Who won E3 2016?

tl;dr: Sony > Bethesda > Ubisoft > EA > Microsoft > Nintendo

Before I begin, I want to give a big shout out to IGN for always having an awesome stream each year, packed with content. It really makes my day to watch with you all and listen to the before and after show commentaries. Thanks! Keep it up!

Nintendo had amiibo to look at. Zelda looks like if The Witcher 3 got stripped of gameplay and had cartoon graphics. E3 Rating: 1/10

The only Microsoft exclusive I’m interested in is Cuphead. That game looks amazing. Although, I must give MS credit for bring Gwent on stage (I will be buying it for PS4). Lots of stuff that many people will enjoy, not a lot of stuff for me (I don’t like shooters). E3 Rating: 7/10

EA has Mass Effect Andromeda. I cannot wait to get back into that universe. E3 Rating: 7.5/10

The Fractured, But Whole is a South Park game from Ubisoft, and the presentation made me legit laugh out loud. The whole thing where Cartman asks you to sit and then says, “Not there.” Too funny! Watch Dogs 2 looks fun as well. The host, Aisha Tyler is great and weird. E3 Rating: 8/10

Bethesda doesn’t need to do much to make me happy. Skyrim Remastered and Nuka World + Build-your-own Vault DLC is all I needed to wow me. The other games weren’t for me, but were impressive nonetheless. I really want to watch someone else play Prey. Also, I want to play Fallout 4 in VR (I hope it comes to PSVR!). E3 Rating: 9/10

Sony is where E3 was at. Unveiling a Spiderman game that actually looks like they’re putting effort into it is awesome. Horizon: Zero Dawn look inventive and crazy fun. I’m also very excited about Playstation’s VR. Batman in VR, Star Wars in VR. Amazing. E3 Rating: 9/10

So, in my opinion (which is my own, and it’s fine that yours is different)….

Sony wins E3

At this show….

Horizon: Zero Dawn wins as game of the show

H: ZD is my pick this year because it just looks so creative. I want to battle robot dinos in a post-apocalyptic open world with futuristic cave man weapons! Yes! I can’t wait to play this one.

Past Years:

2015

2014 thoughts and the GOTS

On Kotaku’s “A Price Of Games Journalism”

This is a response blog post to this article.

To sum it up: Kotaku, a blog about video games, leaked secret information about two games before they were even announced to the public, and the companies who make those games blacklisted them from any further interviews, inquiries, or early copies of games. Kotaku’s article makes the argument that they are writing for the fans, not for game developers, and that posting the leaks was in the name of good journalism.

My response:

You’re not a hero. Posting about video games is not heroic. You’re not saving lives. You’re not leaking an internal company document that says there is a severe problem in a new model that causes car crashes. You’re not getting the inside scoop about hostages in a war-torn county. You’re not busting down a drug ring.

You’re leaking video games before the company is ready, and that’s not a heroic journalistic ideal. You’re not using journalism to do good in the world; you’re using a shady source to generate clickbait (which means ad revenue).

Posting about games before they are announced hurts the companies that make them. Hurting a marketing plan can cost that developer money. It’s basic. You’re endangering the jobs of game developers so that your site can generate more clicks. It’s selfish.

Of course developers are going to cut off media outlets that are actively and knowingly hurting them. You’ve hurt these developers, but you’re only posting about this now because you realize that your leaks have come around to hurt you.

You deserve the blacklist.

One last thing: You’re so upset about this company trying to control the way people talk about the games, and yet you have an “approved” comment system? Hah. I scrolled through the comments on your article, and sure enough, almost every single one I saw was in your favor (...never before has the gaming community been this united...). It makes it seem like you're deleting any remark that disagrees with you. The pic is a screencap I took of your post when I tried to hit the reply button:

Looking forward to November

I get so excited about the Halloween season that I start it around August 20th, when the Halloween shops open. Now, I can't stop thinking about Christmas.

I know. I'm ridic. 

But November is going to rock for me. My favorite game-maker, Bethesda, is releasing Fallout 4. As a school teacher, I get Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving (+Friday) off. I took a PTO day on the 18th, as well. Meaning, I only have one 5 day week in November. Two four-dayers, and one three dayer.

There's also a field trip to a circus that Thanksgiving week, so that'll feel more like a 2-dayer. Then it's straight on until Christmas, which is 11-days of paid relaxation. HOW NICE!

But, I love Halloween. I do. It's nice that it's on a Saturday. I'm excited to wear a costume to school (I'm thinking of going as Gargamel, since I have a student that loves Smurfs). Last week, I went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. There's nothing better than wandering around a pumpkin patch. I might go this weekend, just for fun. 

Still, November is the month I'm excited for.

In other news, last weekend I was a monster in a haunted trail for cub scouts. I do this every year, but it was still really fun. The stars were out that night. I realized that it had been a long time since I've seen them, and it was refreshing. It reminded me how small earth is, in the scope of things. How many planets and stars are out there! 

My time has been freeing up lately. I've been so, so busy since August. It's nice to be able to consider more about life than just work. I have more time for art. I began rereading Half-Blood Prince. Haha.

Who won E3 2015?

I always judge who wins E3 by the number of games I actually would be willing to play at each company’s conference.

I would play, from Microsoft’s conference:
Cuphead

Rare’s Game Collection

Fallout 4

I would play, from Nintendo’s conference:
Super Mario Maker

I would play, from EA’s conference:
Star Wars Battlefront

Mass Effect: Andromeda

I would play, from Square Enix’s conference:

N/A

I would play, from Ubisoft’s conference:
South Park RPG

I would play, from Bethesda’s conference:
Fallout 4

Fallout Shelter

I would play, from Sony’s conference:
No Man’s Sky

Star Wars Battlefront

Batman: Arkham Knight

Uncharted 4

Horizon

Now, I know that Playstation will have Fallout 4 and Microsoft will have Star Wars Battlefront, however my list is based on what games were shown at each conference.

I also should state that I’m not a fan of shooters, generally. Definitely not ultra-violent action shooters like Doom or Gears of War. They’re just not for me. Also, I totally missed the PC conference. Oops.

So, in my opinion (which is my own, and it’s fine that yours is different)….

Sony wins E3

At this show….

Fallout 4 wins as best game

Random thoughts:

I am most excited about building my own base in Fallout 4. I know I will sink 100 hours into making my fortress perfect. I am sad that PC mods will only come to Xbox, but I understand. Besides, I usually move on to my next game by the end of the DLC patches.

All I wanted from the Nintendo conference was more Mario Kart 8 DLC, more Smash DLC, and more Splatoon DLC. I didn’t get any of that during the conference. Mario Maker looks wicked awesome, but nothing else looked fun. The Animal Crossing board game and the fake-Metroid soccer game looked awful.

I was disappointed to see that Rare is making a pirate game. I want Banjo back. Nothing on Xbox appealed to me. Why don’t they make more than shooters for that system?

Media Molecule’s new game looks weird. I love MM and LittleBIGPlanet, but I don’t think I’d want to play the dreaming game. I’m glad they’re experimenting and doing the games they want to do, though. They’re a hugely imaginative company.   

That’s it. Not my favorite E3, but Fallout 4 is going to be amazing.

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim – My thoughts and ideas for improving whatever game comes next

I didn’t want to write this post until I had gotten all of the main game’s achievements/trophies, including the platinum. I know it’s late coming, but Skyrim was a long, long game for me. 230+ hours! I’m the kind of person that likes to play parts of games, move on, and come back later when I feel like it, so it took me a while (since 2011!) to finally complete it (but I did!).

I absolutely MUST start off by explaining the way I felt being a PS3 player. The unfinished product I purchased at game’s launch kept me from playing at around level 30 until the patch finally arrived to fix the bugs. Also, the DLC came so much later than it did for other users. It made me feel poorly treated as a consumer. When I finally got the DLC, it was exceedingly glitchy. The vampire DLC glitched out to the point where I couldn’t complete it because the castle gate locked and wouldn’t open. This issue had been noted for many PS3 players, so, after some research, I resolved that I had to reset my game to an earlier save file. The only problem was that the save file had to be a MUCH earlier save file because of an earlier action I made that set the glitch off. I lost about 15 hours of progress, which is more than what I put in for the entirety of most full games. It was awful. Also, the Build-A-House DLC was fun but really, really glitchy. None of the build-a-statues wear the armor I put on them, instead duplicating old items and standing naked. The items I placed in my house moved sporadically as if I had a poltergeist, and all the doors in my house, which I wanted to leave open, would close themselves for no reason.

PS3-specific awfulness aside, what can I say? I believe Skyrim is probably the best game that has ever been made. I truly loved every second of gameplay. Even with losing a whopping 15 hours due to a glitch, I wanted to keep going. I played through the glitches because the game was so immersive, such a wonderful escape, and so much gerd-derned fun that I couldn’t stop. Bethesda is the best studio in the world. I can’t stress this enough. The game, even though it is from 2011, is still the best game out there, imo. I could go on and on forever about the things I love about this game, but that would be pointless.

This blog isn’t meant to butter people up. It’s also not meant to tear game developers down.

My blog is a blog of ideas. I call it, Creative Enhancement for Nerd Culture for a reason. I'm not a game dev, so I know that I'm ignorant to the work it takes to make a game, so don't feel like I'm chiding anyone. I think Bethesda is insanely talented. This is just my dreams and desires. Anyway, without further ado, here is my want-list for whatever next Elder Scrolls game Bethesda does next… 

1. Make less followers, but make them more in-depth

There are a billion-trillion followers you can pick to join you during your 200+hour journey. Almost every player I know picked Lydia and kept her for the entire game.

Why Lydia?

Because you got her in Whiterun, which is where most people go in the beginning. She’s quick to get. On the main quest line. She’s also not much better or worse than anyone else you can get.

Why is that?

Maybe your follower could be a golem that needs help to become a man again

Because Lydia, like almost every follower, is not all that interesting. Followers in Skyrim don’t have much to say. Some particular ones have city-specific things to say. Some have more dialog than others. I tried a few followers, but I mostly stuck with Mjoll the Lioness for the game because she was the most chatty (although, I would also recommend spending some time with Cicero if you let him live). There’s not much of a reason to choose Lydia over the mercenary at the inn, because Lydia doesn’t have desires, needs, or much to offer to the plot. She’s just a mindless follower who you can send in the kill a giant for you or hold your gear when you’re overburdened.

My suggestion is this: The developers should make one or two REALLY awesome personal followers rather than a million boring ones. Why have 50 followers if most people will just pick the first one they get and stick with her? Bethesda, don’t waste time on that. Make one follower, and make her really, really interesting. I think the one thing New Vegas did right was have interesting followers with their own quest lines. You can talk to them more. Now, Mjoll, for sake of example, had a quest. Returning her sword, only then could she be made a follower. Not a very complex quest, truly, and by the time she was a follower, there wasn’t much else she had to say.

Imagine if your one well-imagined follower had involvement in several of the quests? Imagine if the one follower had ideas to add during conversations with other NPCs? If you only had to make one follower, then you could make her have more unique dialog. Mjoll would often talk over the quest-giver with her canned dialog. What if Mjoll would have added to the conversation instead? You could create relationship building mechanics, depending on how you treat her or talk to her. She could have her own desires, goals.

So, make one follower, and make her awesome. Don’t make a million boring followers.

Click the jump for more!