Do you remember when you were a kid what game system you had?  There weren’t many options that dominated the marketplace like today so I will remind you.  It was probably an Atari 2600!  Those memories are as crystal clear for me.  I was the kid who carried a small to medium sized puke green suitcase covered with the coolest stickers of the era!  (The 80’s were awesome!)  Entertainment central had 2 stressed metal clasps, one on each side,  which I depended on to keep my Atari 2600 and 54 cassette disc’s safe from predators!  Namely skaters, jocks, BMX’ers, surfers (Yeah, I grew up 30miles from the Atlantic ocean) wasteoids, & tweakers.  The neighborhood was rough, much like many a dungeon crawl, I had my secret passages ways that I used to safely traverse to my friends house where we tweaked out all day to a tune of our own .  A tune that consisted mainly of bleeps, blaps, tings, chue chues and the occasional, “I got you bitch!”  Those were the days, and I honestly can’t remember what happened to my massive collection of Atari games.

Those little space ships were so accurate!

I wonder what I could buy with all the quarters I sank into this game?!

So simple, yet so much fun!

Well those days are back again because Atari.com has launched an arcade of old school delight!  No quarters needed in this arcade.  No need to sign up, submit any personal data, and definitely no need to give anyone your credit card information.  It’s free to play, and play I am!  I was good for 129th place in Crystal Castles in my first attempt in over 20 years.  I took 529th place in Asteroids as I was reacquainted with how difficult those blasted tiny spaceships use to be!  Plus, the ever intensifying “Jaws” like audio in the background adds the perfect blend of nerve-racking to the experience.  You just knew they were gonna get you.  What a great game for its time!   I couldn’t even break the top 1000 in Battlezone. The old tank game that was designed with a periscope looking area for targeting in the arcade.  I was never any good at that one anyways!  Yar’s Revenge, I was good for 123rd place and I actually thought I was on fire having killed Yar 6 times in my first attempt in decades.  Lunar Lander is an exercise in precision and frustration.  I could never land the spaceship without blowing it up, and it seems some things never change.  They designed it way to fragile for my taste.  Even if you were a child of this era you probably don’t remember some of these game titles, but the second you hit start it will all come back to you.

The only downside to this great discovery is there is only 6 games available to play at this time.  I had 54 Atari cassette disc’s and I use to horde them like gold bars.  The worst game I can remember was ET.  The movie that never came out on VHS for years and years.  Well, compared to today’s movies, it stank, but for it’s time we were all in awe.  More to the point, they made a game about it and it is #1 in my list of worst Atari games ever made.  Back then, I couldn’t give that game away! Fortunately, this game isn’t available in the arcade. In retrospect, a lot of these games were so simple so extremely linear against today’s games. Playing through a few games of Asteroids has renewed respect for the arcade classic and hall of fame game! Hopefully,  Atari will release more games to the arcade, but please don’t release any of the Mr. Do’s series because I will never get anything done then! Suddenly I am craving a root-beer float from Frisch’s Big Boy!

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Ok, so who cares that there is still a month plus in the year. There is really no need to wait on this one.  Tim Langdell, the CEO of  developer/publisher Edge Games is Pinhead of the Year!  (Calling Edge games a developer is blasphemy!  Noting that they are a publisher still is an attempt to ride the coat tails of an industry that has left “Edge Games” in the dust!)

Tim AKA "Slimy" Langdell is Pinhead of 2009

Immoral monster of no conscience

Where Tim Langdell is no Bernie Madoff,  stocks and bonds are not near and dear to my heart.  However, video games, and even more to the point, independent developers are!  What this snake oil salesman (allegedly) has done over the years is reprehensible, legal or not!  Until recently, and I mean 7:49pm earlier tonight, (11/22)I had no clue who Tim Langdell was.  I admit, I missed the initial story when it broke earlier this year in May, and I have been out of touch with my indie circles. What I do have is a solid understanding of the facts reported, via respected & credible writers, blogger’s, and indie developers I follow, namely Adam “Atomic” Saltsman, Derek Yu, &  Stephen Jacobs and other credible sources like Gamasutra, Eurogamer, & TIGSource.

Like a domain squatter that watches to see who will become the next Tim Tebo only to scoop up that athletes domain name, and any marketable or catchy derivation of it in an attempt to cash in for a big payday on the strength of another’s accomplishments, Tim Langdell sits and wait’s for some unknowing developer to create a game, become “ready to market”, and advance the game with word “Edge” in the title-allegedly.  It is at this time right before release when so much has been set in stone that Tim, CEO of Edge Games, a company located in California, sends notice of trademark infringement and alleged notice of pending lawsuit-allegedly.    What is the intent here?  The law makes the holder of a trademark act “vigilant” in its defense of it.  As an owner of intellectual property, I can respect that.  However, it doesn’t  really stop there.  This is not honest defense! No, the intent is clear, and seemingly Tim has made a successful career of bending people over at the pulpit-metaphorically speaking of course-allegedly.  His threats are simply about messing up a game’s timing during its main revenue period.  Then leaving people to either cough up some cash for a license or to pay him off with a credit in the title,  a royalty agreement, or any creative compensation package that allows them to get to market, and him to make a quick buck- I think we have a lucrative revenue stream here!  A careful calculation of what it may cost a company to repackage/re-market/re-brand, and perhaps even re-develop changes is your target payoff here.  One could easily develop a consistent formula for determining that.  What are your choices as a publisher or worse yet, as an independent developer: Play ball or cripple your chances of success.  Trademark hearings are administrative and very long and drawn out, and it should be noted that Edge Games have not developed anything to completion since the 8-bit days and look more like a company that chases trademark infringements rather than a publisher or developer of video games.  Someone needs to tell them they left their website back in 1989.

Get your game to market as quickly as possible! -Truer words have never been spoken by any self-respecting publisher.   One such independent UK developer Mobigames and credible individual David Papazian  has spent a good portion of the 2009 calendar year on a roller coaster ride wrestling with the question of “vigilant defense” or  “malicious intent”.   It is very hard not to see the latter.  Defense of what?  One would think a company needs to be actively producing “their own” works  with a trademark, however, everything I find relative to “Edge” is acquired via an infringement settlement.  In this dispute with Mobigames over their game “Edge”, Mobigames offered to change the name of the game to “Edgy”  which Tim quickly applied for a Trademark.  Shockingly backhanded!  I checked and found a mark filed on May 16th and then abandoned on August 3rd for “Edgy” by (APPLICANT) Edge Games Inc CORPORATION CALIFORNIA 530 South Lake Avenue, Ste 171 Pasadena CALIFORNIA 91101.  No doubt the address of a huge, plush video game publishing giant of “several” hundred games like Edge Games right?!  Wrong!

You have arrived at Edge Games, err Mail Box Planet-Photo by Brian Beuken

What’s even a bit more disturbing is Tim was on the board of directors for the IGDA (International Game Developers Association).  An association I am very familiar with and have been a part of on and off again for the last 9 years.  I have not paid my 50$ dues in 2 years so I presently can make no waves about his presence within that organization or their responsibility to know who their executive officer’s really are.  That being said, it’s not the first time a wolf slipped into the hen house dressed as a rooster, and probably won’t be the last!  The irony is the IGDA is an organization in support of the indie developer, and good people like Tom Buscaglia who fought for me and my group of independent developers in 2003, got caught on the wrong side of the fence on this one. It happens to the best of us!

Tom has been a voice in the industry for independent developers.

Let me just say that of all the individuals I have mentioned in this post, I know Tom personally.  As a green independent developer shopping his companies western shooter and game treatment at the GDC & E3 in 2003, Tom Buscaglia was there to make sure we came out on top with are limbs intact.  They say you get screwed on your first deal.  I say as an independent developer, “I’d rather have Tom than not!”  Tom set up meetings with agents, confidential showings with publishers, and worked as the catalyst for serious networking!  We never had to pay a single dollar for his advice & legal guidance because we were on a contingency fee set-up and didn’t get picked up, (and not the standard ambulance chaser’s contingency fee arrangement where their getting 30% and 40% if they goto court-It was about helping us make it, not about him getting paid.) but Tom didn’t walk away.  He continued to invest his time and money in not only my studio, but other studios of the independent nature trying to also break through.  I would be happy to answer any questions in regards to Tom’s credibility.  Feel free to email me at mindflyer@ezgamerz.com.  Tom is a fair guy, and perhaps he is only guilty of protecting the IGDA  and a colleague who was really a wolf (allegedly)covered in the shroud of the IGDA.  After all, love is blind is it not?  I know Tom loves this industry and has always stood for, and represented, the small guy!  Fortunately for Tom and everyone in the IGDA, Mr. Langdell resigned on August 31st from the IGDA, before he could be ousted by a majority vote.

The light at the end of the tunnel may be that gaming giant Electronic Arts is now involved and filed a petition to have Edge Games various trademarks canceled.  If it’s a question of deep pockets and patience, I think Edge Games may finally have met their match.

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"RBI Baseball", because, we weren't as "title" creative back then!

…And the winner is  RBI Baseball

Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco, Tengen
Platform: Nintendo NES
Release Date: 1988
Genre: Sports
Mode: Single Player, Multiplayer
Media: 768-kilo bit cartridge

As the official sports corespondent for ezGamerz.com, I will from time to time be giving  you my personal list of the greatest sports games of all time.  Let me first say that baseball is my favorite sport.  It always has been, and it always will be.   It is much like a slow paced game of chess during lazy afternoons in the dog days of summer.  Walking into a baseball stadium is a surreal experience.   Seeing the green of the grass, hearing the sounds of the game, and paying for that overpriced ballpark hot dog is one of the finest things in life.  When we were kids we spent all our summer days either playing baseball, or playing baseball  games (at least I did). Remembering back to the earliest games, we had to create our own names for the players and keep our own statistics. Then came the first great baseball game:  R.B.I. Baseball from Tengen for the Nintendo NES.

When this game was released in 1988 it was a game that turned the tide for sports games on consoles.  It was the first game to get permission from th MLBPA(Major League Baseball Players Association) to use the players actual names in games.  While MLB was to slow to jump on board causing the team names and uniforms to be generic, the MLBPA was way ahead of the game.  The user, if they were lucky enough to have their favorite team included in the game, could finally see their  favorite players name on the big screen in a video game.

Players names in the game first happened in RBI Baseball

The game consisted of 10 teams the playoff teams from 1986-87 and two all-star teams.  The American League teams consisted of Boston, Detroit, Minnesota , and California. The National League was represented by New York, Houston, St. Louis, and San Fransisco. The two all star teams one for each league held the best players from the rest of the league, which meant players that favorite team wasn’t in the game they could still play with their favorite player.  The two all-star teams mixed a list of superstars like Cal Ripken and Mike Schmidt, but it also had rising star in Mark McGwire and Benito Santiago.(he didn’t end up being much of a star but he was the rookie of the year when the game came out and a big deal at the time)

The game play was like driving a new car.  The players had in game characteristics that actually matched who they were in real life.  A defensive player knew if Vince Coleman hit the ball on the ground he wasn’t going to be thrown out.  Equally important, unless you were lucky enough to trick your friend into getting picked off he was also going to steal second with Vince Coleman every single time he reached first.  If you selected the Houston Astros you could play as the “Ryan Express” and in the first couple of innings Nolan Ryan would have a fastball that could hit triple digits.  The team you played with dictated the type of game you wanted to play. The Al teams tendencies leaned towards simply beating the cover off the ball whereas the NL teams, especially St. Louis, would kill you on the base paths and play small ball. (My how things really haven’t changed in 21 years.)  This game brought a whole new level to competitive play with pitching that if you weren’t  patient, was near un-hittable. The fielding was a little on the generic side without independent player movement, (think of your outfielders and infielders being more like on a foosball rail) but still an upgrade from previous games attempts.  The music even added to the feel with a upbeat tune when the bases were empty, and a more ominous melody when a runner reached base. The only downside was statics were not tracked for the individual player.  However,  you could still do it yourself and we did until games got that right to. (more on that at a later date.)

This Game Rocked!

Hence,  my first induction into King Heff’s Sports Game Hall of Fame is R.B.I. Baseball. This game was the trend setter for all the sports games to follow.  It brought personality to the game more and above  just random blips on a screen. While there were subsequent sequels, none topped the original game for opening a whole new world of fun to the sports gamer. I challenge anyone to play this game against a friend even today and tell me its not still as fun as it used to be. Yes, sometimes simpler doesn’t always mean less enjoyment.

If you have any nominees for my HOF, please comment below, or if you think you have a better selection, don’t hesitate to state your case!

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The King of Action Super Stars has Returned!

That’s right your friendly neighborhood Aikido Grand Master, and a better actor than Tom Cruise any day of the week,  is back.  Tonight only is an online screening of the back to back premiere episode set to air Dec 2nd.  You can watch the screening tonight at 8pm at A&E’s website. (and if I didn’t have to personally coach a little league game tonight, I’d be declaring Marshall law of quietness as I line up the Fam’ on the couch for some real entertainment!)  Yes, I know it gonna air again on Dec 2nd on A&E, so yes, if you miss it you can see it again in its entirety then.  If you’re a Seagal fan, (Who isn’t a Seagal fan?  Where are these people?) tonight should bring a smile to your face.  We never got to see Seagal whoop John Claude Van Damme’s butt in a feature film (and we know Van Damme would have no chance in real life), but who would have thought we would see Seagal, a fully commissioned veteran deputy for almost 20 years with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana in action taking down the bad guy for real!  What a treat!

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The widely reported rumor of Pandemic Studios closure has come to pass. As Ben Fritz of the LA Times reports, the Westwood studio will be closed by parent company Electronic Arts (EA), sending roughly 200 employees packing. It is expected that 25 or so of the company’s employees will make a transition to EA’s other LA studio in Playa Vista.

With EA experiencing heavy financial losses last quarter it is not surprising that they are tightening their belt. The Pandemic closure and 200 employee layoff is part of wider cuts that put the total headcount at around 1,500 employees. Included in those leaving Pandemic and EA behind are company co-founders Andrew Goldman and Josh Resnick. Good luck to them and the rest of their staff.

Hmm...maybe Lehman Brothers should have been a clue.

In a story from Luke Plunkett over at Kotaku, there are rumors floating around that Pandemic Studios will close its doors today. Pandemic, responsible for successful titles such as Full Spectrum Warrior and Star Wars: Battlefront, was part of the EA acquisition of VG Holding Corp. (parent company for both Pandemic and BioWare) back in October 2007.

Speculation is that the rumor is coming from the inside and that the 200 or so employees scheduled to be sacked at 11am PST today are already aware of their fate. Unnamed sources go on to say that the company’s intellectual property will be transferred to EA Montreal. This would include the under-development title The Saboteur.

Everyone is checking sources and trying to identify a definitive answer on this. If we get word that it is indeed true, we’ll let you know. Keep your ears on.

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Beta access keys for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 are now available through FilePlanet. A few stipulations…this is a Playstation 3 beta, so you must have a PSN account. Also, this is only being offered to subscribers of the FilePlant service. Registration is free, so it’s not really a huge deal. If you are already subscribed, rock and roll. If not, there will be registration buttons handy.

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"Sunny day, sweepin' the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet..."

So, last week marked the 40th anniversary of the time-honored kids’ classic Sesame Street. It was a favorite of mine when I was knee-high to a gnat’s ass and it remains a staple of the PBS lineup. And, it was only a few months back that we were graced with the newest installment in Capcom’s groundbreaking fighter series, Street Fighter. As I wrapped my brain around these two events, everything became very, very clear to me (It doesn’t happen very often, so stick with me). I began to wonder why no development houses had jumped on this concept. Sure, sure, we’re talking about two big-name brands here. But I’m telling you, it would be golden…

Sesame Street Fighter?

Yes, there was actually a Street Fighter game before Street Fighter II

Think about it. Sesame Street has been inspiring and educating children since 1969. Street Fighter has been blistering the fingers of fighting game fanatics worldwide since 1987 (Remember Ryu’s devastating Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku?). Two storied franchises. Two giants in their respective genres, both capable of drawing millions. What if we put the two together and delivered some truly ass-kicking fighter action with the characters from Sesame Street? Yeah, that’s right. Stand and behold…Sesame Street Fighter!

Pure, unadulterated carnage – kids’ classic style!

Seriously, who wouldn’t get behind some good, ol’ fashioned fisticuffs between our favorite furry, fanged and feathered friends? Oscar the Grouch and his trash can lids, Cookie Monster and his…well…cookies. Big Bird, The Count…and don’t forget Elmo. Close your eyes and listen.

Kung-fu Elmo poised to strike. Solid crane technique, Elmo.

Can you hear it? I know you can: “Super dynamic cooking time!” in that unmistakable high-pitched Elmo squeak. Although, we would probably want to change his catchprase to something a bit more appropriate. I’m thinking “Tickle This!” or “Tickle me now, punk!”. I’m clearly no expert on effective catchphrases, but you get the picture. And make sure to be nimble when squaring off against Mr. Snuffleupagus lest you find yourself smashed to pieces by his “Thunder Trunk”. The possibilities for designing a heart-pounding, white-knuckle ride through our childhood are endless, really. The only barrier being our imagination. That and maybe some corporate muckety-mucks who will probably piss and moan about “brand integrity”. Pfft.

Happy to help

The ezGamerz Crew is willing to assist Capcom, PBS or any independent development houses that are prepared to begin work on this project. Representatives or eager fans are welcome to reach out to us through the ezGamerz Contact Form for more details. We’ve already taken the liberty of auditioning some voice actors for Bert & Ernie and next on the list is to put a call in to Todd McFarland to get crackin’ the the Kung-fu Elmo and Oscar the Battle Grouch action figures. We’ll take pre-orders.

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A Little History

I’ve been a gaming fanatic since I was a little kid. If my mom can dig it out of the family archives, in a future post I’ll show a Christmas picture of me at 3 years old – one foot planted firmly on the hearth of our home in Virginia, one hand placed gently on a big box with huge block letters that read, “COMPUTER GAMING SYSTEM”.

The Atari 2600 was just hitting the scene (in a tough Christmas season for the video game industry) and Intellivision and ColecoVision were still on the horizon. But, my parents clearly saw something in me that made them pick up my beloved COMPUTER GAMING SYSTEM, despite the dearth of product offerings.

But, I digress. I’ll delve into my love affair with video games at a later date. I point it out here in an effort to set the stage and demonstrate the depth of my passion. A passion which is only rivaled by one other love – that which I have for my beautiful wife Jennifer and my four boys – Dalton, Hunter, Parker and Connor. So, imagine my dismay when I realized early on that Jennifer was not a fan of video games. I suppose I can’t really blame her. After all, she didn’t have a guide of my caliber to explain why they are so freakin’ cool.

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

It wasn’t until our oldest son expressed an interest in trying out some online games that the tide began to turn. Deciding that my son was still too young to get into some of the more socially advanced MMOs (WoW, Everquest, EO, DAoC, AO, et.al.) but not wanting to curb his enthusiasm, I opted for an account with Pirates of the Caribbean Online. Disney, right? Safe enough. And off he went. Naturally, I created a character to see what I was getting my son into. We enjoyed several nights sitting down together talking through the basics: character creation, questing, skill progression, loot, grouping. He caught on quickly and before long was showing me where to go to complete quests. Since I couldn’t be around all the time while my son played, my wife picked up monitoring duties and it was that parental concern that finally opened the door for her.

“I think I’ll create a character so that I can see what this is all about,” she said. “I want to know what he’s [our son] talking about.”

“Sure,” I replied, “that sounds like a great idea.”

My wife was hooked. And it wasn’t more than a few weeks before she’d outgrown the simplistic gameplay of Pirates (although, the cooperative ship combat was pretty cool – post for another day).

Hook, Line and Sinker

She wanted something more challenging. Something more engaging. So Pirates was followed by a string of more mature online titles, including: Age of Conan, Everquest II and Vanguard. For Jennifer, each had its pros and cons, but nothing really hit the mark. Until…yeah…you guessed it.

I started my WoW account in November of 2004, but I’d been on hiatus for about a year, since November of 2007. When all this went down it was November of 2008.

Now, it’s October of 2009 and she is still going strong (with more 80s than I have). And it just dawned on me today how converted she is when she peeked her head over her monitor, smiled that beautiful smile, and said,

“Honey…I just found an add-on that you HAVE to check out! Now I can find all the rares in a zone through an overlay to my mini-map.”

12 months ago…if I had said that to her…she would have looked at me like I was speaking an obscure foreign language.

Life is good. My wife kicks ass.