Link - Gear.IGN
Quote: "In perhaps the greatest disservice to the general consumer market yet perpetrated by players in the electronic entertainment industry, it has been revealed that next-generation DVD technologies (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) will only function with monitors and HDTVs with HDMI or DVI connections."
It basically means that the industry wants to enforce HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection). I believe it's a bit difficult to do that, since there are a lot of early adopters of the HDTV format that only have component (an analog format) inputs. In addition, those TVs that have DVI mostly are not HDCP compatible. Is the industry going to alienate millions of users just to enforce HDCP? I think not.
So what does that mean for the next-gen consoles? For Xbox 360, it means nothing. For the upcoming Playstation 3 (now rumored to be delayed until '07), Sony cannot afford to alienate the vast majority of its PS2 userbase. Sony can't implement HDCP on their games. As for DVD content - they can, but they won't since they are trying to push Blu-Ray.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
I'm No Game Designer.
I just read Derek's(omni's) post on Game Designer's Tax, and it got me thinking: why didn't I become a game designer/programmer/ whatever, like some members on Shoryuken are?
A lot of people on the forums aspire to reach such a goal, but I realized that I did not want to go that route. I feel that I may lose some of the enjoyment of the game. It's definitely like that sometimes in Web Development. I do so much development work on websites, I don't really want to do any other work, whether it be past work on Shoryuken or present work like Texas Showdown. But I must, so I toil on.
I always encounter the same scenarios when I think about it; will I start to break down a game to actually look for design flaws and bugs? Will I be developing so much that I do not get to enjoy other games? This is my feeling... what is yours?
A lot of people on the forums aspire to reach such a goal, but I realized that I did not want to go that route. I feel that I may lose some of the enjoyment of the game. It's definitely like that sometimes in Web Development. I do so much development work on websites, I don't really want to do any other work, whether it be past work on Shoryuken or present work like Texas Showdown. But I must, so I toil on.
I always encounter the same scenarios when I think about it; will I start to break down a game to actually look for design flaws and bugs? Will I be developing so much that I do not get to enjoy other games? This is my feeling... what is yours?
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
AOU2006: Virtua Fighter 5 shown
Source - Kotaku
The news is a few days old, but still a bit new nonetheless. At the AOU '06 Show, they unveiled a prelim version of Sega's Virtua Fighter 5. The game will have networking capability, some customization and a VF.TV add-on that will allow non-players to view matches.
Something to note: The cabinet will house a 32" LCD widescreen monitor - a first for arcade fighting games. Based on my previous entry, you might notice that I'm a wee bit estatic at this news at VF5 being widescreen. Perhaps there are more games to come?
The news is a few days old, but still a bit new nonetheless. At the AOU '06 Show, they unveiled a prelim version of Sega's Virtua Fighter 5. The game will have networking capability, some customization and a VF.TV add-on that will allow non-players to view matches.
Something to note: The cabinet will house a 32" LCD widescreen monitor - a first for arcade fighting games. Based on my previous entry, you might notice that I'm a wee bit estatic at this news at VF5 being widescreen. Perhaps there are more games to come?
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Fighting Games and the 16:9 Aspect Ratio
Disclaimer: By no means am I a game designer, nor do I claim to be one.
With that out of the way, I'd like to bring up the topic of the Aspect ratios, and what they mean to today's gamer. In this post, I'll be referencing the 2 main television aspects, 4:3 and 16:9. We all know that up until fairly recently, most televisions have the 4:3 ratio. With the advent of HDTV, widescreen televisions are capable of a 16:9 ratio.
The image above shows an in-action shot of Street Fighter III: Third Stike and it's native aspect ratio. The image also shows you how much extra space you can obtain if you use a 16:9 ratio. In many games such as Quake, Doom, and other FPS games, it gives you an increased Field of View (FOV) so you can see more of the environment, and maybe pick off someone that you may not see in the 4:3 ratio. In games like Madden 06, the 16:9 ratio will allow you to see your entire formation without having to move the camera.
So what does this mean to fighting games?
In games like Dead or Alive 4, the additional space from the 16:9 ratio just allows you to see more, as the game is not limited to a 2D plane and the characters don't have an overexaggerated jumping motion. Let's assume that 3rd Stike would allow for the 16:9 ratio. It can have a profound impact on actual fighting game strategy, as the fighting environment is bound by two endpoints in each fighting stage. Would the one stuck in the corner have the advantage? Or the one thats doing the cornering? Will more turtling occur with the larger area to fight in? That's an argument for the Theory Fighters out there.
But what do you think? Rereleases like many of the Capcom games are bound to the 4:3 ratio. But what about any fighting games bound in the 2D plane? Will they still be at the 4:3 ratio? Or will they go the 16:9 route? And if they do, will they change age-old strategies? And what about arcade releases, rare as they may be? What happens to them?
With the advent of the Xbox 360 and it's HDTV-friendly support, who knows what we'll get when Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting comes out on Xbox Live Arcade... my guess would be either a 4:3 game with borders, or a game that is stretched/compressed to fit the correct aspect ratio.
With that out of the way, I'd like to bring up the topic of the Aspect ratios, and what they mean to today's gamer. In this post, I'll be referencing the 2 main television aspects, 4:3 and 16:9. We all know that up until fairly recently, most televisions have the 4:3 ratio. With the advent of HDTV, widescreen televisions are capable of a 16:9 ratio.
The image above shows an in-action shot of Street Fighter III: Third Stike and it's native aspect ratio. The image also shows you how much extra space you can obtain if you use a 16:9 ratio. In many games such as Quake, Doom, and other FPS games, it gives you an increased Field of View (FOV) so you can see more of the environment, and maybe pick off someone that you may not see in the 4:3 ratio. In games like Madden 06, the 16:9 ratio will allow you to see your entire formation without having to move the camera.
So what does this mean to fighting games?
In games like Dead or Alive 4, the additional space from the 16:9 ratio just allows you to see more, as the game is not limited to a 2D plane and the characters don't have an overexaggerated jumping motion. Let's assume that 3rd Stike would allow for the 16:9 ratio. It can have a profound impact on actual fighting game strategy, as the fighting environment is bound by two endpoints in each fighting stage. Would the one stuck in the corner have the advantage? Or the one thats doing the cornering? Will more turtling occur with the larger area to fight in? That's an argument for the Theory Fighters out there.
But what do you think? Rereleases like many of the Capcom games are bound to the 4:3 ratio. But what about any fighting games bound in the 2D plane? Will they still be at the 4:3 ratio? Or will they go the 16:9 route? And if they do, will they change age-old strategies? And what about arcade releases, rare as they may be? What happens to them?
With the advent of the Xbox 360 and it's HDTV-friendly support, who knows what we'll get when Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting comes out on Xbox Live Arcade... my guess would be either a 4:3 game with borders, or a game that is stretched/compressed to fit the correct aspect ratio.
Monday, February 13, 2006
About the Blogger... (me)
Somehow, I've forgotten to include why I did this blog in the first place. I am Javier Moreno, I live in Texas. I am a junior/senior (in transition) web developer.
Besides doing that, I help run Shoryuken.com as one of the four original founders of the website. I am also the founder and co-director of Texas Showdown, a little tournament I started with Chris Chou which turns out to be one of the biggest Street Fighter tournaments in the United States. These two things are some of the things I am most proud of in my life.
I am not actively in the scene currently, due to married life and the increased responsibilities of getting older. But that doesn't mean I don't have an opinion. You might find that my opinions may vary as opposed to inkblot, omni, or anyone else. I also have different interests, as you might already see.
I hope to keep you entertained, and you'll visit me from time to time.
Besides doing that, I help run Shoryuken.com as one of the four original founders of the website. I am also the founder and co-director of Texas Showdown, a little tournament I started with Chris Chou which turns out to be one of the biggest Street Fighter tournaments in the United States. These two things are some of the things I am most proud of in my life.
I am not actively in the scene currently, due to married life and the increased responsibilities of getting older. But that doesn't mean I don't have an opinion. You might find that my opinions may vary as opposed to inkblot, omni, or anyone else. I also have different interests, as you might already see.
I hope to keep you entertained, and you'll visit me from time to time.
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