Why don’t you get a job?

I was wondering how long it would take for Mario to get fed up with Peach’s crap:

Buttonmashing? MMO Gamers’ Infinite Laziness

With the release of the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (AoC) open beta, there has been a lot of talk about the game’s combat system.  Sure, it’s different in that it allows the player swing his melee weapon in different motions and without a target selected.  But is it really “revolutionary,” a term that’s being used more in relation to AoC than Linkin Park songs are used in Dragon Ball Z fan videos.  So who is right?

Keen and Graev, a blog hosted by two guys who have been covering a lot of Age of Conan news lately, both providing videos, podcasts, and insight, tackled this question not too long ago.  And, despite their excellent coverage of the beta events and news, I just can’t come to grips with where they stand on the combat system… errr, at least where Keen stands, as proven by this post:

AoC’s Combat: Truly revolutionary or more buttonmashing?

Now, I’m not going to just quote block his entire post… you can read it yourself.

To me, the word “buttonmashing” has lost its original meaning.  People used to refer to buttomashing as the random pushing of buttons.  The key word there is random.  Buttonmashing is more commonly associated with action/fighting games, where players were encouraged to memorize button combinations to perform special attacks.  Unfortunately, many fighting games suffered from buttonmashers, who would randomly hit buttons and still defeat opponents who were trying to perform special attacks.

Age of Conan is not buttonmashing for the simple fact that pressing random buttons would probably mean you’d never successfully complete a combo that was more than 2 unique keys.  What Keen fails to realize is that there are more factors associated with the combo system.  For example, once the player activates a combo to begin, he can stall the combo for a short time, or even progress through the combo until the last key.

Here’s a scenario:  Let’s say you are standing opposite of an enemy player.  You want to use a combo on him that will cause him to steadily lose hit points over time.  However, the combo to do that requires you to hit 5 keys before completing.  The way AoC’s combat system works, you can begin the combo and get all the way to the 4th key and stop.  Then, you can get yourself close enough to the other player, hit the 5th key, and perform the combo.  What you’ve basically done is turn a 5-key combo into a 1-key combo based on timing and position.  Of course, doing such a thing would require practice and great timing skills, but it is achievable.

Now, Keen also discussed the macroing of combos using gaming keyboards, allowing players to assign one key to perform the entire button combination automatically.  While such a feature would definitely alleviate the need to “buttonmash,” it certainly would keep the player from being able to delay his special attacks.

To combat the ability to macro combos using special keyboards, one AoC player recommended randomizing the keys that are needed.  Personally, I think it is an excellent idea.  On the other hand, Keen has a different opinion:

MeanKeenLurikeen: The day they randomize combos is the day I quit then. There are times when I come home from a long day and all I want to do is grind away on mobs or run a few quests. If I have to focus in on exactly every action I’m taking at all times to be effective then I’m out. I don’t think Funcom would be that silly.

This statement brings me to my next topic, which is more about the MMO gamer than AoC or its combat system.

Laziness.

I’ve seen this more times than I’ve been Rick-rolled.  I don’t come from an MMO background.  As a gamer, my roots are in FPS and action games.  So, as an outsider looking in on the mass of MMO gamers, I can’t help but scratch my head in confusion.  If there is an evolutionary cycle of gamers, surely MMO gamers would be just about to invent the wheel, possibly making the transition from the nomadic lifestyle.  How else can you explain it when they sound like a chorus singing the same damn tune?

MMO Gamer Tune:

I go to work all day… I don’t want to have to come home, sit down, breathe in and out, log onto Age of Conan, left-click to select my character, use WASD to move around, and then HAVE to press 3-5 extra keys in succession to perform special attacks and abilities!

Keen, sadly, falls straight into this category.  While the rest of the gaming community has been busy inventing airplanes, skyscrapers, and space stations, the MMO gamers have been wiping their asses with leaves and still complaining they work too hard.  How are they ever going to function when gaming takes the next step into virtual reality, where RL movements dictate what happens?

MMO Gamers are Autopiloters

Autopiloters… that’s what MMO gamers have widely become.  Yes, I made that word up, but I think it fits the description.  Keen said it best when he wrote, “If I have to focus in on exactly every action I’m taking at all times to be effective then I’m out.”

That’s like a pilot complaining that he has to sit there and fly the plane, check his readouts, and monitor the radio.  So what happens, some guy invents the autopilot, which just makes everything automatic.  Yeah, it is a great invention for something like flying an airliner, but come on, people play games to PLAY games, not switch the autopilot on.

MMO Gamers are NOT Gamers

Which brings me to my last point:  MMO gamers, as a majority, are NOT gamers.  Gamers are people who enjoy playing games, whether that means hitting 5 keys or 1,000 keys.  They are people who like paying attention and being in control of every action.  They are people who see games as fun activities.

MMO gamers are people who generally don’t enjoy playing their games.  They often confess to hating MMOs because they are “timesinks.”  They are people who constantly complain about buttonmashing, despite never understanding the actual definition.  They are people who believe that games that require the player to provide comprehensive inputs are stupid and tasking.  They are people who just want to sit back and watch things happen rather than do them.  They are people who do dungeon raids because they have to, not because they want to and they are the people who believe that anything that requires more than 2 mouse clicks deserves its own button macro.

Behold the devolution of gaming.

I can wait sooooooo good.

Too busy with RL to post?  Not really.  I’ve been gaming about as much as I always have.  I’ve been playing Call of Duty 4 less, Teamfortress 2 more.  I bought Rainbox Six: Vegas 2 for the PC and have been getting into that more than I thought I would.  I decided to stop playing Mass Effect on my brother’s Xbox360 when I’m visiting because I’m going to wait for the PC version to hit shelves later this month. 

I’m playing the Age of Conan open beta right now as well.  And, even with the level 13 cap, I’m having fun with it.  I’ll be writing two reviews for CheatCC.com this month, so I have to set time aside for that.  May is shaping up to be one crazy month in gaming.  We’ve got the release of Age of Conan on May 17th (3-day headstart!), the release of Mass Effect (PC), and my 2 reviews.  Not to mention that I have to find time to go to work and feed myself so I don’t die.

Let me ditch the nonsensical recap though and focus on something… like Grant Theft Auto IV.  Yeah, it’s getting perfect scores from all the major reviewer sites.  Do I own a copy?  Not at the moment, but I plan on buying mine either later tonight or tomorrow.  At first, I was skeptical about these reviews.  How could a game get all those perfect scores?  I mean, not even Halo 3 got perfect scores with Bungie having more money than God.  So maybe Rockstar Games threw truckloads of money at reviewers or, maybe, just maybe… it is the first “perfect” game.

I got a chance to sit down and play GTAIV this past weekend with my brothers.  My first thought was just nice the game looked, which is saying a lot coming from someone who favors PCs.  One by one, my impressions of each aspect–the controls, the audio, the characters, the plot–were being formed.  Say what you will about a game series that has received more controversial media time than that crazy religious nut Obama used to receive his sermons from, GTA IV set out on a mission to accomplish its goals and that’s the definition of a perfect video game. 

What did the developers want to do with it?  Did they incorporate those features into the game?  If so, at what level of quality are they incorporated?  Rockstar Games didn’t just slap on additional features; they took the time to make sure each part of what they put into the game was the best.

It is far more likely that GTA IV is just a great game than it is likely that Rockstar Games paid off every major reviewer in the United States.

My Video on TenTonHammer

I don’t know how this one got by me!

The promotional video I created for my guild a short while back was featured on TenTonHammer.com’s AoC: Clan Soupfeature.  Clan Soup is a weekly news guide revolving around the many guilds getting ready to play Age of Conan.  The best part is that Bildo, the writer of Rambings of a Bildo, is the guy who compiles all the information and writes it.

Clan Soup Issue 3 - 3/31/2008

You can find the part about the video under “Weekly Clan News,” but here is the excerpt for those of you who hate hunting:

The Exodus Syndicate- Exodus member Alex Taldren has created a promotional video for his Clan’s upcoming foray into Hyboria with Age of Conan. You can check out the video either at the clan’s website, or at Alex’s personal blog. Looking mighty good, I must say.

Thanks for taking the time to feature my video, Bildo.  Sorry it took so long for me to notice… lol.

I Am Fallout 3

Ever since Bethesda Softworks took over the Fallout series and began work on the third installment, veteran fans and gamers all over have been crafting their own radiation suits in anticipation.  Recently, Bethesda has been giving the media the chance to see working versions of Fallout 3, and the reports are overwhelmingly positive.  Of course, most studio-invite reports are… but this is different.

Sure, there are some ignorant gamers out there screaming that Fallout 3 is nothing more than a STALKER clone, but that is to be expected.  What is really impressive about Fallout 3 is just how trusting the gaming community is of Bethesda Softworks!  For a small upstart company, one of the only mainstream video game developers on the East coast, they seem to be doing an amazing job.

Gamespot recently got their hands on a playable version of Fallout 3.  I skimmed through their report because most of it is just developer pandering, but there are always some informative gems to be discovered. 

Fallout 3 Updated Impressions — Gamespot

One of best things I noticed is the inclusion of a K-9 companion: 

Okay, so Fallout 3 has all the stuff I love:

• Post-apocalyptic setting?  Check.
• Strange mutants and creatures? Check.
• K-9 companion?  Check.

All they need to do now is cast Will Smith to voice the main character.  Yeah, so maybe that’s a little much, but regardless, Fallout 3 is a game to get excited about.

ALIENS: Colonial Marines Screenshots

There aren’t a lot of details on Sega’s upcoming ALIENS: Colonial Marines game being developed by Gearbox and set for release sometime in 2009.  We know it will probably be available on the PC and at least the PS3 and Xbox 360.  The official website is lacking content, but considering that a release date of 2009 could very well mean Fall of 2009, it’s no surprise there isn’t much. 

Someone did compile the few screenshots available, so check it out!

My first impressions based on the screenshots are that this game is very good-looking.  It also looks as if they’ve captured the atmosphere of the movies with the detailed and gritty enviornments.  Of course, visuals aren’t everything, but they do help.

There are a number of screenshots featuring other marines nearby, so it appears that Gearbox is straying away from the “go it alone” playstyle that has plagued previous ALIENS games.  Nothing annoys me more than starting a mission with some friendlies only to have a path blocked, at which time the leader shouts, “Hey [INSERT NAME], see if you can’t find a way around.”  Suddenly, you’re on your own and play out the entire mission without your squadmates.

And, if the title has anything to do with how the game will play, there should also be some form of co-op feature.  But, instead of the standard, 2-player co-op, you should be able to play with up to 5 people cooperatively, making the player feel more like part of a squad.  Oh, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m so glad that there won’t be any Predators running around.