Alex Hardy

I consider myself a gamer. I’ve had a multitude of computers and consoles dating back to the Commodore 64 (aging myself I know!). From Boulderdash to Bioshock I’ve loved playing games and I would defend the validity of the medium to anyone. There is however a peculiar trait of many so-called “hardcore” gamers that I’ve noticed before and recently I’m seeing again.

I’m not talking about the kind of platform fanboy-ism that’s been going on in the playground since the C64 and Spectrum (probably before that). I don’t mean the contempt some people have for the “casual” gamer (as if enjoying a bit of Wii Sports was a badge of shame). Nope - I’m talking about the resistance (borderline hostility) towards industry newcomers, or platforms that aren’t exactly the same as everything else, but with x% better graphics.

History repeating

Sony announces the Playstation. They make TVs, not consoles! Ridiculous!

Microsoft announces the Xbox. They make Office, not consoles! How dare they!

Nintendo announces the DS and Wii. Control Zelda or an FPS with a stylus? It’ll never work! Wave a wand around to control Mario? Who’d buy that?

And yet, Microsoft and Sony are now major players. You might even say the hardcore gamer’s choice. The DS has confounded its skeptics by being a smash hit.

Now I see it with the Apple iPhone. Apple have created a games console. I’d argue that they didn’t fully recognise that at first - it took the development community to persuade them. The clear message of the hardware upgrade in the iPhone 3GS is that they understand it now. With 40 million units shipped (the DS recently broke the 100m barrier), it has a significant installed base who clearly want to be entertained.

A wide spectrum of games, from Peggle to Real Racing are proving that non-traditional interfaces (which admittedly don’t apply easily to certain genres) aren’t preventing some excellent games being released for it. Watch this trailer video if you’re unconvinced. Then watch it again.

I’m not going to rant like one of the fanboys I referred to, listing games and the virtues of the device until I fall asleep at the keyboard, but I will say this:

I’ve been playing games for a long time. Frankly, I’m bored with many of them. Playing “Generic Space Soldier in Grey Future War 3″ doesn’t appeal to me like it used to. I’ll commit my time to a game if it enthralls me, and precious few games do that these days. Can someone explain to me how an intriguing new platform that demands innovation is a bad thing?

I found Dizzy Bee on the app store last night and decided to take a chance on it. I’m very glad I did. It is a wonderful puzzle game that really demonstrates the iPhone’s potential as a gaming platform.

Rather than struggle to describe the the gameplay, I’ll share the YouTube trailer with you. While you watch it, bear in mind that this little gem costs £1.79.

No, I didn’t misplace the decimal point. One pound, seventy nine pence.

Unbelievable.

[UPDATE] A free version is now available. There is no excuse for not trying it!

The release of the iPhone / iPod Touch SDK and the excitement among developers and gamers begs the question: Just what kind of games will be on the iPhone?

Comparisons can be drawn with the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP consoles. Both have revised hardware, an established library of games and a head start in sales. Both also demonstrate that the best portable games have these characteristics:

• Simple
• Make use of the hardware’s unique features
• Suitable for short periods of gameplay (e.g. the bus to work)

On PSP, Loco Roco displays large areas of brilliantly vivid colour. WipEout Pure shows that the wide screen aspect lends itself particularly well to racing games. On DS, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Nintendogs and Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training leverage the Nintendo heritage, as well as the dual screen, stylus and microphone.

Both platforms fall prey to what is often called “shovelware”. Clones. Lazy ports. Tedious licenses. The iPhone will be no different. It will be the game designers’ challenge to figure out the iPhone’s key features. At a glance, they include:

• Touch screen (game interfaces can be unique)
• Accelerometer (also referred to as a “tilt sensor”)
• 3D graphics which appear to be inferior to the PSP, but on a par with the DS
• Multiplayer gaming over wifi
• Internet access and a unique content delivery mechanism

The lack of traditional control buttons and tactile feedback will present a new design challenge. Some will use the accelerometer for controls, while some may choose to draw virtual buttons and joypads for more traditional games. Some ideas I’d look forward to seeing:

• “Touch Tetris” is so obvious I’d be surprised if EA haven’t already written it
• Line Rider
• Flick Sports (think Wii Sports for touch screen)
• Tap-tap rhythm action games
• Episodic games

If the iPhone / iPod Touch has one unique advantage, it’s that it will provide an opportunity to sell games to people who don’t buy games machines.

A video of yesterday’s SDK event is online at Apple’s website.

Much will be said in the coming months. In the words of Jason Fried of 37Signals:

What we saw today was the beginning of two decades of mobile domination…

Enterprise features (e.g. Exchange support). AOL Instant Messenger. Console quality games (the Super Monkey Ball demo was allegedly built in just two weeks). A comprehensive software development kit, to be released in June.

The 30% sales tax by Apple seems steep at first, but developers can set their own prices and won’t have hosting/bandwidth or credit card processing costs. They also gain a platform and delivery channel with millions of users and an installation mechanism that’s as easy as buying a song. I think most will find these terms livable.

The iPhone / iPod Touch platform just became a deadly rival to every mobile phone, PDA, media player and handheld videogame console out there.

Check out Trism, an upcoming puzzle game by Steve of Demiforce. GameSetWatch have posted an interview with him. It looks like the accelerometer may do for the iPhone what the stylus did for the Nintendo DS.

If people like him can create gems like this with no tools, documentation or support from Apple then I can’t wait to see what appears once the SDK is released.

Capcom have announced development of Streetfighter 4. No consoles have been confirmed (PS3 and Xbox 360 no doubt), but the animated concept trailer below was shown at an event in London this week.

Unless my eyes deceive me, some of Okami’s artists are working on the project…

I loved Streetfighter 2. My best friend Jon and I spent more hours playing it on the SNES than I dare to contemplate. After years of updates and spin-offs (SF3 was a fine game but not a worthy sequel), a true successor is an exciting prospect.

I decided to splash out at the weekend and bought myself an Xbox 360 Elite and Bioshock, which I had been eagerly awaiting.

Prior to that I’d been playing the occasional game on my PS2 and boy, was I out of touch! The graphics on Bioshock are so good that it took me a moment to realise that the introduction had ended, and it was my turn to take over the controls!

There isn’t much I can say about Bioshock that hasn’t already been said elsewhere. Beautiful. Nervewracking. Game of the year, I’ve no doubt (yes, I think it will prove itself better than Halo 3). I’m not a huge fan of first-person shooters, but this is something else.

My experience of trying to get the PC demo was so time-consuming and frustrating that it clinched my decision to buy the Xbox. As I play it on my humble telly it’s amazing to think that what I’m doing is a travesty, and that if I had a decent HDTV it would look so much better. It’s on the shopping list…

The Xbox itself is a nicely designed (if a bit noisy) piece of kit, and the Xbox Live service is a triumph of seamless integration that even Apple would struggle to outdo. Downloading demos in particular is a breath of fresh air. Just select the game from the list, and the Xbox will politely let you know when it’s ready. Nice.

My PS2 has since been traded in for credit so I’m looking forward to Mass Effect

Lights Off bills itself as “the first native iPhone game”:

The objective is to switch all of the lights out. Tapping a light toggles it, along with the four adjacent lights. Once you switch all of the lights out, you’ll advance to the next level!

It looks simple and fun, exactly the kind of game that works on a portable device. Installing it looks like a nightmare. Where does this leave Apple? With their heads stuck in the sand, that’s where…

Apple needs to release an SDK for iPhone. Their justification for saying “just build a website” is that it is essential to preserve the stability and security of the device. I suspect the truth is that they simply haven’t built one yet and they’re stalling for time.

But here’s the fact of the matter: Enterprising hackers will fill the breach. Emulation and video conferencing on iPhone, RSS reading on AppleTV etc are fledgling realities, whether Apple likes it or not.

If there’s money or kudos in it, then developers will find a way to build whatever they want. Without proper tools, documentation and support they are liable to make a mess. Apple needs to legitimise and embrace native iPhone development. An iPhone Software Store must surely be inevitable?

When I finished watching the trailer for Resident Evil 5 (rumoured to be set in Haiti) I thought two things:

1. That game looks stunning. After the brilliance of Resident Evil 4, that looks worth buying a new console for…
2. Despite:
   * The pre-existence of Chris Redfield…
   * The previous games were set elsewhere, with mostly white zombies…
   * If it is indeed set in Haiti, home of voodoo, then that would make perfect sense and bring an interesting new twist on the series…
   * Capcom are Japanese, a country with its own cultural attitudes…
   * The plot is unknown: Redfield’s mission is surely to save the local people from whatever is possessing them and he may well have black allies…
   * RE5 is rated for adults. If you allow your child to play it you only have your own neglect to blame…

How long until some fool betrays their own innate racism by screaming:

Evil Racist Videogame Urges Us To Shoot Black People Shocker! Won’t Somebody Think Of The Children?!?

It’s taken even less time than I thought it would.

The only racism here is in the eye of the beholder. I see zombies, not black people to “fear, hate and destroy”. At worst, Capcom have been unwise to design a game which was bound to draw that reaction from certain quarters. But are Capcom responsible for people’s reactions, or themselves?

So the videogame industry’s worst-kept secret of late has finally been officially announced: the Xbox 360 Elite.

Back in Black with a 120Gb hard drive and HDMI port, this machine doesn’t replace the Premium edition (though it makes its name a little silly), but occupies a position at the high end of their range. Despite of all the grumbling on various games forums from existing owners, this isn’t a reason to buy a new 360. It does present an intriguing option to those of us who have yet to buy one however.

I’ve nothing against the PS3 but I do consider it to be unpolished and overpriced, with scant few exciting looking exclusive games. Time will take care of the first two, and LittleBigPlanet is shaping up to be phenomenal. In two to three year’s time it will be an entirely different proposition.

I prefer to live a little closer to the present though, and the 360 looks like it has more going for it in the here and now.

I’ve been mulling over buying a HDTV this summer. I might find a place for an Elite alongside it