Cheerful Ghost Blog

Steam Developer Days Day II - A Wrap Up To A Great Conference

Even though i'm more than a couple days late to writing about the second day of Steam Developer Days I wanted to get out my thoughts while they are still nearly fresh in my mind. Spoiler alert, day two was incredible but the drive home from Seattle to Portland that night was precarious as I had to navigate the freak storm that occurred as some remnants of Typhoon Songda hit the west coast. I feel bad for my steering wheel as my clenched fingers strangled it for many tense driving moments but the wheel and I made it home safely.

One of the most interesting parts of the second devs days was Mike Ambinder's talk on The Psychology Of Games. When the talks are released from... Read All Even though i'm more than a couple days late to writing about the second day of Steam Developer Days I wanted to get out my thoughts while they are still nearly fresh in my mind. Spoiler alert, day two was incredible but the drive home from Seattle to Portland that night was precarious as I had to navigate the freak storm that occurred as some remnants of Typhoon Songda hit the west coast. I feel bad for my steering wheel as my clenched fingers strangled it for many tense driving moments but the wheel and I made it home safely.

One of the most interesting parts of the second devs days was Mike Ambinder's talk on The Psychology Of Games. When the talks are released from Steam Developer Days I plan on featuring the talk in a post for people to watch and talk more about it. There were many standout parts to Mike's talk but the thing I thought about was how Developer choice can effect player preference. Mike also talked about cognitive dissonance and how they used that to change toxic behavior in DoTA 2. His talk also featured the hilarious picture of him and Gabe embedded above and I want to thank Mike letting me use the image in this blog post.

Another interesting talk was by Ronimo Games(the creators of Awesomenauts) about games as a service. Traditionally a game was released as a physical product and after the initial wave of sales you were done with it. You'd maybe drop a patch or two and sometimes an expansion but for the most part, after launch, developers and companies were done with the game. Ronimo takes a different approach to this with Awesomenauts as they are always releasing content in the form of game patches, heroes, skins and expansions. They've been utilizing the games as a service model since 2012 and it seems to have served them and the fans of the game well. Fans get more of what they love and Ronimo can keep the studio lights on. I found a few things out in this talk in that when players buy Awesomenauts skins one reason they often do that is to support the developers. Players see it more as a patronage of the company and want to support them as a studio. Ronimo also was straight up honest that they held back some content at launch so they could focus on post release promises and be able to fund fixing bugs. Usually companies are not transparent about this but Ronimo was pretty straight forward about the costs of running a studio and being able to keep post release commitments by having the work done in advance.

If I had one suggestion for next years Steam Developer Days it is that I would focus on more advanced topics. It's good to cover things from a beginner level but I wasn't finding each talk to be as meaty or topical as i'd of liked. The talks I highlighted in my two posts were superb but not every talk was as deep as i'd have wanted. That said, I loved that Steam Developer Days was only two days as i've had a rough time when conferences overstay their welcome. All that said, I really enjoyed this years Steam Developer Days and can't wait to head back when Valve does it again in 2018.

If you want to read up on my thoughts on the first day of the conference hit the link below

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3127/steam-developer-days-day-1-vr-is-all-around-you

Steam Developer Days Day 1 - VR Is All Around You

http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JwFF8GLtwvgszkXtr7JUW9-650-80.jpg

In 2014 Cheerful Ghost published it's first game Starship Rubicon, an asteroids-esque rogue lite. Working with Wick to take his game to a wider audience was a really fun experience and along the way we hit some fun milestones like releasing the game on Windows, Mac and Linux on Steam. Because of that Cheerful Ghost was asked to attend this years Steam Developer Days and we happily signed up. I wasn't sure what to expect but I figured we'd learn more about what Valve was up to and maybe play some fun games along the way.

It's All About VR Baby!

It might not be too surprising that Valve is focusing heavily on VR and the Vive. The main social area here at Steam Developer... Read All

Interview With Board Game Design Master Kevin Wilson About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past & More!

Back this on Kickstarter!

To say I am a fan of Kevin Wilson’s work would be an understatement. Kevin not only designed my favorite board game of all time, the original 2004 Doom: the Board Game but he has also created many more incredible games including the upcoming Kickstarter smash hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past & Mistborn: House War. I’ve done two previous interviews with Kevin one in 2012 and 2013 and realized he was doing so much incredible stuff and way too much time had passed since we last talked.

I want to thank Kevin for taking time out of his schedule to talk with me, because with all his current and upcoming work I am not sure how he has any time for... Read All

The CD Key Grey Market & Cheerful Ghost

Last year Cheerful Ghost published Starship Rubicon and I am really proud of that. Working alongside Wick to get the game launched, promoted and sold has been one of the more enjoyable things I've been part of. When I approached him about publishing his game, I had a fledgling idea of how to approach and in the end I believe we did well by the game and its fans. Together we've learned a lot: firstly, making an Indie game doesn't mean you make big money (because as of now we haven't made very much), and secondly, you need to be aware of what is out there that can potentially harm your game. One such thing that can chip away at the money you can make in the industry is... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 06/29/2016 at 02:17am

Their model is, as you've said, very morally gray at best. However, they definitely get most of their money from money laundering from stolen credit cards. If this was any other kind of medium that dealt with something other than electronic goods, these services would have been shut down a long time ago, I imagine. Lawmakers still just don't know what to do with electronic goods.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/29/2016 at 11:21pm

I'm trying to wrap my head around this one, but I wanted to point out a quick misrepresentation. G2A didn't make $450K in sales of tinyBuilds game keys. The estimation that tinyBuild came up with was that just under $200K in revenue was created, with a percentage of that (somewhere between 10.8 and 30, I can't tell) going to G2A, which they claim would have equated to over $450K if those sales had gone through their site. I think these kinds of factoring are generally flawed, but the fact remains that they had product stolen and resold without seeing fruits of that.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/29/2016 at 11:46pm

Added to that, grey markets aren't illegal or immoral. Associating the problems in G2A's system with grey market activity is confusing the issue.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/30/2016 at 03:32am

> I think these kinds of factoring are generally flawed, but the fact remains that they had product stolen and resold without seeing fruits of that.

Yeah, that's a good point.

> Added to that, grey markets aren't illegal or immoral. Associating the problems in G2A's system with grey market activity is confusing the issue.

Yeah, that makes sense. This article has been through a couple revisions and what it landed on maybe is a bit odd in that way. I do think that G2A and sites like it can potentially serve a legitimate use, for instance a developer could sell the game there if they wanted. That said, that's a far reach from what I am talking about in this article and I used the term Grey market to sort of cover a legit usecase for these sites even though the main use of them isn't.

In the end I think G2A and sites like it should operate more like a pawn shop and require ID up front and maybe do a bit more to make sure things are on the up and up if you are selling more than a handful of keys.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/30/2016 at 04:43am

I find it interesting that you both use the British "grey" instead of the American "gray"

That's off-topic :D

Gray markets definitely aren't illegal by definition, but there's a certain connotation with the term. And G2A's practices certainly support that connotation. It's possible that "gray market" isn't the right term to use here, but I don't know what the right term is. At its best it isn't money laundering with stolen credit cards, but it supports that. At its usual best, it provides ways for people to sell keys that they probably aren't authorized to sell.

And there's a certain point about ownership here as well. It's worth noting that just because you have a key to redeem a game on Steam, that doesn't mean you are allowed to sell it in all cases. Ultimately, with digital goods, you don't own the content, you are licensed the content, and the content owners can make choices that affect your ability to re-sell or do other non-standard things. G2A and its competitors facilitate fudging that concept of ownership.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/02/2016 at 03:09am

> I find it interesting that you both use the British "grey" instead of the American "gray"

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Our Hearts Are Heavy Today

By now I’m sure you’ve all heard about the tragic shooting in Orlando yesterday. It’s the largest mass shooting in US history. Such a senseless act of violence caused by fear and lack of understanding. Our thoughts are with the victims’ families and friends today.

To those who lost someone in this attack, please know you are not alone. We can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but we’re mourning with you.

This event will become politicized (and that’s already started), but that’s not what this post is about, and we ask you not to do so in the comments. There are political ramifications and those need to be discussed, but not now. For now, we mourn this... Read All

What Are You Playing - Summer Edition

As Summer is now in full swing I am wondering what everyone is playing right now?

I play Hearthstone daily and am currently saving gold for the next 4 wings of the upcoming adventure. I'm also playing FTL, the new Doom and a iOS game called Gem Hunters.

Let me know in the comments what you are playing as well and if it's worth looking into!

GregoPeck Member wrote on 06/06/2016 at 05:46am

I finished FFX (HD Remaster) and Doom. Now I'm playing Fallout 4, because of the Far Harbor DLC. However, I haven't started it yet, instead I'm going around collecting a bunch of stuff like the bobbleheads and magazines I've missed. I'm going to go after some of those great weapons and stuff, too. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to attempt to complete all the misc. quests.

Once I finish w/ Fallout 4 I'm moving on to The Witcher 3 again because it just had a DLC released as well. Maybe after that I'll play FFX-2 (HD Remaster).

I'm still playing a bit of Ark, but not much. I got on the server a while ago and helped with some things. I also started a new single player game on The Center map, which is now an official mod. I'm interested in other mods, so I may start another new game with those (particularly Annunaki Genesis).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/06/2016 at 06:29am

> Once I finish w/ Fallout 4 I'm moving on to The Witcher 3 again because it just had a DLC released as well.

Some day I plan on picking up Witcher 3 and all of it's DLC. I can wait though as I have many other games right now and I imagine at some point the whole package will be available in one bundle. Heard really great things about it. Have you completed Witcher 3 Greg?

GregoPeck Member wrote on 06/06/2016 at 07:17am

Yes, I finished The Witcher 3 and I absolutely love it! The story was quite epic, I cared a lot about the main characters. There are a lot of quests, so there's plenty to do. I do strongly recommend it.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/06/2016 at 11:32am

I tried (unsuccessfully) to play the first Witcher. It was just super clunky and not very fun. But I hear it's worth getting through, and that Witcher 2 fixes all those issues.

As for what I'm playing, Doom and Fallout 4. I decided to do both kinda alternately but I got the Far Harbor fever and haven't gone back to Doom. It's really, really good.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/06/2016 at 05:15pm

I just finished Dishonored (finally), and found it to be quite good. Now I've moved onto Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which I've had to start over because I can't remember what was going on when I left off. Also picked up Oxenfree on the PS4, which I can't tell yet if I like. Rocket League is ever-present. I really want to get on that Doom train, but it will have to wait.

Because of recently binging and catching up on Game of Thrones, I've also been visiting Skyrim, not so much to play through it, but simply to be in that environment. It feels like an extension of that Song of Ice and Fire universe, in a way.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/06/2016 at 05:55pm

Deus Ex Human Revolution is one of my faves. The director's cut which includes some cut content and offers a few more choices in how to handle things is apparently the way to go but I haven't played that version.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 06/06/2016 at 06:37pm

Last weekend I found myself binging again on Game Dev Tycoon. Finally created my first 10/10 game lol.
Other than that I've been playing Bejeweled Stars for a few mins here and there.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/06/2016 at 06:41pm

The Director's Cut is what I'm playing, and a secondary reason for starting over. I think it was a free upgrade through Steam a while back. It's hard going from Dishonored, with such smooth movement mechanics, to DE:HR, especially since both are heavy-leaning stealth-optional. DE:HR is a bit more cumbersome, but good on gadgets!

Is anyone playing, or considering getting into Overwatch? I know a few of us played the beta. I never took advantage of the PS4 beta, but with the $20 price difference on PC, I think I'd rather that route, if I took the step. I definitely enjoyed the beta, but it seems like everyone playing is completely smitten with it.

GregoPeck Member wrote on 06/06/2016 at 07:45pm

I didn't really enjoy the first Witcher game. The second was better, but the third was absolutely wonderful.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/06/2016 at 08:23pm

Greg has been playing a lot of EVGA Precision X 16. 221 hours on record! :D

Seriously though since you installed that from Steam it's showing that you're constantly playing it. And what the hell, it has achievements?

I installed that straight from their site. Seems weird to have it tied to Steam.

GregoPeck Member wrote on 06/07/2016 at 12:27am

Interesting. Yeah, I installed it via Steam before I got my new GPU. I have it run at startup. Windows says it's running, but I don't see it unless I load it myself.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2016 at 01:23am

> I tried (unsuccessfully) to play the first Witcher. It was just super clunky and not very fun. But I hear it's worth getting through, and that Witcher 2 fixes all those issues.

The first Witcher is rough but I may have liked it more when it first launched? It doesn't hold up as well I think if you haven't played it before. W2 is better but for whatever reason, I didn't continue on with it.

> Because of recently binging and catching up on Game of Thrones, I've also been visiting Skyrim, not so much to play through it, but simply to be in that environment. It feels like an extension of that Song of Ice and Fire universe, in a way.

I really like the Skyrim atmosphere and music. In a way, more than Fallout 4 but I like the F4 story and gameplay more. If that makes sense.

> Is anyone playing, or considering getting into Overwatch? I know a few of us played the beta. I never took advantage of the PS4 beta, but with the $20 price difference on PC, I think I'd rather that route, if I took the step. I definitely enjoyed the beta, but it seems like everyone playing is completely smitten with it.

It's the huge game of the moment and I enjoyed what i've played so far but I didn't like it enough to pick it up. It's a good game but nothing I need to play.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2016 at 01:24am

And yeah, Travis is right Steam says you are playing that all day. I wonder if they hacked the app to crowd out other games because I know you play other games and I don't see you playing those.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/07/2016 at 02:30am

I read up on it. If you install it via Steam and then you have it auto-start, it's naturally running in Steam all the time. The only way NOT to get it to do that is to not have it auto-launch, and to launch it AFTER the games you run.

It's not so much that it's hacking the app, it's just that it's software being run through Steam and it runs constantly, so it effectively does crowd out all the other games. It's acting the same as it would if you set a game to auto-start.

But then the in-game stuff doesn't work for it.

So yeah, it's a terrible thing to even install via Steam. Uninstall that shiz and get it from their website :D

GregoPeck Member wrote on 06/07/2016 at 02:49am

Ah, I see. Will do, thanks for letting me know.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/07/2016 at 03:14am

After a couple days it might rank higher in your most played games list than Terraria. That alone means it should be killed.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/07/2016 at 03:40am

WRT Overwatch: No interest, as I already see people complaining about others "not understanding the meta" and "having to carry" people who suck. And comparing this and that to LoL and this and that to DotA. Nope, pass.

This is definitely not the game for me. Just give me an arena shooter already. I was hoping for one with Doom but that was a major waste of multiplayer.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/07/2016 at 03:59am

What's wrong with the multiplayer in Doom?

scrypt Supporter wrote on 06/07/2016 at 04:01am

Also, I was understanding that Overwatch was basically Team Fortress 3, not MOBA-esque, so curious about the comparisons to League and DoTA :(.

GregoPeck Member wrote on 06/07/2016 at 04:45am

Shoot, Ark is my most played game at 1074 hours. But, I uninstalled that app and reinstalled the one directly downloaded from EVGA's mirror link.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/07/2016 at 11:54am

If Overwatch is TF3, then I'm wrong and it may be way more fun, just going by what I've heard.

Doom multiplayer (based on what I played in the beta and the one or two matches I played on the final release) is an attempt to meld the old arena shooter ways with CoD and the like. It feels like it's trying for arena shooter but never landing because of the changes made to make it more like modern shooters. Weapon loadouts have no place in an arena shooter, for instance. It't not that it isn't good, it's that it isn't great. There's fun to be had, but it's definitely not what I was hoping for.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2016 at 03:21am

Overwatch is like Team Fortress 2. I played during Beta and sucked up a storm and no one said anything to me about it. There are matches people play against bots and against other humans. Bots are fun because our team won. Against humans we died each time, I just wasn't helping.

From my limited experience Overwatch doesn't have as a bad community, but even that all said, i'll wait till I pick it up. It's a fun shooter no question, it's just not what I am looking to get into right now.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 06/08/2016 at 03:22am

As to Doom multiplayer, I have yet to try it. I'll maybe do that tonight if I remember to.

GregoPeck Member wrote on 06/08/2016 at 04:27am

I overlooked Overwatch. Some of my Ark friends played it, so I asked them about it and got my understanding of it from them. It looks a bit like Splatoon in the way that you have to wait online for other players to play w/ and against. I haven't played it either, I just know from watching Vinny play it. I liked shooters back in the old Doom and Quake days, but I haven't really been into them as much. Although I'm into Fallout, it kind of counts as being in that category, but I think it's so much more than that. Right now i don't have any interest in Overwatch, maybe that would change if I looked into it and watched a video of someone playing it (which is how my interest in the new Doom was born).

I haven't tried multiplayer in the new Doom yet, either. I think it'd be fun to play a co-op match against demons, but I generally don't like PVP kinds of games. If anyone plays Doom multiplayer, let me know how ti goes and whether or not there's a co-op option. If so, I wouldn't mind playing with someone, I love Doom!

As for TF2, that's what Vinny's been playing lately. I got an invite from a friend to play it over a year ago (maybe more) and I haven't tried it yet. Yet another game I have no current interest in, which could possibly changed by watching a YouTube video about it.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/08/2016 at 04:03pm

It looks a bit like Splatoon in the way that you have to wait online for other players to play w/ and against

This is basically how most multiplayer works. :D

At least the default matchmaking thing. I assume there are ways to play Overwatch with friends.

Maybe I was just experiencing assholes talking about Overwatch. One thing I loved about TF2 when I played it was the community. It's a very tactical game and a bad player can really break your team but the community was always fun. I don't know if that's changed since it went F2P.

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Game Giveaways Are Now Live!

Travis and I haven't been resting after we launched a new site revamp a couple weeks back and this evening we are launching a cool new top level feature called Giveaways. Giveaways are game contests that we will be running every now and again any registered Cheerful Ghost user can enter or run. If you see a game you want to win, click to join and you will be entered in the contest to be randomly selected to win!

It's also great in that anyone on the site can create a game giveaway for (mostly) and kind of digital game. If you have a few bundle keys or extra copies laying around your Steam inventory you can create a Giveaway contest! Giveaways work in conjunction with... Read All

New Cheerful Ghost Site Design Is Now Live!

Welcome to the new and improved Cheerful Ghost! Jon was looking for a more modern theme for the site, and I was happy to do it, partly because I had seen some things over the years that could be improved, and partly because I needed a client for one of my classes.

This has been an amazingly fun project, probably the most fun I’ve had on a site design yet. I’m very familiar with the site so I was able to envision ways to make some things work more smoothly, and design things to not get in the way of the reader. My chief goals were to modernize the site styles and make it look less like a Bootstrap theme.

Jon’s goals for the redesign were (again) to modernize the site... Read All

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/18/2016 at 01:41am

Thanks for working on this Travis, I really enjoy how everything looks. It's a nice improvement and something I appreciate you taking the time to do.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/18/2016 at 01:44am

You're very welcome! As I said, it was a blast. I'd definitely do it again :D

GregoPeck Member wrote on 05/18/2016 at 02:01am

Whoa! That was unexpected. It looks cool. Good job! I'm going to miss the blue colors, though. LOL

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/18/2016 at 02:03am

Yeah, the old design was burned into my brain too Greg! Goodbye old friend!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/18/2016 at 02:04am

There are all kinds of new blues here Greg! :D

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/18/2016 at 02:20am

It's super sexy, you guys! Nice job :D

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/18/2016 at 02:31am

This looks great! Super job Travis :)

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/18/2016 at 02:44am

Thanks! :)

rettisawesome wrote on 05/18/2016 at 07:08am

Nice. I'm totally digging the new design.

Will_Ball Game Mod Member wrote on 05/18/2016 at 04:49pm

Looks great! Good work Travis!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/18/2016 at 06:39pm

Thanks rett and Will!

hardeyez wrote on 05/19/2016 at 05:42pm

New design looks great!! (and I agree it will take some time to get used to the desaturated background compared to the old bright blue, but change is good).

GregoPeck Member wrote on 05/20/2016 at 02:25am

I see the logo at the top left is a drop down menu now. That's cool and organized. I've been so used to refreshing the site by clicking on that logo, so that's how I noticed. It may be an extra click from what I was doing before, but I can also click my browser's refresh button.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/20/2016 at 04:15am

I like that it's organized too but I don't love it's two clicks to get home or refresh.

Travis can we make the Ghost take people back to home and clicking the Cheerful Ghost drop down is the dropdown? That may make that a bit better for people.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/20/2016 at 03:44pm

Yeah that's easily done.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 05/21/2016 at 04:40pm

Greg-- the ghos is now a link home, the menu is triggered by the text only now.

GregoPeck Member wrote on 05/21/2016 at 09:07pm

Thanks! I was ok with the change. I was just making the observation that the logo was a drop down menu.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/21/2016 at 10:02pm

I wanted that change, it was annoying otherwise. Maybe just for me.

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Start Star Wars Day Off Right With This Themed Playlist

https://cnet2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/11/19/a899c919-8f1d-446f-a74c-5615651677d9/thumbnail/770x433/69ca4fb7e716e784d36b08fed0dbe92f/star-wars-poster-1977.jpg

May the fourth be with us all and on this special day I recommend you start things right with this Best of Star Wars Spotify playlist. It features 23 John Williams cuts that will entertain your nerf herding ears.

Feel free to share any other fun Star Wars stuff you find today in the comments section of this post as I am curious what stuff yo all find.

https://play.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/09H7xj3DbNhS8gbJg0biU0?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

New Information Comes Forward Casting Doubt On Something We've All Accepted

It's important you take time out of your day to watch the video above. I know it might seem far fetched but Graham Putnam's video casts serious doubts on the story we've all been spoon fed. It's time we all woke up to this truth and this video deconstructs the administrations narrative and the key players involved. It's nice to know people like Graham can spend the time to research such an important topic and I urge you to watch this video before it is censored to keep it from spreading.

Cheerful Ghost Blog

Steam Developer Days Day II - A Wrap Up To A Great Conference

Steam Developer Days Day 1 - VR Is All Around You

Interview With Board Game Design Master Kevin Wilson About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past & More!

The CD Key Grey Market & Cheerful Ghost

Our Hearts Are Heavy Today

What Are You Playing - Summer Edition

Game Giveaways Are Now Live!

New Cheerful Ghost Site Design Is Now Live!

Start Star Wars Day Off Right With This Themed Playlist

New Information Comes Forward Casting Doubt On Something We've All Accepted

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