Penny Arcade becomes obsessed with Eye of Judgment
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Aug 4th 2007 at 11:30PM }
Upon seeing this Penny Arcade comic, our own Nick Doerr breathed a sigh of relief saying, "Awesome. I finally feel I'm not the only one strangely interested in the game." You're not alone Nick -- in fact, there's an increasing interest for this unique real and virtual card game. The synergistic qualities of Eye of Judgment give it a strange appeal.
The nerd-king Tycho explains in his blog: "The physicality of card placement and interaction has its own virtues. Cards are recognized in a second or less, so watching them transformed is actually a very interactive, exciting process. You don't actually need the PS3 to play it - the game can be played on a regular table without any electronic accompaniment. But you'll probably find, as we did, that having a perpetually available neutral arbiter who will track all numeric systems is pretty convenient."
We were impressed by our brief time with it at E3 ... and it looks like Penny Arcade is too. Slowly, but surely, it appears that positive word of mouth is spreading for this incredibly innovative and unique card game.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MYPS3KilledMy360 @ Aug 4th 2007 11:51PM
yeah ive played card games that requires you to shout and elongate the name when you say it. i have meticulously created a deck of cards deemed unbeatable by God himself. As hopeless as it maye tryed to collect both rare and international version of the cards. So i 12 turning 13 at the time and thats what i did when i wasnt playing video games and now they have created a game the gives you best of both worlds with online play. I never played MAGIC but if they made it for this i would! LBP and this throws a rench into the War machine genre known as FPSs that are dominating the market right now! .
Nick @ Aug 5th 2007 1:42AM
The first Eye of Judgment comic was funnier.
Popfrogs @ Aug 5th 2007 1:57PM
Yet another feather in the PS3 cap. You'll never see innovation like this or LBP on the other consoles.
Edge @ Aug 5th 2007 3:08PM
"You don't actually need the PS3 to play it - the game can be played on a regular table without any electronic accompaniment."
So, what is so special about the PS3 component? Is this truly innovation or just more rampant gimmick-ism everyone wants to blame everyone else for?
Yes. This is cool as a technology. But all it serves to do is to put a pretty coat of paint over what may be a fairly basic game. I would call that the very definition of a lack of innovation. Will it have legs? I have my doubts.
Augmented reality should be implemented on PSP first. It would be more functional on a handheld.
Figboy @ Aug 5th 2007 4:26PM
Edge, have you *PLAYED Eye of Judgement?
if not, how do you know if it has legs or not?
so far, the responses from people that have actually gotten their *HANDS on it has been pretty positive.
the problem with the people on joystiq, and offshoots like PS3/PSP/Fanboy is that everyone looks at *EVERYTHING with such a god damn cynical eye.
*NOTHING is approached with optimism these days.
if it has pretty graphics, then it *MUST be lacking in gameplay, because a game can't be pretty and have good gameplay; Nintendo says so, nevermind that their console is the most graphically inept of the bunch.
you know, i remember back when people used to make up their own minds from *PERSONAL experience, instead of copy-pasting other people's from things like reviews, or previews.
i have my concerns about Eye of Judgement, but i'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, and at least *TRY it before i either praise or condemn it.
at least they're *DOING something interesting and unique, kind of like Little Big Planet, Echochrome, Pain, and Folklore.
you know, for a company that is supposed to be the giant, "evil" corporation, that cares about profit only, Sony is creating some rather innovative games for us, whereas Nintendo is still harping on about Mario and company, and trying to pass off Wii Fit as some kind of legitimate gaming revolution. i'm all for games like Animal Crossing, Smash Bros, and Metroid, by the way, but i'm failing to see the innovation from the Wii, and it's approaching it's 1st birthday soon. so is the PS3, but look what's coming for it. lots of new, interesting IPs, on top of old favorites. the Wii is primarily, Nostalgia.
didn't mean to get off on a Wii tangent, but i just never see much criticism leveled at Nintendo for not delivering on their promises, whereas Sony gets lambasted *ALL THE TIME.
outside of Wii Sports, what *ELSE has the Big N shown that justifies their switch from a standard controller to the wand?
Sony is showing their PS3 promise, with games like Eye of Judgment, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, Little Big Planet, Infamous, MGS4, Folklore, Echocrome, and Killzone 2; diversity and quality.
there's too much to be excited about in this, what, *SIXTH generation of gaming. spoiled, i think, is the term, for gamers these days.
i was 6 years old when i started gaming in 1985. i've gone through the Atari, NES, SNES, PS1, PS2, and now PS3, and all the other consoles in between. we've gone from indecipherable blips and bloops to characters and environments so real you aren't sure if you're looking at a photo or a cg.
there just doesn't seem to be that sense of *WONDER anymore, when people look at video games. i'm *CONSTANTLY amazed at the leaps and bounds technology has taken these past 20 something years. i never imagined, while hopping and bopping a fat Italian plumber around the Mushroom Kingdom in 1985, that we'd have games like MGS4, Killzone, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, and even a seemingly simple concept like Eye of Judgement, which, at it's core, just reads cards placed in front of it and acts accordingly.
looking at everything you see with such a cynical, skeptical eye completely *RIPS out what gaming is supposed to be about; fun, excitement, wonder, etc.
you don't have to *LIKE Eye of Judgment, of course. no one is going to force you to buy it, but why be so hard on it, when only the most minimal of information is known about it, and it doesn't seem like you've actually gotten your *HANDS on it yet.
Extinction @ Aug 5th 2007 4:44PM
"outside of Wii Sports, what *ELSE has the Big N shown that justifies their switch from a standard controller to the wand?"
Absolutely nothing. And the only reason Nintendo made wii so graphically deficient is because they can't afford to make games as pretty as PS3/360, so they lie to consumers and say graphics hurt gameplay
Edge @ Aug 5th 2007 6:35PM
@Figboy: I'm sure you will naturally forgive me for not reading your entire post.
Fair enough figboy. I'm still following my gut, not on graphics or gameplay, but how gimmicky it looks.
And again, why are we talking about this like it is a PS3 game? It's not. Really. The card game is the real game here, if in fact it can be played without the PS3. The PS3 is just a pretty way to display that card game.
So, logically, the PS3 component of Eye of Judgment is ONLY graphics and ZERO gameplay. The way it sounds, the PS3 exists to display the floating monsters and crunch some very simple numbers.
I'm sure this is "OMG COOL" to you all. But I think you are all easily duped by technology for technology's sake. That is called being a Gadget Whore.
Once you get the Sony dazzle out of your eyes, you start to see how Sony is full of it.
Popfrogs @ Aug 5th 2007 7:34PM
Even if you don't like the game, the technology's potential is pretty neat. You can have all sorts of 3d paper objects with codes on them and have the ps3 render them.
Think about a strategy game, like Final Fantasy Tactics. By moving cards or paper dolls around on the board, you can make choices for your battle and see it on the screen. This adds another dimension that I think would be fun to try. It would also work well for war simulation games with tanks, infantry, etc.
Also this tech has other implications. If anyone has seen the Hitachi tech demo of the Cell chip, they've seen realtime facial and hairstyle changes displayed on screen when a camera is pointed at someone. It 'glues' the changes to your face so if you move your head in any direction, the image on the screen stays accurate. Hard to describe but cool to see.
DarkJC @ Aug 5th 2007 10:23PM
Edge, you're forgetting that the PS3 version also serves another purpose -- online play. Argue all you want that it's a gimmick blah blah, but it's a cool piece of tech, and it's nice to know I'll be able to play against people even if my friends don't catch on.
Of course, I suppose you conveniently forgot this fact right? Nothing like forgetting facts that go against your opinion.
Figboy @ Aug 5th 2007 10:28PM
Edge, i completely understand not reading my entire post, but then you make it extremely difficult to want to consider *EVERYTHING you have to say, when you don't give me the same courtesy.
i was actually with you, up until
"Once you get the Sony dazzle out of your eyes, you start to see how Sony is full of it."
then you lost me.
to say that someone who can appreciate a console made my Sony has "Sony dazzle" in their eyes is foolish, and sounds fanboyish.
i highly enjoyed the Playstation.
i highly enjoyed the Playstation 2.
it had not so much to do with the technology, but the *GAMES that are coming from said technology.
for the past 11 years, the Playstation brand has delivered some truly fantastic games, whether 1st, 2nd, or 3rd party.
the Playstation 3, which i own, is *ALSO a very entertaining console. it is slim on games, sure, but to say it has *NONE (as a lot of people do, lately), is not only false, but ignorant.
i happen to be a gamer, *AND a movie fan. i love the fact that the PS3 combines all of that in one package. after seeing movies in HD, i am totally hooked on the high definition era. now that i have an HDTV of my own, i get to enjoy high def in the comfort of my own home.
being an avid gamer and movie watcher, it wouldn't make much sense for me to shell out $400 (or $480 for the Elite), for an X Box 360 for my gaming needs, *THEN shell out an additional $600-$1000 for a Blu Ray player for my movie needs.
the $600 i paid for my PS3 solved both problems in one fell swoop.
games like Resistance, Motorstorm, Oblivion, and VF 5 made the first three months i owned the PS3 tolerable, as they are all quality games.
now i've got Ninja Gaiden Sigma, The Darkness, and Rainbow Six Vegas to enjoy. yeah, the latter two are multiplatform, but i don't own a 360, so their release on the PS3 is a *GOOD thing.
then i was in the Warhawk beta, and that went from a "i'll check it out maybe," to a "day one purchase" for me. not to mention now that i've got my hands on demos of games like Folklore and Heavenly Sword, they are on my must buy list as well.
on top of *THAT, seeing real time demonstrations of PS 3 exclusives like MGS4, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Ratchet and Clank Future, and Killzone, and multi-plat games like Assassin's Creed, and Stranglehold, i'm confident that my choice in purchasing a PS3 was, once again, due to the games and not to the "dazzle" of the technology.
the Playstation 3 suits me and my fiance's lifestyle (we both love games and movies) perfectly.
while i believe the 360 is a great console (barring hardware failures), i think it appeals to *JUST the gamer, whereas the PS3 appeals to the gamer who does more with his time than just game.
i remember when my best friend picked up his 360 during the "dry" season (this was before Dead Rising, Lost Planet, Crackdown, and Gears of War; you know, the *YEAR before most of those games were released), and he was telling me that he hadn't touched his 360 in *MONTHs because there was nothing worthwhile for him to play.
i've had my PS3 since the "dry" months (February), and i haven't turned it off since. when there's no good PS3 game releases, i'll finish off some PS2 games i've been meaning to get to (ie, Odin Sphere, FFXII, Rogue Galaxy, and Tomb Raider Anniversary), or watch some movies on Blu Ray in HD.
or i'll steam music, the TV shows and movies on my hard drive, surf the net, *WHATEVER. the system is getting use thanks to it's multi-functionality.
when i had a Game Boy Advance, when i wasn't playing games, or tired of playing Castlevania, i'd turn off the Gameboy, and it'd go right back in my pocket. with a PSP (and PS3) i can do so *MUCH extra stuff with both that they're almost *CONSTANTLY being used.
my choice isn't any better than anyone elses, but the PS3 works for *ME.
i wasn't tricked, had, or bamboozled by Sony, or anyone else to pick up this machine. i bought it because i *WANTED to.
Eye of Judgement is indeed a nice, unique piece of technology, just because it isn't doing anything "groundbreaking" doesn't it make it any less impressive.
i commmend the developers, for doing something *DIFFERENT, which can't be said for a lot of *OTHER developers out there right now, even Nintendo.
games like Folklore and Eye of Judgement are a breath of fresh air to me in the sea of shooter after shooter after shooter after, um, what was it again? oh yeah, shooter, after shooter...
Consolcwby @ Aug 5th 2007 10:43PM
I will have to admit that edge is correct in a way: You COULD play this game without a PS3. In my mind, that is what could be revolutionary about this game. You see, not everyone can get together to play real life games, such as Carcassonne, Magic, Axis and Allies, et al. without some hassles of having to work around friends' schedules, or even getting friends to play. The online component of this game is what is interesting here. One could conceivably play with anyone from around the world day or night - anytime I have time to do so. The fact that the game plans on using a system (whether it works well or not so well) at eliminating cheating when playing remotely (try playing PBM or PBEM sometime) and using a camera to recognise the different cards and keep track of them, could be used for many different types of games. Is that a gimmick or a seachange?... Time will tell on that, but liking what this game is bringing is ANYTHING but being a gadget whore. IF you look at it from the angle of a PLAYER - instead of a SPECTATOR.
phattie @ Aug 5th 2007 11:46PM
Of course you can play this game without the video component.. the point is to augment the core card based game play with visualizations and audio.
Anyways, its definitely a niche product.. which is just fine.
coplice @ Aug 6th 2007 9:46AM
can you say yugiho? lol
for those that like playing card game or liked but stopped because they couldnt find anyone to play with will love this game
they wont have to find someone, there will be lot of ppl waiting to play
they wont have to write stats and stuff on a sheet of paper, the games will do it for them
"Yes. This is cool as a technology. But all it serves to do is to put a pretty coat of paint over what may be a fairly basic game. I would call that the very definition of a lack of innovation. Will it have legs? I have my doubts."
its like saying RPG are D&D with a pretty coat of paint o_o