The PS3/4 games aren't particularly challenging either -- the difficulty, if any, mostly stems from wrestling with the floaty controls. They don't have infinite lives, but you get a set number of lives per checkpoint, and there are enough checkpoints that you'll rarely, if ever, fail a level. There's also multi-player sections of levels, and special challenge levels.
Also, there's the level building features of the games that many people probably spend the majority of their time. Oh, and user-created levels can be more challenging, of course.
I like the games for their whimsy, the art style, and their heart-warming presentation.
Has anyone ever had an experience where they were positive they had a good chance at the job, but nothing came of it?.
It does happen from time to time. I had an on-site interview that went well. My last interview was with the CEO and founder of the medium-sized company, and he said, "If you've made it this far, you basically have the job." One week later I got rejected via email from a woman in HR I had never met or talked to. Sadly, I'll never know the full story.
Does anyone know if SkyOS ever had a "release" on a professionally printed CD/DVD? I can't seem to find actual evidence of this -- only the ability to download/burn a SkyOS Live CD.
Mod parent up. This is my biggest concern too -- setting/continuing the premise that it's totally ok and expected that products have arbitrary artificial lifetimes.
I personally don't like the big video screen being used for controls. In my "analog" car I can change the radio station, adjust the temperature, and turn on the AC with convenient knobs and buttons that I know where to find without even looking and I get good tactile response. My in-law's Lexus has a smaller screen to do this and it was always in the wrong mode and difficult for the driver to quickly change the temperature or radio due to having to change modes.
That said, the screen would be nice for watching videos, but please, not to control the car's functions.
I completely agree. The touch-screen panel reminds me of the BMW iDrive system -- it's technically neat, but flawed in practice. I'd rather not be touching buttons on a touch screen or dialing around to navigate menus while driving for my own (and others') safety.
So why should anyone care about the PS3? The zealots who got them got them already, and all the rest are just not gonna care, get a Wii (gameplay) or get an XBox (more games and similar "oohh, shiny" graphics)
For some, it's a case where we're assuming (maybe foolishly) that the PS3 will eventually have some interesting and unique games that are otherwise unavailable on any of the other platforms. Examples of this for the PS2 for me would be Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Ratchet and Clank, etc.
It's akin to asking why anyone bothered buying an original XBox, when there were so many more titles for the PS2? If you were a Halo fan, the answer was obvious.
Interesting list (how'd you get the NPD/TRST data, btw?). I had a copy of Space Channel 5 that I couldn't give away. I think I ended up selling it for a pittance.
I agree the whole collectable game thing is ridiculous, and your list proves it. It's not about the rarity of the game at all, but rather the perceived rarity along with an artificial demand. I could get a copy of Muppets Party Cruise on EBay right now for $12.00, not because it's not rare, but because it's a Muppets game that no self-respecting 'gamer' (collector or not) would touch with a ten foot pole.
The author, Marc Goodman, supposedly was working on an updated version of Bilestoad for MacOS (link) but it seems like the project got put on hold, perhaps.
Am I the only one pissed off that you to download a #$%&# video to see Gamespot's actual winner's?
Nope. Count at least one more pissed-off person. I can't even get the stupid video to work reliably in Firefox 100% of the time. Why don't they even offer an alternate page with a text list of the winners?
Thanks for the very insightful post. Someone please mod parent up.
If J Allard really thinks the barrier to wider acceptance of gaming is price, he's totally missing the point. I know many people who wouldn't play games currently if they were free or even paid to do it. They're just not interested in the current offerings. Nintendo's approach makes much more sense.
A 2005 title (early 2005, I suppose, but still) with high production values and more fun (IMHO) than Halo. I guess it wasn't a huge seller, however. Pity.
so. what happens to the xbox now? discontinued? discount bin at odd lots?
I've heard rumors (which of course may be completely unfounded) that MS is basically discontinuing the old X-Box, wrapping up manufacturing of what they have left, and that's it. It would be very much along the lines of MS to do this -- they generally tend to avoid supporting/selling older version of their software as soon as a new version is available. Sony, on the other hand, kept selling PS1's after the PS2 came out for a while, which was basically gravy for them. There's a market for "late-adopters" or folks who otherwise can't afford the latest and greatest but would still like to get Timmy a console for Christmas.
My guess is EA is doing this primarily so they can put Spielberg's name on the game package, create licensed titles tied to films, and boost sales. Spielberg has plenty of film projects to do, and might be interested in tossing some creative ideas around, but I wouldn't expect him to have the time to do more than the "executive producer" level of involvement.
I can't think of any developers I want to support. Care to mention the ones you like and for what achievements they should be supported for?
Double Fine would be one. Tim Schafer's latest game company. From the man that brough you Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle, among others.
The Behemoth would be another one. An indy-game developer trying to make it in an increasingly competitive market. Alien Hominid rocks.
Note that both websites have shops where you can buy directly from the developer so that distributors and publishers don't get their cut. These are just two companies out of many I'd support (and have).
Note that you can order stuff directly from both com
I rented the GC version and really really wanted to like it. I'm a fan of the old-school side-scrollers like Contra and Gunstar Heroes, so I figured this would be right up my alley.
An hour or so in, I felt my interest dropping. I liked the art style, and the gameplay was fine, but the two didn't work well together. It was really hard to dodge bullets that would get obscured by hand-drawn explosion sprites. The "PDA" minigames were cute, but again, largely didn't really pull me in.
Again, I really wanted to like it, since I'm always rooting for the indy game dev, but in this case, I just had to pass. I did, however, show my support and bought the Alien Hominid action figurines from the Behemoth's website. Perhaps I'll like their next game more...
And anyone who works in the industry will confirm that it's the exception to the rule to find a game development company that *doesn't* squeeze as many hours out of their employees as humanly possible at crunch time.
While this is largely true, the point of all the ruckus over EA last year (to me, at least) is that EA has the money and means and experience to alleviate some of the crunch, but largely through laziness, chooses not to.
I've worked for smaller 3rd party game developers, and the crunch is there, but when you've got a company of less than 100 people trying to make their first title, crunch is understandable. Crunch on the Nth rendition of Madden seems, well, less understandable.
EA does have a lot of nice perks -- you could certainly do worse in a job in the industry. That said, I have friends who, thanks to EA, became completely burned out and no longer work in the industry. IMHO, EA would do well to take the money they're spending on expensive gyms and fishtanks and spend it on a little research into how they can make the development cycle a little more sane.
What is expensive is the land, not the building per se. If my house was razed by fire or earthquake, I would lose at most 30% of what it costed me - the rest is the price of the land. This also means that banks would have no problems using the land as collateral to finance my rebuilding the house.
I guess I don't really understand this. I'm not a home-owner, so I'm probably missing something. However, if you owned a $500K house in California where the cost to rebuild was "only" $100K, you'll still be out $100K, whereas if you had earthquake insurance, you would be out less. That is, of course, assuming the earthquake insurance was less than $100K over the time you've owned the house until the earthquake.
I guess it just seems weird to shrug off costs due to their low percentage of the total value. It's still $100K that you'll still owe, bank loans or not. The only way I see to make back the cost is to sell after rebuilding for what you paid + cost of rebuilding (+ as much extra as you can get).
Slashdot Mirror
The PS3/4 games aren't particularly challenging either -- the difficulty, if any, mostly stems from wrestling with the floaty controls. They don't have infinite lives, but you get a set number of lives per checkpoint, and there are enough checkpoints that you'll rarely, if ever, fail a level. There's also multi-player sections of levels, and special challenge levels.
Also, there's the level building features of the games that many people probably spend the majority of their time. Oh, and user-created levels can be more challenging, of course.
I like the games for their whimsy, the art style, and their heart-warming presentation.
Has anyone ever had an experience where they were positive they had a good chance at the job, but nothing came of it?.
It does happen from time to time. I had an on-site interview that went well. My last interview was with the CEO and founder of the medium-sized company, and he said, "If you've made it this far, you basically have the job." One week later I got rejected via email from a woman in HR I had never met or talked to. Sadly, I'll never know the full story.
This is actually an excellent explanation. Thanks!
Does anyone know if SkyOS ever had a "release" on a professionally printed CD/DVD? I can't seem to find actual evidence of this -- only the ability to download/burn a SkyOS Live CD.
Mod parent up. This is my biggest concern too -- setting/continuing the premise that it's totally ok and expected that products have arbitrary artificial lifetimes.
Thank you good sir. I don't understand why people keep thinking GCN/PS2/etc used OpenGL.
Cafe Macs is great, but yes, ridiculously crowded at noon -- better get there by 11:30 if you want a table.
And that BJ's has got to go -- bland food and below average beer for exorbitant prices in a dull setting
Mod AC parent up. Steve certainly was at Apple and worked on Quicktime, but I wouldn't call him the "creator" of Quicktime.
I personally don't like the big video screen being used for controls. In my "analog" car I can change the radio station, adjust the temperature, and turn on the AC with convenient knobs and buttons that I know where to find without even looking and I get good tactile response. My in-law's Lexus has a smaller screen to do this and it was always in the wrong mode and difficult for the driver to quickly change the temperature or radio due to having to change modes.
That said, the screen would be nice for watching videos, but please, not to control the car's functions.
I completely agree. The touch-screen panel reminds me of the BMW iDrive system -- it's technically neat, but flawed in practice. I'd rather not be touching buttons on a touch screen or dialing around to navigate menus while driving for my own (and others') safety.
So why should anyone care about the PS3? The zealots who got them got them already, and all the rest are just not gonna care, get a Wii (gameplay) or get an XBox (more games and similar "oohh, shiny" graphics)
For some, it's a case where we're assuming (maybe foolishly) that the PS3 will eventually have some interesting and unique games that are otherwise unavailable on any of the other platforms. Examples of this for the PS2 for me would be Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Ratchet and Clank, etc.
It's akin to asking why anyone bothered buying an original XBox, when there were so many more titles for the PS2? If you were a Halo fan, the answer was obvious.
Viva la Win2K!
Anybody got any tips on how to 'lie' or disable the windows version check to force say FX Composer 2 to install on Windows 2000?
I too would like to know if there's a way to do this.
The scariest part about this is that I could easily see Hollywood making a movie just like this. Seriously.
Interesting list (how'd you get the NPD/TRST data, btw?). I had a copy of Space Channel 5 that I couldn't give away. I think I ended up selling it for a pittance.
I agree the whole collectable game thing is ridiculous, and your list proves it. It's not about the rarity of the game at all, but rather the perceived rarity along with an artificial demand. I could get a copy of Muppets Party Cruise on EBay right now for $12.00, not because it's not rare, but because it's a Muppets game that no self-respecting 'gamer' (collector or not) would touch with a ten foot pole.
The author, Marc Goodman, supposedly was working on an updated version of Bilestoad for MacOS (link) but it seems like the project got put on hold, perhaps.
Am I the only one pissed off that you to download a #$%&# video to see Gamespot's actual winner's?
Nope. Count at least one more pissed-off person. I can't even get the stupid video to work reliably in Firefox 100% of the time. Why don't they even offer an alternate page with a text list of the winners?
Thanks for the very insightful post. Someone please mod parent up.
If J Allard really thinks the barrier to wider acceptance of gaming is price, he's totally missing the point. I know many people who wouldn't play games currently if they were free or even paid to do it. They're just not interested in the current offerings. Nintendo's approach makes much more sense.
A 2005 title (early 2005, I suppose, but still) with high production values and more fun (IMHO) than Halo. I guess it wasn't a huge seller, however. Pity.
The next person to mention open source is going get a can of whop-ass opened up on them
So, is the act of opening the can of whoop-ass what results in an ass-kicking? Or is it the
contents of the can of whoop-ass?
For example, is it better to say, "Time to open a can of whoop-ass", or "Time to open a can of whoop-ass on you"?
so. what happens to the xbox now? discontinued? discount bin at odd lots?
I've heard rumors (which of course may be completely unfounded) that MS is basically discontinuing the old X-Box, wrapping up manufacturing of what they have left, and that's it. It would be very much along the lines of MS to do this -- they generally tend to avoid supporting/selling older version of their software as soon as a new version is available. Sony, on the other hand, kept selling PS1's after the PS2 came out for a while, which was basically gravy for them. There's a market for "late-adopters" or folks who otherwise can't afford the latest and greatest but would still like to get Timmy a console for Christmas.
My guess is EA is doing this primarily so they can put Spielberg's name on the game package, create licensed titles tied to films, and boost sales. Spielberg has plenty of film projects to do, and might be interested in tossing some creative ideas around, but I wouldn't expect him to have the time to do more than the "executive producer" level of involvement.
I can't think of any developers I want to support. Care to mention the ones you like and for what achievements they should be supported for?
Double Fine would be one. Tim Schafer's latest game company. From the man that brough you Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle, among others.
The Behemoth would be another one. An indy-game developer trying to make it in an increasingly competitive market. Alien Hominid rocks.
Note that both websites have shops where you can buy directly from the developer so that distributors and publishers don't get their cut. These are just two companies out of many I'd support (and have).
Note that you can order stuff directly from both com
Well, Treasure did do the recent Gradius V for the PS2, which was pretty sweet for all old-school Gradius fans.
I rented the GC version and really really wanted to like it. I'm a fan of the old-school side-scrollers like Contra and Gunstar Heroes, so I figured this would be right up my alley.
An hour or so in, I felt my interest dropping. I liked the art style, and the gameplay was fine, but the two didn't work well together. It was really hard to dodge bullets that would get obscured by hand-drawn explosion sprites. The "PDA" minigames were cute, but again, largely didn't really pull me in.
Again, I really wanted to like it, since I'm always rooting for the indy game dev, but in this case, I just had to pass. I did, however, show my support and bought the Alien Hominid action figurines from the Behemoth's website. Perhaps I'll like their next game more...
And anyone who works in the industry will confirm that it's the exception to the rule to find a game development company that *doesn't* squeeze as many hours out of their employees as humanly possible at crunch time.
While this is largely true, the point of all the ruckus over EA last year (to me, at least) is that EA has the money and means and experience to alleviate some of the crunch, but largely through laziness, chooses not to.
I've worked for smaller 3rd party game developers, and the crunch is there, but when you've got a company of less than 100 people trying to make their first title, crunch is understandable. Crunch on the Nth rendition of Madden seems, well, less understandable.
EA does have a lot of nice perks -- you could certainly do worse in a job in the industry. That said, I have friends who, thanks to EA, became completely burned out and no longer work in the industry. IMHO, EA would do well to take the money they're spending on expensive gyms and fishtanks and spend it on a little research into how they can make the development cycle a little more sane.
What is expensive is the land, not the building per se. If my house was razed by fire or earthquake, I would lose at most 30% of what it costed me - the rest is the price of the land. This also means that banks would have no problems using the land as collateral to finance my rebuilding the house.
I guess I don't really understand this. I'm not a home-owner, so I'm probably missing something. However, if you owned a $500K house in California where the cost to rebuild was "only" $100K, you'll still be out $100K, whereas if you had earthquake insurance, you would be out less. That is, of course, assuming the earthquake insurance was less than $100K over the time you've owned the house until the earthquake.
I guess it just seems weird to shrug off costs due to their low percentage of the total value. It's still $100K that you'll still owe, bank loans or not. The only way I see to make back the cost is to sell after rebuilding for what you paid + cost of rebuilding (+ as much extra as you can get).