A new power is HORIZON

HORIZON is basically an indie games press conference.

Historically, every year, I was very excited about E3. I'd look forward to it for weeks. During the expo, I would keep up with every detail of news. Yesteryear, I felt this enthusiasm measurably wane. This year, I only watched Nintendo's E3 Direct, aftwards saying "Alright. I'm all set." I didn't feel compelled to watch every extra trailer, nor watch every trailer repeatedly, nor refresh game news sites every 15 minutes. I just felt like "Hey, these games look okay, and I look forward to trying them some day."

I think HORIZON has supplanted what used to be E3's place, for I. I honestly don't care about the big console games anymore. The extent of my excitement for larger budget stuff is home on 3DS, and even Vita and PC - which were previously alien worlds for I. Handhelds have really always been my home. It's a comfortable place which I have complete control over, a mobile home with everything I need in one little package. No need to keep up with LCD 3D HDTV surround sound 1080p graphic upgrade 2000 BC v4.0 DX. They just sell me one system, and then it's ready for over half a decade of new game releases. My little mobile home that fits in my pocket, a personal space. Entire worlds existing in my pocket, worlds I can transport myself to any time I want, anywhere I want.

More and more, I'm becoming less interested in boarding the hype train and ingesting the months/years-long, spoon-fed, addictive propaganda drug before a game launch. All I need to do is watch some gameplay footage, or read a developer interview, and from that I can determine whether or not I'll enjoy the game in any capacity, and whether it meets my personal criterias enough to support it with my money. After that, it's simply a matter of waiting until after release. I keep a list of release dates and games to keep an eye on, since not all games have release dates.

Of course, this approach doesn't apply to all games. There are a few where I'll follow every update. For example, I've been keeping an eye on Peter Molyneux's _Godus_ every Sunday, when 22cans releases a new development video update. I think whenever Gaijin Games stops milking Runner2, I'll follow their development closely as well. Alex Neuse is a smart dude and has some awesome ideas.

Since Pokémon Gold and Silver, I spoiled so much of nearly every Pokémon game before it even released. Looking at every latest screenshot, watching every new trailer, reading all the latest news and interviews. Starting with Black and White, though, and continuing this 2013 autumn with X and Y, I am intentionally avoiding all the news, screenshots, and trailers. I can tell you for certain that playing Black and White for the first time, without spoilers, was one of my most thrilling game experiences in recent memory. While I didn't end up totally liking that pair of games, I'm still so happy I chose to keep it spoiler-free, and I'm _really_ looking forward to doing the same with X&Y.

Somehow, now, I can appreciate almost all games. I used to be very critical and picky. In many ways I still am - you must maintain your own tongue and manage your money, time, and effort budgets. But so many quality independent games are special in some way to the people making them, and they offer me something special to experience with them. A memory to build and come back to in 20 years. A thought generated which can germinate into a great oak of change or a new way of approaching some aspect of life. The amount and variety of experiences hiding in the grass for me to encounter are both overwhelming and exciting.

1) Kid plays through ＭＯＴＨＥＲ upon release in 1989. Takes him several months to finish the game at a relaxed pace. Hears the same songs over and over. Each battle and character and moment in the game mean something, and memory is formed. He figured out every problem and obstacle on his own with no help. This memory sticks with this person forever. They hear the music, see the images, and they look back fondly perhaps playing it over and over because they have become so familiar with it.

2) Hasty Modern Adult plays through ＭＯＴＨＥＲ in 2013 with Easy Patch and Fast Forward. They blast through the game in a weekend. They didn't have to work to beat it, they just hit Fast Forward To Win, probably followed a guide. This person's goal is to finish the game, instead of take it easy and play the game. They finish the game "Wow that was pretty unsatisfying. On to the next game!" And they forget about it mostly, passing it off as some old dated grindy NES RPG.

      Metroid: Aug     1987
4 years elapse

   Metroid II: Nov     1991
3 years elapse
Super Metroid: Apr 18, 1994
8 years elapse
 Fusion/Prime: Nov 17, 2002

       F-Zero: Aug 23, 1991
7 years elapse
     F-Zero X: Jul     1998
3 years elapse
Max. Velocity: Mar 21, 2001
2 years elapse
    F-Zero GX: Aug 25, 2003

Recently I've been thinking about the state of F-Zero as a franchise, and how it's release cycle reminds of how Metroid was during the N64 era. There wasn't a Metroid game for a long time, at that point, and people were asking "Is Metroid done?". Recently I've heard people pondering: Is F-Zero dead? And that reminded me of Metroid's doubt days.

It's been 10 years since GX released. Is F-Zero indeed dead? They brought back Kid Icarus after 26 years, so I don't think so.

It's been a long time, cough cough

[6:37pm] pocketroid: How did buzz buzz carry a whole freakin sound stone
[6:40pm] Penguin: he probably used the same strength that he used to do several times more damage than a kid with a baseball bat
[6:51pm] Tenda: you should play my Earthbound: Realism hack
[6:51pm] Tenda: where buzz buzz is a bee
[6:51pm] Tenda: and you just die to the young starman
[6:55pm] Penguin: you get stung and die of an allergic reaction
[6:55pm] Tenda: what happened to meteor watching guy anyway
[6:56pm] Tenda: you think he'd be the first up the hill after they move the blockade

Jools Watsham's Blog: 3DS Piracy!

Jools Watsham's Blog: 3DS Piracy!: According to a report from Tiny Cartridge , hackers are starting to delve into the 3DS, illegally. This may open up pathways for pirates to ...


I posted this as a comment in response to Jools' post:


From TC:
"He adds that he has no interest in allowing others to use the hack to load pirated software."

In circumventing the region locking of 3DS, I will have greater motivation to buy 3DS. My two biggest deal breaking problems with the 3DS so far are the battery life and region locking. I'm very excited to support eShop games on 3DS, as I have with WiiWare and DSiWare. I'm especially looking forward to finally playing games like Mutant Mudds, Fractured Soul, Mighty Switch Force!, and NightSky. In any 3DS discussion, I am diligent in mentioning such titles. Also, with retail stuff, I even own BIT.TRIP SAGA already.

In regards to Try-before-buy,
I have tried several DS games and later bought them. Including (but not limited to):
Etrian Odyssey, Mega Man Battle Network 5, Mega Man Zero Collection, Ghost Trick, Custom Robo, Dragon Quest/Monsters, Final Fantasy, KORG DS-10, Lufia, Monster Rancher, N+, among others.
The funny thing is that most of these remain on my SD card, while the actual game box remains unopened. Now I'm not saying everyone is like this, but with my friends I can think of more than one example who are either, in another country and have to wait, or simply have to save up money, who pirate a game first but buy it later.

Piracy is invaluable for any creative medium. Piracy, to me, carries a positive connotation rather than the common negative one.
In speaking against piracy, usually a person isn't seeing the entire scope of effects, but rather only the first few dominoes that fall. Two example scenarios with different end results:
1) Person doesn't own the game. Can't pirate it or demo it to even try it. This person does not experience the game at all, and so ignores it and then goes on to play other games instead, which are spread around instead, as in the next scenario.
2) Person does't own the game. Can pirate it, plays it a bunch. Tells all his friends, off and on line, about how he's playing this new game and how fun it is. Personal recommendation is much more influential than a commercial or a review. Out of all those friends, some may even end up trying the game out, and in turn they tell all their friends, and lo - the word of mouth free-marketing domino effect. 10 people hearing about a game is superior to 1 person ignoring a game.

Supporting small developers is important. For a long time I've done my best to be aware of the scene to help promote these great games to people who otherwise don't take the time to wade so deep into the scene. While it is unfortunate that there are some who wholly and maliciously pirate things, I think there are an equal or greater amount of good people who instead support, contribute, and promote.

Also, in response to a previous comment,

"Case in point: Bob Sabiston, developer/publisher of the successful DSiWare app Inchworm animation and head of industry-acclaimed film studio Flat Black Films, was denied a license to develop for 3DS/Wii U for no specific reason, even though he has a solid reputation, meets/exceeds all the requirements and already has a successful app on the DSi Shop Channel."

I'm very disappointed to hear about Bob Sabiston.

iTop

[12:22pm] (person): Waiter just came by and was totally impressed with my setup here
[12:22pm] (person): iPad 2 and keyboard dock. He says he'll have to go get one, now
[12:22pm] pocketroid: aka a laptop
[12:23pm] (otherperson): lol, (person)... that happens to me all the time when I'm out with my iPad 2 and keyboard

From a fantasy community IRC channel.

In 2012, there are two major screens in all homes: the computer monitor, and the television set.

Once upon a time, a large source of entertainment was the radio. A group of persons, or a single people, would sit around a radio and enjoy the programmes. Then TVs came out and served the same function, but they still kept their radio around. Stored media formats came out since radio - records, music cassettes, VHS, etc, and there were indvidual devices to play those, all of which now connected to the TV. Then computers came out and served all of these functions at once, and it all fits on a single desk, in one machine. On this machine, the computer, one may even listen to that very first thing: the radio.

Computers can do all things TVs used to do. TVs require an obtuse amount of wires and add-ons. That's why they still have 'entertainment centers' - furniture designed specifically to organize the mess of Blu-ray/DVD/VHS players, CD/cassette/radio players, cable/satellite box, and any number of video game consoles. But glance over at your computer, and it serves all of those functions in the space of about 3 breadboxes or less. At some point in the future, TVs will simply be a another monitor connected to your computer. 

Television is still popular because the population at large is used to the media consumption model which was modeled around the television - buy DVDs to watch movies/shows, pay for cable/satellite to watch varied pre-recorded programming, buy set-spec computerlike consoles to play video games. But again, all of this is now on the internet. The old radio-like television model is doomed to die, and will give way to the new era of the internet.

But it's still okay to connect a television-like monitor to your computer and have the TV function as usual. So rest assured, you can still sit on your couch and enjoy whichever moving pictures you desire while eating your processed corn products and drinking your high fructose corn syrup.