Category: Games chat

Stephen Fisher - Designer and Developer Stephen Fisher - Designer and Developer

Micro-transactions – Freedom of Wallet OR Money Hook #NO2PAY2PLAY

Stephen Fisher / / Games chat

‘A fool and his money are easily parted’ or rather content should equal value

There was a time unbelievably whereby when people paid for a game they got a game… crazy I know. The temptation to sell ‘unfinished’ games or to strap-on extra content to wring out extra money is one that fills me as a gaming student with dread. However out there are dragons, beasts with small fangs acting all innocent and free sucking money out of people’s wallets and restricting game playtime. These dragons call themselves micro transactional games.

Angry Birds GO! FYS
Angry Birds GO! Silly Money

So far these foul demons plague mainly the mobile casual game market locking down actions unless you pay out, okay these are often tiny amounts for things that can be earnt like gems over extended play time but more often than not it always boils down to a point where in order to continue money is needed to progress. This week thanks to Sean Oxspring I was made aware of Angry Birds Go! The latest Rovio title which themselves are no strangers to the idea of micro payments however there is a vehicle in Go! That costs as much as a full priced release game at £35. £35 for a vehicle in a mobile game is to be frank stupidly priced, and yes these practices exist in other games including some triple A titles in the form of DLC but for a mobile casual game to charge this AND get away with it is staggering. Locking players out of games means they are not playing unless paying and annoyingly people are which encourages more and more to follow suite distributing the games for free but charging increasing amounts for ‘add-ons’ and unlocks which to be frank DO NOT always add to game play rather simply allow you to progress whereby naturally skill is required.

Edit: Apparently there is an option to spend £70 on Gems and more cars in Go! for similar prices.

It is arguable however, that on the other side micro transactions IF handled correctly can be a positive for the gaming industry as it gives players the freedom of wallet i.e. they can purchase what they want in order to progress. Which as long as initial content is substantial enough is not really an issue the only current barrier is how much to charge and is it really worth the money to bypass waiting. You cannot treat customers as cash cows for development and prolonging game play however also ultimately it is down to the individual as to what they do with their money as such I only suggest following my advice on titles you believe are not offering value for money.

My personal advice is these practices need to stop before even more stupid charges can amount, paying encourages others to do the same with initial games getting smaller and smaller and more reliance on paying for a game that often costs more than it would if they just released it for a charge only. Think of it this way a typical game on Goggle Play is about £2.99, a free to play game such as Castle Clash is free. HOWEVER in order to get as much content and game play time out of it as a regular £2.99 game you often need to either invest 1 week of real world waiting time OR spend upwards of £3.99 which gets you about 3 heroes, which in order to level often means buying more gems and to be honest this is a fairly low cost example. Basically only pay IF you can honestly say it’s worthwhile but to stop more companies doing this and thinking it is alright to do so we need to act with our wallets NOW else it WILL spread to consoles and more games, #NO2PAY2PLAY.

I could go on further and if you have, any good examples please post below and I will conduct more research and revisit this topic in greater depth with the goal to get some industry feedback into why this practice is good or bad as a whole.

Game Review | Assassins Creed 4 (PS3)

Stephen Fisher / / Games chat

 

Today I delve into the rough seas and try to pluck the treasures and avoid the bloodthirsty sharks that is Assassins creed IV black flag, otherwise known as ‘Timey Wimey Piratey rhymy’ for those who have had a tad too much to drink. AC4 is Ubisofts’ latest expansion to its historical action adventure series’ with roots game play wise harking back to Prince of Persia. Released in the UK in November 2012 for PS3 and Xbox 360 it thrust players back into the animus into the life of Edward Kenway.

Grand Ass Creed 4

 GRAND ASS CREED Video Coming in near future

Although mechanically and feature wise little has really changed from game to game the addition or rather rework of the sailing mechanic really makes this game stand out on its own and separates it from the realms of expansion that many including myself feared it to be. There is nothing quite like sailing around and owning the sea and during playtime I couldn’t help but feel and find similarities with another game franchise, that of the Grand theft auto series. In both games, you are free to roam around and cause mayhem and both rely heavily on a story narrative for direction whilst having fun and innovative game play options. However my play experience was somewhat marked when various minor and one somewhat major problem occurred during my play session. During one of the main campaign missions I managed to bypass a checkpoint which was meant to trigger an event, however by bypassing this due to arguably poor level design or oversight a cinematic didn’t activate which meant I had to essentially restart from scratch in order to continue. Also like previous titles enemy animations and ragdoll physics are always worth a laugh with one foe meeting his end with a face plant to a bench.

Assassins creed manages to make history a typically seen dull point and show its interest all be it in a pseudo real setting and for this alone makes for an interesting ride.  What really sets this apart is its multiplayer or as my heart calls it “oh, god not again” mode. The rush and speed your heart beats at when trying to avoid and kill targets is a high caffeine can’t reach, it is better to pretend to be the AI than to go for the kill often and so far not a game mode I have come to experience or enjoy as much in other multiplayer online games.

In conclusion, AC4 is the much-needed stab in the back the franchise needed and is in my opinion the best in the series so far due to focus on story and naval combat. Yes, it has flaws but if you take the time, to play through it you will appreciate how funny and enjoyable some of them really are.

Personal Rating (Which means nought): 8/10

Project Anarchy – Considerations and learning new stuff… Maybe

Stephen Fisher / / Games chat, General, Project Sense

I have decided to take a bold new step and basically learn a new engine or rather mobile version of an engine and chosen to have ago at Havok’s Project Anarchy engine which is built with mobile development in mind. They are currently running a challenge which IF I can get a team together will be taking part in as have an idea and such.

http://projectanarchy.challengepost.com/

It is essentially a cut-down version of a game I am working on for a project. IF I decide to use this I will write up a follow-up post.

Next Generation Gaming

Stephen Fisher / / Games chat, General

Every-time a new generation of consoles comes out a little piece of my childhood dies and that saddening urge of “I cannot afford you” leaps to mind, If you didn’t know I make some YouTube videos and so far have being using my PS3, 360 and PC to do these videos but my computer is slowly dying, my wallet is bleak and prices seem to ever-sore as such as a sign of slight moodiness on the subject I am going to post some annoyances I have with this and next generation of gaming.

Games used to be a very isolating experience before multi player was introduced and even then it tended to have to be local and involve social interactions and human content, games were not as scared to push the boundaries as what worked and did not were not fully established at this point, games were luxury something I would delve into when I had a spare moment or too but over the last few years what with rising costs and buggy, rushed and DLC-centric games becoming more and more common I began to get more cynical, no longer would I risk £30+ on a game to see if I liked it instead I became reserved missing out on some of the games my peers boast about such as Final Fantasy and Silent Hill 2 etc, the PS4 and Xbox One (btw PS4 wins in my opinion will post why maybe another time) it marks the end of care free chance taking with games costing £50-60 +, big companies like EA rushing out games and content seeming short with heavy visual focus. Each console as with each generation focused more on its gimmicks and somewhere down the line I fear much of the game-play has suffered, yes it is true there are still gems and mainly this is due to the indie market where budgets are more restrained and game-play IS the core selling point. I would love to get a PS4 however my priorities must be uni, own development of games and getting a new PC.

As a designer / developer I focus on story and game-play as the figureheads from which a game must stand upon and hardware is simply the means to an end, a console is to play games and once this is forgotten problems arise. I will return to this matter maybe next week once a fully formed argument and evidence can be amassed until then I simply ask this: Are games still games or are they turning into interactive experiences…

Current games I am making / working on in free time: Declivity (A TF2 style FPS), Project Sense (An ethical moral puzzle / challenge game) and a slot in card game that is interesting to play say the least.