Serious query - teach me about games!

COYVB

Doodee wrote: »

I can also give you a background on PopCap who were the largest developer in Ireland before they closed in 2012.

This still makes me sad

And almost everyone I knew working for them in Seattle has since moved on too. It used to be the most awesome studio in the world to visit, particularly in Ireland

krudler

Temptamperu wrote: »

Its a great game but the dude has a point its not a lot of fun.

It is when you get good at it, or helping other players defeat bosses. It's probably the most rewarding game I've ever played.

SeantheMan

bermia wrote: »

Is this playable on PC? It sounds good as an intro.

It is....I highly recommend it

Skerries

If you have a pc you can download and play a lot of great free content, obviously you are going to be limited by what graphics card you have if you even have one.
Steam is a good place to start for free games, games like Black Mesa which is a remake of Half Life or the excellent Team Fortress 2
have a look for online emulators to play some of the older console games
These are some of the best free games recommended here

penev10

macker33 wrote: »

dark souls isnt really a good starting point, the guy will be put off games for life.

You are of course right, Dark Souls would be nigh-on impenetrable for a newcomer to gaming. I'm not sure if that's how I'd present it though. I'd offer it as the zenith of gaming, a game which perfectly demonstrates the unique rewards and experience you can only get from a video game. It aptly shows how aping movies with the use of more and more cinematic techniques is mere window-dressing and that this medium has something more at it's core. Dark Souls has levels of immersion, interaction and involvement that make it, imo, medium defining. In order to appreciate these values you'd definitely need an understanding of the medium as well as the genres involved.

Temptamperu wrote: »

Its a great game but the dude has a point its not a lot of fun.

The medium can never be taken seriously if it is mandatory for games to be fun. What other media are defined by fun. Does the lack of light-hearted pleasure make Schindler's List a bad movie, is 1984 any less a literary work for being so grim, Guernica less of a masterpiece.....

landsleaving

Dark Souls doesn't quite deal with the same themes as Schindler's List, Guernica and 1984 though... If that's what defines gaming as a medium right now, we're a long way off a gaming Guernica.

And yes, I like Dark Souls.

ressem

There's a series of short fast videos on
http://extra-credits.net/episodes/ (youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz/videos)
relating to video game design, topics and culture which would allow the OP to compare and contrast with the film studies experience.

Just browsing through and noting the list of subjects covered might inform about the broad range of gaming and it's community.

It would be a better place to start than the likes of "Indie Game: The movie" which is a light documentary on a group of famous indie developers putting together their games, which focuses heavily on the emotional tortured artists.

What games to start yourself on? Unsure, like most I started with local multiplayer games cooperative and competitive with brothers and neighbours. (Joust, the original and best flappy birds, with pterodactyls) Tastes changed as age caught up.

Varik

You'd probably be better off limiting the scope in regards to gaming, maybe looking at how the middle of the market has completely died.

With rising cost of development and multiple studios closing we're left with the multi-million projects from the big publishers/first party(Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) and the smaller indie games with crowd funding now giving the smaller teams a chance for larger projects.

If you've not got a capable PC then a PS3 and PlayStation plus ( few euro for the rental of a dozen or so games each month) may be a cheap solution to get any experience you may want.

CiDeRmAn

You might want to call into the Arcade and Retro forum, we have a pretty broad spectrum of game and console knowledge that encompasses the entire history of the past time.
Gaming perfection is a such about Pacman and Donkey Kong as it is about Dark Souls and The Last of Us.

CiDeRmAn

landsleaving wrote: »

Dark Souls doesn't quite deal with the same themes as Schindler's List, Guernica and 1984 though... If that's what defines gaming as a medium right now, we're a long way off a gaming Guernica.

And yes, I like Dark Souls.

Spec Ops: The Line, System Shock 2, Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite, Thomas was alone, Rule of Rose, The Last of Us these games are all good examples of the exceptional storytelling function of video games.
Much of the best selling books are in genre fiction and are discounted as having any literary value, but look at Iain M Banks RIP and you'll see work that transcends such small minded considerations.
Gaming will achieve the same recognition of value in time and it really is possible that it already has.

krudler

landsleaving wrote: »

Dark Souls doesn't quite deal with the same themes as Schindler's List, Guernica and 1984 though... If that's what defines gaming as a medium right now, we're a long way off a gaming Guernica.

And yes, I like Dark Souls.

The lore of Dark Souls is fantastic though, just because it's not spoonfed to players through cutscenes and quick time events doesn't mean it isnt there. The story arcs of characters like Artorias, Sif, Siegmeyer, Solair and Pinwheel are brilliant.

I mean you're basically going around slaughtering bosses who are mostly minding their own business or trying to stop you entering areas you shouldn't, and you're not really sure what your goal is or if you're even good or bad most of the game.

macker33

krudler wrote: »

It is when you get good at it, or helping other players defeat bosses. It's probably the most rewarding game I've ever played.

Nah, too much work

IRL_Sinister

If you're looking at the development of gaming and it's impact just look at Warcraft Series from Blizzard (referring to both the RTS and MMO games). They shaped the MMO and RTS genres.

Temptamperu

Micheal Pachter has a show on Gametrailers.com ususally about the business end or what could be on the cards in the future. You could also try Extra Credits where they talk about getting into and the business and techniques used in the videogame industry.

http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/v0uhvg/pach-attack--will-next-gen-games-cost-more-money- Pach Attack

http://extra-credits.net/ Extra-Credits

Hope that helps.

macker33

I wouldnt ask pachter the time of day.

Retr0gamer

I'll echo that as well Pachter is a hack. The only reason people take notice is that he is one of the few analysts of the industry. He's wrong about 99% of the time.

macker33

far as i'm concerned hes the eamonn dunphy of gaming journalism, willing to say anything as long as it gets him exposure.
At least dunphy actually displays some intelligence and wit.

-( i )- Wicker

Since you're studying gaming finance, I would suggest looking at a few different gaming models.

First you have the big budget releases, the likes of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Modern Warfare 3.
Then you have the Indie hits: Minecraft, Super Meat Boy, Braid etc. Definitely check out Indie Game: The Movie (netflix).
There's pay-monthly titles like World Of Warcraft and Starcraft.
And there are Free To Play titles such as League Of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Hearthstone, Path of exile, etc.

I haven't even mentioned mobile games yet but this is a start

IRL_Sinister

-( i )- Wicker wrote: »

Since you're studying gaming finance, I would suggest looking at a few different gaming models.

First you have the big budget releases, the likes of Grand Theft Auto 5 and Modern Warfare 3.
Then you have the Indie hits: Minecraft, Super Meat Boy, Braid etc. Definitely check out Indie Game: The Movie (netflix).
There's pay-monthly titles like World Of Warcraft and Starcraft.
And there are Free To Play titles such as League Of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Hearthstone, Path of exile, etc.

I haven't even mentioned mobile games yet but this is a start

Don't quote Starcraft as a pay-to-play game though as you'll be laughed at for ignorance.

Temptamperu

You could also check out the jimquistion on the escapist. He talks more about Gamers and the industry in general and his reviews are quite good too.

Im not going to defend my using pachter he knows the business better than I and thats kinda what the OP wants. If there is better than him I wouldnt mind a few links either.

Retr0gamer

The problem is pachter doesn't know the industry. He's worse than the sensationalist press jumping on every bandwagon that comes by and spouting sensationalist doom and gloom.

Radiosonde

Retr0gamer wrote: »

There's has never been so much wrong ever written in one sentence. Only some noob with no patience that ran down the wrong road straight into skeleton hell could say that, and if they did they should be shunned, ignored and ridiculed.

penev10 wrote: »

The medium can never be taken seriously if it is mandatory for games to be fun. What other media are defined by fun. Does the lack of light-hearted pleasure make Schindler's List a bad movie, is 1984 any less a literary work for being so grim, Guernica less of a masterpiece.....

It's Chris Nolan all over again. Fanboys start evangelising and wreck it for the rest of us. As I saw someone say on Twitter a while back, the problem with the games as art debate is so few gamers seem to know much about the latter.

OP, there have been studies written on the industry before. Here's one but from a few years back: linky

nesf

penev10 wrote: »

The medium can never be taken seriously if it is mandatory for games to be fun. What other media are defined by fun. Does the lack of light-hearted pleasure make Schindler's List a bad movie, is 1984 any less a literary work for being so grim, Guernica less of a masterpiece.....

Mandatory fun is a mainstream thing. You can dig around in the indie games to find some very dark, grim or just plain "is this a game?" kind of stuff. It's no different in any other medium, the vast, vast majority of mainstream stuff isn't what one would seriously consider art as opposed to entertainment. It's also important to remember the interactive element of games which sets them apart from mediums were one "merely" experiences or interprets.

bermia

Cheers all. OP here. I have the Aphra Kerr book mentioned a few posts up. Great advice from all and some really good points raised. It's great to get an insider view from gamers.