While I love those games as well, I think that something else is different - my tolerance for repetition is a *lot* lower than it used to be in the "good ole' days" of gaming. I still love those games you mentioned, but I wonder how much of it is due to growing up with them.
Back in the day, I was horribly addicted to Space Invaders. I would play it for hours at a time when I was 8. Now, I can't quite stomach that much of the same level over and over. I think that's what the article is getting at is that the games that appeal to the 15 year old hardcore gamer won't appeal to an adult gamer, partially because what they like is so different.
I laughed out loud at the line in the article that said all the developers had to do was create games that appealed to both the mainstream and to hardcore 15 year olds. After they figure that out, they can crack out a cure for cancer and a roadmap for world peace (-;
I can't decide if this guy was being ironic or not, but I'll bite anyway...
"Games like Doom, Doom II, Heretic, Hexen, Hexen II, Quake, Quake II, Quake III, Myst, Riven, Exile, Warcraft, Starcraft, Red Alert, Wheel-of-time, Tribes, Tribes II, on and on. These games were PC games, not console trash....Please please don't let the PC gaming industry die or you will stop seeing innovation. DONT buy into consoles!"
That would seem to be a rather contradictory paragraph...I'd like to modify that statement a bit.
"Games like (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (PUZZLE), (PUZZLE), (PUZZLE), (RTS), (RTS), (RTS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), on and on. These games were PC games, not console trash.....Please please don't let the PC gaming industry die or you will stop seeing innovation. DONT buy into consoles!"
Wow, three whole genres of gaming in 17 games mentioned (-:
It all depends on your definition of innovation, I guess. I like more genres than that, so I play consoles, simple as that. Play what you like, and leave the rest alone, okay?
Most of my favorite examples are as a result of a poor translation...
From instructions for a plastic puzzle ball that comes apart into 8 pieces, to be reassambled:
"DECOMPOSITION FUN BALL. TAKE PIECES APART. TRY TO PUT BACK TOGETHER. NOW YOU CAN HAVE HOURS OF DECOMPOSITION FUN!"
(No cemetery required.)
And another one, which actually is technical writing of a sort; those instructions from the back of a pack of chopsticks at a Chinese buffet. For the most part, they're pretty good, but I like the last instruction, after telling you how to manipulate them:
"4. NOW YOU CAN PICK UP ANYTHING"
Haven't tested that bold assertion on cars or women, yet.
...there's more to it than just an insecure design. Some of it has to do with biology.
You can look at the current situation with computers in terms of homogeneous and heterogeneous societies of organisms. A herterogeneous (i.e. diverse) society is better able to weather diseases and the like because something that affects one thing is not as likely to affect something else. This is proved time and time again in nature. When a single population grows too large, it becomes easy for a disease to come in and wipe everything out. Natural societies tend to be diverse (forests, oceans). Man-made societies (plantations, farms, etc) tend to be monocultures.
See the computing parallel?
What I'm saying is that not only is it acceptable to have a variety of computers running different hardware platforms and operating systems, it's a good idea. The network I have at work is rather diverse - Windows 95, 98, XP, and MacOS X. It's a bit of a pain to keep running, but I can feel pretty safe that if some manner of virus gets past my security, it won't take down *every* computer...
Now apply that to a national level. The consumer computer market is 90% monoculture (roughly). Insecure design or no, a virus has a lot of help in spreading in situations like that.
Looking at the web page, I see that it's rated operational temperature range is up to 122 degrees F. I could see that as a problem in the summer, when car temperatures in the sun can far exceed that. Granted, cars cool off quickly, but that's quite a spike.
Couple that with problem with heat dissapation due to being in the dash - hey, my car CD player already gets pretty hot - and I see problems.
I play console systems so I don't have to deal with patches or updates at *all*. I don't care if the system is automated, if the download process is in the background. I don't want to think about the game that I just brought home, fresh out of shrinkwrap, needing some kind of patch in the undisclosed future to keep it stable/working/enable features/etc.
All I can see this system doing is bringing the same release-and-bugfix-later workflow that is in PC development into the realm of consoles. I think I'll pass.
I have a few e-mail accounts for just this reason. I have my ISP account which is kept strictly personal/business. Whenever anyone on the web asks for a working address for verification/sales/database/whatever, they get my Hotmail address (which is so choked with spam as to be useless).
It's a digital equivalent of distracting someone by yelling "LOOK AT THE MONKEY!"
"...and make it easier for recipients to cut off e-mails from companies they had been doing business with."
I have more problem getting rid of spam from companies that I've *never* done business with. Businesses that I've bought from occasionally send out offers, but they're always very good about removing me if I ask.
It's not the legitimate businesses that are the problem, it's the spam kings sending out offers of huge manhood and low rate loans with "remove me" links that point to overflowing Yahoo accounts.
Slashdot Mirror
While I love those games as well, I think that something else is different - my tolerance for repetition is a *lot* lower than it used to be in the "good ole' days" of gaming. I still love those games you mentioned, but I wonder how much of it is due to growing up with them.
Back in the day, I was horribly addicted to Space Invaders. I would play it for hours at a time when I was 8. Now, I can't quite stomach that much of the same level over and over. I think that's what the article is getting at is that the games that appeal to the 15 year old hardcore gamer won't appeal to an adult gamer, partially because what they like is so different.
I laughed out loud at the line in the article that said all the developers had to do was create games that appealed to both the mainstream and to hardcore 15 year olds. After they figure that out, they can crack out a cure for cancer and a roadmap for world peace (-;
I can't decide if this guy was being ironic or not, but I'll bite anyway...
"Games like Doom, Doom II, Heretic, Hexen, Hexen II, Quake, Quake II, Quake III, Myst, Riven, Exile, Warcraft, Starcraft, Red Alert, Wheel-of-time, Tribes, Tribes II, on and on. These games were PC games, not console trash....Please please don't let the PC gaming industry die or you will stop seeing innovation. DONT buy into consoles!"
That would seem to be a rather contradictory paragraph...I'd like to modify that statement a bit.
"Games like (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), (PUZZLE), (PUZZLE), (PUZZLE), (RTS), (RTS), (RTS), (FPS), (FPS), (FPS), on and on. These games were PC games, not console trash.....Please please don't let the PC gaming industry die or you will stop seeing innovation. DONT buy into consoles!"
Wow, three whole genres of gaming in 17 games mentioned (-:
It all depends on your definition of innovation, I guess. I like more genres than that, so I play consoles, simple as that. Play what you like, and leave the rest alone, okay?
Most of my favorite examples are as a result of a poor translation...
From instructions for a plastic puzzle ball that comes apart into 8 pieces, to be reassambled:
"DECOMPOSITION FUN BALL. TAKE PIECES APART. TRY TO PUT BACK TOGETHER. NOW YOU CAN HAVE HOURS OF DECOMPOSITION FUN!"
(No cemetery required.)
And another one, which actually is technical writing of a sort; those instructions from the back of a pack of chopsticks at a Chinese buffet. For the most part, they're pretty good, but I like the last instruction, after telling you how to manipulate them:
"4. NOW YOU CAN PICK UP ANYTHING"
Haven't tested that bold assertion on cars or women, yet.
...there's more to it than just an insecure design. Some of it has to do with biology.
You can look at the current situation with computers in terms of homogeneous and heterogeneous societies of organisms. A herterogeneous (i.e. diverse) society is better able to weather diseases and the like because something that affects one thing is not as likely to affect something else. This is proved time and time again in nature. When a single population grows too large, it becomes easy for a disease to come in and wipe everything out. Natural societies tend to be diverse (forests, oceans). Man-made societies (plantations, farms, etc) tend to be monocultures.
See the computing parallel?
What I'm saying is that not only is it acceptable to have a variety of computers running different hardware platforms and operating systems, it's a good idea. The network I have at work is rather diverse - Windows 95, 98, XP, and MacOS X. It's a bit of a pain to keep running, but I can feel pretty safe that if some manner of virus gets past my security, it won't take down *every* computer...
Now apply that to a national level. The consumer computer market is 90% monoculture (roughly). Insecure design or no, a virus has a lot of help in spreading in situations like that.
Just my two cents.
"...only half of the profits..."
/your/ glass is half empty. I got a horse I wanna give you, you wanna peek in his mouth?
What? Man, I can see that
Half of something is better than 10% of something, which is better than half of *nothing*.
Just say "Thank You" to the nice man and move on.
Looking at the web page, I see that it's rated operational temperature range is up to 122 degrees F. I could see that as a problem in the summer, when car temperatures in the sun can far exceed that. Granted, cars cool off quickly, but that's quite a spike.
Couple that with problem with heat dissapation due to being in the dash - hey, my car CD player already gets pretty hot - and I see problems.
"Superior update and patch management"
No no no no *no*.
I play console systems so I don't have to deal with patches or updates at *all*. I don't care if the system is automated, if the download process is in the background. I don't want to think about the game that I just brought home, fresh out of shrinkwrap, needing some kind of patch in the undisclosed future to keep it stable/working/enable features/etc.
All I can see this system doing is bringing the same release-and-bugfix-later workflow that is in PC development into the realm of consoles. I think I'll pass.
Funny? This is actually really good advice. (-:
I have a few e-mail accounts for just this reason. I have my ISP account which is kept strictly personal/business. Whenever anyone on the web asks for a working address for verification/sales/database/whatever, they get my Hotmail address (which is so choked with spam as to be useless).
It's a digital equivalent of distracting someone by yelling "LOOK AT THE MONKEY!"
"...and make it easier for recipients to cut off e-mails from companies they had been doing business with."
I have more problem getting rid of spam from companies that I've *never* done business with. Businesses that I've bought from occasionally send out offers, but they're always very good about removing me if I ask.
It's not the legitimate businesses that are the problem, it's the spam kings sending out offers of huge manhood and low rate loans with "remove me" links that point to overflowing Yahoo accounts.