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Us borderline autistic types tend to latch on to the most mundane things which mere mortals can barely comprehend. And when you combine passion with the quest for knowledge & understanding, you end up down a rabbit hole of amusement.
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eurogamer.net/articles/2019-…
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eurogamer.net/articles/2019-…
So over the weekend, a leak about the next Watch Dogs game broke. It's just another game leak; but what made this particular leak stand out, was what some attribute to an unexpected feature. That being the ability to allow the player to assume the role of any NPC in the game.
Players in the majority of the games, assume the role of a character depicted in the game world. And in some games, particularly FPS games like Watch Dogs, the player engages with Non-Player Characters controlled by the game's AI. Standard fare stuff really.
In discussions like this, context matters. So...
techopedia.com/definition/192…
pbs.twimg.com/media/D8N8rJ6X…
techopedia.com/definition/192…
pbs.twimg.com/media/D8N8rJ6X…
There are games which, aside from allowing the player to assume a role from the character creation screen, also allow the ability to assume the role of an NPC that is also depicted in the game world and which is otherwise under AI control. Again, standard fare stuff.
I will use one of my older games as an example.
In All Aspect Warfare, there are 6 characters which the player can select at the start screen. These characters also appear in the game - under AI control.
3000ad.com/games/all-aspe…
In All Aspect Warfare, there are 6 characters which the player can select at the start screen. These characters also appear in the game - under AI control.
3000ad.com/games/all-aspe…
Each of these 6 characters have unique skills, attributes, physique, skins etc. More importantly, their AI logic is different, as it ties into their abilities (e.g. Lucas is a pilot), what weapons & items have have and can use etc.
If the player decides to play as Lucas, he has the ability to fly certain types of aircraft; a skill that the other characters do not have. A player in that role inherits the ability to "fly aircraft", the AI has no control over the player in that role.
However, if the player assumes the role of Brad, one of the team slots is filled by Lucas - under AI control. In this scenario, everything Lucas does is controlled by the AI. Lucas is an NPC.
A player in the role of Lucas, is "playing as an NPC" in the game.
He doesn't "become" Lucas.
An actor (e.g. in a biopic) "playing a character" is in the role of the written character.
He doesn't "become" the character.
He doesn't "become" Lucas.
An actor (e.g. in a biopic) "playing a character" is in the role of the written character.
He doesn't "become" the character.
When a gamer sees a game's description of "lets you play as any NPC", they know precisely what it means. There is zero ambiguity.
It's precisely why every single article that has covered this leak, has described it precisely as such.
Then came the [unexpected] hilarity...
It's precisely why every single article that has covered this leak, has described it precisely as such.
Then came the [unexpected] hilarity...
I am not going to even bother explaining it; so just read this thread for yourself. It's a bit of a mess to follow, as there are various thread branches from various people.
One of the branches starts in my feed. It's a very interesting read to say the least. And, if nothing else, it's a perfect example of how group think (ignoring gaslighting for a sec) works in online communities.
Yes, gamers are passionate about a lot of things, and they're a very outspoken bunch. But that's not saying a lot because as with all social castes, there are quite a lot of pretty dumb people just waiting to tell you how smart they really are. That's when the laughing starts.
One thing that strikes me is that when we look at current events, and try to understand why we're not reading about a mutiny in the White House, at the DOJ, in Congress etc, you have to wonder if all is truly lost.
If you ask yourself what leads sensible, educated, intelligent people - who aren't compromised (that we know of) in some fashion - to make truly bad decisions like, for e.g. backing a quintessential loser like Donald Trump, you're not alone.
I read quite a bit. OK fine; I read a lot - it's my favorite hobby. So believe me when I tell you that for decades a lot has been written and studied about this phenomenon. The shortest one that I could find online:
psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental…
psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental…
The act of decision making comes with a responsibility that is supposed to be paired with the consequences that go along with it. But more often than not, the consequences are either non-existent or they're glossed (the not-my-problem phenom) over.
The responses in Rami's feed are what got me thinking because it literally makes NO f*cking sense how ANYONE of sound mind and body, would claim that this statement is "self-contradictory" (that's just nonsense he made up btw)
"you can play as any NPC in Watch Dogs"
"you can play as any NPC in Watch Dogs"
I am not even going to get into the part where some (115 at last count) of his followers were liking this (no seriously)..
As for this one? 118 (at last count)..
..this one? 134 (at last count)..
And those were after he literally threw a dictionary at me because, you know, I don't quite know what "non" means you see.
118 likes at last count.
118 likes at last count.
So there are people who, even in the face of indisputable evidence and irrefutable logic, will seek to cling to ignorance because defending a rather tenuous position is par for the course.
It beggars belief.
It beggars belief.
I'm a numbers guy, so I ran some analytics on 5 specific posts in the thread. Conclusion? It's all the same people. In other words, once you have like-minded people hanging on to your every word, they are likely to follow you off a cliff if it came to that.
Aside from fact that every gamer who reads a headline that says "you can play as any NPC" knows what it means, the wording is 100% correct.
There's no ambiguity.
Arguing the "meaning" is nothing more than a fruitless semantics-laden argument that FAILS on merit alone.
There's no ambiguity.
Arguing the "meaning" is nothing more than a fruitless semantics-laden argument that FAILS on merit alone.
I mean, it's RIGHT THERE!!
you. can. play. as
That's it. All of it.
You're not "becoming" the NPC. Like an actor in a movie, you are assuming the role of an NPC.
If you know what an NPC means, there's ZERO ambiguity.
you. can. play. as
That's it. All of it.
You're not "becoming" the NPC. Like an actor in a movie, you are assuming the role of an NPC.
If you know what an NPC means, there's ZERO ambiguity.
If you're an actor playing the role of John Doe in a movie, you're playing John Doe in a movie.
If you're a gamer playing the role of John Doe in a game, you're playing John Doe in a game.
What NPC means is completely irrelevant to the discussion.
If you're a gamer playing the role of John Doe in a game, you're playing John Doe in a game.
What NPC means is completely irrelevant to the discussion.
If the NPC is called John Doe, you are playing the role of John Doe.
The NPC is just a descriptor, in much the same way that John Doe in a movie can be described as a "highly skilled protagonist"
The NPC is just a descriptor, in much the same way that John Doe in a movie can be described as a "highly skilled protagonist"
AI is my primary field - long before I even moved into gamedev. And I've been in it for over three decades now. So the concept, creation, handling, programming of AI entities used in NPC units, isn't foreign to me.
Neither is the concept.
Neither is the concept.
So you can imagine how, much to my chagrin - and English comprehension aside - I find myself amazed that not only are some convinced that the wording (used by media) is wrong, but there are no less than 9 (!!) devs who "liked" some of Rami's more dubious args in this thread
That's what I wanted to talk about. People need to stop arguing for the sake of arguing. All it takes is a few mins to think seriously about what you're arguing about, and be ready to accept the fact that, on any given day, there are a LOT more smarter people than you.
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