Twenty Sided

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Sep 10, 2008

Filed under: Random 69 comments

I’m sorry I can’t find the comment now, but it’s been asked of me more than once. The question is roughly: Is there some price point at which you might buy Mass Effect and BioShock, simply treating them like an extended rental?

A really interesting question. Someone even offered to buy me a copy of BioShock. Hey, if the game is free then running out of installs is no big deal. It’s a disposable game, right? If it’s just $5, then you can play it until you run out of installs and still get your money’s worth. Even an 8 hour game is a bargain (assuming it’s not terrible) at a mere $5. Of course, my objections to DRM have never really been about money, but it’s an interesting proposal: Would you accept a gift game (paid for by someone else) with limited installed / online activation? If not, why not?

I really do find the idea of disposable software to be distasteful. The main reason I avoid this stuff is that the idea of software being aware of how much its been used and refusing to run at some point is just preposterous to me. It’s data. It’s bits. Its information, and imposing an artificial self-destruct into information is just demented.

Part of it is that I don’t want to worry about “using it up”. Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Cheap Disposable Games”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

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BioShock: Demo

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Sep 10, 2008

Filed under: Rants 102 comments

 Treacherous ComputingPrevious Post

Next PostJohn Riccitiello hates DRM 

I wasn’t going to write an article on this at all, but now people have forced my hand. In the comments of my previous post people were shocked, shocked(!) that I dumped on BioShock after playing just twenty minutes of the demo. I claimed it was shorter, shallower, and an example of what was wrong with PC gaming. Surely I needed I play for longer than that to make that sort of call?

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “BioShock: Demo”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

 Treacherous ComputingPrevious Post

Next PostJohn Riccitiello hates DRM 

102 comments

The Other Golden Age

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 9, 2008

Filed under: Links 87 comments

 Amazon.co.uk censoring reviewsPrevious Post

Next PostIs DRM Killing PC Gaming? 

In an odd coincidence, Sean Sands published an article on the Golden Age of Gaming over at The Escapist, suggesting that the best days of gaming are… right now. This is in stark contrast to the article I put up on the same day, suggesting that the best days are behind us.

To be fair, we’re a bit apples-and-oranges here: He’s talking about gaming in general, and I was talking about the PC Platform, which is undeniably a mess. He cites BioShock, which is a great example of of everything that’s gone wrong with PC Gaming. BioShock is shallower, shorter, and less fun than System Shock 2, and was mired in DRM controversy when it came out. But: It was available, stable, and DRM-free on consoles, while System Shock 2 didn’t even exist in the console world. Is it better to have a watered-down version of the game available to a wider audience? If you’re part of that audience, then yeah.

Is console gaming better these days? I can’t really tell. I missed all of the consoles between the Atari 2600 and the PS2, and I haven’t really gotten into the current-gen consoles just yet. (My kids play Wii, and I have a PS3 on loan from a friend here, but I have yet to immerse myself into the pool of current titles.) Are we in a Golden Age? The PC is in shambles these days, the PS3 is (I’m told) still short on compelling titles, the XBox 360 has (or perhaps had) gremlins. I don’t think the console world is a wasteland of misery, but calling this a Golden Age seems like a stretch. I guess I’ll find out for myself once I dive in.

Still, for those who have taken part in the last couple of console generations, I’m curious how the current crop of devices and games measure up. I’m particularly interested in hearing from people who agree with Sands: What is it about this generation that’s really rewarding?

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

 Amazon.co.uk censoring reviewsPrevious Post

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Amazon.co.uk censoring reviews

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 9, 2008

Filed under: Links 46 comments

 Gamer's Bill of RightsPrevious Post

Next PostThe Other Golden Age 

Negative reviews of Spore are being regularly deleted. I guess that’s one way to handle negative publicity.

What a great idea. I’m sure that will fix everything.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

 Gamer's Bill of RightsPrevious Post

Next PostThe Other Golden Age 

46 comments

Stolen Pixels #19:Assassin’s Greed

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 9, 2008

Filed under: Column 0 comments

 The Golden Age of PC GamingPrevious Post

Next PostStolen Pixels #20:Not All Change is Progress 

Here we have the last of the slightly disjointed Assassin’s Creed series. I thought I killed this game a few strips ago, but the dang thing just won’t shut up.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

 The Golden Age of PC GamingPrevious Post

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Treacherous Computing

By Shamus Posted Monday Sep 8, 2008

Filed under: Rants 87 comments

 Spore: RejectedPrevious Post

Next PostBioShock: Demo 

Earlier I linked to an article talking about the rise of the Trusted Platform Module. At first I thought it was just another doomed DRM scheme, but I have since been smacked in the head with the brick of enlightenment. Several people pointed out that not only is it not a joke, it’s already partly implemented.

Its advocates are calling it “uncrackable“, but we know better than that. Still, let us agree that it is very difficult to break. It operates at the hardware level, the operating system level, and the application level. The machine, the operating system and the program you’re trying to run all need to agree that you have the right to do whatever it is that you’re trying to do. Hacking around such a thing is non-trivial, because your machine is not on your side. Your machine does not trust you, or even itself to a certain extent. This article maps out the performance cost and absurdity of Vista’s current content protection, which is doubtless just a small part of their eventual overall TPM scheme.

At the heart of the thing is the assumption that the user is not to be trusted, and therefore control of the machine should be shifted away from the user and to a remote entity. Such an entity can decide what programs you can use, what documents you can read, and who you may share them with.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Treacherous Computing”

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

 Spore: RejectedPrevious Post

Next PostBioShock: Demo 

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Spore: Rejected

By Shamus Posted Monday Sep 8, 2008

Filed under: Rants 77 comments

 See Next Month's Minimum RequirementsPrevious Post

Next PostTreacherous Computing 

Of the current 158 customer reviews of Spore on Amazon.com, 134 are single-star reviews, most of which fault the game for its DRM.

See also here and here – apparently there have been problems with the activation servers.

I don’t fault folks like Strangeite, who picked up the game in spite of this idiocy. There are so few new ideas coming to us these days that it’s exceedingly difficult to just let something like this pass you by.

While a game with this much hype behind it can’t really flop, it can sell less than expected. But if that happens EA might just conclude that people don’t want new things and that they should go back to making more cookie-cutter graphics demos. Or they’ll just blame pirates. If the game sells they will either learn that we accept this sort of DRM, and if it doesn’t they’ll learn that we fear new ideas. Buy the game or don’t: There is no way your choice can push EA in a positive direction. No matter how things go, they are going to take home all the wrong lessons from this.

I take no joy in any of this. It’s such a massive, stupid waste of potential.

Shamus Young is a programmer, an author, and nearly a composer. He works on this site full time. If you'd like to support him, you can do so via Patreon or PayPal.

 See Next Month's Minimum RequirementsPrevious Post

Next PostTreacherous Computing 

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