Interview Todd Howard needs help

[Elwro]

I use a 15 inch monitor and I don't need anything bigger. Besides, its maximum resolution is 1024x768 so running modern games is a bit easier with my PC... If I had a big LCD I'd have to play in a resolution different from the native.

 

[Claw]

Well HDTV's are cheaper than monitors. My 37" HDTV LCD was $1k less than apples 30" LCD monitor, and only a few hundred more than the 23" LCD panels I use at work.

So? I don't know how much your 37'' LCD HDTV cost, and I don't care what Apple's 30'' LCD monitor cost.
I have a 19'' LCD on my desk. 19'' is great as a PC monitor, but it'd be horribly small for a TV; I don't think the sizes are directly comparable.
By the way, I noticed a stupid mistake I made. My parents paid $2500+ for their HDTV, and while I could settle for a smaller model, I'd still expect to pay about a grand, unless I go for a terribly cheap or small model, and I wouldn't buy a HDTV smaller than my current CRT.
Soooo cheap. Besides, I am not even choosing between a monitor or HDTV, and I don't know I ever will be.

Besides, everyone should get an HDTV - it does wonders for movies, television shows, sports, some PC games, and yes consoles.

Meh, I can decide for myself how much luxury I can and want to afford, thank you very much. I might consider it if I needed to get a new TV anyway, but it's still far more expensive.

I don't fault them at all going for HDTV though, it just looks so much better.

I wouldn't dream of blaming them, but I just don't see HD support as such an awesome feature when I still have to pay extra for the hardware.

 

[kingcomrade]

When my dad retired from the Navy he bought himself a retirement present, a massive plasma HDTV (I think it's 56 inch, maybe it's whatever is one step bigger). It's wonderful for what it does. Usually I can't play some console games (like multiplayer Halo, the screen is so small and blurry that I can't tell what I'm doing on a normal-size, normal resolution tv), but since I hardly ever play console games it isn't that useful in that respect.

 

[Rendelius]

HDTV

I don't think that HDTV renders the argument that consoles are relatively cheap compared to comupters useless, because you use a HHDTV monitor in different ways. Most people buy it for watching TV

I got myself a large one from Acer pretty cheap app. 8 months ago (pretty cheap means less that $1.000). And I bought it without owning a console, just forTV and my DVD's. When I got the XBox 360, I wasn't able to run the games in high resolution due to the lack of a HD VGA cable (they were impossible to get, like most XBox 360 stuff). Now I can run the games 1380xsomething, and they look awesome, really. My favorite regarding graphics on the XBox 360 at the time being is the Fight Night 3 demo, not because it has so many effects, but because I think it comes pretty close to watching boxing on TV.

I wouldn't drop my PC for gaming, though. I constantly upgrade the rig, and try to be on par with the reqirements of the latest games. I am used to a mouse and keyboards when playing (used them for 20+ years now), and I still have a hard time to believe that - for example - Oblivion will be fun with a controller...

 

[bryce777]

You sit less than a foot away from a monitor, so aside from reading, the size of the monitor hardly matters at all. It usually occupies more of your perceivable area than a movie screen does.

I explained this one time to a computer engineering phd and he told me I was an idiot. I should have smashed that cocksucker in the face with my briefcase. He later called my professors and told him a completely different version of the story because he was an idiot and couldn't grasp my argument he misrepresented it and made me look like an idiot to the guy who was supposed to help with my fucking thesis.

Anyway, this argument is pretty stupid because like a TV a pc is pretty much a 'must have' these days. To be a gamer you don't need to have the latest craziest graphgics card. I just get games like that in the bargain bin. That way, it's the developers' loss for being idiotic and having ridiculous requirements for their game (ala oblivion).

With the console it is a pretty shitty deal. Most of the kids I see have several consoles especially handheld, for starters. If you look at the xbox 360, it has pretty good requirements for now, but when it comes out there will be dickfuck to play on it, then in a year when more stuff is there it will be obsolete. Then, in two years, when you have given up on xbox and moved on to (insert next big thing here) then you have to keep your xbox around if you ever want to play those old games again.

Mostly though, it is just adifferent thing than PCs, which it annoys me people do not seem able to grasp. Console games, you can jump in for 5 seconds and historically at least, pc games are more complicated and harder to get into, but much more gripping.

 

[Araanor]

What HD resolution are we talking about, anyway? 720p?

Anyway, this argument is pretty stupid because like a TV a pc is pretty much a 'must have' these days.

What? I don't have a TV. TV sucks.

 

[Thrawn05]

I use a 15 inch monitor and I don't need anything bigger. Besides, its maximum resolution is 1024x768 so running modern games is a bit easier with my PC... If I had a big LCD I'd have to play in a resolution different from the native.

I use a 17" CRT, and I don't ever want to get an LCD monitor, ever. I hate that "gray glow" you see when in dark areas in games. Really annoying for me.

1024x768 is more then enough details for many games these days. Hell, 640x480 is enough really but since many games have such UI clutter, 800x600 is really the smallest anyone can go with games these days.

 

[kris]

What? I don't have a TV. TV sucks.

That you don't own a TV would be more accurate.

 

[Araanor]

Don't split hairs. I don't watch TV.

 

[Spazmo]

The argument on having an HDTV for other reasons than consoles may be valid, but in that case, you could argue that you'd have a reasonably powerful computer for non-gaming reasons (internet browsing, all sorts of work applications, etc.). The point is that an HDTV and a console together (and shit, why not toss in a nice sound system) will probably come altogether to a similar cost to a nice computer.

 

[Proweler]

Of course it doesn't, strictly speaking. But who is? Why should anyone? It doesn't make sense to even suggest speaking strictly.
Pitching this feature when you can poison food yourself is silly. It sounds like a gimmick. After the mustard-filled donut, the deadly poisoned apple: The last prank you'll ever play on some poor sod.

Besides, what the hell is the assassins' guild?

It helps killing people without getting into a fight. Might be good when you are a in the Guild of Assassins. Perhaps you should ask Emile (stealth Dev guy) over at Blood and Shadows.

 

[MacD]

First of all,why is it that you can only poison apples? If you can poison apples, it's pretty much a piece of cake to program it so that any foodstuff can be poisoned. Hell, I'd be /shocked/ to hear Bethesda doesnt use object oriented porgramming

"I explained this one time to a computer engineering phd and he told me I was an idiot."

Sorry be the one to say this, but that computer engineer phd was correct: bigger is better. Any idea why those military pilots prefer to use halfdome screens in their simulators [discounting the folowing-eye-focus-tech, but if you know what that does you'd know why that's not relevant]? Because they can see more. A bigger area means more information, more situational awareness.
The fact that military personell in mechanised functions (be it helicopter, tank, whatever) refer to actual war as being 'exactly like a computer game' also tells you that for military/pc/console gaming the importance of screen size (if it's just a fixed screen, not a focus spot which tracks your retina) crosses over.

Now, sure, you can only see a small bit of that screen at one time, but your eyes/brain do a kind of 'area scan' continuously and use that 'scanline info' to create an image of your environment. Flicking your eyeball up or down or to the top-right corner of a huge ass screen is MUCH quicker than using an input device to scroll the screen in that direction.

"...so aside from reading, the size of the monitor hardly matters at all."

Except if you're trying to gain information from a picture/series of pictures/movie, as demonstrated by the military, and so also with gaming.

When you do research on cockpit instrumentational awareness (for both military and commercial pilots), you learn to appreciate this kind of thing.

" I should have smashed that cocksucker in the face with my briefcase"

Which would have compounded your stupidity with aggravated assualt....you really are a thinker Ever finish that thesis?

 

[Blacklung]

I do have to agree that larger screens help when in combat oriented games where you have to react quickly to a lot of action on screen. I play a lot of FPS games along with my RPG's and playing on a 16inch monitor is much easier than playing on my dinky laptop. Not only are images sharper and easier to distinquish, but my reaction times seem to increase as well. Playing games like UT makes this extremely obvious, kills going up from 5 a minute to about 10 a minute from a lappy to a desktop. It feels as if I can focus on my recticle, but allow my peripheral vision to allow all of the extra detection and alert me faster.

 

[Claw]

It helps killing people without getting into a fight. Might be good when you are a in the Guild of Assassins.

Thanks for proving that you are retarded by so gloriously missing the point.
Assassing use poison. Evil stepmothers from fairy-tales use poisoned apples.
Idiot.

 

[Proweler]

It helps killing people without getting into a fight. Might be good when you are a in the Guild of Assassins.

Assassing use poison. Evil stepmothers from fairy-tales use poisoned apples.

You assume that there are only poisoned apples and no other poisoned food.

 

[Balor]

Well, I guess not.
Yet, the fact that they used apples, not, say, pieces of bread - hints and the target audience they aim the product at - thoes who just grew from reading fairy tales (or, in fact, still reading them).

 

[Proweler]

I think you are seeking to much behind it. We'll see eventually.

 

[bryce777]

Actually i would be shocked to hear they did use OOP. Well, I would be shocked if they did not say they used it, and floored if they actually applied it somewhat effectively. I honestly wonder at times where all these crazy programmers come from.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

Well, I guess not.
Yet, the fact that they used apples, not, say, pieces of bread - hints and the target audience they aim the product at - thoes who just grew from reading fairy tales (or, in fact, still reading them).

Careful with the stretching - really easy to pull a ligand!

 

[aweigh]

The argument on having an HDTV for other reasons than consoles may be valid, but in that case, you could argue that you'd have a reasonably powerful computer for non-gaming reasons (internet browsing, all sorts of work applications, etc.). The point is that an HDTV and a console together (and shit, why not toss in a nice sound system) will probably come altogether to a similar cost to a nice computer.

Well if the HDTV in your example is a piece of shit, then yes, otherwise any HDTV worth its salt will set you back at least 1,500 and that's already more than necesarry for a high-end gaming rig.

 

[Claw]

You assume that there are only poisoned apples and no other poisoned food.

And again.. you're very reliable when it comes to missing the point.

 

[RpgMage]

Assassins use fairy-tale apples to kill
Mages are not able to levitate at will

A knight on his horse, he cannot swordfight,
the thief lost his knives which take guards out at night

Patrick's Stewarts voice is incredibly adoring
but I fear the dialogue may be incredibly boring

All those hours of voice in the data files kept,
but will it suffice to give characters depth?

Staves are only useful to block and to shoot
with this kind of logic you shoot yourself in the foot

It helps killing people without getting into a fight. Might be good when you are a in the Guild of Assassins.

Assassing use poison. Evil stepmothers from fairy-tales use poisoned apples.

You assume that there are only poisoned apples and no other poisoned food.

 

[kingcomrade]

I don't think shoot and foot rhyme.

 

[Proweler]

Of long loading times our fan complains,
so large cities became the birds bane.
Of his favorite gimmick Gavin speaks,
"it's all dumbing down!" the fan-boy shrieks.
"I have no blades to throw" cried the thief,
"bow and shadows" he sighed with relieve.
Extremely weak the pure-mage used to be,
staffs are swords to this mage, don’t you agree?
So why does this boy bring out the sticky tar,
problems of Morrowind, fixed they are.

 

[Bidjou]