All together now: a look at micromanagement gameplay

A lot of games have you taking control of dozens - or possibly hundreds - of units at a time tasking you with overseeing them all like some omnipotent being from on high. Being able to move from one part of the map to another, then back to where you were to ensure your squad is not destroyed while you tell your peons to collect more gold has been a standard gametype and gameplay mechanic for years on the PC. Some might say that it has been used well enough on consoles with games like "Starcraft" and "Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring."

In "Pikmin 3" you'll get to choose specific areas in which to launch your Pikmin.

Few remember "Pikmin," though. One of the flagship titles of the now ancient Nintendo GameCube, it was quite possibly one of the most innovative and impressive titles to ever be a console launch title. The sequel, which was released in 2004, marked the last time we would see any of the adorable little plant-like creatures jumping on top of larger animals in a mass of color to overpower and destroy. No more would we get the pleasure of watching their flowers bloom to show their strength level, and gone were the days of enjoyable item collecting with the quirky little aliens.

Yet at E3 2012 the world was given a chance to once again return to the strange planet that fostered these adorable creatures.

In the eight years since "Pikmin 2" there haven't been many other games like it. The only one that springs to mind out of sheer similarity and startling hilarity has to be "Overlord" and it's own sequel. The game had players commanding minions of different color and ability and having them parade behind you until you thrust them upon unwitting settlers or elves in a cacophony of fire and Cockney accents.

The idea of commanding squads like this into battle is - as I said before - nothing new, but what is still fairly new is the idea of commanding them on the field of battle alongside your soldiers. Over the shoulder views can only grant you so much of a perspective as there still is no real danger to yourself. Squad-based combat systems like the ones used in "Star Wars: Republic Commando" and "Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway" are closer to what "Pikmin" and "Overlord" achieve, though.

How many of you actually remember "Overlord?"

What I'm talking about is the idea of being in command of larger groups (20+ individuals) while still having to worry about your own safety and fighting the enemy with them.

"Overlord" allowed you to upgrade your magic and weapons so that you would truly feel like an all-powerful badass surrounded by scores of equally frightening critters. "Pikmin" was more toned down, but focused heavily on the strategic use of the Pikmin themselves whilst also protecting yourself from mortal danger.

In one word: Presence. That's what these games developed for the player, and that is sometimes what a game is lacking. The player often doesn't feel a part of the world, and there's no sense of danger or consequence when micromanaging. Just take the viewpoints as an example: over the top, distant, looking down on the action. "Pikmin" and "Overlord" put you toe-to-toe with monsters like other third-person role-playing games, but also gave you a ground perspective of the work you were having done. It's also a level of realism and survival that you normally don't see in a real-time strategy game.

Being present and aware of your surroundings while making sure something is collected. Constantly on the alert for what may lurk around the next corner, or what may even be stalking you at that very moment. That's good gameplay.

With "Pikmin 3" coming out for the Wii U, there's no doubt that the Vault will be taking a crack at it and seeing just how well Nintendo has perfected this style of gameplay.

When making your own games, don't forget about presence, and whether or not it matters to the gamer. See what you can do to make them feel invested in the environment instead of just the enemies and the goal. Make them fear for their safety as the character instead of knowing that if they just hide behind some rubble they'll be okay.

How much more dangerous and intense would any of the "Call of Duty" games be if you actually had to command the troops around you while fighting? What about leading troops into battle in "Skyrim?" Think about it.

Will U buy Wii U?

I’m not sure if that whole “full-disclosure” thing applies to me or not, but I must admit that I’m a bit of a Nintendo fanboy. Plain and simple. I’m probably going to be getting the Wii U when it comes out. I mean, seriously, who can resist swinging the sword around a few times in "Zelda" or totally pwning your friends in "Super Smash Bros." every once in awhile?

Moving past that, I can still see that Nintendo is in a very vulnerable position right now with the release of their next-gen console. I went to Nintendo’s E3 press conference this year, and what I saw wasn’t exactly awe-inspiring. Immediately after the presentation I booked it over to the Nintendo booth on the show floor and played almost all of the demos available (yes, even Wii Fit U with the ridiculously fit staff members there yelling at you to "squat lower!”).

Some of what I saw on the floor, namely "Takamaru’s Ninja Castle," "Animal Crossing: Sweet Day," and "Luigi’s Ghost Mansion," were quite fun to play and are the mini games that are going to help sell "Nintendo Land" and the console.

The accuracy of my ninja stars using the Wii U GamePad was ridiculous, and the flat out fun that resulted from pitting several players against one single opponent were concepts that aren’t seen or just not well executed on other consoles.

Other demos like "Pikmin 3" and "Just Dance" were either too similar to their predecessor or were just not as good as their Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 alternatives.

Also absent from the floor were games for players who like to, well, play video games using a standard controller. Even with a couple of exceptions ("Assassin’s Creed III," "Mass Effect 3") there is not enough software availability to prevent anyone other than the casual gamer from jumping ship to Microsoft or Sony.

Gamers who aren’t fans of Nintendo’s overly-saturated, colorful games are not going to suddenly flock back because of the announced Wii U Pro Controller. But does Nintendo want to appeal to this type of gamer right now?

It's like a theme park without the sweating and lines.

From someone who loves seeing products evolve instead of simply upgrade, I applaud Nintendo for the advances that they’ve made with their hardware and some of their software. The Wii U platform has given developers a memo that says, “Go forth and develop!

Many of the feelings of inadequacy felt by visitors of the Nintendo conference are due to the fact that the games that are going to excite them and reinvigorate their trust in Nintendo have not even been shown yet. Instead of encouraging manufactures to simply put the latest GPU in their console to crank up the polygon count, we need to encourage developers to take a step back and develop a game that is an evolution from existing gaming methods instead of an incremental upgrade. Nintendo is making the radical move of trying to change gaming, and that takes a lot of guts.

Another big point of contention is the company's forthcoming attempt at a dedicated online service, Nintendo Connection. No one has been able to match Microsoft in terms of online playing experiences, and the Wii wasn’t even in the same universe when it came to online play.

At their E3 conference, Nintendo talked about all the communication that Nintendo Connection was bringing to the plate: video chat, message boards, etc. All of the things they talked about sound good in theory but I doubt how easily they are going to allow players to connect (Friend Codes, I’m talking about YOU!).

By being first out of the gate with Wii U, Nintendo has both a lot of power and vulnerability. Play their cards right, and Nintendo dictates early on what the playing field looks like when Sony and Microsoft release their next-gen consoles.

Releasing with a competitive price point, selection of 1st and 3rd party games and a Nintendo Connection that can compete with the likes of Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network are all crucial to a harmonious release that would put Sony and Microsoft back on their toes. Play their cards poorly, and competitors already have a favorable playing field when they release.

E3 2011: Conferencia de Nintendo.

Por fin acaba de terminar la tercera gran conferencia y la más esperada tras el desarrollo de las dos anteriores de Microsoft y de Sony. Le llega el turno al gigante japones y todo el mundo ansioso de ver en nuevo "Project Cafe".

Al empezar se presentó el nuevo Zelda para 3DS que está al caer, que de nuevo tiene poco pues es el Ocarina of Time pero para Nintendo 3DS. Por el 25 aniversario de Zelda, Nintendo tiene previsto regalar a sus usuarios Zelda Four Swords, un juego que no consiguió el éxito esperado. Sigeru Miyamoto acompañó esta presentación durante una decena de minutos.

Tras esto, llegaron las novedades de Nintendo 3DS. Una vez más la originalidad empieza a causer efecto por su ausencia. Saldrán juegos como Mario 3D, Kid Icarus (un shooter al estilo Panzer Dragoon), Luigi's Mansion 2, Pokedex 3D y Starfox 3D que permitirá, gracias a la camara incluida en 3DS visualizar a nuestros contrincantes. Por parte de las third party caben destacar juegos como Resident Evil: Revelations y Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. Un catálogo que huele a refrito.

Pero la guinda en el pastel estaba aún por llegar y es la nueva consola de Nintendo, la Wii U. Realmente no se ha visto la consola salvo en un video, y sólo se ha presentado en nuevo mando de control (suponemos que para darle mayor protagonismo y porque las especificaciones técnicas aún deben de estar por cerrar). Se trata de una especie de Tablet PC con una pantalla de 6,2" pulgadas, táctil, y con 2 joysticks analógicos, una cruceta y unos botones. Además dispone de un giroscopio y un acelerómetro.

Lo curioso es que este nuevo mando de control es compatible con los accesorios de Wii (Wii Balance Board, Wiimote, etc.), y permitirá descargar el contenido de la consola al mando, algo que ya hemos visto entre PlayStation 3 y PSP (con los juegos de PS One). Las capacidades técnicas parecen similares a lo que hemos podido ver en PlayStation 3 e Xbox 360, por lo que una vez más Nintendo no apuesta por los gráficos. Por supuesto no se ha dicho nada del precio y aún menos de la fecha de lanzamiento.

Más imágenes de Wii U.

Página oficial de Wii U.

Por concluir y dar una opinión algo más personal, decir que el mando nuevo no me ha impresionado mucho y puede parecer incómodo si realmente debemos jugar con él debido a su enorme tamaño. No obstante, Nintendo es la única que parece mover ficha antes que las demás marcas e innovar algo más con su hardware. Ahora bien... esas innovaciones (de dudoso éxito) no se ven en sus juegos: vamos a disfrutar durante 2011-2012 de fritos y refritos de juegos que ya hemos visto años atrás, una pena.

E3 2011: Conferencia de Sony.

Tras el sufrimiento y la carrera contrareloj de Sony tras el ataque sufrido hace 40 días, Sony no podía permitirse llegar al E3 con un problema como el que vivió hace más de un mes dónde todos sus servidores fueron hackeados y la credibilidad de la marca quedó en el aire.

El caso es que tras la conferencia del año pasado que fue estrepitósamente mala, Sony anunció sus novedades hace muy poco en el E3.

Lo primero que hicieron fue pedir disculpas por el robo de datos, un detalle que obviamente no podían dejarse en el tintero, pero lo más importante de la compañía es la llegada a finales de año de PlayStation Vita, la nueva portátil de Sony que hasta ahora conocíamos como NGP. Lo mejor de todo fue el anuncio del precio de la consola que vendrá incorporada con 3G y Wifi por tan solo 299€ o sólo Wifi por 249€. Una precio idéntico al de la máquina de Nintendo pero obviamente con características técnicas bien superiores a Nintendo 3DS.

Las novedades para PlayStation 3 fueron muy pocas, los que nos hace aun dudar de los próximos lanzamientos para la sobremesa de Sony. Sólo se habló de Uncharted 3 y de Resistance 3. También se comentó sobre PS Move y la compatibilidad de varios juegos que llegarán en el futuro como Bioshock Infinite, LittleBigPlanet 2 y EVE Online.

Por lo demás sólo cabe destacar fueron las remasterizaciones de God of War Origins Collection (los dos títulos de PSP) e ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection, ambos en HD y 3D previstos para este septiembre.

Personalmente me parece que la conferencia de Sony fue mejor que la de Microsoft, pero para gustos los colores. Fue una conferencia poco sorpresiva y con más de lo mismo…

E3 2011: Conferencia de Microsoft.

Microsoft realizó su conferencia en el E3 2011 ayer mismo y las conclusiones que hemos sacado no nos han convencido del todo. La verdad que esperábamos mucho más, pero suponemos que cada año gana uno. El año pasado con la llegada de Kinect, Microsoft impresionó y dejo boquiabierto a casi cualquiera.

Este año las novedades son prácticamente inexsitentes. Anunciaron la llegada de más juegos para Kinect, hicieron especial hincapié en Modern Warfare 3 y se confirmó el desarrollo de Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, una remasterización del primer título de la saga que usará el engine de Halo: Reach, tendrá cooperativo multijugador y los clásicos mapas del modo online.

También se anunciaron otros títulos para Xbox 360 como Minecraft, Disneyland Adventures, Sesame Street, Kinect Sports: Season Two, Dance Central 2 y Kinect Star Wars, todos compatibles con Kinect. Así que para aquellos que pensaron que no iba a ser un éxito, el dispositivo de Microsoft ha sido la piedra angular de su conferencia.

Por si fuese poco, anunciaron la llegada para su Dashboard de nuevos servicios como Youtube o Bing y como no… compatibles con Kinect.

Si me permitís, añadiré una pequeña nota personal en la que diré que no me ha parecido para nada una conferencia espectacular y Microsoft se ha enfocado demasiado entorno a Kinect. Una lástima.