Archive for 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
I had a discussion with Steve many months ago when he had just started playing DAOC with me.
He was telling someone about running around with his lvl 5 character, and I showed up in my glimmering plate armor and it made him feel that I was like big brother and way out of his reach.
The truth was, that character was only about 15 levels above him, and still needed 30 additional levels to hit the cap.
But, it got me thinking about Avatar Perception in a game. Him seeing my character, in what his past experiences have taught him is a nice set of armor, gave him the impression of stature and greatness.
MMOs haven't fully developed this concept yet. In DAOC and some other MMOS, a character can obtain weapons and armor that have a look to them that tells the player what they are up against. A certain Staff with a Red Glowing tip lets the enemy know that this guy has a special spell that he can cast, and I may want to avoid him when I'm alone.
But even this indicator only gives a small hint if the player's overall abilities, and doesn't truly let you know what you're up against.
I read a preview of Warhammer Online this weekend, and I really think they are heading in the right direction in this area. Dwarves that have leveled a lot and have become battle hardened, will begin to grow long beards. Orcs will physically grow larger as they level, becoming massive tank like beasts at their max level. They can even place skulls of enemies they defeat on their armor to show battle victories.
This is an excellent indicator of what you are up against before you approach an enemy. It's a quick visual indicator of how powerful an enemy is, and you can quickly judge your status in the situation.
He was telling someone about running around with his lvl 5 character, and I showed up in my glimmering plate armor and it made him feel that I was like big brother and way out of his reach.
The truth was, that character was only about 15 levels above him, and still needed 30 additional levels to hit the cap.
But, it got me thinking about Avatar Perception in a game. Him seeing my character, in what his past experiences have taught him is a nice set of armor, gave him the impression of stature and greatness.
MMOs haven't fully developed this concept yet. In DAOC and some other MMOS, a character can obtain weapons and armor that have a look to them that tells the player what they are up against. A certain Staff with a Red Glowing tip lets the enemy know that this guy has a special spell that he can cast, and I may want to avoid him when I'm alone.
But even this indicator only gives a small hint if the player's overall abilities, and doesn't truly let you know what you're up against.
I read a preview of Warhammer Online this weekend, and I really think they are heading in the right direction in this area. Dwarves that have leveled a lot and have become battle hardened, will begin to grow long beards. Orcs will physically grow larger as they level, becoming massive tank like beasts at their max level. They can even place skulls of enemies they defeat on their armor to show battle victories.
This is an excellent indicator of what you are up against before you approach an enemy. It's a quick visual indicator of how powerful an enemy is, and you can quickly judge your status in the situation.
As my buddy Steve and I wondered around the Independent games section at the GDC, we came across an interesting title that he wanted to check out.
As he was tinkering with the game, he was approached by the kid who had developed the game. Steve didn't want him to tell him anything about the game, becuase he felt he should be able to expirament with the mechanics to learn how to play the game.
I feel a little differently about this.
When I pick up a new game, I want to quickly learn the mechanics so I can play the game. I personally don't want to have to expirament and find out what the developer has formed the gameplay to be.
I personally prefer an level objectives approach.
Give me some objectives that allow me to use the game mechanics to solve them. I need goals as a player to guide me through the game and assure that I get the best experience out of it.
If i'm just given a sandbox to play with, then I may never see the truly fun parts of a game.
As he was tinkering with the game, he was approached by the kid who had developed the game. Steve didn't want him to tell him anything about the game, becuase he felt he should be able to expirament with the mechanics to learn how to play the game.
I feel a little differently about this.
When I pick up a new game, I want to quickly learn the mechanics so I can play the game. I personally don't want to have to expirament and find out what the developer has formed the gameplay to be.
I personally prefer an level objectives approach.
Give me some objectives that allow me to use the game mechanics to solve them. I need goals as a player to guide me through the game and assure that I get the best experience out of it.
If i'm just given a sandbox to play with, then I may never see the truly fun parts of a game.
I've put about 2 hours into Elder Scrolls: Oblivion PC game
It is without a doubt, the most beautiful video game i've seen to date.
Now, that has absolutely nothing to do with it being fun. Games should be fun right?
But, me telling someone that the game is amazingly beautiful is often enough to have them purchase the game.
Especially if they own a 360 with a nice HD tv...becuase i'm sure its amazing there.
I tire of the visuals being the motivating factor in a game, since often the gameplay suffers because of this.
What about people us that just want to make a fun game, but don't have the ability to make next gen graphics? Lets face it, most people that are capable of that quality of work are already working in the industry and probably don't want to spend their free time working on pet projects.
This is why the 2D genre is coming back into the mix heavily right now. It's all over the GDC, as casual games are the new fad. A single developer can sit down with Flash MX or a new 2D engine we saw at GDC called Torque and create a fun, fully playable game in a small amount of time.
The thought of sitting down by yourself, or with a small group of friends and making something fun and potentially marketable in a small amount of time is HUGE.
Does a game have to look next gen to be fun? of course not. You can easily make games that are on par with the Nintendo DS and have an absolute blast playing them.
It is without a doubt, the most beautiful video game i've seen to date.
Now, that has absolutely nothing to do with it being fun. Games should be fun right?
But, me telling someone that the game is amazingly beautiful is often enough to have them purchase the game.
Especially if they own a 360 with a nice HD tv...becuase i'm sure its amazing there.
I tire of the visuals being the motivating factor in a game, since often the gameplay suffers because of this.
What about people us that just want to make a fun game, but don't have the ability to make next gen graphics? Lets face it, most people that are capable of that quality of work are already working in the industry and probably don't want to spend their free time working on pet projects.
This is why the 2D genre is coming back into the mix heavily right now. It's all over the GDC, as casual games are the new fad. A single developer can sit down with Flash MX or a new 2D engine we saw at GDC called Torque and create a fun, fully playable game in a small amount of time.
The thought of sitting down by yourself, or with a small group of friends and making something fun and potentially marketable in a small amount of time is HUGE.
Does a game have to look next gen to be fun? of course not. You can easily make games that are on par with the Nintendo DS and have an absolute blast playing them.
It's been a good conference so far.
Ninendo announced a DS version of Zelda (made me very happy)
But after spending 2 days walking around that place...i feel like I was hit by a truck.
I'm so exhausted.
It's the same way I'd feel after spending a day at an amusement park.
Ninendo announced a DS version of Zelda (made me very happy)
But after spending 2 days walking around that place...i feel like I was hit by a truck.
I'm so exhausted.
It's the same way I'd feel after spending a day at an amusement park.
I received a google alert that lead me to an interview I did for a full sail magazine over a year ago.
They made a PDF of it, so if you didn't get to see it...
here's the link
They made a PDF of it, so if you didn't get to see it...
here's the link
(from a yahoo page)
Nope, but your seat doesn't really need protecting. All those paper covers do is mentally separate your backside from the countless bums that have occupied the same space. Before anyone gets their panties in a twist, let's listen to a few medical resources:
Nope, but your seat doesn't really need protecting. All those paper covers do is mentally separate your backside from the countless bums that have occupied the same space. Before anyone gets their panties in a twist, let's listen to a few medical resources:
"To my knowledge, no one has ever acquired an STD on the toilet seat -- unless they were having sex on the toilet seat!" according to Dr. Abigail Salyers, president of the American Society for Microbiology, quoted on WebMD.
"It's OK to sit down. Most organisms that cause STDs will not survive for long on a toilet seat," notes Dr. Sherry Marts, scientific director of the Society for Women's Health Research, on the Swedish Medical Center's site.
As Columbia University's Health Promotion Program sums up: "Because toilet seats are not major culprits in spreading disease, paper or plastic seat covers offer little more than peace of mind." In fact, you have more to fear from bathroom door handles and faucets than from commodes.
And while we're on the topic, you might consider something to cover that phone receiver. A University of Arizona microbiology team tested a dozen office surfaces including the bathroom. The scientists found that phone receivers had 25,000 bacteria per square inch, while toilet seats had only 49 bacteria per square inch. Talk about calling in sick!
The GDC is next week.
I plan to be there on Thursday and Friday
So, if anyone is going to be there let me know and we'll meet up.
I plan to be there on Thursday and Friday
So, if anyone is going to be there let me know and we'll meet up.
Here are the dates and shows that will be featuring the Godfather Game in the next couple of weeks.
Don't forget that it comes out March 21st! :)
Don't forget that it comes out March 21st! :)
Thu 3/16 – VH1 Sneak Peek
Fri 3/17 – Comedy
Sat 3/18 – Spike Game Head
Sun 3/19 – MTV GF Doc
Mon 3/20 – FX Sneak Peek
Fri 3/24 – VH1 Best Week Ever
So, my buddy Steve did a post recently about the Game Genres he's worked on...and it inspired me to do the same.
Genres i've worked on:
1. MMO (briefly)
2. Action/Adventure (Casper Spirit Dimensions)
3. 1st Person (Stranger's Wrath)
4. 3rd Person (Stranger's Wrath)
5. Living World (The Godfather)
Genres I want to work on (in order of importance):
1. Turn Based Strategy (If i could work on a game like Final Fantasy Tactics, i'd be in heaven)
2. MMO (I love the genre, and would love to finish a title. Huge DAOC fan here :)
Game Title or Subjects i'd love to work on:
1. Star Trek (Star trek + MMO = very tempting)
2. Final Fantasy (I need to learn Japanese)
3. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (again...i need to learn Japanese)
Genres i've worked on:
1. MMO (briefly)
2. Action/Adventure (Casper Spirit Dimensions)
3. 1st Person (Stranger's Wrath)
4. 3rd Person (Stranger's Wrath)
5. Living World (The Godfather)
Genres I want to work on (in order of importance):
1. Turn Based Strategy (If i could work on a game like Final Fantasy Tactics, i'd be in heaven)
2. MMO (I love the genre, and would love to finish a title. Huge DAOC fan here :)
Game Title or Subjects i'd love to work on:
1. Star Trek (Star trek + MMO = very tempting)
2. Final Fantasy (I need to learn Japanese)
3. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (again...i need to learn Japanese)
I finally got around to finishing Half Life 2 last night... what an amazing game.
The fact that I finished it says a lot, since I talked about me rarely finishing games in an earlier post.
In the next to the last chapter of the game, you have to navigate through a massive interior. the feeling of vertigo that i got from it was very realistic and scarry.
It was a great experience...even if the ending did totally suck.
The fact that I finished it says a lot, since I talked about me rarely finishing games in an earlier post.
In the next to the last chapter of the game, you have to navigate through a massive interior. the feeling of vertigo that i got from it was very realistic and scarry.
It was a great experience...even if the ending did totally suck.
The NFL free agent singing period started last night at midnight, and the Browns wasted no time in picking up the TOP free agent in LeCharles Bentley!
They also added Kevin Shaffer, who was the 26th overall rated free agent.
Our offensive line just got drastically better :)
Word is also out that they signed Joe Jurevicious at Wide Receiver today.
It's finally good to be a Browns fan
They also added Kevin Shaffer, who was the 26th overall rated free agent.
Our offensive line just got drastically better :)
Word is also out that they signed Joe Jurevicious at Wide Receiver today.
It's finally good to be a Browns fan
So, instead of trying to think of gifts that I want as holidays roll around each year...
I've decided to utilize an amazon.com wishlist.
There i now a link on the right side of my blog that goes directly to my wishlist.
You can use it to buy items that I want, and have them shipped directly to me :)
I've decided to utilize an amazon.com wishlist.
There i now a link on the right side of my blog that goes directly to my wishlist.
You can use it to buy items that I want, and have them shipped directly to me :)
After work tonight, a buddy and I decided to head over to the Bay 101 to see the pro poker players play.
I had a blast standing about 6 feet from David Williams and Chip Reese.
Dan Harrington was about 10 feet away.
Its weird seeing people you watch on TV in person.
I had a blast standing about 6 feet from David Williams and Chip Reese.
Dan Harrington was about 10 feet away.
Its weird seeing people you watch on TV in person.
