Nana MarfoA student with a passion for game development and all things Japan. Archives
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Hey all! Let me start by say I have been running dry on things for a GameWorks post. I don't think one will come this month(like I said busy month for me). However, as you may know or not know, I have been getting into Street Fighter. Then I had another Idea for an entry into the Pix1001 #VideoGameWorldCup... Striker(and my pick for captain): Rainbow Mika I was thinking about picking Cammy, and even though she is best Street Fighter girl(Sorry Chun-Li), Mika seemed like a better choice. SUPER energetic, which would help on the fast break and SUPER encouraging, hence why I chose her as Captain.The team needs someone to look to for inspiration, and Mika is there.
Anyways, that it! I might do something like this for the Tour De France... maybe... Either way, Thanks for reading, have a great day/night, share if you enjoyed it and take care! Written by Nana Marfo Idea by Pix1001 All Images(C)Their respective owners.
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10 Questions for Jupiter Hadley26/6/2018 So today I'm doing something very different, but at the same time, it is an evolution of an Idea that I have had for a while. For those that don't know, I wanted to start a podcast that would look at people and their gaming interests, as I thought it would be good to know people as people, and not some big star on the internet. However, I felt there was not enough interest in the idea in terms of people wanting to interviewed. However, I decided to use the questions I had come up with(and a few more related to that person) to interview Jupiter Hadley. She does a lot of indie game work, including an Indie Games Podcast and looking at game jams. She even looked at my game in the Big Festive Jam, and while I'm thankful, I also am a bit embarrassed. If you read my devlog about the Big Festive Jam you know why I have those feelings. Anyways, you can check it out below(along with all the other games from that Jam!). What was your first game? Do you have any fond memories of it?
The first game I remember playing is the Legend of Zelda on the NES. My dad paints houses for a living - something that you mainly do in the summertime. In winter, I remember him plugging the old NES into his TV in his room. My sister and I would sit on his bed, watching him take on the entire game. My dad knew where all the hearts were - all of the objects. He would beast throughout the entire map. We would normally be handed unplugged controllers. When I was a bit older, I remember getting to take on ‘the castles’ in the game. These were the temples where the bosses where. There were other games I played around that age - we had a PlayStation and I remember playing Centipede, Frogger, Mortal Kombat, racing games and more - but they weren’t the games my dad had played. It seemed much more significant getting to play Legend of Zelda. When I was a bit older, I started playing the Sims 1 on PS1. I have lots of fun memories of playing Sims 1 and Sims Bustin Out - especially Bustin’ Out, with my friends. When was you first exposure to the wider gaming community (when you looked more into other games that you were not into at first)? Well, that all starts with Minecraft. I started playing Minecraft as my brother had played it. The server he played on had an active gaming community that played League of Legends and World of Warcraft. I ended up playing League of Legends but didn’t really enjoy it. I was also introduced to some indie game developers, who introduced me to the community around making your own games. I didn’t really look into a wider gaming community - they sort of found me. What was the first game you truly fell in love with? This is a complicated question. I sort of divide my gaming life into “before indie games” and “after indie games.” I really loved Cooking Mama on the Nintendo DS but I never had my own DS so I always had to borrow it off my sister. I really enjoyed cooking all of the strange things within the game. There was also a fashion game I would play on her DS where you could run a clothing shop and go to fashion shows that I was really fond of. I remember being very sad when my data got deleted. The first indie game I fell head over heels for was Fran Bow. I would say, Fran Bow is my deeper, more passionate love. I backed the game when it was on Indiegogo - I watched the developers make it and I followed the entire process. I felt like they were making a game for me, you know? And when it was released, it was more than I ever expected or could hope for. Fran Bow is a game that years later, I still get passionate talking about. It’s a game I actively recommend to people. A game I feel deeply in love with. Which game jam did you first do a video on, and your top 3 games from that Game Jam? The first game jam I ever covered was the Ludum Dare 28 back in 2013. I can’t really pick favorites from that jam - most of the games don’t exist anymore and I only played 220 of them. And, it was so freaking long ago…. Least Favourite game jam, and the worst 3 games from that jam? This is another complex question that I can only half answer. My least favourite game jams are the ones that don’t have any entries. It makes me sad when no one (or barely anyone) enters a game jam that someone set up. My least favorite games entered into jams are ones that don’t follow the theme or spirit of the jam and are spammed into any jam going on at the time of release. Thats just a bad thing to do. What was your favourite Game Jam(s), and name the best game and the worst game from that jam? I love ProcJam - the Procedurally generation jam with games and other things entered into it. I wrote an article on ALL of my favorite creations, but my favorite game from it would be Herbarium - a procgen game about finding the uses and abilities for flowers so you can make various potions! I also love the GM48 - which is a quarterly game jam using the Game Maker Engine. The themes for that jam are always awesome. The last one I covered - GM48: One Tool, Many Uses - my favorite game was Ghost Snap where you can take pictures of ghosts in a cute dungeon! The Adventure Jam and many, many smaller jams like the Familiar Game Jam are also wonderful. So many great jams. What makes you prefer indie games over AAA ones? I really love the community around indie games. I love how kind, helpful, and caring the individuals are. It's a bunch of people just trying to live their dreams. As for the games themselves, I love the uniqueness that comes from indie games. I get to play things I have never seen or dreamt of before. It’s not like all of the pew-pew gun games you see in AAA - it's more like these little unique projects about rice cookers coming to life, subliminal messages through TV Channels, a small game about comforting a friend, or the pure joy of becoming a baby bird. What’s not to love? Do you think Indie Developers will have to adopt certain AAA practices, DLC, Lootboxes etc.? Hmmm, I think that some developers will adopt those practices, especially as more and more indies are coming from an AAA background. DLC is already something I am seeing pop up in various indie games - most recently, SnoutUp made a DLC for his free game, which has nearly paid for itself (for the cost of the DLC). I think that as indie games become bigger and more polished, you will see less and less of a difference when it comes to how they make money. Where do you see the indie game industry 10 years from now? I hope to see more solidified game jams, instead of loads of little ones. I hope to continue to see all of the unique games that are being made. I want to see more funding for them - more funding for creative projects, and less guns. I want to see more games that are fun or are made about the world that we currently live in (two very different types of games I know). I hope that there won’t be so much engine talk (X engine is better than Y or You’re not a real game dev if you use Y engine). Why do you think people should make games? I feel that people should make games because they want to make games. It’s that simple. Make the games you want to play, share a bit of your soul with the world, create something and let others see it. One of the things I found intresting and I thought was the community point, because if you look on itch.io and Gamejolt there is a TON of just random games. And I do think that engine talk needs to go away. Anyway, Jupier, thanks for answering these question. And to the rest of you, thanks for reading, have a great day/night, share if you enjoyed it and take care. Written By Nana Marfo Check Out Jupiter Hadley: Twitter: @Jupiter_Hadley Youtube: Jupiter_Hadley Instagram: @jupiterhadley SoundCloud: Jupiter Hadley Itch.io: jupiter_hadley Patreon: Jupiter_Hadley
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#VideoGameWorldCup: My Choices17/6/2018 Hey everyone! Pix came up with a amazing idea, so I decided to take part! At this time, I have 2 suggestions: Striker: Zero Suit Samus Do you see this girl's legs? And the Jet Heels? Those would help her out on the football field. The combo of speed, power and agility would make a great forward. Just don't let the power suit come on at half time. Then everything I said does not apply. MidField:Sonic SPEED. That is key to sonic in the Midfield. Sure, he would make a better forward, but I feel as if his speed would work better in the midfield. Because of the fact he would he able to transfer the fastest between defensive and offensive positions.
Anyways, that's it for now! Tell me who you think would fit in the comments! Thanks for reading, have a great day/night, share if you enjoyed it and take care! Written by Nana Marfo Idea by Pix1001 All Images(C)Their respective owners.
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E3:My Best Games(Conferences Only)13/6/2018 Hey all! This is a bit different from what I do, but it's E3! I am going to go through the games/DLC that I am looking forward to! None are in any order of importance besides the last one.. THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT. So, without further ado, here we...GO! Unravel 2 I have never played Unravel, but this looks very interesting. A co-op puzzle platformer with Yarn as a gimmick? Neat! The game is out now for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Sea of Solitude Game of EA's Conference. A girl named Kay is suffering from such from extreme loneliness that it turns her into a monster. The game deals with dark human emotions, and I hope they are not very "in your face" about. Also is Kay voiced by Willa Holland? The game comes out early 2019. Ori and the Will of the Wisps I have not played "Ori and the Blind Forest" but this is very intriguing. I like the look of the game, and it seems like a nice platformer. It launches in 2019 for Xbox and PC via the Windows Store. Sekro:Shadow Die Twice This is a new game by the creators of Dark Souls, along with Activation. It looks like Onimusa to me. Might not keep a close eye on it, but it looks good to say the least. The game is out in 2019 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. The Awesome Adventures of Capitain Spirt This is by the Life is Strange devs! And it looks awesome! I can't wait to play this. We're a young kid with superhero powers, and in a lone parent home. The game is out on June 26 100% FREE for PS4, Xbox One and PC via Steam. Expect a review! Devil May Cry 5 I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING. I haven't played any of the games, but thanks to a friend for letting me know this game will centered around Nero, the protagonist of DMC4. Seriously, I thought this was DmC2 for a second, but between this and Megaman 11, Capcom is earning trust back! I will give it a try for sure. The game is out Spring 2019 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition I have been really into my JRPG's as of late, and this seems interesting, since I have never tried a Tales game. There will also be content "Never seen before in the west". Again, interesting. The game is out this winter for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Shadow of the Tomb Raider GAME OF MICROSOFT'S CONFERENCE. Man, I love the way the gameplay is looking! Gwen, thanks for getting me into Tomb Raider. The game is out September 14th for PS4, Xbox One and PC. Cyberpunk 2077 Nothing Much here, but I liked what I saw in the traller. Game has no release window for the moment. Babylon's Fall This looks pretty good. Platinum Games is a very competent developer, so I can't wait to see what happens. The games is out in 2019 for PS4 and PC via Steam. Beyond Good and Evil 2 This game was shown last year for Ubisoft at a much better press conference, but they started with it this time, and it looks very interesting. I know a bit about the original game, so I have some knowledge of what could happen. Daemon X Machina My goodness this game looks good. I don't know too much else, but this game looks amazing. The game is out 2019 for Nintendo Switch. Super Smash Bros Ultimate Nintendo know how to pull out the stops. How about EVERY CHARACTER FROM SMASH EVERY GAME. AND DAISY. AND RIDLEY. Man, I need to get consoles! The game is out December 7, 2019 for Nintendo Switch. Team Sonic Racing This wasn't very prominent , but I think it looks like Sonic and Sega All-Stars without the Sega All Stars.As an avid Sonic fan, consider Me interested. The game is out this winter for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. And now, Ladies and Gentleman... my Game of E3 is... KINGDOM HEARTS III Before I go into why I need to get 2 things out of the way(Traller Spoilers below!!!): I can't stop smiling at Kairi! She is best Girl! Anyways, we got so much! Sorry for spoiling a bit, but I love everything about this game so far! It was also just everywhere, one traller at Microsoft, one at Square Enix presentation and one at the Sony Conference, I love it! The game comes out January 29, 2019 for PS4 and Xbox One(Nomura can we get a PC version? PLEASE??). Anyways, that's it for now! Thanks for reading, have a great day/night, share if you enjoyed it and take care.
Written By Nana Marfo All Games(C)Their Respective Owners.
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New Game! Season 1:Review3/6/2018 Kept you waiting huh? Anyways, we are back on New Game! If you recalled the first impressions, I loved the first episode! But was it an enjoyable game through and through? Rules as always: 1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here. 2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW. 3. I am watching the subbed version. Also, just a quick heads up, I won't be looking at the OVA in this review. I just learned about as I was writing the review, and I don't want to rush it into this. I will look at it sometime in the future. This is my review of:New Game! Season 1. The story revolves are Aoba learning to work in a game development environment. The story feels more like we are getting an inside look at how Eagle Jump is developing Fairies Stories 3. We also meet Nene Sakura, Aoba's best friend and as well as the part time debugger for Eagle Jump for Fairies Stories 3. I have heard that this anime is a "Cute Girls doing Cute Things" Anime. I can see why because this anime(Like a lot of anime that I have watched(I swear it's a coincidence, I don't know too much about them.)) focuses on the characters and the character interactions. I love the bonds between the characters, despite Aoba and Nene being new, they really feel like a family. It's nice to see in both the heartwarming and funny moments. I would say out of the Leaders(Ko, Rin and Hazuki) Ko has to be my favourite. (Warning: The Images Below may not be safe for work) She is the leader of the character team, and her personality is very bubbly and outgoing. According to Hifumi , she did not used to be like that. She was a lot like her. But she wants to change to become a leader. I really think that's admirable, and I understand her struggle as some who is admittedly shy in real life. She is the AD for the next game, so I want to see where that and her relationship with Rin goes. As for Rin herself, we don't learn too much about her. It's forgiveable in the grand scheme of things, as we learn a lot more about her relationship with Ko than anything else. She is the Art Director, going to be producer for the next game. I want to see if her laid back personality will suit the producer role. Hazuki is very interesting, but she is also the worst character in my opinion, just because we know next to nothing about her. She is not... boob dragon(I refuse to type her name) bad, as she has some interesting traits, and has genuinely funny moments(search Lap Pillow Rejection and Hazuki's age), but I feel she wasn't needed. Umiko Ahagon(please don't shoot me) is part of the programming team, and she likes her FPS games and military gear. She likes playing Airsoft in her spare time. She was skimmed over in the first episode, but after episode 7 she is a lot more involved with the team. She leads the debugging team including Nene, who I won't say too much about. She is very kind and heart warming, and that about it. We do get a lot of hints about how they became friends, and to be honest, I think it works! Doesn't waste too much time, and makes the family vibe stronger. Anyways, lets get to the main 4. The one I found the least relevant to me is Yun. She had a story on going with her weight, which didn't mean much. She often clashed heads with Hajime, a person from the motion team that is working with the character designers. She is a ton of fun. The episode where she goes meow is awesome! I admit development wise, she means less that even Yun, but because she is a really fun character, so I am willing to forgive that. Hifumi is has been on the character team for the longest time out of the 3 (Aoba, Rin and Hifumi), and she has a arc to where she wants to be able to overcome her shyness, and it's very heartwarming. She has a pet hedgehog named Sojiro, and she confines in him somewhat. It's cute to be honest. However, Aoba is best girl and I will not take anything other comers here. She is the one learning what it means through and through to become a part of a company. She is very committed to her job, and is provides the fun when needed. She is just 18 when starting out, and she is now possibly going to take Ko's place as character designer. I really want to see where that goes. She also really want's to become a adult, and these are all really relate able in the grand scheme of things for me. Going to see her game announced and released were life changing experiences for her. Speaking of, a minor nick-pick I have is that they tend to use one part of the Autodesk name but not the other. Again, I know licences are weird, but come on! Surely it can't cost that much to get a licence for a part of the name? It would, now that I think about it. Use Blender next time, everything is free. The anime looks like a standard anime, which is fine for me. The game is handed with the 3D instead of 2D, as well as the Autodesk May- Saya interface. The ending theme, called NOW LOADING! is great and I love Aoba's theme entitled CONTINUE..?
Overall, I would recommend this anime to both new comers and long-time anime fans. While I do agree that it is a "Cute Girls doing Cute Things" anime on the surface, looking deeper, there is a lot I love here. This is my favourite anime I have watched so far. In other news, thanks for the love on the Life is Strange and Bahamut blogs! We are now close to 300 views in a week! Thanks for Reading, have a great day/night, share if you enjoyed it and take care. Written By Nana Marfo NEW GAME!(C)Kadokawa Pictures Inc.
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This is a anime I have wanted to watch for the LONGEST TIME. I kept seeing clips on YouTube, and I was interested. Though a word of warning, this is not available on Crunchyroll/Funimation. While I am all for supporting the creators, I do watch Kamen Rider via fan subs(It's the only way), so I don't mind bending the law here.However, it is on YouTube via fan subs so be aware of that. Rules: 1.Spoilers are abounding here folks. If you want to watch it blindly... go watch it. Spoilers are here. 2. Depending on the Anime, this can get NSFW. Oh Boy, this one seems not safe for work. 3. I am watching the subbed version. Anyways, this is long overdue. This is my first impressions of: Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle. 5 years before the start of the show, the Empire of Arcadia was overthrown in a coup d'etat, starting the era of the Atismata Empire with the help of a mysterious Black Machine Dragon. Yea, despite this series being rooted in an chivalrous setting, they still use mechs (called Machine Dragons). As such, here is a screenshots from Hyrule Warriors Gundam: The theme song and OP are great. Hiryuu no Kishi is a great jam. I love the beat and how it fits both ages. The lyrics and intro graphics feel right at home as well. We then meet our main character, Lux Arcadia. He is a handiman and former Prince of Arcadia. While on a job, he slips into the bathroom of an ALL GIRLS SCHOOL. This is random as all hell, but then again this anime we are talking about, so I guess a nothing new there? Oh yea, and this is what they call the Academy(the people that hired Lux), a Drag-Knight academy(the people who ride the machine dragons) that was made after the coup d'etat. (Warning: Below image may not be safe for work) Anyways Lux finds himself having to win dual between himself and the girl with the emblem tattoo, Lisesharte Atismata. She is the princess of the current empire. He has to win in order to get into the school(he was invited to go there by the Headmaster.) Before he meets Airi, his sister and Nokuto Leaflet, a year 1 student that likes starting all her sentences with "Yes." However, Lux's Machine Wyvern struggles against Lisesharte's Machine Tiamart. (Warning: Below image may not be safe for work) After both of them fight off a Gargoyle, the episode ends with Lisesharte(now allowing Lux to call her Lisha) showing Lux the tattoo. But not before we see Lux's black sword device. The episode is mostly focused on the first fight scene, and I have the say the action value here is great. I haven't really seen Gundam, so my first exposure to this style of fighting is good! Overall, I did really enjoy this first episode. I have heard this anime is a mix of a lot of Genres, so I can't wait to see more! Thanks for reading, have a great day/night, share if it's enjoyed it, and take care.
Written By Nana Marfo Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle(C)MVM Films |