Minecraft Effects on the Mind

Hey, everyone. In my last post, I mentioned Minecraft. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly suggest giving the free mode a try. I enjoy playing the Alpha (soon to be Beta) mode, too. While playing the game, I began to notice something.

The game is very addictive. I love breaking block after block. Whether it's for a big structure or just to see what's on the other side, it is always fun. But while playing the Alpha mode, I notice that even simple games like Minecraft can really strike emotions. I like to see the sun and the moon and the trees and grass and when I spend a long period of time inside a really deep mine (in the game, of course) I begin to miss the artificial "outside" on the game. The lighting in the game really helps to produce this feeling because it can get pitch black in the mines and caves if there is no light anywhere. I always make sure to bring lots of torches with me because the warm glow from the small fire seems to provide some hope of actually seeing the "outside" again. Sure...if I wanted to, I could just dig straight up to the surface and completely ignore all of the tunnels I have already worked on...but where is the fun in that?

If anyone has ever played the Alpha version of Minecraft, they will know how easy it is to get lost in the caves. I can get lost in the same cave over and over again without trying. Sometimes I try to take care of one tunnel before I move on to another tunnel in the same mine, but it can be difficult when you can see empty black spaces that need light from your torches. Soon you begin to wander through the tunnels, placing torches to light your way, and forgetting which way leads out of the long maze of stone. At this point, I always try to backtrack so that I know I am not lost. Getting lost in these underground tunnels can be scary.

Minecraft is a great example of how games can give a player different feelings. And it is just one game of many that give these emotions really well. The free version of Minecraft is a bit more care-free than the Alpha version but both are a lot of fun.

As always, keep an eye on Steam for good deals on games. Especially since Christmas is just around the corner. Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

News Update

Hey, everyone! Lots of new things going on in the world of games and many of which I am pretty excited about. So let's just get to it.

First and foremost...a series I have been waiting to hear about for a few years has finally announced something big. I'm sure most people have heard of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but not everyone realizes that it is actually the fourth game in the series. A few days ago, the fifth game in the series was announced with a name, trailer, and release date!

I do not own anything in the video nor to I claim to own it.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been set to release on November 11th, 2011. That's less than a year away! Let's see if it this date will stay or change. It has also been revealed that it will use a brand new engine!

Another big thing I'm excited about is Minecraft going into Beta. If you have never played Minecraft before, click on the link and play the the classic single-player minecraft for free just to get a taste of what can be done in the game. It is currently in Alpha but will be going into Beta on December 20th! This doesn't mean the game is almost finished. In is actually far from finished. The developer still plans to put a lot more content into the game. If you buy the game while it is in Alpha, you can get it for 50% off and get all future updates for free. But I guess I should answer the question...what is Minecraft?

Minecraft is a simple game in which the player mines, builds, fights, and survives. But there is a lot of depth in this simple game. Players can farm, build, mine, craft, create, fight, and more. This is the amount of things to do currently implemented with more to come. There are some fun physics in the game as well as dynamic lighting. The classic free mode is fun but only gives you a small taste of the things that can be done. Try it for yourself to see exactly what I mean.

It is also getting very close to the release of Dungeon Defenders (I hope). The game was already delayed due to some issues with consoles and their weird policies, but this is not a bad thing. The developers have already promised us even more content because of the delay. Dungeon Defenders is a tower-defense action role-playing game. Think of it as tower-defense meets Diablo. It is played from a third-person point of view in which you control a single person who can place defenses. The Diablo aspect of the game comes with the fighting. You can use your character to fight off the monsters invading your castle so the defenses you place to have to do all the work. With killing monsters comes loot...also much like diablo. And who doesn't like getting better equipment. I'm looking forward to this game very much.

And did I mention that Dungeon Defenders was made in the Unreal Development Kit (UDK)? This makes me even more excited because I know how to use UDK and it shows just how powerful this development tool is.

That's about all the major news that I am currently excited about. As always, keep an eye on Steam for good deals on games. Especially since Christmas is just around the corner. Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

FPS on Wii...Good or Bad?

Hey, everyone! I've been hooked on the remake of 007 GoldenEye for the Wii. Playing it as much as I have got me thinking about something. Are first-person shooters (FPS) on the Wii a good idea or a bad idea?

Sure, the Wii could be thought of as a more "family friendly" gaming console but it is still a console and deserves to have more mature games for more mature audiences. If we look at the other consoles, the XBox 360 released the Kinect recently in order to get a wider audience for their console. This means that there will also be more "family friendly" games for the console, too. But are developers going to stop releasing games for the 360 that are more for the "gamers" and "mature" audiences? The correct answer is...Nope. These games will still sell. The PS3 is also getting a motion feature to keep up in the console wars. But developers won't change their ways for the Sony's console either. So why should the Wii be treated any different?

GoldenEye 007 on the Wii handles very well. The controls feel smooth and natural. And there are options to adjust the controls to suit your fancy. This shows that FPS games can be developed for the Wii as long as enough effort is put into it. I also find that the controls of a FPS on the Wii can be a bit more real than on other consoles. I still prefer FPS games on the PC but the Wii controls simulated reality better. In reality, we can aim all over our field of view without turning our head. The same goes for the Wii. The motion control on the Wii allows the player to aim their gun all over the screen without moving the entire screen too much. FPS games on other platforms do not do this. Instead, they move the entire screen as though the players head and arms can not move independently of each other. This breaks the immersion a little. It doesn't break it enough to stop people from playing but it does make it feel a little less realistic.

We will have to see if the Kinect and PS3 Move will change FPS games on their consoles, but for now, let us just think about FPS games on the Wii. Are FPS games on the Wii a good idea or a terrible one? My personal opinion...a good idea. I enjoy them very much and think that the controls are much easier and more natural to use.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

I'm Back...

Hey, everyone. It's been a little while since I have made a post. I was in school and was really busy. Unfortunately I let the blogging get away from me but my quarter of schooling is over so I should be getting back to the blogging now. This is just gonna be a quick post but I will be getting back to the more detailed posts soon.

BlizzCon 2010 has come and passed. The new Demon Hunter class for Diablo 3 has been announced and looks very interesting. I personally talked to someone I know who went to BlizzCon this year and was able to play Diablo 3 there. He seemed to be pleased with the progress on the game so far.

Lots of new things have been announced for Star Wars: The Old Republic. New ships, new class details, new inhabitants, and more.

Goldeneye for the Wii has been released and is well worth the purchase. I did buy it and beat it. The single player campaign is fun but I would recommend it for the multiplayer. The online multiplayer is what keeps me playing it. The graphics are impressive for a Wii game. The controls take a little practice if you have never played a first-person shooter on the Wii, but the learning curve for the controls is only about 15 or 20 minutes, and there is a short tutorial to teach new players. The story is a bit different from the original but the changes do not hinder the game.

The multiplayer is what most people remember about the original so, naturally, the multiplayer is the remake is very well done. The split-screen multiplayer is fun with a few friends but the multiplayer that stops me from putting the game down is the online multiplayer. I'm not a fan of all the maps but the majority of them are fun and fairly easy to navigate. There are a number of modes to keep players entertained. My personal favorite is the Black Box mode in which two teams fight over a small box on the map. One team is trying to protect the box while the other team is trying to destroy it. The online multiplayer has an experience system similar to the Call of Duty franchise. You gain experience with eliminations, completing objectives, elimination streaks, and other similar things. With experience, weapons and game modes are unlocked which will keep people playing for a while.

There are plenty of people playing, too. Every multiplayer mode that I have played has always been maxed on people. This helps to speed up the already fast-paced multiplayer. I highly recommend everyone with a Wii to give Goldeneye a try. You will get many hours of gameplay out of this game even after the single player campaign is completed.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it. Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

Are Games really "Survival"?

Hey, everyone. It's been a little while since my last post. I was discussing video games with some people yesterday who do not really play video games and it made me think of an interesting concept.

The Resident Evil series and the Silent Hill series are categorized as survival horror. I was playing Left 4 Dead 2 and some friends asked what kind of game it is. One of them compared it to Resident Evil and asked if it was similar. I told them I suppose because you are shooting dead things, but it is still a very different game. Then I tried to explain it and realized that I was describing a survival game except with more action.

This explanation made me think of an interesting question. What really makes a game classified as the "survival" genre? Almost any game I think of has a common goal...do not die. This goal can also be described as survive. Left 4 Dead, Oblivion, Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft, Mass Effect, Call of Duty, and many other games all share this goal. Even simple casual games have the basic idea of surviving as long as possible to get the highest score or whatever else. The only games I can think of that stray from this goal are a few strange flash games on the internet.

So what allows Resident Evil to be a "survival" game? Perhaps it is in the horror genre and horror movies are usually about surviving the "horror" in the movie. Or perhaps it's because you can get scared to death...HAHA! But really, in my opinion, I think that many games could have the category of survival attached to them. What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!

Thanks for reading my blog. Please follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). Also be sure to follow me on my Twitter if you use Twitter. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

New GoldenEye Site

Hey, everyone. Just a quick update. I have a twitter account now for my blog.

In other news, the GoldenEye website in my last blog post has had a major update. Everyone should go check it out. If you look carefully, you will find small puzzles and hidden objects around the site. On top of that, there is more to come in the future! So click here to see the awesome new website for the upcoming Wii exclusive. Also be sure to see the new Multiplayer trailer here.

Steam is having a weekend sale this weekend. You can get the Stalker bundle for 75% off this weekend. That's 2 games for only $10!

Here is the link to my twitter account. Please follow me. Thanks!

Lately, I have been playing Oblivion...again. If you have never played it, check it out. You will thank yourself for it.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

GoldenEye and More Steam

Hello, again. The final game I'm most looking forward to is GoldenEye 007 for the Wii. And with a November release date, I don't have to wait very long.

This game doesn't need a long explanation. Anyone who remembers playing the original GoldenEye for the Nintendo 64 will find this game very familiar. It is a remake of that classic game. Most of the game will be the same except with a "facelift". There will be a few differences in the single player storyline and Pierce Brosnan, who played Bond in the movie, will be replaced with the current Bond actor, Daniel Craig.

Another big plus about this game is something that could not have been incorporated in the first one due to the technology at the time...online multiplayer! Most people kept playing the original because the of the multiplayer. It was a perfect game to play with a few of your buddies and now you can play with your buddies with having to leave your house! The online multiplayer will allow up 8 people and will have 16 different modes including "paintball" and "melee only".

And with this game being a Wii exclusive, things are looking up for the future of the Wii. I will keep my ears open for more news about this version of GoldenEye. You can look forward to owning this game in November.

The Steam QuakeCon 2010 sale today is Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition. It is on sale for 50% off today only! Or you can buy the complete QuakeCon 2010 Pack, almost $300 worth of games for just $70.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Star Wars and Steam!

Hey, everyone. My second game I am most looking forward to is Star Wars: The Old Republic. And today, the good people at BioWare have released some more information about the Jedi Knight class in the game.

The Jedi Knight class will be split into Guardian and Sentinel. The Guardian side of the class will be able to take more damage but will lack in the damage dealing. The Sentinel will not be able to take as much damage but will be able to deal a lot more damage than its Guardian counterpart. You can check out the Jedi Knight class here or watch the trailer for the Jedi Knight class below.

Please note that I do not own this video. It belongs to BioWare and Lucasarts.

Now, what makes this MMORPG stand out from the rest of the MMO's out there today? This MMO is fully voiced. FULLY VOICED! That means everything that any character in the game will say has actual audio to go with it! And the decisions you make with your character will affect your character's story. Even though I'm not quite sure how this will work with an MMO, I think that BioWare will be able to do it well because of their previous experience with things like this.

Although making the game fully voiced makes it easier for people who would rather listen instead of read, it also helps to make the game more immersive. This is not just a good thing, this is a great thing. The more immersive a game is, the harder it will be for people to stop playing it. As a game design student, I believe immersion is a key factor to think about when working on a game.

Come back at a later date for more updates on this game. On another note, Steam's QuakeCon 2010 Sale today is Doom. They are selling every Doom game for 66% off! Or you can buy the Doom bundle and save even more! Buying the bundle will give you every Doom game for $14.00! That's right. That's not a typo.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please, follow me if you liked the post (you can find that off to the right side). If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Diablo 3

Hey. So my last post was a list of the top 3 games I'm looking forward to most. The top game is Diablo 3 from Blizzard Entertainment.

Even though there has not been much information on this game yet, there is enough for me to get excited about it. I think it also helps that Diablo 2 is one of my favorite games of all time and the third one is looking to bring back the hack and slash gameplay that everyone loved about Diablo 2. It also looks like it will be bringing in some fresh new gameplay, too. This time around, the environments will be interactive. For example, you can break pillars to crumble down on your enemies or simply just push enemies off a ledge into darkness.

For anyone who enjoys cinematics, go to the official Diablo 3 website, click on media, and scroll down to watch the cinematic trailer. This cinematic is and excellent example of the cinematics seen in the Diablo series of games.

I will bring more updates about this game when more information is released. Blizzcon 2010 is coming up in October so there may be more updates about this game around that time.

On a side note, Steam is having a different sale everyday for the next few days in celebration of QuakeCon 2010. Today's deals are The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition and the Deluxe Edition. Check back everyday for new deals on games from Bethesda and Id.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Top 3 Future Games

Hey. I know it's been a while since my last post. I have been away but I am back now so the posts should become more frequent. I thought it would be a good idea to preview some games that I am going to be keeping my eye open for. So here is a short list of the top 3 games I am looking forward to most.

1. Diablo 3 - Made by Blizzard Entertainment and it's a sequel to Diablo 2. There hasn't been too much information released about this game yet but it's looking promising so far. The gameplay looks like it will have the same feel as Diablo 2 but with a few tricks, such as objects in the environment to interact with.

2. Star Wars: The Old Republic - A Star Wars MMORPG made by Bioware (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, Dragon Age...). It has lots of planets to explore, a light side and dark side to choose from, force powers, lightsabers, and it's FULLY VOICED! What more could you ask for from a Star Wars game?

3. GoldenEye 007 - A remake of the original GoldenEye game for Nintendo 64. Not a sequel, not a prequel, not a different game...the same game with a major facelift. Some of the missions may vary from the original game but they will still fit the storyline. The best part? Online multiplayer!

I am still currently addicted to Alien Swarm. Haha! If you want to play together, let me know. If you want to find out what Alien Swarm is, read one of my previous posts in which I described it.

I am keeping my eyes and ears open for updates about each of these games and will post them here if I find anything of importance. Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Comic-Con 2010

Comic-Con 2010 just finished a few days ago and it was a pretty interesting year. It was the first Comic-Con where someone was stabbed. STABBED?! Yep, that's right. Stabbed. Apparently some convention attendees got into an argument about sitting too close together while waiting on a panel featuring Seth Rogen. I think this is the first person I have ever seen wearing handcuffs and a Harry Potter shirt. Haha.

Ok. Enough about crazy fans. Not only does Comic-Con have comics, costumes, and fans, but it also has movies, shows, and now stabbings. And the best one...GAMES! One of the game showcased at this year's Comic-Con that I have been curious about is the new Assassin's Creed game.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is the next game in the Assassin's Creed series. The second one came out last year so why does this have a November release date? This game is being produced by a very large company. One of my professors, who was in the industry before teaching, told my class that there are 1,500 people working on this new Assassin's Creed game. 1,500 PEOPLE! That's a lot more than most game developers have. I'm not too interested about the single player part of this game. It takes place in the same Renaissance time period in Rome and follows the same main character.

The aspect of the game I'm looking forward to is the multiplayer. The multiplayer in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is similar to the real-life game Assassin in which many people play and you try to hunt down your target while, at the same time, you are being hunted by someone else. The last man standing wins. In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, everyone will play an assassin and can choose their appearance. Then everyone is given a target that is displayed on the screen. Each player tries to get rid of their target without attracting too much attention. If you give away your position while killing your targeted player, they player who is hunting you will have no trouble finding and killing you. It sounds like it's gonna be an awesome addition to the series.

I am still addicted to Alien Swarm. If you want more info, I explained about it in my previous post. If you haven't tried it yet, do yourself a favor and go try it! It's free so you have nothing to lose!

Thanks for reading. I probably won't have any new posts for the rest of this week because I will be out of town, but I will post new stuff soon. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Alien Swarm

About a week ago, Valve released Alien Swarm for free through their Steam client for PC and I've been strangely addicted to it since I downloaded it. Alien Swarm is a tactical, co-op shooter with an overhead view.

Normally, I don't play too many tactical shooters, but this one is fast-paced so I don't fall asleep while team members are planning everything out. It is also easy to get into the action and plenty of variety becomes available early on. The missions are pretty short with each one lasting about 10 minutes on average. In fact, the whole game is pretty short and can be played through in an hour or so with a good group, but the game is free so there shouldn't be any complaining. Even though it is a short experience, there is a lot of replay value with 4 different difficulties, 4 different character classes, and a ton of weapons and items to unlock.

In the game, you will begin to see more items and weapons become available as you play. Your Steam account saves your progress in the game as you level up. When you level up, more stuff is unlocked and you can use it. This becomes useful because there are items that are improvements upon standard equipment (i.e. the medic can unlock an item that heals group members faster). The difficulties are similar to those of Left4Dead2 if you are familiar with another great game from Valve. Normal difficulty will provide a nice challenge for new players and the higher difficulties will do the same for more experienced players who have unlocked more equipment.

My favorite part of Alien Swarm is the co-op aspect. I love games that involve working with other players to accomplish an objective, and this game does it very well. The co-op aspect of this game also helps to shorten the learning curve because other experienced players can tell you what weapons to use and when to use them. I highly recommend trying this game. It is a great product from Valve. And why not try it? Since the game is completely free, you have absolutely nothing to lose.

Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Is EA Crazy?

In my last post, I talked about the free third-person shooter, Battlefield Heroes, released by EA. Is EA crazy?! Why would a huge company like EA release a game for free?

Well, EA is not crazy. The game is free but they are still making money from it. The money is being made through the ads and through micro-transactions. Micro-transactions are small purchases within a game using real money. For instance, you may pay $1.00 of real money for a better weapon or some unique armor. The game industry has seen a lot of micro-transaction activity lately and it will only get bigger.

Blizzard Entertainment is a large company we see beginning to use micro-transactions. They are allowing players to spend real money on unique mounts but they also have the subscription fee in place which might stop most players from using their micro-transaction system.

On the other hand, Dungeons & Dragons Online from Turbine was a subscription based MMO but they have stopped charging a subscription fee. Instead, they have switched to a completely free game with a store where you can buy things for your characters using real money aka micro-transactions. According to the MMO Report on G4TV.com, Turbine has found that they actually make more money now using the micro-transaction system than they did when it was a subscription based game.

Facebook is another large market for games with micro-transactions. Farmville, one of the most played games on Facebook, has a micro-transaction system and it actually makes a decent amount of money. There are many other Facebook games that use a similar system. In fact, most every game I have seen on Facebook uses a similar system.

I don't think that micro-transactions with be the only thing in the future of the game industry. I do, however, think that they will become a large part of the future of the industry, and we should get used to seeing them and maybe even using them because it looks like micro-transactions will be around for a long time.

Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions, I'm always open to ways I can improve my blog. I am still working on the design of the blog so please just give me some time. If you have any questions about anything, please feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to answer it.

Battlefield Heroes

Hello, again. Recently, I've been playing Battlefield Heroes from EA. For those of you who have not heard of this game, I would recommend trying it if you enjoy the other games in the Battlefield series...especially since this game is FREE! What is Battlefield Heroes? That's a good question.

Battlefield Heroes is a free to play game for PC release by EA. It is part of the Battlefield franchise but its system requirements are much lower than others in the series. Since the system requirements are lower, the game is not limited to only people with gaming machines. There are always people playing and you can jump in and play regardless of the amount of time you have. Does this mean it is a casual game? No. It's not a true casual game, but a full sized game aimed at both hardcore gamers and casual gamers.

Unlike the other games in the franchise, Battlefield Heroes is a third-person shooter and has a light-hearted, cartoon feel to it. Some people might not enjoy this style but it's hard to complain because it's Battlefield action for free. The game controls well and truly does feel like a Battlefield game. It also has a lot of content for being a free game. I think my favorite part about the game are the vehicles. Players can take advantage of jeeps, tanks, and airplanes to achieve objectives. These objectives pretty straight forward game modes, including "capture the flag" and "king of the hill". My favorite vehicle is the airplane. The airplane is a bit difficult to fly but once you have the hang of it, it's be a lot of fun to fly around the maps and shoot at enemies. There is also an experience system and a mission system. The mission system allows you to choose which personal objectives you want to complete (i.e. 10 Kills in one round). Completing missions along with dealing damage to enemy players grants experience points that let you spend on different skills for you character class. Each character class has its own unique abilities that can help them in combat. This adds a bit of depth for those who are looking for something more.

Battlefield Heroes is being updated often with new content. For instance, they currently have special gear to use to customize your characters for the world cup. There are new weapons, items, and bonuses added regularly to keep the game fresh and exciting.

Enough talk, the only way to truly experience a game is to try it. If you are enjoy the Battlefield franchise or similar games, you might like this game...especially since it is free. Here is the link to the game. Battlefield Heroes

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think. I'm always looking for advice to improve my blog. Thanks.

First Post

Hi. I'm new to this blogging thing so I thought I would give it a try and see what everyone likes about it.

Everyone always says to blog about something you know about or you enjoy. Well I know about games and I enjoy games. It doesn't matter if it's a video game, a board game, a card game, or a yard game, I enjoy them all. I'm even studying Game Development in college so I learn more everyday. My focus on this blog...along with my thoughts about different games...will be many aspects of games from design to mechanics to market to one of the most important questions..."Is it fun?"

I am still working on the design of the blog and the color schemes and stuff but I will try to post things fairly regularly. I hope you enjoy my post today and my posts in the future. If there are any questions you have or if you want to know what I think about a game, I will do my best to tell you.