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| 5 MAR 2009 at 4:14pm |
ags-sshIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 16
Joined: 20 MAY 2008
Status : Online | 2/4/08?
For the latest on all things about Adventure Game Studio, [url=http://ags-ssh.blogspot.com]read my blog![/url]
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| 5 MAR 2009 at 7:07pm |
karlaAdministrator
Posts : 2613
Joined: 27 JUL 2003
Location: US, Close to the Edge
Status : Offline | Sorry...I guess I was living in the past yesterday. At least I got the day correct. Thanks, ags-ssh.
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| 6 MAR 2009 at 1:41am |
IviniaGuild Master
Posts : 4459
Joined: 7 JUN 2003
Location: US
Status : Offline | Good to see Randy back in form! I too saw that latest PC Gamer issue and said, WTF?!?
There is, however, the other side of the coin with portals focusing mostly to the older female crowd while ignoring the 20-something male crowd - heck make that the male crowd as a whole. Granted, they aren't a publication, but you get the drift. While there has been much lamenting about the push for explosions and blood by publishers within games being made, These new publishers are going in the opposite direction.
While it's about time that females and older players are finally being represented, it would be nice if gaming genders/age groups/genres as whole were represented and someone would cover the full spectrum of gaming in an even-handed way. I guess in the world of business though it is best to specialize in one area and not try to overdo it. Unfortunately I don't fit into any camp - sometimes I want to play nice and relax, sometimes I want to blow stuff up in a mad adrenaline rush of action.
In regards to the magazine losing readership, PC Gamer seems to have been reduced to almost a newsletter filled with mostly advertising. I swear that magazine used to be 2-3 times thicker..! You are right, they have only themselves to blame and need to look in the mirror. When they do go under, they'll probably blame it on the economy or console games - instead of the fact that they virtually ignored a significant part of the PC gaming market with their single-minded approach.
As an FYI, when I got a phone call to renew my subscription at a hugely discounted price of $1.80/issue for 3 years, I told the woman I didn't think they'd be in business that long... I do like the idea of seeing the genre outlive the very publications that said it was dead.
Poetic justice.
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| 6 MAR 2009 at 10:39am |
| Deleted User | ~~ Randy ~~... Did any of the dim bulbs who approve the content of these magazines ever stop to consider for even a second that if they would have devoted just one page every few months to a fair and balanced review of a Nancy Drew or similar game that it might have gained them some new readers and maybe even some new advertisers? Nah, that’s too simple of a solution.
I agree... but it's even an understatement.
To be even somewhat representative of the whole computer gaming world as it is in 2009, it would not hurt if they devoted at least TWO OR THREE PAGES EVERY MONTH to quest-adventures (and maybe also casual & hidden-object games).
In faact it really would do them (assuming they're still afloat) a heck of a lot of good --- but it seems that they suffer some sort of blindness and even financial hara-kiri !
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| 6 MAR 2009 at 6:06pm |
StilerJourneyman
Posts : 1477
Joined: 27 SEP 2004
Location: US, TN
Status : Offline | As a 25yr old male, I'm not really a fan of the ND series but I am an adventure game fan (obviously) as well as the other genre's popular with the more male focused pc crowd.
Like any other medium of entertainment, you can not usually please everyone. There will be certain people that like your game/movie/book/art and those that don't.
However the gaming genre has had quite a big shift in terms of the "casual" gamer, especially with the Wii coming into play. More developers are realizing there's a huge market of people apart from the usual more hardcore gaming focus and they want a piece, though some people just like what they like.
There really isn't a magazine that focuses fairly on both types, at the same time, the internet is pretty much taking over what print magazines and newspapers do and there are legit sites for each type of gamer out there.
Both sides can be jaded though. I've talked with straight up adventure fans who just blatantly disregard any game that might feature action or anything but straight up "pure" adv games, then of course those other people that disregard adv games because you don't usually blow shit up.
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| 12 MAR 2009 at 9:42am |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Nicely written piece, Randy.
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| 13 MAR 2009 at 5:33pm |
CrisGerSchattenjger
Posts : 2548
Joined: 28 APR 2007
Location: US
Status : Offline | Let me add...AMEN to all of what you say Randy. I have been poking pretty hard at the game world for some years now, and what i have seen is a tiny tiny minority of loud mouthed hyperacivity addicted alien-mutant-bad boy misifts both making and promoting the same IMMENSLY tired and hackneyed worn out forumula games that litter the shelves of game stores everywhere. Yes there is a strong and tiny base for that, and they love to speed, steal, and shoot with abandon. But the rest of us out here are loving and enjoying and playing a huge universe of OTHER games, and we will be happy when the pencil heads in the head offices are fired, laid off or run away with what is left of the company money. There remain wonderful and gifted writers, game developers, coders, graphics artists and designers who love making brilliant and fun games of all the other genres but the Ice Age of the what i call Zombie Zap school had frozen the suits into rigor mortis of the ONE GENRE variety.
I venture occasionally into their lairs to do battle with the idiot reviewers but it usually ends up being a no win battle and i havent tried that for a while. There is too much in the great way of fine games of all types, esp the Nancy Drew series which is superb, as well as a plethora of others made over the past 20 years to study, enjoy and play.
thank Randy, you did good, and i have a list i plan to send your article to
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| 13 MAR 2009 at 6:34pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6694
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
To be perfectly fair Randy, most mainstream game publications and websites do a pretty good job of also covering RPGs, strategies and sims. Yes, most do push the big-budget 3D action / gorefests ahead of all else. But the reviewers and editors seem to respect these other genres too - including some of the more sophisticated titles with solid stories and/or high degrees of difficulty.
Sadly, it seems the majority have formed a (mostly) boys club that regularly takes potshots at adventure games in general with a real mean streak when it comes to "games for little girls". In that regard I agree with you 100% and if these gaming pundits would wake up to today's reality, they would realize how big a market there is for all sorts of games, including the Nancy Drew series.
Cheers, Terry
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