I know this blog has been quiet. There's a reason for that. I finally realized what career path I wanted to follow. I've decided to follow my dream and become a writer. Not just any old writer, either. I'm going to write for games. I love stories. I've spent countless hours with Hugo traipsing through Paris. Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" is so engaging that I read and watch every version of it I can find. Why? Because it's a holiday ghost story that sucks me in every time. I won't even go into the countless hours spent reading Edgar Allan Poe. The man's genius created a world I was both very afraid of and yet wanted to enter with every fiber of my being. I want to bring that kind of story immersion to games.
I know it's possible. I experienced it with Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Guild Wars, Mass Effect, and Age of Conan. The seamless integration of story with gameplay may seem like a pipe dream to some but I have faith. As games get more sophisticated, they become more dependent on the storyline to drive the player's motives. This presents countless opportunities to integrate interactive storytelling; to take it to the next level.
So, the silence here was because I had a huge task ahead of me. I was already half-way through the Game Design program and needed to make up my mind on whether to transfer degree programs or stay put. I had put in a heck of a lot of work on my Game Design degree and I didn't want that knowledge to go to waste. I spoke with the program director for the Creative Writing for Entertainment Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree and found that Game Writing was one of the areas the program focused on. She also stressed that the main focus of the program is to hone my skills as a writer so that I will be able to write for any medium. I liked this aspect. Where the Game Design program focused specifically on designing games the Creative Writing program has a much broader application.
I was sold. I began the transfer process and on September 26 I finally, officially, became a Creative Writing for Entertainment student at Full Sail. I'm excited. I've always wanted to write. Books are my one enduring passion and to finally combine a career and my education with that passion has made me one very happy camper.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Gaming: Stop Lurking!
A fan-site for a game I'm stoked about has advertised for staff. I thought to myself that I would be good at that. I'm very interested in the game and have been following its development for a long time. Then I saw that you had to write about what you've contributed to the community as part of the application process. That killed it for me. There is a community of sorts but it's not very big and I've never contributed to it. I never saw the need because, even though game info started leaking around 2007, it was always the same people discussing it. So, I maintained my wallflower status. Now the game is in super-secret closed beta, the hype is heating up, and this opportunity presented itself. I'm wishing I hadn't lurked on the edges. Moral of the story? Don't lurk. Get involved. Even if all you do is say "Hi" at least you're participating in the community.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Gaming: Déjà Vu and Social Games
Where is the innovative and cutting-edge gameplay and design? It seems like everything is a rehash/remake/sequel of something else. I understand that there are no new, original ideas any longer, but gameplay should not evoke a serious feeling of déjà vu. Yet that's exactly what I've been experiencing lately while playing various social games.
Paradise Life by Ice Break Games is FrontierVille wrapped in a tropical island setting. The gameplay is identical. Granted, there are small differences but they're not large or unique enough to differentiate the gameplay.
Now, EA is developing The Sims Social for Facebook. Based on screenshots posted to the game's Facebook page it looks like The Sims 1 has simply been ported. In fact, I believe I had some of the furniture shown in the screenshots in my Sims 1 game. I will reserve complete judgement until I've actually played the game, but the screenshots evoked a serious feeling of déjà vu. I'm now less excited for the game than I had been.
Paradise Life by Ice Break Games is FrontierVille wrapped in a tropical island setting. The gameplay is identical. Granted, there are small differences but they're not large or unique enough to differentiate the gameplay.
Now, EA is developing The Sims Social for Facebook. Based on screenshots posted to the game's Facebook page it looks like The Sims 1 has simply been ported. In fact, I believe I had some of the furniture shown in the screenshots in my Sims 1 game. I will reserve complete judgement until I've actually played the game, but the screenshots evoked a serious feeling of déjà vu. I'm now less excited for the game than I had been.
(Note: The links in this post are broken as of January, 2023.)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Post: My Cylon Computer
My new computer is a Cylon! I keep expecting to hear the distinctive Cylon scanning sound every time I see the red glowing light out of the corner of my eye. It's vaguely disconcerting and yet nostalgic of my childhood watching the original Battlestar Galactica series. Perhaps it's a Transformer-Cylon hybrid that's lying in wait for the order to wreck havoc on the world...
Monday, June 13, 2011
Post: New Desktop Incoming & Zombies!
Well, my desktop is past its prime. I'm going to be getting a new, much more powerful, one today or tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous because I've now got to prep everything important for the move from the old to the new. I don't want to lose any of my goodies but at some point you've got to clean stuff out. So,I'm attempting to bundle up everything I can't live without but I know there's going to be something I forget to include.
Zombies. I love them. I finally saw Resident Evil: Afterlife this weekend and it was rather enjoyable. There were parts where the grab from other IPs was blatantly obvious but it made up for that with the awesome action scenes. Three instances where the movie obviously grabbed from other IPs:
Zombies. I love them. I finally saw Resident Evil: Afterlife this weekend and it was rather enjoyable. There were parts where the grab from other IPs was blatantly obvious but it made up for that with the awesome action scenes. Three instances where the movie obviously grabbed from other IPs:
- Axeman was a grab from Silent Hill and Pyramid Head.
- The emergency broadcast was a grab from I Am Legend.
- The idea to soup up an abandoned Military Armoured Vehicle (specifically an Omni International V-150-S) to drive through the zombie horde is a grab from Dawn of the Dead.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Gaming: Hellgate - Global Closed Beta
I enjoyed my time in Hellgate: Global this weekend. I created a Marksman, and she kicked ass. I was able to get her to level 11 before the beta ended. It wasn't without its problems, though.
The biggest problem was the fact that they handed out closed beta keys like candy so they could stress test the server. Well, it was stressed all right. The server crashed, which led to a long downtime while the devs attempted to solve the issue. The quick fix didn't completely solve the problem, either, as there were still random disconnects and lagging. Then again, there are random disconnects and lagging in fully released MMOs so perhaps it is fixed!
A very noticeable problem is the game art. The textures for the world objects are blurry and badly rendered. On the other hand, the textures for my character were crisp and nicely rendered. I could understand this if the model detail and texture settings differed, but they didn't. Everything was set as high as it could possibly go, and I restarted the game to make sure all the settings were applied. I hope they redo the textures as the blurriness really detracts from the game's immersiveness.
Another issue I noticed is that for an MMO the game is very solo friendly. I soloed the whole time from level 1 to 11 and that included all the bosses. This was good for me (I didn't have to share any of the filthy lucre) but bodes ill for the game. Too much filthy lucre from players running solo and getting huge boss drops intended for groups will saturate the market and devalue the currency and items. It'll be just as easy to get a Unique item as it'll be one that's simply Enhanced. I hope they adjust the ramping and loot drop rates. Otherwise, there will be no challenge and without a challenge there won't be much reason to play.
The last issue I noticed was the mangled dialogue. It needs a lot of work even though it was originally written in English. That makes me wonder what in the world happened there. It's obvious they translated the game from English to an Asian dialect (the game's been available in Asia since 2008) and then back to English for this relaunch. What happened to the original English dialogue? Why didn't they use it as a guide when they translated the game back to English? It would have made more sense to do that than to hand the dialogue over to a non-native speaker (as they obviously did) for translation.
I look forward to revisiting Hellgate: Global in the future whether that is in another closed beta, an open beta, or at official relaunch. Nothing provides the level of stress relief and fun as kicking zombie ass post-apocalypse does.
The biggest problem was the fact that they handed out closed beta keys like candy so they could stress test the server. Well, it was stressed all right. The server crashed, which led to a long downtime while the devs attempted to solve the issue. The quick fix didn't completely solve the problem, either, as there were still random disconnects and lagging. Then again, there are random disconnects and lagging in fully released MMOs so perhaps it is fixed!
A very noticeable problem is the game art. The textures for the world objects are blurry and badly rendered. On the other hand, the textures for my character were crisp and nicely rendered. I could understand this if the model detail and texture settings differed, but they didn't. Everything was set as high as it could possibly go, and I restarted the game to make sure all the settings were applied. I hope they redo the textures as the blurriness really detracts from the game's immersiveness.
Another issue I noticed is that for an MMO the game is very solo friendly. I soloed the whole time from level 1 to 11 and that included all the bosses. This was good for me (I didn't have to share any of the filthy lucre) but bodes ill for the game. Too much filthy lucre from players running solo and getting huge boss drops intended for groups will saturate the market and devalue the currency and items. It'll be just as easy to get a Unique item as it'll be one that's simply Enhanced. I hope they adjust the ramping and loot drop rates. Otherwise, there will be no challenge and without a challenge there won't be much reason to play.
The last issue I noticed was the mangled dialogue. It needs a lot of work even though it was originally written in English. That makes me wonder what in the world happened there. It's obvious they translated the game from English to an Asian dialect (the game's been available in Asia since 2008) and then back to English for this relaunch. What happened to the original English dialogue? Why didn't they use it as a guide when they translated the game back to English? It would have made more sense to do that than to hand the dialogue over to a non-native speaker (as they obviously did) for translation.
I look forward to revisiting Hellgate: Global in the future whether that is in another closed beta, an open beta, or at official relaunch. Nothing provides the level of stress relief and fun as kicking zombie ass post-apocalypse does.
(Note: The links in this post are broken as of January,2023.)
Friday, June 3, 2011
FSU: Grades, Usability, & Zombies!
This blog was started as part of my Analysis Project for my Game Design And Development Analysis class at Full Sail University. I'm very proud
to say that I got a 100% on it. It was a lot of work and took a fair bit of time over
the last month, but the grade made it all worth while.
Usability is turning into a very interesting class. I don't think I'll ever look at everyday items the same way again. A lot of their functionality is missed because we're so used to the items and think we intuitively know how to use them. What we're missing are the almost invisible clues the designers leave behind to nudge us in the correct direction. For example: a door handle that's placed ever-so-slightly towards the side of the door that opens. We don't immediately perceive the placement, but it silently directs us to the proper side, so we're not stuck pushing on the wrong side thinking the door doesn't work.
Hellgate London is being rebooted by Hanbitsoft (Aika)as simply "Hellgate" later this evening. It's supposed to be a closed beta but they're handing out keys like they're candy. I think it's more of a marketing preview than an actual beta. The game's been live in Asia under a free-to-play model since 2008 so I doubt there are that many bugs or glitches to warrant an actual closed beta. Still, I may pop in to see how the game is since I didn't get a chance to while Namcao Bandai and Flagship were in charge. It definitely holds some interest considering the setting is right up my alley. I love a good apocolypse!
Usability is turning into a very interesting class. I don't think I'll ever look at everyday items the same way again. A lot of their functionality is missed because we're so used to the items and think we intuitively know how to use them. What we're missing are the almost invisible clues the designers leave behind to nudge us in the correct direction. For example: a door handle that's placed ever-so-slightly towards the side of the door that opens. We don't immediately perceive the placement, but it silently directs us to the proper side, so we're not stuck pushing on the wrong side thinking the door doesn't work.
Hellgate London is being rebooted by Hanbitsoft (Aika)as simply "Hellgate" later this evening. It's supposed to be a closed beta but they're handing out keys like they're candy. I think it's more of a marketing preview than an actual beta. The game's been live in Asia under a free-to-play model since 2008 so I doubt there are that many bugs or glitches to warrant an actual closed beta. Still, I may pop in to see how the game is since I didn't get a chance to while Namcao Bandai and Flagship were in charge. It definitely holds some interest considering the setting is right up my alley. I love a good apocolypse!
(Note: Some of the links in this post are broken as of January, 2023.)
Monday, May 30, 2011
FSU: Game Design and Development Analysis
This was a tough class. While it did teach me how to look at just about everything analytically it was a lot of work. I've come to understand that I do not look at the world analytically at all so this added to the difficulty. I also do not like writing analytical pieces.
I'm more of an opinion-based thinker. I "feel" and have a gut instinct that I tend to follow instead of picking things apart to find the "hows" and "whys" of it. While I'll use my newly acquired analytical skills to the best of my abilities I think I'll stick with my intuition also. It's gotten me this far!
Usability is my next class. It sounds rather interesting. I'm looking forward to it and its challenges.
I'm more of an opinion-based thinker. I "feel" and have a gut instinct that I tend to follow instead of picking things apart to find the "hows" and "whys" of it. While I'll use my newly acquired analytical skills to the best of my abilities I think I'll stick with my intuition also. It's gotten me this far!
Usability is my next class. It sounds rather interesting. I'm looking forward to it and its challenges.
Friday, May 27, 2011
FSU: Reaction to Industry News - China used prisoners in lucrative Online Game Gold Farming
As incredible as it sounds, a Chinese ex-prisoner claims that the prison guards where he was incarcerated forced him to play online games, such as World of Warcraft, to farm them for in-game gold and items. The guards then sold the in-game gold and items to other players making a small fortune in the process. The ex-prisoner then went on to state that if he didn’t meet a certain quota of gold and items per day he was punished with beatings and worse. He claims that it was a thriving business in the prison system raking in quite a bit of money.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
FSU: Analysis of a Television Show - Firefly's Pilot Episode – “Serenity”
Positives:
+ A successful blend of science fiction and the Wild West provides a gritty yet realistic approach to mass colonization on the edge of space.
+ One of very few science fiction shows that portrays space as a silent vacuum.
+ Special effects enhance the episode without appearing forced or getting in the way of the story.
+ Wonderful character acting carries the viewer through the overarching plot and subplots while turning the individual characters into a family unit.
Negatives:
- Chinese phrases are pronounced incorrectly. The cast should have practiced more with the language specialist.
- There are some prop inconsistencies. For example, Mal doesn’t have his gun with him when Wash calls him to the bridge. Yet, in the very next scene, Mal punches Simon and then pulls his gun on him.
- The first half of the show had a slower pace than the second half. Balancing this would have helped the show flow a bit better.
- The scene where Inara washes herself seemed more like a gratuitous ratings grab than a solid contribution to the storyline. The ritualism of the act does tell us a bit about Companion training but the scene was unnecessarily long and highlighted her lack of clothing instead of the backstory.
Thoughts:
~ While the pilot episode contained a lot of information, a bit more about how the Firefly universe actually worked would have been nice. It’s understood that there was some kind of civil war but it is unclear why the Alliance is hated and untrusted while the Independents are the “good guys”.
~ The society in the show is an amalgamation of American and Chinese cultures. It’s never explained how this mash-up came about.
~ There is an obvious tension between Malcolm and Shepherd Book when Malcolm finds out the latter is a holy man. This is interesting considering Malcolm kisses a cross during a scene portraying the Battle of Serenity Valley. The tension is never explained but is explored in friendly debate.
~ Moral differences between characters are also addressed in the pilot. It is obvious Malcolm is uncomfortable with Inara’s chosen profession. It is made clear, though, that it’s her profession he doesn’t approve of, not her personally. It is also obvious that Shepherd Book disapproves of her profession but he handles it much differently than Malcolm. Instead of responding scornfully to Inara, as Malcolm does, Shepherd Book responds with humor and attempts to accept her for who she is.
Would Like:
* A more meaningful way to display a Companions background and training than an overly long, gratuitous semi-nude scene that adds nothing to the story.
* A bit more backstory on Malcolm Reynolds and why/how he lost his faith. This is necessary because it’s obvious that Shepherd Book will be a main character throughout the series and the tension between the two is obvious.
* Better pronunciation of the Chinese dialogue. It’s an integral part of the story’s society so the characters should know how to pronounce it.
* I’d love for the two deleted scenes to be added back into the episode. They help explain story points and flesh out characters.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2002). "firefly" serenity (tv episode 2002). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0579535/
Various. (2011). Series: firefly. Retrieved from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Firefly?from=Main.Firefly
+ A successful blend of science fiction and the Wild West provides a gritty yet realistic approach to mass colonization on the edge of space.
+ One of very few science fiction shows that portrays space as a silent vacuum.
+ Special effects enhance the episode without appearing forced or getting in the way of the story.
+ Wonderful character acting carries the viewer through the overarching plot and subplots while turning the individual characters into a family unit.
Negatives:
- Chinese phrases are pronounced incorrectly. The cast should have practiced more with the language specialist.
- There are some prop inconsistencies. For example, Mal doesn’t have his gun with him when Wash calls him to the bridge. Yet, in the very next scene, Mal punches Simon and then pulls his gun on him.
- The first half of the show had a slower pace than the second half. Balancing this would have helped the show flow a bit better.
- The scene where Inara washes herself seemed more like a gratuitous ratings grab than a solid contribution to the storyline. The ritualism of the act does tell us a bit about Companion training but the scene was unnecessarily long and highlighted her lack of clothing instead of the backstory.
Thoughts:
~ While the pilot episode contained a lot of information, a bit more about how the Firefly universe actually worked would have been nice. It’s understood that there was some kind of civil war but it is unclear why the Alliance is hated and untrusted while the Independents are the “good guys”.
~ The society in the show is an amalgamation of American and Chinese cultures. It’s never explained how this mash-up came about.
~ There is an obvious tension between Malcolm and Shepherd Book when Malcolm finds out the latter is a holy man. This is interesting considering Malcolm kisses a cross during a scene portraying the Battle of Serenity Valley. The tension is never explained but is explored in friendly debate.
~ Moral differences between characters are also addressed in the pilot. It is obvious Malcolm is uncomfortable with Inara’s chosen profession. It is made clear, though, that it’s her profession he doesn’t approve of, not her personally. It is also obvious that Shepherd Book disapproves of her profession but he handles it much differently than Malcolm. Instead of responding scornfully to Inara, as Malcolm does, Shepherd Book responds with humor and attempts to accept her for who she is.
Would Like:
* A more meaningful way to display a Companions background and training than an overly long, gratuitous semi-nude scene that adds nothing to the story.
* A bit more backstory on Malcolm Reynolds and why/how he lost his faith. This is necessary because it’s obvious that Shepherd Book will be a main character throughout the series and the tension between the two is obvious.
* Better pronunciation of the Chinese dialogue. It’s an integral part of the story’s society so the characters should know how to pronounce it.
* I’d love for the two deleted scenes to be added back into the episode. They help explain story points and flesh out characters.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2002). "firefly" serenity (tv episode 2002). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0579535/
Various. (2011). Series: firefly. Retrieved from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Firefly?from=Main.Firefly
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
FSU: Reaction to Industry News - Age of Conan Has Gone Free-To-Play
Earlier today Age of Conan announced that it is adopting a Free-to-Play subscription model this summer. As an existing, and past, subscriber I immediately wondered what this would mean for me. Considering the announcement was a whole 15 minutes old when I read it, I knew I’d have to wait a bit for real, concrete answers. I’m pretty sure that companies release news like this in advance to gauge the community’s reaction and adjust the upcoming changes accordingly.
FSU: Reaction to Industry News - The Sony Fiasco
Sony has been in the news quite a bit over the last few weeks. First, their PlayStation Network was hacked, and 77 million accounts had personal data stolen. Sony was quiet about the situation for a week before finally telling their customers what happened. Then, Sony Online Entertainment was hacked, and 24.6 million more accounts had personal data stolen. Again, Sony kept quiet for a while before explaining the situation. In the meantime, the entire network was down for 3½ weeks.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
FSU: Reaction to Industry News - LEGO Universe Developer, "I Will Never Make an MMO Again."
The first thing that popped into my head when I read this was, "How in the world did this guy get as far as he did in the gaming industry?" The second thing was to wish him luck in his latest endeavor because he’ll probably never get a job with an IP as big or as popular as Lego again thanks to what he stated in this article. It’s one thing to be dissatisfied and disgruntled but it’s quite another to splash it all over a gaming industry news site.
Monday, May 23, 2011
FSU: Movie Analysis - Resident Evil
Positives:
+The Resident Evil movie is based on the Capcom video game franchise of the same name.
+ It is a prequel to the games and explains the events that led up to the first game.
+ Even though it’s a prequel it references various elements found through-out the game franchise. For example, at the end of the movie the Nemesis program from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is referenced.
+ Great zombie special effects. I especially love the Zombie Dogs. The special effects used to zombify them were very well done, even if the dogs did keep licking the blood and meat off the prosthetics.
Negatives:
- Some viewers may consider it excessively gory.
- Zombie Dogs may be disturbing to some as most don’t think of animals when they think of zombies.
- The “Licker” monster is out of place both visually and story wise in the movie although it is featured prominently throughout the game franchise.
- If you don’t pay attention the plot seems to get lost in the zombie action sequences.
Thoughts:
~ George A. Romero was signed on as the original director and screenplay writer of the film. He used actual gameplay as research for his script, so it followed the game’s storyline pretty well. For some reason, the powers that be at Capcom didn’t like Romero’s script and so fired him. The movie languished until Paul W.S. Anderson was hired by Sony to rewrite the script and direct.
~ The film is full of references to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The computer who controls the Hive is called “The Red Queen”. The main character’s name is Alice. The wall that opens to show the train depot looks like a mirror. So, when the team goes through, they are going “through the looking glass."
~ Even though the movie is overflowing with them, the word “zombie” is never said.
~ The studio had wanted the movie to be rated PG13 but Anderson, the director, insisted that it should be rated R to stay true to the game franchise. I wonder how much would have to be edited in order to make the movie PG13 friendly? I think that would make for a very short movie.
Would Like:
* I’d like to see the “Resident Evil” that Romero would have made! The Godfather of all Zombies would have rocked that movie!
* Even though another sequel just came out I’d like another. I like the world and the story and want to dive even further into it.
* A bit more merchandising. It is true there are a multitude of Resident Evil inspired t-shirts, coffee cups, and even an umbrella in the Umbrella Corporation colors but I’m not talking about that. I’d love a pair of the boots Alice wears through-out the movie.
* A compilation of all four movies on Blue Ray disc. I know it is coming but I’m impatient.
Credit where credit is due:
Foundas, Scott. (2002, March 10). Resident evil review. Retrieved from http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117917196&categoryid=31&cs=1 (Link broken as of February 2023.)
IMDB, Various. (2002). Resident evil (2002). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120804/
+The Resident Evil movie is based on the Capcom video game franchise of the same name.
+ It is a prequel to the games and explains the events that led up to the first game.
+ Even though it’s a prequel it references various elements found through-out the game franchise. For example, at the end of the movie the Nemesis program from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is referenced.
+ Great zombie special effects. I especially love the Zombie Dogs. The special effects used to zombify them were very well done, even if the dogs did keep licking the blood and meat off the prosthetics.
Negatives:
- Some viewers may consider it excessively gory.
- Zombie Dogs may be disturbing to some as most don’t think of animals when they think of zombies.
- The “Licker” monster is out of place both visually and story wise in the movie although it is featured prominently throughout the game franchise.
- If you don’t pay attention the plot seems to get lost in the zombie action sequences.
Thoughts:
~ George A. Romero was signed on as the original director and screenplay writer of the film. He used actual gameplay as research for his script, so it followed the game’s storyline pretty well. For some reason, the powers that be at Capcom didn’t like Romero’s script and so fired him. The movie languished until Paul W.S. Anderson was hired by Sony to rewrite the script and direct.
~ The film is full of references to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The computer who controls the Hive is called “The Red Queen”. The main character’s name is Alice. The wall that opens to show the train depot looks like a mirror. So, when the team goes through, they are going “through the looking glass."
~ Even though the movie is overflowing with them, the word “zombie” is never said.
~ The studio had wanted the movie to be rated PG13 but Anderson, the director, insisted that it should be rated R to stay true to the game franchise. I wonder how much would have to be edited in order to make the movie PG13 friendly? I think that would make for a very short movie.
Would Like:
* I’d like to see the “Resident Evil” that Romero would have made! The Godfather of all Zombies would have rocked that movie!
* Even though another sequel just came out I’d like another. I like the world and the story and want to dive even further into it.
* A bit more merchandising. It is true there are a multitude of Resident Evil inspired t-shirts, coffee cups, and even an umbrella in the Umbrella Corporation colors but I’m not talking about that. I’d love a pair of the boots Alice wears through-out the movie.
* A compilation of all four movies on Blue Ray disc. I know it is coming but I’m impatient.
Credit where credit is due:
Foundas, Scott. (2002, March 10). Resident evil review. Retrieved from http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117917196&categoryid=31&cs=1 (Link broken as of February 2023.)
IMDB, Various. (2002). Resident evil (2002). Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120804/
Sunday, May 22, 2011
FSU: Analysis of Lego Kidsfest
The Lego Kidsfest traveling tour made a stop in our town this past weekend. Considering two-thirds of my family are “Brickheads,” not attending wasn’t an option. Tickets were easy to get and affordable. Getting to the convention center was another matter. Google Maps was confused and told us to turn onto a street that didn’t exist where it said it did.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
FSU: Analysis of "Murder in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe (1841)
Positives:
+ Introduces the detective story genre to American literature.
+ Classic story of murder and detective procedures.
+ Keen insight into the analytical mind. He claims analysis isn’t simply intellect, but also includes a healthy bit of imagination.
+ Unconventional narrative layout that highlights Dupin’s detective skills.
+ Dupin’s method highlights the importance of literacy and the spoken word.
Negatives:
- The English is a bit archaic and can be difficult to read and understand.
- I don’t like the “Orangutan is the murderer” twist at the end. It is, for lack of a better word, a cop-out.
- The police are portrayed as idiots. I understand, though, that this is a necessary evil as it underscores Dupin’s logical thought process and procedures.
- The story is a bit intellectual as it extolls at length on Dupin’s various philosophical thoughts.
Thoughts:
~ The story is a metaphor for brains versus brawn with Dupin as the brain and the orangutan as the brawn.
~ A video game has been made of this title. I stumbled on it while looking for a copy of the story to refresh my memory. It’s not the kind of video game I’d first associate with the story, though. Instead of being an adventure game, it’s a hidden object game.
~ The level of horror this story would have brought in 1841 is infinitesimal by today’s standards. We’ve become quite jaded in the intervening 170 years.
~ It is claimed that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle patterned Sherlock Holmes after Dupin. Considering that they share a logical style of deduction, similar personal habits, and a friend who narrates their escapades to the audience, there may have been some influence.
Would Like:
* I’d love if more people read Poe. Although his works were created over a century ago, they still have a profound insight into the workings of the human mind.
* More action, less dialogue. Quite a bit of the dialogue could have been expressed as actions instead.
* I would have liked a different antagonist than the orangutan. A little more thought and Poe wouldn’t have had to resort to a wild animal as the perpetrator of the crimes. On the other hand, the orangutan would have been acceptable as the perpetrator if subtle hints of its possible inclusion in the pool of suspects had been made.
* I would have liked more general depth and backstory. There is a lot in the narrative that could be expanded upon, but it is glossed over in deference to Dupin’s deductions.
Credit where credit is due:
Poe, Edgar Allan. (1841). The murders in the rue morgue. Retrieved from http://poestories.com/read/murders
+ Introduces the detective story genre to American literature.
+ Classic story of murder and detective procedures.
+ Keen insight into the analytical mind. He claims analysis isn’t simply intellect, but also includes a healthy bit of imagination.
+ Unconventional narrative layout that highlights Dupin’s detective skills.
+ Dupin’s method highlights the importance of literacy and the spoken word.
Negatives:
- The English is a bit archaic and can be difficult to read and understand.
- I don’t like the “Orangutan is the murderer” twist at the end. It is, for lack of a better word, a cop-out.
- The police are portrayed as idiots. I understand, though, that this is a necessary evil as it underscores Dupin’s logical thought process and procedures.
- The story is a bit intellectual as it extolls at length on Dupin’s various philosophical thoughts.
Thoughts:
~ The story is a metaphor for brains versus brawn with Dupin as the brain and the orangutan as the brawn.
~ A video game has been made of this title. I stumbled on it while looking for a copy of the story to refresh my memory. It’s not the kind of video game I’d first associate with the story, though. Instead of being an adventure game, it’s a hidden object game.
~ The level of horror this story would have brought in 1841 is infinitesimal by today’s standards. We’ve become quite jaded in the intervening 170 years.
~ It is claimed that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle patterned Sherlock Holmes after Dupin. Considering that they share a logical style of deduction, similar personal habits, and a friend who narrates their escapades to the audience, there may have been some influence.
Would Like:
* I’d love if more people read Poe. Although his works were created over a century ago, they still have a profound insight into the workings of the human mind.
* More action, less dialogue. Quite a bit of the dialogue could have been expressed as actions instead.
* I would have liked a different antagonist than the orangutan. A little more thought and Poe wouldn’t have had to resort to a wild animal as the perpetrator of the crimes. On the other hand, the orangutan would have been acceptable as the perpetrator if subtle hints of its possible inclusion in the pool of suspects had been made.
* I would have liked more general depth and backstory. There is a lot in the narrative that could be expanded upon, but it is glossed over in deference to Dupin’s deductions.
Credit where credit is due:
Poe, Edgar Allan. (1841). The murders in the rue morgue. Retrieved from http://poestories.com/read/murders
Friday, May 20, 2011
An Analysis of the Controller Feel: Principles of Virtual Sensation Handout
The Principles of Virtual Sensation essay was quite an interesting read. I never realized there were governing aesthetic principles that apply to the medium of video games as a whole. Each of the seven principles adds a unique component to the medium creating a solid framework for video game creation. If this framework is used properly then there is a good chance the video game will be successful.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Analyze a Chapter of The Art of Game Design: Chapter 20 – The Look and Feel of a World is Defined by Its Aesthetics
Positives:
+ Good aesthetics enhance the gameplay experience by making it more enjoyable and immersive.
+ Involving an artist in a game project from the beginning can help the group visualize the game design highlighting strengths and weaknesses.
+ Audio is just as important as the art. It is important to develop the project’s audio at the same time as the art so that the styles complement each other.
+ Detail is very important. Properly placed details can highlight an idea and help enhance context.
Negatives:
- Some game designers hold aesthetics in disdain considering them “eye candy” that contribute nothing to game mechanics.
- Some game designers have nonexistent drawing abilities. This can make it difficult to get a visual idea across to a group when you only have words to describe it.
- Even though the developers understand the technology, they don’t understand the artistic vision of a game. Don’t let the developers decide on the artistic vision for the game as they are unable to see the world from an artist’s viewpoint.
- Conflict between the artists and developers can cause the game to feel unbalanced. It will either feel restrained by the tech or restrained by the art.
Thoughts:
~ I find it interesting that the chapter states a player is more likely to overlook gameplay flaws if the game is very aesthetically pleasing. I’m not sure I agree with this. Age of Conan is one of the most aesthetically pleasing games I’ve ever experienced but that doesn’t blind me to the game’s flaws. If anything it seems to magnify them.
~ When thinking about the aesthetics of a game I never thought to include music in the mix before. This is quite strange because the music in Age of Conan is quite beautiful and it perfectly complements the artwork and gameplay.
~ Finding balance between the artists and technology is a sweet spot every game designer should strive to achieve. The game should be aesthetically pleasing yet fun to play.
~ I like the idea of presenting half-finished art with a design idea. It shows concept, general style, and details that the simple design write up can’t.
Would Like:
* The chapter was so well thought out that I can’t think of anything I would like to add to it.
* I would like some of the game developers and designers that work on a few of the games I play to read this chapter and apply its lessons.
Credit where credit is due:
Schell, Jesse. (2008). The art of game design, a book of lenses (VitalSource Bookshelf Edition), Retrieved from http://artofgamedesign.com/book/ doi: 9780123694966
+ Good aesthetics enhance the gameplay experience by making it more enjoyable and immersive.
+ Involving an artist in a game project from the beginning can help the group visualize the game design highlighting strengths and weaknesses.
+ Audio is just as important as the art. It is important to develop the project’s audio at the same time as the art so that the styles complement each other.
+ Detail is very important. Properly placed details can highlight an idea and help enhance context.
Negatives:
- Some game designers hold aesthetics in disdain considering them “eye candy” that contribute nothing to game mechanics.
- Some game designers have nonexistent drawing abilities. This can make it difficult to get a visual idea across to a group when you only have words to describe it.
- Even though the developers understand the technology, they don’t understand the artistic vision of a game. Don’t let the developers decide on the artistic vision for the game as they are unable to see the world from an artist’s viewpoint.
- Conflict between the artists and developers can cause the game to feel unbalanced. It will either feel restrained by the tech or restrained by the art.
Thoughts:
~ I find it interesting that the chapter states a player is more likely to overlook gameplay flaws if the game is very aesthetically pleasing. I’m not sure I agree with this. Age of Conan is one of the most aesthetically pleasing games I’ve ever experienced but that doesn’t blind me to the game’s flaws. If anything it seems to magnify them.
~ When thinking about the aesthetics of a game I never thought to include music in the mix before. This is quite strange because the music in Age of Conan is quite beautiful and it perfectly complements the artwork and gameplay.
~ Finding balance between the artists and technology is a sweet spot every game designer should strive to achieve. The game should be aesthetically pleasing yet fun to play.
~ I like the idea of presenting half-finished art with a design idea. It shows concept, general style, and details that the simple design write up can’t.
Would Like:
* The chapter was so well thought out that I can’t think of anything I would like to add to it.
* I would like some of the game developers and designers that work on a few of the games I play to read this chapter and apply its lessons.
Credit where credit is due:
Schell, Jesse. (2008). The art of game design, a book of lenses (VitalSource Bookshelf Edition), Retrieved from http://artofgamedesign.com/book/ doi: 9780123694966
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
An Analysis of Game Balance/Ramping in a Video Game: Skill Balance in Guild Wars (MMORPG for the PC)
Positives:
+ Prevents a set of skills (a build) for any one class from becoming overpowered and over used.
+ Promotes diversity in skill builds as players create custom builds that fit their play style instead of relying on a premade build that most others are using.
+ Balanced skills allow the players to surprise their opponents by using less popular skills successfully.
+ Balanced skills remove the ability to abuse a specific skill build to farm NPCs that drop certain items. This stops the game’s economy from being flooded with the items and helps keep inflation in check.
Negatives:
- If one class’s skills are overpowered then there will be an overabundance of that class in the game. The game offers no challenge to the class’s abilities.
- Balancing skills can break good builds that aren’t overpowered or abused requiring the player to redesign their skill bar and, sometimes, even replace weapons, insignias and runes. This can be quite expensive.
- Balancing some skills can break or decrease the usefulness of others. On the contrary, sometimes balancing those skills cause others to become overpowered.
- Relearning how to effectively use a newly balanced skill or creating a good build with newly balanced skills can be time consuming and have a bit of a learning curve depending on the changes made.
Thoughts:
~ A lot of time players complain because a certain skill or skill set seems overpowered to them. It’s actually not overpowered. More than likely it is that they either lack the skill to play or came up against a player who is more skillful.
~ Some skills are identical to each other. The duplicate skills came with one of the additional campaigns to provide those missing one or more of the campaigns with the basic skills all classes had. So, if a player has all three campaigns then they will have duplicated skills. This can effect skill balance in gameplay because one player may only have one campaign and therefore no duplicate skills while an opposing player may have two campaigns and so two duplicate skills. This gives the player with duplicate skills two opportunities to use the skill where the previous player has only one opportunity.
~ PvP and PvE are so different that many skills need to be split into a PvP and PvE version to address the different situations. I find it interesting that a skill that is balanced perfectly for PvE may be considered over or under powered for PvP. This is a fine example of AI versus player skill when it comes to gameplay.
~ Some classes are the main focus of skill balances, like the Dervish, because of their prominence in PvP. ArenaNet tries to keep the PvP playing field as level as possible. Unfortunately this means that classes that are not prominent in PvP, such as the Monk, do not get much attention.
Would Like:
* Skill descriptions can be a bit unclear at times and rebalancing doesn’t help. Often I’ll be looking at a skill wondering what had changed. I know that the developers post blogs addressing the changes but this does nothing for me in game. So, I’d like for rebalanced skills to have a more clear description of what they now do. I’d also like a way to compare pre-balance skill to the post-balance skill to judge the changes and decide if the skill is still worthy of my use.
* I’d like classes that aren’t as prominent in PvP, such as the Monk, to receive some skill balance attention. They really need it as their healing and protection prayers are in a major need of a tweak.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2007-2011). Guild wars official wiki. Retrieved from http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page
Various. (2003-2011). Guild Wars. Retrieved from http://www.guildwars.com/
+ Prevents a set of skills (a build) for any one class from becoming overpowered and over used.
+ Promotes diversity in skill builds as players create custom builds that fit their play style instead of relying on a premade build that most others are using.
+ Balanced skills allow the players to surprise their opponents by using less popular skills successfully.
+ Balanced skills remove the ability to abuse a specific skill build to farm NPCs that drop certain items. This stops the game’s economy from being flooded with the items and helps keep inflation in check.
Negatives:
- If one class’s skills are overpowered then there will be an overabundance of that class in the game. The game offers no challenge to the class’s abilities.
- Balancing skills can break good builds that aren’t overpowered or abused requiring the player to redesign their skill bar and, sometimes, even replace weapons, insignias and runes. This can be quite expensive.
- Balancing some skills can break or decrease the usefulness of others. On the contrary, sometimes balancing those skills cause others to become overpowered.
- Relearning how to effectively use a newly balanced skill or creating a good build with newly balanced skills can be time consuming and have a bit of a learning curve depending on the changes made.
Thoughts:
~ A lot of time players complain because a certain skill or skill set seems overpowered to them. It’s actually not overpowered. More than likely it is that they either lack the skill to play or came up against a player who is more skillful.
~ Some skills are identical to each other. The duplicate skills came with one of the additional campaigns to provide those missing one or more of the campaigns with the basic skills all classes had. So, if a player has all three campaigns then they will have duplicated skills. This can effect skill balance in gameplay because one player may only have one campaign and therefore no duplicate skills while an opposing player may have two campaigns and so two duplicate skills. This gives the player with duplicate skills two opportunities to use the skill where the previous player has only one opportunity.
~ PvP and PvE are so different that many skills need to be split into a PvP and PvE version to address the different situations. I find it interesting that a skill that is balanced perfectly for PvE may be considered over or under powered for PvP. This is a fine example of AI versus player skill when it comes to gameplay.
~ Some classes are the main focus of skill balances, like the Dervish, because of their prominence in PvP. ArenaNet tries to keep the PvP playing field as level as possible. Unfortunately this means that classes that are not prominent in PvP, such as the Monk, do not get much attention.
Would Like:
* Skill descriptions can be a bit unclear at times and rebalancing doesn’t help. Often I’ll be looking at a skill wondering what had changed. I know that the developers post blogs addressing the changes but this does nothing for me in game. So, I’d like for rebalanced skills to have a more clear description of what they now do. I’d also like a way to compare pre-balance skill to the post-balance skill to judge the changes and decide if the skill is still worthy of my use.
* I’d like classes that aren’t as prominent in PvP, such as the Monk, to receive some skill balance attention. They really need it as their healing and protection prayers are in a major need of a tweak.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2007-2011). Guild wars official wiki. Retrieved from http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page
Various. (2003-2011). Guild Wars. Retrieved from http://www.guildwars.com/
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
An Analysis of a Dominant Strategy in a Video Game: Sneak in Fallout 3
Positives:
+ Sneaking is the single best way in the game to stay safe in a dangerous area. The character is able to move quietly and remain unnoticed while being difficult to locate by enemies.
+ When a character is sneaking an early warning system is activated. Above the character’s head one of four words will float informing the player of the character’s current sneaking condition: HIDDEN, DETECTED, CAUTION, or DANGER.
+ The change of condition from “HIDDEN” to “CAUTION” or “DANGER” can alert the player to hidden enemies. This can keep the player from being ambushed.
+ Sneaking increases your characters ability to loot and steal. It also helps your character reverse pick-pocket items.
+ Sneaking helps your character avoid taking damage for as long as possible in a dangerous situation.
+ A character is able to maximize their damage by using sneak-attacks while sneaking.
+ When in the third person perspective the player can peer around corners while remaining unseen. This allows them to see if, what kind of, and how many enemies are there.
Negatives:
- You can only get an automatic critical strike while sneaking if your condition is “HIDDEN”. Even if the enemy hasn’t found you and your condition is “CAUTION”, you will not get an automatic critical strike.
- While in sneak mode the character’s movement speed is drastically reduced. They are able to run but will suffer a detection penalty while running.
- Pip-Boy use (its screen is lighted) along with lighted weapons and armor will make it easier for the enemy to detect the character while sneaking, especially if the area is dark or it’s nighttime.
- If you have chosen the “Mister Sandman” perk (silently kill any sleeping human or ghoul NPC while in sneak mode) for your character there is a chance that your victim will wake up and cry out before they die alerting nearby NPCs of your presence. This may happen regardless of your characters sneak level. It seems that the “Mister Sandman” perk interferes with the sneak ability.
Thoughts:
~ There’s a perk called “Silent Running” that allows you to use your sneak skill and run at the same time. Unfortunately when it says “run” it doesn’t mean the same kind of running your character does when they’re not in sneak mode. They mean a faster form of sneaking that’s not as fast as walking but not as slow as regular sneaking. This difference between implied and true meaning can lead to confusion when a player thinks they should actually be running and not just sneaking a bit faster.
~ It seems that some NPCs can detect a character that’s using the sneak ability even if their back is turned, as if they’re seeing though the back of their head. This happens a lot with NPCs that are supposed to be sleeping, also. In order to get “behind” them where they can’t see your character you’ve got to move to the foot of the bed.
~ Sneak doesn’t help melee characters get close to an enemy so they can attack. The NPCs almost always detect the character because of how close they need to get to use their melee weapon.
~ The light on a Pip-Boy raises the characters detection level but the radio doesn’t. This isn’t right. Noise should attract as much, if not more, attention as light because noise can be heard from all directions but you have to be looking in the general direction of its source to see the light.
Would Like:
* I would like the detection penalty a character suffers if they run in sneak mode to decrease as the character’s agility stat increases. If the character is incredibly agile then they should be able to run while sneaking with little penalty.
* I would like the option to dim or turn off the Pip-Boy light. If I’m in a tight situation and need to use the Pip-Boy I should have the ability to control how much light it gives off. Plus, functions like using a Stim-pak or eating some food shouldn’t require Pip-Boy light at all. I know where the Stim-paks and food are stored, why do I need light to find them?
* I’d like the “Mister Sandman” perk fixed. It would be nice to kill that NPC in their sleep without the chance they’ll wake up because the perk negated the sneak skill and my character was detected.
* I’d like to know if armor weight affects a character’s sneak ability. It is alluded to but nothing concrete has been posted anywhere. It seems that the weight of the armor would affect the sneak ability because the heavier the armor is, the more difficult it would be to move silently.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2007-2011). The vault, a fallout wiki. Retrieved from http://fallout.wikia.com/
+ Sneaking is the single best way in the game to stay safe in a dangerous area. The character is able to move quietly and remain unnoticed while being difficult to locate by enemies.
+ When a character is sneaking an early warning system is activated. Above the character’s head one of four words will float informing the player of the character’s current sneaking condition: HIDDEN, DETECTED, CAUTION, or DANGER.
+ The change of condition from “HIDDEN” to “CAUTION” or “DANGER” can alert the player to hidden enemies. This can keep the player from being ambushed.
+ Sneaking increases your characters ability to loot and steal. It also helps your character reverse pick-pocket items.
+ Sneaking helps your character avoid taking damage for as long as possible in a dangerous situation.
+ A character is able to maximize their damage by using sneak-attacks while sneaking.
+ When in the third person perspective the player can peer around corners while remaining unseen. This allows them to see if, what kind of, and how many enemies are there.
Negatives:
- You can only get an automatic critical strike while sneaking if your condition is “HIDDEN”. Even if the enemy hasn’t found you and your condition is “CAUTION”, you will not get an automatic critical strike.
- While in sneak mode the character’s movement speed is drastically reduced. They are able to run but will suffer a detection penalty while running.
- Pip-Boy use (its screen is lighted) along with lighted weapons and armor will make it easier for the enemy to detect the character while sneaking, especially if the area is dark or it’s nighttime.
- If you have chosen the “Mister Sandman” perk (silently kill any sleeping human or ghoul NPC while in sneak mode) for your character there is a chance that your victim will wake up and cry out before they die alerting nearby NPCs of your presence. This may happen regardless of your characters sneak level. It seems that the “Mister Sandman” perk interferes with the sneak ability.
Thoughts:
~ There’s a perk called “Silent Running” that allows you to use your sneak skill and run at the same time. Unfortunately when it says “run” it doesn’t mean the same kind of running your character does when they’re not in sneak mode. They mean a faster form of sneaking that’s not as fast as walking but not as slow as regular sneaking. This difference between implied and true meaning can lead to confusion when a player thinks they should actually be running and not just sneaking a bit faster.
~ It seems that some NPCs can detect a character that’s using the sneak ability even if their back is turned, as if they’re seeing though the back of their head. This happens a lot with NPCs that are supposed to be sleeping, also. In order to get “behind” them where they can’t see your character you’ve got to move to the foot of the bed.
~ Sneak doesn’t help melee characters get close to an enemy so they can attack. The NPCs almost always detect the character because of how close they need to get to use their melee weapon.
~ The light on a Pip-Boy raises the characters detection level but the radio doesn’t. This isn’t right. Noise should attract as much, if not more, attention as light because noise can be heard from all directions but you have to be looking in the general direction of its source to see the light.
Would Like:
* I would like the detection penalty a character suffers if they run in sneak mode to decrease as the character’s agility stat increases. If the character is incredibly agile then they should be able to run while sneaking with little penalty.
* I would like the option to dim or turn off the Pip-Boy light. If I’m in a tight situation and need to use the Pip-Boy I should have the ability to control how much light it gives off. Plus, functions like using a Stim-pak or eating some food shouldn’t require Pip-Boy light at all. I know where the Stim-paks and food are stored, why do I need light to find them?
* I’d like the “Mister Sandman” perk fixed. It would be nice to kill that NPC in their sleep without the chance they’ll wake up because the perk negated the sneak skill and my character was detected.
* I’d like to know if armor weight affects a character’s sneak ability. It is alluded to but nothing concrete has been posted anywhere. It seems that the weight of the armor would affect the sneak ability because the heavier the armor is, the more difficult it would be to move silently.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2007-2011). The vault, a fallout wiki. Retrieved from http://fallout.wikia.com/
An Analysis of a Video Game’s Tutorial: Age of Conan (MMORPG)
Positives:
+ The tutorial is a separate area in the game, an island called Tortage and it is extremely immersive. You are plunged directly into the storyline and don’t surface until you leave the island for your homeland upon reaching level 20. This separation from the rest of the game gives a new player time to acclimate to the game.
+ The tutorial starts out placing you alone in an instanced area. This gives you the opportunity to learn the ropes without competing against other players for resources or mobs. You also learn how to equip armor and weapons, wield your weapon, and use potions and food in this instanced area.
+ Quests are logically laid out and lead seamlessly from one to the next. The Destiny Quests are the main quests of the tutorial area. They are solo quests and occur only at night. These quests teach you class related skills and provide class specific armor and weapons. There are many other side quests to keep a character occupied for days. These quests take place during the day and provide small perks like potions or food as rewards.
+ You don’t accrue death penalties until level 10. This is a plus as you’re still learning the ropes of the game and may die simply because you didn’t know how to equip a weapon or use an attack yet.
+ The story that unfolds and tasks assigned to your character during the Destiny Quest depends on which archetype you’ve chosen to play. This means that, while the story is essentially the same for each character, a healer archetype will not experience the same Destiny Quest as a warrior archetype.
Negatives:
- If you happened to select a PvP server then you’re going to be ganked every time you go to the Underhalls or White Sand Beach to complete quests. Unfortunately this is because it is an easy way to rack up PvP points early in the game.
- Once you leave the beach solo instance you cannot go back. The gate out is one-way. So, if you meant to go back and check something out you’re out of luck.
- There is a lot of running back and forth from Point A to Point B. This wouldn’t be a huge problem if the distances weren’t so great and there is no quick travel option.
- Bag space is very limited. So is storage at the Trader. It is possible to buy more bag space but it is expensive, especially in the tutorial area.
- There is a Field Manual along the left side of the user interface. When you encounter something for the first time it pops out a little tab to show it has information on the subject. This usually occurs at the least opportune time for the player to check out the new information, like in the middle of a fight. The tabs tend to accrue because of this timing issue and end up blocking the left side of the screen from view. This can cause a problem when you’re facing multiple enemies because you’ve now got a blind spot.
- While there are a lot of quests it sometimes feels as if you’re doing generic fetch errands or kill “x” number of mob tasks. At times there are no quests available and the player must grind out the necessary experience to level up. Grind of any kind is tedious and makes players feel like they’d rather be elsewhere.
Thoughts:
~ The solo Beach instance that every player starts the game in is underused. It is a well designed area with a lot to offer but once a character leaves they can never go back. This seems a bit silly since a character can return to every other area in the tutorial no matter what their level. Why is this one area off-limits once they’ve passed the gate?
~ Tortage sets the standard for the game. It is the first thing a new player experiences. The fact that it is so wonderfully done is actually a bad thing in this case because the rest of the game pales in comparison. Where Tortage has depth, engagement, and immersion the rest of the game doesn’t. The stark contrast between the tutorial area and the main game area is very noticeable. This contrast has led to many players leaving the game in disappointment or deleting and rerolling characters who live in Tortage forever.
~ As well done as Tortage and the tutorial are, after running a few alternate characters through, even it becomes repetitive. Players start looking for the quickest way through or wish to skip it all together. This wouldn’t be a huge deal except that skipping the tutorial means that you’ve put a halt on the Destiny Quest. This closes certain avenues quest-wise until you to go back to Tortage to complete the quests.
~ In some tutorial areas (Aion, Guild Wars) there are practice dummies that will allow you to try out a new skill to see its effect and range. There are none in Tortage. If you want to gauge effect and range then you need to practice on a mob. This makes gathering accurate information on effect and range tricky because you have to defend yourself after the initial attack.
Would Like:
* The solo Beach instance opened up. Add some quests that send the player back to the area to explore. There is a lot there that most miss as they run through it.
* I’d love if the main gameplay areas were redesigned so they could live up to the standard set by Tortage. I know this is a long shot. The game has been out for a while and already has an expansion. This doesn’t mean that the main areas can’t be revisited and tweaked. One thing that could be done that would add depth is to add some spoken dialogue to the main game area’s NPCs.
* There is a door at the bottom of the Archeronian Ruins. It goes nowhere. This would be a perfect place to add a dungeon.
* A way to skip Tortage when a player already has a couple of high level characters. Provide the player a quest that allows them to satisfy the Destiny Quest and move on to their homeland without having to level through the whole tutorial area.
* A clear explanation of what the various stats on armor and weapons do. I know that if you mouse over the stat on your character page it will give a very basic description but not a lot of new players know to do this. A pop-up explaining various stats the first time a player encounters an item with one would be much more helpful.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2008-2011). Age of conan official forum. Retrieved from http://forums.ageofconan.com/index.php
+ The tutorial is a separate area in the game, an island called Tortage and it is extremely immersive. You are plunged directly into the storyline and don’t surface until you leave the island for your homeland upon reaching level 20. This separation from the rest of the game gives a new player time to acclimate to the game.
+ The tutorial starts out placing you alone in an instanced area. This gives you the opportunity to learn the ropes without competing against other players for resources or mobs. You also learn how to equip armor and weapons, wield your weapon, and use potions and food in this instanced area.
+ Quests are logically laid out and lead seamlessly from one to the next. The Destiny Quests are the main quests of the tutorial area. They are solo quests and occur only at night. These quests teach you class related skills and provide class specific armor and weapons. There are many other side quests to keep a character occupied for days. These quests take place during the day and provide small perks like potions or food as rewards.
+ You don’t accrue death penalties until level 10. This is a plus as you’re still learning the ropes of the game and may die simply because you didn’t know how to equip a weapon or use an attack yet.
+ The story that unfolds and tasks assigned to your character during the Destiny Quest depends on which archetype you’ve chosen to play. This means that, while the story is essentially the same for each character, a healer archetype will not experience the same Destiny Quest as a warrior archetype.
Negatives:
- If you happened to select a PvP server then you’re going to be ganked every time you go to the Underhalls or White Sand Beach to complete quests. Unfortunately this is because it is an easy way to rack up PvP points early in the game.
- Once you leave the beach solo instance you cannot go back. The gate out is one-way. So, if you meant to go back and check something out you’re out of luck.
- There is a lot of running back and forth from Point A to Point B. This wouldn’t be a huge problem if the distances weren’t so great and there is no quick travel option.
- Bag space is very limited. So is storage at the Trader. It is possible to buy more bag space but it is expensive, especially in the tutorial area.
- There is a Field Manual along the left side of the user interface. When you encounter something for the first time it pops out a little tab to show it has information on the subject. This usually occurs at the least opportune time for the player to check out the new information, like in the middle of a fight. The tabs tend to accrue because of this timing issue and end up blocking the left side of the screen from view. This can cause a problem when you’re facing multiple enemies because you’ve now got a blind spot.
- While there are a lot of quests it sometimes feels as if you’re doing generic fetch errands or kill “x” number of mob tasks. At times there are no quests available and the player must grind out the necessary experience to level up. Grind of any kind is tedious and makes players feel like they’d rather be elsewhere.
Thoughts:
~ The solo Beach instance that every player starts the game in is underused. It is a well designed area with a lot to offer but once a character leaves they can never go back. This seems a bit silly since a character can return to every other area in the tutorial no matter what their level. Why is this one area off-limits once they’ve passed the gate?
~ Tortage sets the standard for the game. It is the first thing a new player experiences. The fact that it is so wonderfully done is actually a bad thing in this case because the rest of the game pales in comparison. Where Tortage has depth, engagement, and immersion the rest of the game doesn’t. The stark contrast between the tutorial area and the main game area is very noticeable. This contrast has led to many players leaving the game in disappointment or deleting and rerolling characters who live in Tortage forever.
~ As well done as Tortage and the tutorial are, after running a few alternate characters through, even it becomes repetitive. Players start looking for the quickest way through or wish to skip it all together. This wouldn’t be a huge deal except that skipping the tutorial means that you’ve put a halt on the Destiny Quest. This closes certain avenues quest-wise until you to go back to Tortage to complete the quests.
~ In some tutorial areas (Aion, Guild Wars) there are practice dummies that will allow you to try out a new skill to see its effect and range. There are none in Tortage. If you want to gauge effect and range then you need to practice on a mob. This makes gathering accurate information on effect and range tricky because you have to defend yourself after the initial attack.
Would Like:
* The solo Beach instance opened up. Add some quests that send the player back to the area to explore. There is a lot there that most miss as they run through it.
* I’d love if the main gameplay areas were redesigned so they could live up to the standard set by Tortage. I know this is a long shot. The game has been out for a while and already has an expansion. This doesn’t mean that the main areas can’t be revisited and tweaked. One thing that could be done that would add depth is to add some spoken dialogue to the main game area’s NPCs.
* There is a door at the bottom of the Archeronian Ruins. It goes nowhere. This would be a perfect place to add a dungeon.
* A way to skip Tortage when a player already has a couple of high level characters. Provide the player a quest that allows them to satisfy the Destiny Quest and move on to their homeland without having to level through the whole tutorial area.
* A clear explanation of what the various stats on armor and weapons do. I know that if you mouse over the stat on your character page it will give a very basic description but not a lot of new players know to do this. A pop-up explaining various stats the first time a player encounters an item with one would be much more helpful.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2008-2011). Age of conan official forum. Retrieved from http://forums.ageofconan.com/index.php
Monday, May 16, 2011
An Analysis of a Feedback System/Loop in a Video Game: Crafting Talismans in Warhammer Online
Positives:
+ Some talisman ingredients can be purchased from a merchant or Hedge Wizard. This means they are always available.
+ Creating the talisman is easy. Once you have the necessary ingredients you put them in the correct slots in the Talisman window and click “Fuse”.
+ If the talisman created is a critical success then you are told “You made something better!” and the power of the talisman is increased by 6. If you achieved a super-critical success then you are told “You made something awesome!” and the talisman’s rarity goes up one level.
+ If you achieve a super-critical success using ingredients that are of the highest rarity then the fragment used will not be consumed and you can use it again.
+ Easy to level up Talisman making skill. Each successfully created Talisman contributes
Negatives:
- No recipes in game. It is easy to use up your resources by experimenting with ingredients to find the recipe for a basic talisman.
- Once a recipe is discovered there is no place in game to record it. You either record it yourself out of the game or try to remember it.
- Failure destroys the container and ingredients so they cannot be used again.
- Essences can only be obtained through the auction house or by the magical salvaging skill.
Thoughts:
~ The crafting process can be done anywhere as long as the player has the necessary items. This frees the player to quest or RvR while making Talismans.
~ Warhammer attempted to make the crafting process more fun and contain less grind. Sadly, this didn’t happen because all crafting components aren’t readily available. If a player needs a rare component they will have to grind out the gold to buy it in the auction house or grind out kills to gather it themselves.
~ Failure is expensive. Failure also introduces grind into the crafting system because you’ve got to get the gold to buy ingredients somehow.
~ Apparently Talismans only last for a certain amount of time. I’ve never seen any proof of this in game but if this is true then this makes the guesswork in creating them all the more stressful.
Would Like:
* A recipe book. In whatever form it takes it would be lovely to have a place where discovered recipes are gathered for future use.
* A notepad or similar function so that the player can note down where certain hard-to-find ingredients can be found.
* Failure to not be so expensive. Instead of all the ingredients being destroyed upon a failure, it would be nice if one (randomly chosen) was spared. So, even though you fail there is a chance that your container, fragment, or other ingredient remains unharmed and can be used again.
* Talisman effects to last indefinitely. This removes the need to constantly experiment with ingredients in an attempt to recreate the Talisman in order to replace the spent one.
Credit where credit is due:
Serapis. (2011, January 30). Warhammer online talisman making guide. Retrieved from http://home.comcast.net/~serapisphoenix/warhammer/talisman.html
Various. (2008-2011). Talisman making. Retrieved from http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Talisman_Making
+ Some talisman ingredients can be purchased from a merchant or Hedge Wizard. This means they are always available.
+ Creating the talisman is easy. Once you have the necessary ingredients you put them in the correct slots in the Talisman window and click “Fuse”.
+ If the talisman created is a critical success then you are told “You made something better!” and the power of the talisman is increased by 6. If you achieved a super-critical success then you are told “You made something awesome!” and the talisman’s rarity goes up one level.
+ If you achieve a super-critical success using ingredients that are of the highest rarity then the fragment used will not be consumed and you can use it again.
+ Easy to level up Talisman making skill. Each successfully created Talisman contributes
Negatives:
- No recipes in game. It is easy to use up your resources by experimenting with ingredients to find the recipe for a basic talisman.
- Once a recipe is discovered there is no place in game to record it. You either record it yourself out of the game or try to remember it.
- Failure destroys the container and ingredients so they cannot be used again.
- Essences can only be obtained through the auction house or by the magical salvaging skill.
Thoughts:
~ The crafting process can be done anywhere as long as the player has the necessary items. This frees the player to quest or RvR while making Talismans.
~ Warhammer attempted to make the crafting process more fun and contain less grind. Sadly, this didn’t happen because all crafting components aren’t readily available. If a player needs a rare component they will have to grind out the gold to buy it in the auction house or grind out kills to gather it themselves.
~ Failure is expensive. Failure also introduces grind into the crafting system because you’ve got to get the gold to buy ingredients somehow.
~ Apparently Talismans only last for a certain amount of time. I’ve never seen any proof of this in game but if this is true then this makes the guesswork in creating them all the more stressful.
Would Like:
* A recipe book. In whatever form it takes it would be lovely to have a place where discovered recipes are gathered for future use.
* A notepad or similar function so that the player can note down where certain hard-to-find ingredients can be found.
* Failure to not be so expensive. Instead of all the ingredients being destroyed upon a failure, it would be nice if one (randomly chosen) was spared. So, even though you fail there is a chance that your container, fragment, or other ingredient remains unharmed and can be used again.
* Talisman effects to last indefinitely. This removes the need to constantly experiment with ingredients in an attempt to recreate the Talisman in order to replace the spent one.
Credit where credit is due:
Serapis. (2011, January 30). Warhammer online talisman making guide. Retrieved from http://home.comcast.net/~serapisphoenix/warhammer/talisman.html
Various. (2008-2011). Talisman making. Retrieved from http://warhammeronline.wikia.com/wiki/Talisman_Making
Sunday, May 15, 2011
An Analysis of Menu Use in a Video Game: The Pause Menu in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time for the PlayStation 3
Positives:
+ Pressing the “Start” button during gameplay pauses the game and brings up the Pause menu.
+ The usual controller buttons are mapped to the various menu options making it very easy for someone familiar with PlayStation controls to navigate the game’s menu.
+ Either the left stick or directional buttons can be used to navigate through the menu choices.
+ The choices of the Pause menu are located on the bottom left of the screen while the details of the selected choice are located to the upper right of the screen. The separation makes it easy to see which choice is selected and what its details are.
+ The text is written with a yellowish font that stands out against the dark background and is easy to read.
+ The active Pause menu choice is shown in a brighter yellow color and a slightly larger font than the inactive choices. Those are shown in a muted yellow with a smaller font. The contrast makes it easy to see which choice is active.
Negatives:
- The Quick Select menu is difficult to navigate and use to switch out weapons, gadgets, and items. It requires that you choose the spot on your Quick Select menu that you want to change and then cycle through all the available options. If you accidentally pass the item you wanted to select you have to scroll through all the choices again to get back to the one you wanted.
- The Inventory menu is one of the less intuitive in the game. The “X” gives you weapon details and the Right Stick will rotate whatever you’re viewing. Pressing L1 or R1 will move you to the next inventory item when looking at item details or, if you’re not looking at item details, they will switch you to the next inventory category. So, you can easily find yourself somewhere in the menu you don’t want to be simply because you forgot if you were looking at item details or not.
- If you need to equip an item that is not on your Quick Select menu then it is necessary to scroll through all of the items in the Inventory until you find the one you need. This can be tedious if you have quite a few items in your Inventory.
- If you want to customize a Constructo weapon you must first find it in your Inventory menu, hover over it so the details show up, and then press the square to bring up a customization menu. There are too many menu layers here. There has to be a way to simplify this instead of just adding more menu layers.
Thoughts:
~ The Community menu option isn’t shown on the Pause menu. It is listed on the Main menu instead. So, if you want to view the leaderboards to see where you stand you have to Pause and then select the Main Menu option from the Pause menu. (This will quit your current game.) When the Main menu appears the Community menu option shows up. Once you’re finished you have to reload your game. This wastes time for those who wanted to make a quick check of the Leaderboards before continuing gameplay.
~ The Map menu allows you to zoom in and out of a map but there is no fine control. With a small twitch you’re suddenly zoomed way out of the map. It takes an extended twitch to get the camera to zoom back in and you usually end up zoomed in too closely.
~ I like how the background of the menu changes for each area you’re in. For example, it changes to purple if you’re at the Nefarious Space Station.
~ While in the Pause menu you can enter a certain code and unlock the “Bancho Ratchet” skin. The skin dresses Ratchet in a Japanese high school outfit with a pompadour hair cut.
Would Like:
* A Community menu option on the Pause menu. There is an Extras menu option where you can view your earned skill points and watch cinematics. The Community menu option could be placed here. This would allow for a much quicker peek at the Leaderboards without having to completely exit from the game.
* A way to search through the Inventory menu so I don’t have to cycle through all of the categories and items to find a single thing.
* Finer tuned zoom control on the map. I don’t want to be so close I can see the pixilation but I also don’t want to be zoomed out so far that I can’t even tell it’s a map.
* More options for the Pause menu background. It does change to reflect which area you are currently in but it would be nice to have it set to one specific background if you have a favorite. It would also be nice if there was variety in each area's offering instead of just one background for each area.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2008). Ratchet & clank future: a crack in time wiki. Retrieved from http://ratchet.wikia.com/wiki/Ratchet_%26_Clank_Future:_A_Crack_In_Time
+ Pressing the “Start” button during gameplay pauses the game and brings up the Pause menu.
+ The usual controller buttons are mapped to the various menu options making it very easy for someone familiar with PlayStation controls to navigate the game’s menu.
+ Either the left stick or directional buttons can be used to navigate through the menu choices.
+ The choices of the Pause menu are located on the bottom left of the screen while the details of the selected choice are located to the upper right of the screen. The separation makes it easy to see which choice is selected and what its details are.
+ The text is written with a yellowish font that stands out against the dark background and is easy to read.
+ The active Pause menu choice is shown in a brighter yellow color and a slightly larger font than the inactive choices. Those are shown in a muted yellow with a smaller font. The contrast makes it easy to see which choice is active.
Negatives:
- The Quick Select menu is difficult to navigate and use to switch out weapons, gadgets, and items. It requires that you choose the spot on your Quick Select menu that you want to change and then cycle through all the available options. If you accidentally pass the item you wanted to select you have to scroll through all the choices again to get back to the one you wanted.
- The Inventory menu is one of the less intuitive in the game. The “X” gives you weapon details and the Right Stick will rotate whatever you’re viewing. Pressing L1 or R1 will move you to the next inventory item when looking at item details or, if you’re not looking at item details, they will switch you to the next inventory category. So, you can easily find yourself somewhere in the menu you don’t want to be simply because you forgot if you were looking at item details or not.
- If you need to equip an item that is not on your Quick Select menu then it is necessary to scroll through all of the items in the Inventory until you find the one you need. This can be tedious if you have quite a few items in your Inventory.
- If you want to customize a Constructo weapon you must first find it in your Inventory menu, hover over it so the details show up, and then press the square to bring up a customization menu. There are too many menu layers here. There has to be a way to simplify this instead of just adding more menu layers.
Thoughts:
~ The Community menu option isn’t shown on the Pause menu. It is listed on the Main menu instead. So, if you want to view the leaderboards to see where you stand you have to Pause and then select the Main Menu option from the Pause menu. (This will quit your current game.) When the Main menu appears the Community menu option shows up. Once you’re finished you have to reload your game. This wastes time for those who wanted to make a quick check of the Leaderboards before continuing gameplay.
~ The Map menu allows you to zoom in and out of a map but there is no fine control. With a small twitch you’re suddenly zoomed way out of the map. It takes an extended twitch to get the camera to zoom back in and you usually end up zoomed in too closely.
~ I like how the background of the menu changes for each area you’re in. For example, it changes to purple if you’re at the Nefarious Space Station.
~ While in the Pause menu you can enter a certain code and unlock the “Bancho Ratchet” skin. The skin dresses Ratchet in a Japanese high school outfit with a pompadour hair cut.
Would Like:
* A Community menu option on the Pause menu. There is an Extras menu option where you can view your earned skill points and watch cinematics. The Community menu option could be placed here. This would allow for a much quicker peek at the Leaderboards without having to completely exit from the game.
* A way to search through the Inventory menu so I don’t have to cycle through all of the categories and items to find a single thing.
* Finer tuned zoom control on the map. I don’t want to be so close I can see the pixilation but I also don’t want to be zoomed out so far that I can’t even tell it’s a map.
* More options for the Pause menu background. It does change to reflect which area you are currently in but it would be nice to have it set to one specific background if you have a favorite. It would also be nice if there was variety in each area's offering instead of just one background for each area.
Credit where credit is due:
Various. (2008). Ratchet & clank future: a crack in time wiki. Retrieved from http://ratchet.wikia.com/wiki/Ratchet_%26_Clank_Future:_A_Crack_In_Time
Analysis of an Industry Website: Insomniac Games
I’ve known about Insomniac Games since the very first Spyro game came out in 1998. Then I was introduced to Ratchet and Clank and I became a diehard fan of the studio. I’ve watched them grow from a small company into one that has sold over 35 million console video games worldwide. It is one of the most successful video game developers today and their website shows it.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
An Analysis of Controller Use/Button Mapping in a Video Game: Guitar Hero
Positives:
+ The game was developed for the controller. This gave the developers a unique opportunity to create a game that actually mimicked playing a guitar. The earlier versions of the game can be played with a standard controller but the guitar controller is required for the more recent versions of the game that include drums and vocals.
+ Some of the guitar controllers look like real guitars. Gibson designs, including the Les Paul, were used to make some.
+ The game allows players to toggle which hand is dominant so both lefties and righties can play with ease.
+ There are five colored fret buttons instead of strings. The differing colors help make identifying each fret easier.
+ The addition of a touchpad on the version of the controller released with the “World Tour” version of the game allowed players to mimic the slide technique.
Negatives:
- If you’re not familiar with the order of the colored fret buttons you’ll find yourself constantly looking from your hands to the screen and back again. This can kill gameplay because dropped notes will cause your Rock Meter to drop below red, your song will suddenly end and you’ll be booed off the stage.
- Whammy bar is adjustable. Constant adjusting causes it to loosen and no longer stay in the “up” position. This made it practically unusable because players would have to hold it up and that was uncomfortable.
- Controller can be finicky, especially the wireless ones. The wireless controller packaged with Guitar Hero III had issues with the contact points on its detachable neck. This caused a delay in fret button presses registering properly with the game.
- PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller will not work with the PlayStation 3 console. So, even though the PS3 will play the games (both are fully backwards-compatible), you won’t be able to use the controller they came with.
- Players tend to strum in one direction, either up or down. This wears out the strum bar in the preferred direction and causes notes not to be recognized.
Thoughts:
~ A unique controller inspired a very popular game franchise. This game franchise’s success highlights the fact that a game does not need to use a standard controller in order to be popular.
~ The controller should not have been made modular in order to package it more easily. This lead to technical and gameplay issues caused by damaged contacts. If the controller had been left in one piece these issues could have been avoided.
~ If you want to play the game with a buddy (Face-off mode) then you need to have a second guitar controller. True, your buddy can play his part with a standard controller but who wants to do that? Unfortunately, this can get expensive if you happen to like games that require specialty controllers.
~ Quality control seemed to be lacking in the later generations of guitar controllers. It seemed that the manufacturers was more interested in making a quick buck off of a proven game franchise than actually providing a quality product. Unfortunately this lead to quite a few complaints about the controller from frustrated gamers.
Would Like:
* The fret buttons and strum bar make a clicking noise when used. It’d be lovely if that noise could be silenced as it is distracting and takes away from immersion.
* If possible I’d like a Guitar Hero controller and game that actually teaches how to play the guitar. The game simulates a reasonable facsimile of playing but it doesn’t actually teach.
* Wireless guitar controllers that are comparable to wired ones. Wireless ones drop more notes and the constant fiddling with the wireless receiver to get the best reception takes up valuable play time.
* More variety in the actual controller. I acknowledge that Gibson makes some of the best guitar designs around but how about a Fender?
Credit where credit is due:
Roper, Chris. (2005, November 02). Guitar hero (game & guitar controller). Retrieved from http://ps2.ign.com/articles/663/663674p1.html
Terdiman, Daniel. (2007, November 15). "guitar hero iii" users reporting problems with their axes. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9818556-52.html
Ramsay, Randolph. (2006, May 25). Guitar hero. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com.au/guitar-hero-240063203.htm
+ The game was developed for the controller. This gave the developers a unique opportunity to create a game that actually mimicked playing a guitar. The earlier versions of the game can be played with a standard controller but the guitar controller is required for the more recent versions of the game that include drums and vocals.
+ Some of the guitar controllers look like real guitars. Gibson designs, including the Les Paul, were used to make some.
+ The game allows players to toggle which hand is dominant so both lefties and righties can play with ease.
+ There are five colored fret buttons instead of strings. The differing colors help make identifying each fret easier.
+ The addition of a touchpad on the version of the controller released with the “World Tour” version of the game allowed players to mimic the slide technique.
Negatives:
- If you’re not familiar with the order of the colored fret buttons you’ll find yourself constantly looking from your hands to the screen and back again. This can kill gameplay because dropped notes will cause your Rock Meter to drop below red, your song will suddenly end and you’ll be booed off the stage.
- Whammy bar is adjustable. Constant adjusting causes it to loosen and no longer stay in the “up” position. This made it practically unusable because players would have to hold it up and that was uncomfortable.
- Controller can be finicky, especially the wireless ones. The wireless controller packaged with Guitar Hero III had issues with the contact points on its detachable neck. This caused a delay in fret button presses registering properly with the game.
- PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero controller will not work with the PlayStation 3 console. So, even though the PS3 will play the games (both are fully backwards-compatible), you won’t be able to use the controller they came with.
- Players tend to strum in one direction, either up or down. This wears out the strum bar in the preferred direction and causes notes not to be recognized.
Thoughts:
~ A unique controller inspired a very popular game franchise. This game franchise’s success highlights the fact that a game does not need to use a standard controller in order to be popular.
~ The controller should not have been made modular in order to package it more easily. This lead to technical and gameplay issues caused by damaged contacts. If the controller had been left in one piece these issues could have been avoided.
~ If you want to play the game with a buddy (Face-off mode) then you need to have a second guitar controller. True, your buddy can play his part with a standard controller but who wants to do that? Unfortunately, this can get expensive if you happen to like games that require specialty controllers.
~ Quality control seemed to be lacking in the later generations of guitar controllers. It seemed that the manufacturers was more interested in making a quick buck off of a proven game franchise than actually providing a quality product. Unfortunately this lead to quite a few complaints about the controller from frustrated gamers.
Would Like:
* The fret buttons and strum bar make a clicking noise when used. It’d be lovely if that noise could be silenced as it is distracting and takes away from immersion.
* If possible I’d like a Guitar Hero controller and game that actually teaches how to play the guitar. The game simulates a reasonable facsimile of playing but it doesn’t actually teach.
* Wireless guitar controllers that are comparable to wired ones. Wireless ones drop more notes and the constant fiddling with the wireless receiver to get the best reception takes up valuable play time.
* More variety in the actual controller. I acknowledge that Gibson makes some of the best guitar designs around but how about a Fender?
Credit where credit is due:
Roper, Chris. (2005, November 02). Guitar hero (game & guitar controller). Retrieved from http://ps2.ign.com/articles/663/663674p1.html
Terdiman, Daniel. (2007, November 15). "guitar hero iii" users reporting problems with their axes. Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9818556-52.html
Ramsay, Randolph. (2006, May 25). Guitar hero. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com.au/guitar-hero-240063203.htm
Friday, May 13, 2011
An Analysis of a Postmortem Report from a Video Game: Scooby-Doo! First Frights by Torus Games
Positives:
+ Warner Brothers allowed the developer quite a bit of creative freedom with the intellectual property. Their only stipulation was that the core fundamentals of the IP be adhered to.
+ Discussed how particular obstacles were overcome for a small team of developers.
+ The animators produced high quality work under an extremely tight schedule and were able to capture the essence of the IP beautifully.
+ The pairing of level designers to artists lead to inspired scenery that not only looked good but added to the immersion of the game.
+ The developer was able to implement two new systems while creating the game: a physics system and a sound engine. Both were successes.
Negatives:
- Issues arose in trying to balance time, quality, and cost.
- They used the “we’re new to the genre” excuse quite a bit more than was merited. It was clear after the second, perhaps third mention that they hadn’t done this before and were treading in unfamiliar territory.
- Inefficient use of pre-production time. Proper planning was not done and this cost the team time and effort.
- Once the game was headed into production they realized they needed to accomplish too much in too little time. They attempted to redesign and meet the original deadline but they’d underestimated the amount of work necessary to create the game they’d promised Warner Brothers.
Thoughts:
~ The developer had never created the type of game Warner Brothers requested for Scooby-Doo! First Frights before. This presented them with new challenges at every turn. They faced these challenges head on, learned from them, and now consider the lessons tools ready for use in future projects.
~ The importance of pre-production is stressed in this post-mortem. It’s vital that all areas of a game are planned down to the very last detail during pre-production so that the team can get an idea of the scope of the project. While flexibility with scope is important, it’s also important to put things into perspective so that you don’t bite off more than you can chew right at the start.
~ Poor gameplay design coupled with technology that provided limited flexibility in gameplay led to wasted spaces that existed in the game only as filler. These areas could have been better utilized with different technology to power the game and wouldn’t have wasted the artists and level designers efforts.
~ Limited time and resources led to huge holes in gameplay and continuity that couldn’t easily be closed. This left the player confused as to why their character was suddenly somewhere completely different than where they’d last seen them and doing something they had no reason to do.
Would Like:
* Less use of the “we’re new and had no idea what to expect” excuse. It would have been more beneficial if the author had reached beyond that excuse and examined the reasons behind why they felt it was a viable excuse to begin with.
* Less clunky game design that utilizes all aspects of game development to the best of each area’s abilities.
* Specific areas should have had a “Team Lead” to help manage communication between areas, time, and resources more efficiently.
* Fewer cinematics and more varied gameplay. Cinematics are great but when more effort has been put into them than gameplay the audience suffers. They bought a game, not a movie.
Credit where credit is due:
Goodfellow, Nicole. (2010, January 13). Postmortem: torus games' scooby-doo! first frights. Retrieved from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4242/postmortem_torus_games_.php
+ Warner Brothers allowed the developer quite a bit of creative freedom with the intellectual property. Their only stipulation was that the core fundamentals of the IP be adhered to.
+ Discussed how particular obstacles were overcome for a small team of developers.
+ The animators produced high quality work under an extremely tight schedule and were able to capture the essence of the IP beautifully.
+ The pairing of level designers to artists lead to inspired scenery that not only looked good but added to the immersion of the game.
+ The developer was able to implement two new systems while creating the game: a physics system and a sound engine. Both were successes.
Negatives:
- Issues arose in trying to balance time, quality, and cost.
- They used the “we’re new to the genre” excuse quite a bit more than was merited. It was clear after the second, perhaps third mention that they hadn’t done this before and were treading in unfamiliar territory.
- Inefficient use of pre-production time. Proper planning was not done and this cost the team time and effort.
- Once the game was headed into production they realized they needed to accomplish too much in too little time. They attempted to redesign and meet the original deadline but they’d underestimated the amount of work necessary to create the game they’d promised Warner Brothers.
Thoughts:
~ The developer had never created the type of game Warner Brothers requested for Scooby-Doo! First Frights before. This presented them with new challenges at every turn. They faced these challenges head on, learned from them, and now consider the lessons tools ready for use in future projects.
~ The importance of pre-production is stressed in this post-mortem. It’s vital that all areas of a game are planned down to the very last detail during pre-production so that the team can get an idea of the scope of the project. While flexibility with scope is important, it’s also important to put things into perspective so that you don’t bite off more than you can chew right at the start.
~ Poor gameplay design coupled with technology that provided limited flexibility in gameplay led to wasted spaces that existed in the game only as filler. These areas could have been better utilized with different technology to power the game and wouldn’t have wasted the artists and level designers efforts.
~ Limited time and resources led to huge holes in gameplay and continuity that couldn’t easily be closed. This left the player confused as to why their character was suddenly somewhere completely different than where they’d last seen them and doing something they had no reason to do.
Would Like:
* Less use of the “we’re new and had no idea what to expect” excuse. It would have been more beneficial if the author had reached beyond that excuse and examined the reasons behind why they felt it was a viable excuse to begin with.
* Less clunky game design that utilizes all aspects of game development to the best of each area’s abilities.
* Specific areas should have had a “Team Lead” to help manage communication between areas, time, and resources more efficiently.
* Fewer cinematics and more varied gameplay. Cinematics are great but when more effort has been put into them than gameplay the audience suffers. They bought a game, not a movie.
Credit where credit is due:
Goodfellow, Nicole. (2010, January 13). Postmortem: torus games' scooby-doo! first frights. Retrieved from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4242/postmortem_torus_games_.php
A Social Videogame (Facebook or Party Game): Wild West Town by Clipwire Games
Positives:
+ The tutorial quests are easy to follow and informative. They lead seamlessly into the main quests which are the game’s main distinction from other farm or frontier based games.
+ Building a new structure is as simple as choosing the desired building from the catalog and then clicking the ground where you’d like to place it. It also doesn’t take all of your supplies, energy, oil, or gold.
+ Planting crops is as easy as clicking on which one you’d like in the catalog and then clicking a spot on the ground where it should be planted. Once the crops are planted you can water them at various stages of growth for extra experience points.
+ Gameplay is mainly quest driven. Throughout a quest line the game will ask you to do various tasks like plant “x” crops or build a certain building. Accomplishing these tasks grants experience, money, supplies, and oil. It also moves the quest forward to the next stage where you’re asked to do more tasks, each a bit more difficult from the last.
Negatives:
- During a quest line the game will take control of the camera and move the player’s point of view where it thinks it should be even if the player is actively doing something.
- If you’ve finished all the quests there really is nothing left to do except click around your town to clear out debris, feed animals, tend crops, and visit neighbors. This takes 10 minutes or less and is not very engaging.
- The “hunger” indicator for the livestock is inelegant and blocks the player’s view of what’s behind it. If the player has no energy to feed the animal the only other alternative to see behind the hunger indicator is to move the animal.
- I do not like that the game requires the player to have a certain number of friends before allowing them to do certain things like finish a quest or expand their town. Granted it is a social game but this is a relatively unknown game and few play it.
- Some of the quests contain multiple parts which make them seem to go on forever. These multi-part quests also tend to overuse certain features such as fire-starting bandits or requiring an expensive recipe to be prepared in the Cook House.
Thoughts:
~ The game’s art is nicely done. I like the variety of facial expressions available to build your character. You no longer have to play a perpetually happy character if you don’t want to. They can be worried, frightened, or angry.
~ I like the fact that new NPCs travel into town on the train instead of just appearing out of thin air. This gives the player a sense of anticipation every time the train pulls up to the platform. Who is the train dropping off now? What adventure will they bring with them?
~ Energy seems to be a gameplay barrier. There is never enough of it to get things done. It can be a bit frustrating to find that you need to do a number of things but only have the energy to complete a few. Energy does increase as the player levels up but it is a slow process.
~ This game is full of stories. Every quest comes with one that is new or builds on a past storyline the player has already experienced. This is unique for this type of game. Usually it’s simply point and click with no real reason why. One thing I would like to change, though, is the fact that when you’re experiencing a story the game essentially shuts down until you’ve read the dialogue on the screen. If you were in the middle of an action when a story is triggered then the action is dropped and you’re forced to pay attention to the story. It’s too bad that your crops are now withered because the story was more important.
Would Like:
* More variety of clothing and hair for the characters. It’s obvious that the artists had fun with the facial expressions due to the large variety. Now, they should have fun with the clothing and hair options. If nothing else, add some more color options to what’s already available.
* The ability to purchase hard to find ingredients for the Cook House from the game catalog. They can be in the Premium section and cost Bank Notes but at least give us the option. As it stands we need to wait for that hard to find ingredient to drop if we need it. This can put a halt to gameplay as we can’t do anything until we get it.
* I’d love a revamp of the gift shop. It is confusing to use. As a new player, if you don’t have a gift shop in your town your friends can’t help you. Once you have a gift shop you have to decide whether you want to ask for gifts or send them. Each gift is assigned a weight. The weight limits not only which gift you select to send but also the number of friends you can send the gift to.
* I’d like the time limit for helping friends through the Facebook news-feed to be reworked. I understand the need for a time limit but the game only allows a player to help a friend with a news-feed task once every 24 hours. That is way too high of a limit especially considering that few people play this game and the quests require that you ask for a number of items through the feed. If you have 10 friends but need 20 items then it will take you 2 days to complete that part of a quest.
*Actions beyond the usual click-fest that this game ultimately is. When all the prettiness is stripped away this game is essentially all about clicking to get a reaction whether it is a prize, experience, or some form of currency.
Credit where credit is due:
Johnson, Jeremiah Leif. (2011, March 16). Wild west town review . Retrieved from http://www.gamezebo.com/games/wild-west-town/review
Clipwire Games. (2011, February). Wild west town - open beta forum. Retrieved from http://forum.clipwiregames.com/forumdisplay.php?111-Wild-West-Town-Open-Beta
+ The tutorial quests are easy to follow and informative. They lead seamlessly into the main quests which are the game’s main distinction from other farm or frontier based games.
+ Building a new structure is as simple as choosing the desired building from the catalog and then clicking the ground where you’d like to place it. It also doesn’t take all of your supplies, energy, oil, or gold.
+ Planting crops is as easy as clicking on which one you’d like in the catalog and then clicking a spot on the ground where it should be planted. Once the crops are planted you can water them at various stages of growth for extra experience points.
+ Gameplay is mainly quest driven. Throughout a quest line the game will ask you to do various tasks like plant “x” crops or build a certain building. Accomplishing these tasks grants experience, money, supplies, and oil. It also moves the quest forward to the next stage where you’re asked to do more tasks, each a bit more difficult from the last.
Negatives:
- During a quest line the game will take control of the camera and move the player’s point of view where it thinks it should be even if the player is actively doing something.
- If you’ve finished all the quests there really is nothing left to do except click around your town to clear out debris, feed animals, tend crops, and visit neighbors. This takes 10 minutes or less and is not very engaging.
- The “hunger” indicator for the livestock is inelegant and blocks the player’s view of what’s behind it. If the player has no energy to feed the animal the only other alternative to see behind the hunger indicator is to move the animal.
- I do not like that the game requires the player to have a certain number of friends before allowing them to do certain things like finish a quest or expand their town. Granted it is a social game but this is a relatively unknown game and few play it.
- Some of the quests contain multiple parts which make them seem to go on forever. These multi-part quests also tend to overuse certain features such as fire-starting bandits or requiring an expensive recipe to be prepared in the Cook House.
Thoughts:
~ The game’s art is nicely done. I like the variety of facial expressions available to build your character. You no longer have to play a perpetually happy character if you don’t want to. They can be worried, frightened, or angry.
~ I like the fact that new NPCs travel into town on the train instead of just appearing out of thin air. This gives the player a sense of anticipation every time the train pulls up to the platform. Who is the train dropping off now? What adventure will they bring with them?
~ Energy seems to be a gameplay barrier. There is never enough of it to get things done. It can be a bit frustrating to find that you need to do a number of things but only have the energy to complete a few. Energy does increase as the player levels up but it is a slow process.
~ This game is full of stories. Every quest comes with one that is new or builds on a past storyline the player has already experienced. This is unique for this type of game. Usually it’s simply point and click with no real reason why. One thing I would like to change, though, is the fact that when you’re experiencing a story the game essentially shuts down until you’ve read the dialogue on the screen. If you were in the middle of an action when a story is triggered then the action is dropped and you’re forced to pay attention to the story. It’s too bad that your crops are now withered because the story was more important.
Would Like:
* More variety of clothing and hair for the characters. It’s obvious that the artists had fun with the facial expressions due to the large variety. Now, they should have fun with the clothing and hair options. If nothing else, add some more color options to what’s already available.
* The ability to purchase hard to find ingredients for the Cook House from the game catalog. They can be in the Premium section and cost Bank Notes but at least give us the option. As it stands we need to wait for that hard to find ingredient to drop if we need it. This can put a halt to gameplay as we can’t do anything until we get it.
* I’d love a revamp of the gift shop. It is confusing to use. As a new player, if you don’t have a gift shop in your town your friends can’t help you. Once you have a gift shop you have to decide whether you want to ask for gifts or send them. Each gift is assigned a weight. The weight limits not only which gift you select to send but also the number of friends you can send the gift to.
* I’d like the time limit for helping friends through the Facebook news-feed to be reworked. I understand the need for a time limit but the game only allows a player to help a friend with a news-feed task once every 24 hours. That is way too high of a limit especially considering that few people play this game and the quests require that you ask for a number of items through the feed. If you have 10 friends but need 20 items then it will take you 2 days to complete that part of a quest.
*Actions beyond the usual click-fest that this game ultimately is. When all the prettiness is stripped away this game is essentially all about clicking to get a reaction whether it is a prize, experience, or some form of currency.
Credit where credit is due:
Johnson, Jeremiah Leif. (2011, March 16). Wild west town review . Retrieved from http://www.gamezebo.com/games/wild-west-town/review
Clipwire Games. (2011, February). Wild west town - open beta forum. Retrieved from http://forum.clipwiregames.com/forumdisplay.php?111-Wild-West-Town-Open-Beta
Thursday, May 12, 2011
A Web Browser/Flash Video Game: Robot Unicorn Attack by Spiritonin Media Games
I first saw Robot Unicorn Attack advertised during the Adult Swim segment on Cartoon Network. The unicorn part of the title held no interest for me. The robot portion, however, made me curious. Were the developers able to seamlessly integrate a robot and a unicorn? What kinds of attacks would a robot unicorn make?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
An Analysis of HUD Use in a Video Game: Warhammer Online (MMORPG)
Anyone who's played Warhammer Online knows how incredibly flexible their heads-up display is. Just about everything can be moved, adjusted, or tweaked. Plus, if Warhammer hasn't provided the exact display module you want there's a very good chance that someone else has and you simply need to download and install it. Let's analyze why Warhammer's HUD is one of the best...
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A Response to the “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” Handout
The first time I saw the Levi’s commercial that used Walt Whitman’s “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” poem as a theme I was quite taken aback. It seemed to be such an odd pairing even though the Levi’s brand and Whitman are of an era. The message the advertising company was attempting to convey was totally lost on me. I just could not reconcile the poem with the imagery and that overshadowed everything else.
I like the poem itself. I like the grittiness and enthusiasm of it. I like the symbolism Whitman has incorporated into it contrasting the western expansionists with the old world Europeans. It is a youthful poem for, at the time it was written, a youthful country.
What I don’t like is the imagery chosen to go with it. It seems disconnected from the poem. It’s also a bit jarring with the quick switches from unrelated scene to unrelated scene. I understand that Levi’s is trying to draw a parallel between the youth in the poem and the youth in the commercial’s imagery but it misses the mark because the two types of youths are not similar. The youth in the imagery are just that, young people. On the other hand, the youth the poem is referring to are not actual young people but the youthfulness of an entire country, America. When the poem was written America was considered youthful when compared to older, long-established European countries. The two do not equate at all. In fact, they are two very different concepts.
I accept that I am not in the intended demographic for this commercial. That could be why I dislike it, it wasn’t made to appeal to me. I do think that with a change of imagery the commercial could appeal to a wider demographic than first intended. Whitman is classic, for a commercial that uses his poetry to be anything less is disappointing.
Credit where credit is due:
Whitman, Walt. (1891). Leaves of Grass. The walt whitman archive. Retrieved May 11, 2011, from http://www.whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1891/poems/99
Blash, M. for Levi Strauss & Co. (Producer). (2009). Levi's – o pioneers! (go forth) commercial. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG8tqEUTlvs
I like the poem itself. I like the grittiness and enthusiasm of it. I like the symbolism Whitman has incorporated into it contrasting the western expansionists with the old world Europeans. It is a youthful poem for, at the time it was written, a youthful country.
What I don’t like is the imagery chosen to go with it. It seems disconnected from the poem. It’s also a bit jarring with the quick switches from unrelated scene to unrelated scene. I understand that Levi’s is trying to draw a parallel between the youth in the poem and the youth in the commercial’s imagery but it misses the mark because the two types of youths are not similar. The youth in the imagery are just that, young people. On the other hand, the youth the poem is referring to are not actual young people but the youthfulness of an entire country, America. When the poem was written America was considered youthful when compared to older, long-established European countries. The two do not equate at all. In fact, they are two very different concepts.
I accept that I am not in the intended demographic for this commercial. That could be why I dislike it, it wasn’t made to appeal to me. I do think that with a change of imagery the commercial could appeal to a wider demographic than first intended. Whitman is classic, for a commercial that uses his poetry to be anything less is disappointing.
Credit where credit is due:
Whitman, Walt. (1891). Leaves of Grass. The walt whitman archive. Retrieved May 11, 2011, from http://www.whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1891/poems/99
Blash, M. for Levi Strauss & Co. (Producer). (2009). Levi's – o pioneers! (go forth) commercial. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG8tqEUTlvs
Monday, May 9, 2011
A Response to a Bug Found in a Game or Bug Report: Fallen Earth, an MMORPG
I joined the Fallen Earth closed beta soon after it began. The game lured me in with its post-apocalyptic theme and I was ready to break it to make it better. It quickly gave me the opportunity to squash not just one bug but several.
The first bug I encountered was a crash to desktop. I had moved my character into an empty building and clicked the “Menu” button in the options bar. When the main menu opened I clicked “Exit”. The game immediately crashed to desktop. I cleared my computer’s cache and dumped the memory. Then I went back into the game. My character reappeared right where I had left her so I took a screenshot of her location and then repeated the above steps. The game crashed to desktop once again. I then filed a bug report with the developers.
Fallen Earth made it quite easy for their Beta Testers to file bug reports. There was a link placed prominently in the closed beta section of the forum. One click and a detailed bug report form would load. We were expected to enter our character’s name, the exact location in the game world we were when the bug occurred, the type of bug that occurred, how frequently we experienced the bug, which version of the game we were testing, and a summary of what we had experienced. They also asked us to attach screenshots of the bug and any other files produced by the bug such as .dmp files created by crashes.
While the developers were new to creating MMORPG games they handled the closed beta like veterans. Every bug report that was filed received a response. Sometimes the response was to gather more information or ask you to recreate the bug. Other times the response was simply to thank you for filing the report and to let you know that they’re working on fixing the issue. It was a very positive experience for me.
Credit where credit is due:
Fallen Earth Forums. (2007, January). Various Online Forum Comments. Retrieved from http://forums.fallenearth.com/fallenearth/index.php
The first bug I encountered was a crash to desktop. I had moved my character into an empty building and clicked the “Menu” button in the options bar. When the main menu opened I clicked “Exit”. The game immediately crashed to desktop. I cleared my computer’s cache and dumped the memory. Then I went back into the game. My character reappeared right where I had left her so I took a screenshot of her location and then repeated the above steps. The game crashed to desktop once again. I then filed a bug report with the developers.
Fallen Earth made it quite easy for their Beta Testers to file bug reports. There was a link placed prominently in the closed beta section of the forum. One click and a detailed bug report form would load. We were expected to enter our character’s name, the exact location in the game world we were when the bug occurred, the type of bug that occurred, how frequently we experienced the bug, which version of the game we were testing, and a summary of what we had experienced. They also asked us to attach screenshots of the bug and any other files produced by the bug such as .dmp files created by crashes.
While the developers were new to creating MMORPG games they handled the closed beta like veterans. Every bug report that was filed received a response. Sometimes the response was to gather more information or ask you to recreate the bug. Other times the response was simply to thank you for filing the report and to let you know that they’re working on fixing the issue. It was a very positive experience for me.
Credit where credit is due:
Fallen Earth Forums. (2007, January). Various Online Forum Comments. Retrieved from http://forums.fallenearth.com/fallenearth/index.php
Sunday, May 8, 2011
A Multiplayer Video Game: Mario Kart for the Wii
Anyone with a child knows that when they get their hands on a game they love they play it constantly. That is the case with Mario Kart for the Wii and my son. As it's a multiplayer game he was always asking my husband and I to race against him. Those races lead to a lot of laughter and a few thrown Wii controllers. Let's see why...
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Lost Garden's "A Blunt Critique of Game Criticism"
I stumbled on this post, "A Blunt Critique of Game Criticism" by Daniel Cook, through a retweet on Twitter. It's written on his "Lost Garden" blog. Needless to say it elicited a broad spectrum of reactions in me. I'm guessing that I would be considered one of the "partial game illiterates" who write "increasingly wordy missives" at the encouragement of "various university departments". So, let's analyze this...
Friday, May 6, 2011
A Pre-1990 Video Game - Pac-Man (1980)
When I think about pre-1990 video games all of the usual classics come to mind but the game that leads the list is Pac-Man. It was a phenomenon among video games. Today it is still the best-selling coin operated video game in history. Let's analyze why...
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Poorly Rated Video Game - DC Universe Online (MMORPG for the PC & PS3)
Again, I used Gamespot's Top Rated PC Games List to choose a game for my analysis of a poorly rated video game. The lowest rating on the list was a 7.0 and, although I'm sure I've played games rated lower than this, I was unable to get the list to show anything rated lower. Searching through the games rated 7.0 I found that the lowest one on the list I've played is DC Universe Online, an MMORPG by Sony Online Entertainment. Let the analysis begin...
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
A Highly Rated Video Game - Guild Wars (MMORPG for the PC)
I used Gamespot's Top Rated PC Games List to choose a game for my analysis of a highly rated video game. Guild Wars was rated a 9.2 and, while it's not the highest rated game I've played, it is my favorite. The fact that I'm a huge fan of Guild Wars made its choice for this analysis that much easier. I tried to be objective in my analysis but it was difficult considering how much I like the game.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Sony Hacked
I'm sitting here trying to work on my Game Design and Development assignments but I can't concentrate. I'm so freaking irritated with the whole Sony fiasco that it's taking over every other thought process in my head. Pretty soon it's probably going to liquify my brain allowing it to leak out onto my shoulder.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Guild Wars 6th Anniversary
I was excited to see that it was Guild Wars 6th anniversary celebration this weekend. I love that game. In fact, it's my favorite MMO of all time. So, I signed on last night looking forward to some anniversary fun. Sadly, it was not to be had.
First of all I looked through my many toons to see if any of them had a birthday gift. Only my little monk had so I eagerly clicked on it and got a Palawa Joko mini-pet. Not bad for a 2nd year birthday gift. I quickly stuffed it in my Xunlai Chest and logged into my main character, a wammo named Proper Jack. I made a quick trip to the Eye of the North and dedicated the mini-pet at her shrine. She gets all the good stuff.
Next I took her to the Shing Jea Monastery where the anniversary celebration was taking place. This is where the disappointment set in. They had the usual Shing Jea Boardwalk games going which are essentially pay-for-title-points events. I didn't want to take part in them because I'm trying to save up for an elite armor set for Jack.
So, I decided to try the roller beetle racing. It was fun the first 3 or 4 times around the track. Then boredom set in because the track never varied. The skills never varied. The mystery boxes set along the track only contained power-ups and no other prizes. Setting boredom aside, I raced enough to get 5 of the victory tokens. This is quite a feat for me since I'm rather bad at racing but I wanted to get at least a small prize. Turned out I wasn't even able to get the smallest prize because they cost 10 victory tokens.There was no way I was going to race enough to get 5 more tokens. It just wasn't fun enough for me. So, I gave my tokens to my husband and he got a Flask of Firewater with them. All of that for a +3 to his Drunkard title.
While I am disappointed that the 6th Anniversary celebration wasn't better I do know why. They are focusing their energy on Guild Wars 2 and that is perfectly acceptable to me. I'm very excited about Guild Wars 2 and thoughts of it soothed my disappointment away. I can't wait to make an Asuran. Hopefully there will be a Golem-mancer profession for them. That would totally ROCK.
First of all I looked through my many toons to see if any of them had a birthday gift. Only my little monk had so I eagerly clicked on it and got a Palawa Joko mini-pet. Not bad for a 2nd year birthday gift. I quickly stuffed it in my Xunlai Chest and logged into my main character, a wammo named Proper Jack. I made a quick trip to the Eye of the North and dedicated the mini-pet at her shrine. She gets all the good stuff.
Next I took her to the Shing Jea Monastery where the anniversary celebration was taking place. This is where the disappointment set in. They had the usual Shing Jea Boardwalk games going which are essentially pay-for-title-points events. I didn't want to take part in them because I'm trying to save up for an elite armor set for Jack.
So, I decided to try the roller beetle racing. It was fun the first 3 or 4 times around the track. Then boredom set in because the track never varied. The skills never varied. The mystery boxes set along the track only contained power-ups and no other prizes. Setting boredom aside, I raced enough to get 5 of the victory tokens. This is quite a feat for me since I'm rather bad at racing but I wanted to get at least a small prize. Turned out I wasn't even able to get the smallest prize because they cost 10 victory tokens.There was no way I was going to race enough to get 5 more tokens. It just wasn't fun enough for me. So, I gave my tokens to my husband and he got a Flask of Firewater with them. All of that for a +3 to his Drunkard title.
While I am disappointed that the 6th Anniversary celebration wasn't better I do know why. They are focusing their energy on Guild Wars 2 and that is perfectly acceptable to me. I'm very excited about Guild Wars 2 and thoughts of it soothed my disappointment away. I can't wait to make an Asuran. Hopefully there will be a Golem-mancer profession for them. That would totally ROCK.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Welcome to my Grub Street.
I've set this blog up to aid me in my Game Design and Development Analysis class. The final project is a compilation of analyses of gaming and various other experiences. While it is possible to do this in a Microsoft Word document, I feel that the blog format is better suited to the project. Hopefully it won't be difficult to translate this blog into the appropriate format when it comes time to turn it in for grading. That said, I'm off to play some Facebook games and possibly some Aion. It is still my Spring Break, after all!
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