Xbox 360: Anyone playing the Community Games?

xmiyux · 11-30-08, 10:02 AM

The things are getting absolutely no advertising and lack achievements, which kind of relegates them to a bargain bin mentality but I have become pretty fascinated with them. I ended up buying two of them and playing about 40 of the trials and i have to say - there is some really good stuff in there. Unfortunately the signal to noise ratio kind of sucks and there are a ton of garbage games.

Anyone else getting into them? I even have been writing the developers of some of the good games and they have been really friendly and responding, asking for constructive criticism, and even talking about implementing suggestions into an updated version of their game. I think this whole thing has a huge amount of potential.

Blow is the number one game i would recommend so far. An awesome puzzle game that is very relaxing due to no timer. And by relaxing i mean there is no pressure to beat it quickly. It is actually a pretty devilish physics puzzle game with 70 built in levels and the game can construct infinite new puzzles for you on the fly. It also has a beautiful art style and a wonderful instrumental soundtrack. The developer also participates in the Xbox.com forums and even made a helpful video he posted to Youtube and the forum.

Groucho · 11-30-08, 11:05 AM

All the games I've tried are utter garbage, thanks for the recommendation -- I will try Blow.

They need to build in some sort of rating system so that the good games are easier to find.

maingon · 11-30-08, 11:18 AM

yeah some games are really bad, theres a few that are good. Played the golf one and had a bad frame rate for having really nothing on screen. music was good but then you realized that its like a 1minute song repeated over and over.

Community games is pretty awesome that anyone can make a game. Cause there could be some great games coming out of this. even if most are gonna be crap

dtcarson · 11-30-08, 12:53 PM

Blow was interesting, though I think it's more suitable for an online PC game or something like that. Maybe I just don't have the patience for a game like it, but I can see it's a good game of its kind. I couldn't figure out what the hell to do with "In the Pit".
A rating system would definitely be useful, though potentially abused.

kmac2878 · 11-30-08, 01:16 PM

My wife likes Word Soup ... nothing has really stood out to me ...

Spicollidriver1 · 11-30-08, 01:44 PM

The game where you control a slug is hilarious to me for some reason. Don't think I'd buy it but I see potential in it, and with the price of arcade games going up I can see myself buying some

xmiyux · 11-30-08, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtcarson

Blow was interesting, though I think it's more suitable for an online PC game or something like that. Maybe I just don't have the patience for a game like it, but I can see it's a good game of its kind. I couldn't figure out what the hell to do with "In the Pit".
A rating system would definitely be useful, though potentially abused.

In the Pit confused me the first time because i was testing it out with the sound muted because i was also watching TV at the same time. Turns out the game is completely sound based with no graphics. You have to use the left stick to slowly move until the voice of the person in the pit is coming through your center channel. You then get closer and closer until you hear their heartbeat, then you feel it thumping in your pad (the vibration), and when it is at its highest you hit the A button to devour the victim in the pit.

xmiyux · 11-30-08, 02:03 PM

Another game worth checking out is basically the lightcycle game from Tron. I don't remember the exact title but it starts out with the word "Star." It is kind of cool since it has mulitplayer, multiple ships to choose from (with different stats), and in-game power-ups.

GatorDeb · 11-30-08, 02:25 PM

The XBOX Live Community Games Thread.

matthewdoucette · 11-30-08, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xmiyux

Anyone else getting into them?

I am. I have basically checked out all of them. And I am making one, too. Believe me, the developers want to hear what the gamers have to say about their games, and they are wishing for even better feedback systems in place. My game is not out yet, so it will be interesting to see what the fans (or not) have to say...

xmiyux · 11-30-08, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatorDeb

The XBOX Live Community Games Thread.

Why the new thread? Wouldn't this thread be just about Community Games?

I am genuinely puzzled.

Either way, i disagree with your statement in the other thread that 90% of the CG are worth 400 points. I would say a good 80-90% of the CG aren't worth much of anything right now. I think the majority of them are the developers experimenting and making early pet projects.

In a few months we will hopefully see even more good games come out of XNA.

xmiyux · 11-30-08, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewdoucette

I am. I have basically checked out all of them. And I am making one, too. Believe me, the developers want to hear what the gamers have to say about their games, and they are wishing for even better feedback systems in place. My game is not out yet, so it will be interesting to see what the fans (or not) have to say...

Pretty much the only feedback system now is at the very bottom of the Xbox.com forums where they have a community section. There is a small subforum for each game. Some of the developers are posting there and others aren't.

The guy who did Blow (David Flook) has made a few posts in the game forum and answered some questions.

matthewdoucette · 11-30-08, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groucho

They need to build in some sort of rating system so that the good games are easier to find.

Maybe this task is up to the game reviewers to write up the best games (the only publishing we are going to get) and let the public know what is good or not. If our xbox's show us the most popular games, it might work. Only, I want to see more than the top 5 or top 10 games. It would be nice to scroll from most popular to lease popular without any cut off. And, I want to see ratings by category.

matthewdoucette · 11-30-08, 02:38 PM

What is "remove ad"? Am I not allowed to link to my own website in my signature?

matthewdoucette · 11-30-08, 02:41 PM

Wow... the name of my website has been blocked from my signature...

GatorDeb · 11-30-08, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xmiyux

Why the new thread? Wouldn't this thread be just about Community Games?

I am genuinely puzzled.

I started that thread on 11/21, 9 days ago

xmiyux · 11-30-08, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewdoucette

Wow... the name of my website has been blocked from my signature...

I'm not a mod so take this as you will, but i believe they frequently do something like that with new users due to a forum this size getting a good deal of spammers signing up to advertise/spam various websites. I'm sure as you contribute and it becomes obvious you aren't a spammer it won't be an issue.

Actually iirc, until someone has a certain number of posts they can't post links at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GatorDeb

I started that thread on 11/21, 9 days ago

Very true, and i see it garnered a good deal of conversation.

dtcarson · 11-30-08, 02:58 PM

True....Consider it not only the "launch" generation of games, but a generation made by mostly amateur gamemakers. In that regard, the initial batch aren't bad at all.

matthewdoucette · 11-30-08, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xmiyux

I'm not a mod so take this as you will, but i believe they frequently do something like that with new users due to a forum this size getting a good deal of spammers signing up to advertise/spam various websites. I'm sure as you contribute and it becomes obvious you aren't a spammer it won't be an issue.

Actually iirc, until someone has a certain number of posts they can't post links at all.

thanks.

maybe i broke a minimum post rule for signatures... i wasn't here to spam. i stumbled upon your forum through google alerts, and i love reading about xblcg on non-xbox communities, but i rarely go post to them.

Jeremy517 · 11-30-08, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewdoucette

thanks.

maybe i broke a minimum post rule for signatures... i wasn't here to spam. i stumbled upon your forum through google alerts, and i love reading about xblcg on non-xbox communities, but i rarely go post to them.

You need more posts before you are allowed to post links.

xmiyux · 11-30-08, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dtcarson

True....Consider it not only the "launch" generation of games, but a generation made by mostly amateur gamemakers. In that regard, the initial batch aren't bad at all.

True but some of the games on there are ridiculous. For instance the "short" adventure game that sells for 200 points. Once you start it there are three options and you hit A on each of the three options and the game ends. It then tells you how many seconds it took to beat the game.

Funny yes, but something that should absolutely not be put forward as something a gamer should buy.

matthewdoucette · 12-01-08, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy517

You need more posts before you are allowed to post links.

I modified my signature to have no links, thinking this was the case, and the name of my website (not my website URL) was blocked. So "Matthew Doucette / Xxxx Games" became "Matthew Doucette / Games". I cannot even post the name of my website in this post. It is banned. Plus my signature was manually modified to "[remove ad]" as if my signature was an ad. It wasn't. If you look at my signatures all over the Internet, they are the same, which is a link to my website and a link to the current project I am working on. I never considered this to be an ad, and have never been insinuated as spammer because of it, even on non-gaming sites. I guess now that I have an upcoming product I will be selling, as opposed to my free offerings before, I will have to be more careful with this. But still, this is a very strange unwelcoming practice from my perspective. I apologize for stepping on anyone's toes with "spam", it surely was not the case nor my intention. I just wanted to talk about XBLCG, especially because I'm directly involved with it, and I didn't think it would matter to have a link to my work in my signature. If it was more posts needed, then maybe my signature could have been changed to [10 more posts needed] or something more descriptive and welcoming. Right now, I still do not know what the signature ban was for. I was left in the dark. But, after thinking about it again, I can only assume it was because of "spamming".

I do not have to post here, and I probably won't anymore. It's not a big deal to me. Take this feedback for what it's worth.

GatorDeb · 12-01-08, 08:28 AM

There's a Feedback forum where you can ask why it was changed and admins will answer you.

GatorDeb · 12-01-08, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xmiyux

True but some of the games on there are ridiculous. For instance the "short" adventure game that sells for 200 points. Once you start it there are three options and you hit A on each of the three options and the game ends. It then tells you how many seconds it took to beat the game.

Funny yes, but something that should absolutely not be put forward as something a gamer should buy.

I wouldn't find that funny, I would find that fraudulent, and would ask MS to give me my 200 pts back and to kick that person from offering games in the future.

matthewdoucette · 12-01-08, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xmiyux

...For instance the "short" adventure game that sells for 200 points. Once you start it there are three options and you hit A on each of the three options and the game ends. It then tells you how many seconds it took to beat the game.

I have to post about this game before I go!

These games sort of abuse the system, but the community doesn't decide what gets onto the Xbox by any sort of good game / bad game rating system. They just reject games that break rules (copyrights, plagarism, content violation, etc.) or crashes. It has to be something major for the game to NOT pass the community testing. So basically almost every game produced will get onto the Xbox, even games that are not games at all like the one you spoke of above.

11-30-08, 10:02 AM	#1
xmiyux DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: May 2000 Location: WV Posts: 7,474	Xbox 360: Anyone playing the Community Games? The things are getting absolutely no advertising and lack achievements, which kind of relegates them to a bargain bin mentality but I have become pretty fascinated with them. I ended up buying two of them and playing about 40 of the trials and i have to say - there is some really good stuff in there. Unfortunately the signal to noise ratio kind of sucks and there are a ton of garbage games. Anyone else getting into them? I even have been writing the developers of some of the good games and they have been really friendly and responding, asking for constructive criticism, and even talking about implementing suggestions into an updated version of their game. I think this whole thing has a huge amount of potential. Blow is the number one game i would recommend so far. An awesome puzzle game that is very relaxing due to no timer. And by relaxing i mean there is no pressure to beat it quickly. It is actually a pretty devilish physics puzzle game with 70 built in levels and the game can construct infinite new puzzles for you on the fly. It also has a beautiful art style and a wonderful instrumental soundtrack. The developer also participates in the Xbox.com forums and even made a helpful video he posted to Youtube and the forum. __________________ I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday. I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur. I'm reminiscing this right now. I can't go to the bar because I've already looked back on it in my memory... and I didn't have a good time. Live gamertag: xmiyux

11-30-08, 11:05 AM	#2
Groucho DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Posts: 46,692	All the games I've tried are utter garbage, thanks for the recommendation -- I will try Blow. They need to build in some sort of rating system so that the good games are easier to find. __________________ Panda Killers? Xbox Live: Runner Groucho PSN: RunnerGroucho

11-30-08, 11:18 AM	#3
maingon DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 3,073	yeah some games are really bad, theres a few that are good. Played the golf one and had a bad frame rate for having really nothing on screen. music was good but then you realized that its like a 1minute song repeated over and over. Community games is pretty awesome that anyone can make a game. Cause there could be some great games coming out of this. even if most are gonna be crap __________________ HD-DVD

11-30-08, 12:53 PM	#4
dtcarson DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Triangle, NC, USA Posts: 7,306	Blow was interesting, though I think it's more suitable for an online PC game or something like that. Maybe I just don't have the patience for a game like it, but I can see it's a good game of its kind. I couldn't figure out what the hell to do with "In the Pit". A rating system would definitely be useful, though potentially abused. __________________ Books I've read this year Books I've read last year Books I've read 2007 My dvds 360 Gamertag: dtcarson I don't blog, but my 360 does.

11-30-08, 01:16 PM	#5
kmac2878 DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: NY via MA Posts: 1,770	My wife likes Word Soup ... nothing has really stood out to me ... __________________ "Monster! Very small monster!" - Eddie Izzard (in reference to my dvd collection) > > \| l < < (click Frankie for dvd collection) XBL: Katana Assassin l PSN: KatanaAssassin l Wii Friend Code: 1713 6668 6600 3687 My Videogame Collection l 360 Voice Blog

11-30-08, 01:44 PM	#6
Spicollidriver1 DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: MN Posts: 5,924	The game where you control a slug is hilarious to me for some reason. Don't think I'd buy it but I see potential in it, and with the price of arcade games going up I can see myself buying some __________________ "Foley Is GoOd" 360voice

11-30-08, 02:03 PM	#8
xmiyux DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: May 2000 Location: WV Posts: 7,474	Another game worth checking out is basically the lightcycle game from Tron. I don't remember the exact title but it starts out with the word "Star." It is kind of cool since it has mulitplayer, multiple ships to choose from (with different stats), and in-game power-ups. __________________ I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday. I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur. I'm reminiscing this right now. I can't go to the bar because I've already looked back on it in my memory... and I didn't have a good time. Live gamertag: xmiyux

11-30-08, 02:25 PM	#9
GatorDeb DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: The "Real" Vice City Posts: 12,572	The XBOX Live Community Games Thread. __________________ XBOX Live Gamertag: GatorDeb07 (zero seven) My XBOX 360 blogs about me "Polo por u, polo por u" - Peggy speaking Spanish from KOTH (Chicken for you, chicken for you)

11-30-08, 02:38 PM	#14
matthewdoucette Banned Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 13	What is "remove ad"? Am I not allowed to link to my own website in my signature?

11-30-08, 02:41 PM	#15
matthewdoucette Banned Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 13	Wow... the name of my website has been blocked from my signature...

11-30-08, 02:58 PM	#18
dtcarson DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Triangle, NC, USA Posts: 7,306	True....Consider it not only the "launch" generation of games, but a generation made by mostly amateur gamemakers. In that regard, the initial batch aren't bad at all. __________________ Books I've read this year Books I've read last year Books I've read 2007 My dvds 360 Gamertag: dtcarson I don't blog, but my 360 does.

12-01-08, 08:28 AM	#23
GatorDeb DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: The "Real" Vice City Posts: 12,572	There's a Feedback forum where you can ask why it was changed and admins will answer you. __________________ XBOX Live Gamertag: GatorDeb07 (zero seven) My XBOX 360 blogs about me "Polo por u, polo por u" - Peggy speaking Spanish from KOTH (Chicken for you, chicken for you)