Revise Revise Revise. The same word repeated three times for effect. To drill it in the brain that what i must accomplish is to suffer the woes of my people and answer 80 multiple choice questions. A quick scan of materials reveals what it is to be done. Read the readings again, check my notebook and then sleep to let it all wash over me. Not much more to say.
The Battlefield bad company demo released today. Exciting. Gold rushing time. And My Gamerscore? 13,215 and upwards!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Is the growing importance of Downloadable Content for the Xbox 360 console a good or a bad thing?
Although there are many example of incidents in which the Xbox Lives Downloadable Content capabilities are been exploited, the positives of this function vastly outweigh the negative. It could be at first viewed negatively, with the possibility of games being released in a sub- standard state, relying on DLC to fill the game out at a later state. The Xbox Live marketplace is growing rapidly, as expressed in an interview with Microsoft’s Director of Global Marketing, Albert Penello. Penello stated in an interview with Gizmodo.com (2007) that “There's been 135 million downloads from Live Marketplace, and 70 percent of the people connected to Live are downloading something.” Books
Bates, B. (2001) Game Design: The art and business of creating games
Games need to make money. They are a business, and one that makes a large amount of money. Professor Espen Aarseth states that “The industry only wants to make a certain kind of game: games that people spend money on. It sees games as a kind of product, or as a sellable service.” (Aarseth,2002) When looking at DLC for the 360 there are two main examples of this, but in far different ways.
The first example is EA Games and their treatment of the Godfather Videogame for the Xbox 360. The game was released for essentially every current system on the market at the time. Each version contained the full amount of weapons and access to in-game cheats, except for the Xbox 360 version. These parts of the game were sliced out and presented on the Xbox marketplace as enticing bundles which such descriptions as
“Become a ‘made man’ with the ultimate collection of weapons, money and in-game items.” (Xbox.com.au,2008). These bundles were sold for 800 Microsoft Points, roughly $15.
The second example, and a far more positive one, in fact the way in which it is hoped all downloadable content will be handled in the future, is the issue of Mass Effect and the ‘Bringing down the Sky’ downloadable episode. This episode adds around an extra 4 hours of game play, furthering the story and keeping the player engaged with a over arching story. There are planned episodes for the future, periodically put out until eventually Mass Effect 2 is released. This an example of that “sellable service” a technique which has already been used effectively for MMORPG, such as World of Warcraft and the Lord Of The Rings Online game. It allows developers to make “opportunities for adventures in downloadable content, presenting new information, through a very compelling storyline,” stated Casey Hudson, Project Director for Bioware in a 2008 interview with IGN.com.
This is a new and exciting way of getting content to your gamer. Once done by the expansion pack, which took up a large amount of time and money, it is now been achieved for a smaller price and in half the time it takes to get an expansion pack on the market. It allows games not to be just seen as standalone stories, or ‘movies,’ but rather as the starting block for a series of episodes, much like a TV show. This will not only allow developers to make their games more expansive in the long run, but also allow greater opportunities for the exploration of the various characters and locations contained within the videogame.
But there are still negative ways in which DLC is being used, or more accurately, was going to be used, is once again concerning EA and their treatment of the upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company. According to their press statement they intended to charge people for the use of better weapons. These weapons could be purchased off the Xbox Marketplace for a certain amount of money. Not only is this an erroneous business tactic, but it also threatened to create a highly unbalanced online playing field, with essentially the richer players having access to the better weapons. EA soon retracted this statement, stating that you would no longer have to pay for better weaponry, but instead participate in a special BETA test to receive the weapons. Many online websites, see this as “EA testing the waters.”(Kotaku,2008) Meaning that in the future it is possible that we will see more games than wish to utilise a system of ‘money over skill’.
DLC is no longer the gimmick that it was when the Xbox Live system was first launched. Back during the networks launch in November of 2002 it was mainly used to distribute minor patches and insignificant game changes, such as a flowery cover for your favourite steed in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. But now it is a huge factor when a game is being constructed. A most recent example of this pre-planning of DLC is with Grand Theft Auto 4. Microsoft paid out an alleged $50 million for exclusive rights to two ‘episodes’. This excitement over DLC can only mean good things for Xbox owners, and will no doubt result in some excellent content being released soon.
Whilst the Xbox Marketplace is still being used as an excuse to chop up games and sell the pieces later, these instances do not weigh down overall advancements being made. With episodic content already being released and more games being shaped with downloadable content in mind, it is easy to see the see how this is an area which will keep improving.
Bibliography
Books
Bates, B. (2001) Game Design: The art and business of creating games California
Chaplin, Heather. (2005) Smartbomb : the quest for art, entertainment, and big bucks in the videogame revolution
Game Studies Journals
Aarseth, E (2002) The Dungeon and the Ivory Tower: Vive La Difference ou Liason Dangereuse, Volume 2 Issue 1, July 2002
Castranova, E (2003) On Virtual Economies, Volume 3 Issue 2, December 2003
Websites
Gizmodo.com
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/xbox-360-elite-interview-with-microsofts-albert-penell
AI Wisdom.com
Gamasutra.com
FT.com
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/2c08ef9a-b776-11da-b4c2-0000779e2340.html
Gamepro.com
http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=82497
Kotaku.com
http://kotaku.com/371407/ea-responds-to-bad-company-weapons-charge
Ign.com
http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/854/854699p1.html
Xbox.com
Is the growing importance of Downloadable Content for the Xbox 360 console a good or a bad thing?
Although there are many example of incidents in which the Xbox Lives Downloadable Content capabilities are been exploited, the positives of this function vastly outweigh the negative. It could be at first viewed negatively, with the possibility of games being released in a sub- standard state, relying on DLC to fill the game out at a later state. The Xbox Live marketplace is growing rapidly, as expressed in an interview with Microsoft’s Director of Global Marketing, Albert Penello. Penello stated in an interview with Gizmodo.com (2007) that “There's been 135 million downloads from Live Marketplace, and 70 percent of the people connected to Live are downloading something.” Books
Bates, B. (2001) Game Design: The art and business of creating games
Games need to make money. They are a business, and one that makes a large amount of money. Professor Espen Aarseth states that “The industry only wants to make a certain kind of game: games that people spend money on. It sees games as a kind of product, or as a sellable service.” (Aarseth,2002) When looking at DLC for the 360 there are two main examples of this, but in far different ways.
The first example is EA Games and their treatment of the Godfather Videogame for the Xbox 360. The game was released for essentially every current system on the market at the time. Each version contained the full amount of weapons and access to in-game cheats, except for the Xbox 360 version. These parts of the game were sliced out and presented on the Xbox marketplace as enticing bundles which such descriptions as
“Become a ‘made man’ with the ultimate collection of weapons, money and in-game items.” (Xbox.com.au,2008). These bundles were sold for 800 Microsoft Points, roughly $15.
The second example, and a far more positive one, in fact the way in which it is hoped all downloadable content will be handled in the future, is the issue of Mass Effect and the ‘Bringing down the Sky’ downloadable episode. This episode adds around an extra 4 hours of game play, furthering the story and keeping the player engaged with a over arching story. There are planned episodes for the future, periodically put out until eventually Mass Effect 2 is released. This an example of that “sellable service” a technique which has already been used effectively for MMORPG, such as World of Warcraft and the Lord Of The Rings Online game. It allows developers to make “opportunities for adventures in downloadable content, presenting new information, through a very compelling storyline,” stated Casey Hudson, Project Director for Bioware in a 2008 interview with IGN.com.
This is a new and exciting way of getting content to your gamer. Once done by the expansion pack, which took up a large amount of time and money, it is now been achieved for a smaller price and in half the time it takes to get an expansion pack on the market. It allows games not to be just seen as standalone stories, or ‘movies,’ but rather as the starting block for a series of episodes, much like a TV show. This will not only allow developers to make their games more expansive in the long run, but also allow greater opportunities for the exploration of the various characters and locations contained within the videogame.
But there are still negative ways in which DLC is being used, or more accurately, was going to be used, is once again concerning EA and their treatment of the upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company. According to their press statement they intended to charge people for the use of better weapons. These weapons could be purchased off the Xbox Marketplace for a certain amount of money. Not only is this an erroneous business tactic, but it also threatened to create a highly unbalanced online playing field, with essentially the richer players having access to the better weapons. EA soon retracted this statement, stating that you would no longer have to pay for better weaponry, but instead participate in a special BETA test to receive the weapons. Many online websites, see this as “EA testing the waters.”(Kotaku,2008) Meaning that in the future it is possible that we will see more games than wish to utilise a system of ‘money over skill’.
DLC is no longer the gimmick that it was when the Xbox Live system was first launched. Back during the networks launch in November of 2002 it was mainly used to distribute minor patches and insignificant game changes, such as a flowery cover for your favourite steed in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. But now it is a huge factor when a game is being constructed. A most recent example of this pre-planning of DLC is with Grand Theft Auto 4. Microsoft paid out an alleged $50 million for exclusive rights to two ‘episodes’. This excitement over DLC can only mean good things for Xbox owners, and will no doubt result in some excellent content being released soon.
Whilst the Xbox Marketplace is still being used as an excuse to chop up games and sell the pieces later, these instances do not weigh down overall advancements being made. With episodic content already being released and more games being shaped with downloadable content in mind, it is easy to see the see how this is an area which will keep improving.
Bibliography
Books
Bates, B. (2001) Game Design: The art and business of creating games California
Chaplin, Heather. (2005) Smartbomb : the quest for art, entertainment, and big bucks in the videogame revolution
Game Studies Journals
Aarseth, E (2002) The Dungeon and the Ivory Tower: Vive La Difference ou Liason Dangereuse, Volume 2 Issue 1, July 2002
Castranova, E (2003) On Virtual Economies, Volume 3 Issue 2, December 2003
Websites
Gizmodo.com
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/xbox-360-elite-interview-with-microsofts-albert-penell
AI Wisdom.com
Gamasutra.com
FT.com
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/2c08ef9a-b776-11da-b4c2-0000779e2340.html
Gamepro.com
http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=82497
Kotaku.com
http://kotaku.com/371407/ea-responds-to-bad-company-weapons-charge
Ign.com
http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/854/854699p1.html
Xbox.com
Monday, May 26, 2008
essay DRAFT
To ask the question of whether or not downloadable content over the Xbox Live network is a good or bad thing. DLC could lead to the the problem of developers putting out games early, relying on the knowledge that they can later release extra things for a small price. EA games are a prime example of a company milking this system, with the example of their Godfather videogame. When they released this game, Xbox 360 owners got a different version to the PS2 and Wii versions. Several aspects of the game, such as cheats and certain weapons, had been removed from the 360 version. These things were all included on every other version of the game, except the 360. Soon after the release of the game, the parts of the game that had been removed from the 360 were uploaded onto the Xbox Live marketplace, where gamers who had already paid full price for the game could download them, at a cost. When DLC is used properly though, it bares many exciting possibilities. Added chapters, fully fleshed out storylines with over 5 hours of gameplay, are a great way to keep a game alive before the sequel is released. Mass Effect is a prime example of this, with DLC "episodes" being released to keep the game interesting before Mass Effect 2 is released. The upcoming GTA4 episodes also show how important DLC is becoming, with M$ paying 50 million to exlusive rights to the first few downloadable episodes.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Using Microsoft like you were born within its fleshy digital walls
Today we went over our basic Microsoft Office skills, the usual junk like mail merging and all that necessary info. Rather exciting, except for the Excel stuff, what a chore man, a total chore.
In the second, more interesting half of the tutorial we explored virtual worlds. W#e decided to take a trip through Active worlds, a chat room in which you are given an avatar and made to float around whilst discussing politics, food and other non-threatening topics. At one point i mentioned a rude word, which is actually a scientific term, and was warned for language by a floating pixie. I told her off and fled into a portal which led me deep into what i could only assume was an ocean. These chat rooms seem to be fun places for some, with alot of the members knowing each other quiet well, suggesting that a few regulars frequent the rooms. But not my cup of tea, really, i prefer the friendship forged on the battlefield, specifically in Battlefield 2 whilst storming a desert palace in the middle of a dust storm.
GTA4 soon, i assume.
In the second, more interesting half of the tutorial we explored virtual worlds. W#e decided to take a trip through Active worlds, a chat room in which you are given an avatar and made to float around whilst discussing politics, food and other non-threatening topics. At one point i mentioned a rude word, which is actually a scientific term, and was warned for language by a floating pixie. I told her off and fled into a portal which led me deep into what i could only assume was an ocean. These chat rooms seem to be fun places for some, with alot of the members knowing each other quiet well, suggesting that a few regulars frequent the rooms. But not my cup of tea, really, i prefer the friendship forged on the battlefield, specifically in Battlefield 2 whilst storming a desert palace in the middle of a dust storm.
GTA4 soon, i assume.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wikipedia Analysis 2: Mass Effect
This wiki concerning the videogame 'mass effect' is rather accurate, if not lacking in content in certain areas. It is good that there has been note made of the sex scene that featured in this game, as it shows the controversy that surrounded this game and the criticisms launched upon it by certain members of authority (like Spitzer can talk). This wiki does cover all the basic topics that you would need to understand what the article is about. It is very lengthy, with a very lengthy explanation of what happens in the plot. This article is clearly written by a gamer and therefore it regards the issues of censorship and the controversy over the sex scene in an incredulous tone.
If I could change anything, I would expand the characters section, giving more detailed background. After all the story is the best part of Mass Effect (the combat is horrible, the menu system has been simplified to the point where it is ridiculously simple and although there are claims of huge worlds to explore, most of the planets look the same). I would also maybe mention that, but then that would be bias. A fair spat of reviews is given from various online "professionals", i would have removed these, because most of them are unreliable (Iup.com for example, the site which claimed that Sega Superstars tennis was a better game than Assassins creed. Come on.)
Gs:12,350
If I could change anything, I would expand the characters section, giving more detailed background. After all the story is the best part of Mass Effect (the combat is horrible, the menu system has been simplified to the point where it is ridiculously simple and although there are claims of huge worlds to explore, most of the planets look the same). I would also maybe mention that, but then that would be bias. A fair spat of reviews is given from various online "professionals", i would have removed these, because most of them are unreliable (Iup.com for example, the site which claimed that Sega Superstars tennis was a better game than Assassins creed. Come on.)
Gs:12,350
Wikipedia Analysis 1:Radiohead
The article is very accurate and concise. The opening paragraph explains, in brief, a history of Radiohead. There are then subsections, each one dealing with a different album from the band. these subsections are also named after the style and approach to music that Radiohead are taking at that time. For example one such subsections reads- Ok Computer,fame and critical acclaim, while the next section reads- Kid A, Amnesiac and a change in sound. This is helpful to get a general overview of what the album sounds like and what is happening with the band at the time. This article covers all the baselines for a useful wikipedia article. It is thorough and informative.
There is not a particularly large amount of bias in this article but it does show the band in a favourable light, making note of lead singer Thom Yorke's charity work and the bands concerns over carbon emissions as a result of their touring.
I don't see much that could be changed about this wikipedia entry. It is accurate and provides a useful overview of the history of the band and their various recordings.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead
There is not a particularly large amount of bias in this article but it does show the band in a favourable light, making note of lead singer Thom Yorke's charity work and the bands concerns over carbon emissions as a result of their touring.
I don't see much that could be changed about this wikipedia entry. It is accurate and provides a useful overview of the history of the band and their various recordings.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead
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