I will be home for the holidays so I hope everyone has a good holiday season!
Update: 8 Nov, 2006 - Removed broken links, consolidated post, and applied labels.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Reposted Book Review : Smart Bomb
Authors: Heather Chaplin, Aaron Ruby
Genre: Gaming
Publisher: Algonquin Books (October 12, 2006)
Quick-Hit Thought: Great read for those interested.
I'm just a gamer. I don't develop games. I have no grand dreams of magically breaking into the industry. However, there are many developers in the industry who have done just that. This is a review of the book, Smartbomb : The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Video game Revolution. This is a review from the side of a gamer, of a book about the rock star developers that make my world go.
At the heart of Smartbomb is a collection of stories about the rock star developers of the video game industry. The pacing of the book is defined by the first developer we meet, Cliff Blezinski. "CliffyB", as he is known around the offices at Epic Games, is known for his once flashy pimp-like attire, back when he burst onto the scene with the Unreal and Unreal Tournament series.
CliffyB is a recurring character in the book. He is considered to be one of the last home-grown programmers who has truly broken into the industry. In a day where developers arrive with college degrees built upon game development, CliffyB is a throwback to such legends as Will Wright of The Sims fame and John Carmack of Doom fame. Wright and Carmack don't have game design degrees, but they have some of the most influential video games in history under their belts. They developed games, because there was no other outlet for their creative talents.
However, CliffyB has gone from flashy pimp to laid back front man for Epic. There is a tantalizing connection where we see him at the same parties and conferences as Wright and Carmack. While CliffyB catches the audience's eyes with a new dazzling hair color, Will Wright drops a bomb as he displays his latest effort known, Spore. Wright's presentation ends in a standing ovation. Smartbomb shows us where these visionaries came from.
The husband-and-wife team of Heather Chaplin and Aaron Ruby connect many dots amongst a varied background of gaming history. Reading through the book will have you hitting Google for more information on such subjects as the Tech Model Railroad Club of MIT, and the Stupid Fun Club. Their writing style has a dramatic flare that drives the book, and readers will find themselves wanting to know more about the topics covered.
While there are many eye-opening insights into several facets of the gaming industry, there are also several reproductions of well known gaming history tidbits, such as Nolan Bushnell and the early days of Atari. For the seasoned video game historian, this is all information covered in other books, such as Steven Kent's "The Ultimate History of Video Games'', and Dean Takahashi’s "Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution.''
However, there are enough new connections and flavors amongst the entwined stories that the reiteration of information is not overwhelming. Also, being a relatively newer book in a growing industry, it serves as a great starting point for the new-age video game historian. The driving point, the reader will know more about gaming and where gaming is headed after reading this book.
It is very interesting that most of the gaming scene was covered. At one point, you're in the “gaming room” of an Anarchy Online addict before you are whisked away to the sweltering hotel basement in Dallas, where the latest Cyberathlete Professional League tournament is underway.
Smartbomb drags you into the rock star life of the game development industry and then firmly plants you back with the core of the industry: the gamers themselves.
Update: 7 Nov, 2006 - Reposted from old Heartless Gamer Reviews section and applied labels.
Update: 2 Apr, 2007 - Edited labels and article.
Update: 28 July, 2008 - Added info section.
Update: 15 Dec, 2009 - Reposted to new Heartless_ Gamer Reviews.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
What I learned building my new PC so far...
Here is what I've learned so far building my new PC.First issue was that the damn BIOS wouldn't recognize the hard drive. Well I stopped here thinking it was pointless to go any further without troubleshooting this down. Long story short...
1. Configure single SATA HD into a JBOD RAID setup via RAID controller setup.
2. Set CDROM to be first boot device.
3. Use mobo setup CD to create a SATA RAID driver disk.
4. Install Windows and press F6 to install additional drivers.
5. Install SATA RAID driver.
6. Windows now recognizes the drive for the install!
Two hours to figure those simple steps out. Had a friend from that lives in England that is a tech rep by day and he did all the research for me. Great guy! I looked at the same FAQ and troubleshooting guides he did and I would have never came up with the same solution.
Next problem... and current problem (didn't fix because I had to come to work).
Net connection works fine without a router.
Connection doesn't work with router.
Lots of crap going on here... will have to dig into it.
Update: 8 Nov, 2006 - Edited post and applied labels.
Friday, December 16, 2005
MO5 - The SOE effect... part II... MMORPG madness
Mouthing Off 5
If you play Everquest 2 currently, I would quit. Why? Because the SOE effect is going full tilt and the ole’ captain over at SOE, John Smedley, has lost the lock to his spigot: err, mouth. Read the clown’s: err John Smedley’s new interview over at Gamespot.
To quote the clown:
They love your company so much that the Star Wars Galaxies team has lost numerous leads, developers, and technicians?
They are so dedicated that they somehow are going to rebuild a 2.5 year old game into a World of Warcraft killer? You can “want to beat the crap out of World of Warcraft”, but I would think it a bit silly to actually believe you can. It is said though, confidence is a key to success.
Enough about Star Wars Galaxies, let us get back to Everquest 2. As I have previously defined the SOE effect I will connect some dots. In April ’05 Star Wars Galaxies underwent the Combat Upgrade to mixed reviews and a slight murmur in the crowd. Players stayed and lived with the changes because it was not GAME ALTERING or DRAMATIC. Fast forward to November and the BOMBSHELL known as the NGE was dropped inside a two week period.
The numbers are not in or they are very closely guarded, but the word around the Internet is that the NGE has killed Star Wars Galaxies. Actually, effectively killed would be a better statement. No amount of marketing or positive PR spin will sway a large group of new players to pick up Star Wars Galaxies sans a complete re-launch under a new name.
Now, back to Everquest 2. EQ2 already had a major revision to it's combat system and class balance. Once again, there are some murmurs in the player base about the changes. People are still playing though. However, what will happen when SOE decides that the game isn’t Everquesty enough?
Smedley claimed that their sandbox approach didn’t work with Star Wars because it wasn’t Star Warsy enough. Everquest 2 isn’t a sandbox game, but it’s no Everquest either. SOE so far has swayed from making a better Everquest all the way to making change after change to open the game up towards what I like to call “the World of Warcraft player”. Not just casual gamers, but gamers that like to solo MORE than group. Obviously World of Warcraft has found A LOT of gamers that fit this mold.
If SOE is so CONFIDENT that they can turn Star Wars Galaxies into a World of Warcraft killer then what do you think they will believe they can do with Everquest 2, which is still rumored to be short of pulling a profit due to high development costs. Is Everquest 2 in for a major shake up because it somehow doesn’t fit the mold that SOE believes it should?
If 300,000+ accounts at SWG’s peak wasn't good enough then what is the threshold for Everquest 2 before SOE mandates it be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up? Did SOE learn with Everquest 2 that sequels don’t work in the MMO market and did that scare away the idea of a Star Wars Galaxies 2 implementing their new features? I don’t know about everyone else, but it seems like the SOE effect is getting worse.
With SOE’s parent company, Sony, already hurting in the public relations department with the DRM fiasco, will they be willing to take any more negative press as the story of the Star Wars Galaxies NGE debacle starts crossing into the New York Times?
Everquest 2 players: get while the getting is good. Don't say "It will never happen", because it already has. As much as you may hate the idea, you can't deny the obvious trend that SOE has set. How many more games do they need to kill to prove it?
Update: 3 May, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.
If you play Everquest 2 currently, I would quit. Why? Because the SOE effect is going full tilt and the ole’ captain over at SOE, John Smedley, has lost the lock to his spigot: err, mouth. Read the clown’s: err John Smedley’s new interview over at Gamespot.
To quote the clown:
"One thing that I love about our company is that there is no 'quit' in this company. It's about making sure that we have pride in what we do. People within the company feel so much pride in this game that they want it to beat the crap out of World of Warcraft. That's something we feel very passionate about. We know we are capable of making the best stuff out there, and I'm proud to say that with the changes we're making in Galaxies, I think we're headed in the right direction."
They love your company so much that the Star Wars Galaxies team has lost numerous leads, developers, and technicians?
They are so dedicated that they somehow are going to rebuild a 2.5 year old game into a World of Warcraft killer? You can “want to beat the crap out of World of Warcraft”, but I would think it a bit silly to actually believe you can. It is said though, confidence is a key to success.
Enough about Star Wars Galaxies, let us get back to Everquest 2. As I have previously defined the SOE effect I will connect some dots. In April ’05 Star Wars Galaxies underwent the Combat Upgrade to mixed reviews and a slight murmur in the crowd. Players stayed and lived with the changes because it was not GAME ALTERING or DRAMATIC. Fast forward to November and the BOMBSHELL known as the NGE was dropped inside a two week period.
The numbers are not in or they are very closely guarded, but the word around the Internet is that the NGE has killed Star Wars Galaxies. Actually, effectively killed would be a better statement. No amount of marketing or positive PR spin will sway a large group of new players to pick up Star Wars Galaxies sans a complete re-launch under a new name.
Now, back to Everquest 2. EQ2 already had a major revision to it's combat system and class balance. Once again, there are some murmurs in the player base about the changes. People are still playing though. However, what will happen when SOE decides that the game isn’t Everquesty enough?
Smedley claimed that their sandbox approach didn’t work with Star Wars because it wasn’t Star Warsy enough. Everquest 2 isn’t a sandbox game, but it’s no Everquest either. SOE so far has swayed from making a better Everquest all the way to making change after change to open the game up towards what I like to call “the World of Warcraft player”. Not just casual gamers, but gamers that like to solo MORE than group. Obviously World of Warcraft has found A LOT of gamers that fit this mold.
If SOE is so CONFIDENT that they can turn Star Wars Galaxies into a World of Warcraft killer then what do you think they will believe they can do with Everquest 2, which is still rumored to be short of pulling a profit due to high development costs. Is Everquest 2 in for a major shake up because it somehow doesn’t fit the mold that SOE believes it should?
If 300,000+ accounts at SWG’s peak wasn't good enough then what is the threshold for Everquest 2 before SOE mandates it be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up? Did SOE learn with Everquest 2 that sequels don’t work in the MMO market and did that scare away the idea of a Star Wars Galaxies 2 implementing their new features? I don’t know about everyone else, but it seems like the SOE effect is getting worse.
With SOE’s parent company, Sony, already hurting in the public relations department with the DRM fiasco, will they be willing to take any more negative press as the story of the Star Wars Galaxies NGE debacle starts crossing into the New York Times?
Everquest 2 players: get while the getting is good. Don't say "It will never happen", because it already has. As much as you may hate the idea, you can't deny the obvious trend that SOE has set. How many more games do they need to kill to prove it?
Update: 3 May, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Nintendo Revolution... new possibilities explored
I was reading this article over at CNN Money and it dawned on me: the Nintendo Revolution, and the way the controller works, will reinvent the way we play games. This is the perfect chance for Nintendo to produce sequels in the series we already love without summoning that sick feeling of sequelitis. Star Fox, Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and other classic Nintendo series will have new, exciting games to play on the Nintendo Revolution.
Unlike other sequels, where the control schemes are unlikely to change from game to game, Nintendo Revolution sequels will have an exciting new twist. The new control mechanism is exactly what sequels need. Cross platform games such as the Madden series will most likely use the "old" controller style for their Revolution ports (Nintendo has stated there will be some sort of "classic" styled controller that ships with the revolution).
This is a chance for enterprising developers to revitalize some of their boring and "dead due to sequels" titles. Series like Tomb Raider, that have become the laughing stock of sequelitis, could potentially be brought back to life. Even if the game isn't perfect; playing it with a Revolution controller may bring back just enough interest to revitalize the series. This could sway more developers to publish exclusively for Nintendo. Developers love to use their big name properties to move boxes.
The Nintendo Revolution looks better everyday.
Unlike other sequels, where the control schemes are unlikely to change from game to game, Nintendo Revolution sequels will have an exciting new twist. The new control mechanism is exactly what sequels need. Cross platform games such as the Madden series will most likely use the "old" controller style for their Revolution ports (Nintendo has stated there will be some sort of "classic" styled controller that ships with the revolution).
This is a chance for enterprising developers to revitalize some of their boring and "dead due to sequels" titles. Series like Tomb Raider, that have become the laughing stock of sequelitis, could potentially be brought back to life. Even if the game isn't perfect; playing it with a Revolution controller may bring back just enough interest to revitalize the series. This could sway more developers to publish exclusively for Nintendo. Developers love to use their big name properties to move boxes.
The Nintendo Revolution looks better everyday.
Update: 6 Apr, 2007 - Updated labels and edited post.
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