This game needs a good tutorial/Why I can relate to OXM Dan

[Jamesac]

How do you review a game you don't know how to play? That 4/10 isn't so much a score as it is an admission of lazy-assed incompetence. "I couldn't be bothered to do my job so here's a number."

I'd take this less personally but last month I got stuck reviewing a tennis game. What the hell do I know about tennis? I looked into the genre, did some basic research, and figured out what makes them tick. It got a fair score based on its merits despite me hating every second I wasted on it, and it wasn't all that hard a thing to do.

I've been there, done that, and discovered that doing the homework so as to not come off as too damn lazy to fulfill what's expected of me isn't all that hard. Therefore, reviews like the IGN UK one piss me the fuck off.

Also, seeing as Super Mario Bros. has been released time and time again, "Our giraffe is in another castle" can hardly be considered retro. It's a reference easily gotten by anyone with the slightest knowledge of gaming.

Finally, "lure the casual gamer in" isn't exactly anything one needs to take into account when granting a score. Yak can worry about his demographics on his own time, it's not the reviewer's responsibility. Unless, of course, IGN UK is saying that they review games specifically for the casual "Brain Age & Wii Sports only" crowd, in which case it's a fair score for their target audience.

James

[stark]

holy crap did they really say 'press a button to fire'?

but but..it fires all the time

"OXM in we are lazy fuckers shock"

[Glyndwr]

I'm not sure what to make of people getting all in a muddle over the game mechanics. SG isn't that complicated a game to figure out and in this internet age haven't we all been trained that if you're having trouble with a game the first place to go is google?

I'll try that now

*Types space giraffe tips into google*

First response back is this little site. Don't know if it's any use
http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/blog/?p=10

I'm not understanding all the problems. How are people still not managing to figure all this stuff out? It's not like there's a lot of it. Jump, bull. Hell OXM UK didn't even manage to notice that you didn't need to press a button to shoot and they get paid to play games. They must have hired Redevil to do that review.

*Edit* I haven't seen it posted so here's what passes for OXM UKs review

First up, let's have a couple of disclaimers here: our US magazine gave Space Giraffe a 2/10 and second, we know and like Jeff Minter. However, neither of these things have affected our score for Space Giraffe, Minter's latest opus, which appears to be a reworking of the old arcade classic Tempest.

It's obvious from the off that Space Giraffe is not a modern game. The passing of time has rendered the game-culture references cryptic ("Our giraffe is another castle", for example, which could mean anything). This is a deliberately backwards-looking game made to appeal to hardcore gamers and it's up to you whether the combination of epilepsy-inducing flashes of Jay Allard, long-dead catchphrases and deceptively simple gameplay works. It didn't for us.

We say the gameplay is "deceptively simple", because there's effectively two buttons. Your craft travels sideways along the grid, one button shoots, whilst pulling the trigger pulls you back from the grid so you can shoot enemies that have reached the top of the grid. There's a "power zone" that allows you to combo enemies for higher scores, but we haven't got any idea what it's meant to do beyond that. You've also got smart bombs, for those desperate moments.

There's definitely tactics to getting higher scores, but beyond grouping enemies together to kill them all at once, we're screwed if we know what they are, having enough trouble getting to grips with the basics of playing the game. In fact, a bigger problem was caring enough - we simply couldn't motivate ourselves to keep playing, because the blaring colours, old gameplay and catchphrases really got on our nerves. Yes, the game works, yes, there's plenty of gameplay for the hardcore in there. We're just not convinced it's either varied enough or interesting enough to lure the casual gamer in.

We're having flashbacks of our flashbacks now. 4/10

I still think they've still missed the point with a lot of the gaming elements here.

Maybe we should create a web-site with reviews submitted by games developers of magazine game reviews.

I'd give this review a review of 2/10.

[Anders]

holy crap did they really say 'press a button to fire'?

but but..it fires all the time

"OXM in we are lazy fuckers shock"

Send them an email and tell them they can let go of the fire button now.

[ukslim]

I went through the tutorial the other day, to see what was missing -- and I thought it was fine. Everything was covered, it seemed perfectly clear and complete.

However, that's with several weeks of play under my belt, and I've watched other people use the tutorial, and come out saying things like "so what's the power zone again?". Not stupid people, either.

When Jeff wrote the tutorial, he'll have been in the same condition as me, times a thousand. It looks like a complete tutorial to us, but tht's because we already know what it's saying.

Somene like Bungie or Valve would have spent months watching people doing the tutorial through one-way mirrors. Of course LS don't have the resources to do that. But nonetheless, sitting some newbies in front of it, watching them, keeping your mouth shut, and seeing what they do, would have been worthwhile.

I think it's a shame, because you have to understand the game to enjoy it. It's possible to play the game wrongly without realising it, in which case you won't enjoy it. (See also Crazy Taxi -- quite a dull game until you learn the tricky Crazy Dash move).

I would almost say it's worth barring entry to, say, level 5, until you've reached maybe "unambitious" for the previous levels. That way at least players know there's more they should be doing.

And if you don't enjoy it, you'll never reach the joy that is "Essence of Giraffe".

Also I think there might be a language issue. It seems perfectly obvious to me that "bulling" is synonymous with "barging", but a lot of people seem confused by it and I wonder if that's a universal term. Do Americans get it? Do non-native English speakers get it?

[PVB]

When Jeff wrote the tutorial, he'll have been in the same condition as me, times a thousand. It looks like a complete tutorial to us, but tht's because we already know what it's saying.

Somene like Bungie or Valve would have spent months watching people doing the tutorial through one-way mirrors. Of course LS don't have the resources to do that. But nonetheless, sitting some newbies in front of it, watching them, keeping your mouth shut, and seeing what they do, would have been worthwhile.

SG was playtested thoroughly prior to release, just like any game nowadays.

[radio]

I keep trying to stay away from these topics, but I can't help it....

When Jeff wrote the tutorial, he'll have been in the same condition as me, times a thousand. It looks like a complete tutorial to us, but tht's because we already know what it's saying.

Somene like Bungie or Valve would have spent months watching people doing the tutorial through one-way mirrors. Of course LS don't have the resources to do that. But nonetheless, sitting some newbies in front of it, watching them, keeping your mouth shut, and seeing what they do, would have been worthwhile.

SG was playtested thoroughly prior to release, just like any game nowadays.

I'm sure it was playtested, but how come all the same complaints keep popping up from different sources?
It sounds like a bit more Kleenex testing (focus testing) could have been done (more?) to ensure accessibility (not easiness, since it's not meant to be an easy game).

[HGFB]

I'm sure it was playtested, but how come all the same complaints keep popping up from different sources?

Myspace Generation innit. They're all a bit thick.

[bcass]

Could you explain to me why you're going to start making games for people who don't like the kind of games you make?

Sadly, because it seems that may be the only way to sell them in sufficient quantities to make it economically worthwhile producing them in the first place..

Or you just make a game with difficulty settings, with EASY being for the beginners and HARD being for the rest of us who like a challenge. The fact is, SG is a great little game, but you need to have a bit more appeal to increase the sales figures. It's a sad fact of life for most of us - we often have to compromise in some way or other in order to make a living. The fact that you get to make games for a living must be a boon, so why not make a little effort to increase the mass-market appeal?

I'll bet that had SG had a mode without all the Neon effects (or with them significantly toned down), then it would have sold more. With or without the effects, the core gameplay is sound. I know that the effects add a lot (I love the trippy effects and would certainly never turn them off), but the plain fact is that many people (perhaps 'the masses') don't take to that kind of thing. To be honest, if you're trying to make a living out of this, then you can't just turn your back on these people, but that doesn't mean you have to turn your back on your core audience either. A SG mode with the Neon effects toned-down might not be part of your vision, but if it helps create more sales, then so what? You'd still have your original vision in there for those of us who appreciate it. Everything doesn't have to be black and white. It doesn't have to be a case of appeal to the massess or appeal to the hardcore.

Of course, this is all easy to say in hindsight. I only make these comments because it would be very sad to see Llamasoft dissapear. The last 4 games you've released have been absolute class (T2K, T3K, GridRunner++, SG) - I've bought hardware just to play those games.

[choddo]

Completely agree with a lot of the comments here. OXM "85 IQ" UK have embarassed themselves, by compounding their sister publication's gaffe.

BUT it's not a case of SG needing to be simpler, it's a case of the barrier to entry being so high from the off.

I think the challenge with Space Giraffe might be that, until you get it, it's not very rewarding or enjoyable because certainly for the first 10 levels it's actually TOO easy to play it badly & not die.

Designing a tutorial can't be easy but an attract video (which all the old arcade games DID have) would be worth the investment next time. Would anyone have tried to sit there while the alien thing fired that tractor beam at you in Galaga if you hadn't seen it in the attract vid?

I still have hope that word will spread and it will have a long and profitable lifespan.

Should have been 800 points too. Indie games (with the sort of fanbase Jeff has) are not very "price-elastic" and I doubt that more than 5% of the people who bought it at 400 would have balked at 800.

[benedictw]

Agree with the 800pts choddo. I do wonder if at least some of the reviewers just played without going into the tutorial - I can see why some games force the user to play the tutorial if thats the case.

[GBH]

I'm going to fight the temptation to call you a lazy idiot and try and help you.

Fight it better next time, and maybe I'll fight the temptation to call you a fucking prick.

LOL

Well that's ME told.

G

[GBH]

I'm going to fight the temptation to call you a lazy idiot and try and help you.

Fight it better next time, and maybe I'll fight the temptation to call you a fucking prick.

i think he was talking to nitrousoxide who obviously hasnt got the tutorial for some reason

Of course he was. But to say "I'm going to fight the temptation to call you a lazy idiot…" Well, he didn't fight it, did he? It's right there. May as well have come out and said "I think you're a lazy idiot," as it's clearly what he meant. And it's an asshole thing to say.

Why thank you for your reasoned and well thought out response.


I was specifically referring to the other replies he'd had and I was specifically saying I wasn't going to jump on that bandwagon and just abuse him. I make no apologies for how I worded my reply it's just a shame you jumped in feet first and mouthed off. You don't like it, fine, fuck you too. See how easy it is to throw insults at someone you've never spoken to before? Your abuse means about as much to me as that dog shit I passed over on the way to the train station today.

Nitrosoxide hasn't got the tutorial, that's plain. And he's here asking for help because instead of slagging off the game, he WANTS to like it. He seems to understand that a lot of people think Llamasoft in general and this game in particular are something special, so he came here to get assistance in seeing it. What he gets in return is very thinly-veiled insults and Yak throwing a tantrum about the perceived intelligence level of the marketplace.

I did. I explained to him, in detail, the answers to the questions he asked. Perhaps you completely missed them? Perhaps you were too busy looking to stick your nose in to notice I did give the answers he asked. Oh well.

Jeffs been on the back end of critisim based on this very thing in a number of places. I would imagine it's hard for him to accept criticism of a game feature, purposely put into the game, that other people don't "get" because they seemingly lack the patience to learn and adapt without being told about every little nuance ahead of the game. He then has to listen to them whining on (and giving him less than stellar game reviews) about how it's all so complicated, confusing and hard when, if you take just a few hours to work at it, it becomes a lot clearer. I'm not going to defend Jeff speicifcally, he's big and ugly enough to look after himself. I do however feel his pain when people who seemingly (here comes an insult) couldn't find their own arses with both hands criticise him for not holding their hands and making it easy for them.

Listen, Nitrosoxide, it's okay that SG isn't gelling for you. Just take your time, and do the tutorial repeatedly. Not because you need to be taught repeatedly, but because it's an excellent no-stress venue for working out the most basic mechanics of the game. Keep shooting things, you've got a Power Zone. If you've got a Power Zone, you can bull moving enemies off the rim. If you haven't got a Power Zone, you can jump to get one. If you can't jump, that's why there's more than one life. I understand completely not knowing some of the basic mechanics. Took me forever to figure out shot juggling and sneeze bonuses. Just chill one game at a time and enjoy the ride. Develop what you DO know about the game.

Oh sorry, isn't that EXACTLY the same thing I told him in my response (I COMPLETELY agree with you incidentally) As I said, perhaps you missed my lengthy explanation. Red mist must have just blocked it all out.

G

[Gnarf]

trouble getting to grips with the basics of playing the game

old gameplay

[Baggypants]

trouble getting to grips with the basics of playing the game

old gameplay

still better than the review that twittered on about 2D primary colour tempest whatever the hell that is...