Overwritten.net
Games => General Gaming => Topic started by: idolminds on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 11:00:42 AM
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Linky (http://www.playgreenhouse.com/featuredGame)
This is the Penny Arcade game. I really have no idea what its about, but Ron Gilbert helped work on it so I figure its worth a shot. Demos (and full version) available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. $20 full version.
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Cool title. There's a trailer on the link that you posted that shows what it's about.
/me downloads
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XBox Live Arcade as well. That's where I'll check out the demo.
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I just went through the demo and while short, it was pretty fun. I'll probably end up getting this game sometime soon.
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I want to say this game looks interesting to me, because it seems like a great opportunity for something different, but every last tidbit I've seen on the game, from screenshots to videos to writeups, just looks like ungodly amounts of lame. I sincerely hope that's all bogus and it turns out awesome, but at this point I don't really even have the time to waste on a demo.
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I bought it.
If you like PA, grab it and you won't be disappointed.
If you don't like PA, don't waste your time or money. So much of this game is dependent upon your enjoyment of their humor. The gameplay is just a vehicle to get to the funny.
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Uh oh. (http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1676)
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Huh. I wonder how this will go. Supposedly the PA guys were pretty strict on how things would be done in general. Considering Tycho has made post about how he feels about over-the-top copy protection before, I image they didn't want this on the game.
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Well, I wasn't going to buy it anyway, but this is even more reason.
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From the comments on the article:
And, of course, there’s already a cracked version out..
Brilliant. Three cheers for hypocrisy, PA. I wonder if there aren't other elements involved since they've been lampooning this stuff fairly regularly, but... eh. Either way it's disappointing and lame.
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I might have been done by the publishers without their consolation. I dunno, I'm just giving them the benefit of the doubt.
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Yeah, that's sort of what's floating around in the back of my mind too. It just doesn't seem like something they'd do willingly. I would guess they simply had no control over it, or couldn't find another better distribution method/company that didn't have the same problems. Or something. That doesn't make it any less shitty, nor does it get around the fact that if they tried hard enough they probably could have gotten away with having it DRM-free (or at least not with the ugly stuff that's on it now), but it doesn't seem like something they'd go out of their way for.
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One could always just visit the official Penny-Arcade forum to get the skinny.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=58840
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That's actually a very interesting thread.
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What's interesting about it is what utter dick-suckers the people on there are. I like the airing out of opinions, but man those guys are sucking Penny Arcade and Hothead cock like they can't get enough. Did you see that one line where they guy said it was probably just a miscommunication? I highly doubt it, considering that Penny Arcade has been staunchly anti-Flash ad and make it clear to their advertisers that they will not put up a Flash ad. And somehow there was a miscommunication whether or not they wanted DRM? Give me a break.
The one guy sounds pretty intelligent when he talks about his hypothetical DRM that makes any argument about DRM null and void. He has a fairly good point, except for one problem: nothing even close to that "hypothetical DRM" exists. In fact, DRM is becoming more intrusive and stepping over its bounds even more than it ever did with each new version and this game is no different.
Just because Hothead says "We're trying!" and "Sorry we have to because of all the bads people!" doesn't mean squat. It's bullshit plain and simple.
Oh well, I'll just have to continue to vote with my dollars. Mass Effect? Pass. Well, at least the commercial version. I've given Stardock something like $90 for a game and expansions I've maybe played for 3 hours ever and I have no problem with that because I want to reward them for doing the right thing.
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I'm going to go way out on a limb here and give at least the PA guys the benefit of the doubt here (I didn't read the entire thread). I find it really hard to believe that they 'sold out' when they've obviously lost potential revenue in the past by not only disallowing intrusive ads on their sites, but also never taking advertising dollars from something they didn't think was of high enough quality for them to endorse or had huge potential to be so.
I can say I've definitely thought they've been asshats at various times, but I can't really think of many, if any, entertainers and successful business owners who have had a stricter policy of clarity and honesty with their fan base. I also don't know much about the inner working of the video game business and have no idea how much of their soul they had to sign away when they set up the deal for this game, but I seriously can't see those two sitting there and being like "We'll make more money and no one will care" or "fuck the little guys, we're rich now!". They know exactly who their fanbase is, and I just can't see them thinking that they'd be getting away with it.
I don't want to be an apologist (especially for them) but it really just seems really out of character to me, so I wouldn't be suprised if something was up that was not only out of their control, but perhaps not even known to them. Then again, maybe they just really are huge asshats and I certainly agree with Scott in that there is entirely too much dick sucking going on in what I read on that thread. If you disagree with EA doing it, you should disagree with PA and Hothead games doing it. It's the concept that is repulsive, not the perpetrator.
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My guess is PA probably would have preferred no DRM or something old school like CD-keys, but they couldn't find a publisher willing to to that. The PA guys were probably in a situation where the game just couldn't happen with no DRM. And since DRM is getting more and more ridiculous and this activation/limited use stuff is the new thing, that's why this game has it. PA probably had very little say.
That said, if they really are so anti-DRM, maybe they should have had more integrity and put their foot down. If the game never saw the light of day because of it, so be it.
Edit: Wow, so this is what happens when you post drunk. Fixed.
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I should qualify my other statements by saying that I highly respect both of those guys. I think they've made missteps in the past and have occasionally rubbed me the wrong way, but on the whole they're okay dudes who have done far more good than bad in the things they've set out to accomplish. I particularly respect them for the stuff gpw mentioned already, and for the money and attention they've donated to charities. The DRM thing is disappointing, but like I said, I think there's probably a monkey wrench that got thrown in here somewhere along the line, because they've been pretty vocal about their opinions on this subject.
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I got to play the demo today, and have to echo K-Mans observations. If you like PA humor, its great. I had a good laugh. The game is well made, and such. Its just the actual gameplay is rather blah. They could have dropped the "gameplay" stuff and turned it into a kickass point and click adventure and probably fared better. As it is, the combat is just sort of a wasted exercise. You only go through it so you can reach the next conversation tree/cutscene/story bit.
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Though to its credit, the combat is kinda like Paper Mario or the Mario and Luigi RPG games. So if you take it like that it's not too bad. Even though I'm not totally into that, I'm still tempted to grab the full version. Just not sure its worth $20 to me.
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I tried the demo out a bit last night and was actually pretty impressed. I might pick it up.