Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Released

With a short break from school blogging, I'll be able to post a few things without resorting to that annoying question-don't answer template, so here goes.

Well, the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid V is here! Or rather, sort of here. Kojima has released the prologue part of the game (similar to the Tanker Chapter of MGS2, or Virtuous Mission in MGS3) However, as it is only a prologue, it is available for just thirty dollars, half the price of most new games nowadays. The good news is that this game offers new ways to use CQC, a new story, and beautifully rendered graphics (at least in the Xbox One and PS4 versions).

The bad news? It's extremely short. One speedrunner was able to complete it in roughly ten minutes, skipping all side objectives and conversations. This may be disappointing for some people. Indeed, I am rather saddened by the limited content, which is the main thing keeping me from purchasing this game. Later, when both it and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain are released, there will most likely be a version packaged with both. For those willing to wait, this is probably the way to go, as you will save a little money in the long run. No need to worry about The Phantom Pain though, by all indications that will be many times longer (compare the length of Virtuous Mission to that of Operation: Snake Eater), with many side activities to enrich your experience.

Game Informer rated this game 7/10, mostly because of it's limited content. They said that the additions to the game were satisfying, but they just weren't enough. They do believe that there is amazing potential in it. While The Phantom Pain might live up to this potential, Ground Zeroes certainly does not. This is a sentiment that I, despite not having played the game, would agree with.

What are the Effects of Chess on the Mind?

Fair warning - I won't be answering this question, primarily because my current blogging assignment in my class is to ask questions, say why they need to be answered, and than not answer them. A little weird, I know, but that's why my recent blogs have been a little strange. For the next three to four months, pretty much all will be this way (excepting ones I right on my own, and do not add as class).

Changing the topic from video games a bit, I'm going to look at chess. Chess is one of the most popular games on the planet, and many believe it has beneficial effects on the mind. It's not a stretch by any means, even logical, as playing the game well requires good memory skills, as well as a great degree of logical thinking, which are just a few notable examples.  The question is, does this game develop the skills, or just require them? As I said earlier, it may seem logical, but science does not always follow logic.

 This question regards the psychology of games and people who play them, and so would be of great interest of researchers. Additionally, some people could use them as a tool to develop logical thinking skills, decision making abilities, and other important skills, provided, of course, chess develops these. It could  also open up discussions into what games have to provide to society besides entertainment, which is something that would give immense support to the gaming industry, which the industry, obviously, would want.

I believe that this is an important matter that needs to be researched, primarily so I can tell my parents I'm developing important skills when I play chess. Or at least know I'm telling the truth when I claim that to them.

What Makes a BGM Memorable

Some video games have music that you keep with you, in your heart or your mind, for a very long time. These BGM's may profoundly affect the way you play or look back on the game. This certaintly happened to me with the music in Disgaea, The Last Story, and, most of all, Persona. What makes these any better, or more memorable than other BGM's, and why would it matter?

Some video game music is especially memorable, even compared to regular old radio music. I believe this has to do with the context. It could form a sort of memory connection with your favorite parts of a game, which is may be why many people remember the battle theme of the last boss of a game because it is a tense and difficult battle, and usually one of the easiest to remember parts of a game. However, games also tend to try to use the "coolest" BGM at their disposal for the final boss fight as well, which could also be why it is easier to remember. I believe that gaming companies should do more research into how various BGM's become earworms, and what is required to create successful, memorable, and impactful BGM's as compared to regular music.

Why is it important that these companies know this? For one, it is to appeal to the players. If someone is spending fifty to one-hundred hours playing a game, they want it to sound nice. This would help the games creators create a top notch game, one that could gain them many awards or sales. Every little thing that makes the game just a little better contributes to it's popularity. Secondly, if the game companies could make effective, affective, and beautiful BGM's, they could gain additional money by selling CD's with a collection of the music on it. There is a rather large market for this. Japanese games, already, commonly do this, and their makers are artists when it comes to creating and using BGM's (note that all the examples I gave at the top are Japanese games). Those companies are then able to create CD's of the soundtrack, and sell them for extra money, which they do. Some video game music has even become reasonably popular in Japan, not because they are particularly enamored with video game music as a genre, but because, when they have good video game music, everyone likes it.

Finally, some individuals may make covers of the music from the games. This may at first seem like a bad thing, as listening to the covers on Youtube or something will prevent the companies from getting money, but it is, in fact, a bonus for the company. Good covers draw attention to the original product, which can indeed help your sales.

Why are Idle Games Successful?

I've previously mentioned my love of certain Idle games, like Cookie Clicker, and Candy Box. What I may have not mentioned is my disdain for certain others, like Farmville. However, these games are all wildly successful, some, like the aforementioned Farmville, even making a veritable ton of money. These games require little to no effort to play, and can be enjoyed almost endlessly, provided you allow them time to go on, and a small amount of time to update the actions taken in the game.

Why? Why are these games so addictive? Why do they succeed where other, more ambitious games fail? To understand this would be to understand a side of gaming that is rarely considered. If game creators could discover why people enjoy sitting around and just watching a game happen, they could discover an important part of what makes a game fun. There are several possibilities I see from this.

One is just the things simply happening - there's something interesting in just watching something happen that you set in motion. However, something unique about these games is the ability to walk away and let it do stuff for you. This could be a major bonus in some games. MMO's with long, difficult ways to grind could possibly allow you to do something where the game just runs, and you gain the XP at a much slower rate (maybe 1/25th to 1/100th, if the MMO want's to be stingy, which they usually are), which is similar to how Cookie Clicker works.

I suppose one of my favorite things about Cookie Clicker is that you can open it in one tab, and then forget about it for a while. This is very nice, and allows to do many other things while it is running (I confess to have written most of my blog posts with Cookie Clicker running in the background). Do I understand the point of that game? Not really, but I have fun with it. In fact, the only time it becomes boring is when other people call it boring, and don't understand it. Even then, the feeling lasts only ten or so minutes, and by the next time I play, the game is very fun again. This feeling of playing, but forgetting, and then coming back and being pleasantly surprised with the results could be a very important part of the idle game.

This is very important to ask, particularly for the future of the gaming industry. Could idle games, games where you can just walk away, or sit and watch, be a large part of the future? They already hold a large part of the casual market, with Farmville and similar games making large amounts of money for Zynga. Implementing some sort of casual system in games could allow for a much larger audience, if it was studied and people figured out how to do so effectively. However, it would have to be optional in most places, as the more hardcore gamers would certainly not appreciate it as a necessary part of the game. However, even they might appreciate a little respite from repetitive and endless grinding, even if it goes slower than it would if a player was directing it.

Knowing the answers to these questions, and implementing them effectively in games could make "hardcore" games more accessible to the average person (which I suppose could ruin their appeal to some, if they were made easier), allow you to have fun while not needing to deeply engage yourself, and make large, long games less monotonous, as long as you allow it to just keep going in the background.

Effects of Viral Games

Every once and a while a game comes out that goes truly viral. Flappy Bird, for example, became extremely popular very fast, despite being created by an unknown (at least to the west) developer. However, what do these viral gaming patterns suggest about games as a whole?

The big question here, obviously, is why are all these people playing these games, and what does it mean? What is it that attracts people to these simple games? Farmville, Cookie Clicker, Words with Friends, and now Flappy Bird? What do these games creators and marketers do right? Is it a coincidence that they do so well? Or is there something in their business model that we need to learn from?

These are importance questions to ask, as viral games need to have something about them that make them especially attractive. To learn what the specific mix is that make them so popular. To figure out if the secret to a successful game is science, or luck. However, this would be a strong power. If a game was created that combined the very best attributes of the above, that was that addicting, imagine the chaos that would unfold. People would skip work to spend time playing this game, and would never stop.

However, incorporating just a little bit of their improvements into every game, could greatly increase enjoyment, or it's appeal. However, it couldn't work with everything. Games with long winding narratives would obviously not benefit from a small mobile platform, or from the simple style of play used in Flappy Bird.

Most importantly though, is how these games made themselves known. The real success was nothing in gameplay, but in how the game was advertised. A few key individuals promoting the game in unique ways, as well as the sheer amount of people that responded, and continued the chain of promotion is what lead to the success. Now, these strategies could work for anything, and, at worst, could only increase the chances. But how exactly did they do it? That is definitely something worth knowing.

How Does "Binge Gaming" Affect Your Health?

Recently, almost all of the gaming I've done has been what I (and what probably most other people) would call "binge gaming." That is, playing for long periods of time, usually only every once and a while. This is what I do. I tend to be so busy doing other games, that if I find only a short time to relax, I don't bother playing games, and may read or just sit for a bit. However, with longer available time, I often spend it playing four or five (or more) hours at once. This happens about three times a month.

Now I previously mentioned some of the health benefits gaming gives you (look here, it's provided in small amounts throughout, mostly regarding mental health). These were found using people who played for a small amount of time, regularly. Where binge gamers may play for roughly the same amount of time total, they play in large, irregular, chunks. This is similar to the way binge drinking works. Now, games and alcohol share very few similarities, so in this respect the analogy fails. However, the behavior I am explaining is very similar.

Binge drinking is, of course, very dangerous. While a beer, maybe once a day at dinner, does have it's own problems, drinking seven beers one night a week is far more dangerous. This is because your system is not made to handle the overabundance of toxins entering the body. But does a similar effect come into place with binge gaming? Gaming for a little bit every day lets off steam, and allows relaxation. However, what side effects could doing it all at once bring?

This is an important thing to consider for the future of gamers. What health problems could this bring? I know many  people who follow a similar regimen of game playing, where they are usually too busy to play. Research needs to be done to establish the effects of these binging sessions. As people in their youth begin with these, we need to know that it will not affect anything later on. I very much hope their are no long term problems.

Just, you know, to make me feel better, and for my future health, I would like it to be confirmed.

Online Co-Op Vs. Offline Co-Op

Some games measure worth in their deep story,  or strong single player mechanic. Others are strong because of the ability to play with others. However, HOW you play with others also makes a big difference.

Many games allow you to play with a friend in the same room, or with friends in different houses using the internet. Some allow both, to one or another degree. So you're playing with one another, whats the difference if your in the same room or not? I believe, quite a lot.

I have played online games with friends somewhere else from the comfort of my home, and greatly enjoy doing so. It is a nice way to play, especially with people who are far away. You can each be in a comfortable place, and don't have to worry about having people over. Additionally, this can happen easier, without the need for planning, or even thinking ahead. You may go online and see a friend playing and say "Hey, lets play together."  However, there are some problems with it. Effective communication requires Skype, and  a strong internet connection. Additionally, in many of these games (particularly online RPG's), you and your friends must be of similar levels, which can prevent you from  playing with each other.

I have also played games with friends that were at my house at the time. There are many advantages to this as well. Ease of communication, as well as the comfort and genuine enjoyment of human company. There is also no need to worry about unstable internet connections which can be troublesome (my internet is often very bad, and this often provides a problem when trying to play online games with others). These often also allow you to play with another person of any skill level. Again, their are also problems. You need to plan ahead more for this, and be ready. This also prevents you from playing with people who are far away, or otherwise unable to visit. Additionally, many local co-op games utilize split screen, which can make it difficult to see what is happening on smaller screens.

Very recently, I was able to play Monster Hunter (among other games) with a Japanese foreign exchange student that was staying at my house. The version we played no-longer has online support, but it caused me to reflect on which was more fun. The answer, ultimately, was playing with another person on the same console. The real interaction with a person was the deciding factor. The face-to-face contact allows far more than simple communication. The experience feels even more shared than before, and provides lots of options. Also, you are of course not limited to video games. When you are done playing, you can continue to hang out while doing things like eating pizza, or listening to music. While it can be fun to play with others online, playing offline is even more enjoyable, if possible.