Now up on ScrewAttack, with a special message about The Future after the credits. FYI, I am aware of visual glitching during the scene with RetroThinker - not sure where that came from, also not 100% sure how/when it can be corrected as things are ever so slightly busy here as you'll soon understand:
Yup, this is happening. Hit the jump to learn more...
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Stay Tuned
So... not to be too much of a Teasy McTeaserton, but big announcements about the future of The Game OverThinker are coming in the near future. I'm excited about them, I hope you will be too. Stay tuned to this blog and my Twitter for more details as I get them.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
"I'm Not A Gamer"
Okay, so... apparently this caused a big shitstorm two weeks ago when it first happened, so call me "late" if you like but... here we are.
So! Nintendo's new ad campaign for the 3DS is based around having celebrities tell you what they use the device for, capped off by the tagline "I'm not a gamer, I'm a ______." The first (so far) is Diana Agron using an art app ("I'm not a gamer, I'm an artist;") but the second has Gabrielle Douglas playing NSMB2: "I'm not a gamer, I'm a coin-collecting champ."
There's no implicit "but" there - the idea behind the campaign isn't "I'm not a gamer but even I like this game!;" but rather "I'm not a gamer" as an affirmative statement in and of itself: "I'm not a gamer" translating to "playing this doesn't MAKE me a gamer," which in turn is reassuring prospective consumers that "playing this won't make YOU a gamer, either."
Eyebrow-raising, to be sure. But thinking on it, I like this campaign and think that it's necessary.... I just HATE that it's necessary.
So! Nintendo's new ad campaign for the 3DS is based around having celebrities tell you what they use the device for, capped off by the tagline "I'm not a gamer, I'm a ______." The first (so far) is Diana Agron using an art app ("I'm not a gamer, I'm an artist;") but the second has Gabrielle Douglas playing NSMB2: "I'm not a gamer, I'm a coin-collecting champ."
There's no implicit "but" there - the idea behind the campaign isn't "I'm not a gamer but even I like this game!;" but rather "I'm not a gamer" as an affirmative statement in and of itself: "I'm not a gamer" translating to "playing this doesn't MAKE me a gamer," which in turn is reassuring prospective consumers that "playing this won't make YOU a gamer, either."
Eyebrow-raising, to be sure. But thinking on it, I like this campaign and think that it's necessary.... I just HATE that it's necessary.
Friday, October 12, 2012
EPISODE 76: "Ask Ivan"
As a result of working out some bugs with the video, "Ask Ivan" is now live! Really, really proud of how this one came out (I think its the best mailbag to date, honestly) and I hope you'll check it out RIGHT HERE. (There's no embedding option for this blog just yet, working on that..)
And for those wondering, yes - that big action sequence at the end is the "nightmare" editing project that had been giving me so much trouble. So, just for my own edification... it'd be super-awesome if even people who don't "care" about the sketch-segments at least gave it a watch ;)
WATCH IT ON SCREWATTACK NOW!
And for those wondering, yes - that big action sequence at the end is the "nightmare" editing project that had been giving me so much trouble. So, just for my own edification... it'd be super-awesome if even people who don't "care" about the sketch-segments at least gave it a watch ;)
WATCH IT ON SCREWATTACK NOW!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
EPISODE 76 ANNOUNCEMEN (UPDATE!)
UPDATE II: The issue with the earlier upload seems to have been resolved, and the episode is now viewable for ALL AUDIENCES at this new link: http://www.screwattack.com/shows/partners/game-overthinker/game-overthinker-episode-76-ask-ivan-0 (full embed post soon.) Apologies for the issues.
UPDATE: I am aware that there is some kind of issue with the video which is causing it to display as "locked" even for Advantage users. While I have no direct control over that myself, the people who do have been made aware of it and I am informed that it's being worked on.
ORIGINAL POST: "Game OverThinker - Episode 76: Ask Ivan" will debut for all audiences on Wednesday, October 17th at 11:00pm CST. As ever, ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look right here right now.
UPDATE: I am aware that there is some kind of issue with the video which is causing it to display as "locked" even for Advantage users. While I have no direct control over that myself, the people who do have been made aware of it and I am informed that it's being worked on.
ORIGINAL POST: "Game OverThinker - Episode 76: Ask Ivan" will debut for all audiences on Wednesday, October 17th at 11:00pm CST. As ever, ScrewAttack Advantage members can get an early look right here right now.
Coolest Thing of The Week
Courtesy the Ohio State University Marching Band, the coolest video-game related thing you will see this week (also, ridiculously impressive technical achievement even if you, like me, don't know shit about how a Marching Band works...)
Monday, October 8, 2012
"Retro City Rampage" Looks Pretty Sweet
I admit, upfront, that I am a "mark" for so-called "retro-style" games. Yes, it's comfort in the familiar - this is gaming as I knew it when I loved it best and so forth - but it's also just a stylistic thing: I'm a fan of "handicapped art - i.e. art made under some kind of imposed technical restrictions - and as such I'm fascinated to see the way talented digital artists use the restricted medium of pixels to create visuals or the limited sound-range of "chiptunes" to create musical compositions.
But I'm also willing to admit that the "retro" aesthetic has also become an easy way for lackluster games to pitch themselves as a quick nostalgia fix or, more commonly, a medium awash in overly reference-heavy games that "work" as nostalgia-fixes but don't hold up as games in their own right. "Retro City Rampage," on the other hand, looks to be doing the genre right - mixing up the usual set of go-to visual cues with a solid gameplay hook (pre-III "Grand Theft Auto" with a gonzo aesthetic and an NES gloss) that looks like a lot of real fun even for folks who don't immediately get a laugh out of a Bionic Commando gag:
But I'm also willing to admit that the "retro" aesthetic has also become an easy way for lackluster games to pitch themselves as a quick nostalgia fix or, more commonly, a medium awash in overly reference-heavy games that "work" as nostalgia-fixes but don't hold up as games in their own right. "Retro City Rampage," on the other hand, looks to be doing the genre right - mixing up the usual set of go-to visual cues with a solid gameplay hook (pre-III "Grand Theft Auto" with a gonzo aesthetic and an NES gloss) that looks like a lot of real fun even for folks who don't immediately get a laugh out of a Bionic Commando gag:
And This Week's Overblown Gamer Freakout Will Be...
After recieving complaints from "Call of Duty" players of Islamic backgrounds that they were offended by a bit of background decoration in the "Favelas" multiplayer map in "Modern Warfare 2" (the offending detail: A piece of wall art including the word "Allah" was hung above a toilet stall;) Activision and Infinity Ward temporarily removed the map from availability last night (presumably the offending image will be patched out of existance.)
Hoo-boy.
After the jump, sarcasm:
Hoo-boy.
After the jump, sarcasm:
Monday, October 1, 2012
LAST CALL FOR "ASK IVAN!"
ANNOUNCEMENT! As of Midnight this Wednesday (October 3rd) I'll no longer be taking questions for next episode's big "Ask Ivan!" event. If you still haven't asked yours, ask it here or ask it on ScrewAttack. Remember to leave a name or a handle, no anonymous queries will be answered.
The actual airdate(s) of the episode itself will follow, stay tuned for further details.
The actual airdate(s) of the episode itself will follow, stay tuned for further details.
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