Debate
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Book critic plays BioShock, says it's not quite "art"
If you're anything like us, you're probably getting a little tired of the seemingly never-ending "games as art" debate. Well try and revive your interest for just one more moment -- the Washington Post took an interesting approach in expanding the debate this weekend with a short piece looking at the artistic merits of BioShock.For the piece, Post technology and games writer Mike Musgrove took an Xbox 360 and a copy of BioShock over to the home of the Post's 58-year-old, Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic Michael Dirda, who played the game unassisted for a couple of weeks. As might be expected for a guy whose last game was Myst, Dirda had trouble getting past Neptune's Bounty. "I've got a first-aid kit, but I haven't figured out how to use it," Dirda said in a quote sure to draw guffaws from gamers who haven't won a Pulitzer Prize.But what about BioShock as art? While Dirda said the game obviously has artistic value and was easy to get lost in, he wouldn't quite go so far as to call it "art." The key threshold for games to become an art form, Dirda said, is the ability to make the player feel depressed. Apparently Dirda has never seen his rightfully-earned loot ninjaed after a five-hour World of Warcraft raid. Depressing indeed.But the final word on BioShock as art should probably go to head designer Ken Levine. "Is BioShock art? I don't know, and I guess I sort of don't care. All I care about is, does it work -- does it have an impact on an audience?" On that important score, we're going to have to answer with a resounding "Yes!"
Why you should submit videos for the YouTube Republican debate
The Entertainment Consumers Association's (ECA) is encouraging people to add videos with a contest to get you, dear reader, to submit video questions "pertaining to game consumer rights" for the upcoming CNN / YouTube Republican debate set to air on September 17. . We think it's a great idea.But don't do it for the free t-shirt from the ECA; we want our readers to think about this and be intelligent in the questions.Formulate your thoughts. Read up on the issues, check out recent legislation and the Video Game Voters Network. (While you're at it, definitely sift through the GamePolitics archives.) See how other entertainment industries are regulated (e.g. the MPAA) and how you feel that compares to ours. Do you feel Manhunt 2's ban was just? How do feel about current candidates, such as Mitt Romney, who are already laying out their stances on video games in commercials? If you don't like it, challenge him, but be smart in your retort.Perhaps most importantly, remember your audience: a group of politicians with likely very little knowledge or first-hand experience with video games. Educate them with your question. Maybe even think about asking them generic questions such as how much they have played video games or if they feel the format is ever capable of being art? But if you do, be sure to talk about why it's important they answer what appears on the surface a fairly menial question.
Xfire Debate Club: Best and Worst Classes transcript
The transcripts from the sixth Xfire Debate Club ("Best and Worst Classes in WoW") are now available on Xfire's main site. On the main floor, I moderated a debate between such heavy hitters as Wowhead's Skosiris, Curse's Mek and Teza, Ming the rogue, and arena masters Tarde, Nuvas and Tiz. I wasn't able to format the full transcript for WoW Insider, but feel free to visit the link so you can see me ask questions and the panelists ... well, ignore them and keep arguing about the last question, or fight about which arena is the most interesting, or claim that the other panelists will one day be working for them. But it was fun anyway! Xfire also has a transcript from the open debate room, where Xfire users debated the questions themselves. I'd like to thank everyone who came to the debate or proposed questions to ask. I hope to see you all again on Xfire!
Linus Torvalds to Microsoft: put up or shut up
Aw snap. Just when you thought the Microsoft / open-source relationship was getting bad, it's now getting even worse, as yet another turn has been taken in the on-again, off-again love affair between the two. Soon after Microsoft's General Counsel claimed that free and open-source software (FOSS) -- a bundle of which related to Linux -- violated precisely 235 of its patents, Linus Torvalds decided to fire back on behalf of the little guy. In an interview with InformationWeek, Mr. Torvalds retorted by suggesting that it is actually "a lot more likely that Microsoft violates patents than Linux does," and even noted that if "the source code for Windows could be subjected to the same critical review that Linux has been, Microsoft would find itself in violation of patents held by other companies." Of course, he backed his statements by stating that the "fundamental stuff was done about half a century ago and has long, long since lost any patent protection," and closed things up by insinuating that Redmond should put its cards on the table so that Linux users prove 'em wrong, or better yet, "code around whatever silly things they claim." As if you couldn't tell, them's fightin' words, folks.[Via IDM, image courtesy of TACTechnology]
Thompson balks at free game violence debate
We know it's been a Jack-Thompson-filled couple of weeks here on Joystiq, but we can't help it if the guy keeps doing newsworthy stuff (or can we?). Anyway, we were kind of surprised to hear today that the latest bit of hate-filled invective Thompson hurled at IGDA president Jason Della Rocca actually came close to developing into something more than name calling. Apparently, Della Rocca tried to accept Thompson's challenge "to one or more college debates, anywhere anytime, to discuss whether violent video games in any fashion caused school killings..."A series of e-mails, reprinted on Della Rocca's blog, details the back and forth between the pair on the debate's location and particulars. When the subject of money comes up, Thompson reveals that they can "expect to net approximately $3000 or more per event" though he's quick to add that he's "not in this issue for the money." When Della Rocca balks at being paid to talk, Thompson puts it bluntly: "That isn't how it works and I can't justify leaving my family to go to Montreal on a freebie. Sorry. Have to pay the bills."Now we can understand the need to make ends meet as much as anybody, but when you make a boast to publicly debate someone "anywhere anytime," the cost of a plane ticket shouldn't really be a deal breaker. That is, unless Thompson can't live up to his own taunt to "put your mouth where your money is." As Della Rocca puts it, it seems that sometimes "the critics of media violence are in fact the ones profiting most from real-world violence and fears of virtual violence."
Transcripts posted from "Life After 70" chat with WoW Insider
Our good friends at Xfire have posted the transcripts of last Wednesday's chat about "Life After 70," which I was able to moderate. The guests-- Teza from World of Raids, Nopher from Last Resort on Kazzak-EU, and Skosiris from Wowhead (Awake from Nihilum couldn't make it because they heard Vashj had been hotfixed)-- all did a great job answering the metric ton of questions I tried to push at them, and the "viewers" had a lot of interesting stuff to say as well.You can see the transcript from the Main Room here, and the transcript from the Open Debate room over here. Both are definitely interesting read throughs. Both of the higher level guilds echoed what Death and Taxes have said-- they use Paladins to heal, and shadow priests to DPS. They also told me that the loot from the 25 man raids has just not matched up to the loot from heroics or Karazhan (although hopefully that will be corrected a bit in the upcoming 2.1 patch). And perhaps most interesting, they said that the drop to 25 man raids didn't create that much drama in their guilds-- for them, the most drama came from the 10 man limit in Karazhan.All in all, we had a great time, and I'll thank Xfire again for putting it all together (especially Nicolas Cerrato for coordinating everything this time around). If you were able to make it out to the chat (it was set earlier in the afternoon in America, so Europeans could have a prime time chat for themselves), thanks to you as well.
Coming to a college campus near you: Jack Thompson
Nothing gets kids fired up like a good old fashioned debate about violence in video games between ... Jack Thompson and Bob Guccione Jr. We're all for intelligent discussion, but Bob Guccione Jr. is representing our side? The guy publishes Spin and Discover magazines, hardly qualifiers for video game advocacy. Plus the guy used to date Ann Coulter, so it doesn't seem like he's going to be someone you want in your corner during a head-to-head against Thompson.Like Uwe Boll, Thompson is a bad rash on the gaming industry that won't be going away overnight, and unfortunately it doesn't seem like Guccione Jr. is going to be much of a match against him. Did they purposely book someone who is going to lob softballs to Thompson so he can come off the hero? It would be better if we could have an opponent actually from the game industry sounding off against him. At this point we'd settle for Reggie Fils-Aime or even CliffyB.The first debate will be at the California University of Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, on January 30th, so you should rush and get tickets before this baby sells out.[Via GamePolitics]See also:Jack Thompson becomes boringFlorida court OKs Bully
Potential PS3 pitfalls parried
Why spend hours trolling dozens of different forum threads to find complaints about the PS3 to refute? Gaming Horizon has done the work for you, responding to ten of the most common PS3 issues discussed on forums around the web. It's one-stop shopping for all your pro- and anti-PS3 arguments!The pro-PS3 responses from three GH editors range from sympathetic to antagonistic to self-deprecating without descending into the sort of fanboy hyperbole that is common on forums. In fact, now that this document exists, we predict that all future forum threads on the topic will be closed and redirected to this calmer, more rational take on the issues. Also, temperatures in hell tomorrow will reach into the single digits and the first annual flying pig competition is predicting a record turnout.
Saving yourself while killing zombies
While Dead Rising's non-stop zombie-killing action has led the game to robust sales, reviewers were lukewarm about the game's punishing save system. Wired's Clive Thompson has taken a bit of a philosophical look at the effect infrequent saves have on the experience of playing the game. On the one hand, having to backtrack twenty minutes after every death makes the player "constantly on the verge of mind-bending frustration." On the other hand, not having a save-anywhere safety net makes the game a "much more intense and authentic experience."How about this for a compromise: get rid of save systems altogether, forcing gamers to leave their system on for days to beat tougher games. It worked on the NES ...[Via GameSetWatch]
This just in: OS X running on PCs a bad idea, or: C.K.'s lost it
Who could've imagined that hell would freeze over and C.K. would lose it all in the same day? Check out his It's on! post. Did you notice his "Of course, the real key to this would be if Apple would just go ahead and release a version of OS X for PCs" line towards the end?Granted we're still at ground zero in terms of this Boot Camp news, but I can't think of resulting a conclusion/speculation that I couldn't disagree more with. It's great that Apple's allowing all those Mac users to run Windows for an app or two that doesn't work in Mac OS X yet, but I really don't think Boot Camp signifies Apple's first step towards 'fighting the PC revolution' using anyone's hardware but their own. Aside from the 'Apple is a hardware company' business model argument, it would undermine both their business and engineering practices on a number of levels.Apple licensing out Mac OS X to run on anyone's hardware would unleash the very stability and management nightmares that they've been trying to avoid by controlling both hardware and software. This scenario is very much like what would happen if they opened up the iTunes and iPod platform: look at Microsoft's 'Plays for Sure' attempt at helping iTunes' competitors. Napster's own CEO has publicly stated that, more or less: it sucks.In the context of an industry where anyone and their mother can slap together parts for PCs with crazy glue and duct tape, Apple's model of controlling the hardware that their stellar software runs on has far more of a purpose than simply gouging people's bank accounts; and even the age-old whine of "but Mac/iPod hardware is more expensive" has been thoroughly discounted.Please, readers of TUAW, I beg you: don't listen to C.K. He's clearly lost it. Let's all have a moment of silence for our fellow blogger in hopes that he can find the strength to regain his sanity.
Breakfast Topic: Age boundaries
Thanks for all your Breakfast Topic ideas; watch this space, as we will be featuring them in days to come!Today's topic is age. In WoW, you can play characters who fit into a variety of perceived age brackets, from sultry young females to grey-haired older men--you can even play your characters beyond the grave, if that takes your fancy. However, I was shocked the other day to find out that a grey-haired human character was actually played by a teenager. I had automatically conferred some sort of respect on to the character, and the realisation that the player was younger than me took some time to sink in.On the other hand, sometimes it's easy to tell the age of a character--textual cues and behavioural habits might give it away. I've seen several adverts for "mature" guilds; do you seek out players who are approximately the same age as you? Or do you team up with anyone, even if they might have to leave halfway through to do their homework?
Breakfast Topic: Guilded or unguilded?
Joining a guild can be a lot of fun, but it can also bring a lot of drama into your life. Some people eschew the complexities of guilded life and purposefully go guildless; others pick and choose guilds carefully, or bounce between guilds at will.I've personally only found a couple of nice guilds in my time playing, and I generally don't join guilds with my alts on other servers--it's not exactly fair on the guild, since I'll not be playing much. However, I've found guilded life to be rewarding and (given the tales I have heard of other guilds) surprisingly hassle-free. What's your take on guilds? More trouble than they're worth, or worth their weight in gold?
Breakfast Topic: Skimpy armour
This debate is a perennial topic amongst MMOs, thanks to their often-stylised representations of reality. It goes like this: why does some armour barely large enough to cover one's modesty offer the same (or better) protection as head-to-toe chainmail? More importantly, why does some armour appear as a bikini top for female characters and yet a hefty breastplate for males?It's a toss-up between realism and artistic licence, and Blizzard seem to have gone for the latter every time. While I don't personally mind the chainmail-bikini wardrobe, I know of players (especially those who RP) who aren't keen on it at all, and others who purposefully dress their Night Elves in Black Mageweave Leggings for fun. What's your stance? Do you seek out or avoid skimpy armour? Any particular favourites?
Instancing: harmful or helpful?
MMORPG.com has started a weekly debate feature, and the current topic is instancing. How does instancing PvE areas impact the community of a game like World of Warcraft?Instancing has its pros and cons; on the plus side, instancing (especially at lower levels) can help you find competent players to adventure with, and help you develop your own play style. Rather than worry about competing with other groups for the boss kill, and wasting time, instances let you efficiently handle a difficult PvE task. Instances are often billed as a major selling point of games thanks to this lack of competition.
Giving up on the debate
I'm giving up on "the debate." While I think Apple is a great company, I love their products and I won't touch Windows unless under penalty of death (or bouncing a rent check), I just can't be one of their soldiers anymore. I am happy as a camper to answer genuinely interested questions, but I can't fight those "PCs do this, but OS X does that" battles anymore. If my brother's only (silly) hangup is that he can't install OS X on his own hardware (because apparently, GeForce cards are faster this week), or fellow classmates don't understand that two-button mice have worked on Macs since OS 8 (and maybe earlier), then that's just the way it is. If my friend is happy with wireless networking that comes and goes with the wind, and DVD drivers that get uninstalled when a printer is plugged in through a *shudder* parallel port, then who am I to argue?During such a positive and prosperous time for Apple, I'm sure they could still benefit from enthusiastic users who can brave the questions of the unknowing masses and quell the unfounded myths, but I just don't have the time or patience to fill those shoes anymore. I've fought the fight, and I've even helped quite a few pessimists find their way, but I'm going to have to leave the position for the sake of my sanity and my productivity. So today, I pass on the torch to the next set of champions who can help clear the clouds and pave the way for Apple and their (mostly) rockin' products. I'm sure you all will do them proud, as plenty of others have before you.
