The Benefits of Low Tech...

If you're not aware of it, most computer games use advanced features on graphics cards and, since these graphics processes occur in between the main board and the monitor, all you see if you try to remote into your computer and play them is a black screen. Sure you could loop the video output back into a video capture board and look at that remotely, but then you introduce an intolerable amount of lag. Trust me... not worth the effort.

I just got done writing my review of Game Dev Tycoon for the PC and, while there's not a way to play Steam games on iPhones or iPads, the graphics requirements are low enough that you can remote into a computer and play it remotely, using LogMeIn, for example.

I actually made use of this while reviewing it. I played it on my gaming rig, primarily, but I also used LogMeIn to play it on my iPad and even my iPhone. Up until the very late stages of the game, the pacing isn't too frantic and there aren't a lot of things going on at once, so it's reasonable enough to play on touch screen devices.

So what's in an MMORPG?

I recently had the agonizing pleasure of reviewing Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. I love the game; it's almost like it was made specifically for me... but, I'm not everyone, and there were some features that people tend to expect from an MMORPG that it doesn't have out the box. Mind you some of these are specifically mentioned as upcoming features in the FAQ on the game's official website, but they're not in the game at launch.

Specifically, Gods & Heroes currently has no PVP gameplay. You can't attack other players, period. You can play alone or you can work with friends (or strangers, for that matter) to go up against more powerful enemies and to conquer the dungeon areas, but you can't attack other players. In most MMORPGs, there are generally two sides (factions) and you select which side you are on when you create your character, then there is generally some provision for attacking other players from the other faction, and often even a "duel" option that allows players to challenge other players to a fight, on an "opt-in" basis. Some games have specific servers set up for PVP gameplay, which essentially means that you've opted in by creating a character on that server. Gods & Heroes doesn't offer any sort of PVP gameplay, even though one of the character classes in the game is Gladiator. Since the "bad guys" faction are NPCs and all players are Romans, I don't see how Faction PVP could be easily worked into the game, but I can imagine the gladiator arenas being brought into play, which could be a nice way to handle duels.

Also missing from Gods & Heroes is any crafting or harvesting, although both are planned post-launch features, and Magnolia bushes can already be found and the act of harvesting them can be performed (although I don't think you actually gain anything from it, just yet). When I play games that have crafting and harvesting, I will do a decent amount of it, but I don't typically make it my focus, so I can't say I missed it much.

So, the question comes down to what exactly is needed for an MMORPG these days? IS PVP gameplay a must-have? Does a game HAVE to have factions? Are crafting and harvesting important MMORPG activities or just ways to keep easily bored players busy? If I can get new items and armor from enemy drops and/or by buying it from vendors, how important is it that someone in Colorado can make a tunic for me, when it comes down to it?

This is just questions, without any real answers, but it seems to me that a lot of "neat" features that have sprouted in MMORPGS have gotten swept up into the common recipe, without necessarily deserving a permanent place as a staple of the genre.

As for Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, what has been delivered so far (at launch) seems like it has very little focus on the online aspects. It seems like it could have been a perfectly good RPG, without being an MMO. As it is, the value of the game for a player who likes Gods & Heroes with just its current features is reduced by the fact that you have to pay a monthly fee and the fact that, should the game not prove to be popular enough and the servers get turned off, then you can't continue to play the PVE parts, because the game requires a backend server to run.

So, thoughts? Is PVP a must-have for an MMORPG? And what of crafting? harvesting / mining? auctions?

One Strong Bad Demo!

So, if you're familiar with the Internet Flash-based comic, "Homestar Runner," then you know who Strong Bad is. I used to frequent the HomestarRunner website and watch the various cartoons. I would even go so far as to view the source of the page to see what the flash file was and then go to that directly, as this allowed me to watch it full screen and see outside of the intended "viewable" area.

Even back then, there would be little interactive surprises, if you could determine where to click. Little bonus content, if you will... extra jokes, simple games, that sort of thing.

Well, Strong Bad is now being featured in his own game that is coming out for the PC and Wii, and the demo (called, "Homestar Ruiner Demo") is available for download. I wrote a quick news article about the Strong Bad Demo on GameVortex.com yesterday, but I wanted to test it out to make sure it wasn't virus-infected, that it actually launched and to see how it played before posting the news story.

It was pretty cool to see Strong Bad and friends in a game, which basically felt like a less-linear version of the old Homestar Runner content. The only thing that irked me about the demo was that when you are talking to another character, you will say some different things based on whether you are trying to be nice or mean, but you won't know how many different things you can say until you've cycled through them... and then you end up hearing the same conversation again, without being able to break out of it... which can be annoying, since some of the conversations are lengthy exchanges.

Much like the original Homestar Runner comics, the videogame is intended to be served up in periodic installments. Homestar Runner makes a perfect license for episodic content, as it was originally done in an episodic manner. The first episode is around nine dollars, but you can buy the first season for thirty-something, I believe. there are links to purchasing the game or the series inside of the demo, so that's probably the best way to check-ity check it out.

- Robert "Geck0" Perkins