It occurred to me as I doodled this that Horton Hears A Who is basically a story about learning to love bacteria.
Archive for the ‘Comic’ Category
Crappy Airport Comix Vol. 2
23
Nov
Right now I’m sitting in a French bakery, unintentionally eavesdropping on a pair of NYC fashion models lamenting the hardships of being beautiful. Meanwhile, I am posting lousy doodles of video game designers. I am a living exercise in contrasts!
Crappy Airport Comix Vol. 1
22
Nov
Please pardon the total jankiness of this post. It is a cartoon drawn on the back of an airplane boarding pass, photographed via iPhone, and posted from same. That excuses the poor quality of the image, if not the poor content of the comic itself.
GameSpite Quarterly 2, #6: Mega Man 2
18
Nov
6. Mega Man 2
Brace yourselves, kids! It’s another great comic by Philip “Loki” Armstrong. Your day is now officially awesome. And this time, I’ve learned my lesson: I’ve temporarily boosted GameSpite’s maximum bandwidth so the site won’t die horribly from all the inevitable links that will result from this black-and-white bundle of greatness. (Bonus: I’m pretty sure my GSQ3 press proof arrives today.)
Next in the queue
17
Jun
It’s running a couple of weeks late, but I’m finally putting together the quarterly semi-annual bonus whatsit for everyone who’s been supporting the site with the “remunerated subscription” button that, um, seems to have disappeared from the right sidebar. When on earth did I do that, I wonder? And how did I never notice until now? Well, anyway, the last mailing was at the end of 2008 and, to be honest, it kind of sucked. I’m making up for it this time with something that I think will be much better:
Yeah, I’m actually putting together a small run of books via Blurb. These will compile black-and-white renditions of a ton of the comics that have run on the site in the past, oh, ten years or so. I was going through the ones from 2005-2006 last night and was startled to discover how almost good they were. All I remember about the comics I published round then is that they were all disappointing because none of them turned out the way I had intended, and after half a dozen false starts I pretty much just gave up. In retrospect, maybe that was a bit rash… I was nearly doing pretty respectable work, and with a little more time and dedication maybe I could have pushed through that last barrier between “ambition” and “accomplishment.” Oh well! It’s probably too late now, but at the very least it should make for a nice little mini-book. I’ll throw maybe a dozen newly-created comics in there for laughs, though whether said laughs come from actual humor value or simply from the amusing nature of how badly my drawing skills have decayed in the past three years remains to be seen.
Anyway, please look forward to it, dedicated supporters. You keep this site alive, because servers are expensive.
Public service chronicles
15
Apr
Guys, I have a recommendation. You should go buy Valkyria Chronicles now.
[[image: ar_041509_valkyria_01.jpg:See what I mean? If I’d played it, I could have written some sort of hilarious caption here!:center:0]]
Gamestop has the game on sale for $30 this month, which is a steal. I played the demo and loved it, but hadn’t gotten around to purchasing it yet due to an insane backlog (among other things), so grabbing it new for half off seemed perfect. I placed my order online, and waited. And waited.
Today I realized my order appears to have been cancelled. Being the super sleuth I am, I decided to investigate. I spoke with a very nice man at Gamestop’s customer service center, and he informed me that the cancellation came direct from the publisher –- something that, according to my source, only usually happens when they’re not manufacturing a game anymore. I don’t want to prematurely alarm anyone — Gamestop dude could have been completely wrong, or it could be a temporary thing (though their website now confirms it’s unavailable) — but after just 6 months of poor sales it looks like Valkyria Chronicles might be joining the pantheon of criminally underappreciated RPGs that will go for more than a game should on eBay in a few years. I’ve never watched it happen in real time before; even with Suikoden II, it wasn’t until many years later I was informed that my copy was worth something.
I know it’s just one sale, but I’m kicking myself now for not picking it up when I should have, particularly in light of my disappointment in some of the other “big” games that came out last year. I really should have supported something so, so…fresh, something I’d tried beforehand and actually enjoyed! If you have any interest at all in playing the game some day (or want to make mad bank on eBay some day, I guess), you might want to look into securing a copy while you’re still able to.
GameSpite Issue 12.2: Wherefore Art?
15
Dec
Fun archaic English trivia: did you know that ‘wherefore” means “why,” not “where”? Probably you did, because you read GameSpite and are therefore possessed of a keen and piercing intellect! But please do not walk around saying things like, “Wherefore did I put my car keys?” because that would make you sound like a silly person indeed. Shakespearean-era people would seriously be laughing at you.
Meanwhile, in answer to the question posed by the title of this entry…well, wherefore not?
BraidThe conversation surrounding the game Braid has probably garnered more press time and discussion than the game itself. Alas, author legeek has avoided this obvious trap, so you will have to settle for a critique of Braid rather than an another screed on whether or not games can be art (and whether or not the posturing of a game’s creator can undermine the merits of said game).
Mole ManiaYou know how I used to do comic-style reviews on occasion? Well, Loki (of Nintendo Super Squad fame) just laughed and said, “Was it comics? I will show you how!” before unleashing a torrent of awesome upon the world. In the process, he also gave a pretty good critique of an obscure Game Boy puzzler. Rad.
Streets of RageAnd finally, at the other extreme of all this artsiness is a simple, straightforward tribute to the game that perfected one of the simplest and most straightforward genres ever: the king of beat-em-ups, Streets of Rage.
Kept you waiting, huh?
05
Dec
So…another Metal Gear teaser, huh? Well, that’s nice. Unfortunately, I pretty much completely agree with everything Parish said below. I had a lot of issues with Metal Gear Solid 4, and it’s probably best to let the series stay finished rather than trying to squeeze anymore out of it and make things worse.
Strangely enough, though, the announcement has made me realize that I miss playing MGS4. It’s no secret I was a die hard fan up until the last game, and I really feel like the overhauled control scheme finally nailed what tactical espionage action should be. Choking, stunning, stabbing, and shooting were all intuitive and satisfying. Furthermore, the “being a super spy while two factions duke it out” dynamic of the first two chapters was an interesting concept that could definitely be further explored – kids these days love moral choices, so why not make a compelling reason to side with either faction? The fact of the matter is, for all the vitriol I’ve spewed at the game, and in spite of the numerous ways it let me down, I realize now that MGS4 could still fun. If things had been (very) different, I would be more than happy to play it over and over. I know, I’m stunned, too.
[[image: ar_120408_mgs4_01.jpg:I can't quit you baby:center:0]]
It’s a shame, then, that my choice will likely end up being either “more Metal Gear, when they shouldn’t” or “no other game like it”. The thing I like best about, say, Zelda is the environmental puzzle solving, and I can get a enjoyable (if not perfectly similar) substitute from games like Ico, Prince of Persia, and Braid. Every other attempt at stealth gameplay, though, has either been a mediocre failure, or lacked the nothing-is-sacred mantra of Metal Gear and attached a forgettable international spy plot (I’m looking at you, Splinter Cell). I don’t think it’s impossible for someone else to do it, but I have my doubts.
In a perfect world, Konami would wise up and use MGS4’s engine and gameplay to do something completely new. Really, this would solve their biggest dilemma, too: how to do a Metal Gear-caliber game without Kojima. Write a brand-spankin’ new plot, use the expensive assets you’ve already developed, and make me care again. I want to play with what MGS4 offers, but without — as mentioned before — 20 years of plot bogging it down. Of course, as also mentioned before, this will never, ever happen for a simple reason: money. Why try milking an unfamiliar new franchise when there’s still plenty left in MGS’ proverbial teats?