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Opinion Why we play games; Experiencing the impossible. By Josiah Sapp     I find it interesting to step back and to not only observe the world around me but to also ask why the world is the way it is. What compels people to do what they do? What are all the ways we communicate with each other? Why are cultural norms different across countries? It’s fun and enlightening to ask big questions but the answers aren’t always what they first appear to be. This post starts a three week journey into one of those big questions. Why do we play games? The answer to that question is varied and broad. It depends on all manner of factors including age, race, culture, lifestyle, and gender to name a few. In recent years, researchers have found that there’s a lot that goes on in our brains when we play video games.     In a brief description, gaming is a form of entertainment. A type of media that people pay for and consume much like movies, mu...

Opinion Mods not microtransactions: How to keep players engaged. By Josiah Sapp     Players invest a lot of their time and money in games that they believe in. We want the best experience for the investment. Developers and publishers make a living because we spend money on their product and spend time in their creation. It’s a highly competitive market and the tactics are cut throat. If a studio isn’t on top of the gaming trends, they get shut down or reallocated elsewhere. That’s why we get stories like Visceral studios being disbanded and their projects getting canceled. What they were working on, in theory, wasn’t being developed in line with future trends of the marketplace. Studios want their customers to return to their game while spending money on extra content. The avenue in which developers have achieved this retention and spending is through paid DLC and microtransactions to varying degrees of success. It seems, however, that all games are doome...

 Opinion Difficult video games: The resurgence of punishing gameplay  By Josiah Sapp     Games are fun right? They’re made to be enjoyed by an individual, a collective group or an entire community. People play games for all kinds of reasons. High score chase, a means to relax, or even to escape into a whole other world. Recently, however, a specific style of gaming has emerged over the past few years and it’s not the kind that first catch your attention. Difficult games have been on the rise and there are no signs of slowing down this community. These aren’t just difficult titles. They’re punishing. Brutal. So frustratingly hard that it will have you question why you’re playing it even after you’ve tried the same task for hours. Why do gamers put themselves through this torture? The history of challenging games is in our DNA and in the genealogy of game design.  Dragon's Lair Death Screen     Pick out an...

Opinion Video game exclusives: A relic of the past that’s losing its value. By Josiah Sapp     In the early nineties, there was a famous dispute between Nintendo and Sega. Nintendo had an iron grip on the gaming industry and Sega wanted to be the ones to rival them first and take them down. This is known as the console wars and it’s effects can still be felt today. During the “wars”, both companies had a champion for their cause. A mascot that would represent them to the masses. Nintendo had the loveable Italian plumber Mario and Sega had the fast paced, edgy Sonic the hedgehog. Both companies screamed from the mountaintops “You can only play this character on our console!” Thus pitting customers against one another forcing them to choose one gaming console or other. This is where exclusivity began and gaming companies are still trying persuade use with the same argument today.  Sony vs. Nintendo vs. Microsoft     The...