Wise fwom yow gwave

If you haven't read the online campaign journal for my Age of Worms game, you probably aren't aware that I have little free time nowadays. It feels like an extra job with the time I've sunk into it, really. It's fun, though, for a job.

I have two names on the journal; Swivl, and Hazard Stormwalker (for my character of the same name). The thing is, after starting the game the second week of May, we're as of now almost halfway done with the game. If you think that's a while, well, we're ahead of the game so far, as the original adventure was published over the course of a year.

It's still a bit troubling, though, as my group could use more cohesion. I have a power gamer mixing in with people who aren't nearly as interested as he is in character optimization. The result, usually, is that he takes attention away from the other players, not giving them too many chances to shine in their roles (killing all the monsters, finding all the traps and secret doors, seeing all the enemies through their disguises and hiding spots, etc.). I could go on for days on the subject, but the point is that my job as mediator is very difficult, and this group can potentially split, leaving our power gamer behind. I'd rather find a way to make all involved happier, but I know it may be an impossible task.

While this is going on, I'm still writing my own game, albeit slowly. I decided on a good goalpost, though; as soon as I get the disciplines up and running, I'll convert an oldie-but-goodie module to work with my game system: the original Ravenloft I6 from AD&D. It's the definitive horror adventure, and possibly the best adventure ever written. My game isn't intended to be like D&D, but I thought that this is still a good idea because I didn't want to introduce too many new things at once to whoever tests this game out with me. Plus, since the adventure itself borrows heavily from many horror classics, the atmosphere of the game will be familiar regardless of experience with tabletop RPGs.

After my seat at the Game Master's chair is relinquished, it is likely that I will stay out of it for quite some time. I'm looking forward to the adventure, as well as its conclusion, because now I have a plan of action for what I do next.

It Doesn't Matter What Your Name Is

I watch some internet shows, and I post on different forums and blogs, and I've noticed that since more and more of our social encounters are based on this, people will come to know you by your screen name. It seems so obvious it hurts, but really, especially with these shows, even people you meet in real life you refer to them as their screen name. They will also refer to themselves as their screen name. Hell, I don't even mention my name in this blog (which is intentional). I've gone to parties where I wouldn't tell them my real name, and they would just know Swivl (there's a practical reason for this, too). So, thinking on this, my hypothesis is that your real name doesn't matter for anything beyond legal and money matters.

In the future, it may mean even less, and that things would be tied more toward the ID number or some such than a name (maybe an ID implant, who knows). Names can repeat, after all, and not just on junior.

It's hard enough at the casino, where people use their real name for credit transactions, because so many card companies don't like to print out the full name on the card. With Mexicans, it's even more tricky with having frequently-occurring last names, plus their naming scheme which switches their middle name and last name in some documents, making completely safe ID verification nearly impossible. Then, add that so many banks won't put the "Jr." on a card where it might be necessary because the histories are so different, being different people and all.

Screen names are interesting; they're like rap names. They sum up your persona in some way that makes sense to you. You may have different ones, or you may have only one and you use it everywhere you go (I'm in the latter category, but even that is a recent development).

TL;DR version: My name is Swivl. You need not know anything else to call me.

2010 E3 Impressions

After lots of refreshing of browsers and watching of many videos, I believe I have a good idea of how this year's E3 turned out. First, I'll give you my gamer impressions.

Sony fails to deliver anything interesting again this year. I don't see myself buying a Move or PSeye or any PS3 or PSP games or systems. Sorry, Sony, you got my money for your first two PlayStations, but not again. Maybe next generation.

Microsoft has barely convinced me to keep my 360 plugged in, but the games I do want for the system I actually want to buy. I'm a sucker for Castlevania games, and I have pretty fond memories of Hydro Thunder, so the Summer of Arcade they have going on soon will be where I spend my MS points.

Nintendo will be draining my wallet again this year with so many cool things coming out soon. Kirby looks good, but I know my roommate will buy it first, so I can pick up Donkey Kong Country Returns. The 3DS is a must-have, as well. For Wii, I want the new GoldenEye, DKCR, and Zelda: Skyward Sword. For DS, I want the new Golden Sun, and Pokemon Black. For 3DS, I want the new Kid Icarus, Mario Kart, Star Fox 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Pilotwings Resort, Metal Gear, and Professor Layton. Gah, too much.

Okay, now it's time to put the business hat on.

Sony fails to deliver anything interesting again this year. Why are they showing PSP commercials during a press conference? I don't see anything that would drive the system sales up very far. Their big bets are on Move and 3D gaming, but both motion control and 3D visuals are available elsewhere for much cheaper. Why bother with a $2000 TV with extra glasses for each person anyway? Something like this, in an economy like this, is destined for failure. Plus, it raises a few questions. How would someone who needs glasses normally wear 3D glasses? How uncomfortable would that be? How uncomfortable are the glasses in the first place? What if you only have enough glasses for your family, and some friends come over and want to watch a movie? Can you turn the 3D off on a 3D movie? Where is the 3D content? People who are interested in actually buying things like this have these questions, so it's up to companies like Sony to provide the answers. So far, the answers are not adequate for adoption if you ask me. Maybe next generation.

Microsoft has a lot riding on Kinect, and their marketing budget shows it. From broadcasting a show in Times Square, hiring Cirque de Soleil to show off Kinect, dedicating 3/4 of their time to shine on Kinect this year, they're pushing pretty hard here. The problem lies in their opening lineup, though. With 4 fitness games, 3 sports compilations and 2 dance games making up more than half their launch library, it's becoming clear (or at least sending the message) that Kinect functionality is fairly limited in scope. It doesn't matter the hype, if the games don't deliver, the word will spread quickly and sales will drop dramatically. That's the thing about hype. You will get sales on opening day, no doubt. But true staying power only happens when the games are good. I see bunches of Wii knock-offs here and even there the success is limited to quality products only. Also marking against Kinect is the fact that it is still an optional add-on device. The most successful add-on ever is the Wii balance board, so they might be right in that using Kinect as a fitness aid may be a good idea, but they might be wrong in that the ship has already sailed on that one, and most anyone interested in health and gaming has already picked up Wii Fit+ and EA Active. Who knows, except I'm sure that after launch, no fitness product for Kinect will succeed, considering how saturated the launch will be.

Nintendo is a brutal company to work against. They've been two steps ahead of the competition this whole generation. They're making Microsoft and Sony look foolish now that their consoles need motion controls, and not the other way around. Plus, with how long it took for them to get up to speed on that front, Nintendo is already established market leader and ready to take customers into their core market base with bridge games with mass market appeal. Plus, with the 3DS, Sony's portable market is destined to shrink from launch day forward. Sony managed 31% of the market, more than any other portable competitor ever, so their unprecedented feat didn't go unnoticed. This, though, is the coup de grace. If Nintendo had their way, Sony's PSP will be irrelevant in 2 years. Sony will have to put out a great new PSP that does everything 3DS does and better, but by then, Nintendo's market will have already established, and they will be forced to play keep up. It wasn't a lack of competition that gave the Game Boy its dominating success, but a lack of competence in its competition. It was about 7 years ago that Nintendo held 95% of the portable market, and a look back at portable history will show many machines in the graveyard, all of them more capable than the Game Boy. If Sony rushes the next portable out, it will be dead on arrival.

So there you have it. Questions, comments, concerns, you know where to put 'em.

Natal/Kinect Yawnatogs

Still, so far, nobody outside of paid actors have played with this device. This is really bad news. The way to get real impressions on people and to make buzz and headlines in video games is to have people play video games. Simple, isn't it? Apparently Microsoft is still learning how to play the game here.

The games they did have nobody wanted, and the ones they wanted weren't ready for anything outside of speculative renderings with actors flailing around in front of them. Microsoft is four years too late to pull something like this. They need to prove their worth on Nintendo's terms if they play copycat with Nintendo's strategies. Which means, then, getting people to play your products and let everyone else do the talking. Instead, they show this crap off to you and expect you to be tantalized with the prospect of playing a game, but for you to not play it. Fantastic.

Why is this not ready for anyone to try, if it's supposed to be released in November? Why, of all places E3, would you not have people play your games? And for that matter, why are we not talking about a price point for this product? Is the reality of this product so scary?

As soon as my concerns are addressed, I will have a different opinion, and my criticisms will be retracted, but things are not looking up for XBOX right now.

Big Days Ahead

The big show is coming in a couple days. I'll be watching up to the minute for the press conferences for the bunches of big news. I think you guys know where most of my attention will go, but I will watch for anything and everything that catches my eye. I will put my business hat on and do some amateur analysis of the direction each major company will take. I have so far been on a perfect record for hardware, knowing which is the best and worst of the bunch, but I need a bit more practice and insight for the software. I know what I like, but I'm not quite there on what sells. I will nonetheless make my predictions anyway.

The buzz surrounding the 3DS is making me excited, and I can't wait to see what it is. There's rumors of a new PSP, so that might catch my interest (though with more than a few models and packages out, it'd take something special). Project Natal doesn't excite me, and it'd also take a lot to make me want that add-on. Sony's Move, well, I already own a Wii, and the PS3 games already available haven't made me buy one, so it'll probably wait even longer than Natal, if ever.

I'm always down for a new Zelda game, but that track might not last forever. Spirit Tracks was nice, and Phantom Hourglass actually surprised me, but something about Anouma's direction with the series has left me wanting. He did great with Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker was great, too, but subsequent entries have petered out a bit. Looking at the interviews with him, Miyamoto and Iwata, big change is in order for the Zelda series, a return to roots of sorts, and that must be good.

For Nintendo in general, I expect them to do just fine. The past year has been pretty good, so for the next year, even if they do just as good as this one, it'll be okay. They will do better, though, just because of the 3DS reveal and details. Plus, I heard that the conference is 2 hours long, so they must have a lot to go over to keep everyone's eyes on them for that long. We'll see if that's true in a couple days.

For the Sculptor in All of Us

Link.

I've been toying with this program for about an hour now, and I have to say, this stuff is really good. Here's the first model I started just to show you what I did in short order. The full-size one looks better than this.

Something like this might usually go in an email, but my blog has a bit more coverage than my current mailing list, so I thought I'd put it here.

Anyway, this is fun to use, easy to understand (it's like sculpting), plus there is a community behind it with tons to show as far as tutorials, extra tools, and just plain showing off what they can do with this free program.

Have fun!

15-hour Game Session

Well, really, the title's about the size of it. My gaming group just had an all-night Pathfinder RP session from approximately 5pm-8am. I'm ridiculously tired right now, so after I wake up, and post on the campaign journal, I might have something good to post here.