Posts tagged PAX 2008
The Beginner’s Guide to Sports Games
Jun 23rd
The Penny Arcade Expo, the show by and for hardcore gamers, loves games of all kinds…except sports games. The "hardcore" seem to shy away from licensed sports sims, but should they reconsider? Photo by Doug Bonham
Sports games: They come out yearly, they’re some of the top selling video games on a yearly basis (the Madden NFL and FIFA soccer series each sold more than five million copies worldwide last year), yet they’re almost entirely shunned by most “hardcore” gamers. As somebody who has gone to the Penny Arcade Expo three times, I can tell you with certainty that you’re far more likely to find an obscure Japanese fighting game or pen-and-paper RPG than a copy of Madden.
Which is a bit of a shame, because from a pure gaming experience standpoint, non-sports gamers may well stand to gain a bit from trying out one of the many sports games out on the market today. Besides being one of the last bastions of single-console multiplayer out there, sports games – much like fighting games – allow for creativity in how you manage to play a game. While the great stereotype is that nerds and jocks don’t get along, truthfully it doesn’t matter when it comes to playing games — you don’t need to be athletically gifted behind the joystick.
Rooted in desires shown by my Silicon Sasquatch comrades to give these games a try, here’s an introductory guide to unlocking the joy to be found playing sports games.
Interview: Dan Teasdale and Heather Wilson of Harmonix Music Systems
May 12th
Editor’s Note: This interview was originally conducted at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade in Portland, Ore. on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. Rock Band 2 lead designer Dan Teasdale and audio producer Heather Wilson brought Rock Band 2 to Ground Kontrol’s Rock Band Tuesdays for one of the game’s first public play sessions.
Sasquatch writer Doug Bonham conducted an in-depth interview with Teasdale and Wilson that sheds light on the creative process at Harmonix, from catering to fans to picking the perfect songs to release as weekly downloadable content. Although originally published on Doug’s blog, he’s graciously offered to repost it here. Despite taking place months ago, there’s still plenty of insight to be found from two of the people responsible for one of the top music game franchises on the market. Enjoy!
Let there be rock – RB2 fires up for the first time at Ground Kontrol. (Photo by Doug Bonham)
Rock Band 2 is almost upon us. The game’s developers, Harmonix, had a large presence on the show floor of the Penny Arcade Expo – the line to play the game was usually at least a half hour. While fans got their hands on the game for the first time at PAX, a lucky group of gamers in Portland, Ore., got a special treat when the sequel was demoed Tuesday, September 2. Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St., Portland, Ore.) played host during the regular Rock Band Tuesdays to Harmonix’s Dan Teasdale, lead designer of Rock Band 2, and Heather Wilson, audio producer for the company.
Teasdale and Wilson were kind enough to agree to an interview with myself, Nick Cummings, and one of the lead volunteers in running Rock Band Tuesday, John Leslie.