Reviewers. These people seem to be stuck to a very tight schedule; from what I’ve read and heard (I don’t know any personally). They only have 19 days to put together a magazine edition, seems like a pretty stressful job there. Kieron Gillen’s blog (link here) describes them as being lazy because ‘saving effort in one area gives them more time for something that they can’t cut corners on’ which I can understand and occasionally practise. They’re perceived as corrupt by ‘outsiders’ for what was rushed and stupid decision which seems to fall in with them being lazy.
When I’m reading or listening/watching a review about a game I like i’m drawn more towards a review when the person forces their opinion on me, if it’s a game I haven’t played I will more than likely accept it so long as it’s backed up by some sort of example. So for me ‘It’s crap because etc’ is fine but just ‘its crap’ and you’ve lost me already. So in short, when I reviewed something I like to stuff my own opinion in their like a Christmas gift, even it’s one of those unwanted ones. Ultimately, I think their needs to be a balance however.
I have read a few of these ‘New Games Journalism’ and I’ll be honest with you, I like some of it. For extreme examples here; I tried this one (http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle.html)
and lost interest immediately. The style it’s written in just didn’t interest me at all, it reminds me of some strange crime novel I read a long time ago but can’t remember the title, I just remember I didn’t enjoy that either...
I liked this one though (http://www.insertcredit.com/features/dreaming2/index.html),
mostly because I’ve played the game but it kept me interested with its style. Rhetorical questions, opinions seeping out everywhere; it felt like I was talking to the guy.
‘The worth of a video-game lies within the gamer not the video-game’ sounds kind of epic and corny too, but I believe it. If this is NGJ I welcome it.
Sunday, 9 November 2008
Friday, 7 November 2008
My Time
With the development of the Wii being a huge success and essentially ‘creating’ casual gamers everywhere, the industry is under pressure from its own audience; yet I would also consider the Wii a blessing too. It has allowed more casual and ‘quirky’ games to emerge like Wii Music and Wii Fit. Because, let’s face it the big contenders of Europe and Americas ‘hardcore’ gamer market is a draw between the ‘FPS’ and the ‘3rd PS’; generally anything with a gun will do.
Game development costs have soared since 8-bit times, so now development companies have to get money from publishing houses to bankroll their endeavours, this is a strain because publishing houses don’t really care about making the game because they love it, they just want to invest in something they’re sure they’ll get a big return on; which is why they kill all of the quirky ideas in stillbirth. Games also take way longer too finished before they’re ready for sale, which is ok as long as it’s worth the wait. Publishing houses in my opinion on the main reason the market is flooded with sequels to Need for Speed etc.
Technology and its advances play a huge roll here, with the 360 and PS3 in an ‘I’m better than you’ war while the Wii steals the cookies (customers). No matter how great the Ps3 is I’ve heard it’s a pain to program for, which is why I think it’s just a box filled with magic made by the elves.
On my college course we briefly looked into the game interfaces of the future, brain power etc. But I will be honest now, stuff like the Wiimote is cool but if you have another console like a 360 you won’t use the Wii half as much as you’d like and the casual gamers and families that buy the thing will use it while the new games are out and then get bored, as long as they buy games it’s ok but if they’re like me who has never justified buying a Wii game since launch its bad.
I would like more realistic graphics, I understand the ‘uncanny valley’ theory but think of it this way ‘you either cross it completely or fall’ meaning; if you get it so realistic that it’s not noticeable that they aren’t human to the point that the audience doesn’t mind then you’ve crossed the valley.
I saw a spoof advert for ‘PlayStation 9’ which was a glass sphere that contained millions of nanomachines that connected to your nerve system or something.
It sounds interesting, is quite possible by the 9th version of the console, we already have magic after all.
Game development costs have soared since 8-bit times, so now development companies have to get money from publishing houses to bankroll their endeavours, this is a strain because publishing houses don’t really care about making the game because they love it, they just want to invest in something they’re sure they’ll get a big return on; which is why they kill all of the quirky ideas in stillbirth. Games also take way longer too finished before they’re ready for sale, which is ok as long as it’s worth the wait. Publishing houses in my opinion on the main reason the market is flooded with sequels to Need for Speed etc.
Technology and its advances play a huge roll here, with the 360 and PS3 in an ‘I’m better than you’ war while the Wii steals the cookies (customers). No matter how great the Ps3 is I’ve heard it’s a pain to program for, which is why I think it’s just a box filled with magic made by the elves.
On my college course we briefly looked into the game interfaces of the future, brain power etc. But I will be honest now, stuff like the Wiimote is cool but if you have another console like a 360 you won’t use the Wii half as much as you’d like and the casual gamers and families that buy the thing will use it while the new games are out and then get bored, as long as they buy games it’s ok but if they’re like me who has never justified buying a Wii game since launch its bad.
I would like more realistic graphics, I understand the ‘uncanny valley’ theory but think of it this way ‘you either cross it completely or fall’ meaning; if you get it so realistic that it’s not noticeable that they aren’t human to the point that the audience doesn’t mind then you’ve crossed the valley.
I saw a spoof advert for ‘PlayStation 9’ which was a glass sphere that contained millions of nanomachines that connected to your nerve system or something.
It sounds interesting, is quite possible by the 9th version of the console, we already have magic after all.
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Bit closer to Home
During the 1980s there appeared to be a high influx of home computer systems from various companies, sound cards and of course the genre defining games such as ‘Defender’ etc.
People were finally starting to get personal computer systems in their homes, but I need to be honest here; I know there are some people who get nostalgic or excited when they talk about the Commodore 64 or the ZX Spectrum but I don’t, nope not one bit. To be frank, I didn’t even know what they were until now; well before my time.
Anyway, the arrival of the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga in 1985 marked the progression from the 8-bit to 16-bit era.
Now even I know a little bit about Nintendo’s ‘Game & Watch’, I’ve owned dozens of the copycat LCD games and twas the birth of the handheld.
Even though dedicated soundcards were beginning to address the problems of bad sound quality in the IBM PC compatibles; they were apparently so expensive that they weren’t too popular until the 1990s....when people could actually afford them.
By 1985 we were already on our third generation of video game consoles. With the iconic, (even to me, though I never owned one) NES gracing our living rooms; even I can relate to that.
Something that I consider a significant development was that with the arrival of the NES came the arrival of the gamepad and that much needed (in my opinion) boot of the joystick.
Of course, several of the most popular franchises still going on today (and my favourite) were ‘born’ around the same time: Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda and Metal Gear (Solid). The last instalment of the latter was able to make me justify buying a PS3 which is always a good thing isn’t it?
By the 1990s we saw the rise of true 3D graphics with titles like Elite and Starglider 2, around 2 years later the rise of one of my beloved genres appeared...the RTS.
Even though I’m not a fan, Quake was created and took full advantage of the first affordable 3D accelerator cards for PCS. The 90s were also home to 2 more evolutions in the console generation games.
By the fifth generation the Sony PlayStation and the CD-ROM had become a cause of the CD vs. Cartridge war which allowed Sony to enter the market, I remember how expensive cartridges were and that was the main reason why I wasn’t allowed games or consoles so when the cheaper CDs arrived it was a relief.
Games have changed a lot in 2 decades; the hardware has improved a lot allowing for better graphics, crisper sound and faster processors. Genres were defined in this period too, in some cases created. My favourite games were made during this time, games that have rarely been topped in my eyes.
New blood like Sony entered and dominated the market and the older members were forced to drop out of the race like Atari. Because of higher budgets being assigned to game developments the development times were also longer. Some games for example are still in development; Duke Nukem Forever springs to mind.
People were finally starting to get personal computer systems in their homes, but I need to be honest here; I know there are some people who get nostalgic or excited when they talk about the Commodore 64 or the ZX Spectrum but I don’t, nope not one bit. To be frank, I didn’t even know what they were until now; well before my time.
Anyway, the arrival of the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga in 1985 marked the progression from the 8-bit to 16-bit era.
Now even I know a little bit about Nintendo’s ‘Game & Watch’, I’ve owned dozens of the copycat LCD games and twas the birth of the handheld.
Even though dedicated soundcards were beginning to address the problems of bad sound quality in the IBM PC compatibles; they were apparently so expensive that they weren’t too popular until the 1990s....when people could actually afford them.
By 1985 we were already on our third generation of video game consoles. With the iconic, (even to me, though I never owned one) NES gracing our living rooms; even I can relate to that.
Something that I consider a significant development was that with the arrival of the NES came the arrival of the gamepad and that much needed (in my opinion) boot of the joystick.
Of course, several of the most popular franchises still going on today (and my favourite) were ‘born’ around the same time: Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda and Metal Gear (Solid). The last instalment of the latter was able to make me justify buying a PS3 which is always a good thing isn’t it?
By the 1990s we saw the rise of true 3D graphics with titles like Elite and Starglider 2, around 2 years later the rise of one of my beloved genres appeared...the RTS.
Even though I’m not a fan, Quake was created and took full advantage of the first affordable 3D accelerator cards for PCS. The 90s were also home to 2 more evolutions in the console generation games.
By the fifth generation the Sony PlayStation and the CD-ROM had become a cause of the CD vs. Cartridge war which allowed Sony to enter the market, I remember how expensive cartridges were and that was the main reason why I wasn’t allowed games or consoles so when the cheaper CDs arrived it was a relief.
Games have changed a lot in 2 decades; the hardware has improved a lot allowing for better graphics, crisper sound and faster processors. Genres were defined in this period too, in some cases created. My favourite games were made during this time, games that have rarely been topped in my eyes.
New blood like Sony entered and dominated the market and the older members were forced to drop out of the race like Atari. Because of higher budgets being assigned to game developments the development times were also longer. Some games for example are still in development; Duke Nukem Forever springs to mind.
Friday, 10 October 2008
Decisive
I’ve decided that the NIMROD was the first coputer to be used for fun and so Ferranti were the first people who decided to use a computer for fun, it was designed purposefully to play the game NIM and was the first computer designed to play a game; albeit if it was a bit of a light show.
Ferranti typically created defence electronics and power grid systems; they were around for over 90 years until they went bankrupt.
Alexander S. Douglas also used a computer for fun when he created ‘OXO’ for the EDSAC vacuum tube computer. According to record he wrote his PhD degree at Cambridge Uni on Human-Computer Interaction so I suppose you could argue that it was more of an experiment to him but it could have been fun.
Since ‘Tennis for Two’ was played on an oscilloscope; which is an electronic instrument I’m going to discount it.
Steve Russell or ‘Slug’ created Spacewar! for the PDP-1 and I consider this to be significant because it gained widespread recognition pretty quickly and it also influenced a number of video games, in fact I remember playing a similar style flash game about a year ago.
It was Pirates of the Caribbean themed and the idea was to avoid the Krakken squid-thing and the vortex in the centre while paddling around in your boat shooting at ships and rescuing people.
Russell’s field was in computer science and apparently developed the ‘Lisp’ programming language; exciting stuff!
It’s very difficult for me to remember the first game I ever played because I never showed interest in them until I was 14 years old.
Memories of the arcade motorbike games are still happy ones in my mind; even if my legs were too short to reach the floor.
I think I was around 7 or 8 when I first got a Gameboy Pocket because the Gameboy Colour had just been released. I got Super Mario Land 1 & 2 which held my interest for awhile.
At some point my brother gave me a PlayStation, with games like Spyro, Croc and Metal Gear Solid but all I wanted to play was Disney’s Tarzan (weird I know).
But the one game that finally got me interested and hooked was Final Fantasy VII and then the RPG genre.
My genres have broadened over the years but I still love a good story based game so my most recent play was Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations and yes it’s quirky but its crime stories with the interactive element, my match made in heaven.
Til next time.
Ferranti typically created defence electronics and power grid systems; they were around for over 90 years until they went bankrupt.
Alexander S. Douglas also used a computer for fun when he created ‘OXO’ for the EDSAC vacuum tube computer. According to record he wrote his PhD degree at Cambridge Uni on Human-Computer Interaction so I suppose you could argue that it was more of an experiment to him but it could have been fun.
Since ‘Tennis for Two’ was played on an oscilloscope; which is an electronic instrument I’m going to discount it.
Steve Russell or ‘Slug’ created Spacewar! for the PDP-1 and I consider this to be significant because it gained widespread recognition pretty quickly and it also influenced a number of video games, in fact I remember playing a similar style flash game about a year ago.
It was Pirates of the Caribbean themed and the idea was to avoid the Krakken squid-thing and the vortex in the centre while paddling around in your boat shooting at ships and rescuing people.
Russell’s field was in computer science and apparently developed the ‘Lisp’ programming language; exciting stuff!
It’s very difficult for me to remember the first game I ever played because I never showed interest in them until I was 14 years old.
Memories of the arcade motorbike games are still happy ones in my mind; even if my legs were too short to reach the floor.
I think I was around 7 or 8 when I first got a Gameboy Pocket because the Gameboy Colour had just been released. I got Super Mario Land 1 & 2 which held my interest for awhile.
At some point my brother gave me a PlayStation, with games like Spyro, Croc and Metal Gear Solid but all I wanted to play was Disney’s Tarzan (weird I know).
But the one game that finally got me interested and hooked was Final Fantasy VII and then the RPG genre.
My genres have broadened over the years but I still love a good story based game so my most recent play was Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations and yes it’s quirky but its crime stories with the interactive element, my match made in heaven.
Til next time.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
First Name Basis
Carole Brown from Chicago, Illinois is writing and I think that judging from the blogs content it’s more of an objective as opposed to something personal for her, by just reading the blog itself I believe her to be quite a professional woman. Link to blog here http://ctachair.blogspot.com/
The content of the blog itself does not interest me in the slightest, maybe because I have no interest in the CTA Board, maybe it’s because I don’t live in the U.S and this is completely irrelevant to me. I would label the blog as ‘boring and dull’ in my opinion but I can’t deny that this is a unique idea to use a blog to answer the questions of the readers etc. Admittedly, because I consider blogs to be a very casual form of documentation or communication I have found this blog a bit alienating because of the proficient content.
Judging by the post dates, she seems to update roughly once a month; but the time of the month varies from the beginning to the end. I expect another post soon however.
I’m thinking that because of the nature of this blog and it being much more factual in its objective she tends to suppress her opinions on matters which I agree is acceptable because of her job but to me it makes it even more of a dull read. Opinions are what get my attention and so maybe it’s just me but even if I was interested the Chicago Transit Board I think this information would be better and more effective if delivered in a newsletter/e-mail form, as that way I would not have to go and find it manually and may be more likely to take notice and read it.
Carole (we’re on a first name basis now) focuses primarily on what I can only deduce to be information about the funding situation of the CTA, to me however it seems to be a lot of jargon which I care little about.
In terms of me writing this, I have held some form of online journal before and still do even though my updates are sporadic and I’m fairly comfortable writing to an ‘invisible audience’ even though I will see most of you on a 3 out 7 daily basis at least. I prefer to right about things that I feel passionate about, as you will come to see later on; otherwise my input seems very forced and factual.
Til next time.
The content of the blog itself does not interest me in the slightest, maybe because I have no interest in the CTA Board, maybe it’s because I don’t live in the U.S and this is completely irrelevant to me. I would label the blog as ‘boring and dull’ in my opinion but I can’t deny that this is a unique idea to use a blog to answer the questions of the readers etc. Admittedly, because I consider blogs to be a very casual form of documentation or communication I have found this blog a bit alienating because of the proficient content.
Judging by the post dates, she seems to update roughly once a month; but the time of the month varies from the beginning to the end. I expect another post soon however.
I’m thinking that because of the nature of this blog and it being much more factual in its objective she tends to suppress her opinions on matters which I agree is acceptable because of her job but to me it makes it even more of a dull read. Opinions are what get my attention and so maybe it’s just me but even if I was interested the Chicago Transit Board I think this information would be better and more effective if delivered in a newsletter/e-mail form, as that way I would not have to go and find it manually and may be more likely to take notice and read it.
Carole (we’re on a first name basis now) focuses primarily on what I can only deduce to be information about the funding situation of the CTA, to me however it seems to be a lot of jargon which I care little about.
In terms of me writing this, I have held some form of online journal before and still do even though my updates are sporadic and I’m fairly comfortable writing to an ‘invisible audience’ even though I will see most of you on a 3 out 7 daily basis at least. I prefer to right about things that I feel passionate about, as you will come to see later on; otherwise my input seems very forced and factual.
Til next time.
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