Still, it was great fun to record - just as fun as GameBurst’s own quiz. Download it and give it a listen - and then maybe send them an email demanding more. I’d certainly love to here more of the audio gags from Alex.
A feature originally published in MCV, Issue 586 - Friday, May 7th 2010, and subsequently published on MCVUK.com.
Bethesda’s upcoming release slate is brimming with promising new IP, not to mention the sequel to its 2008 smash hit, Fallout 3. MCV speaks to Bethesda’s marketing boss Pete Hines to discuss the company’s line-up, digital downloads and its MMO ambitions…
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I honestly had planned to give it up when I left The WiiDS Podcast back in October, but guest spots in recent months and discussions with fellow podcasters were an incessant remindeer about how much fun it can be.
In February, the nefarious Lewis Holt - known by many as Dippy Dolittle - started speculating with me about a hypothetical games podcast, one that would avoid the pits and perils that had hit other shows we had listened to and the struggling WiiDS. We came up with a hypothetical premise, a hypothetical schedule and even began discussing it (hypothetically) with another fellow former podcaster looking to pick up the mic again - Neil Taylor (aka Kid Dogg).
The result? The not-so-hypothetical GameBurst, a new half-hour twice weekly games podcast. The first episode will be out Sunday, May 9th, with a preview episode due out in the next couple of days. Head to the new site for more info (forgive the lack of logo - it’s a work in progress), and I hope you enjoy what we’ve come up with.
I swear this will be the last time I mention me giving up video games for lent, but it happened to be the reason for my latest podcast appearance.
The ever-brilliant Digital Cowboys invited me to talk about my experience as it tied in nicely with their latest episode, DC152: Our Life Without Games. It was great to talk about the last two months, the high points, the low points, the reasons why and the lessons learned.
If you’ve not come across the Digital Cowboys before - and shamefully I hadn’t before guesting with them back in October - I urge you to listen. They have a fantastic show with strong, interesting discussions and the two hosts speak with a near-perfect blend of enthusiasm and professionalism.
A feature originally published in MCV, Issue 582 - Friday, April 9th 2010, and subsequently published on MCVUK.com.
3D has become something of a buzz word in recent months. With most of the biggest cinema releases now launching with 3D screenings, interest in the technology has inevitably risen within the games industry.
In the last year alone, we have seen the likes of Disney’s G-Force and Ubisoft’s James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game boast stereoscopic 3D modes.
Even as recently as last month, Nintendo hinted at the first details of its 3D-enabled new handheld, currently named the 3DS, and Square Enix released Batman: Arkham Asylum – Game of the Year Edition, which featured TriOviz 3D glasses.
There is even a 3D Gaming Summit, due to be held in Los Angeles from April 21st, exploring the impact the technology will have on our industry. Like it or not, 3D won’t be disappearing any time soon.
Of course, 3D gaming is nothing new. The technology has had a presence in the industry since the early days of the Vectrex, the Sega Scope 3D for Master System and the ill-fated Nintendo Virtual Boy.
So why has the industry now renewed its efforts to master the third dimension?
As anyone that follows my Twitter feed will know, I successfully completed my ‘Games for Lent’ challenge. I survived 47 days without playing any video games (with the exception of the occasional stint on Chess With Friends and Words With Friends, as I stipulated at the beginning).
And yes, I said 47. Not 40, as the Christians would have you believe. There are only 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday if you don’t count Sundays. Whether or not that means you can indulge on Sundays, I don’t know – I was that determined to prove I could make it all the way through.
In a cruelly ironic twist, I was away for Holy Saturday and couldn’t take any games (console, handheld or otherwise) with me, so I ended up having to last a few days longer. I was tempted to stretch it out for the full 50 days but by that stage, I figured I’d made my point and had no need to deprive myself any longer.
Throughout the experience, my colleagues often went out of their way to ridicule, question and otherwise belittle what I was doing – not out of spite, but simply because they couldn’t understand what the point was. In fact, that was the perhaps the most prominent question they hurled at me: “What will this actually accomplish?”
Having finished last Monday and given myself a week to get back into gaming, not only to satisfy my hunger but also to take a long, hard look at what I’d been missing, it’s time I ask myself the same question.
With Mongo Bear absent due to “family business” (and not in the traditional sense), Spy asked me to help out and co-host for Gaming Unlimited 155: It’s a Marathon, not a Sprint. He sold it to me with the promise that it’s no longer the four-hour marathon it was a few years back when I was co-hosting every week.
At least, that was his plan. I (unintentionally) stretched it out to a good two-and-a-half hours – and for this I am truly, truly sorry. It was partly because I kept on finding something else I wanted to talk about, and partly because Spy didn’t stop me.
If you have any trans-continental flights coming up, please give it a listen. It was great fun recording with Spy again and reminded me why I enjoyed podcasting so much.
Maybe I need to take it up again…
If you’re any sort of gamer and you have an internet connection, you’re no doubt aware that last Friday’s episode of The Alan Titchmarsh show featured a brief discussion on violence in video games. In what Channel Television insists was “a balanced debate overall”, the prominent gardener and his guest panel managed to anger an entire industry and while I’m sure you’ve already read more than a few responses to this farce (including that of my housemate and fledgling blogger on PFG&C), I’d like to offer my own comments.
C&VG Editor (and former MCV man) Tim Ingham faced some pretty tough opposition in the form of the confused Titchmarsh, hypocritical expert Julie Peasgood and the surprisingly balanced former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie. Together they insisted that there is too much violence in video games and that the games industry is corrupting today’s youth.
I learned many things from last night’s Game BAFTAs: Shigeru Miyamoto is really short; Michelle Ryan is even hotter in real life; my colleague’s voice goes almost ultrasonic when meeting his favourite celebrities; and the paparazzi know absolutely nothing about video games. More importantly, they don’t care.
Now I guess that’s not too surprising – they were, after all, more interested in the more traditional celebs – but it’s still somewhat shocking to hear Miyamoto-san referred to as ‘that Japanese guy’. Such heresy is heartbreaking when you think how much of an influence the man has had on the fastest growing (and one of the most lucrative) entertainment industries in history.
Arguably, it is because he’s behind the scenes. The true stars, or at least the most recognisable, in the gaming world don’t really exist. Mario was never likely to turn up in a limo, and Lara Croft wasn’t about to grab the front page with a stunning evening dress picked out for last night’s event. But when you think that the likes of Steven Spielberg – who also spends the entirety of his career behind the scenes of his product – would have captured the paparazzi’s interest, it’s a shame that games haven’t reached that stage yet.
Yep, that’s me and Robert Knepper - also known as Prison Break’s T-Bag. He was a really friendly bloke, who seemed caught up in the wonder of talking about the show’s first season, having not given it two seconds thought since filming upwards of four years ago. Also, I’m standing on the opposite side of the banner from him for symmetrical purpose - not out of fear. He’s nowhere near as psychotic as his PB character.
Interestingly, I haven’t watched Prison Break so I didn’t know much about T-bag and his crimes. So it was more than a little amusing when Robert turned up at the Soho Hotel, got out of the car - only to have someone exclaim: “Oh, he’s the paedophile!”
