...what many lawyers are to justice. Not surprised. My only time declaring in court, my friend's lawyer asked me to lie so this kind of crap must be quite common.
I make games, I love games, and I've enjoyed many games with beautiful art, intelligent gameplay and/or compelling atmosphere. That said, ICO and now Shadow of the Colossus are in their own league as far as delivering a whole emotional experience. I've saved countless princess in as many games, but ICO was the first to make me FEEL like a hero.
It seems 90% of the world is a sex-crazed children, if advertisments are anything to go by. From cars to perfume to... yeah pretty much anything adheres to the "skimpy outfits + huge muscles" trend.
Don't even get me started on movies.
"Personally, Halo 2 gone gold is just as important as Half-life 2 gone gold."
Except that, in order to play Half-Life 2 I'm gonna have to pay about $1000 to upgrade my PC. Thankfully, I'm geek enough to find another excuse for the upgrade, something like "I'll rather buy a new PC than pay $30 for a USB 2.0 card!"
"Real horror works best when you _don't_ know what is in front of you"
Wrong. Real horror works best when you know what's going to happen, but you don't know exactly how or when is it going to show up. Anticipation is the key. For best effect, mix in *a few* truly unexpected thrills (*SPOILER*Spider drops in your face when you select that 3rd camera in the monitor*SPOILER*).
Teleporting monsters are NOT part of Doom 3's horror atmosphere. Sounds they make before activating ARE. Your own mood when starting up the game is important too: if you want to outsmart the writers / designers you will succeed, and ruin your entertainment along the way.
Doom 3 is not perfect, but it gets closer than any videogame ever did. Few filmmakers can sustain proper pacing in a 90 min horror flick, and we expect id to do that for 15 hours?
but no prize. Doom 3 has in fact surpassed most informed expectations both critically and commercially. Few people thought the scare factor would be so powerful.
- The first tier is functionality: does it do what it's supposed to do?
- The second tier is reliability: does it perform its functionality in an efficient and foulproof way?
- The third tier is maintainability: is it easy to modify for changing / new requirements?
- The fourth one is adaptability: can it be reused in other projects that require the same functionality?
Hotshot / smart programmers usually get the first one done quickly.
Professionally-minded programmers usually get the second one right.
At that point it usually feels that the job is accomplished.
Experienced programmers can make the third and fourth happen.
"Good programmers" (smart, experienced and with good attitude) can get 3 or all 4 done.
"Newbie" programmers need guidance and double-checks in order to get any of them accomplished. When this happens under a good lead or with a process that ensures the output is truly the sum of the qualities of all team members, it is much more easy to happen at all levels. "Process" relates to communication (documentation, reviews, etc) as well as discipline (enforcing standards, etc).
Boiling it all down to "communication" is both correct and woefully incomplete / imprecise.
Slashdot Mirror
...what many lawyers are to justice. Not surprised. My only time declaring in court, my friend's lawyer asked me to lie so this kind of crap must be quite common.
Linking to one of the most embarrassing /. headers ever brings out the worst in me. :)
I make games, I love games, and I've enjoyed many games with beautiful art, intelligent gameplay and/or compelling atmosphere. That said, ICO and now Shadow of the Colossus are in their own league as far as delivering a whole emotional experience. I've saved countless princess in as many games, but ICO was the first to make me FEEL like a hero.
It seems 90% of the world is a sex-crazed children, if advertisments are anything to go by. From cars to perfume to... yeah pretty much anything adheres to the "skimpy outfits + huge muscles" trend. Don't even get me started on movies.
"Personally, Halo 2 gone gold is just as important as Half-life 2 gone gold." Except that, in order to play Half-Life 2 I'm gonna have to pay about $1000 to upgrade my PC. Thankfully, I'm geek enough to find another excuse for the upgrade, something like "I'll rather buy a new PC than pay $30 for a USB 2.0 card!"
"Real horror works best when you _don't_ know what is in front of you" Wrong. Real horror works best when you know what's going to happen, but you don't know exactly how or when is it going to show up. Anticipation is the key. For best effect, mix in *a few* truly unexpected thrills (*SPOILER*Spider drops in your face when you select that 3rd camera in the monitor*SPOILER*). Teleporting monsters are NOT part of Doom 3's horror atmosphere. Sounds they make before activating ARE. Your own mood when starting up the game is important too: if you want to outsmart the writers / designers you will succeed, and ruin your entertainment along the way. Doom 3 is not perfect, but it gets closer than any videogame ever did. Few filmmakers can sustain proper pacing in a 90 min horror flick, and we expect id to do that for 15 hours?
but no prize. Doom 3 has in fact surpassed most informed expectations both critically and commercially. Few people thought the scare factor would be so powerful.
Oops wrong universe!
- The first tier is functionality: does it do what it's supposed to do? - The second tier is reliability: does it perform its functionality in an efficient and foulproof way? - The third tier is maintainability: is it easy to modify for changing / new requirements? - The fourth one is adaptability: can it be reused in other projects that require the same functionality? Hotshot / smart programmers usually get the first one done quickly. Professionally-minded programmers usually get the second one right. At that point it usually feels that the job is accomplished. Experienced programmers can make the third and fourth happen. "Good programmers" (smart, experienced and with good attitude) can get 3 or all 4 done. "Newbie" programmers need guidance and double-checks in order to get any of them accomplished. When this happens under a good lead or with a process that ensures the output is truly the sum of the qualities of all team members, it is much more easy to happen at all levels. "Process" relates to communication (documentation, reviews, etc) as well as discipline (enforcing standards, etc). Boiling it all down to "communication" is both correct and woefully incomplete / imprecise.
Total Annihilation comes to mind. :)