Unfortunately, none of us were at E3 this week. We were all busy working. That didn’t stop me from tuning into the press conferences on GameTrailers, GameSpot, and other places. I wasn’t surprised by any of the big announcements as I knew that they were coming: Nintendo 3DS, Kinect, PSN Plus.

Surprised or not, I am still excited for some of the new hardware and games!

Nintendo 3DS

Being that I wasn’t at the show, I couldn’t get a first hand experience of 3D portable gaming without glasses. In fact, there’s really no way to demonstrate the 3D except to play with a 3DS so I am excited purely on the speculation that it will be awesome. It is a Nintendo product so unless it’s another Virtual Boy, it should be pretty awesome. Can’t wait to experience the 3DS this Fall.

I’m not a big Kid Icarus fan but, if that’s the flagship title to show off the 3DS, I will have to get it. There’s a whole slew of N64 remakes at E3 showing off the 3DS. I wouldn’t mind some updated StarFox 64! Loved that game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Even though the presentation of Skyward Sword looked horrendous due to wireless interference, I am still excited by the trust I have in Nintendo that they wouldn’t release a Zelda game that doesn’t control well. Again, my excitement for this Zelda game is purely speculation that it will be awesome because Nintendo is behind it.

As you can see, I have great trust in Nintendo to make great games–9 times out of 10 I am right.

I was expecting something different for this new Zelda but, if the sword controls are as good as I am expecting, it should still be incredibly fun. I would have liked to see some departure from the Ocarina of Time model that we’ve seen for over 10 years.

Crysis 2

I have not played Crysis or was ever interested in it. However, I saw the gameplay demo of Crysis 2 and was in awe. I have a soft spot for games that take place in NYC and who doesn’t love super soldiers? The movie alone has me excited about the prospects of this game!

Metal Gear Solid Rising

I love the Metal Gear Solid series and didn’t think much of Rising until I saw the demo from E3. The ability to cut things every which way looks really cool. A lot of people didn’t like Raiden from MGS2. I’m not one of those people. I thought Raiden was pretty cool. I have no problem with a MGS game that features Raiden–he’s kinda badass.

Kinect

It might be shocking but, I’m not interested in Kinect for it’s games. I’m interested in Kinect for what it can do for interface interaction. I would love to voice control my XBOX when watching Netflix and scroll through my queue with my hands. The video chat also looks awesome.

However, the games aren’t that interesting to me. The rumored $149 price tag doesn’t make me want it more either.

Metroid: Other M

I am quite excited about this game even before E3 and Nintendo only showed a small clip of it. This is on the list simply because I haven’t powered on my Wii in a very long time. In fact, I gave it to my brother so I’ll have to buy the shiny new black Wii to play Other M.

I have changed all my computer’s wallpapers to be Metroid themed. Just sayin’.

***

I haven’t mentioned PlayStation Move because it didn’t really interest me. I am interested in the highly accurate wands but, there aren’t any games that are particularly attention grabbing. Sorry Sony! If I see a great title for Move, I will get it. I’ve been using my PS3 the most as of late. None of the 3D games that require me to wear glasses were remotely interesting to me. I don’t want to wear glasses.

And that’s my favorite of E3 2010!

Hello lovelies! Check out our Fresh Apps page and make us the freshest app in all the land!

http://www.freshapps.com/propaganda-lander/

Jess and I are going to be presenting Propaganda Lander at the IGDA New York City Demo Night on March 29th. We’ll be giving other developers a look into our development process and development concerns/solutions.

We’ll try to be as entertaining and informative as possible!

Other presenters include:

• Eric Zimmerman and Nathalie Pozzi
• Austin Lane, Muse Games
• Dave Gilbert, Wadjeteye Games
• Jason Schreiber, Powerhead Games

It will be held at:

Wollman Hall at the New School University
65 West 11th Street, 5th Floor (enter at 66 West 12th Street)

Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

We are excited! See you there!

You might be wondering what’s been happening in the Smashworx lair. Or more importantly, what’s going on with our super-cool, most awesome iPhone game Propaganda Lander. Have no fear my pretties, Jess here to sate your need for development news.  After some “we need to make a couple of bucks” action, we are back to the grindstone, slaving away on The Rickster’s whims.  We’re been tinkering with the accelerometer as a new way to fly the ship. Lo and behold, I can now actually steer the ship! Score one for Tommy and Nik.  Most of their efforts so far have been in enabling me to master steering.  They figure if I can steer the lander with a modicum of skill, every level of player (chimpanzee and other) should be able to steer it as well.  We intend to leave the button/thruster system in for those who prefer a different feel but my preference is currently in the accelerometer court.

Tommy has designed a rockin’ level editor so I can plot land and set all sorts of parameters in the construction of the levels.  Now the term “rockin’ level editor” may not incite a fury of excitement for you humble readers but as one who has spent far too much of her life (that I can never get back mind you) wrestling with buggy level editors that refuse assets, drop floors, deny any type of after-the-fact editing and offer the flexibility of an 80 year old after a VFW dance off, Tommy’s homespun level editor is a dreamboat.  I’ll try and put up some video of the new levels once we fix the emulator.

Nik has been hard at work with the GUI and other interface assets.  Through a giant discussion on how a timer should be presented, we’ve finally agreed that rather than a clock or gauge, we would represent time through how much fuel the lander has.  I bring this up because one of the lessons of making a game that I’ve picked up is how much one tries to make every asset relative to each other and the overall game production. By forgoing an obtuse clock system, the idea of “space vehicle” is upheld with the notion of fuel consumption.  This is a much nicer fit.

We keep working and Propaganda Lander keeps getting better.  Stay tuned for news on release dates, development news and general groovy times!

Here at Smashworx Studios we are gearing up for GDC.  What does that entail exactly?  Well, Jess eats oranges and drinks tea, Nik eats oranges and talks about zombie pirates and Tommy eats oranges and plots the downfall of the US government.  After our warm-up, we do some stretches, then we nap and wake up to play a couple of hours of the original Legend of Zelda.  Now refreshed, Jess begins to craft presentations relative the the companies Nik will meet with.  We think its important that the Smashworx brand is represented in a beneficial..ahem lucrative…light to these prospective customers.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with GDC, it is an annual convention that tries to pack as many geeks, publishers, and developers in one building as possible.  The whole lot is shaken until most are nauseous and gassy but a few persist and make very interesting business relationships.  We sure hope we’re part of the lucky few instead of the sweaty mess.  Hopefully, we’ll see you there and we can all share a hearty laugh and intricate high five.