#410 A Response to Are Game Demos Dead?

A few days ago I was reading one of Gamemoir‘s Question of the Day that as the question, “In an age of alphas, betas, and early access has the humble demo seen its day?“ They raised an interesting question, with growing trend of Closed and Open Betas, Steam’s Early Access even the release of  Technical Alphas the gaming world has seem to forget the option for releasing a demo of a full game, but I think that is because the limitations the gaming companies had in the past.

Currently we live in an age with constant and relativity high-speed internet connect to almost every part of our lives. With that not only can we send out tweets on our smart phones but every video game player, or anyone else who consumes any different bit of media, has the ability to broadcast their thoughts and opinions about that product for everyone to see and read about the game before going to the store. I talked about this before, where thanks in part to many different YouTubers I was able to see how the first few levels of Shovel Knight plays and handles in their videos while I hear the host’s provides commentary about their opinions and thoughts on the game on a whole, which was exactly what the idea of Demos were suppose to do, give you a brief taste of the level designs, controls, and the game on a whole before committing the full price purchase of the game.

I think the last demo I got was from Blizzard of their 7 day free trial of World of Warcraft

 

With faster and more stable internet connection molding of this and the previous gaming generation, we have also seen gaming companies use the ability to use the internet to reach a more of their player base at the speed that could never be done before. This is something we see as with the big push for opening sourcing their Closed and Open Beta testers to the public which does help the finished game in the long run while also getting a free taste of what the game could be instead of the game developers building an entire game and then taking a financial hit of carving up a section of the completed game, burning it onto disks, and paying for the cost of shipping it out to local gaming stores like in the old days. While the idea of opening up the entire internet to test you game was a great idea at the beginning the open beta trend has also been used to advertise the game and get players  to play a segment of the game, turned into a marketing tool to advertise the game as a way to get more people talking about the game with the hope to raise more money from preorders before the game is finished.

 

That last comment should come with a disclaimer that while most game developers use this practice correctly it takes just a few rotten game devs to ruin the whole idea for me 

 

With a more connective internet and the ability for people to hear and read testimonials about any game and even have the option to play early builds of the game it does look like having demos of games added to your personal gaming library does seem like a dying fad.  But from a different perspective the idea of demos are still alive and well in Best Buys, Walmarts and Gamestops when you see a demo version of a device on sale in the game aisle that you can easily pick up and play a demo version of the latest game releases right there and then, and if you go on Steam there are always one or two full games free to download and play as much as you can for during Saturday and Sunday from their Free Weekend promotional event.

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#409 Doubling the gaming library on my 3 Dual Screen device

This past weekend, as I mentioned in last week’s blog post I indulged with the ‘buy one 3DS game and get one free’ sale currently held by Best Buy, or in my case a local Toys ‘R Us, or  any other store that offers a price match guarantee, and I went out bought four new 3DS games for my collection.

I justified the hefty purchase to myself later by saying I would have spent that much anyways if they were 50% off on Steam.

 

All of these games were games I wanted for the in one way or another but I never found the incentive to go out and get them until now.

Zelda A Link Between Two worlds, and all the praise and Game of the Year awards it received, was the major reason for participating this promotion. Currently there is a void in my gaming schedule for another well crafted top down dungeon exploration to play before the release of The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth hits the shelves.

Bravely Default was bought because, through word of mouth from other gamers, I was told that this was the closest thing to a Final Fantasy game without the Final Fantasy name and baggage that comes with it.

Kirby Triple Deluxe is the game that I am currently playing through as of right now it is serving as a palate cleanser. Only to be played after getting frustrated from the countless attempted trying to complete the later levels the more intense platforming games.

Only three levels in but even if the game difficulty spikes towards the end the game’s aesthetics are so sweet and adorable that I do not think I can even get frustrated.

 

Lastly Tomodachi Life, a life simulation game that got a spike of bad publicity, while never showing interest in previous life sim games like Animal Crossing and The Sims this game got me interested on the product from all the wackiness that was crammed into the initial English reveal trailer of the game in the April Nintendo Direct.

 

it takes some serious courage for someone at Nintendo to suggest to poking fun at one of Nintendo’s worst products (and then include the Nintendo executives into the skit) 

 

As a result I have not only doubled my current AAA current 3DS library (ignoring the remastered original NES ports of Metroid, Kid Icarus, and Super Mario Bros. 3) but I now have a backlog on my handheld something that I never had before. When I own previous versions of Nintendo’s Handhelds, a lack of personal funds getting a new game for the Game boy color/advanced or DS was far and few between, and following the code of the big brother gaming code, I will be passing down every 3DS game that I complete to my younger brother who is currently in my shoes with regards to disposable income.

Thank you again Nintendo for continuing to make your games cartridge’s DRM free and with multiple save files especially considering that with the integration of Streetpass in this generation you could easily enforce it. 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

 

#408 A year without World of Warcraft

I was looking back at my old posts this month and I noticed that it was this month, one year ago, when I made the decision to end my multiple year long, uninterrupted, World of Warcraft account (Be MOP #253)

this was the same time as I was graduating from college, kinda like the last sentence of the previous chapter of my life

 

What is more impressive with is that I have stayed away from World of Warcraft, not coming back for the Siege of Orgimmar patch, the when the reveal and the beta of the Warlords of Draenor was announced. Unlike some of my other friends I did leave the years on Azeroth bitter or looking back on my years playing with bitterness. If you remember I left World of Warcraft not because a game decision from Blizzard or because I hit a gamer’s equivalent of ‘rock bottom’ it was because I was guildless and  I was burnt playing one game, almost exclusively, for years.

Looking back I am glad my years in Azeroth, it was a costly experience yes, but it was an experience none the less. It was only from my years of playing World of Warcraft: I have realized and got a hands on experience on what is needed for a good team composition and what makes an amazing teammate (Be MOP #103).  Because of the years of listening to World of Warcraft podcasts and reading the strategy guides of the latest 5 man dungeons and raids, I have experience and learned about good and bad game play mechanics which I used when describing why Super Mario 3D Land was fun for me (Be MOP #349)

Most importantly of all playing World of Warcraft gave me the opportunity to create this blog, and with that I have dramatically improved my writing style and techniques which is amazing considering a few years ago I had some terrible writing and testing anxiety. While this blog has not cured my anxiety, I have seen improvement over the years in how I write from forcing myself to write something -anything- every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

 And World of Warcraft  has continued  helped me even after leaving the game

World of Warcraft was the gate way to the PC gaming platform, before WoW I never picked a PC game having gaming experience be limited to the family Nintendo system, but over the years I have bought better and better gaming laptops to handle the newest expansions and to preform better when I am needed the most in a raid. As a result I had a pretty nice machine to adequately run current PC games on Steam.

It was only after WoW when I started to truly pay attention to the other offers (humble Bundles and weekly sales) that were happening on the other side of the PC gaming world

 

Because of World of Warcraft and blogging about it for so long it has gave me the blogging experience on how to write blog posts  continue blogging about general videogame topics, something I do not think I could have succeed in the way that I did the get go. All that blogging experience and confidence helped me take the leap into creating, and broadcasting on my own Twitch account, something I know I could not have done without this blog giving me confidence and experience on how to talk to people with my own voice.

As a result from my year of writing about other games all these posts has helped me focus and form my own opinions about other videogame topics. From the silliness of a moral dilemma I have with Tf2’s hats (Be MOP #254) to the more pressing problems with pre-ordering games, hacking up content of the main the game to sell as exclusive gaming platform perks or DLC for extra profits to, to the videogame company’s love of  Bullshots (Be MOP #348).

Now, most importantly, I do not have to worry about getting the most value out of my monthly subscription I feel less guilty spending my nights playing games of other generas and a because I am no longer in a dedicated raiding group I have a free-er schedule to actually play these games. A full time job does interfere with my preferred gaming schedule but because my job gives me money each week to buying MORE games and other things, I am inclined to let my job eat up the majority of my week.

Looking back, even though I know I am never going back to World of Warcraft (Be MOP #375) I  do not regret any of years leveling up my characters, chain running instances and raids, grinding for dailies, or hunting for the rare achievements in the game because it helped be grow into a better gamer and a better person on and off line.

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#407 Filler Post: The Final Frontier

Reaching back in my bag of tricks for today’s post, am I going to add another episode to the sage of Science Fiction themed filler post for today blog post.  Truth be told I was going to write a post about the most recent Batman Arkham Knight’s Red Hood DLC preorder bonus and asking the question, “what is the point of preordering games in a gaming age where digital distribution is built into every console and PC gaming device?”

As I was writing the rough draft of it late last night I realized that the post did not add anything new to the conversation of Preorder bonuses in the videogame industry. After a good sleep and rereading the initial post for today, the entire thing came off as getting angry about a persistent issue without offering any sort of solution, which is just a waste of space on the internet.

If you excuse me, I have to deal with my long-lost brother who just stole my friend’s spaceship in his crazy attempt of locate God in the middle of our galaxy.

I will see you guys back here Friday

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#406 Adding some much needed games to my 3DS library

I have noticed that over the past few weeks I have been neglecting my 3DS lately, between my regularly scheduled Twitch PC streams and my weekend play time dedicated to getting through the HD remake of Zelda Wind Waker on the Wii U. The last 3DS game I bought, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, was described as ‘meh’ at best.

My 3DS gaming drought has been so bad I have been resorted to replaying my old copy of Pokemon White to unlock the ability to transfer all of my Pokemon from my GameBoy Advance games to the PokeBank. Recently I have been looking for an opportunity to get some new/more games onto my handheld and thankfully Nintendo just happened to finished their 2013-2014 year long Club Nintendo session, and with all of my recent purchases I got the option to choose my pick of a free Nintendo game the gold status rewards tier.

Filling out all those surveys have really paid off

 

Last year was a big year for me and for my Nintendo collection with my purchase of my 3DS, Pokemon Y, Super Mario 3D Land, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, my Wii U console, Mario Kart 8, and my beloved Super Mario 3D world I have gathered some nice Nintendo coins just sitting collecting digital dust. I have been waiting for a chance to redeem them with this yearly thank you of Nintendo to seems like the best time to use those coins to download some free games. This past weekend I chose up Metroid for the 3DS as my prize of the Gold membership reward, I used my Nintendo loyalty reward coins to pick up the 3DS port of the classic Kid Icarus and the first Paper Mario game for the Wii U just for the sake of nostalgia.

While I was downloading classic 8 bit NES games I also decided to buy Shovel Knight for the 3DS, I almost have to buy it for a Nintendo platform if I wanted to pay respects to the old ways of Action Platformers. In all of my research for figuring out which platform to buy Shovel Knight on (Be MOP #403) nobody told me that the 3DS port of a third-party indie game company -that was funded on Kickstarter- actually kept 3D feature/gimmick in mind when programming the game.

That’s pretty much an Insta-buy for the 3DS right there

 

Between all of those recently downloaded games to my virtual library,  Best Buy’s current Buy one get one Free sale on 3DS games, and my next paycheck coming in this Friday, it looks like my 3DS is going to get some much-needed attention.

Run my little paycheck RUN!

 

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#405 The Superb Level Design of Platformers

This past few weeks I have been playing two games, between my regularly scheduled Twitch streams and the couple of games from “the Games from my backlog collection”, Super Mario 3D World and BattleBlock Theater. Super Mario 3D world was picked up when I went out to pick up the Wii U and I bought BattleBlock Theater was one of the games bought during the spending frenzy of the most recent Steam sale.

If I did do a stand alone post on just SM3DW it would just be my SM3DL post with the annex of the added Co-Op, Rosalina, with more levels and more fun.

 

But both games are incredibly fun and that is in part because of the amazing level designs from the creators. As written before Mario scored some brownie points for jumping in with very little instructions with the first levels, and Battleblock theater has just some repeating animated signs that gives you just the right about of info.

Both game’s levels are built with two experiences to get through each level/stage. The basic point-A-to-point-B path where you hop, jump and bash your way through to the end of the by touching the flagpole in Mario or in Battle Block Theater, getting three green gems (which you practically stumbleupon through the stage) to unlock the exit door or for the more challenging players who are playing through the same stage fo for the tougher routes for more rewards.

You can test your jumping and deductive skills figure out where and how to get to the three Green Stars and one stamp in each stage to unlock the boss stages and special stamps to post online the Miiverse. With the tougher levels comes more challenging unlockables and those requirements to unlock more rewards with Mario gets tougher and tougher when you try to unlock the additional bonus levels in Mario and in Battleblock theater you can get challenge yourself to get the three to four additional green gems and the golden ball of yarn to unlock more customization heads and weapons to use in future stages.

Been meaning to say this for a while, but this is a perfect example of the saying, ‘just because you CAN say something, doesn’t mean you SHOULD say something.”

 

To go back to my Super Mario 3D Land post both of these games handle hidden areas and secrets perfectly. Both games gives you the first secret or key to hidden area in either in a previous stage or earlier in the stage for you to stumble upon  and allowing you to keep that in mind while platforming in later levels. When I was playing Mario with my brother he was constantly amazing how I instinctively knew where to look for the green stars and stamps were first time playing the level and spotting the potential for any secret passages in the Battle Block Theater.

And good level design transcends just one title, there is an achievement in Limbo that rewards players to explore the left side of the map at the start of the game when I was streaming Ducktales (Woo-oo!)  for the first time the other night I had to constantly remind myself and the viewers that it was my first time picking up the game because I was constantly finding all of the secret heart constantly finding all the heart containers and  Mrs Beakley’s secret rooms in every stage without a strategy guide.

If I was to hazard a guess on why this happens and why it is so easy for a trained eye because back when platformers like Castlevania, Mario, and Mega man were made on the NES and SNES, the such limited hardware and memory space that game developers were working with that they did not have the luxury of  putting unnecessary blocks, platforms, and scenery into their games. So If the players saw something out-of-place there was a good bet that if they investigated it they would be rewarded by the game developer’s Easter eggs, and that tradition of building levels just continued throughout the gaming generations.

 

If there was a different block tucked away in the background that was usually enough clues that something was hiding behind it for the player to grab

 

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#404 Post Not Found

 

I have a no post for today. It is not because I do not have some content and topics to write about, in fact I have a wonderful post about BattleBlock Theater, Mario, and brilliant level design that was going to go up today BUT I decided to postpone that post simply so I can use this overused joke.

Everyone and their dog have made a Error 404 joke at one point in their life (and I am no exception) but this is the four hundredth and fourth Be MOP post I am using this old internet joke, that took literally years of set up to deliver the punch line, as an excuse to take the day off from blogging.

 

See you guys back here Friday.

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#403 Shovel Knight and the purchasing power of Let’s Players

A bit of shocking news for everyone’s Monday but later this week I am going to be buying a game, at full price! That’s right Shovel Knight is currently making its way on to my various internet feeds.

For those who do not know Shovel Knight is a (very few successful) videogame projects on Kickstarter and it is currently the talk of the town, with everyone on YouTube from NerdCubed to Continue? to Two Best Friends have been playing it on their shows and saying nothing but praise. All coming the the conclusion that Shovel Knight is like a proper retro hybrid of Castlevania, Ducktales, and Megaman.

These are some pretty big shoes to fill Might No. 9 hope you are up to the challenge to one up them

 

While the game boasts a proper difficulty curve and literally hundreds of cheat codes and new game plus it was the Let’s Player’s and their videos that swayed me to commit to a purchase. The major selling point was not the unedited legit gameplay of the first stage and boss fights but it was the honest enjoyment that these personalities had when they were talking about this game during their live commentary.

Plus with the Youtube videogames I got to see all those little things added in the games, like the already mentioned cheat codes but also the hidden doors and secret passages that leads treasure chests which I have mentioned before are the quickest way to get me to shell out money for a game or television show

 

A really skilled writer can fake how excited they can be about the latest big videogame release but it takes a real public speaking ability to fake the level of enthusiasm I heard from those YouTubers. And it was one of the reason I bought Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario 3D World, because I heard how much fun these people were having playing their copies of the game.  One could easily argue that some would fake enthusiasm for a new game on YouTube but you have your work cut out for you justifying that dozens of personalities and reviewers from different organizations and networks saying the same thing.

That is the power of a good Lets Player, they are can express their enjoyment and enthusiasm, not only explaining WHY they are excited to play the game and with the raw gameplay footage the viewers and potential customers are able to judge the game by itself. I do not know if it is going to be as fun for me as it was for them but their enjoyment in Shovel Knight has made me, a frugal consumer who usually waits several months in order to buy the game he wants at a discounted price,  seriously consider and commit to buying  a game at full market value.

Now the only real question is which platform should I buy Shovel Knight for? Between the Steam version, 3DS and the Wii U. I am leading towards one of the Nintendo platforms just to support and validate the indie scene on hardware that is prominently known to handle only First  Party games.

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#402 What DRM-Free means to me

If you have not already caught wind of the latest Humble Bundle but 2K has partnered with Humble Bundle to release a bundle of their best games for sale including such titles as Darkness II, Mafia II, XCOM Enemy Unknown, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, Spec Ops: The Line,the entire Bioshock trilogy, and the promise of more games coming soon. As always with these Humble Bundle promotions customizable portion of the purchases going to support for Action Against Hunger and the American Red Cross.

 

All the same Humble Bundle rules apply, pay what you want with two tiers of rewards for donating

 

But I have been having the same problem that other PC gamers have been having with the any popular videogames promotion, finding a reason for paying for games that I have already own. As of writing I already have half of the games in this bundle, all three Bioshock titles and Spec Ops: The Line with no interest in either the XCOM or Darkness series.

 

this single game that would provide motivation for me to buy the bundle IF I DID NOT ALREADY BOUGHT IT ON STEAM DURING THE LAST SUMMER SALES . A story that many other players have lived through

 

I was going to let this Humble Bundle slide by like the some of the previous Humble Bundles and the countless other Bundles I have seen around the internet. That was until I saw a little symbol next to the original Bioshock game.

That’s right one of my, and many other gamer’s, favorite game comes in DRM-free format

 

I have written about it before but Bioshock is one of my favorite games, not because of the plot twist, but because it was not a game based around a good guy fighting against a bad guy but instead it is about a guy caught in a city based on a different, although extreme, set of rules and the antagonist is only labeled as evil because held to those set of rules to “never compromise not even in the face of Armageddon”. (Be MOP #255)

I knew there was a reason these two stories were so ranked high in their respective communities.

 

Now I add DRM-free copy of this amazing game to the flash drive I carry around that is chock full of some of my favorite games that I would carry around if I ever lose my Steam collection and if I am stranded somewhere with a computer with no internet connection (Be MOP #343).  With that one feature I went out and bought the entire bundle because I might as well buy the entire bundle for XCOM and the promise of future 2K games being added later in the week (an incredible clever fundraising technique Humble Bundle uses which I when more in-depth about it a while ago in Be MOP #256).

The people behind this site are genius when it comes to getting people to hand over more money than the consumer previously intended.

 

To tie this entire post back to the title at the top of the page, this is what DRM-free means to me, going out and rebuying all these titles not to play it again on another improved platform but so I can have legally own the one game I actually want. Now I can copy it over and over again to my various computers with out a limit from Steam, Windows Live, or any other service, and I can play this one game without an internet connection or worrying about what will happen to the game servers in the years to come.

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

#401 Where is our eESPN?

Valve’s Dota 2 tournament with a record  is just starting up and even I am excited to tune in and see what all the hubbub is all about. Between that Riot’s weekly seasonal split streams on Twitch I have to ask: where is our eESPN channel or at least a consolidated cable channel dedicated to the competitive side of video games?

I made the eESPN joke a few times before (Be MOP #261, #276, and #356) but now I think of it more as a serious possibility rather than a silly joke based on wordplay.

I talked about the potential of some gaming streams to become full-time sports broadcasters, like how Riot has been positioning themselves for the limelight for the past few seasons with their personal stream filled with community created skits, Question and Answer segments with the professionals, highlight reels, Table talks with the professionals and analysis, and the personalities (Be MOP #276).

While I have not followed Dota 2 streams to know what they are doing for providing entertainment during and between matches but I do know and have seen the immense popularity of the Dota 2 documentary and fundraising for the main prize/jackpot.

I know for a fact that somewhere a bunch of sports marketing people just dropped their jaws when their heard the success of Dota 2’s fundraising project.

 

With Twitch’s constant concurrent viewers numbers and the level of interaction in the Twitch Chat, the games respective forums and ,  it is easy to prove that there is a substantial amount of interested demographic. With the year’s Fifa world cup ESPN has proved that they can get Americans to validate the sport of soccer and still getting them excited to watch a sport tournament where the American team was not expected to win.

It is not like there is not enough content to fill a 24 hours cable station, we have; League of Legends, Dota 2, Infinite Crisis, all of the other A.R.T.S, StarCraft II, both of Pokemon’s virtual and card game matches, Melee and Smash Bros tournaments, Speed Runners, Magic the Gathering (ESPN already has precedent on broadcasting this sport), plus all of the news programs that could be created about the latest news/predictions/gossip about these different esports and upcoming tournaments.

I would wager to say there is more than enough games to showcase for 24hrs content, a constantly updating website, AND a special, consolidated, twitch stream.

Just think of the promotions for Riot, Valve, and Blizzard with other companies, new viewership spillover from one fanbase to another, and the increased credibility with other viewers & non-viewers.

 

The only problem would be is licensing these games for public viewing, the personalities that are currently paid by these companies, and getting these multibillion dollar, global internet gaming companies (that are all competing with each other) to play nice and fair in order to get this eESPN network to properly blossom.

I think we might have found the reason why  eESPN has not happened yet, but that does not means it should not happen.

 

But I want to bump the question back to you:

What do you think of a consolidated cable channel dedicated to the competitive side of esports? Would you regularly tune in to watch broadcasted tournament on a TV cable network, even if it was not a esport that you regularly follow? Or, and most importantly of all, would you rather stick to each company’s own Twitch channel on your computer?

Leave a comment down below I am interested in what other people think about this idea.

 

Find me on Google+ for updates on this blog

I’m also on Twitter

Be MOP focuses on the world of videogames with my own reflections about the current news and developments that happens throughout the gaming industry. Updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays