A few days ago, Rpadholic bsukenyan made some interesting statements on the importance of story over graphics in videogames. He wrote:

The other day we talked about games we loved because of their writing. Now it’s time to enter the bitter barn and drink some Haterade, because we’re going to talk about games we loathed because of their writing! A bad story can ruin an otherwise excellent interactive experience. In my opinion, game writing has been getting better and better. Even games that are essentially mindless exercises in action are using top-quality writers. Still, there are plenty of dark episodes of the past to discuss.

Mobile gaming is about to get huge. Yeah, I know it’s a pretty big deal now and one of the fastest growing segments of the entire gaming industry, but it’s going to get super huge. More importantly, it’s going get super huge in a way that you care about. Why do I say this? Two reasons: Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and id Software’s id Tech 5.

Here’s a Coffee Talk request from RPadholic bsukenyan. He thought it would be a great idea to discuss games we love because of their writing. That’s a fantastic idea! Obviously you’re all huge fans of the last two Smackdown vs. Raw games due to outstanding storylines that are better than what WWE comes up with, but let’s be fair and talk about other games.

Most of you know my television habits — I watch WWE wrestling, HBO boxing, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and American Idol. Compared to most of my friends, I don’t watch a lot of TV. I never got into Lost or 24. While I’ve enjoyed some episodes of Dexter, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, True Blood, and [insert popular show here], I never really cared enough to follow those series regularly. I’m generally more entertained by the Internet than television, but there’s one thing that would absolutely keep me glued to the tube: Wikipedia TV.

I’ve been having a blast with foursquare for the last two months. A lot of people hate the location-based check-in service, but I don’t think they get it. Sure, it’s another way for vain people to use the Internet to share more mundane details of their mundane lives, but foursquare can be fun and useful. I love checking out where my friends eat, drink, and shop; I’m more likely to try a restaurant an IRL friend likes than a random one. The baseball lover in me marks out at all the stats available on foursquare; it’s interesting to see the patterns and statistics of your social life.

It’s the 200th edition of Coffee Talk! I want to thank all of you for helping me make it this far!!! If you’d like to thank me then please do me a favor and start hating Freddie Prinze, Jr. You see, I saw him over Summer Slam weekend at the lobby of the Sheraton. Freddie used to be a writer for WWE and was visiting the wrestlers. Anyway, start hating him. Like now.

Man that was an awesome weekend — great WWE action, fantastic friends, good food, and mingling with WWE Superstars! Here are some random highlights.

There’s a fine line between a satisfyingly difficult game and a game that’s so annoying that you want to hurl your controller through your television. Some titles have tough sections that adequately reward your Herculean efforts. Others are just difficult for the sake of being difficult. In my mind it’s the difference between something like Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man 9. It’s so tough to do it right.

In yesterday’s Coffee Talk, we had a fun conversation about our favorite superheroes. Let’s take a stroll on the dark side today and talk about our favorite super villains! In comics, games, movies, etc., heroes are only as good as their villains. Threats seem much more epic when they’re executed by a devious mastermind. The fictional world needs great villains!