Social Platypus

Opinion The climate of the gaming marketplace: What EA closing Visceral studios means for games. By Josiah Sapp      The gaming industry is still very young and has plenty of growing pains to endure. It’s already been saved once from an absolute crash back in 1983 and has seen it’s fair shares of innovative brilliance and outlandish flops. But where is the industry today? More importantly, where is it heading? In the past several years we’ve seen trends take root in the industry like the MOBA or hero shooter. We’ve also seen new tech that was supposed to “revolutionize gaming” but fell apart due to lack of imagination and support. Something that I didn’t see coming, however, is the dismantling of a founding pillar of the gaming world. The single player experience.     Some of the best and most groundbreaking video games were designed to be played by a single player. A straightforward linear progression with a...

Review Destiny 2: Looks great from a distance but gets messy the closer you get. By Josiah Sapp     Destiny has prided itself on being a jack of all trades. So naturally there is a lot to do and lot to cover when you think about reviewing it. I’ve given this game a solid month of time to stew and settle into my brain as to what it’s trying to accomplish. Giving Destiny a final score only a week out from release seems too quick especially since Bungie released a road map showing a month’s worth of content. The raid, faction rally event, trials of the nine and iron banner were all released within a month. So here’s how my review of Destiny 2 is going to work; I’ve comprised three lists. What I enjoyed, tolerated and what frustrated me about the game. D2 gets a lot right upon entry into the world but once you get into the nitty gritty of the mechanics, it get’s messy really quick. Enjoyed     Let’s start off with some positivity! Des...

Opinion Microtransactions: An old concept that needs clarification By Josiah Sapp     In today’s world, we’re constantly being sold something. Insurance, clothes, jewelry, new tech. It’s impossible to browse the internet without someone trying to grab your attention and give you a sales pitch. We’ve come to accept this type of advertising as normal in our society. It’s something we just deal with and if something catches our fancy, then we’ll buy it but if it doesn’t pertain to us then we don’t give it a second thought. Microtransactions in video games are no different than normal ads but they get under our skin somehow. The idea that a game (either free or paid for) has smaller transactions built within the game has somehow crossed the line. Why is that different than any other advertisement we encounter in the world? For most people, it feels forced.     Microtransactions have proven to be a very lucrative business stra...

Opinion Can modern games ever become classics? The struggle with servers and consistent support. By Josiah Sapp     The library of classic video games seems to be smaller than the myriad of classic movies or music pieces and for good reason. The world of video games hasn’t been around for that long and to define something as “ classic ” means that it has stood the test of time and is of the highest quality. A few game titles that should be considered when talking about classics are Super Mario Bros, Legend of Zelda, Tetris, and Pac Man. All of which were released 30 years ago but what makes these games classics? They are definitely still fun to play today and for the time they were made, considered to be of the highest quality. Some of them even ended up in a museum! However, what about games released today? Can any of them be considered a classic? The trouble lies with the way games are made and need support.     The common trend wit...

Culture Reflection The meaning and origin of 7 idioms that are used every day By Josiah Sapp Idioms are a part of our everyday lives. We say them without giving them a second thought and they roll off the tongue (there’s an example of one!). Sayings play a big part in our day to day speech enhancing the way we communicate to others. If you’re trying to get a point across, an idiom can be the most effective way of letting somebody know what it is you’re describing. I have two reasons for these monthly culture reflections; first, I think it’s important to look into the mirror of our culture to try and understand where we come from in order to better where we’re going. Second, I want to create better conversations with those that you interact with. Idioms come and go without hesitation but hopefully this list will give you something interesting to talk about next time you throw an idiom out there. If you’re wanting any more information about a particular idiom, make sure you c...

Opinion Youtubers and Twitch streamers make the best video game advertisers. By Josiah Sapp     The best advertisements are the ones where you believe the people trying to sell you something. You can always tell something is off when someone doesn’t believe in the product that they’re selling. This is why I think old infomercials and door to door salesmen are so easy to dismiss. They lack passion and belief in a product or service. Video game commercials have typically been very vivid and over the top. Created by older generations trying to appeal to what they think kids like. You can see this in the early ads for systems like the Playstation and Nintendo 64 . Today’s advertisers are more subvert and more entertaining to watch. You’re probably already subscribed to them.     Gaming on YouTube and Twitch has taken off in the past few years. People have made a full time living off of making videos about games and playi...

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...