DEATH TO THE GAME INDUSTRYY:: THETHE CONTRARIAN:CONTRARIAN: LONG LIVE GAMES 2 ROLLROLL THETHE DICEDICE by Greg Costikyan by John Tynes OUR GAMES ARE BUILT ON PAPER It all started with pencils and dice bbyy Allen Allen Varn eVarneyy SPOTLIGHT on DUNGEONS and DREAMERS by Joe Blancato dungeons. This NES still lives on, certainly have more shelf life than most happily, in my current home and still of today’s current electronic games, plays most of the old cartridges quite which are, I suppose, the offspring of the well, if you put them in just so. older pen and paper games. I came at this whole pen and paper gaming thing completely backwards. You I’ve recently been replaying one of my Funny thing, the evolution of gaming. To the editor: I thought your article see, I hadn’t played a pen and paper favorite NES games, Final Fantasy. Until “Death to the Games Industry” (Issue 8) game until approximately one year ago. after I had played a tabletop RPG, I And how the gaming industry has summarized well what has long been Sure I had heard of the games, seen the never knew how alike Final Fantasy is to evolved from its pen and paper roots is discussed around the industry. Basically, bizarrely shaped dice and of course, Dungeons and Dragons, and other pen the subject of this week’s issue of The stuff is getting more expensive in the watched Summoner Geeks. I was aware and paper games. The turn-based Escapist. Allen Varney details the wrong ways. There are many, even the of the culture, and in fact, had many combat and character classes, so novel numerous pen and paper designers who venerable Will Wright himself, who have good friends who played regularly. I just to me at the time of first playing Final have made the jump from tabletop to noted this and are actively pursuing hadn’t managed to partake. Fantasy had, in fact, been around for electronic and highlights some of those solutions (his being Spore, a decades. designers’ experiences in the evolution. procedurally-generated environment with Electronic gaming, however, is another Our resident Contrarian, John Tynes, much more programming than asset story. I’m sure this similarity seems completely returns this week to contrast the skill requirements). obvious to everyone who has played pen sets of pen and paper designers versus I grew up with a PC in the house. My and paper games since they were young. that needed to design a successful However, while you mentioned the parents, even grandparents, saw the But, as I had come into pen and paper electronic game. Last, not speaking so almost-$1bln collected each month for usefulness of the home computer from games in reverse fashion (meaning, much to the evolution of gaming to date, U.S.-based MMORPGs, I feel you missed relatively early in the phenomenon. Yes, playing electronic games for years before but rather suggesting a course of the an opportunity to highlight this as an I played my share of Where in the World ever rolling a D20), I was quite amazed. industry for the future, old-school game emerging trend. is Carmen Sandiego, Frogger and Trade designer, Greg Costikyan, returns this Wars. Indeed, from a very early age, I The strange part comes in when I week in the second half of his article, Having players pay for a game once is was bound for gamer-dom. realized I didn’t feel as if I was stepping “Death to the Games Industry: Long Live what has turned this into a hit-driven back in time to play these early pen and Games.” industry. However, online gaming (not And then, of course, my family got a paper games. One might think that just massive online) enables companies Nintendo. Really, it was my family’s. We playing something designed over two Enjoy! to ship less initially and built the game all sat together and played, figuring out decades ago might feel a tad ... old. It as players pay for it. Even Guild Wars, puzzles, playing against each other in doesn’t. In fact, it’s a very rich, Jeopardy! and mapping progress through adaptable gaming experience. They which lacks the fee, still plans their game the moment it launches, turning The SWM did clear one thing for sure, To the editor: Regarding “Death to the finances around the eventual cyclic into a Service that requires the same who is responsible. I used to think it was Game Industry,” I really like the writer’s release of new content. Further, services level of commitment to maintenance any the game developers who are holding take on the industry. It’s very true what like Steam and GameSpy are being used sort of subscription service account things back. As if they are afraid he is saying but just like all other to release new content to extend the life would. releasing a game with new innovative magazines it seems that he has of what were traditionally one-time concepts would be the end. But I know forgotten to mention Nintendo. Oh sure, purchased that got supported through Some just don’t want to bite that much now it’s the Publishers who force this he mentions them but only to say that player-created mods. of a bullet. incremental linear regime. And it makes the “Revolution could go the way of the sense, that’s how a Corporate Machine Dreamcast.” Finally, most MMORPGs don’t quickly die -Darniaq lives. off after their initial launch. In fact, to All of the stuff that he complains about, date, only City of Heroes seems to have To the editor: My bro sent me a link to Quicksilver doesn’t mention Master of Nintendo has basically been addressing. succumbed to the early hit/steady falloff your site. I read the gaming industry Orion 2 at all on their site. It’s like they New genres. New ways to play games. reality that affects most movies article and the Scratchware Manifesto for just want people to forget about it. Did Independent developer help. Cheap nowadays. Meanwhile, most games the first time. I’d say I’m sheltered to MoO3 suck so bad that QS had to wipe development costs. either grow, or plateau into a long series news in the sense that unless someone all traces of the predecessor, just to of periodic subscription spikes when new tells me, I’d never know. So this was make it seem less pathetic? Quicksilver Sure, Nintendo has it’s fair share of expansions or major content is released, fortunate. doesn’t respect the MoO2, I can’t respect “brands” but they still manage to make all along collecting their fees. Quicksilver. What a shameful way to each installment of a franchise new and While reading the SWM I polished up my continue Microprose’s legacy. exciting. Some publishers are convinced that old feelings about the subject. A few front-loading is the only way to go. I feel years back I noticed all the things wrong How did things get so out of hand? Why We all hate the games industry for this is because it’s the easiest way to sell with games (and still wrong today). It’s did Developers give up the keys? ruining games but when someone finally a game. Build it, sell it, move on to the same crap over and over, nothing does something about it (Nintendo) we building the next one. Conversely, innovative. And where an improvement Thank you for existing so that I may be don’t talk about it. I have no idea why building a game, selling it, and then is blatantly obvious or explicitly asked less ignorant either. supporting it with periodically-released for by the gaming community, it’s always new content is just too complex for some being saved for the next release, or -Ivan Dossev Shame. traditionalists to want to become a part there is just not enough time before the of. I can understand that of course. deadline. -Nathan Smart Basically, an MMORPG stops becoming a To the editor: Allen’s “Casual Fortunes” single-player when the original pretty The PDF version isn’t any better, because article was an interesting and accurate much invented modern multiplayer, I don’t have a printer. overview of the indie development heavy on story elements when the scene. It’s a relief to find some good original had the story written on the It’s such a shame, because I love your writing, and I’ll definitely be checking Readme.txt file. essays, but I hate reading your site as a back for more. result of this. - WoW may well be the least pirated -Erik Hermansen commercial game ever made, -Robin considering its sales numbers - simply To the editor: I know two examples do because its model is not open to piracy To the editor: I found your website not make a trend, but I noticed in your for any but the most hardcore hacker from a link at slashdot.org. I am so last issue, Greg bashes Doom 3 to communities. happy that you are publishing this exemplify what’s wrong with the magazine online. The articles are not industry, while Joe bashes WoW to Stating personal tastes is fine, but calling only well-written and free from emphasize his ideas about piracy. We Doom 3 and WoW “bad games” is way obnoxious advertising filler, but they are don’t have established criteria for out of line, in my opinion.