Spacehamster’s Blog

It’s important to remember that for those who work in the gaming industry, it isn’t just entertainment - it’s a serious business in which billions of dollars are invested. With the dearth of genuinely original games being released nowadays, I’ve just read an interview with Warren Spector -

So, to try to wrap this up in something less than book length, I don’t believe it’s ever a waste of time to give players real choices, rather than fake ones. If all you’re doing is putting players on rails and rocketing them through your story, why not just build a roller coaster or make a movie? If the only choice a player gets to make is which weapon to use to kill a bad guy, you’ve completely wasted that player’s time. Roller coaster rides are immense amounts of fun, but really, all they do is provide an adrenalin rush and a moment’s distraction from the workaday world. Games can be more. Movies are terrific storytelling devices - I love movies - but movies already exist. I don’t need to make them. (Well, I kinda want to produce a movie someday, but that’s another matter entirely…) If all you’re doing is telling yourstory to players (with the added attraction of getting to pick a gun once in a while), why bother?

The above quote probably touches on the reason why I’m less interested in most games nowadays than I used to be. All the games I play use (in part) the design philosophy that Warren Spector is espousing - giving the player freedom of choice to find their own approach. Civilization 4, Galactic Civilizations 2, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 and 4 etc…
I wasn’t too enamoured of the Prey demo, not because it wasn’t good, but because I’ve played enough of those types of games in my youth already. I’ve moved onto quieter, more contemplative games.

There are plenty of original game concepts if you know where to look. The most prominent example is definitely ‘The Sims’ - not to my taste because I’ve found I totally suck at that type of social interaction. Black and White 2 is another very original concept, and it isn’t as bad as the critics make it out to be. The Movies is another original concept, although the execution is sadly flawed (IMHO). Darwinia is an incredibly original concept. And I’m very much looking forward to Will Wright’s Spoor next year - the opportunity to build an alien race from scratch is too good to pass up.

I woke up this morning to the news that the Socceroos had lost to Italy 1-0. What’s worse, our team appear to have been the victim of a very dodgy refereeing decision - again! I like Crikey’s take on the whole farcical situation. It’s also pertinent to note that FIFA threatened France with fines when they tried to implement Video Refereeing. FIFA are clearly stuck in the 1950’s, when people had black and white TV’s instead of multiple camera angles and high-definition televisions. This farce has got to stop, not just for the sake of Australia but for all the soccer nations in this game.

Don’t worry - it’s not THAT kind of article. You know, the kind where the author tries to write something controversial just to draw attention to themselves and annoy everyone. The Socceroos are now into the Second round, and I thought that it’s important to appreciate what a great job that they’ve done so far.

Remember this: Win, lose or draw, all Soccer fans in Australia should be incredibly proud of what they’ve done. Here’s an extract from Paul Sheehan’s SMH article -

The terrifying prospect - can you imagine the general hype and ululation - is that Australia could survive tonight’s encounter. Australia came into the World Cup ranked only 44th in the official world rankings. If this was a tournament of the world’s 32 best teams, Australia shouldn’t even have been there. But, in order, Australia has beaten Uruguay (ranked 22), Greece (ranked 20), drawn with Holland (ranked 4), beaten Japan (ranked 18), lost narrowly to Brazil (ranked 1) and outplayed Croatia (ranked 23).

We had a draw the Number 4 team and were narrowly beaton by the Number 1 team in the world. We started off being ranked 44th but we beat the 18th ranked team.

Amazing.

Congratulations to the Socceroos for proceeding to the second round of the World Cup. Even my parents were watching the game early this morning, which shows just how this team’s endeavours have captured the attention of the entire nation.

My only caveat (and it’s a big one) is the very poor umpiring decisions being made in every single game the Socceroos have played in. The most recent example is referee Graham Poll in their game against Croatia -

Their excitable coach, Zlatko Kranjcar, was dancing a jig.
But this is an Australia team of steely resolve. Gradually, passing movements were constructed. And then, in the ninth minute, a penalty for Australia. Surely? Incredibly, in the view of referee Graham Poll, who had a clear line of sight, no. Simunic’s rugby tackle on Viduka hauled the striker to the ground. But the whistle didn’t go.

UNBELIEVABLE.

So just how exactly does a referee that must measure up to such high International standards miss something so obvious to everyone else? It seems that in every single match, the referees have had it in for the Socceroos. The fact they’ve proceeded to the Second round, not because of it, but in spite of it, is cause for admiration.

I sincerely hope that someday we find out the real reasons for these “poor refereeing decisions”. Because the standard of refereeing thus far has been very very poor.

In light of the new Doctor Who series, this article on a potential reboot of Star Trek makes for fascinating reading. It’s based on JMS’s version of the franchise. What’s interesting is that Doctor Who has managed to do exactly the same thing - a fresh start - without dumping anything that’s gone before. It only makes you admire even more the things that RTD and Co. did right with this new series.

Found this rather amusing article at Kotaku. Here’s the original advert, and there’s Cheap Ass Gamer’s version. I like the latter much better.

I’m genuinely very, very sad to see Billie go. She’s been such an important and integral part of this new series, I find it hard to envision what it will be like without her. On the other hand, I do think the character of Rose has been underused this season and has definitely run its course. That’s resulted in a lot of rancor and negativity against Billie Piper. By all means dislike the character, but leave the actor alone.

Emotionally I feel it’s the “wrong” time for Billie to go. Intellectually it’s very definitely time for the character of Rose to leave. She’s learned everything she can from the Doctor - hopefully it’ll be time to pave her own path in life…unless the rumors are true and they kill her off. Personally, I’m hoping they don’t because I think that would be very contrived, corny and predictable.

In the interviews Billie has had, she has been such an enthusiastic and charming supporter of this show. I will definitely miss Billie Piper far, far more than I will miss Rose Tyler.

Farewell Billie. You will be deeply missed.

I can’t understand Doctor Who’s appeal anymore. It’s fair to say that the new series has attracted a huge mainstream audience, but it seems to come at the expense of its hardcore fan base. There’s not a single episode this season that hasn’t been panned on Outpost Gallifrey and other websites. And this is despite the new series attracting 30-40% Audience share every Saturday night.

It seems that Doctor Who has become a mainstream hit, but at the expense of alienating its hardcore fan base. So was it worth it? Hell, yes! I’m sure the “true fans” - the gatekeepers of the one true Doctor Who, would’ve preferred it if the show had never been remade. But this brand new show has attracted millions of new viewers, not just in Britain but across the world. To me, that’s nothing short of a miracle when you consider just how much contempt it was held in only a few short years ago.

And now the opposite is true. The show is beloved by its mainstream audience, but hated and despised by the hardcore fans that were once its greatest champions. I honestly don’t know how long this new show is going to last, I’m just enjoying the ride. Don’t believe me? Read all the negative threads at Outpost Gallifrey. It’s one thing to constructively criticise the show, but to personally attack Billie Piper and Russell T. Davies, or to accuse the show of having “a gay agenda” is going way too far.

It’s too bad that the fans that once loved the show so much, now hate it to such an extent that they would love to see if fail.