Blog « Apostolos Koutsokalis

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Epic Moments

Posted on 17/11/2016 by apo

No one can be sure if it is because of addiction, nostalgia, or the fact that TGTSNBN is really the greatest case study of all time, that enables it to present parallels to everything I encounter. Probably a little bit of everything. Having recently played through the latest Guild Wars 2 Living Story episode, I wanted to touch up on one of the most famous elements of TGTSNBN: Cinematics. This post obviously contains spoilers for both games (and any other example I come up with while exploring and typing).

Anyone familiar with Mr. A. should also be familiar with some if his most famous go-to phrases: “The math checks out”, “Play something awesome”, “It’s not the game at fault but the players”, “Do it in a cinematic way”. It is the last phrase I want to explore. Interestingly enough this was a phrase that Mr. A. adopted later on during the course of the game and did not use at all until the mid-ending of the first book. By “cinematic” he actually meant trying to make an in-game situation, more epic, more memorable, by either exceeding what the game system supported, or even ignoring major game rules. Following are some of the many instances of this happening. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Failing at Early Access

Posted on 23/01/2016 by apo

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Every time I begin typing an intro for this series, I always re-realize how amazingly prophetic TGTSNBN really was. As a perfect example of what NOT to do of course. The game’s first year was just before the cataclysmic tsunami of many releases of early access titles that would soon follow, a release method that has nowadays become more the rule than the exception. And yet TGTSNBN did not only manage to present concepts that were (arguably) quite innovative and ahead of its time, but managed to become the staple example of things to avoid on so many levels, that I almost feel bad seemingly bashing it while presenting its aspects.

With a “re-imagined” version of the game releasing “soon™” it dawned on me of how interesting the developer choices were concerning releases (aka “books”) of the game. The development state and cycle of the game were more than an urban myth. Ask any player that ever played the game whether they were playing an alpha version, a beta version or a finished product at any given time. The different answers will be just as many as the number of players asked. Read more …

Know your enemy

Posted on 25/09/2015 by apo

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I was not planning on adding this first part to the intro, but since people are – surprisingly – still asking and one of the reasons I like having my thoughts easily accessible is being able to effortlessly have people refer to them without having to repeat myself over and over, I guess I can squeeze in a couple of paragraphs. They actually should be quite coherent with the rest. The things I am still getting asked are something along the lines of:

-What is/was the army/experience like?
-What did you get out of it?
-Did you make the right choice by going?

So answering in reverse order:

-Yes, there were quite a few pros and cons, after weighting them and considering all circumstances I made a choice. And since it was my choice it was and will be the best. I could elaborate more, but decision-making and reflecting on past actions are solid materials for a proper future post.

-While answering “nothing” always tempts me, it would truly be an understatement. It is in fact possible to get something good out of any situation. And while the Greek army did not offer me challenging experiences in terms of schedules, or having to cooperate, or follow orders, I still managed to get some things out of it. A couple of new friends, some technical work experience, a confirmation on my theory about the world. Which brings me to my next answer. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Addictive Unfairness

Posted on 20/06/2014 by apo

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I had originally planned for a different subject to continue the series but recent – ahem – “discussions” made me change my mind and opt for the following.

Apparently, even three years into the game, over 80% of retired and active players strongly believe they were treated unfairly and that admins showered others with favoritism. Even though most of these claims are true – because there are the occasional delusional people that lack proof and reason – it’s more about the “why” and “how” than the “what”. Unfairness, either intentional or not, was undoubtedly a major factor in the game’s development and evolution, in more ways than just treating people differently.

Although quite a few unintentional unfair events took place, by unfairness I will be mostly referring to pure intentional abuse and bias, unless specified otherwise. The one and only truth is Read more …

Twitch Plays Pokemon

Posted on 20/05/2014 by apo

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When I set out to finish this post, that has been in the making for far too long, I had a feeling that it would lack a very important factor: timing. I asked myself “why would anyone care anymore? You already told people in private almost anything you had to say or comment about twitch plays pokemon“. But then I realized: Twitch still plays Pokemon.

While the viewership or excitement might not be the same, enough elements still Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Tutorial

Posted on 11/03/2014 by apo

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While presenting “why a tutorial is needed in every game”, is very interesting and educating by itself, it is something that has be done by others many times, so I will not waste time that ~~could~~ should be allocated elsewhere. You can search, or ask me to provide you with many sources on the subject if you want to, but the focus will be strongly related to TGTSNBN and the wonderful data that it so unknowingly and unintentionally provided.

What most people think of a tutorial is that it’s the part of the game where one learns which button does what.

While this is indeed one of the purposes of a tutorial it is not an exclusive one. A good tutorial should be part of the means that the developer utilizes to introduce the game to the player: story, aesthetics, game mechanics, or button functions. It’s up to the developers to chose which of those points to focus on. I am certainly not claiming that it should contain all of the above, but thinking of some of my most memorable tutorial experiences while typing this, I can assure you that the most engaging ones Read more …

Coping with “idea overflow”

Posted on 25/02/2014 by apo

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A few weeks ago my friend Chris sent me an e-mail containing a link to this discussion. It is a condition that I share with many other people in the world and not just a conversation starter. And I say “condition” because I don’t think it can be exclusively hindering to a person or the society if handled properly.

First things first, what is “idea overflow”? Interestingly enough there is no entry about it on wikipedia so the following definition is my own. “Idea overflow” is a condition where a person keeps having a constant stream of ideas – new or old ones – on his mind without being able to finish or develop any of them – fast enough or even at all – and thus becomes unable to contain that stream of ideas to a bearable limit. And if the definition didn’t help you enough let’s just say that “idea overflow” is what made me pause twice while typing this, so I could create a couple of drafts that hopefully will later become future blog articles and what is now making me consider whether I should implement a voting system where readers would vote on the next draft that want completed.

Taking myself as an example you can see Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Ignoring the rules

Posted on 24/01/2014 by apo

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Please take a moment to watch the following video before continuing. I find it to be one of the most perfectly executed presentations ever made, just like most of their other videos, so you might want to at least take a look to their channel if not subscribing right away.

What makes TGTSNBN such an interesting case study is the fact that it isn’t a pure tabletop RPG, one that just needs a rulebook with descriptions and explanations. It is so much more: a community game with facebook groups that need their own moderating, a tabletop game that needs crystal-clear rules, an online browser game that has features that affect how players gain experience, skills and resources. So let’s take it step by step and see how the designers tackled each of those three game aspects. Read more …

The DISlike button

Posted on 04/01/2014 by apo

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One of the wonders of living in the 21st century is the seemingly limitless options we have on anything. From shopping to elected officials and from cat pictures to socializing. When presented with such an – at times overwhelming – number of choices one has to be able to keep up with the pace, not so much concerning the quantity but the quality of said choices.

The thing is though, that more often than not, we are offered to just choose what we like best. Think about it. We bookmark our preferred sites, star our favorite tweets, like the best facebook posts and comments, listen only to the music we like, vote for the politicians that we think can best represent us. We only aim towards what we want, what we think is best, while completely ignoring everything else. No ‘but’s no bargaining. Either take it, or leave it.

We are operating under a general lack of dislike means and limited negative feedback options.

I am not saying that positive feedback is a bad metric, but one that is overused compared to others that complement it. Positive feedback alone cannot present the full picture and also usually doesn’t contribute in the creation of new developments, but rather prolongs existing states. Still not convinced? Well, time for the obligatory post example. Read more …

What I learned from TGTSNBN: Metagaming

Posted on 28/12/2013 by apo

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Wikipedia defines metagaming as: a broad term usually used to define any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. Another definition refers to the game universe outside of the game itself.

In simple terms, it is the use of out-of-game information or resources to affect one’s in-game decisions.

While in other games metagaming is generally more accepted or even “required” (think of famous chess openings, or current stronger deck types in card games, or strategies adopted by professionals in video games), it is a completely different story in RPGs. Read more …