The Save Spot

Gaming Culture Officially Mainstream

Ok, maybe video game culture has been mainstream for a while already.  But as a cubicle-dwelling business professional, it often feels like gaming as entertainment is atypical - perhaps a straightforward consequence of adult responsibilities.  So I was pleased when during a routine check of the Bloomberg financial news and data service I saw an article with the following headline:

“Mark Peroff Wins ‘Final Fantasy’ Maker’s Law Business by Discounting 20%”

To me this said a lot!  Bloomberg is an established, respected source of business news and they could have titled this article “Mark Peroff Wins Square-Enix Law Business…”  I wonder if the Bloomberg news team expected higher click through rates or google search hits by including ‘final fantasy’ (hey, why not!)  Or, did they expect that more readers would be familiar with Final Fantasy as a franchise than with the company that produces it? 

Either way, this is a nice call-out for gamers in the business world.  You are not alone!  Or maybe it’s simpler than all that - now more than ever finance professionals need an escape, and what better way than a good RPG?  An excellent suggestion, and I think I’ll act on it right away!

 

Star Wars Galaxy Designer Commits Suicide

 

 

 

It’s easy to tear at someone else’s work from behind a keyboard. 

We do it all the time. I’d bet there are very few people who post thoughts on the internet that haven’t said unkind things about someone at least once.  Even the best intentioned of us can make these mistakes.  But for many, Nerd Snark is a way of life.  If you read the comments on major websites like Kotaku or any news site discussing politics or religion, you get a feel for it.  The quick judgments.  The self righteous anger.

Don’t get me wrong: many products are completely worthless or defective.  Many games have promised “revolutionary gameplay” only to give us broken controls and defective experiences.  I get the anger.  I get the frustration.  But if we ever want gaming to be taken as a serious medium, shouldn’t we collectively hold ourselves to a higher standard than Nerd Snark?

Why do I bring this all up? Because news hit today that Jeff Freeman committed suicide.  Freeman was responsible for making changes to the Star Wars Galaxy gameplay.  To say those changes didn’t go over well is an understatement.  Freeman was viciously attacked and maligned.  And now he’s dead.

His brother says it was personal issues that drove him to suicide, not the internet attacks.  And maybe that’s true.  But does that excuse our behavior?

They say “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”  Sadly that’s not true at all.  All people need relationships and a sense of community.  When we’re attacked, when we’re rejected, we feel pain.  How can we not?

Maybe the internet didn’t drive Freeman to commit suicide.  But I bet it didn’t stop him.  Maybe we should think about that before there’s a “next time.”

(View more screenshots for Star Wars Galaxies)

  

Comfort food

 

 

 

Sometimes I’m in an adventurous mood, eager to zip out to an unproven restauraunt or willing to (gasp) try a new dish at a favorite spot.  Other times, I just want to sit at home with a beer and some salty snackage.  I was in the latter frame of mind on a recent family vacation (yes, I know I’m too old for a National Lampoons-style family vacation.  No, that didn’t stop me!)  Naturally, there was much beer and salty snacking involved but I also indulged in a different kind of comfort food, video game comfort food for my PSP in the form of Marvel Ultimate Alliance.

MUA is a fantastic game, a great example of a dungeon crawl that gets almost everything right and also leverages a genre-appropriate license quite well.  It is a lengthy game (30ish hours), a replayable game (there are many hero combinations you could play again with), a richly deep and customizable game (stats, powers, equipment, and hero teams can all be customized), and a game filled with interesting optional sidequests and colletion goals.  So, when I say this game is comfort food I certainly don’t mean to suggest that it isn’t deep or is not enrossing.  It’s a pleasant romp, a nice way to kill some time, a game that doesn’t require too much thinking, and a well-balanced game that is neither too easy nor too difficult or frustrating. 

For me, it’s a game that I’ve now played through substantial portions three times (the first three acts are well-traveled territory for me, most enjoyably as a core event of GAUGE VII).  It walks a fine line between button-mashing gameplay and a need to sometimes play with more strategy and on my recent trip it provided a pleasant escape that didn’t require too much mental overhead or engagement.  I even let Marvel make an important decision for me, and played as the Fantastic Four. 

MUA is one of those games that came out on almost every game system - you can purchase a copy for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, or PSP.  If you enjoy Diablo-style gameplay and have even a passing interest in Marvel superheros, go get yourself a greatest-hits copy right away.  I recommend the 360 version since you’ll get access to exclusive playable characters including the Hulk and Dr. Doom, and because nerd points are fun.  Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has also been announced, and I’m expecting good things!

What’s your video game comfort food?

 

 

I hate better graphics

 

 

 

Have you ever heard the argument that goes something like this, “I’m tired of better graphics, I want new game play. I don’t care about processing power, I want innovation.” But what happens when innovative game play requires processing power that simply isn’t there?

That’s the case with Dead Rising, a game originally released on the Xbox 360. The Wii simply lacks the ability to put the endless waves of zombies on the screen which makes an interesting game rather mundane. Part of the intensity of the game comes from the claustrophobia of being surrounded by masses of zombies.

This is completely lost in the Wii version, where it feels more like you’re surrounded by 10 annoying friends.

There’s no doubt that “better” graphics are a poor substitute for quality game play. But lets not fool ourselves into thinking that better graphics are somehow inferior to game play. Clearly the Wii, since it’s a weaker system, loses something with a port like Dead Rising.

Everything has it’s own place. Including graphics.

Collectively speaking

 

 

 

Video games are generally a lousy investment.  Now, before you start writing me angry letters, games can have a tremendously high return as measured in hours of enjoyment per dollar spent on entertainment.  There are many games in my collection which have ended up costing far less than $1/hour of entertainment.   But I’m not talking about the somewhat intangible return of personal enjoyment - I’m talking about cold hard cash!

By a dollars and cents measure of return on investment, most games are quite poor as investments.  I often pay $40 - $60 for a cool new game, that just a few months later can be had in a budget release (or used) for half as much.  As the years go by, only a precious few games hold their resale value - and most never sell for more than orignial MSRP. 

Even so, I find it enjoyable to collect some of my favorite games from over the years and rather than trade them in when I’m “done” with them, I tend to keep new releases on my shelf.  And I’ve enjoyed picking up classic NES and Genesis games from eBay, too.   Remember how expensive the original Phantasy Star was for the Sega Master System, and how revolutionary and expansive the game seemed?  You can pick up a nice, complete copy for $20-30 if you’re so inclined.

As with all collectables, price is a function of supply and demand - and the supply of most games is quite high.  If you start building up a collection of classic games over the past couple of decades, some of the more expensive games are consequently for some of the less successful platforms.  The Sega Saturn, for example, has several classic titles for which you will have to pay $50, $100, $200, or more if you would like to include a nice copy in your collection.  The RPG Panzer Dragoon Saga, for one, typically retails in the $150-$200 range.  It’s an early 3D multi-disc RPG that had an unusually small production.  A classic shmup, Radiant Silvergun, will set you back even more - plus you’ll need to figure out how to play Japanese import games (you’ll need a Japanese Saturn or a special memory card based region-unlocker).  

Limited editions are an interesting step towards adding interest in treating new games as collectables - but it is terribly ineffective unless the limited editions are actually limited in suply (I bet you’re kicking yourself if you paid full MSRP for the Halo 3 Legendary Edition!)  In this regard, I think game publishers could take a page from comics publishers and publish (say) 1 out of 25 copies of a game with variant box art. 

Do you have a game collection?  Do you keep everything or trade in your used games?  Are there any gems in your collection that you keep as an investment?   Let us know in the comments. 

 

Smashing Time Wasters

 

 

 

I’ve been playing Hulk: Ultimate Destruction for my xbox the last week or so.  And I want to like the game.  I really do.  But there’s something that has been keeping me from truly enjoying it: repetitive missions.

I can’t stand to repeat things.

Especially in games.

I have a limited amount of time in my life to play video games.  Work, friends, projects, and writing take up a huge percentage of time I used to devote to gaming.  Because of that I have to be selective with my time.  And that means avoiding games where you have to play through the same level multiple times.

If I want a feeling of accomplishing nothing, I’ll go to work.  (Kidding.) 

But in a way that’s true.  Our “normal” lives are filled with repetition.  Feeding the dog, taking out the garbage, eating a sandwich for lunch every day.  Whatever your routine is, it’s repetitive.  And that serves an important function.

The problem is that it’s not fun.  Repetitiveness is designed to produce stability and predictability - not excitement and thrill.  So why are these elements added to our video games?

I don’t find chasing after the same fast truck 15 times all that enjoyable.  Sure it may make the game more difficult.  But is that really the goal?  Should games be hard or fun?  Why are they even in competition?

Well I think you no my answer to that one, so I won’t repeat myself.