Where Have You Been Lately?

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Jonathan Myers

It has been a long while since my last article. I’m going to take this moment to apologize for that and explain the situation so y’all know what is going on.

As some of my readers know, I am currently unemployed. This is the reason why I have not posted anything recently. You would think this would leave plenty of time for me to write more than usual. In reality, this is not actually the case.

The last few weeks have been particularly rough. I will not go into detail about it. This is not the place for that. What I will say is the stress of this situation has caught up with me. It has inhibited my ability to spend time doing what I really love to do: writing about PC gaming. I am hopefully going to get back to it really soon.

Things I have in the cooker right now for some articles are an exploration of the original Dungeon Overlord game, a review of World Of Tanks, a general impressions article on Star Wars The Old Republic (respecting the beta NDA, of course… which will probably read more like an editorial than anything else), yet another editorial article about the state of MMORPGs (my deepest PC gaming love), and my (mis)adventures in the APB: Reloaded beta. As you can see, though I have not been writing as much, I’ve still been busy playing and thinking about playing PC games… especially those of the MMO type.

I have also decided to try something new. I will begin taking requests for articles.  Let me know here or in some other place what game you would like me to take a look at and I’ll see what I can do with it.

I’m looking forward to getting back to business sooner than later. Till then, play nice together or someone will be swinging the ban-hammer at you…

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The Sims Social, How I Want To Loathe Thee

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Jonathan Myers

On August 9, 2011 something horrible happened. The Sims Social was released to the world. It was a dastardly thing for Playfish and EA to do. They effectively remediated The Sims 3 people-aquarium god game to the Facebook platform (yes, Facebook really is considered a gaming platform now).

They transferred a lot of the addictiveness of The Sims 3 to an audience that has proven to have addictive personalities. Facebook gamers beware! The Sims Social wants your soul!

This tyranny is so complete that as of the one month launch anniversary The Sims Social playing population is estimated to be over 30 million users. That is 30 million people mercilessly enslaved to their singular customized Sim. The inhumanity of it is astounding!

Overview

There are three types of currency. Simoleons, which are earned for doing various tasks.  Social Points, which are earned through causing your Sim to interact with other players’ Sims.  SimCash, which is purchased by the player. These currencies are used to purchase furnishings and clothing. Both Simoleons and Social Points can be purchased with SimCash (of course).

In order: Simoleons, SimCash, Social Points. You see those nefarious little pluses on the right side of each one? Yeah, those are the “udders” used for milking your credit card.

Social Sims can learn all of the four available skill sets: art, cooking, music, and writing. Each one of these skills levels independently. As a Sim’s skill level increases, they outgrow the tool they are using to level up a particular skill. You must then provide a more advanced tool for the Sim to continue increasing that skill level.

Like almost every activity in The Sims Social undertaking these skill activities generate Simoleons, experience points, and “drops”. Drops are items that are stored in your “back pack” to be used to unlock advancing tasks on each tool or as components for crafted items. The more advanced the task the more Simoleons your Sim will make. Particular tasks will produce particular drops.

Working on the ol’ guitar skills…

The experience points skill tasking generates do not increase the level of the skill. Each skill task has levels themselves. Once a task has been max leveled it then makes the next task available for unlock. The experience points actually increase the level of the Sim. Yes, these Sims have levels as you would find in many RPGs and MMORPGs.

Your Sim’s house also levels. Each item you can purchase for your Sim’s house has a purchase value (how many Simoleon, SimCash, or Social Points you spend on it) and a house value. The house value is somewhat like experience points for the house.  The more stuff in the house the more accrued value the house has. Therefore, the higher the value of the house and the higher the level of the house. If you remove an item from the house the value of the house is decreased by the value that the removed item contributed.

All of this is governed by the availability of energy and sufficiently met needs. One point of energy is provided to your Sim every five minutes. Energy can also be purchased by the player. Each task that generates Simoleons costs one energy. Some tasks require multiple expenditures of energy. The rate at which skill tasks generate Simoleons can be increased temporarily by causing your Sim to become “inspired”. Inspiring a Sim requires completely fulfilling that Sim’s needs. The needs of a Sim are: social, fun, hunger, hygiene, bladder, and sleep. The action of fulfilling needs does not use energy but may require specialized items or tools.

The Social Part of The Sims Social

Being social in The Sims Social is fairly simple and has four aspects. First, your Sim becomes friends with the Sims of your Facebook friends. This can include those who already play or those you recruit to play with you. You increase the closeness [level] of friendship between your Sim and your friend’s Sim. To do this, your Sim visits their Sim to interact. At first, this social interaction costs energy. Once a certain level of friendship is achieved your Sim is provided five bonus energy points to interact with a friend’s Sim. Visiting once daily which is sufficient to maintain and gain levels of friendship.

My avatar socializing and getting ready to schmooze my wife’s avatar. Isn’t Sim love grand!

The second aspect is through a traditional social Facebook game notification system. This “broadcasts” achievements gained or benchmarks achieved on your wall as a status update. Attached to this notification or sharing are rewards your Facebook friends can redeem by clicking on the redemption link. These rewards can be Simoleons, energy, or items.

The third aspect is giving gifts directly to another Facebook friend. These gifts are either small amounts of Simoleons, an energy point, or items needed to complete crafting recipes, open a next level of skill tasking, or complete a building project.

The fourth aspect is sending out requests for items needed to complete crafting recipes, open a next level of skill tasking, or complete a building project.

The Verdict

I am not a big fan the Facebook “social” games. The games are never really social and lean more towards milking players for cash or advertising points. Even the previously reviewed and appreciated Dungeon Overlord is structured in that way.

Though it is obvious this is an element of The Sims Social (which includes product endorsements), it is entirely possible to have a rewarding experience with The Sims Social without spending real world money or delving into the dark world of earning Facebook advert points.

It is true that you will be somewhat limited in what you can put in your Sim’s house and the clothes you can put on them. However, that limitation is not actually all that huge.  That is, unless you are a Jones or feel the need to keep up with them.

Jacuzzi time! Who’s your daddy?

The end of the game is clear. There is limited space in your Sim’s house for items. There are only so many clothing items you can buy. Once your Sim has everything, what are you going to do? And the depth of nefariousness rises again. As if Playfish and EA would ever let you run out of things to buy. Even knowing The Sims Social will inevitably hit that brick wall of “the social game/free to play I’m-going-to-nickel-and-dime-you-forever” business model, it is still fun in almost the exact same way as The Sims 3. It still manages to be a different game.

I certainly recommend The Sims Social but I offer a warning against both the addiction potential and the temptation to use your credit or debit card. As always, buyers beware. Virtual goods are, well, virtual. They are not worth the purchase price.

My one question about The Sims Social is: why can you woohoo in shower but not in a Jacuzzi?

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Stop adding steampunk to MMORPGs. Make a steampunk MMORPG!

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Jonathan Myers

Over the years steampunk has been a “theme” for MMORPGs. When I say theme I mean it is not a genre for MMORPGs. It is more or less a flavor for particular playable species or NPCs. In some cases it is purely decorative. So where is a real steampunk MMORPG?

Now, before you get your brass britches in a bundle, I am aware that there are a few MMORPG-like steampunk games. Those are just not up to par. Largely that is because they are moderate to low quality free to play games. Yeah, I just wagged my finger and looked down my nose at the F2P model. Take a look at them and tell me I am wrong…

With that in mind, where is a rich, full, unfettered, and storied world in a pure, furry-free technologically based universe (wizards leave you staves and wands at the door, please) for us to hang our gear encrusted top hats, riding bonnets, and brass goggles? It is not like there isn’t a demand for it. Hell, there is an entire subculture that embraces steampunk as a lifestyle. I often-enough-to-mention run into articles about the absence of and desire for a steampunk MMORPG that are frequnetly met with a “hup hup huzzah!” from many many readers.

I personally have a design document that I developed with a bunch of kindred souls for a steampunk MMORPG (this “recession” virtually killed it). I also know of at least one recognized and lusted for IP wrapped up in a kind of development hell that would be perfect for repurposing to be an absolutely fantastic and worthy steampunk MMORPG (even though it has a kind of magic in it).

So where is it? What’s up with this? It has to happen for real at some point. Is it a proposition that is too risky? Is it because the idea deviates too far from the EQ/WoW “norm”? Is it that MMORPG developers are just that uninspired? Whatever the case, it needs to be rectified!

I want my steampunk MMORPG, damn it!

(FYI, some of my writerly choices in this entry made my editor a little angry with me.)

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Cryptic, I’m not mad at you but you have lost my confidence.

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Jonathan Myers

When Champions Online went Free to Play I was able to accept it pretty quickly. Cryptic gave me, as a life time subscriber, more than enough incentive to overlook much of the rabble that ended up playing the game. However, Cryptic’s promises of adding more content fell flat.

Yeah, they did that comic book series thing and it was pretty good. But that is all you have given your players for over a year. Where are the new zones? Where is the revised “end game” play? I see none of this. Cryptic has talked a lot about adding playable content and has mentioned new playable content in the testing notes but it really has surfaced nowhere.

Cryptic has also made similar promises for Star Trek Online. There is no new content for Star Trek Online. I now officially join the masses who have been clamoring for Klingon PvE content at the same scale as the Federation content. Where are the new missions and side quest lines? Cryptic has also promised that The Foundry would not overtake the game or its continued development. That too fell flat.

All Cryptic has done with Star Trek Online for the last year is “remastered” old missions added a handful of what was supposed to be weekly episodes, and introduced player content generation tools that seem to now be the replacement for actual developer produced content.

One of the more egregious promises made was that Star Trek Online was not going to go Free to Play. Now, I do understand that minds and plans can change. Sometimes that is really needed for a company’s survival. On the other hand, this massive flip-flop of stated mission is really rather trust withering.

I now set Cryptic in the same space I have come to set Sony Online Entertainment. I will never buy into any of the products either company has to offer. They make promises and claims that they both inevitably backpedaled on.

Cryptic claims to be in the process of adding to the Star Trek Online content development staff. What content are these new staffers going to develop? I put my money on the development of “content” that will be purchasable through the Cryptic store. In other words, like they have with Champions Online, they are not going to actually add much in the way of quests and missions but are going to start pouring stuff into the “you can have this, for a price “ container.

Don’t get me wrong. Cryptic has some really good designers on their team and some really good writers. I have enjoyed both of my life time subscriptions to both of their current games. I am, however, deeply let down by all of the false promises and their lackluster development for these two games post launch and post Free to Play.

Sorry guys, I expected more from you. I expected you to keep your promises…

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Deus Ex: Human Revolution… The Third Pillar

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Jonathan Myers

There have been so many detailed reviews written about Deus Ex: Human Revolution that the Internet is beginning to bow under the weight of them. I do not want to add to that mass. Enough has been said about how good it is and there is no need for another glowing review. Yes, it is a good game, but is it a good work?

What I mean by “work” is, can Deus Ex: Human Revolution stand up to scrutiny of its topic or subject? Is it a good vehicle for cultural and social awareness?  Is it an indelible work of art by the standards of fine art?

By the standards of pure ludemic expression, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a work of art. Yes, it draws upon the FPSRPG kit of tricks well and even perhaps innovates within the genre a little bit. The activity of playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution is challenging, engaging, and has an open system of character development. It even has methods or options for challenging oneself by choice.

Visually, graphically, from beginning to end and including the separately purchasable strategy guide (which was a cooperative work between Eidos and Futurepress) Deus Ex: Human Revolution is exquisite! The visual design and rendering of the environment, the cut scene animations and presentation, everything you can see or look at is absolutely gorgeous. Indeed, visually Deus Ex: Human Revolution can be accepted as “art”.

The game play and the visual aspects of Deus Ex: Human Revolution are not in question, obviously. It is the third pillar I do not see people really discussing in their reviews. What about the actual story, the topic, the subject? Yeah, the storytelling is good. It works well. But, for a FPSRPG it is not really out of the ordinary. What is out of the ordinary is the actual focus of the story.

In 2007, when Deus Ex: Human Revolution began production the Internet was a-buzz with the concept of “transhumanism”. Ray Kurzweil had recently published the book “The Singularity Is Near”. The more advanced touchscreen phones had just made their appearance on the market. A small paradigm shift was in process. The transition from being bound to the PC and launching into the mobile cloud was happening.  Deus Ex: Human Revolution takes all of that, extracts the pop culture aspect and then re-presents it in a time resistant package.

Reviewers have been calling the world of Deus Ex: Human Revolution “cyberpunk”. For that matter, so has Eidos. But is it really cyberpunk or is that just a term being used to interpret what Deus Ex: Human Revolution is for better cultural integration?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution brings to light issues of technological advancement that are actually current. We are entering a time in which the technologies in question in Deus Ex: Human Revolution are coming into existence and in roughly the timespan presented in the game. By all counts it is entirely possible that 2027 will be the year when bioethical questions about how much we should intervene with our own evolution arise.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution brings this very serious subject into active consciousness of people who may only have seen it from the periphery. Many people may have not been aware of transhumanism or that it needs to be discussed.  Deus Ex: Human Revolution assembles the potentially disconnected parts of transhumanism for a new audience. It is not propaganda of any stripe. The multiple choices at the end of the game bring into focus, after preparation through various aspects of the game and its story, the core issues we need to think about and the consequences of action, inaction, and Luddite attitudes.

In this regard Deus Ex: Human Revolution achieves the completion of the three pillar base or support that make it an actual work of art. It is rare that something of this nature comes about. In the current matrix of good but shallow games, rises this work of art that strives to provide understanding of the surprisingly immediate concerns of humanity. It highlights the redefinition of class and social stratification that will come about with the increasing proliferation of biotechnologies. It tells us of the consequence of the inevitable directing of human evolution and how that will actually result in human revolution.

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