泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] Thirteen-year-old Infinite Challenge

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

Thirteen-year-old Infinite Challenge

May. 31. 2018.

Infinite Challenge—MBC's reality TV show—, which had gained popularity for the last thirteen years, recently went off the air. It is probably the longest entertainment program in South Korea. The show had included my 30s since it was started when I was twenty-nine years old. It is very difficult to steadily create content for long periods. It could be a really hard challenge for Muhan Dojeon which didn't follow any specific format. Most real-variety shows have an overall concept, for instance, cast members take various trips throughout South Korea during 1 night 2 days performing missions at a certain mealtime or live in a little rural or finishing village creating three meals a day and calm themselves. With a definite format, it's relatively easier to generate content. Of course, during the airing of the episodes, the non-dram program made lots of controversial issues. It was criticized for problematic content and a few cast members left the program due to unfavorable incidents. A barely-chosen new member had to unexpectedly join the military. Also, it found itself caught in a plagiarism scandal. Nevertheless, it's still quite something to keep airing the show for thirteen years.

 I've written this column for five years. Sometimes I racked my brain trying to find a new story or new subject and raced against the clock to make the deadline during a busy day. But I cannot but highly praise myself on my five-year constant work. There were many issues back then in the beginning period when I started to write; releasing a game on KakaoGames was a hot topic and a journalist wrote an article about a splendid-graphics game based on Unreal Engine. During this period, I switched my job, got a promotion, got married, and started to give a lecture on game design. Five years is not short.

 There are many newly-released games in the domestic market of late. Some of them are homegrown video games and the others are imported ones. Looking at top game charts, I can find a considerable number of long-time-loved games more than I thought. League of Legends, MapleStory, Sudden Attack, World of Warcraft (WoW), Everybody's Marble, Clash of Clans, and Sumonnor's war: Sky Arena, etc. have been stayed on top charts for a long time. Some of them are older than Infinite Challenge and most of them are as old as my column at least.

 Old-time-favorite content means that it has improved quality and has offered a variety of interesting attractions since the launch. Most game developers, that try to put perfection in the content toward the goal of launching, often poorly prepared to keep maintaining game quality after its release. I expect many Muhan Dojeon-like long-lasting games that are well prepared to be loved by gamers will be released.

 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

   (http://www.khgames.co.kr)

   Translation by Kim Ki-hui

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] April 2018 inter-Korean summit and mother's apology

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

April 2018 inter-Korean summit and mother's apology

May. 17. 2018.

There was a historical inter-Korean summit in April this year. The summit meeting certainly has various meanings for both within and without the country, however, I'd like to talk about Kim Jong-un, supreme leader of North Korea, who is receiving positive reviews from the general public. Negative public perception of Kim had been high in the past until the summit talks. But the talk led the public to shift to more positive perceptions. You can easily find a sense of numbers in many related articles.

 Not long ago, I went back to elementary school days while talking to my mother. One of the many topics mentioned was why she forced me to stop playing games. I told her that I could have been more successful unless she forbade me to the arcade because I am the person in the gaming world at present. I expected her to answer that she regarded video games as a stumbling-block to scholastic achievement. Contrary to my expectation, she said " I'm sorry." Summing up, she explained that the young mother, who knew little about the game due to lack of experience, just relied on a parent's notice with negative opinions about the game. And she humbly apologized for her mistake reflecting on what she hadn't a good grasp of for wise advice for the child.

 Most people, who are involving in the development of a video game, are indulgent to their children playing games. Because they are well up in the games. On the other hand, a few set their face against the idea for the same reason. Both of them properly account for what the game is anyway. In any relationship including the parent-child relationship, it's really important to know much about a subject. Persuasion without setting clear criteria is fruitless because the other party notices it. Parents whose word is smooth-tongued but untrustworthy don't have authority over their boys and girls. Many fathers and mothers around me aren't knowledgeable about the video game. One of the most frequently asked questions from them is how to reduce the time of playing a game. I usually ask back why youngsters should spend less time enjoying gaming except that it takes time from their studies. And I add if they ever tried playing games. I advise parents to state their opinion on playing games when they are ready to support their argument with logical explanations. If a reckless father or mother just asks me the fastest way to stop a teenager from keep enjoying a video game, I answer that the video game addict—if the child is diagnosed with game addiction—can be treated at a gaming rehab center. And I respond to the angry mom or dad that I have no choice but to give an irresponsible answer for the very irresponsible parent.

There are many people with a negative perception of gaming. But, I think, most parents don't want to learn about it. Which is a tragedy because I am a video-game lover working in an industry associated with the video game. I expect people to have positive recognition of gaming content as if they have changed their perceptions of the North Korean leader.

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

   (http://www.khgames.co.kr)

   Translation by Kim Ki-hui

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 [A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity] The fourth industrial revolution and the gaming industry (Part2)

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

The fourth industrial revolution and the gaming industry (Part2)

May. 03. 2018.

In part2, I'd like to take a look at Artificial intelligence (AI), big data technology, and blockchain.

  First of all, speaking of machine intelligence, an AI game character in online gaming was taken a helper to make up the numbers for team play, and users used to make fun of the player who does badly compare to an AI character who is not good at playing the game. But new machine learning-based AI characters will differ from existing ones. By comparison with artificial stupidity, the advanced ones will show delicate movements like a human being according to the given situation. Taking advantage of intelligence demonstrated by machines, game developers can offer whole new experiences for users, drive new revenue streams and business models, or pioneer a new genre of game as well. Developers would let AI devise new strategies in a strategic game and online gaming fans can enjoy e-sport matches between AI players, or gamers may not visit user communities anymore for team play because of a brand-new AI-character business model. And, in the not-too-distant future, a fresh game in which a player needs to rapidly bring up an AI character to reach a particular goal may launch.

  Secondly, one of the most important thing of big-data analysis is that it is based on not causality but a correlation among large data sets. Data analysis was used to identify the causes to produce useful results—improvement of problem or performance—in an old marketing strategy. However, an unexpected result that has nothing to do with a cause may be presented by analyzing big data. For instance, anyone can predict that the umbrella sells well if it rains. But it's not easy to prove causation; "Why are click-through rates and downloads of banner ads on automobile communities increased after its rains the day before?" or "Why are retention rates of NRU (New Registered User) decreased with a notice for an event coming next month?"—these data patterns only demonstrate the correlation between two random variables. Businesses will able to serve clients better through differentiated marketing strategies and customer service by apprehending not only the exact casual relationship but also interrelation.

  Finally, there are lots of possibilities for blockchain. To summarize the video game-related part, it promotes the value of intellectual property rights. Due to the nature of digital content, there is no difference between the original and a replica. However, cryptography-linked technology can allow us to distinguish the original from replicas. It means that the rightful owners will be protected in different ways from unauthorized use without permission. An increasing number of intellectual property rights have been created and promoted in the gaming industry. Blockchain technology will enhance the value of not only the IPR of digital content but a video game.

 As mentioned earlier, the gaming industry is the front-runner in the digital content market. And 4IR-based advanced technologies are changing digital businesses. I expect that the domestic gaming industry will be advanced with the times.

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

   (http://www.khgames.co.kr)

   Translation by Kim Ki-hui