Gamer Focus: Remember Microsoft's Game Room?

Do you remember Microsoft's free Game Room App? Did you install it? When did you last download a Pack or play in it? This week's Gamer Focus is all about Microsoft Game Room, so grab your preferred beverage, tuck into a snack, and spend a few mo's reading on!

We're going to explore the app, its issues, and revisit it with a fresh eye as we take a look at the most recently added games and rediscover why Game Room is one of the coolest Avatar-aware Apps on the Live Service -- and if you gather from that little burst of excited prose that we rather like the Game Room, well, that is because we do.

Despite the fact that it is an obvious money-maker for Microsoft, the idea behind it is both appealing and interesting, because if we are honest, none of the game companies have had all that much lick at building virtual spaces -- for many reasons gamers have resisted the idea of settling into that sort of thing, and it appears that the Game Room space is no exception, but there is always hope, right?

Back in the bad old days before console gaming arrived, when a gamer wanted to get their daily fix it involved a trip to a game room and a pocket full of coins. A good gamer could play all night on a handful of coins -- or tokens if it was THAT sort of place -- while bad gamers are the reason all arcades had machines that would exchange that nasty paper money for the more useful entertainment-delivering coins required for gaming.

Ask anyone who survived the 80's what their favorite arcade was, and they will be able to tell you -- probably in much greater detail than you want -- what it was called, what games it had that they really liked, and what flavors of soda were available in the drink machine in the back by the bathrooms. Chances are they also have a story or two about that really odd bloke in the red vest who theoretically was there to help you when a game ate your coin but did not pony up gaming love in the process - but that is pretty much beyond the scope of this article.

The secret to the success of the Game Room was really two factors -- it was the only place you could find the games (major factor), and it was a social destination. Let me rephrase that properly: It was a Social Destination.

Adding caps to that phrase is significant because the experts who secretly watch and observe us as a species have recently concluded that we are a very social animal -- hence the success of sites like Facebook and the Live service. Sure we are also selfish -- gamers who hog a machine by lining coins up on the ledge between the glass and the control shelf are a perfect example of that -- but social too! Game hogs did not line the coins up just for themselves you see, they were there so that they could hog that game *with their friends* which of course makes it all better... Not.

A main feature in the Game Room App is the ability to decorate each of the arcades on all three levels with an individual theme -- there is even an Achievement called Fancy Arcade that is unlocked by applying a unique theme to each of the 12 arcades.

To facilitate obtaining that Achievement and encourage gamers to download the Game Packs, the folks over at Microsoft included additional themes as part of the Packs -- there are not enough unique themes in the base app to unlock that Achievement, which means you sort of have to get the extra themes from the Packs.

Here are the details for each theme / Pack to help you in unlocking the Achievement and spiffing-up your Game Room and Arcades:

Key: Theme Name -- Game Pack -- Release Date

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Activision Theme -- Game Pack 003 -- 5 May 2010

Activision Showroom -- Game Pack 012 -- 24 Nov 2010

Arctic Theme -- Game Pack 009 -- 25 Aug 2010

Atari Showroom -- Game Pack 012 -- 24 Nov 2010

Caveman Theme -- Game Pack 010 -- 22 Sep 2010

Fantasy Theme -- Game Pack 004 -- 19 May 2010

Intellivision Showroom -- Game Pack 012 -- 24 Nov 2010

Konami Showroom -- Game Pack 012 -- 24 Nov 2010

Laundromat Theme -- Game Pack 012 -- 24 Nov 2010

Lost Temple Theme -- Game Pack 001 -- 24 Mar 2010

Old West Theme -- Game Pack 005 -- 2 Jun 2010

Pirate Theme -- Game Pack 007 -- 14 Jul 2010

Tiki Theme -- Game Pack 011 -- 27 Oct 2010

Microsoft Game Room

Last March when Microsoft launched its Game Room App on the Windows and XBox Live services, they were obviously paying attention to the experts, as the game had all of the elements of the classic game room, from those wicked cool arcade stand-up games to the neon signs and cheesy theme-based decorations to the distinct sounds that were screamed by pretty much every game to lure you in... And the whole social side of the equation was also fully covered too.

At its most basic level Game Room is a free app that creates a virtual space that is patterned after the classic Mega Game Arcades found in shopping malls in the 1980's. These were spaces that had all of the sights and sounds that instantly cause the veteran gamer to pause -- their eyes glazed -- while their hand involuntarily checks their pocket for coins. Pavlov had something with that dog of his, that's all that we're saying.

It should not come as much surprise that the new Avatar program had a major influence on the Game Room App -- in fact it was one of the apps that was created to showcase the Avatar, and allow you -- and your mates -- to experience the arcades you created in Avatar form. That's pretty cool, we have to admit, and was certainly one of the motivating factors that drew us into the game, but the promise of social interaction was the bigger draw.

There are a total of 56 Achievements in the game, 6 of which were directly tied in to the social aspect of the game. Of the remaining 50 Achievements, about half indirectly related to social gaming as they dealt with Levels and Medals, both of which related to the Challenge System in the app, which is a major part of its social content.

Happy Together... Apart

The first thing that happens when you fire up the Game Room App is it checks to see if there are any new Packs that you can download -- and as those are free you may as well do it, right? The next thing that you see is the Main Menu, which gives you the option of entering your arcade, viewing your collection and profile, and checking out the folks on your Friend List to see who has installed Game Room, and what their present levels are.

The Friend's Detail screen details their Game Room history -- current level, number of medals earned, what their favorite game is, how many challenges they have participated in (and how many they actually won) with some other challenge details. The display screen also tells you how many tokens they currently possess -- important info if you plan to invite them to visit your game room and play with you if they do not own the game you want to play, as if they lack the tokens, they cannot play!

Along the bottom of that screen is the list of available commands -- a short list that includes 'Y' to view their Gamer Card, but more significantly 'X' to visit their Game Room. They do not have to be present in their Game Room of you to do that -- in fact they do not even have to be logged into Live or online for you to visit! Paying them a visit is the only way to learn what they have done with their virtual space, and what games they have added to it, it only takes a moment, so why not?

There are three levels to a Game Room, and each contains four arcades. On the ground level is a video display and a brass plaque that identifies the owner of the Game Room, and scattered through each of the arcades are the games that they like and play, and hopefully a few decorations to liven the place up.

You can usually tell when one of your mates really likes the Game Room App because the entire space has been fully personalized, giving it the feel of an Arcade in the mid-80's when gaming was at its peak. Your mates who don't care so much for it though, well, their arcades tend to look like a mid-90's one, with lots of bare space and plain decoration, clearly being located in a mall that is in financial trouble!

In addition to any regular or special decorations you should also keep an eye out for any Arcade Mascots that they have unlocked or bought -- you cannot miss those, they run around the hall between arcades and are easy enough to spot. Which mascot they select to add to their arcades is a pretty good indication for which games they like more than others, which is info you want, as it will clue you in on which games to challenge them at!

Each of the individual arcade rooms will contain the games that your mate has deployed there along with decorations, and do not be surprised if you see familiar Avatars within as well, as the game inserts the Avatars of gamers who have visited that arcade in the past.

In the upper left corner of the screen you will note the number of tokens you possess is displayed, and when you sit down at a game that you do not own, you are given the option to spend a token to play it, purchase the full version of the game, or access a screen that tells you a bit about its history. For a game you own you have full access to the different game modes, replay, and leader boards -- and hitting the 'X' button in that view will display the medals you have already unlocked along with the requirements outstanding to unlock the next level of that medal.

Challenges and Taunts

To actually issue a challenge for a game you have to back out to the Main Menu for your arcade, then select 'Challenges' and go from there -- but now that you know what games they are in to you have a better idea of what games to challenge them to, right?

Issuing a challenge is as simple as opening the menu, setting the game (it has to be one you own), the Terms (Highest Score or Longest Survivor), the number of attempts allowed (from unlimited to 3), the game duration (from unlimited to 20 minutes), the time limit (from 1 to 7 days or 1, 3, or 6 hours), the specific Friends from your Friend List that you want to challenge (you can challenge up to 78 Friends per challenge), and finally, if you want to taunt them, which taunt to use.

The taunts you can select from include Laugh Heartily, Not Good Enough, Bow Down, Badly Surprised, Taunt You, Full Moon, ROFL, Fell Asleep, You Stink, Talk to the Hand, In Your Dreams, Wac On Wax Off, Royal Wave, Many Thanks, Ninja Skillz, and Ride the Pony -- all of which include an Avatar animation, which often adds to the insult.

Once you issue the Challenge you have the option of sending a message to that effect, which is something you may want to do if your mates do not frequently check in to the Game Room App often. Once that mischeif is managed, all that you need do now is play the game that you chose and score high enough to beat your mates, and you win!

You can see where everyone stands in your current challenges by viewing their status screen, which displays the position, score, and number of tries for each of the participants. There are Achievements associated with the Challenge System - one for issuing a Challenge, one for winning 10 Challenges, one for winning 20.

Game Packs to Expand the Selection

The original Game Packs -- Game Pack 001 and 002 (24 March 2010) -- consisted of arcade games from the 1970's and 1980's, including Armor Battle, Astroids Deluxe, Atrosmash, Battlelantis, Combat, Crystal Castles, Finalizer, Lunar Lander, Outlaw, Red Baron, Scramble, Sea Battle, Space Armada, Tutenkham, and Yar's Revenge in Game Pack 001, while Game Pack 002 included Adventure, Centipede, Football, Gravitar, Jungler, Millepede for the Atari 2600, RealSports Tennis, Road Fighter, Shao Lin's Road, Mountain Madness, Super Pro Skiing, Space Hawk, Star Raiders, Sub Hunt, Super Cobra, and Tempest.

There are now 13 Game Packs in total, and the most recent -- Game Pack 013 -- was released on 22 December 2010, and features six titles from the Atari 2600 focusing upon classic Activision Games, and two from the Intellivision, including Desert Falcon, Devastators, Football, RealSports Baseball, Slam Dunk Basketball, Surround, Tennis, The Main Event, Venetian Blinds, providing a focus on classic console games in addition to the arcade titles.

The fact that the latest Game Pack concentrates on vintage console titles suggests that the developer (Krome) is looking to balance the current game content, and we are okay with that. Between the Atari 2600 and Intellivision there are a lot of classic games that have not seen the light of day since the early to mid 1980's and it would be awesome to see more of those appear in the Game Room for younger gamers to discover.

When you compare the sports titles like Football from Activision with today's sports games the contrast has heavy impact -- the older games were about simulating the sport, and back in the day that was cutting edge gaming! Today it is not so much the sport that gets simulated but the entire environment -- sport, attitude, atmosphere and dynamics -- and even a modern gamer has to admit that sometimes it is fun to brush all of that away and just play the basics.

Some Issues Do Apply

In Microsoft's Game Room the social side is screamingly evident -- just take a look at the Achievement List and the features if you doubt that. Originally announced at CES 2010, the core app was given as a free download as part of the Block Party, the idea was simple enough: every month a new free Game Pack would be launched on the respective service that gamers could then download. Inside the pack was the most recent selection of games, and gamers then had a choice -- purchase the game that they want for a fixed price in Microsoft Points, or pay between $0.25 and $0.50 to play the games whenever they liked.

If you purchased the game you could play it for free -- and with the social focus of the Game Room including the ability for the folks on your Friend List to visit your Game Room even when you are not logged into the Live Service to see what you have done with your arcades and play some games, it sounded like a killer idea! But there were some issues, and that may be why the Game Room quickly faded from view...

The first major issue was that the new arcade games that you could buy and place in your Game Room -- in their epic full-stand-up-cases -- were NEW versions, which meant that if the game you wanted to add to your arcade happened to be one that had previously been released as a Live Arcade title, well, you were going to have to buy it again, because the games released prior to Game Room's launch were not compatible with it.

That was a bummer, to be sure, but it became a bigger bummer when gamers understood that just because they purchased a game in THEIR arcade did not mean that their mates could visit and PLAY that game for free! No, they had to have also purchased that game in their own arcade for that to hold true, which meant that your visitors would have to spend money to play games with you when it was a game they did not own. Not too cool.

While Microsoft promised 1,000 arcade games in the first 3 years, the release schedule appears to suggest that the heat has cooled slightly on their commitment to meet that ambitious schedule -- still with an average cost of just 240 Microsoft Points, and the added social infrastructure, the games are something of a bargain, especially if you are a veteran gamer revisiting games of the past!

Posted: 27th Jan 2011 by CMBF
Tags: Game Room, Xbox 360, PC, Arcade,