I actually played this song multiple times. I also tried the hard difficulty and it was very difficult for me to build up my combo. The unpredictable nature of the song makes this a good challenge for hardcore Audiosurf players. Every time I reached the parts of the song that play backwards, that’s when the road was bumpier and I bumped into the grey blocks, losing my combo and keeping my score low.
“… for the cost of a handful of lattes, you can help build a virtual world in which your character could be drinking virtual lattes with a femme fatale (who’s probably a dragon in disguise) while blowing the crap out of everything around you with a smart gun. Isn’t that what we all want?”
- Jordan Weisman, Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter Video
“What could possibly go wrong?”
- Tim Schafer, Double Fine Adventure Game Kickstarter Video
Yes, I have finally uploaded my own video commentary. I’ve always wanted to make one, but I never had the time or resources. So after some careful thinking and feeling the need to experiment, I finally decided to give it a shot. Video editing is a longer process than I thought it would be.
In case anyone is wondering, here is my current setup:
Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum HD
Blue Snowball USB Microphone
I mentioned Transformer: Fall of Cybertron and Prototype 2 as Activision-published games that have science fiction elements. I didn’t mention Battleship from Double Helix. From what I’ve seen, it’s a first-person shooter and looks very similar to Call of Duty. However, it is worth noting that Double Helix is using a proprietary engine. Other than that, it gives the impression of a action-oriented shooter with aliens. The movie it is loosely based on received mixed reviews internationally.
Another game developer I wish I mentioned was Wolfire Games. They are currently working on Overgrowth. Their business model works by accepting pre-orders, and releasing a weekly beta version of what they have worked on so far that anyone who pre-ordered can play. In addition, they are behind the “Humble Indie Bundle” sales that pay developers and charity.
I hope to make more videos in the future and to improve upon my scripted dialog.
What do you think about the Kickstarter phenomenon?
Note: This article contains spoilers regarding Mass Effect 3′s ending and is geared towards an audience that understands both Star Control and Mass Effect.
Introduction
I bought Mass Effect 3 a long time ago and I have played through the ending which ultimately leads to two decisions:
Destroy all synthetic life, including Geth.
The Reapers allow themselves to be controlled by Shepard and stop their attacks.
From what I’ve read from MassEffect.Wikia.com, there is a third ending where Shepard does not die, but I only had the above two choices because of my stats. Regardless of the decisions above, the following always happens in my experience:
Shepard dies in either decision.
The Illusive Man dies, though the events leading to his death can vary through dialog.
The mass effect relays are destroyed, making hyperspace travel impossible.
During the endgame, manual saving is disabled and the only way to resume a game is to load autosaves. This forced me to play through a much longer portion of the game in order to see the two results of the two choices in the end. After the game ends, I was brought back to just before I attacked Cerberus, forcing me to play through the entire thing if I wanted to try another path to the ending.
I’ve been aware that Mass Effect has always been planned as a trilogy and I knew that this game would be the last. Anyone keeping track of Mass Effect 3 is well-aware of the mixed reception from its ending. Needless to say, the series is definitely concluded. It is still an epic ending with lots of action.
Here are some things I’d like to mention with regards to this game:
Comparisons to Star Control
I have seen multiple tweets online about people being reminded of Star Control, which is awesome. Like Mass Effect 2, the player only controls the ship when moving between different star systems. However, there is an additional threat. Whenever the player scans a star system, the Reapers will eventually locate the player and Reaper ships will chase the ship. If three of their ships catch the player, it will be game over and the player will be forced to load a previous save or exit. The player also has the option to retreat and come back another time.
Mass Effect continues the trend of requiring the player to forge alliances to defeat an enemy that will annihilate the galaxy of all sentient life. There is a strong mix of rich dialog where the player can choose different responses that can range from being nice, neutral or downright aggressive. In addition, it is not possible to be allies with every race. Not all races get along with one another and there is a lengthy history explaining why this is.
There is no perfect answer to give in the dialogs. It does not seem that there is a “best case scenario”. Whether or not I succeed or fail in convincing anyone through dialog, there can be a negative and/or positive reaction. Just because I failed to convince someone to see something my way, does not mean I failed the entire game. Character dialog is a very important part in Star Control and it is just as important in Mass Effect.
Here is an example of one alliance I tried to create:
Choosing Geth over Quarians
The Quarians created a race of robots to be used as laborers. They eventually gained intelligence and turned on their masters. While it is similar to the Cylons in Battlestar Galactica, I assure you that is where the similarities end. At first, I tried to create a truce between the Geth and Quarians to fight the Reapers. In one of the Quarian missions, I had to deactivate a series of transmissions that the Reapers were using to control the Geth to fight on their side. After deactivating the last transmitter, I encountered an old Geth ally I met in Mass Effect 2: An independent Geth infiltrator named Legion. I made the decision to bring him aboard, angering my new Quarian allies.
There was an ongoing space battle between the two races. This is where things started to get complicated. Now I had an ally to represent the Geth. Things started to get more complicated when Legion asked for something to help his race: He wanted to give Reaper upgrades, sentience and independent thought to all the Geth. In other words, they would all have free will just like him and stronger. I accepted his request, angering the Quarians once again.
At this point, I’ve been fighting off several Geth enemies and they are incredibly strong, powerful, advanced and there are many of them. If I can guarantee the Geth on my side, they would make a very powerful ally, even if they are just robots. So we attacked a base full of reapers.
There was even an epic boss battle where I had to battle a tower-sized Reaper. The only weapon I could use was a laser targeting system that would give a target for orbiting ships to fire on. After memorizing the Reaper’s patterns and remembering that it is easier to target a reaper with the laser while standing still, I won in the end; for my last attack, the game changed to slow motion and my eyes were fixated on targeting the Reaper before it can fire and watching it explode was definitely epic.
A cinematic showed the Geth ships in space deactivating, vulnerable to the weakened Quarian ships.
Then came the next decision. Legion and Quarian Admiral Shala’Raan vas Tonbay* were with me and Legion asked if I will allow him to send the upgrade commands to the rest of the Geth. I accepted. Tonbay stated that the Geth must be destroyed and pointed out how many lives they have taken since their creation. The Geth began uploading the upgrades to the geth. Tonbay reiterated her hatred towards the Geth and that we should not allow them to be upgraded. I had the option to shoot Legion to stop the upgrade. I decided to allow him to continue the upgrade.
The Geth ships started to reactivate and with their new upgrades, they resumed their attack on the Quarians and were victorious. Admiral Tonbay took out her pistol and proclaimed her disgust with what I had just done and she shot herself in the head. In addition, Legion dies as a result of the upload. The Geth fleet moved towards the Quarian homeworld and the Quarians became extinct.
Then there is a cinematic showing a deadly, gigantic, red Geth soldier stared at my character, thanking me for the upgrades and promises to help us defeat the Reapers.
While I have one very power ally on my side, it cost me the entire race of Quarians. I could have maintained the truce had I not allowed the upgrades. I could have also killed Legion in the first place, allowing the Quarians to wipe out the Geth while they are deactivated, saving their race. However, there is no perfect answer and no matter what I choose there is always something positive and something negative.
And speaking of Legion, did you know that Legion is voiced DC Douglas, who also provided the voice for Albert Wesker in Resident Evil? The following video is an easter egg in response to the announcement that Albert Wesker will not be in Resident Evil 6, though DC himself will remain active in the voice acting business:
Difficulty Increase
Of all the the announcements about Mass Effect 3, one of them that stood out to me was one regarding the game’s difficulty. It was stated that this one would be significantly more difficult than the previous two games. That is definitely true. With the different enemy types, there are different tactics. For example, the Geth can turn invisible and Cerberus troops use smoke grenades to make sniping and targeting impossible unless the player is using a heat-vision scope. Also, the player will frequently encounter enemies with armor, riot shields and regenerating shields. There are even larger enemies that can kill the player in a single strike. I also found myself dodging grenades more frequently.
I found myself investing in medi-gel upgrades and stocking up. I also saved up for armor and weapon upgrades. Taking cover before attacking became an instinct to me and I started to rely on powers just as much as weapons. I admit it, I may have gotten frustrated at some points and I temporarily switched to casual difficulty so that I can move through the game’s plot at a reasonable rate.
Conclusion
I’m glad that more people are mentioning Star Control and Mass Effect in the same sentence. Even though TFB is currently working on Skylanders Giants, it’s good to see that even a critically acclaimed game such as Mass Effect will remind enough people about Star Control.
With the success of Tim Schaefer’s Kickstarter fund for Double Fine’s independent adventure game, many people have wondered if TFB can do the same for an independently developed Star Control game. I would love to donate my money for such a project. However, at the same time, I must remain aware of “video game politics” and remember it’s really up to TFB themselves and whether or not their agreement with Activision allows them to do such a thing. I would love to write more about this when I get more time.
Mass Effect 3 is a good game and it is clear that this is the definitive last game in the trilogy, unless Bioware decides to create a new Mass Effect without the original Shepard character. However, it is difficult to continue from a save game where the mass effect relays have been destroyed. After I brought the Geth to my side, I did not see them very much in the end; I wish there was more epic scenes with the powerful Geth solders. I highly recommend this game to any Star Control fans. Playing the previous two games is not required, but is recommended.
Some people have interpreted the ending as “Buy the DLC to see more”. While I haven’t played the DLC yet, I do not necessarily hate the ending. It may be possible to have Mass Effect spinoffs or prequels, but that’s entirely up to Bioware. I wish I could have seen more in the ending. For example, in Mass Effect 2, depending on the ship upgrades I purchased before the final mission, the ship may or may not be destroyed. In Mass Effect 3, I was able to recruit a group of violent mercenaries to join me. There was even a criminal I released from prison and she even repeatedly stated that she loves to kill people. All I got was some dialog from other characters shocked that I would support these types of people. Other than the occasional dialog, I never saw these people again, not even in the ending. Other than that, showing more results of even my minor decision would have been nice.
When I get more time, I’d love to play the DLC. I heard that at least one of the downloadable missions will be free and I will definitely be looking forward to that one.
What do you think about Mass Effect 3 and the ending? Love it? Hate it?
* Tali died in my save game of Mass Effect 2. Had she been lived, she would have taken Tonbay’s place. However, she would have jumped off a cliff to her death as a reaction to my support to the Geth upgrades.
I was playing Red Faction: Armageddon, when I realized that every battle I entered, there would be a good chance that there was another enemy that irritated me: A larger enemy that is bigger, stronger, has ranged attacks, and can run towards me and explode if its health is low. There were so many battles with the larger, exploding aliens that it annoyed the heck out of me even at the “casual” difficulty. To make matters worse, I had to destroy generators, which created new aliens for each one I destroy. I don’t mind hordes of aliens; I just can’t stand those exploding aliens. Of course, I had to get used to using nano forge abilities, moving around more strategically, headshots, hiding behind cover, etc.
Imagine playing another game such as Call of Duty. You’re fighting the usual enemies and they’re attacking from all angles. Suddenly, a bigger and stronger enemy attacks you from a distance. You manage to hit it with all you got and suddenly it gets closer to you and it explodes. It would break the flow of the game, which is how it felt for me when I was playing Red Faction. I’m aware that since Modern Warfare, there has been a perk that allows a player to explode in Multiplayer after dying, taking the killer down with them if they are still near. However, all this does is give the victim a frag point, while the killer still keeps his frag point at taking down the other player.
Now, what does this have to do with Star Control? Star Control has its own exploding ship: The Shofixti Scout, which I like. The unique ship roster and their abilities is something that makes Star Control a unique game. To keep it sweet and simple, the Scout is small, fast, has a very weak primary attack, low crew/health, low fuel/energy, and has a “Glory Device”, capable of a devastating explosion. Even the shields of the Utwig Jugger and Yehat Terminator cannot protect them from the Scout’s explosion.
Even though the Chmmr Avatar is superior to the Scout in many ways, a well placed explosion can destroy some of the Avatar’s ZapSats, making it more vulnerable against the next opponent.
Despite the weaknesses, the Scout is still capable of dealing significant damage, making it just as valuable as any other ship. The opponent would definitely want to keep a safe distance and be able to attack at the same time. Imagine if instead of being small and weak, it was bigger, stronger and still capable of exploding. That wouldn’t be as fun, wouldn’t it? Imagine battling a group of Dreadnoughts and Marauders, and while fighting the Sa-Matra, it suddenly explodes, destroying your ships as its health becomes low. It would be extremely irritating.
My point is that the combat in Star Control is balanced enough so that I can think of a strategy to use against each ship or at least think of using different ships to take down bigger opponents such as using the Shofixti Scout to soften the Chmmr Avatar.
Generally, I find exploding enemies annoying. While they force the player to mix long and short range attacks, they must be balanced properly. For example, in Too Human, there are goblins that explode, however, they can be destroyed with a single ranged attack. In StarCraft, infested terrans can explode, but creating an infested command center is not easy (e.g. infesting a badly-damaged enemy command center) and the units are not the strongest and exploding is their only available attack. In StarCraft II, the Infested Terrans do not explode. Instead, they have a rifle attack and a 30 second lifespan, meaning that the player must spawn them at the right time and make good use of them during those 30 seconds.
The Shofixti Scout is a well-designed ship with the self-destruct capability done properly. There is a cost to sacrificing it, it must be handled different than other ships, it has its own weaknesses and if used properly, it can weaken stronger opponents that other ships would not be able to handle themselves. The glory device is even strong enough to destroy some ships with a single hit. I’m not saying that I hate Red Faction: Armageddon. It’s just that with all of the action in the game, the addition of bigger aliens that can explode while I battle other aliens that can respawn becomes irritating when these types of encounters occur frequently. One minute I’m fighting hordes of aliens, the next moment I’m spamming my nanoforge abilities while jumping around, hiding behind cover waiting for my health to regenerate. I’ve read the reviews of this game and I haven’t come across any mention of the exploding aliens. It just made me think of how the Shofixti Scout was designed and what makes it valuable.
Like everything else, the ability to explode should always be implemented in a way that doesn’t break the flow of gameplay.
A long time ago, I saw a tweet from Nat Loh, senior game designer at Toys for Bob:
@starcontroller have you played #Skylanders yet? how many #StarControl ship powers can you identify?
To be honest, I was surprised. I never really thought about this. Maybe this could be the obscure Star Control references after all. I was watching this clip of Flameslinger and his secondary attack is strikingly similar like the Thraddash Torch from Star Control II:
I haven’t had a chance to watch all of the videos and this is the first video I’ve seen that is exactly like one of the ship’s abilities in Star Control.
Here’s another part of the game, where I encountered an enemy with a very familiar name: Arkeyan Ultron.
Another thing that surprised me in Skylanders is the boss battles. They are not only challenging but they often resemble SHMUPs (SHoot eMUPs). The difficulty is nowhere near Ikaruga, but it’s hard enough to feel like a SHMUP and can even motivate players to buy more toys to have a better chance of winning by numbers. With this particular enemy, I was so distracted by the missiles that I couldn’t concentrate of attacking it when its shield was down. There’s another part of the game where I had to deal with two of them at the same time!
I hope Skylanders: Giants has a disc-only option when it is released; I’d hate to buy another starter kit with things I probably wouldn’t use. For example, Guitar Hero sold its sequels as disc-only, which is only logical for Skylanders to do. TFB mentioned that it will be compatible with the existing portal that came with the first game. At this moment, I’m considering adding the sequel to my collection.
Thanks Nat for tipping me off about the ship powers in Skylanders.
This is an interview that Andy Robertson had with Paul Reiche. Some of the things mentioned are the giant toys and how some of the new toys can light up when placed on top of the portal.
One interesting thing about this interview is the last question where Andy discusses the purpose of the unlockable videos of Skylanders toys and how they are used for advertising. For those who haven’t played Skylanders, there are items called “Soul Gems” hidden throughout the game. When they are found, a skill is unlocked for a specific character and a short video of them is shown. Andy points out that by showing these clips and being able to play them at any time, it can be considered as a form of advertising, encouraging players to collect more toys. Paul mentions that the advertising could point out that Skylanders is a “collectable character game”. As developers, TFB created the game according to Activision’s specifications. I see this as another example of “video game politics”.
I remember watching Pokémon back in my childhood days, there would be ads to buy the video games, cards and movies. I became a card collector like many other kids, sparking the controversy about the series. Some people even went as far as calling Pokémon battles “animal cruelty”. People were shocked to see that a children’s show could push demand for toys and games so easily. Eventually, shows such as Monster Rancher and Digimon would join the competition. However, this is not limited to Japanese shows. It is also being done with other franchises such as Dora the Explorer, Spider-Man, My Little Pony, Ben 10, Toy Story, etc.
Did you know that Paul owns two patents related to Skylanders?
Video game with representative physical object related content (US 2011/0098092 A1)
GPS Related video game (US 2011/0028220 A1)
Although I have no legal experience whatsoever, it seems clear that if another franchise wanted to copy Skylanders, they would need Paul’s permission in order to use the toys and portal in the same way.
When the specs for Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U console, it was revealed that the touchscreen controller would have “near field communication”, though this technology is completely different from what the Skylanders portal of power is using.
If Giants is as successful as the first Skylanders, then I can see a Skylanders 3 in the future. What do you think about Paul’s patents and the upcoming Skylander’s sequel?
In the spirit of commercialism, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day!
The video above shows another new feature in 6014: Different comm images. The faces are different when the player encounters different ships in the Syreen homeworld and the comm images are a completely different set for the space station and the homeworld itself. This effect is also used for the Earthlings as well.
It’s a really nice effect because it shows the player that he or she is communicating with different people. Many games today use a similar swapping method for making characters look unique.
I read in the forums that the Slylandro are in 6014, but I haven’t encountered them myself yet. I’ll have to do more hyperspace exploring to see if I can bump into them.
Stay tuned for more upcoming videos. What do you think of the Syreen in HD?
“Giants is the idea for the future.”
- Paul Reiche, CEO of Toys for Bob
With the outstanding success of the first Skylanders game, it was only logical that Activision publish its sequel, Skylanders: Giants which was recently revealed. Toys for Bob will be developing the sequel.
From what I’ve read, the current portal device will be compatible with the new game and giant toys. It will also be possible to fit 2 of the giants on a single portal. Some of them will even light up when placed on the portal without using batteries; this is done through a form of “induction”, similar to third-party chargers for cell phones that charge when placed on top of a powered platform.
Will Activision learn from Guitar Hero?
The Guitar Hero series comes to mind for anyone thinking of another peripheral-based game. Guitar Hero started off as a financially successful game with critically-acclaimed reviews. However, as the series progressed, the sequels started to receive lower reviews, resulting in lower sales. In addition, “video game politics” made more things complicated with Rock Band’s competition, Band Hero and DJ Hero. To make things more complicated, there were licensing issues and legal issues. Some artists featured in the game did not approve of their likenesses being used when playing songs they did not write. Song DLC purchased could not be played other than the one game it was intended for. There were even technical issues regarding which controllers were compatible with which games. After it was announced that Guitar Hero sequels would be postponed, there have been several layoffs. While Skylanders and Guitar Hero are very different from one another, I hope the series doesn’t fall victim to the same over-saturation that Guitar Hero suffered. Did you know that Toys for Bob helped out during the development of Guitar Hero 5 and Van Halen?
Conclusion
A Skylanders sequel was the most likely project TFB would be working on, considering Activision’s love for multi-platform sequels. It’s awesome that TFB prevailed in the game industry and maintained a strong relationship with Activision through hard work, meeting deadlines and experience in game design that enabled them to create games that are easy to understand for any age group. I just hope that Activision doesn’t go insane and publish rushed sequels.
