tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37336332485162567672024-02-19T07:18:44.363-08:00Billy Chatterton - Video Game Art/Design BlogBilly Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-47599371123151416882020-10-23T09:54:00.000-07:002020-10-23T09:54:11.306-07:00Season Passes<p style="text-align: left;">2020 presented me with an unplanned and unique opportunity to complete four season passes in roughly a months time. Since this will likely not happen again, I decided I should document what I learned about the differences in the passes.</p><p>Season Passes are the current preferred monetization method in free-to-play games and some retail games are using them as well.to continue monetization and player interactions over time. The consistent features of the passes seem to be a limited amount of time to earn rewards (usually new to the game and cosmetic) with free and paid tiers of rewards you unlock during the time the pass is active. While the free items are free to earn while the pass is active, the paid items require hard currency (currency you can buy with real money) to be paid to unlock them, and will often allow you to earn back the full purchase price of the pass if you earn a high level within the time frame the pass is active.</p><p>Below I will give a quick comparison of the four passes I was able to recently complete.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Rocket League:</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwEqERDwTp0xJozjjmofhxak1Dw_nqENEXywjvWR8qyiiM9CKfsm9aTgxivybOhCfh-LyzfbNsb7KIow6Mf9wfe9loV3WjyCqvgdrup8cIaXn9wlx6nNJHn1zhIp1C6_n7RIi4_C4MIYI/s2048/20201020205038_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMwEqERDwTp0xJozjjmofhxak1Dw_nqENEXywjvWR8qyiiM9CKfsm9aTgxivybOhCfh-LyzfbNsb7KIow6Mf9wfe9loV3WjyCqvgdrup8cIaXn9wlx6nNJHn1zhIp1C6_n7RIi4_C4MIYI/w400-h225/20201020205038_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>What's Unique::</b></div><div>The Rocket Pass is the most generous with it's free content in my opinion. Once the pass is maxed it rolled random painted (pallet swapped) rewards from the pass and with repeat protection you don't run out of unique items until somewhere in the 300 level range (if my memory is correct) depending on the pass and how many items are painted with how many colors etc.<div><br /><b>Normal Levels:</b></div><div>Rocket Pass goes to level 70 with 3 variations of the "hero car" from the pass and a variety of cosmetics for the hero car and many other popular cars. The majority of items aren't tied to a specific car and can be used on any of them. Cosmetics include: decals, paints, wheels, goal expulsions, boosts, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBKrvQIyzlqwEZsnwBnqMQ1bTu4RF0KQi-_e3zo0ZuJWX1N0n7CfJpeq3HhR1-at3VfaHyxU7aQoaSfNUP8AB6YSDHJdPtKHKWruqy3lrKHO1GwjWA5fArOt7h16f4RQbrsW4zclpzoQd/s2048/20201020204910_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBKrvQIyzlqwEZsnwBnqMQ1bTu4RF0KQi-_e3zo0ZuJWX1N0n7CfJpeq3HhR1-at3VfaHyxU7aQoaSfNUP8AB6YSDHJdPtKHKWruqy3lrKHO1GwjWA5fArOt7h16f4RQbrsW4zclpzoQd/w400-h225/20201020204910_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>Bonus Levels:</b></div><div>From level 71 on painted versions of most of the later level rewards will start dropping with some more currency for paid pass levels and random items for free players. If you keep leveling to around 100 I think you'll earn your currency back for unlocking the premium tiers.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Disclaimer:</b></div><div>The Rocket Pass is what I have the most experience with, I implemented most of the code driving the UI and have a very thorough understanding of at least the first season pass. I've completed all of the season passes so far, so it's kind of the measuring stick for me. At the time of writing: I am also currently employed at Epic Games' Psyonix Studios.</div></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Fortnite:</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKunVV94Jt12SQkVLzL5NwdAVrIMw9mPHx1gSgjYkADTFgiNqfHZewiqpkBhVn57UdnWGmXi-HSJ7LbwEn2AItMWoe17XJIa921TkD6-FMi1NuBHM1WiLHIzEgBcq4RUgGofa3JLbF7xBY/s2048/Fortnite+++10_19_2020+10_03_49+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKunVV94Jt12SQkVLzL5NwdAVrIMw9mPHx1gSgjYkADTFgiNqfHZewiqpkBhVn57UdnWGmXi-HSJ7LbwEn2AItMWoe17XJIa921TkD6-FMi1NuBHM1WiLHIzEgBcq4RUgGofa3JLbF7xBY/w400-h225/Fortnite+++10_19_2020+10_03_49+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>What's Unique:</b><br />If my memory is correct Fortnite and DotA 2 started the Season Pass idea and the Battle Pass hands down has the most content in any pass I've looked into. In the Marvel pass they have 8 characters, not to mention other cosmetic items like tools, backpacks, gliders etc. They also have an extensive challenge system that has random daily challenges, and curated weekly and event challenges that both help you make fast progress through the pass and unlock new content if you complete enough weekly content, including skins. The way the challenges are spaced out make the pass relevant for it's entire duration in a way I haven't seen any of the other's accomplish. A late unlock Wolverine skin that is unique requires eight and a half weeks worth of weekly challenges to be completed. Each pallet swap of the 8 main skins require the majority of a specific set of two week challenges to be completed, so even in the last two weeks when you're well past max level you're still doing weekly challenges to unlock variants. Also these weekly challenges aren't retired at the end of the week so if you're on vacation, buy the pass late, etc., they're all still there to complete. Battle Pass is a very player friendly design. My only complaint is I thought I was getting to the end a couple times and kept getting more content, but really that's just more to do!<div><br /></div><div><b>Normal Levels:</b></div><div>Battle Pass goes to level 100, but there are alternate skins that are added as you do weekly challenges. The content varies per patch, but this one had 8 Marvel characters and all the accessories made for each of them.<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_VdE9Qpn5UezpXEj47VwM9nIVfQWJQmFt92Zbs4oZpzEXAAIofpeTVAHbjS2Bv9zWkP0mzNN4defvVJHlHUTaC_ZaCHrU8M-Drue44pVptVF5whEuQir2tW-6QjtHH8g-6Vjeki1fs-I/s2048/Fortnite+++10_19_2020+10_01_54+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_VdE9Qpn5UezpXEj47VwM9nIVfQWJQmFt92Zbs4oZpzEXAAIofpeTVAHbjS2Bv9zWkP0mzNN4defvVJHlHUTaC_ZaCHrU8M-Drue44pVptVF5whEuQir2tW-6QjtHH8g-6Vjeki1fs-I/w400-h225/Fortnite+++10_19_2020+10_01_54+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>Bonus Levels:</b></div><div>After level 100 the Battle Pass has a silver, gold, and multi-color version of each major skin and a few other accessories as well. There was also a completely alternate Wolverine skin that unlocked after doing enough weekly challenges, not technically past 100, but hidden until late pass. There could be more I'm not aware of as the pass keeps surprising me with new content.</div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Dauntless:</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljT1-eVKBvNrqeCsNpn1-lo2bEjVS4TR2rwGO1bls8H4jO71BKD2q89C-R_zI-Z0aVS1pcog3WbmToAtwiiuQXoPZisL6xoNm86EyeU22Co1ACtTxP3asuADKm82IvditU_NOv-0eDuXa/s2048/Dauntless+++10_20_2020+12_45_16+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljT1-eVKBvNrqeCsNpn1-lo2bEjVS4TR2rwGO1bls8H4jO71BKD2q89C-R_zI-Z0aVS1pcog3WbmToAtwiiuQXoPZisL6xoNm86EyeU22Co1ACtTxP3asuADKm82IvditU_NOv-0eDuXa/w400-h225/Dauntless+++10_20_2020+12_45_16+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>What's Unique:</b></div><div>The Hunt Pass does feel a little light on content, but they had a bonus period at the end that increased the amount of XP earned to help make the last push to complete the pass easier. The cool unique thing here is the store that you get currency for as you level up. You get a small amount under 50, but past 50 you get a fair amount every level. I believe it lets you buy content from previous passes you may have missed out on with currency you earn leveling the current pass.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Normal Levels:</b></div><div>The Hunt Pass goes to level 50 and gives you 3 full armor sets as well as armor dyes, hair styles and colors, weapon skins, and other cosmetics and emotes, etc.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQpzj6MYSHXBOvOK_m1e4PKE2CeZOMrwNsKjtI7T_FCdAmX7O66iQstgNJsRxsvw2cZbkVFK-UaYnbrn94xBMtKJRw61pnWoRYI-POazr1h8zKOv6_ZOkij6ee4YA_85Rw29dSdrY8-e4/s2048/Dauntless+++10_20_2020+12_46_58+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQpzj6MYSHXBOvOK_m1e4PKE2CeZOMrwNsKjtI7T_FCdAmX7O66iQstgNJsRxsvw2cZbkVFK-UaYnbrn94xBMtKJRw61pnWoRYI-POazr1h8zKOv6_ZOkij6ee4YA_85Rw29dSdrY8-e4/w400-h225/Dauntless+++10_20_2020+12_46_58+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><b>Bonus Levels:</b></div><div>Hunt Pass levels starting with 51 give you the special currency that you can use in the Hunt Pass store. The only down side is if you have purchased every pass do you already have all this content? Even if so they could easily add new content here too.</div><div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Magic the Gathering: Arena</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBbx9eRRb5SrRMjq2brFxb7rjFOnR-xuGkzoN5t1G1dLI1dVNigXE736nVG9h7jqB4fV_W4noOuwTximhJ6d6EXRNXwDVC1fiIVCe91ezjmovL6hiwNNunRx-BhPctnlRKcctnCrvoGda/s2048/MTGA+10_20_2020+9_48_55+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBbx9eRRb5SrRMjq2brFxb7rjFOnR-xuGkzoN5t1G1dLI1dVNigXE736nVG9h7jqB4fV_W4noOuwTximhJ6d6EXRNXwDVC1fiIVCe91ezjmovL6hiwNNunRx-BhPctnlRKcctnCrvoGda/w400-h225/MTGA+10_20_2020+9_48_55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><b>What's Unique:</b></div><div>The Mastery pass was the lightest content wise and most interesting from a design perspective. This is the only pass that could be argued is pay-to-win because it comes with so many card packs as rewards, and the better the decks you can build the more likely you are to win matches. It also comes with tournament "entry tickets" that are "worth" whatever the entry fee is for those tournaments, and tournament rewards also contain packs of cards. There are very few cosmetics available in the game, and after you max the normal pass they also start giving out a lot of game currency to players who paid for the pass that could compound the pay-to-win feel? As a player you're given the most valuable items available, but there also aren't many options for purely cosmetic rewards in the game so it's hard to fault the developers. It's an interesting conundrum!<br /><br />Also experience to level up seems very limited. There are daily challenges, that will cache up to 2 previous days to give you a total of 3 days worth of challenges to grind at a time, daily wins, and one other bucket I can't remember. After you complete these I don't believe there is a way to progress your pass until the next day. This is probably a design limitation to control the flooding of packs and currency by people rapidly completing a pass?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Normal levels:</b></div><div>The big item in these passes are the cosmetic pets you get a few variants as you progress in the pass and a player avatar. There are cosmetic card variants and card backs, but that's all the cosmetics in the game. Card packs show up throughout the game and the pet maxes at level 50, so we'll call this the cap even though it's harder to define in this pass.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dsXOnYKCMXmx_FKAZiMDqvVPY49KemvQkq1mb9M4AKeUY4hhQoI_Wzwutfiu0RDaGwsq9r3n_kvcel8xhU9P2MG_alaE48Zl4QIte1OmBf8bWmglmK_otxdq6ExrqKGNaopuAiV49HA-/s2048/MTGA+10_20_2020+9_47_57+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3dsXOnYKCMXmx_FKAZiMDqvVPY49KemvQkq1mb9M4AKeUY4hhQoI_Wzwutfiu0RDaGwsq9r3n_kvcel8xhU9P2MG_alaE48Zl4QIte1OmBf8bWmglmK_otxdq6ExrqKGNaopuAiV49HA-/w400-h225/MTGA+10_20_2020+9_47_57+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><b>Bonus Levels:</b></div><div>Above level 50 it's mostly currency rewards. You can see the pass up to 130, and then it's random cards to fill out your sets. The do have duplicate protection, so overall it's a great way to build decks, and since Magic sets are retired regularly passes are limited for how long these earned cards are useful, mitigating at least the amount of time you have an advantage from buying a pass. Also all the cards are available other ways, you just get them much faster buying a pass.<br /><div><br /></div></div></div>Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-25549253007595123382018-04-15T18:07:00.000-07:002018-04-16T14:19:21.531-07:00Longshot - Madden NFL 18 It's Good! What?<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbT63JTx4chyphenhyphenrvLTHXaG6bsxQFF6_qp-vsIo5Nh0h_2QO7IlWWfxDUEkDT-NNSttfPCcjpcCL7ofuGKpzh1kiRb2A-BN3y7dZJBD030K8jUoSQnx3PvfsxNRl2HY9qix_9gvSuMAC5h1g/s1600/Madden+18+Long+Shot+Seahawks-trimmed.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbT63JTx4chyphenhyphenrvLTHXaG6bsxQFF6_qp-vsIo5Nh0h_2QO7IlWWfxDUEkDT-NNSttfPCcjpcCL7ofuGKpzh1kiRb2A-BN3y7dZJBD030K8jUoSQnx3PvfsxNRl2HY9qix_9gvSuMAC5h1g/s400/Madden+18+Long+Shot+Seahawks-trimmed.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was pleasantly surprised with Madden NFL 18's Longshot. I rented the game to check out the use of the Frostbite engine and see the story mode I'd heard great things about. Even expecting it to be good I was still surprised with how good it actually is. I'll avoid plot spoilers so feel free to read without to much worry, if you're really interested you'll have played it by now anyway!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBzX5hrsyecukJwnDu6l5O_Hb-UPxNfXsNFZRYjJm7NZjxt6YRzoei1M8AIpCkV1u0NNMAvMRbaxBk14qCNLzgKdJ1Z9shpnjE6ksWeHGVuJDl8s1zaCVhDp9EEXWK4RjbF0fCfPWCCMV/s1600/Da3ThJ4VMAEbTX-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBzX5hrsyecukJwnDu6l5O_Hb-UPxNfXsNFZRYjJm7NZjxt6YRzoei1M8AIpCkV1u0NNMAvMRbaxBk14qCNLzgKdJ1Z9shpnjE6ksWeHGVuJDl8s1zaCVhDp9EEXWK4RjbF0fCfPWCCMV/s320/Da3ThJ4VMAEbTX-.jpg" width="320" /></a>Frostbite doesn't relieve the main problem I always have with Madden games, the uncanny valley is massive! Time was obviously spent on the main characters to make their models the highest quality in the game to help. Wade and Cruise specifically got a lot of work while the other cast have a range of quality between these two and the coaches in game that look pretty bad. With the massive uncanny valley in Madden shockingly they were able to string a thin rickety rope bridge across the valley making you care about the story despite the massive valley looming below daring you to look down and break immersion with every step!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEczBlBFc5cmEFeI_sbEN4YcHplEGKBJpkL44KOhk6PL5p_MjV_McqmCkpbVPsvP5qmJR616ueiz6eDpYpQTT7ITzHQQ7Rx66TOZ_oJWJwwGiJjUt_CGNpOe0PIiab63mG_FCdBriFzB8/s1600/Da3TeG9V4AAo-bs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEczBlBFc5cmEFeI_sbEN4YcHplEGKBJpkL44KOhk6PL5p_MjV_McqmCkpbVPsvP5qmJR616ueiz6eDpYpQTT7ITzHQQ7Rx66TOZ_oJWJwwGiJjUt_CGNpOe0PIiab63mG_FCdBriFzB8/s320/Da3TeG9V4AAo-bs.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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So the interesting thing to me is how they did this. One aspect was the better character models for story mode. Based on what I see in the game I think the story characters have translucency and specular masks where other models like coaches do not, and spectators don't even have lighting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7zMjji_7ijvT7aJCXqHlb6-rFWeb4eC1w8uKtH9lK0N-eYeCBmtBvmC18n-9Askuj8h-Pwe5VAR4m8kXIsYrku1LRglQjhYQSkW5reQD1qcJr-lqT-Q38_fABUg8ssHcgSK6y8lAKALz/s1600/Da3Ta6iVMAASwkq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7zMjji_7ijvT7aJCXqHlb6-rFWeb4eC1w8uKtH9lK0N-eYeCBmtBvmC18n-9Askuj8h-Pwe5VAR4m8kXIsYrku1LRglQjhYQSkW5reQD1qcJr-lqT-Q38_fABUg8ssHcgSK6y8lAKALz/s320/Da3Ta6iVMAASwkq.jpg" width="320" /></a>Story character's skin is done so much better than anything else in the game. Coaches and crowd are really a spot Madden's visuals break down. Also the voice acting was very good. There were only a couple of lines I can think of that didn't feel like they belonged in the situation, most of them were delivered well. The music in Madden is always very far from what seems fitting for an NFL game. Longshot takes place in a Texas town and has an appropriate country style soundtrack that fit far better than their normal game's soundtrack fits NFL football.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixr9Q4QzuTXPe8Q6gY46ipQ3WWDSV94cNIR1F44hUmY4qAMPoaI_8dkq8c1-SRed962wOB4suD_eEA-vjB1EiY9l2QTjkDaDv4dQaXYUfBfjwVzT8sAcGkfg3auiUiFs5dBClU9_4N8e7E/s1600/Da3VLUnVMAAosKY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixr9Q4QzuTXPe8Q6gY46ipQ3WWDSV94cNIR1F44hUmY4qAMPoaI_8dkq8c1-SRed962wOB4suD_eEA-vjB1EiY9l2QTjkDaDv4dQaXYUfBfjwVzT8sAcGkfg3auiUiFs5dBClU9_4N8e7E/s320/Da3VLUnVMAAosKY.jpg" width="320" /></a>A couple of things I hope they change for next season are the quick-time-events. I'm never a fan, but these aren't normal Madden controls and don't fit in any way with the game. The ones where you move your floating ball cursor to the highlighted location and then have to quickly press whatever button prompt only shows up when you're already tracking correctly caused headaches especially the first couple times. Also as in Telltale games the conversation quick-selection is to fast. The game should take input immediately and keep going, but stop and wait for your input too if you need more time to pick, and the defaults aren't what you always want to pick. Quick-time-events can be failed easily even when you know the correct answer and what you're suppose to be doing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62-6Gdxjag-XaOywRAwE9oFPGgDhpNOISW9JmgjyUV2eKRjfhJJYdlRbxRyZ0gy1yvWAfa0RaUCNR276vziD1NVN0VCtrkEsCMYDMqWMst6wRE_XhUjWo_Zux6qUVpUxplQuquPft0Vw-/s1600/Da3XF3OVMAAcByF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62-6Gdxjag-XaOywRAwE9oFPGgDhpNOISW9JmgjyUV2eKRjfhJJYdlRbxRyZ0gy1yvWAfa0RaUCNR276vziD1NVN0VCtrkEsCMYDMqWMst6wRE_XhUjWo_Zux6qUVpUxplQuquPft0Vw-/s320/Da3XF3OVMAAcByF.jpg" width="320" /></a>Lastly, towards the end of the game there are a string of 5 challenges that don't save between each. That's just far to much content to have to repeat if you can't get through it in one sitting. I assumed at the completion of each it would save like a normal game and had to replay almost the entire thing.<br />
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There are some pretty nice plot twists and what appears to be reuse of other Frostbite assets, but in a really cool way. I do wonder how much you can change the story by your choices such as Cruise's ending, I had to re-play a bit because of the bad save system, and it appears the story is pretty set, but you never know for sure. One character Ross is completely annoying until he has a scene with a hoverboard that just pushes him over the top and kinda made me like him after that.<br />
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It surprised me how good the story was from a game that hasn't had any in the past. I'm waiting for next year to see the next chapter of the story and see what Frostbite improvements they can make for year two! Madden is a game I normally buy one copy of per system, but the story mode might change that for me. The beginning of my play through from my Twitch stream is embedded below. Like this post it ends right before any major spoilers. And further into the game you get to use actual Madden controls and gameplay and it gets far better. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-31009966539805274302018-02-13T10:59:00.001-08:002018-02-13T11:06:18.083-08:00Blood, Sweat, and Pixels - Mini Review<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrg8Az72s24K7iSWC9rX4yrePZ3bwungojCu2RDLIJz9lO6UIs4LUpHTEQBVtOTDHx1Lc19EPDQQBXO0zG9-Nn0LYO5dYUdjcvvck8sImMahdH5yPDLNVanMOgGelChFNwGnUbfNBuL-c/s1600/51Y4gyR8t5L._SX330_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrg8Az72s24K7iSWC9rX4yrePZ3bwungojCu2RDLIJz9lO6UIs4LUpHTEQBVtOTDHx1Lc19EPDQQBXO0zG9-Nn0LYO5dYUdjcvvck8sImMahdH5yPDLNVanMOgGelChFNwGnUbfNBuL-c/s320/51Y4gyR8t5L._SX330_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="212" /></a>So I did something I do less then I finish a game: I finished a book! I received this book from my wonderful wife for Christmas and 16 days into January I completed it with travels and all.<br />
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Who should read this book?<br />
<ul>
<li>Everyone considering going into the game industry before spending considerable time, energy, and money on that pursuit. You should know what you're getting into! </li>
<li>Anyone that has ever posted an angry complaint about a video game. Realize what went into the game before you rant. Chances are they are painfully aware of many more problems with the game than you are.</li>
<li>Anyone who loves games and wants a better appreciation or idea of how they are made.</li>
<li>Anyone already in the game industry could probably find something useful here. Either a pitfall to avoid, or just a realization that other studios have/are going though the same thing you are.</li>
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Jason seems to have a good grasp on the games industry. The introduction is about the most honest straight forward account I've read. Some of the chapters about larger studios are from an upper management point of view and so they glamorize and necessitate "crunch" as part of the process while talking only about high level issues, and filtering everything through their PR department. While these chapters are still interesting the best parts of the book are the less guarded chapters including examples of independent studios and a single developer telling his story.</div>
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From chapter 4 or 5 to the end the book shines with a "tell it how it is" feel. The book has an honest portrayal of what making a game alone or as a small team might be like. It shows how even "successful" studios are often only a single failure from closing their doors and some of the struggles and compromises they make to stay afloat. It looks at why some of the design choices may have been made and the struggle between developers and publishers that effect games more then most people realize.</div>
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It's a fairly short book at 279 pages with good sized print, but the thoughts are put together and presented well including footnotes. Many of the stories I knew something about, but each had more details than I knew before reading. If the studio has released multiple titles Jason also does a quick historical overview of relevant history to catch you up with the story he's telling. The games covered in this book are:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Pillars of Eternity</li>
<li>Uncharted 4</li>
<li>Stardew Valley</li>
<li>Diablo III</li>
<li>Halo Wars</li>
<li>Dragon Age: Inquisition</li>
<li>Shovel Knight</li>
<li>Destiny</li>
<li>The Witcher 3</li>
<li>Star Wars 1313</li>
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I have slight disagreements with his conclusions. I agree that it is a wonder any game ever gets made with everything that happens during the process, and crunch will always be a part of games, but i feel for another reason.<br />
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Games can and should be scheduled out to work within the studios budget and timeline, if crunch is required something went wrong and you need to hire for the work or move the date. It's illogical and probably illegal most of the crunch that happens in the industry. Planning for everything to take the maximum time you think it might seems to be working at studios I've worked for recently. This approach gives tasks that complete early to cover the ones that go long. At some point if you commit to a deadline you might need to put in a bit of extra time to make it, but there should never be long crunch phases, it's simply unsustainable.<br />
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So why did I say crunch will always be around? It is touched on a bit in this book. Game development attracts perfectionists and people will put in the time to do as good of a job as they can. If there is often "extra" time because of proper scheduling the level of polish will be higher with less bugs. If extra work is optional people will do it as passion project in a sustainable way.<br />
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Okay, sorry for the mini-tangent on the mini-review. Buy the book, it's a great read about the industry! If you're still on the fence Jason has posted a full chapter about Diablo III here:<br />
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<a href="https://kotaku.com/how-blizzard-saved-diablo-iii-from-disaster-1797427650" target="_blank">How Blizzard Saved Diablo III From Disaster</a></div>
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Read it and pick up form favorite book store!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-83566146362198918342018-01-18T00:41:00.001-08:002018-01-18T00:43:31.473-08:00Cut Mechanics That Don't Help Your Game<div style="text-align: center;">
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You could ask the question of many game mechanics: Why are they there? I've heard death in games just in general questioned... but in this post I'm specifically looking at Super Mario 3D World and why lives are still a part of the game?<br />
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Donkey Kong and later Super Mario Brothers released in the arcade and arcade games make money by accepting quarters, so 1 quarter for 3 lives and fairly robust systems to gain more lives was a good mechanic for arcades and I assume this is where the idea of lives started in the Mario series<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyD3Npez48CMOEgVH519t_fL5ZVLJ213ugp7mMFXBCDK1-p1fmP-nCgZGNphmq4DdrWcuLw0-Ms0tJ50TmSOHqS8XDx4Qy6DWWZBEfPBsWAXlDdd9Ih8bdmDFEGMQT5bGGJ-kZwH3KHJIe/s1600/Checkpoint_Flag_SM3DL.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyD3Npez48CMOEgVH519t_fL5ZVLJ213ugp7mMFXBCDK1-p1fmP-nCgZGNphmq4DdrWcuLw0-Ms0tJ50TmSOHqS8XDx4Qy6DWWZBEfPBsWAXlDdd9Ih8bdmDFEGMQT5bGGJ-kZwH3KHJIe/s200/Checkpoint_Flag_SM3DL.png" width="140" /></a><br />
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In 2013 however, Super Mario 3D World only released on consoles. The game saves after EVERY level so as long as you complete a level no progression is ever lost. (a good thing) 3D World also gives you unlimited continues as it should, so the only thing lives do in single player is give you x number of tries from the level's mid-level flag checkpoint if you need them.<br />
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You might not see a problem, indeed lives are a pretty useless mechanic at this point except for personal goals like you only used one life, or didn't use a continue. The problem is playing multiplayer especially with players of unbalanced skill levels. Specifically I've been playing with my 3 year old son quite a bit, and if he is on a level with challenging platforming or avoidance he will go through all of our shared lives and won't be able to play while I either finish the level or give into his please to kill myself so he can play with me again. This is a needlessly frustrating co-op game mechanic. The game gives you an invulnerable raccoon/fox suite that completely breaks most of the game's mechanics, but limits you to 5 lives per continue? So why not simply give unlimited lives in a multiplayer game? This doesn't even break any other game mechanics.<br />
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<b>My speculations as to why lives are in the game:</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo8GXSsayIc9XZBcTky3TVm_PrQpu9sAXbENwiRtnfNVY5Y3V1cPLbvlHohyphenhyphensc8nGXSx6XBAPf4DO5RXzpmnJrGNUMc6IpSYSWIxetU18YPmhedn4ZMjZvpvsaOeTrHoK_QGP2k3-dYCG/s1600/3D_1-Up_Mushroom_Artwork.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguo8GXSsayIc9XZBcTky3TVm_PrQpu9sAXbENwiRtnfNVY5Y3V1cPLbvlHohyphenhyphensc8nGXSx6XBAPf4DO5RXzpmnJrGNUMc6IpSYSWIxetU18YPmhedn4ZMjZvpvsaOeTrHoK_QGP2k3-dYCG/s200/3D_1-Up_Mushroom_Artwork.png" width="200" /></a>The advantages to having lives: Lives do artificially limit the game and I can see how equally competent players could like this either by making the game more challenging or allowing for competitive griefing. This could be retained by making standard or free-play an option for multiplayer. There is also the since of urgency if you are at the half-way checkpoint to make it through the level before running out of lives. Lives give coins and green mushrooms meaning. (ways to get more lives)<br />
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The disadvantages of lives: The loss of a collectible: no more green mushrooms or they would have to do something different. Green mushrooms are often placed in precarious situations making your risk death for another life. Coins would also be effected: collecting 100 coins wouldn't really matter anymore. Really though the only disadvantage that matters is that they break multiplayer... multiplayer isn't multiplayer anymore if you can't play together because one player is dead and you're out of lives. If you're playing with a kid (it is a Mario game after all) you have to listen to them ask "where am I?" "get me back!" "where did I go?" "daddy fix it!" If you're playing with older kids/adults, while less vocal it is the SAME problem, someone is waiting around holding a controller that does nothing while the others have fun without them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Vm6t1VYPqGm6egbCShwvhFIZZrFIJf324nuJr6hwyODLYojvNu_VtV1OElNRuMze39THiwoJixvRg_3IonRB9nYxq3G_PvoSqerhB80oNul1ZpWNngT7rmzInJ9dHRklVS7TrF4DX88x/s1600/250px-Box_NA_-_Super_Mario_3D_World.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Vm6t1VYPqGm6egbCShwvhFIZZrFIJf324nuJr6hwyODLYojvNu_VtV1OElNRuMze39THiwoJixvRg_3IonRB9nYxq3G_PvoSqerhB80oNul1ZpWNngT7rmzInJ9dHRklVS7TrF4DX88x/s320/250px-Box_NA_-_Super_Mario_3D_World.png" width="224" /></a>Anyway, it's interesting to take a look at game mechanics that have out lived their usefulness and try to figure out why they weren't cut in development. My best guess is multiplayer is somewhat tagged on to a lot of games and I'm considering writing a post just on this topic.<br />
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Like I said at the start Super Mario 3D World is still a good game, having lives just makes multiplayer frustrating. I'm looking forward to Super Mario Oddasy coming out here in a few days! I've avoided as much as I can about the game since I know I will be playing it at some point, but I really hope they eliminate lives at least in multiplayer and REALLY hope they bring back Yoshi!<br />
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Note about this blog post: It was written right before Mario Oddasy was released, Miiverse was taken down so I lost the ability to take screen shots. Oddasy also has probably the worst multiplayer ever. I hope Super Mario 3D World is released on the Nintendo Switch without lives in multiplayer so more people can experience this lost gem!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-27227650328489036372017-09-11T21:48:00.004-07:002017-09-12T10:16:17.429-07:00Kids and Gaming - Personal Observations<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm going to write about my observations of something I know little about and have read even less about. Kids and gaming. First off one thing I have learned is kids move at their own pace, and if yours is ahead or behind don't worry about it! He'll catch up, even out, or has other interests he'll pick up. My son was a super late walker and behind for about the first 18 months and we worried a bit, then he has been on track roughly since.</div>
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We'll start with a bit of background, I'm a game developer and my son is nearly 3 and a half years old. I've always known I wanted him to enjoy games, but wasn't sure when to get him into them. I'd mostly use them to keep him entertained when he was visiting me at work as pictured above. I'd setup Forza Horizon 3 or more recently Rocket League and let him push buttons and watch what was on screen. His brain didn't seem to be linking the on-screen action with what his hands on the controls were doing though.<br />
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Super Mario Run came out and I was slightly amused, being in the gaming industry I try to play as many games as I can and have time for, so it was downloaded and played it a little. One day my son needed to be entertained out and about and hey Run was on my phone.<br />
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After he was hooked on the game for a while I decided to support Nintendo and dropped the $10 to unlock the game as my son had played through the starting 4-5 levels, but figured it would get to hard for him. Within a few weeks though he'd unlocked all the levels through mostly the games "easy mode" that allows unlimited time and deaths.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFuYmgMDGyV9XxC2YCXnyDCr7gCS_IP9n3TobM1urzmMMvVFhRmxcbaFAVW2Xuaufbgg5KwrMSc4pgEmUgOT82eKFkJdjP3k4gC6W3F3hdzCqzT81bgeJRCbjHVx81WIs9jDiRqtdT30D/s1600/Screenshot_20170910-181918.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFuYmgMDGyV9XxC2YCXnyDCr7gCS_IP9n3TobM1urzmMMvVFhRmxcbaFAVW2Xuaufbgg5KwrMSc4pgEmUgOT82eKFkJdjP3k4gC6W3F3hdzCqzT81bgeJRCbjHVx81WIs9jDiRqtdT30D/s320/Screenshot_20170910-181918.png" width="180" /></a></div>
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He was at the last level and there is no easy mode so he started asking for help. Since I hadn't played the game in a while I played the last level figured out the kick the bomb into Bowser mechanic and showed/explained it to him. For a couple days every chance he got to play he kept trying to finish this level on "normal" mode and failing continuously.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLE_QTfiSgacSTaOYgrT0u2OuOnpAiMnS8rnwT_gAtBVstb5AEsaLVZByuKOY7yDfJS0CQq8vNyJiwiXAp5218ZnIq2eXxkx4P91Uit9SOXFKspO3-6p9PxHQvyeiz2AyfLB3NzVEI-PQH/s1600/Screenshot_20170910-181525.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLE_QTfiSgacSTaOYgrT0u2OuOnpAiMnS8rnwT_gAtBVstb5AEsaLVZByuKOY7yDfJS0CQq8vNyJiwiXAp5218ZnIq2eXxkx4P91Uit9SOXFKspO3-6p9PxHQvyeiz2AyfLB3NzVEI-PQH/s320/Screenshot_20170910-181525.png" width="180" /></a></div>
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His persistence surprised me and sure enough after a week or so he'd beaten the level himself multiple times!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIe3-UCHQ-9f6X4Q1v-BsCctzqwTEJRp1yvAJLBDAdCTkAnvS9v3ZbVTTWRb0qZss6ZpI_ll1yGVw3drq36xQJ8cwlwNpqro7yTKE9VPZXqO_uktdjujG5SFtgjACANCznGB-2VFt5ePI/s1600/Screenshot_20170910-181722.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIe3-UCHQ-9f6X4Q1v-BsCctzqwTEJRp1yvAJLBDAdCTkAnvS9v3ZbVTTWRb0qZss6ZpI_ll1yGVw3drq36xQJ8cwlwNpqro7yTKE9VPZXqO_uktdjujG5SFtgjACANCznGB-2VFt5ePI/s320/Screenshot_20170910-181722.png" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwNHPi7R99LyZvhlNPgONgO4-sSJEBW1bcG9UJkhrMImlhdsqYCH_BbJpfGC6_xUkki6JtycyVS-EOYNTl7ENLz7fiRb6OSKk68mwf-pM7xi05SLY36IohUTfJKK7ydisBezzeqTleF7Q/s1600/Screenshot_20170910-181758.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwNHPi7R99LyZvhlNPgONgO4-sSJEBW1bcG9UJkhrMImlhdsqYCH_BbJpfGC6_xUkki6JtycyVS-EOYNTl7ENLz7fiRb6OSKk68mwf-pM7xi05SLY36IohUTfJKK7ydisBezzeqTleF7Q/s320/Screenshot_20170910-181758.png" width="180" /></a></div>
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During this time he'd also developed a bit of an obsession with Yoshi as Blue Yoshi is the first unlockable character in the game and I'd found a wind-up walking Red Yoshi at a local comic book store. He's obsession was now "unlock Red Yoshi on daddy's phone!" This is no small task and appears to be the "you have no live" achievement for the game, so I started looking for alternatives.</div>
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Knowing the Wii U hadn't sold well and expecting games to be hard to find now that it's discontinued I have a small library of games I'd like to play "some day" for the system. In that library is Yoshi's Woolly World. This had 2 things: Yoshi, and it was the closest most accessible game to Super Mario Brothers I could think of. Super Mario Brothers was my first real post Atari 2600 gaming experience and seemed like a good next progression for my son.</div>
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Mechanically in fact it's almost identical. The only new major mechanic is yarn throwing and a there are a few smaller things like double jumps, ground slams, etc that came to the Mario series later on.<br />
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I was going to let him watch me play as we'd done with a few other games, but he immediately wanted to play himself, so I thought that was a good sign, but quickly thought this was a mistake as he couldn't move and jump a the same time, and I got an almost constant demand for "daddy help me" this went on that entire play session and the start of the next, but he never wanted to just watch, or stop playing. A few minutes into the next session I needed to leave and left him playing without help figuring it wouldn't last long, but I came back about 15 minutes later and he was still playing on his own. Progress was still very slow involving him sitting in an underworld area eating and spitting bad guys into each other for a long time, but practicing using the mechanics.<br />
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I had the entire 1-1 world memorized and it seemed he wasn't mechanically going to be able to get through it yet. He was moving and jumping though and now was having questions about how to progress... things we take for granted like down to go down pipes, up to open doors, and the level was requiring more accurate yarn throwing and assuming you would throw at an empty circle of gems to "find" the flower spawner you needed to complete the level. After a coupe days of showing him mechanics and how they are used I hear a sequel of joy quickly followed by "daddy I did it!" He'd finished the level on his own and within the next hour or less he was at the first boss having finished 4 more levels. And I watched him amazed how much better he was playing in only 3-4 days!<br />
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Both Yoshi's Woolly World and Super Mario Run have some really great "easy mode" features and considerations for kids/non gamers that I didn't have starting out, but I'm still shocked how quickly he was able to pickup and get good at both of them. While the transition wasn't fast enough for me to think it was going to work initially, looking back on it there was so much progress made in a short time!<br />
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I don't know what advantages this might have, but I'm excited to see his persistence even though it's hard at times! He's got some eye-hand coordination and incredible problem solving skills showing. He's having to prioritize what he wants to do with his limited "screen time" and hopefully this will all transfer to life skill. Who knows if he'll keep gaming, but it's cool to share something that is a big part of my life with him.<br />
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Next game? We have a vacation coming up, the Switch controllers are nice and kid sized, and they added some good driving assists to the Switch version of Mario Kart 8!<br />
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Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-70868958077651042592017-07-30T22:40:00.001-07:002017-07-31T10:56:59.948-07:00Why I'm Looking Forward to Monster Hunter World<div style="text-align: center;">
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Fans seem to be very split about Monster Hunter World. I understand a lot of the concerns, but thought I would write a post about why I'm so excited for it. Monster Hunter World was the major surprise from this year's E3 and literally got me giddy like a teenage girl!<br />
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Capcom makes good games, but their releases are often underwhelming. What they call sequels MMOs or any "games as a service" product would simply call patches or expansions not entirely new games. Monster Hunter hasn't had a significant re-working in years. While I am a relatively new fan I've gone back and played many of the older games as well as importing Japanese only titles and playing the Chinese only Monster Hunter Online. The original Playstation 2 entry was fairly unique (I never tried importing Monster Hunter 2). After these first two Playstation games was the Freedom series. Freedom Unite was the only one of the series I played, but my understanding is this was a cumulative update. Since Freedom Unite Monster Hunter has basically been the same. Yes there have been new weapons, quality of life improvements, much needed hit-box fixes and graphical and mechanical improvements, but you can play anything from Freedom Unite to Generations and it basically plays the same.<br />
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With World, the biggest legitimate complaints is the fact it's not on hand held. While I personally can't wait to play an HD big screen experience (This is the main reason I played Online), I have grown to enjoy the ability to bring my 3DS to work and simply sit next to 3 other people at lunch and play. Local multiplayer will be severely lacking in World, but we get the trade off of the best graphics I've seen in Monster Hunter to date.<br />
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Also I do hope the Monster Hunter XX (Double Cross) does actually release in English on the Switch. The base game (Generations) has already been localized so only G rank content would need to be localized and this would give us the mechanically definitive version of this Monster Hunter time frame (Freedom-Generations) in the West. It really makes no since for Capcom to not release XX in the West based on the very little effort it would take to localize and the fact the game would stand alone in the Action-RPG space on the Switch. Capcom also recent said they were surprised by the sales of Street Fighter II on Switch and are considering more Switch releases. I think I would be in the camp that argues 4 Ultimate is actually a better over-all game (balance, progression curve, story), but a 60 fps 1080p Monster Hunter on Switch with the mechanical improvements made on Generations would be a great game we should get to play in North America!<br />
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Okay back to World... with the recent weapons videos I think it's much more clear this is a Monster Hunter game, I was actually hoping for a bit more re-tooling, but as long as they fix things like being able to change directions mid-combo to make following monsters/avoiding hits possible and make canceling out of combos easier I'll be happy with the HD upgrade we are getting. Having all the favorite weapons return is a good thing and while many of the monsters appear new this isn't a bad thing. I hope the Artificial Inelegance re-vamps are real! Not cheesing zone lines should help the immersion and using environments looks limited at the moment, but full of potential! For the first time ever in the series the North America and Japanese versions are releasing at the same time! The last question I have that I haven't heard an answer on is will we get G rank? Playing Portable 3rd and now Generations, Monster Hunter isn't really Monster Hunter until you hit that difficulty curve in G rank that requires you to put effort into your hunts. Fingers crossed, but Yes I am more excited for Monster Hunter World then I've been for any other title I can think of in the last few years!<br />
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-PC version!!!!! /mic drop</div>
Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-7432535585797987772017-03-28T00:14:00.000-07:002017-03-28T10:39:37.483-07:00Doom Modding was my First Taste of Game Development!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Recently I was asked something to the effect of: “What was the one game that got you into game development?” At the time I couldn’t come up with an answer, but since I can never shut my brain off the next morning in the shower I came up with the answer, and figured it was worth a blog post. It brought back such great early memories of gaming.</span></span><br />
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The answer is Doom. It was the first game I modded and had great support for packaging and distributing content in WAD packs compatible with anyone who had the game. If I remember right you could do a single image or level swap to a full game overhaul and it was always contained in the single .wad file no matter how simple or complex.
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<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most memorable Doom mod was taking the German Shepherd sprites from Wolfenstein 3D and replacing the pink demon in Doom with the dog. I packaged the enemy swap with a half dozen or so levels that started with normal run and gun levels, had a puzzle level that teleported you into a room full of enemies if you failed, and was at a difficulty that still challenged me after hours of play. By the time I completed the levels I could clear them fairly regularly, but everyone else I watched try them struggled with the difficulty. It was great watching other people enjoy something I’d created even if it was on par with some of the overly difficult Mario Maker levels.
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">The main thing I remember about the level editor was the limitation of only being able to have one play space in the up (z?) axis. I wanted to create an underpass type of situation, but level editor couldn’t ever create it correctly in game. I think it was actually an engine limitation, but even way back then working around limitations was an interesting problem to solve.
Doom was a game that pushed PC Gaming forward and the great mod support was my first early taste of game development, I was hooked!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">After writing this I'm going to look through my drawer/boxes for the last few remaining floppy disks I have and see if I can find one labeled "Doom WAD." I keep a Windows XP laptop solely because it's the last hardware I have capable of reading 3.5 floppies. If I can find those levels I'd like to play them again!</span></span></span><br />
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Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-72288650680268134852017-03-11T16:36:00.001-08:002017-03-12T16:08:53.945-07:00Zelda Breath of the Wild is an Example of a Games as an Art Form<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPq8BMcAk_eZdRpNPlnNGdWCqbtpTFegoaFv5ALxRWfXPHwlvmqtZQaupnZhLIa9EjjN4tltelImUrUWp17BYAvl3dItoZXG9VBQH7R8Fi9eqt4fNvmuzFt3dVUJRRGk5DwehuTSSXMbXj/s1600/WVW69kJLwEs-6pDeeF.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPq8BMcAk_eZdRpNPlnNGdWCqbtpTFegoaFv5ALxRWfXPHwlvmqtZQaupnZhLIa9EjjN4tltelImUrUWp17BYAvl3dItoZXG9VBQH7R8Fi9eqt4fNvmuzFt3dVUJRRGk5DwehuTSSXMbXj/s400/WVW69kJLwEs-6pDeeF.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a truly amazing game!</b> I don't feel like it does anything new, but everything it does is done so well!<br />
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Disclaimer: Following is a spoiler for one possible way to get to a specific tower. If you've already activated the tower pictured below, that's all I'm really going to specifically talk about in this post.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurz_iobXJKPVg4ytLV3PABPVDMGh93sMTy_9piq7Ih_JK9aWXuw53ZtEDE_NC00IgUzgEQ2xGaGOzthweOYH4izppBf2KMSrR_oNgDx1BI6aUJ9F8f2lQUrynS5C3kH1BIU8eqyvdwwVg/s1600/WVW69kJL3p80xTZJSr.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurz_iobXJKPVg4ytLV3PABPVDMGh93sMTy_9piq7Ih_JK9aWXuw53ZtEDE_NC00IgUzgEQ2xGaGOzthweOYH4izppBf2KMSrR_oNgDx1BI6aUJ9F8f2lQUrynS5C3kH1BIU8eqyvdwwVg/s400/WVW69kJL3p80xTZJSr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Making it to the top of this tower alive is my greatest accomplishment so far!</b><br />
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Breath of the Wild like almost any open world game is not about the stories in game, but rather the stores you create within the game.<br />
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Initially I cleared a corner of the lake and attempted to swim across, but I had no way to defend myself from the monsters that could float above it or attack while swimming unlike myself.<br />
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So I looked around, found a high cliff simi-nearby and went to work.<br />
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I climbed to the highest point and jumped off, but ran out of grip strength just before getting to the tower and splashed down in the water and died within seconds to the monsters mentioned above.<br />
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I found a ledge that was almost as high, but about as much closer to the tower as the distance my grip went out and tried again. This time I was inches short.<br />
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One more time from the same location but laser focused on flying directly at the tower as straight as possible and my grip failed dropping me onto the lowest platform on the tower.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5-NoXECgo33HfoCz6phxkrtxgZHMRVta0cLbxCittfYkhXyouF49NmUleI7VwuY2wbHazByVaP-VkJB0WwGBPdB6MetMeNsvkULPbUKoGYJEBDAXD-fbMZUsmv-F1UyK6Kevss6dK5mU/s1600/WVW69kI-nRMYGAtELI.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5-NoXECgo33HfoCz6phxkrtxgZHMRVta0cLbxCittfYkhXyouF49NmUleI7VwuY2wbHazByVaP-VkJB0WwGBPdB6MetMeNsvkULPbUKoGYJEBDAXD-fbMZUsmv-F1UyK6Kevss6dK5mU/s400/WVW69kI-nRMYGAtELI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Those two points in stamina wheel paid off!<br />
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I wait about 2 seconds for my stamina to re-charge and start up the tower and get attacked form the monsters around the base of the tower and quickly die.<br />
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Repeat the above steps and save on the platform after resting :)<br />
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After a few failed attempts getting spotted on the way up the tower I figured out if I could jump three times quickly up the tower I would get out of ground aggro range with just enough grip strength left to make it to the next platform.<br />
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Repeat the quick triple jump and climb to the next platform to clear and I'm out of range of any of the monster floating/flying above the lake and able to activate the tower.<br />
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<b>So let's talk about the game for a minute:</b><br />
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Nothing I listed above is new to games, or the action-RPG that Breath of the Wild basically fits into with an added puzzle component. It's just all done to a level of polish that I can't remember seeing in a single game before. Everything about that experience just worked together like you'd expect. Talking to a co-worker about the game, he told me his own personal story about a very long glide off a steam peak onto the back of his horse that was one of these "epic" moments he experienced playing.<br />
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I think the best thing about the game being a Switch release title might be that the game was probably delayed for the Switch launch, because it has the level of polish almost never attained and that would come by having more time than planned to work on the game.<br />
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Breath of the Wild's weakest point is probably it's combat, though even the combat feels like something from Dark Souls requiring defense and avoidance being prioritized above attacking. The tells for enemy attacks didn't seem to be easy enough to read and archers would often hit me from off screen and at 4 hearts there were still a fair number of one-shot-kills. This maybe because I was in an area beyond where I should have been, or maybe I'm not good enough with Link's combat system yet, but I was always able to prevail, it just took a few to many tries a few times in my opinion, but not a deal breaker at all. Good bow use and weapon choices help a lot, and many camps actually have an easy way to beat them if you look around for explosives or rocks or other things in the area.<br />
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/Start Edit 2017-03-12<br />
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Okay, combat is fine compared to the randomly thrown in and very poorly controllable motion control puzzles. And not to mention I'm playing with the Pro controller, so having to switch controllers is very bad UX (user experience) in the first place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcymWuWvWXlc5k4NwmFGhY-Ql_84_6uzQh3LJptBi5veDiYr7tKh25hkDhxqNheNfy-W3WTq2DGe_4dh5RVa7UUwYEEGMZY3ml0o7n1QCmdIVDDp_qhWWPfpHcyig6D3LsaS7qmmO0z9E4/s1600/WVW69kJalCYCCz3zeg.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcymWuWvWXlc5k4NwmFGhY-Ql_84_6uzQh3LJptBi5veDiYr7tKh25hkDhxqNheNfy-W3WTq2DGe_4dh5RVa7UUwYEEGMZY3ml0o7n1QCmdIVDDp_qhWWPfpHcyig6D3LsaS7qmmO0z9E4/s400/WVW69kJalCYCCz3zeg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I should do a post on just Quick Time Events and Motion Controls because they are such a turn off in games, but God of War III finally got a usable QTE system. Motion Controls are held back mostly by hardware I guess, considering none of them are as responsive as they need to be for how they are used in game.<br />
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/End Edit<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1M4iqAdk_enkOnurB2QQfK5VqwZ4bQxoLQjr0XUCSK3P6N38Su-79gsee029s6t8zmtYfX5x-XY6H1OWboJS3Zqv9hoDyFsDHAfsBE_6-AMBlY8eFaLJt9_oQDVugTS2VksBafFNxGuS/s1600/WVW69kIaMBg-tpftAI.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1M4iqAdk_enkOnurB2QQfK5VqwZ4bQxoLQjr0XUCSK3P6N38Su-79gsee029s6t8zmtYfX5x-XY6H1OWboJS3Zqv9hoDyFsDHAfsBE_6-AMBlY8eFaLJt9_oQDVugTS2VksBafFNxGuS/s400/WVW69kIaMBg-tpftAI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The two things that really impressed me most of all are just how far you can see, (That screenshot is in real time in game) and that you can climb and go anywhere you see.<br />
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The only thing that really constantly bugs me is having the stamina ring in the middle of your screen all the time, often over Link. (See the 2nd image of the glider above).<br />
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Over all the game is made up of so many very well polished systems that work together almost seamlessly. It's really a marvel of what can be accomplished. I've played other open world action-RPGs and nothing comes close to Zelda, it just feels right everywhere you go. Many other games get a system or two right and the rest are half-implemented/realized.<br />
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I didn't believe all the perfect review scores, but since a game can't actually be perfect, this is probably as close as you will ever get! I think it's spoiled these kinds of games for me for all time. It's the hit game and system seller Nintendo needed after a long drought! If you don't have a Wii U, go buy a switch and play this game, if you have one decide if you want a Switch, and if not get it for Wii U. It's so good!<br />
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I'm going to mount up on Traveler, ride off into the night and hope it's not a blood moon I see through the trees!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCEl1jse0ksrEO08TcnVTDfmM-39KQ8HaFJQkFRwYBoQ8QXXHXxRYLFZpxYITH8EtGKU4P5yXrXKDmb6F308kwWkSuXILWBJdZQmBHsP57_hYaidV13HTKnIq6vt8Hvxf19X9NM3H6Q84/s1600/WVW69kI2OScpjDVnLh.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCEl1jse0ksrEO08TcnVTDfmM-39KQ8HaFJQkFRwYBoQ8QXXHXxRYLFZpxYITH8EtGKU4P5yXrXKDmb6F308kwWkSuXILWBJdZQmBHsP57_hYaidV13HTKnIq6vt8Hvxf19X9NM3H6Q84/s400/WVW69kI2OScpjDVnLh.jpg" width="400" /></a> </div>
Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-21329831007343751302017-02-14T18:54:00.000-08:002017-02-14T18:54:01.351-08:00Nintendo Just Does Things Different: Wii U Gamepad Controller<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhl3nLxSJMzWcHJDv1H2PjiYrf2LgaPEBVU9hNozA2Mkwsv9MCrXvQPOg9TjRLeSh7kL5epXn3cliD5utiPoaUYxhcjJn8WUinp82oT0rK2OoROuvxck1GqCVRwO77jPzzDGAX4LCFmvH1/s1600/hero-1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhl3nLxSJMzWcHJDv1H2PjiYrf2LgaPEBVU9hNozA2Mkwsv9MCrXvQPOg9TjRLeSh7kL5epXn3cliD5utiPoaUYxhcjJn8WUinp82oT0rK2OoROuvxck1GqCVRwO77jPzzDGAX4LCFmvH1/s400/hero-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I've been playing my Wii U again pretty heavily over the last week finishing <i>Bayonetta 2</i> and playing more <i>The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD</i>. I've come back to the old issue I had with the Wii U Gamepad. It is both a great idea and poor choice at the same time and mostly due to one small design choice: it's always be on if the system is on!<br />
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The big question is do I have dominion over the TV?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgab89C2-yfl9PNaCd9KspgVNIYSS77NmT5WA6rH6f0ZbAP8Tci-3ZiCnz8VcauHiWipgT4XDCTHXf0lyM3j_ZcYJG5C5MH96MAod2eRAnbZk71JQmsgiTYMpJzLeUKW8RW5H4sO8BE1B2V/s1600/WVW69kEYdegByqazkC.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgab89C2-yfl9PNaCd9KspgVNIYSS77NmT5WA6rH6f0ZbAP8Tci-3ZiCnz8VcauHiWipgT4XDCTHXf0lyM3j_ZcYJG5C5MH96MAod2eRAnbZk71JQmsgiTYMpJzLeUKW8RW5H4sO8BE1B2V/s400/WVW69kEYdegByqazkC.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If the answer is yes, I'm playing on the big screen and using the pro controller and my Wii U Gamepad is sitting behind the couch out of sight, but on, draining the already short-life battery. The Gamepad is in no way a preferable option to the other controllers being to large to hold comfortably and having underwhelming (thought sadly required by some games) gimmicks of touchscreen and blowing on the controller.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJK3W0bAJ5bgc7Pma2vewGxQvowtVLhw61ZAGjQV3iS1Y9kz7mCsHX1be7GNHeLCbZBaOpfR_13MBG7UQsLuiIDwj47Zy32iv0RloB8eiRJC7RPWEOComOJOy-wp7kXpx9GtJRtsWb8nxZ/s1600/WVW69kEjLl0JTdHjCJ.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJK3W0bAJ5bgc7Pma2vewGxQvowtVLhw61ZAGjQV3iS1Y9kz7mCsHX1be7GNHeLCbZBaOpfR_13MBG7UQsLuiIDwj47Zy32iv0RloB8eiRJC7RPWEOComOJOy-wp7kXpx9GtJRtsWb8nxZ/s400/WVW69kEjLl0JTdHjCJ.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If the answer is no. The Wii U Gamepad is a wonderful gift allowing me to play a full console game (well at least the Wii U version of full) while sitting next to my wife and kid while they watch whatever they are into at the moment. The awkwardly large size is still an issue, but having the screen in my hand mostly makes up for it. Some of the features are still not intuitive though. I had to Google how to swap equipped items in <i>Twilight Princess</i> because using the touch screen to drag and drop items onto controls didn't even register as an option.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhs-7G7WZ2JONyB3d4PfxhX5Ucqu2Es2Izc6WpNLtrrQum6AusDyjAAcTQmyu3vd8Nb7DtRHHBJC-Y6sgfRouPtMLSay0ZtE2cnBaoDZtFlJ6vbj06wJbY63me0gkCHD88xgkbKJo8r20/s1600/nintendo-switch.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhs-7G7WZ2JONyB3d4PfxhX5Ucqu2Es2Izc6WpNLtrrQum6AusDyjAAcTQmyu3vd8Nb7DtRHHBJC-Y6sgfRouPtMLSay0ZtE2cnBaoDZtFlJ6vbj06wJbY63me0gkCHD88xgkbKJo8r20/s400/nintendo-switch.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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So the reason I haven't even tried to pre-order a Switch is Nintendo continues to make choices without regard to player input or their competition. The Wii U itself is a system released horribly under powered at the time that wouldn't support engine ports from many third parties. Without the "new" gimmicks of the Wii to push sales it also didn't have the success. The things that could get me to drop pre-order money at it on launch haven't been talked about like Backwards Comparability.<br />
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The Wii U played Wii games, Wii played GameCube games, 3DS played DS games, etc. Even going back to the SNES playing GameBoy games with an add-on was great. The complete lack of Nintendo saying anything is scary. Especially with recent setbacks like requiring you to buy virtual console titles on both the Wii U and 3DS instead of sharing libraries.<br />
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Now <i>Breath of the Wild</i> is getting a season pass and DLC? Nintendo's online service is becoming paid? Their service already splits your friends list with a separate one for 3DS and Wii U, you can't even join them and you want money for it? Also it appears the free monthly games will ONLY be playable for that month?<br />
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Don't get me wrong Nintendo makes good choices like keeping their consoles compatible with the last generation and controllers for that matter. Their games are almost unmatched in quality, but we are almost two weeks from launch of the Switch with so many unanswered questions.<br />
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Waiting to see, hope to be pleasantly surprised! The problem now is if I am pleasantly surprised I'll have to wait for them to be back in stock!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-48760082349961102912017-01-17T00:03:00.001-08:002017-01-21T22:46:29.822-08:00Gigantic on PC Guide: Installing, Updating, & Playing with Friends<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWGwechbTp3JhPBuB-w6rURH50tQC78UJrhMzZ8kVYWqO6DCw35B60BwU0xIe0EmBZka4LElxCM2cJoLf7ieIekCREnpVCmUdkt4zs3LeWo4lPHB3yWQ0qW77IuKWoAW3nsPm0IhiXUGn/s1600/d15ef643b74c0b8a0657c1991def3ad21467079189_656x369.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWGwechbTp3JhPBuB-w6rURH50tQC78UJrhMzZ8kVYWqO6DCw35B60BwU0xIe0EmBZka4LElxCM2cJoLf7ieIekCREnpVCmUdkt4zs3LeWo4lPHB3yWQ0qW77IuKWoAW3nsPm0IhiXUGn/s400/d15ef643b74c0b8a0657c1991def3ad21467079189_656x369.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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I'm writing this post because I'm a huge fan of PC games, but a lot of the process of using Windows Store Games is very new so to avoid some trial and error I'm attempting to pass down what I've learned quickly. This guide is designed to get the game installed, show you how to keep it updated, and get you playing with friends as quickly and streamlines as possible.<br />
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Gigantic is available on PC and Xbox One. The PC version (at this time during open beta) is available through the Windows Store. Thanks to the Xbox Live Network you can play with and against your Xbox friends and share the same matchmaking pool (cross-platform) so you don't have to worry about poor matchmaking numbers like you may have heard about from other multiplayer Windows Store titles.<br />
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Because it's on the Windows Store it does require Windows 10 and the anniversary update. This update fixes a lot of the annoyances of Windows 10 so it's a good update to grab. If you don't already have the update you will be prompted during the installation steps below so don't worry about it. Just come back and continue where you left off after getting the update.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">I. Getting Gigantic on PC</span></b></h3>
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Optional: this is not a requirement, but will make everything else smoother. If you already have an Xbox Live account that you want to use be sure you log in with that account to Windows, the Windows Store App, and the Xbox Live App. I changed my Windows login to match my Xbox Live login after I started playing Windows Store Games and it helped a lot! This way your store purchases will go to the correct account, all your friends and games from Xbox will be available on PC, etc. This is a good tip for all Windows Store Games, not just Gigantic.<br />
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- Open the Windows Store:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFkI4FTzSH_EB5KuCfPtHSSE2QG8YzSvMKZMsUlJfwH4DhSssE9dOsAVItjICFBkYHHiob6kflEWQM9-4itYBz7jhoJdQ8p8Kob7I4zqY4KGbXK7TvE3bhpGQlil5wRfMZhnlShlb630r/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Search_WindowsStore.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoFkI4FTzSH_EB5KuCfPtHSSE2QG8YzSvMKZMsUlJfwH4DhSssE9dOsAVItjICFBkYHHiob6kflEWQM9-4itYBz7jhoJdQ8p8Kob7I4zqY4KGbXK7TvE3bhpGQlil5wRfMZhnlShlb630r/s320/Blog_Gigantic_Search_WindowsStore.png" width="213" /></a><br />
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If you haven't changed your Windows taskbar there will be a Windows Store Icon by your start button. If you have simply press your Windows Key or click the Start Button and type in "store" and it will come up in your search list.<br />
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- Sign in to the Store Using your Xbox Live Account:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLJW2PCt1dxQdE1DMHTYZtx-lc0hadAtVG6cE1jMQ8Dhi_H6qWwLRNX7ZvbhNqmAcBorCx2SMAYLyNeDEJaStAp4EoZBybOHjRro90Xx9fgzf5_SQyawQooQQPEZu3g_S-8rYgaOJg-nV/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_WindowsStoreSingnIn.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLJW2PCt1dxQdE1DMHTYZtx-lc0hadAtVG6cE1jMQ8Dhi_H6qWwLRNX7ZvbhNqmAcBorCx2SMAYLyNeDEJaStAp4EoZBybOHjRro90Xx9fgzf5_SQyawQooQQPEZu3g_S-8rYgaOJg-nV/s320/Blog_Gigantic_WindowsStoreSingnIn.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Use the drop-down menu in the top right to sign in/verify you're signed in with your Xbox Live account so purchases (even of free games) go on your Xbox Live account.<br />
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- Find Gigantic and Install it:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzCjzIKY4RWW9jGcGLxHLauoOZiI_oGEc_q1OwrXCkoqpz3teMXlHFBAv4wis-nekjaDTWNRFZVoiPHkiORcPevF9awEtj95hUAdETn2ll_IbLeFpQnTFZKc_hbzSn4MhC2xGGRl6Sf48/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Search_WindowsStoreGame.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzCjzIKY4RWW9jGcGLxHLauoOZiI_oGEc_q1OwrXCkoqpz3teMXlHFBAv4wis-nekjaDTWNRFZVoiPHkiORcPevF9awEtj95hUAdETn2ll_IbLeFpQnTFZKc_hbzSn4MhC2xGGRl6Sf48/s320/Blog_Gigantic_Search_WindowsStoreGame.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
Use the search bar on the right to type in "Gigantic" and it will come up in the list. Click on Get the Game and then Install Note: I've already gone through the purchase process (even though it's free), so the button may say something like purchase.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvN9mynH-VcF9-GKC1YEswvI85iD3p6lVLZzOHfEbDlyZ2E4903O5mfhd03RLMgBLNAFXAL2l9P5_EMNJyX0cU3uC8m6uBFYUN90XXysYZSO1uWb6M0MnF-lSNnlBdIW7FlqghtUpddfj/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Game_Install.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvN9mynH-VcF9-GKC1YEswvI85iD3p6lVLZzOHfEbDlyZ2E4903O5mfhd03RLMgBLNAFXAL2l9P5_EMNJyX0cU3uC8m6uBFYUN90XXysYZSO1uWb6M0MnF-lSNnlBdIW7FlqghtUpddfj/s320/Blog_Gigantic_Game_Install.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
The actual game page will load and just click Install and wait for the download, shouldn't take to long.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
- Before Running the Game Open and Sign into the Xbox App:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQnZ6fS0618b123xoO8iBqDsVRGaGIjk7AnIzADBmQGYv2NAPBiB7OnJySZgZNEz1VpJAT5ZTZM1C37s-BX41TNNUA8gmFDTSzsrqXosAYWsWNNQHJafiyMkkaFYvblk0BmOgB_TMz4jD/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_signedIn1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQnZ6fS0618b123xoO8iBqDsVRGaGIjk7AnIzADBmQGYv2NAPBiB7OnJySZgZNEz1VpJAT5ZTZM1C37s-BX41TNNUA8gmFDTSzsrqXosAYWsWNNQHJafiyMkkaFYvblk0BmOgB_TMz4jD/s320/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_signedIn1.png" width="320" /></a>'<br />
<br /></div>
You can do this while Gigantic is installing or after, but you need to do this before running the game for the first time if you've never signed in on this PC. Search for the Xbox app: Use the Windows Key or Start Button and type in "Xbox" when the app launches this is where you MUST be signed in with your Xbox Live account.<br />
<br />
- Play Gigantic and Have Fun:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrwZOHP4rSDBUe_zhowvb8L5Ii4dgtvkEudsCF4Wph30Dwt3r2kVLYYyYvTS0qq90BQd_459thxDQfnWra2yd4bjA3t5q8evo9qiJ_6N74H7RRtmVICwiDUHS8RYoNkFtozh-Pfg0aL8F/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Game_Search.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrwZOHP4rSDBUe_zhowvb8L5Ii4dgtvkEudsCF4Wph30Dwt3r2kVLYYyYvTS0qq90BQd_459thxDQfnWra2yd4bjA3t5q8evo9qiJ_6N74H7RRtmVICwiDUHS8RYoNkFtozh-Pfg0aL8F/s320/Blog_Gigantic_Game_Search.png" width="212" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
Search for Gigantic: Again use the Windows Key or Start Button and type in "Gigantic" That should be all you need, but if you run into any other issues continue to read the section below.<br />
<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
<span style="color: #e69138;">II. Keeping Gigantic Up-To-Date:</span></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
Windows is suppose to keep all your Windows Store Games and Apps up-to-date and normally does, but not always. To verify you're up to day: open up the Windows Store, click on your portrait on the right next to search and click on My Library and look for Gigantic in the list of Available updates at the top.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCVnfTgGL19BUDR0pytY62FAnrO-D5HeqQjzgaNqK9qP7Z4WzwAj22UrjY0hmmPH5L1zKNbEqKnsJOWI3tKisVSZAPENN99A3ezGjIk3S4k5ciWVTZAuF1gHvEgmGf7Py224r8ekYsTfR/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_WindowsStoreSingnIn.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCVnfTgGL19BUDR0pytY62FAnrO-D5HeqQjzgaNqK9qP7Z4WzwAj22UrjY0hmmPH5L1zKNbEqKnsJOWI3tKisVSZAPENN99A3ezGjIk3S4k5ciWVTZAuF1gHvEgmGf7Py224r8ekYsTfR/s320/Blog_Gigantic_WindowsStoreSingnIn.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8BVhJW05VpaYABIfW4ZWeVUd_DZ9IAYNp9XBV0IMjKob2pU99GifO8d7kpd1r_VUsukB0L2TZwLQKyfVxeWeTu8fAQK3zYBjdr_IgS_XL9mrZLpNHtKXInfSQNUipaPBTJB3LnK3M_Y2/s1600/GiganticBlog_NeedsUpdate.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz8BVhJW05VpaYABIfW4ZWeVUd_DZ9IAYNp9XBV0IMjKob2pU99GifO8d7kpd1r_VUsukB0L2TZwLQKyfVxeWeTu8fAQK3zYBjdr_IgS_XL9mrZLpNHtKXInfSQNUipaPBTJB3LnK3M_Y2/s320/GiganticBlog_NeedsUpdate.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Click on the down arrow button on the right to start downloading the update.<br />
<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
<span style="color: #e69138;">III. Log In Failures:</span></h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
This section covers bugs on the open beta build 253638 and anything below will of course become more functional with updates to Microsoft's APIs and Gigantic patches, but for now it's an attempt to help players use the Windows Store version of Gigantic and a few things to check should you have issues logging in.</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrweUgeyIiMLNYRqg7QvhtWXADJ10vrEGppFzZrhc7dboF3barBmebHIXxUUUPgq0SZmXhfxnk9vdGZlo3DeWmePHwNxNdRJjkWP7EJTbjyHfxWJAN_AwCcA-oKtXsccHW1oQMPrNCwOyc/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Login.png" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrweUgeyIiMLNYRqg7QvhtWXADJ10vrEGppFzZrhc7dboF3barBmebHIXxUUUPgq0SZmXhfxnk9vdGZlo3DeWmePHwNxNdRJjkWP7EJTbjyHfxWJAN_AwCcA-oKtXsccHW1oQMPrNCwOyc/s400/Blog_Gigantic_Login.png" width="400" /></a></div>
</h4>
<b><br /></b>
<b>If you click the start button and then the game hangs trying to log in:</b> Close Gigantic and open the Xbox App and be sure you're signed in. I've actually had the best results by opening the Xbox App every time before I launch Gigantic and just leaving it up in the background while playing, this has fixed that log in issue for me.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNsMYg5-Y9SRbOslNARWNNW1yWfrNu1uivVZ6M7beLDKvC1VKoekLaNq2bNB47jEhhgiD-FwE4pXuP9wr1syVKw8t1hD1xjTk-DFccpd3ZKsopWahUS_mLM8dTlYuJI6zK-sCt-aBb-Rx/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_signedIn2.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtNsMYg5-Y9SRbOslNARWNNW1yWfrNu1uivVZ6M7beLDKvC1VKoekLaNq2bNB47jEhhgiD-FwE4pXuP9wr1syVKw8t1hD1xjTk-DFccpd3ZKsopWahUS_mLM8dTlYuJI6zK-sCt-aBb-Rx/s320/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_signedIn2.png" width="292" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>If you click the start button, get the generic Login Failed and return to the same screen with the Start Button:</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXgG0SbMQ_udTOGUdIUcWWu1_T4Wp3rCccBRxGgDR0OEkUdnfLRXgXfPVQWIKzwWus8-1AWAk35R9uMNwkEwhx6x7KR1QBVvd6K6SPYVHyBV452LCoQnvORfhEDFf-VsdnT49dBcfZCVm/s1600/Untitled-1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXgG0SbMQ_udTOGUdIUcWWu1_T4Wp3rCccBRxGgDR0OEkUdnfLRXgXfPVQWIKzwWus8-1AWAk35R9uMNwkEwhx6x7KR1QBVvd6K6SPYVHyBV452LCoQnvORfhEDFf-VsdnT49dBcfZCVm/s400/Untitled-1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I've seen this caused because Windows hasn't kept Gigantic updated like it should, follow the steps outlined in section II above.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Other log-in errors will probably require you to contact support or retry later do to some kind of network issues :(<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #e69138;">IV. Lose control in the Tutorial:</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OJMaJP8bktCiGQT62B1IhiDmdQ0QNMRPcmcTU0I-0PtrciWeIjLkcCpKJw3mjNGqprKPvNnduLcTX7a3xD7yp5xEc_oEEwGEB1a6D2pWshdqxsY3uX19TPydB73BQWfSrcOts3Y0clE2/s1600/GiganticBrokenTutorial.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OJMaJP8bktCiGQT62B1IhiDmdQ0QNMRPcmcTU0I-0PtrciWeIjLkcCpKJw3mjNGqprKPvNnduLcTX7a3xD7yp5xEc_oEEwGEB1a6D2pWshdqxsY3uX19TPydB73BQWfSrcOts3Y0clE2/s400/GiganticBrokenTutorial.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This one works on Xbox One or PC. If you get stuck at any point in the tutorial or practice bring up the menu by pressing Esc or Start (three lined button) and select quit from the menu, this will bring you back to the home screen.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATth5NrGQrigCdHzg-pDtaac89oJ2olsJmrIofXBImN_zfeLylmGn9wq9Persa0EfcGh1IUgrh9gIS3yxcu7uuEEjr7dso-ruQPgBab53wBaVhZynJSWBPl4MqQ-t6bDP-FyjLPnOBFO5/s1600/Screenshot-Original+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATth5NrGQrigCdHzg-pDtaac89oJ2olsJmrIofXBImN_zfeLylmGn9wq9Persa0EfcGh1IUgrh9gIS3yxcu7uuEEjr7dso-ruQPgBab53wBaVhZynJSWBPl4MqQ-t6bDP-FyjLPnOBFO5/s400/Screenshot-Original+%25281%2529.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<h4>
<span style="color: #e69138;">V. Stuck in Queue Without Finding a Match:</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span></div>
If you spend an excessive amount of time in queue (greater than 5-10 minutes, though most queue pops seem to happen around 3 minutes max.) I've seen this caused by your client being out of date. You only match-make with players on the same version as you, and if everyone else has updated, you won't find a match, follow the steps outlined in section II above.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="color: #e69138;">VI. Playing with Friends:</span></h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YXzmFMsWVq6PLcJvAGiu4Eqm6_FgYnWx7SszGej_0m8KaOdK7ant7WnlPPj2nzGhghXJRaeh9Jo6k-d9XLBnQxymwHAlyWeFA9HnPVMteaHsZQTlYiMxVaFTyp1MdbX-8xsMJsNA0-o0/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Friends.png" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKL6WLMT2677YKR2KSW3RcMNfaulTIS8xEvHP53Dpeh6Sr-k8CJqKI-zk1DpS4UDnkn2Uzr9bU7cMveVGYG8JaKJgTtAxKcsaLAwKnYBhDJ9q4yhEUb-OSvKHiqGuty1olZbi1CLW5nmm/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Party.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKL6WLMT2677YKR2KSW3RcMNfaulTIS8xEvHP53Dpeh6Sr-k8CJqKI-zk1DpS4UDnkn2Uzr9bU7cMveVGYG8JaKJgTtAxKcsaLAwKnYBhDJ9q4yhEUb-OSvKHiqGuty1olZbi1CLW5nmm/s320/Blog_Gigantic_Party.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
I mistakenly thought this was broken completely on Windows, instead some options either get defaulted off or it's easy enough to turn notifications off for the Xbox App and assume you'd still be able to party with the app open, but with notifications turned off they don't come though at all. Here is what I've found.<br />
<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
If you're not seeing the Windows toasts to join a party after being Invited to a Crew:</h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnat9EuJNM3wujEnnAwUoNShiwjOtghbijgRUZ0iab715Fomd_IqIEr_Z2cCiQ2eD7U22MunFAqpgnfzJMXEIZWww_AF3G1JBEUQKmAqMZGYDFX9x5ke6uXBVIIpltEosfg8mLFU6Ko57/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_PartyToast.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnat9EuJNM3wujEnnAwUoNShiwjOtghbijgRUZ0iab715Fomd_IqIEr_Z2cCiQ2eD7U22MunFAqpgnfzJMXEIZWww_AF3G1JBEUQKmAqMZGYDFX9x5ke6uXBVIIpltEosfg8mLFU6Ko57/s320/Blog_Gigantic_PartyToast.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If you don't see the Game invite toasts (shown above) when someone invites you to a party, you can turn them on by:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
- Press the Windows Key or click the Start Button and type in "notifications":<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPb2dyDv5rEY129l184ZRSHdF5yv8-fmcwHLSfQyAH89R_FCWSXj2yQoz0qyX8_cwE5gGGpNVhS4kzFn2uxuXCikuWfnTTz7ixXxa_Rc9I3vof_OAV285kLqYwxoTcYyIJ8O8Cn8ajkl8/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Notifications.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPb2dyDv5rEY129l184ZRSHdF5yv8-fmcwHLSfQyAH89R_FCWSXj2yQoz0qyX8_cwE5gGGpNVhS4kzFn2uxuXCikuWfnTTz7ixXxa_Rc9I3vof_OAV285kLqYwxoTcYyIJ8O8Cn8ajkl8/s320/Blog_Gigantic_Notifications.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
- Scroll to the bottom (alphabetical order) and be sure your Xbox App is set to on:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5tg5Q1iBcSl_7ZYPvlp8IXc02orOTECBqXfW1pjYlCk0s-YFdAH9Yt_zq0Pg_3FQoNa6Q-teNKS5kgYphFLonv0FrLGqwohMF8F9HcLMoofjBEMEgoxLq5UuQ3gyBKVZ5ML_Q69kZkvj/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_Notifications_Enable.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5tg5Q1iBcSl_7ZYPvlp8IXc02orOTECBqXfW1pjYlCk0s-YFdAH9Yt_zq0Pg_3FQoNa6Q-teNKS5kgYphFLonv0FrLGqwohMF8F9HcLMoofjBEMEgoxLq5UuQ3gyBKVZ5ML_Q69kZkvj/s320/Blog_Gigantic_Notifications_Enable.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
- Optional: Open the Xbox App and under Settings (gear icon on the left), General tap you can increase the Notification time so you have time to free your mouse (Windows Key) and click the toast before it disappears.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh5j1ghG31TIZKfpbQS7Sc9Fi81H3KaWSfTc0n9sOynJKrwEuvPPIWlsBI_KPvWNv34b7trjSRLZuQCZZnybqRl5BYPuntITYneO0Mn3QV0qdFBVYiaXA9DT9olAvRLfTVPy34NPYChyphenhyphenmY/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_NotificationTime.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh5j1ghG31TIZKfpbQS7Sc9Fi81H3KaWSfTc0n9sOynJKrwEuvPPIWlsBI_KPvWNv34b7trjSRLZuQCZZnybqRl5BYPuntITYneO0Mn3QV0qdFBVYiaXA9DT9olAvRLfTVPy34NPYChyphenhyphenmY/s320/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_NotificationTime.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
- Optional: Since you MUST have notifications turned on to get invites in the Xbox App under the Notifications section turn off anything you don't want to toast in the bottom right of Windows.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kSOboycWvewTbtmlcHPwLboboGgbH6mNzodgqr6ezvI3zmL4BpLgihlUfSlzZl5T8m5x6wcepu5wbg0HKjfgDI9JILKmD3Kzj4GUMeZf5m7UdY_65M0aegKrhOFZiFr19xr_qWO_r-89/s1600/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_NotificationSettings.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kSOboycWvewTbtmlcHPwLboboGgbH6mNzodgqr6ezvI3zmL4BpLgihlUfSlzZl5T8m5x6wcepu5wbg0HKjfgDI9JILKmD3Kzj4GUMeZf5m7UdY_65M0aegKrhOFZiFr19xr_qWO_r-89/s320/Blog_Gigantic_XboxApp_NotificationSettings.png" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<h4>
<b>The Reliable way to Party Without Notifications:</b></h4>
<br />
- Have the person who is going to lead the party launch the Xbox App and Gigantic and log in to both.<br />
<br />
- Have everyone who wants to be in the party with the leader launch their Xbox Apps (with Gigantic running) and find the leader in their friends list. (everyone should already be friends, if not add each-other as friends)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2OAW9sKl_oRxY3avhECeddVWeyZ1XWVVXLmDVIjGDfuEzYvVN8hmnokBs6UxRSS-2fq8s9EUkiPZNP6oAvmkyYqc4lFHOcE7X9RxvxlGlv0-l-xFxsibhtfsv4SEWdMSe9B9vMSfxOhh/s1600/Blog_Gigantic.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2OAW9sKl_oRxY3avhECeddVWeyZ1XWVVXLmDVIjGDfuEzYvVN8hmnokBs6UxRSS-2fq8s9EUkiPZNP6oAvmkyYqc4lFHOcE7X9RxvxlGlv0-l-xFxsibhtfsv4SEWdMSe9B9vMSfxOhh/s400/Blog_Gigantic.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<br /></div>
- The leader will have an button: "Joinable: Join Gigantic", click that button and everyone should show up in a party.<br />
<br />
- When the leader is ready to play they use the Play Gigantic button and everyone will be brought into Hero Select and after they pick heroes will join the matchmaking queue together.<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm only covering the large game breaking PC specific issues in this post. As long as you can log in and play with friends you'll find a very enjoyable multiplayer game with some time investment. Like anything else if you see other bugs try the basics of updating drivers, use the steps above to be sure Gigantic is up to date.<br />
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If you haven't already read though it, check out my guide on How to Win Matches: The Power Struggle: <a href="http://billychatterton.blogspot.com/2017/01/gigantic-guide-how-to-win-matches-power.html">http://billychatterton.blogspot.com/2017/01/gigantic-guide-how-to-win-matches-power.html</a> Hopefully this will be useful as you start playing the game to understand what is going on. Download Gigantic and enjoy! I'll see you on the airship!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-83217793794007407272017-01-11T13:27:00.000-08:002017-01-11T13:27:06.399-08:00Gigantic Guide: How to Win Matches / The Power Struggle<div style="text-align: left;">
Why write this post? Gigantic is an amazing complex and fun game, but the complexity takes a while to understand. I'm attempting to speed up the learning curve with information that took me about a solid month of daily play to grasp. Without understanding the underlining game it's a charming, but run-of-the-mill PvP control point type game. Once you grasp the power mechanics however, it becomes truly enjoyable and competitive at a level that makes you consider what you should be doing at every moment. A large part of Gigantic's charm is it's an intelligent strategy game at heart, wrapped in a 3rd person action arena. Read, share, and hopefully enjoy the game more as your knowledge grows! See you on the airship!</div>
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<b><b>What isn't as Important as it Appears:</b></b></div>
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Forget about everything on the Tab/Y screen: kills, deaths, assists, summons, and efficiency. Those stats will net you Fortune Cards, but won't win you matches.<br />
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This is mostly true with end game screens except for two stats: Guardian Damage and Orbs. These are the only two stats that will give you an idea about how you or your teammates helped out:<br />
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- Guardian Damage: During the Vulnerable Phase how much damage did you do to the enemy guardian.<br />
- Orbs: If there is no creature on a point (or an Obelisk) the power can be manually collected and shows in this stat. (So it is situational, see Building Power Phase below)<br />
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Why don't kills and deaths matter? Because the timing of kills and deaths is more important by far than the numbers.<br />
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<b>What is Important: The Power Struggle:</b></div>
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<b><br /></b>Now that we've talked about what isn't important, what is? The match happens in phases much like Magic the Gathering or many other turn based card games. Understanding these phases helps you make smart plays and win. The good news is everything you need to understand these phases is right at the top of your screen at all times.<br />
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<b>Building Power Phase:</b></div>
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This is the phase you will spend the majority of the match in. Both teams start at 0 power at the beginning of the game and after every Vulnerable Phase. Your goal during this phase is to fill your bar to 100 before the enemy team does. Here is what gives you power:<br />
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- Player Kills: Killing an enemy player earns 10 power for your team.<br />
- Creature Kills: Killing an enemy creature earns 20 power for your team.<br />
- Collecting Power Orbs: Collecting the power orbs that spawn earns 20 power for your team.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2aifyiquX3hLDMqkB789It7MMMBNhcEUHnTaq4MikL4FRNioCji6r4O600HC4nlJtc2tpN0rOfbStJ95osbgJcY_6GaSQ-nrOD_HJhYveXts7Q4bjHJysVLjQoZ8Tx6XHsbNyYvMCuZl/s1600/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h52m10s579.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2aifyiquX3hLDMqkB789It7MMMBNhcEUHnTaq4MikL4FRNioCji6r4O600HC4nlJtc2tpN0rOfbStJ95osbgJcY_6GaSQ-nrOD_HJhYveXts7Q4bjHJysVLjQoZ8Tx6XHsbNyYvMCuZl/s320/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h52m10s579.png" width="320" /></a><i>Power Orbs:</i> Each of the lettered points on the map spawn a Power Orb. Normally a friendly and enemy point spawn at the same time, but if there is an odd number of points the middle point will spawn alone and controlling it can be all you need to win the Building Power Phase. If you have a non-Obelisk creature on the point it will collect the orb for you (if it's not being attacked). If there is no creature or an Obelisk is on the point you must manually collect the orb (D-Pad Down or 4). Creatures also collect orbs faster than manually collecting, so if one team has a creature and one team does not the team with a creature has an advantage.<br />
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<i>Disrupting the Enemy Team's Power:</i> Both creatures and players can be interrupted while collecting power orbs, so if you see someone else collecting engage them, and if a teammate is collecting support them by keep enemies away from them or body blocking shots for them. If there will be a tie to 100 you can also disrupt an enemy creature so your creature captures the orb first. If you see an enemy point without a creature on it, but with an orb you can run behind enemy lines and manually capture the power orb.<br />
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<i>Trading Power:</i> This is where it can get interesting. Know how much power actions will earn your team and if you can make a good trade at the right time it can tip the balance of power. Being behind enemy lines you can capture an enemy orb or kill a creature and if you die alone you will earn 20 power for your team and will give the enemy team 10 power for your death netting a +10 for the trade. Taking at least one enemy player down with you makes this a better trade. If your team needs 20 points to reach 100 and the enemy needs more than 10 this may be an acceptable risk. (Read Building Shield Phase below as it may not be.)<br />
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<i>At completion of the Building Power Phase there is a branch, if your team was the first to 100 you will enter the Attacking Phase if your team was not first you will enter the Building Shield Phase.</i><br />
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<b>Building Shield Phase:</b></div>
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The more complex of the two phases after the Building Power Phase ends. If your team was not the first to 100 power the other team will be attacking and your team will be building shield. Your teams goal here is to fill the shield bar to 100 so when the enemy guardian does their initial attack it does no damage and any enemy player's attacks have the most possible damage absorbed by the shield. Shield numbers are the same as power numbers from the Building Power Phase, except no orbs spawn in this phase. Do anything you can to get that last kill or two to fill your shield, if it's at 100 the enemy guardian's initial attack is completely absorbed by the shield.<br />
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Also worth noting here is there is no power penalty for dying in this phase, so while you want to be up to defend the Vulnerable Phase this is an acceptable place to die if it can't be avoided without costing anything in the power struggle for your team.<br />
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<b>Attacking Phase:</b></div>
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The team that gets to 100 power first enters the Attacking Phase. In the Attacking Phase your goal is to stay alive and not feed any power into the Building Shield Phase of the enemy team. Orbs do not spawn so the best strategy is usually to group up at a forward point, heal up and time your arrival to the enemy guardian at the same time your attack timer reaches 0 so you are present for the full duration of the Vulnerable Phase.<br />
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Arriving to early is the most common mistake I see here as the other team should all be there defending and deaths will add to their shield and make it harder to complete the wound and/or avoid a full team wipe while attacking during the Vulnerable Phase. Consider hanging back if it looks like you are the last one to the enemy guardian and your team won't complete the wound to avoid a full team wipe.<br />
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<b>Vulnerable Phase:</b></div>
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After the Building Shield/Attacking Phases have ended the Vulnerable Phase starts. This is the only time the Guardians takes damage and you make progress towards winning the game. The first team to complete three wounds (deplete all three guardian health bar) wins the game. At the start of the Vulnerable Phase the attacking guardian does damage to the defending guardian to start off the phase. This damage is reduced by the shield the defending team has built up in the Building Shield Phase directly before. While every bit of shield helps at 90 shield the guardian still takes a substantial amount of damage, but at 100 shield the initial attack damage is mitigated completely so pushing to 100 percent will give your team a huge advantage in defending the wound. The shield also mitigates a percentage of player damage until it is fully used up, so the higher the shield the better.<br />
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<i>Auto Wounds</i>: If a guardian's health bar is already partially depleted the initial damage from the attacking guardian may fully complete the wound on it's own and the attacking team may not need to do any damage at all. The first two wounds work this why while the final hit of the final wound (to win the game) can only be made by player damage. If you know this will be an auto wound avoid rushing to the back lines where you are vulnerable to unnecessary deaths and instead plan another strategic attack on a creature if the defending team all goes back to protect a wound.<br />
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This is generally an okay time to die. Death adds to shield and power by way of increasing vulnerable time, but both are fairly low amounts. This also seems to be the highest chance of a team wipe, mostly on the attacking team and you really want to avoid this at all cost! I'll briefly talk about team wipes below.<br />
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I'll break up the Vulnerable Phase into attacking and defending wounds:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3B8zoonM7vyoQ6489W-2fC6xSfPhQ9vTNX-Jq3S_4wQlyGon7YkDPAuuc9F3FZ5VFUTzhkQ18IgKQgakm46gfkDVwuVpK587FlNDqLSWZqa8xlctGUe5nu747eCjU78-mGv2o2c5Nav9O/s1600/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h21m24s311.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3B8zoonM7vyoQ6489W-2fC6xSfPhQ9vTNX-Jq3S_4wQlyGon7YkDPAuuc9F3FZ5VFUTzhkQ18IgKQgakm46gfkDVwuVpK587FlNDqLSWZqa8xlctGUe5nu747eCjU78-mGv2o2c5Nav9O/s320/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h21m24s311.png" width="320" /></a><i>Attacking During the Vulnerable Phase</i>: The enemy guardian is being pinned down by your guardian and is vulnerable to attack after the Attacking Phase has completed. During this time you want to primarily be attacking the enemy guardian at the expense of almost everything else. If you are playing a hero with strong crowd control (Xenobia and Uncle Sven's Focus Skills come to mind) you may consider using them so your team has uninterrupted damage on the wound for their duration, or you may save them for escapes after this phase.<br />
Keep an eye on your teammate panel and run if possible to avoid a full team wipe!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQRjF12L1_VspW7sGaj3uozVPXT0WemKTFlwUKJVirG0J1UpLf2OnIbHlm1ordY0tO7ad0zKxtsX18h9C13I5KP6GLdm85dkoZ44mgsdGzxWfpZAXs9KLog7rCYhQGvqDjYYnELxkmvyZH/s1600/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h27m05s828.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQRjF12L1_VspW7sGaj3uozVPXT0WemKTFlwUKJVirG0J1UpLf2OnIbHlm1ordY0tO7ad0zKxtsX18h9C13I5KP6GLdm85dkoZ44mgsdGzxWfpZAXs9KLog7rCYhQGvqDjYYnELxkmvyZH/s320/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h27m05s828.png" width="320" /></a><i>Defending the Vulnerable Phase</i>: Your guardian is being pinned down by the enemy guardian and is vulnerable to player attacks after the Building Shield Phase has completed. Your number one priority is to keep attackers from damaging your guardian. Only the front glowing part around the head is vulnerable, so watch for enemy players to group up on it. This is one of the most effective times to use your area of effect (AoE) damage or crowd control skills. Also if your guardian is being attacked by ranged consider using skills like Margrave's Hellburst, Mozu's Arcane Vortex, or if you've upgraded your skills defensively even something like HK-206's Fortify directly in front of your guardian to body block for them. There are other skills that can also be used well here, like knock backs against melee heroes to keep them out of range to damage the wounds. Experiment with your chosen hero's skills to wee what is effective here.<br />
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It is acceptable to die at this point as it gives a fairly small enemy shield and no power if doing so can reduce the damage your guardian takes, and doesn't contribute to a full team wipe!<br />
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<b>Right After Vulnerable Phase Ends:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qoGGD4xQt122EI_VNmHbVtXtpFnuteh1O0la8RSpHhZa4egWHduE8IouBuHFJSOdo3VoZSXonFvz0I2I5sc1b5zAzLvon1uweeWMYit_NnqsY7LOHOqc6Whx9x8XULaTfOVfMRW5-vXU/s1600/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h35m48s154.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qoGGD4xQt122EI_VNmHbVtXtpFnuteh1O0la8RSpHhZa4egWHduE8IouBuHFJSOdo3VoZSXonFvz0I2I5sc1b5zAzLvon1uweeWMYit_NnqsY7LOHOqc6Whx9x8XULaTfOVfMRW5-vXU/s320/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h35m48s154.png" width="320" /></a>After the Vulnerable Phase, both teams return to the Building Power Phase. The first 60 seconds after Vulnerable Phase ends is arguably the most strategic. Here are a few strategic options:<br />
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- If you were defending a wound get player kills on any low health enemies trying to get out.<br />
- If you didn't need to or weren't in position for a wound, take a creature's health down low in the Vulnerable Phase and kill it as soon as it ends to get a quick 20 power lead.<br />
- Make a strong coordinated attack on a creature point if the other team is out of position etc.<br />
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These are the phases of the game that loop throughout your match. If you understand them and where you are in the loop it will help you to make smart choices and win the power struggle. The team with the most Vulnerable Phases usually wins, and that is achieved by winning the Building Power Phases.<br />
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Lastly I'll cover three more things that significantly effect power.<br />
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<b>Clash:</b></div>
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Clash is designed to push the two teams closer together and help bring the match to conclusion faster. The top middle of the UI shows the number of points to get to Clash. Being the first team to 100 power (Rampage) is one point and when all the points are used up you enter Clash. These points really only matter for a few badges, but this will help you know how close to Clash you are. The map changes (many times dramatically) and the fight continues in closer quarters.<br />
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<b>Full Team Wipes:</b></div>
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If your entire team dies there is an extra spawn time penalty added to your team (about 15-20 seconds). If your entire team is dead often the other team will push and kill one of your creatures before your team can respawn and defend it. So in addition to the power the other team got from killing yours teammates you can almost always count on losing an extra 20 power from a creature kill. This is why someone should often hang back during Attacking Phases or at least be aware if everyone is in a bad location and run early. Team wipes want to be avoided at all costs. And it's actually a good thing to watch that last person run for cover if everyone else is dead.<br />
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<b>Summoning Creatures Your Team Can't Defend:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTFuivHm6qkRYQ91GtHUknWKGDd-2vLjd8gFaQyBgKVg8b0NqFMsa8hEbnrM4ZXugo11OILutnXrUhdwo44jhHGJmEzoEtdc37muXAvGQKScOZD7QBqfWpR_n29zVPOoDzpZEEG3orSfz/s1600/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h45m00s300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTFuivHm6qkRYQ91GtHUknWKGDd-2vLjd8gFaQyBgKVg8b0NqFMsa8hEbnrM4ZXugo11OILutnXrUhdwo44jhHGJmEzoEtdc37muXAvGQKScOZD7QBqfWpR_n29zVPOoDzpZEEG3orSfz/s320/vlcsnap-2017-01-11-02h45m00s300.png" width="320" /></a>Those center points on a map feel nice to control, but if you can't defend the creature summoned on them it's a constant 20 power drip to the enemy team. Don't summon these creatures unless you can defend them. Many games I've been in have been lost by overzealous summoning on center points. With the addition of the Obelisk, you do now have an option as they give no power when killed. So if you summon on a heavily contested point use an Obelisk, just remember you'll have to manually collect the power orbs.Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-80915331282491826492016-08-30T20:28:00.003-07:002016-08-31T13:50:56.716-07:00The Basics of Importing Games<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZO9EoJMuuN1h3ZR55ZYDiJlu1s3vxrguHH802WM23LJyk06djsNw-SIP6MUB0p-BB9MSIUNVhfnFueVsI9hkKH0of7GhIs8tL1FaA8EHiUXKsmRxsgM2jCdG5C-fVxjJEseFHnshZN6Sb/s1600/ImportGames.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZO9EoJMuuN1h3ZR55ZYDiJlu1s3vxrguHH802WM23LJyk06djsNw-SIP6MUB0p-BB9MSIUNVhfnFueVsI9hkKH0of7GhIs8tL1FaA8EHiUXKsmRxsgM2jCdG5C-fVxjJEseFHnshZN6Sb/s400/ImportGames.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have recently enjoyed importing games and am going to write a post about the basic considerations when importing hoping to help others interested in importing. There are a lot of details you'll need to look into, but this is a quick overview to get you started.</div>
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<b>Does Your System Support Importing (Region Locking)?</b></div>
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The first thing you need to know is if you will be able to boot the game on your system. Some systems are region locked and will only read disks with a matching region encoded to them. 3DS is region locked while the DS was not. Playstation 3 and 4 are not locked, but I haven't looked into others so I won't list them. A Google search will answer this question quickly. If your system is region locked you'll need to buy a system for the region the game is made in. This may or may not be easy for example the 3DS is self contained, anything that is not you will need to know if it supports NTSC/PAL and if your TV also does. Also some kind of power/pug adapter may be required, plugs are easy but 110/220 voltage is not always.</div>
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PCs are technically always open, but I've read up on a few rare cases that require you to change the language and/or location in the operating system.Other issues may still apply though, keep reading.<br />
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<b>Is the Online Play Restricted in your Area (IP Blocking by Region)?</b><br />
IP addresses are the internet's way of telling who's who where the data needs to go. IP addresses are grouped by country like mailing address and some game servers restrict access to IP addresses for anything not in their intended area. I'll give two quick examples of this.<br />
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- Monster Hunter Portable 3rd: The middleware software that allows multiplayer on the Playstation 3 HD version does not connect in the US. So I can play all the single player content fine, but won't be able to use the multiplayer.<br />
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- Monster Hunter Frontier: This game is an always online game so basically you can't play any of it without connecting to a server as far as I can understand.<br />
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So how do you get around IP blocking? The only way I am aware of is using a VPN connection to an IP address inside the restricted access area. I've setup a free VPN and had a lot of latancy just web browsing, so haven't tried to play games over it at all. There are also paid VPNs that will probably perform better. Lastly I've also read about Frontier players being found out and the VPN being blacklisted so one one else could use it to play. I've avoided trying to get past this kind of restriction so far.<br />
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<b>Is the Game Localized in Your Language?</b><br />
This can be a bit one... Here are some considerations.<br />
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- If you are importing the game anyway, check all regions to see if any are better. Gundam Breaker 3 for example was never released in North America, but the Asia release had English subtitles and menu translations, so importing this version was far superior to the Japanese version.<br />
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- Look for versions that have language more similar to yours. I don't have a ton of experience with Spanish or German, but both are easier to try to decipher for me than something without the Latin alphabet.<br />
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- If other games in the series are in your language play a lot of them first. In my case most of the titles I've imported are Monster Hunter titles and I started by playing their English versions and mostly imported to play on the big screen instead of handheld. The game is still very recognizable to the original so most of the mechanics and iconography are similar enough to understand knowing them in English first.<br />
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- This one will require some gray areas, but a lot of games have fan-translated version. If you are playing on PC you might be able to patch it in, or if it's not a current generation console you might be able to find an emulated version of the game that has been patched you can use as reference to learn some of the mechanics. As long as you actually own a copy of the game and the system it seems gray, but I'm not a lawyer, so don't take my word for it.<br />
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- Look for community sites, YouTube videos, etc that other people have posted to help out.<br />
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- Google Translate<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS8qjkAzD3fqb2XCCrb5qAJUy3KmceAbBAzjdTpBotiAPpt-RHg1R9uaW26ewmydDsD01Tb3hdfR5s3OGTXK14uF7tcxgaaDKlpEg9LMbW0QQLsRq1AuoY3p-GXk798WUf5xr0bIO8YmR/s1600/Cqbgbq-UEAAtxqI.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS8qjkAzD3fqb2XCCrb5qAJUy3KmceAbBAzjdTpBotiAPpt-RHg1R9uaW26ewmydDsD01Tb3hdfR5s3OGTXK14uF7tcxgaaDKlpEg9LMbW0QQLsRq1AuoY3p-GXk798WUf5xr0bIO8YmR/s400/Cqbgbq-UEAAtxqI.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In my opinion this is the big one and what really makes importing a language you don't understand doable. Sorry for the boor quality shot, but Google Translate allows you to use your camera's phone and will in real time translate the text in the camera to your language. You can also take a picture and highlight just the text you want translated. The translations aren't perfect by any means, but normally will give you a good enough translation to figure it out.</div>
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- If you find yourself wanting to import from the same country consider learning the language.</div>
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<b>Research the Specific Game and Region Requirements</b></div>
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In conclusion the internet is a big, wonderful, scary, disgusting, amazing place. Someone else has probably already imported the game you are looking out to your region if it hasn't just released. Do your research. Internet searches on every game I've imported and numerous ones that I didn't have told me exactly what to expect. They'll tell you what features will or will not work, the back of boxes will tell you what languages will have auto and subtitles and multiplayer options. Also any third party online middleware should be listed there and you can search for other games using it.</div>
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After importing a few games I was surprised how easy and enjoyable it is. And currently I'm spending a large percentage of my gaming time playing Monster Hunter Online a Chinese MMO version only in Mandarin. If there is a game you really want to try go for it and enjoy!</div>
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Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-60457957846038401142016-04-20T00:33:00.000-07:002016-04-20T00:33:08.374-07:00What do you do with game mechanics you don't like? (Hollowing in Dark Souls III)<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LP1j1qoaQc1pXvQdHSvSlTg_dzxgpAqDhM_2dZvn84ZBvwEN8SoLgyiMsdXlH4Fdj77_w4aD2KaKVbpnVEUEvfPLMwIcpWj_ntQk2amKDw7hFuoFgu9smdvrb3Bh3za1rODT_OoaMxJ2/s1600/20160416014042_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LP1j1qoaQc1pXvQdHSvSlTg_dzxgpAqDhM_2dZvn84ZBvwEN8SoLgyiMsdXlH4Fdj77_w4aD2KaKVbpnVEUEvfPLMwIcpWj_ntQk2amKDw7hFuoFgu9smdvrb3Bh3za1rODT_OoaMxJ2/s400/20160416014042_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
First a quick disclaimer: There are spoilers for a very early NPC you come across at the beginning of Undead Settlement, and the game mechanic surrounding it. If you've already read the various posts around the internet about unlocking the secret endings to Dark Souls III, this purposefully gives less spoilers.<br />
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Hollowing has been a part of all of the Dark Souls games in one way or another, and though the mechanics have changed I've never really liked it. In Dark Souls III it is optional. I read up on hollowing and it appears you really SHOULD follow this quest line... you are given free level-ups, and the "best" ending of the game requires you to see the quest chain through to completion.<br />
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So the real reason I find this fascinating is that the only real draw back (that I can confirm) is it rots your character cosmetically. You go from looking like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshdoUu0rzCp118inshwM8Lm7Dx9zzB2O6pKYkLq-_usKN190W8xUEH2skuIPiFwNB_7gQhKRfXm5xEDkxuxQWIQS2OANtR0HzIKul4GM6mMgI7joXa9c990dH6sNGGQ2QmnTt8J0tebZU/s1600/DS3_normal.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshdoUu0rzCp118inshwM8Lm7Dx9zzB2O6pKYkLq-_usKN190W8xUEH2skuIPiFwNB_7gQhKRfXm5xEDkxuxQWIQS2OANtR0HzIKul4GM6mMgI7joXa9c990dH6sNGGQ2QmnTt8J0tebZU/s320/DS3_normal.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To looking like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjUQFYT2ttCVQIAK29l96j_D7-U3tdG_7UIuV9LEZGdHyrlbhuYrdw01Luh_vp3R8ULkBsNtf7zodUeGaL9fIW3WNeOfvlLQQQpnE-DTdJY6AMHbmPaH6QENDbjXFD8CDW_FPf1qLxwXc/s1600/DS3_rotted.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjUQFYT2ttCVQIAK29l96j_D7-U3tdG_7UIuV9LEZGdHyrlbhuYrdw01Luh_vp3R8ULkBsNtf7zodUeGaL9fIW3WNeOfvlLQQQpnE-DTdJY6AMHbmPaH6QENDbjXFD8CDW_FPf1qLxwXc/s320/DS3_rotted.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To make this less rational... I normally wear the highest defense armor I can find that isn't super over-weight. So normally that involves a helm that completely hides my face. (In my current game I'm not there yet, but it's coming, and the camera is behind you in game anyway.) It's completely irrational that I would miss out on a large quest chain, the "best" ending for the game and free level ups to not look like a zombie right?</div>
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But still I rolled back my save losing a weekend's worth of play to avoid going hollow in the first place.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpknBNFrNjHl0eSSrxKsMATfb0i4qEkJLN9oS4q6K9ghico0aRMzRLfc345iCRv5cUw58XXJFQ1BAOgq9NKXAXWTfop74w0GHwlCtckgEtlYKjzODr9RZ3gr4pyFbwLhjgtYHVTDZjvQF8/s1600/20160419232106_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpknBNFrNjHl0eSSrxKsMATfb0i4qEkJLN9oS4q6K9ghico0aRMzRLfc345iCRv5cUw58XXJFQ1BAOgq9NKXAXWTfop74w0GHwlCtckgEtlYKjzODr9RZ3gr4pyFbwLhjgtYHVTDZjvQF8/s400/20160419232106_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So now Yoel of Londor is sitting at Fireling Shrine offering to "Draw Out True Strength" while I still look like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cn9OF33Yy_MhmVsX5ym2hvHOuxRBzs0gZobVjSfmLz2R3NjHsHM7VlqU2ELXCkDfqyznnVunqS3SxNEK0Cdd786GhMQhFPj9matjy93GfttRoMmOrpyt6O1IDhqr8ODogukjFSLoabdT/s1600/DS3_now.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8cn9OF33Yy_MhmVsX5ym2hvHOuxRBzs0gZobVjSfmLz2R3NjHsHM7VlqU2ELXCkDfqyznnVunqS3SxNEK0Cdd786GhMQhFPj9matjy93GfttRoMmOrpyt6O1IDhqr8ODogukjFSLoabdT/s320/DS3_now.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I read up and know I have a limited time to make my choice, but I just can't bring myself to go hollow now that the game doesn't require it. The first words out of Yoel's mouth(y thing) is "kill me" so I even did that before reverting that save as I didn't know if "sin" was tracked in this game. Maybe in New Game + I'll try out going hollow, and maybe I'm more opposed to it because of some of the horrific drawbacks in the previous games. I do really like being embered, I'll just stick with that! :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfy2mdWgx3zvhuNOgZPDZA_A5wPrJIXleIcACO4oKMxP5zfRahyphenhyphenQ1QFx2gG6onZtGWx99YuDUb7jbKnUZEfHuLCcea76pZ_jOBojVWHMD7HU_DcLGtWJY1VWTDhcKcnnUqVP_La1su-GY/s1600/20160416005801_1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfy2mdWgx3zvhuNOgZPDZA_A5wPrJIXleIcACO4oKMxP5zfRahyphenhyphenQ1QFx2gG6onZtGWx99YuDUb7jbKnUZEfHuLCcea76pZ_jOBojVWHMD7HU_DcLGtWJY1VWTDhcKcnnUqVP_La1su-GY/s400/20160416005801_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A couple more spoilers, but if you've read this far I don't want to lead you astray: What makes it worse is I know I can even cure hollowing if it does indeed get bad (I read some of the mechanics may actually degrade if your hollow level gets to high), so it's not even an unrecoverable choice... Part of me is made for not making it, another part mad for reading up on it and spoiling it, but I was already at the point I was going to revert my save to get rid of it, I just wasn't sure what I was giving up, the answer is a lot... but somehow for some reason it doesn't matter.</div>
Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-38632744780454326922016-03-14T02:31:00.000-07:002016-03-14T02:40:16.195-07:00Life Before the Quest Journal or A Day in Zelda: Twilight Princess<div style="text-align: center;">
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First thing: There are spoilers from about 30 minutes into the game until about the hour, 1:15 mark. If you haven't played the game yet and don't want spoilers complete day 2 in the story and then read this.<br />
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This is mostly an observation post... Going back and playing games from years ago before we had what are now common game mechanics can be interesting! In this particular post it will be the Quest Journal. Modern games keep track for you: bullet point quest objectives, map way-points, etc, you don't have to even read the story text.<br />
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This was not always the case! As you can see in this example, to have any hope of progressing in a timely manner you have to read all the dialog and be a little bit lucky. It requires figuring out the order, how everything works together, and not forgetting about any of the parts while trying to solve the whole.<br />
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This is also an interesting consideration because a lot of times I ponder leaving popular mechanics out of some of my game ideas for a variety of reasons... but what impact would that really have?<br />
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So with no further adieu here is day 2 in the newly re-released The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD.<br />
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The only expectation I was given from the day before was one of the kids in the village was finishing a fishing pole and it would be ready for me today.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tthzZOFQLeHqg-D9E1xAT-CC01nsNaWjGVs-MF7B5Z865vbsMR912kPnR7D0R7xSd5dTcAPOR0bRIc-vtLG5QBZ6U2Gk_d43V8kkX7IsRyDuEbXc8Lke4uXZxxHhbKsojUpyImpM4H-M/s1600/WVW69i_l-fImvptNSn.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tthzZOFQLeHqg-D9E1xAT-CC01nsNaWjGVs-MF7B5Z865vbsMR912kPnR7D0R7xSd5dTcAPOR0bRIc-vtLG5QBZ6U2Gk_d43V8kkX7IsRyDuEbXc8Lke4uXZxxHhbKsojUpyImpM4H-M/s400/WVW69i_l-fImvptNSn.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I climb down out of my house and find the kid that was suppose to give me the fishing pole, instead there are three kids and they are talking about a sling shot at one of their family's shops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsFUFmLacWUk5EVIs79-04-RbVq7DDWIMDxukFebJJ0j8wJljnjRjjxYs4sAwh_nCRE_YV-qKtnF6MLrRIVEUKoV4maebG4CKj13aJ9eYoJ3ckS6hLbA4ILS6KobrkEeT-IMfMYWBoJLe/s1600/WVW69i_l_NoNGLnV9N.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsFUFmLacWUk5EVIs79-04-RbVq7DDWIMDxukFebJJ0j8wJljnjRjjxYs4sAwh_nCRE_YV-qKtnF6MLrRIVEUKoV4maebG4CKj13aJ9eYoJ3ckS6hLbA4ILS6KobrkEeT-IMfMYWBoJLe/s400/WVW69i_l_NoNGLnV9N.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
On the way into town I see a lady complaining she lost her baby cradle and expects it to be floating down the river? I get side tracked investigating this, but nothing really pops up... I do note a cat in the game because it looks a lot like my cat in real life. After a bit of searching I follow the river up stream and find a monkey and some land (visible on the map) I can't seem to get to. I try using adjacent zones, etc, nothing, so back looking for the sling shot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ID1XxjVjRFDGpYVdItoPrPhYMJDAX_dCAjOXKRUwD4DEHgf9scERj_g1UaRweAy0Is0y7NavqvKSGikyGY9e_pLfTik1Rdtj0-SZVo2EYWRijDGT9rUUIfBO817PA3PbhVKkf_Nlwiqw/s1600/WVW69i_l91UAU9worO.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ID1XxjVjRFDGpYVdItoPrPhYMJDAX_dCAjOXKRUwD4DEHgf9scERj_g1UaRweAy0Is0y7NavqvKSGikyGY9e_pLfTik1Rdtj0-SZVo2EYWRijDGT9rUUIfBO817PA3PbhVKkf_Nlwiqw/s400/WVW69i_l91UAU9worO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I am able to find a shop, but the lady running it is so distraught about her cat she won't sell me anything... I wonder if it is the same cat I saw earlier. I go back and try to herd it back towards the shop. (The game has taught me this is a mechanic, but the cat doesn't cross the water well, it won't use the bridge, it will swim or get stuck under it, but that seems to be it.) After trying for a while I give up on the cat too and start looking around.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jPQN9-M0hWgs2Ct71enclgYj8ffVVkporWsBfem4dOeEZL6SIxjrV6-LSfNhY3inB-A8OTaeSSLcM-UXI_6zrJLYXnkVbITLuP6UYJPw1_BUcOKMx-O5E6IXkWW6XK3afkpEyAuXvxqp/s1600/WVW69i_l_qkb1lsfkS.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jPQN9-M0hWgs2Ct71enclgYj8ffVVkporWsBfem4dOeEZL6SIxjrV6-LSfNhY3inB-A8OTaeSSLcM-UXI_6zrJLYXnkVbITLuP6UYJPw1_BUcOKMx-O5E6IXkWW6XK3afkpEyAuXvxqp/s400/WVW69i_l_qkb1lsfkS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
This guy sitting on top of whatever this is who wasn't saying anything before starts talking to me...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyR2fRCpOGmI3gtdkx3-q0y8jVp_Im-jQf9CmtCTxlIlKDSwiZMKvxUwOSVy830inuz_sD9mmVmy-sdt7OMhNzZm6_sgu-WMM3vdwqoyWaZg2IXSvc2p5HKQGBk9qR7lC6yUtdksK4aSQ/s1600/WVW69i_mABoo3iUI32.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfyR2fRCpOGmI3gtdkx3-q0y8jVp_Im-jQf9CmtCTxlIlKDSwiZMKvxUwOSVy830inuz_sD9mmVmy-sdt7OMhNzZm6_sgu-WMM3vdwqoyWaZg2IXSvc2p5HKQGBk9qR7lC6yUtdksK4aSQ/s400/WVW69i_mABoo3iUI32.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
About the cat...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItL89RFnuTuSWAKTXyTlBigF0Ld1CbNgoFbbWRfbth86GW_RbfguEBIsUn1xo7PJulxeMFncuUy4q7olw2jaRbBqwi2FTRUgzNZ-HEetVwbOKhwFYPNXQZ-qzgXG_qNyE-2pMqFGfmHo8/s1600/WVW69i_mAZgLwx4ZNx.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItL89RFnuTuSWAKTXyTlBigF0Ld1CbNgoFbbWRfbth86GW_RbfguEBIsUn1xo7PJulxeMFncuUy4q7olw2jaRbBqwi2FTRUgzNZ-HEetVwbOKhwFYPNXQZ-qzgXG_qNyE-2pMqFGfmHo8/s400/WVW69i_mAZgLwx4ZNx.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
And then about grass I can use to call my eagle... funny thing is the eagle can't do anything from here... however if I jump a couple more platforms there is more grass and I can call my eagle from there, and I have a better view of the monkey that was upstream but blocked off. And it looks like he was holding a basket.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1qxU2yCgs2aU8FBvPw8KD2LJ93OEto8Wtf99fgTsvScXx1Ot-LX__NqVfHLd56h-v-S0f4chzG9og6V3R-5DtENuVO1GZRQvYNUh7BJiKCk6rEmrYy6OnKFUQb2lVoeTqao5bwchjQlC/s1600/WVW69i_mBScKmfFnni.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1qxU2yCgs2aU8FBvPw8KD2LJ93OEto8Wtf99fgTsvScXx1Ot-LX__NqVfHLd56h-v-S0f4chzG9og6V3R-5DtENuVO1GZRQvYNUh7BJiKCk6rEmrYy6OnKFUQb2lVoeTqao5bwchjQlC/s400/WVW69i_mBScKmfFnni.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
So I send the hawk out from this 2nd spot at the monkey and the hawk brings the basket back to me!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6s2VrIaWOTBNW_RRsgQCK2vKqhDNzNcpOqzqsqiWZDPQ8_5fOnl8ByOxura6FTwhrzh4P2GlvHcFzKroSTYZwxGLzsIz3XngOazdO5G2G8R8nBf60jnRgQWtlgxU3lPcgBtb69ext4Ayd/s1600/WVW69i_mCMgzo2l0UK.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6s2VrIaWOTBNW_RRsgQCK2vKqhDNzNcpOqzqsqiWZDPQ8_5fOnl8ByOxura6FTwhrzh4P2GlvHcFzKroSTYZwxGLzsIz3XngOazdO5G2G8R8nBf60jnRgQWtlgxU3lPcgBtb69ext4Ayd/s400/WVW69i_mCMgzo2l0UK.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I take the cradle to the mom of the kid who was suppose to have the fishing pole for me and after walking her back to her house she gives me a fishing pole. At this point I do put together that the missing cat had to do with a fish and so I go out and catch a fish and then look for it in my inventory and try to lure the cat back to the shop again with no lock. After trying a couple times I give up.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3AUPWi2BCrRYBZnwHgGU2AU6O1rVBM14mEIyBanWiOttGq9t0nXQZUrCyPOrco7aXW8BNxVrJh5AYSG0bOvOLw6_IZpLUeyexQUJW91k7ja8Cpd-F1MBE5mAdm4nEr8cYBuzzei0NNhmQ/s1600/WVW69i_mGecdTliMMT.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3AUPWi2BCrRYBZnwHgGU2AU6O1rVBM14mEIyBanWiOttGq9t0nXQZUrCyPOrco7aXW8BNxVrJh5AYSG0bOvOLw6_IZpLUeyexQUJW91k7ja8Cpd-F1MBE5mAdm4nEr8cYBuzzei0NNhmQ/s400/WVW69i_mGecdTliMMT.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I had talked to a guy earlier that wanted a bee hive knocked down, so I found a spot I could send my owl out and knock it down... this seems to be purely optional, but hey, I was able to progress something.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSF1LsN4JC-Mxaw6u8kGQg88Lj26aLgxFtfPRzER9WOM4RcbqNqAtTOBc_OYLZj04IMRmmXwxFzc0G0hK61K6PLWmwHCr2XbiklJH-FYQY8rNOFYBN6ON5lQ_LJnQxH_aBj3TaabL2wT7/s1600/WVW69i_mDSICT3XHFr.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbSF1LsN4JC-Mxaw6u8kGQg88Lj26aLgxFtfPRzER9WOM4RcbqNqAtTOBc_OYLZj04IMRmmXwxFzc0G0hK61K6PLWmwHCr2XbiklJH-FYQY8rNOFYBN6ON5lQ_LJnQxH_aBj3TaabL2wT7/s400/WVW69i_mDSICT3XHFr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Since the fish wasn't usable after catching it, I had a thought... maybe if I catch a fish by the cat?!?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJiehzxPrZpnUHEVJmNp4n14at7yLJV2tDPM1Z0LGyppycrNWJrt7xiXZbXut-Ba4zDAzZmyrmifcWqggMhZgM714jrzRLeCxZvkI0e_tQfMPwOSpk0kBdqcIRkO6HSjoyNiu4arNO9Fq/s1600/WVW69i_mEGEhvCFdtq.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJiehzxPrZpnUHEVJmNp4n14at7yLJV2tDPM1Z0LGyppycrNWJrt7xiXZbXut-Ba4zDAzZmyrmifcWqggMhZgM714jrzRLeCxZvkI0e_tQfMPwOSpk0kBdqcIRkO6HSjoyNiu4arNO9Fq/s400/WVW69i_mEGEhvCFdtq.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
So I caught a fish!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-eIWORo8wme1BraJFKLLLBjBIt74bjHCnsMSN4_vQuM6A7rH1WP_fvgJEl3wDUxEQE9yXJiAgUZrjPOoRo2eciG6DPwMqo-w985AH8hfz231Slbb5cyH7bbVCuKnrheci_nty4GwQo2J/s1600/WVW69i_mEhojk2hW5y.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-eIWORo8wme1BraJFKLLLBjBIt74bjHCnsMSN4_vQuM6A7rH1WP_fvgJEl3wDUxEQE9yXJiAgUZrjPOoRo2eciG6DPwMqo-w985AH8hfz231Slbb5cyH7bbVCuKnrheci_nty4GwQo2J/s400/WVW69i_mEhojk2hW5y.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The cat stole the fish... and ran home!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9N_7BcBdMYFhGyXfq4tfl_QoX9QNAYyEOfFtKWboz5QTFPz4jH1atZ0tjkQDPa_KFqsI7pH8K_sNSssSVrx7vMMdDnfAWqXDlhDtvk2DLqOkNpIWvlOBvrt1k5Df5_9qL8wjIuGE49_x/s1600/WVW69i_mIvEelES5_-.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD9N_7BcBdMYFhGyXfq4tfl_QoX9QNAYyEOfFtKWboz5QTFPz4jH1atZ0tjkQDPa_KFqsI7pH8K_sNSssSVrx7vMMdDnfAWqXDlhDtvk2DLqOkNpIWvlOBvrt1k5Df5_9qL8wjIuGE49_x/s400/WVW69i_mIvEelES5_-.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
So I follow the cat inside and good news! She is now ready to sell things!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVte9s4iwG4BbOR-iJi5oYgD3BtdkjzkSmraaeEtc_yDoUuaQRd0H701ETxlEl88Cx3TAdi2EHLXJjoOJh4yJXD74-lcILUDQx7UvvyQ3PPfK-MA31Nv2hILIWNJuJJK1lc4nBwuPVDCXO/s1600/WVW69i_mcjs3_To8on.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVte9s4iwG4BbOR-iJi5oYgD3BtdkjzkSmraaeEtc_yDoUuaQRd0H701ETxlEl88Cx3TAdi2EHLXJjoOJh4yJXD74-lcILUDQx7UvvyQ3PPfK-MA31Nv2hILIWNJuJJK1lc4nBwuPVDCXO/s400/WVW69i_mcjs3_To8on.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
So I head outside and collect 30 Rupees to pay for the sling shot that are scattered around the village.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zPrgCEgvS4NjYgdhhJWfLK2Hxa1WrPxiztw2-WYRCxGOAED3iYswosH2Nuf3703XptRGHawCykZo_QkjyeswfVyst4IOPz0VmnMrxM6J2ZtIUsp5VQt-eBwObDGr4gtvL6vwxhD0j2WC/s1600/WVW69i_mJZgDSlimWW.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zPrgCEgvS4NjYgdhhJWfLK2Hxa1WrPxiztw2-WYRCxGOAED3iYswosH2Nuf3703XptRGHawCykZo_QkjyeswfVyst4IOPz0VmnMrxM6J2ZtIUsp5VQt-eBwObDGr4gtvL6vwxhD0j2WC/s400/WVW69i_mJZgDSlimWW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcarg0_W4QMQgsDKtZgAqJRQ-0Ozais0cT1I2P6kzMjIGWWbbHH8gOGkxaJjRgr7jvqUpauyz38_Vb2mFWtnIcmR-h0n_EsUUPROZ_mo8GKKeplL4Tywh4YdyrmGzBaYz1jQcgzdaQuJQ9/s1600/WVW69i_mJ2MKGPZXBo.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcarg0_W4QMQgsDKtZgAqJRQ-0Ozais0cT1I2P6kzMjIGWWbbHH8gOGkxaJjRgr7jvqUpauyz38_Vb2mFWtnIcmR-h0n_EsUUPROZ_mo8GKKeplL4Tywh4YdyrmGzBaYz1jQcgzdaQuJQ9/s400/WVW69i_mJ2MKGPZXBo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I purchase the sling shot!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhBmyjBC_ca66tjCP2r8V86ShSSr-ApzWGytPrPW41lyvyodAje5xfjYK2NrcSH2gWLojvT8CLxuWJrviOrjxZe2_fkWtXjkte5zUdGBduTvcd2b9iJeNE7MGxTMUY1WHMr-yFpr5qbTw/s1600/WVW69i_mKiERJIQNo8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnhBmyjBC_ca66tjCP2r8V86ShSSr-ApzWGytPrPW41lyvyodAje5xfjYK2NrcSH2gWLojvT8CLxuWJrviOrjxZe2_fkWtXjkte5zUdGBduTvcd2b9iJeNE7MGxTMUY1WHMr-yFpr5qbTw/s400/WVW69i_mKiERJIQNo8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
And try to take it back to the children, but I'm stopped just before them and told by on of their fathers that he dropped off a package for me... Now how old am I suppose to be? I play with the children, but have a job, but everyone mostly treats me like a child, but the children all act like I'm older, but all the adults act like I'm younger? idk...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjkpSz-qZobOx4wRGIabKvTsLSYNzsDJAxjswq1dwh77vdN8_YU4mxNQ3zV-pCOBY3uPbdhCGYs5m2XkHqFf4UnN4Yy-_MUeOn3zqPLX0YybSJuSi4YtiKa2ToqZrTrvlNHdXhxdd485a/s1600/WVW69i_mLDYleehNVl.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjkpSz-qZobOx4wRGIabKvTsLSYNzsDJAxjswq1dwh77vdN8_YU4mxNQ3zV-pCOBY3uPbdhCGYs5m2XkHqFf4UnN4Yy-_MUeOn3zqPLX0YybSJuSi4YtiKa2ToqZrTrvlNHdXhxdd485a/s400/WVW69i_mLDYleehNVl.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Anyway, I finally get to the children with the sling shot.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYycNrnLZHJFr0ZZ7WfROaXj13zgSV0jKgIKzoOPv29twU968S4jy3cTfzjU5egQPS7LM0w2TmqlKdS7kbGcBM8I6_jPa2ANXDs-l_XBiEvWZgglAVskSDLCVPUxp7RDcf-Zf-AcI_w9v8/s1600/WVW69i_mLrk9BPAPJc.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYycNrnLZHJFr0ZZ7WfROaXj13zgSV0jKgIKzoOPv29twU968S4jy3cTfzjU5egQPS7LM0w2TmqlKdS7kbGcBM8I6_jPa2ANXDs-l_XBiEvWZgglAVskSDLCVPUxp7RDcf-Zf-AcI_w9v8/s400/WVW69i_mLrk9BPAPJc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
They make me show off my skills with a sling shot...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqb3IZ89iS_fYppAP1YUzJO8d0H35lrpkdzaeCnk0a7ZFCHiOoCa2v2FU38R4DduvurLIsk4LAugWq9q1hXkLFKeOxRKsJUc1aGXgzNt77PXRyszfz0NPGI5Vp47Mj5IG_4GsNIPOMqIYj/s1600/WVW69i_mMo0NJfEUL9.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqb3IZ89iS_fYppAP1YUzJO8d0H35lrpkdzaeCnk0a7ZFCHiOoCa2v2FU38R4DduvurLIsk4LAugWq9q1hXkLFKeOxRKsJUc1aGXgzNt77PXRyszfz0NPGI5Vp47Mj5IG_4GsNIPOMqIYj/s400/WVW69i_mMo0NJfEUL9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
before flat out demanding I bring back whatever the delivery was.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugbXymMSW9kcabwlaagCcS3JEyBm4EkGFXbbyBJ9HNW7_y1bjI9B6HGHck3VxQkskGbwxIEgDcYrJUEDBb7b_IA8_EdP07Joptiss3TDWLanxVo_EqakdhBg_QzyOETx4Wfq57JbQy7ox/s1600/WVW69i_mNXIhkEdzmx.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgugbXymMSW9kcabwlaagCcS3JEyBm4EkGFXbbyBJ9HNW7_y1bjI9B6HGHck3VxQkskGbwxIEgDcYrJUEDBb7b_IA8_EdP07Joptiss3TDWLanxVo_EqakdhBg_QzyOETx4Wfq57JbQy7ox/s400/WVW69i_mNXIhkEdzmx.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
So I go back into my house, find a big shiny blue box and find a wooden sword in it... wooden...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyJSDCCRIcEBZvCEHZZ6bSxBLhOk18_7rykocBrJ_Dz14Tu35r3jIKMwvSMmx1ef1RsojBzhmGwKDyWundiVNGfcBzuSf4r9rEKRvdm-Q2ttqOE9tnBfovSKnEM7IAiyxu4hf5BINfZNN/s1600/WVW69i_mOf0TGPmCnp.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyJSDCCRIcEBZvCEHZZ6bSxBLhOk18_7rykocBrJ_Dz14Tu35r3jIKMwvSMmx1ef1RsojBzhmGwKDyWundiVNGfcBzuSf4r9rEKRvdm-Q2ttqOE9tnBfovSKnEM7IAiyxu4hf5BINfZNN/s400/WVW69i_mOf0TGPmCnp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Of course the children want to see me skills with the wooden sword... as soon as I'm finished showing off a monkey comes out of the woods and all three children chase after it... because...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2AzRdntQ5vjjB0bV3Kh-iTjzr7BG5FVYm33UpMEkjyVOnn6ults1ddz0p9FggCNQR0Wl0GHfGl6UjLVwa_5TmyfVVx7k2td8XTZUeY5JAORz4Is8E5OL-tzfxkem33HuEEcE5P7GDGVz/s1600/WVW69i_mPq8NSs7hfL.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2AzRdntQ5vjjB0bV3Kh-iTjzr7BG5FVYm33UpMEkjyVOnn6ults1ddz0p9FggCNQR0Wl0GHfGl6UjLVwa_5TmyfVVx7k2td8XTZUeY5JAORz4Is8E5OL-tzfxkem33HuEEcE5P7GDGVz/s400/WVW69i_mPq8NSs7hfL.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I mount my trusty steed who drives more like a garbage truck than a horse and head off into the woods... with only that wooden sword.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RKkr0gW23FZLvfl8h0T7dswiGTCE1Pz5ws998voYtwbrQRn7o0do8TMxZKwt3f-BQ97ezXsZQC_85dDI3QaaU3xq16gZS8nelK6dEi83E59xUyaLe2ONXiHqesLapRrrTVUA2J8j9H5E/s1600/WVW69i_mQJoxlnVefp.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RKkr0gW23FZLvfl8h0T7dswiGTCE1Pz5ws998voYtwbrQRn7o0do8TMxZKwt3f-BQ97ezXsZQC_85dDI3QaaU3xq16gZS8nelK6dEi83E59xUyaLe2ONXiHqesLapRrrTVUA2J8j9H5E/s400/WVW69i_mQJoxlnVefp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I come across two of the children along the side of the road abandoning the third and leave them out in the cold to thing about what they have done...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnFAXoqi4TqpocLtk_4lgzZDCFSuFHuUXQmrzBCbJL0M1y_8nLSjYARchpIrRbPaGa1Hmx0FZPHdlaW5hiE37y3dc8dydHjZZ1LXSqlds12elR7HZueN0btrchUIkm2F1zL5aCglIpKjK/s1600/WVW69i_mRSk8r4J_oR.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnFAXoqi4TqpocLtk_4lgzZDCFSuFHuUXQmrzBCbJL0M1y_8nLSjYARchpIrRbPaGa1Hmx0FZPHdlaW5hiE37y3dc8dydHjZZ1LXSqlds12elR7HZueN0btrchUIkm2F1zL5aCglIpKjK/s400/WVW69i_mRSk8r4J_oR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I run across a merchant who gives me a lantern so he can over-charge me every time I want to re-fill it. And he sends me on my way into a dark cave where my horse won't follow with only a wooden stick and a lantern that doesn't hold enough oil.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCqcoubu12-mWpNO0N8SKlme36q6hzpP7Ga3u6ZL-MWYo9EtZBphipsMjGvTdwErxgMKmyDKkvSFVguwdXkHUg4LbCuQJ647PgHSRLTqQucPQtmOdrMMc8VnYgKxmLtrBfjPHt_V4PqFV/s1600/WVW69i_mdcsBNdfd_u.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCqcoubu12-mWpNO0N8SKlme36q6hzpP7Ga3u6ZL-MWYo9EtZBphipsMjGvTdwErxgMKmyDKkvSFVguwdXkHUg4LbCuQJ647PgHSRLTqQucPQtmOdrMMc8VnYgKxmLtrBfjPHt_V4PqFV/s400/WVW69i_mdcsBNdfd_u.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
After a fair amount of time in the caves I finally find the 3rd child and the monkey that started this trip caged up between two bad guys... I bust them out and bring the girl home.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVC3BF7-t-dTYMM1aokHtID4ughxsMCQjdwa5sdmsgkEY5RQeMV-hLChpnn3lCYJVMHCF7Vq5KpeeVE8JDzXzDHUzEDRwcJHUi5izkiZvWYTUevpIgXtfyBzUstsPR6iDjA1cjXq41UYh/s1600/WVW69i_me6IQabJTSG.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVC3BF7-t-dTYMM1aokHtID4ughxsMCQjdwa5sdmsgkEY5RQeMV-hLChpnn3lCYJVMHCF7Vq5KpeeVE8JDzXzDHUzEDRwcJHUi5izkiZvWYTUevpIgXtfyBzUstsPR6iDjA1cjXq41UYh/s400/WVW69i_me6IQabJTSG.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I run into the father on the way back home and he tells me I'm going to take a present from the village to the castle the next day... after a short dialog and thanks for saving his son I apparently head to bed... that was Link's day off of work!<br />
<br />
It will be interesting to play through a game from a time with less hand-holding and more puzzles even in ways we now take for-granted! I'm looking forward to what I can re-learn!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-70641022264738990002016-02-29T01:12:00.000-08:002016-03-01T21:59:32.718-08:00Game Art: The Ideal Art Style vs. Reality of Hardware Limitations<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3Na23Bs6rvtfSHJDFqh3hniW3kUOEZNBTgTkujKlnxJtKOMxR4LJbwqBYIKuvXxonq4fKEUaGi_JWaxdzIy3YFXWTBAH8ERThQU1Ln13rIpdwjMQ1iAXYhqVzFNUBdoIQJ1AU7lTCr5S/s1600/Birthright+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3Na23Bs6rvtfSHJDFqh3hniW3kUOEZNBTgTkujKlnxJtKOMxR4LJbwqBYIKuvXxonq4fKEUaGi_JWaxdzIy3YFXWTBAH8ERThQU1Ln13rIpdwjMQ1iAXYhqVzFNUBdoIQJ1AU7lTCr5S/s320/Birthright+005.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fire Emblem Fates 2d and in-game models</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There is something interesting that has been going on in video game art for a while now. In-game models haven't been able to be displayed at the fidelity of the target or ideal art style.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi8rZ8BoJSnPEWziT-ti1LM86x9uEUSWqiZSja8FWonMpEk8erYfj2vp9v_ORIxUzOzkKNTT5rzNvDcOmsi9eQGN8Mc5pkUeSZZ4b9oO7gfW1RDiPphNlnvk-yfT2SGXvTa5Ad2sWXKbg/s1600/WVW69i8bpiIFgJkxwj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi8rZ8BoJSnPEWziT-ti1LM86x9uEUSWqiZSja8FWonMpEk8erYfj2vp9v_ORIxUzOzkKNTT5rzNvDcOmsi9eQGN8Mc5pkUeSZZ4b9oO7gfW1RDiPphNlnvk-yfT2SGXvTa5Ad2sWXKbg/s320/WVW69i8bpiIFgJkxwj.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Fire Emblem Fates 2d and in-game models</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
JRPG's like Fire Emblem Fates pictured on the right have been dealing with this for a while now due to limitations on their former and current systems. The genre has always been big on hand-held systems and has been popular since at least the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), if not earlier.<br />
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As a result of these limitations you see beautifully hand drawn portraits shown over the top of in-game models that fit inside of the system's limitations.<br />
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Recently, fighting games were still using this technique. It appears Street Fighter V is using in-game models (possibly with higher texture quality), but Street Fighter IV still looked like this:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiERh9ADUEjy-C8Shm3elfe3wam1AuwSSoL3VR53kVM2EK5nL6tVOclr4ejkyYc1ozZc-G8jcsTs-lpah_BMC0bDaGbLYtXStKvqWz1ET3mgKiP6SmNFeJYbRJ60BXJ-1QsWIhlEZpOc8/s1600/Juri.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiERh9ADUEjy-C8Shm3elfe3wam1AuwSSoL3VR53kVM2EK5nL6tVOclr4ejkyYc1ozZc-G8jcsTs-lpah_BMC0bDaGbLYtXStKvqWz1ET3mgKiP6SmNFeJYbRJ60BXJ-1QsWIhlEZpOc8/s400/Juri.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Street Fighter IV 2d and in game</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Technology is getting better and the newest of titles on the current generation of hardware are using in game models. As an example Killer Instinct:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPK0vhXQhuYmuNkIkxusUM8-HEDlBUCiRrXcloBEI8WbrgNVXag3pV_RoUiakaZBcxMTvV32Lma-WpkKCT-QKIOGntdZjTjO0FmMG4fUNT1ZgbBSBvC8t4q0KIcaFl-tmExuVRHJSIF5c/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPK0vhXQhuYmuNkIkxusUM8-HEDlBUCiRrXcloBEI8WbrgNVXag3pV_RoUiakaZBcxMTvV32Lma-WpkKCT-QKIOGntdZjTjO0FmMG4fUNT1ZgbBSBvC8t4q0KIcaFl-tmExuVRHJSIF5c/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Killer Instinct vs screen in-game models</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Even Gigantic is replacing some really nice 2d artwork with in game models:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTn1GVAiQTcWWCG2wVCDm3xzYaqzAI4JkLM-qC8yQOVUd8rbJDrvwm7zx7DcWLOz7PDmcwTGCyfYSIJGP_tlpJsmRgYgO0GWEMxshdyIErZLKJOkzhYKu-OI9syduYa5RfzElVVJ71UGjK/s1600/Beckett.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTn1GVAiQTcWWCG2wVCDm3xzYaqzAI4JkLM-qC8yQOVUd8rbJDrvwm7zx7DcWLOz7PDmcwTGCyfYSIJGP_tlpJsmRgYgO0GWEMxshdyIErZLKJOkzhYKu-OI9syduYa5RfzElVVJ71UGjK/s400/Beckett.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gigantic 2d art and in game model</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is done for various reasons both officially and unofficially. It's easier to maintain one asset as opposed to all of them. Some studios like ArenaNet have said they want customers to know what to expect in their game so they've gone as far as to make all promotional tailors using in-game assets. I just kinda miss the 2d assets. They are softer, more real, and more artistic in my opinion. They allow for something that either can't be done, or is too time consuming to make in the actual game.</div>
</div>
<br />
I've been searching for a firm grasp on an art style for some Unreal Engine 4 work I've been doing when I have spare time so I've been watching this a bit more closely than in the past. Right now, I think cinematic mixed with a few post effects that are actually in game are getting close to what I'd like to get to.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxB17vhJ9OWKubrCfb0FynjrxpiiirWLjIfC4-5UphNvZMTZnvaIRo0gOkAStL8D9IwmAKMylyBQ0DnssDjPSr3_7k2chVdvoEvUAeA1CZO04ba-tSkBRmLVMpnaRmeQZcqPXC69BnalVw/s1600/fireemblem-1434581101722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxB17vhJ9OWKubrCfb0FynjrxpiiirWLjIfC4-5UphNvZMTZnvaIRo0gOkAStL8D9IwmAKMylyBQ0DnssDjPSr3_7k2chVdvoEvUAeA1CZO04ba-tSkBRmLVMpnaRmeQZcqPXC69BnalVw/s400/fireemblem-1434581101722.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fire Emblem Fates cinematic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Other than finding out what all the fuss was about, I picked up Fire Emblem Fates because their cinematic are so good! I think with the limited shadow calculations I believe a better system could render these on the fly with only a few miner tricks.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblOBAQZN6Va1SgwBx0AAL14oaYqHYCSXQePavzmLMKvxbp4lMm0k42d5bjn8wb0xiNGCdcdQeP1fIAQgm5Lg3hQaZl3M7W679Zq5OmtArHIhSssHbr2m2f1TtxNos3nQEphyphenhyphenIJyAv94vn/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblOBAQZN6Va1SgwBx0AAL14oaYqHYCSXQePavzmLMKvxbp4lMm0k42d5bjn8wb0xiNGCdcdQeP1fIAQgm5Lg3hQaZl3M7W679Zq5OmtArHIhSssHbr2m2f1TtxNos3nQEphyphenhyphenIJyAv94vn/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blizzard cinematics</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Of course the day we are all waiting for is when the Blizzard cinematic quality can be rendered real time in a game... I feel we are probably many years from this, but honestly I don't care about pure realize if this can be pulled off.</span></div>
Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-45982507696788526582016-02-25T00:16:00.000-08:002016-03-01T22:12:59.045-08:00The Current State of PC "Ports"<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheO62B8wi9lIVtyqvASnLLI62Zu5qOK5zPyfQdPnwpHdpwE8rUp-J2pL3Fm4YeDqEBGl_0klSlCGx1h_srD6ASfIubTzo8XDCHKPN1glbhHMzdF7pTSIP0coO4_J0G7Sqg1SrBfaNTwOKV/s1600/Street-Fighter-V-fix-game-errors.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheO62B8wi9lIVtyqvASnLLI62Zu5qOK5zPyfQdPnwpHdpwE8rUp-J2pL3Fm4YeDqEBGl_0klSlCGx1h_srD6ASfIubTzo8XDCHKPN1glbhHMzdF7pTSIP0coO4_J0G7Sqg1SrBfaNTwOKV/s400/Street-Fighter-V-fix-game-errors.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
There seems to be a disturbing trend with PC ports. Over the past few years we've been treated to mostly decent ports of the majority of games coming out on the current generation of consoles, but that's starting to digress back into the way things were before.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
I recently purchased Street Fighter V on Steam and ended up returning it within 48 hours after not being able to solve a crash bug. I'm sure Capcom will fix this bug in the near future, so I'm planning on purchasing the game again when Juri is released and I can get the game at a discounted price. I did attempt to purchase it at release, but was disappointed that I can't run one of my favorite franchises at it's pinnacle visual peak.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacLTYBIlTuFM66vYZZg1jkmh3tSqvF4UGaGancBrO05sm9darEPu7un4pczyIOgDILCwqiy3ibpa6CQKoD5Ubug3hT3fKfY_jJKsZZxPklTes4PdxFANVE-DNoWDDjZwdtvdt-QsxNODk/s1600/header.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacLTYBIlTuFM66vYZZg1jkmh3tSqvF4UGaGancBrO05sm9darEPu7un4pczyIOgDILCwqiy3ibpa6CQKoD5Ubug3hT3fKfY_jJKsZZxPklTes4PdxFANVE-DNoWDDjZwdtvdt-QsxNODk/s400/header.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
I never had any issues with Arkham Knight, but it was notoriously pulled from the Steam store and no-questions-asked refunds were offered even after it returned to the store nearly 6 months after release.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9081zK4Kk2i1IjJmwrViDH_MvvvicYsnp_rdK4U9dXhEnuA5PRPDkR_8BeiTTGoVI9fTJC1Tjdb_c2wbgMBvo46eYQhEtQoF19Sy4x1B7nSU1OwKG_oSK-U9L1dCvum4LSZrNyw5baR4/s1600/Mortal-Kombat-X-681x399.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9081zK4Kk2i1IjJmwrViDH_MvvvicYsnp_rdK4U9dXhEnuA5PRPDkR_8BeiTTGoVI9fTJC1Tjdb_c2wbgMBvo46eYQhEtQoF19Sy4x1B7nSU1OwKG_oSK-U9L1dCvum4LSZrNyw5baR4/s400/Mortal-Kombat-X-681x399.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
But by far, the worst example in this article is Mortal Kombat X! After putting out a decent PC port of a decent fighter they made the choice to stop supporting the PC version with new content. Most of the work is already done. There is a PC port and the content is already being added to that current port. Games are developed and tested on PC long before they are ever loaded on dev kits for console testing!</div>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
So the big question why aren't we getting good PC ports?</h3>
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I'm sure every one of these games and the numerous other examples I could have used have their own stories. Here are a few things I have seen that may be contributing factors:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Studios often buy large supplies of hardware at the same time. Unless an effort is made to diversify hardware, testing is done on less than a half dozen hardware configurations.</li>
<li>Testing for so many possibilities is hardware and software is time consuming! Often problems are impossible to reproduce without exactly duplicating the source of the problem. This is especially true of in-house or heavily modified game engines.</li>
<li>This is my observation and probably NetherRealm's reasoning: PC players don't seem to buy as much DLC as console players. People I talk to, myself included, wait for a "complete edition" to be released instead of being nickle and dimed by incremental DLC.</li>
<li>Possibly little money is spent on a PC port because the studio is afraid there will be too much piracy? (Though strides in DRM have made recent games uncrackable.)</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'm not sure exactly why we are seeing a steep decline in quality, but we are in danger of taking a huge step backwards. Please buy your PC games, let the publishers and developers of any games you want to see on PC know you want their games, and respectfully be specific about port quality and features you appreciate in your games.</div>
Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-26764220208675606932016-01-28T00:04:00.000-08:002016-03-01T22:51:54.017-08:00What goes into a Sequel? (Rise of the Tomb Raider)<br />
First off a quick reminder, I really like Tomb Raider and my time so far playing Rise of the Tomb Raider. So anything negative is in service of making games better, not putting down Tomb Raider. The first (well remake) I finished (with 81%), and it's rare for me to finish a game. Even though I rushed through the end to get on to the next one, it was an enjoyable experience!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRiIRq_zc2-aY12UBinC-3AX1zwv_jTXJRDHE4_vhryEwyWZy7syyy_FC85usHA5rxU3nlyaGZpz-ygY5glkOPtbei0Jw1M2eWfkyhAtn4RQI86l90oBP-f7S4o1liyZciynQrqthpwtu/s1600/header.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRiIRq_zc2-aY12UBinC-3AX1zwv_jTXJRDHE4_vhryEwyWZy7syyy_FC85usHA5rxU3nlyaGZpz-ygY5glkOPtbei0Jw1M2eWfkyhAtn4RQI86l90oBP-f7S4o1liyZciynQrqthpwtu/s1600/header.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
This seems like an appropriate day to post since <i>Rise of the Tomb Raider</i> is coming out today for PC. It looks like we got a good port too!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://kotaku.com/rise-of-the-tomb-raider-can-really-push-your-pc-but-it-1755561369">Kotaku: Rise of the Tomb Raider Can Really Push Your PC</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(although his PC specs are pretty crazy, unless you just built your rig)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
So what goes into a sequel? Well, fans have to feel like you put in enough effort to justify a sequel, but if you mess with the formula too many fans of the original will hate the sequel. Everything here will be opinion, but I'll try to give a small list of what worked and didn't for me. First off, will be the two changes I feel the strongest about:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
The Expanded Crafting System:</h4>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gs8qnlLKf2dk51bEky5TQwrJRNlQ6d-uM21FwdBH-mZpwuBuVlhyphenhyphenMsFi5bWayknPRqLYdHCeI7sF_6ahlzSR_6p1EaKJ4lXnf3HnBS8Coi3jqDOeHXPRTbiTEbs3-hggmx8BQDyVokaf/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7gs8qnlLKf2dk51bEky5TQwrJRNlQ6d-uM21FwdBH-mZpwuBuVlhyphenhyphenMsFi5bWayknPRqLYdHCeI7sF_6ahlzSR_6p1EaKJ4lXnf3HnBS8Coi3jqDOeHXPRTbiTEbs3-hggmx8BQDyVokaf/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a>Instead of a single crafting currency there are now many. In Tomb Raider (TR), I get currency from all locations and then I have enough and the upgrade is unlocked, I just spend it. In Rise of the Tomb Raider (RotTR), I have limited inventory (that's still unrealistic so why?) and have to watch out for the exact consumables I need. I'm at a point I need a bear pelt for the upgrade I want, but they are rare. So to keep from wasting materials (if you're over the cap you can't carry them), I've been crafting upgrades I care much less about. There is always the problem of getting the materials you need.</div>
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This is an interesting one because I think my younger self with more time to game may have liked this change. I was the one playing <i>World of Warcraft</i> killing Onyxia and complaining that she dropped a ready-to-wear helm that fit my character without so much as an alteration... However, I'm not a fan of farming. If I kill something the size of a dozen buses, I shouldn't have to kill it a half dozen times to get enough materials to create armor for my puny human character. (I'm looking at you Monster Hunter!).</div>
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The Overuse of the Gating System:</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizwkc9shw-qW4eYNArNFGbprrVPlDsfFBZ84kVWPgdQhNi2tAybsX8zxqI6QSNKRp-HsNBzKo6CZne9uq1VYPrd3EEAfDDYvGp4gCFyoX1kQgCeo4FNQj_HUBovvbyz1mED1CKly5gk-cr/s1600/169738291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizwkc9shw-qW4eYNArNFGbprrVPlDsfFBZ84kVWPgdQhNi2tAybsX8zxqI6QSNKRp-HsNBzKo6CZne9uq1VYPrd3EEAfDDYvGp4gCFyoX1kQgCeo4FNQj_HUBovvbyz1mED1CKly5gk-cr/s400/169738291.jpg" width="400" /></a>From the very start of RotTR, it's clear their level designers knew what tools they had to work with from the beginning and did a much better job. A drawback to knowing their tools is the extensive use of gating in their early levels. Recognizable rope arrow points are used extensively from the original TR before they have been made available to you. A new mechanic of lock picking is also introduced along with all the returning mechanics: pry points you need a reinforced climbing axe, explosive walls, etc... The game shows so many places you'll be returning to later once all your gear is available.</div>
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As an explorer and completionist, this drives me insane! I like to take my time and comb the area for secrets and feel good when I find them. It seems as if I'll finish RotTR by rushing through the story to the point all "progression gear" is available. Then, I'll go back through the entire game like I normally would.</div>
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Okay, now for some other changes that are noteworthy, but don't carry the strong feelings of the two above:</div>
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Quick Time Events:</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92mk56uuiHESMgYZ8dh2YKUkDF1A1NelNdFlJRtzg9TK41cqs5jTmWXceDu7nyX-hwgVK_Vfbt6C6CCJjoDGfzklXFlqUKHDZTUnzERXxzUmqLQq8p_JgnaOJm4cVXVWlcGX3fhq5Fvab/s1600/434865407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92mk56uuiHESMgYZ8dh2YKUkDF1A1NelNdFlJRtzg9TK41cqs5jTmWXceDu7nyX-hwgVK_Vfbt6C6CCJjoDGfzklXFlqUKHDZTUnzERXxzUmqLQq8p_JgnaOJm4cVXVWlcGX3fhq5Fvab/s320/434865407.jpg" width="320" /></a>These are back, I played quite a while before I ran into them and thought they were replaced with slow-motion sequences (that use the same controls as real time), but they are there in smaller numbers. A big plus! The less QTE's the better!</div>
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Forced Gun Play:</h4>
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These were points I struggled with in TR. When the game takes you out of cover and everyone sees you and starts shooting at you and you have to fight back. I feel both games are designed better for stealth take downs and spend the majority of my time using the bow and sneaking so mechanically, I haven't spent time with the "normal" guns. So these were difficulty spikes because the game mechanics were forced on me. So far RotTR hasn't done this, but I'm not done with the game yet.</div>
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</h4>
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Crafting Arrows & Instantly Healing:</h4>
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This is a good thing about the new crafting system. Consuming a small amount of materials will allow you to craft your own arrows if you can't find any laying around as well as special arrows like poison arrows. Also, you can heal intently instead of ducking behind cover and waiting for re-gen to start. These are both welcome additions.</div>
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The Tombs and Puzzles are Much Better:</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU33zM4dGtxSo94ryLkfr4F5frP-qikxDr5gaEkfUwvj9wKsqsxvdKCU4eqs6gCkzBWoAXWe81Q8DpY0nuMVRI8HRp2-FJwvCm2aASPYxMfG78ostGXg6qrbSA9ZM88nWAAsXucqNh6Kp/s1600/1443036633344842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU33zM4dGtxSo94ryLkfr4F5frP-qikxDr5gaEkfUwvj9wKsqsxvdKCU4eqs6gCkzBWoAXWe81Q8DpY0nuMVRI8HRp2-FJwvCm2aASPYxMfG78ostGXg6qrbSA9ZM88nWAAsXucqNh6Kp/s400/1443036633344842.jpg" width="400" /></a>I already called out level design, but this is worth noting in it's own section. Level design in RotTR is much better than TR. I think this is almost entirely because game mechanics were mostly in place at the star of development so their team knew what they had to work with.</div>
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Changing Controls:</h4>
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This one may not have been as big of a deal if I hadn't played TR and RotTR back to back. Having controls change between the two games for some of the most used features was annoying! Things like rope arrows (though they probably didn't need their own button) and whatever Laura's sense ability is (think Batman's detective mode) being remapped caused issues as I instinctively reached for the TR controls even after hours of play. I'm still playing Laura, who looks like the old Laura mostly, but controls differently.</div>
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The PC Port is Again the Definitive Version:</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWA0PseAhgeDRmylo7UPYYkcC4HduJBwwXgEoqwNjWCkgTJUYLaGNSssxnomQSVIjfSvzI_Zl7H-QnPh5MdB72xWaHAC6Qqr4uyeal5FBS48Yt2YZpJjXVsxJchC_xd6wfYht3T-HixWR/s1600/xvpgjpxwyyg054urfd47.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWA0PseAhgeDRmylo7UPYYkcC4HduJBwwXgEoqwNjWCkgTJUYLaGNSssxnomQSVIjfSvzI_Zl7H-QnPh5MdB72xWaHAC6Qqr4uyeal5FBS48Yt2YZpJjXVsxJchC_xd6wfYht3T-HixWR/s400/xvpgjpxwyyg054urfd47.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Granted it is releasing as I'm writing this, but everything points to the work being put in for the PC version of the game including improved graphics, shaders, new nVidia tech, hair simulation, etc. At the time of release, the PC version of TR was the best, but with the next gen update the PC version was left behind mostly (it had some advantages, but overall next gen was better). This is a big deal especially with questionable ports of things like <i>Arkham Knight</i> and Warner Brothers (again) recent announcement they are abandoning the PC port of <i>Mortal Kombat X</i>. It's nice to see some companies are still doing it right!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrOWkoAHgJ2rduE2yQk-CSYHwbb2BKamOi43NEgKhyphenhyphenXY9w4_syoP1LMUGahZaoc_KwQJcm3Zt-Zuqa_tZqRmVD-GgaStOJlAQPRgiGA6KRU_1ehrEKeLz1iKsM2ehKHWhiJ0I_DOJUtlV/s1600/pe3gb389yorthbdn3xth.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrOWkoAHgJ2rduE2yQk-CSYHwbb2BKamOi43NEgKhyphenhyphenXY9w4_syoP1LMUGahZaoc_KwQJcm3Zt-Zuqa_tZqRmVD-GgaStOJlAQPRgiGA6KRU_1ehrEKeLz1iKsM2ehKHWhiJ0I_DOJUtlV/s320/pe3gb389yorthbdn3xth.png" width="320" /></a>There are other differences not listed, but these are what stand out when I think about them as mentionable. I would recommend both games and they are both solid entries in your gaming library, but surprisingly I think I like Tomb Raider slightly above Rise of the Tomb Raider as I think a lot of the additions made were more about game play time padding. These days I don't have a lot of time and I don't want it wasted. If a game is beatable in 15 hours, but a solid game with a good story and progression, I'd rather play that game then the exact same game that takes 30 hours because there was 15 hours of padding thrown in. I'm not saying Rise of the Tomb Raider does this entirely, but my first two points I feel like are just for padding. Gating makes you return to areas for the completionist and while a more realistic list of crafting materials is logical, it basically ends up padding the crafting system and as a result, the progression system. I hope you enjoy both games, and I'm looking forward to the amazing looking visuals in the PC release!</div>
Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-14968206218595928212015-12-31T10:57:00.002-08:002015-12-31T15:04:05.918-08:00Video Games Pricing Matrix - Working or Not?<h3 style="text-align: center;">
Setting the Stage</h3>
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This is going to be the most controversial post so far, so it's good to get a few under the belt in case anyone is reading these.<br />
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So the basic pricing matrix is something like this:<br />
<ul>
<li>AAA: $60</li>
<li>Download only: $40-50</li>
<li>Handheld (3DS, Vita): $40</li>
<li>Independent: < $40 (some times way less)</li>
<li>Titles a few years old don't normally leave retail below $30 but $20 is rock bottom for retail</li>
<li>Mobile (Phone) Games < $5</li>
</ul>
It has been this way a long time! See the 1994 flying recently posted on <a href="http://kotaku.com/when-a-new-game-could-cost-10-less-than-its-console-1743990030">Kotaku </a>with Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES) selling for $69.99 and nothing under $35.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHMvqvCu_KlU9Yr9_RzaTiC_hS6LTOvfFjBypZ8FPsOe9rxM-a_NIPsBd_Y3tKxKTYliINzpJ6FJr0oSaHvOE4AYMENAVwMQimQviRlY68vZHj-eZ1jd0YNZXCGDl-ELQcP4d_B02RYaq/s1600/1529340485624324239.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHMvqvCu_KlU9Yr9_RzaTiC_hS6LTOvfFjBypZ8FPsOe9rxM-a_NIPsBd_Y3tKxKTYliINzpJ6FJr0oSaHvOE4AYMENAVwMQimQviRlY68vZHj-eZ1jd0YNZXCGDl-ELQcP4d_B02RYaq/s640/1529340485624324239.png" width="483" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJtaUtRVSOX5zutwWlWy31rMk0KH_28-F75QOlFOKlNcDmB5s2ZfKZEeNXd3_f77bhF6zR8S1_LYIeLXIbkQdAkO8X_z_sJ91ztBkKgpETr2pzvJF9CE8TyPSryNQgt5rCP36OuratZjT/s1600/OriginStore-Battlefront.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJtaUtRVSOX5zutwWlWy31rMk0KH_28-F75QOlFOKlNcDmB5s2ZfKZEeNXd3_f77bhF6zR8S1_LYIeLXIbkQdAkO8X_z_sJ91ztBkKgpETr2pzvJF9CE8TyPSryNQgt5rCP36OuratZjT/s320/OriginStore-Battlefront.png" width="320" /></a>So part of what brought on this post was complaints about multiplayer only games also selling at the $60 mark and the big culprit: Battlefront!</div>
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Let's see you can guy the Ultimate Edition for $120 ($125 if you buy in parts, so props for not adding more to that price tag).</div>
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But let's look a this from a development stand point... games take longer with a MUCH larger team (roughly 10x), and multiplayer is so much harder to balance than single player that charging less for something that takes more time and has almost unlimited replay-ability for the target audience is a strange request. I do however see the arguments for paying $50 for unknown content and the allegations that the game was missing to much content to release as a "full game." But I'll save that for another time and focus on price points.</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
The Problem as I see it</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-DmIOVlmYtobslckvzTn4UJ28ra9rVJXEWZrMO3bY1TmaFgFzZr8pmlkPg2lye5n_1_OugeKMe7pZGctsZwk-PPVPiD9ihmdznY3NauCrrhQ2gt2KK8ZzqkxGdgcVZ6oQ5T0ifGhADDR/s1600/the-order-1886-cast-header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-DmIOVlmYtobslckvzTn4UJ28ra9rVJXEWZrMO3bY1TmaFgFzZr8pmlkPg2lye5n_1_OugeKMe7pZGctsZwk-PPVPiD9ihmdznY3NauCrrhQ2gt2KK8ZzqkxGdgcVZ6oQ5T0ifGhADDR/s400/the-order-1886-cast-header.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So here is what I see as the actual problem... people pay $60 for a very short game: The Order 1886 was criticized heavily for it's length (didn't personally play it).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAkREpOBTU1iLZuaV1XnaHFxZR-6QpnD8ykHWKWzCHYnIwXloKdzcK-0PbHVuRmJM4lAorAlSwlqrRSmLHPTKDDqDM08_G7Jl6tqwYYB0mL9qyLbDS0QkpVTroDaSXHUnX_oqTZu5PSGN/s1600/SI_3DS_Monster_Hunter4Ultimate.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAkREpOBTU1iLZuaV1XnaHFxZR-6QpnD8ykHWKWzCHYnIwXloKdzcK-0PbHVuRmJM4lAorAlSwlqrRSmLHPTKDDqDM08_G7Jl6tqwYYB0mL9qyLbDS0QkpVTroDaSXHUnX_oqTZu5PSGN/s400/SI_3DS_Monster_Hunter4Ultimate.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And paying $40 for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate that I've sunk 100+ hours into. Other good examples are the Souls' games, Skyrim, etc.</div>
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Thoughts About the Solution</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmLSdCcBOn4noJYRRPQVcHhoiu6wZ9J3aY80Mrgqy9_Tt8Jseejt8AqNUZE9iACF0h4pJ8SQ4vfk_i7X1gsD2pm3GF2t_tcBuiNg7WsRDTnPTslCsUbmTZGIxyszBCJu643tvp7DPtF7y/s1600/Evolve_Box_Art.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmLSdCcBOn4noJYRRPQVcHhoiu6wZ9J3aY80Mrgqy9_Tt8Jseejt8AqNUZE9iACF0h4pJ8SQ4vfk_i7X1gsD2pm3GF2t_tcBuiNg7WsRDTnPTslCsUbmTZGIxyszBCJu643tvp7DPtF7y/s320/Evolve_Box_Art.png" width="279" /></a>The easy part is pointing out problems, the hard part is fixing them. I game for enjoyment, so games I enjoy more I would pay more for... i.e. Monster Hunter is worth at least $60. Nintendo came up with an interesting solution with it's branch of into mobile of treating them like coin-up's and you buy "plays" This works to some extent as you pay more for games you play more, and little to nothing for games you don't. The problem with this is at some point I want to flat out own my games. I still buy disk copies as at some point Microsoft and Sony will stop supporting downloads and I want to be able to play my console games.</div>
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Another possibility is pricing games based on the estimated average playtime. While this is probably the most reasonable it will lead to padding content in games again (something that has been getting better), and very high prices and hence bared entry to things like RPGs. Then you also have the multiplayer games that require a large player base to function and technically could have unlimited playing hours.</div>
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I think the actual solution will be fore the gaming consumers to be more open to a range of prices. Maybe DLC packs are the answer, but with a more defined description of the content you are paying for. The Batman game as an example was rated very well while the DLC was not.</div>
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It will be interesting to see what happens!</div>
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Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-19108406470107337722015-12-23T14:32:00.003-08:002015-12-31T10:34:36.865-08:00Location in Video Games: inFAMOUS Second Son<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGX56tXwGq6aMC1GcOZ1PHDj_0r28g7Zfxe3xViIDzS7mbN560PUytrFz6I3YNO7s53f_QW1X8xV9WpUWk6gKSNoM4m3pDV2u2jwmUJU6YqhONj8SfyKr7OwFtpEUXl1FuzwqO4sEFZaBu/s400/CW0FJ8tUYAAq9Ie.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCU7kvKQCFddRzgxeMC5LQomWWZA7lpoWRPOPoba80-M04JNrekwD2tcuF5ZMr-DfXfDDrjLou9njEM8W2SVgvCdb3t8_7fOILPvCBnj039HfoEUNePwGyjPQ31aKphgr5eU5sihMQGvp/s320/CW0FJzNUAAAkxEq.jpg" width="320" /></span>Infamous is an interesting game for me it's the first game I remember buying just because of the location.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjO0oTUujcWX68qgs14P74h8-kPoV58lx-NQpGawtfFGX944NtM-BtOtcchzL48rjFJaGoo7eZCPgC61r0Ds15rKoMLO50lngfnNwWPtnvPkXjLyCXUtENS5XBsvLObY4Mi3-2_OYoinG/s1600/CW0Jmc_U4AANIB9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjO0oTUujcWX68qgs14P74h8-kPoV58lx-NQpGawtfFGX944NtM-BtOtcchzL48rjFJaGoo7eZCPgC61r0Ds15rKoMLO50lngfnNwWPtnvPkXjLyCXUtENS5XBsvLObY4Mi3-2_OYoinG/s320/CW0Jmc_U4AANIB9.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></span>Currently I live in Seattle and Seattle is the most familiar I've been with a real world counter part to an in-game location. I've been through L.A., D.C., other major metropolitan areas, but not spend the time I have here in Seattle.</div>
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I've been to all the locations shown here and fighting in the Seattle Center, Pioneer Square, etc... is a lot of fun!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAJ3oMHw0XxNsYg-lMpjAuTvxCfi57NMcOL2o_FigeKwyshgveYxy3bJBxgZk4hEKJWiSeMWVTIhqLjNuR297EErEsAq_KILPct7Zdm8ihplErqYtHaM1DuuVGyWi7C-uwUQOZobrM8OP/s1600/CWj94-7UkAAeX0r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAJ3oMHw0XxNsYg-lMpjAuTvxCfi57NMcOL2o_FigeKwyshgveYxy3bJBxgZk4hEKJWiSeMWVTIhqLjNuR297EErEsAq_KILPct7Zdm8ihplErqYtHaM1DuuVGyWi7C-uwUQOZobrM8OP/s320/CWj94-7UkAAeX0r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After playing for a bit I realized what was bothering me about the game. It is a compressed world of course so things aren't lined up like they are in the real city. The 520 bridge is located closer to the actual West Seattle Bridge location, but is by far the most hated bridge in the City. Not only does it congest with rush hour traffic, but it is also a tole bridge with a money sink of a replacement protruding out of the water next to it... so choosing this to be the bridge to blowing it up is a no brainer even though the location is wrong.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERDmqwyOWvMwPUXHOR6X2LeUISoxEBbZ_UUVFy7ZE6n8KMAsap8TP9B-Tx2GerQ22pgcRONzb6GNR5nSosOXmI_zsBxqE03xCUlotvxZqMjvdmuuwCoCIm974KvzAVdsO6jmgxI-deOjp/s1600/CW0JHeuVAAQD_QI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERDmqwyOWvMwPUXHOR6X2LeUISoxEBbZ_UUVFy7ZE6n8KMAsap8TP9B-Tx2GerQ22pgcRONzb6GNR5nSosOXmI_zsBxqE03xCUlotvxZqMjvdmuuwCoCIm974KvzAVdsO6jmgxI-deOjp/s320/CW0JHeuVAAQD_QI.jpg" width="320" /></a>So I'm not a huge fan of the game... I received the first game from the infamous PlayStation Network outage of 2011 and picked up the 2nd in a bargain bin, playing both very minimally. I'll probably put up a post on my thoughts about the game at some point, but this is for the environment art only that looks fantastic! If it wasn't for the slightly off locations I don't think I'd have anything to complain about and that is very minor indeed! I do wonder if Pike's Market is included or more of the waterfront, but I'm to low to venture into parts of the game at this point, so those are questions to be answered later. This is a very good job recreating Seattle in the confides of a game environment!</div>
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<br />Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-56923221223079792422015-12-17T14:52:00.001-08:002015-12-23T13:19:25.910-08:00Genre Mashups in Video Games<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdXDij0x4pjxESrW5T1scE1CNGFOWT0IzG2QHpM8SU7mMOJu0Ej803Nj0XsKhuyA4uN1c6mSkMcCWUGrkK5JffcxheJMIoOS6zw6md14Lp9uw5xsdi3o297fT3zTTsJ8xWcomEm2BoMiv/s1600/Rise-of-the-Tomb-Raider.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicdXDij0x4pjxESrW5T1scE1CNGFOWT0IzG2QHpM8SU7mMOJu0Ej803Nj0XsKhuyA4uN1c6mSkMcCWUGrkK5JffcxheJMIoOS6zw6md14Lp9uw5xsdi3o297fT3zTTsJ8xWcomEm2BoMiv/s400/Rise-of-the-Tomb-Raider.jpg" width="400" /></a></h2>
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I'm talking about genre mashups using Tomb Raider because I just finished the first one and am a few hours into the second so it is fresh on my mind, but this could be said about almost every game coming out. The Tomb Raider remakes are move of an answer to Uncharted than a throw back to the original, and this seems to dictate the genres they include.<br />
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The basic genres in Tomb Raider (broadly) are: Platformer/Collection, 3rd Person Shooter, and Quick-Time-Event. I haven't played the original Tomb Raider for many years, but I remember it being mostly an exploration/collection/platformer. The current Tomb Raider is fairly linear to be considered exploration and the puzzles are on the light side. As for collection, many of the collectibles are dropped in front of you and platforming is fairly light. I think you could say the game is trying primarily to be exploration and platforming, but it's linear enough you can't really miss much of the content and fail safes are put in for the platforming portions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v5Z3E0CWvt_zpW-LtO6dGtGnRFppdQiffWz4rwDP_zfo3sG-grqiXpr0F3ErONqWmqx5rKMq8yu7A0KhB88LIICkz58JHjvVtIEQ8ZrUGsYushRMNAXz-WMnh3vGoa1pBrbBle_ooOhc/s1600/mountain-village-39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8v5Z3E0CWvt_zpW-LtO6dGtGnRFppdQiffWz4rwDP_zfo3sG-grqiXpr0F3ErONqWmqx5rKMq8yu7A0KhB88LIICkz58JHjvVtIEQ8ZrUGsYushRMNAXz-WMnh3vGoa1pBrbBle_ooOhc/s400/mountain-village-39.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
So where the game fails in my opinion is the other genres that are "forced" in. The first I will keep brief because I HATE quick-time events, so any inclusion is going to cause me grief and instantly be unhappy. The areas especially in the first game that included QTEs were the first road blocks I encountered. Luckily most of these were from the E3 Demo very early on and thinned out later in the game. Rise otTR did a better job, they are kinda there, but instead of true QTEs they are time slow downs requiring you to do normal gameplay operations... still annoying, but much better as knowing the controls are normally the worst part of QTEs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Nxfeqqw6sOFsvcBzbRw8vrX35UyKQCluLcVlaqcPIXSm2bGP9yigkQshQ172r6m_seiK_Vt7kdIA8QgYxT4pGjBzqD8Q1Bql0o-Obp3m-IR-y_BxUm1ar7J9a6l6vB9pJhBrW3Cl9TJN/s1600/1879cu3wnxqksjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Nxfeqqw6sOFsvcBzbRw8vrX35UyKQCluLcVlaqcPIXSm2bGP9yigkQshQ172r6m_seiK_Vt7kdIA8QgYxT4pGjBzqD8Q1Bql0o-Obp3m-IR-y_BxUm1ar7J9a6l6vB9pJhBrW3Cl9TJN/s400/1879cu3wnxqksjpg.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Nxfeqqw6sOFsvcBzbRw8vrX35UyKQCluLcVlaqcPIXSm2bGP9yigkQshQ172r6m_seiK_Vt7kdIA8QgYxT4pGjBzqD8Q1Bql0o-Obp3m-IR-y_BxUm1ar7J9a6l6vB9pJhBrW3Cl9TJN/s1600/1879cu3wnxqksjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
The second mechanic kinda shoe-horned in is the forced 3rd person<br />
shootouts. This won't be an issue for everyone, but I used the bow the rest of the game so when the sections they force you to do a shootout happens the bow isn't always viable and having no previous experience with the other weapons I got stuck on one of those sections for 2-3 play sessions trying to get past it. Forcing players to use one of your systems that has been optional for the majority of the game is okay, but then difficulty needs to be at a beginner level for it, not at a half way through the game expecting everyone to have been using it for hours of play.<br />
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Why this matters...<br />
I don't have the time anymore to play games endlessly. Tomb Raider is a game I really like so I persisted, but any game that I'm borderline enjoying I won't pick back up if I hit a wall I can't complete in a few tries. Especially if it is because of a side game mechanic that I don't enjoy playing. I don't think I'm alone in my thinking at least in my demographic with a family and limited gaming time. I think meshing mechanics is possibly a good way to get people into a game, but if you use mechanics that don't mesh well together it was at least keep people from completing them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4K_rHwCTtaY6PHbRAAHzEGQvXt8mtkiXxQD8XE_28gEVPne2Kvoo3Cvmx_WVFG6dHESRaEt3AEsyefqwjhiNAQVtdzGGvlgPK2mETaCXKHomVzgEI8KplckTbQxVEuIH6sDM11Rc-PVuM/s1600/rtrp_10157014-8fbf-4384-b3d0-e237d3d57fe5_grande.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4K_rHwCTtaY6PHbRAAHzEGQvXt8mtkiXxQD8XE_28gEVPne2Kvoo3Cvmx_WVFG6dHESRaEt3AEsyefqwjhiNAQVtdzGGvlgPK2mETaCXKHomVzgEI8KplckTbQxVEuIH6sDM11Rc-PVuM/s320/rtrp_10157014-8fbf-4384-b3d0-e237d3d57fe5_grande.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
Lastly I just want to reiterate that while I picked on Tomb Raider, it is a game I completed (though a little rushed at the end because Bloodborne was in the mail). That means a lot for me, I maybe only complete a dozen or so games a year, so holding my interest to the end is an accomplishment! And Rise of the Tomb Raider is my casual go-to-game right now when I don't want the difficulty of Bloodborne. So these are good games and the critique should in no way take away from that. With their faults they are still a worthy playthough!<br />
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Thanks for listening to my rambling.Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-41134875169841290142015-12-13T10:42:00.000-08:002015-12-23T13:19:37.006-08:00Bloodborne Progressive System [mini-post]<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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I'm a long time 'Souls game fan! Bloodborne feels like their first "new" game though. Dark Souls felt like a more polished Demon Souls, Dark Souls 2 felt like small game tweaks and mostly phoned in sequel and lost part of it's soul. yuk yuk. But Bloodborne is different. It has the soul of Demon and Dark Souls that was missing from Dark Souls 2 and is set in a different environment and basically lacking shields and magic speeds up melee combat to a sweet spot!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsm9MfQC4PamYnUR2vaugzG9AW3STEauoX2xuhuSuEVByPfqHxZAzcRBYSlIV2jYULV_7NOlb83pGsLMArptwN2mfJN0AtHkVPVcOhYY-L2YMoPefPIuX0K-qcdb-QK-G7FW1RZDC17-y/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsm9MfQC4PamYnUR2vaugzG9AW3STEauoX2xuhuSuEVByPfqHxZAzcRBYSlIV2jYULV_7NOlb83pGsLMArptwN2mfJN0AtHkVPVcOhYY-L2YMoPefPIuX0K-qcdb-QK-G7FW1RZDC17-y/s400/Untitled.png" /></a></div>
So my point: You can explore much longer in Bloodborne than you could in Dark Souls. The Estus Flask system limits how far from a bond fire you can travel AND requires you to rest at bonfires you come across re-spawning enemies. Bloodborne uses 2 main consumables: Blood flasks and silver bullets. The blood flasks refill health or as I like the idea better your "will to continue fighting" and drop fairly regularly. Because of this as long as you don't take a significant amount of damage from trash you are clearing you can keep going almost indefinitely as long as you can loot more than you use. The silver bullets are a way to score a one-hit-kill on some of the tougher mobs in the game and you can trade some health for 5 of them if you run out as these are rarer drops.<br />
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So that's it, just highlighting what in my opinion is a great improvement on their gameplay system. A fairly small tweak that no longer forces you to stop progressing/exploring just because you are out of healing charges, and keeps you from having to re-kill trash if you don't want to. It fits well with the faster paced combat as well, and while it was a rocky start I'm enjoying Bloodborne so far!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-37043121652909052262015-12-01T00:07:00.002-08:002015-12-23T13:19:46.229-08:00The Strange case of Tomb Raider Definitive Edition<h2 style="text-align: center;">
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So I am late to the party on this one... but I had a very interesting thing happen with Tomb Raider. I purchased it shortly after release on the PC because I'm generally a PC gamer. It recently was one of the free games on Xbox Live, so I found myself sitting on the couch playing it and confused on if it looked better or not.<br />
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After some comparisons and playing both to the same point (my guess is roughly half way through), there are big pros and cons to both. At release PC was far superior to consoles, but something interesting happened... the game was enhanced for consoles and not PC... a game that had already been ported to PC didn't see a patch or Definitive Edition release. The new higher resolution Laura model did not show up, neither did the improved shaders or lighting from the DE (Definitive Edition). The PC version still has better post processing effects, higher texture quality, tessellation, ambient occlusion, hair physics, etc, but lacks the emotion possible in the new facial mesh and rig.<br />
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It's very disappointing to not see a PC release of an already ported game by Crystal Dynamics. So why wasn't the DE brought to PC? Well the changes were not mechanical, the DLC was mostly multi-player and most people don't play Tomb Raider for multi-player, at least not in the generic third-person-shooter low rated version that went into the game. The the question is would people pay for the DE release as either DLC or re-release? Metro pretty much did this, and while they were slammed by some for minimal updates, at least they gave the PC crowd the choice and anyone picking up the game late could take advantage of it.<br />
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So other than direct sales what other reasons could it be? Right after release (before an early patch) the PC version was plagued with slow down. I don't remember if it was the hair or rope physics, but it took an early patch to fix this. If we look at another example of Batman: Arkham Knight while it always ran fine on my system, it was pulled from the Steam store for months and offered no questions asked returns even after patching. So it's clear PC ports are still difficult at times especially on in-house or heavily modified engines. So maybe Crystal Dynamics thought it was to big of a risk?<br />
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So in conclusion the most interesting thing to me is I think I'll be finishing the game on the Xbox One. I'm a nut for lighting, sub-surface scattering, and beautiful shader work! The extra emotion you get from the new model isn't always in frame, but when it is it makes the difference! The post-processing effects on the PC do make in-game (at least without fire) look better over all, but foliage movement adds a nice touch in the DE and a lot of things like tessellation, AO, and higher texture resolution do get somewhat lost in motion. It's a strange day for me to prefer a console title over a PC, but either game is worth the money as a great game! I hope Crystal Dynamics will release the Definitive Edition on PC before it's 10th anniversary!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-45816684693655265332015-09-27T22:44:00.001-07:002015-12-23T13:19:57.527-08:00Difficult Video Games<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I'm stuck on Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the 9 star quest: Advanced: Whale of a Hammer. I've 3 carted at least a baker's dozen times. The interesting thing is I can (mostly) pinpoint something I did wrong to cause the carts. Because of this (I think) I keep trying the quest. I concluded melee range is very risky, so I crafted my first set of gunner armor and bow. I have the positioning and timing down of the fight, so now my only problems are terrain forcing me out of position at a bad time or a failed dung bomb attempt trapping me with both of them at the same time and something going wrong.<br />
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So it turns out Monster Hunter is actually much more difficult than Dark Souls after you get deep into the game. Like many things different monsters will be harder for different people, but you will find at least a few to give you a hard time. This is the third quest I can think of that's given me serious problems, but this one more so than the ones before. So the question is why keep playing, and why does it feel fair compared to many other games?<br />
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I've read up on this and been thinking about it a while. I think the most comprehensive insight I got was an article about speed running games. It talked about how games needed to be predictable to speed run. The controls had to be tight, and in the same situation everything had to work the same way. Then playing a Mario Maker level that you just stood there and all kinds of things happened around you for 2-3 minutes while you watched a Rube Goldberg machine type of level push you through to the end. The game functions so tightly that they can do that.<br />
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That is the way Monster Hunter works. Fighting in this case two frenzied Black Gravios' you want to stay to the left of center because centered his beam will hit you and on the right side his downward beam will hit you on the way back up at the end. 90% of the time after any beam some kind of AOE attack will come from home so you have to be out of melee range, etc... Because mostly everything happens the same you can see your mistakes and what you could have done to avoid it. So you always feel like if you'd been just a little bit better you would have won!<br />
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I think this is the key... making sure the player can see how they could have prevented the death or penalty of whatever kind happens in your game. Games that don't get this have you dying and questioning why, did the AI get a lucky roll, was there anything in my control that could have let me win? Dangling the carrot at the end of the stick and realizing if you're just a bit better you'll be able to reach it is the sweet spot.<br />
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Closing Notes: Monster Hunter does have advantages here as by 9 star quests you have sunk a lot of time into the game and understand it. The variants of the monsters means you have fought an easier version of the same monster before, preparing you for this tougher version, and before you fight multiple monsters you've fought them solo and killed them, so nothing is new except the complexity of taking on multiple at the same time. But still the game is setup to make all this happen.Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-91220790829667152502015-09-13T00:05:00.001-07:002015-12-23T13:20:05.068-08:00Destiny's Death Loop<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Contrary to the title this is not really a negative thread, it's a look at the mechanic. First off I'm late to the Destiny party, I've only played off and on for the last month or so and am around level 12. I know it's a polarizing game, but I'm mostly on the it's pretty good side, but not crazy about it.<br />
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So my experience so far is that you can go through the content quicker than you level up. So you get to the point that you are a level under the recommended level for the content and you end up dying on one of the harder waves, this restarts the set of waves, I die again around the same spot and this is the death loop.<br />
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The interesting thing about how they do it is you keep all the experience and gear you get on the attempt and so keep your progress and eventually you level up to the level the content was designed for, this boost in level, plus practice from seeing the waves a few times eventually allows you to push past. While going through 4 or 5 waves again is daunting, those kills are what allows you to level up after a hand full of attempts, so the progression is still there.<br />
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This does have pros and cons, if you want to play this keeps the game moving and you progressing fairly quickly. However, I have also quit playing and not picked up the game for a couple days knowing I was stuck in one of these death loops and would need a few more rounds before I broke out of it.<br />
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I do like Destiny's speed, it feels like you are playing old school Doom with fairly fast paced combat. It is in waves with less mobility, but it's in that spirit. I doubt I'll like it well enough to go through the grind I hear is waiting, but it's a huge hit and I just don't play console shooters, so it's something I can't be ignore and had to try. So far the ride has been fun!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3733633248516256767.post-89005247361786034112015-09-12T15:42:00.000-07:002015-12-23T13:20:12.917-08:00Timed Progression<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ah Nintendo, you do everything a little bit different! Some times better, most of the time just stranger... Anyway, why am I blogging about Super Mario Maker and not playing it? Timed progression!<br />
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So I have only a few small problems with the game:<br />
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The first is the price point, I know it's Mario and a console release, but this is a development tool they already had laying around they decided to release as a full title. And yes I know it takes a lot of work to polish dev tools to a public release state, but still.<br />
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Second it requires the Wii U gamepad, the huge, screen one that never feels right when you're playing on it, and only for the touch screen. What you see on the tv is EXACTLY the same as what you see on the gamepad. I've never liked the controller and use a pro controller whenever I'm able, this won't matter for some people.<br />
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Those two are both minor complaints, now to the big one... The "building blocks" you use to make the level unlock over DAYS! 9 DAYS! (according to reviews) that's insane! And the controls you get out of the box don't even allow you to make world 1-1 from the original game! I feel like I should probably embrace a minimalist approach and make levels as fun as possible with the limited controls, but there was so much fun I wanted to have that I'm just disappointed... I'm hoping I don't have to play every day for the 9 days, but the tutorial kinda sounded like it. I'll pick this up in a week and two days and hope everything is working I guess... This strategy sounds okay to someone that's never played a Mario game or pretty much any other platformer, but selling this as the end all to make awesome Mario levels and then locking it down for the first 9 days is just messed up... this is the wrong kind of different. Even a tutorial progression that took an hour might be alright, but not timed with no way to bypass. /sad<br />
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Maybe I'll post an update 9 days from now about how good the game is... I really look forward to playing it!Billy Chattertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763080915770052653noreply@blogger.com0