Daniel Carvalho

In keeping with Microsoft’s tradition of trying to garner as much hate as corporately possible, an announcement from Remedy stated that in all likelihood, Alan Wake would not be released on the PC simultaneously with the Xbox 360, and that ultimately, Microsoft was responsible.

I’m amazed that Microsoft’s efforts to trounce their name can still surprise me. It usually happens when I have a profound love for a product that they have somehow twistedly involved themselves with. In this case, Alan Wake. Further cementing the harrowing reality that PC’s, which were once the father, is now the red-headed stepchild of gaming platforms, and it’s getting out of hand. The fact that some random commenter on BrightFalls, used the very same words to describe PC gaming as it stands today, is indicative of a very sad consensus.

It’s no surprising why the PC market is dwindling, or why Gears of War received poor reception on the platform. By the time they (Microsoft and Epic Games) release the game on the system, it was old hat, most likely played at a friends place while in parallel, being completely deprecated by online media. Then the suits at Microsoft and Epic perceive PC’s as a “poor platform”. Retards, the lot of them. The game industry wouldn’t be where it is today without computer games. That goes for their companies too. It’s astounding that developers can discard a user base that has brought them success and riches through loyal support, without even flinching. Shame on you Remedy, you can suck my balls in bullet-time.

I guess the source of my immense resentment is the fact that, I believe noobs are responsible for this turn in the industry. PC’s simply don’t have the buffer of a couple million casual gamer masses like consoles do. And this bothers me to my core. It’s these “people” that are causing the votes to swing the opposite way. It’s like having the jocks win at the end of a movie. They save the world and get the girl, while the nerd gets to sleep in a pile of his own shit. The passionate, loyal and true gamer is being replaced by the spontaneous, unappreciative casual gamer. Persuading me that the world, is indeed, unfair. The thought of starting an online petition actually crossed my mind, even though it’s frowned upon. News that you find disarming will have that effect. But upon giving it more thought, I came to a reasonable and possibly more effective way to voice my concern. Make your opinion heard in places that matter, such as community forums and websites based around the specific game, where developers will most likely have their ear to the ground. Regarding Alan Wake, BrightFalls might be a good first step.

I was so deeply excited for Alan Wake, simply because I believed it would be better on my PC. Oh, forgive me for loving anti-aliasing, and that I can use resolutions that are so high, they border on divine. I had aspirations of taking part in something that harkened back to my experience with the original Alone in the Dark. So silly of me.

Amidst the despair in the barren landscape that is PC gaming, there are the few glimmers of hope, whose light provides the most comforting warmth. Id Software have begun teasing us with crumbs off of their royal table. Providing tidbits of media for their upcoming post-apocalyptic title, Rage, on their new teaser site After the Impact. As of this writing and checking the website, I see they’ve updated it, so do check it out. The website itself oozes with atmosphere, one can only imagine how consuming the actual game will be. From an artistic and design perspective, Rage is looking hot. Subtle touches are even evident on the website, such as the ship named Apophis. Signs of Id’s focus in creating not only high-tech graphics, but great content and design as well. I guess they thought one way to break the ice with their parent company, was to shame them.

Thank goodness for FPS games, RTS games and World of Warcraft to help keep the dream alive.