This week’s episode of Extra Credits contained a mind-blowing blast from the past. This:
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I would say I saw this image for the first time at some point in 1979 or 1980, which would have made me 8 or 9. I remember it so vividly because this image is what made me want to learn to program. Or rather, it made me aware that such a thing could be done. Way back in one of my oldest posts, I said:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Atari Basic”
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So apparently there’s this thing happening on the Xbox LIVE Arcade. That’s the marketplace where you can buy casual and indie games for your Xbox. The marketplace has a customer-driven rating system, as online marketplaces do. Apparently, the fans of some games are voting down all other games so that their treasured titles can rise to the top. That’s a serious problem. Something like that can make a hash out of the whole system, rendering the scores useless to prospective customers. It could lead to a fanboy-driven flamewar like we see in certain corners of March Mayhem. Only here, instead of irritated fans you wind up with reluctant customers and lowered sales, which directly affects people trying to earn a living. I feel bad that Microsoft has a mess like this on their hands, and…
Hang on a second:
Many of the developers in the App Hub forum have been talking about ways to improve the system, but the biggest problem seems to be that users don’t have to play the game they are rating, or even own an Xbox. Changing that policy might go a long way to reducing this kind of manipulation.
Really Microsoft? XBLA is seven years old. What possible excuse could you have for missing such a glaringly obvious and easily implemented feature? Have you not been in the software business very long? Are you new to the internet? Are you not getting the funding you need? Are you unfamiliar with your own userbase of defective hatetrash?
How did you think this would turn out?
I would laugh at your misfortune, but it’s indie developers that are being hurt by your willful incompetence.
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I’m something of a Total War aficionado, so I imagine it comes as no surprise that Shogun 2: Total War (or Total War: Shogun 2, because apparently the naming scheme they’ve used since the beginning of the series is too confusing suddenly) was easily a pre-order guarantee for me. And I suppose I could talk about how fun the game is since they’ve scaled back and streamlined it compared to earlier titles, or how awesome it is that the AI finally understands what a “cavalry flank attack” is.
But… it almost seems too… nice for me to spend an entire post talking about how fun Shogun 2 is. What else could I do?
Oh! I know! Why don’t I list every single bug I’ve personally encountered so far? Yeah, that’ll work. I’m sure since this game is so great, the list will be short and concise, right?
Let’s see here…
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Shogun 2: Bug Report”
In my previous post I mentioned that the Crysis 2 story feels “clunky”. Some pointed out that a few of my criticisms of Crysis 2 worked equally well for Half-Life 2. After all, both games have a guy in a super-suit fighting aliens and government goons in a ruined city. They really do have the same recipe, and I think the difference in quality is dramatic. So let’s examine the gameplay and see if we can nail down the problems.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Crysis 2: Player Volition”
Last week we began a conversation between Yahtzee, Graham Stark, and myself. This week, the conversation is concluded.
I know we have another Extra Consideration coming up, although I don’t know when it will appear. (This conversation took place before PAX East.) I’m hoping they continue to mix up the hosts. They have Yahtzee, Graham, MovieBob, Portnow, and myself involved with this. They seem to pick three of us each week and toss us into the ring with a surprise subject. It’s a fun thing. My only lament is that I haven’t been matched up with Portnow yet. (He’s the writer behind Extra Credits, which is my favorite, never-miss feature on The Escapist.) Also, I think it would be cool if they could get Kathleen De Vere in on this at some point. (Maybe swap out Graham.) She’s smart and opinionated, which can only lead to good discussion.
Anyway. This is a fun thing they have going. Glad to be a part of it.
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Crysis 2 takes place in near-future New York. You play as a Marine Corps Force Recon unit nicknamed Alcatraz. You find yourself inadvertently volunteered to wear a nanosuit, an exotic and incredibly advanced bit of hardware that basically turns you into a superhero. You arrive in the city to find it’s being destroyed by an alien invasion. The alien activity underground is causing tremors, which leads to stunning moments of destruction and upheaval.
The story in Crysis 2 is actually a nice step up from the Uwe Boll-level schlock of the earlier games. It’s muddled, occasionally contrived, predictable, and poorly paced, but worse stories have been told about space marines. Of course, you don’t play Crytek games for the story, so it’s not fair to pick it apart. Let’s talk about the graphics.
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| Background:The Statue of Liberty. Bottom: Dudes what need shooting. Aside:Wow. The visuals in this game are ridiculously gorgeous. |
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Crysis 2: Story”
Here is Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director of Valve Corporation:
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Now here he is, as we’ve never seen him before:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “The Rise of Gabe Newell”
What is this Vulkan stuff? A graphics engine? A game engine? A new flavor of breakfast cereal? And how is it supposed to make PC games better?
Here is a 13 part series where I talk about programming games, programming languages, and programming problems.
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2015.
I wanted to take the file format of a late 90s shooter and read it in modern-day Unity. This is the result.
I called 2018 "The Year of Good News". Here is a list of the games I thought were interesting or worth talking about that year.
Yeah, this game is a classic. But the story is idiotic, incoherent, thematically confused, and patronizing.
An interesting but technically dense talk about gaming technology. I translate it for the non-coders.
Do you like electronic music? Do you like free stuff? Are you okay with amateur music from someone who's learning? Yes? Because that's what this is.
Is it real? Is PC gaming returning to its former glory? Sort of. It's complicated.
Some advice to game developers on how to stop ruining good stories with bad cutscenes.
T w e n t y S i d e d
