Looking Back And Marching Foreward

Its Been a while since either Ron or I have posted any articles on the Loot Drop blog page. We've both been side tracked with school and work. Since its a new year I've made a resolution to do more writing for the blog and I damn well intend to. 2013 is shaping up to be a banner year for the gaming industry. With promises of new IP, stunning new graphics and specs for a new generation of consoles, and a dash of controversy. All of this complete with a reformed ideology that focused mechanics, interesting characters and narrative make great games, as opposed to a big budget and top of the line graphics (this new idea following the success of the Telltale Walking Dead adventure game). I plan to briefly recap some of the top stories of 2012 and give mention and speculation to some of the stories to come in 2013.


Top Stories 2012 

Free To Play Model Takes The MMO Market By Storm:

After years of subscription based online gaming, the MMO Market does a full 180, abandoning the pay for play model to make way for the free to play model. Many subscription based games such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and Tera made the switch to free to play following the announcement of Hawkin, the crowd funded online Mech battle simulator, and Firefall, a FPSMMORPG. Free to play games gained popularity early on with social games such as Farmville and Mafia Wars, capitalizing on in-game content via an online market place. The free to play model is sure to hold a significant place in the market as we move into 2013.

Crowd Funding Kickstarts Innovation:

In 2012 Industry Famous Game developer, Tim Schafer posted a game proposal on kickstarter.com to help fund an adventure game he had conceptualized. He estimated that his project would need a $400,000 budget. People who were willing to pledge money to the project would receive certain incentives based on how much they chose to invest. The project received 8x the amount of funding that Schafer had requested, catching the attention of many publishers and media outlets, launching crowd funding in to the mainstream. Crowd funding websites such as Kickstarter have since been responsible for the such projects as the Ouya android home console and the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles.


Wii U Launches:

 Nintendo's next-gen console, the Wii U launches on November 18, 2011 to much public skepticism. The Wii U had been announced at E3 2011 with little to no follow up info concerning console specs or games that could be expected, only that it used a touch screen controller and boasted high definition graphics. Two models of the console were later marketed just before their release. One, a $299, 8GB white console complete with game pad. The other, a black Deluxe 32GB console bundled with a copy of Nintendo Land, a game pad and stand. The confusion and nebulousness of the console lasted well into it's release in 2011 attributed to poor marketing and a disappointing game launch lineup consisting of multiple ported re-releases. A 593MB firmware update issued soon after release would farther tarnish the Wii U's name, sending fans into a rage and forums a blaze with loathsome towards Nintendo. With next gen announcements from Microsoft and Sony on the horizon, The Wii U's future is uncertain. Some speculating that competitively priced consoles from Microsoft or Sony will be all it takes to send the Wii U the way of the GameCube.       

Walking Dead Steals (and eats) The Hearts of Millions:

 Telltale Games have long been a respectable contender in the adventure game market, releasing retelling of beloved franchises such as Jurassic Park and Back To The Future as lighthearted adventure games, many of which, unfortunately, flew well under the radar. However, Telltale struck gold after releasing the first episode of their 5 part downloadable episodic adventure game, The Walking Dead. Based off the Walking Dead comic book created by Robert Kirkman, gamers every where quickly fell in love with the narrative, characters and focused game-play mechanics of Telltale's new adventure game. Winning Multiple "Game Of The Year Awards,"  The walking Dead was released as a Disk Copy containing all 5 episodes of the first season and warranting a second season. The Walking Dead has made gaming history by reviving a mainstream interest in adventure games, paving the way for episodic video games in the future, and proving that it doesn't take a big production team or big budget to make a fantastic game.

The Year Ahead 

Like I mentioned before, 2013 is shaping to be a promising year for the industry. New games such as Ubisoft's Watchdogs, CD Projekt red's Cyberpunk 2077, and Bungie's Destiny are being teased almost on a daily bases. Other Games like Remember Me, Bioshock Infinite, The Last Of Us, GTA 5 and a new Medal Gear Solid Game(s) have got gamers salivating.

Microsoft and Sony are well overdue for next gen console announcements, and many have speculated that said announcements should be expected as soon as E3 2013 in June, and places a release window somewhere in the early forth quarter of 2013. Sony has emphasized a desire to allow Microsoft a head Start, presumably to allow room to "1 up" the competition before the holiday season. Only Time will tell. With the Rise of Crowd funding, emphasis on smaller creatively focused games and a new free to play models, as well as a move towards higher fidelity games, both graphically and intellectually, the industry is evolving before are very eyes. This may be the year gaming establishes itself amongst other highly respected mediums such as film and literature. One thing is for sure, the future is brighter and higher resolute then ever.  

-Brice Alef

Off The Radar

Every year hundreds games make the trek through the development phase, past certification and marketing on its way to its big release. But every now and then a few games get lost in the process. Most get announced, some even get full cinematic cut scenes released at big gaming conventions like E3, and then simply disappear. Some fall behind, some may even get released but die out quickly in the shadow of larger, more anticipated games. In the spirit of the release of the sleeper hit “sleeping dogs,” a project that was dropped by Activision in 2011 and later adopted by Square Enix, I wanted to do an article bringing some of the most recent berried gems back into the light, back on the radar.


Final Fantasy Versus XIII:


This high anticipated addition to Square Enix’s beloved RPG franchise has lost a lot of traction since its big reveal at E3 back in 2006. Square remained very secretive about the project releasing only one other trailer back in 2009. Then out of no where, on July 20, 2011, nearly three years later, an article surfaces on Kotaku.com that Final Fantasy Versus XIII had been canceled. Four days later Square Enix confirms that previous rumors concerning cancellation we’re purely rumor, and that FF Versus XIII was still in the works. However, Square failed to offer up any additional information. Starts to make gamers wonder if the game really will ever make it to release, and if it does, will anyone be left to care?  


Kingdom Hearts III:


Kingdom Hearts has quickly become one of Square Enix’s most recognizable IPs. The compelling story, and exciting combat system, that only Square can deliver mixed with cute, loveable Disney characters, makes an appeal to multiple age groups. But lately the series has become diluted amongst mini handheld releases that were meant to bridge the gap between KH1 and 2 and provide context for the third game. But now after five new installments to the franchise, each of which appearing across multiple hand held systems. One starts to wonder if Kingdom Hearts will ever make it back to a major home console to deliver a satisfactory conclusion to what should have been a graceful trilogy, or if square will continue to beat around the bush until all interest has dissolved.


State Of Decay:


Originally announced as “class 3” last year. State of decay is an open world zombie survival game being developed for Microsoft by Undead Lads. You’d think an open world zombie survival game should have appeared on the market much sooner, seems like a no-brainer. Regardless, not much marketing has been put forth on behalf of the game, so not much is known. One thing is certain, you should definitely keep this game on your radar.


Fallout Online:


Publicity surrounding the speculation that a massively multilayer Fall Out game was that of controversy between Bethesda and Interplay concerning the ownership of the IP. After receiving notice from Bethesda that Bethesda intended to terminate the trademark license agreement, due to Interplay’s failure to commence full scale production, Interplay refuted, which caused Bethesda to sue Interplay for copyright infringement on September 8, 2009.  Several suits followed thereafter, eventually ending in an out-of-court settlement that was reached in January 2012, in which Bethesda received full rights to the Fallout online game for two million dollars. Fallout Online has had a rocky development, but you can be sure, the two million dollar franchise is destine for a grand return.


-Brice

TXT Debate (side missions)

• Ron:
• I was thinking about doing one on sandbox games, or reviewing heavy rain
• Brice:
• Id like to do one on sandbox games. Whats the angle?
• Ron:
• I dont like them, to be honest they seem to be a time asassin that hits u with a barrage of side missions that have little to nothing to do with the plot. to me
• and their sole purpose is to take twenty hours to tell a story that should take 10.
• Maybe ill just spin it into an article about side missions
• Brice:
• I love sandbox games. Some of the best games are sandbox
• Ron:
• I never said u had to agree, it just takes me out of the experience when i have to do everyone favors while trying to save the world, i have priorities
• Brice:
• Id like to read that article.
• Ron:
• If its ur thing more power to u, i just dont get it, Give me a counter argument. For the sake of perspective
• Brice:
• Side missions insentivise exploration. Side missions and quest allow players to explore the world and all it has to offer while still giving the player direction. Side missions fill the world with content, context and personality. Imagine how one dimentional the world of skyrim would have felt if it consisted solely of story quests.
• Ron:
• If you set the right pace character development will happen and it will create an opportunity to explore the universe, random quest actually make the universe feel artificial because if the universe is at stake i dont care if a random npc dies due to my negligence, in fact it may help create atmosphere
• Brice:
• But it also creates context for the world. In the thieves guild side missions you learn about the village of riften as well as the people. You also learn about the political corruption that is taking place in riften which speeks volumes about tamriel as a whole durring the end days.
• Ron:
• Ok, ill find a way to play skyrim and make a decision
• Brice:
• I mean even fallout is filled with similar examples. The ghouls of tenpenny tower, the vapires of arafu station, and another thing that fallout does brilliantly is introducing side missions thant arnt even labled as such. Exploring the numerous vaults scatered through out the capital waste land, the keller family hollow tapes. All provide the player with extra content as well as context that helps the player farther understand the world.
• Ron:
• Right but if u dont go there u miss out, y not just lead u there
• Brice:
• Because its more rewarding to the player when they find it on their own. Like they discovered it. It feels alot more rewarding when you stumble upon something you feel like the world was trying to keep hidden from u as opposed to being led by the hand to a certain goal. Again they arnt crucial to the story so you can afford to miss them but they help ground the world your playing in and give it context.
• Ron:
• Which is fine....provided u have 30-40 hours of free time, and besides fallout doesnt bother me because the objective is survival as opposed to a goal driven narrative
• Brice:
• True, they feel a little more trivial in skyrim but its all about adding content context and personality to the world.
• Brice:
• Hey, i just thought of something crazy. What if we made this txt thread the article?

"Okay, so here's the thing..." (DLC)

Downloadable content has been a big part of gaming for a long time now. Downloadable content provides gamers a flow of extra content, and game-play well after the finished game has hit store shelves. But unfortunately, due to the rising price of game development, developers and game retailer have been forced to cut corners, screwing gamers out of a money and content with trivial, gimmicky pre-order incentives, day one DLC as well as on-disc DLC. DLC has become less about prolonging game play and more about leasing unfinished games.

The question of Downloadable Content is a complicated one at that. We as gamers look at gaming as a recreational activity, an art form, and a vessel for the future of story telling, but among all those things it is also a business, a very high risk one at that. During the first few months before a game is released, developers and retailers depend on game pre-order to to drive sales and provide sales data, which is where pre-order incentives come in. If all major retailers aren’t provided with exclusive content for the game, they will not order a huge amount of copies. So in order for developers to keep making games, they need all the sales they can get, pre-order sales being the most important. However, a person willing to invest money into a game, that they simply can’t wait until release to purchase, should not be forced to choose between what content they want available to them. A simple compromise to the problem of incentivize pre-order DLC is to simply make all content available for purchase a month after the game is released. That way, the devoted pre-order gamer is given the option to experience content, for a small fee, that would have otherwise been withheld based on which exclusive copy he/she had purchased, the developers pocket extra profit, and gamers who might have missed out by waiting till release, now have the option indulge, the same as those who had decided to pre-ordered.



      Day one DLC and On-Disk DLC draw a very fine line when it comes to the question of digital property being the property of the buyer all the same. When some one pays for a game they expect to get the whole game, and shouldn’t they? are they not entitle to the whole experience as opposed to a $60 chunk of it? The best way to combat the day one DLC and on-disk DLC scam is to simply stop buying games from companies that trim content from the final game only to re-sell it as “extra content.” Developers and Retailers need to realize that it’s at a greater loss to scam their fans, than it is release a finished copy game that includes all the content that was intended for release.




Downloadable content is a great way for both gamers and game developers to continue to do what they love. DLC allows the gamer a flow of game-play and content, and also allows profit for the developers to keep making content for us gamers. But its when game developers start locking gamers out of game content as opposed to allowing them extra content to prolong the experience, that’s when the balance falls apart. Developers need to make money, but this dishonest content-throttle business plan many developers have adopted has left gamers feeling cheated. I believe DLC has so much potential for both the gamer and the game developer. it is my hope that future developers will take gamer’s feelings into account and think twice before cheating gamers out content they rightfully deserve. Its hard to say where things will go. Will the market will find a way out of this rut of dishonesty? Will DLC loose all relevance as gaming moves away from physical media? One thing is certain. We’ll just have to wait for the next expansion to find out.


-Brice

Ron Reviews Okami (Spoiler Free Despite it's Age)

   Allow me to preface this post with a brief apology;  The blog has been rather stagnate as of late and for that I offer my sincere condolences.  I’m sure you’re all well aware of the fact that pursuing a higher education requires one to pursue fiscal resources as well which, unfortunately, cuts into my free time.  In addition to apologizing I would also like to thank those of you who still follow this page. Now to the review.

   I’ve wanted to post a review for some time now but due to my aforementioned monetary restrictions I wasn’t sure how to progress.  I could talk about almost any game and post my review but for anyone to read it the timing of a review is just as important as the subject matter.  Ideally I would like to review the newest games or shiniest toys but I lack the disposable income to do so.  The other option would be to review older games, but that raises the problem of retaining ( or rather gaining) your interest. Thus was the source of my dilemma.  So how does one overcome this obstacle?  Simply pick a game that is timeless. All I needed was a game that -despite it’s age- resonates with players, so I turned to Brice ( the blog’s better author) and asked what his favorite game was.  Which brings me to Okami.

  Okami is one of those games i’ve heard people whisper about but never really payed attention to.  Perhaps due to my PS2 days being full of too much angst and sugar for me to care about a games “artistic value”.  (yes, I was that guy )needless to say despite my alleged maturation I came into this game as a skeptic.  I rather enjoy artistic games but at times they come across as, well, pretentious. Often selling a weak story-line as “artistic ambiguity” but given Brice’s glowing endorsement as “The best game ever” I tried to keep an open mind.

        Okami is quite possibly the PS2’s most beautiful game aesthetically.  The game looks and -more importantly- feels like a living tapestry.  there were times where I would simply stop playing and just look around the world the developers created for me.  And that brings me to another point; It seems like the artists treated the environment as a labor of love, taking the theme to heart and remaining faithful to it throughout the course of the game.  The only issue I have with the presentation is the way the story is presented.  The story itself is engaging enough to draw my interest, but given the fact that the game seems to sell itself on it’s artistic value i expected the environment to play a more pivotal role in telling the story as opposed to the rolling text presentation that set up the plot and often broke the fourth wall briefly taking me out of the experience.  Despite those minor flaws I was thoroughly engaged once the story got going. It’s nice to see a more mythological driven plot that isn’t focused on visceral combat or rescuing a princess from a giant turtle; and there were times where I lost track of much time I spent playing the game.

      The game does offer a damn good experience that is as enjoyable to an adult as it is to a younger audience and I highly recommend it.



Grade: A-

P.S. No Brice, not best game ever!

L00t_Drop- Audio Log 1 (part 1 & 2)

We finally got around to recording our first audio log. Ron and i talk briefly about where we think the gaming industry is going, our opinions about where gaming consoles and games currently stand, and we also review eachother's pick for best game ever.

part 1

 part 2

                

The Man Without A Gamertag

Whenever I discuss gaming with my peers or constituents the conversation always turns stale when the subject of multiplayer is brought to the table.  You see while many members of my generation are obsessed with disemboweling each other in a rather mindless community setting, I’ve never really understood the appeal.  In fact the whole phenomena seems akin to sadomasochism from my perspective; in the sense that it offers instant visceral gratification for those who invest the time to develop a tolerance to the whole ordeal while simultaneously offering a rude awakening for those who just decided look around town and accidentally stumbled into the wrong building (I digress).  Despite the fact that I don’t personally invest the time or energy to become proficient in online fratricide, millions and millions of gamers regard it as a lifestyle and instantly label you as casual or ignorant (often interchangeable with queer or pussy in multiplayer vernacular) for not wasting as much time as they have learning their trade.

   Trolls aside, the cynical, jaded side of me of can’t help but to notice that the popularity of multiplayer spawns the perfect opportunity for game developers to cut corners.  For example: when’s the last time you played a F.P.S. for the narrative or new I.P.?  It’s been a while.  See, developers are reasonably intelligent people so they understand that: old I.P. + rabid and devoted fan base = huge profit margin.  In other words; why should devs create anything new or waste resources on innovation when they can recycle the same game year after year while justifying the hefty price tag by offering a “more complete” muiltiplayer experience, since when has it been okay to allow your game to stagnate so much that muiltiplayer is the sole selling-point!?!  The biggest transgression manifest itself in the form of micro-transactions so that after you spent $60.00 on a game and decide to play online  you realize that in order to stay competitive in the online community you have to shell out more of your disposable income for “a new weapons pack” (or some related feature like that).

   Now the purpose of this post (or rant) was not to condemn the online experience or belittle those who enjoy multiplayer; but rather to address the disturbing effect it seems to have on the gaming industry in general.  If you enjoy Tea-bagging you fallen digital adversary by all means continue.  I, however, prefer innovative game-play and a deeper, well written narrative in my games and it seems like I have fallen into the minority.  Which causes me to fear a great stagnation of the industry……only time will tell.  

-Ron