Zen Of Design

The design and business of gaming from the perspective of an experienced developer

Category: Geek Culture (Page 5 of 5)

NFL Players Have Opinions on Their Madden Stats

August 23, 2005 /

Another sign that video games have entered the mainstream: people in Pittsburgh are upset that Madden ‘06 gives Ben Roethlisburger mediocre stats – and this made the news.

Incidentally, Roethlisburger has his own critique of the game, which isn’t related at all to his stats.

“I think a lot of guys don’t like it as much because [the new vision cone system] makes it much harder. I know they’re trying to make it more realistic and stuff, but it makes it harder, and I don’t know if it’s as fun,” he said.

Yo, back off, dude. You don’t see me out there trying to do YOUR job.

MMO Designers Can Learn from LARP

August 3, 2005 /

A documentary about LARPers.

MMO designers should study LARPs more. If you think about it, they’re actually a much better analog to MMOs than the tabletop experience everyone tries to emulate. Tabletops are about cooperative storytelling. LARPs are much more self-running, with a small cabal loosely managing a large herd following fairly simple and cut-and-dried rules. They also do a better job of thinking of events that involves the whole populace, and still feel world-changing.

But this is all from anecdotal data – I’ve never taken part. Humorously enough, though, I had a girlfriend once who swore she would dump me if I ever LARPed. I’m pretty sure she meant it, too.
The original comment thread is here.

The Rise of Manga in America

August 3, 2005 /

I found this article about the emergence of Shoujo Manga in America to be a fascinating read. The general thesis is that Manga is taking the American girl market by storm, largely because American comic book producers simply refuse to make content for that market. Sounds like another industry I know. Relevant quote:

Speaking for myself, the straw that broke the camel’s back fell during this year’s Emerald City Con in Seattle. I’d stepped out to smoke a cigarette and was watching the passersby. I noticed a family leaving the convention — a Mom, a Dad, and a little girl no older than eight years of age. The girl was decked out in a beautiful, elaborate kimono and clearly distressed by what she’d just encountered. “But they didn’t hardly have any manga at all!” she said as they walked away.

When I was done with my cigarette, I went back inside and relayed this story to an acquaintance prominent in the art-comics publishing scene. “I hate to say it, but good,” was his reply. Indeed, I told the story several more times that day, to both indy-comics and superhero-comics professionals, and the reaction was more or less the same each time. A young reader disappointed by the selection offered to her? Good. The future of comics walks out the door, unable to find what she wants? Good. I left the convention early, lost in a foul mood. I swear: I love the comics art form with a passion, but my utter contempt for the American comics industry grows like a cancer with each passing day.

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Random Ninja Links

June 6, 2002 /

One of the nice benefits of being part of Ninjaneering is that everyone sends me random silly ninja links. I wonder at what point Ninjas went from really, really cool to really, really silly. I suspect that it’s around the time that MST3K mystified the pilot episode of the Master, and all of us kids who thought the Master was the coolest thing since, well, the A-Team, discovered just how easily entertained we were as children.

Fortunately, with the announcement of Ninja Boobie Basketball, I feel confident things are heading in the right direction again.

And now Ninjas snarl Detroit traffic.

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