WHAT?  Picross 3D is a sort of sequel to other handheld Nintendo Picross games (see here and here) which finds the user chipping away at numbered blocks in a puzzle like manner in order to reveal a picture.  It’s sort of part puzzle, part sudoku, part trinket collecting, and more.  And it’s really addictive

WHY? I gave this game a shot a few months ago and since then I’ve been thinking about it nonstop.  The simple puzzle mechanics of the game combined with the ability to work towards an end where you get something (hey, everyone loves a blocky dolphin) has got me hooked.  It takes just enough brainpower to keep the player learning and working towards a goal and at the same time saves just enough energy for fun.

WHO? I really think Picross 3D could be a gateway drug into video gaming for many non gamers.  When I play the game, I imagine it having the potential on a non gamer as say, something like Angry Birds has had on the world…something that sucks up time, is enjoyable, and requires some planning to play.  The game will require a tough sell though…”hey, you figure out puzzles by decoding numbered blocks and the prize you get is a blocky dolphin/dog/Nintendo character”.  I recommend talking up the game as an investment.  It is something that may seem clunky at first, but the potential for a rewarding experience are there.

Are we looking at the past?

Well, don’t worry.

The Wii has a strong library of 968 games (as of December 2010) with more to be released in the near future.  The total number of systems that have been shipped is 84 million, making it Nintendo’s biggest home video game system to date.  Chances are that the people using your library will continue to use their Wii systems for their gaming entertainment for years to come, so providing them with games to enjoy is still a solid strategy for library video game collections.

When it comes to video game programming, I myself believe that you can’t go wrong with a Wii system and a library full of patrons.  Most, if not all, of the 4 player games for the system have an insanely high replay value which will keep players having fun.  The biggest complaint that will most likely come when the next generation Nintendo system is released is that the Wii is “old and that we want to play something new”.  What do I say to that?  I say give them options.  When the next generation of video games come around, libraries will have to invest the time and money into obtaining these systems and learning about them and what they offer our patrons.  But that doesn’t mean that we should just give up on the Wii.  Use it as you have always been using it for programs.  The games speak for themselves…they are enjoyable and full of entertainment, so let them do the talking.

I have to admit that I haven’t actually played a minute of Minecraft yet.  However, that’s not to say that I haven’t been pretty interested in the game.  I watch a lot of Minecraft YouTube videos in my spare time and I’m amazed by the stuff that people are creating in this game.

Games where you start out with nothing and you build something have always interested me.  I’ve reviewed one of my favorite “do what you want” games here on 8BitLibrary and I continue to play these types of games at home.  One of my recent rediscoveries was the game Wrecking Crew.  Wrecking Crew was part of the small Nintendo Programmable Series.  Chances are that you’ve played one of these three games.  With Wrecking Crew, you are Mario and your job is to break things.  You have a giant hammer that makes it so that you can’t jump.  On each of the 100 levels, you’re charged with finding an optimal order in which you will have to destroy the various elements of the board without making contact with one of the enemies.  That part of the game was good fun and all, but where I spent most of my time was in the level editor.

The level editor let you design up to four of your own Wrecking Crew levels.  This is where you could get creative and let your wildest Wrecking Crew dreams come to life.  Creating impossible and intricate puzzles was what I liked to do the most.  I’d make them into mind bending little adventures that you’d have to study before actually attempting the level.  This feature also got me rather interested in game development.  It gave me a chance to look into how games are constructed and why developers made the choices they did.  The biggest bummer was that the LOAD/SAVE feature that game claimed to have didn’t work (it only worked with the Japanese version of the game).  My mini Wrecking Crew masterpieces could only be enjoyed for as long as the NES stayed on.

It feels like Minecraft is inspiring a new generation of video gamers that love to build, explore, and understand video games.  With that in mind, here’s a quick list of five games that any Minecraft fan that you run into at the library may enjoy.

Justin’s TOP FIVE games for people that dig Minecraft:

1. Wrecking Crew was released originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but you can get it on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii (and you can save your levels now!)
2. Excitebike was released originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but you can get it on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii.  It has a really wonderful track editor feature.
3. Tail of the Sun was originally released on the Playstation.  You can read my review of the game here.
4. Endless Ocean and its sequel Endless Ocean: Blue World were released on the Nintendo Wii and you can still buy the games here.  In these titles, you do little more than explore a vast ocean full of life and other interesting locales.  Quite a unique adventure.
5. SimCity and any of the countless sequels (my personal fave was Sim City 3000) are great examples of games where you have to manage resources and build your own city.  I started off with the Super Nintendo version of Sim City.

EDIT: Via Alex Hylton over at the Darien Library.  Watch the awesome programs they’re running at their library using Minecraft.

Minecraft from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve come to the realization that I’m first and foremost a retro gamer.  When it comes to the latest and greatest games out there, I haven’t played about 99% of them.  I rely on video gaming blogs and magazines to keep me up to date when it comes to the present.  For most of the time, however, I live in the past.  And that’s not a bad thing.  I grew up with these games.  That’s the big reason why they are still a huge part of my life.  With my video gaming history firmly in place mixed with the librarian thinking part of my brain comes a barrage of ideas on how libraries can use retro gaming to attract and educate patrons.

It's odd to think that these kids were not born when the last NES game was released.

Retro gaming programming at your library is a great way to let the public know that video games have a HISTORY.  8BitLibrary and Piscataway Public Library teamed up and had a Retro Gaming Event in 2010 (Click here or here for pics).  These programs are designed to turn your library into a makeshift museum of video game history.  What does this history do?  Like classic books, it will show your community that gaming has a rich background.  Games like Minecraft which encourage players to build and create their own world have their roots in games like  Sim City.  Librarians can find and show these connections to their community.  These connections in video game history will create a rich tapestry of games which we can then use to educate our patrons about the rich possibilities gaming has to offer.

Personally, I really enjoyed the Virtual Boy.

Yesterday’s release of Nintendo’s new handheld 3D gaming system the Nintendo 3DS gives libraries who have the system a chance to offer up the device for testing within the library.  It’s a simple idea…set up some systems for your patrons to play and teach them about the technology.  So where does retro gaming come into the picture?  Nintendo’s tried 3D gaming before with the Virtual Boy.  It didn’t really work out that well and the Virtual Boy died off rather quickly less than 1 year after it was released.  Most people haven’t ever heard of the system and look at you in disbelief when you tell them about it (“why in the hell would they have released that?” is my favorite question I get when I tell them about the specifics of the Virtual Boy.) Giving patrons a chance to play the Virtual Boy at the library will create a unique experience which they’ll most likely not get anywhere else.  It will also open up a lot of discussion on 3D gaming and how this new technology will impact our culture.

Yes, I applied some photo filter to this pic to make it look older.

Which brings me to my final point…can anyone give me a good reason why we shouldn’t lend out retro games and systems to our patrons?  I’ve talked about this topic once before and the more and more I think about it this option seems like a no brainer.  As libraries are squished out from viable eBook lending options and all that other stuff, what does the mission of the library become?  I’m an advocate of giving our patrons experiences over just giving them stuff.  Lending out retro games and systems like the Sega Saturn above gives our community a chance to experience something that they may not have a chance to experience elsewhere.  My recent ongoing affair with X-Men: Children of the Atom for the Sega Saturn was only made possible by the fact that my mother and myself are pack rats who saved every single piece of video gaming history I collected.  While I do enjoy the time I spend playing this game at home by myself (my wife won’t play with me) it would be a lot cooler if I could share this experience with others.

Good news for all the parents out there who are worried about their kids not exercising enough. A new study by researchers at Brigham Young University and University of Massachusetts has shown that kids who play 10 minutes of active videogames, like Wii Boxing or Dance Dance Revolution, get exercise that’s just as stimulating as a three-mile walk on a treadmill. This is particularly good for kids who live in cities where playing outside is either dangerous or unpractical. Better still, the kids most at risk for obesity enjoy playing games even more than their lower-BMI counterparts.

Of course, the benefits only work if the child is playing an active title that uses the full range of motion from the Wii, Move or Kinnect systems. You can’t just sit around all day playing Angry Birds or Super Mario Galaxy and still expect to get any health benefits.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL ARTICLE.

Finn not only enjoyed the snow, but also really dug Kirby's Epic Yarn

On Wednesday January 12, 2011, Portland, ME got walloped with snow.  It wasn’t the biggest snowstorm the town has ever seen, but it did shut everything down.  Part of that shutdown was the call I got at 7:00am saying that the library was closed.  While I was bummed that our patrons couldn’t get into our building on a snowy day to relax and unwind, I was a bit giddy inside knowing that I got to spend the day with my family.

Two days before, I had borrowed Kirby’s Epic Yarn from my library.  It was my favorite game of 2010 even though I didn’t get to spend too much time with it.  This time around, I set my goal on completing the whole thing….with some help.  Teaching your two year old about video games and all the talk around that has been swirling around in my head long before 8BitLibrary existed.  Some will say it’s good, some will say it’s bad.  I try to listen to both sides of the story and take a balanced approach.  My son Finn and I have played Beatles Rock Band quite a bit before taking on Kirby’s Epic Yarn, but it was just for a moment or two.  I’d play 2-3 songs on the bass guitar while Finn drummed along.  He picked up some tunes from the game which he can be heard singing (with great alternate Finn lyrics) at the top of his lungs in our apartment almost everyday (EX: BE!   SEA!  OCTOPUS’ GARDEN!  SHAVE!).

Kirby’s Epic Yarn, on the other hand, wasn’t going to be a 15-20 minute thing.  I approached playing this game as a story time between myself and Finn.  I’d do the playing (unless of course, he wanted to) and as the cut scenes were occurring I’d read them to him.  I’d point out interesting things happening on the screen and try to craft an on the fly Kirby narrative as I played the game.  I used Kirby’s apartment as a place where Finn and I could experiment with him getting the hang of the controls.  We dabbled in placing our found items in the house.  Finn wasn’t too interested in this and instead really got into it when I was playing the game.  We gave names to some characters and locales in FinnSpeak©.

All in all, I had a blast playing Kirby’s Epic Yarn and I think Finn has a new found love for Kirby as a character.  While I can’t see a practice like this being adopted for story times in a public library setting (prove me wrong, please!), for one on one interaction with a child it is a great way to both teach them about video games and get some story time in there as well.

WHY? Libraries should be purchasing this game for the simple fact that it gives patrons who own the Nintendo Wii a chance to enjoy 4 wonderful games.  The only other way to get these games is to download them through the Wii shop channel.  The addition of a music CD and history booklet also adds to the appeal of this package and will give patrons a good example of the rich (and still greatly underappreciated IMHO) history of video games.

My biggest beef with this set is that IT COULD’VE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER.  Add Super Mario World into the mix as well as more cuts from Mario’s musical history and right there is a better package.  Oh well.  That’s just coming from a hardcore Mario fan like me.  Your patrons won’t notice the difference.

WHO? Anyone with a Wii and an interesting in discovering their video gaming roots should check this out.  It also might be a good purchase for educators looking to use Super Mario in the classroom (HINT HINT PLUG PLUG CLICK ME)

My son Finn exploring "The Legendary Starfy" on the Nintendo DS.

From such an early age, we’re taught the importance of play.  In their publication titled The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses the importance of play for young children.

Released in 1990 as the flagship title for the Super Nintendo, Super Mario World didn’t change how we play video games but it gave the Super Mario Brothers universe some wonderful features that are still featured in the games that we play today.

In particular, two things about Super Mario World stood out to me as I recently replayed the game:

1. The Spin jump:  Basically, you jump gets some more firepower.  In addition to being able to KO enemy by stomping on their head, the spin jump allowed you to bust bricks and defeat some enemies that couldn’t be killed with the standard jump.

Doesn’t sound too fancy, right?  BUT IT IS!  Think about modern Mario games and his ever popular butt thump.  This is where it came from.  The butt thump is a central feature in 3D Mario games.

2. Yoshi: Mario’s always been the star of his games, but Yoshi gives him a major run for his money.  It was in Super Mario World that Yoshi made his first appearance.  Since then, Yoshi’s had so many spin offs (read my review of one of those here) that he’s almost become his own franchise.

This is what Nintendo does so very well.  They’ll add one small element to a game that won’t seem like a big deal, yet over time it becomes almost as important as the original game itself.  Yoshi is a perfect example of how a simple idea can be taken to the next level.

So how can we incorporate Super Mario World into the classroom?

• Examine how Yoshi has changed the landscape of Super Mario Brothers.  Look at the Yoshi character over a large period of time (1990 to present) and trace the path of his humble beginnings to his current status as a gaming icon almost as big as Mario.
• The little details: The spin jump changed how we play Mario games forever.  Has this element been translated into any other games that you can think of?  Have students look at the history of games over a time period and focus on the little details.  What elements have changed the way we play games?

Sorry for the long overdue part 4 of this installment.  I promise to not make you wait for part 5 as long!   -Justin

The Check Mii Out channel is a free downloadable channel. There are Wii artisan contests to create character Mii’s (Marie Antoiniette, someone who loves plants). You can download these Mii’s to your system, and then when students/you play, they appear.

You can also choose from the Top 50 Popular Mii’s.

On my home system, I still get a kick when I am bowling and Chuck Norris or Batman is watching. Or if I run on Wii Fit, and pass Snoop Dogg. A friend created all the Lost characters, and playing Wii baseball, I had Sawyer pitching to Kate and Claire in the outfield.

Of course, allowing your regulars to customize their own Mii for playing can be great too.

Just a few minutes of time every few months can add just a little extra to your Wii experiences!