Are You Hunting Easter Eggs Today?

Happy Easter everyone, today I am writing a short article about what Easter Eggs mean to gamers.  Traditionally on this day regular, decorated eggs are placed in hiding for children to enjoy trying to find.  In video gaming it is something completely different.  Easter eggs refer to a hidden material inside a video game that developers include, usually for their own amusement.

The idea of the Easter egg dates back to the Atari 2600's Adventure from 1979.  Adventure's programmer Warren Robinett added his own name to a screen in the game as a statement that developers don't receive attention for their work.  Since then there have been a number of inside jokes, political statements, and other oddities of gaming included with a variety of different titles.  While I will cover many of these in the future, I will start by highlighting the most infamous of Easter eggs for this fine Easter evening.

The Grand Theft Auto series didn't give a shortage of those that hate video gaming a reason to be quiet.  The surprising violent, sexual, and adult themed references often don't sit well with parents who feel that only children play games and a market for adult themed games is out of line.  That didn't stop Rockstar Games into including a crazy easter egg that was never supposed to see the light of day.

1994's GTA San Andreas was the game that included the infamous "Hot Coffee" Easter egg.  The game's playable character, Carl Johnson had the potential to have six girlfriends around San Andreas.  There was a small minigame revolved around dating.  The whole sequence was tame compared to what happened if you drove a prostitute to a secluded location.

This all changed when the PC version came out.  Since PC games allow for anyone to see into the source code of the game, anyone can release mods for these games by making changes to this code and releasing it.    A mod known as the "Hot Coffee Mod" was released.  This mod changed the potential of the ends of these dates.  If the date goes well Carl will be invited in for hot coffee.  What follows was a full on sex scene minigame.

Rockstar initially claimed that the entire sequence had been added by the modders.  The modders came back by claiming that only one bit of information needed to be changed to achieve the hot coffee sequence.  It was also revealed that the rouge code was included with the console versions of the game as well.  This meant the game was released to the public still containing the code.  Since the code was disabled and not removed the video game rating board still requires that all coding included in a final version be submitted for review.  Since the inclusion of a full on sex scene coded into the game would change the game's rating to an Adults Only rating from the the Mature rating it received, it was immediately pulled from shelves by many retailers fearing backlash from consumers.

Lots of bad legal things ensued.  It also put increased pressure on developers to quit pushing the envelope of good taste with their content.  It was a setback for the game industry, and probably a mistake that won't ever happen again.      

Looking For A New Way To Play Games? Urine Luck

Before I get started I would just like to thank the people at Captive Media for inspiring this blog post.  Without their tireless drive towards innovation I wouldn't be able to write about the games of the past, and the impact those games had on the games of today.  And I must say I am quite excited about this particular gaming innovation.

Ever since Nintendo released R.O.B. the robot, game companies have scrambled to find new ways for gamers to experience their games.  The lists of ideas ranged from the Power Glove, the Power Pad, and the Konami LaserScope, to the more recent Wii motion controllers, Playstation's Sixaxis and Move controllers, and Xbox's Kinect.  While many of these ideas went on to be great, others were monumental flops.  While everybody always wonders where the next great innovation in gaming will come from, Captive Media is trying to answer that question for us.

As you can see the Captive Media game system is not controlled by your standard means of gaming, but instead by nature's call.  That's right you play while you pee.  The games are controlled by literally by aiming your urine stream to the left and right.  The "p-controller"

According to the Captive Media website there are currently seven games available to play.  There is a snowmobiling game, a track and field game, a trivia game, a pirate game, a art game, an opinion poll game, and finally a game where you can flip through advertisements.  Since the game system is online enabled there is actually a worldwide leaderboard available online to see how you rank against other players.

I feel like this game would make me imagine the unpleasant sensation of peeing outside in the cold

Just what I want when I pee, some bearded dude standing right in front of me , and a parrot trying to sneak a peek at my  junk

In addition to the games the video monitors also act as a means of advertisements, and entertainment while in the bathroom.  The cleverly named "PTV" feature is designed to be a combination of those two elements.  The PTV channel can be customized by each venue that hosts the Captive Media system in order to create a unique and fun restroom experience.

I think that the lack of a firefighting game is a horrible letdown

The system is just now over one year old and has been almost exclusively used in Europe.  However next week Coca Cola Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs will debut the systems in their restrooms.  The team's General Manager, Kurt Landes said in a press release that "These games are sure to make a huge splash."  I am sure that the stadiums janitorial staff is hoping that isn't true.  One thing that is true is that now instead of pumping quarters into a machine to get replay a game, now one must pump beer into themselves to get to replay the machines.

If I was an IronPigs player I might be concerned that my management doesn't have a lot of faith in exciting baseball this summer if they are trying to make the bathroom more entertaining

I do have a few concerns about the machine.  First off their website mentions content for women, which leads me to wonder how exactly that works.  Normally the curious part of me would want to know the answer, but the cautious part of me is afraid enough of the answer not to try to find out.

Secondly, all good gaming companies have a life cycle for their systems.  I wonder what is going to happen when the Captive Media Number Two is released.  What will those games be like?  I won't lie, when I know  I need my number two is going to take a while, I might just grab my GameBoy Advance and play something.  Maybe they could make a Turd Man RPG.

Anyways I could go on all day with jokes.  Check out Captive Media's website, and their YouTube channel for something unique and different.    

                  

My Grandpa the Gamer

I have had a lot of fun revisiting many of the old games of my past, and sharing my thoughts with all of you.  The first few weeks of writing this blog I was having a blast, and coming up with things every single day.  That all came to a halt on March 4th.  I received a phone call in the morning letting me know that my grandfather had passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack.

I don't want this to be a bummer of a post because I don't think Grandpa left many regrets.  He worked hard and made it well past the years he expected.  He never slowed down, he died on the way to go haul a load of firewood.  But I do want this post to have some relevance, I should mention what he was doing just before.

While all of his grandchildren were video game junkies, Grandpa never really gave in to the games.  That was until he got his very own PC several years back.  Grandpa used that computer for one thing, PC Hidden Object games. Who knew they really made games for octogenarians?  He really was into those games, and it was a bit surreal for me to finally see him as a gamer.  And as he drank his final cup of coffee that morning, the very last thing my Grandpa did in his action packed 83 years was play a video game.

I will miss you very much Grandpa and will see you on the other side.  In the meantime I will be sending you countless numbers of digital victims from my gaming exploits.

I will be back with more content soon.

Retro Review: SimCity - SNES - 1991

I'm not opposed to online gaming, but I don't like being forced into it.  I do get scared that someday that online will be the only way I'm going to be able to play anything new. I can understand big MMO adventure games being exclusively online, but I don't understand why they are extending to games that are outstanding as single player games.  To me there is a lot of risk involved with making games online exclusive.  I always prefer when a game has a viable single player option to keep me occupied.  Even the games of the Call of Duty series has single player modes.  And I also fear the day where I can no longer play a game that I spent money on.  And if you haven't heard the online only version of SimCity was released on March 5th, and on March 30th EA will be looking for a new CEO.

The simple fact is that on the release date SimCity didn't work.  Many people bought the game, only few could play.  It was an absolute nightmare for them. I don't know if it was the sole reason that the CEO is stepping down, but it seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back.   It got so ugly that even their forums were using the filter usually used to block people from swearing, to censor their customer support number.  The fact is that the once proud SimCity franchise is now at the mercy of EA's overworked servers, and Adam DeVine's underpants.

It appears that EA fixed the problem relatively quickly, and others figured out a work around in the event that something like this happens again.  The whole ugly episode makes me ask why did this need to be a problem in the first place?  Is the temptation to put all games out on an online format really that great that now even strategy games must be done   I can assure you that many of us would have been very happy with a more traditional update to the series.  With that being said I decided that if I really wanted to play SimCity I would go to one that I knew I could count on working.

Cover art for SimCity for the SNES

That is where my Super Nintendo came in handy.  Back in 1991 long before online gaming was a viable option came a SimCity that worked straight out of the box.  SimCity was really a triumph for the time.  In a time where console games were much more about platforming, action, adventure, and sports games, a good strategy game was rare.  Most good strategy games found their way to the PC. What made the SNES SimCity such a rare game at the time was the fact it was a playable console version of a game that was generally played with a keyboard and mouse.  For me it really introduced me to an entire different gaming experience than I was used to as a kid, and grew to love as an adult.  

In the main sandbox version of the game you are the mayor of a bare piece of land.  From there you need to build a power plant and then off you go.  As mayor your first objective is zoning.  Your population needs places to live, work, and shop.  You need to carefully plot your zones among various public services and means of transportation.  Secondly you are in charge of the finances.  You decide how your government funding is dispersed, and the tax rates on your citizens.

A very neat birds eye view of a well made SimCity

It is a beautifully addicting game, and a horribly frustrating game all wrapped into one.  You get sucked into watching your fluctuation of population as time passes by.  After you get a town built and your population grows you will begin to get bombarded with issues.  And no matter what you can never seem to keep your people quiet about their issues.  If you make an effort to solve an issue, it generally creates another issue.  If your people demand an airport, they complain about the pollution.  If your people want a stadium, they bitch about the traffic around it.  They don't want to pay taxes, yet can't handle budget cuts to your worthless police force and fire department.  And it goes on and on.

If you become convinced of the fact your people will never be happy you can also choose to destroy them in the worst ways possible.  You can cause a random fire to break out somewhere, have a tornado rip though town, or even unleash Bowser upon your town in an effort to steal Godzilla's thunder with a Nintendo plug.

The green haired fellow is Dr. Wright.  He generally pops up when your people are mad about something.  But occasionally he will show up with some good news.

If genocide isn't your idea of a good time, the ultimate goal is to have a population of over 500,000 people.  Even with cheat codes this is a very difficult task to complete.  To achieve 500,000 you need to use every single pixel of land that you have access to.  It also helps to utilize the gifts that are given out throughout the game properly, and also make it a police state.  If you can keep the people happy enough, and you constantly tweak your under performing areas you will be ultimately rewarded with a statue of Mario to commemorate your achievement.  

The second mode was called the scenario mode.  It featured different pre-built SimCities that represented real cities around the world.  In each scenario you need to save the day for a city.  In San Francisco you need to save the city from the 1906 earthquake.  There is flooding in Rio, a nuclear meltdown in Boston, crime in Detroit, pollution in Bern, and a Bowser attack in Japan.  And there are bonuses to unlock if all of those are beaten as well.

The SNES version was incredibly similar to the original PC version of SimCity shown here

The SNES SimCity is revered by many fans of the series.  It made good use of the controller to create a computer game experience fun and easy on our consoles for one of the first times ever.  Many PC titles struggle on this even to this day.  It also allowed the series itself to continue branching out to different platforms of gaming.  The Nintendo DS, Wii, iPad , Android, and Blackberry Playbook all have SimCity games available to them.

Until next time, build yourself a city.

From the Vaults of YouTube

This week's YouTube review starts with the amazing Chuck Norris vs Super Mario Bros video.  Chuck has earned the reputation for being a brutally awesome individual.  You can see that implanting him into Super Mario Brothers drastically changes the game play options.  Thank you daneboe for this video.

Who knew that John Madden was into video games way before the EA Sports annual football game that bears his name.  Considering that Madden on really had to work on Sundays, I guess this commercial proves that he spent his off time commentating video game competitions.  I will admit, I would have liked to see Madden analyze the kids' gameplay with the overuse of a telestrator and the word "Boom"

It's hard to believe that it has been 10 years since Red vs Blue first came out.  The fellas at roosterteeth.com are a true success story.  Using the multiplayer mode of the original Halo game for the Xbox they created an animated series about a blue team of inept solders facing off against a red team of inept soldiers in the middle of Blood Gulch Canyon.  When the videos quickly became popular and when Bungie studios contacted Rooster Teeth about the videos it appeared that they would be putting them to an end.  But Bungie gave Rooster Teeth their blessing to continue the series, and even have used them to create commercials for their Halo games.  This is the very first episode titled "Why Are We Here"