gaming

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How Many Times Can We Get Them To Buy It?

With recent repacking and re-releases of old titles, what are the most egregious examples of bringing out the same versions of games for that yankee dollar?

  • Final Fantasy X. I own that game four times over. First PS2 disc got scratched, so I bought another (nothing to do with corporate greed, but it explains the four); I bought the remaster on PS3 then a couple of years later got it again for ps4. – AGMacdonald 7 years ago
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Subway Syndrome: The Drawbacks of Choice

Explore a phenomenon I've dubbed "Subway Syndrome" (Yes, like the sandwich), as it relates to the choice-heavy model for gaming.

Subway, Chipotle, and choose-your-own-ingredients restaurants give you so many options that you're bound to make a mistake. Add jalapeños and mustard to your tuna? Sure! Sounds great! Throw some ranch and honey on your tortilla soup. Eventually modification leads you to mistake and regret. "Why did I choose this? I should have gotten the BBQ. Why did I add this? I shouldn't have put so many weird flavors here."

How does the potential for regret affect the multi-choice gaming model? In what ways does modification and the opportunity to customize your experience create drawbacks or detract from what could be a solid core/well-crafted story/canon/writing? How does it impact your experience as a user?

Much has been said (even by me) of the benefits of choose-your-own adventure games. Can someone play Devil's Advocate?

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    Are Gamers a Groundbreaking form of Entertainer/Entertainment?

    With the rise of many YouTube gaming personalities such as PewDiePie, Markiplier and Jacksepticeye, the idea of not have to personally purchase a game appeals to millions of people. Sitting down and watching someone else play a game, for many, is an ideal way to see what the current gaming scene is like, and a way to keep themselves occupied and entertained. My question is, are gamers a groundbreaking new form of entertainment as a new set of entertainers? They contrast with in-person comedians and live shows in that their work can be replayed and still be exactly the same, but this form of entertainment is different than the traditional idea. Are these gamers the new face of entertainment?

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      Is Gaming the Future of Films? Or are Films the Future of Games?

      As Games have evolved, they become more and more cinematic. Cutscenes that are directed using filmaking knowledge, and interactive series such as 'The Walking Dead' and 'The Wolf Among Us' are essentially interactive choose-your-own-adventure films. So my question is this- as Films yearn to draw the audience in more and more through interactivity, will they start to become much like games- or is the age of games over? Is the future of CoD an interactive action film with occasional quick-time segments?

      • Awesome topic. You should use the game Night Trap to show how games and movies can interact. – TheTylerHudson 9 years ago
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      • I've actually thought about this myself. It's almost like both, film and games, are missing something. In games, we are slightly deprived of a filmmaker's vision, but that vision or voice can sometimes steer people away. On the flip side, some viewers are intrigued by a filmmaker's vision more than they the film's subject matter. In film, we are unable to physically interact. Being able to physically interact versus a filmmaker drawing you into his/her film might be an interesting angle. It almost seems like there is no reason why we, the viewer, aren't granted the opportunity to be a part of a film. Having that interaction might be what gives the viewer a true connection with a film and its subject matter. Further, games aren't as linear as they once were. Some games have multiple endings, while others have no defined ending. – MDanielewski 9 years ago
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      • This is an incredibly interesting topic. Games and films are both consistently in the eye of society, and the both of them can be seen as partners of the other. So many of these things can slide seamlessly into the other, which could spark a pretty decent debate. Personally, I think the majority of society likes the idea of seeing a game follow a film, because then they can live with and as the characters they fell in love with during the movie. – briannahardy 9 years ago
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      • This is an interesting topic and I would say that games might outlive films. Cinematic displays and the filmmakers vision are constantly being incorporated into games; Halo and Final Fantasy are excellent examples of this. It's interesting because both fields are dynamic, yet games seem more likely to wither than film, as film seems to be a constant staple of popular culture. Yet, if gaming integrates more elements of film into its production, it almost seems desirable that people could choose to interact with cinematic games more in the long run, whereas film is not interactive. If anything a merger of the two mediums could be interesting, such as Scorsese directing the new Halo. – JamesNeff 9 years ago
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      Published

      The Unbeatable Smash Brothers

      Why are Nintendo games so hard to replicate? Smash Bros, in particular, seems to have created and monopolized an entire genre. With a game that performs so well commercially and critically it's hard to believe that there aren't a ton of pretenders, maybe even a couple that enrich the formula! What attempts have been made? Why don't they work? And what is Nintendo's secret sauce?

      • I think it's a little ironic this topic would come up since the new game Rivals of Aether just went out on early access yesterday. It's a game which is simple, pixel style and replicates Smash Melee greatly. There is a great uproar over it, everyone is excited and are giving positive feedback. Though some try to call it a rip off because it seems more simplistic in style and number of playable characters, Rivals of Aether has added more mechanics to the game, bringing more to competitive play options. As time goes on maybe this article could follow it's success or failure to live up to Smash's standards. – Slaidey 9 years ago
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      • Something that really helps nintendo is the amount of polish they put into every major game they make. They have incredible amounts of detail to each game to make it better for the player. Sometomes they have to sacrifice something to get that polish (usually graphics and resolution) but they always make up for it in other ways (artstyle and consistant running speed) – Cojo 9 years ago
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