Webcomics

http://www.webcomicsnation.com/hammock/estancia/series.php?view=archive&chapter=6545

I guess I like weird stories.

Thank you to whomever...

http://doublebuffered.com/2008/05/09/ea-does-something-right/

I'm very glad to hear that EA is switching to a one-time authentication instead of that every 10 days horror they proposed originally. I can actually accept the new policy, yay!.

A reason to boycott EA

http://doublebuffered.com/2008/05/07/eas-new-copy-protection/

If they really put that kind of copy protection on Spore, then I guess I'll just have to not buy it. I'd been looking forward to Spore, but that kind of copy protection just offends me.

Some interesting posts on game design.

http://doublebuffered.com/2008/02/28/18/

This guy impresses me. The quality of his posts and insights on game design are better than I'm accustomed to seeing by quite a lot.

More stuff:
http://doublebuffered.com/2006/12/31/integrating-talk-and-game/

Classes vs skills

http://doublebuffered.com/2008/03/13/character-classes-and-skills-why-they-suck/

I can definitely agree that more games need a way to separate role and style in character creation. I often end up going against type in class based systems, because my preferred style/role combination doesn't get much (if any) support.

The obvious answer to the issue of having to choose between solo or group character design, is to allow easy respecing. If a person can easily switch between a group or solo setup, then they are no longer constrained to just one or the other.

I believe the primary issue with having characters that only work in group play, is the issue of being able to make a character that is dependent upon the presence of other characters to work right. The two examples I can think of right away, is the tank who needs others to deal damage for them, and the blaster who needs a tank (or really good healer) to protect them. A part of this issue is the fact that two specialists is almost always better than two generalists.

The most straight-forward fix I can see to the dependency issue, is to give each character a minimum level of damage and defense. One way to do this, is to make offense and defense no longer a trade off, making choices more a matter of style (I would consider any power that reduces damage taken, such as knockdown or knockback in CoH to be defensive).

One way to make solo characters more capable in groups, is to ensure that all characters have a way to contribute their defensive abilities to the aid of others. If their defense only protects them, it becomes useless any time they are not attacked. It would also be useful to give solo characters or powers, advantages that only appear while grouped. Normally, a power that raises the characters damage is less effective in a group than one that lowers enemy resistance (due to the other party members benefiting from the latter) but if the damage raising power provides a larger boost when allies are around, then it no longer suffers that weakness.

Making group characters more capable solo runs into issues with flavor. If someone wants to play a character whose concept is ally buffer that has little real power themselves, trying to make them capable alone doesn't make much sense. One solution to the issue, is to offer NPC allies for people who want a party, but either can't find one, or just don't wish to deal with real people.

Limiting focus fire in EVE

An idea occurred to me regarding the restriction of focusing fire. One way to limit the effectiveness of focused fire, is to limit how fast ships can die. My favorite idea for this was to limit how fast structure could be lost. This could provide a minimum survival time for ships, as well as differentiating structure from armor and shields, by adding a significant difference in function. (An example of how it could work: a ship that gets shot for 5k damage to structure, might lose it's structure at a rate of 1k/second instead of having the 5k taken off immediately.) I'd recommend having structure repair then reduce the damage queue before providing any increase in structure.

If one wishes to require that the ship remain under fire while the structure goes down, the a simple way to enforce that, is to make ships not die as long as shield or armor is above a certain threshold (thus forcing people to not let their opponent rebuild their shields or armor).

Other ideas I had included various forms of invulnerability time (10 seconds after first taking damage; a module that triggers limited invulnerability each time a damage taken threshold was reached; etc...), but I greatly dislike invulnerability time in general.

Random Thoughts: Hellgate

While playing Hellgate: London, I've come to realize that a large part of the enjoyment for me, is finding neat effects that I like. An example is the Surge Caster (later, the Storm Caller) which basically creates a field of electrical mayhem around me. Meanwhile, the Shockshell grenade launcher was horribly boring to me, though I found it effective.
I wonder how much the strategies Casino slot machines use to keep players entertained and playing, might work in other video games. Essentially, big visual stimuli, and positive sounds can encourage continued playing. If the view itself is entertaining, players may demand less depth.

I actually wish I could automate many of the powers in Hellgate: London. I always find it awkward to try and manually activate more than one or two powers in games.

My general enjoyment in games tends to come from two separate parts: Planning a strategy, and watching the outcome. In Hellgate, the planning is often early in character development, then the gameplay is largely the watching part, seeing how well the idea works. For me, making this entertaining, is more about two key things: clearly offering information (so I can figure out how well/poorly the plan works, and why), and having easy, enjoyable visuals and sounds. I'm more interested in watching and learning, than focusing on skill (such as: practicing my speed and coordination).

I believe that my tendency to lose interest in a character after finishing the main plot, is due to my lack of interest in the gameplay itself. By the time I've finished the main game, I've figured out how effective the strategy is, and need no more time to learn. All that's left, is to try something different from the beginning again.

Impossible Ideal

The image of the ideal forever haunts.
An impossible thing that doesn't let go.
Forever hating what is, for what isn't.
It can be a creative drive, or an unending misery.

Random Writings

Silly thoughts permeate the mind.
One's views, twisted by time.
The future of truth, lost in rhyme.
'till the seekers discover, there's nothing to find.

The mind...

http://www.thelocal.de/11295/

I don't see why free will cannot exist within the subconscious.

CoH: Offenders

I feel like Sonic/Sonic is the easiest way to add a lot of damage to a team as a defender. Shriek, Scream, and Sonic Siphon make bosses go down quick, while Disruption Field and Howl allow ally AoE to tear entire groups apart. Sonic Dispersion is also a handy little buff though it doesn't add damage, except by preventing people from being held or stunned.

Disruption Field is a very expensive toggle, and should be slotted with Endurance reduction enhancements as soon as possible.

Note: I personally believe all Defenders should get Assault and Tactics from the leadership pool, which is why I didn't bother mentioning it as part of the Sonic/Sonic offender build. Just make sure you remember to put 3 endurance reductions in each, and to hit buff enhancements in Tactics.

A chaotic mess.

Breaking time. What exactly can it handle?
Lets find out, pick a time already high in temporal activity.
21st century Earth? Interesting.
Identify the characters of interest, and we'll have a chat.

Hmmm... a mad scientist unintentionally creating heroes.
Let's see if we can speed this up. I'm sure she'd be interested in my proposal.
How many times will she travel back in time?
I'd estimate about 10 times before someone catches on and stops her.
Need to find more.

A link

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_84/474-A-Play-within-a-Play

More evidence that character matters.

Random writings...

I wonder at times, what it is that I am doing.
I think, and ponder, and devise, but do nothing.
I dream, and imagine, but create nothing.

I spend all this time, (unable to rhyme)
yet have nothing to show, (except what I know)
There is nothing I've made, (some thoughts begin to fade)
Just a messed up mind,
a messed up body,
a messed up time.


Unable to share,
the dreams of my mind,
I feel alone...

City of Heroes: Fire Control + Kinetics

I see lots of controllers using Fire Control with Kinetics. While theoretically (and in the hands of a skilled player) it is possible to get very high damage out of such a setup, I find that in actual use, most of those controllers I see, end up doing very little.

Kinetics is a powerset that, to use fully, can easily be a full time job. Often, the controllers I see with it, end up not using it much, because they already have their hands full with using Fire Control. Additionally, Speed Boost, which is a very good power, can be a real pain to keep active on a full party.

I've concluded that while Kinetics is a very powerful secondary for controllers, I don't believe it to be a good choice for most. Perhaps, Radiation Emission, or Sonic Resonance would be better choices, as they are often easier to use, and less time consuming.

P.S. I haven't had the opportunity to use Fulcrum Shift, the last power in the Kinetics set. The few times I have seen it used though, it was so powerful, it might be enough to redeem the set all by itself. If you have Kinetics, make sure you get Fulcrum Shift when it becomes available, and use it.

Communication

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_137/2940-Idea-Sex-in-the-Classroom

After reading this, I was reminded of an old question of mine, I hope to someday answer: How can I teach what I've learned to others? The idea of packaging it into a game, is something I'd love to do, but I don't know how to do it. I can't even put it into a story, and I'd expect that to be easier.

I'm not a writer, I'm not a programmer, I'm not an artist. All I do is observe, but what good is observation without communication? It doesn't matter what I know, if I cannot give it to someone else.

Art

After reading an article on the "are games art?" question (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3536/the_arty_party.php) I've kinda come to the conclusion that too many people are too restrictive in what they consider art.

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Art too can be seen anywhere, so long as the viewer perceives it. I could take a picture of the sidewalk, frame it, and put it on a wall as art. There is no true limitation of what can or cannot be art. It lies entirely in one's ability to appreciate the qualities they perceive.

Some stuff.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3515/the_future_of_the_realtime_.php
Someone's commentary on the state of RTS games.

http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2008/01/25/the-future-of-the-rts-its-already-here/
Someone else's response.

Personally, I like macro-management better than Micro-management, but most games don't have good macro-management tools. The best you can usually hope for is something like the auto-build feature in Master of Orion II.

I think a good macro-management game would require flexibility in options, so that players can quickly change their strategies in response to their opponents.

A little Fiction

Mad Scientist Enja enjoyed her work. Mixing and matching, tweaking and twiddling, messing with natures creations, to make the best of all that was, and create something new. Her goal: to blend all that was into a super-being. To create a master race.

With each experiment, she got a little closer, learned a little more. Oblivious to the screams, cries, and tears of those she worked on, she continued to progress. She was improving them, making them stronger, better. They'd thank her later she thought, They all would.

P.S. A little fiction about Kldraia Enja, a Villian I created in City of Villians. Many of my other characters in both City of Villians, and City of Heroes have Enja's lab as their origins.

Death Penalties (in games)

I strongly dislike the death penalty in Hellgate london. Why? Because it encourages you to stop playing.
Dying in Hellgate: London gives you an XP penalty for 5 minutes. Because it is timed, going afk for 5 minutes is encouraged. I much prefer the penalty of City of Heroes, where instead you just accrue XP debt, effectively cutting XP gain in half for a set amount of XP. Though, in a game where enemy level is often dictated by character level, it ends up not being much of a penalty at all.

P.S. It has been way too long since my last post. I need to come up with something I can make more regular posts about.