Oh sure, from a game design point of view he's the good sort of batshit. Still thinks like a kid in some ways. But controllers...ugh.
I loathe the N64 controller, every time I pick it up I wish I could hook up a dual shock to the N64. It's too big, too bulky, too heavy and the analog stick, though better than what had come before, quite frankly sucks. The Gamecube controller, though better, has those wacky buttons equally sized ones are better, for more versatility in control setups, and that funky little right stick and too small d-pad.
And what really drives me batty is that the SNES controller is perfect and Nintendo couldn't figure out how to copy themselves and add a analog stick, which is essentially what Sony did. They essentially admit they were wrong with their old controllers with the new Wii classic controller.
That's the kind controller I wanted the N64 and Gamecube to have.
But he's crazy. You can't let him near the controller design people or he fucks it up (N64 and Gamecube) Nintendo had a great controller in the SNES pad and then he goes and does his batshit "I have a great idea I haven't really though through" and then they implement it, badly.
I'll try to answer that question, as best I can anyway.
SL is more popular in the US than in other parts of the world, but the demographics are changing. (Mor French and Italians showing up, for example)
SL appeals not to hardcore geeks, or to the WoW crowd but to several groups:
artistic folks, like those who use photoshop for work/study in RL, RL jewelry designers, clothing designers, art students, etc.
social geeks: these folks might have hung out in certain communities in IRC and do pretty much the same in SL, The furries might be considered part of this group
those who see something interesting in the scripting and object creation tools and try to make cool stuff.
but overall, everyone who is in SL is in there just to have whatever fun and enjoyment they can find that they like. It could be pr0n and boobehs, it could be just hanging out with friends, it could even be shopping, or playing Tringo.
Come now, the furries are easily outnumbered by the "plastic perfection" female av's and the 7 foot tall guys with big biceps and too small heads.:-)
That said, I think most SLers think of political figures coming into SL as a PR stunt. If the political figures took SL seriously (set up a permanent presenceon the grid with actual staffers manning it) that would be different. I personally have more respect for the artists/academics/writers who show up in SL than the politicians.
I supposed the owner of the venue in question would set the rules. It would probably be something like: Rabbit avatar, fine Penis with orbiting boobies, not fine (It would be interesting to see though)
The venue would probably have scripts, llPush, and object creation turned off so throwing stuff wouldn't work. You could try spamming the chat channel but any security around (and most serious events have it) would kick you out.
No, Anachronox failed because it was a Square style console RPG released only for the PC. Had id released it for the PSone/PS2 it would have sold like crazy.
I might as well ask: Why the heck wasn't it ported to PSone/PS2. Who was the dumb fucker who made that decision.
Lego Star Wars, and the Star Wars Battlefront games are actually fine games. When I first heard of them I was expecting crap too, but amazingly they pulled it off.
Correct, but the parent could be somewhat excused for confusing them, they're very similar. In fact the first time I read about BF2142's game modes I thought, "hey looks like they borrowed some ideas from SWBF2"
Well there was that flower thingy that basically said, bring me items and I'll upgrade your weapons. And in the thunderplains the guy there said if you doge a lot you get something good. But I don't think they specifically said, "Oh yeah doge 200 times get the thingy for Lulu's weapon"
I think they assume everyone uses the books and faqs these days, because I think only the most anal retentive gamers would find some of this stuff.
For example who would ever think of going back to the beach near costa del sol in FFVII and manipulating the beach plugs to get one of the best Enemy Skills in the game, Big Guard (casts Barrier, MBarrier and Haste on all three characters for only 54 MP)
In fact unless you actually ran around on various out of the way places you might not even see some enemies. You'd have to be anal, oh lets check this spot to see what enemies show up, oh lets move to this different terrain and check it out.
Wireless optical mice are a solution, they work on any surface even uphosltery/pillows
Instead of putting the mouse in front of you use it on the cushion beside you. Use a lappad if necessary again, beside you, not in front. Try playing Deus Ex or Half Life that way on the PS2. Not with the keyboard controls for movement, but with the joypad and the mouse. use the analog stick to move, mouse to aim. You can keep the keyboard plugged in for the ocassional menu button function if you want. tap it with a finger on your left hand while still holding on to the controller, or take your hand off the mouse, whatever.
Aaaaaah Azure Dreams. For those who haven't played it:
It's kind of like a roguelike crossed with pokemon/monster rancher. You job is to eventually make your way to the top of a tower. But if you leave the tower you go back to level 1 so you have to do it in one shot. So the real focus is on building up your weapon and shield with sands, and finding monster eggs to breed tough enough monsters to fight along side you. But you don't want to pull them out to early, coz they only have so much MP.
And you have to woo the ladies and rebuild the town and find items.
And did i tell you if you die in the tower you lose your items you;re carrying, including any leveled up shield/sword, or any other goodies. And you can't leave the tower unless you have a wind crystal? And you can only take 5 items into the tower with you when you go in and two of them are monsters? meaning you only get three, oh you have to have a sword and shied so that leaves one? And that one pretty much has to be a wind crystal unless you want to chance finding one in the tower? Which you might not. So you spend most of your time, trying to stockpile items and then leaving the tower, besides trying to level monsters.
Tedium tedium tedium. Which means those nethack players with a 100 acenscions who play crazy conducts for fun will love it.
Now I've got that town tune in my head and am tempted to load the game up and play a little. You are so evil.
I'm surprised it was Wakka's weapon that stymied you. You had the patience to dodge 200 lightning bolts and fight the controls for the goddam chocobo races but got stopped by BB?
Fucking lightning! never did get Lulu's utlimate weapon. About threw the controller with the chocobo training but I did it. I also did it for a friend who couldn't do it, but he beat the lightning.
I was having problems with Blitzball, replaying the first game until I realized it was almost impossible to win because the Aurochs suck. The secret to winning after that is dumping the aurochs for some real players. there's some good free agents that will be good enough to get you some wins until you can recruit a good goalie and defense people. The best player overall is Svanda, IMHO, I use her as my center with Tidus and Vilucha as the forwards (you'll want to Keep tidus for his shots) even though there's another forward with higher stats. my two defense people were on the Guado team, yes Nav and Auda Guado. My goalie I think was on the Al Bhed team, Nimrook. you have to wait for them to leave their teams and recruit them quick. There's another Free Agent with stats similar to Svanda that you'll also might to recruit even if you never use her because she's so good you'll not want anyone else to have her. Can't remember her name but IIRC she's the reporter with the moogle ball on her head. I just played a game, final in a tournament, got Good Morning! for Tidus. score was 7-0 in our favor. Nimrook never even had to defend the Goal once.
My save was in the Thunder Plains.:-) Fucking lightining.
And yes, I think one of the problems with those games on consoles has been the controls. When the game is all about moving a pointer around on the screen to select verbs and items, a D-pad just doesn't work very well.. but the Wiimote certainly does.
There are these things called analog sticks, they work pretty well. Also some consoles have USB ports, making porting a PC point and click game easier since you don't have to change the controls/UI at all.
I like Nethack even though I suck at it, and would like to know which game design flaws/elements are you referring to? (Not saying that Nethack is flawless mind you. To be flawless it would have to be less frustrating)
You remember Jack Tramiel's saying: "computers for the masses, not the classes"?
I'm beginning to think that the only way "Linux for the masses" would ever succeed if it was a distro for a fixed hardware configuration. LIke Linux is on the PS2/PS3, or some kind of "Linuxbox"
But how many people even know you can run a desktop on the PS2/PS3 besides people like us. I've actually been hoping Sony would do some Linux evangelism in their PS3 marketing.
As I sometimes say, second verse same as the first.
I remember the PS2 launch and how the PS1 outsold the PS2 for quite a while (till late 2001 IIRC) There were still good PS1 games released after the PS2 launch, FFIX for example was released on Nov 13 2001.
It's pretty much happening again the same way, FFXII gets released just two weeks before PS3 launch and Rogue Galaxy was released a few days ago. I don't expect PS3 sales to even begin take off untill tax refund season. By fall we'll know.
600 dollars is not unreasonable for what it does. Sure it's higher than what people expect to pay for a games console but the PS3 isn't just a games console.
Let's go over this again:
It plays PS1, PS2, and PS3 games
CD's, SACD's, DVD-Audio discs
It can rip audio discs to it's HD, no PC needed.
I can play those ripped files and any other ones transferred to it's HD, or memorystick or external device.
It plays DVD video and Blu Ray video
It plays video files off the HD, and external device/card. Got PSP formatted files, it will play them.
It's got a built in web browser with full keyboard and mouse support.
Chat is built in too.
You can view photos with it, off the HD, external device. etc
It runs Linux, and running Linux on it is a supported function, it's not an unsupported hack That adds even more functionality to the thing. Open Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, Gaim, Nethack.
I figuired Linux users would be crowing over the PS3 as a way of having their cake and eating it too. The ability to play commercial games and run Linux without paying the Microsoft tax.
So you're telling me that all that functionality is not worth 600 dollars? Or is what you really mean is that you like the functionality but just dont want to pay 600 dollars for it.
Nobody wanted that Blu-Ray drive in the PS3. It's Sony's attempt to push their new tech to customers who just want to play games. If Sony had just put a regular DVD drive in the PS3 we would be playing with our PS3s last summer and we would have paid $200 less for them.
People said similar things in the PSone to PS2 transition. "I just want a game machine, not a DVD plaeyer, it ups the price." I guess they weren't the ones annoyed by the multidisc PSone RPG's or the tow GT2 discs.
I consider Blu-Ray to be of similar benefit because developers were saying that they were filling up those DVD's and no one wants to go back to disc switching.
They seriously need to figure out that, when someone buys a game system, we want to PLAY GAMES ON IT. We don't need to watch movies, listen to MP3s, view images, surf the web, do our dishes, and drive to work using the same machine.
Ahh but mostly likely when Sony's people asked people if they would use those extra features if they put them in there, those people said yes. So Sony did that, both the with the PSP and now the PS3.
And then consumers whined. "They cost too much"
and then Sony said, "But you told us you wanted those features when we asked you about them so we put them in there. You had to know that would raise the price."
Consumers: "Waaaah it costs too much we just want to play puzzle games and casual games"
Sony: "But you said you wanted games that were more like those you played at home on your portables. You wanted 3D games rather than stripped down 2D travesties of 3D games like what happened on the Gameboy Color ports of 3D games.
You said you wanted higher resolutions on your home machines like you have on PC's. You wanted built in wireless so you wouldn't have to buy a wireless bridge, you wanted us to use standard memory cards. and now you complain about having to buy an HDTV, having to pay for the built in wireless, and having to pay for an adapter for the old cards? You people are hypocrites and don't know what you want."
Here's what Sony needs to learn:
Consumers don't know what they want, will whine anyway when they get what they said they wanted, and sometimes lie
Possibly. I'm 27. All of the PS2 owners I know are between 17 and 28.
However, the Gamecube/Xbox owners I know are in a similar age bracket and own very different games, as well as a very different amount of games from PS2 owners.
Interesting. can you give me some examples of what you're seeing?
I've got over 40 PS2 games myself, a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
PS2 owners definitely seem to be the most mainstream, non-"innovative" gamers.
Of course. Biggest market so it's going to have the majority of casual/social gamers. There's nothing wrong with mainstream games.
Then why are game developers saying that there's no market for games like Okami on the PS2?
Because they're whiners. Okami has enough critical acclaim and mindshare now to guarantee a sequel. It's like Katamari Danacy that way. The developers are just whining about it not selling a huge number of copies rather than a smaller reasonable amount. As I said, the PS2 market is HUGE so niche games do sell especially if they have a nicely timed release date.
Okay, so what "standard genres" did Nintendo take and slap colorful characters on to create Pikmin and Animal Crossing? Show me the pre-Nintendo Animal Crossing, and the pre-Nintendo Pikmin which Nintendo adapted.
Pikmin is a RTS, Animal Crossing is a god game like the Sims. Most games these days owe something to what has come before, even the supposedly innovative ones. Tweaking and perfecting what has come before is a good thing.
Gamers and gaming pundits may "say" they want innovation, but what they really want is what they liked before, only tweaked and improved. Evolution rather than innovation.
No, the EU is a bunch of little markets because of one thing: language.
NTSC-Japan and NTSC-United States/Canada have only one language to worry about per territory. While in EU you've got Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Danish, English, Italian, Portugese, Norwegian, Swedish etc.
That's a lot of money and effort to localize, especially for text/dialog heavy games.
When it comes to video games, the markets that matter are NTSC-J and NTSC-U/C, everything else pales compared to that.
I think the kind of PS2 owners one knows depends on how old you are. You're going to see a lot of "Madden/Tony Hawk only" (or if they're Xboxers: Halo) among the "college dorm" crowd for example. Those are social gamers. But still PS2 owners are numerous enough and diverse enough to support a lot of niche games.
As for the PS2 having only a dozen good games, think again, it would be more like 100. All the good platformers are PS2 games. There's more good RPG's for the PS2 than one can play.
You'll also have define innovative. I don't consider "Nintendoizing standard genres by slapping colorful characters on them" innovative. Pikmin and Animal Crossing are good games, but they're not innovative.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh sure, from a game design point of view he's the good sort of batshit. Still thinks like a kid in some ways. But controllers...ugh.
I loathe the N64 controller, every time I pick it up I wish I could hook up a dual shock to the N64. It's too big, too bulky, too heavy and the analog stick, though better than what had come before, quite frankly sucks. The Gamecube controller, though better, has those wacky buttons equally sized ones are better, for more versatility in control setups, and that funky little right stick and too small d-pad.
And what really drives me batty is that the SNES controller is perfect and Nintendo couldn't figure out how to copy themselves and add a analog stick, which is essentially what Sony did. They essentially admit they were wrong with their old controllers with the new Wii classic controller.
That's the kind controller I wanted the N64 and Gamecube to have.
Ok, you worked on Angband and prefer the Wii? Wouldn't you rather have a console that you can play Angband on? Meaning the PS2/PS3?
But he's crazy. You can't let him near the controller design people or he fucks it up (N64 and Gamecube) Nintendo had a great controller in the SNES pad and then he goes and does his batshit "I have a great idea I haven't really though through" and then they implement it, badly.
I'll try to answer that question, as best I can anyway.
SL is more popular in the US than in other parts of the world, but the demographics are changing. (Mor French and Italians showing up, for example)
SL appeals not to hardcore geeks, or to the WoW crowd but to several groups:
artistic folks, like those who use photoshop for work/study in RL, RL jewelry designers, clothing designers, art students, etc.
social geeks: these folks might have hung out in certain communities in IRC and do pretty much the same in SL, The furries might be considered part of this group
those who see something interesting in the scripting and object creation tools and try to make cool stuff.
but overall, everyone who is in SL is in there just to have whatever fun and enjoyment they can find that they like. It could be pr0n and boobehs, it could be just hanging out with friends, it could even be shopping, or playing Tringo.
I guess SL is what the individual makes of it.
Come now, the furries are easily outnumbered by the "plastic perfection" female av's and the 7 foot tall guys with big biceps and too small heads. :-)
That said, I think most SLers think of political figures coming into SL as a PR stunt. If the political figures took SL seriously (set up a permanent presenceon the grid with actual staffers manning it) that would be different. I personally have more respect for the artists/academics/writers who show up in SL than the politicians.
I supposed the owner of the venue in question would set the rules. It would probably be something like:
Rabbit avatar, fine
Penis with orbiting boobies, not fine (It would be interesting to see though)
The venue would probably have scripts, llPush, and object creation turned off so throwing stuff wouldn't work. You could try spamming the chat channel but any security around (and most serious events have it) would kick you out.
Lets see, the Bill is sponsored by a Republican, no Democrat co-sponsors. In a Democratic controlled state, this bill is going nowhere.
No, Anachronox failed because it was a Square style console RPG released only for the PC. Had id released it for the PSone/PS2 it would have sold like crazy.
I might as well ask: Why the heck wasn't it ported to PSone/PS2. Who was the dumb fucker who made that decision.
Lego Star Wars, and the Star Wars Battlefront games are actually fine games. When I first heard of them I was expecting crap too, but amazingly they pulled it off.
Correct, but the parent could be somewhat excused for confusing them, they're very similar. In fact the first time I read about BF2142's game modes I thought, "hey looks like they borrowed some ideas from SWBF2"
Well there was that flower thingy that basically said, bring me items and I'll upgrade your weapons. And in the thunderplains the guy there said if you doge a lot you get something good. But I don't think they specifically said, "Oh yeah doge 200 times get the thingy for Lulu's weapon"
I think they assume everyone uses the books and faqs these days, because I think only the most anal retentive gamers would find some of this stuff.
For example who would ever think of going back to the beach near costa del sol in FFVII and manipulating the beach plugs to get one of the best Enemy Skills in the game, Big Guard (casts Barrier, MBarrier and Haste on all three characters for only 54 MP)
In fact unless you actually ran around on various out of the way places you might not even see some enemies. You'd have to be anal, oh lets check this spot to see what enemies show up, oh lets move to this different terrain and check it out.
So yeah it's lazy game design. Fucking Lightning.
Wireless optical mice are a solution, they work on any surface even uphosltery/pillows
Instead of putting the mouse in front of you use it on the cushion beside you. Use a lappad if necessary again, beside you, not in front. Try playing Deus Ex or Half Life that way on the PS2. Not with the keyboard controls for movement, but with the joypad and the mouse. use the analog stick to move, mouse to aim. You can keep the keyboard plugged in for the ocassional menu button function if you want. tap it with a finger on your left hand while still holding on to the controller, or take your hand off the mouse, whatever.
Aaaaaah Azure Dreams. For those who haven't played it:
It's kind of like a roguelike crossed with pokemon/monster rancher. You job is to eventually make your way to the top of a tower. But if you leave the tower you go back to level 1 so you have to do it in one shot. So the real focus is on building up your weapon and shield with sands, and finding monster eggs to breed tough enough monsters to fight along side you. But you don't want to pull them out to early, coz they only have so much MP.
And you have to woo the ladies and rebuild the town and find items.
And did i tell you if you die in the tower you lose your items you;re carrying, including any leveled up shield/sword, or any other goodies. And you can't leave the tower unless you have a wind crystal? And you can only take 5 items into the tower with you when you go in and two of them are monsters? meaning you only get three, oh you have to have a sword and shied so that leaves one? And that one pretty much has to be a wind crystal unless you want to chance finding one in the tower? Which you might not. So you spend most of your time, trying to stockpile items and then leaving the tower, besides trying to level monsters.
Tedium tedium tedium. Which means those nethack players with a 100 acenscions who play crazy conducts for fun will love it.
Now I've got that town tune in my head and am tempted to load the game up and play a little. You are so evil.
I was having problems with Blitzball, replaying the first game until I realized it was almost impossible to win because the Aurochs suck. The secret to winning after that is dumping the aurochs for some real players. there's some good free agents that will be good enough to get you some wins until you can recruit a good goalie and defense people. The best player overall is Svanda, IMHO, I use her as my center with Tidus and Vilucha as the forwards (you'll want to Keep tidus for his shots) even though there's another forward with higher stats. my two defense people were on the Guado team, yes Nav and Auda Guado. My goalie I think was on the Al Bhed team, Nimrook. you have to wait for them to leave their teams and recruit them quick. There's another Free Agent with stats similar to Svanda that you'll also might to recruit even if you never use her because she's so good you'll not want anyone else to have her. Can't remember her name but IIRC she's the reporter with the moogle ball on her head. I just played a game, final in a tournament, got Good Morning! for Tidus. score was 7-0 in our favor. Nimrook never even had to defend the Goal once.
My save was in the Thunder Plains.
I like Nethack even though I suck at it, and would like to know which game design flaws/elements are you referring to? (Not saying that Nethack is flawless mind you. To be flawless it would have to be less frustrating)
Arg! I messed up. Thanks for catching it.
You remember Jack Tramiel's saying: "computers for the masses, not the classes"?
I'm beginning to think that the only way "Linux for the masses" would ever succeed if it was a distro for a fixed hardware configuration. LIke Linux is on the PS2/PS3, or some kind of "Linuxbox"
But how many people even know you can run a desktop on the PS2/PS3 besides people like us. I've actually been hoping Sony would do some Linux evangelism in their PS3 marketing.
But essentially you're right.
As I sometimes say, second verse same as the first.
I remember the PS2 launch and how the PS1 outsold the PS2 for quite a while (till late 2001 IIRC) There were still good PS1 games released after the PS2 launch, FFIX for example was released on Nov 13 2001.
It's pretty much happening again the same way, FFXII gets released just two weeks before PS3 launch and Rogue Galaxy was released a few days ago. I don't expect PS3 sales to even begin take off untill tax refund season. By fall we'll know.
600 dollars is not unreasonable for what it does. Sure it's higher than what people expect to pay for a games console but the PS3 isn't just a games console.
Let's go over this again:
It plays PS1, PS2, and PS3 games
CD's, SACD's, DVD-Audio discs
It can rip audio discs to it's HD, no PC needed.
I can play those ripped files and any other ones transferred to it's HD, or memorystick or external device.
It plays DVD video and Blu Ray video
It plays video files off the HD, and external device/card. Got PSP formatted files, it will play them.
It's got a built in web browser with full keyboard and mouse support.
Chat is built in too.
You can view photos with it, off the HD, external device. etc
It runs Linux, and running Linux on it is a supported function, it's not an unsupported hack That adds even more functionality to the thing. Open Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, Gaim, Nethack.
I figuired Linux users would be crowing over the PS3 as a way of having their cake and eating it too. The ability to play commercial games and run Linux without paying the Microsoft tax.
So you're telling me that all that functionality is not worth 600 dollars? Or is what you really mean is that you like the functionality but just dont want to pay 600 dollars for it.
I consider Blu-Ray to be of similar benefit because developers were saying that they were filling up those DVD's and no one wants to go back to disc switching.
And then consumers whined. "They cost too much"
and then Sony said, "But you told us you wanted those features when we asked you about them so we put them in there. You had to know that would raise the price."
Consumers: "Waaaah it costs too much we just want to play puzzle games and casual games"
Sony: "But you said you wanted games that were more like those you played at home on your portables. You wanted 3D games rather than stripped down 2D travesties of 3D games like what happened on the Gameboy Color ports of 3D games.
You said you wanted higher resolutions on your home machines like you have on PC's. You wanted built in wireless so you wouldn't have to buy a wireless bridge, you wanted us to use standard memory cards. and now you complain about having to buy an HDTV, having to pay for the built in wireless, and having to pay for an adapter for the old cards? You people are hypocrites and don't know what you want."
Here's what Sony needs to learn:
Consumers don't know what they want, will whine anyway when they get what they said they wanted, and sometimes lie
I've got over 40 PS2 games myself, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Of course. Biggest market so it's going to have the majority of casual/social gamers. There's nothing wrong with mainstream games. Because they're whiners. Okami has enough critical acclaim and mindshare now to guarantee a sequel. It's like Katamari Danacy that way. The developers are just whining about it not selling a huge number of copies rather than a smaller reasonable amount. As I said, the PS2 market is HUGE so niche games do sell especially if they have a nicely timed release date. Pikmin is a RTS, Animal Crossing is a god game like the Sims. Most games these days owe something to what has come before, even the supposedly innovative ones. Tweaking and perfecting what has come before is a good thing.
Gamers and gaming pundits may "say" they want innovation, but what they really want is what they liked before, only tweaked and improved. Evolution rather than innovation.
No, the EU is a bunch of little markets because of one thing: language.
NTSC-Japan and NTSC-United States/Canada have only one language to worry about per territory. While in EU you've got Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Danish, English, Italian, Portugese, Norwegian, Swedish etc.
That's a lot of money and effort to localize, especially for text/dialog heavy games.
When it comes to video games, the markets that matter are NTSC-J and NTSC-U/C, everything else pales compared to that.
I think the kind of PS2 owners one knows depends on how old you are. You're going to see a lot of "Madden/Tony Hawk only" (or if they're Xboxers: Halo) among the "college dorm" crowd for example. Those are social gamers. But still PS2 owners are numerous enough and diverse enough to support a lot of niche games.
As for the PS2 having only a dozen good games, think again, it would be more like 100. All the good platformers are PS2 games. There's more good RPG's for the PS2 than one can play.
You'll also have define innovative. I don't consider "Nintendoizing standard genres by slapping colorful characters on them" innovative. Pikmin and Animal Crossing are good games, but they're not innovative.