Back then, Motorstorm was an early example of what the Playstation 3 hardware could achieve, because no racing game had looked so good, no cliffsides so treacherous, and no explosions so fearsome. The gameplay was an odd take on arcade off-road racing, using a boost system similar to the excite bike on the NES, but there was a catch: If you filled your boost bar… you would explode. And the explosions were oh so glorious, with bits, pieces, bolts and springs flying out all over the place! Back then, even the crashes in Burnout were inferior.

For years, that’s what Motorstorm was to me. High speed, high jumps, mud pits, and explosions. But when I got my hands on my very own copy of Motorstorm Pacific Rift, everything changed. Motorstorm became more than a racing game.

Pacific Rift

At the time, I hadn’t played any of the Festival in the first game, and the rolling cinematic behind the Pacific Rift menu just made the Festival that much more interesting. (I guess I didn’t spend enough time with the original game to notice that it also had a festival cinematic background.)

The idea that a bunch of tough-ass racing addicts could get together and organize such an awesome event made the game for me. On its own. It became a universe not unlike Halo or Starcraft, with so much potential to develop.

But what I find really impressive, to this day, is the production value for its menu background. It really fleshed out what Motorstorm was about: A bunch of crazy people getting together to have crazy fun. Scenes of a monster truck dragging 3 scrapped cars to make the track, or jumping compact cars into the sea, or jumping off a cliff and then parachuting to safety. I got the feeling that the development team loved what they were doing. And a dev team that loves their project tends to give us exceptional games.

Not only was Pacific Rift incredibly beautiful to look at, it sounded incredibly good too. And I was playing on an old tube TV to boot. Man, that soundtrack was so varied. It had some kickass DnB, some kickass Rock, and other generally kickass music. But the game fell short in a single regard. We saw the racers, we saw the festival, but we had no story or narration. Don’t get me wrong, the festival served as great context on its own, but it was a little lacking. It was strange that there wasn’t enough of it.

Arctic Edge

I picked up Arctic Edge recently, for the sake of this here article, and you know what? It blew my mind! Why hadn’t I played this game when it was first released? This game was made to show off the PSP’s capabilities. Booming music, crazy speed, mad explosions, it’s all there! Few games look this good on the PSP. And you know what? The festival background video is still here! Motorstorm in the snow just feels good, you know? Maybe it’s because I’m Canadian, but this is my favorite setting for Motorstorm.

Apocalypse

So, let’s skip ahead to 2 months ago.

I’ve had a PS3 for a long time now. A souvenir of my days as a game tester, my PS3 was the only good thing to come from that endeavor (my car’s transmission broke down on my way to work there, and ate up the rest of my savings from the job). So when the Playstation TV came around, it really piqued my interest. Turns out I found a PS3/TV bundle at Costco a few weeks ago and struck a deal with a friend. He’d get the PS3 and I’d get the TV, and we’d both get a nice discount. Deal was he got Motorstorm Apocalypse, and I got Killzone 3.

Well, I borrowed Motorstorm Apocalypse yesterday, and you know what? My beloved festival backdrop was gone. My only consolation was an interesting, yet generic motion comic.

I can understand deadlines. I can understand budget restrictions. So, I can understand why it was chopped. But it felt sad. The motion comic isn’t bad, it just isn’t great. That said, it does add something that the other games lacked: a bit of a story. It fleshed out the universe a little, but it could have been done in more interesting ways.

There are also collectible cards in all of the festival races. Each card consists of an image on one side and some text on the other. They’re all about characters, vehicles, locations, and lore. I love these, they allow the player to look back on the franchise as a whole and see that there is more than just one game here. Its a huge improvement on past games, but it still doesn’t feel like enough.

Now Apocalypse’s gameplay, on the other hand, is jawdroppingly stellar. Racing through a crumbling city, or alongside a tornado, or even in metro tunnels full of crazy people throwing molotovs at you, is a real rush. The crazy speed, the brutal chaos, the danger, it’s all there. It may not be original, with Split/Second still being pretty fresh, but damn did Evolution Studios do their job with that! I’m not an advocate of anarchy, but man do I love it in my video games.

The music in Motorstorm Apocalypse sounds good, but it lacks the great variety of the previous games. I know the city is crumbling around me, but I’d love to race through it listening to booming rock or mad electro. The music included in the game just has this grim, heavy feel to it. This isn’t an emotional roller coaster game where you’re trying to save the world. You’re just racing through it trying to have as much fun as you can before there’s nothing left, and this grim music loses its fun about 20 minutes in.

I can’t help but think that the Festival videos from the previous games would have made this experience better, and that the entire story would be a lot more appealing with high end CGI, especially considering that Motorstorm started off as a leader in the graphics department. A greater music variety would’ve solidified the deal, but I have to say, I’m enjoying the races so much that I’m going grab it from Amazon for myself.

I’ve yet to take my racing online.

RC

I haven’t played RC yet, but from what I can see it looks fun. It doesn’t look like Motorstorm, but still fun. If it’s reasonably priced on the Playstation Store, I might give it a spin and let you know how it goes. That said, from what I can see on the Playstation Store, the game mostly seems like a money grab with a ton of micro-DLC.

The Franchise

Motorstorm as a whole is an incredible franchise. An aircraft carrier-load of vehicles on four continents of crazy off-road tracks makes for a hell of a good time. I don’t have the numbers – so I don’t know how successful the franchise was from a financial standpoint – but from a quality point of view, the Motorstorm games stand out from the crowd. As a franchise, it has a lot more potential to be developed.

What does the future hold for Motorstorm? I don’t know. But I’m allowed to have my hopes.

Hopes

I hope the next Motorstorm aims for a target that few other games have ever set. Motorstorm should go Global. It should include ALL of the tracks from its previous games and ALL the vehicles too. It should build a timeline for the content from Monument Valley, Pacific Ridge, and Arctic Edge, possibly telling the story of Big Dog (a veteran Motorstormer from Apocalypse’s motion comics) in nice CGI cutscenes to give the races an interesting pace. It should include some new content, but the emphasis should still be on revamping the old stuff and giving it a story. It would need a nice set of background videos from Apocalypse’s festival, and an expansive soundtrack. Heck, the content from RC could be tossed in between festivals for tasteful variety.

I’m not talking a run-of-the-mill compilation. I’m talking about a whole new game. Motorstorm isn’t 5 games. It’s a solid franchise with an interesting story, and it could be compiled into a great hub game, literally making all of the pieces fit into a single masterpiece. (similar to what 343 is trying to do with Halo waypoint)

So…

I’m asking for a lot, I know I am. But I do it out of appreciation for what Motorstorm is: A living world, a work of interactive art. It might not be a complex, story-driven adventure, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It gives us a hell of a good time racing at breakneck speeds on the most unlikely tracks out there! And I want more.

A group of 6 indie game devs have gathered together to form http://indiebuskers.net. There, they will be spending the next 48 hours making a bundle of games based on ideas that the public chose and voted upon. Check it out, and drop a coin in the hat to recieve a bundle when it’s all over.

It’s a pretty cool idea, and these guys are pretty good at what they do. Seeing that musicians can make a bit of change on the subways playing music, why can’t indie devs make a bit of change making games on the subways of the internet?  Check it out. I’ll write a more detailed post about each of the buskers later on.

Join people in the irc channel to ask questions, or just chill: http://webchat.quakenet.org/?channels=indiebuskers

To submit your Quantumkrate game, send a playable version to team (at) quantum-box.com

If it’s currently playable online (something web-based that you’re hosting), you may also send us the link to the game if you desire.

Remember, sharing source, while not required, is encouraged.

Seeing as I’m putting this post out pretty late and I didn’t specify the exact ending time in the initial post, I’m going to extend the deadline two hours from what it should have been. The cut off time is February 26th, 01:59 UTC (EST: Feb 25th, 20:59 | PST: Feb 25th, 17:59) Hopefully, the extra time will help for any additional polish or a bit of breathing room for whatever you need to get ready to submit it. And remember, you retain all the rights to your ownwork so you can do whatever you want with it!

And so, the time has come!

Quantumkrate Game Competition begins now!

The Theme for Quantumkrate is…

Yes, food! The sustenance of life! Now, go! Create delicious games!

For an overview of the rules, refer to the previous post here.

The view from the sidewalk.

After checking into the Marriott across the street in our 2-bedroom suite (we decided to go all out for this vacation), we headed over to the Gaylord Convention Center & Resort.

The Gaylord.

We didn’t check out any shows or panels on the first day and mostly spent our time in the arcade and walking around. The hotel & resort areas were absolutely striking.

Here are some shots showing all the FREEPLAY games in the arcade.

The arcade area was absolutely massive and also featured a taiko rhythm game, DDR and Pump it Up, and Pop ‘N’ Music. There were challenges on PCs for those who wanted to win prizes and Kinect games for those who wanted to be in the spotlight. There was also a great dealer’s area filled with old, rare games and merchandise:

Only $50.

Mario for SEGA Genesis.

The Pikachu car was also there!

CUTE!

After tons of DDR, swimming, and first-night celebrations, we all fell asleep. Waking up was no easy task, but free breakfast and more games called. We also wanted to catch some concerts.

Back to the Gaylord, with a bit of a hangover this time...

We spent the second day getting down to business. After tons more of DDR, we went to two concerts. First, we hit up the JamSpace while looking for chiptune concert. Edit: the video is now up!

These guys rocked out, even when a drunken guy jumped on the stage.

We finally found the chiptune concert right as it began. First up was Disasterpeace. Their music was very ambient and had a slight gospel-like feeling due to the drums. Edit: video is now up!

Next up was Revengineers, a band from Rochester, NY. Their music was a little more upbeat and melodic (edit: yes, we got video of this too, and it’s up now!). They jumped around a lot and made the crowd feel excited.

They also made it a bit harder to take a good photo on the fly:

Last was Danimal Cannon, a one-man-chiptunes-making band. He was also very into his music and switched effortlessly between his switchboard and guitar. Edit: the video is up!

After the concert over, I bought about $25 worth of merchandise and then went on my way to the Brentalfloss concert. It was (in my opinion) hilarious, especially the mad lib lyrics. Mr. Floss also performed his famous DuckTales Moon Level with Lyrics song.

Crazy! Ducks in space!

We spent the rest of the day playing more games into the wee hours of the morning. On the third day, we sat in on Super Art Fight. It was a throwback to my high school days for sure. Here’s a shot of round 1′s finished work:

Sweet, right? I love the angry zebra. Next, we caught part of the Minibosses concert. Sadly, I couldn’t get a recording of it, but these photos show how into the music they were.

We then tried to catch a little Earthbound Papas, but it was insanely crowded. We hung out for a bit and listened to some of Nobuo Uematsu’s music, then went down to the arcade.

You try standing here for an hourlong concert after playing ~5 hours of DDR...

The arcade was, of course, empty. We played DDR and other games until we were exhausted. Time flew, and suddenly the last day arrived.

My bedroom in the Marriott suite.

We didn’t do too much on the last day besides recoup and look for last-minute purchases. I was exhausted from playing ~$40 worth of DDR in 3 days, so I took it easy. We walked around a lot and took in the sights.

The view from my bedroom.

Overall, the trip was AMAZING. The people were great and the atmosphere was very calm. Instead of concentrating on upcoming games, MAGFest seems to be about celebrating the past and appreciating the games that make us who we are. Not only this, but the hospitality was top-notch and the food was amazing.

Potbelly Sandwiches' Mushroom Melt & Vegetable Soup. Om nom.

We left the cleaning person a tip & note. They responded!

I’m definitely hoping to go to MAGFest next year to experience more fun games, great music and hilarious panels. To find out more information, check out their website.

New York based developer Quantum Box is looking for 2 modelers very competent with sci-fi ship design and capable of adhering to a strict art direction on an upcoming retro-style scrolling shooter. The modelers will be brought onboard during the pre-production stage to help establish the final art style.

Modelers joining the team now and participating for the duration will receive a percentage of profits from the game upon its release.

Contact me via my dev email dk (at) quantum-box.com regarding this opportunity. You may be required to provide a relevant example of your work.

MAGFest has grown tremendously, now amassing over 4,000 gamers. Will you be there?

From this year forth, the QB team will be working on covering multiple conventions including PAX East and GDC. To start off the year right, we’ll be at MAGFest all this weekend! I’m heading out in a couple of hours to arrive fashionably late, so this post will stay short.

Here is a bit of information about MAGFest from their website:

MAGFest, The Music And Gaming Festival, is an annual event in the Washington D.C./Virginia/Maryland area dedicated to the celebration of video games and video game music. Each year, MAGFest offers 24-hour console, arcade, and PC game rooms, over twelve live video game cover bands, a vendors area, and guest speakers from the video game industry and fan scene. It also features a “JamSpace” available to all attendees for impromptu music performances. Numerous other events are scheduled each day.

What makes MAGFest unique is that it’s an event run by fans for fans. There are no corporate sponsors, no over-crowded showfloors, and no top-secret-behind-closed-doors showings. MAGFest is built from the ground up to be a party-like atmosphere with focus on community and fan creations, which creates an environment that no other expo or convention can ever recreate.

We hope to see you there! We also promise not to spam-post. Tune in for more MAGFest goodness and other fun stuff!

This time we added a new game to our Quantum Game Cube — v1.0.2., Air Drop Museum. A cat that was once in the realm of living is now tied to the museum where it used to walk in, scratch paintings, and leave its mark on the walls before it left. However, The Keeper of the Museum was a warlock and was pretty pissed at this cat pissing on its walls. He bound the cat’s soul to the museum and forced it to work there for the rest of its life. Semi-dead Cat Man now hangs paintings, appreciates art, curates shows, and does various other activities that go on in museums. As long as the Museum needs the cat’s help, his soul will never rest. To ensure that Semi-dead Cat Man will never be freed from its bonds, The Keeper of the Museum became a part of the infamous 1%, and ordered jets to fly over the museum and drop paintings for even years after his death! But the cat doesn’t really mind. Mindlessly putting up artwork isn’t too difficult when you have no legs.

But why can't I hold all these paintings?

Enjoyed that? This story didn’t exist until I wrote it just now. The game was an exercise of rapid design. Just us bros (and cats) sitting together and making a game. Arthur ran a simple idea through Construct 2. Catt drew a cute character. I made random objects, and suddenly we give birth to something. Simple stuff– just an urge to be productive without being overwhelming. In any case, click on our little Quantum Game Cube in the top left corner to play it. It should play in your browser easily, so you have no excuse! It’ll be there until we add something else to it. Keep creating!

I was born a SEGA fan. Even so, Nintendo was often the cause of awe and admiration in my childhood. That love didn’t start with the popular SNES or Game Boy — I was incredibly satisfied with the Genesis and Game Gear. My affair with Nintendo began with the Pokemon TV show and game. I was a young videogame enthusiast and Pokemon was in all the gaming magazines and all over the boob tube. Every generation since the baby boomers has had a gigantic TV-show-turned-game-turned-anything-under-the-sun hit (the order of conversion may differ based on decade in which it was created), and Pokemon fit the bill for mine. It was a nonsensical concept: a ten-year-old running across the country without any adult supervision (unless you count the occasional Oak), trapping big monsters in tiny capsule balls. It was absolutely absurd, but I was young and therefore I loved it. Apparently it was the plague to almost anyone over the age of 13 at the time of release, but I was oblivious to this fact.

Nintendo as a whole is sort of like its former cash cow, Pokemon. It started out great, fresh, and new. Over the years, its formula stayed the same, but its fanbase grew. The larger fanbase increasingly requested new, original content but instead got reiterations of the same game, same TV show, and the same formula. Consumers were expected to accept and appreciate what they received — more new Pokemon with the same story (and repetitive episodes!). One day, however, their competitors (I’m looking at you, Digimon) became more interesting, despite coming into the game later. Fans flocked from the same, old content to shows with deep plots and different stories. Unfortunately, Nintendo caught on a bit too late. Ash is still forever alone, and as much as I liked Pokemon Black, I still haven’t finished it and don’t feel like remembering the entirely new set of Pokemon.

Nintendo wasn’t always this way. They knew how to garner sales in the 80′s and 90′s with impressive prices, great game lineups, and good, timely technology. The tables began to shift over time. As a new millennium approached, people became more interested in graphics than the price points. SONY’s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox launched with amazing success. In response, Nintendo launched the GameCube, the only console besides the Virtual Boy by the company to not be on the top 10 of IGN’s list of the best consoles of all time.

The DS was Nintendo’s second step in the wrong direction. It was absolutely wonderful at first and had several great games releasing with or shortly after it. Over time, though, the SONY PSP began to take over the DS’s spotlight with more innovative, interesting games. Pata-Pon was the game that spurred my lust for the PSP. As much as I loved MarioKart and Animal Crossing, I would’ve loved to play Guitaroo Man and Loco Roco ever so much more. As the DS aged, my regret increased. Even so, I wasn’t going to buy ANOTHER handheld just because none of the games I wanted were released for it. So, I played the games I had and waited for the next big console. Surely Nintendo would get great games for their flagship console.

No, they wouldn’t. The Wii was released with much praise. Super Smash Brothers Brawl was a hit, and everyone loved Wii Sports. The visuals were cruddy — no 1080p or even 720p — but people looked past that. It was new, innovative, and an amazing workout & learning tool. Nintendo saw this trend in casual gaming and took it by the reigns. They released tons of casual games like Wii Music and Wii Fit. This trend was also applied to the DS, forcing my gameplay to come to a halt. Soon, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were the only consoles left for hardcore gamers. Having already purchased a Wii (on the release morning from Nintendo World, no less), I once again refrained from getting a better console. I endured the pain of only having bought 3 games for my console (Klonoa, Wii Fit, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl) for FIVE YEARS.

At one point, I had completely stopped playing console and handheld games. There was nothing left for me but the computer. I archived the way to operate a game’s camera using an analog stick and learned to use a mouse instead. This changed when I heard about FEZ and Sonic Generations. Being a Sonic fan, I was going to take a chance and buy their 20th anniversary game. There was one problem — it wasn’t going to be released for the Wii. Knowing that Xbox 360′s and PlayStation 3′s were no longer nearly as unstable as their release-date predecessors, I delved into the world of research and eventually settled on an Xbox 360. I wanted to play both FEZ and Sonic Generations, plus I knew some people who greatly enjoyed their Xbox 360′s.

Shortly after my new console arrived and was set up, the anger at Nintendo really set in. After seeing the amazing video quality and innovative, immersive Xbox LIVE Arcade social network-meets-store, I was ashamed that I waited so long to buy a different console. I was in shock and enraged at what Nintendo had kept from me and other gamers. I had been deprived of a constant stream of great games and was suddenly in the correct decade. My new console cost $50 more than the release date Wii, but it was ten times as great. I didn’t even miss the motion sensing gimmick — I got tons of new games that looked good and brought me much more entertainment than the Wii ever did.

Since releasing myself from Nintendo’s grasp, I haven’t looked back. I have no intention of buying the 3DS or the Wii U. MarioKart 7 looks great and all, but I’d much rather play Scott Pilgrim than give myself a headache with gimmicky 3D or play chess on my handheld-console Frankenstein’s monster. Nintendo has been a lesson in economics, though. If you want long-term customers, don’t cut corners when it comes to quality. Doing so will force people to no longer appreciate your brand.