Let’s face it, we’ve lost the battle. Bowser kept Princess Peach and is now charging us to see Yoshi, Luigi, and Toad. Microtransactions are so prevalent in today’s video games that we sometimes don’t even notice them. But, are microtransactions ruining video games?
Microtransactions, loot boxes, and season passes are slowly but surely ruining video games and there’s no end in sight. What was free content 10 years ago is now hidden behind a paywall and taunting you as a 9-year old kid taunts you when you’re on the floor dying.
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Despite being a hobby for most people, video games have been associated with a lot of adverse effects on people’s mental health. According to some studies, gaming does lead to anxiety attacks, being violent, anger, and depression.
There’s some truth that backs up these claims. There are two sides to the story. Spending too much time playing video games is associated with feelings of happiness as well as enhanced social behavior.
However, excessive indulgence in video games also has a negative side. Some of the negative factors include feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem, a negative attitude and mindset, poor concentration, as well as dysfunctional behavior.
Video games aren’t the cause of mental health problems such as anxiety, but they can act as catalysts and make the conditions worse when you’re addicted to them.
We’ll look at what anxiety attacks are and how video games relate to them.
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Many people around the world find enjoyment in collectible items as a way to relive their childhood, a personal hobby, and to build value over time. Some of the rarest action figures are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and are purchased from around the world.
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If you have ever been caught in a debate on whether video games are good for you, you are in the right place. Most parents see video games as a bad influence and a distraction to their kids.
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Simply put, cloud gaming is a type of service which allows you to remotely play games from a server. You don’t need to download a game, you don’t need to own a physical copy of the game, you don’t even need to own the most powerful processor and graphics card to run these games.
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As I mentioned at the beginning of this year, I was planning on launching a Sims 4 Downloads section on this blog.
I’m very happy to announce that the Sims 4 Downloads section is up and running, with a few custom content pieces for you to dowload and enjoy. I plan to add a lot more, so keep on checking back or follow me on Twitter to see when I update next! 🙂
Love it? Hate it? Let me know what you think!
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With over 9 million of active streamers at the end of 2020, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find a few familiar faces on the platform. You can find actors, musicians, WWE stars and many others.
Today I’ll be looking at a few actors who are currently active on Twitch!
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If you’re ready to up your gaming collectible game, you’ve come to the right place. Gaming statues are incredibly popular and while they aren’t that posable (if at all), they are certainly very aesthetic and will look amazing on any shelf.
Today I’m going to list some of the best Assassin’s Creed statues!
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January sure was a wild year, right? At least it feels like that! Here’s the first of my monthly recaps. I’ll be giving my opinion on the happenings in the gaming and streaming world. It’s a mixed bag of fun and not so fun things.
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If you’re a gamer then you might have definitely come across a debate on PC vs console gaming. So, which is better and why?
This is definitely not an easy question to answer as both PCs and gaming consoles have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. Both ends up being perfect depending upon the requirements and likes of gamers.
But if we have to answer, is PC gaming worth it? Then, yes. PC gaming has come a long way and it has got a slight edge over the console gaming.
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I was reflecting on 2020 and I figured I could also reflect how this year influenced this blog. I know I don’t do any personal posts or talk about the future of the blog but I think the end of this year warrants something new.
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Asking how long it takes to develop a game is pretty much the same as asking ‘how long is a piece of string?’. We know that it is a cliche, but there is no definitive answer to this question. Game development depends on the type of game being produced and the development teams included.
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Alright, so you have completed a game. The credits start to roll. Unless you decide to hit that ‘skip’ button (and if the game allows you to – looking at you Assassin’s Creed 3), chances are that you will see both game designers and game developers listed here.
Now, contrary to popular belief, these are not actually the same job. Both have majorly different jobs when it comes to the development of a game.
Let’s look at the differences between game developers and game designers. To do this, we are going to need to take a look at each role individually.
What is a Game Designer?
Let’s start with game designers.
Game designers are going to be among the first people brought on during the production of a new game. Before any other staff are hired, often a year or two before, game designers will be chipping away at the actual design of the game.
The goal of a game designer is to determine several things. This includes:
- Aim of the game
- Basic story (this task can be handed off to story developers)
- Look and feel of the game
- Gameplay e.g. any specific mechanics
- Design of characters
- Puzzle, quest development etc.
Basically, the game designer is going to be responsible for what makes the game unique (or not so unique, in some cases). Everything that you love or hate about a way a game plays will be put together by the game designers. As we said, this is all going to happen before they let any developer touch the games.
Because game designers have to generate a lot of ideas, they have to have knowledge about certain things in game development. A lot of this is to make sure that their ideas can be brought to realization.
For example; a game designer will have to have a general knowledge of coding and art, even if they never plan on doing anything related to that with the game. This way they are not coming up with crazy, amazing ideas that are just not practical to make come to life.
What is a Game Developer?
Once the game designers have come up with a plan of action for the game, game developers can be brought in.
The game developer will probably not have any impact on the creativity behind the game. This means that they will have no say in the way the game looks or feels. They could probably tell the game designers if something isn’t working, but often the game designers are going to be so set in their ways after years of design that they probably won’t listen unless it is a major problem.
All the game developer needs to do is to knuckle down and code the game. They are basically bringing together everything the game designers planned out. Think of it as the game designers giving the game developers a recipe, and the game developers are actually making this recipe.
What are the Differences Between a Game Designer and a Game Developer?
You have probably picked this up already, but let’s just really drum the point home.
The purpose of a game designer is to design the game. The purpose of a game developer is to make the game.
Games cannot be made without game designers or game developers. Even if a game goes through development after it has been released, it still needs developers. Those are the guys that help plan balancing, or introducing new concepts to the game. Developers can’t do that on their own. They do not have the required skills and training.
So, what does this mean? Well, it means that the next time you have a suggestion for a game you are playing, you probably shouldn’t go to the developers. You should contact the designers. They are the only ones that can get that change made…that is if they will listen to you in the first place!
Can the Two Roles Overlap?
Absolutely!
While in AAA game development (I wrote about AAA games here), it’s likely that the two positions will be distinct from one another, those rules are thrown out when it comes to indie game developer.
We have seen some games developed by minimal staff. This means that certain staff members will have to wear many different game production hats. Although, even if the two roles do not have any overlap during game development, it is still important that a game designer and game developer understand each other’s role. It makes for a far, far better game. You don’t want there to be any disconnect there.
Remember, it doesn’t matter whether somebody is a game designer or a game developer. Despite the differences between the roles, they both have the same end goal.
That is to give you the greatest game that you have ever played.
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Microsoft’s Xbox Series S/X and Sony’s PlayStation 5 launched in a much different world from their predecessors. In the past, if you wanted to pick up a console at launch, you could probably head to your local store and buy it that way.
Due to the recent pandemic, both Microsoft and Sony decided to launch the bulk of their stock online. This means that if you wanted to pick it up, you needed to have access to the internet.
This gave scalpers the opportunity to mass-buy next-gen consoles and then sell them for an inflated price.
Unfortunately, console scalping is NOT illegal in the United States.
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Christmas is knocking on the door already and I find myself asking where has the time gone in 2020? No matter what your Christmas plans are like this year, I think it’s still a great idea to decorate our houses and apartments if only to de-stress a little bit from real life.
I was looking to update our decoration collection, so I decided to look around for some cool video game ornaments. Regular ornaments are overrated anyway. 🙂
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