The more I think about it the more thankful I am for having grown up at the period of time I did. I had the best cartoons for my childhood; Transformers, GI Joe, Ninja Turtles, and X-Men. I got to experience playing a Nintendo NES when it was still new and remember when the coolest computer game out was Oregon Trails, which everyone played at the school computer lab. For a nerd, I was born into the perfect generation.
Among all these things I’m thankful for I get the distinct honor of being able to say; yes I use to go to the Arcade. I’m not talking about the arcade imbedded in the movie theater or your local pizza joint with 4 or 5 games. I’m talking about a business dedicated solely to the purpose of arcade games. I remember the feeling of saving up my allowance money only to turn those crisp one dollar bills into quarters for the arcade gods to eat. One thing you learned in the arcade was that the better you were the farther your money went. The kids that were bad at arcade games would blow through their money in a matter of minutes, while someone good could take on challengers for hours.
I was never amazing at Street Fighter; this was one game that often left me watching more than playing. However enter Tekken. Tekken was a step far enough away from Street Fighter that being good at one didn’t automatically mean being good at another. Therefore I took it upon myself to use my school computer lab to look up all of the 10 hit combo’s for each character and commit them to memory. Believe it or not being the guy at the arcade that can pull off a 10 hit combo with 5 or 6 characters in one game makes you popular, and feared. My money started going a lot farther.
I may not have been a pinball wizard, but for a time I was a Tekken master. Time passed and as I love my friends I taught each one of them the ways of the 10 hit combo which lead to them passing me in skill. I became the teacher; often times telling them which combo to pull or what their opponent’s openings are at the arcade machine. I also made a few enemies that way. It would seem people don’t like you telling their opponent what their weaknesses are. Yes I got in more than one fight their too.
The arcade I use to go to has long since closed. I think it’s a furniture store now in fact. Most of the other arcades in the city I grew up are all closed. The only place I can think of with a decent sized arcade is the mini golf course. Like your parents get to reminisce about walking up the hill, both ways, in the snow on their way to school I too get to talk about being at the arcade. In a way I pity today’s gamers. They missed out on the Gamer Cultural Revolution by only a few years.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
My dream game…
I know most people have some game they think would be the greatest game ever. I’ve been thinking about one more and more lately and it probably isn’t what you would expect from someone who plays MMOs. I want a web based Warhammer and 40K table top game. Think of some of the Magic The Gathering online games and you get a pretty good idea of what I want. I don’t want a Real Time Strategy, I want a turn based game.
Just like Magic has you purchase virtual cards with real money so to could you purchase miniatures with real money to build your army. My only caveat would be that they cost less than the actual miniatures. Magic currently has virtual booster packs at about the same price as real ones. You could offer discounts to people who buy a virtual army in order to encourage them to purchase real ones. Just, for the love of the Emperor, make the paints free.
The game should be played through a web browser; the reason is that it would increase the user base. Take a page from Facebook games; get people to play from work. If someone can play while they are at work you increase the potential customers, the reason for this is simple. You are not competing with other video games they can play from home. You are now not competing with MMOs or console games. You are only competing with other web based games and let’s face it, there aren’t many out there.
In order to play at work it has to be turn based, with no time limit. I’ve been playing Scrabble through Facebook lately and the wonderful thing about it is you don’t have to sit there and play one game straight through. My wife and I have been spending 2 or 3 days on a game, you can even limit the amount of moves allowed per day.
Imagine the revenue that Games Workshop could generate from this.
Pay money up front for access to the game, and have it come with a basic army… Sort of like a virtual Battle of Macragge. The initial purchase price needs to be low enough to encourage people to try it but also to make them feel obligated to play after they pay. It could include a choice from maybe 3 basic armies, Space Marine, Chaos, or Orc and outfit you with a 750 point army. I would recommend a huge discount compared to if you bought them individual.
Then you can sell other armies… maybe have some of them as expansion packs but make every army useable at all times. So if I only ever buy my 750 Chaos army I can play against someone with a Tao army. Seeing someone with the other army, and more importantly losing to it, will encourage people to buy more.
Sell more units and create different leagues and tournaments based off the amount of points. So you can have a 750, 1000, 1500, 2000, etc point battles. Let normal “random” matches be free. Have tournaments and leagues have an entry fee and have prizes for the winners.
The possibilities are endless.
Just like Magic has you purchase virtual cards with real money so to could you purchase miniatures with real money to build your army. My only caveat would be that they cost less than the actual miniatures. Magic currently has virtual booster packs at about the same price as real ones. You could offer discounts to people who buy a virtual army in order to encourage them to purchase real ones. Just, for the love of the Emperor, make the paints free.
The game should be played through a web browser; the reason is that it would increase the user base. Take a page from Facebook games; get people to play from work. If someone can play while they are at work you increase the potential customers, the reason for this is simple. You are not competing with other video games they can play from home. You are now not competing with MMOs or console games. You are only competing with other web based games and let’s face it, there aren’t many out there.
In order to play at work it has to be turn based, with no time limit. I’ve been playing Scrabble through Facebook lately and the wonderful thing about it is you don’t have to sit there and play one game straight through. My wife and I have been spending 2 or 3 days on a game, you can even limit the amount of moves allowed per day.
Imagine the revenue that Games Workshop could generate from this.
Pay money up front for access to the game, and have it come with a basic army… Sort of like a virtual Battle of Macragge. The initial purchase price needs to be low enough to encourage people to try it but also to make them feel obligated to play after they pay. It could include a choice from maybe 3 basic armies, Space Marine, Chaos, or Orc and outfit you with a 750 point army. I would recommend a huge discount compared to if you bought them individual.
Then you can sell other armies… maybe have some of them as expansion packs but make every army useable at all times. So if I only ever buy my 750 Chaos army I can play against someone with a Tao army. Seeing someone with the other army, and more importantly losing to it, will encourage people to buy more.
Sell more units and create different leagues and tournaments based off the amount of points. So you can have a 750, 1000, 1500, 2000, etc point battles. Let normal “random” matches be free. Have tournaments and leagues have an entry fee and have prizes for the winners.
The possibilities are endless.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Open PvP doesn't make sense
I’ve played on a Player versus Player, PvP, server on every MMO since I left EverQuest. I like the challenge of fighting other people as they have more unpredictable reactions than most PvE encounters. The problem I have with PvP though is not that I die or am ganked while low on health; it is that I am killed by someone who greatly out levels me. PvP is suppose to be about two people fighting one another, the problem is that is very rarely the case.
Why is it accepted on a PvP server that it is okay to kill someone 15, 30, or 60 levels below you? That isn’t two people fighting. A lower level person has no ability to remain safe or defend themselves and even most guards can’t stop a level 85 from killing you. High level characters ganking low level characters feels more akin to bullying than it does PvP. I understand that in a true combat environment you do not want a fair fight. The object is to sneak up behind your enemy and club them on the head resulting in as little causalities as possible for your side. I can accept this to a degree.
I hate analogies, not because they don’t serve a purpose but because they often cause people to debate the analogy and not the point being made by it. That being said I’m going to try one. Dying to a level 85 character on a PvP server in WoW while on a low level alt is the same as when a little kid, say 5 years old, loses a round of Counter Strike to his friend and has his 17 year old brother come in and beat his friend for him. (Yeah I don’t know why a 5 year old would play Counter Strike either, this is why I don’t like analogies)
Now before people reply with, “well it’s no different than having good gear and killing someone of the same level”… yes it is. I don’t understand how you can’t see that difference either, please explain. I could have the best gear at my level and still have no chance of surviving. Like I said, even guards can’t protect you. With a level 85 character in quest greens I may die, but I also may be able to damage you a little or run and hide by the guards. I have options. As a level 20 alt I have none as I will die in 1 auto attack.
Why is it accepted on a PvP server that it is okay to kill someone 15, 30, or 60 levels below you? That isn’t two people fighting. A lower level person has no ability to remain safe or defend themselves and even most guards can’t stop a level 85 from killing you. High level characters ganking low level characters feels more akin to bullying than it does PvP. I understand that in a true combat environment you do not want a fair fight. The object is to sneak up behind your enemy and club them on the head resulting in as little causalities as possible for your side. I can accept this to a degree.
I hate analogies, not because they don’t serve a purpose but because they often cause people to debate the analogy and not the point being made by it. That being said I’m going to try one. Dying to a level 85 character on a PvP server in WoW while on a low level alt is the same as when a little kid, say 5 years old, loses a round of Counter Strike to his friend and has his 17 year old brother come in and beat his friend for him. (Yeah I don’t know why a 5 year old would play Counter Strike either, this is why I don’t like analogies)
Now before people reply with, “well it’s no different than having good gear and killing someone of the same level”… yes it is. I don’t understand how you can’t see that difference either, please explain. I could have the best gear at my level and still have no chance of surviving. Like I said, even guards can’t protect you. With a level 85 character in quest greens I may die, but I also may be able to damage you a little or run and hide by the guards. I have options. As a level 20 alt I have none as I will die in 1 auto attack.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Yogi hit 80!
I’ve decided to call my Druid Yogi on the blog. I wish I had actually named him Yogi but I went with a werewolf themed name. I hit 80 last night so now I finally get to experience the Cata content on my druid. I’ve done a fair amount on my priest but as I hate Shadow, it was limited.
I was about to stop playing a few days ago. The wall felt just to insurmountable. I’m glad I hung in there however it does bring an interesting thought. Why was leveling so unfun? Well there are a few reasons. There are really only two ways to level your character in WoW. You can either quest or do instances, luckily I’m a tank so instances are a real option.
The problem is that after 80 levels I was tired of doing both. Quests are more or less all just a variation of 5 basic quests. The dungeons are stressful because most groups refuse to let me be a tank. Threat, target priority and permitting me to pull are not concerns of theirs. That is why I’m looking forward to Cata. The dungeon content is harder, so DPS SHOULD allow me to actually perform my role.
I’ve also got mining and skinning up high enough that I should turn a decent profit. Between quests, vendoring items, and selling ore/skin on the AH I earned about 7k gold from 1-80… which reminds me I have enough money for the next flight speed upgrade at 80.
I was about to stop playing a few days ago. The wall felt just to insurmountable. I’m glad I hung in there however it does bring an interesting thought. Why was leveling so unfun? Well there are a few reasons. There are really only two ways to level your character in WoW. You can either quest or do instances, luckily I’m a tank so instances are a real option.
The problem is that after 80 levels I was tired of doing both. Quests are more or less all just a variation of 5 basic quests. The dungeons are stressful because most groups refuse to let me be a tank. Threat, target priority and permitting me to pull are not concerns of theirs. That is why I’m looking forward to Cata. The dungeon content is harder, so DPS SHOULD allow me to actually perform my role.
I’ve also got mining and skinning up high enough that I should turn a decent profit. Between quests, vendoring items, and selling ore/skin on the AH I earned about 7k gold from 1-80… which reminds me I have enough money for the next flight speed upgrade at 80.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Parents and MMOs
There are a few things you should know about parents. The first is you can’t tell them how to discipline, or parent, their children. You won’t make any friends and in fact you will ostracize your existing friends by doing this. The reason is very simple; every parent thinks they are a good parent, regardless of the truth. These facts are very important to remember when reading parent’s opinions and views, typically on themselves, as it pertains to video games.
If every parent thinks they are a good parent and refuses to accept criticism what do we do? Well if you want to get drawn into a long debate, assuming it’s on the internet, then challenge them. However the odds are you won’t change their mind. No it is unlikely you will change these people in any sort of direct confrontation. Bringing up studies done about video games and how they may be unhealthy or counterproductive to the social and mental growth of a child will only result in an anecdotal counter argument from the parent or youth in question.
It’s even worse when you throw Americans into the mix. We’ve been spoiled by our so called freedom here. As soon as you attempt to tell an American they should do something they cower behind the “American’s don’t like being told what we can’t do because we value our freedom” flag. Mind you that’s total bullshit, but the flag still flies high.
So what do we do if we can’t tell parents that allowing their children to play video games, in particularly MMOs, is bad for them? I’m not completely sure. To be perfectly honest I believe the only way to get parents to wake up would take a series of deaths related to video games. The problem is that people still wouldn’t place blame in the proper place. Instead of blaming the parent who neglected to… well parent their child they would blame the video game and the developer.
If every parent thinks they are a good parent and refuses to accept criticism what do we do? Well if you want to get drawn into a long debate, assuming it’s on the internet, then challenge them. However the odds are you won’t change their mind. No it is unlikely you will change these people in any sort of direct confrontation. Bringing up studies done about video games and how they may be unhealthy or counterproductive to the social and mental growth of a child will only result in an anecdotal counter argument from the parent or youth in question.
It’s even worse when you throw Americans into the mix. We’ve been spoiled by our so called freedom here. As soon as you attempt to tell an American they should do something they cower behind the “American’s don’t like being told what we can’t do because we value our freedom” flag. Mind you that’s total bullshit, but the flag still flies high.
So what do we do if we can’t tell parents that allowing their children to play video games, in particularly MMOs, is bad for them? I’m not completely sure. To be perfectly honest I believe the only way to get parents to wake up would take a series of deaths related to video games. The problem is that people still wouldn’t place blame in the proper place. Instead of blaming the parent who neglected to… well parent their child they would blame the video game and the developer.
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