Random Gaming Thoughts

[Key-Glyph]

I was listening to the soundtrack to Ecco: The Tides of Time on my commute today and thought, there's gotta be a word for games like this that invoke those very potent feeling of beauty, isolation, sadness, and incredible space all at once. Games like Metroid, Mass Effect 1, Shadow of the Colossus. I decided I am going to refer to it as "umami."

I was also thinking about how funny it is that we're on a retro forum, but as we post more, our user statuses progress chronologically forward in gaming history instead of the reverse. What if it were the other way around? Would the "Next-Gen" distinction be "Tennis for Two" instead?

[noiseredux]

Is unami "comfort food" or am I thinking of the wrong thing?

[Key-Glyph]

Umami is the taste of "savoriness," which is hard to describe, but is pervasive and you know the feeling when you're tasting it. It's deep, or heavy, or... something.

I thought it was fitting, because I find the sensations these particular games give me to be very hard to put into words -- and that when I try, it results in a long string of seemingly contradictory terms. Isolated and spacious? Beautiful and sorrowful? But I always feel enveloped by whatever this feeling is, and it's consistent. And big.

This might not make sense to anybody else and may be unique to my own head, but hey. Umami games. I like 'em.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I was also thinking about how funny it is that we're on a retro forum, but as we post more, our user statuses progress chronologically forward in gaming history instead of the reverse. What if it were the other way around? Would the "Next-Gen" distinction be "Tennis for Two" instead?

Some forums have statuses that initially poke fun at the user ("newbie" or "n00b" or whatever) and then slowly progress to something really good. We could apply that with a video game theme. New users would be Daikatana and those who hit 15,000 posts could achieve the rank of Ys Book I & II.

[noiseredux]

Umami is the taste of "savoriness," which is hard to describe, but is pervasive and you know the feeling when you're tasting it. It's deep, or heavy, or... something.

right! I remember reading about this. It's like chicken soup.

[Exhuminator]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aca45ff2-2ea0 ... 519fc.html

So then, this confirms it:

"Sony is developing an upgraded version of its PlayStation 4 gaming console that will offer ultra-high definition 4K resolution and richer graphics, according to the unit’s chief executive, as the company strives to maintain its lead over rivals Microsoft and Nintendo. "

"Andrew House, president and global chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, told the Financial Times that the “high-end PS4” would be more expensive than the current $350 version."

"The plan marks the first time that Sony has improved the processing power of a PlayStation midway through the usual console cycle, as it looks to keep up with the more rapid pace of product launches in the smartphone and PC sectors."

"The new console, which is codenamed “Neo”, will target hardcore gamers*, he said, as well as consumers with a 4K television set looking for more high-resolution content. "

Well, I'm glad I haven't bought a PS4 yet. Might as well wait and get the top tier model.



*Because the normal PS4 doesn't already target hardcore gamers, you see.

[isiolia]

*Because the normal PS4 doesn't already target hardcore gamers, you see.

Well, does reinforce that it's not meant as a must-have upgrade. 'course, if every other game gets patched to 1080p/60fps or something, it'll become a desirable one.

[Exhuminator]

It's gonna be interesting to see if developers just opt to make PS4 Neo games have higher framerates and resolution, or if any devs go gung-ho and make PS4 Neo exclusive games. No way to know right now, but it seems possible.

[isiolia]

I suspect that - at least at this point - the performance difference is not large enough to warrant that. Plus, it's probably subject to what Sony wants.

As we'd discussed in the NX thread, there's a shift in strategy taking place. Maintaining a "lower end" option is probably part of that. In turn, keeping games working on original PS4 hardware seems desirable for Sony.

[Exhuminator]

Oh, I agree with you on principle. But if the install base for Neo grows large enough, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility is all. All we can do is speculate for fun right now, given we don't even know what the specs are for the PS4 Neo yet. When we know the hard numbers on hardware, we'll have a clearer picture of feasibility.