Disqus - Latest Comments for nlovell

Re: IGDA urges studios to 'clarify guidelines' for social media conduct after Arenanet sackings

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 21:24:22 -0000

Or to put it another way - oh look, someone jumping into my feed and telling me how to my job by pointing out that I could have used one of the most basic principles of narrative design. Implying that she hadn't thought of that. And that he was therefore cleverer or more insightful than someone whose job it is to know and do these things.
I think that might be the definition of mansplaining.

Re: IGDA urges studios to 'clarify guidelines' for social media conduct after Arenanet sackings

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 21:22:15 -0000

That last paragraph is very, very wrong. Gamers may know a game inside out. They very rarely know how to make it better for the intersecting Venn diagram of the players (as a whole), the company and what the technology can do.

Re: IGDA urges studios to 'clarify guidelines' for social media conduct after Arenanet sackings

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 13:17:53 -0000

There are many different ways to do healthy debate. Western thinking fetishizes what Edward de Bono calls black hat thinking: test any idea to destruction - if it survives, it was a good idea. de Bono also points out that this process is exhausting, hard work and the enemy of creativity - why engage in a process that is going to be so tiring? Much easier not to bother.

And when a man, who has not made games for a decade, tells you that you are doing it wrong it is easy to understand why that is frustrating.
And the canard that "playing the misogyny card" is sexist shows that you are not paying attention to the system in which we live.

Re: IGDA urges studios to 'clarify guidelines' for social media conduct after Arenanet sackings

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 12:40:17 -0000

When a female game developer with a decade or more of experience gets mansplained about how to do her job, it seems quite reasonable for her to get pissed off. The fact that she was fired will (has) sent chills through the development industry. The consequence is that fewer and fewer devs will choose to talk to their fans. Which is very sad.

Re: Pete North Politics Blog: I don't like this Brexit, but I will live with it

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 06:11:33 -0000

I suspect it is the difference between a technical use of the word and a layman's use (much like Theory, which for scientists means "a unifying collection of ideas" and to laymen means "an idea."). I wonder if the difference is between current spending versus spending to buy something which has a life time. If you build a factory that will last for 20 years, you shouldn't account for all the cost now, but every year for the next 20 years. Otherwise, it looks as if your widgets are hugely unprofitable in year 1, but very profitable every year thereafter.
Fighters, tanks, ships have a lifetime of more than 1 year. Perhaps they need to be kept on the balance sheet and depreciated over time. (Unless we have war).

More broadly, it makes sense to borrow for infrastructure that will improve productivity or quality of life over time (roads, bridges, energy production etc), but not to finance current spending. Much like it makes sense to buy a house with a mortgage, but little financial sense to use a credit card to pay for a night out.

Re: Boris is the first minister to capture the Tories’ problem so vividly

Nicholas Lovell — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 05:06:36 -0000

Except for the obvious point that we will no longer have the vast, enormous benefits of being part of a market and community of 500 million people. Because on the basis of a narrow advisory vote, we are pursuing a single, unclear and dangerous vision.

Re: Boris is the first minister to capture the Tories’ problem so vividly

Nicholas Lovell — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 05:02:33 -0000

It was very close, and the second biggest vote ever seen in Britain would be to stay. I do often wonder why people are so against a second referendum once the terms of the deal are known.

Re: Boris is the first minister to capture the Tories’ problem so vividly

Nicholas Lovell — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 05:01:38 -0000

Corbynism obviously doesn't matter more than Brexit. We have elections every five years or less. Labour supporters had to put up with 1979-97, and Tories from 1997-2010, but there were frequent opportunities for change. Brexit is not like that.

Re: When did tech become a dirty word?

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 05:11:34 -0000

I'm intrigued about your comment that AirBnB is a self-evident good. I can see lots of bad things with it. It perpetuates wealth inequality (between those who have capital and those who do not); it drives up house prices; it turns residential streets into transient ones. (The difference in our street between the hotels - regulated, front staff, etc - and the AirBnB, where guests often turn up, can't get it, knock loudly for 15 minutes and so on, is stark.)

I struggle to see AirBnB as a social good. I do see it as a clever business though. It is, for me, at best neutral.

And I used to like tech...

Re: Members of the Games Industry Respond to Testology Founder's Call to "Get Rid of Every Muslim"

Nicholas Lovell — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 04:47:22 -0000

Because words have power. Andy's apology showed that he hadn't changed. He was still trying to wriggle his way out of it. But simply by saying an apology that seems heartfelt is a step forward (in the same way that smiling does genuinely make you happier). It is a step forward of the person, and it is also a step forward for society, as it shows a) that people can change and b) that someone who expressed hateful views is taking responsibility for them, with the potential for change.

Re: Members of the Games Industry Respond to Testology Founder's Call to "Get Rid of Every Muslim"

Nicholas Lovell — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 14:53:33 -0000

He has allowed to think what he likes, absolutely. And we are allowed to call him out for it, and to encourage to reflect on his position and to see if he would like to change it. And if he does, then an apology is an important part of that.

Re: Whales, Dolphins and Minnows – the beating heart of a free-to-play game

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 06:38:04 -0000

Absolutely right. Players are the lifeblood of many games, and make it more fun for everyone.

Re: Avoiding the Hippo in the room (or why large video game projects with charismatic leaders fail)

Nicholas Lovell — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 11:21:47 -0000

I totally agree. I quite like "strong opinions, weakly held", which means you are prepared to change your mind, but some people are a little, shall we say, strong in that? But being prepared to change your mind is the sign of a good leader, not a sign of weakness.

Re: Meet a Hearthstone whale, sorry, superfan.

Nicholas Lovell — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 11:48:06 -0000

There is a meaningful difference. I just particularly dislike the term "whale".
My definition is a bit different to yours. Superfans are time, and can be money. A whale has to be money.

I think your distinction is interesting (Someone who loves "everything by Nimblebit" versus "someone who loves Tiny Tower to the exclusion of all other games), but it's not how I see it. However, I do agree that the behaviour you describe (of playing until you've had enough, then leaving never to return) is more whale than superfan.

Overall, though, I think that if you want to build a community, if you want to gain respect and trust with your players and if you want to be in it for the long time, you need to nurture superfans, not hunt whales.

Re: Daily Active Users (DAUs)

Nicholas Lovell — Wed, 11 May 2016 11:38:28 -0000

Hello Tracie,

My view is that it doesn't matter :-)

Comparing yourself with other people is pernicious and not very useful. F2P is not about benchmarking: it is about using your tools and analytics to make YOUR game better for YOUR players. How other games fare is increasingly irrelevant.

So what matters is having a consistent measurement so that you know if your DAUs are going up or down. I would just pick a time zone which makes sense for you (PST, EST, BST or whatever) and stick with it. It's the trend that is more useful not the ability to compare with other businesses.

Re: Why being a VC is more difficult than people think

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 12:28:15 -0000

I think you're wrong. Being a venture capitalist is easy. Being a GOOD venture capitalist, now that's a whole different kettle of fish. :-)

Re: Five reasons why Steam will destroy the PC games industry

Nicholas Lovell — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 07:03:43 -0000

Interesting. I think all five of the points, with the possible exception of number 5, remain relevant and worrying. As indeed is the thrust of the article which is "Steam is awesome, but beware its great power"

Re: Five reasons why Steam will destroy the PC games industry

Nicholas Lovell — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 03:44:34 -0000

I think it is precisely the role of a writer to speculate on the future.

I also think you misunderstand how business works. You can't separate the "CEO, committe and financial department" from everything else. It is very rarely a single loose bolt that derails a business. It is the overall strategy or culture of a company, usually determined by business goals, that holds the seeds of a tragedy.

Re: The rule of 0-1-100

Nicholas Lovell — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 06:24:46 -0000

I will fight every grammar battle with Shakespeare from now on.

Cry havoc.

(or is it havok? :-) )

Re: Five reasons why Steam will destroy the PC games industry

Nicholas Lovell — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 03:32:43 -0000

It's not a spelling mistake. Pay cheque is correct in English.

Re: "We Own You" - Confessions of an Anonymous Free to Play Producer

Nicholas Lovell — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 12:02:11 -0000

Are you sure that paid games don't do this too?

Re: Why Apple’s ad blocking will be good for games

Nicholas Lovell — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 11:25:13 -0000

The IAB estimates global mobile ad spend at $31.9 billion (http://www.iab.net/about_th... of which Display was 47%, search was 46% and messaging was 6.6%.

Business Insider estimates that about 30% of mobile ad revenue is from app install ads. So it may not be as clear cut as you think. http://uk.businessinsider.c...

Re: Controversial new service helps developers hunt down mobile gaming's whales | News

Nicholas Lovell — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 09:55:31 -0000

In the headline, you label this service as controversial. You don't spell out why it is controversial. I'd be really interested to know why you think it is.

Re: How Fallout Shelter made me sexist.

Nicholas Lovell — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:31:24 -0000

So it's OK if you are discriminatory, as long as the rest of the world isn't? This post is about my analysis of my feelings as I played this game. I'm going to keep it about that.

Re: How Fallout Shelter made me sexist.

Nicholas Lovell — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 03:04:12 -0000

I also query your definition of "sexist" as meaning "hating women". Sexism is a broader concept, that can encompass belittling, mistreating, not accepting and many other things, including hate. I never mentioned hating women: that was your interpretation. I wonder what that says...