3 Crucial Life Lessons Inked Out in Splatoon

People like to win at things. All the things. Competitive games are no exception, but that’s partially what makes them so fun! When Nintendo announced it’s unexpected new IP Splatoon at E3 in 2014, sure, it had it’s share of scoffs and eyebrow twerking… but when it was finally released in May of 2015, all bets were off. Ink fever swept over Nintendo acolytes and shooter fans alike.

What’s unique about Nintendo’s huggability is it’s uncanny knack at softening a genre while simultaneously reinforcing that genre’s mechanics into something that every player can pick up but few can master. This shines most brightly in Splatoon’s online multiplayer. Because it’s victories are not so much dependent on kill count, other necessary skills are encouraged and players are directed to think of the match beyond their inkling. Well, guess what? Those skills translate into life, and it’s super forward-thinking that these values are promoted in a AAA game.

1) There are more ways to resolve conflict than meeting it head on.

Many competitive shooters demand performance based on your head count, which can leave a taste of stale typicality after a while. In Splatoon, rather than smashing your foe with a roller exclusively, you’ll be focusing on covering as much ground as possible with ink, kill count long gone out the window. Maybe you’re facing a seemingly insurmountable task at work, or in your personal life, and the traditional way of meeting that challenge isn’t working. Maybe you should try looking at things another way? You know, James and the Giant Peach style.

2) While looking good can feel important, real worth is found in what you do.

Another key aspect in Splatoon is the game’s constant reminder to keep your anxiety level high about looking as fresh as possible. Customizing your character is, however, one of the really fun angles of any game, and some of the clothing items in-game really are pretty great. You can look as edgy or sophisticated as you see fit. As you get better, choosing the right main abilities associated with your play style, so that you’re buffed accordingly, is basically paramount. So, sometimes you’re dancing between looking good and performing at your best. In real life, your appearance only takes you so far, also… you won’t be at the top of your game until your performance and intrinsic motivations support your decision making.

3) Is winning really the goal, or is it the harmony through winning happens?

It’s been said before many times, but the real action of a regular battle match only happens in the final 30 seconds or so. Suddenly, all that seems to matter is the progress your team has made as a whole, and if you can hold it together for that final push. Many times, though you may lose the match, you feel an overwhelming satisfaction because your team had some golden cooperation moments. In a game without voice chat that forces players to utilize alternate means of communication, this is particularly special. IRL, when you and your co-workers or family members face something truly overwhelming, Splatoon reminds us that sometimes the real victory comes from the small moments of dynamic synergy when the heat was on. Also, that it’s okay to savor that.

In addition to life lessons, Splatoon teaches us that Undertale is BLOWING UP. It’s blown up. Which is great; Toby Fox has created a new classic that it’s clear is being appreciated by a new and younger crowd of gamers that will keep alive indie gaming culture. Also, Splatoon teaches us that I’m 30 and feel weird hanging out with teenagers at 6 am. Regardless, I couldn’t be more excited about the next splatfest. I lost the last one. Spectacularly.

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Happy Holidays!

Enjoy your festivities, whatever and wherever they find you! Hopefully you’re afforded a break to spend time with friends, family, pets and pudding. Be nice to each other, and be nice to yourself! Treat yourself to some much deserved gameplay! See you in the new year! ❤

Ryan, Julia, Felix, Atlas and Hugo

(hohoho, etc.)

Winter Wonderlanding It: 5 Cool Gaming Snowball Fights

image via youtube

Weelp, December is here, guys! Time for making extra time before work to scrape your windshield, or to barricade yourself in the employee bathroom at the staff holiday party! Or, if you’re like me, time to challenge yourself to a eggnog guzzling contest while furiously jamming cookies into the VCR. It means lots of things to different people. Here in the North-Eastern part of the US, the lack of snow (or blindingly frigid cold) is making me pine for one of the things I love most about games: snow levels and shameless holiday tropes.

Characters in games are always grudging and, excuse the pun, one-upping one another. Combine that with the dangerous innocent fun of the timeless snowball fight, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for video game bliss! Here are some highlights of the icy duels throughout history:

South Park 64- Single/Multiplayer

image via gamesasylum

South Park, in general, has a sordid history of tours in the realm of video games. Or even in the realm of TV and movies? While I’m not a superfan of the series in general, this N64 romp boasts plenty of unlockable characters and fan-servicey content, and the artillery at the players’ disposal are entertaining. One of my favorite memories of playing this game is pelting everyone and everything with the one weapon you start out with in the small and snowy Colorado town: snowballs!

You’re given the alternative “charge” shot of throwing yellow snowballs, which was funny when I was 13. I just love the start of the game, in which you’re running from crazed turkeys and hurling pee snowballs from downtown. Playing this title multiplayer/solo-snowballs makes for a fun and wintery take on the classic FPS. Now I kind of wish there was a low-poly first-person snowball multiplayer game with similar models.

Mario Party 6- Snow Brawl

image via youtube

In true Mario Party fashion, it’s another one of the three-on-one stress fests that ruin friendships. Happily, it’s all in good snowball-bruised humor as you’re either one of three players attempting to punish P4 for no real reason, or a lone ranger on a suicide mission with the help of some monkeys. Don’t worry, you can use their frozen corpses as sandbags! You didn’t mind middle-school dodgeball flashbacks, right?

This minigame captures the real brevity of a white-knuckled snowball deathmatch. There are few feelings more rewarding than emerging from the icy firing range victorious. …Now it feels like the holidays.

Donkey Kong Country 3- Bleak boss battle

image via youtube

It’s a good one here, team. Granted the snow-boulder sprites are pallette-swapped in other parts of the game, this boss fight is best won if you’ve honed your bonus carnival mini-game skills. Bleak is… pretty disturbing as a boss. You’ll be exchanging the frozen volley between the foreground and background while enduring his guttural chuckling that reeks of rum and eggnog. However, guess what… you probably won’t have more innocent fun in a snowy pre-rendered background.

Aim for his flashing button (I guess?) on his chest. A decent thunk of a snowball will make him do that laugh where you know you really hurt him, but he doesn’t want to lose face. Recreate the winter recesses that you’ve blocked out!

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance- Intro/Tutorial stage

image via lparchive

I’ve been wondering when I was going to talk about this game, and more specifically, this sequence. Let me just preface with the fact that this is one of my favorite gaming experiences and I think of it often, wishing that there was an entire tactics-styled gameplay version of a wonderfully sprited snowball fight game. This portable follow-up to the original FFT on the ps1 is one the great Game Boy Advance offerings, and the intro/tutorial stage really starts it off on the right foot.

You’re basically given relatively equal units of which you may strategically maneuver and ping one another with snowballs, using the isometric terrain to your advantage. Standard Tactics affair, I know, but the modern setting and kid characters really get me in the winter-break mood and ready to play. To reiterate, please create a game in which I can base an entire campaign around snowball fighting. I’d be unhealthily excited.

Wii Fit Plus- Snowball Fight

image via torontothumbs

You’re your mii, in a little parka, chucking ice balls at other miis and seasonally appropriate snowpeople. The vibe of this casual snowball sim is very Nintendo… super clean, but be prepared to lean every which way on the balance board and use the wii remote to aim. Still, the onslaught of your friends and their return fire is enough of a challenge to be enjoyable. It’s also got me wondering if snowball fighting ought to be an Olympic event- look at those regulation-sized snow shields dotting the snowball arena. Serious stuff. I love the little jingle-bell intro to the stage, which lets you know that this activity is not screwing around.

The snowball is a ubiquitous element throughout games of all shapes and sizes and is often a tool used as bonus content or seasonal DLC, so finding it and having fun with it is almost always rewarding. I feel like I should suggest you run along and go sledding, but really… I need you to get cracking on that snowball-tactics game. Also please include some kind of sledding mechanic in-game. Lastly, include a mechanic who sleds.

Cheers, enjoy the cold outside and the warm glowing screen inside!

-R

 

Oases Plays With Your Heart and Sense of Alternate Reality

Recently, devs Armel Gibson and Dziff (of the greater Klondike collective of game-friends/developers based in northern France) crafted the short but limitlessly imaginative Oases, which the duo have dubbed a “kaleidoscopic ‘elegiac” flyscape'”. After playing it, pursing my lips and putting all of my intent into describing it on my own, I can’t think of a better three words for it! In fact, that there is an interactive experience to assign those three words to is proof that we live in a wonderful world.

As stated, the game is short, but perhaps calling it a game isn’t quite adequate; it’s an expression of a solution to a much-longed for answer. The premise is a hopeful pondering of the fate of one of the dev’s grandfather, who mysteriously disappeared in 1960 during the Algerian Independence War, just days before his first child came into the world. The resulting experience here is how his legacy could be remembered by those left not knowing.

For it’s innocent wonder, I think when I describe it to people I want to call it a ‘colorbasted-wormhole-dream-flight’. Considering its being a free game, this title has kept me interested all evening. It’s not in the playing, though. Don’t misunderstand me, the flight-sim controls are tight and minimal (arrows and space for a boost) and the panoramic views are like delicately iced cakes. No, the real beauty of this game is the lingering on it.

Maybe it’s the melancholic pallete that keeps you dwelling on the possibilities of what became of the plane’s pilot? I’m left with the same uneasy approachability that the “out of this dimension” ending in the original Star Fox gave me. The dreamscapes are one thing, but the music (composed by the amazing Calum Bowen) is undoubtedly some of the most compelling game music I’ve heard in quite a long time. The included dreampop-ish jam paints your flight with a quixotic glaze.

DL it for free at itch.io!

-R

The 2015 Gamedonut Holiday Gift Guide

As we near the inevitably jingly and blood-stained end of November culminating with Black Friday and Cyber Monday (and let’s not forget Small Business Saturday!), our attentions turn to amassing our holiday gifts early so December flows as smooth as spiked nog cascading down the front of a red and green sweater. If you know someone who likes video games and plan on buying for them, this time of year can seem pretty daunting, what with the literal avalanche of gaming-related thingers and game tapes available to buy. Here is a curated look into some stylin’ b-side options to get the cool gamer in your life. The links are in the pictures, click ’em! Happy shopping!

 

1) Star Fox 64, a Sticker Pack by Paperbeatsscissors

image via paperbeatsscissors

What’s not to love about Paperbeatsscissors‘ art style an super cool character renderings? I am totally enamored by this sticker set for one of my favorite games of all time, the iconic anthropomorphic sci-fi rail-shooter Star Fox 64. Stick ’em on your computer, bicycle frame or face! Cool style without breaking the bank.

2) Banjo-Kazooie Vinyl Soundtrack 2xLP

image via iam8bit

I almost lost my mind when I caught wind of this lovingly crafted double LP from the gang at iam8bit. To say that Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie and the accompanying soundtrack (composed by the unstoppable Grant Kirkhope) is anything short of a masterpiece is reproachable. Not only are the songs memorable, but so are the magnificent vinyl specimens on which the tunes are captured. The jacket art is OKAY, though.

3) Lost in the Woods Print, by Zac Gorman

image via fangamer

Zac Gorman of Magical Game Time has done it again with this gorgeous Legend of Zelda print over on Fangamer. It’s a good size and really ought to be framed if you pick this one up. The overall color and tone distills the essence of all adventures that have taken place in Hyrule.

4) Wooden Monsters, by Maré Odomo

image via Venus Patrol

Maré Odomo is an incredibly talented artist and is an enormous inspiration for me, and this blog! Over at Venus Patrol (subscribe to them!!), Maré has featured these amazing pokemon-ish cutouts for placement on your wall or desk area. I can’t stop looking at them. Spruce up your living room, will ya?

5) Lon Lon Milk Candle

image via Blankoo

Etsy seller Blankoo has struck liquid gold with her replica Lon Lon milk candles. The white wax inside is a comforting reminder that it’s okay if your hearts get low. Perfect for LoZ fans and people who like to see.

6) Mother 2 Saturn Valley Planner

image via Hobonichi Techno

So that’s what Mother creator Shigesato Itoi has been up to! You might have to jump through a few hoops to get one, but these planners made by Hobonichi Techno are as smartly beautiful as they are useful, and will surely rekindle the fondest memories of stumbling into Saturn Valley. Includes a MOTHER 2 bookmark!

7) Super Mario World- Dinosaur Land Wooden Map

image via Neutral Ground

I feel tingly, looking at this. It’s everything right about imagined game worlds: the trusty map! Happy memories abound when you place this intricately etched wooden map by Neutral Ground in your home.

8) Boss Fight Books Season 1 Book Set

image via Boss Fight Books

Give them the aesthetically perfect way to dwell on their most beloved games! Boss Fight Books’ collection of six books from various writers of differing backgrounds offers magical insight about why these games are what they are… and is just as perfect to look at, sitting there on your bookshelf.

Be kind to everyone you meet this coming week, and try not to get too crazy. It’s a good time to kick back, make a mug of coffee and couch co-op with a friend or loved one. Take it easy. And with that, I leave you to cower from the crowds, stuff some cinnamon rolls in your gob and put Planes, Trains an Automobiles on Netflix.

Why The Night That Speaks is Horrifyingly Brilliant

Lately it’s been getting a lot easier to settle into the warm sheets for these silent and chilly nights. We’re past Halloween now, and not quite into the glitter-flecked snow-fest that is December (here in the northeast, anyways!), but the time is just right to grab a blanket to hide under and play The Night That Speaks, a remarkable and free indie-horror game making the rounds right now. If you’re looking at the screens and wondering. “Jeesh, looks like something  I could’ve played on my old DMG!”, well, you’re basically kind of right. It was inspired by GBjam, a game jam which centers around the Game Boy theme. I’m imagining what the box art for the cartridge would have been, or what the actual cartridge’s art might look like. I would have been unresponsive if I’d discovered that this game was secretively squirreled away in the data on the game boy camera.

TNTS was skillfully whipped up in 4 days for the jam by professional cool people Adam Ryu (@adamryu) and Guy T. Some of the other titles he’s made on his page look amazing as well, I do recommend checking them out. This game, however, is a short but surprisingly immersive first-person narrative crypt-romper with the looks of being shot on a game boy camera. You won’t find weapons or much comfort in the catacombs beneath the cemetery, save the magnificently rendered lighting and shadows. That’s one of the most noteworthy points of the game, the just flat-out excellent lighting. Check it:

The story is progressed by various notes found along the way. It’s easy to get lost in the network of tunnels, but the rooms all offer something a little different, so it’s not exactly repetitive. The limitations under which the game was created are really what make this game’s experience so unique. Be ye warned, there are some jumpscares that are frightening on their own but are amplified by the graphical limitations. The visual styling of the game lend nicely to the helpless horror atmosphere, and the lack of the ability to strafe (another vintage FPS feature) gives the feeling a real sense of urgency when danger inevitably freaks you right the nope out. Headphones are a must, also.

What to do if the ghouls encroach? Show ’em you’re not afraid by literally giving them the finger. Your action button flips the ghosts off until they vanish, presumably from the realization that you don’t even.

I feel like that’s the only way to really deal with fear. Birds blazing.

Give the game your Friday night this week.

Get it for win/mac here for free from itch.io!

-R

 

Lovely Weather We’re Having is More Than Just Small Talk

image via lovelyweather.info

There exists in some untold realm a place of ever-changing scenery and of promised primeval chaos. This place is called outside. If you’ve always dreamed of visiting this place, Lovely Weather We’re Having is now available from prolific artist/cool game developer Julian Glander. Dubbed a “goal-free explorer”, the premise is so simple and the design is so beautifully Gumby. Your job is to make your way around the landscape, do what feels like it needs to be done, chat with interesting townsfolk, hang out with your dog, contemplate your place in time, and generally soak in the pastel nerf world. The best part is that this top-down dream-em-up reads your local weather and inserts it into the game. This is something I’d always felt would’ve fit into Animal Crossing (in fact, some times I’m convinced that’s what AC is doing, somehow).

image via lovelyweather.info

If you’ve never checked out Glander’s stuff, you really should feel out his amazing work. I don’t know what to tell you. The dude just has style. I’ve never seen a game that I’ve wanted to physically feel with my hands this much. Every single thing about this aesthetic is cool: colors, shapes and textures all. Lovely Weather We’re Having is an extension of this art style and feels like the whole game world is made of floam. Weather and aesthetic aside, the substance of this small game really exists in whoever is at the keyboard. That being said, investing in this game is an investment in your own meditation on just being around. Intended to be played in short bursts of 10 to 20 minutes, that’ll give you enough time to talk to some wierdos in town or knock around some logs and rocks in the grass.

Exploring the game world feels right and doesn’t seem to ask anything of you more than what you want to know of it on your own. When you start the game up, make sure you’re playing un-windowed and with the graphics quality set to Fantastic, as that’s really the best way to enjoy this toybox. Setting your own pace and mirroring your own reality outside are, to me, valuable concepts to include in a game, especially one that depends heavily on exploration. I feel like waking up in the morning and playing LWWH for a few minutes gives you a good chance to practice the day ahead of you. Or maybe you can treat it like a magic eight ball that predicts when you’ll run into monsters or fall off a roof.

Here’s why I love LWWH:

• Feels like what I really actually wanted from ClayFighter
• The color/shape combinations are really, really enjoyable
• Changing weather changes the mood of the game; NPCs say hilarious things based on the mood
• The audio around the town is perfect and compliments the feel of the game overall.
• Knock over bicycles, push over trees

All of that wonder being said, let me just help you get into the mindset of the game. Don’t expect to do a ton of objectives or grind for things as you would in some other wonderful life sims, because this is actually on a different wave length. A fantastic one where you don’t need all of that. LWWH isn’t a way of connecting to anyone else, it’s really a way of thinking about your day. It should be experienced just as Glander intends: short, sweet, and bound to induce high levels of happiness. It’s on sale at the time of this writing on steam and itch.io, so explore your way there now. G’head.