Revolver Games Team Blog

Pixel Sabina

2012-01-25T03:49:00.000-08:00

Having fun doing some dot art based of KOF13 Sprites, Elisabeth's idle sprite strongly fits Sabina so I worked of it... took me about an hour and a half... My first one of Len took me maybe 2-3 hours I figured out a good method in developing them and creating smoother shapes so the process optimized.

when we begin working on more smaller and experimental projects most will be 8-bit but I'm hoping some can reach this kind of detail so I wanted to practice.

Bijouxred Prologue and for Fun Concepts

2011-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

character sketches I've been working on, more to come as i keep polishing out designs.

Bijoux Red - Basic and Advanced Features Video

2011-12-10T01:44:00.000-08:00

Bijoux Red is currently in development by our core group and consumes a lot of my personal free time. Being able to share our progress really refreshes my spirits. This kind of long-term project can be very draining after all, hahaha...

We're working out some new portraits, concept art, backgrounds and sprites for this one... be sure to keep an eye out for updates!

Check out the Bijoux Red blog here!

Music Monday - Professor Layton

2011-11-14T22:30:00.000-08:00

So I'm taking a small break from working on our pieces for the December 1st Thank You For Playing art show at the Living Arts Centre. I would link it here, but I don't think the Living Arts Centre has posted the details yet... either way, if we're friends on Facebook, or if you're a fan of Revolver Games on Facebook, you will get an invite to the opening reception! Otherwise just keep following us here on our blog for details!

The last couple of weeks, I'd been playing the most recent entry in the Professor Layton series, Professor Layton and the Last Specter. I played through this one really slowly, mostly because I'm terribly busy and don't have much time to play games. Usually that would mean NOT playing games, but I just can't miss a Layton game. I tried to skip this one. Really. Well, I guess I didn't try very hard...

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (NDS)
London Streets - Future London's theme

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (NDS)
Walking in the Village - St.Mystere's theme

Professor Layton and the Last Specter (NDS)
Misthallery's Many Canals - Misthallery's theme

The Professor Layton series features music composed by Level-5's Tomohito Nishiura. He always manages to capture that charming European atmosphere that the games are known for. The following live arrangement is from the second game in the series and is a personal favourite of mine.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Folsense (Live)

Bijoux Red Demo Video - Combat Overview

2011-11-13T20:45:00.001-08:00

A brief overview of combat in Bijoux Red. This video was taken from a demo build that's currently unfinished. Thankfully, the new UI is about half-complete and featured in this video. It'll look much better when the new Command Menu and the battle commentary text is working!

Check out the Bijoux Red development blog here!

Music Monday - 16-Bit Jazzy

2011-10-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

I feel like I could have worked harder this week. Well, with an art show around the corner, a couple of illustrations on the way, another combat theme in development and the overly involving task of programming the combat routines for Bijoux Red, I suppose that I'll have plenty of opportunity to throw myself into my work this week...

And now (to quote a classic), here's something we hope you'll really like!

Super Mario RPG (SNES)
Booster's Tower

Mega Man X (SNES)
Energy Mine Ruins (Armored Armadillo's Stage Theme)

Earthbound (SNES)
Battle Against an Unsettling Opponent

No doubt about it, I've gotta get another hat.

Music Monday - Rhythm Heaven Wii

2011-10-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

It's no mystery to anybody that I'm a huge fan of the Rhythm Heaven series (Rhythm Tengoku in Japan). The game is quirky in a way that's reminiscent of the Wario Ware series, which is appropriate since both games are produced by Yoshio Sakamoto (who you may also know as the director of most of the Metroid series after Return of Samus for the Game Boy).

In 'Wrestler', a track for the new Rhythm Heaven for Wii (which is currently available only in Japan), the player controls the titular wrestler as he answers questions and poses for photographers during an interview. The scene is hilarious and the song is catchy as hell. I can't wait to play this game!

Rhythm Heaven Wii - Wrestler

Music of Bijoux Red - Player Combat/Mission Theme

2011-10-09T11:12:00.001-07:00

Don't Look Back!
Player Mission Theme - The newest soundtrack offering, this piece is heard when the player takes their turn during mission sequences.

There is more music available on our newest post at the Bijoux Red blog! You can also check out our Youtube channel to see our most recent updates! Coming soon: gameplay videos!

Bijoux Red Concept Art - Ander

2011-10-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

Ander is the lead protagonist of Bijoux Red, our tactical RPG work-in-progress. You can check out more concept art for Ander over at the Bijoux Red blog!

Music Monday - War Themes, Appended

2011-10-03T23:07:00.001-07:00

We've been listening to a lot of war themes at Revolver Games lately, as evidenced by Dice's extensive look at some of her favourite tracks. It could have something to do with the work we've been doing on our own tactical RPG, Bijoux Red. Whatever the reason, I just had to call some attention to these personal favourites.

Advance Wars: Dual Strike (NDS)
Sasha's Theme
Is this even a war theme? There's a certain 'get-up-and-go' hopefulness that drives this song while still maintaining the charm of Sasha's character. This is the kind of war theme that I love listening to!

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (NDS)
For Liberty
Another hopeful theme for the troops to rally around. The epic war tunes are great, but I've got a soft spots for the ones that kind of have that 'things are looking up' quality.

Ogre Battle : The March of The Black Queen
Revolt
The theme is called Revolt and, from the sound of things, the revolt is going well. What is that optimistic quality that draws me to these tunes? You really feel successful when you ride out and crush your enemies to a song like this (which helps me plenty, as I'm not all that great at strategy games!).

I'm looking forward to sharing some of our own war themes shortly. The setting may be quite different from these fantasy strategy games, or from the contemporary war setting of the Advance Wars series, but our goal of empowering the player's army with an exciting tune is all the same!

Music Monday (Guest Author) - War Themes

2011-10-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

Nothing quite like having a game take place in the most basic "battlefield" there is: War. A few composers really seem to hit the niche for great tracks be it the "why, god, why?" war tunes, the "war is hell" war tunes, and last but not least, the "let's get those sons o' bitches!" war tunes. Anyways, let's look at some of my favorite composers; though you can probably guess who I think is the best of them (Hint: Just about every War-J-SRPG is scored by this guy).

#3) Yoko Shimomura

Her resume may not have too many war-based titles, but the few and far between have been great additions to an already impressive line of work. She tends to emphasize some amazing melodies, her ability to make songs flow, and her passion for tugging on your heart with beautiful piano pieces. Recently she proved herself once more with the OST for Radiant Historia:

Radiant Historia's "Edge of Green" is a track with a great beat and a great flow. This is a boss theme, and it uses a wide array of instruments to take you into every new part of the tune. We start with strings and drums, then we get violin and organ, and then we get a horn and piano. Each instrument pairing is sort of stuck against each other, and works well as a boss track. I can hear a sort of "tango" sound to it to, though that might just be me.

This is Heroes of Mana's opening theme. I linked the orchestra arranged version (it's better quality). The game may have been met with mixed reviews, but the music made up the difference thanks to Shimomura's contribution. We have another up-beat melody to start, but in a traditional Yoko way, she knows how to draw out a deeper sound to make the piece more complex and involving.

Other Shimomura recommendations:

Kingdom Hearts (the music is a series strong point), Legend of Mana. Also, a few Breath of Fire 1 and Xenoblade tracks are hers. Oh, and Little Nemo! :D

#2) Masako Oogami

You're probably thinking "who the fu-", and I don't blame you. But it's always fun to post a hidden gem who's other important work includes.... IdolM@aster.... hmm. Umm, I swear he's good!!

Oogami's major contributions are to the little known, and under-appreciated Seven and Venus & Braves series. These titles sported what is a clever mix throughout the soundtrack of jazz, waltz and, hell, even rag-time. He has an ability to get that "story book" feeling; you hear tunes that sound kinda medieval, kinda magical, kinda romantic, but still kinda strange.

But anyways, we're here for a battle theme:

The appropriately titled "battle" has your drummer boy kickin' it off but then goes to a deep sounding male choir to make things sound a bit darker and ominous (true to the fairy tale nature, your enemies were usually monsters). We got the army bells, the soft strings, and powerful horns to keep the spirit alive.

You also get a brilliant victory theme to make your triumph that much more glorious.

I hope you like this fella as much as I do, because he is certainly a different flavour, but I'll be happy if you found someone new to love today.

Some other amazing tracks from Venus & Braves I *completely* recommend are:

Waltz for Ariah (the main theme song), Cup of Story (jazz tune with Engrish title), and Theme of Seven (from the first game)

#1) Hitoshi Sakimoto

Saw it coming, right? I know this one was easy, but the man seems to have a penchant for doing war-esque titles, and quite frankly, why stop him? He does them really, really well. Not only does he know how to get your blood pumping with exciting tracks, but still finds a way to still fit in some emotional pieces too. If you don't know who he is, well, you probably do and just don't know it. Final Fantasy Tactics, FF12, Odin Sphere, Valkyria Chronicles, Vagrant Story, Ogre Battle. ...it goes on.

A few notables:

FF12's boss battle theme. The bells that come up at the main part of tune are beautiful and accompanied by a great drumline. Truly a rush, and the track gets built up really nicely.

And of course, the Tactics Ogre Overture. This track should send a tingle down your spine if you're really into that "war and glory"-like sound. We have something that sounds medieval, kinda Scottish, and damned empowering. Quite frankly, you'd fight for any side that had this tune as its anthem.

I would put Final Fantasy Tactics up here, but I'm sure you may have heard it plenty of times. Sakimoto is to "war-like" music as cheese is to pizza. And like pizza, his work is *consistently* satisfying, despite how long he's been around.

Other recommendations:

Breath of Fire V (atypical of his "genre", but still excellent), Opoona (more techno-type versions of his sound, yup, it's weird), and Riz-Zoawd (yeah, the um, JRPG version of Wizard of Oz. A more fairy-tale sound to it... but it works and is home a calmer side of the composer).

Today's Music Monday guest author Dice is clearly no stranger to JRPGs. Click here to check out Dice's artwork at her Deviant Art account.

Bijouxred WIP Background

2011-10-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on the background for the second prologue. I will remain silent on the details of the background but the dust storm will be animated!

Music Monday - 'Pocket Full of Quarters'

2011-09-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I've been playing a lot of Street Fighter III (Or more precisely, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Fight For The Future - Online Edition, because Japanese fighting games should never have easy names!)

Capcom made a smart move by giving us a more hip-hop/jazz inspired soundtrack for this game. At this point, they were certainly succeeding in giving each of their Street Fighter games a distinct and compelling direction musically. Revisiting all these tracks via the PS3 and 360's online edition remake has been an absolute musical paradise. Some of the remixes are pretty great too! That new menu song? Love it.

The Longshoreman
Brazil - Sean & Oro Stage

Beats in my Head
Kenya - Elena Stage

Jazzy NYC '99
America - Ken & Alex Stage

I'm always generally pretty wary when it comes to remixes, but the Online Edition of 3rd Strike includes some of my favourites. Because I absolutely just had to point it out, this is what I have set to my Menu Theme at the moment!

The Longshoreman (Online Edition Remix)

Music Monday - The City Streets at Night

2011-09-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

While listening to music for this post, it occurred to me that a lot of great city themes double as great first stage themes. There must be something about starting a game in a city that makes for a great prologue... Even though I didn't include it here, the intro stage to Star Fox 64 is like this too, isn't it? Hey, even our own Project Blue is going to start in a city at night!

Batman (NES)
Stage 1 Theme - Streets of Desolation

Spawn (SNES)
Stage 1 Theme - Roofs of New York

Mega Man X (SNES)
Intro Stage Theme - Central Highway

Project Blue Sketchbook - Rival Soldiers, Civvies

2011-09-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Some character and design sketches for Project Blue. Click on the thumbnails to see the full image!

A soldier in his civilian attire.

Another soldier, clad in black.

Early design work for the uniforms worn by a certain group.

I might compile an online sketchbook for all things Project Blue in the form of an updating flash website that will feature music, images, sprite art and screenshots. Well, I say 'might', but it's probably already happening...

Music Monday - Mega Man OC Remixes

2011-09-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

It's no mystery that I a) love the Mega Man series and b) the music of the Mega Man series. Although I'm something of a purist when it comes to the classic soundtrack, the following remixes do a great job of bringing a lot of new character to the classic 8-bit NES tunes.

Needles
Remixed from Needle Man's Stage Theme, Mega Man 3

Crystal Potion
Remixed from Gemini Man's Stage Theme, Mega Man 3

Odyssey Beyond the Falls
Remixed from Centaur Man's Stage Theme, Mega Man 6

I really gotta hand it to these guys. Remixing a classic soundtrack is something that I've always lacked the confidence to do. Who knows, maybe one of these days I'll submit a remix for Ring Man's stage, or something from Actraiser! Well, I could always just show it off here instead...

You can always catch more awesome video game soundtrack remixes over at OC Remixes.

Music Monday - Rhythm Heaven

2011-09-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

~STRUCK BY THE RAIN~

Love has a cruel sense of fun, never plays by the rules
It spins us both on our heads, turns us both into fools
And leaves me on my own with tear stained eyes
Oh what can I do?

They say that losing at love, breaking your heart
It only makes you look even more beautiful
I don't believe it's true but I see you and what can I do?
Uh uh uh uh-uh!
I wish that we could be close,
Close enough to use our real names for once
And you would say to me " Oh I love you sooo!",
You say you won't let me go
Oh yeah!

Rain falls on me, and now I'm walkin' away
Tell me, do you find me more beautiful now?
I'm not the kind to let you watch as I cry
So I've got to leave, I've got to forget you!
And so I hide myself away from the world
Leave behind the sorrow of a sad little girl
I thought that I had finally won at the game
You told me it just was for fun
I suppose that I was too young.

Project Blue - OST Preview 'Suiciders'

2011-09-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

More music from our Project Blue concept game! This is kind of an unfinished track in that it doesn't loop, but this is an OST preview after all!

Bijoux Red Progress Screenshots

2011-08-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

Today is all about the visuals as we look at the new background and UI styles that we're fitting into Bijoux Red! The UI elements in the below screen shots were whipped together in Photoshop, but the backgrounds are all animated and completely included into our current Combat Prototype build.

You can read more about our progress at the Bijoux Red site!

Music Monday - Jurassic Park (SNES)

2011-08-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Say what you will about movie games - on the Super Nintendo, there were some pretty great ones! The second track (starting at 2:24) could have come straight from a catchy mid-90's hip hop album...

Zeta Rangers Concept Art - Buer

2011-08-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

Buer is a spirit that appears in the 16th century grimoire Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and its derivatives, where he is described as a Great President of Hell, having fifty legions of demons under his command. He appears when the Sun is in Sagittarius. Buer teaches Natural and Moral Philosophy, Logic, and the virtues of all herbs and plants. He also heals all infirmities, especially of men, and gives good familiars.

Sometimes Food Comes In Baskets (And Other Stories)

2011-08-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

It's true. And we're okay with that.

Pictured above: Food in a basket.

Yesterday was a great day for homemade vegetarian food. We made hummus and served it with a plate of fresh veggies, and for dinner we had home-made pad thai with tofu and mushrooms. Absolutely delicious, but I guess it stirred up the (mostly dormant) carnivore in me. Thanks, Terry, for bringing me to B.B.Ques that time. I always thought that place looked like a dive... I never would have imagined how delicious the food is!

Well, usually I don't like to eat alone, b~ut today merited some minor celebration in recognition of some great finds at A&C Games. Thanks again guys for holding on to that copy of Lost Vikings 2 for me - it's such a great game... and so hard to find (for me at least)!

I also picked up Jurassic Park for the SNES. Passing thought; this might be one of the original survival horrors! Emphasis on puzzle solving, limited ammunition, over-powered enemies... well, more on that some other time...

Also, because I'm a nerd for the things I really like, I couldn't pass up these game boxes when I saw them. Both Cybernator and Actraiser 2 are personal favourites of mine (as you may have noticed) and these boxes will let me showcase them more clearly in my collection.

Cybernator is also known as Assault Suits Valken in Japan. In an age before Gundam really hit it big in the West, I guess the publishers at Konami had no idea that the original title sounded so much cooler than the title they used; conjuring images of a low-budget action movie from the 80's instead of bad-ass space mechs and the people who pilot them.

Seriously, I know you know, but if you live in the GTA, play games and have NOT yet been to A&C, then you might need to re-examine your priorities. Go there already!

Project Blue - OST Preview 'Fighting Against The End'

2011-08-27T00:12:00.000-07:00

Audio work from a concept game that we've been developing on our free time and in between major projects. Hope you guys enjoy the soundtrack we've been working on! We're gonna start posting more audio, images and concept work from Project Blue as we lay down the finishing touches on our Bijoux Red Combat Prototype!

Bijouxred - Sabina

2011-07-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

Sabina is a very powerful women with a strong history in King City, As a lieutenant she holds great influence even enough to over throw the gangster lord she serves but her love for him is to strong.

Study - Speed Painting

2011-07-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

A speed painting start to finish 2:30 hours of work cut down to 4 minutes.

Prototype Combat Tech Animated GIF

2011-07-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Channeled through Ander, the power of the Sun is used to deliver an array of condensed solar rays in the form of an attack. The Level 3 Technique 'Solar Spear' can be used to wear down enemy defenses but is best used on unsuspecting foes who leave their guard down.

As usual, you can read more about Drive and Techniques at the Bijoux Red blog!

Zelda - Finalization Speed painting.

2011-07-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Found a great program to record myself painting... this one is in the final process but still you get the colorization and as you are watching i put a Song from the FleetFoxes - Grown Ocean. It was possibly the most dominate song while working. When i first started this I was just practicing, saw an inspiring Zelda painting that changed the direction... really wish i started recording from the beginning i am pretty impressed with how i got to this final from viewing previous save files it was a mess!... and the speed painting makes me appear more intelligent haha I stop a lot to think, build reference and figure things out.. WAIT NO! I AM SUPER GENIUS AND PAINT THIS FAST! LIKE A GOD!!!...

hehe hope you enjoy...

The Master Sprite

2011-06-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

A Sprite i did of the Master from Actraiser 2 practicing animations from strong key frames. This was only one and i managed to do quite a lot with it.

some minor fixes i could still do but there are other things i wanna play around and test out.

I'm enjoying working on sprites like this and hope to apply it on projects after bijouxred especially when we start developing games for xbla.

click here to visit the animation sorry it's gotta be off site

Prototype Combat Charge and Over Charge Screenshots

2011-06-16T11:56:00.000-07:00

Our most recent Bijoux Red post goes over the details of Charging in combat. I wonder if the below screenshots make much sense without descriptions? You should check out the post here to read more.

Final Fantasy 4 - FanArt

2011-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Final Fantasy 4 is possibly one of my favorite Final Fantasy games and my first time playing it was when it was released for the DS so nostalgia is not influencing me =P I believe some of Nobuo Uematsu best work is in this game. I want to replay Final fantasy 7 and 8... 8 a lot since it was my favorite but much time has passed i wonder how it would make me feel now...

Megaman 720p sprites

2011-06-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

had a strong desire to do these sprites after i was listening to some Megaman Remixes i was thinking of my own megaman game co-op with these two playing.

the sprites are also inspired by Vanillaware, wish i could make games at that level but i am but one mere human ;_;

sorry guys you will have to go offsite for this one

Gaming Marathon - Parasite Eve 2 - Aya

2011-06-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

We are currently going through Parasite Eve 2 not really a marathon as we have taken a break from it. The game is much longer and plays much like Resident Evil. Story events don't happen as frequently which makes things pretty boring... things are to serious so it's hard to make jokes =(

At least Aya's low poly sexyness is keeping my attention.

Cipher Guild

2011-06-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

A playful drawing of the characters you will experiencing soon on bijouxred from left to right Ander, Visha, Rascal and Geno. only Ander and Rascal designs are concrete and Rascal she actually doesn't wear any glasses this was an older sketch i had of her in my sketchbook.. i just think she looks adorable in them.

When the time comes more info on each character will be discussed on the bijoux red blog.

These aren't the Games you're looking for

2011-06-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

My favorite games tend to be the ones that have a lasting effect on the way I view gaming from that point on. A lot of people have their top 5, and it never changes. And with me, that's doubly true, in fact, it takes a brutal amount of thought and care to get anywhere close to dislodging one of my top 5. I could simply list my top 5, and be done with it, and it would be a decent read. But you dear readers deserve more. No, you deserve to read my top 6-10.

In customer service, you occasionally get to read those cards that customers fill out. The first thing any manager is told or tells anyone is "ignore than 10s, and ignore the 1s" or the varieties there-of (poor-Excellent is a horrible scale on only 5 points!). Why? because most of the time, the customer is just rushing through it. No, they tell us we should pay attention to the 6-8 range most. Why? because apparently that's where you get the most honesty!

Now not 100% applicable to my reasoning, but not far off either! My top 6-10 Are titles that actually move around. Whereas the top 5, well, are almost ALWAYS the top 5. I'll list them off, just so you have some context, and I'll go into detail on them for another post.

1. ChronoTrigger

2. Bioshock

3. TMNT: Turtles in Time

4. Capcom vs SNK 2/Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Tie)

5. Marvel vs Capcom 2

Those ones rarely change, in fact, Bioshock was the last addition, and it only bumped off Pokemon Red.

So without further adieu.

NUMBER TEN

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 1/2

These games, while the story is supposedly good, I'd never be able to tell you. This game is so good for multi-player that I have never bothered with the single Player campaigns. A game where, you take on the roll of a CTU Operative, hunt terrorists basically endlessly, and you do it coop? Sign me up. I love this game for its straightforward gameplay. Some of the Rainbow Six games have been known to be a bit convoluted, but with the advent of a headset and conversations taking place while you play, they seemed to have gotten rid of it all. I have played the other modes, I won't lie, they are great for the usual run and gun, hostage rescue, bomb diffusing fun, but terrorist hunt is the holy grail of modes.

NUMBER NINE

Pokemon Red (or Blue, or Yellow, or Green....)

Nothing beats a classic. When I play Pokemon games, I almost always want to simply recreate my line up from Red; Charizard, Raichu, Gengar, Graveller, Scythor, Hitmonlee. Now, most games now a days I can't, but I still play'em. They've added some layers of depth I guess some players can dig, but I'm really not interested in putting a pokemon in a dress, and parading it around on stage. Nor am I really interested in breeding them for the chance at a "shiny" version. Can you guess what I am interested in? Leveling my team, and kicking all kinds of ASS. That's all. And thats why the original versions of these games, even with their glitches, and age, will always stand up to me.

NUMBER EIGHT

Dragonball Z: The Legend of the Super Sayan

I don't know how many times I replayed this game. It's in the dozens. The first time I played this game was in grade 9, and I played it without an functional understanding of Japanese. Years later a fan-sub was released, where you could actually play half the game in English, and the other half in french. This takes you basically through the Freezer saga. It's a long Saga, in which you take on the Earth Defense forces (Goku and company.) And fight your way through Napa, Vegeta, The Ginyu force and eventually Freezer. The game play is all based on playing cards, which was amazing to me in grade 9, as I loved the concept of deck building. Even though you didn't build a deck, but you could time card-switches, and power ups. One of my most notable wins of the game was having Tien not die in the Sayan saga, and then becoming more powerful than Super Sayan Goku. This game is one of the best RPGs I have ever played.

NUMBER SEVEN

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3

This series is amazing. I loved Sim City 2000, and other Sim games at the time. But I spent hours playing this, building epic coasters, making parks that printed money, and sometimes, killing hundreds of men women and children in horrific park accidents just because I could. I am sick.

NUMBER SIX

Call of Duty 4 (Modern Warfare.)

Now, I may catch some heat for this, but I think this game has everything to make it into my gaming hall of fame, and it probably belongs a more lists than people think. When the game first released from Activision (produced by Infinity Ward.) It blew pretty much any other shooter at the time out of the water. Actually, it did so well that it's played more today by most people than COD:WAW (Treyarchs COD game, a year later) and, at time of this blog writing, COD:MW2 (Sequel). It revitalized a stagnant genre. War Shooters rarely took place in the modern era , and most that did flopped. We were sick of WW2 and Vietnam shooters, and equally annoyed by shooters from the future. There was a reason the most played shooter online was TF2 and Counter-Strike. This took the best of those, slapped some modernism to it, and put it in the engine and then, threw in some RPG just to spice things up a bit. All of a sudden, we have a new world wide Shooter phenomenon . I didn't play this as much as I let on, but thats due to the fact I suck at shooters. But i firmly believe, had it not been for MW's success, a game like Brink or Crysis could never have been made (2 games I love right now.).

This list is subject to change almost every quarter or so, but generally speaking, only a handful of games move in or out of favor for this part of my list. Sometimes a new game comes out that blows my mind with what it does or did (The World Ends with You). Thats where this part of the top 10 list does the best work.

That's the list yo, what does yours look like?

-Jamie

Bijouxred - Rascal

2011-06-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on this character for bijouxred for what is needed i am actually complete. A more detailed post of Rascal will soon be available on the bijouxred blog giving you a little more information about the character and a preview of her sprite for the game.

enjoy.

Prototype Combat Defense and Defense Break Screenshots

2011-06-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today we're going over some of the defense mechanics at the Bijoux Red blog. Check out the newest Prototype Combat entry to find out more!

30 Days of Video Games Day 8 - Best Soundtrack

2011-06-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

Best soundtrack? Let's keep this brief for a change - Yuzo Koshiro's work on Actraiser 2 was absolutely incredible.

Actraiser 2 is an epic portrayal of the ongoing war between heaven and hell.

So, for your listening pleasure, here's a selection of some of my personal favourite tracks from Actraiser 2.

Click here to read more!

Theme of Sloth - Industen and Benefic

Theme of Envy - Tortoise Isle and Altheria

Theme of Gluttony - Modero and Demon's Cave

Theme of Greed/Doom - Gratis and Stormrook

Theme of Pride - Tower of Souls

Ahh.. this is going to be considered cheating I think, but as an honorable mention I did want to bring up The Dog Maze theme from The Secret of Evermore, a game which I absolutely adore, thanks in no small part to the incredible soundtrack by Jeremy Soule.

Alright, alright! I'm really interested in hearing other answers! Share Youtube videos and let's really listen to some great music!

Prototype Combat Display Screenshot

2011-06-01T03:14:00.000-07:00

I dropped some information about these combat displays at the Bijoux Red Blog. You can head there now if you want to find out what all these numbers and things mean!

Desire Demon

2011-06-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

This is the final version of what i have been working on After i completed the study i went in adding more detail and changing things to match the desire demon(dragonage) more
i have an earlier version before i added the final details. Now that i am finished and had a bit of a break i'm ready to focus on another piece.

hope everyone enjoys.

30 Days of Video Games Day 7 - Favourite Game Couple

2011-05-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today we're exploring our favourite game couples through a recorded conversation had by German, Sean and myself (Rene).

Pictured Above: Have you ever searched the phrase Mario and Peach on Google Images?

Click here to read more!

Editor's Note: The comment at the beginning of this conversation was made in the context of having recorded two conversations back-to-back that were meant to be posted on the same day. If the same logic applied today, I'd be attempting to update about eight or nine posts all at once. Obviously, that's not gonna happen, hahaha. Let's just pick up where we left off.

R: Okay. So, we are doing two right now - because we did miss two days worth of updates. We're going to do a two-in-one. I just read the topic right now, so nobody's had time to think about it.

The next day was - Favourite Game Couple

So - quick question, do we expand that to include any pairing of characters? Like couples like the Mario Brothers? Obviously, the question is meant to regard romantic couples.

G: I think bromances should be allowed.

R: Bromances should be allowed, you're right. Like Cecil and Kain. That's a memorable 'couple' of characters, and a bromance.

G: That is a good one. But on that note, Cecil and Rosa are my favourite gaming couple.

R: Yeah, they're an awesome couple. I still haven't played The After Years, so I don't know what their kid turned out like.

G: Ehhh. He's alright.

German's Romantic Couple Choice: Cecil and Rosa are a memorable pairing and one of the most believable Final Fantasy couples in my opinion. Their romance is strong and endures the length of the entire story. As a Revolver Games favourite, this probably won't be the last time that Final Fantasy IV is mentioned in our posts.

R: Favourite gaming couple is kind of tough. I'd think the first couple that people think of is Mario and Peach.

G: But are they even a couple?

S: Peach and Bowser are more of a couple.

G: They do spend more time together. She spends more time at his place.

R: I guess I'm kind of a bromantic kind of guy. And there are a lot of good bromances in games.

G: Like the guys from Contra.

Bill and Lance... just a couple of guys havin' fun... fightin' in wars... bein' silly....

R: Yes! I love the guys from Contra. Damn… the more I think about this though, the more my choices become sort of like fan-wishes. Like how Zell and Squall are a cool couple because of how they play off of each other.

G: So they'd be your favourite couple!

R: That's true, that's true.

S: I'd say my favourite couple are Bartz and Boko.

R: I didn't see that one coming.

G: Nice and obscure Sean, thank you.

R: Boko's role kind of gets played down though later on in the game. Doesn't it?

S: Yeah, sadly.

R: I like how in Final Fantasy VIII, Rinoa's Dog, Angelo, could come in and help you during battle. And in Final Fantasy VI. What was Shadow's dog's name? Something with an 'R'? Maybe I'm thinking of The Returners, the name of the rebels in that game.

G: Interceptor.

R: Right, Interceptor! Boko should've helped you fight in Final Fantasy V as well.

S: There was a Chocobo summon in that game.

R: Right. But it wasn't Boko.

S: Sadly no.

Sean's Bromantic Choice: Bartz wanders the world with his partner, Boko. Their relationship is definitely strong, although the storytellers probably could've made more use of Boko as a pet-type character.

R: I feel like I can use 'Mega Man' to answer most of these '30 days' things. In this case, I love the relationship between Mega Man and his 'brother' Proto Man. As underplayed as it is, when it's present -

G: And it is underplayed.

R: -right, how Proto Man kind of watches and protects Mega Man, and how Mega Man will get all starry-eyed when it comes to anybody he cares about.

Rene's Bromantic Choice: Mega Man and Proto Man have a relationship built mostly on mutual respect and subtle concern that provides some major story points throughout the series... as underplayed as they may be.

R: Wow, we really took this in a different direction. Let's flip things around and focus just on the romantic couples.

G: I already did mine.

R: Do you want to suggest a bromantic couple?

G: …The [main character of Dragon Age] and Alistair.

R: Bromantic… Yes! Awesome!

G: As bromantic as you wanted it to be!

German's Bromantic Choice: Watch out for that Alistair charm! How quickly can bromance... become romance?

S: Romantic… it shouldn't be that hard… but it is.

R: You know, I've got to keep falling back on the same games. The games that mean a lot to me, mean a lot to me for a lot of reasons. The romance between Zidane and Garnet is so well-timed and well-paced and grows so compellingly throughout the whole story, all the way through the ending - and then ends beautifully. Tears. Seriously. But no spoilers.

Rene's Romantic Choice: The romance between Zidane and Garnet is easily my favourite love story told in a video game.

S: There's one on the tip of my tongue… older game, PS1…

R: Was it that one game? That RPG I was watching you play where you date girls and they make you stronger?

S: Thousand Arms. That is the one. It was very odd and quirky little RPG. A kind of RPG/Dating Sim. The powers you get depending on the girls' affection towards you can be infused in your weapon. There were areas in town where you could take them on dates and increase their affections.

R: So your favourite gaming couple was in Thousand Arms?

S: Yeah. It was interesting that the romance had a bearing on the game.

Sean's Romantic Choice: Sean's ideal romance involves having a large number of women to choose from... and then making them forge weapons of war for him. Sean, where are you priorities exactly?

R: It's neat that Sean mentions Thousand Arms, because I was actually thinking that if this question were asked in Japan, where there are a lot more dating sim games available, you'd get very different answers. I imagine that a lot of people with that different experience would choose characters from dating sims where the focus of the game is actually the romance between the player and a character.

G: Well the majority of those games focus on the relationship between the player and the character, and not necessarily a character and a character.

Post Conversation Input

Mike's Bromantic Choice: The most powerful pairing in the world of the future, X and Zero from the Mega Man X series. These two really do go through a lot together. A great bromance if ever there was one.

Mike's Romantic Choice: According to Mike, he can't choose a favourite romantic pairing because he would be too jealous of the male character in that scenario. I have an idea who he's referring to.

Prototype Combat Overview Screenshots

2011-05-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Read more about the Bijoux Red Prototype Combat at the Bijoux Red blog!

WIP - desire demon

2011-05-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this through out the week whenever i got sick of flash and toonboom i opened up photoshop and continued chipping away... i say that because i feel like a Sculpter then a Painter i work mainly in grayscale and colorize after completion I use the brushes in photoshop especially the mixer brushes to blend, warp and scratch until i create what i have in mind... so far it's been working nicely for me.

I am still not finished i wanted to complete her like this and add extra details afterwards turning her into a character based of a desire demon from dragon age. So the thing i will be doing next is the Horns and skin textures... it's actually not much so ill be showing off the final next week. After this piece i'm going to work on something more simple to take a break but still applying some of the things i learned since I've been doing these pieces.

30 Days of Video Games Day 6 - Most Annoying Character

2011-05-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: I thought we could try something different today. For days six, seven and eight of the 30 Days of Video Games, we actually recorded our conversations,in which we discussed that day's topic as a group. Because days six and seven were recorded at the same time, the original intention was to upload them together. Transcribing these conversations however ended up being more time-consuming than I'd originally assumed. So, here is the day 6 conversation, and the next conversation will come at a later time.

Participants
Rene, German, Sean, Mike

R: Days six and seven of the 30 Days of Video Games have passed already, so let's try to tackle both of those two days at once. Starting from Day 6, we're going to be talking about the 'Most Annoying Character' in video games. So let's think about who's annoying.

S: Annoying in what context?

R: There are no definitions provided, so … I think, any character that's notably unwanted - the game could be stronger without them. They're just … pissing you off, like you want to punch them in the face?

S: Like Hope?

G: Hope?

R: That's actually my choice! It's weird that you said 'Hope' because, yeah…

G: Oh, I actually haven't played that game.

R: Hope Estheim from Final Fantasy XIII. He spends the entire first forty hours of the game seething and whining and kind of comes off as a kind of one-dimensional character. And the whole thing kind of fizzles out by the time they reach Gran Pulse. The way they wrapped up his conflict was kind of unsatisfying.

S: It actually kind of fizzles out before that.

R: Yeah, it kind of does!

S: Like, it comes up briefly at moments and then just fizzles out very quickly.

R: And what really makes Hope annoying - on top of the fact that he's not a very enjoyable character - is the fact that he's the most useful magic-user in the game by far… so you're probably gonna have him in your party.

S: Sadly.

R: Yeah. So Hope, definitely for me most annoying character. Especially because you have to use him if you want a great party. He's gotta be there so you're gonna have to put up with his crap. I think he knows he can get away with it.

G: That's such a good example that I can't think of one.

R/S: *Hahaha*

My Choice: Hope Estheim. Don't be fooled by that innocent-looking face. He wants to hurt you. And he apparently can't shut up about it.

R: You know what I hear a lot is the dog from Duck Hunt.

G: …Really?

S: I like that dog!

R: Yeah, that's what surprised me! I never really had a beef with that dog! But he comes up a lot in these kinds of articles - somebody mentioned him in a Cracked article, and I've seen him come up in a few other '30 days' lists.

G: Well… we're not opposed to him in anyway.

R: Right. So what makes him so annoying? I mean… he laughs at you when you fail. Games find many ways to do this.

G: People have fragile egos.

R/S: *Hahahaha!*

S: I'd have to say that I find mimicking characters the most annoying.

G: What do you mean?

S: Like Seth from Street Fighter IV. He pretty much just mimics other people's move lists.

R: Oh yeah. Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat.

S: Yeah.

R: Speaking of mimicking characters, I don't know if it counts as a character but mimics from RPGs… you know, treasure chests that turn into enemies.

G: Yeah, those are pretty annoying.

S: Especially when you don't even get anything good afterwards.

R: So Sean, who's your choice then? For a most annoying character?

S: *Pauses*

R: You know, if you guys had to choose one.

G/S: *Pause*

R: Okay, let me rephrase that, you guys have to choose!

G/S: *Hahahaha!*

G: Right. I'd say that my 'most annoying character' would be Sonic. Not for any of his games, but because of the personality that people have given him.

R: Oh like how he's supposed to be arrogant and…

G: And hyper and kind of obnoxious. Those kinds of characters just annoy me.

R: Yeah they kind of… they kind of mess around with Sonic a lot.

G: The unfortunate thing is that if Sonic was a real person, he'd almost be like… a worn-out drug user.

R: Well, as a real person, that version of Sonic would definitely be really annoying.

German's Choice: Sonic the Hedgehog. The picture says it all. Admit it - if you knew somebody that acted like this in real-life... you'd either tell him to stop being such a douche bag or you'd punch him in the face.

G: What about you, Sean?

S: I dunno… it's pretty hard. I guess if I had to pick one, it'd have to be Seth.

R: Yeah? Seth?

S: Yeah, I mean, whenever you fight him, he's just so… cheap. I mean, he was a new villain and that was kind of exciting but he sort of comes off without a personality and when you fight him he just uses all the other move lists so you're kind of like… 'really'?

Sean's Choice: Seth from Street Fighter IV. The fighting game equivalent of an uninspired cover band.

*Mike chimes in*

M: Slippy Toad from Star Fox is really annoying.

R: Yeah, people complain about Slippy all the time, hahaha. I don't know though, like, I don't hate him.

M: Yeah! I don't hate him either! Like - I see his usefulness but he's still really annoying!

R: Hahaha, yeah I see what you're getting at.

M: But if I had to pick one… it'd actually be the sun from Mario 3.

S: The one that chases you around?

M: Yeah! As a kid, that thing traumatized me!

*Everyone laughs*

Mike's Choice: The sun from Super Mario Bros. 3. Interestingly enough, this very same night, Mike got his revenge on the sun, bashing it in the face with a turtle-shell, thus dooming the Mushroom Kingdom and the rest of humanity to perpetual darkness.

R: Hmm…I can still think of a few more, mostly from the recent Final Fantasy games, but there's no reason to keep riding Final Fantasy - I've been pretty hard on them as it is. I like Basch though. So there. That's a compliment for them.

Music of Bijoux Red - Nikolai White's Theme

2011-05-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

There's a new song available at the Bijoux Red dev blog. This is the theme music for Nikolai White, a recurring villain.

You can listen to the track here, or at the Bijoux Red site!

Click here to listen to Nikolai White's theme music, 'White Wolves'.

30 Days of Video Games Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were)

2011-05-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here are two guys. They're both kind of self-righteous, and they're both extremely passionate about their goals. Of course, one comes off as suave and worldly, and also a bit of a womanizer. The other one is goofy, stubborn and, although not without his charm, is kind of a douche.

Zidane Tribal, thief with the traveling theatre company Tantalus, and Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Kingdom of Alexandria's Pluto Knights, from Final Fantasy IX.

I'm not enough like either one of these flawed, lovable characters to pick just one - I've always considered my ambivalence to be one of my defining features. On any given subject, I tend to have two heavily contrasting opinions, leaving myself at odds... with myself. Just like these two by the end of Final Fantasy IX though, when they (not really a spoiler) begin to respect, and maybe even appreciate each other, I always end up coming out with one really well thought out conclusion - a sort of armistice between two warring opinions.

They're both loud, they're both flashy, they're both kind of arrogant and sort of self-righteous. Steiner never gives up trying to do something that he believes in, even though he's surrounded by people who disagree with him, and Zidane literally travels the entire world in the pursuit of his passions. Yep, this choice seems appropriate, even if choosing two characters is a bit of a cop-out.

But it's hard finding characters who are just like us, don't you think?

30 Days of Video Games Day 4 - Your Guilty Pleasure Game

2011-05-19T02:41:00.000-07:00

In contrast to Day 3, I don't really think the below needs an explanation.

The funny thing about this game is that it's ... kinda not bad ... and also kinda really bad all at the same time. Hey. Don't look at me that way. This is a guilty pleasure.

I'm sure everybody has one!

Megaman Tribute Artwork

2011-05-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

This was my submission for Udon's Megamen Tribute book I wasn't accepted but i believe it's because of the cross over or that i have no +rep points in that community Perhaps they thought it just sucked. In the end it doesn't matter i really enjoyed doing this and it was originally inspired by a dream i had. In the dream the story took place in the year 2,000,000,000,0XX yeah pretty weird The original Megaman returns but he is infused with the spirit(ELF) of X... The female Zero was Roll but had Zero's ELF in her though she had Zero's physical appearance. Beyond this I can't recall anything more from the dream.

enjoy

30 Days of Video Games Day 3 - A Game That Is Underrated

2011-05-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm gonna have to explain myself.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat has an interesting history. This title was originally released in March of 2003 in North America for the Nintendo GameCube. It was designed to be played with Nintendo's DK Bongos - as far as I know, it was the only game aside from the Donkey Konga series that made use of the instrument-shaped peripheral.

Despite a mixed reception, it was pretty cool.

Well, I played it through to completion (by that I mean all the secrets, levels, medals, etc.) and thought it was both challenging and satisfying to accomplish everything... but some things about the game bothered me. The game was not punishing enough, for one. Getting hit would basically drain your 'points'... and you had to lose all your 'points' before you could die. Of course, in a game that's all about racking up a huge score to unlock more stuff, that was definitely a motivating factor for in-depth play, but made the game too easy for casual play. The other botheration was, as it probably was for most people, the controller. It was fun, and it was cool, and it turned this side-scrolling platformer into something new... but it felt a little high-maintenance.

The above pretense is necessary to move onto my point - the game I really want to talk about, this 'game that is underrated' is the Wii remake of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Although they promoted this as part of the 'New Play Control' line of games (of which there are only three), Donkey Kong Jungle Beat for the Wii feels closer to a proper remake - almost like a Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Director's Cut!

So here are a few things that I want to gush about.

1 - Responsive and intuitive Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls turned this game into an instant platforming masterpiece.
2 - Higher difficulty level in the form of actual health provided a challenge for both casual and serious players.
3 - New levels and scoring system built on the foundation laid out by the previous game to provide a much richer experience.

Now, I love Donkey Kong Country - I think it's a great series. Donkey Kong Country Returns is incredible! But I'm partly convinced that the reason this game doesn't enjoy the reputation that it might actually deserve is because nobody knows what to expect from a game called 'Jungle Beat' - a play on the use of the bongo controllers, which of course are absent from the Wii version. Having played every game in the Country series, including Returns (although not all of them to completion), I am actually convinced that Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is the absolute BEST Donkey Kong game available and is more deserving of having the play style revisited than the DKC series! The action is fast-paced, and the emphasis on performing stylistic 'Combos' to rack up bananas really encourage players to experiment with different ways to play the incredibly challenging levels!

Well, this is all about a game being underrated, so I imagine I'm not the only one who has something to say that may sound surprising or unexpected.

Oh yeah, and I cleared this one to absolute completion too.

30 Days of Video Games Day 2 - Your Favourite Character

2011-05-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Do you even have to ask? Mega Man, aka Rock Man is easily my favourite character.

Anybody who knows me really well knows the answer to this one. But let's be serious here. I'm talking about Rock Man classic! I like X well enough, but the traditional blue bomber is where it's at!

Pictured above: Where it's at.

Mega Man 2 for the Nintendo Entertainment System was one of the first games that we owned, and the first game that I became truly obsessed with. I believe my cousin in Miami had just gotten a Sega Genesis when he sent us his NES, along with a royal sampler of titles like the first two Mario games, arcade vertical shooter Xevious and the game that would help shape my love of music and of Japan, Mega Man 2.

This awful photo features another kind of royal sampler, select Mega Man items of great personal value.

Signed by possibly the shyest mangaka in Japan. Great guy though. Turns out he did the sprite artwork for some of my favourite SNES games. Read: Actraiser 2.

So... what about you? Who is your favourite character in video games?

Some New Bijoux Red Sprites

2011-05-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

The harsh environment and the blazing sun aren't the only things to worry about in Freegrove. Along with other dangers, the feral inhabitants of Freegrove will keep Ander on his toes as he makes his way through the barren landscape.

You can click here to see the original post at the Bijoux Red blog.

Feral Dogs are the most common danger in Freegrove.

Although cowardly on their own, their attacks become more brazen in groups.

Scavengers and carrion seekers, Crows gather around the sites of old battles

Crows will viciously defend their prey if necessary

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

30 Days of Video Games Day 1 - Very First Video Game

2011-05-16T00:02:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Activision was the first third-party developer on the Atari? I've even heard somebody say once that they were the first third-party developer for any console ever! But I've never looked into that... and that might be a story for another time...

Do you remember the first sweater you ever wore? There's good reason to believe that this event happened in your youth - casually, uneventfully. And you probably didn't have the wherewithal to figure out what was happening when it was thrust onto you. My first video game moment was probably something like that. The fact is that my dad owned an Atari 2600 AND an Atari XL - on top of that, I was born in 1985; a month and some days before the Nintendo Entertainment System would be available in North America. Really, the universe had conspired against me and I didn't stand a chance. Video games were part of my life before I could even identify them as such.

Anyway, my brother and I busted out the ol' Atari and tried to figure out which game we played first - and after careful deliberation, we reasoned that Activision's imaginatively titled 'Boxing' for the 2600 might have been the first game that we'd ever played. But really, it could have been any one of these....

Reminiscing on a history of video games feels like a great way to kick-off this 30 Days of Video Games thing. So, now I put the question to you.... what was your very first video game?

Throwback Thursdays - King of Dragons

2011-05-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

King of Dragons

Vital Stats
Released for the SNES in North America in 1994 by Capcom
Our Play Time: 1-2 hours, over several, several gameplay sessions.
Played on: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Recommendations
You'll definitely like this game if you enjoy co-op brawlers like Streets of Rage or Golden Axe.
You might not like this game if multiplayer is something you believe should only ever be done over the internet.

Free advertising for A&C Games... located in downtown Toronto, your one-stop classic gaming shop!

Overview...

King of Dragons features many well-accepted fantasy staples, such as pantsless warriors in belly-tops and elves who felt compelled to join the archery team in high school.

King of Dragons is part of the grand '90s tradition of great Capcom games with memorably energetic soundtracks (music by the one and only Yoko Shimomura). The SNES port of this arcade brawler features a 2-player co-op mode, 5 playable characters with unique attribute progression and 16 unique levels. Pretty impressive when compared to other brawlers of the time - especially considering the changes to your character's sprite as they pick up new equipment.

The core gameplay is pretty standard for a side-scrolling beat-'em-up. Players 1 and 2 walk endlessly to the right as enemies throw themselves at your blades. Well, I don't think that description necessarily does the genre justice - but brawler fans probably appreciate this classic formula anyway (I know I do). And, as fans of the genre may expect, King of Dragons successfully brings it's own unique mechanics to the standard convention.

Getting Started...

As a general rule, I think brawlers are best enjoyed with a friend. That's probably the reason why I could never bring myself to buy the first Final Fight for the SNES (a single-player port of the arcade game). King of Dragons is no exception, and the teamwork required to make it through this game contributes heavily to the rich play experience.

If you're playing this alone, you're doing it wrong.

Like any good fantasy game, no one character can do it all - a successful team usually requires players to observe the strength and weaknesses of their partners. The Fighter, Cleric and Dwarf deliver powerful attacks at close range and can withstand enemy blows fairly well, while also having the option to defend themselves using their shields. While the Fighter might be the most well-balanced of the melee classes, the Dwarf is agile and tough (and is short enough to avoid certain attacks entirely). The Cleric on the other hand, although incredibly slow, takes the least damage from enemy attacks, levels up the quickest out of all the characters and sports decent magic strength.

The ranged attackers, the Wizard and the Elf, wear (as expected) laughably ineffective cloth for protection but provide serious support from a safe distance. It's also worth mentioning that while these two characters appear at first to be the weakest of the bunch (the lack of protection via shield can be a huge disadvantage in this game), the Wizard actually grows to become (arguably) the most powerful character, and the Elf is agile enough from the onset to avoid being damaged entirely in most scenarios. It should be noted that your ability to dodge attacks with the Elf will become integral to surviving in later levels as a mere two attacks from any given enemy will more than likely drain your entire health gauge.

Here's a hint, Wizard. Your cloth robes are about as effective as my t-shirt is when it comes to protecting you from golden-plated dragon-men with chain swords. Pictured above: One brave-ass Wizard.

A Kind of Awesome Stupid Journey...

In most arcade games from the '90s, story is something that you piece together half-heartedly in between numerous violent encounters with strangers (seriously, some of these so-called 'heroes' would make sociopaths blush). You might even make up your own as you battle toward a loosely defined goal. King of Dragons is no different. Unless you stick around the game's title menu to figure out what, if any, motivation you need to rearrange the faces of countless goblins and orcs - hell, even if you had stuck around to read whatever paper-thin plot they provide you with - you only have at best a vague idea of what your goal is (although chances are it involves killing, or becoming, the King of the Dragons).

Fortunately, the world map will provide you with enough visual clues to at least set a mental destination - or as the locals call it, 'that creepy-looking castle on the opposite end of the map from where we are'. That should be a simple enough task, provided that someone with any sense of competence is navigating your route.

What is the stupidest route we can take to that ominous-looking castle in the distance?

You probably won't complain as your heroes travel the country side on what has to be the world's most poorly planned detour - this game is, after all, pretty great. If that means you've got to scale a tower in the middle of the ocean that by no means will help you get to your destination more quickly - or at all - then so be it! Seriously. That happens. The whole scenario, however, serves to only confuse things further when, in a twist of logic, your team keeps moving... after defeating that creepy-looking castle!

This series of events may lead you to only one conclusion. Clearly that castle wasn't the final stage and your goal may lie elsewhere. The whole scenario is pretty hard to decipher since the developers never really give you a clear indication of how many stages are in this game. Note that you'd already be at stage 13 at this point, which is at least twice as many stages as most side-scrolling brawlers feature. It kind of lends things this 'any level could be the last level' feeling. In any event, you're going to eventually start asking yourself, "Where the hell are we going!?".

Your heroes promptly double back and start heading south after reaching the Northernmost area on the map - kind of a confusing twist as it looks like you might end up near where you started your journey from - and then the truth becomes apparent, "Oh... we're headed toward that tall mountain in the corner! That must be where the King of Dragons lives!"... Well, wait a second.

I had to take a picture to really illustrate this point because I couldn't find a complete map screenshot on the internet.

That huge blue mountain is the last level; the King of Dragon's seat of power and your ultimate destination in your quest to slay him... and it is right next to the very first level! There is literally nothing between that mountain and the forest in which you start the game! So what were the heroes trying to accomplish with that ridiculous detour in the first place? Well, I guess they helped win the battle against those bad guys in the North... but weren't they all servants of the King of Dragons anyway...?

Final Thoughts...

I really wanted to include a list of all of the hilarious observations we made while playing King of Dragons, but the truth is that we might be the only ones who think that they're funny at all. It might suffice to say though that shoddy dialogue and hilarious enemies, on top of a really stellar game, really help this title stand out.

Oh, but here's one observation I just have to share. Do you remember Goldar from the Power Rangers show? Well, apparently he's an enemy in this. And God hates him (as is made clear to us by the circumstances of his death). Now you'll have to play King of Dragons to find out what the hell I'm talking about.

Yes! I've slain the King of Dragons! Does that make me the new King of Dragons? Like Highlander? Can there be only one? Ho!

FANART - WIP The King Of Dragons

2011-05-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is a work in progress i was hoping to have it all finished for today.

I ran into a few challenges that i can't figure out at the moment also i'm not sure if i'm liking the results i have reached. Taking a break and looking back at it in a couple of weeks will perhaps help me understand what may be bothering me.

Anyway i hope you guys enjoy.

Music of Bijoux Red - Freegrove Theme

2011-05-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the game, players will explore a large urban landscape that includes scenes such as an abandoned subway system, a congested chinatown street and more. Despite the modern theme however, the player will also be exploring locations such as seaside caves, a thick dark forest and a dry hot field of tall grass and dead trees.

That last description applies to the first area players will explore in Bijoux Red; the vast and merciless expanse of Freegrove.

Click here to listen to 'A Secret, The Searing Wind, Tall Grass', the theme of Freegrove.

Rene Shible
Director - Bijoux Red

The Music of Mario Paint

2011-05-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Mario Paint is usually remembered these days for it's awesome music editor - but not remembered accurately. It's always kind of bugged me that the so-called Mario Paint music that people put together and show off on Youtube doesn't actually use the in-game music editor. If you remember what the music editor in Mario Paint was like, then you probably understand why I feel that way.

Put simply, the Mario Paint editor is so limiting that creating anything that sounds like anything else really is its own feat. Of course, I've also seen Youtube videos of songs actually made in Mario Paint that sound absolutely incredible. Those are my favourite ones. When compared to songs made outside of Mario Paint, in-game versions tend to show more creativity and ingenuity in portraying songs that would otherwise be impossible to duplicate using the extremely limited toolset provided. That's what makes them so impressive.

Mario Paint's musical legacy shouldn't end there though! The actual Mario Paint soundtrack is incredible! The music editing is fun and everything, but let's take the time to reminisce on the charming, sometimes trippy, music of Mario Paint.

The default BGM is my favourite theme from Mario Paint.

Although this one would have to be a close second.

A hallucinogenic coffee trip, a la Earthbound. Or just really trippy music to draw to.

My brother and I spent a lot of time in the stamp editor. It was the closest thing to making SNES sprites that we had at the time!

Does this theme remind anyone else of Super Mario RPG?

Keiji Inafune

2011-05-06T20:50:00.001-07:00

Gaming Marathon - Parasite Eve - Aya

2011-05-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

A fanart of Aya from Parasite Eve inspired by our gaming marathon.

One guy with a controller (Rene) and another with the strategy guide(Sean) to optimize our paths and find the best secrets. I was just a spectator watching the game like a movie cracking jokes on Daniel's hyper speed driving... thank god the city was abandoned.

I look forward to the next game when we have some free time to play it like this.

Sort of New, Sort of Old

2011-05-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

As a first post to kick off our Revolver Games blog, I thought it might be fun to revisit something new ... that is also sort of old.

What is this weird image?

Earlier in 2010, we were developing a visual novel that was intended to be multi-platform, available for both mobile phones and web browsers - we would refer to it as Project Blackroom during development. We've since shifted our focus to new projects, leaving Blackroom in an unclear state. (Although a release of the completed demo is probably going to happen soon, just so that we can share it with people).

But that's just all context.

I really just wanted to share the main theme from our mysterious visual novel.

I wrote this one almost a year ago, but I think it's still fairly chilling and mysterious.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 'Welcome to my Home' FROM THE PROJECT BLACKROOM OST