(Ported over from my old site)

Submitted by Silverbuu on Fri, 06/22/2018 – 14:18

I’ve grown accustomed to it, and, perhaps, so have you: Side Quests. What are they? Why do they exist? Are they important to the RPG genre, and how much precedence should they hold to the ‘main story’. And what is the alternative?

So you’re strolling along a muddied road amidst a thinning growth of trees whos canopy has been broken for more than a few years now. Your pack is empty, and your belly is beginning to announce it’s exhaustion in such an audible way. You were tasked with delivering an important missive to the local lord, one which would bring relief to a small village that has been hounded by bandits for some time now. You yourself, weren’t able to realistically put a dent into their operations so they pleaded that you instead go and get help.

Your eyes bumble about as the fatigue of hunger spreads to your limbs reducing you to a sluggish pace. You spot a bush just off the path ripe with raspberries that could content the groaning maw that is your stomach, but there’s someone already picking the bush, wicker basket in hand. Dirtied patchwork cloth, a few bits of ragged leather strapped here and there and a single rusting piece of plate just above his breast; he must be another bandit, one that hasn’t spotted you yet. You withdraw your bow, nock an arrow and angle it just slightly. A twang, hiss, and thunk later the man collapses into the bush, arrow protruding from his neck like an open cork letting blood escape, flowing down the sides of his neck.

You approach this unfortunate mess, and immediately spot the red berries that were flung out in the moments of his passing, strewn about the grass and seemingly calling out to you to be eaten. Picking up the wicker basket you see the majority of them were still safely beneath it in a small pile. You grab a handful of them and force them into your mouth. Chomping down ravenously, you swallow them hastily and large painful lump of nutrition slowly rolls down your throat and finally falls into your stomach. Already more handfuls are making their way down to join the first and you feel a refreshing contentment wash over you as you sit there listening to your belly churn away. It won’t last long, but it’s just enough for now.

Your eyes wander a moment as you await the return of energy, particularly over the body of the man you suspected to be a bandit slumped over in the bush, somewhat propped up by it. You only now see a small dagger strapped to his thigh, and a short sword notched with wear lying just beside the bush. You’re sure now he’s a bandit, but you’re unsure as to where he came from. Perhaps there is a nearby nest of them infesting these waning woodlands – and you know you can handle a few. Your pack is quit empty, and city living isn’t exactly cheap. You could do with the coin, and bandits are known for hoarding what they can. But your missive. That small village can’t hold out for much longer. What do you do?

I apologies for the short story, but I feel it emphasizes organic detours, and the importance of choice. You could choose to seek out those bandits, plundering their potential horde, and selling it to the nearby city. But you know it’s quite important that the city be notified of the plight that the village suffers. Perhaps you could seek them out on the way back, but they would have surely spotted the dead bandit by then, and prepared for future incursions. I feel this is the kind of side-quest we are missing.
We live in an age where time stands still for the player, waiting resignedly for his or her next action that directly permits it to continue. This is made worse by the many side quests that now dot the worlds we explore. I know from personal experience that side quests can be a good thing. They encourage exploration, they add tidbits that feed our hungry imaginations, and expand the worlds we are living in. But perhaps they have gone too far out of hand now. Perhaps we place too much emphasis on exploring, and too little on the actual reason we are there.

I don’t mean to say that games about exploration are a bad thing, on the contrary, I enjoy them quite a bit. But this emphasis on it for games that describes itself as narrative driven dilutes that actual story itself. It siphons away precious resources that would otherwise have been invested in the story, and leaves us with a 1 hour long game, made full by side-quests, forced detours, and often a slow leveling system. That’s shorter than the main story of many movies these days.

I think the fault lies in the demand for choices, and their desire to give them to you. We hear it time and again, we want more choices. And sometimes we say we want ‘impactful’ choices. But what does that even mean? Impactful choices. What makes a choice impactful, rather than something mundane. Take these real life examples:

The Garbage is full, bordering overfilling. Do I take out the Garbage right now, interrupting what I am doing, and not worry about it for the rest of the day? or do I have enough time to do it later, finishing what I am doing, but it may potentially become too full to tie the bag?

I have just enough money to pay off a car, or put a down payment on a nice house. Do I buy the car and reason that with it I can get better jobs and then afford the house? or begin the lifelong journey of owning a house, and all its future costs, and risk not being able to own a car for the foreseeable future?

Each choice is relatively important in their own context. But one is also more important to the future. Which choice is more impactful to you? What choice do you really want to see more of?

This second choice is the choice we are missing in our stories. It has mostly come down to ‘Which faction do you support? also the bad guy still loses’. At the end of the day, the bad guy still loses, mostly in a similar manner, the only difference now is there are red banners everywhere instead of blue. To make it worse, this decision is usually made at the end of the game, where it least matters. I don’t mean to say the conclusion of a story isn’t important, but it’s only as impactful as the journey allows it to be. If the journey was filled with mundane, bordering tedious quests, than the ending will only be relieving in the same sense of finally being able to end a 12 hour shift. I just want to go home and sleep.

Take Pillars of Eternity 2 for example. I’ve got 96 hours on the game over the course of one and a half playthroughs, I enjoy the game. I enjoy reading the many dialogs, and exploring how differently the world looks at you depending on who you side with. The Huana didn’t trust me because I had good relations with the trade companies (kind of superficial in the end, but it was a choice I opted to make). But at no point did I feel a precedence to pursue the walking god, over finishing another quest. To the contrary I was encouraged not to. Go out and gain a few levels, help your companions, plunder a bit of booty. Level up your crew, and then you are ready to pursue him in his final moments.

It really makes no sense. He is already there, and he is apparently constantly walking. He doesn’t need breaks, save for re-tethering himself to another pillar in order to make the next arduous march. Which I think is made worse by the fact that there is an in-game date system that isn’t taken advantage of. Combined it felt like checklist was made and checked when making this game.

Big Bad Guy? Check
End of the World story? Check
Levels/RPG mechanics? Check
Companions? Check
Side-Quests? Super Check
Day/night system? Check
Ect….
With a few unique odds and ends that Obsidian does well.

But these were just blocks sloppily stacked together in the hopes that it resembles a meaningful game. It’s not. It’s a fun game that I’ll probably pick up again because I enjoyed the combat, and reading the dialog and seeing how the world adjusts to my choices (if only superficially to the main story). But it’s certainly not an overall story I’ll bother to remember. That’s not a bad thing, considering it is a game and not say, a book. But consider the fact that Obsidian prides itself on ‘Narrative Driven Games’. Pillars of Eternity 2 certainly has narrative, but does it truly drive it? I don’t think so. I think it is driven by the artful dialog, fun combat, ship system, and of course exploration. The story itself is just there for the rest of the game to exist it seems.

I can’t say for certain, because I was not a part of its development, but I think it’s safe to say this was because they felt the demand for side quests, and choices. For extra things to do, and see. Gone are the days when a game’s main story is a long road, with a few dotted quests here and there that change the journey’s direction, and come have the days of many dots along a very short road. For me, I enjoy the main story. If it’s compelling, it really puts me into the game. I feel the urgency, and feel like I’m actually there in the thick of things. If it’s not, then I enjoy the game for a completely different reason.

It’s like reading a book, or watching a movie. When you read a book, you have to paint the image yourself. This allows you fill in the details and really gets you attached to the characters. Involved in the story, and eager to see how it ends. It has – for that moment – become apart of you. Your mind the furnace that churns the fuel of words, lighting imagination and painting that world so you can see it.

Whereas a movie is much different. There are no details to fill in. It’s there at face value. There may be some hinted backgrounds, and sometimes speculations, but normally this only happens if it also exists outside that one movie. Say, Star Wars, or a T.V. series. Otherwise you are really just there to see it unfold. You aren’t experiencing it yourself, but watching it happen. Your mind can be switched off if you really wanted. Not to say all movies are shallow. Some have very intriguing stories. But these are the exception. Most are there to stimulate your eyes, crack a few laughs and convey a simple story.

The same can be said about games. A main story can be the fuel that keeps you playing with the rest of the world existing to prop it up, and derail it’s main course to some alternate path. Or the reason the rest of the game exists, allowing you to be in the world to explore and have fun. Either is a good game, but I think perhaps we have strayed too far in the direction of a beautiful world, and I am hungry for an exceptional story.

Thank you for reading, your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.

(Ported over from my old site)

Submitted by Silverbuu on Tue, 03/28/2017 – 03:28

Mass Effect Andromeda is unique, in that it is not constrained by its predecessors – Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3. The Technology, the Worlds, the Aliens that surround us are not forced to abide all that we once knew. That alone can be off-putting, and will surely drive a wedge in the affections of previous fans to this new game. More still, our actions, our choices that we struggled with in the past series are all bypassed and made for nothing by the fact that we leave the Milky Way before Shepard has a chance to even fully prove that Reapers exist. Mentions of these mysterious ‘reapers’ are all we get. Some cameo messages from a particular Asari, and talk of this N7 agent known as Shepard are mildly brought up and dismissed in the same sentences. It’s kind of disheartening to many who spent many hours in that galaxy only to not see the effects first hand. Especially after the bland endings of Mass Effect 3.

Bioware has much groundwork to make in this new galaxy, and this was fully brought on by themselves. Instead of using the groundwork, and all the lore that was readily available to them in the Milky Way, they opted to start anew, and so I will too. In an effort to fully enjoy this game, and make it worth its money I decided to disregard Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 in story, and lore for the most part, and take in what this galaxy has to offer.

For those who are interested, you are joined by familiar races: Asari, Salarians, Turians, and thankfully, the Krogan. Making a cast of five, including the Humans. And so we go to sleep, and wake up in the intro.

Like every good series needs, Andromeda has it’s opening chapters. Mass Effect Andromeda exists in the Mass Effect universe, but not the same galaxy. Traveling in dark space for some 600 years from the Milky Way to the our neighbor Andromeda in stasis, we wake up to a cluster under siege by hostile aliens. These aliens are unlike any we’ve met before, and we are forced on our heels from first landing. On top of these new enemies, the cluster – our potential home – is infected by a phenomenon known a the scourge: a deadly energy cloud-like entity that reaches out and destroys most anything around it. We discover that our mission has been plagued by failure since before we awoke, in the form of rebellion, and failed colonies. It is up to you, Pathfinder, to navigate these trials, and forge a foundation for not just humanity, but every species that was brave enough to traverse the dark space in the name of exploration, and discovery.

The game as a whole, is a pretty solid foundation for a new series, but definitely needs more attention to story, and lore the second time around. As Mass Effect is an Action-RPG and one now based on exploration and discovery, we needed more world around us, and less terrain. What does that mean? Well for starters, each potential planet you can turn into outpost is vast. They really are huge lands to explore. But more like Star Wars Galaxies, and less like The Witcher 3. Huge, Empty, and randomly cluttered with guard posts that attack on sight. While I suppose this makes some amount of sense, considering these planets are not yet inhabited by sentient beings capable of building a skyline – I would have loved to see more. It is unfortunate that the predecessors of Heleus cluster – the Remnant as you will come to know them – are akin to dwarves. They prefer solid ground, so much so that everything interesting enough explore is under it. Thus making topside vast and dull.

I also believe that the Remnant bases were a squandered opportunity, which brings me to the second most annoying aspect of the game (for me). The Puzzles. I really don’t like puzzles in games which don’t need puzzles. One, or two sure – but the abundance that we received was overdoing it. I hope your Sudoku game is mediocre at least, because that’s the encryption that the Remnant preferred. Good thing those Kett don’t know patterns very well. That wasn’t the worst of it however, because not only did you need to solved the runic version of Sudoku, but you first need to find this missing runes thrown about the base… which are always the same. It should have been that you found one and it gave you a starting point. Perhaps as you progress through the game, they add more runes which makes the mini-game harder, and you need to learn those additional runes. Or just do away with the mini-game and let us in. Once inside the vault you need to activate it, usually with more puzzles. Mostly order of activation, and jumping around making the pathway clear. I feel like they could have done a lot more with these bases, as they are clearly important to the story as a whole. Instead I dreaded activating the fourth, and fifth vaults because I knew it would slow down the pace of the game.

Pace is another issue with Andromeda. The game is too spread out and it takes too long to get from point A, to point B. To make matters worse for the pace, are those stupidly annoying transition screens. The. Worst. Part. of Andromeda for me were those headache-inducingly slow transitions from the planet to space, planet to planet, and from space to space. I crawled to the finish line when it came to surveying each system, and I always push it off to the end of each chapter, because I didn’t want to do it. At all.

Speaking of surveying, did anyone notice that all fire planets seem to contain the same molten trench, strikingly similar to the Mariana trench? I don’t know how they designed their planets, but it certainly made surveying less adventurous when you came to the same scene each time. While I enjoyed the descriptions of many of the planets, they felt less unique when the backdrop of that description was the same for many other planets. I’m not sure I should have expected much more than what we got, considering planets without atmospheres, or with weak atmospheres are more than likely going to look like giant rocks in space, some on fire, and some frozen over. I guess I just didn’t like seeing the exact same things over and over again.

Finally, I need to bring up the technical issues that – as of writing – afflict the game. Mostly in the form of wonky animations, and mostly in the walk, and talk of the NPC’s and you. I did not see many of the funky walking animations that others did, but I did occasionally look like I was tip-toeing and about to fall on my face. I don’t know what caused it, but it was rare, and so mostly funny to see. The facial animations however, were apparent and definitely need work for any future game, and/or DLC. Finally, I noticed that characters, mostly female NPC characters looked the backside of a Ass’s ass. Raw, and unshapely. I’m not sure if this was an oversight, or a political statement made by Bioware, but I sure hope it’s the former, as I play games to escape the political sphere, not to see more of it. And the men of the game seemed to be just the same as previous games (average but mostly human looking).

What the game does excel at is class design, and combat. You are no longer constrained to one template chosen at the start of the game, and are granted the freedom to mix and match abilities to your heart’s content. Seeing as Combat is a huge part of Mass Effect, this is absolutely a huge plus for the game. I was excited for the combat, and enjoyed each moment of it, especially in the later levels when I started expanding my choices further. I played a tech heavy character who used shotguns, robots, and biotic powers when needed. This was an experience you just couldn’t get in previous games. Especially with the Jump Jet. I loved the Jump Jet. With the aid of the AI renting space in your brain, you can further enhance your abilities with ‘profiles’ which resemble the previous classes and give bonuses to different areas of combat. You can focus everything in raw combat, tech, or biotics. Or expand your field into two areas, or even try your hand at using all three. What’s more important is you can change your ‘profile’ on the fly, which allows you to better deal with the different enemies you may encounter.

The companions are hit-and-miss. Some I really enjoyed, while others I ignored other than doing their loyalty missions for fear of a suicide mission. Specifically I didn’t like the other human companions. One I followed for their interest in Remnant, and they gave me the best gift a pet-loving person could ask for. Unfortunately I didn’t take them with me on combat missions because they didn’t line up with my build. Another was a Krogan, who doesn’t need anything else to be awesome, but ends up having a pretty great history, and companion dialogue. He accompanied me on every mission post-joining my team. Romance wise, I didn’t pursue anyone, but I heard something about nudity, so pursue at your own risk.

The story, though raw as it is, definitely caught my attention. Which is why I say it lays down the foundations for a potentially great series. You are the Pathfinder, a human enhanced by an AI embedded in your head that allows you to see things, and do things that normal people would take far too long to see and do. You need to shepherd the colonists of this new frontier through the trials and tribulations that colonizing entails, but with the risk of no return. The groundwork was laid down by those in the Milky Way, when they surveyed Andromeda with the aid of the the ‘Prothean’ technology. After they found potentially habitable worlds in a resource rich area of the galaxy, they built Arks and the Nexus that would act as the new Citadel, and carries of the brave souls willing to traverse the dark space in a one-way trip to a new galaxy.

At some point between then and now, Andromeda pretty much turned upside down, and everything they thought they were going to, turned out to be polluted, infested, and now occupied by hostile aliens – the Kett – who have no intentions of allowing you the space to plant the seeds of a new civilization. You encounter another alien race – the Angara – who are being oppressed and enslaved, by the Kett. You side with these Angarans to push back the Kett, and solidify yourselves in the Heleus cluster. I’ve tried to avoid too many spoilers, so if it seems like the story is gist, it’s because I excluded quite a bit so that you can discover it for yourself.

The Kett in the Heleus cluster are just the tip of what appears to be a very large iceberg, and they – like you – are interested in the abandoned Remnant technology that is scattered throughout the Heleus cluster. There is also the matter of the Scourge which makes itself very present throughout the entire cluster but wasn’t really touched on by this game. So I imagine that will make an appearance in later additions. With the combination of the Kett, the Scourge, the Remnant, and the prospect of the rest of the Andromeda galaxy to explore (with whatever conflicts that arise because of it) I can see this series of Mass Effect earning its place in our hearts. Ryder is an easily remembered name, like Shepard, and if Bioware stacks their blocks right, I imagine we will remember his story too. As a side note, Mass Effect 1 seemed pretty crude before we got 2, maybe this will be the case here too.

To summarize: What we got in Andromeda was fun for it’s own game, but definitely lacking in comparison to Mass Effect 1-3. The story was a bit raw, and should be refined, but leaves the door open to a world of possibilities – they were smart to limit this game to just one area of Andromeda. The Pace is unsteady and could be more focused. The combat is far superior, and cleaner than the previous games which aid greatly in the gameplay. The worlds are beautiful, but lacking in exploration. The enemies are interesting, and give you a good reason to want them dead. The companions are varied, but some lacking in interesting features to latch onto and follow. Finally the discovery factor lies in the Remnant, and who are your enemies truly. There is plenty of potential, and I hope they opt to try again with a sequel, but take in the criticisms positively. Refine the story, expand the lore, focus the pace at similar speeds instead of the varied we got. Reduce the tediousness like puzzles, and transition screens. Finally, please populate the worlds just a little more, to make it more interesting to explore.

I’d give it a 7.5/10. It’s a good game, not great, but definitely good.

Ending Spoiler Alert Look away if you haven’t already beat the game as this is a very specific detail you may want to learn on your own – There is also the matter of the missing Quarians who had troubles before they left, and now appear to be in more trouble now that they have arrived. Sending you a warning NOT to approach whatever area of Andromeda they landed in. Maybe a DLC, or something. Hopefully it’s great, because I love the Quarians.

(Ported over from my old site)

Submitted by Silverbuu on Fri, 01/27/2017 – 11:53

This is MY Blog, and this is a blog post, these are MY opinions and experiences. You are NOT required to believe as I do. This is NOT meant to sway your opinions. All I ask is you retain the ‘to each their own’ mindset and enjoy the read. Thanks!

Pre-order, or not to pre-order: that is the question. It’s also a very important question if you ask me. You’ve probably seen, or heard, or watched many other people who discuss this very same subject, but allow me to throw in my own two cents.

As has been the growing trend, games get put on sale before they are even released, for you: the consumer – to buy and ensure you get your copy right as it releases. Originally I used to love this, it was very convenient to go to a retailer and ask to buy the game now, and have them hold on to it for me so that when it releases I don’t have to worry about it being sold out when it gets released. For the most part – I did this for expansions to games I loved. I knew the base game was amazing, and at the time expansions were very good almost all the time. However, that is simply not the case anymore. Expansions are hit and miss, and for the most part… a lot smaller. We have entered the age of Downloadable Content (DLC). Skins, Maps, and expansions Parts 1, and 2.

It’s of my opinion, that Pre-ordering was only good for physical retailers, and not digital retailers. There is really no point to it now. There is a very high chance that the digital vendor you are buying from will have more than enough keys for you to buy, especially if that vendor is also the developer, or publisher (or steam). Unlike their physical counter-parts who can’t afford to house thousands of copies of one game, so they buy a couple hundred (if that due to the large boxes) and hope that it’s just enough. They know it too. To incentivise you they offer bonuses either in-game, or out, that are only available if you pre-order the game. In-game items, small DLC, Soundtracks, early access… whatever they can think of. Most of the time, these bonuses are not worth it at all. But the impulsiveness in you says “I want that! I have to have it!”. This in itself wasn’t a horrible idea. It’ll be the same price, but you get the bonus content for taking a risk, while other players don’t. However…

Enter Collector’s Edition.

My biggest peeve of the whole thing. Digital Deluxe, Super Digital Deluxe, (Insert even more adjectives here) digital deluxe. Collector’s Edition and so on. This is pre-ordering gone out of control, and it’s annoying. I think it wouldn’t be as bad if these versions were always available, or at least for a limited time after release (like a month or two). So you can decided after the reviews, whether or not it was worth getting. However most publishers make these a timed event. You better buy it now, or you’re going to lose out! Don’t miss these awesome deals!

Games these days are incredibly hit and miss. Huge series that were awesome suddenly suck, and random independent developers release something awesome. Many indie games suck, and a lot of AAA games do too. That makes pre-ordering a risky business. Especially when you realize the scope of how much money they pour into their games, and how little time they get to make, and refine that game. So they throw in as much junk as possible to get you to give them money to make up that cost, without even knowing if the game is any good. This is a bad practice and has led to such hated relations like me and EA, or me and Ubisoft, or me and Activation. I will not pre-order from any of these companies, ever. Even Mass Effect Andromeda, a series I absolutely adore, will have to wait until I know what it is I’m getting, before they get my money. On top of that. How many games have you purchased, downloaded, and started up only to find that there is something crippling wrong with it. Poor video performance, Network issues, CTD bugs. Pre-ordering games renders you susceptible to these problems, every time. I have decided that patience is definitely a virtue worth practicing when it comes to games. Wait for the game to release and pan out their bugs. Then when you first play the game, it won’t be such a ugly experience, that you always look back on it negatively. Maybe, just maybe, they will see how many people are waiting after the game release, and spend more time polishing the game before release. Very unlikely, that… but a man can dream.

Speaking of Mass Effect and Collectors Editions.

Why would a collector who loves games, want an “edition” of the game, which actually has no game included? It really shouldn’t be a “Collector’s Edition” of the game. It should be “Collector’s Paraphernalia” of the game. Just saying, it’s miss-leading and I wonder how many bought that, without knowing they don’t get the game because it’s labeled as ‘Collector’s Edition’.

Though not specifically labeled as pre-ordering… early access games… How many of you guys buy these, and are still waiting for any of them to finally release. I’m still undecided about the whole thing, many of the early-access games I have are fun, but a few of them have stopped development all together. Ark: Survival Evolved, Grim Dawn, Rust, Kenshi, and The Age of Decadence are the only reasons I’m still on the fence. They have all been positive experiences, but then you have games like Starforge…

Finally, I’m done buying season passes. You’re essentially gambling on follow through, and quality, and that you might actually like the DLC in question. At least if you wait for the DLC to come out, you can decide if you like what it adds.

Anyways, those are my opinions. I think pre-ordering has gone too far, and is unnecessary in a digital environment. Wait for reviews. Let’s Play(ers) on youtube, and twitch get early access copies of games all the time, and are allowed to upload them to youtube, or stream them. At least give those a watch, so you can see the game in action before you pre-order.

Plus you can get that soft tingly feeling that you get when you know you help people. Because Reviewers and Let’s Play(ers) get paid to do these things. So you help create jobs, just by waiting, and seeing.

(Ported over from my old site)

Submitted by Silverbuu on Mon, 05/02/2016 – 02:09

It doesn’t sound like a word, does it? well that’s because officially, it’s not. Yet now more than ever, its importance can not be overstated. Replayability like every other modern word is born out of popular expression, like ‘google’ it, or ‘bling’. Replayability is not obscure at all in its definition, because you can understand it at face value. How much ability does it have to be replayable. Be that a diverse story with choices and branching endings, gameplay that just doesn’t get old, a modding community, or multiplayer that keeps it alive. Replayability adds the much important aspect to games that keeps a player playing, and the company behind it relevant.

Replayability is often overlooked in favor of a unique ideas or an interesting story (especially by indie developers), but at the end of day if that idea or story doesn’t add replayability, it only gets you on the map. And like boomtowns, they often vanish into obscurity once the resource dries up (in this case interest) and the long development time between two games kills their company. How many indie developers do you know who have stormed the front with their one game and then vanished? How many AAA developers thought this game would be the bread and butter but found out that their goods didn’t sell well on the market.

With longer and more expensive development times, it’s become essential to ensure a continuous income, either by DLC (which means continued development time), or by replayability. Replayability is unique in that it continues to draw in customers well beyond development. Look at games like Europa Universalis IV, Minecraft, Dota 2, or Skyrim. Well past their initial release, they still have a good sized player base and their developers still make money off that game.
– Europa Universalis IV is replayable by itself in that it is always a unique story of history driven by the player and it’s still developed by Paradox in the form of patches and DLC, but also has a big modding community that keep interest in the game high.
– Minecraft is the ideal Sandbox: Player driven, moddable, and multiplayer and continues to drawn in new players.
– DOTA 2 gets its replayability almost solely due to the competitive nature of that game in multiplayer which can also earn you money.
– Finally, Skryim still draws in players and revenue however minute it may be because of it’s open world, player-driven adventure, with lots of support for a modding community.
The companies behind these games have become household names in their respective genres due to how much you can replay their games.

Then look at games like Super Meat Boy, Fez, or even Bioshock. These are all games that you could play again because the story, or gameplay is great, but would more than likely have to wait a few months to a few years before you pick it up again because you know how it’ll play out. They are often forgotten about until there is some reason to bring them up be it nostalgia or general gaming discussions. These games don’t continue to draw in customers actively due to the small community that surrounds it. They are not talked about well their release dates because not very many people are still playing it.

I’m not saying we should cut out all unique ideas or story driven games, but I think games like these should be treated as such. Games based on a story shouldn’t have things like gun DLC or skin DLC, because that’s not what the game is based on. Instead they should have expanded stories, or short sub-stories as DLC. Games based on stories shouldn’t have multiplayer as an afterthought to add replayability because it’ll be rushed and clunky and will be a valid point in many people’s minds not to buy the game, even though there is a very good game outside of the multiplayer. If you want multiplayer, make sure it’s well thought out and developed with the game, not after the game. Also, don’t make the multiplayer completely negate any reason to make choices in the single player. Companies that base their game solely on stories shouldn’t worry themselves about replayability. Outside of a branching story with choices that adds some degree of replayability. A story game is like a book, you don’t re-read it for a new story, you re-read it because it’s a good story.

If you want to make your story game open world to add replayability, don’t limit that open world because the story prohibits it. ESPECIALLY with invisible walls in places where you will eventually go, or “I can’t go there because they are too well fortified” whops game over, I didn’t listen to the white text. Let the player learn it on their own or even attempt the challenge of being overwhelmed. I don’t mind invisible walls along the borders of a huge area that isn’t ever part of the game, because honestly there are limits, and cheesy impassable mountains or rivers don’t make as much sense either, rivers have bridges and boats, and mountains have paths.

Replayability can’t really ‘just be added’, it needs to be thought out, and implemented.

I personally prefer replayable games because I feel it adds more bang for my buck. It’s nice not having to download the next single player game with huge file sizes just to enjoy it for 30-100 hours. Which is just over 1 ½ hours per dollar at best. Before you mention theaters, I don’t generally go to the theater unless it’s something I really look forward to, which is about once every 3-4 years. It’s pretty much the same with story games. Every few years I’ll pick one up, enjoy it and then go back to my favorite games.

Look at the Witcher 3 for example. Absolutely amazing game with a great story, great characters, and a beautiful world. It took me 64 hours according to GOG to beat it on Death March and I haven’t returned to it yet. I’ve been thinking about it, but it hasn’t felt like the right time to re-immerse myself into the world again. I payed about 70~ dollars for it(Canadian, with the first expansion). That’s just under an hour per dollar. In contrast I paid 70~ dollars for Fallout 4 and the season pass with a discount and I’ve racked up 400 hours. That’s over 5 hours per dollar. EUIV is harder to calculate so all I did was add the price of all dlc I own off sale (even though most of them were bought on sale) plus the game which comes to about 226 dollars. Though I suspect that number to be closer to 130-140. I have just over 2400 hours total. That’s still over 10 hours per dollar spent on the game. Movies are about 8 dollars. No including concession costs. Movies on average are about 130~ minutes, and that works out to just over 16 minutes per dollar spent.

So to me It seems more reasonable to play a replayable game than one based on story, but like I said I definitely love the occasional story.
The only reason I felt like writing this is due to the new wave of story games that are being released that are taking flak due to their ‘walking simulator’ nature. I personally have not played one of these, because I don’t think a game so heavily based on a story that it doesn’t include anything you might attribute to being a game is worth getting. Games need to have some form of replayability and interactivity to be considered a game. These ‘walking simulators’ have absolutely no replayability and almost no interactivity besides the whole walking around and hitting e to continue the story. You could possibly figure out which side of the fence I am on with these kinds of games. I think games based so heavily on a story to the point where you’re just hitting e to continue, that you should just use the game’s engine to make a short movie and then release it as a mini movie. It almost feels like a scam to release it as a game when all the things you attribute to being a game are absent.

To sum it up, replayability is a very important aspect of gaming. Not only for the player, but also the developers. Games have historically been replayable, they need to be. Look at chess, or almost any card game. They are replayable just due to the competitive nature of it, but they ARE replayable. Replayability is often attributed to how interactive the game is. What can I do with the game? How does the game react to me doing this? Can I do this? If I do this, will it allow me to win? All these things you might ask yourself while playing the game. Games which have next to no interactivity are not games in my eyes. They are more like staggered movies which pause so you can look around at the set.

(Ported over from my old site)

Submitted by Silverbuu on Sun, 05/03/2015 – 15:08

DLC. Downloadable Content. A scam of the ages? Or a choice for the masses?

If you’re not aware, DLC is that extra bit of content that is (supposed to be) developed after the release of a game. Not to be confused with an expansion pack. What’s the difference? The size and complexity. A DLC expands upon one or maybe two aspects of the game. Be it new models, new sound, new skills, or new levels. For an extra $1.99, you can unlock a new level. $9.99, a new character. The prices vary, but in the end they are all very much the same.

DLC is a mostly accepted fact of gaming life. Unless the developer is indie, or announces that they will not be releasing DLC, you should probably expect DLC. Those that do not accept this fact always counter with one reason or another. So I’ve decided why not express my opinions on DLC, just so long as you keep in mind, these are MY opinions. They are not meant to sway YOUR opinion, just to explain my view of things.

I accept DLC for what it is, extra content. The thing about DLC is, you don’t need to buy it. It’s completely optional and that’s the way it should be. A huge list of DLC for me, isn’t a bad thing. It allows me to improve upon the areas of the game I enjoy the most, while ignoring the areas I don’t.

Take for instance, Paradox Development, for which most of my game time is spent playing their games. They develop what they call, a grand strategy game, or empire builders. These are games where you play not a character in a level, but a nation on a map. Your objective isn’t clear, but you must survive ’til the end of the game. In these games you play on what is effectively an interactive map of Europe, or the world. You control army units, like units on a board. One unit generally represents a greater sum, like 1000 men. These units sit in provinces, and the provinces add up into kingdoms and empires. An obvious objective is to conquer as much of the map as possible whilst ensuring you do not get conquered. You have to manage your economy, relations with other nations, and other values. These kinds of games I really enjoy, because they are not based on a story. They are a free sandbox which you can do whatever you like within the limits of the game. This means it is very re-playable. In their game Europa Universalis IV alone, I have 1635 hours in total. I love adding a little bit of role-playing, or adding what those on the Paradox forums have called ‘house rules’. These help keep the game fresh and interesting, and still challenging.

The problem with an empire builder, is all the nations eventually look the same. To improve this, they have added several units on the map which represent their area of the map. In Crusader Kings II for example, whose timezone ranges from the 700s to the 1300s. The map consists of the British isles down to India. To help players get more into the game, they have released numerous ‘unit packs’. These are the units you see on the map. They do not make in mandatory that you buy these unit packs to play that particular nation, it will just help you get immersed into that nation. You won’t buy it though, if you have no interest in that area of the map. You may buy the improved unit pack for the areas of the map that you do enjoy playing on. That’s why I accept DLC.

You can improve the areas of the game you do enjoy, whilst ignoring the areas you don’t. I slightly enjoy DLC more than expansions, because you only pay for what you want, versus buying the whole expansion and only enjoying 20% of its content. It all comes down to the price the company sets the DLC for. 1-5 dollars is completely fine. 10-15$ for a massive improvement, like overhauling an entire section of a game, like trade or war in EUIV, is also completely fine. It’s the companies that charge $20 for some stupidly small improvement that it’s better off being ignored, that cause problems in the DLC world. I smart shopper would just ignore these DLC like they never existed. A smart shopper might also wait for the DLC to be play-tested and reviewed before buying it. That way they can investigate it and decide if it’s for them.

Enjoy the things that are worth enjoying!

(Ported over from my old site)

Submitted by Silverbuu on Sat, 02/28/2015 – 12:55

Today we embark on a journey across the stars. We fill ourselves with pride as we stride the galaxy light-year, by light-year. We engage in interstellar exploration, in search of new homes, and distant lifeforms. We mobilize ourselves in the most epic and grandest of adventures. A new frontier is born, and we will do as our ancestors have done before us: we will explore, claim, and engage in cross-galaxy trade and governing.

There are those who feel we are not yet ready; that we invite only trouble home. Those who believe this will lead to a whole new level of war, where nucular missiles fill the blackened sea. This, my friends, this is why we must take precautions now. We must gather and council a new set of laws. We must form new coalitions to enforce these laws, and we must be sure that space remains free and open to all who voyage it. Our forefathers have laid down the foundations for these laws, and we must build upon them with the same level of legal binding as a contract to a free life. So I invite all those who can add to this; step forward. Show yourselves to the world and become history in the making.

These are the words I await. Yet so far apart are we now from then. We must unite together; we must remove the lines we draw across the human race. Why should we waste time looking down upon Race, Religion, or Nationality? When we should be looking up towards the skies. Why do we waste our energies guarding ourselves from each other, when we should be driving that energy into propelling ourselves into a new beginning. Why do we commit to such petty existences, when we can be greatness itself. Why are we so different, when inside, we are so very much the same.

I encourage anyone who hears this: change; change yourself into a better person. It is not so hard to see past our differences, when we look at how much we are the same. Do you not have a heart that beats every second, of every day, for every day of your lifetime? Do we not all desire life? Do we not all desire something better for ourselves? Then be better. Do Better. Only then, when we are better as a whole, can we take ourselves wholly forward. Be that into space, or into paradise on Earth.