Mass Effect 3′s Citadel DLC is 4GBs + New Details
Friday, 1st March 2013Posted in Industry
Tags: achievement, based, citadel, combat, effect, like, mass, Mass Effect 3, Miranda, new, Shepard, Wrex
Written by: Craig Hunter
Mass Effect 3 will finally be coming to a close with its upcoming Citadel DLC.
The Citadel is a single player, story driven campaign add-on that will see Commander Shepard on one final mission. He will reunite with many Mass Effect characters from throughout the trilogy
Today a Trophy/Achievement list has surfaced online, hinting at what else is expected in Shepard’s final mission.
Continue reading “Mass Effect 3′s Citadel DLC is 4GBs + New Details” »
This Week in Gaming: Five Things to be Thankful For
Wednesday, 21st November 2012Posted in Week In Gaming News
Tags: achievement, games, gaming, thankful, time, unlocked, week, wii
Written by: Patrick Scott Patterson
This week in gaming: The Nintendo Wii U was launched.
Check back next week for more…. wait, what? You want more than that?
Okay, but I normally write the weekly This Week in Gaming columns on Thursday morning. Thursday on this particular week is Thanksgiving, a day I’d rather reserve for eating pumpkin pie and watching football. So, instead, I’m sitting here on a Sunday, and so far only the Wii U has launched this week.
So, instead, I offer up things I’m thankful for in video gaming, and do it in the style of my normal column. It may help if you fire up a copy of the music from the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving before you read further.
I Am Thankful for the Nintendo Wii U
I don’t care if that makes some guy with too much hair gel tell me that I need to turn in my “hardcore gamer” card for saying that, either. A new console is always an exciting thing to see, even if it covers my television in weeble wobble people, especially since the original Wii console has seemed almost dormant since the start of Barack Obama’s first term in office.
Achievment Unlocked: 10G – This may change if Nintendo is successful in their efforts to make every word on earth end in “ii” from here. Wii, Mii, TVii, oh mii godii. Whatii? Crapii? It’s startiing.
I am Thankful for Call of Duty
Never in the history of video games have I seen a series sell a bajillion copies a year yet supposedly be hated by those who decide they can tag themselves a the ‘real gamers’ out there. Gaming is mainstream entertainment, and no game manages to prove that like the annual Activision tradition.
Plus I can blow up stuff with my friends and not go to jail. Always a plus.
Achievement Unlocked: 20G – The pilgrims were the original host migrations.
I am Thankful for Grand Theft Auto V
The GTA series isn’t an all time favorite of mine or anything, but it’s hilarious watching the news, especially FOX News, each time one of the Grand Theft Auto games comes out.
They’ll flip out, acting as if the parents buying these games for their kids are somehow doing so blindly and without knowledge of the ESRB ratings system and content within the games. Then will come the white haired “experts” with the bad comb-overs that never played the game yet somehow are tapped as an expert for a story about video games.
It’s the best comedy on television. I can’t wait.
Achievement Unlocked: 30G – I’d pay cash to challenge Glenn Beck to complete all achievements on Grand Theft Auto V. A Kickstarter idea, perhaps?
I am Thankful for Indie Games
I’ll never be one of those guys who rants about AAA titles or whatever, as they are important to the financial success of the industry. However, I’m very thankful for the fact that indie game developers have so many ways of getting their product out to the masses in the modern industry.
When I first got hooked on video games in 1981, many games were developed by a single person or a very small and close knit team. They didn’t have much memory or money nor did they have a huge corporate structure telling them what they wanted them to make.
The result was the creation of games that were just pure fun, and close to the heart of the creators. Indie gaming reminds me much of the earliest days of gaming that hooked me on it all in the first place.
Achievement Unlocked: 40G – Damn ya, Spelunky. You took a lot of my time this year.
I am Thankful for Here
I don’t think I’ve told the folks here how thankful I am for the opportunity to produce content on this very website.
I’ve been gaming for a long time, and I’ve been producing content based on gaming for a long time. I’ve got a pretty unique view of the gaming industry and of life in general. I take gaming seriously but try to have fun with it. That’s the point, right?
As part of this site, not only do I get to produce content for an audience that may not have already been seeing it, but I get to do it in my own style. I’m pretty much given the creative direction I need to do things how I do them. I have fun, and hope those checking it out have fun with it, too.
That’s the point of it all, isn’t it?
Achievement Unlocked: 50G – A very serious “Thank You” for the opportunity. Now let’s eat some funking turkey.
This column will return next week with it’s typical non-Full House sounding finish. Everyone have a good Thanksgiving first.
Researchers Using Achievements to Predict your Behavior: In Related News, MINORITY REPORT
Tuesday, 5th July 2011Posted in Blog Archive, Gaming
Tags: achievement, achievements, data, future, good, like, make, players
Written by: R Bryant Francis
For once we AREN'T talking about Kinect!
I’ll be honest, when I first saw this article, I went “So what? It’s metrics, the stuff they use to track player data and respond better to player demands.” Then my journalistic integrity took ahold and I actually went and read the report.
And shit got all Minority Report. A research team at North Carolina State University has developed a procedure that can accurately predict the behavior of players with an accuracy of 80%. They tested this using World of Warcraft’s achievement system, and discovered that by gathering the data of how and when players first gained their achievements, and were able to predict when and how future achievements would be Continue reading “Researchers Using Achievements to Predict your Behavior: In Related News, MINORITY REPORT” »
Ask Jace: How I do it – Keys to Success Tip #1
Wednesday, 21st April 2010Posted in Ask Jace, Blog Archive
Tags: achievement, advice, Ask Jace, business advice, game design, goals, how to, Jace Hall Show, keys to success, motivation, winning
Written by: Jace Hall
I received this letter the other day and I wanted to answer it but share my response with everybody because I get a lot of e-mails that are very similar.
From: Cyrus
Subject: INSPIRED O.O by youu, sir.
Message Body:
FIRSTLY!
i wonder if jace hall actually reads this…if not i will sound lame. =]
MAINLY!
just wanted to say ive been inspired by you (if you’re actually reading which i doubt as you seem to be rich and famous and have no time for fans ‘SADFACE’)
Anyways, yeah my outlook on life has been that of generally to be successful you need to be hardworking and have little time for your life. But you’ve been the CEO of companies and produced massive amounts of games and still are able to be seemingly carefree and stay positive (not in the please dont commit suicide way, but in the life is wtfpwning amazing way….if you understand.)
TO THE POINT
As i am still in school i wanted to know what subjects to take (high school or university) that are related to the whole aspect of game designing…..because i am generally uninspired by school and enjoy playing wow too much -.-” but i am on the verge of an epiphany that will make me…work hard. SOUMUSTREPLY =]
PS im not crazy, just eccentric when it comes to writing letters. =]
PSS i REALLY hope you (jace hall) reply instead of an automated….computer thing..
Dear Cyrus,
First of all, YES, I do read and try to answer all the e-mail I get. Sometimes it takes me a while to get to it, but I really try to get to it all. No “automated….computer thing…” YET!
Now on to some answers.
Let me just say that it is an honor to hear that I inspire you. I appreciate you telling me that and although I don’t believe myself to be better than anyone else or in the business of trying to be “hey look at me I am all that,” it is always nice for any person to know that they are making a contribution to the world by inspiring someone else in a positive way. I am just glad that I am being moderately useful in some way! I am happy to be of service.
You mention that I seem to be rich and famous. Well, I can assure you that I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination. I still have to work, have a house payment and bills and etc. Yes, I have had some limited success but I still have a long way to go and would have to shift my focus if my desire was to become “money rich.”
While I am on the subject of “money rich” I’d like to offer a few thoughts.
I personally do not base my feelings of success or failure on pure economics. Some people do, and to each their own – but for me it is never about the sole pursuit of acquiring “money.” Certainly, what is worth doing is worth doing for money, but my life’s experience has taught me that the true value of one’s self-worth is not measured in gold pieces but in personal achievement instead.
There is nothing wrong with money. Obviously you need it to survive to a certain extent and that is ok. However, of the many people that I know who have more money than they can ever spend, few actually have positive feelings of self-worth. Quite the opposite actually and a lot of times this results in self-destructive behavior. Having lots of money can free up a lot of mental time, and people can use that mental time to hate themselves even more than they normally would. The image of having lots of money can seem to project that you can be happy and carefree, but I assure you that money alone doesn’t give you those things. So it is for these kinds of reasons, I simply do not pursue “having lots of money” as a sole goal.
Personal achievement, on the other hand, is nearly ALWAYS fulfilling. Money can come and go, people can forcibly take money from you, but personal achievement LASTS FOREVER.
It’s yours. Permanently. No one can take your achievements away from you. Your achievements are your truth and they will continue to pile up and build your self-esteem and help you feel your own self-worth and importance regardless of what others my think.
Personal achievement is one of the true values of life. And here is something to think about: Many people believe in some form of afterlife. Most of these beliefs revolve around a person somehow retaining their consciousness, essentially who they are, AFTER they die. If this is the case, then clearly the ONE THING YOU CAN TAKE WITH YOU AFTER YOU DIE ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES – SUCH AS YOUR PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS. So in my book, that makes something like personal achievements seem like a good investment (just in case.) One thing we all know for sure is that YOU CAN’T TAKE YOUR MONEY WITH YOU.
The best part about all this is that YOU decide what achievements you want to accomplish. There are no rules. There are no wrong answers. You just need to figure out what pursuits are important to you. You decide which things you enjoy doing and make you feel good. Then you just set some simple step by step goals and work toward them. That’s it.
And now for the biggest secret and most important point of all. PLEASE LISTEN TO ME ON THIS:
While it is important to set goals and work toward them you must NEVER measure yourself by whether or not you accomplish the goals you set.
What you must measure yourself by is whether or not you did your very best to TRY to accomplish them. It is CRITICAL that you understand the difference.
As long as you know that you are doing the best that you can to get to your goals, IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU ACTUALLY GET THERE. The personal achievement is ALWAYS IN THE EFFORT NOT IN THE RESULT. You will never feel bad about yourself if you truly know that you have been and are doing everything you can/could to reach your target.
The only time you will feel bad is if you know in your heart that you could have tried harder, and have a bunch of excuses. THAT is what kills you, not the fact that you didn’t achieve the end result.
So in summary, the basic goal you should have for all things you consider is this: JUST DO YOUR BEST. I MEAN REALLY DO YOUR BEST. If you do that, amazing things will happen for you – a lot of it will be unexpected awesome stuff. I promise. Remember, THE JOURNEY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DESTINATION IN ALL CASES.
I have written the long winded diatribe above in order to answer the next question you had for me. You tell me you are in school and you want to know what classes you should take to pursue a career in game design…
Most people would just tell you to take some set of standardized classes, pat you on the head and send you on your way, but I don’t want to do that. I want to teach you “how to fish” so you can eat for the rest of your life, instead of just “handing you a single fish” so you can eat for a day.
So here is my answer: It doesn’t matter what classes you take. Really. If you have an interest in game design, figure out what aspect of game design interests you most, set some simple goals that are interesting to you in that area (make them up!) and start doing your best to figure out how to get there and DO NOT STOP. There’s no formula. Buy a book, take whatever class you feel might apply, get some game that has an “editor” and start making maps. Grab a notepad and just start writing a design you believe in. All are stepping stones to your desired interest. Keep pursing it, step by step. You will get there. I promise – and if you don’t, as long as you keep giving it your ALL, you will not feel bad about it in any single way. There is no standard format to personal success other than doing your best at all times. That act alone instant makes your successful, every day.
There are no rules, only the limits of your own mind perceiving yourself trapped in some kind of pre-arranged societal program that everyone seems to buy into because they are told to and it seems easier – it’s not. Nothing worth having is easy to get. Prepare for pain and suffering and challenges and love every minute of it because when you look back you will realize that those are the fun parts!
Most people define themselves and their world by what they CAN’T do. Step one: Unlearn that. Define yourself by what you CAN do and know that you can do what you set your mind to. That is what I have always tried to do.
Case in point (I won’t get into the gritty details now but:) I had a less than stellar childhood, no money at all, and never took a computer class in my life – YET, I can program in BASIC, C, C++, MOS 6502, Motorola 6800 and Intel 8086 Assembly language. No classes, no teachers, just a desire for personal accomplishment in that area. If I can do that, ANYONE CAN.
Know this – He/She who is most determined in a battle will always eventually win no matter how strong the opposition.
Hope that helps!
-Jace
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