koffdrop.com

This article is based on that very question. More specifically it asks about gaming and whether it can bring a sense of emotion to the person playing.

I suppose that things like work, commuting and other things that truly fail to bring emotion to our lives are those which we find most bland. Games that make you feel nothing, not even anger, are probably the least successful.

The feeling of heroism, the obsession of most 14-year-old boys, is the basis of most games. […] In videogames, we often fight the bad guys and feel good about it. Whatever our critics may say, I think that’s worthy.

Unsurprisingly the results of a survey upon which the article is based shows Final Fantasy to be one of the most emotive games that gamers have experienced. Who can fail to have felt some sort of emotion at the end of Final Fantasy VII’s first CD? Or, for the more hardcore amongst you, how about when Palom and Porom sacrificed themselves in Final Fantasy II/IV?

The list of most affecting videogames from the article says plenty about what a crucial element emotion can be in making your game a success: Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Halo, Silent Hill. Those are some heavyweight names.

Of course, you can apply a chicken and egg scenario to this. What about the smaller, less ‘popular with the casuals’ style games? Ico certainly makes the grade!

It’s clear that games that make you feel something are the ones you remember and are the ones that make their mark. Most recently for me, God of War made me feel something in games that I’ve not felt that many times since I first started playing. That of the sheer visceral thrill of power and literally feeling superhuman. The cunningness of the design in that this was a fallen character that you didn’t feel you cared for juxtaposed the fact that, as the gamer, it was your job to see him succeed in his quest. The gaming anti-hero.

Games haven’t made me cry. I’ve been elated, confused, angered, exhilerated, scared and determined by them though. I guess it’s that kind of emotional connection with a game that I always seek. Games that make that connection with me are the ones that elevate themselves above the normal and stand out.

Whilst writing this I’m trying to think of any ‘quick fix’, simple, shallow games that make that essential connection for me. Even the eternal Tetris doesn’t really offer that for me which is why I would probably play it less than any RPG I own even though my limited free time would lend itself far better to shifting abstract blocks than completing quests.

As the article indicates, Walt Disney wondered if animation could make an emotional connection with it’s audience. I think that, in the better animations, there is no question that it does. Today’s society will readily admit to that. In many respects, I think gaming finds itself being asked the same question today. I hope that in the future everyone will realise that it does – and not just in bad ways.

I mentioned this site a few weeks back but I feel compelled to mention it again. R|mail, like all good things, is a simple idea executed well. It takes a website’s RSS feed and delivers it to an email you specify.

R|mail website

All you need to do is provide the address of an RSS feed and then tell the site which email address you want the feed sent to. An email will be sent to that address asking the email owner to confirm their subscription request. After that, any new posts that appear on the site that the feed is for will be delivered to the email address supplied – including any images and hyperlinks. It really couldn’t be simpler.

There are a number of ways to subscribe to a site’s RSS feed that vary from simple (such as Firefox’s Livebookmarks concept) to moderately complex solutions that involve using dedicated newsfeed readers. Depending on how many sites or feeds you read you may want a different solution.

Of course, one of the sweetest things about R|mail is that it’s possible to provide a direct link to the second step of the subscription process. Here, allow me to demonstrate:

Subscribe to koffdrop.com at R|mail

Clicking on that link will assume you want to subscribe to this site and take you straight to the ‘please supply your email for this feed’ page. So, if you haven’t already done so, why not ensure you never miss an episode of your favourite show and subscribe to koffdrop.com? 🙂

Special mention and thanks must go to Randy Charles Morin who updated the R|mail database so that subscribers to the old koffdrop.com feed would get the new koffdrop.com feed automatically. I have absolutely no idea how he knew the feed had changed. I can only assume he either reads koffdrop.com or watches every one of the 3,000+ feeds R|mail covers like a hawk and pounces on any issues that might occur.

However he does it, it’s fantastic service at a price that can’t be beat and it makes R|mail very easy to recommend.

Hi there, welcome to the new-look koffdrop.com! You’ll find this version a little more functional than the previous as the sidebar to the right will testify. If you’re wondering where all the old stuff went you can find it here.

As far as functionality is concerned, you’ll be able to find posts created on the new site by a number of different searching methods such as date, category, month or by the search function at the top of the page. Try hovering over the bold dates in the calendar to get an idea of what I mean.

Please note that if you subscribed to koffdrop.com via RSS or R|mail then it’s unlikely that they will work any longer. My apologies for the inconvenience.

You know, I’ve said it many times, but I have to say that the sheer stubborness of gamers (yes, I’m generalising) is quite breathtaking. You’ve got the EA haterz and the Nintendo loverz and, frankly, not a lot in between. I knew that September 16th was going to be a pain in the ass because, regardless of what was shown, this big surge of “OMFG BEST THING EVAR!!!11” was going to spread across the internet like a cancer.

Now, I happen to be someone who lost faith in Nintendo over a decade ago and have since looked at them and their actions very critically. Instead of eagerly chugging down any line of spin that Iwata or Miyamoto give, I choose to question it.

It seems clear that just because I don’t want to believe in fairies, Father Christmas or Nintendo Magic that I am wrong. Nope, it’s not that I’m expressing my own opinion. It’s not that it swims against the current. All negotiations are over. A decision must be made: Koffdrop is wrong. Oh, and he’s a fool, doesn’t know anything about gaming, has no sense of humour, yadda yadda yadda.

You know, if gamers (generalising again) could demonstrate just a hint of reason or maturity then you’d be such nicer people.

[sigh]

On a more uplifting note I stumbled across a fantastic website the other day. I’m subject to pretty strict rules about sharing data at work. These rules are often enforced by prohibiting internet activity such as using instant messengers. I’ve been scraping by with the browser based version of MSN but it only serves one medium. Meebo is the answer. It’s very early days but it covers the essentials – you can login, get your contacts and speak to them. This site is definitely one to watch.

And finally koffdrop.com will be levelling up! A site upgrade is likely to occur later on this week. Watch this space.

If you come here with a closed mind then you will not enjoy your stay. If you cannot tolerate an alternative point of view then do not come here. If you feel you can browbeat my opinions into something you prefer the sound of then you’re in for nothing but disappointment.

If you have something constructive to say, say it. If you have nothing useful to say then head to one of those other, less challenging, places where everyone thinks the same things and finds the same things interesting.

Any further unnecesarily inflammatory comments will be deleted and details will be logged.

Koffdrop.com doesn’t march to the beat of your drum. Accept it or move on.

Have a nice day.

With the world and their nintendog (do you see what I did there?) screaming about the Great Big Reveal and with me being known around these parts as a pretty vocal Nintendo cynic I think it only natural to give you my thoughts. Heck, this is my site, I don’t have to justify myself to the likes of you!

Firstly, it’s appearance wasn’t what I (or anybody?) was expecting. Nintendo’s clearly got a hardon for Apple right now and I guess we should have expected something like this when we saw that slab of plastic they showed us at E3. How could we all be so dumb? It makes perfect sense!

Another big deal is that, “OMFG! you turn it sideways and it’s a NES controller! GENIUS!”. Holy crap indeed. Talk about doing the unexpected eh? I mean, if it worked for the N-gage it’s going to work for Nintendo, right? I mean what’s the deal with focusing a big chunk of your next-gen do-or-die console planning on a 20 year old controller. A basic, fugly and just plain uncomfortable controller at that? What am I saying! It’s Nintendo – 90% of their selling strategy is to make you play their 20 year old games again. It makes perfect sense!

Oh, and It’s a 3D pointing device. You know something? My finger is a 3D pointing device too! I can see a lot of DS stylus control mentality crossing over into Nintendo’s new machine and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Nintendo produce big screen versions of Nintendogs, Kirby and Meteos to milk their IP and justify their design at the same time. It makes perfect sense!

Oh yeah! Whilst the little kiddies get excited over some bits of plastic, a blue glow and some Japanese guy in a suit explaining how they’re going to change the world of gaming by giving us a controller full of niche ideas that won’t live beyond this generation let us mature gamers savour the real news that actually means something:

Sam and Max are back

That really is all you need to know. But we’re all hungry for news so lets have a bit more of it from this article at Adventure Gamers:

Telltale Games disclosed tonight what many adventure fans have been waiting to hear for over a year: Sam & Max is making a comeback.

The announcement came during a special event, “The Future of Digital Entertainment,” which took place in the San Francisco office of consulting firm AT Kearney. The evening started with presentations by Pixar Supervising Animator Alan Barillaro and AT Kearney Vice President John Ciacchella, focusing on the direction of the digital entertainment industry. Telltale principles Dan Connors, Kevin Bruner, and Troy Molander then took the floor to talk about Telltale’s corporate goals, development process, and market strategy. The presentation closed with the surprise announcement that Telltale has entered into an agreement with Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell to reintroduce the popular dog and rabbit team to the digital age.

The deal was inked only days ago, and few details are available as of now. Telltale stresses that the game will not be Sam & Max: Freelance Police, the LucasArts title whose highly-publicized 2004 cancellation was widely mourned by fans. New content will be developed, and the game will be implemented in an episodic format similar to that of Telltale’s Bone games. Purcell, who works at Pixar, says he will be as involved with the Sam & Max project as he can be.

“If there’s a better match, I don’t know who it is… I trust them,” Purcell said, when asked why he chose to work with Telltale. Purcell knows the Telltale team from their LucasArts days and is comfortable with their handling of the upcoming first Bone game, which is adapted from the well-known comic by Jeff Smith. When LucasArts’ hold on the Sam & Max rights ran out this spring, Purcell and Telltale had the freedom to move forward.

Telltale has positioned itself as a company intent on delivering high-quality, story-driven games to an audience hungry for interactivity. “Around a year ago, we left the bosom of the game industry because we saw opportunity,” Connors said of the team’s departure from LucasArts. According to Bruner, Telltale’s plan for licenses such as Bone and Sam & Max is “bigger than video games. It’s interactive entertainment.”

Adventure Gamers will provide more details about the Sam & Max project as they become available. For now, disillusioned fans can stop signing petitions and set aside the bitterness over all those false rumors. We spoke; they listened.

Quality doesn’t need gyroscopes. KnowwhatImean?

The Les Enfant Terribles project has a lot to answer for. See for yourself.

Snake? Come in Snake. Is that you? Speak to me! Snake? SNAKE?? SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!!!

It’s out in Japan, it launches in the US and I couldn’t care less if you paid me. The masters of re-release have done it again and everyone’s going gaga for it.

Pay again for exactly the same technology! Play identical games on the same hardware that you already own! Feel like you were part of the eighties by getting the Famicom coloured one. Even though you don’t know what a Famicom is or what the word means!

At a retail of $99 the general consensus from those who know (such as the enlightened but harsh folks at QT3) is that it’s retailing for around $40 too much and is too small to use comfortably in adult hands.

To be honest, if I was as shamelessly manipulative, money grabbing and keen to fleece my unnervingly loyal consumer base as Nintendo are then I’d do this too. I’m really not sure that we need a third generation of Gameboy Advance. Particularly one that offers nothing new and manages to make itself incompatible with a range of existing peripherals that work fine with the GBA and GBA SP due to it’s diminutive size.

There’s no need for this really. The issues of the original GBA (backlit and rather exposed screen and non-rechargeable battery) were solved in the GBA SP. The only advantage that the Micro offers is that, lo and behold, Nintendo have seen fit to allow you to plug your headphones directly into the unit without the need to buy an additional, Nintendo endorsed, peripheral. Cheeky bastards.

So, if you’re a kid with small hands who happens to know why red and gold represent Famicom colours and have a spare $99 this is the perfect gift for you. Even if you have a GBA and a GBA SP.

Knock yourselves out you mugs!

I have a lot of respect for the current generation GTA games. I think the attitude is good, the production values are exceptional and the design as solid as it gets. But I’m dismayed with the slapdash way that the carefully constructed PS2 versions of the game get ported to the PC.

It took the best part of a year for San Andreas to find it’s way out of PS2 exclusivity – something I’m certain has more to do with contracts than technical ability. Now, most code in games is moderately portable. In essence the data that makes up the game content just needs a new interpreter to run on a different platform. The graphics and other assets don’t need to be reproduced, just created with some foresight to make them more transportable. Converting games across platforms doesn’t mean starting from scratch – it’s still plenty of work, but if you plan ahead, it’s a lot less work than it might be.

So how did they manage to completely muck up the controls for the PC version?

Granted, there’s a lot of functions in San Andreas but the entire game was designed and executed to work on a PS2 controller. A device the features less pushable items on it’s surface than your typical PC keyboard. Getting the PC version to emulate the feel of control available in the PS2 game is probably a greater challenge than beating the game itself.

Surely this must have been noticed during the conversion process?

I’ve really enjoyed the PS2 version but found the loading times to be a pain. I also have the PC version so I have the option of eradicating the offending loading times. But then I’m left with an all but uncontrollable game.

My train of thought was that, if I could find a game controller with the same degree of functionality as the PS2 controller, I could map the controls for the PC game to it and get the same feel.

I didn’t have too much success finding something I was sure was going to give me just what I wanted so I approached the problem from a different angle – could I connect my PS2 controller to the PC? Yes! I could! And for a price of only £6.99 too. RESULT!

So, I’m getting closer to my goal.

Now, all I have to do is wade through the three or so full pages of controll mappings (on foot, in car etc) to my controller to emulate the controls of the PS2 version. Why didn’t the game support this as a preset control configuration?

Now, I’m lazy at heart. And slow. But I can use these two qualities to my advantage. I reasoned that I can’t be alone in my plight and that there must be more enterprising gamers than me out there that have tackled this problem already. So, I give up fighting with the controller setup screens and hit Google instead.

Whaddya know? By about the third result down I’ve found a user-written application and a config file to feed into it that is designed precisely to address the issues I’m having with the game.

I’ve now got the controls mapped out to emulate the oh-so-comfy PS2 controls on the PC whilst having the convenience of next-to-nothing loading times and optional mouse targetting for those tricky mission where aiming is critical.

I consider myself lucky that there’s such a big following for GTA as, quite frankly, being able to comfortably control a game that already had a decent control system shouldn’t be some epic quest.

Shame on you Rockstar.