• 11Oct 08

  The Business of Making Money

  A lot of what I have seen from the gaming industry as a whole lately is helping me to understand what is going on, in a bad way to the storylines in video games. Just like the movie industry, I see a trend starting to take shape in the game industry. If a game makes money, it automatically spawns a sequel or a trilogy. Sometimes(and it's happening more and more lately) it spawns an entire franchise. My problem with these franchises in most cases, is that the stories aren't very well crafted. The stories are set up with cliffhanger endings that in most cases don't give the player the grandiose sense of accomplishment thatthey used to give. For example, any game in The Legend of Zelda series is brilliant at telling a new story in the same universe as its predecessors, yet the game still feels like a complete game from start to finish.

  Games these days that I take issue with seem to take the less creative, or cookie cutter route of applying the overused cliffhanger ending in a game. While the cliff hanger can work well in a movie, it doesn't work well in a game for the simple reason that you play a game as opposed to only viewing a movie.

  When you play a game, you are the protagonist. The story becomes yours as you interact and invest multiple hours in a storyline. It doesn't have the same voyeuristic quality that a film does.

  We play games in the 1st person. We watch films in the 3rd person despite whatever camera technique is being employed in gameplay. So when game makers give us a game with a cliffhanger ending, they are robbing us of the satisfaction that should come with the gaming experience.

  How many times have you played a game to completion only to have the ending undo all of the fun you had while playing the game? Assassin's Creed anyone? Is there any reason they couldn't have had a better ending to that game? Another example: Knights of the Old Republic 2. Not only did KOTOR 2 not follow the story of its predecessor in any major way, it just...ended. An ending like this in a game spawned from a universe so steeped in great story is absolutely unforgiveable.

  In short, the game industry is, and is becoming more and more about the business of making money for making money's sake. Like all things that become wildly popular; The filthy rich start to dig their claws into things that they otherwise wouldn't touch until they see that they can become even more wealthy by becoming involved. Because of this, when game makers seek funding, the people that are funding their games end up having a say in how they want these games to be made. The game maker has to concede some things to those vultures who foot the bill. The vultures with claws only care about making money, and some gamemakers are falling prey to the same rationale themselves.

  Just yesterday I saw this from Cliffy B about making a 3rd Gears of War game. He said in an interview with Game Spot, "If Gears 2 comes out and sells like hotcakes and has great reviews, then we'll consider doing another one."

  That's it. He didn't say something like, "This team on Gears of War is really commited to making another game, regardless of how it sells because we believe in this franchise and money isn't an issue, because, well, I'm effing Cliffy B and I can make whatever I want to dammit!!!"

  It was all about making more money for him. What happened to risk taking? The gaming industry has become the fat cat. It is the entertainment industy's benchmark now. The movie industry which used to be number 1 is just riding the coat tails of the game industry, and it seems, even admittedly crappy games are getting made into movies. I don't know where this leaves us as gamers, but I really don't like the direction I see my favorite entertainment medium heading in.

  I have been an avid gamer since the mid 80's, and this is the first time since the early 90's that I am becoming disinterested in most of what I am seeing these days in gaming.

  • Posted Oct 11, 2008 10:06 am PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 6Nov 07

  EA Games list.

  I really felt compelled to write out a list of EA games for a simple reason. I wanted all of you, the gamers who browse these forums, and peruse the reviewers' articles, to take a good look at the games that EA has made; from The Commodore 64 days, to the current generation of consoles, to the PC. I want you all to take a good, long look at this list, especially IF you consider yourself to be an EA hater. I want you to try and find one game on this list that you enjoyed. Just one. If you find multiple games that EA has made that have tickled your fancy in the past or present, then even better, but all I want you to do is find one game. I don't care if it was made by an EA Studio, or if EA was just the producer or distributor. I think this list will surprise you. It really surprised me to see how many of the games on this list that I enjoyed.

  Here are the games:

  
  007: The World is Not Enough

  007: Agent Under Fire

  Alien vs. Predator(Series)

  Bard's Tale(Series) 1986-1990

  Battlefield Series(I, II, 2142)

  Black & White Series

  Burnout Racing Series

  Cel Damage

  Command & Conquer Series

  Cyber Tiger Woods Golf(Gameboy N64 and others 1999)

  Darklight Conflict

  Daughter of Serpents(DOS 1992)

  Dr. J and Larry Bird Go One on One(Commodore 64 1983)

  Dungeon Keeper Series

  Earl Weaver Basebal

  Escape from Monster Manor(3DO)

  F1 Racing Series

  FIFA Soccer Series

  Fight Night Series

  Godfather: The Game

  Harry Potter Series

  The Immortal(1990)

  Jane's Combat Simulator Series

  John Madden's Football Series(1988-1993 Multiple Platforms NOT YET MADDEN)

  J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings 198

  Knockout Kings Series

  Lord of the Rings Series(Movie games Series)

  Madden Football Series

  Mario Andretti Racing(Series)

  Medal of Honor(Series)

  MLB Baseball(Series)

  Mutant League Football

  NASCAR Racing(Series)

  NBA Live!(Series)

  NBA Street(Series)

  NCAA Basketball AND Football Series

  Need for Speed Series

  NHL(Series)

  Oddworld

  Quake III:Revolution(PS2)

  Road Rash(Series)

  Shaq Fu(I couldn't resist putting it on here)

  Shogun Total War Series

  SimCity(Series)

  The Sims(Series)

  Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf(Series)

  Triple Play Baseball(Series)

  The Lord of The Rings:Battle for Middle Earth(Series)

  Ultima Online(Series)

  Virtual Pinball

  Warcraft II: The Dark Saga(1997)

  Wing Commander(Series)

  Warhammerark Omen

  This isn't even a close to complete list that spans over 25 years. I did not compile this list for you to pick a game that you can't stand, or to comment on this list, if there is a game you don't like on it. I put this small list of EA games on here, for you to find one that you LIKED, and you can comment on that. I was blown away when I looked at this and saw, that there were more than a few on here that I have really enjoyed. There are favorites of mine that I intentionally omitted from this list. I hope that if you are an EA detractor, you can admit that there are EA games that you have enjoyed in the past, even if it means that you are mumbling praise of EA under your breath with no one else around. It's OK, they have made more than a few really good titles. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making it.

  • Posted Nov 6, 2007 2:47 pm PT
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• 5Nov 07

  Holiday Shopping.

  The season is here and it has been here for a while now. The new batch of Christmas Candy(games)are arriving. There are so many titles to play. I hope that they all live up to, and dare to exceed expectations. I am already looking forward to pacing some of these titles out over a few months. I can not wait to play Mass Effect, Crysis, CoD4, MGS4, and Super Mario Galaxy. I am undecided on a few as well. I hope all of your gaming for the next few months is as fun as I hope mine will be. I am also thrilled to start playing the Bonus Mission Pack for Guild Wars, and The Orange Box. Merry Christmas.
  • Posted Nov 5, 2007 7:40 am PT
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