Weekend gripped by work, flu and a Brütal Legend still to finish. The longer I spent with Schafer’s game, the more I feel contemporary designers deeply lament the videogame medium – brilliant concepts drowned out by familiar mechanics so as not to push away those who are looking for “just a game”. Psychonauts suffered from the same, Braid told tales of its main mechanic working as narrative when that only happened during its last minutes, and the less we speculate on how much “game” there would be in Metal Gear Solid if we removed all of its non-interactive cutscenes the better. Here’s another list of links to make up for the walls of text I don’t have the time to write.

• Fascinating piece over at Gamasutra where Jordan Mechner (of Prince of Persia) and Eric Chahi (of Another World) talk about inspiration. Bonus: Chahi is apparently working on a new game. HARD ON DEPLOYED!

• For those unware, there has been a legal battle between Bethesda and what remains of Interplay. The two primary motives are Interplay’s inability to develop a planned MMORPG based on Fallout, and the release of Fallout Trilogy which – according to Bethesda – may trick consumers into believing the special edition contains all three main Fallout titles, when in fact it only contains the two first games and the tactical combat spin-off. Folks over at Duck and Cover obtained transcripts of the preliminary injunction hearing. Long but worth a read, specially to check out the lack of vocation on behalf of Bethesda’s lawyer.
• RPS gentlemen spotted Cyber-Wing, which is shaping up to be the best way to play Herzog Zwei – arguably the first ever RTS game – without actually digging up a Sega Genesis from your moldy closet. Official game page here.
• Bayonetta has become another talking point in certain circles, in part because of her attributes, in part because of how people will look at thems. Leigh Alexander (Sexy Videogameland, Gamasutra, Kotaku and generally all over the internet) wrote a piece for Gamepro on whether Bayonetta’s titular character was empowering to female gamers or exploitative of women in general, and she then discussed it further on her blog. The responses to her opinions are always something curious. She’s a proeminent female voice in video game criticism – arguably the stronger one we have – and it’s always interesting to gauge how her perspective is received by male gamers, especially when she – as is the case of Bayonetta – makes a positive argument about female sexuality in videogames. Lots to read and think over. Need to write something about the game as well, if I get the chance.
• And now, news from an alternate universe. Sega tried to make their Dreamcast games compatible with the original Xbox.
• On the other hand, news from our depressing reality. Daily Mail still the only paper not putting Haiti on front page. 50,000 dead trumped by Beyonce and Poirot. Go journalism, go!
• Still on Haiti, the Global Post reminds us to send money, not junk.
• Chris Avellone talks about videogame writing on his blog at Obsidian Entertainment. Hand-picked chosen quote: “some of the best “stories” I got from Fallout 1 and 2, for example, were ones where Stealth and Combat options spoke for themselves in reactivity and quest solutions”. Yes.
• And the greatest barbarian of all time once again roams the land free.
• Joystiq briefly looks back at Link’s shield design in The Legend of Zelda series, contrasting the then and now.
• One for the cultists. Human Entertainment’s first Clock Tower game, originally released for the Super Nintendo in 1995, is mostly delegated to cult status thanks to it never being released outside of Japan. The 1997 PSX re-release of that game was also never published internationally, which means many gamers were unaware that said version had a couple of extras. One of them was a 10-page comic book which served as a prelude to the events in Barrows mansion. Recently, it’s been translated and published online by – who else? – fans of the game. Short but to the point.
• And one for the retros. Consollection is a website by Patrick Molnar showcasing almost 150 videogame consoles and handhelds, with a brief exposition on their place in history, complete with images of hardware and packaging.
• Game boxes with film titles. Graphic artist Robert Penney imaginaned a small series of packages based on retro games based on modern films.
• A way of life.

(>^_^)(>°oº)>