DigitalHobbit

I was deeply saddened to find out that Gary Gygax passed away today, after struggling with health issues for several years. Gary Gygax co-created the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and thereby invented the entire role-playing game genre.

Like any good geek, I grew up playing role-playing games during my teens. Even though we did not actually play that much D&D in particular, all the RPGs we played were directly descended from it, and none of them would exist without Gary Gygax. The first RPG I ever played (this must have been around 1986) was Das Schwarze Auge (The Dark Eye), a relatively simple German role-playing game that was strongly inspired by D&D. After my friends and I grew out of this, we explored many other games. Some of the ones I fondly remember are RuneQuest, Traveller, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (probably my all-time favorite role-playing game; not to be confused with the Warhammer table-top game), Paranoia (“Trust The Computer. The Computer is Your Friend.”), Vampire: The Masquerade, and KULT. We even participated in a Live action role-playing game once (yes, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. ). We hung out at our local game store (luckily the city I grew up in was big and progressive enough to actually have a game store that stocked RPGs) and bought dice (the store owner would always give us the option to role each die against him for double-or-nothing) and miniatures.

There were phases where we played every weekend, and phases where we played less, especially during the 90s, as most of us started to become more interested in going out to bars and clubs (and the opposite sex…). Still, we played at least occasionally during college, until I got married and moved to the US in 1998 (gosh, has it really been almost 10 years?) and started my first job.

For some reason I never got back into role-playing after that, although the thought to make an effort to find a new group did occur to me a few times. But I still like to nostalgically think about the great, both intellectually and emotionally stimulating (and simply fun) times we’ve had playing RPGs. Many of my German friends are still regularly playing role-playing games these days.

And of course D&D has similarly influenced computer games, and many of my favorite computer and video games (like The Bard’s Tale, the Ultima series, or the Elder Scrolls series, not to mention the myriads of AD&D computer games) would not exist without Gary Gygax.

For all of this I am truly grateful. Gary Gygax, rest in peace.

Last week, I was finally able to get a hold of a Nintendo Wii. Somehow the Wii resonated with me since details about it were first announced (and when it was still codenamed “Revolution”), and for the past few months I’ve been eager to try it out first hand.

Traditionally, I’m a PC gamer, and the types of games that I tend to enjoy most are RPGs and first person shooters. However, over the past years I have become a much more casual gamer, and I’ve played more on my Xbox and less on my PC (although this is also due to other reasons, such as the fact that I normally run Linux at home, and that I try to avoid using the mouse for too long because it hurts my wrist). But these days I tend to play more in bite size chunks, since I have a job, a wife, and kids.

I thought about buying an Xbox 360 last year, but couldn’t quite justify the $399 expense. The PS3 with its astronomic price tag was out of the question… But even aside from the price, there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly compelling about these new consoles. Sure, they’ve got upgraded graphics and sound, which certainly makes a big difference, but I feel that the more significant breakthrough needs to be made on the gameplay side. And significant innovations on that side have been very sparse…

The Wii promised to change this by taking a different approach: Instead of investing into graphics and pure processing power, Nintendo focused on completely revamping the user interface for console games, and I dare say that they strongly succeeded at this! After having played with my Wii over the weekend, I can honestly say that the Wii is all that it’s cracked up to be. The controller is amazingly powerful and sensitive, and enables whole new types of gameplay. In conjunction with the Nunchuk attachment, it offers many of the same inputs as a regular console controller. However, it also supports motion sensing and acts as a pointer device. Both methods are surprisingly accurate.

Wii Sports acts as a great demo for the console and showcases the way the controller can be used in innovative ways. In Bowling, you swing the controller like you would swing your arm, and let go of the “B” button when you would normally release the ball. In Golf, you hold the controller sideways and swing it like a Golf club. In Baseball, you similarly swing it like a Baseball bat (although I have to admit that Baseball on the Wii is about as boring as Baseball in real life…). Same with Tennis, which is my personal favorite. Boxing adds the nunchuk to the mix: You hold the controller in the right hand, the nunchuk in the left, and these essentially become extensions of your hands that translate all your movements into the game. If you hold your hands up, your player holds his hands up. If you duck sideways, so does your player. If you swing one of your hands into the opponent’s face or body, your player takes a swing – you get the idea. All the sports games have excellent physics, very cute graphics, and while I normally hate sports and would never consider buying a sports game, I have to admit that Wii Sports is a lot of fun. Another Wii feature that Wii Sports introduces is the Mii. The Wii includes a feature to create avatars, called “Mii”. These can be used in various games. They can also “travel” to your friends’ consoles, which is a fun little gimmick.

Of course I have also bought Zelda. I have only played it for about two hours so far, but it is a lot of fun. And even though the graphics can’t compete with next generation consoles, they actually look very nice. Then again, I don’t even have an HDTV, so what do I know… The controls are perhaps a bit more cumbersome than they need to be, and many people are saying that they have essentially been bolted on a game that was originally designed for the GameCube, but overall it controls quite well, based on what I’ve seen so far.

After playing Wii Sports and Zelda, it is becoming pretty clear to me that the Wii would be an excellent platform for immersive RPGs or strategy games. The controller’s pointing feature is pretty much equivalent to mouse input on the PC (if not better, due to the tactile force feedback whenever you hover over a button, etc.), and the nunchuk and motion control add additional methods of input. I’m very curious what is going to happen on that front.

Last not least, the Wii includes a virtual console, which allows you to purchase (for $5-$10 each) and download classic games. I downloaded Super Mario 64, and the process was very smooth and the game plays well. And of course the Wii is also backwards compatible with the GameCube. Since I never owned a GameCube, I certainly plan to tap into this as well and pick up some classic GameCube titles.

All in all, I am extremely excited about the Wii. I am sure that the next generation of Wii titles will provide an even better example of what this console is capable of. Nintendo also recently announced that Q2 2007 will see the first Wii games with online multiplayer, which is sorely missing at this point. It remains to be seen whether it will compete with Microsoft’s Xbox Live service in this arena, but I’m hoping for the best.

Joystiq posted an excellent roundup of 31 upcoming MMO games. Themes include everything from the standard fantasy and sci-fi fare to wild west, robot, zombie, sex, pirate, and post-apocalyptic themed worlds. Similarly, many of the titles are pretty traditional MMORPG games, but some provide an emphasis on strategy, FPS gameplay, chat and casual gameplay, or other variations.

The games that sound most interesting to me are:

• Age of Conan (described as an action-themed MMO set in a “dark, lush, violent and sinful” world)
• Bang! Howdy (a casual, wild west themed game)
• Dark and Light (billed as the largest MMORPG ever)
• Darkfall Online (combines MMO and RTS elements)
• Dofus Arena (a casual, flash based MMO)
• Huxley (an MMOFPS)
• Lord of the Rings Online (looks like pretty standard fantasy MMORPG fare but nevertheless intriguing due to the Middle-Earth setting)
• Pirates of the Burning Sea (a Pirate themed MMORPG – finally!)

Yesterday the ESRB re-rated Oblivion M for Mature. Bethesda’s response to the re-rating followed shortly afterwards.

Apparently the re-rating was mainly triggered by a user created modification that allows players to play with topless versions of female characters (Hot Coffee anyone?). In addition, the ESRB accused Bethesda of improperly disclosing the excessive amounts of blood and gore that go beyond a Teen rating.

Personally, I don’t agree with the new rating. Oblivion certainly contains a fair amount of violence, but it doesn’t strike me as any worse than similar games in this genre. Still, I understand how a case might be made based on violent content (although it is ridiculous that this was not properly assessed at the time the original rating was assigned, and I can only fault the ESRB, not Bethesda for this). But I simply can’t grasp how the fact that user created modifications can introduce nudity into the game should influence the rating. I believe that this sets a very bad precedent for similar cases and represents a huge threat for consumer created content in general.

User created game content has been an important feature for the past 10-15 years (dating back to Doom and Quake mods, etc.) that significantly increases the replay value of games and brings out the creative skills in players who otherwise would only be able to consume spoon-fed gaming content… Game developers like Bethesda should be applauded for the extensibility afforded by their plugin system and not be held responsible for the nature of user created content.

Aside from that, is having some topless female characters (or nude male characters for that matter) in the game really such a big deal? Maybe I’m just desensitized because I’m from Germany (where day time TV commercials for almost any type of consumer product, ranging from soap to cereal bars, contain nudity), but I just couldn’t care less. Let the teenies have some fun with the game…

Update: I just filed a complaint with the ESRB, and I encourage you to do the same.

I just posted an article about downloadable game content on my Oblivion Blog. It’s not all that Oblivion specific and contains some thoughts on the current state of downloadable content as well as the future direction, so I am linking to it here because I figured that it might be of general interest.

On Friday I finally got my copy of Oblivion (thanks Amazon for taking so long on this one…). Anyway, I’ve been a big fan of the previous Elder Scrolls games (starting with Arena about 13 years ago) and really look forward to playing this latest installment. Rather than bore everyone else with this (as I will undoubtedly feel the need to share my enthusiasm ), I have decided to start an Oblivion Blog, so check this out if you’re interested in this game.

Microsoft has announced details on the pricing and packaging for the Xbox 360 that is expected in time for the holiday season.

Unofrtunately, Microsoft has decided to offer two different bundles for $299 and $399 respectively. The $399 bundle includes many features that were previously expected to be standard Xbox 360 features (20GB hard drive, wireless controller, Xbox Live membership), plus a headset and remote control. The $299 bundle includes a wired controller and none of the features above (most importantly no hard drive).

Based on previous reports it sounded like Microsoft was really pushing the boundaries of downloadable content and micropayments. Of course, none of this is possible without a hard drive. Now that Microsoft has created a segmented market (and given that most parents who buy their kids an Xbox 360 as a holiday present will probably pick up the cheaper bundle without a hard drive), I wonder how successful this aspect will be, and how many gaming companies will really try to leverage this functionality. In many ways, this destroys the main advantage that consoles have over the PC: consistent hardware specs.

I’ve been thinking about picking up an Xbox 360 when it comes out, but I for one am only interested in the more expensive bundle, and at $399 I am not sure I can justify this expense (especially when you figure in the each game will cost an additional $60). Too bad…

When I upgraded my SBC / Yahoo DSL service a while ago, I received a free Xbox Live Starter Kit, including a one-year subscription. I finally signed up for the Xbox Live service last week.

Overall, I have to admit that Xbox Live is pretty neat. Signing into the service is very easy from any game I’ve tried. Once signed in, many games (such as MechAssault) offer downloadable content such as new maps, new mechs (in this case), etc. Finding and joining an appropriate Xbox Live game session is easy using the Quickmatch and Optimatch features, and very similar to the experience of multiplayer games on the PC.

The included headset, while fairly basic, also manages to fulfill its job and definitely has the potential of adding to the experience. The only annoying thing is that most online games appear to be populated by demented nerds, who keep swearing about how other players are cheating whenever they get killed, etc. This gets old after a while…

I suppose finding a good server to play on is kind of hit and miss, but overall I think that Xbox Live is a pretty nice feature.

Of course, the experience still depends on the actual games. For example, while the Xbox Live nicely solves the multiplayer aspect of first person shooters, I still feel that this type of game is much more playable on a PC using mouse and keyboard. Other games (MechWarrior 1 and 2 are good examples) are surprisingly playable on the console.

For various reasons, after using computers (and playing computer games) for 20 years now, I have finally decided to give in and buy a game console. Perhaps the main reason is that I’m fed up with the constant upgrades that are required in order to be able to enjoy the latest PC games. The console hardware only changes when a new version is released every 5 years or so, and in the mean time all games written for this console can be expected to perform well and take advantage of all the available features that the hardware offers. Individual games don’t have to be tweaked in order to run well on the particular hardware, as is often the case with PC games and certain video cards.

Another enabling factor is the fact that I have a kids now, which means that I rarely have more than 30 minutes at a time to spare. While I used to love highly immersive games such as RPGs or even MMRPGs, which are generally better on PCs, I now tend to favor more action-oriented games, which provide more immediate gratification. Plenty of those games exist on the current generation consoles. Even better, it looks like there’s a fair amount of good RPGs and adventure games. While the complexity of these games may not quite be the same as on the PC, I’m sure it will be good enough.

After looking at the differences between the Xbox and the Playstation (I’m not an expert on either, since I pretty much ignored this market up to now), I decided to go with the Xbox, which appears to be a higher-end machine. Of course, this adds another hackable machine to my household (in addition to the TiVo, which I already hacked a few months ago).

Here are some Xbox modding notes on my Wiki.

As I mentioned in my previous posting, I am currently in the process of converting my main desktop from Windows XP to Linux. One of the main things I know I will struggle with (unless I just give up and live with an annoying dual-boot situation) is support for computer games.

In many ways I am sick of PC gaming anyway. Don’t get me wrong: I still love computer games. The only thing I am increasingly annoyed with are the constant upgrades that are required in order to be able to run the latest games, as well as the amount of tweaking that is often necessary to get a game working acceptably using particular hardware (particularly the video card, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro in my case).

Ultimately, I am probably going to give in soon and buy a console, such as a PS2 or an XBox. While the hardware may be lagging behind my desktop, it is at least getting fully utilized as the game developers don’t have to deal with all these compatibility layers and can focus on a specific hardware configuration instead. Overall, the games don’t seem to look too bad.

Another thing that has kept me from switching to a console so far is the type of games, compared to PC games. In the past, I was mostly interested in adventure and RPG games. While I still love those games, in reality I hardly have time for these kinds of games any more, with two kids, a house, and a job. These days, I tend to stick with more action-oriented games, such as first person shooters. I also enjoy playing online (although I don’t do it as often these days), but as far as I am aware there are decent online gaming solutions for the major consoles.

Just ranting, I guess… The bottom line is that lack of game support under Linux may not be a major issue for me going forward. Of course, I have a fairly large amount of games that I would like to be able to continue to play, so it would be nice if I could get those running on Linux in the interim.

I guess it’s time to start doing my research on whether to get a PS2 or an XBox, or even whether to hold off until the next generation of consoles comes out.

I just came across this article on Boing Boing about the new Paranoia XP pen & paper RPG, which was publicly developed using open source methodologies, including a Wiki and blogs. This mostly caught my eye because I actually used to play this RPG about 15 years ago as a teenager…

Games * Design * Art * Culture has a more detailed blog entry about Paranoia XP, including the history of the game as well as other interesting links.

This Paranoia fansite also looks interesting and fun. It seems like there’s even a downloadable computer game.

Ah, memories…

And always remember: The computer is your friend.

I just noticed that Thief: Deadly Shadows, the third installment in the awesome Thief “first person sneaker” computer game series has been released a few days ago. I have been looking forward to this game for a while, so I’ll probably order it tomorrow or pick it up at a local store. Not that I actually have any time to play it right now, since we are in the middle of buying a house and I haven’t even had much of a chance to play the last few games that I bought (Far Cry, Battlefield Vietnam, and Unreal Tournament 2004), but there’s no way around it. Things should get a little quieter soon, and then I’ll be glad for a little stealth action.