Gamepro is in San Francisco?

Sheeyoot.. I don't know anything about my surroundings.

Seriously.

I can make my way back home only by following biscuits.

Anyhoo, that sounds fun. I wish I could go to some movie studio, talk about movies, then get asked if I wanted to join up. :(

EmilioDigsIt

There are a lot of game companies either in or near San Francisco.

That's why I moved here; it's like the Mecca of the game industry on the west coast.

[QUOTE="Chloroformality"][QUOTE="FrozenLiquid"]

They're scared a professional company would screw them over? :lol:

Blackbond

Really.

I mean, I know it's Nintendo, but that's just it. I think Nintendo would be one of the last companies anyone would want to ripoff.

They're pretty respectful of game companies, though. They usually shred the CDs that pre-builds of games come on.

George said it was mainly to avoid legal issues in case something did happen.

1. Rumble
2. Analog sticks
3. Motion control
4. Genesis came out with a six-button controller later on in its life

People have been ripping off Nintendo all the time. You thought Nintendo was secretive. Go look at Team NINJA. Those guys are pretty much like Ninja's including their dev studio.

Sure, Nintendo constantly has their hardware and peripherals copied, but this is software.

They're scared a professional company would screw them over? :lol:

FrozenLiquid

Really.

I mean, I know it's Nintendo, but that's just it. I think Nintendo would be one of the last companies anyone would want to ripoff.

They're pretty respectful of game companies, though. They usually shred the CDs that pre-builds of games come on.

George said it was mainly to avoid legal issues in case something did happen.

I probably had one of the greatest days of my life, today.

I basically write for my school's newsletter and our editor, who knows a LOT of people. set me up with the task of interviewing George Jones, the editor of Gamepro magazine.

So I went today and, on top of being extremely nervous, I was extremely honored to be able to visit such a place. George was actually one of the nicest guys I've ever met - and I always thought people in the game industry were haughty. I also met a few other people who worked on the magazine, learned what they did, and the processes in which their magazine goes through in order to be printed.

I was also taken on a tour of their facility and the one thing that stood out the most was their testing room. It had about two PS3s, a strange Wii that was locked in an aluminum casing - called a "lock box"- and one of their employees playing a multiplayer build of Warhawk. I'll be honest and say I was inches away from asking if I could play. I knew their answer would be no, though.

What REALLY got me was when George asked if I'd be interested in writing for them, as in an internship. I don't think I've said the word yes any quicker than after he asked that question.

So, he introduced me to Chris, the head of internships, who didn't even interview me; we just talked about games. How great is that? It's like applying for a job at a film studio and instead of talking about your skills you just chat about movies.

Well, in the end, we traded contact info and he just asked for me to E-mail him some writing samples and my school schedule. That was it.

I really... really... REALLY hope I don't blow this somehow. Because, I can honestly say a job at a place like that would be a fulfillment of why I decided to go to college in San Francisco in the first place.

I had an interview today with the editor of Gamepro magazine, George Jones, for my school's newsletter.

After my interview and during my tour of their offices, I was taken into their testing room. There WAS someone in there playing a multiplayer build of Warhawk, however the thing that really got my attention was their Wii.

Actually, it wasn't really their Wii, to be precise.

Basically, it's what they called a "Lock Box." Intead of them having a debug Wii, as in their PS3 and 360's they have to play unfinished builds of games, Nintendo ships them a whole Wii; the only difference is that the Wii is encased in this aluminum shell which prevents anyone from taking out or putting in any games. So, what I learned was Nintendo ships an entire, locked Wii with the preview build of a game inside of it, and they merely ship it right back.

While I know every game company has to worry a lot about piracy, that just made me giggle a bit.

I mean, it's one thing that Nintendo sometimes watches these guys play pre-release versions of games and then takes them back, but this is a little much.

[QUOTE="hellsingfan666"]It does have the benefit of not being star warsTrigger_Hppy

You're nearing dangerous ground, my friend...

It's alright, leave him be, lad.

He has a Final Fantasy avy...

....see?....

...he's harmless.

[QUOTE="Chloroformality"]

Neither.

Japanese RPGs are lamesauce.

PotatoSan

I'm actually kind of glad I don't like them, because, and this will sound mean, I merely laugh at the people who do.

JRPGs tend to focus more on story than gameplay, which is why they aren't very fun to play... and it took them a good decade or so to evolve from the typical, turn-based combat system they've used so many years ago.

That, and the storys just aren't good at all... in fact, they carry more cliches - of their own type - than western games, it's pretty humorous and pathetic.

If they were movies, I wouldn't watch them. If they were books, I definitely wouldn't read them.

Since they're games.... I sure as hell don't play them.

Humans fundamentally like pretty things (just look at diamonds and other valuable stones, they SPARKLE!) and good graphics makes a game eye pleasing. You can deny it all you want, but the prettier game usually garners more attention, even if the gameplay makes the game in the end. Graphics draw you in, gameplay keeps you there.Trigger_Hppy

That I can agree with.

What I'm trying to defend against these other people is that good graphics doesn't make a game good at all, it just draws you in close enough to smell the **** that reeks from it.

Just out of curiosity, wtf are you guys judging these games on?

Story?

[QUOTE="Chloroformality"]

So, no, a fun game with good graphics isn't better than a fun game with bad graphics. They both are fun....... end discussion.

no_submission

If Mass Effect or Crysis had bad graphics would they still be fun?

Mass Effect, yes. It has many new gameplay features that add to the core experience. As far as I can see of Crysis, most of the excitement behind that game is due to the graphics, so... no.... Crysis probably would be exactly the same, good graphics or not. You point and shoot.

If visual stimulation was really that big of a deal to you or all people here, everyone would attend art galleries.

... but they obviously don't.