I Had a Random Thought (About Video Games)

[BobbyBesar]

I wonder if you could make an interesting game experience (probably platform / action game) where varying the frame rate was a core mechanic. You could make simple challenges more difficult, or play with it on a meta-level where, say, collision detection runs on the frame, but it computes movement based on deltas, so you can pass-through obstacles / projectiles as long as your speed is greater than the frame refresh rate.

[clyde]

I wonder if you could make an interesting game experience (probably platform / action game) where varying the frame rate was a core mechanic. You could make simple challenges more difficult, or play with it on a meta-level where, say, collision detection runs on the frame, but it computes movement based on deltas, so you can pass-through obstacles / projectiles as long as your speed is greater than the frame refresh rate.

Please tell me when this is playable.

[Sno]

Anybody else watch Evo over the weekend?

 

I still need to catch up on UMVC3 and USF4, but i'm going to say that the KI3 finals were the unexpected highlight of the event for me.

 

I wonder if you could make an interesting game experience (probably platform / action game) where varying the frame rate was a core mechanic. You could make simple challenges more difficult, or play with it on a meta-level where, say, collision detection runs on the frame, but it computes movement based on deltas, so you can pass-through obstacles / projectiles as long as your speed is greater than the frame refresh rate.

 

Unfortunately, i don't recall what game it was, but there was definitely a game being speedrun at one of the GDQ events where the runner was talking about how manipulating the framerate was basically accepted by that particular community as a valid tactic for speedrunning it because of the various collision bugs that bore out of it.

[miffy495]

I've spent a lot of time over the last little while playing Assassin's Creed Unity and I feel like in a world where ACII was the last game in the series to come out, this would have been mind-blowing. It's like the series just entered an alternate timeline where on one path the previous 4 games happened and on this new one we had a hiatus and they put Unity out after years of anticipation. In that universe, Unity is an amazing leap forward for the series. I think I really like it, but will always need to qualify my like with that kind of description of it.

[clyde]

The Alternative Digital Arts Festival is happening at this moment and it's kinda neat to see the giddiness of this crowd getting together for chats.
http://www.hitbox.tv/adaf
 

[Bjorn]

I'm not usually one to complain about Early Access games, being as they are what they are, but I'm pretty miffed at the devs of The Masterplan.  I bought it while it was in EA because the reviews were good (like the game was complete enough to go ahead and justify buying it even if development stopped on it), and it explicitly advertised itself as a game with local co-op.  At the time, playing with multiple people was sub-optimal because controller support hadn't been added, so everyone had to cram around one keyboard.  We just figured we'd come back to it later once it was further alone.

 

So it finally exited EA....and it's a fucking single player game now.  All co-op was stripped out of it.  I know that through the process of designing and building a game, lots of things can change.  But advertising and selling a multiplayer game, and then delivering a single player game, is up there as one of the most irritating things I've experienced with supporting a game in its development. 

[Trip Hazard]

The Swindle looks really fun! Here's Matt Lees playing it, in his endearingly cheerful way:

 

 

I'm excited to play it for a few reasons. Firstly, it's a 2D platformer, and I'm typically quite good at those. Secondly, it doesn't tell you upfront what everything is and how best to deal with stuff. I loved experimenting with the different items and enemies and stuff in Spelunky, and it looks like the same will be true of this.

 

Thirdly, VIVIAN CLOWNFACE. Hah, a silly word! I'm British so that sort of thing is hilarious to me.

[osmosisch]

Fourthly: made by one of the creators of Forums Favourite Ben There, Dan That.

I'm definitely going to pick it up once I'm at a low point in the cycle of my hatred of platforming.

[Ben X]

The thread for The Swindle (made by Dan Marshall, whom I co-wrote BTDT/TGP with, to clarify things) is here. The game comes out tomorrow for PC, PS4 and Vita, then on the 31st for XBox then shortly after for WiiU.

 

It's reeeeally good! I think it's £12 with a 15% discount on launch, which is terribly good value. Reviews are trickling in, and I think Eurogamer gave it an 8/10.

[Dewar]

That's lousy Bjorn. I have a feeling we're going to see more of that sort of scope shrink in the next few years, but especially frustrating when the game did have that functionality, then it disappeared. It sounds like they might have had a tough time figuring out multiple controllers?

[Trip Hazard]

Cheers Ben! I did a search for it, but that topic didn't pop up. My clumsy sausage fingers must've typed swingle or sindwel or something

[Bjorn]

That's lousy Bjorn. I have a feeling we're going to see more of that sort of scope shrink in the next few years, but especially frustrating when the game did have that functionality, then it disappeared. It sounds like they might have had a tough time figuring out multiple controllers?

 

It was released without controller support, so I imagine that was a big part of it.  But it also sounded like they were struggling to balance or make it interesting enough with multiple players.  They've said that they intend to keep working on it, and both controller support and co-op are still things they'd like to get back into the game, but no promises. 

 

I think it's most frustrating because I was really looking forward to it.  From what I had seen of it, the potential for a great co-op game was there. 

[Gormongous]

A friend of mine is applying for a job at Riot Games, so I created a League of Legends account to help him learn the ins and outs of that company's product. While typing out my "summoner name," my finger slipped and dumped a bunch of random characters into an otherwise readable username. I didn't catch it before hitting enter, and there was no confirmation dialogue, so that's just my username now, I guess? I contacted Riot's support about the mistake, mere seconds after making it, and they helpfully informed me that I could pay them money to fix it. All in all, a great start!

[Professor Video Games]

N++ comes out today. Couldn't be more excited to smash my controller to bits. Fun N+ story: I stayed up late one weeknight hitting my head against a wall on a particularly hard level. When I finally beat it I needed to get to sleep, so I left my 360 on overnight so I wouldn't lose my progress (levels are grouped in sets of five and you must beat all five for it to save your progress). When I woke up in the morning, my Xbox had red-ringed When I got my system back and had to play that level again, I'm pretty sure I beat it on my first try.

[Bjorn]

I never did beat N+, stalled out somewhere about 80 percent of the way through I think (just far enough that I knew I didn't want to bang my head on that wall anymore).  Still, pretty stoked for N++.  Even if I can't beat it, don't care, good times ahead.

[Badfinger]

A friend of mine is applying for a job at Riot Games, so I created a League of Legends account to help him learn the ins and outs of that company's product. While typing out my "summoner name," my finger slipped and dumped a bunch of random characters into an otherwise readable username. I didn't catch it before hitting enter, and there was no confirmation dialogue, so that's just my username now, I guess? I contacted Riot's support about the mistake, mere seconds after making it, and they helpfully informed me that I could pay them money to fix it. All in all, a great start!

 

Just make a new account with the right name!

 

Good luck to your friend, from what I understand they generally do right by their employees. I was super nervous and excited back when I applied (and failed to get a job).

[Twig]

The only downside to working at Riot is having to work on that game. Man, what a curse.

[Badfinger]

By "downside" I believe you mean "additional bonus"?

[Twig]

No, I mean downside. I can't imagine the hell that is working on the same game for years and years and years without anything significant ever happening. I think maybe the only one I'd do that for is TF2, if only because they do at least add new gameplay modes and mechanics every now and then, and implementing that stuff would be fun. Maybe. I'd still choose another project over it, assuming the other project was something I was interested in. I guess LoL does add different types of blinks every now and then, so that's really exciting. You can make one travel slightly slower than the other!

[Gormongous]

Just make a new account with the right name!

 

Sadly, if I delete this account, all the information that I used to sign up for it is retained in the servers for two weeks or something, so I'd have to use a different email and account name just to get the username that I want. Ugh.

[Twig]

I've never understood (okay yes it's because money) how people can charge to change a fucking name. It's a string in a database you shitmongers.

[eot]

No, I mean downside. I can't imagine the hell that is working on the same game for years and years and years without anything significant ever happening. I think maybe the only one I'd do that for is TF2, if only because they do at least add new gameplay modes and mechanics every now and then, and implementing that stuff would be fun. Maybe. I'd still choose another project over it, assuming the other project was something I was interested in. I guess LoL does add different types of blinks every now and then, so that's really exciting. You can make one travel slightly slower than the other!

You might be working on the same game, but that doesn't mean your tasks are repetitive. I bet they have a ton of interesting problems to solve. Not being slaves to a publisher and all that comes with it (crunch, game design mandates, etc.) probably helps too. I don't give a damn about Riot but to me it seems like a more interesting place to work than say Treyarch. Neither is particularly high on my non-existent list though.

[Twig]

Mmm, private vs public has no bearing on crunch, I can guarantee that. But you're right that Riot, if anyone, could avoid having crunch.

 

If anything is going to have game design mandates, it's the biggest, most popular competitive e-sports game of them all. They may not be beholden to a publisher, but they're for damn sure beholden to the expectations that come with being goddamn League of Legends.

 

Interesting problems can be found everywhere, though.

[Vasari]

I recall reading that Riot hire actors to come into the studio and pretend to be new employees but don't give them employee badges, and then reward real employees who report the fake ones because they have a problem with LoL players trying to sneak into the office.

[syntheticgerbil]

That seems like a responsible way to manage money.