Curiouser and Curiouser! on games http://matt.blogs.it/ RSS feed for topic games Copyright 2006 Matt Mower Squib/0.1 self@mattmower.com self@mattmower.com en-gb Smiting for fun and relaxation Sun, 29 May 2005 13:23:11 +0100 <p>As part of my <a href="http://matt.blogs.it/2005/05/29.html#a1848">recovery program</a> I bought myself a copy of <a href="http://www.guildwars.com/">GuildWars</a> an online, multiplayer, RPG. I <a href="http://www.docuverse.com/blog/donpark/EntryViewPage.aspx?guid=6058f2cf-72fd-426c-bd54-43c1d7fe99ee">blame Don Park</a> for this and if I get addicted it's entirely his fault :-)</p> <p>I've never played one of these things before and it's a somewhat wierd experience having people coming up to you asking you if you want to join guilds or go out hunting. It's like, and unlike, joining a new IRC channel in some way I can't quite put my finger on. Still it's fun to play and looks great even on my low-end hardware. Oh and there are no montly fee's to pay (which always put me off previous online games). <p>Does anyone I know already play?</p> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00002647.html The International Hobo has roots Tue, 05 Jul 2005 13:06:34 +0100 <p>My good friend Chris Bateman has <a href="http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/">started blogging</a>. I guess I must have harped on about how <em>cool</em> blogging is once too often ;-)</p> <p>If you're at all interested in games, game design, heck even if you just play games, i urge you to take a look at what he has to say. Chris' thinking is way ahead of the pack and he's doing stuff which will have a major impact on the games industry in due course.</p> <p>Through his company <a href="http://www.ihobo.com/">International Hobo</a> he is carving out a niche doing <strong>demographic game design</strong>. I'm hoping he'll publish some of his research on the blog, it's interesting stuff even to a layman (okay i'm a layman and a psychology student) and really driving how his company does its business. <blockquote><p>The place for innovation may be the bottom end of the market. Katamari Damacy (why not Damashi? It confuses me every time) sold nearly 200,000 copies in the US, and was almost certainly developed on a budget the fraction of the size of most top-end video game projects. But I bet it made a profit (or very nearly so). tranquility may be modest, but I bet the people behind it haven't made a loss.</p><p>To the gaming hardcore, I say this: Don't expect the expensive top end games to continue to meet your needs forever. Play what you like in the high market, but don't disparage those games in the high market which aren't really meant for you. Keep your eyes instead on the low market - this is where the innovation will be - it's the only place that we can afford to be innovative.</p><p>I feel like such a fool for overlooking the low market for so long, and I'm not going to make the mistake again. Right now, we're experimenting with numerous projects on comparatively small budgets, and I'm thrilled to be doing so. They have the luxury to be a little more inventive. It may not work out for us - who can see the future - but on paper, at least, it seems like both sound business sense and satisfying creatively. I guess we'll see what happens over the next few years. [Excerpted from: <a href="http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2005/07/beware_of_geeks.html">Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts</a>]</p></blockquote></p> <p>Reading this it's hard to believe it's the same guy who taught me UnderWear and beats me at the fabulous <a href="http://www.cheapass.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CAG&Product_Code=CAG001">Kill Dr. Lucky!</a> :-)</p> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00002727.html Give peace a chance! Sat, 30 Jul 2005 11:44:21 +0100 <p><blockquote><p>...</p><p>I believe Jesus would have picketed the White House were he around in physical form today.</p><p>...</p><p>[ Chris Bateman on <a href="http://onlyagame.typepad.com/only_a_game/2005/07/religious_games.html">Religious Games</a> ]</p></blockquote></p> <p>Are we ever ripe for a second coming. There is a wonderful line in the Andy Hamilton radio series <a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=old+harry's+game&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8">Old Harry's Game</a> where Satan goes skiing on a lake of fire with a nun strapped to each hoof. I think if Andy did it again Bush and Cheney would have to be candidates. I also love what Andy did to the Pope's, but you'll have to find and listen to it to find out.</p> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00002800.html Fine but none of that whole-grain goat food! Tue, 06 Sep 2005 14:28:22 +0100 <p><a href="http://www.otterarchives.com/bounty2/bounty2.html">The goat in the gray fedora</a> is a neat little (Fash based?) game noir that I discovered through <a href="http://crystaltips.typepad.com/wonderland/2005/09/the_goat_in_the.html">Wonderland</a>. It's got some good humour and I encourage you to play at least as far as escaping the warehouse.</p> http://matt.blogs.it/entries/00002884.html