When I got my first job in the game industry, I stopped pirating anything. It was in my contract that I wouldn't, and even though they obviously never would have found out, it still wasn't something I would have felt good about.
I still hassle my roommates for pirating games that I worked on. While I'd never see any of the revenue myself (it's not like we get royalties or anything), it still really bothers me.
I believe he's referring to Japan's very low birth rate in the past two decades, leading to a disproportionately old population retiring from the workforce comparing to the number of youth entering it, which in turn results in lower than projected revenue and higher than projected spending on social programs for the elderly.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a great adventure game with spot on voice acting, brilliantly rendered art, and characters and plot worth caring about.
Rachet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was a pretty neat platforming game if you enjoy creative games that don't necessarily have a message to drive home (other than that lombaxes are awesome)
GTA IV is available on PS3 if you don't already have it for something else - a great game even apart from the hype machine.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is also supposed to be amazing. I have not ever played that one myself, though - all the others can be considered personal recommendations from one gamer to another.
Little Big Planet is definitely what I'm most looking forward to, though - it really validates the system purchase decision in my eyes.
Is in the upcoming Gears of War 2 - there will be four maps available for download for multiplayer free on the day the game launches, but only if you buy it new.
This is the right strategy for publishers to take - add value to incentivize purchase, instead of making your brand new version worse than a used/stolen version.
The immunity is not ex post facto. Ex post facto only applies to laws which criminalize something after it was done, increase the penalty to a crime after it was committed, or make it harder to obtain an 'innocent' verdict by raising the burden of proof after the date of commission.
Since the Telecom Immunity provision makes something NOT a crime after the date, it is not technically ex post facto law. Here is the relevant quote from Calder v. Bull, the US Supreme Court case which, in current case law, defines Ex Post Facto in the United States:
In my opinion, the true distinction is between ex post facto laws and retrospective laws. Every ex post facto law must necessarily be retrospective, but every retrospective law is not an ex post facto law. The former only are prohibited. Every law that takes away or impairs rights vested agreeably to existing laws is retrospective, and is generally unjust and may be oppressive, and it is a good general rule that a law should have no retrospect; but there are cases in which laws may justly, and for the benefit of the community and also of individuals, relate to a time antecedent to their commencement, as statutes of oblivion or of pardon. They are certainly retrospective, and literally both concerning and after the facts committed. But I do not consider any law ex post facto within the prohibition that mollifies the rigor of the criminal law, but only those that create or aggravate the crime or increase the punishment or change the rules of evidence for the purpose of conviction.
I would bet that a lot of people on Slashdot only believe in evolution because they distrust religious people and not because they actually understand what is wrong with creationism.
Belief does not matter for science - it operates independently of whether any given organism thinks about it at all. Just as one cannot prove or disprove a god's existence, one cannot believe or disbelieve in science - faith and observation based interpretations of the world are in many ways parallel, but in all ways entirely separate.
You don't have to believe me or internalize any of what I said, of course. But your post's central thesis was that
This is a big problem in the industry as far as I'm concerned, there is just too many clueless people (pub's and developers) about how to build entertainment. I think the biggest problem is still the technology.
I actually work in game development, and I can assure you that that is not the case across the board. Perhaps it is at Silicon Knights - they had a bit of an engine fiasco with Too Human, after all - but that's not what you said.
Striking a balance is hard, I agree, but that's the business you're really in: Entertainment. Game developers have to be good at knowing entertainment as well as engineering. It's hard, no doubt... and sometimes you just want to keep trying just doing your own thing (which is also valid) but if you want to do your own thing, you got to go back to small time games and understand what aspects of both the art, and the interaction of the objects, makes the game. Some indie game developers know this, they know what is wrong with the industry.
These are actually different jobs in game development. The Game Designer needs a passing knowledge of something like Maya or Max in order to place objects into the gameworld, but for the most part, Designers are the ones in charge of the skillful creation of entertaining content you outlined above.
The other positions which play into the technical knowledge vs. fun tug-of-war you mentioned are engineers and producers, for the most part. Engineers are in charge of maintaining and upgrading aspects of the engine used for the game so that the content the designers want can be created. And producers are in charge of delivering the product on-time and on-budget, so they ultimately may be responsible for cutting content the engineers and designers want to put in.
My real point is just that your tirade is... slightly uninformed. Not totally devoid of merit - it's true that some designers are bad at gauging the "fun" of their systems and are designing just for themselves. But the technical fluency requirements for a game designer are not that high, and thus are almost certainly not the cause of "un-fun" gameplay in any number of crappy games that release every year.
The only truly personally identifiable information ever communicated over the network is the user login - and even that isn't necessarily secure, since all it takes is someone who has read your email to get your login. There really is no way that people can be positively identified over the Tufts network, to the best of my knowledge. Of course, I am just a student, and am not privy to the inner workings of our IT center.
Yes, wireless requires a username/password and thus could almost certainly be traced. Thankfully/tragically, most dorms aren't covered by wireless; it's used heavily only in classrooms/libraries/dining and recreation areas.
Oh and for reference, I'm a Poli Sci major and I know how to do this. And Tufts has a big Engineering school, and any of my EE/CE/CS friends could do this in their sleep as well.
It's actually very commonly done at Tufts. We're only allowed one connection to the network per person, because the wires were run prior to online console gaming being a common thing on college campuses. The easiest way to get your wii or 360 online simultaneously is to change its MAC address to clone your PC's, so that the network doesn't question its presence.
I go to Tufts. That's not how our system works. It checks your MAC address when you attempt to use a browser/online service/etc., and if it's not registered in the system, they make you sign the terms of service again. As long as you're not on wireless, you never enter a username/password to get online, so the only remotely identifiable aspect of the end user is their MAC address.
I should note that I actually really admire the game for a lot of the reasons people listed here - unique character interactions, depth of skill system, intense pvp, etc. Just couldn't resist poking a little fun.:)
It's not newbie friendly at all, in that it takes literally years of paying CCP your monthly fee in order to reach the point where you can fly the big ships that bring in the massive profits.
EveMon will let you see how long it would take you and how much ISK (Eve money) it would cost you. Basically, I quit when I realized I'd get more enjoyment running a mining bot for two years while I was at work than I would if I were actually playing.
If you pirate Spore instead of buying it, you'll be missing out on the "massive" function of the game, where creatures on the planets you visit are populated by the creations of other players. IMO, that's one of the game's coolest ideas and something I'd definitely want to have in.
If only so I can make a planet full of my buddy's creations, and then nuke them into the stone age. Muahahahah!:P
Prototyping in games does not mean what it means in say, mechanical engineering. In the games industry, we build apps to test out and see how systems work and what would be fun to play. What you're seeing here is basic applications that were developed in order to see what might be fun to put in Spore.
That's the reason I submitted it - because it's a cool window into the development process that can rarely be found in the game industry.
The Mass Effect PC port added a whole ton of new features that the 360 version didn't have. In the 360 version, you could not command your squadmates directly, you could just tell them whom to attack. In the PC version, you could directly control your characters, completely changing the feel of the game.
Odds are the compromises were actually made on content design during the planning phase.
Look at Deus Ex vs. Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. Though DX1 came out years beforehand, it had much larger maps and many more hours of gameplay than DX2. The reason? The xBox couldn't support the DX1-style map sizes, and it was simultaneously developed for both.
Slashdot Mirror
When I got my first job in the game industry, I stopped pirating anything. It was in my contract that I wouldn't, and even though they obviously never would have found out, it still wasn't something I would have felt good about.
I still hassle my roommates for pirating games that I worked on. While I'd never see any of the revenue myself (it's not like we get royalties or anything), it still really bothers me.
I believe he's referring to Japan's very low birth rate in the past two decades, leading to a disproportionately old population retiring from the workforce comparing to the number of youth entering it, which in turn results in lower than projected revenue and higher than projected spending on social programs for the elderly.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a great adventure game with spot on voice acting, brilliantly rendered art, and characters and plot worth caring about.
Rachet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was a pretty neat platforming game if you enjoy creative games that don't necessarily have a message to drive home (other than that lombaxes are awesome)
GTA IV is available on PS3 if you don't already have it for something else - a great game even apart from the hype machine.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is also supposed to be amazing. I have not ever played that one myself, though - all the others can be considered personal recommendations from one gamer to another.
Little Big Planet is definitely what I'm most looking forward to, though - it really validates the system purchase decision in my eyes.
Is in the upcoming Gears of War 2 - there will be four maps available for download for multiplayer free on the day the game launches, but only if you buy it new.
This is the right strategy for publishers to take - add value to incentivize purchase, instead of making your brand new version worse than a used/stolen version.
The immunity is not ex post facto. Ex post facto only applies to laws which criminalize something after it was done, increase the penalty to a crime after it was committed, or make it harder to obtain an 'innocent' verdict by raising the burden of proof after the date of commission.
Since the Telecom Immunity provision makes something NOT a crime after the date, it is not technically ex post facto law. Here is the relevant quote from Calder v. Bull, the US Supreme Court case which, in current case law, defines Ex Post Facto in the United States:
In my opinion, the true distinction is between ex post facto laws and retrospective laws. Every ex post facto law must necessarily be retrospective, but every retrospective law is not an ex post facto law. The former only are prohibited. Every law that takes away or impairs rights vested agreeably to existing laws is retrospective, and is generally unjust and may be oppressive, and it is a good general rule that a law should have no retrospect; but there are cases in which laws may justly, and for the benefit of the community and also of individuals, relate to a time antecedent to their commencement, as statutes of oblivion or of pardon. They are certainly retrospective, and literally both concerning and after the facts committed. But I do not consider any law ex post facto within the prohibition that mollifies the rigor of the criminal law, but only those that create or aggravate the crime or increase the punishment or change the rules of evidence for the purpose of conviction.
What would be the point? There's no used games market to kill with a free downloadable title...
I would bet that a lot of people on Slashdot only believe in evolution because they distrust religious people and not because they actually understand what is wrong with creationism.
Belief does not matter for science - it operates independently of whether any given organism thinks about it at all. Just as one cannot prove or disprove a god's existence, one cannot believe or disbelieve in science - faith and observation based interpretations of the world are in many ways parallel, but in all ways entirely separate.
You don't have to believe me or internalize any of what I said, of course. But your post's central thesis was that
This is a big problem in the industry as far as I'm concerned, there is just too many clueless people (pub's and developers) about how to build entertainment. I think the biggest problem is still the technology.
I actually work in game development, and I can assure you that that is not the case across the board. Perhaps it is at Silicon Knights - they had a bit of an engine fiasco with Too Human, after all - but that's not what you said.
With Civility,
-Drake
Striking a balance is hard, I agree, but that's the business you're really in: Entertainment. Game developers have to be good at knowing entertainment as well as engineering. It's hard, no doubt... and sometimes you just want to keep trying just doing your own thing (which is also valid) but if you want to do your own thing, you got to go back to small time games and understand what aspects of both the art, and the interaction of the objects, makes the game. Some indie game developers know this, they know what is wrong with the industry.
These are actually different jobs in game development. The Game Designer needs a passing knowledge of something like Maya or Max in order to place objects into the gameworld, but for the most part, Designers are the ones in charge of the skillful creation of entertaining content you outlined above.
The other positions which play into the technical knowledge vs. fun tug-of-war you mentioned are engineers and producers, for the most part. Engineers are in charge of maintaining and upgrading aspects of the engine used for the game so that the content the designers want can be created. And producers are in charge of delivering the product on-time and on-budget, so they ultimately may be responsible for cutting content the engineers and designers want to put in.
My real point is just that your tirade is... slightly uninformed. Not totally devoid of merit - it's true that some designers are bad at gauging the "fun" of their systems and are designing just for themselves. But the technical fluency requirements for a game designer are not that high, and thus are almost certainly not the cause of "un-fun" gameplay in any number of crappy games that release every year.
Thomas Fynan floods a bulletin board with huge messages from fake users.
Ah-hah! Got ya!
Eh?
The only truly personally identifiable information ever communicated over the network is the user login - and even that isn't necessarily secure, since all it takes is someone who has read your email to get your login. There really is no way that people can be positively identified over the Tufts network, to the best of my knowledge. Of course, I am just a student, and am not privy to the inner workings of our IT center.
Yes, wireless requires a username/password and thus could almost certainly be traced. Thankfully/tragically, most dorms aren't covered by wireless; it's used heavily only in classrooms/libraries/dining and recreation areas.
Oh and for reference, I'm a Poli Sci major and I know how to do this. And Tufts has a big Engineering school, and any of my EE/CE/CS friends could do this in their sleep as well.
It's actually very commonly done at Tufts. We're only allowed one connection to the network per person, because the wires were run prior to online console gaming being a common thing on college campuses. The easiest way to get your wii or 360 online simultaneously is to change its MAC address to clone your PC's, so that the network doesn't question its presence.
I go to Tufts. That's not how our system works. It checks your MAC address when you attempt to use a browser/online service/etc., and if it's not registered in the system, they make you sign the terms of service again. As long as you're not on wireless, you never enter a username/password to get online, so the only remotely identifiable aspect of the end user is their MAC address.
"EVE - it won't suck forever. (TM) "
:)
I should note that I actually really admire the game for a lot of the reasons people listed here - unique character interactions, depth of skill system, intense pvp, etc. Just couldn't resist poking a little fun.
I actually have that on my work computer. I compete with my coworkers while doing the db maintenance. :P
It's not newbie friendly at all, in that it takes literally years of paying CCP your monthly fee in order to reach the point where you can fly the big ships that bring in the massive profits.
EveMon will let you see how long it would take you and how much ISK (Eve money) it would cost you. Basically, I quit when I realized I'd get more enjoyment running a mining bot for two years while I was at work than I would if I were actually playing.
If you pirate Spore instead of buying it, you'll be missing out on the "massive" function of the game, where creatures on the planets you visit are populated by the creations of other players. IMO, that's one of the game's coolest ideas and something I'd definitely want to have in.
:P
If only so I can make a planet full of my buddy's creations, and then nuke them into the stone age. Muahahahah!
AC, if you come back, post with your real name so I can talk to you about this. That's a serious problem that deserves a serious solution.
What country are you in, out of curiosity?
Prototyping in games does not mean what it means in say, mechanical engineering. In the games industry, we build apps to test out and see how systems work and what would be fun to play. What you're seeing here is basic applications that were developed in order to see what might be fun to put in Spore.
That's the reason I submitted it - because it's a cool window into the development process that can rarely be found in the game industry.
Machinima has nothing to do with speed runs...
Yeah, this is just wrong. EA had nothing to do with KOTOR II - it was developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Lucasarts
But I'm glad the moderators hate EA so much they modded you Interesting for being flat out incorrect.
The Mass Effect PC port added a whole ton of new features that the 360 version didn't have. In the 360 version, you could not command your squadmates directly, you could just tell them whom to attack. In the PC version, you could directly control your characters, completely changing the feel of the game.
Odds are the compromises were actually made on content design during the planning phase.
Look at Deus Ex vs. Deus Ex 2: Invisible War. Though DX1 came out years beforehand, it had much larger maps and many more hours of gameplay than DX2. The reason? The xBox couldn't support the DX1-style map sizes, and it was simultaneously developed for both.