Scared to open the package: adventures in game writer bribery

Pre Dexter-Morgan-with-Photoshop
brass knuckle photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Those who write about games often get their copies of the game directly from the publisher, but many times the package containing said game contains all manner of other things.

We explore some of the odder things sent to the gaming press to promote games, and show some of the coverage that resulted.


You can read the full article here.

How Video Games Reorganize Your Brain

Kotaku found some interesting info on how video games are affecting our brain:
"It is no secret that video games aid players with their hand-eye coordination.
A new study shows that playing video games extensively reorganizes how the brain handles difficult visuomotor tasks.
Gaming pundits have been pulling out the eye-hand coordination card for as long there have been video games. Seeing things is easy. Manipulating things with one's hands is simple. Watching one thing while manipulating something else with one's hands is the tricky bit. Since gamers spend a great deal of time watching a screen while manipulating a controller, their eye-hand coordination improves"
You can read the rest of the article here.

Video Game Industry Statistics (ESRB)

Video Game Industry Statistics (ESRB): "Video Game Industry Statistics from ESRB"

Here's an interesting compilation of video game statistics provided by ESRB.

Enjoy,

Raoul

Super Mario 25th Birthday!

Looks like we have another celebration today!
Happy Birthday Super Mario!
25 years have passed since the most known plumber made his first video game appearance!
Luke Plunkett from Kotaku made the perfect description of this iconic character:

"It seems almost pointless marking the occasion with a round-up, or a few paragraphs outlining his importance to video games - and video gamers - because it's Mario. He isn't important to video games. He is video games."

Dear Mario, if you're throwing a party tonight with Luigi, Donkey Kong and the rest of the gang, just be careful and enjoy those mushrooms moderately. Is Bowser invited after all? :)
You can check the rest of the article here.

Hey PlayStation! Happy 15th Anniversary!

Growing up PlayStation infographic,
originally uploaded by PlayStation.Blog.

Happy birthday PlayStation!
Oh, and thanks for all the good times we've spent together starting with PSOne, PS2 and now PS3. Thanks to you I've experienced types of entertainment which drove me to make the step and join this industry.
Sony challenged the console market and alongside Nintendo it started this revolution.
Microsoft joined the party later on and thanks to that, now we're looking at this mature industry.
Let's continue to enjoy the entertainment provided by these folks and everybody else involved.
I know that all of them contributed with some incredible steps forward or big mistakes in the past, but as a consumer, I believe they did a great job until now. All my Kudos for the Big Three.
Read some more regarding PlayStation's anniversary on the official PlayStation Blog.

Cheers,
Raoul

"The Witness" showed up @ PAX 2010

Jonathan Blow, the designer behind the indie success "Braid" has revealed his latest creation at PAX 2010 (Penny Arcade Expo).

According to Gamasutra, Jonathan launched the playtest session in a stealthy way at SpyParty/Monaco's booth, without any announcements or hype.

Kotaku captured about three minutes of in-game footage which you can check it out here.

For more information you can visit the official website of "The Witness" or you can read the rest of the article on Gamasutra.

Duke Nukem Forever is Officially in Development at Gearbox - EpicBattleAxe

But for real, Gearbox Software, just ahead of the opening of PAX 2010, announced to the world that the game-that-will-not-die is finally on the home stretch after more than a decade in development. Duke Nukem Forever, the sequel to 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D has been “close to release” countless times since it was originally announced in 1997. Since then, DNF has spawned a string of release dates that never panned out, some of the most effortless humor that’s ever existed, and a fierce legal battle between publisher Take-Two and original-developer 3D Realms.

After hitting financial trouble in 2009, 3D Realms closed its doors and entered legal proceedings with Take-Two over the game they should have delivered more than ten years earlier. Though we still don’t know the exact details, we know now that Gearbox got involved shortly thereafter, taking over development of Duke Nukem Forever in late ‘09; presumably after a settlement was reached between 3D Realms and Take-Two.
You can read more here.

Source

Company Of Heroes Developer Killed In Car Accident

Well, here's an unfortunate event... 

"Brian R. Wood, lead designer of Company of Heroes Online and a key player in the development of the series as a whole, was tragically killed on Friday night in an automobile accident north of Seattle.

Wood was behind the wheel of his Subaru Outback, with his wife Erin a passenger, when they were struck head-on by a Chevy Blazer driven by 21 year-old Jordyn B. Weichert. Two passengers in Weichert's car were killed, while it's alleged that the young driver was also under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.

The Washington State Patrol say Weichert could be charged with vehicular homicide and vehicular assault once she is released from hospital, while another passenger in her car, 22 year-old Samantha R. Bowling, may also be charged with vehicular homicide.

Wood was 33. His wife, six months pregnant, is "hospitalized but in improving condition".

Rest in peace B!

News and photograph entirely acquired from Kotaku.com, All rights reserved.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition

Batman: Arkham Asylum Collector's Edition comes with:

• 14" Batarang with stand
  • Matches the Batarang’s in-game design
• Arkham Doctor’s Journal
  • 48 pages of notes on Arkham’s inmates
  • Embossed leather dust jacket
• 2 Sleeve Digi-pack, including:
  • Game disc
  • Behind-the-scenes DVD
• Code for downloadable Challenge Map
• Full-color Manual

Well this is something I'll get for sure when it comes out, a must have for all Batman fans!
You can pre-order the game from here: Videogamesplus.ca

Happy Birthday Miyamoto-San!

On the 16th of November, 1952, one of the most important figures of the entertainment industry and one of the pioneers of electronic gaming joined the world. Thank you Mr. Miyamoto for everything you've created for us! O tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu Miyamoto-San!

Blog editor

I've searched for a good blog editor, something that integrates with the browser and post content from a webpage directly to my Blogspot blog.

So here's what I'm using right now:
ScribeFire - Fire Up Your Blogging!

ScribeFire,an extension of Firefox ®, enables users to easily drag and drop formatted text from the Web into their blog(s), post entries, take notes, and optimize their ad inventory, directly through the Firefox browser.

Well, let's see how it works, I'll post some feedback on this soon.

Morning music - The Fountain OST

Hey! Mornin' everyone! Just another day at work, writing on a game concept and doing some research...all this while enjoying (again) an excellent soundtrack: Clint Mansell - The Fountain.
For anyone who hasn't listened this yet, you can play the whole album for free on Deezer.
In other words I'm still pissed off by having the RROD on my Xbox 360 and no warranty left. I'm making all sort of plans in order to buy myself a brand new Xbox soon enough. There are more than 5 must play titles on the 360 that I didn't even tried to play so far. Need Xbox! Now!
Click here to listen to Clint Mansell - The Fountain

Online game shops

Since finding games at good prices in Romania is an extreme sport, I've decided a long time ago to start buying games from online stores from abroad. A very good idea! Most of my games collection is composed from online ordered titles. This year I've ordered games from all sorts of online stores (checked shipping rates, packaging, delays, security, etc.) and it seems that these are the best I've tried so far:

- a Canada based store and an e-Bay Power Seller, excellent prices, good bargain bin deals and low cost shipping. The packaging is very good so your ordered games are safe on the trip. The store has a large variety of games for all the major consoles (no games for PC platform though) and since the PS3 is multisystem (PAL and NTSC) by default, you can buy any NTSC game you find for your European console.

Store link

- an UK based store with low cost shipping, just 2.25 Euros per item. Sometimes you can find better deals here instead of Videogames Plus. If your console was bought from Europe, you can freely buy Xbox 360 and Wii games from here, they will match the console's PAL standard protection. Free shipping for UK deliveries.

Store link

- also an UK based store with tons of deals and available titles. Good shipping rates for the entire Europe, updated website and good pre-order prices. Free shipping for the lucky UK residents. :)
Store link

Be sure I'll give a big shout in case I found another reliable games store.

Cheers!

Raoul

.back

Hi ppl, just a quick update with some major things that happened in the last year:

• I quit my job at Gameloft and joined Vivendi Games Mobile as Lead Game Designer;
  
• got a PS3 and a DS from my friends and co-workers as a birthday present, finally bought an LCD during the last year's holidays so I can enjoy some HD gaming;
  
• started and finished developing my next project after Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles and that's: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand for mobile platforms;
• finally sorted out alot of personal affairs;
• just came back from the most chillin' vacation in the past years, Thassos Island in Greece, where we had a great time with our friends Alex and Dana.
• didn't had time to play as much as I wanted but I've enjoyed some of last year's good titles like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed and this year's GTA IV or MGS IV;
  
• went on a trip to Belgium during the last year's holidays, visited Amsterdam and had a bussines trip in Paris in February.
• I've been in the U.K. some weeks ago for a job interview, unfortunately I wasn't the lucky one this time so... end of story. Maybe I'll post some more impressions regarding my short trip to UK or the job interview... Anyway, visited a few places this year, maybe more to come.

Not easy days at work lately.  I'll let you know when the time is right.

Be back soon!

Raoul

Blah! March 25th Rebirth!

Hello!
Busy as always so no such free time to post here.
Anyway, let me tell you the latest noticeable news around my gamer life.
@Home: So, I've got myself an Xbox 360 gaming console which made me very happy and busy for a certain amount of time. Unfortunately I've got no time to play since I've already started working at one of the most expected games of 2007.
So, I've played Gears Of War like an addict, finished it twice and now I'm filling my time with Lost Planet. I had bigger expectations regarding Lost Planet...but let's say it's an enjoyable game. There is no comparison between Gears Of War and Lost Planet.
I'm waiting for the next weekend so I can play God of War 2 on my PS2. By the way, I've added a bunch of PS2 games in my collection and as always I've got no time to play them... This is really frustrating anyway.
@Job: Once again, working at an undisclosed project at Gameloft, a very challenging one though. This is a new franchise in development and we're working on the Nintendo DS version of the game. I cannot tell you more about this for now. Sorry, always wanted to start a Dev Diary on my current project but it's always confidential and I can't.

Talk to you guys soon enough. I'll go watch a very hyped movie, 300. Let's hope it will match my expectations.
Cheers to you all!

Alive again...

Hello everybody!
Yes, I'm still alive and moving. :)
So, a lot of things really changed since my last post in ...august...damn man...august... 3 months without a post...I'm really starting to believe that I'm paying this stuff for nothing...
Anyway, a short briefing:

@ Job - working like I'm Satan's helper in Hell, very busy schedule before the Winter Holidays season, currently working on an undisclosed project (yet) on a certain gaming console. What can I say more about this....hmm...it's a god damn hard life being a game designer but it really worths the effort. I'm very satisfied from this point of view even if the crunch time has already begun and we're in such a hurry with all the tasks...and I spend about 12-14 hours/day at the office. We'll surely make an awesome game. I've got a great team formed by very talented, passioned and hard working people so we cannot fail this.

@Home - I've started watching a couple of TV-Series in my tiny bit of spare time and I'm so into "Lost" but mostly "Prison Break" TV-Series. My girlfriend, Iulia, is very fond of "Prison Break" and that means I cannot skip any episode because she'll kill me...so each week I've got to earn my share of goodies by getting that episode downloaded asap. It's a hard knock life isn't it? :)

@ Weekends - mostly occupied by small household business and also it's bills pay day, luckily we've got Internet Banking now and it's much more easier. In the evening we're just spending time with our friends by going out, playing blackjack with them (for real money, that's quite dangerous), sitting @ home and watching some movies...stuff like this...boring but that's what we can afford right now in terms of time consuming activities.

As a final thought, I really enjoy being a Game Designer, I hope to finish the current project very soon and post more often in here. :P
Let's hope I'll have some good news pretty soon. Let's just hope so....
Peace, I'm out, too busy and tomorrow it will be another hard day @ work, so....see you all around.
Cheers from Bucharest, Romania!

Game Design Philosophy Test

You're A Narratologist
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You believe games should tell interactive stories to immerse the player in an adventure. Lorne Lanning, Hideo Kojima and Hironobu Sakaguchi are your idols.

E3 is over, GDD submited, Gamespot rulz

Hello ppl!
E3 is finally over, a lot of good stuff was showed there this year. Today's topic is about websites like Gamespot or Gamespy because they got it all covered. Check the screens, videos and interviews regarding the latest hot projects in the gaming industry.
In the meanwhile I've finished all my GDD (Game Design Document) for the Game Designer job here and I've submited it today. Wish me all: Good luck! This should be the headline today since I was struggling for so much time to finish it.
I'd like to give a lot of credit and thanks to Gabriel Stancu, he's the guy who helped me out and gave me his feedback on all the stuff from the GDD. Thanks dude, I reallly, really owe you. Let's hope that everything will be just fine and I'll join the design team asap. Also without my girlfriend Iulia, who really harassed me every day reminding me to finish the test, I couldn't really do it. Thanks a lot, love!
This is not a very good day, since morning I got this feeling of having a bad day, it's 15:51 and I still can't get over that feeling...this seems to be one of "those" days that everybody has. (I hope so, I don't wanna be the only sad person).
Everything else seems to work just fine, my PSP games collection has grown with some new titles like GTA: Liberty City Stories, Twisted Metal: Head On, Splinter Cell: Essentials, NBA Live 06, Lord of the Rings: Tactics.
You can check my full games collection at Gamespot, just created a profile there, I'm growing in that community everyday. It's a good, full of content, easy to browse and cool website resource for the latest news about games.
My username is raoulparaschiv (Check my profile) and you can add me in your friends list if you've got a Gamespot account too.
That's all for now, I'll keep you posted about any updates in my videogame industry careeer and everyday life.
Cheers to you all and have a nice day!

E3 is ON! PS3, X360, Wii... Too bad I'm not there!

Hi everybody!
The biggest, craziest and long awaited show in the gaming industry is on. It lasts between 8-12 May, it's held in Los Angeles and it's the gamer's dream to be there. All the major players in the industry are there so if you want to keep up check the news on E3.This is my latest opinion regarding what's happening there right now.

Sony VS Microsoft VS Nintendo

Here's my opinion on this:
Sony - saw the conference at E3, it really kicked ass...very cool game demos, we can easily see the power of the Cell in those, nice controller with tilt (it's the advantage of the last comer: analog triggers from X360, tilt sensor from Wii, same nice design which already confirmed, and NO, I don't think this is a rip, they just took what's good from the competitors), great Eye Toy functionality, WOW effect with the PSP integration. Looks awesome, can't wait to put my hands on this piece of hardware. :)
Microsoft - Very nice presentation, they've put accent on the upcoming line-up of games, good hardware, no secrets unrevealed: we already knew about the camera, HD-DVD add-on, another headset though?? Let's hope they'll integrate VoIP soon enough. Creating a hardware which allows you to connect X360 peripherals to your PC is a good idea indeed. X360 remains the best option for the best price. They have announced about 800 next-gen titles by the end of the year which sounds more than interesting.
Nintendo - Yes, they really convinced me into getting a Wii, they surely redefine the gaming experience without any powerful franchises like Sony or Microsoft. Even if Nintendo has some too. Wii looks like packed fun with your friends. It's a must buy in my opinion. :)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everybody!
May all your wishes come true, be healthy and happy!
It's a great moment to spend more time with your family and friends, we all have a small vacation due to this holiday so spend some quality time with your close ones!
Kiss ya' all and have a HAPPY, HAPPY EASTER!

P.S. May the rabbit bring you the cutest gifts you ever wished!