The Microtransactions Episode

[fishbang]

Our weekender is now available for download (http://ingamechat.net/audio/IGC20081210.mp3).

We drew our title from the recent blurb about a theoretically micro-payment supported KOTOR MMO, which, during the last moments of the show led us to discuss our general resistance to this idea in favor of a standard subscription model. We can see it both ways, but naturally we see our own way much clearer. Regardless, the real thrust of this show was the discussion of the awards system - awards shows (good, bad, and non-existant), the awards themselves, and what, if anything, they mean to the world.

There’s also a brief and somber reminder of what may develop for us in the show’s mid-term future. There are no plans or contingencies at the moment other than to keep on keepin’ on, but we thought it prudent to keep folks in the loop. Additionally, for those who care to listen past the hour mark, there’s some fairly useless bonus material that doesn’t even have the decency to be about video games, though it does offer some deeper insights into the sorts of people some of us are off-air. Not that you asked for that or anything, but there it is.

[danielOut]

Intro: Carol of the Belmonts, 8 Bit Jesus (Thanks for the suggestion, Ravenlock!)
Outro: World of Goo

[el cheezer]

Carol of the Belmonts was my fravorite track in the whole album. Great show once again. Can't wait to hear you guys talk about Home.

[kyrieee]

I'm in the middle of the microtransaction conversation right now and I would've agreed with you guys a year ago

I used to have time to play these kinds of games a lot, and so I'd get the best stuff and be slightly annoyed at the guy who bought it off of ebay, but now that I don't have time to play that much I really wouldn't mind people being able to buy stuff.

I mean, is it better that the guy who can grind for 40 hours per week wins instead of the guy who can pay for some gear? I don't think either is better. Having to make the huge time investments you're required to do in order to get the best gear in an MMO is quite absurd in its own way. Maybe it's not as apparent though, because it's the norm.

If I can play the StarWars MMO casually without having to pay anything, then awesome!

[Roaddawg]

good show...

on the topic of free MMO's i used to play free MMO's over at ijji.com, they had a free counterstrike game that was fun, until it became subscription based.

[Psykoboy2]

they had a free cunterstrike game that was fun, until it became subscription based.

That is one hell of a typo.

[Roaddawg]

That is one hell of a typo.


well, not if you stop and think about how 90% of the game is everyone playing with the sniper rifle.

[Iron Past]

Regarding the Fable II/Fallout 3 thing, I think many people see RPG to mean stat-based conbat, which is what Fallout 3 did much better than Fable II and why it won best RPG. As far as other things, you could probably call it more of a simulation, and personally I think Fable II had a much better overall experience. But I've said before that you guys are enjoying Fallout 3 much, much more than I am, and personally I tend to agree with X-Play on many things anyway (the only show I can watch on G4), so I'm not here to try and sway your opinion.

Oh, and Fallout 3 is a horrible, horrible shooter; please don't even pretend it can fall into that category. :)

[Ravenlock]

Happy to provide a link to the intro music, it was great to hear it at the top of the show! :D

Very sad to hear that Daniel is leaving on such a short timeframe, though. :( I hope you guys can figure out a way to still have his participation at least occasionally, maybe through the same sort of internet shenanigans that would be required to let us listeners "call in" again.

Tying all of that together (videogame music, the internet, listener participation and Daniel), earlier this year I called into the show and talked briefly about my hopes for Wii Music not being a total waste of time, and was regarded with admittedly deserved skepticism. I also got Daniel roped in to being "the guy who needs to rent that", which I guess now he's probably gotten out of by virtue of leaving the state, so good job dodging a bullet there, pal. ;)

However, while I have not yet had a chance to try the game myself - and as I said on the show, I'm not a content creation guy anyhow so it's probably really not for me - some people are starting to use it in the way I hoped they might. Kind of. If you've got 6 minutes to spare, check out a few things: this rendition (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU-HFWT4BTs) of Every Breath You Take, and these two, both from a different user, of September (one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c4TVIRHoQE), and two (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7abXM9Hlr4&feature=channel)).

Now, regardless of what one thinks of those particular songs, I think there are a couple of interesting things to note about those performances and the other similar Wii Music vids on Youtube:

(1) For a game touted as "wave your arms and it plays music for you", I think this game is perhaps, musically, actually harder than Guitar Hero / Rock Band / etc. (Yes, I have played those games. :p) Everybody in the group needs to have a pretty impeccable sense of tempo for songs to sound good in Wii Music, and the results when they don't are pretty awful (as can easily be seen in other videos, and in the off moments of these ones). I imagine when everybody's working in sync on the instruments they've selected, the satisfaction of playing "your part" well is different from that you get in GH/RB. The guy on the harmony xylophone has a totally different job from the guy clapping on the offbeats, etc.

(2) Along the same lines, Wii Music has a philosophy of creative reward that no other music game on the market has. Every single performance of Rock and Roll All Nite in Guitar Hero III sounds exactly the same as every other, unless you miss a lot of notes. And even in a game with multiple participants and vocals like Rock Band, you're still only at best trying to re-create a particular recording of a song as accurately as you can. In Wii Music, every recorded performance is going to be completely unique to the group that played it and the instruments they chose (as well as, obviously, the skill with which they executed it). Basically, while Guitar Hero wants you to mimic something vaguely like playing a guitar and will reward you for doing so by playing back prerecorded music, Wii Music wants you to actually make music, without needing to learn an instrument.

Unfortunately, as reviews of the game reported pretty consistently, the final package is apparently still pretty underwhelming. The list of available songs is the most crippling limitation - letting people make whatever variation they want of some videogame songs and a bunch of not-terribly-interesting standards just doesn't have a lot of legs. And even when done well, it's still basically MIDI music, which means a serious musician would rather go play their actual instrument, because it sounds much better.

But I will say that my one professional musician friend absolutely fucking loves the game because of how quickly it got his kids interested in learning music - and the game apparently actually does teach music theory in a very valid way, regarding pitch, tempo, etc. And as an amateur violinist myself, I can hear in the 3rd video I linked that it lets you spin the output of your instrument with vibrato, shorter or longer bow strokes, etc. That's pretty cool, and something Guitar Hero doesn't do at all. No matter how good you are at Through the Fire and Flames, it isn't going to help you learn to actually read or play music. And personally, I love the idea behind Wii Music - actual cooperative creativity made easy, rather than just DDR with plastic instruments - even if they didn't quite get it right this time.

So yeah, there's a big wall o' text that really doesn't relate to what you three talked about this episode. ...So how about those microtransactions, huh? Those things are a pain in the ass. ;) Keep up the good work and Happy Holidays, guys.

[Ravenlock]

Whoops. I didn't mean to kill the whole discussion. Seriously, you can keep talking about something else, I won't be offended. ;)

[danielOut]

Hard to discuss a game a haven't played yet. :)

[Gerbs]

Thanks for the bonus content! How many space bucks will you need me to pay to continue providing it?

[danielOut]

Just promise no to shoot me in Farcry, that should do.

[Gerbs]

Just don't walk in front of me, that's the danger zone.

[Variable Gear]

I just listened to this episode today, and I've got something to say about microtransactions...that everyone already knows but doesn't say out loud because it's so obvious.

I criticize downloadable extras on a case by case basis. If there's something that comes out too soon after launch, I criticize it (see: Mega Man 9, Mirror's Edge, and Gears 2). If there's content that dilutes game balance I criticize it. Additionally, if there is DLC that is nothing more than a skin for your character or weapon, I'll criticize it. It pisses me off that we see so much of this trash.

On the other hand, there is also effective DLC. This is DLC that draws users back to the game, and provides them with new experiences. Map packs or mission packs are a good fit here, as long as the publisher gives a little bit of cool-down time for users to consume the retail content. It's sad how little of this we actually see, especially considering that there are still players that want to get the most out of each game.

Anyway, like I said, no one mentions this because it is so obvious. :o

[Ravenlock]

Actually, I think the Endless Attack mode DLC for Mega Man 9 is pretty awesome. Totally changes the feel of the game, turning what is normally a strict pattern memorization game into a randomized high-score chasing affair.

In general, though, don't disagree with anything else you said there.

[Variable Gear]

Actually, I think the Endless Attack mode DLC for Mega Man 9 is pretty awesome. Totally changes the feel of the game, turning what is normally a strict pattern memorization game into a randomized high-score chasing affair.

In general, though, don't disagree with anything else you said there.
Well, see, in that case I'm not criticizing the content, but the time it is launched. The Mega Man 9 DLC followed the game's launch too closely, making it appear that those features were cut from the game in order to be monetized later. In a situation like that, I'd prefer to buy the entire package on release day, even if I've gotta pay a bit more for it.

For the record, I picked up the Protoman DLC and I've been eying the Endless Attack DLC.

[Ravenlock]

Ah, okay. I understand that, though if you're saying "I'd prefer to buy the entire package on release day, even if I've gotta pay a bit more for it", then that arrangement is worse for people who don't want Endless Attack mode and would rather pay $10 than $13. Assuming that the DLC is actually worth its cost, I think it's sometimes nice to have those things broken out a la carte so people can pick and choose. I can easily see both arguments, though.

[Variable Gear]

Ah, okay. I understand that, though if you're saying "I'd prefer to buy the entire package on release day, even if I've gotta pay a bit more for it", then that arrangement is worse for people who don't want Endless Attack mode and would rather pay $10 than $13. Assuming that the DLC is actually worth its cost, I think it's sometimes nice to have those things broken out a la carte so people can pick and choose. I can easily see both arguments, though.
I really don't think that Endless Attack should have been broken up into its own download. The same goes for Protoman. That's what I'm suggesting when I say that the entire experience should be available in one download. I still think that it's legitimate to introduce DLC that would extend the life of the game, though. It's a fine line, that's for sure.