Kotaku: easy

Kotaku Talk Radio: QuakeCon

Brian Crecente — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:40:00 MDT

During this week's Kotaku Talk Radio we had on MTV's Russ Frushstick to talk about QuakeCon, cheating in Madden 10, playing easy and other spicy topics.

More importantly we had on you, our readers, phoning in live to ask questions and talk games. If you missed the live, call-in show you can stream the full episode right here or download the show from the link below. If you're a fan of the iPod you can also check out our show on iTunes where a subscription is a must.

Download the show
Check out the show on iTunes.

Topics:
Work and Play: An Updated Peek Inside the Lives of Gaming's Greatest
Red Faction: Guerrilla Review: Bustin Makes Me Feel Good
Madden NFL 10
DLC

Hudson Going After the Casual Gamers

Brian Ashcraft — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 01:00:14 MDT

Takahashi Meijin taps the table. We're backstage at the Hudson booth. He's been on stage all afternoon, doing calestenics for upcoming Wii fitness game DECASPORTA. He taps the table as if pressing a button. Tap, tap, tap. Takahashi Meijin is Hudson's quick button pushing human mascot and has been since the Sapporo-based company entered the gaming industry when it began writing code for the Famicom back in the early 1980's.

Takahashi Meijin has achieved an iconic status in Japan for the gaming industry. He writes a popular blog and designs t-shirts for games like Adventure Island — a side-scroller in which Takahashi appeared in with the localized language moniker "Master Higgins."

Like Nintendo, Hudson, Takahashi says, is focusing on game play more more than graphics. "Graphics," Takahashi points out, "depend on the game — realistic graphics work well with driving and flying games. Hudson doesn't have games that kill people. That's why we use cartoon-like characters. We don't need realistic graphics."

Takahashi grabs a program on the table and draws a triangle. He draws a small section at the top and writes "Xbox 360" and "PS3." Takahashi tells me that those are hardcore gamers. Below that, he scribbles "easy game." This is the biggest chunk of the market, Takahashi explains.

"I play a lot of puzzle game," Takahashi says. Every morning, while taking the train to work, he busies himself with the Nintendo DS. What market is Hudson after? "This," he says. Takahashi circles the easy. In today's Japanese market, consider that a no-brainer.

Molyneux Wants People Beating Fable 2...With One Button

Mark Wilson — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 13:20:51 MDT

Peter Molyneux has simplified combat to just one button in Fable 2, hopefully enticing casual gamers to play while still rewarding hardcore gamers with upgrades based upon the use of advanced maneuvers in the system. But either way, Molyneux wants players beating the game.

I hate that we spend millions of dollars designing our games and only 1 percent of people finish them...If they don't finish the game, it's like leaving the movie halfway through, so it's a rubbish movie to some extent, and that responsibility is on our shoulders.

There is nothing worse than developers masturbating to their own narrative genius over a game that's not worth the commitment of finishing. It's heartening that some designers have maintained perspective. We just hope the whole one button thing works out.

A Fable for the Masses [nextgeneration]

Wii: So Easy A Baby Can Use It

fdemarco — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 10:00:00 MST

Kotakuite John C. sends in this picture of his 14 month old daughter playing the Wii. His email was short leaving me with many questions...

I was pleasantly surprised to find my daughter whoopin' ass in Zelda, shocked really...

So, did he just walk in and discover that baby had figured out how to turn on the Wii, insert the disc, start the game and had just beaten the third level boss? Or was it more like he put the game on pause and baby started playing and randomly ran around kicking ass? Either way I think it it brings up some interesting thoughts. I'm just not sure if it says more about the intelligence of this apparent super-baby, or the utter simplicity of the Wii-remote.

Make the jump to see baby checking out the item screen shortly before she beat the game. Flynn De Marco