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Twitch wants developers to bake streaming directly into games
If Choice Chamber scratched the itch for audience participation in your Twitch streams, get ready for a whole lot more where that came from. The live-streaming juggernaut has announced Stream First, an initiative that it says is focused on making sure Twitch broadcasting is built into a game's design process from the outset rather than shoehorned in later in development. Future in-stream participation could include anything from viewers choosing what happens next, a la Twitch Plays, gaining in-game experience simply by watching your favorite streamer play your (new) favorite game and a host of others.
The Road to Mordor: Five ways LotRO should be streamlined
You would think that growth and expansion is nothing but a good thing for MMOs -- after all, those are the hallmarks of the genre. But as these games get bigger, issues emerge as the developers add new zones, features, and systems. In short, maturing MMOs gravitate toward complexity, and this can have an adverse effect on the game as a whole. The problem is that there is eventually too much a brand-new player has to absorb and master, not to mention the hassle of rolling alts and having to navigate all of that content once more. If developers don't stay on top of the situation, then the game starts to lose overall cohesion and becomes a befuddling mess. With three expansions and numerous updates under its belt, Lord of the Rings Online is venturing deep into this territory. I have friends who are leveling up for the first time and finding themselves overwhelmed with everything that needs doing as well as all the systems that are not clearly explained. So today I want to play backseat developer and talk about five ways that LotRO should be streamlined for the good of all players, old and new.
The Daily Grind: What would you like streamlined?
It's not a secret that several bloggers around these parts are enjoying some quality time with Mass Effect 2, a game that's made a few ripples for massively streamlining the entire RPG experience. Superfluous elements like inventory management and sprawling urban areas are excised in favor of a clean yet satisfying sequence of events. On paper it almost sounds as if the game has been gutted, but in play it feels just as full as the last course. On the flipside, Warhammer Online's streamlining of processes has more than a few people up in arms at the perceived depletion of the game's most interesting content. While we're all familiar (or hopefully familiar) with the basic design guideline of KISS, the argument is being made is that Warhammer Online is simplifying to the point where the fun parts of the game are obliterated. Needless to say, there's a happy medium to be found, and we can all think of at least one aspect of a game that received some much-needed simplification. What part of your preferred game could do with a solid sweep to get rid of unnecessary complexity? Similarly, what complicated part of the game should remain like it is rather than be slimmed down?
WoW Moviewatch: The Showdown
Fishface is becoming quite the machinima addict! Less than two weeks ago, I featured his very first creation, StreamLine. Through trial and error, he is experimenting with different genres. Let's hope he finds a niche!The Showdown, his latest video, is an attempt at an action-packed storyline film. Unfortunately there's not much of a story going on. However, it is a very cinematic take on a battle scene. I'd say that the area that needed the most improvement would be the length of the video, but don't let that discourage you, Fishface![Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Streamline
It looks like Fishface went a little filter-happy this weekend. He created Streamline, a short music video based on the Pendulum song by the same name. As Baron Soosdon said on the video page, it would be a lot better if the cuts were in sync with the music. In addition, the L70ETC band didn't really fit in with the type of music that he used.Otherwise, I found it to be enjoyable. There's not much of a plot to go on, so just sit back and enjoy the billions of color filters that he applied. If you liked Streamline, check out the high resolution version![Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
The eventual nerfing of Karazhan
When Lua from Doomhammer posts on the forums asking for a little Karazhan trash relief, Bornakk (who's new on the forums-- not sure whether he's a CM or a mod yet) says no-- Blizzard is happy with the pacing of Karazhan. So you're meant to be taking a long time clearing all those little mana guys before and after Curator.But this idea of making Karazhan faster brings up another point I've been mulling over for a while now. When we first heard about Kara, a "new 10man instance," back when we were all playing vanilla WoW, I got really excited about the fact that we were going to have a new UBRS-- an epic raid that 10 people could finish off in a few hours. Kind of a short but preview of the bigger raids to come. Fighting Rend while Nefarian was yelling at him was some of the best times I'd ever had in WoW, and I looked forward to leading the same kinds of groups through Karazhan.But Karazhan didn't turn out like that, did it? It's still more complicated, and for many guilds, it's still the main event. There's a timer on it, most groups take at least two days to clean it out, and while the encounters in UBRS weren't necessarily easy if your group wasn't up to it, the encounters in Karazhan are pretty merciless-- Moroes takes coordination that even the Drakk fight never needed.That's not necessarily a bad thing-- I like Karazhan a lot. But just as UBRS was diluted from its original form (as a harder 15 man instance with more trash than it has now), I wonder if Karazhan will eventually have the same fate. When more and more guilds have moved up the ladder, and we're all farming Zul'Aman and progressing on Mount Hyjal, will Blizzard eventually nerf Kara into the new UBRS, with streamlined trash and no timer?
