Promoted from our Community Blogs

_{[Taterchimp has been working on a card game called Five Hit Fighters, and he’d like to hear some feedback from the jbsgame.community. It’s a really cool concept, and I’d love to give it a shot some day! It's always fun hearing about the crazy projects that folks can cook up. – Kevin]}

If you follow my quick posts lately, you can tell that I have been obsessed with the strategy RPG genre. I started with SteamWorld Heist - a game that I picked up on some Steam sale (irony) and finally got around to playing. I quickly found myself devoting all my time off work to playing it. After I beat it, I knew that I wanted to play more and more but didn’t want to jump right back into a NG+ or higher difficulty, so I looked in my library for similar games, and oh, hey XCOM. How you doing? So I started XCOM: Enemy Unknown and quickly became engrossed in that. See, I love games where I have to learn. A proxy for education, I guess. I researched every facet of that game and beat it in a short 20 hours. Then I picked up XCOM 2 which went on sale, literally, the day after I beat the first one. I’m now 50 hours into XCOM 2, so I have a passion.

A burning passion for hatred of bullshit and lies.  

But this isn’t about those games! Its about a machination that came about while I was daydreaming about them. The basic idea was, "What would happen if you mixed the SRPG genre with the tournament fighter?" See, I really like watching fighting games. I even put about 100 hours into the 3DS Street Fighter. But, I suck s?omething? awful at them because I just can’t do the inputs.

“What if there was a tournament fighter where you didn’t have to memorize the inputs?”

That was my driving thought. Now, I know enough to be dangerous when it comes to making games. I started makin??g a platformer and gave up when I had to design levels. True story. But, with this, I had t??he whole vision in my head! How hard can it be to program!  

This thought eventually transformed into thinking about how easy it would be to prototype the game with pen and paper to make sure it was a solid idea. Then I realized that was dumb, and I could just make it on pen and paper and never have to code a single line. So, t?he idea? was born.

How does a SRPG CCG Tournament Fighter work? You have a 2 by 5 grid that represents the arena. Each fighter has a hand of all their moves - but no deck. After all, in Street Fighter you don’t randomly know how to throw a hadouken. You don’t ha??ve to guess if Zangeif can do a spinning piledriver this round (spoiler: he can), so it should always be on the table. In that spirit, you have all cards available every turn. You pick 2 moves a turn (originally, I was going to say 1 ?move and 1 attack) to keep with the SRPG theme, but that was silly. So, instead you pick any 2 moves that you want to do. Each move has an ‘input speed’ that determines priority on who hits first as well as range, damage, and knock back.  

Me in about 5 seconds here

This is the part where I break my arm jerking myself off. The whole idea, I think, boils down the idea of fighting games into the core components: the spacing, the reads, knowing your character’s capabilities, and matchups. It reminds me of Divekick in that it does away with the flashy parts and the technical parts to make an experience that is entertaining to a wider fa?n base but that people in the community can still enjoy for the depths that it provides.

I have played 4 games of it so far, and I think it is pretty good. I first made sure I could beat an "AI" that was just playing random moves - emulating beating a smal?ler sibling mashing buttons. I played against one of my friends who has a great mind for strategy games, and he was able to beat me both times - a good sign because I am pretty laid back in my gaming. Finally, I played a round against another friend, and I was able to get some good reads on what he may do which made me feel pretty happy. I think this game definitely has legs to stand on after playing a few test rounds, but it needs about 500 more rounds before it would be ready. Making sure every character is balanced is going to be the trickiest part. If luck has no role, then one character being overpowered will really shine through, so I feel I have to get that just right.

My vision for this game is to go one of two ways: 1. Pitch the idea to someone like Capcom who can drum up an audience and provide art or 2. Create a legally distinct version of the existing characters and try to whore it out on Kickstarter or to publishers. I like the idea of re-imagining character’s design but st?ill having them keep their sames moves. Instead of a yogi, can Dhalsim became a mecha girl? Can Scorpion become a Lovecraftian nightmare monster?  

At the moment, I h?ave a handful of honest-to-god index cards for each character with scratched out numbers and all. I do have a pretty sweet play mat for testing just ?to get myself financially invested/motivated and maybe to make it seem more official.  

Finally, I put all the rules ??to p??aper. The whole document can be found here: Link to Rules

All names and rules are a work in process, but I just wanted to get something out there to make it have the right flow (Yo??mi had? to go and pick the most perfect name that this game could have already, so I had to settle for a cheap joke for now). At this point, I value input very much, so, please, let me know your thoughts. I know its hard without having the character cards, but any feedback is appreciated at this stage.

The post Five Hit Fighters – A card game I have been dreaming up appeared first on Destructoid.

Trivia time!

[In what I hope will be the first of a new community feature, Taterchimp set up his very own trivia show! How much random useless video game knowledge do our fair Dtoiders possess? Only one way to find out! If you want to contribute with technical know-how, impossible questions or as a potential contestant, be sure to hit up our lovely host.~ Shade]

Hello everyone! Today I am happy to announce what I hope is the start of something beautiful: The jbsgame.community Trivia Podcast! For the very first episode, I was joined by GajKnight and ShadeOfLight to? do some trivia battle! The questions were fierce, but sometimes the rain was even fiercer!

The rules are posted below, but if you want to head s?traight to the action:

You can find the first epsiode here.

The show consists of three main rounds, and one bonus round for the?? winner.

Round 1: Game Sharks

Player 1 will be asked a question, which has a numerical answer. The question is designed to be something that anyone could take a guess at, yet almost impossible to get exactly right. For example: “How many coins are in World 1-1?" Player 2 then has to choose if Player 1’s answer was higher than the actua??l amount, or lower than the actual amount. If Player 2 is right, then they received 100 points. Otherwise, Player 1 gets 100 points. If Player 1 manages to get the answer exactly right, they will receive 300 points. Each player gets 3 rounds of selecting the value, and 3 round of guessing higher or lower.

In this episode: "How many Pokémon currently exist, not counting those revealed for Sun & Moon?"

Round 2: Buff the Listener

Player 1 will be asked an open question. They can submit an answer to the question immediately for extra points, or choose to make it multiple choice. If Player 1 answers, Player 2 is forced to take the multiple choice. Otherwise, Player 2 can make the same choice: answer the question out of hand for extra points, or select from multiple choice. A correct answer provides 400 points, a multiple choice answer gives only 200. Each player gets 3 questions for which they get the first call.

These questions can range from specific game trivia to industry facts. These questions are designed to have a difficult exact answer, but the multiple choice allows for some lucky guesses.

In this episode: "In EVE Online, how d?id player ?Ricdic make over $5000 in in-game currency?"

Round 3: GANNONBALL!

The final round c??ontains the most specific trivia, with the least amount of player assistance. This round should separate the men from the boys. Players are asked a list based question, and alternate naming things that belong on that list until one player can no longer provide a correct answer.

So for ex??ample, a round could be ‘name the Koopa kids’. Player 1 provides an answer, then Player 2. As soon as one person cannot answer, or answers incorrectly, the other player may name up to two additional items from the list for bonus points. Play alternates between rounds. Each correct answer is worth 200 points.

In this episode: "Which items can you get from item boxes in Mario Kart 8?"

Prizes, Prizes, Prizes!

So what is the prize for all of this? I will award whoever wins a game of their choice under $10 on Steam.  Feeling generous? You can take your prize in the form of a $10 donation to a charit??y of your choice!

Bonus Round:  Test Your Might

Double or nothing! At the end of the game, the winning player can attempt to up their prize to a $20 Steam gam??e or a $20 dollar charity donation! And because I&rs??quo;m not a dick to sick kids, you will never lose your donation. It may not double, but at least $10 is gu??aranteed.

Before electing to play, you may hear the category.  There will be one question, and you must answer it yourself - no multiple choice, no ask the audience. The question could be on anything and everything related to gaming. Kid Icarus’ famous cheat code? Master Chief's voice actor?  The last boss in Final Fantasy VI, alphabetically? All fair game.

In this episode: Listen in to find out!

With the rules all laid out, it's time to go to the episode proper, featuring GajKnight and ShadeOfLight:

You can find the first epsiode here

Without spoiling any results, the winner decided to play for charity today, and for once a certain Nintendo character did more good than harm! A donation of $20 was made to Charity: Water. Destruc??toid has some history with this charity. In fact, there is th??e well out there that was put together with money raised from a Destructoid charity drive some years ago. Charity:Water's goal is to provide clean and safe drinking water to those who wouldn't otherwise have it.

It's an absolutely great cause, so please feel free to donate at their website. 

Now I do want to apologize for some audio issues. I'm still learning how to set up podcast ki??nd of stuff (advice is appreciated!), so I didn't capture everyone on their own track. Because of that, I appear louder than Gaj and Shade do. I think I got it into a much better state than th??e raw file, but I just wanted to say that I only expect the quality of the show to go up! In the mean time, I hope you'll enjoy the show for what it already is.

Also, on the subject of the audio portion of the show, I want to (read: legally have to) thank //www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music/electronica for providing my intro and closing music.

I definitely had a blast recording this, so I am looking forward to do some more episodes. You can guess what that means: I need contestants! If you would like to join me for another episode, drop a comment, or send a PM. I use Skype to capture the audio, so I think that is the only requirement to participate. I suppose knowing anything about video games is a plus, as well! [You can also send an e-mail to the Dtoid community managers at community[at]jbsgame.com or specifically to shade[at]jbsgame.com]

I hope to see you next time at the De??structoid Trivia Show!

The post jbsgame.community Trivia – Pilot Episode! appeared first on Destructoid.

Promoted from our Community Blogs!

_{[Save State is a new Community Blog series started by taterchimp as an homage to Dtoid's own Memory Card series. Since this first blog was posted, several new ones have been shared, and several other Dtoiders have joined the cause. Want to get involved? Join the Save State Google Group! --Mr Andy Dixon]}

As a male gamer, there are certain privileges that I have: I can play online without prejudice, I can project onto 90% of the protagonists I play as, and I am constantly marketed to. There are a few places where I am not traditionally "supposed" to tread. One of those things is feeling emotionally attached to a videogame. Taking the dudebro shooters and multiplayer-focused games of this generation, the only thing I should be feeling is competition. But I am going to admit in front of you, dear readers, that there are about a dozen games that have made me shed the least manly of tears. From Telltale’s wonderful drama in The Walking Dead, to the conclusion of Deadly Premonition, to seeing a familiar furry face in Ghost Trick, to watching an ally sacrifice himself to right a wrong from several generations previous in Mass Effect 3, I have had my fair share of pity parties. The one I least like to admit? I actually cried a bit in Gears of War 3. The scene was ac?tually put together really well, in a part of the game where it had some meaningful impact, and a pivotal moment in a series that I had been involved in for several years.

However, at the top of the list of games that make me feel at the bottom is Cavia’s NieR. Sitting on a paltry 68 on Metacritic, NieR has one of the most dedicated cult followings I have seen. Most of the YouTube videos for the game’s fantastic soundtrack are users reminiscing about their experiences, mourning the events of the game, with nary a negative comment in sight. Let me say this again: this game has united YouTube. That’s how good it is. Most of this co??mes from how the game sets u??p all of the characters and their individual motivations. The player, the main character, your party, the NPCs, the antagonist, the bosses, and even the regular enemies each have a reason for doing what they are doing, and as it gets explained, the plot gets complicated. All in all, this leads to probably a half dozen moments in the game that caused me to wipe out all of the eyelashes that just now decided to get stuck -- that's my story and I’m sticking to it!

Today, I want to focus on one of those moments. Needless to say, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR NIER.

The Setup

For those who have never played NieR, here is the basic rundown: You play as a middle-aged man taking care of your daughter, Yonah. Your daughter has contracted the Black Scrawl, a plague with no known cure. ??You start the game by doing your best to gather ingredients to relieve her pain, until you learn that an ancient power in a talking book may possess the ability to cure the scrawl completely. You are told this by Devola and Popola, the caretakers of your home village. Your daughter const?antly interacts with you: through cutscenes, through text, and through letters that you can view in the loading screen.

The letters are my personal favorite, as they cover subject matter that is so entirely trivial. Whereas most games would probably use these to advance the plot, NieR uses these to fill in the relationship between Nier and Yonah. It covers such things as how she spent time today sing??ing with Devola and Popola to how she tried to make you dinner the other day. It is incredibly endearing, and really helped me associate with being this virtual girl's fat?her.

Throughout the game, you continually return to your home village to say hello to your daughter, check your crops, return groceries for elderly citizens in town, and visit the local library. The library is your usual place for plot resolution and new quests, given out by Devola. Devola's twin sister Popola spends her time by the fountain in the town singing. I think half the people who played NieR have spent a few minute just sitting at the fountain to hear her singing. Devola and Popola both take care of the t??own and the citizens, which often involves sending you off, and keeping out your less than desirable party membe??rs (as to not scare the citizens).

Everyone spends at least ten minutes here, just relaxing.

In the second half of the game, the antagonist (called "The Shadowlord") kidnaps your daughter after a climactic fight in the main village. The second half of the game becomes a quest to find her, and save her from his clutches. After running through the world again, you finally gain all of the keys you need to unlock the path to his keep. One of the first encounters in the Shadowlord's Keep is Devola and Popola, who have now revealed that they are working for the Shadowlord. They both have dialogue and delivery that has this hint of regret -- they aren't happy for what they have put you through, and they seem like they genuinely wanted things to be different. As you progress further, you encounter them again, and they reveal the entire twist of the game, which is not the moment I am covering but could easily be another Save State: every enemy you have been killing is actually a human. You are not a human, but a shell for the human to return to once a cure for a worldwide plague has been cured. You are responsible for the death of thousands of humans, some children, some even babies. Every monster you have been fighting has been fighting for its own loved ones, ??its friends, and its family. They also reveal another important detail: Devola and Popola are the only two "shells" who did not have a human soul. They are the caretakers of the world, entrusted with making sure humans make it back to their bodies, and fixing any shells that break. The only catch is that because th?ey have this responsibility, they cannot be repaired or recreated. Only they know the truth behind what is happening, and they have pulled the trigger to return your shell to its rightful owner, the Shadowlord.

The Shadowlord. This game is... very Japanese. Do not let this get in the way of enjoying it!

Then the boss fight starts.

The Moment

The boss fight is your standard NieR affair: a bullet hell style of attack, mashed up with shmup controls and action-RPG elements. What can I say, the gameplay in NieR is definitely... unique! You in?itially are only fighting Devola, with Popola standing out of range. As you and your party whittle down Devola's health, she finall??y falls and a cutscene triggers.

Devola is struck to the ground by the final attack that lands. Popola turns to her sister. The fight immediately stops. Popola cradles her sister in her arms. Popola begins to panic, realizing that she cannot save her sister's life. In the meantime, Devola is using her last words to try and reassure her sister, commenting on how strange it is that her sister feels so sad in this moment, because neither of them actually have a soul. Why would they bother crying if that was the case? Popola pleads, saying that she can't die, because if Devola dies, she would be entirely alone in the world. With her last words, Devola apologizes, then tells her sister she loves her. Devola's body falls limp in Popola's arms. T??he whole time the camera is showing this dramatic scene: a dying sister trying to give some last comfort to her still living sister. We see in the edges of the frame your party -- still standing weapons in hand, but not aggressive.

There is a brief, awkward pa?use. At this point, Nier comes forward and suggests ?that they stop fighting. Devola, while placing her sister on the floor, responds by saying that she can't -- not after you just killed her sister. Emile begins to protest, saying that it doesn't have to be like that. Before he can finish his sentence, Popola begins to speak. After you cut down her sister, do you really think that she can stop? Is this something she could walk away from?

It's too late to stop.

No one stops.

You can watch the scene right here:

The Impact

The entire situation left me feeling the same as I did in Spec-Ops: The Line, to an extent. I changed from feeling like a hero to questioning why I did that. In a matter of moments, any satisfaction that I might have had for beating that boss was gone. (Note: I know Spec-Ops came out WAY later, but I think the emotions that game conjures are more universally recognized than NieR's -- one of gaming's greatest shames.)

This moment is one of the most "real" moments I have ever experienced in a game. To begin with, the way that the pace changes away from a boss battle is incredible. It never takes on that kind of feeling like a Saturday morning cartoon, where the bad guy is clearly vulnerable, so you should pounce. It is a pause, to show respect for the fallen, even if they aren't on your side. More so, this was one of Nier's friends, in a past life, and the player has a relationship with them, so it is an awkward moment to be rooting against someone you got to know throughout the course of the game like that. In most games, after you killed Devola, you would immediately fight a powered up Popola, but in NieR, Devola mourns her sister. It is that odd moment w?here the effects of your violence are so suddenly and shockingly put in your face. It isn't just these sisters, either: this is what you have been doing the entire game. To lovers, to fam??ilies, to companions that have done nothing wrong.

The cinematography of the cutscene (for lack of a better word) really does a fantastic job as well. Your party stands idly by, still holding their weapons, seemingly unsure if their guard should be up, or if they should be rushing in. There is that feeling where you know you should say something, but there?? is nothing you can say that would have any meaning. The role of the protagonists changes in that scene, because it stops being about a fight, and it is one sister holding the other, while your party stands by, weapons in hand, clearly responsible, yet showi?ng an odd kind of half remorse.

Then there is the dynamic between Devola and Popola. There is something so tragic about how Devola is trying to use her last words to comfort her sister. Her whole speech seems to be trying to calm her sister? down, and make it seem like everything will be alright once she is gone. Her final words being "I love you, sis" is just... unreal. More than just the relation?ships that are built up around those characters though, this was tangible to me as a player. I would never be able to meet a talking book or a skeleton kid, but I can see an interaction between siblings in that situation going very similarly, even in a completely normal setting. It is one of the few times where I had effortlessly placed myself in a character's situation, and thought about my own personal (theoretical) reaction to similar events. I will never be trying to save the world. I will never fight a dragon. I will never be the man who single-handedly stops World War 3. But I have a family. And this scene cuts pretty deep in that regard. And I know what the fear of being alone is like.

In my personal world while playing the game, I had just finished college. Mos??t of my friends had just moved to a different part of the state, country, or world for jobs or other education. I had a pretty solid group of friends, which hinged on three people: my girlfriend, my male friend, and a good female friend. I wound up breaking up with my girlfriend, and my male friend started dating my good female friend. Fearing it would make things awkward, he never spoke t??o me again. All of my mutual friends from both groups either took the other side, or gradually stopped talking to me, so I became very isolated. There were moments where I would see how long I could go without interacting with another human being, often going on for about 72 hours before I had to say hello in the hallways at work. Even today, one of my biggest concerns is trying to find a meaningful social network after all of that took place, so watching someone lose their connection to the world -- someone who deeply understood them -- really resonates with me.

As the scene continues, Nier voiced my exact words: Just stop. I don't want to fight anymore. At this point, I have clearly won, but at what cost? After cry??ing a bit over that, I wasn't in the mood to fight Popola, too. I just wanted to walk away, and maybe cleanse my conscience a bit as well. We had all seen enough bloodshed; there was no point to any more.

And as much as I would have loved that to be the case -- where we both continue in opposite paths -- the response that she gives is perfect. She can't stop. In that situation, given all that has happened, given her sister's sacrifice, and the way that she was brutally put down, she can't walk away. And as the player, as much as it pained me to do so, I completely agreed. Were I in her situation, I would have to do the exact same thing.? If the Shadowlord had hurt Yonah, wouldn't I be obligated to keep fighting? To me, my daughter was the world. To her, it was her sister. It would be impossible to walk away, so we had to fight.

And in that second fight, nobody really won.

The post Save State: No One Stops (NieR) appeared first on Destructoid.