The Official Xbox One Thread

[sweenish]

Walking dead is a movie where you can press buttons. Not much of a game there. So it actually fails for me in more than one way. Same reason I did not get Beyond Two Souls on ps3.

Also stop trying to talk down to people. It isn't doing you any favors.

I'll stop talking down when you actually address points. FF6 is still just as emotional today as it was when it's graphics were cutting edge. They're certainly not cutting edge by today's standards, yet the impact is still the same. And the fact that they were top-notch 20 years ago has zero bearing on my point, and doesn't even support your point since you discounted sprites and poor graphics in general. Which flies in the face of your argument that sprites or other "inferior" graphics inhibit immersion and the ability to transmit emotion.

Whether you like The Walking Dead or not doesn't change my point at all. That's not a valid counter-argument. It is a game, and it delivers a great story with amazing emotional content with graphics that are not fantastic or "cutting edge." You're "I don't like it so it doesn't count" argument sidesteps the actual point that graphics are not as necessary as you think for conveying emotion.

And again, I'm not actually disagreeing with your major point. You are correct in saying that there's no reason developers shouldn't make it all: graphics, gameplay, and story.

I'm arguing the idea that you're putting too much weight on the graphics side of things. Thomas Was Alone conveys emotion. As does Braid and Journey. I haven't played it and I don't know if it's out yet, but That Dragon, Cancer likely conveys emotion. Even Papers, Please conveys emotion. More pretty won't make the emotional impact any greater for any of those games.

Not playing good games because they lack pretty just makes you a graphics junkie. And like I said, there's not much wrong with that. I'm that way to an extent. It just means you're discounting good games for no real reason.

We all game for different reasons, but gameplay is always key to the experience. Graphics and writing take the backseat every single time.

 

[artemicion]

Gameplay, writing, graphics ... not even one mention of music. The true red-headed stepchild of game development. I miss Nobuo Uematsu.

 

[Fulle]

A couple things on the side topic:

- Sprite based games can be emotional, but usually to pull it off you need a really good music composer. The last good example of this for me, was 'To the Moon'. Really nice music in that one, pretty big emotional impact.

- That doesn't discount how the emotional impact can be even greater, with better tools. The Last Of Us, and The Walking Dead, would have far weaker impact on players if they were sprite based games. So much extra is able to be communicated when things like facial animations, and body language, can be utilized to communicate how characters feel, which has a big impact on the presentation of the story.

- I can think of many games that are played for the sake of the story, and immersion into a fantasy world, and not the necessarily the gameplay. Pretty much every Bioware and Bethesda game ever says "Hi".

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'll stop talking down when you actually address points. FF6 is still just as emotional today as it was when it's graphics were cutting edge. They're certainly not cutting edge by today's standards, yet the impact is still the same. And the fact that they were top-notch 20 years ago has zero bearing on my point, and doesn't even support your point since you discounted sprites and poor graphics in general. Which flies in the face of your argument that sprites or other "inferior" graphics inhibit immersion and the ability to transmit emotion.

Whether you like The Walking Dead or not doesn't change my point at all. That's not a valid counter-argument. It is a game, and it delivers a great story with amazing emotional content with graphics that are not fantastic or "cutting edge." You're "I don't like it so it doesn't count" argument sidesteps the actual point that graphics are not as necessary as you think for conveying emotion.

And again, I'm not actually disagreeing with your major point. You are correct in saying that there's no reason developers shouldn't make it all: graphics, gameplay, and story.

I'm arguing the idea that you're putting too much weight on the graphics side of things. Thomas Was Alone conveys emotion. As does Braid and Journey. I haven't played it and I don't know if it's out yet, but That Dragon, Cancer likely conveys emotion. Even Papers, Please conveys emotion. More pretty won't make the emotional impact any greater for any of those games.

Not playing good games because they lack pretty just makes you a graphics junkie. And like I said, there's not much wrong with that. I'm that way to an extent. It just means you're discounting good games for no real reason.

We all game for different reasons, but gameplay is always key to the experience. Graphics and writing take the backseat every single time.

Too much weight on graphics? No...I AM saying that people should be demanding it too. With today's hardware there is no reason in my mind not to. It can make a game that much better and that is what I said originally. I don't know where the hell you got your other ideas from.

I am playing strider currently and liking it. I guess strider is a game only for graphics whores according to your assessment of my game selection. Actually strider is one of the least visually stimulating games I have played lately.

 

[purbeast0]

Gameplay, writing, graphics ... not even one mention of music. The true red-headed stepchild of game development. I miss Nobuo Uematsu.

the music in killer instinct on x1 is the best video game music since ... killer instinct 1! (in all seriousness, it's true for a fighting game. recent fighters have terrible music)

but i do agree, music is key and plays a huge part. the music in uncharted was outstanding though. very situational and played on the emotions just perfectly. ryse also had some great music in it.

 

[cmdrdredd]

the music in killer instinct on x1 is the best video game music since ... killer instinct 1! (in all seriousness, it's true for a fighting game. recent fighters have terrible music)

but i do agree, music is key and plays a huge part. the music in uncharted was outstanding though. very situational and played on the emotions just perfectly. ryse also had some great music in it.

I agree with that. The music in KI is well done. It gets you pumped up for sure.

 

[smackababy]

the music in killer instinct on x1 is the best video game music since ... killer instinct 1! (in all seriousness, it's true for a fighting game. recent fighters have terrible music)

but i do agree, music is key and plays a huge part. the music in uncharted was outstanding though. very situational and played on the emotions just perfectly. ryse also had some great music in it.

Gonna take you for a ride!

 

[purbeast0]

Gonna take you for a ride!

WWHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

i actually have that track unlocked in ki already hah. that is basically all i spend my ki points on in that game. i still have like 6 or so to unlock.

 

[exdeath]

A couple things on the side topic:

- Sprite based games can be emotional, but usually to pull it off you need a really good music composer. The last good example of this for me, was 'To the Moon'. Really nice music in that one, pretty big emotional impact.

- That doesn't discount how the emotional impact can be even greater, with better tools. The Last Of Us, and The Walking Dead, would have far weaker impact on players if they were sprite based games. So much extra is able to be communicated when things like facial animations, and body language, can be utilized to communicate how characters feel, which has a big impact on the presentation of the story.

- I can think of many games that are played for the sake of the story, and immersion into a fantasy world, and not the necessarily the gameplay. Pretty much every Bioware and Bethesda game ever says "Hi".

Music, timing, dialogue, unskippable pauses in the text, delays like "...", characters acting frantic, simple animation like characters walking slow and falling to their knees, flash backs in B&W, etc. You can have a ton of weight but music and the timing of the music and text reveals are the most important , especially having pauses and strings fading in strong to create slow tension in perfect sync with character lines, muting the music suddenly and inserting piano solos to add weight while the character backs away in denial and allows "processing" of what just happened, etc.

Palom and Porom, the opera, and Celes in the world of ruin are some of the most unforgettable moments in gaming for me. Many more. Its amazing what you can do without voice actors or FMV. Pictures are worth 1000 words , music is worth 1000 emotions.

I will never ever forget the way I went numb and every hair on my body stood on end while I nearly forgot to breath when I saw the Eldridge rise from the ocean and realize what it was. The name Deus still sends chills down the back of my neck.

 

[007ELmO]

Deus.

Final Fantasy 4 was the best video game ever.

 

[Wingznut]

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare

My impressions after three days... It's fun. But it's also very shallow. When I first got the game, really my only concern about spending the $40, was that it might not get any play time after my Titan(fall) drops. And I'm certain now that will be the case.

I really enjoy the whole PvZ world. The characters, the maps, the weapons... The uniqueness as a whole. But there just isn't enough of it, and it isn't going to hold my attention.

 

[Canbacon]

Yea, it doesn't have much content now, but they have announced that there will be expansion packs that are all free with new modes and maps.

 

[American Gunner]

Game Informer has a story saying that we will be getting friends notifications back in the update after the March one.

 

[Tweak155]

Kinect stand / mount deal:

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/115...ect-accessories-tv-mount-kit-6.75-floor-stand

 

[purbeast0]

too bad they can't make an extension cable for the kinect.

 

[Arkaign]

too bad they can't make an extension cable for the kinect.

Before the end of this cycle we'll have a wireless Kinect variant Trust me.

 

[zerocool84]

Before the end of this cycle we'll have a wireless Kinect variant Trust me.

I don't think so, it'd create much too lag if it was wireless for the tracking for any sort of game.

 

[Arkaign]

I don't think so, it'd create much too lag if it was wireless for the tracking for any sort of game.

While I agree that the vast majority of people's existing wireless systems would bog it, they're already using a proprietary version of USB 3.0. There's no technical reason they couldn't release a new XB1 SKU a year or two from now that had a custom multi-channel 802.11ac radio in the console + kinect. We're talking a LONG time that XB1 will be on market.

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/201...color-stream-60ms-latency-and-usb-3-0/#!xTSI3

I've used the new MBP with the current APE, and insane speeds at ~1ms latency is easily seen at sub 50' ranges. All they need is a dual-channel radio on both sides. Of course, it would also be possible to have a dongle for standard XB1s to enable adding new wireless kinect to original-model XB1s.

OTOH, if they go the probable route of just cheapening everything over time, maybe not. It would really be a sweet upgrade though. That cumbersome cabling and size would be awesome to see improvements in as we go into the sub-20nm era of 2015+. By then, AC radios should be even cheaper than they are now. Even now, the cheapest dual-band AC adapters are ~$20 shipped to customer side. On the production side we're probably talking 50-70 cents for something of that nature on 1M unit volume @ BOM (for the dual-band radios themselves).

 

[EightySix Four]

While I agree that the vast majority of people's existing wireless systems would bog it, they're already using a proprietary version of USB 3.0. There's no technical reason they couldn't release a new XB1 SKU a year or two from now that had a custom multi-channel 802.11ac radio in the console + kinect. We're talking a LONG time that XB1 will be on market.

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/201...color-stream-60ms-latency-and-usb-3-0/#!xTSI3

I've used the new MBP with the current APE, and insane speeds at ~1ms latency is easily seen at sub 50' ranges. All they need is a dual-channel radio on both sides. Of course, it would also be possible to have a dongle for standard XB1s to enable adding new wireless kinect to original-model XB1s.

OTOH, if they go the probable route of just cheapening everything over time, maybe not. It would really be a sweet upgrade though. That cumbersome cabling and size would be awesome to see improvements in as we go into the sub-20nm era of 2015+. By then, AC radios should be even cheaper than they are now. Even now, the cheapest dual-band AC adapters are ~$20 shipped to customer side. On the production side we're probably talking 50-70 cents for something of that nature on 1M unit volume @ BOM (for the dual-band radios themselves).

It seems, to me, that the USB alliance would most likely have a higher bandwidth version of Wireless USB available by that time that would be more likely. The current standard is good for 480mbps or so and has a more comparable overhead to standard USB.

 

[Arkaign]

That's also reasonable. The cabled Kinect does stick out like a sore thumb in the current scheme of things, and causes problems with many potential setups (most especially with home theatre types). A future wireless kinect with a smaller size and easier mounting would really be welcomed.

 

[Aikouka]

That's also reasonable. The cabled Kinect does stick out like a sore thumb in the current scheme of things, and causes problems with many potential setups (most especially with home theatre types). A future wireless kinect with a smaller size and easier mounting would really be welcomed.

I'm not sure how much you can really shrink the product. Taking a look at the teardown, there's a decent amount of volume taken up by the cameras and IR stuff. I'd imagine that it's possible to shrink the cameras somewhat, but you make concessions in quality/performance when you do that. So, that may not be a viable solution.

 

[IamDavid]

I just ordered my XB One\Titan bundle.

Any upcoming RPG titles? I think I might be the only Diablo 3 fan in the world.

 

[railven]

I just ordered my XB One\Titan bundle.

Any upcoming RPG titles? I think I might be the only Diablo 3 fan in the world.

Sadly no, there is no RPG scheduled for 2014.

Dust off the PS3 if you want any RPGs this year.

EDIT: Scratch that, forgot about Witcher 3, but for me that was PC purchase the moment it got announced.

 

[Bman123]

Witcher 3 should be a good one

 

[exdeath]

You want RPGs and you bought an Xbox? Lol.