Star Wars gambling, Destiny 2 and all the rest

Well, it just keeps going.

Last week I talked about AAA game publishers and pay-2-win loot-boxes sold for real money. Since last Monday, it's gotten more interesting, and here's how.

The Belgian gambling commission is still looking into it, but the Belgian Minister of Justice has said that in his opinion these loot-boxes are indeed gambling and incredibly harmful for children. This is his private opinion, but if Belgium finds against loot-boxes and classifies it as gambling, then it will become regulated and taxed. Oh, and no one under eighteen years of age can buy them. If this happens, it's a very short step for the entire EU to adopt a similar stance. If that happens, kiss loot-boxes and predatory gambling practices goodbye. The EU market is enormous, and while I'm sure the big AAA's can ignore Belgium (11 million people), they can't afford to ignore the 743 million that reside in the EU as a whole.

As I mentioned, Holland is investigating this, as is Sweden, it would seem. Oh, and as a fun piece of trivia: in France, you can only gamble in resorts. No where else.

Gambling authorities in Australia are also investigating this, and while the gambling commission in Victoria indeed do think that it is clearly gambling, they can do very little about it as long as it's only on the 'net. Like online poker for example.

The really surprising thing is that State Representatives from Hawaii have stood up and condemned these micro-transitioned loot-boxes as a “casino for children”. I'm sure Disney was happy about that one...

Now, it turns out that Destiny 2, developed by Bungie (Halo series) under Blizzard-Activision has been caught with their pants down and their hands in the cookie jar.

Destiny 2, the sequel to the pretty popular sci-fi multiplayer shooter Destiny (no, really?), was released not only on console but unlike the first game, also on PC.

When it got released, people were a bit grumpy about the whole micro-transaction thing, but at least you earn loot-boxes (called bright engrams) in-game for free, you just have to go to the in-game store to open them.

Why do you open them in the store? Well, the speculation was that you would get tempted to put down some money and buy a couple of extra crates. OK, bad, but not villainous.

What is pretty damn villainous is what Reddit user EnergiserX discovered: Bungie was cutting away the XP you were earning without telling you.

The way it works is like this: once you reach max level, you still earn XP, but every time your XP-bar gets filled up, instead of getting a new level, you earn a Bright Engram (loot-box). What EnergiserX found out was that players were earning between 4-50% of what they were supposed to be getting. Isn't that fun? You work hard, grinding away to earn more loot-boxes, and earn 4% of what you should have gotten, all so that you would be frustrated enough to fork over you sweet sweet money!

Once caught, Bungie said that “they weren't happy either and that they have fixed the issue.”

Yeah, I bet they're not happy. No one is happy when they're caught stealing, lying and cheating.

Sadly some players have reacted with joy that “it's fixed now,” and “see, Bungie are good guys”. Come on. That like saying the guy who mugged you is a good guy because he gave back your wallet after taking all your money.

Finally, I want to address the claim the AAA publishers are constantly pushing: “Games are too expensive to make these days. We have to make money somehow.”

Pure and utter garbage. One might even be tempted to say Bullshit. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, was made with $12 million, three years and a team of twenty people. It's a commercial success after a mere three months after release.

If these mega developers can't figure out how to make a budget, how to make a compelling and fun game that people want to play, then good riddance. Go out of business, and leave the industry to those who can figure it out. Stop spending hundreds of millions on games that are soulless boring grinds and then claim we have to buy extra loot-boxes because you're so poor.

The AAA's have proven time and time again that they can't be trusted. Their word is as rotten as a dead rat under a porch in the summer.

Give your time and money to those who deserve it, until the “Big Boys” prove they can do better. Don't believe them when they say they'll change. Talk is cheap.

Ultimately what I find so ironic is that these monoliths, these gargantuan behemoths became what they are because they were the best, the most successful, the most beloved. But as they say: you either die a hero, or live to become the villain.

Until next time, support the good stuff and have a great week!

A victory for honesty

When Star Wars Battlefront II closed it's beta, gamers were furious, and with good reason.

There's been a lot of talk recently about the prevalence of loot-boxes in AAA games. For those not in the know, a AAA stands for the biggest, richest and most powerful game publishers on the market. I've been unable to find a proper list of them all, but companies like Electronic Arts (EA), Ubisoft, Blizzard-Activision and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment are good examples.

Loot-boxes on the other hand are in-game crates of (usually) loot and other kinds of gear that are handed out by the game as rewards. The contents are randomly generated, lottery-style.

So what's the hubbub, you ask?

Some games like Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch only give out cosmetic items in their loot-boxes, meaning the contents can only modify your characters appearance, not their performance. Recently, however, many AAA publishers have taken a page from the mobile game market in order to pump up their revenue, by selling loot-boxes with game enhancing content. And when I say selling, I mean for real money. Not in-game currency like fantasy gold, but real Dollars and Euros, leading to entirely correct accusation is pay-to-win mechanics. This scummy habit is bad enough in mobile games that are free to play, but when the game costs $60-90, it's inexcusable.

In the case of Star Wars Battlefront II, it got even worse. Gamers were horrified to discover that not only was the entire progression system loot-box based, but as such, all progress was random. To make matters worse, you could buy more crates with real money, if you found your progress too slow. Pure pay-to-win, in other words. The players who were willing to shell out the most money at launch would get an unbeatable edge over the competition.

Well, people weren't about to take that sitting down. The internet exploded in outrage, and quickly spilled over, to the point where main-stream media reported on it. EA and the game studio, DICE, started back-pedaling, but it was too little, too late. EA actually saw their stock fall in value, which is practically unheard of. Meetings were held behind closed doors and a statement was quickly pushed out the door stating that the so called micro-transactions were removed from the game. A clear victory for honest players right? Yes and no. The same statement also said that the micro-transactions would be reinstated at a later date, when they could be “balanced”. In other words when EA thinks they can sneak it in and no one cares anymore.

This whole debacle came about shortly after the scandal where Warner Bros. had put actual game enhancements in Shadow of War. It's up to all of us to support game developers and studios that play fair. Don't give your money to studios and publishers who lie, steal and cheat.

These loot-boxes, with their real money costs, and “spin-to-win” mechanics have been accused of being a covert form of gambling. The ESRB have stated that they're not, but both Belgium and Holland are looking into this. Especially since gambling is regulated all over the world, and these loot-boxes aren't, but they are sold to minors. If the verdict comes down as guilty, they may even be banned, and that ban could spread throughout the EU. Let's hope so.

To end on a more positive note, Blizzard has announced that they will be releasing vanilla servers for World of Warcraft at some point in the future, something players have been asking for for a long time.

That's it for me. Until next time, have a great week, and avoid micro-transactions.

A hunter of Men

Last week I finally got around to watching another film that's been on my must-watch list for years;

Manhunter (1986) by Michael Mann, (Heat, Last of the Mohicans, Public Enemies).

This is the first on screen appearance of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, (here spelled Lecktor), predating Silence of the Lambs by five years. In essence this is the earlier version of Red Dragon, so forget Lambs for now.

We follow FBI agent Will Graham as he's brought out of early retirement to catch the Tooth Fairy, a serial killer who slaughters whole families during the full moon. Graham is renowned as it was he who caught Lecktor and put him behind bars. He does this by being able to think like the killers he chases, even thought this ability once landed him in the psych ward. He's naturally hesitant to get back to work, but with the lives of entire families at stake, he can't refuse.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. Manhunter is a very 80's movie. If this bothers you, maybe stick with Red Dragon instead. I don't mind, and except for the title logo, I wasn't bothered.

If you have watched Anthony Hopkins portrayal of Hannibal several times, you may have a hard time adjusting to the Brian Cox version. It's certainly different, but I can't say that either is outright better.

That was easy, so let's crack on with the good. Manhunter is absolutely gorgeous. Most scenes are crafted and shot with meticulous care, and are as such a joy to behold. The music fits very well, unlike Mann's previous movie The Keep. I wrote about that some time ago. All the actors are real professionals, and it shows. You buy every scene, without question, except one in the end which was a bit silly.

I could go on gushing, but two things really stood out, and minor spoilers ahead.

1. When they find out that the Tooth Fairy is threatening Graham's family, the FBI just moves them. No last second rescue that has become so cliché over the years.
2. Graham's wife is very understanding. Yes, she feels the stress and the pressure, but there is no melodramatic scene with the tearful screaming wife and the brooding determined husband. They talk like adults, and I love it! Donnie Brasco looses points for just such scenes. Pointless drama for the sake of drama.

Overall I was very impressed, more than I expected, in fact. It's more a pure thriller than the Hopkins movies to be sure. You could brush it off as “just another crime procedural” but that would be unjust. It is in my opinion better than Red Dragon, but only just. Dragon explains a couple of things better than Manhunter, but Manhunter feels more realistic. At the end of the day, it's up to you which version you prefer.

Now that I think about it, Red Dragon felt more disappointing because Lecter isn't in it a whole lot, and as a part of The Silence of the Lambs trilogy, I wanted more of him. In Manhunter, Lecktor is on screen just as much as he should be and the whole thing feels a bit more honest, for the lack of a better term.

Bottom line: I recommend Manhunter wholeheartedly.

That's all folks, so until next time, stay away from serial killers and have a great week!

Private Snafu

This week I have something special for you. Quite by mistake, I found a series of cartoons on Youtube called Private Snafu.

These cartoon were produced by the U.S. War Department between 1943 and 1945 as an instructional tool for soldiers who weren't that literate or had other learning difficulties. Each cartoon short illustrates a lesson, like why you have to lug around your gas mask at all times. Or why you absolutely can not tell your mom or girlfriend anything about your unit, troop movements, equipments etc.

Private Snafu became immensely popular with the troops, and it's not hard to see why. The cartoon was produced by Leon Schlesinger of Warner Bros. Cartoons, directed by Chuck Jones and Snafu was voiced by Mel Blanc. If this sounds familiar, it's because I just described the team behind Looney Tunes, and Snafu sounds pretty much like Bugs Bunny.

The scripts were mostly written by Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel (The Cat in the Hat), Philip D. Eastman (Mr. Magoo) and Munro Leaf (Ferdinand the friendly Bull), all of whom became famous children's authors after the war.

The cartoons were not only instructional but also morale boosters. It makes sense of course, you get a break from the stress and tedium of military life and you get to watch a pretty funny cartoon. Win-win.

Apparently, the War Department offered the production to Walt Disney at first, but Warner Bros. underbid Disney by 2/3 and got the contract. The project itself was restricted, and everyone who worked on the project was fingerprinted and given a security clearance by the FBI. Today, the entire run is on Youtube.

A final note before you go off and watch Snafu. His name, as some of you no doubt have figured out, stand for the acronym; Situation Normal, All Fucked Up. Apologies for the crude language there, but it is what it is.

So there we have it. Secret cartoons from World War II, enjoy!

Until next week, stay away from wars.

Show link:  Here

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZs0gQed9tMQF0es_H77fHJ4s88duIfm0

More sayings

We all use sayings in our daily lives. Turns of Phrases that we sort of know what they mean, but don't reflect too much on. Today, we're looking at a number of those and their meanings and origins.

A baker's dozen

This saying likely stems from medieval times when a baker could be pilloried or even flogged for selling bread that was under weight. To avoid this, they often gave an extra loaf to avoid the risk. The meaning literally means thirteen of something, but essentially means having a little something extra in reserve, just in case.

Beat around the bush

This is a reference to beaters, who scare up birds for hunting. It is mostly used to refer to someone who can't or won't get to the main issue, whether a task or an idea. It's sort of ironic since a beater who's doing his job is in fact beating around the bushes.

Fly off the handle

An expression used to describe a hot headed person who acts, usually out of anger, without thinking, with bad results. It is a reference to an axe-head coming loose and flying off the handle. Naturally this is very dangerous and to be avoided.

Gee Whiz!

An exclamation of amazement, that essentially is just a way of saying Jesus! without blaspheming. It's what is called a minced oath.

Green eyes monster

Another way of describing jealousy, heralding from Shakespeare’s Othello.

Dead ringer

Someone or something that's so similar looking that one can't tell the difference. Has it's roots in horse racing, and the fraudulent practice of switching horses in secret to win.

Hair of the dog (that bit you)

A reference to taking a drink in the morning to quell a hangover. Comes from a ridiculous belief that rubbing the hair of a rabid dog that bit you, would cure the disease.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

Commonly used to point out that a sure thing worth less ,is better than a risky but more profitable thing. It's a reference to falconry, meaning that a trained falcon is better than the birds in the wild.

That's it folks, until next time, have a wonderful week!

Why is it called that?

In our daily lives, we often use expressions without thinking too much about where they come from. Today we're looking at two of them; “crosshairs” and “balls to the wall”.

Crosshairs is usually a reference to an aiming mechanism and to say someone or something is in your crosshairs means you're completely concentrating on it.

Ball to the wall is an expression for speed and commitment. Going all out, or all in.

Interestingly enough, both have their origins in vintage aviation.

Crosshairs comes from the American Norden bombsight, a revolutionary new technology during WWII. The air-force tried all manners of different materials to get an accurate, well crosshairs for the sighting scope, even Black Widow silk, but nothing worked. The temperature differences the B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-29 Super Fortresses were exposed to were so extreme that nothing seemed to work in such a delicate instrument.

Finally the scientists decided to try human hair. The problem lay in finding blonde hair that was long enough, at least 22 inches (56cm), which meant they had to use ladies hair, but the hair couldn't have been exposed to either chemicals (dyes) or extreme heat (curling or straightening irons). With the hair styles at the time, this proved to be exceedingly difficult.

Finally they placed ads looking for hair donations for “meteorological instruments”. A woman, Mary Babnik Brown saw one such ad and decided to donate. It turned out a success, and the official crosshairs was born.

Balls to the wall, despite sounding dirty have nothing to do with the male reproductive organs. Instead it's a reference to the throttle levers in old airplanes. They had round spherical tops, or balls, and when the time came, the pilot would slam them forward towards wall of the control panel. Thus balls to the wall, became synonymous with going as fast as possible, and being 100% committed.

It's in a sense similar to the expression “Pedal to the metal” which in turn originates from the world of racing. The pedal is of course the gas pedal, and the metal is the floor of the car. Cars were a lot more metal back in the day.

Well, that's that as they say. I hope you have a great week, and I'll see you next time!

Really dumb

Just a few days ago, there was a beta for Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the new version). Shockingly, it came to light that the game's entire progression is based on loot boxes. In other words, all progress in the game is down to random luck, and in order to mitigate that luck, you can buy more boxes for real money.

This is a tactic mostly used in so called freemium games, games that are free to play but urge you to use their micro-transactions to earn them money. Some are decent about this, others are scummy beyond belief, making you grind for days for everything unless you give in and pay.

Much have been said about the freemium market, but to see it so blatantly in a full price AAA game is disgusting. This comes on top of the Middle Earth: Shadow of War controversy, where it came to light that the multiplayer part of the game is heavily affected by loot boxes. Popular racing title Forza has added them as well in their seventh installment. Everywhere you turn, you find full priced games pumping out more and more micro-transactions and pay-to-win mechanics.

Publishers openly call their customers “Whales” and brag about not tightening the financial screws completely, “Because the whales might actually notice”. Games are becoming increasingly chopped up before the point of sale. We have Basic, Silver, Gold and Collectors editions costing ever more and more. Add on season passes for DLC that's not just unannounced, they're not even planned and you have an unbelievably hostile environment for the customer.

The natural question that follows is, why? To maximize profits, pure and simple. Some AAA games have budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars, and the publishers want their money back with a hefty profit on top. This is of course standard business practice, nothing sinister there, but then the question becomes, why make games that are so expensive? Now the answer is not so obvious anymore. My best answer is that the businesspeople that make the decisions aren't gamers and they certainly aren't game developers. In their minds, if you invest a lot of money, you get even more money back. Fair enough I suppose, but games aren't just a product, they are an interactive form of art, and you can't make good art by throwing money at it.

When you spend this much on a game, you can't take creative risks anymore. This is why publishers love their flagship games so much. They can be pretty certain that gamers will buy the yearly installment no matter how repetitive they get, making it a safe investment. This brings us to today's actual point. Yes, it's not just me ranting at the AAA publishers, no matter how much they deserve it.

Just recently, a game called Cuphead got released. It's a side-scroller, jumper shooter. The soundtrack is 30's jazz and the animation is 30's cartoons. It's absolutely amazing to behold. There is nothing like it on the market. It is genuinely new! Disclaimer: it is also insanely difficult, so make sure it's for you before you buy it.

The kicker is that the development team, StudioMDHR, consists of two brothers. Another guy made the music. That's it. 2-3 guys, and the game has sold more than a million copies.

The hit, Stardew Valley, has sold more than a million copies, and it was made by one guy. The Five Nights at Freddy's franchise is made by one guy, and has made around $30 million. Ever heard of Minecraft? Developer Notch started alone, before hiring on some help. The when it became popular Microsoft bought out Minecraft for $2.5 Billion.

See where I'm going here? Instead of making bland, boring games year after year, the publishers with all the money could do a lot of smaller varied games. Games that people would talk about for years and even decades. Who is going to talk about Call of Duty X three years later? No one. Even better, the AAA publisher could stop using poverty as an excuse to cram gambling elements and RNG loot boxes in the games. Wouldn't that be fun? I think so.

Of course the AAA boys don't just make garbage, I know that. I'm just getting so tired of this behavior. They can keep their flagship games, but the world needs new games as well. The best part is that smaller games are cheaper to make and require less people. This has been proven. Some AAA title have 600-700 people working on them. That is way too much especially when some teams are in different cities or even separate continents. Communication and vision of clarity becomes impossible at that point.

Alright, I could go on, and I might at some point, but I think that's enough for today. Until next time, have a great week!