My Response to Sessler’s Response to L4D 2 Critics

Via GamePolitics, I saw Adam Sessler’s response to the online petitioners of Left 4 Dead 2, Valve’s sequel to one of last year’s best games.  Head there to watch his response.

Here’s the GP excerpt of part of his response for the lazy:

We’re going down that path again – this shocking, amazing sense of entitlement that always manifests itself in the gaming community… Valve does not have a habit of screwing people and if there was ever a developer out there I would just kind of give them the benefit of the doubt…

They don’t owe you anything. It’s a business… Where were you brought up and in what environment where you hugged so overwhelmingly that you feel that you need to be served as the only person that needs to be considered when other people are making commercial properties? It really is a little bit on the naive side and slightly embarrassing… It’s kind of juvenile… The Internet, when it comes to games, can be such a nation of whiners…

I usually agree with Sessler… this is not one of those times.

Valve is a company, and like all companies they provide a product to the consumers.  When they announce a new product (like Left 4 Dead 2), it sparks talk among the consumers.  Sure, Valve doesn’t necessarily “owe” the fans anything.  Of course, completely ignoring your consumers tends to result in producing a poor product, which, in turn, leads to you ultimately going out of business because you aren’t selling anything.

Consumers have every right to complain or “whine” just as much as they have the right to NOT BUY YOUR GAME.  And, there is nothing more powerful than the consumer’s purchase power. 

Some petitioners believe they have been “sold out” by Valve.  I find this viewpoint to be extreme.  A company wouldn’t just sell out its consumer base, thus negatively affecting sales.  However, Valve did promise DLC for the original Left 4 Dead.  And, despite an extra game mode and added Versus Mode to a couple maps, there hasn’t been much. 

I don’t think that Valve would have to place all the new content from L4D 2 into a single, free DLC package.  In fact, I’d gladly pay for a hefty expansion pack instead.  Why they didn’t choose that route… I’m not sure.  Perhaps they are taking a page from the folks at Infinity Ward, who deliver a new Call of Duty game just about every year?

I’ve also seen a number of people in both camps throwing around the “freedom of speech” argument.  Look, regardless of how you feel about Left 4 Dead 2 or Valve, freedom of speech does not mean freedom from criticism.  Valve announced a new product, and as far as I’m concerned, there is nothing wrong with criticizing them for it.  Conversely, there is nothing wrong with vocally supporting them or criticizing the petitioners. 

What we are seeing unfold isn’t, as Sessler stated, “a nation of whiners,” but a free market system doing what it does best, promoting competition and improving the quality of consumer goods.

ArmA II Videos Show Impressive Scale

Some great videos of ArmA II the sequel to the popular and very realistic, tactical FPS.  Both videos will impress you, but in very different ways.  The first shows off a huge air superiority fight, full of great explosions and crashes.  The second lets you see a giant 1,000 vs. 1,000 battle from the perspective of a lonely soldier.

Games like Call of Duty deliver an action-packed and cinema-like experience to the player.  However, games like ArmA II deliver, while focusing more on the tactical aspects of shooters rather thant he action still manage to capture the excitement just as well.

I just hope my computer can run such things.

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

PC Review: The Sims 3

It’s super late and I’m really tired, so there won’t be any additional thoughts on this review until I’ve had some sleep.  But, don’t let that stop you from reading my official review over at Cheat Code Central.

I’ll update this with more on the flipside.

Story-Driven MMOs: The Devolution of the Genre

If there is one thing I have believed since the time I first played an MMO, it is that story should not be the foundation of the genre. 

Now, before you start screaming about how story drives the progression of the game, let me clarify.  I’m not talking about story in the general sense.  Instead, I’m referring to story manufactured and presented by the developer of the MMO.  A story that has already been fabricated, that is already set in stone, regardless of whether there are 2, 10, or 100 optional paths, is a foolish way to deliver an MMO experience.  In fact, the only way such an idea could work is if the developer was able to create a truly unique and individualistic story for every player they have playing the game, which is an undeniable impossibility.

This year’s E3 has brought about a lot of news in the MMO genre.  There are a bunch of MMOFPSs (currently being heralded as Persistent World Shooters (PWS)) and an even larger number of traditional MMORPGs in development.  One of the most popular of these is Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMORPG based being developed by Bioware, the creators of the widely successful single-player RPG, Knights of the Old Republic games.

This latest Ten Ton Hammer story features a video interview with the developers of The Old Repbulic MMORPG.  The interview discusses the topic of story-driven gameplay and the need to tell a great story.  It’s a lie.

Even if stories are varied by class or race, it still means that thousands of players will experience the exact same story.  I’ve always found that sharing a single plot line with thousands of people tends to really ruin it for me.  In the interview, one of the developers makes a comparison of a good story in an MMORPG to that of a good story in a comic book.  Frankly, I find the comparison a bit simplistic and skimpy on the facts.

Instead, imagine you’re reading the comic book with the great story.  Everything is great and you are compelled.  Suddenly, you’re in a room with 30 people, all reading outloud the same comic book.  Some might be at different spots in the story, but they’re all reading aloud.  Not only would it be distracting, but it would ruin the experience.

It’s the same thing with MMORPGs.  You might be at a certain spot in the story while others are just starting or further ahead.  Nevertheless, you’re forced down the same avenues while also bumping into each other along the way.  Say you’re next part of the story requires you to kill a special enemy.  You go to that area and someone else, slightly ahead of you, is already killing the enemy.  Then, you see the enemy die and have to wait for him to respawn.  The fact that you have to watch someone else complete that part of the story ahead of you is game-breaking.  How can your story be immersive and compelling if you’re watching it repeat over and over again?  Sure, the use of instances greatly reduces these types of occurrences, but then the world seems stagnant and boring, further reducing the immersion.

It doesn’t matter how you spell it out, developer-created stories just don’t work in MMOs.  Quests are finite, and when players run out of quests to complete (typically referred to as the “end game”) they get bored because the “story” has halted or stalled.  Then it’s the developer’s responsibility to create more quests to continue their story.  It’s just way too much for the developer to handle without having breaks in the story.  MMOs go months before additional quests are added, thus continuing the story.  If the book you were reading suddenly stopped on a certain page, and you had to wait 4 months before you could continue reading, would you enjoy it? 

What developers should be focusing on is creating MMO worlds that are truly dynamic and interesting.  Instead of planning conflict, just create the means for conflict to occur.  Instead of designating factions for players to opt-in to at the start, give them the tools to create their own factions.

MMOs need to be reshaped in the way they are developed.  Instead of building the world completely, including cities, quests, scripted story, just build the world and then give the players the tools and features they need to fill it up!  For example, let the players be the ones determining what’s important, where the big cities are built, and how the story developes.  EVE Online, despite my many problems with its boring combat and gameplay mechanics, gets this part right.  At most, MMOs should have  a premise, but then leave the story in the hands of the players.

Think about all the time wasted on creating quests and determining story arcs.  Why not let the players determine their own stories and conflicts?  MMOs are supposed to be ever-changing games that NEVER END, yet developer-created stories only stretch as far as they are developed, forcing players to continue through old story arcs until new ones are released, if ever.  Meanwhile, stories traditionally, and by nature, have a beginning and end, so unless they are constantly changing and progressing, they are in stark contrast with the very notion of the MMO.  Unless of course the players are the ones writing the story.

Exciting Video Game Job: Paper Shredder?

That’s right, according to GameJobs.com, a company in Omaha, Nebraska is seeking someone to fill their “Paper Shredder” position.

Amazingly, the position is listed as NOT entry-level.  Apparently, they are seeking paper shredders with at least 2 year’s experience.  No learning on the job here.

Here’s the job description:

Employment Status:
Part time of Full-time (35-40+ hours per week); Monday – Friday 9AM- 6PM

Requirements:
16 years old or older

$6.96 per hour

Skills:
We are looking for someone who is reliable, has good attendance, attention to detail, a team-player, and is willing to occasionally work on weekends.

Experience:
No experience required

Duties:
Looking for an easy job with a laid back environment (no dress code)? We are looking for someone to shred papers, light cleaning, handle various other filing duties throughout the day. Full time employment. Day hours.

Better hurry for this one.  I’ve already submitted my resume… and yeah, I’ve got five years experience and a Bachelor’s Degree in Paper..ology.

The Best Audio Composing Software is… Mario Paint?

Yeah, why not?  Who says you can’t compose great works without those fancy programs that cost thousands of gold coins?

Leave it to gamers to compile some great songs and deliver them via the interwebby.  Now, some are done in the original Mario Paint, while others were composed in what’s called Mario Paint Composer, which is a freeware version downloadable for the PC.  I kind of prefer the regular Mario Paint versions because most of the Composer versions have downloaded sound sets that mimic real instruments.  While this certainly makes the Composer versions sound… more professional, it does diminish the song.  I think that part of the creativity and talent is figuring out the perfect combination of cat meows and dog barks that you need.

I picked out a few of my favorites:

Still Alive (Portal Theme)

Halo 3 – One Final Effort

Blink 182 – What’s My Age Again?

Final Fantasy 7 – Cosmo Canyon

The Office

Team Fortress 2 Theme

Zelda Overworld Theme