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Shuckles
Member Posts: 158
The entire gaming industry blows.
It is dominated by large corporations who simply do not get it. At all.
I am dying for a decent game.
I work very hard, 60 hours a week. Gaming is my stress relief. I am wound as tight as a golf ball because there simply does not exist a game of any depth and skill that challenges me. Unless of course you are talking about a game that has a ton of bugs or is quest based, or is simply, well, ghey.
The SOEs and EAs and the like have really made me think about selling all my hardware and taking up needlecraft.
Anytime a decent studio produces something good they sell out to some big company to "manage" it or "distribute" it or some other "b u l l s h i t".
What is everyone else doing who is in the same boat?
Today I said to someone, "You might want to back the fuck off, I am pretty stressed out right now and I am liable to beat the shit out of you if you do not take your bullshit elsewhere." He left.
It is dominated by large corporations who simply do not get it. At all.
I am dying for a decent game.
I work very hard, 60 hours a week. Gaming is my stress relief. I am wound as tight as a golf ball because there simply does not exist a game of any depth and skill that challenges me. Unless of course you are talking about a game that has a ton of bugs or is quest based, or is simply, well, ghey.
The SOEs and EAs and the like have really made me think about selling all my hardware and taking up needlecraft.
Anytime a decent studio produces something good they sell out to some big company to "manage" it or "distribute" it or some other "b u l l s h i t".
What is everyone else doing who is in the same boat?
Today I said to someone, "You might want to back the fuck off, I am pretty stressed out right now and I am liable to beat the shit out of you if you do not take your bullshit elsewhere." He left.
Comments
"The man who exchanges Liberty for Iconic classes is a fool deserving of neither." - Me and Ben Franklin
A good friend & I have the same issue... but fortunatly for me, I have a cute GF to Plow instead of gaming... she's starting to have Hip & Knee issues, so I'm not sure how long this will work for... You know what they say, you can't gun your engine forever... it would be nice to have a game as well, but this isn't so bad... a little draining, but I have GREAT Cardio stats...
Unfortunatly, my friend doesn't have a steady GF...
I'll start my own SWG... with Black Jack... and Hookers!!!
In fact, forget the SWG!!!!
I may be pissing in the wind or not, only time will tell. But my plan is to leverage my experience in designing and running large online transaction processing systems and my contacts in the business world (yes I know a couple of VC people) into an effort to develop the next great Sci-Fi MMORPG.
I was once involved in a group of people trying to create an Internet-based multiplayer graphical space game as early as 1993. Though that effort was a failure (the project owner/designer turned down Venture Capital), I still retain the desire to write one.
I know it will take a lot of work, and a lot more than just me and my partner to build something worthy of being played by everybody here. And I know I am nowhere near ready today. But I am designing, and I am augmenting my knowledge of the needed technologies I am weak in. Soon I will begin searching for helpers, but only when I feel I am strong enough in everything to ensure success. Why waste anybody else's time?
Unlinke you, I don't have to work too hard, for now. I built a successful software company with a friend (ex-friend now...long story) and have a monthly income still coming from that effort in addition to my current small business I run. So while I have that extra income, I can afford to do all of this learning and planning and hopefully talking to some VC types while working 10 or 20 hours per week.
This is one of the reasons I frequent these forums, to see what everybody likes and dislikes. With any luck there are others out there like me, with even better qualifications and monetary backing that want to see a real Sandbox MMORPG created, and are willing to focus on quality as opposed to chasing WoW's subscribers.
Only time will tell. Sorry for a long rambling post.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
Second: Engineers are just a small pebble in game development. 5-15% of total. 40-60% will go for artists, content creators, designers, and other asset creation. Even if you have poor visuals.
Seriously, look at other stories and learn from them, or you'll fail. Big time.
Or show me a success story that worked like that. You'll only need one hand to count them.
And make sure to read the link I posted.
Very sobering. * begins tearing up MMORPG plans! * j/k
But it is sobering to read. And don't think for a minute it's not something that I fear as a wannabe. Life and business are just big complex tapestries that do not like you to pull on the frayed ends too often or too hard.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
A good friend & I have the same issue... but fortunatly for me, I have a cute GF to Plow instead of gaming... she's starting to have Hip & Knee issues, so I'm not sure how long this will work for... You know what they say, you can't gun your engine forever... it would be nice to have a game as well, but this isn't so bad... a little draining, but I have GREAT Cardio stats...
Unfortunatly, my friend doesn't have a steady GF...
Lol, thanks for sharing :P
I fully understand what you are saying Rekrul. And I appreciate your concern and candor. I have played all the roles in IT from operator, to programmer, to project manager, to CIO, to consultant, to entrpreneur and back. I realize this does not exempt me from making mistakes.
I am studying my butt off, looking at as many case studies as possible before investing my money or my friends' money. I won't spend it until I am sure I have THE PLAN. All I was saying in my post is hopefully somebody like myself, hopefully better funded, will come to the rescue of this dreary industry, because, as the OP mentioned, there really is nothing out there to play that is any fun.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
Yeah, T-M-I, definitely. Hey MX-13, there are these neat little foam props in different shapes that you can buy to help keep her in position. (Liberator Shapes I think they are called -- don't ask how I know, I won't tell)
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
All I was saying in my post is hopefully somebody like myself, hopefully better funded, will come to the rescue of this dreary industry, because, as the OP mentioned, there really is nothing out there to play that is any fun.
You sure about that?
Over 75 million players worldwide would disagree. Majority of them are in China of course, but their currency is convertible.
What is the market size of OP-like players? What is their market capacity?
There's people that say LPs are the only true music media that was ever made. When was the last time you hear of someone making LPs?
Yeah, T-M-I, definitely. Hey MX-13, there are these neat little foam props in different shapes that you can buy to help keep her in position. (Liberator Shapes I think they are called -- don't ask how I know, I won't tell)
Heh, strap her in and away you go?
All I was saying in my post is hopefully somebody like myself, hopefully better funded, will come to the rescue of this dreary industry, because, as the OP mentioned, there really is nothing out there to play that is any fun.
You sure about that?
Over 75 million players worldwide would disagree. Majority of them are in China of course, but their currency is convertible.
What is the market size of OP-like players? What is their market capacity?
There's people that say LPs are the only true music media that was ever made. When was the last time you hear of someone making LPs?
See, the businessperson inside of me hears you and cares. The opinionated artiste' inside of me does not give a darn if you know what I mean.
The SWG experiment that Raph Koster created was cut short by SOE. What if SOE had just fixed the bugs and not gone the way of CUNGE? Who is to say they would not have more subscribers now than WoW has? What if the only thing preventing SWG from having WoW-like numbers was the bugginess? Was it really the gameplay or the theory of the game? Or was it the fact that WoW does what it is supposed to do without barfing all over itself every opportunity it gets?
I think the SWG Sandbox vs WoW Hack-n-Slash grindfest experiment never reached a valid completion. So what is the market of OP-like players? We really do not know yet. You can be a cowardly businessperson and play it safe like SOE THOUGHT they were doing, or you can blaze your own trail and end up rich or broke. I'm the latter, I admit it.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
Yeah, T-M-I, definitely. Hey MX-13, there are these neat little foam props in different shapes that you can buy to help keep her in position. (Liberator Shapes I think they are called -- don't ask how I know, I won't tell)
Heh, strap her in and away you go?
I think I would be pushing my luck with the mods if I gave all the details.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
I think I would be pushing my luck with the mods if I gave all the details.
Your furniture failed to change your target's posture.
Your furniture failed to change your target's posture.
Your furniture failed to change your target's posture.
You force your target to kneeling.
You knockdown your target.
You cannot mount while riding a mount.
You cannot mount while riding a mount.
You cannot mount while riding a mount.
See, pre-cu was fun. Some bugs, but generally fun.
I agree also with the OP. There is really nothing that is trend setting nor new. Its like a season of reruns that have been showing the same episode over and over again. New name, new dress, same old lady. I do miss that feeling i got when factioning in Ultima Online. I miss that feeling of exploring while I'm crafting etc. I miss the flexibility in how i wanted to play. The satisfaction of turning a pile of rock into some seriously sweet armor through a process that was believable. Then i could sell my wares from my door step or in my house full of rare items that Ive collected through my travels. Miss that feeling like i could actually live in this world. A world not bound by levels and preset classifications limiting only to the scope of the developer cause hes either cheap, lazy or has a power trip during development.
Game mechanics in these new games are crap. Its still the same turn based cookie cutting combat system. Some are so cheap that if you move out of the reach of a creature that is swinging an axe he will still hit, sometimes even 20 feet away. That is utter crap. Then they expect a person to pay for crap like that. I think not, not my cash anyway. Try pvping with a system like that.
Times are changing as us older gamers know all too well. With connection speeds running very cheap with speeds as fast as 8mb/768kb and processors and video cards are as fast as they are today and as cheap as they are, you'd think the developers would take advantage of them. They do with graphics and eye candy but the mechanics of the games remain the same game after game. All with the same hiccups and errors and shortcomings. The market is filled with these games, and more are to come. Its a very disappointing time for a older gamer. Thank the maker there are first person shooters. Its no longer about the gamer and his game. Its about the shirt and his money machine.
Thats my take on it.
Good post OP
FoE Fist of the Empire
Personally, Mr Scott I am behind you 110%. If you are serious about blazing that new trail, my pen and VC is at your disposal. I have no experience making games, but I have years of exp writing about them and playing them. I would write a presentation Doc, a back story/history, a story arc for a ground breaking attempt in a heartbeat. I don't have a lot of capital to venture but I would give what I have for the right idea. Send a pm my direction if there are any needs I can fill, seriously!
- Jode
/spewliquidonmonitor
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever
playing eq2 and two worlds
There has to be a middle ground where the engineers can keep (and even elevate) their passion while the bean counters keep the company's bottom line healthy. There must be companies out there who are achieving this. It's only the ones who aren't that are getting all the press these days.
i feeeeel your pain.......someone once said to me if your stressed out go get a candy bar and a soda..supposedly he said its a stress reliever...i thought hey...good idea..
Defiant
There has to be a middle ground where the engineers can keep (and even elevate) their passion while the bean counters keep the company's bottom line healthy. There must be companies out there who are achieving this. It's only the ones who aren't that are getting all the press these days.
Companies seem to follow the same life cycle. Sharp guys/gals innovate, create great product/service. Public loves it. Demand increases. Money is needed to expand production as well as expertise. People with money and expertise either totally buy business or take over operations and bully the innovator into the corner. Innovation ends, cost cutting begins. Public loses interest. Corporate types go WTF? Corporate types go buy another innovative product and repeat cycle.
It just plain sucks.
There may be a middle ground, but bean counters really don't care to meet you there. They believe in Win/Lose situations. Win/Win is just something they say to you before the deal is executed. The only way you will find the companies you are looking for is to see who was just bought out today. But by then it is too late.
I realize I said I quit. I never said it was forever