Hoy he tenido otro de mis ataques de nostalgia. Tras leer algunos de los comentarios en el articulo de Just Dance, he empezado a pensar. Mi cabeza a veces llega a recuerdos que parece que lleven siglos encerrados y no tienen intención de salir.

Hay dos términos que me hacen mucha gracia: “Casual Game” y “Hardcore Game”. Hay días que me gustaria tener unas palabras con el que “se sacó de la manga” esos adjetivos. Parece que hoy en día definimos como Hardcore Gamer a todo jugador que se dedica a jugar a los juegos mas violentos, con los mejores gráficos o con una dificultad de locura; por contra parece que un Casual Gamer es aquel jugador que disfruta jugando con juegos simplones, coloridos o “infantiles” y también se usa el termino casual para catalogar a un juego de “no interesante”.

Pero hoy no me pondré a juzgar ambos términos, hoy quiero tratar algo mas curioso, y os preguntaréis “si no va a tratar sobre esos temas, ¿por que los menciona?” pues es muy simple, porque pensar en todo ello me ha hecho recordar los tiempos en los que jugaba con mi NES y todas estas “etiquetas” aún no existían.

Además, paseando por el Facebook, me he topado con un articulo de GamesRadar muy interesante. En él hacen referencia a 100 juegos de NES y los recopilan todos en un vídeo que a penas llega  a los 2 minutos.

Tras ver el vídeo no he podido resistir caer en uno de mis ataques de nostalgia y fruto de ello ha sido esta pequeña entrada. Espero que este vídeo os alegre el día a todos los que hayáis tenido un día duro, y a los demás espero que os haga recordar viejos tiempos de juventud.

Vía: GamesRadar

Videogames are a huge part of my life, so I’m inclined to take a longer and harder look at the promising, but disappointing Gamer. I had high hopes for this film, but low expectations. Despite those low expectations, the movie was still unsatisfying. As an idea, Gamer is a mashup of Running Man, Gladiator, The Matrix and The Truman Show. The premise provides a dizzying plethora of possibilities that Neveldine and Taylor (writers) unceremoniously ass-rape in the face. You would have to TRY to make this movie bad. It wouldn’t be HARD to write this movie as a three hour epic with compelling characters, provocative commentary on gaming and culture, and exhilarating action. Instead we are presented with an enormous face-palm. The movie teases us with the possibility of something more. It brushes the surface of making an argument about gaming and culture, it introduces the possibility for some novel character relationships, and it offers a premise that could capture our imaginations. But then snatches all that potential away.

As most reviews are quick to point out, Gamer is a sadistic tirade of bloodshed and perversion. I’d pay $10 to go see that. Unfortunately, the action is incomprehensible and is presented through “Slayers” (the in-movie game), which has little to do with FPS (first person shooter) game action: at no point do two combatants circle strafe each other, no one gets “stuck” with a grenade, nor does anyone mistakenly bounce a grenade off a door-frame instead of throwing it through. The “tea-bag” shot and the inclusion of “bots” was good for a chuckle, but on the whole, the action doesn’t seem to be written by people who actually play FPS games, or participate in game culture. In a movie like this, how could you not have someone yell “boom headshot!”? Nobody shoots through walls, nobody picks up a box of ammo and mutters “sweeet,” nobody misses a perfect head-shot with a sniper rifle and screams “fucking lag!” At no point does a crew of three or four “slayers,” riding in a truck with a turret in the back, roll their vehicle, get out, rock it back onto its wheels and resume carnage. No one gets beaten to death with a flag or a skull. We seem to be missing a scene in which the slayers must escort a bot with a briefcase-bomb into enemy territory. While waiting for the game to start, no one complains: “my team sucks,” “my gun is broken,” or “I hate this map.”

With that in mind, there is zero teamwork, strategizing, theory crafting or other metagame efforts that are so familiar to online games. Neither the slayers or players ever talk about weapon balance, or map design. We don’t even get an idea of what the maps look like, or if there even are multiple areas. Because of this, Gamer has nothing to do with gaming.

Or does it? As many critics point out, there seems to be provocative commentary on gaming and culture, most of which has been washed away. Katey Rich’s review aptly comments on the film’s juxtaposition of two different “virtual realities”: “Society” and “Slayer,” or as Rich describes them, “a world in which everyone is obsessed with either The Sims or Halo, except you’re actually playing with real people.” Where “Slayers” is a half-real (for the players, its just a game) FPS with which an adolescent male reaches celebrity status by winning games, “Society” is a “sim” toy used by grandmas and disgusting fat-body boys for frivolous socialization, shallow fantasy and perverse cyber-sex. Of course, the sex is quite real for the “avatars” who helplessly say and do exactly what is commanded of them.

Scenes inside “Society” actually offer the most interesting moments in the film. My favorite is the elevator scene in which Angie (an avatar) is trapped with a murderous non-avatar and two more avatars who are making out. The murderous non-avatar brandishes a knife, and though we see that Angie is terrified, her disgusting and perverted controller taunts the murderer. Angie is forced to lustily whisper “do it” and give a playful wink. Stabbing ensues. The controlling players get off, aroused and amused by the violence, while the helpless avatars look into each others’ horrified eyes. At this point, I thought, “now we’re seeing an idea come out.” Then the elevator opens, Kable pulls Angie out, and the boring, undecipherable action continues. There is no chainsaw duel. There is no showdown with a sword and a hammer.

As the shooting resumes, Gamers’s attention to “Society,” “Slayers” and their respective players falls aside. The juxtaposition between the two games and the two types of players, I think, should have been the real meat-and-potatoes of a movie called “Gamer.” Otherwise, we just have “Gerard Shoots a Bunch of Guys and there are Strippers” (wait, that sounds like Duke Nukem).

Through out the movie, we see two different “users.” I hesitate to say “gamers,” because one of them is a gamer, while the other is just using an avatar. Simon is a “Slayers” player. He plays to win, and is characterized by confidence and competence. His success and his reputation are important to him. Everyone knows who he is, and knows that he controls Kable (Gerard Butler). Simon isn’t a hero. He isn’t necessarily a positive character. He is bratty, cocky and lives lavishly off his parents’ wealth.

The other “user” we see plenty of (and I mean, PLENTY of) is Gorge, the disgustingly disgusting, fat bodied, waffle gobbling, mouth breathing pervert who controls Angie in “Society.” Gorge is definitely a villain. He dresses Angie up like a cyber-punk hooker and guides her into the clutches of Rick Rape (Milo Ventimiglia), then he gets off as their sexual escapades begin to unfold.

The film offers us a comparison of Simon and Gorge, but it never emphasizes the difference. Since this is what I think a movie called “Gamer,” should be about, I’ll go ahead and elaborate. Simon is a gamer. Since social toys tend to look like games and are often confused for games, however, we can’t just call him a gamer, so we’ll call him a “hardcore gamer,” which is consistent with gaming culture, design and usability testing. As a hardcore gamer, Simon only cares about function and performance. He doesn’t give a flying rat fuck about what Kable looks like. He buys Kable new equipment, but only because a new gun or body armor DOES something. An upgrade for Kable is essentially an upgrade for himself. Simon experiences the game from Kable’s perspective, and to Simon, Kable’s body is merely a tool. Kable’s body is an extension of Simon’s own prowess.

Gorge is a socializer. His foray into the “virtual” (remember, its not a digital world, the people and places are still real) world begins by dressing up his avatar, Angie. Since “Society” is not a game, but a socialization toy, Angie’s outfits are merely cosmetic. While many contemporary games have different outfits for characters to wear, the clothing is usually “unlockable,” meaning that it is only available after completing prescribed challenges, and players equip their characters with various unlocked costumes in order to demonstrate their own accomplishments. But “Society” is cosmetic, and its clothing has no function. It is merely appearance.

Gorge plays dress up with Angie and enters “Society.” Instead of seeing the “virtual” world from Angie’s perspective, Gorge’s ‘camera’ is detached. He serves as a director. He guides Angie’s actions and feeds her lines, but he does not perform her movement or her voice. Sitting in his chair, he gives general commands, but does not act out movement for his avatar to mimic. Being a social toy, there is a great deal of talk in “Society” (contrasted with “Slayers” where the avatars rarely talk at all). Gorge mumbles lines, and Angie reproduces them in a manner consistent with her character: suggestive, seductive, lusty. Unlike Simon and Kable, the “Society” users are removed from their avatars. They are voyeurs and anonymous choreographers.

While Gamer offers us the implicit comparison between the social and the hardcore player, the importance of that juxtaposition within gaming culture is lost amidst shaken-camera boring action. The movie is seemingly written with something to say about prowess versus frivolous participation. But as soon as the film is poised to make a point, it backs away. In a movie called Gamer, I would hope for the lives and motivations of game players to be explored. Instead, we have a short, sloppy killing spree built on an idea that is pulled in so many different directions that it pretty much fails to go anywhere.

The silver lining in my disappointment (albeit an expected disappointment) is that while the film fails to pursue its own possibilities, especially within its own short duration, at least it offers those possibilities. With Surrogates and Avatar on the horizon, we should have our fill of out-of-body experiences. But with regards to gaming and culture, different types of “gamers,” and action influenced by gameplay, the film offers some novel points of departure. Hopefully, other writers can pick apart the jumble of ideas, take hold of one at a time, and say “let’s run with this.”

What follows is a slightly edited, well, “essay” posted in response to someone who complained of selling all of his video game systems due to playing them feeling more like a chore than something enjoyable. Cost was also raised as a mitigating factor. Why am I reposting here? Because, extemporaneous or not, an essay is an essay and I might as well get some trade out of it.

Many modern games are artificially inflated with busy-work, in one form or another, from forced unlockables to receive the full experience (most fighting games), artificial replay value (hardest difficulty playthrough required for full experience, which is generally not an entry-level except for the most skilled or tenacious of players, forcing multiple plays just because), and arbitrary restrictions that promote some form of grind (be it for resources, levels, what have you, in order to advance without notable handicap).

Game design simply hasn’t kept pace with social advancement. There was a time years ago when a game would have to last you for months, sometimes even longer, but as gaming has moved further into the mainstream, our time needs just aren’t what they used to be. And it hurts both players and developers; pad a game with extra content to add to the game clock, increase the turnaround for development, increase the cost to the consumer. And it’s a problematic trend; there is honestly no $60 value game on the market. There are hardly any $40 games, and I do mean new. Are there games I have paid $60+ for? Yes, because I had vested interest in the experience, and it was always a Collector’s edition of a game. But if I wasn’t a fan of the game or series and didn’t have those glasses on? The value wouldn’t be anywhere near the charge.

Anyway, social advancement; to that end, gaming has become mainstream. The once-”hardcore” consumer that would languish months between RPG releases now gets a new option almost every few weeks. The kids that got a game for Christmas and another for their birthday and had to make them last now can receive them almost monthly, due to sheer volume and clearance racks. We consume games like any other mainstream entertainment, and they don’t need the production costs or lengths that they once had. This is the real death-knell brought on by the “casual” vs. “hardcore” conflict; the “casual” focused developers figured this all out, and put aside sweeping, epic attempts that tied up months and legions of development staff to turn around small, tight pockets of entertainment fluff that they can push out on an almost monthly basis. Is the latest Carnival Games worth $40? No. But by the $60 standard, it’s a budget title, and provides just enough entertainment for the average consumer just long enough for them to move on to the next one.

So yes; in our own way, we bring these troubles on ourselves, insofar as those of us who would be classified as “hardcore” (I guess I technically would, just by the time I spend on games and design). It’s kind of a mutual, unspoken expectation that may just be faltering, but there’s no really effective way of communicating it, especially with so many developers coming from my generation and having been indoctrinated in the need to squeeze every last bit of play time out as possible.

Of course, that’s not everything, but it’s a larger issue whose address may be too large a scope to handle any time soon.

For more such thrilling discussion, visit the forums at The Spoony Experiment.

by Sutton Dagger

©2009 Steven Sutton

At OXCGN we are first and foremost gamers. Even though we run a dedicated Xbox platform site, we all play and own various other consoles. While some console specific sites maintain their user base by downplaying the good aspects of the ‘competing’ systems, at OXCGN we like to recognise the great features that make each system unique. Without further ado, OXCGN presents the 3 best features of each console.

Xbox 360

Xbox Live Service

Xbox live is the online multiplayer gaming and digital media service provided by Microsoft for the Xbox 360console (its roots started with the original xbox), which has a user base of over 20 million subscribers.

Though the service is a paid one, the integration across games and the media of Xbox Live is second to none, with online multiplayer, video services(coming soon to Australia) and social integration the key features that make up this rapidly growing online network.

Xbox Live Arcade

Distinct from the actual Xbox Live Service is the Arcade service, whereby classic franchises and new and unique experiences are created in bite sized arcade form.

As a prerequisite, all arcade games must have a demo, this gives the consumer a free ’sneak peek’ of what they can expect from the full product.

Xbox Originals also fall under this banner, with some of the classic original Xbox titles (hence the name), available for download to the Xbox 360 harddrive.

Hardcore and Casual Covered

Though not exactly a feature of the Xbox 360 in regards to hardware, the range of casual and hardcore games for the platform is certainly a plus.

The Gears of Wars, Halos and Mass Effects are contrasted by the Banjo Kazooies, Scene Its and Lips titles, effectively catering for most types of gamers on the one console.

The Xbox 360 has always had a strong userbase of hardcore gamers who tend to flock to the 360’s solid shooters, but with the recent reveal of project Natal, it seems Microsoft will continue to aggressively pursue both markets.

Playstation 3

PSP Connectivity

One of the benefits of having a handheld system which operates beside your home console offering is the ability to connect these devices in unique and interesting ways (you listening Nintendo?).

Sony have adopted this philosophy and have a range of features that can be used when the PS3 and PSP are connected.

One of these ingenious features is the ability to play downloaded PSOnetitles on the PSP. Another is the Remote Playability which displays a PS3 system screen (XMB) on the PSP.

Blu-Ray

Sony always seems to be ahead of the curve with their disc based media, effectively launching both the DVD and Blu-Raydisc formats into the homes of the consumer by incorporating it into their game consoles.

With up to 50gb of storage, Blu-Ray offers huge capacities for both PS3 games and Hi-Definition movies. The benefits for games include, uncompressed textures and stunning 7.1 surround sound in-game.

First Party Studios

With Sony’s dominance in the console market for the two previous generations, Sony had the means and foresight to invest heavily in First Party studios.

These First Party studios are some of the most talented developers in the industry and effectively maintain the Playstation platform as third parties move to a multiplatform model.

Sony’s studios outnumber the First Party support of both Microsoft and Nintendo combined, an impressive ace up the sleeve when the ‘console war’ is raging.

Wii

Virtual Console

With a back catalogue of Nintendo properties stretching as far back as the Nes, the Wii’s virtual console has a plethora of classic titles to choose from.

With Nes, Snes and N64 titles on the service you would be hard pressed finding a genre that isn’t covered.

In a brilliant move by Nintendo, they have also incorporated some of the greatest classic games from yesteryear’s competition, including the Master System, Mega-Drive(Genesis) and even some titles from the Commodore 64. They have Secret of Mana on the service…need I say more.

Motion Controls

Even though both Microsoft and Sony are looking at delving into the motion controller market (sorry, Six Axis doesn’t count), Nintendo have incorporated these controls into their system from the start, and are now synonymous with the motion control phenomenon.

Though some may not connect with this non traditional control scheme, it has certainly captured a new market, which ties directly with my next feature.

New Audience

Though not a feature in the traditional sense, I think it’s important to recognise the huge strides Nintendo have achieved in getting the traditional casual players and even ‘non-gamers’ to embrace this industry we enjoy.

I thought it would be a cold day in hell before I would see my 60 year old father pick up a controller, but thankfully the Wiiis breaking the stereotype of the ‘traditional gamer’ being a spotty faced, pre-pubescent male teen.

Well there you have it folks, OXCGN’s 3 best features of each console. With such a diversity in readers here at OXCGN, we expect people to have their own opinions on what constitutes their favourite feature.

So tell us in the comment section below what you like about each console, as it’s time to toss fanboyism aside and embrace the gaming industry as a whole.

©2009 Steven Sutton:

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Casual gamers are often accused of being the death of the video game industry. Most hardcore gamers are happy to believe our casual gaming friends are destroying real gaming by just buying any old crap that is put on the shelves. Merely mentioning the the name Carnival Games on video game message boards is enough to guarantee that someone will claim casual gamers will buy anything that features mini-games or has a Z at the end of its title. But is this necessarily true?

Well, my experience has so far shown me that this is completely inaccurate. In fact, I have found that casual gamers are far more difficult to please than any hardcore gamer will ever be. Getting a casual gamer to even try a game is difficult, but finding one that they enjoy is even harder.

How do I know this? Well, I live with a stereotypical casual gamer and it is almost impossible to find a game that she wants to play. For the sake of anonymity I shall call this person EB. EB is a 30 year old female (she still claims 21), who has her own DS and access to the household Wii. She plays games to relax, kill time and for mental stimulation. EB will only go into gaming shops/sections if I drag her in, kicking and screaming, and she has absolutely no interest in the gaming industry. All of her information about games comes from a game’s packaging, television advertising or from me. Despite all this, EB plays games on a daily basis, clocking up more hours in front of the DS than I manage on the DS and Wii combined.

While I can find any number of DS and Wii games that I know I will like, finding a game for EB can be frustratingly difficult. My game library is filled with plenty of games that I was sure EB would like, but sadly, it turned out that she just didn’t find them all that entertaining. The good news is that once EB finds a game that she likes, she will spend hundreds of hours playing it, to the point that hearing the music or sound effects again and again can drive me insane.

The Living with a Casual Gamer series will examine which games EB likes, and more importantly, the common elements that link these games together. Hopefully, it will help us harcore gamers understand the casual crowd a little more too and help anyone having trouble finding suitable games for the casual gamer in their lives.

EB’s current obsession is the Monopoly/Boggle/Yahtzee/Battleship compilation on the DS. It’s not a great game, but it is competent, and the games are all playable. It is a game she has owned for over a year but periodically returns to every couple of months. She spends hours and hours with Boggle, Battleship and Monopoly and doesn’t care about the flaws that many reviewers identified, such as poor enemy AI, no single cart multiplayer for some of the games, poor graphics and sound, no statistics tracking, very few options and no online mode. These things are just not important to her and have no influence over what she thinks of the game. What is important is that each game has a simple set of rules, is familiar, mentally stimulating and can be played in short or long bursts.

Familiarity is something that EB likes. While hardcore gamers love to explore new gameplay mechanics, learning a new play-style is a huge turn-off for casual gamers like EB. Developers wishing to target the casual crowd should not aim to reinvent the wheel, they should instead refine something that is already familiar. Casual gamers want to be able to jump straight in and play. That is why the Monopoly/Boggle/Yahtzee/Battleship compilation has been such a hit with EB. She already knows the rules, she already knows the input method (touchscreen), and the experience doesn’t change halfway through. She knows what she is going to get and that is fine with her.

Anyone looking to find a game for the casual gamer in their life would be well served by finding a copy (it may be hard to find these days) of the Monopoly/Boggle/Yahtzee/Battleship compilation. It has certainly kept EB happy for a long time and is almost guaranteed to keep your casual gamer happy too.

]]> http://thedrunkenscholar.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/confessions-of-a-gamer-and-the-discovery-as-an-xbox-live-gem/ Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:35:46 +0000 DrunkenScholar http://thedrunkenscholar.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/confessions-of-a-gamer-and-the-discovery-as-an-xbox-live-gem/

Okay, before I go further I have a confession: part of the reason I’ve been absent on this blog is because of school, that is true…the other reason is that I’ve recently reacquired an XBox 360, and I’ve been busy honing my skill in the divine art that is fragging. What is fragging? you may ask. Well it’s simple really. Fragging derives from its original verb: to Frag, which Urban Dictionary defines (And I quite readily agree) as:

to eliminate or kill characters of other players in a multiplayer first person shooter game.

I fragged 12 fuckers in 10 minutes in Counterstrike. Except I might use Halo instead of Counterstrike in that sentence.

While I have been enjoying some console gaming, I have stumbled across something that anyone who has an X-Box should have. In case you didn’t know Hasbro has released a downloadable game through XBox LIVE called Family Game Night. It features classics such as CONNECT FOUR, SCRABBLE, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, BOGGLE, as well as exciting new versions created for Xbox LIVE Arcade. It can support up to four players and best of all, it’s FREE. So if you have an Xbox, check it out. The next time your honey bunny wants to throw a wine and cheese party with other couples you can spice it up with a little bit of gaming. I can see it now:

B17 MUTHAFUCKA, HOW DOES YOUR BATTLESHIP LIKE THAT SHIT!

Or how about when you block someone’s connection:

THOUGHT YOU HAD ME THERE DIDN’T YOU?? YOU AIN’T CONNECTING SHIT! NOT IN MY HOUSE, BITCH!

I’m out!

Kürzlich für die LORP rezensiert, dort kann man die Rezi auch bewerten.

Pandemie ist auf der Messe Essen 2008 von Pegasus Spiele vorgestellt worden und war einer der Geheimtipps am Verlagsstand. Berichte im Netz äußerten sich fast ausschließlich positiv, so dass schließlich auch ich neugierig wurde, was an dem Brettspiel dran ist.

Erstmal ein Überblick zum hochwertigen Material: hölzerne Counter und Spielfiguren, dickes Spielbrett, wenige, dicke Pappcounter und 116 Spielkarten. Der Karton ist ebenfalls stabil, das Spielmaterial lässt sich gut unterbringen, wenn auch insgesamt sehr voluminös dimensioniert. Dazu die achtseitige, vollfarbige Spielanleitung in deutscher Sprache, die fast keine Fragen offen lässt. Gut, schnell und systematisch wird das Spiel erklärt und mit passenden Beispielen unterlegt. Vorbildlich!

Bei Pandemie treten zwischen zwei und vier Spielern gemeinsam an und schlüpfen in die Rolle von hochqualifizierten Angehörigen eines Seuchenbekämpfungsteams, die eine weltweite Epedemie, eben eine Pandemie, verhindern wollen. Daher zieht zu Anfang des Spieles jeder Spieler eine Rollenkarte: Arzt, Forscher, Dispatcher, Betriebsexperte, Wissenschaftler. Jeder der fünf Fachleute hat eine Spezialeigenschaft, die ihn besonders nützlich macht. Ziel des Spiels ist es, gegen alle vier Seuchenarten ein Gegenmittel zu finden, verloren hat man, wenn es vorher zu acht Ausbrüchen kommt, die Seuchenwürfel ausgehen oder die Spielerkarten alle gezogen sind und damit das Spielziel nicht innerhalb der Züge erreicht wurde. Das ganze gibt es in drei Schwierigkeitsstufen, in der leichtesten sind es vier Epedemiekarten, in der schwierigsten sechs Karten.

Sind die Rollen verteilt, werden auf dem Brett die ersten Seuchenwürfel verteilt, auf jeweils drei Städten drei, zwei und dann einen. Es gibt 48 Städte, durch Farben unterteilt in vier Regionen: Nordamerika-Europa, Südamerika-Afrika, Zentralasien und Ostasien-Australien. Am Ende eines Spielerzuges werden zwei, später auch drei oder vier Städtekarten gezogen und auf diese ein weiterer Counter gelegt. Wenn es der vierte ist, gibt es eine Kettenreaktion: Auf alle Nachbarstädte, es gibt zwischen einer und sechs Anbindungen, wird ein Counter angelegt, wo dann weitere Ausbrüche erfolgen können. Das wirft für die Spieler zwei Probleme auf: Zum einen ist die Anzahl der Ausbrüche begrenzt auf acht, zum anderen gibt es nur 24 Counter einer Farbe – und sind die aus, ist das Spiel verloren. Den Spielern stehen vier Aktionen pro Zug zur Verfügung. Man kann von Stadt zu Stadt reisen, von Forschungszentrum zu Forschungszentrum und unter Karteneinsatz sind auch andere Flüge möglich. Am Anfang gibt es ein Forschungszentrum in Atlanta, wo alle Spieler starten. Je nach Rolle versucht man nun seine Handkarten auf eine Farbe (Seuchenart) einzugrenzen, um ein Gegenmittel zu entdecken, weitere Forschungsstationen zu bauen (hier lassen sich die Gegenmittel erforschen, zudem gute Reiseverbindungen) oder Seuchen einzudämmen. Der Arzt hat zum Beispiel den Vorteil, innerhalb alle Seuchenwürfel einer Stadt abzubauen, der Wissenschaftler braucht nur vier statt fünf Karten einer Farbe, um ein Gegenmittel zu entdecken. Eine besondere Rolle kommt dem Dispatcher zu, der andere Figuren statt seiner ziehen und damit in Szene setzen darf.

Der Schwierigkeitsgrad ist durch die Epedemie-Karten variabel – diese bewirken eine Erhöhung des Epedemiecounters (und damit möglicherweise mehr Karten am Ende des Spielkerzugs, die verseucht werden). Desweiteren werden die bisher abgelegten Städtekarten neu gemischt und auf den Stapel gelegt, was den Effekt hat, dass Städte, die schon Seuchenwürfel haben, so ihnen nicht geholfen wurde, bald wieder mit einer Epedemie kämpfen und schnell ein vierter Klotz droht.

Das Spiel kann von zwei bis vier Spielern gespielt werden, die fünfte, fehlende Rolle und die zufällige Rollenverteilung garantieren auch im Vier-Spieler-Team etwas Abwechslung. Zu zweit oder zu dritt ist es manchmal deutlich schwieriger, je nach Rollenkombination, aber dadurch, dass es mehr Konstellationen gibt, auch abwechslungsreicher. Das Spiel ist nicht so tiefgründig wie andere kooperative Brettspiele, beispielsweise Arkam Horror oder Battlestar Galactica, kann dafür aber Gelegenheitsspieler absolut begeistern und auch Hardcore-Brettspieler lange Zeit fesseln. Die eingeschränkte Spielzeit von rund einer Stunde verleiht dem Spiel zusätzliche Attraktivität, zumal diese auch wirklich in etwa eingehalten wird. Gefahr liegt darin, allzu kooperativ und offen zu spielen und – dadurch dass die Auswahl der Möglichkeiten und damit Strategien begrenzt ist – dass es einen dominanten Spieler gibt, der anderen ihre Züge diktiert, so dass kein richtiges Spielerlebnis beim Rest aufkommt.

Fazit: Seit Siedler hat mich kein Spiel für Casual Gamer so fesseln können. Das kooperative Spielprinzip dürfte für viele recht neu und eine erfrischende Erfahrung sein und die Ausstattung ist zwar nicht reichhaltig, aber sehr hochwertig. Kurzum, genau die Art Brettspiel, die man mit seinen nicht-rollenspiel-bessenenden Freunden zocken kann. Auch die Vorschußlorbeeren, die mich neugierig gemacht haben, wurden zurecht vergeben.

In recent years the gaming industry and the media in general have developed a new name to describe what they believe to be a new market: The Casual Gamer.  But who or what is “the casual gamer” and is the phenomenon as new as we’re being lead to believe?

Diner Dash has become a standard in Casual gaming, and a favorite among gamers

The current market for casual gamers focuses on short games,  divided in to small, task oriented segments without much character or story development.  They feature linear plots where the game goal is often spelled out in the opening sequence.  These games also feature simple controls and repetitive action.

Now if many of our readers think back to childhood they’ll remember playing videogames that can be described in just this way, only, these games were cutting edge.

You see, it’s my theory that casual gamers have always existed, but due to technical limitations these gamers were satisfied by the same games as the hardcore gamers.  Who doesn’t remember the repeated button mashing of the original arcade fighting games?  Or the redundancy of the highly pixelated enemies in your favorite shooter?  These things appealed to both types of gamers.

Quarter circle forward, Punch is no longer the winning combination

As the technology and the market developed the games became longer and more involved, leading to
monstrous several hundred hour long, multi-disk RPGs and longer, as well as more complicated stories for shooters and even fighting games.  In addition to longer, broader stories, the controls and mental skills needed to play the games became more complex and taxing.  The argument is made that this is where the casual gamer was lost.

However, I beg to differ.

The casual gamer still played these games, but often, didn’t finish them.  They played until they were bored or stuck, and then traded them in for the newest game to suit their fancy.  How do I know this?  Why that’s easy.  Until late in high school, I, was one of these people.

I had many friends who I swapped games with, though I hardly remember any of us ever finishing one.  We played games because it was fun;  when the game stopped being fun, it was time to move on.  We often found ourselves drawn to games meant for users several years younger than ourselves, because the simplicity of the games made them fast and fun.

Then the industry gave us a new name and shoved us in to a box.  The casual gamer was suddenly separate and inferior in some ways to the hard-core gamer.  We needed to be pandered to and given games that were simple.  At least, that’s how my hormone addled mind saw it at the time.

Now I understand that the companies were cashing in on the boredom of the casual market.  If you give the casual gamer 10 games they can finish quickly and happily, they will play them all, and ask for more.  You can even charge them large amounts of money.  Even better, you can draw in new gamers (the bored housewife, the girlfriend of a gamer, the businessman looking to blow off steam) by illustrating that these games aren’t the life sucking games the hardcore gamers sink days and days in to.  These games are short: you can finish them in a weekend and then go back to the real world on Monday.

The Wii is the gaming platform that made casual gaming acceptable again

So what does this mean for the gaming industry?  Initially it meant a sort of heated segregation between those that were capable of playing harder, longer games and those that weren’t.  But then Nintendo brought us the Wii and all bets were off.  It became cool to play casual games; so long as it was just for a laugh.  The former “casual game” became the rest stop for the hardcore gamer looking to rest their thumbs and just goof off. Once again the casual game, and the casual gamer, are reabsorbed in to gaming society.

So why then do we still have this term, “Casual gamer” hovering around?  Partly because of habit, partly because it provided an effect way to measure the time investiture in a game, but mostly because of marketing.  “Casual gaming” opened up gaming to new markets, and in order to keep these markets, the marketers feel they need to keep the term.

Fair enough I say, just don’t call me that to my face.  I’m no different than the rest of you. 

I’ve played video games for most of my life. As a kid my brother and I played Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt on our Nintendo, and later Sonic, Street Fighter, and Earthworm Jim on the Sega Genesis. Ahh the old days when games were simple and extremely hard to beat.  In high school we had a PlayStation, and oh the joy of playing Oddworld, Tomb Raider and Metal Gear Solid… When I graduated from high school and moved out on my own I bought a PlayStation 2 to use as a DVD player–and to kick some booty on NCAA 2002 (featuring FSU’s own Chris Weinke) and Tekken 4.  A few years after that I got a used GameCube and after some prodding I came around again to Nintendo and Mario–especially Mario Kart (and other Nintendo classic remakes like Metroid Prime).  Most recently I’ve become quasi-obsessed with the Xbox 360 and to a much lesser extent the Nintendo Wii.

I’ve always considered myself a “casual” gamer. But looking back, the amount of time I spend playing games has really ramped up over the past year. Two years ago the only game I played through was Ultimate Spider-Man on the GameCube, and that was great. A year ago I played through Tomb Raider: Legend on the GameCube–that was also fun and just fine. This year I’ve played and beat something like ten games, each averaging at least ten hours to play to completion. How did this happen? Quite simply, my road to hardcore gaming began with a gateway system: the Nintendo Wii.

The details of how I got turned on to the Wii and (wonder of wonders) found one to buy aren’t clear–my memory is too hazy from the year-ago combined shock of playing (and enjoying) Halo 2 on a friend’s Xbox and nearly simultaneously learning that my beloved Metroid Prime is in fact one of the feared first-person-shooters (FPS for the hardcore/lazy).  Foggy memories aside, I can tell you that I beat Halo 2’s campaign on co-op and I did not like the fact that there weren’t any decent shooters on the Wii (Metroid aside).

At this point I feel obligated to admit that the Wii is not really my true gateway to hardcore gaming, at least not in itself. But the Wii was what made me realize I just wasn’t entertained by the cutesy “Wii-mote” waggling most of its games require. I love Mario Kart. I love Metroid. But I do not love the Wii. For me, the Wii was like the girlfriend who doesn’t love you back, and yet you tough it out until one day you finally realize (after that long talk with mom and maybe baby brother) that you want and deserve something more. Or in philosophical terms “the shadow proves the sun” and for me the Wii was the shadow.  So what was that something-more casting the shadow on the Wii?

For me it was the Xbox 360 (not to diss my wife by way of analogy, since she is totally the Xbox 360 of girls in my life…or God, since that whole shadow/sun thing is a Switchfoot reference).  But to the point, I picked up a 360 the week Halo 3 came out (it was a mild and humid afternoon in late September).  For a good three months Halo 3 was the only game I owned and the only game I wanted to play.

Halo 3 is without a doubt one of the best games I’ve ever played. The campaign is great, with well balanced enemy AI and pacing, plus an incredible multi-player experience. And as an added bonus I think Halo 3 may have saved my sanity during the stress of law school and final exams.

After Halo 3 the rest is a downward spiral. In December a friend loaned me Gears of War. For Christmas my wife gave me Mass Effect, and her parents got me Call of Duty 4. Later I bought a copy of Bioshock. The horror. The horror.  From January to August I’ve played Assassin’s Creed, Army of Two, Lego Star Wars, Madden NFL 2008, Burnout Paradise, Lost: Via Domus, GTA IV, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Rock Band, The Orange Box, DragonBall Z: Burst Limit, Scene It, and Elder Scrolls IV. And that’s not to mention the XBL Arcade titles. Oh the humanity.

Admittedly I haven’t beaten most of these games (and quite a few were loaners/rentals in case you’re wondering). In fact I’ve played most of these games only long enough to decide they weren’t my cup of tea.  Over the past few months I’ve studied a whoooole lot for the Florida Bar Exam and over the past few weeks I’ve played a lot of games during my free time (call it making up for self-inflicted academic abuse). I can tell you right now that I love FPS games, and RPG-action games like Mass Effect or Elder Scrolls, and I hated GTA IV’s everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink free roaming gameplay. If you’re gonna do something, do what your like right? I guess…

Ultimately I think I’m okay with whatever stigma might go along with being a “hardcore” a gamer, and more than that I think I have pretty good standards/taste in entertainment generally and games specifically (subjective good taste, but self-aware if nothing else). And I will warn all you Wii owners and “casual” gamers out there–watch out for the seduction of the Master Chief. He may look heroic and could quite possibly be a Christ figure for all of mankind and the Covenant of the future, but beware. Once you get the urge to pwn, the Wii just won’t do.  Booya!

Nova geração de consoles é um banho de água fria nos jogadores

Não é à toa que a maior feira de games do mundo não empolga mais ninguém: apesar dos recordes da indústria, nunca antes os videogames foram tão burocráticos

Há apenas dois anos atrás, os fãs de videogame faziam contagem regressiva para o mês de maio, época em que era realizada, em Los Angeles, a E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), o maior evento dessa indústria. Porém, a partir de 2007 – não por acaso, o primeiro ano de disputa entre PlayStation 3, Wii e Xbox 360 –, a feira foi adiada para o mês de julho e passou por grandes mudanças. O resultado é que agora, num período em que o setor ostenta os seus maiores recordes, os fãs são obrigados a presenciar uma exposição chocha, com anúncios previsíveis e apresentações parcas. E a E3 2008 foi além: não obstante ter sido a pior da história, serviu ainda para comprovar que a atual geração de videogames é, no mínimo, estranha.

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Em novembro do ano passado, no texto A nova geração é uma farsa, comentei como o desequilíbrio entre os novos consoles estava tornando a nova geração de videogames uma das menos empolgantes dos últimos tempos. Quase um ano depois, a coisa não mudou muito – apesar de termos visto alguns bons lançamentos para todas as plataformas.

É verdade que tivemos coisas boas como Super Smash Bros. Brawl para Wii, Grand Theft Auto 4 para PS3 e 360 e Metal Gear Solid 4 para o console da Sony. Mas também é fato que coisas como a instalação obrigatória de alguns jogos no HD do PS3, as várias configurações de consoles disponíveis para venda no 360 e PS3 e as cada vez mais evidentes limitações do Wii – como espaço de armazenamento insuficiente e imprecisão de seu controle, que agora ganhará um add-on – tornam a experiência nessas máquinas um tanto quanto frustrante. E, de uma maneira geral, ainda que tenhamos bons lançamentos em seqüência, estes não são assim uns “AAAs” de verdade como muita gente insiste em nos convencer. “Fica parecendo que todo mundo está desesperado em achar alguma coisa extraordinária na máquina cara e evoluída que acabou de comprar. Não estou dizendo que não sejam bons jogos, mas eles têm realmente o impacto pra indústria de um Mario 64 ou Final Fantasy VII, por exemplo?”, dispara o jogador mineiro Rafael Ventura, que não está sozinho nesse sentimento. “Joguei Metal Gear Solid 4 recentemente e achei fenomenal. Mas não passou nem perto da sensação que eu tive quando joguei o MGS original pela primeira vez. Essa geração tem muitos jogos legais, como Bioshock, Mario Galaxy e Halo 3, mas não dá pra esquecer de quando saía Symphony of the Night, Zelda Ocarina of Time, MGS e Resident Evil 2, tudo meio que ao mesmo tempo. Não consigo explicar por quê, mas esses jogos novos também não me animam tanto assim”, desabafa o paulista Victor Silveira.

No caso do Wii – que é reportagem de página dupla na Istoé desta semana –, as coisas tendem a soar ainda piores. Na E3, naquela que tenha sido talvez a sua pior conferência em um evento do gênero, a Nintendo simplesmente ignorou os jogadores tradicionais, apostando alto nos chamados “jogos casuais”, voltados a um público mais amplo e não tão acostumado a jogos mais complexos. O problema dessa história é que ela conseguiu despertar a ira até mesmo de seus fãs mais ardorosos, que esperavam ao menos pelo anúncio de um novo Zelda específico para o Wii. Além disso, a estratégia da Nintendo de dar preferência aos jogos mais simplificados preocupa quem gosta de super produções: “Meu maior medo é que o console banalize a indústria de jogos. Para que as empresas vão gastar milhões em um GTA 4 ou Metal Gear 4 se o que vende mesmo são os jogos nota 7 do Wii?”, questiona o analista de sistemas Rael Cunha. Bem, para ele e todos os outros que têm tal preocupação, recomendo a leitura deste texto publicado nesta semana no blog Continue.

A verdade é que, quase dois anos depois do início pra valer da briga entre os três videogames do momento, quem continua mandando bem na fita são os portáteis Nintendo DS e PSP, além do velho PlayStation 2 – que, surpreendentemente, ganhará mais de cem novos jogos ainda este ano. Não é por acaso que eles dominam as vendas em todo o mundo e são os queridinhos dos jogadores: com eles é ligar o jogo e pronto. Sem dor de cabeça nem preocupação com fatores externos. Sem, enfim, frustrações para o jogador.

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Leia também: Os videogames vão acabar – e a culpa é do Wii

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I really do enjoy interesting games, little flash games – you know those weird little ones that are cute and tranquil and you can play for hours in a trance. Going through the yahoo blog of  Magibon (who is a completely different phenomenon altogether) I found this nice little website full of these cute little, whimsical, fun, sometimes a bit odd games.

Orisinal.com is great fun for hours.