january 10, 2009 – actionplatformer.com is an experiment, a work in progress.

so many of the projects i work on are team projects, a collaboration. this site is only me – everything written by me and in my singular opinion, for better or worse. i will write in the first person and make declarations, all without a consensus or panel. most sites write for an audience, or write to a common theme. action platformer is just my view on games, as if it were the only view. the gaming universe as presented on the site is my universe, my skew.

i’m fascinated by games, and have been for over 25 years. i’ve grown up with them, and now at age 30 i have a lifelong perspective at how they’ve impacted me and those around me.

it’s almost as if i prefer games themselves to actually playing them. i like following the progress of new and upcoming games, i like building a collection, i like seeing what is popular and what is considered niche. i like sampling the game to get a taste for the game. i envision a utopian future where i will have days, weeks or months on end to revisit and complete these games i buy along the way, but for now i just have the games. i play less than i want to and probably less than i should.

gaming itself is going through so many changes, now, that its an amazingly exciting time. as it grows, games are segmenting, experimenting. there are casual and hardcore games. there are console games and downloadable games. there are massively multiplayer online games and single-play handheld guitar hero knockoffs. there is technical and graphical evolution as well as control and gameplay evolution around every turn. every area of media is being affected by gaming, and vice versa. it seems like every day, someone is trying something new.

i chose this domain because i feel like it best represents what i like in games. action platform games are by far my favorite genre, but not the only type of games i like. i like fighting games. i like arcade racing games. i like unique new games that break traditional molds. i love 2d games. and hand-drawn art.

even a few years ago the choices for 2d platformers were limited, but looking back at 2008, it was a virtual paradise for the genre. wario land shake it, bionic commando rearmed, lost winds, pixel junk eden and of course little big planet just to  name a few (i’m probably doing a 2008 feature and a 2009 feature, but big plans and such for my always evolving time constraints).

i dont like first person shooters. i dont like third person shooters. i dont like games based on real life wars. i dont like games that are mostly brown and grey. i dont like racing games where you need to slow down considerably to make turns. dont like most sports games. i will buy sequels to franchises just to help make sure the franchise stays alive (damn you sonic and spyro). almost nothing about my gaming tastes and habits seem to be reflective of whats considered mainstream. yet there are 100s of games released every year that meet my needs. how cool is that?

my aim is to have at least one new post per day, every day. that’s not to say that this will be a news-breaking site. i’ll more likely write things in bulk and space them out.

i put together this framework for the categories and tags to sort on the site. here they are at “launch”:
categories

1) section
*news
interviews
release dates

*blog
game a thon
demopressions
quick response
games as art
casual vs hardcore

*collecting
cool ebay auctions
rare things
deals
my collection subposts

*media
video
gallery

*play games
fyrebug
flash games

*reviews

*features
user-generated games
water color games
gameographies
never released arcade games
what could’ve been
never released in america games
games i think they should make
top ten lists

tags

1) game title
2) system
3) franchise

sonic
mario
crash bandicoot
spyro
klonoa
ape escape
oddworld
banjo kazooie
viva pinata
little big planet
loco roco
ratchet and clank
mega man
castlevania
prince of persia
sly cooper
gex
pac man
contra
street fighter
mortal kombat
ridge racer
guilty gear
more tbd

4) genre
*action platform
2d action platform
2.5d action plaform
3d action plaform
2d platform shooting
2.5d platform shooting
3d platform shooting
2d platform puzzle
2.5d platform puzzle
3d platform puzzle
2d platform hybrid
2.5d platform hybrid
3d platform hybrid

*racing
arcade racing
kart racing
futurisitc racing
water racing

*fighting
2d fighting
3d fighting
powerstone fighting

this site will be as if i’m talking to someone who has the exact same tastes and views as i do, interested in all of these disperate subjects and games and ideas and notions. i’ll address hypothetical and proverbial critics and dissenters, whether or not there are actual people to back up these arguments.

i have put together this quick faq to address some possible issues before you can bring them up

you: hey you should really give (halo, gears of war, madden, etc) a chance, and here’s why, yadda yadda
me: i dont think those games shouldn’t exist, i just don’t like them. i’m generally also bad at them, but that’s more from lack of play, and not a factor in why i don’t like them.

you: wow you spend a lot of money on games
me: i do, it’s my favorite thing to buy a game for any occassion. i dont buy  much else, dont have a car, etc, so it evens out. maybe. i dont think money should be a huge factor in deciding to buy a game, however.

you: you know you’re biased against microsoft, dump hatred on modern-day nintendo, etc
me: i think as much as i’m biased, the bias isn’t cement. i’m solidly anti-nintendo today but just a year ago was still a huge supporter. i’ll change on a dime and i’ll make you aware.

that’s it as of today. i might revise this someday, or just leave it as a symbol of what it began as.

the action platformer.