Sierra Kilo

Neowin says that Apple has a patent for lighting up the trackpad and iPod clickwheel when you use them. Big whoop. My Logitech diNovo Edge already does this. Unfortunately for that device, the trackpad is way too small and the scrolling feature bites. But it has a light-up trackpad and excellent keys.

Speaking of Logitech diNovo, have you seen the Mini keyboard? This would have been perfect when I had my PC as my DVR (which is why I bought the Edge keyboard in the first place). What they need to do, though, is combine this Bluetooth keyboard with the Harmony 1000 remote! A touchscreen, event-driven IR/RF remote that can flip up to reveal a keyboard and trackpad.

We just got a new Toshiba projector at work. It has a “Network Projector” functionality that’s compatible with Windows Vista. We’ve all eschewed Vista around here, so there’s no way for us to play with that feature. It got me thinking, though. Thin-client devices would work pretty well with that kind of functionality. A device with a screen, keyboard, and touchpad could send input data over the network to the server and the server would just send screen data back to the client. The device wouldn’t need much else than a wireless network card and a small processor to handle data routing from the network to the screen and from the keyboard/trackpad to the network. It wouldn’t work without a server, of course. Really, though, the same functionality could be put into TVs to allow you to view your computer easily. Input would be handled by a little bluetooth mini keyboard.

…convergence devices…I have a Canon SD850 camera, a T-Mobile Wing Windows Mobile phone, a GameBoy Micro portable game system, and an iPod media player. They all do their job very nicely, yet still have some drawbacks. If they were all combined into a single device, however, the drawbacks could be overcome by features of one of the other devices.

For example, the camera, phone, and GBM have removable batteries, but the iPod doesn’t. The camera even has a compact battery charger for charging the spare while the other is in use. The phone only has a 2 megapixel camera, while the camera is 8 megapixel. The phone only has like 64MB of storage (2GB more with micro SD), but the iPod has 60GB. The phone can multitask applications and is also very easy to develop new applications for, while the others are single-task devices. The iPod has a nice, clear display and easy-to-navigate media library, while the phone’s media library is often difficult to navigate. The GBM has controls that make it easy to play games, but the iPod and the phone’s controls limit the control of games.

So, if you put them all together, you would have a multitasking operating system with an easy-to-navigate interface and controls that work well with the interface, applications, and games. You’d also have a high-resolution camera and plenty of storage space to store application data, games, and media (photos, music, videos). You would also have a removable battery with a compact charger that makes it easy to charge spares. All of the devices are relatively the same size, but several of the components such as the display, controls, and battery mechanism could be shared. So I ask, how difficult would a device like this be to create? I don’t think it would be that difficult at all. You won’t get Canon, HTC, Nintendo, and Apple working together, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to use the same parts and create a device to juggle all of these tasks just as well as the single devices. Don’t give me any grief about battery life or device size because there are plenty of ways to help in those areas. So, again, where is my convergence device?

One of my favorite games is now available on the Mac (a freeware port, anyway). UFO: Alien Invasion is based on the game X-COM (aka UFO: Enemy Unknown/UFO Defense), which is the first game that drove my need to upgrade a PC. When X-COM came out, I had a 386 with 1MB of RAM. A friend down the street just got a 486 and could play X-COM with 4MB of RAM! Unfortunately for me, it wouldn’t run on 1MB, so we spent a small fortune to buy 4 1MB chips. I had one of the old 256k chips attached to my keychain for about 10 years and still have it around today.

Anyway, the game is very simple to play. It is turn-based with action points. It gets more complex when you get into base building, weapons research, and move into global invasion. The game difficulty scaled very nicely depending on your research and funding level. It mixed action and strategy very well.

Being turn-based, it may be the perfect game for short play sessions. I know there’s a port for Windows Mobile and the original designer (Julian Gallop) also developed Rebelstar for the GameBoy Advance, which I have on a GBA flash cart alongside other GBA classics like Zelda: Minish Cap and A Link To The Past, Metroid Fusion, and a slew of classic NES games. If only I could combine my GBA Micro, my iPod, and my Windows Mobile phone…I would have the perfect convergence device! I should really use by GBA Micro more. I love that thing.

I had a short opportunity to play with the wife’s iPhone last night. Verdict: at least she’s pretty.

Pros:
- Beautiful display: vibrant color, very visually pleasing interface
- “Real” web browser: viewing web pages as they are designed without odd reformatting for a mobile browser or viewing mobile versions of the same site is very nice. Multi-touch spreading fingers apart to zoom is nice (once you remember that’s how you’re supposed to do it, instead of pressing the magnifying glass, like you’d instinctively do).
- Fast: applications were very responsive and the zoom/fade effects didn’t seem to hinder performance much
- Cover art: looks good, even in cover flow.
- Speaker: the internal speaker was decent and allowed you to play music and video without headphones. This would be great for sharing your media.

Cons:
- Dirty: the screen is constantly smudged from fingers or your face
- Zoomed web pages: viewing true web pages is nice, but it’s difficult to view the page with zooming and while you’re zoomed, there is constant panning around. It’s not bad for such a small device, but a true 16×9 aspect ratio (640×360) would work better, I think.
- Screen rotation: the screen was constantly rotating one way, but not rotating back. I wasn’t twisting it around, either. Just had it in my hands viewing normally.
- Multitasking: The main source of other applications (the web browser) doesn’t stay running in the background. This makes IM very difficult since you can only receive IMs when you’re viewing the browser. Returning to the home screen meant stopping what you were doing and doing something else instead. Having an OS X-like dock at the bottom for applications with flags to let you know what’s open would have been a much better idea. This thing can multitask, right? It is “OS X,” right? It’s got flash memory, so surely that’s not the problem, right?
- Widescreen: can’t view widescreen videos in “portrait” mode (at least I couldn’t…this could be part of the rotation issue I kept having)
- Navigation: some screens you could “flip” back and forth, others you had to use the <- back arrow. On top of that, navigating your media library felt horrible. Maybe it was just the way L had her stuff set up, but I couldn’t find an easy way to play a playlist on shuffle.
- Keyboard: it wasn’t horrible, but I felt like text input was an afterthought. I couldn’t imagine typing “important” emails on it. (As you can see from my previous mobile posts, I have a hard enough time, even with my WinMo phone)

Anyway, it’s a neat little toy. It can’t hang with the big boys (smartphones) and is definitely not the second coming of the Newton. It’s so prolific now that it’s taken the place of the RAZR for being the “look what I got” phone. Unfortunately, it isn’t (and will probably never be) the same price as a RAZR. A larger capacity, better multitasking, and consistent navigation would help it be a better “convergence” device, and a better keyboard wouldn’t hurt, either. I would like to see the true second coming of the Newton, though. A true 16×9 high-resolution screen, a higher speed cellular data network, and a USB host or more Bluetooth device support would go a long way for me.

Microsoft is giving away XBLA game “Undertow” for everyone in response to the downtime over New Year’s. Gee…thanks. Why not credit everyone’s Live account with enough points to buy an equivalently-priced game instead? Sometimes I have to wonder what large corporations are thinking.

To compete with Netflix, Blockbuster should partner with Apple, Microsoft, TiVo, or one of the other HD set-top manufacturers and get subscription-based digital distribution to the living room ASAP. Either that, or Netflix should stop piddling around and do it already. Really, TV and movie studios should just bypass cable distribution and provide digital distribution themselves through RSS (like podcasts). I totally blame advertisers for the lack of TV innovation. We’re still watching scheduled TV like we did decades ago!

I’ve been playing Call of Duty 4 when I get game time. The single-player game is very cinematic. I beat it the other day and was fairly satisfied. I have a little trouble getting into multiplayer, though. It’s fine when I’m playing with friends, but jumping into a random game with random 12-year-olds is not quite as fun. There is a hint of RPG element to the multiplayer, which makes things a little more interesting. You get points for kills, streaks, objectives, etc. Those points open new weapons, equipment, and game types. I feel that it is very well-suited for today’s multiplayer crowd. Like most MMOs, you simply grind your way to the highest level. There is a bit of twitch gaming skill that helps with that goal. I haven’t found much strategy, though. It’s basically “kill them before they kill you.” It would be nice to see a character-based military MMO. The single-player game for CoD4 felt very character-based and I think that part of it could work as an MMO by focusing less on kills, more on survival and objective-based reward systems. Instead of rewarding the number of kills, reward the number of objectives completed with the least amount of deaths. The America’s Army game does this very well. Most of my “honor” level on that game was gained by capturing/holding objectives. MMOs could learn from that example, too. Quests should be the best way of gaining levels, not dispatching foes.

I just checked out Starfighter: Disputed Galaxy over at Kongregate. That’s a very fun multiplayer game. It reminds me a little of Star Control. The controls are simple, and once you read the controls, it’s pretty easy to get up and running. I would love to see a multiplayer game like this, especially for Windows Mobile. Take missions, collect ore, upgrade your equipment, buy a new ship. Lots of fun…

Posted by mobile phone:
L’s phone died last week. Being a bigger gadget junkie than me, she rushed out looking for a replacement. She tried a T-Mobile SideKick for a few days, but settled on an iPhone. She, then proceeded to complain to me about it (email sucks, no IM, no supported native apps *my words, not hers*). She did the same with her Mac. Don’t ask me my opinion and follow my advice after I say “It’s up to you”, then complain like it’s my fault Apple makes you do things their way.

CompUSA is oing out of business. Everything is dow to 15-40% off…unfortunately, that’s not enough to make me buy some things. When it gets a little lower, I might bite on a few things. I would like a Linksys USB NAS device, maybe a new 4gb Nano, a Leopard update, an extra 85W power brick, and maybe some other trinkets. It’s fun seeing what gets uncovered in the back as the sale dwindles down.

Apple is now offering downloadable movie rentals. Netflix now offers unlimited movie streaming. Apple has the portable media player and (now) set-top device market pretty much wrapped up. Microsoft is still reeling from its 2007 Vista woes. One way Microsoft could take a bit of the market back from Apple is by enabling Netflix movie streaming on the XBox 360. Since Netflix uses WMV codecs for streaming and copy protection, I am amazed that Microsoft hasn’t enabled this in the 360 yet. This would do several things: take the AppleTV down a notch, increase the value of the XBox 360 as a living room (not just gaming) device, and give Netflix a leg up in the digital content delivery market. Why is it never that easy for companies to work together?

The Macworld 2008 keynote was today. Steve Jobs had a few new announcements.

MacBook Air: I guess if you’re in the market for an ultra-light sub-notebook, you’re all set. My MBP has the power and screen size I need, and it’s only about 7lbs. Compared to my previous 15lb Sager powerhouse, it’s still a lightweight. So I’m good. The multi-touch trackpad sounds interesting, but $1800 is a bit much.

Time Capsule: WiFi router + built-in storage + USB port for printer sharing = good stuff. $299 for 500GB or $499 for 1TB…I guess I could swallow that. It’s a bit much just for storage if you already have a WiFi router, but it does show up as a shared network drive “automatically” so maybe $299 isn’t too bad. With 2 Macs in the house now, it might be a nice investment.

AppleTV update: Now $229 = good stuff. I skimmed something that said you didn’t need a PC to stream content? If so = good stuff. I might re-rip some of the DVDs I have on my iPod into DVD quality and let my PC host them through iTunes. With the writer strike, podcasts aren’t a bad idea (if you can find quality ones like TRS and Diggnation) and this would make viewing easier.

iTunes movie rentals: I have Netflix, so I’m not as impressed with this. $2.99-$4.99 per rental? It’s on-par with Blockbuster if we’re waiting on Netflix and can’t find anything else to do except watch movies (I haven’t rented from Blockbuster since sometime in 2003). It’s better than pay-per-view/on-demand on cable, though. Once you start playing it, you only have 24 hours to watch it all (or again) before it expires. Anyway, probably not for me, but I might try it once if I had an AppleTV.

iPhone/iPod Touch updates: Don’t have either, so don’t care. Something about knowing your location (pseudo-GPS like Google Maps for WM already does) and WebClips (widget-like pieces of websites) that you can put on the front screen. I would so “Jailbreak” it anyway.

So…AppleTV is now on the wishlist. It might be the best solution for streaming content from my Windows box upstairs (provided it’s in Apple format). The XBox 360 is capable, but I’ve never had much luck with TVersity, plus the interface is a bit clunky. Maybe I should just put a little more effort into it before dropping $230 on an AppleTV?

I mentioned an API in my recent MMO Design article. Tobold posted a nice follow-up. He mentions some possible hiccups with authentication and server load and questions the business model of these features.

I’m no server guru. I’ve seen MUDs with some web integration. I’ve even seen some of the code behind the idea. From the little client-to-web integration I’ve done, I know there are certainly obstacles to overcome, especially if the integration is not included in the original design. The EVE Online API looks like a good start. The next step is two-way interaction.

I’m no ad wizard, either. I generally steer clear of microtransactions (even XBox Live, iTunes, etc.) because it’s too easy for me to spend way too much and I feel I get less value for my dollar. Charging more for accessing the same content you get through a paid subscription doesn’t make sense to me. If I pay $15/month to play WoW through the 3D client, for example, I shouldn’t have to pay more to access a subset of the features through a less robust interface. I’m a cheapskate, though.

One thing I’m not sure about is how an API relates to Raph’s “Never trust the client” Law. Opening pieces of the game for direct interaction by software that is not controlled by you could open up some concerns. Will your game be judged by the quality of these other applications? Can these other applications “cheat” your game somehow?

All good questions for a game designer to answer…

WorldIV’s Tuebit posted a semi-rant about the lack of MMORPGs with casual-yet-deep gameplay. It all started in the Nerfbat Forums.

Psychochild brings up a good point about time contribution. Playing 5 hours/week will contribute less than playing 25 hours/week. This is true for most games on the market so far. If there were other ways to contribute other than beefing up your character so that he could do more damage to the raid boss, those 5 measly hours could be more valuable.

As Tuebit mentioned, a “sidekick” system could be used to temporarily increase the power of a lower-level player, allowing him to fight alongside the veteran players. The sidekick contributes to the group without being slaughtered in the first few encounters. This idea can be applied to group combat, but also to group crafting and resource collection. An apprentice learns faster from his master, and the master gains another hand to help finish the work faster. As the apprentice learns, he will be able to contribute more by making higher-level widgets that the master can use in the more complex object.

Since the advent of persistent online worlds, there has always been the question of “What does my character do when I’m not logged in?” There’s also been the question of “When does my character eat, drink, and sleep?” If characters got hungry, thirsty, or sleepy and the game required the player to manage those conditions either manually in-game or automatically by logging out, it could restore some of the balance. Virtually sleeping is not very entertaining, though. What about turning those into mini-games? You have a turkey leg (or some other food) in one hand, a mug of water in the other. Your goal is to eat and drink enough to satisfy yourself while maintaining your breathing pace and allowing yourself to chew and swallow your food. Okay, so maybe that would get very old very quickly.

What about having a dreamland? While your character is sleeping, his conscientiousness is adventuring in a completely different plane of existence. The two planes share some aspects, while other aspects are polar opposites. Or…what if sleep time meant that you took control of a creature somewhere else in the world? This is a bit like “monster play” in LotRO and could be a little like the Skeksis and Mystics in The Dark Crystal. The hardcore player could have two characters to nurture, providing different opportunities.

Those would offer more for hardcore players to do, allowing casual players to have more “waking” time of a single character. Sure, you play 25 hours/week, but 1 out of every 5 hours, your main character must be idle somehow.

Another way to allow different levels of contribution is to alter quest goals based on play style. The hardcore player could have goals that require a longer time commitment (fight your way through the 8-level dungeon and slay the boss), while the casual player could have goals that require a shorter time commitment (destroy the small camp over the next hill). The hardcore quests could also require larger groups, while the casual quests could be done solo. SWG allowed you to pick missions a short distance away with easier opponents for a smaller payout or missions longer away with more difficult opponents for a larger payout. The problem was that everyone had this choice, so hardcore players would just grind a larger number of smaller missions. By taking that option away based on play style, you alter the possible contribution. This isn’t to say that long quests couldn’t be broken into smaller sub-quests or that short quests couldn’t be linked together. Short quests could focus on the quality of the guild/village/kingdom, while long quests could focus on the quantity (expanding the size).

Talk is cheap, and I could probably go on forever with different ideas. Implementing them is another beast, altogether. Until developers start including casual gameplay elements, we may be stuck where we are.