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Alan Rickman dies, aged 69.

Peter Ray Allison
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Alan Rickman dies, aged 69.

Today we lost another of our greats, with Alan Rickman passing away at 69 from cancer.

We at Geek Pride lament his passing and wish to honour one of the truly greatest actors of our generation with a top five of Alan Rickman’s greatest roles.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Whilst the film itself may be somewhat forgettable and spawned the Bryan Adams track that refused to die, Alan Rickman was in fantastically over the top form as the gleefully vicious Sherriff of Nottingham.

 

Galaxy Quest

Any homage to geekery needs to include Alan Rickman, and here he played the thespian actor Alexander Dane. The transformation of Dane, from abhorring his role as Dr. Lazarus (in the fictional TV series Galaxy Quest) to finally accepting it, was a thing of beauty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQnYkQHHDLU

 

Harry Potter (all of them!)

How do you make a twisted antagonist sympathetic? Cast Alan Rickman… The reason behind Snape’s dislikes of Harry Potter is slowly revealed in a wonderfully nuanced performance by Alan Rickman.  By the end, we not only understand Snape’s reasons but sympathise with him to.

 

Dogma

Alan Rickman was in fine – and quotable form – as the Metratron in Kevin Smith’s Dogma. From the snide remarks to his dog-eared appearance, Alan Rickman played the put-upon Voice of God with deceptive ease.

 

Die Hard

Not only is Die Hard of the most truly festive films to date and includes one of the most quotable lines in cinematic history, but Alan Rickman – in his debut film role – also played one of the greatest villains of all time as Hans Gruber.

 

Rest in Peace, Sir. You will be missed.

Dice Masters 2 – The Dicening…

MrCraiggy
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Dice Masters 2 – The Dicening…

You may recall a while ago I talked about a game called Dice Masters. I talked about the concept of a “dice building” game and how the Yugioh and D&D starter sets held up compared to the comic book counterparts.

I’m now presented with the new Amazing Spider-Man two player starter pack (RRP £16.99) and a small pile of boosters (RRP £1 each, coming with two Dice and their corresponding cards, great value!) from various sets and I’m going to talk in more detail about how the different sets are interchangeable.

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But first I want to talk about some subtle yet very noticeable changes from the starter set since my last review of the game.

Last time I mentioned how the rulebook and the “how to play” tutorials felt a little bit thin, a bit basic and that not everything was covered, leaving questions that I needed to look up online and ask in social media groups (which, there are some very good and friendly ones out there).

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By comparison, the rulebook in the Amazing Spider-Man set has been fleshed out a bit more, which was very refreshing to discover; descriptions felt more detailed and in-depth, without being too heavy and alienating. There are still parts where I would like more detail, like a more detailed example of combat resolution, but as I say, the online community is fantastic should you require any help.

Also, with previous sets, the dice bags felt very waxy and generally unpleasant. Now, I know this is so they’re more durable, but they felt very bland overall.

With this set, however… I mean, look at them!

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Much better!

 

With this starter set, I’ve also got my hands on a few mixed booster packs. Some Uncanny X-Men, some Avengers VS X-Men and finally some Justice League (these ones excited me the most, as I hadn’t got any from this set previously)

Outside of the introduction scenarios, in normal games (referred to as “Constructed” play) players build a “deck” of twenty dice (not including your standard eight “Sidekick” dice), two “Basic Action” cards then a mix of eight Character and/or Action cards. These twenty dice are allocated to these eight cards. Every card must have at least one dice allocated to it and no more than the maximum indicate on the individual cards.

 

This is where the game gets its depth. With nine sets currently available and three more already scheduled for release in the first half of this year, Dice Masters has all manner of card/dice combinations that can be used.

For example:

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In this card layout, we have Silver Sable (Wild Pack), Ghost Rider (New Rider) and Spider Woman (Agent). All three of these character cards are from the Spider-Man starter set and all three of them have abilities that focus on being blocked by your opponent. Now, with the simple addition of Brainiac (Twelfth Level Intelligence) from the Justice League set, you have the option to switch where your opponent’s characters are blocking, which makes for a much more threatening line-up and will have your opponent second guessing their defence.

In short, while there are still some rough edges, Dice Master continues to develop as a collectible game. It’s quick, it’s enjoyable and it’s relatively inexpensive. This game has grown remarkably in popularity of late, so I would definitely recommend finding either a local play network through your gaming outlet of choice or Esdevium’s handy dandy store locator. Or you can come and join the online community on Facebook here, or here if you’re specifically UK based.

Until next time, I’ve been and shall no doubt remain Craig.

Robot Wars Reboot – The bots are back in town

Daniel Delargy
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Robot Wars Reboot – The bots are back in town

War…war never changes. The combatants are just given a bigger battery, more effective weaponry, and a new paint job.

Today, it has been reported that Mentorn Scotland, part of the Tinopolis Group, has been commissioned by BBC Two to produce a new series of the classic man and machine battle series Robot Wars. The iconic series will return for six 60 minute episodes, featuring “new robots, more battles and more science than ever before”. A presenter has not yet been announced, nor has a release date but it expected to land later this year.

Craig Charles, arguably the shows most iconic presenter

For those of you unaware, the premise of Robot Wars was very simple – a team would build a robot from scratch and enter it into the series. In a variety of competitions, ranging from friendly spars to tournament knock outs, these robots would battle it out in a custom built arena. The original series ran from 1998 to 2004, spanning BBC 2 and Channel 5. The fan love for this series kept the spirit alive in ‘Live’ shows and reruns.

Robot Wars holds a special place in my heart because I grew up watching this show. The show was all a kid could want, if that kid was into different robots fighting flipper and claw to come out on top. In recent times, we have seen the mainstream media leaning back on practical effects to provide an experience people want – from the exploding cars of Mad Max, to the simple yet adorable BB-8 from the new Star Wars. Heck, we’re having GIANT MECHS fight each other for out amusement later this year!

Personally, I’d like to see them compete in a Gauntlet-style even held in the UK, testing speed, endurance and accuracy among other areas before a final bout, but then again I am also wishing for Deadliest Warrior to be rebooted…so, that’s unlikely to happen.

“Bringing back Robot Wars to our screens is hugely exciting. Its return will see new and improved robots, with extraordinary innovation and power in these updated machines – it promises to be quite the competition.”

~ Chris Brogden, Creative Director of Entertainment at Tinopolis

It’s been over a decade, but I can still remember the names of the House Robots who ruled the arena floor. I remember the innovation and dedication that went into each and every robot. I remember cheering on my favourite Hypno-Disc, well enough to be a force to be reckoned with but never quite coming first in any tournament. I’m really glad that this is a series which is making a comeback, and that hopefully it will gather enough attention to warrant the series lasting for a few more years…and with that said, I feel it’s only right to cap off this article with a little rhyme worthy of Craig Charles himself.

With an emphasis on science, it’ll be sure to blow down doors, ‘cos it’s making a comeback, that show Robot Wars!

The 100 – Season 3 trailer

Cristina Bogdan
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The 100 – Season 3 trailer

The 100 – a surprising gem on the CW – is returning to our screens on January the 21st. With a new story arc developing in the new season, the show promises more action, more drama and more adventure. I am curious how they will one up themselves in the new series, since the second one was already so well plotted, acted and directed, but judging by the few glimpses we got of what the new season holds, I can imagine it will leave us all hanging for more.

For the fans of the book series – a trilogy with an entirely different tone and storyline – the show is the same in name only. Having read the first book, I have to say I like the direction the script writers took a lot better than the original which was absurdly light-hearted.

Clarke’s return, Bellamy’s choices, Octavia’s descent into more and more violence, the decay of the good guys,  they all feature heavily in the not even 3 minute trailer and I don’t know about you, but I’m excited!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUuukxrbrU

The Shannara Chronicles – a brief review

Cristina Bogdan
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The Shannara Chronicles – a brief review

MTV has been trying for a while to break out as a television that proves to be a worthy competitor in the TV show market, with such series as Teen Wolf, Awkward or Finding Carter, but The Shannara Chronicles, their latest show, is their first dip in the world of High Fantasy.

The Shannara Chronicles, based on Terry Brooks’s Shannara Trilogy, is quite a loose adaptation. Jumping straight to the second book in the series (The Elfstones of Shannara), it features Wil Ohmsford (Austin Butler) as the naive half-elf/half-human, Amberle Elessedil (Poppy Drayton) as a strong willed elven princess on a mission, Eretria (Ivana Baquero) as a Rover and Manu Bennet as the mysterious Druid Allanon, skipping entirely the first book in the trilogy that actually served to set up the events portrayed in the series.

Since it takes quite a few liberties with both characterisation and the story, reading the books is not a necessity, though they are quite interesting in on themselves, providing the reader with a better understanding of how the world portrayed came to be. Small hints are offered in the show as well, even if they are set up in a pretty heavy handed manner.

Unlike some of the fantasy shows that are currently on TV, The Shannara Chronicles depicts a world set some thousand of years in the future, where post a war that nearly destroyed the human race, people mutated and reverted to a more archaic way of life. The gnomes, trolls and other mythical creatures are in fact descendants of humans, while elves have always existed, though kept away from men.

MTV aired the first 4 episodes (out of 10) online, with the first two episodes being almost exclusively dedicated to setting up the world of the Four Lands. It means there was a lot of exposition, more often than not slightly forced into the scene. It took a little from the story, since there was a lot of name dropping in a single go: places, battles, enemies, friends were all shoved into our faces. I admit it made it difficult for me to remember who was who even after almost an hour and a half into, and I ended up referring to the elven king as Gimli. In case you are looking for a bit of trivia: John Rhys-Davies, that we all know and love as Gimli from Lord of The Rings now stars as Eventine Elessedil. And the show is filmed in New Zealand. Just saying.

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The story is one you have definitely read/seen/heard before. The world is in peril and only one person can save it. But since no hero has ever gone into battle alone, they will be joined by two companions, each with their own important role to play in completing the quest that will restore balance to the world and lock the darkness away for good. Since this is MTV everyone is pretty, something the show has actually received criticism for. Evil is ugly, but if someone is on the side of good no amount of torment, starvation or pain could tarnish their good looks. Maybe they’ll work on that in later episodes, who knows?

So far the show has been more about gorgeous landscapes, surprisingly good looking effects and only marginally about the story. Don’t get me wrong, the story is there, but it’s development is uneven, feeling either too rushed or like it’s dragging on when it could move faster. A potential love triangle is already starting to show between the three quest members: Wil, Amberle and Eretria  – something I personally could do without, especially since with only six more episodes to go, I have my doubts that the story will be completed by the end of the series, considering that up until now they worked on building the world and wasted a lot of valuable time on having people snipe at each other with more jealousy than is warranted after only a week’s acquaintance.

The world is ending, being slowly attacked by demons, I think love could be placed on hold. The show half addresses this in the last episode, so maybe we’ll be spared?

The show is not bad, but so far it’s not all that good  either. Mediocre is nothing to strive for, after all. But even if it was small, there was a jump in the quality of the episodes from 2 to 3 and then up to the 4th episode. If this trend continues, 6 episodes from now I will be completely smitten with the series.

Take a look at the trailer below and if you’ve already seen the show, let me know what you thought about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIAyIJ8Ptmc

 

Supreme Leader Snoke Fan Theories

Matt Geary
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Supreme Leader Snoke Fan Theories

Now there are a lot of theories flying around at the minute about who Supreme leader Snoke is, some plausible, some not so much but all springing from the same deep love of the worlds, nay, the Galaxy’s greatest Space Opera… Star Wars

A few days back we (Geek Pride), on a whim, and for a bit of proverbial banter, posted a picture on our Facebook showing Darth Vader (sans helmet) and Supreme leader Snoke Side by side; this picture:

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The reaction was instant and visceral.

Nearly 1.1 Million views and thousands of comments later, what had started as an interesting theory based on some well-placed scars had erupted into a full on Theory fest with hundreds of people debating the picture and other theories a like.

We tried to keep up as best we could and even shot in our own two pennies worth (to varying levels of acceptance, denial and accusations of being fake geeks (*** face palm*** ) but it got to a point that some order needed to be brought to this ‘Force’ of opinion and therefore I, Supreme leader Geary, went through nearly every comment and post on the above picture, on our facebook, and compiled all the main theories and arguments; I know present them to you:

First Note before reading: These are theories provided by Geek Pride Followers and amalgamated into one article. There will be argument s for and against most of them we have just taken all the main ones and put them in a convenient place for you to digest and either accept, deny or just not care about.

Second Note before reading : We are aware that EU is not Canon any more and that J J Abrams could use it if he wanted or go somewhere completely different but hey.. JJ is known to throw in curve balls and where is the world without a bit of speculation?!

Soooo lets start with the least popular theories and move to the big hitters at the end.

Darth Bane

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Founder of the Rule of Two, Darth Bane was the Sith equivalent of Yoda, but taller, and more Sith like. The argument for him being Snoke is simply because, well… he looks more like Snoke than Plagueis does annnd no one really knows how he was killed…. annnnnd he could have been hanging around for 1000 years; or something.

Arguments against…. Don’t think anyone can see the resemblance or the reason behind this. Just seems a bit too vague.

No ones buying it.

One of the Emperors advisers

Inner_circle

Not many people buying this one either but an interesting theory all the same.

It is argued that Snoke was one of the Emperors advisers and that Palpatine has taught him over the years.

It could be he was force sensitive and the fact that he was a trusted advisor could explained why he was able obtain high command over the First Order; knowing where funds and supplies could be acquired as well as knowing where the location of secret bases are to build up his forces.

Currently from what I’ve seen no huge argument against this one other than it being ‘lame’ which in geek debating circles pretty much gives it legs… Can’t think of argument so will just say it’s lame.

Plausible in our mind if not the most exciting.

A Clone of The Emperor

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Not the most popular theory currently and based solely on the Dark Empire Comics where The Emperor uses an ancient force technique to transfer his spirit into different clone bodies.

The argument goes that Snoke is a clone, or a host body, that the Emperor uses, his disfigurement being down to the deterioration of the body he occupies.

Main argument against this theory is based again on the comics as the Emperors Spirit was trapped by a dying Jedi knight, Empatojayos Brand, and  dragged back into the force with him.

He’s a Yuuzhan Vong

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A disfigured and pain loving race that invaded the galaxy and nearly destroyed the new republic before it got started.

Arguments for Snoke being one of these creatures is due to his disfigurement and the fact that the leader of the Vong is called the ‘supreme overlord’ so kinda like the Supreme Leader.

Arguments against generally point to the fact that the Yuuzhan Vong have no imprint on the force and don’t use it. Also the coincidence in scarring and the ‘supreme’ title is tentative at best.

On a side note: there is a theory that the Galactic Empire and the Death Star where created to protect the Galaxy from the invasion of the Yuuzhan Vong and that the rebellions victory caused the deaths of trillions in the ensuing invasion.

Now we are coming on to the more interesting theories that have definitely raised a few eyebrows on the page.

 

The Grand Inquisitor

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This argument seems to be based on looks and a part from the face paint you can see why. He was a force user, a sabre wielder and used to recruit ‘force sensitives’ to the dark side; or kill them if they wouldn’t.

His job was simply to eradicate the remaining Jedi and people are pointing to this ( Snoke is looking to destroy the last Jedi ) and the facial similarities  as a good reason why he is the Supreme leader.

Argument s against is that he died after season 1 of rebels.

Counter argument is his death scene is a fall and we don’t know if he’s actually dead or not. People think that Snoke’s Injuries are as a result of this fall.

 

Sith Emperor Vitiate –

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The Sith Emperor has been around for a long time, back when the Sith Empire still existed he sat back and let the great hyperspace war unfold and then after the defeat of the Sith invited them round for tea and biscuits, only to use their power to perform a ritual that killed everyone on his planet and made him immortal…ish

Being a paranoid chap he would transfer his consciousness into other host bodies so he wasn’t assassinated ( kinda like Emperor Palpatine in Dark Empire)

It has been argued that he has carried on transferring his conscience into hosts over the years and Snoke is another host, hence the title, the power base and the throne.

Arguments against are after having his body killed on numerous occasions and transferring his conscience into more hosts he finally succumbed and died, Darth Plagueis stating that he was the closest any Sith had got to actual immortality. It is also argued why he did nothing during the Galactic War.

Counter arguments are that records of his ‘death’ are vague and that he could have easily survived in different hosts and that, like the hyper space war he sat back and let his enemies destroy each other while he grew stronger again.

The ‘Ones’ from the Clone Wars

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This was a theory that came out of left field and  has in turn raised a lot of nods and agreements, to the point where few have tried to argue against it, at least from what we have seen on our page.

General theory is based on a few episodes of the Clone Wars where ‘the ones’ exceptionally strong force wielders ( a father, a son and a daughter; the son being the dark side and the daughter being the light) live on a planet called Mortis and are visited by Anakin, Obi-wan and Ashoka Tano to see if Anakin is in fact the chosen one.

These force gods, in effect, can only be killed by the dagger of Mortis, a dagger the son tries to kill the father with, so he can escape the planet, but instead the daughter sacrifices herself and dies. The son then tries to kill the father again but this time the father stabs himself, weakening the son and allowing Anakin to kill him.

The argument why the son is Snoke, is based on the look of the character and, due to the fact he was not killed by the dagger and so could, in theory, have survived and arisen as Snoke.

Arguments against seem to be based on the fact that the son is dead and was killed by Anakin but other than that people think it’s pretty plausible.

And finally our final 3 big hitters, the ones causing the most debate and exploding all over the Internet.

 

Snoke is just Snoke

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Unsurprisingly a lot of people just think Snoke is just Snoke, a new character with no link to the above theories.

Arguments for this are simply the interview Andy Serkis who states as much.

Argument’ s against are the general, this was an older interview, he won’t tell you everything and JJ Abrams has previous when it comes to lying about plot details (as he should do)

Vader is Snoke

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Now this may not be the most popular view but it has had the Internet explode of late. The picture we posted alone had over 1.1 million views and thousands of likes and comments.

The argument is based on a couple of things:

The scars on Vader / Anakins head are very similar to those of Snokes, nearly perfectly so, depending on the way you look at it, Vader was also cloned in the EU and his dark side could have moved his conscience to another vessel, as the Sith Emperor and Palpatine did.

Arguments against are very strong and point mainly to the fact that if Snoke was a clone why would he have the same scars. Also at the end of RoTJ Vader redeems himself by killing the Emperor and is rewarded with his very own force ghost.

Counter arguments go along the lines of the clone being corrupted by the dark side and so looks frail and that originally there was concept art showing a force ghost of Anakin looking light and dark, showing that it could split; this has been hotly contested.

Interesting side theory is that Snoke might not be Vader but the scars could be a part of a Cult of Vader hence the similarities and a way to seduce Kylo to the dark side.

Our final theory and the one that was mentioned in most replies on our page.

Darth Plagueis

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It seems that a lot of people have taken to the idea that Darth Plagueis is in fact Snoke. sighting not only facial similarities but also the fact that the music played when Snoke is on screen resembles that of the music playing when Palpatine talks to Anakin about a Sith Lord,  Plaguies who had mastered immortality and could bring people back from the dead.

It is argued that Darth Sidious ( Palpatine ) either did not actually kill Plagueis or did but he came back. The scars being a reminder of the attack.

Arguments against are based on the fact that Plaguies is a Muun, a tall, flat face creature with a large head, that doesn’t resemble Snoke at all.

Counter arguments state that as the EU is not canon anymore then he could be what ever creature they want him to be.

Thoughts 

So what do I think? Well I have to admit I did sit on the side of Darth Plagueis for a while, then the picture of Vader exploded onto the Internet and I felt confused… then all the additional counter theories came out in the comments and I just didn’t know where to hang my proverbial sabre.

Out of all of them I think the ‘ones’ the  Sith Emperor and the Grand Inquisitor are my favourites but all have good points followed by good counter arguments

So what do I think Abrams will do? Well Canon or not he will use influence from the EU, it won’t be exactly what we think or, in some cases, want but it will pull influence from it. One thing I’m certain about, and this is controversial for some, is that Snoke is linked to the past films and the Skywalkers in some way.

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I say this because SW:TWA seems to have followed the nostalgic route, paralleling a New hope and I have a strong feeling that there will have to be a BIG ‘ No… I am your father’ / dude that’s your sister you kissed, part in the next two films and I feel Snoke’s identity will be pivotal in that.. Be it one of the above, a mix of EU canon or something new.

What I will say is that I don’t think having a view on this is a bad thing, as long as you are respectful of others views too; in the end, we are all Geeks and Starwars is a uniting factor. We may disagree on theories or how the films should pan out but we all have one thing in common; a love for Star Wars and that, to me is a beautiful thing.

Roll on the next films and let s get some answers!

X-Men Danger Room Protocols is a Slick Retro Delight

Andy Haigh
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X-Men Danger Room Protocols is a Slick Retro Delight

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If you’re a fan of the 90’s X-Men cartoon, which means pretty much everybody who could be reading this article at a guess, then animator and X-Men fan Joel Furtado has a treat for you – X-Men Danger Room Protocols.

X-Men Danger Room Protocols is a new fan made animated web series. Animated in a surprisingly slick but retro 16 bit style the series is set to feature 18 episodes and centres around Professor X putting pairs of X-Men through various training exercises in the Danger Room. This will include fighting with a variety of well known villains fans will recognise from the X-Men comics.

X-Men Danger Room Protocols will be premièring January 19 via Furtado’s Youtube channel that’s if The Mouse and Fox don’t stamp on it mind. Check out the intro video and for anyone wandering Furtado says “there’s been so much Beast love from the fans I’m obligated to do something now…just have to figure out what…”

Am I the only one who likes this way more anything we’ve seen of X-Men Apocalypse?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yuxmouv5_nM&

A Study of the FPS Genre:”Pressing The Trigger”

King Darren
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A Study of the FPS Genre:”Pressing The Trigger”

The domain of the FPS genre is DAMAGE. Whether you’re ordering your squad to breach and clear a room in Rainbow Six, providing air support in Call of Duty, or rocket spamming a ledge overlooking an entry route in Quake, everything about your performance in an FPS ultimately boils down to optimising performance in this domain. Because of this, It makes sense to ascertain that the pivotal part of an FPS is the guns, and that the core of FPS design is the guns. That isn’t true. The stats of a game’s weaponry are significant, but they only cover a small aspect of the domain of DAMAGE.

If we delve into the FPS genre more deeply, we can formulate its domain as a graph with two axes: one is the “damage dealing” axis, the other being the “damage avoidance” axis. At the top right of the graph, we have elements that have the largest impact of on both the dealing and evasion of DAMAGE. The primary factor is player dexterity: your reflex skills and hand-eye coordination. This ability differentiates between players who are equally matched, giving a boost to players who can acquire, aim and shoot other players while avoiding attempts by other players to do the same.

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Obviously, game designers do not create player skills – they design weapons. But weapons only form the top-left of the graph, where they are crucial in determining the dealing of damage and have little to do with the evasion of damage.

Located at the bottom-right corner of the graph sit character health, shields and armour which are not responsible for dealing damage but are integral in avoiding (or absorbing it).

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So if player dexterity is not the core of FPS design because it is not designed, and weapon and Armour design are not the core of FPS design because they reside along the edges of the domain, what makes up the ‘creamy feeling’? What are the designed elements that are relevant to both the doing and avoidance of damage, and which are also designed by designers and modulated by player skill?

There are two main categories: tactics and knowledge. Tactics describe elements related to how the player uses traps, stealth, navigation and cover to minimise damage to himself while maximising damage to his adversaries.

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Traps are tools such as claymores in Modern Warfare that allow the player to do damage without even being in the proximity of something that could reflect damage back.

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Stealth, as used by the Spy in Splinter Cell MP, is a tactic that allows the player to avoid damage and killing his opponent(s) through undetection.

Navigation, in this sense, is making deliberate choices to move through the local environment that minimise potential exposure.

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Cover use (which is a literal design element in Gears Of War, and an incidental one in all shooters), is the tactic of minimising current exposure.

Tactics are designed elements of the game that players get better at using. The ability in deploying a claymore trap is not in the setting of it, but in the optimising of its placement, and the designed component is in the tuning of how visible it is against range, damage and movement speed.

Designers define stealth rules for auditory and visual detection of players, then players learn those rules and with practice, get better at skirting the edge of others’ perception. Map layout environment design and cover placement all constantly feed the player information about how to best optimise her exposure – the design of all the game’s spaces and the way they facilitate players’ reading of them are as important as the stats of the guns.

Breaking down the knowledge category is more tedious, since the elements tend to be very game-specific, but obvious examples include map, role and weapon knowledge.

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Similar to navigation, map knowledge is about optimising your routes through an entire level, not just the immediate, local area. It is an expertise that develops over time,neither exposure to a given map,

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Role knowledge is the understanding how different classes or player roles stack up against one another in a specific situation.

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Weapon on knowledge is the understanding of the game’s primary damage-dealing tools and how they stack up against each other in any given situation.

Knowledge isn’t designed directly, but it’s anything you can design to facilitate the steady development of. When we discuss about designing depth into the weapon progression, for example, we aren’t necessarily talking about more weapons or more complex weapons, but rather a greater requirement for exploration of the ways the weapons compare. This kind of knowledge development supported by design can be seen in the depth of class know-how exhibited by Team Fortress 2 players.

In TF2, there are only a small number of classes which aren’t too complex., but the subtlety and sophistication of their design and balancing creates a fertile space for knowledge development which is then applied to the doing or avoidance of damage geared at winning the game.

I hope my findings will be of use to those who delight in the science of FPS games. In the ever-evolving world of FPSes, there are still a lot for me to learn and discover. See you on the battlefield!

 

 

 

 

Who Asked For A ‘Streamlined’ Fallout 4?

SeanPWallace
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Who Asked For A ‘Streamlined’ Fallout 4?

A key design principle for most products is that simplicity is key. If there is complication in your product, then you should seek to remove it. This turns an unwieldy user interface into a sleek one, bundles operations together, or helps to focus on the features that will matter most.

In many cases, simplifying – or streamlining, if you need to do a Press Release – is a great thing. A game does not need a complicated shoe crafting system if it isn’t adding anything to the experience: that is to say, if it isn’t fun. For video games, hell, for games of all kinds, the over-riding design principle ought to be ‘what will be the most fun?’ What will players enjoy the most? And unnecessarily complicated features and gameplay cannot be counted as fun.

simple
Mostly…

Should this be the main focus of any designer or developer, I say more power to them. Nothing is impeachable about one’s aim to produce a better experience for their players. Even if this involves risks, and experiments that fall flat, it is an ambition which we would all support in developers.

One suspects, though, that with games such as Fallout 4 this was not the main aim. So-called AAA publishers now, even Bethesda, have only one aim: to sell as many copies of their game as possible in the short-term, damn the core audience and their wishes. The terrible phrase ‘appeal to a wider audience’ is uttered by executives. A directive is sent down, from focus-tested groups of young men in their twenties who generally don’t tend to play RPGs.

Make it simpler. Simpler is better.

Fallout_4_cover_art
I used to have a high STR requirement to wear me. Now, any bugger can put me on.

Whilst this is broadly correct from a design perspective, this patently does not apply to all creative endeavours. Complexity and intricacy is just as appealing as simplicity provided it is used in the right way. Look at the plot of A Song of Ice and Fire, or the workings of famous pastimes like Warhammer or the board game Risk. See the beloved tabletop RPGs like GURPS or DnD 3.5e (more on that later). Simpler is not better. Not always. These are games and experiences which would not be beloved if someone had sat down with the aim of ‘simplifying’ them.

Indeed, this happened with the design of DnD 4e. Wizards of the Coast decided that the success of one of the best-selling roleplay systems in the world wasn’t enough. They wanted to target a wider audience. To do this, they aimed to make the game more accessible to those who hadn’t played it yet. They wanted to simplify it, not happy with their immense existing audience. And what they produced, whilst still, in fairness, being a great game, was not what the majority of their fans wanted: a ‘streamlined’ experience that removed the intricacy and complexity people loved in the prior iteration.

dnd4e
The world’s least-likely controversial book

This, then, is the crux of the problem. Streamlined, simplified games and experiences that are not created to improve upon their prior iterations, but to improve their marketability. Never mind that Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas were hailed for their systems, with New Vegas in particular including elements like Hardcore Mode where hunger, thirst, and tiredness were all factors: a few theoretical people might not have bought these wildly popular, very commercially-successful games because their levelling systems and dialogue trees were intricate. Reduce it down, make it simpler!

Critical hits? Make them a bar you fill up. Unique dialogue based on traits and skills? Delete them! Characters actually having to be skilled in order to use exotic weaponry? Now everyone can wield everything!

I didn’t ask for this. Most people who bought the last two games didn’t say, ‘This would be much better if the core SPECIAL system were removed almost entirely!’ Who did, then? Who? Who aside from those who didn’t play the games in the first place and those who aimed to sell to them?

Fallout 4 is still a great game. I know I will put at least 100 hours into it. The idea of making the random trash of the Wasteland actually useful was inspired, and some of the encounters have the expected polish and enjoyment. But it is not the same experience as its predecessors, and that saddens me. Not from a ‘they changed muh game’ perspective, but from the notion that this could have been the best of the bunch without market-driven corporate oversight.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

Tom Sorsby
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Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

Originally released in 2000 by Black Isle, running the 2nd Edition D&D rules, Icewind Dale was given an injection of fresh life by Beamdog in 2014 with the release of the Enhanced Edition. While anybody with even a passing interest in D&D or its gaming adaptations will have heard of Baldur’s Gate, in my experience, Icewind passed a little more under the radar. If that was that case, and if you enjoyed Baldur’s Gate, you might like IWD:EE.

Unlike Baldur’s Gate, Icewind doesn’t let you off the chain much, keeping you barreling down a line of quests in the frosty mountains known as the Spine of the World. “Railroading” is a dirty word in this age of the sandbox but it helps to keep the story a lot tighter than I felt Baldur’s Gate was – meandering around Amn for months on end while the antagonists politely waited for you to come back and deal with them.

Your journey begins...
Our tale begins here, in the quiet fishing village of Easthaven…in a bloody tavern, can you believe?

Icewind’s story is a lot tighter, but also a lot smaller. You create all six members of your adventuring party from scratch (or import from previous games) and their dialogue options are influenced by race or ability scores. There’s no option to talk to other party members as you might have a chat with Minsk about his dangerous hamster delusions, but since you created the characters anyway, you can just sub that dialogue in your head. Not to everyone’s taste, I know, but after a few hours playing I did feel as though there was enough personality there to get attached to, since you do still have feedback audio from your team, recorded by some excellent voice actors.

Speaking of everyone’s taste, this is 2nd Edition D&D, a time when you couldn’t be any race with any class, and if you had the opportunity to advance two classes simultaneously (because you’re a long-lived Elf or Half-Elf) then you’d be a mug not to (unless you’re the towering stack of HP that is the Dwarven Defender). At the tabletop, I’m glad this kind of thing is truly dead now we’re in 5th Edition, and anybody can expect a reasonably balanced character build from combining say, Half-Orc and Wizard. Makes for more interesting characters. But in the Forgotten Realms, Dwarves are Fighters and Elves are made from tissue paper and pixie dust – this kind of stereotype works well for a character build in this game. Embrace the trope.

No Paragon/Renegade here...
No Paragon/Renegade options here – they didn’t have a lot of room on the disc back then…

However, if you can see past the dusty old THAC0 system, the race restrictions, general lack of roleplaying, what you get isn’t awful at all. It’s just not what you’d expect from, well, a “role-playing game”. Instead, Icewind is much more fun if you approach it as you might, say, XCom. A tactical squad combat game where you organise and manage a group of adventurers, hoarding limited supplies such as healing potions, carefully selecting which spells to give to which casters and constantly searching for newer, better shields to give your Dwarf Tank.

If you’re looking for a bit of nostalgia gaming, if you weren’t impressed by Sword Coast Legends and need some more D&D to tide you over, if you’re just a bit bored of replaying Neverwinter Nights again, then look no further. Beamdog’s IWD:EE will see you right. These days, its not just available on PC either – if you’re looking for something other than mindlessly repetitive timer games to play on your phone, you can now get Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate from your friendly digital app store.

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