One of my favorite trade skill systems of all time was in the original UO. You didn't just mine the ore, you had to find the mountain that had it, then use the pick....then take the ore and smelt it into ingots, then smith it into something. This was fantastic from a graphical MMORPG standpoint. However, I've seen incredibly complex trade skill systems like Dragonrealms has...and even though I love the game to death....sometimes it just doesn't work...because you're not sure if you need to hammer something once or twice...and if you do it the wrong number it will break the item.
The next MMORPG i make an investment in has to have an excellent trade skill system. And I don't mean just collect items, put them in a bag and hit combine. I want something as detailed as the one in ATitD, but simplified graphically (the GUI for some of the tradeskills in that game is very confusing at times).
"meaning they are mostly normal acting or their quirks are not considered "dangerous" to society, i.e. wearing tin-foil because the "aliens are out there" is ok, but killing "all girls who look like Brittany Spears" is not."
But we can still kill the REAL Brittany Spears right?
" And who would pay for the thousands of servers, the huge quantity of RAM, the electricity bill, the rent, etc? Google is a lot more than just clever algorithm"
And while we're making a list of expenses, how about mentioning the whole deal of whether or not M$ would license the IP to an opengoogle project. My guess would be NO. Remember, he who holds the patents gets to choose who to license them to.
"...but how are you supposed to hold it without getting your fingers on the screen or touchpad? "
You honestly couldn't figure out how to hold it with your fingers in such a way that you wouldn't touch the screen? How about by the sides, like how you're supposed to hold CDs.
And while it may not be the most ergonomic design in the world, its goal is not ergonomics, rather, its goal is to miniaturize, and it has done that.
Perhaps we're not at full blown commercials YET, but um...advertising in video games is far from being a new concept. Product-placement in video games is one of the fastest growing advertising methods. Take a look at Gran Turismo next time you play it and see how many companies products you can count. Or how about how the Sims Online had McDonalds?
"The only way television could compete with that natural phenomenon would be to broadcast better and more attractive programmes, i.e., not just as good as before but actually better. "
How about this analogy. In Japan, manga is not just read by kids, but by adults. Some could argue that it takes up a considerable amount of their time (and if you've seen the size of some of the big manga publications, you would understand why) which could be used to watch tv. So what do they do? They have content on TV that synchs up with the manga. Hence, anime. What I think we'll see a lot more of (and this has already started bigtime with movies and some of the very successful tv shows) is the integration of media.
It is no longer enough to have a tv show. You also need to spin it off into a video game and a movie. Now...needless to say, if those products themselves are crap, well they're crap and it won't work. But if they are well made, I think we'll see a little Gestalt in action, in that the synergistic effect will make the sum of the whole greater than the parts.
And what if someone didn't want an iPod? Not to flame you....but come on...if they wanted one, they could get one with the cash bonus. Cash is nice because it lets the employee spend it on what THEY want. And not everybody wants an iPod.
The reason they don't give you offers for things you want is because you will buy those things regardless, so why give you the ability to pay less for them. The goal of them is to get you to try new products, or buy products you normally wouldn't buy because of the price. Sorry, coupons and discounts are not something that was put there to make your life easier. They are put there to make the company more money.
As someone who's studying marketing and advertising in school....its kind of a mixed bag. What we're seeing in terms of brand awareness is a short-term goal and extreme short-sightedness.
The napster brand name will nab them in the short-run. But long term it will be their downfall for exactly the reasons you said. Of course, I'm certain many people will make plenty of money off of this before that happens.
Completely off-topic, but I'm a college student seeking to do an internship in marketing/advertising in New Zealand. I'm looking to work in the most tropical area (crystal clear water and palm trees and stuff) and was wondering if you knew of any good companies to try to work for? Also if you know of any things that would make life VASTLY different from america were I to be in New Zealand (net access, important law differences, whether i'd be able to bring medicine on the plane, etc)? Thanks for any help you can offer.
I'm wondering what people can do in response to raids like this? I know the DMCA has some tricky wording on the issue, something about how they just have to have suspicion or something. Can someone clarify what options one has to respond to an RIAA "raid" of this nature?
"Applications such as RealPlayer try and sign you up to email based newsletters(spam), why should I have to give my details (email address, home address and hobbies for example) to a company in exchange for using their software?"
Um.....because its free? I hate their crap as much as you do, but do realize that they are offering you software for free. I don't blame them for trying to make some money off of it. But I don't like how they do it, so I never give them my information. You can't always have your cake and eat it too.
I can't wait till we get powered exo-skeleton armor like from Exo-Squad. Seriously, we have the technology, why aren't they implementing it already. Anime has been at the cutting edge of this crap for years! They already have building sized mecha that can fly in space, are powered by nuclear reactors, have city-leveling weapons, AND an interface simple enough to be controlled by any hapless shy boy who happens to find himself in the cockpit during the heat of battle.
"I've been There for awhile now, and while the initial cost outlay is staggering for an online game (I have to pay WHAT just to get voice chat? I have to pay WHAT to get a compass? HOW much just to hear jukeboxes? etc.) once you have a decent set of clothes and a vehicle or two, you're all set for casual play without a need to buy anything else."
Correct me if I'm wrong, as I may be confusing this with another similar game....but isn't there item decay? As in.....that vehicle will be all you need to spend money on.......until it decays and you're forced to buy another?
Re:Wait until the government discovers it
on
Circuits Everywhere
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· Score: 1
**beep beep**
"This message is to inform the wearer of these pants that if the wearer continues the motions he is making with his hand, the pants will inevitably become short-circuited. That is all."
So this is the phonebooth of the 21st century. How cool would this be if they shrunk it down and just made life-size video conferencing booths? I have a feeling that once video-conferencing technology gets a bit cheaper, and bandwidth gets a bit bigger and cheaper, that we will indeed see these sorts of things. I personally think it would be an awesome idea to setup a restaurant around one of these at both ends. They could be two entirely different restaurants and you could be observing the other one.
"I am just wondering how it will work once more than two cities are connected. Imagine being involved in an animated conversation with someone in Berlin only to be switched to Stockholm in mid-sentence."
Well, depending on how financially successful this is, they could simply make more cylinders. You want to talk to someone in France? Go to the French cylinder. Or they could section off portions of the cylinder to be linked to different areas.
Slashdot Mirror
The next MMORPG i make an investment in has to have an excellent trade skill system. And I don't mean just collect items, put them in a bag and hit combine. I want something as detailed as the one in ATitD, but simplified graphically (the GUI for some of the tradeskills in that game is very confusing at times).
But we can still kill the REAL Brittany Spears right?
And while we're making a list of expenses, how about mentioning the whole deal of whether or not M$ would license the IP to an opengoogle project. My guess would be NO. Remember, he who holds the patents gets to choose who to license them to.
You honestly couldn't figure out how to hold it with your fingers in such a way that you wouldn't touch the screen? How about by the sides, like how you're supposed to hold CDs.
And while it may not be the most ergonomic design in the world, its goal is not ergonomics, rather, its goal is to miniaturize, and it has done that.
Perhaps we're not at full blown commercials YET, but um...advertising in video games is far from being a new concept. Product-placement in video games is one of the fastest growing advertising methods. Take a look at Gran Turismo next time you play it and see how many companies products you can count. Or how about how the Sims Online had McDonalds?
How about this analogy. In Japan, manga is not just read by kids, but by adults. Some could argue that it takes up a considerable amount of their time (and if you've seen the size of some of the big manga publications, you would understand why) which could be used to watch tv. So what do they do? They have content on TV that synchs up with the manga. Hence, anime. What I think we'll see a lot more of (and this has already started bigtime with movies and some of the very successful tv shows) is the integration of media.
It is no longer enough to have a tv show. You also need to spin it off into a video game and a movie. Now...needless to say, if those products themselves are crap, well they're crap and it won't work. But if they are well made, I think we'll see a little Gestalt in action, in that the synergistic effect will make the sum of the whole greater than the parts.
*dodges bottles*
The napster brand name will nab them in the short-run. But long term it will be their downfall for exactly the reasons you said. Of course, I'm certain many people will make plenty of money off of this before that happens.
For the japanese-impaired.....this states "Clippy-san, please die."
Completely off-topic, but I'm a college student seeking to do an internship in marketing/advertising in New Zealand. I'm looking to work in the most tropical area (crystal clear water and palm trees and stuff) and was wondering if you knew of any good companies to try to work for? Also if you know of any things that would make life VASTLY different from america were I to be in New Zealand (net access, important law differences, whether i'd be able to bring medicine on the plane, etc)? Thanks for any help you can offer.
But lets suppose this DID take place in the US, what form of retaliation could we resort to?
Um.....because its free? I hate their crap as much as you do, but do realize that they are offering you software for free. I don't blame them for trying to make some money off of it. But I don't like how they do it, so I never give them my information. You can't always have your cake and eat it too.
Correct me if I'm wrong, as I may be confusing this with another similar game....but isn't there item decay? As in.....that vehicle will be all you need to spend money on.......until it decays and you're forced to buy another?
"This message is to inform the wearer of these pants that if the wearer continues the motions he is making with his hand, the pants will inevitably become short-circuited. That is all."
Otherwise known as a Gameboy?
Or perhaps a martini lounge or something.
Well, depending on how financially successful this is, they could simply make more cylinders. You want to talk to someone in France? Go to the French cylinder. Or they could section off portions of the cylinder to be linked to different areas.