Moving Pixels Podcast: What's the Point of Points?

What does the image above have to do with this week's podcast topic?

Ummm... it is art based on a classic video game that has points... I guess...

I don't know. I just think the painting is really cool.

If you want to hear about the value of points, though, head over here:

Moving Pixels Podcast: What's the Point of Points?

A Quiet Start Screen Speaks Volumes

A few brief thoughts on how a start screen can evoke dread.

A Quiet Start Screen Speaks Volumes

Moving Pixels Podcast: Fun, Sun, Zombies

Given as many hours as I committed to a game that I wasn't actually sure that I wanted to play, taking part in a podcast seems appropriate enough.

I rather like Dead Island in terms of mood and in terms of its gameplay. This ain't Shakespeare, but it handles its more functional qualities rather well.

Moving Pixels Podcast: Fun, Sun, Zombies

Living for the Short Term Grind

Lordy, League of Legends is good.

Ironically, I'm singing its praises in my recent blog post for "shortening the grind." The truth is, though, it is consuming so very much of my own, as it definitely is a "just one more match" kind of experience.

Living for the Short Term Grind

The Moving Pixels Podcast on CivWorld and Social Gaming

As my post from last week indicates, I (and my Moving Pixels colleagues) have been spending time with CivWorld on Facebook. Like any social game, it is engaging on some level, drawing the player back in regularly to maintenance his "segment" of the game.

Also, as I indicated in my previous post, this is also a game that lacks some ability to keep the player hooked, largely because it fails to establish a strong enough sense of ownership for the player over his own corner of this particular universe.

But you can hear not only what I have to say about it but also Nick and Rick's sense of the game's strengths and weaknesses.

The Moving Pixels Podcast on CivWorld and Social Gaming

Paying to Own, Paying to Compete: Monetizing the Social Game

So, yeah, I've been playing a fair amount of CivWorld on Facebook for the past few weeks. I have done so in preperation for a podcast that we recorded last weekend on Civworld, casual gaming, and the hardcore player.

In addition, I have helped manage my wife's city in Cityville since some time around the beginning of the summer.

Seeing the differences between the social game oriented towards the casual player and the one (ostensibly) oriented towards the more hardcore crowd has me thinking about the problems of doing well with a social game in the CivWorld vein. It's harder to monetize.

Here's maybe why:

Paying to Own, Paying to Compete: Monetizing the Social Game

Moving Pixels Podcast: The Role of Cheating in Video Games

Ah, the Konami code.

I've always hated god mode. It's boring.

I also really don't love using gamefaqs. They make me feel... less accomplished.

That isn't quite what we talk about during this 'cast, as Rick's framing of the discussion makes cheating more of a moral question. But that's okay because I like such frames in any case.

Moving Pixels Podcast: The Role of Cheating in Video Games