THQ’s Huw Beynon talks Metro 2033

THQ/4A Games’ Huw Beynon chats about the difficulties of adapting a book to a game, working with non-English studios, and shares his thoughts on 3D gaming.

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THQ’s Huw Beynon talks Metro 2033

Describe Sony In One Word [Clips]

Can you sum up your feelings towards Sony in one word? These people did. Well, most of them did. Others needed a few more. Gizmodo hit the streets of New York the other day to poll Average Joe on their feelings towards the Japanese super company , manufacturers of the PlayStation. They had to reply in either one word or a short phrase. The answers are about what I’ve come to expect when average people are asked their thoughts on something with a camera in their face: relentless opinion, soaked in ignorance (cheap??) with the occasional piece of brilliant insight (the “circus” and “shiny” guys are spot-on) sprinkled throughout. Be warned before you press play: some fanboys can’t help themselves on camera, so there are some naughty words. Video: Describe Sony In A Word [Gizmodo] Gizmodo Asks by wjang

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Describe Sony In One Word [Clips]

Describe Sony In One Word [Clips]

Can you sum up your feelings towards Sony in one word? These people did. Well, most of them did. Others needed a few more. Gizmodo hit the streets of New York the other day to poll Average Joe on their feelings towards the Japanese super company , manufacturers of the PlayStation. They had to reply in either one word or a short phrase. The answers are about what I’ve come to expect when average people are asked their thoughts on something with a camera in their face: relentless opinion, soaked in ignorance (cheap??) with the occasional piece of brilliant insight (the “circus” and “shiny” guys are spot-on) sprinkled throughout. Be warned before you press play: some fanboys can’t help themselves on camera, so there are some naughty words. Video: Describe Sony In A Word [Gizmodo] Gizmodo Asks by wjang

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Describe Sony In One Word [Clips]

Kotaku Originals: To a Fair-Thee-Well [Original]

The endings or beginnings of four shows, festivals or fairs – DICE, Toy Fair, the upcoming IFG and the outgoing X10 – churned up a ton of coverage over this past week. We saved room for more, don’t worry. Kotaku’s DICE 2010 Coverage The Road to the Independent Games Festival Kotaku’s Toy Fair 2010 Coverage Kotaku’s X10 Coverage Reviews, Previews, Hands-On & Impressions Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight Hands On: A Less Cheesy Three-way Dip Assassin’s Creed II: Discovery Micro-Review: Worth Discovering? The Latest Prince of Persia Plays With Solid Water and Flexible Time Aliens Vs. Predator Review: Too Human Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Review: A Muddled Mess Alan Wake Preview: The First Full Episode STALKER: Call Of Pripyat Review: Third Time’s A Charm? Halo Legends DVD Review: Ring Around The Halo Universe Chime Review: Tune In, Drop Out Hustle Kings Micro-Review: The Color of Fun News The Day Gamers Took Over Reselling: Epilogue A Look at the iPhone’s Mecho Wars Sequel on the PSP How To Unlock The Resident Evil 5 DLC “Classic” Camera More Fist of the North Star Screens, Of Course Already Dead World Of Warcraft Plushies: On The Wings Of Cuteness Halo 3 Multiplayer Servers Will Survive Halo Reach’s Launch Bungie Explains If Halo Reach Is More of an ODST or a Halo 3 Game Naughty Dog Helping Naughty Dogs Nintendo Goes To Court Again, This Time Over DS Piracy What Does The Final Fantasy Team Think Of The Last Story? No, There Isn’t A Jimi Hendrix: Rock Band In The Works Poof! And Like That Midway Games Disappear From Xbox LIVE [Update] Xbox Live & PSN On Mobile Phones: No, No, No Your Rough Guide To The Studios Behind Halo Legends The Past, Platforms And Future Of Final Fantasy XIII, Agito And Versus Final Fantasy XIII Creators On The Influence of Call of Duty, Card Games & The Toyota Prius Beyond Halo, Marathon, Myth, Oni, What’s Next For Bungie This Pokemon Is Somehow Strangely Familar Sony’s PS3 Digital Recorder Gets Release Date Nothing Says I Love You Like Being Stabbed With Final Fantasy Characters 2010: A Video Gamer’s Guide If You Want To Play EspGaluda II, Read This Post We Now Know How Many Of You Have A HD Television Professor Layton Developer Makes Another Soccer RPG Sequel With FirstPlay, Europe Gets Paid PSN Programming Plants vs. Zombies Has Sprouted on The iPhone Square Enix Probing Altered FFXIII Comparison Shots [Update] Five More Screens Show Off The Show No, This is Not Confirmation of the ‘Wii 2′ Features Judging The Covers Of Games, And How To Make Them Better Dante’s Inferno’s Japanese Marketing Includes a Racial Twist Columns Speak-Up On Kotaku: Maxim Issues, Madden & Shoulders, DLC Hate, And Pokémon Love Star Trek MMO Log, Stardate 2010.16 Stick Jockey: Plenty of Contractions, and a Lower Birth Rate in Sports Gaming Starcraft II Starcraft II: Some Thoughts On The Beta New Starcraft II Screens, With That Beta-Fresh Smell The StarCraft II Beta Test Has Officially Begun

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Kotaku Originals: To a Fair-Thee-Well [Original]

Mel Brooks, Chevy Chase & Superman Sound Off On Video Games [History]

Gaming academic ( and Kotaku guest editor ) Ian Bogost shares with the world this scan from a 1982 issue of Videogaming Illustrated, in which 1982 celebrities share their thoughts on the video games. Being 1982, we’ve got a stellar lineup, including comedian Mel Brooks, Superman’s Christopher Reeve, and another comedian, Chevy Chase. And remember, this is 1982, so all are at the height of their powers. Reeve and Chase are quite mean. Though, being 1982, that’s understandable. Brooks, on the other hand, issues a line that should be inscribed on the gates to video game land. Mel Brooks, Ontologist [Bogost]

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Mel Brooks, Chevy Chase & Superman Sound Off On Video Games [History]

Gamers4Croydon Interview with David Doe

Laura Parker talks to Gamers4Croydon Campaign Manager David Doe about the catalyst for the formation of Gamers4Croydon, his thoughts on the R18+ issue, what Gamers4Croydon hopes to achieve in the coming election, and their plans moving forward.

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Gamers4Croydon Interview with David Doe

Patrick Stewart Is Afraid To Open His Video Games [Clips]

PBS premièred a series tonight called “Digital Nation”, where a bunch of people are asked their thoughts on modern technology. This one features Patrick Stewart , and how he’s afraid of his video games. While the man made famous by Star Trek (and Oblivion!) loves his iPhone, loves the internet and loves email, he’s not so fond of video games. “The only aspect of all of this that I have never taken to, partly because I do have an addictive temperament, is gaming ” the man with gravy for a voice says. “I have a stack of games, I’ve never taken the covers off them, because I feel that if I do, I’m finished.” So even the mighty Sir Patrick Stewart has a pile of shame. There you go.

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Patrick Stewart Is Afraid To Open His Video Games [Clips]

Second Opinions: Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 (X360) The IGN Staff chimes in with our thoughts on Bioware’s splendid sequel.

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Second Opinions: Mass Effect 2

Kotaku Off Topic: Sudden Sleep [How Is This News?]

Well, I’m beat. All that Apple iPad anticipation and today’s relaxing special event from Steve Jobs have made this editor ready and willing to hit the sack. Oh, but let’s not talk about that Apple tablet right now. Tonight’s off-topic can be iPad free, if you want it. You’re steering the ship while I hurry home to catch up on the sleep I missed while traveling to San Francisco. The highlight of my day, outside of going hands on with shiny new toys, was seeing many, many businessmen curled up in the fetal position at LAX at 4:30 AM. The lowlight was being blindsided by a drooling nap on my return flight. (I prefer my sleep in private.) Feel free to tell us about your own sleep quirks in this edition of Kotaku Off Topic . Or give us your thoughts on tonight’s State of the Union address. Or, if you must, get some iPad things off your chest. Your call! The Best Architecture of the Decade – Still in the process of reading this. Howard Zinn, author of ‘People’s History’ and left-wing historian, dies at 87 in California – A People’s History of the United States is worth the read. LOST: Flight 815 Crash in Real Time – New to me, but old to the internet. Lost season 6 hype building.

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Kotaku Off Topic: Sudden Sleep [How Is This News?]

Glory of Heracles Creators Explain Their New Nintendo DS RPG [Nintendo]

One of Nintendo’s more low-key releases of 2010 is Glory of Heracles , released last week in North America for the Nintendo DS . The Greek-themed role-playing game is new user friendlier than most and the first in the series to come stateside. I’ve been playing Glory of Heracles over the course of the past week, a game that was noticeably coddling during my first hands-on time with the game at E3 but also steeped in RPG convention—you really do wake up on the beach with no memory of your past, your characters name initially displayed as “? ? ?”. So why a new game in the long-running (in Japan, at least) Heracles series? And why bring it to North America? Kentaro Nishimura, assistant producer at Nintendo explains. “When Nintendo DS hardware became available, a new type of fun using stylus was sought after; the resurgence of Heracles was just an example of great timing,” Nishimura told Kotaku. “It was decided that the game mechanics of Glory of Heracles were ideal to create a new type of RPG that uses a stylus.” That “new type of RPG” is aimed at a new type of audience, one who may yearn for an epic role-playing game type of yarn, but may be unfamiliar with the genre’s conventions and mechanics. “When an idea of creating a RPG game that utilizes the touch screen feature came up, the need for providing the new-player-friendly game system was regarded inevitable,” Nishimura said. “The game development proceeded in line with this initial concept.” “A user-friendly game doesn’t necessary mean a simple game. Glory of Heracles provides step-by-step tutorials and easy battle events for novice players,” Nishimura says. “For core players, the game provides higher level of battle events.” Those battle events were sped up for North American gamers after the Japanese version of Glory of Heracles caught some flak for its plodding pace. As a rare player of the Japanese role-playing game outside of the odd Mario & Luigi titles and more creative efforts like Demon’s Souls and Valkyria Chronicles, I don’t really mind the re-education in traditional RPG mechanics. And the story as I’ve experienced so far, bordering on cliche though it may be, should be an equally good primer on the Japanese role-playing game. Glory of Heracles scenario writer Kazushige Nojima—who also worked on Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts and Super Smash Bros. Brawl—says that the storyline was also built with a new audience in mind. “When I wrote the scenario, I kept in mind the need to make the game enjoyable for those who are completely new to the series,” Nojima says. “So, I think it is no problem if North American players know nothing about the previous game.” You may be asking, as I did, what exactly a “scenario writer” does. So I asked Nojima. “The role of scenario writer varies depending on what is expected by those who want to receive the scenario,” he said. “Sometimes all it takes is to simply come up with dialogues that compliment the scene. In other cases, the writer is asked to provide an overall theme or to pitch a plot.” Nojima continues. “In the case of Glory of Heracles, the overall storyline was already prepared. I began my work by branching, swapping, deleting, or unifying sequences, and then adding episodes and some more events. Finally, I tied them all up to make a story.” “I like an approach of rounding up every single one of the story elements into one: romance, family episode, history, mystery solving, revenge, you name it…” Nojima says of his approach to writing. “Depending on who plays it, people return me completely different feedback, and I love listening to them. Some people may say ‘I really loved the love story!’ and others may say ‘Where was the love story?’” I’m still getting my feet wet, relatively, with the story of Glory of Heracles, but will let you know my thoughts when our official review of the DS game runs this week. Oh, and one more thing. Given the mythos tapped by Nintendo and Paon in Glory of Heracles, I asked the game’s creators about their thoughts for the return of the similarly Greek Pit of Kid Icarus fame. Somehow that answer either got lost in translation or mistakenly missed during the Q&A session. Surprising, I know, but, hey, I asked! Anyone out there playing Glory of Heracles right now?

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Glory of Heracles Creators Explain Their New Nintendo DS RPG [Nintendo]

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