Based on my history with the EQ series, I have high hopes for a re-envisioned version of the original. I feel like EQ has the potential to bring me everything I want in an MMO. Here's why I feel that, for a few reasons anyway:
1) They popularized all of this. That's not to discredit Ultima Online or any predecessors, but EQ got this ball rolling that WoW engulfed. Since they started it, and I know I liked a lot of what they did, I know they have my interests in mind.
2) Unlike WoW, they don't need to appeal to the masses. They don't need to make the game so ridiculously accessible and simple to the point of annoyance. By being a niche MMO, granted it's a pretty huge niche when compared with some other MMO's, they can give the community exactly what they desire.
3) Even though they got off track, they still have the traditional D&D thing going for them. WoW is all over the map, in its own little world of hypocrisy in regards to storyline. At least I know EQ's re-envisioned story is likely to get more on track. After all, that's probably part of the reason they feel such a desire to redo EQ1 rather than go onto EQ3.
4) Nostalgia, which ties in with the story, is unmatchable by any other MMO. That's not to say the nostalgia for new players of WoW will feel the same way. I'm simply saying that the nostalgia of replaying the original EQ all over, through a different perspective, will be fun. The places in EQ feel like a distant world I'm very familiar with. The zones aren't just zones, but places I've been before.
5) They've already stated they want to get their old community back. I feel they need to bring the best MMO to the market to do that. If they're really serious about getting their community back, they'll make a fantastic game.
Now, here are a few reasons I'm worried:
1) WoW sets the tone for MMO's. They took what EQ did wrong and made it into the standard. They didn't incorporate everything EQ did, but they definitely took over the industry. My worry is that they'll conform to everything WoW has done, in an effort to influence new players to join.
2) I worry the community will never match what it was. I fear they'll spread their own player-base so thin by having three different MMOs that it'll fail to really establish itself as THE mmo to play. If people are still playing EQ1, it's hard to believe they'll influence them if they haven't already done that with EQ2. I can see the same thing happening to EQ2 players who have characters established.
3) Lastly, I worry they will release the game but screw up major components, essentially failing completely. MMO's are very complex games. Screwing up even one component can drive away the fans. For example, what if everything is freaking amazing, yet they have a terrible PVP system. That'd be unacceptable due to the fact that WoW has set the standard. This leads back to point 1.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Got Cheese?
After spending some time last night playing some NHL 09 online, I got thinking about the subject of cheesing in video games. Now I know that it's probably going to exist, as long as people have the ability to do it. Is it feasible to tie up every single loose end when it comes to cheeses inside sports video games? Probably not. After all, it's just computer AI at the end of the day. It's only as smart as the people who program it. This gave me an idea on how to handle cheesers in the online arena.
What if there were a
mark next to every player who's been voted as a cheeser. This mark would show up on the leader boards (almost like *Barry Bonds). It would also display during the match creation screen, when picking teams. This way, if you didn't want to play a cheeser, you could simply back out before the game started. I think it'd punish cheesers enough that people may reconsider doing that backwards-breakaway goal in NHL 09, or the S-move in the old 2k hockey series. Who would seriously want to play a cheeser in a ranked match if they knew the other player's playing style going in? Most people prefer to play a straight up game, regardless of the sport.
Now, you may think that players would just begin giving bad "cheeser ratings" simply because they lost. Maybe this is true, maybe it's not. This is why I think the ratings should be weighted based on the person giving the review. If the person is ranked high, with very little cheeser marks on his/her name, their vote at the end of the game would hold a lot of weight. If you're low ranked, and you have a bunch of cheeser hits yourself, your vote counts for a lot less. I believe the weighted votes from higher ranked players who've shown that they don't cheese can recognize a cheeser as good as anyone. I also believe they want the game clean, so they wouldn't just give someone a cheeser mark because they lost the game. If I lose to someone in a legit manner, I'll be the first one to say how good of a game they played.
To get even more specific to NHL 09, and how to fix the problem, I'll lay down an even more detailed idea. The EASHL is known for tons of cheese. It has almost ruined the league. Division 1 in the EASHL holds the title of "cheeseheads" more than Green Bay, Wisconsin. What if, like above, there were marks next to every team that accrues more than "x" percent of players on their team marked as cheesers. So, at the end of each game, you're given a list of all the opponents that you played against. Again, you mark the ones who cheesed. You can also mark if they played a good game, to add weight to that opponents future votes towards other cheesers out there. If they played a good game, you say "non-cheeser." From that point forward, that player holds more weight with his vote. When starting up a new EASHL ranked game, it will show the mark next to their name at the match-ups screen before entering the game. Simply back out if you don't want to play a cheesing team.
I know it's not the perfect solution, but I think it'd help crack down on the cheese that ruins so many online games. Who wants to have a cheese asterisks next to their name or teams name? It'd be a permanent scar on the face of your online identity. If you got it, you earned it. It's that simple. You didn't just accidentally earn that cheese mark next to your name or team. Someone with a credible opinion voted you as one. I'm sorry if nobody wants to play with you anymore. Perhaps another cheeser would like to play with you, as that's about all you'd have left after you received that mark.
Enjoy your new mark, cheeser!
What if there were a
mark next to every player who's been voted as a cheeser. This mark would show up on the leader boards (almost like *Barry Bonds). It would also display during the match creation screen, when picking teams. This way, if you didn't want to play a cheeser, you could simply back out before the game started. I think it'd punish cheesers enough that people may reconsider doing that backwards-breakaway goal in NHL 09, or the S-move in the old 2k hockey series. Who would seriously want to play a cheeser in a ranked match if they knew the other player's playing style going in? Most people prefer to play a straight up game, regardless of the sport.Now, you may think that players would just begin giving bad "cheeser ratings" simply because they lost. Maybe this is true, maybe it's not. This is why I think the ratings should be weighted based on the person giving the review. If the person is ranked high, with very little cheeser marks on his/her name, their vote at the end of the game would hold a lot of weight. If you're low ranked, and you have a bunch of cheeser hits yourself, your vote counts for a lot less. I believe the weighted votes from higher ranked players who've shown that they don't cheese can recognize a cheeser as good as anyone. I also believe they want the game clean, so they wouldn't just give someone a cheeser mark because they lost the game. If I lose to someone in a legit manner, I'll be the first one to say how good of a game they played.
To get even more specific to NHL 09, and how to fix the problem, I'll lay down an even more detailed idea. The EASHL is known for tons of cheese. It has almost ruined the league. Division 1 in the EASHL holds the title of "cheeseheads" more than Green Bay, Wisconsin. What if, like above, there were
marks next to every team that accrues more than "x" percent of players on their team marked as cheesers. So, at the end of each game, you're given a list of all the opponents that you played against. Again, you mark the ones who cheesed. You can also mark if they played a good game, to add weight to that opponents future votes towards other cheesers out there. If they played a good game, you say "non-cheeser." From that point forward, that player holds more weight with his vote. When starting up a new EASHL ranked game, it will show the mark next to their name at the match-ups screen before entering the game. Simply back out if you don't want to play a cheesing team.I know it's not the perfect solution, but I think it'd help crack down on the cheese that ruins so many online games. Who wants to have a cheese asterisks next to their name or teams name? It'd be a permanent scar on the face of your online identity. If you got it, you earned it. It's that simple. You didn't just accidentally earn that cheese mark next to your name or team. Someone with a credible opinion voted you as one. I'm sorry if nobody wants to play with you anymore. Perhaps another cheeser would like to play with you, as that's about all you'd have left after you received that mark.
Enjoy your new mark, cheeser!
What Have We Learned From This Generation of Sports Gaming?
As time progresses, so do the advancements in our sports games we love. Each generation of consoles consist of copious classic iterations, slowly building upon the success of their predecessors. We all care deeply about the direction these games move in, which is clear by virtue of us all being here at Operation Sports. Now, let's take a look at some of the lessons the sports gaming industry hopefully has learned from with the most recent jump to our current generation of consoles.
It is possible to bring success from one generation to another.
While there have been numerous titles that haven't been able to recover from the jump to a new console generation, MLB: The Show has shown us how it's possible to do so. MLB: The Show took a great game from the PS2, built upon its success, and transitioned it nicely to the next generation. There were a few hangups in the first year on the PS3, but it was still considered to be a very exceptional game. Bounce forward a couple years and it's still considered to be the best baseball game in town.
Graphics are good, Game-play is better.
Few would argue that the Madden series experienced some growing pains moving into this current generation of consoles. With the pressure of their newly purchased exclusivity of the NFL license, combined with the typical barriers that come with building a game from the ground up for a new generation, Madden suffered. It wasn't until last year where the game really began to regather itself. Back in Madden 2005, the series was on track. It had serious competition, but EA put out a very respectable game themselves. The game-play was chopped way down in order to put out a new game on the Xbox 360 that year. Many features were missing, leaving much to be desired in the eyes of Madden fans, and 2k fans alike. Graphics look great, but a dumbed down version of the game is not what we want.
Thinking back, another game comes to mind here. Although, the outcome of this series was a little better off the get go. NBA 2k6 boasted some of the prettiest graphics to be seen on a console at the time of its release. The sweat dripping of Shaq was almost too good to be true at the time. The difference with the NBA 2k series was that it still brought the game-play.
A straight port isn't sufficient.
The NHL 2k series is guilty of this when they ported NHL 2k6 over to the Xbox 360. After receiving a perfect 10 from Operation Sports for the Xbox edition, the 360 edition did almost nothing to improve other than introduce Crease Control and bring the game to 1080i. It was still a fantastic game, but it lacked any next-gen improvements initially. NHL 2k6 wasn't the only game to go this route, as crossing over to next-gen is no easy task for any developer. Regardless, this is a lesson to be learned for developers before we leap into a new generation once again.
The first year is not going to be the best of the series. It should be the foundation.
MLB: The Show demonstrated this lesson, and other developers should take note. There's no need to try to build the great wall of China overnight. If you attempt this, it will probably come crumbling down later anyway. A slow but sure approach to next gen rookie debuts should be taken. Improve the graphics. Get the main foundation of the game built. Then, worry about the other next-gen flare. There's always next year. As with most all sports games, one year is a very small development window. A new generation sports game really should have two years of development.
By taking these lessons into account prior to the development of future sports games, I feel gamers will benefit greatly. We'll see series transition smoother, with greater potential in the second year of the new generation. Too much emphasis is placed on the first year of a new generation. Typically, it's the worst year of sports gaming, as well as gaming in general.
It is possible to bring success from one generation to another.
While there have been numerous titles that haven't been able to recover from the jump to a new console generation, MLB: The Show has shown us how it's possible to do so. MLB: The Show took a great game from the PS2, built upon its success, and transitioned it nicely to the next generation. There were a few hangups in the first year on the PS3, but it was still considered to be a very exceptional game. Bounce forward a couple years and it's still considered to be the best baseball game in town.
Graphics are good, Game-play is better.
Few would argue that the Madden series experienced some growing pains moving into this current generation of consoles. With the pressure of their newly purchased exclusivity of the NFL license, combined with the typical barriers that come with building a game from the ground up for a new generation, Madden suffered. It wasn't until last year where the game really began to regather itself. Back in Madden 2005, the series was on track. It had serious competition, but EA put out a very respectable game themselves. The game-play was chopped way down in order to put out a new game on the Xbox 360 that year. Many features were missing, leaving much to be desired in the eyes of Madden fans, and 2k fans alike. Graphics look great, but a dumbed down version of the game is not what we want.
Thinking back, another game comes to mind here. Although, the outcome of this series was a little better off the get go. NBA 2k6 boasted some of the prettiest graphics to be seen on a console at the time of its release. The sweat dripping of Shaq was almost too good to be true at the time. The difference with the NBA 2k series was that it still brought the game-play.
A straight port isn't sufficient.
The NHL 2k series is guilty of this when they ported NHL 2k6 over to the Xbox 360. After receiving a perfect 10 from Operation Sports for the Xbox edition, the 360 edition did almost nothing to improve other than introduce Crease Control and bring the game to 1080i. It was still a fantastic game, but it lacked any next-gen improvements initially. NHL 2k6 wasn't the only game to go this route, as crossing over to next-gen is no easy task for any developer. Regardless, this is a lesson to be learned for developers before we leap into a new generation once again.
The first year is not going to be the best of the series. It should be the foundation.
MLB: The Show demonstrated this lesson, and other developers should take note. There's no need to try to build the great wall of China overnight. If you attempt this, it will probably come crumbling down later anyway. A slow but sure approach to next gen rookie debuts should be taken. Improve the graphics. Get the main foundation of the game built. Then, worry about the other next-gen flare. There's always next year. As with most all sports games, one year is a very small development window. A new generation sports game really should have two years of development.
By taking these lessons into account prior to the development of future sports games, I feel gamers will benefit greatly. We'll see series transition smoother, with greater potential in the second year of the new generation. Too much emphasis is placed on the first year of a new generation. Typically, it's the worst year of sports gaming, as well as gaming in general.
Monday, March 29, 2010
First Blog
I feel compelled to begin a blog, as I feel I have a lot to talk about. I have insight on various topics that I feel may interest some individuals. For the most part, this blog will consist of the topic of video games, business, student-life, sports, movies, television, and other recreation. I'm excited about the start, and I look forward to creating plenty of content for viewing pleasure.
A little background about myself may help. I'm a 25 year old man from Kalamazoo, Mi. I'm a student and full-time employed individual, working towards a Marketing bachelor. It's been a slow, but rewarding experience thus far. By taking my time through school, I've been able to experience many things in life I wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to enjoy otherwise. For example, my fiancee and I recently journeyed all the way to South America for spring break, Peru to be specific. My interests are already described vaguely above, which is what this blog will mostly consist of, though it won't be limited to these topics.
I'll refrain from adding anything else in this introductory post, since more specifics will be blogged about in the near future.
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