PAX PRIME 2014: Galak-Z: The Dimensional - Interview with Jake Kazdal

o far, I really dig Galak-Z: The Dimensional. Between its procedurally generated everything and its slick visual styling, this awesome new shooting game is one to look forward to, not just for STG enthusiasts but gamers in general.

There is quite a bit of nifty technological wizardry that has been infused into Galak-Z's retro-anime, physics-based gameplay, but how did it come to be in the first place? What were the challenges of making such a game? What is the creator's favorite retro system?

All of this and more was answered as I caught up with 17-Bit founder Jake Kazdal for some good old-fashioned post-hands-on Q&A on one of this years most intriguing shooting games.

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Sonic: The Marathon - Interview with Tyler Smart

ll too often, uninformed pundits and the general populace believe almost too entirely that nothing good can come of video games. Although there are several studies to the contrary, there seems to be a general consensus among the ignorant; video games invariably lead to brain rot, obesity and violent behaviour. However, over the weekend one man proved without a doubt that there is all kinds of good to come out of gaming as well.

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Kenna Warsinske: The woman who modded The Legend of Zelda

hen hobbyist animator and feminist Kenna Warsinske made changes to The Legend of Zelda, she’s willing to admit it was because she simply wanted to. She wanted Princess Zelda to play with power, and she wanted others to experience the impact for themselves.

“There’s no one to stop me from eating candy before bed and there’s nothing standing in the way of me creating the games I want to play,” Kenna Warsinske noted on her blog days before her Zelda starring Zelda mod exploded around the internet.

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PAX Prime 2012: Nights--Hands-on interview with Jeff Beckham

I once read an article in an old issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly that compiled and listed the top 100 (domestic) video games of all time. While the list contained many of the games I was apparently savvy enough to pick up before they were considered all-time greats, there were a great many from a system I never had until long after its demise: the Sega Saturn.

One such game was NiGHTS Into Dreams, a game that debuted the Saturn 3D Analog Controller and came pretty close to being un-classifiable. Was it a platformer? Flight-sim-lite? A racing game?

One thing was certain: it was very popular, and very scarce in my neck of the woods, but I managed to track both it and a Saturn down to see what all the fuss was about which, all told, was a very long endeavour. And worth it. But now, there's a better way for people to be able to experience this goodness; recently, NiGHTS Into Dreams was announced as a downloadable title on the PSN and XBLA Marketplace making this fairly highly sought-after title much easier to obtain and experience on platforms that much better accommodate NiGHTS' ambitious features.

And while I could go into the finer points of what makes NiGHTS great, it's a 16-year-old game and this isn't a review. But chances are, if you're reading this, you already know NiGHTS is awesome.

I caught up with Jeff Beckham at the Sega booth for a bit of Q&Q about the upcoming PSN and Xbox 360 HD downloadable version of NiGHTS Into Dreams!

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PAX Prime 2012: Santa Monica Studios Interview With Aaron Kaufman

Imagine what kind of person you would become if everything you knew and loved was ripped away from you, and in a fashion that made it seems as if it were your own fault from the start. Only, you know, it was really a trickster god who set you up for disappointment following your assumed redemption.

Two years after God of War III, Santa Monica Studios is throwing Kratos back into action with God of War: Ascension, the latest installment of the franchise which describes the struggles and buildup of Kratos before his infamous rise as a God.

As George took some extended time with both the single player and multiplayer game modes, I had an opportunity to step aside with Aaron Kaufman, community manager of Santa Monica Studios. We discussed what’s new, what’s returning, and why fans are in for the greatest God of War console experience to date.

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PAX East 2012: Humble Hearts Studio Interview; Dust: An Elysian Tail

Walking down and about the show floor of PAX East 2012, The Microsoft booth is one of the first showcases to happen upon. While there were several different new Xbox Live Arcade and Kinect games being displayed, none of them were quite as eye catching as independent developer Humble Heart’s Dust: An Elysian Tail. Getting the opportunity to play the game, I immediately sought out the man behind the experience I just finished having and demanded to question what I played and what we should come to expect to the upcoming summer XBLA release.

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PAX East 2012: Pocketwatch Game Interview; Monaco

Traveling along the bend of the Boston Indie Showcase, I happened upon Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games and witnessed him display the long developed Monaco for play. As I stood and played a game with the stoic indie developer, I had some burning questions to ask that only he could answer to learn more about Monaco.

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PAX East 2012: Wither Studios Interview, Crowman and Wolfboy

During our coverage of PAX East, Press Pause Radio was sure to make our rounds throughout the indie alley portion of the show floor, and we stumbled upon Wither Studios and their showcased game, Crowman and Wolfboy. After seeing the details, GeorgieBoy made it his goal to interview the indie studio and learn more of the silhouette duo’s iOS venture.

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