Then why don't you just hook the computer up to a TV?
Because apparently not enough people know it's possible. And if the comments listed here are to be believed, most of those who do know about using a TV as a PC monitor aren't willing to rearrange the house (e.g. HDMI through a hole in the wall, keyboard and mouse on TV tray) to make it happen.
Most artists don't expect anyone to actually pay money for their portfolio.
I was under the impression that established video game studios would consider a portfolio "better" if it contains contributions to a finished commercial game. This shows HR that a candidate not only can produce but has produced well enough to sell something. As Jon Evans of TechCrunch put in "Why The New Guy Can’t Code": "So what should a real interview consist of? Let me offer a humble proposal: don’t interview anyone who hasn’t accomplished anything. Ever." If anything, I guess a credit in a commercial game might help elevate a candidate's standing with HR from "we'll hire you if you already live here" to "we'll help pay for your relocation". But then what do I know? I've never been hired in the mainstream video game industry.
The notion that step #1 is, "asking people to pay, no strings attached for what you haven't made" when you haven't made anything yet is relatively recent.
An indie studio needs money to make the first thing. And when there isn't such money, a studio has to fall back to what its artists can put together alongside a day job in another industry, and that often means 2D pixel art.
Why would games even need to be KB+M - hostile?
Because of the practical limit of one keyboard and one mouse per PC. I've read reports that few PC gamers have multiple gamepads connected to a single PC, but even fewer have multiple keyboards and multiple mice on a PC (other than the case of a laptop with a USB mouse that the user is using instead of the built-in trackpad). This means multiplayer games using keyboard and mouse are overwhelmingly played over the Internet. But there are several video game genres that don't work well over the Internet. I tried playing a fighting game over the Internet a week ago, and it was full of control lag that the game introduced because you can't dead-reckon as much in a fighting game as you can in a first-person shooter. And forget about party games; those rely on the out-of-game social interaction made possible by putting two to four players in a room. See editorials by The_Netcup and Damien McFerran.
You can plug PS3, PS4 and wired 360 controllers without any hardware adaptors and most modern games work just fine with them.
Gamepads on PC have at least four problems I can think of:
I'm sure these problems have solutions, and I'd appreciate help figuring it out other than "just buy a console; the games are better because developer approval keeps out the riff-raff".
To not mention the endless QTEs that are meant to pretend the player is playing the game
I've always wondered why these "press X to not die" scenes continue to be named after QuickTime even on non-Apple platforms.
I have to wonder though, do you include the cost of the television when you consider the cost of a console?
Only if the console doesn't support an existing television. My cousin asked for an HDTV specifically for use with an OUYA console, which lacks any sort of analog video output. Nor do I include the cost of the first PC's monitor. But because so few PC games support use of multiple gamepads, I have to include the cost of the monitor for the second, third, and fourth PC in a household.
Cost of a router applies equally to both console and PC.
Not necessarily. I upgraded from wired to Wi-Fi in early 2006 specifically to play Mario Kart DS and Tetris DS because unlike my PCs, a handheld system can't use wired Ethernet. Last time I checked, PCs still came with Ethernet jacks, unless you consider a tablet a PC.
Also, not every game is played over a network.
Major publishers have started to change this, requiring network connections even for single-player, primarily to deter use of unauthorized copies. See: Assassin's Creed 2, Diablo 3, SimCity 2013.
This is why I stopped being a PC gamer in the late '90s. All I wanted was a better Tetris. What I got was a better bouncing ball demo.
You're not gonna get a better Tetris. The Tetris Company has made infinite spin the law for over a decade now, and providers of alternatives will be prosecuted.
I understand Hotline: Miami was a critical success, because lo-res, 2D games equal coolness with indie developers
Other than emulating 240p pixel art styles typical of third- and fourth-generation console platforms (C64, CV/MSX, SMS, NES, TG16, Genesis, Super NES), what other graphical style is practical for a small team seeking to build a portfolio?
There are some good info graphics on actual data here. PC has 51% of the playtime marketshare and consoles only have 30%.
The infographic you linked doesn't state whether two people on one console count as double the playtime. It appears that a lot more console games than PC games support multiple controllers. When four people play Super Smash Bros. Brawl for an hour on a single Wii console, is that one hour of playtime or four?
But seeing that a console uses the home TV then the cost of monitor and whatnot must be included.
You can use the monitor, keyboard, and mouse from your previous desktop PC. If there is no previous desktop PC, a starter wired keyboard and mouse might set you back about $30 total. Add an Xbox 360 controller and monitor from a pawn shop and you're set.
Quite simply to have a halfway decent gaming rig you are plunking down a minimum of $1200
Hairyfeet would dispute that figure. He claims to have put together a competent gaming PC for under $500, not including a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
On the other hand, there are a few genres that get released on consoles far more often than on PC, even when they aren't exclusive to one console. Fighting games are one of them; the PC version of Mortal Kombat 2011, for instance, was two years late. Party games, designed for two to four players holding controllers, are another genre where PCs get the shaft. True, those require bigger monitors than a single-player or online game, but that doesn't explain why established video game publishers seem to ignore the growing home theater PC market.
Money will say more in one moment than the most eloquent lover can in years.
