Finished?

Good. Now to update you on our situation: We totally have Skylanders. What seemed like a simple gift from my Grandmother to my children has cost us more money than I would have anticipated; and it’s entirely my fault. With all due respect to anyone who sees Skylanders as a mere child’s plaything that plays on weak willed parents who spend too much money on their kids… you go to hell. You’re one hundred percent accurate… but fuck you.

My kids took an instant liking to the game. What surprised me was how easy the game seemed to be for them to get into. Both my 3 year old son and 5 year old daughter (who have since owning the game turned 4 and 6) were able to pick up on the controls relatively easily. My son still has some problems now and again, but that’s mostly due to his hands just not being big enough to grip the controller in a way that would make it easy for him to connect with all the face buttons.

If there is one thing I can say as a positive about the game, it’s how well designed it is. The gentle slope of difficulty is perfect for smaller kids. It’s a bit slow for a more experienced gamer, but even I won’t argue that shit gets real in Skylands. It eventually becomes an experience that I don’t feel like falling asleep to, and I look forward to playing with my kids.

What I will cast negativity on is…. how well designed it is. Not the game mechanics mind you, but the whole “system” that has been created. You get three Skylanders with the game. Each of these three represents a different element. There are eight elements total. So do the math. That’s right, you have FIVE elements not covered.

Does this mean I can’t play the whole game?

Well, not exactly. You can use the three Skylanders and, if you’re playing solo and not horrible, you could theoretically play through the whole game. BUT, you would miss out on a metric fuckton of side content and wouldn’t gain the bonuses that are given in certain areas of the game. So every time you walk into a spot that says, “Air Skylanders are more powerful here,” you’d be missing out on bonus damage that could make life a bit easier. AND, you wouldn’t be able to get some of the hats (that grant ability bonuses) that are only available through gates that can only be opened by certain elemental Skylanders.

Is the racket coming into focus??

That’s not all! You even get MORE bonuses if you own multiple Skylanders of the same element! That’s right, if you collect all 4 of one element, all of the Skylanders from that element do more damage.

But wait, there’s more! Some Skylanders come in “adventure packs” which contain a bonus level (think DLC) in the form of a statue that you can toss onto the Portal of Power to unlock, as well as bonus items that grant additional abilities for limited times.

IT’S. GENIUS…

…and it’s made my wallet bleed a little bit.

What does my wife think of all this?

…she kind of digs Trigger Happy.

Steve "Slurms" Lichtsinn

Blogger and Podcast host for Multiplaying. All viewpoints in my words whether written or spoken are my own, and do not reflect the views of the community I am a part of. I don't do this for a living, and it shows!

-Rer: Thanks again for taking the time to do this Q/A Terence!  So, tell me, how did Hitbox Team come to be?

Hitbox Team is four people: Lexie, Woodley, Matt, and me, Terence, but it started when Lexie and Woodley made the prototype of Dustforce in GameMaker.  They won a contest from indiePub which inpsired them to make it into a full game.  Matt joined them to build the engine from scratch, and I joined a little bit later to work on the sound and music.

-Rer: So what was the thought process behind Dustforce?  Were you doing Spring Cleaning one day and thought “You know this would be so much easier if we could jump off walls”?

Lex and Woodley had always talked about wanting to make an agile, fast paced platformer. Woodley was sweeping leaves off the path at his uncle’s house in Texas when the idea came to him. It wasn’t quite Dustforce until we came back to the idea a lot later, but the core idea of having to clean the surfaces was the same.

-Slurms: The last time I felt like I wanted to be a janitor was when I saw Stanley Spadowski in the movie UHF. Was he an inspiration?

Nope sorry, haven’t seen it.  But the last time I wanted to be a janitor was in high school, when I saw the janitor surf down the handicap ramp on one of those yellow mop buckets.

-Slurms: But seriously, what were some of your design inspirations for the game?

N, Nikujin, and Super Smash Brothers were big inspirations.  We wanted to make a game that captured movement and speed with flow and elegance.  If you watch a pro play those games, the fluidity looks really impressive.

-Rer: I’ve taken to calling the older chap with the Vacuum “Gramps”, when developing the game did you create any nicknames for the characters?

Yeah, the character’s names are Dustman and Dustgirl for the blue and red cleaners, Dustkid for the purple child, and Dustworth for gramps.

-Slurms: How long was the development of Dustforce? What was the most difficult part?

The prototype took around 4 months.  The full version of the game took an additional year.  The most difficult part was probably coordinating work across all the different timezones we were in, since we were scattered throughout Australia, New York, Japan, and Cincinnati.  We eventually all grouped up in one place and worked together for a solid 3 months, which was really productive.

-Rer: I gotta ask, do you realize how amazing you are at creating music?  I love your soundtrack!

Thanks!  I’m really glad people are liking it.  It’s my first musical project and I’ve learned a lot through the process.  I definitely plan on doing more music in the future.

-Rer: It seems like Dustforce is earning a lot of praise in the gaming community!  Are you happy with how the game is being received?

Yes, we are pretty excited that people are enjoying the game.  Our goal was to reach out to a specific type of gamer: the kind that enjoys being challenged and wants to improve himself in order to be a master at the game.  We do get some complaints about the games difficulty, but our design goal from the beginning was to tie the progress of the game to the progress of the player’s skill.

-Rer: Also, what is your favorite part of the game?  Do you have any particular map or character you prefer?

My personal favorite part of the game is playing maps that let you build up lots of speed.  There’s a technique you can do on ramps, where if you slide down a ramp at full speed, and then dash as soon as you get to the bottom, you can boost really far and fast.  The maps Downhill and Park really let you abuse this, as you can see in the replays.

-Rer: Should we expect to see any additions added onto Dustforce in the form of more maps or gameplay modes?

We’re going to release a level pack with more easy levels (more keys!) that are fun to speedrun, along with more gigadifficult levels for those who have completed the game.   We’re also releasing the level editor soon, so you can expect to see maps of every kind!  It’s a really versatile editor – you can make maps of limitless size and build a full on exploration game if you chose to.

-Slurms: There’s a great deal of titles coming out from smaller developers such as yourselves, with that; how do you feel about the current state of “Indie” gaming?

Indie game development is great because it puts everyone on the same playing field.  All the tools and resources for learning to make games are available for free online – literally anybody can make a great game if they have enough motivation.  Not only that, distribution has been made easier in the past few years and is within everyone’s reach, with the growth of Steam and other Steam-like services.  The only thing I am concerned about is that as we see more and more games, we must proportionally increase our critical standards.  It’s such an accessible medium, so we have to distinguish the good from the bad perhaps even more so than we do with AAA games.

-Slurms: Indie or not, who are some of your favorite developers?

Here’s a list the team came up with: Hal Laboratory, Clover, thatgamecompany, Platinum Games, Fumito Ueda, and Pixel.

-Rer/Slurms: Last but not least, what’s next for you guys?  Do you want to create a game in the same type of genre (since clearly you’re very good at it), or will you be venturing out into a new type of game?

We want to make a completely different game.  We’re still working on polishing up Dustforce, but we have a ton of other ideas in mind.  We want to do a 3D game for sure.  We’re also thinking of first making some small prototypes before we jump into a big project again.

-Rer: Again, thank you so much for taking the time to do this Q/A Terence, if you’ve any final thoughts or comments the theoretical floor is all yours sir!

No problem!  Here’s a message I have to end with, regarding the difficulty of Dustforce:
A lot of people may find Dustforce to be far more difficult than the games they are used to.  This is intended: we wanted Dustforce to be a game about real player growth. Older games used to push players to their limits – likewise, we want players to really feel like they are actually getting better at the game instead of just luckily stumbling through it after enough brute force.  Getting the full experience of the game isn’t just encountering all of the levels, art, and music – the full experience is the journey of earning it all.

Rer

Howdy, Rer here. I guess this box is where I'm supposed to tell you about myself. Well, I'm 21, a nerd, and I spend more time playing video games than I do sleeping. I also am one of the hosts of League of Legends Coldcasting, while doing my own Let's Plays on my YouTube channel. But enough about me, what about you?

Just…. DAYUM.

I do want to make a point to say that all of the commentary is just for laughs and is good-natured.  Its not our goal to discourage anyone from playing or attempt to belittle anyone on account of skill or playstyle.  Whats important is to have fun in games like League of Legends, and that’s all we’re really striving to do.

Download the podcast directly here, subscribe on iTunes, or subscribe via RSS.

Hosts:

• Dean
• Rer
• Brian
• Steve

Games discussed:

• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Dustforce
• Skylanders
• Kindoms of Amalour: Reckoning

Music provided with permission by The Triptones.

Contact Info:

Questions, comments, feedback, errors, voice messages in mp3 or wav format, etc. can be sent to multiplaying@gmail.com. We invite you to write a review on iTunes and visit our website at multiplaying.net.

Steve "Slurms" Lichtsinn

Blogger and Podcast host for Multiplaying. All viewpoints in my words whether written or spoken are my own, and do not reflect the views of the community I am a part of. I don't do this for a living, and it shows!

That’s right folks, I’m teaming up with my good friend Iaqton to bring you fine folks some good ol’ fashioned League of Legends Coldcasting.  We never watch the game in advance and simply do our best to follow the pain-train as the game unfolds.  We’re slowly getting better as we do more episodes, so please, watch, enjoy, and if ya really love me hit that Subscribe button to always be up to date with new episodes!  Thanks for watchin’!

Rer

Howdy, Rer here. I guess this box is where I'm supposed to tell you about myself. Well, I'm 21, a nerd, and I spend more time playing video games than I do sleeping. I also am one of the hosts of League of Legends Coldcasting, while doing my own Let's Plays on my YouTube channel. But enough about me, what about you?

Then EA started dropping prices on a few titles on the list. Grand Theft Auto IV was the first. I’ve owned the game before, but never on the PC. The price dropped all the way to 5 dollars. After my promotional code was applied…it was free. I may never play the game, but it was free.

The same thing happened a week later, but with Dead Space 2. A game that had been getting a lot of talk on podcasts I listen to in regards to “great games from 2011.” I’m not much of a horror game type person, just as I’m not big on horror films, but again… it was free. Unlike GTA though, I figured I’d give Dead Space a shot.

I downloaded and installed the game, then attempted to play it. I immediately had an issue with the menu. For some reason if you have a device such as a flight stick or a keypad (like the Logitech G13 as was my case) it screws up the camera and makes the game unplayable. I unhooked the G13 and reinstalled the game (tried fixing it via the txt file, but it didn’t work) and then once that was done everything was hunky dory.

Since I hadn’t played the first Dead Space, I took the few minutes to watch the “Previously on Dead Space” video that was provided in the menu. I really dug that they put that in rather than trying to get you up to speed within the game. I’m sure people who DID play the first title were quite appreciative of it as well. After the video ended, I went in.

Warning: Very light spoilers about the first handful of minutes into the game ahead.

I went in expecting things to pop out at me as if I were walking through a haunted house. Scary, sure, but also somewhat lame and annoying in a way that makes me want to hurt someone. Instead I was greeted by a man interrogating me, slowly unraveling the idea that I had some important information in my brain but was being treated like a psych patient, straight-jacket and all. Then shit went south. I wake up to a man who is visibly panicked trying to wake my character up in order to get moving.

Still in a straight-jacket because my panicked friend didn’t last long after waking me up, I proceed to run down the hall as FUCKING CHAOS ensues all around me. Necromorphs (big, nasty, half human, half goddamn gross creatures) are tearing apart people and crawling out of the woodwork. Although it’s in space… so there’s really not any wood. Metalwork? Yeah, crawling out of the metalwork. I have nothing but the ability to run, so that’s what I do.

I eventually make it to a sealed office where I run into the doctor who I met in the beginning of the game. Dude. Went. Nuts. I won’t spoil what happens; apart from he gets you out of your straight-jacket and gives you a flashlight. FORESHADOWING!

I soon walk into a room that has no lights. GOOD THING I GOT THIS FLASHLIGHT! It’s then that the game starts to scare me. Say what you will about me, but I will repeat: I am not a fan of the horror genre. So I begin to make my way through this room, dead bodies laying on the ground and sitting in chairs, and I just know something is going to pop out at my defenseless ass. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. So I hit escape and quit.

Look, the graphics are really great, the controls feel awesome, and if you like horror games I suggest you give it a whirl. It’s not for me though. This isn’t to say I’ll never play it again, but never again right before bed.

Maybe on a bright spring morning or something…

with extra lights in my cloffice…

and my iPod playing KC and the Sunshine Band.

Steve "Slurms" Lichtsinn

Blogger and Podcast host for Multiplaying. All viewpoints in my words whether written or spoken are my own, and do not reflect the views of the community I am a part of. I don't do this for a living, and it shows!

Download the podcast directly here, subscribe on iTunes, or subscribe via RSS.

Hosts:

• Devin (a.k.a. Tak) is back!
• Rer
• Jason
• Steve

Games discussed:

• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Alice: Madness Returns
• Rayman: Origins
• EVE Online

Music provided with permission by The Triptones.

Contact Info:

Questions, comments, feedback, errors, voice messages in mp3 or wav format, etc. can be sent to multiplaying@gmail.com. We invite you to write a review on iTunes and visit our website at multiplaying.net.

Steve "Slurms" Lichtsinn

Blogger and Podcast host for Multiplaying. All viewpoints in my words whether written or spoken are my own, and do not reflect the views of the community I am a part of. I don't do this for a living, and it shows!

I never completed the game though. I’m only a mere 30 hours in and for that amount of time, should be further than I am. But between The Old Republic, games I picked up on the Steam sale, and this shiny new video card, I find it hard to pull myself away from my cloffice. If only I could play Dark Souls on the PC!

What’s this?

So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

EVERYONE SIGN THIS PETITION!

And if you need well spoken reasoning as to WHY it should be considered for a PC release, watch the following video:

Steve "Slurms" Lichtsinn

Blogger and Podcast host for Multiplaying. All viewpoints in my words whether written or spoken are my own, and do not reflect the views of the community I am a part of. I don't do this for a living, and it shows!

Download the podcast directly here, subscribe on iTunes, or subscribe via RSS.

Hosts:

We talk about:

A few games we’re looking forward to in 2012

We’re playing:

• Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
• Saints Row: The Third
• Alice: Madness Returns
• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• …and probably other games with colons in them.

Music provided with permission by The Triptones.

Contact Info:

Steve "Slurms" Lichtsinn

Blogger and Podcast host for Multiplaying. All viewpoints in my words whether written or spoken are my own, and do not reflect the views of the community I am a part of. I don't do this for a living, and it shows!