I am no sports expert, but it seems to me that esports suffer a greater frequency of cross-continental player transfers than "real" sports. It could make an interesting article to examine why this happens, is it just because there are less restrictions? Unable to speak for other esports like StarCraft etc., it's apparent in League of Legends that a great deal of players on NA teams did not originate in North America and transferred over from a European or Korean (etc.) team. Last season I believe is was OMG, a Chinese team, that transferred over to NA entirely and played for a split before returning back. How are teams' regional identities so flexible? Also seen often is a player from another region which transfers to NA but is unable to play due to "credit card complications." Why does this happen so often, and ultimately is it worth the risk? I've seen far too many times during LCS that teams lose because they don't get enough practice with their core lineup because of complications and an inability to play since there was a transfer issue. Examine this issue and assess the pros and cons of cross regional player transfers.
I have no idea what Esports are - is it just the name for a certain type of game? This is an interesting topic and has a lot of potential given it is fleshed out enough. – Jordan9 years ago
I'd be less interested in the "pros and cons" article, and more interested in a "what does this mean for e-sports and the post-internet world as a whole" article, but I like the topic. – Christopher Vance9 years ago
The game Undertale is quickly rising in popularity in the gaming community. It's been promoted by many well known youtube game play content creators such as Sky William, Videogamedunkey and GameGrumps. It has been acclaimed as hilarious, cute, emotionally moving and beautifully designed. How does Undertale stack up to previous 2-D "RPG"s? What is it that truly sets it apart as unique? Perhaps the buzz around it's release isn't because it's the best of it's genre, but that Undertale just breaks the mold of other video games currently being released? Does Undertale deserve it's reputation?
If you are a human being with a soul, and you regularly succumb to "the feel?" Then yes, it does deserve it's reputation. Simply put, "Undertale" intentionally appeals to both men and women of any number of gender and sexual orientations, due to its gender neutral main character, and the numerous relationships that blossom before your eyes as you go through the game: more than half of which are what we would consider homosexual in nature. It's a game that includes tropes and gags reminiscent of anime and manga: jokes that only a youth culture now familiar with Japanese humor could appreciate. Along with that, it is a virtual meme production machine, allowing any number of people to take numerous memorable screen shots and make up their own gags from them, not to mention an overabundance of fan-art. Basically, it's popularity on Tumblr is likely by no accident, as it is a game almost perfectly designed to cater to that crowd, and their sensibilities. I can't speak exactly for how it differs or improves on ideas and mechanics used in other similar 2D RPGs. But I don't think it's popularity really has anything to do with its game play, other than the fact that you are encouraged to be a pacifist rather than fight and kill all of your "enemy encounters." It's likely so popular because it appeals to an audience that loves everything this game has to offer as far as its characters, its story, and its romantic situations are concerned. No other game has achieved what this game has in those specific areas, and no other game that I know of has included more gay relationships than it has straight, because at this time, only an independent game by an independent developer is comfortable and courageous enough to design their game that way. For me personally, I love this game, not for the gameplay, but for the story. If I could have just read a comic book about it, or watched an animated video about it all, I may have preferred that. But, putting this all into a game makes the experience perhaps more rewarding, because you required to beat the difficult parts of the game in order to see how this incredibly well-conceived story continues, and how all your new monster buddies turn out in the end. Sure you can watch the cut-scenes on youtube these days. If you want the most out of it, though, then you'll play the game entirely by yourself, and experience it as it was intended. So yes, it deserves every accolade that it gets, because there's nothing else like it, and there might not be another for a little while still. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
With all that I previously said, what I really meant to respond with was: No, it is by all means "not" overrated. If anything, it is still rather underrated by the rest of the gaming community who has yet to play it, and truly understand how enjoyable it is. Because I imagine there are still some reluctant people who have yet to try it themselves, and who may be convinced that what they see filling their Tumblr feeds is more annoying than enticing. lol – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
Lol I am glad you are so motivated to express yourself about Undertale, and so strongly. I haven't played it personally, just watched commentaries and gameplay videos. It looks really interesting but I found it surprising no one has anything negative to say. I hope someone like you takes this topic and writes something really moving about Undertale with it! – Slaidey9 years ago
This could take a lot of research into demographics and the liking. I very much consider myself a gamer and an avid fan of YouTube, yet I've never heard of this game. Mind you, I rarely mix the two. I don't watch Let's Plays and such. – Austin Bender9 years ago
I think one of the more interesting aspects of Undertale is that it knows it's a game. During replays, or if you go back to another save to make a different choice, certain characters know what you did and will comment on it. That fact it's programmed to be self-aware is an interesting thing to bring to the gaming industry. – tateltael9 years ago
I think it's very important to know that the sort of moral choice present in Undertale has been done before and I would argue better executed in Indie Games like Iji. I think part of the reason Undertale has become such a runnaway success is partly due to changing winds in interests on Tumblr, and partly due to Toby Fox's placement in Homestuck fandom. Which isn't to say that the game isn't good, but its meteoric rise in popularity is not indicative of its quality. Similarly many members Undertale's have not actually played the game and only know it from lets plays. – MattHotaling9 years ago
Both games incorporate a triple-tiered karma mechanic. What is effective about the approach taken by Undertale, the up-and-coming indie game, and what is effective about the approach taken by Mass Effect, the mega-million dollar franchise? Dozens of other games have written this feature in the past. What prospects does the karma meter have in the future of adventure gaming?
Mass Effect is one of the best RPG games there is and i dont know if any game can compare to it – aasteriou9 years ago
Definitely an interesting topic to think about. Though, the similarities between the karma meters are very slim, especially in the way they're incorporated into the gameplay. – rhainley9 years ago
I'm sure that you've all heard it before: "Pokemon? That's a child's game. Call of Duty/Battlefield are adult games!" While I do believe that Pokemon games have started out to be just a game for only a child audience, I can't help but feel that the games have taken a complete shift in audience growth. You will notice many older audiences playing Pokemon and not just playing it but knowing the more complexities of the mechanics within the games that children have no idea nor any concept of. For example, IV's and EV's were something that pretty much were non-existent in the minds of players when Pokemon Red, Blue, and Green Versions were released (as well as Yellow). These new mechanics in the games revolutionized the way players interacted with each other to a whole new level of complexity. Before it used to be "Trade me your level 100 Mewtwo for my level 50 Mew." But nowadays we have players talking like this: "I'll trade you my Shiny Bulbasaur with it's hidden ability for your Ditto with maxed IV's and EV's!" Not only that but with the addition of new battle methods such as double, triple, rotation and even inverse battles the inclusion of these stats affecting IV's and Ev's have driven players to catch multiple of the same Pokemon just to get even one that has at the very least one or two IV/EV's maxed out. Those are the Pokemon that have the best chances of becoming either a wall or sweeper in online battles. So, are these games more children friendly still? Or is Nintendo secretly turning their consumers into full blown tacticians and strategists?
I feel that pokemon can appeal to different audiences, which is why it's a popular franchise. You can either enjoy it casually or seriously, so there's no right or wrong way to play it. I know Fire Emblem is also a strategy game, but compared to Pokemon, there is no pressure to EV train if you don't want to. It really depends how seriously the player wants improve their team. – YsabelGo9 years ago
Video games are an advancing form of media that can bring certain topics to light, like the radio and TV are used to promote through advertising. As climate change is becoming a worldwide issue, some developers have used environment issues as a subject matter for games. Climate Game Jams (48-hour game-building marathons focused on climate change) have also been promoted by the White House to increase awareness of environmental change. Are video games an effective tool for discussing climate change? The writer perhaps might discuss some of the games that have been built around environmental awareness.
Video games are absolutely effective tools for discussing any social change, environmental being an example. Games are designed for users to solve challenges through a myriad of different ways. Why not address solving a global crisis by...solving a global crisis? – loridonnellynj9 years ago
Not just environmental awareness in it's natural state (global warming) but a lot of dystopic games bring light to the human effects on the environment through our most destructive practices. Just look at the Fallout games! Not only is the environment molded by nuclear bombs from the past they also make players live through it's lasting affects by having to constantly deal with radiation as a hazard to their character's health. It's taught us "first hand" the life pursuing nuclear weapons will bring and warn us against it, showing us the importance of taking care of the environment in a game where you literally can't eat anything without accumulating radiation poisoning. – Slaidey9 years ago
Video games can indeed be an effective tool to communicate the problem of climate change. In fact, I participated in that game jam in which my team came up with a simulator that involved resource management and caring for the land that you harvest from. However, the biggest challenge for us was choosing a particular aspect of climate change and adding playable game elements to make the game fun and understanding. All in all, you can come up with a million good ideas for a game that deals with climate change, but only a handful of them can get made if you can get down to the difficult, technical detail to make the game actually playable so that its message is effectively communicated to the players without being in-your-face about it. – LeighCSquared9 years ago
While video games are more popular in the world than they have ever been, almost ever single blockbuster game that is out now is a sequel or a remake of an already existing franchise. Skyrim is the 5th game (not counting spin-offs) in the Elder Scrolls Series, GTA V is the 5th game in its series. XCOM is a remake of the popular franchise from the 90s, Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed almost always see a new release every year. Outside of a handful of successes, like Dragon Age, Dishonored, or the Souls series (all of which have sequels already), new IPs are as rare as being happy it's a Monday. Analyze why this trend has come to be; is it economic, or is there more to it than just that?
Are we talking new IP's in regards to just AAA games, or new IP's in general? Because one of the biggest trends around is "Five Nights at Freddy's." And apparently that's not only getting a movie, but it was created just last year by a one-man indie developer, and it has four games to its name due to it's utter simplicity to design and code. There are also plenty of other Indie game IP's that are quite popular as well. Besides that, are you saying IP's as in, a title, a franchise, something apart from other IP's? Or are you saying IP's as in, something that is popular enough and is intended to breed sequels? Because by that second definition, all of the IP's you mention are getting more sequels, thus there's less room on the schedule for game developing companies to put effort into developing new IP's. So it's almost a Catch-22. You can't have a new IP if it can't guarantee longevity with sequels. And you can't stop making sequels to existing IP's because you have to ensure their longevity in order to keep the money flowing. – Jonathan Leiter9 years ago
I like to think it is because it is easier to make money out of something that's previously establised so you don't have to waste time or money creating an IP when you're not confident that'll take off. Brand goes hand in hand with IPs, that's why Disney is raking in the dough
– McNook9 years ago
Money, obviously, but I'd like to see just how much money. It would be interesting to do some analysis of the sales figures of sequels/spinoffs vs. new stuff. Maybe work that into a piece? Or even sequels vs. spinoffs. I'd look at the final fantasy franchise for that one. – lmunson9 years ago
It is no secret that Konami has made some questionable decisions as of late. An article looking into the facts of Konami's business practice would be interesting. Look at rumors why Konami kicked out Kojima for validity. Look at their recent use of intellectual property for clues behind their decisions. Look at their history as a gaming company and see why they are making the decisions they are making today.
The fact that it was recently reported that Metal Gear Solid V earned more money on day one sales than Age of Ultron did for day one is interesting as well, as Konami still seems to be determined to cut ties from future AAA titles. – nsnow9 years ago
Why do we love it? What, if any, are the consequences of living in virtual or "fantasy" world in which we indulge fantasies of violence and murder?
First-person shooters aren't the only culprits, if you will, of indulging violent fantasies. I would argue, even, that the first-person shooter is actually less harmful than others, for the fact that most first-person shooters are military based, and the targets are (usually) enemy soldiers that engage in combat with you. For those reasons I wouldn't call it murder. Compare that to Grand Theft Auto, a traditionally third-person sandbox experience, where you can murder anyone on the street. There are certainly consequences that can and should be addressed in first-person shooters, but I can't say I agree with the ones you specified. – nsnow9 years ago
This is a really interesting topic- lots of debate has been held on this issue. Many studies have suggested that these kind of games influence moral values, but there are just as many that refute this opinion entirely with valid reasoning. The gamer's perspective of these games is one thing, but the public's general opinions may be completely different. Perhaps maybe the writer could look into how the general public views these games as well. – James Smith9 years ago
I would make sure not to swing too heavily in one direction with this one. The topic is so hotly contested that a bias would be detrimental to any argument being made. – TineBeag9 years ago
First of all, not all first-person games are murder simulators. play some Portal 2. exercise those brain muscles over some pretty creative puzzles and laugh out loud dialogue. Second of all, it's not just FPS games that are violent. Gears of War? Hitman? Third, there are other genres of video games. Puzzle games, Platformers, RPGs, sports/ racing games. Fourth, sometimes people play a game because- dare I say it- it's fun, regardless of content. – effingjay9 years ago
