So, recently i have been trying to play Assassin's Creed 2... i know this game was somewhat critically acclaimed and tons of people out there supposedly love it. The actual game is ok - there are elements that i don't like (see partial list below). i think i'm on the 9th chapter or whatever they call it. i find it strange that games like this don't get slammed by people for being repetitive.
i find this game a hell of a lot more frustrating than fun. i have at least 8,000 words describing my current feelings for this game . There are a lot of repeats and very few would make it through language filters. If this game weren't so frustrating it would be better than the first one (frustrating but doable). i have seriously considered breaking the stupid disc. Difficulty levels are good. There are way too many timed sections as part of the main story.
Not only that, but this game takes some of my least favorite video game elements and adds them into one:
* Annoying puzzles - just to have annoying puzzles (referring to glyph puzzles)
* Poorly controlled vehicles (check) - i hate vehicles in games
* Escort Missions
* Stealth following missions
* Running down the enemy missions.
* Camera that seem to mess up occasionally (run and camera at same time is impossible)
* Jump puzzles (tons of them - forgivable without the next bullet point)
* Timed events - i hate timed events, especially jump puzzles (which are hard enough without a clock). Weird camera angles seem to crop up while doing these too. i am trying a assassin seal (in Venice) and am really annoyed. Why does the camera always face the wrong way at the start of these?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Dview: Dragon Age Origins UE (Xbox)
The Bottom Line:
Dragon Age Origins (DAO) is a "fantasy" RPG released by BioWare (the makers of Mass Effect, etc). Supposedly, the game is kind of a throwback to the Baldur's Gate style RPG. There is a lot of micro-managing of characters available. The romances in the game play out much like the first Mass Effect (with more clothing). There are 6 different "origin" stories to play at the beginning which may slightly impact the way the game world looks at you. The combat is a bit like that in their previous title (the far superior) Star Wars: Knights of the old republic. Basically you target an enemy and the character will keep attacking that enemy until they are defeated. This is a relatively long game (not JRPG long). One of the problems i had with the game is that the characters didn't really seem that interesting and there are some that feel like unnecessary duplicates - i guess they are there for their specializations. Like most WRPG, i got the feeling that your main created character was mostly a throwaway.
One of the reasons i got the Ultimate Edition is that BioWare kind of went crazy with DLC. There was an expansion and 8 DLC. This is going to be long. So, this "score" is for the entire package - and it gets bonus for a lot of content.
Grade: C+
Extraneous Commenting:
i mentioned the DLC on Ultimate Edition (which seems to be hard to find the XBLA version at brick-and-mortar retail). Here are the DLC packs included and the listed XBL prices
* Awakening (2,400 points, $30): This is the expansion to Dragon Age Origins. It picks up after the main story ends. Your character starts taking back a fort, then the game continues. You can import you character from the main game and gain access to new available skills. In my opinion, this is the best of the DLC stuff, but it is quite expensive for what it is. It is first accessed from New Game.
* The Golems of Amgarrak (400 points, $5.00): This is another add-on not accessible within the main game (start New Game). In this add-on, you will be going to a ruin to find out what happened to a group of adventurers. You will get a golem at some point and look for upgrades. This one is a bit more puzzle like at you may have to hit switches to travel to certain areas.
* Witch Hunt (560 points, $7.00): This is accessed from the New Game menu too. In this add-on (which may serve as a bridge of sort to the sequel, i'm not sure) you are trying to track down a former party member from the main Dragon Age game. Yes, the former member is a witch named Morrigan (one of my favorite characters from the main game). You can import a character into this DLC.
* Leliana's Song (560 points, $7.00): Accessed from New Game menu. This DLC is basically a back story of one of the characters you can get for your party in the first game (in the first city actually). Leliana is a bard (kind of a spy), who was tasked with creating havoc and placing stolen documents. The stolen documents lead to her problems. You start this relatively low level (level 10).
* The Darkspawn Chronicles (400 points, $5.00): Accessed from New Game. In this DLC, you face the final series of battles (most of them) from the perspective of the enemy darkspawn. This sounds cool in theory, but in practice it is kind of annoying. Basically you play as kind of a commander character. You go around an "enthrall" other darkspawn characters to form your party. Unfortunately, the "enthralled" character has a rather limited usefulness. You can't even use heal potions as them.
* Feastday Combo Pack (240 points, $3.00): This content is actually accessible from the main Dragon Age game. However, i fail to see its usefulness. Basically, all i could tell was that it added gifts that either drastically improved (or hurt) how characters feel about you - useful for romances and affinity skills.
* Warden's Keep (560 points, $7.00): This was one of the launch period DLC. Yes, it is accessible from in the main game (at the campsite). In this DLC you are tasked with retaking a former Grey Warden base and finding out about the past of a throw-away NPC.
* Return to Ostagar (400 points, $5.00): Accessed in game. In this DLC you go back to the scene of the first major fight (ok, slight spoiler, but it is really early on) and look for the armor of a fallen king.
* The Stone Prisoner (1,200 points, $15.00): Accessed in game. This was one of the initial two DLC. Basically, this was what they added to try and get people to buy the game new. Shale is a golem character. This DLC is about recruiting Shale and later doing a quest to find a little background.
What to Expect:
* A relatively long game filled with numerous opportunities for combat
* Somewhat boring/bland/repetitive characters - who aren't too intelligent
* Tactics - some degree of micro-managing characters
* Characters running into walls or other characters during combat
* A camera that doesn't like walls
* "Choices" in how to complete several tasks
* 6 origin stories that may mention other characters you meet later in your quest.
* 3 races (human, dwarf, elf) and 3 roles (warrior, mage, rogue)
Achievements:
This version of the game gets 1,750 possible points. Basically they are for such things as beating stages of the game, romancing characters, killing enemies, etc. There are not difficulty ones in the main game, but there are a couple in the DLC. Apparently, Darkspawn Chronicles has an annoying one with keeping a certain creature alive that may be one shot only (even with multiple game attempts). i got 1,480 on my first play through of these - it took me about 44 hours. The main game + add-ons accessible therein took me about 30 hours, the expansion about 10 and the out of game DLC was about 1 hour and 15 minutes each. There are still about 145 points i can add from the main game (i just need to finish another play through doing certain things).
Dragon Age Origins (DAO) is a "fantasy" RPG released by BioWare (the makers of Mass Effect, etc). Supposedly, the game is kind of a throwback to the Baldur's Gate style RPG. There is a lot of micro-managing of characters available. The romances in the game play out much like the first Mass Effect (with more clothing). There are 6 different "origin" stories to play at the beginning which may slightly impact the way the game world looks at you. The combat is a bit like that in their previous title (the far superior) Star Wars: Knights of the old republic. Basically you target an enemy and the character will keep attacking that enemy until they are defeated. This is a relatively long game (not JRPG long). One of the problems i had with the game is that the characters didn't really seem that interesting and there are some that feel like unnecessary duplicates - i guess they are there for their specializations. Like most WRPG, i got the feeling that your main created character was mostly a throwaway.
One of the reasons i got the Ultimate Edition is that BioWare kind of went crazy with DLC. There was an expansion and 8 DLC. This is going to be long. So, this "score" is for the entire package - and it gets bonus for a lot of content.
Grade: C+
Extraneous Commenting:
i mentioned the DLC on Ultimate Edition (which seems to be hard to find the XBLA version at brick-and-mortar retail). Here are the DLC packs included and the listed XBL prices
* Awakening (2,400 points, $30): This is the expansion to Dragon Age Origins. It picks up after the main story ends. Your character starts taking back a fort, then the game continues. You can import you character from the main game and gain access to new available skills. In my opinion, this is the best of the DLC stuff, but it is quite expensive for what it is. It is first accessed from New Game.
* The Golems of Amgarrak (400 points, $5.00): This is another add-on not accessible within the main game (start New Game). In this add-on, you will be going to a ruin to find out what happened to a group of adventurers. You will get a golem at some point and look for upgrades. This one is a bit more puzzle like at you may have to hit switches to travel to certain areas.
* Witch Hunt (560 points, $7.00): This is accessed from the New Game menu too. In this add-on (which may serve as a bridge of sort to the sequel, i'm not sure) you are trying to track down a former party member from the main Dragon Age game. Yes, the former member is a witch named Morrigan (one of my favorite characters from the main game). You can import a character into this DLC.
* Leliana's Song (560 points, $7.00): Accessed from New Game menu. This DLC is basically a back story of one of the characters you can get for your party in the first game (in the first city actually). Leliana is a bard (kind of a spy), who was tasked with creating havoc and placing stolen documents. The stolen documents lead to her problems. You start this relatively low level (level 10).
* The Darkspawn Chronicles (400 points, $5.00): Accessed from New Game. In this DLC, you face the final series of battles (most of them) from the perspective of the enemy darkspawn. This sounds cool in theory, but in practice it is kind of annoying. Basically you play as kind of a commander character. You go around an "enthrall" other darkspawn characters to form your party. Unfortunately, the "enthralled" character has a rather limited usefulness. You can't even use heal potions as them.
* Feastday Combo Pack (240 points, $3.00): This content is actually accessible from the main Dragon Age game. However, i fail to see its usefulness. Basically, all i could tell was that it added gifts that either drastically improved (or hurt) how characters feel about you - useful for romances and affinity skills.
* Warden's Keep (560 points, $7.00): This was one of the launch period DLC. Yes, it is accessible from in the main game (at the campsite). In this DLC you are tasked with retaking a former Grey Warden base and finding out about the past of a throw-away NPC.
* Return to Ostagar (400 points, $5.00): Accessed in game. In this DLC you go back to the scene of the first major fight (ok, slight spoiler, but it is really early on) and look for the armor of a fallen king.
* The Stone Prisoner (1,200 points, $15.00): Accessed in game. This was one of the initial two DLC. Basically, this was what they added to try and get people to buy the game new. Shale is a golem character. This DLC is about recruiting Shale and later doing a quest to find a little background.
What to Expect:
* A relatively long game filled with numerous opportunities for combat
* Somewhat boring/bland/repetitive characters - who aren't too intelligent
* Tactics - some degree of micro-managing characters
* Characters running into walls or other characters during combat
* A camera that doesn't like walls
* "Choices" in how to complete several tasks
* 6 origin stories that may mention other characters you meet later in your quest.
* 3 races (human, dwarf, elf) and 3 roles (warrior, mage, rogue)
Achievements:
This version of the game gets 1,750 possible points. Basically they are for such things as beating stages of the game, romancing characters, killing enemies, etc. There are not difficulty ones in the main game, but there are a couple in the DLC. Apparently, Darkspawn Chronicles has an annoying one with keeping a certain creature alive that may be one shot only (even with multiple game attempts). i got 1,480 on my first play through of these - it took me about 44 hours. The main game + add-ons accessible therein took me about 30 hours, the expansion about 10 and the out of game DLC was about 1 hour and 15 minutes each. There are still about 145 points i can add from the main game (i just need to finish another play through doing certain things).
Sunday, May 22, 2011
My Weeks in Video Games
So what did i do in this week of the not quite rapture (and the previous)? Also what was i thinking about games related?
No, i didn't revisit Rapture (i have to remember to play the BioShock games eventually). i basically briefly played all of my XBLA games, finished off my playthrough of Last Remnant and played a bunch of Dragon Age: Origins.
* Does outside talk (like the rapture non-event) ever get you thinking that maybe your days really are numbered. Or maybe it is just the result of watching season 3 of Spin City and laughing more than i have in the previous 3 months combined. Afterall, i do fit too many of the old school "gamer stereotypes".
* My condolences (belated) to those PS3 users who had to do without the PSN. Online gaming is not my thing, but it sucks for those who like it. It is also kind of lame that they couldn't buy downloadable content.
* Shouldn't all hackers be subject to being drawn-and-quartered live streamed on the Internet? i think so. It is always these few people who can't play by the rules. These slime don't deserve to have access to any computerized technology - ever. i don't care what they say they stand for, it always boils down to greed and group manipulation.
* i made it through a week (somehow) of temptation to not do a weekly Game Room leaderboard check.
* E3 is coming up. Incorrect Premonition time - Lips Kinect connected to Harmonix (wouldn't that be odd)? Has Harmonix ever really attempted Karaoke (not just badly implemented "vocal" scoring in something like Rock Band)?
No, i didn't revisit Rapture (i have to remember to play the BioShock games eventually). i basically briefly played all of my XBLA games, finished off my playthrough of Last Remnant and played a bunch of Dragon Age: Origins.
* Does outside talk (like the rapture non-event) ever get you thinking that maybe your days really are numbered. Or maybe it is just the result of watching season 3 of Spin City and laughing more than i have in the previous 3 months combined. Afterall, i do fit too many of the old school "gamer stereotypes".
* My condolences (belated) to those PS3 users who had to do without the PSN. Online gaming is not my thing, but it sucks for those who like it. It is also kind of lame that they couldn't buy downloadable content.
* Shouldn't all hackers be subject to being drawn-and-quartered live streamed on the Internet? i think so. It is always these few people who can't play by the rules. These slime don't deserve to have access to any computerized technology - ever. i don't care what they say they stand for, it always boils down to greed and group manipulation.
* i made it through a week (somehow) of temptation to not do a weekly Game Room leaderboard check.
* E3 is coming up. Incorrect Premonition time - Lips Kinect connected to Harmonix (wouldn't that be odd)? Has Harmonix ever really attempted Karaoke (not just badly implemented "vocal" scoring in something like Rock Band)?
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Future of Video Games is Sort of Retro
Ok, now that you read the title, i bet you think i'm crazy. You may not be 100% wrong. Ready for some inane rambling.
Maybe this post is a little late (would have worked better before Kinect and Move hit). Maybe it is because i am from the generation that grew up with Atari 2600s and ColecoVision (and feel more nostalgic as the world seems more tragic).
Yes, i firmly believe that the future is somewhat retro. What do i mean? Well, you see... basically the modern game is an odd combination of trying to unnecessarily utilize every button on the controller (including clicking the thumbsticks). Complexity for complexity's sake does not necessarily impact immersion (or whatever term you want to use). Games are supposed to be a fun diversion (not a frustrating series of cheap enemies/bosses). Some of the older games had diabolical difficulties though. i don't find doing every stupid thing possible in a game to be fun (there are some things that should be done for me).
Game development costs are spiraling out of control. There is the disposable games threat from mobile platforms (like the Windows Phone or iPad). True, the console base has appeared to have grown, but can you successfully cater to different groups? Some users will not leave, but a significant portion of the user base is in play for "the next big thing". The future for the publishers looks to be attrition and consolidation. Even i have written off the "next" generation before it has even started(unless i win a large lottery jackpot).
Then you get into the whole "console within a console" scenario - which is XBLA and PSN (i would think). Many of these simpler games are actually what drives much of my purchases (or they were). The downloadable game at $10-15 is a lot more important than most people think. These spaces are underutilized and could be used for so much more. i personally like services like Game Room that allow me to revisit the youth i should have had (though hopefully they could get up to about the PS1 era).
If motion controls are to play a big part in the future (or as big as i think they will) - it's time to go back to the future. Or look to the past - because i think the paradigms used back then are more relevant today. You want the largest user base possible - and you can only count on generic shooter franchises for so long. i want my games to be more fun. Sure the "harcore" (whatever that means today) will decry this as a death of the industry - but i see a more "casual" route to a better policy (at least while the "casual" is still selling).
Older games had relatively simple control schemes (some of this was definitely due to a lack of technology available at the time). The buzz word now is "accessibility". It is not necessarily about "dumbing down" games (see Mass Effect 2), but more trying for a larger market. There are no real new ideas (see Hollywood movies) as everything has been done - it is about going back to what worked in the past and figuring out how to present things differently.
Maybe this post is a little late (would have worked better before Kinect and Move hit). Maybe it is because i am from the generation that grew up with Atari 2600s and ColecoVision (and feel more nostalgic as the world seems more tragic).
Yes, i firmly believe that the future is somewhat retro. What do i mean? Well, you see... basically the modern game is an odd combination of trying to unnecessarily utilize every button on the controller (including clicking the thumbsticks). Complexity for complexity's sake does not necessarily impact immersion (or whatever term you want to use). Games are supposed to be a fun diversion (not a frustrating series of cheap enemies/bosses). Some of the older games had diabolical difficulties though. i don't find doing every stupid thing possible in a game to be fun (there are some things that should be done for me).
Game development costs are spiraling out of control. There is the disposable games threat from mobile platforms (like the Windows Phone or iPad). True, the console base has appeared to have grown, but can you successfully cater to different groups? Some users will not leave, but a significant portion of the user base is in play for "the next big thing". The future for the publishers looks to be attrition and consolidation. Even i have written off the "next" generation before it has even started(unless i win a large lottery jackpot).
Then you get into the whole "console within a console" scenario - which is XBLA and PSN (i would think). Many of these simpler games are actually what drives much of my purchases (or they were). The downloadable game at $10-15 is a lot more important than most people think. These spaces are underutilized and could be used for so much more. i personally like services like Game Room that allow me to revisit the youth i should have had (though hopefully they could get up to about the PS1 era).
If motion controls are to play a big part in the future (or as big as i think they will) - it's time to go back to the future. Or look to the past - because i think the paradigms used back then are more relevant today. You want the largest user base possible - and you can only count on generic shooter franchises for so long. i want my games to be more fun. Sure the "harcore" (whatever that means today) will decry this as a death of the industry - but i see a more "casual" route to a better policy (at least while the "casual" is still selling).
Older games had relatively simple control schemes (some of this was definitely due to a lack of technology available at the time). The buzz word now is "accessibility". It is not necessarily about "dumbing down" games (see Mass Effect 2), but more trying for a larger market. There are no real new ideas (see Hollywood movies) as everything has been done - it is about going back to what worked in the past and figuring out how to present things differently.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Game Room - If i Were Rich 2.0, The Offers i'd Make
Just for "fun" i decided to revisit the compilation vs. Game Room argument. It is too bad that Game Room has been in stasis for a while - i kind of miss it. However, do you know what has been in a form of stasis even longer? The compilation disk of 80s and early 90s games. It seems that there really haven't been many released since 2007. i'm hoping that digital compilation (like Game Room) can pick up the slack.
Just for fun i am going to try and break down just how successfully some of the previous compilation discs have been, though i decided to omit anything before 2007. Some of my estimates may be in the ballpark, some may not be in the same solar system. i am using $30 for the price of these compilations. For development cost estimates, i will be using 15 salaried people (@ $50K each) working for 2 months. i will use this for every compilation. i will treat this as a constant ($125,000). For the gross estimate publisher take i am using 45% (which is the estimate for a $60 game). For the estimated net publisher take i am subtracting the above two numbers. The "Game Room" cash offer would be a one time licensing fee payable. When i am talking about guaranteed revenue from unit sales i mean 50% (or $1.50) per unit sale. The numbers i picked for Midway, Namco, Capcom and SEGA are mainly becuase the numbers of 2005 or so compilations they sold were at least 100K or because i didn't see a fitting compilation.
For a post potentially involving a lot of numbers this will have many words. i will also post what specific offer i would make to each of the publisher to try and get them on board with Game Room. If i would have had the right 6 numbers, i might have been trying this for real. But alas, it was not meant to be (at least yet...).
Let's start. i am using data from vgchartz.com - it may not be totally accurate, but it seems to be the best i can find (as real data isn't easy to obtain, especially without connections). Let the fun begin
Konami:
* Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits (DS)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 30,797
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $923,210
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $415,760
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $290,760
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (15): $19,384
* Game Room Cash Offer: $500,000 - $750,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $500K
- If Konami got 50% of revenues from their sales on Game Room, they would currently have a publisher take of about $210K (could be higher). Atari would be over $200K as well (probably higher as they did have unranked games too).
Taito:
* Taito Legends Power Up (PSP)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 26,546
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $796,380
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $358,371
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $233,371
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (20): $11,668
* Game Room Cash Offer: $350,000 - 583,000 for 30-50+ games (extra $75-100K if includes Space Invaders)
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $350K.
Midway (WB), Namco, Capcom, SEGA
* Game Room Cash Offer: $750,000 - 1,000,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $750K.
So, if i were rich and MSFT and the publishers were willing, my plan would be an outlay of $3.85 - $5.33 million. Now i guess you can see why MSFT could have been somewhat hesitant to spend that kind of money on a service that could potentially make about $2 million in revenue a year. The best way for MSFT would be to just split the revenue from sales with the respective publisher (50/50 or 40/60).
Just for fun i am going to try and break down just how successfully some of the previous compilation discs have been, though i decided to omit anything before 2007. Some of my estimates may be in the ballpark, some may not be in the same solar system. i am using $30 for the price of these compilations. For development cost estimates, i will be using 15 salaried people (@ $50K each) working for 2 months. i will use this for every compilation. i will treat this as a constant ($125,000). For the gross estimate publisher take i am using 45% (which is the estimate for a $60 game). For the estimated net publisher take i am subtracting the above two numbers. The "Game Room" cash offer would be a one time licensing fee payable. When i am talking about guaranteed revenue from unit sales i mean 50% (or $1.50) per unit sale. The numbers i picked for Midway, Namco, Capcom and SEGA are mainly becuase the numbers of 2005 or so compilations they sold were at least 100K or because i didn't see a fitting compilation.
For a post potentially involving a lot of numbers this will have many words. i will also post what specific offer i would make to each of the publisher to try and get them on board with Game Room. If i would have had the right 6 numbers, i might have been trying this for real. But alas, it was not meant to be (at least yet...).
Let's start. i am using data from vgchartz.com - it may not be totally accurate, but it seems to be the best i can find (as real data isn't easy to obtain, especially without connections). Let the fun begin
Konami:
* Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits (DS)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 30,797
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $923,210
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $415,760
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $290,760
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (15): $19,384
* Game Room Cash Offer: $500,000 - $750,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $500K
- If Konami got 50% of revenues from their sales on Game Room, they would currently have a publisher take of about $210K (could be higher). Atari would be over $200K as well (probably higher as they did have unranked games too).
Taito:
* Taito Legends Power Up (PSP)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 26,546
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $796,380
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $358,371
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $233,371
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (20): $11,668
* Game Room Cash Offer: $350,000 - 583,000 for 30-50+ games (extra $75-100K if includes Space Invaders)
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $350K.
Midway (WB), Namco, Capcom, SEGA
* Game Room Cash Offer: $750,000 - 1,000,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $750K.
So, if i were rich and MSFT and the publishers were willing, my plan would be an outlay of $3.85 - $5.33 million. Now i guess you can see why MSFT could have been somewhat hesitant to spend that kind of money on a service that could potentially make about $2 million in revenue a year. The best way for MSFT would be to just split the revenue from sales with the respective publisher (50/50 or 40/60).
Monday, May 16, 2011
Why i Suck at Shooters
i have been playing a lot of games that i had previously downloaded on my original gamertag. i decided that if i got a different console i would start up a new gamertag, because i had two consoles kind of fail on me (one sent in and replaced, that replacement was freezing frequently when i traded it in). Anyway, i was playing Shadow Complex - and i re-realized something - i suck at shooters)
So why am i so bad at shooters? Am i a lost cause?
My biggest problem is with the reticule (the little aiming device). i have a really hard time aiming with the reticule. For some reason it takes me longer than average to put the cursor exactly where i want it (and it is always a struggle to put it where i want it). It is worse in some games than others. i did manage to beat the first three Halo games single player at the normal or above difficulty settings. i guess that is one of the things that frustrates me with the current generation (and the abundance of shooters). Aiming in games like Alan Wake is kind of a nightmare for me.
i am kind of curious if it is the cursor move that is causing me problems or something else (like a brain processing delay). i am kind of curious if a different input method (like Kinect) would make it easier for me to target enemies.
i am not great at fixed shooters (stuff like Space Invaders, etc). However, most of the older ones i play are more of a matter of patterns or "bullet hell" dodging. Yes, i kind of like retro games (if my numerous posts on Game Room weren't evidence of that).
So why am i so bad at shooters? Am i a lost cause?
My biggest problem is with the reticule (the little aiming device). i have a really hard time aiming with the reticule. For some reason it takes me longer than average to put the cursor exactly where i want it (and it is always a struggle to put it where i want it). It is worse in some games than others. i did manage to beat the first three Halo games single player at the normal or above difficulty settings. i guess that is one of the things that frustrates me with the current generation (and the abundance of shooters). Aiming in games like Alan Wake is kind of a nightmare for me.
i am kind of curious if it is the cursor move that is causing me problems or something else (like a brain processing delay). i am kind of curious if a different input method (like Kinect) would make it easier for me to target enemies.
i am not great at fixed shooters (stuff like Space Invaders, etc). However, most of the older ones i play are more of a matter of patterns or "bullet hell" dodging. Yes, i kind of like retro games (if my numerous posts on Game Room weren't evidence of that).
Dview: Shadow Complex (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
Shadow Complex is an XBLA title released by Chair/Epic Games. It is basically an action game based somewhat around exploration and killing generic bad guys involved in a nefarious plot. The game starts off with a guy (Jason) who goes on a date to a cave with a woman who picked him up in a bar. Wouldn't you know it, the woman he goes on the date with is captured. The character soon finds out that this is no ordinary cave - it is a complex that is in the shadows (so to speak). The game has been compared to Metroid and Castlevania in style. If this were longer it would have been an interesting retail game. i wish there was a sequel.
Grade: B+
What to Expect:
* Some exploration - aided when the game progresses by contraptions (like a grappling hook and SCUBA gear). Mostly it is going from point to point to move the story on (though you can venture off the path).
* There are a bunch of bad guys who can be dispatched with melee (B button) or guns
* 5 hours + length (more if you find everything)
* A bunch of upgrade items to find and collect (some of them are not exactly easy to get, or get to)
Achievements:
The achievements in this game are mostly straightforward. They are for stuff like getting X headshots, punting bomb things, beating the game (50 pts), etc. Some of them are a little more difficult - collecting all of the items, only collecting 13.
i finished the game at 6 hours and 20 minutes with 6 of 12 achievements. i only collected 69% or so of the items.
Shadow Complex is an XBLA title released by Chair/Epic Games. It is basically an action game based somewhat around exploration and killing generic bad guys involved in a nefarious plot. The game starts off with a guy (Jason) who goes on a date to a cave with a woman who picked him up in a bar. Wouldn't you know it, the woman he goes on the date with is captured. The character soon finds out that this is no ordinary cave - it is a complex that is in the shadows (so to speak). The game has been compared to Metroid and Castlevania in style. If this were longer it would have been an interesting retail game. i wish there was a sequel.
Grade: B+
What to Expect:
* Some exploration - aided when the game progresses by contraptions (like a grappling hook and SCUBA gear). Mostly it is going from point to point to move the story on (though you can venture off the path).
* There are a bunch of bad guys who can be dispatched with melee (B button) or guns
* 5 hours + length (more if you find everything)
* A bunch of upgrade items to find and collect (some of them are not exactly easy to get, or get to)
Achievements:
The achievements in this game are mostly straightforward. They are for stuff like getting X headshots, punting bomb things, beating the game (50 pts), etc. Some of them are a little more difficult - collecting all of the items, only collecting 13.
i finished the game at 6 hours and 20 minutes with 6 of 12 achievements. i only collected 69% or so of the items.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Dview: The Maw (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
The Maw is a somewhat charming platformer by the people at Twisted Pixel. It is kind of hard to believe that this is from the same people as 'Splosion Man and Comic Jumper (much harder and more frustrating games). It is about a multi-eyed alien and his gelatinous purple blob that likes to eat. The Maw can transform slightly to gain new abilities and eat bigger creatures. Essentially, you are leading the Maw around and making sure that he get a healthy amount of creatures to eat. This is more of a slow paced platformer that places a little emphasis on exploring. i guess it helps that this game is kind of easy.
There are three unfortunately labeled DLCs for the Maw - Brute Force, River Redirect and Speeder Lane. i think they are 100 MSFT points each ($1.25) which add another 50 possible gamerscore.
Grade A
What to Expect:
* A kind of slower paced forgiving platformer. This is not like Twisted Pixel's other two games. This one came out first and does not have the "comic edge" the other two has. But to me, this has better gameplay
* A colorful purple blob who eats enemies to grow (or change to solve puzzles) - but you, a multi-eyed alien have to lead him to his prey (much of the time)
* 8 Levels of platforming culinarity (just kidding, the Maw eats his prey mostly raw - though he can sometimes breathe fire)
* Light puzzle solving
* A last level unlike the others - the Maw gets bigger when he eats, in the last level you have to use vehicles (i hate vehicles in games)
* Bonus DLC: These 3 levels feel much like the first 7, though Speeder Lane has you in a vehicle the whole time (but it is almost like you are not)
Achievements:
There are 12 achievements for 200 points (or 15 for 250 with the "deleted scenes"). These range from things like eat all of the things on the levels, to using trasformation powers to defeat X enemies, to playing the game at the Maw's 6 meal times (the most annoying one).
The Maw is a somewhat charming platformer by the people at Twisted Pixel. It is kind of hard to believe that this is from the same people as 'Splosion Man and Comic Jumper (much harder and more frustrating games). It is about a multi-eyed alien and his gelatinous purple blob that likes to eat. The Maw can transform slightly to gain new abilities and eat bigger creatures. Essentially, you are leading the Maw around and making sure that he get a healthy amount of creatures to eat. This is more of a slow paced platformer that places a little emphasis on exploring. i guess it helps that this game is kind of easy.
There are three unfortunately labeled DLCs for the Maw - Brute Force, River Redirect and Speeder Lane. i think they are 100 MSFT points each ($1.25) which add another 50 possible gamerscore.
Grade A
What to Expect:
* A kind of slower paced forgiving platformer. This is not like Twisted Pixel's other two games. This one came out first and does not have the "comic edge" the other two has. But to me, this has better gameplay
* A colorful purple blob who eats enemies to grow (or change to solve puzzles) - but you, a multi-eyed alien have to lead him to his prey (much of the time)
* 8 Levels of platforming culinarity (just kidding, the Maw eats his prey mostly raw - though he can sometimes breathe fire)
* Light puzzle solving
* A last level unlike the others - the Maw gets bigger when he eats, in the last level you have to use vehicles (i hate vehicles in games)
* Bonus DLC: These 3 levels feel much like the first 7, though Speeder Lane has you in a vehicle the whole time (but it is almost like you are not)
Achievements:
There are 12 achievements for 200 points (or 15 for 250 with the "deleted scenes"). These range from things like eat all of the things on the levels, to using trasformation powers to defeat X enemies, to playing the game at the Maw's 6 meal times (the most annoying one).
Achievements: My Thoughts on Them
If it were not for the emeregence of digital downloads (stuff like XBLA/PSN/Wii Virtual Console), achievements would probably rank as one of the most important additions to me this generation. i know that they are somewhat maligned, but as someone who really hasn't accomplished anything in the real world it is nice to get these little rewards for doing something in games Trophies are somewhat similar, but i've never played a PS3 so i don't really know how that system works.
i guess i should disclose my relatively low 36,790 and 18,489 gamerscores. The second number is essentially starting over as my previous gamertag may be cursed - i first started using it June 13, 2010 to win Game Room "challenges". Oringinally i was going to try for 70%, but that has proven tough with about 120 games played. (XBLA ones seem especially tough).
i think my favorite list is for Fable 2. Sure it breaks some of my rules - i really could do without the trading one and any co-op ones. However, the list is kind of cool. It does reward experiencing the game (whether it be marriage, swinging, committing an act of public indecency, etc).
Anyone out there have their favorite list?
Yes, i like achievements (most of the time). However, i am not sure i like how some games use them. These views do not necessarily express the views of humanity, the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom or even fungus. Here are some of my view on achievements:
1) No Multiplayer Achievements - should all be single player. Partly because of stuff like boosting
2) 50% or more of achievement should be story related.
3) More are preferable to less, so limit the big point acheivement (maybe 250/1,000 maximum)
4) Try for not so many interconnected achievements (you don't have to do random X to get random Y).
5) Buy to get - ok, so this doesn't apply to many games, but.... i love Game Room, but i am not a huge fan of the achievements requiring you to purchase so many games (20, minimum) to get the 1,000.
6) Completed Games: i would like the option to show a game as complete if i don't have the DLC.
7) Multiple playthrough - ok, i'm not really a fan of multiple playthrough achievements. i would like to see these limited.
i guess i should disclose my relatively low 36,790 and 18,489 gamerscores. The second number is essentially starting over as my previous gamertag may be cursed - i first started using it June 13, 2010 to win Game Room "challenges". Oringinally i was going to try for 70%, but that has proven tough with about 120 games played. (XBLA ones seem especially tough).
i think my favorite list is for Fable 2. Sure it breaks some of my rules - i really could do without the trading one and any co-op ones. However, the list is kind of cool. It does reward experiencing the game (whether it be marriage, swinging, committing an act of public indecency, etc).
Anyone out there have their favorite list?
Yes, i like achievements (most of the time). However, i am not sure i like how some games use them. These views do not necessarily express the views of humanity, the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom or even fungus. Here are some of my view on achievements:
1) No Multiplayer Achievements - should all be single player. Partly because of stuff like boosting
2) 50% or more of achievement should be story related.
3) More are preferable to less, so limit the big point acheivement (maybe 250/1,000 maximum)
4) Try for not so many interconnected achievements (you don't have to do random X to get random Y).
5) Buy to get - ok, so this doesn't apply to many games, but.... i love Game Room, but i am not a huge fan of the achievements requiring you to purchase so many games (20, minimum) to get the 1,000.
6) Completed Games: i would like the option to show a game as complete if i don't have the DLC.
7) Multiple playthrough - ok, i'm not really a fan of multiple playthrough achievements. i would like to see these limited.
Dview: The Last Remnant (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
This game is a mess. You have load screen overkill - so bad that the game only really seems playable if installed on the hard drive. This game took me a while to beat as i got stuck and quit (Ludope). However i restarted it and finally beat the boss (not the super boss). Without the technical problems (and frequent loading) this would probably be a little better than a middle of the road SRPG. Basically, this game is more along the lines of a turn-based strategy RPG. You set up parties (unions) and then fight groups of monsters. i like generally like the combat, but sometimes you will face waves of boss type monsters with no opportunity to save in between.
For some unknown reason the number of people total you can use is capped - and the leaders are capped at 6 active (a really strange number considering that there seem to be so many in the game). It is kind of strange that they have spots for 5 unions of 5, but you cannot use that many forces. There is a quasi leveling system - where you gain skills by using similar skills, but some people strongly suggest that you avoid almost every fight possible). i know the game may be cheap now, but i would really recommend the PC version (which i have never played). This is 2 discs on the Xbox 360.
Grade: D
What to Expect:
* Load screens, lots of load screens
* Guilds that have tasks (like collect items, beat really rare monster, etc)
* Side quests - there are a bunch. It seems to me that every unique leader should have had at least one of their own (after you get them). There is one on the second disk that is a nightmare (called "The Fallen"
* Turn Based battles against groups of enemies (there is a critical trigger, but you can set it to auto like i did). These are supposed to feel like larger scale battles (and some really are)
* Some really annoying fights if you are under leveled (whatever it means in this game)
* Skills - gain by using repeatedly, you gain: HP, Strength, etc at seemingly random times. Apparently better if you are fighting stronger monsters.
* Wondering if this title was really finished
* Occasionally questioning design decisions - like limited troops/leaders/etc. Why is there no New Game + (where you could use some of the later arriving leaders). Also, questioning impacts of Battle Chains and Battle Rank.
* Game Length: decent, i think i spent 100+ hours on it. However, the story kind of feels like a throw-away.
The Achievements:
Let's put it this way, i don't like it when i don't get an achievement for beating the game or any bosses. None of the 22 achievements for this game are actually story related. You will probably accomplish a few playing through the story, and a few more with side quests. i got 290/1,000 on this play through. In fact, 4 of the 22 somehow involve the Fallen side quest (which is only available for a limited time). 570/1,000 points are somehow associated with that:
(1) Complete all side quests
(2) Make certain item - i'm not including supposed DLC monster that supposedly drops the part
(3) Defeat Fallen (which is a side quest)
(4) Defeat Mega Boss (need all side quests achievement)
This game is a mess. You have load screen overkill - so bad that the game only really seems playable if installed on the hard drive. This game took me a while to beat as i got stuck and quit (Ludope). However i restarted it and finally beat the boss (not the super boss). Without the technical problems (and frequent loading) this would probably be a little better than a middle of the road SRPG. Basically, this game is more along the lines of a turn-based strategy RPG. You set up parties (unions) and then fight groups of monsters. i like generally like the combat, but sometimes you will face waves of boss type monsters with no opportunity to save in between.
For some unknown reason the number of people total you can use is capped - and the leaders are capped at 6 active (a really strange number considering that there seem to be so many in the game). It is kind of strange that they have spots for 5 unions of 5, but you cannot use that many forces. There is a quasi leveling system - where you gain skills by using similar skills, but some people strongly suggest that you avoid almost every fight possible). i know the game may be cheap now, but i would really recommend the PC version (which i have never played). This is 2 discs on the Xbox 360.
Grade: D
What to Expect:
* Load screens, lots of load screens
* Guilds that have tasks (like collect items, beat really rare monster, etc)
* Side quests - there are a bunch. It seems to me that every unique leader should have had at least one of their own (after you get them). There is one on the second disk that is a nightmare (called "The Fallen"
* Turn Based battles against groups of enemies (there is a critical trigger, but you can set it to auto like i did). These are supposed to feel like larger scale battles (and some really are)
* Some really annoying fights if you are under leveled (whatever it means in this game)
* Skills - gain by using repeatedly, you gain: HP, Strength, etc at seemingly random times. Apparently better if you are fighting stronger monsters.
* Wondering if this title was really finished
* Occasionally questioning design decisions - like limited troops/leaders/etc. Why is there no New Game + (where you could use some of the later arriving leaders). Also, questioning impacts of Battle Chains and Battle Rank.
* Game Length: decent, i think i spent 100+ hours on it. However, the story kind of feels like a throw-away.
The Achievements:
Let's put it this way, i don't like it when i don't get an achievement for beating the game or any bosses. None of the 22 achievements for this game are actually story related. You will probably accomplish a few playing through the story, and a few more with side quests. i got 290/1,000 on this play through. In fact, 4 of the 22 somehow involve the Fallen side quest (which is only available for a limited time). 570/1,000 points are somehow associated with that:
(1) Complete all side quests
(2) Make certain item - i'm not including supposed DLC monster that supposedly drops the part
(3) Defeat Fallen (which is a side quest)
(4) Defeat Mega Boss (need all side quests achievement)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Game Room Leaderboard Predictions Up to E3 2011
i know i said that last week's leaderboard check was my last - but it wasn't. Game Room stat gathering, i can't quit you (great, a reference to a movie i never have seen and don't want to).
i decided to do my monthly leaderboard increase estimates. So, here is what my bad numbers tell me should increase before E3 (ends June 9, 2011). My numbers are based off of release to date averages. So, the numbers do kind of lie. K is thousand (ex. Battlezone is striving for the 5,000 leaderboard mark). For current estimates, see my other recent Game Room post on estimates. i am also going to update my Game Room at Year One DLC post to include the newest "irr method" total sales estimates (as the end point of the range).
Sales are definitely showing decreases in rate of increases, but that is to be expected with more and more 1,000 leaderboard games - and the current state of Game Room (and its future being unknown).
Probable (according to numbers):
* Battlezone - to 5K
* Beamrider - to 600
* Cosmic Commuter - to 500
* Demons to Diamonds - to 900
* Jungler - to 10K
* Millipede (2600) - to 9K
* Missile Command - to 5K
* Rack 'em Up - to 5K
* Scramble - to 10K
* Space Armada - to 8K
* Star Strike - to 100
* Submarine Commander - to 90
* Super Breakout - to 10 K
* Time Pilot - to 7K
* Tower of Doom - to 800
* Tutankham - to 8K
* Vectron - to 60
* Yar's Revenge - to 10K
Possible:
* Asteroids Deluxe - to 30K
* Circus Atari - to 900
* Finalizer - to 30K
* Gravitar - to 3K
* River Raid - to 6K
* Road Fighter - to 30K
* Shao-lin's Road - to 30K
i decided to do my monthly leaderboard increase estimates. So, here is what my bad numbers tell me should increase before E3 (ends June 9, 2011). My numbers are based off of release to date averages. So, the numbers do kind of lie. K is thousand (ex. Battlezone is striving for the 5,000 leaderboard mark). For current estimates, see my other recent Game Room post on estimates. i am also going to update my Game Room at Year One DLC post to include the newest "irr method" total sales estimates (as the end point of the range).
Sales are definitely showing decreases in rate of increases, but that is to be expected with more and more 1,000 leaderboard games - and the current state of Game Room (and its future being unknown).
Probable (according to numbers):
* Battlezone - to 5K
* Beamrider - to 600
* Cosmic Commuter - to 500
* Demons to Diamonds - to 900
* Jungler - to 10K
* Millipede (2600) - to 9K
* Missile Command - to 5K
* Rack 'em Up - to 5K
* Scramble - to 10K
* Space Armada - to 8K
* Star Strike - to 100
* Submarine Commander - to 90
* Super Breakout - to 10 K
* Time Pilot - to 7K
* Tower of Doom - to 800
* Tutankham - to 8K
* Vectron - to 60
* Yar's Revenge - to 10K
Possible:
* Asteroids Deluxe - to 30K
* Circus Atari - to 900
* Finalizer - to 30K
* Gravitar - to 3K
* River Raid - to 6K
* Road Fighter - to 30K
* Shao-lin's Road - to 30K
Game Room At Year One: Part 3: The Estimates.01
This is a continuation of my last Game Room post (sort of)... i decided to post my current "irr" method estimates on actual leaderboard numbers. As i rely heavily on a running average, my numbers are subject to frequent change. Some numbers are high, some are low (mostly due to when i took data) and some could be right on. High initial sales really throws off estimates for some games. Sales estimates are 87.5% of my "irr method" number.
If anyone with real numbers want to scoff at me openly - go for it. If anyone with the real numbers want to share them (and will allow me to share the real numbers and allow me to share them that would be awesome) - kind of a 3rd party post-mortem for an awesome service. i guess the three most interesting numbers to me are: total unit sales, max sales per release (it is Centipede, but how many copies?), and the number of pay per plays. Too bad, i didn't think so...
i would like to use a better method, but data collection (and inexact leaderboards) has kind of rendered that kind of useless. i would love numbers for new games.
Well, i tried to use Google Docs to save a table as a .PNG file, that didn't exactly work. So here is the link for the data i was playing with (it should be the right sheet). To bad i can't customize the table more - there is far too much empty space.
If anyone with real numbers want to scoff at me openly - go for it. If anyone with the real numbers want to share them (and will allow me to share the real numbers and allow me to share them that would be awesome) - kind of a 3rd party post-mortem for an awesome service. i guess the three most interesting numbers to me are: total unit sales, max sales per release (it is Centipede, but how many copies?), and the number of pay per plays. Too bad, i didn't think so...
i would like to use a better method, but data collection (and inexact leaderboards) has kind of rendered that kind of useless. i would love numbers for new games.
Well, i tried to use Google Docs to save a table as a .PNG file, that didn't exactly work. So here is the link for the data i was playing with (it should be the right sheet). To bad i can't customize the table more - there is far too much empty space.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Video Games: The Role of the Female Character
So, a lot of posts have come up over the years deriding the way that women are portrayed in the video game milieu. So, i guess i might as well chime in.
Many of the more recent articles of the subject of gender roles in video games i've seen recently have been more than a little wrong. In some ways they seem to be pandering to the ever so polite politically correct movement. i am not going to do that. Maybe i am just too sick and twisted. Or maybe i oversimplified things.
In many ways, gender roles reflected in video games are those in real life. The caricatures of women may be a little off (and many of them are going to have serious back pain in the future), but the gender roles are fairly solid. The problem here is that real life gender role discussions are kind of wrong. In the real world you have the ever confusing abstraction of reality to fit within the current context. One of these forces is feminism. Personally, i see feminism as an evolutionarily disingenuous. So what are the roles of females in real life? Sex objects. The role of females is to have and raise offspring - that is not a choice, that is for the survival of the species. i know that the modern sensitive male doesn't want to acknowledge this, but there is a strong sexual undercurrent to almost everything in life. Video games are still gingerly tackling (somewhat awkwardly, human sexuality). i have absolutely no problem with sex and nudity in video games. For story telling - that is the next level (in story based games, anyway).
Video game characters are basically super id. Think of them as basically being blockbuster movie characters. The men will typically be your alpha male manly man. One of the points of being an alpha male is the opportunity to mate - alpha males don't need to cuddle or share their feelings. As for other female stock roles... What is so wrong with male characters re-affirming their manhood by having to rescue the damsel in distress (that used to be seen as gallant)? Just don't have the masculine hero share his feelings - yuck. Females in the real world wield sex as a weapon quite frequently. Really strong female characters are somewhat of a threat to the alpha male's manhood. So, even the really strong female character needs to be somewhat sexualized - to soften the character. Even the female protagonist characters are largely re-skinned males (not really that feminine - other than phsically).
This is somewhat selling to the target demographic - how boring would a video game be if your female love interest made you mow the lawn or do other yard work (or mundane tasks). The point is that people really don't want confusing realism in their chosen forms of escapism.
One of the reasons video games are needed is that the world has become increasingly abstract. Part of the appeal of video games is to be a different persona - one that is not available to you in real life. Characters like Duke Nukem are surprisingly simple - big on violence and lust. In many ways this is more honest than many people are about themselves. This is in stark contrast (thankfully) to the modern world where nothing is a simple as in video games. So, in some ways, video games feel the void for how people wish they could act in real life - without the ever present double standards and threat of lawsuits.
i consider dating to be one of the deeper levels of hell. So for me, video games offer something i couldn't get in the real world. Everything is so confusing - do you hold the door, who pays, etc. i wish for a greater sense of traditionalism - and video game depictions of relationships actually seem more traditional. i found in the real world, if i spend significant time with a female that i start to have more physical thoughts about them, why shouldn't my video game character? i mean, isn't the struggle for the fate of the universe (world) kind of sexy - and to paraphrase Armageddon isn't that really what your virtual self is fighting for (in many games). Also relationships vary drastically in terms of honesty. You really cannot broach the subject of relationships without associating it with sex (that is kind of why relationships exists). There is something strangely appealing about a game where i can form virtual relationships - even if they are that well fleshed out. For some reason, i find Fable 2 and 3 to be strangely attractive - you can get married and have children. i spend way too much time when i was playing those games with the black screen and background noise - and there was something oddly appealing to being told my character was going to be a dad.
Many of the more recent articles of the subject of gender roles in video games i've seen recently have been more than a little wrong. In some ways they seem to be pandering to the ever so polite politically correct movement. i am not going to do that. Maybe i am just too sick and twisted. Or maybe i oversimplified things.
In many ways, gender roles reflected in video games are those in real life. The caricatures of women may be a little off (and many of them are going to have serious back pain in the future), but the gender roles are fairly solid. The problem here is that real life gender role discussions are kind of wrong. In the real world you have the ever confusing abstraction of reality to fit within the current context. One of these forces is feminism. Personally, i see feminism as an evolutionarily disingenuous. So what are the roles of females in real life? Sex objects. The role of females is to have and raise offspring - that is not a choice, that is for the survival of the species. i know that the modern sensitive male doesn't want to acknowledge this, but there is a strong sexual undercurrent to almost everything in life. Video games are still gingerly tackling (somewhat awkwardly, human sexuality). i have absolutely no problem with sex and nudity in video games. For story telling - that is the next level (in story based games, anyway).
Video game characters are basically super id. Think of them as basically being blockbuster movie characters. The men will typically be your alpha male manly man. One of the points of being an alpha male is the opportunity to mate - alpha males don't need to cuddle or share their feelings. As for other female stock roles... What is so wrong with male characters re-affirming their manhood by having to rescue the damsel in distress (that used to be seen as gallant)? Just don't have the masculine hero share his feelings - yuck. Females in the real world wield sex as a weapon quite frequently. Really strong female characters are somewhat of a threat to the alpha male's manhood. So, even the really strong female character needs to be somewhat sexualized - to soften the character. Even the female protagonist characters are largely re-skinned males (not really that feminine - other than phsically).
This is somewhat selling to the target demographic - how boring would a video game be if your female love interest made you mow the lawn or do other yard work (or mundane tasks). The point is that people really don't want confusing realism in their chosen forms of escapism.
One of the reasons video games are needed is that the world has become increasingly abstract. Part of the appeal of video games is to be a different persona - one that is not available to you in real life. Characters like Duke Nukem are surprisingly simple - big on violence and lust. In many ways this is more honest than many people are about themselves. This is in stark contrast (thankfully) to the modern world where nothing is a simple as in video games. So, in some ways, video games feel the void for how people wish they could act in real life - without the ever present double standards and threat of lawsuits.
i consider dating to be one of the deeper levels of hell. So for me, video games offer something i couldn't get in the real world. Everything is so confusing - do you hold the door, who pays, etc. i wish for a greater sense of traditionalism - and video game depictions of relationships actually seem more traditional. i found in the real world, if i spend significant time with a female that i start to have more physical thoughts about them, why shouldn't my video game character? i mean, isn't the struggle for the fate of the universe (world) kind of sexy - and to paraphrase Armageddon isn't that really what your virtual self is fighting for (in many games). Also relationships vary drastically in terms of honesty. You really cannot broach the subject of relationships without associating it with sex (that is kind of why relationships exists). There is something strangely appealing about a game where i can form virtual relationships - even if they are that well fleshed out. For some reason, i find Fable 2 and 3 to be strangely attractive - you can get married and have children. i spend way too much time when i was playing those games with the black screen and background noise - and there was something oddly appealing to being told my character was going to be a dad.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Game Room At Year One: Part 2: DLC
Earlier, i did a post on Game Room at year one - from the release date. i decided to try and do a post changing the time frame to coincide with the start of weekly content releases - which, for the most part, usually happened. The first non-launch game pack was released on May 5, 2010 (so i'm a little early). i decided to leave the outlier launch game packs (pack 1 and 2) mostly out of the discussion.
Updated Total Information: Estimated Ranked Sales (87.5% of leaderboard) as of May 3, 2011 - 327,714 Ranked Games. i'm only using the bottom range of estimates as i don't feel like using irr. So, it is a pretty safe bet gross revenue exceeds $1 million. Centipede is the first game to cross the 30K leaderboard barrier (might have been helped a little by Windows Phone 7 version sales, but minimally). Using my "irr method" (used to badly estimate leaderboard levels), the upper end of the range is now 432,513 unit sales.
Estimated Aggregate Unit Sales (through May 10, 2011): 327,968 - 432,513
New Metric Alert:
Like most stats i use, this one is fairly simple. What i wanted to find out was the average ranked game sales per game pack (truncated). i'll give you the pack 1&2 also for reference - but it won't be in the chart. Sorry i messed up some of the charts by forgetting to label them.
* GP 01: 9,704 / GP 02: 10,694 / GP 03: 3,791 / GP 04: 2,131 / GP 05: 1,438 / GP 06: 1,136 / GP 07: 1,408 / GP 08: 481 / GP 09: 987 / GP 10: 391 / GP 11: 1,079 / GP 12: 986 / GP 13: 678
Now, because everyone has been clamoring for it... Game Room launch packs vs Weekly Release packs in chart form. Game Room sales are somewhat front loaded - if you break out the content by release date only.
Updated Total Information: Estimated Ranked Sales (87.5% of leaderboard) as of May 3, 2011 - 327,714 Ranked Games. i'm only using the bottom range of estimates as i don't feel like using irr. So, it is a pretty safe bet gross revenue exceeds $1 million. Centipede is the first game to cross the 30K leaderboard barrier (might have been helped a little by Windows Phone 7 version sales, but minimally). Using my "irr method" (used to badly estimate leaderboard levels), the upper end of the range is now 432,513 unit sales.
Estimated Aggregate Unit Sales (through May 10, 2011): 327,968 - 432,513
New Metric Alert:
Like most stats i use, this one is fairly simple. What i wanted to find out was the average ranked game sales per game pack (truncated). i'll give you the pack 1&2 also for reference - but it won't be in the chart. Sorry i messed up some of the charts by forgetting to label them.
* GP 01: 9,704 / GP 02: 10,694 / GP 03: 3,791 / GP 04: 2,131 / GP 05: 1,438 / GP 06: 1,136 / GP 07: 1,408 / GP 08: 481 / GP 09: 987 / GP 10: 391 / GP 11: 1,079 / GP 12: 986 / GP 13: 678Now, because everyone has been clamoring for it... Game Room launch packs vs Weekly Release packs in chart form. Game Room sales are somewhat front loaded - if you break out the content by release date only.
Now for the DLC game pack estimated sales (using 87.5% of leaderboard) by format.
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Generic Disclaimer 003: i am in no way affiliated with Microsoft Game Studios, Krome, Game Room, or basically anything else (ever). i'm just a hominid with way too much time on his hands and a desire to play around with numbers (occasionally). i just do this for fun. Due to the nature of data collection method (and available numbers), my numbers may be off significantly. If you want to use this "information" do so at your own peril. If the powers that be would want to give me real numbers, that would be awesome.
Game Room - My Last Weekly Leaderboard Check
So, this is part of my wrap up on the weekly leaderboard checks i have been doing on Game Room since they were introduced in late August 2010. i decided that i will no longer do weekly checks of the leaderboards*. Monthly checks - probably on the first week of a month. i have the data, now i just have to make 1-2 more Game Room posts in the next week or so. If i knew emoticons, i would use a sad face.
Apparently, the Windows Phone 7 versions of Game Room games have so far had little to no impact on my observed leaderboard levels (maybe Centipede, but that would likely be under 3K)
* Unless Game Room relaunches with new content and i can afford to buy all new ranked games. So probalby not.
Basically, i have been checking the leaderboards weekly and writing down in a notebook what titles increased - those that stay the same, i put a check mark next to. i started with the first look on August 20th (the 22nd week of Game Room). The only week between then and now i missed (week 35) was because my Xbox had to be sent in for repairs. i switched to checking the results mostly on my PC. My results have not always been great. i used to check on Thursdays and Fridays, not great when new releases come out on Wednesdays. i think it is time to update my Game Room spreadsheet (actually all of them).
i figure that i should probably add a Game Room label on this blog - to link together all of the posts.
Apparently, the Windows Phone 7 versions of Game Room games have so far had little to no impact on my observed leaderboard levels (maybe Centipede, but that would likely be under 3K)
* Unless Game Room relaunches with new content and i can afford to buy all new ranked games. So probalby not.
Basically, i have been checking the leaderboards weekly and writing down in a notebook what titles increased - those that stay the same, i put a check mark next to. i started with the first look on August 20th (the 22nd week of Game Room). The only week between then and now i missed (week 35) was because my Xbox had to be sent in for repairs. i switched to checking the results mostly on my PC. My results have not always been great. i used to check on Thursdays and Fridays, not great when new releases come out on Wednesdays. i think it is time to update my Game Room spreadsheet (actually all of them).
i figure that i should probably add a Game Room label on this blog - to link together all of the posts.
Monday, May 2, 2011
E3 2011 - Games That Will Not Be Announced Xbox 360
Apparently E3 is next month (early June i think). That got me thinking... maybe i should have my own prediction thread. However, i decided to go with the null arguments list - games that will not be announced. Why won't these games be announced? Because i would like them to - so if it might make me happy it will never happen.
On to the list of games MSFT will not (unfortunately) be announcing as this year's E3 (in no particular order).
On to the list of games MSFT will not (unfortunately) be announcing as this year's E3 (in no particular order).
- Azurik 2
- Brute Force Kinect
- Brute Force - Hawk spin-off game
- Fable Origins (a prequel)
- BC
- Infinite Undiscovery 2
- Kameo 2 (or Kinect)
- Lips Kinect - probably the most likely on my list
- Lost Odyssey 2
- Sudeki 2
- Viva Pinata Kinect
- Voodoo Vince Kinect
- Lunar - prequel (play as Dyne or Ghalleon)
- Too Human 2
- Age Of Mythology Kinect - Norse
- Nightcaster Kinect
- N.U.D.E. Kinect
- Banjo- Kazooie Kinect - a Kinect platformer
- Working Designs Games on XBLA (Lunar, Lunar 2, Vay, etc)
- Phantasy Star 5 - in real RPG form (not this online stuff)
- Kinect Adventures 2
- Game Room 2.0 (too bad the name "Retrocade" seems to be in use)
Now for the "joke" game portion:
* Halo Dance Central 80s pop edition (Dance Central is not bad, but the song selection really sucks)
* Alpenhorn Hero
* SingStar Kinect
* SingStar Kinect
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