I like the fact that the example provided happened to game testers. So hopefully when they saw this behavior they realized that they hadn't made clear all the options available to the user. Then they could add a tutorial, or maybe a cut seen with the key feature being somebody going through a window to avoid traps.
Hmm, something I just thought of: why would such a protected installation have a perfectly usable window there allowing intruders to gain entry?
Anyway, the key should be that as games continue to expand the range of what is possible in their system they must help the users discover and explore these new possibilities.
I'm a one man game studio, and yet I have managed to create a persistent game-tracker, as well as an online ranking system. So I would agree that this is a silly thing for IBM to do.
I'd think that such a 'strategic alliance' would be discussed in person, or at least over the phone. A single email message doesn't really say commitment.
So we can all agree that this is a bad thing. What can we do about it?
Why not take a page directly from the activist handbook. When environmental activists are trying to fight for an issue they have found it useful to attack a company that has particularly bad environmental policies (like the oil companies).
So let us attack a company that has particularly bad patent policies: Amazon. There are plenty of alternatives out there anyway. Let's band together and start giving amazon some bad press. I just posted something on my blog about it (which gets read by a bunch of non-technical people who have probably never heard of this).
Please do the same. It doesn't look like government is doing anything about this, so all that's left is you and me.
I don't know about Japan, but in North America every phone manufacturer ships JVMs that are different enough that you must port your application to each one. So, yes, you can do it with just one codebase, but you will have to have a whole bunch of branches for different handsets.
The consensus out there is Sun just wanted to get java put on every damn phone that they could. So they didn't do as stringent a QA process on the JVMs that they should have.
This is supposed to get better with MIDP version 2.0. However that probably won't be in large scale use for a year or two. Even then there will be plenty of older handsets, so the problem isn't going to go away.
I am definitely going to enter my game in this. Right now it uses Apple's cocoa-java extensions so it is tied to OSX, but a pure java port is already in the works.
Forget about winning, it would be awesome to get some free publicity care of Sun.
howardforums.com is an excellent resource for everything to do with cellphones. All of the content is from real users, and there is a wealth of it there.
You might have to dig for what you want though. It might be helpful if you had a couple of models in mind to start with and searched for reviews on them.
Bluetooth is here right now and it works. Is there anything else that is here right now that works that could replace bluetooth? (Hint: the answer is NO).
Thus bluetooth will continue to be used for the things that it is being used for. Thus it will proliferate more and more every year there is nothing else.
Thus bluetooth is NOT dead. In fact I would say that it is merely in its teenage years. And as long as it can stay off the heavy drugs it should be alive for many years to come.
While the desktop linux market share is rising about that of macintosh, that isn't a bad thing for the mac. The loss is market share will be to windows.
One of the driving factors behind this is cost (especially in emerging markets). The change is coming in business environments, where the macintosh has always lagged far behind windows.
I can't see any of the traditional macintosh markets switching to linux. The same UNIX base is present on the mac along with other more exclusive things.
Anyway, I think that this is in fact a great thing for the macintosh. The compatibility of programs is much better between os x/linux then it is between os x/windows. And Apple has been showing it is more than happy to take up open-source created standards.
In conclusion: go linux, go mac os x, die windows die!
The people controlling the system have full control over how much land is made available. Thus they can sell more or less depending on what they want the price to be.
This is exactly what OPEC does with oil. Their control is less now because they don't have control over 100% or production, but they can still influence prices by selling more or less oil as they see fit.
Big budget marketing is something that really pisses me off. Especially for games that would probably get plenty of press anyways (like, say, Ubisoft games).
Spending lots of money on advertising increases the purchase price of games and distracts the people making the game from putting all their efforts into making sure the game is excellent (as opposed to the ads).
Good games rise to the top (in respect and sales) because they are good, not because they had a great marketing effort. The worst part comes when a shitty (or average) game blames its sales on bad marketing.
I am a small independent game developer who handles 100% of distribution myself. It's not really all that hard, and there are advantages to keeping everything close to home.
Not only do I not have to pay some ridiculous percentage of my profits, but I am 0 steps away from my users.
Put up a decent website with a way of getting feedback from your users (I use the excellent and free phpBB message board). This can also help create a community around your product. If you listen to what they say then your game will get better and better. Another thing that I have done is try to optimize my website for certain google searches.
I can't imagine any paid distributor putting as much thought and effort into such things for one of a hundred small games they are dealing with. By doing it myself I am confident that it is being done well.
Doing this I have seen my game grow from nothing into a steady stream of sales. I'm glad I did it the way I did, rather then trying to go the easy way and get some other company to do it. See my sig for a link to my game's website, which includes a user forum and an online ranking system.
If you are Canadian and have a view on this (or anything else) then come and share it. I recently set up the website blogforcanada.com for just this purpose.
Come and help put the people back in charge of our laws.
Those familiar with Apple products will tell you that discounts are few and far between. I believe it has to do with Apple's unique relationship with distributors. Stores don't have as much leeway to discount Apple stuff as they do with other brands.
The only time you will find Apple products for sale is when Apple passes along end-of-life discounts. (i.e. right before the new model comes out)
If Sony wants this thing to be a big success they should put all their focus on making it developer-friendly. The easier it is to develop for = more games = more sales = more money...
The switch from MS Office to OpenOffice is much easier then a switch from MS Windows to Linux. All the other programs will still work, yada yada yada...
But The more people that switch to OO, the more attractive switching to Linux becomes. If your company is already using OO then they could switch to Linux and let their users keep the same office suite.
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm, something I just thought of: why would such a protected installation have a perfectly usable window there allowing intruders to gain entry?
Anyway, the key should be that as games continue to expand the range of what is possible in their system they must help the users discover and explore these new possibilities.
Why not talk about all the great games that are available right here right now? All the rest is just fluff.
I'm a one man game studio, and yet I have managed to create a persistent game-tracker, as well as an online ranking system. So I would agree that this is a silly thing for IBM to do.
Yeah, alright. The _real_ hardcore game companies are the ones that don't have any money to go to E3. Like me for example. See my sig for details.
Check out my Risk game linked in my sig! Alright!!!
Risk has always been the game of choice amongst my friends. In fact, I liked it so much I wrote a computerized version.
I'd think that such a 'strategic alliance' would be discussed in person, or at least over the phone. A single email message doesn't really say commitment.
Why not take a page directly from the activist handbook. When environmental activists are trying to fight for an issue they have found it useful to attack a company that has particularly bad environmental policies (like the oil companies).
So let us attack a company that has particularly bad patent policies: Amazon. There are plenty of alternatives out there anyway. Let's band together and start giving amazon some bad press. I just posted something on my blog about it (which gets read by a bunch of non-technical people who have probably never heard of this).
Please do the same. It doesn't look like government is doing anything about this, so all that's left is you and me.
The consensus out there is Sun just wanted to get java put on every damn phone that they could. So they didn't do as stringent a QA process on the JVMs that they should have.
This is supposed to get better with MIDP version 2.0. However that probably won't be in large scale use for a year or two. Even then there will be plenty of older handsets, so the problem isn't going to go away.
Forget about winning, it would be awesome to get some free publicity care of Sun.
You might have to dig for what you want though. It might be helpful if you had a couple of models in mind to start with and searched for reviews on them.
Yeah. I'm here all night folks.
Thus bluetooth will continue to be used for the things that it is being used for. Thus it will proliferate more and more every year there is nothing else.
Thus bluetooth is NOT dead. In fact I would say that it is merely in its teenage years. And as long as it can stay off the heavy drugs it should be alive for many years to come.
One of the driving factors behind this is cost (especially in emerging markets). The change is coming in business environments, where the macintosh has always lagged far behind windows.
I can't see any of the traditional macintosh markets switching to linux. The same UNIX base is present on the mac along with other more exclusive things.
Anyway, I think that this is in fact a great thing for the macintosh. The compatibility of programs is much better between os x/linux then it is between os x/windows. And Apple has been showing it is more than happy to take up open-source created standards.
In conclusion: go linux, go mac os x, die windows die!
This is exactly what OPEC does with oil. Their control is less now because they don't have control over 100% or production, but they can still influence prices by selling more or less oil as they see fit.
Spending lots of money on advertising increases the purchase price of games and distracts the people making the game from putting all their efforts into making sure the game is excellent (as opposed to the ads).
Good games rise to the top (in respect and sales) because they are good, not because they had a great marketing effort. The worst part comes when a shitty (or average) game blames its sales on bad marketing.
Good games sell well. End of story.
Forgive me if I wait for the best or some interesting ones before I bother to look.
Hey, thanks for pointing out that typo.
It can be found at http://sillysoft.net
Not only do I not have to pay some ridiculous percentage of my profits, but I am 0 steps away from my users.
Put up a decent website with a way of getting feedback from your users (I use the excellent and free phpBB message board). This can also help create a community around your product. If you listen to what they say then your game will get better and better. Another thing that I have done is try to optimize my website for certain google searches.
I can't imagine any paid distributor putting as much thought and effort into such things for one of a hundred small games they are dealing with. By doing it myself I am confident that it is being done well.
Doing this I have seen my game grow from nothing into a steady stream of sales. I'm glad I did it the way I did, rather then trying to go the easy way and get some other company to do it. See my sig for a link to my game's website, which includes a user forum and an online ranking system.
I say we name everything after him.
Come and help put the people back in charge of our laws.
The only time you will find Apple products for sale is when Apple passes along end-of-life discounts. (i.e. right before the new model comes out)
If Sony wants this thing to be a big success they should put all their focus on making it developer-friendly. The easier it is to develop for = more games = more sales = more money...
But The more people that switch to OO, the more attractive switching to Linux becomes. If your company is already using OO then they could switch to Linux and let their users keep the same office suite.
In Conclusion: Go OpenOffice Go