All posts by Pike

The Android's Mother's Basement (MMO)

Two for the Price of One! Obligatory Panda Edition

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Hey guys, Pike here. For today’s blog post I thought we’d try something new: this post will contain the thoughts of both myself and Mister Adequate, all in one spot! I’ll say something on a topic and then my esteemed colleague will give his own opinion. Heck, if this works out well we might do it even more in the future. For now, though, I thought we’d talk about something that is big news in the gaming world right now: Blizzcon.

I probably don’t need to inform our audience of the new World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria, but just in case you’re an alien species who has just landed on Earth and decided to check our blog first thing, here’s a link.

Here’s our first impressions:

Pike’s Thoughts:

I think the first thing that struck me was total amusement. I’d heard the rumors of “Mists of Pandaria”, of course, but wrote it off largely because it seems like the Pandaren idea was one of those things that Blizzard never quiiiiite took seriously, to the point that they’d had the idea in the past and nixed it. (Am I the only one who remembers the Pandaren rumors flying around back before BC? Metzen’s statement that they were originally slated for BC and then replaced with Draenei did not surprise me in the slightest for that reason.)

Once the initial amusement faded away I decided that there were a lot of promising things here. The whole idea of having a neutral race that chooses its destiny at level ten is, in my mind, brilliant and long overdue and should have been done a long time ago with goblins. I love the idea of Pandaren as a race in general. I love the idea of a monk class and a brewmaster spec, and especially that dorfs can be said class/spec.

There were other things that didn’t excite me quite so much. The focus on a Horde/Alliance conflict didn’t really effect me either way, beyond Metzen’s enigmatic comparison to Warcraft 2 which caught my attention because I’m a geek like that. The idea that talent trees are essentially going away is something I’m iffy on, but I can see where they’re coming from. Pokemon Pets sounds like a fun idea on paper but in practicality it sounds like one of those things that is going to be too much of a hassle for me to bother getting into (see also: archaeology, spirit beast collecting, most holiday achievements, and all the other things WoW has introduced over the years that are great and all but which I have no interest in).

Anyways, ultimately my reaction to the expansion was roughly 50% “This sounds GREAT” and about 50% “This sounds meh/could go either way”, which, to be honest, is pretty good considering that there was really no “I HATE this” involved. That said, my overall interest in WoW remains low. As long-time readers know, my WoW playing over the past year and a half or so has been very off and on and largely dependent on whether I deem messing around on an alt for a few hours a week to be worth $15/month at any given moment. I love me some pandas, but I don’t even think they’re going to change anything for me, personally. Not when I’ve got so many other games to play!

Got all that, Spike?

Mister Adequate’s Thoughts:

M.o.P.

The funny thing about MoP is that it gets abbreviated to MoP. The other funny thing is that I actually think Pandaria is a really cool addition and I’m all for it. I was hoping they would show up in a much earlier expansion. I am definitely very excited by the fact they can choose which side to join, and I’m seriously hoping (but not at all expecting) that the “Alliance vs. Horde” thing bears some fruit because for a game called Warcraft there’s a distinct lack of, well, War.

I’m also massively excited for the new Monk class. I’ve always been a bit perplexed by their reluctance to add new classes – it’s not like the current ones have ever been balanced anyway. So it’s hugely exciting to see a new one on the way and quite honestly I think that alone will be enough to sell MoP to me.

But aside from what I outline above I’m quite a bit more pessimistic about it than Pike is. I’m not at all convinced that the pokemon angle is a sensible one, for a start. I’m not aware of all the details yet of course but I’m tremendously suspicious of the new talent changes. I’d been wanting them to return to how they used to be, and then become considerably MORE complex and in-depth, not reduced to something that’s barely an afterthought and gets introduced at Blizzcon as “Talents are gone!” The game needs to stop pandaren to customizing appearances and get back to customizing your characters as combatants. And if they do care about appearances so much, just rip off City of Heroes.

So I can’t say I’m desperately enthused about the expansion at this point. It’s got a couple of core things I really, really like, and a bunch of ancillary stuff I’m either disinterested in or downright skeptical of.

(Also if you are the aforementioned alien species can we borrow your spaceship?)

The Android can't be arsed with a real topic (Weekend)

There Is Something Big And Important Happening This Weekend!

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…a new episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic!

In which Twilight puts on her robe and wizard hat.

What’s that? There’s something video game related going on, as well? You know what, YOU’RE RIGHT! All the Grand Theft Auto games are on a massive sale on Steam and Gamersgate!

…what? Blizzard? What about a blizzard? I mean I know we’ve got snow in the forecast here in Montana, but that’s because it’s, you know, Montana.

…OH! Right. BlizzCon. That thing. Well, we all know that there’s a new WoW expansion coming up, so expect some commentary on that next week. Neither myself nor Mister Adequate is a huge WoW junkie at this point, but we both have fond memories of the game and I’m sure we’ll come up with something to say. As for me, I’m going to continue playing Final Fantasy I. I think I’m over halfway done at this point. What are you guys doing this weekend?

The Android's Liberal Arts Degree (Meta/Critical)

Finishing Games

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I don’t remember the first game I ever played.

I do, however, remember the first game I ever beat. It was “The Lion King” for SNES, and I was about 10 or 11 years old… in other words, I’d already been playing games for nearly a decade by that point. (It was actually a pretty terrible ending, but it did feel good at the time.)

Since then, I can count the number of games I’ve actually played all the way through on, well– probably just a couple of hands. Ocarina of Time. Super Mario World. A handful of other platformers, like Yoshi’s Story. A few different RPGs. Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64. Goldeneye 007. Probably a few other racing and FPS games that I can’t think of off the top of my head.

Then you get to all the games I played a very great deal of and never actually beat. Sometimes it was because the game got genuinely very difficult– Banjo-Kazooie, I’m looking at you. Other times, I don’t know why I quit playing. I got bored, I guess. I have an FFTA save parked outside the final mission and I just never got around to beating it. Actually, I’m sure there are more games I’ve played to 90% than there are games that I’ve actually beaten.

It's an endless cycle of starting new games before I beat a previous one! An ENDLESS. CYCLE.

If you’re like this, then you’re not alone. According to a recent article, of all the people who started playing last year’s Game of the Year, Red Dead Redemption, only about 10% of them beat it. In fact, the article also says that game developers are actually making games with the thought in their head that most of their game’s players won’t see all of their carefully crafted content. What a bit of a sobering thought. Imagine writing a story and knowing that 90% of your readers won’t read through to the end.

I think there are a few different reasons why games have such a low completion rate. The fact that we’ve grown up is a big one. And I don’t mean that in a stereotypical “We’re too old for video games now” way. This is what I mean: Remember when you were a kid? You only got a few games a year, one or two for Christmas, one or two for your birthday, and maybe a couple others at special occasions throughout the year. “Someday,” you resolved to yourself, “I’m going to grow up and I’m going to buy SO MANY GAMES.” So then you grew up, got yourself an income, and did exactly what you said you were going to do. Which is great. Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day. And you’re probably spending most of that time either sleeping or working.

And then you find yourself asking this.

Or perhaps your gaming tastes have changed a bit and now you mostly play stuff that doesn’t really “end” (MMOs, Minecraft) or you play games that can be played as a “match” in one relatively short session (Starcraft, Civilization, LoL, TF2, etc.)

For whatever reason or variety of reasons, though, people don’t beat a whole lot of games. I’ve acknowledged my own problem in this regard, and my current quest to either beat or re-beat as many Final Fantasy games as I can is part of a personal goal of mine to prove that I’ve still got what it takes to play a long game all the way through.

What about you guys? Do you have a backlog of games that you still need to beat?

The Android's Mother's Basement (MMO)

This Is One of The Dorkiest Things I’ve Ever Done

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As I recently recounted, Mister Adequate gifted me with a Scroll of Resurrection and I used it to claim a free week of WoW.

During that week, I messed around a bit, mostly on alts, and I had a little bit of fun, but not quite enough to warrant resubscribing. I let my free week run out, satisfied that I’d gotten my WoW fix for a little while.

Then I remembered that I’d just put a whole bunch of crap on the auction house right before my time expired.

…

So I resubbed for a month. For no other reason than to ensure that a bunch of virtual gold doesn’t have to rot in a virtual mailbox.

I’m… not the only one who has done this, right?

…right?

The Android's Casting Magic Missile (RPG)

Warriors of Light!

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I’m currently playing Final Fantasy. Just… Final Fantasy. The first one. The one with no numbers after it. It’s my kickoff for a goal to play (or replay, as the case may be) all of the FF games that I have access to, since I haven’t played most of them in ages.

It’s slow but steady going, for no other reason than the fact that I’m trying to squeeze my FF time in between things like writing, drawing, working, and playing other games. Still, I’ve reached a comfortable point where I’m playing for an hour or two a day, and having a whole lot of fun.

I actually named my white mage Rarity, but this picture will have to do.

And now for the Android’s Topic of the Day: Have you ever decided to “marathon” a game series, and how did that work out for you? Did you finish?

The Android's Bunker (Strategy), The Android's Horn-Rimmed Glasses (Indie)

You Have Seven More Days to Get Frozen Synapse

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…okay, okay, you can get it whenever you want, but you have seven more days to get it for cheap as part of the Humble Bundle.

What is Frozen Synapse, you may be asking?

Well, let me put it this way:

Do you like tactical turn-based strategy games?
Do you like interesting game premises involving the player being an AI?
Do you like really good music?

If you said yes to the above questions then you should really be looking into getting this game. This is a solid TBS that gives you a considerable amount of control over your troops and provides a rather interesting twist of allowing you to run simulations of your moves before you actually move. You ARE an AI, after all. The actual outcome is always different from even your best looking simulations, though. In other words, the white-knuckle anticipation between turns might just be the death of you.

Twilight Sparkle = You; Rubiks Cube = Frozen Synapse

There is also a multiplayer mode which I’m assuming is intense as all heck but I’ve yet to try it. Mister Adequate and I have plans to butt heads in game at some point, though. As of now we’re both just working our way through the single player campaign between playing a million other things. And yes, Mister Adequate has given this game his Hardcore Strategy/Tactical Game Seal of Approval, which is basically our equivalent of the Good Housekeeping award, except even more elusive.

Anyways, if you think any of this sounds interesting and/or you’re still listening to the music (and you really should be), then go toss Humble Bundle a few bucks and enjoy. There are other games that come in the bundle, of course, and they seem to be adding more every few days, but honestly Frozen Synapse and its soundtrack alone is worth the (user-set) price of the package. Check it out!

The Android's Mother's Basement (MMO)

You Have Awakened Me Too Soon, Scroll of Resurrection!

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So last week, Mister Adequate resubbed to World of Warcraft, and then promptly tossed me a Scroll of Resurrection (at my request, I won’t deny it). This was despite a lot of warnings from people that I’d get pulled back into it and that it would eat up all my time. Still, I went ahead and activated my free week and logged in.

The first thing I noticed was that my poor neglected main was still buffed with a buff from the Lunar Festival which just goes to show you how long it’s been since I logged in.

The second thing I noticed was that I’d apparently been kicked from my guild for inactivity, which didn’t bother me too much because last I checked most of the cool people had either moved to a new guild or quit playing.

Upon flying to the training dummies I noticed a third thing, which was that I somehow still remembered all of my keybinds. That tickled me a little bit.

Anyways, then I got bored and logged out for the rest of the day.

The next morning I was feeling nostalgic for Burning Crusade so I picked a random alt that was in Outlands and did some quests. I did that for about 45 minutes and I felt proud that I still sort of knew how to play a hunter. And you know, it was fun for a little bit. But then I got bored again and logged out and spent the rest of the day playing Civ.

My reaction to that decision

The third day I logged into a completely different alt, one who was in the midst of the re-done Cataclysm quests in Ashenvale (this particular alt still had the Christmas gnome buff from December). Again, I messed around for about an hour and then it was off to other things, both games and otherwise.

So, you may be wondering where I’m going with this. Believe me, I don’t intend this to be some sort of WoW or MMO bash. As far as I’m concerned WoW is still the best MMO on the market today, and the majority of my memories of the game are fond ones. But I think I attempted to come back to it too soon. My interest in it simply has not been rekindled in my absence. You have awakened me too soon, Scroll of Resurrection!

Yes, that is a pony Ragnaros.

I think I’ll resub for a month, just to get Mister Adequate his free month for the Scroll of Resurrection, but I can’t envision myself doing anything beyond messing around with alts for a few hours each week. You never know, of course, but more and more I’m thinking I should let the game lie for a bit longer.

There’s more to WoW than endgame, of course, and my particular playstyle at the moment– derping around on alts for a few hours a week– is certainly a valid one, but is it worth the $15/month when you’re as broke as I am? I’ve yet to decide. Currently I’m leaning toward “no”. But we’ll see, I suppose. We’ll see.

The Android's Liberal Arts Degree (Meta/Critical), The Android's POG Collection (Retro), The Android's Sandbox (Sandbox/Open World)

Games as a Medium

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I’ve been thinking a little bit lately about using a game to, well… do something besides “play the game”. Here, I’ll tell you where I’m coming from. Back when I was little– six or seven years old or so– we had a game called The Railroad Works.

It looked like this.

The game was basically supposed to be a model train simulator, and it was divided into two different “segments”. The first segment involved building your train track and decorating it with various bits of scenery and the like that you were given, and then the second was playing a sort of proto-Railroad-Tycoon-esque game that involved taking goods from train station to train station and juggling schedules and whatnot.

If you think I ever played that second portion of the game, you’d be wrong.

The entire point of the game, to me, was to build the nicest, most picturesque scenic railroad route I could. There was no game strategy involved in where I placed my train stations and depots; there was only aesthetics. The game basically gave you several dozen grids (screens) on an overarching map and you could build in each of these grids and connect them, and so I made biomes and “zones” so to speak– here was the forest, here were the mountains, this was the farmland, this was the city.

Once I had finished constructing my masterpiece, I’d start the actual game proper, watch my train chug around my world for a few minutes, and then, satisfied, I’d quit. I didn’t have to play the actual game. The joy for me was in the creating.

This is similar to how a lot of people today play Minecraft. While Notch is busy trying to introduce things like dungeons and monsters, most people play the game either as a UI for virtual legos or as a pixel art program. You’d think, before you’ve tried it yourself, that this wouldn’t be as enthralling as it is. And then you try it and suddenly you can almost see why someone would spend weeks using Minecraft to recreate scenes from Pokemon.

This took me about an hour and a half yesterday; I can't even begin to comprehend how long that Pokemon animation must have taken.

I think it’s rather neat when people are able to take an open-ended game like that and do whatever they want with it. It usually adds more replay value than millions of optional sidequests/levels do, that’s for sure.

The Android's Bunker (Strategy)

In lieu of an actual blog post today…

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I present to you SMAC Ponies, made with generalzoi’s Pony Creator.

I think some of these “translated” into ponyfication better than others but I’m proud overall. If I ever get around to redoing it, I think I’ll give Morgan yellow eyes or something (to portray his “faction color”), and I might make Deirdre an Earth Pony– my original thought was that she’s “flying naked through the trees”, but the whole Earth-Pony-bond-with-animals thing might actually fit better. Then, I’ll add faction symbols as cutie marks.

…I’m beyond help, aren’t I?

The Android's Liberal Arts Degree (Meta/Critical), The Android's Thinking Cap (Puzzle)

Foldit and Why This is Really Nothing New

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This has been making the rounds recently so I imagine a lot of you have already seen this, but if not, have a neat little news tidbit that one of our most ardent commenters, Bamos, reminded me of:

Basically, a bunch of researchers created a puzzle game, called Foldit, which is designed to simulate actual protein folding. The idea was that human players could come up with more interesting solutions to real life problems than the AI could.

This was recently proven true when scientists decided to put a particularly tricky puzzle in the game– a puzzle with an answer that had been evading researches for a decade. Ten days later, it was solved. The article itself explains it best, so let me quote a bit of it:

In the past year and a half, users of the program had demonstrated their potential to solve real protein-folding problems, Baker said, so when Jaskolski came to him with this enigmatic viral protease, they decided to put the gamers to the test. Baker posed the problem to the Foldit players, and watched the responses flood in.

About 600 players from 41 teams submitted more than 1.25 million solutions. Narrowing those down to 5,000, Jaskolski and colleagues subjected them to a computational technique called molecular replacement (MR), which tests the models against X-ray crystallography data. For MR to work, the proposed structure has to be very close to accurate, in which case the MR calculations can help perfect the details. But previous attempts at MR for this protein had failed because the protein models were too far off the mark.

But The Contender’s proposed protein structure was a winner. “When we took [their] model, it was a beautiful fit to the X-ray data so we knew [they] had solved it,” Baker said. “We were just totally blown away. This is the first time that a long-standing scientific problem has been solved by Foldit players, or to my knowledge, any scientific gaming participants.”

The final breakthrough came from Foldit user mimi, a member of The Contenders and a science technician at a high school near Manchester, UK, who has been playing Foldit for about 3 years. She “tucked in a flap” of the protein that was sticking out, she explains, to make the protein more “globular.” But she emphasizes that “the achievement was very much a group effort,” noting that it wasn’t possible for her to tuck in the flap until others in the group had made their key adjustments to the protein’s structure.

“It’s kind of an unprecedented case of using computing non-specialists to solve a longstanding scientific problem,” said Alexander Wlodawer, chief of the Macromolecular Crystallography Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute.

Scootaloo's face upon making the breakthrough

What I like here is that this isn’t just “gamers vs. scientists” or “real people vs. computer programs” or anything. It’s a lot of people (and AI) working in tandem to figure this stuff out. And this time, a game happened to be at the center of it.

The fact that gamers played an integral role here shouldn’t come as much of a shock to anyone who has spent a lot of time around Elitist Jerks, CivFanatics or SimCity Devotion. Heck, remember Magnasanti, brought to us by the guy who “beat” SimCity? Even little kids memorize hundreds of Pokemon and all the moves and combat details inherent to gameplay. Humans hate math and theories in school, but they sure do love it when they can apply it to a game. Perhaps because there’s a tangible feeling of mastery, or perhaps because it’s a competition. Maybe it’s just because it’s fun. Who knows? The point is that it works.

And so finally we have the news pointing out to the public what all of us who have grown up knee-deep in video game subcultures have known for a long time: that we’re all a bunch of anal-retentive nerds, and that this isn’t necessarily a bad trait.

Bring it on, science!