This is a pretty old project, but I just discovered it while looking up a related topic. There’s something to be said about the creation of a unique apparatus just to play a game. It’s like the old arcade days where you build a cabinet to provide players with a tactile experience in addition to the visual. This is pretty cool.

I guess it was only a matter of time.

Treasure is one of the best in the business.  It’s been awhile since they have done something that intrigues me.  I guess it would stand to reason a remake of one of their BEST games gets me giddy like a schoolgirl.  I’m still waiting for their other masterpiece to show up online.  Back when I was coaching wrestling I’d hold gaming parties.  Guardian Heroes was always a hit.  I just loved hearing the yells of excitement and the groans of loss.  The kids were engaged within a few moments of start.

I remember testing this game.  I remember my colleague doing the translation for the game.  It’s one of the better game translations.  Thinking back on it, who lets testers rewrite game scripts?  Well, that is a testament to the guys who did it.  But still, kinda ballsy.  It worked out well.

What is most amazing about Guardian Heroes is how well the gameplay holds up over time.  I challenge anyone to name a multiplayer brawler with the depth Guardian Heroes sports.  Guardian Heroes taught me complete multiplayer balance is silly.  Wild and crazy fun is king.  Giant Plant rules.

I look forward to playing online with the world soon.

Once the curtain is pulled back on game inspiration one can find their mind blown by the truth.  Looking at Pokemon now I can see how insects fueled this amazing property. It solidifies the idea that game designers should not just be avid game players, but also students of life.  We should generate systems from concepts around us.  Not just expand on the game ridden paths of before.  Game inspiration shouldn’t just come from what was done before. We should seek to look outside of previous genres and look at the physical world and history for inspiration.

You cut off zombie heads….

so you can juggle them…

then deep fry them…

to save the souls of the undead?

Brilliant.

A clever mechanic with a silly explanation.  The more absurd the more appealing it is.

This reminds me sometimes things shouldn’t make sense.  Sometimes a story needs to bathe with the Mad Hatter.  With a firm tether to the palpable, charm is derived with a greater distance between reality and lunacy.

Arvin has pulled ahead AGAIN!  He’s a sneaky guy.  He hasn’t been updating for weeks, but it turns out, he was working in secret.  Sneaky… sneaky.

Congrats, Arvin!  All the best to you and your fiance!

So, another IGF is upon us.  I dream of the day I will have developed something worthy of the competition.  Every year there is something that is clever and unique.  This particular entry is one of those fuzzy moment games.

It’s not the first video game I’ve seen used to propose, but I think this one has some pretty cool design.  The coop hammer aspect is neat.  Congrats to the happy couple!

My long time colleague sent this to me in IM the other day.

see, minecraft is exactly why i’ve lost interest in the pc market. not because it’s a bad game, but because it shows that the pc market has evolved beyond my understanding of it.

It gets to the heart of where my design interests lie. I’ve mentioned before I was weened on character action games of the 8bit and 16bit eras. It’s not unreasonable to understand why I don’t run after the social game market or the new indie game creations.

The scene has morphed far beyond my foundational understanding into a larger creature. And each day it looks different from the day before. Like a Borg assimilating new worlds and cultures, it gets stronger as it combines and adapts new concepts and dynamics into it.

I love what is currently being created even if I can’t even fathom the cultural basis that births such concepts. Envy grows inside of me when I try and think like that. However, like most things you have to create from what you know. I can’t do anything else. The games I want to create are becoming more rare on the preservation.

Not because their numbers are dwindling. More species are beginning to procreate on the grounds. Multiplying in startling numbers. It may seem like the ecosystem can’t sustain the change, but mother nature always learns to adapt.

This is the type of game I would love to create.  Hack and Slash platformer with an Ikaruga twist?  SOLD.  On concept alone I will pick up this game, but based on the small video clips I’ve seen I’m not sure the animation is up to the weight of the concept.  I can be overly harsh and shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Either way, Outland has made me want to get back to my Action Prototype. There is a concept I’ve wanted to do for awhile.  I need to try it out on my own otherwise I will probably never see it executed.

After seeing the Outland video, I was reminded of this amazing gameplay video of Ikaruga.  A two player game played by ONE player.  Unreal.  I want to make something that is that awe inspiring.

I’m in a race.  A competition as it were.  Let it be known the first shots were thrown by him not me.  He may have started it but I will finish it!

Arvin was one of my inspirations for starting this blog.  He finished his first comic book a year or so ago.  Now is his steadily plugging along on his next.  He keeps making progress.  I’m going to make sure I keep pace!  I can’t let him win!

I hoped.  I dreamed.  I prayed.  I thought it would never happen.  But the impossible is now a reality.

I could and should write a whole post dedicated to the brilliance Treasure has blessed the gaming community with over the years.  This game solidified my reverence for Treasure.  I’m elated the gaming masses will be able to experience this game.  I have the original game and love/hate to lend it out to my Sega Saturn blessed friends.

Radiant Silvergun has directly influenced my game design approach to all the games I’ve designed since playing it.  The game seemed to allow beginners and hardcore to seek different objectives while still providing a dynamic thrill ride.  New players can just blast away with any weapon that seemed to get the job done, but more skilled players learn the intricacies of each of the 7 weapons.  Then when you add in the “chain” system, the complexity is awe-inspiring.

One other thing of note is the music.  I love the music.  It actually was used a reference for the music in the shooter I designed, 1942: Joint Strike.  Radiant used a haunting melody as a base of all it’s tracks.  We used a similar theme for 1942.  I think it worked well.

When this game drops, be sure to have enough Microsoft Points.  Get it and experience one of Treasure’s best games.  Now, if they can just update Guardian Heroes with 6 player online and high def sprites for next gen…