- TIL that almost all NES, SNES, and Genesis games were developed using Assembly language almost exclusively which as a computer engineering student, makes my head explode in wonder and disbelief.
- How can i learn Videogame history and technology?
- (RPG) How to surpass the quests system ? The idea of Organic Questing.
- How are PvP systems designed to be unsolvable?
- Why do RPGs keep feeling the need to implement horrendous minigame mechanics?
- Using Splatoon to understand the limits of labeling mechanics of spatial dominance as colonialist.
- Examining History With The Modern Video Game
- Video Games and Rites Of Passage
| Posted: 19 Feb 2018 12:14 PM PST Electrical / Computer engineering student here about 3 semesters out from graduating. We've been working with Microprocessors and Microcontrollers using C and Assembly language lately and while it's not extremely difficult to pick up if you've had some prior programming experience, it makes my head explode in wonder and disbelief that all the NES, SNES, and Genesis classics we've come to love were written with hardware specific Assembly and C. If you have any experience whatsoever with these two languages, you know how low-level they are and in many cases (especially hardware specific Assembly), the programmer has to write code with a "1 to 1" causative ratio. You're literally scraping the metal with Assembly language and almost nothing is abstracted from the programmer: you have direct control over the behavior of the hardware itself using the actual pins from the data direction registers. So, somewhere in the midst of my stunned amazement that a living, breathing, actual human could ever achieve something so artistic and creative as say, the first Final Fantasy or Zelda, using hardware specific Assembly almost exclusively, I came across this guy. He was the programmer of many different games and first garnered his reputation by producing nearly arcade-perfect ports for the Apple II, something not thought possible by the system. He often programmed games without taking notes, preferring to finish them as quickly as possible before he forgot the code. He's also credited as the sole programmer of the first Final Fantasy, an extremely complex game when considering the era and the hardware. Read up on him if you'd like. The man is a genius and doesn't get enough credit for pushing the boundaries of what early computer hardware systems could achieve. It becomes even more amazing when considering that almost anyone can make a game nowadays, using IDE's such as GameMaker Studio or Unity. [link] [comments]  |
| How can i learn Videogame history and technology? Posted: 19 Feb 2018 09:44 AM PST Obviously like most people here i enjoy videogames. However, i want to understand games, their history, context and technology so that i can become better at understanding why a game works, or better at criticizing them. I don't want to just describe a game as "good" or "bad", i want to be able to describe and argue. Any tips or helpful ideas? I know i can't learn it all in 5 minutes. Willing to put an effort in, just not sure where to start. Books, websites, documentaries? [link] [comments]  |
| (RPG) How to surpass the quests system ? The idea of Organic Questing. Posted: 19 Feb 2018 01:07 AM PST About an idea, Organic Questing : I was thinking about ways to surpass and go beyond the classic quests system in RPG (player > Npc > demand > action > Npc > reward). And at the same time, I realized that even in modern RPGs , the game world is very static (nothing really changes from start to end, towns are the same, balance is the same, people are at the same place...). And came up with this general idea , that I called Organic Questing Basically, instead of having NPCs waiting for you to trigger quests, they would go on with their lives and you will have the opportunity to "enter" their lives for a period of time and it will serve as a quest. To alienate the fear of missing out, these opportunities will be recurring. I. Let me give an example : Medieval times (thing Kingdome Come) You are in town A. There is a woodcutter. He has a house and workshop. He goes to the forest with his apprentice and his tools and cart, 3 times a week. Now, you can, if you want, avoid that guy and never speak to him, but , along the game (based on AI and RNG) , this can happen :.
Of course the AI will make sure things don't get ridiculous (apprentice abducted 5 times in a row...) Now these events are not quests. They happen and you can never know about it. II. consequence, but : If any of these happen, then :.
Nobody will explicitly ASK you to save the guy, but the world will imply that it would be good for you to do it. If you don't, maybe a new woodcutter will arrive from another town, or maybe wood will be brought by cart from another town (risk of again bandits attack? So not a permanent solution.....) III. What does the player do then ? That would resemble quests :
IV. Then how does the world evolve ? :
The idea is that the state of the game world (insecurity, prices inflating, missing people ) will "motivate you" to do things.. that resemble quests. This idea can be applied to many (not all type of quests ) . Of course there would still be the occasional fetch quest or kill quests, but they would be the exception not the norm. The idea is still rough, there may be a problem with how to engage player ( most players still need some directions , pointers ...) Therefore , within this system, there will need to be very clear and powerful motivation mechanics in order to make the player do things.... . The end goal here is to GET RID of the quest journal. The system will need to be so efficient that the game world alone , by itself , will INFORM the player that things need to get done.... What do you guys think ? ... [link] [comments]  |
| How are PvP systems designed to be unsolvable? Posted: 18 Feb 2018 11:48 PM PST I've always been interested in PvP design. How do games like Dota2 or Leauge of Legends have these hero abilites that are balanced yet none has a particular combo that will always win. It's never like Stone-paper-scissor like in Age of empires where if they make 1 unit you make another if they they 2x and 3y you make 3z and 4a . Also is it possible to make a system that is unsolvable without updating every week? I am currently trying to try and learn Dota2 up to the point where I understand how people make builds and is it really an infinite number of situations ? But its taking a lot of time. I know one way is to make so many number of states of the game that brute forcing the game to find everything is impossible. Chess. How does 8x8 field with 7 unique pieces have so many possible states that not even computers are calculate the number of states of the board which is said to be around 1050? Is it possible to make such games? But without turn based mechanics? [link] [comments]  |
| Why do RPGs keep feeling the need to implement horrendous minigame mechanics? Posted: 19 Feb 2018 09:12 AM PST The latest edition to the shitshow is Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Probably the worst set of minigames I have seen in a set of RPGs to date. In particular the lockpicking system. In more classic games such as Baldur's gate, your character simply could either be built such that they pick a certain difficulty of lock, or they couldn't. Would it kill developers to make games like this nowdays? Why does every game have to have some shittily designed god awful mechanic to handle lockpicking? Heaven forbid you get forced to spec a character in a playthrough that only has certain skills and must play the game a certain way. These days you basically just have characters that start with nothing, have the beginning of the game be the most difficult portion of the entire game, then by the end you are just a god at everything and nothing is even remotely as difficult as it was at the beginning of the game. I mean this lockpickling system is just comically horrible. But in general take any of the lock picking systems in common games, elder scrolls and fallout3+ for example. What are these adding to the game? Fun? I certainly don't think so. Accomplishment? For what? Completing a completely unfun minigame that sucks complete ass? Sounds more like a complete waste of time to me. Why does every major RPG these days feel the need to add in shitty minigames for all of their mechanics? Especially when most of the time they aren't actually an ounce of fun? [link] [comments]  |
| Using Splatoon to understand the limits of labeling mechanics of spatial dominance as colonialist. Posted: 19 Feb 2018 02:29 PM PST So, obviously if we want to look at colonialism in games we should look no further than 4X strategy games like Stellaris, Civilization, Total War or, especially, Sid Meiers Colonization. But recently I used Splatoon as a way to introduce the concept of colonialism in relation to spatial mechanics in videogames. The core of this idea resides in understanding that a fundamental aspect of games is space. One way we can understand games (but by no means the only way) is that games are about movement through and/or the manipulation of (perceived) space. If we consider this then isn't it necessary that we look at key concepts such as colonialism within this light? So instead of looking at economic systems of colonialism in strategy games, if we look at the simple act of claiming territory in Splatoon, can we label it as colonialist? I don't think we can because colonialism is a much more complicated concept than just the claiming of space, but in pursuing this line of questioning we can figure out exactly why and understand colonialism better. Are there other games that contain mechanics of spatial dominance that bear a similarity to colonialism outside of the examples talked about here? I made a video about it which you can find down below: [link] [comments]  |
| Examining History With The Modern Video Game Posted: 14 Feb 2018 02:31 AM PST The recent release of Kingdom Come: Deliverance has reinvigorated my interest in this subject and made me question why video games aren't used to seriously explore history more often. Assassin's Creed is the only AAA title I can think of that attempts to tackle history in this way. Unfortunately it is wrapped in a sci-fi story and various narrative trappings that take away from any real historical accuracy. To my knowledge, KC:D is the only action/rpg game with this level of fidelity that attempts to accurately portray an era of history. I do think video games as a medium should tap into this "genre" more often. Not only can games serve as an educational tool, but I believe they can engage and inspire us to take interest in our past more than film or literature. I would love for more games to explore eras/locations/events in history with the authenticity and respect that KC:D does. The only other game on the horizon that is doing this is Titanic: Honor and Glory. It is still a LONG ways off but if you are interested in this sort of thing I highly recommend you check it out. What eras/places/events in history do you guys want to explore? Do you think games can be used as a learning tool for history? Does VR fit into any of this? [link] [comments]  |
| Video Games and Rites Of Passage Posted: 14 Feb 2018 08:14 AM PST When we grow up, many of us have an overwhelming urge to prove to everyone around us that we are no longer a child, but are mature and responsible enough to be granted the freedom and respect associated with being an independent young adult. These are referred to formally as "rites of passage" and they can often take the form of a formal graduation ceremony etc, but more often they are symbolic events such as taking off the training wheels, or getting a drivers license. I have a 4-year-old nephew who refused to play with Duplos because he was convinced those toys were "for babies" even though only months before they were his absolute favorite toy. (It's funny because no adult would think less of a 4-year-old for playing with Duplos.) I had a similar experience in college when I allowed my parents to sell my life-long lego collection when I told myself I would never use them again. Today, my 35-year-old self deeply regrets this. I've noticed a similar phenomenom applied to video games. Take a game like Minecraft, for example. I've noticed so many kids that loved playing the game when they were "little" but won't touch it when they get into their teen years. Personally, I discovered the game I was in my late twenties and personally have no association with that game and being a child. I similar phenomenom can be seen with adolscent kids obsession with first person shooters, a genre that arguably most were not allowed to play when they were "little", but now it proves, probably mostly to themselves, that they are no longer a child. Discuss :) [link] [comments]  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from For those who like talking about games as much as playing them.. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Post a Comment