GeekNights Tuesday - Gaming News Roundup - March 2014

MrPeriod

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Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss a bunch of recent gaming news in a Gaming News Roundup! PAX East has eliminated the dedicated Q&A, as well as audience interaction. (So, no more Action Castle Incidents or I want my Hat Back storytime). To be sure, we say this is a good thing. They're also ending the show early at midnight (killing any evening tabletop gaming). This is not as good. We'll be there presenting Why No One Will Game with You!

In other gaming news:

• Sim City can indeed run offline despite previous statements to the contrary
• Walmart jams another nail in Gamestop's coffin
  
  
• John Romero believes everything we do about FPSs
• Gauntlet returns to the PC
• Diablo 3's ill-conceived auction house shuts down for good
• Hearthstone comes out of beta and onto the iPad
• Unity 5 brings WebGL support
• eSports start to see the problems of regular sports


• TOO MANY ZOOZ
• Disney and Pixar Sings Let it Go
• House of McConnelling Cards


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Axel

I heard John Romero and his wife, Brenda, speak to a bunch of game design students last summer. It was the most honest, real, and helpful talk about game design I've ever heard, just slightly more than Warren Spector.

Andrew

Let it Go is a shittier Defying Gravity

Matt

- You've got to think that Penny Arcade simply doesn't want to risk putting Gabe on the microphone in front of a few thousand people anymore unless they know in advance what question's he's going to field. After the last "incident," it really exposed his detractors as people who are going to hate on him and PAX no matter what they hear. You don't want those people coming up to the mic and trying to start shit.

- Scott: you hate Make a Strip because you've never been?! It's always been a fantastic panel, and will still probably be great. It's always had an element of Q&A along with the live art. Much better than the real Q&As were. You should honestly consider it.

- The midnight closing is such bullshit. I tried to stir it up and don't think most people actually agree with me. Even the Enforcers just moaned about having to work to 2AM and how happy they were with a midnight close. It's like everyone has blinders on and does not realize how different of a beast Boston is. Working the pony shift in TT sounds fun, but I don't want to be the bouncer telling people to GTFO, because you know that the large population of oblivious people will not realize things are ending at midnight.

Rochelle

Andrew said:

Let it Go is a shittier Defying Gravity

Never having seen Wicked or hearing Defying Gravity, I really can't compare. However, I honestly thought Let It Go was the best song of the entire movie. The writes of it are the same writers of songs from The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q. From what I know they took inspiration from previous Disney works and other famous female songwriters/singers.

We haven't heard a really good Disney song like that in a while that honestly inspires people, especially little girls, to accept who they are. The song also made Disney change the way they portrayed Elsa in the movie. Instead of being the typical "villain", they made her into a protagonist instead.

I still purchased the movie and am looking forward to watching it again. Olaf is still a bit of a distraction from the movie, but I will still enjoy it nonetheless.

Haven't listened to the episode, but just seeing that there won't be Q&A is a good thing, and I agree with Matt. However, the midnight closing for East is bullshit. I understand for Prime because it was for four days. Now, I'm not regretting it as much to not go to East this year. :P

Also Make A Strip is worth attending at least once.

Luke Burrage

This is really great!

Matt

Oh, and as for bums performing music in the NYC subways, I always enjoy the guy hanging out with a saxaphone on the long walk to the 7 train from Port Authority bus terminal. He is smart and plays Mets music at times when it's mostly fans going to/from the game.

Andrew

Rochelle said:

Never having seen Wicked or hearing Defying Gravity, I really can't compare. However, I honestly thought Let It Go was the best song of the entire movie. The writes of it are the same writers of songs from The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q. From what I know they took inspiration from previous Disney works and other famous female songwriters/singers.

We haven't heard a really good Disney song like that in a while that honestly inspires people, especially little girls, to accept who they are. The song also made Disney change the way they portrayed Elsa in the movie. Instead of being the typical "villain", they made her into a protagonist instead.

I still purchased the movie and am looking forward to watching it again. Olaf is still a bit of a distraction from the movie, but I will still enjoy it nonetheless.

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW AND WATCH


But seriously, reflecting on the movie, it's very obvious that they took HEAVY inspiration from Wicked. Getting Idina Menzel to voice Elsa was an obvious give-away.

Neito

Matt said:

- The midnight closing is such bullshit. I tried to stir it up and don't think most people actually agree with me. Even the Enforcers just moaned about having to work to 2AM and how happy they were with a midnight close. It's like everyone has blinders on and does not realize how different of a beast Boston is. Working the pony shift in TT sounds fun, but I don't want to be the bouncer telling people to GTFO, because you know that the large population of oblivious people will not realize things are ending at midnight.

As someone who only ever works Ponyshift, this effectively means there's more PAX for me, as I get reasonable sleep and all the other hours of the convention.

Honestly, I don't know if I'm just getting Con Burnout or something, but while I love the specticle of PAX, and while its fun to go to, it's honestly only con 2 or 3 on my list, in terms of looking forward to it. I feel like I get much more quality boardgaming at MagFest, and I feel like my working the con means much more at CTCon. Nowadays, it feels like the only thing PAX has to offer me is just an insane freaking video game overload, which I appreciate, but... I dunno. Maybe I just need to be reminded how awesome PAX is.

Rym

You working the con at CTCon means much more because we're a tiny team with a huge mandate. Every person-hour has a direct effect on the entire convention. ;^)

Neito

Rym said:

You working the con at CTCon means much more because we're a tiny team with a huge mandate. Every person-hour has a direct effect on the entire convention. ;^)

Oh, I understand that. It's not a fault of PAX; ANY con the size of PAX would mean that I would feel a negligible effect from my efforts. That said, it's more satisfying to direct my energy where it has the maximal effect.

Matt

Rochelle said:

I still purchased the movie and am looking forward to watching it again. Olaf is still a bit of a distraction from the movie, but I will still enjoy it nonetheless.

Haven't listened to the episode, but just seeing that there won't be Q&A is a good thing, and I agree with Matt. However, the midnight closing for East is bullshit. I understand for Prime because it was for four days. Now, I'm not regretting it as much to not go to East this year. :P

Also Make A Strip is worth attending at least once.

Having seen Frozen at 10AM on a Sunday, peak family time, I can tell you that without Olaf, an entire army of snotty-nosed children would have lost their frighteningly-thin attention spans and turned the theater into a pit of despair. I do agree that Olaf is a bit of a Jar Jar, but thankfully I can see that he served a purpose. You're just not going to get world-class film making when you have to cater to such low denominators.

As for PAX, I was also sad to have the thought enter my mind for the first time that, no, maybe I don't need to go to PAX East anymore. Sad thought, so hopefully I'm overreacting with an "all good things eventually suck" philosophy. We'll see how this year goes. I could have a great time again and be super pumped for next year.

I can attend very few cons each year, though, and I'd rather just save up my time and money for Prime at this point. Haven't been back there since 2011. I also still haven't made MAGfest happen, and that needs to change, since everything about that con seems awesome. I do still question the extreme praise that ConnectiCon gets for its tabletop scene, though. It's not bad, but it's no mecca. You could probably get just as much board gaming in at your local hotel con.

Rym

If you have to choose between a PAX East and a MAGFest, and you've already been to a PAX before, go to MAGFest.

Apreche

The Connecticon library is why it is so great. They have EVERY game. Their library is much bigger and more diverse than PAXes. Only the cons that are only about games, like BGG con, can possibly beat CTCons tabletop library.

Andrew

I'm trying to think of any reason why PaxE is better than MAGFest. Uh...

Rym

MAGFest has less library, but makes up for it with four days of 24/7 tabletop space.

Andrew

Rym said:

MAGFest has less library, but makes up for it with four days of 24/7 tabletop space.

Not really an issue when you roll deep with a crew that has it's own massive library

Coldguy

Andrew said:

I'm trying to think of any reason why PaxE is better than MAGFest. Uh...

In 2 minutes:

- They actually know how to run a concert

- the arcade is massive

- more people willing to throw down at a challenge

- every guest is on the same level as an attendee, therefore if you don't suck be able to see them as themselves for an extended period of time

- super art fight

- Its 24 hours

I could go on but limited myself to only 2 minutes of typing on my phone.

Axel

Everything I hear about PaxE makes it sound like it's only benefit is real industry presence. It's the con I would go to meet professional contacts at. MAGFest was infinite fun, and PaxE offers such a limited amount of that.

Andrew

Coldguy said:

I could go on but limited myself to only 2 minutes of typing on my phone.

Re-read my original comment Mr. MAGFest

Axel said:

Everything I hear about PaxE makes it sound like it's only benefit is real industry presence. It's the con I would go to meet professional contacts at. MAGFest was infinite fun, and PaxE offers such a limited amount of that.

If you want industry presence, you need to be going to GDC, not PaxE

pence

Andrew said:

Not really an issue when you roll deep with a crew that has it's own massive library

One Night Werewolf and Bang! Dice are small enough to go in my bag every day. I don't want to carry too many big boxes on a six hour bus ride, but I'll take requests:

• Through the Ages
• Mage Knight
• Glory to Rome
• Homesteaders
• Dungeon Lords
• Primordial Soup
• Shadow Hunters
• Fearsome Floors
• Tammany Hall
• Cosmic Encounter

Kind of counting on someone else to provide Eclipse, that box is the size of my suitcase. I'm guessing Coldguy will find a way to bring everything he owns. ;P

Coldguy

Andrew said:

Coldguy said:

I could go on but limited myself to only 2 minutes of typing on my phone.

Re-read my original comment Mr. MAGFest

Sorry about that, its what I get for skimming posts on break.

Apreche

The argument about comparing which convention is better is based on a false assumption. Are two conventions different? Yeah. Even if one is better than the other, it doesn't matter. They are both awesome enough to be worth going to, so go to both. Unless they are both the same weekend, it doesn't matter.

Rochelle

Matt said:

Having seen Frozen at 10AM on a Sunday, peak family time, I can tell you that without Olaf, an entire army of snotty-nosed children would have lost their frighteningly-thin attention spans and turned the theater into a pit of despair. I do agree that Olaf is a bit of a Jar Jar, but thankfully I can see that he served a purpose. You're just not going to get world-class film making when you have to cater to such low denominators.

Yeah, I figured that as much. Olaf was just ok for me. A lot of his lines and actions felt forced, but I'm just being picky. I also wasn't impressed with his summer song. I always skip it whenever it comes up on the soundtrack.

Matt

Apreche said:

The Connecticon library is why it is so great. They have EVERY game. Their library is much bigger and more diverse than PAXes. Only the cons that are only about games, like BGG con, can possibly beat CTCons tabletop library.

This is why I fall into the "not impressed" category then. It did have a very nice library, I just don't happen to care much about libraries, so I see your point.

Last year was the first year I made an honest effort to get to MAGFest but it just didn't work out. It's gonna happen. It definitely sounds like the kind of con I want to go to.

I may actually wind up at Classic Gaming Expo in Vegas this year. It's back after a year or two off, and I've been on a big retro gaming kick lately. Seems like a fun thing to go to, even if just for a day, and my wife has been itching to go on a weekend trip to Vegas (I've never been). So that may just work.

Apreche

The library is almost the only thing that matters when it comes to tabletop at a convention. Pretty much any geek convention is going to have tons of gamers to play with. So what else matters? I guess quantity and size of tables. Number of rooms. Comfort and quantity of chairs. Noise level in gaming spaces.

What factors are you using to judge the quality of TT at a convention?

Rym

Number of people willing to play serious games.

How late it's open.

How many tables/chairs.

Noise level.

Apreche

CTCon probably has the least gamers total, but has the most willing to play serious games.

MAGFest is open latest, I think CTCon and PAX are pretty equal in terms of lateness.

PAX has the most tables and chairs total, but it is easiest to get a table at CTCon. Even at MAGFest, you have to camp/fight at peak hours.

CTCon loudness changes year to year as it gets rearranged. PAX is loud as hell. MAGFest was insanely loud, but the layout from last year was great for noise.

Matt

Quality of the people.

When I was reviewing games for MTV, I'd go to the local hotel con twice per year because I knew they would have all of the latest games, and I could play almost everything over a day or two. Boy, those gamers had a lot of "character" though.

Apreche

Matt said:

Quality of the people.

When I was reviewing games for MTV, I'd go to the local hotel con twice per year because I knew they would have all of the latest games, and I could play almost everything over a day or two. Boy, those gamers had a lot of "character" though.

Well, PAX and MAGFest have an equal quality level of people. CTCon is definitely a different demographic overall, but you will definitely find quality gamers in the gaming department.

Cremlian

Really the last year of Magfest was an exception, I think when they return to their normal football field set up for tabletop it would have had plenty of tables.