xrayzwei's Articles

Rewatching these now that @turboshawn uploaded them to YouTube, and caught this nugget: https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxepxwwsNPcwdp0MClwHKUOcocWohLNtK3?si=2BictxVI1wPn_gcK

-From 2008- “Left 4 Dead?” It’s all he said, but I had to hold the wince on the inside. Really? The other two were very excited; visibly jittering in their seats. The holidays are the best time for them to catch up on some of the M rated stuff their older cousins are playing. J stares at me a little longer while I ruminate. It’s more time that I don’t get to play all of the other stuff I’m tryi...

Ah, deals on physical purchases. Originally posted on Cheap Ass Gamer, reposting here for posterity. Links removed and a couple of edits included: For short-time Cheap Ass Gamers the forums appear on the surface to be the best place to find the best video game deals on the Internet, but the pros know that you need to go that extra mile sometimes to get the most out of your cheap ass dollars. Th...

I get it, NFTs are bad. For the environment, for creatives, legal currencies, etc. If this isn't a way for somebody to own some data, then what is the solution? Interesting read for the weekend: http://www.theendofownership.com/

Here is a good piece from Cory Doctorow. It's funny in the context of two huge companies arguing over consumer benefit over App Store margins and Fortnite. I wish others would think about it. Shamelessly I'm going to block quote 4 of these paragraphs, but recommend reading the entire piece. "Then came a fabulist named Robert Bork, a former solicitor general who Reagan appointed to the powerful...

I listen/watch to The HotSpot this week, and I just get frustrated with the ownership discussion. Nobody actually ever says what they WANT, just how the situation IS. I WANT TO OWN the stuff I pay for. Why is it that hard? It doesn't have to be "noble" like @jeff puts it. https://www.giantbomb.com/shows/the-hotspot-episode-366/2970-20364

"On r/Datahoarder, you’ll find people storing data on everything from YouTube videos to game install discs." I read this article on Ars Technica by David Rutland and it made me think about games and software in addition to the print, audio and video as the focus of the article. Will there be any of us in 50 years wanting to play something and bookmarking a subreddit to find it? Then what are th...

Rip all of the Red Book audio from my Saturn and PSX games

This was kind of an interesting read regarding microtransactions: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-03-18-the-developer-of-journey-bucks-the-trend-of-predatory-monetisation James Batchelor "As such, Thatgamecompany spent two years in the middle of development prototyping business models for Sky, which was originally designed as a premium title. The studio soon realised there was no wa...

I had to put something together when the crew was describing the PS5 audio slide deck reminding them of the Death Star.

Here's a great example: Why 'Destiny 2' Isn't Working, And How to Fix It VICE US by Doc Burford "Luke [Smith, Director, Destiny 2] makes repeated comparisons to Magic: The Gathering and its new card sets, but he forgets that this is extremely exploitative, that cards are something you can collect and sell for real money , and that most players actually play the legacy modes like Commander. Magi...

From yesterday: I don't think I'm making some of this stuff up on my own, but I also don't think anything from industry groups is as comprehensive as it should be. Brendan Sinclair for gamesindustry.biz on TIGA and IGDA IGDA on monetization TIGA on player safeguards

I had an idea for a Gamer Bill of Rights.... then I just vomited all of this stuff out onto a page. Buy Once, Play Everywhere I had thought about an example, like Super Mario Bros.. How many times should you be asked to buy it? If there is no change in the feature set, then I don't think you should have to pay for it again. There is a very malicious feel to a company that wants to make money th...