The Big Game Idea: Fighting Engine - A 1UP classic from Sep 14, 2006

Below is a series that I originally ran on 1UP in 2006. In it I proposed an original video game based on the Incredible Hulk. I called it "The Big Game Idea." Over a few weeks I described the graphics, game play, visuals, and plot from beginning to end, including bonus features. I made a few minor edits, but it is more or less exactly the same as it was almost 20 years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

The Fighting Engine: Mob Brawler
The next Hulk game should take advantage of next-generation processors by allowing for a massive number of characters on screen. Unline the opponents in popular mob combat games like Dynasty Warriors, Iron Phoenix and Ninety-Nine Nights these characters are not passive.

Be they government soldiers, mutants or monsters they do not stand around waiting for you to attack. They take the initiative and charge into battle. Even better they can "dogpile" on the Hulk and try to stop him with sheer numbers. The fighting engine takes on new characteristics when the Hulk has to defeat wave after wave and even layers of opponents jumping on him and trying to bring him down.

The Hulk has attacks that can clear mobs or target a single individual. When a mob tries a dogpile the Hulk can still move, roll around and throw opponents by the handful. The idea of layers of opponents over the main character was inspired by both Katamari Damacy and NiGHTS into dreams... Of course this concept is reversed as the Hulk has to fight to keep opponents from adding up.

Just imagine entering a battlefield where you are outnumbered a few hundred to one. The Hulk can shoulder tackle the first few dozen enemies and then can fight in any number of styles to clear the rest of the mob. The camera system is tied into the size of the mob and the speed in which the Hulk clears the enemies. Gamers that go into battle quickly will have the camera follow them shakey-cam style (see Gears of War when crouching and strafing), when the Hulk begins to down opponents in a frenzy the camera will pan back and give players an overview of the battlefield. The slower the fight the closer the camera is to the Hulk, and vice versa.

Gamers that like to juggle opponents with combos can do that. Gamers that want to use devastating wrestling moves on opponents can do that. Gamers that want to grab a giant boulder and throw it through the enemy ranks can do that as well. Gamers can use the Hulk's special attacks like the Thunderclap to send dozens of enemies flying, or his super attacks like the Gamma Quake to topple a hundred opponents.

All of the controls used in the mob engine apply to single, tougher opponents, like the boss characters. Strategy, of course, will be involved in defeating bosses. Next week I'll talk a little bit about the graphics engine and then get started with the main characters and plot.

If you got a chance to design a video game what would you do? Would it be licensed on an existing character, or be entirely original? Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The Big Game Idea Preamble - A 1UP classic from Sep 13, 2006

Below is a series that I originally ran on 1UP in 2006. In it I proposed an original video game based on the Incredible Hulk. I called it "The Big Game Idea." Over a few weeks I described the graphics, game play, visuals, and plot from beginning to end, including bonus features. I made a few minor edits, but it is more or less exactly the same as it was almost 20 years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

Heya peeps, saw the Tony Hawk animated movie yesterday. It was fun but really for die-hard skate fans. The CGI was good and the art direction superb but a lot of the jokes would be lost on casual or non-skate fans. The story is lifted from Scooby-Doo, involving a kidnapping and plot to steal Tony Hawk's tour while at the fictional Lincolnville. We actually end up feeling sorry for the evil Grimley and his defunct circus, unlike those meddling kids and their good-for-nothing dog. The skating was great and easily the hook of the movie, I think there should be a series done with the likeable characters. As far as animated adventures go this is one of the better ones not produced by Disney-direct-to-DVD. If you are a skate fan go check it out, otherwise wait for the movie to premier on Cartoon Network in November.

So now let's switch gears, literally, this heart of this blog and the blogs for the next few days (weeks?) will be on this game idea that's been bubbling in my head since June of this year.

When I spawn an idea I write down notes in my trusty notepad.

This is just one of many notepads that I've filled with notes from school or work. As Mr_Glass had predicted this game idea revolves around the Incredible Hulk. A good chunk of the fleshing out of the game took several days and many more pages than you see here.

These notes don't just have the basic idea but some innovations as well. I wouldn't want to just make another comic book game, I'm thinking big picture. What if I were given the chance to design and direct an epic comic book game that spanned the course of a trilogy. Where would it begin and what would make it different than any other game out there?

Why the Hulk?
I think there is a lot of untapped potential for the character. His powers are, for lack of a better word, incredible! I set about designing a game that truly shows how much more epic of a character the Hulk is than Kratos from God of War.

The tormented soul of Doctor Banner, the lost love of Betty Ross Banner, the fugitive Hulk... There are so many places we could take this character and so many challenges that he could stand against. No other character could withstand as much punishment as the Hulk and keep coming back for more. This game serves as both a primer to the Hulk and the Marvel Universe as well as demonstrating that comic book IP's can translate into a great game if done right.

Let's start by figuring out how we would approach the graphics engine.

The Graphics: Comic-Shading (something I just made up)
Comic shading is a combination of cel-shading and comic book illustration. The final effect is different from the cartoon look of the original Hulk game or the "3D Comic Inking Technology" in Ultimate Spider-Man. This is done by actually having a comic book illustrator, inker and painter create textures for each character by hand. The final models look more like comic book characters come-to-life than in any other game.

We have to use our imagination here, my crappy illustrator sketches are just a rough example of what I envision. Imagine that a great comic book artist was doing the concept art and then wrap that art over a polygon model.

The Hulk model for the game would actually have multiple layers created in a comic-shading format. There is a layer of "muscle" underneath the "skin" and a "skeleton" underneath all the layers. The reason for creating this is to highlight the "healing factor."

During the game powerful blasts of energy from a super-powered opponent (in the Marvel universe both the good guys and bad guys hate the Hulk) or radiation from a military weapon may fry the layers of skin and muscle off of the Hulk. The character will still be able to move and fight even from a near-skeletal state. The skeleton "skin" has tendons, bits of muscle and we can actually see intestines, the heart beating and lungs moving. Rather quickly the Hulk will regenerate from the injuries right before our eyes.

I believe multiple skins or layers on one model would be unique to games. We have seen damage to armor in FPS or bruises and tearing of clothes in the Tony Hawk games. But to actually see the Hulk survive and then recover from injuries that would prove fatal to any other character (including Superman, Kratos or Wolverine) would be a videogame first.

EDIT 2025: Interestingly enough a few years after I posted my game idea series online there would actually be a game that used what I was proposing. The 2010 game Splatterhouse, a remake of the classic arcade game, featured regeneration on the main character.

If I had my druthers I'd have fan favorite Dale Keown as the character designer and lead comic shader of my Hulk game. His history with the Incredible Hulk is extensive plus he has a library of amazing work with other characters as well. This artistic vision would be paramount to bringing back classic villains or reimagining existing opponents.

Tomorrow I'll talk a little bit about the control and fighting engine as well as unique environmental details. Let's hear your feedback as these ideas come up.

Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

My Panecito, the joy of Mexican pastries!

I recently visited a Mexican panaderia (bakery) that I had seen on Instagram before. My Panecito (my little bread) has a few locations in Southern California. My family hadn’t driven out there because the nearest one to us is 20 minutes away. So we waited until we really needed a treat after a week of bad news. Let’s just say it was a trip that we will be making again, and again. In fact my birthday is today, so it's time for a new visit.

A traditional panaderia usually has a simple menu. They bake a couple types of rolls that are used in a few traditional dishes. The harder roll is called bolillo, and the softer is telera. Telera is perfect for tortas, a type of hearty sandwich. Bolillo goes well with bean dishes instead of tortillas. The other thing that most panaderias make are their pastries called pan dulce, literally sweet bread. These are all manner of cookies, cakes, muffins, and breads covered in sugar. The shops do make traditional western style cakes, but pan dulce is the most popular treat by far. My Panecito is like a highlight reel of the best recipes in all of the panaderias I’ve ever visited.

More important than just making great traditional pan dulce, they aren’t afraid to make more decadent combinations in their premium line. Things like churro conchas (seashells), mazapan conchas, and even stuffed Nutella conchas. As if those weren’t already amazing, they even offer a concha ice cream sandwich! They also offer a variety of hot and cold drinks. If you enjoy coffee and a pastry then you haven’t lived until you’ve tried coffee and pan dulce. If you have a sweet tooth, and are in the area I sincerely hope that you check them out. 

Do you have a favorite pastry? Have you ever tried pan dulce? Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

A video game article from a 1982 issue of Playboy magazine!

Hello friends! I hope that you have been well this season. I was digging in the crates, and found an old issue of Playboy magazine that I had to share with you. Don’t worry, I’m not about to turn this blog into some sort of weirdo page.

Playboy magazine may be known for female nude pinups, however they were also known for their articles. Journalists, politicians, and authors would often write for the magazine. The March 1982 issue of Playboy actually had an article talking about video games. Unlike other magazines at the time which were trying to describe what the whole video game craze was about this one instead assumed that the readers were already somewhat familiar with them.

By 1982 there had already been a number of hits, like Asteroids, Space Invaders, and Pac-Man of course. What the magazine was trying to do was help you get high scores on three of the more popular games. These included Defender, Pac-Man, and Centipede. The article by Walter Lower Jr. included an interview with legendary game creator Eugene Jarvis.

The magazine also talked about the physical effects of playing arcade games for extended periods of time. Things that we today know as repetitive stress injuries (RSI’s) were still being explored by doctors. Fatigue, eye strain, and even hand blisters hadn’t really been seen on a massive scale until video games hit the market in the late ‘70s.

It was great reading from arcade operators explaining how games were used in social settings. Men, and women would socialize over arcade games after work. Not unlike their parents would have met at a bar or nightclub a generation earlier. The strategies explored in the article were designed to make you look like a pro, and help you impress a date.

This snapshot of history was fascinating. I’m glad that Mr. Lowe approached video games with the same level of maturity that the political analysts put in their articles. The nudie women in the issues were just the icing on the nerdy cake. Anyhow that was a look at an old game article in an adult magazine. Were there ever any video game articles that you saw in non-gaming magazines? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

The $1,400 collectable for serious gaming fans...

Hello friends, I hope that you are doing well. We are getting into the rush of the holiday season, and speeding towards the end of 2025. This year has been full of ups and downs on the work, and family side. We had some milestones happen, and unfortunately some tragedies as well. I can only hope that things are great wherever you are. I am sending you positive vibes if you are going through any challenges. My birthday also happens to be in the middle of the month. I look forward to relaxing, and spending quality time with family, and friends. I already know what some of my birthday presents are because I bought them for myself earlier in the year. I’m notoriously hard to shop for, so I let my family know when there was a sale on a few super rare items much earlier in the year. With that said I still look forward to getting some treats in a couple of weeks. One thing that I wish I could afford was announced earlier this year.

genDESIGN, Akishi Ueda, and Torch Torch collaborated to create a statue of Trico from the Last Guardian. The gorgeous piece is 20 inches tall and costs about $1,400. If I had the money, and the space I would have picked it up in a heartbeat. The game was one of the greatest titles released in my lifetime. It was an absolute masterpiece. Just like everything that Fumito Ueda had released. On the blog I said you must play ICO before you die. I also highlighted how its successor Shadow of the Colossus forever changed the industry. The third game in his run was The Last Guardian. Which I might write about someday. For now I would say that it was an absolute masterpiece. From storytelling, to design, animation, control, music, and direction. There was nothing else that could compare.

I couldn’t believe that the Mr. Ueda released only three games in 18 years. ICO debuted in 2001, however it started development in 1998. Shadow of the Colossus came out in 2005, and The Last Guardian in 2016. Other developers pushed crunch culture, while they cut corners, and publishers forced teams to rush games to market. It was nothing short of a miracle that Sony Playstation Japan supported Mr. Ueda through it all. They allowed him the grace to complete his vision. In doing so they built a legacy of AAA titles in different genres that no other company could compete with. From the birth of the Playstation we could see that certain studios were creating something unique. Polyphony redefined the driving experience with Gran Turismo, while Sony Santa Monica graced action fans with the God of War. genSTUDIO was the one that brought us the “artsy” games that took forever to come out, but were always worth it.

Unless I win the lottery I won’t get the brand new Trico statue. However I already have a great item featuring the fantasy creature. When the game was released for the PS4 there was a collector’s set that included a highly detailed statue. The base even had flocked “grass.” It was one of the nicest collectables I ever got from a game. It was also one of the very few collector’s sets I ever spent lots of money on. I’d like to know what great collector sets you have, or you wish you got. How much would you be willing to spend on a game related item? Tell me in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Art Requests from 2024 finally completed.

At the end of 2024 I asked my friends if they had drawing ideas to get me out of my creative slump. I said they could throw three ideas at me, then I would choose one. After drawing it I would send it to them. I had done that in the past, and after a dry spell thought I should do it again. Sadly it took me about 11 months to get it done. Today we look at the drawings for my friends, and the story that went with one of them.

My friend Andrew asked for a Lunar character, or Fire Emblem character, or Heathcliff. I chose Edelgard even though I’ve never played Fire Emblem. I hope it looks okay.

My friend Tamson works as a park ranger. He asked for a skateboarder, or dragon, or something cool from Mexican folklore. It turns out a lot of creatures from Mexican folklore are monsters that lure children to their death. Such was the case for the Lechoza which looks like an old lady but turns into an owl monster. I hope Tamson doesn’t run into any while patrolling the parks.

My friend Jeremy is also a producer on the indie fighting game Rotten Core. He asked for a creepypasta character , or an obscure SNK character, or Spawn. Touji Sakata is a rare SNK character. Despite looking imposing he’s actually very short, not that I would want to mess with his bone-breaking throws. If you know what game he’s from post it in the comments.

My friend Christy kept it simple and asked for Santa. This was actually the first of the drawing that I had finished last year, but she wouldn’t get it until 2025.

Diana had some really great fantasy ideas. Falcor from Never Ending Story, the Goblin King from Labyrinth, or The Horned King from the Black Cauldron. I was going to draw the Horned King, but I had never drawn Falcor before so I did that instead. Have you seen any of the movies that Diana had requested characters from?

Our good family friend Paul had a bunch of great ideas. Adventure through Inner Space, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, or The Santa Fe Super Chief. I had actually drawn an Adventure through Inner Space illustration for my friend Ray a long time ago, so that was out. The choices were Disneyland attraction or classic train. Since Paul is a Disney super fan I went with a couple of characters from the attraction.

My old boss, and mentor Angel asked for something so specific I had to draw it in color. “Hello Kitty in a pink sprinkle donut!” I didn’t mail this drawing out when it was done, instead I gave it to her over breakfast when we caught up.

Long time friend Erin also had a bunch of great ideas; any Lucha you really love, or a chocobo from FFVII, or the "clever girl" Dino from Jurassic Park. I was super tempted to draw the velociraptor but instead I went with my favorite tag team from the modern era “Los Ice Creams.” They wrestled for Chikara Pro Wrestling and lasted a few years. My favorite old school tag team was the Road Warriors / Legion of Doom.

The missus asked for the stars of her favorite Disney movie the live action So Dear to my Heart. This movie was a very subtle look at race relations in the USA that was very rarely brought up when instead people would point at Song of the South as proof that the Disney studios were filled with racists. If you get a chance please watch this film.

My good friend Jennifer asked for Stitch or Eeyore. I decided to combine both because I thought they should get along well.

Blaine had the hardest idea to draw. He said “The only thing I’ll throw in here is an illustration of a funny moment in your life.” It took me months but I remembered something funny that happened when I was a kid. Like many of you my family went to church on Sunday. My brothers and I were fairly well behaved at church because we knew that our parents wouldn’t tolerate us acting a fool. Two little kids didn’t get the memo and were way out of control. The entire church service they were crawling all over and under the pews. Which wouldn’t have been so bad but they rolled up their missalette (a church program) and used them as megaphones. Every few minutes one kid would yell “PEE PEE” and his brother would call out “POO POO.” This went on for an hour. We did our best to bite our tongues and not laugh out loud. Even our parents were finding it hard to breathe. To this day whenever we pass by my old neighborhood I just point in the direction of the church and say “Pee Pee Poo Poo” to my family and they bust out laughing.

Family friend Wendy is another Disney Fan. Her ideas were the Cheshire Cat and Caterpillar, or Dobby the house elf, or Pee Wee Herman and his dog Speck. I’ve drawn the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland previously, and I don’t care for JK Rowling's politics. So the choice was obvious. I’ve never drawn Pee Wee before. I did get a chance to interview him many years ago at a Disney event. He was a genuinely kind soul. I miss him.

Last but not least was my old friend Dan. One of the most insightful people when it comes to movie, and comic book storytelling. I miss hanging out in his old comic book shop. He had a very specific request. “Draw me as a fat space marine preferably an ultramarine por favor.” Ask and ye shall receive. I had fun putting this piece together. So that wraps up my drawing request from 2024. Will I open up requests for 2025? Well that remains to be seen. Did you have a favorite drawing? I’d like to hear about it. Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Celebrating a million views on the blog!

Hello friends, I hope that you are all doing well. Work, and life have been busy, however I am trying to make some time to blog, and share my interests with you. Did you know that I celebrated a milestone this summer? I had been sharing my love of games online for decades now. In the mid ‘90s I would post to game message boards. Specifically whenever I saw some cool news in Weekly Famitsu magazine I would post something on the Gouki’s Page of Whatever message boards (ask your grandparents). Remember that through the ‘90s that magazines were still the fastest way to get game news. Since I was able to get to the Japanese bookstores in downtown LA on weekends it meant I was always ahead of the US curve.

I didn’t get online until the late ‘90s and that was only through college. My family didn’t get home internet until the early 2000’s. While at school I would post everywhere I could. On game message boards and this lead to me writing for Planet Tony Hawk.com, and then I started blogging on 1UP in 2005. I tried to write every weekday, and hit 1000 blogs in about four years. Not long after that I got a million views on the site. I am still friends with many of the 1UP community members. We keep track of each other on Facebook, and Instagram some 20 years later! When Capcom launched their own community site Capcom-Unity I took a lot of my old posts from 1UP and added them there as well. Near the end of the 2000’s I learned that 1UP was going to be closing down. I figured that Capcom would also do the same. That’s when I started copying over posts to this site on April 29, 2014.

It has been more than 10 years, and more than 800 blogs on the Street Writer Blog. I am happy to announce that I hit over 1,00,000 views! I know that the really big gaming sites get those numbers every day before noon. I don’t think that I really hit a million unique views as bots are constantly scouring my pages for stuff to steal. I’ll still take the increase in views over the decade as a sign that people are interested in my run-on sentences. Did you have a favorite blog, or series that I wrote? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

When Disney made the best ghost stories!

It’s that time of the year where ghouls and ghosts take over our streets. Since I had been on a Disney kick I was thinking fondly about the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. I had talked about the attraction in the past and compared it to the God of War series. Specifically how the attraction, and game had richly themed environments. With that in mind I was wondering about how it was presented in game form.

I discovered an old Disney game that had a dedicated Haunted Mansion stage. Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken was a game published by Tomy for the Super Famicom (SFC) in 1994. The game featured Mickey and his friends at Tokyo Disneyland. Mickey was trying to get his friends together to practice for a concert. Each friend just so happened to be located in a different area of the park.

There were bad guy weasels trying to keep Mickey from his duties as he traveled around. Of course Mickey had to be able to fight against bad guys, but in a Disney game you couldn’t really be too violent. So Mickey was given two types of balloons that he could use on his adventure. The water balloon he could bounce off of, as well as throw at his enemies. Then there was a helium balloon that allowed him to float to higher platforms, of breeze over gaps. Parents wouldn’t be able to object to Mickey defending himself with balloons after all.

The big attraction at each land was the basis for each stage. It was neat seeing how things like Big Thunder Mountain, and the Pirates of the Caribbean were turned into platforming levels.

The fourth stage was set in the Haunted Mansion. That attraction was arguably the greatest dark ride ever created. It was layered with so much detail that it developed a cult following. Even I was not immune to its importance in theme park history. In fact I wrote about the Hatbox Ghost 10 years ago on this blog. You can read about the history of the Haunted Mansion on the Disney Family Museum page. The fact that the Japanese game was able to turn iconic scenes featured in the attraction into actual stages was mind blowing. The “stretching room” for example was amazing, it took advantage of the SFC’s fabled “Mode 7.”

The attraction did not have a definitive story, but was rather a collection of spooky vignettes. An official album tried to tie together the various scenes. However many things were added, or removed through its history. Each of these changes were embraced by the fans. Fan theories spread among the community, in the ‘80s these were discussed in fanzines, and would eventually make their way online. Even leftovers from a refurbishment got a legend all to themselves.

The game even featured animated suits of armor. This was a brilliant callback. In the early days of the attraction in the late 1960’s they actually had cast members wearing the armor, and pop out to scare riders. This was eventually turned into a stationary animatronic that rattled.

The busts that followed visitors in the foyer, and the head of Madame Leota in a floating crystal ball also appeared in the game. The developers at Tomy had certainly done their homework. The attraction was filled with 999 Happy Haunts. There was plenty to pull from, and many ghosts that people should expect to see in a game.

The deepest cuts in the game were the ghost portraits. Not every painting by Disney Animator / Imagineer Marc Davis was featured in the original attraction, or the follow ups in Florida or Tokyo. The ghostly fisherman was part of a pirate theme that had originally been pitched for the attraction. The mariner with the harpoon had appeared in both Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken, as well as Epic Mickey.

At the end of each stage there was a version of “Pegleg” Pete waiting to challenge Mickey. He wore a costume that was appropriate for the particular attraction. In Stage 4 Pete was waiting in the mansion graveyard. He was a pale blue color, and wore a pale victorian suit as many of the ghosts did in the attraction. He floated around the stage, and shot plasma balls at Mickey. As far as I know this was the first and only time this version of Pete had ever appeared in an officially licensed game.

In honor of this eerie version of Pete, and just in time for Halloween I decided to make an illustration of “Phantom Pete.” What do you think? Should Disney revisit platform gaming? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!