They are everywhere. People who flock to and worship something. It's almost sickening.
Apple has them. MW3 has them. WoW has them. We mostly call them fanboys, but some of them go far beyond that. They are fucking zealots. They don't even believe in anything else. This type of thinking is keeping gaming from moving forward.
For years we have seen Apple time and time again release something so easy and simple and pretty much like other stuff that we already have and make billions. The hardware isn't great, the experience is closed and lacking and that people who mindlessly follow the product are unbearable. What makes them do it? Conditioning.
They see cool people doing it and they want to be cool. Nerd is the new trend. We have been dealing with shitty fashion sense for more than a decade now, but this is a new high.... or low. Who knew that such awkward behavior could so easily become the next cool thing. It isn't about be buff or wearing something nice, it's about looking like you took a shit in Mr. Rodger's closet and then rolled around in to get dressed. The new is not to be cool. We have this entire generation full of English and Philosophy majors who are educated, but can't find jobs is relevant fields. They want to be nerds and feel like unique snowflakes, but they end up just being idiots. Go figure.
But enough about hipsters....
The cult of Apple is one of the largest. That doesn't mean there aren't more. The Modern Warfare games have a bro-following that is pretty crazy. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't believe it. How many times can you buy the same game? Seriously. SERIOUSLY?! Disgusting. However, they eat it up. Every single game, they go and buy it and feel like it is the new console messiah. This is the new shit, the best shit! The same rehashed garbage and they eat it up. If you try to bring up other games that are better on different levels, they can't hear it. Drunken brawls have been started just for mentioning that BF3 has sweet vehicles. Try to convince them that World at War wasn't the first WW2 shooter and you are in for some real fireworks.... bros.
In the end we need fans, good fans, but we don't need these kind of blind cultists. We don't need people following just for the sake of following. We need informed consumers that are buying a product they believe in because it is the best one for them, not because they feel comfortable with the logo on it. We need people making a conscious effort to decide on a product. The products should ALL be good and strive to be original. Making the same game over and over does not fall into that category. Coming out with a new smartphone that is already a year behind the technology available is another one.
The only way to stop this kind of thing is to hope that society will wake up. Your 19 year old daughter doesn't need an iPhone. That flip phone works just fine. She doesn't need a camera phone to take more duckface pictures of herself. She can't possibly put to use the capabilities of that phone. It is a status symbol. Bros, put down the Call of Duty. Embrace something else. There are great games that you are missing out on because you can't let it go.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
X and Y - Fuck these letters
I had a baby and even though the dates on these are correct, they are wrong.
I pre-typed a lot of these and I was going to release them throughout January. That didn't happen. What happened was some of them came out on the right schedule and others didn't. I don't know why... they just didn't. Of the few I didn't have typed, this is them. X and Y are shitty letters to pick topics for. It sucks.
So, I will use this space to tell you about having my baby. I got to witness the entire thing. Induction, breaking her water, them shooting her up with drugs several times, the entire labor and seeing my son's head and then body come out. It was all very touching. I spent some quality time with my wife and she cried... a lot. Women do that sometimes. I'm totally tough and didn't. I got to hold my baby before everyone else. It was pretty awesome. He took him to the nursery and got him weighed and checked out.
The baby had a sore on his head when he came out and he ended up being sick enough to be readmitted the day after we left the hospital. He spent 5 days under a heat lamp and his mother spend 2 days getting a treatment for some sort of illness that she had due to her clotting disorder and then being pregnant. So, my baby AND my wife had to be readmitted. Awesome. I ended up taking an extra week off of work and that still didn't feel like enough, especially since we had to go back.
The baby is doing fine now and everything seems great. He was born the day after me. We actually went up to the hospital on my birthday. I'm pretty sure that he would agree that X and Y fucking suck. I doubt anyone reads this, but if anyone ever happens to... this is why everything was delayed this year. And it is a damn good reason!
I pre-typed a lot of these and I was going to release them throughout January. That didn't happen. What happened was some of them came out on the right schedule and others didn't. I don't know why... they just didn't. Of the few I didn't have typed, this is them. X and Y are shitty letters to pick topics for. It sucks.
So, I will use this space to tell you about having my baby. I got to witness the entire thing. Induction, breaking her water, them shooting her up with drugs several times, the entire labor and seeing my son's head and then body come out. It was all very touching. I spent some quality time with my wife and she cried... a lot. Women do that sometimes. I'm totally tough and didn't. I got to hold my baby before everyone else. It was pretty awesome. He took him to the nursery and got him weighed and checked out.
The baby is doing fine now and everything seems great. He was born the day after me. We actually went up to the hospital on my birthday. I'm pretty sure that he would agree that X and Y fucking suck. I doubt anyone reads this, but if anyone ever happens to... this is why everything was delayed this year. And it is a damn good reason!
Monday, January 23, 2012
W - What do we do when it's over?
The question I often ask myself is: what happens when I don't play games anymore?
I can't really answer it. I don't know if that will every be a reality for me. My wife understands that I love gaming. She understands that it is not only an entertainment outlet, but also a social one. She hears me talk about dicks and shitting on dicks with my headset wrapped about my head all the time. Sometimes she chimes in, most of the time she just shrugs it off. It's just who I am. It is part of me and it is what I do.
When it's over... WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!
The though crosses my mind from time to time, but it's not something that sticks with me. Instead I worry more about other things in my life. I manage a bunch of kids and work for a grown up frat boy. It puts a lot of stress on me to be a grown up in that sort of environment. There is lots of finger pointing and blame swapping, but it all boils down to getting it done. I approach games in the same way. I don't care who fucked up or who is to blame, I want to get it done. Winning isn't an option, it is what is happening. I want to win. I don't need to be the all-star, but I want to be on the winning side and I try as hard as I can to get there. FPS, MMO, RTS, it doesn't matter.
I wonder sometimes if my son will understand. Will he want to play with me? Will he enjoy gaming? Will he be a console tard?! I have a lot of things in my life that aren't gaming and I plan to get those all taken care of. I know that I might take a break, but I will always come back. Even if it's to hit the sticks on some Madden or level up a couple characters in the next WoW expansion. I am pretty sure that my gaming life isn't going to end ever, or at least for a VERY long time. Thankfully we live in a society where it is more mainstream than it used to be.
I can't really answer it. I don't know if that will every be a reality for me. My wife understands that I love gaming. She understands that it is not only an entertainment outlet, but also a social one. She hears me talk about dicks and shitting on dicks with my headset wrapped about my head all the time. Sometimes she chimes in, most of the time she just shrugs it off. It's just who I am. It is part of me and it is what I do.
When it's over... WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!
The though crosses my mind from time to time, but it's not something that sticks with me. Instead I worry more about other things in my life. I manage a bunch of kids and work for a grown up frat boy. It puts a lot of stress on me to be a grown up in that sort of environment. There is lots of finger pointing and blame swapping, but it all boils down to getting it done. I approach games in the same way. I don't care who fucked up or who is to blame, I want to get it done. Winning isn't an option, it is what is happening. I want to win. I don't need to be the all-star, but I want to be on the winning side and I try as hard as I can to get there. FPS, MMO, RTS, it doesn't matter.
I wonder sometimes if my son will understand. Will he want to play with me? Will he enjoy gaming? Will he be a console tard?! I have a lot of things in my life that aren't gaming and I plan to get those all taken care of. I know that I might take a break, but I will always come back. Even if it's to hit the sticks on some Madden or level up a couple characters in the next WoW expansion. I am pretty sure that my gaming life isn't going to end ever, or at least for a VERY long time. Thankfully we live in a society where it is more mainstream than it used to be.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
V - Virtual currency
Every game seems to have it now. Is it EA bucks, Acti-Blizz cash, or Steam Pipes? Does it really even matter? It isn't buying us anything that we shouldn't already get.
These inflated currencies are the driving market for some pretty big businesses. Some companies will even sell you the currency themselves to make a buck. Sometimes you have to risk it just to get a little something extra. It all seems very sad to me. Sometimes it isn't even a normal currency. TF2, for example, had a thriving economy based on HATS. Now that Valve has pretty much decided to sell everything that kind of economy has dried up, but Valve is rolling in the dough.
I think it might be time to rethink how we allot these currencies and how easy it is to replicate. If you really want to stimulate an economy you have to make it where people cannot exploit it easily. You have to offer something just as good, but for free. WoW has done this with easier to obtain gear and dailies. Previously gold and item sellers would make a ton of money simply selling off items or gold for money, now that these things are relatively easy to get ahold of, those markets have shrunk. There are still gold farmers and sellers, but not nearly as much as there once was.
Taking a look at some of the free MMOs you see that they actually sell their own currency. It is hard to keep an economy honest when at any time you can jump on and turn your real cash into game cash almost instantly. I make decent money and my wife does even better. We have plenty of cash and I enjoy a lifestyle that allows me to enjoy new games with pretty decent hardware. If I chose, I could easily afford loads of virtual currency to spend on whatever I wanted in pretty much any game I played... but I don't do this. I would much rather save my REAL money to get REAL shit. I drive a Cadillac and one day I wanna drive a newer and nicer one. I'm gonna save up some money and get this one paid off so that I can do just that.
At the end of the day it is easy for me to distinguish between virtual and real currency. To some people they are the same thing. I don't understand why someone would do it, but I do understand making money off of it. I almost wish I had gotten into this business earlier in my gaming career. I would have loved to farm gold on the side. Maybe that could have paid for my Cadillac.
These inflated currencies are the driving market for some pretty big businesses. Some companies will even sell you the currency themselves to make a buck. Sometimes you have to risk it just to get a little something extra. It all seems very sad to me. Sometimes it isn't even a normal currency. TF2, for example, had a thriving economy based on HATS. Now that Valve has pretty much decided to sell everything that kind of economy has dried up, but Valve is rolling in the dough.
I think it might be time to rethink how we allot these currencies and how easy it is to replicate. If you really want to stimulate an economy you have to make it where people cannot exploit it easily. You have to offer something just as good, but for free. WoW has done this with easier to obtain gear and dailies. Previously gold and item sellers would make a ton of money simply selling off items or gold for money, now that these things are relatively easy to get ahold of, those markets have shrunk. There are still gold farmers and sellers, but not nearly as much as there once was.
Taking a look at some of the free MMOs you see that they actually sell their own currency. It is hard to keep an economy honest when at any time you can jump on and turn your real cash into game cash almost instantly. I make decent money and my wife does even better. We have plenty of cash and I enjoy a lifestyle that allows me to enjoy new games with pretty decent hardware. If I chose, I could easily afford loads of virtual currency to spend on whatever I wanted in pretty much any game I played... but I don't do this. I would much rather save my REAL money to get REAL shit. I drive a Cadillac and one day I wanna drive a newer and nicer one. I'm gonna save up some money and get this one paid off so that I can do just that.
At the end of the day it is easy for me to distinguish between virtual and real currency. To some people they are the same thing. I don't understand why someone would do it, but I do understand making money off of it. I almost wish I had gotten into this business earlier in my gaming career. I would have loved to farm gold on the side. Maybe that could have paid for my Cadillac.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
U - Undeserved rewards
I am constantly seeing a trend in gaming: undeserved rewards.
Imagine that you go into a match of Tribes or BF3 or even, god forbid, MW3. Now imagine that just entering the match gets you nearly the same rewards as the person with the best score. You don't have to do anything, just showing up will get you through. All you really have to do is show up and wander around and you'll get the same experience, gold, tickets, whatever currency the particular game uses for advancement. How fair is this? Not very.
I remember the good old days where all you had was your KDR. People looked at that and were amazed. Then there were the games that were based on an overall point system, so that people like myself could still benefit. We weren't all guts and glory, we didn't run out guns blazing, but we contributed. I appreciate getting things for free, I really do. I enjoy having to work for things, but there needs to be a line where you decide what difficulty level you want to have. Do you want a system like BF3 where you must unlock everything for every weapon? What about a BC2 system where class unlocks would give you the benefits you wanted? How about a Tribes: Ascend system where you have to level each class and then weapon and then armor and then perk all separately? It requires work and dedication to get any of those, but it all depends on how you like your rewards.
I feel that farm too often we are simply rewarded more for showing up. In WoW, for example, just showing up can get you damn near the same points as the best guy on your team. The Feral Druid with 50 HKs, 20 KBs and 2 of 3 flag caps should get far more than you just for "participating". It's dumb. SWToR has a similar system in their open world PvP. It is frustrating. While BF3 makes you work for what you get, the system still isn't perfect. The rewards should match the work put into them, but the work shouldn't be daunting. I shouldn't dread getting a newer and better weapon, just because I have to "level" it again.
Moving forward we need to find a happy medium.
Imagine that you go into a match of Tribes or BF3 or even, god forbid, MW3. Now imagine that just entering the match gets you nearly the same rewards as the person with the best score. You don't have to do anything, just showing up will get you through. All you really have to do is show up and wander around and you'll get the same experience, gold, tickets, whatever currency the particular game uses for advancement. How fair is this? Not very.
I remember the good old days where all you had was your KDR. People looked at that and were amazed. Then there were the games that were based on an overall point system, so that people like myself could still benefit. We weren't all guts and glory, we didn't run out guns blazing, but we contributed. I appreciate getting things for free, I really do. I enjoy having to work for things, but there needs to be a line where you decide what difficulty level you want to have. Do you want a system like BF3 where you must unlock everything for every weapon? What about a BC2 system where class unlocks would give you the benefits you wanted? How about a Tribes: Ascend system where you have to level each class and then weapon and then armor and then perk all separately? It requires work and dedication to get any of those, but it all depends on how you like your rewards.
I feel that farm too often we are simply rewarded more for showing up. In WoW, for example, just showing up can get you damn near the same points as the best guy on your team. The Feral Druid with 50 HKs, 20 KBs and 2 of 3 flag caps should get far more than you just for "participating". It's dumb. SWToR has a similar system in their open world PvP. It is frustrating. While BF3 makes you work for what you get, the system still isn't perfect. The rewards should match the work put into them, but the work shouldn't be daunting. I shouldn't dread getting a newer and better weapon, just because I have to "level" it again.
Moving forward we need to find a happy medium.
Friday, January 20, 2012
T - Testing phases
Whatever happened to REALLY testing games?
Remember when you got into a beta test and you played the game and it wasn't just a shitty demo of the game? You used to have to play it and leave feedback. You would fill out a form or file a ticket when there was an issues. Developers updated a blog or had a newsletter that let people know what was being fixed or what kind of issues they saw. You used to lose your characters pretty regularly. They would give you new ones to test something specific or ask people to play a certain class and see how something worked out. It was a lot of fun and it was how testing should be conducted.
How are they testing these games now? It seems that more times than not people are finding exploits, not reporting them and then using them for their own games at release. This doesn't make for fun or exciting gameplay and it doesn't make for a competitive or interesting environment for others. It just sucks.
I've been in many, MANY betas over the years and I always try to give feedback for things that are appropriate. I want to see new things and places, but I also want to see a product come to market that is the best that it can be. I actually gave up my access to the SWToR beta, because I wanted to experience the game fresh on release. I didn't want to burn myself out on it and then not want to play anymore.
I recently purchased a pass with Blizzard that ensures that I am a beta tester for the next expansion. I am not sure what that really means, but I sure hope that their testing is more like what I described above and not the standard method used now. I'm not sure when it begins, but I am deeply excited to see something fresh and new in WoW. I am also looking forward to providing feedback to improve a game that I so dearly love.
Remember when you got into a beta test and you played the game and it wasn't just a shitty demo of the game? You used to have to play it and leave feedback. You would fill out a form or file a ticket when there was an issues. Developers updated a blog or had a newsletter that let people know what was being fixed or what kind of issues they saw. You used to lose your characters pretty regularly. They would give you new ones to test something specific or ask people to play a certain class and see how something worked out. It was a lot of fun and it was how testing should be conducted.
How are they testing these games now? It seems that more times than not people are finding exploits, not reporting them and then using them for their own games at release. This doesn't make for fun or exciting gameplay and it doesn't make for a competitive or interesting environment for others. It just sucks.
I've been in many, MANY betas over the years and I always try to give feedback for things that are appropriate. I want to see new things and places, but I also want to see a product come to market that is the best that it can be. I actually gave up my access to the SWToR beta, because I wanted to experience the game fresh on release. I didn't want to burn myself out on it and then not want to play anymore.
I recently purchased a pass with Blizzard that ensures that I am a beta tester for the next expansion. I am not sure what that really means, but I sure hope that their testing is more like what I described above and not the standard method used now. I'm not sure when it begins, but I am deeply excited to see something fresh and new in WoW. I am also looking forward to providing feedback to improve a game that I so dearly love.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
S - Stop buying shit!
If we keep lining the pockets of companies that make shitty games, they will keep making shit.
We need to finally stand up and speak out... with our wallets. Stop spending 60 bucks on a game that you know isn't finished or optimized. Stop funding companies that continuously let us down year after year or release after release. Stop buying into the hype and open your eyes!
BF3 might be one of the biggest flops that I've seen in recent history in the FPS genre. Yes, MW3 was a huge disappointment, but we all knew that it would be. BF3 hyped the game as a PC experience and then left out features that we desperately needed. No way to talk to your partner in co-op? Awful. Awkward unlocking with guns coming from multiple places AND THEN CHANGING multiple times within a couple months of release? Poor planning. Anti-cheat methods not working and servers being flooded with hackers. Unacceptable. Many players being wrongly banned due to servers having to apply EXTRA protection from hackers. Absolute failure. BF3 might have some great gameplay and some very nice features, but that doesn't excuse it from sliding downhill so quickly. I was a huge fan of it, but quickly lost interest based on some of these glaring issues. Hopefully they can fix these in this coming year.
SWToR is another game that has had it's share of issues, especially those that went overlooked in the beta. When you release an MMO that is so furiously hyped for so many years and it fails to meet even the lowest of expectations, you have done it wrong. No guild bank in 2012? Are you fucking crazy?! Where was the vision here? Why does the entire game feel like your movements are slowed and laggy? Why does the entire experience feel like the first half of the game was carefully planned out and the last half was smashed together quickly so that it could be pushed out of the door? It is frustrating to no end!
Those are two PC games that I pre-ordered in 2011, because I thought they were going to be very good. It turns out that they were very mediocre and I've now simply gone back to other games. Tribes: Ascend, a free-to-play FPS game that is still in beta AND WoW, a 7-year old MMO game that is losing subscribers by the hundred-thousands. Not that these games aren't great, but when you look at huge blockbuster titles that released, you figure that I should have at least been interested in them for more than a couple months.
We have to demand more from these guys! We can't just keep accepting pieces of shit and hoping that it gets better.
We need to finally stand up and speak out... with our wallets. Stop spending 60 bucks on a game that you know isn't finished or optimized. Stop funding companies that continuously let us down year after year or release after release. Stop buying into the hype and open your eyes!
BF3 might be one of the biggest flops that I've seen in recent history in the FPS genre. Yes, MW3 was a huge disappointment, but we all knew that it would be. BF3 hyped the game as a PC experience and then left out features that we desperately needed. No way to talk to your partner in co-op? Awful. Awkward unlocking with guns coming from multiple places AND THEN CHANGING multiple times within a couple months of release? Poor planning. Anti-cheat methods not working and servers being flooded with hackers. Unacceptable. Many players being wrongly banned due to servers having to apply EXTRA protection from hackers. Absolute failure. BF3 might have some great gameplay and some very nice features, but that doesn't excuse it from sliding downhill so quickly. I was a huge fan of it, but quickly lost interest based on some of these glaring issues. Hopefully they can fix these in this coming year.
SWToR is another game that has had it's share of issues, especially those that went overlooked in the beta. When you release an MMO that is so furiously hyped for so many years and it fails to meet even the lowest of expectations, you have done it wrong. No guild bank in 2012? Are you fucking crazy?! Where was the vision here? Why does the entire game feel like your movements are slowed and laggy? Why does the entire experience feel like the first half of the game was carefully planned out and the last half was smashed together quickly so that it could be pushed out of the door? It is frustrating to no end!
Those are two PC games that I pre-ordered in 2011, because I thought they were going to be very good. It turns out that they were very mediocre and I've now simply gone back to other games. Tribes: Ascend, a free-to-play FPS game that is still in beta AND WoW, a 7-year old MMO game that is losing subscribers by the hundred-thousands. Not that these games aren't great, but when you look at huge blockbuster titles that released, you figure that I should have at least been interested in them for more than a couple months.
We have to demand more from these guys! We can't just keep accepting pieces of shit and hoping that it gets better.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
R - Recycling
In the coming years we will see a horrific trend die out: reselling used games.
I call it recycling. Because really that is what you're doing, sort of.
Let me start by saying: Game Stop can suck my fucking dick.
Now that we have that out of the way....
I hate this practice. It is awful and benefits no one. You pay 5 bucks less for the game and get something that someone has already had their hands all over. Not to mention with several games now you don't even get the full experience. Developers are now locking out certain portions of games after the original activation. Woot!
Finally people are standing up to Game Stop and their fucking theft. They are robbing people. It's pathetic. I think that it is far past time that they started doing this. They should have put these types of features in years ago. I would have welcome it with open arms. How people can give you 10 bucks for a game and then sell it for 40 is beyond me. At least sell it for half price or something more competitive. I'm not gonna buy a car for 90% of the original price after someone has driven it all over the place and is sick of it.
When it comes to PC games you can't even do this. It's not possible to take your games back because of the all of the anti-piracy measures that are taken to ensure that us evil PC gamers don't steal their precious games! At least we aren't getting fucking like the Consolol kids are.
I call it recycling. Because really that is what you're doing, sort of.
Let me start by saying: Game Stop can suck my fucking dick.
Now that we have that out of the way....
I hate this practice. It is awful and benefits no one. You pay 5 bucks less for the game and get something that someone has already had their hands all over. Not to mention with several games now you don't even get the full experience. Developers are now locking out certain portions of games after the original activation. Woot!
Finally people are standing up to Game Stop and their fucking theft. They are robbing people. It's pathetic. I think that it is far past time that they started doing this. They should have put these types of features in years ago. I would have welcome it with open arms. How people can give you 10 bucks for a game and then sell it for 40 is beyond me. At least sell it for half price or something more competitive. I'm not gonna buy a car for 90% of the original price after someone has driven it all over the place and is sick of it.
When it comes to PC games you can't even do this. It's not possible to take your games back because of the all of the anti-piracy measures that are taken to ensure that us evil PC gamers don't steal their precious games! At least we aren't getting fucking like the Consolol kids are.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Q - Questing
A single idea saved MMORPGs forever: quests.
Sure, they existed prior to every MMO now relying on them to tell the story of provide experience, but they weren't nearly as interesting. Most quests prior to the WoW-generation of MMO games were direct toward gathering something over and over again, or they were very few and far between. I remember FWO having quests based on your spec at certain levels and a few quests that provided seriously awesome rewards.
A lot of MMO fans don't remember the old days of shitty quests and grinding out experience on random mobs for days or weeks on end. We now get all sorts of things handed to us. Quests give us gear, experience and money. We really don't have to go out and collect much of anything anymore. Sure, at the endgame we are still responsible for gearing, but that's about it. Even at those endgame levels we sometimes see long quests that provide us with some of the best items in the game. In WoW, specifically, it tends to be weapons.
I love the current questing system, but I think that it needs to be toned down a bit as we move forward in gaming. I think that it does way too much hand holding and doesn't require enough people to go out and do things. Go farm for gold. Kill mobs for money or for cloth that you'll sell. Level up an appropriate trade skill for good gear, don't rely on questing to make sure that it outfits you with everything you need in the first zone of an expansion.
Sure, they existed prior to every MMO now relying on them to tell the story of provide experience, but they weren't nearly as interesting. Most quests prior to the WoW-generation of MMO games were direct toward gathering something over and over again, or they were very few and far between. I remember FWO having quests based on your spec at certain levels and a few quests that provided seriously awesome rewards.
A lot of MMO fans don't remember the old days of shitty quests and grinding out experience on random mobs for days or weeks on end. We now get all sorts of things handed to us. Quests give us gear, experience and money. We really don't have to go out and collect much of anything anymore. Sure, at the endgame we are still responsible for gearing, but that's about it. Even at those endgame levels we sometimes see long quests that provide us with some of the best items in the game. In WoW, specifically, it tends to be weapons.
I love the current questing system, but I think that it needs to be toned down a bit as we move forward in gaming. I think that it does way too much hand holding and doesn't require enough people to go out and do things. Go farm for gold. Kill mobs for money or for cloth that you'll sell. Level up an appropriate trade skill for good gear, don't rely on questing to make sure that it outfits you with everything you need in the first zone of an expansion.
Monday, January 16, 2012
P - Party mechanics
For someone who wants to play an MMO with other people, why does it always feel like you're getting penalized?
Whether it is having to deal with the fucking retard to get something done or losing experience when you're hanging with a buddy the system is fucked. How have we gone so long without revolting against this system? Sure, the kills are faster and easier, but you need way more of them (especially for the sake of drops). You are sharing money and any other loot as well. What if you are both classes that otherwise were not great at soloing? What if we were playing an old MMO where you couldn't just go and solo everything and needed a group for decent experience?
It is kind of sad to see so many games drop the ball on the party system. No one is trying to change the formula because they feel like it works. I am not disagreeing, I just feel that at some point we need to consider that a change may need to be made.
If nothing else we need someone to try something new or breathe life into the sad and dying old system. We have again stopped progressing because we think we have it right. Ten years from now, we may realize how wrong we had it.
Whether it is having to deal with the fucking retard to get something done or losing experience when you're hanging with a buddy the system is fucked. How have we gone so long without revolting against this system? Sure, the kills are faster and easier, but you need way more of them (especially for the sake of drops). You are sharing money and any other loot as well. What if you are both classes that otherwise were not great at soloing? What if we were playing an old MMO where you couldn't just go and solo everything and needed a group for decent experience?
It is kind of sad to see so many games drop the ball on the party system. No one is trying to change the formula because they feel like it works. I am not disagreeing, I just feel that at some point we need to consider that a change may need to be made.
If nothing else we need someone to try something new or breathe life into the sad and dying old system. We have again stopped progressing because we think we have it right. Ten years from now, we may realize how wrong we had it.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
O - Openness
We need openness in gaming. We need the ability to go and do and explore. It is 2012, now, we need this kind of open gameplay. We DESERVE this kind of open gampley.
We are long past the days of sandboxes. Sure, some of those games are good, but we should be demanding large open worlds that live and breathe. We need less invisible walls and more exploration. When I look at a game like SWToR I see a unique experience that is huge and open. I see something that is large and sprawling. Yet, most of the environment is wasted, because there is nothing there. You are seeing planets that are huge, but don't offer much in the way of going or doing, because they don't have things there. It isn't more fun or realistic, it's just barren and boring. I appreciate the scale, but give it some life!
As games move forward we need to get away from the closed-off worlds and corridors that we are stuck in. Get out of the hallway and into the huge battlefield. Hell, get into the large scale that Battlefield 1942 offered. It was big, open and provided a large layout FOR WAR. Which is way better than the small can confined areas that we see in a lot of current shooters. Urban landscapes and trimmed maps don't make them fun, it makes them pretty shitty, actually. I don't hate arcade shooters, but they go against openness.
I want to see more games open up in the future. Hopefully with the technology we have coming to a head and "peaking" for a little while we will see a lot of games innovate, instead of stagnate.
We are long past the days of sandboxes. Sure, some of those games are good, but we should be demanding large open worlds that live and breathe. We need less invisible walls and more exploration. When I look at a game like SWToR I see a unique experience that is huge and open. I see something that is large and sprawling. Yet, most of the environment is wasted, because there is nothing there. You are seeing planets that are huge, but don't offer much in the way of going or doing, because they don't have things there. It isn't more fun or realistic, it's just barren and boring. I appreciate the scale, but give it some life!
As games move forward we need to get away from the closed-off worlds and corridors that we are stuck in. Get out of the hallway and into the huge battlefield. Hell, get into the large scale that Battlefield 1942 offered. It was big, open and provided a large layout FOR WAR. Which is way better than the small can confined areas that we see in a lot of current shooters. Urban landscapes and trimmed maps don't make them fun, it makes them pretty shitty, actually. I don't hate arcade shooters, but they go against openness.
I want to see more games open up in the future. Hopefully with the technology we have coming to a head and "peaking" for a little while we will see a lot of games innovate, instead of stagnate.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
N - Nostalgia
We all like to look back and marvel at how much fun we used to have.... but was it really that fun?
I appreciate a lot of the things that they have done to gaming. One of the things that helped me drift away from Tribes and into EverQuest was the fact that no matter how much I played Tribes, I never had anything to show for it. Sure, I was a better player, but I didn't have something to hold on to. In EverQuest, like most MMOs, the time that I invested directly related to how much "stuff" I had. Whether it was tradeskills, experience, progress in a random collection quest. Who cared? You were getting stuff and doing things that would allow you to progress forward. I hoped beyond hope that they would implement a system that rewarded you for those 10 hour power gaming sessions and those endless nights fragging away.
Now this is a reality. Most modern FPS games give you levels or ranks and as you climb the ladder and get more kills with a certain weapon or overall you get more "stuff". You get experience, you unlock weapons, you get cool addons for your guns. You get STUFF! It's awesome. However, there is a very negative side to this. There is rarely a cap on these kinds of things. If you don't have the time to dedicate those 10 hour, neverending super awesome killfests... then you lose. There are no tiered or ranked servers where you won't get asspounded to death. You're just fucked. And that isn't fun. The system is flawed and as much as I wanted it, I wish it could have been done another way.
I sometimes look back on the older MMO games or even the beginning of some of the current ones and think about how hardcore they were or how they had some sort of property that made them somehow better. I'm pretty sure that I'm wrong. EQ wasn't fun. Grinding mobs endless for hours wasn't fun. Vanilla WoW had a great community and some very fun old school places, but it wasn't as fun or innovative as WoW is currently. A lot of the old MMO games were pretty shitty, honestly. Some of the games that have been out for 3+ years now haven't even aged that well. Part of this is because Blizzard is so good at putting everything together and continuing WoW as not just a game or an experience, but as it's own brand.
Not everything from "back in the day" was good. A lot of it was a whole lot of fun and looking back we just see all the good times we had. I don't know why we forget all the great times that we are still having with gaming.
I appreciate a lot of the things that they have done to gaming. One of the things that helped me drift away from Tribes and into EverQuest was the fact that no matter how much I played Tribes, I never had anything to show for it. Sure, I was a better player, but I didn't have something to hold on to. In EverQuest, like most MMOs, the time that I invested directly related to how much "stuff" I had. Whether it was tradeskills, experience, progress in a random collection quest. Who cared? You were getting stuff and doing things that would allow you to progress forward. I hoped beyond hope that they would implement a system that rewarded you for those 10 hour power gaming sessions and those endless nights fragging away.
Now this is a reality. Most modern FPS games give you levels or ranks and as you climb the ladder and get more kills with a certain weapon or overall you get more "stuff". You get experience, you unlock weapons, you get cool addons for your guns. You get STUFF! It's awesome. However, there is a very negative side to this. There is rarely a cap on these kinds of things. If you don't have the time to dedicate those 10 hour, neverending super awesome killfests... then you lose. There are no tiered or ranked servers where you won't get asspounded to death. You're just fucked. And that isn't fun. The system is flawed and as much as I wanted it, I wish it could have been done another way.
I sometimes look back on the older MMO games or even the beginning of some of the current ones and think about how hardcore they were or how they had some sort of property that made them somehow better. I'm pretty sure that I'm wrong. EQ wasn't fun. Grinding mobs endless for hours wasn't fun. Vanilla WoW had a great community and some very fun old school places, but it wasn't as fun or innovative as WoW is currently. A lot of the old MMO games were pretty shitty, honestly. Some of the games that have been out for 3+ years now haven't even aged that well. Part of this is because Blizzard is so good at putting everything together and continuing WoW as not just a game or an experience, but as it's own brand.
Not everything from "back in the day" was good. A lot of it was a whole lot of fun and looking back we just see all the good times we had. I don't know why we forget all the great times that we are still having with gaming.
Friday, January 13, 2012
M - Mo' money, mo' problems
As we move into an age where there are fewer and fewer large production companies we are also seeing a growing trend of outrage at these companies. It seems like the more money that a company generates, the more seething hatred is directed at them.
PC gaming has roots steeped in a whole lot of companies doing a whole lot of things together. Looking back you see big names like id Software who are rather smaller players in today's market, but were very big in the formative years of gaming. Now we have giants like Activision-Blizzard and EA. The few independent games that get good press normally have their company swallowed up by a large studio or have what they have done eclipsed by a game from a large studio.
Sometimes the anger directed at these companies is warranted. With MW3 coming out and looking like garbage and playing like a shitty console port with a fish-eye FoV, you deserve the backlash. When you are Blizzard and take forever to release a game but release it in mostly working order and more polished than 90% of the market can manage by the end of a game's life cycle, it isn't quite as understandable. When you are EA and are gaining a reputation for pushing games out the door before they are read, I would gladly take up a torch and march on the headquarters with you. In these situations customers have a right to be anger. Waiting for a game or getting something that isn't done or wasn't done well is very frustrating, especially considering the price that we pay for these games. That is where the second part of the money issue comes into play...
The more that we seem to be paying for games, the more stuff they seem to be adding that used to be included. I haven't had so many issues with games than I have had in the last three years or so. DLC is now something that a game relies on and most games aren't stable and reliable until months after release. By the time the first 2 DLCs are out you are seeing screenshots of the next game. By the time the third DLC is out you don't care and the fourth DLC comes out just before the next game does. Lather, rinse, and repeat. It is incredibly frustrating.
I remember having a game sate my urge for several years and the only DLC we ever had was free. We also had strong communities that developed for the game and gave new maps, skins or bundles of both and more. Tribes and Unreal had some very good map and skin packs, not to mention entire conversions of the game. Both had RPG mods on servers that saved experience and changed gameplay dramatically. They also both had specialty servers that had rulesets and modified gametypes that played completely different and offered a fun and entertaining break from the original game.
I don't remember paying 60 bucks for those games, either. =X
PC gaming has roots steeped in a whole lot of companies doing a whole lot of things together. Looking back you see big names like id Software who are rather smaller players in today's market, but were very big in the formative years of gaming. Now we have giants like Activision-Blizzard and EA. The few independent games that get good press normally have their company swallowed up by a large studio or have what they have done eclipsed by a game from a large studio.
Sometimes the anger directed at these companies is warranted. With MW3 coming out and looking like garbage and playing like a shitty console port with a fish-eye FoV, you deserve the backlash. When you are Blizzard and take forever to release a game but release it in mostly working order and more polished than 90% of the market can manage by the end of a game's life cycle, it isn't quite as understandable. When you are EA and are gaining a reputation for pushing games out the door before they are read, I would gladly take up a torch and march on the headquarters with you. In these situations customers have a right to be anger. Waiting for a game or getting something that isn't done or wasn't done well is very frustrating, especially considering the price that we pay for these games. That is where the second part of the money issue comes into play...
The more that we seem to be paying for games, the more stuff they seem to be adding that used to be included. I haven't had so many issues with games than I have had in the last three years or so. DLC is now something that a game relies on and most games aren't stable and reliable until months after release. By the time the first 2 DLCs are out you are seeing screenshots of the next game. By the time the third DLC is out you don't care and the fourth DLC comes out just before the next game does. Lather, rinse, and repeat. It is incredibly frustrating.
I remember having a game sate my urge for several years and the only DLC we ever had was free. We also had strong communities that developed for the game and gave new maps, skins or bundles of both and more. Tribes and Unreal had some very good map and skin packs, not to mention entire conversions of the game. Both had RPG mods on servers that saved experience and changed gameplay dramatically. They also both had specialty servers that had rulesets and modified gametypes that played completely different and offered a fun and entertaining break from the original game.
I don't remember paying 60 bucks for those games, either. =X
Thursday, January 12, 2012
L - Lore
Why can't they just say: I'm sick of doing this, let's do something else?
A lot of times lore gets in the way of where a game wants to go. Whether it is a Star Wars game or a fantasy game. Sometimes it even interferes with the world. Games like LotRO even run into issues because people dig so deep into the books and lore. WoW has had it's fair share or lore issues. Almost every MMO game ultimately runs into these kinds of problem. Eventually the Elder Scrolls games are going to face this and other RPG games will surely follow.
The problem is that lore dictates what happened and what is happening. The developers might have some great ideas, but they are stuck in a bubble where they have to contend with what the lore will allow them to do. WoW made a pretty big splash when they released 4.3 and allowed the encounter to be so easy on so many levels. Sure, there is difficulty, but not to where it should have been. People got to experience this and take part in the story and that has helped close out an entire chapter in the WoW lore, now. The dragon aspects are leaving and are now mortal. Mortals (us) will now have a more strong bearing on the world. An ancient evil is defeated. It's the stuff you see in movies. However, there will have to be some books written to tie everything together.
When it comes to Star Wars you can see these issues with all of the different stories that are spread out over so many thousands of years. From KoToR to Jedi Academy there are so many different storylines and timeslines to follow that a typical gamer would simply get lost. However, there is a huge catalog somewhere that tells you how all of the games fall and exactly when Tie Fighter took place and how it makes sense in the same universe as SWToR.
Lore can be a very dangerous thing.
A lot of times lore gets in the way of where a game wants to go. Whether it is a Star Wars game or a fantasy game. Sometimes it even interferes with the world. Games like LotRO even run into issues because people dig so deep into the books and lore. WoW has had it's fair share or lore issues. Almost every MMO game ultimately runs into these kinds of problem. Eventually the Elder Scrolls games are going to face this and other RPG games will surely follow.
The problem is that lore dictates what happened and what is happening. The developers might have some great ideas, but they are stuck in a bubble where they have to contend with what the lore will allow them to do. WoW made a pretty big splash when they released 4.3 and allowed the encounter to be so easy on so many levels. Sure, there is difficulty, but not to where it should have been. People got to experience this and take part in the story and that has helped close out an entire chapter in the WoW lore, now. The dragon aspects are leaving and are now mortal. Mortals (us) will now have a more strong bearing on the world. An ancient evil is defeated. It's the stuff you see in movies. However, there will have to be some books written to tie everything together.
When it comes to Star Wars you can see these issues with all of the different stories that are spread out over so many thousands of years. From KoToR to Jedi Academy there are so many different storylines and timeslines to follow that a typical gamer would simply get lost. However, there is a huge catalog somewhere that tells you how all of the games fall and exactly when Tie Fighter took place and how it makes sense in the same universe as SWToR.
Lore can be a very dangerous thing.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
K - Katabatic
I have really enjoyed playing Tribes: Ascend. It has been a lot of fun and really made me nostalgic. As fun as it might be, it isn't the real thing. There are very few things that I dislike, but I dislike them enough to not want to play it regularly.
My first issue with the game is the loadout system that is being used. Each "class" gets a certain "loadout". What this means is: you get two weapons and an armor type. You technically get a special grenade, but some of those are so not special that is barely worth mentioning. In my particular case I enjoy putting up turrets and deploying base defenses. I enjoyed it in Tribes and Tribes 2 and I enjoy it here. However, the last of a disclauncher makes it almost impossible to do anything by be a turretwhore. Not to mention that my secondary weapon is a repair tool. REALLY?! You give me a shitty SMG-styled gun that has no place in Tribes AND you make my secondary WEAPON a REPAIR TOOL?! What the fuck?! Why?
Some classes make out a lot better than others. Skilled players have a lot of classes that they will find easily fit within their playstyle. I agree that the balancing done is pretty good, but there are a couple classes that suffer greatly. The light stealth class gets gimped as well, but to counter that they have lowered the "price" of it. Yes, there is a purchasable currency within the game. You can slowly earn currency to buy the classes, but this takes a lot of time. Back to the point. The loadouts aren't created equal.
My second issue is the free-to-play nature of the game. Free-to-play games seem to attract a lower-rung of players. Yes, I'm judging. You get a lot more people who are annoying asshats, than if a game was purchasable. The original Tribes had plenty of asshattery, but in 2012 the level is much higher. The game being built to run on a wider variety of systems doesn't help either. Dickhead Dan with his 2007 Dell playing Tribes and being a complete douche is not conducive to an environment that I want to participate in. If you aren't going to give people dedicated servers, then we need better tools for the servers to get rid of these people. Seriously.
In the last week or so I have tried on three or four occasions to play Tribes: Ascend. I find it enjoyable, but I also seem to land in a server where someone is being a dick. Someone is spamming the chat with the V-commands or people try as hard as they can to teamstack. These things don't make the game fun. When you have two people on your team sitting on a hill chit-chatting, it isn't fun. It is frustrating, especially when you consider how team-oriented the Tribes games are supposed to be.
I had very high hopes for this game and they are slowly being squashed..
My first issue with the game is the loadout system that is being used. Each "class" gets a certain "loadout". What this means is: you get two weapons and an armor type. You technically get a special grenade, but some of those are so not special that is barely worth mentioning. In my particular case I enjoy putting up turrets and deploying base defenses. I enjoyed it in Tribes and Tribes 2 and I enjoy it here. However, the last of a disclauncher makes it almost impossible to do anything by be a turretwhore. Not to mention that my secondary weapon is a repair tool. REALLY?! You give me a shitty SMG-styled gun that has no place in Tribes AND you make my secondary WEAPON a REPAIR TOOL?! What the fuck?! Why?
Some classes make out a lot better than others. Skilled players have a lot of classes that they will find easily fit within their playstyle. I agree that the balancing done is pretty good, but there are a couple classes that suffer greatly. The light stealth class gets gimped as well, but to counter that they have lowered the "price" of it. Yes, there is a purchasable currency within the game. You can slowly earn currency to buy the classes, but this takes a lot of time. Back to the point. The loadouts aren't created equal.
My second issue is the free-to-play nature of the game. Free-to-play games seem to attract a lower-rung of players. Yes, I'm judging. You get a lot more people who are annoying asshats, than if a game was purchasable. The original Tribes had plenty of asshattery, but in 2012 the level is much higher. The game being built to run on a wider variety of systems doesn't help either. Dickhead Dan with his 2007 Dell playing Tribes and being a complete douche is not conducive to an environment that I want to participate in. If you aren't going to give people dedicated servers, then we need better tools for the servers to get rid of these people. Seriously.
In the last week or so I have tried on three or four occasions to play Tribes: Ascend. I find it enjoyable, but I also seem to land in a server where someone is being a dick. Someone is spamming the chat with the V-commands or people try as hard as they can to teamstack. These things don't make the game fun. When you have two people on your team sitting on a hill chit-chatting, it isn't fun. It is frustrating, especially when you consider how team-oriented the Tribes games are supposed to be.
I had very high hopes for this game and they are slowly being squashed..
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
J - Jedi infatuation
After playing a healthy amount of SWToR over the last little bit I have seen something very disturbing: Jedis.
Now just in this game, but over the last few decades it has been a strange trend. Being a Jedi is comparable to being Jesus. It is praised, held in high regard and is really.... creepy.
I have seen this sort of thing for a long time, but this is the first time that I've jumped head first into a situation where I have to be in the same place as these guys (Star Wars nerds). I've always just been kind of a nerd, not into any particular thing (except gaming), but this is a new culture for me. The level of Jedi infatuation is off of the charts. I don't really get it. There are many classes that are just as powerful, maybe moreso, but that doesn't stop the Jedis.
No matter what goes down or how intense things get, it always go back to a Jedi who is doing something somewhere. The story is constantly about a Jedi pulling strings and manipulating something behind the scenes (as Sith). PvP is all about Jedis being mediocre and Troopers pissing me off. I don't get the Jedi lust, but I guess I understand it. They are kind of like the Jesus of this universe. People want to be them. They want to walk that path of ultimate good and be the sacrificial lamb. I think that is great and all, but it is a game. I want to play it and have fun. I really enjoy crushing asses and burning down buildings full of orphans.
While I can't fully understand the mancrush that so many people have on Skywalker, I totally get how being a badass zen-like space ninja would be cool.
Now just in this game, but over the last few decades it has been a strange trend. Being a Jedi is comparable to being Jesus. It is praised, held in high regard and is really.... creepy.
I have seen this sort of thing for a long time, but this is the first time that I've jumped head first into a situation where I have to be in the same place as these guys (Star Wars nerds). I've always just been kind of a nerd, not into any particular thing (except gaming), but this is a new culture for me. The level of Jedi infatuation is off of the charts. I don't really get it. There are many classes that are just as powerful, maybe moreso, but that doesn't stop the Jedis.
No matter what goes down or how intense things get, it always go back to a Jedi who is doing something somewhere. The story is constantly about a Jedi pulling strings and manipulating something behind the scenes (as Sith). PvP is all about Jedis being mediocre and Troopers pissing me off. I don't get the Jedi lust, but I guess I understand it. They are kind of like the Jesus of this universe. People want to be them. They want to walk that path of ultimate good and be the sacrificial lamb. I think that is great and all, but it is a game. I want to play it and have fun. I really enjoy crushing asses and burning down buildings full of orphans.
While I can't fully understand the mancrush that so many people have on Skywalker, I totally get how being a badass zen-like space ninja would be cool.
Monday, January 9, 2012
I - Intelligent A.I.
I think it is about time to see this come into games, finally. It is long past time that we set the expectation of what A.I. should be. We have so few examples of actual INTELLIGENCE. We have bots and we have automation, but we don't have a lot of things that can make decisions for themselves.
While I am approaching this from a gaming standpoint, I think this is a REAL issue that we face in society and especially with AI, as a whole.
Gaming AI has been subpar for years. Graphics have advanced and we have enough CPU power (and enough cores) to power a whole lot of stuff now. We don't even use all of the power we have now. Why can't we get something going in this respect? We have made leaps and bounds in terms of programming and responsiveness, but we still can't seem to have intelligent foes that aren't controlled by other people (even that is debatable).
We have to push these developers to give us more interesting and intelligent foes. We deserve AI that makes choices and decisions. It won't be easy, but it will lead to much more rewarding gameplay and even more impressive replay value. With the rate at which games are changing and evolving now is a great time to make this push. I mean hell, we just now go physics implemented and working properly in some of these games. We have to push forward so that by the end of this decade we are making games are better than we have this decade. I don't just mean in terms of graphics. I mean in terms of overall gameplay in all aspects of the game.
AI is going to be a key feature and something to keep our eyes on in the coming years. Get ready to see enemies that react to situations and make intelligent decisions. I can't wait!
While I am approaching this from a gaming standpoint, I think this is a REAL issue that we face in society and especially with AI, as a whole.
Gaming AI has been subpar for years. Graphics have advanced and we have enough CPU power (and enough cores) to power a whole lot of stuff now. We don't even use all of the power we have now. Why can't we get something going in this respect? We have made leaps and bounds in terms of programming and responsiveness, but we still can't seem to have intelligent foes that aren't controlled by other people (even that is debatable).
We have to push these developers to give us more interesting and intelligent foes. We deserve AI that makes choices and decisions. It won't be easy, but it will lead to much more rewarding gameplay and even more impressive replay value. With the rate at which games are changing and evolving now is a great time to make this push. I mean hell, we just now go physics implemented and working properly in some of these games. We have to push forward so that by the end of this decade we are making games are better than we have this decade. I don't just mean in terms of graphics. I mean in terms of overall gameplay in all aspects of the game.
AI is going to be a key feature and something to keep our eyes on in the coming years. Get ready to see enemies that react to situations and make intelligent decisions. I can't wait!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
H - Hacktivism
What a year for hacktivism!
Yes, that cute play on words is what we are calling it. Hacking + activism.
There have been several groups who really fucked up stuff for a lot of people and places. Guess what. When you fuck with a group of people who are smarter than you and understand how to get into systems where you store sensitive data... they will get it. It is hard to take down a collective of people who are that much smarter than all of you. Moreover, why are you not EMPLOYING these people to watch your ass? That's what I would do.
You bet your ass if I had pull or authority that I'd have these Anonymous guys on my payroll. I'd have them on speed dial and helping me solve my issues and also watching my back. These guys are duping everyone. They are getting into systems that are on STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS. They are just walking in and taking information. You let them have it by not protecting it. It's reallllllly fucking sad. I probably have my PC locked up better than some of these place. Places that house YOUR data. Your sensitive information. It's fucking pathetic. Don't blame them for getting it, blame the inept assholes for not tightening up security.
We live in a time where security is expensive and people cut corners. Think of it like this: would you put all of your nicest things in a room without a lock in a house full of thieves? No, of course not. This is what they are essentially doing. Taking your information and then not protecting it. They assume that people won't want it or that someone isn't going to try for it. That hasn't worked out so well.
Anonymous is doing more than stealing information, they are giving it away. They are standing up for what they believe in by doing these things. This isn't just a group of hateful hackers, these guys care about what our world is becoming. I think we may finally be at a turning point in our culture. Now you need to fear the nerds. It's not just the hippies in the streets, it's the bespectacled folks in the basement. Good luck hiding anything anymore. =)
Saturday, January 7, 2012
G - Goodbye Holywood
Dear Hollywood,
For many years we all looked to you to provide the best of the best. You gave us great movies, great actors and a whole lot to look up to. Now you are filled with shit and drama. No one cares about you anymore. Your actresses looks sick and you actors look like wimps. We aren't impressed anymore. We have new celebrities and they make videos shorter than 15 minutes. You're old hat and there are production companies that are starting out like your old studios did. You're done and I'm not sorry.
I can't say that I'm sorry, but I might miss you a little. I remember the good old days when scripts matter and movies had substance. I remember when everyone wasn't special effects and when movies were inspiring. I remember when you held sway over the way that people talked and dressed. It is just so hard to take you seriously when you live in a state that is full of potheads hoping that the DEA doesn't show up and ruin all the fun. You guys are assholes and should have seen it coming. I just hope you exit quietly, I'd hate to see the MPAA people get run down by semi trucks, because they couldn't stop running their mouths.
Oh, Hollywood, we had good time. Didn't we? I hope you don't take it too bad. There are just better ways to get, view and experience media. You didn't get in at the right time. You refused to believe that any other method, but your own, could be profitable. Guess who was wrong? Don't worry, I will still buy all of the Marky Mark movies.
For many years we all looked to you to provide the best of the best. You gave us great movies, great actors and a whole lot to look up to. Now you are filled with shit and drama. No one cares about you anymore. Your actresses looks sick and you actors look like wimps. We aren't impressed anymore. We have new celebrities and they make videos shorter than 15 minutes. You're old hat and there are production companies that are starting out like your old studios did. You're done and I'm not sorry.
I can't say that I'm sorry, but I might miss you a little. I remember the good old days when scripts matter and movies had substance. I remember when everyone wasn't special effects and when movies were inspiring. I remember when you held sway over the way that people talked and dressed. It is just so hard to take you seriously when you live in a state that is full of potheads hoping that the DEA doesn't show up and ruin all the fun. You guys are assholes and should have seen it coming. I just hope you exit quietly, I'd hate to see the MPAA people get run down by semi trucks, because they couldn't stop running their mouths.
Oh, Hollywood, we had good time. Didn't we? I hope you don't take it too bad. There are just better ways to get, view and experience media. You didn't get in at the right time. You refused to believe that any other method, but your own, could be profitable. Guess who was wrong? Don't worry, I will still buy all of the Marky Mark movies.
Friday, January 6, 2012
F - Fanboys
What a fucking waste.
You all know what a fanboy is. It is a fanatic about something. We normally see them being very specific. They love the iPhone or Macs or a certain game or developer and refuse to believe that they can do any wrong.
While it is great to love and support something, it is not great to simply accept it because it has a certain name or brand attached. It's actually pretty stupid. I see this a lot among iPhone fans, since I am a big time Android supporter. Notice how I said SUPPORTER? I like Android as a platform. I understand that iOS is good for some people and even recommend the iPhone for some. It doesn't work for me because of how I use my phone, but I can at least separate the fact that I like Android from the idea that it is the best. Same can be said for the rabid fanoyism of the MMO community.
The MMO community might be one of the most intense displays of this I have ever seen and it goes both ways: being a fan of and a being a fan against. Some people love Blizzard, others want to skewer them. I take the stance that they make solid products, but when I am not happy... I say it. I think that WoW is the best MMO on the market and probably the best MMO ever made. They have done groundbreaking things with the game. They have also had several absolute failures. Some call me a fanboy, but I can accept the fact that Blizzard does make mistakes. Those mistakes are easily put to rest by all of the good things that it does.
Fanboys don't help. They don't see far enough past how in love they are with something to help it grow and progress. We need to move away from these movements and instead do what we can to help people make the right choices. Maybe WoW is right for me and SWToR for you. Maybe a iPhone is great for my wife, but I need an Android device. We don't all do or want the same things. No amount of anger and hatred for something makes it shitty. Stop defending things that have no bearing on the rest of the world. Use that passion to do some good.
You all know what a fanboy is. It is a fanatic about something. We normally see them being very specific. They love the iPhone or Macs or a certain game or developer and refuse to believe that they can do any wrong.
While it is great to love and support something, it is not great to simply accept it because it has a certain name or brand attached. It's actually pretty stupid. I see this a lot among iPhone fans, since I am a big time Android supporter. Notice how I said SUPPORTER? I like Android as a platform. I understand that iOS is good for some people and even recommend the iPhone for some. It doesn't work for me because of how I use my phone, but I can at least separate the fact that I like Android from the idea that it is the best. Same can be said for the rabid fanoyism of the MMO community.
The MMO community might be one of the most intense displays of this I have ever seen and it goes both ways: being a fan of and a being a fan against. Some people love Blizzard, others want to skewer them. I take the stance that they make solid products, but when I am not happy... I say it. I think that WoW is the best MMO on the market and probably the best MMO ever made. They have done groundbreaking things with the game. They have also had several absolute failures. Some call me a fanboy, but I can accept the fact that Blizzard does make mistakes. Those mistakes are easily put to rest by all of the good things that it does.
Fanboys don't help. They don't see far enough past how in love they are with something to help it grow and progress. We need to move away from these movements and instead do what we can to help people make the right choices. Maybe WoW is right for me and SWToR for you. Maybe a iPhone is great for my wife, but I need an Android device. We don't all do or want the same things. No amount of anger and hatred for something makes it shitty. Stop defending things that have no bearing on the rest of the world. Use that passion to do some good.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
E - Evil (or perceived to be evil) factions/races
Look at the races or factions in many games. There are the good guys and the bad guys. But... what makes the bad guys so bad?
In WoW you see the Horde shown in both lights. As good guys and bad guys, depending on which faction you belong to. It has a very Beowulf/Grendel feel. Who is right and who is wrong? This is a very interesting way to pose the two factions. The same came be said about the representation of the factions in SWToR. The Republic is commonly revered as the good guys, while the Empire are the bad guys. When you get into it, both factions suck.
I understand the need to have factions face off against each other, but to assume that the other is evil is silly. Planetside housed THREE different factions and it was never assumed that one of them was evil. They were all simply different and fighting over something. Everyone was a human, so I guess that may have helped the story there. So does being an Orc make your faction evil? What about SWToR, how can most of the races be human, yet have so many issues with a faction being evil? Maybe it has to do with the extended role playing available in SWToR and WoW. Maybe it is just because they feel like they need something to fuel the conflict. Planetside was a conflict all by itself.
With the new Planetside game getting ready to start testing I am looking forward to seeing it's take on this kind of thing. The first one was able to avoid the good and bad, light and dark, Horde and Alliance issue. I have hopes that maybe we can move away from this kind of thing in the future. Or, maybe that we can take a note from Planetside and have more factions with more interests than just two warring factions.
In WoW you see the Horde shown in both lights. As good guys and bad guys, depending on which faction you belong to. It has a very Beowulf/Grendel feel. Who is right and who is wrong? This is a very interesting way to pose the two factions. The same came be said about the representation of the factions in SWToR. The Republic is commonly revered as the good guys, while the Empire are the bad guys. When you get into it, both factions suck.
I understand the need to have factions face off against each other, but to assume that the other is evil is silly. Planetside housed THREE different factions and it was never assumed that one of them was evil. They were all simply different and fighting over something. Everyone was a human, so I guess that may have helped the story there. So does being an Orc make your faction evil? What about SWToR, how can most of the races be human, yet have so many issues with a faction being evil? Maybe it has to do with the extended role playing available in SWToR and WoW. Maybe it is just because they feel like they need something to fuel the conflict. Planetside was a conflict all by itself.
With the new Planetside game getting ready to start testing I am looking forward to seeing it's take on this kind of thing. The first one was able to avoid the good and bad, light and dark, Horde and Alliance issue. I have hopes that maybe we can move away from this kind of thing in the future. Or, maybe that we can take a note from Planetside and have more factions with more interests than just two warring factions.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
D - Drops
In most MMO games the most important thing is your "gear". Whether it is a gun or a robe or a staff, it is always like this. You want the best, so you have to hope you get it. Today things are evolving and drops aren't as important as they used to be.
We have seen several MMOs take the approach that drops aren't all that important. Gathering the tokens from kills or acquiring a single type of badge for trade-in scores you a sweet piece of gear. WoW does this very well and SWToR has adopted a system that is similar. While these games handle the issue differently, they approach it the same way: drops are stupid.
We all remember the old school days of EQ where you had tons of people and very little loot to spread around. We even remember the original days of WoW where you ran MC 2973238927 times just to get that ONE FUCKING PIECE of gear that never dropped. You hit your head on an invisible loot wall because you needed or wanted that piece of gear. Those days are rapidly disappearing and now all you need to do is show up. If you show up and get the kill you might get to leave with a decent piece of gear, but more importantly you leave with badges or commendations or points of some type that you can then use to purchase things that you want. The best gear still requires a drop of some sort, but you can easily ramp up your gear at a more steady pace this way. Gone are the days of huge upgrades and endless trips for items that won't drop.
I hope that this trend continues. I really wish that gear was more easily attainable through alternate methods, but this system works pretty well.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
C - Copycats
STOP IT!
At some point the gaming industry has to allow themselves to fall flat on their faces with innovative new ideas... that suck.
The same-old same-old just isn't cutting it. Everyone is a copycat and while this is sometimes good, right now it isn't. We have tons of games that all look and feel the same and that just isn't interesting or fun. It's boring and shitty and it really needs to change if we ever want to press forward as an industry. PC gaming has done a lot of growing up and we are moving ever closer to that pivotal point where a game will make you cry.
We have to stop stifling progress just so we can make some money. Demand that your game be different and innovative, not incorporate the same system under a different name and call it innovation. We aren't stupid and we can see through this. There has to come a time when we take a look at what some of these indie games do and allow that joy and creativity to move into some major studios. I have seen more mobile games be interesting and creative in the last year than I have PC games.
At some point the gaming industry has to allow themselves to fall flat on their faces with innovative new ideas... that suck.
The same-old same-old just isn't cutting it. Everyone is a copycat and while this is sometimes good, right now it isn't. We have tons of games that all look and feel the same and that just isn't interesting or fun. It's boring and shitty and it really needs to change if we ever want to press forward as an industry. PC gaming has done a lot of growing up and we are moving ever closer to that pivotal point where a game will make you cry.
We have to stop stifling progress just so we can make some money. Demand that your game be different and innovative, not incorporate the same system under a different name and call it innovation. We aren't stupid and we can see through this. There has to come a time when we take a look at what some of these indie games do and allow that joy and creativity to move into some major studios. I have seen more mobile games be interesting and creative in the last year than I have PC games.
Monday, January 2, 2012
B - Blizzard (revisited)
Now at the end of the development cycle for your third expansion to WoW and Blizzard is looking pretty good. Diablo 3 shipping any time now and 2012 expecting that Starcraft 2 expansion. Who wouldn't wanna be Blizzard? No one.
Oh Blizzard, you also got knocked off of the list, but BioWare laid a huge fucking egg with SWToR, so I let you keep the spot.
Blizzard made a lot of good moves and while Cataclysm may have not been the best expansion, it was one that really needed to happen. We have closed several stories and opened up a whole lot of new storylines (and characters). A lot of people don't like the idea of MoP and aren't into Pandas or a ninja class or an expansion without a clearly focused bad guy. I, for one, don't give a fuck.
Blizzard has steadily produced content that was as good as or better than what everyone else was able to offer at the time. Period. You can hate on WoW all you want, but it is performing at a higher rate and has plenty of content for people of all level ranges. Much of what has caused SWToR to falter in these early stages is the lack of direction that is in the game. For a game so long in development and given so much money.... where is the quality product? Blizzard spent 7 years getting the formula right, if you were going to copy it, why wouldn't you copy it NOW? They seem to have gotten ahold of the blueprints from back in 2004, sadly.
There is a big year ahead. Diablo 3 looks to be pretty good and with a lot of online control and multi-user playing I see it doing very well. While I do not agree with the way they are selling Starcraft 2, I have to acknowledge that people love it and are desperately awaiting the expansion. My favorite thing about Blizzard heading into 2012 is that there will be another year of a game that I can depend on to be enjoyable. After playing for so long I have a very easy time finding something to do every single time I logon. I enjoy that. In the next year I hope to level most of my characters out to max level and start in on some collecting for tradeskills in MoP.
Oh Blizzard, you also got knocked off of the list, but BioWare laid a huge fucking egg with SWToR, so I let you keep the spot.
Blizzard made a lot of good moves and while Cataclysm may have not been the best expansion, it was one that really needed to happen. We have closed several stories and opened up a whole lot of new storylines (and characters). A lot of people don't like the idea of MoP and aren't into Pandas or a ninja class or an expansion without a clearly focused bad guy. I, for one, don't give a fuck.
Blizzard has steadily produced content that was as good as or better than what everyone else was able to offer at the time. Period. You can hate on WoW all you want, but it is performing at a higher rate and has plenty of content for people of all level ranges. Much of what has caused SWToR to falter in these early stages is the lack of direction that is in the game. For a game so long in development and given so much money.... where is the quality product? Blizzard spent 7 years getting the formula right, if you were going to copy it, why wouldn't you copy it NOW? They seem to have gotten ahold of the blueprints from back in 2004, sadly.
There is a big year ahead. Diablo 3 looks to be pretty good and with a lot of online control and multi-user playing I see it doing very well. While I do not agree with the way they are selling Starcraft 2, I have to acknowledge that people love it and are desperately awaiting the expansion. My favorite thing about Blizzard heading into 2012 is that there will be another year of a game that I can depend on to be enjoyable. After playing for so long I have a very easy time finding something to do every single time I logon. I enjoy that. In the next year I hope to level most of my characters out to max level and start in on some collecting for tradeskills in MoP.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
A - Activision (revisited)
Another year and another title. This year the big release was the new and improved Modern Warfare. Oh boy! I sense a heartbreak.
So many people, especially those among the PC gaming crowds, swore off Activision. They said that wouldn't buy the next version of MW unless there were real changes. Well guess what. They lied.
Tons of people in the PC gaming crowd picked up MW3. Lots of them on release day. They got the game and immediately realized it was the same as the last several games and played it for a while. The glaring issues staring them in the face, but they toiled onward! Onward into the suck and shit this franchise has become. Many fanboys tried their hardest to defend the game, but eventually not even they could contend with the pile of shit that they were given.
This is another disaster for PC gaming. You hate the game, but you bought it. They have your money and gave you a half-hearted project. Next year they will do the same and you will do it all over again. WHY?! Stop the madness. We have to stop giving in to this kind of thing and start demanding higher quality. A 60 dollar game with 5 DLC packs at 20 bucks a pop and no support for the game past the first year IS NOT what gaming is about.
So many people, especially those among the PC gaming crowds, swore off Activision. They said that wouldn't buy the next version of MW unless there were real changes. Well guess what. They lied.
Tons of people in the PC gaming crowd picked up MW3. Lots of them on release day. They got the game and immediately realized it was the same as the last several games and played it for a while. The glaring issues staring them in the face, but they toiled onward! Onward into the suck and shit this franchise has become. Many fanboys tried their hardest to defend the game, but eventually not even they could contend with the pile of shit that they were given.
This is another disaster for PC gaming. You hate the game, but you bought it. They have your money and gave you a half-hearted project. Next year they will do the same and you will do it all over again. WHY?! Stop the madness. We have to stop giving in to this kind of thing and start demanding higher quality. A 60 dollar game with 5 DLC packs at 20 bucks a pop and no support for the game past the first year IS NOT what gaming is about.
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