With PAX just about two weeks away I am going to be turning my attention to all things related to the indie expo and what my plan of attack for the con will be. So here's a little list of what's coming up.
- What to do in Downtown Seattle.
- My PAX schedule.
- Daily PAX Updates.
- Post SWAG Bragathon.
L8rs.
Target is having a sale on 1600 MS Points cards; so you no longer have any real reason to bitch about Braid's pricing on XBLM. That is of course if you can't find one. In fact if you've read the first sentence I seriously urge you to get to a Target ASAP. Because I imagine there are others like myself that will buy 4 cards which essentially makes the fourth card free. When I was at Target last night there were about thirty, so I didn't feel to bad when I swiped more than one. But I imagine that most Target stores will be sold out by either late tonight or early tomorrow.
Braid by the way is an excellent game. And though you may be able to blaze through most of the game in less than a day, it'll be seven hours well spent. I myself have four pieces left to find, and while I doubt that I'll have the patience to complete the speed runs, I will definitely give it a try.
So there you have it, get to Target, buy a discounted points card, get Braid off of the Marketplace, and be 400 MS points towards your way to Bionic Commando Rearmed which releases in a few days.
FYI, I know the picture is crap, looking to get an iPhone, when I don't have to wait in a line for hours on end.
Dropped off a few games yesterday at a local GameStop, I was hoping to get enough cash to get a 4000 MS points card. It was sort of weird because I rarely go there anymore, it's usually to trade games in, never buy. In total there were 5 games and after confirming with the sales clerk that I was merely trading games in and thinking about buying something, she started inspecting the discs.
She asked if I had even played the games. I told her that I had, and tried to get as much GS points as I could in the process. She seemed surprised; and said that they looked new. She went on to describe how bad the condition of most of the games they get for trade-ins. I told her that The Simpsons game which I bought used off of GameFly is in pretty bad shape. It had been scratched pretty badly when I got it, so I put it through a cycle in my disc repair kit.
She said it's still looked pretty good. Which leads me to believe that there are an assload of kids out there that are doing something other than playing vids with thier game disc's!?! I know it's a maturity thing, and the majority of gamers are kids that probably don't buy their games with their own hard earned cash. But, now I have serious reservations about buying games used.
Anyway I was out the door with my 4000 MS points card with only $10.99 out of my pocketbook; time to get Braid, GW2 and Bionic Commando!!!
#7 Bland environments
The problem: Environments within the gameworld are repetitive, and/or many elements within the game are inoperative. I.E. doors that lead to nowhere or cannot be opened, hallways without signs or distinction, and repetitive objects that can neither be moved or interacted with.
Major culprits: Halo: Combat Evolved, Doom, Condemned: Criminal Origins
Avoidance: Specifically tailoring environments by designing them to be completely interactive. I'll never understand why devs put doors in the game yet I can never use them. What the hell is the point in that! Less bottles, crates, and cardboard boxes; more specific objects that relate to the environment.
#6 Linear gameplay
The problem: There's only one way to get through this FPS, if you don't like it TS!
Major culprits: Rainbow Six, Call of Duty 2, Perfect Dark
Avoidance: Designing the game to let the player choose what objectives are done and how they should be accomplished. In this case, I singled out two older games and a launch title, because most modern games are designed to be non-linear. However, there are still third party devs that seem not to get the point. Games in this day and age, especially first-person shooters, should be designed to leave objectives and environments open, giving players the choice to accomplish objectives how they please.
And there are free!!! Thanks to a user known to many as Pastapadre.
No $30 memory card transfers kits or mailing your card in with a donation. Just boot up the game go to the EA locker and DL.
Want to know more about the roster fiasco over the last couple of years? Kotaku has an excellent article on the roster modders who provide full names of collegiate players within NCAA football and basketball video games.
Have fun!!!
Yesterday I was going to post two seperate responses to Nintendo and Sony respectively. But after some internal deliberation, I found both addresses to be lacking. So much so that they don't deserve individual posts. As I said previously I don't pay much attention to the figures that are stated, they've never really impressed or surprised me.
What did surprise me was the lack of innovation from both companies. As Nintendo and Sony are both veterans that have, in the past, proved themselves by releasing/showing various new hardware and software which have had serious impacts on the industry. Instead what was delivered was statistic after statistic. As both companies had to have realized the at the end of the day previous, that they just brought their knife to a gun fight.
So in light of their lack of commitment to e3; I feel competent that I can summarize both Sony and Nintendo's keynotes each in a first-person perspective:
Sony: "Okay we f*^&ed up. We know we f*^&ed up. But we're going to make it better by cutting prices; mainly because we can't compete. So please, come back. We've got a new SOCOM game, God of War III, and.....well....please, come back."
Nintendo: "We'd like to show you forty-two other things we can do with wiimotes. None of which relate anything to Mario, Zelda, Kid Icarus or the many other licenses that we've got locked away in a vault and aren't going to do a damn thing with. Sure we've got new games in the pipeline, I don't know what they are, but if I find Shigeru; he can go through them in great detail. Shiggy? Shiggy? Has anyone seen a creative little Japanese guy around here somewhere? Seriously, this isn't funny anymore!?!"
Two companies who have both at one time or another dominated the games industry; have now become the underdogs. And only time will tell if MS can learn a thing or two from history. Mainly, that this is one market where you can never rest on your laurels.
I used to think that e3 was a great expo. I used to take the week off, read as much as I could, play with other individuals that I could talk to about the event and I even had my own mecca to LA back in 04'. But now the lack of intimacy of the event has made the 3-day extravaganza a little bit of a bore. Used to be that e3 was the an all-in moment at the poker game for first party developers. Now, it's just a jockeying point for 1st party execs to recite arbitrary stats, that couldn't be verified by the best financial analysts. Fact is that these guys cook their virtual books before they take the stage in July. And I've seen so much of in the last 14 years that I've grown tired of it.
That being said Microsoft has made an interesting move at this year's e3. Their interesting list of features for the new and improved 360 dashboard has me a little excited for the fall update. And there's the rub. When exactly is their fall update going to be? With a lackluster spring update, and the lack of games from June to late-October, and a plethora of mediocre XBLA games, the house of M has been one of respite.
Hopefully, this latest addition to the dashboard will quash statements from those within the community who bitch and complain about paying for XBL. Say what you want about the free services from Sony and Nintendo, it is becoming more and more apparent that those services can't hold a candle to the innovations and adjustments that are made to XBL via dashboard updates. And it should also be noted that these adjustments are tailored specifically from community members that use the product most. When you think about it it's really quite impressive.
I just got a phone call from Glenn at Microsoft. Apparently they have a US based call center somewhere on the east coast that handles disgruntled customers such as myself. Funny, because I sent the letter back in April which only puts them 90+ days behind the curve. Moving on, in talking to Glenn, he was interested in seeing if my two boxes were still working; I confirmed that the were. Then good ole Glenn starts to pitch me on re-upping the extended warranty on both 360's. Talk about brass ones.
This is sorta where I took over the conversation and informed Glenn that their main customer service department had "promised" me a new console and what I got in return was my original box that had been refurbished. I went on to explain that two departments thousands of miles apart should have a common understanding of each others functions and one should not promise what the other cannot deliver. In his response the drone went on to tell me that MS does not replace broken 360's with brand new ones. If there is a unit beyond repair then they'll replace it with a refurbished one.
"I am Jack's complete lack of surprise."
I refused the extended warranties and good ole Glenn gave me a 19 digit password so I can reach him in an emergency. I wonder if and when I do call him, I may just call to bust his balls, will it take him 90 days to get back to me?
#8 Bad cameras
The problem: 3D cameras that revolve around the main character lack flexibility, functionality, and complicate the perception of geometry within the game world.
Major culprits: Drake of the 99 Dragons, The Simpson's Game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Avoidance: If the camera can't rotate 360 degrees around the playable character, then it's not finished. At any point in time a 3D cam should be able to revolve around the users character within the game world. Anything less is well...unacceptable. To complete time trials, countdowns, or find collectibles you need a functional 3D camera; and to expect a player to accomplish any of the these areas of the game without a working cam is foolhardy.
#9 Time Trials and Countdowns
The problem: Countdowns and time trials are essentially a way of increasing a game's intensity and drama. However, it is often done in a way which either destroys the illusion of the game world or exposes major flaws within the game itself. It's never fun to replay a level where the goal is to complete a mission as fast as possible, and doing so to obtain an achievement is just flat out annoying. Very few Dev's have managed to do this well and those looking to incorporate this mechanic into their game should look to the Bungie's example at the end of Halo: Combat Evolved.
Major culprits: Tomb Raider Legend, Saints Row, TLOZ: Ocarina of Time (yeah I said it).
Avoidance: More care should be taken to develop the environment so that the countdown or time trial is both entertaining and moderately difficult. Additionally Dev's should restrict the implementation of this mechanic until the last act of the game where characters have been fleshed out. You know those hack and slash movies where they start killing the kids off early before you even know any form of a back story or premise, and you could really care less? Well that's bad writing and translating that into game development is as equally ignorant. Lastly, the game's progress should not rely on any of the aforementioned, to expect players to play the same segment of a game to progress the story smacks of a lack of imagination and foresight.
I really don't expect this list to be totally new to anyone. In fact the following is just a compilation of things that I believe that could be done better. And to be perfectly honest, these methods for building a games really aren't going anywhere. This is mainly because they have been perfected over the last ten years and little tweaks and modifications can alter the objective while still presenting a challenge that gamers are familiar with. Without further ado I present my highly touted and completely unofficial 10 sins of game development.
#10 Collectibles
The problem: I'm not totally sick of collecting items that unlock other features within the game. I am just sick of hunting all over for them; only to find that the few that I am missing are in parts of the world that either would seem to be completely out of the spectrum of the game. Often these coins, stars, or orbs are within areas of the gameworld that wouldn't be reached or discovered unless you'd spent the better part of a week trying to find them.
Major culprits: Crackdown, Assassins Creed and Superman.
Avoidance: Less collectibles that take more effort to acquire. Easier said than done than I'm afraid. Case in point Crackdown is great, because when you're near an orb you at least can hear the orb making noise and you know that you are close to one. However, 300 of these in any sandbox game is overkill. If you are one of the few that have gotten all 300, more power to you. But overall the goal encourages frustration, which in turn breeds dissatisfaction; the last thing you want as a dev. Less collectibles, equal less confusion. Making these objects harder to achieve gives the player higher level of satisfaction when they are acquired.
