What makes a good computer game?

I’m am avid computer gamer. And like any gamer, I like a good computer game. But what really makes a good computer game? You can have gizmos, gadgets and enemies out the wazoo but there are a few things that make a game exceptional.

1. After sales support

Let’s face it, what company would ever release a product without after sales support? And the ones that don’t provide support don’t last very long. Egosoft, for example, are still producing patches, which not only fix bugs but add new content, to X3:Terran Conflict, which was releases 2 years ago.

2. Gameplay

You can have all the gizmos and gadgets in the world in a game, but unless the gameplay is somewhere engaging, your game is going to fail. There has to be a balance between “too hard” and “too easy”.  Too hard, and I’m not even going to bother. Too easy, and I won’t play the game again because it only took me a few hours to beat the game.

3. Graphics

Graphics aren’t really that important to me, as long as I can see what I have to do, who I have to shoot and where I have to go, I’ll play the game. As long as the game isn’t too hard or too easy.

So there you have. My take on what makes a good computer game. As always, please feel free to leave a comment.

Until next time

Lord Yu

Active Dolls

So I was on youtube today looking at video clips for the song “Max don’t have sex with your ex”. Wicked song, but I digress. Anyway, I came across this video of some animated 3d woman walking around in skimpy underwear. I mean, it barely covered her nipples and other bits. The title of the video was Active Dolls Sexy Girl Video (WARNING: NOT GIRLFRIEnD FRIENDLY). I watched the video, and thought to myself “Is there a program called Active Dolls?” I tried googling it, and one of the first hits was the link to the Active Dolls web page. So I clicked on the link, and found there was a downloadable demo. I thought it might have been something like Second Life where you download a client and pay for access to a server.

It’s not

Active Dolls is a barbie type program where you can select from 1 model in the demo, and six in the full version. It’s not really a game, as there is no goal. You don’t really do anything except choose what the models will wear, their make up, hair, accessories, shoes etc. But this is not a program for kids, as in the full version you can pair models up and make them do nasty things to each other (I have to get the full version and not let my girlfriend find out, lol). If a model is by herself, then you make her touch herself. You can also make them undress so they are fully naked. The demo program comes with a few poses, 1 model, some clothes. makeup and accessories and one “stage”. Unfortunately for the ladies (the real life ones I mean), there are no guy models, which is a shame because I think girls would have a great time dressing up guys, posing them and taking pictures of them (and maybe getting them to do other things, but that’s something I don’t want to think about, yech!).

I am going to get the full program, if I can hide it from my girlfriend. Then again, I just might dress the models up and do normal photo shoots. This program would probably make a great teaching tool for those wanting to getting into photography, especially model photography, as the full version also comes with several lighting modes. The demo version only comes with one, which can be a little frustrating when you feel you have the perfect shot, but it looks too damn bright.

Anyway, below is one of the more tame shots I did while playing around with the program. I’ve only just scratched the surface here, as I only have the demo at the monent, but really would like to get the full version. I did do some naughtier pcitures, but I’m not going to post those. At least, not here

Anyway, you can find Active Dolls here. You must be 18 years or older to enter. And if your girlfriend/other half doesn’t want this type of thing on the computer, for heaven’s sake don’t play it. It’s just a bunch of silly pixels on a computer screen.

Until next time

General Qatar