Christopher Kobayashi: Gaming

IBM PC Jr

Sun, 23 Nov 2003 17:55:10 GMT

It must've been around 1983-84. I remember my good friend Brandon had a Apple IIe with all kinds of bootlegged games. I used to visit his house every chance I got. His older brother used to get irritated, because he figured the only reason for my visit is to get my hands on the computer.
The game that I remember the most was Ulima 3: Exodus. More links:

My very first computer was the IBM PC Jr. I vividly remember the first time I got Ultima 3 on it I acted sick and didn't goto school. The PC Jr came equipped w/ a wireless Infrared "chicklet" keyboard. Advanced stuff in the mid 80's. Also, came equipped w/ a optical mouse that needed a mouse pad w/ a blue grid on it. I remember my dad maxing the RAM to 512KB. Speed demon!

The other game that I loved was Sun Tzu's Ancient Art of War by Broderbund. I used to spend hours playing it, and trying to beat the AI. It was my first RTS (Real Time Strategy).

MMORPG

Sun, 05 Oct 2003 20:11:55 GMT

A series of articles on Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games at GameSpy.
The 1st week's article is out. Pretty good stuff. I haven't gotten my hands on a Docomo handset yet; therefore, unable to explore the wireless version of Ultima Online. Ack!

Tokyo Game Show 2003

Tue, 30 Sep 2003 19:17:08 GMT

This expo ROQ'd! The event was open to the public this past weekend with Friday reserved for people in the business. I didn't get a chance to get good photos due to many booth's no photo policies, but I did manage to sneak some shots here and there. I'll post these soon.
The stuff that I bumped into:

Drag-On Dragoon - posted about this the end of last month. Got to sample the dragon portion. Fun air combat, but not enough. More, more, mooore.
Transformers - got to demo the game. It was classic. Childhood memories of G.I. Joe, Transformers, and comic books. I played while some guy up on stage sang the theme song to Raideen. Started off as Optimus Prime, and had to go through a valley full of hovering mines with Deceptacons shooting at me. I could transform from robot to truck w/ that classic transforming sound. It was a kewl demo, but I'm not sure if it'll be worth dishing out $50. Here's a review of the game from ign.com. Link to trailer videos. I hope they add the original song from the cartoons for the release in the states.
True Fantasy Live Online - XBox MMORPG. I didn't get a chance to play this, but from what I saw it looked nuts. Anime-style fantasy online game. The game looks beautiful and definitely worth checking out. Here's a good review.
Monster Hunter - saw this right before we had to leave. A multiplayer game to hunt ... monsters. Looked like dinosaurs. Looks fun if you're online or w/ some friends. Photos here.
Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes and Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater - the preview CG movies are intense.
Digital Creators School booths - many Senmon Gakkos or trade schools. They run around $12,000. Sounds like Heald, but for building games. Hmmm...
Pretty large Magic The Gathering booth - live blow-by-blow eplanation of two players going at it.
Large area reserved for board games.

** UPDATE **
Here are some pics:

1) Some flight simulator Jet game w/ Glastron looking VR eyewear for the PS2.
2) At the end of events in Japan all the campaign girls lineup and the shooting begins. There are many men w/ BIG cameras. These 'fans' follow the campaign girls to various events and know them by name. Some of the popular ones even have their own sites.
3) Square-Enix's Kingdom Hearts 2 (link to GameSpy article) and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (link to GameSpy article). Big hoopla over this game. The Disney-Square mix has got the Mojo.

4) Space Invaders - first the song and video on MTV. Now the game's back. The 25th anniversary of the coin-op classic. Now I feel old. :( The controller for the PS2 looks pretty kewl. It's actually just housing the controller. (see here)
5) I forgot what game she represented ... If you see me carrying around a bigger camera, please smack me ;)
6) FullMetal Alchemist - A new anime starting this month. Square-Enix game to follow. (link to GameSpy article). Sony Music's headquarters is located across the street from our office. Their 1st floor is like a show room / preview of what they are pushing. Last month was Metallica's new album. Now there's a huge Alphonse Elric.

7 and 8) Steel Battalion... The controller is pretty kewl and I was trying to get a clean shot of the lineup, but the girl got in the way. Jama!?! ;) I got to sample the game at Aso Bit City a while ago. Their setup was nicely done w/ large screen, private booth, and pounding sound. That's the way to play this game. Puts you into the VT. I just found out that there's a new Steel Battalion Line of Contact announced at E3. This new game supports XBox Live with 5 on 5 action. I don't know if the demos were of the new game.

9) Catan - Game originally from Germany. Looks fun. Link to Amazon product description. There was a whole area dedicated to board games like Catan, Monopoly, and various card games.
10) Magic The Gathering booth in all it's splendor. I guess g33ks do the same thing all around the world. Games ... on the console, PC/Mac, and offline on boards or with cards. Sometimes w/ just pencil, paper, dice, and alot of imagination.
11) Heated Magic battle. You are now being Televised.

12) Dressing room for the cosplayers. This is another fanatical group. So there are the campaign girl 'fans', and the cosplayers. There must be cosplay 'fans' too. I forgot about the Karisuma (charismatic/popular) campaign girls and cosplayers. I don't think there are Karisuma 'fans's w/ big cameras ...
13) Katamari Damashii - control a Huge sticky ball throughout a city and pick up EVERYTHING. Link to review by GameSpot.

14) And finally for all the aspiring game coders ...

AsoBitCity Revisit

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 14:25:45 GMT

Took a quick trip to Akihabara this evening. Had to get my fix of G33K toys. Had to visit Aso Bit City. It's probably a good thing that I got there about one hour before it closed or else I would've ended up spending my whole day there.

There was one console game on the first floor that caught my attention. Drag On Dragoon from Square Enix. From the CM video on the overhead TVs Drag-On Dragoon looks like an awesome combo of Dynasty Warrior(movie) for ground combat, and a wicked jet fighter combat sim merged on top of a souped-up Dragon Rage. Add the Square CG touch and we have a WINNER. Links to movies on the official Drag-On Dragoon site: first video, second video, third video (the second vid roqs!).

The photo on the top right is of a Robot PC case. The "do-it-yourself" kit goes for around $450. I couldn't convince Shirley to let me get one for our living room. ;)

The photo on the left is of the 1st floor entrance area. This is where you can test out the newest games.

On this visit we spent alot of time on the 5th floor. Model guns, soft air guns, and models. Checkout the gung-ho grrl testing out the fully automatic soft air gun. There's tons of "H" and KAWAII anime characters. An Otaku paradise. Next to the train area there was a display of a model train station. It reminded us of Sim City.

** Full disclosure: I did end up purchasing Star Wars Galaxies **
I had to. To please the Aso Bit City gods!

The Key of Avalon

Fri, 15 Aug 2003 19:25:17 GMT

Finally got to play The Key of Avalon tonight. We visited the Capcom arcade in Kichijoji last week. That's where I discovered the game and bought a starter pack from the vending machine. There are other card based video games such as the soccer one, but this games' the 1st that I've seen that seems to be based on a similar concept as Magic The Gathering. I couldn't play last week cause there was 9 people waiting in front of me (see photo). F*kin NERDs. ;)
There are four touchscreen based consoles that are interconnected to the big screen. Whenever you get into a battle, the big screen is used. Each game runs at 300yen (current exchange rate is roughly 120yen per dollar), and you are allowed to put 900yen each time you sit in front of a console. That's like feeding the machine $7.50 for about 20 minutes of play. Before you shove money into the black hole, you insert your IC card that has your personalized info regarding your character into the machine. After the IC card, you feed it your life savings, and then put your deck of 30 monster and spells. The game reads your deck in a couple of seconds, and off you go into their world.

I was barely able to keep up, because everything was in Japanese. Here's what I did understand about the game:
There is one player called the key Holder and three players called Chasers. The Holder's goal is to visit 3 out of 4 towers, which opens access to the main castle. Then go to this castle. Chasers need to stop the Holder. By stopping the Holder the key is transferred to the Chaser and the roles are switched.
Your deck consists of monster cards, monster support cards, and character support cards. Each monster belongs to a color category(green, yellow, blue, and red) and has a movement, attack, and defense value. All cards have a rarity value(common, uncommon, rare, very rare, and super rare). Your deck can contain any combination of cards, but can't have more than 3 of the same card.
You move about on the board by using a monster card. The distance you're able to move for a single card depends on the monster card's movement value, monster's color, and your character's position on the map.
I think there's two phases of the game: Holder and Chaser. During the Holder phase that character can move, and attack. Remember there's only one Holder. The Chaser phase is in real time with other players; therefore, the faster you are at getting to the Holder the better. First come first serve to battle.
During your phase you're able to move, attack, or defend using your cards. You're allowed to use six cards in your hand. If you're not attacking, then before using your sixth card you should protect your character w/ a monster card. If you are attacking, your monster attacks first, unless the defending player has some type of monster helper card. You win the battle if your monster's attack value is greater than the defending monster's defense value. You automatically win if there isn't any defending monster. I'm sure I'm missing alot of details and strategy, but I panicked during the battles. Basically getting my ass kicked. ;) If you defeat a Holder you'll receive the key, and become the new Holder.
After you're done playing, the machine rewards you with a single card for each game you played. If you played with the max credits of nine you'll receive three cards. I picked up a Rare card this way! I'm not sure if you can get good cards through the starter packs. There's a super rare card on Yahoo! Japan Auctions going for 20,000 yen, which is roughly $167.
The game's highly addictive. I was watching and playing for around 2 hours, and never saw a seat empty. Every time someone sat down they put their 900 yen into the game. Let's see: 20 minutes for 900 yen. Let's say the game center's open for 12 hours. 12 hrs x 60 min = 720 min. 720min / 20min = 36 turns. 36 x 900yen = 32,400yen x 4 players = 129,600yen per day. Roughly $1080 per day. Plus people buying starter packs for 1000 yen.

There.com

Sun, 10 Aug 2003 17:36:54 GMT

Finally got accepted to beta test There.com about 2 weeks ago. I applied about 2 or 3 months ago. I guess they were busy. Installed and logged in for the first time today. I had a blast!
The Sims Online sounds very similar, but I can't make the comparison cause haven't played it yet.
The social aspect was really refreshing. The in-game culture. Maybe cause the game's still in beta phase.
Went Hoverboarding with an awesome custom board that someone lent me. It felt like going surfing at a point where there are some pretty nice swells and a friend of a friend lends you a board cause you're a dork without one. There are rocks and potential hazards that can wreck the board, but you get to borrow the stick just to share the experience. Basically, to go out and have fun.
This guy took me on top of some floating island that we can leap off of. Like sky diving with snowboards connected. It was nuts. Instant addiction. I think the person who took me up there just wanted to share this insane feeling. That was really kewl.
Maybe that's what makes games like this and MMORGs fun. Being able to share the kewl stuff. I mean that's what we do in real life anyway ... right!?!

As people spend more of their time in online worlds ... advertising is shifting from off-line to online areas. Look at product placement by McDonalds and Intel in The Sims. More info on ZDNet, and The Register.

PSP vs GameBoy Advance

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 17:32:54 GMT

What makes the GameBoy Advance such a killer gaming device? What's the KEY factor. Is it the mobility ... being able to play anywhere, anytime, wirelessly? Or is there something that I'm totally missing?
Got an update regarding the PlayStation Portable from the KoKoRo blog. Hopefully these gaming devices will push mobile devices to the next level in terms of multimedia. Imagine being able to swap your video thingy in your PDA or Cellphone to play the latest/greatest. Your own connected virtual world with graphics that immerse anytime, anywhere. A new drug ... actually a revamp of existing drugs.
WATCH OUT for the bicycles ...

Net Toys

Wed, 30 Jul 2003 15:41:06 GMT

Makes you wanna be a kid again. A Remote Control car that you can play with using your browser. The live video and chat functions are using Flash Communication Server. The FlashCom must be interfacing some other technology to send the control signals to the RC cars.
Goto Remote Driver to play with the cars. The cars are in Japan so you probably need to login during Japan Time.

** Thanks KE-TA for the info **

How about a RC Realtime Strategy Game - use the RC mini-tanks that shoot InfraRed. These little tanks detect if they got shot, but not sure how they'll send damage signal back. They do blink, but might be hard to see. Control the tanks using a Remote Driver type app. Need to get wireless mini-cameras for a tank's point of view.
How about Lego Mindstorm net enabled toys ... hmmm.

** UPDATE: checkout this post from Anita **

Dungeons and Dragons

Thu, 05 Jun 2003 16:28:23 GMT

There was a post on Game Girl Advance on D&D. Natsukashii! F*CKING GEEK.
I used to love playing offline tabletop RPGs like D&D, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rifts, Robotech, and Marvel Super Heroes. These are games u play w/ pen or pencil, paper, and dice (4d, 6d, 8d, 10d, 12d, and 20d). Ahh, heated arguments, spending hours on creating characters and buying equipment, playing all night and the next day. I could spend hours at the local comic, RPG, and used book store Jelly's in Hawaii. One of my favorite characters was a Half Elven Ranger I called Trax. I still use this name for computer RPGs.
Other tabletop dice games that I loved were: BattleTech, Car Wars, and Warhammer 40K. These don't have too much role playing, but more about miniature pieces on a map. Similar to compute turn-based war games (Real Time Strategy game might be alittle difficult with pen and paper).
Great memories :) Ready for a club in Tokyo?

PSP Playstation Portable

Wed, 14 May 2003 03:51:14 GMT

Article on Asahi (in Japanese) regarding SCE's (Sony Computer Entertainment) announcement of a portable Playstation by the end of next year. Next year :( Seems like they're planning on launching it simultaneously around the world. As we all know Nintendo's the only player in this space and Sony wants a piece of this pie.

Article on ZDNet Japan (in Japanese) w/ the specs:

Game media will be on Universal Media Disk (capacity of 1.8GB) with size being around 2.5 inches diameter.
4.5" TFT display w/ resolution of 480x272
Support of 3D polygons, MPEG4, 3D Sound

NOTE: It's already been slashdoted.

* UPDATE *
Mobile/Handheld games .. I haven't explored this space, but intend to pick me up a Gameboy Advance soon. The Final Fantasy Tactics would be my game of choice. I got it for my PS2, but haven't gotten around to finishing it. Maybe I'll accomplish this while on my train commutes. Better do this before the Ultima Online Mobile comes out, then move on to making a game .. eventually.
This area of gaming will grow, starting with Japan. I think of it as short experiences .. like smoking a cig. Relax the mind for a bit.
What's funny is how I started into gaming .. I remember playing Nintendo games on these small business card sized handhelds back in the early 80's. The classic game I remember is the one where there's a burning building on the left w/ people jumping out. You had to bounce them to the ambulance on the right. Moved on to PC and consoles .. and now I'm going back to handhelds. Maybe riding trains is affecting my gaming lifestyle.

Ultima Online Mobile

Thu, 24 Apr 2003 17:19:08 GMT

Is this the world's first MMMORG (Massively Multiplayer Mobile Online Role Playing Game)? Can we call it 3MORG instead?

(Photos borrowed from Dwango's Press Release without permission: 505i screen shots, pre-release shots - disclaimer saying might be different from actual release.)
A company called Dwango has a press release in Japanese about Ultima Online for iMode. If I'm translating this correctly, part of the title says something to the effect of "Be the first to play this game by using the new 505i series phones". The release continues stating that Electronic Arts and Dwango have agreed on working together in distributing the mobile version of this game. Dwango has acquired the license for the distribution of the mobile (for cell phones) version. Dwango will start the distribution of the 'Ultima Online Mobile' service to DoCoMo iMode 504i, 504iS, and the new 505i series of keitais. They are planning to launch this service after the 505i phones are released (which should be mid-May - see my last post). The PR goes on about when UO was established and mentions that as of March, 2003 there are over 100,000 users in Japan.
There's more , but I'll let you translate the rest.

Some features of the mobile version of the game:

save your pet or monster into the cellphone wallpaper appli. The pet/monster will be affected by various factors such as the amount of battery life, and signal strength. (only available through the 505i phones) Like depending on the battery life, the pet will have different equipment or if the phone is out of range the pet won't be able to heal/maintenance.
mentioned that chatting won't be available, but exchanging of goods will be part of the game

Final Fantasy X-2 Screen Savers

Thu, 17 Apr 2003 14:09:29 GMT

Ok, I've never played it yet .. but here's a link to an article regarding Final Fantasy X-2 Screen Savers (in Japanese). Thanks Kentaro. And here's the link to the official site. Game's story looks interesting, but I didn't really like the FFX game. You're stuck playing their story to the tee. I have to admit the FFX CG animation is mind-blowing, so FFX-2 must be as good or better. Is FFX-2 worth buying a Japanese PS2? Or wait till DougE gets here for a Mod ;) Oh yeah, the colored PS2's are out also, hmmmm .. What else kewl Japanese PS2 games are out there ... the taiko game?

The Matrix

Tue, 15 Apr 2003 15:19:55 GMT

The Matrix Reloaded .. the Final Trailer @ Ultra 1000 x 540 is AWESOME! It's a 100MB file, but worth every bit. I gotta go back to the states in May for this one. Thanks braddah Joe for the update. I must've watched this trailer about 10 times now. They're getting better at merging various technologies into movies. Let's see how they do with the game.
Enter The Matrix .. PS2, XBox, and PC versions are my choices. Eenie meenie minie moe. The XBox or PC should be the way to go. Damn, I'm like rhyming. A lyrical master. Peace out homes .. Ola Le Vato! The trailer looks good, but you know how that goes. Alot of hype and no PLAY. Hope it doesn't suck.
The Animatrix .. checking this out now. BRB. Ok, the third episode is my Fav. The style was kewl. Plus the snow scene, but the first episode came close.

Aso Bit City

Thu, 10 Apr 2003 16:30:37 GMT

I love games. I love places that sell games. I love Aso Bit City!
This is an eight story building in Japan dedicated to NERDS. The ground floor is all console games. Entrace area has the newest Japanese titles lined up against the walls. XBox, PS2, and Nintendo basically rule this floor. Here's the breakdown by floors:

Console games
Music, Movies, and Anime .. like Tower Records & Videos + Anime (only Japanese)
Books .. mostly gaming books
Omocha (toys) .. worth mentioning are the remote controlled mini-tanks that shoot infra red
Models of guns, Guns, Gundam, and Gundam (Japanese only)
PC games .. BOUGHT Command & Conquer GENERALS (foreign[US] games available) including a PC gaming LAN w/ broadband connection preinstalled w/ various games.
AV (Adult Videos) .. basically porn and Anime porn.
Events area

(click to see larger photos)

Streaming video of a PS2 taiko (Japanese drum) game:
- PS2 Taiko No Tatsujin (Windows Media 240x180 stream from Playstream)

Downloadable movie:
- Final Fantasy X-2 (Windows AVI format / NOT streaming)

LANshock is a full modular LANparty Intranet System

Tue, 18 Mar 2003 05:33:29 GMT

(http://sourceforge.net/projects/lanshock)
hee hee .. It's a ColdFusion based LAN party app.

MMMORG ...

Mon, 17 Mar 2003 05:43:02 GMT

Howz about the Massively Mobile Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. What would the mobile device be though .. maybe a iMode/FOMA clientside piece connecting to 'the world'? Or even better, the N-Gage? Would I have the time to play something like this ... depends on how well the game is built. What would be key features of a MMMORG other than the fact that it's now mobile? I mean the games .. what would be a KILLER game. Not another version of Ultima Online or Everquest .. but something that hasn't been created yet.

dot HACK

Sat, 15 Mar 2003 08:32:44 GMT

(link to site)
The first DVD is great(thanks braddah Joe). It's a Japanese anime series. The story's about the online and offline dramas of a MMORG(Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game). I don't know what the game will be like since it's not an MMORG, but a virtual one. There's a online and offline world within the game. In the offline world you check your email and get updates about the online world. I wonder what a virtual online world would be like.
The only MMORG I've experienced is Ultima Online. I've always enjoyed the Ultima saga of RPGs, but playing online with other players is real RPG. I mean you can only do so much with computer controlled NPCs(Non Player Characters). MMORGs offer so much variety and the communities whithin are just as interesting. Sometimes you can spend hours just chatting and socializing.
Another neat thing about it was when I played late in the night(more like early morning) Japanese users would come online. I would be a translator between English and Japanese players .. I guess that's what I'm used to doing offline anyway.

Arcade Video Games in Tokyo (part 1)

Wed, 12 Mar 2003 16:08:55 GMT

I finally got around to sifting through my photos to post some stuff I find interesting. See .. u need to moBlog!

Ahhh .. virtual Vegas. I didn't get a chance to play any of these games, but Stay Tuned and I will. I wonder if this is another form of pachinko like gambling. Let me explain about pachinko .. if you win you don't collect at the pachinko parlor. Well, you can either receive plastic blocks or there are items(DVD players, rice cookers, cigarettes, etc.) you can trade your winnings(balls) for. Gambling is illegal here in Tokyo .. so if you win and want CA$H you got to leave the pachinko parlor to visit the change booths nearby. Change the plastic blocks for CA$H.

U.S. Set for Mobile Game Invasion

Fri, 07 Mar 2003 11:12:53 GMT

U.S. Set for Mobile Game Invasion.
A common sight in Europe and Japan -- cooler-than-thou teens and pinstriped businesspeople jabbing madly at their cell-phone keypads as they play mobile games -- may soon become standard in the United States. Elisa Batista reports from San Jose, California.
[Wired News]

So many things to do, so many things to learn, so many things to PLAY WITH!!!
God .. I love games, gadgets, and technology. I haven't figured out why .. or to tell you the truth haven't even stopped to think why. Do you know why? Is it the actual STUFF that's exciting .. or is it the idea that it's all just VIRTUAL STUFF .. a game is an experience .. so is most gadgets. Gadgets are useful sometimes, but to me it's the new experience .. that moment. Like when I first started my XBOX and booted up Splinter Cell. I'll never forget it. I payed attention to every details .. the sound of the XBOX booting .. the actual whirring of the machine. The starting cut-scene.

N-Gage

Fri, 07 Mar 2003 11:08:21 GMT

(Nokia's Mobile Game thing)
One of the reasons I would go back to the states for. This phone/gaming device looks frikin rad.

Game Developers Conference 2003

Fri, 07 Mar 2003 11:06:33 GMT

(gdconf.com)
Looks like we missed the boat to this one ... Imagine the energy at this conference. Fukin flowing. I can feel it from here .. and I'm not even connected to the 'net right now. It's like spiritual P2P .. or something. We gotta figure out how to capture the energy that's generated by meeting so many like minds in a short span of time. Ahh, on second thought I rather not capture it .. but be there. We'll probably be trying to capture the moment until the moment has captured us (?? hmm). Oyasumi.