"Almost Art" - Tale of Tales lets us know what video games are not.

Michael Sermyn, one half of Tale of Tales has already sparked a lively discussion on the Escapist. I find the entire piece interesting - not specifically "anti-game" and certainly NOT "pro-game", but a call to look at the potential of the interactive experience.

This link isn't an endorsement, but a discussion I simply found interesting.

Global Agenda on Sale at Steam

DIY Gamer has a nice profile on Global Agenda.  It's on sale for $7.50.  Thanks to the "Friends with Benefits" promotion, I joined the game for $15 myself, after the generous free (up to level 12) trial.

I write the following as a genuine fan, and not a journalist or promoter.

Hi-rez studios is a small MMO that's has no subscriptions.  They offer some standard freemium offers such as booster packs and the like, and the initial software purchase is normally $30.  It's a small little MMO with a great community of players.  Rarely are there players with an anti-social attitude.  Indeed, the game encourages the formation of guild-like "Agencies" that can be made up by friends made early on in the game.  

Global Agenda is set in that typical post-apocalyptic world of which other Unreal sci-fi games are so fond.  It draws from so much science fiction to create a nicely fleshed out sandbox of an MMO - there's a war between robots and disparate human mercenary gangs known as "agencies".  That's it.  Everything beyond that is player driven. 

Levels 1-19 is a tutorial of sorts.  It introduces the mechanics of the game, the basic conflict, and the desert that surrounds Dome City - many players' base of operations.  

After this, there are selections of Player vs. Environment missions, Player vs. Player, raids, and the like.  However, where the game shines is in Agency vs. Agency (aka AvA).  The meta-game is a risk-like game in which agencies compete for territory.  More territory means more power, of course, and hen struggle goes on ad infinitum.  

Despite this competition, the community is largely friendly and open to teaching newcomers.  Largely this is due to their desire to recruit and train good future agents.

It's an excellent design, and fun to play.  However, there are some slow periods, as with most multiplayer games. 

Note:

A friend of mine and fellow Zircon agent wrote his own review of the game.

Extra Credits on Non-Combat Gaming

Why must games only be about combat?

phosfiend» Blog Archive » Knives and Type: Pathways to Better Game Design

phosfiend» Blog Archive » Knives and Type: Pathways to Better Game Design

An interesting manifesto on creative Game Design.

Extra Credits on ME2 and Moral Choice

I haven't finished covering Mass Effect 2 and its Moral Choice system. For the most part, it falls short of what I would personally want, but Floyd and Co. below illustrate a place where it (mostly) works:

Missile Command: Game Mechanics as Narrative

Extra Credits did a great piece on Missile Command using pure game mechanics to tell a story.



The comments are interesting, as some don't seem to see pixilized images as "cities". Apparently people these days need the kind of graphics to "properly" interpret it.

"...And so we're playing Portal at Wabush College."

From Brainy Gamer

"Could I have chosen a game to stand by itself, with no accompanying text assignment? Maybe. I thought about Bioshock. I thought about Planescape: Torment. In the end, I chose Portal because I thought it would make a good start. A good first impression. A lead-off hitter, if you will."

"Deploying a game for an entire cohort to play at the same time requires more problem-solving than you might expect. We ultimately decided that hardware, installation, and licensing issues were complex enough to dissuade us from teaching Portal in all sections of the course this year; so I and a group of eager colleagues will play the game in our sections to work out the kinks. I don't want our first college-wide experience with a game to be plagued with problems."