iGame Radio

Corey and I have waxed poetic numerous times on the used games industry, but recently Jeff Vogel of Spiderweb Software also had some words to chime in with. Regarding the quote of THQ’s Cory Ledesma (which Corey had some opinion on last week himself), Vogel found himself coming on the wrong side of the debate with the Penny Arcade folks who I saw, surprisingly, condemning the sale of used games.

Vogel makes a good argument that I’ve been thinking myself as well, regarding the application of the argument against used games to other used markets, such as the book market. Basically, the idea is that books, like games, are a vehicle for transmitting ideas and art. They are objects that you are allowed by law to sell or give away as you see fit. Being able to circulate these ideas freely, such as with used markets or libraries, is a good idea.

The argument regarding the used games industry really comes down to this, in my opinion. There are members of the game industry that feel that every single person who wants to play a game must buy a legitimate copy of that game from the original publisher/developer because not doing so is “taking money” from that publisher/developer. Which, by extension, means that everyone who enjoys playing a copy of the game that they did not buy is taking money out of the pocket of the publisher/developer…no matter what form they are enjoying it.

This includes coming over to a person’s house to play their game with them. This includes playing a game with your kids. This includes having multiple copies of the game on multiple computers in your house so that you aren’t having to purchase a copy for every single child. This includes LAN parties.

How can anyone engaging in these activities justify it if they hold that philosophy I mentioned above? By some definition, PAX itself is a Used Game-Playing Convention.

This type of thinking feels more to me like overwrought greed rather than justified alarm. No other industry seems to have such hand-wringing when it comes to used items. I mean, I don’t see the book publishing industry making libraries or the used book industry illegal. I don’t see the clothing industry making second-hand stores or hand-me-downs illegal.

Perhaps the Game Industry needs to rethink their fears.

ETA: Just got minimum system requirements. See below for details.

Hemisphere Games announced the release of Osmos for the Mac. The award-winning Indie game in which you play a mote (look it up, dudes) that grows by absorbing others around you. The physics-based gameplay requires that you eject bits of yourself to move, thus shrinking, so you have to balance your desire to grow with your need to move.

Come to think of it, that’s actually pretty parasitic and gruesome. Let me rewrite that appropriately:

In Osmos, you play a mote, a parasitic being that consumes those around you to grow to monstrous size, but to attack, you must eject your insides for the world to see! Bwahahaha!!!

Ahem.

Anyway, the game includes some wonderful soundtracks by Loscil, Gas/High Skies, Julien Neto, Biosphere, and more. Which, of course, means I have to get samples to play on the show.

System Requirements for the game:

• Mac OS X 10.4 or newer, Intel and PowerPC
• Processor: 1.0 GHz
• Memory: 512 MB RAM

You can download a demo for the Mac directly from the Osmos homepage, or purchase the game for a mere $10. And considering that the game includes 47 levels, randomly generated content (for potentially unlimited play), bonus content to unlock, and buying the game gets you both the PC and Mac versions, as well as the Linux version when it comes out (so you can play it on any computer), that’s a load of awesome for just $10.

Ah, just when I thought I would run out of games to review. ;-) Machinarium, that quirky Indie game that follows a little robot as he helps his love escape her evil robot overlord (isn’t it great that there’s a game developed just so I can say that?!) will be ready for you to play on October 16. Amanita Design, the developer, has released some additional concept art and a trailer. You can also check out my interview with Jakub Dvorsky of Amanita Design from PAX.

Trailer:

Day 3 of PAX 09 is now available. Today I talk about what PAX was like, from the Expo floor, to the PAX flu, to Mac games. Also, interviews with the game designer for Puzzle Bloom, and the developer for Osmos.

What’s inside this episode:

• PAX 09 was a rockin’ success, from the huge number of booths, the large number of games coming out for the Mac and iPhone, to the awesome concert series. PAX is the gamer’s paradise! I talk about what the expo floor was like, what the games I played were like, and what PAX in general was like.
• I chatted up Jess Rahbek, the game designer for Puzzle Bloom, a unity based flash game. Be prepared to MAKE THEM PAY…and grow pretty trees, too. A PAX 10 finalist.
• I also interviewed Eddie Boxerman of Hemisphere Games, who developed Osmos. The first stage of Spore comes to mind…only now you eject bits of yourself as you ingest your enemies. All in a zen-like atmosphere. A PAX 10 finalist.

PICTURES!!! Images from PAX 09 taken from a camera that I obviously didn’t know how to use very well. Enjoy!

A view from the Expo floor.

More Expo floor goodness.

Booth babe from City of Heroes. Or, should that be The Booth Babe of Justice?

Warhammer Online booth.

Diablo III kiosks. Long lines…I got to play when I got in early on Friday ’cause I’m media and you’re not. :P

Blizzard WoW: Cataclysm kiosks. Never did get a chance to try the expansion out.

Line for Left For Dead 2. Ain’t his momma proud! >:P

Entrance to one side of the Expo floor.

Dofus 2.0 Booth.

I’m not sure which one is hotter. No, I’m sure. She is.

Booth for Fieldrunner, a PAX 10 finalist, and the only iPhone game in the PAX 10. Didn’t get a chance to interview them because they failed to tell me they weren’t going to be there on Sunday. Doh!

I’ve posted the PAX Walking List, my list of developers and publishers that I’ll be interviewing so far at PAX (well, the ones that I’ve got confirmed interviews for…still some I’m finishing up confirmations on right now). It’s over on the iGame Radio facebook fan page, and you can see who I’m interviewing.

You can also list out which questions you want me to ask during interviews, tell me who else you’d like me to hook up with, or what games you want to see screenshots from or get gameplay info about. Just hop on over there and make a reply, or you can reply in comments here.

Podcast Episode 78 is now available. No commentary this week. But, three important things to remember:

1. RSS Feed update: Now you can subscribe to both the blog post feed as well as the podcast feed. Catch every blog post so you can reply with comments!
2. Facebook Fan Page: I’ve created the iGame Radio Facebook Fan Page, because the groups thing was too limited. Become a fan, and keep track over the coming weeks. I’ll post things there that I won’t post here.
3. PAX 2009: Next week is PAX. If you want me to cover something, or ask a question of the game developers and publishers I’ll be interviewing, now is the time to let me know!

Also:

• A review of The Path by Tale of Tales. The Path is a unique horror game, a superb example of atmospheric interactive storytelling, and a fabulous example of what Indie developers can do when they put their minds to it. A game to experience, not conquer.




• A review of Ranch Rush, Fresh Game’s first foray into iPhone games. A great port of a farming time management game.
• A review of Pocket Fish, a fish simulator by Controlled Chaos Media. Cute fish caught in a bag, this simulation toy has great potential to be so much more, and Controlled Chaos intends to take it there.
• An interview with Max Thornton and Emmanuel Marty of Big Fish Games about BFG’s foray into iPhone games.

Thanks very much to:

• Bobby “Glorian” Slavov and Victor Stoyanov for featuring music from Eschalon: Book 1
• Michael Hu-wong for featuring music from Fizzball

Ankama has announced that they will reveal DOFUS 2.0, a revamped version of their popular tactical MMORPG for the PC/Mac at PAX this year. Five years after its initial launch, DOFUS has gained 20 million players, and Ankama has decided to release a new version, complete with more detailed graphics, new animations, and improved performance and gameplay. Nearly two dozen computers will be dedicated to DOFUS 2.0 play for the first time in the US.

I’ll be there to take pictures, play the game, and give feedback about this first-time event for my American audience. So make sure to check back here during PAX week, September 4 – 6.

The twenty examples of supreme gaming madness, the Omeganauts, were revealed recently in a press release secretly passed around in the gaming industry hierarchy by the folks of PAX 2009. These manly gaming demons (diluted 15% by estrogened succubi) will be faced with playing the most awesome games of our times. Yes, folks, in order to prove their gaming worth, they will be forced to play…

MARIO KART FOR THE WII!!!!

Was that a bit snarky?

Actually, the fact the Mario Kart for the Wii is in the list of games the Omeganauts contestants must play, along with Bookworm Adventures, Halo 3: ODST, and CONNECT FOUR (connect four??!) shows the strength of this particular gaming competition. It isn’t good enough for you to learn every AAA FPS title out there. You have to have flexibility, be able to play a wide variety of genres, think outside the box, to really prove that you are a true Omeganaut gamer.

The PAX 10 Independent Games Showcase list was announced recently.

Penny Arcade was pleased to announce today that The PAX 10 for 2009 are (in alphabetical order):

* CarneyVale: Showtime by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Games Lab (Xbox 360)

* Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC)

* Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch)

* Liight by Studio Walljump (Wii)

* Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC)

* Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC)

* Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC)

* Tag: The Power of Paint by Tag Team (PC)

* Trino by Trinoteam (Xbox 360)

* What is Bothering Carl? by Story Fort (PC)

Notice all of those (PC) tags? A lot of them are also going to be available for the Mac (and some for iPhone). Specifically:

• Closure by Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe (PC): You can see in their FAQ that Mac is a given…they are considering other platforms (iPhone?).
• Fieldrunners by Subatomic Studios (iPhone/iPod touch): The only solely iPhone game in the list. I’m interested in the decision process they used to determine this would be the game for the PAX 10…there are a lot of good iPhone games out there.
• Machinarium by Amanita Design (PC): I knew that this game would eventually come out for the Mac when I first investigated it for the IGF.
• Osmos by Hemisphere Games (PC): same as above for Osmos. IGF finalist, developer wanted the game to come out for the Mac, just wasn’t sure when.
• Puzzle Bloom by Team Shotgun (PC): This one I’m not so certain of. I mean, you go to the site, and you have to have the Unity web player installed to play it. Which gives the impression it was built on top of Unity. Which would mean it would be absolutely ludicrous not to have a Mac client. But people is dumb…

That’s 50% for those of you keeping score. I’ll be at PAX this year, and will give a report on all of the games, as well as interviews with all of the developers.

Last year’s PAX was awesome and draining and full of a lot of Mac and iPhone goodness, so of course I’m going to attend this year. Fully 6 months before the event, they have opened registration up. If you want to be a part of the goodness that is PAX, I highly recommend that you register early, because the number of badges will be limited this year. See you in September!