"Squares n' s***" "Cool story, bro'" Minecraft

Everybody who's come across Minecraft will eventually get addicted to it. There isn't a chance you wont, when you start off, it's intimidating with all these formulas and having to mould stuff, combine stuff and "WHY CAN'T I FIND WHAT I NEED" syndrome, I remember my first experience of not being able to find iron and instead of coal, I just burnt wood instead because I used science and science usually does work in Minecraft, I can't suit up with a gold sword and full armour without getting my arse handed to me since gold is basically f****** useless in the game.

But Minecraft is the production of an indie company called .. I've forgotten, hold on ..

*Cough*

So yeah, Mojang. Guy called Notch, well his nickname, made this game with a few more people and it was a hit. It was a unique idea. You create your world by uisng squares, you mine recourses like dirt and stone, you build shelter away from enemies who really want to destroy your anus (don't get me started about spiders), you get bombed by creepers, who happen to be the scariest f****** game enemy you will ever see when you start Minecraft, and building your own tools. You place blocks, you can have an idea in mind and yo do it. You realise it wont happen over night so you either stop the project or keep going. Once you've completed your project, my GOD DOES IT FEEL GOOD because it's a game that makes you work for your damn goals.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssSSSSSSSSS

Now other mainstream companies, THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE A GAME.

You give the people COMPLETE control. You make it so they can get rid of what they want, work for what they want and LOVE what you want. But it's too late, other companies. You can't do this concept without either copying it or making it overly complicated. You can't. Minecraft is the revolution that'll stay in control due to its ever growing fan base and modding community. 

They beat you too it and you're sick with envy. They made such an obvious idea real. And we love them for it. Mojang is brilliant and nobody can say a bad word about it. Even Notch makes me want to cuddle the **** out of him.

Cuao, Squeers.

I hope you lol as much as I did.

INTP T_T (Would)

Note: I was very inept at typing. I've kept this here to show progression of learning your own type and that it will take a few tries to get to the right type. I'm INFJ. Enjoy my younger ramblings!

€I know my blog posts are basically about gaming and the industry in general but sod you all, I'm going to write about my personality type. Then I'll probably write about how it could work in the gaming industry. Yes, I'm kissing my own ass and it tastes like ass but what do you expect from as ass if you kiss it? Don't say chocolate, that's manually applied.

I've come across these letters jumbled up together on the internet and I had no idea what they meant. I recently stumbled across these letters again and thought "YOU SHALL BE ANALYSED, I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE" and by god, I did.

If you came into my head, you wouldn't want to leave.
...
Then my head would be full of .. nevermind.

They're personality types. A woman called Isabel Myers-Briggs manages to categorise all personalties into 16 categories. I got INTP which is known as "The Thinker". Basically, I have GREAT ideas that could change the nation but I usually can't be arsed either explaining them or following through with them. Which is true actually, when I have an idea, I don't do it straight away. Well actually, I did this blog on the same day I thought about it but for the rest of my ideas, I usually put it off until the last minute before I follow through which is quite bad. Good thing this blog is here, I guess.

Alright, I'll fully explain how this works. There's:

Extroversion and Introversion: Basically,  extroversion is to act outwards onto objects and people and introversion is to be inward thinking about ideas and concepts.

Sensing and Intuition: These lie down to how we perceive information. Sensory type people trust factual information, what they hear and know. Intuitive people prefer theoretical and abstract information.

Thinking and Feeling: These effect how we make decisions. Thinkers use logic and rationalise each problem before they approach it. Feelers make decisions by emphasizing or associating with the situations.

Probably because my idea's are a bit resourceful..

Judgement and Perception: Judging would be to asses the situation and react accordingly, perceiving would be to jump in head first and act to everything on a whim.

Now it's at this bit where I bring in the gaming section because I'm so god damn precise.

WHY HASN'T ANYONE MADE A CHARACTER PROGRESSION GRID BASED ON THIS?!

Sure, people can basically create a character in most games, give him skills and what not but no one's actually related to their own character from the inside, have they? They're all basically the same character with pre-written lines. To use this concept in gaming wouldn't be hard. 16 outcomes. 16 to choose from. You'd be surprised how ACCURATE the descriptions for these are. I was impressed when I read mine. I then did my mums and my dads and they were scaringly accurate. Mum was a "Doer" and Dad was an "Artist". Seems a "thinker" is a good inbetween. Although I don't agree with it entirely, I am known to disregard thought and enter a situation with no fear. But then again, this was learnt from BEING an INTP so I guess I can't get out of that one.

So yeah. Games companies. Do this. Latch onto this idea. No one owns this method of categorising, it's free to use, far as I'm aware. I'm still waiting for the Creative Director job or the Web-based reviewer job. Just saying, viewers.

Click on this link and answer it to find your own personality category:
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html

Then click on the corresponding combo and read away here:
http://www.personalitypage.com/html/portraits.html


Ciao, Squireens. (Yes, I made that up, saves me having to be gender specific)

This is my personality love match.
Why does this concept excite me way too much?
Shouldn't I be crying or scared?

The Future of Gaming? (SHOULD)

Right, I know I haven't really posted daily like I should have been but it's not like I'm exactly missed so SCREW YOU, VIEWER.

Actually, yelling my 18 viewers that I want to screw them usually gives of the wrong message (or the right one in some cases) so instead, I will apologize by writing out an article which will probably hinder the amount of ideas I'll write about in the future. But sod it, these ideas roll off onto this blog when I actually just THINK about an idea which usually just takes me about 2 minutes mac anyway.

Enough speaking, time to get to the article title! DAH FUTURE!!

Right, we know that I covered a few things like this in the "Retro Gaming" post, well I think I did, if not, look for it and give me some more juicy views to add to my collection (LOVE HEART <3) so instead, I'll write about what isn't being developed yet. Sure, the future is ******* bright, and it's NOT orange, but the area of gaming market will only become more creative as technology progresses and advances. As it is now possible to make meat out of your own poo, print out organs and can now do some freaky metal, magnet levitation kinda ****, what else could be next?

"AAAHHHH AHHHH MOTHER
OF GOD" - First player of the
simulator.

Well screw the general stuff, who cares about flying cars, hoverboards, a room that puts you in the shoes of the character you're playing, right? Haha, yeah .. wait, what.

Yeah, you heard it, they made a room where if you walk forward, your character walks forward, if you get shot, you get hurt etc etc

I remember seeing it, I just don't remember where. Was funny hearing him shout out in pain. The game was Battlefield 3, I remember that at least.

But this is an exciting to think about prospect when it comes to the gaming industry. I mean, games where you ARE the in the shoes of the character, where you run forward, he runs, you get shot, you feel his pain, it's mind blowing. Technology is going at an astounding pace right now, we're truly breaking into the digital age. In 20 years, where I'll be the ripe prime age of 40, I bet I'd be able to plug myself in like the Matrix and engage into a world where I can shoot down my ******* neighbour and shout profanities at him like "YOUR WIFE ISN'T HOT ENOUGH" or "I'VE BEEN S******* ON YOUR LAWN FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS" and it'd just be brilliant.

To think up some ideas for the future would be hard seeing as we don't know what is exactly capable of handling such concepts but I'll give out a few that COULD happen yet are also wacky and extreme.

I think I'd prefer a chip or something,
that s*** looks painful to insert.

Eye Implants - Look at the DSi and 3DS, they have a camera where certain games can incorporate that camera. For instance, the new Kingdom Hearts 3DS, it has an option where you can capture a monster and then view it through the camera, scratching it's belly like you've got something to prove about how F****** WONDERFUL YOU ARE but it's amazing. I saw a trailer where it flew about the room and you had to keep up with it. Say, if it went to the left and went off the screen, you'd have to turn the DS to keep looking and interacting with it.

Still, it's pretty juicy, this is only the starting point of full user integration. Kinect, Move and the Wii are all the starting points of what could make gaming become a central part of our lives. The Fable 3 promotion game where you walked into a shop and you claimed it for your faction was amazing. Put whatever Fable did with motion controls and BOOM. Oh and the eye implants would pretty much make everyone scared of each other.

God, dem eye plants. <3

Ciao, Squires and Squirettes.

HOLY MOTHER OF S*** THAT'S AWESOME

Rocksmith? (WOULD)

Well it has now begun, hasn't it? Well I think it has. Well, possibly maybe but I'm going to stop jinxing the hell out of this new concept I've thought up and simply tell you about it.

I know what I'm teaching my kid
right off the bat.

Everybodies heard about Rocksmith. And if you haven't, it's a new game, heavily influenced by Guitar Hero and Rock Band, where you can plug a device into the jack of any of your guitars and then use it to play songs on your console. 

Now I think this is amazing. Granted, you're not going to learn HOW to play the guitar, you're just going to learn a few songs but hey, it's better than nothing. Guitarists who know music theory can practise their rhythm, finger speed and just get better at playing whilst also learning some awesome songs in the process. Non-guitarists will get a feel for the guitar and then can jump on to learning some chords and some scales so they can make up their own music. It's a good idea.

But then you think "Ok, Joe, where are you going with this?" Well, I'll tell you, voice in my head who sounds frightfully flamboyant. They've now made real life guitars into something we have a reason to play. So why not incorporate other things?

Yeah, you're getting me now, aren't you? Other things. Throwing a few out there:

Photography: PLEASE, I WOULD BUY THE **** OUT OF THIS

Cooking: Not really a console game but a standalone that plugs into the USB slots that are going to come in the future.

Fitness: I'm not talking about that silly connect game or the Wii Fit, I'm on about something that you can take with you, that can train you, give you motivation and then rank you against the world, this is using you mind to attack most men and women's addictiveness to games and then applying that in getting healthy.

Ten points for Geese.
Bitches love Geese/

Oh god, I'd draw Pac-man
naked as well if I could.
Oh wait, I can.
TO THE NOTEBOOK!

There's a few ideas but the fact that gaming is now becoming a part of our productive lives, I'm thinking that games that reach the next generation will ultimately be beneficial to a kids upbringing.  Games that teach you how to cook and reward you for it, games that reward you for fitness, build hobbies etc etc it's a concept n the gaming market that has been reached but knowing my insane relationship with most game companies and how I know they will react is that they'll not reach  onto this concept of gaming because, simply I'm not the ******* Creative Director of anyone there, some guy who sits at his desk, drinking coffee and drawing naked pacman sketches seems to be able to get paid that much whilst the real, actual ideas harboured by our generation go by our daily lives not making a dent in the damn market.

All in all, my little squires and squirettes, the end of this concept is to make everything in your life a game using points and rank as a means to fuel all of us into actually doing something productive with our lives. Sure, I play guitar, I write novels, I know how to write about anything, I can cook, play Ocarina, know how to fix, build and use computers, know's a **** ton about fitness, knows martial arts but for other people, things like these can really help. a LOT. Companies, sack your creative directors and let me have a go. LET'S MAKE SOME MONEY!

Ciao, guys o/

HAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHA
Ohh...

Game Concepts (SHOULD)

Who the **** doesn't like Bejewled?!

How come when I pick up a game these days, I always get the feeling of dread? There seems to be two things that compensate each other. Gameplay and Story. It's quite rare that we have both of these, at the same level of skill and quality, in one single game. Yes, I get it, companies need to get their games out there to break the bank but honestly, if they actually just thought about it instead of using die hard heavy business tactics, they'd actually, and quite easily, make a game worthy of buying and playing, possibly even topping the most popular games of all time.

I'll go into detail about numerous parts on how this could work. 

In general

The game industry is the biggest market out there right now, it makes a LOT more than the film and TV industry. So, it'd only be common sense to make sure you beat out game after game after game after game etc etc

Wrong.

What makes a company popular is having that one game which impresses everyone. Halo is to Bungie as Mass Effect is to Bioware. I actually had to research what other games Bungie made, same with Bioware. So the right move is to make a game stand out from the pack. Granted, Halo is a generic FPS but what makes it special is that it launched  the FPS genre straight into popularity. It remains the mainstream king and it'll stay there. Personally, I think that if Halo didn't become popular and the Call of Duty series took the crown instead, Halo wouldn't have been as popular as it was as the standard of shooting games would have been fast paced instead of having to deal with shields and tactics for different enemies.

Why am I such a whore for
DBZ games?

Other ways is to latch onto a franchise that already has a reputation. For example. numerous companies have been jumping on the anime band wagon to create games for Dragonball Z, Naruto and Bleach. The already huge amount of popularity with these franchises takes on the concept of being a part of that anime's universe. Well to some extent. Most anime games only cover the main aspect of each show and it's usually fighting. I guess the main business idea that applies to this corner of the market is to not put it all into one little package so they can make other games based around the anime but covering different aspects. Either that or they're damn right lazy. If they took their time for a huge project but done right, yes, I'm looking at you Alan wake and Duke Nukem Forever, they could create a game that could make a gamer feel right at home within the the world it represents.

Gameplay

You'd have thought they'd have learnt
for the sequel but nooooope.

Obviously, gameplay has to be the top priority, I'm lookin' at you, Final Fantasy 13 and yes, I look at things. Gameplay can do either of to things these days and that is fall into one of the generic genres OR create an entirely new concept. Now whilst the Fable series is a bunch of failed promises due to a team that isn't capable of extending its production time and making wonderful, majestic Peter look like a right twat. His ideas are interesting, what he put forward created an adventure/action/RTS/sim hybrid which I think is quite fun to play. If Peter didn't overestimate his shitty and stubborn production team and stuck to what he knew would be made, the game would be amazing as it'd pull through what it announced. Even with the setbacks, the Fabler series is still a standalone genre, you wont get the same feel that the Fable universe gives you. Back to gameplay, it doesn't centre on one thing. It centres on numerous things. The main aspect of Fable is probably the fighting. In reference to Fable 3, the more you fight, the more your weapon injects steroids into itself to get rid of the sexual tension of touching too many skeletons. Or in simpler terms, it levels up. The gameplay is sparse, not focusing on anything but that's the trick to it, it's unique. 

A bad example of gameplay would have to be the new Dragonball Z game called "Ultimate Tenkaichi". It has the most repetitive fighting style I've ever come across. If I wasn't such a sucker for DBZ games, I'd have stayed away from it. Every character is basically the same due to this fighting style, you just choose your favourite character and hack away. From the previous game, a level of skill and spam was needed to fight. In this game, the only skill you need is to initiate a combo to start a tame sequence of "Rock, Paper, Scissors". You did it wrong, Bandai, you really ****** up with this game. I honestly don't know how the creative directors in games companies get their jobs. I've thought up better ideas whilst typing this blog post. But the whoever made the big choice to turn DBZ into a flashy game of chance needs to be sacked. Give the damn job to me and I'll SHOW near perfect ideas for a DBZ game which would draw in people who've never heard of DBZ. They did bring back the story mode though which they shouldn't even have gotten rid of in Raging Blast 2 but the gameplay makes it boring as ****. 

SAVE OUR GENERATION
OH MIGHTY ONE!


A good example of gameplay would be Megaman. Yes. I said it. Megaman. No, I'm not legally retarded, I'm being serious. Every single game company should take tips from the Megaman series for it's gameplay and I'll explain why.  There are ZERO tutorials in the early series and the X series, far as I'm aware. How the hell did we learn what to do then? Easy, the game level design showed us. They use gameplay to trigger your little mind into reacting correctly to a situation, they SHOW you what happens before you get to the main challenge yourself. It's called "Initiative Gameplay" and that's why it's awesome. It's a straight out shooter based platformer and the only reason it's better then everything else is because of making players use initiative.

In conclusion, the point I'm trying to make here is this. They seem to cancel each other out these days. Usually, the stories good and the gameplay's bad and vice versa. The creative juice and time put into games these days focus on little tid bits rather than creating a game you can truly be immersed in. In Mass Effect 2, I always thought there wasn't enough. You've got an amazing concept of alien races, planets, big ass enemies and quite the plot but I always felt secluded onto quite a shallow path I couldn't venture far from. Sure, different things happen when you do things differently but they're not that great, they're just minor differences.

If a game concept focuses on one over the other than that's ok but they should at least state that with a slogan of some kind like "Made purely to blow things up" or "An immersive story that leaves you wanting more"  or something similar. Game concepts have the potential to become HUGE in terms of there being hardly any technological limitations these days. I'll buy the game that makes an immersive universe filled to the brim with content, freedom and player choices all with DLC that just keeps adding and adding to the game. 

That is all. Peace out, squires and squirettes. o/

I already regret trading you in, you time wasting, attractive little ****