Doctor Destiny

Hold on there, chief. I never said that being different constituted a good game on the basis of being different, just that people taking video gaming in new directions is not the problem. However, games that attempt new directions are a good thing even if they're not entirely polished. We just have to leave this notion behind that we cannot have art games, that games have to be like this or that and that are is not the opposite of fun. Whether it's your personal belief or not, you're wrong. And you're looking at the gaming industry in the most shallow way. Take a few minutes to look at the growing indie community, games on Kongregate or Steam Greenlight. There are hundreds of new games being released that are not your "standard fare." Just most of them fly under the radar. Even still, the "AAA" industry, which you're only looking at with the nostalgia glasses, is putting out gloriously incredible titles like Borderlands, The Last of Us, Bioshock, Fallout, GTA4, Dishonored and many others... are providing very captivating experiences. Not every game needs a budget north of ten million to be made. The fundamental flaw in the argument is that every game has to have action at every moment. Not every game needs to be God of War, Call of Duty or Battlefield. Try some web based MMOs or a game like Depression Quest. They're made on small budgets but they're compelling or they enrich your life when you leave the screen. I am not a mindless fanatic. I have seen gaming evolve since its infancy into what it is. It doesn't have the respect it deserves and people continually undermining the artistic merit it deserves drives me up a wall. Besides, I have a stronger connection with gaming than most people do so I want to see it move forward and people bitching that Dear Esther or Gone Home "aren't really games" doesn't help. People like that... I don't want them around.

Indie games do not hold exclusive rights to this either. You're kinda missing the point of the indie and "AAA" industries. Indie developers push for innovation and take more risks but those ideas are not as polished as they would otherwise be. The other side, with all that money, is the master of polish and some great works just require a big budget. "AAA" prefers not to have the risk whereas indie is okay with taking more chances. Both sides are good and have their merits. I don't want to see any big budget studio bashing from you either. Because I know how you can be. >.> Games with less interactivity are actually more risky than their counterparts. However, you're still missing the ****ing point because you're looking at games with a very shallow lens. They do not have to be the same thing over and over, which is exactly what Dear Esther, Gone Home and their contemporaries prove. Definitively. I don't understand people like you. You decry the "AAA" industry for never wanting to make anything new but when someone tries something different, you decry it for being different. If you're going to complain about everything, just quit playing games altogether. You'll save those of us who want to see the medium move forward and not be the same thing year after year a fair amount of headaches. You're doing a severe disservice to those who try something new by just dismissing it offhand while claiming that "it's not a game." It's time to face it: video gaming is not a toy. Video games are an emerging mass media with artistic merit and trying to show us that games can enrich our lives after we leave the computer or turn off the television. Inevitably, there will be "artsy" games just like we have art films, concept music albums or books that are written in styles we wouldn't often see. All in an attempt to further move that medium forward. It is time that video games do the same and that we all accept that art is not the opposite of fun!

I like the way you think, Zee. And I completely agree. The best series is entirely subjective and based upon the merit of the series in the player's eyes. Some might say Call of Duty is the best; or Halo; or Battlefield; or Fallout; or Bioshock; or Borderlands; or whatever series you can possibly think of! This is comparing apples to oranges and having a vegetable win. It's ridiculous at best.

I'm ambivalent on this one. I don't like Affleck much but he does have his moments. Loved his performance in Dogma so... I'll just see how things go I guess.

Not every game has to be based around combat, which is what it sounds like you're bitching about. The standards aren't getting lower, they're getting higher. Though, only marginally so since we're not demanding enough of development teams. Gone Home is not the problem. People caring about the medium and attempting new things are not the problem. People not caring enough will be the downfall of gaming as a whole. Gone Home is a step in the right direction. Not every game has to be the same and this proves it.

This shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the development process. It is not simple or quick to create an interactive experience that we laud as one of the greats. Developers are not lazy for attempting different approaches, especially if it presents what a game can become in a new or interesting way. It's fine if you don't like those types of artsy games, but to say that developers are lazy for trying a new approach or that they shouldn't be made is going to handicap the medium as a whole. However, when it comes to a game being art, the visuals and aesthetics are important but it's the emotions or feelings that the piece invokes that really drives the artistic expression of a piece. The reason we seek entertainment is engagement. If that's not your reason, you are doing it wrong. Very, very wrong.

Not perfect by any means but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

zocom, you're missing the point. Dear Esther is a different take on what a game can actually be. It may not be for you personally, but it's not less of a game because of it. In fact, it's a great example of expanding on what we can define as a game. It's also a great example of non-linear narrative. The problem is that people can't accept that games can be more than just combat. If you believe games like Dear Esther, Gone Home or Loneliness are bad for the medium, you're handicapping gaming as a form of artistic expression. Put simply: SHUT UP! It's fine not to play those games but saying they're not games is a sleight against the medium and a sleight against artists creating these works.

Does that make it acceptable? It's not acceptable and everyone knows it. There is free speech, but there is such a thing as propriety and tact. There's a place for slinging insults and that's on the playground in fifth grade. It's not for adults who know better and especially not for people to send death threats over things we call entertainment. Just because something is common doesn't mean it's okay.

Gearbox, as I recall, was handed Duke Nukem Forever after years of delays. They released a 1998 game in 2011 so of course it's not going to be very good by current standards. Hell, ACM is a 2008 game released in 2013 and it lacks the polish that other Gearbox titles received since they worked with two other studios and had years of delays. Gearbox delivers quality when they have their own people doing all, or most, of the work.

No. It needs to stop. This bull**** about "it's the Internet" is just a lame cop out. Gaming, as an emerging mass media, will never grow beyond a stereotype if this is what pervades the public consciousness. I can understand dissatisfaction, and it is entirely appropriate to express that in a level-headed, mature manner. Death threats over creative differences is a little much and should basically not be tolerated. Toxicity is bad for the community and bad for everyone really.

It's a pretty good deal. Pay $5 and get some good games for Steam or Origin...

It's kinda silly how Microsoft is handling this. They're going to lose for a while when the Xbox One launches.

In fairness, zocom7 does sometimes bring it on himself. Though, I do agree, this time, Plokite has gone a bit far.

Sounds similar to Steam or PSN. Just buy with real money instead of points. Good move on their part.

I don't think anyone, aside from Jets fans, really give a ****.

Hey, check that **** out. It works. Sweet. Thanks. [EDIT] Other mobile sites load fine. It was just this one and Revora... or any IPB based sites.

Not for me. If I change the theme on my phone, it applies it to my account and I get mobile on my tower. I just deal with it. Dunno why it doesn't default to mobile while I'm on my phone.

Not mine. It loads whatever theme I have chosen on my account.

The forums could default to mobile but short of that, it works. And lol... an iPhone. They're not even that great. I'd take an Android over anything iOS powered. I do like my Windows Phone though.

XP doesn't do the job anymore. :/

And nothing of value was lost with those titles.

Probably but you don't let the AI have those things or you give them a different version of the unit or building.

Even with Ares, it's still hardcoded. Anyhow... 1) CanPassiveAquire=no and probably IsBaseDefense=no. 2) Range=255. Range=-2 is a special case for non-combat weapons a la the Spy weapon. 3) See 1. 4) See 2. 5) Not possible.

That's so fake that I want to strangle someone.