PvP: Competitive gaming is no fun

player 2Player 2: Hey, wanna play a bit of Left 4 Dead tonight?

Player 1: I have a COD4 Practice at 8h30 and a TWL Match a 9h30, but after that I’ll be able to play, sure.

Player 2: Practice? Match? LMAO, It’s a game and you talk about it like it’s a sport. It’s not like your going to sweat while playing a game…

Player 1: An activity or a game doesn’t need to be a sport to be competitive. There is Rubik Cube Competitions and we can both agree that this is far away from being a sport. Competitions doesn’t require sweat, they require skills.

Player 2: Rubik Cube competitions is just as dumb as game competitions, it takes the fun out of the game. Practices at fixed hour, a match schedule. Looks like playing is now a chore, an obligation. Looks like you play just because you have to.

player 1Player 1: Maybe you’re of the same opinion that playing Hockey or Football in a league can’t be fun. A game or a sports is designed to have fun playing them. We won’t argue about that right? But playing it competitively takes the fun too another level. It makes accomplishments much more rewarding. And, seriously, if you’re not playing competitively, you’re missing out.

My Take: It’s no secret, I’ve been playing Call of Duty 4 competitively, with the PMS|H2O Clan, for about a year now. So it’s sure that my take is similar to P1’s opinions. First off, let me say that Competitive Gaming IS fun. It’s exiting, stressful and rewarding. BUT, unlike P1, I don’t thing it’s for everyone and not for every game. Say you like hockey, you might play backyard hockey with your buddies, casually, just to have fun and that is fine. But if you really love hockey, you might start looking into playing in leagues and stuff. Same things goes for games. I certainly won’t play every game I like competitively. But those that I really love, those that I play almost everyday, why not test my skills against other really good player?

What’s your take?

Note: Graphics used are from Ctrl+Alt+Del. Go read it, it’s an awesome web comic!

Games of January

princeofpersiaFirst game I played in 2009 was Prince of Persia. I really liked it… after a while. As we grow older playing games, I think we often forget that we’re playing for fun and start analysing everything. And because of that, I started playing this game, putting way too much thought over the fact that you couldn’t die. But once I got around all that and started playing the game just to have fun, I realised how good that game was. The vistas are georgious, the characters likable even though somewhat cliché and the dialogs are well written. All in all, a really good game. Can’t wait for the DLC they just announced to be released.

After finishing Prince of Persia, I fired up Last Remnant. I haven’t play much, but so far the story seems disjointed. The combat system is interesting thought. I’ll surely go back to it after I finish Gears 2

With Last Remnant not really catching me, I started Gears of War 2 to see if I would continue playing Last Remnant or play GoW2. Sadly for Last Remnant, I’m hooked to manly killing locusts going from chest-high-walls to chest-high-walls. The action is intense, the shooting is good (for a shooter on console) and the cover system works really well. Oh, but the single player partner AI is REALLY dumb. Anyway, great fun so far. I’m also looking forward to play a couple of multiplayer match with members of the PMS|H2O GoW 2 Division.

Speaking of the PMS|H2O clan, with TWL League Season 4 starting, my Call of Duty 4 team is back in full practice mode. I get the feeling competition is going to be really fierce this season. I can’t wait!

PvP: Real man programming

In PvP, I play the devil’s advocate with a given subject. Each Player takes an extreme side/opinion on the subject and we see how both opinion clashes and then we open the topic to discussion. Don’t be shy to post a comment and participate to the discussion.

player 2Player 2: Here’s an advice for you noobs. If you want to break into the game industry, you already know that a portfolio is a BIG plus. But you may be wondering what you should work on, what you should put in your portfolio. Here’s the trick, if you want to be a real man, a real programmer, you need to stay away from easy technology like XNA or half-ass game building package like RPG-Maker or Verge-RPG. You need to stick with technology like C++, MFC, DirectX or OpenGL. That’s what they use in the game industry, that’s what you should use to build your portfolio.

You should build a 3D Engine from the ground up, with physics and an HDR lighting system. Things need to blow up. It need to be impressive. Oh and don’t forget about fog. People loves fog.

player 1Player 1: It is a given that a portfolio is needed, but I don’t think the technology used matters, you don’t need to build something big for your portfolio, you just need to build something. It does not matter if it’s a small Tetris clone, as long as you can show you’re capable of doing something.

Doing the grunt work of building a 3D game engine is nice when you’re experienced. But starting from the ground up can be pretty painful. It’s hard to get to a point where you have a finished product if it’s hard to take the first step.

Player 2: Yeah but say we both send our resume at the same place and all you have is that skinny Tetris clone and I have my Triple-A 3D Game Engine. Sorry P1, but you don’t stand a chance.

Player 1: Sure, but if we’re given the same time-frame to build our portfolio. The time it take you to get that AAA 3D Game Engine somewhat functional. I’ll be able to have a polished product, almost bug-free. And I’ll probably have time to finish 5 other project.

I think that the worst thing you can do to your portfolio is to create some monster of a project that end up so crazily complex that you’re able to finish only a small part of it, being left with something that doesn’t work half of the time.

My Take: I don’t think that the scale of the project is important. Like P1 said, you just need to show that you’re able to create things. However, I think that P2 brings a good point on using, at least some, of the commonly used technology. Not because it is required for your portfolio, but it gives you experience that you’ll need during technical test or interview.

What’s your take?

Note: Graphics used are from Ctrl+Alt+Del. Go read it, it’s an awesome web comic!

From Beginner to Journeyman

A beginner is a craftsman that doesn’t have the right to charge a fee for a day of work. To gain this right, he needs to prove himself and get employed by a master craftsman. That is when he becomes a Journeyman.

Today, is the first day of my internship as a Game Programmer at Mistic Software. Today, I gained the right to charge a fee for a day of work as a Game Programmer. As of today, I am no longer a beginner, I am a Journeyman :D

IGDA Montreal 2008-10-15 – Open Bar "Drinks Only" Night

A small crowd of developers came to the Vinyl Lounge to chill, drink and chat with other game developers. We had a lower turn-out than expected, but it fitted really well with the small, more laid back ambience of the Vinyl Lounge. I really enjoyed the smaller crowd. It gave me much more time to chat and network with people.

At the meeting, I was happy to introduce Étienne with some people I knew. Étienne is a colleague and partner in crime (we’re currently working on a secret project together, more info on that soon). It made me remember how hard it was for me when I was a newbie at the IGDA, building the courage to move up to a group of people you don’t know and introduce yourself.

Oh and also!

Given the lower turn-out, we actually had a load of uneaten sandwiches. So, after the party, we brought them over to the Maison du Père. They were very thankful.

Man, it feel good being a volunteer for such a great organisation :)