tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81484565916240772082024-03-13T00:41:17.748+00:00Right Brain OnlyFollowing the Zeitgeist at a safe distance.Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-49420173586419252342014-11-06T21:13:00.001+00:002014-11-06T21:13:59.679+00:00My Personal Games of 2013: Football Manager 2014<br />
To understand why football manager is successful you need to understand what it's like to be a football fan.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkkklNcbADrB4Jhj6ZtU4a6-SLFsX-9eljmu90GBmP_OMrMIDa4p0Iiky2Tgo_KajtiGxmgmEJJlt7qvfbM9L1Z0FsJxHEziuDMxMJbVPd2kGIPe86ZEaEs30m_WXiuv5lpob9hYC9lyz/s1600/fm2014a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkkklNcbADrB4Jhj6ZtU4a6-SLFsX-9eljmu90GBmP_OMrMIDa4p0Iiky2Tgo_KajtiGxmgmEJJlt7qvfbM9L1Z0FsJxHEziuDMxMJbVPd2kGIPe86ZEaEs30m_WXiuv5lpob9hYC9lyz/s1600/fm2014a.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Supposedly the most stressful situation any human can be put in is one when either fight nor flight serve them well. Where they are compelled instead to ensure punishment and reward administered with administered with equal randomness. Cause and effect suddenly become seemingly disconnected, and the mind finds itself lost, the rational taking a backseat as superstition and ritual step forth to fill the gap where once logic ruled.<br />
<br />
That someone would voluntarily put themselves in this situation seems absurd, but every week millions of fans do just this for there is no game in the world, where expectations are so readily confounded and hopes so frequently dashed as football.<br />
<br />
To someone who has never sat part of a crowd thousands strong, their stomach's sinking as their collective dreams collapse FM's combination of stats, diagrams, and spread sheets, can feel like a awfully clinical. But to those who have for nearly two decades Sports Interactive's Football Manager series of games (& its predecessors Championship Manager) provided a quiet oasis of order in their lives. A place where the cruellest of sporting mishaps are just on reload away.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
However as the series has become increasingly more complicated in its attempts to be a ever more accurate simulation some of the feelings that its players were attempting to flee began to make their way into the game. What had been a understandable abstraction of a complex game, because a mess of sliders, and impenetrable terminology.<br />
<br />
It was like a old friend had turned up one day and without warning started speaking a foreign Language, leaving people understandably concern they might never understand it quite the same way. SI made their first attempts to remedy this by introducing a simplified Classic Mode, but part of what made 2014 the most important revision to this formula for a long time is that it took the first tentative step to resets list a common language between game and player.<br />
<br />
Game theory maintains that verbs are the building blocks of any game, 2014 took what was an abstract set of numbers made it into a lexicon of terms familiar to anyone with a love of football(& provided detailed tooltips to explain them for everyone else).<br />
Additionally unlike in some previous iterations of the series this was not a one way conversation, for those prepared to listen to what the same game was telling them FM2014 was the first in the series where FM provided both a compelling tactical and strategic experience.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSai4uc6dVL_9LM8DMHh6iU2MaBtZtBSEJBPkNtR9T7APMxM4-FuQxuszfUovJHuWxbMCxZHShatLbz5SgCLkeHQUOvsiSvYlsUf6k5Rckn8VujzWYiDPzRq80AcMmSzQNqZcch5erjYF/s1600/fm2014c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSai4uc6dVL_9LM8DMHh6iU2MaBtZtBSEJBPkNtR9T7APMxM4-FuQxuszfUovJHuWxbMCxZHShatLbz5SgCLkeHQUOvsiSvYlsUf6k5Rckn8VujzWYiDPzRq80AcMmSzQNqZcch5erjYF/s1600/fm2014c.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Strategy players have always been served well by FM, the freedom to build up, and tweak a unstoppable footballing engine before pointing it at a unsuspecting AI's and watching the highlights flash by as their opponents quickly found themselves outmatched.I always feel like the big test for any strategy game is how well a 'plan survives contact with the enemy', and unfortunately in many of the previous FM's both the most optimal and easiest approach was to just adopt whatever the most fashionable formation of the moment happened to be and brute force your way to victory.<br />
It offered one of the most deeply compelling examples of mechanical optimisation you will find outside the Board game world, where the Eurogame genre has long offered a perfectly ordered refuge from the unpredictability of day to day life.<br />
<br />
FM2014 showed the beginning of something different, for the first time it became just as viable to play as a tactically reactive manager as it was to be a proactive one.<br />
The improved match engine, and switching of the tactics menu to a set of clear actionable verbs meant that for me for the first time it felt to me that it was not just possible but actually advisable to watch how things played out in the match engine, see where problems were developing and adapt appropriately.<br />
<br />
Every game became a sequence of planing, execution, observation, and adaptation. Forcing me to build a toolkit of players to help take apart the interlocking puzzles that every match posed. I started to value players not just for what they allowed my team to do but for what they stopped my opponents from doing. <br />
<br />
In the end to not only fundamentally change the focus of what has been one of the most successful franchises of the past two decades, but to do so in a way which moves it away from being a unchallenging comfort food to tuck into after your team has taken a beating and into something which helps you understand why they took that beating was a risky but extremely impressive chance for SI to take. One which to a lifelong fan of the beautiful game feels like something very special indeed.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-44717742254122403552014-08-21T20:02:00.001+01:002014-08-21T20:02:37.054+01:00My Personal Games of 2013: Saints Row 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyDjepiDgKpJhuI9PjKYZii1_Gw2wCm7vbOPzK13k4zBXYbjmtTkweAf9h2QQQNANHWQn6IG3H9YN7wbzlWrM5yoqIDPMaGLcj0shXDC2Vr2FdIjb_oWkXxPqGvW9Fp4gjkjB2bv-fQwH/s1600/intagalticgangsta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyDjepiDgKpJhuI9PjKYZii1_Gw2wCm7vbOPzK13k4zBXYbjmtTkweAf9h2QQQNANHWQn6IG3H9YN7wbzlWrM5yoqIDPMaGLcj0shXDC2Vr2FdIjb_oWkXxPqGvW9Fp4gjkjB2bv-fQwH/s1600/intagalticgangsta.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A intergalactic gangsta
power fantasy set in a virtual world is not necessarily the sort of
game where I particularly expected to find well developed and
sympathetic characters, but thats what Saints Row 4 is and that's
exactly what you will find.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I found SR4 was a game
that respected my time like few others, it's willingness to build
upon what went before while exploiting and playing with my
expectations about gameplay mechanics and character archetypes means
barely a moment is wasted. Instead what you do, and those you do it
with is put firmly in the spotlight. Its near fanatical the old
adage of “show, don't tell”.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For me the easiest way
to explain why it's worth looking past Saints Row's surface and
paying attention to how smart some of it's design decisions are is to
look at its relationship with music. While the GTA series was
certainly the first to pioneer the idea of in game radio stations
SR4's 'thing' has always been that music isn't just something you
hear as a player but part of the world that the characters also have
a relationship with.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This means the games
soundtrack isn't just ambiance. Its' not just about evoking a time
period, or having something cool to drive around to(though it does
both those), it's something that helps to build little moments of
connection, a bridge to help you connect with it's character, to
better understand something about the relationships of SR4's cast.
Whether its something low key like signing Opposites Attract with a
hommie, or something more bombastic like climbing a nuclear missile
while “I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” blares in the background the
intent is the same. This is not just something for our benefit, it
isn't just the soundtrack to our game but the soundtrack to their
lives.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's also important
that its “their lives” not “their life”, SR4 is a true
ensemble piece a story about a group of people and not a individual.
Sure the boss is still in many ways a traditional protagonist, but
often the story moves along not because of their action but almost in
spite of them. Often it feels they are a character who's role is to
be a catalyst within the world, creating space for other's stories to
take place.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAN5Wx1tRsAUDnb_ouonGQI1kgTD2YUb_aeQ0yOFg1Q-eqa5DaqbJI6jUiUgC0tfqgnjfSM6coU7LrXjwafDSMUEyYwxkZpNgQTEy90xUmTsEBQOeDoPzXOSov3VQZ5WDREM_WCSSgsDw/s1600/adorunlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbAN5Wx1tRsAUDnb_ouonGQI1kgTD2YUb_aeQ0yOFg1Q-eqa5DaqbJI6jUiUgC0tfqgnjfSM6coU7LrXjwafDSMUEyYwxkZpNgQTEy90xUmTsEBQOeDoPzXOSov3VQZ5WDREM_WCSSgsDw/s1600/adorunlock.jpg" height="112" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The continual elevation
of the protagonists from their gangland origins could easily have
been a weight around the game's neck but, the writers clear affection
towards and willingness to let their characters evolve keeps things
fresh. We know these characters and they know each other. So while
Saint's Row does have it's own equivalent of loyalty missions, It
uses the trope in a way that is unlike many of his contemporaries.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiitFNB_m4rZswoOQXxLcARhP-NzlyfcFatri_cS-9SJg3eaU50Irkr1_oyQJLTxt54w3DNd1RHd9-ADsLq5s1AFex84OhChJGunWK4fh-oj4ulI9qRLQ8TcxmbWnAY3yuVRwWsmtg3Jd/s1600/innerturmoil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOiitFNB_m4rZswoOQXxLcARhP-NzlyfcFatri_cS-9SJg3eaU50Irkr1_oyQJLTxt54w3DNd1RHd9-ADsLq5s1AFex84OhChJGunWK4fh-oj4ulI9qRLQ8TcxmbWnAY3yuVRwWsmtg3Jd/s1600/innerturmoil.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This isn't writers just
trying to give a player a power up or a nugget of back story, it is a
chance for the writers to explore the way the characters understand
themselves, and each other. To find closure, self-respect, and
acceptance on their own terms, helped by us. but not just for our
sake. SR4 may not be the most subtle of games but it is surprisingly
one of the most genuinely affectionate.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the end perhaps it's
SR4's finale that tells you most about it, when picking your final
team there's none of the idiotic min-maxing that some games indulge
in. In fact there's no incentive to do anything but pick the people
you care most about. Those you choose to take with you on the final
mission are simply the character you want to be around, nothing more,
and nothing less.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_Ubd6yhWo3wyLNGj0ImdwU2ATVciWthZPyb3lDIGJMZQbhG6HUvAfLdBjr3awxOrkOcVWDsD-tfbxxzgCRFGOGWKQVHsZnl7VuC1k4tkRvU-7Wy9wW7nfy6HbtD05qK78QZDY0nDGbyd/s1600/groupshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9_Ubd6yhWo3wyLNGj0ImdwU2ATVciWthZPyb3lDIGJMZQbhG6HUvAfLdBjr3awxOrkOcVWDsD-tfbxxzgCRFGOGWKQVHsZnl7VuC1k4tkRvU-7Wy9wW7nfy6HbtD05qK78QZDY0nDGbyd/s1600/groupshot.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-20452974772774642032014-08-13T19:14:00.000+01:002014-08-13T19:16:39.839+01:00My Personal Games of 2013: Gone Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZLXK6CXT39_He5I4irluiPKVdTHXEnw2Ta_6igRvi72LNqy30dEhlPEti3CBK1cnDZ_OCJz_NHP9sOKWae6FXJjre56uf1nZIZOYjg1M_CsnWHwUGX9qS-d3mXd5OIPSwMoLgUizPC34/s1600/entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZLXK6CXT39_He5I4irluiPKVdTHXEnw2Ta_6igRvi72LNqy30dEhlPEti3CBK1cnDZ_OCJz_NHP9sOKWae6FXJjre56uf1nZIZOYjg1M_CsnWHwUGX9qS-d3mXd5OIPSwMoLgUizPC34/s1600/entrance.jpg" height="318" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Sometimes
it is easy for me to forget what a young medium video games are. That
what will still define many of the best games of this generation will
not be how they push the boundary of what is possible, but how
smartly they work within its constraints.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I
initially bounced off Gone Home, perhaps because I went in with
expectations that it would be the former rather than the latter.
Games still struggle to provide worlds which feel inhabited, a issue
Gone Home handily sidesteps by creating a contriving a setting
conveniently empty of both humans and the most of the clutter we
bring with us. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">What
Gone Home chooses to do with that empty space plays with many of the
strange expectation and tropes that have grown up around the idea of
being alone in old house, it's become weirdly normal when in this
situation to assume everything possess some sort of ominous
connotation. We don't consider that it is far more likely that lights
are left on by a lazy teenager than some paranormal force, that it's
red hair dye and not blood on the floor in the bathroom, and that the
sound and fury of the storm outside truly signify nothing.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20nrVUXWN_9X2O_Zpsm6CJtzNFkbk3cGXCVi2YtaC4QLWJvQSVA7v-xy-b1focbEu_i8oQDEuGBA2faAF2Q0kgbhT-Z_xaJwdG3fQMGGYwQrps_Qx4BavcpDzMBdUGCSgCeguQtvFQuUv/s1600/lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20nrVUXWN_9X2O_Zpsm6CJtzNFkbk3cGXCVi2YtaC4QLWJvQSVA7v-xy-b1focbEu_i8oQDEuGBA2faAF2Q0kgbhT-Z_xaJwdG3fQMGGYwQrps_Qx4BavcpDzMBdUGCSgCeguQtvFQuUv/s1600/lights.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">That's
not to say this is a house without any ghosts, they just take a more
metaphorical form.</span> <span style="font-size: 11pt;">As
I explored I kept encountering the after images of a family spread
out across space and time. The outlines of their personality into
focus one moment, and then blurring again as a new piece of
information makes me doubt my judgement again. Gone Home gives just
the right amount of information to encourage speculation, without
making its conclusions seem contrived. Rarely has a game done so much
with so little.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Of
course it wouldn't matter how cleverly put together, or smartly
constructed Gone Home was if it didn't tell a story that was
interesting or affecting. Thankfully (for me at least) it delivers
here, getting across much of the nervousness and uncertainty needed
to convincingly tell a tale of teenage love and angst. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">It
does all this while pulling off a difficult balancing act, achieving
both the sense of inhabiting a very specific place in space and time,
and addressing core themes that relate to very universal experiences.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">One
of the unique things about Gone Home is that the glimpses we get of
the relationship between Lonnie and Sam as we explore the house
reveal not a fully formed relationship, but those nervous moments
from before one begins, where we are all at our most vulnerable,
unsure of our own feeling and unsure if they will be reciprocated.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXE_5JfSYx322bI7SJKe2FIgbE5JrTpEku6NIk3Chwknadci6VjgedeGY-qsAdjY0h8Igbgga_Lt5hV2Wmqu1oIASrRQ8vIdt5pp814aPIrKy-vNs4i1WouUoAqvN0H4_X6aokdVor1_Xw/s1600/S&L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXE_5JfSYx322bI7SJKe2FIgbE5JrTpEku6NIk3Chwknadci6VjgedeGY-qsAdjY0h8Igbgga_Lt5hV2Wmqu1oIASrRQ8vIdt5pp814aPIrKy-vNs4i1WouUoAqvN0H4_X6aokdVor1_Xw/s1600/S&L.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Over
the years video games have often treated us like some irresistible
lothario, and after playing gone home can't help but I wonder if the
template of romance the perpetuates within gaming culture is not just
one that is deceptive, omitting the loss of control, rejection, and
self-doubt that comes part and parcel of any real relationship, but
also actively harmful to it's players. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Bioware's
Dragon Age and Mass Effect have both always offered what seem to be a
tightly constrain vision of the whirlwind of emotions that surround
love and relationships, never exposing players to a moment where
their heart sinks in their chest, or risking saying anything they
cannot take back</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">It
feels like it took a very brave choice by the staff of Fullbright to
build the finale of Gone Home the way they did, letting people unused
to doubt to fear the worst, pacing itself so the player had time to
worry and let their anxieties build. In fact it's pulled off so
professionally that in when (spoilers!) those fears proved to be
unfounded, it doesn't feel contrived and instead provides a fleeting
glance of a moment of cathartic hope and acceptance between two
characters which by then I had come to be very fond of.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I've
seen many people say Gone Home isn't a game for everyone, and in some
ways they may be right in its unconventional pacing and narrative
style could be tough and off putting to people who have come to
expect mastery to be the central driving force of any gaming
experience. Its also a demonstration of the limits of w</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">hat can be
achieved today even by the most careful and thoughtful of creators in
video game. Still feeling closer to a piece of installation art, than
to a convincing facsimile of the real world.</span>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">However
in some ways none of that matters, Gone Home offers one of the most
universal narrative anyone has attempted to deliver in this medium.
Perhaps the best way I can sum up my feelings on the game is to say
that I think everyone will have a moment in their lives where they
would connect with the sort of emotions that lie at the heart of Gone
Home. That there is a great value in knowing others have experienced
the same doubts, anxieties, and vulnerability that come with allowing
yourself to open up to another person.</span></div>
Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-4887840278024997752014-08-13T13:38:00.000+01:002014-08-13T13:38:25.933+01:00My Personal Games of 2013: Why am i doing this again?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaliBMq-IXSPVvTnQQcn81_YwaSytMY5zMDCPsXw9g0krQGORuQsFp434ze9Aana_BC70YqrxmYlhdCXRlUBI99IKaN1G9nvOPpj3HKHfA-D-guHxtdUXuS1vRHqf0e-XiAED4CEcIX6O9/s1600/GOTY2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaliBMq-IXSPVvTnQQcn81_YwaSytMY5zMDCPsXw9g0krQGORuQsFp434ze9Aana_BC70YqrxmYlhdCXRlUBI99IKaN1G9nvOPpj3HKHfA-D-guHxtdUXuS1vRHqf0e-XiAED4CEcIX6O9/s1600/GOTY2013.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I am not unaware that writing a list such as this more than a few months late and after a near two year gap may seem more than a little silly.<br />
<br />
In my defence the draft versions of these posts were written in February, it just took me this long to get my act together and edit them into a state where I was happy to present them to an audience.<br />
They serve as further reference points in my journey to challenge myself to critically think about the games I love, and my attempts to become better at explaining that thinking. They are little dots on the map left behind as I make my way forward, Important as much for the insights they give others to my trajectory as those they give me.<br />
<br />
Anyway without further ado onto the first of my games of 2013, Gone HomeCodicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-4846778684318805522014-08-12T17:40:00.002+01:002014-08-13T12:29:37.368+01:00Reference Points<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1HHy0pem_h-dqRDBbXyA-uOfPk6o_8INSu7T8AVUGMWQ4wWXaYS1xAYVCn3Z71JrFu4LJ8yZM3jZwQRoc8Du5ayUuUkAfI7zsl96vhu_NGe7rJIWp57bFb47HVX9vYnHiwovX8kOHqAj/s1600/becon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1HHy0pem_h-dqRDBbXyA-uOfPk6o_8INSu7T8AVUGMWQ4wWXaYS1xAYVCn3Z71JrFu4LJ8yZM3jZwQRoc8Du5ayUuUkAfI7zsl96vhu_NGe7rJIWp57bFb47HVX9vYnHiwovX8kOHqAj/s1600/becon.jpg" height="319" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
If ever you find yourself lost, one of the most sensible things you can remember (apart from which mushrooms you really should not eat) is that it's incredibly important to find a point of reference. Game designers have known this for a long time, look up in most well constructed open worlds and it is not unusual to find a tower looming in the near distance. Landmarks helps lend a sense of context and purpose to exploration that can otherwise be missing.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately this is a principle I haven't paid enough attention to as I work on this blog.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Everyone has things in their life they struggle with but know they need to press on with all the same, for me one of those things is writing. I've always thought it important to get better at expressing my viewpoint in writing but it's certainly not something that comes naturally to me. What often happens is I'll write a draft post then spend a lot of time either feeling I'm not in the correct mood to focus on the task or constantly trying revising it hoping to find some way of reaching a standard I'm happy to publish. This all while my attention does it's upmost to wander off in search of something new & shinny .<br />
<br />
Getting lost like this is for rather obvious reasons is not a way I want to keep working if I ever want to get anywhere. I need to find beacons to draw me forward at times when I might otherwise get distracted by something on the side of the road.<br />
<br />
The obvious answer is to look to others for inspiration, to take a article that made me think, and attempt to expand or to respond to it. The trick is to do this without being confrontational, this is easier said than done when like me you are not someone who can easily express the nuance of disagreeing with a concept but respect viewpoint of the person who wrote it. All while remembering cognisant that their level of craft far exceeds you own, that sometimes you will seem very silly to someone who's opinion you value.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless it's something I feel I need to do if I'm ever going to make a habit of this so after getting my games of 2013 up I'm going to try and keep a bi-weekly schedule based around the works of my peers.Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-85710039176727121022013-08-03T17:49:00.001+01:002014-08-12T17:37:45.535+01:00Life, Liberty, and Civilization: Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYavRlI4qFMbOH455-ruvdKAc7ERthw-CEVMZdvc-OC6lZtXjmuvlRv5NWsL-qHvqDxSL52lMC4zH5C0Q9-7JNKbDuT7qJhgQTm5-wmGCZ8Wn865o6sHt3WkuC64SyI0ZUv-JCGM-USlO7/s1600/spacerace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYavRlI4qFMbOH455-ruvdKAc7ERthw-CEVMZdvc-OC6lZtXjmuvlRv5NWsL-qHvqDxSL52lMC4zH5C0Q9-7JNKbDuT7qJhgQTm5-wmGCZ8Wn865o6sHt3WkuC64SyI0ZUv-JCGM-USlO7/s400/spacerace.jpg" height="199" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the expansionist philosophy's
importance to both Civ and America's character shouldn't be
underestimated, its not the only theme represented in the series.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For perhaps Civ's biggest contribution
to gaming history, and biggest innovation was..... innovation.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Resembling a family tree of science,
the Tech Tree concept helped to presented a world of dynamic change,
driven by scientific progress and above all player choice.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although the Tech tree concept existed
before its creator Sid Meier adopted it there's a strong argument
that Civ was responsible for popularising the mechanic. Years later
after the series had become hugely successful Meier would famously
say that any game should be
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>'A series of meaningful choices' </i>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A quote which perfectly sums up the
Tech Tree's appeal. You were constantly moving forward dramatically
changing the balance of the world with your every choice.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Science is the lens through which all
history is viewed in Civ. Human ingenuity channelled through science
is seen as transcendent force advancing man ever forward, in the
narrative of human history what once was impossible always (one
day)becomes the possible. These themes of choice, the transcendental
ability of science, and the power of rational thought can be traced
back to the philosophies of the Enlightenment movement. These
principals were the foundation of the world view of some of the most
prominent of America’s founding fathers and would help shape their
actions and choice in the time surrounding that great nation's birth.
In particular Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson espoused it's
ideas, and their influence helped weave those values into both the
declaration of independence and the American constitution.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if the players progress Tech Tree is
a journey of enlightenment, where does it the end? To put it simply,
the stars are your destination.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The existence of a Science victory was
the logical conclusion to a game which placed such emphasis on
technological advancement. The form that victory took with humanity
leaving the earth and travelling to Alpha Centuri, presents a image
of a civilisation who by very literally leaving 'the cradle of earth'
was demonstrating its maturity. It is a representation of the moment
of humanity's enlightenment, when it transcended the politics,
passions, and petty concerns of Earth and moved beyond.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The concept of space exploration as a
end point to history has another more emotional resonance with modern
western culture, and in particular with the one man who to many
Americans represented for a short time all that what was best about
their country. John F Kennedy.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<i>First, I believe that this nation
should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is
out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the
Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive
to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of
space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish</i>”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both within and beyond America many see
the Kennedy era as the height of American exceptionalism, the time
where the City on the Hill shone the brightest. A time before the
Vietnam war or Watergate forever stained the promise of a great
nation.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In some ways the narrative of Kennedy
the transcendent leader ends in 1969, 6 years after his early death
and began in 1957 4 years before he took office. Sputnik rocked the
assumption of post WWII American ascendancy. 1961 saw Yuri Gagarin
and Russia’s cosmonaut program increase Russia’s lead in the
space race.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first time in it's history,
America's exceptional nature was challenged. How if Manifest Destiny
was true how could the USSR be first into space? On May 25, 1961,
Kennedy responded. His famous “We choose the Moon” speech which
ultimately would lead to the success of the Apollo missions and
marked the beginning of his growth into the role of President.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Tech Tree and the space victory in
Civ both perfectly encapsulate the enlightenment philosophy, and it's
promise that man was master of his own fate. These powerful themes
are combined with a nostalgic reference to 'the one small step for
man' which ultimately bookended the era Kennedy began to create a
model of progress in Civ that had a profound resonance with America.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However Kennedy also recognise that
Enlightenment and Manifest Destiny were in conflict, seemingly
acknowledging as much in a 1963 speech to the United Nations.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Space offers no problems of
sovereignty…Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon
be a matter of national competition?" </i>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For someone like Kennedy it was the
greatest challenges which would bring out the best in mankind. But
others were not as optimistic.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This conflict of ideas would be a theme
which was revisited in more detail by Civ's creators in 1999 with the
game Sid Meier's Alpha Centuri, the second independent iteration on
the Civ formula. In this game this conflict of ideas became both more
overt and more nuanced. Each faction representing a philosophical
opinion, each fanatically certain in their own beliefs. This war
amongst the stars was a less optimistic counterpoint to the idea of
enlightenment, a representation of the possibility of the idea that
even if we escape our planet we can't escape our nature.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimately for me Civ is a
representation of a tussle for a nations soul, between an idea that
it was America's unique fate to rule the world, and the contrasting
argument that it was America’s ability to inspire the world that
made it unique.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those themes of opportunity, choice,
progress, and adaptation, all framed by a faith in humanity’s
ability to transcend its limitations would remain constant at the
heart of Civ for almost 20 years.
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-36070435601825604922012-07-06T00:48:00.001+01:002014-08-09T16:07:46.520+01:00Life, Liberty, and Civilization: Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4omLgSO4AsUdJaMXrZVN4q1C5_L0F0ffX7P5aNrXHkvB0u8f0YLetTMQZrjbqKSu0LINMEGh9soe3WlYuOkgNTS1EyHSfvIZUrh4aiQ9ba-yR3T7M_5ZXmqkGHyAgJRpyjZ-hCTYw-gh/s1600/manifest-destiny1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4omLgSO4AsUdJaMXrZVN4q1C5_L0F0ffX7P5aNrXHkvB0u8f0YLetTMQZrjbqKSu0LINMEGh9soe3WlYuOkgNTS1EyHSfvIZUrh4aiQ9ba-yR3T7M_5ZXmqkGHyAgJRpyjZ-hCTYw-gh/s400/manifest-destiny1.jpg" height="386" width="500" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Finding the real meaning of any work of art is a notoriously difficult thing, and it certainly not easy with a game like Civilization which isn't overt about it's messages instead it relies upon allowing its mechanics to resonate with its players and allow its meaning as Thomas Jefferson might have put it 225 years earlier 'self evident'. The concept of self-evident truth is universal, but in all its forms & variations it remains incredibly elusive next to impossible to reproduce, rationally de-construct or describe, but its something that games have always been very good at.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">This is Civ's implicit promise to the gamer, 'play me' it says 'and it will all become clear' 'this is how the world works' 'this is how a civilisation must be'. A player is expected to gradually come to see this truth, and that anyone who does not understand and accept it is fated to fail, for their civilisation will not 'stand the test of time'. Its a message that is driven home every step of the way as a player advances into the future.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b>All men are created equal </b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">As with any journey it's not just how you get there but when you begin, and where you are going which matters. Civ choose to show the beginnings of history as a near blank slate. You are placed on the map with one settler, and all of human history ahead of you. Nothing more, nothing less. This allows a very important compact between player and game to be formed. To make implicit the idea that everything that happens next was because of your work, and your choices.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Surrounded by dark expanses of land on all sides your first settler is alone in the world, slowly but surely exploring, searching for a place to call home. But even after your first city is founded and its ramshackle homes complete, expansion remains imperative. The dark of the unexplored world is itself is the greatest threat to a young empire in a game of Civ, and city left undefended by a careless ruler would soon find itself the victim of barbarian raids.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">These barbarians build no cities of their own, are incapable of technological advance, and have no concept of negotiations. It is almost as if the game doesn't see them as human at all, they are just part of the environment, a force of nature. Their only purpose is to emerge from the wilderness to loot and burn, they are truly 'savages'.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">By now some may notice a strange familiarity to all this. That this tale of a group of settlers pushing into dark depths of a unknown continent, all the while harassed by savages. Now lets take a moment to have a closer look at how Civ chose to depict those settlers.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">A canvas backed wagon.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">It's undoubtedly a iconic image, and one which will forever be associated with one of the most enduring and powerful of all America's mythologies, Manifest Destiny. Its' story of a people, unique in the world in their virtue, favoured by God, and whose fate is to remake the continent in their image remains a intoxicating and powerful concept. One which has helped define the modern perception of the great American pioneer push west across the continent, and one that Civ borrowswholesale.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Later versions of Civ would replace the wagon with a tribesman, but although that overt icon of the western pioneers was gone the, heart of the early game remained rooted in the same concepts. The urge to repaint the map your colour is a integral part of Civ, and indeed its fundamental assumption about the way early civilization functions is remarkably similar to many of the the concepts championed by Manifest Destiny. In 1993 critic Alan Emrich would coin a term which is today used to describe Civ & it's many descendants, listing what he saw as the player's underlying motives. 4x</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">In Civ while all nations are equal their fates determined only by their own actions, those who are nation-less are not considered people at all and their fate is not a pleasant one.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">In Part 3: Liberty and Enlightenment</span></div>
Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-38387022687436111772012-07-05T02:31:00.002+01:002014-08-09T16:02:20.143+01:00Life, Liberty, and Civilization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAqP3mKIfpIX2nZ6HlAJXoHJtDb_JdecNqnr4NgUxQbdfq4qTvMq8cNr_Bz8nThF5mskjS2vn6YnyWOrx2sAK6dYLSOPi5I7hPieFlq4yjJJqRZ-6sCAq3Z1BYy7s59oRaV7VpbKlXsLS/s1600/america2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAqP3mKIfpIX2nZ6HlAJXoHJtDb_JdecNqnr4NgUxQbdfq4qTvMq8cNr_Bz8nThF5mskjS2vn6YnyWOrx2sAK6dYLSOPi5I7hPieFlq4yjJJqRZ-6sCAq3Z1BYy7s59oRaV7VpbKlXsLS/s1600/america2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">“<b>We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness” </b>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">That
sentence begins what is undeniably one of the most important
documents of western civilisation. But while I doubt those words can
ever resonate with me as they can with anyone born in the land of
their origin, the promise implicit within them still has the power to
speak to me across the expanses of time and the Atlantic ocean. They
expound to me a sense of a shared human experience, and a faith in
the potential of every individual.
They are in a very real way the heart of the American ideal.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">In
particular when I look at those words I see the great paradox of western democracy, born from the essence of two philosophies
who's ongoing conflict has helped define modern life.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">I'm
going to talk about that paradox, the slippery nature of truth, how
history makes some more equal than others, and the enduring power of
hope. But mostly I am going to talk about a how a video game helped
me understand these ideas. How it began a series of games which has
for over 20 years remained approachable and bipartisan, while
providing ongoing conversation over what the ascendancy of western
democracy means. I'm going to talk about Civilization.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
Truth</span></b></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">This
story begins in 1991, as the slow inward collapse and eventual
dissolution of the USSR brought the cold war to a end. It seemed
finally the world could breathe again after holding its collective
breath for 50 years, as the doomsday clock's hands moved slowly away
from midnight. Western capitalist democracy stood alone, and the
great ideological wars seemed to be over.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">It's
hard now to understand fully what this meant for many people at the
time, and certainly as a child I didn't grasp the significance of the
events going on around me, so my own concerns were different and less
high minded. I was deep in the throes of a new obsession, I no longer
cared what the fastest dinosaur was, and football stickers were so
last year. Now fighter planes were my everything, and my waking hours
were spent nose in a book engrossed in absorbing their every detail
in that singularly determined way that only children seem to posses.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">I
had a soft spot for the rugged Soviet machines they felt more like
'proper' planes than their sleek US equivalents. As such when it did
begin the end of the cold war had me worried. Did no more USSR mean
no more MiGs? No more Hinds? It seemed to my mind that bidding
goodbye to the era of those dearly loved big
beasts, was a steep price to pay for world peace.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">But
my disappointment at the immanent dismantling of the eastern block
war machine wouldn't last long as in 1992 my parents would by a Amiga
500+, and a little later I would get a game called Civilization.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">Yes
it looked terrible, even by the 1990's highly pixelated standards but
it promised a scale and scope beyond almost anything else. The games
6000 year time line meant Civ sometimes got described as a 'God Game'
(the term 4x didn't emerge till a year later), but unlike true god
games such as Populous in Civ you were able to influence but not
directly intervene. There was no rains of fire, or angry lightning
bolts here, instead yours was the guiding hand behind a nation's
collective consciousness subtly changing it's path through history.
The task in front of could seem daunting, you didn't have to just
deal with one city, or one time period, your task was to guide a
civilisation from nothing through all of human history and into the
future, to “Build a empire to stand the test of time”.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">Looking
back with hindsight that tag line really does give the game away,
with Civ arriving as it did not long after the Berlin wall fell &
tanks rolled through red square, there was really only one empire
that appeared to fit that criteria. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">The truth is Civ wasn't a game
about civilization, it was about<i> a civilization.</i> It was a game about America, the
worlds only superpower.</span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next Part 2: Why I think in Civ sometimes not all men are created equal.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Side Note: This series has been brewing for a while (since </span>January<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>in fact<span style="font-family: inherit;">), but I finally made up my mind to beat it into some kind of readable state after </span><a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/threemovesahead/ThreeMovesAhead175.mp3" style="font-family: inherit;">listening to</a> Civ being discussed on the <a href="http://flashofsteel.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Three Moves Ahead Podcast</a> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">and then </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1760135323">talking about Civ V</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/7887-episode-175-gods-and-kings/"> again on the Idle Thumbs forum</a>. Still nothing might have come of it if it hadn't</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> lead to me following </span><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/greenspeak" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Jeff Green</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> on Twitter, which in turn lead to me reading </span><a href="http://jeff-greenspeak.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/depression-post.html" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">this great post</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> by him, which in turn made me decide that if he can talk about depression (which </span><span style="background-color: white;">I've</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> had my struggled with at times in my life) so openly, I can certainly stop worrying about </span><span style="background-color: white;">putting</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> myself out there and having my opinions judged and talk about a silly video game.</span></span></div>
<br />Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-51211454345338612652012-04-14T00:33:00.001+01:002012-04-14T00:33:38.988+01:00Learning to Loose<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ObMEkyUwE7xmq7epJ8CefiBTTC338N4BQuSonDn1MP_ie7lQDr6GmyOSjRP7i2wVomRMN5UrB060nPBaqfIaOn_3RbOCqmgfh2Q4lJ7ftrFDvKkrqsg0SRkjEwH9s5NaUUdCaBlSS9nV/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ObMEkyUwE7xmq7epJ8CefiBTTC338N4BQuSonDn1MP_ie7lQDr6GmyOSjRP7i2wVomRMN5UrB060nPBaqfIaOn_3RbOCqmgfh2Q4lJ7ftrFDvKkrqsg0SRkjEwH9s5NaUUdCaBlSS9nV/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When I look back at all
the time I've spent playing games over the last 30 years I think
probably the most significant moment was when I finally realised that
failure didn't automatically mean I couldn't have fun.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I was 17 at the time and
going through a “Power Gaming” phase. Winning was everything to
me, I'd spend hours fine tuning my tactics, looking for ways to win.
It didn't matter to me if something wasn't in the spirit of the game
the only thing that mattered was victory. If things went wrong I
sulked and blamed the dice. As you may have guessed by now another
way of saying power gamer is 'a bit of a asshole', or 'not much fun
to play with or against'. I think there must be something about the
way that the minds of young male gamers develop that seems to lead a
lot of teenagers down this particular rabbit hole. Its a cliché but
you only have to look around in pretty much any online multi-player
game and you will people not unlike my younger self, to whom the only
thing that counts is being number one.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Thankful my salvation was
on it's way in the form of a game of Warhammer Quest, a over zealous
Dungeon Master (DM), and a cowardly vampire. </div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Warhammer Quest was a
light dungeon crawling RPG Games Workshop's answer to the American
invader D&D. It was a slightly anarchic, possed of a typically
British black sense of humour, and as with much of GW's products it
had a plethora of optional rules created by a enthusiastic and active
community.
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As you would expect of
such a system our party of adventurers was a little unconventional.
Consisting of one very irate Dwarf, a do-gooder Vampire, a well
intentioned Orge, and a Elf Archer who gave the distinct impression
of being embarrassed by his companions.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The end of the campaign
was to provide one of the most cathartic and joyous moments I've had
while roleplaying, not that this was evident in any way as our
adventure kicked off.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I was as deep into my
power gaming mire as id ever been. The Ogre adventurer was of course
mine mine. Why would I want to be 'normal' when I could have someone
twice as strong and twice as tough as anyone else. So he was a little
dumb, so what! I was here to crush orcs and smash spiders, not to get
a degree in astrophysics.
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
After sweeping through
dungeon after another it soon became pretty clear that our groups
power was out of control. Those monsters foolish enough to jump out
into the path of 10ft tall armoured ogre were soon introduced to the
business end of a massive magic sword and turned into a light red
mist and a shower of loot.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So our DM did what any
good DM does in such a situation, he threw every god forsaken
creature he had at his disposal at us. Soon we found ourselves backs
against the wall out gunned and outnumbered, surrounded on every side
by Minotaurs and Demons. It began to dawn on us that we weren't
invincible after all, and that between us and the exit was a legion
of angry bovines.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However our vampire player
had a plan. Amongst our mighty haul of treasure was a “Soul
Amulet”. This arcane trinket allowed fallen adventures to be
resurrected almost without penalty, as long as one member escaped the
dungeon and reached the safety of a nearby town.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We could survive.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Even better he pointed
out, his vampire could turn into a bat, which could then happily fly
out of the dungeon with the amulet clutched in its claws safe from
attack.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There was a audible sigh
of relief amongst the adventurers, and our DM looked more than a
little peeved. Unbeknownst to my friends however gears that had until
then remained unused till now, were beginning to quietly whir away in
the back of my mind.
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I had grown fond of my
slightly dim Ogre, and yeah of course I wanted him to live, but this
didn't quite feel right.
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Ok Ogre, its your go”
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I take a look at the
board. By now both the dwarf and the Elf have rushed through their
turns and the vampire has turned into a bat and was flitting around
the rafters. He is ready to fly away as soon as the adventurers turn
is finished. Which it will be, as soon as my slow witted Ogre gets on
with things.
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I turn to the DM “I'm
thinking....” I begin, Immediately eyes are raised, thinking isn't
part of the plan.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Me: “My Orge's a bit
thick right?”
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
DM: “As two short
planks, is this going somewhere?”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Me: “Well I was
thinking, given his errm 'limited' IQ, is he really going to
understand that the fact his mate has just turned into a bat and
started to fly off is a good thing?”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
DM: “No he'd probably be
pretty confused by it all”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Me: “Well in that case
…......I'm going to attack the bat”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
DM: “Fine by me”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The vampire player then
shows what is some by any accounts some commendably fast thinking in
the circumstances.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Vamp: “Don't worry he
can't kill me in one hit, I'm a vampire I've got easily enough wounds
to survive”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
DM: “ No actually your
not a vampire. Your a bat, with the wounds and toughness of a bat”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Me: “So what do I need
to roll?”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
DM: “5+ on 4d6”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Me:“Righteo!”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A short clatter of dice
and it's all over.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It was this wonderful and
unexpected conclusion to what had become a dull and routine grind.
Almost overnight my game style played changed. No longer was I
constantly in search of the most efficient route to my destination,
instead I was in it for the journey and the more strange and
unexpected turns it took the better.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“Look!”
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I say turning to my
friends, and putting on my very best 24 carat grin.</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“I killed a bat!”</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-77410909344319970252012-04-13T18:18:00.000+01:002012-04-13T18:18:00.198+01:00The Abbott Sessions<br />
<div class="western" lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjytidtguWA4xD6dVqOFvggnmAJrclsERL7BHJV2pGkTNRsjNXrAgMg-O3OHCNqsZRuY_2x79luUNU7Jgseu-HXYAa7FPa3dfjZolAdAatqoqGO2MDN7lKheIEiX3n7gxM9auDNQWBEdly/s1600/bbc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjytidtguWA4xD6dVqOFvggnmAJrclsERL7BHJV2pGkTNRsjNXrAgMg-O3OHCNqsZRuY_2x79luUNU7Jgseu-HXYAa7FPa3dfjZolAdAatqoqGO2MDN7lKheIEiX3n7gxM9auDNQWBEdly/s400/bbc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;">
To anyone from my side
of the pond the name John Peel really needs very little introduction,
he was a near universally loved fixture on BBC Radio, honest,
intelligent, warm to audience and bands equally. For forty year he
played a eclectic mix of whatever took his fancy, championing new and
obscure artist and showing a rare genius for putting into words what
everyone felt*.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There has long been a
preoccupation in games criticism about finding a master critic to
call its own, a Robert Ebert to bring a authoritatively voice to a
highly contentious medium. I don't think the Brainy Gamer podcast's
Michael Abbott is ever going to be that sort of figure, however he
has showed signs that he shares some of the qualities that made Peel
so important to the development British music.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Topics:</b> Video Gaming
Culture/Community, Gaming Criticism, and Game Design/Development</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Number of Episodes:</b> 36</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Ran: </b>27th August
2007 -9h April 2012</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Average Episode
length: </b>1hr mins</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Format: </b>One on one
interviews,and group debates</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Cast :</b> Michael
Abott</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Classic
Episodes:</b> Episode 10 March 7 2008, & Episode 24 July 20
2009.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's plenty of
classic episodes especially amongst the “gamer Confabs” my two
favorites however are probably these two. Episode 10 & 24 are
both great examples of the sort of open, intelligent, and thoughtful
conversation Abbott seems to have a habit of bringing out in others.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Episodes Available
at: </b>http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/podcast/
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQKpEF4l2Q-JI5KLIJgWKVsw7vG1AST7KFLQzReYpyKbxQO9mhzcuNDzFWkw2d9_5CAnVjbrZc6VeBUj8Z8QP_9pHcR2RkrpakeSGlOD5JjbT70hm6F9uB0YmA2vynw93bl3Ka5KXRcrC/s1600/brainy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQKpEF4l2Q-JI5KLIJgWKVsw7vG1AST7KFLQzReYpyKbxQO9mhzcuNDzFWkw2d9_5CAnVjbrZc6VeBUj8Z8QP_9pHcR2RkrpakeSGlOD5JjbT70hm6F9uB0YmA2vynw93bl3Ka5KXRcrC/s320/brainy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How I originally imagined the Brainy Gamer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
First impression are
rarely accurate, and so it proved when I first stumbled upon Brainy
Gamer podcast. My university years had left me with a healthy
suspicion of self labelled artist's and intellectuals, so part of me
immediately recoiled from the name Michael Abbott had chosen.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Still Apple in their
infinite wisdom had decided to group gaming podcast with “hobbies”
and apart from Gardeners Question time there didn't seem to be a
wealth of alternatives.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Thus walking through
the snow on a chilly January morning somewhat grudgingly, with no
small amount of cynicism and a large chip upon my shoulder I listened
to my first few episodes and came to the conclusion that rarely have
a been so wrong about what someone was about.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I wanted to listen to
someone who was serious about games but didn't take themselves
seriously, and Abbott and his guest provided just that. Really I
should have clued in far earlier or all the different varieties of
pretentiousness I had encountered, few of them would think of using
'brainy' where intellectual would do or pick a happy looking little
alien as their symbol.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.brainygamer.com/.a/6a00e3982444028833015433a9aa77970c-150wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.brainygamer.com/.a/6a00e3982444028833015433a9aa77970c-150wi" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What he's actually like</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Revisiting the early
shows I'm still amazed at the sheer amount of enthusiasm Abbott seems
to be able to pack into them, the sheer unashamed delight which
greets every new landmark.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
250 podcast downloads,
he couldn't be happier. 5000 page views, He wants to thank everyone!
His first GDC a huge, overwhelming, extraordinary, transformative
event!</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As a host Abbott's
amiable and unreserved qualities seem to have been key to building a
rapport with both his audience and with his guests. He may be a
seasoned professional working in a respected and intellectual job but
when it comes to videogames he is always keen to assert that he is a
just 'enthusiastic amateur'.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On his first trip to
GDC talks about the size of the conference and how different it is
from the ones he attends (which he characterises as esoteric,arcane,
social gatherings). GDC seems full of pioneers, game development is
new, everyone is learning, everyone is equally uncertain, and most
importantly everyone is part of where the conversation goes next. As
part of a audience it feels good to listen to a fellow amateur
talking intelligently about games with both fellow amateurs, and
professionals. That you don't have to posses a list of AAA games on
your CV, a string of letters behind your name, or a job with a major
publication to, evangelise for or care about where the medium is
going.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It feels some of this
may come as part of a deliberate choice made by Abbott about how he
frames himself in relation to his guests. His background makes people
feel comfortable talking about intellectual themes and philosophical
ideas, but he also encourages his interviewees to see him primarily
as a 'fan'. He isn't threatening to them, not someone who might have
a vested in opposing their views or in misinterpreting them(a game
critic/academic, or fellow design professional), and it seems to give
people the license to open up.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
People want to
communicate, but the ability to talk freely without fear of judgement
in a free yet secure climate is rare. Indeed people are willing to
pay huge sums of cash to therapists just for the opportunity to feel
that someone is really listening. As Abbott himself says “it's
great to know that there's somebody out there, who's interested in
what I'm talking about”. For me perhaps the most impressive result
of this attitude was the way that the Brainy Gamer throughout its run
often sought to promote and evangelise for the growth a gaming
community where respect for others, and ability to speak without fear
of judgement is the norm and not the exception.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Just what it means to
be part the gaming community, and what does it mean to be a 'gamer'
are topics that throughout its 49 episodes Brainy Gamer has
frequently returned to but it all starts with him talking about Halo.
At a time where a lot of games criticism was pre-occupied indie
darlings and complex RPG, picking Halo as a subject was Abbott's first
step towards in a deliberate attempt to find a middle ground where
discussion can take place. By focusing on how Time magazines almost
comically ignorant /uninformed talk about the release of a new halo
game he sets a precedented that he'd follow throughout the shows
history, of talking to the audience not at them.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Historically this focus
on community has meant Brainy Gamer was as much a podcast about video
game criticism as it was video games. When talking about the future
of the podcast recently a lot of its listeners seemed to want Abbott
to move towards becoming a more traditional interviewer in the style
of 'Charlie Rose'. The problem is I really don't think that's playing
to his strengths, he doesn't have it in him to ask hard questions or
press for a answer. What he has consistently been best at is bringing
people together who I would have otherwise never have heard of and
then shaping the resultant conversation.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">I
would never have read <a href="http://insultswordfighting.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/what-happened-to-action-movies.html">Mitch Krpata's excellent piece on 80's actionmovies</a>, <a href="http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/04/portal-2-review-multi.html">Kirk Hamiltons Portal 2 review</a>,<a href="http://sexyvideogameland.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/about-that-fake-geek-girls-article.html"> Leigh Alexander raging atthe concept of “Fake Geek Girls”</a> if it hadn't been for the Brainy
Gamer podcast. Perhaps more importantly I wouldn't have come across
things that sit outside the sphere of professional journalism like
<a href="http://gropingtheelephant.com/blog/?p=2310">Justin Keverne Groping the Map series</a>, or even thought to look for a
site like <a href="http://livingepic.blogspot.co.uk/">Living Epic</a> that combined classical storytelling and Halo.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What I hope not to see
from Abbott's future work is yet another show where 'notable people'
come on and talk up their new project. Conversation between equals
and without agenda's is what Brainy Gamer has always done well and I
hope he will keep doing it, because even if he isn't gaming's John
Peel, Roger Ebbert, or Lester Bangs he might just be just the sort of
person who will help discover the new talent I would never have heard of. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Because sooner or later somewhere out there someone I've never heard of going to produce gamings equivalent of this:</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wAtUw6lxcis?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and I don't wan't to miss it</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
.....................................................
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Addendum: I finished
writing this back at the end of march before Brainy Gamer resumed
transmission with episode 36. It was certainly a interesting listen
and I was glad to find we got as much info about his guest's
personality and motivations as we did about his work. Still I prefer
it more when Abbott engages more with his guests but in the end, if
this is where the show is headed there's certainly worse destinations</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
*none of this really
does John Peel justice, all I can say I no one has come close since. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-4896937215947247902012-02-25T19:42:00.000+00:002012-02-26T20:16:00.607+00:00I was never any good at skiping<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
“if dialogue can be skipped in games,
then why not combat?”
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I cant help but wonder if perhaps another question should be asked, that if ANY element of a game can be skipped without
effect then why is it in the game at all? </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When combat is totally meaningless
wanting to skip it is not only fine, but the rational
response.*<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Any time I play a game and see a
character hacked down in combat one minute, and up good as new
spouting his life story the next, my heart sinks a little. It just
seems sloppy devaluing both the gameplay and the story, and gets
progressively more jarring more strictly delineated a game places
these elements.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It just seems so limiting, I need to
see more if I ever want this to stop skipping from being a rational choice for me.
What about companion npc's who are in danger when I enter
combat? or characters who expressed themselves through actions as
well as words? Perhaps even combat paced to allow for moments of calm
where dialogue can occur.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
These don't seem like they should be unreasonable hopes, there
are already great examples in both traditional narrative media (such
as films and tv) and in games themselves.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span lang="en-GB">Taking a quick trip
back to the year 2000 (& taking a moment to consider that isn't
it strange now we fully grown) </span>Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
is a great example of actions speaking louder than words. I'm not
gonna attempt a full synopsis here but suffice to say I don't think
anyone who has seen stoic Li Mu Bai balanced effortlessly on top of a
swaying bamboo forest, would dispute that the way the protagonist
move and fight can say something about who they are and what they
feel.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now you might counter 'But films can
completely control their protagonists! Games can't without devaluing
the experience !' While this is true games can control their
antagonists and side characters so there's still plenty developers
can do.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Then there's the cheap but effective
trick of a colleague in genuine danger(or at least seemingly so). For
most of Deus-ex: Human Revolution Malik was harmless helpful air
taxi/confident, with a side order of friends with bad taste in men
and then someone had to go blow us out of the air during a nice
routine trip to shanghai. So there I am with Malik doing the routine
'go on without me, the mission is more important!' routine and for
some reason something still clicked.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Seeing games embrace combat more often
as part of their arsenal of storytelling techniques would be a
welcome step forward,but before possibilities offered by engaging in
conflict as a storytelling device can be fully explored there's a
bigger issue to be dealt with.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bravery isn't just choosing to fight,
but the choice to fight when you could run away.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Combat can't really mean anything until
its part of a game story that doesn't require violence to advance.
That doesn't just give me the ability to skip combat, but to actively
run away from it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As long as there is no game in
existence where I can truly be a coward, and fundamentally that means
the opposite is true.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Don't let all this talk about combat
give you a impression that I think dialogue in games is some shining
paragon, in fact I think generally the way they have been used has
been getting progressively worse not better in the past few years.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'd love to play a RPG game where
dialogue choices actually tested if you were paying attention to what
was said. Was there memorable dialogue in Mass Effect and Dragon Age?
Yep there sure was, but did it matter one jot if I paid attention to
it? Nope the game couldn't give a flying fuck. I feel like I'm part
of some dysfunctional couple in a terrible 1990's sitcom. There's a
lot of dialogue going on but no communication. Neither of us seem to
be expected to really pay attention to each others, we are just
waiting for the next queue to say our lines.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
What if dialogue what something that
mattered towards achieving your goal?
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There's two common ways you can use
dialogue, tests of understanding and test of recall.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Riddles are one age old way of testing
understanding, but they haven't really seen any use outside adventure
games. If traditional media like TV's Sherlock can tie one characters
understanding of a piece of dialogue to the life or death of another,
why can't a game do the same? Turns out all the encouragement a
developer needs is a character called the Riddler. Arkham Asylym gave
you a small amount of text and a big chunk of environment and left
the rest to you. To put it simply, It made me feel smart. What I hate
about most collectable system is that there is very rarely a way to
figure out their location on your own, AA made this their key virtue.
Its sequel Arkham City shifted to focus primarily to test of skill
and mastery and lost something in the process. There was never the
same little shot of adrenaline that came the with beating these
challenges that I got the original brain based riddles.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I can't recall many test of recall and
the ones I can are part of a particualry old school of game design,
their particular style of highly binary pass/fail word play seem to
have fallen out of fashion. Fortunately we have iPhone ports. King of
Dragon Pass is over a decade old, and its a game which forces players
to learn it mythology and punish people who didn't pay attention. It
takes the native american idea of a vision quest, transplants it to a
quasi Viking society and made recalling the details of their myths
and legends vital to your success. I lost count of the number of
times I've lost key members of my tribe or worse because I couldn't
recall the exact path a hero's journey took.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm not saying that games can't have
filler, or that ever action has to be meaningful, but the whole
skipping argument seems to just accept the current level of fidelity
in game storytelling as as good as things are going to get. Maybe I'm
naïve but I hope not.<br />
<br />
<br />
-----------------------------------<br />
<br />
* Whether or not i should be allowed to is another matter. You could call 'authorial intent!' but since I subscribe to the idea of games narrative's as often being a co-authored experience I guess I'll chicken out and say that as long as game are clear about what they are offering, people should be able to do as they please.</div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-1517328947451704482012-02-07T00:40:00.000+00:002012-02-07T00:40:50.239+00:00The Dice Mountains of Madness : My time with Elder Signs iOS<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjym2H7zVOgBq-zN2CHpVe5rW8GEwIK9VGEufNyY4WZ5oo54ksaGCEGer-eEdfqxMoUf7p6PzCIetCswTxw1rzq9JUVavEyk_HWtO_-AMYFAkwgC_0MeKZ1cx1wy9lwH4WQWd1ISBmfjims/s1600/eldersigns2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjym2H7zVOgBq-zN2CHpVe5rW8GEwIK9VGEufNyY4WZ5oo54ksaGCEGer-eEdfqxMoUf7p6PzCIetCswTxw1rzq9JUVavEyk_HWtO_-AMYFAkwgC_0MeKZ1cx1wy9lwH4WQWd1ISBmfjims/s1600/eldersigns2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
H. P. Lovecraft's
Cthuhlu universe has been the subject of a lot of games down the
years, and Fantasy Flight's Arkham Horror a series of board games is
commonly considered to be one of the most effective interpretations.
Sadly my experience with that lineage is somewhat non-existent, so
when I picked up their spin-off game Elder Signs on iOS it was on the
basis of the strength of my affection for the mythology and board
games in general.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Having first read about
Elder Signs on <a href="http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/01/20/elder-sign-omens-the-sad-unremarkable-fate-of-ashcan-pete/">Tom Chick's Quarter to Three game diary </a>and found myself
intrigued I've put about 7 to 8 hours into the game. I've played a
couple of fantasy flight games before and they live up to a
well-deserved reputation for Thematically strong but sometimes
mechanically light games (so called Ameritrash games).</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8148456591624077208" name="Miskatonic University Museum"></a>
In Elder signs you control a team of paranormal in investigators
wondering through the demon infested halls of the Miskatonic
University Museum in prohibition era America. Trying to find the
ancient symbols that will allow you to seal away a Elder god
threatening to break into our reality.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBc7CtiuNftvfjC6XT2ApYQy2jIxakyKUm9iX4Xh-oa1dRxo-1Ciqgp7N1gp_a8TYsD86wE8cwjkllH8TPs8bPa94dckwXw9VSXuFkP44Xy_b5goFznAAD0P-gUItkFISWo2XO-H1_SQD1/s1600/eldersigns1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBc7CtiuNftvfjC6XT2ApYQy2jIxakyKUm9iX4Xh-oa1dRxo-1Ciqgp7N1gp_a8TYsD86wE8cwjkllH8TPs8bPa94dckwXw9VSXuFkP44Xy_b5goFznAAD0P-gUItkFISWo2XO-H1_SQD1/s1600/eldersigns1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In my experience the
success or failure of the translations of board games to iOS tends to
depend on how good a job the App does of teaching the game. Unlike
video games the mechanics in a board game are always close to the
surface, so it is always important for a player to be able to be able
to get to grips with them so they can begin to feel their way around
the confines of the system.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In some ways I feel FF
should be good at this by now boardgames are a social medium, so when
a developer fails at this its often painfully obvious. There is
nothing worse than a half dozen people sitting around a table,
staring at a board with blank looks on their faces and not feeling
like anyone knows what to do.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In most gaming groups
having at least one person around who can teach the other players is
considered pretty essential. What companies have struggled for years
with is how to work with a group where no one can fill this role. Its
become increasingly popular to offer video tutorials on a games
website to help walk people through their first game, which is
exactly the system that Fantasy Flight use here.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5xWIS_ZYKoVSrYGcWhDLgBcFpAl-ZrUQwaX9Y0edD_ATcgD-nnuUA_tXUuVnj1wc3bYAmJgcfC715Ch6HfeLw3IgFwLxqaUW2001-j9nfY8VE0c3XZysrAUP-6PzrRzBr9KaTZ21YAk5/s1600/eldersigns4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5xWIS_ZYKoVSrYGcWhDLgBcFpAl-ZrUQwaX9Y0edD_ATcgD-nnuUA_tXUuVnj1wc3bYAmJgcfC715Ch6HfeLw3IgFwLxqaUW2001-j9nfY8VE0c3XZysrAUP-6PzrRzBr9KaTZ21YAk5/s1600/eldersigns4.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The problem is that
this is a video game not a board game, and video game players are
used to being allowed to learn through tutorials. For all the
problems a bad implementation can cause, tutorials in video games are
a far more effective and direct form of communication than a video
walk through typical is. Without a way to test the rules of the game
world first time players of Elder Signs can easily mistake its
obtuseness for cruelty. FF needs to understand that it has this
option of being able to directly tutor someone and use it better in
future releases.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This general lack of
transparency is most problematic when dealing with the Glyph
systems,one the games main elements. Glyphs are used to control
success or failure in any of the encounters your investigators have
while searching the museum. They are based on a series of what are
essentially 6 sided dice rolls. </div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRPd6Shgzv9y4FWfeYzVjiNzsrh7Qk40E99YBTrlZdsqHqa_6iYaCs1QGUH4NXATyHbeDf6UrmP56y_a_5AxuhwSrzLaC0PJE35zwubOPrNNTHx5TaEZFpDb-0sDI98JgNgXJX2Gjc1P8/s1600/eldersigns3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRPd6Shgzv9y4FWfeYzVjiNzsrh7Qk40E99YBTrlZdsqHqa_6iYaCs1QGUH4NXATyHbeDf6UrmP56y_a_5AxuhwSrzLaC0PJE35zwubOPrNNTHx5TaEZFpDb-0sDI98JgNgXJX2Gjc1P8/s1600/eldersigns3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When you hold a
physical dice in your hand and turn it over you can intuitively get a
feeling for your chances of achieving a result. Elder Signs problems
occur because FF seem to be assuming that players have the same
instant familiarity with a digital dice as they do when they handle a
physical one. Where as the truth is this is something you simply do
not get when you are just watching a row of random 'slots' show up on
screen.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now it is true that if
you dig into the games help guide you can uncover this information,
but on a iOS release a developer just can't make the assumption that
every player will have the time or the inclination to sit down and
read a manual. The information should be available in the game not in
a separate help file.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpS1XOJJVe0VnDO6xUb-SWurjLGYHFx_6mvr0Hl8AZJR68gDp62i_v330WmE68t9SP3KZqQxF5gAsj7uT0cYO4jwP8VJ8sqk08oe3MA9jNgh3RAp8nuroA2Lde0wwKnujp4-ac6RjXAwg-/s1600/eldersigns5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpS1XOJJVe0VnDO6xUb-SWurjLGYHFx_6mvr0Hl8AZJR68gDp62i_v330WmE68t9SP3KZqQxF5gAsj7uT0cYO4jwP8VJ8sqk08oe3MA9jNgh3RAp8nuroA2Lde0wwKnujp4-ac6RjXAwg-/s1600/eldersigns5.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the end I have
enjoyed my time with Elder Signs. Initially at least it does a great
job of creating a strong resonance between the gameplay mechanics and
the uncaring universe of Lovecraftian horror stories. However after
you do get past it's obtuse luring curve it looses allot of this, and
you find yourself winning far more often than perhaps feels
appropriate for a mythology where grisly failure is the norm.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-11245254225144778452012-02-05T20:57:00.002+00:002012-02-08T12:22:21.501+00:00Meme Machine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_H9uuNfetveksmlKeWvcSNO_YuIhzlM3z44nKCJBntR-hvjLIqFkL2jPKb8LF6eNXYGo7w3DcXVimiezqU5SCB80JBTtOM768v0TAfE1eZnhWSeanQSlB0hGP1dS-wtShY_py5M6KMDd3/s1600/homepage-wizard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_H9uuNfetveksmlKeWvcSNO_YuIhzlM3z44nKCJBntR-hvjLIqFkL2jPKb8LF6eNXYGo7w3DcXVimiezqU5SCB80JBTtOM768v0TAfE1eZnhWSeanQSlB0hGP1dS-wtShY_py5M6KMDd3/s400/homepage-wizard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A Grenade rolls down a
hill, as the the Wizard serves Hot Scoops, while a Puffin cries Baboo
and Jeff Goldblum backs into Samuel L Jackson's arm.....</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By the time the Idle
Thumbs podcast bowed out after two years of consistently entertaining
shows, it had established a distinct vocabulary and culture of its
own. Since then I haven't found any other show that has quite managed
to be quite as smart while at the same time not taking
itself too seriously.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Topics: </b>General gaming,
Video gaming Culture, and Game Design</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Number of Episodes:</b> 87</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Ran:</b> 10th October 2008
-10th March 2011</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Average Episode length:</b>
1hr 30mins</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Format:</b> Panel show,
Interviews etc</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Cast : </b>Chris Remo, Jake
Rodkin, Steve Gaynor, Nick Breckon and<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">SEAN VANAMAN!*</span></div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Classic Episodes: </b>The Wizard November 6,
2008</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Perhaps the moment
where the crew settled into their groove and any last scraps of self
consciousness about how far down they could travel down the rabbit
hole were well and truly left behind.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Episodes Available at: </b>http://www.idlethumbs.net/</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A excellent compilation
episode was produced by This Year, a great way of getting started
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
http://thisyearcollection.blogspot.com/2011/10/18-idle-thumbs.html
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Listening to a Idle Thumbs
episode for the first time was a bit strange, the conversation
chattered and babbled flitting hyperactivity from subject to subject.
Its a credit to the shows production values that despite this that
the voices were clear and distinct even when people are talking over
each other. That constant murmur helped it maintain a very informal
atmosphere, closer to the feeling I get sitting in a pub and
listening to friends talk than listening to a typical 'show'.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
That's not to make
light of just how smart these guys are. The entire thumbs crew can
talk with a air familiarity and confidence about game design
terminology which leads to phrases like 'ludo narrative dissonance'
getting thrown about without a second thought, and a refreshing lack of
preciousness. Game design terminology is full of such useful shorthand, but its drawback is that in some podcasts this sort of vocabulary can sound distinctly pretentious and not a little contrived.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Happily any tendencies
towards pretension on Idle Thumbs are kept thoroughly under control by a shared
irreverence and willingness to call bullshit whenever someone gets to
wrapped up in themselves(and just as importantly a willingness to not
resent this interruptions). Gaming anecdotes, industry news, and
theoretical analysis are all discussed and treated equally.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Probably the best
analogy I can think for the Idle Thumbs group dynamic is watching a
band who have been together for years just relaxing and jamming
together, and what seems to keeps the average episode of idle thumbs
from getting into a mass of discordant noise is the presence of Chris
Remo on lead guitar. He does a brilliant job helping shape the conversation and draws the best out of the others without really directing it towards any
particular line of inquiry.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The whole thing has a
sureness of touch that even extends to the musical numbers that are thrown into the mix occasionally, my personal favourite being the epic
tale of one man and his hammer 'Space Asshole' (although The Ballad
of John Riccitiello is a work of genius in its own way). The same willingness to
follow a thought to its logical conclusion which lead to these songs, seems to permeate the
podcast and lead to the huge amount of memes that have emerged from
it. No idea is killed before it's time, regardless of how strange and
misinformed it may have seemed at birth. From episode to episode the
ideas mutate, slowly growing stronger and by the later end of the
series it could sometimes felt I was listening to Professor X's podcast
for gifted ideas, complete with a strange and
convoluted continuity and back story.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the end Idle Thumbs
is worth listening to because in every episode can (and sometimes
does) go anywhere. The genius of the Thumbs crew was to understand
that if you created a ideal environment for intelligent conversation
you don’t have to worry about what they will end up talking about.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In some ways you could
even say it was emergent podcasting....</div>
<br />
*The size of these letters accurately reflects just how badly I murdered the spelling originallyCodicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-21915406012085639372012-01-20T00:24:00.001+00:002012-01-20T00:24:31.046+00:00Finding a good podcast<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Its been interesting to watch the
ongoing debate of how the internet is changing games journalism from
the sidelines over the last couple of years. New fads have come and
gone often simultaneously condemned as a threat by some and lionized
as the savior of the medium by others.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Despite all that it was simple
practical lifestyle considerations which changed the way I consumed
games media most.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm someone who's mind wanders hugely
when unoccupied, so when I decided to join a gym to improve my
fitness I started looking for podcast to keep my mind busy while my
body was given a workout.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So I started listening to gaming
podcast</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I found that often their conversational
format was a lot easier for me to engage with than written work
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The big problem I faced was finding out
what podcast were worth listening to. There's no such thing as
dedicated podcast review site (probably for very good reason) neither
was Itunes of much help, and I primarily found myself searching the
forums of the bigger gaming communities (such as Penny Arcade, RPS,
and GWJ)for recommendations.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So as part of my effort to get myself
writing more I'm going to try and make a effort to fill that gap by
writing a (initially) Bi-Weekly podcast review.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I will be keeping these reviews under
500 words and trying to get across what I personally enjoyed about
each podcast while providing practical information which would be
useful to anyone wanting to get the lowdown on a particular cast.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'll be posting these reviews on a
Sunday and each one will feature:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
-A Short review describing themes
covered, the atmosphere, and what makes it worth paying attention to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
-Average Episode length
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
-Normal upload day</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
-Topics: General gaming, One genre,
Cultural anecdotes etc</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
-Format: Panel show, Interviews etc</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
-Best Episodes: Examples of the show at
its best which would hopefully be a good in point for a new listener.</div>
<br />Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-89388081217765513242012-01-12T15:48:00.000+00:002012-01-12T15:51:56.628+00:00Intentions for 2012<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm going to try to
avoid the trap of setting specific goals, it can become far too
discouraging to set a goal and fail it due to circumstances outside
my control.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So what I'm going to do
is set up my intentions this year, they will guide the decisions that
I will make without giving me a binary fail/success state.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To not be ashamed of my
work</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I have never had much
confidence in my own writing. Some of that obviously comes from being
dyslexic and the trouble that gives me with spelling and grammar.
However if I'm serious about getting better, I can't afford to be
precious about it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I will do this by both
pestering close friends and family to look at what I do more, as well
as taking a deep breath and politely asking some of the writers who I
respect on the net for their opinion.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To write regularly</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm going to try and
make sure I post at least once a week. Pretty much the one piece of
advice about writing that is universally agreed upon is that if you
want to get better at it you need to do it as much as possible.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To learn a programming
language (to a level where it's actually useful)
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I've recently started
learning Python, it's pretty interesting but so far it's more at the
stage where it's an intellectual exercise than a practical skill. My
aim this year is to grind through to a stage where I can make
practical use of it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To finish my Boardgame</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I was working on my
boardgame 'Shadows' most of the second half of last year. I've got to
the stage where it's mechanically complete on paper. This year I need
to start playtesting it, sort out any balance issues, and then
produce artwork for myself or/and talk to other people I know about
contributing. Then I need to make the big step of looking for a
publisher.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-59668612700795325482012-01-11T16:59:00.003+00:002012-01-12T18:14:47.879+00:00Space Marine: A 40k fan's view<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXCt7942KLDjEOxojxUQzlyivwx7-rX3ES4haG3DVeoDVa5Tr4VzCYKdqHRcB9JxvVITf2hC1rzHA8T7_MA2C8jvHUWeyHolv5ZoZwjfyJSvovtAv_LedQ6NyhulKMD1lpI8m_VDvy2hT/s1600/SMTITLE2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXCt7942KLDjEOxojxUQzlyivwx7-rX3ES4haG3DVeoDVa5Tr4VzCYKdqHRcB9JxvVITf2hC1rzHA8T7_MA2C8jvHUWeyHolv5ZoZwjfyJSvovtAv_LedQ6NyhulKMD1lpI8m_VDvy2hT/s1600/SMTITLE2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My half tonne
genetically engineered superman rockets into the sky, two giant jet
engines strapped to his back, and a hammer the size of a small truck
gripped between his hands.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Reaching to top of my
flight arc, I feel like doom incarnate a living personification of
the Sword of Damocles. Hanging in the air for a moment, before
plummeting towards a hapless victim.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There
were times when I played Space Marine when just for a second
everything just clicked into place. In those moments it was hard not
to smile, the game made me feel like a unstoppable force of
nature full of momentum and power. At its best it was a intoxicating
and potent example of the sort of power fantasy that has increasingly
fallen out of favour as games have begun to seek mainstream cultural
acceptance.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Space Marine was my
guilty Christmas gift to myself. Having been a Warhammer nerd since
my teenage years bitter experience has taught me there are certain
assumptions I have about what to expect from adaptations of the
license. Even the best examples have never been inclusive, the lore
remains archaic and full of incomprehensible dogma to a outsider
leaving the barrier to entry set intimidatingly high.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Even by those standards
however, Space Marine's initial half hour is quite something.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Xenos?? A Forge World??
Exterminatus?? A Thunderhawk?? The God Emperor?? The Inquistion??
Vox??? The Codex Astartes!!!!????</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Now I may know exactly
what every single one of those is* but to expect the same of everyone
who plays the game borders on the absurd.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kyMQO0-vibE7jkz-ab92-WHsa1ODOx9mCa-FvGq6_ULH4iX4p1qo2IY_qyc_b4DRWDA_L8bNPEgqeJn2MwcLlpP-UY04ON8VoeK_ynLCNtnicKowaJYFPu47Td9cJTXHSXcrdgnmh4hN/s1600/SM15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kyMQO0-vibE7jkz-ab92-WHsa1ODOx9mCa-FvGq6_ULH4iX4p1qo2IY_qyc_b4DRWDA_L8bNPEgqeJn2MwcLlpP-UY04ON8VoeK_ynLCNtnicKowaJYFPu47Td9cJTXHSXcrdgnmh4hN/s1600/SM15.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Obviously
it's difficult to convey a what makes setting as dense as the
Warhammer 40,000 universe unique from a cold start, but I couldn't
shake the feeling that Developer Relic were never quite able to the
grasp that there is a difference between telling a story about
<span style="text-decoration: none;">controlling</span> Space Marines,
and telling a story about <span style="text-decoration: none;">being a</span>
Space Marine.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI4NDWIdxBhgCdHAh2nMHcUHn1pqBCjYmUm0xBDn9hnCgLsautAFSfTsnMlqkEALEqO5ora0hv_rvWox-ic1LhZh7Dg1FAJAowbDXbjltA7WZVDVXmERIkodW2NKTjn8R6kBvfChu1mTc/s1600/SM10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI4NDWIdxBhgCdHAh2nMHcUHn1pqBCjYmUm0xBDn9hnCgLsautAFSfTsnMlqkEALEqO5ora0hv_rvWox-ic1LhZh7Dg1FAJAowbDXbjltA7WZVDVXmERIkodW2NKTjn8R6kBvfChu1mTc/s1600/SM10.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">In
games where I’ve been in controlled a group of Space Marines what
they represent to me is that in a universe that is coming apart at
the seams they are absolutely reliable. They do not run away, they
will not panic, they will just fight and kill with superhuman finesse
and unfaltering loyalty until something finally kills them. While
those superhuman qualities made them a ideal troop for me to command,
it also makes them individually very difficult to empathise with.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">I
live in a consumerist democracy, secular and rationalist. I have
fears, moments of self doubt and of cowardice. A Marine by contrast
is a warrior monk, fighting a religious war, part of a fascist
society that has fallen so far from its heights that much of their
own science has become indistinguishable to them from magic, utterly
certain of his purpose in life.</span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">I've
seen many people who think that player power and choice in games are
should almost be a god given right, that telling a player that they
have to do something and not providing an explanation of why is
tantamount to a sin. To a Space Marine however this is something
perfectly natural, they are given a job, and they get it done no
questions asked. Playing Space Marine i<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">t
feels as if this disconnect between how a 21</span><sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">st</span></sup><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">
century mind works and the certainty of purpose</span> possessed by a
Space Marine led to some problems for the game's designers when it
came to creating believable characters. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICeefcCrb_ng_j3sJv1rPN7sGV9BNnUz3pcgwjgBDCjXl-U2xYHXeQcLmy1skAYAAUtJwcy2aZhEE1AEb3mbeA01wnd2N3Og3CIA_4EshSmp50LcXgBaXb9KU8JTAhyyaos7x8nPakPvb/s1600/SM7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICeefcCrb_ng_j3sJv1rPN7sGV9BNnUz3pcgwjgBDCjXl-U2xYHXeQcLmy1skAYAAUtJwcy2aZhEE1AEb3mbeA01wnd2N3Og3CIA_4EshSmp50LcXgBaXb9KU8JTAhyyaos7x8nPakPvb/s1600/SM7.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Choosing
to make a lead character embody a creed as Relic seemed to have
attempted with Space Marine's Captain Titus is something I think may
be inherently problematic. Titus is a un-corruptible dutiful and
unfeeling paragon, with no discernible emotions other than
'righteous' anger. What makes him a good solider also makes him any
incredibly boring protagonist.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRuQQLwwMFhdrfXy1hlkmoGDvxocW8KYQ3Ljn3_8GOnZqS0PYCFEmdQnyZpIDqUrqFEnRcdPBSefgLpFQ0XoCY8yE7PoDuLurgnXeGzZpyogZtdTqkRUeoYem17RFVXOgaSIyGrw2ik0q/s1600/SM1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLRuQQLwwMFhdrfXy1hlkmoGDvxocW8KYQ3Ljn3_8GOnZqS0PYCFEmdQnyZpIDqUrqFEnRcdPBSefgLpFQ0XoCY8yE7PoDuLurgnXeGzZpyogZtdTqkRUeoYem17RFVXOgaSIyGrw2ik0q/s1600/SM1.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybyTxxYmRflxFcB1IulbqfilZJD6E2Hvl4HCDA23KH_6Ep7zfT0yL3z0UKMqdJIm7_goXdDX8Gc3FD8VY6XbjagXFP_uUaAcwZz9UGxG1rJ15R1ztfWzwo16vz5jU_Fw94xyx0-NrcuAK/s1600/SM13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybyTxxYmRflxFcB1IulbqfilZJD6E2Hvl4HCDA23KH_6Ep7zfT0yL3z0UKMqdJIm7_goXdDX8Gc3FD8VY6XbjagXFP_uUaAcwZz9UGxG1rJ15R1ztfWzwo16vz5jU_Fw94xyx0-NrcuAK/s1600/SM13.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">That
is not to say I think Space Marine had to be this way. You only have
to look to the Assassin's Creed series to see how a company can
stumble on it's first game before going onto recover in a
impressively manner by shifting to a more sympathetic main character.</span>
Allot about Titus reminds me of Altair the protagonist of the
original Assassins Creed. Altair was suppose to be a prodigy, the
youngest to ever achieve his position a heroic individual seen as a
example by many of his peers but this focus on him as a Assassin not
as a person meant I was never able to really feel anything about his
story. My problem with both these protagonist is that despite their
'vitues' they both felt inhuman as if they exist only to best
represent a archetype. They feel totally artificial, constructed
instead of born.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In its (numerous)
sequel's Assasin's Creed fixed the problem by showing you what made
its new protagonist Ezio a person, before they showed you what made
him a assassin. It was simple and it was also extremely effective,
and there was no reason that Space Marine couldn't have done the
same.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJqQh4RajtR8Qz-10RCDvDYvj9aow4a9YhJFw0BwZeyDRzswD3RfzwvoD1of_pLZY5_QQMZlzXD3Gi_-EQpEc9zKspskQxJ_71aVJlQIyeeUxW12uvRy_Y_g3XgmQBB_h5Jvy0h5TeoIvD/s1600/SM9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJqQh4RajtR8Qz-10RCDvDYvj9aow4a9YhJFw0BwZeyDRzswD3RfzwvoD1of_pLZY5_QQMZlzXD3Gi_-EQpEc9zKspskQxJ_71aVJlQIyeeUxW12uvRy_Y_g3XgmQBB_h5Jvy0h5TeoIvD/s1600/SM9.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
While Relic failed to
get me into a Marines mind they were far more successful in getting
me into his shoes. <span style="color: black;">My armory of weapons all
felt appropriately weighty (as befitting a 8ft tall giant) with the
highlight being the iconic Space Marine Boltgun which feels suitably
massive</span>(they are supposed to be 0.75 calibre) and fired<span style="color: black;">
with a satisfying “THUNK”.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUN7PENLnLUlhOGoA-bNQlxKI5liyTOGS_0EEdyo_mOIKRWi9m7qwR9vdqH5NIluznwtlwF3rpGas-wv1cfT0OGsV6MC_ggYGQTiPni6b8m5D4wpHPcSgrTV3oMHiOafpcDFeFJwaRLxW9/s1600/SM4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUN7PENLnLUlhOGoA-bNQlxKI5liyTOGS_0EEdyo_mOIKRWi9m7qwR9vdqH5NIluznwtlwF3rpGas-wv1cfT0OGsV6MC_ggYGQTiPni6b8m5D4wpHPcSgrTV3oMHiOafpcDFeFJwaRLxW9/s1600/SM4.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Even more importantly
was that from the very first moment I took control over Titus he has
a tangible sense of weight and momentum. He was not the over muscled
testosterone junkie 'space marine' of some games, this felt like
something closer to a human tank. I found the flow of combat
satisfyingly smooth, and s<span style="color: black;">pecial care seems to
have been took to capture the moment when my human juggernaut's
momentum comes thundering to a halt. </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrf408feHwOwgju_oQ5xpxqBFLleay38vQ-tfHD0dReZ0r8Lt6e1W36nqv_wKY8ai2ywuYifFI1GaJ2NpADRPESp28OzCw1E98Ljgp-YTMXTq2i9qneykQbM03oqx6OrP4IMtY3F0Gx4P/s1600/SM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQrf408feHwOwgju_oQ5xpxqBFLleay38vQ-tfHD0dReZ0r8Lt6e1W36nqv_wKY8ai2ywuYifFI1GaJ2NpADRPESp28OzCw1E98Ljgp-YTMXTq2i9qneykQbM03oqx6OrP4IMtY3F0Gx4P/s1600/SM2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A<span style="color: black;">im
a sprinted shoulder barge into a Ork, drop from the sky onto a
unsuspecting group of enemies while wearing a jump pack, or perform a
spectacular finish move and for a instant time slows (dramatically in
the case of the finishing move less noticeably in the other cases).
These slow motion moments gave a strange kind of rhythm to the
combat, almost acting like punctuation to Titus's movement. I'm sure
this undoubtedly is as much a result of a certain amount of
showboating by the games developers to best show the game's
'visceral' gore as anything else, but it gave me a real sense of
physical contact to both movement and combat.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZdU_F-k-hnZeIOYLvNY14tY18_r-XTMrtYB4QHsnBTIzFaZKb9NrDte7Cc6OktpJw2rKCR_EqwTQqkeivOXptKTV1Vp9khKRQJfPtGJJC3tLD9zsmZcTYsDu-2l-nGbOG8t6L0_6BR0S/s1600/SM3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZdU_F-k-hnZeIOYLvNY14tY18_r-XTMrtYB4QHsnBTIzFaZKb9NrDte7Cc6OktpJw2rKCR_EqwTQqkeivOXptKTV1Vp9khKRQJfPtGJJC3tLD9zsmZcTYsDu-2l-nGbOG8t6L0_6BR0S/s1600/SM3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Before
its release allot of fuss was made of the decision to not use the now
common regenerating health mechanic, and to instead encourage the
player to charge into close combat and use special finishing moves
which recovered a generous proportion of his health. In theory (and
sometimes in practice )this was a good idea, and indeed sometimes I
did find myself trying to break up large groups of enemies to isolate
an individual who I could quickly finish off for quick boost. My
problem with it was that these kill animation took to long, a quick
half second of slow mo was great, but 5-6 seconds totally killed the
flow of the combat.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBJNT0nJ-t2E8tC7E8A78R03puoHr6x4jU6Jie_DPR0hH_nDiCLg2JR7cOnLfRmgeNqoyWE-4pop-zlgWmWQskcLMi0l0JWqpVfbw4W_jGdlka3vQnrZLnSKUXfl6L1qotD2JXUTpqCaA/s1600/SM8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBJNT0nJ-t2E8tC7E8A78R03puoHr6x4jU6Jie_DPR0hH_nDiCLg2JR7cOnLfRmgeNqoyWE-4pop-zlgWmWQskcLMi0l0JWqpVfbw4W_jGdlka3vQnrZLnSKUXfl6L1qotD2JXUTpqCaA/s1600/SM8.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Unfortunately
however this is the kind of mistake the game seem to make far too
often, forgeting the very things it does so well. My momentum ends up
grinding to a halt as I meet enemies placed behind immovable
barriers, and perched on unreachable ledges which could only be dealt
with using ranged fire power. Confined in small arenas that felt
anything but epic, strafing my way around taking them out one by one,
just staying alive until I could finally deal with the massive horde
of melee foes who have been chasing me around like something out of a
fevered homicidal take on a Benny Hill sketch.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">The
environments used to frame all this, are all suitably inhumane in
their dimensions as befits the source material, and would have been
even more impressive if I'd actually got to use more than a tiny
percentage of them.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2PL2o87h1hliasOexgqMtjdCVnqWQ43gQ90r9UB4pL1RBj4DKTw3IiY4j3S4zA852ngNWyLaS3Wf_KTDcZK1J-P39zy7Lx5XTeXeRwVrZOe4bG7wLxMbQ6qAslW2c3nfdSuqdsvn970G/s1600/SM6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2PL2o87h1hliasOexgqMtjdCVnqWQ43gQ90r9UB4pL1RBj4DKTw3IiY4j3S4zA852ngNWyLaS3Wf_KTDcZK1J-P39zy7Lx5XTeXeRwVrZOe4bG7wLxMbQ6qAslW2c3nfdSuqdsvn970G/s1600/SM6.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Annoyingly one of the
most widely loathed gaming bugbears also makes a appearance. Space
Marine's quick time events although mechanically competent compared
to some I've experienced <span style="color: black;">(the controls have the
same type of action mapped to them that they did the rest, so the
game the attack button attacks, avoid button avoids ect)</span> still
ultimately felt like a lazy choice, went on for to long, and which
the game would have been better without.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">The
multi-player was solid and enjoyable enough, but the experience of
having one superhuman soldier fight another superhuman s</span>oldier
leaves neither feeling special. In contrast the co-op mode
(Exterminatus) which pits four players versus increasingly large
waves Orks allowed me and my team mates to be heroes again. As
individuals the players are stronger and tougher (hopefully smarter)
than their non-player character opponents, but balance of power is
fine enough that they can ea<span style="color: black;">sily get taken down
by a mob of the weaker NPC's if they allowed themselves to become
isolated. Essentially the co-op works because it doesn't have to
worry about giving both side a fair chance, and it can use this
asymmetry to create interesting tactical choices, which combined with
the sheer numbers it threw at me kept things challenging enough to
keep me coming back.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Crucially
the arenas used in the multiplayer portion of the game seemed to have
avoided some of the pitfalls of the single player environments, you
are never forced to deal with enemies you cannot reach and there is
far greater freedom of movement within the levels. The decision to
revert to be regenerating health model seems a wise one because it
helps reduce lone wolf behaviour. Even the best players needs to be
able to trust his team mates to watch his back when he goes low on
health Forcing him to seek cover instead of charging forward on his
own generally helped create a good cooperative environment than would
have been present otherwise.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">The
progress system is well balanced and paced with each level bringing
ne</span>w options, none of which felt overpowered. Instead they
offer a chance to customise your style of play to suit you taste
without altering your base power level. That freedom to build a
marine of my own is impressive and make what could have been a very
generic game play mode feel genuinely fun. I've put far more time
into it than I expected and currently I’ve been indulging my love
affair with aerial delights of the Assault Marine. I'm not halfway to
the level cap yet but my jump pack has been two upgrades that allow
me to fry Orks with flame jets on takes off, then pancake them when I
land (occasionally creating a amusing sight of my marine yoyoing into
the air and then cooming immediate back down again into a unfortunate
mob of Orks.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg382TDTu2SAZ_2BlKLN8buMwublPkO-TJ3kWf6i8U8MkhaP790-0TV7dE9T_2pPgOLMtaFVy22-Mhqu5y6lIiGXQjxl-H4nMCN9g-wTEPJVhfQFLqT0AqM4fRc5bW6TWQvZvi_PBF70jp-/s1600/SM14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg382TDTu2SAZ_2BlKLN8buMwublPkO-TJ3kWf6i8U8MkhaP790-0TV7dE9T_2pPgOLMtaFVy22-Mhqu5y6lIiGXQjxl-H4nMCN9g-wTEPJVhfQFLqT0AqM4fRc5bW6TWQvZvi_PBF70jp-/s1600/SM14.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finally I feel I should
mention a strange and uncomfortable moment that occurs early in the
game when we first meet a female Imperial guard commander. One of the
Marines reacts to the sight of her with by commenting 'I'm surprised
YOUR in command'. Sexism from Space Marine is a very strange thing to
see, these are not supposed to be dude-bros, these are warrior monks
utterly devoted to their duty and essentially sexless (In the lore
its not explicitly stated marines are chaste, but its pretty heavily
implied), si I can't see why on earth any of them would so much as
blink a eye at a female soilder. I suppose I should be grateful they
didn't over sexualise the lieutenant (no boobplate armor) and made
her a competent soldier, but this moment left a bad taste in my mouth
and seemed to serve absolutely no purpose.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In conclusion Space
Marine has done a fine job of setting out the template of how a
digital marine should feel, but too many annoying bumps along the
ride and failure to give to sympathetic cast which I could engage
with sufficiently to make me care about what was going on are all
black marks against it's name.Ultimately I think at the price I paid
for it (£15 in the steam sale) that I have no regrets about
purchasing Space Marine. It is a good game for any fan of the
mythology and worth putting time into to despite its problems and the
campaigns relatively short length.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hopefully Vigil Games'
(who's darksiders engine was used as a base for Space Marine) Dark
Millennium MMO can capitalise on some of good part of what Space
Marine achieved. I hope they can also perhaps learn lessons about
where Space Marines character building failed, and give us characters
in the 40,000 universe who can be flawed even if they superhuman.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
*(aliens, a giant
planet wide heavy machinery production facility, the destruction of a
world using orbital bombardment, what happens when the space shuttle
& a panzer tank have a baby, a messianic figure who has been
entombed in a giant life support machine for 10000 years, basically
the same as the original but with psychic powers, a combination of
the bible & the little red book & the art of war)</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-34007130805610451052012-01-04T17:25:00.000+00:002012-01-04T17:43:10.125+00:00My Personal Games of 2011: Part 3 The Winner<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My Game of the Year: Bastion</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gAWEkx7vsGE/TwRpFuC_uOI/AAAAAAAAAIc/0P3grg4veYY/s1600/bastiontitle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gAWEkx7vsGE/TwRpFuC_uOI/AAAAAAAAAIc/0P3grg4veYY/s1600/bastiontitle.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At the very least I
think Bastion was a brilliant example of what a smaller indie game
developer can achieve if they give themselves a tightly defined
design remit. It had virtually no
missteps, by keeping its aims tight it accomplished everything it set out to do.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T4xeDcc4nXY/TwR3E77kxSI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/bWuSgV5Sx2o/s1600/bastionbegin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T4xeDcc4nXY/TwR3E77kxSI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/bWuSgV5Sx2o/s1600/bastionbegin.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bastion benefits from having
a very solid core gameplay foundation. A immaculate if unambitious
take on the isometric action RPG mechanics, peppered with a wide
choice of well-balanced and satisfying to use weapons. The balance
between the individual weapons was complemented by upgrade paths that
allowed me to add extra utility or raw power as I needed. Bastion
understood that I wanted to play the game In a style that I enjoyed
the most, not one predetermined by the designer. Sure if I
switched the games difficulty up to full certain combinations were definitely optimal for certain levels, but in that situation I think
its entirely fair for the designer to assume I am looking for a
challenge and balance accordingly.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CDM8taNsCRg/TwRzw4ID_7I/AAAAAAAAAIw/0uh2lDxSGUQ/s1600/bastiongods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CDM8taNsCRg/TwRzw4ID_7I/AAAAAAAAAIw/0uh2lDxSGUQ/s1600/bastiongods.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's gameplay alone
wouldn't have Bastion my game of the year, it won its way into my
heart with great storytelling and real innovation in methods used to deliver it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The choice to use a
Narrator could easily have been overplayed, but his laconic drawl was
used sparsely and with such perfect timing that it always felt
welcome to hear him expound another bit of the tale of The Kid's
journey through the ruined world of Caelondia.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2k0T9Dj-3Ns/TwRpDUVXjPI/AAAAAAAAAII/fjbnpj1oRbY/s1600/Bastion2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2k0T9Dj-3Ns/TwRpDUVXjPI/AAAAAAAAAII/fjbnpj1oRbY/s1600/Bastion2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Superficially I was on
a mission to recover the parts needed to rebuild the Bastion. I moved through a beautifully
painted world while simultaneously trying to restore it while
changing it with every step I took. Just like the kid I didn't know why. I did what I was told
to by the narrator unquestioningly, setting out to put the world to
rights. But as time passed by I learnt that the narrator was only
giving one side of the story, as simultaneously self doubt seemingly
began creeping into his words.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bioshock is perhaps the most notable example of a game which played with using a unreliable narrator, but famously it had a lot of trouble stopping its story and gameplay
pulling in two different directions as authorial intent and player
freedom came into conflict.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bastion seemed wise to
this peril. It came down to making sure that there is a simple acceptance on my part
that because I was being told a story that has already happened, it was okay for me not to be able to change it. It is only when the
story stops and the narrators voice is conspicuous by its absence
that the game gaves me the freedom to choose.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And what choices it
gave me! Neither simplistic or reductive, Bastion forced me considered what I
felt the entirety of the game had been trying to tell me, without judging my choice
on a binary moral scale. Better still those choices were rooted ultimately in reflections on both the nature of narrator, the way the I related to
him, and my relationship with the world through which I had
travelled.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veLnw0ug7Ok/TwRpCrwJu_I/AAAAAAAAAIE/LZvsuS47q1o/s1600/Bastion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-veLnw0ug7Ok/TwRpCrwJu_I/AAAAAAAAAIE/LZvsuS47q1o/s1600/Bastion.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
On a more technical
level Bastion's choice of storytelling device also allowed the game
to flow beautifully for me. Exposition and gameplay were delivered
together in parallel, there was not the stop and start sensation that
can come in games with traditional set pieces. Its impact was aided
and abetted by a soundtrack which provided vivid character and pacing
to each level. Swinging from country influenced dirges, to fast
paced trip hop and J-pop influenced tracks. It was remarkable for
managing to remain cohesive despite it variety.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YJyjlrjiAwU/TwRzxmMsmXI/AAAAAAAAAI4/s7riKbgXY3c/s1600/bastionzia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YJyjlrjiAwU/TwRzxmMsmXI/AAAAAAAAAI4/s7riKbgXY3c/s1600/bastionzia.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DGxgFxF47XY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Bastion felt special
to me, having completed for the first time my instinct was to
immediately try and find someone to talk to about it. It had affected
me, I wanted to find out if others felt the same.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Part of what allowed me
to feel this was Bastion's complete lack of pretension. This wasn't a
story with a any overt meaning to its tale. It concentrated on
providing relatable characters and left the interpretation of its
story to its audience, a level of trust which is often uncommon in
videogames.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uPh8xyhc7ic/TwRpEfAaxnI/AAAAAAAAAIU/CknWq-qTFEQ/s1600/Bastion3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uPh8xyhc7ic/TwRpEfAaxnI/AAAAAAAAAIU/CknWq-qTFEQ/s1600/Bastion3.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It was this trust that
in the end helped make Bastion into my game of 2012, without the
confine of a set interpretation it allowed me to take my experience
in the game & relate it to my life in a way which was intimately
personal.</div>
</div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-39793850963962642812012-01-03T01:02:00.000+00:002012-01-04T17:21:29.613+00:00My Personal Games of 2011: Part 2<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1<sup>st</sup> Runner
Up: Deus Ex Human Revolution</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vB81BHACxqA/TwJP5hVOzzI/AAAAAAAAAH4/zJqG0r-1Qak/s1600/DXHR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="78" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vB81BHACxqA/TwJP5hVOzzI/AAAAAAAAAH4/zJqG0r-1Qak/s320/DXHR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Riots, global
recession, media manipulation, civil wars, and a growing disquiet at
emerging influence of technology on society, that's the 2027 of DXHR,
did you think I was talking about some other year?</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Although it was sold as
a cross between a FPS and a RPG DXHR was for me at its heart a puzzle
game. The game's developers may have Created a meticulously balanced
stealth mechanic and gone to painstaking lengths to give you a
multitude of options whenever your plans went awry, but I found it
time after time that the one I reached for was reload.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It wasn't enough just
to get through a level undetected, every guard had to taken out in
the most efficient way possible, every terminal had to be hacked,
every doorway unlocked, every secret found. DXHR Inspired OCD in me
like no other game I have ever played.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hr_CbOzyF84/TwJMIQKzhII/AAAAAAAAAHs/0dhwOWukm80/s1600/DE4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hr_CbOzyF84/TwJMIQKzhII/AAAAAAAAAHs/0dhwOWukm80/s1600/DE4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr Tyrell? nope? hmm sorry wrong office</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The e-mails back and
forth between characters, the chatter between guards just out of
earshot, the small fragments of newspapers and books left around the
world, all of them combined to provide some the best environmental
storytelling I have seen for a long time. DXHR provided a world which
Although lacking in the possibilities for the creation of emergent
events had a incredible fidelity, if you could interact with an
object that object mattered. This level of detail meant my subjective
experience of time passing in the game took on a slow pace where it
felt I was moving from moment to moment.Games are so often about the
grand arc of a story, DXHR was like a scrapbook of anecdotes, and
small moments of insights into the lives of its characters.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LY321n5VbJA/TwJMGgCBtpI/AAAAAAAAAHc/wDXvEFjnXLw/s1600/DE2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LY321n5VbJA/TwJMGgCBtpI/AAAAAAAAAHc/wDXvEFjnXLw/s1600/DE2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello UPS? we seem to have had allot of cardboard boxes delivered</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Science fiction has
always been a very fast-paced genre, and it speaks
volume of what DXHR accomplished that I have to think back to The Handmaid's Tale's for another
example of a Sci-fi narrative which gave such insight to the miniature of its protagonists lives.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It also featured what
in any other year would have been the outstanding musical score. The
influence of Vangelis classic Blade runner soundtrack is obvious, but
frankly composer Michael McCann did such a good job its near
impossible to hold it against him(go on treat yourself & have a listen).</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZiN6t7K7txw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/XIqJaT3cvf8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
All this praise is not
to say DXHR is a flawless game by any measure, the insertion of three boss fights,
and a incredibly contrived final scene both were bad enough to jolt
me out of my immersion in the game and will forever be blots on its
record.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the end though DXHR
proved that a high budget, high fidelity, high concept games could
still succeed, and for that I am profoundly grateful.</div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-43045627086582860142012-01-02T02:01:00.000+00:002012-01-04T17:22:14.681+00:00My Personal Games of 2011: Part 1<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HryeWvD_eWc/TwEPV1y5NmI/AAAAAAAAAF8/7YlxboeLQHU/s1600/GOTYmon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HryeWvD_eWc/TwEPV1y5NmI/AAAAAAAAAF8/7YlxboeLQHU/s1600/GOTYmon.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So once again its list
time. Time for everyone on the Internet to declare what their best
games of the year were. I've always felt that the game of the year
concept was a very arbitrary one.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So I've decided to do
mine a little different this year. With my gaming habits now heavily
weighted towards picking up titles in sales instead of at release,I
find myself considering games in an environment of far less hype than
I used to.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For me a game of the
year has to be experienced which is very much of its time. A game
that was not just released in 2012 but reflected it in some way.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I am obviously aware of
the game with a three-year development cycle to never truly be a
response to events in the year of its release, But I think I can
content myself with games that reflect the the Zeitgeist without
demanding them to actively create it.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So my choices will all
be games that I feel I could not have got the same experience from if
I'd played them in any year apart from 2011.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
My experience of 2011 was the year to find the way an atmosphere of uncertainty,
indecision, and confusion in popular life. Such slippery concepts
have always been an anathema to the heavily emphasised rules an
goals that form the backbone of most games, and they ascension to
primer to place on the news agenda may explain why are some of the
more straight forward and traditional games I have played haven't
made my list.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">1st Runner
Up: Fate of the World
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CyHYPk1BJl4/TwEIrIGfy_I/AAAAAAAAAFw/nZ4oq2uZHsk/s1600/FOTW1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CyHYPk1BJl4/TwEIrIGfy_I/AAAAAAAAAFw/nZ4oq2uZHsk/s400/FOTW1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the latter months of
2012 I along with many other watched almost disbelieving as most of
the western world's political class sat like a rabbits in the
headlights of the oncoming economic crisis. So when I played FotW I
was intrigued by the way it advocated a non political approach to
solving global problems, that stood out in stark contrast to the
serial failure of contemporary politics.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It's uncompromising
rejection of absolutes of both the right and left wing of
contemporary political debate, made this game there was no quick fix,
and which didn't respect a player for taking a 'stance' on a issue.
To be a successful player I had to be guided by a feeling pragmatism
and not idealism.</div>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3DZbUKy87tk/TwEIinizSZI/AAAAAAAAAFc/3GxNJwuJrvo/s1600/FOTW3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3DZbUKy87tk/TwEIinizSZI/AAAAAAAAAFc/3GxNJwuJrvo/s400/FOTW3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drill, Drill, Drill!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
In it I found a game of
crushing failures, and fast iteration. When I tried to focus on
renewable energy, the economy tanked. When I attempt to raise living
standards, I had to watch helplessly as a couple of billion extra
consumers turned the environment into a car wreck.<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I could not max/min my
way towards victory, or 'game' this system. Eventually through hard
work and a couple of hundred billion deaths it began to become clear
to me the key was to keep all your plate is constantly spinning. To
search constantly for equilibrium, while riding a catastrophe curve.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yj1D0xiGaBc/TwEIjyM5SKI/AAAAAAAAAFk/6sSXoX5h9dU/s1600/FOTW4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yj1D0xiGaBc/TwEIjyM5SKI/AAAAAAAAAFk/6sSXoX5h9dU/s400/FOTW4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When a game gives you a bonus for only causing 6.5 Billion deaths it probably means business.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In some ways it echoes
back the 50s and 60s rejection of politics as a means for dealing
with the world's problems, And while I certainly have more than my
fair share of scepticism regarding this approach it is still
interesting to find a game advocating any kind of engagement with the
world's problems in a year where political disillusionment was so
widespread.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Its heavy debts to
board game mechanics may put off a lot of people, but for those willing to persevere it offers one of the most challenging and thought-provoking experiences for years.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In Parts 2 & 3: Two games which surpassed my expectations, made me think, and provided two genuinely excellent game soundtracks.</div>
<br />Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-51782226146209454722011-08-03T01:46:00.000+01:002011-08-03T01:59:45.967+01:00Gaming Demons<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So … <a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/08/01/diablo-3-will-let-players-buy-and-sell-items-for-real-money/">Diablo 3 is going to sell pretend items for real money</a>, I'm not entirely comfortable with this, but it's not what I'm writing about. What I'm writing about is people's reaction to this news.</div><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'll skip straight to the point, calling for a boycott is a bloody stupid idea. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Why? Remember when you were a teenager and somebody told you “don't do that!” and got the idea into their head that a half-hour lecture about whatever the evil of the day was just what you needed? Well I'm assuming that worked just about as well on everyone else as it worked on me, in other words not at all.<br />
<br />
</div><div class="western">Like a lot of people I don't always react well to being told what I should and shouldn't do by others(especially when it comes to my free time), even if their intentions are good.</div><div class="western">I often feel that the best way someone to get me to change my mind, is to put the situation where I have the time and opportunity to form my own insights. <br />
<br />
</div><div class="western">There has been a good few high-profile “ boycotts” of various services and games in the last few years but rarely have they made any significant impact.</div><div class="western"><br />
</div><div class="western">Or to rephrase a old saying: people need time to practice, not to be preached at.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So one day from sitting down fully intending to pen a somewhat poisonous rant about how D3 the downfall of modern gaming, I find myself sitting coffee in hand feeling a little warm glow as I hit delete and wipe that pointless piece of self indulgent rage from the planet.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
It feels to me at least that we've got so wrapped up in the problem we haven't thought about solutions.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So I ask myself, “ what would stop me from buying a game I really wanted?”</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">And in the end if I'm honest is only one real answer, because really is only one thing that people love more than something shiny and new and that's a bargain.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So here's my suggestion to anyone really really feel strongly about this, put your money where your mouth is A couple of days before the D3 is released go out and buy a copy of another game you know someone will love & give it to them.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Simple as that, nothing more, nothing less.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">You might have to put out a bit of your own coin, and you might have to put in a bit of research finding what games someone likes. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">And if you're feeling particularly brave perhaps pick something with decent multiplayer then make the time to visit someone and spend some quality time gaming together, perhaps even trying get a few more people in (a anti launch party if you like), and perhaps eventually remember that universal truth is that any game is better when you play it with your mates.</div><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Oh well it seems that did go on a rant in the end, but at least it was a positive one.</div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-60020607665626822932011-05-15T18:45:00.000+01:002011-05-15T23:33:07.236+01:00Pause for Thought<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcgkG5OXY7-YX9bGI57joqnugAcFcDjQNGHmTE8-fYcbysvZ-qWEV_xXQRVPzwUGs_V9l89xPeSFn6s3125EjxBIT8z5H8tv-zlHseNx6Ipwvs0fBBjVD81wvn2os-CCygYrLkWK97y4sT/s1600/NJpause.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcgkG5OXY7-YX9bGI57joqnugAcFcDjQNGHmTE8-fYcbysvZ-qWEV_xXQRVPzwUGs_V9l89xPeSFn6s3125EjxBIT8z5H8tv-zlHseNx6Ipwvs0fBBjVD81wvn2os-CCygYrLkWK97y4sT/s1600/NJpause.jpg" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">When I sit down to watch a TV series or a Film there are some which I realise will make me uncomfortable, that really make me squirm in my seat as their narrative unfolds.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Different types of drama will inspire discomforts in different people, for some people supernatural dread or physical squeamishness will do the trick. I don't really react to those things, for me it's the slow motion car crash of interpersonal drama which will make me reach the pause button.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">There is assumption on the part of some people that every time I hit pause I am degrading my experience, that if any work is not seen “as the author intended” is it is somehow lessened.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a>I have seen the authorial intent argument trotted out a lot in recent years in the discussions regarding the future of computer games. Games offer a wider and deeper form of choice but the ability of someone consuming media to subvert authorial choice by stopping or pausing is as old as language itself.<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I don't think less of a book if it is a difficult read, It is fine if I have to put the book down for a while a good author of will make me want to pick it up again despite myself.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Regardless of what the author does nothing can stop me thinking about alternate ways that events can play out as I make my way through a narrative. A author can't stop my imagination, all they can do is make your telling of the events the most compelling.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I feel the skill of someone like Shakespeare isn't just in creating a ending like that of Romeo and Juliet, it lies in leading it is audience towards this goal in a way which makes it seem inevitable.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">By making the narratives conclusion seem a natural outcome of the events which unfolds not a contrivance.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsi0w6CiUl-cZyCDXUtPeOryQrrYvaWYh28ARApEbita0vhMpE6p8CT_-v6WY1ibg8aDw_6Pz4XHMJPC-DHmUDCCqJsp38BsLiR1j6GBRqf5TE2yDUvoxsfCUBRKwM9BLCG434CHAOfvO/s1600/witcherchoice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsi0w6CiUl-cZyCDXUtPeOryQrrYvaWYh28ARApEbita0vhMpE6p8CT_-v6WY1ibg8aDw_6Pz4XHMJPC-DHmUDCCqJsp38BsLiR1j6GBRqf5TE2yDUvoxsfCUBRKwM9BLCG434CHAOfvO/s1600/witcherchoice.jpg" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I do not believe the two mediums have as many differences as some would like to think, building a consistent reality for the narrative is vital to both. Screenwriter Syd Field famously stated “action is character”, which to me at least sounds damn similar to Clint Hocking's idea of Ludonarrative Dissonance (“where the game elements conflict the thematic elements the narrative tries to convey “). In both cases what the character does needs to fit in with what we would expect them to do given the information we have been told about them.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I think part of what scares people is games can employ such powerful psychological affects they can get away with breaking these rules. That doesn't mean that breaking the doesn't have an effect it's just far less pronounced.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Throughout the history of art as a medium has evolved its practitioners have had a discussion about ideas versus form. Arguing about whether how you say something, or what you say is most important.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I don't deny this is an important discussion for people to have but I think it's mostly a personal conversation you have to have yourself about what is most important to you. Ultimately practitioners on both sides need to accept that this is a medium which contains both, and get on with pushing the boundaries of the aspects which resonate with them. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-3376415773674413872011-04-30T00:53:00.000+01:002011-04-30T02:41:40.643+01:00When Life Gives You Lemons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmmeM8XozIKVkueX5faVGqx45j_DZg6bTbiNubSfJPMABNWDCENlWVQ2uTMGIC8H1kcWfgoNYXNuI2wDBd5uz5BEXan44TZR0BkuEK7faJ97hgpolBM2q14VLISMtT4d_IgUc7Gj6ya_m/s1600/dont-even-try.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmmeM8XozIKVkueX5faVGqx45j_DZg6bTbiNubSfJPMABNWDCENlWVQ2uTMGIC8H1kcWfgoNYXNuI2wDBd5uz5BEXan44TZR0BkuEK7faJ97hgpolBM2q14VLISMtT4d_IgUc7Gj6ya_m/s320/dont-even-try.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I struggle to justify spending time blogging. It often seems a self-indulgent pursuit, where the only thing lower than the chances of anyone reading your work is the career prospects. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This line of reasoning is made particularly seductive to me because I'm acutely aware that my dyslexia has always made writing of any sort a struggle.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm bad at written communication and this can be exceedingly frustrating because I'm acutely aware that unless you are a Da Vinci level polymath able to do everything for yourself, communications skills are vital to work as a creative in any modern media. </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In short I’m bad at one of the most important skills anyone needs to succeed in life, and its unclear if I can do much about the underlying reason.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">All of this was sloshing about in the back of my mind when I started playing Portal 2 and was brought bubbling to the fore by a bittersweet piece of dialog by a charterer called Cave Johnson.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><a name='more'></a>Throughout his life Cave has believed that anything was possible with the science, but in his old age with his company falling apart around him, he finds everything he has believed in is rendered impotent as he slowly succumbs to cancer. <br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnUV2VxU3B3iJVeHeIFe9-aOEowbkbFr2jz_HnwYCY3tLTJGeGT7hGElPL3sljC9QoLPkj9pLBPT59vmUA34-Bb6oF0lSlt8NcrtGZ85hwaA_CiIVyR1skutCGiSmY3iOB26uyvXHnGEl/s1600/cave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnUV2VxU3B3iJVeHeIFe9-aOEowbkbFr2jz_HnwYCY3tLTJGeGT7hGElPL3sljC9QoLPkj9pLBPT59vmUA34-Bb6oF0lSlt8NcrtGZ85hwaA_CiIVyR1skutCGiSmY3iOB26uyvXHnGEl/s320/cave.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">But that’s not gonna get Cave down.....</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Cave Johnson: </div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“Alright, I've been thinking. When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I'm gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!”</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's a testament to the strength of valve's writing team that they somehow managed to create a character who even at his moment of crisis encapsulates both optimism and fatalism. Cave's story take us on a journey which starts out echoing the themes of John F Kennedy's “We choose to go to the moon” speech and ends resonating with Dylan Thomas's “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard..”</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="RIGHT" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“Do not go gentle into that good night,<br />
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;<br />
Rage, rage against the dying of the light..”</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've spent too much time asking "can it be done?" And "should it be done?" it about time to just start getting things done instead, and to start writing without worrying over every word. I think Cave would be proud.</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFIbRPC4JZcHhjUxANsXSac84xBoxlzRDeTJ3qKrEK3MMpByMHn9Zk-u2fd-oTPSx4d7BwjRKVBPmmcHz2hd9e14ojs8iSEI1NbjynF8b-4fCiAklYQnDlRoX4ggoO9zszUd5xkXURF6C/s1600/moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFIbRPC4JZcHhjUxANsXSac84xBoxlzRDeTJ3qKrEK3MMpByMHn9Zk-u2fd-oTPSx4d7BwjRKVBPmmcHz2hd9e14ojs8iSEI1NbjynF8b-4fCiAklYQnDlRoX4ggoO9zszUd5xkXURF6C/s320/moon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For Science!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-13833412827931429462010-09-09T23:19:00.000+01:002010-09-10T00:47:14.943+01:00What Dune 2 taught me about Gaming: Part 2<div style="text-align: left;">Much of my youth was spent unable to put into words exactly what it was which made me so enthusiastic about games. Even now I have find it very hard to articulate what I love about games to the people I love. Dune 2 was the first game where I encountered this problem, where I couldn't explain what I liked about it with a simple sentence like 'its fun' or 'its looks cool'.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9CACHwQb7qz_p233__u7HLP0JwAoiW1lgP43hQpjFeQg4WpjaAEfu2LjjHdw3EIthMDgHSR7p2Z8iUGpmBtQ0fHZkU0-jfSJNher67sdD70vWcII4INOQCRsEaYM0kZ2eyR3QgkWUqG4/s1600/apd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9CACHwQb7qz_p233__u7HLP0JwAoiW1lgP43hQpjFeQg4WpjaAEfu2LjjHdw3EIthMDgHSR7p2Z8iUGpmBtQ0fHZkU0-jfSJNher67sdD70vWcII4INOQCRsEaYM0kZ2eyR3QgkWUqG4/s400/apd2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*image took from a scan at the amazing </span><a href="http://amr.abime.net/issue_28_reviews"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Amiga Magazine Rack</span></a></div><br />
I showed the game to anyone who was stupid enough to give me the impression they might listen to me, but time after time the way my parents and my peers seemed unmoved by Dune 2 to totally confused me. I wasn't equipped mentally to make the simple leap that what was awesome to me wasn't automatically be awesome to others.<br />
<br />
But there was somewhere where I knew there were people who 'got' games. Amiga power is considered to have been one of the great magazines of its generation. Some might pick holes at its professionalism at times, but there was no denying the passion that went into it.<br />
Just like me I felt the writers didn't care who's name you threw onto a box, or if the graphics were flashy they cared about the game itself.<br />
Just like me it felt these were people who felt a sense of belonging of being one of the tribe, who felt there was something special about games.<br />
But unlike me they had found their voice, and they were shouting from the rooftops.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
But the biggest problem about being part of any tribe is that after a while it can begin to change the way you see people outside it, and gamer culture was no different.<br />
It wasn't a big step from “Most people don't get games” to”Why don't they get games?” and then “If you don't love games you a idiot!”.<br />
However it wasn't enough for us to start looking down on non gamers we had to get a good old fashioned civil war brewing, and of course the worst of the vitriol was saved for those closest to us. Most of the time Amiga players were to busy saying what a terrible machine the Atari was to even notice the Sega and Nintendo fans embroiled in their own private brawl.<br />
<br />
Individually every article I read and every game I played showed me a incredible fully functional and downright beautiful little worlds overflowing in rich detail. However when you drew your gaze back and took a look at the wider gamer culture a effect began to occur not unlike like a giant photo mosaic. All these exquisite little pictures when seen from a distance combined to formed a big crude picture of Sonic swinging a right hook at Mario blood staining his white gloves the hatred in both figures eyes telling us no quarter would be asked and none given.<br />
<br />
As long as the impression people take away of gamers is of bickering children like those on the comment thread for <a href="http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2010/09/backlash.html">G4's review of Metroid Prime</a> its no wonder people like film critic Roger Ebert feel no desire to engage with the medium.<br />
<br />
Seeing the <a href="http://five-players.com/?p=788">Never Sell Out</a> article over at Five Players which was written in reaction to <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/09/06/spector-on-the-gaming-class-war/">Warren Spector's speech</a> about how the game industry needs to broaden its reach I feel worried. The people who write Five Players' are smart and articulate, exactly the sort of person you would want evangelizing games potential but instead it encourages us to fall back to our worst tribal tendencies.<br />
<br />
In the end the concept of dividing games into hardcore and casual and the constant questioning of the worth of the later can only lead to stagnation. Gamers falling into a comfort zone where nothing shocks or surprises.<br />
To draw a parallel people have to stop worrying if punk is dead & start remembering there was a time before it was born.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-54055478962365740502010-09-07T22:29:00.000+01:002010-09-12T22:21:02.390+01:00What Dune 2 taught me about Gaming: Part 1Its 1993 Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner are stinking up the screen and the charts, John Major (Aka Pantsman) is Prime Minister, there's a weird new football division called the Premier League, and I'm trying to persuade my friend Lee that Dune 2 on the Amiga is the greatest thing since sliced bread.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzevSCLplyrxjjZZYrkLuD-UmXNFlJ6L1RvEbPL7IamRIvdFUL093x1uukyOQxutwH7VOqiMnZmohn6A7PTe2ESwlw1UB1h8_YazLPB0gg4ZwvbdeUh-C3qTcN4v2RpXLamuPe-TULUolE/s1600/dune2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzevSCLplyrxjjZZYrkLuD-UmXNFlJ6L1RvEbPL7IamRIvdFUL093x1uukyOQxutwH7VOqiMnZmohn6A7PTe2ESwlw1UB1h8_YazLPB0gg4ZwvbdeUh-C3qTcN4v2RpXLamuPe-TULUolE/s400/dune2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
My Amiga was a thing of wonder to me,and as I sat there with my A500+ it would seem implausible to me that the company behind it was already in a slow decline. In December <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(video_game)">Doom</a> was released on the PC in all its 3D glory, changing the face of gaming and driving another nail into the Amiga's coffin. By April 1994 the fight was over and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_International">Commodore</a> would be bankrupt and the Amiga dead.<br />
<br />
At age 11 such things didn't register with me, nor would they have really mattered to me because at that moment all that mattered to me was I had a new game. Games typically cost around £30 which since I got £1.10 pocket money meant they were a huge investment for me. I spent months scanning issues of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_Power">Amiga Power</a> before making a decision on a which one i was going to buy next. I typically got 2-3 games a year and the wait was unbearable, though I soon realized that if I didn't spend my lunch money It virtually doubled my spending power. I mean whats a bit of food compared to a new game?<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
So there we are sitting in the spare room and I'm talking about the game, I don't remember my words but I do remember what I loved about the game. The colourful and detailed graphics, the atmospheric sound, the bright yellow and red explosion trigged by the destruction of a tank which left behind a satisfying crater, and about how you were fighting for a entire world over a map where you chose where to strike next.<br />
But most of all I would have talked about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandworm_(Dune)">Sandworms</a> giant tank eating behemoths who were a ever present menace. They meant Dune wasn't just a battlefield to play out my dreams of being a general, it was a world which was beyond my control and would leave my plans in ruins if I took my eyes of it for a second.<br />
<br />
After my eleven year old brains tide of enthusiasm finaly ran dry I loaded up the games opening sequence and sat back convinced my friend would be in awe just as i had been.<br />
<br />
Here it is in all its glory<br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9ipNxb4X_fA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9ipNxb4X_fA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
“The Planet Arrakis, known as Dune.<br />
<br />
Land of sand, home of the Spice Malange<br />
<br />
Whoever controls dune controls the Spice<br />
<br />
The emperor has proposed a challenge to each of the houses<br />
<br />
The house that produces the most spice will control dune.<br />
There are no set territories, and no rules of engagement<br />
<br />
Vast armies have arrived<br />
<br />
Now three houses fight for control of dune<br />
<br />
The noble Atreides<br />
<br />
The insidious Ordos<br />
<br />
And the evil Harkonnen<br />
<br />
Only one house will prevail<br />
<br />
Your battle for dune begins now..”<br />
<br />
The intro finished and I waited in silence to hear his response to this gem, this masterpiece, this king among games I had found.<br />
<br />
The silence was unnerving me a bit, perhaps he just needed a bit of a nudge<br />
<br />
Me: “So what did you think?”<br />
<br />
Him: “Who's The Spice?”<br />
<br />
And that is how at age 11 I discovered how easily a love for any game or fiction can completely blind someone to how incomprehensible it is to others. Looking back its easy to see how my friend was confused but at the time i just didn't understand.<br />
It was my first brush with objectivity. As a child something is either awesome or its terrible, you never consider the possibility someone else might not think the same.<br />
<br />
Yet so many people seem to have forgotten that lesson, and i'll talk more about that in part 2Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148456591624077208.post-50418776688715903702010-08-08T17:45:00.000+01:002010-08-08T18:09:13.181+01:00When bad storytelling can be goodAllot of bad things have been said about the story of Starcraft 2 but I enjoyed it immensely.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5PdZKdtfnfOPw5hs1Ug82ZEMsgNog1JkySF36anR0n6ZiDXSqQc5iTUpxgyL4ppNWC4H0Hsq5SOneXMzJASuRDNyhsjsSJfC4GrQ3lYm7GQtwGWN00RD29jJF-fngfEJtAOZ3ONnPyv6/s1600/thisaintscfi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp5PdZKdtfnfOPw5hs1Ug82ZEMsgNog1JkySF36anR0n6ZiDXSqQc5iTUpxgyL4ppNWC4H0Hsq5SOneXMzJASuRDNyhsjsSJfC4GrQ3lYm7GQtwGWN00RD29jJF-fngfEJtAOZ3ONnPyv6/s320/thisaintscfi.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Looking back at it after finishing the campaign i can see why people have problems with it. It's not exactly original, and to say the characters are broadly drawn would be a understatement.<br />
<br />
I won't say people are 'missing the point' but i think part of what worked for me came from not the cut scenes themselves but from the way they sat in context with the game play itself.<br />
Blizzard are perhaps the one company who better than any other can balance difficulty close to perfection, creating levels where failure rarely created frustration and victory allways brought a rush of adrenaline.<br />
I played through the campaign on hard difficulty and just beating a mission felt like a genuine achievement.<br />
Anyone who's ever played sport or even been a just avid fan knows that surge of chemicals and emotions which causes strangers to hug each other, shout like animals, and cry like babies.<br />
<br />
Viewed through the context of the adrenaline high of a victory the story of Starcraft 2 works allot better than it does looking at it in isolation, or after beating a mission without being genuinely challenged.<br />
I know what I'm saying basically amounts to 'you have to be on a adrenaline high to enjoy the story' but I'm not sure that's a invalid approach if the game is well crafted enough to consistently produce it.<br />
<br />
Overall I feel the story was a good fit for the gameplay, and considering that one of the prime accusations levelled against many videogames is that they fail to achieve that I'm happy to say for me at least Blizzard did a good job.Codicierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07322218283832454858noreply@blogger.com0