Ok, ok, calm down... don't be so pessimistic. I mean this could be a good thing right? Now Oculus has a huge stack of cash behind them to advance the technology right? And all the parody Facebook VR videos and meme's we're about to get are going to make for some solid comedy.
How long until the Oculus starts tracking your eye movements to see which ads you look at and for how long, so to better target you with future advertisements? >.<
Engadget has an article about the deal with this disheartening quote. This is from the "update" while on a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg: "Specifically, he talked about the potential of a virtual communication network, buying virtual goods, and down the line, advertising." Article: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/25/facebook-oculus-vr-2-billion/
Watching the Dev Days videos, it seems like a lot of people don't like FB (it seemed to be a running theme that you shouldn't be on FB. Never really for any specific reason, just "If you're still on FB, you've made some poor life choices"), so I am interested in seeing how Valve and Steam react to this.
Azurephile Super Member
wrote on 03/25/2014 at 11:19pm
Life is such a damn cartoon sometimes. I want Microsoft and Facebook to release a platform that has nothing but advertisements on it. Static ads, and 30-60 second spots of pure consumer targeted drama. They could call it something classy like "Ads, MF" or "PinkEye 360."
In truth, I haven't been keenly interested in VR. I'll holster any real opinions until I've actually tried it. However, I'm not a fan of Facebook. I think Facebook actually did give me pinkeye once.
Most startups (Oculus, etc) are created to get acquired. They take investment and either want to grow huge to IPO or sell. In this case Oculus raised a huge amount of cash from the community, which give it a shot in the arm popularity wise but didn't seem to change the companies strategy.
So basically, when you fund a Kickstarter yo are basically pre-ordering something. So if you think your dollars mean "oh hey, stay independent guys" well, apparently that's not what it means at all. Cause Facebook be all like, 2 BILLION and Oculus be all THANKS FOR THE MONEY!
That said, yay for them and all that but like you guys, this just doesn't seem awesome. That said, I bet in the end the Oculus will still be great and they are still focused on games.
This comment sums up my feelings on it. "I don't want to live in a future where a handful of giant companies are dividing up every piece of creative enterprise that stands a chance of reaching mass market"
Kickstarter funding may not be implicit with staying independent, but I'll bet it makes people think twice about funding tech projects in the future, if they see that their $2M contribution could just be funding a $2B buyout. If I had Kickstarted OR, I would be pissed right now, because instead of supporting the vision of Oculus VR, now I've successfully funded the vision of Facebook. A scarier thought might be that their visions were aligned in the first place, in which case I doubt as many would have cared about OR in the first place. If this were LOST, Oculus VR would be J.J. Abrams, Facebook would be Damon Lindelof, and it might sound all well and good for a while, but in the end it's just a steaming pile of horseshit.
The magic is gone.
(I don't really think Damon Lindelof is as frustrating as Facebook, but, as a writer, he does frustrate the shit out of me sometimes. :D)
John Carmack has weighed in about the Facebook buyout over on Peter Berkman's (a member of chip-tunes band Anamanaguchi) Tumbler page. Kind of a weird place to make his first comments, but whatever.
How Nintendo has drawn Link has changed from game to game. This image references the different stages of his design and sort of shows off how his style varies from consoles to handhelds releases. It seems that the console versions feature a much more adult Link as the consoles have him at a younger age.
I imagine when we get a Zelda game supported by the Oculus Rift Link will be well into his late 30's.
How Nintendo has drawn Link has changed from game to game. This image references the different stages of his design and sort of shows off how his style varies from consoles to handhelds releases. It seems that the console versions feature a much more adult Link as the consoles have him at a younger age.
I imagine when we get a Zelda game supported by the Oculus Rift Link will be well into his late 30's.
You know, for as much of a Zelda fan as I was/am, I just realized that I've not played hardly any of the games! I've only played The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening... that's less than a quarter of all Zelda games.
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 03/26/2014 at 04:38am
Yeah, I haven't played many of the modern Zelda's since Twilight Princess and I didn't beat it. It was great, I plan on coming back to it.. Someday.
"Mozilla and Unity are announcing new deployment tools bringing Unity-authored games to the Web without the need for plugins, made possible thanks to Mozilla-pioneered technologies including WebGL, a Web graphics library and asm.js, a supercharged subset of JavaScript. Unity’s WebGL add-on will be made available with the release of Unity 5.0 later this year."
Using open web technology such as WebGL and asm.js it should be pretty easy for developers to port their games to the web using the upcoming version of Unity. Currently Unity web games require a browser plugin and after the new version is out developers can start building native browser games.
Now that Internet... Read All
"Mozilla and Unity are announcing new deployment tools bringing Unity-authored games to the Web without the need for plugins, made possible thanks to Mozilla-pioneered technologies including WebGL, a Web graphics library and asm.js, a supercharged subset of JavaScript. Unity’s WebGL add-on will be made available with the release of Unity 5.0 later this year."
Using open web technology such as WebGL and asm.js it should be pretty easy for developers to port their games to the web using the upcoming version of Unity. Currently Unity web games require a browser plugin and after the new version is out developers can start building native browser games.
Now that Internet Explorer is supporting WebGL if things works well enough, native Unity games "should" work everywhere.
Azurephile gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale
This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.
Azurephile gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale
This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.
First impressions:
Recommended
Has an expansion
Available as Starter, Standard, and Collector's Editions
Graphical upgrade over original StarCraft game
Quick and easy tutorial
Achievements
Expansion and editions: Since getting my new PC, I've been desperate for a new epic game to play. I decided to get StarCraft II (along with the expansion). I haven't installed the expansion yet, I intend to do that when I finish with the original game. There are apparently different versions of StarCraft II. After I installed the game, it told me to upgrade. I noticed I had installed the Starter Edition and had to use my code that came with the game to unlock the Standard Edition.... Read AllFirst impressions:
Recommended
Has an expansion
Available as Starter, Standard, and Collector's Editions
Graphical upgrade over original StarCraft game
Quick and easy tutorial
Achievements
Expansion and editions: Since getting my new PC, I've been desperate for a new epic game to play. I decided to get StarCraft II (along with the expansion). I haven't installed the expansion yet, I intend to do that when I finish with the original game. There are apparently different versions of StarCraft II. After I installed the game, it told me to upgrade. I noticed I had installed the Starter Edition and had to use my code that came with the game to unlock the Standard Edition. I believe there is also a Collector's Edition which can be purchased, which unlocks more upgrades and units.
Installing the game took a long time, really that's because of the size of the updates I had to download (at least 2 gigs, I think). While I had the game installing and updating, I decided to search YouTube for some videos regarding the story of StarCraft (the original). I found plenty of videos and was glad that I was able to recall the original story.
My first impression of StarCraft II is that it is amazing and beautiful! Some of the old characters have returned with their original voice actors. The main difference is that everything, including old characters, have a brand new look. If nothing else, the game is a huge visual upgrade to the original. Even for it's age, I think the original StarCraft looks good, but the sequel gives a vast improvement on visuals, which really should go without saying.
The tutorial section is quick and easy to get through. One new thing about the game is that there are various achievements unlocked by completing certain objectives, such as completing a mission on a harder level of difficulty. Other objectives include picking up Protoss Artifacts or obtaining Zerg research. These are available in the Terran missions, which is the campaign I'm currently working on. Various upgrades are available for purchase of in-game "credits." So far, I don't think I've run into any new units.
The terrain and background got a huge visual upgrade as well. On last mission I played, I was on a planet where I had to mine expensive minerals, but had to work around the lava that would overflow low-lying terrain every few minutes. So far, I'm very impressed with the game. Although there is some new music, the original music is in the game as well.
Collectors Edition: I have the Wings of Liberty CE as well as the Heart of the Swarm CE and it's the same base game you have but they come with making of documentaries, game score and more. That said it's the same base game for sure.
There have been a ton of updates since launch. Like with most modern Blizzard games they have added to the game so much it[s a practically new download. Kind of odd they still release on a DVD, it means nearly nothing because right away the majority of the game is replaced :D
As to the game, I loved it. The story and gameplay was fresh and fun.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 03/23/2014 at 09:38pm
Sweet, as much as I love it so far, I think it might be cool to upgrade to the CE. I might look into it. I'm loving it more than I thought I would. Although I loved StarCraft, that was one of the best games of it's time. I haven't played World of Warcraft, but I've played the first 2 Warcraft games, those were really good, too. In my early Windows PC gaming days, I played those games along with the Command & Conquer series, though I haven't played the latest one.
Yeah, Blizzard Collectors Editions are pretty neat. If you like watching the making of stuff and dig game scores and art books, you should look into it.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 03/23/2014 at 09:43pm
I see there's a free Starter Edition of Diablos III. I should probably give that a try sometime.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 03/24/2014 at 09:16pm
Cool, thanks for the updates. If anyone wants to send me a friend request on Battle.net my user name is GregoPeck#1971. Also, I've never played a Diablos game, although I believe I have the original.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 03/24/2014 at 09:27pm
I have 4 Guest Passes for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty and 4 Guest Passes for World of WarCraft. If anyone would like one, please feel free to send me a message. WoW is free up to level 20, I've never played it.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 03/24/2014 at 10:03pm
My recent gaming activities (over the last few months or more, since I've been a member here) have changed once again. It's not the first time, this has happened, just in this particular way. When I got my first Windows PC, I was playing games like Command & Conquer, Dune 2, WarCraft I & II, Doom I & II, and Duke Nukem 3D. So, I was more into RTS and FPS games. My college days changed me more into RPGs, with my introduction to Final Fantasy VIII and Grand Theft Auto. Lately, I've noticed a new change in the way I game, which is that I've moved more into digital games, that is with my usage of Steam and Battle.Net.
I started on Steam a while ago when I found out that Portal was free. I gave it a try, but only spent 3 hours on it. Then, I came here and got connected with various people here on Steam. Since then, my Steam Library has grown and I have yet to pay for a game yet. I now also have Terraria, Ragnarok Online, FTL, and DoTA 2. Some of them were free and some were gifted.
Now, Battle.Net is showing me a different way of digital gaming. When I installed StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, I noticed that there were a lot of updates to download, and I still hadn't unlocked the Standard Edition. This I had to do at Battle.Net by creating an account and redeeming the code on the disc sleeve. I believe I had to download a SC2 client. In a way it sucks that I'd have to go online to install the full version of a game that I paid for, it would be worse if I didn't have Internet access.
Then I noticed on the website that there are different versions of games, some of which have a Starter Edition, which are free to download, install, and play. I not sure of their individual limits. I did notice that Diablos III has an SE, so I'm downloading that now.
It's also cool that games have a Starter Edition, which sounds to me like a demo or much more than a simple demo, free to play. I've always liked demos, since my early PC gaming days when I subscribed to PC Gamer, which came with a CD full of demos. It's always nice to "try before you buy," which could save you money from buying a game that you're not really into. That's always the risk of buying games that don't have demos, which has been one issue with console gaming, but that has changed with digital media and network connectivity.
In Blizzard land "Starter Editions" are basically demos. In the case of World of Warcraft it's the full game up to level 20 and there is a certain gold cap as well. I guess if you get that far, it makes sense to buy it. I played through WoW starter and had quite a bit of fun but stopped at level 6 or something. I might head back in and give it a try again though.
All modern Blizzard titles now require internet access. Starcraft 2 will run in offline mode but it's fairly crippled and only allows access to the single player part. Diablo 3, WoW, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm all require internet access. Kind of makes sense for most of those games but some have complained about d3 requiring online. I think d3's online requirement is nice in that you can play with your friends if you want because it forces everyone to play in that way.
Azurephile Super Member Post Author
wrote on 03/25/2014 at 01:43am
Awesome, Jon. The Diablos III Starter seems to be almost 15 gigs to download. I also forgot to mention something else I love about StarCraft II, you can hover over the Menu button and see what time it is and how many frames per second the game is running at. I've seen it above 60, sometimes over 100. It's pretty sweet.
Starcraft II launched in 2010 and computer have gotten much faster since then. I know i've upgraded my Desktop since then myself. They have kept the system specs around that level too so even when the next expansion comes out, it should work just as well.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls drops next week adding a whole bunch of content to the game world of Sanctuary. In the new Act V Diablo III story, Malthael the Angel of Death steals the soulstone and as such you must put a stop to it. It's fun seeing what maguffins the Diablo III writers come up with after the destruction of Diablo at the end of the game. On one hand, I love coming back to Diablo and having fun but on the other hand, haven't we killed ultimate evil a few times before? Well, apparently not because we need to take a swing at the Angel of Death. Still, the game looks great and I can't wait to play as the Crusader.
nod to the happenings of act V
The video... Read All
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls drops next week adding a whole bunch of content to the game world of Sanctuary. In the new Act V Diablo III story, Malthael the Angel of Death steals the soulstone and as such you must put a stop to it. It's fun seeing what maguffins the Diablo III writers come up with after the destruction of Diablo at the end of the game. On one hand, I love coming back to Diablo and having fun but on the other hand, haven't we killed ultimate evil a few times before? Well, apparently not because we need to take a swing at the Angel of Death. Still, the game looks great and I can't wait to play as the Crusader.
nod to the happenings of act V
The video linked above is a recent interview with some people involved with the voice acting at Blizzard including the voice actors of the new Crusader class. It's a really great roundtable style interview but I found one point interesting as it may shed some light to the particulars of Act V. In the interview, Gideon Emery lets slip that as he was reading lines for Reaper of Souls that you are "Visited by another character and had to reign in the emotion…." Whereas this could mean many things I am wondering if this is a possible hint at the return of some main characters we lost in Diablo III(to avoid spoilers I am being a bit hazy here).
more reaper newsy bits
If you are wondering how you might allocate skills to the new Crusader class, you should check out the new skill calculator. It allows you to read all the new skills and runes you can use to make your perfect build.
In other Diablo III news, the auction house is now closed bringing it's reign of terror to an end.
Diablo III drops March 25th on Mac and Windows. Also, if we kill death in Act V does that mean people stop dying in Sanctuary? I guess we'll know on March 25th.
Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 is deep in development after a very successful Kickstarter but they took some time during GDC to release a new gameplay video. From the creator of Mega Man, the game seems very similar but give the game a modern edge. I really love the idea of a new fresh take at Mega Man but wasn't in love with all the art choices they showcased. After seeing Mighty No. 9 in action I am convinced the game will be good.
Mighty No. 9 will launch April of 2015 on Linux, Mac, Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Vita and 3DS.
Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9 is deep in development after a very successful Kickstarter but they took some time during GDC to release a new gameplay video. From the creator of Mega Man, the game seems very similar but give the game a modern edge. I really love the idea of a new fresh take at Mega Man but wasn't in love with all the art choices they showcased. After seeing Mighty No. 9 in action I am convinced the game will be good.
Mighty No. 9 will launch April of 2015 on Linux, Mac, Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, Vita and 3DS.
I gotta say, it's totally Mega Man, but I'm fine with that. It looks more like Mega Man X than the original Mega Man series which is AWESOME because we need a new, good Mega Man X.
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 03/23/2014 at 10:40pm
Yep, it is. That said, the list of systems they are supporting at launch is pretty incredible... but... no Super Nintendo...
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With all the news about the big AAA releases dominating what's coming out of GDC, this indie announcement is the one that's stuck with me.
In Tetropolis, you play as a defective tetronimo. As the story goes, there's a factory that creates all those puzzle pieces for all the puzzle games. Perhaps that's why you only see the next one piece in Tetris-- it's the one currently being made! At any rate, our hero gets made with only three blocks instead of four, and is sent to the disassembler. Along the way you'll meet another defective tetronimo, one with only a single block, and work together to try to escape disassembly and find a place to fit in.
The gameplay is what's... Read All
With all the news about the big AAA releases dominating what's coming out of GDC, this indie announcement is the one that's stuck with me.
In Tetropolis, you play as a defective tetronimo. As the story goes, there's a factory that creates all those puzzle pieces for all the puzzle games. Perhaps that's why you only see the next one piece in Tetris-- it's the one currently being made! At any rate, our hero gets made with only three blocks instead of four, and is sent to the disassembler. Along the way you'll meet another defective tetronimo, one with only a single block, and work together to try to escape disassembly and find a place to fit in.
The gameplay is what's really intriguing here, because while there's some standard platformer fare, there are also some puzzle sections where you and your cohort will have to reassemble yourselves into a specific piece to get into certain areas. This leads to some Metroidvania-style backtracking, but what's more, all the rooms in the factory are also tetronimoes, and you can rearrange the rooms to access parts of the map that are normally off-limits. The lead developer of the game calls this "Tetroidvania."
I like the idea quite a bit. Tetris doesn't contain a huge amount of lore... or should I say doesn't have any lore so adding some characterization to it could be really interesting. Hope this is game is more than just a really inventive gimmick.
"In Hyper Light Drifter you'll travel a ruined land with a twisted past, delving deep to collect lost technologies and unveil secrets long buried. Hyper Light is comprised of various elements: combat that's lightning quick, brutal, never unfair and always satisfying; a highly stylized, lush and varied world to explore with an intense atmosphere; a strong narrative and character interactions expressed through visual design."
The more I see the gameplay and hear Disasterpeace score I want to play this. Heart Machine is planning on releasing Hyper Light Drifter in mid 2014 for the PC, Mac, Linux, PS4 and Vita.
"In Hyper Light Drifter you'll travel a ruined land with a twisted past, delving deep to collect lost technologies and unveil secrets long buried. Hyper Light is comprised of various elements: combat that's lightning quick, brutal, never unfair and always satisfying; a highly stylized, lush and varied world to explore with an intense atmosphere; a strong narrative and character interactions expressed through visual design."
The more I see the gameplay and hear Disasterpeace score I want to play this. Heart Machine is planning on releasing Hyper Light Drifter in mid 2014 for the PC, Mac, Linux, PS4 and Vita.
Wow, this looks great. I was afraid that since it's on the Playstation channel and only had PS4 and Vita logos at the end, that it was an exclusive. Glad to see you addressed my fears.
jdodson Admin Post Author
wrote on 03/22/2014 at 03:57pm
Yeah, this game needs to come to the PC.
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In this episode of The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we are talk about a smattering of game related bits such as the new Steam Controller re-design, Gauntlet Reboot & Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls. We also chat about what games we've been playing as well as other awesomery not found anywhere else(except for the other places you can find them).
What We are Playing & Drinking
0.25m scrypt: Darksiders & Darksiders II, Dark Souls & Pinball FX2
2.00m WhiteboySlim: GTA V Online & Ocarina of Time Remaster
5.00m Travis: Portal 2, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake & Super Mario World
6.30m jdodson: Portal 2, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake, Diablo III 2.0.X & Nom... Read All
In this episode of The Cheerful Ghost Roundtable we are talk about a smattering of game related bits such as the new Steam Controller re-design, Gauntlet Reboot & Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls. We also chat about what games we've been playing as well as other awesomery not found anywhere else(except for the other places you can find them).
What We are Playing & Drinking
0.25m scrypt: Darksiders & Darksiders II, Dark Souls & Pinball FX2
2.00m WhiteboySlim: GTA V Online & Ocarina of Time Remaster
5.00m Travis: Portal 2, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake & Super Mario World
6.30m jdodson: Portal 2, Monsters Ate My Birthday Cake, Diablo III 2.0.X & Nom Nom Galaxy
This Episodes Roundtable Topics
10.15m WB Announces Gauntlet Reboot. Coming to PC Steam and SteamOS.
19.40m Diablo III Reaper of Souls.
32.40m Steam Controller Redesign with ALL NEW BUTTONS!
39.30m Leaks of the new Amazon controller for a probable new Amazon console.
I lied to you yesterday when I said GOG.com's Linux support was the best news all week.
This is.
Unreal Engine 4 launches today, and will soon support Oculus VR, Linux, Valve’s Steamworks and Steam Machines and HTML5. And the source is hosted on GitHub, though you do have to pay a subscription to access it.
That Linux support is for deployment and development. Linux will be a first-class citizen all around for the new engine.
They're also building an app store model for sharing awesome code-- free stuff and paid-for.
Unreal Engine 4 launches today, and will soon support Oculus VR, Linux, Valve’s Steamworks and Steam Machines and HTML5. And the source is hosted on GitHub, though you do have to pay a subscription to access it.
That Linux support is for deployment and development. Linux will be a first-class citizen all around for the new engine.
They're also building an app store model for sharing awesome code-- free stuff and paid-for.
Pretty! I like the low cost of entry, although a free version to learn on would be nice, but the 5% royalty to Epic seems sketchy. I just hope other companies don't start doing this. Imagine if all the software you used as a professional took a cut of your success (Adobe, don't you dare!)?
I agree. That said, if you are wanting to build the next amazing shooter, that might not be that bad. Well, depending on what you are used to. One of my friends who developed for consoles and such said that kind of rev cut isn't that uncommon and that engine companies have been doing that for a while. That said, if you don't want a rev cut then Unity might be the ticket. And really, I kind of would rather just buy tools outright than pay them scrilla per month and a rev cut.
I like Unity's approach. The subscription cost is higher, but the option to purchase a license is, I feel, still important. Of course you can learn to use the tools at no cost, which is the way it should be. I'm glad that model is working for them, and hope they continue with it. UE4 is so beautiful, though (graphically). I've never used it, but watching a few of the training videos they have on it make it seem less intimidating than I imagined. I've only gone as far as making test levels in Unity, but if UE4 is as welcoming to use, and (I would assume) more powerful, then it would certainly be worth $20 a month to try it out, at least.
My test level isn't much more than going through some tutorials that I followed to get used to the tools. When I was finished I had hills and a wooded area all textured with grass, some bushes, proper rocks, some sand (texture), and a skybox. First person perspective. Playing around with it made me thing two things: "Yeah, I can do this," and "I have a lot more to learn." I'll see if I can dig it out and send it to you.
I was on my way over here to post this.
Sigh.
Hmmmm, I guess I'm glad it's still moving forward? I'm not crazy about FB owning it, but glad it's not completely dying.
Yeah I mean I know I'm being a pessimist about this, we don't know what will happen yet. But it just makes me uneasy.
http://nooooooooooooooo.com/
Ok, ok, calm down... don't be so pessimistic. I mean this could be a good thing right? Now Oculus has a huge stack of cash behind them to advance the technology right? And all the parody Facebook VR videos and meme's we're about to get are going to make for some solid comedy.
How long until the Oculus starts tracking your eye movements to see which ads you look at and for how long, so to better target you with future advertisements? >.<
Already some interesting news on this:
Apparently there was a version of Minecraft being developed for Oculus. Not anymore according to Notch: https://twitter.com/notch/status/448586381565390848
Engadget has an article about the deal with this disheartening quote. This is from the "update" while on a conference call with Mark Zuckerberg: "Specifically, he talked about the potential of a virtual communication network, buying virtual goods, and down the line, advertising."
Article: http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/25/facebook-oculus-vr-2-billion/
What the.... I mean I guess Oculus would have been purchased and... I just never thought it would be Facebook.
Wow, need a bit to process this. I mean Zuck is right, it is the future but...
Watching the Dev Days videos, it seems like a lot of people don't like FB (it seemed to be a running theme that you shouldn't be on FB. Never really for any specific reason, just "If you're still on FB, you've made some poor life choices"), so I am interested in seeing how Valve and Steam react to this.
Interesting.
Life is such a damn cartoon sometimes. I want Microsoft and Facebook to release a platform that has nothing but advertisements on it. Static ads, and 30-60 second spots of pure consumer targeted drama. They could call it something classy like "Ads, MF" or "PinkEye 360."
In truth, I haven't been keenly interested in VR. I'll holster any real opinions until I've actually tried it. However, I'm not a fan of Facebook. I think Facebook actually did give me pinkeye once.
Most startups (Oculus, etc) are created to get acquired. They take investment and either want to grow huge to IPO or sell. In this case Oculus raised a huge amount of cash from the community, which give it a shot in the arm popularity wise but didn't seem to change the companies strategy.
So basically, when you fund a Kickstarter yo are basically pre-ordering something. So if you think your dollars mean "oh hey, stay independent guys" well, apparently that's not what it means at all. Cause Facebook be all like, 2 BILLION and Oculus be all THANKS FOR THE MONEY!
That said, yay for them and all that but like you guys, this just doesn't seem awesome. That said, I bet in the end the Oculus will still be great and they are still focused on games.
On the other hand, I am very happy that Valve and other companies are still in the VR business.
This comment sums up my feelings on it. "I don't want to live in a future where a handful of giant companies are dividing up every piece of creative enterprise that stands a chance of reaching mass market"
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/26/facebook-and-oculus-rift-game-developers-react
It's insane to see the developer support falling off. Notch pulled the plans for a version of Minecraft for the Oculus, tons of others are dropping.
Kickstarter funding may not be implicit with staying independent, but I'll bet it makes people think twice about funding tech projects in the future, if they see that their $2M contribution could just be funding a $2B buyout. If I had Kickstarted OR, I would be pissed right now, because instead of supporting the vision of Oculus VR, now I've successfully funded the vision of Facebook. A scarier thought might be that their visions were aligned in the first place, in which case I doubt as many would have cared about OR in the first place. If this were LOST, Oculus VR would be J.J. Abrams, Facebook would be Damon Lindelof, and it might sound all well and good for a while, but in the end it's just a steaming pile of horseshit.
The magic is gone.
(I don't really think Damon Lindelof is as frustrating as Facebook, but, as a writer, he does frustrate the shit out of me sometimes. :D)
I love Lindelof but yeah, frustrating is a fine word to describe him.
Here's another recent example of Goliath controlling David, what consumers are agreeing to, and how it can go very wrong:
http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/26/xbox-one-griefers-may-have-twitch-privileges-dessert-taken-away/
John Carmack has weighed in about the Facebook buyout over on Peter Berkman's (a member of chip-tunes band Anamanaguchi) Tumbler page. Kind of a weird place to make his first comments, but whatever.
Joystiq has a summary of Carmack's comments: http://www.joystiq.com/2014/03/30/john-carmack-on-facebook-buy-of-oculus-they-get-the-big-pictur/
Carmack's original comments: http://peterberkman.tumblr.com/post/80827337212/wrong-and-right-reasons-to-be-upset-about-oculus#comment-1310233365
Apparently the Facebook buyout was a surprise to him, although he seems fairly OK with the decision.
Whereas I agree with him, the buyout still feels odd. Then again, he says outright there could have been a better pairing other places.
That said, who would have offered the 2 billion buyout?