Shut Up. We're Talking. Host: Darren and Karen Darren and Karen present this commentary podcast covering recent topics found within the MMORPG Blogging and Podcasting community.
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'Regarding user generated content' by Epicsound Submitted on 2008-10-05 18:07:11 CST User generated gaming content will do for gaming what reality TV did for television. That may not be a good thing for some but it is the future. Back in the day when I was creating Duke Nukem levels, gaming was never so exciting. I can't wait to see what Spore and Little Big Planet inspire in an MMO.
Take Native Instruments Reaktor software synth or synthedit in the music software business. These programs opened up a world of sound design that turned so many average people on to software synthesis. The fact that you don't need to know programming opens the doors to so much creativity. There are some really bad user-generated synths and some amazing ones that would have never been realized without these programs. Now everyone is creating and sharing their own synths. I can imagine the same kind of success in the gaming industry that has happened in the software synth industry. The one big problem is... who is making a profit? The users! Some of the users are selling their software synths and the big companies don't like it.
Is it possible that MMO companies don't want to see "too much" user-generated content because then they couldn't rake in the cash themselves? Is there a business model out there that supports making money off this type of user-generated content for MMO's (one that can support a subscription and allow the users to create)? Is there a danger that the user may get too creative? This is what is happening in the synth industry. Users have virtually taken over the software side and Korg, Roland and others are scrambling to get back to the hardware in a last ditch effort to survive.
Great topic - My colleagues and I were just talking about this topic yesterday. Thanks for bringing it up for discussion on your cast.
Great show
'User Generated still = Scripted' by mikejl Submitted on 2008-10-06 11:14:25 CST Though I like the idea of user generated content I gota to say .. It will still be scripted. And this not too much different from current content. In fact you may end up with trailer park of content (most not very good, with a few gems).
Only way this may work is when a user generated instance is blended in with a large RP session. Then it servers a specific purpose for a specific audience for a short period of time. Then it dies off.
'hi' by Token Submitted on 2008-10-06 17:16:28 CST Great episode guys. The user generated content really is a great topic because immediately I knew it was something that didn't interest me. When I've exhausted the best content from the AAA games i'd much rather jump into Planetside and PvP. User content sounds like some patchwork planet of crap generator.
'You Tube' by Checksix Submitted on 2008-10-06 20:47:52 CST I found it interesting that you guys talked about user generated content without mentioning You-Tube. Possible the most popular set of user generated content available to draw references from.
You-Tube is 99.999% crap, true. But there are bits of sheer genius there too. I think the quality of shineola make the huge ammount of shit worth it.
NWN is the same way. Most of the NWN worlds I've visited are crap crap crap. But when you find a good server, it's magic.
HEY I just thought of something...what if I spent the time to translate my D&D world to NWN and called up my old RPG buddies to check it out! They would totally love that!
I want user tools just for things like that. I'll probably never touch most of the content created (like the 99.999% of You-Tube I havent watched) but I'll get turned on to the good stuff and it'll be a load of fun.
'Response to Brent being "Cranky"' by Alces Submitted on 2008-10-08 11:13:14 CST In this show, you quoted my post from the feedback to show #33. The part that Brent stated that he was "cranky" about in my message was, " It is the inability to tell (or easily tell) the difference between reality and the game." Brent said that those who can not tell the difference has bigger problems. That is my point. Since the days of AD&D 1st Edition, I have had occasion to work with children, youth and young adults who confuse the game world with the real world. (There is a 1982 Tom Hanks movie called "Mazes and Monsters" where his character has the inability to tell the difference between reality and fantasy). There are many reasons to confuse the two, some are part of a mental illness, but these are not the ones I am taking about. I'm talking about those who get so immersed in the Fantasy that they lose sight of reality.
This is not a new problem, it is just a new medium. I remember when my little brother who watched a lot of black and white westerns as a child, seeing the same actors playing bad guys being "killed" in one film, but reappear in another film the next day. When another kid down the block was bothering him, my brother asked my dad to go shoot him. My brother thought that he would just pop back up the next day. It took a responsible adult to explain to him the difference.
There lies the problem, responsible people in the lives of the those who begin to be confuse pointing the direction of the correct behavior.
Brent gave two examples of what I am talking about as well. He talks about playing Spore with his daughter and her seeing his create "being knocked down." Brent tells her that it is not right to knock people down. Another example he gives is the affect that some games have on him if he gets behind the wheel of a car after playing. Brent is adult and mature enough to recognize the difference, but there are those who are not. That is what I mean when I say some people have the inability to tell (or easily tell) the difference between reality and the game.
PAX,
Alces
'Cool and fun, great guests' by FarSpace Submitted on 2008-10-10 15:16:57 CST Cool and fun to listen to, also you are pretty grown up and intelligent and it's good times, I learn a lot and it is totally entertaining and good for my mind :) And you have lots of great guests and news. A really good high quality podcast. Awesome!
'Remember UT?' by SwollenBeef Submitted on 2008-10-13 13:47:28 CST UT was one of the most heavily modded games around. But there was a problem, Most of it was crap (the whole 98/2 percent deal).
Look at Star Craft. There are occasionally good maps, but a majority of them too suck. Who is the dumbass that thought it was a good idea to have some crappy music loop over itself with amplification at 400%?
But these are games where the gamer has the choice whether or not they want to play with that mod/map. An MMO is a whole different animal. One world.
Although i will speculate that an MMO wont have nearly the submissions that any other game would have. Extensive knowledge in Maya, 3D Studio max, etc. is needed and most gamers are lazy. As i start splitting hairs, If a player wishes to alter certain stats of say, an item, extensive math, and programming skills too would be needed.
Second life is a great example of user generated content with no restrictions.
'Regarding user generated content' by Epicsound
Submitted on 2008-10-05 18:07:11 CST
User generated gaming content will do for gaming what reality TV did for television. That may not be a good thing for some but it is the future. Back in the day when I was creating Duke Nukem levels, gaming was never so exciting. I can't wait to see what Spore and Little Big Planet inspire in an MMO.
Take Native Instruments Reaktor software synth or synthedit in the music software business. These programs opened up a world of sound design that turned so many average people on to software synthesis. The fact that you don't need to know programming opens the doors to so much creativity. There are some really bad user-generated synths and some amazing ones that would have never been realized without these programs. Now everyone is creating and sharing their own synths. I can imagine the same kind of success in the gaming industry that has happened in the software synth industry. The one big problem is... who is making a profit? The users! Some of the users are selling their software synths and the big companies don't like it.
Is it possible that MMO companies don't want to see "too much" user-generated content because then they couldn't rake in the cash themselves? Is there a business model out there that supports making money off this type of user-generated content for MMO's (one that can support a subscription and allow the users to create)? Is there a danger that the user may get too creative? This is what is happening in the synth industry. Users have virtually taken over the software side and Korg, Roland and others are scrambling to get back to the hardware in a last ditch effort to survive.
Great topic - My colleagues and I were just talking about this topic yesterday. Thanks for bringing it up for discussion on your cast.
Great show
'User Generated still = Scripted' by mikejl
Submitted on 2008-10-06 11:14:25 CST
Though I like the idea of user generated content I gota to say .. It will still be scripted. And this not too much different from current content. In fact you may end up with trailer park of content (most not very good, with a few gems).
Only way this may work is when a user generated instance is blended in with a large RP session. Then it servers a specific purpose for a specific audience for a short period of time. Then it dies off.
'hi' by Token
Submitted on 2008-10-06 17:16:28 CST
Great episode guys. The user generated content really is a great topic because immediately I knew it was something that didn't interest me. When I've exhausted the best content from the AAA games i'd much rather jump into Planetside and PvP. User content sounds like some patchwork planet of crap generator.
'You Tube' by Checksix
Submitted on 2008-10-06 20:47:52 CST
I found it interesting that you guys talked about user generated content without mentioning You-Tube. Possible the most popular set of user generated content available to draw references from.
You-Tube is 99.999% crap, true. But there are bits of sheer genius there too. I think the quality of shineola make the huge ammount of shit worth it.
NWN is the same way. Most of the NWN worlds I've visited are crap crap crap. But when you find a good server, it's magic.
HEY I just thought of something...what if I spent the time to translate my D&D world to NWN and called up my old RPG buddies to check it out! They would totally love that!
I want user tools just for things like that. I'll probably never touch most of the content created (like the 99.999% of You-Tube I havent watched) but I'll get turned on to the good stuff and it'll be a load of fun.
'Response to Brent being "Cranky"' by Alces
Submitted on 2008-10-08 11:13:14 CST
In this show, you quoted my post from the feedback to show #33. The part that Brent stated that he was "cranky" about in my message was, " It is the inability to tell (or easily tell) the difference between reality and the game." Brent said that those who can not tell the difference has bigger problems. That is my point. Since the days of AD&D 1st Edition, I have had occasion to work with children, youth and young adults who confuse the game world with the real world. (There is a 1982 Tom Hanks movie called "Mazes and Monsters" where his character has the inability to tell the difference between reality and fantasy). There are many reasons to confuse the two, some are part of a mental illness, but these are not the ones I am taking about. I'm talking about those who get so immersed in the Fantasy that they lose sight of reality.
This is not a new problem, it is just a new medium. I remember when my little brother who watched a lot of black and white westerns as a child, seeing the same actors playing bad guys being "killed" in one film, but reappear in another film the next day. When another kid down the block was bothering him, my brother asked my dad to go shoot him. My brother thought that he would just pop back up the next day. It took a responsible adult to explain to him the difference.
There lies the problem, responsible people in the lives of the those who begin to be confuse pointing the direction of the correct behavior.
Brent gave two examples of what I am talking about as well. He talks about playing Spore with his daughter and her seeing his create "being knocked down." Brent tells her that it is not right to knock people down. Another example he gives is the affect that some games have on him if he gets behind the wheel of a car after playing. Brent is adult and mature enough to recognize the difference, but there are those who are not. That is what I mean when I say some people have the inability to tell (or easily tell) the difference between reality and the game.
PAX,
Alces
'Cool and fun, great guests' by FarSpace
Submitted on 2008-10-10 15:16:57 CST
Cool and fun to listen to, also you are pretty grown up and intelligent and it's good times, I learn a lot and it is totally entertaining and good for my mind :) And you have lots of great guests and news. A really good high quality podcast. Awesome!
'Remember UT?' by SwollenBeef
Submitted on 2008-10-13 13:47:28 CST
UT was one of the most heavily modded games around. But there was a problem, Most of it was crap (the whole 98/2 percent deal).
Look at Star Craft. There are occasionally good maps, but a majority of them too suck. Who is the dumbass that thought it was a good idea to have some crappy music loop over itself with amplification at 400%?
But these are games where the gamer has the choice whether or not they want to play with that mod/map. An MMO is a whole different animal. One world.
Although i will speculate that an MMO wont have nearly the submissions that any other game would have. Extensive knowledge in Maya, 3D Studio max, etc. is needed and most gamers are lazy. As i start splitting hairs, If a player wishes to alter certain stats of say, an item, extensive math, and programming skills too would be needed.
Second life is a great example of user generated content with no restrictions.