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Click the image to enlarge ‘Motivational Media O’ the Day’.

Top reasons I stay logged into FB, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Twitter…

1. Conversation. Its like being in a room with all of your friends and people you know while having separate conversations with each person WITHOUT interrupting or making someone else feel left out of the conversation. I guess that is the NSFJ in me.

2. Social Discernment. I can see what people are doing that matters to them in order to see if it would matter to me. In a passive way, this is good, because I can seek to understand people more effectively if the issues and subjects they support are not forced on me. And, I hope this works vice versa.

3. Passive Collaboration - No matter where or when I can choose to take part in the numerous conversations and ‘threads’ that are going on in my circle of friends, family, and co-workers.

4. Sharing. I love to share things and I enjoy having ideas, pictures, and other media shared with me.

5. Feeling Connected. In the movie, The Matrix, one of the guys mentions that he wants to go back in and forget that the Matrix was only a program meant to trick the mind. He said he wants to ‘feel’ like it was real again. In my life that is hectic with family, kids, work, church, and hobbies [;-|) , I’m not sure that my desire to want to be connected could be fully realized without the web and social networking sites.

6. Opportunities. Someone out there is actually looking for a person with my talents to help them with a project. Or, I’m looking for someone out there that has talents and abilities for a project - my first place I look is going to be the networks I’m plugged into…

7. Discovery. Or, the joy of “finding something new”: isn’t it all just “pieces of flair”? Aren’t we all, that use the social networking sites, just passing flair back and forth? What is so sticky about it that we come back for more? I think its the feeling we get of discovery. John Naisbitt says in his book “Megatrends”, that “we are drowning in information, but starved for knowledge.” So, in a way we are always looking for something new that has the potential to become useful knowledge. But then you have the whole “knowledge vs. applied knowledge issue” that plagues us all to some degree. Those that have a high tolerance for discovery become the power users and the driving force.

So far that is all I can think of…

In no way do I sit down and outline the posts on my blog. I think its evident, but I like to post “in the moment” or as a thought, or idea, occurs.

There are 9 ways…

1. Error (thrown or by catcher missing third strike)
2. Fielder’s Choice that scores a runner on third
3. Steal home
4. Walk batter with bases loaded
5. Hit-by-pitch with bases loaded
6. Balk with runner on third
7. Obstruction by a fielder (attempt pick-off and catcher bumps into the runner)
8. Wild Pitch
9. Sac Bunt/Fly

Do you know of any other ways?  Am I missing any?

In lieu of going into a long post about the video game industry and why game reviews are inherently bad for the industry, I’ll just state this: I will never buy, rent, or ‘borrow’ a new video game unless it completes this list that I’ve compiled. In a way, this is my call to all game developers to establish a list of their own that they must check off in order to ensure the gaming public is getting a quality product, not to mention, the list ensures investors are establishing a smart strategy for their return on investment.

So, my top ten must haves for all new video games, from now on…

1. Online Social Web Connectivity - Share my score, connect with friends, upload to YouTube/Flickr/Facebook… Or like EA Sports has provided a social network www.easportsworld.com to showcase, connect, and grow experiences.
2. Shooter/Action Game - ‘onDeath() function’ - When I die in a game I don’t want long cut scenes or lists of scores/accomplishments. Even worse don’t put a pop-up box to ask me, “Would you like to end the game?”… ask your investor if he wants me to stop playing. Instead, do it like Halo. When I die (if I die) in a game, I want one button to confirm, “Yeah, your dead” and then the game starts back at my last save or progress point. Let’s keep it going. Don’t ask me if I want to quit or give me a reason to stop playing. Don’t get it the way.
3. Tree Structures and breadcrumbs for Menus. - I love menus in a game that both keep my current location as well as let me back up or proceed very easily. Some games that do it right are Madden 09, DiRT (even though its very graphically driven), Fable, and Mass Effect. I like that when its a console game the Analog stick controls the nav of the menu with flick gestures. Very nice and easy. The Wii’s point and click is good too, naturally, when there is a Windows Explorer or Mac Finder type of nav scheme. I don’t like Modal menus that don’t show me my previous options or don’t allow me to see many options which can be accessed from my current location. Breadcrumbs, breadcrumbs, breadcrumbs… say it with me. I have to have Tree Structures with breadcrumbs. It should be a standard. Look at iTunes for a great example. My Music > Genre: Blue Grass > Artist: Bill Monroe > Song: Blue Moon of Kentucky … see its easy. I can get back to My Music or go into each one of the ‘levels’ to navigate. If I want more Bill Monroe, I can continue in the Song level. If I want different Blue Grass music I can go down that level.
4. Tutorials and Tips - I don’t care if you are smarter than Will Wright and make a game that simulates millions of years of evolution (Spore), please put a tutorial or two as videos on the disc or in the download. I am not that smart. I’m from Kentucky actually… so I need good directions. I need help and guidance. Please give me Tutorials in Madden on how to stop Tom Brady and the Patriots. Sure, I know I can buy the game guide, but I want the content that teaches me how to play the game accessible with one or two clicks from the Tree Menu. Hey, why not make the games smart? Why can’t the Tutorials and Tips icon pop up and know what I need. For instance, in Madden it sees that I’ve been burned by the Half-Back screen six times in the last three games. Why can’t it suggest that on 3rd down I should have a Linebacker spy the HB? Or in Spore I should be able to call up the Tutorials screen as an overlay in the game. Then I can find out how to remove the appendage I just awkwardly and very accidentally added. Don’t make me buy the book or download a PDF from the website. I want it ‘in game’.
5. How many times do I have to sit through cut scenes that don’t look consistent with the graphics engine from within the game? If you, game dev guy, are going to make a game and put in cut scenes to further along the story, then please use the same look and feel as the graphics engine. Unreal Engine 3 does just that. Gears of War is a good example. Yeah I know you have more ’scripting’ people than ‘puppeteers’, but I would rather it look consistent than have the chance to be taken out of the moment because I’ve noticed the main character’s skin looks smoother in the CGI than in the game’s engine.
6. Realism != Best.Game.Evar! - What I mean is, look at the Wii and its graphics. Sure you can crap on its capacity to put out realistic graphics, but why? Wouldn’t game devs rather have some Expressionistic art direction and use cell shaded or graphics seen in Braid (Xbox 360 Live Arcade)? Man. The Realistic graphics take me out of an experience more times than not. Why? Uncanny Valley. Simply put. If something is expected then it better be delivered or its going to fail. If my game’s main character looks realistic when not moving, but then makes me do a double take during the first walk cycle, then I’ve lost it. Send it back to Blockbuster and rent Windwaker again.
7. Downloadable Content and Demos - I don’t care if I’m playing Poker Championship XXV. I should have something to download to enhance and extend the game. How about optional backs on the cards or animated card fronts? NCAA Football 09 does it right. They have a locker room to share content with other players, but more importantly its downloadable content that extends the game’s experience. Another game that has used DLC in a great way is Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. They’ve utilized optional quests and content perfectly. Some of the content was free and some of it cost an arm and a leg, but it at least wasn’t an afterthought and was delivered solidly. Look at all the rhythm games’ downloadable songs success. Yet to come: content I create that I can send to my friends.

   Demos are a must too because I’ve become a bit weary of any game that won’t put out a demo. Are you hiding something? I’ve bought a few games lately because they had Trial periods or came first as demos that caught my attention.

8. Downloadable Media - Xbox Live Marketplace is great. Sony and Nintendo have similar offerings. The games portion of downloadable media has been mostly regulated to videos, themes, and gamer pics, which is great, but I still think there could be untapped potential there and as such should become a standard for any game. Give me downloadable tutorials and tips (not the pay kind either… partner with Fritos or Coke and put an ad at the beginning).
9. Camera Controls, Intuitive Game Mechanics - If the camera of my RPG gets stuck in a position or shows me a view that isn’t at least half way stunning I get that feeling: “I’m not playing a game anymore… I’m testing software. Found a bug!” I’d like to avoid that by standardizing on a camera that handles the majority of complex positioning the same way so that devs don’t have to re-create the wheel every time. A game that I want to buy will have a camera as smooth and effective as Crackdown and/or Metal Gear Solid 4. These games have very fluid cameras that don’t get in the way or at worst were easy to manipulate in those extremely complex positions. The cameras need to be intuitive enough to know the situations and fail safely if possible.

   Intuitive game mechanics to me means having a game like Indigo Prophecy and Dragon’s Lair with twitch action/response controls. The boat needs to dodge the rocks. If we don’t move at a certain time, the boat will hit the rocks. Suddenly on the screen an interface appears with an image of an analog stick motioning to the right. We move the stick to the right the split second before the boat were to hit the rocks. Clif Bleszinski, Gears of War game dev, once said something to the effect that games should tell players what their options are and when they should do it. If they have to figure out the controls or the mechanics then they can’t effectively use the controls and mechanics in a timely needed and desired fashion. In other words, the player gets taken out of the experience because the controls are too hard. Give more hints in the games to make them more intuitive over time. I know that I’m going to get an option to flick the analog stick before the boat hits the rocks so I don’t have to look on the screen for a clue or hint of what I should do. Its going to tell me when I need it. Now, what might matter to how effective I am flicking the analog stick would be precision and timeliness. That would be the difference in having the boat get slighly nicked versus no mass damage. What I find totally mind blowing is ‘trial and error’ gaming due to a lack of ‘in game leading’ or intuitive mechanics. I don’t want to do Level 5 fourteen hundred times because of its a) length, b) difficulty, or c) lack of clues to help me along. I’m not lazy, but when I’m playing a game, even if its a strategy or puzzle: I want it to be intuitive. No one likes a game that they can’t play or move forward.

10. Fun - I don’t need games that I’ve been pitched for months that claim to be the next “Half-Life” or next “Zelda” to be something that is not creative or rewarding in a fun way. I have plenty of Excel spreadsheets to work with during the day. I don’t need a game to be a mask for another Excel spreadsheet. Look at a game like Braid. Some of it is hard, and I’ve not asked for any help or sought out any cheats. I want to earn it. But it almost got to a point where I felt like I was stuck in Excel hell. I think its healthy for a game to tinker with very hard portions in small doses: it keeps the player honest, sort to say. But if the window of success is so small and there is no way I control some of the outcome in an intuitive and easily understood process, then I’m going to do a “Save As” and put it in the Trash cause work time is over. What I consider fun games are games like: Kung Fu Chaos, Geometry Wars 1 & 2, Fable, Indigo Prophecy, Facebreaker, The Bigs, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and even this year’s Madden. I could go on, but unfortunately the longer list, in the past has been the games that aren’t fun. The formula for fun is a future post.

Thanks for reading.

[EDIT 1:] I wish I could spell and use proper grammar.  I would write more.