When Using Cheats Became Stealing

Dead Space cheat undermines in-game micro-transactions

 

When Diablo 3 was released, it blurred the line between single-player games and MMOs. Here was a game that is a single-player game with multiplayer options of up to 4 people, yet had elements of MMOs that meant things that were OK in single player and even multiplayer games of the past were no longer acceptable. Let me explain...

 

MMOs have a large player base, numbering up to millions, though technically, the most you might meet or play with number in the hundreds. Because of that, there is a complicated social interaction at play that developers have to pay special attention to when developing g and patching their game. Bugs that can be exploited for better gear or currency had to be fixed and in-game benefits gained from said exploit removed, even disciplinary actions against the offending player, all because of the perception of the other players who will deem it unfair that the offending player could brain an edge over them.

 

Such issues should only be a concern in multiplayer games, or more specifically, competitive games, but recently, and especially because of Diablo 3, we are seeing that even single player games that blatantly have micro-transactions that give the player an advantage. We already had those in the past - cheats and bugs. But now, because of the monetization of cheats, exploiting bugs in even single player games are seen as wrong and even illegal? This is pretty ridiculous if you're like me and have played games before the current generation of consoles.

 

Blizzard took a gamble with Diablo 3 and it paid off. Now EA is following suit and other companies to. Will there come a day when finding and making use of bugs in games is illegal because you are techically by-passing paid dlc cheats to gain an advantage in the game? I shudder to even think of such a possibility...

Edit: Apparently EA says it's ok. So kind of an over-reaction on my part.

Game Developers, Used Games and the Fans

There are rumours popping up that the next Xbox will be blocking used games. While this isn't the first time that rumours like this have surfaced, it is gaining more attention as we await the upcoming announcements regarding these new consoles.

Most people think this is a stupid idea because if only one of the consoles does go ahead with this, its rival will definitely gain the upper hand, or will it?

One thing to note is that if a console does block used games, it will most likely be more attractive for developers to release games on that console. Used games make up a large part in sales in brick and mortar stores, and it is said that certain stores will actively promote the sale of used games because of the higher profits. Publishers and developers gain no revenue from these sales, and it is understandable why they would go through lengths to deny this. Current measures include the online pass, promised DLCs, and locking achievements to a single account. If a console does block used games, it will be a huge draw for developers.

So then, will the console with more owners win out, or will the one with more games gain popularity? It will come down to whether gamers stick to their guns and support used games as an option, or sell-out and buy the less desirable console just so they can play the next big game. And looking at the trend of the gaming industry now, it is likely the gamers will give in. Already we are seeing gamers ignoring poor business practices and buying games with offensive DRM and supporting publishers that exploit their customers, and this is also because publishers cleverly do such things only on games that are highly anticipated. Take Capcom for example and it's on-disk DLC on Street Fighter x Tekken but not doing so on the new IP, Dragon's Dogma, or EA realizing the popularity and gamers' need to play the newest game in the series of Dead Space 3 and Mass Effect 3 and adding micro-transactions, essential story day-one DLC and the like. So will gamers take it line, hook and sinker?

I don't personally think it's true because the rumours came with the Xbox having an always-online requirement. But then again, Microsoft came up with Games for Windows Live, so they aren't really that smart after all...

More 'disturbing' DLC for Dead Space 3

Though I have resolved to no longer buy games published by EA, being a fan of survival horror, I'm still pretty interested in Dead Space 3.

 

However, it was announced today that there will be 11 day-one DLC for the game and this has caused a major uproar among the gaming community.

 

Though I'm not really happy with this news, I have to sit down and properly consider the nature of this news. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not buying this game because of the micro-transactions but some of the announced DLC doesn't actually seem that bad. There are things like personality for helper bots and capacity. These are for single player and are not crucial to the story and in fact, can make the game easier so people who buy them are actually kind of stupid.

 

We'll have to wait and see what the rest of the DLCs are before deciding, but one thing is for sure, if gamers let it slide, or worse, support this DLC practice, we will see this crap in almost every game published.

 

(Dead Space 3 is a survival horror game so what smart gamer would buy DLC and pay money for micro-transactions to make it easier? And why make a horror game co-op? I'm sure Capcom is proud of its decision to make Resident Evil co-op and not turning back and saying that they will return to its roots. Good luck EA, you'll NEED it.)

Path of Exile Open Beta Live

Path of Exile open beta started on 23rd Jan. There were a few hiccups in the server and patching but otherwise was alright. If you've been meaning to try out a more gritty and dark aRPG, here is one.

Path of Exile Initial Impressions

Path of Exile is coming into open beta, and the action RPG has garnered quite a following even during the release of Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2. While I have not spent a lot of time with the title, here are some of my thoughts about the game.

First off, the game is free to play, and that means there will be micro-transactions. Things you can buy are more character slots, stash, vanity pets, a personal server, or leagues as they call it, and dyes. Most of these, we can do without, and the devs even say that if players need more stash or character slots, they can just get another account since it's free, so the business model is pretty fair.

Graphics wise, the devs have decided to take a more gloomy, dark tone. This is in contrast to the cartoony look of recent action RPGs. In fact, the art style reminds me very much of Diablo 2, right down to the map overlay. Character animation and the environments are pretty good, but with the little time I spent with the game, I feel that my characters don't feel powerful enough. Perhaps it's the way they swing their weapons, or perhaps it's the stun reaction of the enemies that make it seem like your hits are pretty weak, but it may change as you level up and get more powerful skills.

The skill system is pretty interesting, combining Final Fantasy VII's Material system and Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid. Weapons and armor have gem slots for slotting active skill gems and gems that modify your skills, like adding elemental effects, increasing area of effect, and so on. Passive skills and character stats are handled mainly by the sphere grid and like FFX, you can learn the skills meant for other classes by equipping the gems or working your way over to their area on the sphere grid. This is an interesting choice that sets it apart from the skill trees and stat allocation of other aRPGs.

Path of Exile uses items like scrolls and orbs as a currency. Basically, scrolls that identify your stuff and orbs that improve your equipment are the things you get when you sell items you don't want. This is an effort to curb inflation that plagues games of this genre. As long as the 'currency' is useful in some sense, it is always being removed from the economy through identification or upgrading, and hopefully minimize the effects of inflation. Gold selling might end up as less of an issue, or it might not since it'll become scroll selling, but we shall see.

Free to play games want to keep you interested, and so devs will generally add content, or have some sort of end game content. Besides the different difficulty levels, Path of Exile's end game consists of 'maps' that modify the enemies, making them resistant to elements, having extra stats or powerful unique monsters in exchange for extra loot drops. This reminds me of Disgaea's Item World random map generating system which can add a lot of replayability.

Path of Exile is worth checking out, especially when it's free. Open beta starts on 23rd Jan 2013.

A Video About the Recent Shooting and Games

My condolences to the victims of this and previous shootings. Praying that the families will be comforted and cases like these won't happen again. And for individuals who might even consider doing something like this find help and care from the people around them...

Is Advancement In Gaming Sustainable?

Games are rapidly becoming more and more impressive graphically, musically and in terms of scope. As the next generation of consoles appear starting with the WiiU and followed by Sony's and Microsoft's next gen consoles, games will require more money and manpower to churn out. Costs of making games will increase and so will the profit that investors expect from developers.

What concerns me is that now games need to sell much better than before to be considered a success. Kingdoms of Amalur did pretty well in my opinion, selling 330, 000 copies, yet the studio closed down. There are many other studios shut down, or faced layoffs by EA and Activision.

If this is going to be the pattern of things, we may well see a drastic drop in creative titles from big name publishers, instead just getting remakes, sequels and established IPs. Creative titles will come from Indie devs, usually without the high production values from publisher funded games. The 'middle' budget games will slowly disappear and it's sad because this is normally where new franchises appear.