The design and business of gaming from the perspective of an experienced developer
WoW is now posting up-to-date information on most lethal monsters, most auctioned items, Here, take a look.
Interesting note: right at the top of the list of Most Dangerous Creatures, along with stalwarts like Onyxia and Drek’Thar, we find…. Defias Pillager, scourge of the noob. Which sums up why I as a designer love data mining so much – it helps you actually identify the lumps in the carpet that need whackin’.
1. The Red vs. Blue team makes a commercial for Madden, which shows a digitized Dallas Clark, tight end for the Indianapolis Colts, getting decleated repeatedly, and in slow motion.
2. Dallas Clark reports to the local media that it’s humiliating, and that guys in the locker room are razzing him for it.
3. The Red vs. Blue team apologizes and offers a Director’s Cut, in which Dallas Clark is portrayed as a minor god.
I swear, I love living in the digital age.
(Update: thanks to J for pointing me to links that weren’t terminally farked)
An interview with the head honchos of my studio has been posted. It features Producers Gordon Walton and Rich Vogel, as well as BioWare Creative Director (and my Lead Designer) James Ohlen. They’ve given up some more information about what we’re working on: namely, it’s going to focus a lot on story.
We want to bring a level of storytelling that’s equal to the single-player box games that BioWare has done. I think we can do that. One of the big challenges will be making our storytelling work in an environment that has multiple players.
Feel free to debate what that means… or even what you hope it means.
How do you get a large, unrluy mob to stop following the celebrities you are assigned to protect? You start fires. At least you do in Argentina.
The government also assigned firefighters and a fire engine … to start fires: “Believe it or not, the fire truck is used to put out small fires that are set by the firefighters themselves (when ordered to by their superiors over the radio) to distract people from chasing after the Bush twins. The fires are usually set in trash barrels as the firefighters stand by with a small hose.”
We now return you to our usual game-oriented content. I just couldn’t let that one pass.
Ren Reynolds has started a research project.
Then it struck me that there might be at lest one comparator that could be common across worlds which might cast a slightly different light on in-world currency values, and that’s sex. More specifically paid for in-world sex, and potentially the ultimate unit of measure may be the ’15 min quickie blowjob’, giving us the QBJ index.
Speaking of increased fan communication, Warhammer has responded to some fan questions on Slashdot, talking about their game and where it’s heading. In response to ‘what makes WAR special’:
That grand, enormous capital city you’re running around in today could be a ruined tomb tomorrow if you and your fellows do not defend it tooth and nail. To do so, you’ll be given the chance to push deeper and deeper into enemy territory until you finally reach THEIR capital, at which point you’ll lay siege to it and – if successful – do things that… well, Slashdot is a FAMILY FRIENDLY place, so let’s just say that you’ll do terrible, terrible things to the huddled, whimpering survivors of the siege.
Ever wanted to know which parts of the country gets which football games? Then check out this extremely cool data visualization.
It does bring up interesting questions, though: for example, why is LA watching New Orleans and Atlanta instead of San Francisco? (Week 12) Why is most of Tennessee subjected to Buffalo vs. Jacksonville? (Week 12) Is Brett Favre’s hometown in Mississippi the only place in the South forced to watch Green Bay vs. Minnesota? (Week 10)
With Vanguard’s launch imminent, and with heavy pressure from the 800-lb gorilla launching two weeks before it, Brad McQuaid felt it was time to have a ‘come to Jesus’ talk with the fans.
The interesting subtext is Brad laying it all out – the game isn’t going to be nearly as hardcore as they seem to want it. Key notes that Brad makes: the game WILL have a minimap. The game WON’T mandate endless camping. The game WILL have quests, so you won’t be forced to endlessly grind. Believe it or not, they had to defend these positions on the boards. I guess there are fans of anything, even tedious inventory management. Continue reading
In this age of hypercompetitiveness, it’s ever more crucial to have an angle, or an edge, to hang your hat on. Wii launched with their unique control schemes, which was clearly an edge. The 360 is banking most of its success on its online capabilities, which has proven quite popular with the gamer’s set. One thing that has troubled industry observers is that it lacked a similar edge — until now: PS3 is the console that will cure cancer. Continue reading
As a Thanksgiving treat: the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britian performs Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Happy holidays, to everyone in the states.
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