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Silent Hill composer tunes into perfect sound - Thu, 11 Mar 2010
GDC 2010: Akira Yamaoka of Grasshopper Manufacture discusses how the human brain works and what techniques are effective when creating a memorable audio experience.
Who Was There: Akira Yamaoka, who is best known for his music in the Silent Hill series, leveraged his 20 years of experience in video game production to discuss audio design in games from a producer's perspective. He has worked not only as a composer, but also as a sound designer, sound director, and producer. Having recently left longtime employer Konami, Yamaoka is currently working with Suda51 on a new game at Grasshopper Manufacture that will be published by EA Partners.
What They Talked About: Yamaoka's 2010 Game Developers Conference session began with a few slides that highlighted some facts of Japan, including the number of islands (6,852) and coastal line (comparable to that of Australia). Yamaoka wanted go over his background and heritage because the kind of attention to detail that is part of the Japanese culture ties in closely to what he ultimately strives for: perfection.
"We care about details. That's the culture," he said through a translator. "We are married to perfection, to details. I hope that links with the world of games."
Yamaoka wanted to be a designer after entering the world of computer games. Computer graphics were still considered new at the time, and his original goal was to focus on graphics but then switched after he bought a PC.
"I wasn't very serious and was having fun," he explained. "I discovered that with a computer, you can compose music, so I switched to [make] computer music instead of computer graphics."
Currently, Yamaoka uses MAX/MSP to compose, but the interface wasn't as accessible 20 years ago. He says that nowadays, anyone can create music, but for him it's a matter of going beyond that. Comparisons were made to film, but he stated that drama films don't have the same interactive communication that video games do.
The composer went on to discuss how humans rely on visuals for stimulation but what he wanted to do was find a way to stimulate or "tickle" a player's emotion with sound. Because humans have other senses as well, he hoped that later down the road, gamers can be "tickled" by taste and scents as well.
Yamaoka's theory for controlling a person's emotions is based around psychology. He explained how humans feel unstable when they turn clockwise and that there's a psychological uncertainty there. Understanding what humans naturally fear is something that is used in games to create anxiety.
Having worked on the Silent Hill series since its inception, Yamaoka talked about how he would bring in sound three frames ahead to induce intensity or anxiety. The opposite would result when audio comes after the visual cues, which instead provide security and comfort.
Contrasting sounds also leave a lasting impression on a listener. An example that he used was to introduce a beautiful piano melody, followed by a frightening sound. Each sound becomes more vivid and the same trick is used in visuals as well.
Based on Yamaoka's audio research, he explained that when the brain hears a sound that is followed by silence, the sound remains even after it has been cut off, which leaves a powerful impact on the listener.
"It's the lack of sound that impresses humans more than the beautiful music," he said.
The final part of Yamaoka's talk was focused on the MAX audio software and how simple it was for him to use when composing and creating sounds. To demonstrate, he brought out his electric guitar and played for several minutes.
At the end of the presentation, he left the audience with a quote from his favorite architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who said, "God is in the detail of the arts." He feels that to achieve what he wants, it's in the details and through that, originality and uniqueness can be delivered.
Quote: "God is in the detail of the arts."--Akira Yamaoka, quote originally by famous architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
Takeaway: Silence can often be more effective than noise, depending on how it is used. Understanding how humans digest and process sound can help audio designers create something that is more powerful and memorable.
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GDC 2010: Bit.Trip Runner Hands-On - Thu, 11 Mar 2010
When we tell Commander Video to jump, he jumps, but getting him to stop moving is another matter entirely.
Gaijin Games has carved out quite a little niche for itself on Nintendo's insanely popular console. Three of its quirky Bit.Trip games have already surfaced on WiiWare, and these retro-themed rhythm games use blocky visuals and catchy soundtracks to great effect. But its next offering is taking a slight turn. Don’t worry, the endearing aesthetics remain the same, but the genre has shifted significantly from the established rhythm-action fare. In Bit.Trip Runner, you take control of a simple hero who merely wants to get from one side of the stage to the other without being killed by a hovering UFO or bottomless pit along the way. We grabbed a Wii Remote and tried our darnedest not to succumb to the many obstacles that threatened to thwart our progress.
Bit.Trip Runner is a platformer, but it's not as predictable as you might imagine. You control Commander Video, an all-black blob with protruding sticks representing his arms and legs, and you have only limited say in exactly how he moves. Commander Video is an impatient hero, so he will not wait for you to push right on the D pad for him to begin moving. Instead, he jogs at a steady rate all the time, and you have to time your jumps, slides, and karate chops in time with the obstacles to keep your plucky protagonist alive. It's not particularly easy, but it is a lot of fun.
There are a handful of different objects to avoid as you begin your perpetual run to the level's finish. UFOs fly dangerously toward your head so you must slide smoothly below them; gaping pits threaten you with immediate death, but a quick leap will clear them; and crystals are tall and formidable, but a sliding attack breaks them into benign little pieces. These dangers represent the expected ways to die in a platformer, but you have one other thing to fear in Bit.Trip Runner as well: ledges. If you mistime a leap and hit your leg on a protruding ledge, you will die and have to restart the whole level over again.
Just like in real life, annoying obstacles are counterbalanced by rewarding pleasures. In this case, gold bricks dot the landscape, serving as a rich reward for making it past a purple crystal unscathed. Every level has a dozen or more wealth-expanding collectibles, and it takes quick reflexes, as well as a bit of memorization, to nab every one and still make it to the end alive. There are bonus levels as well, which draw on the rich history of the video game industry. We played one level inspired by vintage Pitfall, and it stirred our nostalgic hearts to see that 4-bit forest brought to a modern era.
This nonstop platforming action is complemented by a soundtrack that sounds like it was plucked from the classic years of gaming. Bit.Trip Runner looks like it continues the tradition of the Bit.Trip franchise, but we'll find out for sure later this year. It's currently scheduled for release some time this spring.
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US game sales sink 15% in Feb., BioShock 2 best-seller - Thu, 11 Mar 2010
Xbox 360 outsells Wii for first time since 2007, analysts blame supply constraints; PS3 sales up 30%; Dante's Inferno PS3 outsells 360; New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Modern Warfare 2, Wii Sports Resort, Mass Effect 2, make chart
This afternoon, the NPD Group released game-industry sales figures for its February reporting period (January 31 through February 27). The month saw yet another double-digit decline for domestic game sales, which fell 15 percent to $1.48 billion. The drop was steeper than the 10 percent fall analyst Michael Pachter had expected, indicating the industry may be doing worse year over year than feared.
"Honestly, I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. " Nonetheless, strong new releases, and Easter gift-buying bodes well for industry performance in March."
On the hardware front, sales sank even more, dropping 20 percent to $534.2 million. The top-selling platform was once again the DS, which moved 613,200 units including all models. For a change, in second place was the Xbox 360 with 422,000 units, with normal penultimate finisher the Wii in third with 397,000 units. Hot on its heels was the PlayStation 3 with 360,100 units, followed by the PSP with 133,400 units. The PlayStation 2 continues to hang in there, selling 101,900 units.
"The Xbox 360 nabbed the top-spot among the three console systems for the first time since September 2007, when Halo 3 was released," said Frazier. "The PS3 enjoyed a 30 percent increase over last year, even while retail supply is reported to remain constrained."
Electronic Entertainment Design and Research's Jess Divinich thinks Microsoft deserves little credit for its hardware victory. "Our extensive retail channel checks have all indicated that, in fact, the Nintendo Wii is in short supply," he said. "We believe February numbers reflect entirely on the Wii being supply constrained and has little to do with declining demand of the product."
US software sales mirrored the overall industry decline, also sinking 15 percent year over year. The top game product was BioShock 2 for the Xbox 360, which contributed 562,900 copies to the game's 3 million-unit shipment milestone. (The PS3 version did not crack the top 10.) New Super Mario Bros. Wii was in second with 555,600 copies sold, followed by the 360 edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with 314,300 units. The PS3 edition of the controversy-plagued shooter came in sixth with 252,800 units.
Rounding out NPD's February top 10 chart were Wii Sports Resort with Wii Motion Plus (fifth, 272,500 units) and Mass Effect 2 for the 360 (seventh, 246,500 units). The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Dante's Inferno were neck and neck in eighth and ninth place, selling a combined 467,200 units. It was one of the first times the PS3 edition of a game outsold its Xbox 360 counterpart at launch. (Batman: Arkham Asylum came close.) Last but definitely not least--considering it was only out for one day during the reporting period--was the PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain, with 219,300 units.
FEBRUARY 2010 US GAME SALES
OVERALL DOLLAR SALES
Games $1.48 billion (-15%)
Hardware $534.2 million (-20%)
Software $736.7 million (-15%)
Accessories $206.1 million (-1%)
HARDWARE SALES
DS 613,200
Xbox 360 422,000
Wii 397,900
PlayStation 3 360,100
PSP 133,400
PlayStation 2 101,900
TOP 10 GAMES (by SKU)
Title / Platform / Publisher / Release Date / Units sold
1) BioShock 2 / 360 / Take-Two / Feb-10 / 562,900
2) New Super Mario Bros. Wii / Wii / Nintendo / Nov-09 / 555,600
3) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 / 360 / Activision / Nov-09 / 314,300
4) Just Dance / Wii / Ubisoft / Nov-09 / 275,400
5) Wii Sports Resort with Wii Motion Plus / Wii / Nintendo / Jul-09 / 272,500
6) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 / PS3 / Activision / Nov-09 / 252,800
7) Mass Effect 2 / 360 / Electronic Arts / Jan-10 / 246,500
8) Dante's Inferno: Divine Edition / PS3 / Electronic Arts / Feb-10 / 242,500
9) Dante's Inferno / 360 / Electronic Arts / Feb-10 / 224,700
10) Heavy Rain / PS3 / Sony / Feb-10 / 219,300 /
Source: The NPD Group
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Metroid creator Sakamoto on Other M, WarioWare - Thu, 11 Mar 2010
GDC 2010: Nintendo software group manager talks mood, creating games for different audiences, and how Dario Argento influenced Metroid.
Who Was There: Yoshio Sakamoto, group manager of the Software Planning and Development department at Nintendo. Sakamoto is probably best known for his work on Metroid, having directed or supervised nearly every game in the series since its inception (including the upcoming Metroid: Other M). But his resume extends well beyond action games. Sakamoto was the producer behind microgame compilations like WarioWare: Touched! and WarioWare: Smooth Moves and has even worked on music games, such as Rhythm Heaven.
What They Talked About: From shooting space pirates in Metroid to sticking fingers up noses in Wario, Yoshio Sakamoto has one of the most varied resumes in gaming. It's so varied, in fact, that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata often comments that he’s unsure how Sakomoto can work on both serious and comical games, according to Sakomoto.
These discussions led to the topic of his talk at GDC 2010, "From Metroid to Tomodachi Collection to WarioWare: Different Approaches for Different Audiences." Sakomoto began by outlining the games he’s worked on in the past, saying that Western audiences probably knew him best for his work on Metroid. Many of his other games, however, were ’niche’ titles that often don’t make it out of Japan (and even in Japan, he says Metroid is seen as ’niche’).
Sakomoto’s current project is Metroid: Other M, and he says his intention was to make it the ’ultimate’ Metroid game. But his involvement with the series stretches back all the way to the first Metroid on the NES in 1986, when he worked as part of the design team. ’When people credit me as the creator of Metroid, I feel a bit of resistance. If anything, I see myself as the one who raised Samus. After all, the one who birthed Metroid was the Queen Metroid, am I right?’ he said.
While Sakamoto didn’t work on Metroid 2, he did produce Super Metroid for the SNES in 1994. To demonstrate just how far the series had come, he showed a clip comparing the ending of Metroid II to a CGI sequence in Other M. The sequence (spoiler warning--skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to know how Metroid II ends and Other M begins) showed the SNES version of the end boss fight against Mother Brain and the death of the baby Metroid and intercut it with an impressive-looking flashback cinematic from Other M.
Sakamoto then switched to the other games in his oeuvre, starting with the WarioWare series, which began with Twisted on the GameBoy Advance in 2005. The latest in the franchise--WarioWare D.I.Y. for the DS--will allow gamers to create their own microgames, and Sakomoto showed off a Metroid-themed one he created that will require players to shoot Metroids within a brief time period. He then briefly touched on two titles not released outside of Japan--the highly successful Tomodachi Collection for the DS (which is about to hit 3 million in sales in its home country) and Famikon Tantei Kurabu, a series of horror/suspense titles. Finally, Sakamoto showed off one of the earliest games he worked on--Balloon Fight for the NES all the way back in 1985.
Sakamoto said that if you looked at his past projects, they could be broken down into two divisions--serious (such as Metroid) and comic (such as WarioWare). He said that in preparing for his talk at GDC, Sakamoto began with examining his influences, chief of which were the films of Italian horror film master Dario Argento. Sakamoto said Argento’s films--particularly 1975’s Deep Red--were the biggest influences on his career, as they taught him that mood, timing, foreshadowing of future events, and contrasting music were key to controlling an audience’s reaction. Other directors and films he called out included Luc Besson (Leon aka The Professional), John Woo (A Better Tomorrow), and Brian dePalma (Carrie).
Sakamoto said the principle of controlling mood, timing, foreshadowing, and contrast was something he applied to all of his games, be they serious or comic. ’The experience of scary or funny or cool is all part of the same process, regardless of the feeling. A developer must think about this and figure out how to control the audiences feeling,’ he said. ’So what is the difference? The answer is there really is no difference; it’s more about technique. As long as one is open to the possibility of new experiences, you can use a single toolset to move people’s hearts in different ways.’
Sakamoto then switched back to his most recent success, last year’s Tomodachi Collection. While Western audiences may be unfamiliar with this DS title, Sakamoto said it was a big hit in Japan. The game uses Mii-like characters and puts them in a series of strange situations. Sakamoto showed a video of his own game, which featured Miis of Nintendo luminaries, such as Iwata, Shigeru Miyamoto, Reggie Fils-Aime, and even Samus Aran. A series of often funny vignettes then flashed on the screen, including Iwata-Mii rocking out to Metallica, Sakamoto’s Mii promising to put diamonds on Samus’ helmet in the next game if she goes out with him, and more.
And finally, Sakamoto again addressed his big next project--Metroid: Other M. He said the game was the synthesis of everything he’s learned about game creation so far. As well as being the producer, Sakamoto wrote the story, which he said would take place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion and would reintroduce characters, such as Commander Adam Malkovich back to the mix. He also briefly spoke about his design process and how it worked with their partners Team Ninja. He recounted a story where thanks to Team Ninja’s input, he was still able to get his wish of having a Metroid that controlled solely via the Wii Remote and yet one that still had 2D-like and first-person elements.
Quote/Takeaway: ’It’s our mission to give our images shape, which can be conveyed to other people. I want to make the game that makes the best possible reaction from my intended audience.’ -- Yoshio Sakamoto, group manager of the Software Planning and Development department at Nintendo.
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Green Day: Rock Band tour kicks off June 8 - Thu, 11 Mar 2010
Band-specific rhythm game gets simultaneous worldwide launch; North America-exclusive premium edition gets DLC voucher, free song export.
In 2009, Green Day confirmed (twice) that there would be a stand-alone Rock Band game devoted to their music. After some confusion, it was confirmed in February of this year that the title would be distributed by EA sometime in 2010.
That release window has now been further narrowed, as EA and MTV Games today confirmed that the title would be launching across the globe on June 8, 2010, on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. In the United States, the standard editions will retail for $59.99 on the Xbox 360 and PS3 and for $49.00 on the Wii.
A premium edition will also be available exclusively for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners in the US and Canada and will retail for $69.99 in the former territory. The premium edition will feature six bundled Green Day downloadable content tracks, special packaging, and a voucher allowing for free export of all the game's songs to Rock Band 1, 2, or 3. Pricing for other regions was not announced, while EA confirmed that exporting the songs from the standard edition of the game would cost $9.99.
Those DLC tracks--which are already on the Rock Band store--will be jazzed up for use in Green Day: Rock Band to fit in with the game's visual style. The game will feature 47 tracks from across the San Francisco punk-pop outfit's career, as well as the playable likenesses of the band's three current members Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool. The game will also make use of the vocal harmony feature that debuted in The Beatles: Rock Band.
Additionally, Green Day: Rock Band will feature 100 images to unlock throughout the course of the game as it runs through Green Day's history, as well as 40 minutes of "rare and unreleased video." Unlike the recently released Beatles: Rock Band, no instruments are planned for this iteration of the franchise.
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Wii Videos from Gamespot
Super Meat Boy GDC 2010 Gameplay Part 2 of 2 - Thu Mar 11 15:39
Off-Screen: Meat Boy must rescue Band-Aid Girl from the evil Dr.Fetus in Team Meat's WiiWare, XBLA, and PC platformer.
Super Meat Boy GDC 2010 Gameplay Part 1 of 2 - Thu Mar 11 15:40
Off-Screen: Help Meat Boy save his girlfriend in Team Meat's WiiWare, XBLA, and PC platformer, Super Meat Boy.
Bit.Trip Runner GDC 2010 Gameplay - Thu Mar 11 14:50
Off-Screen: Dash your way to the finish line in the fast paced Nintendo Wii game.
Cave Story GDC 2010 Gameplay - Thu Mar 11 14:48
Off-Screen: Run, jump and collect treasures galore in the Nintendo Wii Action game.
Rock Band: Green Day GDC 2010 Trailer - Thu Mar 11 10:57
A trailer featuring the song "American Idiot" from MTV Games and Harmonix's upcoming Rock Band: Greenday.
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Wii Videos from Games Radar
Mega Man 10 (Videos) - 10/03/2010
Continuing the retro revival that started with Mega Man 9, Mega Man 10 includes the option to play as fan-favorite character Proto Man from the start, as well as an all new easy mode, and will be available via Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare.
Calling (Videos) - 10/03/2010
What a shame that such a structurally and conceptually solid horrow title should be hampered with such a limp western translation.
FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa (Videos) - 9/03/2010
Clean the grass stains off your jersey and get ready for this new version of FIFA 10 with updated rosters and a big time, World Cup feel.
How to Train Your Dragon (Videos) - 8/03/2010
Red Steel 2 (Videos) - 4/03/2010
Set in a desert-bound, high-tech metropolis, Red Steel 2 is the first Ubisoft title with full Wii MotionPlus integration.
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