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Ken Levine explains why BioShock Infinite isn't photorealistic
There's a lot to process in the debut trailer and screens for BioShock Infinite, not the least of which is the look of the characters, which have a slightly exaggerated look to them. In a discussion with Gamers With Jobs on their 200th podcast, Irrational Games boss Ken Levine explained. "A movie uses photorealism quite often because it's free. We don't get a cost benefit for being photorealistic, it's the same reason Pixar's not photorealistic, you just end up creepy," he said. "There's no need to be photorealistic and I think it's kind of a cop out. I'd much rather play a game that's stylized." Or maybe by 2012, we'll all look like Pixar characters and that will be the new photorealism. See, it's hard to say, because that's so long from now.
PAX East: Podcasting (f)or PR
If you're interested at all in starting up a podcast or want to know more about what goes into creating one, the PAX East panel hosted by Gamers With Jobs' Julian Murdoch and attended by podcasting professionals Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Insomniac Games' James Stevenson, Irrational Games' Ken Levine and Shawn Elliott, and EA's Jeff Green is a pretty enlightening listen We were anxious to hear what the group had to say on the subject of using podcasts for promotion -- and we recorded it because, well, you might be interested too! For the full, unedited (and very NSFW) audio, click on the play button below. Highlights include outlining the value in podcasting, being on the front lines of PR when something bad goes down and answering questions on how to get a podcast off the ground and cultivating an audience. Feel free to give a listen below.
A look at Time Warner's broadband pricing structure
OK, we need to get serious for a few paragraphs about new bandwidth rates being tested by Time Warner Cable, something that could seriously affect gamers' wallets. Gamers with Jobs has posted an excellent analysis of Time Warner Cable's new metered pricing structure, currently being tested in Greensboro, NC; Austin and San Antonio, TX; and Rochester, NY.The price structure: 5GB: $29.99/month 10GB: $39.99/month 20GB: $49.99/month 40GB: $54.90/month 100GB: No information yet Source: Democrat & Chronicle In the piece, Lara Crigger breaks down her internet consumption to surprising results. She lives with her husband (also a gamer), they have no kids, and their consumption doesn't seem out of place for a young couple -- their Xbox Netflix usage apparently hides some serious bandwidth usage. In the end, she estimates they'd pay out roughly $67 a month under the new rates, instead of the $40 she currently offers the cable company. We strongly recommend reading her piece, because this is an issue that could be coming to a neighborhood near you. [Image]
The Lich King's casual decree: No geek left behind?
Most MMORPG subscribers fall into one of two camps: casual and hardcore. A big reason why World of Warcraft has experienced such monumental success is that it has constantly delivered a rich adventure experience for both player-types. Heck, even Jimmy Fallon is playing WoW these days. This design balancing act is extremely tricky and while many MMORPGs attempt it, very few succeed. According to an editorial piece at The Escapist, Blizzard has tipped the scales in favor of the casual crowd with its latest expansion (Wrath of the Lich King) and it may have produced unintended consequences for both casual and hardcore gamers alike.Sean "Gamers with Jobs" Sands, a self-described casual gamer, claims that he and 10 million or so other casual gamers have achieved what competing MMORPGs have so far been unable to; they ruined World of Warcraft. He believes that Blizzard has adopted a "No Geek Left Behind" policy with WotLK, making WoW so easy that it has diminished any real sense of risk, reward, or adventure. The casuals are left without any sense of awe inspired by the unattainable and the hardcores will burn through the content so quickly Blizzard may find it difficult to keep up with them.
Account hacked? Why not stop and smell the flowers?
It happens to the best of us. We try to be careful, we try to be conscientious, and then the unthinkable happens: your MMO account gets hacked. You log in to find your virtual life has been torn asunder. What happens then? Sean Sands, over at the Gamers with Jobs site, walks us through the ordeal of having his World of Warcraft account hacked.Sean reminds us that the most important thing to do is to keep things in perspective. Most likely the person that hacked you was just doing their job. It probably wasn't malicious, and unfocused rage never helped anyone resolve their problems. Moreover, Blizzard is well aware of the problems inherent to the account breach issue. They've got a polished, professional team ready to give you back your stuff in a timely fashion. In fact, as Sean notes, it may be that they're a bit ... too practiced at this. The problem of account hacking is universal. We suggest you check out some of the security resources WoW Insider has on hand for World of Warcraft fans, as many of them can be transposed to another game. in the meantime, have you had any experiences with hacked accounts? What happened and ... most importantly ... did you get your stuff back?
Editorial expresses dissatisfaction with slow trickle of MMO innovation
Gamers With Jobs co-founder Sean Sands contributed to The Escapist a two-page article lamenting the state of the MMO industry. The article is aggressively titled "The Fallacy of MMO Innovation," and uses the example of Age of Conan as the springboard for a discussion of industry-wide issues.We've already asked questions about just how innovative AoC is, but Sands seems certain of the answer, saying "in reality it really brings very little to the table that hasn't been tried before." But who can blame Funcom for not revolutionizing the genre? MMOs are so expensive to make, and their successes are uncertain to begin with, says Sands, so it's no surprise that developers and publishers are afraid to innovate. He also suggests that polish is just as essential as innovation; that's what makes World of Warcraft successful, after all.It's a good read, although its contents might not be anything new to the minds of experienced MMO players. There's one question the author doesn't answer, though; is there a way out of this rut? We'd be fools if we tried to provide a definitive answer to that, but it's what the article left us wondering in the end. AoC pushes things forward a tiny bit in some ways. Some hope Warhammer Online will as well. But neither will totally revolutionize the genre. Is there anything on the horizon you're hoping will take the genre to a new level, or are you just as pessimistic as the rest of us?
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Gamers with Jobs tackles barbarians in Age of Conan
Crashes, bangs, and a few broken bones are what combat in Age of Conan is all about. Players do not simply press a button and watch the beatings in this world of chaos. Players carefully judge their foe as axes swing, arrows fly, and swords slash. Attempting to dodge and strike as the action unfolds are novel concepts in the auto-attack world of MMOs. The system used in Age of Conan is so unique, in fact, that it took an armor wearing, staff smacking, fencing guru of a gamer to describe just how wonderful it all is. The man is Julian "rabbit" Murdoch and the battlefield is Gamers with Jobs.Julian has an interesting and entertaining article concerning how a man who loves the art of combat finds the world of virtual battle. Julian says that the combat is fluid, realistic, and full of excitement. "There is a real sense that you as the player are influencing combat." Certainly a change from the mold these days. If you are not excited yet, we can give you at least six reasons you should be excited about AoC. If you are pumped, and want to give it a go, AoC has launched. Go pick up your club and start smacking angry bad guys!
The Daily Grind: What games have you lost time to?
We've all played these games ... otherwise, why would you be here? But sometimes you don't just play a MMOG. Sometimes you crawl inside it. Maybe the significant other is gone for the weekend with the kids, maybe you have a weekend off of work ... for whatever reason every once in a while it's nice to just be somewhere else for a little bit.This can be both a good and a bad thing. While studies are always coming out about game addiction and whatnot, that doesn't tell the whole story. Sometimes you can play a lot of a game without binging on it. Sometimes a game is just that good, it keeps you coming back over and over. When you look back at your life with games, there has to be one or two that just dominated the landscape. For me, several of those are MMOGs. I've played quite a bit of EverQuest 2 and World of Warcraft at this point ... enough to know that my time in the worlds of Norrath and Azeroth was well spent.So what are the games that would be like "putting a half dozen Mount Everests right in the middle of South Dakota"? What MMO takes up the top three spots in your 'favorite games' list ... by quantity of time played, if nothing else?
Familiar voices on The Escapist's podcast
The Escapist, the weekly gaming web-mag, has dropped the "ist" for their just launched podcast dubbed "Escape Radio." What you'd think would be full of erudite discussions on various facets of MMOs, text adventures, MMOs, sex in games, and MMOs turns out to be full of the stuff we all like to hear about. Y'know, the talk of the week like the ATI/AMD union and, yes, Wii jokes ('cause it sounds like wee!). Who do we have to thank for this production? The former co-hosts of the excellent Gamers with Jobs Radio, a podcast that we pimped at this very site less than a year ago. Like lost pets in a Hollywood movie, hosts Russ Pitts and Shawn Andrich have found their way home, a return to form, despite the new parentage and new RSS feed. We've added this to our regular podcast lineup, right where GWJ Radio used to be.
