Guilded Lilies

Update: Crossing Over to the Lite Side

Things have been busy, but I wanted to post a quick update on my new DS Lite experience.  I received so many helpful comments and suggestions for games on the original post, and so now I have a nice long list of games to get when my budget allows.  Here's what I started with:

• DS Lite in Onyx Black:  I decided I would rather deal with smudges than dirt so went with the black one, but boy were you all right about the smudges!  I have never seen anything show fingerprints like the finish on this thing.
• New Super Mario Bros.:  This is the game I bought with the system, and it is so pleasantly entertaining.  The format creates the perfect blend of "casual" mindless fun and short playing, with enough challenge and structure for longer sessions as well.  One question: How long does it take for the jaunty background music to leave your brain?  I have been walking around with my own personal Mario Muzak soundtrack for over a week now, and although it hasn't driven me crazy yet, I am hoping that it isn't permanent.
• Metroid Prime Pinball:  I ordered this game and the next one online and am still waiting for them to arrive so I haven't played them yet.  I picked this over MP Hunters for now because of the price point, and plus the in-game clips I saw looked like great fun.
• Retro Atari Classics:  I found this listed on Amazon, and couldn't resist getting it.  I don't know how these games will translate to the DS format, but I am looking forward to having a chance to play my all-time favorite arcade game, Tempest, once again regardless. This should provide some great mindless fun for my move across country.

I also ordered a Hori screen protector, and a dear friend gave me an early Christmas present and bought me one of those awesome nerdy carrying cases with all the DS Lite accessories inside, to keep everything together for my road trip.

It took me about 5 minutes to become a dedicated DS Lite user - this thing is fantastic!  I wasn't really sure that I would like the format; my impression was that it was too small for anything beyond time-killing entertainment.  I bought it as a way to familiarize myself with side-scrolling game formats, since my first term at school will focus on 2D games.  To be quite honest, I figured I would play around with it enough to experience the hand-held game format, familiarize myself with a few well-designed games, and then loose interest in it - at which point I would be able to sell it used on eBay and get back some of my money.  The reality is that I completely underestimated the appeal of this thing.  It is a much more sophisticated gadget than I ever imagined, and playing on the small screens hasn't lessened my sense of fun or immersion in any way that I can imagine.  Quite unexpectedly I have been converted to the Nintendo philosophy of gameplay, and am completely under the thrall of the Force of Lite.  I will be hanging onto my DS Lite until someone has to pry it from my cold, dead fingers!

Of course most of you reading this already knew this about the DS - which is why I received so many enthusiastic recommendations on the original post.  Thanks again for all the great game suggestions, and let me know if you find any new favorites.

Et In Arcade Ergo: The Lure of Classic Arcade Games

This just in from Boing Boing: a short stop-motion animation, created by PES, of classic arcade game visuals reproduced using household items - muffins and cupcakes doing battle Centipede style - pizza Pac-Man!  Watch it HERE and have a good laugh - it's clever beyond belief.

Equally entertaining is this YouTube clip found on the Corvillus blog from the TV show Futurama (via Wonderland).  The show's creators managed to get all the great old arcade games into the show and still have a cohesive plot line! 

I, Also, Am In The Arcade:

Last week I went with a few friends to spend the day at Fun Spot - the northern NH arcade and tourist magnet - and I had a chance to replay all those great arcade classics from my misspent youth.  Fun Spot has a special section of the arcade set aside with loads of old machines, and I was able to get more than my fill of gaming nostalgia with reams of tokens fed into Frogger, Centipede, Asteroids, Tempest, Ms. Pac-Man, and the lot. These games are still a blast to play, and their technological simplicity is not a distraction from the enjoyment.  I kind of expected that I wouldn't enjoy playing them as much as I had in high school, for the plain fact of so much increased gaming sophistication in the spanning years.  I found the opposite to be true - especially when I compared them with the new arcade games available - I had more fun playing these classic games than I have had in a long time.  I even got to add my initials to the list of high scorers on the Tempest machine, due, I am sure, to the complete lack of any other skilled players rather than my own accomplishment.  I did try some of the current offerings available there - riding motorcycles, sitting in big blue bubbles of isolation, using controllers shaped like hand guns - but the addition of physical props to the gaming experience that seems to dominate the current arcade trend didn't create any more immersive or enjoyable a game experience than the simple button mashing interface of a game like Space Invaders.  I think the simplicity of the design limitations of those early arcade games meant that much more effort was naturally spent on the basics of game play, and the result is some of the best games ever designed.

The advent of cell phone games has reintroduced some of the similar limitations that early arcade games faced, and the focus on the essential function of game mechanics has been reintroduced to game design again.  It seems to be spreading to other areas of game design as well with the huge popularity of games like Geometry Wars, and the types of games being offered on Live Arcade for the Xbox 360.  This is a very good thing for game design overall, since in many ways the focus has been almost entirely about the increase in technological muscle ever since those first arcade games were introduced.  Many gamers are discovering again just how much fun a simple game interface can offer, and at its minimalist core this is what games are really about.

In parting I offer this distraction:  A while ago I found the Paper Arcade website through some other gaming website that I have long since forgotten (Wonderland perhaps?).  I was able to build myself a paper model of my all-time favorite game - Tempest - which sits on my desk.  All I need now is to find a version of Tempest that I can play on Windows XP - does anyone know if the old Microsoft Arcade for Windows 3.1 runs on the XP?   Until then I will have to just keep saving my quarters for another trip to Fun Spot.

Update:  The idea for this image to correspond with the title of this post came to me after putting this post up.  It was a visual pun I couldn't resist - Apologies to Poussin!