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Title: Games Not Being Art 'n' Ting
Posted: October 27, 2009 (11:15 AM)
Posted: October 27, 2009 (11:15 AM)
'Ello my old cockers! Don't take that offensively; I'm from Yorkshire!
Earlier this month I made a charming article for Game Revolution claiming that games cannot be viewed as a traditional art form 'cause they're far too inaccessible for the ordinary chap off the street. I can't post the thing 'ere, 'cause the chances are GR will reward me for their loyalty with a nifty little gift card. 'Owever, if the whole 'games as art' debate interests you, have a deek over 'ere for the article, as well as some bloke's charmin' rebuttal.
Word!
Mood: Tired
Game of the Day: Black And White 2
Song of the Day: Slice by Five For Fighting
Earlier this month I made a charming article for Game Revolution claiming that games cannot be viewed as a traditional art form 'cause they're far too inaccessible for the ordinary chap off the street. I can't post the thing 'ere, 'cause the chances are GR will reward me for their loyalty with a nifty little gift card. 'Owever, if the whole 'games as art' debate interests you, have a deek over 'ere for the article, as well as some bloke's charmin' rebuttal.
Word!
Mood: Tired
Game of the Day: Black And White 2
Song of the Day: Slice by Five For Fighting
[reply][view replies (2)]
Title: My Thoughts On World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Posted: August 29, 2009 (12:31 PM)
Posted: August 29, 2009 (12:31 PM)
Don't mind me - I'm just jumping on the bandwagon.
Cataclysm is the newest expansion for World of Warcraft. Its slated for release in 2010 and featured a return to the two main continents of the world. Blizzard have announced their intentions to completely revamp the old zones, alongside including many more much-needed featured. More information is available here.
What do I think of all this? Well its certainly interesting to see the developers have gone back to Azeroth. Instead of thinking up completely new lands, the majority of the expansion is supposedly going to focus on how the cataclysm has reshaped classic areas. There's only 5 planned new zones so the issue here is whether or not its worth the money. This is an especially topical question in these difficult financial times. Blizzard have continually released less and less content with the recent free patches, so it makes sense that they've set their core design team on something big. What are they trying to achieve with such drastic changes and will it be worth buying?
No one can say for sure. Cataclysm appears to be going in all possible directions at once. On one hand there's a lot of recycled material from Wrath of the Lich King. The Dwarven fortress of Tol Barad is the new Wintergrasp, the Goblin and Worgen starting areas are phased like the Death Knight equivalent, et cetera. On the other hand there's far more adventurous things awaiting players. New dungeon content brings new monsters and gear. Long-requested changes like a better guild UI and rated battlegrounds hope to reach out to all those people who thought the 'Suggestions' forum was always ignored. I believe Blizzard are attempting to satisfy two key audiences simulateously here:
- People who quit WoW due to lack of true innovation over time.
OR!
- The so-called 'new generation' of players who have been on board since Wrath and now have grown used to a constant stream of updates. They demand more and more, lest they leave for Aion or a similiar hypefest.
As part of the first group, I feel that its my right to express what I think about Cataclysm. Its difficult not to reminisce about the good old days where a bunch of buddies and I would roam The Barrens and kill anything that looked uglier than Heidi Montag. However, we all have to accept that times change. The days of epic Alliance v. Horde battles around level 20 grinding areas are over. I don't really mind that, especially since Wintergrasp and the battlegrounds serve the same sort of purpose and satisfy my blood-lust. Therefore I'm not devastated about my old haunts being ruined, although the fact that the Alliance are losing Southshore did piss me off a little*. I do like the possibility that the developers are going to throw caution to the wind to advance the story. Its a big risk, but hopefully it'll pay off - literally.
These massive changes provide a unique problem. Its a data overload if you haven't kept up-to-date with the latest additions to WoW. I'd hate to have left shortly after hitting 80 and then have stayed completely in the dark until Cataclysm. I wouldn't have any idea about all this 'Deathwing breaking through an elemental plane' tripe and I can foresee many people stumbling through quest chains with no idea of what's going on. Furthermore, Blizzard are taking the redesign of Azeroth to make the 1-60 levelling experience better, but this could potentially alienate new players. Who wants to start up in a ruined world? Cataclysm, by definition, is supposed to shake our security in Azeroth so we arm ourselves to defend it. Newbies don't have an attachment to the world, so why should they give a crap?
In addition to all this, Blizzard are changing zones like Desolace and Darkshore to make them more colourful and populated. Wonderful news, but I have fond memories of questing through such isolated patches of the world and appreciating the peace. We can conclude that the pacing of WoW is morphing from 'chilling out in cities and getting excited in dungeons' to 'chilling out in cities and getting excited everywhere else'. Pushing players through zones they probably didn't even consider visiting previously causes bottlenecking and the potential for tensions between factions to spark once again - just like in vanilla WoW. If they can make questing as exhilarating as raids, then Cataclysm has my attention.
Blizzard seem to have finally got around to giving us what we've asked for. Yep, they're playing the populist card but its hard not to get excited. Even at this early stage Cataclysm is ticking all the right boxes
*What next? Helcular as a Lich King general? YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!
My image rights belong to me, biatches. Oh, and Blizzard of course!
Mood: Relieved
Game of the Day: Er... Champions Online (hopefully?)
Song of the Day: Why don't I have any friends on HG? :' (
Cataclysm is the newest expansion for World of Warcraft. Its slated for release in 2010 and featured a return to the two main continents of the world. Blizzard have announced their intentions to completely revamp the old zones, alongside including many more much-needed featured. More information is available here.
What do I think of all this? Well its certainly interesting to see the developers have gone back to Azeroth. Instead of thinking up completely new lands, the majority of the expansion is supposedly going to focus on how the cataclysm has reshaped classic areas. There's only 5 planned new zones so the issue here is whether or not its worth the money. This is an especially topical question in these difficult financial times. Blizzard have continually released less and less content with the recent free patches, so it makes sense that they've set their core design team on something big. What are they trying to achieve with such drastic changes and will it be worth buying?
No one can say for sure. Cataclysm appears to be going in all possible directions at once. On one hand there's a lot of recycled material from Wrath of the Lich King. The Dwarven fortress of Tol Barad is the new Wintergrasp, the Goblin and Worgen starting areas are phased like the Death Knight equivalent, et cetera. On the other hand there's far more adventurous things awaiting players. New dungeon content brings new monsters and gear. Long-requested changes like a better guild UI and rated battlegrounds hope to reach out to all those people who thought the 'Suggestions' forum was always ignored. I believe Blizzard are attempting to satisfy two key audiences simulateously here:
- People who quit WoW due to lack of true innovation over time.
OR!
- The so-called 'new generation' of players who have been on board since Wrath and now have grown used to a constant stream of updates. They demand more and more, lest they leave for Aion or a similiar hypefest.
As part of the first group, I feel that its my right to express what I think about Cataclysm. Its difficult not to reminisce about the good old days where a bunch of buddies and I would roam The Barrens and kill anything that looked uglier than Heidi Montag. However, we all have to accept that times change. The days of epic Alliance v. Horde battles around level 20 grinding areas are over. I don't really mind that, especially since Wintergrasp and the battlegrounds serve the same sort of purpose and satisfy my blood-lust. Therefore I'm not devastated about my old haunts being ruined, although the fact that the Alliance are losing Southshore did piss me off a little*. I do like the possibility that the developers are going to throw caution to the wind to advance the story. Its a big risk, but hopefully it'll pay off - literally.
These massive changes provide a unique problem. Its a data overload if you haven't kept up-to-date with the latest additions to WoW. I'd hate to have left shortly after hitting 80 and then have stayed completely in the dark until Cataclysm. I wouldn't have any idea about all this 'Deathwing breaking through an elemental plane' tripe and I can foresee many people stumbling through quest chains with no idea of what's going on. Furthermore, Blizzard are taking the redesign of Azeroth to make the 1-60 levelling experience better, but this could potentially alienate new players. Who wants to start up in a ruined world? Cataclysm, by definition, is supposed to shake our security in Azeroth so we arm ourselves to defend it. Newbies don't have an attachment to the world, so why should they give a crap?
In addition to all this, Blizzard are changing zones like Desolace and Darkshore to make them more colourful and populated. Wonderful news, but I have fond memories of questing through such isolated patches of the world and appreciating the peace. We can conclude that the pacing of WoW is morphing from 'chilling out in cities and getting excited in dungeons' to 'chilling out in cities and getting excited everywhere else'. Pushing players through zones they probably didn't even consider visiting previously causes bottlenecking and the potential for tensions between factions to spark once again - just like in vanilla WoW. If they can make questing as exhilarating as raids, then Cataclysm has my attention.
Blizzard seem to have finally got around to giving us what we've asked for. Yep, they're playing the populist card but its hard not to get excited. Even at this early stage Cataclysm is ticking all the right boxes
*What next? Helcular as a Lich King general? YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!
My image rights belong to me, biatches. Oh, and Blizzard of course!
Mood: Relieved
Game of the Day: Er... Champions Online (hopefully?)
Song of the Day: Why don't I have any friends on HG? :' (
[reply][view replies (0)]
Title: The Beauty Of Freelancing
Posted: August 04, 2009 (06:29 AM)
Posted: August 04, 2009 (06:29 AM)
I've been a Honest Gamers writer for a few months now, and I'd like to talk about why I enjoy it so much. There's the obvious reasons, ranging from getting games for free to receiving advice on how to improve my writing. The key reason why I like HG goes a little deeper than those, though. Previewing and reviewing games as an individual has given me a large level of freedom.
As you may already know, I help run a small number of sites, the biggest of which is The Three Rs. I started blogging when I was barely sixteen. Although I had a lot to say, it took me almost half a decade to figure out ways of marketing my work. More importantly, I realised that creating contacts in the industries I was writing about was essential. Being young, it took me a long time figure out that, by writing good things about a person or product and sending them the post, I could make friends. Friends that gave me free stuff and even money. Back then, I believe I was willing to risk my integrity for the benefit of the site. Obviously, if you pay a visit to The Three Rs now its clear to see that I'm not afraid to publish a scathing review if the thing in question deserves it. I'd just like to point out it wasn't always that way.
I had to toe the line between being editor, writer and PR guy. Each of those jobs contrasts against the others, which is the basic problem with small-time blogs hoping to go big. I'd write a bad review, and then have to suck up big time to the creators of the product. Or I'd write a good review about a bad product to appease the creator, and defend it adamantly against people who knew otherwise. This kinda defies the entire point of expressing my opinion on a blog, and in the end I chose honesty over publicity. Thousands of small sites go through this internal conundrum every single day and some opt to appease their masters, rather than be truthful.
HG is not the first big site I've worked for, but it encompasses everything good about independent review sites. Heck, the namesake says it all - honesty is priority here, which is why I'm pulling out previews and reviews at a fast rate. I don't have to arse around with thinking if the content is going to upset anyone. Instead, I'm able to concentrate on the important stuff - namely, if the game is bad or not. HG is not massive, but its high standards of integrity are what makes it such a good site. I went clean from corruption years before applying here, but hopefully people (young folks especially) who read this site will realise that keeping true to yourself should be the number one imperative for any aspiring writer. Journalism marks you on quality of writing, not on how many people you know. Let the PR guys deal with that, and focus on getting your own priorities right. Just because certain other sites are sodding up their quality of writing, it doesn't grant you permission to do the same. If you need money from writing, then apply to sites, magazines and install AdWords. Don't slip into the dirty little rut that many others have, and instead focus on becoming a better writer.
Mood: Fulfilled
Game of the Day: L4D
Song of the Day: http://soundcloud.com/dirty-pete/dirty-pete-better-than-a-wet-weekend-in-august
As you may already know, I help run a small number of sites, the biggest of which is The Three Rs. I started blogging when I was barely sixteen. Although I had a lot to say, it took me almost half a decade to figure out ways of marketing my work. More importantly, I realised that creating contacts in the industries I was writing about was essential. Being young, it took me a long time figure out that, by writing good things about a person or product and sending them the post, I could make friends. Friends that gave me free stuff and even money. Back then, I believe I was willing to risk my integrity for the benefit of the site. Obviously, if you pay a visit to The Three Rs now its clear to see that I'm not afraid to publish a scathing review if the thing in question deserves it. I'd just like to point out it wasn't always that way.
I had to toe the line between being editor, writer and PR guy. Each of those jobs contrasts against the others, which is the basic problem with small-time blogs hoping to go big. I'd write a bad review, and then have to suck up big time to the creators of the product. Or I'd write a good review about a bad product to appease the creator, and defend it adamantly against people who knew otherwise. This kinda defies the entire point of expressing my opinion on a blog, and in the end I chose honesty over publicity. Thousands of small sites go through this internal conundrum every single day and some opt to appease their masters, rather than be truthful.
HG is not the first big site I've worked for, but it encompasses everything good about independent review sites. Heck, the namesake says it all - honesty is priority here, which is why I'm pulling out previews and reviews at a fast rate. I don't have to arse around with thinking if the content is going to upset anyone. Instead, I'm able to concentrate on the important stuff - namely, if the game is bad or not. HG is not massive, but its high standards of integrity are what makes it such a good site. I went clean from corruption years before applying here, but hopefully people (young folks especially) who read this site will realise that keeping true to yourself should be the number one imperative for any aspiring writer. Journalism marks you on quality of writing, not on how many people you know. Let the PR guys deal with that, and focus on getting your own priorities right. Just because certain other sites are sodding up their quality of writing, it doesn't grant you permission to do the same. If you need money from writing, then apply to sites, magazines and install AdWords. Don't slip into the dirty little rut that many others have, and instead focus on becoming a better writer.
Mood: Fulfilled
Game of the Day: L4D
Song of the Day: http://soundcloud.com/dirty-pete/dirty-pete-better-than-a-wet-weekend-in-august
[reply][view replies (0)]
Title: My Thoughts On E3
Posted: May 23, 2009 (08:20 AM)
Posted: May 23, 2009 (08:20 AM)
Since reaching peak attendance in 2005 (which was a whopping 50,000 people), E3 has been in decline. This is down to a million things, but the ascension of blogs such as this site are definitely partially to blame. Back in the day, when people built golden statues in Kieron Gillen's image and Ed Zitron could say whatever the Hell he wanted, E3 was massive. This was because it was covered by all the major gaming magazines as a front page story. After all, you were only allowed to attend as press if you actually had some credentials. Any old idiot with a fansite and a 4 megapixel camera couldn't get into the place for free. Nowadays, these sorts of people are event let behind closed doors.
Is that a bad thing? No, but it also means that E3 is now over saturated by those people who can get into 'access all areas' category. Last year I couldn't get onto site which had any sort of relation to gaming without hearing about E3. Therein lies the problem, though. Despite everyone who has ever written professionally attending, the developers there chose to showcase very little, making going to be a bit of a waste for any big-time journalists.
In part, this is because that developer studios and their PR companies realise that if the game is decent enough, they could launch it at any time and still create a bit of a fuss. The advent of solid blogs and websites that run in real-time (instead of being updated monthly) help make this happen. No one needs to go to a glorified hypefest (for lack of a better word) when they can hear about the latest releases at home, on the Internet, for free.
So why do so many people attend PAX, which has many similarities to E3? PAX has been able to not only provide something for exhibitors, but also for the every-man who pays to attend. There's a whole community atmosphere there and brings novelties (such as nerdcore MCs and machinima showings) that E3 simply have been unable to provide. E3 are still working in the Dark Ages, actively encouraging their exhibitors to show off their new games to journalists (in the vaguest sense of the word) behind closed doors, and let them report back to their respective sites. But doesn't this ruin the point of inviting the general public, who sometimes spend hundreds of pounds to attend? E3's exhibitors should open their doors and give something for everyone, not just people they want to suck up to.
Either that or the ESA should find something better to spend their money on.
Mood: Happy
Game of the Day: Waiting for the Champions Online preview to download, to review for HG!
Song of the Day: The RPS Podcast
[reply][view replies (2)]
Title: About Me
Posted: March 20, 2009 (06:23 AM)
Posted: March 20, 2009 (06:23 AM)
See side-bar for my reviews ->
My name's Scott Constantine.
I'm a rather profilic writer.
I specialise in FPSes and strategies.
I'm English.
Other sites I contribute to:
The Three Rs: Staff member and one of the team of core writers. Over 800 posts about pop-culture and news spanning two years. Well worth a read, if only for the corny prose.
Game Revolution: I was considering posting a lot of the articles from GR onto my HG account, when I realised that it was far easier to keep my layout here nice and simple. Most of my stuff on there are knocks at the industry and videogame journalism, so it would be rather ironic to post the content on a site which I write about games for. Some thought-provoking content, albeit it badly formatted.
Housexclusive: Housexclusive is a nightlife brand soon to be premiering on the Leeds socialite scene. At least that's what the site claims. Amongst press relations and promotions, I also am proof-reader for the site.
Mood: Productive.
Game of the Day: Many. I love 360 titles. But usually you'll find me on World of Warcraft: Melaisis, Alliance, Defias Brotherhood EU.
Song of the Day: There's two genres I really like: Trace-Dance (Van Dyk, Teddybears STHLM, Guetta) and 'Bubblegum Rock' (OK Go, Relient K, Theory of a Deadman)
My name's Scott Constantine.
I'm a rather profilic writer.
I specialise in FPSes and strategies.
I'm English.
Other sites I contribute to:
The Three Rs: Staff member and one of the team of core writers. Over 800 posts about pop-culture and news spanning two years. Well worth a read, if only for the corny prose.
Game Revolution: I was considering posting a lot of the articles from GR onto my HG account, when I realised that it was far easier to keep my layout here nice and simple. Most of my stuff on there are knocks at the industry and videogame journalism, so it would be rather ironic to post the content on a site which I write about games for. Some thought-provoking content, albeit it badly formatted.
Housexclusive: Housexclusive is a nightlife brand soon to be premiering on the Leeds socialite scene. At least that's what the site claims. Amongst press relations and promotions, I also am proof-reader for the site.
Mood: Productive.
Game of the Day: Many. I love 360 titles. But usually you'll find me on World of Warcraft: Melaisis, Alliance, Defias Brotherhood EU.
Song of the Day: There's two genres I really like: Trace-Dance (Van Dyk, Teddybears STHLM, Guetta) and 'Bubblegum Rock' (OK Go, Relient K, Theory of a Deadman)
[reply][view replies (0)]
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