Man I Hate Snow: Final Fantasy XIII Quip
I really do hate snow, winter pretty much sucks all around. More importantly, after watching the demo video I have to Snow is pretty cool right up until his first fight. Pretty much everyone has a firearm. If you're not so lucky you're either an animal or you have some ridiculous extending polearm/staff. I'm sorry, I forgot the third option you could be retarded and punch people. That's right people, Snow punches people. Don't get me wrong, I love Tifa and Zell is In the far future, where everyone has guns and your constantly fighting people in mech suits and giant mecha airplanes, how do you end up not only fighting with your fists but single handedly doing the most damage out of ANY of the characters? REALLY, SQUARE?!
That aside, so far my FFXIII impression has been positive and hopefully can chime in later with a full write-up on my opinions. I really wish I had a PS3 to play myself but eh, those are the breaks.
What’s Wrong With Steam? A Rant on Independent CDNs
Okay, I'll be honest. Steam isn't perfect. However, it's pretty well done. One account: purchase games, download your games from anywhere, achievements, cross-game voice/text chat, friends, communities, reminders, events, and the list goes on. Why then is everyone pushing their own system?
I understand Windows Live -- Microsoft already has the Xbox Live investment. What is Blizzard doing with having their own Blizzard Account system? What is Stardock doing with Impulse? I'm worried that Steam has some sort of unknown vice grip on its partners. Maybe their fee is too much or there is some undesirable compromise developers have to make.
The question proposed (What's Wrong With Steam?) is not rhetorical. I really want to know. Sound off if you have any ideas.
Source: MTV Multiplayer » Blizzard Plans To Track Gamer Achievements Across ‘WoW,’ ‘Starcraft’ And ‘Diablo’
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The Price of Gaming: Noky Tackles the Recent Chatter
There has recently been a lot of talk about pricing in the casual gaming market. I think it's a fair topic to discuss, however I think things are being blown out of proportion.
Lets tackle the first article from Make It Big In Games.
Jeff Tunnell makes a lot of good points throughout the article. The market seems to be more receptive toward games at lower price points. However, I think where he gets a bit "delusional" (and I use that word very loosely) is when he considers the idea of successful games emerging at ridiculously low prices of under $4. Quality innovation does not happen at that low of a price point. I believe you would have to move too many units to generate a profit. I can't even begin to generate hypothetical numbers but I would imagine you'd have to move near to 100,000 units just to pay yourself a reasonable salary. Of course the problem gets worse as the price point drops.
"In this market, the right price for a game is $0, and I believe that is where all game prices are heading."
Free games? Not profitable from a current distribution standpoint. The main way free games generate revenue is through advertising which usually happens by driving site traffic and getting banner impressions. In-game ads are an option but is that where we want to take gaming? A glorified billboard? I'll pass thank you. I'm not adamantly against any sort of advertising in-game but in order to pay for development it would have to a lot more significant that I'm willing to accept at this point in my life. Maybe my mind will change with age.
So the future of casual gaming is a bunch of competing ad-machine portals? Instead of buying seperate consoles we buy seperate portal subscriptions? Looking at the console situation now, I'm going to have to say I doubt it'll turn out that way.
I think in order to understand Mr. Tunnell he should propose how the industry could posssibly survive at these price points. Developers don't necessarily want to charge as much as possible, they really just want to eat a good meal at the end of the day. Supply and demand is a nice way to reason but there are too many assumptions made with that model in order for it to be the end all of an argument. This market is not perfectly competitive.
Next up: Maciej Biedrzyeki of Code Minion.
Now, this post is already a bit long but I'm going to try and be concise here.
Basically, he tackles the argument just like I do: questioning the survival of developers. However, he has a couple of troubling notes.
"Additionally the games could be shorter – who has the time and money to
create long games with 10+ hours of gameplay and sell them for less
than 10 USD?"
No one does. You create your game with 10+ hours of gameplay and then you sell it for 20 USD. How does that work? Because not all games are created equal. As long as the game is worth the investment, people will pay. It's when prices are hiked to that upper tier that they become a problem. Premium content will always exist and it should be priced with a premium.
In the same vein, Maceij calls for standards in pricing. In a way, I agree there needs to be some agreement of pricing levels but they need to have their disparity. Larger budget and scope games should be priced higher. Then again, that's why the distinction between AAA titles and casual games exist. So just between casual titles, there should be some sort of understood price points. That kind of gets in to price fixing so I'm not sure I'm completely convinced but right now it sounds like a good idea.
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Elder Scrolls Fallout: Four Weeks Until You Can Suffer
After reading through GameSpy's recent ramblings on Fallout 3, I've come to a not-so-significant conclusion. Fallout 3 now has an 80% chance of sucking. Now, I'm no flip-flopper. I thought it was going to suck for some time now. But especially now, Fallout 3 sounds like post-apoc Oblivion. Now if you loved Oblivion, chances are you'll love Fallout 3. Seeing as I don't care for Oblivion (or any Elder Scrolls for that matter), it seems like I won't like Fallout 3 either. I will of course play Fallout 3 when it drops but don't expect glowing reports from this side of the fence. The point of this point: I felt the need to 1) warn you, 2) have provable means to show that I told you so when the game launches and does suck.
Fighting Games Jumping Ship?
I've been playing a bit of Soul Calibur IV recently. Actually, I've decided that I'm going to make every attempt to play SCIV seriously and attend Evo2k. The point of this post however is to point out that recent NPD data has shown that Soul Calibur is moving more units on the 360 than on PS3. It seems that the hardcore audience is probably buying this game mainly on the PS3 but even so. Are we seeing a shift toward X360 for modern fighters? VF5 has a 360 release, Street Fighter 4, and Soul Calibur as well. Personally, I hate the 360 d-pad but I'm willing to invest in a quality stick once I progress for tournament play.
This is all speculation obviously, but as a current 360 owner, I would love for Xbox to become an accepted platform for tournament play. As a developer, I'm against the closed and proprietary nature of Microsoft even though they make a superior console experience. The advantages that the PS3 offers in the openess of their platform and the available technology (PSP and Blu-Ray especially) make the PS3 a system I'd actually consider making games for.
Source: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080815-sony-rising-ps3-opens-up-lead-on-xbox-360-in-july.html
Good Ideas, Dumb Execution: PC Gaming Alliance
So, recently a couple of big wig tech companies and few other relatively unimportant people formed a PC Gaming Alliance. Needless to say, it ended being super stupid. The big names running the show are all supplemental technologies. Right now, only 3 developer/publishers are actually signed on to contribute. Activision, Epic (arguably not an actual game developer), and Capcom (one of the greatest developers ever but are only Contributor level members) are the only people with the cash to throw away at this thing. Microsoft is a member but they're are first party developers with an allegiance to their Xbox 360 and more importantly Windows.
Other suspect players include Dell, who of course would want to push to handle rolling out "certified" gaming machines. Acer falls in to the same category, the existence of the both of them makes their presence a little more tolerable but seeing as these people just put pieces together and sell them to us I'd like to see them both off the board.
Logitech, I'm half-and-half with. You want an input device developer on board. However, Logitech has a very closed source, proprietary nature and they don't like Linux (my mouse still uses workarounds for all the buttons).
WildTangent is a nice example of dead technology that no one cares about. It's obvious that they have a seat in order to leverage a chance to come back.
Antec? Why? Just no, please. Have some dignity and don't just take any tech firms money. There's no gaming related information in the Senior VP's bio on the site. Yeah that's right, Antec is on the board.
Razer? We have Logitech -- they're bigger and better, go home and save your money for a new start-up.
People I actually approve of:
Intel, AMD, and nVidia need to be there for obvious reasons. Any uniting of PC Gaming has to involve the key components of playing games: the CPU and the GPU. No worries with this.
Capcom rocks hands down. They make great games and now they're pushing to support PC ports with every major release in face of piracy. And no longer are they offering half-assed support. Word on the street is DMC4 is a prime example of how games should be taken to the PC. It has it's quirks but it's a lot better than the old DMC3 port.
EMA is a solid pick. Distribution is very important here and they need a representative from that sector.
SMU Guildhall is something I wouldn't have thought of off the bat but I approve big time. Educating new game developers is important as what is taught now will come to be the practice of the future.
People I want to see in the future:
Electronic Arts. I hate them but at the same time they are the second biggest developer (thanks to the Activision Blizzard deal) and they need to be a part of this. They ship way too many games for them not to. Also, they handled the PC port of Mass Effect beautifully.
Ubisoft has been responsible for a number of quality PC releases (even if the actual game isn't quality). They should have a say since they're kinda awesome.
A motherboard manufacturer. Gigabyte, MSI, someone. Maybe work towards some BIOS level features they assist with PC Gaming?
----
Right now, no one knows what this group is really getting done -- that is we're assuming they're doing something. When large companies get involved and demand large sums of money I can't help be think this is all silly. Especially when their GDC results were piss poor.
Brokedem: Games Cost Too Much
I remember a time when games were worth $60. At the time, it was a ridiculous request. The going price for a new, big-publisher game was still $50, sometimes $40. In the middle of all this, Blizzard has the audacity to release Warcraft III for the bold price of $60. Despite the depression I felt when I lost the $60 of not-so-hard earned money by the time I got in to playing the game I realized it was more than worth it.
Warcraft 3 was one of those few titles at the time to be priced above the general market and deserved it. It delivered a complete single player and multi-player experience.
Now, I realize that games today have increased their price to reflect the rising costs of development. But what bothers me is that with all these rising costs in development, it begs the question of where the money goes? Larger art staffs? More programmers to build a complete in-house game engine from 3d audio to shader intensive real-time rendering? These are all a large waste of funds.
What we need are more writers, shift the programmers to game logic and A.I., focus more on content than polish. Don't get me wrong, I like shiny things more than the next guy but if you connect it to an empty experience then what's the point? (NOTE: I have to call out Assassin's Creed on this one -- shame on you Ubisoft, make a better game.)
I think Grand Theft Auto 4 was headed in the right direction as far as finding a balance between shiny and depth. It needed more content but it was definitely a start.
I love the premise and attempt behind Too Human. It's a shame I found the initial demo shallow and boring in terms of game play. I think I need to try a replay with some of the "hidden" classes.
A little hypocrisy here: I don't think Soul Calibur 4 will be worth the money with it's lack luster "story" and often tedious single-player modes and unlocking routine but I do believe the new King of Fighters will be worth it. How do I make these judgement calls? Completely subjective.
FFTA2: Zero Would Not Be Amused
So I've gotten a chance to spend some time with the new Final Fantasy Tactics game. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (FFTA2) is a handful to say and continues in the same vein as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
If you want a summary of the game -- plenty exist online at other sites. Instead, I'm going to get straight in to my opinions.
It sucks.
Yep, that's pretty much it. The original Final Fantasy Tactics still hasn't been matched. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was a huge let down in the face of its big brother and while FFTA2 makes some serious strides in the right direction, it still falls short.
The Job system has been much left the same. I feel like the jobs are better balanced this time around and definitely more useful. Unlocking jobs however, is a matter of taking on missions in order to get to the job "taught" to you. Interesting way to handle things but ultimately I found myself merely annoyed. If you didn't take on side-quests you simply can't get better jobs. On top of that, you don't always know which quests reward which jobs.
Returning to the job system is race-restricted jobs. With Seeqs and Gria now added to the mix, more jobs are available. Still, some missions almost require certain jobs and it has been a pain to find a Seeq to join my party. That's right, finding new units is completely out of your control. Either you try to figure out what month you can randomly come across a certain race in a certain area OR you answer a series of random questions and hopefully get the race you were looking for.
On the upside, it really doesn't matter. Mix and match teams of completely unsynched units will handle almost every mission the game throws at you. One of the game's optional boss missions was pathetically easy. I defeated a lvl 88 mage with six units that hadn't even hit lvl 35.
The best thing they probably did in FFTA2 was revamp the Judge system. Judges make much more sense this time around and breaking the laws doesn't harbor any serious consequences. What's the point of the laws? Nice end-battle bonuses. This is especially good because half of the time, the laws will suck horribly. I often break the laws on accident when it's something vague or forgettable like "No unit can perform the same action as the last unit." Mind you, they don't count enemy unit actions.
On top of this, enemy and guest units are no longer bound by the laws. This was the one problem with the revamp. Before, if the computer broke the laws, they got jailed just like you would.
All my whining though and I haven't touch on the real problem with this game. The story is once again targeting 12 year olds. Final Fantasy Tactics was somewhat gritty with its tale of family betrayal and noble corruption. That is to say, it actually had a Final Fantasy story that fit with the main series. These days if it's not a Final Fantasy # then it gets a child-friendly make over and shipped out the door.
Don't bother with FFTA2, I know FFT lovers will find this almost irresistable. I know I didn, I'm sorry I wasted so much time on it. Wait for Final Fantasy XIII and finish up Final Fantasy XII if you haven't already. Better yet, Star Ocean 4 and White Knight Story are due out at some point, DS and RPGs officially don't mix.
EDIT: The subtitle for this post comments on the tactical genius of Zero also known as Lelouch from Code Geass. I just realized a lot of people probably have no idea what I'm talking about half the time so I decided to add a little bit of background info.
I Like My Gift Wrap Nice and Shiny
It's a shame that publishers don't value physical game boxes anymore. Overtime boxes have gone from sizable cartons to small trinket boxes barely bigger than the discs themselves.
I for one, was pleased with the transition to smaller boxes. I have a habit of collecting the boxes my games come in and the small profile allows for easier storage. However, I was appalled when I bought my copy of Half-Life 2. 4 CD-ROMs in paper sleeves and nothing else. It was a far cry from the days of Baldur's Gate 2 and Icewind Dale 2 where you would receive a thick covered spiral instruction manual. Neverwinter Nights also delivered such a booklet. I remember when it was common for Japanese game releases to include t-shirts and posters. I always drooled over Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete when I saw it in stores. Dreaming of the quality package that awaited me if I ever found the funds. Needless to say, I never did -- I am without it to this day.
Konami seems to continue this tradition with Limited Edition MGS4 release but it's very uncommon. As Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and other digital distribution systems promote digital delivery of content, it seems physical copies are slowly going out of style.
New commandment of game publishing: If you're going to sell me a box, put something in it. If all your selling me is compiled code and resources then save us both some time and only offer the title digitally. I don't want to ever open up another box to find paper sleeves and empty space.
EDIT: Apparently, the old image was moved/deleted. I officially need to re-up my images. Drop me a line if you notice this happening with some of my old posts. I'm wholeheartedly trying be less lazy about things.
Don’t Sleep: Capcom on SNK
Lately, I'm been doing a lot background technical research for my pending game project. Right now, I've been focusing on art direction. This is a big issue because I can't draw for crap as of right now and I really need to figure out which way I'm going because learning two styles isn't an option consider the time contraints. It of course, led me to think of beautiful 2D games and Street Fighter (with their upcoming Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix).
I was thinking to myself earlier, although a lot of people have spoken on the topic about Street Fighter IV not being 2D but artistically shaded 3D, I'm going to cut Capcom slack -- doing high-definition 2D graphics with 60 FPS is something only a production studio like Disney can think of doing.
Just as I think something so ridiculous: SNK has to prove me wrong.
What the hell SNK? Why did you decide to just spank the mess out of Capcom. This has completely stolen all the thunder I had behind Street Fighter's art direction. If you watch the HD trailer, those visuals are disgustingly sick. And between the original 3D renders and high definition sprites, there should be no problems with collision detection. If they wanted the 2D graphics could just be an overlay for the 3D meshes so that attack range and collision ends up being near-perfect.
This is exactly how I would love to do a fighting game (or any 2D game) today. I thought of modelling and then spitting out 2D renders but I didn't consider re-drawing over-top the 2D renders.
The downside of this technique is that although it cuts down significantly on the man-power necessary to do HD 2D, it's still a lot of work. Artists are only getting through 1.5 frames of animation a day. I don't have that kind of time. I need to kill an entire object of animation within a few days.
I still have a lot of time before I scheduled development to begin so we'll see what turns up.