Now, you KNEW I was going to take a potshot at EA for their new DRM stance in my comic.
It is my dream to someday focus all of my might, my power, and my command of the English language, and concentrate my efforts into a single blow so severe, so cutting, and so precise, that EA might take a sort of disinterested halfway glance in my direction.
The dream lives on…
Here is the video project I’ve been working on. Part documentary, part op-ed, it tries to make the case that the game nobody is talking about is the most innovative game of 2008. This game is a gateway drug. And we need more of those.
I’m not thrilled with how it turned out. I’m not crazy about the titles & credits, there are clicks and pops in a couple of spots because Windows Movie Maker sucks, I had to cut most of my crude and feeble attempts at humor to meet the 10-minute YouTube limit, and my diction was sloppy in a couple of places. And while I’m at it, “Reset Button” probably isn’t the most catchy or original thing to call it, but you gotta call it something. I thought I should call it something retro and old-timey. Maybe “Penny Arcade”? I should Google and see if anyone is using that.
Ah well. I’ve wanted to get this out of my system for a while now. I imagine it will stand or fall based on the ideas it contains, not on my various technical deficiencies.
Now that I’ve sufficiently lowered your expectations, here is the fruit of my labors:
Link (YouTube) |
1,000 geek points to whoever can identify the music in the end credits. And I’m serious about the question I ask towards the end: Do you need a game to punish you for failure in order to enjoy victory? (I’m not just talking about blocking progress until you overcome the challenge, but taking away existing progress when you fail.) Does making the punishment more punitive make winning more fun?
Share and enjoy.
The third and final of the end-of-year awards. Is up. Travis insults all Fallout fans in this one and – by extension – me.
The big DRM news going around – by which I mean was going around, last week, when I was too busy to talk about it – was the news that EA was dropping SecuROM and putting their games on Steam.
People are once again celebrating that “EA is getting rid of icky DRM! Yay!” But watch the language being used here. They simply claim they are no longer using third party DRM. This means they are using some form of DRM. By which they either mean Steam itself (but wouldn’t that also fall under “third party”?) or some system they came up with on their own. This could be weasel language to give them the room to add DRM if they think they need it, or it could mean they’re just replacing SecuROM with something just as bad, but which isn’t called SecuROM and thus won’t have all the bad press attached to it. It’s hard to tell how much of this is a PR move and how much is a technological move. I imagine the pirates will let us know once they crack open those first few games and see how rotten they are inside.
Paranoia aside, it’s entirely possible that this means EA games will be no more encumbered than other Steam games. But even if that’s true, this news is bittersweet to me. On one hand, it’s great that they are at last listening (somewhat) to reason. On the other hand, my objections were always centered around online activation, not SecuROM, and they’re keeping that. (It’s implicit with Steam.)
This is what the majority of the fans wanted, and I’m happy for them. It makes sense as a business move. This will bring back the vast majority of their PC customers, and only die-hards like me will hesitate. If I can refer back to the chart I used before:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “EA On Steam”
Here is one of my gifts, which is relevant to what we have going on around here:
 |
Merry Christmas. Have a great holiday.
EDIT: And maybe not post spoilers for my less-than-12-hours-old Christmas present in the comment thread?
Sheesh.
Part 2 of Travis’ year-end awards is now up. For some behind-the-scenes droning, read on:
To clear up some misconceptions: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Stolen Pixels #48:
2008 Awards, Part 2″
Anyway, while I was there I found this videogame review. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to post this here without causing a rift. If you find yourself vanishing or notice that loved ones no longer recognize you, please stop reading immediately.
Thanks,
Shamus
Review of Silent Hill Turbo HD II, from the future:
Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Review:
Silent Hill Turbo HD II”
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