May PC Gamer Article Discussion

[Kaamos_Llama]

If theyre talking about putting ads on startup or every half an hours of playtime then it really sucks. If theyre running a Sci Fi game and Coca Cola Schweppes or whatever wants to pay them 10 million to put Coke cans on some shelves in shops then I can handle it if it means they stop firing talent. That way there might be someone left at big publishers to actually make good big budget games in the future. Theres been product placement in games before, I dont really like the idea but realistically its ignorable.

Games dont have to be more like TV or movies to have good stories and interesting worlds, games have plenty of ways of telling stories that arent just cinematic, and seeing those being discovered and used is always a positive to a game. Straight up cinematics can be good as well when done properly though.

 

[Brian Boru]

But... but... you live in 3D space?

So now you know why I'm usually confused

setting yourself on fire

No need. The girls with the bare chests all say I'm already smokin'

what is more TV than adverts?

I'm fine with in-game billboard ads which don't get in the way.

put Coke cans on some shelves in shops

Yep, that too. Just stay out of the way of gameplay and let the unconscious branding do its thing.

 

[Colif]

if its a sports game and they have signs, then it makes sense. Same with racing games. And possibly to make an open world seem more real.
What I don't want is actual advertising interrupting the flow of the game... as companies will pay to be noticed.

 

[ZedClampet]

AAA is collapsing because their methods are out of date and too expensive. so they think they'll run ads during games. Anyone who thinks they won't start using AI heavily to streamline the art and engineering processes is just kidding themselves. They'll still have to have human artists and engineers to check behind the AI and touch up the work, but it's definitely coming.

 

[Colif]

Realistically, none of us wants to wait 6 to 8 years for a new game to come out. If they can use AI to speed up some processes, why not do it. Someone will eventually and if its not an AAA company, they might soon be one.

 

[Pifanjr]

I went looking for browser game recommendations on the PCGamer website and found this:

This unhinged browser game about passwords is the most messed up thing I've ever played

The Password Game is sure to test even the most tranquil-minded of you.

www.pcgamer.com

I don't think it's possible to get past step 24 unless you get incredibly lucky or spend way too much time/effort on it.

 

[ZedClampet]

I went looking for browser game recommendations on the PCGamer website and found this:

This unhinged browser game about passwords is the most messed up thing I've ever played

The Password Game is sure to test even the most tranquil-minded of you.

www.pcgamer.com

I don't think it's possible to get past step 24 unless you get incredibly lucky or spend way too much time/effort on it.

My wife would probably do well at this. I've just flat out told her I hate it when she makes our password for something. I asked for our Netflix password the other day, and she starts telling it to me, and I'm like, "What? Where is that on the keyboard? I don't even know what that is."

 

[Pifanjr]

My wife would probably do well at this. I've just flat out told her I hate it when she makes our password for something. I asked for our Netflix password the other day, and she starts telling it to me, and I'm like, "What? Where is that on the keyboard? I don't even know what that is."

I doubt your wife includes the emoji of the current phase of the moon in her passwords though.

 

[Colif]

shame most password systems won't let you use alt characters. Its really stupid that some sites restrict which characters can go into passwords, do they want us to get hacked or something?

 

[Zloth]

if its a sports game and they have signs, then it makes sense. Same with racing games. And possibly to make an open world seem more real.
What I don't want is actual advertising interrupting the flow of the game... as companies will pay to be noticed.

Sometimes. That Monster Energy product placement in Death Stranding was pretty bad. Civilization is in ruins, there's no more communication between cities just a hundred miles apart... but Monster is still distributing heavily caffeinated drinks using the same branding they had back in 2020!?

And that hints at the problem, too - if you want those product placement $'s, you are going to need to set your game in present day. Anytime in the future is probably going to look dumb unless the marketing group is willing to alter their branding to try and fit the times. Fantasy isn't going to work at all. So, you end up seeing a lot of pressure from publishers to set games in the present day.

 

[Colif]

well, they online games, no reason the ads can't be updated or worse still, live links

that would fix the dating issue, at least until link breaks. then they just need a place holder.

Companies now don't think about future, server game needs to run will be off-line long before ads are dated.

 

[ZedClampet]

unless the marketing group is willing to alter their branding to try and fit the times.

Almost zero chance of that. Companies are obsessed with their branding, and they also think consumers are too stupid and would get confused. Some absolutely would, so they aren't exactly wrong.

 

[Rolfil]

As far as ad's in game? I guess it depends on the game. I currently play American/European Truck Simulator with mods that add in real companies to the game

 

[Colif]

Almost zero chance of that. Companies are obsessed with their branding, and they also think consumers are too stupid and would get confused. Some absolutely would, so they aren't exactly wrong.

Really depends how much of reality is in the game as to if you would believe an advert in a game was real. If VR ever takes off like Meta hoped it would, then adverts in there would sure blur lines between fiction and game,,, as I bet companies will want to be able to sell you things... and then it does come down to the things actually existing. That would be up to company as to what they show.

car companies selling a car in VR might have to stipulate which reality you own the car in.
If they ever make Gran Tourismo the VR version, it needs the same warning.

I like to think people who play PC games/consoles are smart enough to realise things in(most) games aren't real. Some on mobile as well. We haven't got an immersive environment yet that merges reality into games... looks for his holodeck.

So the line between fantasy and reality is still there. How strong the persons grip on reality is, is another question.

Sure, there are idiots out there that believe all sorts of things... people bought NFT after all. But the number of them is vastly outnumbered by people who aren't complete idiots.

All it takes is some note at start of game saying all products found in stores aren't real. You don't own them in reality.

that is if they don't just put an unskippable 10 minute block of ads every 25 minutes, to recreate that genuine free to air tv environment... then release Ad free versions and make users pay more for them... OMG, I don't want to give them ideas

 

[ZedClampet]

Really depends how much of reality is in the game as to if you would believe an advert in a game was real. If VR ever takes off like Meta hoped it would, then adverts in there would sure blur lines between fiction and game,,, as I bet companies will want to be able to sell you things... and then it does come down to the things actually existing. That would be up to company as to what they show.

car companies selling a car in VR might have to stipulate which reality you own the car in.
If they ever make Gran Tourismo the VR version, it needs the same warning.

I like to think people who play PC games/consoles are smart enough to realise things in(most) games aren't real. Some on mobile as well. We haven't got an immersive environment yet that merges reality into games... looks for his holodeck.

So the line between fantasy and reality is still there. How strong the persons grip on reality is, is another question.

Sure, there are idiots out there that believe all sorts of things... people bought NFT after all. But the number of them is vastly outnumbered by people who aren't complete idiots.

All it takes is some note at start of game saying all products found in stores aren't real. You don't own them in reality.

that is if they don't just put an unskippable 10 minute block of ads every 25 minutes, to recreate that genuine free to air tv environment... then release Ad free versions and make users pay more for them... OMG, I don't want to give them ideas

I meant they would be confused by the branding. That's a very big issue in marketing. Companies will lose their mind if their product doesn't look like it does in real life.

 

[Colif]

Some games take branding to an entire new level

Cool Spot - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I vaguely remember playing that.

Advertising in video games - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

its not really a new idea. Its just one they kicked around for years... now its time to stop boiling frog and get knives out... if ads get in, i wonder whats next.

 

[Pifanjr]

Some games take branding to an entire new level

Cool Spot - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I vaguely remember playing that.

Advertising in video games - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

its not really a new idea. Its just one they kicked around for years... now its time to stop boiling frog and get knives out... if ads get in, i wonder whats next.

I discovered today that FreeCell on Windows now comes with ads, including videos that play every couple of games.

 

[Colif]

guess its not really Free anymore

 

[ZedClampet]

Square Enix to 'aggressively pursue' a new multiplatform business strategy 'designed to win over PC users'

New plan will also include a shift from "quantity to quality".

www.pcgamer.com

Oh joy. Hopefully they stick to their Epic exclusivity so I don't accidentally stumble across one of their trailers. I don't need any, thanks.

 

[Colif]

the future

 

[Zloth]

Almost zero chance of that. Companies are obsessed with their branding...

Don't I know it. Marketing will give us the exact RGB values we are supposed to use in our website, the exact font to use, the exact font size to use, and, when they send us a copy of our logo to put in the corner of the website, it's 3840x2160 pixels. (Then we show them how it looks, and they let us take some liberties.)

 

[Colif]

Company Style guides exist for a reason. Consistency. One image.

 

[Hveðrungr]

Company Style guides exist for a reason. Consistency. One image.

Not only that, but legal protection. They want it to be very clear what their colour and so on are so that they can sue fraudsters who try to copy them.

 

[ZedClampet]

A couple articles from this morning:

XCOM designer Jake Solomon is done with turn-based strategy and is now making a life sim inspired by small town dramas like Gilmore Girls

Midsummer Studios CEO Jake Solomon lays out plans for a Sims-style life sim that pats you on the back for engineering drama.

www.pcgamer.com

From Xcom to a Gilmore Girls life sim? Lord take me now.

Helldivers 2 has sold over 12 million copies, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation game ever: 'There are more Helldivers than there are Swedes'

This is democracy manifest.

www.pcgamer.com

Helldivers 2 has sold over 12 million copies. SteamSpy estimates that 55 million of those are on Steam. Thanks, SteamSpy. You're indispensable.

Taking an average of two other game sales guessers, we get that 7.5 million of the 12 million were sold on Steam. I don't know how accurate that is, but it's widely known that the game has sold more on PC than on Playstation so it sounds about right. At least it's a better guess than SteamSpy.

 

[BeardyHat]

I discovered today that FreeCell on Windows now comes with ads, including videos that play every couple of games.

I feel like Linux is somewhere on the horizon for me, not that I spend a ton of time playing included Windows games, but I could see setting my wife up with Linux because she's not as picky as I am. I do like Linux, but I find myself screwing with it and trying to get it configured just the way I like a whole lot more than I find myself actually using my computer for computer stuff when I run it.

A couple articles from this morning:

XCOM designer Jake Solomon is done with turn-based strategy and is now making a life sim inspired by small town dramas like Gilmore Girls

Midsummer Studios CEO Jake Solomon lays out plans for a Sims-style life sim that pats you on the back for engineering drama.

www.pcgamer.com

From Xcom to a Gilmore Girls life sim? Lord take me now.

I'd rather a turn-based strategy game, as I love XCOM 1/2, but I'm down to see what he can come up with. Honestly, The Sims/Gilmore Girls is far more interesting to me than Marvel characters. I've heard Midnight Suns is great, but I cannot get over the hump of superheroes, which I just can't muster a single **** about.