The Ghostbusters’ proton-pack is the fantasy device second-most-urgently calling out to be adapted to the wiimote, right after the lightsaber.
Good news, then, that Ghostbusters 3 will be a video game. Though we’ll see versions for the 360, PS3, PS2 and Nintendo DS, it’s Ghostbusters for the Wii that’s got me thinking…
The wiimote is a roleplaying prop, isn’t it? It’s a multi-functional device morphed by your imagination and direct interface into some imaginary role in an imaginary setting. Thus, every Wii game is practically an RPG, or at least contains “RPG elements,” bordering on LARP.
Replica proton pack created and photographed by Matt Clark.Your acceptance of the wiimote as something other than it is — your “casting” of it into a role — flows back into you, transforming you into a roleplayer. When someone asks, you say, “I’m bowling,” not, “I’m using this plastic stick to convince the Wii that I’m bowling.” You make the wiimote into Link’s sword, and it makes you into Link.
If you play a wiigame, you are on some level a roleplayer. (Sorry and welcome, depending on how you see yourself.) Question is: Will you play along for the kicks, but withhold your investment so you won’t look like a goober, or will you wield your imaginary proton-pack with full-bodied joy, letting yourself buy into the play?
Will you be Venkman or Ray?
I will be Egon. As a game designer, the Wii and the DS are two of the most exciting platforms around at the moment. While those ‘touch tables’ that Panasonic and Microsoft have been trotting around seem like they might make really neat games someday, the Wii is here now and it really changes how you play a game. I’m playing Zack and Wiki, a pirate game where you use the Wiimote as various tools to solve puzzles, and it’s amazing how it changes the standard adventure game format when you have to chop, saw, turn keys, ring bells, etc. with physical motions. I expect to see a lot of really neat stuff done with this technology in the next 2-4 years.
Nice! I’ve got to get my Wii back (!) and try this pirate-sawing game.
I can’t recommend Zack and Wiki enough. A funny, pirate-themed adventure game pushes all the right buttons for me, and the cartoonish graphics and simple gameplay have sucked Lisa in as well. There’s nothing quite like using your magic monkeybell to turn your pirate rivals into lava-spanning bridges.
This ACTUALLY making me consider breaking my “no consoles in the house” rule.
The Wii is simply awesome. Between that and the X-Box 360 I’m always like “Playstation Who”?
This entry sums up my iron clad rule: If you play Wii Sports while sitting down, you are an asshole.
Even the DS has this effect, thought to a lesser extent. I love taking notes and mapping stuff in the DS Legend of Zelda game.
I love my Wii, but I get a lot of the same sense of immersion from Guitar Hero II and III on the 360. Strapping on the faux-guitar and wanging on the whammy bar in the middle of a star-power sequence gets the blood flowing in a way that tapping buttons on a standard controller just can’t do.
And I always play standing up. You can’t rock while seated.
You can’t rock while seated.
Truer words were never spoken.
Agreed, Matt. Anyone who tries to power through Queens of the Stone Age while seated had better be recovering from a power slide gone bad. Otherwise, there’s no excuse.
I’m fully prepared to have full-bodied Ghostbuster role playing joy as we speak, but Gamestop however canceled my reserve for the game saying it’s not coming out. That’s understandable, but I’m certain it’ll be out sometime next year. Until then, we meet in my baseme- I mean, dungeon (No, not really. I make films and comics, not LARPS or table top RPGs, lol).