Achievement Unlocked

After many discussions over the introduction of achievements I thought it would be appropriate to discuss it in a more formal manner. I will refer to these accomplishments in game as achievements for the rest of the article but it is worth noting that the same can be said for PS3 Trophies, Steam achievements and other types of achievement like rewards.

Gaming from its origin was based on high scores. Each and every cabinet had it’s own leader-board and it was everybody's aim to be the best. Competition is in our blood, there has always been a way to show that  you were the top player. So much so that in the mid 80’s there was a massive boom of what could be described as the origin of pro-gaming, many people flocking from all over America to beat each others scores and prove that they were the best. This competition was so hyped that it gained acknowledgement from all over the world, it was at this point that many people started to take note of achievement in gaming.

Fast forward a few decades and we are standing amongst the gaming wave of the 90’s, although the leader-board system of the 80’s had taken a side step many gamers still participated in competitive gaming. Consoles had now became a staple of the modern home, they may still be frowned upon and those who played them may have been judged but consoles were becoming more and more common.

Several years passed and online gaming was introduced. Everybody could now share their scores and discuss what they have accomplished online. Some games had their own leader-boards, like Bungie’s stat tracker on their website and other online games that monitored their players progress.

Now it is debatable who revolutionised the online achievement system but in my eyes it was Xbox 360. With the current generation of consoles there are many online profiles and each with their own slant on their personality. To make sure they stayed on top Microsoft had allowed their users to not only compare games in their collections but also provided a new and innovative way. With a base of 1000 gamerscore, that can be obtained through various different in game objectives and the players profile being updated accordingly.

Some people argue that these achievements ruin gaming in general. They even say it’s damaging to the experience of a game. People no longer just play a game they want to, but instead they are influenced by the achievements and become obsessed with the accumulation of score.

There are some cases where this is true. Some people endure a tremendous amount of dull game play for the sake of a few points and in some cases will seek out games with easy achievements to further their score. Although this is prevalent in many peoples cases, I blame the company for resorting to such cheap tactics. Some companies do a lot of research in to achievements and in some cases make them easily obtained for the sole reason of pulling in more consumers. It is this kind of achievement that is frowned upon. It’s the kind of games that enable the user to obtain most of the achievements from the start of the game, I’m sure you are all aware of Avatar which happens to be the most infamous gamerscore whore game. This is how many people judge the credibility of a gamer, if they happen to have the full 1000 in this game they can be frowned upon.
Other reasons gamerscore is judged as a bad thing is that it encourages a kind of hierarchy within the community. People are more than aware of their current score and have competitions amongst their friends. Through this it can alienate people from groups because they might not have a lot of point. Although this is not a major problem it can cause tension when people start to be judged because of a number on their card.

On the other hand you have those that argue that achievements enhance gameplay. These achievements can make players aware of certain tactics the might not use or alert them to secret areas in games.

In the case of achievements being used to enhance gameplay many developers use these achievements to direct their player. Sometimes this can be used to encourage a player to use certain items in game or seek out secret areas they might not have before. If done well many players will experience a lot more of the game than they may have seen without this level of guidance.
There is also the argument that achievements can be used as an affirmation for the player. If they succeed in game the success is recognised, not only do you have the satisfaction that you completed a difficult part of the game but you also get a shiny pin to put on your e-lapel.

One final argument is that it is our nature as gamers to seek competition. I have mentioned it before in this article, gaming as a whole is based on the foundation of achievement. It started with leader-boards and has evolved in to gamercards/online personas and so on. We are now able to view not only the people who play at our local arcade but everyone on our friends list. We can compare, share and view each others progress together. It’s a friendly type of competition that we can immerse ourself in and adds a layer of meta to all our gaming if we wish to indulge each other, if only for a little while.

I think achievements are a great idea. They innovate play and have brought a new level of competition to gaming. This kind of influence can allow a developer to flesh out their game to encourage players to experience parts that they may normally shy away from. I myself tend to indulge a little too often in the gamerscore race but it just so happens to be my vice. I hope they stick around for a long time and who knows maybe in the future we might be rewarded for our dedication to a certain game with more than just a pop-up on screen.

Project Update

It's now the end of the 6th week in our development cycle and we have finally started to see some real levels in progress.

The week started with a burst of models to be implemented. These models are flying out of Marc's computer faster than we can think of new objects to make. They all look great without texture and all the characters are rigged for Kinect motion capture.

We also got to see some base textures and applied them for our first prototype. The textures look good and gave a rough idea as to what our game could potentially look like and it looks great. We also started to tackle bugs and glitches that have been happening and implement more ideas in to our game. On top of that I also started on some basic HUD elements this week and hopefully they will be fully functional by next week.

Our plans for next week is to get more art in place, build more levels and hopefully see the extermination of those pesky bugs. All in all it has been a great week and I really hope it goes well.

Is The Games Industry Becoming Stagnant?

As I sit here looking at both last years titles, and those to come, I can’t help but ask myself, is the game industry becoming stagnant ?


Take a look at your favourite publishers, games companies and producers and think about their back catalogue. In the early 90’s the industry was frothing at the mouth with new ideas, we had finally entered a plausible 3D world in which every industry designers dreams were that one step closer to reality. Fast forward to the 00’s and our current generation:Since the introduction of these next-gen consoles should we not expect the same enthusiasm for the life cycle of the hardware itself ?

When confronted with nearly an identical “top sellers” list every year I find it disheartening to see less and less breakthrough in ingenuity. That’s not to say I am against sequels or franchises, in fact it’s quite the opposite. I used to be a massive fan of the “Final Fantasy” series and continue to support Capcom and their range of fighting games.

What I am sick of however, is the large amount of drivel pushed in to our stores year in year. Yes, I’m talking about Call of Duty (CoD) and the way Activision are treating the market. They are not the only guilty party but I for one feel that I have been wronged by this company. Year in year out they regurgitate practically the same franchise, yes there are minor changes but with each iteration I can’t help but having and overwhelming sense of déjá vu and extremely underwhelmed by the lack of changes in the single player.

Some games do need to be treated as franchises, here I’m talking about your sports game. I say this only because sports teams in general tend to change every year and so do the players. One year many can retire and the next new teams could graduate to a higher division. These are the type of factors that need to be integrated in to game play to keep it relevant.

I am using (almost picking on) CoD. this is a game that I feel could be balanced through possible updates. With each iteration they have boasted better online performance and a more balanced set of weapons. Surely some of these changes are minuscule, to the point that it could factor just the tweaking of variables. It’s not like they have a problem supporting games after release, hell look at the number of map packs they are promising to bankrupt each and every fan with. Is it too much to ask for them to maybe for a brief second think about supporting the community as opposed to supporting their bankroll?

There are other companies that also fall short of meeting expectation in my book and we will get round to that. But first I want to try and analyse why is it companies continue to release practically the same game on almost a yearly basis ?

Is it because of a struggling economy? Maybe they are struggling to break even. But that can’t be true, again in the case of Activision, last year they broke records and saw what could be their most profitable year in a long time. This doesn’t solely come from the CoD but if you weren’t aware they have been reaching astronomical figures with their new Skylanders franchise. With each figure retailing at roughly £6/7 and a multi-pack going for just under £20 these small figures are a new revelation in marketing towards today’s youth. These figures have taken off so drastically that they have became almost unobtainable. So how does Activision treat this behemoth? The only way they know how, just recently they announced that not only do they plan to release a sequel but they intend to introduce a set of up to 16 new characters to it’s already large roster of 37. With the game itself retailing at about £50 with 3 Skylanders coming, parents are expected to purchase the remaining 34. And I do mean expected, we were all young at one point and some fell prey to the “Pokemon” phenomenon. This would be a potential £280 just to have the full collection in the original game, now with a further 16 characters and another £40ish game it could climax to a whopping £432 just for one game. Although these figures are based on simply buying the toys separately.

I’m sure if you are an avid fan of either series at this point you may be contemplating a heinous crime or formulating your counter argument against my blatant attack on Activsion. Maybe some of you have even started to compile a list of games that have revolutionised the gaming world that have flown straight out of the doors of Activision or their subsidiary companies. Although if you even look at their back catalogue they have been doing this for years;the Cabela franchise, Guitar Hero, Spiderman, Tony Hawk, X-men and countless others have all been driven in to the ground one way or another. Some of which may have had overhauls on mechanics or slight tweaks in direction but for the majority of them have remained the same and some of which were bled dry to the point that they no longer exist.

There are other companies guilty of this and another big offender is Capcom. They have offended some of their loyal fans to the point they have been renamed “Cashcom”, “Crapcom” and many other names. All because of their money grabbing tendencies.

To add insult to injury most of these companies are now opting for what has to be the cheapest get out ever. I am talking about none other than the HD remakes. Never before have their been HD remakes (yes I know it hasn’t been possible until recently) but come on, £50 for some titles that many still have. It seems to be a fad that has swept across many companies ranging from Capcom to Insomniac. These games are churned out fast and retail for full priced games. Sometimes there aren't even extras like the terminals in “Halo Anniversary”, these are the same games with upgraded graphics. How long will it be until our next set of favourites are upgraded, with rumours of FFX being redone and a lot more in the pipeline.

Why is the industry so devoid of ideas that we rely on reboots, rehashed and ridiculously unnecessary HD remakes. As a games designer in training I find it extremely disheartening to see that there is such a lack of creativity in what could potentially be what was once the job of a lifetime. That being said there is still hope for the games industry as there are still absolute gems to be discovered amongst the hordes of sequels, prequels and HD remixes. Although you only need to take a look at last years online list of most played games to see that some of these games are not receiving the attention they deserve.

What I'm Playing Just Now

It's one of those kind of questions that you tend to get asked. Normally it can be seen as a passing comment between friends and tends to mean what was the last game you played. Although on the odd occasion it means so much more, "just now" could range from anything from the past week to the current season. It all depends on not just who asks but how, obviously certain parties are far more interested than others.

For this update I am going to take it as a short list of games that I am playing or plan to return to in the next week or so. Well game that I hope to complete/return to sometime soon, although I can't guarantee anything this could all be pipe dreams.

The first and newest game on the list is "Catherine", I'm not one to partake in indulging odd Japanese dating puzzle games but when I do I get addicted. This charming little vixen saunters in to our unsuspecting protagonists life, for better or worse it's all down to you to decide.  The best way to describe the game is a puzzle game with a lot of quirky RPG elements, you get to talk to people at the bar and interact with each and everyone person in their own special way. What i love most about the game is the implication of each and every action, there seems to be no two play-throughs a like. It can range from the slightest mutter under your breath to the most romantic gesture to the wrong person that sets your game off in a completely different course. So far I'm loving it and I hope to get a full review up later.

Next up is Jackie Estacado's grand return. I have already been through the game once and really enjoyed it. Although there is some slight differences between this and the first in the series it was for the better mostly and it was also largely expected, although that is to be expected with a new team making the game. The art style feels great although it some times it didn't look the best it could of but I really enjoyed it. The story is great and it is one of the few FPS games that I feel takes tie to actually tell you a story instead of leaping between explosions and chase scenes. I'm currently planning a second run through and polishing off some of the online hit-list missions I missed. I hope to get a review up really soon.

The last game I am currently playing is SoulCalibur 5. I have already got a review up for it and you can read all about how I feel about the game there. Just now I'm just playing with friends and battling my way through the ranks online. I like to boot it up when I have a spare 30minutes to an hour. The game has a lot of longevity to it and I feel that with all my time in game I've barely scratched the surface.

Although after saying all this and laying it out I'll no doubt find another game that I just can't help myself from getting drawn too. Such is the curse of the gamer. 

You stay classy world wide web.

Project Update

It's the end of the week and it seems that  our game has came leaps and bounds yet again.

This week has seen everything slowly getting pulled together, we have more models, we have more scripts and we are starting on backgrounds and textures. Many thanks go out to the whole team, our artists are really putting in the work and new assets seem to be popping up everyday, our programmers have been putting in the work and coming up with mechanics would wouldn't of even dreamed of at the beginning (including intelligent AI that follow you if you are in their line of site, enabling the enemies to chase you, sneak attacks and a lot of other cool tidbits) and of course the designers who are all working hard to produce levels.

Halfway through the week was when we started to implement our assets in to unity and they work and more so look fantastic. Every model was implemented with ease and worked fine with all the scripts, only with minor glitches here or there. Next week we hope to get some textures in, the background implemented and hopefully a fully playable level.

We all have a lot of work ahead of us and things are going to slowly fall together in the next week. Hopefully with enough time and effort this game will really be a good piece for all our portfolios.

Integrated Project 3 Update.

Today was our first meeting with Brian after submitting our project plan. With criticisms in hand we all drudged on toward the meeting room. We were able to discuss care points and possible downfalls of the document. That being said Brian seemed generally pleased with the progress we are making.

Today was also the first day we got to see our game "in action". Although there is currently no textures or backgrounds to the game we were able to see the models run around and see how good they looked in Unity, and my god they looked good.

As far as I can tell they will work perfectly and their was even discussion about using Kinect as a means of capturing motion for the animation of the models. This would mean that we would be able to quickly and efficiently record animations for the game and maybe some quirky movements too if we have time.

As the project continues I can't help but get really excited. At this point in time I even feel that no amount of paperwork could take away from the high you get from this level of creativity. There is just some kind of synergy within the group and we all are really looking forward to the finished product.

UMvC3, The Ultimate Review.

First the community waited 10 years for a sequel and now we barely waited 10 months. The kind folks at Capcom have resolved many of the issues with the previous iteration they have also added a whole load of new characters.

The game boasts the same game modes as the original but with a load more thrown in to the mix. The game still includes the original arcade mode previously seen in the original but with new endings for the new characters. There are also new missions available for you to practice the shiny new cast and their combos. But what is more interesting is the addition of both Galactus mode where you get to play as the villain and obliterate Earth's last lines of defence to devour all the planet's resources and a post DLC game mode called "Heroes and Heralds". What I feel is the most fascinating component about H&H mode is the cards that you can create a set of 3 cards in your "deck" from your collection; each card has its own attributes and bonuses. Some of these cards give you extra damage and others can even allow the player to become invisible when low on health/dashing. Once you have built up your collection offline you can even take your unique set-up online to play against one another online in a weekly competition to wins more cards.

The new cast totals up to 48; 12 of which are new, 2 of whom are DLC and the remaining cast are returning from MvC3. The new characters are wonderfully unique and come from nay different areas of both the Marvel and Capcom universe. My personal favourite has to be Nova, the guy can back his punch and has a lot of cool moves and set-ups. Not only have they added a load of new cast members but they have also revamped some of the previous characters alternate colours as well as adding 2 more to each character. On the lead up to the game's release Capcom even released all the inspiration for their alternate costumes and if you are really in to the lore you can check them out online. Along with the new characters Capcom have also redesigned some maps as well as designing new arenas that draw inspiration from both Marvel comics and levels from Capcom games.

There has also been a revamp of the entire menu system and HUD. First of all the menu is far easier to navigate, no longer are you returned to unnatural screens like its counterpart. Now you can proceed through the menus in a more natural progression. Not only have they fixed navigation, Capcom have went to the point where they have completely redesigned the whole menu and character select screen. These new screens boast a new and very extravagant comic based layout, each background screams character and really captures the feeling of the game.
Now on to the HUD, personally I feel that the previous iteration was very good and provide clear and concise information correctly and almost fluently to the player. The new HUD falls short of the previous iterations design, this new HUD often feels cluttered and it is almost impossible to decipher what is happening on screen (especially in relation to which team mate is mapped to which button).

Lastly I want to talk about the online mode. The matchmaking has been significantly improved, it's now easier to find matches and the navigation is nowhere near as awkward to navigate. There has now been a spectator mode integrated online which makes it a great pleasure to play online as you are now no longer looking at two horribly designed cards rub up and down until one was declared victorious.

In conclusion the game is fantastic, it capitalises on everything that made MvC3 fun and improves them. Some might have a few problems with the release schedule but you never know when there is going to be another drought in the fighting game genre. So I say you should jump right on this wonderful sequel, especially if you missed the original you won't be disappointed. I give it an 8/10.