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jp's Metroid Prime Pinball (DS)
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| [December 22, 2006 11:33:02 PM]
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I've just realized something which is probably as far from profound as you can getyet I felt a need to write it down anyways. It's about the relationship between videogame designs and the hardware they run on.
The design of a particular game will always be influenced and constrained by the hardware it runs on. This seems obvious. You will always be limited by processor speed, memory constraints, etc. However, one of the most important elements is the interface the player will use to interact with the game. This is why the DS is interesting, this is why Wii is exciting, this is why I still enjoy FPS games on the PC. Some games are designed around the interface to take advantage of its affordances. The interface can even define the pleasure of playing a particular game.
However, aside from the interface, are there any other ways in which features of hardware affect gameplay? I'm sure there are more than a few examples... I didn't have any in mind until the other day.
I was playing Metroid Pinball and the phone rang, or something like that, I closed the DS and went to answer. Closing the DS, when playing a DS game, puts the machine in sleep mode. The game is suspended until you open it up again.
I had done this hundreds of times before.. but it wasn't until the other day that I realized what exactly was going on. The DS' hardware lets you pause a game. Almost indefinitely. The hardware was imposing its will on the design of the game...and this was not an issue of interface.
Should I be annoyed that you can't save your game at any time? (you could do this in Pokemon Pinball Advance..) Maybe? The truth is, it doesn't really matter. Should the designers of DS games bother with adding quicksaving features since the hardware has taken that decision out of their hands? Why bother, right?
Sorry for the lame post.. but it was such an "a-ha!" moment for me... ;-)
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| [December 20, 2006 09:53:47 PM]
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I was finally able to get to the artifact temple table (for the 2nd time only) and beat it. Yay!
..and I still don't have an answer to my question: does it end?
The next table is another boss table and I wasn't able to defeat it.. and getting back to that table hasn't been possible yet. But, I'll keep on trying (though I might eventually take a peek at GameFaqs).
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| [December 15, 2006 09:57:12 PM]
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I think I've figured most of this game out by now. Mostly.
When you start, you have two tables to choose from which correspond to locations in Metroid Prime: Tallon Overworld and the Pirate Ship.
Cool.
Each table has different goals and objectives for you to meet. Doing so gains you an "artifact". (same as in the GC game!). I think that after you've gotten a certain number of artifacts, or perhaps done something special on the table, you can teleport to another location. The new location can be either the table you didn't choose in the beginning or a special boss level table! Wow!
Pick a boss table, defeat the boss (by hitting him with the ball when he's vulnerable) and you get to teleport back to a "base table". Keep on going and you can then teleport to the other boss table! Knock this second boss out and you get to teleport to a super-special super-boss(?) table called something like the Artifact Shrine...
I haven't been able to win this table yet...as doing everything else is pretty hard..but...
Could it be that this Pinball game actually has an ending? I really want to know what happens when you win this level...do you just teleport back to the original table? Is there something else? DOES THE GAME END?
This is SO exciting. Metroid Prime Pinball really does innovate what I think is a pretty "stable" genre in gaming. Sure, there is Flipnic which was incredible and Pokemon Pinball also has a special place in my heart (look for the GameLogs!)...but this game is also doing some nifty things I'll talk about later.
But an ending? A real, honest-to-goodness game ending?
Maybe...
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| [December 14, 2006 09:36:25 PM]
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This game rocks. Seriously. Especially if you've played Metroid Prime on the GameCube. Same locations. Same feel... but in pinball? I'm impressed...but I'll have to say why in a little while. ;-)
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jp's Metroid Prime Pinball (DS)
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Current Status: Stopped playing - Got Bored
GameLog started on: Wednesday 6 December, 2006
GameLog closed on: Friday 20 April, 2007 |
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