In the book of short-sighted, cynical ineptitude, a new chapter has been authored. Apparently the people of Activision believe that the need for sequels transcends the need for quality, originality, aesthetics, wit, and fun. The industry is rife with counter-examples, but you’d have to know something about videogames to understand that and spot the changes that are going on. And for whatever reason, none of the big publishers will let gamers into the boardroom.
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| xMEGA MANx offers us his Sun Tzu-esque advice on battle strategy. |
This has always been my #1 gripe with online games, that a majority of players are idiots at risk assessment and are impervious to teaching. No matter how many times they end up face-down, they refuse to consider an alternate strategy.
In City of Heroes (and most other MMOs) foes in the game are color-coded. The coloring varies slightly from game to game, but in general it works something like this: Foes with White names are about the same level you are. Yellow foes are a little above you and so slightly tougher. Orange means it will be a challenge, Red means it will be very dangerous, and Purple is nearly insurmountable.
There is a bonus to XP when you fight something above your level. Some players assume more bonus=more better, and thus the thing turns into a sort of monkey trap for clueless players. Sadly, you have to team with these people, and the monkeys outnumber the smart people.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “MMO Games:
The Pwnage Principle”
Link (YouTube) |
That’s talent!
I have launched my latest rhetorical / satirical volley at the juggernaut that is EA. I’m sure they will crumble under the power of my arguments any second now. While we’re waiting for that, you can read today’s comic. You can read on here for an earlier version of the joke: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Stolen Pixels #36:
You Only Hurt the Ones Who Love You”
In earlier posts I was careful to mark spoilers, but since this is the end of the game nearly everything will be spoilers. You can go here to skip to the conclusion without reading the rest of the story if you treasure your ignorance.
Throughout the game, there have been two plot threads: One is personal to Travis, where he lets a few of his skeletons out of his closet and gets to know them. The second is the plot where Travis is gathering up these mysterious magical gnib-nabs for the spooky little girl. The former is just tacked on – Travis is sort of working out his issues by running into his past by accident. The latter is a largish retcon where the writers are trying to add a new character and new events to the origin of Silent Hill.
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Silent Hill Origins Part 6: Cult of Travis”
Michael Crichton, creator of Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park and ER, has died at 66.
So long Crichton, thanks for all the great yarns. Especially that dinosaur thing.
Playing Phantom of the Arcade within the context of a web page has me thinking about the new things we could be doing with interactive fiction that simply weren’t possible in the heyday of text adventures.
IF is an interesting game type. They player isn’t just working to complete the story, but to experiment with the gameworld and read what the author has to say. Being stuck in IF can be just as rewarding as moving forward, provided the game has interesting things to say about it.
For example: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Interactive Fiction:
Feedback Parser”
An ongoing series where I work on making a 2D action game from scratch.
Valve still hasn't admitted it, but the Half-Life franchise is dead. So what made these games so popular anyway?
My picks for what was important, awesome, or worth talking about in 2016.
Game developer Jon Blow is making a programming language just for games. Why is he doing this, and what will it mean for game development?
A look back at one of my favorite games. The gameplay was stellar, but the underlying story was clumsy and oddly constructed.
Small changes to the animations can have a huge impact on how the audience interprets a scene.
Here is a long look at a game that tries to live up to a big legacy and fails hilariously.
No Man's Sky is a game seemingly engineered to create a cycle of anticipation and disappointment.
For one of the most popular casual games in existence, Match 3 is actually really broken. Until one developer fixed it.
People were so worried about the boring gameplay of The Old Republic they overlooked just how boring and amateur the art is.
T w e n t y S i d e d
