Hidden Gems is going to be a new article series that focuses on a “short articles” format and approach. This is a slightly new direction I’m going to take this blog where I, as it says on the tin, I will expose readers to some hidden gems (games) that they might not be aware of in a brief outline, short/brief article about it. The goal will be to produce more articles, more often but with a little less definition. It will not come at the exclusion of more robust articles but in addition to.
In today’s article, we will discuss a little PC game, Pox Nora, that you can pick up for free on Steam.
Released back in 2006, this game fell under the radar of most largely because of its rather unusual business model and playstyle.
Pox Nora is a collectible card game that is played as a turn-based strategy game that blends tactical gameplay, collecting and RPG-like combat and advancement mechanics. It’s wildly different than anything we are familiar with today, the closest thing that I can think of is the now-defunct Magic The Gathering Tactics.
Magic The Gathering: Tactics we had a lot of hope for, but Wizards of the Coast and Sony really shit the bed on this one by creating a business model that was so outrageous that people were boycotting it before it was released. It didn’t help that the game sucked some serious balls on top of it.
What is unique about Pox Nora is the overwhelming dedication its original developer has for the game. Even though back in 2009 Sony Entertainment swallowed up Octopi Media Design Lab (original developers) and almost brought the game to a destructive end, in 2014 Desert Owl Games picked it up which it turns out is a studio made up of many former members of the original development team.
Pox Nora is a highly balanced, very addictive, easy-to-learn, impossible-to-master tactic combat game with a huge focus on “deck building”, combining that addictive core of Magic: The Gathering with tactical combat. I imagine its what Wizards of the Coast probably hoped Magic: The Gathering Tactics would end up being. I personally think it’s one of the most overlooked games in PC gaming history. It has a great competitive edge for PvP action, and lots of potential, some of which came to fruition as a single-player (solo) game while simultaneously this very endless replayability on all fronts.
Pox Nora is a very basic-looking game, though I would argue very pretty considering its nearly 20 years old. For people who play tactical games, graphics are usually not your primary concern, most seek a challenging and fun game and Pox Nora is that if its anything.
This is a phenomenal game, It is free to play and actually, these days even building up your collection can be done very easily without spending a penny on the game and even if you do drop some real coin on it, you won’t be disappointed as Desert Owl Games is a very fair developer that doesn’t price gauge and has a long dedicated history of keeping this game going.
Elite is the title of one of the oldest PC games on the PC platform, add the word Dangerous and you get the modern remake released in 2014. Elite Dangerous, I believe is one of the true gems of our generation, a revolutionary game that not only redefines the space simulation genre, but challenges the definition of what PC gaming entertainment is or could be. Now that is a bold statement and while this is not going to be a review, today I’m going to tell you my take on Elite Dangerous and the many reasons why, if you haven’t already, you should give this one a go.
First, lets back up to 1984 with the original release of Elite. It was a game released in a time when gaming genres were largely undefined, a time when game developers created in an environment where they didn’t really have a basis for comparison. It was an interesting time because when a game was released and you installed in on your machine, you really had no idea what it was going to be. The internet was barely a thing, gaming was largely a “in your moms cellar” thing and when someone said “game developer”, they weren’t referring to a company but rather a person.
On approach to a space station in Elite circa 1984. It wasn’t much to look at, but this simple concept and vision would one day be fully realized.
David Braben was that developer and he was a guy with a vision about what his game would be, but like so many game developers back then, he was way ahead of his time. His vision for the game was massive, he essentially wanted to create the universe, give you a ship and allow you to explore it. With the technology available in 1984 he did the best he could, but the truth was that it would take 30 years before the technology would catch up to allow him to actually realize that vision and that product is Elite Dangerous. A robust, living, breathing, representation of the universe experienced from the cockpit of a futuristic, faster than the speed of light vessel.
On approach to a space station in Elite Dangerous in 2014, its amazing what 30 years has done to PC gaming.
What is Elite Dangerous Really?
It’s a simulation, first and foremost but this surface explanation is not really what people mean when they ask What is Elite Dangerous. The reason is that most people (around 3 million as of this writing), buy Elite Dangerous, jump in their cockpit and find the lack of instruction a bit disturbing. Now most experienced Elite players will say “well it’s a sandbox you have to make your own game”, but I think while this layered explanation touches slightly on defining what Elite Dangerous is, I think to many gamers its a turn off and when you get right down to it, is hardly a fitting definition of the game anyway. This is because the term “game” is really not what I would use to describe what Elite is, in fact, I think a more appropriate definition is that it’s “An experience”, and its in this wording and context that Elite truly comes alive and can be digested.
Consider how we perceive entertainment that is not a game. A book, a movie or music. The moments spent absorbing the content is an experience, we judge it sure (I like it, I don’t like it) but really its a rather 2 dimensional experience designed to inspire imagination. We use some of our senses, but in most forms of entertainment, one of our senses is turned off. This isolation is part of these mediums.
Elite Dangerous to me is much closer to a book or a movie, but its one in which you have more control and use more of your senses than you typically do. You interact, you decide, you explore and in a sense you tell your own story. That story is an opened ended tale of your exploration of the cosmos, an imaginary world based in reality to a great degree, one that challenges you to design your own science-fiction future as an individual, a small insignificant object in a vast and endless galaxy.
Elite Dangerous is often a very empty place, after all, this is the universe we are talking about, but centers of civilizations can be heavily populated.
Is it a game? Sure to a degree, we at least interface with Elite in the same way we do with other games and sure there are certain elements here that are going to be familiar to you but the truth is that Elite Dangerous is about entering a world, turning on your imagination and allowing the experience in.
Its a digital role-playing game and much like pencil and paper role-playing games you can be anything, go anywhere and do anything you want, but there are no directions, there is no quests to guide you, few physical rewards and no DM to give you hints, you are on your own. You start out in the cockpit of a ship and you must decide what you will do and why you want to do it, the reward is the experience of that journey.
There are countless factions, organizations, empires, federations and the like, but there is also a personal touch with a nearly infinite amounts of unique characters who you can side with or oppose. What activities and stories result may surprise you, finding out for yourself what that surprise is, is a big part of the games charm.
Elite Dangerous is really almost a test to see if you are human, does the concept of exploring a boundless universe trigger your instinct to explore it, or do you find the lack of instruction a limitation. I say this because I believe much of the entertainment value of Elite Dangerous, most of what you get out of it, will be in the form of a memory you will create inside its environment. Elite is a challenge to see what you do with it and while some might be confused about the lack of direction, in a sense, Elites principle concept is finding your way without instruction through exploration, that is what Elite Dangerous is at its core.
Why you should be experiencing it
There are many space simulation games out there that will walk you along a path created by its developers, Elite is one of the few that simply says “here is the universe, have fun”.
Still we are gamers, we want to play games so here are 10 reasons why Elite Dangerous is worth your time, as an experiance, as a game, simply as entertainment.
Space Combat
Elite Dangerous uses a robust and detailed physics engine that will force you to think and see in three dimensions. Combat is challenging not only because of the wide range of ships and equipment, but the functions, tactics and strategies of using that ship and equipment. Much of what drives our interest in a game like this is space combat and while the setup is all there, the true mastery of space combat does not come in the form of what you can afford but in skills you develop. Between the sights, sounds and feel of combat you are going to experience what I believe to be one of the best space combat simulations ever designed in a PC game and I say this from vast experience, you would be hard pressed to name a game I have not played in this genre. If Space Combat simulation is what you are after, Elite Dangerous will quench your thirst.
While there are war zones and other places you might expect to find space combat, truth about Elite Dangerous is that it can come anytime and from anywhere. You always have to be ready to fight. Like the old saying goes, if you want to make god laugh, tell him your plans.
Unexpected Danger
The universe is vast and you can go anywhere, one of the things that you will discover is the many undiscovered things out there that will surprise and potentially kill you. While danger is not routine, it comes when you least expect it and that is one of the thrilling aspects of Elite. One of my favorite aspects of Elite is that no matter how much I play it I’m constantly running into new, unique dangerous situations that require me to think on my feet, in the moment. This potential and sense of danger every time you leave a space dock makes the experience feel more real, thoughtful and present. You will have a feeling of isolation when events transpire, out there in the vastness of space when something goes wrong and you have no one to rely on but yourself. Its truly an experience that no fan of science-fiction should pass up.
Strange and Wonderful Universe (Exploration)
The model for the Elite universe is one built on principles of space, theories about our universe and imagination of its developers. The result is a wonderful yet strange and alien galaxy through which you will travel, experiencing its sights and sounds. The first time you see a Nebula up close, land on an Ice World, or travel to a Neutron star and encounter the countless other anomalous objects in the galaxy you will find the experience pushing you to find more. There is nothing routine about the exploration of the universe and because of the boundlessness of space in the Elite Dangerous universe you will never run out of curiosities to explore. Their are so many bizzare things to see in this game I can’t imagine any fan of science-fiction or science could possibly pass up the opportunity to experience them. Mankind dreams of exploring the galaxy and here you can do it from the comfort of your office chair.
Space is not the only place where you can encounter strange stuff, in fact, some of the most interesting finds in Elite have been on distant planets now accessible using the Rover like vehicles that can be deployed and driven.
Economic Simulator
One aspect of space simulation games is very often the economic model, often players seek to build trading empires and focus there efforts on hauling goods, seeking that thrill of finding the perfect trade route that earns them billions. Elite Dangerous has a robust, ever changing economy driven by supply and demand, often impacted by the activities of other players and the political events of local or global factions. If you follow the stories of the factions and events in the galaxy, you will find opportunities. If you love trading, while there are no ways yet to build stations, or trading empires per say, as a hauler/trader you will find a elaborate model on which you can create those perfect spread sheets that help you asses and find your billions. A true player-ground for the science-fiction capitalist.
The Politics Reflect The Opportunities
Speaking of economic opportunities, one of the things that drives the changes in the human occupied space known as “the bubble”, are the politics and thanks to a very elaborate backstory, countless factions, power players and global powers there is always something going on. These are hints to what the opportunities in the galaxy are, the closer you pay attention to the news stories and the more you follow it, the more these stories will engage you and the more you will see humanities space as a living organism filled with ways for you to leverage that knowledge and turn it into credits.
While you might not personally be able to swing the powers of global factions like the Federation or the Empire, but there are countless systems in which you can get involved in the local struggles. Help a cartel or independent faction rise to power in the system and reap the benefits.
More than that, Elite Dangerous offers countless hours of news, recorded for your pleasure that you can listen to while your traveling around the galaxy giving the universe yet another layer of time and place, a true role-playing experience. From politics to alien attacks and everything in between you learn about the humanities plight in the Elite Dangerous version of the cosmos, while reaping the opportunities that come as a result.
Impact on all scales
As a solo pilot you may feel small against the back drop of this giant universe that no matter how much players explore will always remain largely unexplored. Yet, despite this, fly into any human system and you can truly impact the success of the various factions in that system all by your lonesome. Pick a faction to support, run mission, trade to benefit them, blow up their enemies and in no time you will see the power in the system shift. Its amazing feeling to take a small independent faction and watch them grow from an insignificant power to a major player in a system.
Then there is larger scale events, politics and activities. Power play, community goals, conflict zones and other faction based missions, not to mention random encounters. All of these activities represent shifts in the power scales on the system, faction and galaxy levels. While your personal influence gets smaller the higher the level you are trying to influence, its been proven that when members of the community gather to impact areas together, it happens quickly and the shifting events can be quite dramatic.
Its a fluid galaxy, always shifting, always changing and even though you are just a small fish in a big pond, there are small pockets everywhere and you can get involved on a smaller scale on your own and watch things change. This should really appeal to the role-playing minded player.
A True VR Experience
Every VR owner knows that while there is a ton of VR content out there, generally speaking most of it is rather hastily slapped together and not really what we hoped VR would bring, in a sense game development is still catching up. The world of VR gaming is filled to the brim with “demos” of how wonderful VR gaming might one day be, but the true experiences of a fully fleshed out game made for VR are few and far inbetween. Well not with Elite, not only is the Elite Dangerous VR experience mind mindbogglingly amazing, it is in my humble opinion the single most complete VR game you can play.
Exploring the galaxy while peeking out of the window of your cockpit never gets old and getting in a intense dog fight with lasers blasting all around you is about as close to being in a Star Wars movie as you can get today. Without question one of the most immersive gaming experiences I have ever had with the VR, If you own one, THIS IS the best game for it on the market today.
A World of Consequences
Gamers are quite used to playing in an environment that is always quick to forgive their mistakes, the universal reset button is a default element of the vast majority of games. Elite Dangerous however gives you for better or worse real consequences, even if those consequences where of the “Oh shit I forgot to” persuasion. Not enough money to buy insurance, fuck you!, got ambushed by pirates unprepared while mining..too bad, fuck you!, flew 300 light years and realized you forgot to buy the cargo you though you where hauling.. too bad fuck you!
While there are all sorts of ways to end up in trouble in Elite Dangerous, sometimes it’s just something as simple as over estimating the power of your thrusters can end your day as you attempt to land on a high-G planet.
Ok that was mean I know and maybe annoying but Elite Dangerous does not hold your hand, you make a mistake you will have to live with the consequences. Sometimes these consequences are unfair, like accidentally shooting a defense force ship while chasing after a pilot and being charged with a crime, sometimes you will make them consciously like committing piracy in a Federation system but such is life in space. Some consequences are the result of benefits, other times they are accidental, the point is that it happens in real time and there is no reset button. While these consequences vary from screwing with the wrong faction, to flying through the wrong part of town (space), every action you make you will have to own. This aspect of the game is vital to maintaining respect for the environment, in order for the world to feel real, it must be designed this way.
Multiplayer or Multi-Crew Experience
Whether you fly in formation as a squadron of fighters, or you are part of a crew on the same ship, players can experience this galaxy together. Built in comms that give you that “radio” experience helps to enhance the experience but in large part in groups you can get on the open play servers and become pirates or bounty hunters, form a trade empire or travel out together and experience the galaxy together.
Most gamers know that while the A.I.’s of a game can offer a challenge nothing compares to meeting another player on the battlefield and Elite Dangerous has a wide range of ways communities come together from the story driven community goals, to straight up unsolicited PvP or directly in the form of organized competitive play. Elite Dangerous is a vast world, but open play multiplayer mixed in with the ability to share ships as members of the same crew or squadron creates that signature Star Trek feel and is an amazing way to experience Elite Dangerous.
Constantly Growing and Expanding
While admittedly the pace is relatively slow, Elite Dangerous has adopted a loyal fan following and has really converted into the “life style” format of games. The developers are dedicated to producing new content several times a year and while slow the updates are always very significant. Each new upgrade brings the game ever closer to the expansive concept David Braben had created for this game and one by one he is meeting the challenges and bringing us the promised features.
Season II Horizons, brought us some of the most highly anticipated features to Elite Dangerous including planetary landings, multi-crew ships and the return of the THARGOIDS! Now Season III is just around the corner!
The game is expanding by leaps and bounds and while I personally believe its best in doses, its a game of progression because its a universe of progression and as such each new update opens up new careers and ways to experience the game. Season III is almost upon us and promises to bring us closer to a science-fiction experience as a great alien threat approaches threatening humanity. There has never been a better time to get involved.
The Final Word
I will admit that while I personally love the concept of Elite Dangerous as an experience rather then a game, this sort of approach to entertainment might not be for everyone. Its not a reflection on gamer’s at large, people want to play games, not everyone is up for simply experiencing a virtual world simulation and so I strongly urge you to consider the following.
Elite Dangerous is not going to entertain you like a typical game, it’s there as a space to explore, to digest and to experience. Its not a fair game and if you where to explore online the commentary of most gamers who try to “game” Elite as opposed to simply experience it you will probably find quite a few unsatisfied customers and the truth is that everything they say about Elite Dangerous is true. If you want levels, content and be given a waypoint to where you are supposed to go and a journal that tells you what your supposed to do there and an X that marks the spot, this game is going to let you down. Its not that kind of game. It tells you nothing and expects you to find something, that something is special, but its there, waiting to be found.
Elite Dangerous is definitely not a game for everyone, but for those of you who get excited about the prospect of exploring a vast galaxy and participating in a science-fiction universe on your own terms, this is the ultimate game for you.
You might be tempted to go online and find out “how”, “where” or “what”. My suggestion is don’t. Log in and experience the game from within. You won’t get rich at first, you will be confused for sure, but the joy of this game is exploring it, discovering its secrets. Sure you can go online and get the coordinates to a Black Hole, or you can venture into space and try to find one on your own. One way is easy and will lead you to getting bored, the other will open up the world of Elite Dangerous, a world to be experienced, not played.
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