Today’s gaming podcast covers some recent gaming news and hits some gaming history on Starcraft and the game designer Brian Reynolds. Hitting some community feedback and checking out a few gaming tattoo’s! Here are a couple of the submitted tattoo’s we were looking at in the show:
This weeks gaming news includes:
- Blizzard weighing in on PC DRM
- More Project Natal rumors
- Treyarch now a Call of Duty studio
- People spending more time playing games
This week’s question of the week, what’s your opinion on some really crazy achievement lists? Do they frustrate you?
@Starcraft: Don’t apologise Derrick, generic perfection encompasses genetic perfection. That’s why it’s “generic” đ
Thumbs up, man!
As for mods, oh man, I even played CTF in Starcraft! It’s an experience that I won;t forget too easily.
I overall enjoyed the Starcraft flash back.
@Blizzard weighing in on PC DRM:
Finally! Somebody is taking a page from Valve’s book!
Now, with all these clients (steam, battle net etc) there’s also the risk that they will start sending back confidential data. So far Steam looks clean, but if every single developer has it’s own client, things might soon get complicated. Fire up this client to play this game, fire up the other one for the other game, don’t start this client because it sends the credit card number đ …
Perhaps alligning to some sort of open standard, that would be great.
Oooh, that’s a good blogging subject …
@More Project Natal rumors:
Ha ha ha, loved Jennifer’s reaction.
150 USD is too expensive. The sillicon waffer is pretty much price-constant. And they should not push up the price just to recover the R&D costs very fast. So I say they’re just exploiting the hype.
@Treyarch now a Call of Duty studio:
“a 100 percent Call of Duty studio … long before any of [the Infinity Ward] events occurred,”
… Riiight …
As for SP maps vs MP maps, it’s not that simple. Button behaviors is not as important as map layout itself. And not all SP maps fit (in terms of layout) the MP.
@People spending more time playing games:
Not too much a surprise in the decline of portable devices. You won’t see me playing STALKER in the bus. You need to have a comfortable and more stable environment to play games. Portables are there to kill time when commuting. If people don’t commute => they won’t need PSPs đ
@Question if the week:
I don’t play for acheivements. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the sensation when earning one (“Herr_Alien just acheived ‘Be efficient!'”), but I am not seeking it. When it comes, it comes.
So, no, I don’t get pissed off by acheivements.
Still, how about this for a game acheivement:
http://celebrifi.com/gossip/Gamer-Wins-1-Million-For-Winning-MLB-2K10s-Perfect-Game-Contest-2406545.html
@Starcraft: Don’t apologise Derrick, generic perfection encompasses genetic perfection. That’s why it’s “generic” đ
Thumbs up, man!
As for mods, oh man, I even played CTF in Starcraft! It’s an experience that I won;t forget too easily.
I overall enjoyed the Starcraft flash back.
@Blizzard weighing in on PC DRM:
Finally! Somebody is taking a page from Valve’s book!
Now, with all these clients (steam, battle net etc) there’s also the risk that they will start sending back confidential data. So far Steam looks clean, but if every single developer has it’s own client, things might soon get complicated. Fire up this client to play this game, fire up the other one for the other game, don’t start this client because it sends the credit card number đ …
Perhaps alligning to some sort of open standard, that would be great.
Oooh, that’s a good blogging subject …
@More Project Natal rumors:
Ha ha ha, loved Jennifer’s reaction.
150 USD is too expensive. The sillicon waffer is pretty much price-constant. And they should not push up the price just to recover the R&D costs very fast. So I say they’re just exploiting the hype.
@Treyarch now a Call of Duty studio:
“a 100 percent Call of Duty studio … long before any of [the Infinity Ward] events occurred,”
… Riiight …
As for SP maps vs MP maps, it’s not that simple. Button behaviors is not as important as map layout itself. And not all SP maps fit (in terms of layout) the MP.
@People spending more time playing games:
Not too much a surprise in the decline of portable devices. You won’t see me playing STALKER in the bus. You need to have a comfortable and more stable environment to play games. Portables are there to kill time when commuting. If people don’t commute => they won’t need PSPs đ
@Question if the week:
I don’t play for acheivements. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the sensation when earning one (“Herr_Alien just acheived ‘Be efficient!'”), but I am not seeking it. When it comes, it comes.
So, no, I don’t get pissed off by acheivements.
Still, how about this for a game acheivement:
http://celebrifi.com/gossip/Gamer-Wins-1-Million-For-Winning-MLB-2K10s-Perfect-Game-Contest-2406545.html
QotW – I am in to the current achievement thing. I don’t tend to just grind out the massively stupid and pointless ones (Insane in the membrane achievement in WOW is currently held by 4 players in my guild!), but I do like to feel that I have completed instances etc, and that as a healer, I was responsible for the group being able to sustain the silly mass pulls needed for some of them.
GTA4 had a nice extensive list of trophies / achievements on offer, but then you had the one for clearing the game really fast. On top of that, there are the online insane ones (like Mr Dunn was ranting about) that need to clear 3 multiplayer co-ops within a “minimum time”, but nowhere did it tell you the times needed, and if you had cleared any of the individual components of it.
I also got annoyed by Resistance 2. Sure you had the usual kill 50 monsters with each weapon, but then you had one for level all 3 classes on multiplayer to max, and don’t get me started on the “Perfect Deathmatch” ones.
Rock Band 2 has the old complete all songs on expert on each instrument etc. Lets face it, if you only have a guitar, you’re never going to get very far on those awards.
Speaking of Rock Band… Have you seen the rumour mill going crazy about Rock Band 3? Early leaks appear to suggest multiple mics (perhaps for backing singer / harmonies) and there looks like a keyboard icon for one of the controllers! If we are getting one of them, are we sticking to 5 buttons so we can tap a plastic block like we’re in an 80’s synth group like Depeche Mode?
QotW – I am in to the current achievement thing. I don’t tend to just grind out the massively stupid and pointless ones (Insane in the membrane achievement in WOW is currently held by 4 players in my guild!), but I do like to feel that I have completed instances etc, and that as a healer, I was responsible for the group being able to sustain the silly mass pulls needed for some of them.
GTA4 had a nice extensive list of trophies / achievements on offer, but then you had the one for clearing the game really fast. On top of that, there are the online insane ones (like Mr Dunn was ranting about) that need to clear 3 multiplayer co-ops within a “minimum time”, but nowhere did it tell you the times needed, and if you had cleared any of the individual components of it.
I also got annoyed by Resistance 2. Sure you had the usual kill 50 monsters with each weapon, but then you had one for level all 3 classes on multiplayer to max, and don’t get me started on the “Perfect Deathmatch” ones.
Rock Band 2 has the old complete all songs on expert on each instrument etc. Lets face it, if you only have a guitar, you’re never going to get very far on those awards.
Speaking of Rock Band… Have you seen the rumour mill going crazy about Rock Band 3? Early leaks appear to suggest multiple mics (perhaps for backing singer / harmonies) and there looks like a keyboard icon for one of the controllers! If we are getting one of them, are we sticking to 5 buttons so we can tap a plastic block like we’re in an 80’s synth group like Depeche Mode?
Hey Cast
In Regards to the QOTW
Trophies/Achievements are great, people love getting treats in for doing something good. But there will always be achievements that may or seem unachievable that may frustrate the users. I wouldnât go as far as saying these achievements shouldnât be there though. Iâm sure these guys worked for months to achieve these insane achievements & feel that they really deserve some recognition. Think of there self esteem, they probably think they deserve money or a metal so I say we leave them with there shiny icon & 5-100 Gamer score. I myself do get frustrated sometimes at achievements to. Like the time I played GTA for 35hrs, found out about the Liberty city minute (game completion in 40hrs). Raced to finish the game took about ž of an hour too long. I decided Iâm just not gonna get that 1.
@ Herr Alien
$1 million =D imagine how many MS points he could get.
Project Natal
Iâm interested in the product but I might wait to read reviews & hopefully get some 1st hand experience before I invest $150-300 in natal. (Adjusted cost inc, stealth bomber import cost.) Side Note You guys should totally buy 1 & tell me if itâs awesome or not =D
@ Surveys & stats
Havenât will already established that there are a lot old gamers out there over 24+. The way I see it, the longer gaming is popular the higher the average gamer age will rise. Iâm sure their will be a lot of elder age gamers in the future because thatâs one of the hobbies they grew up with.
Other then that, thanks for the Star Craft insight. Iâve never played the game but always was semi interested. Maybe ill give the new 1 a whirl.
Hey Cast
In Regards to the QOTW
Trophies/Achievements are great, people love getting treats in for doing something good. But there will always be achievements that may or seem unachievable that may frustrate the users. I wouldnât go as far as saying these achievements shouldnât be there though. Iâm sure these guys worked for months to achieve these insane achievements & feel that they really deserve some recognition. Think of there self esteem, they probably think they deserve money or a metal so I say we leave them with there shiny icon & 5-100 Gamer score. I myself do get frustrated sometimes at achievements to. Like the time I played GTA for 35hrs, found out about the Liberty city minute (game completion in 40hrs). Raced to finish the game took about ž of an hour too long. I decided Iâm just not gonna get that 1.
@ Herr Alien
$1 million =D imagine how many MS points he could get.
Project Natal
Iâm interested in the product but I might wait to read reviews & hopefully get some 1st hand experience before I invest $150-300 in natal. (Adjusted cost inc, stealth bomber import cost.) Side Note You guys should totally buy 1 & tell me if itâs awesome or not =D
@ Surveys & stats
Havenât will already established that there are a lot old gamers out there over 24+. The way I see it, the longer gaming is popular the higher the average gamer age will rise. Iâm sure their will be a lot of elder age gamers in the future because thatâs one of the hobbies they grew up with.
Other then that, thanks for the Star Craft insight. Iâve never played the game but always was semi interested. Maybe ill give the new 1 a whirl.
I’ve been thinking about the ongoing discussion re: online user codes, and publishers trying to fleece 2nd hand purchasers.
I’m actually beginning to see the argument from the side of the publishers.
If you go out and drop 40-50 notes on the latest release (lets be hypothetical and say you buy “Summon of Responsibility – Current Conflict 2″…) you could assume that some of the money you have put down is contributing to the server costs for the online mode, which you would expect thousands to be using. In this case, you are totally right to expect access to the online content, as that’s quite possibly the only reason you bought it.
The buyer who picks up the 2nd hand copy has not contributed to the server costs, yet expects the same level of service. If it were offline only, then the publisher should not have any reason to argue, but for a mainly online game, I think they could request only letting you access their servers once you have waved them some pennies, though I would imagine an “acceptable” fee, such as 2-5 bucks should be the limit. (Otherwise stop releasing cds and just have EVERYTHING released through online stores, preventing any further resales. Just look at the success of the PSP GO! Ah, yes, some things just don’t work out do they?)
I’ve been thinking about the ongoing discussion re: online user codes, and publishers trying to fleece 2nd hand purchasers.
I’m actually beginning to see the argument from the side of the publishers.
If you go out and drop 40-50 notes on the latest release (lets be hypothetical and say you buy “Summon of Responsibility – Current Conflict 2″…) you could assume that some of the money you have put down is contributing to the server costs for the online mode, which you would expect thousands to be using. In this case, you are totally right to expect access to the online content, as that’s quite possibly the only reason you bought it.
The buyer who picks up the 2nd hand copy has not contributed to the server costs, yet expects the same level of service. If it were offline only, then the publisher should not have any reason to argue, but for a mainly online game, I think they could request only letting you access their servers once you have waved them some pennies, though I would imagine an “acceptable” fee, such as 2-5 bucks should be the limit. (Otherwise stop releasing cds and just have EVERYTHING released through online stores, preventing any further resales. Just look at the success of the PSP GO! Ah, yes, some things just don’t work out do they?)
“Whatâs your opinion on some really crazy achievement lists? Do they frustrate you?”
They frustrate me, but not because they’re “crazy” or anything. To me their very existence is annoying, because — I’ve probably mentioned this before — it’s an achievement for me to even FINISH a game, period. And if I really am into a game, I might try to do all the subquests (like in Fallout 3 or Dragon Age). So I don’t really need the added distractions of “Kill a thousand mutants with your bare hands” achievements or “Complete the main questline in under five hours” achievement, or whatever. I can see how this might provide replay value and extend the life of a game, but frankly I’ve stopped looking for replay value in games, and have settled for initial play value. And yes, I sometimes like to try weird things like see how far away I can shoot someone without them noticing, but I don’t need to have a little window pop up that says, “You’ve Earned 3 Points For The Uber-Sniper Achievement!” I can derive my own achievement, as much as it pertains to video games, anyway. (Also, maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else actually care that you’ve earned the achievement title of Elite Wombat Slayer or whatever?)
Okay, done ranting. Loved the episode, especially the Starcraft bit, and apologize for the extremely long absence. Long live TD Gaming Podcast! May their lol’s never fail.
“Whatâs your opinion on some really crazy achievement lists? Do they frustrate you?”
They frustrate me, but not because they’re “crazy” or anything. To me their very existence is annoying, because — I’ve probably mentioned this before — it’s an achievement for me to even FINISH a game, period. And if I really am into a game, I might try to do all the subquests (like in Fallout 3 or Dragon Age). So I don’t really need the added distractions of “Kill a thousand mutants with your bare hands” achievements or “Complete the main questline in under five hours” achievement, or whatever. I can see how this might provide replay value and extend the life of a game, but frankly I’ve stopped looking for replay value in games, and have settled for initial play value. And yes, I sometimes like to try weird things like see how far away I can shoot someone without them noticing, but I don’t need to have a little window pop up that says, “You’ve Earned 3 Points For The Uber-Sniper Achievement!” I can derive my own achievement, as much as it pertains to video games, anyway. (Also, maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else actually care that you’ve earned the achievement title of Elite Wombat Slayer or whatever?)
Okay, done ranting. Loved the episode, especially the Starcraft bit, and apologize for the extremely long absence. Long live TD Gaming Podcast! May their lol’s never fail.
Here’s a question for the cast:
We all know how fatigued we all are with Guitar Hero – but Actvision just announced Warriors of Rock:
http://www.gamestooge.com/2010/06/06/activision-announces-guitar-hero-warriors-of-rock/
The game adds an RPG-lite mode in which you level your characters as you go from CBGB to the Pits of Hell (literally). If that werenât enough, the single disc has over 500 hundred songs stuffed on it, with songs ranging from âBohemian Rhapsodyâ to âSharp Dressed Manâ. This might be the first Guitar Hero in a long while worth getting. What do you think?
Here’s a question for the cast:
We all know how fatigued we all are with Guitar Hero – but Actvision just announced Warriors of Rock:
http://www.gamestooge.com/2010/06/06/activision-announces-guitar-hero-warriors-of-rock/
The game adds an RPG-lite mode in which you level your characters as you go from CBGB to the Pits of Hell (literally). If that werenât enough, the single disc has over 500 hundred songs stuffed on it, with songs ranging from âBohemian Rhapsodyâ to âSharp Dressed Manâ. This might be the first Guitar Hero in a long while worth getting. What do you think?