tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post6672868223124261030..comments2024-02-05T05:56:50.392-05:00Comments on Insult Swordfighting: Friday afternoon tidbitsMitch Krpatahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15987162934932391765noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-7299330681931683362009-10-26T14:23:59.650-04:002009-10-26T14:23:59.650-04:00Have you ever seen Takashi Murakami's take on ...Have you ever seen Takashi Murakami's take on the difference between Japanese and American art audiences?<br /><br />I think I read this in an article by the NY Times: he said that Japanese people were more likely to say, "What a beautiful shade of blue", while westerners would delve into a lots of literary and historical ideas or something.<br /><br />That reminds me of Suda and Ueda: their games have tons of subtext, but they aren't directly aiming at subtext, nor do they like talking about it.<br /><br />I heard Tarantino say something similar on Fresh Air: he never thinks about the subtext of the films as he's making them, but just assumes that it will be there in the end.dwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03372259616195089981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-58210209548420166842009-10-24T18:51:36.146-04:002009-10-24T18:51:36.146-04:00-ness. It feels like freshness.-ness. It feels like freshness.Kirkhttp://murfinsandburglars.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-51590939699946421532009-10-24T18:49:45.986-04:002009-10-24T18:49:45.986-04:00I'm curious to hear more of your take on Borde...I'm curious to hear more of your take on Borderlands. I didn't see it coming, either, and now I can't seem to stop playing.<br /><br />Also, after getting to level 25, I feel like when played solo (I'm not a gold XBLiver anymore), the game is a nearly exact hybrid of Fallout 3 and Far Cry 2. It's not really that much like either of those games, but it is quite a bit like <i>both</i> of them, if that makes sense.<br /><br />Setting, Music, Stats, Berserker raiders, Crazy-Addictive Leveling up, kinda jank AI = Fallout 3.<br /><br />Open map dotted by respawning outposts, Universally hostile NPCs, Final objective laid out in the first five minutes of the game, Lots of walking/driving between missions, Repetitive, extremely enjoyable FPS gameplay = Far Cry 2.<br /><br />As awesome as the next few weeks are going to be, I actually think that Borderlands might end up being one of the more talked-about games of the holiday season. <br /><br />Its highs and lows are all just too interesting not to warrant further discussion. Even though everything in the game is ripped off (I mean, they had the ghostly vision-lady say both "would you kindly" <i>AND</i> "Our Benefactors," sheesh) - it still somehow feels like fresh.Kirkhttp://murfinsandburglars.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-25377296256993719762009-10-23T21:21:10.498-04:002009-10-23T21:21:10.498-04:00I've actually made the argument several times ...I've actually made the argument several times in the past (though maybe not online...) that a high difficulty level in a game is a relic of the past, an outdated marketing imperative. Super Mario Bros. is so relevant for the videogame landscape because it introduced the progression structure (per <a href="http://www.jesperjuul.net/text/openandtheclosed.html" rel="nofollow">Jesper Juul's writings</a>) to skill-and-action games, as Crawford called them back in the day. Before, action games were emergent, and adventure/RPGs were progressive; as you point out, the games then had to be difficult if they were to last more than 20 minutes - and make it acceptable for people to pay 40$ or so for them (in 1985 dollars).<br /><br />High/extreme difficulty shouldn't have its place nowadays - for a type of player, of course. 'The hardcore', as we usually call them (though the name is fraught with peril, according to most), people who take pride in 'beating' games and are stimulated by a good challenge, are in my experience and personal spheres of contacts, few and far between compared to the gamers that want to see the story of a game, or see its art, or somehow see the contents. <br /><br />I'm not saying the hardcore (as in competitive FPS players and such) don't deserve their ultra-challenging games; but there's no reason to inflict the punishment of extreme difficulty levels on the 'tourists' who are just along to enjoy the sights and have fun. Ultimately, this pretty much boils down to what Ernest Adams said: <a href="http://www.designersnotebook.com/Columns/073_Bad_Game_Designer_VI/073_bad_game_designer_vi.htm" rel="nofollow">Easy Mode Is Supposed to Be Easy, Dammit!</a> <br /><br />Making a game today that follows these conventions would likely not work. I am of course fully aware of the Mega Man 9 case, but I am prepared to argue that it pleased mainly, if not exclusively, A) gamers who were there at the time; B) retrogamers who weren't there but are used to these types of games; in both cases, people whose horizons of expectation includes such a high ratio of deaths/failures to progress. I'd also wager that it is received by the players who enjoy it using the mindframe of those games back in the days - they are not evaluated and approached from the frame of current game production. Of course, without "data", I could well be wrong, but I think I have some ground here. Anyone, share your numbers/impressions on this!<br /><br />For the tl;dr crowd: extra-difficult games is just a historical contingency due to a marketing structure and technological context of the time when games couldn't be long enough to make them worthwhile; it'd never work today, and that's not a bad thing.Dominichttp://www.le-ludophile.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8074451.post-35152314829510643832009-10-23T18:18:47.939-04:002009-10-23T18:18:47.939-04:00I'm really looking forward to Borderlands, I&#...I'm really looking forward to Borderlands, I'm not sure if it's all the hype or viral marketing, but it does seems like a fun game. Hope to read a word or two of it from you =).FelixIncautohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01275237428404312723noreply@blogger.com