So, sorry about not updating in a while.  Stuff got kind of hectic, what with people randomly showing up *looks in direction of people who know who they are*, and the current game we're ramping up...
Anyway, I just thought I'd post this 'cause I always find shit like this cool.  It's a conversation I had with my friend (and fellow game designer/nut) earlier on today about games in general.  There's some cool ideas in there.  Share your thoughts. 
(BTW, this is unedited, so there might be some spelling/grammar mistakes I'm too lazy to correct)
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sherb [work] says (10:21 AM):
i'm reading n'gai's level up blog

sherb [work] says (10:26 AM):
it's strange... i mean, i think i'm a pretty big gamer... and they've written three articles on how important user generated content will be.  i mean, honestly, anything that i've ever had to create in a game, i haven't really taken the time.  there is nothing that i can recall that i have spent hours and hours creating inside a game.  maybe it's because i haven't tried out a game like spore or

sherb [work] says (10:27 AM):
something?  but i honestly am not one to play around with level editors that much.  i think making a game from an idea and making it from scratch is super cool.  but something like the WCIII editor just didn't interest me

dan. says (10:27 AM):
cough sims cough

dan. says (10:28 AM):
cough no story cough

sherb [work] says (10:28 AM):
yeah, like i thought the sims was a cool idea, and i could see the appeal of it, but i played it for a decent amount of time and then.... just moved on.  i mean, am i that far out of the loop that i think a game can still be super good five years from now with zero user generated content?

sherb [work] says (10:28 AM):
yeah, exactly

dan. says (10:28 AM):
I think user created stuff takes away from the actual game

dan. says (10:28 AM):
Because the game is made to be played how the designers thought it through

sherb [work] says (10:28 AM):
and then you get into the debate of "okay, well do games actually NEED a story?"  or "what is a story?" or "can story be generated through gameplay?"

dan. says (10:29 AM):
Not the way YOU want to get through it.

dan. says (10:29 AM):
A game is like telling a story, and for it to be interesting linear gameplay is the best way to go (I love linear so much).

sherb [work] says (10:30 AM):
hmm... but then you get into "why not just read a book to get the story?" or "why not watch a movie?"

dan. says (10:30 AM):
People watch movies because they're too lazy to read the book.

dan. says (10:31 AM):
People play games because they can't just sit through a story, it's boring.

sherb [work] says (10:31 AM):
i think games as a medium have the best possible way to communicate... something that no other medium has.... interaction

dan. says (10:31 AM):
Exactly

sherb [work] says (10:32 AM):
but i dont think the interaction has been fully realized.  there has to be something within that interaction.. the interaction should make the player feel more involved... i am ACTUALLY doing this.  this is me.  they should be more vested in it.  but there's always stuff that breaks that interaction, that illusion.  if a player feels like they can't do anything they actually would want to do, then

sherb [work] says (10:32 AM):
it breaks

sherb [work] says (10:32 AM):
and one of the things everyone wants to do is fuck around in a real-world setting

sherb [work] says (10:32 AM):
i mean, in an army game, i want to go up to the biggest tank and get in it

sherb [work] says (10:33 AM):
or in an adventure game i want to see how far i can swim out into the ocean

sherb [work] says (10:33 AM):
and some people even try to break the games themselves

sherb [work] says (10:33 AM):
but what if a game were to put the player in a situation so foreign that every reaction was natural

sherb [work] says (10:33 AM):
not "oh, i can do this in real life, anyway, so why don't i fuck around?"

sherb [work] says (10:33 AM):
but like "oh shit, wtf is this?  hmm, can i do that?"

sherb [work] says (10:34 AM):
i think if a game could somehow play like that, the player would be much more vested in it

sherb [work] says (10:35 AM):
because what he is doing translates into the story... and he knows his actions fully matter... and he cares, because the designer makes him care, through his surroundings, through the music, through the story... these all play a major role

sherb [work] says (10:35 AM):
hmm, an interesting thought

sherb [work] says (10:35 AM):
anyway, i gotta get back to doing work... code is finally checked in.  i'll talk to you later

dan. says (10:37 AM):
Sherban

dan. says (10:37 AM):
That is quite the thought.

dan. says (10:38 AM):
We should base a game on this, Sherban.

dan. says (10:38 AM):
It could be groundbreaking.

sherb [work] says (10:40 AM):
yeah, it's definitely something to think about

dan. says (10:40 AM):
I will be lost in thought at work.

sherb [work] says (10:41 AM):
haha, me too.  but i really gotta get back to it.  so save this convo somewhere and email it to me.  i gotta go.  talk to you later

dan. says (10:41 AM):
byebye

• Semi-serious narative with semi-silly world and characters (Psychonauts is another good example of this, as are Jak II and Jak 3)
  
• Colourful world... dude, too much shit is gray these days
  

• Collecting mission (you have to take pictures of animals around the world with your camera) is given right at the start... and it's optional... and makes your study the beautiful world more
• Combat is secondary to puzzle solving
• No guns!
  
• Slow jog is default movement, running requires holding down a button (I personally feel Ubisoft perfected this scheme in Assassin's Creed)

This seems like it should be a fun outlet.  Too much other crap to do now, but expect future topics to include:

• Genres: the over-saturated and under-saturated
  

• Practises in game development
• Game developers (likely linking to the same Saving Progress article)
• Random crap (this is how I get away by blogging about an icecream sandwich)