The Core Gamer Seige

Gamesindustry.biz has a fantastic article by Peter Moore detailing some of the struggles EA has had moving away from the traditional business model. Even if you don't agree with the sentiment, its a great look inside the thinking of big game publishers.

Does the Time Make the Game?

Yesterday Hideo Kojima had a great roundtable discussion about his series, Metal Gear Solid, and how he views the issue of taking on real world issues in video games. Here it is:

The Successful Relaunch

Gamasutra has a great interview with Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director of SquareEnix MMO FFXIV: A Realm Reborn.

200

Its March now, the big games are coming down the pipeline. Dark Souls II, Titanfall, FFX/X-2 Remaster, inFamous: Second Son, and MGS V; are all games that are highly anticipated. Whether you own next-gen, last gen or a handheld system there is much to be excited for this month and the ones to come. Marking the 200^th post has made me reflective and looking backwards I have pored over the ones I could have done better. I want to start by saying Mea Culpa. I haven’t always been right in what I foresaw for the industry. The Tomb Raider reboot was of the highest excellence, I found out after playing the PS4 DE edition. While I was hesitant to latch onto the idea of a reboot being necessary after the trilogy that began with the excellent Tomb Raider: Legend I can acknowledge that Crystal Dynamics did an outstanding job with the IP. It wasn’t the only thing I got wrong but it stands out to me as one of the biggest.

The Three S's

 It’s come down from on high that Capcom’s Deep Down, a F2P PS4 exclusive, is not allowing female characters to be created in the game. As the pronouncement was translated in an interview from Japanese to English, one has to take it with a grain of salt. Translation errors have accounted for more than a few embarrassments, so while things look grim on that front, there’s always hope. Whatever happens in the end though, it’s another stab in the gut for the industry. Video games are one of the only forms of entertainment that have a few good women fronting popular series. The reboot of Tomb Raider was quite good, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Last of Us, are all examples of strong female leads.

The Trust of a Hero

Have your ever noticed that the hero is never trusted? Superman and Batman, Buffy and Angel, Master Chief and Cortana; every modern hero has to face the idea that the very people that they save, that they fight with every day will end up mistrusting them. It’s something of a modern convention. In the old days calling a man a liar was paramount to signing your death warrant. A gentleman would have you at ten paces by the dawn, and in the west if you weren’t shot outright, you’d be looking at a six shooter on a dusty main street.

Galactic Starfighter Expert Scout Guide

So you want to play the Scout class in The Old Republic’s latest expansion? There are a few guidelines to set forth before we get to the meat of the guide. First of all the Scout class is a dagger class, you need to get in quick and get out quick, and the best damage comes from getting up close. To have any real chance of taking out an enemy, especially a better armored one than yourself you need to be within about five thousand meters from the enemy ship. You are given the Blackbolt/NovaDive free of charge and must unlock the Sting/Flashfire but be aware that the two scout ships do not play exactly alike.

Enter Galactic Starfighter

I love the Galactic Star Fighter expansion for The Old Republic. It’s unexpectedly fun. PVP has always been something of a bane for me. Its hardcore enthusiasts will be first to get the best gear and the best accessories. In most games that means coming in later takes a lot of gumption. You have to ready to eat the dirt a lot to gain the skill and the gear to compete. Enter GSF.

In Defense of ESO

MMORPG.com has a guest article from Pathfinder Online's Ryan Dancey. In his OP-ED he defends The Elder Scrolls Online and the use of the hybrid subscription/micro-transaction model for the future of MMO's. 

Link

The Fan

As I read comment section after comment section, I have come to realize that usually the most vocal MMO gamers are not actually fans of Role Playing Games. RPG’s are all about combat, loot, level progression, story and rinse and repeat. It’s its purest form the RPG is grind, loot, story and repeat and it’s a diagram that has been repeated by Massively Multiplayer Online RPG’s as well. The shell may differ from game to game but each MMORPG looks the same when broken down.

The Face of Gaming

Note to game developers: how a character looks matters. Next year’s Wildstar is already having its own mini-crisis on the ‘sexualization’ of some of the races in the MMO by Carbine studios. Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward made headlines earlier in the year by announcing that it would allow female avatars in the multiplayer section of its game for the first time. Mass Effect 3 had a firestorm of controversy for allowing fans to pick the face of ‘FemShep’. Accusations flew that BioWare was rewriting history and sexualizing the female version of Commander Shepherd. And the list goes on, gamers have a great deal of emotion in the way the characters they play are portrayed and made to appear.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

The End of an Era

Everquest Next

2014 may see the last great year of the Post-World of Warcraft era for the MMO genre. Ever since the success of WoW the MMO market has undergone a massive upheaval. In a genre that was once satisfied with 300,000 subscribers just a decade ago, the industry now looks to the million subscription minimum, as a watermark for success. It was never sustainable and it is impressive that it lasted as long as it did. Certainly while the subscription landscape may go back to near Pre-WoW levels, the F2P market appears ready to thrive. It’s a market that will never be very stable, its very existence is predicated on highs and lows, but with more realistic expectations game developers should be able to weather the storms ahead.

A Drink in the Desert

The drought is coming. Because of game delays, system launches, and bad planning there is going to be about a three month window where nary a game will be launched. The PS3 has GT 5 and a few JRPG's in the pipeline and the Nintendo 3DS has Bravely Default, but by and large its going to be until the end of February until we see some high quality games again.

So what do you do to pass the time but also keep some money in your wallet? Sony and Microsoft both have free games programs to go along with their subscription services on their consoles and handhelds respectively. And while Sony will not have its Gaikai service up before the drought ends for the PS4 (It is tentatively scheduled to launch Fall 2014), their flagship PS3 console is the most fruitful Sony system is terms of old, new and digital-only titles.

Waking the Nightmare I

The Secret World is a frightening place. I say that with a smile on my lips, but its true. There isn’t a single MMO I’ve ever played that gives off the sense of danger as well as Funcoms' third MMO does. You are never safe, and that feeling of danger permeates every facet of the game. From word ‘Go’ you are going to get killed in The Secret World. Maybe you aggroed too many monsters, or a big named monster snuck up behind you, maybe you just got a little cocky after grabbing that shiny new piece of gear; the moment you think you’re safe, that’s when you’re not.

Seven Ways to Insure a Game Launches DOA

1. Don’t talk about the game for years. (Blade & Soul)

2. Over hype, under deliver. (Assassin’s Creed 3)

3. Make it like a movie. (Beyond Two Souls, Xenosaga)

4. Have unrealistic sales expectations (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Tomb Raider)

5. Completely change the economy of the game right before launch. (ArcheAge).

6. Focus on Lore before Graphics, Graphics before Gameplay, Gameplay before Story. (FFXIII, but I love you anyways)

7. Try to make everyone happy. (FFXIII-2)

Embrace the Digital

Right about now we’re coming to the homestretch. Depending on what speaks to you, most gamers are about to/or have already collected their PS4, Xbox One, Wii U or brand new spanking PC. When that happens we tend to look over the newest, shiniest games figuring on what is going to get our money. It’s OK; it’s nearly Christmas and we’re all likely to pick up a game or two that in retrospect probably isn’t going to be any good. It’s that time of the year again. Because all three consoles will have launched in the last year the quality of the games are going to be… less than we gamers might have hoped. And if you tag on handheld systems as well, things can start looking bleak. Have no fear the dreaded game drought because although neither the Xbox One nor the PS4 gaming consoles have backwards compatibility the realm to look at is Digital.

More than any previous generation digital titles will be the bread and butter of a console. Though they may prove not to be sales Titans, digital sales will drive the consumer base to spend money in-between the big AAA releases. At the very least small digital-only titles will certainly be able to tide you over until the Big Boys start producing quality games again. Banner Saga, Blackguards, and a new expansion of XCOM provide just a few examples of good solid bite sized digital gaming for the PC. The PS4 has Day One digital titles to go along with Warframe, DCUO, and Resogun. Crimson Dragon and Killer Instinct are sure to impress on the Xbox One. This is a new generation. It is a generation that will be marked by what goes on in the digital sphere as much if not more than anything that happens in the traditional brick and mortar store. Embrace the digital.

Endgame Fugue State

I’ve been on hiatus for about a week from FFXIV. I'm nearing the end of the main story and all I have left is two back to back raids. As much as I love the game, I’ve been musing on the future I have with it. Playing MMO’s is always a bit of a love/hate relationship for a gamer. There are parts of MMO’s that everyone dislikes. Somepeople hate to grind or the inclusion of PVP, and others hate quest-hubs or tab-targeting. For me I’ve always disliked endgame.

Eorzea Journeys VIII

You know how sometimes nothing seems to go well, you remember those days always. But what about the days when things go well in spite of all the reasons why they should fail. I had a good couple weeks in Eorzea. I smashed through Stone Vigil with a party that refused to quit even as things went sideways a bit. I also finished up Dzemael Darkhold for my Maelstrom rank up quest. It was nice to finally check that off the bucket list. From there it was the Garuda Primal Fight. 

The Family United

The Family is a dark comedy mob film by Luc Besson. The celebrated French writer/director, known for both his action movies and his more comedic work is in top form here. I have to say off the bat that I usually can’t stand mob movies. They’re predictable, and yet watching The Family with Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tommy Lee Jones is an experience not to be missed. The Blake family is a family living in a small town in the French countryside, secretly in the Witness Protection program. Giovanni Manzoni is a retired mobster (who isn’t quite retired) hiding from his former colleagues who want him dead for testifying against their Don. Each family member played by DeNiro, Pfeiffer, Dianna Argon and John D’Leo is excellent. The family is tight-nit by nature, viewing everyone around them suspiciously and yet for all their shenanigans and criminal malfeasance, there is a heartfelt quality to the Blake’s that belies their violent natures. At one point or another each family member clearly is wrestling with the lives they lead, De Niro spends a moment in reflection while writing his memoirs clearly shaken by the question of whether or not his past has harmed his children as clearly as his abusive father harmed him. Quickly his daughter comforts him and tells him he was a good father. Since this is a Luc Besson film, you can be assured of a barrage of bullets and explosions, but the movie is much more a quietly good take on the mob film. Forget the cannoli; The Family is a classic mob film for the 21^st century.