F2P StarCraft 2 Multiplayer

PC Gamer has been talking to Dustin Browder, a lead designer of Star Craft 2, about how they could make SC2 free to play.

Dustin says, that they have no idea how to monetize it. Obviously, you couldn't just give it for free, because SC2's main point is multiplayer, and putting it out for free would mean that sales of it might stop, unless someone wants to know more about the storyline.

They don't want to sell units (thank goodness), so what can they do? Well, how about alternate unit sprites? This provides a small advantage, when an opponent can't immediately identify your unit because they can't tell what it is.

Can you imagine having the humans replaced by fantasy units? Eldar as Elves? Etc etc? Diablo or Zombie themed Zerg instead?

You can also add value to the units by giving them new sound files as well. This would be a purely cosmetic upgrade, and available only through real money.

Along with that, they can make alternate units. These would replace a unit, fit a similar function. These are unit replacers that they can turn on or off. The idea is that they are not better, but maybe better in a different situation while losing something somewhere else.

These could be earned through gameplay or sold for money.

Would these be enough to make it free to play? Would they sell units by groups or one at a time? Would it be $5 for a new unit, or would they aim for impulse buying at $1 or $2? A whole team for $20-$30?

Would alternate sprites be sold by the group and alternate units individually? Could they make a grab bag with a random 3 units? Would you be able to trade them? Would you be able to morph them into a 3rd alternate currency... or send it to your WoW account as a summonable pet, that you could then battle with others?

Could you crunch it into resources for your Diablo 3 character? Or.... have it become a boost to be able to earn points faster for new alternate units.

Well, hopefully they think this through.

Having Fun in Champions Online

Recently a classmate has joined me in Champions Online, and he brought a friend with him. My character was level 25, and their characters had just barely finished the intro. So what did we do? We teamed up, the lowbie shared their missions. We were just having fun. The game did not stop me from playing with them.

What does the game do that allows you to play with whoever you want?

A) You can scale up/down to the leader's level. If the leader is level 11, everyone can go down, so that the game is properly challenging.

B) Missions can be shared, even if the person is not yet eligible or has already done the mission. They get a shared version of the quest, which allows them to do the quest, and turn it in for a reward. Many quest rewards also allow you to get tokens for special shops instead.

Yup, the game has leveling, but its more as a way to guide you through the storyline and as a way to limit growth so you can experience the game.

Also I recommend everyone having a similar travel power. If you're flying, go all flying, or all acrobatics, or all speed/tunneling (with that in mind, I don't recommend tunneling).

Overall, the experience is a lot of fun, just like any game you play in a group, it is what you make of it, but Champions Online, makes it easier for you to make it fun.

Blame it on the Gaze

The poem I wrote, is written with the male gaze. Quite honestly, everything I write and create will have a male gaze to it, regardless of what I do, mainly because I am in fact, a male.

Yet, is it possible for male gaze to be more than the focus of gawking, peeping and objectifying? Or is it because so much has been created with that type of male gaze that it is forever to be how the male view is perceived?

Does the male gaze apply to things when the object in question is not female? The definition has its origins in feminist studies, where it becomes important to understand that from a young age, men and women have been forced to view the world as if they were a man, and in the case of the film camera, that "man" is often a pervert who focuses quite often on specific body parts.

Horror movies use the male gaze to show the man outside the window, peeking in on the half naked woman before going in and killing her.

The male gaze decides that the over the shoulder camera of a mounted female will be back far enough to show her thong as she rides.

The male gaze, is what is used by costume designers in many video games to decide the outfits female characters will wear.

Notice that all these are doing things that when applied to another man, would be avoided. If a man is inside a room naked, more often, you will see the stalker outside through the window, while the camera stays inside. A man riding on a horse would have the camera properly behind him, and showing him above the waist. A man's outfit will often cover his entire body, especially in the case of armor.

If you treat male characters the same as you would female characters, it would actually make some men uncomfortable. Either because they feel a little gay for the view, because of what it is usually used for (recent shows use male gaze on a male rear end before revealing the subject is a male to get that exact reaction), or because they feel that it is too gay for their tastes (peoples tastes gradient from a little gay to way super gay).

So why is all this important? Why should men care? Because like everything else, it starts collapsing in on itself. It will be magnified, and become a mockery of itself (horror movies already do it). But at the same time, there is a place for it.

So go on and look for it. Look for where the camera lingers. Where something interrupts a man, and the camera explores it from every angle. Where it lingers on key features. Where the camera is in the view point of a predator.

What else do you identify as male gaze?

Blame it on the Gaze - Poem

Looking.

Eyes staring, consuming, obsessing over shape. Imagining functions.

Perversion. Reluctance. Desire.

Touching.

Caressing. Fondling. Groping. Hurting.

Rejection. Fear. Denial.

Hatred.

Misogyny.

Looking.

My Problem with Conservatives

Listening to Republicans Conservatives talk is one of the most frustrating things I can imagine doing. There is a severe lack of respect for women, homosexuals, and essentially anyone who is not themselves.

I work with Conservatives. They say things like, "It must be so hard for him to keep this job, since he's black. I won't write him up this time."

I don't even know where to start with this statement. I can't even start on it. I get physically ill, and go into a near rage just thinking about it. Its not cute and old-timey just because the person saying it is 80. Its sickening to hear them side with Akin after his comments on legitimate rape. And it is confusing that these are people as poor as me, most of them women, who think that rich people need tax cuts, women need to stop choosing to be raped, and everyone needs to believe in God.

These are people who are ignorant about who they are, what they need, and about the realities of other people. But, this is just my view from the outside. Biased with everything I believe in.

So how can I objectively view their statements without coloring my opinion of it? I honestly don't think I can. So I have to look at my personal beliefs, and wonder at what point does it matter if what I believe is correct or not, and a law has to work a certain way for the benefit of the minority of people who need to be protected?

That is the honest argument, from birth control to taxation.

How do you define life? Well, Biology has 7 requirements that something has to meet all or most of, before it is considered alive (according to wikipedia). Can that be used to define a fetus? If it is missing 2 or 3 of them, does it count as a living organism? Or does it only count as such when it is able to live on its own outside the womb?

These are the points of contention, and currently liberal and conservatives sit on opposing ends, unable to meet anywhere in the middle.

But here's a quick question... should men have any opinion on this? To be fair, a man's contribution to the process is minor in comparison to what women go through. Should their opinion be equally minor, to the point of an opinion? Or should the Biological definition stand on its own without opinion?

But it doesn't matter, because the issue is obfuscated by men shouting about legitimate rape, conservatives shouting about the bible, and women who's bodies are fucking them over just needing birth control to maintain a sense of dignity and prevent anemia from blood loss.

Finally, when it comes to rape, I think that if you haven't experienced it, you should shut up. You have no clue what you are saying on the matter. You have no idea of the lifetime change that can occur from it.

So in the end, my issue with Conservatives is that they are extremely fundamentalist in their mentality. Which continues to be the issue I have with people in general. There can't seem to be a meeting of ideas, or any sense of cooperation on issues.

 For a long time I thought that once some of these older white males left office, and younger blood came in, that perhaps a change of opinion could begin, but I forgot about brainwashed children, who continue to spout off their parent's beliefs without actually understanding what they are talking about. And they continue to be white males.

I want to talk to them, to find out what is actually going through their heads when they talk about these things. I want to open a dialogue. So here it is, if you have any opinion on this, go ahead and comment, and lets see what is going on. I've said my side, now its your turn.