Awesome Nintendo announcements from E3!

E3 is always such a crowded, messy in-take of information. Among the main presentations, companies are also releasing little bits of information in other places online. It's difficult to keep up with everything! Nintendo had a great presentation though, so why don't we focus on that?

I thought it was pretty strong, they hit a lot of important marks! There was plenty of information on the Wii U, as well as exciting new titles for both the in-depth gamer and the casual ones. It's difficult to attempt to keep up with the expectations of the crowds, but they did it. The lack of information about the 3DS would have been more upsetting were they not doing a dedicated presentation tonight at six pm.

Let's look at the 3DS aspect of the presentation.

In the ten minutes given, audiences were shown New Super Mario Bros. 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, and more. Nintendo is rolling out the punches to create a stellar line of games, and they are really catering to the needs of 3DS gamers. It's particularly exciting that, after all these years, the Mickey "Illusion" series is getting a re-boot. Even though Epic Mickey for the Wii didn't do particularly well, we can thank its presence for this coming 3DS title!

Two side notes: the 'Sticker Star' subtitle for Paper Mario feels very cheap to me. It provides no real insight as to the game's story (like 'The Thousand Year Door' subtitle did for the Gamecube version), and instead is a call-to-attention of the series's newest feature: collecting and using stickers for battle. It certainly looks interesting, and I'm glad that for the 3DS version the turn-based battle is making a comeback, but only time will tell if the stickers are a gimmick or a beneficial battle system.

A setup well suited to the 3DS. Source.

We were given a few demonstrations of the Wii U's capabilities, including a fairly comprehensive video of the newly redesigned controller. Unfortunately, Nintendo's presentation didn't eliminate all existing doubt; the controller simply seems too bulky. In every demonstration video it seemed that the players had to reach uncomfortably to access the touch screen with their thumbs. This doesn't seem all that different from the way people handle tablet devices, and the issue is that maneuvering tablets can be uncomfortable. How long will it be until hand fatigue sets in during attempted lengthy gaming sessions?

Considering the array of involving, mature rated titles that are slated for Wii U release I can see hand cramping or Wii U gamepad weight becoming an issue. Hopefully these concerns end up non-existent, because it would sure be frustrating to have to stop mid-Assassin's Creed or Batman adventure! Or, worse than that, what if a hand cramp sets in and spasms start in the middle of playing ZombiU? There would be many angry zombified gamers out there.

Wait, wait, do over! I wasn't ready! Source.

Some final thoughts on the presentation: NintendoLand looks like the perfect way to get new Wii U owners comfortable and acquainted with the Wii U's capabilities and controls. Whether or not it will be available on the system at launch remains to be seen. The system's ability to transfer the gaming action to the Wii U gamepad is a great feature, which must mean the screen is pretty stellar, and it's something that I wish had existed on previous consoles. I can't count how many times I've been kicked off a TV so that someone could watch football. Pah.

Oh, and baby Yoshis again? Yes, please! Source.

What's your favorite E3 announcement so far?

-MJ

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Aggression from gaming, or aggression from losing?

Recently I've been playing a lot of Kingdom Rush, and it plucks heavily at my stress/aggression mind strings. I generally don't play tower defense titles because they become exponentially difficult and the repeated attempts to win, causing repeated failures, makes me extremely flustered.

Whenever video games get me angry I can't help but think of the multitude of articles linking aggression to violent games. I get a little curious and confused though, because non-violent games can cause aggression, too.

It's the act of winning that humans crave, and video games involve winning. All games have goals to achieve, finishing lines to cross, and/or enemies to beat. People play games as a hobby, but also to win. We do most things to win; we're a goal oriented species.

So I believe it's the losing, or nearly losing, that causes the stress, anger, and aggression. Therefore, even the most innocuous of games can cause aggression. As an example, let's look at Animal Crossing!

Happy, rainbow, talking animals and flowers. Oh yes. Source.

Animal Crossing is an extremely low key game. There's not really a way to win in the traditional sense, but there are tons of goals. However, there are no time limits for these goals. The entire game goes at the player's chosen speed, and all is well and dandy and full of flowers.

There are tiny, potential wins embedded in the game: if one is trying to catch all of the fish or all of the bugs, and they repeatedly fail to catch a rare bug, then that can cause stress, frustration or even aggression. In trying to catch the rare bug, a goal has been set, and suddenly winning or losing becomes a reality in this otherwise goal-less game. (I love Animal Crossing, I'm not trying to bash it.)

Studies always focus on overtly aggressive games, such as first person shooters. I am positing that these games can cause aggression more often not because they're violent, but because they're heaped with goals and constant opportunities to win and lose.

You encounter a player of the opposing team? It's win or lose time. And you

are always up against the opposite team. Duh. Source.

The greater number of win/lose scenarios, the more opportunities for losing and subsequent stress, frustration or aggression. We are hard wired to set goals and to achieve them; we want to win!

I know the desire to win quite well because of the fact that I lose so often. And I've never been a good loser. This is the main reason that I avoid shooters, racing games and tower defenses. They are riddled with opportunities to lose, and I know that I become stressed, frustrated and want-to-throw-things aggressive when I lose, and lose repeatedly at that.

I prefer to be a happy gamer! I fill my gaming time with Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Zelda, and Mario. While Zelda and Mario are goal oriented games, they present a gameplay that spaces out the win/lose goals, which makes them more palatable. Open-ended titles such as Skyrim and Fallout also provide enough options that the player can stray away from the goals and do something else in-game if they feel stress or aggression rising in them.

What do you all think? Do you feel that aggression in gaming only comes from violent titles, or do you believe that it is more involved with the frustration/disappointment associated with losing?

More importantly, how do you deal with losing repeatedly at a video game? I hope it's not throwing things! :D

-MJ

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'My Neighbor Totoro' paper sculpt!

Heyo! Here's my finalized 'My Neighbor Totoro' paper sculpt! It took me the better part of three days and I could not be happier with it! I talk about it a bit in my most recent video, and photographic reproductions of it are now available for sale in my Etsy shop!

Paper sculpting is a relatively new interest for me, but I already feel so much happiness and satisfaction from it. I have a new piece in the works that I can't wait to reveal to everyone! In the meantime, enjoy these in-progress and finished photos of my Totoro piece. 

All the love to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli for creating such a magical film!

-MJ

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Will E3 put our collective Wii U doubts to rest?

So E3 is happening next week, and the internet world could not be more excited. Don't believe me? Try to find some gaming news that isn't related to E3. I've found that it's not possible. As per usual, my eyes are trained on the Nintendo press event that's happening on Tuesday at 9am.

They even sent me this great reminder e-mail. What a nice company!

I hear that there will be a new Mario game coinciding with the Wii U's launch; maybe we'll see a little of that? Also, it really wouldn't be a Nintendo E3 presentation without some sort of Zelda announcement. I'd love to know if all of the Zelda tech demos used for Wii U images will be transferred to an actual game. The spider looks pretty cool!

More than information about the Wii U, I want some release dates for my most anticipated 3DS games! That's right, I'm talkin' about Paper Mario, Animal Crossing, Professor Layton, and Luigi's Mansion. When OH WHEN will I have a beautiful and portable Paper Mario?

The palms of my hands will never be happier. Source.

Alright, I'm back to thinking about the Wii U already. My unbridled fandom for Nintendo has me hyped and excited and simultaneously extremely wary. This has happened with each launch since the original DS. One would think that by now I'd relax and learn to trust the masterminds, but doubt nudges in no matter what.

Wii U skepticism has run rampant since its initial announcement. And why is that? From a young age we're incredibly gullible, believing every fantastical thing we hear. The more outlandish and exciting, the better. Eventually, we grow wise to the stories and we realize that they are mostly untrue. This translates well to technological innovations: the Wii U has many amazing, wild features, some seem too good to be true, and more than that, too unusual to be possible. The knee-jerk reaction is, "Wow, that'd be so cool!" and then we quickly go, "...wait, how would that work? I need more information, I don't want to be let down."

They insist that it's true. Maybe they should send out demo systems to households! Source.

I'm ready for Nintendo to provide the information necessary so that the gaming community at large can stop spewing doubt and uncertainty. And confusion. Dammit Nintendo, stop keeping your newest system shrouded in mystery!

Are there any announcements that you're excited for?

-MJ

P.S. - Beyond Good & Evil 2 announcement, please!

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Buffy and Whedon - the power of talented writing.

When I was much younger, my sister and I really enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The movie. I'll pause a moment for you to unleash a comedic snort, because whenever I tell that to people in person they need a moment to recover.

After all these years, I'm finally watching the series.

Willow is telling the world for me. Source.

Full disclosure: it makes me cry. I start to tear up almost every time Buffy cries about Angel, and whenever Willow cries. Also, I love Willow far too much. This show makes me insanely emotional and exhausted. I've watched through Season three and when all that nonsense with Faith and Angel happened I wanted to scream and stop watching the show.

Whedon yanks around the audience so hard that I want to write him a stern letter regarding the consequences of playing with my heart. And in the moments where I feel so fed up with all of the emotion that I want to rage-quit the show, I have to take a moment to appreciate just how brilliant the writing is.

I wouldn't be nearly so wound up if it weren't for the amazing character development and the writing. Whenever the opening credits say that Whedon wrote the story, then I know I am in for some seriously crazy happenings.

This, for example. Are you looking at it? You'd better be, because this image

was terrifying to look at during my Google image search. *shudder* Source.

As I become introduced to more of Joss Whedon's work I am faced with irrefutable proof of incredibly intelligent storytelling. Whenever I've tried to write my own stories I run into a pretty serious problem: I cannot hurt my characters. I want nothing more than for them to be happy, content imagined beings. I'm sure it's easy to realize that this makes for uninteresting characters and a non-existent story.

Whedon tortures me though. He tortures me as he tortures his characters and I want to thank him for that. He has opened my eyes to a better world of storytelling and I feel so disgusted with all of the poorly written books I've read and movies I've watched.

Once I'm finished with Buffy I'll be excitedly moving on to Dollhouse and Firefly. I incur shame from all of my Whedonite friends whenever I admit that I haven't watched Firefly, but I believe it'll make things that much more exciting when I finally watch the series and then Serenity! Gosh I'm so pumped just thinking about it. His predilection for strong female characters is a huge draw as well.

The lady on the left looks pretty strong. I hope I won't be disappointed! Source.

This world has a serious shortage of brilliant writing. What's more is that when brilliant writing comes along it is so often cut short. It makes me incredibly sad and frustrated that true creativity is stifled in the mainstream because it's not, well, mainstream enough. Damn the mainstream; creativity and boldness is important!

As a final note to this completely all over the place write-up on how fantastic Joss Whedon is, I want to say that The Avengers was -amazing-. So many comic book movies completely tank because whoever is in charge of translating them from print to screen doesn't understand how to take the hyperbole of comic books and make the movie both slightly realistic and incredibly interesting.

Aside from Whedon, does anyone out there have any writers whose work they really love?

-MJ

P.S. I want to note that although I love his writing, it can sometimes be too smart for its own good. Most people simply aren't that snappy, smart, or fast when they're talking. I continue to be amused by it though! Maybe one day I'll have an amazing back and forth with someone the way Cordelia and Xandre do.

Someday...

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50 years of Spider-man.

I didn't realize it, but this August Spider-man turns fifty! While I was at WonderCon I attended a Marvel presentation about upcoming projects and story arcs, and there was a brief interlude where audience members asked tons of questions regarding Spider-man's half-a-century celebration.

He looks great for his age, don't you think?

The panel members couldn't give out any specifics, but they heavily hinted at many exciting projects. They did show off some intriguing teaser posters for Spider-men, though! My mind was definitely reeling. Who would the other spider-man be? Would it involve Peter Parker? Would it be set in the Amazing or the Ultimate universe? Was the use of "men" a trick, meaning the second person would be female? Would we all be completely blown away and discover that the second spider-man was a real spider?!

Fortunately for me, the announcement didn't include giant spiders. Spider-men will feature Peter Parker and Miles Morales teaming up together! Color me pleased about a universe cross-over! Spider-men will be a five issue mini-series starting this summer. It looks as though there will be a few other special releases as well. Time to celebrate!

Those costumes look great together. Source.

Is anyone planning their own Spider-man parties?

Should I should plan a Spider-man party?!

What kind of things could I do to make it decidedly Spider-man-y? Could I make cupcakes with the Spider-man mask? Maybe buy a lot of silly string? How about a marathon reading of Ultimate Spider-man?!

This sounds like a great party so far. Does anyone want to come? No? Well, I understand, you're all pretty far away, I wouldn't want to drive that far either! And with gas prices so high? No no, we'll just webcam instead. Make sure you have something Spider-man related going on on your end, though.

The planning has started.

In the meantime, I'll be figuring out where I left off in Ultimate Spider-man, looking up cupcake decorating tips (because there's no way I could pull off my wicked awesome ideas), and counting down the days until Amazing Spider-man is released in theatres. Who else is excited?!

-MJ

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Archery - the baddest of asses.

When I was twelve I played Ocarina of Time for the first of many, many times. Some of my fondest memories involve Link, Epona, our trusty bow and arrow, and the shooting range in Gerudo Valley. I felt inexplicably awesome in those moments, and I daydreamed of eventually learning archery myself. Maybe even some horseback riding! But that's a different story.

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] I feel more inspired already.[/caption]

 

When I was fifteen I read Fellowship of the Rings, then saw the movie later that year, and fell in enamored fascination with Legolas and his unrivaled archery skills. I remembered how I felt three years prior playing Ocarina of Time, and I shoveled even more resolve into learning the ancient skill myself.

 

On a smaller scale, The Princess Diaries played a brief interlude in my ongoing interest in archery. You remember that scene where she has to shoot the flaming arrow through the hoop to represent love? Yeah, that was cool.

 

This past year has presented a huge push, and by huge push I mean my 'learn archery' buttons are being rapidly jammed on like a twelve year old with a new drum set, with the presence of Katniss and now Merida.

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] I hope that learning archery will make me look more intense and deranged in addition to totally awesome.[/caption]

 

So, to make sure we're all keeping count, that makes two strong male representatives, and now two strong female representatives encouraging me to go after a fourteen year long aspiration.

 

How does everyone feel about the archery push? Does it feel overplayed? Is it under-represented? Is anyone upset that I didn't bring up Hawkeye? Does anyone out there practice archery themselves?

 

A few weeks ago I saw a video from the professional archery people, I forget what they're called and I can't remember where to find the video. This is some grade A journalism, right? Anyway, the representative mentioned that there had been a huge spike in popularity and it was largely attributed to The Hunger Games. This I find pretty awesome! Katniss is, comparatively speaking, a really great role model for young women. She's strong, she has her own set of issues. She's determined and amazing with a bow and arrow. Katniss is not without fault, of course, but this is about her archery skills, not her personality.

 

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] She just looks so intense and distorted. I hear that means she has good form![/caption]

 

It's made me wonder if the spike will continue... spiking, or if there will be an even larger spike once Brave hits theatres. Merida looks to be another phenomenal bow toting character and I am really excited to see how her story plays out. I find it fantastic that there are more and more powerful female leads to choose from. And to me I think it's even better that they use bows and not guns. Guns don't seem as badass as archery. Perhaps it's because archery is so much older... I'll think on this and get back to you.

 

It's unfortunate that I've never had lessons myself, but there weren't exactly places to learn where I grew up. But! Apparently there is an amazing archery range in Santa Monica that offers lessons, and there are even days where I can go and practice for free!

 

I've seen a few places online that are a bit grumbly toward the "hunger games/brave" crowd for mucking up their beloved archery. I can sympathize with half-hearted interests threatening to engulf a true love, but some people will develop legitimate, life-long interests from Hunger Games and Brave. I hope that, when the day comes that I finally learn archery, I will be met with bows not drawn.

 

-MJ

 

header image from here

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