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I keep finding links to things that interest me but aren't worthy of a post for themselves. Normally I would post them as links but there are so many of the things at the moment that I thought I would do a single post with them all in so here we go... Zelda game time line Art of gaming e-zine - includes a bunch of metal slug stuff. Issue 2 with World of Warcraft features sounds like it will be [...]
I'd been looking forward to Shadow of the Colossus for some time, and on the 17th of February 2006 it was finally released in the UK. For the uneducated, Shadow of the Colossus is the follow up (but not a sequel to) the critically acclaimed ICO, which reviewed incredibly well, but failed miserably with the consumers. ICO went on to become a massive cult hit and has been re-released alongside Shadow, so hopefully people will pick up on it this [...]
This was definitely Nintendo's year at E3. They wiped the floor with everyone, having the most compelling games and most innovative hardware. I've already done a very brief summary of the 3 big conferences over at the 9rules blog but I thought that I would pick out my personal favourites from the show. Wii The obvious attraction (based on my past posts) was the new Zelda. Wow! I think it looks great and am considering buying the Wii on launch [...]
I want to spread the word about my games - I want people to play and enjoy them. I'd love to make loads of money out of them but at the moment that's unlikely, so just getting people to download the demo version is good enough. I also like feedback. Most of the feedback I've had for my games has been from other game developers so getting the opinions of gamers - my actual audience - would be great. Combining [...]
An interesting article about in game interfaces and how they're slowly dieing out. First, it's important to answer the question, “What is a HUD?†A HUD is simply a collection of persistent on screen elements whose purpose is to indicate player status. HUD elements can be used to show, among many other things, how much health the player has, in which direction the player is heading, or where the player ranks in a race. This makes the HUD an invaluable [...]
In my last post I mentioned me having my own opinions on the whole "video games are murder simulators" debate. Well I thought I'd run through them briefly - and also point you to a new video game made specifically for this issue. My Thoughts In my mind it's simple. Violent people will seek out violent media. If video games weren't around then movies and books, which have both suffered in a similar way, would be getting the same attention. [...]
A new study of 100 university undergraduates in Toronto has found that video gamers consistently outperform their non-playing peers in a series of tricky mental tests. If they also happened to be bilingual, they were unbeatable. Barely a day goes by when video games, generally Grand Theft Auto, are blamed for something evil. But that doesn't mean they are bad. I have my own views on the whole "video games are murder simulators" debate, and maybe I'll write them up [...]
Something I have wanted to do with Binary Sun for a while now is get some online games. The obvious solution would be to add some games made in Flash, but I don't like to do things the easy way. So Bubble Blitz, a downloadable Exe game, is now playable in a browser - assuming of course you use Windows (a Mac version would be lovely though - I'm looking into sorting that out). igLoader To get the game into [...]
I'm a huge fan of Prince of Persia, Sands of Time. It was a visual feast using glowing pastels colours to bring the magic of an Arabian adventure to life. There was a story that was told mainly through the gameplay and, for once, it was a story that didn't suck (something Ubi Soft seem quite good at). The gameplay, with the possible exception of the combat, was perfect. You, as the Prince from the title, have to traverse a [...]
This weekend, I bought, played, and completed the new King Kong videogame. It rocked! As with all Ubisoft games it's visually stunning - I went for the GameCube version and it has to be one of the prettiest games on the console. The water and fire effects in particular are very cool. In gameplay terms it doesn't disappoint either. The game is primarily played through the eyes of Jack Driscol, with the occasional Kong based encounter. The gameplay mechanics are [...]
I've just read an interesting post on videogame aesthetics all about the quest for photorealism and it got me thinking. Realism is boring, I find the quest for realistic gaming as pointless as photo realistic animated movies. The main problem is that we are surrounded by real things, we see them every day - so what's the point of reproducing them? Since we're so aware of the things around us when they are reproduced we notive every little thing that [...]
The new controller for the Nintendo Revolution has been revealed What can I say - wow - it's certainly different. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I'll definitely be getting one! Since it's not obvious from a static image the new controller uses a couple of sensors on the tv to track it's position in 3d space, meaning you can wave it around to control... well... whatever the game developers can think of! The demo's mentioned [...]
Before I continue I'm going to give some warning for those who still haven't read the Harry Potter books. If, like me, you like to be surprised when you read something new - leave now This post is a follow on from my earlier Harry Potter theory about RAB. So, let's start with the obvious... Is Dumbledore really dead? There are people who seem to think that Dumbledore hasn't died [...]
As I mentioned previously I fancy having a go at working out what is going on in the world of Harry Potter. I'm going to split my theories up into a series of posts, each about a different element of the books. Since I've already mentioned him this one is going to be about RAB. Before I continue I'm going to give some warning for those who still haven't read [...]
So... anyone else read it yet? I bought my copy late Saturday morning, there were loads of copies available, and a rather miserable looking witch handing them out. I bought my copy in Bexleyheath, which is fairly close to where I live, and Alan Rickman was due to make an appearance and sign copies of the book. I couldn't be bothered to wait around (he was already late when I [...]
It's cool to have the WordPress login page customized to fit your own website branding. This is even more significant for multi author blogs, or sites you have set up for clients as it adds that little extra something. Since writing this post in 2007 I have released a plugin called BM Custom Login which does everything described below I was actually inspired to write this post because of a [...]
I often get asked questions about TimThumb and why it doesn't work in certain situations. I can generally tell what is wrong with the script within about 60 seconds of being sent a demo url. Below are my top tips for debugging TimThumb issues. Keep TimThumb up to Date This is super important. TimThumb should always be kept up to date. I regularly publish bug fixes and improvements and often [...]
Previously Harry Potter Theory #1: RAB Harry Potter Theory #2: Dumbledore Before I continue I’m going to give some warning for those who still haven’t read the Harry Potter books. If, like me, you like to be surprised when you read something new - leave now Snape is an enigma. What is he doing? From the very first book it has been made incredibly clear that two things are true. [...]
About BenMy name is Ben Gillbanks. I'm a lover of Video Games, WordPress, Web Development and everything in between.
I have been working on the internet since 1998, and working with computers even longer. I am a hardcore Nintendo fanboy and have owned most of their consoles at one stage or another.
Read more about me on my about page.
