Gimmick/Innovative Game Boy Gameslist
Posted by: josh | From: September 4, 2005
In handheld gaming, there is a certain genre of game I'm going to call "gimmick" games. I don't mean it disparagingly -- games that have a sunlight sensor or a motion sensor or other unique input method are fascinating, even if they rely on that feature as their main selling point.
With the introduction of the Nintendo DS, we're sure to see many more games in this category.
But what have we got already? Help me make a list.
Game Boy:
Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand (sunlight sensor)
WarioWare Twisted (motion sensor)
Kirby's Tilt 'n' Tumble (motion sensor)
Nintendo DS:
Pac-Pix (drawing-based interface)
WarioWare Touched (touchscreen)
Nintendogs (microphone input)
Help out, fill in the blanks in the comments.
One really interesting DS (kind of) game is '...Brain Training for Adults'. It's seemingly quite similar to WarioWare Touched, in that it's got a mini game structure, but instead of WarioWare's hyperactive larks, it features exercises designed to improve memory and mental agility.
http://forums.gaming-age.com/showthread.php?t=49249
I don't know how much fun or how even useful the thing is, but it's a neat idea, and I like that that there are developers who are thinking specifically in terms of what would suit the format, and coming up with unexpected things - they are designing, rather than shoehorning. I bet there's a million homebrew applications which are making use of the DS in similar non-gaming ways: more like a PDA.
The surgery game 'Trauma Center: Under the Knife' looks like a perfect use of the DS as well - using the stylus as a scalpel to and other surgical tools, making the touch screen integral to gameplay, rather than just providing some utilitarian function. But that one seems less 'innovative' than a wonderfully obvious use of the interface.
I guess the sheer number of Gameboys out there has made most odd projects worthwhile, and to some extent commercially viable, but still, the number and range of peripherals (not all necessarily gaming related) is astonishing! I recently read about the 'Pocket Sonar': a fish-finding device which attaches a float and sensor to the GB and provides the angler with a sonar map of the surrounding water on their GB. There are other similarly weird things, like a sewing machine pattern designing link-up, as well as sequencers like Nanoloop and LSDJ.
What do you make of today's Nintendo 'Revolution' controller announcement? Is it a novelty/gimmick, or have they just TOTALLY changed home gaming? It certainly looks like there's a lot of scope for fun, and the teaser video is so well pitched--entirely focussed on people playing--it really sparks the imagination over the possibilities.
http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/651/651334/vid_1249127.html
Posted by: Andrew at September 16, 2005 7:03 AM