Maybe it's just me, but several of the games they listed aren't really in comeback position, as they've already done so. I'd love to see a new Punhcout game made...I loved the first two.
Also - I want another Earthbound! I'm not an RPG player generally, but I spent hours playing Earthbound.
Now someone needs to do an interview with Tycho and Gabe about why the penny-arcade.com forums can't seem to stay available for longer than fifteen minutes at a time.
...to put that many images up without even the smallest bit of explination as to what's going on. If he wanted to post finished photos of his great mod, fine, but don't give me the 'in between' photos unless you're going to be kind enough to explain the process that you've used.
"Perhaps it's because a lot of creative people share the same idea as you seem to state. So, to answer your question in re: to getting more artistic people involved; what would make you consider working on a game?"
Any hope of gainful employment, more or less. I'd be ecstatic to be working in the game industry on that level. I don't know that I'd be satisfied doing that alone my whole life (depending on how much I felt I was able to say while writing games), but coming out of college or even during grad school, I'd jump at the chance.
The only thing is that, I have yet to see anything suggesting that the chance is there. I'd be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong about that, but I've never seen a game developer put out a call to writers.
"Another point: The consumers of games aren't exactly fine art aficionados. They've got to have a technical bent in the first place if they are going to own a machine capable of playing games. Science / engineering folk tend to know what other science / engineering folk like best."
That's bunk. The first part of your point because people needn't be 'fine art aficionados' just to be positively effected by art in the same way non-art aficionados can appreciate a fine novel, poem, painting or play. If you think the only people who appreciate the messages conveyed through these mediums, or the only people affected by the social change they bring about, are devout followers of fine art and academics, I beg to say you're kidding yourself.
As to the second part of your point: You think the only people playing games like Ninja Gaiden, Madden and Final Fantasy right now are also hardcore followers of tech science or at least in a technology-focused frame of mind right now? Try standing by the register at your local Gamestop for a few hours. Games are mainstream now (granted, PC games are still a bit more slanted than console) - people of all mindsets, including the non-techies, play games. The whole point of console gaming is so that people who aren't 'technically bent' can enjoy the same things hardcore geeks have loved for years.
Regardless of the makeup of the consumer base, you don't seem to consider them people interested in 'cultural' materials. They're not going to be the crowds reading Kafka or visiting museums, right? If that's the case, why shouldn't games be a legitimate medium to express some of the same artistic ideas to those people, through a medium that's more relatable? If I'm right in summarizing your statement by saying 'gamers aren't interested in culture,' why could the reason for that not be because no instruments of culture have been appealing to that type of people yet? Why couldn't (shouldn't) games be the first?
Not everyone can come close to being able to focus on that many areas - the literary/artistic education people are given in this country (at least) is laughable, and there are people who want to add onto all of this?
Why not just get more people who have the artistic skills and prowess more involved in the game making process? Why do companies let engineers write game plots? As I see it, the reason there isn't more redeeming social value in gaming is because no one involved in the creative side of game development seems to be good enough to tie it in.
It's a bit silly to try making everyone into an artist/writer/director as well as a mathematician/engineer/programmer; most people's minds just don't deal that well with one area or the other (right brain/left brain dominance I suppose).
I'll be graduating in a couple of years with a degree in English, and hope to make a name for myself through writing, but the last thing on my mind is getting a job writing video game stories or working on development. I'd love the chance to do that kind of work, but it's nothing I've heard of happening lately.
If they felt it was that much of a problem, they could simply quit selling to ED, Babbages Inc (Gamestop), FYE (which I think it Transworld Media...), Blockbuster, etc. I don't think game companies are worried about used sales in the least. By the time people are buying used copies of the game (at least in my experience working at a Gamestop), customers who were interested in paying retail have already got the game. Most used game sales are made up of games that are months or years old, whose sales have already dropped off the charts enough to not really be missed by game publishers/developers. Before that amount of time, it's just not very economical to buy the used game....the difference between it and the new price is almost negligible, and most people go for new. Maybe if publishers started lowering their prices on new titles much more than they already do once the games have been in circulation for some time and ebbed in popularity, they would be loosing more from used game sales.
So I guess it was just as ethically wrong the last time I bought books at the local Salvation Aarmy? That kind of used-goods market just takes money out of the hands of the publishers who made the books to start with? By holding a yard sale, would I be subverting the capitalist system as we know it?...my god, what about all the pawn shops? Gun and jewelry manufactures could be bringing in thousands of additional dollars if we just forced everyone to buy their products retail.
The fact is that, while game makers can choose to whine and complain about used game sales, that's where their action will end. They can't do anything about used game sales, and quite frankly, I think it's silly to consider something like second-hand marketing ethically wrong. Whenever a game ends up in the used bin, that mean's that someone else paid retail for the same. At some point, the company got their money for that unit. People spending $20 or less on two-year-old used games are people who most likely would never have paid for the game if it weren't sitting in the cheap bin.
...I worked there last Thursday and the release date in our system had been chagned from 'April' to 'June.'
I really don't expect it until xmas '04, and haven't since early last year. This whole 'don't set a concrete release date, then push it back every few months' really reeks of a scheme to get more pre-sales for retailers.
My biggest complaint about the Zodiac isn't really the lack of games or price right now, it's that theiy tried to make a Palm that's good for gaming, but it still looks like a gameboy.
I want a gaming device I can pull out in class and not have anyone give a second thought to. Even if I pull out the Zodiac to jot down an exam time or some such, I really think most people would assume I was gaming.
In most respects, it seems to be more of a PDA that games prety well than a game system with PDA features, but it still looks like another game boy.
I, too, work in a GS store, and yes, they've been cutting hours like crazy for the last few weeks. Even after our store had missed their payroll hours by what they were supposed to, I got sent home early. I'd guess it's considerably easier to make a profit when your expenses are cut in half... I wouldn't be surprised if the company adopted the new set of hours as standard.
I didn't even get my yearly evaluation this year though, so don't feel to bad.
I work in a fairly large game retailer (Gamestop), and I'm curious to know who's standards the cube and xbox are underperforming by. I know in my company, the investors were told a story about last year's sales and expect to see the same kind of numbers. The problem with that is that there hasn't been a major price cut, and there aren't any new system-selling titles on the shelves.
End result? The company is on the rocks, the employees get griped at and have hours cut, and the people responsible (game makers for not making games that move systems and retailers for building up unreasonable hype) scratch their heads.
...or at least I'm told. From my readings, the reason that the performance dropps with blue LEDs is usually becasue someone just went to Radio Shack and picked up whatever 5mm blue LED they had. The problem with this is that the blue is not nearly is bright as the stock red diodes. Get a blue LED that is 3000+ mcd and it should work close enough to the same to not notice any diffrence.
Never had the slightest problem at all, nor do I know anyone who has. Everything that really generates enough to interfere is already shielded quite well. I had my case (with large window) sitting right next to the monitor for several months with no problem (occasionally using cell/cordless phones).
I'm guessing it is to late for this, but I would have just kept the packaging it was in from the store. Might not last for years, but definietly provides a snug fit and adequate protection (as long as the kid isn't thrusting his epee at the thing....).
Pay to play games with crummy graphics? No thanks. I'm happy playing games like Counter-Strike, Diablo II, etc etc that are completely free to play online. When I really see gameplay in one of these MMORPGs with no single-player and gameplay that I can't live without, then maybe I'll sign up to pay my $10-$15 a month, but until then no thanks.
What you are saying does make sense, however I've been doing a good bit of reading about case-mods and such lately (not specificly clear acrylic cases...I think they look tacky but thats just me), and have never read anyone actually complaingin about getting interference while using a case with a large window, or even a fully clear case.
I'm no elecrtonics expert, and I agree that in theory it could cause some serious problems, but as a neutral onlooker I haven't seen anything actually indicating that it does cause a problem. I very well may have just missed an article, and if that is the case I would appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe it's just me, but several of the games they listed aren't really in comeback position, as they've already done so. I'd love to see a new Punhcout game made...I loved the first two.
Also - I want another Earthbound! I'm not an RPG player generally, but I spent hours playing Earthbound.
Now someone needs to do an interview with Tycho and Gabe about why the penny-arcade.com forums can't seem to stay available for longer than fifteen minutes at a time.
Surprisingly enough, products sell better when they're cheaper. Who would have ever thought?
...to put that many images up without even the smallest bit of explination as to what's going on. If he wanted to post finished photos of his great mod, fine, but don't give me the 'in between' photos unless you're going to be kind enough to explain the process that you've used.
...no one asks it to play global thermonuclear war.
I vote we drop capture the flag, and just start up the tic tac toe game right now.
"Perhaps it's because a lot of creative people share the same idea as you seem to state. So, to answer your question in re: to getting more artistic people involved; what would make you consider working on a game?"
Any hope of gainful employment, more or less. I'd be ecstatic to be working in the game industry on that level. I don't know that I'd be satisfied doing that alone my whole life (depending on how much I felt I was able to say while writing games), but coming out of college or even during grad school, I'd jump at the chance.
The only thing is that, I have yet to see anything suggesting that the chance is there. I'd be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong about that, but I've never seen a game developer put out a call to writers.
"Another point: The consumers of games aren't exactly fine art aficionados. They've got to have a technical bent in the first place if they are going to own a machine capable of playing games. Science / engineering folk tend to know what other science / engineering folk like best."
That's bunk. The first part of your point because people needn't be 'fine art aficionados' just to be positively effected by art in the same way non-art aficionados can appreciate a fine novel, poem, painting or play. If you think the only people who appreciate the messages conveyed through these mediums, or the only people affected by the social change they bring about, are devout followers of fine art and academics, I beg to say you're kidding yourself.
As to the second part of your point: You think the only people playing games like Ninja Gaiden, Madden and Final Fantasy right now are also hardcore followers of tech science or at least in a technology-focused frame of mind right now? Try standing by the register at your local Gamestop for a few hours. Games are mainstream now (granted, PC games are still a bit more slanted than console) - people of all mindsets, including the non-techies, play games. The whole point of console gaming is so that people who aren't 'technically bent' can enjoy the same things hardcore geeks have loved for years.
Regardless of the makeup of the consumer base, you don't seem to consider them people interested in 'cultural' materials. They're not going to be the crowds reading Kafka or visiting museums, right? If that's the case, why shouldn't games be a legitimate medium to express some of the same artistic ideas to those people, through a medium that's more relatable? If I'm right in summarizing your statement by saying 'gamers aren't interested in culture,' why could the reason for that not be because no instruments of culture have been appealing to that type of people yet? Why couldn't (shouldn't) games be the first?
...a whole world of geniuses?
Not everyone can come close to being able to focus on that many areas - the literary/artistic education people are given in this country (at least) is laughable, and there are people who want to add onto all of this?
Why not just get more people who have the artistic skills and prowess more involved in the game making process? Why do companies let engineers write game plots? As I see it, the reason there isn't more redeeming social value in gaming is because no one involved in the creative side of game development seems to be good enough to tie it in.
It's a bit silly to try making everyone into an artist/writer/director as well as a mathematician/engineer/programmer; most people's minds just don't deal that well with one area or the other (right brain/left brain dominance I suppose).
I'll be graduating in a couple of years with a degree in English, and hope to make a name for myself through writing, but the last thing on my mind is getting a job writing video game stories or working on development. I'd love the chance to do that kind of work, but it's nothing I've heard of happening lately.
What can the game companies do?
If they felt it was that much of a problem, they could simply quit selling to ED, Babbages Inc (Gamestop), FYE (which I think it Transworld Media...), Blockbuster, etc. I don't think game companies are worried about used sales in the least. By the time people are buying used copies of the game (at least in my experience working at a Gamestop), customers who were interested in paying retail have already got the game. Most used game sales are made up of games that are months or years old, whose sales have already dropped off the charts enough to not really be missed by game publishers/developers. Before that amount of time, it's just not very economical to buy the used game....the difference between it and the new price is almost negligible, and most people go for new. Maybe if publishers started lowering their prices on new titles much more than they already do once the games have been in circulation for some time and ebbed in popularity, they would be loosing more from used game sales.
So I guess it was just as ethically wrong the last time I bought books at the local Salvation Aarmy? That kind of used-goods market just takes money out of the hands of the publishers who made the books to start with? By holding a yard sale, would I be subverting the capitalist system as we know it? ...my god, what about all the pawn shops? Gun and jewelry manufactures could be bringing in thousands of additional dollars if we just forced everyone to buy their products retail.
The fact is that, while game makers can choose to whine and complain about used game sales, that's where their action will end. They can't do anything about used game sales, and quite frankly, I think it's silly to consider something like second-hand marketing ethically wrong. Whenever a game ends up in the used bin, that mean's that someone else paid retail for the same. At some point, the company got their money for that unit. People spending $20 or less on two-year-old used games are people who most likely would never have paid for the game if it weren't sitting in the cheap bin.
...I worked there last Thursday and the release date in our system had been chagned from 'April' to 'June.'
I really don't expect it until xmas '04, and haven't since early last year. This whole 'don't set a concrete release date, then push it back every few months' really reeks of a scheme to get more pre-sales for retailers.
My $0.02
My biggest complaint about the Zodiac isn't really the lack of games or price right now, it's that theiy tried to make a Palm that's good for gaming, but it still looks like a gameboy.
I want a gaming device I can pull out in class and not have anyone give a second thought to. Even if I pull out the Zodiac to jot down an exam time or some such, I really think most people would assume I was gaming.
In most respects, it seems to be more of a PDA that games prety well than a game system with PDA features, but it still looks like another game boy.
...about Penny Arcade.
SunSaw, are you wearing a Federation uniform?
Daikatana
Tao Feng
Enter the Matrix
DDR
Unreal 2
Resident Evil (even though I love the game)
Sim Copter
I, too, work in a GS store, and yes, they've been cutting hours like crazy for the last few weeks. Even after our store had missed their payroll hours by what they were supposed to, I got sent home early. I'd guess it's considerably easier to make a profit when your expenses are cut in half... I wouldn't be surprised if the company adopted the new set of hours as standard.
I didn't even get my yearly evaluation this year though, so don't feel to bad.
End result? The company is on the rocks, the employees get griped at and have hours cut, and the people responsible (game makers for not making games that move systems and retailers for building up unreasonable hype) scratch their heads.
...or at least I'm told. From my readings, the reason that the performance dropps with blue LEDs is usually becasue someone just went to Radio Shack and picked up whatever 5mm blue LED they had. The problem with this is that the blue is not nearly is bright as the stock red diodes. Get a blue LED that is 3000+ mcd and it should work close enough to the same to not notice any diffrence.
Never had the slightest problem at all, nor do I know anyone who has. Everything that really generates enough to interfere is already shielded quite well. I had my case (with large window) sitting right next to the monitor for several months with no problem (occasionally using cell/cordless phones).
A powerful enough graphics card? HA!
...also nice to see not only one, but two people claiming FP when neither actually got it :-).
I'm guessing it is to late for this, but I would have just kept the packaging it was in from the store. Might not last for years, but definietly provides a snug fit and adequate protection (as long as the kid isn't thrusting his epee at the thing....).
Pay to play games with crummy graphics? No thanks. I'm happy playing games like Counter-Strike, Diablo II, etc etc that are completely free to play online. When I really see gameplay in one of these MMORPGs with no single-player and gameplay that I can't live without, then maybe I'll sign up to pay my $10-$15 a month, but until then no thanks.
What you are saying does make sense, however I've been doing a good bit of reading about case-mods and such lately (not specificly clear acrylic cases...I think they look tacky but thats just me), and have never read anyone actually complaingin about getting interference while using a case with a large window, or even a fully clear case.
I'm no elecrtonics expert, and I agree that in theory it could cause some serious problems, but as a neutral onlooker I haven't seen anything actually indicating that it does cause a problem. I very well may have just missed an article, and if that is the case I would appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction.