August Live Magazine

LIVE AUGUST 2015 ISSUE

RETRO edition

TONS of Game Previews & Reviews!

Page 50

Yaya Han

& Eve Beauregard Special Interview Page 50

Video Game Music

The best from yesterday & today...

Page 26

Welcome It’s a big issue. I think I might need to give Giselle a month off after this massive edition. Maybe not…

So it’s August here in Australia and that means winter. It also means it’s a great time to get warm and play a game or two. If you’re in the northern hemisphere then you’re probably thinking the opposite and want a cool drink and the air conditioner on. Either way we’ve got lot’s of good reading for you. We took a look at music in games, something our review editor Nick is passionate about. Plus we gave the whole magazine a retro feel as we also looked back at the games, consoles and even the magazines that many of us started out with many years ago. Those were good times to be a gamer.

don’t just sit there, start

INSIDE 26 50 112 144 THE LIVE TEAM Music in Video Games Previews & Reviews

Geek Out Cosplay

For Cosplay fans we sat down with Yaya Han and Eve Beauregard who were in Australia for AVCon, check out what they had to say plus lot’s of cool photos from the IGSP gang. We also sat with some indie developers and asked about the state of indie games and if it’s kind of like the early days of PC game development… yes it kind of is.

There’s lots more including our Trading Card special feature, comics, retro, board games and all that good stuff we all love. We really hope you love this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together. Many thanks to our editors, Kylie and Nick plus our regular contributors, Paul, Jess and Scott and now anime reviewer Jesse Richardson.

Rob Jenkins Editor

Publisher: Rob Jenkins (GTHQ) Art Director: Giselle Capozza (GTHQ) Game Review & Preview Editors: Nick Getley & Kylie Tuttle (Sticky Trigger) Retro Writer: Paul Monopoli Board Games: Jess Wilson Comics: Scott Sowter Sticky Trigger Writers: Kylie Tuttle Nick Getley Alex Holmes Aaron Milligan Ben Rachow Bridget Sweeney

reading

Sean Fox Sasha Karen Jason English Johnny Scene

FALLO + $169 for PC version. *Unlicensed prop replica. Limited time only.

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TWITCH DITCHES FLASH On July 22nd Twitch announced on its’ blog that it was redesigning it’s video player on the web.

The main change is Flash is out and HTML5 is in. With Firefox recently blocking Flash, it seems that maybe the days are numbered for Flash…

X

IS YOUR TABLET KEEPING YOU AWAKE?

Oh dear… if you’re a tablet book reader, magazine lover or just like keeping up with social media or playing a game in bed, there’s bad news. A study published by BMJ Open looked at 10,000 16-19 year olds in Norway and found that the longer a young person spent looking at a digital screen before bed, the worse their sleep. Hey does that mean if you’re older then 19 you’re ok?

Probably not…

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NEWS august 2015

ASTROPAD! Hey designers, photographers and people who simply like drawing, the Astropad turns your iPad into a graphics tablet for your Mac. Yeps it’s true. You download an app and connect via either by wireless or USB and can draw directly onto your iPad and work on your images etc on your Mac. Great for cosplay photographers who want to try retouching in more details.

The press kit says: “Astropad transforms your iPad into a professional graphics tablet for your Mac. Use your iPad to draw directly into Photoshop and any other Mac creative tools you know & love. Finally, you can use your iPad as a drawing tablet for your favorite Mac tools including: Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Corel Painter, Manga Studio, Pixelmator, Mischief and any other Mac app you like! Whether you are a professional digital artist or a hobbyist, Astropad offers the most powerful way to draw on your Mac using your iPad.” So for the price of an app - $24.99 AUS and add to that a stylus and you’re painting and drawing on you iPad to your big screen.

THE SETTLERS ONLINE CELEBRATES MID-YEAR AND LAUNCHES NEW PVP CONTENT Ubisoft and Blue Byte celebrate midyear with a brand new ingame seasonal event for The Settlers Online. This special also gives players renewed access to rare items that were only available during previous seasonal events. A new PvP leaderboard enables players to compete with each other in three different ranking types.

er’s won/lost unit ratio), average time (needed for all Expeditions maps a user has played), and fastest time (fastest finished Expedition map). The Water Castle is also given to PvP players as a reward, providing a visualization of experience status. Upgrades of the Water Castle are unlocked with every second increasing PvP level.

Players are invited to view the newest Blue Byte Backstage Episode, offering a preview of the seasonal event and additional PvP content, online or via download.

Join the fun and start playing The Settlers Online for free now at www.thesettlersonline.com.

During the next three weeks, former event resources can be converted in the Provision House into tokens. Those tokens allow players to purchase popular buffs, specialists or buildings from previous events that aren’t otherwise available.

Leaderboards give the player’s rank in terms of efficiency (a play-

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NEWS AUGUST 2015

SPLATOON REELY NETS ONE MILLION SALES

Nintendo has caught over one million sales with its tantalising new bait, Splatoon for the Wii U. According to internal Nintendo figures, physical and digital sales have reached one million copies worldwide.

The breakdown of this one million sees more than 476,000 copies sold in the North America, more than 368,000 copies in Japan, more than 230,000 copies sold in Europe, and more than 20,000 copies sold in Australia and New Zealand.

“Since Splatoon launched,” said Tom Enoki, Nintendo Australia’s Managing Director, in a press release, “… it has been great to see so many players competing in the ink battles”.

Splatoon is also the first Wii U game of a new Nintendo IP to reach over one million sales on the Wii U. The success of Splatoon is only going to get better from here, with the promise of new content being added to the base game for free, with numerous weapons and three stages already added.

A major update will arrive in August to further expand on the available content, adding new multiplayer game modes.

Players who want to get more out of Splatoon with the Splatoon series of amiibo should be able to do so too, with the Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy, and the Triple Pack exclusive Squid amiibo in ample stock in stores.

DOCTOR WHO TRAVELS ACROSS TIME AND SPACE IN NEW LEGO DIMENSIONS TRAILER On July 9th at San Diego ComicCon, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment revealed a new trailer showcasing Doctor Who characters and gameplay from their upcoming toys-to-life Lego action-adventure game, Lego Dimensions.

Peter Capaldi, who plays the 12th Doctor, Jenna Coleman, who plays Clara Oswald, and Michelle Gomez, who plays Missy, will voice their respective characters from the long running British science fiction television series in LEGO Dimensions.

The new trailer illustrates the near-endless potential for different franchises as the Doctor meets Back to the Future‘s Dr Emmett Brown and The Simpsons‘ Homer Simpson.

Launching September 28, 2015, LEGO Dimensions will be available for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and the Wii U.

CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 3 ZOMBIES MODE HEADS TO THE 1940’S WITH RON PERLMAN, JEFF GOLDBLUM AND HEATHER GRAHAM During the San Diego ComicCon, Activision and Treyarch revealed the highly-anticipated Zombies mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.

This new instalment of the immensely popular Zombies mode looks to expand upon previous versions in a number of exciting ways, including an expanded story that features an all-star Hollywood cast of actors, including Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy), Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Independence Day), Heather Graham (Boogie Nights), Neal McDonough (Minority Report, Captain America: The First Avenger) and Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager).

The video shows that Treyarch have expanded upon Zombies in a number of ways. There’s now

a bigger focus on fleshing out its protagonists and their backstories, as well as a bigger focus on the mode having a story in general. The core gameplay remains the same, though there are a number of strange additional power ups such as a powered shield and some truly bizarre alien/mutant tentacles.

While details are scarce at present, we can confirm that Black Ops 3’s Zombies mode was going to have a progressive leveling-up system similar to Call of Duty’s multiplayer mode. With Zombies mode now having more of a story, it’s unclear whether the series will return to a wavebased survival mode, or more of a traditional gameplay structure.

Sticky Trigger will have more details as they arise.

Ubisoft Unveils Gravity Falls 3DS Game

On July 13th, Ubisoft has unveiled Gravity Falls: Legend Of The Gnome Gemulets, a brand new 3DS title based off the hit series, Gravity Falls.

Within this upcoming 3DS title, a crisis has apparently unfolded within the realms of the Gnome kingdom. With the help Dipper and Mabel, players must assume the roles of the Pine twins in both exploring and uncovering the mystery surrounding this platformer title.

Partnering with the shows creator (Alex Hirsch), the game is said to include original art assets based from his designs. With key locations such as Gravity Falls and the Mystery Shack said to be included, players will also be able to encounter numerous characters throughout certain points in the game.

Gravity Falls: Legend Of The Gnome Gemulets, is set for release later this spring. In the meantime, be sure to check out some screenshots and the official teaser.

Etrian Mystery Dungeon Australian Release Announced

NIS America has announced the Australian and New Zealand release for Etrian Mystery Dungeon on the Nintendo 3DS. Combing both the RPG party and skill aspects of Atlus’ original Etrian Odyssey games, along with randomly generated dungeons from Spike Chunsofts Mystery Dungeon series – players can expect to pick up the following crossover title September 17th, later this year.

With a top-down combat system operating through turn based mechanics, players can form parties of up to four individual heroes in exploring these randomly generated terrains.

With up to 10 different individual class types, leveling up is operated on a set of skill trees throughout the progression of Etrian Mystery Dungeon. With heavy emphasis on party abilities, challenge awaits newcomers to Mystery Dungeon, with the game said to take into account in using the right abilities for the right dungeon.

For more Etrian Odyssey news, be sure follow Sticky Trigger Entertainment. In the meantime, feel free to check out the following teaser trailer down below.

Spectra Launches For Steam And Xbox One

Gateway Interactive have today official released Spectra, an arcade racing game currently available for Xbox One and Steam.

Here in Spectra, players must race down tracks of light, collect points and avoid obstacles during the process. Inspired by early arcade racers, Spectra embraces its minimalistic aesthetics and design, in providing a game that places emphasis on high scores, fast reflexes and challenging levels.

As well its gameplay, Spectra features 10 original tracks by the artist Chipzel – the artist who worked on the tracks for Super Hexagon.

Spectra is currently out now for Xbox One and Steam. For now, be sure to treat your auditory senses and have a gander at their launch trailer down below.

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Bonus Map Included With Black Ops 3 Collectors Editions Following on from the San Diego’s Comic Con coverage, Treyarch has unveiled “The Giant” bonus map for the collectors editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Returning back in all it’s undead roots, “The Giant” will be takes place in a Nazi research facility, with the classic map “Der Riese” available for players to partake in.

the leading protagonists stories.

Whilst the core gameplay remains the same, it’s been confirmed that Black Op’s III Zombies is said to include a progressive leveling-up system similar to Call of Duty’s multiplayer modes. As well as this, new power ups such as powered shields and bizarre alien mutant tentacles, have been said be added within the game mode.

Picking up from where the last Zombies origins left off, players can assume the roles of Dempsey, Nikolai, Richtofen, and Takeo. With details fairly scarce at this point, Treyarch’s trailer looks like it’s focused on delivering bigger focus on fleshing out

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, is expected for release on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC November 6th this year. For more news, be sure to follow us at Sticky Trigger for more updates.

BEFORE

AFTER

Konami Removes Kojima’s Name From MGSV’s Boxart Konami has recently pulled This news comes as the latest Hideo Kojima’s name from the in the bitter feud between Kojima cover of Metal Gear Solid V: The Productions and Konami – after Phantom.

Konami earlier this year announcing the cancellation of the highly Being released late last night anticipated Silent Hills. from a fellow NeoGaf user, the updated box art reveals Kojima After Kojimas reported departure Productions name scrubbed of Konami as a whole, Konami’s under the blanket, with com- new CEO Hideki Hayakawa has parisons of the original boxart confirmed that the company will be showed in the picture below. As steering into the direction of mowell as the company logo, “A bile game development. With the Hideo Kojima Game” has also removal of P.T. from the PlayStabeen removed. tion Store, it’s become clear that

the company will be focusing on a lot less console games within the upcoming future.

Despite all that’s been happening between the two companies, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is still slated for release on September 1st for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. A PC release is soon to follow through later on, September 15th.

Batman: Arkham Knight DLC ‘Batgirl: A Family of Matter’ Out Now The latest downloadable content for Batman: Arkham Knight, Batgirl: A Matter of Family, was released on Wednesday for those with the Batman: Arkham Knight season pass.

The downloadable content is set prior to the events of the first of the Batman: Arkham franchise, Batman: Arkham Asylum and stars Batgirl and Robin as they rescue Commissioner Gordon from the clutches of the Joker at the Seagate Amusement Park. Batgirl’s skills includes her

combat prowess due to being trained by Batman, as well as unmatched hacking skills to take out anything, man or machine, that stands in her way.

Future Batman: Arkham Knight content due to be released to season pass holders in August includes the 1989 Movie Batmobile Pack and the Bat-family Skins Pack. The 1989 Movie Batmobile Park includes content from the 1989 Batman movie; a Batman skin based off Michael Keaton’s appearance and the

Batmobile from the movie, and two tracks inspired by the sequel, Batman Returns.

The Bat-family Skins Pack includes six character skins based on different timelines; 1990s Catwoman, One Year Later Robin, Arkham Origins Batman, Iconic Grey & Black Batman, 1970s Batman and the Original Arkham Nightwing.

For season pass holders, Batgirl: A Matter of Family is available now. For those without the season pass, the downloadable content was available from the 22nd of July.

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NEWS AUGUST 2015

The Escapists The Walking Dead Announced In early July, Team17 announced The Escapists The Walking Dead, a combination of The Escapists’ gameplay with the original The Walking Dead comic, in collaboration with Skybound Entertainment.

The game will feature Rick Grimes as he and a cast of survivors from the original comic book must look for safe escape routes past hordes of zombies.

The Escapists The Walking Dead is said to follow the events that occurred in the comic, so The Walking Dead fans will surely get something as they survive through memorable moments.

The Escapists fan haven’t been left in the dark either, as the game has its 8-bit pixel style, as well its crafting gameplay.

“Team17 presented a creative plan to blend The Walking Dead into The Escapists and our response was simple. When do we get started?” said President of Skybound Entertainment Daniel

Murray in a media release. “We are excited to offer fans of The Walking Dead something different and The Escapists The Walking Dead is just that. A playful interpretation that we believe fans of great games in general will love.”

“Masterminding your escape from prison is hard enough but how can we make it harder?

Zombies,” said Team17’s Managing Director Debbie Bestwick, also in a media release. “Remember poor Rick Grimes trying to escape hospital, organise life at a farm or hold up in an abandoned prison? A little bit of awesome 8-bit pixel love later and BOOM!” More information is coming soon. With both The Escapists and The Walking Dead fans here at Sticky Trigger Entertainment, we’ll be following this closely.

The Escapists The Walking Dead will be released for PC and Xbox One. No release time frame or date has been given at this point.

Metrico+ Announced For PS4, Xbox One and Steam Dutch developers down at Digital Dreams have unveiled a remake to their award winning puzzle game, Metrico+.

Originally released for the PS Vita, Metrico+ comes packed with revamped graphics, and additional new content to replace the worlds reliant on the PS Vita hardware. Centered on the theme of infographics, Metrico’s aesthetics and gameplay rely heavily on the beauty of this art form and how players can interact with it in solving challenging areas. Following their initial press release, lead designer of Metrico+ Geert Nellen said that he’s more than pleased in allowing a broader audience to experience his title.

“We are extremely happy with how Metrico was received by players and press,” said Geert.

“The PlayStation Vita is a fantastic platform with a great audience, but we want more people to enjoy the world we created.”

Metrico+ is scheduled for release later in 2016, for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. In the meantime, PS Vita owners can still pick up the original release today from the PlayStation Store.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited Imperial City DLC Dated On July 16th, more details were announced for Elder Scroll Online: Tamriel Unlimited’s first downloadable content, Imperial City.

In Imperial City, players will travel to the Imperial City, the capital city of Tamriel and featured previously in the 2006 multiplatform title The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. However, instead of being attacked by Mehrunes Dagon, the Daedric Prince of Destruction, this time Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement, is wreaking havoc. In this crisis, new content is available, with new areas, quests, enemies and items.

Imperial City features PVE and PVP content, where players will be able to fight the forces of Molag Bal, as well as players from other Alliances. Both PVP and PVE is available in the Imperial Sewers dungeon, while White-Gold Tower and the Im-

perial City Prison offer Normal and Veteran versions in PVE. Also found in this new city are quests, characters and enemies, such as the mysterious Xivkyn.

New items will also be available, and in abundance. Veteran Rank 16 weapons are available to be purchased with a new currency, Tel Var stones. Greedy adventurers be wary, as if another person slays you, your Tel Var stones are theirs.

New Crown Store items are also going to be added, including the Mind Shriven Horse, the Daedrat Pet, and the Soul Shriven Pack.

Imperial City will be given to those with an active ESO Plus Membership, or for 2,500 Crowns via the Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited Crown Store, and will be available to be purchased for The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited on the PC and Mac on the 31st of August, September 15th on the Xbox One, and September 16th on the PS4.

Nintendo Appoints New Co-Heads After the recent passing of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, Nintendo has announced that SAhigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda will be acting as the main company representatives and senior managing directors.

In accordance to an official Nintendo document, the company for now will be run by these two legendary developers. Whilst everyone knows Miyamoto through his work on both the Mario and Zelda series – Takeda has quite the status himself, and has been with Nintendo for just as long as Miyamoto himself.

With this year marking his 43rd anniversary with Nintendo, Takedas most notable track record comes through his time in the R&D3 team. Having worked on such games such Mike Tysons Punch-Out!!, Takeda was also involved in the development of the Nintendo’s battery backup memory – the technology responsible in saving game data.

Despite having experience such a devastating loss, with any luck this will come as a sign of relief to know that Nintendo is still being well managed. For now though, the industry is in mourning for the loss of such as amazing man.

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NEWS AUGUST 2015

wanted n64 consoles and games!

While Gametraders trades all formats, we’re particularly looking for Nintendo 64, so if you’ve got old consoles or games laying around bring them into your local store - we’d love to check them out!

retro trivia:

Did you know that the original playstation was going to be a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo?

Sticking with Nintendo - did you know they are over 120 years old and originally started out as a playing card company?

Apparently the original name for the Xbox was - DirectXbox!

So you think you know your retro trivia? What do you think was the first video game system?

The Magnavox Odyssey was the first system - it was made in 1972 and sold around 100,000 systems. Only 16 games were made…

What was the second computer made by Apple? No… no iMacs back then, the Apple II was made in 1977 and sold around 5 million. With a price tag of $1300 without the monitor and drive, it was a huge success and was popular as a game platform!

Commodores are not just cars. There was also a hugely popular computer system too. Known as the C64 (or Commodore 64) it was made and sold from 1982 and sold around 20 million units. Software came on tapes (yep cassette tapes) Disks, and Cartridge. It had classic games like Exploding Fist and Silent Service and really was a brilliant games system that you could tell mum and dad was for homework...

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NEWS august 2015

DOCTOR WHO & HARRY POTTER POPS have hit gametraders stores!

The much anticipated Doctor Who & Harry Potter Pops have finally hit stores, and they’re selling fast! Get in to your local Gametraders today before they sell out!

FALLOUT 4 WASTELAND PACK EXCLUSIVE TO GAMETRADERS! We all love exclusives and Gametraders has a cracker for you. We’ve got our Wasteland Pack exclusive featuring Fallout Game plus our laser pistol and it’s gone viral. With orders coming in from all over the country you won’t want to miss this. The gun is a cosplay prop and unlicensed but amazingly well made and hand painted. Don’t miss this!!

6” Super Sized Pops!

canvas' AT GAMETRADERS SEE IN STORE FOR PRICING.

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AUGUST GAME

RELEASES! DATE

TITLE

FORMATS

01/08/2015 Journey Collectors Edition

PS4

01/08/2015 Hello Kitty Kruisers

Wii U

01/08/2015 Hello Kitty and the Apron of Magic

3DS

04/08/2015 Rare Replay

XB1

25/08/2015 Gears of War Ultimate Edition

XB1

26/08/2015 Until Dawn

PS4

27/08/2015 Dishonored Definitive Edition

XB1, PS4

27/08/2015 Lost Dimension

PS3, PSV

27/08/2015 Madden NFL 16

XB1, PS4, 360, PS3

27/08/2015 Onechanbara Z2 Chaos

PS4

27/08/2015 One Piece Pirate Warriors 3

PS3, PS4

TRADE AT GAMETRADERS & GET IN-STORE CREDIT &

BIG SAVINGS! Got unwanted games or consoles sitting around at home? Bring them into Gametraders and we’ll give you store credit that you can use when you buy anything in-store!

Ask staff on how you can trade & save now!

PLUS at Gametraders you can choose from our massive range of discounted pre-owned and retro gaming!

Buying, selling & trading retro now!

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special report

THE PASSING OF A LEGEND SATORU IWATA 1959 - 2015

The gaming industry and game players were in mourning following news that Satoru Iwata, the President and CEO of Nintendo, passed away on the 11th of July, 2015. He was aged 55.

The news was announced by Nintendo in a media release.

Since last year, Iwata had been battling a tumour in his bile duct and missed last year’s E3 as a result.

He passed away due to a growth in his bile duct.

A Man in Memoriam

Iwata has always been keen on electronics, graduating from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, graduating in computer science. He began his work at Nintendo working with HAL Laboratory in 1983. At this early stage, Iwata helped contribute towards the creation of the Kirby series with Kirby’s Dreamland (1992), the Famicon version of Balloon Fight (1985), and Earthbound (1994). Iwata was heavily involved with the programming of Earthbound. One difficult instance he had was programming the bike, an item given early in the game that players can ride. On this, he said

in an interview with the Japanese Weekly Famitsu magazine, “…that was a hell of a hailstorm. We had to build all kinds of special provisions just to manage it. Any normal programmer would turn up their nose at it, though. But it was like a motto of ours to never do that… Once a programmer says they can’t do something, future games are done for. What we’re considering nowadays are ways for us to avoid that.

Instead we think about how we, as producers, can clearly portray our thoughts and ideas to the recipient customer without saying “We can’t do that.””

Iwata’s achievements in programming transcend his work at HAL Laboratory. The Nintendo 64 title Pokémon Stadium (1998). He ported the battle system from the GameBoy titles Pokémon Red and Green (1996) to Pokémon Stadium in a week. GameBoy Colour titles Pokémon Gold and Silver (1999).

He created compression tools to reduce the size of the Pokémon graphic code.

Back then, even he was captured by the workings of the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the

Mario and Zelda franchises. In an Iwata Asks, Iwata said “I was always watching and learning from him. From outside of Nintendo I used to observe him, my eyes like saucers, wondering: “Why does Miyamoto-san always succeed?””.

He must have picked something up, as in 1993, Iwata became the President of HAL Laboratory, and then in 2000, was promoted into Nintendo itself.

In 2002, Hiroshi Yamauchi retired as President, and Iwata was named as his successor, the fourth President of Nintendo. This was quite an achievement, since the previous three Presidents had all been in the Yamauchi family. One of his first duties was overseeing the creation of The Pokémon Company, transferring every decision relating to marketing and developing from Game Freak to The Pokémon Company.

Since then, Iwata had been at the helm of many changes for Nintendo. He saw through the specialised GameCube (2001), and then soared to the skies with the success of the Nintendo DS (2004) and the Wii (2006). He was in charge when Nintendo begun their Nintendo Directs, live streams across the world to show new games coming out, with a zany twist here and there.

He wasn’t just a business man he was a man at heart; when Nintendo wasn’t doing too well at the beginning of last year, Iwata reduced his own pay by 50 per cent as a result.

It wasn’t just business decisions that Iwata made, but decisions a gamer would make too. Iwata himself conducted a series of “Iwata Asks” interviews. Mentioned earlier, these were interviews conducted with the hardware and software staff of upcoming hardware and software developers. In a special Iwata Asks about Iwata himself af-

ter the release of the Wii, he said “One of the reasons I am doing it this way is because it’s possible to discuss the project more deeply than would be possible if we called in an outside interviewer,” and later on, Yasuhiro Nagata, a writer from Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun and editor of Iwata Asks, said “…it’s not just you, either. All of the developers taking part in these interviews are also smiling.” Recently, it was under him that Nintendo also started live streaming combined hours of gameplay footage of recently announced games at E3, to show players how new and upcoming games would play like, past the trailer.

Image from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoru_Iwata

Iwata was also known for having a bit of a cheeky side. “My name is Iwata. I’m about making games and I’m about playing games,” he said at E3 2005. “Last night, I played Super Smash Bros. That’s my game.

I kicked some… you know what and I took his name. His name was Reggie. As Nintendo president, I’m also all about asking questions. So Reggie, I have a question for you.

Who’s your daddy?”

If you’ve played a game from HAL Laboratory from 1983, or a Nintendo game from 2000, chances are you’ve played a game that Iwata was in one large or small part, involved with. Today, play a game. Be it Kirby, Earthbound, Super Smash Bros., anything Nintendo, or heck, even something not from Nintendo.

When it came right down to it, Iwata was all about having fun.

So today, have some fun!

Rest in Peace in that gaming cloud in the sky Iwata!

Saturo Iwata – 1959 – 2015

WRITTEN BY SASHA KAREN WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

FEATURE ARTICLE

A Look at History and The Evolution of Video Game Soundtracks and Music

The music found in a game is just as crucial as its graphics, gameplay and story, though it is one factor of video games that is often overlooked by both developers and gamers alike. When done well, the soundtrack to a game can motivate the player, or it can strike fear into them. It can leave us feeling rewarded after winning a difficult battle, or it can leave us feeling humiliated at the hands of defeat. It can help a game in making us laugh, or it can make us cry. Video game music in itself is an artform, and this can be illustrated by the fact that there are cover bands and sold out live performances dedicated to gaming’s most popular soundtracks.

Game music today comes in a wide variety of forms. Some developers use real life bands and other artists, others keep close to game music’s roots with chiptunes, some developers use full orchestras to deliver a cinematic approach, and some like deliver thumping electronic tracks or heavy metal to appeal to hype the player up. But how did we arrive here? What are the roots of game music, and what are some notable examples of clever game soundtracks?

Bleeps and Bloops and Invaders From Outer Space!

For almost as long as there have been video games, they have featured music. The first games were sound effect only, but it wasn’t long before an iconic video game exposed us to just how effective an accompanying music track can be, and that game was Space Invaders.

Developed in 1977 by Taito, Space Invaders saw players piloting a lone spaceship and fending off hordes of alien invaders. The game began at a rather manageable pace, and didn’t exactly challenge the player.

As the game progressed, however,

the speed of the ships strafing and advancing on the player would increase, causing the player to stress and at times, panic. Apart from the ships themselves, there was one aspect that truly added to this nightmarish experience: the soundtrack.

The soundtrack was extremely basic, and was only comprised of four descending notes. That’s it, four descending notes would be responsible inducing stress and sweaty palms among millions of arcade gamers worldwide. Space Invaders opened up the door for many video game developers, and it wasn’t

until games like Frogger and PacMan that we saw video game tunes that could be considered memorable. For every catchy tune like Pac-Man though, there were countless other games with ill-conceived bleeps and bloops. Indeed, many developers simply created loud and distracting games in an attempt to make their arcade cabinet stand out in a crowded arcade – more noise to accompany bright and flashy intros could catch a potential customer’s eye.

what were home consoles doing?

Of course, during the arcade era, the second generation of home consoles arrived, and the most successful home console of the second generation was easily the Atari 2600. Although the Atari had a number of brilliant games, the technology was behind that of its arcade rival. This meant that only two audio tracks were able to be played at the same time, severely limiting creativity from a musical standpoint. Still, there were times where Atari (and other second generation consoles)

managed to impress with its musical offerings, such Montezuma’s Revenge (1983), with its rendition of Spanish Flea.

Thankfully, the arrival of more advanced technology allowed for more tracks and instruments to be used, and home consoles would allow for developers to create deeper games driven by story and characters, and one country in particular would be showing the world how to create game soundtracks...

Nintendos Koji Kondo Lays Down the Tracks For Others to Follow Before Shigeru Miyamoto became the visionary artist/developing juggernaut/industry figurehead he is today, he was an apprentice at Nintendo, a company he would later lead into greatness. With a deep appreciation of Japanese manga and anime, Miyamoto created some of gaming’s most memorable characters. After cutting his teeth on Donkey Kong and Mario Bros, he would create a video game with one of the most memorable and enjoyable soundtracks of all time, Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros is one of the greatest games of all time, and with good reason. Each and every

aspect of its design was groundbreaking for the time and not only that, they remain brilliant even today. Miyamoto wanted Super Mario Bros to do away with the limitations of video game design of the time, and many people consider Super Mario Bros to be the first role-playing game. Instead of racing cars, jumping on platforms or eating falling hamburgers, Super Mario Bros saw players traversing a number of different worlds in the hopes of rescuing a princess. He knew he wanted a game soundtrack that offered a sense of adventure, a soundtrack that would illustrate the variety of the game worlds, and most importantly, was light-hearted and fun.

Enter Koji Kondo, a former jazz musician who was hired to create music and sound effect for Nintendo in 1983. Kondo was not only a gifted composer, but he also understood the limitations of the hardware of the time, and was able to write repetitive music that wouldn’t become irritating to the player on lengthy game sessions. With The Legend of Zelda (1986), Kondo created one of the most influential pieces of video game music ever. The soundtrack to The Legend of Zelda creates a true sense of adventure, with each scene and area of the game being accompanied by perfect music. It set the standard for many years to come.

Nobuo Uematsu From XXX to AAA In later years, another Japanese video game composer would come onto the scene: Nobuo Uematsu.

Funnily enough, Uematsu’s beginning were as far away from video games as one could get – a XXX film soundtrack. Apparently, the film’s director played Nobuo’s soundtrack to the actors during filming – which had to stop because the actors began crying. It was then that Nobuo knew he had to set his sights on more than simply taking whatever

work came his way. Thankfully, He was offered a job by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and not long after, the beautiful Final Fantasy soundtrack was born.

While Nintendo’s Koji Kondo had a predominantly upbeat and motivating style of music, Nobuo Uematsu quickly became known for beautiful scores that epitomized the Japanese role-playing-game subgenre.

Uematsu and Kondo approached

the soundtracks to each game differently, writing music that was unique and suited their respective games perfectly – gone was the era of simply making a noisy arcade cabinet to win the most coins from customers and in its place, came a new standard of amazingly wellwritten soundtracks that became as important to a video game as the gameplay itself.

The Rebellious Western Sound During the 90s, many American developers were creating brilliant game soundtracks, though there was one developer in particular, who embraced a real-life counterculture movement to bridge the gap between video games and popular culture: id Software. During the 90s, a counter-culture movement called grunge was sweeping the nation.

Generation X were questioning wholesome American family values in every aspect of their lives, including music. Id Software were hugely influenced by the grunge movement, wanting to develop video

games that they themselves wanted to play. Fed up with Pac-Man and Super Mario, they developed the grand-daddy of all ultra-violent shooters with DOOM, and DOOM’s soundtrack needed to kick just as much ass as its gameplay!

DOOM’s developers John Romero and John Carmack were huge fans of heavy metal music, and it only made sense for DOOMs fast-paced and frantic shooting to be met with a heavy metal soundtrack. If you listen to the DOOM soundtrack, a lot of similarities can be heard be-

tween the game and popular metal and grunge artists like Slayer, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Pantera, and more.

After DOOM, many games utilized MIDI tracks that emulated rock music, such as Road Rash and Skitchin’. Some even built an entire game around how well video games could emulate real-life music, like Blizzard’s Rock N’ Roll Racing. It wouldn’t be long before optical media arrived, propelling game design into the future, and providing unlimited potential for game music...

the cd era Sony’s PlayStation console released in December 1994 (in Japan) and brought with it the advantages of optical media. CDs meant that compressed audio files could be used in place of MIDIs. This means that instead of low-grade imitation instruments, real instruments and recordings could be used for a game’s sound effects and soundtrack. One of the earliest and most successful titles to utilize the benefits of optical media was EA Games’ (then Electronic Arts) Road Rash (1996).

Road Rash featured real music by actual bands and artists, such as Soundgarden, Monster Magnet,

Paw and Therapy? Soon after, other PlayStation era video games would cement the relationship between video games and popular music.

Meanwhile, both Japanese and American video game composers were creating brilliant scores for video games that would not have been possible without optical media. 3D graphics went hand in hand with orchestral soundtracks to create some of the most immersive video games ever created, such as Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid.

On a side note, it was during the PlayStation era that we saw the pop-

ularization of the Music or Rhythm game genre, with titles such as Parappa The Rapper, Dance Dance Revolution, and Guitar Freaks not only featuring brilliant music, but making it the focus of the gameplay and game design. Music games are still around today, with Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero Live both scheduled for release later in the year. If real music featured in a video game didn’t cement the idea that music was fundamental to a successful game’s design, then perhaps video games solely designed around music would help illustrate this!

So How Is Video Game Music Evolving Now? The technology behind video game music hasn’t advanced drastically since the PlayStation era, though more advanced file types are now used with modern consoles. The planning and production of video game music is now on par with every other avenue of entertainment, which helps illustrate that video game music really is an artform. Since its humble beginnings, video game music has evolved from one person tinkering with computer chips, to sound designers composing MIDI track themes, to real bands and artists being featured in games, and even full orchestras recording in massive recording studios.

There’s even a retro resurgence currently happening in video game music. Many modern video games are designed with tradition in mind, such as the highly addictive Shovel Knight, where 8-bit style

soundtracks teleport gamers back to simpler times. There are no more rules in video game music design, and as long as your music suits your game, you’re free to compose music in any style you wish.

In terms of appreciation, people have gone from secretly hiding their favourite retro game soundtracks on their portable music players, to blasting them from home and car stereos. There are chiptune festivals, online radio stations, video game cover bands and even music festivals all dedicated to the wonderful world of video game music.

Below is a list of essential websites to visit if you’re keen on retro video game soundtracks, as well as covers and remixes or popular video game tunes. www.ocremix.org – Overclocked Remix is a non-commercial net-

work of electronic artists who remix classic video game music. They’ve been the biggest and best website/ network doing this for many years! www.vgmetal.com – Home of the power metal video game cover band Powerglove, who have covered popular tunes from Killer Instinct, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros, F-Zero and more. www.rpgamers.net/radio – An online radio station that plays popular music from video games (primarily RPGs) 24 hours a day. www.vgmusic.com – VG Music have MIDI interpretations of popular music from video games, both retro and new. Well worth checking out if you would like to hear retro game music the way it sounded in its heyday.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

retro reading If you could get hold of a time machine and make your way back to the good old days of gaming in the late 80s and early 90s you’d find magazine that were the foundation for many of the titles we all read today. Back then, magazines are a big part of our lives, there were no digital magazines, books or tablets.

The internet for the masses was not heard of really and us gamers waited patiently for our monthly reads to arrive either via subscription or at the local newsagent.

There was a real mix of magazine choices too. From single format titles like Amiga Format to the multiformat favourites like ACE and Next Gen. At GTHQ, we do happen to have a time machine hidden in our basement. We don’t use it much

because the boss keeps it under lock and key, but recently we snuck down and set the date for 1990 …

Unfortunately, as we arrive I realised that Giselle, the GTHQ designer brought her dog, Ross, and so we had to clean the time machine before we headed down to the local newsagent… stupid dog.

We arrive at a busy shop and she picks up a classic magazine - ACE. “What’s this?” She asks noting the retro graphics and text…

Taking hold of this classic old magazine brings back a flood of gaming memories… let’s take a look at some classic magazines from those early days...

ACE (1987 - 1992) Advanced Computer Entertainment was a magazine that catered for a variety of formats and was a U.K magazine brought out by Future Publishing. It covered multi-formats including Atari ST, Amiga, C64, Amstrad and CPC and when new game systems or computers came out it would ad them into the mix. It featured game reviews and interestingly included a “Predicted Interest Curve’ graph so that gamers could assess the potential long term playability and in interest in the game.

the Gamebaby and the statement - The Ultimate Games Magazine. I personally really liked ACE. I liked the editorial style, the reviews were honest and they covered a great deal of systems.I read ACE all the time back then as I was looking to buy a new game machine and ACE was my go to magazine for information on which to buy. I finally got it down to either the Atari ST or the Amiga 500 and went with the Amiga due to the choice of games available.

ACE ran from 1987 to 1992 and the edition I’m browsing has Arnie on the cover and a story about the new Ocean game - Total Recall.

Also is a review of Days of Thunder,

If you want to re-live the glory days of ACE - there is a fabulous archive of old editions right here - amazing!!

Archive: https://archive.org/details/ace-magazine&tab=collection

facebook fans shared their collections of retro mags with us:

Robert heness:

Jean paul:

NEXT GENERATION (1995 - 2002) After the demise of ACE, people wanting to keep up with news and reviews across a variety of formats had a number of great titles including Edge and Next Generation. I personally…I personally preferred Next Generation at the time, even though it shared some editorial with Edge. It focused on game industry news and was a more mature magazine with a more adult writing style and layout.

It was a joy to read thanks to a clean layout, great writing and the focus on game industry news and interviews. In 1996 the cover fea-

tured the lead story - Nintendo’s Ultra 64… Mario’s brave new 3D world. The system later released as the Nintendo 64!

Next Generation became Next Gen in 1999 and was one of the few magazines I’ve actually subscribed to rather then simply buy at the stand. It changed it’s width to be even cooler and almost square in 2000 but it didn’t last. One day I was waiting for my subscription and I think something like Playstation Magazine turned up. Puzzled I did some digging and found Next Gen was no more...

Archive: https://archive.org/details/next-generation-magazine&tab=collection)

arcade (1998 - 2000) Billed as “the video game magazine” Arcade was another from Future Publishing and was a multiformat title that had big clean graphics and a more mature approach to editorial. But it didn’t seem to worry about creating controversial headlines to draw the reader in. The December 1998 issue features a large graphic of Lara Croft on the cover with the lead stories being - Dreamcast: Sega’s 128-bit Superconsole is here!

- Playstation Vs Nintendo 64 “so which is best?”

- Best of Breed - we name the greatest games in EVERY genre Paging through this edition you’ll find it’s chock full of stores about gaming and new systems, the “Kick Ass” section shows you how to be come a “Demon Game Player Overnight” and the PC Game of the Month featuring a full page shot of a well endowed Lara Croft sums up the times in some ways…

Archive: https://archive.org/details/Arcade_Issue_01_1998-12_Future_Publishing_GB Next month we’re checking out Amiga Format and Official Dreamcast. See you then…

Rob “I’m living in the past” Jenkins

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gameS REVIEWS & PREVIEWS

FALLOUT 4 pREVIEW

STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT pREVIEW

FORZA 6 pREVIEW

PUZZLE & DRAGONS Z + PUZZLE & DRAGONS

SUPER MARIO BROS. EDITION REVIEW

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JURASSIC WORLD REVIEW

REVIEW

F1 2015 REVIEW

YOSHI'S

WOOLLY WORLD REVIEW

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victory vs + REVIEW

PAYDAY 2

CRIMEWAVE EDITION

REVIEW

FALLO

OUT 4 Preview

PREVIEW

FALLOUT 4 Following the fan hype that has engulfed the internet right after the announcement trailer, Todd Howard from Bethesda Games Studios gave us the run down at this year’s E3 to discuss Bethesda’s most ambitious title yet, Fallout 4. After years of much anticipation, fan speculation and industry rumours - Fallout 4 has been one title that has won the attention of many die hard gamers, as fans and newcomers eagerly await for the release of this game.

With a firsthand look into newest graphical engine, gameplay features, open world, and crafting system – here’s the E3 rundown of what we can expect for Fallout 4.

Set in Boston 2077, Fallout 4 takes place the day the bombs dropped on United States, which rendered the country into the post-apocalyptic wasteland we all know and love.

After taking refuge in Vault 111, our main protagonist emerges from his shelter 200 years into the future, as the sole survivor of the events that have transpired. From here, the demo goes onto show Fallout 4’s open-world for the very first time, as we get a firsthand impressions of Fallout 4’s new gameplay and graphics.

Currently running on a more heavily modified version of Skyrim’s creation engine, Fallout 4 is set to include full physical based rendering and dynamic volumetric lighting within this vast open world. From what we’ve seen from the initial

previews, it’s hard not to admire the effort that has been placed in creating this vast open world. Needless to say, Fallout 4 looks fantastic, and with these new detailed environments, the wasteland has never looked more bright and vibrant since the original release of Fallout 3.

Alongside with improved graphics, dialogue has also made a significant change this time around. With fully voiced dialogue options available for our faithful characters, Fallout 4 will be the first title in the series to deliver fully voiced dialogue options for our main protagonist.

Drawing similar comparisons to Mass Effects dialogue system, Fallout 4 presents players four main options to respond back to the various NPC’s within the world. With film actor Brian T. Delaney (Total Recall, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Courtenay Taylor (Resident Evil 6, Mass Effect 2) playing the roles for both the female and male protagonists, it’ll be interesting to see just how in depth these dialogue options will be when Fallout 4 eventually comes out. But as well as these massive changes, it’s the newer ones that are sure as hell to keep players heavily intrigued. As the demo showed off our new canine companion and the updated V.A.T.S attack system, Bethesda went onto to showcase Fallout 4’s newest base customisation system.

Using only scrap and materials from items and other buildings, Fallout 4

will allow for players the freedom to construct their very own unique settlements throughout various points in the game.

Through both interior and exterior customizations, players can customise their homes to whatever suits their fashion or survival needs.

Providing both water, food and electrical grids, players can also use these features to attract more settlers into visiting their locations, and go as far to provide craven trades across bases in the game. As well as that, players must also keep in mind of their defences, as raiders still pose a big threat within the Boston wastelands.

Alongside constructing bases, Fallout 4 is said to include quite an in depth crafting system for both weapons and armour customization. With over 50 base weapons, players can modify the hell out of any weapon in the game to construct a wide array of arsenal to fight against the threats of the wasteland. With only a few tweaks here and there, things like plasma pistols and handguns can easily be modified into a rifle with only a select few of supplies.

As well as this, power armour can also do with a few tweaks, extending the freedom of customisation to one of Bethesda’s most heavily crafted Fallout game to date.

Fallout 4 is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC November 10th, 2015.

Click to view the trailer here!

WRITTEN BY jason english WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

STAR BATTLE

R WARS: EFRONT Preview

PREVIEW

STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT After a ten year absence, fans of Star Wars Battlefront are finally getting a return to the galaxy far far away. Developers Digital Illusions CE (DICE), creators of the Battlefield series, are rebooting the franchise with the goal of allowing fans to recreate conflicts from the movies while creating a few of their own.

In Battlefront you play as either a soldier of the Empire or the Rebel Alliance in large scale battles across sprawling multiplayer maps that support up to forty players. These conflicts are set in some of the most iconic locations from the movie, such as the ice-fields of Hoth and the sun drenched dunes of Tatooine. Each level will also have plenty of vehicle options scattered through them. X-wings, Tie Fighters, AT-ATs and more are all able to be piloted, ramping up the player’s capacity for destruction.

hitting active reloads will cause the weapon to cool down quickly. Alternatively, perks are pieces of equipment that completely alter the play style of you character. For example, choosing the Jump Pack lends itself to it faster, more aggressive form of fighting as you can launch yourself towards you enemies, while the Personal Shield lets you turtle in place, forming an impenetrable, but temporary barrier.

Unlike the previous Battlefront games there are no distinct classes in Battlefront. Instead the player effectively creates their own class by picking which weapon types and perks they will use. All weapons carry four varying attributes: Damage, Rate of Fire, Range, and Cooling Power. Interestingly, blasters never run out of ammunition. They can overheat if fired too often, but

What also must be noted is how beautiful Battlefront looks. After an initial trailer raised eyebrows by trying to pass off engine-made cinematics as gameplay, DICE spent all of E3 showing off gorgeous ingame footage. Locations and characters are rendered down to an insane degree of graphical fidelity and battles quickly become a vivid cornucopia of colours as laser bolts

To shake things up even more, the maps contain series of power-ups.

The simplest of these provide bonuses to your weapon stats though, if you’re lucky, you can find ones that allow you to enter the battlefield as the heroes and villains of the movies. It only last for 100 seconds, but that’s all the time Darth Vader needs to carve a path through the battlefield.

and energy projectiles are hurled back and forth. It is a welcome palette cleanser from the usual grey and browns of modern shooters.

In fact, the developers have made it clear that they want to move away from the typical modern shooter.

“We’re not taking into account what we’ve done before,” said Patrick Bach, DICE’s Executive Producer.

“I think that would be disrespectful to the fans, and to what we’re trying to achieve here. A lot of the things you saw in the game have nothing to do with anything we’ve done before.” This rationalisation was behind the surprisingly controversial decision to remove iron sights and allowing players to instantaneously switch between first and third person perspective.

DICE has a long road ahead of them. It’s no easy feat to reboot a videogame series; especially one tied to one the most popular franchises in the world. Fortunately for them and fans of Star Wars, the force seems to be with them as initial signs have been extremely positive. Star Wars Battlefront is set to release on the 19th of November later this year, only a month before the premier of Episode VII.

Click to view the trailer here!

WRITTEN BY conor delaney WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

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ZA 6 Preview

PREVIEW

FORZA 6 It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that the Real Driving Simulator turned the big 1-0. And now, I’m happy to say that the other real driving simulator is cracking the first decade. Unlike GT though, Forza Motorsport actually has a new game coming out in its tenth year of competition.

And what a title it is looking to be.

Forza Motorsport 6 was announced earlier in the year at the same time that Ford launched its new poster boy car: ironically called, the GT. Gran Turismo actually used the previous GT as its cover car in GT4, and now the new GT has jumped the console gap to be FM6’s star attraction. Not by coincidence either; Forza has recently announced a partnership with Ford, meaning they get big publicity and we get some of the newest and most bad ass machines around. Another partnership returning is the Top Gear material seen in FM5, although this time around minus Jeremy Clarkson (whom I can only assume would use the Kinect to punch you when he’s hungry.) The TG test track is also back, along with the Stigs cousin

and commentary from Captain slow and the Hamster, singing words of automotive wisdom through your career.

And what a career it is! Called ‘Stories of Motorsport’, FM6’s single player features over 70 hours of content, featuring some of the worlds most famous and successful racing drivers, with showcase events that put you in some of the golden ages of motorsport, piloting machines we can only dream of.

Another big addition is the day and night cycle, and expect the heavens to open up with rain now an addition to the difficulty. Hit a puddle or pool, and the car is likely to lose control or even aquaplane depending on the speed. AI has been tweaked as well; whilst the ‘driveatar’ feature has returned from FM5 (which produced some rather interesting and at times unpredictable moments), drivers can also choose a more balanced AI algorithm such as the ones we raced against in the earlier Forza titles. With up to 24 cars on the track at once, it pays to know that you can adjust things as you see fit.

Location wise you can expect all the sights and sounds from the previous title, only this time around more refined and prettier. Indianapolis’s motor speedway has been given a makeover to reflect renovation work done to the real track in 2014, and new courses will take your world tour to Rio, Daytona, Brands Hatch and Watkins Glen (probably the only NASCAR track Aussies care about.) You can expect a larger car list too, with plenty of new additions.

And now that Forza has teamed up with Ford (what happened to the Ferrari love guys?) I’m crossing my fingers for a few more Australian cars in the mix. FM6 certainly ticks the right boxes. Variety? Check.

Day and night cycles? Check. Dynamic weather? Yep. Actually releasing a game on your 10th anniversary? One up over GT. Even though I’m a huge fan of both racers, it’s hard not to get excited about FM6. Especially since we actually get to drive the GT before its’ real buyers. But I guess we will find out for sure when the new Forza season starts on September 15.

Click to view the trailer here!

WRITTEN BY ben rachow WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

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PUZZLE & PUZZLE & DRA MARIO B

DRAGONS Z + AGONS SUPER BROS. EDITION review

REVIEW

PUZZLE & DRAGONS Z + PUZZLE & DRAGONS

SUPER MARIO BROS. EDITION

Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition is the latest game in Nintendo’s puzzling free to play game structure on the Nintendo 3DS. GungHo Online Entertainment has taken the Puzzle & Dragons franchise, known to be riddled with micro transactions, given us two new games for the price of one from the franchise, and removed all free to play elements.

Can this free to play turned pure double pack stand up on its own?

As the title suggests, there are two games within Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition, which are Puzzle & Dragons Z and Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition. Puzzle & Dragons Z is a localisation which was released in Japan as a standalone title in 2013, while Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros.

Edition was released at around the same time internationally this year as a standalone title in Japan, and bundled with the localised Puzzle & Dragons Z elsewhere.

The base gameplay of both these titles has you with a party of six characters (dragons in Puzzle & Dragons Z, Mario characters in Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition) battling enemies through dungeons, with a boss battle at the end of the dungeon. Each monster has its own attribute of fire, water, wood, light, or dark, with water being super effective towards fire, fire towards wood, wood towards water, and light and dark super effective towards themselves. To battle, players must slide orbs on the touch screen within a given time limited to power up their monsters.

When an orb is moved over another orb, that orb replaces the position of the moved orb. Match at least three orbs in a column or row to remove them. It sounds a little convoluted, but after sticking at the gameplay, there’s quite a rush when you hit 15 consecutive matches in one go.

After your turn, the enemies then get a turn to fight you through a collective health bar. Monsters also have with them skills that are able

to be used after so many turns have passed which can do a number of things; heal yourself, turn one orb into another, or give you more time to move the orbs around.

A large component of the game are the monsters themselves, with over 250 monsters in Puzzle & Dragons Z and over 90 Mario characters in Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition. If you’re lucky, defeating a monster can you an egg or a block depending on which game you play, which can turn into an ally. These allies can be evolved and upgraded through the collection of items, or sacrificed to power up your favourites. It provides a considerable amount of depth, and makes you care after your allies as they turn into bigger beasts.

Puzzle & Dragons Z takes this gameplay, and adds it to an RPG world, where you, a Dragon Tamer, goes out to save the world against the evil Dogma, who’s using evil powers to take jigsaw-like pieces out of the

Click to view the trailer here!

7.5/10 world. This RPG world falls flat, with conversations, plot, cutscenes, they all get in the way of the gameplay. I don’t particularly care for all of these things, as they’re done poorly; there doesn’t need to be an excuse for the gameplay. Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition goes a more traditional route, and take the Puzzle & Dragons gameplay and puts it to the “Bowser stole Peach! Go save her!” route, which works fine in a Mario context. The story doesn’t get in the way of the puzzling elements here.

Puzzle & Dragons Z holds your hand a little bit and provides players with a gracious learning curve, while Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros.

Edition just drops you right to the thick of it from the get-go, introducing new dungeon elements earlier than in Puzzle & Dragons Z and boss battles that have you on the edge of your seat, one attack away from failure. This makes sense, with Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros.

Edition being released in Japan two years after Puzzle & Dragons Z; the original context of the games has assumed you bought this one because of the last one. That’s why the double pack works well besides the two for one deal; play Puzzle & Dragons Z to get a feel for the gameplay, and move on to Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition for a bigger challenge.

For a puzzle game, Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition does a good job, with the enemies doing little battle animations. It doesn’t do a great job though, with some enemies like the simple Goomba almost looks like his model is simply flipped. The music from Puzzle & Dragons Z fits and is generally pleasant to the ears, while

Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition rehashes the same old Mario tunes.

Knowing Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros.

Edition came from a free to play model leaves me feeling a little hesitant with the games themselves. I found myself asking “Because it’s based on F2P, am I going to run out of content quickly?” That wasn’t the case, with massive amounts of dungeons to crawl. The worst offender of not transitioning away from free to play model has to be characters dropping from foes after battle; in both games finding a new character seems to be a rare occurrence, and after that you find yourself with an overabundance of that very same monster. I can see how this would work in a free to play structure, how if you want a shot at getting a new character, you might need to spend a little. You can’t spend anything extra in this game however, and for better or for worse, it’s a little frustrating.

Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition provide tonnes of content for the price of one game. Dismantling the shackles of traditional free to play gameplay, GungHo Entertainment provide players with solid gameplay. Not much can be said about the story, and for an RPG, that’s a little disheartening. Unlike an RPG, this doesn’t matter all too much, and time and time again, you’ll be returning to these two titles for that sweet, sweet puzzling gameplay.

Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons Super Mario Bros. Edition is available now exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS

PROS: TWO GAMES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE GAMEPLAY IS ADDICTIVE AND CHALLENGING LOTS OF CRITTERS TO CATCH

CONS: BOTH STORIES FALL FLAT CRITTERS ARE ALMOST UNFAIRLY HARD TO CATCH DOUBTS OF THE TRANSITION FROM FREE TO PLAY TO JUST PLAY

WRITTEN BY sasha karen WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

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JURASSI

LEGO:

IC WORLD

review

REVIEW

LEGO:

JURASSIC WORLD From the mountain of merchandising comes Lego Jurassic World. All four Jurassic Park movies are bundled into this game, starting with the classic Jurassic Park (1993) up to the recently released Jurassic World (2015), and the not-so well received movies in between, which includes The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001). Does this game re-imagine the first movie in blocky form well, while also making the middle two movies fun, and also building up the hype of the fourth? Or does it play like what walking on Lego bricks feels like?

From the beginning of the game, the option of playing through Jurassic Park or Jurassic World is available from the get go, with both film’s hub worlds of Isla Nublar unlocked, each with a variation reflecting the specific movie. If The Lost World: Jurassic Park or Jurassic Park III are your cup of tea, you’ll have to play though Jurassic Park first. This unlocks the Isla Sorna hub world for The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Play through that, and then the Jurassic Park III variation of Isla Sorna will be unlocked. These hub worlds are on the large side, but areas feel big and empty, or narrow and cramped.

The most important thing for a movie tie-in game is how the game treats the source material. In Lego Jurassic World, the game treats

each movie as five levels. With that in mind, the movies had to be condensed for this format, and for the most part, the cuts work. As Lego is also a child’s toy, intense scenes and instances of death have been replaced with childish comedy; no one really dies, which isn’t a bad thing. These little moments flashed real character, and always brought out a chuckle, like stopping a dinosaur with toys or a wind-up rabbit.

More of these moments would have been cool.

or dinosaurs) with simple punches, guns if your character has one, or butt stomps. At this point, it would be strange if a Lego game did not adhere to these conventions, but at the same time, is it wrong to ask for something a little bit different?

The game adds moments where you can play as various dinosaurs, but the game uses them as either a quick time event, or as just another character that’s a bit bigger and slower; this doesn’t feel like breaking the conventions at all.

For the first three movies, the dialogue of main characters have been ripped straight from the movie. The quality of these clips, especially from Jurassic Park, can be poor at times, and some clip choices for character’s in-game grunts can get grating. For Jurassic World, the cast recorded new lines for their characters, which is quite impressive. The soundtrack within the game isn’t as impressive as the soundtracks from each respective movie; as the main Jurassic Park theme gets played a lot, almost annoyingly so.

Graphically, Lego Jurassic World’s not terrible but not fantastic either.

Your typical Lego game experience, in a world like our own with some Lego elements here and there.

There’s a bit of extra sheen on the more powerful consoles, but nothing out of the ordinary. The Lego Movie Videogame had everything made out of Lego bricks; something like that to spruce up the Lego game convention would have been nice.

Something else worth pointing out, while Jurassic Park is critically acclaimed compared to The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, Jurassic Park doesn’t make for particularly fun levels. In the other three movies, there’s enough material to provide an equal balance of fighting hordes of enemies (however simple the combat may be) and interesting puzzles, each providing ample variety. The Jurassic Park

From a gameplay stance, Lego Jurassic World is full of conventional Lego game action – switch between characters with various different traits, solve puzzles, build things, finding many different collectables and secrets, and beat up enemies (in this instance, security guards

6.5/10 PROS: Click to view the trailer here!

THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, JURASSIC PARK III AND JURASSIC WORLD ALL PLAY WELL LITTLE BITS OF LEGO HUMOUR FEEL RIGHT JURASSIC WORLD ACTORS RECORDING MORE LINES IS IMPRESSIVE

CONS: levels have puzzles, but due to the way the movie progresses, there’s not a lot of opportunity combat to go round, so the variety’s a little thin.

It wouldn’t be a Lego game if there weren’t glitches to be found, such as not being able to switch out of being a dinosaur, or getting stuck on/in the terrain. While not gamebreaking, restarting the current level seemed to be the only way to get past these glitches, which usually happened right before the level was over.

Lego Jurassic Park isn’t a terrible game by any means of the imagination, it’s just a game we’ve been playing for fifteen years. Four movies have been compressed into twenty levels, with a spark of comedic genius every now and then, but not enough for this game to be great. A hit or miss for Jurassic Park fans and gamers alike. It definitely does not feel that no expense was spared.

JURASSIC PARK DOES NOT PLAY WELL GLITCHES JUST ANOTHER LEGO GAME

WRITTEN BY SASHA KAREN WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

BATM

ARKHAM

TMAN:

M KNIGHT

review

REVIEW

BATMAN:

ARKHAM KNIGHT After an unbearably long wait, Batman: Arkham Knight is finally here.

To say it has been one of the most anticipated games of the last few years would be an understatement.

In fact, for many, it is as big a deal as Grand Theft Auto V, or Fallout 4 – perhaps even bigger. We’ve grappled and glided along rooftops, sped and smashed through the streets of Gotham in our Batmobile, and clashed with some of Gotham’s most notorious villains – but does Arkham Knight live up to the Bathype?

Taking place after the events of Arkham city, Batman Arkham Knight opens with Scarecrow unleashing his fear gas in a major attack on Gotham City. The situation worsens until Gotham is evacuated, giving Scarecrow control of the city. Batman intervenes, though not all is as it seems, and to make things worse, a new villain is aiding Scarecrow.

Known only as Arkham Knight, this masked criminal has amassed an immense army, with innumerable tanks, soldiers and airborne vehicles. Arkham Knight knows all of Batman’s strategies, strengths and weaknesses – this is going to be Batman’s most difficult challenge yet.

Arkham Knight’s story – much like previous Rocksteady developed Arkham games – is enthralling. It goes hand in hand with the ultrapolished and accessible gameplay to create what is easily the best Arkham game yet. While I preferred Arkham Asylum’s claustrophobic atmosphere and intense story, Arkham Knight delivers a narrative that is captivating from start to finish – and that includes all the sub plots and side missions.

I won’t go into any more details in regards to the main story of Arkham Knight, but I will say this – Rocksteady managed to provide just enough mystery and just enough twists, to surprise even this lifelong Bat-fan! Also, I feel the story’s delivery is the best in the series. The motion capture and animation of each character is fantastic, especially when it is combined with the game’s stellar voice acting and a slightly more cinematic approach to story delivery.

The star of Arkham Knight isn’t the Caped Crusader, but once again, the world of Batman: Arkham Knight itself. Rocksteady have created the perfect engine for the game: one that is extremely impressive both

visually and in regards to its performance. Gotham City is more alive than ever, thanks to not only some extremely well-designed environments, but Rocksteady’s painstaking attention to detail. Some areas have sheets of rain coming down from the sky, causing rain to trickle down Batman’s cape as he glides over the streets. Others have so many neon lights they cause a green tinge to the area. Overall each area has more of its own unique feel than previous Arkham games, and Rocksteady’s skillful design has created an open world that other developers should envy.

Gameplay-wise, Batman: Arkham Knight takes Rocksteady’s already polished gameplay and refines it futher. Somehow, Bats has managed to include even more moves and gadgets into his crime-fighting, though there was never a time where I felt overwhelmed. Yes, you can now dispatch enemies by launching them into the air and using knockout rounds from the Batmobile to finish them off, but you can just as easily rely on tried-andtrue punches and kicks.

Another nifty new feature are the fear multi-takedowns, which act like

quicktime events in that you only need to press a single button at a few key moments in battle to take down multiple criminals. These are highly cinematic and despite being all but automatic, they are definitely a fun addition to the Arkham formula.

Speaking of fighting, it really is quite the achievement that Rocksteady have developed a style of combat in a video games that is this accessible. Punches and kicks being on one button, dodging and countering on others, with combinations of buttons either using gadgets or takeout moves. You’d be hard pressed to find a game with combat this exciting and visceral, but still able to be played by gamers of all experience levels. Everyone who plays Arkham Knight will feel lethal as Batman.

Another major feature of Arkham Knight is Batman’s vehicle of choice, the Batmobile. If you’ve read people’s reactions on the internet, Batfans are divided when it comes to the Batmobile – some love it, and some hate it. Personally, I dislike it most of the time. It’s clunky, the default controls are annoying and I grew tired of having to use it so often to solve puzzles or defeat the countless tanks that now patrol Gotham. I prefer to grapple around, though there are moments where the Batmobile is genuinely fun to use (usually when a mission is focused on it).

Of course, the Riddler still has his puzzles, though the Riddler him-

self (as well as other side-mission characters) is less intrusive and annoying when it comes to distracting your focus when on a mission.

There are still plenty of Riddler puzzles and side-missions to complete, though Arkham Knight feels as though it lets the player explore the city at their own pace, and the game feels better for it.

Batman: Arkham Knight truly is the best Rocksteady Batman game yet, though it still has a few minor issues.

For one thing, while Gotham itself is very much a huge open environment to explore, the missions and side missions feel pretty linear. Yes, you can approach situations from either a stealth or all-out action approach, but you’ll do the same things over and over without any variation.

It would have been nice to have a unique environment offer a unique takedown opportunity, but no, you’ll be sneaking through grates, swooping from vantage points and utilizing the new fear multi-takedowns. This many games in, the core gameplay is beginning to feel worn. Still, this is one heck of a game to finish off the series!

Batman: Arkham Knight is inarguably a fantastic game, and of the best that has released this generation.

The story is addicting, the voice acting is excellent, and the environment is almost unparalleled in its detail. Not only that, the gameplay has somehow been refined even further with additions like the Batmobile and fear multi-takedowns.

Well done, Rocksteady!

9.3/10

PROS: BREATHTAKING VISUALS BRILLIANT STORY EXTREMELY WELL-POLISHED GAMEPLAY

CONS: Click to view the trailer here!

REPETITIVE CLUNKY BATMOBILE HANDLING SOMEWHAT ANNOYING TUTORIALS AND GAME OPENING

WRITTEN BY nick getley WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

POSTERS! MUST-HAVE 60x90cm

80 60xm c

Ask staff for details.

F1 2

2015 review

REVIEW They say that art imitates life. If that was true I was certainly hoping that Codemasters ignored this when they made F1 2015. If the game imitates life, than Red Bulls cars won’t make a lap without blowing up, McLaren just wouldn’t bother starting, and it would end up being the most boring racing game of 2015. Happily, art does not imitate in this case, and this has become another of those quiet achievers in the world of Codemasters racing games. Something they seem to be quite good at, coming from a guy who was practically raised with their games.

F1 2015 features all the cars and drivers from the current season, with the 2014 cars also thrown in as a bonus (or an apology for the droning 6 cylinder engines they now use.) All the tracks are featured, including the new circuit in Mexico, meaning we all get to drive it before the field does. Those hoping to start their own team and identity may be disappointed though; once again it seems an invasion of the body snatchers, as you pick an existing car and driver combination, rather than making your own. It can leave you feeling a little detached from the commentary and pre/post race menus (which are actually quite good), but it’s a minor thing in the grand multi million dollar scheme of F1. Maybe they were worried we’d change our names to ‘Burnie sucks’ or ‘fix the g-damn engines.’

You can select from two options in terms of the championship. One lets you adjust the difficulty, driver assist and the length of the races. The Pro season however, locks you into the cockpit view, turns all the assists and HUD off, and throws the full force-and length-of every session, race and moment of the season at you. It’s quite a challenge to say

F1 2015 the least; definitely bring a wheel and pedals, lest you want to throw a controller or 2. AI has improved as well, and rather than following a train they will duck and dart around other cars, react to their manoeuvres, and even change strategy to keep up with you.

Leading in the middle of the race can be quite breezy, until you realise that both Mercedes switched to a faster tyre in their last stop and are coming for you very quickly, filling your mirrors with a silver arrow nightmare as you struggle to nail apexes on the tyres that only a few laps ago were gliding you to an easy victory. In saying that though, like real drivers, they are prone to

fades of talent (though I may be biased in saying that due to Hamilton taking me out whilst leading at my home race…)

F1 2015 is easily the easiest game I’ve reviewed. One group of cars, one simple career mode. Don’t think this is a detraction though. It’s a good game, feels well rounded, and with a transporter load of options for everyone from the humble beginner to Jenson Button’s brother, practically anyone can enjoy the thrill of winning Monaco. Codemasters have a history of producing well rounded, fun titles that offer whatever level of difficulty you desire, and I’m happy to say they’ve nailed it once again.

Click to view the trailer here!

7.8/10

PROS: GREAT COMMENTARY AND DRIVER INTERACTION. A1 IS WELL ROUNDED. EASY TO PROGRAM THE CAR TO YOUR DRIVING STYLE. LARGE NUMBER OF OPTIONS AND FLASHBACKS.

CONS: NOT A GREAT DEAL OF REPLAY VALUE SADLY. LACK OF CUSTOMISATION OPTIONS.

WRITTEN BY ben rachow WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

woolLy

yoshi's y world review

REVIEW

YOSHI'S

WOOLLY WORLD Cute characters are definitely Nintendo’s bag and if I had to pick one word to describe Yoshi’s Woolly World, it would be “cute”. With the Nintendo 64 title Yoshi’s Story (1997), the last Yoshi home console game released, it’s high time that the little dinosaur returned to our television screens. As Yoshi’s Woolly World was developed by GoodFeel, there was precedence for the woollen graphics, first seen in the equally cute Wii title Kirby’s Epic Yarn (2010). Does the cute stack up with the gameplay, or does this whole game unravel at the seams?

What solely contributes to the cute are the graphics. Sporting GoodFeel’s yarn aesthetics, Yoshi’s Woolly World’s the first Yoshi game to be in high definition. On the whole, everything looks like the child of a rainbow and a sewing machine. Some of the yarn balls though stand out; they almost look photo realistic, and take away from the aesthetic of the game.

The story is similar to most Yoshi games; everything is bliss in the craft themed world until Kamek shows up, who turns all of the Yarn Yoshi’s into bundles of yarn, and scatters them throughout six worlds. Taking control of one (or two in multiplayer)

of the remaining Yarn Yoshi’s left, it’s up to you to traverse different themed worlds and chase down Kamek, while also collecting the yarn bundles to restore the world’s residents. It’s barely a story, but Kamek does deliver a few chuckleworthy puns here and there.

While Yoshi games are not known for their story, they’re much rather known for the gameplay, and the gameplay is top notch. The game plays as a two dimensional platformer where you either have to get to the end of the level by passing through the goal ring or defeating the boss. To help you are… eggs balls of yarn! The concept dates back to the SNES title Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (1995), where swallowing enemies or hitting egg-patterned blocks gave you eggs. This time, they give you balls of yarn, which can be aimed and thrown to hit enemies, knit together wireframe objects like pipes or platforms; they solve your problems. Each level is unique, sporting its own theme with new mechanics thrown into the mix. In some levels there’s transformations to turn your Yarn Yoshi into a mermaid or a motorbike. On one level, you have to deal with Chain Chomp balls. An-

other has the Fluffin’ Puffins, adorable birds that when thrown create temporary cloud platforms. Then there’s the levels with the ever-soadorable Poochy the Dog, and his ability of entering tight spaces and grabbing hidden items. The way the levels are made to revolve around this gamplay… I haven’t seen it done this well since… Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island! The level design is really amazing.

In terms of difficulty, the game has Classic Mode and Mellow Mode. In Classic Mode, isn’t too hard or too easy; it feels just right. When you lose all your health, it doesn’t feel cheap. There’s no life system. If you die, you go straight back to the checkpoint, no game overs to worry about. Yoshi’s Woolly World aims to make you stress less. If things are just a little too much, no problem!

Switch the game to Mellow Mode, which makes your Yoshi invincible and gives it wings to go wherever you want to. There’s no shame in using it, sometimes you just want to get to the end of the level.

Unfortunately, the levels all feel a little short; I was left wanting more when there was no more to have.

Comparably, Yoshi’s Woolly World

Click to view the trailer here!

features about the same number of levels as Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve improved as a gamer compared to when I played Yoshi’s Island all those years ago.

Yoshi’s Woolly World also features co-operational multiplayer, so two players can go through all the worlds together to try and save the plight of the Yarn Yoshis. I say co-operational, and not competitive. This game thrives on co-operation, more so than other single player turned co-op games like the WiiU titles New Super Mario Bros. U (2012) or Super Mario 3D World (2013).

One player can lick the other player and turn them into a yarn ball and throw them to hit out-of-reach collectables. If one player turns competitive and decides to throw their yarn balls at the other on purpose, or licks them up and spits them off an edge, things start to get unpleasant fast. Uncooperative teammates were also a problem in New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D World, but here it feels a bit just a bit more disappointing when things turn unnecessarily competitive.

Coming in from Good-Feel’s previous game Kirby’s Epic Yarn are gems, and are used as this game’s coins. Collect enough gems, and power badges can be purchased.

These badges, when collected for completing various levels, give your Yarn Yoshi an extra edge. For example, there’s a badge for making all of your yarn ball big, one that increases defence, another springs you out of a pit each time you fall into one, and of course, there’s a power badge that unlocks Poochy.

Many times it felt like these badges were cheating and chose not to use them, but at the same time, it felt like I was limiting myself with the enjoyment I had of the game.

In these levels are secrets. Each level has five bundles of yarn to knit

together a Yarn Yoshi, five Flowers to collect, and 20 Miiverse Stamps.

It’s always fun to find the five bundles, as doing so adds a different Yarn Yoshi skin to choose from. amiibo functionality adds more skins to be used for the game, with almost every amiibo unlocking a new skin.

Unfortunately, the Pokémon amiibo don’t seem to have a skin, instead unlocking an “amiibo Yoshi”; a Yoshi wearing an amiibo shirt. While it’s likely this was due to licensing rights with The Pokémon Company holding the rights for Pokemon over Nintendo themselves, it still sucks a little. Collecting all the Flowers in a world unlocks a new level within that level, so they have an over-arching use, but they felt kinda pointless regardless, that they didn’t affect the progress when completed over just one level. For the Miiverse connoisseurs out there, hidden within each level’s gems are 20 Miiverse Stamps to collect. As the name on the can says, when collected, players earn a stamp to use when drawing a post on Nintendo’s social media platform. Not my personal cup of tea, but for those with an artistic mind, these will surely pay off.

While there’s a lot to look for if you’re looking, it can feel a little frustrating when you discover you missed a bundle of yarn. It’s particularly frustrating if you go past a point of no return, with the only way to obtain that missing yarn is to restart the level. While all the collectables add to the replayability, it feels artificial. After everything’s collected… there’s nothing left.

The soundtrack is another highlight for the most part. For the most part, there’s a lot of variety to be had, from children’s recorder recital to hard rock, and many genres in-between.

A few songs get reused quite a bit which can feel a little annoying at

times, but when a new track comes on it feels like a breath of fresh air.

Yoshi’s Woolly World prides itself with quality over quantity. It has fun levels, cute graphics, and a soundtrack brimming with which equates for a quality stress-free environment. If you find a secret?

Hey, that’s cool! The slightly short levels and the over reliance on dis-

7.7/10

CONS: PROS: covering secrets take away from the experience a bit, but despite its flaws, Yoshi’s Woolly World is the Yoshi’s Island for both the new generation and older generation of gamers; one that’s accessible to those who those who haven’t been playing video games for long, while also appealing just enough to those who’re familiar with two dimensional platformers.

LEVEL DESIGN IS TOP NOTCH DIFFICULTY FEELS JUST RIGHT COLLECTING YARN’S REWARDING THE SOUNDTRACK HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE IT’S EXTREMELY ADORABLE

LEVELS FEEL A LITTLE SHORT COLLECTING FLOWERS DOESN’T ALWAYS FEEL REWARDING OVER-RELIANCE ON FINDING SECRETS

WRITTEN BY SASHA KAREN WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

J-

VICTOR

-STARS

RY VS +

review

REVIEW

J STARS

victory vs +

What happens when you pit characters from One Piece, Bleach, Naruto and Toriko together in a battle arena to fight against to each? Well you’re given J-Stars Victory VS+, a 3v3 fighting game released by Spike Chunsoft on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PsVita. Combining the manga universes from the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine series, J-Stars Victory delivers one of the most insane manga crossover fighting games to date, with a huge roster of 39 playable fighters and 13 supporting characters. Along with bizarre move-sets and outrageous finishing attacks, J-Star is one fighting game that is sure to win the hearts of both Jump fans, manga readers and gamers alike.

As I started my initial playthrough with J-Star, I jumped right into the J-Adventure mode and played through a lengthy portion of the games supposed story. Within the world of J-Star, the plot takes place within the mysterious realms of Jump World, a place that is a result of numerous universes fusing together to form one giant melting pot of trouble.

As the story begins, we see our main characters preparing themselves to compete in the J-Battle Festival – a tournament that is held

every 45 years to determine who is the strongest of them all. As you select through the title screen, first thing you’ll see is that the narrative is divided amongst four different chapter arcs.

Within each arc, the story centers on a team of three individual fighters – with options such as the Dynamic Arc, allowing you to play as wannabe pirate king Luffy, his brother Ace and the mystical warrior Saint Seiya. Or if you’re a Naruto fan, players can opt out with the Hope Arc, allowing to play as the wise cracking ninja Naruto, his companion Yosuke and Gon from Hunter x Hunter. Investigation Arc has you with the Gourmet Hunter Toriko, the heavenly king Zebra and the humanoid Super Saiyan, Goku.

And finally, Bleach fans can rejoice with Ichigo as they play through the Pursuit Arc with Oga, and the demon Hiei.

As I decided through my options, my inner Dragon Ball z fanboy got the better of me, as I went with the Investigation Arc and played several hours with Torikos group. Unfamiliar with the base controls of the game, I was fortunate enough to be graced with a relatively simple tutorial segment within the first ten minutes of J-Star. From there on out, the game is pretty much a walk

in the park, as the mechanics are relatively straight forward and easy enough for anybody to pick up and play.

Fighting mechanics are divided up into four primary attack modes – regular, power, area and finishing attacks. Like any other fighting game, there are some combos for players to experiment within J-Star.

Unfortunately enough though, the list is – needless to say – incredibly limited for a fighter such as this. Not much variety in combing moves I’m afraid, and other things like running attacks especially haven’t had the chance be used either.

As well the obvious health bar, stamina plays a crucial aspect in J-Star, and must be replenished whenever given the chance. Finding a spot and powering up through a simple click of R1 + X allows for players to charge up and – if you’re lucky – to be healed.

From what I gathered, the main skill for J-Star seems to rely heavily on speed. Being the first to land the strike, land as many blows as you can, step back and repeat, is pretty much the bulk of the J-Star experience. Blocking in most of the campaign is essentially a useless feature, so with that be sure to land as many combos as you can.

Click to view the trailer here!

Similar to Mortal Kombats X-Ray attacks – with every successful pound you make on your opponent, a gauge charges up on the top screen, which allows you and your team members to activate special finishing moves. Whilst every characters finisher is both bizarre and – at times – hilarious to watch, the novelty of these attacks grew old on me quickly.

The main issue being the animations – it drags for too long, and doesn’t help considering it’s activated on frequent basis. With pretty much every round resulting in at least one these special attacks, I started to feel incredibly bored with this mechanic and found myself desired to simply drop out the current story arc to view the other character attacks. There are also some annoying camera moments, and the locking-on mechanic can be pain in the ass sometimes.

Aside from the occasional fight, there’s nothing really much to say about J-Adventure mode. It’s a neat enough tutorial to play through at the beginning, and serves as an easy unlock system for more characters play in the game. There are additional side missions to complete throughout various points in J-

Adventure, but nothing too substantial to keep the interest up. Though with that said, if you’re new to JStar, I still highly recommend brushing through this mode at least for a bit – just so you’re familiar into how the game is meant to be played.

As well as J-Adventure, there’s Victory Road – a set of battles that must be completed under a certain list of conditions. Then there’s the standard arcade mode, which forces you to fight through 6 matches, with various ranges of difficulty to be unlocked and selected.

Having been released in Japan originally, there is unfortunately no English dialogue within the Western releases of J-Star Victory VS+.

Needless to say, the Japanese dialogue did grow on me over time, and probably worked more in favor to the fans who are familiar with these particular animes/manga series (my only complaint is probably Goku’s voice, as he sounds like a goddamn old woman).

At the end of the day, J-Star Victory VS+ isn’t the strongest fighting game in the PlayStation library.

But what it lacks in variety, it makes up through it’s huge fighting roster, cute visuals, awesome move-sets and dedicated fan service.

7.4/10

PROS: HUGE ROSTER OF CHARACTERS. CUTE VISUALS. INSANE FINISHING MOVES.

CONS: OCCASIONAL ISSUES WITH LOCK-ONS. FINISHING ATTACKS GET OLD. RELATIVELY QUICK. NOT MUCH VARIETY IN MOVESETS.

WRITTEN BY jason english WWW.STICKYTRIGGER.COM

PAYD

CRIMEWAV

DAY 2:

VE EDITION

review

REVIEW

PAYDAY 2

CRIMEWAVE EDITION Payday 2 was and is, one of my favourite games from last generation. For a game with many faults, it still managed to captivate many a gamer with its truly co-operative gameplay, frantic shooting, intense soundtrack, RPG style skill progression and its strategic gameplay.

In case you’re not familiar with Starbreeze Studios and 505 Games’ first-person crime shooter, allow me to introduce you. The Payday games are all about planning and executing the perfect heist. Whether you’re breaking into a bank vault, cooking and trafficking meth, or stealing valuable artworks from a museum, the Payday games are all about delivering Hollywood-style action where the players get rich – if they don’t get arrested in the process.

Since its release some 16 months ago, Payday 2 has seen countless updates and expansions on PC. Console gamers were unfortunately left in the dark when it came to these updates, never experiencing the thrill of several of them that became integral to the Payday 2 experience. Sure, you can get melee weapons and some of the new missions on Xbox 360 and PS3, but it still wasn’t quite the expansive and fleshed out experience that the PC crowd received.

Last-gen ports have flourished on the current generation, with games like Sleeping Dogs and Tomb Raider receiving impressive HD makeovers that ensure gamers will be raiding tombs and taking down triads in glorious HD and at high frame rates.

Payday 2 was a great game upon its release, and if it was to receive the same amount of TLC that Tomb Raider and Sleeping Dogs did with their current-gen editions, it would be the perfect co-op multiplayer title for the Xbox One and PS4. What could have been and what is, however, are two very different things.

Booting up Payday 2: Crimewave edition for the first time on Xbox One produced a feeling of immediate disappointment from me. I couldn’t port my level 92 character across from the Xbox 360 version of the game. “Okay” I thought to myself. “That’s disappointing”. I continued on though, hoping that the other implied improvements from being a current-gen port will spur me on and rally me to start my criminalistic career over. Those implied improvements (a smoother framerate, reworked HD textures) were also not present. While the game does run at 1080p resolution, it looks bland. Crisp, but bland. In its defense, the textures have been slightly improved, but the difference is negligible.

Okay, so my initial reaction towards Payday 2: Crimewave Edition was not good. I couldn’t use my leveled up character and continue my career from last-gen, and the game looked bland and didn’t run very smooth – so what is present in Payday 2: Crimewave Edition?

To put it simply, content. S?!#loads of content. The original release of Payday 2 saw gamers playing the same heists over and over. While many saw this as a tedious grind, the dedicated Payday 2 fanbase still loved the game. Despite being able to acquire skills and memorize your various objectives and how to complete them, Payday 2 could still throw several curveballs at you.

Ultimately, your crew would go in prepared but the outcome of heist relied on multiple factors – and a bit of luck. With Payday 2: Crimewave Edition, the amount of heists available makes the original Payday 2 release look like a demo!

I came into this re-release excited.

I attended a preview event for Payday 2: Crimewave Edition instead of attending the Mad Max: Fury Road premiere – such is my dedication to a fictitious criminal career in video games. But this re-release troubles me for several reasons. Its visuals and performance are altogether sub-par for a current-gen game –

Click to view the trailer here!

almost every game that has come out this generation outperforms it. Payday 2 was also completely missing a story or a strong sense of narrative in its original release, and this re-release is missing it too. The animations can also be rather janky at times – NPCs are stiff and robotic in their movements. The animation also has a tendency to skip frames – and it’s never good to see a dead body awkwardly float to the ground.

So, is it possible to recommend this game to anyone? Sure, but you have to know what you’re getting into. When Payday 2: Crimewave Edition works, it really works. At the beginning of the game, you won’t even manage to rob an ATM without a SWAT team riddling you with bullets. Give it time though, and you’ll manage to rob an entire museum on your own – without a single guard even knowing you were there. You also have a bevy of customisation options for your mask, giving you that esteemed reputation that’s oh so important when heisting with others online.

There’s also an impressive amount of weapons and skills to be unlocked. You can snipe guards from a distance with marksman rifles, or get up close and personal with a selection of melee weapons, pistols and SMGs. When it comes to skills, you can be a master manipulator,

controlling crowds in public jobs and even getting guards to handcuff themselves. You can also be a demolitions expert, using a modified saw to break into bank vault drawers in less than a second, or into ATMs for some quick spending money. Payday 2: Crimewave really does cater to every type of FPS gamer, whether they’re a ballsto-the-wall adrenaline junky, a team player, a silent ninja or a strategist.

Despite the utter ecstasy that comes with making hundreds of thousands of dollars from a single

job, Payday 2: Crimewave Edition feels like a budget-price title compared to other games. Starbreeze should have taken notice of what other developers did to make their current-gen re-releases so special (and ultimately, worth purchasing) instead of simply noticing that they were releasing them. It’s hard to recommend Crimewave Edition to anyone on the current-generation without warning them of the game’s shortcomings. Worse yet, it’s impossible to recommend it to anyone who has already started their criminal career last generation.

6/10

CONS: PROS: STAGGERING AMOUNT OF CONTENT THE BEST CO-OP SHOOTER GAMEPLAY SINCE LEFT 4 DEAD A DECENT CHALLENGE

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geek o milton bradley

video board games

board games

RARE AND RETRO RETRO

the original keyboard warrior RETRO

Pikachu worth holding on to! trading cards

COLLECTIBLE CARD GAMES! COLLECTIBLES

out WHO WATCHES ALAN MOORE?

comics

INDIE GAMES:

BACK TO THE FUTURE?

indie games

INCANDESCENT

IMAGING indie games

DJGigabyte indie games

.hack//quantum anime

retro

the original keyboard

“Why do you spend so much time on that bloody computer thing?” These words are only an echo in my ears today, but they were uttered many a time by my parents. I can’t argue with them, I did spend a lot of time on my computers and consoles when I was a lad. My first weapon of choice was an Amstrad CPC6128, purchased in the Christmas of 1988, followed by a Nintendo Gameboy in 1992 and Super Nintendo in 1993. I stuck with these three machines until I reached adulthood, at which time I purchased a Nintendo 64 in 1998 and a Virtual Boy (my first import) in 1999. Every other console I own came after that.

Regrettably I allowed my parents to sell my first Amstrad CPC6128, a machine I would love to get back.

It was sold to family members who were less than helpful in re-obtaining it years later, so all my childhood coding is probably gone.

That’s right, childhood coding. As a child my interest in computers extended beyond the realm of gaming and when I grew up I wanted to be a computer programmer. I would spend many hours on my Amstrad CPC coding my own programs in BASIC. For those who may not be aware, the first screen that would appear on many classic computers such as the Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore 64 and Spectrum (among others) was a BASIC screen. It was an easy to learn programming language that, while not being as powerful as C++ or Java, was a fun way to learn how computers work.

BASIC is an acronym for “Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code”, and the version used on

warrior

Amstrad computers was developed

by Locomotive Software. There are many different versions of BASIC that exist, each with different commands and instructions that made the most of the computer it was designed for. Amstrad used Locomotive BASIC, while Commodore created their own version for their line of home computers. Even the almighty Microsoft joined the fray with MSX BASIC, designed for the MSX line of computers.

I can’t speak for other home computers, but Amstrad were proactive in providing intrepid coders with a very detailed instruction manual. Learning a new language is a daunting experience for anyone, and the manual allowed you to take your time developing your new bilingual skills. In the appendix of the manual were short programs that could be typed in. Using your new found coding skills you could look over the programs developed by Amstrad and see how they worked, modifying them if you saw fit.

Programming books were released for all major computer formats.

These books would explore BASIC beyond the instruction manual, as well as provide you with pages of

type in programs. As a child I discovered a shelf of books at my local library and would borrow a new one every week. The problem is that a single shelf of books only lasts for so long, so I became a “repeat borrower”. Some of the books were more informative than others, and if I was to achieve my dream of coding games in the UK then I had to learn as much as I could. It was an addiction that was equal, if not greater than, the addiction I felt when I was playing a great game that I couldn’t put down. I still continued to play games, visiting the worlds of Monty Mole, Double Dragon, Jack the Nipper, et al. I couldn’t neglect my old buddies like that.

In the 1980s a staple of most computer magazines was the “type in” section. This part of the magazine gave readers the opportunity to submit their own creations for a cash prize. However, the incentive of a monetary reward can bring out the greed in all of us and computer magazines, on more than one occasion, would unknowingly print a type in that a reader simply stole from a rival magazine. Magazine type in sections would run for many pages, in some cases for many issues. I recall typing in a listing from ‘Amstrad

Computer User’ that ran for three issues! When I finished typing in the listing it didn’t work!

As I relied on learning my future trade through the pages of ‘Amstrad Computer User’ and ‘Amstrad Action’ type ins, finding listings that didn’t work was a constant source of frustration. The way it worked was, the author would send the listing to the publisher on tape or disc, then the magazine would print the code.

It sounds fool proof, but often you could spend a few hours typing in code only to have it fail, possibly due to a printing error. This would result in me having to spend many more hours trying to debug the code with my limited programming skills. I cannot claim to be completely blameless, as it wasn’t uncommon for me to simply type something in incorrectly. Again, this would require me to spend time debugging the program.

I was quite proud of my achievements, having developed a simple musical keyboard program, an Arkanoid clone and many other pieces of software. I was convinced that if I could move to the UK when I was

older I would be snapped up by one the big names. Ocean Software, Codemasters, Ultimate: Play the Game and Mastertronic would all be on my doorstep, fighting for a piece of my programming prowess. In primary school I was fortunate to work with a very talented Amstrad guru who mentored me until that fateful day I had to leave for high school. I believe he retired shortly after the school upgraded to PCs. Without my mentor’s tutelage I continued to learn, though at a slower pace. By this time computing was changing, and the home PC was starting to become a force to be reckoned with. Gone were the multiple formats from Amstrad, Commodore, Apple, etc. The world wanted a standard, a single format that everyone could embrace. The big names followed suit, Amstrad released a series of home PCs, while Commodore had its Colt range of PC compatible computers. The times were changing and I was forced to change with them.

I did leave a few projects unfinished on my old Amstrad. I had

delusions of creating a port of the Ninja Turtles Arcade game, little did I know that the Amstrad CPC would eventually get a decent port of that game. From memory, I had a large Turtle sprite on the screen that would use its weapon when a button was pressed, but was as far as I got. I explored machine code and other programming languages, but after engrossing myself in BASIC I didn’t really want to learn something else from scratch only to have everything change on me again, so I stopped coding and went back to gaming.

Looking back I realise that even though I was simply playing around, that little Amstrad CPC6128 gave me a real education!

WRITTEN BY PAUL MONOPOLI

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COLLECTIBLES As we’re all about retro this month, we thought we’d follow up on Paul’s article on the Amstrad with some more retro systems. Digging deep into the past, we found some computer and game systems that you may not have heard of. Let’s take a look at the past…

Magnavox Odyssey

Released in the U.S in 1972, U.S engineer Ralph Baer showed his game in the late 60s and licensed it to Magnavox which was part of Philips.

The system was powered by six C batteries or you could buy an optional A/C power supply. Also it didn’t have sound until the “Pong” systems that came out later. Interestingly the Odyssey was sold with a translucent plastic overlay so you could simulate colour on your TV set…

Also interesting is that the Odyssey cam with dice, poker chips and score sheets plus game boards and play money so you could play it like a traditional board game. It came with 2 paddles and sold over 300,000 units according to Wikipedia.

(Picture - Wikipedia public domain - Evan-Amos)

Tandy TRS-80

Arriving in 1977 the TRS-80 went head to head with the Apple II and the CBM Pet. The system had a tiny 4kb or RAM but later models had 16KB. Games came on tape, disk and cartridge and any older gamer will have

RARE A memories of watching those blinking asterix as the tape loaded, fingers crossed that it wouldn’t freeze up.

The system was a mono output and some of us who used it to code would attach a bit of green or amber perspex to our monitor (think black and white TV) so that it looked a bit cooler. When attaching a couple of disk drives you’d get use to the clicking of the drives as they read data and loaded up whatever you were using.

Games included Temple of Apshai and Galactic Empire. Text adventure style games were also popular. I can remember playing something called Ball Turret Gunner (WITH SOUND) and having a blast with those crude ASCII characters and semmigraphics… Tandy sold around 1 million of the systems and one list suggests 200 games for the unit.

(Picture from Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution-share Alike 2.0 France license)

made it a must have game system and when former Atari staff formed Activision more quality games hit the system. The original system in 1977 had wood on the front for decoration and a cartridge port and retailed for $200 shipping with 2 joysticks and a Combat cartridge. The last version that came out in 1986 sold for just $50 in stores and featured new joysticks and a better, more compact case.

(Picture Wikipedia - public domain, attributed to Evan-Amos)

Interton VC 4000

This 8-bit system came out as a cartridge based game console and was released in Germany in 1978. Not well known outside Germany, it’s not even known how many were sold.

There are 40 games that are known of for the system and it came with 2 controllers with 12 buttons, 2 fire buttons and an analogue joystick.

The system featured a couple of experimental titles such as the 3D styled flight sim - Cockpit by Martin Greiner. The system didn’t do well and development was stopped in 1982.

Atari VCS

This system arrived also in 1977 and became synonymous with game systems. A true family system that teens everywhere wanted it eventually went on to sell 30 million units and had around 500 games released up to around 1992. The conversion of Taito’s Space Invaders in 1981 really

(Picture - “VC-4000-Console-Set” by Evan-Amos Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:VC-4000-Console-Set.jpg#/media/ File:VC-4000-Console-Set.jpg)

AND RETRO

COLLECTIBLES

RARE AND RETRO

Mattell Intellivision

Three million of these were sold from the 1990 launch with 125 cartridge based games. Developed by Mattel Electronics it had a price of $299 and featured pack-in game - Las Vegas Poker and Black Jack and had 2 control pads. Game graphics were the systems strong point and games such as NHL Hockey and NBA Basketball had almost a 3D feel to the graphics. The video game crash of 1983 saw Mattel get out of the video game business and all hardware, games and patents were sold to Mattel’s manager, Terry Valeski who started a new company INTV in 1985.

(Picture: Wikipidea Creative Commons AttributionShare Alike 3.0 Unported)

As I was researching and writing this I took a walk to our museum section of the office. Where we do actually have a number of old game systems.

Sitting there in a glass case was one of the original Mattel Intellivision systems. It still looks in great condition.

Picking it up and feeling the weight, playing with the controllers you get a sense of history of these old systems. What a time for gamers it must

have been in the late 70s and early 80s. I can remember coding on my old TRS-80 and cursing my mate who also was attending TAFE at the time doing a diploma in Computers.

He’d bought a TRS knock off from Dick Smith called the System 80 and of course paid a lot less then I did. Still those early days of gaming were special. You had to use your imagination back then as the graphics were so crude. Sound too was simplistic. But it was the early days of gaming. People like Steve Jobs, the Woz and Bill Gates and Paul Allen were about to change the world.

But for us 18 year olds we were sitting at the kitchen table with a tape connected to a computer, watching those damn blinking stars hoping the game would load…

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COMICS

WHO WATCHES ALAN MOORE? The 80’s gave birth to many things, Mario, Back to the Future, home consoles, Scarface, Bon Jovi, the movie franchise, and Jaws the Revenge... Ok not all of those things are great. We did however get some classic comics out of this era. Most of them thanks to the brilliance of one man, Mr Alan Moore. In the 80’s Alan Moore become one of the most recognisable names in the comic industry. With his unique ideas and ways of deconstructing the image of what comic books should be he truly brought us into a post-modern comic book age. Alan Moore might be my favourite comic book writer and his stories have truly become classics of the art form.

So with this idea of classics in mind I am going to look at three of his greatest works all from the glorious age of excess, the 80’s!

First, Swamp Thing! Alan Moore took over writing the character of Swamp thing in the early 80’s, the character was in a slump in popularity and was heading for cancellation. So DC, in their infinite wisdom gave the title to Alan Moore, who at the time was relatively unknown to basically, do whatever he wanted with the book, it’s not like he could have made it any worse. Moore ba-

sically redefined the character, from his origins to his mission and Swamp Thing quickly became a smart, forward thinking adult title, and sales improved! It introduced wildly controversial ideas like Swamp Thing having a relationship with a human female and what would that relationship be like. He made Swamp Thing a sympathetic, Frankenstein-esque monster that you could care about.

His run on Swamp Thing is legendary and widely regarded as a classic of the medium. It is well worth reading.

In 1986 Alan Moore would change everything with his masterpiece Watchmen. The comic that is widely regarded as the greatest comic book of all time. Watchmen is simply, perfect. It is a mass deconstruction of the superhero mythos and brings us deep, dark sides of the hero we had never seen, nor thought about before. He presents us with a group of heroes in a dark alternative reality 1983, where the appearance of superheroes has altered the course of reality. Vietnam had a different outcome, Nixon functions almost as a dictator. The world kind of sucks.

Things slowly begin to spiral out of control when it is revealed that someone is murdering former superheroes. Thus the race is on to catch

the killer, who’s plans are much more sinister than simple murder.

The comic introduced us to amazing characters like The Comedian, Dr Manhattan and Rorschach. Characters who were deep, complex and often deeply troubled. He took our established ideas of what it means to be a superhero and warped it.

People are putting on costumes not to save people but to act out their inner sadistic urges on criminals and get famous as a result. Dr Manhattan is the only character in the book with real powers and he becomes essentially a god. He loses his ability to sympathise or connect with humanity, he represents the Superman character type. An alien amongst his own people. The character of NightOwl is representative of the Batman character, a washed up, impotent hero who is only capable of making love to his love interest if his is in the suit. It presents us with a deeply dark look at superheroes and it is well worth the read.

Finally, lets talk about From Hell.

From Hell is Alan Moore’s divergence away from the Superhero setting of comic books and he brings us a complex almost detective story about Jack The Ripper, except the story is told from the killer’s perspective. From Hell is an epic comic to

read, the graphic novel release is absolutely massive! I feel like From Hell is a great example of a comic book that does not need to be about superheroes. It presents a dark, based on a true story premise that is grounded in a very real time period and reality. It feels like a historical novel in a way. Although take my word for it it’s not the most historically accurate book there is. Moore presents us with a pretty preposterous theory on who was Jack the Ripper, but it is still none-the-less a very fun story to read!

Alan Moore has given us some fantastic work to look at and he is truly one of the greatest writers of all time.

Nearly everything this man touches will one day be considered a classic.

Do yourself a favour and read Alan Moore!

WRITTEN BY SCOTT F. SOWTER @SCOTTFSOWTER

board games

milton bradley

video board games In the early 80’s two of the biggest powerhouses in their industries combined forces and created a range of awesome Board Games.

Milton Bradley, the leading producer of Board Games and Nintendo released a handful of board games featuring iconic characters such as Mario, Link and Donkey Kong. Milton Bradley didn’t limit themselves to only releasing Nintendo based board games as they also brought fan favourites Pac-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Frogger and Dragons Lair to name a few to life. Today we are taking a look at some of these forgotten gems and how the video game environment and characters translated into physical items the whole family could enjoy at the dining room table.

Donkey Kong – Donkey Kong was released in 1982 and is based on Nintendo’s extremely popular arcade game of the same name. Two to four players take on all the traditional features found in the video game in cardboard form. Players must rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong’s evil clutches by jumping over an arsenal of barrels, fireballs and of course climbing ladders and using the trusty hammer. Each payer starts by choosing one of the four coloured Mario’s and places him at the start of the lowest girdle. Rescuing your damsel in distress while jumping over barrels and avoiding fireballs is what is expected to win the game however the object in this version is to get the highest score so the person who saves Pauline may not be the winner. Points are gained when a player successfully jumps over a barrel or fireball or defeat them with

a hammer. Donkey Kong stands atop the girdles and drops the barrels down the board as he does in the video game. By placing a barrel in his left hand it drops through a hole and appears in his right hand ready to be let loose on to the board.

When the barrel is dropped any player who is hit by it must pick up a card and can only be saved by a jump or hammer card. This board game version of the iconic video game is a fun and interesting virtual take on the arcade game.

Mario - Another fan favourite of Nintendo’s IP’s to be brought to life in cardboard form was Mario. The Super Mario board game was released in 1988 and allowed two to four players to take on the two dimensional platform based levels in the original NES video game. Players must move through four worlds in the Mushroom Kingdom with the first player to reach the yellow square beyond Bowser in World 4 being declared the winner.

Facing off against the Koopa Tribe players jump onto platforms, travel through pipes, hit blocks to collect coins and trade them for extra lives.

Not surprising at all is that the aim of the game is to rescue Princess Peach from Bowsers evil lair. At the start of each players turn the die is rolled and the single Mario pawn is moved towards the finish. Whichever player rolls the amount to get past Bowser is awarded the winner. This cardboard version of the original doesn’t sound to live up to the polish of the source material. With all players playing as the one Mario it takes away from the great competitiveness of playing as Mario and Luigi in the

video game. Also the way in which the game is won seems very anticlimactic. There is no duel with Bowser to determine the fate of your Princess, just the players competing in a rollfest to achieve her safe return.

Zelda - One of Nintendo’s most popular franchises received the board game treatment in 1988. This Milton Bradley title is based on the first game in the series and features a board heavily inspired by the dungeons and field section of the game.

The aim is to help Link in his quest to save Princess Zelda while facing monsters and collecting heart sections. The board is split into 6 different realms each featuring monsters Link must defeat and loot to collect.

In each of these different rooms there are three different types of spaces which are arranged in the shape of a cross. Circular spaces found inside are neutral and they will end the players turn immediately whereas the square spaces are quite the opposite. These spaces are dangerous and when they are landed on the player must face off against one of the iconic enemies found in the game selected from a pile of cards assigned to each room. The third space is the section between rooms which can only be passed through when the magic title is collected. This is to represent the items that are collected in each of the original dungeons in the game. Players must battle their way through each room till they make it to the final room with a showdown with Ganon.

At the start of the game each of the four players receive three heart sections which serve as the players hit

points. Like a lot of board games The Legend of Zelda relies heavily on the dice in deciding the outcome of the objective Link is currently undertaking. This board game version of an action adventure title seem to capture the essence of The Legend of Zelda but cannot match the grand scale presented in the original game.

Pac–Man – In the early 1980’s one of the most popular video game characters was Pac-Man. Due to the hype he had created Milton Bradley decided to release a family board game of his classic arcade game.

The board game was released in 1982 and the fold out board recreates the iconic Pac-Man maze complete with white plastic marbles as the pellets and four large yellow marbles to represent the power pellets. Players choose from one of four different coloured Pac-Man pieces which features a moveable mouth with small sharp teeth and a hole in the bottom of the jaw so as it moves it can gobble up the pellets. Two plastic ghosts are also found in the box. Unsurprisingly the aim of the game is to move around the maze and collect more pellets than the other players. The Pac-Man pieces move via a roll of a die while the other die included is used to move the ghosts and eat the other players. By doing so this will transport them back to their starting point. The Power pellets act like they do in the video game as they allow players to defend themselves when an opposing player sets a ghost on them. The Pac-Man board game looks like a really fun realistic take on the game.

It has all the features that made the arcade game so special.

Out of all the Video Game Board Games Milton Bradley released I have only been able to play one. I own Donkey Kong and have only played it a handful of times due to not waiting to ruin or damage the game because of how old it is. Donkey Kong is one of my favourite vid-

eo games and is one in which I have spent many hours trying to get the highest score possible and the board game version manages to capture that same magic. If anyone has as chance to give any of the games a try please do not hesitate! While they may not all capture the splendour of their Video Game counterpart they are a great little bit of history in our industry that should not be passed up! Hopefully with the recent renewal in Board Game popularity we will get more classic video game board games in the near future!

WRITTEN BY JESS WILSON

COLLECTIBLES

COLLECTIBLE CARD GAMES!

Nearly everyone has heard of them, a vast majority of us have even played them but not everyone knows a lot about them. I’m talking about collectible card games or as some might know them trading card games.

For those that don’t know collectable card games or CCG’s are strategic styled games, in which players use their own deck of cards, sold in random assortment to play. Usually these games, such as the ever popular Magic the Gathering are played with a group of friends however they are also played in tournaments, local and worldwide.

CCG’s haven’t always been around in fact it was in 1993 when they first emerged, deriving from trading cards. Considered the first CCG and widely thought of as the most popular to this date is Magic the Gathering created by Richard Garfield and patented by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. Despite being over 20 years old Magic is still played today with an estimated 20 million playing it across the world, having been translated into 11 different languages.

Typically players purchase a starter set containing a manual and a playable deck of cards which can be added to later to start playing. As these are not solitary games, in order to play and gain experience a player will have to play with friends or go to a set location that hosts tournaments, which can usually be found through the CCG’s website. There is also the option of playing online.

Whilst Magic is dubbed by some the best CCG and most well known that doesn’t mean that others have not been produced some successful like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon and some not so successful such as Spellfire: Master the Magic.

Spellfire, created in 1994 by TSR, inc despite being eagerly anticipated due to its use of Dungeon and Dragon locations and other aspects such as characters was not well received by the players as it did not follow, as many expected, Magic’s game style.

its held, where individual players can take home up to $4,000 dollars and groups can make $8,100 for first place.

Anyone is welcome to join these tournaments but for more beginner players there is always friends or even your local gaming store, like Gametraders to go to. So get out there and have a go!

Most play these games for recreational reasons but there are tournaments and world championships held each year. Such as the Grand Prix for Magic, which lasts three days in each of the different places

WRITTEN BY EMILY LANGFORD

TRADING CARDS

Pikachu worth holding on to!

Trading cards, like many other pop culture items can have their rare and collectables. In fact some are worth thousands if they are min condition like the 1998 made Pikachu Illustrator cards where supposedly only four or six, were actually made and initially were awarded to those who had a winning entry in the Pokemon Card Game Illustration contest in 1997.

The Bulbapdeia website:

(www.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page )

which is the online encyclopedia about Pokemon states “The card is the most valuable card in the hobby.

It has earned the highest sales price for an individual Pokemon card.”

Recently it was listed on Ebay by one seller for U.S $100,000 - check the Ebay link and photo here.

The item was listed in 2013 and was never published in English - only Japanese. It also has the word “Illustrator” on it instead of “Trainer” Did it sell.. not sure but it did have a lot of private offers.

Another rare card is the Pre Release Raichu card. According to our research from sites like Bulbpedia and an informative Youtube by DJGigabyte the Pre Release Raichu is rare due to the word PRERELEASE

stamped on the lower right. It’s an error card according to DJGigabyte, Supposedly Wizards were making a test run of the card and so had the word PRE RELEASE stamped on it.

Originally denied to be in existence, it was suppose to have been talked about in whispers and had collectors hoping and searching.

One copy of the card was supposedly purchased for $10,500 but no one knows who now owns this card and no others have shown up in public. Called the Holy Grail of English Pokemon cards, no one knows if another will be seen…

Checking on Ebay Australia there’s listings for other rare cards and sets such as the Complete Pokemon 1st edition base PSA 9 MINT 103/102 card set currently listed for $10,000.

This listing has all cards with both yellow and red cheek Pikachu and are of course in sleeves for protection. So if you’ve got a spare $10k maybe you could pop over to Ebay and check it out.

Like any form of collecting the key is to know your stuff. Look out for rare items and when a first edition of anything comes out you’re interested in, maybe put one set aside just in case it becomes sought after.

Images from Bulpedia - www.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page

TRADING CARDS

DJGigabyte INTERVIEW-www.youtube.com/user/DJGigabyte

Dan is the creator of Youtube Channel - DJGigabyte and regularly puts out videos giving fans the latest news on Pokemon cards and some excellent research on rare cards.

Dan, welcome to Live Magazine, how did you get started with Pokemon and creating your own Youtube Channel?

Like most people my age I got completely caught up in the fad of Pokémon around the original release (I was eight years old when Red and Blue first came out in the UK), and I had bits of everything including some cards. My brother and I tried to put together full sets, but with the difficulty getting a hold of cards we could never manage it. I got out of the franchise a few years later, and barely even thought about Pokémon until I borrowed a copy of Pearl from a friend. I’ve always been interested in collecting things, and at the time I was collecting Doctor Who trading cards. For mainly nostalgic reasons I decided to purchase some Pokémon cards and quickly became hooked.

As I started researching the cards online I found that there was a huge community based around the game and found myself in awe of the collections that some people had. From that point I dived straight into researching the cards, finding out information about things I didn’t know existed. After spending many years learning everything I could, a YouTube channel seemed like the best way to share what I had learned with people. The channel has taken a bit of a hiatus lately, since I’ve gotten pretty involved playing competitive Magic, but I do still upload when I’m able to.

You have some excellent videos on rare cards, tell us what you fell are the rarest card out there and why they are so rare and what you think they are worth.

don’t even have images of. These cards are very difficult to value do to being very unlikely to ever show up for sale and not peaking the interest of as many collectors.

“What is the rarest Pokémon card?” is definitely the question I get asked the most. There are a lot of rare cards within the game, all rare simply because not many copies were printed. While cards are mainly sold in booster packs and mass produced products, some cards are available only as prizes for tournaments or competitions. In terms of the fewest printed copies, the rarest cards come from early tournaments in Japan, where the winners would have photographs of themselves printed onto cards. Each of these cards only had one copy given out, to that winner and some of these cards we

The most valuable card in the hobby is a card known as the Illustrator card, often called “Pokémon Illustrator” or “Pikachu Illustrator”. The card was given to the winners of an artwork competition in Japan not long after the games release and has always remained one of the most desirable cards in the game. Recent research has suggested than up to 50 copies of the card may have initially been given out, but the number of known copies still in circulation is between five and ten. Sales of this card ungraded range from $10,000 to $20,000.

INDIE GAMES

INDIE GAMES:

BACK TO THE FUTURE? Wandering around AVCon recently we stopped and chatted to a few of the indie developers who were demonstrating their latest games. A couple of our conversations revolved around indie game developers being a little like those developers back in the early 90s when PC gaming was really taking off with the new 486 based systems allowing coders to really push a lot of pixels and activity on the small screen.

Those days were exciting in that each upgrade of the processor from the 386 to 486 and so on, saw leaps in what our PCs could handle with regard to graphics and sound and gameplay. Today, developers are pushing mobile platforming along with desktops and consoles. But it’s in the mobile platforms of phones and tablets where we’re focusing on today.

Small one and two person teams are working away just like the legends of old like Geoff Crammond and Sid Meier.

devil's doom First up we talked to Tom Aldahn from RUNGO Games about their title, Devil’s Doom.

Tom can you tell us about your game, Devil’s Doom. What’s it

about, and how long has it been in development?

Devil’s Doom is a retro inspired, single screen action game where you catch feathers, avoid baddies and grab power ups to get the highest score. I liked the endless runners like Temple Run etc so I took that idea and applied it to my favorite genre, platformers. People have been calling Devil’s Doom and ‘endless platformer’. If you want to go deep, it’s a story of redemption, the little devil is trying to catch the falling feathers (souls) in hope of redeeming himself and getting out of hell.

It’s taken about seven months part time to build and I’m still adding a few features. Although it is based off a prototype I had been tinkering with in flash about a year and a half ago and I probably spent a month or two on it at that stage.

Tell us about being an independent developer, it’s challenges and rewards...

I work a day job and have two small children so game dev happens at night, usually after the kids have gone to bed. I try to get in a couple of hours a night. I break it up into tasks, so some nights I do art, other nights I code. I try to fit in the other stuff around that too, social media, marketing etc. I guess that’s the challenge, as an indie you have to

wear many hats and it sometimes feels like you’re a ‘jack of all trades’ but then when the game is done and folks start playing your game, it all comes together and its totally worth it. Seeing an initial spark of an idea and following it through to fruition is the ultimate reward. Being able to tweak and make changes and to work at your own pace are benefits too. If I want to do some pixel art one night then I do that, If I’m in the code zone or have a particular problem I’m trying to solve and I want to work on that for a week straight I can do that too. I don’t think I would find it half as satisfying working for one of the big players as ‘the guy that did the grass’ or whatever. Not that there’s anything wrong with that :) It reminds me a bit of the old days of PC gaming and the 486 or even earlier with the Amiga and Atari systems, those times when lot’s of developers got creative and started developing for systems without the need for expensive dev kits… do you feel there are similarities?

Yeah, I remember gaming on the Commodore 64. There were lots of games that were from individual developers. I think that died down when the consoles came in and then when the big publishers and their marketing budgets took over but I think that with the advent of the iphone and the app store and then the

Google play store and now steam, kickstarter etc things have opened up again for small teams and individuals to get games out there by providing platforms to finance, publish and distribute games, relatively cheaply. Be good to see less Flappy Bird clones and more original ideas though.

help with social marketing, strategy and ‘just get the game finished-ness’ has been invaluable.

How do you generate an income from games and is it possible to stand out in a crowded market place?

In those early days of Amiga/Atari and PC gaming, there were many 1 and 2 member teams putting out amazing games, how many in your team?

For Devil’s Doom I’ve gone for a freemium model. I didn’t want to spam folks with banner ads or heaps of in ap purchases etc so instead I’ve opted for fullscreen interstitial video ads that play every so often.

For instance, if you reach above 6500 points and lose a life you get the choice to watch an ad to keep your score and continue the game from where you died. It’s early days (we’ve only been live in the app store for a short time, so time will tell how we do. I’ll keep you posted!).

Rungo Games is just me but I pull in people when I need them. For Devil’s Doom, I had four people on the team at various stages of development. I did the coding, art and game design. Brian Gair did the music composition and audio production (effects, audio mastering etc). He’s in Canada and we’ve never actually met but talk thru skype, emails etc.

Steve Grice did the awesome illustrations for the package art and last but not least my brother Andy whose

We’ve got a good conversion rate but the biggest issue for me is exposure. Being indie, I don’t have the huge marketing budgets of the big players but I think it comes down to making the store presence as good as it can be, being active on social media, getting out and talking to people at events like AVCON etc. and trying to make the most polished experience you can, oh and listening to the folks who are playing your game.

Ultimately, I want to entertain peo-

Unfortunately I also think its changing again now too, and like what happened with PC, the majors are taking over the app stores now too. But indies are getting through, I mean look at the success Hipster Whale has had with Crossy Road. Awesome.

ple and making a game that people enjoy and seeing them get into it is priceless. Gives me a buzz. Sounds corny, but it’s true.

What are the best platforms to develop on in your opinion?

I’ve only developed for mobile and web at this stage. I like HTML5, it’s quick to iterate and there’s no compile time. I like mobile too, it’s a low cost of entry. With a laptop, a phone and $99 dev licence for Apple or $30 dev licence for Android you can get a game out there. Although, I’m contemplating getting Devil’s Doom onto PC next. And of course ultimately would love to develop something for the Xbox, WiiU or DS. Where can readers go for more information on Devil’s Doom?

For more info about Devils’s Doom or Rungo Games you can find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/devilsdoomgame, follow us on twitter @rungogames, check out the dev blog at: www.rungogames.com or just grab the game now, it’s in the Apple app store and it’s free! The Android build is underway now too, so hang tight my droid friends, it shouldn’t be too far off.

INDIE GAMES Indie developer, Dylan Browne from Incandescent Imaging is working hard on his project- Caffeine. We caught up with Dylan at AVCon and had a quick chat about his latest project and indie games in general…

First up, welcome to Live Magazine and tell our readers a bit about yourself.

My name is Dylan Browne and I am a VFX artist turned game developer currently working on Caffeine, a quirky science fiction exploration game with a tad of horror and puzzle gameplay.

How many apps have you worked on or developed and how were they received?

I have not worked on any apps before starting on Caffeine, it is the first project I have ever worked on apart from a few tiny game jam games over the past two years.

Back in the 90s PC game development was a mix of indie developers/programmers and the bigger names. Do you see any parallels with smartphone development today and if so expand on that.

I do see some parallels, there are certainly many many smaller “indie” developers in the mobile market at the moment and it seems slowly they are being absorbed by larger companies. As Caffeine is a PC game, I don’t have a huge connection with many mobile developers.

Finally where can readers go to find out more about your app or game?

Info on Caffeine can be found at www.incandescentimaging.net and if you would like to see behind the scenes daily, follow me at @DylserX.

INCANDESCENT

IMAGING

caffeine

eden of the east

anime

review

Eden of the East... where to start with this anime. I loved the characters in the ‘game’ of the Celasaou, in which many different styles of personalities emerge from this hell-hole of a story. The music was beautiful, with everything merging into the lovely soundtrack. And the artwork was exceptional. But, it was ruined by the horrific storyline that, no matter how hard I tried, could not come to like even if my life depended on it.

Story: Akira Takizawa wakes up naked outside the White House with no memories. He’s got a gun in one hand and a cell phone in the other, and he doesn’t know if he is a good guy or one of the worst. He doesn’t remember that the phone gives him instant access to ten billion yen and a woman who can make his most outlandish requests a reality. He doesn’t recall his connection to the ongoing missile attacks terrorising the Japanese people, or the part he played in the sudden disappearance of 20,000 shut-ins. He doesn’t even remember he is supposed to save Japan and will be murdered if he fails. Whatever it is he is tangled up in, Takizawa’s definitely in deep – and that’s not even scratching the surface.

The storyline made this out to be an exciting action anime that had very in-depth and conceptual design, but, in reality, it was the main character more worried about what he did in the past, rather than following the game of ‘saving’ Japan. Eden of the East starts making questions, throws more questions in there with very little answers given, and ends making you feel as though you just spent four and a half hours of your life cooped up in a room for absolutely no reason. If you want something with a conceptual story, do not... and I repeat, do not watch this anime.

Art: [9/10] I absolutely love the art in this anime. From shady alleyways to torn up apartments, this anime has a very rustic feeling to it. The characters have very soft faces, which gives the impression that they are still very young and the vehicles have immense detail in them, which was amazing.

Character: [7/10] While I adored all of the characters in this, I just can’t overlook the fact

that a main character has barely any change in his personality no matter what. Character development is what I look for when I do this section, and it just wasn’t there for Akira.

Music: [8/10] The music and audio was great for this. Had very fluent speech which was evenly matched with the animations as well as great sound effects that were used spectacularly.

Overall: [5/10] You know how I said this anime was bad? Yeah, a five out of ten type of bad. This anime was absolutely horrible. It’s redeeming features were the other categories, but it just is too horrible to sugar coat it. The story line was too static-like with jumps in the story that made absolutely no sense to the story what so ever.

We never really learn about who the characters are on a personal level and it ends at a vital turning point for the anime and story in a hole. Whilst I understand it was meant to end there, judging from the start, it just didn’t make sense that he completely quits there.

WRITTEN BY Jesse Richardson

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BOSS MONSTER

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GET IT AT

COSPLA jusz ZADRA COSPLAY INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW

Chinasaur INTERVIEW

AVCON

2015

WRAP

UP

yaya han INTERVIEW

eve beauregard

INTERVIEW

AY

5 tips on setting up a cosplay shoot PHOTOGRAPHY TIPs

inspire your cosplay cosplay photography

cosplay:

a retrospective

SPECIAL REPORT

CONVENTION SURVIVAL guide part 2

TUTORIAL

COSPLAY First up how did you get into cosplay?

I’m from Canada, where Halloween is a bigger deal than it is down here, and I got into costumes in a big way through Halloween. I always looked forward to dressing up and running around with my friends – I guess the only difference between trick or treating and conventions is the free candy! I worked in a costume shop in Vancouver for many years and I have a background in theatre and pop music, but it wasn’t until I moved to Adelaide and attended my first comic convention that I found cosplay and fell in love with it.

What’s been your favourite cosplay so far?

That’s like choosing a favourite child!

I think comic Black Widow is my favourite, though I love my Lara Croft for comfort and Steampunk Zatanna for glamour.

Oh and favourite “con”?

I think Oz Comic-Con is my favourite because I really like their vibe and I think the extras they organise, like the guest dinners and absentee packs, are a fun idea. Plus, with all the extra effort they’re putting in with regards to cosplay, they’re trying to tap into another part of fan community in what I feel is a genuine way.

Do you make your own costumes and what’s been most challenging?

I do make my own costumes, though I’m not opposed to buying or commissioning pieces. After a major sewing fail I ended up buying my catsuit and I’ve just commissioned a piece for a future costume. I really enjoy making my own costumes – I love the feeling of pride I get when

jusz

COSPLAY www.FACEBOOK.COM/juszcosplay

I put something on and know that I made that. I also like the process of sketching and creating that goes into every costume and I learn so much with each one.

The most challenging thing for me is armour, hands down. I’m just not very good at it and I think I need to stop for my future mental state. Bring on the fabric costumes!

With E3 just last month - what game or games are you looking forward to?

I’ll admit, I’m not a gamer – cosplay takes up a lot of my spare time, as does my family life, and I have trouble committing enough time to a game to complete it. I’m also terrible at jumping, which makes a lot of games very, very difficult. I’m really interested in having a look at Rise of the Tomb Raider because it looks incredible, otherwise I’ll just be waiting for the next Lego game.

Tell us about photo shoots - what do you expect from the photographer and what do you think they expect?

At the most basic, I expect to get some quality photos from a photo shoot that I can put up all over social media and to show off my costumes.. What I hope for, and have been lucky enough to get with just about everyone I’ve worked with, is a collaboration between me and the photographer to bring a character to life. What I love about cosplay is inhabiting the character and my goal is always to portray the best version of the character that I can.

I think the photographers expect me to be professional and prepared for the shoot. I try to have poses and ideas ready so that we don’t waste time trying to come up with shots. I think there’s an expectation to promote each other as well and to credit the other when posting and sharing the photos.

Photographer: Nathan Tan | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

“ feeling of pride

I really enjoy making my own costumes – I love the

”

I get when I put something on and know that I made that.

- JusZ Cosplay

Photographer: Nathan Tan | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

You’ve also done some video with various projects, does that differ much from digital photography?

I love doing video, it’s so much fun.

It differs a lot from photography and I think it’s harder in some ways - you can’t Photoshop out the stray hairs or a broken gun - but what you can accomplish with video is always worth it. . You get to stretch your creative muscles differently and approach the whole shoot from a totally different angle. The commercial I filmed

for Gametraders was an amazing experience and I think the first Black Widow video I shot with JATSTV is still my favourite project. I’ve got plans to do more filming in the future, so look out!

making a few more for various projects before and after. I’ve got some video plans, lots of photo shoot plans and a couple of really fun collaborations with some awesome cosplayers and photographers.

What’s coming up this year for you?

Finally, where can readers go to find out more about you?

Making more things! Supanova Adelaide in November is my next convention, so expect at least two new costumes, but I’m sure I’ll end up

www.facebook.com/JusZCosplay www.twitter.com/JustineGF www.instagram.com/JusZCosplay

Photographer: Ellen Lily | www.facebook.com/ellenlovelyphotography

Photographer: Angelo Beltran | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

Photographer: Steamkittens | www.facebook.com/steamkittens

Photographer: Steamkittens | www.facebook.com/steamkittens

COSPLAY Hi Zadra, tell us how you got into cosplay and making props...

I first got into cosplay in 2007 after losing a very large amount of weight.

I decided to maintain a healthier lifestyle to overcome the unfortunate passing of my mother from cancer. I used motivation to cosplay my favorite character, Samus Aran (Metroid), to reach a level of confidence where I felt that I could finally start cosplaying. Throughout the years that followed, as I experimented with different crafting methods, I discovered that I had an exceptional talent for making costumes with armor. I then decided to start making props from scratch using some of the same materials I used for my armor builds.

I noticed that I was capable of working swiftly with props, so I decided to start taking commissions on them since I had been receiving great feedback on my work. It’s been a very rewarding experience seeing other cosplayers embracing my pieces with their costumes!

What’s been your most difficult cosplay or prop and why?

So far, my most difficult cosplay has been Anya Stroud (Gears of War). It was my first armor build, and I was still in the process of learning how to work with EVA foam. I hit tons of speedbumps, had to re-do plenty of pieces, and almost gave up several times. It took me six months to complete, but I feel that the final product came out incredible. People couldn’t even believe that it was my first armored costume. Once I finally wore it, I had multiple con floor disasters with the LED lights incorporated into the costume. After several repairs, I finally fixed the problem by moving the placement of some voltage resisters that kept breaking.

ZADRA www.facebook.com/SOS.ZADRA

Tell us about the cosplay scene in Brooklyn...

When I first started cosplaying, it wasn’t very popular in New York city, and even less so in Brooklyn. Its incredible when I think about the first few years that I attended New York Comic con, and how I could actually walk around freely without getting pinned in the middle of enormous crowds. As the pop culture integrated with conventions started to grow, so did the popularity of cosplay. The number of cosplayers and convention attendees just kept multiplying.

NYCC used to be the only local convention worth attending. However, some smaller and newly established conventions have started to pop up recently, bringing much more depth to the New York cosplay scene. It’s been an amazing experience because I’ve made lots of friends due to the growth of the cosplay.

Do you have a preferred genre of cosplay?

I definitely prefer cosplaying video game characters (especially tough gals that wear armor). Video games are the primary interest I have that drives me bring characters to life.

The U.S has some huge “cons” do you visit any and what’s coming up for the rest of 2015 for you?

New York Comic con has been the primary cosplay event for me since 2009, and I’ve added a few newsones to my list in the past couple of years. There are also lots of other cosplay related festivals and parties that I’ve been attending. This year, I’ve already attended MAGfest, Big Apple Con, Sakura Matsuri Festival, Eternalcon, and AnimeNEXT. I’ll also be attending Otakon later this month, and finally NYCC in October. I’m actually planning on moving out of state to Pennsylvania soon, but I’ll still be attending some of the same conventions, as well as some new ones since I’ll be in a different location. I’ve got some other big US conventions on my “must-visit” list, including Dragoncon, Colossalcon, and Katsucon.

Tell us a bit about hula hooping A few years back, I picked up an interest in hooping when I saw a girl at a club - not just hula hooping, but “dancing” with it and doing tricks. I was fascinated and picked it up immediately, learning how to hoop with youtube tutorials, and later by taking some classes in a dance studio.

Hooping has become a part of who I am just as much as cosplay has. Its incredibly fun, uplifting, and a fantastic way to stay in shape! I often go to parks to practice when its warm out, and sometimes bring my LED

Photographer: Yassir Ketchum | www.facebook.com/YassirKetchuMPhotography

“ hoop to clubs and parties to show off a little.

Do you have any tips for new cosplayers just starting out?

A new type of media recently surfaced where a GoPro camera is attached to a hoop to capture a very unique “Hulacam” video experience.

Videographers have started using the “Hulacam” at conventions, and I’ve had the pleasure of getting involved several times. Getting to combine cosplay AND hooping is indescribable - Its the best of both of my worlds coming together!

First and foremost, cosplay is supposed to be fun. If it’s something that makes you happy, then the first step is already complete. Sometimes, the “fun” aspect is something you can easily lose track of during the construction process - It happens to me all the time. Things don’t always go as planned, and it can quickly turn into nothing but stress. The best thing to do is take a break and BREATHE - come back to it a day later. Sleeping on it almost always helps you figure out a way to solve your problem the following day. With this said, it’s also important to remember your strengths and weaknesses. If you discover that there is a theme you happen to excel in, stick to it! Working in a medium that you are used to will help reduce crafting stress, and ultimately define your personal style!

With photo shoots - how involved are you as the cosplayer in setting the shoot up and choosing locations etc?

Photoshoots are usually an equally planned project between the photographer and I. Unless we’re doing work in a studio, we always discuss both of our ideas for locations and come to an agreement. Ultimately, it usually comes down to what backdrop would compliment the character’s origin best. Believe it or not, finding places to shoot in New York City can actually be difficult. It’s very hard to find good natural backgrounds in the city, urban or industrial backgrounds that are legally accessible, or areas without crowds that might interfere.

Thankfully, most of the photographers I work usually have a few of hidden gems to shoot at.

Finally where can our readers go to find out more about you?

The best place to follow me is on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sos.zadra I also have an Etsy shop where I sometimes have pre-made props ready to sell, as well as take commission requests! www.etsy.com/shop/ZadraBug

Photographer: Ron Gejon | www.facebook.c

Believe it or not, finding places to shoot in

New York City

can actually be difficult. It’s very hard to find good natural backgrounds in the city, urban or industrial backgrounds that are legally accessible, or areas without crowds that might interfere.

com/RonGejonPhotography

�

- Zadra

Photographer: M9 Cosplay | www.facebook.com/m9cosplay

Photographer: Knightchaos | www.facebook.com/KnightChaosCosplay

Photographer: Hero Hotties | www.facebook.com/herohotties

Photographer: Knightmare6 | www.facebook.com/knightmare6photo

Zadra

COSPLAY

Chinasaur www.facebook.com/chinasaurcosplay

Welcome to Live Chinasaur, firstly tell us about yourself and how you got into cosplay.

Fun fact about me I guess is my day job is actually a chemist. I got into cosplay when I was 15 when a friend told me about a local con and we decided to dress up and go check it out. I met a bunch of my current friends through that cons forums and after finding out we were all local, we started hanging out and cosplaying together! Since then I’ve just been meeting more and more people with every con I go to.

What’s been your most challenging cosplay costumes?

Anything involving fitted, non-stretch fabric (Haruko comes to mind first) is a struggle for me. Paine was also pretty challenging for me, mostly because her outfit doesn’t translate

well to real life at all and there was quite some work put into getting everything to stay in its proper place.

Every costume generally comes with a new challenge in some way or another though!

What cons do you attend and what are some of the best experiences you’ve had there?

The ones I try to go to every year are youmacon and colossalcon.

Youmacon holds a lot of nostalgia for me because it was my very first con, and it’s also my hometown con.

Colossalcon’s just great because it’s more of a vacation than a con--it’s held at a waterpark resort complete with petting zoo and I usually like to spend most of my time there out of costume hanging out with the friends I only get to see a few times a year.

It’s my favorite vacation I take every year, hands down.

What sort of photo shoots have you been involved with?

I started off only doing photoshoots at cons, but after becoming friends with a few photographers, I started to lean more towards doing on-location shoots.

I live close enough to some of them to drive to, so I’ll make it a weekend trip to visit them and do some cool photoshoots on the side. I think it’s a lot more interesting than shooting at a hotel or convention center, and it frees up the time I would usually take at cons to shoot to hang out with people instead!

Finally where can we see more of your amazing cosplay?

You can find me on facebook if you just search Chinasaur.

Photographer: M1photo | www.facebook.com/monephoto (Sword by Josh Gaetz)

Photographer: M1photo | www.facebook.com/monephoto

Photographer: Kevin Chan Phogoraphy | www.facebook.com/solartempestphotography

Photographer: Kevin Chan Phogoraphy | www.facebook.com/solartempestphotography (Fishbones by Woodwarder Creations)

Photographer: M1photo | www.facebook.com/monephoto (Guitar by Lionel Lum)

Photographer: Ithilnar | www.facebook.com/ithilnar

FALL OUT

T U O !

W NO

POP S!

AT !

M E S ‘ GETETRADER

GAM

COSPLAY

yaya han www.facebook.com/YAYACOSPLAY

Live Magazine sent cosplayer JusZ (Justine) to interview the very popular Yaya Han at AVCon 2015! Here’s what she had to say...

(This is a transcript of the live interview which you can listen to here!)

J: Hi, it’s Justine from JusZ Cosplay here for Gametrader’s Live Magazine and I’m lucky enough to be sitting with the international ambassador of cosplay, Yaya Han. Welcome to Adelaide, Yaya.

Y: Thanks so much for having me.

I’m super super pleased to be here.

J: This is your first time in Adelaide, isn’t it?

Y: Yes. Yes. J: Yes. But you’ve been to Australia before?

Y: Just once, three years ago for a fairly ah short and kind of, it was a little rush of a trip. So, I am very, very happy to come back and things have worked up so well this time, so.

J: You’re very, well-travelled?

Y: Uh hm.

J: You’re a definitely a definition of an international cosplayer. You’ve got a really hectic schedule, do you ever find that it’s difficult to be creative on demand. You’ve

got to get home, make a costume, get out again.

Y: Absolutely. Ah I think that is the hardest balance that I’m constantly striving for, because it used to be that I would only go to, you know, five or six conventions and I had a full time job and I would just cosplay in my free time and then it turned into quitting that job and sort of pursuing, you know like, cosplay-related activities, as my income such as doing full costume commissions or then making accessories and then it was like touring conventions. You know like being a vendor you have to go to 20-30 conventions a year and while other vendors can wear jeans and t-shirt and be comfortable all weekend, I was still dressing up in costume and then still trying to maintain my creative need of making costumes. So, yes, these days I have trained myself to, at least time management wise, to set aside certain days when I’m home and really have to schedule in the times to make the costumes. So while July is a hectic month with 4 conventions and 4 weekends, I usually try not to do more than 2 in a row, so that I have a week at home to just keep being creative because I don’t like to wear the same costumes again and again. And I’ve come from I guess the generation where we make costumes from the get-go. And so, it’s… it is the huge fulfillment for me to make them instead of to buy them.

I’m kinda like “I want to make them!”,

you know, but if I want to make them then I have to set the time to do so for myself.

J: Do you find inspirations sometimes as outstripping your ability to make them fast enough?

Y: I want to do that one.

J: Do you have a back log that’s…?

Y: Absolutely, my costume to-do list always grows bigger. It never grows smaller. And sometimes it does takes years, to check somethings off the list but it’s about timing I think, depending on logistics of the events that I’m going to and what I’ll be doing at the events. Also even how far the event is from the hotel.

How easy it is to get there. What’s the weather like. That all determines what kind of costume you can bring and what what you should make. I want to make something season appropriate, like it’s summer right now, so it makes no sense for me to work on a fur crazy winter costume even though I want to and have one on my list. Let me wait until it’s a little colder.

J: Any sneak peak of something that you’re thinking about making but it’s down the track?

Y: Ye. Well I have collected a lot of materials for an original costume that is based on Chinese mythology.

So I’m super interested in, you know,

Photographer: Charlie Nicholson | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

mixing history with fantasy, and it’s sort of going to be something very opulent and inspired by the Curse of the Golden Flower.

J: Oh wow.

Y: And you know that type of Tang dynasty fashion that’s just incredibly luxurious - so I am waiting for winter times to make that because it’s a snow themed costume.

J: Oh wow. I can’t wait to see it.

Your original costumes the peacock and I think some of the other ones you’ve done have been so beautiful.

Y: Thank you. I wish I had more time to make original costumes because it’s not every convention that is the right venue for an original costume you know. So I’m constantly trying to carve out even more time for those.

J: And you just had McCall’s do a pattern of the peacock dress?

Y: Yes! J: and your new bodysuit which I’m very excited to get my hands on. I hope they bring it down here soon!

Y: Yeah. I hope so to.

J: How did it feel like getting to do that?

Y: Oh my god. Completely surreal.

A lot of people basically believe that I reached out to McCall’s myself and I’m like: I do not dare. I’m like I’m sewing, I’m just a little girl out here making my costumes. I learned how to sew on McCall’s Patterns and Patrick and Vogue and such. And so for me to even be on their radar was a complete shock. I literally... my mouth was just a gape when I saw the e-mail which was, “Hey! We like

your costumes. We’d like to meet you and see if you want to make a pattern with us”.

J: Wow. Y: I’m like “what?!” you know just absolutely baffled and for them to actually follow through because you get a lot of e-mails like “Ah! Maybe we could work together”... But with McCall’s, they were so professional and they really took it very serious. They said “Alright. Come to New York to our offices. Let’s have a meeting.

And at the meeting, they’re saying “here’s a licensing contract.”

“Woah!”

J: Serious!

Y: I’m not prepared!” And so they asked me what pattern I wanted to make and I immediately said a “bodysuit”. I wish I had had a good bodysuit pattern all these years.

And I knew how useful it would be to the cosplay community. I’m just so so happy and everytime someone sends a picture of a bodysuit they made and they say “I used your pattern!”, I’m just like “eeeeh!”. You know just super fan-girling. They are going to continue designing patterns with me and so we’re working on new ones and there will be a men’s bodysuit pattern.

J: Oh. Y: Yes.

back in your early cosplays? Your early stuff like way back when you first started out and look at where you are now and go “how did this happen? How did I get here?”

Y: Absolutely. I think that is.. because I had the blessing and the curse to have gotten into cosplay 16 years ago. I think I really approached it from a very different stand point because it. I grew up as a person with cosplay so it is so much of a part of me and ah so much of what I am and my values, my personality and you know, my passions. They are all linked through cosplay. I mean its its so cheesy to say but you know, I would not have been able to do an interview like this before getting into cosplay like… or speak in front of people or go onstage and just I think the the act of putting yourself out there and putting not just you but also your craft, your passion, tells what you like. It’s a huge lesson in being a person because you get ripped to shreds for absolutely everything but once you’re through that you’re just “hey!”, you know, “now, I can take on whatever.” It gives you confidence and such. So, I’ often think back on when I started at the beginning and how the community was and where I was and the values I had, maybe some of the mistakes I made, and I try very hard to always hold on to that integrity. I don’t ever want to lose where I started from you know because it’s like, this community means a lot to me.

Y: Yeah. We we were kinda “okay!

We did the women’s one. Now all the men are saying “hey! what about us?” So so yes! We are going to come out with one.

J: Is there anything looking back now sort of at the point where you are, you wish you’d known when you started not even cosplay but started your professional journey, when you quit your job and you jumped in, is there something you could go back to that Yaya and say?

J: Fantastic. Do you ever look

Y: Yes. Yes. Yes. I would’ve said “do

J: That’s going to be very popular as well.

Photographer: Angelo Beltran | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

Photographer: Angelo Beltran | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

not go into business with friends.”

J: Yeah.

Y: Yeah. I believe that is a great big lesson and also to do everything you can to protect your intellectual property which I know it sounds a bit weird when it comes to cosplay because we are all dressing as licensed characters. But the translation in itself is that there is an artistic merit to it. And specifically a lot of products that I design are not based on any characters and I specifically steer away from licensed characters to create unique products; but when I first got into this business, I did not know how to protect that and so it was a long journey to get that back. So yes that would my… the thing I wish I could tell my younger self because I’m not trained in business. I did not go to school for business of anything. It’s been the most difficult part of cosplaying or having a cosplay-related job is to deal with the business side of things, because I’m a creative person, I’m an artist. I just want to sit there and make stuff.

I don’t want to deal with e-mails and taxes and all of the other stuff that comes with it but it is a necessary part of it.

J: What’s next?

Y: Hmm! Ah exciting things definitely.

Some things I can’t talk about yet but I ... I really want to focus more on creating materials and sourcing materials that will be helpful to the cosplay community. I think it is at that point where now that I have the chance to work with companies like McCall, I’m just going to keep going and if I’m on their radar then I’m going to keep trying to find other things that will like make it easier for people to get into this and … and also try to cut back on travelling a little bit for next year.

So that I could be home more and

be more creative, and learn more ah skills and new techniques. I would definitely like to play with some more gadgets like laser cutters and 3D printers and such.

J: Oh wow.

Y: You need to be there to do that and beyond that, just want do what I can to create more video content and share my knowledge. I will make tutorials! It’s going to happen but I

want to do it right.”

J: You’ve got to be home to do those.

Y: Yes. So, exactly.

J: I think I’ve asked everything I wanted to ask, um.

Y: I talk a lot. I’m sorry.

J: No, it’s wonderful.

Yaya Han

COSPLAY

eve beauregard www.facebook.com/EVEEBEAU

J: Hi this is Justine from JusZ. I’m here with Gametraders Live Magazine interviewing the internationally acclaimed Australian favorite Eve Beauregard. (This is a transcript of the live interview which you can listen to here!)

cons for almost a decade now and there’s this real sense of camaraderie. I think because the community is a bit smaller and there’s also a real resourcefulness about convention organizations in Australian cosplay that I really love.

J: Welcome back to Adelaide, Eve.

J: Have you brought anything back from an overseas con that you have applied to anything here in Australia?

E: Thank you.

J: Thanks so much for coming and joining us again at AVCon. E: Lovely to be back.

J: Now you are probably Australia’s most successful international export…

E: (laughing) J: You’ve done cons all over the world – Mexico, London…

E: Yeah.

J: What’s the difference between the Australian con scene to the international con scene?

E: It’s a tough question... I mean…

It’s international cons’s a lot of them are a lot larger than this. There’s a huge of fan base because it’s a lot more population, so naturally there are more nerds. I think there’s like probably a ratio to mainstream people to nerds in the world but ah Australian conventions, I think they are always gonna be my favorite. I mean I’ve been coming to Australian

E: Yeah! I mean, one of the things that I definitely learned travelling a lot with conventions is the way that cosplay is treated at bigger shows and that is that cosplay is really an important part of the convention environment. Important part of the atmosphere, we’re a huge part of the community. So showing conventions in Australia that if they value cosplay as a community and as part of the show that it improves the entire convention on a whole and I mean shows like AVCon and Comic-Con really really show they listen to that kind of feedback and it’s awesome to see cosplay in Australia on the up.

J: And you’re a huge huge part of that as you said with your involvement with Oz Comic-Con. What is your most personal creation to date? You’ve got costumes ranging from video games to superheroes, what’s the one that’s really meant the most to you?

E: That’s tough. I mean it’s like ah.. it’s like asking someone to choose their favorite child because I mean

everything you create regardless of how happy you are with the end product, has an incredible amount of investment and sentimental value in it. But if I had to choose, I think, there are two favorites for me. The first one would be Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite.

J: It’s beautiful.

E: I made that costume really quickly and my boyfriend that time helped me a lot to make it but it wasn’t so much on making the costume itself but it was the experience I had wearing it. I mean I got to really engage with the creators of the game. When the images went viral which was kind of weird. But from that came a lot of people joining my community and joining me in my adventures and that was really awesome. So, when I think about it I get a little bit teary.

J & E: Laughing E: And the second one is Yennefer Vengerberg from the Witcher III because that was not just your average cosplay experience. That was being brought on by game studio by a game studio that I absolutely love and adore. And being asked to be very hands on with their community and craft the cosplay competition for the international cosplay community and also just to become one of the characters from the game and to see what is undoubtedly my likeness in the video game that I love is pretty amazing.

Photographer: Charlie Nicholson | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

J: Now the other that you’ve been very passionate about is your charity, Medic.

E: Yes. J: So, you created that when? A couple of years ago?

E: Yeah, about a year and a half to two years ago. I mean I sort of love to get its creation day because we started unofficially and then yeah..

J: So what was the drive behind starting Medic?

J: Do you have any plans going forward concrete from Medic? Or is it sort of, are you just happy to keep going on as you are and keeping it sort of low viral?

E: Yeah. I mean my night grows and changes all time. I think we’re still sort of figuring out exactly what we are and what we wanna do. Umm, for me at the moment, a lot of big life changes happening so I’m moving states and starting new jobs. So, Medics is, um, a little bit quieter at the moment but we do have some really big plans in future that are secret for now.

J: Fantastic. I’m really excited to hear about them because I’ve always enjoyed watching all the Medics stuff as it goes forward.

E: Thank you. We always love to have absolutely anyone who is passionate about it or involved, so…

J: Wow. Count me in. One last thing before we wrap this up because I can see Justin with his hand on the time. Umm, you are , um, here in AVCon in Adelaide, is there anything that you want to do before you go?

E: I’m told there is like a chocolate factory or something?

J: The Haigh’s chocolate factory, oh yes.

E: Yeah, that’s where I’m going.

J: That’s err yes. Splurge up because Haigh’s Chocolates is amazing.

E: Yes. I do have a favorite of that.

So I’m just gonna go ahead and steal all of it.

J: Yes. Just sort of put it on your body and get on the plane.

E: Chocolate smuggling.

J: Chocolate smuggling.

E: It’s my secret career.

J: We will never suspect it.

Eve

E: Yeah. I mean to give you the short version when I first started cosplay, I met an incredible person called Justin Acharacter, who really taught me that cosplay can be more than just dressing up and it can be about helping other people and making them happy and that extended not just from cosplay but from everything geeky and nerdy that I do is that it makes people happy, so why not use that for something better than just sort of feeling good about it. You know, if you can make the world a better a place then you really should, um, and it also came about as part of having a social media following and knowing a lot of people who had social media followings who wanted

to do something good with it. I mean I’m firmly of the belief that pretty much everyone wants to do something good if you can just help them and enable it. Medic has a group who makes it easy for the geek community to work with charities and to make the world shinier.

Photographer: Nathan Tan | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

COSPLAY PHOTOGRAPHY

inspire you Cosplayer: Poodoki

BENNY LEE Benny is an award winning photographer from Atlanta that specialises in fashion, portraits and cosplay. For him, cosplay photography is about telling the story. Benny has a gift for creating images that are inspired by TV shows, movies and games.

His post product skills are amazing and probably one of the key things that makes Benny stand out. See more of his work at: www.facebook.com/BennyLeePhotography

ur cosplay This month we decided to look at a few of those cosplay photographers that inspire us. While there are literally thousands of great cosplay photographers we couldn’t possibly fit them all into one magazine so we’ll simply share four that we absolutely love.

MICHELLE MONIQUE Michelle is gifted photographer and artist based in San Francisco. She’s won awards for her work including Comic-con 2012 as a finalist in the Wacom contest and first place in the Pix Digital Imaging Contest. She also won Photographer of the Year in the Zemotion contest. Michelle is brilliant with lighting, colour and story telling. Looking at her work and the behind the scenes videos you see a photographer who is totally absorbed in every aspect of the shoot, from making costumes, to applying make up right through to the finished photo. Michelle also does beauty, fashion and commercial photography and has a list of clients that keep her busy. Want to get inspired? Head over to her site at: www.michellemoniquephoto.com and check her cosplay work under the Creative link.

COSPLAY PHOTOGRAPHY

inspire you DAVID LOVE Not many photographers who specialise in cosplay have produced their own book available on Amazon, but David Love is the exception. He’s a fashion and glamour photographer based in Oviedo, Florida in the U.S and is well known for creating unique and one off images. David is a graphic designer who has used that training to create photos that are unique and creative. Check out his brilliant work you can find on his site under “compositions”: www.truefd.com/davidlovephotography/compositions/

His work with light, image manipulation and posing shows off the cosplayers hard work on costume creation. Featured here: Kristen Lanae, Ellei Marie and Dahlia Thomas. He also works with the cosplayer to get the right pose that is the foundation of a good composite.

ur cosplay PECK photography Peck is one of those photographers that you instantly recognise his images when you see them pop up on your social media feed. Peck is based in Valencia which is the third largest city in Spain. His ability to use light and add effects that enhance the photo are amazing. He uses tones and colours to add mystery and fantasy to photos that are already brilliantly light. Peck’s fantasy and sci-fi images all have an other worldly feel that draws you in and you get lost in the image.

Also Peck, like the other photographers in this list are genuinely nice people. Helpful, friendly and approachable, they are the sort of people you could imagine having a coffee with and talking about photography, gear and what inspires them.

Check out Peck here www.peckfotografia.com

While these are just 5 photographers that inspire us, there really are thousands of brilliant Cosplay photographers around the world, and we’ll be taking a look at some more in upcoming editions, including a special feature of 5 Australian photographers that inspire us.

If you’re a cosplay photographer - consider making up your own list of photographers that inspire you, and use it as a reference to help grow and inspire your photography.

COSPLAY TUTORIAL

CONVENTION SURVIVAL guide part 2

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HayleyEliseCosplay Now that you’ve got your convention survival kit all packed up (read more about that in last month’s issue!) it’s time for your convention. Are you ready to survive the weekend? Most cosplayers go into a convention prepared to come out worse for wear on the other side, but by following these tips, you can make sure that you minimise the impact.

The 5 - 2 - 1 Rule Think of this as the golden rule of convention survival, and one to always keep in mind, especially whilst travelling overseas or interstate!

This rule means that every day of a convention weekend you should get a minimum of: 5 hours of sleep. As tempting as it is to stay up all night finishing your costume, remember that sleep deprivation is more likely to ruin your convention day than a missing costume piece is!

2 good meals. And no, pocky doesn’t count. Whereas breakfast is most important meal for a convention day, it’s also the most likely to be skipped in favour of preparing and rushing to the convention. At the very least, consider meeting up with friends for a convention lunch and dinner!

1 shower. Fairly self-explanatory – and vital not only for your comfort, but for everyone else attending the convention as well!

Cosplay Time-Out Whilst one of the best parts of attending a convention in costume is getting your photo taken, sometimes you need to get somewhere, go to the bathroom, fix a broken costume piece or just chill out and have something to eat. The best way to get around without being harassed is to have a visible sign that you are unavailable for photos – whether this is a loose garment like a jacket or a pon-

cho that can fit over the top of your costume, or a piece of the costume that you can remove to signify that you are essentially ‘out of costume.’

All-Weather Cosplaying Weather is the bane of any cosplayer – whether it’s hot, cold, raining or sunny, the weather never quite manages to be perfect for cosplay.

But you can always prepare for the worst, and minimise the risk to your costumes and yourself!

Winter: Bring a loose outer layer to throw over your costume if you have to be outside waiting for photos, anything that cuts potential wind chill is going to help you beat the cold! Look into small instant heat packs that you can keep in your pockets, such as ‘Hothands’ hand warmers. Bring a small portable umbrella just in case it rains, and think about giving your cosplay shoes or boots a quick once-over with some waterproofing spray before you leave the house.

Summer: Pack a couple of instant ice packs – one at the back of your neck can be a life-saver in extreme hot weather. Consider bringing a fan, whether it’s a small motorised fan, or just a folding fan – you would be surprised how much difference it makes! If you’re likely to be waiting outside for entry or for panels, bring a small umbrella to provide some shade. Above all, make sure to always keep hydrated!

Know Your Con Whilst we always plan to do more at conventions than we actually have time for, having a good idea of what is

going on at any convention is a great way to be better prepared for the day. Pick up the event guide at the entrance, and consider installing the guidebook app if the convention supports it, and following the convention on Twitter! Most conventions will be active on Twitter throughout the day, giving you updates on events and important news. Don’t rely on being able to hear notifications from your phone in the bustle of the convention – get into the habit of checking it often, to make sure that you don’t miss anything you want to see. But even if you miss something, remember not to sweat the small stuff – there’s still going to be plenty to see!

WRITTEN BY HAYLEY ELISE

COSPLAY special report

cosplay:

a retrospective

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HayleyEliseCosplay Having been cosplaying since 2007, I consider myself a veteran – it’s hard not to think of eight years as a long time, given how much and how rapidly cosplay is now changing and moving into the mainstream.

Every year it seems we are given some new material or technique that revolutionises the way we cosplay, from worbla and thermoplastic to consumer-sized 3D printing. However, cosplay has a long and interesting history that goes back much further than my own eight years, both in Australia and internationally, harking back to the ‘golden days’ of comic book conventions in the 70s and 80s, and even earlier.

implemented, as nude costumes ran rampant throughout the 70’s.

1939: Forrest J Ackerman is the first ‘cosplayer,’ attending Worldcon as a ‘futuristic man’.

1984: First instance of the term cosplay. The term was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard while attending Worldcon in Los Angeles.

While inspired by an American convention, the term doesn’t catch on in the west for some time, whilst usage is common in Japan. Indeed until the late 1990s when anime becomes increasingly popular in the west, cosplay in Japan is very different. Japanese cosplay is quite similar to how we see it today, whilst western costuming norms see original designs based on mythology or written fiction as the norm.

1940: Just one year later, Worldcon holds its first costumed masquerade.

In the beginning the event is more of a costume ball, with prizes being awarded at the end.

1970: San Diego Comic Con sees its first year, initially being called Golden State Comic Book Convention.

300 people attend, but costumes don’t play a large part.

1971: Worldcon’s Masquerade becomes a hugely popular event – and nudity in costumes is common. In fact, this is where the ‘no costume is not a costume’ rule first had to be

1974: San Diego Comic Con – now named as such – holds its first Masquerade. The event becomes a SDCC staple, continuing on to this day.

1979: Comicon I is held in Melbourne – Australia’s first true comic book convention.

1983: Costume-Con in first held in San Diego, and slowly but surely takes over from Worldcon’s Masquerade as the premiere costuming event in the states.

1986: The Australian Comic Book Convention is held at the Sydney Opera House, hosting international comic book guests for the first time in

Australia and drawing huge crowds despite the cancellation of comic book great Stan Lee’s appearance.

Some hardcore fans dress up in homemade costumes. This convention was a huge event, which was originally intended to become an annual event like the by then firmly-entrenched SDCC, but funding for such an ambitious notion was unfeasible in Australia.

1992: OzCon becomes Australia’s first annual comic convention, running until 1998.

1996: Cosplay gets its first taste of the mainstream, with Rachel from Friends donning the infamous Slave Leia bikini for an episode.

1999: Cosplay legend Yaya Han makes her first cosplay for Anime Expo.

1999: The first cosplay café opens in Japan.

2000: Comicfest! the precursor to Supanova is held in Sydney. Tickets cost $8 for a single day and 3000 people attended. The familiar Madman cosplay contest was present, however the rules were unusual by today’s standards and indicative of the fact that cosplay was then seen only as a subset of the Anime fandom. One particularly unusual rule required attendees to request permission from the cosplay coordinator

Photographer: Nathan Tan | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

Photographer: Angelo Beltran | www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

Photographer: Creed | www.facebook.com/creedphotography

if they wished to cosplay a character of the opposite sex, or a character who cross-dressed.

2001: Manifest is first held in Melbourne.

2002: Japanese cosplay magazine Cosmode publishes its first issue.

2002: Many new conventions spring up this year, including Supanova in Sydney and Brisbane, Animania in Sydney and AVcon in Adelaide.

2002: Cosplay.com is founded.

2003: Cosplayer and gamer Adrianne Curry wins the first season of America’s Next Top Model, becoming one of the most high-profile cosplayers of the time with her regular appearances at SDCC. 2003: The World Cosplay Summit, an international cosplay competition is held for the first time in Japan.

2007: My own first convention and cosplay experience is Animania in September!

2007: Australia is invited to compete in the 2009 World Cosplay Summit.

Preliminary and final rounds are held in 2008 to find Australia’s representatives, who are then sent off to compete in Japan in 2009.

2008: Supanova expands to Perth and Melbourne.

2008: Arda Wigs is established, with the idea of wigs designed by cosplayers, for cosplayers. Arda is the first company to provide lace-front wigs that are available in unnatural colours and priced within a cosplayer’s budget, opening up a whole new world of wig-styling possibilities for cosplayers.

2009: Jessica Nigri’s infamous sexy Pikachu costume from SDCC goes viral.

2009: Australia sends its first team to the WCS finals in Japan: Sydney cosplayers Catty and Tsubaki.

2009: Christie Lee wins the inaugural Madman National Cosplay Competition.

2010: Supanova hosts Australia’s first international cosplay guest, bringing Alodia Gosiengfiao to its Brisbane event.

2010: Kotaku’s ‘Fancy Pants’ weekly cosplay roundup begins, running for four years until Kotaku creates a

dedicated cosplay site in 2014.

2011: Anime Expo announces a “Best in Show” cash prize of $10 000 for its masquerade, boasting the largest ever prize pool for a cosplay competition.

2012: Alodia Gosiengfiao is the first cosplayer to hit 1 million likes on Facebook, becoming one of the top 20 most liked celebrities on the site.

2012: Kamui popularises the German thermoplastic ‘worbla’. Before

this, materials to create armoured costume pieces were limited and expensive, with alternative thermoplastic Wonderflex being out of many cosplayers budgets, and quite difficult to work with unless creating simple shapes.

ing to address harassment at San Diego Comic Con.

2013: Sy Fy creates its sensationalised and controversial Heroes of Cosplay reality show, airing to modest ratings success.

2015: CosCon, Australia’s first ever dedicated cosplay convention, is held in Adelaide for the first time.

2013: The CONsent movement is born in Philadelphia, ultimately aim-

2014: Cosplayer Eve Beauregard becomes the first Australian to appear as a guest at international conventions.

WRITTEN BY HAYLEY ELISE

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“ PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

5 tips on setting Tip 1:

Meeting cosplayers Meeting someone today is very different to 20 years ago. Back then meeting someone literally meant meeting up in real life. Perhaps for a coffee and chat about setting up a photo shoot. Today though, meeting might mean a message via social media or email. Contacting a cosplayer for a shoot is the first step and I’d recommend if possible asking any cosplayers or photographers you know for a referral. Something like - hey you know that cool cosplayer who did the Batman cosplay you were talking to at XYZ Con - can you maybe see if I can set up a shoot with them - maybe message them for me and introduce me.

It’s a great way to get that awkward first contact happening.

If you don’t know anyone then try contacting them via social media or email and include details about yourself, links to your work - either a web portfolio or social media page. It’s always a good idea to have some sort of portfolio site such as a Tumblr account or a Facebook page that isn’t your personal page. It makes you look like you know what you’re doing.

Tip 2:

Be professional The way you communicate will really influence whether a cosplayer will be interested in working with you. Saying something like… “ Hey you’re really hot - can I take some pics?”

That’s not professional and will send most people running for cover. It’s far more professional to initiate contact that reflects a person who’s serious about their cosplay photography.. something like: “Hi, I’m a cosplay photographer in Sydney and I’ve seen quite a bit of your cosplay work via social media. I’d be interested in organising a photo shoot with you if you’re interested. What I offer is full access to the photos and allow you to share them on social media or your website. My portfolio can be seen here (link to your work). I know it’s difficult being contacted by a stranger but I’m a genuine cosplay photographer looking to build my portfolio. Please bring a friend or family member if you like so that you feel comfortable. I’d love to plan the shoot with your input. So if you’re interested please let me know … regards … (you).”

up a cosplay shoot This month we thought we’d take a look at setting up a shoot with a cosplayer. We’ll cover how to meet a cosplayer without being creepy. How to plan the shoot. Pre shoot discussions and then doing the shoot. Let’s get started.

Tip 3: Be honest

Don’t tell the cosplayer you’re a pro photographer if you’re a beginner. Don’t lie about your skill set cause word will get around that you’re being dishonest. The cosplay community is tight and they talk among themselves. Liars get found out pretty quick.

If you are a beginner I’d suggest contacting an established cosplay photographer or a cosplay group/club and ask if you can be help with an upcoming shoot. One way to get experience is attend cons and watch and learn. Don’t be the creep who snaps a photo of a cosplayers backside while they’re not looking. Instead be up front and ask if it’s ok to take a photo. You’ll find 90% of the time they will be fine.

www.facebook.com/robjenkinsphotography

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

5 tips on setting

up a cosplay shoot Tip 4: Be on time

Don’t say “hey let’s meet for the shoot at 11am” and then turn up at 12. It’s likely the cosplayer’s already left and having coffee with friends thinking what a loser you are. I would. If you’re going to be late - message them - hence the need for you both to either swap mobile numbers or let each other know you’ll be messaging via Facebook (or whatever) in case of problems.

Part two of this tip is if you’re going to take photos and promise to share them with the cosplayer in a week or two - do it. Don’t go back in six months and say oops I was a bit late… it gets around.

Tip 5:

Learn, Grow, Giveback Cosplayers are a giving bunch. They share their love for cosplay. They help each other out with tips and prop ideas. So you too need to be giving. You need to constantly be growing in your skill level. If you’re going to be a cosplay photographer - then do it with all the passion and enthusiasm it takes.

Learn from others, take photography workshops, buy books and magazines and try out the suggestions in tutorials.

Don’t just stick your camera on Auto and hope for the best. Sure it’s ok to do that when you’re learning or need to, but learn also about depth of field.

How to use Shutter Speed for capturing just the right amount of blur. Discover the joys of camera’s with excellent high ISO abilities - they can really help in dark lighting.. Learn about flash vs ambient. Grow! It’s a fun passion - share it. Give back by doing shoots for friends and cosplayers and giving them the best photos you can.

”

www.facebook.com/robjenkinsphotography

AVCON

2015

WRAP

UP

www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

AVCON

2015

WRAP

UP

www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

AVCON

2015

WRAP

UP

www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

AVCON

2015

WRAP

UP

www.facebook.com/gotsuperpowers

OUT 2 OCTOBER 2015!

AUGUST STO & TOU VICTORIA BACCHUS MARSH Magic the Gathering Draft - Friday 5:30pm Magic the Gathering Standard Constructed - Sunday 12pm Board Games and Magic Modern Constructed - Wednesday 5:30pm

HIGHPOINT Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 3pm

GAMETRADERS LIVE MILDURA Dragon Ball Z TCG Tournament - 1 August 12:30pm Yu-Gi-Oh! Clash of Rebellions Sneak Peek - 2 August 12:30pm Pokémon Pre-Release Ancient Origins - 8 August 12:30pm MTG Magic Origins Game Day - 9 August 12:30pm Yu-Gi-Oh! Synchron Extreme Structure Deck Tournament - 30 August 12:30pm Pokémon League - Wednesday 4.30 - 6.30pm We also run: Pokemon both TCG & VG, MTG FNM, MTG Constructed Tournaments, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Star Wars X-Wing, Warhammer 40k, Cardfight!! Vanguard, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros & Ultra Street Fighter IV Tournaments, plus heaps more.

For event details and times, please check: www.facebook.com/GametradersMildura/events

TORE EVENTS URNAMENTS! QUEENSLAND CHERMSIDE Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 3pm Cardfight!! Vanguard - Wednesday 6:30pm Pokémon - Saturday 3pm Magic the Gathering - Tuesday & Friday 6:30pm

MACKAY Pokémon - Sunday 11am Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 2:30pm Magic the Gathering - Friday 6pm

MORAYFIELD Magic the Gathering - Friday 7pm Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 2pm Pokémon - Wednesday 12pm

LOGAN HYPERDOME No current tournaments.

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY HYPERDOME Pokémon Ancient Origins Pre-Release - 9 August 2pm Yu-Gi-Oh! Clash of Rebellions Pre-Release - 1 August 10am Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday 10am Pokémon - Saturday 2pm

NEW SOUTH WALES BLACKTOWN Advanced Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday & Sunday 10am Pokémon - Saturday 2pm Magic the Gathering - Thursday 6:30pm Cardfight!! Vanguard - Sunday 2pm

MACARTHUR SQUARE (CAMPBELLTOWN) Yu-Gi-Oh - Wednesday 5:30pm

PARRAMATTA Yu-Gi-Oh - Thursday 6pm, Saturday 2pm Magic the Gathering - Sunday 11am Cardfight!! Vanguard - Sunday 2pm Weiss Schwarz - Saturday 10am School Holiday Additional Tournaments: Yu-Gi-Oh - Monday, Wednesday & Friday 2pm Cardfight!! Vanguard - Tuesday & Thursday 2pm

GAMETRADERS LIVE PENRITH Cardfight!! Vanguard - Saturday 5pm Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 11:30am Yu-Gi-Oh (Traditional Format) - Thursday 6pm Magic the Gathering - Friday 7pm Pokémon - Saturday 12pm Weiss Schwarz - Saturday 6pm My Little Pony - Saturday 6m Board Game Night - Wednesday 6pm Nintendo Fight Night - Thursday 7pm

GAMETRADERS LIVE HORNSBY MTG Magic Origins Game Day - 8 August 12:30pm Yu-Gi-Oh - Sunday 12:30pm Pokémon - Sunday 2pm Magic the Gathering - Friday 6pm Magic EDH/Commander - Sunday 2pm Board Games/Role Playing & Tabletop - Wednesday & Thursday 6pm Retro - Saturday (check FB for times) All other systems - Casual Play Saturdays

AUG &

V

SOUTH AUSTRALIA INGLE FARM No current tournaments.

MARION Pokémon - Saturday 2-5pm Cardfight!! Vanguard - Tuesday 6pm Yu-Gi-Oh - Wednesday 6pm Magic the Gathering - Monday & Friday 6pm

SEAFORD Yu-Gi-Oh! Clash of Rebellions Sneak Peek - 2 August 1pm (12:30pm registration) Pokémon Pre-Release Ancient Origins - 8 August 1pm (12:30pm registration) Yu-Gi-Oh! Synchron Extreme Structure Deck Tournament - 27 August 6pm (5:30pm registration) Yu-Gi-Oh - Thursday 6pm (5:30pm registration) Cardfight!! Vanguard - Friday 4:30pm Magic the Gathering - Monday 6pm (5:30pm reg) Pokémon - Sunday 1pm (12:30 registration) My Little Pony - Tuesday 5pm (4:30pm registration) Future Card Buddyfight - Thursday 5:30pm Board Game Nights - Wednesdays from 5-8pm

MT. BARKER Board Game Night - Thursday 6pm Yu-Gi-Oh - Saturday 4pm

SALISBURY Magic the Gathering - Thursday 5:30pm & Saturday 11am Yu-Gi-Oh (Advanced Format) - Saturday 12.30pm

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AUG

HOW RATINGS WO The Australian Classification CTC

CTC - Check the classification.

The content has been assessed and approved for advertising unclassified films and computer games.

Any advertising of unclassified films and games must display the CTC message on posters, trailers, on the internet, and any other types of advertising.

G - General.

The content is very mild in impact.

The G classification is suitable for everyone. G products may contain classifiable elements such as language and themes that are very mild in impact.

However, some G-classified films or computer games may contain content that is not of interest to children.

PG - Parental Guidance.

The content is mild in impact.

The impact of PG (Parental Guidance) classified films and computer games should be no higher than mild, but they may contain content that children find confusing or upsetting and may require the guidance of parents and guardians. They may, for example, contain classifiable elements such as language and themes that are mild in impact.

It is not recommended for viewing or playing by persons under 15 without guidance from parents or guardians.

M - Mature.

The content is moderate in impact.

Films and computer games classified M (Mature) contain content of a moderate impact and are recommended for teenagers aged 15 years and over.

Children under 15 may legally access this material because it is an advisory category.

However, M classified films and computer games may include classifiable elements such as violence and nudity of moderate impact that are not recommended for children under 15 years. Parents and guardians may need to find out more about the film or computer game’s specific content, before deciding whether the material is suitable for their child.

ORK: Board

There are two separate Boards that are independent from the government and from each other. There is the full time Classification Board that decides the classifications of films, video games and certain publications and the Classification Review Board that meets only to review a decision of the Classification Board when there is a valid application for review.

The Board bases its’ classifications on six elements: Themes, Violence, Sex, Language, Drug Use & Nudity Below are a list of classifications you’ll find on games and movies:

MA 15+ - Mature Accompanied 15+.

The content is strong in impact.

MA 15+ classified material contains strong content and is legally restricted to persons 15 years and over. It may contain classifiable elements such as sex scenes and drug use that are strong in impact.

A person may be asked to show proof of their age before hiring or purchasing an MA 15+ film or computer game. Cinema staff may also request that the person show proof of their age before allowing them to watch an MA 15+ film. Children under the age of 15 may not legally watch, buy or hire MA 15+ classified material unless they are in the company of a parent or adult guardian. Children under 15 who go to the cinema to see an MA 15+ film must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian for the duration of the film. The parent or adult guardian must also purchase the movie ticket for the child. The guardian must be an adult exercising parental control over the person under 15 years of age. The guardian needs to be 18 years or older.

Parents and guardians may need to find out more about the film or computer game’s specific content, before deciding whether the material is suitable for their child.

R 18+ - Restricted to 18+.

The content is high in impact.

R 18+ material is restricted to adults. Such material may contain classifiable elements such as sex scenes and drug use that are high in impact. Some material classified R18+ may be offensive to sections of the adult community. A person may be asked for proof of their age before purchasing, hiring or viewing R18+ films and computer games at a retail store or cinema.

There is also an X 18+ for adult films and these titles are only available for sale in the ACT and the Northern Territory.

Sometimes games are refused classification. This can cause gamers to be frustrated, citing that the R18+ classification should take care of adult content. But still some games don’t get classified until the publishers/developers have addressed the concerns of the Classification Board.

CTC

Want to know more? Visit the Australian Classification website - www.classification. gov.au

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