Redeye flights are horrible. I've never been any good at sleeping on planes (an hour or so is about the maximum downtime I can manage, and that's only if I'm totally exhausted and/or using alcohol and/or 5-HTP).
Regardless, I desperately need to find some way of avoiding feeling as crappy as I did on Monday. I'm planning to get some noise-cancelling headphones... not sure what other strategies I can pursue.
Regardless, I desperately need to find some way of avoiding feeling as crappy as I did on Monday. I'm planning to get some noise-cancelling headphones... not sure what other strategies I can pursue.
Ice picks. Ear drums. It's not a good strategy, but it IS a strategy. An alternate strategy at that.
After slaving away in my station yesterday kneeling in a pool of degreaser and getting the top layer of skin and hair stripped off my shins and forearms and making all my decade old equipment look brand new, the Hilton gods have graced me with a perfect score in quality assurance. Hurrah!
I swear my job would be easier if I wasn't doing the work of 4 different people
You're speaking to Telltale's #1 anti-capitalist, here.
I think anybody who's been here 5 minutes knows that. Why do I get the feeling that one day you'll go all Ted Nugent on us(minus the child support issues) and go off to the woods with your stockpile?
I think anybody who's been here 5 minutes knows that. Why do I get the feeling that one day you'll go all Ted Nugent on us(minus the child support issues) and go off to the woods with your stockpile?
Possibly because the only reason I don't do that is due to civilization having the Internet and the woods not being cripple friendly?
I was reading up on Yahtzee's extra bits about Max Payne 3, and I totally agree with him on that one.
Failure is good, no! Necessary to truly appreciate a game.
A game with no difficulty, no challenge, no opportunity to explore and experiment, is NOT a game, its barely more interactive than a movie.
I was having a real blast playing some NES games earlier, and you know why?
Because they are hard. Because I died a lot. (A LOT.)
Sure, the bosses could be very cheap, and GODDAMNFUCKINMEDUSAHEADSIWANNARIPYOUFUCKINEYEBALLSOUTANDSKULLFUCKYOUUNTILYOUAREUNUNDEADTHENFUCKINGKILLYOUALLOVERAGAINYOUROTTINGHAGBAGBASTARDS!!!!
But thats the appeal, the soul of videogames.
Its about bragging that you beat that epic boss, or the relief after a hard level, or the time you saw the moon upclose after you shot an arrow at what you thought was a raider...
(Or alternate route, the spectacle i.e the time when Aeris died (for FFVII fanboys), or the first time you saw rapture (or the last...) ect.)
Sure punishing and cheap games that go too far are not fun, and probably only for masochists (i.e. Ghouls 'n Ghosts and OMGDEARNOSTAGE3 Battletoads), but thats why you need balance and pacing!
NES games are so appealing to me because they are accessable. You can pick up the basic concepts within 5 minutes (I don't mind games adding more mechanics over time. It keeps things fresh, so long as it doesn't comprimise the core mechanics and makes it difficult via constant fiddlyness), but you need every single trick in the book and smartly adapt to the situation.
Game manuals I'm kind of glad to see go, mechanics wise, (though I don't see why extra lore or challenge should not make use of them. Thats a reward for the enthusiastic), because I'm going to admit, a LOT of GOGs I struggle to play because there is SO SO SO SO SO SO SO many things to read up on first to understand everything to get started.
Yeah, yeah, I know, that appeals to other people, but include a quick start guide and some short ingame tutorial stuff as you go to help people like me get into it some more.
Hell if you REALLY want to mix things up, bring back the permadeath.
(The key appeal for me personally in The Binding of Isaac)
Make failure interesting.
Take out those quicksaves, maybe add a skippable bad end, (Something I liked about Dragon's Lair - The death animations! ), or give people who die too much a little boost (a perk, or like Nintendo has, the super guide, the player can always come back and do it for themselves later if they want to. Infact, they should do if you designed your game well enough. Its not about length, its about cramming all the stuff you have with quality. I'd rather play 5 excellent, exciting, replayable levels, then 20 plain, one-route levels. Might do good for the numbers on the back of the box, but it won't fool people for long... (FINAL FANTASY XII!!! >:X))
EDIT: CRAAAZY VIDEO GAME IDEA TIME!!!!
You play as the god of win, who has become bored with his role in life.
What he really wants, is to experiece the ultimate loss, Death.
Death won't just kill of Gods though, especially ones so loved and successful as the God of Win.
So your task is to take the God to earth and try to fail in as many different things as possible in order to convince death to kill you.
I was reading up on Yahtzee's extra bits about Max Payne 3, and I totally agree with him on that one.
Failure is good, no! Necessary to truly appreciate a game.
A game with no difficulty, no challenge, no opportunity to explore and experiment, is NOT a game, its barely more interactive than a movie.
I was having a real blast playing some NES games earlier, and you know why?
Because they are hard. Because I died a lot. (A LOT.)
Sure, the bosses could be very cheap, and GODDAMNFUCKINMEDUSAHEADSIWANNARIPYOUFUCKINEYEBALLSOUTANDSKULLFUCKYOUUNTILYOUAREUNUNDEADTHENFUCKINGKILLYOUALLOVERAGAINYOUROTTINGHAGBAGBASTARDS!!!!
But thats the appeal, the soul of videogames.
Its about bragging that you beat that epic boss, or the relief after a hard level, or the time you saw the moon upclose after you shot an arrow at what you thought was a raider...
(Or alternate route, the spectacle i.e the time when Aeris died (for FFVII fanboys), or the first time you saw rapture (or the last...) ect.)
Sure punishing and cheap games that go too far are not fun, and probably only for masochists (i.e. Ghouls 'n Ghosts and OMGDEARNOSTAGE3 Battletoads), but thats why you need balance and pacing!
NES games are so appealing to me because they are accessable. You can pick up the basic concepts within 5 minutes (I don't mind games adding more mechanics over time. It keeps things fresh, so long as it doesn't comprimise the core mechanics and makes it difficult via constant fiddlyness), but you need every single trick in the book and smartly adapt to the situation.
Game manuals I'm kind of glad to see go, mechanics wise, (though I don't see why extra lore or challenge should not make use of them. Thats a reward for the enthusiastic), because I'm going to admit, a LOT of GOGs I struggle to play because there is SO SO SO SO SO SO SO many things to read up on first to understand everything to get started.
Yeah, yeah, I know, that appeals to other people, but include a quick start guide and some short ingame tutorial stuff as you go to help people like me get into it some more.
Hell if you REALLY want to mix things up, bring back the permadeath.
(The key appeal for me personally in The Binding of Isaac)
Make failure interesting.
Take out those quicksaves, maybe add a skippable bad end, (Something I liked about Dragon's Lair - The death animations! ), or give people who die too much a little boost (a perk, or like Nintendo has, the super guide, the player can always come back and do it for themselves later if they want to. Infact, they should do if you designed your game well enough. Its not about length, its about cramming all the stuff you have with quality. I'd rather play 5 excellent, exciting, replayable levels, then 20 plain, one-route levels. Might do good for the numbers on the back of the box, but it won't fool people for long... (FINAL FANTASY XII!!! >:X))
EDIT: CRAAAZY VIDEO GAME IDEA TIME!!!!
You play as the god of win, who has become bored with his role in life.
What he really wants, is to experiece the ultimate loss, Death.
Death won't just kill of Gods though, especially ones so loved and successful as the God of Win.
So your task is to take the God to earth and try to fail in as many different things as possible in order to convince death to kill you.
Difficulty used to be the appeal of video games, but by and large that's becoming the domain of a niche group. More and more people want simple, easy games that help pass time. Even more dedicated gamers just want the experience of blowing things up without too much difficulty. But as the time to play games becomes increasingly limited, difficulty becomes less of something people want in their games.
But as the time to play games becomes increasingly limited, difficulty becomes less of something people want in their games.
That almost makes sense, but you'd then think that the big games wouldn't be these massive 20+ hour narrative timesinks. I mean, arcade games were difficult, but they were based on relatively short spans of play per match/round/attempt. You'd think if time was an issue, you'd have something you can pick up and play for 5-15 minutes would be ideal, rather than something that has you sit through a 20-minute cutscene before dropping you into an unskippable God knows how long tutorial that gives you such useful tidbits as "press forward on the analog stick to move forward" and "press A to jump".
dropping you into an unskippable God knows how long tutorial that gives you such useful tidbits as "press forward on the analog stick to move forward" and "press A to jump".
HEY! I actually beat a full game with that strategy! That's right, I went through and beat Super Mario with that strategy, so don't go dissing the "Analogue forward A jump-around" strategy FOO!
That almost makes sense, but you'd then think that the big games wouldn't be these massive 20+ hour narrative timesinks. I mean, arcade games were difficult, but they were based on relatively short spans of play per match/round/attempt. You'd think if time was an issue, you'd have something you can pick up and play for 5-15 minutes would be ideal, rather than something that has you sit through a 20-minute cutscene before dropping you into an unskippable God knows how long tutorial that gives you such useful tidbits as "press forward on the analog stick to move forward" and "press A to jump".
I'm not saying the big cutscene style game is dead, and people definitely do play those by the millions.
But how many people finish those games? Wasn't there just recently a big report on how few people finish the games? And then compare that against the rise of casual, ipad style games.
I totally get this. I couldn't even get my roommate to finish Braid. And that's a game that is less than ten hours. She just got to a certain point and never got beyond that. Of course, she did love Diablo II, and played that a lot, so who knows.
Personally, I hate leaving games unfinished. I just chained Skyward Sword, Metroid Other M and Epic Mickey together over two weeks. But that's a rarity for me, and owes more to the fact that it's summer. During the school year that's a near impossibility.
Story, spectacle, and controversy is what draws people to the game, and can keep them there for a while.
But in the long-term its the mechanics, the challenge and the atmosphere, (the game world itself. The lore, the characters, the design ect.) that keep people playing!
Think of all the games that are considered classics. All of them excel at one or more of these to a significant degree.
I also don't agree that people want casual flings either. People who really want to play something, make time to play it.
My mother plays a puzzle bobble clone for hours.
The mechanics are indeed, very simple and accessable, but to her there is a lot of depth, strategy, and skill involved that makes her keep on playing it.
Competative games like Starcraft, Street Fighter, or COD/Battlefield have massive long term appeal and following because the depth and draw comes from other players.
(I see people really learn the inner workings of those games, and even exploit them, and themselves and their equipment to maximise their performance. Its a very strong appeal to some people)
Those games tend to have their own organic ecosystem almost, because the community behind that become the directors almost. Their vision guides the game, for good or worse.
They have their own folklore and their heroes and villains, and sometimes its fascinating to look into.
And I'm going to admit. Having vision and drive is very tough, I imagine even moreso for a big studio with managers that have to answer to shareholders and don't like taking risk.
Thats why the spectacle and polish is so strongly emphasised these days, becuase it sells.
But in the long-term, its not evolving the medium, its stagnating it.
And that is why we need challenge. The Dungeon Master, as it were.
Someone has to be there to challenge the player, challenge the team and the system.
I think the veterans know this, and thats why they split off and went indie.
And lets be honest here, its working great for them.
They get the challenge, but have the tools and experience to deal with them.
But its not boring because they have to fight the new indies as well.
(And from works like Super Meat Boy, and Fez. They are definately kept on their toes! XD)
They don't have to make a lot of money, (lower overheads ect.), they don't have to make deadlines, they just need to listen to their fans (which with the internet, is very easy these days), and make the games they want to play, and the games the devs actually want to make.
Just like it used to be, and in a way, how it should be.
EDIT: That kind of business is organic, and sustainable.
Build up a loyal fanbase that genuinely wants to support you, and they in turn influence others to join the fold.
Comments
This. Is. AWESOME!
Done.
Glory to the Pantsy banner of pantsy socialism!
They aren't shorts, they're pants! What are you, a reactionary or something?
That's like confusing the Australian flag and the New Zealand flag!
Wildly different!
If you know fuck-all about the history of British overseas territories, they almost look vaguely Communist!
My wife looks at that and says "Why does Australia have the Union Flag as part of it?"
I looked Australia up on Wikipedia, and discovered that Australia had direct political links to Great Britain until 1986.
That's so different from the United States. We broke away from Britain a long time ago.
I watched some TV show (NCIS or Bones, I think) where a character said the Union Flag is called "Union Jack" only when at sea.
I guess there are worse things to wake up to:
Attachment not found.
Regardless, I desperately need to find some way of avoiding feeling as crappy as I did on Monday. I'm planning to get some noise-cancelling headphones... not sure what other strategies I can pursue.
Wow. I guess I tend to assume this stuff is common knowledge because I'm Aussie.
Yea that was also said on Doctor Who.
I've been watching Doctor Who on Netflix.
Ice picks. Ear drums. It's not a good strategy, but it IS a strategy. An alternate strategy at that.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the summit of first worldness.
oh hi
ALSO:
After slaving away in my station yesterday kneeling in a pool of degreaser and getting the top layer of skin and hair stripped off my shins and forearms and making all my decade old equipment look brand new, the Hilton gods have graced me with a perfect score in quality assurance. Hurrah!
I swear my job would be easier if I wasn't doing the work of 4 different people
Well, maybe I can help you with the math here at least. Let's see... three plus crazy equals...
A BIRTHDAY CAKE!
Capitalism still can't buy clarity and sanity.
You're speaking to Telltale's #1 anti-capitalist, here.
I think anybody who's been here 5 minutes knows that. Why do I get the feeling that one day you'll go all Ted Nugent on us(minus the child support issues) and go off to the woods with your stockpile?
Possibly because the only reason I don't do that is due to civilization having the Internet and the woods not being cripple friendly?
Failure is good, no! Necessary to truly appreciate a game.
A game with no difficulty, no challenge, no opportunity to explore and experiment, is NOT a game, its barely more interactive than a movie.
I was having a real blast playing some NES games earlier, and you know why?
Because they are hard. Because I died a lot. (A LOT.)
Sure, the bosses could be very cheap, and GODDAMNFUCKINMEDUSAHEADSIWANNARIPYOUFUCKINEYEBALLSOUTANDSKULLFUCKYOUUNTILYOUAREUNUNDEADTHENFUCKINGKILLYOUALLOVERAGAINYOUROTTINGHAGBAGBASTARDS!!!!
But thats the appeal, the soul of videogames.
Its about bragging that you beat that epic boss, or the relief after a hard level, or the time you saw the moon upclose after you shot an arrow at what you thought was a raider...
(Or alternate route, the spectacle i.e the time when Aeris died (for FFVII fanboys), or the first time you saw rapture (or the last...) ect.)
Sure punishing and cheap games that go too far are not fun, and probably only for masochists (i.e. Ghouls 'n Ghosts and OMGDEARNOSTAGE3 Battletoads), but thats why you need balance and pacing!
NES games are so appealing to me because they are accessable. You can pick up the basic concepts within 5 minutes (I don't mind games adding more mechanics over time. It keeps things fresh, so long as it doesn't comprimise the core mechanics and makes it difficult via constant fiddlyness), but you need every single trick in the book and smartly adapt to the situation.
Game manuals I'm kind of glad to see go, mechanics wise, (though I don't see why extra lore or challenge should not make use of them. Thats a reward for the enthusiastic), because I'm going to admit, a LOT of GOGs I struggle to play because there is SO SO SO SO SO SO SO many things to read up on first to understand everything to get started.
Yeah, yeah, I know, that appeals to other people, but include a quick start guide and some short ingame tutorial stuff as you go to help people like me get into it some more.
Hell if you REALLY want to mix things up, bring back the permadeath.
(The key appeal for me personally in The Binding of Isaac)
Make failure interesting.
Take out those quicksaves, maybe add a skippable bad end, (Something I liked about Dragon's Lair - The death animations!
EDIT: CRAAAZY VIDEO GAME IDEA TIME!!!!
You play as the god of win, who has become bored with his role in life.
What he really wants, is to experiece the ultimate loss, Death.
Death won't just kill of Gods though, especially ones so loved and successful as the God of Win.
So your task is to take the God to earth and try to fail in as many different things as possible in order to convince death to kill you.
<_<
I forgot this is a new laptop and I hadn't put any dvds in thats why it said not selected.
I need a multy player though cos I want this.
Difficulty used to be the appeal of video games, but by and large that's becoming the domain of a niche group. More and more people want simple, easy games that help pass time. Even more dedicated gamers just want the experience of blowing things up without too much difficulty. But as the time to play games becomes increasingly limited, difficulty becomes less of something people want in their games.
HEY! I actually beat a full game with that strategy! That's right, I went through and beat Super Mario with that strategy, so don't go dissing the "Analogue forward A jump-around" strategy FOO!
I'm not saying the big cutscene style game is dead, and people definitely do play those by the millions.
But how many people finish those games? Wasn't there just recently a big report on how few people finish the games? And then compare that against the rise of casual, ipad style games.
Story, spectacle, and controversy is what draws people to the game, and can keep them there for a while.
But in the long-term its the mechanics, the challenge and the atmosphere, (the game world itself. The lore, the characters, the design ect.) that keep people playing!
Think of all the games that are considered classics. All of them excel at one or more of these to a significant degree.
I also don't agree that people want casual flings either. People who really want to play something, make time to play it.
My mother plays a puzzle bobble clone for hours.
The mechanics are indeed, very simple and accessable, but to her there is a lot of depth, strategy, and skill involved that makes her keep on playing it.
Competative games like Starcraft, Street Fighter, or COD/Battlefield have massive long term appeal and following because the depth and draw comes from other players.
(I see people really learn the inner workings of those games, and even exploit them, and themselves and their equipment to maximise their performance. Its a very strong appeal to some people)
Those games tend to have their own organic ecosystem almost, because the community behind that become the directors almost. Their vision guides the game, for good or worse.
They have their own folklore and their heroes and villains, and sometimes its fascinating to look into.
And I'm going to admit. Having vision and drive is very tough, I imagine even moreso for a big studio with managers that have to answer to shareholders and don't like taking risk.
Thats why the spectacle and polish is so strongly emphasised these days, becuase it sells.
But in the long-term, its not evolving the medium, its stagnating it.
And that is why we need challenge. The Dungeon Master, as it were.
Someone has to be there to challenge the player, challenge the team and the system.
I think the veterans know this, and thats why they split off and went indie.
And lets be honest here, its working great for them.
They get the challenge, but have the tools and experience to deal with them.
But its not boring because they have to fight the new indies as well.
(And from works like Super Meat Boy, and Fez. They are definately kept on their toes! XD)
They don't have to make a lot of money, (lower overheads ect.), they don't have to make deadlines, they just need to listen to their fans (which with the internet, is very easy these days), and make the games they want to play, and the games the devs actually want to make.
Just like it used to be, and in a way, how it should be.
EDIT: That kind of business is organic, and sustainable.
Build up a loyal fanbase that genuinely wants to support you, and they in turn influence others to join the fold.
Its kind of like a cult. But not evil or stupid.