My Thoughts on Bubble Tanks 3 (Flash)

Greetings once again folks to “Delvarian’s Assorted Stuff”! I hope you all had a great Christmas holiday. I apologize for no topics being available for the last two days and my general inactiveness. I was busy spending time with relatives and friends for Christmas. But without further to do, it is time for today’s topic. To clarify, today’s topic is about my impressions on the recently released flash game of Bubble Tanks 3 by Hero Interactive. So sit tight folks and enjoy the article!

Bubble Tanks is a series of (currently) three games released by Hero Interactive. In each game, you control a tank made out of bubbles (with the WASD Keys or Arrow Keys). Your objective is to explore other large bubbles (AKA the levels) and defeat all the other enemy bubbles by using your bubble gun (use mouse to aim and fire). If enough bubbles are collected, then the bubble size will grow and more weapons will be available for use. But be warned, if the tank is hit, the number of bubbles acquired will decrease and can even lead to the tank leveling down. The same system applies to the enemies (starting with 2). The system was altered slightly in the second game, with the addition of an evolutionary tree. With this evolutionary tree, a player could specify how they wanted their tank to function as: a mighty glacier, glass cannon, or a combination of the two. The system was further altered with the third game where, a player could use the evolutionary tree, use one of the pre-made player tanks, or create and customize your own tank. This customizable tank system was taken from Bubble Tanks Arenas – a spin-off game focusing more on arena combat than on exploration.

Of course, the system is balanced so that an infinite amount of guns can’t be used or a small tank could have a huge unrealistic number of guns. The number of guns that can be applied to a bubble tank is limited by number of GP which is determined by level and tank base size. The greater the base size, the more GP is available for usage – at the cost of a slower moving tank. However, these limits aren’t as strenuous as they seem. One could build many different kinds of tanks using the tank editor thanks to the large array of usable weapons and normal bubbles. In fact, the same system can be applied to make unique enemies for others to see. From what I have observed, the player has the option of using player and enemy tanks from the base database, the saved computer data, or from other players – leading to one play-through of the game being very different from another. Heck, if a player finishes the game, he or she has the alternative of using the “New Game Plus” option to begin a new game with their previous ended game’s customized tank – a nice way of promoting the replayability value.

Like every game, this game still has its “bumps” and downsides. First off, (as of the time writing of this article) no music had been playing in the background of the game. In the previous two games, the music did play leading to a jarring effect in the third. Of course, this may be due to the “Efficiency Mode” being on. A minor quip I have with this game is no “multiplayer” of sorts. In other words, having the ability to play directly with other players (P2P or through server) as opposed to using the blue-prints of the tanks from other players. I still love the game due to its improved features, but it can still use some improvements. But, the game has gone a long way since its humble beginnings in Bubble Tanks 1. To put it bluntly, from my impressions, this game is a good step up from the previous game. There are still some technical issues with lag and the like needed to be ironed out – but the folks at Hero Interactive are working hard to fix them. Moreover, with the player packs being released per week, more stuff will be available to those who love the game so much that they are willing to spend some cash. I give this game, 8 out of 10 bubbles! Try if out at “http://armorgames.com/play/10015/bubble-tanks-3”.

That’s it for today’s topic folks. Remember to try the game out if you want to experience what I talked about first-hand. As the tropers at TvTropes would say, this is “better than it sounds”. In addition, remember to keep in mind that your mileage may vary on how good the game is – as always. I respect you decision on the matter. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are always appreciated! Spread the word out of this blog to your family and friends! But, anyways, I hope you all have a great Monday. This is Delvarian for “Delvarian’s Assorted Stuff” signing off for today!

My Thoughts on If Video Games Are Works of Art

Welcome again to “Devlarian’s Assorted Stuff”. Today’s topic will be on the very controversial issue on whether video games are a form of art or not, and some of the surrounding arguments. Remember folks, considering how controversial (and flame-bait worthy) this topic is, take into mind that your mileage may way. Your thoughts on this issue will vary in some way or another. This is why it is (highly) not recommended to start a discussion on this in many sites or forums. But without further to do, let us delve in and explore this interesting topic.

Looking at the humble beginnings of video gaming, video games were intended to be for entertainment for kids – nothing more. As seen by this early (first) era of gaming, most games were made for arcades and arcade-like systems. Of course, the market shifted to Japan after the Great Video Game Crash of 1983 with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System or the NES for short. Even then, most if not all games, were intended for entertainment and for kids – though the stories improved in this time period. As the years went by, technology improved leading to better systems (such as the SNES) with better graphics, sounds, and gameplay, as well as other things such as story and mechanics. All in all, it was considered by many veterans to be one of the best time-frames in gaming thanks to all the amazing (at that time) advancements. However, it is key to note that as mentioned before, stories began to improve and became (for the most part) more complex, and had more moral and philosophical meaning. For example, instead of the simple save the princess plot, it was more like save the world from the evil empire with many people having their own agendas – slightly simplified though. The game developers were dipping into deeper parts of telling a story and providing an impact to life like a book or movie.

Of course, even at that period, most people considered it to be for entertainment and children – not a work of art. It wasn’t a bad thing at all considering that most plots were still simplistic and only a few – could have been considered a work of art. Thus, there were not enough examples to convince the populace into moving onto deeper concepts. As the time went by however, companies began to trudge into more complex storylines with connections to real world events. Many people applauded these changes yet, some critics and activists defied this stating that it would “ruin society” or something similar. This was the start of the age of T-rating games, exploration into deeper concepts, and the beginning of video game controversies and the general stupidity of activists and critics.

Here, developers wanted to push forward into deeper more moral ideas like in movies and books but they further they went, it seemed that more issues came up from the stupidity of the populace. Take Mass Effect 2 from the fairly recent day. Many (misguided) people (including FOX News) decried it as a “porn simulator” and cautioned people to keep their kids away from it. The same thing happened with Grand Theft Auto IV, where critics decried it as a “murder simulator” (though there were slightly right, but the game wasn’t about random murdering or the simulation of the act). In fact, the content was much subtler and was more or less (for the case of Mass Effect 2) implied never shown on screen. But of course, critics and activists still decried and complained about it. This has happened to several games over the years and many companies have been afflicted from these people’s misguided crusades. Even some states over the years wanted to pass laws several regulating gaming and pushing back M-rated games.

The main issue with this is that people cannot decide whether video games are a form of art or not. Consider books and movies, and how they can show touchy and controversial issues without the same level of complaining that ensues when video games show it. In fact, this problem also stems from the fact that video games are still perceived by many to be for the children and that a lot of video game enthusiasts back down from defending. Heck, the issue has gotten so heated that even the Supreme Court has opened a case to see whether video games are protected by the First Amendment (freedom of speech). Many fans, critics, and activists on both sides fight on whether video games are art citing many examples and counter-examples with no avail on either side. Some people cannot wrap their heads around the idea that video games have matured to the point that not all are for kids – some are, but others are for more mature-minded people.

Because of this huge debate, if a game were to cover a controversial topic (e.g., war, genocide, fear, torture, etc.), it would face a huge deal of controversy unlike books or movies. Books and movies have already covered many hard-to-read topics, so why not video games. As many have said before me, we need to stand up for our medium and push forward and “mature” our medium. If books and movies have done it beforehand, so shall our medium. For this to happen, we need to defend our works when faced with controversy, try making more meaningful stories, and provide enough evidence that video games are in fact, a form of art. The Supreme Court’s decision will have a major impact on gaming, and will either improve or destroy the genre. But no matter what it will come to, we gamers should rally together and stand up for our genre and educate the masses. If we push forward, our medium will never be the same again – just like entering adolescence or adulthood. As they say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” – anything could be a work of art but will vary depending on the viewer.

Thanks for staying with me folks! I would like to give many thanks to Daniel Floyd, for inspiring me (and other fellow gamers) to speak up for our medium. Keep on rolling Mr. Floyd and as for everyone else, have a wonderful day! Remember, comments, suggestions, and corrections are always appreciated. This is Delvarian for “Delvarian’s Assorted Stuff” signing off for now!

MMOs... What Do We Look For?

Greetings guys and gals! Here is my promised (small) blog posting for today - this time on one of my favorite topics - MMOs.

As many of you (or not have heard), MMOs are Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. Some of us have favorites, and some of us have our hated ones. But as par human nature, none of us agree on which ones we like - not to mention the raging flame-wars on multiple sites. In fact, it is common knowledge that someone will complain about an update somewhere, and the problem gets worse as the fanbase grows in size - the conflict being either against other factions of the fandom or against the developer. It is frustrating, but we must put up with it or… snark at them ;).

But, today's topic isn't about the fanbase's massive issues (well... it will be on another day). Today’s topic will be on, what do you look for in MMOs? What draws you to specific MMOs? What features do you want? What about the playerbase and game content? The EXP or skill system? All those things and more will be covering in the following days.

Enough of that though. Considering the broad scope of the topic, I will be mostly covering what I usually look for in MMOs, and somewhat of other people’s ideas. For example, I especially like MMOs with a friendly but tight-knit community. Of course, this can be offset if there are MANY players but a less tight knit community. I personally like communities where there are enough people to guide newbies forward to become productive players.

The next topic to be covered in detail in this series will be on the EXP system and whether it should be capped or not and my ideas/solutions to their problems. Of course, send me suggestions on how to handle this matter and please, be honest on me. I’m still getting used to hijinks involved in this matter of trade. So, most of these postings will be quips into my mindset involving MMOs. As always, please send a comment or suggestion and remember to stay in touch!

Have a great day folks!

Delvarian