Dante’s Inferno is a book and a game concept very close to my heart. Inserting Dante references subtly into game scripts is one of my calling cards, most obviously in the stage names and achievements for Devil May Cry 4.

My initial reaction to EA’s Inferno trailer was shock at how much I liked it… Until I saw the guy fighting and jamming crosses in heads.

I’ve been thinking about it more and more, and I think it is more like he is going through a conception of Dante’s Hell, loosely based of Dantean Cosmography. Evidence of this is coming from the trailer, which they briefly flash a map seemingly inspired by the existing carvings of Dante’s hell.

Also, the main site, seems focused on the Gates of Hell - with the Thinker from Rodin’s gate, and the eternal pain line on the sign-up screen being taken from the translation on the gate in Inferno itself.

I still have issues with the main character. It seems like a man fighting his way into hell, where it would be a more interesting plot for a man to fight his way out, especially with how boring the lower circles, devoted to betrayers, are. If you figure that Judas is essentially being eternally gnawed upon, and the rest of the circle is just men frozen solid in various contortions, it would be the most anti-climatic final stage of all time. The character design is also not the direction I would have taken, but oh well.

Anyways, I wish that team the best of luck, and a huge part of me wishes that I was on this one with them. I think there is still a wonderful Dante game to be made, incorporating many elements of the man and the book, as opposed to playing an original story set in his world.

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Well, I can now access my website after exchanging my AirPort Extreme base station for a new one.

If it didn’t work, I was going to sell it on ebay and take Gregg’s recommendation, but thankfully I am back for the attack. I may hate Apple service, but I love AirDisk, which is why the AirPort Extreme is perfect for me. Screw the TimeCapsule.

So, yeah, back on the attack… And speaking of on the attack, SEGA opened up the official MadWorld page today.

http://www.madworldgame.com/

Check it out when you get the chance.

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-Still Planning To Buy-

Gears of War 2 (Purchased and Incoming)
Dead Space (Will borrow from a friend this week)
Left 4 Dead
LittleBigPlanet
Rock Band 2
Patapon 2
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

-Canceled Purchases-

Call of Duty: World at War
Quantum of Solace (2 Treyarch games!?)
Resistance 2
Fallout 3

-Uncommitted-

Guitar Hero World Tour

Finally, I’ve been thinking about buying a DSLR, and it is between the Lumix G1 and the Canon XSi. Going to decide in the next week or two.

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The Last Guy　（ラストガイ）

SCEJ released a cool little game last week called The Last Guy. You try to lead survivors of a zombie death ray back to a pick up zone on a google maps based stage. Basically imagine a google maps version of Pac-Man and you are close to the gameplay style.

But no matter how I describe the game, trying is believing. And apparently SCEJ thinks so too, because they sent me a batch of 5 PSN (Japanese store only) download codes to try out the demo.

Last Guy Demo Download Codes

(1)2PDM-K4BL-2NF6
(2)CADJ-LRBL-3QC5
(3)ED7Q-H2BL-4D5D
(4)3MJP-27BJ-7KLK
(5)CDKE-TPBG-AEJG

Help yourself to a code. They are good until the end of the month. Just make sure to leave a comment saying which code you used, so people don’t spend hours inputing a useless code.

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Since I only have to wake up in 5 hours and 2am blog posts are de riguer, I suppose I would post about my past two days.

July 11, 2008

Soon to be followed by a new airsoft gun - the Walther P99c Tactical

Now this evening, I have installed the required plug-ins, and have enabled an iPhone friendly version of my blog. You can activate the iPhone/iPod touch version by visiting the blog and clicking the link at the top of the right sidebar. Just visit http://www.technolustomega.net/ from your phone.

Here is what it looks like for those who want a sneak peak:

The Main Page

The Menu

A Post

Well, off to bed!

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So the past 8 months of my life are nearly all public record. On Friday, PlatinumGames announced three new titles to be published by SEGA. I’ve been working closely on MadWorld (above) and Bayonetta (below).

While I can’t say anything beyond what has been stated in the press releases, I’m really excited by the reaction our titles have received.

Our Facebook page has become one of the largest in the gaming section, and we are at just about 1100 fans as I write this. If you haven’t already, visit the page and watch the trailers for MadWorld and Bayonetta. If you like what you see, Become a Fan. For those of you who abhor Facebook, trailers after the cut.

I look forward to hearing everyone’s comments.

(Read the article)

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Thanks to Mark MacDonald, I had the biggest laugh I’ve had in ages today listening to his comment about Ben on the 2/21 episode of 1Up Yours!

In fact, it inspired me to create a piece of motivational art with regards to my own lack of facial hair.

Sorry, Ben.

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I was part of a team that won a Nintendo Power 2007 Award for Best Story/Writing!

Along with my writing partner-in-crime Janet Hsu, editor Brandon Gay, and original scenario writer Shu Takumi, we were recognized for our work on Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney: Justice for All.

The article even goes on to cite the A-Team paraphrasing clown as one of the reasons the award was bestowed! Being in charge of the case with said clown, as well as the other instances of pop culture orgasm in case 3, I’m really pleased that it connected with people.

To think, the editors selected us over reader’s choice Super Paper Mario (an excellent localization I hear)… It’s the first award I’ve ever won for my work, and I’m truly pleased. I’m sure I speak on behalf of everyone involved in saying thanks to all those who played and enjoyed Justice for All, and the other Ace Attorney games.

Speaking of Ace Attorney games, Apollo Justice comes out this week. I will be picking up a copy on my trip back to the states, because I just happen to be the voice for the brand new Ace Attorney.

You can hear me shout “Objection”, “Take That!”, “Hold It!”, and “Gotcha!” over and over again! And if you buy me enough beers, I may even recapitulate my performance!

With this game out, along with the in-game text I wrote for Devil May Cry 4 (I didn’t do the scenario… It isn’t my fault, I swear!), it seems my Capcom career is quickly coming to an end. Only one game left now!

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Watching a Rockstar PR campaign is like being taken to school in selling 4 million copies of a game in a month.

April 29 is a little more than 2 months away. The 10 week window being triggered, the virals have started.

Picked this one up from a friend on livejournal, and it is particularly witty.

I am a douchebag. (Which is funny, because I think I was one of the first people to use the word douchebag in a game script. )

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One of the things that I have been working on lately is the PlatinumGames Facebook page.

It opened to the public on Thursday evening JST, and the response has been great. Over 440 facebook users have become a fan of our company, and I couldn’t be happier.

I really like what facebook is doing with the F8 platform. Sure, Beacon was a mess, but F8 opens up facebook pages to non-facebook users while enticing them to join by offering higher levels of interactivity. It also keeps a uniformity in design that myspace really doesn’t afford you.

If you haven’t yet had the chance, take a look at the page by clicking the screenshot above. It is hosting blogs from Hideki Kamiya (Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami fame) and Shinji Mikami (the creator of Resident Evil, director of Resident Evil, Resident Evil 4, and God Hand), along with a welcome post from me, and links to some press coverage we’ve gotten recently.

However, what excites me most about the page is the users discussing and interacting with us and each other. I can’t wait to see where it takes us.

Finally, I’ve been pondering the role of auteur theory in games. I haven’t quite developed my ideas into a coherent blog post, but when I do, I hope it sparks some discussion.

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