GAMING GURUS' CREATIVE EXPLOITS
24/01/2005 - GAMEHOTEL recommends: Gaming Hacks, a fun, and eclectic, book on the creative exploits of gaming gurus.
This anthology of guides and tips for various ways to go beyond the obvious, and get more out of your video games, tells you, for instance, how to play Japanese games without speaking Japanese, or how to boost the Game Boy Color's bass output. Gaming Hacks is edited by Gamasutra's Simon Carless (check out his 2001 Electrolobby interview). (via GAMEHOTEL)
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NEW ONLINE MUSIC COMMUNITY
20/01/2005 - At the upcoming GDC in San Francisco, GAMEHOTEL guest Masaya Matsuura will be talking about the Japanese online music community Recommuni.
Masaya Matsuura, head of Japanese game development studio NanaOn-Sha (PaRappa the Rapper, Mojibribon, Vib Ribbon) has built an invite-only online music community that "actively champions author rights without oppressive DRM constraints." (via GAMEHOTEL)
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BOOK ON DESIGNER TOYS
17/01/2005 - GAMEHOTEL's popular Designer Toy Showcase has extensively featured some of the world's most exciting urban toy creators. Vinyl Will Kill! is the first major book dedicated to the designer toy movement.
This is a must-have if you want to know what the designer toy movement is all about. Through a series of interviews the book offers great insights into the work practices of many amazing urban vinyl designers.
Vinyl Will Kill! features toys by GAMEHOTEL guests FuriFuri, Kidrobot, Devilrobots, Koji Takeuchi, and Brothersfree, as well as by many other great creators, such as Semper-Fi's Rolito, or Superdeux' Seb, the designer of the edgy GAMEHOTEL and TNC Network logos. (via GAMEHOTEL)
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EA CROSS-OVER INTO REALITY TV?
15/01/2005 - Electronic Arts is considering an interactive tv show that would let viewers control the actions of participants, Sims-style.
Talking to Reuters, EA's Jan Bolz said: "One idea could be that you're controlling a family, telling them when to go to the kitchen and when to go to the bedroom, and with this mechanism you have gamers all over the world 'playing the show'."
In a recent GAMEHOTEL appearance, Will Wright, The Sims mastermind, talked about the way players are "controlled" in the game: "In The Sims Online there is everybody's real person behind the Sims. What we are doing is indirectly motivate them to do different things, to group into social systems, to form economic systems, specialize, diversify. We're not controlling the player in that sense. We are dealing with a much more removed level of control." (via GAMEHOTEL)
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KIDROBOT OPENS LA STORE
13/01/2005 - Urban Toys specialist Kidrobot has opened a new store in Los Angeles.
The world's premiere creator and seller of limited edition urban toys now has stores in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The Californian edition of GAMEHOTEL's popular Designer Toy Showcase was set up in partnership with Kidrobot's San Francisco branch. It featured a dazzling selection of some of the wildest Hong Kong urban vinyls by the likes of Michael Lau and Brothersfree. (via GAMEHOTEL)
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BRITISH AWARD FOR MOLYNEUX
10/01/2005 - Game designer Peter Molyneux has been made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).
The head of Lionhead Studios, and mastermind behind ground-breaking and successful titles such as Populous, Black & White, or Fable, was granted this honor for services to the computer games industry.
During his GAMEHOTEL appearance, Molyneux has expressed a concern shared by many industry players, as well as a growing audience: "I don't think we're inspired enough by TV, by movies, we're not inspired enough by things outside our industry. But this will change." (via GAMEHOTEL)
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MIZUGUCHI'S NEW HANDHELD TITLES
03/01/2005 - GAMEHOTEL guest Tetsuya Mizuchi has launched the first of a series of new titles produced for portable gaming platforms.
Lumines for the brand-new Sony PSP has been released in Japan in December. It combines addictive puzzle-type gameplay with original music by Japanese acts Mondo Grosso and Eri Nobuchika. A second game, Meteos for the Nintendo DS, will hit the shelves in February.
Both games are released by a new game publishing label, qb, launched by Bandai and Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment. (via GAMEHOTEL)
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