Verb Science » Mini-Updates

The Move and Power

Logan — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:26:39 +0000

So apparently, the PlayStation Move has an internal lithium-ion battery, just like the regular control pad. I wonder if anyone has told Sony that that isn’t as useful as it thinks it is. It’s bad enough when the power runs out in my Dualshock 3, but at least I can sort of play with it plugged in. The Move on the other hand? There is no way you play that while it’s charging, unless the cable is particularly long, which seems unlikely. Also, if the regular pads are anything to go off, you can only charge the Move when the PS3 is on.

Sony’s internal batteries are actually more inconvenient, rather than less. I imagine Sony intended this is a sales feature, that you’ll never need to buy batteries for the PS3 controllers, and while I appreciate the thought, batteries are cheap. I can a dozen of them for next to nothing and that will keep me going for months. This is a minor nitpick, but it’;s just another reason that my PS3 is not my go-to system.

Between a Rock and a Head Crab

Logan — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:43:46 +0000

How cool is this?

The Escapist Bulletin 27/02/10

Logan — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:23:36 +0000

I’m a bit late getting to this, but the last Bulletin was about graphics, and how limited technology will be beneficial for storytelling.

But before long we will reach a point where graphics simply cannot get any better with the current hardware, and developers and publishers will have to find new ways to impress us. At that point, we’ll hopefully begin to see some lateral movement by developers in terms of visuals, as standing out from the crowd will no longer be a case of how realistic your graphics are, but more a function of your art design as a whole.

You can read the rest of the article here.

The Escapist Bulletin 20/02/10

Logan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:19:58 +0000

This weeks’ Bulletin is about making better use of a game’s setting;

“How about a tactical FPS depicting a yearlong conflict between the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack, or a Hitman-style game where you play a Drell assassin? Even a turn based strategy where you set up new human colonies is feasible – and potentially quite exciting, if you think back to Eden Prime and Feros – and all because BioWare took the time to build an interesting world.“

Read the rest of it here.

When Games Do Too Much

Logan — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:21:20 +0000

As well as my news and feature articles, I write a small column on Pocket Gamer on behalf of The Escapist. This week’s topic is feature lists and how bigger isn’t always better

“It’s common for sequels to try and be bigger and better than their predecessors. Take the two Knights of the Old Republic games, for example: in the first, you fought against a Sith Lord with a huge fleet at his command, but in the second you fought against a Sith Lord who could destroy planets with his mind. The desire to make a sequel bigger and better than its predecessor is understandable, but all too often this escalation can cause creators to lose sight of the essence of a project.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

Take a Left at the Hippo

Logan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:17:24 +0000

As excited as I am about Super Street Fighter IV, Capcom seems to be stretching the definition of ’street’ here.