gdp's Comments

MMOMFG : City of Heroes launches Issue 16

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:21:06 +0000

I meant kid as in a baby goat.

MMOMFG : Check out Borderlands skill trees early

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:49:00 +0000

Kid you need to chill. I promise everything will be okay.

MMOMFG : Check out Borderlands skill trees early

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:20:15 +0000

If you're going to insult someone on a video game website, try knowing the English language first.

MMOMFG : The Official MMOMFG Aion Preview

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 06:07:25 +0000

(continued because of length) My point is that it seems to me that for some you, the ends justify the means i.e. you're fine with grinding because you like what it leads to. For me, the means is more important than then ends. I don't care about what I get, I care about what I do. I believe there are better ways to advance players in MMORPG's than grinding, but I think right now most developers focus on the end rewards rather than the mechanism that gets players to those rewards. I don't think leveling in MMORPG's should be easy. They should definitely be challenging. But grinding isn't challenging. It's easy, but boring. The challenge lies in tolerating it long enough to get rewarded. That's not how games should work.

MMOMFG : The Official MMOMFG Aion Preview

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:58:24 +0000

I think some of you are mistaking me for a WoW player--believe me, I am not. I've even written an article about my issues with grinding in WoW on this site (http://mmomfg.com/2009/08/grinding-caught-in-the-... I really don't care about WoW, and haven't played it consistently in a couple of years. You're saying the same thing nightbloom said though: "Grinding hasn't really bothered me personally." But do you enjoy it? Do you like grinding? Or do you just tolerate it because you like other parts of the game (in this case, Aion). You said grinding bothers people that like to race through a game and not enjoy it, but guess what? I don't enjoy grinding! It sucks. Killing 10 of enemy X over and over again is not fun. Collecting 10 of item X over and over again is not fun. And then you say that having the same start zone is good because you know what to expect and can get through the zone faster. Aren't you the one racing through the game?

MMOMFG : The Official MMOMFG Aion Preview

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:29:11 +0000

Instant gratification for success in a game isn't necessary, but instant gratification for enjoyment in a game is a priority.

MMOMFG : The Official MMOMFG Aion Preview

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:26:51 +0000

What I'm saying is that I don't think powering through a grind is an achievement, it's a tolerance. Western MMO's have problems with grinds as well. Developers should be more creative than that when designing games. Taking out the grind and making a game easy are not mutually exclusive. Also, that graph doesn't say much at this point. It's only natural that there would be spike when the game comes out in the U.S. Wait a few months and check the graph again. If Aion is still up there, you have a valid point. For reference, here is a similar graph using Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, which came out in September of 2008: http://www.google.com/trends?q=World+of+Warcraft%... Back to my original question, you said you don't find the grind boring or negative, but do you enjoy grinding?

MMOMFG : The Official MMOMFG Aion Preview

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:03:29 +0000

So do you enjoy the grind, or see it as a tolerable means to an end? Certainly there are more productive ways to challenge, or 'weed out' as you say, players that don't involve boring them to death. That's like making a show where the first part is super boring and trying to reward viewers who had the time to suffer through it and hope it got more interesting. I'm not saying that western MMOs are better about this, but I will never think of grinding as anything but a negative. If you want to weed out players, make it too hard for them. That's at least something to be more proud of for players who do make it to higher levels.

MMOMFG : The Official MMOMFG Aion Preview

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:47:08 +0000

That's actually a really good point Fred. While I think the graphics are very crisp and well rendered, they come off as pretty vanilla.

MMOMFG : Roundtable: Graphics in games?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:22:41 +0000

I'd say that's a big stretch. You'd have to make some pretty hefty connections between the two regarding a natural game play evolution from 2D to 3D (if that makes any sense). Besides, JW's point was that MGS wouldn't work in 2D, which is true. MG is a completely separate game. MG may have lead to some of the ideas in MGS, but they weren't ideas that required 2D graphics. That just happened to be the technology at the time.

MMOMFG : Roundtable: Graphics in games?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:11:12 +0000

I would say no, it would not be as good. I made a flawed argument during the Round Table with my Castlevania example. Was Castlevania 64 as good as SOTN? No. But it was not because it was 3D, and if a 3D Castlevania got made by say, Bioware, I can pretty much guarantee it would be awesome and more compelling than a 2D Castlevania.

MMOMFG : Roundtable: Graphics in games?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:57:35 +0000

I'm not denying that, but will a good game in 3D be as good if it's made 2D?

MMOMFG : Roundtable: Graphics in games?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:46:32 +0000

What can you say the same thing about 3D games? I'm not sure what you're referring to. I don't think anybody is turning their backs on anything. But when flying cars come out, I have a feeling that fewer and fewer manufacturers will be be making ground cars because people won't buy them. And just because I think muscle cars from the 60's and 70's are totally cool still doesn't mean that businesses should waste their time on them when they will make a ton more money selling flying cars. I like 2D games because I think the art and graphics look really good, not because I think being able to move in only 2 axes is a superior concept. Moving in 3D dimensions will always be more compelling. And right now, what you can do outweighs how it looks, because developers can make really slick 3D graphics just as easily. The issue here is that when you get right down to it, 2D and 3D graphics from an aesthetic standpoint are probably evenly matched, but 3D spatial quality, as Brandon put it, kicks the crap out of 2D spatial quality, so the net 3D value is higher. And I think it is incorrect to say that anyone is turning their back because that presumes that this has to do with anything more than dollars signs. What was the last major 2D game you played that you really had a great time playing?

MMOMFG : Roundtable: Graphics in games?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:40:06 +0000

I'm actually going to agree with Brandon on this one. It's not really sad, it's just the way it is. It's not like you guys don't play 3D video games, and it's not like 2D video games don't get made. It's just that the big developers don't usually make them. When they do, they probably don't get huge returns on them. It's not like Konomi is saying "We don't like 2D games." But from a business point of view, it isn't smart to make them. Personally, I love 2D games, but it's because I love 2D art. I can get that both inside and outside of gaming still, just not from big developers.

MMOMFG : Battlefield Intelligence: How Casual is Too Casual?

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:49:46 +0000

The problem is that Blizzard is mistaking making WoW casual-friendly with making the game casual-biased. As a casual gamer, I should not expect to have the best gear in a game that revolves around having better gear than other people. I just don't play enough, and if I want better gear, I should play more. Personally, I just want to be able progress without having to kill 5,000 murlocs (even though they deserve it).