International Picture Posting Month

I like a blogging event. They’re a great form of community interaction. I also like activities with clear parameters that can be undertaken daily. Sometimes trying to come up with new ideas for posts and content is tricky. Events can alleviate this by providing clear structure and a set of preset tasks or prompts. Chestnut over at Gamer Girl Confessions is running International Picture Posting Month throughout November. Broadly speaking it’s the image equivalent of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) where you are encouraged to write 50,000 words. With IntPiPoMo (now there’s an easy to remember acronym) the idea is to post images, be it a screen capture from a game, a photo or some of your own artwork. The target for the month is 50 images. Although the emphasis is on the visual, there is also the option to write about the images you share if you so desire.

So I’ve signed up and intend to give this a go over the month ahead. Like many other gamers I have numerous folders of game related screenshots on my hard drive. I also have hundreds of images from various movies stored for use in film reviews. Hence, I think I have some suitable material for IntPiPoMo. Now due to the blog template I’m currently using, there is a size limit on any image I embed in a post. Therefore I shall attempt to upload the full-size images on a third-party hosting site and endeavour to integrate a scaled version (with a link back to the original) on Contains Moderate Peril. If this solution cannot be accommodated due to some technical reason, I’ll try and fudge some other workaround. I would like to maintain the original image size, as I think that scaling content sometimes diminishes its impact.

If you want any further details on this event and the prizes available (yes, that’s right there are also prizes involved) then head over to Gamer Girl Confessions using the link above. There’s a sign-up page so that Chestnut can track who’s participating in IntPiPoMo. So far, the following bloggers have “taken the King’s shilling” and are participating in International Picture Posting Month. It will be interesting to see what pictures they share in the weeks to come.

• Cal – Galactic Antics

• Chestnut – Gamer Girl Confessions

• Shintar – Going Commando

• Bhagpuss – Inventory Full

• Paeroka – Nerdy Bookahs

• Stargrace – Nomadic Gamers, eh!

• Atheren – The Last Chapter Gaming Blog

• Arislyn – The Tanking Mage

• Welshtroll – Welshtroll
  

The Five Games Challenge

View fullsize

Naithin over at Time to Loot set an interesting thought experiment. In a nutshell, if you could only pick five games to play in one year, what would they be. There are some minor caveats regarding choice. The games can be across multiple platforms. Any game chosen also includes all available DLC as well as mods. However, if you pick multiple games from a franchise, they each count as an individual choice. But beyond these minor rules, you’re free to choose what you want. So theoretically you can pick a classic game on the SNES such as Donkey Kong Country, as well as something newly released on the PC such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Judging from Naithin’s post, he feels the idea of being limited to just five games is quite restrictive. I, however, don’t really have an issue with this, as I tend not to play too many games concurrently to begin with. I’ll expand upon this point later. Firstly here are the five games I would play. I have chosen games I have previously or currently play and not included forthcoming titles, as I cannot say with any certainty whether they would prove a hit with me.

• The Lord of the Rings Online

• The Elder Scrolls Online

• Star Trek Online

• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

• Sniper Elite 4

The MMO genre is a mainstay of my gaming activities. I currently play three. Furthermore, if one has new content available then that will be the one that gets the most attention. So for the purpose of this scenario, I would continue to play The Lord of the Rings Online, The Elder Scrolls Online and Star Trek Online. There is plenty of content in ESO that I still haven’t seen or experienced, so that guarantee’s that this MMO will get the most priority. And LOTRO has an expansion coming which offers fresh material. I also have an alt in the game that needs levelling and fine tuning. STO is a great game for short bursts of play, especially with its Task Force Operations and new event system. There are daily missions and rewards to progress towards, so again it’s a game that has plenty of content. MMOs are very versatile in this respect. Plus if you get a little fatigued doing purely PVE quests, they can offer group play with a wealth of instances and dungeons to run. I’ve spent a lot of time this year playing these MMOs, so I definitely think that if I really was limited to five games, these three would continue to not disappoint.

View fullsize

I spent over six hundred hours playing through Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its DLC when they were originally released. I would happily do so again and try to follow a different path this time. I would vary my build and try an alternative approach with my stats, this time round. From a narrative point of view there are multiple story options and decisions. Again I would try to see if I could take a different route through the various stories. I’d also see if I could master the game of Gwent this time round, as I always fared badly during my previous play through. And if I got tired of the fantasy vibe that runs through three of the game’s that I’ve chosen, I would take a break by playing Sniper Elite 4. In my younger days, I loved the FPS genre but over the years I’ve slowed down both physically and mentally. I can no longer cope with games based primarily upon reaction skills. What I enjoy about Sniper Elite 4 is that you can do things at your own pace. You can spend as much time as you like setting up a shot then relocating elsewhere. It is a real antidote to the breakneck speed of modern gameplay. Plus the game also features co-operative and player versus player modes so again offers a lot of variety.

View fullsize

For several years now, I have limited myself to playing about four or five games at a time. One of the main reasons I do this is the confusion of trying to remember multiple control schemes. I returned to LOTRO recently after focusing mainly on ESO and found myself continuously and pressing the H key to mount my horse, even though LOTRO is not by default configured that way. Another reason I keep myself focused on a handful of games, is that I tend to achieve more. I often listen to the Massively OP podcast and hear Justin Olivetti talk about his game’s rotation and schedule. As a writer he has to cover a lot of ground but it does seem sometimes that he’s spreading himself a little thin. Plus I am a man with a moderate income, so I don’t buy as many titles as I use to. My Steam and Epic Store libraries have more than enough content, should I ever need anything new. So for me, Naithin’s five games challenge is not so much a Hobson’s choice but more of a case of business as usual.

ESO: The Imperial City Storyline

View fullsize

I raised the question in a previous post as to what’s the best way to follow the various stories in The Elder Scrolls Online in an orderly, coherent fashion. After some further research, it would appear that the most practical solution is to play through all the games DLC and chapters in release order. Hence, after finishing the main and faction storylines (in my case the Daggerfall Covenant), the next place to go is The Imperial City. Now I was under the impression that Cyrodiil was just a pure PVP zone but it would appear that there are 8 PVE quests that have a narrative arc. I was most pleased to learn this as I don’t like to miss out on content, especially if it sheds light on the lore and advances existing plot and themes. However, the problem with this series of quests is that despite being PVE content that requires you to kill Daedra mobs, you are still operating within an PVP zone. So you’re at risk of getting picked off by other players of differing factions while undertaking these quests.

I discovered this the hard way. I was attempting the second quest in the series, The Imperial Standard, which takes place in the Nobles District of the Imperial City. At the time, the map indicated that the Daggerfall Covenant was broadly in control of this area. I had to defend three doors of a Garrison base from waves of Daedra. This in itself was quite challenging and would have been far easier in a group. However, a passing zerg from the Aldmeri Dominion put pay to my plans and I was summarily defeated. I made a second attempt to return to the area but by then the balance of power had shifted. It then became very apparent that successfully navigating the Imperial City and following this storyline was dependent on first being part of a competent group and secondly, on whether the various areas you have to visit are free from players from rival factions. I therefore withdrew from the PVP zone and returned to the Glenumbra. I have subsequently decided to play through the Orsinium DLC next.

View fullsize

Now I’m not a fan of the use of gated narrative of this kind and find these sorts of decisions by the developer’s to be very frustrating. There is a self-contained storyline set within The Imperial City DLC that makes for an enjoyable semi-sequel to the main story. I won’t spoil the plot but let it suffice to say that Molag Bol has a “plan B”. Not all MMO players are motivated by storylines and I’m sure many ESO players will not care that there is a narrative thread that they may miss out on. But equally there are plenty of players who are heavily invested in the “plot” of ESO. It would be nice if ZeniMax scould provide some sort of separate instanced mode where you could play through this content without ongoing PVP around you. If they wanted to strip out the rewards such as the Tel Var Stones (the premium currency that is bespoke to this PVP zone) then I would be fine with that. At the very least could they not provide an NPC elsewhere in the storyline, that gave a detailed summary of what happened in this part of the plot, if you have to miss it?

However I did find an interim solution to this problem. One which at least allowed me to follow the story. I did some digging around on YouTube and found a play through of the entire questline I missed. The video had all the dialogue options, sans the combat. It was also captured via a PS4, so it was interesting to see someone play just using the default UI, without any addons. I was fascinated by how haphazard navigating the map was with an addon mini map. Story wise, it was also nice to see the rogue Daedra Lyranth feature in the plot once again. One of the things the ESO writers do well it integrate characters into multiple story arcs. It makes perfect narrative sense that your path will cross the same people as you progress through the DLC etc. If like me, you don’t like to miss out on plot detail, here is the YouTube video of The Imperial City playthrough. I cranked the speed up to 1.5 and could still keep up with the dialogue. It also reduces the running time of the video accordingly.

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Part 5

View fullsize

Although Saturday night provided yet another excellent show, Strictly Come Dancing was notable for the absence of audience favourite Will Bayley. The Paralympian injured himself during training after he jumped from a table whilst practising his jive routine. According to Will “I jumped off a table. And as I landed, I landed with straightened legs,” he explained. “I thought I broke my leg because I never felt anything like it before. To hear the words I absolutely can’t dance was just really gutting for me. But I need to recover now and come back even stronger next week”. Thankfully, the comprehensive rules that govern Strictly allows for a week’s absence due to injury. However, if Will cannot resume dancing for next Saturday’s show, then he may have to retire from the entire series. If this does unfortunately happen, then it will also require the show’s producers to revise the schedule with regard to future eliminations, so that Strictly continues to follow the pre-set timetable.

Professional dancer Neil Jones was also missing from Saturday night’s proceeding after suffering injuries in rehearsals. Fortunately, Kevin Clifton stepped in to dance with Alex Scott at the last moment, having to effectively learn the routine from Alex herself. A change of partner is challenging enough but having to reverse the training process and have the celebrity teach the professional must have been very daunting for Alex. Yet their Street/Commercial dance routine was very well received by studio audiences and the judges were also suitably impressed. In fact the most demonstrable errors were from Kevin Clifton who was noticeably ahead of the music at several points. All things considered this routine did much to further demonstrate Alex’s improvement and Strictly journey. Again it’s this sort of “drama” that viewers love.

View fullsize

One of the dancing highlights from the week six show was Michelle Visage’s standout performance. She found herself at the top of the leaderboard, scoring 39 after impressing the judges with a Foxtrot to the Addams Family theme, alongside her partner Gionvanni Pernice. It was a simple, elegant and nuanced dance that allowed both audience and judges to appreciate Michelle's dedication and commitment to the show. However, there have been concerns raised over the merits of themed shows. Some viewers are of the opinion that the themes and the imaginative concepts that they inspire can potentially be at odds with the dances. Former Strictly professional dancer James Jordan tweeted “"I feel this week on Strictly the whole Halloween themed thing has overtaken the dancing". A sentiment I personally agree with. Although there were some very creatively choreographed routines, I struggled at times to remember exactly what type of dance was being performed. I think Karim and Amy’s Paso Doble was lost among the bravado and costumes.

View fullsize

Tonight’s results were the second big upset of this season of Strictly. Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer along with Catherine Tyldesley and Johannes Radebe were bottom of the leaderboard yet the public vote saw Mike Bushell and Katya Jones in the dance off with Catherine. From a judge’s perspective, Mike had made yet another significant improvement. Ballroom dances have left little scope for comedy forcing Katya to create routines that focus on clear, traditional steps. Yet Mike found himself having to dance again to stay on the show. Catherine’s Cha Cha had fared poorly with the judges earlier who felt it was somewhat sloppy. The dance off vote was split, so head Judge Shirley has the final say and Catherine was voted off the show. This was a surprise as Catherine’s performances often compensate for technical deficiencies. I was actually surprised that Chris Ramsey managed to dodge a bullet this week. His Samba was weak and again hindered by the excesses of the costumes for Halloween. However, opinions may differ. This is what Strictly is all about. Roll on next week.

LOTRO: The Calm Before the Storm

View fullsize

I have been absent from The Lord of the Rings Online for several month, only checking in intermittently. When I do, I still tend to focus on levelling my High Elf Guardian who is currently tentatively progressing through the dour and grindy Mordor expansion. Since July my primary character, a level cap Lore-master, has been standing outside Beorninghús idly staring at Grimbeorn with only a few quests in the Vale of Anduin completed. However, because The Elder Scrolls Online was down for emergency maintenance today, I decided to return to LOTRO and see if I could make inroads into this outstanding update in preparation for the release of the Minas Morgul expansion on November 5th. As a zone, the vales of the Anduin and is the polar opposite of the grim, rocky environment of the Grey Mountains. It is verdant, spacious and often has clear blue skies. Yes there are fog banks and areas of shaded woodlands but it is far from a brooding and oppressive region.

However, when returning to LOTRO from another game, it is very noticeable how the quest system is a product of its time, built upon the prevailing MMO systems and concepts of 2007. The first half dozen activities I was offered around Beorninghús were just the usual fetch and kill quests. Although these take place in a pleasant area and the ambient soundtrack by Bill Champagne is exceeding atmospheric, there is a distinctly old school vibe to these sorts of activities. If the quest narratives aren’t sufficiently compelling in justifying such undertakings then it can all feel somewhat arbitrary. However, and there always tends to be a however with LOTRO, the wrap up at the end of this quest chain is very satisfying. You enjoy a feast in Grimbeorn’s lodge and recount tales of valour. It serves as a great way of reminding the player who some of the NPCs are. LOTRO often brings back characters that you’ve previously met but after 12 years of content, it can be hard to keep track of who’s who. The quest also reflects a great deal of narrative continuity with Gandalf still having to “manage” diplomatic relations between The Beornings and the other factions.

View fullsize

Moving on to the Wolf-denes, I’ve started to notice that there is gradual increase in mob difficulty. Purple quality gear that is being given as quest rewards have a noticeable increase in stats compared to the Teal items that I earned from the previous Where Dragons Dwell update. I find the perfunctory nature of level cap increases a little frustrating and we are looking at one with the Minas Morgul expansion. That means all the gear that I worked hard to earn will be redundant and furthermore, makes all that I’m currently obtaining in the Anduin region, equally as superfluous and transient. Whenever you are “late to the party” and have content to catch up with in LOTRO, so much becomes unnecessary. Why grind out Beorning rep as the gear it will reward will serve me no purpose moving forward? In fact, it may be wiser for me to play another alt at present and wait for the expansion to be launched. Because once it has, playing through prior zones such as Vales of Anduin will earn me XP, where at present it does not.  Hence, I’ll reach the Morgul Vale in a more robust state somewhere around level 125, rather than starting at 120. I like to be as robust as possible when doing new content.

View fullsize

Having spent some time on the test server inspecting the next expansion, it may be prudent to enjoy the aesthetic and atmospheric benefits of the regions between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains, while one can. The Morgul Vale and Minas Morgul itself are singularly oppressive. I fully understand that this is narratively justified but questing and navigating such an environment can be taxing. Due to the lighting in LOTRO, I often struggle to physically see what is happening in darker areas. Despite altering some of the video settings I often have to pull the curtains in my office so no external light source interferes with the onscreen visuals. It’s not a problem I have with other MMOs. Also, as I’m not exactly excited by the forthcoming expansion, I doubt if I’ll be playing it at launch. Standing Stone Games have picked the same day to launch Minas Morgul as the release of the PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2. I always enjoy LOTRO but it really can’t compete with a western themed RPG. I suspect I shall visit the Tower of Sorcery in late December in the post-Christmas lull.

Taking What You Don’t Need

View fullsize

Another free game courtesy of the Epic Store

Every couple of weeks, I log into the Epic Store to see what free games they are giving away. As they’re really trying to secure their share of the market and establish themselves as a clear alternative to Steam, there are plenty of exclusives games and freebies to be found. The ethics of this business approach is a separate issue and not one that I shall address in this post. Let it suffice to say that the concept of the “Loss Leader” is a long standing business tactic. When I logged in today, I saw that both Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and Observer were available for free. The latter interested me because it features voice acting by the late Rutger Hauer. So I duly added them to my game library. The same game library that currently consists of 30 games but only one of which I have paid for. A library that despite its size and wide variety of genres, I’ve only played two of the titles therein. Furthermore, there’s a similar story to tell with regard to Twitch Prime. I log in and check to see what freebies are of on offer, so I can also add them to another redundant library.

I’ve been playing video games since the eighties when I used to spend too much time playing the arcade version of Asteroids at the local swimming baths. I made the transition to PC gaming in the early nineties. Back then this meant buying a boxed copy of a game from a retail outlet, such as WH Smiths. The pricing at the time and in relation to how much I was earning, meant that I didn’t buy multiple games at once. I’d read reviews meticulously, weigh up the pros and cons for each game and then make a decision based upon what would be the most entertaining experience and offer some degree of longevity. Making purchases within such a framework made the acquisition of a new video game a very exciting process. Video games were from my perspective a luxury. Hence it took a while to build a library of games and due to the size of hard drives at this time, it’s not as if you had every game you owned installed at once. PC gaming was a hobby that required management both financially and logistically. Perhaps that was one of the aspects that made it special.

View fullsize

I was bought Starfleet Academy in 1997 as apart of a leaving present from a job

Twenty years on and the video game market has gone digital. Furthermore that market is now saturated and the premium price model, along with the short lifecycle of games, means that there’s only a limited window of time before prices are slashed. The ubiquity of video games, along with the fact that you can buy them on a whim, has substantially changed our relationship with them. You can purchase a game that you want, download it and play it at any time of day. You don’t have to wait for the store to open to get your hands on it. A new game is no longer a luxury; something to be saved for, then sought out and installed via multiple CD-ROMS. I may even go so far as to say I no longer imbue a new game with any great sense of value. They are transient pleasures, some of which can be bought for pocket change and then dispensed without regret, if they fail to entertain. Effectively some PC games remind me of those items you find on display at your local supermarket, as you queue for the checkout. Indulgence items such as snacks, designed to get you to spend a few extras pounds on something superfluous.

We currently live in the century of “me”, in the midst of a most decadent consumer society. Everyday we’re actively told that buying something will fill the gaping, empty void in our lives and assuage those feelings of loneliness, fear and utter despair. We are culturally conditioned to “like a bargain” regardless of its practicality. “Look what I got. A great deal on this alabaster dog kennel inlaid with depleted uranium”. The fact that you don’t have a dog is irrelevant it would seem, because you got a “deal”. Furthermore, I’m not saying all this from some position of moral superiority. Because I’m also logging on to the Epic Store and claiming all this needless free stuff, just like everyone else. But to be utterly candid, I really don’t need any of this stuff and I really should stop doing this. It reminds me of the “buy one, get one free” culture that leads to terrible food wastage. Something I didn’t realise was so damaging and problematic until recently. I suspect that the ubiquity of games and giving them away for free in this fashion, does more harm than good in the long run.

Progressing in an Orderly Fashion in ESO

View fullsize

Whenever I start a new MMO I tend to research the various classes and make an informed decision about which one to choose as my primary character. This policy has worked out well over the years and therefore compared to other players, I don’t have multiple alts across numerous games. That’s not to say that I’m averse to creating a new character, I simply need a good reason to do so. When I do, its usually because there’s an option to experience a different story. Hence, I currently have three alts in The Elder Scrolls Online. Last night I reached the current level cap of 50 with my Imperial Dragonknight, having recently completed the Daggerfall Covenant storyline. I have now experienced all three faction stories (which I have enjoyed) and more importantly, have learned what is the best way for me to progress through the game. ESO offers players the chance to play the MMO in a manner that suits them. If you want to simply travel Tamriel and do things as you go along, then you may. It’s a very flexible in this respect. But if you want to play in a more structured way, it can be a little confusing navigating a linear path. So here are a few tips I’ve learned the hard way.

When you create a new character, if it is your first, then you will be obliged to play through your respective class tutorial. It’s not particularly complex and doesn’t last too long. It’s designed to provide an overview of basic combat and your skills. All subsequent alts can skip the tutorial. Which zone you start in comes down to which version of ESO you have purchased. If you’ve bought the base edition of the game, which now includes the Morrowind chapter (formerly called an expansion), you’ll find yourself here. If you’ve bought all subsequent chapters, you’ll start the game in Elsweyr. Now I understand from a business perspective why developer’s ZeniMax want new players to start in the latest zone but if you enjoy the MMO genre for narrative reasons, it can be confusing to begin the story here. So I would suggest starting the main story which sets up the lore and gives you an overview into the social and political situation in Tamriel.

View fullsize

To do this your new alt to the nearest major city in the zone you are currently in and you’ll be approached by a hooded figure who bestows Soul Shriven in Coldharbour quest. This will set you on the main story path. Not only does it establish the lore but it also rewards the player with some decent gear as well as skill and attribute points. There are 13 parts to the main story, however I would not recommend burning right through them all at once. Although content scales in ESO, some of these quests can be quite taxing, so you may want to attempt them when you have more skills and attribute points as well as robust gear. Therefore spread the main story quests out as you progress. There is also a questline that is specific to your faction. After you’ve completed the Soul Shriven in Coldharbour quest you will be ported to the first zone of either Aldmeri Dominion, Daggerfall Covenant or the Ebonheart Pact. This will start you on your faction storyline. Playing through this will further inform you about events in Tamriel and provide narrative continuity. You can also do simple regional quests in parallel to these as they are often linked.

If you are not interested in the story in ESO then you can simply do what you like with no consequences. However, a structured approach to content based upon the unfolding plot does have advantages. Clearing a zone using the in-game guide which lists all content, means that you’ll earn Skyshards (which provide additional skills points) and unlock achievements which give further rewards. However, it is beneficial to note the following while levelling. The main story, along with the stories for the Fighters and Mages Guilds reward players with some robust weapons upon completion. Therefore, you may want to hold off finishing the final quests associated with all of these stories until you are level 50. You will then be rewarded with purple quality level cap items that are appropriate for end game. If you receive these weapons while below 50, you will quickly out level them, rendering them useless.

View fullsize

ESO does at times feel like a game to two halves. Although levelling is fun and the quests are very engaging, all your armour and assorted gear feels very ephemeral. It’s not until you reach cap that you start to focus more upon the minutiae of your build. Unlike other MMOs, ESO doesn’t offer you a selection of quest rewards where you pick what’s appropriate for you class. So you can at times find yourself in a situation where you’re gear score is low because you haven’t received items that are suitable for your class. Now it can be argued that if you venture into a few public dungeons or do Undaunted daily quests you may obtain better armour and jewellery. Another solution is to craft what you want or to simply buy base level items from vendors and add Glyphs to append their stats. But not everyone wants to craft of do group content. My solution to this problem is to farm Dolmen in the Alik’r Desert. It won’t suit everyone but it’s a practical means to gain XP (especially if you use an Experience Scroll), earn gold and obtain relatively good gear. It is also a good way of levelling various skill lines and experimenting with different weapons.

How you play ESO is very much up to you. My approach works for me and the foibles of my personality but I’m sure it won’t suit everyone. Because I’m not in a major raiding guild and my gameplay is mainly PVE content and a few public dungeons, I’m not heavily invested in creating a really specific and bespoke build. I just want to be able to survive and do reasonable damage. Hence, I have followed generic builds that I’ve found online, equipped skills that are relevant to how I play and put my Champion points into practical resources. Also, there is no need for the average player to buy and equip themselves entirely with gold quality gear. Purple is fine for armour and jewellery, just ensure your weapon is gold and you’ll be adequately prepared. Just make sure that you put some thought into the stats and buffs that certain sets offer. So if you like to progress in an orderly fashion when playing MMOs, then it will be down to you to impose some structure upon ESO. You don’t need to keep notes and maintain a spreadsheet but it does help to have some idea of what you want to do, rather than just flying by the seat of your pants.

We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

View fullsize

Over the last five years, there has been an ever-increasing degree of monetisation in mainstream video games. The situation has sparked debate not only among gamers but also in the mainstream press. Loot boxes and the entire business model of “pay to start” has finally reached the scrutiny of several national governments. Furthermore, the triple A video games industry has been held to account and pressed to justify such practises. Yet despite the public attention and a degree of pushback from some gamers, the situation doesn’t in anyway look like it’s going to be resolved. In fact sales data seems to show that despite some negative coverage both in the video games media and the traditional press, games with egregious business models are far from being rejected by customers. Quite the opposite. Ironically two of the worst offenders that have recently been held up as games that exploit gamers financially, have just achieved record sales. Both Mario Kart Tour and NBA 2K20 have proven to be massive hits.

For those gamers who are looking for change, this is a sad situation. Most reasonable and measured individuals recognise that the video games industry is a commercial endeavour and that developers and publishers needs to make money. The bone of contention is that excessive monetisation is actually spoiling games by impeding gameplay and progression. A game built around monetisation has different priorities to a game primarily designed just to be played. Ultimately there is a contradiction between a game in the traditional sense and a “live service”. Is it therefore unreasonable to try and seek the middle ground where a company can make a healthy profit, without compromising the game or the experience of playing it? We’ll it would appear that the answer is “yes, it is unreasonable” and sadly, the point of failure and source of blame is ultimately not actually the video games industry but gamers themselves. We are our own worst enemy.

View fullsize

It is naïve to expect big corporations to act ethically and sensibly when it comes to accruing wealth. If you want a companies such as Activision Blizzard, 2K Games or Ubisoft to moderate their financial strategy when it comes to video games, you must compel them to do so by law. As for any concerted effort by gamers to “school” these publishers through the old cliché of “voting with your wallet”, it is doomed to failure. Because gamers are not a homogeneous group. For every gamer that thinks that monetisation of gaming has gone too far, there is one who thinks the opposite and yet another who simply doesn’t care. Also, cognitive dissonance seems to be the default setting for most people when it comes to social issues these days. We all too often notionally agree with an ethical principle up to the point where acting upon it requires us to make a sacrifice or go without. Another factor that also impacts upon one’s attitude towards microtransactions, season passes and lootboxes is the generational difference in our attitudes towards money.

Naturally there are gamers with large disposable incomes who don’t concern themselves with the reality of game related monetisation. Any obstacle to enjoyment can be overcome by the application of money. However, in my lifetime there has been major changes in the regulation of consumer borrowing. Simply put, credit is easily accessible (despite the financial crash of 2008) and consumers are encouraged to spend. To put this in perspective, UK credit card debt was at £72.5 billion at the end of July 2019. So when video gamer publishers talk about “whales”, who exactly are they talking about? Those who can genuinely afford too throw money around or those who feel obliged to do so, with money they don’t really have? Over the course of my life, I’ve learned the esoteric and unfashionable act of living within my financial means. I would say that this is a social norm more pertinent to the over fifties. But for many people half my age, they have grown up in a world where ownership has been supplanted by paying for a service and the entire point of credit is to use it to try and live the lifestyle, you think you deserve.

View fullsize

So regardless of the “selective gamer pushback” and a degree of negative PR that is mainly driven by a moral imperative, the video game industry has had its monetisation policies 100% validated by recent sales figures. Hence it is highly unlikely that we shall see any major change in business practises in the immediate future. As a result, I shall continue to avoid many major triple A titles such as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint (a franchise I had previously enjoyed) and will continue my blanket boycott of mobile games. But the rather unpalatable reality is that future games development is going to be determined by those who are currently enabling the monetisation practises of the video games industry. However there’s a chance that even the most ambivalent gamer may eventually be inconvenienced by some future iniquity of the video games industry. Yet I suspect that even if this tipping point is achieved, many gamers would refuse to acknowledge their involvement in creating the problem in the first place and their respective blame.

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Part 4

View fullsize

Week 5 of Strictly Come Dancing once again saw some significant improvement among the celebrity dancers. Most notable were Alex Scott and Neil Jones who delivered a very enthusiastic Charleston. For the first time it appeared that both the technical and performance aspects of dancing “clicked” for Alex. After being saved by the judges in last week’s dance-off, Emma Weymouth and Aljaž Škorjanec's put on a beautiful display with their Viennese Waltz. The judge’s marks reflected their progress respectively by all awarding 9 marks out of 10. Then there was Will Bayley and Janet Janette Manrara whose emotional contemporary dance left judges Motsi Mabuse and Alfonso Ribeiro in tears. Will said before this year’s series that he was taking part in Strictly to “inspire people with a disability”. He certainly seems to be doing so and his commitment to the show and his constant training have earned him a strong fan base among viewers.

With popular judge Bruno Tonioli away on a brief sabbatical, former Dancing with the Stars winner Alfonso Ribeiro, once again temporarily took his place. Alfonso is a big personality and always brings a great deal of optimism to the show. As I’ve written previously, the US version of the show has some subtle differences and the judging is one of them. The US judges although critical will always make positive comments, first and foremost. Although Strictly is an entertainment show, the judges in the UK still draw heavily upon their technical expertise and will be accordingly “picky”. The US approach seems to lean towards an overall summary and “big picture” analysis. They also tend to be more generous with their scores. Alfonso was no exception to this rule and his “generosity” often counterbalanced Craig Revel Horwood’s under marking. I’m also not so sure if the faux psychology that Alfonso espoused to David James was of any use but encouraging him to scream and let out his emotional energy was rather amusing.

View fullsize

Sadly, this was the third dance off for former England goalkeeper David. After a hesitant start on the show with his football-themed Foxtrot, lacklustre Paso Doble and American Smooth, David has highlighted the difficulties of dancing when you’re 6 foot 5 inches. His steps have often been hesitant and more importantly he has struggled to give a convincing performance. Yet last week he genuinely appeared to be enjoying himself with this Quickstep, with the judges’ hailing it a “miraculous” improvement. But Saturday’s Jive proved his undoing and his performance was laboured and awkward. And so he found himself in the dance off with Mike Bushell and the judges elected not to save him. David took his exit from the show well and was suitably complimentary to his partner Nadiya Bychkova. But this is the nature of Strictly, although not a pure dance competition it is a show where contestants are eliminated each week. Although it’s a shame to see a David go, he has upheld the Strictly tradition of being the underdog and has acquitted himself well.

Minas Morgul Preview

View fullsize

I spent several hours today on the Bullroarer test server, checking out the preview of the forthcoming Minas Morgul expansion for The Lord of the Rings Online. From a lore perspective this is a great zone and it neatly fills the geographical gap between Morgul Vale in North Ithilien and Gorgoroth in Mordor. As ever the visual style and sense of continuity is very good and Standing Stone Games have gone all in on atmosphere and ambience. The new area is often dimly lit, filled with fog and Minas Morgul itself has an eerie supernatural phosphorescence. Once again, I simply contented myself with just exploring the area and did not attempt any quests (apart from one to access a new instanced area). Let us not forget that this is a preview and therefore there is always potential for change. The new areas at present appear to be relatively clear of mobs and other sundry threats, so initially navigation between stables was relatively straight forward. However, the main fortresses of Minas Morgul and Bar Nirnaeth are densely populated with robust mobs.

View fullsize

Yet despite the commendably brooding feel to the region, it is quite small and compact. Due to the fact that this zone is set in the Ephel Duath (Mountains of Shadow) many of the roads and trails twist and turn around the cliff face. Subsequently the Straight Stair and the Winding Stair, North of Minas Morgul, live up to their name. Torech Ungol (Shelob’s Lair) has several branching passages but the main path leads to an instance entrance. I wasn’t able to go right through the tunnel and didn’t have time to try and approach it from the Gorgoroth etrance. Minas Mogul itself, is a multi-tiered city, similar to Minas Tirith. Mercifully there are only four “circles”, each with a different supernatural theme. At the top is the Tower of the Crescent Moon, which will more than likely be home to a major instance or raid. It should also be noted that part of the new expansion, is set in the Second Age. “Mordor Besieged” takes place during the original siege of Barad-dûr by the Last Alliance. This is contained within a variation of the existing Dor Amarth map in Mordor. Accessing this area requires a quest from Gandalf and speaking with the shade of Isildur in the Gladden Fields.

View fullsize

I suspect that for many LOTRO players, their respective enjoyment of the pending Minas Morgul expansion will depend very much upon how they felt about Mordor. Minas Morgul looks like being an atmospheric but tough zone. Because of its canonical nature it will probably be demonstrably harder than the recent Vales of Anduin. The dour ambience may also determine people’s opinion, after the lush and verdant nature of the previous update. There’s also the issue of the cost of the new expansion. As stated earlier, the new zone seems small and “Mordor Besieged” is just a variation of a region we’ve already experienced. Although the Stout-Axe race is bundled with all of the three versions of the expansion, I think that the most expensive version doesn’t seem particularly good value for money. Let’s hope that the story line is sufficiently engaging. Mordor had numerous questionable points but its robust narrative did much to redress the balance.

View fullsize

In fairness, considering the lore-based confines of setting an expansion in and around Minas Morgul, one cannot expect a massive amount of ecological diversity in the new zone. We effectively have fortresses, mountain paths, web covered tunnels and foggy woodland. I also think a lot of the relative value of this expansion will lie in the instances and raids. But if you are a casual, solo PVE player then you may not experience any of this. So as I write this post, the Siege of Mirkwood expansion comes to mind, which upon its release, also felt somewhat low key in scope when compared to its predecessor, the Mines of Moria. Naturally, LOTRO players are very loyal to their MMO of choice, so I suspect this expansion will sell well. But how well it’s received is another issue altogether. I shall definitely only buy the base version of the game and I don’t think this expansion will be my first priority over November and December. I do hope that my suspicions are unfounded and Minas Morgul doesn’t turn out to be a chore similar to Mordor.

Skills Rotation

View fullsize

While conducting some general housekeeping in The Lord of the Rings Online, I decided upon streamlining my “quickslots” as developers Standing Stone Games refers to them. Being an MMORPG from well over a decade ago, the game has a multitude of skills. By the time your character reaches level cap of 120, it is entirely possible to have filled all 72 of the available slots. If you have a combat pet, then you’ll receive another 11 buttons to “mash”. Now this situation got me thinking. I recollect a conversation I had about a year ago, when I was doing some group content in LOTRO. It wasn’t going especially well so there was a discussion about tactics and what specific skills to use. To cut a long story short, it became apparent that many players (including myself) did not know the exact name of all the skills that adorned their quickslots. Furthermore not everyone was au fait with the nature and purpose of each skill and how one could trigger another. Similarly not all were aware that some skills could be augmented by the use of another.

Naturally there will be high end players who will read this and scoff “well I know what every skill is and what it does”, to which I say, “good for you”. But putting aside the moral judgement that always seems to go hand in hand with these sorts of discussions, I suspect that there are many players, not only in LOTRO but many other MMORPGs, who do not use their skills in an optimal fashion. They simply select what works for them. I also think its safe to assume that some player have the skills on their quickslots in the order that they were acquired. When they play, the simply work through them from left to right. In more contemporary MMOs such as The Elder Scrolls Online, you get to pick what skills are on you hotbar and the number is restricted to six (5 regular and 1 ultimate) which makes things easier to manage compared to the skills bloat that you find in LOTRO. But I suspect that many ESO players still do not pay as much to attention to the specific details of their skills as the developer’s would like.

View fullsize

When the average player (and that in itself is a hotly debated term) starts a new MMO, they are faced with finding a suitable path between learning the game’s mechanics and progressing as well as having fun. At lower levels, skills in many MMOs are simple and straightforward to understand. But as you progress skills can become more complex and interconnected. In ESO there is the extra dimension of morphing skills and choosing between two subtle variations. It is often round about here that players may start skipping over such information. For everyone that loves number crunching, understanding the maths behind each skill and min-maxing, there are two other players that don’t want their leisure activity to become a job or a school lecture. I have at times been guilty of this, although now I am very aware that the wrong choice can mean that I gimp myself. But this mindset exists and manifests itself in many curious ways. I know players who will never use food or potions because it just “over complicates things”. Such systems means you have to carry more stuff in you bags and worry about when not use them.

I recently did some research regarding ESO because I was finding melee combat difficult with a my Dragonknight. Turns out my choice of skill wasn’t the issue and that I just needed to be more mobile in combat. Having cut my teeth playing older MMOs such as LOTRO, I still find myself at times remaining static when in combat, instead of moving around the target. I have also discovered the importance of a lot of the passive skills and how they can boost stats and augment combat. Again, I’m sure I’m not alone in being nominally oblivious to the depths of the games systems. Yet despite these gaps I both my and other players knowledge, it doesn’t seem to be as much an impediment to our enjoyment of the game as some would think. Although we may not be killing mobs as efficiently as we can, we’re having fun doing things our way and on our terms. If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it. Until we reach a point in the game when we can’t beat a boss due to our poor grasp of the game mechanics and our own skills. Then it will be everyone else’s fault.

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 Part 3

View fullsize

Well Saturday night’s show was an utter revelation. Many of the celebrity dancers who have been previously at the lower end of the leaderboard and therefore at risk of being in the dance off, decided to significantly up their game. Not only did this make for great entertainment, it also succinctly reiterated one of the fundamental aspects of what makes Strictly Come Dancing so popular; the “journey”. Yes, it is an incredibly cliched phrase but its something that seems to resonate with viewers. If the UK does have any national characteristics, then one of them is an appreciation of dogged determination. We tend to warm towards plucky underdogs who improve through hard work and dedication. And that is what we were treated to on last night’s show.

Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer’s Elton John themed Jive to Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting) showed a marked improvement both technically and performance wise. Chris is a very likeable guy and he seems to be committed to getting better each week. My concerns over Mike Bushell being given yet another “comedy” dance proved ill founded. He and Katya Jones danced a very formal Quickstep to Come on Eileen and it highlighted the level of training he’s undertaken this week. The dance wasn’t just a crowd pleaser with the audience but also found favour with the judges, with Oti Mabuse awarding the couple 9 marks out of 10. But the biggest surprise of the evening was surely David James. His Quickstep with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova was not only well executed but he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. It’s like he finally found his dancing mojo and just decided to enjoy what he was doing. This major turnaround was duly noted by the judges and reflected in his total score of 28. For me this is what Strictly is all about.

View fullsize

However, on tonight’s results show, we were given a timely reminder that Strictly is not just about dancing and that each celebrity’s survival is dependent upon the capricious nature of the British public. I fully expected to see Will Bayley and Alex Scott in the dance off as they were at the bottom of the leader board. But the public seemed to think otherwise and so instead we saw Dev Griffin and Emma Weymouth having to dance to remain on the show. The judges have been hard on Dev in recent week’s but this is down to the fact that he has great potential and they want him to improve. Emma has been making steady progress and like many others, seemed to “connect” with her dance this week. Hence judges felt that she was making more of a concerted effort. So Emma was saved and Dev was very surprisingly voted off the show. It was a shock to find both of these celebrities in the dance off but once you’re there, the judges have to make a decision based upon what they immediately see and not consider past performances.

I have a suspicion that the current season of Strictly Come Dancing is going to be full of surprises and upsets. Although I enjoy the format, I must admit that the last few years have been somewhat predictable. Usually, within one or two episodes you can effectively draft a list of contestants and determine who’ll be in the top three and the running order in which the rest will leave the show. I think that plan has been effectively thrown under the bus as of tonight and suspect that the remainder of the shows will be all the better for it. Is Kelvin a shoo-in to be this year’s winner or will Karim, Emma Barton or even Saffron climb the leaderboard and steal the prize? All will be revealed over the next ten weeks. Let’s hope that it’s anything other than a comfy ride. Let’s have more upsets and underdogs rising to the challenge, please!

Dragon Farming, Black Dots and Continuity

View fullsize

I logged into The Elder Scrolls Online today to do some Dragon farming. The Dragon Rise event includes both an XP and gold acquisition boost throughout Northern Elsweyr. Broadly, speaking this is a similar activity to Dolmen farming in the Alik’r Desert, although it is time sensitive as the event ends on Monday October 14th. There are three locations around the zone where Dragons regularly spawn and attack. Although it is possible to travel between these locations using the Star Haven, The Stitches and Scar’s End Wayshrines, it is not easy to do so. You need a fast mount and to be well acquainted with the topographical foibles of the region. I prefer to stay at one location and remain part of the loitering zerg.  The Dragons arrive at approximately ten-minute intervals and if there are more than twenty or so players, dies very quickly. If there is less of you, then it can be quite tricky. Situational awareness is the key to success. Keep an eye on the Dragon and where you’re standing. It’s certainly safer if you used ranged attacks.

It was while I was waiting and chatting to a friend on Discord, that I noticed what initially looked like a dead pixel in the top left-hand corner of my screen. However, a cursory check showed that the problem did not persist, when I tabbed outside of the game. The offending pixel vanished when I checked my desktop or launched any other application. Furthermore, if I placed my mouse cursor over the black dot, it couldn’t be seen. Now anyone who knows me, will tell you that I hate conundrums like this. So I quit the game (because I couldn’t concentrate on anything else) and set about troubleshooting the problem. Through the application of “Occam's razor” it became apparent that this had to be an addon related issue. A Google search subsequently indicated that I was not the first ESO player to have this problem. It turned out to be a bug associated with the Wykkyd Achievement Tracker. When inactive and minimised it leaves a single black dot on the screen. The solution was simply to disable the addon which I did.

View fullsize

The offending “black dot”

In other ESO news, I decided to play through the new Dragonhold prologue quests. I got wind of the fact that it ended in a solo Dragon fight, so I thought it best to use my primary character, a Magicka DPS Sorcerer with 200 plus champion points. It proved to be a wise decision because the final battle is quite tough. I ended up having to fight the offending beastie at close quarters to avoid the constant barrage of “Dragon shouts”. However, it was great fun and I liked the grappling bow as a means of traversing the multi-level tombs. As ever there were several puzzles but to successfully solve them all you got to do is read the quest text, although this seems like an anathema to some. The thing I was most curious about in this quest was the return Sai Sahan. In the main story of ESO, there reaches a point where you have to sacrifice one of the remaining Five Companions for complicated narrative reasons. I chose to sacrifice Sai Sahan when playing through with my Sorcerer, so I was interested to see what complicated reason the writers had used to justify his return. I laughed out loud at the vagueness of the explanation, although I’m sure it will be elaborated upon later on.

The Cost of Doing Business with China

View fullsize

The moment Chung “blitzchung” Ng Wai made his protest

In the last few days, a great deal has been written about Activision Blizzard and their subsequent banning of a Hearthstone player who expressed support for the Hong Kong protestors during a competition live stream. The US-based game developer and publisher has also chosen to withhold the prize money he would have earned from competing in the tournament. As a result of this media coverage, I do not feel obliged to address the rectitude of Blizzard’s decision. It was never going to be anything different than what it was. They made their choice regarding ethics and morality the moment they decided to expand their business operations in mainland China. Because once you decided to enter into a business partnership with a totalitarian regime that actively runs “re-education camps”, you’ve pretty much nailed your colours to the mast and chosen a side. It’s not just business, despite what apologists may tell you. Judge a man or a business by the company they keep.

However, there are two wider issues that have arisen from this situation that perhaps can be seen as broadly positive. Firstly, parts of the gaming community have finally had the scales lifted from their eyes regarding the true nature of the video games industry. Secondly, people are now becoming more aware of the extent of Chinese business influence both in the US and other countries and to what extent Western business is happy to appease them. Let us take a moment to consider the first of these. I have been banging on for years about how so many gamers erroneously think that the companies that make their favourite games are somehow their friend. In many ways Blizzard has been the embodiment of this fallacious and specious notion. Although there are some developers or community managers who are genuinely reasonable and measured individuals, these are not the people driving the company. Corporate policy is decided at a much higher level by people such as Bobby Kotick. And like a lot of other modern CEOs, ethics, morality and generally being a decent human being are not top priorities. In fact they’re a major hindrance. Do some research of your own on Mr Kotick (or ask Jim Sterling) and decide for yourself what sort of man he is.

View fullsize

Bobby Kotick. Personally worth about $1 Billion plus

So a lot of gamers have suddenly got wise to the fact that the company they used to think was cool because staff don’t wear suits to work and can unicycle around the office, is in fact just another corporate behemoth striving to make as much money as possible, irrespective of the consequences. Blizzard is tainted and now some gamers are worried about guilt by association. It’s an odd situation to be honest. Some gamers are obviously staggeringly naïve but there again, that’s hardly surprising as people are surprisingly politically illiterate these days. I don’t mean this is a pejorative sense, it’s just a simple truth. A lot of people are not in any way credibly informed about domestic politics, let alone the complexities of international relationships. And then there’s another element to this. The gamer who suspects that there’s an unethical wider picture to the video games industry but chooses to not “know about it”. I heard similar arguments regarding eating meat, which go something like this. “I choose to remain wilfully ignorant of the iniquities of the meat industry. I suspect that livestock are treated appallingly but if I choose not to know, I can enjoy eating meat without any moral burden and maintain my claim that I’m a good person”. Yep, gamers have their own version of this, too.

Moving on to the second potentially positive point that’s come out of this whole sorry affair; people have now realised that it is not just Activision Blizzard who are happy to self-censor and generally side with China whenever there’s a conflict of interest between West and East. Over the last few days, several websites and subreddits have compiled substantial lists of companies towing the political line to appease China and keep the revenue flowing. Furthermore, because China is such a big market for mainstream Hollywood movies these days, it’s come to light that a lot of screenplays are being tailormade for its specific “political and social” requirements. And irrespective of the need to “accommodate” China for “business reasons”, people are now beginning to become aware of the scope and reach of Chinese business in the West per se. This isn’t really the place for an in-depth dissection of what they do and do not own but if you do some research, you’ll find China is involved with key US and UK industries such as farming, logistics and utilities. And then there’s the issue of land banking. All of which can be used for political leverage if required.

View fullsize

You get the idea?

Now as a result of this debacle, there has been a plethora of tediously predictable kneejerk reactions. As usual some gamers have been calling for a boycott of Blizzard products. There’s also been the “restless lynch mob” mentality on social media and moral outrage has been turned up to 11. Such hastily contrived bandwagons often fizzle out and can do more harm than good. However, a measured campaign of publicly questioning the cognitive dissonance inherent in being an American business that consorts with a dictatorship, may yield results in the long term. Raising questions via your political representative can take time but the wheels do turn. Now it has been pointed out by the “usual suspects”, that it’s a bit rich getting all “high and mighty” about the ethics of this one issue, when our consumer lives are rife with Chinese products. But I refute the intellectual bankruptcy of this faux argument that seems to think that one can only have an ethical position of worth, if you are 100% morally pure. Bullshit. Yes, we are all to a degree complicit in bolstering China by our consumer choices but that doesn’t mitigate the worth or rectitude of beginning to make a stand. It takes time to inform people and then get them to change their views and habits.

And as for those people who think that this whole situation is just business doing what business does, please stop assuming that your lack of morals and empathy is also the default position of society. It isn’t. People do actually expect a degree of ethical behaviour from corporations. Now that may be foolish but it remains a valid view. And as big business has shown time and time again that it doesn’t have a shred of human decency, the only way we are going to get companies to act in a vaguely appropriate fashion is to legally compel them to do so and sanction them when they do not. Doing business with China is not the same as doing business with any other democratic country. It is a Faustian arrangement which comes with caveats. Caveats that may put a company at odds with the inherent principles of their own country. There is a price to pay for such an arrangement and that is your “corporate reputation”. I still find it odd that people and business that act appallingly try to cultivate an image of “be nice”. I have far more respect for the “bastard” that’s content to be one.

View fullsize

The fate of Tank Man remains unknown to this day

For those who still remain unconvinced that the censoring and sanctioning of Chung “blitzchung” Ng Wai by Blizzard is anything to worry about, let me remind you of what China’s top broadcaster, government-run CCTV, stated recently about the concept of freedom of speech. That it should not be extended to points of view counter to the ruling Communist Party’s. “No comments challenging national sovereignty and social stability fall within the scope of freedom of expression”. Reflect upon that. Blizzard and many other companies are in a business relationship with a regime that is at odds with Western values. Furthermore, these international companies choose to actively collude with a government in its acts of oppression, because of the financial opportunities available. At the very least that is immoral. At the worst they are benefitting from blood money. If you thinks that’s hyperbolic please remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests when China mobilised 300,000 troops on the streets of Beijing and fired upon student protesters. A historical event that is still supressed in China itself. And considering the current events in Hong Kong, one that may be soon repeated? Blizzard and many other companies need to reflect upon this, although I suspect they won’t. I’m not sure if they are capable.

Two Worlds II: The Game That Keeps on Giving?

View fullsize

I’m suffering from a distinct sense of déjà vu as I write this post, as feel I’ve written something very similar before. Actually, I know perfectly well that I have and here’s the previous blog post. So, once again let’s recapitulate what was previously discussed. Back in 2014, I was searching for another RPG to fill that post Skyrim vacuum. I ended up buying Two Worlds II and its expansion, Pirates of the Flying Fortress. There was an exceptionally well-priced bundle available at the time. Furthermore, a little research showed that this game by German developers Reality Pump Studios, had quite a following. So I invested about 90 hours of my time into this franchise and enjoyed it far more than I expected. The game visually has a lot of rough edges. There are weird character models and a rather ponderous propensity of using faux "Olde English" in all dialogue. But the games core systems are great. Crafting and spells have a great deal of depth. There’s a wide variety of weapons and armour. Plus there’s sailing. I really dig this aspect of the game.

Circa June 2017, I and many other gamers were surprised to learn that there was further DLC coming to Two Worlds II. As well as some additional multiplayer maps, a standalone story Call of the Tenebrae was to be released in Q2 and another, Shattered Embrace, was to become available in Q3. Because I had fond memories of the game, I bought a season pass and dutifully installed the first of the new DLC. However, due to the fluid nature of “life”, I never made much progress with Call of the Tenebrae. Eventually, when I had more leisure time available, other games took priority and so I forgot about Two Worlds II. Until today. To cut along story short I was looking for a discount key for a specific game and I found myself perusing the TopWare Interactive online store. And there, as bold as brass, was a banner for Shattered Embrace. Turns out it wasn’t released back in 2017 due to “reasons” and is scheduled to come out this November. As I have a season pass, I should get this free of charge, so I duly re-installed all of Two Worlds II. It didn’t take long for the games niche market charms to come flooding back.

View fullsize

If you like open world RPGs and are prepared to try a flawed but interesting game, then why not give Two Worlds II a try. If you shop around you can get the base edition for an absolute song on numerous key seller sites. The GUI and combat mechanics are intuitive and fairly simple to master. The tutorial is integrated into the prologue quests which helps a lot. The dialogue is frequently droll and self-referential and it curiously mitigates some of the game’s rough edges. Some of the human character models are a bit weak and look quite awkward, where others such as the various beats and monsters are quite pleasing. The lighting is especially good and helps make the open world more atmospheric. The game is very good at servicing the players immediate needs, presenting them with many key RPG tropes and systems. The story itself is not anything special and is merely a narrative MacGuffin, rather than a major selling point. But not every game can be as well written as the Dragon Age franchise.

View fullsize

One of the most appealing aspects of Two Worlds 2 is the fact that you're not tied to a specific class. You can switch between melee, ranged and sorcery on the fly and the spell customisation process is based upon cards. It's very flexible and allows for a very diverse set of skills. The multiplayer element of the game supports co-operative play through specifically designed content; a sort of MMO-lite mode. I have never got around to exploring this aspect of the game but it would seem that the developers, Reality Pump Studios, are at least trying. There are numerous collaborative modes and it’s not just generic death matches. If you want a more in-depth analysis, then here’s a link to an episode of the Angry Joe Show in which he casts a critical eye over the game. In the meantime, I intend to slowly replay the game or at the least catch up with Call of the Tenebrae before the release of the final DLC Shattered Embrace next month. In an age when the lifecycle of a game can be comparatively short, it’s nice to see a developer still producing content nine years after the original release.

Strictly Come Dancing Versus Dancing with the Stars

View fullsize

As I’ve mentioned before, the one piece of reality TV that I avidly watch is Strictly Come Dancing. I’ve been a regular viewer since 2005. Once you’ve got your head around the format and have fully understood what the show is and is not, it makes for entertaining viewing. Strictly is not a pure dance competition by any shakes. If it were, then the public wouldn’t have any say in who remained on the show and it would all be left to the professional judges. But such a show would have very limited appeal. Hence, we have audience participation and all the theatrics of reality television. Talent and ability can be trumped by popularity and frequently is. Over the last fifteen years, the shows formula has been finely tuned and we now find ourselves with a very controlled format. The broad spectrum of celebrities fulfil the role of various archetypes and the judges all have distinct roles to play. But at its heart the show is still about people learning to dance (or not) and that is a difficult skill to master. For me therein lies the entertainment.

Now Strictly Come Dancing is a franchise and after finding success in the UK, the format has been exported all over the globe. You’ll find versions of the show being broadcast in over 40 countries. In the US (and in other territories) the somewhat esoteric British title of the show has been replaced with the more self-explanatory Dancing with the Stars. As this is the most accessible both linguistically and logistically, of all the international versions, I decided to watch an episode or two to see how it stacks up with the BBC’s show. So I sat down this morning with Mrs P and caught up with last night’s instalment of Dancing with the Stars, which I just happened to find lying around the internet. I took a few notes while viewing because there were some important subtle differences between this incarnation and the UK equivalent.

View fullsize

In the UK, Strictly has become a major part of British popular culture. This is not just a successful show but a major institution. You know that Autumn has arrived when Strictly mania returns to our screens and the season last right the way up to Christmas. It is the BBCs flagship entertainment show on Saturday night, where it is broadcast live. The results are then recorded the same evening and broadcast on Sunday. A cursory Google search clearly shows that Dancing with the Stars is a very popular show in the US but it doesn’t seem to have quite the same cultish following. Furthermore the US seasons are shorter lasting about 12 weeks. It should also be noted that TV network ABC has two seasons a year. The format is broadly the same with regard to celebrities. Both countries draw upon personalities from the sporting, music and entertainment industries. The US professional dancers naturally have a similar high pedigree as those in the UK, although they don’t seem to be such a focus of the show.

Dancing with the Stars is broadcast on a Monday night in the US. Because it airs on a commercial network, there are liberal quantities of commercial breaks. In fact the entire show appears very time conscious to my British eyes. The videos showing the celebrities training are far more condensed and focused. It would appear that the dances are about 10 or so seconds shorter as well, lasting about 75 to 80 seconds in total. Which then brings me to the judge’s comments. Although Dancing with the Stars features UK judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli on their panel of four, they take a slightly different approach to their comments, compared to the UK. Comments tend to be broadly more positive. Yes there are technical criticisms but even celebrities who have just performed atrociously are still given at least one upbeat comment. The scores are more generous as well. Former NBA star Lamar Odom, struggled with his Viennese waltz last night. He managed the to follow the steps but lacked any “performance”. However, the scores ranged as follows. 5, 7, 4, 4. It would seem that fellow permanent judge Carrie Ann Inaba and guest judge Leah Remini boosted the overall score.

View fullsize

The other most significant difference between Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars is the voting system. In the US show, the judge’s votes are combined with those of the public to determine the ranking on the leader board. The judges then decide which one of the two lowest scoring contestants gets to remain on the show. Again it’s all done very promptly and efficiently. Whereas in the UK, the voting is a similar combination of the judges’ marks and votes from the public via a phone in and the internet. However, the bottom two contestants then have a “dance off” and then the judges decide accordingly. It’s a more dramatic process and sometimes the “dance off” provides a celebrity with a second chance to dramatically improve. Due to the show being a popularity competition as well, sometimes a very competent dancer with a poor fan base can find themselves dancing to stay on the show.

Having made this comparison between the two different versions of the show, I don’t actually think one is specifically superior to the other. Both formats are designed to serve the needs of each respective audience. In the US, Dancing with the Stars is a popular show but it isn’t the cult hit that it is in the UK. Therefore, the spritely running time and the focus on the dancing, with less attention on the trappings and “the journey”, allows for an efficient Monday evening program. Where Strictly Come Dancing in the UK is a three-ring circus and all the better for it.  Not only do you have the sprawling Saturday night show with extra dances by the professional dancers and the tense Sunday evening results, but a daily spinoff show and continuous social media content, providing fans with their fix during the week. It all reflects that this is the BBC’s autumn flagship entertainment show. Ultimately, these different variations show the flexibility of the format and that whatever version you choose to watch, it all works very well.

Strictly Come Dancing 2019: Part 2

View fullsize

There really is an excess of genuine talent in this year’s show. It’s week three and the standard has been raised yet again. Michelle Visage and Giovanni Pernice delivered a smouldering Quickstep to Cabaret, proving once again that it is unwise to write anyone off based purely on age. Furthermore actress Catherine Tyldesley dancing with Johannes Radebe stunned the audience and judges alike with a Rumba to the ballad Shallow from the film A Star is Born. The Rumba is a notoriously difficult dance to perform and to pull off such a feat so early on in the season was quite incredible. And we were also treated to our first Street Dance, with Dev Griffin and Diane Buswell performing an outstanding Aladdin themed routine. Considering that Diane had an accident during the week, it made such an assured performance even more remarkable. And let us not forget Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse’s robust Charleston.

Mike Bushell once again gave a frenetic and entertaining turn on Saturday’s show. What he lacks in technique is made up for with his commitment to the routine and the spirit of Strictly. It is obvious to all and sundry that he’s really enjoying himself and giving his all. I often find such celebrities of similar ability, somewhat trying but I’m warming to Mike because he just takes everything on board and gives one hundred percent (and you can’t give anything more can you?). I think he can achieve a higher standard if things are kept simple and he focuses on technique. Katya often comes up with rather theatrical routines designed to play to her partners strengths. However, I suspect it would be in Mike’s best interest to have a simple and more traditional routine that gives him some straightforward moves that he can not only learn but master. He can do better.

View fullsize

Which brings me on to David James. His American Smooth to Seal's Kiss from a Rose with professional partner Nadiya Bychkova was a significant improvement over his previous two dances. His progress was also reflected in the judge’s comments, all of which indicated that he is finally finding his feet and moving forward. Now let us be realistic about reality of his Strictly journey. I do not think we will see an miraculous improvement and a surprise seizing of the trophy. But I feel he deserves a few more weeks to up his game. There’s nothing viewers like more than persistence and a contestant finding their dancing mojo. I just hope that another week of being in the dance off doesn’t dampen his spirits. As for Anneka Rice well she thoroughly deserved to be there. Her Charleston with Kevin Clifton lacked any distinct classic moves and often her partner seemed to be simply providing a diversion for her woeful lack of musicality. It was an act of kindness to vote her off and set her free.

View fullsize

Finally, the BBC appears to be struggling with keeping the results of the show secret. At present, after the main competition is broadcast live on Saturday evening, the votes and the dance off are recorded and broadcast 24 hours later. It’s all seems a little unnecessary to me as the show use to have the main competition and results in one evening. The bottom line is that there’s a 24-hour period during which the BBC has to rely upon the goodwill of audience members and production staff to keep the quiet. However, in recent years, several dedicated websites have started posting the results roundabout midnight. It would appear now that some folk are openly sharing the outcome of Saturday’s show on Twitter, while travelling home, thus undermining the pretence of the Sunday show. You can argue until you’re blue in the face as to the moral rectitude of such behaviour but that doesn’t solve the matter. Perhaps it’s time to simply shelve the Sunday show and just extend Saturday’s coverage to include the results.

The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

View fullsize

Written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker and directed by John Landis, The Kentucky Fried Movie is an eclectic collection of skits, parodies and bogus commercials, lampooning what you’d see on seventies TV or in the movie theatres of the time. The sketches are fast paced and many feature well known faces from TV and cinema such as Bill Bixby, George Lazenby, Donald Sutherland and Henry Gibson. Some of the parodies may not “connect” with modern audiences who may not get the source references but for every skit that misses the mark, there are at least two others hit the target. Overall, it’s a litany of visual gags, stupid humour and endless puns and wordplay. Just what you’d expect from the team that went on to bring you Airplane! and Top Secret! The Kentucky Fried Movie is at its best when it satirises the movie industry, with such wonderful faux movies trailers as Cleopatra Schwartz; a blaxploitation action movie featuring a foxy African American vigilante and her devout Hasidic Jew partner.

There’s some rather broad humour in The Kentucky Fried Movie. But it also serves quite well as a reflection of cinema and public attitudes of the time. The trailer for the faux porno flick Catholic High School Girls in Trouble, not only crassly raises a wry smile ("More shocking than Behind the Green Door. Never before has the beauty of the sexual act been so crassly exploited!") but reminds us that pornography was on the fringes of becoming mainstream and was seriously analysed by some movie critics. And then there are some dry send ups of public service announcements. In United Appeal for the Dead Henry Gibson speaks at great length about how “death” is the number one killer in the United States and what his charity can do to help those who have died lead a normal life. That's Armageddon, featuring George Lazenby, parodies every Irwin Allen disaster flick made. There’s even an angry Gorilla sketch that includes an early Rick Baker ape costume. And let’s not forget Danger Seekers, the show that follows those intrepid men who live for the thrill of adventure and risk.

View fullsize

However, the movie's centrepiece, A Fistful of Yen, is by far the jewel in the crown. This spot-on parody of Enter the Dragon and the martial arts genre clocks in at thirty plus minutes. The UK government hires Loo (Evan C. Kim playing a Bruce Lee lookalike with an Elmer Fudd voice) to penetrate Dr. Klahn's (Han Bong-soo) mountain fortress and destroy his operation. Loo refuses the mission at first, but happily agrees once he is told “but you’ll have the chance to kill fifty, maybe sixty people”. The jokes are not only obvious takes on standard tropes of martial arts cinema but there’s also a clever deconstruction of the pseudo philosophy and dialogue inherent in the genre (“you have our gratitude”). This is the most obvious precursor to later Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker productions such as The Naked Gun. It should also be noted that the actual fight scenes in A Fistful of Yen are competently constructed and hold up quite well on their own.

View fullsize

The Kentucky Fried Movie is not in any way a sophisticated satire. The humour is far from nuanced or cerebral but it barrels along at a pace, throwing gag after gag at viewers. By the law of averages, whatever your taste in humour, some of them will land. If it’s watched on its own terms and with an eye on the context of the times (IE not being politically correct) then it will entertain. Both the writing team and the director went onto bigger and better things in the years after the movies’ release. But their style and many longstanding jokes were created and refined here. For example we see an early iteration of the See You Next Wednesday gag, common to many subsequent John Landis movies. Also Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker reference their abiding love for The Wizard of Oz at the end of A Fistful of Yen. A theme that later showed up in Top Secret!

A Month in Gaming

View fullsize

September saw The Elder Scrolls Online becoming my primary gaming focus. No real surprises there as I’ve been having so much fun of late with this MMORPG. I managed to get my Argonian Necromancer to level cap and then had the fun task of trying to equip them suitably. I don’t quite know why this aspect of gaming appeals to me so much but I just get a real kick out of trawling around looking for appropriate gear. I tend to enjoy it in all the MMOs I play. There’s just something inherently satisfying about equipping a new piece of armour or jewellery and seeing your stats noticeably increase. This process is even more enjoyable in ESO as there isn’t any server wide auction house, so you have to travel around from region to region, individually checking each guild trader you find. It really is virtual shopping. Once I managed to find the right gear for this character, I promptly created a new Imperial Dragon Knight and started playing through the Daggerfall Covenant storyline as it the one faction I haven’t yet completed. Oh and in ESO cosmetic pet news, the ghost chicken (official name Spectral Chicken) is outstanding.

I decided to buy a single player game on a whim and ended up purchasing the Untitled Goose Game. As I’ve already written a more specific post about that title, I won’t bang on about it too much here but it is a delightful diversion. It provides not only plenty of mirth and merriment but it also reminded me that not all game developers and publishers are complete bastards who will happily steal your eye and comeback for the socket. Furthermore, the games success may now lead to some DLC being developed which is fine by me. The game has topped the download charts on the Nintendo Switch console in the UK and Australia. It has even beaten one of Nintendo's own highly anticipated games, the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

View fullsize

There’s an ongoing event in Star Trek Online which pays out a Tier 6 Elachi ship with a complete set of crescent beam weapons. So I’ve been dutifully logging in an running a dedicated TFO and 2 easy patrols to earn the necessary XP. And while I’ve been doing this, I’ve decided that I might as well complete the daily “endeavours”. Gaining resources and building up account wide perks always pays off in the long run. And as I’m on the subject of Cryptic games, I reinstalled Neverwinter as I predicted last month. Bearing in mind I last tried this game during the beta test in 2013, I was very surprised to still find my original character. Naturally, I have no recollection as to how to play this game but I shall find the time to give it a second go. It certainly has plenty of content available.

I also gave Guild Wars 2 another try but it didn’t take long to remind me that all the issues with the Heart of Thorns expansion are still present in the game. Plus I’ve never found any particular aspect of this MMO to get especially invested in. I find the lore unfathomable and I’m never quite sure about the intricacies of the major stories. It is very playable and easy to jump in and out of but for me at least, the game lacks a lasting hook of some kind to keep me engaged. I tried the retail version of Mario Kart Tour and the Ghost Recon Breakpoint beta. Both failed to impress and I’ve written a separate post about how unbelievably shitty their respective business models are. Unfortunately I didn’t get around to trying the Modern Warfare reboot beta. There’s not enough hours in the day to keep up with half the things we’d like to, especially when it comes to gaming.

View fullsize

I genuinely tried to make some progress in LOTRO but I’m still floundering just outside Mordor with my High Elf Guardian. Once I commit to the battle on the slag hills outside the Black Gate, then it’s straight onto Mordor and I’m just not ready to grind through there again, even if I’m over levelled. I also failed to take my Lore-master any further through Vales of Anduin. The region is appealing but I always seems to have something inherently more interesting to do in another game. I did try the new Stout-Axe Dwarf race on the Bullroarer test server and enjoyed the creative way that SSG have crowbarred them into the existing Epic Story. I think I’ll buy the new Minas Morgul expansion a little closer to launch. After reviewing the various options, I’ll probably just purchase the base edition as I don’t require any of the additional consumables.

So that’s the summary of what I’ve been up to over the last 30 odd days. I’ll be back in early November with a further breakdown of this month. I haven’t made any firm plans as of yet and will likely just see where my fancy takes me. I have quite a lot on in real life at present and it needs to take priority. So any gaming time is a bonus at the moment, so it’s best not to try and aspire to potentially unrealistic goals and targets. Due to this time of year being a popular release period, I may well make another game purchase on a whim.

Excessive Monetisation

View fullsize

I have numerous happy memories from playing Super Mario Kart on the SNES back in the early nineties. It was at the time and remains so today, a truly great game because it’s fun, very accessible and inherently social. Hence over the years there have been multiple iterations of Mario Kart across all of Nintendo’s platforms. All of which have been well received and provided gamers with what they want. In many ways it is one of key titles that have made Nintendo a global success as a gaming company and a brand. If you see any advertising featuring Mario and friends in go-karts, then it can be taken as read that the game will be a yet another great instalment of the franchise. Or can it? Which brings me neatly (and sadly not happily) to Mario Kart Tour; Nintendo’s latest foray on mobile platforms.

Mario Kart Tour is a litany of gacha mechanics, multiple currencies and gated content. It’s a game that’s designed upon grinding through levels and earning currencies. Racing go-karts appears to be very much a secondary consideration. Naturally the game has the traditional Nintendo aesthetic, with the colourful environment and characters looking great on a modern smartphone screen. But it’s all superficial, as the game itself is hideously compromised by its monetisation. Characters, tracks and vehicles are locked behind pay walls that you can grind for, or if you prefer, spend some money to access. In its base form Mario Kart Tour is little more than a gaming tease. If you want to actually play the game in any meaningful sense, then you have to pay. And then there’s the insanity of the Gold Pass, a £4.99 monthly subscription allowing access to the 200cc racing class, which gives the highest point rewards and the best races. A price point that also buys you access to Apple Arcade and a hundred of the best mobile games around.

View fullsize

However, Nintendo are not the only company that’s happy to push ahead into the realms of excessive monetisation. Ubisoft have seen triple A gaming as a “service” for several years. However, the recent release of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint takes monetisation to new levels. There’s such a degree of microtransactional content it’s almost as if Ubisoft are trolling their player base. Skill points, crafting materials, weapons and their associated upgrades, are available to be purchased, right from the get-go. All of which have a direct impact on gameplay. And folk use to balk at the idea of a paid season pass. Plus some of the items in the in-game store are exclusives and not available by any other means other than paying. Considering that the base game (or should I say empty shell of a game) costs £60, it raises the question exactly how much must a player spend to have access to everything? Assuming that you are then presented with a fully functional game. I’m sure the answer to that question will emerge in the days to come.

Yet despite the egregious nature of such excessive monetisation being as plain as the nose on your face, a large percentage of gamers don’t appear to care. Mario Kart Tour was downloaded by 90 million unique users in its first week, which is six times more than Nintendo's second most popular game. It is too soon to ascertain sales data for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint as the game is currently in early access for those who pre-ordered and formally launches on Friday October 4th. But this is one of Ubisoft flagship franchises and I’m sure anticipated sales will feature heavily in their Q4 revenue targets. The bottom line is there is a lot of cognitive dissonance in the gaming community. People are happy to pay lip service to complaints of excessive monetisation yet end up doing the complete opposite and supporting the very thing that is the “problem”. Some gamers are enabling and validating the questionable practises of certain publishers and in doing so contribute to video games being held hostage by untrammelled greed.

View fullsize

Video games are a commercial undertaking and no one thinks that game developers and publishers shouldn’t be able to make a profit. But like any other consumer industry, video games needs to be a balanced and realistic quid pro quo. Payment should provide you with a fully functional game. Paid additional content should be an adjunct and not integral to the proceedings. If there must be microtransaction then make them cosmetic, although this also comes with its own set of problems, depending on the games core demographics. But the whole concept of “pay to start” is questionable in so far as you have not really been sold an entire product that is fit for purpose. Logicly, there will come a point when companies such as Ubisoft will go too far and finally the majority of gamers will simply say “no”. The film industry has had several tent pole movies woefully underperform leading to a re-calibration of business practises. Will we eventually see a record number of triple A games fall flat on their face? It’s not impossible. But the biggest question is when?