[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Wreck-it Ralph: The status quo in gaming terms

So I saw Wreck-it Ralph last night (for my birthday!) and I must say that I enjoyed it immensely. Both as a movie and as a look at gaming culture. However it does one thing in particular that I want to call out.

It is, in the lexicon of gaming and the joystick generation, a critique of the status quo.

Just think about that for a second. This movie is being marketed to bring in the retro crowd. These are characters that two generations of gamers will identify with. In situations, not only analogous to  (stereo)typical real world problems, but also being out of work, being homeless, and not being happy with who they are. Foremost however, is the statement that just because you are happy doesn’t mean that others around you are. It never even occurs to Felix or the citizens of Nicetown that Ralph is unhappy. They think he’s happy with the way things are. It’s not the outright oppression that Penelope deals with in her game, but it still grinds on him and its the motivation that drives him. Granted, yeah, I’m probably reading too far into it, but its what I see and I’m really happy the movie did that.

Anyway, busy weekend of Standard again between FNM and GPT for San Antonio, catch you Monday with the next podcast.

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Still Meh…

I’m still sort of in a funk when it comes to Video Games. Like, I could talk all day about Magic right now, but not much else. I’m not even really all that excited about what’s up with League. One of the oldest and coolest character ideas is essentially the same shape as the last four characters. I mean, yeah it fits her theme and I knew they wouldn’t do a Drider type character so really sexy slim was probably the only option for a vampy character–its just bad timing that there have been so many slim sexy females this year.

Hopefully I’ll have something next week…

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Where have all the good times gone?

I realized today that with Borderlands 2 out, I’m not really all that excited for the rest of this year’s release calendar (except maybe ‘Sin Creed 3). So I had to ask myself: why? Why am I not excited about being a gamer any more?

My gut response was that games aren’t as exciting any more and not just in the ways you’d expect me to be upset with. Sure, CoD has made it so a shooter just has to have a tacked on campagin to its massive mutliplayer hard-on instead of the other way around, but that’s not the real problem. It’s the moments that are missing.

Like, Nathan Drake’s excting and all with his set piece dramatic moments, but that’s not a game to me. It’s a movie I’m walking through that occasionally slips into the blooper reel. Final Fantasy 13 looks flashy and there’s a few good emotional moments, but none of the characters seem to even care that they’re part of the story–heck, even Squall cared about his involvement more than Lightning ever seems to. Seriously, ask yourself if, at any time in 13, you felt connected to any of the characters. Ask that same question of yourself for 10, 9, 8, or 7 (lets just forget about 11). Ask yourself if another romp with a progressively degenerate Kratos is really worth playing beyond the inital shock value of the kill animations, how will the mechanics have changed in any large part that it makes traversing his already established background worth a full game?

On the other side of the scripted adventure fence, games like Fallout, Dark Souls, and Skyrim do spawn some awesome stories to talk about, but really, if you didn’t have people to talk to about how much of the game would be forgettable? How many of those epic moments came at the expense of the game? How many times did the immersion break because of an unresponsive NPC or the fact that one cave got recycled time and again?

So yeah, I’m not excited because the games that heavily story driven are either so transparent that they’re bland or the cast is so unnoteworthy that I could care less about what happens to them and western RPGs have fallen off since I don’t have people to trade stories with. Diablo 3, something which should have been a shoe in for chances to swap tales of epic badassery, sucked because of bad design and even Borderlands is really only exciting because I have something else to do with Renee besides League, Magic, and discussing books.

I mean maybe its because I don’t have the time I used to, maybe its because I don’t actually talk to people about gaming, but I just don’t feel IT anymore. I don’t find AAA video games interesting. At all. That isn’t to say I’m not excited about the indie hits as they come, but I usually fall into those.

Feel free to comment and tell me why I should be excited!

Anyway, catch you all Monday with a intense coverage of the RtR Prerelease!

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Pre-Escapist Expo jitters

Next weekend I’m at Escapist Expo. This will be the first con’ I’ll be going to not to spectate, not to experience, but to meet people. Needless to say, I’m nervous as hell. I’m hardly prepared for what will be my first real attempt to break into the industry. I don’t have anything to show design wise. I don’t have anything to show publishing wise. It’s not like I’m an established pro player. I’m just…a fan.

That’s not to say fan’s aren’t important, they’re what power our consumption based cultures and in the rapidly changing landscape of the internet, fans have more voice than ever. Even so, it’s still hard to cross the divide between fan and creator–if anything, it’s gotten bigger with the growth in proximity. League’s a great example of this paradoxical closeness. Even though much of the Riot staff hangs out on the  forums and interacts with the player base, they’re still highly limited in what they can say that isn’t just typical PR. Further, they have to say it so often that it’s as if they’re cold and distant instead of what they really are, players trying to meet and hangout with other players. Players who want to be excited about the game they’re playing.

I feel its much the same with any pseudo-competitive hobby. As the spoilers for RtR ramp up, I have this giddy feeling every morning. What cards are going to be revealed? What new ways are the guild mechanics going to be twisted? Will there be something cooler than a plant zombie? Most of these cards have been through development months ago, they were designed even further back. I’m sure designers and developers want the feedback that players have, but they can’t gush over what’s coming next until the very last moment–and by then speculation’s ruined the shiny feeling. Like all the angst over another version of Jayce or the cycle of uncounterable rares. By time they can talk, it’s no longer one player talking excitedly with their friends about the next big thing in the same game they all play, it’s people grumping over how broken a single card is.

And yet, despite the hurdles, despite having to bottle excitement like a fine wine to be opened later, I want nothing more than to be on the other side, to be someone who gets to see thousands or more enjoying my work–even if its just one level, just one card, or even just one line of text. Failing that, I want to be that guy who’s excited about the new things and how they’re going to change the format. Growing up I wanted to work at Nintendo Power for just that reason. It’s why I want to shoutcast. It’s why I want to open an LGS (local game shop). And it’s why I’m going to Escapist Expo to meet people.

Because as much as I enjoy being jaded, I miss being excited. I miss feeling awed by a game. I miss…a lot of things really. Except, I’m starting to find them again. Even as work piles on and I feel even more trapped by my situation, I’m starting to feel whole again, in a way I haven’t felt since before High School. This blog is part of that. Writing is part of that. Having Rei in my life is part of that. And now playing Magic at a place where people know me and are, for the most part, happy to see me is part of that.

Anyway, I guess what I’m asking is wish me luck. Because at this point, it’s about all I’ve got going for me. That, and excitement

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Borderlands 2 Pre-Release Squee

Its no secret that I love with a burning passion the unholy fusion of genre that was Borderlands–and if it was it isn’t now. Yes the game’s initial launch left a little to be desired with its spare narrative and repetitive level design. HOWEVER it was an experiment. One that was, really, really, well received. So as the progressive teases of Borderlands 2 ramp up with the proximity to release, I am only more excited. It’s encouraging that not only has a studio made a sequel that makes sense, it made one standing on the back of its predecessors successes and failures. From everything I’ve seen B’lands 2 has learned in every way it could from the mistakes made on vanilla B’lands.

I’m going to drop the new, “Introduction”, trailer here and then wait for you to pick your jaw up.

I mean, yes, its not out yet, the game could fall flat on its face, but I don’t think so. It’d take a concious effort to misstep at this point. I hope that there’ll be something to play at Escapist Expo, otherwise I’ll have more about it on the 21st.

Catch y’all next week!

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Adventures In Reviewing 2

So my first review for Hardcore Droid is in. I’ll hear back from my editor Saturday about it and I’ll have some fixes to do but, yeah, I’ll have my first published game review. I am only a few days away from being a video game journalist. Something, to be quite honest, that has been a dream of mine for most of my life–right behind digging up dinosaurs and driving monster trucks in terms of childhood fantasy jobs. I mean, yeah, its not really a job, more like freelance work, but it is the realization of a dream. I need to celebrate when the realization hits me.

Really not much else to talk about this week. I covered much of what I could talk about yesterday and I’m not in the mood to get into it again. League is having its EU regional finals and so far its been mixed for me. Day one was stomps all around and today’s been a much more enjoyable series of close games. CLG and ATN are playing right now(its currently 940A est) and match one has been really close. More impressive to me is how the production values have improved. I’m really impressed with how the eSports scene has grown over the last year–Cross Assault notwithstanding.

Anyway, catch ya’ll Monday where I’ll probably post pictures of my M13 unboxing since I’m picking up a whole box of boosters tonight at FNM.

 

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] The Magic of Controlling Power Creep

(Bear with me if this blog seems a bit ramblerific, I’ve been spending the last two weeks catching up on nearly seven years of missed Magic, so my thoughts are a little scattered)

I’ve been a magic player since around the Urza’s Saga Block (though I’d be lying if I said I was very active much before Odyssey) and its a very different game now than was looking like it would be when I stopped playing at the end of the Time Spiral block. What with the New World Order created in the wake of that circle jerk on par with 90′s Super Hero Comics, its not really much of a surprise. Wizards embraced the fact that, for the most part, Standard was the entry point for people (specifically Limited) and as such Standard’s card level complexity needed to be controlled.  And I must say as, a Limited veteran, I can agree with the changes “Maro” Rosewater and team executed while I’ve been away. Splitting the difference between theme and complexity couldn’t have been easy, but from what I’ve seen of Innstrad and 2013, they’ve done a pretty good job. There  are still commons that carry the theme for the set, like Ajanni’s Sunstriker, but are overall easy to understand. It makes Draft and Sealed much more welcoming environments to play and be a new player in.

Granted, this scaling back likely means no more cards like Vile Deacon, Wellwisher, or Timberwatch Elf, but it also means no more commons that are 80% rules text. Like this one. Or this one.  Nothing kills an otherwise enjoyable card more than by having too much text explaining it. Which might be why I’m not of a mechanical win type of guy. I prefer a slug fest. No fuss, no muss. Just some flyers, some beaters, and a hint of removal to deal with things my critters can’t. That isn’t to say I don’t like being a Johnny, my Cephalid Siege Machine deck (Looters, Brokers, and Megrim) is a great example of me being able to pull out mechanical win conditions, but my heart belongs somewhere around Timmy.

Anyway, the point is that because Magic has gotten simpler, at a card level, it allows the game to be more complex as a whole. Which allows the metagame to balance itself out for the most part. A deck that wins big immediately has a number of counters. Which means next week that either that deck has evolved or its been unseated by something else. Right now, Blue-White Devler is big, but so is Birthing Pod Revival and Green-Red Aggro because they have answers for Delver (and, in response, Delver has answers for them). Actually, Delver is a great example of just how effective the noncomplex common is. A 1/1 for U? It transforms (the theme for Innstrad) when a trigger state (revealing a non-permanent spell on top of your deck) is reached? Seems simple enough. Mix that with Index, another common that lets you reorder the top five cards of your deck (or other cards available in Standard), and you get a 3/2 Flying creature. That’s two commons for a one turn set-up that transitions right into midgame power mode. That’s way simpler than Suspend ever was (even though I love the mechanic) and it feels good to pull off. It also says quite a bit that a common’s main competition currently is a combo that requires a rare in either case.

Now on a card level, those Onslaught block commons aren’t really much stronger than Delver. However, on a game level they’re absurdly more complex. Not only do you need to keep track of X number of creatures, but so does your opponent–and they might not just be your cards. It wasn’t uncommon in Onslaught and Odyssey to end up facing off against decks with the same tribe so elf on elf could get very messy.

What I’m trying to say, I suppose, is that’s because Magic uses a sliding set of cards with a solid concept for the playing field they create a strong competitive environment that is also welcoming to new players. I wonder if that would work for a game like League? If say, only the last 10 champions created, plus a “core” set (the Free To play champs?) to cover missing roles, could be played in ranked then maybe balance would be less of an issue. Suddenly the remake for Eve adds her back to the pool of junglers in standard. Compared with just Hecarim, Diana, Xin, and Twitch her viability is a totally different scale than when compared against Lee Sin, Mundo, or Udyr. Or maybe that would be terrible. Who knows?

Anyway, that’s this week. Catch ya’ll around.

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Adventures in Reviewing

Thanks to last week’s review and a couple of happenstances, I landed a gig doing reviews of Android based games. The reviews won’t show up here (they’re part of an e-zine), but I will likely talk about my first impressions and do the jaded gamer thing.

Which is sort of what I want to do today. In my quest to start my first assignment, I’ve gone through three games to finally pick up Wizards and Goblins. A tower defense game, you place wizards along paths to kill goblins before they get to the castle. Seems pretty straight forward and certainly not genre breaking with innovation. That said, I’ve only played two boards so who knows? I’ll hold off the jaded until it’s still doing the same three things at hour nine in a campaign. If it was just an arcade style game, then fuck all, but claiming a campaign means things grow and evolve–or are expected to at any rate and not doing so is a design fail.

As for the other games, I’d like to touch upon them really quick.

The first game I tried to play was Cthlulu Saves The World. I first heard about it when it was released on Steam, but never got around to playing it. For those not aware, it’s a classic 16-bit style RPG where you’re Cthlulu killing off the other Elder Gods. Yeah, I was sold on it from moment one. So when I got handed the assignment to review it on Android, I was stoked. I couldn’t wait to burn the Earth to the ground to save it. However, it seems like I’ll have to continue waiting. In the port from PC and XBLA the game seems to have been broken. Right now, it doesn’t get past the credits screen on Nexi (and won’t install at all on Pyre). It loads up, shows the dev logos, rotates to landscape, and then crashes. Very Sad

The Second was Cyber Knights RPG. I didn’t pick up the Elite version since I wanted to make sure it worked before I dropped $2 on it. I played for about an hour last night and while the Fallout nostalgia is there, the game’s design is neigh unbearable. Primarily, my issue is with the map system. When you pull up the map screen (seen left) it gives you a list of locations on your current screen. If you click on one of them, you can auto path to it. You can also look at locations on other screens; however, you cant path to them or even to the map’s edge. So to go to a destination five maps away I have to: click on a space near the edge of the map, wait for my avatar to walk there, click on the map edge to scroll over, and then repeat until I’ve arrived at the target map. Now, if i was down in the action a little more and had more control over my character, it might not be so bad, but watching a guy walk from one screen to another one square at a time while nothing happens isn’t much of a game–especially when I’m only going to be playing for maybe five or ten minutes at a time. I mean, I enjoy sandbox games (and I am only an hour in), but this game just doesn’t do it for me. Which is why I’m not reviewing the Elite version, I don’t think I’d have anything positive to say–even in the frame of criticism.

In other news, League of Legends has added an AFK detection system for matchmaking queue. You now have to accept when a match has been found else the client drops you out of queue. There’s a new Cho’gath skin that contains 100% more wub-wub and will be legendary price. Zyra is, according to the 2k+ elo crowd, totally broken in terms of power and I have to agree. Her burst is absurd, especially her Ultimate. A good Zyra can drop someone faster than Flash with her full combo which goes off almost at once. Even LeBlanc’s gibs look tame in comparison. Even so, she didn’t get nerfed this patch.  The only other big thing is that Diana is still being tested on the PBE and is not live yet. On the PSO2 front, Sega of Japan pushed the “Crystal Dragon” patch this week, opening a new area with a multitude of enemies and bosses lying in wait. I’m just now wrapping up the Desert, so I can’t really speak too much else about it. PSOmods revealed a working English patch for the official JP client–the use of which can get your account banned (so I won’t link to it). The upshot is that in doing so, they discovered just how much data was still being stored server side and is thus impossible to translate with a patch. Good news for those who will being playing the localized version, not so much for us pioneers.

Aaaand I think that’s about it. Going to go play Friday Night Magic tonight. Might talk about M:tG next week now that I’ve had enough exposure to the 2013 Core Set.

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Review: Triple Town

Yes, that’s right a review. Of a game that’s not an MMO to boot!

For those who are not aware of it, Triple Town is a Match-3 puzzler by developer Spry Fox. Originally a web game, it was ported to Android and iOS about a year ago–yeah, I’m a little late. Hush. It is free to play, with the constraint that you only get a regenerating pool of 150 moves. For $4, you can unlock the game and have unlimited turns along with a few extra boards to play on. I’ve been playing for free and enjoying it. The limited move pool gives me a solid stopping point.

As far as play goes, the touch interface feels snappy and the graphics looks great on my Galaxy Nexus. I really like the pre-industrial, “exploring the frontier” vibe the game has going on, especially in the interactions between the bears and the citizens. The sub-game of trapping bears so that they’re not moving freely over the board is in and of itself a fun diversion from matching three Grasses to make a Bush. As I said above, the bite sized sessions that you get from the free versions are just enough to be satisfying, but don’t render an hour lost out of no where–as Bejeweled or Tetris is wont to do. The map persists so long as you don’t fill all of the spaces, so you can pick it up again later.

There are four maps to play. Only the first one is free

The first map. Starts with a random layout

Combine three Grass to Make a Bush. Three Bushes make a Tree.

Bears move around on the map, disrupting your moves.

In the free version, you only have 150 moves until you must wait for them to regenerate slowly.

Bottom line? If you’ve not picked this up yet, and you’re tired of Angry Birds or Bejeweled and Tetris clones, go do so. You won’t regret the couple of hours of occupation Triple Town will bring.

[Strongly Jaded Gamer] Stranger in a Strange Land

For the past few weeks I’ve been feeding my old compulsion to play anything with the words Phantasy Star attached. Seeing as the Open Beta has concluded and the game is in “Full Release,” I thought I’d weigh in on PSO2.

Since there is not an international release yet (and one even happening is still up in the air), I’m playing on the Japanese client along much of the NA community on Ship 2, though there are some pockets of English speakers on 6 and 10 as well–I’ve even run into some people from EU, who were very nice but only spoke German. Having the client in all Japanese was a bit daunting at first, but with a few guides on the basics I was  surprised how quickly I adapted. Yeah, there are still a few things I have no idea what to do with–just forget dialog with any of the NPC cast–but for what I need to know to play I’ve pretty much got it going on. Which either says how well designed the interface is OR how well I can play these types of games. Maybe both.