Huh, wha? Who in the world rated this troll interesting? First, the article is talking about U.S. sales only and the reason that sales are down is because:
1) It's summer.
2) Not a lot of games come out during the summer.
3) The games that have come out have been disappointing (Enter the Matrix, Lara Croft)
4) The world is holding it's collective breath waiting for HL2 and Doom3 and the rest of the Christmas titles.
It doesn't take a fancy analyst and his crystal ball to figure that out.
I'm going to be brutally honest. I think it's a total waste of time designing games for women. It's mostly just spinning your wheels when you try and figure out what women want.
Just accept the fact that the large majority of women don't like playing role-playing games, real-time strategy games or the like. Once you have been married as long as I have you start to pick up on things that the female gender does like. They love puzzle and adventure games. They love social interaction. They want games that they can quickly learn the rules (under five minutes) and stop when they want. Women tend to get frustrated more easily than their male counterparts when the game scales to quickly in difficulty. Women tend to go for realistic displays of real-life rather than the male-accepted fantasy/reality bending versions.
Face it. Women and men are just different. Having your game being played by equal numbers of both genders is the exception (a blessed one at that) and not the rule. Games that pull this off have a lot of elements I listed above as part of the game; but it doesn't work in every case. Rather than design a game that tries to please everyone, just target one audience and make the best darn game you can.
Once the cross-stiching and quilt-making industries make concerted efforts to lure males to pick up their hobby, maybe you can change my mind.
Sure, people might bitch and complain about the Mormon influences in BG and the cribbing of Joseph Campbell in Star Wars, but they were the heart of each movie. Star Trek was just a western in space with capitalist vs. communist overtones.
This new version (without seeing a single episode) is completely devoid of what real fans of the show liked. It's like finding out that Darth Vader was really really annoying kid who then later turned into a total poser. Oh wait, that really happened. Now you can see what fans are feeling.
Hey, it wasn't the best show that it could have been. The daggit should have been set on fire, roasted and shot into space. Sure, they could have used more space scenes, but you have to understand that ABC wouldn't pay the money to produce more and they were rushing the entire project. Glen Larson did the best with what he had at the time... which was the late seventies. Everyone in the thread seems to be trashing the obvious mistakes, but forget the great stuff the show had. The *robot* cylons were the shiznit. The Vipers were cooler than X-Wings and I'd take Face... er, Starbuck and Apollo over Luke and Wedge any day. The cylon bases were kick ass and Boltar was the guy you loved to hate.
Let me sum up. BG without the Mormon mythos behind it simply isn't the same show. You don't have to agree with the theology any more than you had to agree with the Catholic undertones of the X-Files to enjoy the show. Heck, when the show was in it's first one, no one really even knew it was there. It's what the show was based on and Sci-Fi is using the show in name only to attract viewers. Sci-Fi really should have let Glenn and Richard Hatch do the show *they* wanted done which would have kept the backstory intact and allowed the show to be updated and entertaining.
Here's hoping that the miniseries is a failure and the series never gets started.
Just Google for "RPG Name Generator" and you'll be set. Yeah, it's the lazy way out but I'm tired of sitting at the computer trying to think of some creative name. Let the generator do it for me (it's often more creative than I ever could be with names) and let me get to playing. I do name the main character myself however.
The only game I can think of that you were forced to be really creative was with the pen and paper RPG Paranoia. In fact, a while back I was talking with Greg Costikyan about it and we agreed it was one of the best features of the game.
It's hard enough
to read the current
text on my cell phone
that has a screen no
wider than this mess
age. I can't imagine
reading lengthy discuss
ions of art works and
paintings on a cell
phone. I think my thumb
would break from hitting
the scroll button const
antly.
I saw this early yesterday and posted an analysis about it early. Some newspaper reports are trimming the article leaving out the parts of Jack Thompson. The blame is really with the writers of the Reuters article for not checking facts first in the rush to get the article out.
Where are they now
on
Random Humor
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I did some quick research and found out some information on the people featured in the video here in my own review. This video was so bad that almost everyone associated with it has gone on to mediocrity.
Make sure a game has conflict? I love Chris Crawford, but Balance of Power lacked any and all conflict. I was expecting a game similar to that found in the movie War Games. Little did I know that Chris Crawford also used the philosophy that if a nuclear war started, the game was essentially over. I tried to enjoy the game, but it has so many design flaws to make it *not* fun.
That's not entirely correct. Paramount had this craptastic idea of shopping out the different show licenses to different publishers. Interplay had Classic Trek for years, Activision had ST:TNG, yet another had ST:DS9, etc. Paramount saw this as a cash cow opportunity to have other houses bid on each series. (This attitude seems to still exist.)
After the terms of the agreements ended, Activision made a concerted effort to consolidate the franchises and bought the rights to the entire world of Star Trek. This way, the Star Trek games could share interfaces, feel and be more cohesive and the games could feature characters from any series. (Before you couldn't mention or use any character from a series you didn't have rights to. For example, Spock couldn't show up in a ST:TNG game.)
I know about this because I was at Ensemble Studios at the time. Activision was really wanting us to do a Star Trek game next after Age of Empires II. They came and did a dog and pony show, gave everyone lots of *nice* Star Trek swag, but in the end we turned them down because we could make more money doing our own game with our own IP rights.
People leaving a game company? Wow, that's something you don't see every day. Oops. Sorry, my browser was stuck in/sarcasm mode. I expect to see a press release in the next few days that follows this format:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Developers of the critically acclaimed DIABLO franchise announced today that they have formed [Insert name here], a new development studio located in [city, state]. The studio, which will focus on state-of-the-art multiplayer content for PC and next generation console platforms, was formed by four veteran Blizzard developers, who played various roles in the creation of DIABLO.
"[New company name] is an all-star team whose members have a solid history and reputation for developing groundbreaking titles," said [insert developer], [insert new job title] and co-founder. "With the establishment of this company, we renew our commitment to the development of fresh concepts in the online gaming arena, and we look forward to pushing the industry in new and exciting directions."
Like the template? This same one has been sucessfully used to launch every new game company and is available for use under the GPL license.
If you look at how many people have broadband in Europe as compared to the US or Japan, that would explain a lot. It's too expensive for what you get. Sheesh, it's even worse in Oz with the monopoly situation there.
You're missing the point. For one thing, Take Two screwed themselves by not making a better deal with Take Two. Because 3DR is self-financing the project, they are not beholden to milestone payments. Take Two owns the publishing rights and nothing more. It's the fault of Take Two for putting themselves in this position.
It just seems like a waste of time to even give a second thought to DNF. It's not out, so why worry about it. There hasn't been a sequel to Citizen Kane yet. It took George Lucas years to get Episode One to theaters.
Sure DNF is in development hell. Even if it does become vaporware, I'm not putting my life on hold or wasting my time complaining about it. I've got too many other games to play.
You talk like 3DR owes you something. Well, guess what? We only have ourselves to blame. We all bought into the hype that the next great game was coming down the pipeline. We bitch, we moan, we complain - but what are we complaining about really?
That a company decided to end the endless hype and speculation that was actually making things worse? Instead of overpromising and telling us more release dates, they just said "When it's done" and we crucify them? I don't get it. I'm glad that 3DR decided to stay quiet. I'm already sick of the hype behind Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. Most of it is coming from fanboys who have nothing better to do this summer. Broussard isn't hyping jack. Give me a recent quote where he mentioned either features, plotline, design or a specific release date. You can't because he hasn't.
Fact is, you decide to anonymously post about forum messages that you haven't read! You know nothing about what their development schedule or workload is like and make an assumption based on old.plan files. Whoever said that a developer has to give us a constant update on what they are doing. For that matter, when was the last time a.plan file actually mentioned what a developer was actually doing? (Only Carmack still uses it really.) The gamers only need look in the mirror to blame themselves for getting to excited about a title.
You know, sometimes I think the answer to "confronting" these pigs is to not use the courts, but use Jerry Springer.
Jerry: Today on our show, we have people who have stolen IP addresses to send SPAM. Why did you do it Larry?
Larry: Jerry, it's an addiction I have. I just feel the need to tell everyone that by sending money to my friend in Nigeria, they can get a stimulating diplomia and have investment opportunities in appendage lengthening. Is that so wrong? Audience boos.
Jerry: Not everyone agrees with you. Let's bring out a system administrator whose IP you hijacked.
SysAdmin:Appears from backstage. Upon seeing Larry, rushes him fists raised. You stupid #$@&! I'll kill you! I'll kick your fsking @$$! Throws chair. Is restrained by large bald stagehand. You stole my IP! I'll get you!
This article really doesn't tread any new ground on the subject of the issues between Take Two and 3DRealms. Heck, for that matter who doesn't have issues with Take Two? I remember when TT was just a publisher of budget titles. They've made strides though to be better.
Back to the subject at hand, I really wouldn't worry about DNF too much. I talk to the guys over at 3DRealms at least twice a week, (Well, okay, I email them.) and while I make it a point not to bring up DNF, I've gotten good vibes from them recently. I honestly think that we'll see something by Christmas in the form of some announcement and a release early next year. That's just my crazy talk there. Call me goofy (see next post I'm sure) but I wouldn't count out DNF just yet.
I can't see why this problem can't be fixed. I mean, when I lose my job and I file for unemployment one of the requirements is that I need to look for a job. Sure it can be a token effort, but I have to keep a log and report that hey, at least I tried. If I don't get a job within a certain amount of time, the benefits run out.
So why can't the Patent Office do something similar? Would it be so hard to ask, "Gee, how's that invention coming along? Have a prototype yet?" and after a certain amount of time, just revoke the patent because work hasn't been done on it yet. This might actually stimulate some growth once the patent is back up for grabs. Perhaps even offer it up at auction. Then companies could be compelled to make good on the patent application because of the captial investment to get it at auction.
This is just a plain invitation to hacking if I ever saw one. Any bets on how long it will take to figure out a way to "patch" the game to unlock the levels already on disk (assuming this is true)? Even better yet, if there are already levels hiding on the game disc, will it take very long to figure out a way to "unlock" these extra levels?
I guess you haven't read the posts from people in rural areas. Heck, where I live Dallas only has 40% of it's population on cable or satellite. It would be nice, but everyone needs to be wired first before we pull the plug.
I enjoyed the memory trip and all, but did any body else find the writing... well, a canditate for The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest? I seriously had to stop, reread and just laugh at the way the sentences were phrased.
Get some black electrical tape and put a strip at the top and bottom of your screen. Instant widescreen mode! Surround gaming will need a bit more tape, some bale wire and some crayons to pull off.
Slashdot Mirror
1) It's summer.
2) Not a lot of games come out during the summer.
3) The games that have come out have been disappointing (Enter the Matrix, Lara Croft)
4) The world is holding it's collective breath waiting for HL2 and Doom3 and the rest of the Christmas titles.
It doesn't take a fancy analyst and his crystal ball to figure that out.
Here's the original link. NCSX is great for digging up these nuggets and selling them to collectors. And there are more than three of us.
Just accept the fact that the large majority of women don't like playing role-playing games, real-time strategy games or the like. Once you have been married as long as I have you start to pick up on things that the female gender does like. They love puzzle and adventure games. They love social interaction. They want games that they can quickly learn the rules (under five minutes) and stop when they want. Women tend to get frustrated more easily than their male counterparts when the game scales to quickly in difficulty. Women tend to go for realistic displays of real-life rather than the male-accepted fantasy/reality bending versions.
Face it. Women and men are just different. Having your game being played by equal numbers of both genders is the exception (a blessed one at that) and not the rule. Games that pull this off have a lot of elements I listed above as part of the game; but it doesn't work in every case. Rather than design a game that tries to please everyone, just target one audience and make the best darn game you can.
Once the cross-stiching and quilt-making industries make concerted efforts to lure males to pick up their hobby, maybe you can change my mind.
This new version (without seeing a single episode) is completely devoid of what real fans of the show liked. It's like finding out that Darth Vader was really really annoying kid who then later turned into a total poser. Oh wait, that really happened. Now you can see what fans are feeling.
Hey, it wasn't the best show that it could have been. The daggit should have been set on fire, roasted and shot into space. Sure, they could have used more space scenes, but you have to understand that ABC wouldn't pay the money to produce more and they were rushing the entire project. Glen Larson did the best with what he had at the time... which was the late seventies. Everyone in the thread seems to be trashing the obvious mistakes, but forget the great stuff the show had. The *robot* cylons were the shiznit. The Vipers were cooler than X-Wings and I'd take Face... er, Starbuck and Apollo over Luke and Wedge any day. The cylon bases were kick ass and Boltar was the guy you loved to hate.
Let me sum up. BG without the Mormon mythos behind it simply isn't the same show. You don't have to agree with the theology any more than you had to agree with the Catholic undertones of the X-Files to enjoy the show. Heck, when the show was in it's first one, no one really even knew it was there. It's what the show was based on and Sci-Fi is using the show in name only to attract viewers. Sci-Fi really should have let Glenn and Richard Hatch do the show *they* wanted done which would have kept the backstory intact and allowed the show to be updated and entertaining.
Here's hoping that the miniseries is a failure and the series never gets started.
Just Google for "RPG Name Generator" and you'll be set. Yeah, it's the lazy way out but I'm tired of sitting at the computer trying to think of some creative name. Let the generator do it for me (it's often more creative than I ever could be with names) and let me get to playing. I do name the main character myself however. The only game I can think of that you were forced to be really creative was with the pen and paper RPG Paranoia. In fact, a while back I was talking with Greg Costikyan about it and we agreed it was one of the best features of the game.
It's hard enough
to read the current
text on my cell phone
that has a screen no
wider than this mess
age. I can't imagine
reading lengthy discuss
ions of art works and
paintings on a cell
phone. I think my thumb
would break from hitting
the scroll button const
antly.
I saw this early yesterday and posted an analysis about it early. Some newspaper reports are trimming the article leaving out the parts of Jack Thompson. The blame is really with the writers of the Reuters article for not checking facts first in the rush to get the article out.
I did some quick research and found out some information on the people featured in the video here in my own review. This video was so bad that almost everyone associated with it has gone on to mediocrity.
Make sure a game has conflict? I love Chris Crawford, but Balance of Power lacked any and all conflict. I was expecting a game similar to that found in the movie War Games. Little did I know that Chris Crawford also used the philosophy that if a nuclear war started, the game was essentially over. I tried to enjoy the game, but it has so many design flaws to make it *not* fun.
After the terms of the agreements ended, Activision made a concerted effort to consolidate the franchises and bought the rights to the entire world of Star Trek. This way, the Star Trek games could share interfaces, feel and be more cohesive and the games could feature characters from any series. (Before you couldn't mention or use any character from a series you didn't have rights to. For example, Spock couldn't show up in a ST:TNG game.)
I know about this because I was at Ensemble Studios at the time. Activision was really wanting us to do a Star Trek game next after Age of Empires II. They came and did a dog and pony show, gave everyone lots of *nice* Star Trek swag, but in the end we turned them down because we could make more money doing our own game with our own IP rights.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Developers of the critically acclaimed DIABLO franchise announced today that they have formed [Insert name here], a new development studio located in [city, state]. The studio, which will focus on state-of-the-art multiplayer content for PC and next generation console platforms, was formed by four veteran Blizzard developers, who played various roles in the creation of DIABLO.
"[New company name] is an all-star team whose members have a solid history and reputation for developing groundbreaking titles," said [insert developer], [insert new job title] and co-founder. "With the establishment of this company, we renew our commitment to the development of fresh concepts in the online gaming arena, and we look forward to pushing the industry in new and exciting directions."
Like the template? This same one has been sucessfully used to launch every new game company and is available for use under the GPL license.
If you look at how many people have broadband in Europe as compared to the US or Japan, that would explain a lot. It's too expensive for what you get. Sheesh, it's even worse in Oz with the monopoly situation there.
It just seems like a waste of time to even give a second thought to DNF. It's not out, so why worry about it. There hasn't been a sequel to Citizen Kane yet. It took George Lucas years to get Episode One to theaters.
Sure DNF is in development hell. Even if it does become vaporware, I'm not putting my life on hold or wasting my time complaining about it. I've got too many other games to play.
That a company decided to end the endless hype and speculation that was actually making things worse? Instead of overpromising and telling us more release dates, they just said "When it's done" and we crucify them? I don't get it. I'm glad that 3DR decided to stay quiet. I'm already sick of the hype behind Half-Life 2 and Doom 3. Most of it is coming from fanboys who have nothing better to do this summer. Broussard isn't hyping jack. Give me a recent quote where he mentioned either features, plotline, design or a specific release date. You can't because he hasn't.
Fact is, you decide to anonymously post about forum messages that you haven't read! You know nothing about what their development schedule or workload is like and make an assumption based on old .plan files. Whoever said that a developer has to give us a constant update on what they are doing. For that matter, when was the last time a .plan file actually mentioned what a developer was actually doing? (Only Carmack still uses it really.) The gamers only need look in the mirror to blame themselves for getting to excited about a title.
Jerry: Today on our show, we have people who have stolen IP addresses to send SPAM. Why did you do it Larry?
Larry: Jerry, it's an addiction I have. I just feel the need to tell everyone that by sending money to my friend in Nigeria, they can get a stimulating diplomia and have investment opportunities in appendage lengthening. Is that so wrong? Audience boos.
Jerry: Not everyone agrees with you. Let's bring out a system administrator whose IP you hijacked.
SysAdmin: Appears from backstage. Upon seeing Larry, rushes him fists raised. You stupid #$@&! I'll kill you! I'll kick your fsking @$$! Throws chair. Is restrained by large bald stagehand. You stole my IP! I'll get you!
Back to the subject at hand, I really wouldn't worry about DNF too much. I talk to the guys over at 3DRealms at least twice a week, (Well, okay, I email them.) and while I make it a point not to bring up DNF, I've gotten good vibes from them recently. I honestly think that we'll see something by Christmas in the form of some announcement and a release early next year. That's just my crazy talk there. Call me goofy (see next post I'm sure) but I wouldn't count out DNF just yet.
Maybe if it was 20,000 amps. Then I'd be worried.
So why can't the Patent Office do something similar? Would it be so hard to ask, "Gee, how's that invention coming along? Have a prototype yet?" and after a certain amount of time, just revoke the patent because work hasn't been done on it yet. This might actually stimulate some growth once the patent is back up for grabs. Perhaps even offer it up at auction. Then companies could be compelled to make good on the patent application because of the captial investment to get it at auction.
This is just a plain invitation to hacking if I ever saw one. Any bets on how long it will take to figure out a way to "patch" the game to unlock the levels already on disk (assuming this is true)? Even better yet, if there are already levels hiding on the game disc, will it take very long to figure out a way to "unlock" these extra levels?
I guess you haven't read the posts from people in rural areas. Heck, where I live Dallas only has 40% of it's population on cable or satellite. It would be nice, but everyone needs to be wired first before we pull the plug.
Yeah, but they've been taken out of their original packaging so they aren't worth as much.
Did anyone else read this as just a very long title? Goes to show that commas still have importance in the English language.
I enjoyed the memory trip and all, but did any body else find the writing... well, a canditate for The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest? I seriously had to stop, reread and just laugh at the way the sentences were phrased.
And as a counter, please read this article explaining why 3DMark is not a good benchmark because of the aggregate number it uses.
Get some black electrical tape and put a strip at the top and bottom of your screen. Instant widescreen mode! Surround gaming will need a bit more tape, some bale wire and some crayons to pull off.