Designing Videogames For The Wage Slave 514
Thanks to Ron Gilbert's weblog for pointing out a GameDev.net article discussing the topic of "Designing Games for the Wage Slave" . The author explains: "We balance on the knife's edge between our glorious time-squandered youth, and the commitments of inevitable middle age... If games can adapt to the needs of the working gamer, they can find a lucrative niche." He goes on suggest practical tips for game developers, including 'Don't Waste My Time' ("Make every moment count. I don't play games to punish myself. I play them to be entertained, rewarded, and challenged"), 'Curiosity Killed The Cat...' ("Constant death was a necessity in the days of video arcades... Now, in the comfort of our lounges or offices, what reason is there to keep dumping us out of the game we bought with our hard earned cash?"), and 'I Need Help' ("Make any necessary information available from within the game.")
Re:this is the reason (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Call me crazy.. (Score:3, Informative)
The reason video games are associated with the young is largely because they didn't *exist* during the youth of old folks.
TV did the same thing. Who buys the disgustingly expensive HDTV plasma displays? Middle-aged people.
Re:time and death (Score:1, Informative)
2-D & isometric game renaissance (Score:3, Informative)
Dear god, did I just say that?
Sigh. My desktop PC (dual Opterons, AIW 9600) and company laptop (Dell D600) have gaming capabilities I would have sold my parents to Saddam Hussein for less than a decade ago. Hell, so does my Gamecube attached to my 61" DLP TV. And what REALLY SUCKS is the fact that I can't play 3D games on ANY of them because they ALL give me vertigo (the Gamecube on the 61" DLP being the absolute worst... too late, I learned the hard way that playing on a bigger TV and making the experience even more immersive makes things WAY worse).
At first I thought it was just old age (I'm 31), but then I found out that lots of teenage guys have problems with vertigo too.
Bring on the 720p PacMania, Jumpman, Pogo Joe, and Super Giana Sisters
Re:Amen (Score:1, Informative)
Re:MMORPG's not a good example (Score:5, Informative)
The rest-system merely gave a bonus (more XP per kill) if you were "rested" and you got progressively more fatigued until you got a penalty (less XP per kill) if you were tired. You could play as much as you wanted of course, you just wouldn't progress as fast (still much faster than one who didn't play of course). The original rest-system required you to log out for 8 hours straight to go to the Rested-state.
The rest-system has since been tuned to give a negliable bonus and you don't have to rest as long.
Re:MMORPG's not a good example (Score:2, Informative)
Rampages do respawn (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I like this guy's style (Score:2, Informative)
And the Banshee was availible from the begining in GTA3, go down to where the car crusher is, by where you can get 8ball for a mission and it's in the showroom.