RANDOM VIDEO GAME NEWS!

[HoonDing]

http://www.ebay.co.u...id=410065856068

 

A certain guy is selling old assets from the bankrupt Sir-Tech. Including almost all the sketches, game design, and other stuff on the often rumored (but now we know it is true) The Stones of Arnheim, which was cancelled sadly. There is a mega thread on the codex here for more info (and lulz).

 

This would be perfect for a romancable alien companion (for male Shep only, obviously) in a future Mass Effect game. Better be sure to nab this before BioWare developers are all over it.

Edited November 13, 2012 by Drudanae

[Jaesun]

We are possibly working on a fundraiser to get as many of these items as possible to preserve them for the public. <3

[Morgoth]

Tim Sweeney about the future of AAA.

 

 

"But budgets are always going to continue marching upwards," he conceded. "We are hoping costs at the start of the next generation to only be double the cost of the start of the previous generation."

 

Hoping that costs will "only" be twice at high. Probably 3x, 4x down the road. You all know what that means for the actual game quality.

 

Recently I started playing Ico with PCSX2 and that really got me thinking why this generation of games has become so ****ty. Back then, in the PC and PS2 era (before the ****box has changed everything for the worse), it was easier to get excited about a new release because back then the business of making games was.....making games! Unlike today, where it's all about buzzwords, business models and unimaginative rip-offs.

[Morgoth]

Beyond Good & Evil 2 still a thing

 

Right.

[alanschu]

Recently I started playing Ico with PCSX2 and that really got me thinking why this generation of games has become so ****ty. Back then, in the PC and PS2 era (before the ****box has changed everything for the worse), it was easier to get excited about a new release because back then the business of making games was.....making games! Unlike today, where it's all about buzzwords, business models and unimaginative rip-offs.

 

I have a feeling that that will be said about now in about 10 years.

 

I just remember all the cries of excessive copycat, especially for RTS and FPS, back then too.

 

Although I do agree that costs are high. I'm actually a supporter of the idea that BioWare have a smaller team to work on third games that focus more on game concepts and proofing out ideas. While I understand the importance of metrics and don't think they can be discounted, I think AAA studios may rely on them too much. If you make a game built entirely out of metrics, you'll never innovate. But I think it'd be value added if we can proof out some concepts and then substantiate them with numbers. I'd love to see a BioWare game that had a lot more breadth (instead of depth) in its design. Lots of branching and replayability, rather than a singularly long game experience.

[Drowsy Emperor]

Games were always about making money, but I don't remember it ever being so obvious while actually playing the game. While playing certain AAA titles you can almost point out the individual parts the game is made of, which target audience its made for, the projected reaction on the player - and through these things, literally see the way it was intended that the game make money and sell itself as it were.

 

Its a stifling, hollow experience without anything whimsical, random, without seeing that there were people actually involved in making the game. For all you know it could have been made in a factory according to a template.

 

Worst of all it lacks the joy of the people working on it, the sort of thing you can see in wacky Fallout dialog or Baldur's Gate's side quests, the Witcher's crude humor, Shadow of the Colossus's artistic unity etc. That someone actually liked making the game and had a vision they followed through and through.

[Tale]

Hoping that costs will "only" be twice at high. Probably 3x, 4x down the road. You all know what that means for the actual game quality.

I have to hope he's being hyperbolic.

 

If it's true, that's kind of scary. I guess solutions to the problem can be found. Maybe it'll force the AAA devs to step back.

[Morgoth]

I have to hope he's being hyperbolic.

 

If it's true, that's kind of scary. I guess solutions to the problem can be found. Maybe it'll force the AAA devs to step back.

 

I think early Next-Gen games shouldn't be more expensive than late current gen games....but think about it. Once developers have the final dev kits and figure out how to get most out of the hardware, there comes another graphical push plus stuff like more physics, better animations and more animation variety, and of course top-notch facial/performance capturing. That stuff costs a lot, and once customers are used to a certain standard, they won't accept anything less. Which means overall less AAA games as a whole, with even less risk taking when it comes to new IP. More publishers/developers will go out of business who won't keep up.

 

 

When I look at that new Unreal Engine 4 demo I wonder whether future games will continue with that trend of having linear film set like levels, or are they going to create large playgrounds with less fidelity?

Edited November 13, 2012 by Morgoth

[Jaesun]

It's kind of like the last gaming crash. All Publishers wanted to make were movie. Not games.

 

And the cycle repeats itself again....

[pmp10]

It's kind of like the last gaming crash. All Publishers wanted to make were movie. Not games.

Publishers want to make things that sell.

If interactivity is an acceptable sacrifice for the sake of graphics they will have no problem with it.

The only question is weather the minority of gamers that doesn't agree can still have any games made to suit their needs.

[Tale]

It's kind of like the last gaming crash. All Publishers wanted to make were movie. Not games.

 

And the cycle repeats itself again....

My understanding of the crash was that there was oversaturation of shovelware. Q*Bert coming out on 8 different platforms and nobody knowing what to buy anymore or knowing if it'd be any good. That's why Nintendo had that whole Seal thing when it came onto the scene.

 

There's an argument to be made on the latter, but the former is nothing like today.

[Guest Slinky]

Haha, at least some of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 PC versions second disk has Mass Effect 2 files in it instead of coddy. What was that about ME going for towards cod crowd before

 

http://www.ign.com/a...ith-black-ops-2

[alanschu]

I like the "Assuming Direct Control" jokes that have gone out regarding that.

[Nepenthe]

Haha, at least some of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 PC versions second disk has Mass Effect 2 files in it instead of coddy. What was that about ME going for towards cod crowd before

 

http://www.ign.com/a...ith-black-ops-2

... That's hysterical.

[Katphood]

Could this really work?! I sure hope so: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/crytek-uk-create-a-timesplitters-hd-collection#share

[kirottu]

SWTOR is becoming F2P in a hour or so.

[Raithe]

SWTOR is becoming F2P in a hour or so.

 

But I'm still going to keep my subscription going for awhile longer....

[Malcador]

But I'm still going to keep my subscription going for awhile longer....

 

Well with the restrictions on the free accounts why wouldn't you ?

[Hormalakh]

Games were always about making money, but I don't remember it ever being so obvious while actually playing the game. While playing certain AAA titles you can almost point out the individual parts the game is made of, which target audience its made for, the projected reaction on the player - and through these things, literally see the way it was intended that the game make money and sell itself as it were.

 

Its a stifling, hollow experience without anything whimsical, random, without seeing that there were people actually involved in making the game. For all you know it could have been made in a factory according to a template.

 

Worst of all it lacks the joy of the people working on it, the sort of thing you can see in wacky Fallout dialog or Baldur's Gate's side quests, the Witcher's crude humor, Shadow of the Colossus's artistic unity etc. That someone actually liked making the game and had a vision they followed through and through.

 

I disagree. I think a lot of the older gamers who coded in their basements didn't really think that their gamse would make them millions. They made it for the love of the game. And a lot of times, it showed.

[Volourn]

And,a lot more times, those games sucked like crap. *shrug* But, people tend to forget the unmemroable crappy games and remember the minor few that were actually decent. And, then they overrate them to absolutely ridiculous levels. Not to mention many of the past fvaorite games weren't made in someone's basement either so that's a silly myth.

[Hurlshort]

If you are living in a basement and spending your free time coding, I'm pretty sure you are praying super hard that what you are coding hits it big time.

[GhostofAnakin]

Haha, at least some of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 PC versions second disk has Mass Effect 2 files in it instead of coddy. What was that about ME going for towards cod crowd before

 

http://www.ign.com/a...ith-black-ops-2

 

Seems Casey Hudson is trying to piss off the CoD crowd as well.

[Malcador]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PutMIeIhX4o

 

Playthrough of a mission in Absolution. 13 kills and an SA rating ? Weird.

[Guest Slinky]

Playthrough of a mission in Absolution. 13 kills and an SA rating ? Weird.

 

Yeah.. started a war and got SA. Fantastic. And there are QTE's. Oh joy.

 

Loved the earlier Hitmans, but this is going to wait steams -75% sale.

[Tale]

They're borrowing mark and execute from Conviction. People joked about it being another Conviction, but that's a bit on the nose.