Glocal Hexcite

Glocal Hexcite is a puzzle game released by Success Corporation for the Wonderswan handheld console. The Wonderswan was released in 1999 and intended to compete with the neo geo pocket and Game Boy Colour. As it was a console designed essentially for the Japanese market, most of the games are in Japanese, with only a few featuring English text.

As with all puzzle games, the aim of Glocal Hexcite is simple, and as you may have guessed from the title, hexagons are involved. You are given a series of hexagons and must fill them in using shapes given to you. You can either play against the clock, which can get extremely frantic, or you can play against the computer, which is far more strategic as you can use your pieces to block the computer from filling in hexagons.

The game is extremely simple to play and is hellishly addictive. Thankfully the Wonderswan requires only one AA battery so it doesn’t cost a fortune to fuel your Hexcite habit.

Most successful handhelds have a puzzle game which sells excellently and draw people to the console. This is good for two reasons. One, puzzle games don’t require flashy graphics or sound effects and so can be easier to make. The second reason is that puzzle games will attract a far bigger audience then any other genre would. I think the most famous example of this would be Tetris on the original Gameboy. It became the flagship title for the machine and its popularity helped the Gameboy to sell millions and be the most popular handheld ever. The two newest handhelds, the Nintendo DS and PSP, launched with an array of puzzle games including titles such as Mr Driller, Lumines and Meteos. A new version of Tetris has also been announced for the DS.

The point I’m trying to make is that puzzle games are the genre most suited to a handheld console. They typically don’t last long, which is perfect for if you only have a few minutes spare, or are on the bus etc. This “pick up and play” attraction means that puzzle games always tend to sell well, which is obviously good for the console. Therefore Glocal Hexcite is the Wonderswan’s flagship puzzle game, their Tetris if you like.

I suppose the main difference between Japanese and Western puzzle games as fair as I am concerned is the lack of characters in Japanese games. In Tetris you move blocks, in Meteos you blast blocks. In Glocal Hexcite you make hexagons. Compare this to some Western Puzzles games. Lemmings, for example, sees you guiding you bunch of lemmings to the safe part of the map without having direct control over them. A similar thing applies in the Lost Vikings series, as well as the Oddworld series. The only Japanese puzzle game I can think of with characters in it is the Mr Driller series, which has been around for several years and on almost every format.

So why is this? My personal point of view is that perhaps game developers in the west think that their audience needs a character, something tangible on the screen, for us to understand and want to play the game. The Japanese on the other hand, are content with the game mechanics as they are. A character isn’t needed as what the game alone offers is sufficient to draw in people.

Deus Ex

Developed by: Ion Storm

Published by: Eidos

Key Figures: Warren Spector, Harvey Smith

Release Date: 2000 (PC/ Mac) 2002 (PS2)

Deus Ex (DX) is a first-person shooter/role-playing game developed by Ion Storm Inc. and published by Eidos Interactive in 2000. Set during the 2050s, with a cyberpunk story and setting elements, the game combines the action elements of a first-person shooter with the character development and interaction of a role playing game.

It won much acclaim upon its release and was (and still is) considered by many to be a pioneering title, receiving praise for its depth and variety. The game's name is derived from the Latin expression deus ex machina literally meaning "god from the machine."

Some fans have speculated that the protagonist's name, JC Denton, is derived from the initials of Jesus Christ the savior sent 'from God' in Christian religions, leading some to believe that instead of referring to deus ex machina the title is actually meant to be translated literally as 'from God.' The names of several main characters reinforce this interpretation. Paul Denton, for example, uses the name of Paul of Tarsus, an early church leader during the formative years of the Christian church. However, according to Sheldon Pacotti, lead writer on the game, the name "JC" was merely chosen for its unisex qualities when the developers were still planning to let the player choose the gender of the main character.

What makes Deus Ex so great is the way you can complete a mission any way you chose. Players could choose many different ways of achieving evolving goals, including stealth , long-range sniping, all-out combat with various heavy weapons, character interaction, bypassing devices, computer hacking and use of objects in the environment. As the game progressed you could upgrade your skills with a series of implants. (Your character is an upgradeable cyborg) As well as being able to upgrade your skills such as hacking or accuracy with handguns, you could make physical upgrades to your character; these would range from increased strength to the ability to stay underwater for longer without needing to breathe.

Deus Ex's plot drew together several current conspiracy theories into a narrative with characters having a deeper development than those of most FPS games. It also presented a philosophical dilemma in its conclusion where the player is given a world-altering choice, of which none of the options are broadcast in-game as the "right" choice. This meant several people played through the game three times to see all of the available endings.

The game had plenty of replay value anyway due to the fact you could choose to upgrade different abilities the next time round. As well as this, the game is simply huge. A single play-through of the game will miss hundreds of lines of dialogue, alternate routes and large sections of the environment.

The game was hailed by many critics and users as a significant step towards a "reality simulation", as one of the first games to truly pioneer the effect of moral choices, and one of the only games in existence based on violence to offer a non-violent alternative; killing is not a necessary part of Deus Ex. In fact, only one character must be killed in order to progress the game, and it is possible to accomplish that without using any offensive weapons.

Key Figures

Warren Spector

Warren Spector has a long history in the videogames Industry and has been involved primarily in RPG’s. It is no surprise then, that Deus Ex integrates several RPG elements into the traditional FPS frame. Whilst working for Origin Systems he worked on several games including Ultima, System Shock and Thief. After founding the Austin Branch of Ion Storm he was involved in the production of Deus Ex and its sequel, plus Thief: Deadly Shadows. His favorite games are Tetris and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Harvey Smith

His work merges elements from RPGs and first-person shooters in the creation of games with strong fictional integrity that lends themselves to self-paced exploration and player-self expression. Throughout his career, he has had various roles on projects such as Wing Commander 3DO, Ultima VIII: Pagan, CyberMage, System Shock, FireTeam, Deus Ex, and Deus Ex: Invisible War and Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Based in Austin, Texas, Smith has worked at Origin Systems, Multitude and Ion Storm. Today he works with Midway.

Deus Ex – Drawing Inspiration?

As you can see, the lead designers from Deus Ex were very heavily involved with RPG’s and this shows. It is perfectly possible to consider Deus Ex an RPG with FPS elements rather then an FPS with RPG elements, after all, it is possible to complete the game without actually shooting anyone. I used to have System Shock, which was released a few years before Deus Ex, though you really can see strong similarities between the two games and I would definitely cite System Shock as the closest game to Deus Ex in terms of gameplay and overall feel. So whereabouts along the line of FPS games does it sit? The emphasis on puzzles and interaction with other characters and the strong story mean this is no mere brainless shooter like Serious Sam, or Doom.

If I had to pick contemporaries for Deus Ex to sit alongside, then I would pick the Metroid series on the GameCube, and the Halflife series also. The depth and solid feeling to the environments in these games is what is so key to Deus Ex, the feeling of being in there and it being YOUR story, so you can play it however you like. You want to play stealthily? Fine, use tunnel and pipe networks to get to your target, sneak around the CCTV cameras, knock out any guards who get too close to finding you and embrace the shadows as your friend. You want to play gung ho? Deus Ex has enough weapons to equip a small army and it’s all accessible to you, Rockets, Shotguns, and Assault Rifles, its all in there for you to experiment with so get heated up and go in all guns blazing.

When a game comes around that allows you to freely do whatever you want to complete a goal, you know its going to be special and Deus Ex certainly didn’t disappoint, and scooped up over 30 game of the year awards in the year 2000. It still figures highly in greatest game ever polls, appearing at number 21 in IGN’s latest best game ever poll.

World of Warcraft - Nouns, Verbs and Rules (Review from Gamespot.com)

Noun

Azeroth
Humans
Outposts
Hunter
Night Elves
Caves
Warlock
Gnomes
Shrines
Warrior
Dwarves
Rogue
Undead
Paladin
Orcs
Priest
Taurans
Shaman
Trolls
Mage
Alliance
Druid
Horde
Alliance
Towns


Verb

Fighting
exploring
questing
flying
Player versus Player


Rule

create your alter ego
gaining experience
recovery times between battles are minimal
flying on the backs of gryphons
automatically respawn as a ghost
You get a talent point each time you level up
in-game postal service
There are six completely different starting points
class-specific quests
choice of race and gender also superficially affects your in-game personality
ability to purchase and ride a variety of fast-moving mounts
highly stylized look that's influenced by comic book art and anime
real time

Violence in Videogames

The issue of violence in videogames is certainly one that is becoming more and more commonplace in the mainstream media. The big question it seems is does playing violent videogames affect the psychological wellbeing of the player to any extent, or is it all just harmless, interactive fun.

Over here in the UK, the whole debate doesn’t seem to be as significant as it is in the United States. You may recall the outcry against Manhunt when it was released a few years ago, which did result in the game being pulled from the shelves briefly. The main problem I have with this debate is that parents who complain about violence in videogames are often the very same people who buy age rated games for children too young to legally play them. People seem to be eager to respect the laws with regards to watching films, though for some reason not games.

I think then, that to some extent a lot of what is going on is people shifting the blame onto others. In America there have been occasions when crazed lunatics have gunned down people and videogames have taken the blame for turning people into killers. People conveniently forget these people were nutters beforehand, playing Grand Theft Auto did NOT turn them into brainless killing machines. That being said, there are reports that violent videogames can increase aggression:

“WASHINGTON - Playing violent video games like Doom, Wolfenstein 3D or Mortal Kombat can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life, according to two studies appearing in the April issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Furthermore, violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor, say the researchers.”

Article link: http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html

Overall it is my personal belief that there shouldn’t be this whole debate. If people would respect the age certificate on the games then I can’t see where the problem comes in. There isn’t this debate on whether watching violent 18 rated films makes people more aggressive as the only people watching them (in the cinema at least) are those old enough and responsible enough to not be influenced in a negative way by them.

Bitmap Brothers

Responsible For: Futuristic Sports Games

Key Games: Speedball, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe

The Bitmap Brothers were founded in Wapping, London, in 1987 by Mike Montgomery, Eric Matthews and Steve Kelly. Their first game was the critically acclaimed shoot em up, Xenon. Xenon rocked the gaming world and showed people what they could expect from 16-bit technology. Gorgeous visuals, a quality soundtrack and sublime gameplay were the key factors in Xenon rocketing off the shelves and gave the game the distinction of being the first Amiga game to enter the top 40.

Buoyed by the success of Xenon, the brother’s second game was the brutal, futuristic sports game, Speedball. This was another huge hit for the brothers and showed that the first game was certainly no fluke. It was released initially on the Amiga and Atari ST in 1988, though also found itself a home on the PC, Commodore 64, Sega Master System and on the NES as Klashball. The game itself takes place inside a steel arena with two teams of five players each. The object is simple, get the steel speedball past the opposing goalkeeper and into their goal. This is achieved by either throwing the speedball up the pitch to your players, or by running with it and barging your opponent out of your way with extreme force. There are various powerups to be collected during the match and these

can be used in different ways when the end of match siren sounds.

The irony with Speedball is that

it was originally going to be a tennis game, called Real Tennis. Luckily for Speedball fans the Bitmaps publishers at the time (Mastertronic) had a c

hange of heart and decided to pull the plug. The Bitmaps then got to work on Speedball and it was snapped up by Imageworks.

The end of 1990 saw the release of the sequel to Speedball. For Speedball 2 Brutal Deluxe the brothers enlisted the talents of renowned comic book artist Glenn Fabry. Fabry's unique artistic style was used to produce the box art for the game

and gave it a dark violent look that suited the theme of Speedball perfectly. The game was instantly regarded as a classic and was likened to the 1970’s cult film Rollerball. Speedball 2 puts you in charge of the newest team to join the ultra violent sport. This team is Brutal Deluxe. Choosing either league, knockout, cup or management competition, it’s your job to turn them into the best team around.

What made the game different was its integrated management options, allowing you to buy and sell players, as well as its distinct metallic look. The game was incredibly popular and ended up on a whole host of consoles and computers,

such as Amiga, Atari ST, PC, Commodore 64, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, Gameboy, CD32, Gameboy Advance and also on the Pocket PC.