There's this feeling one can get upon completing a project or piece of art that reflects back to you or to others. Now I don't claim to know anything on a deeper level about arts, but I do know that joy is present if you have worked hard on something.
I used to draw comics, or Flok comics in the past. With original characters I would write silly short stories, and sometimes bring up references. As much as I would like to revive that, there simply is no time for it at the moment.
There were also very few occassions where I would re-draw favorite characters. Or that I would write my own stories, even at one point dreaming about making an actual publication about for instance the horror or suspense genre.
Game design might have been my most ambitious attempt at creativity through. I already talked about this in a previous post, and I just wanted to point out that this dream is not over yet. I hope that there will be one moment when I will give my full dedication towards finishing atleast one game.
The joy of creativity is quite deeper than my examples, as there are of course many kinds of people with many kinds of opinions and feelings to consider when speaking about creativity. I just wanted to express that I acknowledge the importance of creating, joy, basically.
And that also includes writing up these blog posts.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Amazon Kindle
(Insert marketing sales man voice)
The Amazon Kindle is a series of e-readers which lets you conveniently read books digitally with a small size while simultaneously allowing you to potentially carry over 100 books with you on one device alone.
With it's bright beaming light and long battery output, it's one of the best e-readers on the market. Although I must confess that I am not sure which Amazon Kindle version I currently possess, other than I have a green cover for it.
Of course, Amazon is well known for being the biggest online market place in the United States with lots of commerce and cloud computing. Truly, competition of online market places has seriously damaged local markets, even over here in The Netherlands.
So far, I have read famous horror novels such as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or language and political insights like Noam Chomsky's Syntactic Structures or Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.
Amazon's Kindle is a great companion to have, especially when I am traveling the world.(assuming I have time for it then!) There's still a charm to reading actual books, but the positive aspects of an e-reader are hard to ignore.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Retro Blog: Super Metroid
Building upon what was established in the original Metroid and it's sequel on Gameboy, Super Metroid is one of Nintendo's very best projects, and it has innovated and excelled in excellence even today.
After destroying the home planet of the Metroids previously and keeping the last one for research purposes, all seems to go well until Samus gets a sudden distress signal. Discovering that her old foe Ridley is still alive, she starts hunting and looking for the last Metroid on planet Zebes.
Super Metroid welcomes you to re-discover this planet as it has aesthetically improved, although the original still holds it's own charm as well. From a green nature environment to underwater and lava environments, it has the typical settings to play through.
With enemies carrying difficult names to remember, the adventure can feel alien in a good way. Luckily, the new map system is your best ally, aside from the various abilities you will discover as you progress.
Some of the classics return including the Morph Ball and the Screw Attack, but new ones include the X-Ray, allowing you to see hidden passages, or the Speed Booster, allowing you to speed run but more interestingly, it allows you to perform Shine Sparks/Power Jumps, which is normally not explained.
The game actually has a few more special techniques for Samus to use, such as consuming Power Bombs to perform specific beam effects, doing wall jumps and dropping a clusterbomb of several normal bombs.
The soundtrack is very immersive and fits great with the game's environments and the little plot it has building up. The bosses are giant, intimidating and memorable, including Kraid's tower appearance and Draygon(my favorite)'s special way of defeating it.
Super Metroid deserves to be called one of the best
games ever. With superb gameplay and tons of secrets to find, atmospheric music
and backgrounds, great bosses to fight and great equipment for Samus to use,
Super Metroid is the grand champion of the 2D Metroids.
Replayability is very
nice too, trying to find all the secrets or beating the game faster, it's no
wonder that Super Metroid could possibly still be the best game to speed run through, as many have done already.
If only Nintendo could give us another Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion or Metroid: Zero Mission sooner than later...
Rating: 9.1
Metroidvania
What used to be called non-linear and open world in the old days, before nowadays those terms have gained new meaning, inbetween the 80's and 90's, Metroid arguably layed the foundations of "getting stuck and only being able to progress by obtaining a particular item through backtracking."
Metroidvania, or as I like to prefer calling the subgenre, Castleroid, is a popular phenomenon which is cherished by speed runners, passionate gamers whom beat the games as fast as possible, either by glitches or by conventional ways.
Over the new century, dozens of new Metroidvania games have appeared. The 2 main inspiration sources are Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Today, I would like to talk about 4 similar games which pay respects to both:
Now this is pretty. A platform adventure in the vein of Metroidvania and Castleroid esque formula’s alongside appealing visuals reminding me of Muramasa: The Demon Blade somewhat. Ori and the Blind Forest features a touching opening and an otherworldly narrative that vaguely guides our little hero through this vast area of interconnected locations.
With an orb acting as your guide and your melee combat, explore the surroundings for not only your next destination, but many secrets awaiting too, of which most of them are conveniently marked on the overall map.
What’s different is that you are able to create your own checkpoint almost anywhere, given that you sacrifice an energy ball which is normally used for special powers such as blowing objects up. Other permanent special abilities which await you are amongst others double jumping, wall climbing and the fun maneuver of grabbing objects or enemies and using their momentum to either reach higher ground or to crush other objects or enemies.
While some parts of the game can be quite frustrating to die a lot into, it would be wise for players to remember that an auto save feature is absent, while traditional bosses for these kind of games are also missing. Ori and the Blind Forest is mesmerizing, fresh, artistic and captivating.
Rating: 8.0
Created and designed by a single person, similar to Turrican from the 90’s, Axiom Verge is everyone’s proper Metroid fix for the fans that have been waiting so long for a 2D Metroid to return, or even a good 3D Metroid.
As a scientist protagonist, you emerge on an alien overworld called Sudra after a disastrous experiment went wrong. With a retro style of graphics accompanying the effective soundtrack, exploring these areas is fun because as the traditional Metroid formula is used, new abilities will make you progress further through backtracking.
Abilities such as controlling a remote drone and teleport blinking short distances make it stand out from other recent Metroidvania’s, but Axiom Verge really is the closest we currently have on our hands when it comes to going way back to the original Metroid and capturing that one’s style and presentation. And Nintendo should take notice.
Rating: 8.2
After a long exclusive status, Shadow Complex is now coming over to new generation consoles, as well as PC. Being heavily inspired by Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it’s format is presented in 2.5D, meaning that the world is three-dimensional but the player can only move in two dimensions, reminiscent of a classic side scrolling video game.
In order to progress, you will have to find weapons and abilities so that you can open certain obstacles marked with different colors which you can see using the flashlight. The framerate is quite smooth but there are moments when lag appears.
Experience points and leveling up makes the player go gradually stronger, and there are extra ammo packs to be found in hidden areas, which is very similar to Metroid. To be honest, if Metroid were to return once more in 2.5 format, Shadow Complex would be a great example to follow as the level design is neat, it encourages speed running and it’s nifty in several factors such as being able to shoot(with auto aim) at enemies in the third dimension(or background).
Rating: 8.1
Metroidvania, or as I like to prefer calling the subgenre, Castleroid, is a popular phenomenon which is cherished by speed runners, passionate gamers whom beat the games as fast as possible, either by glitches or by conventional ways.
Over the new century, dozens of new Metroidvania games have appeared. The 2 main inspiration sources are Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Today, I would like to talk about 4 similar games which pay respects to both:
A charming throwback game towards good old gaming with
plenty of inspiration sources. Its story is engulfing, the music and graphics
go hand in hand with each other and the gameplay is exciting and fluent.
Perhaps the best known independent game from Japan in the 00's, Cave Story essentially could had
been released as an NES game back in the day!
Rating: 8.3
Now this is pretty. A platform adventure in the vein of Metroidvania and Castleroid esque formula’s alongside appealing visuals reminding me of Muramasa: The Demon Blade somewhat. Ori and the Blind Forest features a touching opening and an otherworldly narrative that vaguely guides our little hero through this vast area of interconnected locations.
With an orb acting as your guide and your melee combat, explore the surroundings for not only your next destination, but many secrets awaiting too, of which most of them are conveniently marked on the overall map.
What’s different is that you are able to create your own checkpoint almost anywhere, given that you sacrifice an energy ball which is normally used for special powers such as blowing objects up. Other permanent special abilities which await you are amongst others double jumping, wall climbing and the fun maneuver of grabbing objects or enemies and using their momentum to either reach higher ground or to crush other objects or enemies.
While some parts of the game can be quite frustrating to die a lot into, it would be wise for players to remember that an auto save feature is absent, while traditional bosses for these kind of games are also missing. Ori and the Blind Forest is mesmerizing, fresh, artistic and captivating.
Rating: 8.0
Created and designed by a single person, similar to Turrican from the 90’s, Axiom Verge is everyone’s proper Metroid fix for the fans that have been waiting so long for a 2D Metroid to return, or even a good 3D Metroid.
As a scientist protagonist, you emerge on an alien overworld called Sudra after a disastrous experiment went wrong. With a retro style of graphics accompanying the effective soundtrack, exploring these areas is fun because as the traditional Metroid formula is used, new abilities will make you progress further through backtracking.
Abilities such as controlling a remote drone and teleport blinking short distances make it stand out from other recent Metroidvania’s, but Axiom Verge really is the closest we currently have on our hands when it comes to going way back to the original Metroid and capturing that one’s style and presentation. And Nintendo should take notice.
Rating: 8.2
After a long exclusive status, Shadow Complex is now coming over to new generation consoles, as well as PC. Being heavily inspired by Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, it’s format is presented in 2.5D, meaning that the world is three-dimensional but the player can only move in two dimensions, reminiscent of a classic side scrolling video game.
In order to progress, you will have to find weapons and abilities so that you can open certain obstacles marked with different colors which you can see using the flashlight. The framerate is quite smooth but there are moments when lag appears.
Experience points and leveling up makes the player go gradually stronger, and there are extra ammo packs to be found in hidden areas, which is very similar to Metroid. To be honest, if Metroid were to return once more in 2.5 format, Shadow Complex would be a great example to follow as the level design is neat, it encourages speed running and it’s nifty in several factors such as being able to shoot(with auto aim) at enemies in the third dimension(or background).
Rating: 8.1
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