I Had a Random Thought (About Video Games)

[osmosisch]

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!

League does at least one gameplay mode thing a year, usually more.

[Mawd]

League does at least one gameplay mode thing a year, usually more.

 

Yeah I was going to say. I don't really play it but they do mix things up with new game modes and global skills. Xmas Aram with Lee Sin skills was pretty fun to dip back into. Plus they still have projects to update or add new characters so frequently. I have no idea how popular their other two map modes are apart from ARAM and Summoner's Rift but it seems like there's a lot to do there.

[Twig]

League does at least one gameplay mode thing a year, usually more.

Oh, that's new, then. Before I gave up on the game, they did Dominion, which was awesome, but because everyone hated it because they're stupid!!, they didn't bother doing anything new for a long time. That's good that the player base is a little less dumb now to allow more experimentation.

Doesn't really change my opinion about working on a project like that. Would be super boring!

[Mawd]

So Natural Selection 2 had it's first community made patch in like half a year. It won't bring back the Australasian community or anything but hopefully it's enough to round up the competitive community for a round or two. I just hope enough show for a good few games and the only local server first crash :/ failing that maybe we can all play Dirty Bomb or CS:GO or something..

Sigh if I had a one use time machine or something I'm pretty sure I'd waste it's power to go back one year and play that game at its best.

 

Gosh I think I must have messaged almost every one I knew from that game I must have messaged over 70 people. Had a few replies in interest so hopefully tomorrow we get enough to show for a game or 5. I just really, really hope we find a server and it doesn't all turn out to be a massive joke.

[Twig]

Dirty Bomb kinda looks fun every time I watch a video of this guy on youtube I follow playing it. But he makes most things look fun, so I dunno. He also plays mostly TF2 and that's pretty much my game of choice...

 

But I did install Dirty Bomb so I'm gonna try it soon maybe.

[Mawd]

Dirty Bomb is fantastic if you can find balanced non pub stompy games.. Try out Sparkz and Fragger if you can. They're really fun. This weekend there's actually a free Merc event so basically everyone will be available in rotation over the next few days.

 

http://dirtybomb.nexon.net/news/3425

[Badfinger]

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're making the assumption that everyone who works at Riot works on a video game. The amount of people whose job has a direct impact on the actual video game at Riot is a small fraction of their employer base. For Project Managers and HR and system admins etc etc etc it doesn't matter whether the software output is 1 product or 100 products or a commercial product or a game.

 

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.

 

I know part of the public stance is that they want your name to be who you are, because it lends to accountability. Mostly money though, I have no doubt.

 

vvv League of Legends (and DOTA, and likely SMITE and the rest) has a gigantic player base, but many more individual personalities than most MMOs. Being who you say you are is somewhat of a big deal. Even though you're drawing from a huge pool overall, on a game by game basis I've totally been matched with complete strangers in back to back games who were just insufferable (or fine! but the insufferable people are the ones who stand out).

[Griddlelol]

I know part of the public stance is that they want your name to be who you are, because it lends to accountability. Mostly money though, I have no doubt.

 

Accountability is a huge thing in MMOs. When you're looking to fill a slot in a raid group and you get a message from someone who was an ass last time you met them, you know to ignore them. 

Similarly, if someone you like and/or was good, messages you telling you that they are "X" and on their alt, you're going to pick them up over other randoms. 

 

I doubt it's the same in Lords Managements, but being known in a medium population WoW realm thanks to a unique name (and being a good player I should add) - Peterfile the Priest - was a pretty good feeling.

[Twig]

You're making the assumption that everyone who works at Riot works on a video game. The amount of people whose job has a direct impact on the actual video game at Riot is a small fraction of their employer base. For Project Managers and HR and system admins etc etc etc it doesn't matter whether the software output is 1 product or 100 products or a commercial product or a game.

That's true but I'm also physically and mentally incapable of imagining a job that doesn't involve Making a Video Game without prompting.

 

Although I bet a lot of project managers and HR people and system admins would disagree with your last sentence, based on my experience talking to those kinds of people.

[Badfinger]

That's true but I'm also physically and mentally incapable of imagining a job that doesn't involve Making a Video Game without prompting.

 

Although I bet a lot of project managers and HR people and system admins would disagree with your last sentence, based on my experience talking to those kinds of people.

I am one of those people, and you're probably right. People absolutely can and should take pride in the thing their company does. I'm thinking more along the lines that many non-programming jobs are going to be functionally similar regardless of company output, rather than company identity and structure.

[Twig]

Yeah absolutely true!

[Dewar]

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.

 

This is a pretty common thing, though larger companies usually have enough security folks that they can rotate around to areas they haven't been seen before so that external actors aren't required.

[Mawd]

Had a really good time getting the old crowd back together for some matches. A huge plot twist came about when one of our friends bought a server for the Aussies to play on so it was heaps of fun playing mostly with friends and having some laughs.

Anyway lately I've been juggling quite a few games recently. It's been quite liberating to go from being the head of a competitive team with an aggressive scrimming schedule to having nothing at all. Thing is I'm at a point where I'm loving games that I play just for funsies like Path of Exile and playing games to satiate my competitive edge liek Dirty Bomb. The scene for my old game has died completely (for Oceania at least) but lately with a new patch and map we've come back for some fun.

But I'm really at a fork deciding if I want to move into serious competitive Dirty Bomb. So far I'm good. I'm not super good but I'm at least equal in some respects to friends that have moved into sponsored teams so I'm like Ah fuck should I!? I'm also friends with the top two teams in Australia atm so idk it almost feels like I should just for the social aspect. After like a month or two not being on mumble and talking to mates every night it almost feels addictive going in for that whole kind of show again. That said there are so many games I enjoy casually and I just know comp play will eat up that time. Hurr

[Ninety-Three]

It occurred to me that when we talk about dis-empowerment in videogаmes, we're almost never talking about a game taking away your power. Batman: Arkham Asylum meets the literal definition of dis-empowerment: it likes to force you into stealth sections, forces you to not take down enemies, and locks you into those Scarecrow sequences which take away most of your gameplay verbs. In Batman, you have power which is then taken away, while something like Amnesia: The Dark Descent simply never gives you much power, and yet Amnesia is often called dis-empowering while Batman never is.

 

STALKER: Shadow of Cherynobyl is challenging, hostile and far less hand-holdy than most FPSs, the word dis-empowerment sometimes comes up when discussing it, but it never takes things away from you, it simply gives you more challenges and less shinies than you average FPS. If you play a bunch of average FPSs and then play STALKER, you'll feel dis-empowered, but not as the character. Instead, STALKER reaches across the fourth wall and takes power away from you the player. You're used to having a certain degree of power in games, but you just booted up STALKER.exe and suddenly some of that power is gone.

 

What do you think Thumbs, am I on to something about people describing personal dis-empowerment, or am I just overanalyzing the fact that words sometime lose meaning and everyone who talks about dis-empowerment really means to say "low power-level"?

[Cordeos]

It occurred to me that when we talk about dis-empowerment in videogаmes, we're almost never talking about a game taking away your power. Batman: Arkham Asylum meets the literal definition of dis-empowerment: it likes to force you into stealth sections, forces you to not take down enemies, and locks you into those Scarecrow sequences which take away most of your gameplay verbs. In Batman, you have power which is then taken away, while something like Amnesia: The Dark Descent simply never gives you much power, and yet Amnesia is often called dis-empowering while Batman never is.

 

STALKER: Shadow of Cherynobyl is challenging, hostile and far less hand-holdy than most FPSs, the word dis-empowerment sometimes comes up when discussing it, but it never takes things away from you, it simply gives you more challenges and less shinies than you average FPS. If you play a bunch of average FPSs and then play STALKER, you'll feel dis-empowered, but not as the character. Instead, STALKER reaches across the fourth wall and takes power away from you the player. You're used to having a certain degree of power in games, but you just booted up STALKER.exe and suddenly some of that power is gone.

 

What do you think Thumbs, am I on to something about people describing personal dis-empowerment, or am I just overanalyzing the fact that words sometime lose meaning and everyone who talks about dis-empowerment really means to say "low power-level"?

 

I know its what a lot of people like about Far Cry 2, the game is so unforgiving and makes you feel like just another guy instead of a super soldier bad ass. Sometimes disempowerment can be a tool to make a particular level harder. In Rainbow Six Vegas 2 they take away your two AI teammates for the second to last level, it makes it one of the hardest levels of the game. Dues Ex Human Revolution takes away all your augment abilities for the start of Missing Link. Ghost Recon Future Soldier does it when your advanced systems start getting hacked during an ambush. I know I have played several shooters where you get captured, crash or get injured and have to survive a level with just a pistol. Survival Horror games are all built around the concept of the player being the weakest thing around so you have to run away and hide from enemies because engagement means death.

Its a tricky mechanic to use in games because you have to balance creating a challenge for players with annoyance. One of the things I hated about the game Black and White was the end of every level was an evil god quickly smashing everything you had built up. Similarly I did not enjoy Missing Link because it took away all the tools I had been using the whole game. I like the Vegas 2 level because it is challenging, but doesn't force drastic strategy changes. 

[clyde]

I agree with you Ninety-Three. I think the term "disempowerment" tends to be used to describe a game against its contemporaries more than describing an ability-arch within the game.

[SuperBiasedMan]

As I've understood it, the term is meant to describe the overall intended feel of the game. A disempowering game doesn't power you up to be a super hero, it's actually pitting you against the game world and portraying your position as a fragile, precarious one. While a game that wants you to have powers/abilities that are strong to use is feeding a power fantasy.

In Batman, the fact that they occasionally take away some of the power they have given you doesn't really matter. The overall game is making you feel powerful because it's a superhero fantasy.

[Zeusthecat]

Are there any good modern games that scratch the same itch that Ogre Battle 64 did?

[dartmonkey]

I remember Ogre Battle 64 popping up in old mags but never played it. Just wikied it...and discovered it has the Thumbiest colon-subtitle. Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber.

In other randomness, I saw Wave Race Blue Storm and snapped it up on impulse. I used to have it but must have sold it. It takes a while to get into but it's really rewarding once you do. It still holds up really well. I think it's time for Nintendo to crack out one of the deep 'realistic' racing games from that stable after skipping the Wii. Probably too late for Wii U now, unless they've got something in development already, but definitely for NX. Just think how pretty a next/this gen Wave Race would be, or a new 1080. Actually, it's probably time for an Excitebike. The N64 one was so good and overlooked, like most from late in that system's cycle I guess.

Another thought: this and SGDQ got me thinking about time trials and the league tables I used to look at in old mags. Do you think a Thumbs time trial leaderboard could work? Nothing serious, just simple tables for the top 3 times for a few games, verified by a screenshot or something. I know the modern consoles log all this but maybe we could choose a few retro or VC games. Thoughts?

[dartmonkey]

Talking of Ogre Battle, this popped up on my Twitter feed this morning.

https://instagram.com/p/6OGg7CA5MF

[Griddlelol]

I decided to play some Witcher 3 last night after playing a bunch of DS2 this last week. 

 

Holy shit the movement in that game is still awful, even with all the updates. I spent about 20 seconds running around in a circle trying to get in front of a ladder for a button prompt. I don't think I ever made it through a single door without bumping into the frame at some point either. 

[dibs]

Great, i was about to go back and try playing it again. I guess not:/

[Griddlelol]

I want to finish it...I just don't know how I'm going to bring myself to if any other game grabs my interest. 

[dibs]

I dunno. One of my friends was playing it a while back too and I asked her how it was going. She said she stopped caus it was so boring. That is 2 strikes in the last few days against it! I don't really get AAA games tbh, there is something common to a lot of them that just turns me off and i've never been quite able to put my finger on it.

[Griddlelol]

What exactly defines a "DRPG" as a genre? I've had people recommend I try a DRPG or two but I know next to nothing about them, other than having tried EOIV and not enjoying it all that much.