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!

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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.