• 11May 09

  Software: Its Power and Misuse

  My life revolves around software. If I were a crass person, I would say something extremely derogatory to describe that relationship, but let's go with "cruel mistress". An article published a few months ago that I found only a few days ago describes (what I view) as the fascinating power of it, and its destructive potential. In essence, the article is about the guy who wrote the software used by traders to make millions faster. And now that software is one of the important causes of our nation's current little recession (that's not as bad as '82). Check it out for a good read.

  The simple truth is that computers are dumb, but they can do what you tell them over and over again pretty quickly. In essence, that's the power that games use. They take your input, predict what your input will do to the model created in the game, then display that to you. They then use the power of computation to do it over and over again. While more complex in practice, it's essentially the same thing as using an Excel spreadsheet.

  This is what software is to me. The attempt to harness the infinite power of computing and make it usable to the average person. This can be taken to an extreme of usability, as shown in the article, where people become adept at using the software at the sacrifice of understanding what the software is doing. This view gives way to the even more dangerous belief that software is perfect. This belief literally kills people, like in the Therac-25 incident.

  I won't bore you further with a deeper philosophical discussion of what software is/isn't/its achievements/its pitfalls, but if you've got some free time and want more proof that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, check out the article.

  • Posted May 11, 2009 9:56 am PT
  • Category: Technology
  • 1 Comment
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 5May 09

  Scary News

  Screw the swine flu, "climate change", and the return of '80s fashion. According to a few reports, Apple is thinking about buying EA.

  EA, the publisher once hated and mocked by the gamer community has done a complete 180 in the last year to become what I consider the premiere publisher of quality games. Last year they gave us Battlefield: Bad Company, Mirror's Edge, Dead Space, an actually improved Madden, and the amazing NHL 09.

  I see two different routes that Apple could go with this. In reality, Apple is not a software company. They are a hardware company that sells products that execute software. Extrapolating the Apple business model, this could mean that we might see an overpriced console with the Apple logo, motion controls, and expensive hardware refreshes every year. The acquisition of EA would give them a solid first-party lineup to move the platform.

  Or perhaps this is Apple's attempt to turn the Mac into a gaming platform. Currently games are one of the few reasons to buy a Windows-based PC. It would surely be one way to up their hardware sales.

  For me this is awful because I disagree with Apple's business model. They have the largest profit margin per unit of any PC manufacturer and have cornered the appearance-oriented consumer. Demand for their products is artificially high because of this, and that demand allows Apple to continue to gouge consumers. Beyond that, Apple still is truly a hardware company. They make their money on hardware and use software to move units. I fear that this approach will introduce basically another Wii.

  What do you think this move could mean for the future of EA, Apple, and gaming in general? Are you ready for the MacBox?

  • Posted May 5, 2009 9:00 am PT
  • 6 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 1May 09

  Thoughts on Battlefield Heroes

  Battlefield Heroes is basically in Open Beta status at the moment, with everyone under the sun able to get beta keys. I've probably put about 10 hours into the game, which is enough to form opinions about it. I know it's still in "beta", but since it is open beta; it is highly-unlikely that there will be any large changes to the core features that these statements are about.

  1. Battlefield Heroes is fun. A simple enough statement, but it's true. The menu music is peppy (and bore-into-your-brain catchy) and the characters are almost- dare I say- cute. Even the evil guys are likable. The pace of combat is quick, but it takes a solid 5 seconds to kill anybody (unless you're a sniper) which makes combat exciting.
  2. Battlefield Heroes can be frustrating. There will be times where you will be killed in one shot by a guy who's played the game for hundreds of hours and spent tons of money upgrading their character. When you're playing against have a dramatically higher level character than you, they will be able to kill you fairly easily. This can be frustrating, but see point 1 about how it will soothe you.
  3. Battlefield Heroes is Battlefield. And if you don't like capturing control points and ticket-life systems, you may not like it. If those are shooter game types that you enjoy, you will be enthralled.
  4. Battlefield Heroes is not for casual players. Unfortunately there is no Xbox Live-like trueskill system that will keep the experienced shooter player away from the casual gamer. This means that there will be jerkfaces like myself that will not hesitate to slaughter the poor casual players. In reality, Halo 3 is a better shooter for casual players than Battlefield Heroes. The reason that it might be called casual is:
  5. Battlefield Heroes can be played in small chunks. In fact, this might be one of the things that it is the best at. The Play Now button puts you in a game normally inside 20 seconds, and the rounds themselves last only five to fifteen minutes. It also makes the game dangerous by having the "just one more" factor.
  6. Battlefield Heroes is not for playing with friends. Last night a friend and I attempted to play, but found that it was extremely difficult to get into the same game. While you can join a game that a friend is in, it's difficult because the game your friend is in will normally be full thanks to the matchmaking system. Basically, the game desperately needs some kind of social network integration.

  Without question, it is a game you should play if you like shooters if only to form an opinion about the free-to-play model. I haven't been able to articulate my feelings on it yet, but hopefully with some more experience I will be able to. Luckily, nearly any computer can run it, including my nearly five year old PC I'm running the Windows 7 beta on. So have you picked up your key yet?

  • Posted May 1, 2009 9:55 am PT
  • Category: Games
  • 5 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »