Tommy Tallarico: Video Games – Art in Disguise TED Talks July 24, 2013

TED Talks are a lecture series where a qualified person can talk to a distinguished crowd about any subject in the fields of art or science, and recently video game composer Tommy Tallarico, did a TED Talk on video games.  Let me tell you, was he qualified to give this presentation.   He is known in the video game industry as the man who has worked on more video games than any other person, and was one of the world’s first video game composers.  Now, he runs the Video Games Live concert series, and will usually take lead guitar to play many of the songs he composed during his career, and tons of other fan favorite songs composed by his peers.

In a world where video games have become the GO TO response for many atrocities as soon as they are committed regardless of the actual facts of the case, Tommy was not only able to debunk that myth in one single slide, he educated the audience on all of the positive creative outlets that video games have inspired people to engage in.  In the lifespan of the gaming industry, they have inspired more creative work than any other medium.

Settle down children, it’s time for a lecture.

Right after I saw this presentation, I e-mailed Tommy to congratulate him on his lecture, and I said to him that it is nice to see that someone could discuss all the positive impact that games have had over the lifespan of the industry and what they offer TODAY.  Its nice to see that someone is willing and able to talk about all the merits of our love of gaming, and how an interactive medium can inspire so much creativity.

Making of BEYOND: Two Souls – Gameplay Featurette July 24, 2013

BEYOND: Two Souls is one of the top unreleased PS3 exclusives on my radar.  With previous games from the company (Heavy Rain, Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit) being personal favorites for me, I’m really looking forward to getting to play BEYOND: Two Souls.

I know that a lot of people who witnessed the Tribeca Film Festival preview of the game had a lot of questions about the game’s interface and just how you would control the game.  From a viewer’s perspective it almost looked as if the player would have very little control, and it was hard to differentiate what was a gameplay moment and what was a cutscene.  Quantic Dream explains in this newly released Behind the Scenes Featurette, that they have been evolving their interface with each of their games to make them more intuitive for the player, with a focus on minimizing the interface to better immerse them in the story.  Take a look for yourselves to see how they are able to do this.

BEYOND: Two Souls is coming October 8th, 2013 exclusive to the Playstation 3.

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team Commercial July 24, 2013

Continuing Nintendo’s tradition of releasing awesome and unique television commercials for their upcoming games, Nintendo has released their TV commercial for the latest game to be released in Nintendo’s Year of Luigi, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1lwm_4bkjY

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is the first game in the Mario & Luigi series to be released to the Nintendo 3DS.  In the game, you take control of Mario and Luigi as they navigate through Luigi’s dreams in order to save the Princess.  I know, this time it’s not Bowser’s fault!  I think even he was surprised too.

If you would like to see some other great Nintendo commercials from over the years, check out my Top Ten Video Game Commercials Video!

UPDATE:  Nintendo has posted some bloopers from filming the commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrdrMh00egw

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is coming August 11th, 2013 exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS.