This whole "it's all about choice" argument glosses over the fact that this strategy will fuck up all that made games fun. I play games for the sense of completion - getting every character, and stage, and trophy. Developers (and I'm not including EA in that, the fucking cunts) appreciate that, and make a game that is rewarding, and balanced. You put in a bit of work, you get a reward.
But if you can persuade a kid to pay $20 to unlock all the cars, why bother making an interesting challenge? Just make it as fuck-off hard as you can - 250 cups with slightly different names, and you have to beat them all to unlock a new track. This is especially true with the idiot-fanbase franchises (any major EA franchise, movie tie-ins, kid's games)
My point is that developers just won't care about gradual item acquisition before. The reason games don't give you everything at the start is longevity, and to hold your interest. All this will be lost - in ten years time, kids will be memorizing their parent's credit card number, instead of the Contra 30 lives cheat
Will you guys cry foul if I buy a PS3 and don't have too much fun on it? After all, I've denied someone else from owning a PS3 who might have had more fun on it. Although, what I find more fun than playing a console is selling it for a profit on an online marketplace. So in a way I'm entitled to it
Well, it's true that Sudoku isn't arithmetical - as the comic shows, the numbers are just placeholders. But that doesn't mean it is mathematical. I'm a mathematics undergraduate, and I can testify that I spend a lot more time staring blankly at symbols, wondering what the next logical step is, than I do working with the digits 1-9 :)
Having said that, Sudoku can be reduced down to a few simple logical tricks, so it becomes autonomous at the end. When this happens, do yourself a favour and pick up a book by Martin Gardner :)
K4rn4ge to attempt 1 billion-point Geometry Wars high score
Dec 7th 2006 7:29PM (Joystiq)Engadget Black Friday giveaways (part 1): Xbox 360 Premium pack!
Nov 24th 2006 4:37PM (Engadget)The world's cutest little Wii Sports boxer
Nov 22nd 2006 5:27PM (Joystiq)Engadget to host GoW charity game
Nov 22nd 2006 4:50PM (Joystiq)EA continues to exploit, charging $50 for Need for Speed unlockables
Nov 2nd 2006 2:19PM (Joystiq)But if you can persuade a kid to pay $20 to unlock all the cars, why bother making an interesting challenge? Just make it as fuck-off hard as you can - 250 cups with slightly different names, and you have to beat them all to unlock a new track. This is especially true with the idiot-fanbase franchises (any major EA franchise, movie tie-ins, kid's games)
My point is that developers just won't care about gradual item acquisition before. The reason games don't give you everything at the start is longevity, and to hold your interest. All this will be lost - in ten years time, kids will be memorizing their parent's credit card number, instead of the Contra 30 lives cheat
Also, fuck EA
eBay's PS3/Wii auction cancellations are a good move
Oct 15th 2006 4:45PM (Joystiq)FoxTrot's Sudoku-ometry [update 2]
Oct 15th 2006 3:48PM (Joystiq)Having said that, Sudoku can be reduced down to a few simple logical tricks, so it becomes autonomous at the end. When this happens, do yourself a favour and pick up a book by Martin Gardner :)