Two years ago, when I volunteered for GDC in San Francisco, the highlight of the week was meeting Mr. Koji Kobayashi. He was the

When I watched my husband play FFXIII, I was intimidated by the gameplay and disappointed at how slow the plot crawls by. Now playing it myself, the game doesn't feel slow at all. From Lake Bresah onwards, as soon as you learn the paradigms system, the whole game goes by really quick. Before I knew

If you search online on the future of Japanese game development, there are many depre

]]> May 14, 2010

Western game critics are ambivalent about the concept of linearity in RPGs. Take Eternal Sonata, of which IGN's Ryan Clements notes that "the structure of Eternal Sonata is very linear, though I never found myself frustrated by that setup," while others critics are clearly unhappy about it. Andrew Fitch at 1UP wrote that "the brusque story could have been tolerable if Eternal Sonata's world were fun to explore. Unfortunately, it's about as linear as any RPG..." Ev

I am sure many of you have been in this situation before - there is only one copy of the game and one console but two people who want to play it first. Well, that recently happened to my husband and I. As soon as my husband pre-ordered Final Fantasy XIII in February, the two of us engaged in a very civilized

Is it my turn yet? – Impatiently waiting to play Final Fantasy XIII

By Pauline Lim

I am sure many of you have been in this situation before - there is only one copy of the game and one console but two people who want to play it first. Well, that recently happened to my husband and I. As soon as my husband pre-ordered&n

Is it my turn yet? – Impatiently waiting to play Final Fantasy XIII

By Pauline Lim

I am sure many of you have been in this situation before - there is only one copy of the game and one console but two people who want to play it first. Well, that recently happened to my husband and I. As soon as my husband pre-ordered Final Fantasy XIII in February, the two of us engaged in a very civilized and adult-like discussion over who gets to play it first. All right, it was actually a loud and lengthy conversation in the car on the way home from work. In the end, I lost and am currently waiting for him to finish the game while relegated to the role of a supportive spectator. And yes, we are one of the few couples who have such dorky argum...err, discussions. And, no, I am not resentful. Not at all, I can assure you.

While waiting, I am trying very hard not to form any biases or prejudices against the game or any of the characters before I play it, but it is difficult