PixelPrinny

Thanks for the heads up!

Is it weird that about half-way through reading the original article, I started imagining that this was written by Tannis from Borderlands and reading the whole thing as if it was one of her ECHO journals? The part about walking away having learned that not all video games are inherently evil struck me as something especially Tannis-sounding.

I don't really have anything intelligent to add to the conversation, sadly. I mean, sure there was a part of me while reading it that just wanted to knee-jerkishly speak out in protest against many of the things being said but the whole idea of the award itself in which she spoke of and participated in was just so absurd; so detached from the culture and people of which I fancy myself a part of, that there'd be absolutely no point in voicing any objections or counter points. That's her opinion based on her perspective *shrugs*

I will however say that I'm sick of these "developers need to do this or that" sentiments that are floating around in some gaming social circles these days. No, developers don't need to do anything other than make the games they want to make. They don't need to make sure their game is appealing to everyone or have an easy mode or be super forgiving or need to reward failure as well as they reward winning. We, as individuals and, perhaps, as a society, are starting to lose touch with reality in a way that is incredibly frightening to me -- we're beginning to lose grasp of the concept that not everything is designed for our specific tastes.

Instead of being content with the simple fact that, "Hey, that game's just not for me," we've begun trying to collectively point fingers and accuse developers or publishers for not being in touch with our specific tastes; saying their games aren't accessible enough, aren't forgiving enough; aren't hand-holding enough (or inversely, they're catering too much to the casual market, they're too easy, etc etc).

Again, developers don't need to tailor their games to anyone specific tastes nor are they obligated to bring more people (such as the author of that original article) into the 'gaming fold' . If a developer wants to make that their task, then fantastic; all the power to them. But it is not their responsibility to do so, it is their choice.

I guess I did add a little something to the discussion after all. So to hell with it, I'll make a counter-point to one of her statements since I think it's something everyone could learn from -- Parents who play video games are AWESOME.

@TheHumanDove said:

Free college?...FREE COLLEGE?

Came in to say this and demand my refund! Where's my money?!

@Demoskinos said:

May I also just say.. I nearly lost this entire thing. I spent nearly 3 hours on it and went to post it and the site straight up wasn't letting me. After copy & pasting it as text only and re-inserting all of the pictures etc... I finally managed to post it. Was freaking out there for a second. Whew. Deep breath.

Ugg, I know the feeling all too well. I sincerely hope that the site redesign fixes the issues the site has with posting blogs (or even just undoing.. I've lost entire blogs just trying to undo one thing).

Good to see you've been playing lots of games you enjoyed. Not really much else I can think of saying in regards to a blog about someone's personal gaming experience over the year sooo.... keep having fun!

PS: FFXIII-2 suuucked (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

@Etnos said:

They should make it CHINA AND AMERICA DONT CARE

so its not racist.

Totally would be. What about all the other countries? They'd feel neglected.

Hence, racism.

@Rohok said:

@StarvingGamer said:

@Rohok I am well aware of who he is and the lineage behind this game, but this isn't a matter of a project just being just a little ambitious. All the features he's talking about have been done before, but he's trying to do aall the features of all the games all at once. The biggest, best games of this generation with budgets out the wazoo barely offer a fraction of the features he claims his game will include. This isn't an old-school dev looking for some fan help to fund a modest passion project. This is a dev who hasn't done anything substantial for over a decade, trying to crowdfund a game more ambitious and feature-dense than projects with budgets in the hundreds of millions, in a niche/defunct genre with a content/pricing scheme that has seen limited success and is largely untested, especially at this proposed scale. Don't get me wrong, I'd love it for this game to succeed and be everything everyone hopes it to be and, if it does, you can bet I'll be there ready to throw down my money on day one, but backing it in its current form is a gamble, not an investment.

Those AAA games with large budgets are run by publishers that just want games released that look good on a spreadsheet. I mean you do see that, right? That's why they don't have hardcore, detailed features and all of these ambitious ideas. It's not safe, it's risky. Nobody got anywhere in life playing it safe. Not even those rich publishers with their hands in everyone's pockets. By remaining "neutral" and "waiting and seeing" what will become of the product in its current state is only assisting in seeing it fail. Maybe it is a gamble, but most kickstarter games are. Take a risk and gamble. This game deserves it, and although Chris Roberts took a break from making games he's still involved in the industry, and being a film producer I believe he can bring a few innovative ideas to the financial side of things. He'll know how to rally the kind of direct participation in development he needs to get it done in a short amount of time, as he described in many of his videos. I encourage you to do as much research as you can and reconsider your stance.

As melodramatic and cheesy as it sounds, this games needs you, and every other person on the fence about it. Jump off the fence and get in the action, because we're voting with our dollars. We need ambitious games. We need games that are creative and willing to jump into the fog of war and take a risk. There is no innovation in safety and taking it slow. I think the only reason you don't think it's possible because you're looking at AAA publisher games like EA and Ubisoft as the standard. They're taking it slow because as long as they do they won't lose money or fail. It's like being too afraid to ask a girl out because you're afraid of rejection. Chris Roberts has confidence in his ideas and games, knowing he's making a game that he wants to play, and loves to play. We just need to have confidence in this model. I mean I have plenty of confidence to give, because all the other confidence I used to spare for companies like Bethesda, Bioware, Firaxis, and The Creative Assembly is all gone. This playing it safe and tip-toing around the industry has to stop. Chris Roberts isn't out to make profit, he's out to make the game he wants to play, that's why this game is ambitious, and that's why it's big. But it can succeed.

YOU'RE EITHER WITH US OR AGAINST US! PACIFISTS ARE PROMOTING WAR THROUGH THEIR NON-AGGRESSION.

Have you considered a profession in the lucrative propaganda-writing business? Seriously, this whole ramble reads more like an advertisement than a personal opinion.

Wait, so you're telling me the best time to trade in a new game is shortly after it's released?

Yep, this definitely needed a thread.

They add absolutely nothing whatsoever to a game that a fade to black can't do just as well, in my opinion. Even in emotional moments, a fade to black lets the player use their imagination to conjure a poignant and powerful scene within their mind's eye.

Sniper rifles are all I use. I think any weapon is capable of being the best "all-around type of weapon" provided you use the right elemental properties for the situation, so it really just comes down to personal preference.

@seannao said:

That being said, I still think people who are blaming the game burn themselves drinking freshly brewed coffee.

I love this analogy.