The Pulse: Ugly October

Editor’s Note: We’re going to try an experiment. Me and a few other contributors will be keeping an eye out on interesting conversations about video games around the web–be they Tweets, forum replies, post comments, etc–and compiling them for view.

Don't Believe the Hype

What we believe and how we behave aren’t always in sync. In an ideal world people would act in ways supporting their beliefs and ideas, but the reality of it is that we live in a world of tangled webs

Ed Del Castillo and The Next Evolution in Fight Games

Edward Del Castillo likes to play things close to the chest. When his PR rep read my query about implementing reactive audio in fighting games Castillo’s first thought was “did this guy get a leak?” Without revealing the title, the man behind the Command

Feedback Loop: Playing To Win

I must be one insufferable little prick. As I navigate the Inception-like hallways of Halo: Reach’s Reflection map, a grin spreads slyly across my face. I’m armed only with a DMR, a score of 49 to 49, and a genuine

Saturday Morning RPG is Traditionalist Retro Gaming Done Right

Meet Martin “Marty” Michael Hall, a ordinary high school kid with a remarkable ability to turn the mundane into magic. Marty’s story begins much in the same way many of our own teenage fantasies start — in our dreams. As Marty falls asleep, his dream is shaped by a TV show featuring the villain Commander Hood. Marty’s mind intercepts the stimulation from the show, casting him the protagonist in battle with Commander Hood: kidnapper of Samantha – the girl literally of Marty’s dreams – and proponent of shotgun-styled weddings. After getting his ass kicked, a witty wizard sporting an ultra hip demeanor bestows Marty with an “ancient artifact” that can take down Commander Hood – a ’80s styled Trapper Keeper.

Saturday Morning RPG’s emphasis on the old-school Trapper Keeper as Marty’s – and therefore the player’s – source of power mimics the mobile industry’s values in spite of the AAA console market. The Trapper Keeper represents tradition, a return to form, as power. The use of pixel animation makes SMRPG traditionalist. If you want, think neo-noir, only as Tom Auxier pointed out, the lines of influence are clearer for us videogame folk to see than for audiences to see in a movie like Brick, for example. And as Christopher Nolan, a traditionalist in his own right has proven through use of film over digital, utilizing an outdated form can be an effective tool toward innovation and creativity if done well and without a total neglect of modern benefits.

Fear and Loathing in the DC Smithsonian

“What is this generation’s Pac-Man?” It’s a question posed to my associate and I during a late night smoking cigarettes outside of the Washington Hilton, asked by a short, sunglasses-clad African-American in his late twenties. I previously told him I was

Darwinian Difficulty in Metal Gear Solid 3

It’s your responsibility as a gamer to be as sadistic as possible. If you want to know what a character is made of, he must suffer intolerable cruelties. Don’t worry, he can take it; he’s designed to take it. But