Mouthyneux Piece

I'm shocked to find that Peter Molyneux actually speaks for me. In the wake of Microsoft's clarifications about the new Xbox One's always online requirements Molyneux spoke up about his opinion on the always online policy.

Something I've been saying on forums and Twitter is that Microsoft haven't told me one thing that makes always online a benefit to me... not a single thing. I haven't a clue what their justification for it is.

"As a consumer, just show me why I should be always online and I'll be happy with it. At the moment, it just means game sale authentication. I don't want that. But if there's some way you can give a huge benefit for the consumer, and make the message super clear, [it would be accepted]."

I like the internet. I like things with inter-connectivity. But I feel it should always be optional or HEAVILY justified. 

I was galled to find out that apparently my smart phone uses data in the background and that's why I NEED to have a data plan for my smart phone. The phone works when data isn't available for whatever reason so I accepted it. I'd rather not be paying for it at all but apparently its a function of the device and not AT&T so i cant blame them (unless they were lying, which they probably were because I am unaware of any such requirement in Europe). 

But anyways, that data plan that I don't really want, but they insist I have, does actually have a tangible benefit for me. I use the GPS on my phone quite a bit.

Typically I'll just use it as a guide to get my journey started because I have lived here all of 3 weeks but being able to check it mid journey is rather beneficial to me. In fact, there are many times when I just like having internet wherever I go. So yeah, the data plan has a tonne of value for me even though I still resent being forced into this position.

I've asked several places, I've asked fanboys, critics and everyone in between. I've googled it and NO ONE has been able to tell me how the online requirement benefits me as a user AT ALL. The only thing I can come up with is the possibility that the reduction in piracy (which isn't really a big problem for consoles because of the barrier to chipping) could result in better quality games etc. But that's some trickle down economics bullshit right there.


*doesn't know if he should get his hopes up for godus or maintain low expectations cos... ya know... molyneux*

Source: Escapist Magazine

Cube Over Man, Cube Over

GG will provide updates as the story unfolds but according to Peter Molyneux his extremely enigmatic game "The Cube" has been solved. The solution hasn't been announced yet as it must be announced by the person who completed it but its still pretty exciting to see whats going to unfold.

#whatsinsidethecube we have the winner they are in the uk, they should get a message now
— peter molyneux (@pmolyneux) May 26, 2013

The winner hasn't been extremely forthcoming with details however and it could be something of a stumbling block if they don't come forward soon as it is assumed that some important release information about a project Molyneux is working on will be the BIG secret. In the words of Peter MolyDeux:

The cube has a winner!!! Whoever it is please tell everyone what it is? please? Otherwise it will be a bit of a anti climax. Thanks
— petermolydeux (@PeterMolydeux) May 26, 2013

Will be very interesting to see how this unfolds as the day continues. Would personally love it if the person who completed it just told everyone to eat it and kept the secret to his grave just to fuck with Molyneux. I don't think that will happen however.

*I have a love hate relationship with anyone who has a french name*

Source: Twitter

Update:
Here's the reveal. Peter talks about how completely fucking amazing he is for coming up with this life changing thing. "One lucky person has reaped the rewards of all this hard work".


So the winner of The Cube has become the god of the universe of Godus... Wait? What? The god of Godus will gain money (not defined whether or not in game currency or real life money from microtransactions). They receive a percentage cut of all money spent in Godus. As well as that benefit they will apparently also be in charge of setting the rules of the universe. Again, the details of this are somewhat unclear as Godus is still under development and I haven't played it yet.

Still its quite clear that the winner of the cube, if they're into games like Godus (and presumably they are because the whole thing has been pretty Peter Molyneux-centric), has received quite the impressive reward for their time spent tapping on The Cube.

The Downward Spiral

David Jaffe, director of such games as Twisted Metal and God of War recently came out slamming developers for complaining about their lot when it comes to the relationship they have with publishers.

His comments were in response to this article written by a games developer operating anonymously (presumably to protect himself from retaliation from publishers).

"I reject the tired accusation that it's the publisher keeping game developers down. And I reject that accusation because of the classic line that I am sure you've heard before: you are worth what you can negotiate,"

I'm not going to get into a big thing about the flaws (and indeed strong merits) of his position and what the implications of it were if anyone were to really take him seriously (no one should, he's only worked on PlayStation exclusives since the early 90's).

But something occurred to me. While I'm sure most have at least a working knowledge of the publisher/developer relationship - developer makes a thing, publisher funds and releases the thing - not many seem to really understand how that system, under its current implementation, crushes developers, hurts franchises and stifles creativity.

So let me walk you through an example of how that whole thing goes down. For the sake of protecting the innocent I will be using fictional names for franchises, developers and publishers.

Developer CryoSnare comes up with an idea for a game called Bread Trace. They've done well with a few previous titles and the concept is attractive enough that the publisher, BA, gives them a budget for development. Not much is said at this stage because the publisher doesn't really know what kind of game it is. They're mostly empty suits that think an Xbox is a funny name for the shoebox they keep in the back of their closet.

Bread Trace happens to be a wild success. BA is delighted with the break away hit. Who would have thought that a game about drawing lines around pieces of bread would be so successful. Well, lets make a sequel. At this point slightly less empty suits come in with some "helpful suggestions". Meanwhile the development studio is just delighted that they get to keep making their game. "Wow, you're going to give us a budget to implement this stuff? I wanted to do that in the first one but didn't have the money. Cool, thanks."

Then the unthinkable happens. The second game is even more popular than the first. BA just realised they're on to a cash cow. Maybe this could be their Ball Of Booty. Activizard has been cleaning their clocks for years with their model of re-releasing the same, high quality, game every year. But we need to change a few things to really capture that mainstream appeal. This is where the butchers come in with demands to make the game into what the focus groups tell them people want. BA, using the power of the purse strings, makes sure that the developer adheres to their demands.

"Lets just tweak this here, and change that there, and add a multi-player function to this, originally, completely single player experience. Oh, and lets hold part of the story and game experience hostage to force people who don't want to play multi-player to connect on-line  And then we can have a score board and then lets put in some micro-transactions too cos that's been performing really well for us in mobile markets. Well, thats just the perfect game, isn't it.

Oh no. Bread Trace 3 flopped due to ridiculous expectations and a budget that was wholly unsustainable due in large part to publisher interference.

LOOK what this terrible game did to poor little BA, it cost them so much. they'd better terminate the franchise... and the developer... and then burn the studio down... and salt the earth.


*doesn't really know what salting the earth is supposed to do*

Source: Escapist Magazine, Kotaku

"Fake" Gamer Girl Annihilates Chode

Let me paint a picture for you. You're in a coffee shop queue and a moderately attractive girl walks in.She steps into line behind you and she's wearing a Bioshock Infinite t-shirt. Do you:
a) Ignore her and get back to impatiently jonesing for your next hit of espresso?
b) Strike up a conversation with her about your favourite hobby?
c) Harass her for no apparent reason and assume things based on her gender?

If  your answer is c) then we're not going to get along (guess what the c stands for). Because c) is exactly the scene that played out in a Sydney café just 4 days ago. And how did this "fake geek girl" respond to this harassment? I'll let her tell you in her own words.

Snarky guy in coffee queue eyes off my Bioshock Infinite t-shirt, suggests I "probably haven't even played it". So I told him the ending.
— Rae Johnston (@miss_raej) April 10, 2013

Now, this isn't new. Assholes have been testing girls geek credibility at con's for as long as there have been girls at cons. But when this kind of thing just starts happening in random places in the street you have to wonder what the fuck is going on.

My take, the boys (emphasis on boys here) feel their club house has been overrun and are getting more and more defensive. The more accepting of the changes to the demographics the community becomes, the more vocal the minority of opposition seems to become. To the point of actually harassing girl gamers in public places based on t-shirt choices.


*saddles his steed and waits for the "white knight" comments to start pouring in*

Sources: Twitter

End of a Rambling Shambling Era

According to a statement from Disney, it has ceased all games development operations at LucasArts. The stoppage includes development for titles already in the works.

The statement reads as follows

"After evaluating our position in the games market, we've decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company's risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we've had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles."

As implied, LucasArts will be moving to a licensing model, whereby games will be shopped out to developers for production and LucasArts will publish them.

LucasArts has been floundering for a long time so its not really surprising that this would happen. But there are no doubt a lot of disappointed fans out there who now feel less secure about the future of some of their favourite franchises. Games like Monkey Island and... um... lets face it, Star Wars is going to be fine and they didn't even do that Lego Indiana Jones game that everyone loved.
So yeah, its likely that this really is the best move for the company

Hopefully the talent from LucasArts that brought us such fine titles like the Battlefront series will find homes producing more great quality games wherever they eventually find a home.


*considdered changing the title to “if you're going to put all your eggs in one basket, don't pick the wrong one”*

Deep In-Security

On top of completely failing to provide what anyone could consider a satisfactory customer experience with the SimCity debacle it has also come to light that there is a massive security hole in Origin; EA's digital distribution service and trojan DRM.

The exploit involves using custom URL's, which origin uses to launch games, to sneak a malicious DLL files onto your system. A similar problem was discovered to exist in Valve's Steam client last year. Both issues are, as yet, to be addressed.

Similarly an exploit in EA's free to play Battlefield game has been discovered, If you are using Windows XP or Windows 2003 and are running the Battlefield free to play game. Again, a malicious URL can be used to execute the game. Because of how the free to play games update system works it will load a “MOD” that is actually several files, one of which is a .BAT file which can be used to wreak havoc on vulnerable systems.

Revealed at last weeks Black Hat security conference in Amsterdam, these security breaches in conjunction with the failure of SimCity's fundamental service paints a picture of gross contempt for consumers on the part of EA. These security holes were discovered in February but information about various security problems inherent in the use of URL's in handling game launch shortcuts has been floating around since the same security flaw was found in Steam last year.

Still more examples of EA's failures to provide adequate service for their customers continue to arise. EA's insistence on using always on-line DRM to sate their ravenous paranoia about the effects of piracy. The main effect that customers have noticed from piracy in the case of SimCity is a better game experience if they did so themselves.

*only pirates booty on the seven seas yarrrrrg*

Source: ArsTechnica, Time Magazine

Keep Scrollin', Scrollin', Scrollin', Scrollin'

I've heard of side scrolling adventures but I've never heard of a top to bottom scrolling adventure. UNTILL NOW!

Scrollin' Adventure is a “Rock n' Scroll World-Wide-WEBSCAPADE”. Brought to you by the good folks at College Humour and submitted by Caldwell Tanner is a browser based adventure game where you play the roll of a silent and nameless protagonist. 

Your anonymity leaves endless opportunity for role play as you journey through various zones you find yourself with numerous challenges to overcome and nothing but your humble mouse to defend yourself. Some might say that the puzzles are kind of trial and error and that the controls can be kind of repetitive but I found the whole experience to be quite therapeutic in that regard.

The monotony of the overall calm and steady game-play is peppered with a few moments of true tension as you decide to either avoid pitfalls such as the Click Me Cat or the Free iPads Cat or take the chance for a potentially massive payout (such as a FREE iPAD!).

Some may say that the combat has little in the way of diversity but I found the system to be entirely in keeping with the overall tone of the game. Once you reach the truly terrifying Scroll Troll (artfully rendered in PixelArt) and deftly deal with that situation you will see exactly what I mean.

Narrated on your journey by an unnamed, yet remarkably witty, story teller who doubles as the fundamental driving force of the game, this raconteur alternates between gentle encouragement and vicious derision depending on your performance. The result of which is a burning desire to achieve. Much as one strives to satisfy a disappointed father figures vicarious dreams and aspirations.

The writing really isn't all heavy and preachy though. SA demonstrates some of the finest comedy game writing I have seen since the likes of Sam and Max. Once you reach the “Wintermediary” stage you know that you are truly dealing with an incorrigible comedic talent.

This free game is funded by in game advertisement which sounds terrible but is actually seamlessly blended into the overall aesthetic of the interface. In fact I completely missed the advert for “Jynx body yoghurt” on my first play through.

While a truly engaging and immersive experience Scrollin' Adventure IS a little on the short side, taking approximately 10 minutes to complete. But for what it is, it is a truly thought provoking creative, imaginative and, in a lot of ways, satirical take on gaming and the gaming industry as a whole. LOVED the final boss.

7.5/10

Something About Something

Games have a problem. A lot of the time they aren't about anything. And often, the ones that are about SOMETHING aren't about anything important. With development budgets that stretch into the millions and $60 price tags I frankly find it insulting that the money I spend on games, that often promise lofty features such as “deep and immersive story telling” or an “emotional experience”, rarely deliver in these areas.

Well something has happened. In recent years indie developers have really been giving it their all to take up the slack that the triple A developers have been all too happy to pave over with advertising money.

Depression Quest is a new game brought to you by the compulsively creative Zoe Quinn and the games critic Patrick Lindsey with music by Isaac Schankler. Depression Quest is more of a browser based interactive story book than a game really but certainly falls into the category of a gamified story book.

 

If you have any personal experience of living with depression you will find something profoundly relatable in the “Over 40k words of interactive fiction“. And if you have ever been close to someone with depression or with a different experience of depression from your own, you will find yourself coming out the other side with a greater understanding of their plight.

It takes a good hour to complete a play-through and its free to play at their website. There is a pay-what-you-want option which I strongly encourage you to use. A portion of the proceeds will go to supporting iFred “a charity that aims to fight back against depression and the stigma against it.”

In Depression Quest you play as a nameless “mid-twenties human being” (I guess it was going to be gender neutral at one point) who struggles with depression. As the story unfolds you make decisions about how you're going to deal with various situations, mainly related to social functions and interactions with other people including your girlfriend and family and how best to function in the world with the constant obstacle of your condition.

At the bottom of the page there is a 3 part summary which displays the status and efficacy of your condition, treatment (if any) and medication (if any).

The decisions you make as you proceed through the, well thought out narrative, guide, not only where the story will take you, but also, depending on how you feel as a result of the consequences of those decisions, what options are open to you at all. 

You can't go from “make an excuse to stay home” to “Socialize enthusiastically” from one question to the next. Illustrating how, while suffering depression, its not a matter of whether or not you take these avenues but instead how it feels like many of the possibilities in life are not even open to you at all.

This extends to the point where if you make a few destructive decisions you can quickly find yourself in a downward spiral that makes you unwilling to seek professional help or even talk to those closest to you about your problems thus reinforcing the destructive downward spiral you set yourself on.

There are a few criticisms to be made though. There are a few typo's and syntax errors peppered throughout the story (which is entirely text based) and I have a hard time believing that people so close to you would ever be under the impression that “you just get a little sad sometimes” is an acceptable explanation for your quite clearly depressive behaviour. In reality they perhaps may not exactly KNOW but at the same time would understand that there's more to it than just being a little sad sometimes.

Nitpicking aside I believe that Depression Quest achieved exactly what it set out to do and is something of a triumph in story telling while carrying an important message.

*has struggled with emotional problems from an early age*

Trailer Trash

A few months ago it was announced, in the wake of the massive success of TellTale Games' The Walking Dead, that Terminal Reality would be developing a first person shooter based on the franchise to be released within the year.

It was revealed that the the game would be set before the events of the TV show and would centre around Daryl Dixon and his brother Merle. The Dixon brothers are widely considered the favourites of the show. Daryl for being the flawed yet lovable hard nosed golden boy and Merle for being the racist hick that everyone just loves to hate.

4 weeks ago the survival instinct YouTube channel released an advertisement for the game that featured no in game content but did feature the actors from the show, who WILL be voicing the characters in game, pretending to know what video games are.

This honestly gave me pause and made me think “less than 3 months from release and you haven't got anything to show me?” but my fears have been assuaged... somewhat. 

From the in game footage in the latest trailer I'm not totally blown away. First impressions are that it will be a relatively generic, quite fun but ultimately rather forgettable experience. Only time will tell.

Its got a Daryls signature crossbow though and if video games has taught us anything its that gamers fucking LOVE crossbows.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC on March 26 in North America and March 29 in Europe.

*fucking LOVES crossbows*

Sources: Youtube, IGN

THQ's For Coming

THQ announced late last year that it would be filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy as it had run into significant financial problems. It was initially expected (as reported here) that the clear lake capital investment group would be bankrolling its operations until they could buy the company outright and it would continue as a whole in that manner until it got back on its feet.

This didn't happen. Their creditors and a government trustee filled objections saying that THQ had rigged the proceedings so it would be more fair to them than it would be to the creditors. A judge ruled in their favour and bidding was opened with the deadline set for January 22nd.

Well the bidding for the pieces of THQ ended today and here's how it all ended up.

The good folks at Sega took home Relic Studios and the Company Of Heroes IP ($26.6m).

Ubisoft picked up the South Park: The Stick Of Truth ($3.3m), THQ Montreal's studio along with two unannounced game IP's Underdog and 1666 ($2.5m) which had only been revealed through the bankruptcy proceedings.

Take-Two Interactive bought the Evolve IP ($10.9m)..

Crytek GmbH nabbed the Homefront IP rights ($544,218).

Volition Studios  and the licenses for Saints Row and Metro (including 2033 and 2034) went to Koch Media GmbH (also known in the states as Deep Silver).

One thing I wanted to make sure was clear about that last one. Koch Media. I know ethical shoppers will be aware of a particular pair of politically active businessmen in america with a similar sounding name. I want to assure you that the company Koch Media is not affiliated with them. 

Koch Media is a company that started in Germany in the early 90's by a couple of German guys. So yeah, buying games from Deep Silver does not support those with nefarious schemes for world domination. Unless Franz and Klemens have been playing that one particularly close to their chests.

Between all of this and Atari filing for the same chapter 11 bankruptcy you could be forgiven for believing that the games industry is dying. And in some ways it is. 

The games industry, as with any new industry, is volatile and probably will be for the next 50 years. But then it will have been forced to evolve by market forces so much that really at the end of the day it will be so much stronger.

So while it may be sad to say farewell to what we consider to be old friends. There is a lot to be hopeful for in the future of gaming. Just keep supporting games and studios you love and the rest will follow.

*sometimes wonders if opera is on to something*

Sources: Joystiq, Koch Media (now with 100% less evil)