RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
It's basically a concept I've explained in the past by saying that JRPGs are more like D&D where a Dungeon Master is telling you the story you going through, whereas WRPGs are more akin to LARPing.
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- Thread starter Poyunch
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It's basically a concept I've explained in the past by saying that JRPGs are more like D&D where a Dungeon Master is telling you the story you going through, whereas WRPGs are more akin to LARPing.
Frustrated_Grunt
Member
That's an interesting take on it. I would have never thought about looking at RPGs that way before.
Madrugador
Member
Messofanego
Banned
Soccer moms everywhere playing Bejeweled will finally be able to drop some Potato Rocks on Plants vs Zombie 2 lawns.
Madrugador
Member
Best episode I've seen in a while. Really interesting watch.
For those wondering, it's good perspective on Kinect.
Typographenia
Member
A rather intriguing topic. I've never messed with the kinect before, but I can really see the angle they're taking on it.
Madrugador
Member
New episode: Crowdfunding
Not being brand new doesn't make something irrelevant.
Nope, but episodes about things happening right now are more interesting to me.
New ep: Harassment
I liked this episode. The solutions they suggested, particularly the auto-mute for players who have been muted X% of the time is a good simple solution that can be easily implemented into existing services. There are detail to work out, like a viable avenue for the auto-muted to earn their privileges back for good behavior, but it's a good first step in the right direction.
I liked this episode. The solutions they suggested, particularly the auto-mute for players who have been muted X% of the time is a good simple solution that can be easily implemented into existing services. There are detail to work out, like a viable avenue for the auto-muted to earn their privileges back for good behavior, but it's a good first step in the right direction.
Typographenia
Member
Pretty good idea with the auto mute stuff, honestly.
I've only ever played a few select titles online (between both console and pc), and the primary reason I've avoided ever purchasing a subscription like xbox live is because I don't want to have to deal with the type of thing they address. It's not that I fear rejection or being verbally abused, but I just don't want to hear it. If I had a choice to inject that into my entertainment time, I don't think I would choose to do so, especially for a price.
The only place I've ever encountered such people were quite irregularly when I played L4D/L4D2 on steam. Fortunately for me, I was typically playing with groups of people that shared an equal distaste for such behavior that we would kick them unanimously, or they would eventually leave because nobody would respond to them directly. Obviously, this isn't the case at all for the general player, but it was really great to see that I wasn't alone at any given time with not tolerating the crap that flows from some people's mouths.
I really hope that there are advancements in the next console cycle, both on the hardware and software side, that help enable better community participation.
I've only ever played a few select titles online (between both console and pc), and the primary reason I've avoided ever purchasing a subscription like xbox live is because I don't want to have to deal with the type of thing they address. It's not that I fear rejection or being verbally abused, but I just don't want to hear it. If I had a choice to inject that into my entertainment time, I don't think I would choose to do so, especially for a price.
The only place I've ever encountered such people were quite irregularly when I played L4D/L4D2 on steam. Fortunately for me, I was typically playing with groups of people that shared an equal distaste for such behavior that we would kick them unanimously, or they would eventually leave because nobody would respond to them directly. Obviously, this isn't the case at all for the general player, but it was really great to see that I wasn't alone at any given time with not tolerating the crap that flows from some people's mouths.
I really hope that there are advancements in the next console cycle, both on the hardware and software side, that help enable better community participation.
Madrugador
Member
New episode: ARGs (part 1)
Typographenia
Member
I love ARGs, and I certainly wouldn't mind there being more in the future, but I had never really considered why they were so enjoyable. I always just assumed it was because I was already invested into the properties they were promoting, but I never thought it was because it made it more real because it was established in the world I live in.
Some interesting thoughts, but I hate they were splitting this up. I really wanted it to roll right into augmented, to see how they tied it together, haha.
Some interesting thoughts, but I hate they were splitting this up. I really wanted it to roll right into augmented, to see how they tied it together, haha.
boiled goose
good with gravy
That was genuinely great.
Caesar III
Member
The last Valve ARG was awesome!I dunno, whenever I see a new ARG I think "Great, some company is advertising at people again." Maybe if someone did one just for the fun of it, I'd like it, but that's probably too much to ask for.
Typographenia
Member
I really enjoyed the ones for Bioshock 2, Dead Space, LOST, and the Portal 2 one. It really doesn't feel as much like an advertisement when you participate, and it's generally pretty fun. Like they said in the video, the group trying out all sorts of different approaches and ideas to each new bit of info is amazing to watch and be a part of.I dunno, whenever I see a new ARG I think "Great, some company is advertising at people again." Maybe if someone did one just for the fun of it, I'd like it, but that's probably too much to ask for.
Marble Hornets is kind of an ARG, but much more passive than the above mentioned ones I've been in.
Madrugador
Member
New episode: ARGs (part 2)
Madrugador
Member
New episode: EC Fund Update
They basically talk about nothing. They could have done this when they actually had a real announcement.
They basically talk about nothing. They could have done this when they actually had a real announcement.
Yes, it's a simple solution.
But in cases like me, it wouldn't work. I mean I would be one of the people that would indirectly confuse that system, because most of the time I mute everyone when playing a game. Uncharted 3? Muting everyone. Binary Domain? Muting everyone (besides maybe coop play). Why? Because I'm used to use sound to figure out enemy locations. If I can't hear them properly, I will play worse. So if that system existed, I would be sending out signals like "all the players that I play with are harassing", where actually most of the time they don't. I just don't want to listen to them.
Percentage detection won't work good enough or even at all because of this. Muting is done on harassing players, but it's also done because someone just doesn't want to listen to other people talk. What is even harassment? A child screaming insults? Yes. What about 2 friends talking to each other? May be harassment to some, some others won't mind - both will press mute - now those 2 friends will get auto-muted, great. They also need to think about the other side of the fence. Trolls will use that system against the regular players. Muting people often, so "normal" players will get auto-muted by the system. That's especially problematic on a free network like PSN. Trolls can create 20 accounts, join a match with each, mute everyone and disconnect.
I mean even giving out scores for playing won't work properly. I played Demon's Souls a lot and in that game, the players will give each other ratings after finishing a level. If a player gets rated high, he will get more souls. If he won't, he will get less. Now theoretically this would have worked. In my case it worked sometimes. But some other times, I beat the boss almost by myself, the other player (that I actually helped beating the boss) didn't play properly. And what do I get? A bad rating. Although I helped him and did almost all the work. Why? Because he will get more souls that way.
What works is the GAF-method. Create an account. Wait 1/2 year. Get it approved. Be on trial for a time. Still bannable by a human at anytime. Works perfectly especially against trolls, because they get bored of waiting and troll somewhere else. But this of course is not usable for multiplayer gaming.
Madrugador
Member
New episode: Spectrum Crunch
Interesting. Never knew about that.
If you're interested in some extended info on the topic, here's an interview with Marty Cooper (the inventor of the Mobile Phone) from a couple of years back discussing matter. It's a very interesting listen.
Madrugador
Member
New episode: Hard-Boiled
Madrugador
Member
Uuuuuuugggghhhh sooooooo boooooorrriiiiinnnggggg
And it's that time of night where I find everything interesting.
Madrugador
Member
New episode: Games You Might Not Have Tried #4
It's a lot better than their last couple of episodes.
It's a lot better than their last couple of episodes.
Ultimadrago
Member
It's always interesting to hear his brief insights on these games. Though, I was only interested in Lone Survivor out of the ones listed this time. Just got it from the recent Humble Bundle too!
I'll check it out sooner than later.
I'll check it out sooner than later.
Yeah, I was interested in Lone Survivor since it was released and then it was added to the Humble Indie Bundle so that was cool.
I like these episodes. That spaceship bridge game sounds like a great time if you're the type of person who ever plays games over LAN.
Madrugador
Member
Another good episode. I like their suggestion for incomparables for combating power creep. Bit surprised they didn't mention sidegrades, like what TF2 does with its new weapons. Similiar to incomparables in that it's hard to compare two items side by side and definitively state that one is better than the other, but with the added benefit of being (mostly) simple numeric changes.
Madrugador
Member
New episode: The Heros Journey (Part 1)
Madrugador
Member
Typographenia
Member
Glad they'll be trading off art duties each episode now. That should be a big help for them.
Nice episode. I suppose I had never given much thought to games having issues from being too well balanced, but that was rather intriguing.
Nice episode. I suppose I had never given much thought to games having issues from being too well balanced, but that was rather intriguing.
Kontergurke
Member
Sirlin wrote some interesting comments about this latest episode.
Basically, Extra-Credits claims that because Chess and Starcraft are perfectly balanced, they have those problems they mention. But the source of those problems has nothing to do with the games being balanced.
They then take LoL as an example and explain why it's good design to purposefully make some champions stronger than others (so that more interesting strategies are being discovered/used). Sirlin again responds that the game would have even more valid strategies if the champions were perfectly balanced and every champion could therefore develop a sound counter-strategy to any given opponent.
In conclusion, he says "perfect imbalance" is just a lazy way around properly balancing a game.
Basically, Extra-Credits claims that because Chess and Starcraft are perfectly balanced, they have those problems they mention. But the source of those problems has nothing to do with the games being balanced.
They then take LoL as an example and explain why it's good design to purposefully make some champions stronger than others (so that more interesting strategies are being discovered/used). Sirlin again responds that the game would have even more valid strategies if the champions were perfectly balanced and every champion could therefore develop a sound counter-strategy to any given opponent.
In conclusion, he says "perfect imbalance" is just a lazy way around properly balancing a game.
Messofanego
Banned
Great episode, and that Sirlin response. I don't play any multiplayer games avidly, but I can understand the issue when relating to chess. I guess this is why asymmetrical modes are quite popular now, like Mercs vs Spies in Splinter Cell or humans vs zombies in L4D.
Madrugador
Member
Madrugador
Member
Given that most of my Steam games go unplayed and I have them just for collections sake, because they were cheap, I can't see my trading in those digital games. However theres a few PSN ones I wouldn't mind trading in.
I think this will come into force eventually and this will permanently lower the value of games to around Steam Sale levels. People will set the price, if they can sell the games for money.
Could lead to limited quantities of digital games available. A publisher might decide to only sell 50,000 copies of a game and only release 1,000 more keys a month to make sure used prices stay high.
Just such a complex thing to deal with that i don't wanna think about at 3am xD
They brought up some interesting points. Especially about being able to sell digital games directly to other people would be REALLY bad for developers/publishers if they don't get a cut of it, because there's literally no reason to buy a "new" digital game over a "used" one since it's just a license.
The idea of a "used" digital game is patently absurd. For a physical game, the packaging and disc will eventually get worn down/out to the point were the game could be unplayable from the disc, so selling it as used makes sense: you pay less for a product that had been worn down by prior use. This is absolutely not the case with a digital product. There is no wear and tear to a digital-dowload game (arguably, the same can be said for the actual contents of the game disc: the actual data isn't nearly as much at risk of degrading as the plastic on which it is etched). I have a hard time seeing digital resale of "used" product solving any of the problems facing digital game sales.
The strongest point made in the video is that technology has outpaced legislation. Based on the attitudes of a lot of GAFfers, I would say that it has also outpaced our cultural concept of property. We need to stop treating digital content like a physical object that one can own in the same way one owns a car and is limited by the same physical constraints. Our personal, political, and economic concept of digital ownership needs to evolve to deal with the realities of the medium, not shoe-horn it into existing laws and business practices. Subscription games may be one of the answers, or it could be something not yet fleshed out, but resisting the need to change is definitely not a long term solution.
The strongest point made in the video is that technology has outpaced legislation. Based on the attitudes of a lot of GAFfers, I would say that it has also outpaced our cultural concept of property. We need to stop treating digital content like a physical object that one can own in the same way one owns a car and is limited by the same physical constraints. Our personal, political, and economic concept of digital ownership needs to evolve to deal with the realities of the medium, not shoe-horn it into existing laws and business practices. Subscription games may be one of the answers, or it could be something not yet fleshed out, but resisting the need to change is definitely not a long term solution.
EatinOlives
Member
Agreed. I don't see any publisher getting on board with this as a standard policy. For me as a consumer there would be exactly zero incentive for me to buy new, meaning the publisher would get pennies on the dollar.
Used games are already making a good case for themselves. The only real disadvantage is having used packaging, but unless the disc itself is scratched to hell and back the game itself is going to be identical (shitty online pass DLC not withstanding)
Madrugador
Member
New episode: Mechanics as Metaphor (Part 1)
This week's episode is Spec Ops: The Line Part 1. And it's awful.
This is not a topic that requires two episodes to discuss, as evidenced by the fact that this is basically a seven-minute video of them going "This game is awesome and intersting you guys and next week we're going to talk about it for reals and it's so unbelievable and subverts tropes and oh man it's interesting but we're not going to tell you why yet." They just gush for the whole thing.
This is not a topic that requires two episodes to discuss, as evidenced by the fact that this is basically a seven-minute video of them going "This game is awesome and intersting you guys and next week we're going to talk about it for reals and it's so unbelievable and subverts tropes and oh man it's interesting but we're not going to tell you why yet." They just gush for the whole thing.