tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.comments2023-12-18T16:26:30.322-06:00Theory by FlatfingersFlatfingershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-24995593866295935072023-12-18T16:26:07.328-06:002023-12-18T16:26:07.328-06:00Excellent points from start to finish -- thanks fo...Excellent points from start to finish -- thanks for taking the time to comment! (And to remind me I should probably start blogging again. :D )<br /><br />When I wrote those notes back in the blissful days of 2014, when search engines still worked and product monetization was not yet merely a matter of "harvest their email address and resell their data to Meta/Alphabet," it wasn't clear how games should make money. They must do so in order to pay people to create, market, and distribute them. But if you make a game with emergent content, which players can buy once and play forever (I like your "infinity game" name!), how do you make enough money from that to keep making more/better games?<br /><br />That was one practical issue with emphasizing strongly emergent-play games I thought ought at least to be mentioned. It's probably less troubling today for indie games now that Steam will accept pretty much anything; today's hardest problem is discoverability. An amazing imsim like Ctrl Alt Ego that deserves to be a smash hit lingers in obscurity. Maybe I'll write a blog post on my Recommender app for solving that problem. ;) Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05389988098845796581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-53726796687240689722023-12-17T08:16:54.547-06:002023-12-17T08:16:54.547-06:00Although very true, I think the last point is the ...Although very true, I think the last point is the saddest. <br /><br />Is the money of selling many shorter titles really worth it to kill the replayability and endless hours of play you could design into a game? I would argue no. It's not enough just to be able to pump out a product every year, you need to build a strong community engagement to your products. Nothing does that like an infinity game. Believe in making more releases of emergent infinity games than fearing that your infinity games will eat the revenue from each other. <br /><br />I believe Paradox is a good example of this. All their major successful titles are infinity games based on emergent gameplay loops. And yet they don't generally compete with each other (though their previous iterations of the title possibly so). So long as you put a truly new brush of paint on your infinity game, using at least some new emergent mechanics, they really should not compete with each other. <br /><br />Similarly if you create the same game over and over again with the same mechanics, regardless of emergent mechanics, you will run into the same competition with your older titles. But that too isn't necessarily bad. Most franchises compete with all their previous titles, time, technology, and innovation usually keep that competition from being too fierce to sell well. Perhaps some people only play one Assassins Creed title to get that Assassins Creed gameplay, and they may all compete to be that chosen one. But most Assassins Creed titles do fundamentally change their theme every game so few would say that playing one robs you of the other. The franchises still succeed. One of the most maligned franchises for republishing the wheel every year is sports games. And yet they are among some of the most successful franchise. Sometimes a new list of team members and a new shiny box is really enough for people to pay again for a product. Though I don't envy them, I caution anyone taking the risk of competing with your other games too seriously. "What can I do to stand out" should always be the primary question! <br /><br />Your other warnings are very important and relevant though. Emergent gameplay isn't a free "good game" button. It must be done with purpose and an audience in mind. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-20204799682692646532022-04-16T00:16:46.722-05:002022-04-16T00:16:46.722-05:00Thanks for taking the time to share this. Thanks for taking the time to share this. Caidenhttps://www.caidencraig.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-20876166339335364322019-07-29T10:47:45.150-05:002019-07-29T10:47:45.150-05:00There are almost certainly other ways of designing...There are almost certainly other ways of designing a puzzle game so that each puzzle has more than one correct solution. The overall point is that if you really https://cupcake2048.com/2048-pokemon/ want puzzles that remain as much fun for the perceptive gamer as for the persistent player, then you need to find a puzzle design that emphasizes perceptiveness and creativity over persistence.<br /><br />Marais Erasmushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09012027127352689773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-90826047380547704402019-07-17T20:44:14.370-05:002019-07-17T20:44:14.370-05:00This is fantastic. I'm thrilled you took the t...This is fantastic. I'm thrilled you took the time to rank these out. I've wondered how well the Defiant could--theoretically--replace the firepower of a Galaxy Class starship in the face of the Dominion threat, and you've provided an invaluable and plausible foundation for continued analysis. Well done!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-31193706585602260542019-07-12T21:12:31.732-05:002019-07-12T21:12:31.732-05:00I began watching Star Trek when it first appeared ...I began watching Star Trek when it first appeared in the early 1960s. The image of the Starship Enterprise somehow remained in my mind and appeared occasionally in my dreams. After some years, I realized something--and this is what I want to share here. Star Trek can be an "archetype" in the sense the psychoanalyst Dr. Carl Jung meant the term. An archetype is an image produced by what he called the Collective Unconscious. Certain images are found in dreams, art, architecture, religious images "in all times and places," Jung said. In other words, archetypes are emanating from a shared or collective unconscious source. Think of this source as the great "google." More than this, these images express, actually generate, a lifelong process of inner development. The same images may appear in millions of people's minds and influence humanity's unconscious evolution. Archetypes are not just "road signs," they are actually moving us down the road or path to integration. Integrating the parts of our unconscious Jung called "the Shadow" and other parts of ourselves we fear looking at. OK, back to Star Trek. For me, Star Trek, and especially the USS Enterprise, has been my archetype. At some point I realized that I was very much like both Kirk and Spock. I was passionate, emotional, a leader, like Kirk. I was also cool, rational, even aloof, like Spock. But these were two sides of me, two almost separate personalities, much as Kirk and Spock were independent of each other. But, as Spock said, "In diversity there is strength." I began to realize both Kirk and Spock were aboard the Starship Enterprise; they worked together; this gave them strength. As time advanced, I began to think of myself as the Starship herself, containing the diverse crew or diverse parts of myself in a single "container" called "me." Then the most exciting realization: I realized I was moving, going somewhere in this integrated "me" or Starship. Going...where I had never gone before! And then something shifted. I realized I was actually moving, on a journey. I had come from just enjoying Star Trek as a series on TV,...to identifying with Kirk and Spock,...to kind of merging their qualities of emotion and logic within myself and finding a greater strength in integration,...to realizing what got me there was this mysterious inner Starship that held all of what was now me,...to the realization that this was a movement, an evolution, and that I AM this movement! I am this Journey! And then all limits disappeared: I realized that I AM SPACE ITSELF! That space creates the matter in it, including the one called David, the world you and I live in, all that appears solid and real. Space "bubbles" us out of the void, creates everything we see,hear, taste, touch, even the thoughts we think. SPACE IS CONSCIOUS, CREATIVE, AND WE ARE ON THE JOURNEY TO EXPERIENCE WHERE WE CAME FROM. We are going...home. Inner space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship I-AM. Our ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds within, to seek out new life and new realizations. To boldly go where all of us have gone before....BH Truth Tellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11371023833289035702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-505972724443256832019-02-04T00:14:03.113-06:002019-02-04T00:14:03.113-06:00Whatever happened to your "Unified Model?&quo...Whatever happened to your "Unified Model?" I've been looking for it "I have a longer version of this article in which I address the most common objections to the typological bases of the Bartle Types and the Unified Model theory, including Nick Yee's. At some point I hope to have that on my blog, as it offers some responses to the questions that tend to come up on this subject." I'm curious what path you took with it.Anonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00016972663129083706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-71542070172570484222018-09-11T16:37:21.254-05:002018-09-11T16:37:21.254-05:00I read this book when I was younger, and I loved t...I read this book when I was younger, and I loved the systems as outlined. I am running a tabletop RPG, and using Thaumaturgy, Alchemy, and Magic in the game to explain the differences between a few of the types of magic in the system, and also to demonstrate how magic items can be made.<br /><br />But, yes, it would never work in an MMORPG because the games are designed to be played like murderhobos. :DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05122158762587546191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-62175092157327631192018-01-05T01:42:05.122-06:002018-01-05T01:42:05.122-06:00Unfortunately there's no game or forum to acce...Unfortunately there's no game or forum to access any longer.<br /><br />I'm still in touch with several of the old team, though. If they release any games in this area, I'll try to post about it.Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-15899833416634765602017-12-26T08:24:54.246-06:002017-12-26T08:24:54.246-06:00Aww.. just tried the Storybricks URL, as posted in...Aww.. just tried the Storybricks URL, as posted in this blog, and it failed.<br />Is there an updated URL, Flat?<br /><br />_Formal-MossAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-64298546974357949572017-01-21T01:31:21.518-06:002017-01-21T01:31:21.518-06:00Hi, Evan -- thanks for the interest. I'd be ha...Hi, Evan -- thanks for the interest. I'd be happy to discuss these ideas with you. Please feel free to email me at flatfingers-at-gmail-dot-com.Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-51132101269632566612017-01-19T15:10:00.635-06:002017-01-19T15:10:00.635-06:00I read your article on Gamasutra about this and wo...I read your article on Gamasutra about this and would really like to talk to you more about it. I would like to ask some questions as to how one might apply this model to make a video game review system.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04506641345978874304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-54189345124901978492015-10-12T00:48:02.266-05:002015-10-12T00:48:02.266-05:00Excellent article!!! Very useful, I was trying to ...Excellent article!!! Very useful, I was trying to find this a long time ago.Simónhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16749857719652663040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-85699120072487044462015-06-08T11:29:33.778-05:002015-06-08T11:29:33.778-05:00Glad you enjoyed it. This is one of those "lo...Glad you enjoyed it. This is one of those "long-term dream projects," so I'm always happy to see it rediscovered.<br /><br />I think the basic idea was implementable when I first proposed it. The part that really drives up the cost (time and money) is first-person 3D. That perspective feels important to me for maximizing the feeling of scale in a living world. But I have to acknowledge that it's the expensive part.<br /><br />A team that dropped first-person 3D as a requirement in favor of some other representation could, I think, make this game now in a year or two, depending on the number and detail of the character roles and the size and dynamic features of the world.<br /><br />I believe this kind of game will happen. Someone will make it. The only questions are who, and when.Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-66896078686463465592015-06-08T02:59:53.109-05:002015-06-08T02:59:53.109-05:00This article having matured, and coming out when I...This article having matured, and coming out when I was a wee lad, and before Windows 7 (Lions, Tigers, and Vista oh my), I wonder if the entry level for Indies to jump aboard this project and tackle it is possible. With better computers, more devs, better tools, and a lower access level, is it feasible? Or is this best left for the big guys? I'm excited to see this great idea spawn into something bigger, and I long for the day it does. <br /><br />Thanks for the incredible brain food of an article. <br />Nick. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01252451317190003330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-89632304549744209762015-03-26T02:08:10.680-05:002015-03-26T02:08:10.680-05:00Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it -- I'm hop...Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it -- I'm hoping to return to more frequent updates, so they'd better be readable. ;)<br /><br />The Looking Glass games are pretty old at this point, so they have what might generously be called "quirks" today: low-resolution graphics and (for the two Underworld games and the original System Shock) funky mouse-driven movement controls. But the gameplay...! I'd love to see these games get graphical remakes that don't touch the mechanics so that folks today could see why they get so much critical love.<br /><br />If you'd rather not wait for that ;), GOG.com have the original two Underworld games and System Shock 2. They're all worth playing, but SS2 will probably feel more comfortable (and its graphics can be improved somewhat through fan patches).Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-22297876224969878712015-03-24T16:10:35.779-05:002015-03-24T16:10:35.779-05:00That was a really interesting post. I should find ...That was a really interesting post. I should find time to play those games someday... :)Yorickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15176183784309245012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-88181485557330590572014-09-15T23:14:52.158-05:002014-09-15T23:14:52.158-05:00Thanks, Sly! It's always fun working these thi...Thanks, Sly! It's always fun working these things out. They're never perfect, but they're not meant to be -- it's the process of working through the ideas that's satisfying.<br /><br />If it leads to something usable... well, that's nice, too. :)Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-57133092355167275852014-07-08T11:44:59.514-05:002014-07-08T11:44:59.514-05:00I hear you, and I can't disagree. It's int...I hear you, and I can't disagree. It's interesting to see whether the success of explicitly non-DRM providers like GOG (and their new Galaxy service) might be putting on the big/established publishers. Ubisoft, for all their other problems, seems to have started making real moves to back off from its former hard DRM practices, for example.<br /><br />Still, EA. Who can guess with them? I just wish they hadn't reused the name "Origin." I miss the old Origin Systems studio: "we create worlds" was the best company motto ever. :)<br /><br />Thanks for commenting!Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-29260693407321504982014-07-08T10:27:23.863-05:002014-07-08T10:27:23.863-05:00Well, EA's DRM and distribution policy around ...Well, EA's DRM and distribution policy around origin already costs them money.<br />My money.<br /><br />As the rumor, which said that origin searches your harddisks for unregistered EA games, alone was more than enough to send me far away from them.<br /><br />Greetings CornflakesCornflakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06630330650843064702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-681833297476681672013-12-04T08:35:37.224-06:002013-12-04T08:35:37.224-06:00And it's up! :D
http://luaudesign.blogspot.co...And it's up! :D<br /><br />http://luaudesign.blogspot.com.br/2013/12/simons-ant-on-beach.html<br />http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/LuisGuimaraes/20131204/205979/Simons_Ant_On_The_Beach.phpLuis Guimarãeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718753383788485628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-91559909598850848662013-12-04T03:12:54.532-06:002013-12-04T03:12:54.532-06:00Sup, Bart! :D
Connection Drop Of Doom! I just los...Sup, Bart! :D<br /><br />Connection Drop Of Doom! I just lost a giant reply... So I decided to write a post out of it, then I link it here for you when it's finished :)Luis Guimarãeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718753383788485628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-6656032732845971462013-12-04T01:57:27.917-06:002013-12-04T01:57:27.917-06:00(Flat) fingers crossed! :)(Flat) fingers crossed! :)Flatfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883676416000369594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-78276598258935033532013-12-01T09:09:35.687-06:002013-12-01T09:09:35.687-06:00The future is bright! I'm completely sure of i...The future is bright! I'm completely sure of it :)Luis Guimarãeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718753383788485628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753333248840902848.post-85702456119066955372013-08-09T20:27:29.343-05:002013-08-09T20:27:29.343-05:00your AI theory is very well developed, good read!your AI theory is very well developed, good read!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07290527903655734533noreply@blogger.com