User information for hyperwired

Real Name
hyperwired
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hyperwired
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Signed On
July 19, 2012
Total Posts
9 (Suspect)
User ID
57498
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9 Comments. 1 pages. Viewing page 1.
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1.
 
Re: TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT Launch Issues
Jul 22, 2015, 05:56
1.
Re: TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT Launch Issues Jul 22, 2015, 05:56
Jul 22, 2015, 05:56
 
At least the release wasn't as badass Batman
14.
 
Re: Planetary Annihilation Kickstart
Sep 14, 2012, 01:38
14.
Re: Planetary Annihilation Kickstart Sep 14, 2012, 01:38
Sep 14, 2012, 01:38
 
I called it :). Hit 2M with 14 hours to go
1.
 
Re: etc., etc.
Sep 10, 2012, 21:48
1.
Re: etc., etc. Sep 10, 2012, 21:48
Sep 10, 2012, 21:48
 
Hmmm... might try playing some manhunt then going to the gym. Although I doubt it'll do much for someone already fairly desensitized to pixelated violence. I bet the study was done on primarily casual and non gamers.
55.
 
Re: Torchlight 2 Next Month
Sep 1, 2012, 10:42
55.
Re: Torchlight 2 Next Month Sep 1, 2012, 10:42
Sep 1, 2012, 10:42
 
WaltC wrote on Sep 1, 2012, 00:54:
WarpCrow wrote on Aug 31, 2012, 10:55:
InBlack wrote on Aug 31, 2012, 10:20:
I tried GW2 at my store today. Aside from the pretty graphics it plays and feels exactly like WoW. Somehow I thought it was going to be more Diablo-esque. Oh well.

I'm not sure how you got that impression. They're utterly different games in many ways; they just happen to belong to the same genre. It's a bit like saying BF3 and CoD feel exactly the same because they're both multiplayer FPS with a leveling system and a similar setting.

Torchlight surprised the heck out of me in how much like Diablo 2 it was/is--the music, the pacing, the voicing--almost everything--it's D2 down to its nubs...;) I liked Torchlight for that because it brought back great memories of D2 so long ago...I was very disappointed to see that D3 was Diablo in name only--didn't buy it and won't play it as I'm no pirate. There's only one thing I hate more than "always online" game designs (because Murphy's Law will always manage to screw things up), and that's...

Cartoon computer games! Argghghghghggjh! Aiyee-ee-e! Ugh-up-chuck! Eeeeeoooowwww!

From what little I've seen of T2 up to now I'm not sure if it's a cartoon or it isn't. T1 definitely wasn't. I did look at an early trailer for T2, and like Borderlands it looks (to me) ridiculously cartoonish--a style I really hate in computer games because it makes me feel as if I am being pandered to in the worst way: as if I am a baby doing a number in my swaddled diapers who still gets a kick out of the Cartoon Network, worships Sponge Bob, and sniffs his tightly clenched, fragrant "boo blanket" while sucking and gnawing his thumb down to the bone!...;)

That's a bit over the top, I know, but I really don't like the cartoon style in computer-game artwork--it very nearly offends me, and that's saying something because I am not easily offended at all. It's like "Wot? You want me to buy this tot's toy, this "play Army" cartoon crammed full of utterly unbelievable explosions in the name of pumping up 'PhysX' while deflating the player's gray matter--you want me to buy that? Wot's that? And you want me to pay $50 for the privilege?" "OK, tell you what...I think I can reach my shotgun in the den inside my locked gun display case in about...oh, 12.657 seconds, as mad as you've made me, because I have the key in my hand right now and the gun is loaded!" (Bad policy, I know.) "So I think if you start right now you can make the door and clear the yard before my artificially rusted and poisoned buckshot penetrates your--" (The guy is gone in a flash and I relax thinking how close I came to doing something really stoopid!)

So you see where I am on Borderlands. I hope that T2 is no cartoon and carries on in the inimitable style of D2 and Torchlight! I pray that Travis has resisted the urge to ruin his franchise by making it all "new and improved"! So new and improved, in fact, that it doesn't resemble his other games, which are sacred and revered.

Let us pray for sanity and depth among game developers. I curse thee, cartoon, and consign thee to the lowest level of hell's hottest dungeons where you shall dwell in great, steaming piles of baby poop until you are dead.

(Gosh, I'm emotional about this, I guess)

I can tell you as a game developer why a lot more games these days are cartoonish ("Non Photorealistic Rendering" or "NPR", commonly but incorrectly called "cel-shading").

Cartoonish graphics are faster to create. Chunky character silhouettes are easier to model and animate. You can basically get away with a lot less art asset time investment. Thats why a lot of studios are going this path... it lets you be lazy.

Fine detail take more time and skill, and is MUCH harder to get to look good. Furthermore you can get away with requiring less powerful hardware and saving video memory since the shaders are more lightweight and the textures can be easily compressed.

However there are some positive gameplay side effects of cartoonish style over photorealistic; mostly centered around readability. You can more quickly "read" what is going on in a busy screen when you have striking silhouettes and bold colors. Its much harder (a finer balancing act) to make a photorealistic game read well, especially those with grim/dark visual themes (where its mostly grey and brown).

Another factor is that with the mobile and casual gaming boom, a lot of developers are trying to have broad appeal and make it more accessible to a wider audience. This is the whole core vs casual argument, and I wont even go there except for saying that the "core" audience is usually worse off. And most sane developers want greater rewards for their work (as would anyone if given the opportunity). Very few fore-go extra monetization strategies for the sake of maintaining purity for the core audience.

I agree with you though. But it makes it less painful to know that there are a lot of cost, balance and market related factors around it - its not just done at whim, and there is reasoning behind it.

TLDR: its just cost-cutting.

This comment was edited on Sep 1, 2012, 10:48.
13.
 
Re: Planetary Annihilation Kickstart
Aug 16, 2012, 21:56
13.
Re: Planetary Annihilation Kickstart Aug 16, 2012, 21:56
Aug 16, 2012, 21:56
 
Prediction: this is going to go way over, past 2 million dollars.
40.
 
Re: Diablo III 1.04 This Month
Aug 12, 2012, 22:07
40.
Re: Diablo III 1.04 This Month Aug 12, 2012, 22:07
Aug 12, 2012, 22:07
 
s1mon75 wrote on Aug 11, 2012, 19:33:
hyperwired wrote on Aug 11, 2012, 04:45:
Duh. Way to oversimplify it.

I like my steel swords; I'm a bit of a collector, but there aren't many craftsmen who make them any more; lately more and more people are getting into swordfighting and are taking preference to wooden swords which are easier to start with and more suited to casual bouts. I'm happy for them because swordfighting is gaining popularity and they are enjoying a fine sport and honing their swordsmanship. Hell, every now and then I use a wooden sword just for the change and its refreshing.

But what is starting to happen is that now its very hard to find a craftsman making new steel swords; since the majority of the new generation of swordfighters are quite content with wooden swords, the demand for wooden swords has skyrocketed. Its quite possible that later they prefer steel swords (if there are any left to find) as they experiment a bit. Who knows?

I dont judge them; my preference is simply for steel swords. Even if I try to get a new steel sword made, the craftsmen are using wooden parts as part of the structure, at first it was just the hilt, but now a blade itself which merely has a steel wire running through is sold as a steel sword; it has become very hard to find a place to get a new one made in the old style, which was once very popular but now seems to be dying.

Of course I feel a bit frustrated; But its not fair to blame the new generation that prefer wooden swords (for a lot of them its all they know). Who can I blame?

Of the steel swordfighhters and collectors, many have quit. Others have let their frustrations show. Most are quietly waiting, clinging on to the few craftsmen they can trust to not add wood to steel; hoping for a resurgence of steel.


I like it, but as a history buff and sword collector myself there is one issue I have with whats written above.

Arguably the best swordsman to ever walk the earth in Japan is Miyamoto Musashi. He is the man who wrote the Book of Five Rings, a book well worth reading. After he killed enough people, he decided to arm himself with two Bokken, wooden swords. He never once lost a fight.

A swordsman doesnt need steel to be deserving of the namesake.

Cool info - I'm no buff; but I knew this analogy would be taken too literally :S. Oh well, It was worth a try.
24.
 
Re: Diablo III 1.04 This Month
Aug 11, 2012, 04:45
24.
Re: Diablo III 1.04 This Month Aug 11, 2012, 04:45
Aug 11, 2012, 04:45
 
Graham wrote on Aug 11, 2012, 00:13:
How fucking dare you? Seriously, what is this?

You come on this board, in this space, and claim to be enjoying yourself in a game that we don't approve of? Fuck you. Fuck everything you stand for. This game didn't meet the expectations of the thin edge of the wedge, and for that, it's a failure. Despite the fact that it set record sales, and despite the fact that enough people are still playing to bitch in an epic fashion, you're WRONG WRONG WRONG.

And you're a horrible person for having a good time with it, you filthy fucking casual. Your entertainment is invalid. Your joy? Non-existant. From now on you'd better fucking check in with us on how to feel before you feel it, lest you post something here that we don't like. THEN... THEN you will see what a stern talking to really is.

Duh. Way to oversimplify it.

I like my steel swords; I'm a bit of a collector, but there aren't many craftsmen who make them any more; lately more and more people are getting into swordfighting and are taking preference to wooden swords which are easier to start with and more suited to casual bouts. I'm happy for them because swordfighting is gaining popularity and they are enjoying a fine sport and honing their swordsmanship. Hell, every now and then I use a wooden sword just for the change and its refreshing.

But what is starting to happen is that now its very hard to find a craftsman making new steel swords; since the majority of the new generation of swordfighters are quite content with wooden swords, the demand for wooden swords has skyrocketed. Its quite possible that later they prefer steel swords (if there are any left to find) as they experiment a bit. Who knows?

I dont judge them; my preference is simply for steel swords. Even if I try to get a new steel sword made, the craftsmen are using wooden parts as part of the structure, at first it was just the hilt, but now a blade itself which merely has a steel wire running through is sold as a steel sword; it has become very hard to find a place to get a new one made in the old style, which was once very popular but now seems to be dying.

Of course I feel a bit frustrated; But its not fair to blame the new generation that prefer wooden swords (for a lot of them its all they know). Who can I blame?

Of the steel swordfighhters and collectors, many have quit. Others have let their frustrations show. Most are quietly waiting, clinging on to the few craftsmen they can trust to not add wood to steel; hoping for a resurgence of steel.

5.
 
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops II Trailer
Jul 19, 2012, 21:57
5.
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops II Trailer Jul 19, 2012, 21:57
Jul 19, 2012, 21:57
 
Beamer wrote on Jul 19, 2012, 09:52:
hyperwired wrote on Jul 19, 2012, 09:01:
The real talent are the artists and programmers grinding away at the bottom, not the fuckwit "designers" and suits that usually screw any potential and dont do any real work (unless you call wanking each other off about how similar "games" and "movies" are (they are not) and how their vision of the game is so orgasmically good).

You've never had a real job, eh?

Yes I have worked in the industry so I know first hand how it goes. Game/(3D)Film industry seems like its run by children that act on whim. While these industries rake in a lot of money, lot of the players generally treat its labour resources quite poorly. Its all about names and networking (i.e. who you know, and who recommends you). Obviously there are exceptions, but they are few and far between.

I've had multiple real jobs. Don't be so sure of yourself.
1.
 
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops II Trailer
Jul 19, 2012, 09:01
1.
Re: Call of Duty: Black Ops II Trailer Jul 19, 2012, 09:01
Jul 19, 2012, 09:01
 
The real talent are the artists and programmers grinding away at the bottom, not the fuckwit "designers" and suits that usually screw any potential and dont do any real work (unless you call wanking each other off about how similar "games" and "movies" are (they are not) and how their vision of the game is so orgasmically good).
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