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Eric Rogers October 6, 2015

Platform Guide – PC

computer-parts

This post is part of my Video Game Platform series.

The next video game platform I am going to cover is the PC. Here is the basic information on it:

  • Platform – PC
  • Platform Holder – None
  • Price – Varies
  • Major Platform Exclusives – World of Warcraft, League of Legends, DOTA 2, StarCraft 2, Kerbal Space Program, Unreal Tournament
  • Online Subscription – None

Now let’s dig into these a bit.

PC Hardware

The hardware of the PC differs significantly from the other consoles I have covered to this point. With those (the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U), buying the hardware is fairly straight forward. There is a little variation in the hardware and price, such as getting an Xbox One with or without the Kinect. However, you do not have to worry about your Xbox One being able to run Halo 5. Every Xbox One has the same guts so there is no worry about it running games designed for it.

The PC, however, is different beast.

If you have ever shopped for a computer, you will have a little bit of an idea of what I mean. Go into any electronics store and you will see rows of PCs, all with different specs and prices. They will probably range from a few hundred dollars up to $1,500 or so.

The price range for a decent gaming PC is huge. PC Gamer had an article earlier this year where they put together a budget gaming PC for $661. They also have a machine they call the Large Pixel Collider, which would run you over $10,000 to replicate.

So how do you decide what to buy? That is a great question. Unfortunately, it is also too big a question for this post. I am working on something I plan to release sometime next year to help answer this.

For now, if you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me individually. The best way to do that is to sign up for my email list and then reply to the message you receive.

The Platform Holder – None

Another major difference between the PC and other platforms is the PC has no platform holder. There is no company that controls the hardware or sets the rules for what games can be released on it.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The main disadvantage is there is no company out there championing the platform. This is really apparent at trade shows like E3 where Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have keynotes but the PC does not. Recently the site PC Gamer has been working to change this but they have a ways to go before they really compete.

One major advantage the PC has is its openness. Developers have a lot more freedom in what they build and how they distribute it. Also, with the free resources out there, it is extremely easy to get into video game development on the PC. This openness has lead to the rise of indie games over the last several years.

While the PC does not have one company to rule them all, there are several large companies that are extremely important to PC gaming. Here are a few, although this list is far from exhaustive.

  • Valve – Valve is probably the closest thing the PC has to a platform holder. They are the creators of several big games (Half-Life, Portal, Counter Strike, and DOTA 2 among others) but more importantly they are creators of Steam, the largest store for PC games. They are known for the ridiculous sales they do throughout the year.
  • CD Projekt Red – CD Projekt Red is the company behind the Witcher series of games. More importantly for this post, however, is their project GOG. GOG is a site they created to compete with Steam. Originally it only sold old games (GOG stood for Good Old Games). However, they have expanded to include new games as well. They differentiate themselves by selling games DRM-free.
  • Blizzard – Blizzard is the company behind World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm. A mod to their game Warcraft 3 called Defense of the Ancients led to the rise of the biggest e-sports genre out there right now, MOBAs.
  • Riot Games – Riot is the company behind League of Legends, one of the biggest e-sports games out there.

Platform Exclusives

PC exclusives are a bit different than exclusives on the other consoles. There are the normal exclusives in the big genres like the first-person shooter Unreal Tournament or the role-playing game Pillars of Eternity.

Where the PC really shines is in its exclusive genres. There are whole genres of video games that are pretty much exclusive to PCs. This is because the PC uses the keyboard and mouse as its control, which opens up the things it can do.

Here is a list of some genres you will find either exclusively or mostly on PC.

  • Strategy games – This includes real-time strategy games like StarCraft 2, 4X strategy games like Galactic Civilizations 3, city builders like City Skylines, and turn-based strategy games like Civilization 5.
  • MOBAs – This genre has become one of the big e-sports genre. The games include League of Legends, DOTA 2, and Heroes of the Storm.
  • MMOs – This genre has moved to the consoles some with Destiny and The Elder Scrolls Online. For the most part, however, games like World of Warcraft and Lords of the Rings Online are exclusive to PC.

Parental Controls

One other disadvantage of not having a platform holder on PC is there are no centralized parental controls. Some companies have good controls, like Blizzard, but for the most part you are going to have to pay closer attention to what your gamer is doing  on the PC.

Filed Under: Hardware Tagged With: Guides, Hardware, PC, Platform Guides

Eric Rogers September 1, 2015

Platform Guide – Wii U

This post is part of my Video Game Platform series.

The next video game platform I am going to cover in the Wii U. Here is the basic information on it:

  • Platform – Wii U
  • Platform Holder – Nintendo
  • Price – $299.99
  • Major Platform Exclusives – Mario (Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World), Zelda (The Wind Waker HD), Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Brothers
  • Online Subscription – None

Now let’s dig into these a bit.

Wii U Hardware

One thing you will notice about the Wii U is that the hardware is cheaper than either the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4. Nintendo works really hard to keep the price of its hardware down. The downside to this is it is not as powerful as either of the other consoles.

So why would you buy a Wii U instead of an Xbox One or PlayStation 4?

There are two things that set it apart from the other consoles. The first is the platform exclusives, which I will detail in a little bit.

The second is the hardware itself. When the Wii came out in 2006, it started a revolution with its motion controls. Both Microsoft and Sony jumped on the motion control bandwagon, although without anywhere near the success of Nintendo. Between its novel controls, the inclusion of Wii Sports that brought non-gamers in, and the lower price ($249.99 in North America), the Wii was a huge success, selling over 100 million units.

Nintendo attempted to similarly revolutionize the industry with the release of the Wii U. This time, they added a tablet to the console.

Unfortunately, the tablet has not revolutionized the industry as they hoped it would. That being said, there are two features of it that make it pretty cool.

  • Asymmetrical play – The tablet allows developers to create games that allow for asymmetrical play. This means one player will be doing one thing on the tablet while up to 4 others will be doing something different on the TV. The greatest example of this is Nintendo Land, which lead to a great, recent video game memory for me.
  • Play off the TV – The other thing the tablet allows is for the player to play a game on it instead of the TV. This can be good if there are several people in the house wanting to use the screen at the same time. So your gamer can play something on his Wii U while you watch something on TV.

The negative of these things is Nintendo is really the only one taking great advantage of the features.

The Platform Holder – Nintendo

Who is Nintendo anyway?

Nintendo is the granddaddy of platform holders these days. It has been around since the 1800s and has been making consoles since the early 1980s, when they released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The follow system to the NES, the Super NES, is considered by many to be the best console ever made.

Nintendo, more than any other platform holders, marches to the beat of a different drummer. While Microsoft and Sony are chasing more and more powerful hardware, Nintendo is willing to try something different. Sometimes it works, as with the Wii U. And the sometimes it does not.

The other area Nintendo sets itself apart is in its treatment of its exclusive franchises. Instead of going for big budget action and pushing the limits of content, Nintendo strives to create high quality, family-friendly games. If it is a Nintendo game, you can bet it is good and the content is acceptable.

Platform Exclusives

Platform exclusives is where Nintendo really shines. Nintendo owns some of the most iconic franchises in video games. Nintendo consoles are the only places you can play Super Mario Brothers, Zelda, Metroid, and Kirby games, among others.

The thing that makes these franchises great is not just the characters but also the quality of the games. Two of my favorite games of all time are The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Metroid, both on the Super Nintendo. Looking at this list of “video games considered the best“, you will see 5 Nintendo games in the top 10.

These platform exclusives and the lower price makes the Wii U the secondary console of choice for many gamers. They may go back and forth between the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 but they will also have a Wii U.

Parental Controls

Modern consoles are doing a better job of including tools to help parents control the content their children can access. The Wii U is no exception.

Check out this video from Hungry Gamers on how to setup the parental controls on the Wii U.

Filed Under: Hardware Tagged With: Guides, Hardware, Platform Guides, Wii U

Eric Rogers August 25, 2015

Platform Guide – PlayStation 4

This post is part of my Video Game Platform series.

The next video game platform I am going to cover in the PlayStation 4. Here is the basic information on it:

  • Platform – PlayStation 4
  • Platform Holder – Sony
  • Price – $399
  • Major Platform Exclusives – Uncharted 4, Bloodborne, Driveclub, Gran Turismo 7, Infamous (First Light and Second Son), The Order 1886
  • Online Subscription – PlayStation Plus

Now let’s dig into these a bit.

PlayStation 4 Hardware

The hardware for the PlayStation 4 is less complicated than the Xbox One. There is one version at one price point, $399. The only question is, which game/games do you want?

As of this writing, there are 4 different bundles on Amazon with the PS4.

  • Batman Arkham Knight – This is the fourth and latest game in the Batman Arkham series. I will be posting a review of it in the next few weeks.
  • Destiny: The Taken King – This bundle includes the game and a special console. Destiny is an MMO which can only be played online.
  • Last of Us Remastered/Madden 16 – Last of Us is an end of times, zombie game. Of course Madden is football.
  • Last of Us Remastered – This bundle includes Last of Us but not Madden 16. Honestly, if you are thinking about getting this one, you should get the other to get Madden 16 for the same price.

As with the Xbox One, you will probably want to get at least one extra controller with this console. These are regularly $60. You can get one for $47 on Amazon.

The Platform Holder – Sony

Sony is the company that manufactures the PlayStation 4 hardware and curates the games that are allowed on the platform. As you can probably guess, the PS4 is the fourth console in their PlayStation line.

Sony has been very aggressive in marketing the PS4 to gamers. Microsoft tried to position the Xbox One as an all-in-one media device where you could watch the football game and check your fantasy league stats at the same time, among other things. This did not go over real well with their core audience, the gamers.

Sony saw this and used it to its advantage. When the PS4 was announced, Sony did everything it could to position it as the ultimate next generation gaming console. They also came out $100 cheaper (Microsoft as since come down in price). These two things combined allowed Sony to jump out to an early lead in sales.

Platform Exclusives

I listed some of the major platform exclusives earlier. There is one thing about these that I find interesting.

If you ask me to name the character most associated with the Xbox, I would immediately respond with Master Chief from Halo. If you ask the same question about Nintendo, I would say Mario (and possibly Zelda or Link from the Zelda games, Samus from Metroid, or a few other iconic Nintendo characters).

If, however, you asked me to name the character most associated with the PlayStation, I could not name one. This is not because the PlayStation does not have good exclusives, but because it has several, none of which define the console on their own.

This means no matter what games your gamer loves, there are probably PlayStations exclusives he will enjoy. Does he love racing games? Gran Turismo is for him. Action/Adventure? Check out Uncharted. Hard as nails games that require a lot of skill? Say hello to Bloodborne.

You check the full list of PlayStation 4 games to see what other games are exclusive to the console.

Online Subscription with PlayStation Plus

The online subscription program on the PlayStation 4 is called PlayStation Plus. The cost is $9.99 for a month, $17.99 for 3 months, and $49.99 for a year.

Here are the benefits of becoming a PlayStation Plus member.

  • Free games – Every month Sony releases 2 games for free to PlayStation Plus members. In the past, this has include games like Infamous: First Light and Rogue Legacy.
  • Discounts on games – PlayStation plus members receive discounts not available to non-members. You can find a list of the current deals here.
  • Multiplayer – If your gamer is interested in playing online with his friends, he will have to have a PlayStation Plus account.

So, is the $50 worth it? As with any of these questions, the answer is, it depends. If your gamer wants to play with his friends, you do not have any choice. The good thing is your gamer will get new games to play every month, which could potentially save you money in the long run. Of course, you will want to be aware of what those games are to make sure he is not playing something you do not approve.

Parental Controls

Modern consoles are doing a better job of including tools to help parents control the content their children can access. The PlayStation 4 is no exception.

In the future I am going to do a detailed video going over the parental controls on the PlayStation 4. For now, you can check out this guide on Tom’s Guide.

Filed Under: Hardware Tagged With: Guides, Hardware, Platform Guides, PlayStation 4

Eric Rogers August 18, 2015

Platform Guide – Xbox One

Xbox One

This post is part of my Video Game Platform series.

The first video game platform I am going to cover is the Xbox One. Here is the basic information on it:

  • Platform – Xbox One
  • Platform Holder – Microsoft
  • Price – $349 – $499
  • Major Platform Exclusives – Halo (The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5), Sunset Overdrive (my review), Gears of War 4, Forza (Forza 5, Forza Horizon 2, Forza 6), Rise of the Tomb Raider (timed)
  • Online Subscription – Xbox Live Gold

Alright, let’s dig into these a bit.

Xbox One Hardware

First off, let’s take a look at the hardware. Currently, there are 3 different versions of the Xbox One available.

  1. 500GB (starts at $349) – This is your base console. The “500GB” represents the size of the hard drive in the console.
  2. 1TB (starts at $399) – This model has twice the hard drive space of the base version. This will allow your gamer to download and install many more games. In my opinion, this is worth the extra $50, if you can afford it.
  3. Kinect ($499) – This is the original version of the console that includes the Kinect accessory. The Kinect sensor recognizes voice commands and has motion sensor cameras. This is required for games like Just Dance or Xbox Fitness. This is probably not worth the extra $100 unless your gamer is interested in a game that requires it.

One thing to keep in mind when you are looking to purchase a console is the game or games that come bundled with it. The Xbox One currently (as of August 18, 2015) has bundles with Halo 5 (a special edition that is $499), Madden 16, FIFA 16, Forza Motorsport 6, Gears of War Ultimate Edition, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Assassin’s Creed Unity and Black Flag (with Kinect, my review).

The two other pieces of hardware your gamer may want are a second controller and a nicer headset. You will especially want a second controller if you have more than one gamer in your house.

The Platform Holder – Microsoft

Microsoft is the company that manufactures the Xbox One hardware and curates the games that are allowed on the platform. The Xbox One is the third console in their Xbox line.

There is one major difference between the Xbox One and the other consoles given that Microsoft is the platform holder. As you probably know, Microsoft is also the company behind Windows, the operating system that runs the majority of the worlds home PCs. This allows them to integrate the Xbox One and home PCs unlike anyone else.

Microsoft has ramped this integration up with the recent release of Windows 10. Windows 10 comes with the Xbox app that allows you to stream Xbox One games to your PC, create gameplay clips just like on the Xbox One, and chat with players on either the PC or console.

Platform Exclusives

I listed some of the major platform exclusives above. The Halo and Gears of War franchises have been ones that have driven the sales of Xbox consoles for a while. They are the heavy hitters in that list for sure.

You might notice that I have “timed” in parentheses next to Rise of the Tomb Raider. This means that it is exclusive to Xbox (it’s actually coming out for the Xbox One and 360 initially) for a while but will eventually come out on other consoles as well.

There is one other thing to keep in mind with Xbox One exclusives. A lot of gamers are hoping to see more Xbox One exclusives come to the PC, given how Microsoft is working to integrate the two. We have already seen this some with Gears of War Ultimate Edition announced for both platforms.

You check the full list of Xbox One games to see what other games are exclusive to the console.

Online Subscription with Xbox Live Gold

The online platform the Xbox One uses is called Xbox Live. New accounts created by a user are free but have certain restrictions. The premium membership is called Xbox Live Gold. It cost $9.99 for a monthly subscription, $24.99 for 3 months, and $59.99 for a year. The advantages to having a Gold account are:

  • Free games – The Games with Gold program gives the user a selection of free games for being a Gold member. These include games like Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and Child of Light. New games are released each month with others dropping out after they have been available for a while.
  • Deals on games – The Deals with Gold program gives Gold members discounts on games. For example, as of this writing, Gold members can get Batman: Arkham Knight and LEGO Jurassic World for 25% off.
  • Multiplayer – Your gamer must be a Gold member if he wants to play multiplayer with his friends. Free members cannot play multiplayer on Xbox Live.

So, is the $60 worth it? As with any of these questions, the answer is, it depends. If your gamer wants to play with his friends, you do not have any choice. The good thing is your gamer will get new games to play every month, which could potentially save you money in the long run. Of course, you will want to be aware of what those games are to make sure he is not play something you do not approve.

Parental Controls

Modern consoles are doing a better job of including tools to help parents control the content their children can access. The Xbox One is no exception.

In the future I am going to do a detailed video going over the parental controls on the Xbox One. For now, you can check out this guide on Tom’s Guide.

Filed Under: Hardware Tagged With: Guides, Hardware, Platform Guides, Xbox One

Eric Rogers August 19, 2014

Parent’s Quick Guide To Video Games Series Has Begun

SeriesCover The video game industry is huge. Last year alone saw the release of 2 new consoles (the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) along with over 1,100 games. That is a lot of information to process.

As a parent, you do not need to know all that information. Your gamer is not playing that many games. He is probably only playing a few at most. How do you weed through all that information to find exactly what you need?

I am starting a new series of ebooks to help you accomplish just that. It is called “Parent’s Quick Guide To Video Games”. These will be short ebooks dealing with one specific game or piece of hardware. You will be able to pick and choose which one you want based on what your gamer is playing.

I am kicking off the series with what is probably the biggest game on the market right now, Minecraft. In this book, I answer these questions:

  1. What is Minecraft?
  2. How can you connect through it?
  3. How do you play it?
  4. Is there anything in it that should concern you?

It is currently available on Amazon.

Filed Under: Parent's Quick Guides Tagged With: E-Books, Guides

Eric Rogers June 17, 2014

4 Questions To Start A Conversation With Your Gamer

parent-teenager-talking
Having a real conversation with your gamer

As a parent, it can sometimes feel like your kids are speaking a completely different language. This is especially true when they are talking about a hobby or interest you do not know much about. I have a whole series of posts designed to address this very issue.

However, knowing the vocabulary does not necessarily make it easy to start a conversation with your gamer. How do you get the ball rolling? Here are 4 questions to help you get started.

  1. What are you playing? – This is an easy one. They are playing something. This question can get the ball rolling.

    Follow-up questions – What do you like/not like about it? Does it have a story? If so, what is it about? Are you playing with your friends?

  2. What games are you excited about? – This question will help you know what’s on your gamer’s radar. Most gamers are looking forward to at least one, if not multiple, games. Finding out about those games accomplishes a few things for you.

    1. It helps you connect with something close to your gamer’s heart. Anticipation is a powerful thing. It is also something that wants to be shared.
    2. It gives you an idea for a gift for your gamer. You could score some big time brownies points by getting them that must have game.
    3. It gives you an opportunity to scope out the game beforehand. This can help you preempt their disappointment if the game they are excited about falls outside your boundaries.

    Follow-up questions – Why are you excited about it? When does it come out?

  3. Have you heard of/what do you think about [XYZ Game]? – You have probably heard about certain video games from your circle of influence. Maybe a friend is talking about their kid playing Minecraft or the news is talking about Grand Theft Auto. Asking this question can start the conversation with your gamer about that particular game.

    Be careful with this question, though. Gamers are a defensive bunch, especially when they feel video games are under attack. You do not want to say something like, “I heard about this game called Grand Theft Auto and how terrible it is. Don’t you think it’s terrible?” You have just started an argument, not a conversation.

    Instead, ask them what they think about the game and really listen to their answer. Let them know that you value their opinion and are genuinely interested in what they think.

    Follow-up questions – Have you played it? Do your friends play it? What do you think about the uproar over it (if there is one)?

  4. What is the best/worst game you have ever played? – One thing about gamers, we are an opinionate bunch. If we love a game, we will tell you. If we do not, we’ll tell you that too. This question will allow your gamer to express some of those opinions.

    Follow-up questions – What made it great/terrible? Were you surprised it was so good/bad? What makes it better/worse than other similar games?

These questions can help you get to the heart of your gamer. It may take some time to get them to open up, especially if you have had fights over video games in the past, but it will be well worth it.

Filed Under: Guides Tagged With: Connecting, Guides, Ideas

Eric Rogers May 27, 2014

Parents Complete Guide To Minecraft Coming Soon

I want to take a minute to let you know about something I am working on.

Over the past few months I have been slowly releasing articles in my Games You Should Know About series. Well, I have decided it is time to take those to the next level, starting with Minecraft.

So I am going to take the Minecraft post and expand it into a full e-book. The sections it will contain include:

  • What Is Minecraft?
  • Minecraft On Different Platforms
  • History Of Minecraft
  • Why Is Your Gamer Playing It?
  • Cool Creations You Have To See To Believe
  • The Creeps Come Out At Night (Info about the monsters in Minecraft)
  • Should You Be Concerned?
  • How Can You Connect Through Minecraft?
  • Setting Up A Private Server
  • Minecraft Alternatives

I will be looking to release this e-book on Amazon in the next month or so. You can sign-up for our newsletter to make sure you are one of the first to know when it is released.

Filed Under: Guides Tagged With: Announcements, E-Books, Guides

Eric Rogers May 20, 2014

Games You Should Know About – Call Of Duty

call-of-duty
Call of Duty: Black-Ops 2

This is the third post in my Games You Should Know About series. Checkout my posts on Minecraft and Starcraft 2.

What is Call of Duty?

Call of Duty is a military FPS franchise published by Activision. The early games were set in World War 2. Subsequent games have been set in periods ranging from the cold war to the near future.

Call of Duty is the rated R action blockbuster of video games. The single player campaign plays very much like an action movie. It is extremely story driven, with the player given little, if any, choice in what to do or where to go.

Here is a video of The Rad Brad playing through the beginning of Call of Duty: Ghosts (beware – strong language ahead from both The Rad Brad and the game).

Call of Duty also has a major multiplayer component. The player starts out with a limited number of guns and accessories. They earn experience points through killing opponents and completing objectives or challenges. These points unlock levels, which gives them access to more weapons, equipment, and perks.

Call of Duty is an extremely lucrative franchise, having sold over 100 million copies. Activision setup a rotation with the developers to allow it to release a new game in the franchise each year. The developers it uses are Infinity Ward (the original developers), Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games.

Should you be concerned about anything?

As I mentioned, Call of Duty is equivalent to an R rated action movie. Anything you would expect to see in those movies you will see in Call of Duty, baring nudity or sexual content. For example, here are the rating descriptors for the latest game in the series, Ghosts:

  • Blood
  • Drug Reference
  • Intense Violence
  • Strong Language

If you want to keep your gamer away from violent games or would not allow him/her to see a rated R movie, you will want to stay away from Call of Duty.

The other thing to keep in mind is that online multiplayer is a big component of Call of Duty. You never know what kind of people your gamer will meet playing online. For the most part, this will not be a problem but some people can be real jerks in game. You will want to keep the dialog open with your gamer about their experience if you allow them to play online.

How do you connect through Call of Duty?

Call of Duty is one of those games that can be very intimidating to play. The people playing online have a LOT of experience and are extremely skilled. Not only that, but the controls can take a while to get the hang of if you are not used to playing FPSs.

Here are 2 suggestions to help you overcome this.

  1. Start out with a slower paced game to learn the controls. A great game for this is Portal 2. The controls are the same but the action is much slower. Plus, you can play with your gamer while you are learning.
  2. Play through or watch your gamer play through the single player campaign. You can go at your own pace without worrying about what other people are doing. You can also talk to your gamer about the story. It is not be anything earth-shattering but it can be entertaining.

Similar Games

One thing I want to do with this series is give you a list of games that are similar to the one featured. This will include games your gamer might enjoy if they enjoy the featured game as well as any good alternatives with lower ratings.

Here is a list of similar games to Call of Duty:

  • The Battlefield franchise – This is the main competitor to Call of Duty published by EA.
  • Counter-Strike – Multi-player only FPS. This was originally a mod to Half-Life but is still extremely popular.
  • Team Fortress 2 – Team-based, free-to-play FPS.
  • Medal of Honor Warfighter – Another military FPS
  • Arma 3 – A hardcore military FPS that takes realism to the extreme.

Here are some FPSs your gamer might enjoy that are not military style (meaning they tend to be less realistic in the guns and/or setting)

  • Bioshock Infinite
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution
  • F.E.A.R.
  • Halo
  • Half-Life 2

It is a little hard to find FPSs without an M rating. They tend to feature violence and blood since shooting is the main mechanic. Portal 2 is the best recommendation I have.

Filed Under: Games You Should Know About Tagged With: Games You Should Know About, Guides

Eric Rogers March 25, 2014

Games You Should Know About – StarCraft 2

starcraft-2
StarCraft 2

This is the second of my newly renamed Games You Should Know About series. The first was Minecraft.

What is StarCraft 2?

StarCraft 2 is an RTS created by Blizzard. The player starts out with a small amount of resources and a few worker units. They gather resources, build structures, and build more powerful units. They then use their army of units to try to destroy the army and structures of the opposing players.

starcraft-2-match-start
StarCraft 2 match start as Terran

StarCraft 2 features three different races, Terran, Zerg, or Protoss. Each race has their own distinct units and play style. The player needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of both the race they have chosen and the one they are facing. The tactics of a Terran player against a Zerg player are different than those against a Protoss player.

StarCraft 2’s single player campaign is split among 3 major releases corresponding with the three races.  The first release, Wings of Liberty, featured the Terran and was released on July 27, 2010. The second release, Heart of the Swarm, featured the Zerg and was released on March 12, 2013. The third release, Legacy of the Void, features the Protoss. No release date has been set for it yet.

This campaign is very story driven. There are cut scenes between each mission which drive the story forward. Each mission then corresponds with what is going on in the story.

The missions in the single player campaign vary a lot in their objectives. They range from the standard “build an army and crush everyone”¯, to escort missions where the player must protect specific computer controlled units, to rescue missions where the player only controls a small number of units.

Multiplayer in Starcraft 2 consists of matches between different numbers of opponents. These can be 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, 3 vs. 3, or 4 vs. 4. The opponents can be other players or AI controlled.

The multi-player is run through Battle.net. It uses a matchmaking system to match a player with similarly skilled opponents. The player can advance through this system by winning their matches.

Why is your gamer playing it?

The last several years has seen an increase in the number of people watching esports. The proliferation of high-speed internet has led to the rise in online streaming. This has made it possible to watch esports tournaments for more and more people.

StarCraft 2 is one of the main games people are playing professionally. Blizzard puts on leagues and ladders every year that culminate with a tournament at BlizzCon. The winners of these tournaments win thousands of dollars.

The thing that sets StarCraft 2 apart from other RTS games is Blizzard’s dedication to balance. A game can only be a good esport if is is balanced. A lot of RTS games have one particular build or unit that dominates everything else. Those games boil down to who can build it the fastest. There is very little strategy involved.

StarCraft 2, however, is very well balanced. There is not one of the 3 races that is markedly better than the other two. That makes the matches very competitive. It also means a player can improve with practice. This is what makes it so appealing.

Should you be concerned about anything?

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty is rated T with the descriptors Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, and Violence. The Language, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco descriptors pertain mainly to the single player campaign, not the multiplayer component.

The important thing to understand is Starcraft 2 does have a multiplayer component. The rating it received does not reflect anything a player might encounter from another player during a multi-player match.

The good thing is Battle.net includes some extensive parental controls. Here is how you set them up.

Setting up Battle.net parental controls

battle-net-parental-controls
Setting up Battle.net parental controls

You begin the setup process on this page. Scroll down to the bottom and you will see the two buttons above.

  1. Click on the “BEGIN SETUP”¯ button.
  2. Enter you gamer’s Battle.net account information and your email address.
    battle-net-parental-controls-setup

You will receive an email with a link to your parental controls. When you click on this link, you will see a page with 3 sections.

Battle.net Settings

battle-net-settings

This section allows you to set some restrictions that will effect all Blizzard games, including Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, and Diablo 3.

The main thing I want to touch on here is Real ID. A lot of multiplayer games allow the player to create a list of friends. For example, when you add another player to your friends list in World of Warcraft, you will be able to see if they are logged in and what they are doing.

Real ID takes this a step further. You can see your Real ID friends and message them even if they are playing a different Blizzard game. You might start up a Starcraft 2 game and receive a message from a friend who is playing World of Warcraft and needs some help.

The one thing to understand is that Real ID uses your real first and last name. The idea is that you would only add people you know in real life to your Real ID friend list.

The important question to ask is, who do you want to see your gamer’s real name? The answer to that question will dictate which settings you use.

Game Time Management

battle-net-game-time-management

While the previous section allows you to manage your gamer’s security, this section allows you to manage your gamer’s play. There are some really cool settings here. You can limit the amount of time your gamer plays daily and weekly. Your gamer will not be able to get into the game once they have hit those limits. You can also chose to receive a report of when they are playing.

The really cool part of this is the Play-Time Schedule. Checking the box will bring up a grid of the week. This allows you to set the exact times your gamer is allowed to play.

Here is an example of a schedule you might set based on your gamer’s play style.

Let’s say your gamer has a few friends that are really into Starcraft 2. They love to jump on and play some 4 vs. 4 matches together. However, one of them has soccer practice every Tuesday and Thursday and another goes to church on Wednesday. So the only time they can play together is Monday evenings and the weekends.

Here is how you might setup their schedule.

battle-net-schedule

This schedule gives them 3 hours on Monday and then the full weekend to play. You could couple that with, say, a 4 hour daily limit to keep them from playing for 12 hours on Saturday or Sunday. This would give them plenty of time to play with their friends while still leaving them open for school work and other activities.

Purchase Settings

battle-net-purchase-settings

This last section deals with in-game purchase. Some Battle.net games (specifically WoW and Diablo 3) have mechanisms that allowing purchase of digital goods in-game. Unchecking this will keep your gamer from making those purchases.

How do you connect through StarCraft 2?

I have talked in the past about how intimidating it can be to try to get into a new game. StarCraft 2 is the game I am thinking of for myself every time I make that comment. I have wanted to get into it for a long time but chicken out every time I try.

With that being said, however, Blizzard has done a good job of giving you the tools to learn if you are willing.

The first tool is the single player campaign. You can set the difficulty on easy to learn the basics of how to control units and move around the map without much stress. You can then ramp the difficulty up as you get better.

The next tool is “Challenge Missions”¯. These are small missions specifically designed to help you practice certain aspects of the game. For example, really good StarCraft 2 players know and use the keyboard shortcuts. The Harbinger of Death mission is designed specifically to help you practice this.

The last tool is the Battle.net matchmaking system. You play a few placement matches that it uses to evaluate your strength. It then places you in a ladder appropriate to your skill level. This gives you the opportunity to learn and improve against similarly skilled people instead of being crushed by higher skilled players all the time.

I can understand this seems daunting. Luckily there are other ways to connect with your gamer through StarCraft 2.

As I mentioned, StarCraft 2 is one of the main esports games right now. There are several tournaments you can watch online throughout the year. These include the World Championship Series and DreamHack.

The streams of these tournaments continue to get better and better. The commentators do a pretty good job helping you understand what the players are doing and why. It does help to know a bit about StarCraft to really understand what they are talking about but it is not completely necessary.

Another way to connect with your gamer through StarCraft 2 is BlizzCon.

BlizzCon is a big convention in Anaheim, CA put on by Blizzard. They use it as an opportunity to show off the games they are working on, make announcements about upcoming games, and talk to their fans.

One of the big things for StarCraft 2 fans as BlizzCon is the WCS Global Finals. This tournament brings in the top 16 StarCraft 2 players from around the world to compete for the grand prize, which in 2013 was $100,000.

Tickets to BlizzCon can be a little difficult to get. You have to be paying attention for when they go on sale and then get in quick. The good thing is Blizzard has started offering a virtual ticket. This allows you to watch a lot of the convention from the comfort of your own home.

Filed Under: Games You Should Know About Tagged With: Game Spotlight, Games You Should Know About, Guides, Parental Controls

Eric Rogers March 18, 2014

Connecting with Your Gamer Through Conferences/Conventions

gdc
Game Developers Conference (GDC) – Image by Official GDC, Creative Commons

Our main goal here at Parenting Gamers is to help you as a parent connect with your gamer through video games. One of the ways you can connect is by talking to them about the games that interest them.

The struggle is keeping up with everything that is going on in the gaming industry. The ESRB rated over 1,200 games in 2012 alone. And that does not even count all the hardware announcements over the last couple years.

So how can you keep up enough to have an intelligent conversation with your gamer without having to dedicate hours to research?

Pay attention to the conferences/conventions

Different players in the gaming industry put on conferences and conventions throughout the year. These will consist of game announcements, trailers, and gameplay footage as well as talks about how to break into the industry, postmortems on big games, tournament matches, and opportunities to play unreleased games, among other things.

These events give you a perfect opportunity to engage your gamer. You can ask them if there were any announcements they are excited about or any talks they found interesting. You could watch a panel or two online with them. Or, if you are feeling really adventurous, you could even attend one with them.

What are the conferences/conventions?

There are several major conferences and conventions you will want to pay attention to. Here are 3 big ones.

  • Game Developers Conference (GDC) – San Francisco – March 17-21, 2014 - As the name suggests, GDC is a conference for game developers. It includes talks ranging from low level programming to design to marketing to how to deal with negativity on the internet.

    Every gamer at some point in their lives has had the thought, “Hey, I could make this.”¯ Most never follow through. Some, however, dream of becoming a game developer or designer or artist.

    GDC has a lot of great content for someone interested in game development. If that is your gamer, they will probably be paying attention.

    There is one other reason your gamer might be interested in GDC. The Independent Games Festival. The IGF was established in 1998, “to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent game developers.”¯ It is an opportunity for independent developers to get their game out there. It is also an opportunity for gamers to learn about the big independent games that are coming out.

  • Pax (Pax East - Boston, April 11-13, 2014, Pax Prime - Seattle) - Pax was created in Seattle by the folks at Penny Arcade. It was designed to be a convention about gaming for gamers. In 2010, it expanded to include Pax East in Boston, with the original in Seattle being called Pax Prime.

    Pax is one of the conventions you can attend with your gamer. It would probably make their year if you were able to get tickets. They are pretty difficult to get, however. You have to be paying attention and get them as soon as they go on sale.

    There are several things to do when you get to the show. There is a section setup for console games, one for PC games, another for mobile games, and yet another for board games. There is an exhibit hall where you can play games that have not been released yet as well as panels covering all kinds of gaming related topics. It is definitely an adventure your gamer would love.

  • Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) – Los Angeles – June 10-12, 2014 - E3 is the industry convention for the gaming industry. It is only open to those in the industry, including those in the media. So you will not be able to go to E3. However, your gamer is definitely going to be paying attention to it.

    E3 is the place where a lot of big announcements are made. These include new games and new hardware. It is also a place where new information about currently known games is released. This gives you a great opportunity to find out what your gamer is looking forward to.

While these are the big 3 conferences/conventions, there are a few others you may want to pay attention to.

  • Comic-Con - While not specifically a gaming convention, your gamer may be interested in this. There are normally a little gaming related news to come out of it but not a lot.
  • Blizzcon - Blizzcon is a convention put on by Blizzard, the makers of World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo. It is another convention you can attend with your gamers. It is also one you can stream online. It is something to look into if your gamer is interested in those games.
  • MineCon - MineCon is a convention dedicated to Minecraft.

Filed Under: Guides Tagged With: Conferences, Guides

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