Done with Aion China and other ruminations

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a. MMORPG, b. Console, d. Everything Else

August 5, 2009

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Buh-bye! See you soon!

Buh-bye! See you soon!

I decided today that I won’t be logging in again to the Chinese version of Aion Online. The game is a lot of fun, taken for what it is, but I’ve still decided to take a step back. The main reason for this is that the American release is looming ever nearer. I have a pre-order set with my local Gamestop and have plans to kick off the launch with Snafzg and the guys from Keen and Graev’s Gaming Blog. Coincidentally, is always looking for new members to join the community.

Even though I’ve had fun in the foreign version, I’m stepping back so I don’t spoil myself for the “real” game. The quests are standard Warcraft fare which, for me, means they’re repeatable but will lose their appeal a little more each time I complete them.  When I first decided to try out the game, it was to sample it and see if it was something I’d like. Once I decided it was, I wanted to familiarize myself with the quests, so I could speed up my leveling and keep up with the pack. I don’t know if I’ve done that but I know I like this game and want it to keep that “new” feeling once I’m actually playing the local version.  Plus, playing the Chinese version feels a little like playing a beta. In the end, I know that the character I’m working on will be abandoned, so anything I put in will ultimately amount to nothing.

Still, playing the Chinese version has left me all the more excited for the launch of US live. Aion has a different feeling than any other MMO I’ve played. It has this pleasant little Final Fantasy progression vibe to it and a level of polish that makes it endearing pretty quick. You have to work to progress but that work gets you somewhere. It gets you exp, cash, loot drops, and a better knowledge of the game which, really, should be the most important factor in how well you can do in any title.  In the end, I believe Aion will be a very solid title. It may not be for everyone, and it may bore others to tears, but I think that the people who like it will wind up liking it a lot and stay with it for a very long time.

Apart from that, I’ve discovered that I’m compulsive when it comes to buying new games. If you’ve followed the blog at all, you know that I have an Xbox 360 and a Nintendo DSi I routinely play alongside my current MMO. Looking over my collection of games, I’ve counted up 11 Xbox and 10 DS games, out of which I’ve played one all the way through (mainly out of time—it takes me a while to beat a game). I asked a buddy  recently whether he’d played the new Ghostbusters title. His response was “no, I have enough game to get through right now.” That’s when it hit me. I’m building my collection but I’m also making sure I won’t get too far into any one game without ignoring the rest.

I think the reason I’m so keen to pick up new games is because they represent a particular potential for me. Throughout my life as a gamer, there’s been several “wow” moments that stick out in my memory. I look back at games like Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Jetforce Gemini nostalgically because they created these moments.

When you get a good game, be it an MMO or a console game, they tend to just suck you in and hold you. During those times, you’re most vulnerable. The game grabs you by the wrist and pulls you through experiences and stories that touch you and stay with you long after you put the game down. That’s that potential I see in all of the games I buy. Even if they don’t always deliver, or it takes a while to get to that point, they’re really the reason I play all games. If it wasn’t for those moments in my past, I probably wouldn’t be writing this blog right now.

In MMOs, a lot of those experiences hinge on other people, which may be why so few of them click with the main stream.  WoW was able to do it but it also had the advantage of being early out of the gate. Now, there pool is much wider but also a lot more shallow too. There’s lots of games to play but it’s all too common that newbie areas  one or more of three key things: 1) lots of people; 2) lots of talkative and kind people; and, 3) a big wow factor.

It’s  those moments in awe that endear us to the games we love. Where that awe comes from varies from title to title but I think it’s evident that good graphics aren’t enough. Take a game like Everquest. It was hard, brutal by today’s standards. Yet, it was also a first for many of us. It created those experiences based on newness and by reward. Yes, some of the things that made people hate the game are also what made people love it. When you overcome challenge in an equation that is more than time+time=reward, you’re going to take more away. As a gamer.

And that’s more than just a new set of pixels for your avatar.

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Fun Fact: In Aion, you can become a raid boss

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a. MMORPG

August 3, 2009

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The current Abyss Point leader at any given time would have the ability to turn into a massive beast, the equivalent of a raid boss. That player would become far more powerful, but would also become enemy number one for opponents, the idea being that the current leader would change from player to player often. Sounds exciting! – Gamespy

I’ve been following Aion for awhile now and somehow this tidbit escaped me. It sounds neat, even though I don’t think I’ll ever wind up being that guy that gets to turn into a raid boss.  These things are best left to those without jobs, unfortunately. On the plus side, it should make for some great encounters.

I love the idea of PvPvE. The integration of the two gamestyles, the competition being made all the fiercer by the npc third faction, should make for some really exciting gameplay. I’m usually the type of gamer that enjoys optional pvp, the likes of which you have to queue for, and will generally choose a dungeon over a BG any day of the week. I have fun with both though, so Aion bringing me the best of both worlds has me excited.

I’m really interested to see how they westernize the leveling process though. Even though having the core of the game 25 levels in will act as great incentive to level, I’m still going to wind up behind my guild, making it all the more torturous to hear the battling on vent while I’m still clearing the banshees from the cemetary.

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Mortal Online: Tea-bagging? You wish.

Categories:

a. MMORPG, d. Everything Else

August 2, 2009

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I’m floored.

Really. Not only did I almost get caught looking at a naked man but I did so looking up information on a video game. Thank you to Keen for the tip.

Apparently, this news has been around for a while but Mortal Online, the upcoming PvP ultra-niche, plans on featuring full frontal nudity.

All daring development decisions aside, why?. I don’t get it. Are they including this to pull in the teen audience? If so, I’d like to know how many teenage boys really want to see a parade of wangs every time they go into a major city. Maybe Star Vault never saw the rampant homophobia happened in Darkfall’s chat.

Still, the appeal of virtual boobies and cha-chas might lure some of them in. It worked for Conan, after all, and we all know how that turned out.

Maybe it’s meant to set them apart and really earn their M-rating. By the time you’re done with Mortal Online, you’ll be so mature you’ll feel nostalgic for the days when tea-bagging was still PG-13.

You know, the thing is, I really don’t mind the idea of full nudity. That in itself doesn’t bother me since, realistically, you’ll wind up getting used to it and even if you don’t, the “nudity” is just a few tiny pixels that should be easy to ignore. It’s just that when you consider the main audience that will enjoy a hardcore-PvP game I see too much potential for to have it shoved in your face… no pun intended. Naked mail box jumping. Naked auction house jumping. Naked combat jumping. The list goes on.

Taken from the official forums:

“Do you think that it’s likely that some enterprising player(s) will form a guild, or build a tavern, or such, with topless waitresses, dancing, etc?”

As always, an enterprising bunch. In answer to the question, probably. And I’m sure a bunch of adolescent boys will make a point to visit these places every time they get the chance. Me? I’ll avoid the breathy kid in the corner, thanks.

Yet, someone sees reason a little further down the page.

“Ugh, taking cybering out of the /tells and into tangible parts of the games… I can just see there’ll be cybering shops now, people hanging out, drooling over each other’s avatars, before going up to a room and doing the deed…..”

“The deed” as defined by Not Just Another Love Story. Still his prediction rings true. What’s that Mom? No, I’m not on that site again! It’s a video game! No, don’t cut the cord! Mooooooooom!

Besides, if full nude had a place in MMOs, videos like this would never be made.



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There and Back Again, an Achievement Whore’s Tale

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b. Console

July 31, 2009

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I can say that all of my gaming falls between two categories, MUDs and console gaming (XBox 360, and Wii)

My life as a gamer began as just a 4 year old little boy glued to the TV playing Super Mario Brothers on the NES and eating Lucky Charms (I now eat Frosted Flakes).  I found myself to be quite good at these games and was fond of many other NES titles such as Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros 3 (an all time favorite) and Castlevania.  As the years moved on I progressed with Nintendo obtaining an SNES, several of the various Game Boy incarnations (starting with the original brick) and then of course – one of my greatest obsessions, the N64.  Games by standards back then were much different than now, it isn’t very often that I think about the reason as to what made these games so great that years later, I frequently find myself playing them on the Wii’s Virtual Console.  These games told stories, they immersed you in places you could only dream up and challenged you to use every resource your brain had available.  I see those days as the Golden Age of gaming.  Games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is in my opinion – the greatest game ever to be created.  I did own a Game Cube and a PS2 after that as well, but as the time went by my interest slowly faded.

Over a year ago I found myself in South Korea on a military assignment, there for an entire year.  In trying to make the year go by I turned my attention back to gaming.  I had all ready purchased a Wii prior to arriving but I needed something more time consuming as most Wii games will only hold your attention for an hour at best.  I turned to the 360.  I thought that I had really fallen in love with gaming again, I played all the time – games like Grand Theft Auto 4, Call of Duty 4, Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed, Dead Space and more – all of them are really great games.  This phase of intense gaming lead me to create a podcast called Game Seers and then later an entire video game podcast network! [Vagary.TV] – I produced over 36 episode of Game Seers but my enthusiasm slowly but surely began to fade.  I only recently have realized why.

My primary draw to the 360 was Achievement Points – I couldn’t get enough of them.  I even played games that sucked just for points!  I was a complete Achievement Whore!  These may be fun hunting down and trying to get them but there is a dark secret about these things…  They are compensation.  Think about it, how many times did you play classics like Ocarina of Time or Final Fantasy 7 after you beat it?  If you are like me, you can’t even begin to count and there were no achievement points!  Now – how many times do you turn back and play an XBox game after you beat it?  Probably not at all, unless its to get achievement points.  It dawned on me, the old games didn’t need achievement points – they were just really great games!  Sure, GTA4 is fun – but is it great?  Places like IGN gave it a 10 – but is a 10?  I don’t think so…  Achievement points are essentially developers admitting upfront, “You won’t want to replay this game so at least try to get some achievements.”  The points are nothing more than a virtual dick waving contest.  You can’t buy anything with them so what is the point?  I’m not trying to say that new consoles suck or anything, but just pose something to think about.  Do you really love the games of today the way you loved games as a child?  I know I sure don’t.  If you’re a young person now playing these games and never experienced the classics when they released then I feel sorry that you missed out but I implore you to put graphics aside and try some of these games.  They are outstanding!

Until next time,
Ryan K.

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Before there was WoW, there were MUDs

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a. MMORPG

July 31, 2009

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Depending on which definition you read, MUD stands for either Multi-User-Domain or Dungeon. Their origins go back to 1976 when Adventure which was programmed on a computer likely running with a Dorito processor. This was a dungeons and dragons themed (D&D) text based game where users played by entering commands into the game to perform actions and reading descriptions. The following year Zork came out on the ARPANET (great grand father of that thing we call the Internet) – this was the first Multi-User game that people could dial into the ARPANET and play together. Much like WoW of today MUDs also had a reputation of consuming people’s lives. At their height of their popularity some of them were even pay-to-play and made even more money than WoW in subscription fees. MUDs of more modern day are connected to via TELNET (built into all operating systems) or more sophisticated MUD clients which support an array of different things.

And now, here’s how I come into this:

In 1999 the Internet was still a relatively new and exciting thing to my friends and I. One of the people outside of my group of friends began playing a MUD – this gradually spread like wildfire and soon there were about 30 of us playing in our area. I spent the next 4 years playing it, ignoring other graphical online games just because I had so much fun and enjoyed it with all my friends. We always would tell stories of our exploits either killing other players or completeing quests, or our tragic down falls to some super NPC or even sometimes bitch to each other when one of us killed the other. I always look back at that period of my life fondly, you could no doubt about it label me a geek.

Sometime in 2002 – our beloved game went offline without much warning. We were all in shock – some of us began to bide our time, some of us went off to find new MUDs and then there was my friend Chris and I. Sometime in June 2002, we pushed off the shore in his dad’s canoe with a notebook and brains bursting with ideas. Together we drafted our initial idea for a game at that point we called “Mystic Shadows” – this was great and all but neither of us knew the first thing about creating one of these games or the language that was used to make them. It was later on in that summer I began to press myself to learn C, and after finding a suitable code base to build up from I began to slowly but surely make the changes to the code and add in the features we had discussed. In the fall, “Mystic Shadows” would occasionally go online from my Windows 98SE box for a few hours a night on the weekend and my friends would come in and play and give me feedback. Surprisingly, there was little bad feedback.

Around this time the game I mentioned that inspired me to work on this came back online – and is still online to this day, it is nearly 20 years old now!

I continued to write areas along with friends and put it all together until February 2002 we finally went online live as “Realm of Shadows”! Within the first few hours people began to pour in, I think it was one of the proudest moments of my life. Looking back on what the game was then compared to what it would be later after I continued to improve my skills, it was really not that impressive – I think one of our hugest successes was to have such a dedicated and friendly staff there to help people when they needed it.

From February 2003 – until January 2006 I spent thousands of hours working on making the game better and better. The game was doing fairly well, much better than several other games I had seen and before it was over I even inspired a spin-off which still is online today running large portions of my code.

The doors were closed in January 2006 due to my increasingly busy life. Being a firm supporter of the Open Source movement, I put my code where my mouth was and released it to the public.

3 years passed. I often would think back on those days very fondly and how exciting it was to run to the library to check in on my world and see how everything was going. I’ve made many friends, met many people and learned so much – and as I mentioned, spent thousands of hours on it. I literally have 5,440 hours in game alone.

On July 1st 2009, the code base for Realm of Shadows was dusted off, recompiled and fired up again after buying my old domain name back and tracking down a new host. It is open to the public and has been seeing steady amounts of new players coming in daily.

For those of you who used to play this type of game maybe when you were just a teen like me – or those who have no idea what it was like before WoW – I invite you to come over and play with me! I look forward to seeing you there!

Realm of Shadows

Edit: The date ROS went online was February 2002, not 2003.

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What’s the deal Cryptic?

Categories:

a. MMORPG, b. Console

July 30, 2009

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What’s with the silence Cryptic? I’m not much of a super-hero fan but Champions Online had me intrigued. No, not because it’s a new AAA MMO but because it’s a new AAA MMO for my console. I love PC games, I do, but there’s something appealing about the idea of becoming engrossed in a game from the lushness of my couch cushions. That’s where my butt groove is. Didn’t you ever watch the Simpsons?

I’m really hoping this game still releases for the Xbox 360. They haven’t said anything about not releasing it for the 360, or delaying it, but, if I were them, I’d be promoting its imminent release  like wild– if it were ready. After all, an MMO offers something SRPGs don’t. There’s a special appeal that could catch with the masses of ravenous Xbox fans out there.

So why haven’t they made mention of it in forever? I’m going to bet that, at very least, the console version gets delayed. Remember that other PC game that said they were releasing on the 360? And what’s their story now? They have other items higher up on the priority food chain. Let’s hope Champions Online does a little better and has a few less priorities before meeting their release promises.

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Should I Buy: Korg-DS10 – Nintendo DS

Categories:

b. Console, f. Reviews

July 29, 2009

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Let me start off by saying that this is not a game. That being said, it is a wonderful piece of software to add to your DS library… if you have an interest in making music. That’s what this “game” is: a music making tool.

Korg: MS-10 - the real life equivalent of the DS-10

Korg: MS-10 - the real life equivalent of the DS-10

Korg-DS10 is modeled after the Korg-MS10, a popular synthesizer released in the mid 1970’s. Effectively, they’ve packaged the whole of that technology and put it into a portable DS cartridge for you to play with on the go.

The game is more than just a keyboard though. It’s also a sequencer. For those of you who aren’t sure what that means, it effectively lets you record 16 beats (represented by boxes a little red dot moves across) per “pattern” and then string them together by clicking with your stylus, as a whole, this can be used to make a complete song.

Korg-DS10 is also fully customizable. Each beat may have two keyboard tracks and a drum track, so you can layer things nicely. On top of that, you can select from a wide array of 21 stock keyboard tones and about 16 or so drum tones. This lets you customize the song and achieve that certain “feel” you may be going for.

Apart from that, the game also features a control unit that lets you alter the sound further by connecting your keyboard to different sound ports, each able to be modified with control knobs that can vastly alter the sound.

Switch between views by pressing the left trigger

Switch between views by pressing the left trigger

Sound like a bit much? It is. This game is a beast and has a steep learning curve. The instruction manual doesn’t do a lot to introduce you to the game or it’s controls. However, like many good things in life, the best way to learn is to dive right in. In truth, you don’t really have to know what each knob does or controls.  It’s fully possible to just move things around until you get the sound you’re looking for. Still, a little background knowledge is, I’m sure, very helpful.

Graphically, this title offers virtually nothing. The best you’re getting here is a 2D keyboard. Most of your time will probably be spent working with the beat grid as well, which is a grid of squares you’ll fill in to choose when notes play.

Most importantly, how does it play? Fairly well. All of the notes and beats are plotted on the grid mentioned above by simply touching them with your stylus. You get instant feedback on how it sounds by allowing your track to play in a loop in the background. Doesn’t sound good? Touch the note with a stylus to remove it and then touch the next another one (higher or lower depending on what pitch you want) until you find the right pitch. Want a longer note? Slide your stylus to the right the amount of beats you want the note held.

It is important to point out that the game does limit you to normal synthesizer tones and beats. It would have been nice if they’d included some more modern keyboard tones but, then again, that’s not really what this was about. Still, the DS-10 is ideally suited towards creating techno beats and psychedelic rhythms.

The process of creation is what’s most fun about the game. Because each pattern is generally short, you’ll have to make new patterns to go along with them to make the full song work.  Once you have something you’re happy with, you can go to the pattern screen and simply click on each pattern to play it through, lacing them together at your whim. After playing through it this way, it’s not hard to imagine why some people use the Korg-DS10 as a tool during live performances.

What I really love about this game is that it lets even those with no musical background create music in a fun and, after a little practice, simple way. As a musician and amateur songwriter myself, I appreciate having a portable tool to capture little melodies that may pop into my heard from time to time, too.

Overall, I think Korg-DS10 is a strong application and a bargain buy. Players wanting a real “game” experience should stay away from this one. Those of you that’d like to do something unconventional yet thoroughly enjoyable with your DS, I highly recommend picking it up. This is the kind of software that gives new meaning to handheld consoles. This title gives your DS another purpose, makes it a tool, and I never thought I’d see anything like it. Try it. After all, even if you pick this game up and only play it when you’re bored, it was still only a $20 or less investment.

This video sums it upper better than I can in a review. Check it out.

Gameplay: 8/10 –This was hard to rate because there’s not much actual “game”play. Still, it offered a lot of what it’s offering, so I ranked it up.
Functionality: 10/10
Graphics: 1/10
Sound: 10/10
Replayability: 8/10 – Even though the customizablity of the sounds is top notch, it would have been nice to move away from the “techno” feel a bit more. Hopefully Korg releases another version of the game with some newer tones.
Overall: 74% – Good game.

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[Guide] How to Lower Your Latency: a Compendium

Categories:

a. MMORPG, g. Guides

July 29, 2009

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Introduction:

I originally compiled this guide in December of 2008. At the time, I was heavily playing World of Warcraft during a period when latency issues abounded due to Lake Wintergrasp. On top of this, a certain ISP *cough* Comcast *cough* was also causing a lot of issues based on their own internal designs. Yet, even though Comcast customers had it worst, they weren’t the only folks suffering from ping-stress. I, as a Roadrunner customer in Western New York, suffered to. Strangely, it was only in instances where my computer had to trace a different path to connect to the game.

As a mage, the high latency made playing effectively almost impossible. So, I searched and scoured and scrounged though the interwebs until I uncovered every tip and trick I could find. Wanting to avoid going through that hassle again, and hoping to help others steer clear of it too, I put this together in the hopes that MMORPG’ers everywhere might benefit.

I’ve left the guide in its original form. Somehow, I feel that it captures the mood in which it was written better than an introduction would be able 🙂

If you have a tip or trick that’s not included below, please email me at admin@gamebynight.com. Enjoy!

Read the rest of this entry »

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Welcome to Game by Night!

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d. Everything Else

July 28, 2009

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Hello and welcome to Game by Night, a blog about gaming, media, life, and roses, presented to you with a refreshing, candid, perspective.  Some of you may be coming here from another blog. Others may have stumbled through the webbing of your favorite search engine’s nets. In either case, we hope you’ll stay for a while and be our guest.

Why would you do that, you ask? Well, honestly, because I really really want you to. Really though, we’re here to offer you our opinion on anything and everything we come across in the gaming world, and the geek and not-so-geek media. Myself, I’m a veteran of several MMORPGs and have a passion for the genre. Yet, myself and others are also involved in the console communities, so you can expect articles on that as well. We aim to provide you with insightful topics for your mental digestion. We intend to provide reviews and guides. We’re even planning on providing short, serialized,  fiction for those of you that enjoy it.

More than anything though, we want to entertain you. I know personally the dreariness that is the day-to-day work-a-job life. Isn’t it nice to have something else to think about while you’re shackled to your cubicle or stripper pole? I thought so. Hopefully, this place and the discussion we bring forth will provide that for you. And, if not, we hope it can be a brief interlude for the pleasant times, an escape for bad times (like when the wife/husband is getting your goat), and a resource for every other.

As our tagline suggests, we’ve been gamers for a long time. Hopefully, that means we can put our years of experience into our posts here, and come out with a refreshing look at the topics of the day. I’m not going to promise we’ll write about any one thing more than the other but our central focus will always be gaming.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the writer’s of this site, click on the Contributors link over to your left.

We hope to see you again!

— Chris

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