I ♥ Valve
- Thread starter Untra
- Start date
I think it has a good use in evaluating the first impression, which is quite important as Anaryu pointed out. But that's pretty much all what one should take from it for the most part, as stamping it onto the entire game would be obviously off-boundary. None the less, I think it's a pretty fun little thing to have going.
Spore and more
Untravaersil
Released less than a month ago, and hyped for more than two years, the now critically ashamed Spore seems to be just more proof that whatever Electronic Arts touches turns either into another Madden sequel or crap (but alas, I repeat myself). But this isn’t EA Game's fault. No, Spore’s lack of quality stems from a few consistent mistakes that have appeared not only in Spore itself, but Will Wright’s The Sims as well, along with other mistakes that seem to have been made by all developers at some point. Before I begin however, I would just like to make sure of something; Will Wright is one of my favorite PC developers, second only to Peter Molyneux (who is actually about to release Fable 2 this October), and Spores tremendous failure is a sure sign that Mr. Wright needs to rethink his ideas on proper game design. Peter did many of the same mistakes at one point in his career with his previous company, Bullfrog Studios, as Will did with Spore. So for these next five pointers, I will also try to point out how Will Wrights mistakes match that of Peter Molyneux’s in their pasts. With all said and done, let’s begin.
1.) Don’t work on more than one game at once
Peter made this mistake after being pressured into releasing a game earlier than expected. As a result, while he tried to perfect this one single game, he let many unfinished, poorer quality games go through production in order to act as placeholders for what should be released. Thankfully, people tend to remember other’s more for their successes as opposed to their failures. Spore did this in the form of each of its five stages. Cell stage is too short and limited, Land Phase is too long and repetitive, Tribal Phase is too simple and boring, Civilization phase is run of the mill and Space Stage is… where most of the fun in the game is packed. If you ever saw the first press demo of spore, you may have remembered there being a supposed Water Phase in between the Cell and Land phases. You may have also remembered the ability to go to other player’s galaxies and explore them. You may have remembered… a lot of things that are missing from spore. And truth be told that’s what happens when you try to make too many games too fast. Yes, while technically Spore is only One Game, its multiple phases are the equivalent to that of multiple games, each half-baked or otherwise missing in action.
2.) If things are repetitive, make them different.
It sounds odd, but it’s actually quite simple. Lets take The Sims for example; the biggest problem the sims had over the long term was animations. There really was only one animation for each action. Because you had to have your sims “eat†everyday, the animations for their eating should be numerous and randomly generated, that way things feel a bit mixed up. The less something feels as repetitive, the better off you are. If an action is to be repeated many times, you are obligated to make that action interesting. This doesn’t apply as much to rpgs, where battle animations (unless they are in real time) should always be consistent. Spore may have had animation algorithms that made every creatures walk look realistic, but playing through the land phase would become repetitive with being forced to watch the same singing, dancing, charm and pose animations every single time. Yes, it does mean more programming for Spores part, but it also means a better game. This also goes for sound effects; if you have characters say a particular bit of gibberish when they talk to seem more realistic, make sure you have plenty of gibberish to go around.
3.) If your game would benefit from being online, make it online
This was the last rule Peter Molyneux ever learned, and you wouldn’t have even known he had missed it. He learned this after hearing the praise for Fable, where he realized just weeks too late that the game would’ve benefited immensely from being multiplayer or online. So here in Fable 2, we have online. We have multiplayer. We have simplistic controls. We have character selection. We have changing worlds. We have everything from the original Fable, plus some. He listened, which is what made him make a better game (and is also what will bring us to number 5, but one moment please). In Spore’s initial press demo, Will mentioned how online and interactive the game would be. “You could go to other peoples galaxies!†was one of the things said. And y’know, that would’ve been the shit. But that wasn’t there. There was no multiplayer, no interactivity, no online, save for a check when starting spore and the ability to see what other people have through the Sporepedia, the games poor excuse of online capabilities, where you can see just what you are missing out on. What shit were they smoking when they thought that was a good idea? What shit?!
4.) Listen to what critics, consumers and others have to say
This is the hardest thing to do, I can promise you. Its your game, so why should you listen to what other people think of it? The answer is that, in truth, you don’t have to. That’s what developer Denis Dyack did with his game Too Human. You see, he wanted his game to be for him. He didn’t care if other people liked it, just so long as he was able to keep the idea he had for it initially alive. And, as a result, it sucks. It sucks really hard. Listen to what other people have to say is the greatest way to improve anything, whether it be writing, making games, making love, or being a good conversationalist. It’s the hardest thing to do, but the greatest thing you can do.
5.) If you ever start a small company that eventually becomes renown for its excellent game design and staff, and your name becomes the talk of various internet web forums, whatever you do, do not accept any lump sum of money from Electronic Arts, unless you intend to make Madden Games for the remainder of your life.
Peter made the same mistake with Bullfrog, as did Will with Maxis. Electronic Arts has singlehandedly destroyed the corporations and franchises generated by both developers, along with maybe a dozen other small developers who put their wallets before their passions. If you ever make it that far to have that same situation happen to you, just ask yourself, WTFWJD?
Untravaersil
Released less than a month ago, and hyped for more than two years, the now critically ashamed Spore seems to be just more proof that whatever Electronic Arts touches turns either into another Madden sequel or crap (but alas, I repeat myself). But this isn’t EA Game's fault. No, Spore’s lack of quality stems from a few consistent mistakes that have appeared not only in Spore itself, but Will Wright’s The Sims as well, along with other mistakes that seem to have been made by all developers at some point. Before I begin however, I would just like to make sure of something; Will Wright is one of my favorite PC developers, second only to Peter Molyneux (who is actually about to release Fable 2 this October), and Spores tremendous failure is a sure sign that Mr. Wright needs to rethink his ideas on proper game design. Peter did many of the same mistakes at one point in his career with his previous company, Bullfrog Studios, as Will did with Spore. So for these next five pointers, I will also try to point out how Will Wrights mistakes match that of Peter Molyneux’s in their pasts. With all said and done, let’s begin.
1.) Don’t work on more than one game at once
Peter made this mistake after being pressured into releasing a game earlier than expected. As a result, while he tried to perfect this one single game, he let many unfinished, poorer quality games go through production in order to act as placeholders for what should be released. Thankfully, people tend to remember other’s more for their successes as opposed to their failures. Spore did this in the form of each of its five stages. Cell stage is too short and limited, Land Phase is too long and repetitive, Tribal Phase is too simple and boring, Civilization phase is run of the mill and Space Stage is… where most of the fun in the game is packed. If you ever saw the first press demo of spore, you may have remembered there being a supposed Water Phase in between the Cell and Land phases. You may have also remembered the ability to go to other player’s galaxies and explore them. You may have remembered… a lot of things that are missing from spore. And truth be told that’s what happens when you try to make too many games too fast. Yes, while technically Spore is only One Game, its multiple phases are the equivalent to that of multiple games, each half-baked or otherwise missing in action.
2.) If things are repetitive, make them different.
It sounds odd, but it’s actually quite simple. Lets take The Sims for example; the biggest problem the sims had over the long term was animations. There really was only one animation for each action. Because you had to have your sims “eat†everyday, the animations for their eating should be numerous and randomly generated, that way things feel a bit mixed up. The less something feels as repetitive, the better off you are. If an action is to be repeated many times, you are obligated to make that action interesting. This doesn’t apply as much to rpgs, where battle animations (unless they are in real time) should always be consistent. Spore may have had animation algorithms that made every creatures walk look realistic, but playing through the land phase would become repetitive with being forced to watch the same singing, dancing, charm and pose animations every single time. Yes, it does mean more programming for Spores part, but it also means a better game. This also goes for sound effects; if you have characters say a particular bit of gibberish when they talk to seem more realistic, make sure you have plenty of gibberish to go around.
3.) If your game would benefit from being online, make it online
This was the last rule Peter Molyneux ever learned, and you wouldn’t have even known he had missed it. He learned this after hearing the praise for Fable, where he realized just weeks too late that the game would’ve benefited immensely from being multiplayer or online. So here in Fable 2, we have online. We have multiplayer. We have simplistic controls. We have character selection. We have changing worlds. We have everything from the original Fable, plus some. He listened, which is what made him make a better game (and is also what will bring us to number 5, but one moment please). In Spore’s initial press demo, Will mentioned how online and interactive the game would be. “You could go to other peoples galaxies!†was one of the things said. And y’know, that would’ve been the shit. But that wasn’t there. There was no multiplayer, no interactivity, no online, save for a check when starting spore and the ability to see what other people have through the Sporepedia, the games poor excuse of online capabilities, where you can see just what you are missing out on. What shit were they smoking when they thought that was a good idea? What shit?!
4.) Listen to what critics, consumers and others have to say
This is the hardest thing to do, I can promise you. Its your game, so why should you listen to what other people think of it? The answer is that, in truth, you don’t have to. That’s what developer Denis Dyack did with his game Too Human. You see, he wanted his game to be for him. He didn’t care if other people liked it, just so long as he was able to keep the idea he had for it initially alive. And, as a result, it sucks. It sucks really hard. Listen to what other people have to say is the greatest way to improve anything, whether it be writing, making games, making love, or being a good conversationalist. It’s the hardest thing to do, but the greatest thing you can do.
5.) If you ever start a small company that eventually becomes renown for its excellent game design and staff, and your name becomes the talk of various internet web forums, whatever you do, do not accept any lump sum of money from Electronic Arts, unless you intend to make Madden Games for the remainder of your life.
Peter made the same mistake with Bullfrog, as did Will with Maxis. Electronic Arts has singlehandedly destroyed the corporations and franchises generated by both developers, along with maybe a dozen other small developers who put their wallets before their passions. If you ever make it that far to have that same situation happen to you, just ask yourself, WTFWJD?
*People have been complaining that I''m giving it a negative review when spore is a good game. And it is a good game. Its fun, Its worth playing, and I'd totally recomend it. There is nothing else like it. I call it a failure because it failed to live up to what it was initially advertised to be, not worth the money I paid for it, and was generally boring at parts. And it is very obvious where it could have been improved. Consistent, avoidable mistakes were made in its development, and the sporepedia is shit. So hey, Its not bad. Its like getting a $30 quality hamburger made by one of the best chefs in the world when you ordered a $50 Fillet Mignon with the crusted herb breading. Its not what you ordered. Still a good hamburger, but not worth the $50 you just paid for it, and certainly not the fillet Mignon you originally wanted.
Thats how I would describe Spore. Now if you excuse me, I have a hamburger to finish.
dadevvtsvre
Sponsor
Spore was a tremendous failure? It wasn't perfect for sure, but that's exaggerating a lot, dontcha think? I mean, it's average ranking is around 85/100.
ChronoStopPosting
Member
Like I said before, It's only boring if you RUN through it... I mean, if you try to get all the achievments, like killing an Epic in creature stage, that was fun as heck to try... it took me like 3 days, and I eventually had to cheat my butt off to do it
press control + shift + C to open the cheat menu and enter adddna then boost up your creature with max stats
also he's a big faggot for saying that the story and gameplay were too separate. yes the story was TOLD separately but the themes tied in TREMENDOUSLY with the gameplay which is all about regrets and undoing mistakessssss....fuck
but i do agree with his reviews on most other games (when he complained about brawl i agree with it!!!) even though he's a fucking foreigner
but i do agree with his reviews on most other games (when he complained about brawl i agree with it!!!) even though he's a fucking foreigner
miisiagnno":35k60gc8 said:
No? I was accusing him a month ago of making reviews for the sake of seeming cool (instead of for the sake of advising the developers/consumers) since lately you and doctor had both been prominent on the review scene and are both pretty well-known and respected and he wanted in on that. it was the equivalent of me calling a wangsta kid out for wearing a red bandana when he has no idea who the Bloods are.
Xilef must be pissed. I mean, after all, how dare Valve try and create the game he had been planning for so long. I mean, it was his idea all along ever since the third grade since. Oh, what’s this? Apparently it wasn’t his idea all along and he just really likes Portal. Fine by me. Personally, fangames are great, but only when they play well and truely honor the game they wish to emulate or otherwise improve on. So, lets ask ourselves, does Action VX play like Portal, or is it another poor attempt at a fan game?
Xilef’s Action VX
Reviewed by Untravaersil
Let me get something out here first, Portal was one of the best fucking games I’ve ever played. Its intuitive levels, pitch black humor and the tricky puzzles proved a winning combination, which was all bundled with half life 2, plus episodes 1 and 2 and Team Fortress in the Orange Box. If you haven’t already, buy the Orange Box. It will be the best $50 you will ever spend, ever.
With that said, lets begin.
I start up Action VX to be greeted with the cheesiest makeshift Portal intro ever. See for yourself, you’ll laugh. I haven’t played any of Xilefs previous games, but from what I understand, the high point is never his graphics. I press enter and being hearing the ever-so-infamous acoustical play of “Still Aliveâ€
Reviewed by Untravaersil
Let me get something out here first, Portal was one of the best fucking games I’ve ever played. Its intuitive levels, pitch black humor and the tricky puzzles proved a winning combination, which was all bundled with half life 2, plus episodes 1 and 2 and Team Fortress in the Orange Box. If you haven’t already, buy the Orange Box. It will be the best $50 you will ever spend, ever.
With that said, lets begin.
I start up Action VX to be greeted with the cheesiest makeshift Portal intro ever. See for yourself, you’ll laugh. I haven’t played any of Xilefs previous games, but from what I understand, the high point is never his graphics. I press enter and being hearing the ever-so-infamous acoustical play of “Still Aliveâ€
Stuff you wouldn't have known about Action VX:
It's an event system test bed and event concept hold made in just few hours, the poor sprites, ripped audio and chimp-difficulty puzzles were added second.
You can't mark me down because I didn't use XP as I would have done as I think XP is much better than VX, but XP does not work on any machines on my network, so I couldn't even make it on the 30 day trial of XP. I miss RPGXP loads, but I can't get it back and I'm learning VX while it's fresh.
Being a 100% evented project on VX I couldn't remove the fade between the portals, that annoys me the most. I know scripts can fix this but it is purely event based and in VX you can't seem to remove the teleport fade transition.
I'm glad you liked the turret event systems, I'm optimising them for use with my main project.
Lastly: Action VX is not called Portal VX for a reason.
It's an event system test bed and event concept hold made in just few hours, the poor sprites, ripped audio and chimp-difficulty puzzles were added second.
You can't mark me down because I didn't use XP as I would have done as I think XP is much better than VX, but XP does not work on any machines on my network, so I couldn't even make it on the 30 day trial of XP. I miss RPGXP loads, but I can't get it back and I'm learning VX while it's fresh.
Being a 100% evented project on VX I couldn't remove the fade between the portals, that annoys me the most. I know scripts can fix this but it is purely event based and in VX you can't seem to remove the teleport fade transition.
I'm glad you liked the turret event systems, I'm optimising them for use with my main project.
Lastly: Action VX is not called Portal VX for a reason.