Now are we debating the Writings of Saint Landfish, or a we trying to give OUR ideas ?

LOL

Well, it didn''t seem like YOU had a lot to add to that discussion... Where are your ideas ahw?

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

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Shorten the timespan for a game, slash the price.

"I feel like playing a game today, I''m bored. What''s this? LandFish''s 30 Minutes of Not Slaying Goblins? Looks interesting... How much is it? One dollar. Hey, I''ll download it and see how it is, after all, it''s only 30 minutes of my time."

Micropayments, and catering to the world''s ever shrinking attention span


Give me one more medicated peaceful moment.
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I love that description of it... Games as art it is! I would certainly fork out $1 for a game, even if it was ENTIRELY CRAP... you just don''t get deals like that... I think the $1 novelty would be enough to draw ANYONE in .

I know I am finding $1 in my wallet RIGHT NOW

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)

I didn''t have the time to read all of this, but I wanted to say that I disagree with the idea that games should be shorter.I don''t play a game to see the ending...I play the game for the story, the gameplay etc. I want RPGs to be long, let me explore great areas, and be able to plan ahead (today I''ll buy rations, tomorrow I''ll take the first ship to Rondelar etc).I *hate* it when games are too short.Of course, not every long game is good...if you keep doing the same thing for 600 hours, you''ll get bored !
I remember Phantasy Star 4 for the Mega Drive/Genesis.It was a very long game, with a HUGE world, but I never got bored, cause the story was interesting and I liked the characters.
BTW, Might and Magic 6 was a huge game, but still a success.

Runemaster
Join the Game Developers SiteRing !

But don''t you understand... You play games for the story and gameplay right? We aren''t taking that away... Just concentrating it... So you get MORE ACTION FOR YOUR BUKS!

600 hours and you get bored? Well... that is ALSO what we are about... We are talking about having MORE VARIETY in games so that for 600hours you hardly ever repeat what you have been doing...

Try actually READING the thread next time... just my $(2*rant/100)

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)

Oh, and to clarify on that 600 hours part... that is 600 hours of play and RE-play... so you actually still enjoy the game, and can come back for another dose! Pill sized games that are easy to swallow!

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)

Well, dwarfsoft, I don''t give new ideas, so I like to shut up. But, since you ask I must say that I agree with runemaster, the adventure is not the final goal, it''s the path you travel to reach it, if ever. It''s like reading a 3 pages summary of the Lord of the Rings, it will give you a concentrated and clear idea of what it''s all about, without having to read the whole thing. But don''t tell me that you read the Lord of the Rings for the plot, did you ?

As I said earlier, in my first post, what you are trying to achieve, concentrating the asme amount of enjoyment in a smaller amount of time, is like... say it''s like painting, some paintings just need to be done on large surfaces, because it gives them breath, it''s not the same to look at a wall painting than at a stamp, it''s the same idea you''re expressing, the picture is probably as nice, interesting, but the dimension you see it in make the whole difference.

When I saw the Blair witch project, I thought it was fabulous. Concnetrated action, non stop, an hour and a half (if I remember). But I probably couldn''t have taken any more. The point is, it was hyper active and ultra stressing from beginning to end, and this was OK because of the short length of the movie. Then take a film like Gladiator (fabulous !) and see how nicely it flows during its 2h30. The action is concentrated in some key sequences, and the in between set the tone, the atmosphere, etc etc.
I could go on and on for ever with example.
Probably what I am saying is that game creation is an art, I believe this profundly, and that''s the only reason I decided to go for computing studies (MAster level now) instead of going for the Fine Arts : because I knew I was going to do just another form or creation, art.

Just a last nice example I like : when you have sex, do you prefer a quickie or a long night of passionate love ? Think about it...

youpla :-P

"PlayFast, play games, fast." naaaaah :/

I understand your point of view, and I have to say that if you have a game in which you have no interaction between the storyline then it is pretty dull. What I am suggesting is not what you think. I believe that you can have a LOT of interaction, as it is definitely all about player decision making and they are the ones who decide their own path. What I was objecting to was having NO story and letting the player MAKE the story. That just wont work (from my point of view) and I just can''t see it possible to do it well.

About the sex: Long night of passion
Instead, I draw an analogy for violence - I like my violence to be short, but energetic.... I believe that both of these are points in a game...

The sex is the story, it can be long and well crafted, but the violence is the gameplay which needs to be fast and furious.

I see a need for a balance, and I believe that it can be concentrated into a small game. If you make the game a part of a larger story, then you can have a longer game in shorter segments (ie, long sex, with breaks) but you will maintain the gameplay in tight packed groups that are concentrated (ie, the violence in a fast and furious pace, set through each game)...

I think that we are fighting the same war, but we can''t see what we are each arguing for.. (I like the reference to sex though )

-Chris Bennett ("Insanity" of Dwarfsoft)

Check our site:
http://www.crosswinds.net/~dwarfsoft/
Check out our NPC AI Mailing List :
http://www.egroups.com/group/NPCAI/
made due to popular demand here at GDNet :)

The game can last forever.
As long as any significant action doesn''t take me hours to complete.
( "I need 18 strength for this rock to be pushed out of the way? Damn, I only have 16, that''ll be two weeks of goblin slaying before I reach that level." )

Not arguing against games that might last for 600 hours, but against games that take 600 hours to become enjoyable. ( "Phew, I finally reached the end of that goblin-infested tunnel. Hey look, there''s three gold pieces here!" )



Give me one more medicated peaceful moment.
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