If we hadn't determined this already, my tastes don't align with a lot of people. In a lot of things I'm behind the curve; just take my laptop if you really need an example. Other things will just tickle my fancy for no apparent reason. And of course, I think about other things way too much.
One of the things in video games that I actually kind of enjoy is grinding. I don't mean farming quests like "Collect 10 of the widgets that sometimes drop when you kill a certain type of enemy." I mean good old-fashioned Final Fantasy-style level grinding: beat the crap out of randomly spawning enemies to beef up your character.
There are games that do it well, and some that do it poorly. So, what's the difference?
The games that do it poorly smack down the player who doesn't grind. I'm talking one-hit total party wipe; the only way to get past the point is to reload an earlier save file and level up a few dozen times before you can even hope to damage the boss.
In part, this is tied to a mechanic that's referred to as "binary damage"; either an attack does full damage, or it does either one point or no damage at all, depending on the system. Usually binary damage is based on the attack stat (or whatever the mechanical equivalent in your game is called). If ATK is less than a certain level -- usually the defense stat of an enemy -- you're lucky if you do a single point of damage per round/attack; if you hit at all instead of getting the "Miss" animation. Binary damage can be thought of like you're in a D&D-like pen and paper RPG; you have a "to-hit" or attack roll to see if you hit or miss, and a separate calculation determines damage.
The games that do the grind well -- at least in my opinion -- are the ones that reward, but don't require. These are the games that if you play straight through the story mode, you may not be able to go toe to toe and trade blows with the end boss; but... if you manage the fight well, with a little luck you will win. In these games, grinding makes the fights easier, rather than making the fights winnable. And that's a thin distinction, but I think it's an important one.
A lot of these games work around "scaling" damage. To extend the pen and paper metaphor, it would be a system where attack and damage were determined a single roll. If you don't hit; you still have the Miss animation, but a character whose attack is barely more than the to-hit minimum will be doing a lot less damage than the character whose attack blows the defense out of the water.
We're not talking "elemental affinity"; where certain enemies are strong or weak against specific types of attacks. As a mechanic, "Elemental" affinities are a staple of RPGs in general, and really the backbone of strategic or "tactics" RPGs. These usually take the form of a rock-paper-scissors contest: Axes are strong against Spears are strong against Swords are strong against Axes. Some games take type-pairing to the extreme, like Pokemon's 17 types of moves, each of which is either deals normal, half, an extra half (1.5x), or no damage to the other types. Again, there is a difference in a game mechanic that makes certain units/styles ineffective by their nature, and one that penalizes you for not being strong enough to be in an area.
Now, it's a fine line to walk for a game designer. How much work (or time, same difference to the consumer) is the gamer going to be willing to put into your game? Games like the Disgaea series bank on the fact that their consumers already know what they're getting into; grinding not only individual characters but also weapons are a selling point of the franchise. I don't have the answer. Until I do, I'm going to keep playing the games I like to play, and celebrate when the random encounters I struggled so hard to beat my first time in a new area are running up against the same binary damage wall I put the time in to avoid.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Am I really saving money?
Comments I read elsewhere on a article about membership club shopping (i.e. Sams, Costco) got me to thinking about how I spend my money on groceries.
Living out here in the country (or rather, in a rural area, since I do live within the "city limits" of my town), I basically have 3 options for buying stuff; depending on what I need and when I need it. The first is local shops. Now, like many small towns, I'm limited in selection here; especially with the closing of the local general/small department store. In fact, shopping local for me is pretty much groceries (which I include the butcher and the farmers market), auto parts, prescription drugs and specialty items.
The second option is driving into the bigger cities; in theory, that's a choice between about 35 miles or about 130. In practice, I can get from my front door to the shops in Dodge City and back in 75 miles, which makes travel time about an 1:10 (or 1.15 hrs). Figuring gas cost at $3.50 (a little cheaper than what it is right now; but about I was paying a month ago), and a slightly generous 30 mpg (highway my car usually gets about 29.6), that's $7.50. Since I get oil changes free for the life of the car at the dealer I bought it at, I'm not going to worry about that portion, nor am I going to figure tire life into it. I will figure in my drive time, at a modest $15/hour. Feel free to change that for your own calculations, depending on your pay rate and how much you value your time away from work. That brings the cost of my trip to $24.50 to make a run to Dodge. To get to Wichita, it's a little more than $90.
But what do the numbers actually mean? That's the difference I have to get to in what I spend there and what I would have spent here -- or spend on items that are not available in town -- to be able to say "I saved money." If I don't have a cost savings of $25, then I would actually be saving money by spending a little extra at home.
The third option is shopping online. Unfortunately, outside of a few specialty foods companies whose ads we've all seen one place or another; grocery delivery for me is out of the question. If I was in a bigger city where such a service was offered, then I might consider it. Much like travel time when shopping out of town, the difference between buying locally and online is in the shipping (working with the assumption I would spend the same amount of time "shopping" for a particular item). Is a particular item different enough from local offerings or the savings on the total order great enough to cover the cost of shipping? The first is subjective, but the second is firmly objective.
Does this mean you should always shop at home? No. But it does mean that in small communities, you should work with the local businesses to make sure they know what the types of goods you have to go out of town for; and what they could be carrying to make sure your money goes to them.
Living out here in the country (or rather, in a rural area, since I do live within the "city limits" of my town), I basically have 3 options for buying stuff; depending on what I need and when I need it. The first is local shops. Now, like many small towns, I'm limited in selection here; especially with the closing of the local general/small department store. In fact, shopping local for me is pretty much groceries (which I include the butcher and the farmers market), auto parts, prescription drugs and specialty items.
The second option is driving into the bigger cities; in theory, that's a choice between about 35 miles or about 130. In practice, I can get from my front door to the shops in Dodge City and back in 75 miles, which makes travel time about an 1:10 (or 1.15 hrs). Figuring gas cost at $3.50 (a little cheaper than what it is right now; but about I was paying a month ago), and a slightly generous 30 mpg (highway my car usually gets about 29.6), that's $7.50. Since I get oil changes free for the life of the car at the dealer I bought it at, I'm not going to worry about that portion, nor am I going to figure tire life into it. I will figure in my drive time, at a modest $15/hour. Feel free to change that for your own calculations, depending on your pay rate and how much you value your time away from work. That brings the cost of my trip to $24.50 to make a run to Dodge. To get to Wichita, it's a little more than $90.
But what do the numbers actually mean? That's the difference I have to get to in what I spend there and what I would have spent here -- or spend on items that are not available in town -- to be able to say "I saved money." If I don't have a cost savings of $25, then I would actually be saving money by spending a little extra at home.
The third option is shopping online. Unfortunately, outside of a few specialty foods companies whose ads we've all seen one place or another; grocery delivery for me is out of the question. If I was in a bigger city where such a service was offered, then I might consider it. Much like travel time when shopping out of town, the difference between buying locally and online is in the shipping (working with the assumption I would spend the same amount of time "shopping" for a particular item). Is a particular item different enough from local offerings or the savings on the total order great enough to cover the cost of shipping? The first is subjective, but the second is firmly objective.
Does this mean you should always shop at home? No. But it does mean that in small communities, you should work with the local businesses to make sure they know what the types of goods you have to go out of town for; and what they could be carrying to make sure your money goes to them.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Thoughts on an Anniversary
Yesterday was Machel's and my 8th wedding anniversary. We didn't really celebrate; but we never
really have. It's not in our either of our natures to make a big deal out of time. But it has given me reason to think back over the past year and the good fortune we've had.
In a time when people have been stuck underwater in their mortgages, we've paid off the note on our house; when credit has been hard to come by, we've improved our credit scores and financed our first new car.
Chel graduated college, and in a job market that's tight in her field picked up a full-time job. When a lot of people have been struggling to make it, she's been able to use her hard-earned skills to monetize her hobby.
I'll be the first to admit, it hasn't been all wine and roses; but with the majority of the bitter has come sweet. We found out that the chances of us having a child were slim to none; but we learned we will become Aunt Chel and Uncle Deege to a fourth child on my side of the family, my baby sister's first. My mother-in-law moved in with us after taking custody of my sister-in-laws youngest two and subsequently not getting her rental agreement renewed, and hasn't left yet; but we've gotten to spend time with them we otherwise wouldn't have. {And yes, I'm trying very hard to find something good for us that has come out of the situation. Because otherwise, I probably won't be able to play peacemaker when Chel finally snaps and issues a great big FU to that side of the family.}
This year hopes to be better; we've got a week in Vegas planned for Chel's birthday in October with a couple of friends. But I wanted to do something a little sooner. We've both been really stressed, and definitely lacking in "alone time", both by ourselves and with each other. So, not this coming Saturday but the next; I'm stealing my wife and taking her to Wichita for the weekend; ostensibly for our anniversary, but more just to get away for a little while.
I had thought about staying at the new Hampton Inn attached to the casino in Dodge City; but chose the Hotel At WaterWalk instead. Wichita has better shopping and a wider variety of dining than Dodge, and for the same nightly rate as the Queen room at Boot Hill, we are getting a King Suite instead. Besides, we've already got the Vegas trip planned, no need to blow all our fun money before we get there.
We don't do stuff all that often. Partly because money has been tight the past 10 years -- with the house paid off the belts can loosing a tiny bit -- but more because we've always been happy to sit at the house and enjoy each others company. With that option... limited right now; I'm gonna take every chance I get to give my wife the opportunity to unwind.
In a time when people have been stuck underwater in their mortgages, we've paid off the note on our house; when credit has been hard to come by, we've improved our credit scores and financed our first new car.
Chel graduated college, and in a job market that's tight in her field picked up a full-time job. When a lot of people have been struggling to make it, she's been able to use her hard-earned skills to monetize her hobby.
I'll be the first to admit, it hasn't been all wine and roses; but with the majority of the bitter has come sweet. We found out that the chances of us having a child were slim to none; but we learned we will become Aunt Chel and Uncle Deege to a fourth child on my side of the family, my baby sister's first. My mother-in-law moved in with us after taking custody of my sister-in-laws youngest two and subsequently not getting her rental agreement renewed, and hasn't left yet; but we've gotten to spend time with them we otherwise wouldn't have. {And yes, I'm trying very hard to find something good for us that has come out of the situation. Because otherwise, I probably won't be able to play peacemaker when Chel finally snaps and issues a great big FU to that side of the family.}
This year hopes to be better; we've got a week in Vegas planned for Chel's birthday in October with a couple of friends. But I wanted to do something a little sooner. We've both been really stressed, and definitely lacking in "alone time", both by ourselves and with each other. So, not this coming Saturday but the next; I'm stealing my wife and taking her to Wichita for the weekend; ostensibly for our anniversary, but more just to get away for a little while.
I had thought about staying at the new Hampton Inn attached to the casino in Dodge City; but chose the Hotel At WaterWalk instead. Wichita has better shopping and a wider variety of dining than Dodge, and for the same nightly rate as the Queen room at Boot Hill, we are getting a King Suite instead. Besides, we've already got the Vegas trip planned, no need to blow all our fun money before we get there.
We don't do stuff all that often. Partly because money has been tight the past 10 years -- with the house paid off the belts can loosing a tiny bit -- but more because we've always been happy to sit at the house and enjoy each others company. With that option... limited right now; I'm gonna take every chance I get to give my wife the opportunity to unwind.
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