Behind the Screen #2 - Villains and Consequences

Hello everyone! As of writing this I have now run 3 adventures with my party and have learned a great deal about planning, writing, and responding to player choices. Now before I get too far into todays topic I thought I would describe a little bit about the player party:

We have Mishso, a Dragonborn Noble who is at the moment attempting to conceal most of his identity and is running away from his fate. 

Nabi, a elven druid who grew tired of the traditional druidic lifestyle and is looking for more thrills in this adventuring party

Thranduil, an half-elf sorcerer who was shoved into a position of power, and only recently came into his own magical powers, he is now on a quest not only to discover the truth behind his powers but also to avenge the deaths of his retainers and reclaim what is rightfully his. 

Thorin, a dwarven paladin who is one of the few remaining members of his hometown after being destroyed in goblin raids. 

The player make up is a unique one, 3 guys, 1 gal, 2 have played D&D games before while 2 really have not. It is a unique makeup but allows for us all to have a lot of fun. 

Now to the topic at hand, creating villains and providing consequences. One of the goals I initially made was to provide compelling antagonists for the party, and while only just beginning I know that Thranduil will be thinking about one villain for quite some time as we move on into the adventure. 

Our third adventure had a former advisor of Thranduil’s father (Sadron) come into town with the intention of killing our beloved Sorcerer when instead he found his retainers and decided to hold them for ransom. 

After a series of encounters for our party, the final scene led them to a clearing in which the retainers were chained to a central metal post in which Sadron has a wand of lightning bolt. He presented Thranduil an impossible choice, to give up his name, lordship, and right to rule in exchange for the lives of his retainers. 

He couldn’t give that up, and in it’s stead the retainers were killed. 

Now, my goal is to work with this character to help make this a driving force in our adventure. The villain in this adventure (Sadron) may not be coming back for a while, but the pain and the hard decision can have far reaching impact for several adventures to come. I’m curious to see how the player rolls with it, and have some ideas of how we can loop it in to the main plot. This also provides a great hook for later adventures. 

I don’t mind using death as a consequence and I have seen that many DM’s fear this because of the permanence of it. I think it not only has a constant state of reference, but also can be a driving influence in future decisions. I bet that the next decision will be answered with much less hesitation as this one was.  The party always learns from mistakes. 

I have to be honest, I have really enjoyed playing the cast of NPCs and especially villains. While our third adventure we took a little detour to provide some detail into one character’s backstory. Adventure 4 will drive us right back into the main plot. 

Ideas on what you like me to talk about on the next Behind The Screen? Leave a comment or reach out to me via Facebook or the Twitters. 

Behind the Screen #1 - Tales from a first time DM

Hello everyone! I haven’t been writing all that much here as I have been writing quite a bit for DFAT and have busy with life and such. As fall comes rolling in and tons of new content is coming with music/games/tv and more you can certainly expect more to come over here at “Harmonious Geek”.

Which brings me to a new idea on writing about my first experience as a DM. 

After years of playing JRPG and other great adventuring exposure. I played D&D for the first time in college with some of my Fraternity Brothers and I was hooked. I have been playing off and on now for the past 7 years. I have played 3.5, 4th, and now 5th edition D&D as well as several other gaming systems as well. What I have found in my time playing these games is that while the rules are all well and good and important to make sure games don’t get out of hand, what really makes a great gaming session is the people you are playing with.

With the upcoming fifth edition coming for Dungeons and Dragons, I figured now was the time to start working on creating my own campaign and to start working on developing some skills as a Dungeon Master. I have had the pleasure of playing games with some really great Dungeon Masters and each one of them have a very unique way of running campaigns. I have some goals for my first campaign and I want to list them here just for you to see:

• Create compelling NPC’s (Especially Villains) that will help drive the story and plot. 
• Work with the party to create interesting tie-ins to their characters and to help them develop their characters throughout the campaign.
• To have mastery of 5th edition rules 
• To appropriately scale the campaign with the characters development. 

And now for a bit of a teaser of the plot, the campaign is entitled Pantheon Panic:

What do you do when you don’t know who to believe? The party is thrown in the middle of a conflict between powerful foes who both believe they are right. With the world in the balance the party will be forced to make difficult decisions and ally with with some unlikely people in order to decide the ultimate fate of the world. 

This past week I had my first adventure where I was able to introduce the party to some of the cast of characters that will help set up the ultimate plot. Their reaction to some of these characters was expected, and others were not. I’m loving the aspect of world building that is already taking place and I think that as the characters are placed in more situations I’m really looking forward to seeing how they react. 

I hope to provide some regular posts involving the trials that I have to work through in running my first adventure. I already noticed that despite the party fighting I did not consider possible loot on any of their enemies. I actually improvised one reward that ironically turned into a potential plot point. That’s the beauty of the game right?

The continuation of the party’s first adventure is next Sunday, and they will be meeting their newest party member. Looking forward to it. 

DFAT X-Post: Deuces Wild- LastUrsa Interviews Comic Creator Brett Brooks!

Deuces Wild  is a graphic novel that is written and illustrated by Brett Brooks. (Website - Facebook - Twitter: @thebrettbrooks - Instagram: @brettbrooks) The story follows four Bounty Hunters as they pursue an assassin who has gone rogue. The book is currently being crowd funded through Kickstarter and you can contribute to the book’s creation by clicking the link HERE.

      Brett was kind enough to answer some of our questions as we got a change to take an inside look with the creator of this upcoming series:

DFAT: Tell us about what led you to become an artist and a storyteller?

Brett: I think I started out the same as any other kid, just enjoying art and storytelling at its most basic application - perhaps in the dialogue between the action figures I was forcing into a showdown, perhaps through a required journal entry every morning after we said the Pledge of Allegiance at school. Whatever the case, I feel like I was always looking for an excuse to be creative. I can tell you that’s where it started, akin to many other children. I guess I’ll never really know what kept it alive, per say. Growing up in southeast Alabama, there wasn’t a lot of advancement for the things I developed such a huge interest in, primarily art. And even more specifically, storytelling. So I absorbed a lot of things on my own, and everything sort of just…fell into place…as I got older (got older…not “grew up”… :) )

DFAT: What would you say have been major influences in your work?

Brett: At a younger age, I think the joy of creating was enough to motivate and influence me in and of itself. But as I’ve developed more in my later years, I think seeing how my work can potentially affect those around me has created this interesting symbiotic relationship between wanting to create and the results of creating - at least, when the public eye is somehow involved (which is more often than not at this point). I could probably list off a myriad of artists and creators that inspire me, but I think the root of why you do something has to be tethered to something deeper than others’ achievements and influence. It’s that kernel of truth inside you that can’t always be explained. When it’s right, it’s right. You know?

DFAT: Let’s talk about Deuces Wild, can you give us an idea of the premise and the setting?

Brett: Deuces Wild is set in deep space in The House Sector. The sector consists of four major terrestrial planets - Diamond-Gadol, Hearth, Spades, and Clover-3. The administrative body that governs these four planets is known as The Deck, and their hierarchy of rank is based on playing cards. For reasons undisclosed, Two of Diamonds (Deuces), goes maverick and starts targeting members of The Deck - his major threat being his trademark method of never taking down less than two targets in one hit. So in response, the four Kings contract a crew of bounty hunters to track Deuces down and bring him back to “justice.” The ins and outs of the story all launch from these broad strokes. On the surface, this is most definitely a sci-fi/action story with a lot of loaded personalities. But underneath, there is a much more intricate plot slumbering. To  me, that undisclosed storyline is the heartbeat of everything, and has been my favorite variable to develop.

DFAT: When creating the world for Deuces Wild, what influences did you draw from?

Brett: I could name a thousand sources for visual development - artists, illustrations, etc. But at this early stage in the book’s life, most of my visual influences have been drawn from hubble telescope images and wildlife photography (for the characters), honestly. For the story, I’ve been paying attention to films like Ocean’s 11, Tombstone, and The Usual Suspects. Science Fiction isn’t something I really sink my teeth into very often…which may seem a little odd, considering that’s where my setting is going to be for the next year or so of my life. Full disclosure, I think I would consider Deuces Wild closer to a heist more than a sci-fi tale.

DFAT: In your previous graphic novel, Dust Bunny (Website and Facebook) you used an all black and white style for your illustrations, in Deuces Wild you are moving to color - What led to this decision and what challenges does this bring?

Brett: Yeah, it’s quite the jump. Quite a big jump, actually. And I’m admittedly a little intimidated by the idea of tackling an entire 120 page color graphic novel by myself. But I’ve already washed the car and cooked dinner. So I’ve got a few minutes…ahem. I do think that the biggest challenges will be taking all of the principes and applications of Dust Bunny to the next step. The character designs are a little more detailed, which calls for a closer attention to craftsmanship. The world is bigger, which…ha…I don’t even want to think about right now.  And the book is in color, which introduces an entirely new dynamic for visual storytelling. Certain elements of this book (holograms, laser blasts, space, etc) are going to be carried completely with color. No linework needed. And that’s simultaneously exciting and terrifying all at once.

DFAT: What led you to using Kickstarter as a method for funding this project?

Brett: Dust Bunny did really well back in 2011. My good friend Josh Matthews over at Giant Step Films actually convinced me to give Kickstarter a shot. I had nothing but doubt going in, really. The concept of people funding a passion project for someone they knew nothing about seemed a little far-fetched. But it worked. Dust Bunny received 4x the projected goal and the book went on to be a wonderful success at several conventions this year (we’ll be at Dragon Con in Atlanta at the end of August! Come see us!). You’d think after seeing such an independent success with Dust Bunny, I would have a newfound confidence going in to the Kickstarter phase for Deuces Wild. Nope. Same doubts, new project. Doubt is a funny thing, really. Fortunately, Deuces Wild has done extremely well (funding itself in less than 24 hours after the launch). And it’s continuing to grow!

DFAT: When can we expect to see Deuces Wild in print?

Brett: I’m hoping to have Deuces Wild in print during the summer of 2015. The more support that the book gets at this point, the longer I can keep clients and freelance off the table. At the rate it's going right now, things are looking positive for that projected time-frame.

DFAT: Do you have anything you would like to add?

Brett: I really appreciate everyone’s support on this project, even during it’s first two weeks, Deuces Wild has started to see some very positive return. So I’m extremely excited to see what this next year brings!

      I want to thank Brett Books for taking the time to answer our questions. Please check out the Kickstarter page, as well as the Website and Facebook page for Deuces Wild. I will continue to keep an eye out on this Kickstarter and will keep all the Towelites posted on this Graphic Novel’s progress.

Jason Mraz’s “Yes!” - Solid Album That Lacks Variety

     Jason Mraz has recently released his new album entitled Yes! and while by the title you would believe this album to be an affirmation of some type the album overall does not have the upbeat affirmative feel really at any point throughout the albums 14 tracks. 

      The album begins with a track that ultimately sounds like an Orchestra warming up until you suddenly hear some vocal tracks. Of note this album does use voice tracks and chorus sounds very well throughout. I can only hope live shows actually have live groups and singers to help him out. 

     Jason’s songwriting is a strong suit as only one track I had any issue with was "Love Someone" in which the lyric was referring to the “Heart Beat Beat” and it sounds like “Heart Beep Beep” which is a bit too childish for my likes. 

     The highlights of this album are plentiful, my favorite track being “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday” which is minimalist in accompaniment (Piano and Vocals), has great lyrics and Jason’s melodies are excellent. If only more tracks were like this one!

     Other good tracks included “Long Drive” which the song mimics the topic (As a long drive that picks up and at the end slows down). The song also includes a fun bridge and good chorus. “Back To The Earth” includes the best line on the album and it’s not even sung:

“Let’s get Jurassic on this Bridge”

     ..Awesome. 

     The remaining tracks while decent kind of just blend into the overall feel that is the laid back sound Jason has produced on this album, it’s not bad, but it also isn’t amazing. 

      Overall this is a good chill album. I think most people who like Jason Mraz will enjoy this album. I hope to see him take some more creative risks in his future work, as overall this album felt “safe” to me. 

“Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition” - Cultural Craziness in this Action Platformer

      Guacamelee is game by Drink Box Studios that was originally released for the PS3 and Vita. In the Super Turbo Championship Edition the game makes it debut to the Xbox side on the Xbox One. The game revolves around playing as Juan and/or Tostada as you try to save El Presidente’s daughter from Carlos Calaca and his band of minions. 

      The first thing you notice right out of the gate is the Mexican cultural influence throughout the game. From the art style to the music to the story. This game is heavily based in Mexican lore and culture. At some points a bit over the top, but overall a unique experience we rarely see in games. 

      The gameplay is heavily combat based and the combination of attack moves you receive also help you to navigate the various platform elements. The boss battles are intense and it may take you a few times to successfully figure out how to beat a specific boss. Notably Carlos Calaca is a very difficult boss fight until you understand his move cycle and signals.  

      There is replay value in the fact that you can collect various items and complete side quests. I was disappointed to see that one of the side quests that really isn’t elaborated at all in the actual plot has a direct correlation to the type of ending you receive. When I beat the game I got a sad ending which to someone like me who is heavily plot motivated was a real downer after coming that far. 

      As another Xbox Live Free Games with Gold this was a good experience to have in contrast with Max: The Curse of Brotherhood. While overall I have to say I enjoyed Max more, this came was certainly more action packed and the cultural aspects added a nice touch that made this game a unique experience. 

“Max: The Curse of Brotherhood” - A Charming and Unique Platformer

      Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a game developed by Press Play and features the character Max as he travels this strange world trying to save his younger brother Felix, whom he sent to this world with a strange spell book he found. 

      Max is in essence a platformer with some puzzle elements in which you navigate the world dangers using the environment and spells you acquire throughout the game. What I like about this game is that you cannot attack the enemies, you have to use the environment to solve the enemy problem in a variety of unique ways. The levels get progressively more challenging and you have to use your powers in combination in order to make it all the way to the end. 

      There is so much to like about this game, from the art style to the fun and challenging gameplay. Also this game is just about the right amount of time, in the realm of 5-8 hours which for an arcade game seems perfect. Also the game is so well made and polished, I did not really find any flaws with the game. There is also some replay value in the fact that you can go back and get all the eye stalks and all the pieces of the amulet. These additional challenges are available for those who did not feel challenged enough from the levels themselves. 

      The narrative is certainly a more kid-friendly tone but what I’m impressed with is how genuine it all felt. The dialogue really illustrated well the brother relationship between the two characters. The other two characters besides the brothers help to create the child-fantasy story vibe with a good witch and an evil warlock rounding out the cast.

      The game also features slow motion events that made certain moments feel epic and I thought that was a really neat trick to use in a platformer. Finally the game culminates in a neat boss battle in which you do not directly fight the boss, but continue to use your powers to eventually disable and defeat him. 

      Overall this game was a delight to play and having it available for free both last month and this month on Games with Gold for Xbox One makes this game a must play. Everyone should certainly pick this game up and play it for some fun and challenging platforming action. 

“Ultraviolet” EP by Owl City - Some of Adam Young’s Best Work

      The EP Ultraviolet by Owl City was released on June 27th and only has four tracks. The one most people were already familiar with was Beautiful Times and it featured Lindsey Sterling on violin. This EP shows a combination of elements that we have seen across much of Adam Young’s work in side projects and through Owl City. These tracks also show a level of maturity we really haven’t seen combining to form some excellent new tracks. 

      Let’s start with the track that was originally featured as a single “Beautiful Times”. This track seems to be the norm sound from Adam Young, featuring synth pop sounds and effects but also includes the Violin on Lindsey Sterling. The violin however is used sparingly, and is barely considered a feature. Overall the track is ok, but is definitely not the best track of the four.

      Next we have “Up All Night” which immediately reminds me of one of Adam’s side projects Swimming With Dolphins as both the pop sounds and song style sounds very similar. This track is unique for Adam to use under Owl City as it is a bit more upbeat and aggressive than his standard tracks which have a more atmospheric quality. 

      My favorite track of the set, “This Isn’t The End” has some of the best lyrics, songwriting and instrumental use that I have seen him use. This is like a combination of his Sky Sailing work with his deep and personal lyrics combined with his more refined songwriting of Owl City. This is certainly a track you have to listen to multiple times to fully appreciate. It truly shows the maturity in Young’s lyrics and songwriting. 

      The last track is “Wolf Bite” which is like the first track back to more of Owl City’s standard music style. However this along with the previous track I believe shows the direction that he is movie toward. It seems that in his maturity we are moving away from the silliness that some of his previous tracks incorporated (as well as the atmospheric sound quality in both the music and writing) and we are moving toward some direct emotional meaning and connection which I really like and look forward to seeing more of. 

"South Park: The Stick of Truth" - Best Game for Franchise, Too Short!

      I’m a bit late to the party on this game, but I wanted to do a review on Obsidian Entertainment/South Park Digital Studios game South Park: The Stick of Truth. Overall I felt this game was well executed with great gameplay and staying true to the source material. The only drawback here was that the game was quite short for a full length RPG experience. 

      The game places you as a new kid in South Park Colorado heading out into the town to meet new friends. Once in the world you meet the main characters from the show and get thrown into a war between the kids of South Park over the Stick of Truth, which enables the holder to do whatever they want. 

      Throughout the game you get to learn of the expanded plot much a like a typical television episode. In that regard this game shines, as it feel like you a participating in an actual episode of South Park. There is plenty of fanservice in the game for both the casual fan and the hardcore fanatic of the show. For me, not really being too much of a fan of the show, I wanted to see how the gameplay faired.  

      The gameplay was quite solid, it didn’t have the depth of your traditional JRPG games, but it would have been out of character for the game/show if it did. The battle system was just complicated enough to keep the battles fun and to not feel like a monotonous grind fest. Summons were entertaining but not required in any way. Magic was more for the puzzle aspects of the game than actual battle prowess. In battle it was a combination of skills and ranged vs. melee attacks for the most part. 

      As with the television show, there were certainly elements that went into the gross out range as opposed to comedic. Overall I was surprised to see this really only happened twice in the game, more would have certainly turned me off. I found myself trudging through these sections just to move on with the game. 

      The verdict on this game is that if you enjoy South Park and traditional turn based RPGs you will enjoy this game. I would recommend to wait for the price to drop, as this game clocks in around under 20 hours for the main storyline, which is well under the standard for this genre. At it’s current price point I would only recommend this to the hardcore fans (who likely already have it and played it.)

"Watch Dogs" - Full of Potential, Falls Short of Expectations

      Watch Dogs is much anticipated game from Ubisoft in which you play the gritty Aiden Pearce as he tries to achieve his sense of justice for the city of Chicago. This game has been building a lot of anticipation ever since E3 2013. The idea of being able to hack the city of Chicago into your own personal technological wonderland certainly appealed to a lot of people. Also the idea of being able to hack in to other people’s games and mess around with them was also a really exciting concept. 

      However at least with the multiplayer part, it was great in concept but ultimately failed in execution. The multiplayer modes feel like they were added after the fact and really do not add much to the world, narrative, or gameplay. I did not happen to find these unique or really fun compared to the main single player storyline and side missions.  

      That being said the single player campaign was really quite good. The story was compelling and I like how they manage to put the protagonist in interesting moral situations. The scene toward the end with Aiden and Nicky I found to be particularly powerful. However for the great writing the story had, I found the ending of the main missions to be rushed. The gameplay overall was really fun with a challenging AI making just about everything difficult and a challenge. The final mission ups the difficulty to 11 but it still is possible to complete.  

      The side missions provide enough variety to keep you invested in the world. Between the discovery parts, stopping crime, and other missions it provides a well rounded experience. Looking at the multiplayer in this light makes a bit more sense, however it should not have been pointed out as a selling point from the beginning. 

      I am excited to see where this new IP will go. The end of the game certainly pointed to a sequel, and much like other successful IPs in this genre (I’m looking at you GTA) this series has a lot of potential and I’m sure will only get better. 

      Out of 10 I would give this game a solid 8 as it is a compelling single player experience, with multiplayer that was more proof a concept than engaging gameplay. 

DFAT X-Post: Xbox E3 Media Briefing Round-up

      It’s the week of E3! With that we have tons of news regarding the status of new and upcoming games. Here is a rundown of the Xbox media event and some of the fun new games Xbox One users can look forward to seeing starting this fall.

      The media event was dedicated exclusively to games, with essentially no talk about the Xbox One hardware or software. The first game we see was Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Some quick facts that I saw from the video included: rocket packs, human pods similar to Titanfall, new types of mobile weapons, laser guns, and multi-function grenades. Some other things to note was that the map was set in Korea, and is set quite a bit into the future.

      The next studio up was Turn 10 Studios to talk about Forza V and Forza Horizon 2. The first thing discussed was the free DLC track Nürburgring. This new track for Forza V is now available to download. Afterwards they jumped right into Forza Horizon 2, which looked to be a more open world arcade like version of Forza V. The demo video looks stunning, and the inclusion of weather looks great.

      Then we saw a video for the game Evolve. This game will have an exclusive beta on Xbox One. The game is based on the idea of four players facing off against a monster. You can play as one of the four players or the monster. They showed the four different player classes in the video: Assault, Trapper, Medic, and Support. Beyond that their wasn’t much else, I”m curious to see how much depth this game will have as at this point it seems a very simple concept. The graphics and the feel seem to be a combination of suspense and then full-on action.

     Next, was Ubisoft and Assassin’s Creed Unity. The highlight of this game demo was that you will now be able to play multiplayer in the campaign with up to four other players. I really liked the choice of using the French Revolution as the setting for this game, and the game looks great at this point. The gameplay seems to not have changed much, and the multiplayer seems to basically just include more players into the mix, rather than dynamically altering the gameplay.

     After that, we see Bioware and Dragon Age: Inquisition. This game looks stunning and I’m really excited for it to come out this fall. In the video we saw quite bit more about the characters we will be playing and that there is a new type of Chaos magic that will have a part in the narrative. This game releases on October 7th, and I can’t wait.

      Another game I’m looking forward to is Sunset Overdrive created by Insominiac Games, the makers of Ratchet and Clank; which is the next game that came up. The video they showed in the beginning of this part of the presentation I thought was quite funny as the character was basically breaking the fourth wall the entire time while talking about the game. This game is not as graphically impressive as the other games we have seen so far, but because of the art style it isn’t supposed to be. Where this game shines is in the unique gunplay and the really fluid movement around maps. The gameplay demo looked great and got me really excited to play.

      Next studio up was Harmonix. They talked about their next two upcoming games Fantasia: Music Evolved, and Dance Central Spotlight. Worth noting, there was no video for either game, so there wasn’t too much to talk about with these titles.

      Lionhead was up next to talk about Fable Legends. The gameplay demo showed off four of the available characters to play in the game. Players will be able to play as the four characters or as the villain who will play more of a Dungeon Master type role. It was great to see both sides of this gameplay in the demo. I’m curious to see how easy it is to play the villain, as from the video it looks quite complicated. The beta will be out this fall, and you can sign up for it now at http://www.fablelegends.com.

      We then saw two more videos for new and upcoming games. First, we saw a video for Project Spark which has been in beta for a while now. Coming up we will see space theme material as well as in my opinion the best cameo of the show: Conker from Conker’s Bad Fur Day, will be a part of the game. Then, we saw a video from Ori and the Blind Forest which looks like an interesting platformer that will be Xbox One Exclusive.

      Halo Time, next we see 343 Studios come out to discuss the future of Halo. First off they introduce Halo: That Master Chief Collection which will include Halo 1,2,3, and 4 on one disc and with a single interface for Xbox One. Halo 2 has been given the HD treatment for the 10 year anniversary. This collection will also include Halo Nightfall, which is the new digital series leading up to Halo 5: Guardians. Finally, this collection will also include beta access to the Halo 5 multiplayer set to come out in December.

      Next was the Indy Game Showcase. Many new games will be coming out throughout the year from indy developers. Games of note included INSIDE, from the developers of Limbo, and Mighty No. 9 which has received quite a bit of hype from the Kickstarter campaign, including a write-up here at DFAT.

      The remaining games came in rapid succession and included: Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3, Phantom Dust, The Division, Scalebound, and Crackdown 3. Of note here was the gameplay demo of The Witcher 3 which showed a cool tracking system and stronger battle mechanics. Also, The Division, which was a more modern third person shooter, which in the video included characters using non-military jargon, which I found refreshing. Finally, we saw a brief sample of Crackdown 3 which after the lukewarm reception of Crackdown 2, it looks like they are going back to their roots and that this game has the potential to be a lot of fun.

      There were some notable absences from this briefing as well including: Quantum Break, and no new Gears of War game. It has been mentioned that we will see more from Quantum Break this fall, but after seeing the GoW logo at the end of the media event, I’m curious to see if we will be seeing any new GoW game in the near future.

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DFAT X-Post - Stands for Don't Forget A Towel Cross-Post. This will be the label you will see for articles I have written that were published first over at Don't Forget A Towel

DFAT X-Post: “Shiness” by Ynnis Interactive – Successfully Funded!

DFAT X-Post - Stands for Don't Forget A Towel Cross-Post. This will be the label you will see for articles I have written that were published first over at Don't Forget A Towel

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      Shiness is an RPG game being developed by the team at Enigami and published by Ynnis Interactive. This game has recently succeeded in its’ crowd funding efforts by raising $139,865 of its’ $100,000 goal. With the extra money, Enigami has confirmed that Shiness will not only be coming to PC and Mac, but also to the PS4 and XB1. This is excellent new because based on the feel of the game it certainly looks like this game will be better suited for a controller as compared to a mouse and keyboard.

shiness

      What is unique about this game is that it is combining a standard JRPG in the world building as well as the story but the fighting system looks like something out a standard fighting game. The battle style looks similar to some of the Naruto fighting games that have come out over the past few years.

      Also unique is the language they used for the game. They created their own unique language as well as specific dialects for each of the species. Rest assured, their will be subtitles for the game in several languages. They have been giving backers a more detailed look into how they built the language and I think this only helps to create the unique world these characters live in.

      I’m excited for the beta once it comes out and I will certainly have more information on this game once I get my hands on it. If you want to check out more about this game you can view the Kickstarter website here.

Scott Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox - The Art of Intelligent Parody

      Anyone who has been a fan of popular music over the past thirty years is aware of some artist who is known for parody of popular music. Whether it is Weird Al Yankovic, Richard Cheese, or Scott Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox, all of these artists have brought some level of artistry to their craft. Some use wordplay while others rely on strictly the music.

      Postmodern Jukebox for the most part tends to rely on their arrangements for parody. This group rarely edits the subject's text unless it is as a nod to the style or the audience. In a nutshell the group takes modern pop and rock songs and reimagines them in popular styles from decades ago (dating back to the turn of the 20th century) and is performed with a level of historical accuracy both in instrumentation, but also in performance practice.

           

      Listen to the two examples above. The left is the original version of “Talk Dirty” which is performed by Jason Derulo, while the right is the parody performed by Postmodern Jukebox in a klezmer style. Of particular note is the fact that the vocalist raps in Yiddish as well to follow the klezmer vibe. Now obviously this isn’t the first time someone has subbed in text, however of note is that this feels authentic. 

      What is really great about Postmodern Jukebox is not only their very intelligent parody, but also the fact that these songs are great listens in their own right. Something many covers and especially parodies cannot say. 

First Impressions Of "Watch Dogs"

      "Watch Dogs" is a new game developed by Ubisoft in which the city of Chicago becomes your hacking playground. The game provides you an open sandbox world in which nearly anything electronic is exploitable: from signs to cell phones, bridges to traffic lights. All of this provides an excellent modern world in which some strong narrative can come out.

      I'm not going to spend too much time talking about the narrative. As I am only through the first act of the game, but I will give a synopsis. You play Aiden Pearce, a middle aged man who due to some poor choice blames himself for the death of his niece. Aiden will stop at nothing to get revenge against the people who caused the death of his niece. In his travels Aiden will come across a unique cast of characters all of which are interacting in this wired version of Chicago which is now run on ctOS, an all encompassing municipal surveillance system.

      The gameplay will feel very familiar to those who played GTA V or Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Gunplay is smooth, chases are fun and active and as you would expect, hacking is a central theme for this game. You can hack to gain control of devices like cameras, trigger explosives, and a myriad of other tactical and fun things.

      The game also incorporates a morality system that apparently determines how likely he public will ID you and identify the cops (should you steal a car or use a gun, etc.) Beyond that, I'm not sure of the morality system will play much more of a factor.

      Also to note is how intense the AI is in this game. While not the brightest I have seen (hiding behind a barrier not easily accessed will allow you to escape the cops, major water exploits) the AI is very aggressive. This makes car chases in particular very satisfying as you have to use all he tricks in your arsenal.

      I have not played much online or through the mobile app however it all seems to be secondary to the main single player experience. This is disappointing, however until I have given it a fair shake I won't jump to complete conclusions.

      In the next week or so I will be doing a review of "The Art of Watch Dogs" from Titan Books, and will be writing up a full review of he game once finished so stay tuned!

“The Wolf Among Us” - How interactive storytelling is the future of a strong involved narrative.

      So last weekend I played through episodes 2 and 3 of The Wolf Among Us - the interactive storytelling game from Tell Tale Games. I found the game to be really enjoyable and I find that this style of game is rising in popularity. However what I am also finding is that for the most part these games are more interactive stories than heavy mechanic based games with a win/loss condition. This got me to thinking about the future of this concept. 

      Interactive storytelling could very well be the future of narrative. Could you imagine a television show in which the story branches and changes by your choice? I find that idea to be really fascinating. This could create a lot of social buzz and would get people talking about these types of shows. I think that games like the ones Tell Tale have created (along with concepts taken from Bioware’s games and even dating back to choose-your-own-adventure stories) could really be where stories and narratives could be heading. 

      This isn’t to say that the standard linear story is dead, far from it. There will always be a place for people to tell their story without input from the audience. However I believe that the public has a very strong desire to interact with content, and who doesn’t like the ability to have some “control”?

      The implications of this type of storytelling could be huge. Considering the added costs associated with having a branching storyline, this would certainly be quite the undertaking. However, the data gathered by the viewers choice could be huge! This could have advertising implications, and could generate future ideas for where to take these stories. It’s a very exciting idea that I would hope someone out there is at least considering. 

      As we can see, all around us the line between games and entertainment is blurring more and more with these new games and the demand that is being placed on them to be interactive, immersive and compelling. I’m really looking forward to episodes 4 and 5 in this game series and I’m sure they will be just as immersive as the first 3. 

Review of “Sword Art Online”

      Sword Art Online is an Anime series that was based on a Light Novel series written by Reki Kawahara. The series was dubbed in English and brought to North America via Aniplex. The premise of the show is that 10,000 players join the Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online (VRMMO) RPG entitled “Sword Art Online”. Once in the world the users suddenly find out that they are unable to log out. They then find out via the game developer Akihiko Kayaba that this was his intention and the only way out would be to beat the game. He also informed them of another mechanic: should they die in this world, they will die in the real world. 

      In the series they travel to two different game worlds, the first being Sword Art Online, the second being Alfheim Online. It also looks like in the second season they will be exploring two more games, which will be cool. 

      The series has a lot of nods to MMO players in the things said and done in the world. Also the story is actually paced fairly fast, which is a surprise from most Anime series. You rarely feel like anything being done is just “filler” as plot points usually are in every episode. The only unfortunate thing about the quicker pace is that they do miss opportunities to explore certain aspects of each world. I feel like from the first season we missed more of Alfheim Online than Sword Art Online. 

      The main character in the show is Kirito who is late-middle school/early high school aged student who loves VRMMO games. In the game he falls in love with another student Asuna and the majority of the plot is focused on the two of them once they meet. The show addresses some pretty serious concepts like what reality really is. They also talk about how to make the most of each day regardless of the circumstances. 

      The show did a great job of handling the dramatic points of the story. They didn’t dwell to much on them, but they did show the major impact that they had on the players. The brief flashbacks that occurred in the second half of the series help to illustrate the continuous impact that these events had. The first season was wrapped up quite nicely as far as the plot went and it could certainly lead to additional stories, but it could also just be the stand alone end of the series as well. 

      I’m really looking forward to the second season of this series. I watched the dubbed version of the series for this review, I’m not sure I will be able to wait for season 2 to be dubbed. Season 2 will be premiering in Japan this summer, and I’m sure it will be just as good as the first series. 

Album Review - Eric Hutchinson's “Pure Fiction”

      Eric Hutchinson is a singer-songwriter who has been making music well over a decade and has recently released his fifth album entitled “Pure Fiction”. This album I found to be polarizing in that on several tracks he found some great balance but in others his weaknesses (Namely lyrics, and repetitive pop like themes) show through even more. 

      Hutchinson’s greatest strength is his voice, and no matter what track you listen to on this album (or likely any of his other work) this will be very clear. The songwriting draws the focus to his voice, and he is an excellent pop singer with a lot of flexibility and style. After a listen to this album I have been convinced that I want to see him live, as I have a very strong feeling that he is excellent live (as his acoustic tracks show). 

      Highlights of this album include “Goodnight Goodbye”, a simplistic track that emphasizes his excellent voice as well his perfect lyrical setting for the sentiment he was going for. This was the track that drew attention to this album for me. Also the track “Forget about Joni” in contrast shows some really clever lyric writing. This song also has a latin feel which was performed quite well with some simple instrumental choices and styling for guitar. This track is also acoustic adding more credence to the belief of his ability as a live performer.

     The weaker tracks on this album tend to emphasize the same issues. Tracks like “I Got The Feeling Now” and “A Little More” use really simple lyrics and pop hooks that make these tracks sound so poppy to the point of them being too sweet and simple. A title of a track should only be said so many times in the track itself, and should never be the entire lyrical content of the chorus (Unless it’s a Fall Out Boy-esque title which could be a short novella). 

      Overall I find this album to be difficult to assess wholistically. I love the artist’s voice and musicality, however I find that at times his songwriting choices pull me away from truly appreciating that work. I found that with most tracks on this album I either really liked them, or really didn’t. With many tracks being split along these two specific issues (Performance vs. Song-Writing). When listening in the moment I think this album is a great listen, however go much further in depth and you begin to uncover some of these issues which could be improved.

      If your a fan a pop music, like singer-songwriters, or just a fan of great singers this album is a good listen. If you are looking for a deep musical experience with deep lyrical meaning this album is not going to be for you.

Bravely Default (3DS) - Initial Impressions

      I was looking for a new JRPG to get into this past week and I remembered that not too long ago Bravely Default was released for the 3DS. This game made by Square Enix draws many of its' influences from the older Final Fantasy games and in many ways this is a good thing!

      Bravely Default is the story of four characters who happen to meet together in an effort to help Agnès (ahn-yes) go around the world and purify the four crystals from the all-consuming darkness. The characters all have their own unique stories, and it seems that surprises will be coming throughout the plot and game. 

      The job system is also back in a big way in this game through the use of asterisks. The cool thing about the game is you have to beat the class before you can actually use it. This also forces you to acknowledge the weakness of the class. The number of classes is quite extensive and has some unique classes beyond the standard set most Square Enix fans would be accustomed to (Black Mage, White Mage, Knight, Thief, etc.).

      The game also ramps difficulty quite well so far, which is nice because already I have felt times where I needed to take some time and grind some experience. I feel this really harkens back to a genuine JRPG experience. I am also trying my best to avoid guides as well as trying to min/max my characters to break the game. We’ll see how that works out as I progress further along in the game. 

      Bravely Default also pulls from other games outside of the Square Enix stable for inspiration. I noticed that they use “Party Chat” which are little vignettes among your party members. This reminds me of something similar from the Tales series which is another JRPG staple. 

      The battle system is very similar to most standard JRPGs except for one major change. The Brave/Default system from which the game drives it name from. During battle you can use brave and stack many attacks at one time, or use default in order to save up your turns. This can severely change the strategy and flow of a battle as both allies and enemies use this system. I have found times where this system can be devastating to my party and at times made battle very easy (especially against random encounters). This makes grinding relatively easy and not too much of a chore. 

      I am only roughly through 10 hours of the game, and only on chapter two. I know that many more surprises are coming in the game and I’m really looking forward to seeing what end game is like. I will have a full review once I have finished the game. 

Guild Wars 2 - How MMOs can work without a subscription

     I mentioned in my last article Annoying Game Mechanics how Guild Wars 2 was able to break the standard MMO subscription model with the monetization model it follows. I was asked to look at this a little bit deeper, so I wanted to elaborate a bit on how they are able to make that possible. 

      For those who do not know, Guild Wars 2 is a sequel to the genre-shattering original Guild Wars which also followed a non-subscription model. However at least for myself I found the original Guild Wars to be quite limiting and wasn’t nearly as compelling as the competing MMOs in the market at the time. Guild Wars 2 has learned a lot in its time, and is now a fully functional and compelling MMORPG with its own story and unique gameplay. 

      Much like other games of the genre, you still need to fork over the usual $60 (at launch, now much less) to get into the game. However thats where the similarities end, because that is all the financial investment you have to put into this game. You can pay more, and that is through their use of microtransactions. 

      Microtransactions are where you can purchase things in game to help you level up faster, get items quicker and the like. For those who have played free-to-play games this should seem very familiar. What makes Guild Wars 2 different is the absence of a pay-wall. A pay-wall which we discussed in another article is where a game requires you to pay more money in order to continue to advance. Essentially these microtransacations in Guild Wars 2 just allow you to level up and advance faster, and alleviate the need to grind. For most MMO players grinding is a non-issue, and it is always a challenge to get all the cool stuff WITHOUT having to pay. 

      What is great about Guild Wars 2 is that they also are continuing to add unique content. They add content every 2 weeks. This is quite the undertaking as most MMOs are not able to generate that much content on such a tight schedule. In the end it just goes to show that the people at NCSOFT and ArenaNet are dedicated to creating a quality product and keeping at a reasonable price. This explains the strong following this game series has generated and maintained.