fill those buildings!

I was thinking of games like The Godfather II, Saints Row 2, and GTA IV... about how the cities are so big but also full of empty buildings. For every two-story structure you can enter and enjoy, there are dozens of shops, homes, and skyrises that are locked and might as well be stage paintings. That's understandable. Open world games like those already offer a lot of content, and a huge world with limited content placed amid stage props is often more fun than the alternative.

But perhaps there's a way to have our cake and eat it too.

Bioware forever changed the gaming landscape by including their Aurora toolkit with Neverwinter Nights. The intuitive software Bioware used to create the Neverwinter campaign was given to players so that anyone could design further adventures using the same assets. To date, literally hundreds, if not thousands, of adventures have been crafted by amateur designers with the Aurora toolkit. And while much of that content is basic and shallow, a community has arisen that recognizes the best designs and encourages quality contributions.

A long and deep, but ultimately finite game, was made infinite and ever new by enabling players to design additional content using developer-provided assets and tools.

Why can't games like GTA and Saints Row do that?

In the case of these games, players could expand not only out but also in. It's time to fill all those empty buildings. That can be accomplished by sharing the load with creative players. Design your big city or vast countryside. Polish it. Complete it. But then let players fill in the gaps.



Bioware has already demonstrated how this can be done efficiently -- create and maintain a player community that weeds out the bad input and sublimates the good stuff. So what if the game is for the 360 or PS3? The professionals designed it on PCs, right? Is there any reason content created by players in a PC community can't be transferred to the consoles as DLC?

Keep in mind, I'm not talking about MMOs. I'm talking about single-player and limited-mulitplayer games being fleshed out by a player community, ala The Sims 2. The idea has been out there for years. I'm just wondering why is hasn't been applied to some genres of games.

Free games and tools!

Some of you might have noticed I'm not commenting on sites quite as much as I used to. Sorry about that. Or you're welcome. =)

Right now, I'm doing some temporary contract work for a game developer named Isotx. It's a pretty cool company I think you'll be hearing a lot about in the next year.


BLOGGING GOODNESS
One thing that means is I'll be contributing articles to Write the Game over the next month. Yes, that's right... another blog! I suppose it's yet another symptom of mental illness, but wouldn't you rather believe I just love all of you that much?

Anyway, I'm not the only writer there, and it's a little different than this one since it's aimed more at developers. So, if you're a developer or going into game development, check it out.


FREE STUFF, AND EASY
Since I'm not really part of the company, just a temporary contractor, I don't feel the least bit guilty for directing y'all toward the sweet tool they've come up with.

One of their products is a unique tool for gamers and developers alike called CrosuS. Nifty gadgets like the Apple iPhone combine all sorts of useful stuff into one quick and easy tool. That's basically what CrosuS is, except it's a free software program. Browse and download free games, mods, gamer videos, chat tools, audio tools, modeling programs, and modding tools, among other things. It handles mod installation and switching. It also acts as a news-tracker, linking to articles by 1UP, Gamespot, and other sites. It also has an IRC channel. They're always adding new stuff, as well as new services.

I've only just begun messing with it, so I probably don't even know all the stuff CrosuS does.

For example...
If you play World of Warcraft, you might be interested in one of the many add-ons included on CrosuS. There are probably other places you could find them, but CrosuS is all about making them ridiculously quick and easy to browse, download, and install. There are mods for single-player games, like Oblivion, too.

There's a tool that connects all of your instant-messenging programs (AIM, MSN, ICQ, etc.) into a single chat program. Once, I would have thought only a cheerleader or a prom queen would need something like this. These days, with the internet, it seems everyone's a celebrity. But I still think people who can carry on three IM conversations at once are possessed!

There's a real-time spell-checker and dictionary...for blogs and forums! Don't worry. Nobody has to know you're cheating. ;)

Then, of course, there's the free games. Which leads me to...


SHARE YOUR FAVORITES
I didn't start this article just to point you to some cool software or recommend yet another bookmark for your endless list of interesting blogs.

I want to hear about the cool free games and software you guys know about. Even if it's not free, but it's really useful software -- be it a gamer's tool or a developer's tool -- post a link.

CrosuS reminds me of GuildCafe in some ways. It's meant to link communities and enable people to tell others about the cool stuff they stumble upon. So if you know about anything worth checking out, tell Isotx or post it here.