It cuts both ways. The developers might have misunderstood the feedback they received, but it's also possible that the public misreads statements that developers make.
For instance, a developer or publisher may say, "GameX on GameCube didn't sell very well. People don't want GameX2 on the Cube, we're ceasing development."
You can take that at face value, or you can read it in a number of other ways:
"We don't have the staff or the publisher support to do a decent job on all platforms, bye-bye cube."
"Our publisher has run some numbers that we're not privy to, and decided they can boost the stock price by axing the least profitable developers/development paths, so our studio/gameCube team was sacked."
"It's not profitable for us, as developers, to maintain 1/3rd extra staff to develope for Game Cube when it accounts for less than 1/3 of our profits."
And so on.
As an aside, the GameCube/GBA hookup sounds like a great idea in theory, but every time you sell a game that requires some accessory that does not come with the base console (Light Gun, disk-drive, GBA, Steel Batallion controller) you are automatically limiting the number of potential sales to folks who have, or will purchase that accessory, and publishers hate that.
But wait, you say! A good game might drive sales of said accessory.
That only works if A) you're Nintendo, and it's an authorized Nintendo accessory, or B) You bundle the accessory with the game.
B sucks, because it both increases your risk (the game now cost twice as much because of the accessory), and you now risk alienating the folks who already have the accessory, and don't want another.
So Devs: Listen to feedback, then make good decisions.
Players: Listen to devs, and try to figure out what's really being said.
The arseholes who use these will end up getting broadsided by motorists who aren't expecting the sudden light change, then bleed to death waiting for an ambulance to arrive, impeded by all the other grief players.
I'm not going to say this is *not* the future of cinema, because anything is possible, but their has to be a compelling reason to use such trippy viewpoints.
It's not a question of whether we can, but rather whether we should.
What is gained by employing these effects? What is the cost (not $$, but in number of audience members who lose the thread, the distraction, loss of suspension of disbelief).
And finally, and virtual camera setup that is complicated enough to need to show the viewer a diagram to explain it, well, do I need to say that this isn't going to work in a mainstream film?
There's an old saying that goes, Art hung in restaurants is usually as bad as food served at museums.
Paraphrasing, asking a computer to do level design is as bad as asking a level designer to do math.
This is one of those features that the marketing department loves ("Infinite Gameplay!"), but in practice almost always sucks. It's the rare game (Populous?) where random numbers can deliver a enjoyable level.
It doesn't automatically eliminate fraud, but at very least, I should be given a receipt of my transaction (vote), and a printer ought to be making an archival copy at the same time for recounts.
Imagine if your bank instituted a no-paper-record policy.
Brush your damn teeth, and quit worrying. Were in ghods green earth did we get the idea that our teeth had to have an unnatural blue-white brilliance that can be used to signal low-flying planes if the sun hits them right? Oh, right. Television.
They're bone. They yellow over time and with use. It's a natural human thing. Get over it. Unless you use them professionally, say as a movie actor, you can probably just eek through your life with a slightly off-white tint, and still, somehow, die happy.
Slashdot Mirror
Ok, not quite, you need a pack of index cards, but otherwise free.
As discussed in an oddly similar thread about 4 posts down, this is a DIY game I stumbled upon recently, and have bcome totally obsessed with.
The rules are very simple, you can google for it, or read the rules on my site (second post from top).
It's a game that gets more & more fun the more you play, and no two games will ever be the same.
Yes, one of the coolest things I've found is that different groups make a totally different game of it.
It's fascinating from a game design standpoint to watch the dynamic.
But it's more fun to play the Compassionate Conservatism card on someone, or Scatalogical Bonus Round. Or Zebras...};^)
I second this. You have to love a game where frequently, nobody wins (ah...I loves my Final Strike!)
There also also two expansions available: Escalation and Proliferation.
No discussion of Cheapass Games is complete without metion of:
Unexploded Cow
Lord of the Fries
US Patent #1
Hats off to these folks, they're magically delicious.
Great for small groups! Discovered this game a couple of weeks ago, and am now officially obsessed.
Google it, or see the second entry on my homepage for a list of rules and materials.
Played this game until my sides hurt from laughing.
-You can have those ripe melons when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.
-Stickers indicate when melons are at their peak...tassles extra.
-Sciences frees us from burden of squeezing ripe melons, still no cure for cancer (nods to Fark)
-Nice stickers, but how do you get Natalie Portman to wear them?
-But how do you see the stickers under the sweater?
Did I miss any...hope not. I'd hate to think this melon thread hadn't been thouroughly milked.
Slashdot: Your home for single-entendre.
It cuts both ways. The developers might have misunderstood the feedback they received, but it's also possible that the public misreads statements that developers make.
For instance, a developer or publisher may say, "GameX on GameCube didn't sell very well. People don't want GameX2 on the Cube, we're ceasing development."
You can take that at face value, or you can read it in a number of other ways:
"We don't have the staff or the publisher support to do a decent job on all platforms, bye-bye cube."
"Our publisher has run some numbers that we're not privy to, and decided they can boost the stock price by axing the least profitable developers/development paths, so our studio/gameCube team was sacked."
"It's not profitable for us, as developers, to maintain 1/3rd extra staff to develope for Game Cube when it accounts for less than 1/3 of our profits."
And so on.
As an aside, the GameCube/GBA hookup sounds like a great idea in theory, but every time you sell a game that requires some accessory that does not come with the base console (Light Gun, disk-drive, GBA, Steel Batallion controller) you are automatically limiting the number of potential sales to folks who have, or will purchase that accessory, and publishers hate that.
But wait, you say! A good game might drive sales of said accessory.
That only works if A) you're Nintendo, and it's an authorized Nintendo accessory, or B) You bundle the accessory with the game.
B sucks, because it both increases your risk (the game now cost twice as much because of the accessory), and you now risk alienating the folks who already have the accessory, and don't want another.
So Devs: Listen to feedback, then make good decisions.
Players: Listen to devs, and try to figure out what's really being said.
They're great for doing structured light experiments like this.
Disclaimer: my site.
I recognized that cogent description. My wife wrote it.
The rest of the article is here:
www.bonfirenight.net/gunpowder.php
She was interviewed about Bonfire Night by the Assoc. French Press:
http://tinyurl.com/tnu3 (Yahoo News)
(My wife is a bigger geek than I...Yay!)
Reposted from above:
www.bonfirenight.net
tinyurl.com/tnu3
http://tinyurl.com/tnu3 (yahoo news)
www.bonfirenight.net
No karma whoring to see here...move along.
The arseholes who use these will end up getting broadsided by motorists who aren't expecting the sudden light change, then bleed to death waiting for an ambulance to arrive, impeded by all the other grief players.
We all have pretty much the same brakes. Your 4WD (or my AWD) isn't going to help me stop any better on ice than a 2WD.
I'm not going to say this is *not* the future of cinema, because anything is possible, but their has to be a compelling reason to use such trippy viewpoints.
It's not a question of whether we can, but rather whether we should.
What is gained by employing these effects? What is the cost (not $$, but in number of audience members who lose the thread, the distraction, loss of suspension of disbelief).
And finally, and virtual camera setup that is complicated enough to need to show the viewer a diagram to explain it, well, do I need to say that this isn't going to work in a mainstream film?
Feh. Random monster spawns do not a random dungeon make. The geometry of the levels was always the same, just the spawns were (semi) random.
There's an old saying that goes, Art hung in restaurants is usually as bad as food served at museums.
Paraphrasing, asking a computer to do level design is as bad as asking a level designer to do math.
This is one of those features that the marketing department loves ("Infinite Gameplay!"), but in practice almost always sucks. It's the rare game (Populous?) where random numbers can deliver a enjoyable level.
It doesn't automatically eliminate fraud, but at very least, I should be given a receipt of my transaction (vote), and a printer ought to be making an archival copy at the same time for recounts.
Imagine if your bank instituted a no-paper-record policy.
Brush your damn teeth, and quit worrying. Were in ghods green earth did we get the idea that our teeth had to have an unnatural blue-white brilliance that can be used to signal low-flying planes if the sun hits them right? Oh, right. Television.
They're bone. They yellow over time and with use. It's a natural human thing. Get over it. Unless you use them professionally, say as a movie actor, you can probably just eek through your life with a slightly off-white tint, and still, somehow, die happy.
Is Porn a genre?
So that's what it looks like from the other side...hehe.
Well, as far as I can tell, the server didn't melt. Hope everyone enjoyed my kooky little experiment.
Thanks for stopping by!
Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.
};^P
The StarTak phone was built by people who grew up with classic Trek, and wanted communicators.
To the next gen, communicators are passe, so they've given us the tricorder.
I'm just hoping the next generation after this phone gives us phasers.
Step #1: Invent Blog Software
Step #2: Distribute Blog Software for Free
Step #3: People everywhere log their life in excrusciating detail.
Step #4: Google Creates Blog Search Engine.
May I have my grant money now...in tens and twenties please.
I'd stick to gouging out his eyes and cutting out his tounge, lest he bring a plauge upon your house.
Or, you know, change passwords, and stuff. I hear that works too.
The thing about the common cold is, it's contagious. So I think maybe the worry here is that this brain-eating virus might spread.
Carzy, isn't it? To think that people could get all worked up about a deadly contagious disease.
Thank god it's only slashdot. Imagine if the threat were real!