Twenty Sided

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Jul 15, 2008

So one day Will Wright and Cliff Bleszinski decide to go to the beach. Having just enjoyed some hamburgers and ice cream cones together, they now have to wait an hour before they can go swimming. In order to pass the time, CliffyB suggests a game of volleyball.

Will agrees, but then he gets on the same side of the net as Cliff, leaving nobody on the opposite side.

Cliffy makes a face at him, “What the hell are you doing?”

Will Wright smiles earnestly, “I’m going to explore different ways of using the ball. You can do the same. Let’s experiment with hitting the ball. Rolling the ball. Spinning the ball. You know, everyone’s experience with the ball will be different. Maybe we will work together and see how long we can keep it in the air, or we could-“

“That’s stupid”, Cliff sneers, “Get over on your side of the net.”

There is an uncomfortable pause, and then Will suggests that they build sandcastles instead. Cliff shrugs indifferently, which Will takes as an approximation of, “Yes.” He goes off to find a nice patch where he’ll have an open area and access to both wet and dry sand.

Will decides that a “sandcastle” isn’t very interesting, so he decides to build something more elaborate. Maybe a sand sculpture of some sort? An animal? A geometric shape? After some deliberation he decides to go for a seven-foot reclining Buddha.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Game Developers at the Beach”

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.

 Story OwnershipPrevious Post

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90 comments

World of Warcraft:
Counterpoint

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Jul 15, 2008

Filed under: Links 51 comments

 A Peek Inside FlagshipPrevious Post

Next PostThe End of Dr. Horrible 

OHNOES they’re making fun of our game!

That’s not a quote so much as a summary. I underestimated the intensity of the fanboy backlash I’d get for daring to suggest that WoWcraft might not be a flawlessly executed source of boundless, radiant joy. It’s a fantastic game, but it’s a game with easily observable annoyances, and no amount of e.e. cummings styled flailing at the keyboard will change that.

The WoW posts have drawn in a fresh surge of fanboys who will brook no insolence from “n00bs” who mistake this life-substitute for something so pedestrian as mere entertainment. I can only imagine the coming indignation and rage there will be when I get around to jamming this game into a comic strip.

A number of comments (here, and on other sites) complained that my suggestions would make the game “too easy”. To claim this is to miss the point the point by distances that only a stellar cartographer could appreciate. Like, if that one Mexican restaurant got an exterminator so as to stop inadvertently serving cockroaches in their meals, would you complain because you are now getting less food? “Harder” gameplay should never be mistaken for “deeper” gameplay, and in fact all too often the former is used to conceal the lack of the latter.

No, we are not even remotely done talking about this game.

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.

 A Peek Inside FlagshipPrevious Post

Next PostThe End of Dr. Horrible 

51 comments

World of Warcraft:
Nitpicks

By Shamus Posted Monday Jul 14, 2008

Filed under: Game Reviews 129 comments

 World of Warcraft:
Hunter ClassPrevious Post

Next PostWorld Of Warcraft:
Server Culture 

I think I’ve finally been with this game long enough to tell the difference between newbie growing pains and actual design flaws. Despite the fun this game has to offer, it is not without its eccentricities and frustrations. This list is long. This is not because the game is rife with idiocy (at least, not more than other games) but simply because the game is so immense.

I actually considered making this a series, but then I decided to just dump the whole thing on you at once. Good luck. This does not mean I won’t write more nitpicks later. All of my efforts thus far have managed to raise a character to level 37, which means a vast portion of the game still remains beyond the horizon for me.

And now begins the nitpicking, which in this case takes the form of a numbered list:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “World of Warcraft:
Nitpicks”

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.

 World of Warcraft:
Hunter ClassPrevious Post

Next PostWorld Of Warcraft:
Server Culture 

129 comments

Stolen Pixels #2:
Capturing the Something

By Shamus Posted Friday Jul 11, 2008

Filed under: Column 0 comments

 Stolen Pixels: MetaPrevious Post

Next PostStolen Pixels #3:
Artificial Idiocy 

I just want to point out that the number of Stolen Pixel comics has now doubled.

I still surf the net the old fashioned way, by going to web pages and clicking on stuff. But if you’ve got one of those new RSS things you can apparently use this to feed it.

Note that I have closed the comments on this post not because I want to discourage you from leaving comments, but because I want to encourage you to leave them over there, in the forum so thoughtfully provided by our benefactors.

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.

 Stolen Pixels: MetaPrevious Post

Next PostStolen Pixels #3:
Artificial Idiocy 

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Gaming Down Under

By Shamus Posted Friday Jul 11, 2008

Filed under: Rants 57 comments

 World of Warcraft:
Dropping the BallPrevious Post

Next PostThe Devil's Keyboard 

What is wrong with videogame publishing in Australia? They get their games months after it hits the shelves in the Yankeeland, the games cost $20 to $40 more, even when the currencies are even, and their ratings system is a hash and is keeping games off the shelves.

I’ve never heard an explanation for why videogame imports are so messed up down there. If I was a publisher I’d want all of my English-language releases to happen at the same time, because doing otherwise just encourages impatient users to head for the torrents.

The extra $20 or $40 has never made any sense either. As far as I can tell it’s not an import tax or tariff or anything else that might be blamed on the government. Certainly other products seem to make it there without having an arbitrary amount tacked onto the price.

So…

Why?
How do we fix it?

EDIT: Apparently in the linked post there is a slight dig at my writing. Some people took offense at that, and then other people misunderstood those comments as digs at me, leading to a humors clog of confusion. The author of the original post emailed me to let me know that his comments on my writing were intended as irony.

In any case, no feelings hurt. No reason to be upset here. Just wanted to clear all that 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.

 World of Warcraft:
Dropping the BallPrevious Post

Next PostThe Devil's Keyboard 

57 comments

World Of Warcraft:
Introduce Yourself

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Jul 9, 2008

Filed under: Random 44 comments

 Blizzard SupportPrevious Post

Next PostA Perfectly Executed Disaster 

Allow me to take a break from analysis and nitpicking to just use this space as a megaphone:

A bunch of people have jumped on Kirin Tor and said hi to me in-game. I’ve grouped with a few people and had tremendous fun. Chatty DM and I stomped on the vile creatures that plague Bloodmyst Isle. My brother (who you’ll see in the comments here as Skeeve the Impossible) has jumped into the game and seems to be happy with his Gnomeish Mage. My friend Bogan and I have done a run through Deadmines and found various humorous ways in which to have the monsters of Azeroth send us to our deaths.

I have to thank the people who have dragged my diverse collection of incompetent heroes through their assigned quests, as well as those who humored me and all of my detailed questions instead of just replying, “Have you HEARD of Google, Shamus?”

Once again, here are my characters:

Shadekin, Livi, and Pavelock.

Pavelock happened by accident. I was just trying out a Dwarf to see their quests and starting area. Twenty-five levels later I realized I had a new main character. I do regret the name, though. It’s intended to be pronounced like Pave Lock but I’ve already had someone take it for Pavel-ock. Ugh. Someone else saw the “lock” at the end and assumed “Warlock”. I figured every possible compound word featuring stone is probably taken by one of the other million or so dwarves in the game. So “pave” seemed like a good substitute. (And Pavelock is actually a videogame reference.)

I do have trouble keeping track of who is who, in-game. With the proliferation of alts and names I get hopelessly lost. I see people talking about joining the game in my comments and on other websites, and I see new names in the game as people greet me, but I can’t sort out who is who. So, this is an invitation to people to post here and relate their name here in the comments with their name(s) in the game.

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.

 Blizzard SupportPrevious Post

Next PostA Perfectly Executed Disaster 

44 comments

Stolen Pixels: Meta

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Jul 9, 2008

Filed under: Column 23 comments

 Stolen Pixels #1:
Surreal TournamentPrevious Post

Next PostStolen Pixels #2:
Capturing the Something 

Yesterday’s comic was kind of strange, since the comment thread was split between the two sites. In the future I’ll have to encourage people to comment over there, and not here. It will help me earn my keep, as well as making the whole thing easier to follow so I don’t have to answer the same questions twice.

I do want to point out that even though the debut comic has a bunch of stuff about adding a story to ping-pong, it has nothing to do with the current Paint the Line series over at Penny Arcade, which does exactly that. In fact, I sent that text to my editor on June 9th, ages before Paint the Line appeared. This wasn’t some clumsy attempt at a tie-in or intended as a dig against PA. It’s just… an odd coincidence.

To answer the other questions that have been appearing in comments there, here, and in email:

1) Yes, the comic is going to cover many videogames, not just UT3. It will appear Tuesdays and Fridays.

2) My foray into the world of MMO games is directly related to the comic. I felt that I needed to focus on games with greater familiarity for the broader audience. I also wanted to make sure I was covering new ground instead of just reheating old ideas and re-foisting them on everyone. And finally, I really did want to check out the last great bastion of PC gaming and this seemed like a good excuse to do so.

3) I know Yahtzee’s latest video makes fun of webcomics. I have no idea if his feature on webcomics was designed to coincide with the onset of my comic or not. I’d call it a conspiracy, but after the thing with Ping-Pong I’m prepared to believe anything.

4) On the subject of credits: Yes, this is a paid gig. Yes, the Escapist owns the comic. I’m just a hired gun, although note that in this case I’m armed with a gun that shoots the funny. (One hopes.) The logo was done by someone more artistically inclined than I am. I really dig it, but no – I didn’t design it. I did come up with the title, and the concept is obviously nothing new for me. Yes. I have an editor now. Yes, the people at The Escapist are nice and we get on just fine. No I can’t get you Yahtzee’s autograph. Shut up.

5) Please, in the spirit of internet sharing, spread the love around. By which I mean post links to the comic all over the damn place, saying you love it. Yes, the launch went well, but there is always the desire to do better.

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.

 Stolen Pixels #1:
Surreal TournamentPrevious Post

Next PostStolen Pixels #2:
Capturing the Something 

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