April 2016 – Random Tower

What Zeboyd Games Does Right With RPG Random Battles

Published April 29, 2016 by E. Zachary Knight

Zeboyd Games: Breath of Death 7 and Cthulhu Saves The World While I wait for Zeboyd Games’ latest RPG Cosmic Star Heroine to be released, I finally got around to playing their first RPGs. I bought the double pack of Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves The World from the Steam Winter Sale and I am not disappointed.

Overall, the games are solid retro-styled JRPGs with great humor. If you are not a JRPG fan, these games won’t convert you, but if you like JRPGs, specifically those of the NES, SNES and Genesis days, these make a great nostalgia trip. All in all they are pretty by the books. However, there is one major feature that sets Zeboyd JRPGs apart from their peers. Something that makes these games so much better than every other JRPG I have played. Both of these games allow the player to skip random battles.

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Google Makes Right With Content Creators In Announced Content ID Changes

Published April 28, 2016 by E. Zachary Knight

Monetization During Dispute Since Google launched its Content ID program on YouTube, it has been plagued with problems. The biggest problem is that anyone can claim a video without having to provide anything resembling proof. Additionally, when a video is claimed, the original creator completely loses control over the monetization of their work.

That is all going to change with one little adjustment from Google.

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Women wouldn’t be interested in owning a replica of Ripley’s shoes from Aliens, would they?

Published April 28, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

In celebration of Alien Day (4/26, because the original Alien movies take place on a planetoid named LV-426), footwear and apparel company Reebok released a limited edition run of the high-top sneakers Sigourney Weaver’s character Ellen Ripley wore in the first Alien sequel (pictured left). Considering Ripley is, at least from an American perspective, the preeminent female action hero, fans were stunned to learn that her shoes were only available in men’s sizes.

What the hell, right?

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‘Uncensored’ should be a baseline expectation, not a special feature

Published April 26, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

On April 15, publisher XSEED hit up its tumblr to announce the forthcoming PC and 3DS releases of Corpse Party, a localization of the original Japanese horror adventure.

The lengthy post mostly concerns itself with assuring readers that the game is arriving in the west completely uncensored.

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The Podcast With No Name

Published April 25, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

We’re still working on a name but the first post-Super Podcast Action Committee podcast is in the bag and you can watch it over to the left. This week, EZK and I discussed the sad truth behind my love for LEGO games (7:42), the possibility of Nintendo NX news hitting early this week (30:04), whether GameStop’s publishing plans could hurt its gaming magazine’s credibility (34:45), the proposed “No Sale Promise” for digital games (50:24), and whether movie theater audiences improve the theater-going experience (1:06:01).

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The Promise Of The “No Sale Promise” Might Just Be Snake Oil

Published April 22, 2016 by E. Zachary Knight

No Sale Promise Earlier today, I learned about a new initiative created by a few developers. Chalo Chalo developers Tomasz Kaye and Richard Boeser created this initiative after reading an editorial by Castle Doctrine developer Jason Rohrer. In this editorial, Jason writes about why he feels that rampant game sales are bad for fans.

You can read Jason’s full article, but the gist of it is that gamers will wait until a sale rather than buy the games at launch. The problem is that game developers will see a reduction in launch revenue and be forced to rely on the months of long tail to break even. His solution is to reverse the sale process. His solution is to offer the discounts up front and then raise the price later.

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Green Room Review

Published April 21, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

In the realm of performing arts, a green room is a room in which performers wait when they’re not out on stage doing their thing. When you go to a concert, piano recital, comedy showcase, burlesque review, magic show, opera – anything that features people performing on stage in front of an audience – when the talent is not on stage, they’re hanging out in a green room.

As a performing artist myself, I have been in dozens upon dozens of different green rooms in dozens upon dozens of different venues and I’m going to share with you the dirty little secret show biz doesn’t want you to know:

Green rooms aren’t green.

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Ghost in the Shell and the cost-benefit of whitewashing

Published April 21, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

Okay, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page.

Ghost in the Shell is a Japanese comic book from the late ’80s that was made into an incredibly popular animated film in 1995. Courtesy of Paramount and DreamWorks, the seminal anime classic is being made into a live-action feature staring Scarlet Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi. As you might be able to tell from the character’s name, Kusanagi is Japanese. And as you might be able to tell from the production still to the left, Johansson is not.

This has prompted numerous internet discussions (of varying levels of nuance and politeness) of “whitewashing,” the trend of casting white actors in non-white rolls. According to a report in Screen Crush last week, Paramount and DreamWorks had commissioned visual effects tests to determine if Johansson’s appearance could be digitally altered to look Asian.

I have some thoughts about this.

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The Zweihander is back in business

Published April 19, 2016 by jfudge

The Zweihander, a massive beautiful ultra greatsword in the Dark Souls series of games by From Software is my Excalibur. I love its moveset and its ability to knock average-sized enemies on their asses. The Zweihander is a real world weapon whose origins lie in medieval Germany. You can get an idea of the sword and its origins in this cool YouTube video.

Tracer: Subway sandwich thighs and a ridiculously deep butt crack

Published April 19, 2016 by Andrew Eisen

See the lady in the yellow pants to the left? That’s Tracer from Blizzard’s upcoming game Overwatch. According to game director Jeff Kaplan, the creative team wasn’t “entirely happy with [that] pose” so late last month, the devs at Blizzard replaced it with the one they feel “speaks more to the character of Tracer.”

You can find Tracer’s new pose below the break.

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Month: April 2016