Let the Games Begin!

Today is the day that the NFL returns, wait what?  This post is about football?  Slow your roll, football is a game, one of the most watched in the US (I have to say one of the most watched because I am not in the mood to fact check right now and seeing how many people watch NASCAR in this country will depress me, sorry Carlo) and it is home to one of the best games within a game you will ever play, Fantasy Football.

If you are a football fan or really a fan of management games and haven't given fantasy football a try then you are missing out on one of the most fun real world based management games there is. Think about the manager games that are out there for real sports, what information do they give you and how do they give it to you?  Fake headlines, fake emails regarding players, and more fake media sources but in fantasy football none of that is fake, the NFL is covered everyday on countless numbers of websites, blogs, and of course daily on television.  Instead of getting a choice bit of information given to you from the game you are the one who picks the trusted sources, you have your go to websites and a list of analyst that you trust who aren't named Skip Bayless because lets face it he doesn't know what he is talking about.  The question is with millions of players every year (including you now, that is right I convinced you that easily) why have we not seen a console manufacture or game publisher hop on board? 

Xbox Live and PSN tout the millions of unique users they have on their services, PSN now has a tie in with NFL Sunday Ticket, Xbox Live has an ESPN app and ESPN has their own fantasy football service on their website, still why no move to consoles?  The big kicker is why is there no fantasy football leagues in EA Sports Madden franchise?  Are they afraid it would take away from their own online leagues in which friends can draft their own teams and play against one another through out the season?  They could easily combine the two, join a league with your friends, everyone drafts a team to play against one another weekly online in Madden but built into EA Sports online they can choose to set up a fantasy football league as well with this league.  That is one way of doing it or they could keep it as a separate feature entirely that is built into the dash of Madden, players could send trash talk to each other weekly, notifications of specific player injuries and other updates on the dash as well.  Overall is Microsoft or Sony were to indeed incorporate a fantasy football app or game into their online services it is another avenue to earn advertising money and build a base of steady weekly users, if EA were to include a fantasy football game into their Madden franchise they would give players just another reason to pop in their game discs every week during the NFL season.  It is a win win that will attract new users to the respective platforms and can generate money, this needs to happen. 

    

Easy Mode: A Crutch or A Helping Hand

For those of you that haven't played Dark Souls you have yet to experience the most difficult game of this current generation, trust me it meets all the requirements of controller throwing, smashing, and yelling obscenities at fictional character that come with true frustration from gaming.  Lots of gamers have turned away after less than an hour of playtime, including myself.  I have noticed that the older I get the lower my difficulty settings need to be set in order for enjoyment, this is something that is quite alarming considering you have games like Dark Souls that do not offer different difficulty levels and games like Halo in which the developers express a difficulty the game is intended to be played on which happens to be Heroic a step above normal.  For me trying to play through Dark Souls normal difficulty is like beating Halo on Legendary, something I will never do because I do not possess the skill and patience to do so.  Does this mean I should just never be given the chance to complete Dark Souls?  Should I never be allowed to have an enjoyable experience with the game?  

Not all hope is lost though after the recent release of Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition, yes that is the official title, the games direct has talked about creating an easier mode for the game.  Now the talks of this have of course upset some fans who like the challenge and the notoriety for beating such a difficult game but really no one is forcing them to play it on easy, just because other people would be able to experience the game does not take away from the fact that some went through the gauntlet of frustration that is beating Dark Souls on its normal difficulty setting.  Some fans have argued that it would ruin the balance of the games enemies, this is the call of the ridiculous fan who just assumes that there is a slider developers would just move back and make everything easier for players.  News flash gamers a lot of balance goes into difficulty scaling, hours upon hours of play testing to get things just right as to not ruin the pacing of story elements of the game and really the entire flow of the game.  Walking with a crutch is an up and down walk, very bumpy but a helping hand is a smooth walk up to the gates of death that is Dark Souls, I look forward to this helping hand as I am sure many other gamers do as well.  All in all, easier modes build your audience and if they can be done without sacrificing the vision of the game then the more the merrier! 

    

Halo 4: PAX News Part 2

The other bit of Halo 4 news that has come out from PAX has fans on the Internet flipping out for no reason as they appear to do always, slight changes made to some of the key multiplayer gametypes.  The one that has got fans riled up the most is not being able to drop the flag once you have picked it up in a game of CTF (Capture The Flag), in previous games in the franchise players would pick the flag up and perform what has been called "juggling" by the Halo community.  To juggle the flag the player would pick the flag up, jump, and at the highest point of their jump they would throw the flag, this would not only advance the flags position making it the quickest way to score the flag but it would make the in game announcer say "flag dropped, "flag taken" over and over again which would infuriate members of the other team.  It has become a staple of the competitive side of the franchise but now with the upcoming release of Halo 4 juggling is out, instead the player will now pick the flag up automatically, no longer will they have to hold the X button to do so, once the flag is picked up it the players movement speed will no longer be slowed down and they will automatically pull out a pistol in their other hand and epic music begins to play.  Take a look for yourself in this gameplay clip from PAX, don't mind the poor play of the player, in fact do not watch the whole video, I would be amazed if you could do so without vomiting.



This is a change that I feel the community is upset just because it is a change, in no way do I feel it takes away from the teamwork side of CTF, all it does is take away the ability for skilled players to have a very quick flag score on players who do not know all the tricks and play styles of the competitive community.  In fact I believe it increases the teamwork required to score the flag because of another new feature that has competitive players upset, with the inclusion of not being able to drop the flag the opposing team will also have an indicator on screen that simple says "kill" showing them where the flag carrier is.  The competitive community is upset by this for the fact that there is no longer the possibility of a stealth flag capture, I agree with this being a bummer for the fact that it was always great having to relay to teammates which way the flag carrier was heading in hopes that it wasn't too late for them to cut them off and ruin their capture party.  Now the main reason why I do like this indicator is for the fact that every player on your team knows where to go and what to do, no more complaining about teammates without headsets not communicating or just players in general going the complete wrong direction.  It again adds to the overall teamwork needed to capture the flag, you almost must have a well orchestrated plan to capture and bring the flag back to your base because now you know the entire other team will know the flags position once a member of your team has taken the flag.



The final change made to familiar objective modes found in the Halo franchise I am going to discuss happens in both Oddball and Grifball,  in Oddball traditionally one player on a team shall pick the ball up, hold the ball to score points, the ball can be dropped and passed to other members of the team if needed, and with Grifball the ball is a bomb, two teams face off spawning directly across from one another in a box of sorts, everyone is armed with a gravity hammer primary and a plasma sword secondary, the bomb spawns in the middle and must be taken into the other teams base (their spawn) and planted, then detonate to be scored.  The major change that is taking place is now the players have the ability to pass the ball or bomb depending on which gametype you are player, this changes the game immensely.  I can envision teams picking up the bomb at the start of a match of Grifball just to throw it as far as they can towards the other teams base as a way of pushing them back and advancing the bomb and in Oddball it is easy to for see what will happen, some epic games of monkey in the middle.  This is a welcome change to both games, not only does it add to the teamwork of each game but it adds to the fun that will happen, imagine intercepting a bomb pass in Grifball and taking it all the way to the other teams base for the score. or intercepting a ball pass in Oddball to steal away the win from the other team.  All in all I believe all these changes (even the ones in CTF that players are upset about) will bring great changes to these gametypes Halo fans have come to love and that fans should stop yelling at change, it is similar to the classic Simpson's newspaper headline, "Old Man Yells at Cloud."  

Halo 4: PAX News Part 1

Well it is that time of year again, the time that gamers realize big game announcements are moving away from E3 and TGS and migrating towards more fan related shows such as Gamescom a couple weeks ago and now Penny Arcade Expo or PAX which is delivering big surprises for fans already.  Halo fans were treated with a plethera multiplayer details, gameplay and a fancy new 10 minute long vidoc titled "A Hero Awakens" showing off segments of campaign clips along with more of the usual vague story details about the Master Chiefs story arc mixed in with overall tidbits of HYPE.



There it is, ten minutes vague Halo 4 campaign info, what most people will notice is of course how the game looks visually.  Not only is it a huge step forward for the visuals of the entire franchise but it is rather impressive to be squeezing out this much horsepower out of an 8 year old machine, for that I applaud the team at 343 industries.  What is not as noticeable is how well the progression of the story elements and how the team has tackled crafting this story match one another so well, this is something in design is what I like to call hitting your stride.  When the team itself is going through the same arc that they are portraying for their characters it feels more natural, for instance Halo 4 appears to be all about taking Master Chief and Cortana and placing them outside of their comfort zone, in a new dangerous environment.  Well what do you suppose all the new talent working on the Halo franchise feels like?  Yes it might have been their dream to go over and work on this franchise they have adored for over ten years now but to pretend that is not a dangerous career choice is laughable.

This screen shot from the above Vidoc is a very telling one, confirmed by 343 head Frank O'connor to be a playable are in the game it resembles the tretoreous waters the team find themselves in when working on such a beloved franchise.  Do you want to walk into that rubble?  Take that path of destruction?  Yes, because working on something you love and have passion for is indescribable, just as Master Chief is taking that walk into unknown destruction because he is also fighting for something or someone (hint hint) that he shares that love and passion for.  This is the evolution of Master Chief they are striving for, his human side, to have him brace the unknown not because he is the ultimate hero but because he has an emotional reason for doing so.  Explained in the new vidoc, up until a year ago voice actors for Master Chief and Cortana have never been in the same room together let alone side by side in the same sound booth and  now in this new brave emotional take on the silent hero they are.  By finally placing the two of them in the same room, having them meet they are striving to show emotional change in the voice actors themselves.  They want them to sound as if two old friends are reuniting after years apart, just as they want Halo 4 to feel as your old friend to ease you into the changes that have taken place.  Halo 4 is here to start a new chapter in the Halo franchise, a chapter of discover of who Master Chief is, what his connections to this world and inhabitants actually is, why is he fighting for them?  Maybe he isn't fighting for them, maybe he fighting for her.  Tune in later on today when I touch on the multiplayer details that have some in the Halo community scared, just like an old man who fears all change. 

 

Adaptive Storytelling: I am a fan.

If you haven't given Telltale Games The Walking Dead a shot then you probably are not among the gamers that found themselves incredibly depressed but in the most awesome way possible after playing the recent release of the third episode.  Episodic content is something that has been done before, has been talked about for a long time and ultimately is what DLC should be, not horse armor or different weapon and character skins.  The Walking Dead is succeeded at not just episodic content but in changing the way stories are told in games, releasing bimonthly Telltale is taking their time crafting an ever changing story that leaves the player continually guessing not only what is coming next but more importantly questioning the same things one does when something doesn't go their way.  How did I end up here?

The beauty of The Walking Dead is not the decisions the player makes, not the freedom they are given to treat other survivors how they see fit but it is the decisions the player doesn't know they are making until the consequences happen.  When in conversation you are giving brief descriptions of what to say, conversations can escalate rather quickly as they tend to do but it is not until the person you are speaking with forms an opinion or creates a memory based on what you have said to them pops up in the upper left corner does it hit the player that there is a direct impact to what is being said.  These interactions happen so quickly that it emulates everyday conversation in the sense that the player might dwell on negative things that were said, not do characters remember the way you have treated them but so do you, it weighs heavily on your choices.  The story choices create such a feeling of tension for the player, as if you are walking on egg shells the entire time to keep yourself in characters good graces but the events that you cause and how you deal with them is what ultimately leaves a lasting impression. 

Many times throughout the first three episodes of The Walking Dead decisions have to be made in the heat of the moment, this has evolved to a point that there are noticeable improvements in to how these are presented to the player.  For example Telltale has gone away from the this character is being attacked and so is this one but you can only save one choice, to in the latest episode life or death choices can happen in an escalated conversation as the story of these characters is beginning to reflect the unimaginable times they are trying to survive.  People make irrational decisions every day, it is no different in the world of The Walking Dead.  Do yourself a favor and pick up the first episode, you won't regret it, at least not as much as some of the choices you might make in your playthrough.   

That's it?

Well hurricane Isaac turned out to be a bit of a dud, in fact me and some friends made time to head to the bar for some drinks and singing Tuesday night.  As far as continuing that post about the game Rain, guess what?  I decided I am not going to, got to thinking and thought really what is the point of talking about the possibility of a game without having seen more than a minute of gameplay clips and ultimately having no idea how they are actually using water as mechanics, other than the visual mechanic of only being seen when under the rain.  Instead I am going to talk about something that is stressed highly when trying to break into the game industry, seems simple but can be very challenging, networking.

Being only a little over 2 months removed from college the biggest thing career advisers from my school tell me is it is about networking, promoting yourself, and making connections with people.  This is all fine and dandy but why wasn't this topic focused on in school?  I saw no forms of networking facilitated by the school itself for students to introduce them to other students from different disciplines, this is something that in hindsight would be extremely beneficial to not just me but anyone looking for work after graduation.  Right now indie games are making a big splash in the industry, being able to have connections upon graduation to at least work on a small project with people from other disciplines in the industry would be a huge plus.  So right now here it is, anyone want to network?  Doesn't that just sound strange?  You don't know me, I don't know you but hey want to talk and bounce ideas off one another?  Actually no, that is not what I want to do.  Everyone has ideas, that is the easy part but now if you would like to work on something actual put a product together then lets talk.

Battling the Elements

There is a possibility that this blog may go silent for the next couple of days with hurricane Isaac heading my way, hoping for the best and that it does not decide to strengthen too much in the gulf but you never know.  This brings me to the topic of "battling the elements" as they say, something that really is not tackled often in video games other than outdoor sports simulation and racing games.  Open world games are an example of how primarily weather effects are being used to set the tone and atmosphere for the world the player is roaming about but can it be used as more than just visual flare?  Can weather be successfully used as a recurring mechanic?  These are the questions that some developers have been brave enough to tackle, with varying results of course.

Spec Ops:  The Line is a more recent example of a developer attempting to use the weather of the games local as a mechanic but ultimately this mechanic is more of a crutch for the developer to lean on when the going gets tough.  Spec Ops is a perfect example of what I would call poor game design for many reasons, the player mindlessly moves from area to area killing enemies that happen to be coming into the same area from the other direction, once they are all dead the player is given the okay to move on head first into the next area, care to guess how the next area plays out?  You guessed right, mindless shooting at faceless enemies all for the sake of moving forward but being that the game takes place in the deserts of Dubai the occasional sand storm happens.  The problem lies in the fact that the sand storm is used as a shield for the player, the sand does not affect any of the players movement but merely their visibility yet not to the extent it effects the enemies, this storm somehow makes enemies incapable of seeing anything unless it is inches in front of them.  One would think that bad guys with guns who live in Dubai would be used to sand storms by now but apparently they have the same reaction a toddler would have.

This brings me to a game I talked about previously in another post and believe it deserves more attention for not only using weather as its main mechanic but for the feeling it is trying to achieve.  The point is there is no balance there, if you are going to tackle weather as an actual mechanic there must be cause and effect that is both believable and fun.  If the developers of Spec Ops took that into account they would not have bothered to put sand storms in the game because honestly a vicious sand storm would limit not just visibility but also movement.  Finding that balance of fun and plausibility is something best left for a design that inflicts emotion rather than a design built around cool effects.  What is more plausible and fun than playing in the rain?  Something almost all people attempt at some point of their life, whether it be their childhood, teenage years, or even adult years, there is something about running out in a cool rain feeling for that moment that your worries are washing away.  Check back tomorrow, yes tomorrow I will still be here not expecting to do battle with Isaac until Tuesday or so, for a look at the possibilities of what can be done with Rain.  All of this will be pure speculation as not much is none of the game yet and that is what makes talking about its design so much fun, there are so many possibilities to be discussed.  

Another one bites the dust...

Some of you might have read a week or so ago about Guillermo del Toro's game Insane being cancelled after all players got was a teaser shown at the Spike TV Video Game Awards, this reminded me of another cancelled game by an acclaimed film director Steven Spielberg titled LMNO.  What is the connection with film directors attempting to create a story driven video game and ultimately the games never seeing the light of day?  To be fair Spielberg did have his hands in another game that did release and is a nice little surprise for anyone who owns a Nintendo Wii, Bloom Blox give it a shot but one will see there is no story being told but merely a mix of Tetris, Duck Hunt, and a version of Jenga in which the players goal is to knock the tower down, fun but not the story driven games both of these directors would have hoped to be their debut into the gaming median.



Above is a target video of what Spielberg was hoping to achieve with LMNO, the player is in control of a character who is transporting an escaped alien in search of a way to take them home (ET with more action) but the main fault this video demonstrates is Spielberg wanting too much control over the player perspective. Assuming this game was meant to be in the first person as the video shows what actions would the player carry out?  The player looks at a flower, pushes a button to interact with it pushing it towards their alien companion and then the simple punch in the face of an enemy.  What?  That's it?  The player pushes two buttons, everything else in this is Spielberg wanting too much control, controls where the player is looking, now will the player will out the window to see that government shady van coming?  Possibly, with the ride visual and audio ques it can be done but watching their companion flipping and going along the lights of this diner is ultimately unrealistic unless Spielberg controls where they are looking.




Go ahead and check out this trailer for the upcoming moving The Prototype which inspired today's post, it revolves around the design of a robotic droid by the military that malfunctions and ultimately escapes its holding facility, just like the designers in this film they are learning like Spielberg and del Toro that you can not create what you don't understand.  Designing games is about giving up an amount of control, you can craft a beautiful story but in comparison to writing a film every action sequence must translate to a player with a controller in their hand, a designer simply gives them puzzle pieces to interact with the world in hopefully the way the designer intended and if not hopefully in a way that the player enjoys.  Check out Bloom Blox while you are it as well and see Spielberg cater his ideas to pure fun instead of attempting to direct the actions of the player to tell a crafted story.

Sleeping Dogs: Same old, same old.

Alright well this is now a day late, that will give you an idea how much deep I have gone into Sleeping Dogs and all I can say is that the combat is satisfying, now deep would be a stretch.  If it wasn't for the games long play time (which believe me I am not complaining) the combat would be praised much more but right now it boils down to being a little repetitive yet still a lot of fun.  The combat suffers from the familiar problem of lets have the player be surrounded by enemies but lets only have one enemy other than the one the player is engaging attack.  I understand they do this to avoid frustration and a crazy high difficulty level but if you give the player the ability to counter with such devastatingly brutal attacks such as breaking an enemies leg then why not send multiple attacking enemies at the player?  Oh I know why, because the attack combo "leg break" doesn't actually break the enemies let, it does proved an awesome looking attack and animation with a satisfying crunch sound but ultimately it only leaves the enemy dazed for a few moments.  This ultimately is where Sleeping Dogs brutal and awesome looking combat fails in delivering the martial arts combat scene in films.

The main mechanic of Sleeping Dogs is its fighting system, rightfully so it is the most fun and one can definitely see the effort put into it but I have to ask what is wrong with leaving enemies incapacitated instead of having to knock them out or kill them?  What if the leg break combo actually broke an enemies leg and it was left to the pleasures discretion on whether or not they wanted to walk over and finish off that enemy?  Better yet why not get rid of the whole losing points for property destruction as an undercover cop when instead the player could lose points for going that extra mile and beating thugs to death every two seconds.  That is a funny thing I noticed, when you are not on a case file mission you have free rain to do whatever it is you want, I ran around trying to see how many citizens I could jump kick in the face, player choice I get it but last time I checked undercover cops don't do this.  Or maybe just maybe all the crimes of people getting jump kicked in the face is really being committed by undercover cops trying to take down the triads and we just don't know it, somehow I doubt it.  I have enjoyed my time with Sleeping Dogs but players looking for a realistic martial arts or just combat system in general should pass this one up, now if you are looking for just some fun running through and destroying gangsters in Hon Kong then by all means give it a shot.  All in all I much rather have a combat system in which I demobilized several enemies via broken limbs because it is all I can do to defend myself rather than beating up a two out of a time while the other six watch on in amazement.   

Finding Inspiration

One thing that I have noticed when it comes to design and my own design habits is that when learning a new aspect of design or practicing a specific discipline it is easy to burn myself out.  The only way that I have learned to combat this is to have a day of rediscovering what I love about games and why I have chosen a career in this industry, just take a day to play something new, something you love, or just something you were looking forward to but for some reason might have not gotten the chance to play.  Today I will be playing Sleeping Dogs, now I am usually not a fan of open world games, the last one I really played consistently was Dead Island but that  period of enjoyment only lasted a couple of days, there are only so many ways you can kill zombies with a machete.  Sleeping Dogs does look to bring something new to the table, and something that lots of gamers have been asking for, decent martial arts combat.

Martial arts combat in games is something that gamers have been wanting to see done since they first got their hands on Jade Empire for the original aspect or for some since they first played the Kung Fu mod for Max Payne on PC and Sleeping Dogs right now at least looks like it is filling that role.  With the release of The Raid:  Redemption one of if not the best martial arts film to be released in the last decade I have been craving quick brutal combat against multiple enemies that ultimately would just make me feel like a bad ass by the time it is all said and done.  I hope Sleeping Dogs provides what I am looking for, give this gameplay trailer a once over and while you are at it do yourself a favor by checking out this trailer for The Raid:  Redemption.  I will be back later on in the day with my hands on impressions from roaming around the streets of Hon Kong putting a beating on thugs. 

Who wants to go exploring?

If someone were to bust in and ask you that question what would you answer be?  Maybe you would have questions for them, where?  Well if they answered the question of where you wouldn't really be exploring, how about when?  If they were able to answer that question I am sure they would have knocked before busting in, they would probably make an appointment or schedule this adventure.  Where is the fun in that?  The best adventures start with an intriguingly unexplainable event that leads to the discovery of a new space, area, or what most gamers are familiar with a new world.  This kind of exploration is something that for the longest time was only available in role playing games and even then in a limited form of finding new towns and shops full of people to talk, the beautiful vistas players would come across when traveling between in areas but thankfully gaming has come so far that indie developers are taking these basic concepts of discovery and spacial mechanics to new heights.  Leading the charge of evolving discovery is new comer Giant Sparrow and their first title The Unfinished Swan.

With a beginning similar to the classic Alice in Wonderland instead of following a fidgety white rabbit the player is following a mysterious white swan that has up and walked out of painting, what ensues is an adventure of exploration that cannot be found in other game.  The above picture is indicative of The Unfinished Swans are style but what it doesn't portray is that the whole game world is white and appears to be a blank canvas.  There is no combat, no enemies, pure exploration controlled by the player who has one ability, throwing black balls of paint it gives a feeling that is indescribable, not only does this give the feeling of exploration for every area of the game but it gives a feeling of creation.  You are literally painting the world almost as if you are giving this world life, while throwing paint to show your surroundings there is no telling what you will come across.  There is no warning of what lies behind each and every corner in the game, one of the most fascinating things is how the game handles boundaries as a loose guide for the player. 

Giant Sparrow handles guiding the player by not guiding them but giving them a slight nudge in the right direction, the only color the player will see in this world that isn't pure black and white is a yellowish gold color marking the swans foot prints and other objects the team would like to put emphasis on, perhaps a beautiful statue or other carefully created piece in this beautiful painting.  The most important guide to the player is water, when the player first encounters water it is something that is hard for them to understand, all of a sudden the paint ball they tossed does not splatter and show an are it simply land sin the water and floats.  Visually this is incredible for the sense of discover, the use of simple black balls of paint to uncover this world they are in always keeps the player intrigued as each splat shows part of an object before them but as soon as the first ball the player tosses that doesn't burst they are immediately drawn to why this happened.  The beauty of The Unfinished Swan is that the amount of finished work in this painting all depends on the players play style, the player can choose to take their time and paint every aspect of this game world or just enough to advanced through the world and continue exploring in search of this swan.  The question is when The Unfinished Swan released this fall is how much of this beautiful painting will you finish? 

Check out the latest media here.   

"Perma-death"

I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who dies a little on the inside every time they see any kind of social media update followed by the words "YOLO", the fact that it took a Drake song to make today's youth realize that their life could end at any moment is beyond me but this saying is making its way into video games in an intriguing way.  Thankfully not in the same light, "yolo" defined by Urban Dictionary (I know the most reputable of sources) as "carpe diem for stupid people", pretty good description if you ask me but the appearance this truth of only having one life to live is making in gaming is more of a run and survive from zombies situation.

"Permadeath" short for permanent death is just how it sounds, the player has one life, wish them luck.  This mechanic is not new to games in general, many RPGs and MMOs have featured modes of plays that the basis of play revolves player vs player combat which can result in the loss of a character someone has poured hours upon hours into establishing but what is new is the genres this mechanic is bleeding into.  The mechanic has now moved its way into the FPS genre based on the premise of the possibility of a zombie apocalypse, there have been many zombie games in recent years but none have really given the player a sense of fighting to survive because of allowing the player to continue from a previous save point.  PC players were greeted with this permadeath zombie experience thanks to a mod for ARMA 2 titled Day Z, right now players are playing with one another in a massive world trying to survive by any means necessary.  Players have been robbed by other players in search of "help" or have walked into ambushes set up by other players, this simple mechanic of permadeath has created so many gameplay experience that are not touted features of the mod but instead are gameplay choices made by players affecting other players.  Day Z being a multi player mod has given players freedom to survive as they see fit because of the addition of permadeath, without that mechanic there is no risk, with no risk there is no reward.  There is one up and coming game that takes permadeath in the same situation of a zombie apocalypse but it is crafted around a single player experience. 

ZombiU is as the title implies being released for Nintendo's new console (that's right CNN, it isn't merely a new controller) the Wii U, the game features many mechanics making use of the Wii U's touch controller but what has console gamers excited is it being the first zombie game for a home console to feature the permadeath mechanic.  ZombiU being a single player experience is still a bit of a mystery, developer Ubisoft Montpellier has been rather hush on the story of the single player campaign merely saying that players will see how long they can survive and they have been consistently showing new builds of the same area.  What we do know is that there is some sort of story as in the footage shown the player is communicating with someone, a guide of sorts giving them information on how to approach certain areas, this brings up the question of how much will this "guide" hold the players hand?  The inclusion of permadeath to a single player experience is something that requires delicate balancing, the player must feel the struggle of the situation they are in without getting too frustrated.  The design must focus intensely on the interaction the player has with the enemies and how the enemies react to the player.  Example, do the zombies react to noise?  Sound?  Light?  Movement?  And what is the size of the radius that if those factors take place close to an enemy that they will respond?  These are all questions that can have many answers but I look forward to the games release this fall to see if Ubisoft Montpellier can give players a balanced and fun answer. 

Check out the latest trailer for ZombieU from Gamescom 2012. 

Attention to Detail: It is the little things that count.

"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted."  Albert Einstein.

As a designer this a quote that rings home time and time again, in today's gaming we see a lot of promotion for simply counting things, they say the possibilities are endless or that their are millions of different combinations but when it comes down to it the player is still doing the same action (just millions of times).  I am all about player choice and allowing the player to play as they choose but I would like to see more creativity, not just different tools at the players disposal to kill enemies.

I get it, the Borderlands franchise is a First Person Shooter/Role Playing Game hybrid with tons of customization for the player for both their characters and their weapons but since when did RPGs start giving us item counts?  Which again brings me to another wonderful quote, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts", attributed to Aristotle.  This is subjective to all games, all depends how big of a hole a missing part leaves. Say weapon customization is completely taken out of the Borderlands franchise and replaced with the player simply finding weapons or gaining weapons through the completion of quests, still a FPS/RPG hybrid? Check.  Then why is the number of weapons combinations touted so highly?  Simple, feature touting, the bigger the number the better it sounds.  Now what happens if we make a bigger hole?  Something that is a direct visual impact. 

The above picture is from the latest (that we know of) build of Halo 4s multi player map Warhouse, what do you notice first?  Yes, I hear you it looks way to pretty to be part of the Halo franchise but more importantly what do you feel when you this picture?  Where does the map take place?  Wherever Warhouse is located it looks baron, possibly abandoned, there is a very eerie feeling to this battleground.  It wasn't always like that though, there was a time when it resembled the bright vibrant Halo that most are familiar with. 

Ah there it is, does that look familiar to you now?  Did you know that was a mech in the center without being able to give it a good once over with some hands on time playing the game?  Probably not, above we have what looks like some sort of dormant tool of war and below we have a bright vibrant functioning command center with a mech that it appears you can jump in and ride right out of the building.  This visual story telling, the atmosphere and the feelings they are trying to impose on the player in a multi player map of all places is what should be touted, what should be talked about and ultimately what should be counted but as Einstein said everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.  

Hey! I just met you! And this is...

     Crazy!  Alright now that the brief sing-a-long is over if any of you readers were among the few patiently or not so patiently awaiting the release of some crucial details about the multi player of Halo 4 you might be feeling a little crazy today, or possibly thinking that maybe the guys and gals over at 343 Industries have gone a little crazy.  It is okay, I am here to explain not only what these new "Specializations" mean but also tomorrow how it is another element to immerse the player in their Spartan.  Be ready for a lot of information, some that might be upsetting but it is okay there is reason to the madness...at least I can see one.

     That right there ladies and gents is the Halo 4 LE coming in at a $100, fancy I know but why should most people care about it? Yes it will have a making of the new Halo web series Forward Unto Dawn, it has avatar props, it has content to extend the fiction of the game, but wait, you gain access to 6 Specializations at launch that regular players with the standard edition will not have access till until time releases.  Locked content on the disc?  Doesn't sound very consumer friendly and neither does a group people having access to this locked content right out of the box or do they?  Theses Specializations are designed to be "end game" content, players are required to reach the max rank (which 343 has been quoted as saying 50, does this mean a 1-50 ranking system like the good old days? No clue.) and then they will be given the chance to choose their desired Specialization which unlocks another ten ranks the player must achieve to receive the armor modification accompanied with the desired Specialization.  Wait, armor modifications?  You heard correctly, Halo 4 does feature unlockable armor modifications (one for each Specialization, a total of 8 has been confirmed as of right now). 

Time for a quick and dirty rundown of all 8 Specializations that we know of and what this possibly means for the future of Halo multi player.

                                   

Wetworks:  Available to all players at launch.

• Less visible to players using the Promethean Vision Armor Ability. 
• Dampens the noise made while sprinting. 
• Allows the player to perform assassinations faster. 

  

Pioneer:  Available to all players at launch. 

• Player gains XP faster. 
• XP boost is only in affect while the modification is equipped, other fail-safes have been put in place to stop exploits. 

Engineer:  LE only at launch. 

• Alerted of Ordinance Drops via their HUD before other players, they will no what weapons and where on the map they are dropping.
• When all the Ordinance Drops are happening at a timed event, not only will you know what weapons are dropping but you will have a waypoint for the closest weapon. 

Tracker: LE only at launch. 

• When the player calls in an Ordinance Drop they have the ability to have a "re-roll" if they don't like the three items that come. One time use per drop.

Rogue: LE only at launch, details on its armor mod are not clear as of yet. 

• The player will not "necessarily" be unzoomed when being shot looking down scope.
• As you are taking fire you reticle will be "more" stable. 
• Also improves hip fire accuracy. 

Stalker: LE only at launch. 

• Places a marker on your screen over the head of the last enemy that killed you. 
• No confirmation on how long the icon stays up. 
• No information on what sort of icon it is, is it a waypoint that gives distance and elevation? We don't know just yet. 

Pathfinder: LE only at launch.

• Reduces cool-down time vehicle weapon overheating.
• Allows you to move faster while walking with a turret. 
• Overall makes-turret use a bit more powerful. 

Operator: LE only at launch. 

• Gives you "a bit" of resistance to EMP pulses against a vehicle you are in. 
• Vehicles shot by plasma pistols will "not necessarily" be stopped in their tracks when using this mod. 
• More assist and points for driving. 
• Cannot be stacked, no whole teams taking this mod and having indestructible vehicles. 

Stay tuned for tomorrows post on a breakdown of what these Specializations mean in the grand scheme of things when it comes to the immersion of you the player in these new spiffy armor customizations and finally a look at how this added immersion is not only making changes in how players will feel more connected to their Spartan but also the sandboxes you will get to play in on November 6th. 

Games: Serious Big Business

Good afternoon readers, fellow nerds, people brought here by a random Google search, and those fellow industry rookies trying to find there way in an industry that for everyone started out as funny and games when we were all kids that has now changed into the driving force in our professional lives.  I can remember the in my childhood in which I played a video game that had very serious themes, really my first experience with what was considered realistic violence and I began to see the business of the industry behind it, more importantly the risk they no longer take to make great games.  I was 13 years old when I convinced a relative to buy me this mature rated game,  up until this point the games I played were not the most realistic, I am still pretty sure that Vectorman doesn't really exist.  Of course I haven't done the proper research, I wonder what level security clearance is needed in order to know the existence of such technology.   Speaking of security clearance that was one of the things that made me feel completely absorbed by the game I ultimately convinced my Uncle to purchase for me, Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation 1.

Metal Gear Solid for the original PlayStation was one of the first games I played that had a very classic game design but with mechanics not possible with previous technology.  When looking at Metal Gear Solid what game would most people say it has the most in common with?  Most likely they would answer with Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's: Splinter Cell, yes it still has Tom Clancy's name attached and yes they did buy it.  While that answer is not incorrect, they are both stealth games or they both used to be that is but once you look passed the tools that Snake has it his disposal and look at how Kojima directs the player through the game world it is clear to see that its simply a distant cousin of Doom. Wait, what? 

I know, you are shocked right now.  How can this be?  You are not on Mars killing demons with a BFG in Metal Gear, you are slowly walking passed a doorway, hiding under a cardboard box or breaking cloned soldiers necks.  Did you ever wonder why you are knocking out unsuspecting guards unconscious?  Here is the kicker you are doing it for the same reasons you are blasting demons and other crazy creatures in Doom, key cards.

The driving force behind the direction of the player in both games is unlocking the next area, in Doom it is shoot your way through enemies to obtain the key and in Metal Gear the player is given the choice, sneak passed enemies, take a few out, maybe go Rambo and make things extremely complicated for yourself.  It is classic game design enhanced by the advancement of technology allowing for the advanced mechanics that Metal Gear solid posses such as enemies able to see the players footprint and follow them throughout the snow, and players being able to knock on objects to make noise to distract or grab the attention of an enemy.  This form of design keeps the player in a constant mindset of exploration, the searching for keys or anything for that matter in order to advance the player to a new area, maybe give them a new gameplay feature once this searching is complete, or introduce enemies that offer more of a challenge, is a design that in today's games has changed dramatically.  What is it that has caused designers to move away from the locked door or better yet caused them to fear it? 

Today's game design has become a huge contrast between two extremes or a dance intertwining both, either large wide open environments or narrow corridors, alleyways, hallways, you get the point.  These narrow areas have now replace the key cards in gaming, players fight or shoot their way through these extended doorways that lead to a more expansive area, essentially their hands are being held.  Instead of finding the key, exploring this world on there own they are being given the key and having the door held open for them.  There was a lot of negative talk coming out Japanese developers about the games being made in their part of the world mainly because of production value and not being able to grab the attention of American users that are knee deep in shooter after shooter after shooter that all hold the players hand throughout the experience, even in multi player the player is rewarded for everything, how far they run is a great example of something that should not reward experience in a game.  What has become serious business in video games has also become a lack of innovation and creativity, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Medal of Honor, how are these games coming out every year and remaining successful?  Because in big business there is no room for making a player think and experience a unique story, it is now about how much content can they offer and at what price will players pay for it. 

These questions have been raised for sometime now by aging gamers but need to be brought to the for front after watching Electronic Arts live conference earlier today at Gamescom followed by Sony's live conference at the same event.  Both showed big business games of explosions and gun fire but shown from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan were two uniquely different games looking to recreate game design with new experiences rather than replacing locked doors and objectives with a path of hallways one must simply walk down.  Games are striving for realism now more than ever but why award people for things that they should do?  Walking or running a certain distance?  Maybe that is why kids do not go outside anymore, there is no one giving them exp for doing so.  Enjoy the trailer for two innovative games that I cannot wait to get my hands on, Rain and Puppeteer. 

The beginning of something...

Being as this is my first entry into my professional blog I would like to take the time to extend a welcome to those of you have stumbled in here, Twitter followers, Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, and overall fans of video games and design.  I have been a fan of video games dating back to when I was a child were the best parts of the day were walking to a local laundry mat in Brooklyn to play Super Street Fighter 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Turtles in Time, over time this thrill of going out to play arcade games turned into the thrill of waiting in line at Game Stop for the midnight release of the newest Halo.  As I begin my journey into the gaming industry it is also a time of new beginnings for this beloved franchise and all those working at 343 Industries.

When I look at the new vision 343 Industries has brought to the Halo franchise all I can see is one that is not only fresh but it is as bold as it is immersive.  In the beginning of the franchise players were immersed in the world around them as the infamous level "Flawless Cowboy" set the tone for an alien world full of vast environments of hills just waiting for a warthog to be drive over them and catch some air.  As the franchise progressed with two sequels, one spin off, and one prequel there was one constant, one goal that Bungie kept trying to achieve, having the player know the Spartans as both soldiers and humans.  This was tried through the improved story elements, visual upgrades, and beautifully crafted music, it isn't until seeing 343's approach of increased immersion in both single player and multi player design in order to have the player BE a Spartan rather than live through there tales of heroism.     

The above screenshot is from the newest video media released by 343 Industries for Halo 4 titled UNSC Weapons which showcases, you guessed it the UNSC toys in Halo 4's large sandbox of destruction.  This screenshot is merely one example of the new tricks employed to immerse the player in the shoes of their Spartan, it starts with of course the visor view.  With a weapon selected that does not support zoom, the Assault Rifle for example, players are greeted with a few a zoomed in view through their visor in which 343 has darkened the edges of the screen to emulate the player focusing at what is ahead.  What others might notice in this first shot are the HUD elements to your left.   

Ah a familiar friend the 'Headcase" medal from Halo: Reach, Bungie was praised by fans for their new medal design, rugged and believable as an actual war medal.  When a medal was earned in multi player it was easy to see, stood out like a sore thumb on the left side of the screen, allowing you to see your glorious achievement but in times of war medals are not awarded on the scene, waived in front of a soldiers eyes as motivation to push forward.  In a training exercise though which is what Halo's multi player was always understood to be, they can be saved for after the match or encouragement can be spoken allowed from team members and instructors.  Halo 4 achieves by a new medal design that blends seamlessly into the HUD as if it is data being sent to you on the fly about your current performance. 

Like the majority of fans who watched this trailer (linked above) you are probably wondering what is that cannon of a gun that appears to shoot fire or a heat charge of some sort?  If you have a designer's eye your attention most likely has drifted away from that gorgeous particle effect and has either drifted to the triangle shield pattern that is flashed when the player is hit or maybe it has drifted to the newly design medal that not only pops in similar to the shield effect upon it being rewarded but also the fact how design and color wise matches the rest of the HUD.  This little visual change speaks volumes for the attention to detail that the people at 343 Industries are putting into the player being immersed in their Spartan, players are not longer looking through the eyes of a Spartan running around in a deadly sandbox but instead they are now the Spartan wearing that helmet as they deal and dodge destruction.  Join me soon for my next entry diving in a little more about myself, my own design philosophies and the immersive atmosphere of Halo 4's multi player maps.