I’m blowing the entire weekend (which, admittedly means about 6 hours kid-free total) on these two game proposals. I’ve pretty much been a proponent of episodic game content since…. Well, I started pitching episodic title concepts way back in 1999. It’s not an easy thing to, generate new content on a consistent, ongoing basis. I know more than a few studios have attempted it, and what I want to do, release content on a weekly basis, like the TV studios do, is probably doubly hard. Telltale has almost managed it, Valve has gone the much safer route of releasing the “Episodes” for HL much further apart. I think, though, that I have a plan. And I think it will work if I can just get all my ducks in a row and present this thing properly, get someone else to see the potential that I see. It’s like assembling a three legged stool. There are multiple elements to this plan (well, to the “BIG” plan anyway) that involve working cross-media. Broadcast, Game and Internet together as a complete IP product. NBC is moving this way, what with how they are exploring additional content for Chuck and Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy. I’m seeing it come together in bits and pieces, and in the next, say, five years this plan I have will come to pass. I just really want to be the one to do it, rather than pulling a “Rodney McKay” and saying HEY THAT WAS MY IDEA!
Archive for November 2008
The New XBox Experience
So it downloaded itself last night. My husband and son were getting ready to kick some Spartan-ass online when they logged into Xbox live. For possibly the first time it was like being in some “the AI’s will take over” futuristic universe. We pushed a button and a whole new product was delivered right to our home, no muss, no fuss, and it WORKED just right the first time. I didn’t have to relogin, I didn’t have to do *anything*.
It was really really cool, but strange and alien at the same time.
And don’t even get me started on how cool the Netflix thing is. The streaming isn’t perfect, there are those moments when it claims it’s “adjusting to compensate for your connection slowing down” which is probably doublespeak for “waiting for the buffering to catch up”. But if you have your computer next to your TV (which we do, nerds that we are) you can make changes to your Netflix account and see them update almost instantly on your 360.  Sweeeeeeeet.
Okay, so the avatars are the same stupid Flash-design clones you see everywhere online (Twinky, AvaPeeps, what have you) but each of my three kids spent about an hour trying every single option out for these little bulbous-headed freaks. I have to say, my daughter’s fashion sense is either truly cutting edge, or we’re going to have to have a chat when she hits high-school and I lose control of the wardrobe options.
More as I continue to explore. I know the interface design isn’t for everyone, from an old-school artists’ POV, I keep thinking “but they’re WASTING all this space and these polygons”. But it is easy and intuitive to navigate.
Now, to be fair, I haven’t explored the PS3 or the Sony Store online hookup yet, but after seeing this, I’m not sure I could be lured away. I mean, I know lots of people HATE Microsoft, but when they choose to put their combined might behind a product (like their Xbox division seems to have done here) they manage to pull it off without the consumer having to rip their hair out. It’s stylish, it’s easy to work with, it installed and I didn’t even have to get out a screwdriver or a 5lb sledge. After custom-building my own computers since the late 80’s, there is a bit of relief that I dint’ have to get in and hack at stuff to make sure it works.
Now if I can just get my hands on GOW2 I think I’ll be all set for entertainment for a few weeks.
