Potpourri
Or, if you prefer, jambalaya.Lots of sidenotes have piled up in the last few weeks, so let's take a look.
The sizable news that just came out today is that indie success Frozen Synapse is now part of a Humble Indie Bundle, so you can name your price for the next 14 days. Just go here and get a crazy amount of stuff.
Kim Wong sent me a list (originally seen in the NeoGaf forum) of Madden "innovations" that are now at the bottom of the sea:
--Vision Cone
--"Weapons" Feature
--Obi-Wan John Madden
--Madden IQ Test To Judge Difficulty
--Fight For The Fumble
--Playmaker control system
--Rewinds
--EA Sports Radio in Franchise Mode
--Owner Mode
--Pro-Tak
--Create-A-Fan
--Ring of a Champion
--Live Opponent
That's quite a list, and unfortunately, for the last decade, the Madden franchise has been "innovating" from a position of weakness, not strength. The game itself is just fundamentally not a good game of football. You'd think that someone highly-placed at EA would eventually figure that out.
Next, DQ reader Rob Jellinghaus sent me a link to his project Holofunk, which he describes as "a Kinect-and-Wiimote-based live looping instrument, or soundspace, or synesthizer… not sure yet quite which." Whatever he wants to call it, it's cool as hell, and just another example of how the Kinect technology is far more interesting than the games that have been made for it so far.
DQ reader Darryl France told me this week about a project he's working on called "Rockstar Motel," a social music network that allows fans to promote their favorite bands. It's still in beta, but keep an eye out for it, because it's a terrific idea.
A Valley without Wind has entered its beta phase, and like I've said for the last two years, Chris Park is one of the most interesting developers going. Playing the game gives you access to the beta, and it's only $10. If you're interested, or would just like to see a trailer, go here.
Also, Glitch has gone live. Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahasi was involved with the project, which looks so fabulously strange from the trailer that I really don't know what to make of it. In short, the game takes place inside the dreams of 11 giants. Oh, and it's a Facebook game, which automatically rules me out. However, like I said, the trailer is fabulously strange, and you can see it here (thanks, RPS).
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