Kyle Orland’s Workblog

October 10, 2006

Back Story

Filed under: > Published, ] News/Features, } Escapist, ) Video Games

I was in the third grade when I created my first and last videogame fan fiction. It plumbed the hidden motivations of the nameless driver from Excitebike who, it just so happens, was actually Mario, transported from the Mushroom Kingdom into other NES games through a secret warp pipe. The page-long story ended on a dramatic cliffhanger, as the final jump of the Excitebike course hurls Mario into another secret warp pipe, setting up an entire series of Mario-in-other-games stories that, to this day, remains unconcluded.

(full story)

May 26, 2006

Recipe for Disaster

Filed under: > Published, ] News/Features, } Escapist, ) Video Games

Imagine a rock concert. The loudest rock concert you’ve ever been to. Make it a little louder, just for good measure.

Throw it into a Las Vegas casino, except instead of the glitz of Vegas you’re in the middle of the decay that is Los Angeles; and instead of jangling coins and neon there are surround sound explosions and endless rows of flashing video monitors.

Stir in a good-sized dollop of siege-mentality warfare, complete with realistic sound effects and panicked jostling for limited resources.

Add in a little dash of sci-fi convention decoration and just a pinch of overpriced food.

Dump in tens of thousands of bewildered, sweaty males (sprinkled with a few scantily-clad booth babes and fully-clothed female PR reps for flavor).

Shake well.

Welcome to E3.

Now, try writing a story in this mess.

(full story)

February 24, 2006

Geek on Your Sleeve

Filed under: > Published, ] News/Features, } Escapist, ) Video Games

Wait long enough, and everything comes back in style. It’s true in fashion. It’s true in videogames. So, why shouldn’t it be true in videogame-based fashion?

Gamers everywhere are appreciating the games of yesteryear through compilation discs, legal and illegal emulator downloads, and even upright cabinets at the local mega-arcade/drinking establishment. The trend has been echoed in an explosion of apparel, mainly T-shirts, featuring designs inspired by or ripped straight from the most popular games of years past.

Now, for the first time since elementary school, you can proudly wear Mario on your shirt again. Except this time, Mario is offering "mustache rides." Or offering to clean your pipes. Or offering not so subtle drug references on your boxers.

Back then, Mario was your digital best friend. Today, Mario is your homeboy.

(full article)

February 21, 2006

Geek on Your Sleeve

Filed under: > Published, ] News/Features, } Escapist, ) Video Games

Wait long enough, and everything comes back in style. It’s true in fashion. It’s true in videogames. So, why shouldn’t it be true in videogame-based fashion?

Gamers everywhere are appreciating the games of yesteryear through compilation discs, legal and illegal emulator downloads, and even upright cabinets at the local mega-arcade/drinking establishment. The trend has been echoed in an explosion of apparel, mainly T-shirts, featuring designs inspired by or ripped straight from the most popular games of years past.

Now, for the first time since elementary school, you can proudly wear Mario on your shirt again. Except this time, Mario is offering "mustache rides." Or offering to clean your pipes. Or offering not so subtle drug references on your boxers.

Back then, Mario was your digital best friend. Today, Mario is your homeboy.

(full article)

February 17, 2006

Infinite Princesses

Filed under: > Published, } Escapist, ) Video Games, ] Editorials/Columns

A lot is made these days about the new social revolution in videogames. The conventional wisdom goes something like this: Games used to mainly be a solitary experience for socially reclusive, nerdy kids who preferred sitting in a dark basement to interacting with the outside world, but today’s online first-person shooters and massively multiplayer RPGs allow gamers to come out of the basement and forge relationships in the warm cathode light of LAN parties and dungeon raids.

Anyone who actually grew up with games knows this is a bunch of hooey. Social interaction has always been a part of gaming. From drunken frat boys betting on Pong tournaments to school kids fighting side by side as Ninja Turtles to crowds of eager teens placing their coins on a weathered Street Fighter 2 cabinet, the socializing influence of multiplayer games predates recent telecommunications advances by decades.

But discussions of the deep, personal connections that can be made through multiplayer gaming usually gloss over the deep, personal connections that

can also be made through single player gaming. In fact, one single player game in particular helped me connect to two of the most important people in my life - and I didn’t even realize it until I played Super Mario 64 DS.

(full article)

August 2, 2005

Dance with Intensity

Filed under: > Published, } Escapist, ) Video Games, ] Editorials/Columns

I was almost a world-famous game designer.

Well, world famous might be a bit of a stretch. "Certain-parts-of-the-Internet" famous might be more accurate. And I didn’t really design a whole game, I just designed some files that modified an existing game. Also, none of my modifications were ever released to the public.

Like I said: "almost."

(full article)

July 26, 2005

A Horse of a Different Color

Filed under: > Published, ] News/Features, } Escapist, ) Video Games

Heather Dubé knows horse racing inside and out. In her short career she has done it all: picking out sires and dams to produce winning foals; working her horses through a specialized training regimen; and selecting carefully controlled diets to maximize her steeds’ potential. Heather even serves as the jockey, utilizing an early whipping strategy that she says "leaves them in the dust in the end."

Heather’s latest horse, a chestnut-colored thoroughbred named Crypto’s Fate, has gotten most of Heather’s attention recently, and has quickly become her favorite. Crypto’s Fate has only won six of his 33 races, but Heather has plenty of time to improve her skills. After all, she’s only been training horses for two days. She’s 13 years old.

(full article)

« Previous Page —

Get free blog up and running in minutes with Blogsome
Theme designed by Alex King