Twenty Sided

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Jul 16, 2008

Filed under: Personal 51 comments

If I seem uncharacteristically curt in the comments lately, it’s because I’ve read a generous surplus of comments along the lines of “STFU n00berz” from other people’s defective subliterate brats, and that sort of thing takes its toll on your patience. As always, I delete the pure ankle-biting insults on my own blog, which keeps things civil but also might make my hostility seem incongruous.

To a certain extent I have to enjoy pissing off the opposition, or else advocating unconventional gameplay and opinions becomes too much dang work. Several times I’ve hesitated before posting something, thinking “Oh man, this is going to cause a pain-in-the-ass thread.” The only way to get on with this is to accept it and enjoy the fencing, pointless as it is. If I seem mean spirited, it’s because I’m dumping a lot of agitation into a post as a sort of catharsis. I’m going to continue to review WoW as I do all games, but given the popularity of the title I expect things will be a little more combative the usual. At any rate, I’ll try to have some other posts as well, to prevent this from becoming a WoWblog.

Okay. Enough of this emo crap. Onward.

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 Beginning of The EndPrevious Post

Next PostActually, it CAN get worse 

51 comments

Stolen Pixels #3:
Artificial Idiocy

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Jul 15, 2008

Filed under: Column 1 comments

 Stolen Pixels #2:
Capturing the SomethingPrevious Post

Next PostStolen Pixels #4:
Epic Message 

Stolen Pixels #3 is up. You could go read it now, if you’re into that sort of thing. You could even comment. Or not. Whatever. I’m just reminding you. No need to get all defensive. I was just tryin’ to be nice.

Sheesh.

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 #2:
Capturing the SomethingPrevious Post

Next PostStolen Pixels #4:
Epic Message 

1 comments

Game Developers at the Beach

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Jul 15, 2008

Filed under: Game Design 90 comments

 Story OwnershipPrevious Post

Next PostThe Cost of Spectacle 

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

Next PostThe Cost of Spectacle 

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 

0 comments

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

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