Spilled Tea: Switch 2, Warhammer, and AI…

…Oh my!

The Principle of Credulity is a philosophical axiom by Thomas Reid that suggest we have “a disposition to confide in the veracity of others, and believe what they tell us”.


Everyday on the internet leads me to believe this is very true

Today is all about about gossip and rumor here on ATE , as there seems to be quite an awful lot of it swirling around gaming news sources as of late, so what the hell? Let’s spill some tea. Before we begin, I just wanted to mention that throughout my day, I always have a hundred little conversations with myself that I think “hey, this would make an interesting aside for one of my ATE articles”. I think that share is possibly one of the first times I actually remembered to retain said kind of conversation, and we are all technically worse off for it. Not because the share was inane or valueless, mind you, but as a reminder of all the times I was unable to remember the rest of them. I really got to start carrying around a tape recorder ala Coop from Twin Peaks to record my thoughts, as every time you read a write up, it is only one of a very large number of permutations we both could have delighted in, had things just turned out differently.


Strange how it all works out

With multiversal shenanigans now in play as a relevant topic of interest, we shift our focus to a peculiar happening that timeextension brought to revelatory light, with a delightful little article going in-depth about how some Capcom staff were initially resistant to the whole idea of crossover fighters involving the Street Fighter crew from very early on. Apparently, due to the lack of sales of X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel Super Heroes in Japan, many at Capcom were silently hoping X-Men vs Street Fighter would die a quiet, quick death. This gave the team a lot of wiggle room to over deliver when the time came, and the break out success of the title would go on to eventually spawn the Marvel vs Capcom series, which has stood the test of popular time, as evidenced by the recent release of Marvel vs Capcom: Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics release.


As I always say: set lower expectations and then over deliver

Continuing on with the theme of what is old is new again, it looks as if Nintendo’s lawyer have finally caught wind of Palworld, an open-world multiplayer survival game, which has designs reminiscent of the big N’s own critically acclaimed Pokémon series, and are ready to mount a legal battle over copyright infringement claims. I’m surprised Nintendo’s legal ninjas took so much time getting around to this one, as this sucker has been making lots of noise since earlier this year, and is even an official release on multiple platforms, and not even a fan made dealie. Ultimately, time will tell if Nintendo wins out with the legal disputes involving the developers of the game Pocketpair, but Nintendo has historically been quite grumpy about this kind of thing for a long time now, and regularly geared towards legal actions in the course of their own history. They even took Blockbuster to task for copyright infringement over their manuals for Christ’s sake. I might love their games, but the Pokémon company has had a stick up their ass over petty frivolities for awhile now, so I hope this just blows up in their face.


How Chinpokomon flew under the radar all these years I
will never know

Staying on the topic of Nintendo, potential images of the follow up to the Switch have “leaked”, according to a number of rampant shares on the internet, which I surmised were all pulled from the same dodgy ass source on the internet that no one bothered to check the legitimacy of….or at least I thought as much, and then I read a piece from Eurogamer commenting on the whole affair. The article mentions how the models do seem to correspond with data that has leaked in the past about Nintendo’s next console, but they did come from a 3D modeler’s post on a Chinese social media website, who as since deleted the posts. Like most leaks: dubious at best, and what took someone possibly two hours to make is now going to be discussed for two weeks with endless pissing competitions involving the veracity of the claims themselves. No news from Nintendo on the matter (big surprise).


Everyone knows the Switch 2 is just going to be 16 Gamecubes
duct-taped together, what are we even speculating for?

In another moment of interesting hearsay, IGN reported about a bizarre happening involving recently released shooter 40,000: Space Marine 2, in a story that allegedly has the CEO of Saber, Matthew Karch, commenting on a Youtube video by user Asmongold about the quality of the title. The gist of the posit which was *allegedly* Karch, has the CEO going on about other devs “imposing morals on gamers”, reinforcing games should be about the design itself and not beating the brow of gamers with some kind of overt messaging muddying the waters. Putting aside for a second just how broad of a declaration that is to even confront, the comment hasn’t even been officially verified as the actual CEO, and a comment which could potentially be some kind of windup from a rando impersonating him, trying to create a fuss in the comments section on a Youtube video in a silly attempt at fanning the flames in the name of some obtuse culture war nonsense. I guess, regardless of whether or not it is actually the CEO of the company hanging out in a Youtube comment section (why would he?) giving praise to their own game (why wouldn’t they?), a good game is a good game regardless of messaging. Don’t worry about what other people are playing, do what you want.


To quote a modern day prophet

And finally, to wrap our daily tea spilling as we are nearing an empty pot, EA decided to remind people why they were voted worst company in the US two years in a row, by deciding to make generative AI as their main talking point in a recent investors day presentation, much to the surprise of no one who is use to EA’s bullshit. They went on to assure onlookers that AI is not a buzzword, and is a core element at the heart of their game development strategy. Read the room guys: with so many negative news stories coming out weekly about foot in mouth comments involving AI, to other very real impacts the practice of using AI has had on workers within the industry, you’d think EA would avoid saying the quiet part out-loud and just keep the fuck quiet about their internal machinations, just to save some face in the name of good PR alone.


A picture of EA’s new PR manager

Cheers for joining me in spilling some tea. Until our next party, then…

~Pashford

Star Wars Battlefront: What Is “It”?

Hey Gamers,

Shh! Before you say anything, I think you should click the link below, and all of your questions will be answered.

Click Here For The Truth

I hope that has more or less cleared everything up for you: shit has sucked, fuck it blah blah blah…now let’s get down to the important business at hand, here.

Let’s bitch about Star Wars. Battlefront to be precise.

Told you it wasn’t going to be about the prequels.

A little late to the party when it comes to writing about Battlefront, but if we then consider my recent track record on providing content…

…this post represents a hell of a change of pace.

To that point, I missed the recent Battlefront reboot when it launched last November, despite being both a bigg Star Wars fan, and Battlefront enthusiast. While I am aware the first couple of games in no way represented the heights of gaming quality, they were damn fun, which makes them winners in my book. Remembering back to Battlefronts 1&2, and how much fun I did have vs how polished the games were (as in not quite at all), I must say I’m impressed. The camera and controls weren’t top notch, the graphics and gameplay weren’t mind blowing or very original,  and they did indeed utilize a metric shit-ton of nostalgia to dress up a lot of these issues with a cute Star Wars facade, to make you forget about all of the flaws the material truly had.

What Is Also Known As Ewok Syndrome.

And yet, despite all of their lackluster qualities, I spent hundreds of hours with the old Battlefront games and still remember them fondly. Which goes to show: sometimes it’s not about having all of the best elements, it’s about having enough of all of the ones that matter.

       You Know What I’m Talking About                   Dynasty Warriors Fans.

With my thoughts on the originals now known, I move my analysis to the latest entry, in the hopes of investigating the reasons why the newest Battlefront doesn’t quite seem to be “with it”. If we also take into account how many  problems the original games had while still remaining extremely fun, it is clear from the start  the Battlefront Reboot fights an uphill battle to victory, with us the gamers having the high ground.

Now just where have I heard that phrase before?

As I begin my brief deconstruction of where Battlefront waivers, I find myself lacking a certain exposition on the matter. As I pointed out, the Battlefront reboot (BR) doesn’t seem to be “with it”, in a vague sense, or is lacking “it”, whatever “it” may be. While I will try to satiate your wanton curiosity of where BR went wrong, I may point out that this all powerful “it” BR lacks, may be a failing on a far larger scale than previously imagine, and unavoidable entirely.

The problematic “it” I speak of, may be due to problems at large with the industry at this point in time, or even where I am as a gamer. Keeping in mind I played the original Battlefronts over a decade ago, we then must consider that both the industry and I have aged, growing into different places at different times. To wit, I share this Simpsons quote in revealing the reason that I may not like the current iteration of Battlefront in another vague attempt to help you understand what “it” is: perhaps both Battlefront and I are just to old to be “with it”, or that the gaming industry has changed what “it” is, leaving BR and I in the proverbial cosmic dust.

I know that seems like an odd point of contention, but I did feel a bit old in critiquing the game, if not only due to asking what BR was missing, and how I perceive such irregularities…and though I articulate many points below, I always simply landed on the key element of what the reboot lacks.

And, I always come back to a simple ambiguous truth: the new Battlefront is just missing…”it”.

And you may continue to ask: What is it?

It’s it!

What is IT??

It’s IT!!

What IS IT???

IT’S IT!!!

WHAT IS IT????

IT’S IT!!!!

…OKAY okay, I get it, “it’s” hard to describe.

Despite that, let me do my best to try to nail down what the definition of “it” is.

And no, that does not mean we are going to go back and look at what the definition of “is”, is again.

…you know what it means.

*Ahem*

Now, where were we then? Aw, yes! The Battlefront Reboot (BR).

For starters, and what’s immediately apparent, is that the top menu feels rather bear, almost as if there really isn’t enough content to even make the most basic of menus look appealing. I know the designers wanted to go for a minimalist look, but that didn’t mean they had to go with a minimalist content, too. Before I even picked up the game, I read a number of complaints from both press and players about the lack of single player content, and they weren’t exaggerated.

What’s interesting is that while I agree Battlefront leaves much to be desired in terms of single player content, I do recall that the first couple of games really only had a few basic modes to choose from (campaign, conquest, instant action), so I don’t think the problem is the lack of modes, just compelling ones that kept you coming back. Though each of these modes were basic in approach, they provided a satisfyingly diverse number of ways to replay them, and awesome ways to go about winning.

Like playing as the Empire and using the DEATH STAR to blow up your opponents planets.

The salt is strong with this one.

As if millions of bitter friends suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.

(Get rekt, Kashyyk.)

The originals didn’t have many bells and whistles to speak of in terms of single player content, but what was on offer was infinitely enjoyable and massively replayable. I did not at all get the same feeling from BR, as I was basically over what little single player content the game has in a matter of hours. This distinct difference between BR and the originals I think largely boils down to gameplay basics.

New elements introduced to the game, such as cool downs instead of replenishable ammo for almost any ability or weapon in the game feels inappropriate, and kills the pacing the originals had. The new Battlefront does away with old conventions with bad form or assumption on player demographics, forcing the player to “wait” to get the good stuff, which is a sin the reboot committed repeatedly, ad infinitum.

I was thinking the entire time you don’t even have to feel guilty about “ripping off” the old games ideas: you’re in the same family, it would be just like old times! Just reuse old ideas: it worked for Force Awakens, dammit! Look to your past and do what your predecessor would have done.

You know, like father like son…err, bad example.

Man, is the Battlefront Reboot like the tantrum throwing Kylo Ren to the old Battlefronts swag as fuck Han Solo originals?

Search your feelings, you know it to be true!

Following up on my point, many of the issues Battlefront has had since day one involves the dirty use of enforced wait time on the player. Want to use your cool abilities and weapons you could use almost all the time in the originals? Hold your banthas, now Want to use even the most rudimentary of gear the game has to offer to have a better chance at surviving and kicking ass? Wait it out, sonny. Want to get from point A to point B without the travel feeling as long winded as trekking through a Tatooine desert? Too bad.

While I know many other shooters now a days make you play to earn better gear, Battlefront seems to be below average on the scale of pacing the reward system appropriately. Hell, I was jonesing so much to use the cooler weapons, I would willingly go back to the stunted single player modes, so I could feel like more of a Jedi than a Jawa.

Pictured: Me Spawning on a team against a long time player.*

However, even die hard multiplayer fans will have to wait to get what they want, regardless of how much they want to speed up the process. Not only does the grind for a lot of the better equipment seem extensive (as compared to the almost instant gratification of cool gear in BF 1&2), one of the main tabs on the top menu is for the season pass, which includes four expansion packs, the first of which is not even out by the time of this writing (four months after the games launch day).

It’s hard to argue with many fans who have felt they were”sold an engine” as opposed to an entire game, as so much of the content is locked behind a slow grind and a wait time, that an entire portion of the game is still locked behind another $40, after the $60 they already dropped…months after the initial launch.

EA And Dice Overseeing Continued Development Of Battlefront Post Launch.

I can see the lack of cool gear from the get go will (and has) discouraged a lot of players, and I’ll bet the maps themselves may do something similar. A bad trend I’ve seen in recent games is making the maps “too big”, traversing them a boring and unnecessarily long process. You combine that with someone who is already frustrated at the lack of content they paid a lot for, on top of the feeling of helplessness with a lack of interesting starting arsenal, and you quickly realize having a game that constantly makes you travel a long distance, to possibly just immediately die upon final destination because a long time player has some pimp gear, would quickly become a deal breaker.

Leia’s face perfectly capturing what many Battlefront fans thought after buying the game: I’ve made a huge mistake.

Don’t get me wrong: I did indeed have some fun playing BR-the dog fights were surprisingly engaging, and some of the game modes had me enjoying the really awesome visuals and thick Star Wars nostalgia. Playing as one of the heroes and decimating as Vader was great, defending Hoth against an oncoming AT-AT was good fun, and slaying Storm Troopers on Endor in a hectic battle was cool- it just wasn’t enough.  I had reservations about buying this game at launch, not only from reviews, videos, and word of mouth mind you, but even going to E3 and playing early hands on impressions. While at the show, I had this awful feeling the whole thing felt way too hollow for it’s own good, and by the time I got to the finished product, I realized that I still hate being wrong.

I think if the game can be summed up in one important critique, it would likely be that the BR does not respect the players time. Between all of the enforced waiting, extensive grinding, and asking more and more from the player without proper incentive, this is less of a fast paced shooter and more of a slow paced action game with heavy RPG elements, taking all of the worst elements of modern day gaming, and throwing away all of the worthwhile mainstays. The Battlefront Reboot tosses aside almost every aspect of what made the originals so good with such obvious gameplay mechanics that work, in favor of cheap time grabs in the name of entitlement, which the game ultimately didn’t initially earn.

I said I’d avoid making fun of the prequels, and I’ll keep to my word. Instead, I will liken the Battlefronts to iterations of Han Solo in the original Trilogy.

Battlefront 1:

Battlefront 2:

Battlefront Reboot:

In closing, what was “it” that was missing? Was BR a victim of it’s time, never fully being able to recapture what the old games were due to new industry standards and expectations? Maybe I also, was in a different place due to the passage of time, and no longer liked what is considered the modern average? Could it be, that whatever “it” was, was indeed redefined, with only those who have lived long enough able to understand the change, and still remembering fondly what “it” use to be?

You know what I think? It’s true…all of it. Ultimately, the game may have failed to recapture what the originals meant, but perhaps recreating the past was an impossible feat to begin with.

Still, at least conceptually, Battlefront lives on.

As an afterthought, in terms of ideas being passed on, it is at least important Battlefront is being paid forward.

For it is the truth that many who have lived long enough, will know quality in different ways, and perhaps what once was is best left frozen in carbonite for them, a monument to past triumphs and beautiful memories. This same symbol of a treasured past may yet represent a new hope for those curious enough to rediscover it, and may still get a glimpse of what was once cherished, and perhaps they will carry the torch to a new generation.

After all, there is no shame in celebrating what has passed, and truly appreciating what made it so great, but that also doesn’t mean there isn’t worth in what’s left to enjoy, and what may follow in it’s footsteps.

~Pashford

(*Art by Pierre Loyvet)

Quickie: Money Grabbers

Hey Gamers.

While many recent news stories have caught my interest, I don’t feel as if I posses adequate time in doing them justice.

Pictured: What an average reader may have looked like after reading that last sentence.

The EA online pass thing has been a long time coming, I feel. With my recent observations that failure is an option, EA no loner needs to fail with such consistency, they just need to fail in the right ways. Micro-transactions and subscription based programs may gain them more finance in the long run, and might cut down on the hate they contend with on a frequent basis.

Pictured: What an average gamer might have looked like after originally  hearing about EA’s Online Pass program.

In regards to the Nintendo story, I’m always in shock and awe when any company shuts down positive promotion for their own product. There are a few financial aspects to look at here, as this basically boils down to free advertising, something larger companies have to pay quite a bit of money in creating. Further, you can’t buy bad press away, and it’s something far more costly to deal with in the long run, than the amount of potential buyers you’ll turn off. All of this, by pissing  directly onto your demographic, which equates to abusing a few passionate fans creatively expressing their love of your product.

I can only imagine what some of those Youtube content creators must have looked like, after receiving the news their Nintendo videos were shut down by Nintendo.

Pictured: An average Youtube user, after receiving the news Nintendo shut down their Nintendo videos.

The only words of wisdom I can express here are as follows: just because something is legal, doesn’t mean that it’s right. Nintendo may have some grand plan or hidden agenda that doesn’t just involve trivial amounts of money,  but they’re going about it the wrong way. I remember when the biggest Rare fan site on the net, for example, got shut down for trying to make a documentary about how awesome Rare as a company is. The reason for the shut down? The doc was just a little disagreeable about Rare’s future, but more than happy to have been a part of their past.

So yeah, Rare was within legal means to shut down the fan site, effectively destroying it’s largest core collective of followers, in a time where they had very few to brag about.

What did it accomplish? Rare finally revealed itself to it’s fans what it really was.

Happy Gaming,
Pashford

Encylcopedia Muranica: Failure is an Option

In pondering the great mysteries of the gaming universe, I’ve stumbled upon a singular observation.

Nothing is What it Seems.

Today’s Muranica deals with the idea of valuable creativity, and how in some contrived manner, it can be meaningless in the face of making money.

While Muranica’s usually have a basic source of inspiration to draw from, I think idea’s and theories back stock into my head until a well needed inventory check.  This current line of thinking may very well have reached overflow status with  my recent realizations that failure is an option. In this instance, I speak of EA’s failed launch of SimCity due to DRM and botched online functionality making the game unplayable on day one, and them not caring.

Failure as an option, should not be an alternative one should strive for, but rather learn from.

Though EA may not represent the ideal student.

Winston Churchill once said: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts, and I think it figures largely into today’s chapter of Muranica. While I’m of the mind suffering may lead to understanding and making mistakes is a major component of learning, I’m beginning to think there is a minority who are happy to use failure as a financial tactic rather than a learning tool. As a result, many like myself pay a hefty price, and causes suffering that really just leads to more confusion than enlightenment of any kind.

Pictured: Failure as a financial tactic. Not pictured: the suffering people paying the hefty price.

Looking directly at my post yesterday, in the shock and awe of EA selling the SimCity launch as if it’s somehow to be admired,  I have to only assume no one at EA really cares they were recently voted the worst company in America.

Two Years Running.

Seen Here: The runner up laughing he and his company didn’t land in first place.

Of course, a quick look at the financial logistics of EA’s foundation , one can easily assess why the company may make no qualms about a more honest effort. With others recent observations that the newest Transformers movie had made bucket loads of cash while simultaneously being complete ass noise, we all soon realize the sounds of a wallet opening need only be loud enough to drown out the voice of the critical to make for a bonafide “mission accomplished”.

A picture of former President Bush at the last Transformers movie premiere

So, what we have here is basic capitalism at work. A company (EA), tries to turn around a massive failing, and seemingly, does so in a somewhat perverse manner. So what they said. So what you couldn’t even play the fucking game on day one, so the game works better now, so the critics are all just a bunch of whiny gamers. So what? Yes, the bottom line won’t reflect most of this, just the stupid undeserved money that they made based on ignoring prior knowledge of known and possible issues leading up to launch day, just to get the game out on time because they can “fix it later”.

I reintroduce the Churchill quote as relevant here, in further assessing this odd state of affairs. A mistake, even a gargantuan one, is not the end of world.

Though it did prevent the start of one.

However, with this recent slew of actual financial success, mind numbingly looked upon as failure cropping up in an alarming manner, and the SimCity launch looked upon as the same financial success despite being an actual failure, one has to question what stops EA from continuing to fail on purpose. Not within the confines of a botched never give up attitude, or a missing the mark with a stay positive mentality. I mean the active want and the willing acknowledgement to fail, full well knowing they can make the same money with a broken game that they could with a working one,  in some get rich quick scheme where all of us are products of their success, and at the same time represent the failure they so eagerly create.

If you micro size it, they will transact it.

This may sound like it has a more conspiratorial slant than I wish to imbue it with, but the underlining message (financially speaking) makes some bad kind of mad sense, SimCity being a perfect example of this proposed insanity. The structure of success can be built, and then very easily taken advantage, if it means screwing people over in the hopes of a quick buck. While the end goal may not be vocalized or observed as “fuck the consumer”, knowing where you can save money and time, can translate to us (the gamers), losing both simultaneously.

My best summation of this sordid state of affairs, was when I made a quick joke yesterday in regards to this subject, with alluding to Mel Brooks Broadway musical, the Producers as the relevant reference point. For those unfamiliar, the story involves two men, who realize through some broken miracle of economics, one can find more success in a failed play than a successful one. They in turn, create a play called Springtime for Hitler, which in turn is lauded entirely, becoming a run away success.

As you may be able to guess where I’m going with this, my heavy concern is that the fictional is about to become reality, and what’s funny will become the essence of serious business.

Hitler, seen here, feeling just fabulous about EA’s new idea, free to play death camps. Food and Water DLC only $4.99.

With a steady slope in decreasing physical sales, and the need to keep topping impossible expectations, sometimes by excruciating means, what’s from stopping EA to butchering every video game launch, to save money and still make the same amount, despite incomplete or non-existent product? They could even be more selective of course, I don’t know if the company could truly get away releasing every game of a series on day one with no new content.

Weeeeeell, Maybe.

Though, if this recent “success” with SimCity is any indication, Failure is an Option. Not only that, it’s a financially viable one. If this somewhat pessimistic template follows through to true fruition, larger companies will continue to find success, based on purposely failing, rather than trying to make worthwhile games…and ultimately valuable product. If done long enough, this would bring about the end of days (for the company’s bottom line at least), dooming themselves in the process under the guise of evolution (a not too dissimilar apocalyptic scenario I’ve touched on before). This piece of reality isn’t completely unavoidable, however, but improvements in how companies will treat their consumers (before completely self-destructing) will take time, and likely be a very slow and painful process.

Ultimately, positive change will take time.

Is it, though?

Time enough for even the most casual to realize, that despite what they knew at one point, it’s not in the game…there’s nothing in the fucking game. When EA begins to sell concepts, instead of games to consumers long enough, that’s when everything will come crashing down. When even the least learned of us, realize that the price of admission is the equivalent of buying bottled air, we’ll be too suffocated by their crooked stupidity for our dollar to even make it to their money grabbing hands.

This isn’t an absolution that every dev team and every game by EA is to be ignored, (I’ve recently enjoyed some of EA’s less financially taxing titles). Nor do I have misplaced motivations in recommending a boycott of the company. I am merely exhausted of cross business tactics, and stand worried as a player who wishes both gaming well, and my brothers and sisters of gaming just as well, despite an avalanche of bullshit to deal with on a regular basis.

At the end of the day, I always beg you, dear gamers, to continue to ask the right questions.

Is this fun? Or is this finance?

And why does this fun house have bars on the windows?

Public Safety Announcement: Remember Kids! There’s a big difference between everything for $5, and every THING…for $5.

The More You Know…

…Failure is an Option.

Quickie: Crazy Nuts

Hey Gamers.

I don’t know how I forgot to mention this little bit of insanity.

Surely distracted by something.

As just one of the many innumerable gamers, who just couldn’t refuse the original Eternal Darkness the respect it deserves, this news most certainly excites me. Despite Dennis Dyack’s more recent claim to fame, I’d say people are ready to return to their preferred vehicle of insanity.

And all that entails.

Shadow of the Eternals is looking for some crowd funded support, and will benefit from anyone looking to renew their own crazy. This contribution page can be found here, and has already gained some admirable support from fervent fans.

Moving from crazy to batshit insane.

Having read that recent little bit of nuts on D-Toid, I can’t help but furiously scratch my head.

OFF

This could be me over analyzing. I’ve been known to do so, from time to time. Yet, I feel compelled to wax philosophical about the implications of this unnerving information. EA discussing SimCity in the positive, while alluding to Dead Space and Crysis in the negative, in front of people who want to give money to one of them, has got to be one of the most dishonest business tactics this side of in-game parking meter micro-transactions. I know the presentation was mired in corporate double speak, and would therefore, be impossible for anyone with a truly healthy mind to grasp.

Despite this, EA trying to glaze over what was a massive failure and an incredibly damaging launch, makes me believe they spent most of the SimCity launch huffing inhalants in their own parking lot.

EA, seen here with investors, trying to put a positive spin on the SimCity launch.

We’re talking about EA discussing business matters during an investors call, after all,  so attempting to describe the content of the exchange, would be an effort in rhetorical sarcasm.  More to the point, this may really be of no major importance at all, as everyone involved may have been so heavily medicated and self-involved, EA could have held a fucking demonic square dance and no one would have thought twice about it.

What one shared inhalant might have turned the EA investors call into.

Ultimately, my worry is that with this distortion of facts, or misgivings about “what makes successful”, we observe what is  incredibly degrading to the medium of gaming itself. With so many ridiculous sentiments about what makes a game acceptably successful, or what budgets smaller studios have to contend with, we already have enough reality mangling to deal with. The last thing we need, is for the biggest gaming company around to spew toxic waste about what was clearly a massive failing on their part, and then try to brush it off as “the financially viable option”.

DRM? Fuck that, no one gets to play it.

We’e arrived at a point where a game can now be sold, without any content, let alone bad content. Why restrict access to a title for financial purposes, when you could just restrict access to the title for financial purposes.

Pictured: EA execs brainstorming on their next blockbuster hit,            Spring Time for Hitler: The Game.

Of course, where Pandora’s Box may be opened, shall there be light that is left at the bottom.

And I’m blinded.

Ending on a positive note, Double Fine has announced their own Humble Bundle, and the value within is astonishing. The whole pack is a pay what you want dealie, and in good spirit, can be adjusted to your liking. Give to DF, give to charity, be an asshole and give to no one, it really lets you embrace your inner gamer.

No matter how bad you actually are.

The Bundle itself represents a King’s Feast in the world of gaming, with a pay what you want price for Brutal Legend, Psychonauts, Stacking, and Costume Quest, which all represent some of the best titles in their respective genres. Some of them, being the sole proprietor of their respective genre. The games will be available DRM free, and are available for everyone: PC, MAC, Linux, you name it.

They got it.

To sweeten the deal, people who donate $35 dollars or more get an early look and first dibs on their new title Broken Age, and people who dish out $70 bucks will receive an exclusive Double Fine t-shirt. While I’m super bummed I don’t have enough money for the top shelf premium price (must have T-shirt), I think I may just buy this whole bundle on the cheap, despite already owning multiple copies of many of the titles.

Till Manny do us part, Double Fine.

That’s it for today.

Remember gamers, for all of the worst kind of nuts out there, there is a far darker insanity waiting to be found.
And sometimes, you’ll even be crazy lucky enough to find yourself a Psychonaut.

Happy Gaming,
Pashford

Quickie: (Family, Friends, and Elvis in a nursing home)

Hey Gamers

The end of another long week. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to kick back and enjoy me some virtual reality.

Enjoy some virtual reality, not all.

Before resigning myself completely to rest and relaxation, I bring to light a couple more news stories that have caught my interest. While I’m still playing catching up with some of the more recent standout gaming titles, it seems as if the rest of the industry is absolutely adoring Bioshock: Infinite, with the game already achieving several perfect scores.

While I’m always hesitant about putting too much stock into review scores, it’s really the words that are matching the digits that I find most enlightening. A lot of reputable outlets are just blown away by the compelling atmosphere, and think Ken Levine may have even exceeded his own level of quality with the original Bioshock.

Bold statements, to be sure.

Besides, Ken Levine has been asking us gamers so politely to try Bioshock: Infinite…I just can’t resist!

A couple of other points of interest involve Nintendo bringing Miiverse to PC and mobile this April, EA having a moment of sanity with DRM, and Suda51’s new game called Killer is Dead.  The Miiverse expanding beyond just the Wii U is kind of a surprise. Not as if I want to horde the service all to myself, giving way to my insane Nintendo brethren and our incessant Zelda babble.

Seen Here: What we normally do in the Miiverse.

I just stand surprised that something so innate and propitiatory is getting expansion into uncharted territories. I was even shocked initially with the staying power the Miiverse had, despite the rather controlled nature of the posting system. I’m sure opening up the platform to more prospective buyers, will ultimately lead to more adopters, something the Wii U is still in desperate need of, despite good quality.

While EA’s awareness of DRM being a dead end strategy is a great audio clip, they didn’t go the extra mile and look at the recently catastrophic launch of Simcity, as the source of the observation. Instead reminding us of the game’s “intentional online design”. I feel as if EA did irreparable  damage to Maxis, and a worthwhile brand, something they will never have to pay for.
Despite EA’s verbal misdrection, it seems as if the drastic failure has led them to second thoughts on their anti-piracy matters.

If nothing else, EA’s own strategy working against them, gave the entity at least one shocking moment of painful clarity.

It should be noted this doesn’t always lead to a path of redemption.

Last but not least, Suda51’s up and coming gamer, Killer is Dead, seems to be as flamboyant and over the top as his other games, starring main man mercenary Mondo Zappa. The first write up’s I read, involved watching a hands off-demo, referred to the title as  “looking impressive” and “playing great”. The same kind of gore-tastic action you’ve come to love about games from Grasshopper Studios.

I’ve always been a fan of Suda51, just with his unrelenting style, and being fully aware of how ridiculous video games can be. In an industry all about big budgets and long waiting periods, it’s nice to have a creative mind deliver something loud with regular levels of consistency. I’ve always looked at Suda51 titles as kind of video games own version of “B-Movies”, not top notch in quality, but never failing to entertain.

Just think of Suda51 games as being like Elvis in a nursing home. You’ll never be confused again.

In a medium that sometimes takes itself too seriously, I’m all for a spectrum of options.  I’m glad the industry has grown big enough to accommodate The Big Daddies, The Cooking Mamas, and even The Kids who just want to “Be the Guy”.

We’re all just one big family of gamers.

Well, that’s it for this week everyone. I’ve loved bringing you gaming goodness day after day, but I’m in need of some definite and  polygonal rest and relaxation. Make the most out of your weekend, and treat yourself to something enjoyable if you have the moment.

Happy Gaming,
~Pashford