The Professional Gamer - June 13, 2016

Hello readers.  This has been one of those weird weeks where I found myself not doing anything geeky, but can't really find the reason for it.  Let's try to recount what happened this week.  On Saturday, I went out for my birthday with family and friends, which took a large portion of the day.  On Sunday, all of the usual D&D crew was busy, so Crystal and I ended up working outside.  Monday evening, I went for a very long walk to help clear my head and work off a heavy dinner.  On Tuesday, our friends came over for dinner and we all watched Crystal play Skyward Sword.  Wednesday, Crystal and I decided to go out for dinner, since we had a pretty good coupon.  We spent several hours enjoying some beer and talking about everything.  On Thursday night, I went for a run by myself right after work, then went for a run with Crystal after dinner, which left me super tired.  And that brings us to Friday night where I am composing this article.  I'm with all the art crowd, typing away while they draw, paint, and color.  Maybe I'll play some FLT after this.

Anyways, let's talk about the future.  E3 starts tomorrow, and we are likely to be deluged with news of new games and products.  Personally, I'm most looking forward to Nintendo's press conference.  Even without discussion of their new console, getting some more info about the new Legend of Zelda title and Pokemon GO has me really excited.  

Further in the future, is Denver Comic Con which starts next Friday.  After helping Crystal run a table for the past few years, its going to be hard to adjust to spending the whole event on my feet.  I'm hoping to see some of the artists that I've met in past years, as well as meet some new creators.  I'm very likely to buy another print from Ukiyo-e Heroes, and maybe another book from Val Hochberg.  We'll have to see.  Not a lot of the names on the artist alley list are familiar to me, but I am horrible with keeping names attached to faces (and art!).  

Next week, I'm not likely to have an article posted at the usual time due to convention burnout, but will do my best to post some short comments and pictures for you all.  Have a great week and game on!

Too Much Pre-Release Info?

With the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword about a month away from release, I wanted to share my thoughts about the pre-release information on the game.  The information has me both excited, but also apprehensive.  In this digital age, I feel like I have too much information available on games that I want to purchase and play, such as Skyward Sword.  With this wealth of information available on future game titles, is it too much of a good thing?

Skyward Sword is the Zelda title I have been most excited about since Ocarina of Time (OoT) was released.  Back at that time, my greatest source of game information was my Nintendo Power subscription.  It would give tidbits about OoT and how the game was progressing.  There would be an article with a few pictures.  At the game’s release there would be a couple of short walk-throughs for the beginning section of the game.  At the time, I didn’t use the Internet much, mostly because it was a pretty new thing and AOL charged by the minute and not by the month yet.  The information I had available at that time was limited.  Sometimes a friend would have a few more tidbits from another gaming magazine or a wild rumor they heard from a friend of a friend of a friend.  Information was limited.  I felt like I had enough to formulate some thoughts about the game and if it was worth going for, even if I didn’t know everything; which is the problem I encounter now in the gaming world: knowing everything.

Even though I didn’t know about every place or mechanic in the game, I knew enough to make a decision on whether to play the game.  However, my knowledge was limited leaving some mystery to the game.  That’s the thing I feel is lacking in today’s coverage, the mystique of the game.  If I know about the game’s every secret before it is released, why should I play it?  To get the sheer joy out of checking those items off on my game progress list?  Currently with Skyward Sword, I can find an over abundance of information: screen shots, articles, videos, music tracks, podcasts, interviews, game play and opinion pieces.  Some of this information I desire, such as release dates, general stats in pre-orders, or interviews, but I don’t want to see every screen shot or video.  I don’t want to know everything about the game, just a convincing summary.  I want some surprise when I play the game.  I want some mystery that has been hidden from my knowledge.  

It’s like avoiding spoilers on that new movie you haven’t seen yet or that book you’ve been meaning to read.  There is so much information being flung around that it’s hard not to know what happens or what it’s all about.  I have purposely started to not read articles or look at videos to avoid what I feel are spoilers for Skyward Sword.  There seems to be something new every single day, even if it’s only a few more screen shots or game play video.  I did demo Skyward Sword at E3, mostly to see how it looked moving.  I was placed into a dungeon but not given a clear goal, just allowed to explore and test out the controls.  That’s the sort of information I want, concise and to the point.  I’m given the general goal of the game and some of its flavor, but the rest remains hidden for me to explore at my leisure when I begin to play.

Assimilator argues that as game reporters we don’t have the luxury on not knowing about upcoming games and what’s happening with them.  People want to know about them.  That’s true, but do they want to know everything?  Does every new screenshot have to convince someone again that they want to purchase and play this game or does it take that extra screen shot, that extra info to make them want the game?  Where do we strike a balance?  I’m not against all information, I’m just against too much information.  Let there be a little mystery and surprise around a title so the player can get to enjoy that experience while participating in the story, not before the game is released.

Legend of Zelda : Skyward Sword Bundle Release Info

Image courtesy of gonintendo.com Check out their site for the full press release by clicking the imageNintendo has just announced details concerning their up and coming Legend of Zelda release.  As stated earlier, the release date is official November 20th.  At that time of release, Skyward Sword will be sold in a limited-edition bundle including the game and a gold Hylian styled Wii Motion+ Controller for the price of $69.99.  This is a very good deal as you get the Wii Motion+ controller for only $20 with the game.  It's useful for those of us like me, who haven't made the plunge into buying one of the new controllers. 

Nintendo is also including a special treat for everyone who buys an initial production copy by inlcuding a bonus CD containing the 25th Anniversary soundtrack as performed by the symphony this fall.  So not only do you get the game, you also get a fully orchestrated soundtrack of the past twenty-five years of classic Legend of Zelda music.  And for those of you not interested to purchase the bundle, never fear.  Skyward Sword will also have just a game disc release for $49.99 and will also include the music CD for the initial production run.

I don't know about everyone else, but I for one am excited and am really looking forward to this game.  I'm going to have to go and see who I can do a preorder from so I can get that controller with the game.  It looks really nice and it's a good buy for me.  I'm also really digging the official cover box art for the game.  I know there has been talk about the game's esthetic, but I really do like the water color look of the illustrations and game.  It makes it feel classic and timeless like an epic story.  Just a couple more months to go at this point and I can't wait.