Zen Of Design

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

Category: Social Justice Stuff (Page 7 of 11)

Games Are Really Not Like Cars

September 9, 2014 /

As things cool down on the GamerGate morass a little bit, the various press outlets have started to voice their own opinions and declarative statements on where they stand.  As one might expect, there has been a fair amount of tightrope walking in these, and occasionally, a writer falls off the rope and racks himself.  Of these, none are really more befuddling than the Escapist’s take on the whole thing.

Their general stance, as near as I can parse, is “GamerGate is the Publisher’s fault!”  The problem, you see, is that game publishers are trying to make enthusiast games for everyone!  What they should be doing, apparently, is selling Grand Theft Auto for $3000 bucks a box.  That way, devs won’t have to cheapen or weaken the hardcore hooker beating simulation that all true hardcore gamers crave.

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Reclaiming ‘Gamer’ and Defending Our Tribe

September 9, 2014 /

In the movie Office Space (a film that should be required viewing for anyone who work in games), the unfortunately-named Michael Bolton is asked why he doesn’t go by ‘Mike’ if he resents sharing the name with the famous grammy-award winning singer. His response was simple and eloquent. “Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks.”

This comes to mind after reading last week’s flood of people attempting to disavow themselves from the ‘gamer’ identity or declare it dead.  Screw that.  Most gamers don’t suck.  Most gamers are pretty awesome.  A tiny handful of gamers suck.  Why should we be the ones who change?

I am a gamer. I am a proud gamer. I have been for years of my life. So much so that I’ve dedicated my life to making games, writing about games, and speaking about making better games. And I love gamers. I love going to SWTOR Cantina events, to Magic Gamedays, to ArmadilloCon, BoardGameGeek.con, to E3, and to PAX, and seeing all sorts of gamers of all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds come together because we love games. And good games are social. So you see people talking, teaching and sharing with each other, because it makes the games better, and it makes the communities that play them better.

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Simyopia

September 4, 2014 /

Among the various other ludicrous claims I’ve seen come from the gamergate truthers and Sarkeesian bashers is a fear, a deep, unsettling fear: if the Social Justice Warriors win, the games industry will stop making gamer games for gamers!  There will be no more boobs and blood!  We’ll all be playing Diner Dash!

Let’s do a little reality check.

One of the more tedious parts of the industry is that it is one where copycats are routinely pushed into development.  Every time someone comes up with a ‘gamer game’ formula that kind of works, every major publisher falls over itself attempting to copy it as quickly as possible.  Think about the E3s and other trade shows you’ve been to.  How many MOBAs were there this year? How many open world games three years ago?  How many MMOs were there five years ago?  God of War clones 6 years ago?  How many World War II shooters 8 years ago?

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Penny Arcade is Still Mostly A Force For Good

September 5, 2013 /

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: it’s pretty much criminally stupid to put out a t-shirt of what effectively has become the spirit animal of the worst mouthbreathing misogynistic trolls on the Internet, and then act surprised when it becomes a thing.  That’s not nearly as stupid as publically saying you regret taking it down.  So there’s that, and I won’t defend it.

That being said, I love PAX.  It is currently the best game show available, largely because it was organized by gamers, for gamers, and the event therefore feels like a real and genuine love affair with gaming, completely unlike the publisher-driven plastic-coated circle-jerk that is E3. The gaming is great, the independent games portion is a feast for people like me, and the convention has a hundred little subcommunities that are all welcoming and affirm your love for gaming.  I will continue to love PAX.  Despite the fact that it no longer is cool to do so. Continue reading

Conan’s Aspirational Fantasies

August 21, 2007 /

It’s long been acknowledged that one of the cornerstones of WoW’s success has been relatively girlfriend/wife friendly gameplay. Unlike many MMOs in the past, WoW has an inviting art style and a happy-go-lucky feel to the game that gamers aren’t ashamed to nudge their geek-loving girlfriends into giving it a good college try.

Compare this to Conan, where according to this old movie, you start as a sex slave (youtube link- fast forward to 1:15 or so). Developer quote:

“If you’re a male, you start rowing, and if you’re a female, you’re chained to the back performing other services… regardless, you have to do work.”

The only confirmation I could find was in this interview from 2006:

The male characters are attached to the oars, and the female characters are chained to the wall, slightly removed from the males, as their duties fall less under the category of propulsion than, shall we say, “crew recreation.”

Conan is gunning hard for the ‘M’ rating, and trying to do everything they can to embrace it. That being said, the initial proposition is an odd one, that really highlights the difference between passive and interactive media. In, say, Thelma and Louise, the audience is asked to root for women who were recently abused for sexual purposes. In this game design, you’re asked to become one.

Does anyone in a recent beta know if this design element exists in Conan as it sits now? Is it clearly apparent what’s going on? If so, it will be very interesting to see if they ship with that feature, and what effect it has on the wifeometer.

Original comments thread is here.

You’ll Poke Your Eye Out!

June 13, 2007 /

It appears that the Soul Caliber franchise has a new art director. Take a look at the new Taki and the new Ivy.

Now, I’m generally pro-good looking people in my games, and I don’t mind a bare midriff now and then. Most people want to play avatars that look either attractive or cool. We’re in the entertainment business, and most people want good looking people in their movies and TV shows.

Still, Soul Caliber seems to have fallen well into ‘you can’t be serious’ territory. I can only imagine they are somehow responding to DOA. Which is a shame. Other than being totally superior in terms of game mechanics, Soul Caliber also had the distinction of being the fighting game you can play in front of your parents and/or girlfriend.

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