Concepts from Metroid left on the cutting room floor.

I always find articles like this on Kotaku fascinating. Its about the things that didnt make it into the game Metroid. I would love to do an article about the stuff that didnt make it into Left for Dead or Call of Duty: Black Ops. I dont think I could legally anyway. Maybe I could show off some early test builds of levels. I still have some really wacky takes on Roundhouse from World at War. Until I can get permission, here are some cool images to hold you over.

Abandoned Soviet Particle Accelerator

Another rotting monument to the cold war is a massive particle accelerator outside of Moscow. The site English/Russia has a photo essay on it complete with strangely worded captions. I love the scale of these old Soviet endeavors. They werent afraid to "go big" and try something bold. I have had to sift through a lot of old Soviet projects researching the Black Ops maps. I found some really interesting stuff out there including the site that the Black Ops map "Grid" is based on. This massive antennae was designed to give the Soviets an early warning on incoming NATO ballistic missiles. Another possible setting for a map that was eventually rejected was based on a strip mine located near Moscow. It had enourmous rusting excavation machines like this one below.

Fascinating article on the hacker who stole HL2

I remember when this cyber attack became news on gaming sites. I thought for sure that Valve was just using this as a ploy to give them more time with the game and to get Vivendi off of their backs. Once it came out that the FBI was involved I realized that it wasn't a ploy and that someone really had stolen the code. Naturally we were really interested in seeing what Valve was up to. I confess dl'd a copy of the stolen code and played through what I could of the game. I know from my perspective, this led to an increased thirst for the game itself. What was playable showed that Valve had something really intriguing in the works for HL:2. The gaming public realized that it was going to be just as good or even better than the original Half Life. Fortunately, the game was a huge success. Im really happy about this naturally because I've always respected the work that Valve has done. It was great to work with them on Left 4 Dead.

Casual games can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression

Here's an article on the positive effects that casual video games can have on a persons psyche. Maybe one day games will enable world peace ;) Until then relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety is pretty cool too.

Some trailers I liked

I saw 2 really interesting trailers today that I wanted to post. One from a game called Dead Island took the approach that you rarely see in video games...an emotional appeal. Its really well done although for me the human characters are to close to the uncanny valley for me to really empathize with them. I keep noticing their slightly robotic movements and their dull eyes. Nevertheless I thought the trailer did a good job interesting me about the game...

The next trailer is a classic blockbuster trailer for the Crysis 2 game. Crytek makes big time shooters with bleeding edge tech. Their latest game takes place in a dystopian NYC. Sure its been done before but the Big Apple just looks so good ruined. I dont ever get tired of it. Having lived in Midtown, I recognized some of the iconic buildings around there. Grand Central Station gets completely destroyed and I used to walk past it nearly every day.

Link goes to Shacknews' video page for Crysis 2

Certain Affinity Article in Eurogamer

Eurogamer is a publication that I respect a lot. They dont seem to be as influenced by the massive marketing machines that we have here in the US. The seem to be more objective in their reviews and in turn hold developers to a higher standard. When they write an article like this about your studio, its really flattering. Its short and sweet...

Valle de la Luna

Todays place that I would love to go visit is.....The Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon)in Chile. Some areas of the valley bear a striking resemblance to the surface of our own moon. Its lack of vegetation and pale colored rocks make it an almost alien landscape on our own planet. As someone who designs video games, places like this make my imagination run wild and help fire the creative thoughts. What would this landscape look like on a moon of Jupiter? What kinds of horrible space critters would be lurking underneath the seemingly harmless wasteland? Exciting stuff!

My Favorite Onion News Clip of All Time

Yes video games are an easy target. Like comics, rock and roll, rap, and movies before us we get the blame. I would like our legislators and talking heads to really focus on the true causes of societies ills - ignorance, intolerance, poverty and neglect. These are the difficult problems. Fighting them is tough to market in our sound byte world. Its much easier to distract people and shift the blame than it is to own it.

Video games just like movies are rated - for a good reason. The rating is for parents to make a judgment about what is appropriate to buy for their children. Parents do your homework. When your child asks you to buy Game "X" look at the box! If it has an "M" on it, dont buy it until you know what its about. Do your homework. I'll never forget a conversation I had with a woman on a plane who wanted to know if I thought Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was appropriate for her 10 year old son. Good for her! I thought here is a woman who really cares about her kid and she's gathering information about what he is interested in buying. Instead of just giving in and buying "what all the other kids are playing," she's putting the effort forward to make an informed choice. I told her while she was the one who new her son the best, my advice was to hold off on GTA - its not for kids. Ok my rant is over....onto the funny video.

Raymond Scott

So I finally found out who it was who composed some of the more memorable songs from the cartoons of my youth. His name was Raymond Scott and he has a website. I can still hear some of the tunes in my head to this day especially the jingle "Powerhouse." Its instantly recognizable with its main riff and one of these days Im going to make it my ring tone. He has an Raymond Scott Archives Blog" and a really nice website.

Here is a compilation of Powerhouse and many if the cartoons it was in. The most familiar part of the song starts at 1:11 when Bugs emerges from his hole with trusty carrot in hand...

Dragomirov Kolossus by ~panic k

Here is a sturdy little mech that I found while parusing the game art section of Deviant Art. I like how squat and powerful he is - the proper stance for a weapons delivery platform. He's not tall and spindly like a lot of the mech stuff that you see out there. He reminds me a lot of the World War Robot stuff by Ashley Woods.


Dragomirov Kolossus by ~panick on deviantART

I have a great time playing video games with Mer

Meredith loves the Lego series of games from Travelers Tales. We have Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Starwars and Lego Batman. By far Meredith's favorite is Lego Batman. The main reason is the colorful assortment of villains that Batman must bring to justice. Meredith's favorite is Catwoman aka "Kittygirl" that we have defeated countless times. As it turns out this is a good thing as a recent study posted here on Kotaku suggests...Playing Games With Dad Builds Better Daughters

Urban Decay

Poor Detroit. Im sure there are plenty of nice parts still left but the spectacular ruins make for compelling pictures. I think its the scale and the diversity of the derelicts that makes Detroit so unique. People are used to seeing old decrepit factories all over the country. In Detroit, there is so much more. Ruined skyscrapers, police stations, theaters and hotels - icons that command attention to an obsolete way of life. This is a picture from a new series of photos by two French Photographers Marchand and Meffre. Their work is haunting and fascinating and I really want to get their book Detroit - Ruins of an Empire. Some of their work is found here at SpreadArtCulture.com