I was reading this thread over at the ECA forums which got me thinking about how fascinated some gamers become with their own characters or even with other characters in the games they play. Game developers are now at the point where they can create characters and animations that become more and more realistic with every game. What is it about the characters in a video game that we seem to find so appealing?
I found this video clip online and thought I would blog about it here. It’s a documentary that attempts to answer the questions surrounding the controversial topic of the level of violence in video games. With input from various valuable members of the video games industry and community including Trip Hawkins (founder of EA), American McGee (Game designer), Jason Della Rocca (IGDA) to name a few, it’s well presented with some interesting points of view from the people that create, sell, play write about and buy video games.
I doubt it’s a topic that can ever have a right or wrong argument, but it’s interesting to view some very candid opinions on the topic from such an esteemed group of people. Every games journalist and gamer should check it out. It’s enlightening and educational.
The website is here and the video clip is below.
I’ll never forget my first experience of discussing the finer points of team strategy in a Gears of War lobby with a six year old. Ah yes, the initial shock was followed soon after by ‘wtf?’ I decided to ask this kid how he could possibly be playing an R16 game when he was only six and then proceeded to ask him what his parents thought of the idea. He said his parents didn’t care and that his uncle bought the game for him so he could play it.
Yesterday I mentioned the growth of video games as big business, possibly surpassing that of the movie industry worldwide. Today the ISANZ (Interactive Software Association of New Zealand) released statistics regarding exactly how much growth the industry has had in New Zealand. Despite the gloomy economic slump our economy seems to be in, things don’t look to be slowing down for the gaming industry and in fact, the ISANZ reported a growth of 12% since 2008 in the industry last year.
I felt like being a little dramatic with the title of this post because Dante’s Inferno brings out the poet in me… and as it should. The game is based on ‘The Divine Comedy’ and is riddled with excerpts from the poem written by Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. If you haven’t the faintest idea what The Divine Comedy is, that’s OK too, you won’t need to know to be able to enjoy Dante’s Inferno but it helps if you want the full experience.
As a gamer, I’d like to entertain the notion that we’ve evolved as a demographic of society. But every now and then I hear things or experience things online that make me think a little more about that concept.
Cheat: –verb (definition on Dictionary.com)
To practice fraud or deceit or to violate rules or regulations
I dunno about you but when it comes to game cheats, I’m not a fan. I’ve never understood the term ‘game cheat’ because I was brought up to believe that the word ‘cheat’ had only one meaning. That was before they invented the ‘cheat code’ or game cheat as it’s commonly referred to.
Sig files or ’signature’ files are a serious aspect of a gamer’s personality. Most forums these days allow their users to create their own sig files so their posts are easily identified. Some of these sig files can be anything from a simple URL linking to someone’s personal blog or website to masterpieces and works of art.
As you can tell, I am all over Mass Effect 2 and I am happy to announce that if you’re an ME fan you will ABSOLUTELY love what is coming. ME2 doesn’t release in New Zealand until the 29th of January but it is easily one of the most anticipated sequels of the year. I will admit though that initially, I was not a serious ME fan when it released. Without sounding like I am dumping all over the Xbox 360 console here, I honestly believe that part of that feeling came from playing ME on the 360 rather than the PC. The experience I am having now playing Mass Effect 2 on the PC is a whole lot more fun and intense. I can’t pinpoint exactly what is different other than ME2 seems like a much more polished game – not to mention the fantastic storyline work the writers have done and some of the hippest dialogue I’ve seen/heard in a game for a while.
I used to belong to a very prominent gaming forum. In fact, I was one of the admins there and spent a great deal of my time scrolling, reading, trolling and generally wasting alot of precious gaming time with idiots I could have avoided. That said, not all gaming forums are bad places and supposedly, the more time you spend in them, the more likely you’ll fit in. Right? Well, not always. I’ve had some interesting experiences in online forums and out of all the forums I’ve participated in, I’ve had some of the best and worst experiences in the gaming forums.
