tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38115854302217727532024-03-06T03:40:24.360+02:00The K-CodeYet another gaming blog.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-56505480097137557062013-04-08T08:18:00.000+03:002013-04-08T20:11:24.011+03:00EA: We Can Do Better - A Point-By-Point Rebuttal (and Rant)
Few things in the gaming business are capable of annoying me nowadays - a testament to both the evolution of my natural pessimism to full-on hopelessness and the devolution of the medium in certain respects - but there's a good chance that many of the aforementioned annoyances have their roots firmly planted in EA's business tactics (or lack thereof).
From the most recent missteps Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-22134229336786942692012-10-11T16:46:00.001+03:002013-01-10T17:50:19.927+02:00Games I've Been Playing: Legend of Grimrock
After careful deliberation, I've decided to try a less formal mode of writing for the next few posts, which will also coincide with a recap of my gaming life in the past year. So, in short:
In these next few blog posts I'll be describing the few games that kept me company during last year's absence (which I've already talked about in a previous post). Starting things off is Legend of GrimrockAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-80808008168339344472012-09-27T13:49:00.000+03:002012-09-27T13:49:02.876+03:00One Year Later...
So, for those dedicated souls that were reading my blog habitually (all five of you), it must have felt like a very abrupt stop to my posts. There are several good reasons for this:
Most of my time was spent divided between my senior year's studies (final year of college) and the end of semester presentation for my Industrial Informatics degree (something akin to a thesis in more theoretical Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-51126798448796073632011-09-25T09:58:00.000+03:002016-02-12T15:19:17.504+02:00Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Impressions
Disclaimer: This opinion piece is based on the "Give me Deus Ex" difficulty (i.e. highest difficulty) - while the article notes which parts are likely to differ in gameplay due to difficulty, a few discrepancies might occur.
Additionally, this article contains copious amount of spoilers; read at your discretion.
The Deus Ex brand (derived from the "deus ex machina" literary technique) has Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-62278178314972817612011-09-17T23:56:00.002+03:002011-09-17T23:56:58.458+03:00How To - Using the Steam Backup Utility
A small guide intended for hot-linking to the various forum topics I often see this question asked at.
1: From the [STEAM] drop-down menu, select [BACKUP AND RESTORE GAMES...].
2: Choose the "Backup currently installed games" radial button, then click "Next >".
3: Select which games you wish to back up (A), noting the disk space the final backup will require (B).
4: Select the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-53106222586361545102011-09-15T17:49:00.000+03:002011-09-15T17:49:03.574+03:00Evolving a Genre - Maniac Mansion RetrospectiveAs an adventure game fan, I have many fond memories of Maniac Mansion; although I was late to the party (having played it in the mid-90's as part of a Maniac Mansion/ Day of the Tentacle combo purchase), it still held up impressively well against its successors - in part because of the unique horror/comedy setting, as well as the (for the time) novel idea of character selection - the playerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-69488149013844780042011-08-12T07:11:00.000+03:002011-08-12T07:11:28.120+03:00Thoughts - Building Consistency and DLC, Fallout: New Vegas
This article explores the various narrative links contained in Fallout: New Vegas and its' three DLC: Dead Money, Honest Hearts and Old World Blues. As these links have been implemented with verisimilitude in mind, certain spoilers about all three DLC, as well as the upcoming Lonesome Road DLC, cannot be avoided - read at your own risk.
Disclaimer: As this post discusses how DLC can (with a bitAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-62194619607416556922011-08-10T07:21:00.000+03:002011-08-10T07:21:52.839+03:00Thoughts - Incorporating Clichés and DLC, Old World Blues
This article discusses how using stereotypes and genre clichés can improve the overall narrative experience, as seen in the Fallout: New Vegas DLC, Old World Blues. As describing such devices is unavoidable, there is a high degree of spoilers involved - read at your own risk.
Old World Blues is the third of
four planned New Vegas DLC.
As of writing this post, Old World Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-32577761327934196262011-08-09T01:58:00.000+03:002011-08-09T01:58:45.677+03:00Thoughts - Using B-Stories and DLC, Dead Money
This article discusses the sub-plots woven into the Fallout: New Vegas DLC, Dead Money, and the value of using such devices to increase immersion. While attempts have been made during writing to the contrary, certain spoilers cannot be avoided - read at your own risk.
Dead Money, the first of four DLC
for Fallout: New Vegas...
The initial premise of Dead Money is a highly Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-66962513376039635922011-08-08T04:45:00.000+03:002011-08-08T04:45:20.362+03:00Thoughts - Narrative and DLC, Honest Hearts
This article discusses the narrative delivery of the Fallout: New Vegas DLC, Honest Hearts. As such, certain spoilers cannot be avoided - read at your own risk.
In the past few years, the gaming industry has developed a new model of business, based on offering additional content for their released products for a (usually) nominal fee - downloadable content, or DLC. These often fall in one or Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-8663437777546646572011-07-13T10:19:00.000+03:002016-02-12T15:25:09.865+02:00Ideas - Four RPG Tropes, How to Improve Them, Part 2Disclaimer: The following article is merely a gathering of ideas, thoughts that I have collected throughout my gaming experiences regarding certain tropes found most commonly in the RPG genre. They should not be taken as fact, but instead as a provocation for thought for the improvement of the medium.
Amnesiac Protagonist
and similar back-story delivery tropes.
In Planescape: Torment, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-62578340017555993072011-07-08T02:07:00.000+03:002011-07-08T02:15:14.874+03:00Opinion - Reasons to Pirate a Game (and Why They're Wrong)This is a logical breakdown of various excuses people offer as to why they pirate software (games, as far as this article is concerned; can apply to other branches of the industry). I've specifically tried to avoid morality-based arguments, as these are subject to a multitude of external factors, therefore cannot be logically debated.
Some assumptions I hold to be true in lieu of this article:
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-50207291526401916712011-06-28T11:11:00.000+03:002016-02-12T15:25:25.836+02:00Ideas - Four RPG Tropes, How to Improve Them, Part 1Disclaimer: The following article is merely a gathering of ideas, thoughts that I have collected throughout my gaming experiences regarding certain tropes found most commonly in the RPG genre. They should not be taken as fact, but instead as a provocation for thought for the improvement of the medium.
Throughout the history and evolution of electronic entertainment, role playing games have been Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-22756725411827117822011-06-18T17:12:00.000+03:002011-06-18T17:12:39.861+03:00Thoughts - Implementing Interactivity in Turn-Based GameplayTurn-based gameplay (in this post, specifically combat) is an inherent aspect of certain genres, in particular role playing games; by design this sort of system relies, for the most part, in comparing statistics and making calculations between static variables, requiring no interaction from the player once the initial decisions of choosing targets and attacks are made.
Paper Mario - the playerAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-80716343456246999222011-06-02T03:26:00.000+03:002011-06-10T15:38:10.050+03:00Thoughts - Building Tension in (Horror) GamesIn gaming, tension is a difficult emotion to instil to your audience; often, designers will resort to the much easier (albeit way less effective) technique of cheap scares, which have a tendency to lose gravitas after five or so uses.
Dead Space 2
Box Art.
Case in point, Dead Space 2, the second instalment in the titular series. At its core, it's a third-person shooter game, mixed with Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-78294838598022826572011-05-20T09:06:00.000+03:002011-05-28T17:30:50.004+03:00Thoughts - Expressions and ImmersionIn my (gaming) conversations, I'll often carry on about immersion for hours, usually lamenting the lack thereof in modern games; in their quest for absolute visual fidelity, designers often rush past this small, but crucial part of game creation. Ultimately, this leads to a product that is visually pleasing, but will hurl the player out of the experience at every turn.
Stock-still characters Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-20368288512071179422011-05-10T22:54:00.000+03:002011-05-17T10:19:18.943+03:00Non-Sequential Progression - Metroid Series RetrospectIn which I offer some insights on one of the Metroid series' staples: non-sequential level progression, the technique in which levels are interconnected - often via "hubs", centralised areas which often provide pathways to the "regions" that make up the game's levels.
The "Morph Ball"; once acquired,
Samus can use the bottom-left path...
The basic premise of the Metroid series follows Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-10967389538901391632011-04-22T07:25:00.000+03:002011-05-20T09:13:38.517+03:00Portal 2 - Impressions, Single Player
A two-part piece regarding VALVe's latest release, Portal 2 - the first part concerns itself with the single player portion of the game and thus might contain minor to moderate spoilers. Since the game relies heavily on key plot developments, it is strongly advised to not read this article until you have completed it. You have been warned.
Portal 2 Box Art.
In Portal 2, players once again Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-30631660665673881312011-04-19T07:51:00.000+03:002011-04-19T07:52:17.582+03:00Bulletstorm - Impressions
Bulletstorm box art.
In the past few years, the Halo template on first person shooters has been prevalent (limited weapon capacity, regenerating health, "realistic" character endurance et al), to a degree where most current generation titles share some worrying similarities. There have been a few exceptions to this rule however, titles like Serious Sam or Painkiller which forego the norm in Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-87817895775396579092011-04-10T18:22:00.000+03:002011-06-01T23:59:59.143+03:00Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective - Impressions
This post contains minor spoilers on Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective's plot. You have been warned.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
box art.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a 2011 (in the EU/US, at any rate) NDS game by Capcom, developed by Shu Takumi of Phoenix Wright fame, in which you take the role of the titular "phantom detective", a recently deceased man named Sissel. It's premise Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-69463543072179242882011-04-06T16:55:00.000+03:002011-04-10T16:50:02.531+03:00Dragon Age II: Impressions Part 4
This is the fourth and final part on a series of opinion pieces on BioWare's latest action-RPG title, Dragon Age II. In this post I focus on what is arguably the game's most polished aspect: characterization, interaction between characters and the cohesion between said elements. As this is a more story-centric article, there are a number of spoilers; you have been warned.
NPC animations Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-69437323122341945022011-04-02T17:54:00.000+03:002011-04-10T16:50:02.531+03:00Dragon Age II: Impressions Part 3
This is the third part of a series of posts about Dragon Age II, in which I elaborate upon the combat system the game utilizes. As a few of the characters' skill sets draw naming and inspiration from their background stories, I have included a spoiler warning as usual. You have been warned.
Note the simple interface, doing a
good job of keeping things plain.
If you follow this series of postsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-44393818862216776082011-04-01T09:05:00.000+03:002011-04-10T16:50:02.532+03:00Dragon Age II: Impressions Part 2
This is the second of a multi-part post regarding the game Dragon Age II. As with the last one, there are a few spoilers used to illustrate some of the points I make. You have been warned.
This is about 90% of all available
locations. Seriously.
Naming conventions and recycled areas aside, I felt that the biggest fault Dragon Age II succumbs to is the story, or rather, the story's structure.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-73948433542945770232011-03-31T18:16:00.000+03:002011-04-10T16:50:02.532+03:00Dragon Age II: Impressions Part 1
Dragon Age II box art.
This will be a two, or possible three-part post regarding BioWare's latest release, Dragon Age II. As there are quite a few points I can only illustrate by giving away plot info, here's the mandatory spoiler graphic to warn off those that don't wish to read anything regarding the game's plot. You have been warned.
Having found myself with some free time over the weekendAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3811585430221772753.post-58338371778119425482011-03-22T03:49:00.000+02:002011-04-10T16:50:13.440+03:00Insanity in Horror Games - Eternal Darkness Retrospect
Eternal Darkness box art.
I've never been a fan of horror games as a whole. Oh, I've played around with the Resident Evil series (long before it was reincarnated into it's trigger-happy fourth installment) and even tried the Silent Hill games on the PSX, but I've never been able to stomach the truly visceral horrors of, say, Amnesia or Fatal Frame.
One particular exception to this rule, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07550326101317010107noreply@blogger.com0