"Until then, we're left with a patchwork of hobbyists, bloggers, corporate promo, online mail-order and desperate screaming pop-up ads. The artists among us are relegated to noble failures and lovable martyrs--giving away their art for nothing 'til the rent is due and they have to go back to flipping burgers. I know far too many of these people to accept Shirky's placid scenario. They're tired, they're frustrated, and they're quitting in droves."
Well... yeah, that's the point, the "artists" among you are tired, frustrated, quitting in droves, giving away your 'art' for free because you =ARE= just a patchwork of Amateur Doodlers and Scribblers, hobbyists, bloggers, and burger-flippers who Aren't Good Enough to actually get PAID for that 'art' in the real commercial world!
"The artists among us" - Jeez get over yourself. If you were R. Crumb people with serious MONEY would be knocking down your door to publish it.
What you and BitPass are trying to do is invent a new "Economy in the Margins" that lives in the cracks of the existing market system. And hey who knows, maybe with mass broadband and a way to meter teeny-weeny payments there might be enough customers to sustain a new micro-market economy.
Although, that very same scheme has failed in various forms over the years for game programmer wanna-be's who write their first Doom mod and figure someone somewhere must be willing to pay a couple bucks to play it. Bzzzt sorry, the free stuff is just as good, and as soon as it becomes Real Good (ie Commercial Quality), surprise surprise, along comes a commercial publisher willing to publish it in the existing commercial market.
"hardcore gamers can tell the difference between 60 and 100 fps."
Not.
What they CAN recognize is the difference between a 13" Fuzz-O-Matic monitor running a game on a $30 video card at 640 x 480 without antialiasing and anisotropic filtering =VS= a 20+" Trinitron running the same game on a bleeding edge Radeon with resolution + filtering + texture fluff at max.
People have bought into this "I can see 100 fps!" nonsense for so long and convinced themselves it's true that it's become an Urban Legend.
Neither you, nor I, nor Thresh, nor Lord Carmack, nor any other human being alive today can distinguish the difference between 60 and 100 fps.
Test it yourself, if people are not told beforehand what the framerate is, 99% cannot distinguish whether a game is being displayed at 20 or 30 or 60 or 75 or whatever fps.
It's all hype and power of suggestion.
Take a 30 fps scene, tell someone it's running at 75, and they will tell you, yes, it looks m-u-c-h better.
This is excellent news - the return of GM run Storyline Events!
Now if only other mmogs would do this too. "Story" was what UO was always -supposed- to be about, and in fact that was what they Did for the first month or so after release. (before the pk-griefers ruined the game)
I fondly remember the Shrine Wars campaign, The Lich Twins, the Ogre Brothers, the mysterious Hermit who took up residence in Britannia for a time, etc., etc. You'd log into the game and something would actually BE GOING ON in the world!
One incredible event was the Funeral for the Trinsic Captain of the Guard.
It started off with a ceremony in the church, led by GM's playing various dignitaries giving memorial speeches, laying flowers on the casket etc., ~100 players were in attendance when suddenly a hooded figure entered the church and shouted dark threats against the town and then disappeared. Everyone was buzzing, wondering what was going on. A few minutes later the Town Criers started yelling - "TO ARMS! TO ARMS! TRINSIC IS UNDER ATTACK!"
The GM's and all the players RUSHED to the gate and were met by wave after wave of attackers - the air was filled with people screaming orders, the clang of steel, volleys of arrows, the crackle of magic, players trying to help each other stay alive... it was GLORIOUS!
The desperate battle went on and on, moving up the road towards Britannia, led by one of the GM's playing some warrior-lord in black plate armor. I made it about halfway before getting separated and killed by a pack of npc Red-Robe mages who were ambushing players at the bridge.
Honestly, that was the most "real", immersive, exhilerating gaming I've ever experienced before or since. Truly awesome.
If UO can recapture some of this Epic High Adventure feel again, maybe it will trickle out to other mmogs, which desperately need some kind of GM-run Storyline Event system to make them interesting. For example SWG could be an amazing game if only there were some minor storyline-related event each week.
Slashdot Mirror
The real issue for Scott seems to be:
"Until then, we're left with a patchwork of hobbyists, bloggers, corporate promo, online mail-order and desperate screaming pop-up ads. The artists among us are relegated to noble failures and lovable martyrs--giving away their art for nothing 'til the rent is due and they have to go back to flipping burgers. I know far too many of these people to accept Shirky's placid scenario. They're tired, they're frustrated, and they're quitting in droves."
Well... yeah, that's the point, the "artists" among you are tired, frustrated, quitting in droves, giving away your 'art' for free because you =ARE= just a patchwork of Amateur Doodlers and Scribblers, hobbyists, bloggers, and burger-flippers who Aren't Good Enough to actually get PAID for that 'art' in the real commercial world!
"The artists among us" - Jeez get over yourself.
If you were R. Crumb people with serious MONEY would be knocking down your door to publish it.
What you and BitPass are trying to do is invent a new "Economy in the Margins" that lives in the cracks of the existing market system. And hey who knows, maybe with mass broadband and a way to meter teeny-weeny payments there might be enough customers to sustain a new micro-market economy.
Although, that very same scheme has failed in various forms over the years for game programmer wanna-be's who write their first Doom mod and figure someone somewhere must be willing to pay a couple bucks to play it. Bzzzt sorry, the free stuff is just as good, and as soon as it becomes Real Good (ie Commercial Quality), surprise surprise, along comes a commercial publisher willing to publish it in the existing commercial market.
Don't quit your McJob just yet.
"hardcore gamers can tell the difference between 60 and 100 fps."
Not.
What they CAN recognize is the difference between a 13" Fuzz-O-Matic monitor running a game on a $30 video card at 640 x 480 without antialiasing and anisotropic filtering =VS= a 20+" Trinitron running the same game on a bleeding edge Radeon with resolution + filtering + texture fluff at max.
People have bought into this "I can see 100 fps!" nonsense for so long and convinced themselves it's true that it's become an Urban Legend.
Neither you, nor I, nor Thresh, nor Lord Carmack, nor any other human being alive today can distinguish the difference between 60 and 100 fps.
Test it yourself, if people are not told beforehand what the framerate is, 99% cannot distinguish whether a game is being displayed at 20 or 30 or 60 or 75 or whatever fps.
It's all hype and power of suggestion.
Take a 30 fps scene, tell someone it's running at 75, and they will tell you, yes, it looks m-u-c-h better.
This is excellent news - the return of GM run Storyline Events!
Now if only other mmogs would do this too. "Story" was what UO was always -supposed- to be about, and in fact that was what they Did for the first month or so after release. (before the pk-griefers ruined the game)
I fondly remember the Shrine Wars campaign, The Lich Twins, the Ogre Brothers, the mysterious Hermit who took up residence in Britannia for a time, etc., etc. You'd log into the game and something would actually BE GOING ON in the world!
One incredible event was the Funeral for the Trinsic Captain of the Guard.
It started off with a ceremony in the church, led by GM's playing various dignitaries giving memorial speeches, laying flowers on the casket etc., ~100 players were in attendance when suddenly a hooded figure entered the church and shouted dark threats against the town and then disappeared. Everyone was buzzing, wondering what was going on. A few minutes later the Town Criers started yelling - "TO ARMS! TO ARMS! TRINSIC IS UNDER ATTACK!"
The GM's and all the players RUSHED to the gate and were met by wave after wave of attackers - the air was filled with people screaming orders, the clang of steel, volleys of arrows, the crackle of magic, players trying to help each other stay alive... it was GLORIOUS!
The desperate battle went on and on, moving up the road towards Britannia, led by one of the GM's playing some warrior-lord in black plate armor. I made it about halfway before getting separated and killed by a pack of npc Red-Robe mages who were ambushing players at the bridge.
Honestly, that was the most "real", immersive, exhilerating gaming I've ever experienced before or since. Truly awesome.
If UO can recapture some of this Epic High Adventure feel again, maybe it will trickle out to other mmogs, which desperately need some kind of GM-run Storyline Event system to make them interesting. For example SWG could be an amazing game if only there were some minor storyline-related event each week.