Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

For Love of Tower Defense

When Skyrim was done sucking down my spare and not-so-spare time, I tried some smaller downloadable games.  First I played "Dungeon Defenders", a tower defense/RPG fusion.  Next (well, at the same time), I played "Orcs Must Die," a case of truth in advertising that was . . . an RPG/Tower Defense Fusion.

Starting to see a trend?

In fact, Microsoft apparently did, they even had a Tower Defense discount/special on XBox.  It appears that Tower Defense has become pretty popular and produced some good games lately, even if the genre has been around for awhile (such as "Trapt/Dark Illusion") 

This made me wonder, just are these games popular?  Why was I enjoying them?  Why did these RPG-style fusions seem especially enjoyable and well-received?  I mean, yes, Tower defense was and is popular, but these games seemed to reach something in me and other gamers that made us play for hours and speculate on new ways to immolate orcs (I recommend a spring trap that throws them back into Brimstone, by the way).

For you current and future game professionals, here's my analysis.

Giving Them What They Want: A Fizzy, Chocolaty Tale

If you were on a diet, and someone promised you a beverage that tasted just as good as what the people not on diets were drinking . . . would you believe them? Probably not. But if someone actually delivered on that promise, and then some, would you remember their brand next time you went to the grocery store? Oh, yes - because the company delivered exactly what you wanted.

There was a company that did this, and created a genuine cult soda. And believe it or not, there's a lesson in this fizzy tale that can help you on your job search.

Career Thoughts on the Post-PC/CorpTechPocalypse Era

Yesterday I discussed that I felt the decline of the PC was related strongly to the decline of Corporate IT.  But what does it mean for your career, my fellow progeek?  I figured I'd collect my random thoughts to see if it gave you ideas, or caused panic.  Or something.

The CorpTechPocalypse And The Post PC World?

Last week, I noted that some say Apple had their first post-PC quarter - and that this isn't suprising.  In fact, ilke the "CorpTechPocalypse", the slow dying of IT departments, this is a completely predictable trend.  In fact, I think they're the same thing.

Really, the dying of the average IT department is pretty much the same reason that companies are aiming for a post-PC market.

(Now I agree with our own Scott that it's not a post-PC world in that the world will forget PC's.  I view what's coming as a world where the PC's role shrinks considerably.  But I call it Post-PC as the other term I heard, "PC Plus," doesn't cut it for me)

So what are these similarities?

Steve's Kill Your Cable Adventure #5: Finding The Off Switch

Been awhile since I posted one of these columns, though at least you know I haven't been busy watching cable.

Essentially in the month since the last column, no one in my home has watched cable.  In fact, only recently did we go "hey, wait, we should cancel this."

The shift happened that quickly.

So now this week I've got to go get rid of Cable and TiVO.  Both have their own challenges, but it's also going to mean about $80 or so we don't spend a month.  So, yeah, if you've got a deluxe cable package, you're spending more, and that adds up.

Getting away from cable, after a short time, was pretty easy:

• Hulu and Netflix of course made it easier to get old and new shows.
• Some companies put their shows online anyway (though I expect there's some odd battles coming).
• There are companies that put specific content online, such as anime.
• If you really want it, get the DVD from Netflix, or buy one, or buy one and sell it to a  used media store. 

So pretty much if I want television of some kind, I can probably get it.  In other words, yes, you don't need cable.  Also you probably have Netflix anyway.

I also noticed definite psychological shifts:

• We all know a lot of television is crap.  When you're not watching it, the crap becomes more, painfully, apparent.
• Having cable is like having a ticket to a buffer of mediocrity.  You'll use it because it's there, but in actuality, you're not getting much out of it.
• Having to decide on my entertainment and video viewing as opposed to flipping on the TV has gotten me exploring a wider variety of content.  Cable, in some ways, is also limiting.
• My interest in different media extended to other areas of my life - such as webcomics.
• I feel even more social.  Television doesn't become a tool of socialization so much as a tool for shared experiences.

The shift in mindset is still something I'm analyzing, and there will doubtlessly be more analysis to come.  In the end I came to the following conclusions:

• You probably don't need cable and it might be good to get away from it.
• It's easy to get away from it.
• Cable companies are going to need to change radically to deal with the changes in the world - and I think they could, but I'm not sure they will (essentially becoming "internet providers plus").  Hint - potential career opportunity.

So probably one more column to come on how I turned it all off . . . then silence.

Followed by me watching Netflix.

- Steven Savage

 

Scary Logos, and the Importance of Hitting Your Target Audience

Let me tell you a story about . . . TV corporate logos. You know, those short little bursts of sight and sound at the end of a television show, telling you what studio produced them? Short, forgettable little things, right?

Wrong. From the '60s to the '90s, a bunch of TV logos were produced, and in wide circulation, that literally scared children. To this day, people tremble in fear at the memory of them. They were an example of something with good intentions that went horribly wrong.

They also provide a valuable lesson to all of us in the importance of knowing and catering to your target audience - say, for instance, a potential employer looking at your resume.

Tales from the Ashcan: Meanwhile, Over at the DC Comics Disaster Circus....

Sometimes, when you're a major subsidiary of an entertainment behemoth, nothing ever seems to go right.  Such is the mess over at my favorite disaster circus of late, DC Comics.  First it was the pissing off of just about every member of fandom regarding their relaunch.  Then the controversy over their Zuda comics label.  Then it was the blatant sexism regarding the New 52 relaunch.  Then it was charges that DC no longer has a business strategy.  And now?  Well, let's just say that they're going for the Royal Flush (down the toilet.)

If any of you recall, a few years ago, there was a huge outcry over the changing of the DC "Bullet" logo to the current DC "swirl."  Well, get ready for the new new logo.

Behold 3D Printing: Bow Before It

The BBC has an awesome report on 3D printers at CES.  If you're not familiar with 3D Printing allow me to mock you.

It's looking like we have several companies working on home 3D printers - which means affordable ways to basically make plastic stuff at home off of your computer.  Try and wrap your mind around that idea - for $2000 you can make stuff off your computer.  All those times you glossy-printed fanart are nothing compared to this.

With more than one company in play here, I think it's inevitable that we're going to see 3D printers in the home (in fact the BBC article helps explain the simplicity of some of the tech).  So I'm trying to imagine the impact of this, and of course that means BULLET POINTS.

Games, Persistence, The Cloud, The Future

If you play MMOs, if you're using cloud storage for games (as we're moving towards), think for a moment how long a "game" will survive.  Your collection of memory sticks and outdated save cards is nothing compared to the way gaming is going.  I see it entirely possible that game data will survive for years, for more than a decade, in some situations.

This likely possibility is something those of us who play and make games and media should be seriously considering.

• MMO's will have to decide what to do with old data - and also the fact that each inactive account may yet become income producing.
• If anyone remembers the way some Metal Gear games used save files, those old save files could be used in so many ways in other games - or sequels.
• What happens when a game gets re-released?  What do you do with save files floating around in the cloud?
• When a game gets a sequel/spinoff years later after whatever legal/ethical/company fooaraw delays it save files that can be used for extras, bonuses, etc. may still be out there.
• With all the ways to use old save and game information, what are the legal limits of what data you can use?
• * What legal rights does a company have to use data saved under previous games?

If you're a programmer or producer in gaming, a lot of potential opportunities and challenges are coming just due to sheer persistence of data.  Some of these could be trouble - and many could be opportunities.

- Steven Savage

 

The Movie Industry Can't Innovate, Steve Blank Explains Why

Teacher, Blogger, Entrepreneur and activist Steve Blank hits it out of the ball park, past Team Rocket, into space, and right into the Source Wall with this piece on why the movie industry can't innovate and why SOPA is their solution.  He also has takeaway bullet points at the end, which removes my need to write them, and further increases my respect for a fellow Steve with an awesome name.

Its a great, simple article that looks at movie and media history and shows how regulation is often a tool to avoid competition - and how our current SOPA stupidity has a lot of historical precedent.

Go read it. The money quote is "Why can't the film industry innovate like Silicon Valley?" which pretty much sums up the point that the film industry is not about innovation.

Like many things, the film industry is about making a profit, and making a profit and innovating don't necessarily go hand in hand. When you've got cash, lobbyists, and a few congresspeople on your side, it probably seems easier to just go and screw with the future of the internet than try and innovate.

So consider that - the film industry not only doesn't innovate, ask yourself if it has reached the stage where it cannot.  If it is indeed at that stage, it's only recourse is to try to resort to profit-maintaing and rent-seeking tactics.  If it cannot succeed with those, what is its future?

(Oh and you'll notice a distinct lack of SOPA coverage among SOPA-supporting outlets.)

- Steven Savage