Dead Pixels has 41 chronicles

1. Hybrids in Gaming: Clash of the Genres
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Apr 07 2009

   
   You know, I’ve talked a fair bit about what games are lacking compared to ye olden days. I suppose that’s inevitable. Every single generation thinks the things around when they were coming up are better than the ones around once they’re there. But if there’s one bit of overwhelming evidence that gaming evolution is a good thing, it’s variety.
   
   Blending two types of entertainment is tricky. The limitations of film in this regard are fairly obvious; a movie about a wedding in New York, for instance, would only be badly ruined if a sword fight broke out.
   
   But in 2008’s downloadable hit Braid, a drama-laden and highly personal story mixed tragedy, loss and obsession with…bouncing on monster heads. I would genuinely like to see Sean Penn try that.
   
   The 80’s and most of the nineties hewed close to the tried-and-true classifications. At the time, action games had no story to speak of, and the idea of an action RPG was an oxymoron.
   
   Now, we can almost not imagine games that are not a mash-up; regardless of what the release lists on IGN say, there are no pure genres. Don’t believe me? Do you build your own personal franchise and stats before firing up each year’s NCAA? You’re playing an RPG and a simulation, and there’s a sports game in there somewhere too. Are you well aware that the cake is in fact a lie? Then you fired up a gun game and ended up playing a puzzler.
   
   And of course there are the more obvious examples. Puzzle Quest attached an RPG to Bejeweled with results that have founded a cult following. Little Big Planet, which recently sucked up half the video game awards in the world, is a platformer simulation.
   
   And what of mash-ups that have nothing to do with genre? Those we’ve had plenty of for a long time. Perhaps the most significant early example was when Mario tested the waters of the RPG. Remember that? Square handed us Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars. There were very few differences between it and any of the Final Fantasy titles that made Square’s reputation. Exploration was abundant, levels and skills were full-featured, and it wasn’t even easier in an attempt to appeal to newcomers. It was heavily played, and I wonder how many fans of instant gratification realized they were in a genre they’d scoffed at often.
   
   Kingdom Hearts, Mortal Kombat vs. DC, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts…the mash-ups are constant and pervasive. But that doesn’t mean they’ve tried everything. So, to end this week’s column, my suggestions for genre and license mash-ups that have yet to happen.
   
   Michael Phelps vs. Aliens
   16 stages of relentless action against the alien menace. Enhance your effectiveness by maintaining several thousand calories a day and collecting…I was going to say bongs, but that’s beneath me.
   
   Street Fighter Quest Adventure Legend Thing
   The elements are there. Combos would translate well. The new graphical style would be great to actually wander through. And there’s already a largely untapped story there. For the record, I’m quite serious about this one.
   
   Log
   Log.
   
   An MLB RTS
   Picture it: A baseball diamond as big as a battlefield. Bases made of stadiums. No luxury boxes (luxury boxes suck). And you could KILL SOMEONE WITH A FASTBALL. Mmmmmm yummy.

   
   

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Dead Pixels has 2 comment s on this chronicle.

1. JackDaniels624
   Posted On Apr 08 2009

   I'd like to see Sean Penn make a GOOD movie! HI I'M SAAAAMMM!!! Or "IT MATTERS TO ME!"...Both are hilarious lines I still use today I saw during the trailer...Anyway your last idea sounds like a totally brutal version of Slugfest! And I like it! Add steroids, coke and sex parties, police, and spousal abuse and you got a AAA game!!!

2. Kaptainwow
   Posted On Apr 08 2009

   Street fighter adventure quest thingy has been done (Kinda). Look for the japanese game Namco x Capcom which is a RPG that fetures a cast or original, and branded characters from both companys. Its not the SF story, but i heard its real good fun.