#which Starcraft is heavily influenced by

[wp100]

we watched venom the last dance last night... it was alright. i love them :'(

[scrumpyfan43]

A weird trope I really like is Space Platforms

My working definition of a Space Platform is something that satisfies all of these criteria:

Artificial

Terrain (used primarily as a surface to stand and/or build on )

Suspended in space or high in the sky

Despite objective local gravity such that you could fall “down” off the side

Some things that are and aren’t Space Platforms

Stacraft’s Space Platform terrain, probably the purest example of it:

You walk on them, you build buildings on them, and there’s ice cream shops built into the walls (also they’re literally called space platforms):

Wube had planned on but eventually abandoned space platforms for Factorio that are very clearly inspired by Starcraft:

Gryphon Station in Tyrian has standing water and jungles exposed to the Space Air:

Motos I’m pretty sure explicitly refers to the environment as a series of space platforms; there’s no buildings (unless you count Nabicons) but the platforms are clearly artificial, they’re thin enough that the only thing you can do is stand (and jump) on them, and the objective of the game is to shove enemies off the platform and into the void:

Skyroads consists of driving and jumping a space car along treacherous space platforms:

Final Destination in Smash Bros.:

They seem to be a lot more common in games than in other media, but they’re out there. Most famously probably is The Jetsons:

The truck stop in Spaceballs is a fantastic space platform:

The Wander Over Yonder episode “The Box” has people milling about on space platforms (but contrast with “Duck Dodgers In The 24½th Century” later):

The ring city from Treasure Planet is a weird one because it’s the only one I’ve encountered that doesn’t have a uniform up and down, but unlike the rotating space stations it’s meant to evoke, you still experience objective gravity while standing on your ship next to it

And last, close to my heart is the floating platform “Cool Lightning” from the lost comic Monster Killers (which was heavily influenced by video games):

Now for some things that are not Space Platforms, even though they’re great in their own ways.

1) Floating Islands (they’re terrain, but not artificial terrain):

2) The RLS Legacy from Treasure Planet and other tall ships in space (vehicles, not terrain):

3) Buildings with lots of interior volume and no walkable surfaces, such as these buildings in The Jetsons:

and the Cloud City in Star Wars:

4) Artificial terrain that relies on centrifugal artificial gravity, such as Ringworld, the Halo Installations, O’Neill Cylinder, Stanford Torus, etc. These more or less obey real world physics and aren’t magically levitating, and while you could “fall off” one, you aren’t affected by gravity unless you’re standing on the surface:

And now for some borderline cases.

Neverhood. Hoborg constructed it, but does his divinity mean that it’s natural rather than artificial? Aesthetics are more “floating island” than “space platform” but the lore points the other way:

Death Egg and Doomsday Zones in Sonic & Knuckles. The interior seems to contain most of the important stuff, but Sonic spends most of the time running around on the exterior:

The walkways in Duck Dodgers In The 24½th Century. They’re very similar to the Wander Over Yonder platforms, but they’re not extensive enough that I’m happy calling them “terrain.” Space Balconies maybe.

[angel-in-shibari]

okay so I have a question.

please read The Matron's Handmaiden. that's not the question, but you should do it anyway.

so for those who haven't read it (you're seriously missing out), it's about this girl named Chloe who beats her rival Candace in the world championship for a video game called Stolen Cosmos. so of course, Candace does the normal thing that any sane person would do: use her power and influence as the daughter of a mafia don to fake Chloe's death and make it look like a suicide, kidnap Chloe and bring her to her mansion, put an electric collar around her throat, and keep her as her slave.

okay, like I know that sounds intense, but it's actually really quite sweet and romantic.

anyway, so in universe, Stolen Cosmos is a video game that's heavily based on the real life Starcraft 2. and in the first part of the story, Candace brands Chloe with a spike covered conch shell from the game (which is a reference to the symbol for the zerg from starcraft).

anyway, that symbol comes up again a lot in the story. and it's kinda symbolic of their relationship. intricate, beautiful, but also painful and chaotic.

one of my friends, who's a really big fan of The Matron's Handmaiden, suggested getting a tattoo of the symbol on her lower back, the same place Chloe is branded in the story. and I'm also considering doing the same.

I have never played Starcraft 2. I know nothing about the game or the genre. and honestly I hate blizzards guts and hope they go bankrupt. but, when people ask me "hey, what's the purple swirly tattoo you have on your back", I can't really tell them "it's from a story on ao3 where the daughter of a mafia boss keeps her rival as her sex slave". apparently that's not a normal thing to say to random strangers I guess.

so I can lie, and say it's from starcraft. even though I know nothing about it. but the thing is, if I get it, it's gonna be next to a bunch of other tattoos, so it'd be unlikely someone would ask about it specifically.

so I guess my question is, should I get a tattoo that's the same symbol from a fictional video game based on a real video game I've never played that a character from a sex slave mafia love story gets branded with in the exact same spot where she got branded? because like, it would be hot as hell. and also I'd match my friend.

obviously I'm not getting the tattoo anytime soon. it's like a very distant eventual future thing. but like... thoughts?

[sergkoleso]

Aluminum Boat Buyer's Guide: Addressing Common Queries

Purchasing an aluminum boat can be both an exciting and overwhelming experience, particularly for first-time buyers. With a vast array of options available, it's perfectly natural to have questions and concerns about making the right choice. This comprehensive guide is designed to address common queries about buying an aluminum boat, helping you navigate the process with confidence and ease.

Choosing the Right Size and Type

Your intended use will heavily influence your decision regarding the size and type of aluminum boat you should purchase. Consider how many passengers you plan to accommodate and the activities you envision enjoying on the water.

What Types of Aluminum Boats Are Available?

Aluminum boats come in various configurations, including Jon boats, bass boats, fishing boats, pontoon boats, and even larger vessels like cruisers and yachts. Each type is tailored for specific purposes such as fishing, water sports, or leisurely cruising. For instance, Jon boats are celebrated for their versatility and affordability, making them suitable for fishing, hunting, or other recreational activities. Bass boats are specifically designed for bass fishing and feature amenities like live wells, rod holders, and ample tackle storage.

Determining the Right Size for Your Needs

When selecting the appropriate size for your aluminum boat, consider how many people will typically be on board, the gear you’ll need to bring along, and the waters you plan to navigate. Generally speaking, larger boats provide more stability and capacity but can be more challenging to transport and maneuver. If you primarily fish with one or two companions, a 16- to 18-foot aluminum fishing boat may be ideal. However, if you anticipate having more passengers or venturing into rougher waters, a pontoon boat or a larger center console model might be more suitable.

Evaluating Quality and Construction

When investing in an aluminum boat, it’s critical to ensure that you're purchasing a well-constructed and durable vessel. Understanding different construction methods and materials can significantly impact your decision-making process.

What Should I Look for in Terms of Aluminum Boat Construction Quality?

Look for boats with fully welded hulls; these are typically more robust and less prone to leaks compared to riveted or seamed designs. Pay attention to the thickness of the aluminum used in construction; thicker gauges are generally more durable and resistant to dents and impacts. Reputable manufacturers often utilize marine-grade aluminum alloys like 5052 or 5086, which offer superior corrosion resistance and strength compared to standard aluminum.It's important to remember that even well-constructed aluminum boats may require maintenance over time. For instance, if you notice any damage or weakening in the transom area of your boat, consider looking into transom repair options or even aluminum boat transom replacement if necessary.

Are There Any Reputable Aluminum Boat Manufacturers I Should Consider?

Several well-known manufacturers produce high-quality aluminum boats worth considering. Brands like Tracker, Lowe, Crestliner, Starcraft, and Xpress have established themselves as reliable options in the market. Be sure to compare features and pricing among these reputable brands. Additionally, don't overlook regional manufacturers or custom builders who may cater to specific needs or preferences.

Factoring in Costs and Budgeting

Before making a purchase decision regarding an aluminum boat, it's essential to factor in all associated costs to ensure you stay within your budget.

What Are the Typical Costs Involved in Purchasing an Aluminum Boat?

When budgeting for your new aluminum boat purchase, remember that there are costs beyond just the price of the vessel itself. You'll need to account for registration fees, trailer expenses (if applicable), safety equipment costs, as well as any accessories or upgrades you might want. It's also vital to budget for ongoing maintenance costs, storage fees, fuel expenses, and insurance premiums. These additional costs can add up quickly; therefore, having a realistic understanding of your total investment is crucial.

Are There Any Financing Options Available for Aluminum Boat Purchases?

Many dealerships and manufacturers offer financing options that can make purchasing an aluminum boat more manageable financially. Be sure to compare interest rates and terms from various lenders to find the best deal that suits your financial situation. Some lenders may also provide special financing promotions or incentives that could save you money.

Assessing Dealer Reputation and Support

Ensuring that you receive proper support after your purchase is crucial for long-term satisfaction with your aluminum boat.

How Can I Evaluate the Reputation of an Aluminum Boat Dealer?

To assess a dealer's reputation effectively, check online reviews from previous customers, ask for recommendations from fellow boaters, and inquire about the dealer's experience with aluminum boats specifically. A reputable dealer should be knowledgeable about their products and transparent regarding pricing and services offered.

What Kind of Support Should a Dealer Provide After the Sale?

A good dealer should offer ongoing support that includes maintenance services as well as assistance with registration and licensing processes. They should also provide guidance on proper care techniques for your new boat while suggesting accessories that enhance your experience on the water. Many dealers offer warranty programs or extended service plans that provide peace of mind by protecting your investment over time.

Considering Resale Value and Longevity

Before making a long-term decision about purchasing an aluminum boat, it’s important to assess its potential resale value as well as its longevity.

How Does Resale Value Compare Between Aluminum Boats and Other Materials?

Aluminum boats generally hold their value well due to their durability and low maintenance requirements compared to other materials like fiberglass. However, resale value can vary based on factors such as age, condition, brand reputation, and market demand. Well-maintained aluminum boats from reputable manufacturers often command higher resale prices than fiberglass counterparts of similar age.

What Is the Typical Lifespan of an Aluminum Boat with Proper Maintenance?

With proper care and maintenance practices in place—such as regular cleaning, waxing, inspections—an aluminum boat can last for decades! Aluminum's inherent resistance to corrosion allows it to withstand harsh marine environments better than many other materials available today.For detailed information on maintaining your aluminum boat in top condition over its lifespan, check out our guide on Transom Repair: Mastering Fixes.

Accessories and Customization Options

Depending on how you intend to use your new vessel—and your personal preferences—consider various accessories that can enhance both functionality and appearance.

What Are Some Popular Accessories for Aluminum Boats?

Standard accessories often include:

Bimini tops or canopies for shade

Rod holders specifically designed for fishing

Depth finders

Trolling motors

Custom graphics or wraps

These additions not only improve your overall experience on the water but also allow you to tailor your vessel according to specific needs—whether you're an avid angler looking for enhanced fishing capabilities or someone who enjoys leisurely cruising with friends.

Can Aluminum Boats Be Customized After Purchase?

Absolutely! One of the advantages of owning an aluminum boat is its high degree of customizability. Many owners choose to modify their vessels over time by changing seating arrangements or adding new electronics such as audio systems. It's essential to work with experienced professionals when making modifications so that you don’t compromise structural integrity during upgrades.

Choosing the Right Dealer

When purchasing an aluminum boat, selecting the right dealer can significantly impact your overall satisfaction with both the buying process itself as well as future support after purchase.

Should I Prioritize Local Dealers or Consider Options Further Away?

While local dealers offer convenience along with support services post-purchase—such as maintenance—you might find better pricing or selection by exploring options further away from home base. Many dealers will assist with delivery arrangements if needed; therefore keeping an open mind during your search is beneficial!

Are There Advantages to Buying from a Dealer Specializing in Aluminum Boats?

Dealers who specialize in selling aluminum vessels possess extensive knowledge about these types of boats which proves invaluable when choosing models suited specifically towards individual needs while understanding maintenance requirements thoroughly too! Additionally they often maintain strong relationships with manufacturers allowing them access parts specific only towards certain brands making repairs easier down-the-line!

How Important Is It To Have A Dealer With A Dedicated Service Department?

Having access through a dealer possessing dedicated service departments can greatly enhance long-term ownership satisfaction especially if planning on keeping said vessel over many years! Skilled technicians familiarized within this field ensure proper maintenance & repairs take place extending lifespan while preserving value throughout ownership journey!By addressing these common questions regarding purchasing an aluminum boat—alongside considering various factors outlined within this guide—you'll be equipped with knowledge necessary towards making informed decisions tailored specifically towards meeting personal boating aspirations! Researching thoroughly coupled alongside asking pertinent questions ensures finding just right vessel providing enjoyment throughout countless adventures spent upon water!

[blubberquark]

E-Sports

Occasionally, you can read about a game adding or already having “e-sports features“ like tournaments or spectator mode, or about trying to “bootstrap an e-sports scene“ by hosting a tournament with a five- or low-six-figure dollar amount prize pool.

This is not how it works. You can’t turn any game into an e-sport by paying people to play it, or by adding features that enable players to run their own tournaments. E-sports are computer games as competitive spectator sports.

For this to work, you need:

Full-time competitive players

A large audience of passive viewers

A media industry/tournament circuit with sponsors, commentators, broadcasting channels, hosting and monetising professional matches

You cannot have #3 without the first two. You cannot have full-time professional players without #2 and #3. It all feeds into the other pieces.

Maybe, if you cannot afford to have a tournament circuit and full-time pro gamers, you can instead have something similar on a smaller scale:

A high-level hobbyist competitive scene

A small, but committed crowd of enthusiasts keeping the game alive

Enough interest for the enthusiasts to fund an annual tournament

The small-scale model seems to be how speed running and the fighting game community operate. The large-scale model is how StarCraft used to work, and how League of Legends, CS:GO and Overwatch work today.

Professional Competitive High-Level Play

E-sports depends on world-class players who can make a living playing your game at a world-class level. They are called “professional gamers”. They train for the game as their day job, probably with some cardio, gymnastics, and hand-eye coordination exercise mixed in. They have sponsors and trainers, which I will cover more in depth in point #3. For there to even be world-class players, the game has to reward high skill.

A competitive scene needs a a balanced, but competitive game. A competitive game with has skill measurement and a high skill ceiling.

E-sports pro gamers are playing the same game as regular players, but they are very good at it, so good that they dominate matches against average players, and even matches against good players. That’s what makes them world-class. If you could spectate just any game on the ladder, the e-sports scene would nor be special. If the outcomes of a match are heavily influenced by randomness, there can’t be a big difference between world-class players and people who just picked up the game. If the game provides high skill measurement at low levels, but runs into ceiling effects at high levels, for example if pro players frequently play a perfect game of computer golf, or a perfect game of computer bowling, there is no skill measurement at high levels, and high-level matches become boring.

An e-sports scene can only exist when the game is balanced for high-level play and has a long skill chain. I the game is discovered to have boring solutions, it must be patched.

How can you determine who is a “world-class“ player after the game launches? How can you be sure the pro-gamers are really world-class if they only play against other pro gamers? How do players ascend from competitive hobbyist to pro? An e-sports game needs a lively hobbyist competitive scene. Good matchmaking and a public ladder allow professional players to practice against random high-level players, hobbyist players to measure their skill against pro players, and everybody everywhere to know where the metagame is at. After all, what good is skill measurement if you never measure yourself?

An e-sports game needs a ranked ladder and good matchmaking.

The pro gamers will probably spend a significant amount of time each week training, sparring against team mates, practising specific moves, techniques, or strategies. This requires custom matches (ranked ladder matches are still good for raising team brand recognition on twitch though, in addition to getting a feel for the metagame). I heard that during the heyday of StarCraft II, some teams spent hours practising defence against cheese like 6-pool Zerg rush, a bunker rush, or a Zealot/Stalker all-in.

Of course, if you practice defence against bunker rushes for days only for bunkers to be nerfed on the day of a tournament, it’s all moot.

There must be a way for competitive players to practice in custom games against colleagues. Patches affecting balance or tournament play must be small and announced well in advance.

The Passive Watching Experience

The audience cares about the game, knows what’s going on and who is winning, and loosely follows the metagame and the goings-on in the e-sports scene, but not necessarily all the beef and player transfers.

The simplest, but not easiest, way to a large audience for an e-sport is to have a large player base. People who occasionally play the game at a hobbyist level are already familiar with the mechanics, and a little emotionally invested in the outcome of games. Even in some real-life spectator sports (like football), you expect almost all people in your audience to have played the game at some point in the past.

A large hobbyist player base also feeds into the smaller pool of more competitive players, and thus ultimately into the pro gamer scene.

All this is presupposing that the e-sport still resembles the game as most players know it. If the high-level matches look completely different from hobbyist ones, if different skills are important, and if it is difficult to know for a hobbyist player what is going on and who is winning, it is much more difficult to parley a hobbyist player base into an e-sports audience. In some Nintendo party games, like Mario Kart and Smash Bros, (but not Mario Party, which is only casual and does not have a competitive scene) most players are playing only very casually against friends, and in others, most players are only playing in single-player mode. They don’t care about winning or getting good at the game, so they are less likely to care about e-sports.

For a large player base, the game has to be easy to pick up, easy to understand, and still fun and competitive at the entry level. Being easy to pick up and understand also makes e-sports games easier to watch and understand passively.

Having multiple games modes can be a nice compromise, allowing casual players to play in a low-skill game mode while competitive players have a higher skill ceiling. This works best if the cards, units, weapons, or whatever your game has, and all mechanics and physics still follow the same rules, and only a few elements are swapped out. Playing with the same rules but different starting configuration and goal state is better than playing “easy mode” with a completely different balance. Casual observers can follow and appreciate e-sports matches if they know what’s going on. By changing the win condition, starting state, and introducing a couple of new mechanics, new game modes can mostly maintain the game mechanics while shifting the dynamics of a match. Keeping the dynamics but making the moment-to-moment gameplay less predictable for the casual observer is much more confusing.

For the viewers who are not playing the game at all, e-sports broadcasters must explain what’s going on, who is winning, and what the current metagame is.

In some games, the metagame is more important than in others. Card games like Hearthstone are difficult to understand for viewers who are not up-to-date on the metagame, even though the mechanics are easily explained, and the card-specific rules are written on the cards. Without knowledge about the current metagame (which decks are dominating the ladder, whether aggro, control, or combo decks rule, what kinds of tech cards/adjustments players can add to react to small shifts in the metagame) it is nearly impossible to make sense of what is happening. That is true even when the viewers see all the cards and know both decks in advance. Specifically, it is difficult to understand why a player is playing fast or slow, greedy or safe, defensive or aggressive, and also who is winning. The same goes for Magic - The Gathering. It’s nigh impossible to understand how a matchup between two decks works without knowing what other cards could be in there, but aren’t. This can ruin the experience for people who know the rules but play the game only very casually.

Other games may have clearer indicators of who is winning and what is going on, but even fighting games with health bars, RTS games with supply counters, and MOBA games with lanes whose battle lines you can see on the minimap won’t let you tell who is winning based on one factor alone. Such a game would be boring! In every competitive game, there should be a way to sacrifice hit points for better positioning (e.g. in Smash Bros or Virtua Fighter), or to fall back on a lane in exchange for gold, so there is never a “simple” metric to see who is winning. If there were such a metric, the first player who gains a small advantage by that metric would just snowball out of control and dominate the match.

In any case, passive spectators benefit from additional visual feedback, because while the players know which buttons were pressed, the audience does not. Passive watchers have much less information than active players. In the first-person view, it can be enough to just indicate whether something failed or succeeded, hit or missed. A fighting game player knows which button he pressed, and his opponent knows whether he blocked correctly or not. Nonetheless, the game should also communicate visually which type of action the players chose for the benefit of the audience.

Visual spectacle and clear legibility are sometimes at odds with each other, but visual spectacle can make watching a game more “fun“.

Having too clear an indication of who is winning can be a detriment, too. It’s good to have clear visual feedback, but not to have limited gameplay options. If the future trajectory of a match is set in stone as soon as one player establishes a clear lead, the game is no longer fun to watch from that point onwards. In games with perfect information, or with enough information, the losing player might simply resign instead of drawing out the match to its bitter conclusion, but in some games with fog of war, one player might be oblivious of his disadvantage, or he might go on and on looking for “outs“ while the audience already knows how everything will eventually play out.

This is just one way in which games can be boring to watch at higher levels of skill, even if the audience understands what is going on. There needs to be a certain flow of action, to keep viewers engaged and entertained. The game should get going without a long set-up phase, and should wind down without a drawn-out endgame. To keep viewers involved at all times, decisions throughout every phase of the match should influence the outcome.

Comebacks, reversals, pivoting to different strategies, risky plays with big pay-offs are all ways to introduce drama into the watching experience.

Fighting games are harder to read for the audience moment-to-moment, the matches are shorter, they can end abruptly, and they are difficult to get into. All this means they don’t make for as fun a watching experience compared to MOBAs, RTS games, or objective-based modes in first-person shooters.

Digression: Let’s Play and Variety Streaming

E-sports is not the only way to broadcast games for entertainment. Your YouTubers and variety streamers can make a living on games, but they don’t have to be world-class. People don’t watch them because they are good at the game, or sometimes not at all because of the game, but because of the streamer’s personality, the community, and the funny commentary. Playing the right game is a way for small twitch streamers to gain new viewers, but it’s not what keeps people around. Some streamers mainly stream the same single-player game every time, and are so good at it they have a streak of hundreds of games in hard mode. Even they retain their viewers because of their personality, not because they are the best at the game.

Of course, a variety streamer or Youtuber can also play competitive games like Chess, PUBG, or Rainbow Six: Siege. It’s played a different format though: Viewers see what the streamer sees, and a face-cam, and if the streamer is eliminated from a round of PUBG or Fall Guys, the streamer often does not spectate the rest of the round for the viewers find out who wins.

YouTubers of average gaming skill can even play tournaments of casual but competitive (in the sense that you play against each other) games against other YouTubers, or organise tournaments in more casual goofy games like Ultimate Chicken Horse, Duck Game, Mount Your Friends, Golf with Friends, or Rock of Ages and still draw in viewers. This is a common method of cross-promotion.

Variety streamers also play party games like Quiplash, Cards Against Humanity, or Mario Party as a backdrop for conversation with other streamers.

They sometimes play competitive games in a team with other streamers, but the necessity of coordinating within the squad in League of Legends, PUBG or CS:GO means more airtime will be dedicated to the actual game, and banter will suddenly have to make way for tactics.

Events and Broadcasting

E-sports events have legitimacy, teams, sponsors, brand recognition that draws an audience, and commentators.

E-sports broadcasters usually call the commentators their “talent“, not the players. The players or “athletes“ come and go, and they get sponsor money from elsewhere, but the commentators and moderators are hired by the broadcaster/event organiser. The commentators are usually both entertaining personalities and knowledgeable about the game. They fill dead air with background info about he players and their recent matches, explain what’s going on, crack jokes, or just do play-by-play commentary. Viewers are often more attached to commentators than to players. There are usually two commentators and a dedicated off-screen observer controlling the spectator camera, in addition to a referee spectating the game, and the players. Additional moderators and interviewers may be on the stage during an e-sports event. Sometimes experts (retired pro gamers) are brought in to analyse a replay in the pause between matches, like in real sports.

While variety streamers play both the role of “entertainer“ and player, this is split up between players and the commentators/moderators, so players can focus on winning and commentators can focus on filling dead air.

By “legitimacy” I mean this: Players in tournaments are supposed to the best of the best, and the organiser’s brand guarantees that viewers won’t see any old boring game, but a pro game with high stakes. If there is a random member of the public in the pool, you know he played his way through some preliminary rounds. I could host a LAN party, throw a Kernel Panic tournament, and declare the winner the 2021 world champion, but I would not have any legitimacy in the eyes of the player base. Large prize pools, a structured and well-regulated tournament, big-name players, and a blessing from the developers can bestow legitimacy.

Getting players, sponsors, broadcasters and an audience into a room takes a lot of money. E-sports sponsors are usually manufacturers or brands of higher-priced gaming hardware, like Alienware, Razer and ASUS ROG, or snack foods and energy drinks. The products are either used by the pro gamers, thematically connected to the game in some way, or used by the audience. Snack foods go well with watching e-sports, but less well with playing. You wouldn’t want to eat a packet of crisps and move your hands back and forth between the crisps and the keyboard and mouse...

With so much money invested and riding on the success of e-sports events, there is a lot of incentive to diversify and look for the next big thing, but also

Takeaway

When you read news about a developer or publisher “establishing a game as an e-sport“, it often means throwing money at a tournament and getting sponsors on board.

When you read about a developer “adding e-sports features“, it often means a ladder, tournaments, or spectator mode.

Of all the prerequisites established above, the most important to establish a game as an e-sport are:

balance

skill measurement/high skill ceiling

easy to learn

interesting to watch

fun to watch

A game like Fall Guys is popular and “fun to watch“, but not particularly interesting, the drama only works if you follow a single player all the way to the last round, not if you watch the action from high up. Fall Guys has a lot of randomness and a low skill ceiling.

Amazon once even hosted a casual game tournament in which variety streamers played mobile games against each other. The goal of that event was to sell their Fire (Android) tablets. This did not kick-start a competitive mobile gaming scene.

There were rumours of EA trying to “establish“ Star Wars: Battlefront II as an e-sport, by funding a large tournament, but the game was neither interesting nor fun to watch.

It is a fool’s errand to “add e-sports“ to a game, instead of trying to make a good game first, or at least one that is fun to watch.

[danielschreuder-blog]

The Rise Of Esports

I begin a new year with a new mindset and a new course. Finally being given the opportunity to study what i love and am passionate about (game design) at The Academy of Interactive Entertainment since early February, i have learnt so much in such a little amount of time and am so happy in the choice i made to pull the trigger and learn what i love and learn about the industry. One of the things that peaks my interest is a growing global phenomenon called Esports!

Esports is competitive video gaming, the best of the best around the globe compete at what they are good at for prize money, bragging rights and fame. Esports can be structured just like any other professional sport featuring commentators, teams having analysts for post game performance or strategising, a coach to direct the players, the players themselves along with subs and many sponsorships/branding! With the rise of everything being accessible and on demand live streaming services such as Twitch and now Youtube Live, have opened up a new generation of gamers to watch people play games as well as the best in the world do what they do best and dominate the competition!  Esports is slowly taking over the gaming scene and is steadily growing with more than an astounding 80 Million people watching the 2017 ‘League Of Legends Worlds Championship’  online and even has (for consecutive years since 2011) packed out stadiums across the world ranging from Beijing- Los Angeles- Seoul and Berlin! This growing global trend that is now here to stay wasn’t always as popular. However around the early 2000s, the growth of eSports in South Korea is thought to have been influenced by  new broadband networks that were being introduced enabling them to compete and test their skills online against the world. Another key instrument to this growth of eSports in South Korea was the prevalence of how many Internet Cafes there were, typically loaded with Warcraft 3 and Starcraft, both very popular competitive games over in South Korea and starcraft even having its own dedicated television channel in South Korea! Due to eSports ever growing popularity and demand and now almost expectation for most competitive games nowadays, Professional leagues are formed and have huge funding behind them. An example of this is the recently released overwatch league In which permanent franchises representing major cities across the globe compete for glory across the atlantic and pacific divisions and comprise of  six teams each as they all compete for the overwatch league championship as well as  for $3.5 Million USD in performance bonuses at stake during the inaugural season. The players of the division are even on a payroll with a $50,000 USD minimum base salary including; player healthcare,retirement savings plans as well as housing provided during the season! Along with the establishment of different games as esports having their own leagues and tournaments, eSports is now starting to be recognised and creep into the Olympics, just recently at the winter olympics over in south korea in Pyeongchang! This featured coverage of Starcraft 2 competitive matches which was broadcast on the Olympic Channel. The Olympic torches journey even passed hands through five different Korean league of legends players on its journey through south korea as well as the starcraft 2 players even staying at the same hotels as some of the olympic athletes.In relation to what i am studying now at AIE (Game Design) It is now very common for video games to be designed with the experience of the player in the game being the only priority as many eSport games have been designed and optimised to be played professionally from the beginning. Developers may chose to add dedicated eSport features or even make complete design choices and compromises to support high level competitive play. As mentioned prior games like Starcraft 2 Overwatch And League Of Legends  have been designed at least in part to support professional play. Developers are also adding specific camera and observing options or dedicated spectator modes for those who wish to observe the best of the best play, this can be from a heavily changed interface that is not available if you were to play the game normally yourself and gives spectators instant access to information the players may not have at their disposal.

Overall from what I have learnt about the rise of eSports and how it is starting to be recognized globally and is starting to expand in this digital age and have games focused around eSports is quite and exciting time to be a gamer and to showcase to the world that the new celebrities of the world are the ones who may not necessarily be the sportiest person but may be a smart strategist on the digital battlefield conquering their opponents and being an unstoppable force and even doing it to represent their country hopefully in the Olympics or get paid to compete in professional tournaments and leagues. As a Game Designer it is interesting to think of the direction that games are starting to head in and see a more viewer focused gameplay options as well as an increasing amount of games trying to capitalize on the popularity of eSports to make their game the next big thing and take over the world!

[greattastemakerfest]

Alone In The Dark 1992 Download Mac

Alone In The Dark 1992 Download Mac Os

Alone In The Dark 1992 Download Machine

Alone In The Dark 1992 Download Mach 1

Widely considered to be the first survival horror game to use polygonal graphics. Initially released on the PC by Interplay, and developed by Infogrames, in 1992, Alone in the Dark would go down as a historical landmark in video gaming history. House of Horrors - Alone in the Dark. Jess and Zorine face up against the birth of survival horror in this 1992 game. Expect many surprises and some trouble with running. 🅳🅾🆆🅽🅻🅾🅰🅳 Free download Alone in the Dark 1 Year 1992. Garena 2.0 This tool allows you join gamers all over the world and play great games: Warcraft, Call of Duty, Starcraft, Quake, Dawn of War, BlackShot. Alone in the Dark (shortened to AitD) is a survival horror game released by Infogrames in 1992 for PC. In 1994 a port was made for 3DO by Krisalis Entertainment and published by Interplay Entertainment. Alone in the Dark is one of the first Survival Horror games and one of the first games to utilize 3D models superimposed on pre-rendered backgrounds. The game was awarded the title of'First 3D. Alone in the Dark is a survival horror video game series, originally developed by Infogrames. In most of the games, the player controls private investigator Edward Carnby, who goes to investigate a haunted mansion or town that is full of undead creatures. The original story is based on the writings of H. Lovecraft, although later games in the series drew inspiration from other sources. A suspicious suicide. A chilling curse. A malevolent power. Finally, a wicked dark secret. This is Derceto, a legendary Louisiana mansion where, against your better judgment, you're drawn into a world of shadows to explore the darker side of Jeremy Hartwood's imagination.

Control:

Game is con­trol­led by the same keys that are used to playing un­der MS DOS. For full­screen press 'Right Alt' + 'En­ter'.

Help:

This ga­me is e­mu­la­ted by ja­va­script e­mu­la­tor em-dos­box. If you pre­fer to use a ja­va ap­plet e­mu­la­tor, fol­low this link.

Other platforms:

Unfortunately, this game is cur­rent­ly available only in this ver­si­on. Be patient :-)

Game info:

box coverGame title:Alone in the DarkPlatform:MS-DOSAuthor (released):Infogrames (1992)Genre:Action, AdventureMode:Single-playerDesign:Frédérick Raynal, Didier Chanfray, Franck Manzetti, Franck De Girolami, ..Music:Philippe VacheyGame manual:manual.pdf

File size:

984 kBDownload: not available (stream only)

Download all icloud drive files to mac. Game size:

5283 kBRecommended emulator:DOSBoxFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Alone in the Dark is a critically acclaimed 1992 action-adventure horror video game originally designed by Frédérick Raynal and developed and published by Infogrames for the PC. In 1994, the game was ported for the 3DO by Krisalis. Alone in the Dark is considered a breakthrough and influential title, being the first 3D game in the genre of survival horror. It has spawned four follow-up games as part of the series, as well as two movies loosely based on them. Players choose between a male or female protagonist (Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood respectively), and are then trapped inside the haunted mansion of Derceto. The player character starts in the attic (the place of Jeremy's suicide), having ascended to the top of the mansion without incident, and is tasked with finding a way out of the mansion while avoiding, outsmarting or defeating various supernatural enemies including slave zombies and giant bipedal rat-like creatures. Though able to kill most enemies with simply fists and feet, the player character can also find and utilise weapons. Many opponents can be beaten by solving a particular puzzle rather than a straight fight - indeed, a significant number of opponents cannot be killed at all. Much of the game involves exploration and puzzle-solving, and optionally searching the house for clues to what happened before the player's arrival. The player character can search any area, open and close doors, push certain objects, and pick up some items. Items in inventory can be used, opened, read, thrown, or put down, though not all of these options are offered for every item. Inventory is highly limited, and the player must often discard items to make room. It is possible to discard items that are needed to complete the game, but discarded items remain in play and can be retrieved later, even if the player character leaves the room. Available space in inventory is determined by weight, not number of items; for example, a player may discard a book and two knives yet still not be able to pick up the heavy statuette. Unlike its sequels, and much of the survival horror genre, the game is partially non-linear. The player character is initially restricted to the attic and third floor, whose rooms are arranged such that they must be traversed in a linear order. Completing the puzzle at the end of the third floor grants the player character access to the first and second floors. The player can explore the rooms in this area in any order, and can also revisit the attic and third floor if desired. Upon completing a specific puzzle, the player gains access to the caverns beneath the mansion. The caverns are completely linear, and each challenge must be overcome as it is encountered.

More details about this game can be found on Wikipedia.org.

For fans and collectors: Find this game on video server YouTube.com or Vimeo.com. Buy original game at Amazon.com, eBay.com or GOG.com.

The newest version of this game can be purchased on Xzone.cz, GameExpres.cz orGameLeader.cz.

Platform:

This ver­sion of Alone in the Dark was de­sig­ned for per­so­nal com­pu­ters with o­pe­ra­ting sys­tem MS-DOS (Mi­cro­soft Disk O­pe­ra­ting Sys­tem), which was o­pe­ra­ting sys­tem de­ve­lo­ped by Mi­cro­soft in 1981. It was the most wi­de­ly-used o­pe­ra­ting sys­tem in the first half of the 1990s. MS-DOS was sup­plied with most of the IBM com­pu­ters that pur­cha­sed a li­cen­se from Mi­cro­soft. Af­ter 1995, it was pu­s­hed out by a gra­phi­cal­ly mo­re ad­van­ced sys­tem - Win­dows and its de­ve­lop­ment was ce­a­sed in 2000. At the ti­me of its grea­test fa­me, se­ve­ral thou­sand ga­mes de­sig­ned spe­ci­fi­cal­ly for com­pu­ters with this sys­tem we­re cre­a­ted. To­day, its de­ve­lop­ment is no lon­ger con­ti­nue and for e­mu­la­tion the free DOSBox e­mu­la­tor is most of­ten used. Mo­re in­for­ma­ti­on about MS-DOS operating system can be found here. The sims 2 ultimate collection mac download.

Available online emulators:

5 different online emulators are available for Alone in the Dark. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic features of each emulator available for this game Alone in the Dark are summarized in the following table:

Pause a download: Click the Stop button to the right of the filename in the downloads list. To resume, click the Resume button. Find a downloaded item on your Mac: Click the magnifying glass next to the filename in the downloads list. If you move a file or change the download location after downloading it, Safari can’t find the file. Download file by right clicking on mac.

EmulatorTechnologyMultiplayerFullscreenTouchscreenSpeedArchive.orgJavaScriptYESNONOfastjs-dosJavaScriptYESYESNOfastjs-dos 6.22JavaScriptYESYESNOfastjsDosBoxJavaScriptYESNONOslowjDosBoxJava appletYESYESNOfast

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Comments:

Alone In The Dark 1992 Download Mac Os

You can trace the long lineage of horror-themed adventure games back to Alone in the Dark. It was the primary muse behind such famous games as Resident Evil, Silent Hill or Nocturne. As most of you who’ve been around the genre longer than me probably already know, Alone in the Dark is not a pure adventure. You’d have to call it an action/adventure. In fact, it’s so excellent at blending the two genres that you could probably make the argument that its one of the original games of this subgenre.

Alone in the Dark is heavily influenced by the wonderfully dark, twisted writings of H.P. Lovecraft, and that’s a pretty good literary pedigree for any game. If you haven’t read Lovecraft, chances are you’ve seen plenty of movies with the same idea: a researcher into the occult finds some ancient, dusty incantations and rashly begins reading them aloud, thereby releasing into the world all matter of unpleasant, icky monsters.

Once you have clicked 'Preferences', go to 'Connection' found on the left side of the window. https://greattastemakerfest.tumblr.com/post/638713821049061376/how-to-make-utorrent-download-faster-mac.

It was released way back in the dark DOS era (1992), and so you shouldn’t expect it to be graphically impressive. The game overcomes its “primitive” technology by a very high degree of craftsmanship. The sound effects are creepy and convincing. The character movement is complex and varied. The camera angles are constantly shifting, giving the game a very cinematic feel. Finally, the characters and objects have a convincing sense of weight and substance. The designers have done a great job with limited technology.

All of these factors add up to the result that, DOS or not, the world of Alone in the Dark is strangely compelling. It was the original game that sparked our immagination and showed the full potential of the PC as a genuinely powerful artistic medium that could, when done right, run games that can scare us half to death. Creepy camera angles, odd noises and spooky monsters all work in tandem to deliver on the of most memorable adventures on the humble computer.

System Requirements: 80386 CPU, 1 MB RAM, DOS

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Alone In The Dark 1992 Download Machine

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[sebeth]

All-Star Squadron #10 - 12

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 All-Star Squadron #10 – 12 by Roy Thomas, Adrian Gonzales, and Jerry Ordway

“If An Eye Offend Thee!”

The issue opens in San Francisco. It is early January 1942 and Hawkman has snuck away from the military base for a late evening flight.

The majority of the Justice Society retired their heroic identities to enlist in the various branches of the military.

Carter joined the Air Force and is set to make “pilot in record time” but “it’s liable to be months before I’ll see action in the army air force.”

Hakwman witnesses a fleet of B-17 Bombers arriving at the base from Randall Field, Texas.

Carter muses: “Those flyboys will do America a lot more good than one former playboy swooping around in a beaked masks and wings.”

“Speaking of former playboys, I just remembered Randall Field’s where Starman – Ted Knight – is based. I wonder if he might be – no, not likely. He couldn’t have his officer’s commission yet.”

Carter is wrong, as Ted is flying one of the planes. Ted’s co-pilot can’t get over how fast he made pilot status.

Ted suspects his co-pilot feels Ted’s money cut through the red tape but, in fact, as Starman, Ted has been “flying high for a year now.”

I’m not sure how flying under your own power allows easy mastery over flying a plane but I’ll go with it.

Starman admits missing using his gravity rod to fly under his own power.

A flying UFO appears out of nowhere, “glowing so blindly I can barely look at it.” The UFO attacks the planes.

A plane plummets to the ground. Hawman races after, knowing it’s futile, but hoping his Ninth Metal harness can stop the impending crash.

Fortunately for Carter, Ted makes excuses to head to the back of his plane. He promptly changes into his Starman costume, grabs his gravity rod, and exits the plane.

A relieved Hawkman has Ted save the plane while he prevents the UFO from attacking more planes.

An unconscious man falls out of the UFO. The UFO flies away to parts unknown.

Starman has to get back aboard the plane but Carter wants to know how Ted made pilot so fast.

Ted: “I got the President himself to fix it up for me.”

Ted admits he hates “using our ‘in’ with F.D.R.” but “winning this lousy war that’s important” and he would “mangle every rule in the book” if he had to.

Carter realizes he needs to return to base before he’s reported A.W.O.L. but first he needs to find help for the unconscious man. Unfortunately, the man dies in his arms before Carter can reach the ground.

Carter believes he knows the dead man and if it’s who he thinks it is “the secret behind that ‘Flying Eye’ may be even more sinister than I’d imagined.”

A caption box informs us we’ll have to wait an issue or two before discovering the full meaning of Carter’s words.

I enjoyed the quick check-in with Hawkman and Starman. The military enlistment was used throughout the All-Star Squadron run to explain why the members of the Justice Society weren’t featured heavily in the series.  It’s still nice to have the occasional appearance from a Society member.

We switch to Washington DC.

The Shining Knight, Hawkgirl, and Johnny Quick are careening past the Washington Monument.

I still don’t understand how Shiera hasn’t died of hypothermia while fighting crime in a bikini top during an East Coast winter.

I don’t have a problem with certain female super-heroes fighting crime in swimsuits, hot pants, or skirts. For example: She-Hulk, Supergirl, Power Girl, or Mary Marvel. All four women are mostly invulnerable and largely immune to temperature extremes. As long as it’s true to their personality, those women can wear what they want – they don’t have practical concerns to worry over.

However, women like Black Canary, Huntress, and Hawkgirl are neither invulnerable or immune to temperature extremes. Their costumes should reflect their need to protect their body from physical harm.

Side-note: Huntress’s abdomen-baring, hot-pants costume was one of the most idiotic outfits of all time. Both for the reasons listed above and because shorty before it’s debut, Helena was shot multiple times in the abdomen by the Joker. And the life-saving surgery was performed in Gotham during No Man’s Land. There was no plastic surgeon nearby to minimalize the scars. Yet no artist ever drew Helena with a scarred abdomen. Stupid!

Johnny compliments Shiera on the design of her new mask.  Shiera took the time to modify her mask but not to add sleeves to her top? Okay.

Johnny mentions he’d “better get some newsreel footage of all this, or Johnny Chambers is gonna be looking for a new job.”

Johnny is a cameraman for See’s All/Tells All News.

Sir Justin tethers Winged Victory and notices an unconscious man: “Here lies a man unconscious and he wears the regalia of an American soldier.”

Johhny has entered the Washington Monument in time to stop a sabotage attempt.

Johnny stops the actual explosion while Shiera and Justin deal with the saboteurs.

Sir Justin: “We thank you for letting us deal with these Nazis, Johnny Quick, for, in sooth, ‘twould be most unseemly to have let you fight the good fight unattended.”

Johnny: “Knight, you sure do talk pretty sometimes.”

The trio take the unconscious man (wounded guard) to the hospital.

Johnny mentions this is the second national monument he’s saved in a month and “I wonder how things are going out at Mount Rushmore?”

Hey, every hero needs a specialty. Superman fights alien invasions, Batman solves crimes, and Johnny Quick protects national monuments.

We switch locations to “one of the few American outposts in the distant Pacific Ocean which has not yet fallen to the Japanese juggernaut” where a “total blackout has been rigidly enforced for the past month.”

We have another check-in with a JSA member.

Dr. Charles McNider is on the island researching tropical fever. And he’s brought Hooty!

Charles serving in a research role for the military is a perfect fit. Charles wouldn’t be able to actively enlist in the military as he is blind.

Enemy planes and the “Flying Eye” attack the island. Charles changes into his “Dr. Mid-Nite” uniform to help the soldiers on the ground.

A solider is very confused: “Dr. Mid-Nite?! How the heck did you get over here?”

I understand Charles’ natural impulse is to change into costume at the first sign of danger but making an appearance on an isolated island is not a good way to maintain a secret identity.

The Flying Eye causes multiple plane engines to stall and crash. Fortunately, the pilots bail out.

The Flying Eye retreats and Charles heads back to his lab: “Better get back before my assistant Myra Mason notices Dr. McNider’s missing.”

Charles, trust me, Myra knows you run around as Dr. Mid-Nite. She may not say anything but she knows.

Did Charles use the “FDR card” in order to have Hooty and Myra accompany him? Myra is a nurse and Charle’s long-time assistant, used to working with the blind Charles, so she’s a logical choice to accompany him but Hooty?

I mean, I love Hooty, I’m just now sure how Charles convinced the military brass to allow his owl on the island.

We switch to the Russia’s Crimean Peninsula where the Flying Eye attacks both the Russian and the German forces and flies away.

Back to Washington. Robotman examines Steel. Robotman declares Steel free of any influence from Baron Blitzkrieg.

Firebrand accompanies the duo outside in time to witness the arrival of the Flying Eye.

The Flying Eye causes the hospital generatiors, along with Steel and Robotman, to shut down.

The Flying Eye heads to the White House. Firebrand along with a recovered Robotman and Steel race to the White House.

The trio arrive at the White House and meet up with Liberty Belle, Hawkgirl, the Shining Knight, Johnny Quick, and the Atom.

A shadowy, seven-foot man emerges from the Eye and battles the All-Star Squadron.

The man removes his helmet and proclaims: “I am Akhet, and I have come from the second planet of the star you call Proxima Centauri to annex this world, and all upon it, in the name and by the power of the Binary Brotherhood!”

Up Next: “The Spaceman’s Sinister Secret!”

Akhet issues an ultimatum: “All of Earth’s nations must surrender that a united planet planet may be ruled by myself, as emissary of the Brotherhood. Any nations which resist – be it one or all – will be obliterated by such power as my starcraft has already demonstrated. You have one earth-day to choose between abject surrender and total annihilation!”

The All-Stars want to attack but Liberty Belle correctly states that they should wait for the President’s signal.

Half the Squad attacks anyway, and when it goes badly, the rest rush in to help.

Sir Justin, as always, has the best battle cry: “Nor shall any man or maid set a foot further than does the Shining Knight! Forward to the fray, Winged Victory!”

The fight doesn’t go well and Ahket absconds with Steel, Hawkgirl, Atom, and Robotman.

Johnny laments: “What a time for the big guns in the Justice Society to have decided to enlist in the Army as privates!”

The Flying Eye attacks random locations across the globe.

The remaining All-Stars meet with the President, Prime Minister Churchill, and a military general.

Liberty Belle is suspicious of Akhet’s claims: I’m convinced there’s more to this than meets the eye.”

Hawkman arrives at the White House.

Hawkman informs the others of his and Starman’s encounter with the Flying Eye.

Carter tells the group the identity of the man who fell out of the ship: “Garret Owens, a pioneering bio-chemist. He’d gone out for a stroll near his Illinois home in 1933 – and hadn’t been seen since!”

Carter notes the emblem on Owens’ uniform is an old alchemist’s symbol for the Middle Ages, it is the sign for “the spirit of the world”.

Hawkgirl and Atom awaken in the Eye. Shiera’s a bit over-whelmed as she’s not a “full-time masked hero type. I’ve just put on this outfit to help the Hawk a time or two – and now this happens!”

Atom informs her “It’s a little late to fall back on your amateur standing.”

Atom and Hawkgirl explore the Eye.

Hawkman and the non-captured All-Stars race to the estate of Elwood P. Napier, a physio-mathmematician.

Elwood is another scientist who has gone missing in the last decade.

Johnny Quick has discovered the missing scientists were part of a government brain trust that ran out of funds in 1930.

Elwood was the last of the scientists to go missing. Before that one of the scientists went missing every six months.

Firebrand uses her powers to light up the interior of the house.

Sir Justin: “Odd’s blood, lass, but in my long-ago day, they’d have burned ye for a witch.”

Good thing Firebrand’s a modern woman. Also, good luck with the burning thing considering the nature of her powers.

Hawkgirl and Atom encounter Akhet and easily knock him out. The duo discover Akhet is a robot.

The duo discovers the rest of the captured All-Stars along with the missing scientists.  All individuals are placed in clear tubes.

Hawkgirl and Atom discover the true mastermind behind the plan: Dr. Hastor, Hawkman’s arch-enemy.

“Doomsday Begins At Dawn!”

Hawkman and his fellow All-Star leave Elwood’s estate.

Carter recognized Hastor in the photos found at the estate, “a man I saw die more than two years ago”.

Carter recaps his origin and debut as Hawkman. This is familiar ground for DC fans but I’ll offer a quick summary: Ancient Egypt – Prince Khufu and Shiera – murdered by Hath-Set, a priest of Anubis, all three re-incarnate to their present day lives.

Carter battles Dr. Anton Hastor in his first adventure. Hastor presumed dead after his fight with Carter.

Carter informs his fellow All-Stars that there is no alien invasion – only Hastor’s machinations.

Hastor explains to Shiera his plans and how he became involved with the missing scientists.

Hastor took control of the group of scientists and the Flying Eye, starting the events of the last few issues.

The All-Stars reach the Flying Eye via a hot-air balloon! No engine to knock out in the balloon.

Carter, Shiera, and Hastor battle by using their past lives’ astral forms.

The Hawks win, the Flying Eye is deactivated, and Hastor falls into a comatose state.

I love the All-Star Squadron but this is a pretty “meh” arc. Too many twists needlessly over-complicated – and stretched out - the plot.

[componentplanet]

The Top 5 Games We Played in 2019

What is life without fun? Few things are as fun as getting truly lost in a game you love. As we close out 2019, it’s time to look back on the games that dominated our free time. This year, we have top five (or almost five) lists from Joel Hruska, David Cardinal, Michael Justin Allen Sexton, and Ryan Whitwam. Our picks skew newer, but not everything we’ve been obsessed with is from the last year. These are just the games we’ve enjoyed the most in 2019.

Ryan

Red Dead Redemption 2

As a primarily PC gamer, I was never able to play the original Red Dead Redemption, but Rockstar saw fit to make port the sequel to PC. The game suffered from a rocky launch on PC, and not all the bugs have been ironed out, but it’s still one of the most engaging gaming experiences I’ve had in recent memory. The world is detailed and rich with content, and not just repetitive fetch quests like some games that tout the size of their maps. The storytelling and voice acting are also absolutely top notch. Traveling to distant waypoints in many games is tedious, but the journey is part of the fun in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Pokemon Sword and Shield

Pokemon occupies a unique place gaming culture as a franchise that became a worldwide phenomenon without any full console releases. Pokemon Sword and Shield broke with tradition when they launched on the Nintendo Switch. They still have many of the same problems as older Pokemon games like clunky menus, confusing online features, and bad writing. That’s not why people play Pokemon games, though. It’s about catching ’em all, and Pokemon Sword and Shield do that better than any previous games in the series. In addition to the game’s linear routes between cities, there’s a vast Wild Area to explore. The raid battle mechanics are also a nice addition. You can waste truly obscene amounts of time searching for your favorite mons in these games.

Untitled Goose Game

Who would have thought a goose could be the bane of an entire town? But that’s what you become in Untitled Goose Game. The game presents you with a to-do list and turns you loose on the unsuspecting people of this unnamed hamlet. Some items on the list are simple — steal the gardener’s rake and put it in the lake. Others will take more planning and thought, like the quest to make someone put on the wrong glasses. This game speaks to some sort of casual maliciousness we all have when playing games, and it’s incredibly engaging. You will become the goose, and as you walk away from your vanquished foes, honking and flapping your wings, you feel almost unreasonably powerful.

The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds is basically a smaller, quirkier Fallout in space. As a refugee from a stranded transport ship, you have to make your way in the libertarian fantasy that is the Halcyon solar system. You can either support the mega-corporations that dominate the colony or fight to change things. Along the way, you’ll assemble a crew of misfits with their own backstories to explore across the Halcyon system. The settings are fun to explore, and the voice acting is surprisingly good. I will be the first to admit The Outer Worlds isn’t a perfect game; it’s too short, and there’s not enough variation in gear. Still, it’s still one of the best things I played this year.

MechWarrior 5

I love giant fighting robots, and MechWarrior is the premiere giant fighting robot franchise. However, we went almost 20 years without a proper single player MechWarrior game. That finally changed a few weeks ago with the release of MechWarrior 5. You play as the leader of a mercenary group, traveling the stars in search of money and revenge at the controls of heavily armed mechs. The combat in this game is superb — the dozens of included mechs have unique characteristics, weapon loadouts, and roles. These war machines feel heavy and powerful, and it’s an absolute delight to blast other mechs as you fulfill a contract. The game does have some problems with a meandering storyline, and the voice acting is barely passable. I’m willing to forgive that in light of the incredible combat, though.

Joel

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden

Mutant Year Zero is one of my favorite games that I’ve played this year. It’s not really a full AAA title in scope — think of it as more of a “AA” game, bigger than an indie, but smaller than what a large studio would build. The game is built on the same engine used for the newer version of XCOM, but it allows free-moving exploration in ways XCOM isn’t known for. It’s not perfect — there are definitely a few rough spots — but it feels like a Fallout title (and includes a few easter eggs referencing that game).

World of Warcraft Classic

I haven’t had nearly as much time to play WoW Classic as I’d like, but I’ve definitely had tons of fun with it. Bringing back Blizzard’s iconic World of Warcraft proved to be a popular choice for the company. The mode has been more popular than Blizzard anticipated, though it’s not clear how many players are brand-new to the title versus those coming back to relieve the glory days.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

Don’t look at me that way. I never had access to a console growing up, which means I’ve had a lot of first-time fun with some of the old console games. Yoshi’s Island is a truly amazing game for it’s era, with gorgeous artwork and great level design.

  It was designed to be a more ‘accessible’ platform, and I’m willing to admit I need that kind of feature, having basically never played platformers as a kid. I die. A lot. The restore button is going to break off the NES Classic long before any other component. I may not be very good at the game, but I’ve certainly had a lot of fun with it.

Sadly, I’m only in for three titles  — I’ve scarcely done enough gaming to talk about it, outside of the above. One of the ironies of writing about the topic is that it’s hard to find the time to actually do it, and life had other plans for Christmas this year. I had planned to write an article about No Mans Sky, which I recently bought, but I’ve only been able to spend an hour with the title thus far.

Michael

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Taishi

I got my first taste of the Koei Tecmo’s Nobunaga’s Ambition game franchise roughly twenty years ago on the SNES. Afterwards I fell out of touch with the series but recently have got back into these wonderful strategy games with Nobunaga’s Ambition: Spheres of Influence and Nobunaga’s Ambition Taishi. Though both games provide an enjoyable experience as you fight to conquer the Japanese isles, Taishi has options to automate some of the more tedious aspects of the game and makes the later stages of the game significantly more enjoyable than in Sphere’s of Influence. Though it’s not what I’d call perfect, it’s currently my favorite strategy game that I feel any fan of the genre will enjoy.

Jade Empire

Jade Empire is sent in a fictional world roughly based Chinese history and culture with Buddhist elements influencing the game’s story.  The game also features its own artificial language that was created by a linguist explicitly for use in the game. Released in 2005, I first played this game when I was 14, and it helped to grow my interest in Asia. It’s by far my favorite game of all time, and I make it a point to replay this game at least once every year. Though my hopes for a sequel have yet to be answered, if you’ve never tried the game before its well worth giving it a try.

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

This is another game that I first played years ago on the original Xbox. Set in ancient Egypt, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is predominantly a puzzle game with some fighting and RPG elements mixed in. I got back into this game this year after discovering that THQ Nordic had released a remastered version of the game with improved graphics. Though the gameplay remains unchanged from the original, it holds up well it’s still fun to play. There is also a fan based mod in the works which includes content cut from the original game.

Fable III

When Lionhead studios launched the original Fable, it instantly became one of the best RPG games in the world. Later games in the series changed drastically and mixed reviews. Though the games were fun, they were also disappointing because of the extent to which they changed. Fable III has never been able to stand up to the original Fable, but trying the game again after a few years I found this game to still be fun to play and an enjoyable experience.

StarCraft 2

StarCraft 2 needs little introduction. Since its release StarCraft 2 has been a crowd favorite with the online multiplayer gaming community. The game also has a long and highly enjoyable campaign that also has plenty of replay value. Though I don’t play online much, I often return to run through the campaign, which is why I opted to include it in my list of top five games for the year.

David

Untitled Goose Game

This game comes pretty close to qualifying as the ultimate un-video-game — at least compared to most current hits. You can’t get killed. At most you suffer from a couple momentary ruffled feathers. There is no time pressure, unless you complete the entire game and decide to try and set speed records. Graphics are trivial and cartoon-like — but artfully thought out. It is fun, addictive, and can be played by anyone. You only need a couple buttons and a joystick, along with a sense of humor.

The plot is simple. You’re an annoying goose who spends your day harassing the unlucky denizens of a nearby village. When in doubt honking is sure to get a start out of them, and help you distract them. There are dozens of tasks you get to try to accomplish, ranging from breaking things to befuddling shopkeepers. Watching and kibitzing can be almost as fun as playing, so don’t hesitate to fire it up when the whole family is around.

F1 2019

For some reason lost in history, our family follows F1 racing. Despite the relative lack of passing or on-track action, we’re addicted. So it is great to be able to “follow along” with the season by playing the F1 games for each season. This year in particular, the game came out part way through the season, so it was possible to drive the same tracks that the racers would that weekend. There are extensive team and career modes, but they’re wasted on me, as I don’t have the attention span for them. But experimenting by driving different cars and different setups adds to the enjoyment of the race season.

Forza Motorsport 7

If it wasn’t for the F1 connection, I’d rate Motorsports 7 as a no-brainer winner over F1, and it definitely has the best AIs of any version of Motorsports. I really enjoy the versatility of the game, with a huge selection of cars, tracks, and race series. It is certainly not anything like iRacing when it comes to racing fidelity and true competitive racing, but the graphics are much more detailed, and I don’t participate in multi-player racing (other than with Avatars) anyway. I also play Assetto Corsa and Project CARS, but Motorsports is my go to if I just want to spend some time on track.

Dirt Rally

The most stressful video game experience ever for me was driving a mountain course in Dirt Rally in VR using my Oculus. I can imagine driving a NASCAR around an oval at full speed (as lethal as that might prove to be), but I can’t imagine driving at high speed on a dirt track hugging a cliff. So for the most part I stick with the forest tracks in Dirt Rally, but I love the combination of needing to drive the car and interpret the messages about the upcoming hills and turns from my rally co-driver.

Ultimate General: Civil War

This is another game where the campaign modes are wasted on me. But the detailed, and carefully-modeled, tactical engagements and multi-day battle strategies are great fun for a reformed hex board gamer like me. And unlike with tabletop versions of military campaigns, I can play this one against the computer any time I want. Like many games of its genre, it doesn’t get updated much, and some elements of it are behind the times, but it looks great on my 4K 32-inch photo monitor.

That’s the titles we’ve been playing — what’s held your interest through 2019?

Now Read: 

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, Xbox’s Phil Spencer Are Fighting Over Moore’s Law

Warcraft III: Reforged Launches on January 28, 2020

How Much Does It Matter That PCs Are Faster Than Consoles?

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/303784-the-top-5-games-we-played-in-2019 from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-top-5-games-we-played-in-2019.html

[joshbutin3d-blog]

Red vs. Blue: In Films and Games

With basic colour theory explored, I will now be looking at colour theory within the film and games industries.

LillySeara’s Color Psychology (2016) online video gives a good general overview of colour theory across multiple films. These are not necessarily by genre, but highlighting the use of colour within certain scenes, depending on what mood the director/cinematographer is trying to portray.

For reds, view the video from approximately 00:38 - 01:20. It is clear reds are used heavily for violent and aggressive scenes, as well those of a seductive and passionate nature. It is seen to be a strong and confident colour.

Blues, 02:45 - 03:15 illustrate serenity and remoteness/loneliness. It is a very neutral colour in contrast to red.

As a small exercise in primary research, I am going to look at some individual films in their physical media form. As I don’t have immediate access to the cases, I will look solely at the discs. Interestingly, many of the discs forgo the heavily-illustrated nature of the cases they are contained within, and instead opt for a simple and flat colour scheme. I will be picking out the discs with heavy blue or red overtones, and listing their genres according to their dedicated web pages on IMDB.

Blue

Guardians of the Galaxy/Volume 2 - Action, Adventure, Comedy

It - Drama, Horror, Thriller

John Wick - Action, Crime, Thriller

The Lego Batman Movie - Animation, Action, Comedy

The Lego Movie - Animation, Action, Adventure

Oculus - Horror, Mystery

The Others - Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Pan’s Labyrinth - Drama, Fantasy, War

Starship Troopers - Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Toy Story 1, 2, 3 - Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Red

The Hateful Eight - Crime, Drama, Mystery

Kick-Ass - Action, Comedy

Leon - Crime, Drama, Thriller

Little Shop of Horrors - Comedy, Horror, Musical

A Nightmare on Elm Street (original franchise) - Fantasy, Horror

Sunshine - Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Three Amigos! - Comedy, Western

Total Recall - Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Unfortunately, this analysis proves largely inconclusive, with all genres making fairly balanced appearances on both colour lists (except for the single appearances of musicals and westerns). It is more likely the colours correspond with themes or the content of the films themselves. For example, Total Recall is a film set on Mars and its disc is appropriately red.

It is unlikely this particular piece of research will, or even can, influence my design decisions.

Games

The above game environments have been selected for their heavy use of blues. Common uses appear to be for use in nighttime scenes or space, in which the entire environment and its inhabiting characters/objects are affected by blue lighting. Elsewhere, you’ll see blues complimenting predominantly white areas, be it the sky levels of Mario 64 or the snow mountains of Spyro, or used as the sci-fi particle effects in Starcraft or Battlefleet Gothic. We can see the common themes from the film colour psychology reappearing. The serenity and remoteness is evident in most of these images (in the background if not the focal point), as well as the general fantasy and mystical themes.

Red environments offer little in the way of surprises. Predictably, red is used to present Hell-like environments. Demons, fire, and storms lend to the hostile atmospheres. It is a stark contrast to the blue environments and is seemingly used to promote more difficult levels/encounters in which the player should expect more in the way of stress and challenge.

Red vs Blue, in terms of game environments and its correlation with colour psychology within film are proving to be conclusive. This should definitely influence the way I design my work.

Initial ideas

I am beginning to think about having a character which represent one of these colours, out of their element in an environment that represents the other. For example; a wrathful demon in a peaceful temple, or an innocent child amidst anarchy.

My next avenue of exploration will be characters; both in appearance and emotion.

References

LillySeara. (2018). Color Psychology. [Online Video]. 2 June 2016. Available from: https://vimeo.com/169046276. [Accessed: 20 September 2018].

GeForce, (2012), World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.geforce.co.uk/games-applications/pc-games/world-of-warcraft-mists-of-pandaria [Accessed 21 September 2018].

Female First, (2017), StarCraft II Screenshot [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/games/starcraft-becoming-free-play-1104427.html [Accessed 21 September 2018].

Oli Dugmore, (2017), Spyro: Reignited Trilogy [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.joe.co.uk/news/spyro-remaster-trilogy-screenshots-title-and-release-date-leaked-171119 [Accessed 21 September 2018].

Michael Klappenbach, (2018), Rising Storm [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.lifewire.com/top-first-person-shooters-for-pc-813061 [Accessed 21 September 2018].

Glacier Gaming, (2016), Dark Angels [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.glaciergaming.co.uk/articles/1224/space-marines-screenshots-released-for-battlefleet-gothic-armada-dlc [Accessed 21 September 2018].

DreinIX, (2007), Wing Mario Over The Rainbow [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/super-mario-64/screenshots/gameShotId,246947/ [Accessed 21 September 2018].

Pushsquare, (2016), Doom [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.pushsquare.com/games/ps4/doom/screenshots [Accessed 21 September 2018].

F2P, (2017), Kritika [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.f2p.com/screenshot/kritika-online/ [Accessed 21 September 2018].

DreinIX, (2007), Flying in Lethal Lava Land [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.mobygames.com/game/n64/super-mario-64/screenshots/gameShotId,246947/ [Accessed 21 September 2018].

GreywardenGirl, (2013), Kvatch Oblivion Gate 1 [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/images/132336 [Accessed 21 September 2018].

[businessweekme]

Debate Rages Over Medals for Gamers at Asian Games

Forget swimming goggles and running cleats. As athletes gather for the Asian Games, Asia’s biggest sporting event in Jakarta this week, much of the attention will be on computer mice and chunky headphones as gamers will also be in line for medals.

For the first time, the Asian Games — the Olympics equivalent for the world’s most populous continent — will include computer game competitions alongside swimming and track-and-field. Contestants from Saudi Arabia to Japan will battle for national pride and bragging rights across six titles, including League of Legends and StarCraft II in a huge marketing coup for publishers like Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Activision Blizzard Inc.

Yet the move is generating furious controversy. Many athletes and fans contend computer games aren’t truly sports, and no medals should be awarded for what’s essentially skillful consumption of a corporate product. This week’s games are the largest showcase yet for esports, an early test of whether it will be included at 2024 Paris Olympics.

“It’s really a shift away from the Olympic ethos,” said Scott McGrory, 48, an Australian gold medalist in cycling and a sports broadcaster. “It’s like saying, let’s have a competition with the best accountants on the planet.”

Critics say it’s about greed. The Olympic Charter historically stated that mental or mechanical-driven activities were not permitted as sports, one reason chess and car-racing were never included. But with Olympics attracting fewer viewers, especially among younger audiences, officials may be willing to bend the rules to welcome the $140 billion video game industry, which commands the attention of teenagers and millennials.

“They’ve got Olympic ideals and they use all these slogans, but at the end of the day this is a big money-making machine,” said Mathew Jessep, a sports and esports lawyer. “If the Olympics want to continue making the sort of money they’ve been making, they need to supplement the content. From a content play, esports is a definitive opportunity.”

Olympic organizers also historically work with non-profit sports groups and are barred from dealing with for-profit companies like the game makers, Jessep says. But the games industry doesn’t yet have an international, non-profit group that could fill that role.

Game makers stand to benefit. Unlike with basketball or fencing, the intellectual property of a video game is usually owned by a for-profit company. That means choosing a game from, say, Tencent or Electronic Arts Inc. has a direct impact on their profit. Skeptics say the selection process is rife with opportunities for favoritism and influence-peddling.

Asian Games organizers have yet to explain in detail how this year’s six titles were chosen. The Asian Electronic Sports Federation, which oversaw the selection, said it was based on “stringent criteria,” according to a statement in May. “The game must adhere to our vision of promoting integrity, ethics, and fair play,” AESF president Kenneth Fok said in the statement. AESF did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls.

In a panel discussion in July, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, said the debate over esports in the Asian Games has been tough. While the International Olympic Committee questioned its inclusion, game makers were adamant about keeping control over their business, he said.

Twenty seven countries participated in qualifying for esports, with 135 players selected to live alongside athletes from traditional sports. Winners this year won’t get medals, but gold, silver and bronze will be awarded from the 2022 games.

The selections heavily favor China’s Tencent, with half of the six slots. Analysts say that gives the company an upper hand in establishing itself as the premier game in a specific genre, which should help boost sales and increase the audience. Tencent’s battle arena title League of Legends is a direct rival to Valve Corp.’s Dota 2, which won’t be part of this week’s competition. Konami Holdings Corp.’s Pro Evolution Soccer series was picked for the Games over the much more popular FIFA from Electronic Arts.

“Being chosen as the de facto game for esports is a huge plus for publishers,” said Masaru Sugiyama, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “The rift between the top game and the second game in the same genre could widen.”

Karol Severin, co-founder of MIDiA Research, suggested one way of dealing with the dilemma is selecting genres — strategy, shooting, virtual soccer — instead of specific games, and then allowing multiple publishers to vie for a spot in that category. Organizers could also release Olympic-specific versions of a game, with royalties then shared among developers and organizers.

Esports-related revenue will more than triple to $3 billion by 2022 from this year, according to Goldman Sachs estimates. The sale of broadcasting rights will generate 40 percent of that as the audience watching matches grows to 276 million, according to the brokerage.

Sugiyama said big international tournaments like the Asian Games and the Olympics will be major factors in driving adoption and acceptance. That’s why reaching a balance between sport and profit will be key to entertaining viewers without making the competition feel like a giant commercial.

“When a game becomes an Olympic sport, should it have an owner? Or should it be in the public domain?” said Sugiyama. “This is a question that must be answered.”

The post Debate Rages Over Medals for Gamers at Asian Games appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

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[deephologramsublime-blog]

When Your Partner Doesn't Like You Play Video Games.

Have you been tricked right into thinking that you're unsatisfactory to grab warm women? If there are no girls like that around, you could try discovering someone online, or going to places/events connected to gaming and conference people there. The initial few games were a little bit aggravating for her, but once she got the hang of it she was contending for the top couple of places. But below you need always more focus on control your habits inning accordance with your guy or girlfriend, I advise you constantly when you play any games after that make your actions so sweet a regular. Additionally, we would've included Spaceteam, but we're not as well experienced with relationships that consist of even more individuals compared to you can count on your hands. Something straightforward without requirements of intricate gaming knowledge, however it's alright if I have to educate her some fundamentals. Yes, this is a great game to play as a couple. We both procured approximately expert degree on our corresponding tools (her on drums, me relegated to guitar). I wouldn't play any of these games with my guy other than Little Huge World or Guitar Hero. If you're here, chances are you appreciate playing computer game. While your sweetheart could or might not share that leisure activity with you, that doesn't mean you can not delight in some co-operative time together in the online globe. You might likewise offer her a hand massage therapy to make her feeling much better. Presently she is playing the sims 4 by herself as well as long times enjoy me play steel equipment. In general, ladies go more for games that entail excellent characterization as well as dramatic plotlines. The factor she has to play with on her own is that otherwise you'll wind up obtaining annoyed with just how slow she's going (seriously, this can be a connection ender) and also attempting to tell her how you can resolve the problems - something that ruins a challenge game for the person playing it. This collection is a wonderful starting point for lady players that are simply hardly entering into pc gaming. Thats component of the enjoyable in play is seeing just what occurs. Super Mario 3D Globe particularly counts heavily on team effort at times, making for an ideal possibility to instruct non-gamers ways to play. Another extremely prominent game is Diner Dashboard, which exploded into the COMPUTER fairly a long time ago. The gameplay is a combination of Pac-Man and also Metal Equipment Solid, however it's in co-op where it genuinely shines. As a girl, I locate those are the only games my lady non gamer friends have the tendency to take pleasure in. Mine loves viewing me play anything with an exciting tale. Try a lego game, any type of lego game. Furthermore, it does not require great shiver reflexes like Counterblow or CoD, nor does it require the mixture of long-lasting strategy and temporary strategies that games like Starcraft create. http://irissand7.postbit.com/the-negative-influence-current-aaa-video-game-development-carries-the-market-new-player-country.html Possibly you like playing Left 4 Dead co-op with your companion, that's simply not gon na take place for me. The in game opening was quite solid to leave a good early impression but the game has a great story and it was enough for her to comply with along. Non-gamers will like the large selection of playable characters and the power-ups throughout the races ensure that a race remains intriguing.

[blubberquark]

Execution Skill as a Resource and Bidding Mechanic

Prerequisites: Keith Burgun’s video on execution skill and Dario Wünsch’s advice for StarCraft players with less-than-perfect execution skill

Main Thesis: Execution skill has an important function in many strategy games, beyond merely keeping the outcome of the game uncertain because somebody could still fumble the execution. Execution skill informs and influences tactical and strategic decisions. In this regard, execution skill is analogous to locally good play in Go and short-term tactical skill in board games.

I’m currently working on Bullet Blueprint, a tactics game with real-time controls, but no way to mess up your execution. I’m interested in game feel, and I like making puzzle platformers more than pure puzzle games. If you find that interesting, follow or message right here on this tumblr, or follow me on twitter here.

What is Execution Skill?

Execution skill in games is usually based on dexterity and fast reaction. In contrast to high-level decision-making, execution skill is the ability to “pull off“ a complex strategy in real time and follow through on your decisions.

Execution skill comes in last: After you formulate a plan and commit to it, you need to execute on the plan. If a game does not fit into this schema and you cannot group your actions into plans, you cannot disentangle the slow high-level decision-making from the fast and frequent actions that make up the execution of the plan.

Execution skill usually relies on the fast “System 1“ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking%2C_Fast_and_Slow) or “muscle memory“ (arguably a part of System 1, and definitely not actually inside your muscles). High-Level decision making utilises the much slower “System 2″.

“Micro-management” or “twitch skill” are often used synonymously to “execution skill“ in many games. In other games macro-management (e.g. unit production) also benefits from fast execution, so this is not always a one-to-one correspondence.

Skills and Time Scales in StarCraft

Some games require both execution skill and high-level thinking. StarCraft for example contains fast-paced execution, tactical decisions, and long-term strategy. On the long-term strategic level, you have to think about pressure, build orders, expansions, map control, timings and unit compositions. On the intermediate, tactical level, you can decide whether to harass, attack, counterattack or defend. You must regularly gather intelligence/map vision, adjust your army position or divide your army and regularly build pylons so you don’t run out of supply. On the fast execution level, you must split your marines or zerglings against area-of-effect attacks, concentrate fire on the most important or most vulnerable enemy units, save your workers from harassment, stutter-step with marauders, and blink away with stalkers. You must also regularly spawn larvae/chrono-boost/drop mules and build new units.

Tactical and Execution Skill in Games - Overview

(This list is not meant to be a comprehensive list of all game genres)

Turn-based strategy games (Frozen Synapse, Advance Wars) have tactical and strategic elements, but do not rely on twitch execution skill. Tactical decisions allow you to gain or lose a material advantage, but they also have medium-term repercussions on unit positioning.

Fighting games (Towerfall, Street Fighter II, Super Smash Bros) need some tactical decisions, as well as a lot of execution skill. Tactical decisions could be when to attack, when to retreat, where to retreat, what moves to use, and so on. Execution skill is making sure your attacks hit, while dodging/blocking enemy attacks and maintaining your combo.

Some games have minigames that heavily rely on execution skill, like the hacking minigame in the first Mass Effect. The hint book in Machinarium is guarded by a shoot-em-up minigame that relies on some execution skill, while the rest of the game relies on exploration, lateral thinking and logical puzzle solving. This isolated use of execution skill is deliberate, by putting the solution behind a skill check, you still feel a bit accomplished when you open the hint book. The book remains solvable without the lateral thinking and logic skills you lack if you have to resort to the book, and the hint book never has any additional puzzle content you can miss by solving the riddles and never consulting it.

Rhythm games like Quadrant or Bit.Trip.Runner rely on just twitch skill for the most part. There are few to no decisions you can make ahead of time, or that would impact the game world for long. Rhythm games like Bit.Trip.Runner let you practice and learn the same level, but there are next to no real decisions.

Real-Time Strategy games, like the game StarCraft described above, have many layers: Strategic, tactical, execution and metagame. Success or failure on every layer feeds back into the higher layer of decision-making, while higher-level decisions inform the lower-level strategies you must follow. Depending on strategic or metagame decisions, different tactical options are open to you. Different tactical approaches take different amounts of execution skill.

Board Games like Go, but also many Eurogames, often have emergent game phases. The phases are not part of the game’s rules, but emerge as game dynamics from the way these games are scored. In the early game, both players divide the board among each other and try to gain control, while in the late game, they consolidate their position and try to gain points. In Go, this phase distinction is only locally applicable: Both players often play out long sequences on one part of the board while the rest of the board is still open. In the beginning, you stake out your moyo (potential territory). A bigger moyo is harder to defend. Back to board games in general: Complex strategies usually take several turns, but wasting turns and resources puts you at an immediate disadvantage. Thus once you decide to build a road in Catan or to invade a corner in Go, you have to follow up somehow. Good moves can sometimes force your opponents to respond while keeping your options open.

Role-Playing Games (Legend of Grimrock, The Banner Saga, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy) have many tactical decisions in combat, as well as strategic decisions about skills and equipped gear. Some, but not all RPGs also rely on twitch execution skills, but usually the focus is on increasing the skills of the player character, not the actual player, by gaining experience points.

Without an open world, a scarcity of resources, or a hunger clock, there are no long-term consequences to the exact outcomes of battles, beyond mere survival. Many RPGs with scarce resources, like NetHack or The Banner Saga, force you to make strategic decisions about whether to fight certain character at all or at a certain time.

Decisions between Skill and Reward

If you can choose between a plan that requires a high amount of execution skill and a plan that requires just a little execution skill, you choose the more difficult path only if it leads to a reward that is commensurate to the risk, and only if the reward could change the outcome of the game. Strategic decisions in board games and turn-based games relate to tactical skills in a similar manner: You should only decide to start a risky invasion in Go if you need the points, or if you are confident that your own stones will survive.

Games can include certain moves that require a of twitch skill for very little benefit, but these options are red herrings: You do not take them if you are serious about winning.

If you are low in health in a fighting game, it might make sense to re-position yourself for a risky attack, or to try a move that is easy to mess up. As long as you can maintain your advantage, there is no need to resort to risky strategies.

Once you start to execute such a reflex-heavy or lookahead-intensive plan, like an invasion in Go, or early Reaper harassment in Starcraft, you cannot back down without realising your losses, whether they are lost time, stones, moves or Vespene Gas. If you can just pull out your investment and abort the plan, the plan is not that risky after all.

Knowing Your Limits

When you are an advanced beginner at StarCraft or Go, you don’t lose to better players because your invasions fail (Go), or because your Reaper dies (StarCraft) and your investment was for nothing. You probably know how good or bad your are at execution skill (StarCraft) or life-and-death problems (Go) and thus never attempt a plan that is outside of your capabilities.

Execution skill factors into tactical or strategic decision making, even if the difference in execution skill rarely decides any local outcome.

If you take an action - any action - in a game, it signals to your opponent that that you think that this action is the most important thing you thought you needed to do. If you place a stone in Go, it tells your opponent that you think this move is the one that gives you the most points or the safest way to secure your existing advantage in the long run. If you push a lane in a MOBA, this tells the other team that you think this lane needs pushing and is strategically important.

If you commit to a micro-intensive plan, your opponent might conclude that you think you have the skills to pull it off. Depending on the kind of game and your strategy, a perfect response to your plan might require an equal amount of execution skill. Your opponent can decide to go for a difficult defense in response to your attack, or to play a safer strategy, which fares better in the worst case, but is not the best possible response.

Of course, if you are a beginner playing against another beginner, you can usually just attack and see what sticks, because you are as likely to mess up your execution of the attack as your opponent is to mess up the execution of the defense. Sometimes this is the best way to learn.

In this regard, an attack in Go or StarCraft is like bidding or betting: You initiate an attack and bet a large amount of resources on your plan. Your opponent can then decide to either meet you in a contest of execution skill, or to concede a smaller amount of resources for certain.

Reflexes, Attention, and APM as Resources

Execution skill in real-time games has one additional layer beyond providing uncertainty, the risk-reward dynamic, or estimating and betting on skill levels.

Especially RTS games and MOBAs require constant vigilance and attention. The map is much bigger than your screen, and unlike in action games or RPGs, important things can happen everywhere on the map while you are not looking. You need to be aware of the state of the whole map, your own position, your allies and your enemies. While you are pushing a lane, concentrating on last-hitting, focus-firing, or splitting your marines against banelings, you have less time and attention left to build your base, defend against counterattacks, keep tabs on your teammates, or to think about what to do next.

The faster you are at execution, the more time you can free up to do more things.

A common pitfall for new StarCraft players is to focus too much time and attention on your main army, and not enough on building your base and scouting the map. If you learn to play faster, you can switch focus to and from your base and economy more often, but especially if you are slow, your attention should be distributed economically in the first place. As the conventional wisdom in StarCraft goes, a player with bad execution skill but sound priorities and a high-level strategy will beat a player with high APM and a bad economy.

TL;DR: Do not just think about contests of execution skill deciding the outcome of a game, think about how execution skill or a lack thereof influences high-level decisions!