I am not understanding. What is it that happens concerning us and you of rhinoplasty and pie-eating years-collected fakieness? Greater badnesses my parents are having been knowing of superlatively immature boy and girl persons newly reproduced out of former gravidae!

Also, Bonzi77, man (to be supposed of gender) of attempting deletion to the Nightopia was not being eating ingrediant that is cow-containing pie property of llamas in the moonlit sun of Jupiter! A more ridiculous preposterousness have you never heard, yes? Pie is of being having main ingrediant of llamas which llamas property of bulls (nota bene being other than cows) formerly proceded to be, and eaten in sunlit moon of Jupiter it is! Toward instructor of science of you my irateness that presently posession of emotion of my person is is for of moonlit suns existing having said!

Edit: Ooh, now understanding I am, submas13! "The greatest evil yon parents have ever known," other than pronoun "me" be modifying, address of vocative usage towards audience being directed is! The only logical one of the hermeneutical possibilities that one is!

Regarding enjoying books, regardless, the upside and its downside it does have indeed: rightside up and upside down, respectively.

Like, duh!



Were you wondering what to call health of criminal daughter logger duo toy in underwear? Homeostasisterhoodlumberjackintheboxershorts!

<< >> I think it's stupid that there's a release date difference. Besides, Europe, this means if there's a ZOMG FATAL BUG with our games you guys might be able to get a fix. You luckies. xD; . I'm not gonna be happy if Europe gets it first. Not happy if US gets it first. Not happy if Japan gets it. I don't think there's any reason the US, Japan, or Europe should get it before any other country does, but SEGA has a financial chart like they always do, and that's basically what it is >>...

I'm not convinced that this is because of financial reasons. Releasing a game in the first quarter of the year instead of the fourth quarter of the previous year is a poor strategy in any market.

The delay might have something to do with the technical differences between European and Japanese/American television formats. Japan and America use NTSC, which runs at 59.94 Hz (or 29.97 full frames per second) with 486 scanlines visible out of 525. Europe uses PAL, which runs at 50 Hz (or 25 full frames per second) with 576 scanlines visible out of 625. Although this is a programming problem that should have been solved a long time ago, it's possible that adapting the game for PAL televisions is the reason for the delay in Europe.

Here is a video that shows what happens when a developer doesn't correct for the differences between PAL and NTSC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0llsb77Esc

I think the delay is a good thing; the evidence so far shows that the game could not have been properly completed by November, 2007.

I am concerned, however, that the first quarter release date could cost the game quite a lot of publicity and sales, which – let's face it – is what we need for SEGA to continue making NiGHTS games.

For me, the best news to hear would be that the game has been delayed to the third or even forth quarter of 2008. In addition to perfecting the existing design, SEGA would have time to expand the game with additional content; ideally, the quality of the game would then generate positive press buzz and sales, motivating SEGA to continue making NiGHTS sequels.

On the other hand, it is possible that the first quarter release of Journey of Dreams could intentionally heighten the surprise of a subsequent "special" forth quarter release...

But seriously, I want a holiday release for Journey of Dreams, even if it's the holiday of 2008. With the amount of mainstream press that this game has received so far, I wouldn't be surprised if SEGA weren't motivated to release a third NiGHTS game until 2019.

Just wanted to comment on Reala's coloration. The outfit will have much better color saturation and contrast than is shown. IGN's video was either recorded or encoded with too much brightness and not enough contrast, resulting in a muted, washed out look uncharacteristic of the original material.

We should probably withhold final final judgement until we have better source material.

Besides, all of the discussion so far ignores the far more important question: how effective is Reala as a character? That in itself is another good reason to withhold judgement.

New Screen Shots!
http://kotaku.com/photogallery/nights104/

Can we get a translation of what the owl is saying in one of the pics?

Even something primitive would be helpful.

I never actually intended to post here...

...but does it sound to anyone else like "Hey! He ran off!" was spoken by NiGHTS instead of Will? The voice sounds the same.

(bump bump ba-bum bum bump)
*sings Jackle's theme music*

Just wondering... any luck remembering where you guys have heard the voice before?

So..now its the fish bosses turn to get a name. Since he reminds us of Gulpo yet his movement patterns seem to represent that of Gilwing we have dubbed the new fish boss GulWing. ...do you see what we did there?

Yup. Welcome to portmanteaupia!

The problem with making a word out of Gilwing and Gulpo is that it sounds a lot like one of the original names no matter what you do. Still, I prefer the alternate name Gilpo. Edit: I just thought of this. What about Gulpwing?

Also... uh, I joined the community a bit late. What was the etymology of the name Phuckle?

Also, has the boss level changed at all? It seems different somehow. o.o?

I think it has, although I don't feel like doing an in-depth analysis.

LOL!!! It almost looks like the boss was trying to manifest sex appeal...

I would have to say yeah they do, seeing as it is Sonic team, lead by Iizuka, lead programmer from the original game and the same art designer and music directior from the original.

I remember reading quotes of Naka saying that he would be extra careful making another NiGHTS game because he valued the franchise so much. From what we've seen, the development team seems to be following that philosophy. Sonic Team is being smart enough to expand the game universe little bits at a time instead of reinventing everything all at once – a very strong temptation for imaginative game designers, but an idea that Sonic Team rightly recognizes would prove quite disastrous indeed.

I'm practically looping the movie over and over again and watching it while I work on the computer, watch TV, and sleep.

Multitasking is bad for productivity. Just focus on the videos, and forget about work and sleep.


I also have to comment about how clueless the players look playing this game. Game developers use affordances and metaphors to implicitly teach players what to do in their games, e.g. how someone playing a first-person shooter who sees barrels automatically knows that shooting the barrels will make them explode. Or if a door is locked, one probably needs to backtrack and find a key somewhere. If a menacing NPC starts attacking the player, nobody wonders if that character is somehow an ally. And with very few exceptions (like Call of Duty), there are always going to me more bad guys in the game than good guys. These kind of things often come across as cliché, but it's the reason why developers don't have to put huge text boxes on the screen saying, "That white box with the first-aid symbol on it can be used to replenish your health," or in multiplayer games, "Those players who spawn right next to you and who are wearing the same colors as you are also on the same team as you are!"

My point is that floating rings in flying games aren't anything new. They've been around probably as long as flying games themselves have been around. It's a common metaphor: if one is playing a flying game and sees rings suspended in the air, it's probably the objective of the game to fly through the rings. Most games will reward you for flying through multiple floating rings in a row. Not only that, but the floating rings probably serve as an affordance as well, leading the players in the direction that they're supposed to go in the game. It's not like NiGHTS is the first game to do this.

Things like the trick ribbon, paraloops, and catching the giant flying bird will probably need explanation from the game's developers to those unfamilar with NiGHTS, but even the giant bird uses a convienant affordance: there's an NPC flying through the exact same path that I'm supposed to fly through, except he's flying a little bit faster than I am. I bet it's my goal to overtake him somehow! Yet there was this big dialog box on screen that probably said something like, Hey! Moron! That bird's flying through the same path you're supposed to fly through! You're supposed to catch up to him, dimwit!

Struggling with the game controls is one thing, but I can't believe that these players couldn't even figure out what they're supposed to be doing.

How can NiGHTS fly under water?

I've observed in my own dreams that I'm always able to breathe underwater.

On the other hand, it is possible that NiGHTS' "Mermaren" form from the first game is returning, but that that detail simply hadn't been implemented yet.

I'll be posting my analysis of the video tomorrow.

In the meantime, however, one would think that a big web name like IGN would have some halfway decent programmers on staff. The "Insiders Only" content (for right-click to download) is protected by nothing more than a JavaScript onClick() routine. Which means that if you want to download the high resolution Windows Media and QuickTime videos, all you need to do is disable JavaScript, refresh the page, right-click and download.

In Internet Explorer, this is as simple as adding ign.com to the "Untrusted Sites" zone.

It's possible that they were only using low-polygon-count models so that the developers responsible for animation and cinematics have something to work with. It is quite easy to substitute a higher-quality model; I doubt that the final product will look like that.

For someone who doesn't know Japanese, looking through an online kanji dictionary trying to find a symbol matching the one on SEGA's website was quite a fun little game.

Anyway, this one looks kind of close...
http://www.kanjisite.com/html/start/rhsinfo/r_hanita.html
Perhaps like daily score"board", a top scores list? Maybe something to do with the game's levels (I remember growing up that a level or world was sometimes colloquially called a "board")?

How about the possibility of "Forums"? (Community boards?)

Right now it's anyone's guess. Kori's translation suggests some kind of "of the day" feature. As we understand it right now, it's "today's number one board", whatever the heck that means. That's also assuming that "board" is even accurate... you probably can't trust this kind of thing to someone who doesn't speak a word of Japanese, LOL. Other kanji I saw that look similar are "cup" and "slope" .

So we'll just have to wait and see, either from a more knowledgeable source or from what SEGA actually puts there.

And thanks for the English-ized translation Deep Loner! :3

Please be careful. I didn't translate anything; I merely cleaned up Seiya's English.

Reala: NiGHTS, get your bitch ass over in the kitchen a go make me a turkey pot pie.
NiGHTS: Oh f*** you asswipe. I'm your got damn dorm mate not a fuckin slave. Go make your own sh!t.

*Then the battle begins.

I would love to see what 4Kids would do with that!

NiGHTS: I refuse to be trapped in a codependant relationship anymore!

I am curious though as to why Japan is fairly lieniant with curse words while here in America it is shameful for young kids to hear or say those words.

Reminds me of when I saw the Japanese episodes of Sonic X on Google Video (before they were all taken down). They're pretty open about using certain American English-language curse words on their show. (Apologies to my international English-speaking friends; I almost slipped on that one.) I also noticed a fair amount of sexual innuendo (or at least what Americans would perceive to be sexual innuendo), which probably explains the "Go touch NiGHTS" line. But it's not like America's innocent somehow. I remember when Disney's Aladdin first came out, and my Dad kept saying that the humor wasn't really intended for children; it took me a while before I understood what he meant. Oh, and Shrek. A purportedly "children's" movie that has Donkey saying something like, "Shrek says he's compensating for something, which I think means he has a really small *omph*". Come on!

I guess my point is that the level of "localization" describe is really nothing more than America's pretentious political correctness.

I wonder if the NiGHTS came in Japan will have any cursing. Doubt it...but you never know what Reala might say.

****! I'm being tried to be paralooped!

Americans would be less likely to mistranslate now then they would back then.
However if they feel any need to "Americanize it" they will change things.

I'm also sure they may at the least re-word some of the stuff. I don't consider it mistranslation if they re-word with different words just as long as its the same general idea. (I don't know why but some people do consider that mistranslation some times.)

In other words if they feel that kids wont understand it they will "Americanize it" other wise it should be fine with the exception that it wont be word from word of the translation above.

I understand that projects like this undergo localization, which is substantially different from mere translation. Localization often includes qualitative judgements of material to be added, removed, or modified based on cultural differences. This is why many gamers import the Japanese titles directly. Don't expect the American or European versions to be identical to the Japanese in every respect.

But the Nightopia is being tried to be deleted by Wizeman [...].

He thinks he's such a l33t h4x0r – we'll show him who's boss!

Anyway, I took the liberty of cleaning up Seiya's translation for proper English grammar and style. This is not intended as criticism – if it weren't for Seiya, I wouldn't be able to understand anything from the site at all! And of course I don't claim to speak Japanese. The intention is only to make it a little easier on the ears until SEGA gives us an English JoD site.

Opening:
Did you know?
The world called "Dreams" ¹
really exists!

Story
Can you remember your dream that you saw last night?
The most familiar ² and the most mysterious world we visit when we fall asleep is "Dream".

"Dream" is a different dimension, a world which only our conscious minds visit while sleeping.
We cast a reflection to our conscious minds by the light called Ideya, and create the world of happy dreams ³ called Nightopia.
But Wizeman, who rules the dark and scary world of bad dreams, ⁴ Nightmare, is trying to destroy Nightopia. ⁵
This is the story of "Dream", ⁶ and of the courage of a boy and girl who enter this dream world. ⁷

My footnotes:

• Since it appears from Seiya's translation that "Dream" is used as a proper place-name, I decided to leave it this way. It does sound awkward in English, however. If I knew Japanese, I would attempt to coin a better sounding English place-name instead of substituting something generic like "the dreamworld".
• Seiya's translation read, "Another the most familar". I do not know the intended function of "another", if any, in this sentence.
• Seiya wrote, "happy dream world." Rearranged for disambiguation: "happy" modifies "dream[s]", not "world"; see footnote on "world of bad dreams" below.
• Seiya wrote, "dark and scary bad dream world." Here "dark and scary" modify "world", while "bad" modifies "dream[s]", in contrast to the "world of happy dreams" above; the wording is thus rearranged similarly.
• Seiya's use of the passive voice, "Nightopia is being tried to be deleted by Wizeman", despite sounding absolutely atrocious in English, is actually, humorously, not grammatically incorrect. I wonder if Japanese actually uses such stretches of the passive voice.
• Seiya wrote, "This is the story of the dream", but evidently using "dream" as a place-name preceeded by the definite article; cf. Seiya's "the Nightopia".
• Seiya wrote, "who step between such the dream world." It's unclear if "dream" is a place-name here; if so, it would read, "who enter this world, 'Dream'."

I hope this helps at least one of you.

And if it doesn't... well, it was an enjoyable intellectual exercise nonetheless.

Pretty much my point exactly only with more detail. ^^;
Most of what I've seen happen was unnecessary in some games and anime. (For example most of what 4Kids does.)

If you're referring to Sonic X... yeah, a lot of people complain about that. For some of it, I simply wonder if longer commerical breaks demanded that they cut some stuff. But I agree that it's unpleasant to see content that I like cut out of the localization.

The best way to stop this from happening with JoD right now is to bitch about it as much as possible and let them know that we don't want anything cut!

That's foreign. There's no way that can be marketable.

Those are delicious-looking doughnuts! And... uh, chocolate-almond dipping sauce!

And Deep Loner, I wouldn't be surprised... ;

Hey! Don't look at me!

It doesn't seem fair to TRiPPY and DiGi.. it's almost a given that if/when they're offline, something happens that makes the whole NiGHTS fanbase EXPLODE WITH HAPPY.

I seriously wonder if someone very high up at SEGA keeps DOS-ing them?