Serving Customers Instead of Labeling Them
Nothing says “the holidays” like plenty of food, drink, friends, and family. And party games, of course. My closet is overflowing with board games and peripherals just waiting to be unleashed on visitors (aka “informal market research participants,” aka “gracious victims of enthusiasm.”) Guitar Hero remains popular on these occasions (which is no statement against Rock Band — I simply haven’t acquired a personal copy yet. Much as I’ve enjoyed my three fruitless visits to EB…) And yet, Guitar Hero 3 failed me as a party game until I finally gave up on “principle” and unlocked a couple cheats — specifically “no fail” mode and “unlock all songs.” So now I’m having more fun with my friends and family, but I’m a “cheater.” Oops. |
Looks like a major publisher finally took notice of the tremendous popularity of Travian; the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise will be spinning out Kingdoms, a persistent, web-based strategy game. Speaking of Travian, those of you who appreciated my review of that game might enjoy a similar account from Rock, Paper, Shotgun. It’s a fun retelling of a long gameplay experience that petered out as abruptly as mine did. I like the clever way that Kieron describes the game, concluding with: “ultimately… I knew there were no Lions in Travian. It’s a game for Jackals.”
Nice post by Chris Anderson about how discount airlines are using alternate revenue mechanisms (the same way free games use alternate revenue mechanisms) to drive ticket costs way down.
Nexon is integrating retail outlets like Best Buy and 7-Eleven into Maplestory. Not just integrating them from a distribution perspective — I mean actually making virtual 7-Eleven stores part of the game, with “appropriately themed quests.” Huh? Allow me to redirect your attention to the Maplestory info page, the first sentence of which reads: “You can explore a totally new and unknown world you have never been to.” Irony is not dead; it’s just depressing. Every time a game company does something like this, it sets the entire industry back because advertisers are learning the wrong lessons about our medium.
Valve recently began selling Weighted Companion Cube plush toys, and they’re already sold out. I want one. :-(
Every once in a while I’m really tickled by an ARG (in this case, one promoting the upcoming movie Dark Knight.) They sent players on a quest to find cakes in bakeries around the country; the cakes had phone numbers written on them in icing. When players called those phone numbers, the cakes themselves rang — cell phones were hidden inside them. :-)
XNA 2.0 has shipped. Biggest improvement: multiplayer matchmaking.
