Hey Game Developers: Where’s the FAIL function?
There’s a conceit practiced by modern-day game developers that I think is just wrong, wrong, wrong. It’s that gamers will start playing, and then just keep playing, day in and day out, until they either finish the game or stomp away in frustration.
But that’s not how it works in real life, at least for gamers who actually have a real life.
Photo: Shadow Viking
I love epic video games. But I don’t always have the time to play them straight through until completion. Occasionally I have to go to work, play with my family, pay bills, coach basketball, or some other RW task. Sometimes those things can conspire to keep me from a great game for days, even weeks at a time.
Then when I come back, there’s that sense of fog. Of questioning. Of "WTF do I do now?"
It’s the same feeling I get when I read a great Sci-fi/Fantasy book that’s part of a longer series - but the sequel has yet to be published. Good multi-book authors always include a plot summary at the top of subsequent installments, whether it’s explicit, or implied in the first chapter(s).
But the vast majority of games don’t do that at all. And it’s frustrating as all heck.
Take the latest Zelda game from Nintendo, Twilight Princess. I stopped playing a few months ago, can’t remember why. But I’m on vacation this week, and thought I’d pick it up again. But I’m clueless as to what to do next. Sure, there’s always Thelma’s Bar, but it’s useless. And yeah, I could look up a walkthrough, and try to compare what I have (three mirror shards, ball and chain, etc) and compare them to where I need to be. But even those are imperfect - I’ve tried.
So here I am, wanting to finish a great game, but stymied by the game’s inability to tell me what I need to do next.
Some games get it. Paper Mario, for example, has a wizard who can tell you what to do next - for a few coins.
Why doesn’t every game do that? It should. Because if gaming wants to move beyond the hard-core it needs to embrace a changing gaming rythm and flow. Because not everyone who *could* enjoy that game will have an uninterrupted flow of hours and hours across days and days to play your game. And with complicated plot twists, a multitude of quests and wide-open worlds, more and more of us are going to need that "FAIL" function that will help us get back into the game. Broaden your audience game developers, and realize that not everyone games like you do.
Internet Video, "the platform" and Gemini Division
I don’t always agree with Mark Cuban, but I’m a big fan of his Blog Maverick blog. However, he’s right on with his latest post, The Platform is the Message, about how video-based content, whether its a movie, TV show, sporting event or Internet-based, will hash out.
I’ve been saying for a long time that Internet-based video is a brand new medium. It’s not going to replace popular TV shows, sitcoms, even reality TV. Instead it’s going to find its own way, with new types of video content being created that either aren’t viable on traditional TV, or require the interactivity and community involvement of the Internet.
Mark points to the Olympics as the reason why sports belongs on TV and on big screens.
Without question, people want to watch big events on their big HDTVs. There is a reason why 30pct of homes and quickly growing now have HDTVs…..they like to watch them. With a 73" HDTV from Mitsubishi down to about $2200 bucks, its easy to see why and the pricing of all HDTVs continuing to fall, its a trend thats not going to end anytime soon. Watching an event like the Olympics, just about any sporting event and even big shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars benefit.
I agree, and it’s why I spend hundreds each year to watch my favorite football and baseball teams on my big-screen. Sure, I sometimes pipe them into my home notebook via a slingbox, but it’s not the same. Convenience *sometimes* outweighs quality, but not always. Hulu is great for catch up viewing, but wouldn’t you really rather watch, say, Survivor or Jon Stewart in full-on HD?
Programmers will create content differently for every platform, from cellphone, even to movies. In the movie world , its pretty simple to see that big movies, with big special effects look great and sound great in theaters. Same with 3D. Thats an experience even a 73" HDTV cant recreate fully
It will be interesting to see how well Gemini Division does. My friend Daisy Whitney thinks that the success of Internet Video is riding on it, but I disagree. Early reviews of Gemini Division are coming back negative, but I’m not concerned. Gemini Division is a perfect example of taking what ought to be a real TV show, and squashing it into an inappropriate medium.
It’s not just TV reinvented. It’s something new. I’m not smart enough to say what it is, but chances are it’ll be more like Diggnation than Gemini Division!
Welcome to the 21st Century, Louderback.com
I know, I know. This site had gotten a bit long in the tooth. OK, yes, anything still using Front Page has to be considered a dinosaur in the nuclear age of Web 2.0.
But thanks to lots of ribbing from friends and co-workers — and a wonderful design and development effort by Andrew Mager — I’ve finally entered, at least, the steel age of web sites.
Just in time for blogs to be replaced by micro-blogs such as Plurk, Tumblr and Twitter. Oh well, at least it’s an advance.
Seriously, expect more interesting things to pop up here that have little or nothing to do with my day job. And thanks again to everyone who pushed me to this momentous step!
jim