1
Gamers Zone / Gang of Five - Minecraft Server!
« on: June 26, 2019, 09:06:14 PM »
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2
The Fridge / Developing a board game - need online playtesters!
« on: February 18, 2018, 02:11:00 PM »
Hey everyone, long time no chat!
As a few people in the GoF Discord chat know, I have been working on making a board game for the last while. I've been playtesting it by myself a bit but there's only so much I can do alone!
In short, I'm looking for people who are eager to try out this potentially broken, alpha-state board game with me by playing online together!
First 4 volunteers to commit to a time will be selected!
[EDIT]
The game on Sunday, Feb 25, 2018 is FULL! I'd be happy to catch anyone I missed in the next play session (TBA)! Thanks for your interest!
[/EDIT]
IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT THE PLAYTEST:
Date and Time: Sunday, Feb 25th, 2018. I'm available all day and I propose 11am MST (GMT -7). Please let me know if there is a better time for you. I'm flexible, we just need to all agree on a time.
How are we going to play together? Tabletop Simulator on Steam. This game is a physics sandbox that lets people play board games together, just like in real life. You grab pieces, draw cards, throw coins at each other, all the normal stuff you can do at a real table. I converted my game into Tabletop Simulator so all I need to do is host a game and anyone with Tabletop Simulator can join!
I recommend messing around with Tabletop Simulator a bit on your own before our playtest so you can get a bit of a feel for its controls (how to draw and flip over cards, how to look at your hand, stuff like that).
I don't have Tabletop Simulator but I want to join! I have 2 copies to give away. The first two people who ask me for a copy and offer to playtest with me will receive one of my copies for free! [EDIT] Rhombus and Hypno have claimed my 2 free copies. Thanks guys!!
After that, Tabletop Simulator often goes on sale so you can pick it up pretty cheap.
Will you be running other playtests at later dates? I don't just want just to buy Tabletop Simulator to play this with you once. Absolutely! This will be an ongoing project that's already seen very good progress and has had a lot of time spent on it already. It's not being abandoned.
---------------
COOL! WHAT IS THE GAME ABOUT? WHAT IS IT?
Title: "Seaworthy" - Name subject to change.
Number of players: 4-5 ideally but I can handle more than 5 if it comes to that later on. For this test however, I'm looking to run no more than 5 players. If we only get 4 that's completely fine too.
Premise of the game:
Each player takes control of 1 of 5 seafaring adventurers on-board a ship together. The goal is to be the player with the highest score at the end of the journey...assuming you survive that long! Players will need to work together to keep the ship afloat through challenges. Gain points by doing better than your fellow crew members at maintaining your health, gaining Clout (power) over others, becoming the Captain (until someone snatches that title from you!) and amassing glorious Loot. Bonus points are awarded by helping take care of the ship and keeping others alive. It's a semi-cooperative experience full of diplomacy, backstabbing and pushing your way to victory!
It's a tense interplay of resource management and strategy as you need to decide when to do what, how greedy you want to be...and even when it may be best to die in a catastrophic pirate raid so you can haunt old crew members to victory!
At the beginning of the game, you choose between 1 of 5 characters. Each one has a unique deck of cards which you use throughout the game. These decks give each character a unique playstyle, from being a master thief to pummeling their way to victory and taking advantage of weaker players. Still others prefer to earn their way to victory more honestly and benefit greatly from being the Captain. Others are just here for the Loot and have countless ways to accumulate it. Want to be rewarded by keeping everyone alive? One character specifically focuses on achieving victory through this method! Want to kill everyone in sight? You can do that too! Want to be relentless and risky? You can. Want to play it safe? You can.
What if you end up dying an untimely death? You come back as a Ghost, still completely able to win the game. Every Ghost in the game works together with every other Ghost. Ghosts either all win together or all lose together! Be careful not to create too many ghosts too early or you WILL regret it!
Type of game: What will I be doing? Your turns will consist of playing cards from your hand to build up your Life, Clout and Loot, or pummeling the stats of other unsuspecting players. Every 4 turns, you regenerate your limited Energy, which can be used to help - or sabotage! - the current crisis, reinforce the ship or protect yourself from the cruelty of your fellow shipmates. It's a game of Energy resource management and strategic timing of how to use the cards you've been dealt.
----------
ENOUGH TALK! WHAT DOES THE GAME LOOK LIKE?
I'm no graphic designer, but here are some images from the game so you can get an idea of what it's really like:
How the game looks, in-progress, in Tabletop Simulator
Here are the 5 playable characters:
Gracie the Eccentric Archaeologist - the master of treasure hunting! Excels at amassing Loot
Zeke the Parrot Whisperer and his parrot, Shipwreck - The honest, quirky hard worker. Excels at amassing Clout and becoming Captain.
Victor the Pirate Hunter - The short-tempered fellow who whips out his pistol at every opportunity. Excels at attacking opponents' Life and taking advantage of players at low Life.
Scarlet the Adventurous - This one is sly, cunning and manipulative - a great thief. She exploits the Captain at every opportunity.
Norah the Enchanted Mermaid - She's been enchanted into Human form but still retains her mystical healing and natural powers! She excels at keeping the crew alive, resurrecting players who are killed and being rewarded generously for doing so! Don't get on her bad side or she may sacrifice some of her OWN lifeforce to put you out of your misery!
The HAUNTING DECK - This is what all Ghosts use in their gameplay instead of their original Character deck. All sorts of spooky effects lie in here, including the imfamous POSSESSION card, where a Ghost can take a turn FOR a living player (provided the Ghost has enough Clout) MUAHAHAHAHA!
---------------------------
A few examples of the other side of some cards:
Victor the Pirate Hunter:
Norah the Enchanted Mermaid:
Scarlet the Adventurous:
---------
Post back if you're interested!
I will post up the game's FULL rules ahead of time so you can be familiar with the game before we start testing. Of course, I'll be in the game too to guide and answer questions!
Thanks everyone!
As a few people in the GoF Discord chat know, I have been working on making a board game for the last while. I've been playtesting it by myself a bit but there's only so much I can do alone!
In short, I'm looking for people who are eager to try out this potentially broken, alpha-state board game with me by playing online together!
First 4 volunteers to commit to a time will be selected!
[EDIT]
The game on Sunday, Feb 25, 2018 is FULL! I'd be happy to catch anyone I missed in the next play session (TBA)! Thanks for your interest!
[/EDIT]
IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT THE PLAYTEST:
Date and Time: Sunday, Feb 25th, 2018. I'm available all day and I propose 11am MST (GMT -7). Please let me know if there is a better time for you. I'm flexible, we just need to all agree on a time.
How are we going to play together? Tabletop Simulator on Steam. This game is a physics sandbox that lets people play board games together, just like in real life. You grab pieces, draw cards, throw coins at each other, all the normal stuff you can do at a real table. I converted my game into Tabletop Simulator so all I need to do is host a game and anyone with Tabletop Simulator can join!
I recommend messing around with Tabletop Simulator a bit on your own before our playtest so you can get a bit of a feel for its controls (how to draw and flip over cards, how to look at your hand, stuff like that).
I don't have Tabletop Simulator but I want to join! I have 2 copies to give away. The first two people who ask me for a copy and offer to playtest with me will receive one of my copies for free! [EDIT] Rhombus and Hypno have claimed my 2 free copies. Thanks guys!!
After that, Tabletop Simulator often goes on sale so you can pick it up pretty cheap.
Will you be running other playtests at later dates? I don't just want just to buy Tabletop Simulator to play this with you once. Absolutely! This will be an ongoing project that's already seen very good progress and has had a lot of time spent on it already. It's not being abandoned.
---------------
COOL! WHAT IS THE GAME ABOUT? WHAT IS IT?
Title: "Seaworthy" - Name subject to change.
Number of players: 4-5 ideally but I can handle more than 5 if it comes to that later on. For this test however, I'm looking to run no more than 5 players. If we only get 4 that's completely fine too.
Premise of the game:
Each player takes control of 1 of 5 seafaring adventurers on-board a ship together. The goal is to be the player with the highest score at the end of the journey...assuming you survive that long! Players will need to work together to keep the ship afloat through challenges. Gain points by doing better than your fellow crew members at maintaining your health, gaining Clout (power) over others, becoming the Captain (until someone snatches that title from you!) and amassing glorious Loot. Bonus points are awarded by helping take care of the ship and keeping others alive. It's a semi-cooperative experience full of diplomacy, backstabbing and pushing your way to victory!
It's a tense interplay of resource management and strategy as you need to decide when to do what, how greedy you want to be...and even when it may be best to die in a catastrophic pirate raid so you can haunt old crew members to victory!
At the beginning of the game, you choose between 1 of 5 characters. Each one has a unique deck of cards which you use throughout the game. These decks give each character a unique playstyle, from being a master thief to pummeling their way to victory and taking advantage of weaker players. Still others prefer to earn their way to victory more honestly and benefit greatly from being the Captain. Others are just here for the Loot and have countless ways to accumulate it. Want to be rewarded by keeping everyone alive? One character specifically focuses on achieving victory through this method! Want to kill everyone in sight? You can do that too! Want to be relentless and risky? You can. Want to play it safe? You can.
What if you end up dying an untimely death? You come back as a Ghost, still completely able to win the game. Every Ghost in the game works together with every other Ghost. Ghosts either all win together or all lose together! Be careful not to create too many ghosts too early or you WILL regret it!
Type of game: What will I be doing? Your turns will consist of playing cards from your hand to build up your Life, Clout and Loot, or pummeling the stats of other unsuspecting players. Every 4 turns, you regenerate your limited Energy, which can be used to help - or sabotage! - the current crisis, reinforce the ship or protect yourself from the cruelty of your fellow shipmates. It's a game of Energy resource management and strategic timing of how to use the cards you've been dealt.
----------
ENOUGH TALK! WHAT DOES THE GAME LOOK LIKE?
I'm no graphic designer, but here are some images from the game so you can get an idea of what it's really like:
How the game looks, in-progress, in Tabletop Simulator
Here are the 5 playable characters:
Gracie the Eccentric Archaeologist - the master of treasure hunting! Excels at amassing Loot
Zeke the Parrot Whisperer and his parrot, Shipwreck - The honest, quirky hard worker. Excels at amassing Clout and becoming Captain.
Victor the Pirate Hunter - The short-tempered fellow who whips out his pistol at every opportunity. Excels at attacking opponents' Life and taking advantage of players at low Life.
Scarlet the Adventurous - This one is sly, cunning and manipulative - a great thief. She exploits the Captain at every opportunity.
Norah the Enchanted Mermaid - She's been enchanted into Human form but still retains her mystical healing and natural powers! She excels at keeping the crew alive, resurrecting players who are killed and being rewarded generously for doing so! Don't get on her bad side or she may sacrifice some of her OWN lifeforce to put you out of your misery!
The HAUNTING DECK - This is what all Ghosts use in their gameplay instead of their original Character deck. All sorts of spooky effects lie in here, including the imfamous POSSESSION card, where a Ghost can take a turn FOR a living player (provided the Ghost has enough Clout) MUAHAHAHAHA!
---------------------------
A few examples of the other side of some cards:
Victor the Pirate Hunter:
Norah the Enchanted Mermaid:
Scarlet the Adventurous:
---------
Post back if you're interested!
I will post up the game's FULL rules ahead of time so you can be familiar with the game before we start testing. Of course, I'll be in the game too to guide and answer questions!
Thanks everyone!
3
Gamers Zone / PS4 and PS4 Pro
« on: November 17, 2016, 10:19:44 AM »
If you haven't heard of it, the PS4 Pro is a higher-specced PS4 intended to display content for 4K TVs. It doesn't actually render games in 4k (as that requires more processing power than even a high-end PC has to maintain 60 frames per second at all times) but the idea is that it is more powerful to handle VR gaming and generally support better performance in games and better graphics.
I was considering picking up a PS4 Pro, as I don't have a PS4 yet...until I found an article that talked about a reason why that may not be the best idea.
Initially I expected PS4 games to just...run better on the PS4 Pro because it was more powerful. Reports are showing, however, that because the Pro is more powerful, developers are cranking up graphic quality when a game is played on the Pro in many cases. As a result, performance can actually be LOWER than running the game on the PS4 basic console because it's running higher detail levels.
Basically, the conundrum is this: Which console will be better-suited for getting the best possible experience over the years?
The Pro is more powerful but if developers push it too far, with no option to turn these enhancements off (which it won't let you do because it's a console, let's be honest. Graphics options aren't things you get in console games), games might perform worse than the same game on the basic console.
On the flipside, since the Pro is more powerful, intuitively it makes sense that's the one you want to get if you want to guarantee longer-term maximum-quality experiences in general...right?
Does anyone have any thoughts about these consoles? Which one makes more sense to you guys?
I was considering picking up a PS4 Pro, as I don't have a PS4 yet...until I found an article that talked about a reason why that may not be the best idea.
Initially I expected PS4 games to just...run better on the PS4 Pro because it was more powerful. Reports are showing, however, that because the Pro is more powerful, developers are cranking up graphic quality when a game is played on the Pro in many cases. As a result, performance can actually be LOWER than running the game on the PS4 basic console because it's running higher detail levels.
Basically, the conundrum is this: Which console will be better-suited for getting the best possible experience over the years?
The Pro is more powerful but if developers push it too far, with no option to turn these enhancements off (which it won't let you do because it's a console, let's be honest. Graphics options aren't things you get in console games), games might perform worse than the same game on the basic console.
On the flipside, since the Pro is more powerful, intuitively it makes sense that's the one you want to get if you want to guarantee longer-term maximum-quality experiences in general...right?
Does anyone have any thoughts about these consoles? Which one makes more sense to you guys?
4
Computer and Electronics / Discussion: Torrenting music
« on: June 29, 2016, 09:18:03 PM »
From a consumer's point of view - does torrenting/pirating music make more sense than acquiring it legally?
My argument is, it depends on what you're using it for but there are cases where I would argue "yes".
I, for one, have a problem with streaming services: You don't actually get to hang on to any of the media. You just pay an access fee and play it over their network in realtime. You never get a copy of it.
I know this is a frivolous thing in many ways: Why would I CARE if I never got a copy? I can still consume it just as well.
Simple: Building a media collection.
I know it sounds silly but people have had movie, music, game and other collections for years. With a streaming service, this is simply impossible.
Why would I care?
So I can tailor my collection to suit whatever needs I have at the time. Also, collecting stuff is cool. It's personal. It's like a hobby.
I understand that many people sort their music library by Artist -> Album -> Song.
That's the way a CD gets ripped when you rip one yourself. That's how iTunes and similar stores are structured.
I find such a sorting method completely useless. I'd end up having 10 bajillion folders, each with half a dozen subfolders...ugh, no thanks!
Instead, I prefer to sort by major genre -> Subgenre -> Artist / Song
That way my music is always sorted by the MOOD that I want to express with my music, rather than a gigantic list of artists in alphabetical order where the next one probably has nothing to do with the previous one other than being spelled similarly.
You can see an example here. Look in the address bar at the top to see how I got there and you can see my folder structure:
That's why I care to have a personal music collection. That way I can tailor-fit playlists very easily by using a genre sort and grabbing files from a known library - I know what's there, I know what I CAN find and I build what I need.
That highlights the other main thing I like about having a music collection vs. a streaming service (other than the fact that I don't keep anything with a streaming service): I know what I have to work with. I know what I have and why I have it. It gives my collection something important: MEANING. Personality. An identity that it's mine.
What does this have to do with torrenting vs. buying music?
Simply - practicality. Yes, I torrent quite a lot of music. It's my preferred method of discovering new music - I'll find a song I like, torrent that new artist's discography and explore it. On occasion I'll buy a CD if I love an artist's direction enough but there's a simple fact to life:
Music collectors like myself end up with a LOT of music. I'd have to drop thousands of dollars a year on music in order to purchase a collection like this legally.
I know, I know, that's no excuse...but why not? What about music collecting makes it worth THOUSANDS of dollars per year? I don't spend that much on anything other than food and rent. Why does "music collection" make the cut?
Remember - I can get the same experience (almost) for the cost of a Spotify account. The DIFFERENCE in cost to a spotify account vs. buying all that music in album form is ABSOLUTELY ASTRONOMICAL. The difference in service quality, I'd argue, does NOT have that much financial worth.
Yes, I think owning a copy of the file on my computer should cost more than streaming access but, again, look at these numbers! I could easily toss a Spotify account into my budget, no worries. I don't because it's not quite as good of a sorting and music management system that I can get by torrenting music. It doesn't meet my needs quite as well. If I had to give up either Spotify or torrenting, I'd give up Spotify every time. It just doesn't suit my needs as well.
My argument isn't that Spotify isn't GOOD. I think it's awesome. My argument is that it doesn't suit my needs AS WELL as having a physical (well, software) collection on my hard drive and the cost of going the "physical" route is completely unreasonable. Spotify isn't AS AWESOME as having the files locally in my own file system managed the way I want to manage them.
Therefore, the best option for me? Torrenting. It's still a superior product to me than Spotify or any streaming service will ever be because:
- Torrenting gives me physical files which
- lets me manage my collection on my terms which gives me
- A feeling of personalizing my media collection with
- A cost that isn't astronomical (seriously! THOUSANDS per year to do this vs. the cost of Spotify? It's completely unreasonable!)
I wish there was a low-cost way to do what I'm doing that didn't require torrenting. I do. Torrenting is a little tricky sometimes and you can't always find what you want. I've also resorted to YouTube rips for unique stuff that won't ever appear in any collection elsewhere.
I really feel like there's a very real reason that, for some people, torrenting is still the only viable option. Streaming doesn't give you a collection to manage and buying albums and songs is prohibitively expensive, especially compared to said streaming services. You don't get THAT MUCH MORE service by downloading songs than you do by streaming it. Why is the cost literally THOUSANDS of TIMES more?
In response to that insane cost, I torrent.
There needs to be another way.
Thoughts?
My argument is, it depends on what you're using it for but there are cases where I would argue "yes".
I, for one, have a problem with streaming services: You don't actually get to hang on to any of the media. You just pay an access fee and play it over their network in realtime. You never get a copy of it.
I know this is a frivolous thing in many ways: Why would I CARE if I never got a copy? I can still consume it just as well.
Simple: Building a media collection.
I know it sounds silly but people have had movie, music, game and other collections for years. With a streaming service, this is simply impossible.
Why would I care?
So I can tailor my collection to suit whatever needs I have at the time. Also, collecting stuff is cool. It's personal. It's like a hobby.
I understand that many people sort their music library by Artist -> Album -> Song.
That's the way a CD gets ripped when you rip one yourself. That's how iTunes and similar stores are structured.
I find such a sorting method completely useless. I'd end up having 10 bajillion folders, each with half a dozen subfolders...ugh, no thanks!
Instead, I prefer to sort by major genre -> Subgenre -> Artist / Song
That way my music is always sorted by the MOOD that I want to express with my music, rather than a gigantic list of artists in alphabetical order where the next one probably has nothing to do with the previous one other than being spelled similarly.
You can see an example here. Look in the address bar at the top to see how I got there and you can see my folder structure:
That's why I care to have a personal music collection. That way I can tailor-fit playlists very easily by using a genre sort and grabbing files from a known library - I know what's there, I know what I CAN find and I build what I need.
That highlights the other main thing I like about having a music collection vs. a streaming service (other than the fact that I don't keep anything with a streaming service): I know what I have to work with. I know what I have and why I have it. It gives my collection something important: MEANING. Personality. An identity that it's mine.
What does this have to do with torrenting vs. buying music?
Simply - practicality. Yes, I torrent quite a lot of music. It's my preferred method of discovering new music - I'll find a song I like, torrent that new artist's discography and explore it. On occasion I'll buy a CD if I love an artist's direction enough but there's a simple fact to life:
Music collectors like myself end up with a LOT of music. I'd have to drop thousands of dollars a year on music in order to purchase a collection like this legally.
I know, I know, that's no excuse...but why not? What about music collecting makes it worth THOUSANDS of dollars per year? I don't spend that much on anything other than food and rent. Why does "music collection" make the cut?
Remember - I can get the same experience (almost) for the cost of a Spotify account. The DIFFERENCE in cost to a spotify account vs. buying all that music in album form is ABSOLUTELY ASTRONOMICAL. The difference in service quality, I'd argue, does NOT have that much financial worth.
Yes, I think owning a copy of the file on my computer should cost more than streaming access but, again, look at these numbers! I could easily toss a Spotify account into my budget, no worries. I don't because it's not quite as good of a sorting and music management system that I can get by torrenting music. It doesn't meet my needs quite as well. If I had to give up either Spotify or torrenting, I'd give up Spotify every time. It just doesn't suit my needs as well.
My argument isn't that Spotify isn't GOOD. I think it's awesome. My argument is that it doesn't suit my needs AS WELL as having a physical (well, software) collection on my hard drive and the cost of going the "physical" route is completely unreasonable. Spotify isn't AS AWESOME as having the files locally in my own file system managed the way I want to manage them.
Therefore, the best option for me? Torrenting. It's still a superior product to me than Spotify or any streaming service will ever be because:
- Torrenting gives me physical files which
- lets me manage my collection on my terms which gives me
- A feeling of personalizing my media collection with
- A cost that isn't astronomical (seriously! THOUSANDS per year to do this vs. the cost of Spotify? It's completely unreasonable!)
I wish there was a low-cost way to do what I'm doing that didn't require torrenting. I do. Torrenting is a little tricky sometimes and you can't always find what you want. I've also resorted to YouTube rips for unique stuff that won't ever appear in any collection elsewhere.
I really feel like there's a very real reason that, for some people, torrenting is still the only viable option. Streaming doesn't give you a collection to manage and buying albums and songs is prohibitively expensive, especially compared to said streaming services. You don't get THAT MUCH MORE service by downloading songs than you do by streaming it. Why is the cost literally THOUSANDS of TIMES more?
In response to that insane cost, I torrent.
There needs to be another way.
Thoughts?
5
Computer and Electronics / What operating system are you using
« on: June 16, 2016, 04:35:12 PM »
I'm mainly just curious to see how many people have switched from Windows 7 at this point. I'm still a happy Windows 7 user myself, as of June 2016. I tried Windows 10 and it went sooo badly that I have little interest in switching until I get a new PC.
6
General Land Before Time / Music and the LBT franchise - Preferences?
« on: May 14, 2016, 02:49:13 AM »
Over the years I've realized that there's one key aspect of the LBT sequels that really takes them above-and-beyond for me - one thing that I truly love about the overall presentation of the LBT sequels more than anything else: Their soundtracks!
I'm honestly placing The LBT Sequels' musical scores among both my favorite orchestral pieces AND favorite film scores of all time. They're the kind of thing I wish I could have had a chance to play in Band class in school. They're the kind of music I can put in a playlist and they're always welcome. When I think of LBT sequels, my fondest emotions always seem to connect back to their soundtracks.
There was a fantastic amount of effort put in by Michael Tavera for the sequels' soundtracks and I deeply admire his work. I also have a massive shoutout to give to Tavera for letting the community enjoy his score outside the films by releasing them publically, free-of-charge to anyone who asks. Thank you Ludichris for discovering this and sharing your files with us once again!
-----
Ultimately, while I absolutely love the first film's soundtrack and admire it very much as the masterpieces they are by the late James Horner, it truly does come down to the soundtrack in the sequels that I have an undying love for. Those soundtracks make the sequels what they are to me. They turned a series of fine movies into something incredibly memorable to me and I just wanted to show them, and Mr. Tavera, the respect I feel they deserve.
I'm just curious: When thinking about the music from the series, what aspect of the music warms your heart and has the greatest impact on you? I set up a little poll in this topic to get an idea.
I'm honestly placing The LBT Sequels' musical scores among both my favorite orchestral pieces AND favorite film scores of all time. They're the kind of thing I wish I could have had a chance to play in Band class in school. They're the kind of music I can put in a playlist and they're always welcome. When I think of LBT sequels, my fondest emotions always seem to connect back to their soundtracks.
There was a fantastic amount of effort put in by Michael Tavera for the sequels' soundtracks and I deeply admire his work. I also have a massive shoutout to give to Tavera for letting the community enjoy his score outside the films by releasing them publically, free-of-charge to anyone who asks. Thank you Ludichris for discovering this and sharing your files with us once again!
-----
Ultimately, while I absolutely love the first film's soundtrack and admire it very much as the masterpieces they are by the late James Horner, it truly does come down to the soundtrack in the sequels that I have an undying love for. Those soundtracks make the sequels what they are to me. They turned a series of fine movies into something incredibly memorable to me and I just wanted to show them, and Mr. Tavera, the respect I feel they deserve.
I'm just curious: When thinking about the music from the series, what aspect of the music warms your heart and has the greatest impact on you? I set up a little poll in this topic to get an idea.
7
Gamers Zone / Game music and in-game locations: A conundrum
« on: May 08, 2016, 08:57:49 PM »
Hey everyone! I recently ended up in a situation that got me thinking about a different side of video game music:
Are video game "shop" and "friendly building" themes cursed?
I just mean, okay: Take a game with, what you'd consider, a good soundtrack. When you think about the "best" pieces of music on the soundtrack, does the "shop" theme or "friendly building" theme ever come up in your top 3 or top 5 favorite pieces of music in the game?
If you're like me, the answer is probably not. I'm just curious if I'm alone on this or if shop/friendly building music is destined to be among the least-interesting music in a particular game.
Even games with decent friendly building music (let's take the Pokemon Center theme from Pokemon Red/Blue/Whatever). That same game has so many other great themes that I'd argue the pokemon center theme gets pushed back behind many of the other in-game music pieces. It's memorable, sure, but would I consider it better than most of the soundtrack? In my top 3 or top 5 favorite pieces from the game? Probably not.
Let's take Donkey Kong Country 2 as another example. This game is often considered to have one of the best soundtracks in any video game ever. When you hear the "Kong Kollege" theme or the "Funky's Flights" theme, do you feel they're on par with tracks like Hot Head Hop, the Swamp theme, the Mines theme or Stickerbrush Symphony? Probably not. I have a playlist that contains this game's soundtrack. I purposely removed the "friendly building" themes from my playlist because they're so bland to me compared to the greatness of most of the soundtrack.
I feel the only exceptions are cases where the game has a unique friendly building theme for your house or starting base (Earthbound, Pokemon). Outside of that starting building, I think this argument holds true.
What do you think? Is there truly a "curse of the friendly building theme music" or can you think of some exceptions?
I'm in a situation right now where I need to write an "in-store" theme for a game and I'm running into this exact problem. I'm convinced there really is a curse that says the shop/store music in your game will be among the least interesting pieces of music in the game, by nature.
I'm curious if someone can show me otherwise.
I'm trying to find examples of exceptions to this rule but I can't find a fricking thing.
Are video game "shop" and "friendly building" themes cursed?
I just mean, okay: Take a game with, what you'd consider, a good soundtrack. When you think about the "best" pieces of music on the soundtrack, does the "shop" theme or "friendly building" theme ever come up in your top 3 or top 5 favorite pieces of music in the game?
If you're like me, the answer is probably not. I'm just curious if I'm alone on this or if shop/friendly building music is destined to be among the least-interesting music in a particular game.
Even games with decent friendly building music (let's take the Pokemon Center theme from Pokemon Red/Blue/Whatever). That same game has so many other great themes that I'd argue the pokemon center theme gets pushed back behind many of the other in-game music pieces. It's memorable, sure, but would I consider it better than most of the soundtrack? In my top 3 or top 5 favorite pieces from the game? Probably not.
Let's take Donkey Kong Country 2 as another example. This game is often considered to have one of the best soundtracks in any video game ever. When you hear the "Kong Kollege" theme or the "Funky's Flights" theme, do you feel they're on par with tracks like Hot Head Hop, the Swamp theme, the Mines theme or Stickerbrush Symphony? Probably not. I have a playlist that contains this game's soundtrack. I purposely removed the "friendly building" themes from my playlist because they're so bland to me compared to the greatness of most of the soundtrack.
I feel the only exceptions are cases where the game has a unique friendly building theme for your house or starting base (Earthbound, Pokemon). Outside of that starting building, I think this argument holds true.
What do you think? Is there truly a "curse of the friendly building theme music" or can you think of some exceptions?
I'm in a situation right now where I need to write an "in-store" theme for a game and I'm running into this exact problem. I'm convinced there really is a curse that says the shop/store music in your game will be among the least interesting pieces of music in the game, by nature.
I'm curious if someone can show me otherwise.
I'm trying to find examples of exceptions to this rule but I can't find a fricking thing.
8
Computer and Electronics / PC problem - shuts off when idle, req. P/S reset
« on: March 09, 2016, 05:23:41 PM »
I've just been having some weird problems with my computer lately. I have copy/pasted this post from a similar Reddit post that I made trying to find as much help as possible:
Basically the problem is that my computer works perfectly fine. If I leave it for an extended period of time, when I come back it's OFF. Not sleep - OFF. The only way to get it to boot back into Windows is to shut the power supply off and turn it back on.
I'm thinking it might be related to my overclock but it's a fairly modest overclock with no heat problems AND the problem only occurs at idle...so I'm not sure.
Here's the full post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/commen..._it_for_awhile/
Quote:
Hi,
I'm running the following system:
i7 3930k CPU overclocked from 3.8 to 4.22GHz
Asus p9 x79 Pro motherboard
620W Earthwatts power supply (from the Antec Sonata IV case)
64 GB Kingston / Corsair DDR3 RAM (not overclocked)
HIS Radeon R9 270x (2GB)
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
multiple SSDs as secondary storage
Power Options in windows are on High Performance - custom-tweaked to not allow any sort of sleep mode or low-power settings whatsoever.
Recently I've had some very strange behaviour. I recently formatted my computer, say, 6 months ago. Shortly after that, say a month or two, I started having this problem:
As long as I'm using the computer, it's perfectly fine.
Normally I leave it running 24/7 with no problems.
Lately, whenever I go to bed, when I get up in the morning my computer is just...off. It's not in sleep mode so I can't wake it. Pressing the power button DOES NOT reboot it back into windows; instead, pressing POWER simply causes the bios logo to show, goes to a black screen and completely stops. It doesn't even attempt to load the OS.
In order for it to boot back up, I have to unplug the power supply OR flip the P/S switch off and on again. Once I do that, now I can boot up normally. Every time I do this, however, I get a warning that Windows did not shut down properly last time. I can "start Windows normally" and it always works fine.
Otherwise the system seems perfectly fine. I'd love to know what's happening behind the scenes when I walk away for an extended period but I honestly have no idea. I have no scheduled tasks that run when I walk away (that I know of. It's just a desktop system at my home office - not on some corporate network).
At first I thought it was a hardware thing, and it still could be I suppose, but the fact that it only dies after being IDLE for awhile is very odd to me.
Does it sound like it's simply related to the overclock?
Heat dissipation is good, I've stress-tested the system at 100% load for hours and it only dies at idle so I'm honestly not sure.
Does anyone have any ideas? Do you need more information?
Thanks.
Basically the problem is that my computer works perfectly fine. If I leave it for an extended period of time, when I come back it's OFF. Not sleep - OFF. The only way to get it to boot back into Windows is to shut the power supply off and turn it back on.
I'm thinking it might be related to my overclock but it's a fairly modest overclock with no heat problems AND the problem only occurs at idle...so I'm not sure.
Here's the full post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/commen..._it_for_awhile/
Quote:
Hi,
I'm running the following system:
i7 3930k CPU overclocked from 3.8 to 4.22GHz
Asus p9 x79 Pro motherboard
620W Earthwatts power supply (from the Antec Sonata IV case)
64 GB Kingston / Corsair DDR3 RAM (not overclocked)
HIS Radeon R9 270x (2GB)
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
multiple SSDs as secondary storage
Power Options in windows are on High Performance - custom-tweaked to not allow any sort of sleep mode or low-power settings whatsoever.
Recently I've had some very strange behaviour. I recently formatted my computer, say, 6 months ago. Shortly after that, say a month or two, I started having this problem:
As long as I'm using the computer, it's perfectly fine.
Normally I leave it running 24/7 with no problems.
Lately, whenever I go to bed, when I get up in the morning my computer is just...off. It's not in sleep mode so I can't wake it. Pressing the power button DOES NOT reboot it back into windows; instead, pressing POWER simply causes the bios logo to show, goes to a black screen and completely stops. It doesn't even attempt to load the OS.
In order for it to boot back up, I have to unplug the power supply OR flip the P/S switch off and on again. Once I do that, now I can boot up normally. Every time I do this, however, I get a warning that Windows did not shut down properly last time. I can "start Windows normally" and it always works fine.
Otherwise the system seems perfectly fine. I'd love to know what's happening behind the scenes when I walk away for an extended period but I honestly have no idea. I have no scheduled tasks that run when I walk away (that I know of. It's just a desktop system at my home office - not on some corporate network).
At first I thought it was a hardware thing, and it still could be I suppose, but the fact that it only dies after being IDLE for awhile is very odd to me.
Does it sound like it's simply related to the overclock?
Heat dissipation is good, I've stress-tested the system at 100% load for hours and it only dies at idle so I'm honestly not sure.
Does anyone have any ideas? Do you need more information?
Thanks.
9
The Written Word / Started a Nerd Blog
« on: February 28, 2016, 08:30:23 PM »
Hey everyone,
I have just completed the first post of my blog, Thoughts 4 Nerds.
This is a blog I'll be writing to regularly. I'll be talking about a variety of gaming, music, technology and generally nerdy topics in a casual tone. My goal is to be insightful without being preachy and to just have fun with it.
Please feel free to check it out! My first post is on the topic of "epic music" and why I feel like its popularity is a bit of a fad.
Thoughts 4 Nerds Blog
Feel free to leave feedback on the blog directly. Thanks for checking it out!
I have just completed the first post of my blog, Thoughts 4 Nerds.
This is a blog I'll be writing to regularly. I'll be talking about a variety of gaming, music, technology and generally nerdy topics in a casual tone. My goal is to be insightful without being preachy and to just have fun with it.
Please feel free to check it out! My first post is on the topic of "epic music" and why I feel like its popularity is a bit of a fad.
Thoughts 4 Nerds Blog
Feel free to leave feedback on the blog directly. Thanks for checking it out!
10
The Fridge / Creative projects and judging your own work
« on: February 04, 2016, 04:52:37 AM »
Just a quick rant:
For as long as I can remember, it's always been a serious challenge to me to judge the quality of my own work.
Basically, here's the cycle that keeps coming up. Each part of the cycle will have a "confidence" rating from 1-5. This is basically a subjective measure of how happy I am with my work and how good I think it is
1) Get idea. Think it's the BEST FRICKING IDEA EVER!!
Confidence: 5
2) Start making it. Be SUPER EXCITED because it's looking/sounding as AWESOME as I hoped!
Confidence: 5
3) Keep working on it and get to some part where it looks/sounds less awesome than I'd like.
Confidence: 3
4) Tear up that section and rewrite/redo it.
Confidence: 2
5) Repeat 4 until I either give up or get something really cool. For the sake of this post, let's say I figure our something really cool.
Confidence: 4
6) Keep working on it for awhile longer. By now I'm quite invested in the project and have a significant amount of work done on it. I've seen/heard it for many hours and am at the point where the novelty is wearing off.
Confidence: 3
7) The longer I spend on it, the less confident I get that it's very good after all. It doesn't matter what it is. I can know that it's at least "decent" or "not bad" but I'm not longer feeling like this will be something great.
Confidence: 2
8) My desire to work on the project decreases as I lose hope that this project will be the greatest thing ever. The project starts to get less and less attention until it eventually just rots in a folder on my computer for years, unfinished.
Confidence: 1
This happens after having a lot of exposure to whatever I'm working on. I start to see all the little things that aren't masterfully-crafted and aren't "perfect" for whatever reason. I start to feel like this is just something some hack put together and isn't worth the effort to complete. I feel like I can do better if I focus my efforts on something else, at which point the cycle repeats.
I don't want to talk about how much unfinished work I have on Google Drive, USB backups, external hard drives....ugh.
---------
When I was younger I didn't have this problem. I just started something that, as long as it was RELATIVELY good for what I felt capable of, I excitedly finished it! Now my standards are so sky-high, I'm never impressed with my own work, struggle to accept it for what it is and just give up on it.
---------
The stupid thing is, I know my work isn't awful. I'm not delusional; I know my work isn't the greatest thing ever made in the history of humanity but I know it's competent enough that with effort it could be genuinely good. When it comes to really sitting down and working on it though, I seem to be incapable of letting that sink in. I see all the little things that I don't like - little things that I don't know how to fix - and let them eat away at me until I look at the project as crap, with little hope of redemption.
---------
I know this sort of thing is common with creative work where you're personally invested in the project.
I'm interested in getting a chat going about the creative process and staying focused on a project. Please feel welcome to chime in with any thoughts.
For as long as I can remember, it's always been a serious challenge to me to judge the quality of my own work.
Basically, here's the cycle that keeps coming up. Each part of the cycle will have a "confidence" rating from 1-5. This is basically a subjective measure of how happy I am with my work and how good I think it is
1) Get idea. Think it's the BEST FRICKING IDEA EVER!!
Confidence: 5
2) Start making it. Be SUPER EXCITED because it's looking/sounding as AWESOME as I hoped!
Confidence: 5
3) Keep working on it and get to some part where it looks/sounds less awesome than I'd like.
Confidence: 3
4) Tear up that section and rewrite/redo it.
Confidence: 2
5) Repeat 4 until I either give up or get something really cool. For the sake of this post, let's say I figure our something really cool.
Confidence: 4
6) Keep working on it for awhile longer. By now I'm quite invested in the project and have a significant amount of work done on it. I've seen/heard it for many hours and am at the point where the novelty is wearing off.
Confidence: 3
7) The longer I spend on it, the less confident I get that it's very good after all. It doesn't matter what it is. I can know that it's at least "decent" or "not bad" but I'm not longer feeling like this will be something great.
Confidence: 2
8) My desire to work on the project decreases as I lose hope that this project will be the greatest thing ever. The project starts to get less and less attention until it eventually just rots in a folder on my computer for years, unfinished.
Confidence: 1
This happens after having a lot of exposure to whatever I'm working on. I start to see all the little things that aren't masterfully-crafted and aren't "perfect" for whatever reason. I start to feel like this is just something some hack put together and isn't worth the effort to complete. I feel like I can do better if I focus my efforts on something else, at which point the cycle repeats.
I don't want to talk about how much unfinished work I have on Google Drive, USB backups, external hard drives....ugh.
---------
When I was younger I didn't have this problem. I just started something that, as long as it was RELATIVELY good for what I felt capable of, I excitedly finished it! Now my standards are so sky-high, I'm never impressed with my own work, struggle to accept it for what it is and just give up on it.
---------
The stupid thing is, I know my work isn't awful. I'm not delusional; I know my work isn't the greatest thing ever made in the history of humanity but I know it's competent enough that with effort it could be genuinely good. When it comes to really sitting down and working on it though, I seem to be incapable of letting that sink in. I see all the little things that I don't like - little things that I don't know how to fix - and let them eat away at me until I look at the project as crap, with little hope of redemption.
---------
I know this sort of thing is common with creative work where you're personally invested in the project.
I'm interested in getting a chat going about the creative process and staying focused on a project. Please feel welcome to chime in with any thoughts.
11
Computer and Electronics / WhatsApp going free (no more subscriptions)
« on: January 18, 2016, 11:20:10 PM »
I just saw an announcement that WhatsApp, the mobile app that allows users to form chat groups, is going to be entirely free in the near future.
It used to have a $1 per year subscription.
Source
If anyone wishes they had a nice way to handle group mobile conversations or just want to organize your social life a little better, this might be a great tool! I've used it before in its free year before it started asking for a subscription and it was actually really awesome! I've missed using it.
Having it free to use will be amazing.
It used to have a $1 per year subscription.
Source
If anyone wishes they had a nice way to handle group mobile conversations or just want to organize your social life a little better, this might be a great tool! I've used it before in its free year before it started asking for a subscription and it was actually really awesome! I've missed using it.
Having it free to use will be amazing.
12
The Fridge / Rather amusing Google Translate glitch
« on: January 06, 2016, 02:09:53 PM »
Apparently a glitch was found in Google Translate where the word "Russia", translated from Ukrainian to Russian translates as "Mordor".
I had to snicker a little bit.
I always knew SOMETHING was up with Russia, what with the volcanoes and all.
(Source: https://www.facebook.com/topic/Google-Trans...37352992855917)
I had to snicker a little bit.
I always knew SOMETHING was up with Russia, what with the volcanoes and all. (Source: https://www.facebook.com/topic/Google-Trans...37352992855917)
13
Computer and Electronics / Intel i7 6950x specs leaked
« on: January 05, 2016, 04:41:44 PM »
Looks like Intel's next-gen enthusiast line CPU specs have been leaked. They're due for release Q1 2016 and there's some REALLY nice stuff coming out.
http://wccftech.com/intel-broadwell-e-spec...6800k-detailed/
The 6950x is going to be a 10-core, 20-thread monster that I'm PSYCHED to see benchmarks for. If it kicks enough ass, it might be the next upgrade. We shall see!
I'm actually still debating whether I want to go the i7 route or the Xeon route for my next workstation build.
http://wccftech.com/intel-broadwell-e-spec...6800k-detailed/
The 6950x is going to be a 10-core, 20-thread monster that I'm PSYCHED to see benchmarks for. If it kicks enough ass, it might be the next upgrade. We shall see!
I'm actually still debating whether I want to go the i7 route or the Xeon route for my next workstation build.
14
Gamers Zone / Write your game review here!
« on: December 06, 2015, 10:34:47 AM »
Howdy!
I'm starting up this topic to encourage everyone to talk about their gaming experiences in the form of a review.
Maybe you don't want to post up your review on Steam or a more "professional" environment. Maybe you want to keep your review in a smaller community. Maybe you just want to rant about a game! Maybe you want to share your thoughts on a game that a lot of people missed. Maybe you want to poke holes in a game that often has its holes ignored.
Whatever the reason, I'm encouraging gamers to post up their reviews here, whether for fun or critique. Go nuts and review away!
I'm starting up this topic to encourage everyone to talk about their gaming experiences in the form of a review.
Maybe you don't want to post up your review on Steam or a more "professional" environment. Maybe you want to keep your review in a smaller community. Maybe you just want to rant about a game! Maybe you want to share your thoughts on a game that a lot of people missed. Maybe you want to poke holes in a game that often has its holes ignored.
Whatever the reason, I'm encouraging gamers to post up their reviews here, whether for fun or critique. Go nuts and review away!
15
LBT Projects / Bestest Friends Instrumental Remaster
« on: November 17, 2015, 09:34:55 PM »
Howdy!
As some of you know, I've worked on a number of LBT song projects here in the past. While some of the instrumental background music tracks I released came out pretty good, others really did leave a little something to be desired.
The one that stood out the most for me was Bestest Friends; I never really did make a nice-sounding instrumental release of it!
I had a background track version with no vocal parts that was decent but I never had a complete standalone piece that sounded any good. Part of the problem was that I simply didn't have the tech to handle really delicate exposed solo instruments with any grace, without it sounding horribly fake and artificial. It's a viciously hard song to do well using nothing but a computer because I can't hide anything behind anything else. Everything needs to sound REALLY good on its own.
Today I am here to fix that.
I went through and remastered my old Bestest Friends instrumental using current-generation technology and the care and love that the gorgeous song deserves.
I took a couple of artistic liberties when it came to the instrument choices for the vocal parts:
Petrie's part is performed by a solo flute.
Ducky's part is performed by a warm jazz guitar layered with subtle electronic effects.
Cera's part is performed by a solo flugelhorn (a warmer, mellower version of a trumpet).
I'm not sure how many other songs I'll do this for but I really felt this song had it coming. Basically I'm just taking my old MIDI and tweaking it so that it plays nice with my virtual instruments. I don't intend on making any new MIDIs from scratch or releasing songs that I haven't previously done for our LBT singing projects. I made this using my old Bestest Friends MIDI from back in the day.
I hope you enjoy it. Comments are always welcome as I'm always looking to improve.
---------------
Without further delay:
Bestest Friends (Instrumental ballad, 2015 Remaster) - 320 kbps MP3
As some of you know, I've worked on a number of LBT song projects here in the past. While some of the instrumental background music tracks I released came out pretty good, others really did leave a little something to be desired.
The one that stood out the most for me was Bestest Friends; I never really did make a nice-sounding instrumental release of it!
I had a background track version with no vocal parts that was decent but I never had a complete standalone piece that sounded any good. Part of the problem was that I simply didn't have the tech to handle really delicate exposed solo instruments with any grace, without it sounding horribly fake and artificial. It's a viciously hard song to do well using nothing but a computer because I can't hide anything behind anything else. Everything needs to sound REALLY good on its own.
Today I am here to fix that.
I went through and remastered my old Bestest Friends instrumental using current-generation technology and the care and love that the gorgeous song deserves.
I took a couple of artistic liberties when it came to the instrument choices for the vocal parts:
Petrie's part is performed by a solo flute.
Ducky's part is performed by a warm jazz guitar layered with subtle electronic effects.
Cera's part is performed by a solo flugelhorn (a warmer, mellower version of a trumpet).
I'm not sure how many other songs I'll do this for but I really felt this song had it coming. Basically I'm just taking my old MIDI and tweaking it so that it plays nice with my virtual instruments. I don't intend on making any new MIDIs from scratch or releasing songs that I haven't previously done for our LBT singing projects. I made this using my old Bestest Friends MIDI from back in the day.
I hope you enjoy it.
Comments are always welcome as I'm always looking to improve.---------------
Without further delay:
Bestest Friends (Instrumental ballad, 2015 Remaster) - 320 kbps MP3
16
Gamers Zone / Extra Credits-Videos discussing video game design
« on: June 06, 2015, 03:57:36 AM »
Howdy!
For every video game enthusiast or budding game designer out there, The YouTube channel Extra Credits has, over the years, become one of the best sources of credible information for everything from "what makes a game fun" to "how to incorporate a story into a video game" to "the future of microtransactions and e-sports".
It digs into what makes a good game good and is all-around an incredible resource for anyone interested in looking a little deeper into video games.
It's been online for years now but I thought I'd toss up a link here for anyone who wasn't familiar with it!
For every video game enthusiast or budding game designer out there, The YouTube channel Extra Credits has, over the years, become one of the best sources of credible information for everything from "what makes a game fun" to "how to incorporate a story into a video game" to "the future of microtransactions and e-sports".
It digs into what makes a good game good and is all-around an incredible resource for anyone interested in looking a little deeper into video games.
It's been online for years now but I thought I'd toss up a link here for anyone who wasn't familiar with it!
17
Hobbies and Recreation / Board Game Discussion!
« on: June 06, 2015, 03:38:50 AM »
Hey everyone!
I've been looking more into the inner workings of board games lately. As video games have drifted more towards the online-only world, my friends and I have found ourselves spending more and more time playing board games.
In recent years, I've looked into making board games of my own and my current project has me overthinking (as usual) board game design theory. It inspired me to start this discussion!
Long-story-short, the board game development process basically goes like this:
1) Initial idea.
2) Build an early prototype.
3) Play it. See what works and what doesn't.
4) Tweak and repeat until you know what overhauls are necessary.
5) Build second-stage prototype featuring required overhauls.
6) Playtest.
7) Tweak prototype.
8) Repeat steps 6 and 7 until game has been tested to death and is as perfect as it can be.
9) Produce final version. Market and sell if desired.
Naturally, step 8 takes the longest, as it requires hundreds of tests to get things right. You'll find yourself repeating steps 6/7 for months or years before the game is finished.
My game is currently on Step 8 and the "tweaking" aspect is driving me utterly insane! This is because of one thing:
Every design decision ultimately equates to:
"Does this decision make the game more random/chaotic or does it make it more strategic/plannable?"
At the end of the day, that is the most fundamental aspect of any board game. Every board game will fit somewhere on the scale:
COMPLETELY RANDOM -------------------------- PURELY STRATEGIC
Even outside of those very fundamental elements, there are really only A Few Dozen Known Mechanics That Exist (BoardGameGeek) for board game development. For a new one to come along is very rare (Dominion 'invented' deck-building mechanics recently, for example). Games are basically just a collection of those mechanics.
I actually drew up an image to help me make sense of this concept in terms of my game compared to other games. It graphs various board games on a variety of scales, including a pair of
"Thematic / Strategic" axes. Here it is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B96eLzW5--...iew?usp=sharing
(The details may be a little off, as this is simply my interpretation after playing said games)
So why does this bug me?
It bugs me because I'm interested in letting my players' choices matter and have an impact on the game, but I also have no interest in making a "strategy game". This game isn't being designed as a strategy game.
Ultimately, board games seem to either get classified as:
Casual games
or
Strategy games.
------------------------------
My analysis and intuition suggest that it's possible to make an engaging, interesting game where decisions matter without making it a "Strategy game". I'm aiming to do this while also making my game strongly-thematic.
------------------------------
Does anyone here have much experience playing board games? What sorts of experiences have you had with them? Have you ever considered making your own board games?
------------------------------
I'm just going crazy with making design tweaks at this point because everything is on such a fine line.
On one hand, I want player decisions to matter. On the other hand, I don't want to design it in such a way that the game is all about "finding the perfect move" on every turn to "maximize" your performance throughout the game. My game is more about diplomacy with other players and adapting your playstyle to the situation at hand. It's more of a tactical and diplomatic game than a strategy game.
I've been looking more into the inner workings of board games lately. As video games have drifted more towards the online-only world, my friends and I have found ourselves spending more and more time playing board games.
In recent years, I've looked into making board games of my own and my current project has me overthinking (as usual
) board game design theory. It inspired me to start this discussion!Long-story-short, the board game development process basically goes like this:
1) Initial idea.
2) Build an early prototype.
3) Play it. See what works and what doesn't.
4) Tweak and repeat until you know what overhauls are necessary.
5) Build second-stage prototype featuring required overhauls.
6) Playtest.
7) Tweak prototype.
8) Repeat steps 6 and 7 until game has been tested to death and is as perfect as it can be.
9) Produce final version. Market and sell if desired.
Naturally, step 8 takes the longest, as it requires hundreds of tests to get things right. You'll find yourself repeating steps 6/7 for months or years before the game is finished.
My game is currently on Step 8 and the "tweaking" aspect is driving me utterly insane!
This is because of one thing:Every design decision ultimately equates to:
"Does this decision make the game more random/chaotic or does it make it more strategic/plannable?"
At the end of the day, that is the most fundamental aspect of any board game. Every board game will fit somewhere on the scale:
COMPLETELY RANDOM -------------------------- PURELY STRATEGIC
Even outside of those very fundamental elements, there are really only A Few Dozen Known Mechanics That Exist (BoardGameGeek) for board game development. For a new one to come along is very rare (Dominion 'invented' deck-building mechanics recently, for example). Games are basically just a collection of those mechanics.
I actually drew up an image to help me make sense of this concept in terms of my game compared to other games. It graphs various board games on a variety of scales, including a pair of
"Thematic / Strategic" axes. Here it is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B96eLzW5--...iew?usp=sharing
(The details may be a little off, as this is simply my interpretation after playing said games)
So why does this bug me?
It bugs me because I'm interested in letting my players' choices matter and have an impact on the game, but I also have no interest in making a "strategy game". This game isn't being designed as a strategy game.
Ultimately, board games seem to either get classified as:
Casual games
or
Strategy games.
------------------------------
My analysis and intuition suggest that it's possible to make an engaging, interesting game where decisions matter without making it a "Strategy game". I'm aiming to do this while also making my game strongly-thematic.
------------------------------
Does anyone here have much experience playing board games? What sorts of experiences have you had with them? Have you ever considered making your own board games?
------------------------------
I'm just going crazy with making design tweaks at this point because everything is on such a fine line.
On one hand, I want player decisions to matter. On the other hand, I don't want to design it in such a way that the game is all about "finding the perfect move" on every turn to "maximize" your performance throughout the game. My game is more about diplomacy with other players and adapting your playstyle to the situation at hand. It's more of a tactical and diplomatic game than a strategy game.
18
Sound Off! / Just stumbled across a fantastic band
« on: June 05, 2015, 04:29:45 PM »
I recently learned of a Canadian gothic/synth rock band, somewhat reminiscent of bands like
- Evanescence
- Lacuna Coil
- Nightwish
*The Birthday Massacre*
They take the "gothic rock" genre in a direction I've never heard before by throwing in some subtle synth / epic elements. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on these guys!
Here's a song as an example:
The Birthday Massacre - Beyond
- Evanescence
- Lacuna Coil
- Nightwish
*The Birthday Massacre*
They take the "gothic rock" genre in a direction I've never heard before by throwing in some subtle synth / epic elements. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on these guys!
Here's a song as an example:
The Birthday Massacre - Beyond
19
The Welcome Center / Ladies? Gentlemen? After 4 years, I have returned
« on: March 30, 2015, 06:41:48 PM »
Howdy everyone! VERY long time, no see!
For all the newer members, I'm an ex-admin here on the GoF and one of the resident nerds.
Long story short, life took a front-row seat for awhile and I needed to spend some time away from my usual activites to find myself.
All these years later, I have a broader understanding of my own life and what I'd like to do. I've learned what makes me happy, what I'm looking for and what steps I want to take. I've tried to find balance between real life, online life, hobbies and careers.
I went to school from 2012 to 2014 to study software development. I'm working in the software industry now, doing music composition and game design on the side. I'm looking to move to a different sector of the software world in the near future but I'm getting nicely established in my career. My experience working on LBT RPG showed me what skills I was lacking. I honed and developed those skills to a more professional level and am applying them to move on with life.
Anyway, now that all that's settling down a little, I'M BACK!!
What am I doing these days? What are my plans here at the GoF?
I don't know yet! I don't have any projects in-mind at the moment that relate to LBT, but I'm plugging away at a handful of stuff on the side. I'll mention those a bit more in other posts.
So, now for the burning question? Did anyone miss me? Malte, I'm looking in your direction.
For all the newer members, I'm an ex-admin here on the GoF and one of the resident nerds.
Long story short, life took a front-row seat for awhile and I needed to spend some time away from my usual activites to find myself.
All these years later, I have a broader understanding of my own life and what I'd like to do. I've learned what makes me happy, what I'm looking for and what steps I want to take. I've tried to find balance between real life, online life, hobbies and careers.
I went to school from 2012 to 2014 to study software development. I'm working in the software industry now, doing music composition and game design on the side. I'm looking to move to a different sector of the software world in the near future but I'm getting nicely established in my career. My experience working on LBT RPG showed me what skills I was lacking. I honed and developed those skills to a more professional level and am applying them to move on with life.
Anyway, now that all that's settling down a little, I'M BACK!!
What am I doing these days? What are my plans here at the GoF?
I don't know yet! I don't have any projects in-mind at the moment that relate to LBT, but I'm plugging away at a handful of stuff on the side. I'll mention those a bit more in other posts.
So, now for the burning question? Did anyone miss me?
Malte, I'm looking in your direction.
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LBT Multiplayer RPG Project Discussion / LBT RPG multiplayer PC game - source code + Game l
« on: March 22, 2015, 10:16:01 PM »
Hi everyone,
I understand there has been some interest in access to the LBT RPG game that started development here, many years ago.
I have hunted down the game and all associated files on a backup drive. I have uploaded all of it as-is to my Google Drive here:
[EDIT] LINK REMOVED DUE TO GOOGLE DRIVE SPACE CONSTRAINTS. PM me if you'd like a copy and I can set up a temporary link for you.
The Google Drive folder includes two files:
1) A .zip file with all the source code, as well as the current (and some previous) version of the game as-is. Note, as per the topic at the top of the LBT Projects forum, that the project is UNSTABLE and UNFINISHED. This is mainly for archive purposes.
2) An instructions file. This briefly talks about what's actually IN the .zip file to help people understand how to navigate the .zip. I literally look my old project folder, dumped it in a .zip and uploaded it. It's pretty disorganized but hopefully the instructions file helps that a little bit.
~Action9000
I understand there has been some interest in access to the LBT RPG game that started development here, many years ago.
I have hunted down the game and all associated files on a backup drive. I have uploaded all of it as-is to my Google Drive here:
[EDIT] LINK REMOVED DUE TO GOOGLE DRIVE SPACE CONSTRAINTS. PM me if you'd like a copy and I can set up a temporary link for you.
The Google Drive folder includes two files:
1) A .zip file with all the source code, as well as the current (and some previous) version of the game as-is. Note, as per the topic at the top of the LBT Projects forum, that the project is UNSTABLE and UNFINISHED. This is mainly for archive purposes.
2) An instructions file. This briefly talks about what's actually IN the .zip file to help people understand how to navigate the .zip. I literally look my old project folder, dumped it in a .zip and uploaded it. It's pretty disorganized but hopefully the instructions file helps that a little bit.
~Action9000