What can designers do about the ludonarrative dissonance that exists when you try to mix a deep storyline with a shooter?
Every action adventure game that tries to have a decent storyline runs into the dichotomy of the protagonist having to shoot hundreds of people. The problem is a simple mismatch of genres.
Any potential power gap between consoles and PCs won't matter because people are more interested in what games a platform has to offer.
Will monetization strategies really eliminate single-player games?
It may have passed by most people, but February 2013 was the 20th anniversary of the Japanese release of the original Star Fox. March is the 20th anniversary of its North American release. Thinking about that made me try …
In the upcoming console wave, the flexibility of each platform may be equally or more important than hardware power.
Let's take a look back at the origins of System Shock 2 and why it's still worth playing.
I don’t think there’s been a whole lot of attention brought to it, but the Metal Gear franchise turned 25 last Saturday, counting from the original MSX game’s release in Japan. 1UP is doing a bunch of articles about it, and a …
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night turned 15 a little while ago and I’d just recently finishedShadow Complex for the first time, so I thought it’d be nice to finally knock this one out. Even playing it from my …
Nintendo posting its first ever annual loss last year has brought another barrage of condemning articles from mainstream financial publications claiming the company should switch over to smartphones. There are a bunch of reasons why a lot of people think …
Over the past few months I’ve been steadily forced to admit that iOS isn’t inherently opposed to what we would call "real games." At least not in one category, anyway.
Maybe it’s because these games aren’t getting as much notoriety …
Nintendo’s downloadable game services get a lot of crap because they don’t advertise the games enough. There are probably a ton of hidden gems on WiiWare, DSiWare, and the eShop. Aura Aura Climber from NST for the DS is …
To me and other people who actually buy PC games, Ubisoft’s recent words and actions have been both alarming and pretty dumb…even compared to their peers' statements.
First, the director of I Am Alive said some gloomy things about the …
Recent big releases like Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 have once again resurrected the discussion and criticism of today's super-scripted, theme-park brand of game design. I think these titles, along with others, prove that …
In general my main pet peeve this console generation is games that hold your hand way too much. The ultimate symbol of this for me that just won’t go away is those hints that clog up the loading screens …
The biggest criticism I’ve seen about Duke Nukem Forever is that it doesn’t play like a modern shooter. While the genre has evolved over the years, the Duke Nukem series has made me wonder whether current mechanics have really gotten …
We like to laugh at the people dancing around holding iPods in those old commercials, but to tell you the truth the image above basically encapsulates what I was like while playing Groove Coaster on my iPhone. When you think …
The recent coming-out party for indie games has been mostly aimed at Western audiences, but has anyone wondered about the state of independent titles in Japan? When looking through Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store, I've always wondered where …
This time of the year for gamers has started to mean sales, not unlike a lot of other things like shoes and such. Even though retail chains are starting to get with it, the bulk of these deals still mainly …
I finally found a relatively easy way to get MKV files running on my PS3 without losing subtitles or subtitle styling, and it was kinda staring me in the face all along.
If you own a PS3 and download …
I guess it’s about time I paid a little attention to the growing games market on these newfangled touch contraptions that we’re carrying with us every day. People say that stuff’s a threat to video games as we know …
I admit it — I'm part of the problem. In almost every game of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 or Team Fortress 2 I just roll sniper and get into duels with other snipers, while everyone else actually tries to win. …
Garnett Lee on the Weekend Confirmed podcast has said that he no longer likes fail states. David Cage has at least once criticized the age-old gaming conventions like bosses and "game over" screens. You have to admit that fail states originally …
One of the biggest issues that seems to plague this generation is the conflicting economics of game length, price, and overall value. It’s an issue involving modern development structures, which might benefit from a bit of a change.
Before typing …
A protagonist that is truly an “everyman” is the holy grail of game design. As a result, the search for a character that doesn’t come off as a bland, all-capable superhero has led to some deceit as to what that …
At this point it's almost futile for Microsoft to continue with the Games for Windows platform. Other services, notably Steam, beat them to the punch on basically every count — several years ago, in fact — and are now hopelessly …
Undoubtedly the most desperate moment I’ve ever experienced playing a video game wasn’t explicitly scripted or designed by a developer — it was an emergent, spontaneous player-narrative event. You know how most horror movies have a part where one guy …
Medal of Honoris just another first person shooter – mechanically speaking anyway. Under most circumstances it would be played, almost immediately filed away, and forgotten as a cash-in on assembly line. Even if most people wholly believe this, I …
I had this thought even before actually playing a little bit of the PC beta this past week. Even after playing it though I’m starting to think that maybe this franchise should drop its multiplayer, both for the sake of …
The strongest and most common argument for why many console gamers don't play PC games is because they don't own computers powerful enough to run newer titles. But that reason flies out the window in the case of old-school and …
It seems like “I honestly can't figure out how buying a used game was any better than piracy,” was all Tycho had to say to re-ignite the new and used games debate. Whether or not it’s right or wrong in …
A few months ago my 60GB PlayStation 3 died on me, and I ended up having to conduct an assload of research to figure out the best way to get back up and running. Since I didn’t find any truly …
Editor's note: I've been playing a number of shooters with sticky cover lately, so Daniel's article caught my eye. Is it time for developers to pull away from the sticky-cover mechanic? -Brett
The first Gears of War has become my …
Editor's note: Judging from the screenshots Daniel has provided here, I can already answer the question in the title for you: absolutely yes. Read on and marvel at them yourself. -Brett
A little over a week ago, I stumbled upon …
Editor's note: Daniel's guide to the Steam summer sale is aimed at console gamers and people with underpowered PCs. In other words, people like me. List your own recommendations in the comments! -Brett
If you follow me on Twitter, then …
Editor's note: Daniel believes that motion control is too new to judge properly, and he argues that it will improve with time. I'm somewhat ambivalent toward motion control, but I do think it's best to wait until the next …
Editor's note: Daniel argues that developers motivated by something more than just the desire to make a fun game are the ones who push the medium forward. -Demian
Whenever gamers get into a discussion about the relative importance of story …
With Final Fantasy XIII, Just Cause 2, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and whatnot occupying March, I had to put real effort into making sure a few small gems didn't get left behind. Infinite Space and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange …
A few months ago Red Faction Guerrilla brought back a feeling that I probably hadn't felt since the N64 times. As soon as I realized this I became alarmed at how many games these days were functionally over once you …
Editor's note: Too many titles are content rest on their laurels when it comes to character development. Daniel argues that instead of constantly shuffling us from action scene to action scene, developers should spend more time giving us intimate depictions …
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