Namco Museum Volume 2 review

General and high profile video game topics.
mappy mouse pd

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby mappy mouse pd » August 20th, 2004, 10:17 pm

Very good observation. Flicky does, in fact, borrow a lot from Mappy. They're both highly underrated games.

Funkmaster V

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby Funkmaster V » August 22nd, 2004, 3:02 pm

You're right Mappy Mouse Man, you are right. I always wondered why I drew pictures of Mappy Mouse dying in my sleep. I'd wake up feeling so refreshed. It was because of Xenophobia. Or, the Cold War was bothering me. Whatever the case, I think I'm cured.

Seriously man, wow, take a pill. I was just trying to be funny. If American's like Missile Command because of the Cold War, tell me why that "Finger in the Ass" game does so well in Japan. Please, I want to here your thoughts on that. Here's a link to an article about that game for the people who care:

http://www.seanbaby.com/nes/naughty02.htm

Cousin Vinnie

mappy mouse pd

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby mappy mouse pd » August 23rd, 2004, 1:07 pm

Mappy Mouse Man? Did I ever say I was a man? Why would you assume such a thing?

I'm sorry that you just now realized that what you thought was just a hobby has turned out to be a reflection on your deepest fears and prejudices.

mappy mouse pd

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby mappy mouse pd » August 23rd, 2004, 1:13 pm

By the way, my previous comments have all been about classic games, like those in the Namco Museum series. After the "Golden Age" of video games, the industry itself has become a sort of cultural wasteland.

chickenwarrior1
Posts: 53
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby chickenwarrior1 » August 23rd, 2004, 4:41 pm

Mappy Mouse, uhh, Person: Why don't you just say all this in one kick ass article, cuz I respect your thoughts, but all this culture talk is really starting to piss me off. Don't mean to be rude, but I'd really rather read an article than a series of small snippets interupted by people like myself who just want contradict you. And no, I'm not contridicting you now, I'm just suggesting you write an article. As I said before, I don't really agree about [U]anything[/U] you have said (and all this stuff suggesting modern games are nothing but cra* is REALLY starting to bug me), but it would certainly be an entertaining and even contreversial read in article form.

mappy mouse pd

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby mappy mouse pd » August 23rd, 2004, 6:32 pm

I didn't say all modern games were crap. In fact, many of my favorite games were made in the passed six years. When I say video games have become another cultural wastland, I'm borrowing the phrase from the late Dani Bunten, perhaps the greatest game designer of all time, who had these words to say on the subject:

"There was a time when I thought computer games could represent a truly original interactive medium, however, with the takeover by big guys from Hollywood and corporate America, it looks like another cultural wasteland (like films and TV) devoted to crass consumer values. But they pay well!"

I think she's absolutely right. Instead of classic games, which were designed to appeal to our culture as a whole, we get games "devoted to crass consumer values." And since most of the consumers are young males, we get hundreds of games every year with a narrow focus on breasts, gore and juvenile humor.

There was a time when game designers like Dani Bunten, Richard Garriott and Brian Moriarty made use of the new medium to create genuine pieces of interactive art, which would appeal to everyone. Besides a scant few games, most modern games don't try to live up to the potential of video game entertainment, instead they're marketed to milk a few more dollars out of their core market of males aged 12-25.



chickenwarrior1
Posts: 53
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby chickenwarrior1 » August 24th, 2004, 1:37 am

Well,if you put it that way, I have to say I agree 100%.
Gone are the days any old person with knowledge of program could create their own game with their own original ideas. And so were left with what the publishers, and only the publishers want. They would rather ship thousands of different games that they know for sure will sell at least ok, than risk creating any real new genres of video games that could loose them a couple grand. However, in Japan, the market is still much more open to new and original ideas. If it weren't for good ol' Japan, we would never have recent cult classics like Seaman, Mr. Misquito, Typing of the Dead ect. Another thing, all games nowdays are about flash and presentation. A game like Burger Time, a hit in it's time, would NEVER be published nowdays. However, if somebody were to make some kind of bizare Burger Time (two words or one?) remake, the publishers may except merly for those who remember playing it in their past. There are still exceptions. Publishers who publish unique games just to do what nobody else dares to. Occasionally they are rewarded by hits, which the mainstream publishers rip off. But even if their games have great concepts behind them, and are greatly fun and original, they don't get the press from gaming media and therefor don't sell as well as Tony Hawk 15.5 Collectors Edition. If somebody wold just develop the technology that would allow a single person to creat an entire game by themselves, generally easily and cheaply, and publish them like authors publish books, or distribute them as producers do films, the gaming library would greatly expand to include many things most people have never even imagined. Now THAT would be the golden age of video games.
- chickenwarrior

mappy mouse pd

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby mappy mouse pd » August 24th, 2004, 8:56 am

I don't agree that Japan is the source of all the innovative games. Since about 1998, American and European developers have taken over as the leaders in game design. There are no Japanese companies that can even come close to accievements like Baldur's Gate, System Shock 2, Ultima Online, Homeworld and Half-Life. Also, with games like Fable and World of Warcraft, it looks like this isn't going to change anytime soon.

There are very few Japanese companies trying to push video games further. Sega is one, and their upcoming Shenmue Online is one of the few promising games coming out of Japan. Nintendo is creatively bankrupt. Now that their game development team is dried up, they're pining their hopes on the Nintendo DS, which tries to make up for a dearth of good software with gimmicky features.


chickenwarrior1
Posts: 53
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby chickenwarrior1 » August 24th, 2004, 1:54 pm

That is simply not true, nor fair. Many of the biggest and most innovative games are indeed made in US, but hardly most of them. And many of them are made by Japanese game making vetrans. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that all of the big Nintendo franchises were created in Japan, and if you think Zelda, Star Fox, Pikmin or Metroid were rip offs or unoriginal, you are greatly confused. Most of the games you mentioned that were made in U.S. were indeed technically very innovative at the time, they really were not that original. If your just talking about the most successfull games, I can say in my defence that all the most successfull game developers who soley designed their own games are Japanese. The only single game developers I can think of that are known by all hardcore gamers that are not Japanese are Alex Pajitnov, Sid Meir and Ed Logg. I can think of many more revolutionary games made by the Japanese than the Americans or Europeans. Quite frankly, I don't believe I see your point.

mappy mouse pd

Namco Museum Volume 2 review

Postby mappy mouse pd » August 24th, 2004, 2:12 pm

I agree that Nintendo was at one time at the forefront of gaming, but they have recently become creatively bankrupt. That's why they needed a good partnership with Rare, a European company, which made many of their best games for the N64. Now that they lost Rare, are they trying to make better games themselves? No, Metroid Prime was made by an American group (in Texas, no less). They recently bought out Silicon Knights (another American group), who made Eternal Darkness, because their own development teams are so lackluster.

This has nothing to do with the success of a certain game, just how innovative and fun it is. Japanese companies have forgotten a game can be both.



Return to “Video Games General”