AusGamers has the opportunity to interview Randy Stude from the PC Gaming Alliance.

I'm keen to try and find out what you guys are interested to know about what these guys are doing for PC gaming (obviously the BEST form of gaming, amirite?), so if you have any questions you think are cool or would like to know the answer to, post 'em here. We'll select the best ones and fire them off.

Why are so many games developers trying to make the PC experience more like consoles?

Seems like a step backwords to me.

ATI & nVidia have now given support to the Linux community by producing and distributing their own binary driver packages. With the video capabilities now accessible, stability and ease of use enhanced (by distributions like Ubuntu) and a steady increase in the number of home desktops changing to a Linux distribution - when can we start to see some support from the developers of PC titles for the operating system.

At the end of the day, I'd rather spend my $200+ on new games than giving it to Microsoft.

Why not drop DRM and release everything on Steam? It rocks. We gamers have bought into Steam and its DRM model - embrace it yourselves and make phat lewts.

Why not have worldwide release dates to remove one of the "justifications" used by pirates?

Offer more money to get dukey released this year.

Activision/blizzard gave you the punt and Valve was never involved - Why are the two biggest names in PC gaming not involved?

I want to know what this PC gaming alliance actually DO. I mean, theres been lots of buzz words thrown around and hyperbole about bringing PC gaming back to the forefront, but what have they actually done to achieve this? And what are their plans for the future?

What new experience in gaming can you forecast in the next 5 years?

why is using a gamepad like the xbox360 controller so much better for fps when compared to using mouse + KB ?

When I hear the name PC Gaming Alliance, i imagine a bunch of neckbeards running around in capes saying "excelsior!".

I really have nfi what they're doing for PC gaming, only a vague recollection that they've tried to standardise a few things. Can someone explain why should we care what they have to say about anything?

I was gunna say what dan and khel said but no doubt when they answer the "wtf do you actually do?" question they will just have some PR BS ready to roll.

When I hear the name PC Gaming Alliance, i imagine a bunch of neckbeards running around in capes saying "excelsior!".

lol.

Randy, on your website there is a section called 'resources' with a sub-section 'articles'. In this section there are five weak articles, including two advertising statements (Dell, Capcom). Does PCGA plan to do any work ever in the future? And further to this question, could you please expand on who makes up the board, officers, subcommitee chair, subcommitte, blog contributors and advisory council (positions listed on your 'membership benefits' page)- and comment on whether the above have any intention of ever writing an article.

ATI & nVidia have now given support to the Linux community by producing and distributing their own binary driver packages. With the video capabilities now accessible, stability and ease of use enhanced (by distributions like Ubuntu) and a steady increase in the number of home desktops changing to a Linux distribution - when can we start to see some support from the developers of PC titles for the operating system.

Someone told me it was because it's all written in direct 3d these days, unlike the old days when REAL games ran in opengl and could run on windows & linux. I remember playing quake on linux, ahh those were the days.

To hell with direct 3d, bring back 3dfxgl.

why is using a gamepad like the xbox360 controller so much better for fps when compared to using mouse + KB ?

HAHAHAHAHAHA hahahaha hahahaha get me a tissue.

Does the PGA play golf?

ask that one plz, I never got the whole playing fps games using controllers thing.. Is it so hard to make a mouse + keyboard that is compatible with consoles (or make consoles compatible with mouse+keyb) and can be used to play games like on PC's??? I'd like to see a controller vs mouse+keyb in an fps game, farking lol the carnage.

I've never seen the point in wanting to play games on console with a mouse and keyboard, I've got my PC for that. PC lives on a desk, with a nicely setup mouse and keyboard, consoles live in my lounge room where I can stretch out on the couch with a controller. They both offer different experiences, and thats pretty much the point. Why homogenise gaming and boil it down so all platforms play the same way? PC gaming has its own identity and (I would assume) thats the point this PCGA thing is trying to push, not that anyone would know, because they seem to be doing a piss poor job of really pushing anything or being anything more than a marketting gimmick.

Not that I'm endorsing playing FPS games on a controller, but rather than wish for a mouse and keyboard for my console, I just go play them on my PC.

I'd play my 360 heaps more if it fully supported mouse and keyboard. There's a lot of FPS I wanna try but playing them with a control pad sucks.

I've got my PC for that. PC lives on a desk, with a nicely setup mouse and keyboard, consoles live in my lounge room where I can stretch out on the couch with a controller.

I think if you thought about it, you'd realise that you've made a false argument. There's no reason that a console must be in the lounge, connected to the tv, and there's no reason why your wintell box needs to be on your desk connected to a monitor. Hell, half the people on this forum will have a PC connected to their TV.

I've never seen the point in wanting to play games on console with a mouse and keyboard

My biggest issue is that gameplay needs to be designed around the way people interact with it. So that means a game that is designed for playing with a console controler as input and a tv as output have different requirements to someone who plays with a monitor and mouse+keyboard. The end result being that games designed to be played on consoles feel fine on consoles, but shallow on PC; games designed to be played on PC feel fine on PC, but are overly complex on console.

People who are asking for mouse+keyboard/keypad on consoles are basically asking for games with the depth and complexity of interactions found in PC games to be made on consoles machines.

last edited by typo at 10:51:00 28/Apr/09

I've never seen the point in wanting to play games on PC with a gamepad or joystick, I've got my console for that. PC lives on a desk, with a nicely setup mouse and keyboard, consoles live in my lounge room where I can stretch out on the couch with a controller. They both offer different experiences, and thats pretty much the point. Why homogenise gaming and boil it down so all platforms play the same way? PC gaming has its own identity and (I would assume) thats the point this PCGA thing is trying to push, not that anyone would know, because they seem to be doing a piss poor job of really pushing anything or being anything more than a marketting gimmick.

Not that I'm endorsing playing fighting games on a keyboard, but rather than wish for a gamepad for my PC, I just go play them on my console.

People who are asking for mouse+keyboard/keypad on consoles are basically asking for games with the depth and complexity of interactions found in PC games to be made on consoles machines.

not really, I just f***ing hate looking around and trying to aim with a control pad, it's so f***ing retarded.. One 10ms flick of my mouse and boom headshot!

One 10ms flick of my mouse and *click*, forgot to reload, dead.

Not that I'm endorsing playing fighting games on a keyboard, but rather than wish for a gamepad for my PC, I just go play them on my console.

Yep, thats pretty much exactly right. Sif you'd play fighting games on PC (exceptions made for One Must Fall).

not really, I just f***ing hate looking around and trying to aim with a control pad, it's so f***ing retarded.. One 10ms flick of my mouse and boom headshot!

That's basically what I'm saying. You want the depth of interaction available with high fidelity input of mouse+keypad.

ask that one plz, I never got the whole playing fps games using controllers thing.. Is it so hard to make a mouse + keyboard that is compatible with consoles (or make consoles compatible with mouse+keyb) and can be used to play games like on PC's??? I'd like to see a controller vs mouse+keyb in an fps game, farking lol the carnage.

You actually can use a mouse and keyboard on the 360.

There's not much value to it in terms of gaming.

The scroll speed of the mouse, is bound to the same maximum as you controller would have been, so it'd feel more like you're driving a MechWarrior than anything else. And sort of defeats the whole purpose of the mouse/kb combo.

I've played countless hours of halo/gow/gow2/cod5 all on the 360, and once you get used to it, FPS with a controller is fine. I still bought TF2 for the pc though :P

I've played countless hours of halo/gow/gow2/cod5 all on the 360, and once you get used to it, FPS with a controller is fine. I still bought TF2 for the pc though :P

Fine to play others with the same handicap and the single player. Its playable, it's not even a detraction, but its hardly competitive compared to a significantly better input like mouse and keyboard.

Often the compensation with that is some kind of auto target system too, like "ironsight to lock targets". That's hardly natural in my opinion.

There was a game that allowed cross platform playing, console and PC. Was it Shadowrun? Anyway the developers found they had to put in a handicap for the mouse players because it was just plain unfair.