I quite liked this ten minute clip of the initial news bulletins after the first attack.
R.I.P. for the people that died that day... and the thousands more that had to die in other countries that were since then invaded by the US...
I think it's quite a shame that Valve also starts doing micro-content.
Don't get me wrong: I own all the games by Valve (because I -know- they will be/are quality), but I guess that they also can't resist of milking their customers a bit more.
With all their previous (multiplayer) games we've seen them release loads of maps/content for free to the community: See it as a reward for their loyal fanbase.
But now that they see that each and every developer can get away with charging money for extra content, they shamefully also go that way.
Some might say: "They released patches for free!" , but that's their obligation, ifnot in their own interest because otherwise bad publicity about an unbalanced/unplayable game would get out, thus tarnishing Valve's reputation.
So yes, I'm quite pissed off that they immedeately go for extra content which you have to buy...
P.S. As a sidenote, the release of the SDK is very cool, but people should realise that even without it, there is already a thriving custom-map community at the moment. [shameless plug]Have a look at my own (beta) version of a shopping mall map: Download it from here. Keep in mind it's very much a beta, and that for now only one small part of the mall is actually done (pathway-wise). Comments are welcome though.[/shameless plug]
I like Vimeo: It has a very clean interface (at least with AdBlock, dunno how it looks without it), and the videos can be quite a nice bitrate (though it needs some precise pre-decoding to get the desired results).
Besides that, there are some awesome (short) movies on there, and it's been a great site for me to randomly browse and discover some gems (on a whole other level than the amusement of a general YouTube video brings me).
More on topic: What's the deciding factor when watching a game's video that it constitutes creative expression?
For instance, I have one video on there of a trailer for the Alpha version of a mod I'm working on: Whereas some might see this as a "direct capture of video game play", I put way more thought into that when creating it, or at least tried to;-). (for example, notice how I tried to line up the music to the cuts, and building up the 'tension' as the video goes on).
Another example would be (game) footage of a player who's incredibly good at the game he's playing: You know the sort of video; Raging rock music lining up the several great shots he pulls of during a match.
Would this also not be 'creative content': Imho it's telling an, albeit short, story too.
I realise I'm free to go elsewhere, but as noted before I quite like their layout (as opposed to the cluttered interface of YouTube, who recently started to also allow higher quality videos).
Though when they will be taking my video offline, I'll definitely have to be on the lookout for another host (besides my own site).
Those videocards would not produce the same graphical quality an Xbox360 would bring. I have to give it to you though; it comes very close to 300 bucks.
Such a coincidence; This week I've been backing up most of my config-files for all of my Steam games (and sent them off to my email to be stored there), as I became quite fed up with having to re-bind my keys on each install (and since I'm preferring ESDF-config over WASD, it's quite some work to get everything bound for each game).
So for me, this is one of the better improvements coming from Steam the last few months.
One thing I'm very curious about is how much of the config files are saved though: For example, my TeamFortress 2 configs are very much deviating from the default: I have seperate class-configs, voice-commands configs and some other.cfg-files which are referred to from the default-config file: If this would only store the default-config file, it has no use for me.
Also, it would be quite cool if the configs would be saved for the several mods for HL/HL2.
A key underlying theme in Bioshock is the illusion of choice
Other than the choice to either harvest or save the Lil' Sisters, what moral dilemmas were in there?
Whereas I loved the game, I think the story is still very much overrated.
Well, apparently there seems to be some sort of middleground here too.
Whereas I agree that boycotting a certain product can be a very good tactic, I also think that if it's possible (with minimal effort) to let the producer know beforehand that you have problems with some aspects of their product, it can accomplish the same thing where you still get to play their product, and them realising that this time, they took it a bit too far.
I'd pretty much call that a win-win situation.
I was btw in the camp of boycotting Spore if this DRM would have shipped with it; But I'm also forgiving enough in this instance that I see they realised that it would have been costing them a lot of customers, and I'll happily buy their game now.
Then why are all the people still using it regardless?
It's not as if the other mentioned services (such as Wordpress) don't have free alternatives.
If you're serious about it all, you would buy your own domain, and use (and customize) any CMS to your liking.
I find it very funny to see these complaints (definitely "They've been neglecting it for years" ; Then why are you still blogging on there?
I find it quite amusing that the birth of Jesus is pretty much set in stone (at least if I believe that day to be Christmas), but the date of his death (or resurrection) isn't.
I guess even Christians smelled too much bullshit on the whole story, they rather kept it as vague as possible.;)
if you want a good open source game, you need full time developers who can work full time on it.
Or good management, and a team consisting of members that are aware that he/she has to take full responsibility for their expertise.
This would mean that everyone has a perfect grasp of the goals for the game, and each member's individual input is used to slowly clean up and refine the initial idea(s).
This also means that each member does its own research (based on some rough layouts in the gamedesign document), does its own QA (the feedback is directly returned to the appropriate person), and everyone has its own small gamedesign document which clearly states the progress of the assets list assigned to that person.
As you mentioned, it really depends on what type of game is being created, but I still think your Slashcraft is a doable project with a team of about 6 to 7 members.
For myself, I've just completed a gamedesign document I've been working on for 1.5 years, and started active development on a game which will partly be sponsored by non-obtrusive in-game advertisements; and will be free for people to download and play. I'm currently working four days a week, so I have that extra day to put in both managing the whole project, as well as creating the different maps and character models.
To get all our heads pointing the right way, we're currently using a modified MediaWiki, which suits us perfect in streamlining the development and content: It's very easy to make corrections, add valuable information, or otherwise make suggestions. It can also be used to store individual files, and has great structure to list all the available/completed media assets in ways so the team has a clear oversight.
The simple creation of extra sections, or tagging of pages is a perfect tool for everyone to make their own sections that they can watch over: So it sort of the same as someone on Wikipedia 'protecting' his or her content by watching over it: But on top of the checking actual correctness of the data, each teammember also overlooks the progress that is made on his or her side of the development.
Btw, for the game we're using the cleaned up Quake 3 engine (IOQuake3), and instead of creating 'yet another FPS where you can either deathmatch or capture the flag', we're working on something where the nearest similarities come from a game like Mario Party; Just small mini-like games, playable with 1 to 4 players, where each map features completely different gametypes/environments/weapons/models etc.
Some of these gametype-concepts have already been proven; I created some mappacks for fortress-mods before, where the same concept of different gametypes on each map was the main objective: For some screenshots have a look at the maps-section of my site, and in particular the maps that start with Q3F_MG and ETF_MG.
Current estimate is to get an Alpha release out within three months (which we'll be pitching to various advertisers/in-game advertising companies), so once it's out, be sure to download this game!:)
Afaik, only the source to mod the game has been released, but no GPL-ed open source release (as has happened with all the previous id software engined titles)... But I'm positive we'll eventually be able to have a peek at that too.
Back on topic, I've played most of these games (except Alien Arena), and I always found it a bit disappointing to see what people created with access to the source: In the end (with some exceptions, such as Tremulous), most of these mods/total conversions just turn out to be another deathmatch/capture the flag game, with different models, different weapons... but still basically the same game mechanics as the game it's based on.
Though I still very much appreciate their effort (who can complain when the game is free for them to download), I very much hope that there are some teams out there who want to do more than just that.
As for my own contribution to try to 'solve' this: The last two years I've been very busy refining an idea for a game; build on the Quake3 engine (more specifically, the cleaned up IOQuake3 source), where the gameplay will be totally different from what's been developed on the Q3 engine before... Active development has just started, and it seems that we'll be able to crack out an Alpha release in three months time.
Damn, this reminds me of the Commodore 64 version of the game: And not for the best.
While at the time it was quite a cool game (very hard at later levels though), it took one whole casette tape (both sides!) to load.
I still wake up in cold sweat thinking of those load-errors I sometimes received after waiting about 45 minutes.
Specifically, "passengers beating the living shit out of all hijackers."
Because that worked so well on the United 93 flight, right?
Not saying I am for this system (way too much room for abuse imo); And I much rather opt for heavier enforced cockpit-doors and an inability for the pilots to open those doors for the entire flight.
Hey, as said: I accept it (America's Army) for what it is, but that doesn't have to make me ignore my feelings towards those aspects mentioned.
I've played several games build on advertising a certain product/service and I don't get bothered by it at all: As you mentioned, I am aware it's meant as a commercial, but if gameplay rocks it doesn't really matter what assets they are putting in.
I just think that AA is taking it one step further and is using the medium as an(excellent) propaganda tool: The thought that some people actually get affected by this is imo a lot worse than buying a Coke after playing a coke-sponsored game.
Off topic-ish, but interested: Where can I find the Honda game you're speaking of? And did you do this for an advertising agency, or did you step up to Honda and asked them for some funding?
The reason I'm asking is that I am quite far in the development of a (GPL-ed) game, and I am currently looking at the several options available (in-game advertising being one of them).
Slashdot Mirror
I quite liked this ten minute clip of the initial news bulletins after the first attack.
R.I.P. for the people that died that day... and the thousands more that had to die in other countries that were since then invaded by the US...
I'm registering http://www.wikileaksleaks.org/ as we speak! ;-)
I assumed they would have gone with the Master of Dance: Balmer
Then again, they really might like their chairs there.
I surely hope you're right.
Totally forgot about the excellent constructive criticism community on Interlopers.net, so thanks for the heads-up.
I think it's quite a shame that Valve also starts doing micro-content.
Don't get me wrong: I own all the games by Valve (because I -know- they will be/are quality), but I guess that they also can't resist of milking their customers a bit more.
With all their previous (multiplayer) games we've seen them release loads of maps/content for free to the community: See it as a reward for their loyal fanbase.
But now that they see that each and every developer can get away with charging money for extra content, they shamefully also go that way.
Some might say: "They released patches for free!" , but that's their obligation, ifnot in their own interest because otherwise bad publicity about an unbalanced/unplayable game would get out, thus tarnishing Valve's reputation.
So yes, I'm quite pissed off that they immedeately go for extra content which you have to buy...
P.S. As a sidenote, the release of the SDK is very cool, but people should realise that even without it, there is already a thriving custom-map community at the moment. [shameless plug]Have a look at my own (beta) version of a shopping mall map: Download it from here. Keep in mind it's very much a beta, and that for now only one small part of the mall is actually done (pathway-wise). Comments are welcome though.[/shameless plug]
I like Vimeo: It has a very clean interface (at least with AdBlock, dunno how it looks without it), and the videos can be quite a nice bitrate (though it needs some precise pre-decoding to get the desired results).
;-). (for example, notice how I tried to line up the music to the cuts, and building up the 'tension' as the video goes on).
Besides that, there are some awesome (short) movies on there, and it's been a great site for me to randomly browse and discover some gems (on a whole other level than the amusement of a general YouTube video brings me).
More on topic: What's the deciding factor when watching a game's video that it constitutes creative expression?
For instance, I have one video on there of a trailer for the Alpha version of a mod I'm working on: Whereas some might see this as a "direct capture of video game play", I put way more thought into that when creating it, or at least tried to
Another example would be (game) footage of a player who's incredibly good at the game he's playing: You know the sort of video; Raging rock music lining up the several great shots he pulls of during a match.
Would this also not be 'creative content': Imho it's telling an, albeit short, story too.
I realise I'm free to go elsewhere, but as noted before I quite like their layout (as opposed to the cluttered interface of YouTube, who recently started to also allow higher quality videos).
Though when they will be taking my video offline, I'll definitely have to be on the lookout for another host (besides my own site).
Those videocards would not produce the same graphical quality an Xbox360 would bring. I have to give it to you though; it comes very close to 300 bucks.
Such a coincidence; This week I've been backing up most of my config-files for all of my Steam games (and sent them off to my email to be stored there), as I became quite fed up with having to re-bind my keys on each install (and since I'm preferring ESDF-config over WASD, it's quite some work to get everything bound for each game).
.cfg-files which are referred to from the default-config file: If this would only store the default-config file, it has no use for me.
So for me, this is one of the better improvements coming from Steam the last few months.
One thing I'm very curious about is how much of the config files are saved though: For example, my TeamFortress 2 configs are very much deviating from the default: I have seperate class-configs, voice-commands configs and some other
Also, it would be quite cool if the configs would be saved for the several mods for HL/HL2.
I assume harassment on Twitter consists of pre-twittering someone's intention of going for a shit?
Or is it being Twit-rolled
A key underlying theme in Bioshock is the illusion of choice Other than the choice to either harvest or save the Lil' Sisters, what moral dilemmas were in there?
Whereas I loved the game, I think the story is still very much overrated.
Well, apparently there seems to be some sort of middleground here too.
Whereas I agree that boycotting a certain product can be a very good tactic, I also think that if it's possible (with minimal effort) to let the producer know beforehand that you have problems with some aspects of their product, it can accomplish the same thing where you still get to play their product, and them realising that this time, they took it a bit too far.
I'd pretty much call that a win-win situation.
I was btw in the camp of boycotting Spore if this DRM would have shipped with it; But I'm also forgiving enough in this instance that I see they realised that it would have been costing them a lot of customers, and I'll happily buy their game now.
Then why are all the people still using it regardless?
It's not as if the other mentioned services (such as Wordpress) don't have free alternatives.
If you're serious about it all, you would buy your own domain, and use (and customize) any CMS to your liking.
I find it very funny to see these complaints (definitely "They've been neglecting it for years" ; Then why are you still blogging on there?
The internets made my brains a bit too corrupted: I can't even watch this image from the article without thinking "Hey, two girls, one cup"
Ok, I am signing up for some shocktherapy right now.
Whereas it could have simply redirected you to Sickipedia. ;-)
It doesn't seem hard at all at a 'normal' reader (see Mythbusters episode.
The high-end, ridicilously expensive fingerprint readers are a lot harder to crack though; But I wouldn't say uncrackable.
I find it quite amusing that the birth of Jesus is pretty much set in stone (at least if I believe that day to be Christmas), but the date of his death (or resurrection) isn't.
;)
I guess even Christians smelled too much bullshit on the whole story, they rather kept it as vague as possible.
Coca Cola did the same last year by ripping off "Ninja" by Joel Feitch (the guy behind Rathergood.com)
Two weeks later it was reported that Joel Feitch got well compensated for it (exact amounts were not disclosed as part of the agreement).
Read all about it here, with accompanied footage.
Dude. It has the Chuck Norris grip!
The IOQuake3 source is based on the Quake 3 source (it's a cleaned up version of it): And thus, we still have the GPL-license to adhere to.
Can you specify why you think that wouldn't classify as open source?
if you want a good open source game, you need full time developers who can work full time on it.
:)
Or good management, and a team consisting of members that are aware that he/she has to take full responsibility for their expertise.
This would mean that everyone has a perfect grasp of the goals for the game, and each member's individual input is used to slowly clean up and refine the initial idea(s).
This also means that each member does its own research (based on some rough layouts in the gamedesign document), does its own QA (the feedback is directly returned to the appropriate person), and everyone has its own small gamedesign document which clearly states the progress of the assets list assigned to that person.
As you mentioned, it really depends on what type of game is being created, but I still think your Slashcraft is a doable project with a team of about 6 to 7 members.
For myself, I've just completed a gamedesign document I've been working on for 1.5 years, and started active development on a game which will partly be sponsored by non-obtrusive in-game advertisements; and will be free for people to download and play. I'm currently working four days a week, so I have that extra day to put in both managing the whole project, as well as creating the different maps and character models.
To get all our heads pointing the right way, we're currently using a modified MediaWiki, which suits us perfect in streamlining the development and content: It's very easy to make corrections, add valuable information, or otherwise make suggestions. It can also be used to store individual files, and has great structure to list all the available/completed media assets in ways so the team has a clear oversight.
The simple creation of extra sections, or tagging of pages is a perfect tool for everyone to make their own sections that they can watch over: So it sort of the same as someone on Wikipedia 'protecting' his or her content by watching over it: But on top of the checking actual correctness of the data, each teammember also overlooks the progress that is made on his or her side of the development.
Btw, for the game we're using the cleaned up Quake 3 engine (IOQuake3), and instead of creating 'yet another FPS where you can either deathmatch or capture the flag', we're working on something where the nearest similarities come from a game like Mario Party; Just small mini-like games, playable with 1 to 4 players, where each map features completely different gametypes/environments/weapons/models etc.
Some of these gametype-concepts have already been proven; I created some mappacks for fortress-mods before, where the same concept of different gametypes on each map was the main objective: For some screenshots have a look at the maps-section of my site, and in particular the maps that start with Q3F_MG and ETF_MG.
Current estimate is to get an Alpha release out within three months (which we'll be pitching to various advertisers/in-game advertising companies), so once it's out, be sure to download this game!
Afaik, only the source to mod the game has been released, but no GPL-ed open source release (as has happened with all the previous id software engined titles)... But I'm positive we'll eventually be able to have a peek at that too.
:)
Back on topic, I've played most of these games (except Alien Arena), and I always found it a bit disappointing to see what people created with access to the source: In the end (with some exceptions, such as Tremulous), most of these mods/total conversions just turn out to be another deathmatch/capture the flag game, with different models, different weapons... but still basically the same game mechanics as the game it's based on.
Though I still very much appreciate their effort (who can complain when the game is free for them to download), I very much hope that there are some teams out there who want to do more than just that.
As for my own contribution to try to 'solve' this: The last two years I've been very busy refining an idea for a game; build on the Quake3 engine (more specifically, the cleaned up IOQuake3 source), where the gameplay will be totally different from what's been developed on the Q3 engine before...
Active development has just started, and it seems that we'll be able to crack out an Alpha release in three months time.
But in time, be sure to download this game once we're done!
"The profound conclusion is, here we've found yet another type of planet that is already represented in our solar system"
Dupe?
Damn, this reminds me of the Commodore 64 version of the game: And not for the best.
While at the time it was quite a cool game (very hard at later levels though), it took one whole casette tape (both sides!) to load.
I still wake up in cold sweat thinking of those load-errors I sometimes received after waiting about 45 minutes.
Specifically, "passengers beating the living shit out of all hijackers."
Because that worked so well on the United 93 flight, right?
Not saying I am for this system (way too much room for abuse imo); And I much rather opt for heavier enforced cockpit-doors and an inability for the pilots to open those doors for the entire flight.
Hey, as said: I accept it (America's Army) for what it is, but that doesn't have to make me ignore my feelings towards those aspects mentioned.
I've played several games build on advertising a certain product/service and I don't get bothered by it at all: As you mentioned, I am aware it's meant as a commercial, but if gameplay rocks it doesn't really matter what assets they are putting in.
I just think that AA is taking it one step further and is using the medium as an(excellent) propaganda tool: The thought that some people actually get affected by this is imo a lot worse than buying a Coke after playing a coke-sponsored game.
Off topic-ish, but interested: Where can I find the Honda game you're speaking of? And did you do this for an advertising agency, or did you step up to Honda and asked them for some funding?
The reason I'm asking is that I am quite far in the development of a (GPL-ed) game, and I am currently looking at the several options available (in-game advertising being one of them).