Tag Archives: PlayStation

The Northern Wind, the Sun and Me

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Spring is coming, and the weather has gotten nice and warm. I head over to Asakusa, to my usual haunt for breakfast. As I leave, I hold the door open for five ravenous tourists. It turns out they are the American rock band Incubus, here in Tokyo for their current tour of Asia. With very little interest in Incubus’s music, I pass up on the opportunity to be obsequious and instead take a train over to Shinjuku.

Today, I am visiting Takarazuka University of Art and Design to see an exhibition related to video games. After four years of study, the final projects of each student are showcased inside the university, providing visitors and potential new students with a glimpse of what the campus has to offer. I head straight for the 8th-floor office area and persuade my friend to give me a guided tour. Our first stop: a look at the Unreal Engine 4.

unrealengine

The game here, actually created by one of the teachers, is a simple platformer set on what appears to be a distant planet. The controls offer only movement and jumping, and while the game is somewhat basic, its main purpose is to showcase the graphics and textures that can be created with this engine. I enjoy jumping around for a while, admiring the water and landscape, before accidentally hitting a button on the controller that causes the game to stop working.

Next, we enter a room filled with iPads where we can try out actual games made by the students. Some of these delights include ‘Dancing Brain,’ ‘Fruits Panic!,’ and my favourite title, ‘Fable Sour Face.’ Apparently based on a novel, ‘Fable Sour Face’ was challenging to create as the student had to do it all alone—from scratch to the finished product. This tactical espionage operations adventure looks to me like a Doom/Quake clone. The tagline reads, ‘You get a lot of looks and can you tear it off.’

gamecrashed

I pick up the iPad to play, press the start button, but I am instantly greeted by an error message. For the second time today, I’ve managed to break something.

We continue to explore the various games—some very basic, others quite advanced. Interestingly, the video games room also features a collection of beautifully illustrated tarot cards based on German folktales, including the Pied Piper of Hamelin and the story of Rapunzel.

tarot

It makes me wonder, if anyone can simply make a set of tarot cards by themselves, how can they possibly be guided by a spiritual force during tarot readings? I start to think about things too much, pondering what might give the cards their mystical power, their divinatory aspect. Realising that I am being overly sceptical, I decide to instead check out the next room for more video games.

Kowloon’s Gate, a hugely popular adventure game released for the PlayStation in 1997, developed a massive cult following under the banner of the company ‘Zeque.’ Interestingly, one of the designers of the game is now a teacher at this university. He utilises the game to showcase the incredible power of the Oculus Rift.

occuluskowloon

This is my first time trying Oculus, and it’s an absolutely delightful experience. Strangely, when wearing the headset, it truly feels like I am living in another world — in this case, the world of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Oculus Rift allows me to see everything through the eyes of the protagonist. Massive headphones block out all other sounds, except that of the game, enabling me to become fully immersed. Motion sensors determine where the character is looking. I sit for about five minutes, moving my head around, in awe of the apparent realism I am experiencing. After leaving Kowloon, my head feels a little dizzy, as if I am suffering from serious motion sickness. I bid goodbye to my friend as he returns to work and leave the university.

With a head full of pixels and my thoughts lost to video games, I head over to the only place that makes any sense: Akihabara. I make a stop at Planet Sega, taking the lift to the third floor, where I play some arcade-style video games. After twenty minutes of playing BlazBlue and not doing so well, I need to use the restroom. Above the urinal is a very strange computer screen displaying a different kind of video game.

skirtup

The game is oddly titled ‘The Northern Wind, the Sun and Me’ and features a young woman presenting the weather. The urinal is fitted with a target and sensor, and the harder I urinate, the stronger the wind blows. The aim of the game is to make the wind so strong that the skirt of the young lady gets high enough to reveal her underwear. It makes me wonder what the ladies’ restroom offers for entertainment. Unfortunately, the video game arcade is populated entirely by men, so I have nobody to ask. Somewhat confused about what I have just experienced, I decide that I have had enough video games for one day and need to go home.

Tokyo Game Show 2014

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Today I grab my friend Dagmar and we head three trains to Chiba, to Kaihin-Makuhari Station. The station is full of posters advertising Tokyo Game Show. Outside the station, Rockstar Games are handing out flyers advertising Grand Theft Auto V, despite not even having a stand at this year’s event. I notice the flyer only mentions the PlayStation 4 release; any mention of the Xbox One (which first launched here two weeks ago to spectacular failure) is quietly left out.

We walk ten minutes to the Makuhari Messe Convention Centre, pay the ¥1200 entry fee, and enter the event.

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The Tokyo Game Show is an annual video game convention featuring over four hundred exhibitions this year. Over the past few years, the event has expanded to become one of the world’s biggest video game shows, with an expected attendance of over 300,000 people this weekend. It’s truly massive.

As much as I love video games, I’ve never been to a convention of this magnitude, and I’m not entirely sure what to expect. Inside, it’s a bustling sea of people—some sporting video game-themed shirts, others taking photographs of things that don’t particularly interest me, and many pushing and shoving through the crowds. Each video game company occupies its distinct area. The cacophony from numerous television screens across the many exhibitions is deafening.

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Our first stop is at the Square Enix area. This weekend, Square Enix has unveiled Shinra Technologies, a new cloud gaming platform named after the fictitious Shinra Electric Power Company from Final Fantasy VII. Director Hajime Tabata presents the eagerly anticipated new trailer for Final Fantasy XV. They offer playable demos for several other games including Bravely Second, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Final Fantasy Explorers, and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn for the PlayStation 4. Additionally, Square Enix boasts a merchandise section selling music from the Final Fantasy series, but the queue is incredibly long.

Microsoft has Mackenzie Crook persuading attendees to embrace the Xbox One, and his surprisingly fluent Japanese impresses the crowd. Dell Inc.’s Alienware showcases their new Steam gaming console, the Alpha, for the first time, offering hands-on trials, but the queues are, once again, too lengthy for our taste. The convention also hosts leading gaming companies like Capcom, Sega, Nintendo, and Konami. However, Japanese company Bandai Namco has taken a unique approach. Rather than showcasing trailers for their new games, they’ve opted for a cosplay showcase.

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Cosplay is a Japanese performing art, akin to fancy dress, where individuals dress up as characters from their beloved manga, anime, and video games. For some, it’s a display of adoration for a favourite character, while others fully embody the character while in costume. This event is teeming with participants dressed predominantly as video game characters, to the extent that the Tokyo Game Show even boasts a dedicated cosplay area.

costumes[1]

The show spans nine massive halls, featuring some exhilarating showcases this year. Among them is the newly announced VR prototype from Oculus Rift, the Crescent Bay, available for testing if one can withstand the hours-long queues. Thousands of playable demos for new games await, though enjoying them requires enduring the extensive lines. A live Winning Eleven 2015 football tournament is showcased on a colossal screen—a competition I would have eagerly joined if only I hadn’t arrived too late.

Among the crowds, there are numerous enthusiasts here—so passionate about manga, anime, and video games that the Japanese language has coined a term for them: ‘otaku,’ akin to the English ‘nerd.’ Some exhibits showcase women in cosplay, like modelling headphones, attracting these otaku who eagerly flock to capture photographs. It’s a surreal experience.

headphones[1]

One of my favourite sections at the Tokyo Game Show is the Sony-sponsored Indie Game Area. Here, we get the opportunity to try out demos of upcoming games from lesser-known developers, and the queues here are notably shorter than in the main areas. There are around thirty different games featured here, conveniently positioned next to Square Enix. This year, Sony has generously covered all the exhibit costs for independent developers, providing them with an outstanding platform to showcase their new games to an audience of passionate video game enthusiasts.

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Amidst the hands-on gaming zones and video game trailers, developers take to various stages, delivering live speeches and engaging in Q&A sessions. One of the most anticipated talks this weekend is from Konami, led by the legendary game designer Hideo Kojima. He’s here to unveil Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain. Regrettably for me, but understandably, the speech is delivered in Japanese. Following the presentation, a twenty-minute gameplay footage video graces a massive screen, sparking sheer delight among the crowd of thousands.

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Tokyo Game Show is incredibly overwhelming. Beyond the array of video games showcased, there are software companies unveiling new products, a section dedicated to mobile game developers, mobile phone companies, a sprawling food court, and an expansive merchandise hall. Renowned video game producers sign autographs while others distribute free magazines and leaflets advertising their games. I’m handed a glossy Japanese magazine adorned with captivating Square Enix game advertisements, each showcasing incredible artwork—a delightful keepsake.

As for the major games, the action-packed Bloodborne, from the creators of Dark Souls, boasts the most available playable demos, yet it also commands the longest queues, set for release in February 2015. Final Fantasy XV is restricted to trailers, with Square Enix confirming the release of its first playable demo in March 2015. On the other hand, World of Warships presents the most lacklustre display—an artillery turret where two women pose throughout the entire day.

worldofwarships[1]

The show remains open until 5 p.m., and Dagmar and I stay until the very end. As the crowds gradually disperse, two sumo wrestlers take advantage of the extra space and engage in a match, which delights me. Post-show, we indulge in some tempura before boarding a crowded rush hour train bound for Tokyo Station. As the train zooms past Tokyo Bay, we witness a beautiful sunset from within a carriage filled with Japanese otaku.