loonyboi

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Posts posted by loonyboi

  1. Posted

    What language are you using? Have you tried that new one, I forget the name, the one where you write everything like a story, almost? Inform, was that it?

    That's Inform 7. I wrote mine in Inform 6.3.

    Inform 7 is brilliant (really), but it's just too alien to me. It also seems like it's very, very hard to do very simple things in Inform 7 just because it's all programmed in natural language.

    Anyway, if you ever need some amateur to test your game, I'm up for it.

    Shoot me a msg. I'll take on a couple of newbies for the sake of feedback.

  2. Posted

    Yeah, IF generally means text adventure.

    Technically it's any adventure game that uses a natural language parser for input, but that's just a fancypants way of saying text adventure.

    Graphics can be used (as can music), but the base requirement is natural language parsing.

    (Mine is all text, no graphics)

  6. Posted

    So.. instead of going for a degree help others getting their degree? Interesting..

    Basically, yeah. Only I'm going for a graduate degree, and this would be an undergraduate class.

    But of course, I'm not doing that. I'm not ready to teach (yet).

  7. Posted

    I'm applying to grad school, does that count?

    I've had a very weird experience so far trying to find an appropriate grad school. I wanted an MFA, but all the art schools in my area require full-time study, which I can't do without giving up my job (and obviously i'm not going to do that). One school suggested instead of getting a degree, I should just pitch them on teaching a class.

    I'm in an unusual situation because I work in an industry where degrees are seen as unecessary, even by the institutions giving out those degrees.

    So rather than get an MFA in game design or computer art (which I'd have prefered) I'll most likely get an MA in media studies and do my thesis in a game-related area. It's not ideal, but at least I can spend five years doing it.

  8. Posted

    Isn't it that if a game isn't a top 5 seller it's a financial failure? As in not breaking even? (Roughly speaking, ofcouse)

    No, a game can be perfectly successful and never reach the top 5 or 10.

    If a game sells slowly but steadily, it can eventually out-sell many games that debut in the top 5 and then quickly disappear.

    Starsiege: Tribes is a great example. Counter-Strike is another one (although that later hit the top 10). Both were tremendously successful.

  9. Posted

    My point was not about the great new power that the next gen has to offer. My point was about a lot of industry people complaining next gen games are so expensive to create.

    Or is it just PR to make people less bad for forking over more money for a next gen game?

    Except that next gen games are really expensive to create. Games are expensive to create these days. Period.

    It takes larger teams and much larger marketing budgets to make a AAA game.

    Shader technology requires huge art assets. HUGE art assets. That takes a ton of people.

    EA has games with several hundred engineers on it. That boggles the mind (and may not be a good thing...that's a bit extreme).

    So yeah, if industry people complain that it costs more to make games now, they're not lying, and it's certainly not PR spin. It really, really does.

  10. Posted

    Let me see if I can break this down...

    Next-gen games cost more money mainly because they require much larger teams and more expensive middleware (and god help you if you don't license an engine). Yes, much of that has to do with the graphics, but that's not the only thing. Audio content has to be in 5.1 surround sound, which means it has to sound really, really good. Next-gen physics requires programmers who understand that sort of thing and so on.

    PSP/DS are not generally referred to as next-gen consoles. They have been referred to as next-generation handheld consoles, however. PSP games tend to cost more than GBA games did because they more often than not are 3D. It's similar to the cost increase from SNES to PSX. DS games can be made for pennies, but if you want it to look nice and not dated, it will cost more than a GBA game. Still less than PSP (probably) but more than GBA.

    Wii is something else entirely. It does require nice looking graphics, but mostly what you're paying for is a lengthy process of prototyping to make sure the game's actually fun. A game cannot be ported from PS3/360 to Wii without major changes. Wii teams are smaller, but the games do still cost more than say, a handheld game (for either platform).

    Is it worth it?

    I would say yes. Wii games will rock. 360 games will rock. PS3 games will rock. I like my games pretty. I also like them to sound awesome. Many PS2 games are really starting to show their age. Not ultra-stylized games of course, but your average PS2 game, with chunky textures and uneven framerate is looking a bit old. Given the choice between a PS2 and a 360 game, I don't see that as being a hard decision.

    As for handheld games, I still buy the odd GBA game (FFIV is my current handheld game of choice), but the cool features of the DS make me feel like i'm only getting half the game when playing a GBA game on my DS Lite. PSP may not be the greatest gaming platform ever, but it still has some gems.

  11. Posted

    Yeah, Settlers is just about the greatest game ever. I've never gotten tired of playing it. There is one thing that I don't like about it though. Years ago after I first played it I showed it to my dad who also fell in love with it. He's since become a German game nut frequenting sites like Board Game Geek. Lord knows just how much money he's thrown at this obsession. Admittedly there are a few of his games that I enjoy, but it's left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth as I prefer more of casual board games. A couple of my favorites are Bang! and The Lord of the Rings board game. You wouldn't expect a board game based on a license to be any good would you, but it actually is. Come to think of it, I might even like it more than Settlers. It's a co-op game unlike anything I've ever played. I strongly recommend it.

    I have LOTR, but only played it once. My wife balks at things with complicated rules, and since neither of us had played it before, it was a little hard to figure out. I do still want to give it another shot though. I just need to play it solo so I can figure out the rules before making my wife play.

    My favorite game at the moment is Ticket to Ride. That game is crack. I first discovered it through the online game, but the board game version is even better. Even my parents like TTR.

    I'm also a big fan of Lost Cities. Very simple rules, really fun two-player game. Great stuff.

  12. Posted

    I'm very tempted to buy it. It's only like $30 on eBay. Would that cross the line for "sad and pathetic nerd" if I did?

    Nah, it's no worse than half the other crap we all do.

    I've never quite understood the draw behind some of these novelty versions of Monopoly. There are tons of them. There's a Simpsons one, a Star Wars one and a Superman one.

    Same game, different graphics.

    Although the Superman (Superman Returns, to be specific) does have this wacky description:

    With the help of the ultimate, invincible super hero, vie to own it all and relive the most unforgettable moments from SUPERMAN RETURNS with the world’s most famous board game, MONOPOLY. Team up with the Man of Steel™ to protect the citizens of Earth from the perilous greed of his arch nemesis, LEX LUTHOR. Join SUPERMAN as he returns to Earth and reunites with LOIS LANE to try and halt Lex’s latest evil scheme.

    I love how you "protect the citizens of earth from the perilous greed" of Lex Luthor by buying him out. Or building three hotels on a property he has the unlucky fortune to land on.

  14. Posted

    As of a few months ago, I'm a producer at 2K Games. I work on all the Firaxis titles. So basically if it says "Sid Meier's" on the box, it's one of mine.

    Prior to that I did PR for 2K/Take 2 for two years, and before that, I wrote about games for Shacknews/GameSpot/Blue's News/Next-Generation Online/loonygames etc for around seven years.

  15. Posted

    Loonyboi is the producer of Civ 4?! :partyhat:

    Technically, no. When Civ IV was in development I was still in PR. I was the producer on Civ IV: Warlords. I'm the 2K producer on everything from Firaxis, so if Civ IV were being developed now, I would be the producer on that.

    When I saw the link to the video, I was afraid it would be that one of me singing karaoke. Let's hope to god that one never resurfaces. :)

  17. Posted

    Any links/any that stick out in your memory?

    Do a Google search for "site:gamespot.com erik wolpaw review" and you'll turn up some gems.

    I seem to recall his Mortyr review being a great one.

  18. Posted

    This name rings a bell..

    did he work for Gamespot, PC gamer or CGW by any chance? I remember hating this reviewer because I never agreed with anything he wrote, and it might have been him.

    Yeah, he worked for both CGM and GameSpot.

    He did great reviews for GameSpot. His negative reviews were always hilarious. It was a shame when he stopped freelancing for them (it was also a shame when GameSpot stopped hiring freelancers at all, but that's a different story).

  20. Posted

    Doom RPG and Orcs & Elves are about the only two mobile games that I'd want to really try out.

    I was interested in Doom RPG, but after I bought it I found I just couldn't get into it.

    It's a turn based RPG using Doom sprites, which sounds like a good idea, but honestly, I just found it distracting. Also the Doom Marine storyline really doesn't interest me in an RPG setting.

  21. Posted

    This may be what finally convinces me to get a 360. I've been considering it, and this pushes me over the edge. I just wish that they'd make it a bit more stable. The only reason I haven't got one yet is because I'm always hearing about the red lights of death. I was planning on waiting 'till the (hopefully better crafted) second or third production run. But now Castle Crashers. Time to start saving...

    I've had zero problems with my 360. No red lights of death, no problems whatsoever.

    I've probably played more live arcade games (lately a LOT of Uno) than I have retail releases, but still, I'm very happy with my 360. I've even used it as a DVD player, as it supports automatic bookmarking (as of the last dashboard update) and has a less sensitive laser than my TiVo DVD player does (so scratched up discs from Netflix don't skip).

  22. Posted

    I do all the time on my RAZR. (Or more accurately, I HVE PLYD GMZ on RAZR).

    My favorite game is still Chessmaster, but I've played a lot of the Gameloft sidescrollers too. The Prince of Persia games are great (even the unfortunately named "harem adventures", which has to be the most misleading title ever), as is Splinter Cell.

    Although I've had a lot of bad luck with other companies. Ratchet & Clank was ass, I really didn't like Doom RPG, and I love Zuma on Live Arcade, but my phone isn't powerful enough to play it.

    But Chessmaster's still great. And Block Breaker Deluxe is fun if you're in the mood for an insane Breakout clone (seriously, it's like Arkanoid on acid...boss battles and everything).

  24. Posted

    So, I recently felt like playing a balls-out action game and saw a copy of Devil May Cry for about $10. I picked it up and am really enjoying it.

    I did the same thing and had the opposite reaction.

    I don't think the game has aged very well.