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Posts with tag gdc

Guitar Hero DS details surface at Austin GDC


We haven't heard much about Guitar Hero DS since it was confirmed, but Adrian Earle of Vicarious Visions let a few tiny tidbits slip at the Austin Game Developers Conference. The first is really no surprise: the peripheral that was being considered is a go, though the design is not yet completed. Earle only promised that we would "absolutely love it." Perhaps his Magic 8-ball told him so? Or maybe the peripheral is closer to completion than he wants us to think.

The second bit is the one we found more interesting, and potentially either horrifying or fantastic. Graphically, they're planning on keeping the DS installment as true to the look of the Guitar Hero franchise as possible. The series has a pretty distinct look that has grown more and more detailed over time, and we can't wait to get a glimpse of how they plan to translate that to the dual screen experience. It sounds like they've set themselves quite a challenge here, and we hope they can pull it off. After all, DS gamers already have some of the best rhythm games ever made ... our standards are high. But the Guitar Hero series is all about fun, so if done well here, it should fit right in.

Remixed medley of The Legend of Zelda's soundtrack

One of our favorite touches of the new Phantom Hourglass' trailer shown at this year's GDC event was its use of the reworked Hyrule Castle theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. If there's one thing we love, it's retro tracks brought back for another round. That's why we're featuring a medley of songs from the original Zelda game (NES) remixed by electronica musician Ochre, for your Sunday listening pleasure.

We imagine that trying to add anything on top of Koji Kondo's classic work without ruining it is a difficult task, but this arrangement doesn't miss a step. Ochre's interpretation blends the 8-bit pieces with his own playful style, taking the listener through a six-minute daydream of Link's adventures. If you're a fan of lush synths and summery rhythms, we definitely suggest downloading this song along with Ochre's other remixes and original offerings at his site.

[Via The New Gamer]

GDC07: Classic Suda 51 weirdness hitting the DS



Suda 51's first games as part of Grasshopper Manufacture are being remade for the DS. The games, called The Silver Case and The Silver Case Ward 25, were originally released for the Playstation and mobile phones, respectively. Suda revealed this fact during his GDC keynote "Punk's Not Dead".

Both are graphical text adventures; Ward 25 uses static art and the original Silver Case uses full-motion video. Unfortunately, because of the amount of text that would have to be translated, Suda isn't sure the remakes will be released outside Japan. Someone tell him that American DS players love graphical text adventures! And tell him that we <3 Grasshopper Manufacture too.

GDC 07: Pokemon Pearl impressions

The Pokemon machine just doesn't stop. Pokemon Pearl was available at GDC on a pretty pink DS Lite, and while no one was looking, I got to get my hands on it. While the Pokemon franchise isn't known for its graphics, the first thing I noticed as a long-time Pokemon fan was how improved the graphics have become. The screens may not show it off too well, but the game features much better character sprites in the game world. Looking at the aliasing issues in the game, it appears that the world may even have a psuedo-3D engine behind it as well. Unfortunately, the battles haven't received as nice of a makeover: they still look incredibly primitive, even by GBA standards: the uninspired battle animations certainly don't leave a good impression.

Other than the cosmetic changes, it doesn't appear as though the world of Pokemon has changed too much. Like previous iterations of the franchise, this version introduces even more pocket monsters to capture ... but not much else. The game doesn't stray far from the original Pokemon formula: classic elements, such as being forced into a fight when spotted by a rival trainer, are still retained in this latest update.

Strangely, use of the touch screen seems conspicuously absent. Of course, with other titles like Pokemon Ranger trying to take the franchise in a different direction, maybe it's best that Pokemon remains unchanged for its next major DS release.

GDC 07: Phantom Hourglass multiplayer mode demoed

We hope it doesn't suck.Ever since The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass made its debut at last year's GDC, the project has essentially been hidden within a solar eclipse. Now, on the celestial zenith anniversary of that momentous day, Nintendo has felt fit to show off another little part of the game: a multiplayer mode.

IGN has some hands-on impressions; one player controls Link, attempting to gather pieces of Triforce scattered about a (now classic) hedge maze, while the other draws paths on the touchscreen for three guards to follow and intercept. There appears to be some strategic elements as well, and for those a bit skeptical, remember this: the last Zelda title to feature a "bonus" multiplayer mode turned out to be good enough to spawn its own title, Four Swords Adventures.

GDC 07: The making of Ouendan & Elite Beat Agents


The gaming community has embraced iNiS' incredible DS music games, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! and Elite Beat Agents, much to the surprise of game designer Keiichi Yano. His panel at the Game Developer's Conference in
San Francisco featured an incredible large audience that filled the presentation room. All kinds of people, from gamers, to developers, to prominent members of the gaming press, all attended the session to show their support of this small development team.

Yano-san went into incredible detail about the inspirations behind the game, the process of working with Nintendo, and gave us some delicious images from the upcoming sequel.

Continue reading GDC 07: The making of Ouendan & Elite Beat Agents

GDC 07: Even Reggie's limo driver is famous!


Over at Joystiq, they snapped the above picture outside of the Phil Harrison (he's some Sony guy or something) keynote speech today. It's funny on multiple levels; not only was Reggie at the PS3 keynote (he must own one of them suckers), but his limo driver looks like he spent the majority of his time outside the keynote pounding beers.

Maybe he doubles as Reggie's body guard? He looks like a grizzled war vet ...

Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night

Under any other circumstances, dismissing a game titled Barnyard Blast from an unproven developer would be easy. Given the dozens of games announced every week, it would be an effortless reflex. But upon hearing that Barnyard Blast brings together Castlevania themes with cowboy pigs, we would hold onto the game like it was our first-born.

Insert Credit spent some time with an early demo at GDC and enjoyed what little there was to play. Early screenshots show the hog hero creeping through a cemetery with a six-shooter, shotgun, and "slayer" in his inventory. Whether or not the game will include vampire sheep, zombie cows, or other undead farm animals has yet to be revealed.

Fans of the Castlevania series have been complaining about its stagnation for some time now. Has Sanuk Software discovered exactly what the languishing genre needs? More pork?

DS Fanboy lands in GDC: what to expect

Jetlag won't stop this intrepid blogger from giving you the news you want. Live from San Francisco, DS Fanboy will be giving you the latest GDC news, straight from the show floor! We're going to update constantly throughout the week, so stay tuned. Here are some highlights from what we have planned:
  • Thursday, 1:30PM PST: Shigeru Miyamoto keynote speech
  • Live from the GDC Expo show floor: new products on display!
  • From Ouendan to HELP!: a rare behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! and Elite Beat Agents.
  • Reflections of Zelda: behind-the-scenes info from the Eiji Aonuma.
Stay tuned to DS Fanboy for your DS-related GDC coverage. Don't forget to also check out Joystiq for even more.

Housewife Superstar: home-ec minigames



This looks totally strange, and totally endearing. Insert Credit's Brandon Sheffield found this poster at GDC, for a DS game called Housewife Superstar, developed by Studio Nocturne. It looks like a minigame collection, but based on the idea of becoming the perfect (stereotypical) housewife. There are games about things like embroidery, flower arranging, knitting, and dressing up.

The non-serious tone keeps this from being completely insulting, and the art style, which is kind of a stylized 1960s anime (a little like Mr. Driller color-wise, but not as severe), looks really nice. We have no idea when or where Studio Nocturne plans to release this, but we hope it is somewhere close and sometime soon.

GDC '07: Square Enix demos game-development game [Update 1]


[Update: Gamasutra reports that the presenter was Ichiro Otobe, and that Tadashi Tsushima is leading the project. Also, and this is the best part, rather than designing it from the outset as an internal-only project, SE has yet to decide whether or not to release this to the public when it's finished. So there's a chance!]

One of our loyal readers is at the GDC Serious Games Summit, where he sat in on a Square Enix presentation about their "serious game" for the DS, called Project GB, used to teach game design. The game was developed by a small team, and allows "players" to first mod a Space Invaders-type shooter, then develop their own simple games that can then be shared with other players over the internet. Presenter Tadashi Tsushima Ichiro Otobe indicated that this had a negative effect on productivity.

We all need to get jobs at Square Enix so we can play this thing. It sounds absolutely amazing. Famitsu has some washed-out pictures of the game. Check the link if you'd like to go squint at them.

[Thanks, Jason!]

DS Daily: Is Nintendo too secretive?

Chris Kohler is reporting that, due to a pending stock trade, Nintendo will reveal no new information at next week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. We would feign surprise, but Nintendo's been keeping a lot of secrets from us lately. Also, we're used to going long stretches without hearing anything about The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Do you think Nintendo should be a little more open about what's to come? We'd love to see where you stand on this.

Nintendo composer rockin' the GDC

None other than legendary Nintendo composer, who has worked on many a Mario and Zelda game, Koji Kondo is set to perform during Video Games Live! at the conclusion of this year's GDC (Game Developer's Conference). This is to take place on March 9th of this year and will be joined by video game pianist Martin Leung, as well as a full-on orcestral performance of tunes from past LucasArts titles such as Monkey Island, Outlaws and a little-known title by the name of Grim Fandango.

Of course, with the promise of a keynote from Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, this makes this year's GDC one that any Nintendo fan will hate to miss.

Look out, Nintendo -- the N-Gage is coming (again)

Since failing in a spectacular fashion is so much fun that they wanted to do it again, Nokia is gunning hard for their second generation N-Gage, according to UK site Pocket Gamer. If you haven't been following the story, this time Nokia's not attempting to make a dedicated handheld-phone hybrid, but rather a platform for gaming that can be used with their N-series smart phones. Is that a better recipe for success? It will depend on the execution, of course, but apparently Nokia's been meeting with some big developers lately and they have plans to reveal the platform at next month's Game Developers Conference.

They are, obviously, fixing some of last round's mistakes; if there's no dedicated handheld and the service is supported by downloadable games, then gamers will have no reason to complain about having to completely dismantle the device just to change games. On the other hand, we figure it's probably safe to assume that most gamers with smart phones already have a handheld they love and cherish, so at best this may free up a pocket. What do you think, DS gamers? While a download service would certainly be a nice thing to have on our handheld (we're looking at you, Virtual Console), is the new N-Gage platform a threat to our dual-screened beauty?

Miyamoto to provide keynote at GDC


That's correct, in the way that Iwata made a keynote at last year's GDC, Miyamoto is following in his footsteps with his keynote presentation titled A Creative Vision. Miyamoto's keynote is to revolve around his "singular creative vision [that] drives his work, not only in terms of his world-renown software, but also in generating key technologies, including the current global phenomena, Nintendo DS and Wii." Not much for us to go on, but being the veteran that he is, and the large amount of respect he demands for his contributions to this industry, we're sure it'll be a keynote to remember.

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