Sad day for America

Today, Americans appear to be choosing fear and hate over reason.  It's easier to blame others who are different from ourselves than to take responsibility for one's own situation.

2016 Presidential Election

This year's presidential election really shows many problems with America.  Trump stands for all that is bad about America.  Hillary stands for sanity and reason.

Trump's strategy, thus far, is to keep the campaign from being about real meaningful discussion of issues.  Instead, he keeps distracting everyone with his antics.  If there's one thing he's good at, it's making the news.

If the election were to come down to actual political issues, Hillary would destroy him with her real knowledge and experience.  So in response, Trump's supporters attempt to slander her as being a liar and whatever else they can come up with.

Would you really want to live in Trump's America?  One in which the rich can defraud the poor like he's done with Trump University?  One in which racism and fear rule our daily lives?  Sure, corporations and the rich have way too much say in government, so is the solution to put a rich businessman into the top elected position?

In every single way that Trump and his supporters criticize Hillary, Trump is far worse.  I mean Hillary isn't perfect, but she's done a very reasonable job in her long political career.

Complexity vs Depth in Games

A popular argument these days in game design is whether it's better for games to be more complex or not.  StarCraft 2 is a great examples of a game where this argument comes up frequently.  StarCraft 2 met with much criticism upon release because fans of StarCraft 1 complained that StarCraft 2 lacked "depth."

In order to really understand the issue, first, we need to talk about what "depth" is.in terms of competitive games.  I believe a fair definition of "depth" in this case is how much room the game allows for players to distinguish themselves in terms of skill as measured by success.

For example, a game like tic-tac-toe lacks depth because there is not much room to distinguish one player from another in terms of skill.  The game doesn't have nearly enough possible states, so it can be played perfectly.  The small number of possible states also means that the average player can follow this perfect line of play without much experience.

A game like chess has a lot more depth, because there are a huge number of possible board states, so it's nearly impossible for a human player to play perfectly.  It's fair to say that the rules of the game are relatively simple by today's standards, though.  A player can learn the rules of the game fairly quickly, and mechanical execution is trivially simple.

Competitive real time games like StarCraft 2 include the element of mechanical skill while still requiring strategic skill since they occur in real time.  Mechanical skill introduces another layer of depth since it adds another dimension in which players can distinguish themselves in skill.  In fact, the top professional players of these sorts of games tend to be young (15 to 20 years old) since they need to have quick reflexes and nimble hands.

StarCraft 2 was criticized upon release for removing certain mechanical skill requirements that existed in StarCraft 1.  One example is unit production.  In StarCraft 1, a player had to quickly cycle through all of his production buildings to order units to be produced.  In StarCraft 2, a player could select all of his production buildings at the same time and the game would automatically distribute unit production among those buildings, removing the need to cycle through all the buildings one at a time.  Players complained that this removed depth from the game.

It's pretty clear from our definition of depth that this design decision removed complexity and consequently some depth from the game.  Players who were better at cycling through buildings to produce units while juggling all of the other game tasks were able to gain an advantage.  But what these players forgot to ask themselves was whether this is good depth.  Is this an interesting skill that people like to see?  Should the winner of the match bet determined by who cycles through buildings better?

Removing this sort of complexity allows the winner to be determined by more interesting skills, such as strategic decision-making and actual micromanagement in combat.  There is still clearly more than enough depth in the game for professional players to distinguish themselves in skill, as seen by the endless shifts in who the top players are.  Players are continually developing new strategies and builds to counter the current top players.

Thus, Blizzard appears to have made the right choice.  Complexity for the sake of complexity is not necessarily good depth.

Skill Ratings in Games

In competitive games, rating player skill is a very hard to solve problem.  Not simply because player skill is a very broad concept, but because players have unrealistic views of their own skill level.

Skill in a game can best be approximated by a player's ability to influence the outcome of a game favorably.  This can take the form of anything from mechanical skill, to the ability to communicate.  Sometimes, you'll see players who are mechanically skilled but socially inept be unable to succeed in team based games.  Then they end up complaining about their teammates and blaming their teammates for their losses.

Players tend to overestimate their own skill level in a Dunning-Kruger fashion.  The majority of players think they are well above average in skill, which is a clear impossibility.  Part of this comes from players not wanting to accept responsibility for failure.  It's much easier to blame other players or circumstances when you lose.  Another part of this comes from most games being designed to make the player feel good about how well he does.  Games reward you for every little thing you do right.

I have seen countless posts on various gaming forums for countless games in which players complain about the skill rating system in the game because they feel that it does not work in some fashion.  There's actually quite a lot of math and statistics behind modern skill rating systems that show that they actually do work.

Nowadays, game developers have resorted to hybrid progression / skill rating systems, which allow players to have the convenient excuse that they simply don't "grind" progression as much as the other players who are at a higher level.  Players who play a lot and are truly competitive will reach their appropriate skill rating, whereas the players who play less can pretend that their lower skill rating is due to them playing less.  Of course there is some truth to this, since skill improves with practice.

If only the masses understood skill.

T-mobile

I'm really impressed with how far T-mobile has come in the last few years. I was hesitant to switch to their service because they used to have a pretty weak reputation, but now their coverage is fine.

On top of that, they offer non subsidized cell service, so the monthly rate is really low as long as you buy your own phone. Today I realized that they even allow free tethering so you can use your cell phone as an access point for your tablet or laptop.

Those were the biggest complaints I had about the other carriers, so now I'm sold on T-mobile.

Network Neutrality

This is a really good overview of why we need regulations protecting network neutrality.  It gives a historical perspective showing how the telephone monopoly was broken up and the further need for regulation even after that.  The internet has been a great example of the innovation that can arise from free and unregulated communications.  We cannot allow monopolies to begin regulating communications.

Tupper's Self-Referential Formula

I read about this function a while ago, but I had no idea how it was derived.  This is a great explanation of how it works.

A Prime Example of Poor Game Industry Journalism

This terrible article claiming that "the problem with the gaming industry is that developers make too much" is a great example of poor journalism.  It recently made its rounds at work where my fellow developers were horrified and irritated by how wildly inaccurate it is.

Here's a brief rundown of glaring issues with the article:

1. The author did no actual research into the core of his issue, project budgets.  The largest parts of a game project's budget should be broken into three categories: employee compensation, marketing, and operating expenses.  Employee compensation is nowhere close to the amount that the author claims.  He cites an article showing how a single publisher employs 2000 developers, but he neglects to look closely enough to realize that all of those developers are not working on a single title.  It's a lot more accurate to estimate current gen team sizes as being around 200 for a "triple A" title.  This is typically only for the last year or so of a given project as they finalize content and get the game out the door.  Marketing can easily hit $10,000,000 for a "triple A" title if not much more for a highly successful title.  Operating expenses I can't really quote numbers for, but office space in a place like Los Angeles is pretty expensive.
2. The average developer compensation of $80,000 per year is heavily biased because most game studios are located in areas that have very high cost of living.  Renting a reasonable 2 bedroom apartment in Los Angeles can easily cost $2,000 per month.  Buying a 2 bedroom condo here can easily cost $400,000.  What kind of developer making $80,000 per year can practically afford a $70,000 car while making rent ($24000/year) and saving up to buy a house to hopefully retire in one day?
3. This leads into the point that he made a huge fuss over one developer who happened to get extremely lucky.  From the information in the article, I would venture the guess that the guy with the $70,000 car was able to afford the car because he was an early member at Riot Games, who were bought out by Tencent.  In that transaction, the employees there rightfully got nice compensation.  It's no different from any other industry where people form a new company and make a successful product and make some money when they get bought out.
4. This simple question shows how little thought the author actually put into the article: "Are we to believe there isn't an equally qualified person out there willing to do this guy's job for less pay?"  The simple answer is "yes."  Game development is a highly specialized field where the employees commonly work 70+ hour weeks performing roles that require a lot of training while trying to keep their personal lives from falling apart.  If it were so easy to succeed and make big bucks, then the author himself would do it, wouldn't he? He even lists himself as having "founded his own indie gaming developer called Penguin Run Games that creates play-by-post online roleplaying games."  He must be enjoying the highly lucrative, easy life too, right?

Maybe his degree in criminology didn't teach him enough about game development... or journalism for that matter.

12 Years of Automotive Technology

Back in 2001, I graduated from college, so I needed to buy a car to start working.  I was very interested in getting a Toyota Prius because it was a cool new hybrid, but there was a waiting list to get them, so I ended up getting the Camry.  I drove my reliable old Camry for twelve years, until this year.

This time, the Prius was still my first choice when I started car shopping, but a bit of research and test driving convinced me to get the Toyota Camry Hybrid instead.  The Prius is a great car, but the Camry Hybrid really just feels a lot more polished.  It's got a lot more power, but less fuel efficiency.  It's very quiet and smooth, so I keep describing it to people as "a spaceship."

So far I'm averaging over forty miles per gallon without any problems and enjoying the power climbing through Sepulveda pass on my way to work.  It's amazing how much the driving experience has improved in twelve years since I bought my last car.

Modern Justice?

Why is it that nowadays, a hacker who helps obtain evidence to convict rapists faces more time than the rapists? Where are our priorities as a society? Who would you rather have as a neighbor?

1. a guy who hacks into a website to post legally obtained evidence about criminals
2. some guys who repeatedly rape a girl and post videos of it online.

When our justice system completely defies common sense, we should try to change it.

A Leap Forward

Wow, so much time has passed since I last posted here that I forgot I had this blog. They've added a lot of snazzy new templates, apparently. I feel like the internet has mostly evolved past people having individual blogs. Instead, personal content is put on a group blog, like Facebook.

I suppose blogs still fill the niche of communicating with people you don't know, but that need is mostly for important people (read: not me).

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass looks like it's gonna be an awesome movie.... the Hit-Girl character alone has me sold.

Hip Hop + Street Fighter 4 = ?

For those of you who don't play Street Fighter 4, this won't be nearly as hilarious, but it's musically decent. The reference is that scrubby Ken players spam their strongest super uppercut in every situation.

"Beat It" Indie Rock Version

I'm not sure what exactly and "Indie Rock" song is, but this rendition of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" is pretty good. I was skeptical at first, but I enjoyed it in the end.

Subtle Creationist Propoganda

Creationists have taken to handing out edited copies of Darwin's On the Origin of Species for free to people as a way to argue for creationism. This is just plain dirty. Is it time for us to hand out edited copies of the Bible as evidence for how flawed their religion is?

Natalie Portman Is Even Cooler Now

Not only is Natalie Portman a beautiful, intelligent actress, but she's also an articulate vegan. It is rare that high profile celebrities openly take up unpopular ethical stances, so I give her a ton of respect for this. Animal rights and vegan causes could benefit from her support.

Natalie Portman was already very cool in my book, but this recent column put her right at the top of my favorite celebrities list.

bubble bobble + cute korean girls + ramen = ?

Apparently they licensed the theme song for "Bubble Bobble" (one of the old NES games I played a ton of) to have this Korean group do this ramen commercial. I dunno, I'm kind of sold.

The Most Amazing Lego Creation Ever

I'm not sure what could possibly surpass this Lego Japanese Castle box. It's already cool that he made the box for the Japanese Castle Lego set look pretty good. But then it turns out that it unfolds like a pop up book with the castle popping up when he opens it.

It's very hard to conceive of a cooler Lego creation.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

I'm totally sold on Muramasa: The Demon Blade. There are simply not enough 2d side scroller style games these days. This game is pretty much eye-candy from start to finish, which shows how far we have come in 2d video games. Every time I reached a new area, I found myself looking around at the environments to enjoy the gorgeous artwork.

When you start the game, you have the choice of playing in Muso mode (easy) or Shura mode (advanced). Naturally, I decided to just go straight into Shura mode.

The difficulty in Shura mode was really good. It was challenging and occasionally frustrating, but I always felt like when I died, there was something I did wrong or that I could do better. I ended up playing through the whole Shura mode as Momohime in two long sessions.

After beating it in Shura mode as Momohime, the game informed me that I needed to beat the game as Kisuke to get a special blade (the demon blade?) and then if I beat the last boss with the special blade, I'd get a different ending. Additionally, it unlocked another difficulty mode called Shigurui mode, which is apparently equivalent to playing Muso mode but you only have 1 hp and that never changes. Basically, if anything hits you, you die.

At this point, I realized I was hooked. I want to beat the game as Kisuke to see his storyline and to get the different endings. But I also love the combat system, so I want to try to beat the game in Shigurui mode.

The combat system is really satisfying. It's super responsive and the moves are easy to execute. Your character is extremely maneuverable, which made me feel like if I got hit, it was my fault since I could have been somewhere else. You can even hit small projectiles back at enemies by just pressing attack right when they are about to hit you. You can string together ridiculous combos of your melee abilities, but the combos are not really strictly pre-defined. You can basically make up combos as you go and invent your own combat style.

I think this game was made specifically for people like me.

Here are a couple of videos of someone playing through Shigurui mode:
Early combat
First boss

Rap + Video Games = ?

I don't know this artist at all, but he managed to use video games in his rap video very fluidly and well. There are a ton of old school Nintendo 8-bit references that you may recognize. Worth a listen and a viewing.