Kylie Prymus is the first columnist for PS Fanboy. A Ph.D candidate in philosophy, Kylie specializes in the sociology of technology. Through this new weekly column, Kylie will explore the impact of PlayStation on thought and culture.
My PSN profile tells me that I am a Trophy n00b. An abysmal 1st level collector. I've acquired most of the trophies that you averageprimate could gather with ease, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get many more. I have a paltry 8 trophies, all of them from PixelJunk Eden. That puts me at a 33% completion rate, firmly in the middle of category: l-o-s-e-r. Still, I didn't download Eden for the Trophies any more than I downloaded it hoping it would teach me to finally get my snozzberry* plants to grow. I downloaded it because it was a much lauded and quirky, not to mention exclusive, PSN title and I happen to have a soft spot for such qualities (particularly the exclusivity). Being able to collect Trophies through the game is just a bonus, a diversionary side quest that makes the whole package slightly more appealing.
As I venture for the first time into this whole trophy business I've had to ask myself why I should even bother. What is the appeal of achievements Trophies? Do they add to or take away from a game? What is it about the Trophy system that made it such a sought after addition to the PSN? Milestones? Bragging rights?
Finding the PixelJunk games frustratingly difficult? You are not alone; one of the guys over at TheBBPS wrote an open e-mail to Dylan Cuthbert, executive producer at Q-games, humorously complaining that his wife finds PixelJunk Monsters just a tad bit too overwhelming and requests difficulty settings for the game. Cuthbert acknowledges his prayers, stating that an upcoming free patch to Monsters will include the ability to make the game easier, or harder, than the default setting. Altering the difficulty will disqualify you from online ranking though, for fairness' sake.
Cuthbert also hints a similar treatment in form of a new "more namby pamby" gameplay mode for PixelJunk Eden in a future expansion pack. He feels Eden's "controls are too much fun to waste on just one set of game rules." We can't wait!
This is rather unexpected. Considering this would be a spoiler to many, we decided to put this one after the break. You'll see the last level in action, and you'll find out what really-special-feature unlocks at the end of the game. For the impatient ones, skip to 5:20. (It's best watched with full annotations, here.)
[Thanks, jimb! Amazing video captured by Tntnnbltn]
SCEE has come through for us this week. PixelJunk Eden is here, in the form of both a demo and the full game. There's also a demo of Echochrome Micro for PSP owners, a smattering of game videos and the next episode of Movement. But really, that's all secondary to Eden and the glittering trophies contained within. At £4.99 (an almost direct translation from the US price of $9.99) it's a bargain. Here's the full release list:
You simply never can tell what SCEE have planned. Deborah Mars, producer for the PixelJunk series, has stated in the comments of the recent PlayStation Blog post that Eden will be available today in Japan, Europe and America. We would love to believe her, honest we would, but until we see it with our own eyes we simply can't. SCEE has had a hard time understanding the phrase "simultaneous worldwide release" several times in the past, after all.
We'll remain hopeful and will update you with the full PSN release list as usual when it lands. In the meantime, have you tried the PixelJunk Eden demo? If so, you might want to take a look at the trophy list and get practicing. The game launches today, after all. Worldwide! Hopefully ...
The first game to launch with trophies is almost here. Finally! This stylishly addictive puzzle/platformer/rhythm game will be available on the PSN Store in the US and Japan tomorrow. No word on Europe, but fingers crossed. We thought you might like to take a peek at the trophy list, in preparation for the game's release.
There's a distinct lack of gold trophies in PixelJunk Eden, but plenty of bronzes to get stuck into. Here's the official trophy list for the game:
Bronze Trophies
All Seeds 01 - Open all seeds in garden 01
All Seeds 02 - Open all seeds in garden 02
All Seeds 03 - Open all seeds in garden 03
All Seeds 04 - Open all seeds in garden 04
All Seeds 05 - Open all seeds in garden 05
All Seeds 06 - Open all seeds in garden 06
All Seeds 07 - Open all seeds in garden 07
All Seeds 08 - Open all seeds in garden 08
All Seeds 09 - Open all seeds in garden 09
All Seeds 10 - Open all seeds in garden 10
All Gardens Clear - Get a Spectra in each garden
Combo Ten - Pollen Prowler combo x 10
Combo Fifteen - Pollen Prowler combo x 15
The Hundred Thousander - Get 100,000 pollen in one garden
500 Dead Pollen Prowlers - 500 Pollen Prowlers killed
Ten Minute Grimp - Get all 5 Spectra from a garden within 10 minutes
Fifteen Crystals - Get fifteen crystals in a single jump
Zero Wasted Pollen - Open all seeds in a garden without missing any pollen
Three Play Ping Pong - In 3p mode, trapeze jump between two swinging Grimps
Silver Trophies
All Spectra Found - Get all the Spectra in all gardens
A post on PlayStation.Blog by the President of Q-games Dylan Cuthbert reveals details about PixelJunk Eden's trophy and YouTube support. You will get a bronze trophy for every "seed" in a stage. Other trophies include destroying 500 "prowlers" or collecting 15 "crystal" in a single jump. Another trophy you can only achieve in 3-player mode. We also have a list of leaked trophies, from a NeoGAF post, which seems to be accurate, after the jump.
The YouTube upload feature will allow players to record gameplay and upload it directly to YouTube within the game. The procedure is simple: push one button to start and one to end. There is also no slowdown in gameplay "thanks to the power of the PS3 and its abundance of SPU processors."
Finally, they are thinking about trophies for PixelJunk Monsters as well via a patch. If they do release a patch, it will even include XMB music and "a couple of other things." We can't wait!
Tomorrow's American PSN update is looking to be pretty big. Our good pal Alexander Sliwinski over at Joystiq has just discovered that a demo forPixelJunk Eden will be arriving tomorrow in the US, a week before the full game arrives on the 31st. Our hands are already clenched around our controllers in anticipation. Who knew that the PixelJunk series would have us on tenter-hooks for the next release? After PixelJunk Racers, not us.
There's another fairly specific reason why we're looking forward to PixelJunk Eden; we've peaked, trophy-wise. We've been desperate for another game to satisfy our growing addiction for the glittering prizes, but Eden is the first game to support them since launch. The demo almost certainly won't include any, but at least it'll give us a week headstart to get our practice in.
There's one bit of key advice we learned after out playthrough with PixelJunk Eden at E3 in Los Angeles last week. Simply close your eyes and hibernate until the end of the month -- then you'll be awake with PixelJunk Eden ready on the PSN. This upcoming downloadable title continues the trend of Q-Games' abliity to make quirky, easily accessible arcade games exclusively for PS3. While not as conceptually easy to grasp as their previous titles, Eden has such an imaginative charm that it's hard not to fall in love with it. Having so little time with the game makes us wish we can simply fast-forward time to the game's release on PSN.
Undeniably, many will want an explanation on how the game is played. It may seem unclear from the videos, but the game is rather simple. Simple press X to shoot a web and start swinging around. You'll want to collect pollen and land on various pods. If you have enough pollen, these pods will grow into brand new plants, which will give you easier access to other parts of the level. Simply swing and stick to various plants, as you make your way through the level.
Q-Games' next PSN exclusive is PixelJunk Eden, a wildly innovative title that combines the best elements of Bionic Commando and Peggle ... with co-op. With its enticing style and as-always brilliant music, this upcoming Q-Games title cannot get here soon enough. PixelJunk Eden will be available in both the US and Japan on July 31st. And yes, it will support trophies.
Stay tuned for our hands-on impressions. Until then, enjoy brand new screenshots.
1UP's preview of the upcoming PixelJunk Eden is most curious. The strange title may be hard to grasp from videos, but according to their preview, all is clear within minutes of picking up the controller. With the wildly successful PixelJunk Monsters under its belt, all eyes must be on Q-Games' latest. It being the first new title to support Trophies will undoubtedly make it even more addictive. The combination of alluring visuals, yet another fantastic soundtrack, and simple and addictive gameplay make us want to download PixelJunk Eden as soon as possible.
If you're curious about what's going on with Q-Games and the PixelJunk franchise, we've located a little bit of news to satisfy your 2D urges. First up -- PixelJunk Eden is to get a playable demo in July. This is coming from Dylan Cuthbert's mouth (well, technically, keyboard), so take it as official. Cuthbert wants everyone to experience the game before its final release, which is a nice gesture.
A second piece of information was the YouTube uploading feature, which isn't anything new, but still very cool. Finally, Cuthbert wants to do one more small, free patch to PixelJunk Monsters. He's requesting what you would like to see in the patch, so let him know. Our idea? A hint on how to best approach each level would be dandy.
Japanese site Watch Impress has a new batch of screenshots showing more of the gorgeous art style of upcoming PSN game PixelJunk Eden. Not only that, but they include a few exciting tid bits of info regarding the game. Specifically, they mention that the soundtrack consists of almost 100 minutes of specially recorded music by Kyoto-based artist Baiyon.
The game will also include 3-player co-op play (no online, presumbly) as well as trophies and remote play support. Perhaps most intriguing, however, is the mention of screen recording and YouTube uploading compatibility. This was recently added to the PS3 SDK but we didn't expect to see it integrated into new games so quickly. PixelJunk Eden comes out sometime this Summer and you can bet your bottom dollar we'll be grabbing it day one. Will you?
No doubt you've seen the incredibly pretty screenshots of PixelJunk Eden -- and they do look gorgeous -- but how exactly does one play the game? In the latest PlayStation Blog post, Jeff Rubenstein (that bloke gets everywhere these days) has a natter with two of the producers for the game who guide him through a couple of levels. Together they prove that PixelJunk Eden isn't just a pretty face, the gameplay looks quite excellent too.
The game is due out this Summer and this video has us hyped for it. The PixelJunk series looks to get better and better as the games progress. Is it too early to be excited about finding out what PixelJunk Dungeon will be like?
It would seem that Q Games has e-mailed TheSixthAxis about an upcoming PixelJunk announcement tomorrow on the PlayStation Blog. Dylan said it was going to be something "quite special", but any other details are scarce. Chances are it's a release date for PixelJunk Eden, or the announcement of their fourth title (which may be named PixelJunk Dungeon as it is a dungeon crawler, if memory serves). Either way, we'll keep looking tomorrow for the announcement.
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