The Code Games News Report 12.29.06

Posted by Shawn Struck on 12.29.2006

Three, two, one! Happy Almost New Year!

As we stare down the past year, look up to a new year, look for that glass of champagne and look around for the gaming news of the week, don't forget to look for... The Code.

Early history of computer role playing games

Author Matt Barton has penned an interesting article for Armchair Arcade: the first part of a planned 3-part series exploring the origin of the CRPG (computer role-playing game).

Part one begins with a description of tabletop Dungeons and Dragons (and its war gaming and Strat-o-Matic precursors), moves on to the mainframe classics (dnd, Rogue), and finishes up with the first CRPGs available for home computers (Akalabeth, Temple of Apshai). He also gives some coverage to the very first Ultima and Wizardry games, as well as early classics like Telengard, Tunnels of Doom, Dungeons of Daggorath.

The article's right here and offers a great look back at founding classics of the RPG computer and video game genre. Without these games, there'd be no Final Fantasy, no Dragon Warrior, no Summoner. Well, wait, maybe that last one wouldn't be so bad....

At any rate, if you enjoyed this article, I strongly suggest you also check out the equally fascinating "Dungeons and Dreamers: The Rise Of Computer Game Culture from Geek to Chic" for a staggeringly in-depth analysis of the genre, written in an engaging, funny and touching way, giving readers a peek behind the curtain at the personalities that have shaped our hobby.

The Angry Video Game Nerd Holiday Special(via Screw Attack.com)

For those of you not familiar with the AVGN, imagine a retro video games enthusiast is belligerent, forced to play through horrid games from the past, mashing together curses and swilling Rolling Rock beer in a desperate attempt to mount a defense against the mental assault these bad games wage upon his very SOUL.

This round he curses excessively in the general direction of Bible Adventures, Bible Buffet, Super Noah's Ark 3D, Spiritual Warfare and The King of Kings. You owe it to yourself to check it out, hilarious stuff, even if you've already played the ROMS-- hell, ESPECAILLY if you've played the ROMs. Yeah, also, this video is not safe for work.

The above feature is the most tightly written and focused video he's done yet, and though it's a little after the holiday season, it's still timelessly funny.

Check 411 Mania soon-- I've also managed to land an exclusive interview with the foul-mouthed gamer himself!

I can quit ANY TIME I WANT. Really! Just one.. more.. level! (via PhysOrg)

Sometimes you just don't want to stop. I know that I've sunk weeks of my life into playing Starcraft, Tetris, and Advance Wars. So why is it so hard to separate oneself from the keyboard or cross pad? Because it "fulfills basic psychological needs."

Psychologists at the University of Rochester polled 1,000 gamers and asked them what keeps them glued to games. They found that gamers "reported feeling best when the games produced positive experiences and challenges that connected to what they know in the real world."

Sometimes we need a virtual replacement of tasks we don't get to accomplish in real life to make our brain happy:

"It's our contention that the psychological 'pull' of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness," says Ryan. The researchers believe that some video games not only motivate further play but "also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term," he says.

A reason why video games are hard to give up

Sony's PSOne Emulator Reverse Engineered, Cracked Open Like a Plate of Delicious Crab (via PSP News)

As you can see for yourself in the video to the left, it's now official: Sony's protection of its PSOne Emulator for the PSP has been busted open by enterprising crackers.

While the cracked emulator requires you to download games to the PS3 and then to your PSP, new customized firmware and a small converting tool by the name of popstation make it possible to play any PSOne game on the PSP at full speed using the official emulator.

On the advice of 411 Mania Games' crack staff of First-Year Mutates Samurai Lawyers, I'm not going to link to any of those utilities, but I'm sure you know how to use Google. And if you don't? Get out. Get out right now!

Anyhow, as you can imagine, debate is raging over the internets on the legality and ethicality (and I think Babality, too) of using this cracked emulator. Since it doesn't involve cameras in dressing rooms or receipt checkers in Best Buys, though, don't expect Cory Doctrow to get too worked up about it either way.

Do expect to re-hash every single tired "ROMS ARE AWFUL AND BAD AND MAKE THE BABY KRISHNA CRY" as well as "I DON'T CARE ABOUT COMPENSATING ARTISTS FOR TIME AND MONEY, I WANT FREE BUTTER" argument you've ever sen over emulation and roms on gaming messageboards across the 'net, though.

Supposedly, this emulation via PSP even works for PAL PSOne titles -- but there are a number of glitches that still need to be smoothed out. The rest of the story is right here.

Pretty Moving Pictures: A Brief History Of Console TV Ads (via PC World)

Last week Danny Allen put together a fun little list of some of the funniest, most awkward and sometimes even touching console television ads in history. T

The above clip was for the Pong console. I'm pretty sure my Dad had one of these because he was tired of losing quarter after quarter to the machine.

Anyhow, hit the link for an excellent write-up of each of these ads and how they fit in history. And get a soda or something, because with a little over 2 dozen ads plus the feature, you'll be sitting around for a while.

Odd games (via Jason Kottke)

Over the holidays, Mike Monteiro discovered there was a Nachooooooooooooo~! ...Libre game for the Nintendo DS. Thinking that an arbitrary choice for a movie tie-in game, he started the DS Tie-In Games I Wanna Play group on Flickr to showcase other possible odd media tie-ins for the DS.

Some of my favorite submissions so far include: The Passion of the Christ, Birth of a Nation, Empire, Remains of the Day, My Dinner with Andre (Bon Mot controller sold separately), Super Mario Bros, Learning GNU Emacs, Requiem for a Dream, The Cremaster Cycle, and Getting Things Done.

I think my favorite one, though, is Jason Kottke's The New Yorker Draw Your Own Cover Electronic Entertainment (with noncompulsory cooperative mode), pictured below.

If you join the flickr group, there's a Photoshop kit you can download to join in the fun.

Video Game Company Holiday Cards (via etoychest)

There are two things that video game journalists can look forward to in the march up to the Christmas holiday season each year. One is a brief, but largely deserved break from talking or writing about video games, while the other consists of the number of Christmas cards that game companies send out in appreciation for covering their products over the past year.

eToychest got a few and decided to share them in a gallery for its readers.

The gallery's here-- my favorites are the ones for Capcom and Atlus (zombies and Jack Frost for the win!). I was wondering why 411 didn't get any cards from any one, until I realized that maybe scribbling all those "Yo Mama" jokes about Square Enix in the men's room at corporate HQ wasn't a good idea. And maybe egging Kyle Mann's car while dressed in a Jack Frost suit wasn't the smartest way to get us on Atlus' "Nice" list.

Pimping Is Easy When You Use The Code!

The 411 Mania Games Staff combines to form a super robot of insight with the 2006 Roundtable!

Joshua Richey's X-BOX A GO GO has a silly name, but engaging content-- this week, it's a drool-inducing Lost Planet video!

Andrew Mellick brings you the SIXAXIS Holiday edition where he squashes some rumors and auditions 10 fill-ins for Santa Claus. No, really!

The Select and Start News Report gives a recap of the Spike VGA for 2006. I think the VGAs needed more Mega64.

And finally, our very own Nintendo para-elemental, Theo, brings the last Nintendophiles of the year.

So, have a Happy New Year, and read my stuff!