Kill Ten Rats

It’s Magic without the CCG elements. That’s kind of like D&D without the RPG elements, which Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro is also doing. That removes some problems but also much of the core game.

By “without the CCG elements,” I mean that there is no deck-building. You can pick one of several pre-made decks. There is some minor deck-building when you unlock new cards for each deck, but you cannot remove existing cards you do not like. On the upside, that removes the standard CCG structure of encouraging you to spend ridiculous sums on getting the perfect deck. On the downside, that removes the entire strategic element of the game, leaving only the tactical side of playing what feels like someone else’s deck. And the decks, while effective against each other, are stocked with trash that you would not use in a normal Magic game.

Playing through the campaign (against a series of computer-controlled decks), it is hard to shake the feeling that winning comes from who gets better decks/draws or from the weakness of the AI, rather than player skill. I have lost games watching enemy creatures fly in while I could do nothing to stop them, and I have won games where the computer never seemed to be able to do much. Then again, it might just be that the basic green deck is a blunt instrument requiring almost no thought: land, creatures, very few instants or special abilities. You only need to win once to advance, so one lucky draw and you’re set (limiting mulligans on the opening hand is somewhat silly when you can costlessly reset the duel).

Playing online might differ. I am always hesitant to test some random online community. It would be playing against others facing similar deck constraints, so again that mix of deck, luck, and minor tactics. For the tactical, there is a series of “win this turn” puzzles, each of which involves a few minutes of reading cards and seeing where the path to victory lies.

I picked this up because I was mostly enjoying Elements, saw the ad (free expansion with pre-order), checked some reviews of the console version, and thought it might be worth $10 to try the market leader. It was a low risk purchase compared to real Magic cards or a night at the cinema. Entertaining in an early binge, but likely lacking in staying power due to the low deck flexibility. I will let you know if that assessment changes.

: Zubon

“…you can donate one or all of your vital organs to the Aperture Science Self Esteem Fund for Girls? It’s true!”

Portal received a couple of updates this year, but I had not checked what. The ending now differs slightly (story, not gameplay). There is also a new achievement, “Transmission Received,” which is a sort of mini-game in which you take radios scattered throughout the levels to unmarked points for coded messages. You can tell that you are close because the radio starts getting static; when the light turns green, you’re there. Veteran players will notice far more radios than before in the game.

The radio in the starting chamber is one of them. Just carry it with you until you hear static. That will get you started. Do you know Morse code?

: Zubon

To adapt a line from Scott Adams, what matters is how many people love your game, not how many people hate your game.

If you make the best MMO ever, the most popular MMO ever, there will still be approximately 300 million Americans and 6.5 billion other people who will not be playing your game. That is your best case scenario. Even amongst gamers, most will not play it, and you will be ridiculously successful if you can get most MMORPG players to download the trial. Even if you are the WoW-killer, your game is still a niche in a niche.

This is a freeing insight. It does not matter how many people hate your game. Their dislike has no more effect on your success than the indifferent billions. Your game is not going to be all things to all people or even most things to 0.2% of people. You can focus on the base and make the game for them, rather than trying to reduce the scorn of people who are never going to be on your side anyway.

It does not matter how many people hate Darkfall. They quite happily fill a niche that has some very passionate support. It does not matter how many people hate Twilight. Stephenie Meyer is making her millions from the people who love it. It does not matter how many people hate xkcd or Rob Liefeld or Justin Bieber or the New York Yankees (although you can monetize some of that anti-fandom).

For the success of your game, vaguely positive is the same as indifferent is the same as opposed is about the same as vocal hatred. They are all non-subscribers. The people who matter are the ones who will play your game, who will pay to support it, who will recruit their friends and set up fan sites and build support tools and run in-game events. Unless you actually do suck, you get ahead by increasing your positives, not decreasing your negatives.

: Zubon