I don't think the majority of games put out today seem as fun because the entire activity is FAR more mainstream now. I can list a helluva lot more great games from the 8, 16 and 32bit eras than I can anything past. I think this is largely due to the general shift towards three dimensional games at that time though. While I have nothing against 3D games per say, the idea now that EVERY game has to be in 3D has ruined quite a bit of what gaming used to be and still could be. It's destroyed entire franchises (like Sonic, and even Mario to some degree) and made fun genres almost entirely obsolete. A nice side-scroller could be great nowadays with high resolution sprites and full-on particles effects. But that's not very marketable, and I'm not sure if it's merely because the industry thinks that way or if the lot of people introduced to gaming through Madden on the Playstation would instantly dismiss such (despite Madden having been 2D at one point)...
I mean, really. As if the things weren't annoying enough ten years ago when only business suit wearing, Star Bucks drinking, wanna-be executives were using them. Now every stupid little teenager (and probably pre-teen) has them, and they all have them "pimped out" with colored faceplates and custom ring tones. I can't go anywhere nowadays without hearing a cell phone ring, hearing someone idly walking around the store talking about nothing on one or taking photos with them. They're stupid and annoying. Very, VERY few people need to be connected like that 24/7. And driving?! Everyone drives with them as well, as if they weren't already horribly reckless morons behind the wheel. In the least, could we pass national laws to completely forbid driving and talking (and actually enforce it) as well as stop anyone under the age of eighteen (twenty-one?) from owning or operating a cell phone? Then, of course, the next step would be to start lining buildings with lead as they're constructed, so as to block out the signals...
I remember dying pretty early on in Arcumun when I played as an ex-pit fighter Ogre. However, shortly afterwards, my half-elf débutante made it rather far, seducing everyone over to her side...
Myself, I found 3 to be boring and almost a complete letdown from the fun I had in 2. It was fun enough for short periods of time, but far too repetitive for long gaming sessions. It was almost nothing but fetch missions. San Andreas had a very nice variety to its missions. And I might be one of the few, but I enjoyed the exercising angle, but I like roleplaying games. The large map really has little to do with my overall enjoyment. It certainly made the world feel more realistic, but a small area can be utilized just as well. Besides, I was criticizing the main characters, not the gameplay. Vice City was a step in the right direction (and leads ahead of 3) as far as game play went, but the 80s atmosphere was annoying overall. *shrugs*
More so, those in a position of power (police officers, politicians, etc.) should face an even more severe punishment for breaking the law than your Average Joe. They have more responsibility and are (at least theoretically) suppose to be looked up to as a pillar of society.
Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines was great though, despite requiring an unofficial mod at times to get around the occasional bug. It's just too bad that the plot fizzled out at the very end. Troika obviously didn't have enough time (or resources, considering their abrupt bankruptcy shortly after) to properly polish the game, or even branch out the later parts of the story.
It's sad to know that true roleplaying experiences are getting rarer and rarer (from already having been rather rare), and all because the majority or so-called gamers would rather play some Final Fantasy-esque J-RPG which requires no interaction and is more like just watching a film, or worse yet, wants to pay a ridiculous monthly fee to kill the same five types of monsters over and over with their friends online while waiting to pay even more for the next expansion pack.
It was a dumbed-down 2000, with stupid little wizards that popped up every other second. It did have an ugly Fisher Price interface and was buggy and vulnerable as Hell. I just switched from 2000 to XP last summer, and as little difference as there is, it at least boots up quicker. Once you switch to the silver color scheme and old style Start menu, it isn't so bad.:P
Then again, I don't think I gave 2000 much attention either until after a few service packs... I had initially switched back to 98se after putting up with ME for about two weeks:P
The first three games in the series didn't really have a main character at all; Vice City had some wanna-be gangster gweedo (of course, the 80s had no redeeming qualities in real life either), and San Andreas had some low level gangbanger. At least San Andreas really brought a lot back to the series, which made the lacking III and Vice City all-to-unentertaining. I'm curious to see what the multiplayer will be like though, as GTA2's deathmatch made for a great diversion at LAN parties.
Troll?! Pff! Come on, this kind of thing is endangering the modding scene, which largely keeps games afloat for far longer than they normally would be. I know I sure wouldn't bother installing Quake 3 nowadays if it weren't for a certain mod (vanilla Quake 2 was better for deathmatch, after all). We're not talking about expansion packs here, which actually add real amounts of content and hopefully new mechanics. No, we're talking about paying a few bucks for a few knockoff songs, many of which weren't even that great when the original artist was doing them. This kind of stuff should be released free of charge, like a patch would be, to thank customers and encourage continuing play. There shouldn't be some kind of superficial market where EVERYTHING has a fee. Just wait until Microsoft brings Live to the PC, then we'll all be in the same, abysmal boat...
Paying for additional content that is probably, in most cases, left out of the game originally just for this purpose? It's disgusting, and is going to ruin gaming even more than it becoming mainstream popular already had. But hey, whatever, maybe the console kiddies of today just don't know what it was like ten years ago, when the companies would not only continue to add to and patch their games for years to come but also support dedicated groups of unpaid individuals who wanted nothing more than to work hard and release large scale mods... for free! This aspect of PC gaming is going to quickly die out if people continue to be stupid enough to pay for financially insignificant content (horse armor?!)
"Now the basic educational mission of the school was being compromised in order to keep students from visiting these profiles during school hours[...]"
They of course, in actuality, mean that the basic social conditioning of the school was being compromised in a futile attempt to salvage the principle's dignity.
Cleary if the kids are using MySpace (which is still a shame, but for much different reasons), they don't need what public school computer class is going to teach; this is how you use the Start Menu, this is how you open Internet Explorer--the only web browser in the world--and this is how you make PowerPoint presentations. Pff, right. Schools' focus on using PowerPoint should, in itself, dismiss the merits of technology focused classes.
Because people think Halo is a good game, not just some watered down console franchise with muddy textures, poor animations, overly generic characters/enemies and a cliche plot. That's what console babies get though, slow-witted wanna-be first person shooters for the Xbox's equally slow-witted and drunken frat boy crowd.
Of course, I haven't played the second one. But my points remain completely valid for the first installment, even after it was ported to the PC. The game was inferior to so many first person shooters that were out on the market at the time. The only reason it became the hit it was is because console-tards had never shot at shit from that view point before and it was just mind blowing! The only thing the Xbox REALLY had going for it anyway was the modding scene and some early Sega exclusives (when Sega was probably just porting and updating games that were going to go onto the Dreamcast... You know, before they went completely downhill and began releasing more craptastic 3D Sonic games).
Re:The value of good user interface design...
on
100 Million iPods
·
· Score: 1
While the iPod may or may not be superior in design to the competition, I really doubt most people care. All MP3 players are priced reasonably similar to one another. The average iPod buying teenager or young adult probably doesn't even want anything over just a few gigs, or even knows how to tell capacity for that matter. Luckily enough they can have one of those nifty AND cheap colored Nanos to house all seventy or eighty of their "music store" gift card selected pop songs. People don't go out looking for an MP3 player, they go out looking for an iPod, period. Whether you're getting it for yourself, or for the snotty little fifteen year old who already didn't need the cellphone you got her last Christmas. It's marketing, not design or ease of use. Apple is, overall, pretty damn good at marketing (about everything that ISN'T their computers or operating system, that is). Steve Jobs could probably defecate in a baggie and manage to overhype and sell it for millions just on the simple premise that it is the "cool" thing to have.
What I don't understand is why other companies don't throw out insanely under priced MP3 players. That would seem to be about the only way to pull someone's attention away from the peer pressure of owning an iPod. Of course, I'm one of those people that just can't see the reasoning in having a color screen, address and telephone books, appointments and scheduling software, video capabilities or stupid sounding buzzwords like "Podcast". If I ever had use for an MP3 player (which no one REALLY does, but it's less annoying to see them listening to music than talking on a cellphone in public... or worse yet, text messaging) I'd want something of AT LEAST thirty gigs with good battery life. Beyond that, it's all useless hype anyway.
Over exposed, radio played acts are the only ones who need to sign two song contracts and make it into the top twenty. I still enjoy entire albums, from REAL artists. Of course, I'm a fan of concept albums... Maybe if more musicians made their albums one cohesive piece of art we wouldn't have these problems. Oh wait, our short attention span guarantee that we would.
Slashdot Mirror
Promoting DJs. Ew.
'nuff said.
I don't think the majority of games put out today seem as fun because the entire activity is FAR more mainstream now. I can list a helluva lot more great games from the 8, 16 and 32bit eras than I can anything past. I think this is largely due to the general shift towards three dimensional games at that time though. While I have nothing against 3D games per say, the idea now that EVERY game has to be in 3D has ruined quite a bit of what gaming used to be and still could be. It's destroyed entire franchises (like Sonic, and even Mario to some degree) and made fun genres almost entirely obsolete. A nice side-scroller could be great nowadays with high resolution sprites and full-on particles effects. But that's not very marketable, and I'm not sure if it's merely because the industry thinks that way or if the lot of people introduced to gaming through Madden on the Playstation would instantly dismiss such (despite Madden having been 2D at one point)...
At least Waterworld accomplished something with its ridiculous budget. Oh wait, I'm the only person in the world that enjoyed the film...
I mean, really. As if the things weren't annoying enough ten years ago when only business suit wearing, Star Bucks drinking, wanna-be executives were using them. Now every stupid little teenager (and probably pre-teen) has them, and they all have them "pimped out" with colored faceplates and custom ring tones. I can't go anywhere nowadays without hearing a cell phone ring, hearing someone idly walking around the store talking about nothing on one or taking photos with them. They're stupid and annoying. Very, VERY few people need to be connected like that 24/7. And driving?! Everyone drives with them as well, as if they weren't already horribly reckless morons behind the wheel. In the least, could we pass national laws to completely forbid driving and talking (and actually enforce it) as well as stop anyone under the age of eighteen (twenty-one?) from owning or operating a cell phone? Then, of course, the next step would be to start lining buildings with lead as they're constructed, so as to block out the signals...
Mystery solved! Dinosaurs went extinct because they developed super-sexy "DinoBots" and thus became disinterested in actual sex...
I remember dying pretty early on in Arcumun when I played as an ex-pit fighter Ogre. However, shortly afterwards, my half-elf débutante made it rather far, seducing everyone over to her side...
Myself, I found 3 to be boring and almost a complete letdown from the fun I had in 2. It was fun enough for short periods of time, but far too repetitive for long gaming sessions. It was almost nothing but fetch missions. San Andreas had a very nice variety to its missions. And I might be one of the few, but I enjoyed the exercising angle, but I like roleplaying games. The large map really has little to do with my overall enjoyment. It certainly made the world feel more realistic, but a small area can be utilized just as well. Besides, I was criticizing the main characters, not the gameplay. Vice City was a step in the right direction (and leads ahead of 3) as far as game play went, but the 80s atmosphere was annoying overall. *shrugs*
More so, those in a position of power (police officers, politicians, etc.) should face an even more severe punishment for breaking the law than your Average Joe. They have more responsibility and are (at least theoretically) suppose to be looked up to as a pillar of society.
I can assure you that it wouldn't be simple assault... I have a loaded pump shotgun sitting by my bed just for such instances.
Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines was great though, despite requiring an unofficial mod at times to get around the occasional bug. It's just too bad that the plot fizzled out at the very end. Troika obviously didn't have enough time (or resources, considering their abrupt bankruptcy shortly after) to properly polish the game, or even branch out the later parts of the story. It's sad to know that true roleplaying experiences are getting rarer and rarer (from already having been rather rare), and all because the majority or so-called gamers would rather play some Final Fantasy-esque J-RPG which requires no interaction and is more like just watching a film, or worse yet, wants to pay a ridiculous monthly fee to kill the same five types of monsters over and over with their friends online while waiting to pay even more for the next expansion pack.
It was a dumbed-down 2000, with stupid little wizards that popped up every other second. It did have an ugly Fisher Price interface and was buggy and vulnerable as Hell. I just switched from 2000 to XP last summer, and as little difference as there is, it at least boots up quicker. Once you switch to the silver color scheme and old style Start menu, it isn't so bad. :P
Then again, I don't think I gave 2000 much attention either until after a few service packs... I had initially switched back to 98se after putting up with ME for about two weeks :P
The first three games in the series didn't really have a main character at all; Vice City had some wanna-be gangster gweedo (of course, the 80s had no redeeming qualities in real life either), and San Andreas had some low level gangbanger. At least San Andreas really brought a lot back to the series, which made the lacking III and Vice City all-to-unentertaining. I'm curious to see what the multiplayer will be like though, as GTA2's deathmatch made for a great diversion at LAN parties.
Troll?! Pff! Come on, this kind of thing is endangering the modding scene, which largely keeps games afloat for far longer than they normally would be. I know I sure wouldn't bother installing Quake 3 nowadays if it weren't for a certain mod (vanilla Quake 2 was better for deathmatch, after all). We're not talking about expansion packs here, which actually add real amounts of content and hopefully new mechanics. No, we're talking about paying a few bucks for a few knockoff songs, many of which weren't even that great when the original artist was doing them. This kind of stuff should be released free of charge, like a patch would be, to thank customers and encourage continuing play. There shouldn't be some kind of superficial market where EVERYTHING has a fee. Just wait until Microsoft brings Live to the PC, then we'll all be in the same, abysmal boat...
You seem to sense plans within plans. I didn't realize I was quite that transparent... :)
Paying for additional content that is probably, in most cases, left out of the game originally just for this purpose? It's disgusting, and is going to ruin gaming even more than it becoming mainstream popular already had. But hey, whatever, maybe the console kiddies of today just don't know what it was like ten years ago, when the companies would not only continue to add to and patch their games for years to come but also support dedicated groups of unpaid individuals who wanted nothing more than to work hard and release large scale mods... for free! This aspect of PC gaming is going to quickly die out if people continue to be stupid enough to pay for financially insignificant content (horse armor?!)
"Now the basic educational mission of the school was being compromised in order to keep students from visiting these profiles during school hours[...]"
They of course, in actuality, mean that the basic social conditioning of the school was being compromised in a futile attempt to salvage the principle's dignity.
Cleary if the kids are using MySpace (which is still a shame, but for much different reasons), they don't need what public school computer class is going to teach; this is how you use the Start Menu, this is how you open Internet Explorer--the only web browser in the world--and this is how you make PowerPoint presentations. Pff, right. Schools' focus on using PowerPoint should, in itself, dismiss the merits of technology focused classes.
Because people think Halo is a good game, not just some watered down console franchise with muddy textures, poor animations, overly generic characters/enemies and a cliche plot. That's what console babies get though, slow-witted wanna-be first person shooters for the Xbox's equally slow-witted and drunken frat boy crowd. Of course, I haven't played the second one. But my points remain completely valid for the first installment, even after it was ported to the PC. The game was inferior to so many first person shooters that were out on the market at the time. The only reason it became the hit it was is because console-tards had never shot at shit from that view point before and it was just mind blowing! The only thing the Xbox REALLY had going for it anyway was the modding scene and some early Sega exclusives (when Sega was probably just porting and updating games that were going to go onto the Dreamcast... You know, before they went completely downhill and began releasing more craptastic 3D Sonic games).
While the iPod may or may not be superior in design to the competition, I really doubt most people care. All MP3 players are priced reasonably similar to one another. The average iPod buying teenager or young adult probably doesn't even want anything over just a few gigs, or even knows how to tell capacity for that matter. Luckily enough they can have one of those nifty AND cheap colored Nanos to house all seventy or eighty of their "music store" gift card selected pop songs. People don't go out looking for an MP3 player, they go out looking for an iPod, period. Whether you're getting it for yourself, or for the snotty little fifteen year old who already didn't need the cellphone you got her last Christmas. It's marketing, not design or ease of use. Apple is, overall, pretty damn good at marketing (about everything that ISN'T their computers or operating system, that is). Steve Jobs could probably defecate in a baggie and manage to overhype and sell it for millions just on the simple premise that it is the "cool" thing to have.
What I don't understand is why other companies don't throw out insanely under priced MP3 players. That would seem to be about the only way to pull someone's attention away from the peer pressure of owning an iPod. Of course, I'm one of those people that just can't see the reasoning in having a color screen, address and telephone books, appointments and scheduling software, video capabilities or stupid sounding buzzwords like "Podcast". If I ever had use for an MP3 player (which no one REALLY does, but it's less annoying to see them listening to music than talking on a cellphone in public... or worse yet, text messaging) I'd want something of AT LEAST thirty gigs with good battery life. Beyond that, it's all useless hype anyway.
The system already has a built in microphone, and I'm sure that the touch screen would work wonderfully. Come on, Sega!
Over exposed, radio played acts are the only ones who need to sign two song contracts and make it into the top twenty. I still enjoy entire albums, from REAL artists. Of course, I'm a fan of concept albums... Maybe if more musicians made their albums one cohesive piece of art we wouldn't have these problems. Oh wait, our short attention span guarantee that we would.