gaming
Will Faught
October 2023
Things to avoid in modern games.
Design Lightweight RPG mechanics Loot Skill trees Monetization Battle passes Microtransactions Season passes Reviews High professional review scores and low customer review scores Reviewers couldn’t cover certain content under embargo Reviewers couldn’t show their own recordings under embargo Reviewers didn’t have access to all ports under embargo Reviewers didn’t have enough time under embargo Technology Day-one DLC DLC released within six months of game release DRM on PC that impacts performance On-disc DLC Unnecessary online connection is required Dark patterns Accidental purchases: It’s easy to accidentally spend money without confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.
3 minutes
June 2016
For Nintendo, It’s Not About Specs
Alex Osborn, writing for IGN: When asked how Nintendo NX will stack up against Sony and Microsoft’s forthcoming hardware revisions—namely PlayStation 4 NEO and Xbox One Scorpio—Fils-Aime told Bloomberg (via Nibel): “For us, it’s not about specs, it’s not about teraflops, it’s not about the horsepower of a particular system. For us, it’s about the content.” In other words, not good. I stopped expecting good hardware from Nintendo a long time ago.
games gaming ign microsoft nintendo nx teraflops virtual reality vr xbox xbox one
1 minute
May 2016
It’s Been Over A Decade Since Valve First Promised Half-Life 2: Episode 3
Ars reader Bad Monkey in a comment on an Ars post about it being 10 years since Valve announced Half-Life 2 Episode 3 and then left us hanging: A day at “work” for a Valve staffer: 9am: Arrive at work. Socialize in corridors for half an hour with coworkers, then head to the company cafeteria for breakfast. Free trade coffee and greek yogurt. Socialize with coworkers in cafeteria for 45 minutes.
games gaming half life valve video games
2 minutes
February 2016
Firewatch Available For Pre-Order
Firewatch became available for pre-order today. You can get 10% off on Steam.
1 minute
December 2015
Sony Announces First Batch Of PS2 Games Coming To PS4 Tomorrow
“I’m excited to announce that starting tomorrow, you will be able to purchase and play PS2 games on your PS4 via PlayStation Store in the Americas and Europe,” SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida said in a post on PlayStation Blog. A total of eight “fan favorites” will be able for purchase, including: Dark Cloud — $14.99 Grand Theft Auto III — $14.99 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City — $14.
gaming grand theft auto ps4 steam
1 minute
November 2015
It’s that time of the year again. Hide your wallets! I picked up: AI War: Fleet Command Aliens vs Predator Aliens: Colonial Marines Bleed Command and Conquer: Tiberium Wars Consortium Darksiders DeadCore Doom 3 Door Kickers Doorways: Prelude Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior E.Y.E.: Divine Cybermancy Electronic Super Joy FEAR 2: Project Origin FEAR: Ultimate Shooter Edition GTA Collection Hard Reset: Extended edition Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Hotline Miami Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Love Monaco Myst V Never Alone Neverending Nightmares Oniken Steam Store and Retail Key Painkiller Hell and Damnation Painkiller Overdose Painkiller: Black Edition Payday: The Heist Primordia Quake Quake 2 Red Faction: Armageddon Saints Row 2 Sanctum Shadow Warrior Star Ruler Super House of Dead Ninjas Supreme Commander Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance TIS-100 The Cave They Bleed Pixels Titan Quest Titan Souls Tropico 4 Unreal Gold Unreal Tournament: GoTY Volgarr The Viking Wolfenstein: The New Order It looks like I spent a lot, but it was all pretty cheap.
1 minute
September 2015
Yahtzee On Everybodys Gone To The Rapture And Gone Home
Ben Croshaw on the problem with walking simulator games: Video games don’t have that very basic necessity - the ability to naturally control the pace of the story. There’s only so much the creator can do when ultimately the player is the one in control. If they had total freedom then they might just gazump all the way to the ending and miss boatloads of things that were all carefully placed to in some way pay the story off.
1 minute