4 Months Hiatus, Anniversary, Redesign
Hiatus
Wow. It has been a good 4 months since our last post, and it has been exactly 1 year since our first post. Much has changed over one year with Gamepulsive’s existence – but more specifically with the contributors’ lives. Everyone’s been very busy lately. Working in the game industry sometimes doesn’t leave a lot of spare time (well, depending on what company you work for I guess). It’s a new year (a little late for that statement, I know) and I figured I should start reviving Gamepulsive because I want to utilize the money I paid for the domain name O_o. I have some things I want to share regarding the last 4 months I (speaking for myself) was silent, and I also have new plans for the site and how it’s going to evolve within the next few months.
Vega – Worst Character in Street Fighter IV
It has been almost two months since the release of CAPCOM’s Street Fighter 4 for the PC. The game was a hit in the office as we do gauntlet type “change the loser” (or challenge the winner for those who find the first statement too offensive, LOSERS!) game.
So everyone assessed their all-time favorite characters. For me, it was Cammy. Well, after a few rounds of playing, I gave up on her and went to my second favorite, Sagat. Turns out Sagat is a beast in SF4. A 3-hit generic combo of Ryu is more or less equal to one CHP (Crouching-Hard-Punch) of Sagat!
As we had played for several weeks, we’ve noticed that two of our better players only use Shotokans or more specifically Ryu. So it turned into an office joke whenever the two square off. People would say “OMG! I was so surprised, I never thought it would be a Ryu vs Ryu matchup!” and the likes.
In order to have some changes in the matchups, we established “Alien Week” which simply means you would have to use a character that you do not use ordinarily. So the Goukens became Rufus, the Ryu became Blanka, the Sagats became Dhalsim, and the Zangiefs became Ryu (LOL!).
Since I also have to choose a new one, I decided to use the least played character in the office, Vega.
(MORE AFTER THE BREAK)
Thoughts About Musical Simulation Games
Nowadays, video games are entering the mainstream market. One of the most remarkable is the music simulation games. First there was Guitar freaks/Drum mania by Konami. Then came the Americanized versions namely Guitar Hero and Rockband. Then, thousands of others joined the formula and started their own “inspired” games.
I wrote this article because I stumbled upon an article that sort of condemns these simulations as a tool for appreciating music. I’d say, being a widow musician, I’d have to disagree with what the music gods say. These games are supposed to spread out the music for people who don’t know them yet AKA the mainstream market. Besides, what is music for if it’s not to be heard by other people? It’s sort of like written literature; if nobody reads it, what the hell is it for? It’s just sad that these respected musicians are too narrow minded to embrace another media to let their music be heard. Besides, they’re being paid for the royalty. I honestly think that there’s no substitute for the real thing when it comes to real instruments vs virtual ones on learning how to play them. But the virtual ones can actually make you practice the feel and the rhythm of the song and that’s in my opinion half of the song. Sure you don’t get to fret up complex Dm7+5 something something chords on a virtual one but at least you’ll get the rhythm.
Bottom line. It’s nice to play Guitar hero or Rockband as a simulation game. Even with my real band, we also play Rockband from time to time. Because it’s a different experience yet somehow retains that camaraderie found in a band. You work together for a common goal. It’s also nice that some kids actually pickup a real guitar or drums to learn songs from these media. It’s a win-win situation. I don’t see why those guitar gods wouldn’t want them to be heard.
Link to the article:
Female Gamer Supremacy
What is it about male gamers that make them superior to female gamers? Personally, this ideology is complete rubbish for me, seeing as I plummeted to oblivion dozens of guys when it comes to Ghost Squad in the arcade. I would be playing along nicely, minding my own business, when big burly men would approach me and ask with a sneer, “Can (sic) I play with you?” I’ll smile innocently and enjoy myself as the males would flush redder and redder (or, in some cases, would grow agitated as the level progresses), when they see evidence of their own arrogance in the score.
Ghost Squad Arcade
Oftentimes my score would be climbing six to seven digits, whilst the men I’m playing with would be doing their best to score points. Of course it doesn’t help that I have memorized the game to the till: they’ll be scrambling along the game blindfolded, trying to best me in a game I have mastered. Of course when their turn runs out (i.e., they run out of tokens to compensate for the one I have entered), the male species would refuse to acknowledge defeat and would mumble something resembling, “have no money for tokens. See you around.”
Ha! No money my ass! Why couldn’t they accept that a tiny girl beat them? Sure, sure. I’m sounding too full of myself, but then again, till how long do we (the females) have to accept this abuse? Men are not better than women when it comes to gaming just because they’ve got enough testosterone to burn a building. Games require strategy, thinking, and patience, which both genders are well equipped with.
Now would probably be a good time to shut up because I have a feeling men would be lining up outside our office to knock me down and throw me somewhere I could just curl up and die. Still, I won’t take that back. If you don’t believe me that I can kick your ass in Ghost Squad, then you’ll just have to see for yourself. Bring it on guys; let’s see who the real man is.
- Mae
A Taste of EVE Online
I’ve been playing EVE Online, on and off, since 2006. I love the game, and collectively, I have probably invested a total of 1 year and 6 months in subscriptions for the game. Some people ask me what EVE really is and what it’s all about, and for the most part, I can only explain what I’ve discovered so far – the surface of a very deep and complex MMORPG.
Of course, not all games are for everybody, and EVE is not an exception to that rule. First, it’s a sci-fi game set in space, where you control, you guessed it, space ships. There are no dwarves or elves or orcs for characters, ships are the only representations of players in the game, aside from the player portrait (human portrait which you create during character creation). Second, EVE is perhaps the most political, economical, player-driven MMORPG in existence today. It is taken VERY seriously by players, specially veteran players who have invested so much time into the game, and have joined corporations – the EVE equivalent of guilds. Suffice to say, if 1.) you’re not a space-themed sci-fi fan, and 2.) You’re not into serious economics and politics, then this game is probably not for you. Then again, if you only intend to scratch the surface, and have your own merry way alone or with just a few friends, indulging the vastness of space and the shininess of your battleships, then you might just enjoy playing albeit only the icing of a VERY big cake that is EVE Online.
Let’s say you ARE into space-themed sci-fi, then you’ll love the engagements – from small dogfights between squadrons, to large, epic battles between corporation fleets, that number hundreds to thousands of ships ranging from frigates to titans. If you love serious ecoomics and politics, then you will love the game’s player-driven economy and politics. But what else is in store for you in EVE? Well for starters, players have the freedom to do anything (within the boundaries of the game’s capabilities) they want in the game. When I mean anything, I mean they can mine minerals, process them, be technology researcher, be a trader, a manufacturer, be a fighter pilot for a militia, be the CEO of your own corporation that makes billions of ISK (in-game currency), be a mercernary, an assassin, a pirate, anything, YES, anything. Another thing, a corporation can actually OWN a part of space and establish a base of operations, and construct space ports, contruction yards, manufacturing plants, etc., and have a little “sector” (or a lot of sectors) for themselves. Of course, what I mean by own, is that they take it by force. If it’s non-NPC controlled space, then it’s free for the taking, provided nobody beat you to it. If somebody has, and you want the territory, then either an alliance or a war is imminent. There’s actually more than just what I have already told you, but those are beyond the scope of this article.
Ship Sizes in EVE
Just how serious is serious? Imagine the real world – the government, any government, is willing to enter a war because of valuable resources. High ranking officials are assassinated so that institutions are destabilized. Corporate espionage and sabotage happens within organizations and companies so that others will thrive. These all happen in EVE. That’s how serious it is. Take a look at these three (some of the most controversial) events in the game: GoonSwarm, Tourney Assassination, and $16,500. These are just examples of just what a player can expect from EVE. Twisted, really. But that’s how things are.
Because of the game’s complexity, some first time players shy away from the game failing to understand what’s great about this MMORPG. EVE Online only has about less than half a million active subscribers and since it only has one live server, about 30,000 players are online at the same time. Note that a player need not be logged in most of the time to progress in the game. That is how the devs designed the character system of EVE. Your character learns skills even while you’re offline.
Watch this latest trailer if you’re interested or head on to www.eve-online.com. If you want a more spruced up guide of EVE Online, you can read this article in Destructoid. Thanks for reading! ^_^
Gaming Attitude Can (Sometimes) Equate to Leadership Potential, Work Ethics, and Personality
A colleague of mine (who happened to be a DoTA or Defense of the Anicents addict) once stated that people’s work ethics, leadership potential, and personality can be attributed to their DoTA playing styles. Of course, I didn’t agree outright until he gave me some examples of the theory put into work. He mentioned officemates and how they played, and how that relates to how they work. I figured what he said made sense, and I analyzed how it worked on my end as a gamer and as a game designer. Truth be told, I agree with my colleague’s accurate, albeit weird, theory.
So how does this theory work exactly? Well, consider myself as an example. When playing a game of DoTA, I usually stick to the characters I already know and rarely venture beyond my tried and tested builds. My character prefences are spammers, long range, and I have tanks as my least favorite types. I seldom select new characters but occassionally try new ones that feature skills that are already familiar. And when I do try new and unfamiliar characters, reults usually aren’t that favorable. Comparing this to how I work is simple. I am, for all intents and purposes, a pure game designer. I tried being a producer once, and that didn’t work very well (for me, for the project, and for the people I work with), it was my first time anyway. Learning is a process. You try, you fail, you learn (at least what not to do in the future). My experience as a producer was a learning process. I tried, I failed, and I learned not to be a producer in the future (hahaha), of course you can’t be good in everything you want to do. But as a game designer, I can pretty much do well each and every time I try to secrete creative juices out of my brain (when I really try ^_^). I thrive living in the world of imagination ruled by logic and dipped in hot fudge sundae.
In equating this theory with my friends and colleagues, it’s pretty much on the spot. I do have some examples I can give you. Some are a bit shameful and revealing. I just hope the people involved don’t read this. ^_^
I have a friend who’s good in what he does but lacks awareness and predicting potential problems with his work. When he plays DoTA, the same can be said. He’s relatively good in the character he’s using, but usually fails to realize that his character’s already being pummeled to death by a nearby tower. He also sometimes fails to see a red dot on the minimap that he just came across. Oh well.
The friend who proposed this theory also benefits from it. In-game, he emits a command aura that makes his teammates glow. He issues commands, sets plays and combos, analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team, and leads the team to victory (most of the time). The only downside to his playstyle is his survivalistic tendency to leave teammates behind when his “death” counts hang in the balance. His common excuse in these kinds of scenarios is that “I couldn’t have done anything to save you anyway, so I won’t bother.” In real life, all of these gaming attitudes can be applied. He stepped up to be the lead of his department, he’s technically knowledgeable and steadfast in his craft. The last part of his gaming attitude that equates to real life, is his reluctance to spend any money either for his own or others’ well being. Typical (^_^).
You guys can add your own stories that equate to this theory, or you can add your own theories. Hehehe…
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