that is more than that. Just make it 50 cents and make it last as long as it can before it can't hold a charge, and hell put a clock on it maybe (never seen a clock on a music player) and I'm good. Same for a phone... what kind of goofball would use a phone to access the internet, or as a keyboard, I just can't fathom.
I've known people that use phones to read/post on message boards, so I try to make my websites phone compatible, but I just can't imagine wanting to use a phone to access the internet. Getting email notifications, sure. Being able to upload images/videos to online storage, sure... but the internet?? It just seems to me like people are misusing technology as fast as corporations can churn out new misuses for technology.
That said if people want to replace their GameBoys with a huge ass phone, I get it. But I've never really thought of portable gaming as very portable (unless you're already carrying a huge purse and shit) or very enjoyable... unless you're into over simplified controls for over sophisticated games and tiny screens. I spend more time plugging my portables into big screens / playing that way. Oddly emulating portable games on a PC is one one of the few PC gaming experiences I can get into.
That said, I don't want playing a game to drain the batteries out of my phone, or my music, etc. If I was going to design such a hybrid device it would have at least three separate batteries (maybe the iPhone works that way, I wouldn't know)
Anyway, it's really stupid to try to make phones the proving grounds of indie games. Why should people have to buy a phone to play indie games? I bought a game platform to play games... that's not fair to the indies or their audience.
PS: Phones with cameras/video are a natural fit I think, and a good example of combining technologies. Of course one day people may have video phones, if it isn't determined the extra bandwidth will make you 100 times more susceptible to brain cancer / infertility etc. Cameras should probably even be mandated. Imagine a school where every kid had a phone/video recorder. I'm not a huge fan of schools, but it would be a much safer place. Personally I'm impressed with the MIT MediaLab project to give all kids in the world a portable computer / place to connect to the internet. The kids that have no access to schools but do have a computer I've little doubt will all grow up to be freaking geniuses within a generation. Still I'd be pissed if using the video recording function depleted my battery for making phone calls. Again I don't know enough about how phones are actually used. I have a cell phone, because owning a landline anymore is like being able to afford a salad, but I never use any of the features, and I'm sure the camera though fun for capturing a background, does not hold a candle to my digital camera.