R.A.V.E - Real-time Audio Visual Experience is not a game. Games contain meaningful gamelike interaction and game loops, which are absent in this software.
Instead of being a game, R.A.V.E - Real-time Audio Visual Experience is a software application that was poorly received, and intended to allow users of the software to create "virtual concerts", none of which, obviously, is related to, you know, being a game that people can play.
For those unfamiliar with what actually makes something a game, a "game loop" describes the interaction and feedback a gamer has when playing a game. Tetris, for example, has a game loop where a random block appears, the gamer interacts with the block to position it, and then the game decides if that finishes a row or not, increases the players score if any rows were completed, then gives the gamer another block to position. Counter-Strike has a game loop where a player seeks another player, tests their skill against that player by shooting them or being shot, the computer rewards the player if they win, and then if the player survives, they repeat that loop. There's no loop here, no true interactive feedback. It simply is not a game, it cannot be "played".
This has misleadingly been launched in the "Games" section of Steam instead of the "Software" section. This is a common mistake for developers who are new to Steam, or don't understand the difference between games and software which isn't a game. It seems this software published incorrectly as a game is simply lack of experience/knowledge of the correct process.
Here's a link for the process to publish non-game software on Steam:
[url=https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPublishing?issueid=925]Steam Developer Help With Software Publishing[/url]
It's unfortunate this process was not known about/followed, resulting in a software application being published in the wrong place.
Publishing things which aren't games on Steam in the Games section as games is misleading to gamers and somewhat harmful, because it pollutes the Steam marketplace and takes away visibility and market exposure for genuine game developers who do the right thing and make games for gamers.
There are no gameplay loops in this software, no "gameplay", no meaningful game like interaction. It's a software application and as such has no merits as a video game for gamers. Because of this, I cannot recommend this non-game software as a game to gamers.
[quote][url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews]Developer Response![/url][/quote]The developer has weighed in to inform everyone they didn't read the [url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews]Developer Usage Rules[/url] for Steam "partners", or they deliberately ignored the part where Valve says:
[quote]Though it may be tempting, not every review needs to be responded to. A developer response will frequently draw more attention than the original statement, potentially turning a small issue into a much larger community discussion. It's also not a good idea to use this feature to refute customer opinions. Your direct attention can be seen as validation or a defensive attempt to silence your customers.[/quote]
The developer of this failed train wreck breached Valve guidelines to let you, the gamer, know that he never learned how to read. I explain very clearly in my review what makes a game and I'll repeat it just in case the developer gets taught how to read English at some point:
For those unfamiliar with what actually makes something a game, a "game loop" describes the interaction and feedback a gamer has when playing a game. Tetris, for example, has a game loop where a random block appears, the gamer interacts with the block to position it, and then the game decides if that finishes a row or not, increases the players score if any rows were completed, then gives the gamer another block to position. Counter-Strike has a game loop where a player seeks another player, tests their skill against that player by shooting them or being shot, the computer rewards the player if they win, and then if the player survives, they repeat that loop. There's no loop here, no true interactive feedback. It simply is not a game, it cannot be "played".
I also explain clearly how you can use Steam to publish applications, but the developer aggressively ignores all rules and guidelines. Why? Because he's The Main Character. You, the gamer, don't matter.
The developer explains that the software has features, therefore it is a game. I can take a bunch of text and turn it into a table in Microsoft Word, does that make Microsoft Word a game? Apparently the developer was so desperate to try shove this down gamers throats as a glorified Second Life ripoff chat room that he never bothered considering what would be good for gamers... abusing the Steam games store for his own ego.
Heck, the "developer" of this garbage explicitly states it is software for (these are his words): "experiencing livestreamed events." Is "experiencing livestreamed events" a game? No, no it is not. The developer knows he's doing the wrong thing, on purpose, regardless of the harm it causes to gamers and to genuine game developers who do the right thing, by creating non-game pollution that wastes everyones time and clutters the marketplace, reducing visibility for those developers who did do the right thing. Why? Because he matters, and you don't. He's the Main Character.
All this skirts the other part which I didn't mention... this garbage only had a peak user count of 16 people (probably wondering why Second Life suddenly looks even worse and why they can't spend their Linden Dollars). That only happened ONCE. This is a dismal failure... but you can see from the developers toxic attempt to justify shoving non-game software as a game down people's throats that talent is not something every would-be Steam Direct user has.
Nothing in the developers pointless breach of Valve guidelines changes any of the objective facts of my review. My review stands unaltered. I cannot recommend this non-game chat room software to anyone.
