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sephfire

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Posts posted by sephfire

    Economics of Game Prices

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Sure, it's possible... but if that was truly the best and most complete way to say what you wanted to, why write a paper at all? A simple sentence will never be accurate because there's too much data lost; think of it like encoding an mp3.

    Sure, lower the amount of data allowed in the file enough, and you could encode the file using minimal disc space, but how shitty would it sound? In your efforts to reduce the size, you've lost all the important information.

    It's not saying everything you want, just clarifying exactly what you're trying to prove to us with your full length argument. You can always go in depth fleshing out your stance afterward, but having that initial, brief explanation of where you're about to go helps the reader to be able to follow you.

    Never mind, this explanation is better than mine:

    A thesis statement is generally a good measure of how focused, the author is. A concise and well-thought-of thesis statement will always garner the attention of a reader. It is this sentence, more than any other text in the essay, that will tell the reader what to expect from the dissertation. It tells the reader about the importance that you have given the subject that is under scrutiny. The thesis statement is your answer to the research question in the paper. The rest of your paper will be a methodical representation of the evidence that you have managed to collect in order to prove your answer to the research question right.

    ... I've just realized I'm leading us on a tangent again. My bad!

    Economics of Game Prices

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Yeah, because it's a complicated topic. What you're saying is akin to "I don't like dealing with complex issues that have interdependent disciplinary conflicts, and so I want you to take an extremely far-reaching and complex issue and boil it down to 3 sentences." Well, I'm not going to do that.

    It's called a thesis statement. A clear, concise summary of your argument. Every proper college paper, thesis or dissertation starts with one.

    Your "current argument" summary did help, though.

    Economics of Game Prices

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    To Jack:

    This isn't meant to be sarcastic or antagonistic, but have you ever considered joining a debate team or taking a debate class on the side or something? I mean, you've clearly got a head on your shoulders, you're a philosophy major, you've got a point of view you enjoy the heated discussion ... you've got a lot going for you in this kind of environment, but your debate tactics really handicap your position.

    The things is: you do have a pretty decent argument you're making. I don't agree with every facet of it, but your perspective isn't unreasonable. But every time you deliver that perspective, the post is laced with thinly-veiled insults to the opposition and a constant air of condescension. You aren't engaging in an exchange of ideas so much as firing volleys from a tower, and it completely cripples the argument you're trying to make. It's counter-productive. The reason the entire thread is ganging up on you is not because of your stance, but because of those tactics.

    For a similar example: the original draft of our Piracy episode was much more incendiary, much more blunt in calling pirates on some of their bullshit. But we knew that if we delivered the episode that way, we would convince no one. The episode would only succeed in angering people, and no one is receptive to new ideas or world-views once they enter that mental state. So we re-wrote it a few times in an attempt to deliver the argument in the least abrasive way possible.

    Again, not meaning this as a slight, just as food for thought. If it weren't for the wealth of personal insults, tangential arguments and condescension filling this thread (and coming from both sides), we could have wrapped this debate up in a neat bow by page 5.

    Economics of Game Prices

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    It's like... well, no wonder you're losing money; you're flooding the market with Imagine: Pony Dress Up #13. There's only so much crap people can buy at once, and at least we are saving up for the Mass Effects and the Red Deads. I just wish more of that shovelware money would be thrown at indie devs... THEY are the ones that deserve it more than anyone.

    Part of the reason you see so many lame little titles like that is actually because they're relatively cheap to make and the audience for them isn't nearly so discerning (pretty much the definition of "shovelware"). You don't tend to see many companies complaining about the lost piracy revenue for those games.

    Most of the companies complaining about the lost revenue are the ones trying to make the big-budget Mass Effects and Red Deads (sometimes succeeding, sometimes not). Black Ops was the most pirated game this year, and we can debate its quality but it definitely fits into that AAA category.

    And there's also the factor that, yes, many of the "superfluous" games the industry puts out don't interest us in the slightest, but that doesn't mean they don't have an audience. Do we care about the latest Spongebob game? Nope. Did it sell anyway? Damn straight. It's easy for us to write them off (or even forget they ever came out), but there's definitely an audience for those games.

    Economics of Game Prices

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Anyway, so economics of game prices is the topic, huh? Ok. You want to reduce game prices?

    All digital distribution. Cut out Gamestop, cut out the publishers like EA. Take the iTunes approach to game distribution; iTunes reduced the price of music by over 50% (average CDs used to be ~20$ for 10-12 songs; now, you can get a full album for ~9.99$, with .99$ songs). Cut out the bullshit middleman, and the price of games PLUMMET. You can have publishers for brick-and-mortar stores, but those stores will be used solely by people who don't have internet connections that can handle the DL speeds.

    For the rest of us who ARE net connected, we get any game we want, without worrying about stores being closed, direct to our consoles / drives, at DRASTICALLY lowered prices. Win.

    I think this is where the industry desperately wants things to be eventually, but it's going to be a gradual process to get there. Many game customers have never connected their console to the internet and many more have never even considered the option of digital game purchasing. Broadband access and adequate hard drive space still aren't available on a broad enough scale. That cuts out a huge chunk of your potential consumer base, a scary prospect. And sure, cutting out the retailers will allow for lower prices, but you've still spent multiple millions of dollars making the game, and now with a vastly smaller consumer base to sell to.

    This model will eventually be much more viable, but it's definitely not a sure-fire route to success right now. There's a reason almost no one is doing it.

    At this point, the industry and retailers have an uneasy truce going on. Gamestop is kinda screwing the industry with the secondhand market, but the industry needs them, so they put up with it. Undercutting Gamestop's prices on the digital distro side would be declaring all out war. Gamestop might stop carrying their products altogether, which would be devastating. Retailers have all the power right now, but hopefully that power will be shifting pretty soon.

    The Extra Credits thread!! EC is amazing!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    This thread has become something I fear. :lol:

    Hay Sephfire, you still in here anywhere bro? :)

    Who said that? It's so dark in here.... :-(

    So yeah, Extra Credits is a cool show. Sephfire, have you ever had the idea to do a live one at a convention or something?

    That would be kinda cool actually. All normal-voiced and weirding people out.

    The Extra Credits thread!! EC is amazing!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm glad you feel that way, Seph. Once more people realize this, the better off Sonic will be. :)

    Now, my question to you would be: If you realize that Sonic is more about momentum-based platforming, why didn't you say that in the video? Saying Sonic is about "moving ridiculously fast" only reinforces that negative stereotype that plagues Sonic today.

    Partially because James is the writer and it was a point he wanted to add. Partly because "speed" is widely accepted as being the games' key element and we didn't really have time to go into a long spiel about what they should really be about.

    And it's not like speed isn't a key element of the Sonic games either. I don't personally think it's the MOST important element, but it's up there.

    The Extra Credits thread!! EC is amazing!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    This week's episode was pretty much on the ball. Where I'd like to disagree, however, was Sephire's/James's view on Sonic. What he, and so many people are mistaken about, is what Sonic's core gameplay concept is. Seph described it as "moving ridiculously fast." You see, that concept isn't actually what Sonic's about. Sadly, this view is what's holding him back.

    No, what Sonic is about, is solid platforming, pinball physics, and speed as a reward for skilled players. At this point, you might be wondering what makes me qualified to designate what Sonic's gameplay is about. Well, truth be told, I'm just expressing my opinion. But I'm 100% convinced that I'm correct, and the genesis games themselves can back me up on this. If you go back to those games, the good games, ask yourself how many times you actually got Sonic to go fast. If you think about it, you will probably only come up with a handful of sweet, blissful moments of speed. Then you'll remember places like Marble Zone and Sandopolis Zone.

    Until people realize that Sonic is more about solid platforming than speed, developers will keep making games like Sonic Rush and Sonic Unleashed's day stages, and the unpleasable fanbase will continue to shun Sonic, and what he's become. Once we can all break past that "all speed, all the time" mindset, Sonic can and will rise back on top. That's what it will truly take to get Sonic out of his slump.

    I actually feel similarly about Sonic; it should be more about momentum than speed. I remember that 2D Mirror's Edge demo EA released a while back being the most fun Sonic game I ever played for that reason.

    Disney's Tangled

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Or is animated all wacky and constantly "expressive".

    He also says hippies and Star Wars ruined everything....

    Glad to at least see that Tangled got finished, I heard it had a very troubled production. Seems like every Disney that ever had problems (Aladdin, Emperor's New Groove) end up being good films.

    Seems to be the same trend for Pixar (Toy Story 2, Ratatouille). But yeah, super glad to see that all the production problems for Tangled resulted in a success.

    Disney's Tangled

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Glad to hear something positive about the film, John K (Ren and Stimpy creator) has been griping alot about it.

    I think he's just jealous that other people have success, whereas he doesn't seem to understand the business side of the field of animation...

    Yeah, ignore that guy. Tangled is pretty excellent.

    Japanese Voice Acting Dichotomy

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    The problem with anime english dubs is that it always tends to draw from the same pool of actors, and many of them aren't terribly good at what they do. The reason Disney's dubs for Ghibli films are so much better is not just because they put so much more work into the dub, but because they hire people outside that anime pool.

    Admittedly, it's a little unfair to compare the two, because Disney has access to some high profile talent.

    Disney's Tangled

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    The animation is all Disney, although some of Pixar's higher-ups do have a level of creative control now.

    I'm thrilled to hear it's good. One of my co-workers went through hell working on this movie and it's great to hear that it paid off. Can't wait to see it.

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