Completion vs Just Progression
Here’s another interesting article I came upon called Progression is the New Victory. It talks about how games are not really completed anymore and about how a game could be never ending and boring or never ending and fun, mostly dependent on the progression system. And it got me thinking: I played some mobile games that are supposed to be never ending, or at least very long, and they couldn’t hold my attention for very long and here comes Star Wars: Uprising and I’m hooked. And, apparently, it’s not just because it’s a Star Wars game. They do progression well. Especially since the latest patch. First of all, the missions might be repetitive but they are not sufficiently difficult that I am currently stuck on two that are too difficult for me. So what do I do in the meantime? My second point, you can always do something. Even if I run one of the standard missions, I get a sizable reward out of it whether it be money or upgrade materials or equipment I can trade for money or salvage for upgrade materials. And while progression might be a bit slow, it doesn’t feel like much of a grind because I’m getting something appropriate to my position in the game. It’s not skinning 10 wolves for 100 gold pieces. Thirdly, the crew. You amass crew throughout the game which you can send on independent missions. They gather money, materials, gear, faction support or other crew members and, if you Continue Reading →
Posted in Gaming, Practice, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with comments disabled.
Interesting Things on Steam
Boogeyman looks like it’s trying to ride FNAF‘s coattails because it looks just about the same as FNAF 4. But so far, it’s getting positive reviews. 6.5$ in Early Access now. Helldivers has been in development for a while, probably since Arrowhead abandoned the Magicka franchise and wrapped up Gauntlet. So, this looks like kind of the same thing except with big scifi guns. Yep. Count me in. Coming in December. Crashlands is a Don’t Starve like experience but… in SPACE! And it looks whacky and just plain cool. The video explains it best. Coming early 2016. Firewatch is a mystery story driven exploration game. There’s not a lot more than that to say except it looks very interesting. Coming February 10th.
Posted in Gaming, Less Interesting News by Eran with comments disabled.
Status Update
Current Status: Extremely busy. We’ve had a stressful past few days at work. Lots of things getting more complicated than they should, deadlines being pushed and pretty much everyone staying late. Hopefully it will end soon because I haven’t really had a chance to write something and there’s an article about Game Progression vs Game Victory I would like to discuss. In the mean time, I’ve been watching Adam Ruins Everything (and it’s awesome!) and I’ve been wondering, is it legal for employers in Israel to forbid employees to talk about their salary?
Posted in No Category, Work by Eran with comments disabled.
Remember Remember…
This is usually the day we remember The Gun Powder Treason and Plot, a staple of civil disobedience and unrest. It is good to remember that it is not only our privilege but our duty to take responsibility for our state and how it’s run. And we’re not talking only about elections. It is also the day I remember Yitzhak Rabin, now dead for two decades, who is still, in my opinion, the last decent leader we had in this country. And no one has yet been able to fill his shoes. And this year, because the previous two were recurring topics of conversation between us, I remember Keren Embar. She wasn’t here last November too. I regret we can never have those conversations again. I don’t have time or presence of mind to write any more but check past November 5th post for ramblings of the same nature.
Posted in Humanity, Life Lessons, No Category, Philosophy, Practice, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with comments disabled.
Interesting Things on Steam
Descent: Underground… It’s Back!… It looks like a bunch of fans gathered together, got the license and are now bringing Descent back from the dead. And, hell, if it’s going to be as cool as Descent, as fun as Descent II and as smart as Descent3, I’m in. They even call themselves, Descendent Studios. I see what you did there. Now on early access for 25$. And, apparently, so is Aquanox, in Aquanox Deep Descent. There’s nothing much about it yet except saying it’s a reimagining of the original series and a return to the world. I haven’t played the originals but I was lead to believe they are pretty good shooters. Coming in 2017. Rocket League – Back to the Future Car DLCÂ just because I have to. I might want to actually play the game now…
Posted in Gaming, Less Interesting News by Eran with comments disabled.
חמש שנים
שבוע שעבר, יום שבת ליתר דיוק, חגגנו, מעין ואני, את היותנו נשואים חמש שנים וביחד כבר שש. לא עשינו משהו נורא גרנדיוזי; רק את הדבר שאנחנו בדרך כלל אוהבים לעשות – לבלות אחת בחברת השני. וגם לא כתבתי על זה עד עכשיו כי לא הרגשתי שיש לי משהו ממש לכתוב. מבחינתי, זה עוד יום בחיים שלנו. יום שצריך לציין כי סיבה לחגוג זה תמיד טוב. אבל… זה פשוט לא מרגיש כמו כל כך הרבה זמן. זה מרגיש כאילו רק אתמול היא עבדה ואני לא, כאילו רק שלשום אספנו את מוצארט מצער בעלי חיים, כאילו רק לפני שבוע היינו צפופים בדירת חדר וחצי במעונות הזוגיים של הטכניון ורק קצת לפני ארזנו את עצמנו לקפיצה זריזה לקפריסין ועמדנו מול שתי נשים זרות לנו לחלוטין אבל שערכו לנו טקס משמעותי יותר ממה שכל רבי היה יכול לספק. וחוץ מזה, אני לא ממש רואה את זה כסוג של Achievement Unlocked. חמש שנים, אם כבר משתמשים באנלוגיה של משחק מחשב, צריך להיות כמו הסיום של האזור הראשון, משהו שכל מי שמתחיל עושה. דברו איתי אחרי 10, 20 ו-40. למה? כי, מבחינתי, להיות עם מעין זה קל. זה משהו שאני עושה כמו לנשום. זה משהו שאם אני אפסיק לעשות אז על הדרך אני כנראה גם אפסיק לנשום. אז כן, חמש שנים וכל זה. נדבר שוב עוד חמש.
Posted in Maayan, Me, No Category, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with 1 comment.
Interesting Things on Steam
Smite is the third biggest MOBA of them all and some say it is the most interesting. I haven’t played it myself but I’ve heard it called more accessible, easy to manage and more fun to play than DOTA2 or League of Legends. It’s free as per usual but now you can have it with Steam achievements. Mars Colony: Frontier looks like a serious simulation of martian colonisation. Its tags also include RPG and Adventure so I hope it won’t be a NASA level serious simulation but something arcady enough and more enjoyable. Available now for 10$. Space Xonix is… pretty much like it sounds. It’s Xonix but in space. And completely bonkers. You claim territory just like in Xonix but then there are lasers and fireballs and lava and… just watch the video. Available now for 2$. Transformers: Devastation is a very colourful spectacle brawler starring our favourite set of Autobots and Decepticons and while all of these games always look like a kind of “mash buttons for glorious mass murder” simulator, it is so far getting great reviews from whomever plays it and I still have an affection for Transformers, even after Michael Bay. Coming Soon. Velocity Stream is an interesting concept of a space-like racer with crazy tracks because it is one player’s job to lay down those tracks in real time as the race progresses. I can think of a few problems with this but the idea is neat. I’ll wait for reviews. Available now for 15$. Alien Robot Monsters looks like Continue Reading →
Posted in Gaming, Less Interesting News by Eran with 1 comment.
The Less Interesting Telegram
אז טלגרם מנסים להיות טוויטר ואני בודק איך זה יכול לעבוד. אם יש לכם טלגרם, אפשר לעקוב אחרי עדכונים תכופים יותר כאן. עוד לא יודע איך לשלב את העדכונים האלו פה אבל בטוח מישהו יוציא תוסף בקרוב.
Posted in Less Interesting News, Practice, Thinking Out Loud by Eran with comments disabled.