Incidental Emergent Gameplay
According to Wikipedia, emergent gameplay refers to “complex situations in video games, board games, or table top role-playing games that emerge from the interaction of relatively simple game mechanics”. Emergent gameplay often can stem from the relatively simple decisions a player makes, the sum of which lead to more complex outcomes. It also can be created by adding multiple players to the same game environment or situation and having their individual actions impact upon the overall evolving situation. Or to put it another way, it is the human factor that comes with undertaking a task. For example, a story driven video game may offer the player a quest to travel to the valley of Constant Drizzle, vanquish the foul Myrmidons and reclaim the Heretical Grimoire of Colin. It is a very specific task with a binary outcome. But in an open world game without a pre-written story, the player has to find the aforementioned valley and their actions while exploring determine the fate of both the grimoire and the Myrmidons.
Playing Older Games on Modern Monitors
When I initially think of the late 90s or early 2000s, I don’t immediately realise they’re that long ago. That’s probably due to my age and being born in 1967. However, when I do the mental arithmetic, the march of time becomes quite apparent. Technology can change quickly and often does. Prior to the mid-2000s, most video games utilised relatively low-resolutions and the default aspect ratio was usually 4:3 due to the CRT monitors that were in common use at the time. If you try to play such vintage games on a modern HD, UHD or Ultra Wide monitor you’re going to end up with an image that is either stretched or with black bars on the sides of the screen. There are also going to be issues resulting from low-resolution graphics and textures as well. However both of these problems can be addressed by freely available internet resources.
Aargh, Game Controllers
According to a famous old adage, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. I wholeheartedly refute this as that has not been my personal experience in life. Over the last decade or so I have learned several new technical skills. As a carer to disabled parents, I’ve also learned to be more patient in recent years. And having grandchildren teaches you a thing or two. So I don’t buy into the concept that once people have reached a certain age, they become fixed and immutable by nature. Life presents a continuous opportunity for self improvement. Or to render all this philosophical musing down to a point relevant to this blog post, despite being a PC gamer since the late nineties and habitually using a keyboard and mouse, I have in recent years managed to adapt to using a game controller. To a degree. And that caveat is the point of contention.
Explaining Your Passion
I had “the conversation'' the other day. Not the one about where babies come from, the other one. You know, the one where another adult realises that you play video games and is utterly flummoxed by such a thing. Yes, this tedious shit still happens. However, as someone who tries to be civil to others, I feel it incumbent upon me to try and give a concise response when faced with such questions. In some respects being confronted with a situation like this actually offers an opportunity to educate someone who is culturally ignorant about the popularity and significance of video games. Hence, there is a sense of obligation, as an unofficial ambassador for video games, to try and be coherent, plausible and not come off as a nut job. So, with all this in mind, how exactly do you explain your passion for something to someone who finds it utterly alien and probably has some inherent prejudice against it?
LOTRO: What Happens Next?
Around the middle of May, it was announced on the official forums that the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online had a new Producer, Oleg Brodskiy (AKA Raninia). This news was hardly “shouted from the rooftops” and I only found out about it when Raninia was recently “interviewed” by LOTRO streamer Louey7. So what do we know about Mr Brodiskiy? Well he comes from a mobile game background, having worked on such titles as Archer: Danger Phone and Marvel Puzzle Quest. He has experience as a game producer and in QA. According to the introductory post he made on the forums “Sev remains the Executive Producer, I'm coming in as support under him. I'll be spending my time exclusively on LOTRO, and am hoping to be reasonably communicative”. As mentioned, he recently appeared on a live stream and answered some questions regarding what’s happening with LOTRO in the next 6 months or So. He also alluded to 2022.
Screenshots and Photo Mode
Despite its many flaws, Cyberpunk 2077 launched with a very comprehensive “photo mode”. Developer’s CD Projekt Red put a lot of resources into creating the game's aesthetic and recognised that players would want to explore it and record how their avatars interact with it. The ability to take screen captures is a selling point for many games, especially in the RPG and MMORPG genres. It allows players to keep a permanent record of their activities over time and also adds another social aspect to proceedings. Players love to share screenshots that showcase their avatars and record events they’ve participated in. Some fan sites are predicated purely upon in-game photos. Either highlighting the various cosmetic items that are available or capturing the beauty of the virtual world. I still have screenshots from The Lord of the Rings Online going back to the day I started playing in December 2008.
Defining Immersion in Video Games
Like any leisure activity, video games have their own unique lexicon. Some of these terms have become so ubiquitous that they have bled through from pop culture into everyday parlance. Hence we have the UK Prime Minister talking about “levelling up”; a suitably nebulous and vacuous soundbite. Gaming terms are elastic and often their meaning shifts, just like many other words in daily use. Hence the acronym MMO doesn’t really mean what it did two decades ago. Fellow blogger Wilhelm Arcturus wrote about a very specific gaming phrase yesterday. One that he feels very passionately about. Namely the term “immersion”. Gamers often refer to it in heated debates but due to its ill defined nature, it is inherently ambiguous. Wilhelm explored this in both his post and its subsequent comments. I’d like to continue with that train of thought here.
Some Video Games Fail
I was somewhat surprised to learn this week that the action role-playing video game Magic: Legends was to be closed. Not so much by the actual decision itself but at the speed at which it has been made. Technically the game has not left beta testing and will now never be formally launched. The servers will remain accessible until October 31st 2021 and players who have spent money on microtransactions via the Epic Store or Arc will be refunded. Developer’s Cryptic and publishers Perfect World Entertainment have naturally not given any specific details regarding the reasons behind the games closure. The accompanying press release is suitably vague. “We learned several valuable lessons along the way, and we will use them to improve Cryptic’s future development efforts”.
A Month in Gaming
The last installment of A Month in Gaming was at the end of April. I have decided to update this recurring post less often to ensure that I have more to write about than just cataloguing my generic activities in The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online. The only downside of such an approach is that it invalidates the title but that can’t be helped. Fortunately, I have done more than usual over the last two months. My daily schedule has changed temporarily and I now have a little more leisure time available. Hence I’ve dabbled with several new games as well as using my Nintendo Switch more often. I also took part in a “tag team” playthrough of XCOM 2, which was a very interesting experience. And I finally took the time to go through all my games libraries on the various different platforms to catalogue exactly what I have. I found a few hidden gems but the majority is just “filler” that you find in most video game bundles.
Fear of Missing Out (Again)
On May 20th, John McClane and Rambo were unceremoniously crowbarred into Call of Duty: Warzone as cosmetic skins available from the in-game store. If you felt that your life would be spiritually enriched by such a purchase then it cost about £34 for both, resulting in the community accusing Activision (and not Hans Gruber) of being an exceptional thief. Two weeks later the offer ended and the skins were withdrawn. Those who had missed the proverbial boat were left to cry into their beer and shake their fists at the capricious nature of the gods. Because “fear of missing out” is very real and all leisure industries know this and are happy to capitalise upon it. Never mind children and those adults who have learned to control their sense of compulsion. Capitalism’s reply is simply “am I my brother’s keeper”? Because loot boxes, limited time events and cosmetic products are just surprise mechanics”.
ESO: “Where am I and What am I Doing?”
The other day, I was undertaking a daily mission for the Undaunted in The Elder Scrolls Online. I do these to level my companion’s associated skills line. The mission required me to go to a particular delve, set some soul traps and defeat the boss. Nothing unusual there, so off I went. Whenever I go into a delve in ESO, I usually do the quest associated with it. It provides a story and some additional experience points. Thus I arrived in the vicinity of the delve in question and found a note not far away. I read it and accepted the quest assuming it to be the one associated with the delve. To cut a long and confusing story short, it turns out it wasn’t. I discovered this about 20 minutes later when I found myself running around, confused with three separate lots of quest markers on my in-game map. Not for the first time I found myself pondering “where am I and what am I doing”.
Thoughts on “Classic LOTRO”
Cordovan (AKA Jerry Snook), Community Manager for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online, stated in the last Developers Live Stream that “the idea of a formal classic (server) is never off the table”. Naturally, this comment has led to a lot of speculation on the official LOTRO forums. Many players by inference have concluded that the original code does exist for the game as it was at launch or immediately thereafter. As you can imagine this has resulted in much debate as to whether a classic LOTRO server based upon the original Shadows of Angmar release could be created. Assuming that this is the case and technically developer’s Standing Stone Games can do this, it raises the question of whether they should or not. Because a classic server is a different beast to the previous legendary progression servers. 14 years has seen a great deal of change within the MMO industry and with LOTRO as well. Let us take a moment to reflect.
ESO: Choosing a House
This post is not intended as a player housing guide. There are plenty of those available already. Instead, it is my personal musings on the various factors that have determined my choice of player house in The Elder Scrolls Online. In fact, at the time of writing, I have not yet purchased the house in question. It is dependent not only on a large sum of in-game gold but also a substantial achievement. The house in question is Gardner House in Wayrest. As it is a large player house it costs 1,015,000 gold. Alternatively, it can be bought for 5,700 Crowns, unfurnished. If you want it furnished it will cost 7,100 Crowns. I shall not be buying this property with Crowns as it works out at about £36 or so. I think that price is a little exorbitant especially in light of what I want the house for.
ESO: Companions
The Blackwood expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online launched a little over a fortnight ago. During that time I have become accustomed to having an AI companion. Not only are they an enjoyable new addition to the MMO, they also have quite a significant impact upon PVE gameplay. Both Mirri Elendis and Bastian Hallix can provide robust support and cover a variety of roles. This is down to the flexibility of the skills system associated with companions. Gear requirements are simpler and a lot easier to manage compared to that of your main character. Levelling is driven by XP gained from combat. Thus, if you go questing with either one of your companions they will level accordingly. They also have personal quests associated with them, ensuring that both companions have an appropriate backstory. The rapport system means that it is prudent to be nice to your AI chum or they’ll leave you for a time.
Carpetbaggers, Snake Oil and Video Game Marketing
I am not a great fan of trade shows and expositions such as E3. Nor do I care for the accompanying hype culture that inevitably follows in the wake of all the announcements that are made. Too many gamers are easily seduced by cinematic trailers and promotional videos that contain precious little or no in-game footage. The lack of tangible data and quantifiable facts means that they fill the marketing void with their own expectations and hopes. Sadly, these are then dashed upon the game’s final release, resulting in a backlash of acrimony and perceived betrayal. It is a tediously predictable cycle, yet one that so many paying customers never seems to learn from. The Snake oil salesmen become bolder each year and the consumers more credulous. It’s a depressing, symbiotic, abusive relationship.
“Do Try and Keep Up”
Justin Olivetti posed an honest question on Massively Overpowered yesterday. “Do you have any clue what’s going on in your MMO’s storyline?” he asked and I must admit that my answer varies greatly according to what I’m playing. Yet before I give a more comprehensive response, let me make clear that one of the aspects of the MMO genre that I enjoy the most is its penchant for complex and sprawling narratives. Both The Lord of the Rings Online and Star Trek Online are based upon intellectual properties with in-depth lore and an established canon. I was also drawn to the RPG Skyrim due to its enigmatic story which linked into a much wider history. It was one of the reasons I started playing The Elder Scrolls Online, as every quest seems to have a story that is connected to another. My enjoyment of these dense plots found in the MMO genre stems from my love of reading as a child.
Enjoying LOTRO Through Others
When you’ve been doing any leisure activity for a long time, there comes a point where over familiarity does become an issue. It tempers one’s enjoyment and impacts upon the way you experience that particular pastime. I’ve written about this situation before with regard to my relationship with cinema and films. More recently it has started to occur with my gaming activities, especially with the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. I have been playing this game since December 2008 and I’ve had a long and complicated relationship with it over the course of twelve years. The game was a mainstay of my life at a time when I was living alone and doing contract work. Hence I had a lot of leisure time to sink into LOTRO and few other obligations whenever I wasn’t working. It was in many ways the perfect time to enjoy an MMO as I could “commit” to it. And so I embarked upon the same gaming journey that many others have taken.
It's Nice to be Playing an RPG Again
I managed to purchase the Role Playing Game Greedfall recently at the bargain price of £15. I’ve had my eye on this particular title for a while. It is not a so-called triple A game but has garnered a lot of critical praise since its release in September 2019. Developed by Spiders, a French game company and published by Focus Home Interactive, Greedfall is set in an ersatz 17th century-style setting and has liberal doses of fantasy. It has a complex narrative which takes a lot of tropes from European history from that era and blends them with classic fantasy elements such as magic and mythical beasts. It seems to have filled the space previously occupied by BioWare games of this genre, having a similar focus on characters and story. To date it has sold over a million copies. I’ve only played 5 hours or so at present but I like what I see so far.
When the Game Stops You From Playing
Last night, I finally had sufficient time to log into The Elder Scrolls Online and check out the new Blackwood expansion. The plan was to go straight to the new zone and complete the relevant quests to obtain the two companions that have been added to the game. Unfortunately, life seldom goes to plan as Robert Burns alluded to in his famous quotation. As I haven’t played ESO for a while, I’ve missed several major game updates. Consequently all my champion points have been reset, along with all my skills. So, I had to spend some time trying to remember how my Dragonknight was previously set up. I checked a few screenshots to see what skills were on the hotbars but as they don’t display the name, plus the icons change after morphing a skill, it was tricky trying to reverse engineer my prior build. Eventually I just winged it and managed to blag my way through the two quests.
EG7 to Consolidate All Titles on its 4Game Platform
EG7 is very slick when it comes to corporate communications. Earlier today the company posted their Q1 Report Presentation and Q&A on YouTube. Although specifically designed for the company’s investors, CEO Robin Flodin stated that he was aware that many gamers watch these presentations and are welcome. However, he did point out that any major game related news would always come via their appropriate outlets, thus making it clear that there was not any consumer information in his briefing. He then went on to discuss how well EG7 was faring financially and even to the layperson, it is clear that the company did very well last year. However, there were two nuggets of information that were interesting from a gamer’s perspective. The first was that EG7 is going to consolidate all of its games on their current 4game platform. The second was that the company was developing a new AAA MMO linked to a major intellectual property.