Except it's not just the ending that's poorly done. The whole game is poorly written -- it's just that you don't realize it until the end when, instead of resolving any of the various questions raised, they just start pulling cyborgs out of their ass and saying "Oh, that happened cause a cyborg did it" or "Oh, that happened because the mysterious ancients controlling everything did it."
Well, for what it's worth, I played the entire game and I pretty much agree with his assessment. Though I quite enjoyed those first five minutes, when it seemed like the writers had a clue.
Like David Cage is one to talk. Indigo Prophecy had one of the worst stories in a video game ever, and that's saying something. If he's going to ask the industry to get away from the 'porn narrative,' then I'd like to ask him to get away from the 'Pseudo-Magical Matrix Ripoff That Makes No Bloody Sense narrative.'
"Main Entry: hopefully Function: adverb Date: circa 1639 1 : in a hopeful manner 2 : it is hoped : I hope : we hope usage In the early 1960s the second sense of hopefully, which had been in sporadic use since around 1932, underwent a surge of popular use. A surge of popular criticism followed in reaction, but the criticism took no account of the grammar of adverbs. Hopefully in its second sense is a member of a class of adverbs known as disjuncts. Disjuncts serve as a means by which the author or speaker can comment directly to the reader or hearer usually on the content of the sentence to which they are attached. Many other adverbs (as interestingly, frankly, clearly, luckily, unfortunately) are similarly used; most are so ordinary as to excite no comment or interest whatsoever. The second sense of hopefully is entirely standard."
Ooooh, and those cute lil' Artoo-Detto M&M Figurines, but only because they're candy related. And maybe a book, but only the Timothy Zahn ones, because that's kinda like not supporting Lucas. And the THX-1138 DVD because, c'mon, that's a CLASSIC. But that's it! I draw the line right there! No more supporting Lucas!
That's not what that sentence means. It means that of that subset, 70% own *some* handheld. Of those that do own a handheld, PSP is preferred - which could mean anywhere from 51% to 100%. (Or less, if there's more than two choices.)
And the DS is not really "dominating" the U.S. market. Handheld hardware sales are usually 40-50% GBA, 20-25% DS and 25-30% PSP in the U.S., which game sales more biased towards the PSP. Only in Japan is the DS dominating.
Well, I mean there's an obvious difference, sure. But in most types of movies - comedies, romances, dramas - you're unlikely to care, even if you do notice. We can already see people's faces pretty clearly, and most people don't have an aching desire to see people's dimples and pores. HD can make a huge difference where lots of action is going on, though. (I recently was blown away seeing Spiderman 2 in HD on HBO.) But the point is...I'm not sure people will care about the image quality difference this time.
Yeah, I see where's coming from. Also, as he has already demonstrated, it's entirely possible to create completely original, innovative games without changing anything in the actual hardware. While I'm totally psyched for the Revolution controller and the possibilities it will bring, I also think there's a bit of danger in going down the route of "It's a brand new game! Do all the same things you did last year WHILE WAVING A WAND IN 3D SPACE!" I don't think all games will be like this, but considering the first announced game for the Revolution is a first-person shooter, I definitely think some will.
Right, because having the player design (in a physical sense) their own species and then procedurally extrapolating from that the behavior and attributes of said species, the civilization it would create, and the planets that civilization would terraform and launch colonies on is sooooo 2005. Gosh, there's so many games that have implemented this already I can't even think of them all or take the time to list them at this particular moment.
Let's face it - compared to "sandbox" games like GTA, where I can shoot any hooker I want IN THE ENTIRE CITY, Spore is practically linear.
You know, your apparently eternal faith in "the market" to steer game development is all well and good, but what if your tastes lie somewhere on the fringes of said market? What if most people are content to play games based on the normal, everyday pop culture they're familiar with, but you originally turned to games specifically to avoid that?
It's fairly common knowledge that the formula for computing Famitsu game scores includes such factors as "what score the publisher wants" and "how much the publisher has recently paid us", each with fairly high coefficients.
Yes, and if this book is anything like his previous books, he will no doubt spend an entire chapter recounting each and every accomplishment he has made since birth, lest you forget you are reading from a "genius."
Slashdot Mirror
Umm...the part where it can detect motion in three-dimensions and replicate them in the game-world?
Except it's not just the ending that's poorly done. The whole game is poorly written -- it's just that you don't realize it until the end when, instead of resolving any of the various questions raised, they just start pulling cyborgs out of their ass and saying "Oh, that happened cause a cyborg did it" or "Oh, that happened because the mysterious ancients controlling everything did it."
Well, for what it's worth, I played the entire game and I pretty much agree with his assessment. Though I quite enjoyed those first five minutes, when it seemed like the writers had a clue.
Like David Cage is one to talk. Indigo Prophecy had one of the worst stories in a video game ever, and that's saying something. If he's going to ask the industry to get away from the 'porn narrative,' then I'd like to ask him to get away from the 'Pseudo-Magical Matrix Ripoff That Makes No Bloody Sense narrative.'
You're bitter. I don't even have an Xbox 360, but if I did I doubt I would hate *all* of those games as much as you seem to.
What a hell of an ironic name for that guy, Borg. I think that might tell us about everything we need to know.
That's not ironic - it's just appropriate.
"Main Entry: hopefully
z i.shtml
Function: adverb
Date: circa 1639
1 : in a hopeful manner
2 : it is hoped : I hope : we hope
usage In the early 1960s the second sense of hopefully, which had been in sporadic use since around 1932, underwent a surge of popular use. A surge of popular criticism followed in reaction, but the criticism took no account of the grammar of adverbs. Hopefully in its second sense is a member of a class of adverbs known as disjuncts. Disjuncts serve as a means by which the author or speaker can comment directly to the reader or hearer usually on the content of the sentence to which they are attached. Many other adverbs (as interestingly, frankly, clearly, luckily, unfortunately) are similarly used; most are so ordinary as to excite no comment or interest whatsoever. The second sense of hopefully is entirely standard."
From Merriam-Webster, quoted at http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ian/Manifestoes/grammarNa
Oh, there are lots of "classic" lines that I quote:
"Good call, my young Padawan!"
"Around the survivors, a perimeter create!"
"So uncivilized."
"I saw him....KILLING YOUNGLINGS!"
"They all sense it, why can't you?"
"It's all Obi-Wan's fault!"
In one sense, these are all jokes about the movies...but aren't you doing the same thing when you say "I find your lack of faith disturbing?"
Ooooh, and those cute lil' Artoo-Detto M&M Figurines, but only because they're candy related. And maybe a book, but only the Timothy Zahn ones, because that's kinda like not supporting Lucas. And the THX-1138 DVD because, c'mon, that's a CLASSIC. But that's it! I draw the line right there! No more supporting Lucas!
I'm pretty sure that's in units. Hardwale sales usually aren't tabulated by dollars.
That's not what that sentence means. It means that of that subset, 70% own *some* handheld. Of those that do own a handheld, PSP is preferred - which could mean anywhere from 51% to 100%. (Or less, if there's more than two choices.) And the DS is not really "dominating" the U.S. market. Handheld hardware sales are usually 40-50% GBA, 20-25% DS and 25-30% PSP in the U.S., which game sales more biased towards the PSP. Only in Japan is the DS dominating.
Well, I mean there's an obvious difference, sure. But in most types of movies - comedies, romances, dramas - you're unlikely to care, even if you do notice. We can already see people's faces pretty clearly, and most people don't have an aching desire to see people's dimples and pores. HD can make a huge difference where lots of action is going on, though. (I recently was blown away seeing Spiderman 2 in HD on HBO.) But the point is...I'm not sure people will care about the image quality difference this time.
Ten years ago, 100MB was hardly top-of-the line. We had a cheapo Packard Bell ten years ago with a base 2.1 GB hard drive.
Yeah, I see where's coming from. Also, as he has already demonstrated, it's entirely possible to create completely original, innovative games without changing anything in the actual hardware. While I'm totally psyched for the Revolution controller and the possibilities it will bring, I also think there's a bit of danger in going down the route of "It's a brand new game! Do all the same things you did last year WHILE WAVING A WAND IN 3D SPACE!" I don't think all games will be like this, but considering the first announced game for the Revolution is a first-person shooter, I definitely think some will.
Actually, we can run Win95/98 games pretty well, too. It's called WINE.
Because the solution to a disorder where one has difficulty relating to and with those around them is clearly MORE TECHNOLOGY.
Right, because having the player design (in a physical sense) their own species and then procedurally extrapolating from that the behavior and attributes of said species, the civilization it would create, and the planets that civilization would terraform and launch colonies on is sooooo 2005. Gosh, there's so many games that have implemented this already I can't even think of them all or take the time to list them at this particular moment. Let's face it - compared to "sandbox" games like GTA, where I can shoot any hooker I want IN THE ENTIRE CITY, Spore is practically linear.
You know, your apparently eternal faith in "the market" to steer game development is all well and good, but what if your tastes lie somewhere on the fringes of said market? What if most people are content to play games based on the normal, everyday pop culture they're familiar with, but you originally turned to games specifically to avoid that?
It's fairly common knowledge that the formula for computing Famitsu game scores includes such factors as "what score the publisher wants" and "how much the publisher has recently paid us", each with fairly high coefficients.
To be fair, the UK and Australia/New Zealand rank among the worst territories for the 'Cube, if I'm not mistaken.
Ummm...doesn't Winamp play ogg just fine? Isn't Winamp what most Windows users use to play media? I was under the impression this was the case...
Some might argue that games should be considered children's activities for precisely that reason.
Yeah. This "special caching technology" better be damn good. I sure don't want to wait around to *stream* HD content to my TV!
Yes, and if this book is anything like his previous books, he will no doubt spend an entire chapter recounting each and every accomplishment he has made since birth, lest you forget you are reading from a "genius."
If you're on an airplane, you're probably not playing a MMORPG like the aforementioned World of Warcraft.