AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for David Cutler

David Cutler

Katy Perry and John Carpenter Have Something in Common

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Pop star Katy Perry is lending her likeness to several characters in the mobile role-playing game Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. The first one, Popstar Katy, has the red costume Perry wore during her “Witness” tour. Square Enix, the publisher of Brave Exvius, said that other character designs will be available in future in-game events.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius has been downloaded more than 30 million times worldwide since its launch at the end of 2015.

For the 2002 The Thing, legendary film director John Carpenter made a cameo in the game adaption of his classic horror film. I remember playing the game and thinking that a certain character looked an awful lot like Carpenter. After doing a little research, I found out it was him. It’s one of the coolest video game cameos ever. It helps that The Thing video game is underrated. You feel like you’re in the movie.

image source: Ungeek

Carpenter, who’s a big gamer, probably was allowed to play the frightening game to make sure it deemed a worthy cameo. I’ve watched the 1982 film before playing the game; the game’s visuals are stunningly indistinguishable from the movie.

I’m surprised that more actors, musicians and film makers don’t lend their likeness to video games. I don’t know if artists get well compensated when they do a game cameo, although, with approximately 2.2 billion gamers in the world, the exposure can’t hurt any musician or actor’s brand. Gamers are usually consumers of movies and music as well. Cameos by artists in video games is smart business.

Artists should just make sure that their cameo fits into the journey and narrative of the game. Carpenter’s cameo in The Thing comes out of nowhere, but it works because it fits the acclaimed director’s image and into the game’s universe. Same goes for Perry’s Final Fantasy Brave Exvius cameo as well.

image source: Bloody Disgusting

 

Spider-Man PS4: The Hype is Real

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Recently, I received a text message from a friend asking, “Should I buy the new Spider-Man game? Is it worth it?”

First, I didn’t even know she was a gamer. And second, I hadn’t played the game yet. I saw the trailer; I thought it looked interesting, but nothing about a new Marvel Spider-Man game, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4, intrigued me. Then, I fortunately played the game at a store demo.

Insomniac Games Spider-Man could be one of the most entertaining video games I’ve ever played. Superhero games are my wheelhouse. I’m not a big Spider-Man fan, but this game and the new Marvel films, starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker, have stealthily made me one.

The web-shooting is so clean and quick. You have a wide selection of weapons, but web slinging, to travel around the city and to battle foes, is a necessity to effectively navigate through the game. Sticking your webbing to a trash can, or manhole cover, and slinging it around to hit your enemies is one of the best fighting options. I find it oddly satisfying every time I do it to goons who have no idea what’s coming.

Swinging around New York City with your webbing is one of the most thrilling things about the game. The graphics are so exceptional; every swing down a new block is like a scene from a Spider-Man movie. The combo of fighting villains, who are sometimes morphed into baddies by others, and swinging to all of the unique locations, makes for what I think is the game of the year. Sorry, Red Dead Redemption II. Insomniac Games has made the definitive Spider-Man game, and, perhaps, the defining superhero game of the decade.

Some of the things I didn’t like about the game was how a certain villain morphs other random strangers, who are dressed as popular Spider-Man villains, into real threats. It seemed a bit gimmicky and just weird. My first time playing, I had a very difficult time with a large man dressed as super-villain Rhino.

Some of the instant call-ins from characters like Aunt May and Mary Jane took me out of the game when I was in the middle of action. It was clever, but it wasn’t needed. Also, the music by John Paesano seemed subdued.

3.3 million copies of Spider-Man PS4 have been sold, and I’m sure it’ll be on a few Christmas lists this year.

image source: Marvel

 

Negan in Tekken 7 is Smart

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

When it was revealed at EVO that Negan from “The Walking Dead” would be a new character in Tekken 7, I thought it was one of the most out of left field crossover ideas ever conceived. But after some thought, it’s pretty smart for both properties.

I wonder who called who? Did the makers of Tekken 7 call “The Walking Dead” people, or was it the other way around? Negan being in Tekken 7 is an odd choice because the character is more of a manipulator and schemer than a brawler. However, he has had his moments of hand-to-hand combat in the comic book.

And who does this help more, Tekken 7 or “The Walking Dead”? The ratings for the AMC television show have been on the decline. Negan is a fascinating character, but since his appearance, the show’s ratings have been on a downward spiral. Will adding Negan bring more players to Tekken 7? I’m sure Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the actor who portrays Negan, will have a blast doing the voice work for the popular game. Like his Negan or not, Morgan is a solid actor who always elevates everything he’s involved in.

image source: golem13.fr

I’m sure when Negan is available in Tekken 7, every gamer will select him to see what he’s capable of in a scrap. It’ll be interesting to see Negan’s fight moves. His bob wired baseball bat, Lucille, will be appealing to use on an opponent, but I don’t see how the game keeps its Teen rating if you do. In the comic book and the show, Lucille is a very violent weapon. I can’t see Negan doing air combat flips and powerful jump kicks. He could ground and pound and do brutal overhead hits that result in wall bounces.

Those in attendance at EVO seemed excited that Negan will be featured in Tekken 7. They went absolutely wild when Negan was teased in the trailer. The decision of adding Negan to the Tekken franchise is a bold one. Curious gamers that are fans of both properties will find it irresistible to try a few brawls with Negan.

image source: gamegeek.gg

 

A Fortnite Gameplay Coach

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

For part-time work, I do résumé consulting. I take past work information from clients and construct and build a résumé out of what they share with me. Recently, I had a client who just graduated from college. When I asked him to tell me about his work history, he told me that he makes money as a Fortnite gameplay coach. He said that he did it part-time and he charges $20 dollars per hour for his expertise on the Epic Games smash. The job surprised me a little, but it made sense; it seems like it’s the year of Fortnite.

I first heard about the free game when the singer Drake tweeted something about playing it with a famous gamer named Ninja. Then, quickly, I started hearing others talking about Fortnite. Now, I know people who stay in on Saturday night playing the addictive game.

My client told me that he mostly helps gamers with Fortnite: Battle Royale, and he plays along with them to guide them through combat. He helps with fighting strategies and how to be a better wall builder for shielding during fighting. And he said he always teaches clients to keep moving as if a sniper is always aiming at you from a far. The best advice he says he gives: Getting good angles during your enemies reload is vital. 

My client didn’t share with me how many actual wins he has. He sheepishly said to me, “A lot.” He added, “Every player wants wins and they’ll pay to gain them.”

As I listened to my client, I wondered if any of the information would be important to a potential employer. I suspect that many people in their 30’s and 40’s would have no idea what Fortnite was. But then, with the number of players rising into the millions, perhaps they would? The game’s just not being played by teenagers and college students. A potential employer who’s a fan of Fortnite may be impressed by a job candidate who took the initiative to start a small business to help other gamers. It’s one of the most non-traditional jobs that I’ve ever heard from a client.

There is a unique, unofficial Fortnite marketplace that exists. Fans of the game are buying other player’s profiles and skins on eBay for thousands of dollars. Fortnite, in an odd way, has become a game of status. None of the side businesses around Fortnite are approved by the makers of the game. But, when anything becomes as massively popular as Fortnite, an unconstrained marketplace is going to spring up.

I have never played Fortnite, but after my meeting with my client, I watched several live streams of the game. I don’t have a desire to play; however, as I was watching the live stream, 35,000 other people were watching as well. That’s a popular video game.

image source: inverse.com

 

Man Walks into a Bar and Sees a Pac-Man Machine

By

Source: Steve Ringman/The Chronicle 1981

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

I recently walked into a hipster bar that I had never been in before. I immediately felt slightly old. Everyone there was in their early twenties; some of them didn’t look old enough to order a beer. As I made my way past the bustling, long bar, I noticed something in the back corner of the place that I hadn’t seen in a longtime.

A large group of twentysomethings were gathered around an original Pac-Man arcade machine. I hadn’t seen a Pac-Man machine since I was a little kid. It was a smack of nostalgia in a place I didn’t expect it.

Like the Rubik’s Cube or the DeLorean DMC-12, Pac-Man is an 80s icon. Seeing a vintage machine with a group of Millennials playing it, made me curious. I sat at a small booth near the Pac-Man machine and watched the young group feed the machine quarters. They were having such a blast trying to see who could reach the highest score with one quarter.

source: ausretrogamer

After a few craft beers, I wanted to try my hand at Pac-Man; but they had taken over the machine. It was entertaining watching them shriek and groan when they got devoured by a ghost. It may’ve been the first time any of them had ever played the arcade version of Pac-Man, but I still wanted my turn.

Pac-Man brings people together. From the time the game was released in arcades in October 1980, Pac-Man has been a unifier that you could play with friends. Pac-Man is cross-generational. It seems simple at first, but as you keep playing, the difficulty of each stage keeps you addicted to clear the maze.

When Pac-Man was released in 1980, movie theatre owners and movie moguls were worried that the game would hurt the film industry. Pac-Man was taking money away from Paramount and 20th Century Fox. Pac-Man’s enormous popularity was short-lived, but at its height, movie studio executives had to be worried about how long they would be competing with the bright yellow machines.

I never got to play the Pac-Man machine in that bar that night, but I enjoyed watching the twentysomethings play a game that this October will turn 38-years-old. Will there ever be another Pac-Man? I doubt it.

source: ausretrogamer

 

What if Ready Player One was made by a Gamer?

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Steven Spielberg, the legendary director of Ready Player One, has let it be known that he is not a gamer. But what if a gamer was given the chance to adapt Ernest Cline’s science fiction bestseller?

Spielberg’s ambitious film was entertaining and visually stunning at times, but there was something about the story, especially the virtual reality scenes, that felt detached and not cohesive. Cline’s book was heavy on the 1980s nostalgia (perhaps, a little too heavy); nevertheless, you really felt like you were in a fantastical universe.

What made the novel so good was the power of escapism for our young hero, Wade Watts. The film didn’t capture that heightened sense of stepping away from the real world into a new, immersive virtual world, like the book accomplished so brilliantly.

If a gamer had made “Ready Player One,” the OASIS would’ve felt more authentic. Don’t get me wrong, “Ready Player One” captures the virtual reality experience better than any film in recent cinema history; VR is not an easy plot device to pull off on screen. I just didn’t feel totally immersed in the world Spielberg and his digital wizards created. Cline put it on the page brilliantly.

A gamer knows what it’s like to be another virtual being. That innocent escapism is one of the reasons so many people play video games; especially first-person shooter games. Maybe a gamer’s eye could’ve presented a more engrossing and cohesive virtual world. Spielberg’s virtual world, unlike Cline’s, felt banal and, at moments, enclosed.

The film was fun, although, Spielberg could’ve consulted with some seasoned gamers to create a more unreserved, virtual world experience. But, for 71, Spielberg can still direct an action sequence with more skill and precision than most directors half his age.

image source: Teaser Trailer