Wednesday, March 18, 2015

2.) How Destiny Can be Improved

       Hello again my fellow gamers! If you haven't heard, there have been rumors about a sequel to Destiny floating around the web. First I'd like to start off by saying, if this is true, my hope is that character progression will carry over from Destiny to the sequel. My goal with this next blog post is to not rant but to discuss respectfully and professional as possible solutions as to how the game can be improved. I want to highlight key points Angry Joe as well as VideogameDunkey made in their reviews of Destiny and brainstorm ideas to make the game better.








WHAT DESTINY DID RIGHT

1.) Opening Intro: The intro of Destiny did an excellent job of luring players into the game. Your created character comes back from the dead by the grace of the Traveler. The Traveler is a large mysterious orb whose origins are unknown. As that Traveler arrived, it made miracles happen such as longer human life-spans, advance space travel, and the teraforming of various planets in our solar system. Aliens and dark evil forces shows up shortly after and destroys most of our shit leaving one last remaining city. Its now up to you and the other players to push back against the Darkness and reclaim the galaxy. Sounds awesome right?


2.) Great combat and gun-play: It is excellent. It immediately feels familiar to Halo players with a new added dimension of verticality and mobility. There is this awesome double-jumping and jetpacks and quick nimble sparrows. You'll be zipping through the streets and jumping on top of structures.


3.) Phenomenal Music: The music in Destiny is incredible. I want the soundtrack! Where is the soundtrack? Why can't I buy it? The music sometimes completely outshines the action.


4.) Amazing Art!: The art team behind Destiny rocks! They did their jobs in flying color and went above and beyond. I loved being on the moon, looking up into the sky and seeing the International Space Station floating in space in pieces (only in the game of course). The lighting is spectacular and the terrain has so much intricate detail. I wish I could explore the moon more fully instead of having to turn back. There is dynamic weather, a day-and-night cycle, incredible scenic views and overall the graphics are very detailed.



IMPROVEMENTS TO DESTINY THUS FAR

Increased Vault Space
The vault space currently is not as limited sense release and it currently contains 20 item slots, 20 weapon slots, and 20 armor slots. This is great for players who want to collect every emblem and exotic weapon in the game. Bungie might announce more vault space in future updates.



FEATURES I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN DESTINY 2

1.) More Story
            As Angry Joe stated, Destiny lacked competent story-telling. Sadly, the intro to the game tells us more about the game than anything else. Players have a right to be upset while having paid for expansions because it does not excuse the missing content and unsatisfying story at release. The intro to Destiny tells us more about the game than anything does. Destiny needs to answer the following questions in the game's story that was missing in its predecessor:

  • Who are we?
  • How long have we been dead?
  • Who are the Awoken?
  • What are Exos? Were they built by humans? How are they related to the humanity's plight?
  • If the Traveler can bring back things from the dead, how does he even lose fights?
  • Why can't the Fallen simply attack the Traveler out of low orbit from a distance? The Traveler seems pretty exposed.

The female character in the game who handed us a weapon was very generous but... we don't know her name or anything about her. She didn't want to explain anything even when there was time. The only way to find out is to wait for another expansion in which players will have to pay for.

"Further research indicates that the story to the game was much more substantial at one point. A closed-door group test back in 2013 shows that there was much more. Players expected more with Destiny, so for Destiny 2 a satisfying beginning, middle and end to the game is essential! There is no reason for players to "craft" their own story when the world is empty."
--Angry Joe


Update: Include all of this information in the story and try to tell it through gameplay rather than extensive cut-scenes from the following link.


Which brings me to my next feature.



2.) More Openness to the worlds and Mission Structure
           
The worlds in Destiny were somewhat open but the level design was static and very linear.  The mission design in Destiny is far too repetitive. In short, the mission current structure in Destiny is this:

1.) Go to X
2.) Deploy ghost
3.) Shoot mobs of spawning enemies
4.) Repeat, Repeat and Repeat

       As a result, it made the gameplay feel monotonous and laborious for players. Joe pointed out that Destiny's world doesn't have enough variety to where players want to go back and explore. Players began getting the feeling of dejavu (unless its used intentionally in a creative way). The universe and worlds in Destiny felt so discombobulated rather than contiguous since players moved from place to place via loading screens. Perhaps worst of all are the abundant invisible walls. I well remember Destiny's first public showing at E3 2013, where Bungie representatives stood and looked over the vista beyond the Sky-dome. "And when the game ships, you'll be able to go there," they said, waving to the lands beyond. But in fact if you try to go there you'll fall off a cliff and die. Or you'll step into a forbidden zone where you're told to turn back and with five seconds to comply or die. Even in mission areas, you'll come across doors and passages blocked by misty barriers that scream "content incomplete." Why are we seeing so many artificial barriers in the game when its supposed to be open-world?


"If this is an open world that players can explore, then showcase it to them by at the very least spawning them in different locations on the map. Every level in Destiny starts you in nearly the same spot on every planet!"
--Angry Joe


Solutions
       See my solution to spawning by jumping ahead to feature number 7.


3.) An Accessible In-Game Map 
       It is difficult to know where specific areas are located after your character has touched-down due to the lack of an in-game map. I am not referring to the story quests since the game uses an arrow which blatantly tells players where to go on their mini-map. For example, a full map of the are will help players as they search for dead ghosts. Also, its worth mentioning one major problem area is the game sends players outside of their experience or levels in order to find what's needed to player the game. This wouldn't be as big of an issue if enemies were not completely immune to damage from players who are lower levels than them. An in-game map would help navigate the other planets in the game. In the early days of the loot cave, players had to result to YouTube videos just to locate them.


4.) Multi-Character Vehicles 
       We have seen different vehicles in the multiplayer aspect of the game but not the campaign. Like Halo, Destiny needs vehicles that can hold more than one player. The Sparrow works great to skip over engagements and avoid too much damage. The Pike is a little better, with its cannons and its mines, but it still feels like an upgraded sparrow.  Destiny could really use some vehicles where you can have a gunner and a driver, which has the potential to encourage teamwork. One teammate could be riding shotgun, while another drives and a third teammate mans a cannon or secondary gun. What if Destiny offered more vehicles to fly? Enemies could even have their own vehicle variations but overall adding more vehicles to the game world would give players meaningful avenues towards cooperation. If you have any ideas for vehicles, please feel free to share by commenting below.


5.) Emotions to Characters       
       Joe pointed out that the character you play as had no reaction after being dead for so many years. We need to find ways for players to become really attached and invested into the characters they created.



       Okay... uh, maybe not as emotional as Heavy Rain but it helps get the point across.
Watching that still gives me shivers every time.  



6.) Better Enemy AI & Boss Fights
       VideogameDunkey pointed out that the boss fights in Destiny were "tough" simply because they had a lot of health. This also made the game feel monotonous and laborious for players. He also pointed out how the AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Halo was far more superior than the AI in Destiny. In Destiny, you can pick off an entire squad from long range, while none of them move or react. You could also back around a corner away from an advancing group, and then take them out as they come around the turn one by one, without having to move your sight very much. Patiently sitting back and waiting until the enemy makes a move, whereupon you take your shots in practice, felt more like a shooting gallery with pop-up targets. The real challenge in the game was being overwhelmed by sheer numbers of enemies, or accidentally running into an area that's "too high" for you.

       The end-of-mission bosses I've encountered have a similar lack of depth. If you find a nice piece of cover and park up, the boss often goes into a behavioral loop where you can predict what it's going to do. As long as you sit in a safe area where you can't be hit, and then pop out and rattle off a few shots when the boss has completed its volley, you can rinse/repeat until it's dead. It's a good way to complete the mission, but it's a somewhat hollow victory. A win through repetitive attrition as opposed to a thrilling firefight. (Support this on Bungie.net)


7.) Ability to Pilot Spaceships
       The cool spaceships that our imaginations ran wild with are literally loading screens. Since players have spaceships, give them the option to pilot and fly them around the world. What if players could fly their ships in space? So Bungie could make the fast-traveling flight aspect a loading screen still, but then cut straight to gameplay where players are spawned in space within a certain proximity of the planet. This feature in the game would remove the need to spawn players in set locations. From there in space after the loading screen, players will have free reign as over where to travel. Also, provide players the option to switch between first-person or third-person perspective. They can pilot their ships from space towards the planet and after breaking through the planet's atmosphere, they can further decide where to fly and land safely.

       This would give players a new level of unprecedented freedom as they can pilot their ships and explore; surveying the terrain before landing on the planet's surface and exiting. Players could also have the option to spawn anywhere from space by orbital drops. Giving players the option to drop from their ships, while flying from from low orbit and then landing would be an awesome feature to implement. If a friend or somebody is calling out for help in the midst of a battle and overwhelmed by enemy numbers, an ally could fly and drop in from their ship making an epic entrance. After they exit their ship, what if players had the ability to tell their ship whether to take off and watch from above? If the battle becomes too challenging, to avoid death, give players the option to "call" their ship to come pick them up if they need a rescue. (Support this on Bungie.net)


8.) A Sparrow Racing Mode


       What if players can enter in tournaments with their friend, wherein placing first, second, or third earns the player prizes winnings and unlocks? The sparrow racing mode could feature a variety of tracks spanning several different planets. The environments and weather conditions on the planets could pose challenges for players. Imagine sparrow races where players ride through sand and snow storms. It would be amazing to implement earthquakes and tornadoes occurring around them as players race each other. This would be challenging because it could alter the race routes and change in real-time. With the prize money, players can buy upgrades like weapons and tuning parts for their sparrows. Each sparrow could have its own advantages and drawbacks such as regeneration, handling, speed, acceleration and shielding. The Fallen could impede the progress of the racers. They could loot broken buildings and structure, break into the race on their own sparrows or vehicles, trying to hijack players' sparrows.

       This could be similar the hijack gameplay mechanic in Halo where players were able to kick enemies of their ghosts; stealing their ride. The Fallen could and try to slam racers off the road, and attack racers with firearms. Players can counter by shooting back, slamming in to them or by kicking and punching them if the Fallen enemies get too close to their sparrows. The Fallen could also place sentry turrets that would emerge from underground as racers approach and shoot at them, forcing players to dodge enemy fire. This could be an awesome additional hazard for racers to overcome. XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association is one of my favorite racing games and could serve as a great game reference to draw inspiration from. Now, the Sparrow Racing Mode for Destiny doesn't necessarily need tracks in place because it could be an "open" world racing experience so to speak. The Fallen could place traps on the track for players. (Support this on Bungie.net)




9.) More Functions for your Ghosts
             
As Joe pointed out, one of the downsides to Destiny is that the ghost's sole function is to unlock doors. Unfortunately, your ghost is your only source of information in the game. Although the "Grimoire" and Bungie.net is filled with extensive entries on just about everything you can think of in the game, the problem is that none of it is actually in the game. Joe made a great point stating it would be great if all of it were in the game so that players will begin to care about what they are actually doing in the game and find a sense of purpose. (Support this on Bungie.net)

"Players should not have to leave the game in order to understand what is going on."
--Angry Joe


Ideas for Ghost Functions
       Below is a list of ideas I thought of for Ghosts. If you have any other ideas for Ghosts you would like to share, please comment below and share. 
  1. Ghost Perks: What if you could add perks to your Ghost. By default, your ghost can be a scanner, opening doors and scanning environments. What if you could level up your Ghost? What if your Ghost can be used to scout forward areas, checking ahead for enemies and provide their information and show their stats. Enemy locations could then be noted somehow by markers. Instead of just showing markers, what if Ghosts could map out paths to the objectives for players. What if players could add weapons to their Ghost to spawn when battles get heated. Having a robot sidekick could be very handy.

  2. Ghost Customization: What if players could customize their Ghost? Provide players the option to change the look and voice of their Ghost. Give players the ability to add different skins to their Ghost. As you level up your Ghost, you can change the model of your Ghost. Why should every Ghost look alike? What if player's could give their Ghost personalities? Ghost could be funny and provide a sense of humor in the game. They could be either fully honest or not so honest and depending on their settings. This then results in the type of information players get provided.

  3. Ghost Patrol: What if players could send their Ghost out on a minor mission like mining for resources. There could be a drawback to this such as your Ghost takes damage and players have to go summon him. This could lead to gameplay that feels less repetitive.  


10.) Voice Proximity
            Halo has always had proximity voice chat up until Halo 4. Since players can play with others online in the missions, this feature would be essential. What if you could hear other players within a certain range as you fought the Darkness together? Give players the option to converse with other players via headset if they are in a close enough proximity. When players find themselves within so much distance of a friendly, they can instantly communicate with that person via voice! Once players are within a close enough proximity, give them the option to create a group chat via headset. Then they can hear each other regardless how far apart they are. An idea I have to make the game more challenging is if the player dies, they can no longer be heard by other players until they re-spawn. Communication with other players can be a key factor to successfully completing missions. Being able to call out for help through your voice and have a nearby player appear is great. Players rushing to the rescue feels very much like the kind of gameplay Destiny is aiming for. This could all be possible with a simple Proximity Chat within worlds of Destiny.

            Proximity Chat would be a great feature to implement in multiplayer. When an enemy player is within a certain range, you are able to hear them. Since players can converse with the enemy within a certain range, give players the option to mute them when it gets out of hand. I am aware some gaming platforms provide this feature so it may not be necessary to implement it for the platforms that do. In the settings menu, allow players to turn Proximity Voice Chat on or off. Voice proximity is essential since players have to send chat invites constantly and its not always fun for some players when everyone is in a private party chat. By playing and successfully completing missions together, players can become friends with people they randomly encounter in the game. Voice proximity would also be great to implement at the Tower. It would be interesting if a trade system was created for players at the Tower and if implemented, voice proximity would be key. Players can casually converse with one another without having to be in a mission per say. This will make the game far more social. That's the beauty of voice proximity. (Support this on Bungie.net)


11.) Player 2 Player Trade System
            Here is another excellent point Joe made:

"Why can't players trade in the game? There is stuff I can't even use because I'm a Warlock and not a Titan and my friend gets something for a Hunter and I cannot trade with him?"
--Angry Joe

       While creating a Trade System for players poses a ton of hassle, especially in a market where players can buy and sell gear they collect; this is something Bungie needs to invest in offering. As it stands, the only option for players is to break their rewards down for Legendary marks and upgrade materials. What if after an objective if accomplished, the game provided players the option to either keep the gear they earned or to give it to another member of their team before returning to orbit? Since weapons are class-specific, this would come in handy in situations where players earn gear they already have or simply can't use. It would be challenging for Bungie to create a way to ensure players don't cheat and exploit the system. Certain measures would have to be in place. Maybe only allowing players that completed the objectives together to trade? I don't know, but these are just some thoughts to help make the system fair.


12.) Bigger  Multiplayer Maps and Matches
           
Why can't the multiplayer maps be as open as the maps in the campaign? Players would have so much more freedom and space to navigate. They would have more space to truly utilize the vehicles and plan their attacks. 


13.) Improved Loot & Reward System
            "While you are doing a strike, you would at least think you would earn better loot at the end of them but unfortunately, you don't. Its basically a random number generator at the end of the mission. You might get three times as much loot farming while patrolling then you do at the end of the strike. Does that really sound fun and exciting to you? Replaying the same five missions over and over with these overly long boss battles just to hopefully get lucky to unlock these weapons. Why don't Strike Bosses drop loot?! Maybe that's why players have taken to exploiting the same mobs in key locations that spawn on timers over and over again for however long to find the stuff that they want. That seems more effective and preferable than doing the strikes."
-- Angry Joe


14.) New planets outside of our solar system 


             Destiny would greatly benefit from a dramatic change of scenery. Beautiful environments on the Earth, moon, Mars and Venus left us in awe, but it wasn’t long before we’d seen everything the game had to offer. Bungie needs to stop recycling levels! Recycling the same levels over and over for players with different enemies only works up to a certain point. It only adds to the grind. Destiny could take us to new locations and it would be smart to move beyond our solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are difficult to set missions on since these planets are gas giants, however their moons are up for grabs. Pluto should be an option to explore as well. With limited options, Bungie would be wise to expand throughout the universe. The Hive live on the moon, but did they originate from there? Probably not, and the same holds true for The Vex. This overall would help eliminate the need to jump pack into your ship in between missions, patrols, and other activities which takes players to a planet's surface. Which brings me to my next idea. 


15.) Outer Space Battles 
       We have seen this mechanic by Bungie work well in Halo Reach. Bungie needs to consider adding other main hallmarks of an MMO and sandbox gaming to really open things up for players. Along with planets, battles in space will help add to Destiny being more of an open world experience.


16.) Alien Weapons & A 3rd Heavy Weapon Please  
            Destiny comes with a good selection of Auto Rifles, Shotguns and Hand Cannons, but unlike the Halo series, players cannot pick up alien weaponry. I’d love to see this change in Destiny 2, where Bungie could create guns that fall into these same classes, but provide different types of ammo and abilities.


Weapon Ideas
  • Cryo-Gun: Freeze your enemies
  • Flamethrower: This would be a nice counter to balance the rocket launcher. 


This brings me to my next most wanted feature.  


17.) The Tower, and beyond  
       We’ve spent plenty of time wandering around The Tower, dancing in front of other players, handing engrams to the Cryptarch and perusing available bounties, but it doesn’t take long to see everything it has to offer. That’s why we need not one but at least two safe zones in Destiny 2. Besides, we need a place to get aforementioned alien weaponry and armor, preferably from shady extraterrestrials with no sworn allegiance to our enemies.   


18.) More than three classes 
            It takes time to build the perfect Hunter, Titan or Warlock, and while Destiny’s classes provide somewhat different ways to combat its many foes, we want more. Not exactly sure which direction Bungie would go, but there’s room to become an alien class. This would essentially flip the game upside down, similar to the surprise Arbiter reveal in Halo 2. No need to create a different plot. Your character would simply go rogue and swear allegiance to no one.  


19.) A PC version of the game 
            PC fans still don’t have a port of Destiny to call their own. Odds of receiving one in 2015 are high, most likely with all released downloadable content. If Bungie is actually working on a sequel to Destiny, a PC version needs to release the same day as console.  


20.) Character Re-Customization & More Meaningful Race Options
       Destiny didn't offer an option to go back and make further changes to your character after you've created them. After all, these characters we created are going to stick around for the next ten years! Why can't players change the look, race and possibly gender of their character without having to start over from scratch?


21.) Spaceship and Sparrow Customization
       Players should be able to customize their ships and sparrows to better reflect their characters and their personality similar to their armor.

Examples:

  • Ability to arm your ship and sparrows with shields and weapons. What if players could add a cool turret somewhere?
  • An option to change the color of your ship's and sparrow's thrusters 
  • Customize your paint job with shaders and change its texture 

It would be nice to feel like our rides reflected something about us other than just whether or not we've been lucky enough to find a rare ship while doing patrols.


22.) Shared Bounties 
       If you wind up out patrolling with a friend and they have a (non-exotic) bounty that you don't, they should be able to share that bounty with you and have it turn up in your bounty inventory. You shouldn't have to return to Tower just to get on the same page. This would help eliminate a degree of worry about whether your goals are the same when jumping into a friend's game.


23.) An Inventory Wheel 
       It's difficult for players to access their inventories, especially when under heavy fire on a high-level raid. It would be nice to have an inventory wheel that lets players quickly access different weapon loadouts, ammo packs and other consumables, and check the status on various bounties. There's no reason players should be fiddling with in-game menus while taking damage from enemies. (Support this on Bungie.net)


24.) A Helmet-less Option 
       A Helmet-less Option would be nice! Who wouldn't like to be able to show off their character's haircuts outside of the Tower? To keep things "believable" they can always have players wearing re-breathers over their noses and mouths while gallivanting about on the surface of Mars or the Moon. 


25.) A Way for Players to Pause Themselves
       I am fully aware Destiny is an always-online game. All the same, there simply needs to be some pause option in Destiny. Provide players the option to pause themselves, rather than pausing the game. If you're playing solo, maybe the game just puts your character in an impervious stasis. If you're playing in a group, provide the group the option "vote to pause" and something similar happens where the group is in an impervious stasis. You never no if something might come up and interrupt your game. (Support this on Bungie.net)


WHAT WE CAN DO AS GAMERS

Patience is a Virtue
       If we want Bungie to learn from their mistakes and for Destiny 2 to be a better experience, as gamers we must be patient. We can't expect the artist and developers to make all of these changes over a brief period of time. If a feature is new, they have to test the waters with it to see if it works. So we have to stop asking things like, "So when exactly will Destiny 2 come out?" As players, its easy for us to get excited if a game is too hyped up. We don't want to be left disappointed again and again because the game is under a certain budget and time frame.


Enough with the Fan-Boy-ism
            "Its a 10 year campaign! This isn't all there is!" while having paid expansions and free updates later. That does not excuse the massive amount of missing content and story at release." 
--Angry Joe

       Angry Joe made a valid point here. Destiny felt like an incomplete game missing a tremendous amount of content. 


We Need Stories!
            Should players be left to make up their own stories?

"From gamer to gamer, I have to ask... is this how we should experience our stories in games from now on? Instead of well told crafted stories, we are left to make our own (by killing the same mobs of enemies over and over, who spawn at the same exact locations at the same times)?"
-- Angry Joe


Destiny 2 or DLC: What's Next For Destiny? 






What would you like to see added to Destiny? 
       If there are any features I missed that you would like to see implemented in Destiny, please comment below. Perhaps you can give some insight to new features that weren't in Destiny originally. Also, check out my profile page at Bungie.net to see more features I've added and support.



Wednesday, March 11, 2015

1.) JUDGMENT DAY!


            Welcome ladies and gentlemen to my first blog post. Now, if you read the title and or saw the picture, I am not referring to the bible or the movie Terminator where artificial intelligence becomes self-aware and starts a nuclear strike. No, I am actually referring to the game industry. Is gaming dying? Is the second big gaming crash upon us? There is something that we need to fix. Some of you are probably reading this and thinking, "Wait... there was a crash in the gaming industry? When did this happen?" Allow me to explain.

            Back in the 1980s the gaming industry experienced a huge crash. Basically, long story short, the gaming industry lost consumer confidence and when they could no longer sell the videogames to the consumer, the product became worthless and the entire genre almost died. This led to a bunch of cartridges being buried into the desert because they was simply no way to sell them to the consumer. A lot of the circumstances that were surrounding the original crash are actually beginning to happen today. These exact symptoms are happening right now in the gaming industry. For my first blog post, I want to talk about the potential of that happening, what caused it to happen originally, what similarities there are now and what you can I can do to prevent this (Judgment Day) from happening.  To start off, I will say the gaming industry at the moment at large is doing very well for the most part. The industry is selling millions of copies of a huge variety of different games made by different developers and different publishers.

            As it stands, the gaming industry is probably more profitable then it has ever been. However the exact same thing was true back in the 80s when the initial crash happened. It was a very profitable business, there were consoles in every home and department stores were filled with games. What led to the crash is simply this; there were far too many low-quality videogames and not enough high-quality videogames both for far too much of a price. Ultimately, the consumer lost confidence because of this. Consumers realized not only could money be wasted if they purchased a game that they picked off a shelf, but they had no way of knowing which games were good and which games were bad. So time and time again, they felt burnt and ripped off so gradually they began to turn to other types of entertainment instead. Unfortunately, this stuff sounds awfully familiar to the modern gamer.

            Right now, there is a huge variety of games that have some very hefty price tags and its almost impossible for the modern consumer to figure out which games are worth purchasing and which ones are not worth their time and money. So who is to blame for all of this? The simple answer is all of us, but I will explain it further.


BLAME # 1.) GAMERS (You & I)



            Okay, now many of you are probably reading this thinking, "Oh no he didn't!" Alright, let me explain. As consumers, we ultimately make the decisions whether or not we are aware of it. We also ultimately make the policies, even if we are not directly involved in developing these games. Every time you and I make a purchase, that is a confirmation that what the creators and publishers of that product are doing is somehow right. If you are not skeptical and you don't choose to vote with your wallet then you and I are not the problem. Every time we buy a bad game, or one of these games that are chopped up on micro transactions, or every time we buy a poor sequel, then you and I are part of the problem. So that is the first thing we need to fix.


BLAME # 2.) EA



            Electronic Arts is playing a very pivotal role in eroding consumer confidence. It doesn't really matter which program you point to. Whether its franchises like Madden that continues to be published in worse and worse forms, every time they publish a new game, consumer confidence is being destroyed by EA. With that said, they are certainly not the only AAA developer that is doing this kind of thing. Activision and Blizzard did this with Call of Duty and Diablo 3. Gearbox did this with the Aliens game. There is a huge list of games being published by AAA developers that are not just kind of boring or living up to the hype, but simply just not as fun.






BLAME #3.) The folks over at STEAM


            STEAM allows you to self publish a game and that sounds great until you realize that is what caused the crash in the 1980s. This is similar to the issues surrounding self publishing Xbox Live Indie Games on Xbox 360. Any company who could afford to hire a couple of programmers for a couple of weeks could write any old program, slap it on to a cartridge and self-publish it onto to one of the available systems at the time. There was no checks and balances system so a lot of these games turned out to be not so great. The STEAM Greenlight program does allow small companies and independent developers to design games and self-publish them. Are the games worth their purchase price? That is a hard topic for me to discuss because I myself am an indie developer and some of the most beloved games I have ever played were created by a couple of people in their bedroom and self-published. With that said, I am so grateful to be living in a time where we can do that. Gamers are growing frustrated because they feel as thought they are not getting their money's worth with majority of programs that make it on STEAM as of right now, but I am optimistic that this will change soon.


Motivation for Indies
          If you are self publishing, ask yourself is my game ready to be on the market. Market test your product. Don't give in to the outside pressure from the game community to release your product when you are not fully confident with it; especially if you know it still needs to be further developed. Learn from your mistakes after your game has been out for a bit and create patches and game updates. Try not to take any criticism too personal, even ones that might be biased and toxic. Our job and the work we do as independent developers is crazy, beyond challenging and overlooked at times, so stay passionate about what you do and persevere. After all, it takes time to succeed at doing anything well. It won't happen overnight. 


A Prime Example: Xbox Live Indie Games on Xbox 360
            I will use my own personal experience as an example to sound less harsh towards any indie developers or aspiring indie developers reading this. With Xbox Live Indie Games, all developers had to make their programs and content from scratch because you could not use a game engine to create a game on the platform. Because I was and still am currently learning game development, after I made my first game, I decided not to publish it. After all, it was only my first game and I knew that it wasn't something I would publish. I knew how hard it was to make a game from scratch and I new how much time and effort I put into my first game. But just because it was hard and just because I made a game did not mean that the game was great and somehow sell-able. I realized my game has to be truly fun and I have to actually like my game myself or I was going to erode consumer confidence. This is what eventually happened with Xbox Live Indie Games in the beginning because anybody and anyone could publish a game on Xbox 360 if they paid for the dev kit. People have always been quick to criticize  Xbox Live Indie Games for being a cesspool of low quality "fart" apps, avatar games and Minecraft clones, but the problems ran much deeper than that. I am not going to sit here and say there were not low quality games on the system, but marketplaces like the ios app store have them as well and have been far more successful.

            Contrary to popular belief, the submission process was too cheap. It was only $100 a year for anyone to submit up to 10 games, which was later increased to 25 games. Right now you are probably reading this thinking "What?! Too cheap? Isn't that good for indies?" It would seem so because this lowered the barrier to entry, but if the barrier is too low, than it actually isn't. If the price was higher, developers wanting to put their game on the platform (especially a major console) would have taken their work far more serious. The biggest complaint about the system, especially from moderators, was the appearance of cheap apps, vs. actual robust games. The reason that these existed was that they had setup a system that made this work on an economic level. So anyone willing to pay the $100 could put up their game in front of millions of people since Microsoft did not regulate whether or not these games were worth publishing. Now you are probably reading this thinking, "If Microsoft didn't fully regulate the submission then who?" 

            Most people are unaware of how Xbox Live Indie Games made it to the system. Microsoft, to avoid obvious legal problems, devised the following system: You would submit a game or update to a game on the system and it would go in a review list. At this point other developers on the system (yes, your direct competition) would review your game (yes, before it released to the public or anyone had seen it). At this time, the reviewer would either submit a pass or fail vote on the game. If the game received 7 passes, it would appear on the system. If it received 2 fails for any reason, it would get completely booted out of the system. Whether your game passed or failed, a 7 day wait period was imposed on the title preventing you from resubmitting or updating the game in this period. If you resubmitted the game without fixing the issue, you risked being permanently banned from the entire system.

            After 30 days if your title did not clear the system (for example people weren’t interested in it enough to vote on it at all), you failed automatically and needed to restart the process. If you needed to release a Multi-language title, in addition you need 2 reviews for each language you want to release in (this made releasing or even updating localized titles nearly impossible). Aside from the obvious problems that arise from letting your competition see early releases of your titles and ultimately deciding if your game should make it to the system, Microsoft intentionally left the criteria for review vague with rules like, “Your game cannot be frustrating or confusing”. With rules like that you could have fun imagining the creative ways that one could judge a title unfit to release. Each fail costing the developer another week plus the time it takes to accumulate the votes again, potentially holding titles in limbo for months.

            It would seem that this would quickly degrade into the chaos of developers maliciously failing each other to prevent them from competing with them, however in practice, as if in some sort of odd social experiment, the opposite actually occurred. Everyone had a mutual goal of getting their title though this tedious process so it became common practice to do “kickback reviewing”, where one developer would “review”(pass) your game with the expectation that you would do the same. This became so prevalent that it actually degraded the quality of the titles on the system as a whole. Because the barrier to entry was so low to create an XBLIG (Xbox Live Indie Game) on the Xbox 360, I am starting to see similar things like this happening now with games being released through Steam Greenlight.

          Surely Microsoft would step in to enforce order. Due to legal reasons, no one at Microsoft was allowed to view any content on the system until it was officially released to the public. Not even the discussion that occurred in the game’s review forum. Their solution to this was the moderators or MVPs. These MVPs ran essentially unchecked by Microsoft and had ultimate power over the system. They single handily had the ability to make it so your game would or wouldn’t go out. To be fair, these people had a VERY hard job and were not compensated at all for it. They were reigning in complete chaos and it always amazed me how devoted they were to the system. With that said, their “war-torn” demeanor at times became combative and rude. Some of them had very strong opinions that they were quick to bluntly express and they were the ultimate law on the system.

            If there was a serious issue or debate about your game it could be deferred to Microsoft. However since Microsoft could not see your title directly or the discussion that transpired, it would become the moderator’s job to present your case to them and deliver the verdict. You could imagine if the moderator was not on your side this would never go well. Regardless, Microsoft’s de-facto response was always “You guys decide as a community” which in reality meant, “The moderator makes the decision”. If the moderator gave the community the license to pass or fail a game that is what happened. As a reviewer, if you disagreed and didn’t follow suit it usually resulted in some sort of disciplinary action. Any meaningful discussion about how the system could be improved or be changed was almost always immediately silenced.


Could Steam Greenlight Phase Out?
          If you are unfamiliar with Steam Greenlight, it is a service created to help bring a more variety of games to Steam. Users would choose which games were added to the service. This gave independent game developers an opportunity to showcase, as well as build beta versions for Steam users. If users pledged so much support for these games, then Valve would help to make the top-pledged games available to the Steam service. So developers were able to release their games without publishers hovering over their shoulders governing whether their games should be published or not. While Steam Greenlight helped more and more developers bring their games to Steam, it led to an overabundant number of games on the service making it difficult for a single title to stand out. If the folks over at Steam aren't careful in not making similar mistakes with indie games on 360, this service might potentially phase out. 



BLAME # 4.) YouTubers, Publishers, Gaming Journalist & Blogs
            The primary function of games media should simply be this:

To inform the consumer about a game or a product so that they can make an informed decision and determine whether or not the game is worth its price tag.

       That means we are publishing screenshots, gameplay, and facts about the game to help them make an informed decision. Also, unbiased first looks at the game and unbiased reviews is the most important thing game reviewers are suppose to do. Now I am not saying that you can't be entertaining while you do it. Just look at the Angry Joe Show on YouTube. I first found out about the Angry Joe show through my friend Lafe when I expressed my concerns to him about the game Destiny. I will probably talk about that in a later blog post.




       Angry Joe is a great example of being informative and entertaining at the same time. He provides excellent reviews and doesn't just say games are bad but provides reasons why and what developers can do to improve them and make it better. As long as games media is not providing unbiased information that allows the consumer to make an informed decision, then yes - we as game reviewers are part of the problem. It is important for game reviewers to remind consumers that they have all the power and for them to treat consumers that way.


       On one hand, you have a bunch of not so great AAA titles being developed and on the other hand, you have a bunch of not so great indie games being developed. So when you put these two together, you have a terrible sandwich. On top of that, the people who are here in games media whose job it is to help the consumer cut through the not so great games to find the ones that are great, are simply not doing good enough of a job. All of these elements are adding up to create a brand new game crash where we lose consumer confidence because they have no one to trust and game consumers keep getting burnt over and over again. So its not all bad news because I think this can be fixed but I won't assume it will be easy. So if you are reading this, here are some ways we can prevent Judgment Day from happening.




Solution #1: Trial Modes

            So that consumers don't feel like they are not getting their money's worth, game developers need to allow players to try their games before purchasing it. By making a trial mode, this can be a great way to lure players and give them a taste of what is to come. Trial modes can also be a great way to advertise and showcase the rest of the game's features if purchased. We have seen this feature work well with Xbox Live Arcade games on Xbox 360.


SOLUTION #2: Game Consumers must realize they have all the power

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       We as game consumers have the power and the purchasing decisions that we make result in the types of games that game creators make. If we choose not to purchase a "bad sequel" or a not so great indie game, eventually they will stop making them. As an independent developer, I know how hard it is to make a game, especially one from scratch. So instead of just hoping they'll eventually stop making them, my hope is that they can listen to our feedback and improve upon them. Thanks to Xbox Live, PSN, and Steam Updates, game development companies can potentially make changes and patches to their games.  We as gamers whether we realize it or not help play a crucial role in game development companies learning from their mistakes and taking risk. Now we can put the blame on game publishers as we should but here is the reality:


If a game publisher can knowingly sell a half-baked product at full price, why would they stop?


       Its not until the consumers wake up and choose not to purchase which will lead to publisher making changes. The people that do have power, and yes I am kind of pointing fingers at Microsoft, Sony, Valve and the Apple Store who make the consoles and devices need to determine whether or not these games are worth publishing and allowed to be on your storefront or online marketplace to begin with. For those of us who do have a voice in the industry whether it be a YouTube Channel, blog, Twitter Feed, or a giant gaming journal - we must take the hands of consumers and guide them through the not so great games and make sure they find the games they know consumers will enjoy. If not, then we are failing the entire industry. Now Judgment Day does sound pretty crazy and I truly hope that I am wrong, but if we make these changes, no harm can come of it. The industry is only going to get better. So lets prevent Judgment Day from happening. Thank you for reading.