Keita Takahasi Reborn

Man, that's a creepy picture...

Keita Takahashi, shortly after leaving the cozy confines of Namco Bandai, resurfaced today as the co-owner of Uvula, a freelance "fun" studio comprised of himself and his wife.

Although he's not specific about what "fun activities" (and "fun people") are, it certainly appears that games are not out of the question, since he features his games prominently on a "Video Games" section on his website.  What kind of games can we expect from the auteur, now that his corporate bonds have been broken?

My vote goes to "Robot Table Adventure!"

A Band Reunited

Although the direction of LucasArts has taken an abrupt change of direction, possibly shattering my hopes for an adventure game renaissance, Tim Schafer quietly picked up those tiny shards and crazy-glued them back together with the announcement that he is teaming up with Ron Gilbert on a new game!

What will it be?  As any bigshot company will tell you, not very much.  However, Mr. Gilbert dangles this most delicious carrot at my muzzle:

"Fans of those old adventure games will like it."

While they haven't announced a publisher, I'm going all in with Telltale.  As I've suggested before, a teamup of the original adventure game rockstars will create an Übermensch capable of laying waste to all the generic space marines and pendulous spellcasters of the industry, paving the road to a gaming nirvana, free from the criticism of politicians and mainstream media.

Well...at least I'll be happy.

NPR's Gots Some Skillz

Every now and then, I try to pry myself from reading countless game blogs, and find some fresh air that doesn't smell "visceral" or "innovative." Tonight was one of those nights.

I stumbled upon the story of "Toxie," NPR's grand experiment of purchasing a toxic asset and watching it burn, and, while a topic like this would normally make me click the back button on my browser like I stumbled on a porn site *cough*, the pure awesomeness of the presentation made me watch the entire report to its sad, sad end.

Oh...spoiler alert.

It's Foil Hat Time!

During my routine of getting my life's priorities in order, a thought occurred to me:  "Why Bioshock Infinite?"  Yes, this is how I roll -- much to the disappointment of my better half (Sorry, love ya!).

Ken Levine has since been mum about his apparent fear of the number 3, and could only tease that the truth of the word choice would be revealed once people touch it's timely, jingoistic surface.  That leaves us only the kind of wild, hair-brained speculations that only a minuscule bloggers like myself can provide...and I'll do it!  As you can see from the header image, I've come the the epiphany that Bioshock Infinite has a connection to Duke Nukem Forever, and -- if you follow my lead -- this connection may lead deeper than you can imagine.

The Logo 
"Infinite" and "Forever"?  Sounds like a cheesy love song at first, but then you realize that they're synonymous.  Considering Duke Nukem Forever's record-breaking development schedule, it's obvious why it's labeled "forever," but Bioshock?  Bioshock doesn't have the pedigree of 12-year development cycles under their belt -- thank god -- so it's unusual that they would choose to ascribe such a similar term to their game.

Let's not forget the use of "old glory" in the logo as well.  Both titles are unabashedly American in their theme, be it Duke's hyperbolistic, guns-blazing American stereotype, or Bioshock Infinite's commentary about American nationalism to its extreme...with guns blazing.  It's a curious connection, like Armageddon is to Deep Impact.

The Game
Perhaps it is just an indication of how popular the genre is, but both games are First-Person Shooters.  While this connection could be filed under "duh," both games have benefited greatly from the gameplay choice.  Even though Duke Nukem was born from a side-scroller, his popularity exploded with the introduction of DN3D.  When Bioshock hit the scene, Irrational adamantly defended the fact that it was an FPS, not an RPG, and it greatly helped in its pick-up-and-play appeal.  Did I mention that they're both Sci-Fi FPSs too?

The Themes
Both games tackle xenophobia, though Duke's approach may be construed as more "direct" than Bioshock's.  In DNF, you're protecting Earth from an alien invasion.  In Bioshock, people are defending Columbia from an invasion of "aliens."  *deep breath* Coincidence?

Also, both games involve saving "babes."  While this could be another "duh" moment, the previous Bioshocks never featured women as visually pleasing as Elizabeth.  Yes, I'm talking about cleavage.  When was the last time you've seen a woman in Bioshock that didn't resemble Ida Lowry from Brazil, or some child of the damned?  Yeah, that's right...and maybe you can thank Duke Nukem for that.

The Business
The most important connection, at least for me, is that both titles will be published by 2K.  When two titles are developed under the same roof, would it be any surprise to anyone that certain aspects of both games could overlap?  While I don't anticipate a cameo of Duke in Infinite -- which would be mind-blowing, to say the least -- I'd expect at least a handful of hints about either game to appear.  It's a business, after all, and if one popular game can spur the sales of the next popular game, then so be it.

Convinced?
Okay, some of these connections may be thinner than a sitcom plot, but, like I've always said on this blog, that's the point.  I'm doing all the geeking out, so you don't have to.

Until next time, fellow readers...Nanu Nanu.

TIWILG: Super Mega Worm (iP)

I don't know whether this game will entertain for as much time as its trailer did, but I'm giving its developer, Deceased Pixel, points for style. This is one of those kind of "elevator pitch" ideas that could potentially spawn a franchise, especially if it gets to table of SyFy.  Who needs Piranhas and Sharktopuses?  Get Super Mega Worm on the line; there's a world that needs saving!

Keita Takahashi Collects Items And Leaves

After Duke Nukem Forever's earthquake of an announcement almost a week ago, a smaller aftershock hit the game industry today, when Keita Takahashi announced he was leaving Namco Bandai.  In a way, this should come as no surprise, since he's been uncharacteristically -- for a Japanese worker -- critical of the industry and his company for quite a while.  Now that he's out of the game business he'll now focus on his playground redesign in England.  I'm going to guess that Namdai won't be sponsoring those trips anymore.

As one of the few real game designers out there, I was a little sad at the announcement.  Could the community's pleasure towards a new Duke Nukem game be Takahashi-san's final indication that the videogame world has left him behind?  I can only hope that the independent community can draw him back into the world of gaming, because I like the way he thinks, and the world would be much better off playing his games than the next big-budget shooter.

Duke Nukem Forever Revealed

Surprise surprise!  Duke Nukem Forever was officially announced today at PAX, and attendees were able to touch a playable demo of the game!

Hitting stores allegedly by next year, Take-Two seems to have got their wish granted and have the rights to publish DNF, which has been developed by Gearbox Software.  Apparently Gearbox had most of the work done for them, as 3D Realms spent most of their 13 years of development time creating assets for DNF.  Says Gearbox boss, Randy Pitchford:

The approach and investment and process at 3d Realms didn’t quite make it and it cracked at the end. With Gearbox Software we brought all those pieces together. It’s the game it was meant to be.

How cool is that to come off of such high-profile projects as Brothers in Arms and Borderlands, then get the opportunity to work on one of the most recognizable icons of the game industry, where most of the work has already been completed?  That's a sweet deal, Gearbox!


What else can I say?  Duke Nukem Forever is real, it's playable, and it's coming out soon!