The Paradox of Achievements

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Category: Pixel Kings

Published on Wednesday, 07 March 2012 14:41

Written by John Oliver Go

Courage, according to a popular adage, is not the absence of fear but acting in spite of fear. In video games, the opposite is true. Gamers obviously do not show fear in taking on video game challenges. This is not because they are courageous or cowardly in real life, but because of how video games are designed from the onset. As an activity, video games are necessarily created with challenge in mind - but also with accessibility. In creating a middle ground between the two, we stood for one of the essential aspects of video games: extra lives. The collateral damage that arises from this decision is the absence of fear, and as such the absence of courage. But we take on the challenge anyway. Why is that?

With this trope of unlimited lives and infinite retries, the fear of failing in a video game is duly eliminated and, if the reward system is satisfying, successfully creates a carrot-and-stick approach in playing a game towards completion. It is challenging because you could die, but it is satisfying because you could still succeed even in death. And far and away, video gamers accomplish so much because of this, more so than what other people accomplish elsewhere. Ironically, they accomplish this even without the necessary values that is required to succeed in real life. Challenge, in video games, is bliss.

Games task you with completing goals and reward you with more story, leveling up, or additional game features - duly tested to be satisfying rewards at the end of the tunnel. And these are goals that are, similar to real life, granted with exceptional determination. However, it is not perseverance that gets us through video game challenges. Perhaps it is addiction. Would you not agree that a video gamer is thinking of something else in accomplishing goals in a virtual world as opposed to something in the real world? Why is the gamer so enthusiastic about getting stronger statistics for his character in Kingdoms of Amalur but less so in getting higher university grades or work performance ratings?

But I digress, perhaps this is stereotyping. But perhaps video games are doing things better than other more pervasive aspects of society. Well, you can't fault a gamer if he could save entire worlds inside his room but can't even get the local government units to act inside his hometown.

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Dancing Towards the Future

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Category: Pixel Kings

Published on Monday, 27 February 2012 11:19

Written by John Oliver Go

Immersion is a tricky concept in video games. Above and beyond graphical and audio fidelity, a game has to play right. But what does this mean precisely? Characters have to act and react as if they were real people. For the player, it is no longer merely enough to just point and shoot. Your character needs to run, dodge, climb, sneak, and generally interact with the environment for the game to pull you into its world. For the world, on the other hand, non-player characters have to react properly to your shenanigans. In a role-playing game, for example, killing someone nearby would assure that pedestrians would stop doing their laundry. For the latter, strong artificial intelligence could veritably serve as an end-all, be-all remedy. For the former, however, things get more interesting. If you are to be immersed in a video game, it necessarily means that your playable character has to be real. But how does this work?

You can kill ANYONE in the game. Just be prepared for a lot of jail time.

In order for your character to feel right, the controls obviously have to feel right. If you press A, your character runs. Press the Right Trigger and he shoots. Click the right mouse button and he aims. On a single video game controller, you have over 20 input options in order for your character to be... a little more realistic. But honestly, it is impossible to do everything a character should do with such a limited control portfolio. A game like Grand Theft Auto sidesteps this issue by not being a true city simulator but a farcical parody of reality (which is why, for all advancements in video game technology, the most meaningful thing you could do to your in-game neighbors is to beat them up and steal their money rather to hug or greet them hello). Anything more complex gets relegated to the cinematic.

For all intents and purposes, video game genres are created not by their worlds, their characters, or even their stories. They are created by what the central character could do with the limited control scheme provided him. This, my dear readers, would be central to how a game could veritably immerse you. Alan Wake could not punch or kick people, but his enemies are ghosts anyway.

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Modern Warfare 3 Comparative Review

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Category: Pixel Kings

Published on Monday, 14 November 2011 16:57

Written by Bim

You knew it was bound to happen. I just had to compare the two, even at the risk of getting trolled hard by fanboys. Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 are two very distinct games, one cannot deny the fact that they're vying for the same market. So, in this review, we'll discuss which game wins me over. Don't worry, I won't come out with a cop out result; there will be a definitive winner. Oh, and I won't be fanboying, either. I played a decent amount of Battlefield 3 and enough Modern Warfare 3 that I believe I can make an unbiased review. I hope I can, at least.

Single Player Campaign

One of the greatest things about the Modern Warfare 3 campaign is the fact that two other Modern Warfare games came before it to establish a mythos. The first two games' superb voice acting and script made the gamer care about the characters. You wanted to know if Soap or Price died; you want to avenge Ghost. If you had played the first two games, you had something to go on.

But even if this was your first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game, you'd still be awestruck. With a full blown World War III raging around your ears, this has got to be the most epic Modern Warfare title ever. You fight in the streets of iconic cities, and this familiarity gives you have a sense of urgency. You know what you need to do and why you need to do it, and you know that you need to do it now. If you don't, more innocent people are going to die. More than fighting to win, you'll be fighting to survive.

So, yes, it feels awesome. But can you understand the story this time around? It makes a little more sense than the Modern Warfare 2 story did, at least. While cliché and convoluted, you can't say it wasn't a fun ride. You felt like Rambo; you felt like James Bond.

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Steam Hacked!

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Category: Pixel Kings

Published on Friday, 11 November 2011 07:58

Written by Bim

So, this happened:

"10 November 2011
Dear Steam Users and Steam Forum Users:

Our Steam forums were defaced on the evening of Sunday, November 6. We began investigating and found that the intrusion goes beyond the Steam forums.

We learned that intruders obtained access to a Steam database in addition to the forums. This database contained information including user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information. We do not have evidence that encrypted credit card numbers or personally identifying information were taken by the intruders, or that the protection on credit card numbers or passwords was cracked. We are still investigating.

We don’t have evidence of credit card misuse at this time. Nonetheless you should watch your credit card activity and statements closely.

While we only know of a few forum accounts that have been compromised, all forum users will be required to change their passwords the next time they login. If you have used your Steam forum password on other accounts you should change those passwords as well.

We do not know of any compromised Steam accounts, so we are not planning to force a change of Steam account passwords (which are separate from forum passwords). However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to change that as well, especially if it is the same as your Steam forum account password.

We will reopen the forums as soon as we can.

I am truly sorry this happened, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

Gabe."

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