thanks David.

I’m not swimming in huge amounts of gold these days. So when it was announced that 2D Boy’s game World of Goo was celebrating its 1st anniversary by offering anyone the possibility to buy it at the price they wanted, I felt the urge of destiny: now was the time.

So I paid… And there’s not one cent spent here that I regret. (Well, even if I did regret them all, it wouldn’t amount to me feeling that bad anyway. But… that ain’t the point.)

The Wolfire Games guys made a video about the design of World of Goo.

(more…)

The Call of Duty makers made announcements over the weekend that broke many a fans’ hearts. They’re essentially destroying the PC gaming eco-system (clans, leagues & tournaments, server providers, modders) around  upcoming hit Modern Warfare 2. They’re doing it to standardize game access for the masses and build a Battle.net/Xbox Live like service. At least that’s how I understand this entry over at Bash and Slash.

Years ago I got the chance to meet with top Blizzard designers at a Warcraft 3 presentation. This is quite rare to me, I’m not a journalist, so I remember these moments fairly well. I was all pysched up. I told them about Starcraft and esports, as this was all I was breathing for back then, and they told me about how one of the keys to Blizzard’s success was the donut theory.

The idea behind this theory is that to have a big success, it’s important to pay respect to your hardcore fans. Here’s a pic.

Back to Infinity Ward and COD: MW2. No one is blaming them for reaching at the mass market. Actually, the people that take gaming seriously, the ones in the hole above, like it when their favorite game is played by millions. The bigger the game, the more we belong, kind of like a tribe thing.

The problem is they’re doing it by turning their backs to those who live and die Call of Duty, those who organize a good part of their lives around the game. There are businesses and non-profits built around the Call of Duty’s of the world. And there are die hard fans of these games who need those 3rd parties to enjoy the playing in full. They are all part of Call of Duty’s success on the PC.

By shutting them down, IW is not only denying the support these 3rd parties represented for their success, the developer also is taking majors factors out of the Call of Duty equation, one that’s been working so well. Things I’m sure they of course thought about. They must have one helluva plan.

No wonder the uproar in the community is so powerful and many are already claiming all over the place that they won’t buy the game.

Radiohead and Prince are doing it in music.

Many are doing it in gaming such as 2D Boy and Polytron Corporation.

And even more are set to come down the same path. Such is the power of the Internet Clout Mace, baby, and it can’t be denied.

Independence is the hotness because of its… freshness? No really, with independence comes the end of format. No albums or boxed games, more fun, more risks. Thank god independence, if it wasn’t for you we’d have never played Canabalt or Madballs in Babo. We wouldn’t have felt the vibes of Auditorium and Audiosurf. And no Quakelive or Trackmania either.

Not that we don’t like big budget AAAAAAA games. GTA and Call of Duty bring the joy of interactive action movies to our hands. World of Warcraft has millions drawning in geeky happiness. We all heard of private Street Fighter 4 clubs. We want that.

It’s just that, sometimes, big budget means lots of cut scenes but no balls. And, sometimes, we wonder why.

Hotness?

We like hotness. We want to touch it with our hands.