October 5, 2007
Gamefly.com - SCAM
Alright, I know I -never- write on my blog, but this is something that definitely needs to be put out there since we are a gaming community.
So lately, I've been noticing a dramatic increase in the number of Gamefly commercials on televisions and in gaming magazines. Prior to this, the only game rental gimmick I've ever bought into is Blockbuster's monthly game rental plan. It was basically the same as these game/video rental sites--you have X number of games or movies that you can have out per week, and when you return them, you can pick up new ones. I can't recall if Blockbuster was more or less expensive than Gamefly, but I never had any problems with it because I could play a game as long as I wanted, go back and pick out new ones, then hand the new ones and old ones back to a cashier for him to scan. I think since then Blockbuster has stopped doing that deal, but it was definitely worth the money.
Now lately, Blockbuster (at least the one in my area) has had a generally mediocre selection of games. They have a huge selection of older games, but their selection of newer games is lacking. So I thought to myself, Gamefly might be a good fit for me. I would probably rent at most 4-6 games a month (with 2 out at a time), and I could try out games I wouldn't necessarily want to buy or keep. Of course, that's the basic role that Gamefly is meant to fulfill.
However, I've found that Gamefly is an absolute nightmare of a company. I think zombie monkeys are actually running this company, that's how bad it is. Here's what happened:
It started out fine, I opted to sign up for the monthly $22.95/2 games out at a time deal. I chose 2 Xbox 360 games, one of which was an older title and one of which was a brand new title. Both titles shipped to me my 2nd day after sign up. So far so good. Played the games, enjoyed them, kept them about 2 weeks. Gamefly provides you with barcoded envelopes to send back the games in, so I placed each game inside its specific envelope and sealed it up. I had to drive by the post office anyways, so I figured I would drop the games off there. I went inside and placed the games in the post office prepaid drop box and double checked that they were in. I figured my end of the bargain was complete. The ball's in your court, Gamefly.
So I waited. I checked my Game queue every day, to see what games they would send me next. Gamefly's distrobution center is also located in Los Angeles, so I didn't think it would take more than a few days to complete its trip. After 4 days, I became mildly concerned. After over a week, I sent them an email that the games had been returned...what's the deal? They replied the games were lost in the mail, and that they would send me the next two games on my queue despite that. Okay....so apparently I lost their games but it's okay, they'll trust me with two more? This all happened 2 weeks after they should have received the game....2 weeks that I've been paying for the whole time.
I decided to look up Gamefly, to see if other users have had this problem before. To my amazement, it seemed as if 90% of Gamefly's users have had games "lost" in the mail. On top of that, if the user then emailed a few weeks after the return date and told Gamefly the games have been sent back, Gamefly would magically "find" the game and send them their next games 2 weeks late. I sent them an angry, threatening letter and they magically found my discs, too.
Definitely something shady is going on here.
I have seen reports from users that about 60% of their rented games get "lost in the mail" on the way back to Gamefly. And yet, somehow Gamefly remains in business despite losing 60% of their inventory monthly. Somehow, that doesn't add up.
If you email them about it, you get an automated response 2-3 days later, not a real customer service representative. If you try and cancel your account because of the poor service, they'll charge you the full price of the brand new games that you supposedly "lost." The other alternative to paying for those games, of course, is to reactivate your account and continue paying your monthly fee. And so, Gamefly catches you between a rock and a hard place, leaving you unable to cancel your account unless you want to pay $50-120 in lost games, or keeping your account and making you keep taking games until they decide to find your old "lost games."
Gamefly is a fraud and a scam, I definitely needed to post so that you all know it's not worth it dealing with them. It's definitely a good idea, but we'll just have to wait until someone does it right, instead of a company just out to scam their members for money to hide their lack of overall inventory.
Posted by victoria at 3:03 PM | Comments (4)
April 5, 2007
Experimenting - Thesis Prep
There are a few questions that I need to answer about my project to myself before any type of production is done at all. I would like the element of the traditional Japanese play narrator to be a part of the game, but I am having trouble figuring out how this would work in relation to the player, especially if the player is wearing headphones (a possibility at this point).
A few ways that I could prototype this to find the ideal use for my narrator, and if a narrator should even be used, are:
#1 Have a player blindfolded and have the narrator read an opening story. The narrator has a map on which several landmarks are drawn, indicating points of interaction for the player. The player indicates where he wants to walk by pointing forward, backward, left or right. The narrator will trace the path on the map, and when the player hits a landmark, the narrator will alert them. Outside helpers will simulate sounds for the player to interact with. The story should have an achievable goal for the "level."
#2 Have a player blindfolded with no narrator. Outside helpers will simulate sounds for the player to interact with depending on where the player is on the map, which someone will track. There is an achievable goal but the player has no guidance: the point is to see how far the player can get truly blind with no help from a narrator.
#3 Have the narrator act like a character in the story, a sort of sidekick for the player. Similar to the first but less neutral. What if the sidekick were deaf and the samurai were blind? How could they give each other clues to complete a quest?
I still need to determine what kind of story is and what role these people will play when playing the game also.
Posted by victoria at 4:06 AM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2007
Rat Race - 2-4-8 IKEA project
07 CTIN 548 Project Evaluation
from Thesis Prep perspective
1. Document your project
Post a photo and 50-60 word description of your project.
http://www.kirinthedestroyers.com/mousemaze.jpg
http://www.kirinthedestroyers.com/mousemaze2.jpg
http://www.kirinthedestroyers.com/mousemaze3.jpg
My project was intended to be a 2 player game in which two players race mice to opposite ends of the maze. The first player to reach their opponent's start, or to catch the other player in their territory, scores a point. The first player to two points wins. The game was intended to be quick and have the potential for strategy. I built a maze, using the cabinet as the base and placing wood planks on dowels as the maze walls, and had mouse shaped RC cars to run the maze.
2. Process
How did you decide what to do?
I spent the first one and a half days brainstorming all kinds of ideas for how the cabinet could be used. I brainstormed general ideas (nature, art, movies, etc), as well as the layout of the cabinet (the cabinet as a base, the cabinet as a box, the cabinet as a piece of furniture, etc). I talked with friends outside of the program and explained to them the constraints and my ideas for the cabinet, and after going over the possible problems/technicalities of all the ideas, I settled on the idea of a maze.
On which day did you settle on a plan? Thursday
When did you actually get started? Friday
Did you prototype? Yes
How? The designs for the maze were drawn and redrawn several times, to plan for the size of the cabinets, the length of an average game, and how many players. The walls were cut so that there were extra pieces, and no pieces were set permanently until it was tried out. I drew out several iterations of the maze before I built, then taped the combinations of walls onto the maze floor before making them permanently. The walls were finally spaced to be about twice the size of the mouse for easier maneuverability.
How (or did) prototyping inform or alter your final project? It did, but due to the limitations of the quality and availability of the cars, all the planning during the prototyping phase kind of fell through.
What, in terms of process DIDN'T work this week? How will you avoid this issue while doing your thesis? I think committing to a project that used a certain type of RC car that was highly unavailable and low quality without doing research first on these was my biggest pitfall. Had I known that the cars would be like this, I might not have done the maze project at all because to use reasonable RC cars, I would have had to build a maze at least 3 times as large.
3. Rate your project in terms of your expectations. I would have to give it a 6/10 as far as meeting my expectations. In my opinion it is a well made maze, and for my first time using power tools to build something I think it came out really nice. I was kind of unsure of myself when I drilled my first hole in the wood, but now that this project is over it's nice to know that I built something that looks pretty nice. The loss of points is mostly because I didn't achieve what I wanted to, and that was to make a fun two player game out of the cabinet. Due to the low quality of the cars, it was more of a frustrating and confusing game experience. It's amazing to see how such a little thing can change the course of an entire project.
Posted by victoria at 2:13 PM | Comments (1)
What my thesis is not...
The Blind Samurai: The Interactive Play
My Thesis is not...
A game that relies on visual stimuli to engage the player.
A linear experience.
A Blind Zelda game.
A game that requires hand-eye coordination to be good at it.
A game that needs prior training or practice to be able to play.
A single player experience.
Just a game, it is more like an “interactive play.”
A game that utilizes complex button combinations.
A passive experience; the player will be involved fully in gameplay.
A music game, puzzle game, fighting game, or online game.
A player telling his or her character to perform certain actions.
Posted by victoria at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2007
Thesis/Mad Libs Presentation
Link to my paper on the wiki...
Posted by victoria at 5:06 AM | Comments (0)
February 8, 2007
Thesis Mad Libs
I am designing an interactive story because I want to find an innovative, interactive method to tell stories in order to allow viewers to experience worlds that are otherwise inaccessible to them via conventional storytelling methods.
Posted by victoria at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2007
Questions for this week - 548
1. An area of interest you've identified.
I think my area of interest would be about different worlds, both real and imaginary, and how these worlds intersect. What I am really interested is continuing my world from last semester and making it into a meaningful project, and part of that world involves many worlds coexisting. What worlds exist and how to travel between them is interesting to me. I would like to explore the relationship between these worlds and what effect they have on each other as well.
2. A couple of questions (stated in the form of a question) and opportunities suggested by your area of interest - what do you (or a potential viewer) want or need to know about this area?
How do people access these worlds in the first place?
What kinds of things can we learn about relationships, especially when there are differences between people?
Who can create a world? Anyone? A specific writer or artist?
Are there people who can travel between worlds? What makes them special?
Do worlds have an ending or a beginning or do they just always exist?
3. Identify a method or process that can be used to explore your question.
I think a lot of brainstorming and writing can be used to answer these questions. Certainly a complete, encyclopedia type reference book that can answer all of these questions, especially since some of these worlds aren’t real or traditional, can help pinpoint all of the answers for these questions. I would have to think about balance between the worlds and how worlds and people have relationships. I also think that brainstorming about creation/destruction is important, because worlds will inevitably end and begin, and how that comes about is important.
4. One to three actual topics or subjects that address your interests/questions. (Not ‘a game’ or ‘experience’ or ‘interactive film,’ find a subject/setting/character/narrative.
A game or experience where the player is a girl who has crossed from one world to another and is trying to understand identity and meaning.
An experience where a user can visit several different worlds and depending on the user input will experience the world in a different way.
5. Pair your topics with a genre and an audience: Not just "a game" but the type of game and the type of player you envision.
I would like my world to be a very immersive, story based world where the player will be interested in learning how different worlds exist in parallel to our own. For me story is very important, because narrative is how the world will unfold and be experienced.
6. Commit to a term (participant, viewer, player, reader, user, audience) that you will use throughout the project.
Player
Posted by victoria at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)