(Reference) GameCenterCX: Taito Interview

(I wanted to post this on a slow day, but things are getting busy, so I'm posting this here now, in hopes that it'll get buried over the next couple of entries.)

I decided to post another Game Center CX episode.

Not just because this also happens to be the first episode of GameCenter CX, but because there's this really interesting interview Arino conducts with the creator of the Desha de Go/"Go by Train" series, where we learn of Akira Saito's history with Taito and what eventually drove him to create such a unique and interesting series of video games. (@20:00)

There's this interesting sort of revelation, during the interview: That it's not just people who are fixated on "Numbers" or "Game Design" who want to create games, but people from all different walks of life, who simply never had the opportunity to experience certain things (In Saito's case, being a train engineer, being able to drive a train) and video games are often created as an extension towards that - a way to fulfill that experience - very interesting.

As always, please use discretion when sharing.

(Alternative Download - GameCenter CX - Taito/Takeshi No Chousenjou)
(CrunkGames.com write up)
(Go by Train series on Wikipedia)
(GameCenterCX/RetroGameMaster on Amazon)

(from The TV Database - thetvdb.com )

"First Aired 2003-11-04

"In the first episode of Game Center CX, Arino visits Taito to learn it's history and play one of it's most difficult and cruel games Takeshi no Chousenjou. Upon first entering Taito he marvels at the Space Invaders machine. Tomohiro Nishikado, the creator of Space Invaders comes and discusses with Arino the history and impact of the game and they challenge one another to a game. After this Arino meets Akira Saito to discuss the Densha de GO! series. As the tour continues he finds out nobody from the original development team of Takeshi no Chousenjou is left so he meets Tetsuo Egawa instead to discuss it. To find out more about the legendary game he talks to Kazuhiro Hayashi who presents Arino with guidebooks for the game.

Finally we see Arino tackle Takeshi no Chousenjou which includes various hilarious snippits of him getting frustrated at the game's bizarre challenges such as singing karaoke, and waiting one hour without pushing anything. Does Arino complete Takeshi's insane challenge? Watch and find out!"

(Spotted) Crypt of the Alexander - RM2k

Via VIPRPG夏の陣2015
Mirror (Japanese)

(Spotted) Final Fantasy ? - RM2k

Via https://matome.naver.jp/
Via CloneGameParty (http://www.wikihouse.com/cgp/)
Mirror (Japanese)
Mirror 2 (for those who don't like using .7z)

What makes Oddworld tick - [Polygon]

(from Polygon by Richard Moss - April 24th, 2017)

One of the minds behind the Oddworld universe shares his storytelling philosophies and inspirations as he works on the Abe's Exoddus reimagining Soulstorm.

"...Lanning believes that the best stories are rooted in allegory. "It adds depth that resonates with us [and] gives us a stronger connection to it," he says. "And I think maybe partially makes us feel not as lonely in the world." Not only that, he sees allegorical storytelling as a tool to help us to understand the world. That is Oddworld's purpose; Abe's Odyssey and its successors were made to inspire, to enlighten, "to peel off some of the layers of this world of bullshit that we're saturated in."

Now, as he revisits the original material, Lanning has plenty of frustration with the failings of politics and big-money business. "I think never has the modern world been more disillusioned with its matrix as today," he says. "They see all types of corruption and hijinks around them and the average person just feels that they can't do anything about it. Which is a bad place for us all to be. So for me I feel like I really don't have a choice [on whether to create games with deeper meaning]..."

Via Polygon

(Spotted) Together We Go - RM2k3 - RMN

Via RMN

(JosephSeraph's Latest experimental game - one of the coolest rpgmaker artists, who has the most uncanny talent for creating final fantasy art assets - (without actually being final fantasy) - Check it out.)

Interview with Mortis and ACC (Creators of OFF)

(Not dead, just very sick...Noticed this link was mysteriously absent from the HG101 write up of Mortis Ghost's "OFF" Decided to repost it here for posterity's sake)

(from HG101 - Interview with Mortis and ACC by Iwant - November 30, 2013)

When 2008 amateur RPG OFF was released on the french-speaking web, it met with surpsingly overwhelming reception for a game made with RPGMaker but obviously achieved little popularity due to the rather private nature of its circulation. Five years later, it is possible to catch sight of characters from that game at various cosplay conventions in the US, miles away from its Belgian homeland.

At the occasion of my article covering the game, I - Iwant - took the initiative to conduct an interview with the guys behind the game: Mortis Ghost and Alias Conrad Coldwood, the artists from the Unproductive Fun Time collab responsible for OFF's creation.

Do not hesitate to take a look at my article: It contains everything you need to know where to findOFF if you still haven't had the chance to touch it before. Let us not wait any longer; here are the interviews. Have a good read!

Via webarchive
Original "OFF" HG101 Article

(Spotted) Celestial Silfade Story - RM2k

Via SilverSecond (Japanese)
Mirror (Japanese)

"Make it Biblical:" How Vagrant Story Changed Game Localization - [USGAMER]

INTERVIEW: Alexander O. Smith and Rich Amtower go in-depth on the game that helped elevate localization into an artform.

Article by John Learned, 02/22/2017.

"Things were looking pretty good for SquareSoft in 2000.

Just three short years earlier, the developer had finally broken American audiences of their widespread RPG ambivalence with the release of Final Fantasy VII. An unqualified smash, it's practically useless to go over the details yet again of a game that's so widely remembered and endearingly adored all these years later. But for everything that made Final Fantasy VII forward thinking, it would also put a period at the end of a long-standing problem with not only Square, but most other Japanese developers and publishers: its translation.

As a company that released very long and equally verbose games, this was a problem needed to be addressed, and quickly. Subsequent translations were exponentially better, of course; but though they were certainly Square's breadwinner, they weren't their only property. And still, even they weren't perfect. The beginning of the new millennium, though, was going to change all of that.

Released that May in North America, Vagrant Story was a significant step forward for English localization. A taut, lean story of dark medieval intrigue and magic, it was a game with a depth of language still uncommonly used to this day. I recently had the opportunity to interview localization editor Richard Amtower and famous translator Alexander O. Smith over email on their breakthrough early work in the field and to reflect on the rise of localization as a craft that truly mattered. "

Via USGAMER

(Spotted) Hylics - RMVX Ace

Via itch.io
Steam
Website/Devlog

(Spotted) Legend of the Silverstone - RM2k3

Via RMN