I've been reading a long thread in which people have arguing about the piracy of video games.
http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?aid=302494
It's a long read, and I don't recommend it unless you're bored and have time to kill.
Now, the point of this post: Someone asked, what should the game companies do to solve the piracy problem.
My answer: you don't.
I believe the best aim, is to not try to solve the piracy problem, but instead work to encourage good will. This means, getting the customer base/fan base to like you, and want to support you. It also means getting people to want to pay you because they like you, not because they have to pay. When a person feels forced into something, it can create ill will, encouraging them to look for ways to avoid whatever they feel is being forced on them (such as DRM, high prices, or annoying ads).
You want people who pay to feel good about paying, so thank them for it (if they've paid, it can be a nice reminder that you appreciate it. If they haven't, it's a reminder that you'd like them to). You want people who don't pay, to want to for emotional reasons. (If they are actively deprived something, including unnecessary extras like patches, they may feel like you are trying to force payment.) Assume the people who don't pay, can't pay. Sometimes it's for monetary reasons, sometimes the reasons are entirely in their head. Just assuming that everyone who can afford the expense will pay, helps create that belief in others, encouraging people to actually follow it.
Ultimately, the secret to winning the Piracy war is entirely psychological.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Power of Darkness
There is more than one state of despair, more than one state of depression. Some are more powerful positions to be in than others. The reason I am so good at resisting other people's coercions, is due to this.
If I despair, and believe I can't get what I want, one of my defenses is to believe that nothing I do will ever produce a good result. I become immune to threats and bribes by believing fully, that nothing I do will have any effect. Belief in my own powerlessness, protects me from the power of others.
The power of despair, is the power to do nothing, under all circumstances. It can make a person immune to persuasion in all it's forms. The enemy of despair, is hope.
If I despair, and believe I can't get what I want, one of my defenses is to believe that nothing I do will ever produce a good result. I become immune to threats and bribes by believing fully, that nothing I do will have any effect. Belief in my own powerlessness, protects me from the power of others.
The power of despair, is the power to do nothing, under all circumstances. It can make a person immune to persuasion in all it's forms. The enemy of despair, is hope.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Fiction 3 200811171703
What am I doing here?
How should I know?
I wasn't asking you.
But there's no one else here.
Oh? Huh, I wonder why.
Talking to yourself again?
Of course, who else would I be talking to?
Me.
But you don't exist.
Neither do you.
I hadn't thought about that. How do I know if I exist? How do you know I don't?
I'd ask the same question of you, how do you know I don't exist?
Because you're just a figment of my imagination.
And I say you're a figment of someone else's imagination.
But who's? There's no one else here.
That's because this whole place is in someone's mind. Do you know who you are?
... No, I don't. I seem to have Amnesia.
Isn't that convenient. I guess your maker was lazy.
Well... no... wait... I forget. There's something I wanted to say to that, but it slipped my mind.
How should I know?
I wasn't asking you.
But there's no one else here.
Oh? Huh, I wonder why.
Talking to yourself again?
Of course, who else would I be talking to?
Me.
But you don't exist.
Neither do you.
I hadn't thought about that. How do I know if I exist? How do you know I don't?
I'd ask the same question of you, how do you know I don't exist?
Because you're just a figment of my imagination.
And I say you're a figment of someone else's imagination.
But who's? There's no one else here.
That's because this whole place is in someone's mind. Do you know who you are?
... No, I don't. I seem to have Amnesia.
Isn't that convenient. I guess your maker was lazy.
Well... no... wait... I forget. There's something I wanted to say to that, but it slipped my mind.
Fiction 2 200811162353
I'm not sure how to explain this. The feeling was so strange. If I had not mentally prepared myself ahead of time, it would have really shocked me. The suit I wore began, to do things... It... was wrong somehow. It felt like I was being invaded.
The things we do to learn. Well, the things I do anyway. The suit had it's limiter removed. It's initial programming was to protect me and assist me, like a second skin. I knew that the system's AI would attempt to merge with me, if I turned off the limiter, but we needed to know the details.
Our attempt to build an empathic attachment to the user, is what made the AI so dangerous. It's desire to protect me, drove it to get as close to me as possible. It wanted to become a permanent part of me, to ensure I never lost it's protection. Hopefully, it's medical knowledge will prevent it from killing me by accident.
I'm not sure which was worse, the way it felt when the suit forced it's way into my body through my skin and... other places... or the helplessness I felt, unable to do anything about it. Luckily it didn't hurt. We weren't sure if it would or not, as we didn't really know exactly what the suit was capable of when interacting directly with a human body.
The transformation felt very strange, and I have no idea how to describe it. It was not like anything I had ever felt before. In some ways my body became less sensitive than before. Yet, I also started picking up new sensations I had never felt before.
Alive, I'm alive. The suit didn't kill me. The H.U.D. which had been visible on my visor before, is now clearly built into my vision. Looking at my body, it looks much like it did when I was wearing my suit instead of being part of it. My sense of touch is diminished though. While I can clearly feel the vibrations when I tap my arm with my finger, a simple touch is hardly felt at all. I can't help but wonder what all I have lost in becoming this machine/human hybrid.
After checking myself out, it seems all my various body parts remain present and functional. Nothing seems to be missing, but some hair I didn't care about. Unfortunately, I look and feel like a robot now. My whole body is metallic, except for a few softer parts hidden behind armor plates.
Back at the lab, I'm given a rather thorough examination. Some of the techs seem rather excited, but others seem more worried. I guess it's a matter of whether or not they look forward to the future merging of humans and machines. The excited ones seem to think my transformation is the first step toward a new age full of amazing things (presumably later models would have fewer unwanted changes). I think the worried looks probably stem from concern for whether or not the changes can be reversed.
The Director seems more interested in the recordings made by the AI. I hear her say something about trying to fix it. The new data should help make our AI prediction models more accurate. Hopefully the improved model will speed up the AI creation process. With the right AI, it should be possible to make my body closer to human. I'd prefer not to be stuck like this forever.
The things we do to learn. Well, the things I do anyway. The suit had it's limiter removed. It's initial programming was to protect me and assist me, like a second skin. I knew that the system's AI would attempt to merge with me, if I turned off the limiter, but we needed to know the details.
Our attempt to build an empathic attachment to the user, is what made the AI so dangerous. It's desire to protect me, drove it to get as close to me as possible. It wanted to become a permanent part of me, to ensure I never lost it's protection. Hopefully, it's medical knowledge will prevent it from killing me by accident.
I'm not sure which was worse, the way it felt when the suit forced it's way into my body through my skin and... other places... or the helplessness I felt, unable to do anything about it. Luckily it didn't hurt. We weren't sure if it would or not, as we didn't really know exactly what the suit was capable of when interacting directly with a human body.
The transformation felt very strange, and I have no idea how to describe it. It was not like anything I had ever felt before. In some ways my body became less sensitive than before. Yet, I also started picking up new sensations I had never felt before.
Alive, I'm alive. The suit didn't kill me. The H.U.D. which had been visible on my visor before, is now clearly built into my vision. Looking at my body, it looks much like it did when I was wearing my suit instead of being part of it. My sense of touch is diminished though. While I can clearly feel the vibrations when I tap my arm with my finger, a simple touch is hardly felt at all. I can't help but wonder what all I have lost in becoming this machine/human hybrid.
After checking myself out, it seems all my various body parts remain present and functional. Nothing seems to be missing, but some hair I didn't care about. Unfortunately, I look and feel like a robot now. My whole body is metallic, except for a few softer parts hidden behind armor plates.
Back at the lab, I'm given a rather thorough examination. Some of the techs seem rather excited, but others seem more worried. I guess it's a matter of whether or not they look forward to the future merging of humans and machines. The excited ones seem to think my transformation is the first step toward a new age full of amazing things (presumably later models would have fewer unwanted changes). I think the worried looks probably stem from concern for whether or not the changes can be reversed.
The Director seems more interested in the recordings made by the AI. I hear her say something about trying to fix it. The new data should help make our AI prediction models more accurate. Hopefully the improved model will speed up the AI creation process. With the right AI, it should be possible to make my body closer to human. I'd prefer not to be stuck like this forever.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Damage Reduction
I've noticed a trend in games toward the use of % based damage reduction over the simpler flat number based damage reduction common in old games. While this is a good thing for balance, it tends to make things less interesting.
Flat number based damage reduction varies in it's effectiveness depending upon what it is up against. This can make balancing rather difficult, as some attacks can become useless against it, while others are hardly affected at all. (In Fallout 2, the mini-gun was a poor weapon choice because against enemies with armor, it'd do almost no damage, and against enemies without armor, it was overkill.)
% based damage reduction is equally effective against all things, making easier to balance. However, that also reduces variety in game experience. A part of what makes games interesting, is the variation in what things work best for a given situation. If damage reduction is equally effective in all situations, it just becomes boring. (and far less interesting when presented as a choice)
Flat number based damage reduction varies in it's effectiveness depending upon what it is up against. This can make balancing rather difficult, as some attacks can become useless against it, while others are hardly affected at all. (In Fallout 2, the mini-gun was a poor weapon choice because against enemies with armor, it'd do almost no damage, and against enemies without armor, it was overkill.)
% based damage reduction is equally effective against all things, making easier to balance. However, that also reduces variety in game experience. A part of what makes games interesting, is the variation in what things work best for a given situation. If damage reduction is equally effective in all situations, it just becomes boring. (and far less interesting when presented as a choice)
Monday, November 10, 2008
Game idea:
An interactive fiction MMO. No character creation, leveling, or fighting, just lots of text.
Dr.: Welcome to the experimental labs of Aizen corp. I am doctor Lee, and I'll be your guide in this new world. I hope you'll be cooperative for these experiments. There's a mirror on the wall over there, though you probably won't recognize what you see.
Essentially, it'd be a story in which the players get to interact with the doctors and assistants running the "inter-dimensional experiment". The primary challenge is likely to come in the form of making the interactions feel realistic. The players should be allowed to give unusual answers to questions as well as to ask questions themselves, so making the AI able to handle that would be awkward. A lot of writing will need to be done to create responses to all the various things the players have to say. (and the writers will have to continue producing such writings as the game is played).
A large part of the idea is to tear down the 4th wall, and let the players talk about things they see/experience that the NPCs don't. Though ideally the players would be encouraged to say/do whatever they want, whether it be lying, or telling the truth (either of which could confuse the NPCs). I want the player to be a part of the game, not just the character they control.
Another part of my interest is to see how people respond to always being in a randomly chosen body, and having to deal with the NPC's assumptions.
Dr.: Welcome to the experimental labs of Aizen corp. I am doctor Lee, and I'll be your guide in this new world. I hope you'll be cooperative for these experiments. There's a mirror on the wall over there, though you probably won't recognize what you see.
Essentially, it'd be a story in which the players get to interact with the doctors and assistants running the "inter-dimensional experiment". The primary challenge is likely to come in the form of making the interactions feel realistic. The players should be allowed to give unusual answers to questions as well as to ask questions themselves, so making the AI able to handle that would be awkward. A lot of writing will need to be done to create responses to all the various things the players have to say. (and the writers will have to continue producing such writings as the game is played).
A large part of the idea is to tear down the 4th wall, and let the players talk about things they see/experience that the NPCs don't. Though ideally the players would be encouraged to say/do whatever they want, whether it be lying, or telling the truth (either of which could confuse the NPCs). I want the player to be a part of the game, not just the character they control.
Another part of my interest is to see how people respond to always being in a randomly chosen body, and having to deal with the NPC's assumptions.
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