A Tumbling Bevier: Archive

Resolutions and all those New Years Declarations

After two days at two separate parties at the same house, I’m finally able to sit down and write about what I’m gonna do with my life; or at least the next year. Aside from the immediate things I need to do this year (find a steady source of income, get into a four-year college, meet the love of my life — or at least my love for an hour), there’s a lengthy list of cosmetic...

Jan 3rd

State of the Union

It’s been way too long since I last updated my portfolio. It’s not a sign that I haven’t been writing tough; I’ve been writing too much. The amount of venues I’ve been writing for has been increasing lately, and I’ve been working at the Current as News Editor —which has been eating a lot of my time. I haven’t forgotten about you, dear tumblr, but...

Nov 30th

14 tags

Joystick Division 9/27 - 10/1

Star Trek Getting Casual Online Game A Shooter Will Teach You How To Shoot ‘Em Up Nintendo 3DS: What you Need to Know The Civilization Theme, With Lyrics Force Unleashed II Gets Threepwooded This guy Has 8 Bit Wood and So Can You! Marvel Vs Capcom 3 Predicted to Outsell Street Fighter IV

Oct 3rd

7 tags

I keep on Beastorizing - Game Prose: The Current

There’s a new arcade machine in the student center. The game was later called Bloody Roar on consoles, but the arcade version sports what may be the greatest name in video game history: Beastorizer. The name alone makes it amazing, but there’s something else that makes the game fantastic; Beastorizor is a fighting game, and that means I will spend a lot of time playing it over the...

Sep 27th

3 tags

Sonic Adventure Could Have Been Better - Review:...

Sonic Adventure isn’t entirely a bad game. There are a lot of really good ideas at its core, but it’s surrounded by a lot of things that keep it from being the classic it could have been. At its best, this game could (and probably should) have been an arcade game. The reason the game wasn’t released as an arcade title can be summed up in two words and a number:Super Mario 64. ...

Sep 27th

16 tags

Joystick Division: 9/14 - 9/24

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Trailer has Marvel Fighting Capcom Asura’s Wrath Announced, has Quick-Time Events Marvel Vs. Capcom Confirms X-23. Alternate Character Colors Pokemon Black and White: Full Roster Revealed Spider-Man and Albert Wesker Make Their Way into Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Demo Whipping Around PSN BlazBlue’s Newest Character Coming Next Week Halo...

Sep 26th

15 tags

PAX 2010 Coverage: Joystick Division

inFamous 2 Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest FireFall Mortal Kombat Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury Duke Nukem: Forever

Sep 22nd

5 tags

Warren Spector talks Epic Mickey, His Motto, and...

Talking to Warren Spector felt a lot like listening to Walt Disney in the old Disneyland videos. In an interview I had with him at PAX 2010, he kept talking about amazing it is to work on a game with animation’s greatest icon, about how special this project is. It wasn’t hard to be reminded of Walt talking about how it all started with a mouse and how wonderful Disneyland was going to...

Sep 22nd

5 tags

Puzzle Bots is Pointedly Cute and Clickingly...

In as few words as possible, Puzzle Bots feels like old episodes of The Magic School Bus crossed with Toy Story. The game takes place in a lab where four scientists create the titular Puzzle Bots. These characters take up the majority of the narrative real estate, while the Bots are the characters players will control. Written at: Joystick Division

Aug 27th

1 tag

Joystick Division 7/12 - 8/27

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition Doesn’t Disappoint. Pokemon: Black and White has Video Chat Function. Kings Quest Fans Create Free Sequel Double Fine Working on Four New Games Metal of Honor Beta opens for Bad Company 2 Steam Owners Keflings Creator Talks Working with XBLA Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Going Online Space Marine Heading to PC. Lego Universe is Going Cardboard...

Aug 27th

7 tags

The Five Elements of Every Fighting Game: Joystick...

Fighting games like Street Fighter II andMortal Kombat were everywhere in the 1990s. After their release, many other fighting games came out in order to capitalize on the hot genre. Most of these games are insignificant and unmemorable due to miscellaneous reasons (usually involving overall quality and failure to differentiate themselves from the fighting game pack). Others achieved their status...

Aug 27th

9 tags

John Romero Talks FPS at Gamesauce: Joystick...

The Q and A opened with the topic of development cycles back when Romero started working at Softdisk. Working at Softdisk enabled him to double the ammount of time it took to release a game. “It was really awesome to have two months to put a game out,” he said. “We could put a lot of games out in two months back then. That was probably around 1991.” Written at: Joystick...

Aug 27th

16 tags

Joystick Division 6/28 - 7/9

MDK2 Coming to WiiWare and PC The Protomen Headline PAX inFamous Now Downloadable on PSN Club Nintendo Platinum Prizes Announced Rock Band 3 Designer Leaves for Twisted Pixel Xbox 360 Destination Arcade “Virtual Browser” Coming Next Week Reviews impact Gamer’s Opinions, Study Says Last Story Trailer Gives First Look at Gameplay WipEout Museum Opens in Playstation Home

Jul 11th

4 tags

Joystick Division: Toy Story Is Good for Those Who...

“In Toy Box mode, players complete quests given by the box’s many citizens. Completed quests reward players with money they can then use to purchase more businesses, villiagers, and other fun items. Most businesses enable another mini-game for players, and villagers tentatively have new quests for you to do. It’s a city-building mechanic for those who aren’t ready for Sim...

Jun 28th

6 tags

Joystick Division 6-21 / 6-25

Crackdown 2 Demo Available. Achievements Included Namco Bandai developing 5 3DS titles Sonic The Hedgehog’s Birthday Means Discounts for All Preorder Monkey Island 2 on Steam and get the first for free.

Jun 28th

5 tags

Joystick Division: Prince of Persia: The Forgotten...

“The games in the Prince of Persia franchise have been about stunning acrobatic platforming. The prince in TFS is as every bit as acrobatic as he has been in the past games. Platforming in previous games have generally been based around two button actions - one to jump and one button to run on walls. Skillfully controlling the prince is significantly more complex in TFS, however. This...

Jun 28th

9 tags

Joystick Division E3 Hands On and Impressions

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Metroid: Other M Nintendo 3DS DC Universe Online Marvel VS. Capcom 3 Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Lord of the Rings: War in the North Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World: The Game

Jun 23rd

15 tags

Joystick Division 6-3 / 6-14

Def Jap Rapstar gets Five new Songs, Release Date Ubisoft Lets Players Dance on Broadway InFamous Confirmed in Game Informer Dungeon Siege 3 Coming From Obsidian and Square Enix Yakuza 4 Coming Spring 2011 Jurassic Park and Back To The Future Games Coming from TellTale Dungeon Fighter now Available for Free Final Fantasy IX hitting PSN Tuesday Kinect Priced at $150? Gamestop Preorder...

Jun 21st

4 tags

Watch

Bevier, Alexander. “Revolutionary Game Developer Explores the Human Essence with Cubes and Narrative.” The Current [Auburn] 4 June 2010, Issue 12 ed., Volume 44 sec.: 21. Print. Bevier, Alexander. “Game Prose: Enlarging your gaming world” The Current [Auburn] 4 June 2010, Issue 12 ed., Volume 44 sec.: 21. Print.

Jun 21st

2 tags

I've never jumped on a mushroom in real life.

Writing about playing videogames is a like writing about a dream. Writing about what Nathan Drake did or a Warcraft raid is as compelling as the time I married a sandwich in my sleep. Yet, there’s something to be said about the importance and pleasure derived from these experiences. A good writer articulates these musings into enjoyable and relatable stories that can be understood by people...

Jun 5th

5 tags

Watch

Bevier, Alexander. “Twin Peaks’ Strange Themes in the 90s Play Better in Games.” The Current[Auburn] 14 May 2010, Issue 11 ed., Volume 44 sec.: 13. Print.

Jun 4th

3 tags

Watch

Bevier, Alexander. “Pacman Is Picasso; True Story.” The Current [Auburn] 30 Apr. 2010, Issue 10 ed., Volume 44 sec.: 17. Print.

Jun 4th

6 tags

Watch

Bevier, Alexander. “Game Prose.” The Current [Auburn] 16 Apr. 2010, Issue 9 ed., Volume 44 sec.: 17. Print.

Jun 4th

4 tags

Watch

Bevier, Alexander. “Immersive Plot and Experience Is a Heavy Rain for PS3 Players with No Game-over Option.” The Current [Auburn] 5 Mar. 2010, Issue 6 ed., Volume 44 sec.: 16. Print.

Jun 4th

2 tags

Watch

Bevier, Alex. “IT Puts Full Control on Computers in Library at Tech Center.” The Current [Auburn] 5 Feb. 2010, Issue 6 ed., Volume 44 sec.: 20. Print.

Jun 4th

9 tags

Joystick Division 5/24 - 5/28

Crackdown 2 Mini-Series to Bridge Gap Between the First and Second Front Mission Evolved Suiting Up for Release on September 17 GTA Chinatown Wars Lite now on iPhone. Light on Cost, Heavy on Drugs. Final Fantasy: 4 Warriors of Light Coming Stateside; Nobody’s Surprised Top Gun to feature Horde Mode, Original Script, and Speed; Much Needed Speed

Jun 1st

11 tags

Joystick Division 5/17 - 5/21

Iron Man 2 is a Bit Rusty Scribblenauts 2 Gets Super with Adjectives Rocket Knight now on PSN Free Portal Has Been Downloaded by 1.1 Million Fable III Collectors Edition reveals. Also, it’s on PC

May 22nd

6 tags

Games Are Movement Experiment: part 1

When looking at ways to critique video games, I’ve spent much time looking at narration. All games have a story. Stories, however, are not necessarily games. While I looked at other attributes games have, I realized that all videogames take place on a monitor. There is always a visual play space; generally a multi-dimensional playspace. In order to do anything in the playspace -the portrait...

May 20th

Video Game Liquidation

There are many games I purchase because they are worth owning. There are other games I but because they are worth checking out. I also own a lot of games that were cheap. In short, I’m getting rid of the games I have no desire to hang on to. Some of these games are really good; other I bought in bulk at a Gamestop one day. All of the games on the list work and drop me an email if you want...

May 18th

5 tags

Joystick Division 5/3 - 5/7

MechWarrior 4 is now available for free Super Street Fighter IV Ships a million Ubisoft Loses Big Name Starcraft II Gets a Release Date Game Crazy Shutting its Doors

May 9th

4 tags

Golgotron: Mistwalker May!

“Out of loyalty to the magestic Hironobu Sakaguci, but out of time for playing RPGs, I have found myself purchasing every Mistwalker game yet playing none of them. I get the itch every so often to play an JRPG (right now I’m feeling for Final Fantasy IX), but I feel guilty that the unopened Lost Odyssey is sitting on my shelf. In order to sedate this guilt, I have declared May 2010...

May 1st

The Current: Game developers ‘Respawn’ from...

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had the biggest release of any entertainment product ever on its first day last November making over five-hundred million dollars. The game was developed by Infinity ward and published by Activision. It currently stands as the second best selling game of all time just under Wii Sports.” Written at: The Current

May 1st

10 tags

Joystick Division 4/26 - 4/30

Jet Set Radio Coming to Xbox Live? Red Faction Movie Coming to SyFy Next Call of Duty Game Revealed Tomorrow Zeno Clash Hist XBLA Next Week Valve Invades Toy Stores!

May 1st

5 tags

Joystick Division 4/19-4/24

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Official? Ebert Vs. Games, Round 2 Bionic Commando Rearmed Devs Return to Might and Delight You

Apr 24th

3 tags

The Current: Players wait anxiously for new Wii...

“2010 is set to be the biggest year the Nintendo Wii has had since its launch in 2006. At Nintendo’s media summit back in February, Nintendo showcased every high-profile game coming out in the first half of this year.With the years’ halfway mark only three months away, it’s time to take out the Nintendo Wii from closets and get ready for an onslaught of new games....

Apr 23rd

2 tags

Golgotron: Wondrous Independent Diversity

“Knowing that Cave Story was originally a freeware title meant that I didn’t think much of its release. I could have played it years before it came to the Wii if I wanted to. Hell, I could have played it before the Wii existed. But, if I’m already getting and downloading a free Wii game, I might as well play it for at least an hour or so. Turns out Cave Story is a good game. Like, really...

Apr 10th

3 tags

Golgotron: The Biggest Nerd in Gaming

“Persona 3 is a unique hybrid of dungeon crawling, sim-dating, and Japanese Role-playing game. The game is also really long. The back of the box boasts 70 hours of gameplay as well as a 30 hour epilogue. Players play as an unnamed silent-protagonist as he shoots himself in the head to summon demons in order to fight the game’s enemies; the Shadows. In order to get stronger demons, players...

Apr 5th

A love letter to the game industry

In these last few months, I have had the opportunity to email and talk with journalists, developers, and gamers about gaming. I’d discuss what they like in games, what they believe is good in a game, and what they don’t like in the games they’re currently playing. These talks would range from a few e-mails to hour-long debates. It’s been wonderful that to take part in this...

Mar 31st

JPAG Show: I'm on a Podcast

Every so often, I find an opportunity to talk to people on Skype and have my voice recorded. Occasionally this recording finds itself on the internet. One such recording is currently online and available at the link at the bottom of this post. If it seems like I barely speak due to technical issues, it’s because I barely spoke due to technical issues. The podcast can be found here.

Mar 19th

Golgotron: ROSEBUD IS TO CHOZO, AS APPLE IS TO...

Published before this tumblr existed, but I still like it. “Comparing videogames to other narrative mediums is not a new occurrence. I seem to recall Braid being praised as a poem and Portal as a short story. These statements are as true as any metaphor. Braid is a very poetic experience and Portal is both short and satisfying. These comparisons show that games are maturing as...

Mar 13th

Golgotron: An appropriately titled article about...

“Any gamer could tell you the story to The Legend of Zelda. It’s about an eleven year old boy traveling the world and collecting things to defeat Ganon and save the princess. The most important part of this narrative, however, is not defeating Ganon. Past experience will already tell you that Link saves Zelda. Knowing that Ganondorf gets stabbed in the head at the end of the game...

Mar 6th

3 tags

Shakespeare Club: Shakespeare the Game Developer

“Shakespeare was an innovator; probably one of the best innovators. He was also an incredible narrator. His tales have been told and praised for years. When I say that I think Shakespeare would be a game developer, I really should be saying that I want the innovation and narration -that Shakespeare had a gift for- to be explored in a video game.” Written at: Green River Shakespeare...

Feb 20th

3 tags

Third article for The Current

Note: This is not at all video game related. “The blog, “Diverse Reality” is intended to be a space for the community to leave stories, thoughts, and ideas about diversity and, well, the reality of diversity. Comments are moderated, however, so please post your really sexy diversity comments somewhere else. But, please post those stories somewhere because I’m sure someone on the...

Feb 16th

7 tags

Golgotron: Game Today, Animu Tomorrow.

“When playing Dead Space, I never thought to myself “you know, I would love to see an anime version of this.” and I’m going to go ahead and assume you didn’t either. As a consumer, I’ve never been interesting in much cross-media marketing (as I’m calling it, this may be a real business term).There is rarely a desire to read a novel based off of a game, and it seems risky to jump the gun and...

Feb 10th

3 tags

Golgotron: Look at me, Look at you

“Konami realized that games don’t always need combat. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is the very thesis of a game with an interesting concept around it. The way that game plays with the player is, in all honestly, fucking crazy. If that game had the player fight those faceless things that chase you, would the game have been as fun?” Written at: Golgotron

Feb 4th

4 tags

Second article for the Current

“Websites like Facebook have great appeal to students due to their addictive flexibility. Users can spend a mere five minutes to check if they have any new friend requests, or spend hours working on their farm in Zynga’s game “FarmVille”. Students have also found ways to install games like Activision Blizzard’s “Warcraft III” and play the mod “Defense of the Ancients;” a game...

Feb 2nd

2 tags

Golgotron: Talking 'bout my generation

“In one sentence, Genetos would be called an evolutionary, cross-generational shmup. The game starts with a Space Invaders motif. White, squid-like aliens methodically drop towards you as you move left and right while being able to shoot two bullets-per-screen (Space invaders couldn’t process any more in 1978) at them. Once you blast enough Invaders into pixel dust you encounter a mutation;...

Jan 24th

2 tags

First article for The Current

“The world of video games has always had trouble portraying women. Video game females are usually damsels-in-distress who are typically featured in chain-mail bikinis. For every Jade inBeyond Good and Evil, there is a Daphne in Dragon’s Lair, and a prostitute in Grand Theft Auto. Women in multiple video games are dressed as sluts and have bodies worse than Barbie.” Written at:...

Jan 24th