An auditory idea

When I purchased my Xbox 360, I was happy to find out that some of the features it had were more on par with what pc gamers had been able to do for years. The main feature I am focusing on is the ability to load my MP3s, or rip CDs the hard disk for play when I am playing a game on the system.

Now of course I could always mute the music in the game of choice and use my PC or stereo to do this anyway, but I like not having to do so. Call me lazy.

I had an idea this morning. Custom soundtracks have been made possible for PC gamers with games where the developer offers toolsets, or in the old days when you could replace the mp3s that came with the game with your own. But why not make this a more mainstream feature?

I love a lot of video game music, don't get me wrong. The iconic works of Koji Kondo, Nobuo Uematsu, and others never fail to bring a smile (or wistful sigh). However, for each of the greats, there are other... Not so greats. I read once in a book I can't remember that sound guys are often the least respected members of video game development teams. This is sad, as sound is so important for game to player communication. The 8-bit sound effects of the past are still strong in my mind. Does anyone else think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for NES whenever they hear certain models of Microwaves sound that time is up?

Perhaps not. The point is, sound is an important aspect of immersion, but budgets are more focused on the visual flash of graphics, which is easier to sell through commercials and pictures. While some games have composers writing scores that stand up to any film score, others have music that grates on the ears and is quickly muted.

I return now, after much rambling, to my idea. What if games had an option for custom soundtracks? There could be a track list, with a basic description, and you could put your own audio file into the game. Descriptions such as "intense action" could be used so that the player could input their own songs of choice. The only thing that I see standing in the way of such an idea is that mainstream gamers probably don't want to spend the time on the front end of a new game purchase uploading songs. However, I think that it would be a great addition to many games.

I read an interesting article over at Kotaku recently. This article is a "how to guide" for making games using the license from upcoming movies. The advice is pretty common sense, and mostly panders to the audience, but it did have some, well one nugget of information that I found interesting.

"The summertime release list for video games isn't typically as stuffed as the fall and holiday release list, meaning potentially less competition. So if you can release in the summer time, day and date with the theatrical release, do it. Failing that, wait for the DVD, as EA did with the video game release of Superman Returns and Warner Bros. is doing with the second episode of Watchmen: The End Is Nigh.
While risky, most of the spending in the U.S. happens during the fourth quarter of the year, a product of the video game industry following a "toy-based" model, according to Wolf, not a media-based model."

I have often wondered why there is such a dearth of "triple A" titles during some parts of the year. I suppose that if previous models show more spending to happen during the fourth quarter, it makes sense to try and target that release period, at least to an executive.

I think that most gamers, or at least I, crave content year-round. I consume games at a fairly rapid rate. Part of this comes from not being a "completionist." This admission will probably reduce my gamer-cred to a lot of people. I enjoy the narratives of games, I also enjoy the action and hopefully the combat system. I do not enjoy scouring every nook and cranny for obscure items that I can complete the game without anyway.

With our consumer-based economy, and many adults having loads of disposable income, it seems strange to not be releasing titles year-round. Less competition during the summer months would seem to be a good incentive to try and release at that time.

I read the reviews for Red Faction: Guerrilla, before I purchased the game. They were not stellar. However, the game had enough interesting ideas to make it a viable purchase without any more tempting alternatives. I am glad to be playing it, make no mistake there, but I wonder how it would have fared against other big titles in a fight for my free time.

I suppose my main concern is the coming storm this fall. Dragon Age: Origins, Bayonetta, and more than a few others that I can't think of at the moment are looming on the horizon, all releasing very close to one another. I won't have the time or the funds to play them all when they come out, and that is disappointing.

Another note is the increasing prevalence of DLC in extending the life of games. Anyone who reads this will know of my extensive love for Fallout 3. I have purchased every DLC released by Bethesda on, or very near to release. I enjoy this game and love new experiences within the world that they have created, and it has given me more to do during these months when there has not been much else to buy new.

I suppose that I should also look at the slower months as a time to catch up on the titles I may have missed. I find that I am affected by our forward-looking consumer culture and crave the newer titles, shunning those who have fallen by the wayside. I am certain that this is my own loss, but unable to change my ways.

Vacation

I have not taken a full-on vacation in several years. That changed this year. We are visiting some of my wife's family in the Houston, Texas area. With all of the airplane travel and my tendency to wake up early in the morning, my DS is getting a workout.

I picked up Moon for the DS. It is an interesting title that has excellent 3D graphics for the platform. I would say that anyone who enjoys FPS's and adventure games should give this a shot. The controls work very well, and I am constantly amazed by the environments as I work my way through the levels. I hope that this game sells well enough to merit further games from the developers.

I also picked up Children of Mana. At this point, I am fairly certain that everyone out there who is into Action RPGs and the DS has played this title. I am a bit slow in getting on board sometimes. So far I am loving this title as well. Beautiful 2D graphics and tight controls help this game a lot. I played very little of The Secret of Mana on the SNES when I was younger, but I always wanted to play more. I don't know what took me so long to pick this game up for my DS, but I am glad that I did.

Even with these great titles, I can not wait to get back home and jump back into Fallout 3 and Red Faction: Guerrilla.