NFL football on a Friday!? In Brazil! It did not go well for the Green Bay Packers. Failure to turn early Eagles mistakes into more points cost them at the end of the game (sounds familiar... hmmm). Then with mere seconds left the unthinkable happens and Jordan Love goes down with a knee/ankle injury. Thanks a lot Brazil!
August (or should I say Blaugust) 2024 has ended so lets take a look back.
Blogger provided number (last 30 days graph so a bit off a full month): 30,300
This is up about 1,000 from July. I do not know what the big spike was in late August as I could not zero in any posts that had that much traffic.
In other metrics:
Once Human dominated my August playtime as I made it to level 50 and set up my Frost Vortex build. I also built a proper base finally (it looks like an airplane hanger). I posted about none of these accomplishments because I had other ideas for Blaugust posts that took up my blogging time. I have had to take a break from gaming for the past week due to real life stuff (trip, work, kids stuff) so I have yet to transition from my first scenario into a new one (likely moving to a PVE hard mode server with some folks on Sept 8th).
August 2023 brought my introduction to Blaugust (check my Blaugust 2023 tagged posts) and I jammed the month full of posts.
The most notable game launch was Starfield (early access started late Aug) and it's hard for me to believe that was already a year ago. Too bad that game landed like a dud, but they finally added vehicles a year later so I guess I should fix my old post.
Aug 2019 was in the 'no blogging' era and nothing comes to mind.
In
Aug of 2014 I was not blogging regularly but I was thinking about it as evidenced by: Long time, no post. My nonexistent heart was warmed by all the commenters that stopped by though! 6 comments; probably the most of any post in the last 10 years... ha!
August of 2009 was the month I became a father and my life was forever changed. That kid is now 15 and about to start learning to drive. He may, and this is a BIG may, also be better at video games than me now. Speaking of comment counts; this post garnered 40+ which was heartwarming but it also shows how much commenting on blogs has died off over the years. I'd have a crazy smile on my face if a post these days hit 10 comments; let alone 40+!
Technically I have 20 named years on my sidebar, but mathematically 2005 is only 19 years ago.
In Aug of 2005 I was posting on Google Videos (before this thing called YouTube). Sadly I think the video "CS:S video released - Two of the gReatest things eveR" and "Battlefield 2 Video - Lets go!" are lost to history as I am not sure I have copies anywhere and they did not make its way to YouTube when that took over for Google Video. It is crazy to think had I just stuck with videos in that early era I could have been a YouTube content creator instead of annoying my team at work about getting stuff done.
With that said; one video from that Google Videos era did get saved to YouTube. A World of Warcraft video I made while playing with the guild behind the Taverncast podcast: The Pod People invade Westfall.flv
Update: I got an invite. If you need an invite let me know in the comments.
At face value the invite system for Deadlock appears to be a way to limit how many testers are playing the game. This makes sense and is not uncommon in testing phases of games. The difference here is that other play testers have control of the invites and that, along with other issues, is where problems are starting.
The first obvious issue that arises is "pay for invite" and the even more obvious "scammers will scam" that comes with it. While many of the communities across Discord and Reddit for invites are banning anyone trying to pay for invites; inevitably someone was bound to get scammed.
Next comes the behavior of "creating alt / second accounts" in the hope of getting a stuck invite to go through. While I didn't create an alt account I did get my son's account invited and his invite came through in about 45 minutes (I've been waiting 5+ days now with dozens of invite attempts).
With alt/second accounts comes the inevitable "selling account w/ Deadlock" access. This is not my cup of tea and I can wait (or just play on my son's account when he is not playing anything). However, there are some in the community that won't wait and will buy those second accounts which brings in it's own level of scams.
Fear of missing out (aka FOMO) is also a huge part of the equation that drives the above. Playing a game close to it's launch and during it's test period is a one-time affair. If you miss out; you miss out. Some players can't stand missing out so go above and beyond to get access. Thus the situation becomes ripe for scammers.
The question is whether other methods of test invites would avoid these problems? Not exactly. Steam does have "request test access" processes built in that many other games use. At minimum this eliminates the "get scammed asking for an invite" from other players and does reduce how easy it is to get a second account set up to then try and sell. It does not reduce FOMO.
Personally I think Valve would have been better suited going the same way they have other games enter testing on their own platform. At least then players could confirm their invite status by simply going to the store page for the game. End of day I just want to try the game and not miss out on the chance to learn the game while everyone else is learning it.
/signed "a frustrated Valve fanboy"
Posts: 31 - one a day! Hooray!
What about blaugchievements (we know this is the real reason I participate in Blaugust!)
Just like last year there inevitably comes a day in Blaugust where I can't hit my daily post commitment, but there is a secret hack for Blaugust: just post something and it counts. There are no rules except the rules you make for yourself. So as I said last year...
Must watch Starfield streamsDeadlock streams. This post still counts for Blaugust!
What the heck is Valve doing with Deadlock? Apparently it's the hottest thing since sliced bread but you can only get a chance to play via another tester inviting you? I've been invited, by multiple people now, but have yet to see the invite notification/email (waiting 24+ hours now). So I'm stuck here watching videos instead.
One video that I really liked was Day9s
What I like about the video is the sure joy that Day9 espouses for the game. Many content creators can use a lot of words and video minutes to say a game is good, but its rare to find one where you can read it on their face and in their actions on camera. Day9 is really pleased talking about the game.
I really can't wait to play this game. I had seen the leaks/rumors about it but didn't pay much attention. However, after seeing various videos like this one from Day9 I am very, very curious.
I played a good bit of League of Legends and DOTA2. Add HoN, HoTS, and several other MOBA games. I feel like I am familiar with MOBA lane-based games to know what I'll like. I even gave Smite a good try so feel like I've covered the landscape this genre has to offer.
Deadlock has an interesting theme and visual style which will go a long way for me as I've been in a "not fantasy" mood lately. There seems to be a big cast of characters already in the game with a wide variety of styles supported. As Day9 says in his video he found his style to play which wasn't dependent on being the best shot. With that said the skill ceiling does look high but more due to variety and complexity than strictly ability to aim.
Hopefully I'll get an invite in the next few days and can give the game a fair shake for some honest opinions. Are you playing Deadlock? Waiting on your invite? What do you think?
This is a post in my ongoing series MyMMORPG where I pontificate about the MMORPG I would create should I ever get the chance. See all of my MyMMORPG tagged posts.
My last post for MyMMORPG covered my "rule of 10" and how it is important to strike a balance between too few and too many decisions to put in front of a player at any given time. That rule sets a good tone for systems, but it doesn't give us a framework for those systems. That is where my idea of pillars come into play.
Stealing from my real life knowledgebase: A pillar refers to a fundamental principle or concept that serves as a core element of a project or product. Design pillars help guide decision-making and maintain focus throughout the development process. Effective design pillars are typically:
So what are my pillars?
Combat is really about conflict: conflict amongst players and conflict between players and the world. Combat is not always strictly in the form of hitting things with sticks. Conflict arises anywhere a player is challenged by the game: "to kill 10 rats", racing to get a gathering node, or an objective to climb to the top of a mountain.
Economy is best represented by it's definition: An area of the production, distribution, trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. Trading is the most easily understood (trade with players or NPCs). Production not far behind trading (bang anvil, make sword). Distribution is harder to understand, but is best boiled down to rich vs poor (which itself takes on a lot of variation). Consumption is the most important aspect of an economy and without it you don't really have an economy.
Content is best stated as "things to do". Content is the engine that provides context for combat and drives the consumption that makes the economy work. After 30+ years of online games I've come to realize that content is king and as much as we want to think players, when left to do what they want, will make up content the reality is they don't. They get bored and play other games. We must deliver them "things to do".
And there may be discussion worth having on a missing 4th pillar: social. Social would represent how players interact with each other. However, I didn't make it a pillar because I feel like it violates our rules for an effective pillar.
Is Social "Simple and easy to understand"? At first glance but when you dig further what does it really mean?
Which takes us to "Distinct from one another" where I'd argue it is not distinct. Trading is a form of players interacting, combat is a way of interacting, and doing content is a way of interacting. Social isn't distinct.
But isn't social "Fundamental to the project's identity"? Yes it is. Without social interaction I'd argue the second M is missing in MM(multiplayer)ORPG. However, its fundamental in all of the other pillars. Social isn't a pillar; it is the foundation. Each of the pillars stands on players interacting with each other.
In follow up posts about MyMMORPG I will try to reference back to the pillars. Any idea for the game should fit into the pillars; preferably offering something across all three to be considered as a system worth adding to the game.
So what do you think of my pillars? Any pillars that I missed or that you would include?
In the spirit of "Lessons Learned" week for Blaugust 2024 I want to talk about a blogging lesson I've learned: ideas for serial posts are easier than writing the actual posts. A prime example is the "MyMMORPG" series I started and, checks notes, wrote one post for. The idea was to translate my experience playing games into pontificating about the MMORPG I would develop should I ever get the chance. This should have been easy and I should have hundreds of posts already! Yet I didn't post about it. Let's give that single post a buddy using the lessons I've learned from playing MMORPGs for close to 30 years now.
I've developed a rule in my head when playing games which I call "the rule of 10." The rule states: as a player, I can manage 10 available actions at any given time. Any more, and I get overwhelmed; any less, and I lose the feeling that I have meaningful choices or control over my outcome. This balance is crucial because it keeps the gameplay engaging without being stressful. When I have too many options, analysis paralysis sets in, making the experience feel chaotic rather than fun. On the flip side, if I have too few choices, the game starts to feel monotonous or overly simplistic, as if I'm just going through the motions without really influencing the world within the game.
This balance is crucial because it keeps the gameplay engaging without being stressful.
Stress is a major factor for my enjoyment of gaming. I can't do hardcore PvP or "dragon kill point" raid content anymore because the stress outweighs the possible fun. Stress is also a compounding factor on players and every player's stress tolerance is different. An area we can take stress away from a player is by keeping them feeling like they are in control. Limiting actions to 10 or less caps keeps the player in control.
When I have too many options, analysis paralysis sets in, making the experience feel chaotic rather than fun.
Analysis paralysis is a real problem in games and life in general. The paralysis quickly leads players to feel like they are losing control. Even if the "good" options to choose are
minimal the fact that there are many more choices to pick from defeats the minimal choice.
We also have to consider the game world itself and in the case of
MMORPGs, other players, also are providing input to the player that
drive additional choices. All of these contribute to the paralysis. Limiting actions to 10 or less limits analysis.
On the flip side, if I have too few choices, the game starts to feel monotonous or overly simplistic, as if I'm just going through the motions without really influencing the world within the game.
Going with too few options makes the game boring. I can only left/right click so many times or press that same button so many times. At some point as a player I need to feel like I am in control and just like too many options can cause me to feel like I'm losing control so can too few options. Players end up feeling "helpless" without the choices to control what is going on around them.
You may assume that this entire post is just about combat but that couldn't be further from the truth. The rule of 10 applies to everything. Crafting, exploration, navigation, traveling, gathering, any action you can think of taking in an MMORPG. Any of them should have a goal of meeting the rule to strike the balance.
A complex crafting recipe with 20 materials and scroll bars to see everything is going to overwhelm players. Breaking that crafting process into more manageable steps allows us to have more control of each step and reduces stress on the player increasing the chance they don't just give up.
I also break the rule down further as not all 10 actions need equal weight at any given time. This helps to further strike that balance we are striving for. That breakdown is as follows:
Two game examples where I feel like they get it right:
New World (combat)
5 immediate actions: Left click attack, right click block, 3 weapon abilities
4 intermediate actions: Four consumable slots (potions, etc)
1 fun action: heartrune ability
Guild Wars 2 (combat)
5 immediate actions: 5 weapon abilities
4 intermediate actions: heal ability + three selected support abilities
1 fun action: the last ability on the hotbar (forget what its called)
The ultimate goal of the "role of 10" is to make the game approachable for players and ensure that interacting with the game doesn't become a barrier to entry. Not every game follows this path. Some games, like Path of Exile, use complexity to target a specific type of player. That is fine. However, for MyMMORPG we're sticking with the "rule of 10".
More Once Human screenshots this fine Monday.
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| FINALLY got my Dr Teddy! He heals and can pick you up when you are knocked down. |
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| Manibus and his many noodly appendages descending from the skies |
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| More Manibus action |
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| Riding off towards the mountains |
