SparktehFox

I'm back with another Idea! (I've already posted these on GameFaqs)

Starting off, I'd like to explain the visuals. I believe the look of the Ice Climbers themselves, Nana and Popo, has become an image Smash Bros players have become familiar with. I don't think this should change. I propose the characters would continue to be very cute visually while their clothing and items, as well as the world around them would be near photo realistic. Reminiscent of the visuals found in Pikmin. I imagine beautiful scenery with visuals that change through the day from astounding sunrises to terrorizing pitfalls, all on a blanket of snow and frost.



Next I picture a hub world. A small yet robust village teeming with the innocent cheeriness of Christmas. There are a few faces that you will become accustomed to and will meet plenty but it wouldn't be right to leave out normal civilians, workers, and fellow spelunkers that you could interact with voluntarily. However, I would not want any voice-overs present as it would ruin the atmosphere; with Popo and Nana themselves only speaking through actions. I imagine each person would look similar in design to Popo and Nana, with varying degrees in height and appearance like Pushmo. From there you would be able to access shops of different kinds that would allow you to purchase differing goods important to people of your profession, and a bulletin board with varying jobs and announcements, as well as a leaderboard of best times and records. Add a hot spring, home, and a few additional areas with mini-games such as ice skating and you've got a winter wonderland!



Gameplay wise, I expect something completely different. As you progress through the game I can see players encountering different mountains and paths, each with unique builds that require differing strategies to climb. As time goes by, thanks to blizzards, snow slides and the like, I would expect mountains you've already been on to change randomly with each job. By "each job" I'm implying a mission based progression system centered around the hub town and bulletin board I mention previously. Seeing as the game takes place in such a dangerous atmosphere, and Popo and Nana are considered the best regardless of their young ages, I could see plenty of people turning to them for assistance. Missions could range from finding supplies to saving lives or more.


Continuing further, I have an idea pertaining to the way they play in brawl. Seeing as these two are explorers, I can picture a new survivalist system. Making sure your body temp is kept in check and that you are constantly energized and awake is important for mountain climbers. These would need to be taken advantage of for a truly immersing experience, however, mini-games are a no-no and should be an avoided incumbent. Failing to protect your partner, or yourself, would result in you having to continue your mission alone. As for the climbing part, I suggest using something similar to Shadow of Colossus with a upgradeable grip system alongside your stamina. Now, considering that these two are quite young, I don't think a combat system would be viable. Yes, they should use their mallets but I believe that those should be limited to shattering ice, or at most stunning certain enemies. I suppose Topis (the small yeti-like enemies) would become harmless in this game and your main sources of threat would come from the polar bear and condor. I do expect more enemy types based on tundra wildlife but I don't expect much to do with fighting as this game (in my head) is a pure adventure game. I suggest wildlife be added that may be completely random, such as the Dragos from Mother 3 that could be potentially dangerous but are not inescapable as I would like the main focus to be on escaping rather than attacking, similar to the preview in Monster Hunter 4.



Next I would like for their to be a few types of multiplayer modes available. Those I had in mind were King of the Hill, Capture the Flag, Survival, Racing (climbing), and Co-Op. Any suggestions?

I would also like to address their origins. I do not believe they should be thoroughly revealed. Nintendo has set it so that the player decides what the relationship is between the duo and I believe it should stand that way, with the most we get being something as vague as "two orphans raised by the village". Other than that, I have no suggestions as that would ruin the game for me as well, haha!

Lastly, I will mention music. I picture something soothing and orchestrated, with the main theme sticking around the hub world. The main song that rings through my mind when I imagine it is "Snowman" from Mother 3.



Recap:
1)Cartoon meets life-like visuals ala Pikmin
2)Hub world featuring plenty of interactivity
3)mission based gameplay framed by mystery dungeon style stages
4)survivalist features including a grip and stamina gauge
5)no fighting mechanics, focusing on escape
6)multiplayer
7)vague back story if at all
8)orchestrated music

This may be old new or it may not but Rockstar has released a teaser trailer for the upcoming GTA5. From what I've gathered, the game will be returning to Los Santos giving the player even more space than San Andreas did and CJ will be returning as an older man who tried to get a stable life.

http://www.rockstargames.com/V/

From Rockstar Games

"We are very proud to officially announce that Grand Theft Auto V is in full development.

Developed by series creator Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto V heads to the city of Los Santos and surrounding hills, countryside and beaches in the largest and most ambitious game Rockstar has yet created.

A bold new direction in open-world freedom, storytelling, mission-based gameplay and online multiplayer, Grand Theft Auto V focuses on the pursuit of the almighty dollar in a re-imagined, present day Southern California."

The following information comes from a Nintendo of Canada rep...

On the Friday release of StarFox 64 3D...

"That's something I would like to talk about, because that's something we talked about at Nintendo. We at Nintendo of Canada don't determine the launch dates, but launching on a Friday has many reasons why it could work. The industry doesn't use it, it's exciting, we know many people gearing up for the weekend are looking for things to happen around the weekend, and Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday launches are the norm. Sundays, we like to do, and Mondays through Wednesdays we like to do. So Friday is trying something new."

On Wii releases for 2012...

"Yes, there will be titles to fill the void for 2012, because we haven't really talked about anything for 2012. We talked about Wii U, we talked about Luigi's Mansion 2... beyond that, there's not a lot, but that doesn't mean those are the only two things to launch, obviously. So... that's a pretty broad, vague question to ask. But, yes, Nintendo... we will always release things at a good pace to make sure there's things throughout the year. Look at how our holiday is going to work: yes, everyone wanted Mario Kart for Nintendo 3DS on launch day, but we wanted this to be a title that happens this many months after launch. Same with Super Mario and Star Fox; it's all paced out. So, there will be a good pace of titles in 2012. To be honest, I don't know what they are and we haven't made announcements about them, so there's not much I can say."


On the possibility of another Metroid title in 2012...

"Actually, I don't know. Maybe we are, maybe we aren't; that's something I'm unaware of."

On supporting Wii and Wii U at the same time...

"We've committed to both consoles, the Wii and Wii U, coexisting together at the same time. We've had a lot of questions-- 'will games launch for both systems?', 'will you continue to make great games for Wii?', and we just don't know the answers to those questions; since we haven't made any announcements, there's not much we can say about it. I think we can be confident that both systems will be around for a bit still."

On Wii U supporting more than one controller...

"Let me correct something that is a misconception. We said that the Wii U system will come with one Wii U controller, but we haven't said that you can only use one Wii U controller. The fact is that if the developer makes a game or an experience that uses more than one, then anything is possible. What we've also talked about is to imagine taking some of the experiences you've had at your own home, putting them on your Wii U controller, and taking that with you somewhere else. That would again get rid of that myth and misconception that only one can be used. So, the possibility is there, but the system will only come with one at this point."

On taking the Wii U experience with you...

"Okay, so that I can elaborate on. The Wii U is not a portable handheld device you're going to take with you in transit or into a proximity away from the Wii U console, but you can take content from your console, put it on your Wii U controller, take it with you somewhere else, and be able to upload it. That technology is possible. Taking a Mii with you is cool and fun, but this has the possibility to do more... not on the go, but once you get somewhere else where you take your stuff to someone else's environment, it's definitely possible. It's hard for us to commit to anything concrete, but yes, it's a possibility (to load up content and take to a friend's house) because the controllers are compatible. It's possible to have that kind of experience."

On not every Wii U game focusing on the Wii U controller...

"...not every game will necessarily have the focal point as the Wii U controller. It's new technology, it's a new way to play, but it doesn't have to be the focal point. we know that there are a lot of misconceptions about Wii U; the majority of the population wasn't at E3, and didn't get a chance to actually have hands-on, so the reality about what Wii U is going to do is that it's going to change the dynamic of what happens in your living room, or wherever your TV is. The dynamic of that room is going to change, and it's going to be Wii U technology that does it.

Having this controller that offers a different perspective, or a complementary perspective, or being able to take content off the TV when other people want to use the TV for something else. It keeps people in the room together, either all playing together or doing different things, but they're all kind of connected in a slightly different way than what's possible right now.

And so changing the dynamic of that TV room space is what Wii U is going to do. That's a pretty philosophical way to look at it, but you saw only what was potential at E3, and that's... well, the whole thing is philosophical right now, although it's a tangible piece of hardware, and an accessory."

On celebrating other franchise anniversaries...

"the reality is we are in a time period when a lot of franchises are experiencing celebrations. Yes, I know, you're going to be let down if we don't do something for Donkey Kong. So hopefully we can do something special, at least for you. We haven't talked about anything else being celebrated-- not that we aren't celebrating as a company, but we're putting a lot of time and effort into The Legend of Zelda 25th anniversary, more so than what we did for the Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary.

So, are we going to celebrate other anniversaries? It's hard to tell if they're going to have big campaigns behind them. The Zelda 25th celebration is a big campaign, and of course we've told a lot about that already, and there's more information still to come, too."

Source: http://eccentricgame...g-wiiwii-u.html

Nintendo won't launch its new Wii U console until sometime next year (probably holiday 2012 if we had to guess), but given that the system will only be marginally more powerful than the current PS3 and Xbox 360, some would argue that Nintendo's caught in between and will be leapfrogged not long after launch by a faster PS4 or Xbox 720. EA COO Peter Moore (former EA Sports head) doesn't see that as a problem for Nintendo at all, however.

"People will start talking about it being a transitional platform. And I don’t think that’s going to be the case, and here’s why," Moore told IndustryGamers. "I think the [tablet] controller [is huge]. This is not about specs anymore... This is about, as it was with the Wii, is the controller a unique way of enjoying a game experience, regardless of what the graphic fidelity is?"

Moore just doesn't see the importance of big graphical leaps anymore. Consumers are less likely to care the way they did about the big graphics bump say, between SNES and N64.

"Look, you saw Battlefield - how much better could this stuff look at some point? There’s a point of diminishing returns... I don’t even know if there’s anything better than 1080p. In the early days of our industry, this stuff was absolutely about how much better the games looked - shinier helmets, greener grass – but I’ve been around long enough to know that seeing your breath in a football game is a huge deal. But that’s no longer the case any more," he said. "Now it’s about interfaces. Now it’s about building a community in a rich, powerful,way. And now it’s about, 'What is the way we can control the game?' You’ve seen that with Move, you’ve seen it with Wii MotionPlus more recently, and you’ve certainly seen it with Kinect."

"And Nintendo’s job, quite frankly, is to build a better mousetrap with regards to the way that we use the controller. So I don’t know what Xbox and PlayStation’s plans for their next platforms are, but it’s not going to be hanging on graphic fidelity. I guarantee you that."
Besides interfaces, as Moore alluded to, online and communities is vastly important, and he believes Nintendo's taking the online challenge seriously.

"It’s critically important to us and we are relieved, if anything else, that they have made a huge commitment that they have presented to us... Online certainly was not a factor with the Wii, as you know; although they had capabilities, it just wasn’t there at the level that both Xbox Live and PlayStation had," he said. "But I think Nintendo totally gets that multi-player, building community, co-op play, having the ability to bring games that are deeper - all of these things are now very important."

Source: http://www.industryg...ys-peter-moore/

I don't really think this guy is eloquent with words... I like the point he's trying to get across but he's needs to think before he speaks.

The following comments come from David Yarnton, General Manager of Nintendo UK...

On consumers understanding the Wii U concept...

“When we introduced DS, the concept was hard to grasp but, when people played it, it made sense. Then with the Wii we introduced motion gaming to the world, and people looked at that and thought we were crazy. I think once people get their hands on the Wii U and start playing it, it will make sense. In some ways it has the best of both worlds with a touch screen controller, keeping the Wii’s motion gaming and then adding into the pie high-definition graphics. We’ve always looked at how people interact with the machine. You can have lots of power and really great graphics, but when you get down to the gameplay it’s really important that people can pick it up and play it. It’s something that the new controller really adds another dimension to.”
On developer interest...

“It’s really interesting talking to the developers; they are blown away by what they can now do with gameplay. The controller screen can actually have different views to what people are seeing on the TV. For example, the hide and seek game with the controller we have now gives the person hiding a different view to the people trying to find him. It opens up possibilities in that respect. It’s got a camera too, so you will be able to video conference or Skype with it potentially.

As the developers get their hands on it they will be able to understand it and take advantage of it. I think about playing Call Of Duty and calling in a bombing raid; with the controller you could have an overhead view. The experience that people get will be something they haven’t had before. There were limits to what you could do when making a simulation only with a single screen and a controller. You had no other choice but to make it that way. But now it can be more real, or seem more realistic. I think we’re able to add more realism in different ways, without making the gameplay too difficult.”
On the Wii U 'experiences' at E3 2011...

“Part of the reason that we are talking about these sample games as ‘experiences’ is because we are introducing a whole new concept,” says Yarnton. “We are trying to give developers an opportunity to see these experiences. We have already talked to a lot of developers and they are coming on board – as you saw with EA in our press conference. All the publishers and developers have seen it but we think there are still things that we haven’t realized that it could do.

When we introduced Wii we didn’t realize that people were going to be using it in physiotherapy. I’m not suggesting that’s the case with Wii U, but there’s always people out there who have brilliant ideas and we are simply giving them the palette, paint and easel to create whatever they want. There are many different facets that we haven’t even explored ourselves.”
On supporting Wii controllers...

“We’ve kept the good bits of the Wii with the motion controllers and the games it can play. There are still a lot of family games available, but we’ve widened the people. Not forgetting the traditional gamers and fans that we are giving them a lot more, but also not forgetting an expanded audience either.”


Source: http://eccentricgame...devs-blown.html