Lego Star Wars 2 handles this. It's impossible to lose. And yet, they managed to make it worth your while to 'win'. If you make it through a level without dying, you get points that you don't get if you die. And if you collect all the parts, and if you collect enough money, etc etc etc. And you can't totally beat a level on the first run-through, you have to go back.
This enables anyone to play and 'beat' the game, but only those with a little skill and dedication can master it.
In addition, after you've found certain 'power bricks', you unlock cheats like invincibility and more powerful light sabers.
Would I want every game to be like this? Good lord no. But then, I wouldn't want every game NOT to be like this, either. It's all about balance. (Which is funny, since I'm talking about Star Wars... balance in the force and all that.)
I like my 'overhyped piece of junk.' I'm actually having a lot of fun with it. (I bought it a couple weeks ago.)
And I like the Wii name. It's short, easy to say, very easy to remember, and quite a bit different than the usual 'game cube' and 'play station' type of crap names. Even 'x box' is stupid. You don't see other high-end products named like that, do you? "I'm here to buy a Lexus FastCar." No. I'm glad Nintendo put an end to the stupid name-it-what-it-is scheme. (Even if they did kind of start it, with 'Nintendo Entertainment System."
And I'm one of the suckers that will end up buying a ps3, also. Not at launch, because there won't be any games I care about. But as soon as they come out with a couple really good RPGs, I'll find myself with a ps3.
Wii, thankfully, will have a ton of fun, unique games at launch. I'm very much looking forward to getting a Wii, and I'm hoping I'm wrong in thinking that it's going to sell out everywhere.
See, your 'low refresh rates' is my 'high refresh rates'. 15 or 20 is kinda iffy for me, but 30 and above all look pretty much the same to me. I think part of it is what we expect our eyes to handle, also. I'm not much of an action gamer (I enjoy some, but not like others). I prefer puzzles and adventures, and programming. Not really much use for split-second vision there. If I played more FPS's and fighing games, I'd probably have developed the 'anything under 120 fps is detectable' eyesight.
Just another instance of how adaptable humans are to their situations.
Real IT problems aren't as easy as the Sunday crossword. The problem being that different people are good at different puzzles. But if you're bad at problem solving, it'll show up in your lack of ability to solve puzzles.
Even our small network here at the office was ugly to diagram out. I was amazed at what a pain it was. And the guy who installed the IP-based phones could not do his job until he drew it out on the whiteboard. We ended up fixing his drawing, then revising it several times as we re-ordered the office a bit for convenience. But we had to draw EVERYTHING for him. With extensive labelling. And we also had to call things by the names he learned in school. It had to be 'FQDN' and not 'domain name' or he'd be lost. (He did eventually figure that one out and start correcting us when we just said 'domain name', though.) He's exactly the sort of 'tech' the puzzles would have made sure they never hired.
Relying solely upon the puzzles is as crazy as relying on any other single part of the interview process, though. Our office is extremely smooth, and most people get along with most everyone else. A year prior to my hire, the office was not like this. Most people hated coming to work, including the owners. They instituted a personality test during the interview process and things got better quickly.
Just 1 more thing to help weed out bad apples, that's all.
I've often thought about this, and my answer is that our eyes aren't as sensitive as you'd believe. The key is that 'finite number'... How small could such a receptor be and still be useful? And there's cones and rods both, taking up space.
My theory on this is that yes, it's pretty 'high-def' in there, but our mind takes it a step further and interpolates. Our eyes are always moving, even if by almost imperceptable amounts. And they've proven how your mind makes your 'blind spot' look just as real and detailed as the rest of your vision.
So I think the answer is the interpolation. This also partly explain why some people notice frames per second more than others. Some peoples' brains heavily interpolate and so the information has a lag/blur effect. Others tend to use ever single bit of information as it comes in, but their perceived definition is probably not quite as good.
Just theories of mine, and I'm a programmer not a biologist, but they sure sound good.:)
I'll admit that within a certain range this might be right, but if I have an OLD super-high-quality 1 megapixel camera with the world's best lens, vs a brand new el-cheapo $200 8 megapixel camera, I know which one will look better.
Hmm... Single sign-in... That sounds so... familiar... OH YEAH! M$ tried to push this crap down our throats for free. Maybe these guys will try to sue M$ for their 'single sign-in' monopoly when they utterly fail to have anyone even care.
Let's go back to the old ways! We'll have school in little churches with 1 teacher and only 5 kids per school, and we'll use the same textbooks for 20 years. And after school, they'll have to milk the cows (if you're one of the rich people that can afford their own) and move the pig crap to the field for fertilizer.
Kids shouldn't even have TIME for games, they should be busy doing manual labor and learning how to be respectable. Playing games and goofing off in the yard will just lead to end of the world and they'll be no-good losers for the rest of their lives.
Seriously folks. Is that what you really think? Progress = bad, automatically?
Fun has evolved. Playtime has evolved. Kids don't have to play with tinkertoys and LEGO until they 16 now. They can play with those when they are young (you know, like the package says... 8 yrs old) and then play with more complicated, more thought-provoking things later. Like Second Life and MySpace.
(I just heard a collective scream, didn't I?) As much as I hate it also, and avoid it like the plague, MySpace actually does introduce kids to the concept that they can have an area that is THEIRS and they can decorate it how they want. Hopefully enough of their friends will tell them exactly how ugly it is and they will improve or give up and find something they are actually good at.
YouTube is also good for this. I watched an amazingly horrid music video (That 'Does you chain hang low song') with some 10-14 yr old kids 'dancing'. It was positively the worst music video I've ever seen. But you know what? When I was a kid, I was the ONLY ONE that could use a video editting machine (in fact, I could also cam-to-vcr edit) to do the morning news in school. I eventually managed to teach some others. These kids just did it. They didn't complain that they couldn't, or anything like that. They just took some vid cam (probably digital, better than a cell phone) and shot video. Tada. Imagination and creation.
It is NOT DEAD. It is merely different now. Kids just work with the toys they are given.
Oh, and lecture time... If you restrict your kids unnecessarily, they will turn this imagination towards thwarting your rules to have fun, instead of having fun.
Unfortunately, I bought it quite a long time ago and it doesn't seem to exist online any more. It was something like http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-6m-49-en-70-k5 n.html except that it was gc/xbox only and I modified the xbox end to be usb, and used the xbox joypad drivers for windows.
I'm guessing I can't find it any more because the other ones I'm finding are 'better' and noboby bothers with the old ones... But I like mine just fine.
Do they have a choice? If they hired each and every person who has commited even a little code to JRuby under the GPL, then yes... They could force their employees to relicense. If they miss even 1 person, or someone quits and refuses to relicense, then no... They have no choice.
No, Logitech just makes crap these days. That's why I recommended the actual xbox 360 controller. The analog sticks are a little loose, but the overall quality is pretty good. My all-time favorite controller is the Phoenix Revolution for ps2, which I use with an adapter on the PC. It's got a gimick where you can move the buttons around, but I rarely do. Instead, I use the sensitivity adjustments on the analogs, and the shape and feel of the controller is perfect for my hands.
Unfortunately, I don't think they make them any more.
In short: There is no such thing as a decent 'console-like controller for PC'... There is only the real thing, possibly with an adapter.
There is 1 exception... The old old old Gravis Gamepad. But in today's games, it doesn't have enough functions. Oh well.
That was my thought exactly when I read the summary. (Article... There's an article??)
Other people have noted that it would ease the transition to hd-dvd considerably, and it's not something I had thought of, but it's definitely true. For gaming and movies both. Such a wealth of opportunity. And other weird hybrids, like an xbox game on the dvd portion and a movie on the hd-dvd... Would make movie-based games even more interesting and possibly get them up to the level of 'enjoyable.' (Okay okay, there are a FEW that were fun.)
Restaurants are also 'PRIVATE business' and they are required to have handicap access. Target stores are required to have it as well. I don't see why this is any different, especially considering it's a lot cheaper to design your website for handicap access than your bathroom, especially if you do it beforehand.
No, I think he got the joke and did it one better.
In case you missed it, WinMCE is Microsoft's lame attempt to make their version of MythTV. It is much less complete, much more annoying, and costs a lot more. Plus, it's counted as a fully ready product, while MythTv is only saying they are at 0.20. In other words, Nowhere near done.
Man, explaining jokes always takes the fun out of them -sigh-
1. It's cheaper. Console is cheaper. Console gaming is more expensive - for the very reason you mentioned: More expensive games. If you want to buy 1-2 games a year, console may be the choice. But then switching to 0 games a year is a better choice.
Ehh... Not only that, but it only works out 'cheaper' if you only buy 1 console. Once I've bought the Wii, x360 and PS3, nevermind handhelds... I've spent enough to buy a VERY nice gamer rig if I build it myself. (I still can't believe people pay double for a 'name-brand' game rig. Jeez.)
9. Controllers are more comfortable than gaming with a keyboard and mouse. A console-like controller for PC costs like $10.
Oh, don't forget that you can just buy an x360 controller for $40 and have the SAME ONE.
Not that any of this matters because as a true gamer, I own all of the above (well, I will, when they are released.) I will initially resist the new consoles (resisted x360 until just a week ago) and then buy them anyhow. And as my livelihood requires a good PC, that will keep up to date as well.
Slashdot Mirror
Lego Star Wars 2 handles this. It's impossible to lose. And yet, they managed to make it worth your while to 'win'. If you make it through a level without dying, you get points that you don't get if you die. And if you collect all the parts, and if you collect enough money, etc etc etc. And you can't totally beat a level on the first run-through, you have to go back.
This enables anyone to play and 'beat' the game, but only those with a little skill and dedication can master it.
In addition, after you've found certain 'power bricks', you unlock cheats like invincibility and more powerful light sabers.
Would I want every game to be like this? Good lord no. But then, I wouldn't want every game NOT to be like this, either. It's all about balance. (Which is funny, since I'm talking about Star Wars... balance in the force and all that.)
It's 'bear in mind' but other than that, spot on. Absolutely hilarious. Don't get turned off by the first ep, though. It's a tad slow at the start.
I like my 'overhyped piece of junk.' I'm actually having a lot of fun with it. (I bought it a couple weeks ago.)
And I like the Wii name. It's short, easy to say, very easy to remember, and quite a bit different than the usual 'game cube' and 'play station' type of crap names. Even 'x box' is stupid. You don't see other high-end products named like that, do you? "I'm here to buy a Lexus FastCar." No. I'm glad Nintendo put an end to the stupid name-it-what-it-is scheme. (Even if they did kind of start it, with 'Nintendo Entertainment System."
And I'm one of the suckers that will end up buying a ps3, also. Not at launch, because there won't be any games I care about. But as soon as they come out with a couple really good RPGs, I'll find myself with a ps3.
Wii, thankfully, will have a ton of fun, unique games at launch. I'm very much looking forward to getting a Wii, and I'm hoping I'm wrong in thinking that it's going to sell out everywhere.
See, your 'low refresh rates' is my 'high refresh rates'. 15 or 20 is kinda iffy for me, but 30 and above all look pretty much the same to me. I think part of it is what we expect our eyes to handle, also. I'm not much of an action gamer (I enjoy some, but not like others). I prefer puzzles and adventures, and programming. Not really much use for split-second vision there. If I played more FPS's and fighing games, I'd probably have developed the 'anything under 120 fps is detectable' eyesight.
Just another instance of how adaptable humans are to their situations.
That's prudes for ya. Nothing better to do with their time than make sure everyone else is miserable.
And yeah, there -are- some work places that would consider that inappropriate... But then, they'd probably think the same of Slashdot as a whole.
You hit the nail on the head there, twice.
Real IT problems aren't as easy as the Sunday crossword. The problem being that different people are good at different puzzles. But if you're bad at problem solving, it'll show up in your lack of ability to solve puzzles.
Even our small network here at the office was ugly to diagram out. I was amazed at what a pain it was. And the guy who installed the IP-based phones could not do his job until he drew it out on the whiteboard. We ended up fixing his drawing, then revising it several times as we re-ordered the office a bit for convenience. But we had to draw EVERYTHING for him. With extensive labelling. And we also had to call things by the names he learned in school. It had to be 'FQDN' and not 'domain name' or he'd be lost. (He did eventually figure that one out and start correcting us when we just said 'domain name', though.) He's exactly the sort of 'tech' the puzzles would have made sure they never hired.
Relying solely upon the puzzles is as crazy as relying on any other single part of the interview process, though. Our office is extremely smooth, and most people get along with most everyone else. A year prior to my hire, the office was not like this. Most people hated coming to work, including the owners. They instituted a personality test during the interview process and things got better quickly.
Just 1 more thing to help weed out bad apples, that's all.
Well check that out. I found it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/52819048@N00/16320528 0/ (Not Safe For Work! Cartoon pron! Sorta.)
Thanks for the info!
Oh come on. This SO needs a funny mod. For those that don't get it, http://www.venganza.org/ and scroll down a couple screens. There's proof.
'Where's Waldo?' was challenged!? Was his hide n seek strategy not up to par?
I've often thought about this, and my answer is that our eyes aren't as sensitive as you'd believe. The key is that 'finite number'... How small could such a receptor be and still be useful? And there's cones and rods both, taking up space.
:)
My theory on this is that yes, it's pretty 'high-def' in there, but our mind takes it a step further and interpolates. Our eyes are always moving, even if by almost imperceptable amounts. And they've proven how your mind makes your 'blind spot' look just as real and detailed as the rest of your vision.
So I think the answer is the interpolation. This also partly explain why some people notice frames per second more than others. Some peoples' brains heavily interpolate and so the information has a lag/blur effect. Others tend to use ever single bit of information as it comes in, but their perceived definition is probably not quite as good.
Just theories of mine, and I'm a programmer not a biologist, but they sure sound good.
With good quality? Buy a lot of expensive hardware or pay someone to do it.
I'll admit that within a certain range this might be right, but if I have an OLD super-high-quality 1 megapixel camera with the world's best lens, vs a brand new el-cheapo $200 8 megapixel camera, I know which one will look better.
Hmm... Single sign-in... That sounds so... familiar... OH YEAH! M$ tried to push this crap down our throats for free. Maybe these guys will try to sue M$ for their 'single sign-in' monopoly when they utterly fail to have anyone even care.
Let's go back to the old ways! We'll have school in little churches with 1 teacher and only 5 kids per school, and we'll use the same textbooks for 20 years. And after school, they'll have to milk the cows (if you're one of the rich people that can afford their own) and move the pig crap to the field for fertilizer.
Kids shouldn't even have TIME for games, they should be busy doing manual labor and learning how to be respectable. Playing games and goofing off in the yard will just lead to end of the world and they'll be no-good losers for the rest of their lives.
Seriously folks. Is that what you really think? Progress = bad, automatically?
Fun has evolved. Playtime has evolved. Kids don't have to play with tinkertoys and LEGO until they 16 now. They can play with those when they are young (you know, like the package says... 8 yrs old) and then play with more complicated, more thought-provoking things later. Like Second Life and MySpace.
(I just heard a collective scream, didn't I?) As much as I hate it also, and avoid it like the plague, MySpace actually does introduce kids to the concept that they can have an area that is THEIRS and they can decorate it how they want. Hopefully enough of their friends will tell them exactly how ugly it is and they will improve or give up and find something they are actually good at.
YouTube is also good for this. I watched an amazingly horrid music video (That 'Does you chain hang low song') with some 10-14 yr old kids 'dancing'. It was positively the worst music video I've ever seen. But you know what? When I was a kid, I was the ONLY ONE that could use a video editting machine (in fact, I could also cam-to-vcr edit) to do the morning news in school. I eventually managed to teach some others. These kids just did it. They didn't complain that they couldn't, or anything like that. They just took some vid cam (probably digital, better than a cell phone) and shot video. Tada. Imagination and creation.
It is NOT DEAD. It is merely different now. Kids just work with the toys they are given.
Oh, and lecture time... If you restrict your kids unnecessarily, they will turn this imagination towards thwarting your rules to have fun, instead of having fun.
Starting small and working their way up, I bet. If you release the best right off the bat, nobody will buy the cruft when you try to sell it later.
;)
Not that these games are cruft, but it's the concept
Unfortunately, I bought it quite a long time ago and it doesn't seem to exist online any more. It was something like http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-6m-49-en-70-k5 n.html except that it was gc/xbox only and I modified the xbox end to be usb, and used the xbox joypad drivers for windows.
I'm guessing I can't find it any more because the other ones I'm finding are 'better' and noboby bothers with the old ones... But I like mine just fine.
Do they have a choice? If they hired each and every person who has commited even a little code to JRuby under the GPL, then yes... They could force their employees to relicense. If they miss even 1 person, or someone quits and refuses to relicense, then no... They have no choice.
No, Logitech just makes crap these days. That's why I recommended the actual xbox 360 controller. The analog sticks are a little loose, but the overall quality is pretty good. My all-time favorite controller is the Phoenix Revolution for ps2, which I use with an adapter on the PC. It's got a gimick where you can move the buttons around, but I rarely do. Instead, I use the sensitivity adjustments on the analogs, and the shape and feel of the controller is perfect for my hands.
... There is only the real thing, possibly with an adapter.
Unfortunately, I don't think they make them any more.
In short: There is no such thing as a decent 'console-like controller for PC'
There is 1 exception... The old old old Gravis Gamepad. But in today's games, it doesn't have enough functions. Oh well.
That was my thought exactly when I read the summary. (Article... There's an article??)
Other people have noted that it would ease the transition to hd-dvd considerably, and it's not something I had thought of, but it's definitely true. For gaming and movies both. Such a wealth of opportunity. And other weird hybrids, like an xbox game on the dvd portion and a movie on the hd-dvd... Would make movie-based games even more interesting and possibly get them up to the level of 'enjoyable.' (Okay okay, there are a FEW that were fun.)
Restaurants are also 'PRIVATE business' and they are required to have handicap access. Target stores are required to have it as well. I don't see why this is any different, especially considering it's a lot cheaper to design your website for handicap access than your bathroom, especially if you do it beforehand.
At least they didn't try to call it a 'handheld.' (Since that's what they usually call portable game consoles.)
You are assuming that # of subs = # of copies sold. This is not true.
I don't know the numbers, but I'm guessing there were a LOT more copies sold than current subscriptions.
I don't know what's funnier... That they really said that, or that you remembered it.
No, I think he got the joke and did it one better.
In case you missed it, WinMCE is Microsoft's lame attempt to make their version of MythTV. It is much less complete, much more annoying, and costs a lot more. Plus, it's counted as a fully ready product, while MythTv is only saying they are at 0.20. In other words, Nowhere near done.
Man, explaining jokes always takes the fun out of them -sigh-
1. It's cheaper.
Console is cheaper. Console gaming is more expensive - for the very reason you mentioned: More expensive games. If you want to buy 1-2 games a year, console may be the choice. But then switching to 0 games a year is a better choice.
Ehh... Not only that, but it only works out 'cheaper' if you only buy 1 console. Once I've bought the Wii, x360 and PS3, nevermind handhelds... I've spent enough to buy a VERY nice gamer rig if I build it myself. (I still can't believe people pay double for a 'name-brand' game rig. Jeez.)
9. Controllers are more comfortable than gaming with a keyboard and mouse.
A console-like controller for PC costs like $10.
Oh, don't forget that you can just buy an x360 controller for $40 and have the SAME ONE.
Not that any of this matters because as a true gamer, I own all of the above (well, I will, when they are released.) I will initially resist the new consoles (resisted x360 until just a week ago) and then buy them anyhow. And as my livelihood requires a good PC, that will keep up to date as well.