7 days later... more free games from Epic!

This week:

Black Widow Recharged
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/black-widow-recharged

and
Centipede Recharged
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/centipede-recharged

and

Epic Slayer Kit for Dauntless
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/dauntless--elite-slayer-kit

Hmmm. Is my theory about Epic winding down its free games campaign
bearing fruit? Because these games are a far cry from stuff we were
getting a year ago. "Black Widow Recharged" is a neon-drenched
Indie-developed twin-stick shooter that, admittedly, got some positive
reviews, but it's fairly simplistic and niche. "Centipede Recharged",
meanwhile, is - unsurprisingly - a remake of the classic "Centipede"
arcade game and if you like that sort of thing, great, but it's not
the sort of game anyone except die-hard arcade fans are rushing out to
buy. The "Epic Slayer Kit" is a bunch of cosmetics and loot for a
free-to-play game.

It's pretty weak sauce all around, and hardly worth the bother of
visiting the website (or firing up the client) to claim these games.
But I suspect Epic is well aware of this, and are equally well aware
that the lure of these free games has more or less gained them all the
new users is going to get them, so why spend so much on premium
titles? They're just offering smaller titles to wean gamers off the
free-game teat so that when they do ultimately kill the campaign,
people won't complain so loudly.

Anyway, the games are there for a week if you want them. I dutifully
grabbed the first two because 'free is free' and I had to visit the
site for this post anyway (I skipped the last because I don't do
'free-to-play' and I don't do DLC loot).

I took all! Loved Centipede (and Millipede) arcade from the rad 80s. I
don't remember playing Black Widow though. I love biological bugs! We need
more ant games (no that AntEater game). :P

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> 7 days later... more free games from Epic!

> This week:

> Black Widow Recharged
> https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/black-widow-recharged

> and
> Centipede Recharged
> https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/centipede-recharged

> and

> Epic Slayer Kit for Dauntless
> https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p/dauntless--elite-slayer-kit

> Hmmm. Is my theory about Epic winding down its free games campaign
> bearing fruit? Because these games are a far cry from stuff we were
> getting a year ago. "Black Widow Recharged" is a neon-drenched
> Indie-developed twin-stick shooter that, admittedly, got some positive
> reviews, but it's fairly simplistic and niche. "Centipede Recharged",
> meanwhile, is - unsurprisingly - a remake of the classic "Centipede"
> arcade game and if you like that sort of thing, great, but it's not
> the sort of game anyone except die-hard arcade fans are rushing out to
> buy. The "Epic Slayer Kit" is a bunch of cosmetics and loot for a
> free-to-play game.

> It's pretty weak sauce all around, and hardly worth the bother of
> visiting the website (or firing up the client) to claim these games.
> But I suspect Epic is well aware of this, and are equally well aware
> that the lure of these free games has more or less gained them all the
> new users is going to get them, so why spend so much on premium
> titles? They're just offering smaller titles to wean gamers off the
> free-game teat so that when they do ultimately kill the campaign,
> people won't complain so loudly.

> Anyway, the games are there for a week if you want them. I dutifully
> grabbed the first two because 'free is free' and I had to visit the
> site for this post anyway (I skipped the last because I don't do
> 'free-to-play' and I don't do DLC loot).

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On Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 12:31:00 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
> I took all! Loved Centipede (and Millipede) arcade from the rad 80s. I
> don't remember playing Black Widow though. I love biological bugs! We need
> more ant games (no that AntEater game). :P

I'm guessing Black Widow is a remake of Tempest based on the video.

- Justisaur

Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 12:31:00 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
> > I took all! Loved Centipede (and Millipede) arcade from the rad 80s. I
> > don't remember playing Black Widow though. I love biological bugs! We need
> > more ant games (no that AntEater game). :P

> I'm guessing Black Widow is a remake of Tempest based on the video.

Nope. https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7139

I should try it in my MAME.
--
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On 03/03/2022 22:41, Ant wrote:
> Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 12:31:00 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
>>> I took all! Loved Centipede (and Millipede) arcade from the rad 80s. I
>>> don't remember playing Black Widow though. I love biological bugs! We need
>>> more ant games (no that AntEater game). :P
>
>> I'm guessing Black Widow is a remake of Tempest based on the video.
>
> Nope. https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7139
>
> I should try it in my MAME.

I did see the game page and thought it looks like a remake of Tempest
but then thought twin stick shooter doesn't sit right. Off to google and
oh, it is a remake of an arcade game of the same name.

I'd never even heard of it myself possibly because it didn't come to
popularity in the UK. Then again even with my large exposure to arcade
game due to a strange consequence of UK laws there must be many games
that I'd never heard of.

On 03/03/2022 17:45, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

> Anyway, the games are there for a week if you want them. I dutifully
> grabbed the first two because 'free is free' and I had to visit the
> site for this post anyway (I skipped the last because I don't do
> 'free-to-play' and I don't do DLC loot).
>

Free-to-play is a bit of a minefield because obviously the idea is to
get you into the game and then get money out of you. The problem is just
how aggressive the encouragement to spend money is.

In the UK Dungeon Keeper had to remove the title free-to-play as they
had gone somewhat overboard on stretching that definition. Yes you could
technical play it without ever spending money on it but only as long as
you were prepared to take up playing the game as a job. I had previously
tried it and the whole thing grinds to a halt (well actually grinds to a
grind) within about half-an-hour unless you open your wallet.

Saying that I get casual game freebies on the iPad and there's lot's out
there that as long as you can put up with some adverts are perfectly
playable for a considerable period without spending money. Inevitable
though, they all get to a point where trying to progress is pretty much
impossible without spending money.

On Friday, March 4, 2022 at 1:01:36 AM UTC-8, JAB wrote:
> On 03/03/2022 22:41, Ant wrote:
> > Justisaur <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 12:31:00 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
> >>> I took all! Loved Centipede (and Millipede) arcade from the rad 80s. I
> >>> don't remember playing Black Widow though. I love biological bugs! We need
> >>> more ant games (no that AntEater game). :P
> >
> >> I'm guessing Black Widow is a remake of Tempest based on the video.
> >
> > Nope. https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7139
> >
> > I should try it in my MAME.
> I did see the game page and thought it looks like a remake of Tempest
> but then thought twin stick shooter doesn't sit right. Off to google and
> oh, it is a remake of an arcade game of the same name.
>
> I'd never even heard of it myself possibly because it didn't come to
> popularity in the UK. Then again even with my large exposure to arcade
> game due to a strange consequence of UK laws there must be many games
> that I'd never heard of.

I also have never seen that, in US and played in arcades a lot.

- Justisaur

On Fri, 4 Mar 2022 09:17:20 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:

>On 03/03/2022 17:45, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>> Anyway, the games are there for a week if you want them. I dutifully
>> grabbed the first two because 'free is free' and I had to visit the
>> site for this post anyway (I skipped the last because I don't do
>> 'free-to-play' and I don't do DLC loot).

>Free-to-play is a bit of a minefield because obviously the idea is to
>get you into the game and then get money out of you. The problem is just
>how aggressive the encouragement to spend money is.

>In the UK Dungeon Keeper had to remove the title free-to-play as they
>had gone somewhat overboard on stretching that definition. Yes you could
>technical play it without ever spending money on it but only as long as
>you were prepared to take up playing the game as a job. I had previously
>tried it and the whole thing grinds to a halt (well actually grinds to a
>grind) within about half-an-hour unless you open your wallet.

>Saying that I get casual game freebies on the iPad and there's lot's out
>there that as long as you can put up with some adverts are perfectly
>playable for a considerable period without spending money. Inevitable
>though, they all get to a point where trying to progress is pretty much
>impossible without spending money.

I tend differentiate 'free-to-play' from free- (or
advertising-supported) games. FTP, at least in my mind, tend to
support themselves with sales of loot and DLC and 'anti-grind'
features, and usually push them quite heavily. For instance, any game
that artificially limits your playtime per day unless you buy extra
tokens, or a game that restricts commonly used - and needed - features
(like an inventory with more than three slots) unless you pay up.

Free games are game experiences that are complete, but you don't pay
for them, at least monetarily (they often supplement their income
through invisible data collection). Advertising supported games are
self-defined. I've less issue with these because they tend to be
giving you the full game up front.

Not all free-to-play games are necessarily bad - for instance, I had a
relatively good experience with "Star Wars: The Old Republic" MMORPG,
despite not paying a cent and there being obvious (and sometimes
obnoxious) pushes towards getting me to pay for extras like extra
character slots. But on the whole, I've found too many free-to-play
games succomb to the lure of 'easy money' and strip down their games
to experiences that aren't fun to play by themselves and are too
demanding in how they present their 'optional' extra features. Thus,
as a rule I just avoid the class as a whole.

YMMV.

Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Friday, March 4, 2022 at 1:01:36 AM UTC-8, JAB wrote:
> > On 03/03/2022 22:41, Ant wrote:
> > > Justisaur <just...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >> On Thursday, March 3, 2022 at 12:31:00 PM UTC-8, Ant wrote:
> > >>> I took all! Loved Centipede (and Millipede) arcade from the rad 80s. I
> > >>> don't remember playing Black Widow though. I love biological bugs! We need
> > >>> more ant games (no that AntEater game). :P
> > >
> > >> I'm guessing Black Widow is a remake of Tempest based on the video.
> > >
> > > Nope. https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7139
> > >
> > > I should try it in my MAME.
> > I did see the game page and thought it looks like a remake of Tempest
> > but then thought twin stick shooter doesn't sit right. Off to google and
> > oh, it is a remake of an arcade game of the same name.
> >
> > I'd never even heard of it myself possibly because it didn't come to
> > popularity in the UK. Then again even with my large exposure to arcade
> > game due to a strange consequence of UK laws there must be many games
> > that I'd never heard of.

> I also have never seen that, in US and played in arcades a lot.

I have never seen it too as an arcader. It must be rare. :(
--
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On 04/03/2022 17:28, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Fri, 4 Mar 2022 09:17:20 +0000, JAB <noway@co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 03/03/2022 17:45, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
>>> Anyway, the games are there for a week if you want them. I dutifully
>>> grabbed the first two because 'free is free' and I had to visit the
>>> site for this post anyway (I skipped the last because I don't do
>>> 'free-to-play' and I don't do DLC loot).
>
>
>> Free-to-play is a bit of a minefield because obviously the idea is to
>> get you into the game and then get money out of you. The problem is just
>> how aggressive the encouragement to spend money is.
>
>> In the UK Dungeon Keeper had to remove the title free-to-play as they
>> had gone somewhat overboard on stretching that definition. Yes you could
>> technical play it without ever spending money on it but only as long as
>> you were prepared to take up playing the game as a job. I had previously
>> tried it and the whole thing grinds to a halt (well actually grinds to a
>> grind) within about half-an-hour unless you open your wallet.
>
>> Saying that I get casual game freebies on the iPad and there's lot's out
>> there that as long as you can put up with some adverts are perfectly
>> playable for a considerable period without spending money. Inevitable
>> though, they all get to a point where trying to progress is pretty much
>> impossible without spending money.
>
>
> I tend differentiate 'free-to-play' from free- (or
> advertising-supported) games. FTP, at least in my mind, tend to
> support themselves with sales of loot and DLC and 'anti-grind'
> features, and usually push them quite heavily. For instance, any game
> that artificially limits your playtime per day unless you buy extra
> tokens, or a game that restricts commonly used - and needed - features
> (like an inventory with more than three slots) unless you pay up.
>
> Free games are game experiences that are complete, but you don't pay
> for them, at least monetarily (they often supplement their income
> through invisible data collection). Advertising supported games are
> self-defined. I've less issue with these because they tend to be
> giving you the full game up front.
>
> Not all free-to-play games are necessarily bad - for instance, I had a
> relatively good experience with "Star Wars: The Old Republic" MMORPG,
> despite not paying a cent and there being obvious (and sometimes
> obnoxious) pushes towards getting me to pay for extras like extra
> character slots. But on the whole, I've found too many free-to-play
> games succomb to the lure of 'easy money' and strip down their games
> to experiences that aren't fun to play by themselves and are too
> demanding in how they present their 'optional' extra features. Thus,
> as a rule I just avoid the class as a whole.
>
> YMMV.
>

In my experience with the iPad, ad-supported and in-game items to avoid
the grind go hand-in-hand. Saying that I'm not going to quibble over the
definitions although I believe there is an internet law that makes it
mandatory to do so!

For the general point of free-to-play games I don't have an intrinsic
issue with them but instead the issue is how the monetisation tends to
be implemented. As you say it's getting the balance right between
encouraging players to spend money and what you get out of the game
experience and not all games seem to get this right.

Possibly the biggest problem I have, and this is more directed at games
as a service, is when they are structured to play on certain
physiological traits that players have. So FOMO probably comes top of
that list with things such events with rewards, battlepasses and
lootboxes etc.

To make it worse I do feel this leaks out to the games industry as a
whole because other companies want a slice of what can be a very
lucrative pie and there is a tendency to try and maximise 'player
engagement' which in this case means getting someone to not only play
just a single game but even play it when they aren't finding it that
enjoyable.

ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) writes:

> I have never seen it too as an arcader. It must be rare. :(

The weird bit is, that Arcade Museum link posted earlier classifies
Black Widow as very common. But that means now, not back in 1982.

Anyways, I took the Black Widow freebie, same as Centipede:
Recharged. Centipede I've actually played in an Arcade back when
although it wasn't a favorite. I fully intend to give both of them a try
too.

Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi> wrote:
> ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) writes:

> > I have never seen it too as an arcader. It must be rare. :(

> The weird bit is, that Arcade Museum link posted earlier classifies
> Black Widow as very common. But that means now, not back in 1982.

See, that's weird. I don't remember that game during those days. :(
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