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Really weird stuff going down at OnLive today. The valuable assets were transferred to a new company leaving the old one as a shell to stiff creditors. All employees laid off and their stock options nullified. Sounds incredibly shady, but also apparently legal in CA(?). I feel bad for the employees who signed on in the hopes of cashing out when the company eventually is bought, only to have the rug pulled out from under them like this (not to mention the investors!). Edit: Broader games forum dedicated thread here.
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Aug 18, 2012 01:55
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DancingMachine posted:Really weird stuff going down at OnLive today. 
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Aug 18, 2012 05:11
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Does this mean Gaikai wins? Personally I'm pretty disappointed. Cloud gaming seems to be a great way to get rid of the hardware hassle and at the same time make our audience much more universal. My main worry is that if cloud gaming can't take off then the price of hardware will continue gaming being marginalized versus other forms of entertainment.
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Aug 19, 2012 02:24
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cgeq posted:Does this mean Gaikai wins? Personally I'm pretty disappointed. Cloud gaming seems to be a great way to get rid of the hardware hassle and at the same time make our audience much more universal. My main worry is that if cloud gaming can't take off then the price of hardware will continue gaming being marginalized versus other forms of entertainment. Gaikai is similar tech, but doesn't have the same requirement of there being a hub extremely close by (largely by virtue of not being sold as a console replacement for core gamers - they're more able to tolerate lag). Thus, it can scale pretty well to any number of consumers spread across the US / other regions. The only way OnLive is viable is in a world where everyone has fiber. Even then, only if they're partnered with one of the major ISPs / backbone companies, so as to more closely integrate their computing hubs with the net. It's interesting, compelling tech, but they were 10 or more years more too soon. EDIT: VV Nope. They'd still die. The only way OnLive wins is if they effectively become Gaikai after suing them out of existence. Which, to be fair, is entirely possible. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Aug 19, 2012 |
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Aug 19, 2012 05:28
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Onlive will still win if their plan to sue Gaikai out of existence actually works.
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Aug 19, 2012 05:31
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The funny thing is, I know the guy who started Gaikai, and he still got $380M for selling the company, so all that suing stuff is Sony's problem now...
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Aug 19, 2012 07:36
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GetWellGamers posted:The funny thing is, I know the guy who started Gaikai, and he still got $380M for selling the company, so all that suing stuff is Sony's problem now... David Perry also has a good understanding of the industry from both a gamer's and a business perspective. It's an intangible, but it goes a long way towards developing technology that will both be profitable and sustainable.
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Aug 19, 2012 12:31
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icking fudiot posted:So, yeah.. I turned down an interview with Natural Motion. 
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Aug 19, 2012 12:34
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So I could use a bit of career advice. The small game startup I was working for abruptly shut down at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately, there are no other studios in my city and on top of that I'm not able to relocate for roughly 8 months. I've found another local tech job doing programming, which unsurprisingly will pay better then my previous position. So my current plan is to work there for the next 8 months then try to find a studio to relocate to when I'm able. My question is how badly will this non-game related programming position hurt my resume during my future job search? If it makes a difference, I've been doing full time game development for 5 years now.
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Aug 20, 2012 23:24
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GoleX posted:My question is how badly will this non-game related programming position hurt my resume during my future job search? Not in the slightest I'd imagine. You've already got 5 years experience going for you. And you're programming, better than working retail as it means you're still coding and keeping your skills sharp.
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Aug 20, 2012 23:39
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http://kotaku.com/5936142/diablo-iii-interview-leads-to-unexpected-facebook-bitching Even if you're a lead designer in Blizzard, don't be "That Guy". Basically David Brevik, ex cofounder of Blizzard North says criticisms of Diablo 3 in an actually not a terribly mean way and developers of D3 get all in a puff and go on Facebook to say "gently caress that loser". Developers, please stop saying dumb poo poo on public forums. We all know the game you made is your baby and you're understandably attached to it, but sometimes you just got to let it go.
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Aug 20, 2012 23:46
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endlosnull posted:http://kotaku.com/5936142/diablo-iii-interview-leads-to-unexpected-facebook-bitching Hahaha, oh lord, those D3 guys should really harden the gently caress up. You probably shouldn't post on any kind of public facing anything if you can't even handle minorly negative comments.
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Aug 21, 2012 00:01
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GoleX posted:So I could use a bit of career advice. The small game startup I was working for abruptly shut down at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately, there are no other studios in my city and on top of that I'm not able to relocate for roughly 8 months. Like Aliginge says: a heck of a lot less than not working at all. Somebody currently working in games will look slightly more attractive than somebody who recently worked in games and is still programming professionally. But not by a lot. With 5 years of experience you shouldn't have too much trouble.
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Aug 21, 2012 00:57
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endlosnull posted:http://kotaku.com/5936142/diablo-iii-interview-leads-to-unexpected-facebook-bitching Just to play devil's advocate: what Brevik said was pretty inflammatory. He basically said "all the talent left, the guys left building D3 were talent-less hacks." That's pretty nasty even if it's accurate, and more than likely it isn't accurate. It's not the designers' and developers' fault if the business end puts a bunch of bad requirements on the game design. That happens all the time. You can blame the designers and devs for not quitting in protest or something, but that's a pretty high standard to hold people to.
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Aug 21, 2012 01:07
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I think you're exaggerating what Brevik actually said. More accurately, he said that the majority of the talent who had experience with this type of game weren't there, and that the difference in design philosophy was a product of that. He didn't imply they weren't talented, just that they weren't experienced with the type of game they were trying to create. I could see that as a dig against the management who assigned the D3 team, but not the designers themselves.
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Aug 21, 2012 01:21
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DancingMachine posted:Just to play devil's advocate: what Brevik said was pretty inflammatory. He basically said "all the talent left, the guys left building D3 were talent-less hacks." That's pretty nasty even if it's accurate, and more than likely it isn't accurate. It's not the designers' and developers' fault if the business end puts a bunch of bad requirements on the game design. That happens all the time. You can blame the designers and devs for not quitting in protest or something, but that's a pretty high standard to hold people to. The questions posed to Brevik were pretty inflammatory. The interviewer really wanted him to say that Diablo 3 sucked. Brevik's answers seemed incredibly diplomatic, given the questions. I like the "don't worry, you made the fastest selling PC game of all time" comment. Lots of people buying a game on its release day is truly an indicator of the quality of said game, not the marketing. It's especially not an indicator of the incredible anticipation for a sequel whose previous installment was over a decade old.
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Aug 21, 2012 01:28
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Would be nice to have the interview linked, and not surprisingly, the linked article failed to source it. http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/interview-diablo-creator-david-brevik-discusses-his-feelings-on-diablo-3
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Aug 21, 2012 01:50
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Fun part about not really visiting LinkedIn more than once every few months: After catching up today I now have a massive amount of updates including half a dozen new recruiters, a couple of recommendations, and tons of connects in general. Senior management is SO gonna think I'm fishing around. I've decided to be more pleased than worried.
Vinterstum fucked around with this message at 01:58 on Aug 21, 2012 |
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Aug 21, 2012 01:56
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Luke Plunkett of Kotaku posted:Nevertheless, because I didn't get a chance to see Wilson's post there myself, I've contacted Blizzard for comment, and will update if we hear back. That seems like kind of a low blow. Oh video game journalism, this is why we can't have nice things.
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Aug 21, 2012 06:01
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Just saw this for all the California devs- nice bit of humanity: Cal Lab Code § 1401 (2012) § 1401. Notice requirements for mass layoff, relocation, or termination (a) An employer may not order a mass layoff, relocation, or termination at a covered establishment unless, 60 days before the order takes effect, the employer gives written notice of the order to the following: (1) The employees of the covered establishment affected by the order. (2) The Employment Development Department, the local workforce investment board, and the chief elected official of each city and county government within which the termination, relocation, or mass layoff occurs. (b) An employer required to give notice of any mass layoff, relocation, or termination under this chapter shall include in its notice the elements required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2101 et seq.). (c) Notwithstanding the requirements of subdivision (a), an employer is not required to provide notice if a mass layoff, relocation, or termination is necessitated by a physical calamity or act of war. Of course, this place being what it is, I'm wondering if they get away with, like, firing five employees every day for a week or something, or somehow otherwise abuse the definition of "Mass" firings.
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Aug 21, 2012 10:42
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endlosnull posted:http://kotaku.com/5936142/diablo-iii-interview-leads-to-unexpected-facebook-bitching They probably wouldn't have been as defensive if people were happy with Diablo 3. Activity for that game at least within my social circle fell off the face of the word a week after release.
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Aug 21, 2012 11:16
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GetWellGamers posted:Just saw this for all the California devs- nice bit of humanity: I got a nice extended notice when they closed my part of Vivendi down. Score one for CA law.
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Aug 21, 2012 11:24
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Any Creative Assembly guys here? I noticed they're looking for a character modeler for the Total War series and making historical units is pretty much my dream job.
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Aug 21, 2012 11:43
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concerned mom posted:Any Creative Assembly guys here? I noticed they're looking for a character modeler for the Total War series and making historical units is pretty much my dream job. I know an artist there, I can forward you on if you like. hit me at my username at gmail dot com
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Aug 21, 2012 12:19
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GetWellGamers posted:Just saw this for all the California devs- nice bit of humanity: Not sure which 'this place' you're referring to, but usually if a company is large enough to need to comply with the WARN act (b. above) they're already large enough to know not to gently caress around trying to skate around it.
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Aug 21, 2012 14:38
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Monster w21 Faces posted:They probably wouldn't have been as defensive if people were happy with Diablo 3. I'd be really curious to see what the player count has been like since release. The same thing happened with my group of friends.
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Aug 21, 2012 15:32
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I didn't even make it past level 30 or so. With 1 character. 
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Aug 21, 2012 15:42
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Was it really that bad? These days, my PC might as well be an indie game console with a hard wire to Valve HQ. I just... couldn't bring myself to care about Diablo III, given that it looked like a graphical overhaul of II + monetization out the ying-yang.
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Aug 21, 2012 15:57
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It was an extremely solid, well polished game. But I think at this point, everyone has had their fill of Diablo and knockoffs, thanks to Torchlight, Titan Quest, etc. It probably doesn't help that these knockoffs had far more character customization than Diablo 3 had. Sure, it wasn't nearly as balanced, but at least you had to make choices that meant something.
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Aug 21, 2012 16:01
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I would never in a million years call the game bad, especially if you separate the always-online crap. My playthrough of it lasted dozens of hours, and I loved the set pieces and had a blast. I even played online a bit. What was so surprising about it is how quickly it goes from "Woo! This is fun!" to dead nothing. The way they had tried to set up the "end game" stuff, I think, just didn't jive with people or today's gamers are different or the grindy grindy stuff has finally gotten universally old or something. The point is, I feel I got my money's worth and for sure enjoyed the experience, so I'm not really complaining, but there's definitely a brick wall at the end of the Diablo 3 rollercoaster.
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Aug 21, 2012 16:06
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I never played Diablo 1 or 2 so I don't really have anything to compare Diablo 3 to other than WoW. Whilst they are completely different games, they do have some things in common. They are RPG based, they have characters with progression, drops, dungeons, abilities etc. I think I got to about level 30 and I realised that the story wasn't compelling enough to be the driving factor for me, the gameplay was really good fun but as I was playing solo it felt a bit isolated, and I had no real desire to play in groups because one of the draws WoW had for me was a permanent world and town hubs where you can show off your hard earned gear (clown suit) and see other people's. The short nature of grouping in Diablo made it feel like a ghost town for me. I know that component has never been a part of Diablo but I think games like WoW have spoiled games like Diablo for me because although it was done exceptionally well, there was no motivation to get anything decent in it because who the hell would see all my ~effort~
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Aug 21, 2012 16:10
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Jan posted:It probably doesn't help that these knockoffs had far more character customization than Diablo 3 had. Sure, it wasn't nearly as balanced, but at least you had to make choices that meant something. I don't think D3 would have been a better or more successful game if it had forced players to start from scratch if they made a mistake with their character or wanted to try something new. Really, it's skill system is probably one of its best features. I think most people probably played D3 as much as they played D2, and the really hardcore set is still playing D3. After it's had an expansion or two maybe it'll have the same lifespan as D2 was. So it's hard to say it wasn't a successful game, unless your expectations were that everyone would be playing it for 100+ hours. That would be kind of silly. The other factor is that I think that particular genre has been kind of done to death and D3 brought little new to the table aside from a lot of polish. Genres definitely have lifespans and the clicky ARPG may be going the way of the hex-based wargame.
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Aug 21, 2012 16:16
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Shalinor posted:Was it really that bad? The base game was fun for a bit, but I've got some major gripes about it. The biggest problems I have with the game itself are that it is too short, you level too quickly, the story is awful, and the auction house kills any desire to grind for things. But more than anything else, the always online thing kills it for me. Lag in single payer, can't always play when I want (like if I'm traveling), can't pay on my LAN, and the stupidity of having to log in to a sever to play a game alone( I can forgive that for steam, most of the time, due to offline mode)
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Aug 21, 2012 16:32
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endlosnull posted:http://kotaku.com/5936142/diablo-iii-interview-leads-to-unexpected-facebook-bitching You're right about watching what you say in a public space, and Jay's comment was out of line. I'm not a fan of Brevik posting his article either. We never saw Jay chime in on Dawn of War II publicly, and that was a sequel to a game he was central in creating. I know how we would have reacted if he had, and it wouldn't have been that different, at least privately. It may have been a politely worded article, but that just makes it a politely worded dick move.
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Aug 21, 2012 16:37
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To be fair, Jay Wilson was commenting on someone's private Facebook wall post, not a public forum. Unfortunately, said person's wall posts are viewable by friends of friends instead of being more restricted. Yes, people should watch what they say and be aware of FB's privacy settings before posting or commenting, but it was just a bunch of co-workers grousing about something they took to be an attack on them in what they thought was a "safe" space.
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Aug 21, 2012 16:45
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Juc66 posted:The base game was fun for a bit, but I've got some major gripes about it. My experience was exactly the opposite of this. One play-through of the game wasn't too long, you gained new abilities to try out at a brisk pace as you leveled up, the story was easily forgettable after you had seen it once and the auction house allowed you to use looted gold to always have good gear despite the randomness of the loot drops. Servers melting at the launch was annoying but to offset that because everyone is always online you could drop straight into a friend's game as soon as you logged in, which was pretty great.
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Aug 21, 2012 21:43
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So apparently there were more layoffs, at Pop-cap Seattle this time, wtih 50 people gone and possibly closing down two other studios: http://blog.popcap.com/2012/08/21/popcap-update-from-john-vechey/
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Aug 21, 2012 21:46
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Today was fun, we spent half of the day giggling at a video that leaked of our competitor's gameplay 
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Aug 22, 2012 04:18
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crazylakerfan posted:Today was fun, we spent half of the day giggling at a video that leaked of our competitor's gameplay Details? I'd love to know if the leak is public knowledge.
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Aug 22, 2012 04:21
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Edit: Megashark raises a good point
The Glumslinger fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Aug 22, 2012 |
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Aug 22, 2012 04:24
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