One of the Virtual Console forums members, Denis is part of a WiiWare game developer team that has recently released their first WiiWare game! The game is called chick chick BOOM, and involves two teams of young chicks competing against each other in a closed arena.
First, here’s a gameplay video!
Below is a quote from the forum post Dennis made back in October. It describes the chick chick BOOM game mechanics, general gameplay and overall features.
Description of Gameplay:
In chick chick BOOM two chick teams compete against each other in an arena. There are 5 chicks on each side. A round ends when one team loses all of its chicks.
Attack and defense are the core elements of the game.
The attacking team has the choice between 3 basic attacks (bomb, weight, plant), a lightning-attack (only available when a dark cloud appears) and a special attack which depends on the arena played (UFO in City, Sea Monster in Ship, Ghost in Haunted Wood).
Furthermore each attack can be powered up with 2 different upgrades (e.g. the highest upgrade for the weight generates a giant Sumo Chick, which will jump twice on the opponent’s chicks).
In total there are 7 attack types, each having 2 upgrades, resulting in 21 different attacks.
Another core element of chick chick BOOM is the defense. You defend by drawing lines directly in the arena. It works intuitive and logical. For example, when a weight falls from the sky, you can draw a horizontal line above your chicks, this way the weight falls on the line and is blocked. Since the chicks collide with the line too, you can block them as well. For instance, you can draw a vertical line in the arena. This way you can keep your chicks away from dangerous areas. Moreover, the same line feature can also be used to sabotage the opponent’s defense by blocking his line with yours.
There are also additional features, like for example the Corncobman and the Piñata. Corncobman is a big corncob, passing by in the background. You can shoot his kernels off; your chicks will eat them and get healed. You can also shoot on the Piñata, which appears from time to time. If you can pull it on your side, you will get useful bonuses, e.g. line upgrades, chick upgrades and distortions of enemy attack interface.
All these features together, especially the permanently jumping chicks and freely drawn lines generate a dynamic game play, which is creating new situations and reactions over and over again.
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Features:
• Single- and Multiplayer: 1-4 (coop or against each other – in all variations, for example 2 vs 1)
• Offensive Moves: more than 20 entertaining attacks
• 3 Arenas: City, Ship and Haunted Wood
• 15 Teams: 5 available immediately and 10 others to unlock
• 3 Game Modes: Duel Mode, Time Mode, Pro Mode
• Tutorial
• Records: Your best scores will be saved… for you to beat
It’s a good question because the Wii Shop’s virtual console library is now really extensive and contains a huge number of titles.
The Virtual Console forums have already tried to find the best WiiWare games and indeed, the search for the best game ever is under way as well.
Most of the big video game review websites are showing the best virtual console games as being those from the Super Mario, Sonic and Zelda series. Based on the official sales of virtual console games these are definitely the best selling games, meaning they’re obviously the most demanding.
Which virtual console games do you guys really think really offer the best gameplay and/or value for money (or should I say ‘value for Nintendo points’)?
The Nintendo Wii, which was released on December 8th 2006 in the UK, “marries the strongest heritage of innovation to the future of gaming,” according to Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. The new console boasts a smart, compact design, approximately the size of three standard DVD cases stacked together, and will come with a stand that allows it to be displayed vertically or horizontally.
The system boasts 512 megabytes of internal flash memory, wireless controllers, two USB 2.0 ports and built-in Wi-Fi access. At the Wii’s technological heart is a processing chip developed with IBM code-named “Broadway,” and a graphics chip set from ATI code-named “Hollywood,” which will deliver game experiences not previously possible. A bay for an SD memory card will let players expand the internal flash memory.
Most exciting, however, is the Wii’s controller – a hand-held, wireless motion-tracking device – which lets you control what happens on screen though your body’s movements. For example, when playing a tennis game you could return a serve by using the controller in a racket-like fashion.
Wii offers superb backward compatibility — the cornerstone of Nintendo’s all-access approach. This new console plays fan-favourite games from Nintendo’s 20-year-old library. The drive is compatible with GameCube discs, and select Nintendo titles from the original NES of the 1980s all the way through the Nintendo 64 will be available through for download through the Virtual Console. As if that weren’t enough, the Virtual Console will also make available a few titles from SNES console contemporaries, Sega Mega Drive and the PC Engine.
The Wii console will revolutionise how people play games. But more importantly, it will entice new players into the world of video games by offering a variety of entertainment, information and communication Channels that add value to the console and make it a device that the entire family can enjoy. The Wii Channel Menu will be the first screen shown on the television, as it easily integrates itself as part of people’s everyday lives. The Wii Channels are: Disc Channel, Mii Channel, Photo Channel, Forecast Channel, News Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Internet Channel and the Wii Message Board.
This article was source from Amazon.co.uk. Similar information is also available from Amazon.com.
Surprisingly, Iwata from Nintendo has seriously thought about the idea of a Nintendo theme park before. This is what he had to say:
“Countless times, the idea of a theme park has been debated and discussed, and there have been rumors in various forms, … But at the present moment, there are no concrete plans.”
In 2005, there was a Pokemon themed ‘travelling’ theme park called Pokepark. This was in Japan and attracted over four million Pokemon fans in the (just over) six months the Pokemon theme park was active.
The Kotaku article on the possibility of a Nintendo theme park discussed what Iwata said about a theoretical Nintendo theme park if one were to ever exist.
‘Iwata went on to speak hypothetically about theme parks, saying, that simply building a theme park with Nintendo characters in it would be copying all current theme parks. For Nintendo, the important thing is to do something differently and unique, and that is one of the strengths the company has with the the development of its games.’
The people are the WiiVirtual Console forums, have been discussing the Nintendo Wii’s online gaming abilities and exactly what they think of them.
There has been a lot of discussion on why the new Super Mario Brothers game for the Wii is missing any form of online play. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had the following to say about Nintendo’s online play offerings.
“I think that his decision on whether or not to include online functionality with New Super Mario Bros. Wii was based on the idea that the true value of that product was going to be determined not by online functionality, but on how compelling and unique the experience would be for two, three or four people to be able to play that game together in the same room … Of course, I have heard commentary that people feel that Nintendo’s online functionality is behind the others or is lacking in some ways.”
Some VC-forums members spoke their opinions on the Nintendo Wii online play, on the forums.
“Well they shouldn’t be satisfied [with their online services] since even the Dreamcast had better online.”
“What Miyamoto is trying to say is that not all games should be based on online play like NSMBW, which based on this game I think is bogus, especially because NSMBW [New Super Mario Brothers Wii] is made on Multiplayer standards.”
“I still don’t see why there was no online in NSMBW other than the fact that I’m sure there would be some lag which is really bad for a platformer. They keep saying they kept it offline so that you could have a more personal experiance with your buddies, which is complete crap. You could have kept that and added online onto it.”
“Does Nintendo really even have an online model? The only thing they really do is sell software via the Wii Shop Channel. Other than that, I don’t think there’s much of a strategy at all. The first thing they could do is get rid of the whole Wii friend code thing in favor of a personalized profile a la XBOX Live (or PSN, or Steam, etc.). The way things are now almost seem as if they want to make playing online as difficult as possible so that you simply won’t do it.”
“At this point in the game, if a game is multiplayer, it should offer online play, end of story (and by the same token, if a game is multiplayer, it should also offer some offline local multiplayer modes…online-only multiplayer kind of sucks). If a game is multiplayer and doesn’t offer anything in the way of online play, then it’s a sign of either laziness or incompetence on the part of the developer (or both).”
Ever wanted to play Super Mario KartWii in a large inflatable toy kart? No, I thought not.
A company called CTA Digital, that make Wii accessories, haved release this. It is a large inflatable racing kart accessory for the Wii, with a solid wheel in which gamers can put the Wiimote and use it to play Wii racing games such as Super Mario Kart Wii.
I don’t see this of any use to the vast majority of gamers. However, this is going to be something that will greatly appeal to the much younger audience – under tens perhaps.
What do you think? An enormous inflatable racing kart as a Wii accessory? Whatever next!
Following the recent attempted suicides of over 12 people working at Foxconn production plants, Nintendo is launching an official investigation.
Foxconn is a large Chinese electronics company that produce many component for popular computer motherboards. They produce components that are present is the NintendoWii and Sony’s Playstation 2, 3, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and various products created by Apple, such as the iPhone. They have recently been under scrutiny due to reports of very poor working conditions for their employees.
Wikipedia has a dedicated article relating to the Foxconn suicides. It has the following to say on the matter.
Between Jan 2010 to May 2010, twelve Foxconn employees attempted suicide, with ten deaths. Some reporters criticized long working hours with low pay and harsh management methods such as physical abuse towards mainland employees from Taiwanese managers. Some workers have complained about the monotonous work schedule and inhumane working relationships (such as one employee who had worked for half a year and yet did not know the names of his dormitory mates). Compared to China’s overall suicide rate, the suicide rate at Foxconn is not statistically aberrant but the rapid rate of the suicides is unusual.
As CEO of Hong Hai Precision Industry, Terry Gou responded to the situation on 25 May 2010. Because of a huge number of employees, management is difficult, he claimed, but they will improve the situation soon. Now Foxconn has formed specialized “employee care centers” and hired psychologists to offer counselling. However such a measure is doubted by the public. In addition it has been announced that employees will be asked to sign pledges that state they will not commit suicide and seek help if necessary. Some suggest that Foxconn should change its management systems, philosophy, and methods to create a more human orientated business atmosphere.
It is quite horrific to hear that those workers helping to create products we all use for entertainment are being so poorly treated. With all hope both Nintendo and Sony’s investigations will help to resolve these issues and improve working conditions at the Foxconn factories.
Well, this discovery really freaked me out. It turns out that a few cunning PC game modders have hacked away and the model and textures for the lead female, Alyx in Half Life 2 (Episodes 1 and 2).
So what they’ve done is replace Alyx with characters from different games. Nintendo games. It seems so out of place. There are replacement models available that turn Alyx into Princess Zelda from the Zelda series of games and Samus Aran from the Metroid series.
The Virtual Console Forums Best Game Ever project is really making an impact to visitors numbers on vc-forums.com and it getting quite a bit of mentioning on other forum boards and social media.
As I write this the Best Game Ever project has brought in an awesome almost eight thousand page views today alone. This is probably a result of the best game nominations being pulled together earlier today and the resulting first round of polls being opened up to forum members. The round one polls are divided into alphabetical order, by game name.
To vote for your best game out of the lower group nominations take a look at the ‘Best Game Ever Project’ sub-forum and if you want to read more about how these votes and the options in them were pulled together, take a look at the voting round mechanic thread.
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