MetaFilter posts tagged with games

Well I walk into the room, passing out hundred dollar bills

Horace Rumpole — Sat, 25 May 2013 15:09:42 -0800

When We Held Kings: The oral history of the 2003 World Series of Poker, in which an amateur named Moneymaker turned $39 into $2.5 million and the poker boom was born.

And then there was One?

Artw — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:05:18 -0800

Microsoft has unveiled their new console, and it wants to dominate your living room. How Xbox One plans to fight Sony, Steam, and everything else.

I Was Into Games Before They Were Cool

Charlemagne In Sweatpants — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:53:07 -0800

Obscure Videogames presents obscure Japanese videogames as gorgeous animated gifs.

Current quest: saw a leg off the period table

NoraReed — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:59:58 -0800

Godville is a text-based "massively-multiplayer zero-player game" in which you play a god with rather tenuous control over a hero. Changes to the game, including quests and items, are crowd-sourced and voted on by the community The game is playable in browser and via Android and iOS apps. Official game wiki.

Focus on the background: animated GIFs of fighting game stages

filthy light thief — Sat, 11 May 2013 07:28:29 -0800

"I have a huge collection of fighting game backgrounds as gifs. Figured you guys might appreciate it."

Crowd funding, One Year Later

Artw — Sun, 05 May 2013 06:37:29 -0800

What does the crowdfunding landscape look like for game developers one year after Kickstarter exploded onto the scene?

Next Gen Cat Poop

codacorolla — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:48:18 -0800

"Remember kids, whenever you get frustrated at the state of the art, or you find yourself struggling to express yourself, just repeat after me: FUCK. VIDEOGAMES." Darius Kazemi (previously,previously and previously) writes about the use and abuse of video games as a means of expression.

Press A to make these patronizing screens go away.

jbickers — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:42:22 -0800

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon's opening tutorial sequence pokes a whole lot of fun at the conventions of opening tutorial sequences. The game is a stand-alone, downloadable expansion of Far Cry 3. Staged as an 80's action sci-fi movie set in the far-away year 2007, it's getting some great reviews on its aesthetics ("It's Far Cry 3 taped onto a VHS tape, then duped over to another VHS tape with the commercials cut out, then copied for your friends at school and played on a filthy VCR that's been playing illicit tapes taken from the "steamy" section of the local rental store") and sense of humor ("Knowingly awful writing, rich with eye-rolling puns and delightfully inappropriate profanity, is a reminder that the dopey dialogue of ‘80s action movies is still a special sort of hilarious."). Released yesterday, it already has a fairly extensive TV Tropes entry.

Baby is invincible. But baby can't jump and climb ladder.

ignignokt — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:28:27 -0800

Keita's Quick Ideas. In 2011, Keita Takahashi, designer of Katamari Damacy, joined the team of the unconventional MMO game Glitch (previously), which had to close its doors last year. The Glitch people have since published 200 of Keita's ideas for the game.

England's pleasant pastures recreated

MartinWisse — Wed, 01 May 2013 03:14:36 -0800

The British countryside generator uses Voronoi diagrams to recreate the patchwork quilt look of your stereotypical UK landscape of rolling meadows, woodlands and crop fields, enclosed by hedgerows and drystone walls.

Do you want to buy one 30 attack items for $0.99?

Rory Marinich — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:07:01 -0800

Introducing Super Monster Bros by Adventure Time Pocket Free Games! Where the characters are Pokemon (kinda), the gameplay is Mario (kinda), and the content will cost you up to $99.99 to unlock!

Ages 3 and Up

Artw — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:44:10 -0800

"Queen Frostine turned into a Bratz doll" - The evolution of sexed-up Candyland.

Hush Little Journo, Don't Say a Word

gilrain — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:39:04 -0800

In an ongoing effort to call out the PR tactic of silence which started with a focus on SimCity, Rock Paper Shotgun points out that after the public outcry, controversy, and an apology from Deep Silver which concluded "we want to reiterate ... how deeply sorry we are, and that we are committed to making sure this will never happen again", the special edition of Dead Island: Riptide which includes a statue of a woman's severed torso silently went on sale anyway. Previouslies: Dead Island, SimCity 1 and 2

There's Amazonian and Then There's...

gilrain — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:19:44 -0800

Video game character design is frequently questionable, but some designers don't like being questioned. Penny Arcade imagines equal opportunity questionability, while their reporter Ben Kuchera examines the broader issue.

Don’t Act. Don’t Think. Make Twine Games.

codacorolla — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:58:55 -0800

The "Slavoj Žižek Makes a Twine Game" game. Created by Cameron Kunzelman of This Cage is Worms (previously). Inspired by Ian Bogost (previously).

The Legend of Zelda: Clockwork Empire

laconic skeuomorph — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:16:26 -0800

Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, internet cartoonist Aaron Diaz of Dresden Codak (Previously) wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link. The Legend of Zelda: Clockwork Empire is that pitch. There's a FAQ with more info. Direct links to the full-size images from the tumblr: Cover art Zelda Prince Link and Ganondorf Calatian Empire, Foglands, and Hylian Ruins Combat, weapons, and outfits The Gauntlet of Gamelon and magic Schools of magic example images

The Finances of a Successful Indie Game

gilrain — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:22:49 -0800

"When we first started working on Dustforce, it was frustrating to not be able to find much data about whether indie game development is a realistic thing to do with your life." Hitbox Team helps remedy that for future designers in this article about the finances and sales of their game, Dustforce.

A1reviews

juv3nal — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:06:53 -0800

PUCK MAN HAD HIS NAME CHANGED IN TRANSLATION TO PREVENT IT BEING DETOURNED INTO "FUCK MAN".
This is the key to everything I know. From this point on, I cannot help you.
A1reviews, the eminently quotable tumblr where thecatamites (previously 1,2) reviews videogames (er, sometimes).

Killing Is Harmless

empath — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:59:26 -0800

We have made the act of killing and shooting so fun, but we’ve also taken the importance out of it by piling so much of it in. You don’t ever have to think about the concept of pulling a trigger, because even if you run out of bullets, we’re going to give you so many more bullets! So many more people to shoot! In fact, even if all the people in the game aren’t enough, we’re gonna give you Horde mode! You can kill people until you can’t kill them anymore!

The writers of the controversial Far Cry 3 and Spec Ops: The Line discuss the past, present and future of FPS's. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

What does oil represent? Us. Gamers.

Smart Dalek — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:19:39 -0800

Let's look at the evolution of gaming, from a business perspective, using oil.

In which we discuss the politics of the Mario Universe.

Navelgazer — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:22:47 -0800

...Although as he self-styles himself "King Koopa," it is apparent that he claims (or is seeking) parity of esteem with Princess Peach; that is to say that he does not regard himself as a "terrorist," but as a "freedom fighter" or entitled ruler in his own right.

No Sanitation? No Services? No Problem!

codacorolla — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:40:38 -0800

Megabumtopia (explanatory Reddit thread) is a virtual libertarian paradise which houses over a million happy Sims without worrying about things like 'power' or 'sewage treatment' or 'drinkable water'. SimCity's recent launch problems have been discussed previously on Metafilter.

The unsaid subtext was "millions of Gamers JUST LIKE US."

Rory Marinich — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 04:30:26 -0800

"Today I donated my Xbox 360 Elite to Goodwill. It represented a time in my life as a developer that I'm not overly proud about living." A former Microsoft game designer reflects on how his ex-company turned gaming into a bro thing and perfected a formula for the modern console title.

A Quantum Leap in games reviewing

Sonny Jim — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 07:05:35 -0800

"This week, I'm a ..." Christopher Livingston (aka notmydesk) plays mundane PC simulations so you don't have to! Read, heart-in-mouth, as he masters the art of Being a Wolf in WolfQuest, treats objects like women as a furniture-fixated Hugh Hefner in Playboy: the Mansion, makes a thrilling escape from the life of a simple cruise ship captain in Ship Simulator: Extremes, disappoints the masses in Circus World, and performs routine adminstrative tasks and dates a cartoon lawyer in the frankly terrifying-sounding Love & Order. Bonus snark! Amazon.co.uk reviewers assess the gameplay of the most satisfyingly mundane PC simulations currently on the market: Surgery Simulator:

Before I bought this game I was a bricklayer, and not a very good one at that. I had the dexterity of a two year old in the midst of an epilectic fit. However, having played this game for a month I donned some scrubs and walzed into the workers entrance of my local hospital. Such is the shortage of medical staff here no-one questioned my credentials, and by the end of the evening I'd performed two tonselectomies and a heart bypass. After a week the mortality rate had only risen 5%, and so I continue my game. If an operation is scheduled that I don't know, I just fire up the PC and have a practise: with the realism in this game I'd feel confident wielding a scalpel on my own daughter. I would give her a rhinoplasty, but shes fitted a bolt to her door and won't go to sleep until she hears me snoring now.

Delivery Truck Simulator:

My wish-list for the next version - ability to shout at colleagues in the warehouse in an abusive way, taking calls from customers and telling them that the parcel is on the truck and will be with them within the hour, having a long tea-break in the layby on the A408 and being able to throw the boxes onto the back of the truck rather than place them professionally.

Roadworks Simulator:

This game will relight your fire for playing games every night, ALL night! Since I was a child I have always wanted to be part of the road team who take excessive lunch breaks, do very little and hold up traffic packed with people who need to get places.

Street Cleaning Simulator:

Part of what makes this so spectacular is how unpredictable it is. When rounding a corner, you feel the tension as to what happens next. Will there be gum on the floor? Will a burger have been dropped? Has someone left a newspaper by the curb? I sometimes had to put the game down and go for a walk to calm myself. With such impressive and articulate missions such as "Clean the curb on Anderson street" and "Clean the curb in Market Way", it is obvious as to why you would play this game for hours at a time.

Previously: Mundane Simulation. Previouslier: The Roads I drive are haunted by memories. Previousliest: It's kind of like Minecraft except you drive a bus in Germany. [Via.]

Mundane simulation

Pope Guilty — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 07:34:13 -0800

German Truck Simulator. Bus Driver. U-Boat Simulator. Ski Region Simulator. London Underground Simulator. Street Cleaning Simulator. Who's buying all these niche simulation games, anyway? We found out