First, check out my E3 predictions over at Galaxy Next Door here.
Second, if you're a subscriber here, brace yourself. There is going to be a flood of content here starting tomorrow.
-Blaine
Posts
Dragon Age Day 2023
4 months ago
20120530
20120524
Let Your Friend Grab Your Stick
If you know me whatsoever, you know that I cower from online multiplayer the way that a craven hipster flees from a reasonable BMI, loose-fitting clothing, appropriately corrective eyewear, and shaving their crustache.
It doesn't matter if it's team deathmatch, co-op, or any of the multitude of variations produced by the mega-bucks franchises. I don't like playing games with you*, especially if I don't know you.
* - private sessions of Horde Mode are the exception here
It wasn't always like that. I used to enjoy your virtual company, but then you had to go and invite your friends, and then they brought their friends, and the next thing I know, I got Mason Dixie barking 'faggot' at everyone like some kind of bigoted dog with Tourette Syndrome, then there's the guy who's expending a lot of effort pretending to be high, assuring everyone, at every moment, that he is, in fact, high, and then there's the jaded trolling GameStop employee, He Who Is The Highest Authority On Games Ever, and every game we play with him kinda sucks, and is not as good as this one other game, which in turn, kinda sucks, and is not as good as this one other game, etc.
Really, I'd like it if you and your friends just shut up and let me focus on the game.
Now, I'm going to commit the sin of hypocrisy, and make a statement that is in line with the aforementioned hipster party line.
(Console-based) online gaming was better before it became cool.
Really, though, that's true of everything. Generally speaking, communities are more fun when they're more insular, and the population is such that there has been a bit of community-driven selection and filtering of new members. It's one of those things in which you only tell the friends that you really like about it, so that 'the one guy that you're all friends with, but you all kinda think he's a douchebag, but for some reason, he's always around' doesn't come in and fuck it up for everyone.
It used to be simpler, and I hate being the guy that says things like that.
While I love being a grown-up and owning a home and having a family, I will confess that one thing I miss about having roommates is 'pass the stick.' That is probably my favorite approach to multiplayer gaming.
For those of you too young to know of this practice, 'pass the stick' is when you have a buddy or several hanging out in the same physical space as you, and you each take turns while playing through a single instance of a single-player experience as a team. Sometimes, each dude will play until he dies, or each dude has a specific skill with which he's stronger than the others, and the stick will get passed based on each presented challenge, or maybe you rotate by 'level.' I played through Metal Gear Solid this way, Resident Evil 2, Silent Hill, the PS2 GTA games, and countless other gems, and it was incredibly fun. Controllers and beers would circulate all night, and we'd play into the wee hours after having gotten off work from our crappy retail or restaurant jobs.
Hell, sometimes, the girlfriends would want to get in on the action, which would add even more fun.
It would be interesting to see something like that worked into XBL, PSN, or Steam. If everyone owns the game, have one player initiate the session, have everyone share the same view while one dude's got control. That player can then delegate control to another player, if he wants. Something like that.
It's hard to imagine it being as fun, though. There's something to be said about everyone in the room crying out at the same time when something awesome, scary, or crazy happens, not to mention the running commentary.
I remember Adam and I slowly turning to look at each other during a particularly scary part of Silent Hill and our eyes bugging out when that one shared look confirmed something terrible that we'd both seen or heard.
Or playing through various Japanese survival horror games with my college roommate Kensuke.
Or taking turns on our respective KotOR saves with my college roommate Mike.
And as I talk through this, I'm realizing that maybe I just need to get that stick out of my ass about online gaming.
Part of my preference to shun co-op is that I want to be able to focus on the story without you crunching fucking Doritos in my ear while a very touching death scene unfolds, or an interesting plot point is expounded upon.
What I'm the most guilty of, though, is feeling like true multiplayer is a waste of time. While that is a post unto itself, it bears mentioning here. As I get older, I find myself, more and more, thinking that I could be advancing the story in something instead of playing this competitive multiplayer. I don't feel any kind of accomplishment in MP. It feels like a time-wasting treadmill most often. Is that the wrong way to look at it? Do you experience anything similar, or is that just the wrong way to look at it?
I am curious as to how other people approach their multiplayer gaming. Do you have any basic ground rules for yourself, or what you'll put up with and won't? What do you try to pull from the experience? What's most important to you in multiplayer?
Also, how do you feel about 'pass the stick?' Any good stories?
-Blaine
Buy my book!
It doesn't matter if it's team deathmatch, co-op, or any of the multitude of variations produced by the mega-bucks franchises. I don't like playing games with you*, especially if I don't know you.
* - private sessions of Horde Mode are the exception here
It wasn't always like that. I used to enjoy your virtual company, but then you had to go and invite your friends, and then they brought their friends, and the next thing I know, I got Mason Dixie barking 'faggot' at everyone like some kind of bigoted dog with Tourette Syndrome, then there's the guy who's expending a lot of effort pretending to be high, assuring everyone, at every moment, that he is, in fact, high, and then there's the jaded trolling GameStop employee, He Who Is The Highest Authority On Games Ever, and every game we play with him kinda sucks, and is not as good as this one other game, which in turn, kinda sucks, and is not as good as this one other game, etc.
Really, I'd like it if you and your friends just shut up and let me focus on the game.
Now, I'm going to commit the sin of hypocrisy, and make a statement that is in line with the aforementioned hipster party line.
(Console-based) online gaming was better before it became cool.
Really, though, that's true of everything. Generally speaking, communities are more fun when they're more insular, and the population is such that there has been a bit of community-driven selection and filtering of new members. It's one of those things in which you only tell the friends that you really like about it, so that 'the one guy that you're all friends with, but you all kinda think he's a douchebag, but for some reason, he's always around' doesn't come in and fuck it up for everyone.
It used to be simpler, and I hate being the guy that says things like that.
While I love being a grown-up and owning a home and having a family, I will confess that one thing I miss about having roommates is 'pass the stick.' That is probably my favorite approach to multiplayer gaming.
For those of you too young to know of this practice, 'pass the stick' is when you have a buddy or several hanging out in the same physical space as you, and you each take turns while playing through a single instance of a single-player experience as a team. Sometimes, each dude will play until he dies, or each dude has a specific skill with which he's stronger than the others, and the stick will get passed based on each presented challenge, or maybe you rotate by 'level.' I played through Metal Gear Solid this way, Resident Evil 2, Silent Hill, the PS2 GTA games, and countless other gems, and it was incredibly fun. Controllers and beers would circulate all night, and we'd play into the wee hours after having gotten off work from our crappy retail or restaurant jobs.
Hell, sometimes, the girlfriends would want to get in on the action, which would add even more fun.
It would be interesting to see something like that worked into XBL, PSN, or Steam. If everyone owns the game, have one player initiate the session, have everyone share the same view while one dude's got control. That player can then delegate control to another player, if he wants. Something like that.
It's hard to imagine it being as fun, though. There's something to be said about everyone in the room crying out at the same time when something awesome, scary, or crazy happens, not to mention the running commentary.
I remember Adam and I slowly turning to look at each other during a particularly scary part of Silent Hill and our eyes bugging out when that one shared look confirmed something terrible that we'd both seen or heard.
Or playing through various Japanese survival horror games with my college roommate Kensuke.
Or taking turns on our respective KotOR saves with my college roommate Mike.
And as I talk through this, I'm realizing that maybe I just need to get that stick out of my ass about online gaming.
Part of my preference to shun co-op is that I want to be able to focus on the story without you crunching fucking Doritos in my ear while a very touching death scene unfolds, or an interesting plot point is expounded upon.
What I'm the most guilty of, though, is feeling like true multiplayer is a waste of time. While that is a post unto itself, it bears mentioning here. As I get older, I find myself, more and more, thinking that I could be advancing the story in something instead of playing this competitive multiplayer. I don't feel any kind of accomplishment in MP. It feels like a time-wasting treadmill most often. Is that the wrong way to look at it? Do you experience anything similar, or is that just the wrong way to look at it?
I am curious as to how other people approach their multiplayer gaming. Do you have any basic ground rules for yourself, or what you'll put up with and won't? What do you try to pull from the experience? What's most important to you in multiplayer?
Also, how do you feel about 'pass the stick?' Any good stories?
-Blaine
Buy my book!
20120523
I Am Bloating
You can check me out every Wednesday at Galaxy Next Door. If you'd like, you can get your first taste here. I will still be posting here every Thursday, but wanted to make you aware that you have the opportunity to double your exposure to my gaming-themed inane ramblings.
I will be back here tomorrow with your next dose.
I will be back here tomorrow with your next dose.
20120517
Final Fantasy Future
I read a brief news piece over at EGM about some comments from zipper-obsessed Tetsuya Nomura and I had a stronger reaction to it then I was expecting. At this point, I could care less about an FFVII remake, really, but I'd love to see Final Fantasy restored to its previous glory.
In the piece, Nomura asserts that new Final Fantasy games "must overcome the older games and break away."
In response, the writer, Matthew Bennet, asserts "people loved the old games and seem to hate the new direction."
I had to take a moment and think about this. Final Fantasy, I believe, has changed forms drastically several times, and it is always timed with a shift in platform, which brings new technological advances to the series.
The basic tenets of the series were established in the Famicom days, with Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3. The basics of the combat system, the narrative approach, and even creatures like the Chocobo were identified and defined in these early days.
Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6 saw the series migrate to the Super Famicom, and many purists argue that this is the point at which the series' storytelling abilities really blossomed. Many of these same purists also argue that either 4 or 6 was the best ever, and that the world has since been in decline, all games suck now, and nothing in life can ever be half as meaningful as these games (plus Chrono Trigger) ever. Ever. I exaggerate, somewhat, but so do these sad souls.
Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9 brought the series to a new console manufacturer in the form of Sony. As a sidenote, this is also when Nintendo took one look at being successful by giving consumers the best product possible and said, 'Ah, fuck it.' They chose cartridge over optical and have been way behind the technology curve ever since.
Anyway, FF7-9 harnessed the optical format to bring a more cinematic appeal to the games, and moved from sprites to polygons. The series spread to the masses, and the fanboys wept crystal-shaped tears.
About this same time, we saw the brand start to spread out to other platforms as well, with releases on the GBA, cell phones, PC, as well as re-releases of older games on PlayStation.
Final Fantasy 10, X-2, 11, 12, and VII - Dirge of Cerberus continued the series on the PlayStation 2. FFX brought voice-acting into the series in much the way that a plane crash delivers passengers to the ground, and FFXI brought the series into the MMO space in a way that perplexed all but the most dogged of masochists. Dirge of Cerberus experimented with bringing the brand into shitty action games that feature terrible controls, while FFX-2 was the first-ever direct sequel in Final Fantasy history (and yes, I still think it's better than FFX). FFXII, meanwhile, showed that it was possible to drastically change up the series' mechanics and make a great game.
Then, Squenix astonished everyone by making the series multi-platform for the first time, and Final Fantasy XIII (and its direct sequel) were both released for PS360.
Oh, and Final Fantasy XIV released to PC and managed to actually be worse than FFXI, which is an accomplishment heretofore unimaginable and most unwelcome.
This overlong recap is presented to illustrate a point, which is that the series changing direction is not new. The problem we've had this century isn't that the series has tried to change, but that Squenix chased out the core talent, namely Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yasumi Matsuno. Sakaguchi is the father and was the main scenario guy on FF1-9, and you can tell. Matsuno was the father of the Tactics branch and the main creative guy behind FFXII (though he was ejected before the game was completely done.) Sakaguchi and Matsuno were both shown the door, and that's the first problem. Yes, I'm sure other folks could step in and make us actually care about characters, but they don't seem to be trying.
Tetsuya Nomura has risen steadily at Squenix over the years. He's their main character designer now, on (I think) all of their Japanese RPG releases, and man, I am tired of his designs. Yeah, the asymmetrical zipper thing was interesting the first fifteen times I saw it, but now ... ugh. Bored now.
I wonder, at times, if there's on overemphasis on presentation with Final Fantasy now, and a total lack of regard for rich and compelling characters.
If you're not quite on the same page with me here, please do the following: play Lost Odyssey (Sakaguchi) on 360, then play FFXIII on PS360, and then get back to me. Lost Odyssey is the best Final Fantasy game I've played since FFIX. Final Fantasy XIII ... had its moments, but none of the characters elicit any feeling from me (except for Hope, who I kept hoping someone would 'accidentally' kick over a railing.)
Another aside - Japanese publishers: listen to the English voices of Tidus from FFX, Hope from FFXIII, and that awful Canadian from Resident Evil Code: Veronica, and don't ever do that to us again. Thanks.
The problem with Final Fantasy isn't with changing approaches or design, it's with the characters. Sakaguchi and Matsuno both developed strong personalities in their characters, and built interesting relationships between them. The casts from both FFX and FFXIII were 'blah' to the extreme, and show a lack of proper development. Both of those games focused tremendously on new technology and features being brought to the series, but were painful in terms of storytelling. Tidus would go down as the worst Final Fantasy protagonist ever, if not for the emo douchebag, Squall.
What's interesting about each of those characters is that it seems like their personalities were put in place in order to explain their appearance, as though the whole character was built from the character design, instead of having a character design that complements what the writers established.
It's almost as if a character designer has too much clout, and that story and writing is being treated as secondary ... hmm ...
But what do I know?
Final Fantasy XII shows that the series can not only handle change, but excel with it. What the series is missing is human relationships. It's a rich and compelling series, and can easily be restored to its former glory, but they need to change the approach.
Or maybe bring back Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshitaka Amano, and Nobuo Uematsu? Just a thought.
What say you?
Blaine
Buy my book!
In the piece, Nomura asserts that new Final Fantasy games "must overcome the older games and break away."
In response, the writer, Matthew Bennet, asserts "people loved the old games and seem to hate the new direction."
I had to take a moment and think about this. Final Fantasy, I believe, has changed forms drastically several times, and it is always timed with a shift in platform, which brings new technological advances to the series.
The basic tenets of the series were established in the Famicom days, with Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 3. The basics of the combat system, the narrative approach, and even creatures like the Chocobo were identified and defined in these early days.
Final Fantasy 4, 5, and 6 saw the series migrate to the Super Famicom, and many purists argue that this is the point at which the series' storytelling abilities really blossomed. Many of these same purists also argue that either 4 or 6 was the best ever, and that the world has since been in decline, all games suck now, and nothing in life can ever be half as meaningful as these games (plus Chrono Trigger) ever. Ever. I exaggerate, somewhat, but so do these sad souls.
Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9 brought the series to a new console manufacturer in the form of Sony. As a sidenote, this is also when Nintendo took one look at being successful by giving consumers the best product possible and said, 'Ah, fuck it.' They chose cartridge over optical and have been way behind the technology curve ever since.
Anyway, FF7-9 harnessed the optical format to bring a more cinematic appeal to the games, and moved from sprites to polygons. The series spread to the masses, and the fanboys wept crystal-shaped tears.
About this same time, we saw the brand start to spread out to other platforms as well, with releases on the GBA, cell phones, PC, as well as re-releases of older games on PlayStation.
Final Fantasy 10, X-2, 11, 12, and VII - Dirge of Cerberus continued the series on the PlayStation 2. FFX brought voice-acting into the series in much the way that a plane crash delivers passengers to the ground, and FFXI brought the series into the MMO space in a way that perplexed all but the most dogged of masochists. Dirge of Cerberus experimented with bringing the brand into shitty action games that feature terrible controls, while FFX-2 was the first-ever direct sequel in Final Fantasy history (and yes, I still think it's better than FFX). FFXII, meanwhile, showed that it was possible to drastically change up the series' mechanics and make a great game.
Then, Squenix astonished everyone by making the series multi-platform for the first time, and Final Fantasy XIII (and its direct sequel) were both released for PS360.
Oh, and Final Fantasy XIV released to PC and managed to actually be worse than FFXI, which is an accomplishment heretofore unimaginable and most unwelcome.
This overlong recap is presented to illustrate a point, which is that the series changing direction is not new. The problem we've had this century isn't that the series has tried to change, but that Squenix chased out the core talent, namely Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yasumi Matsuno. Sakaguchi is the father and was the main scenario guy on FF1-9, and you can tell. Matsuno was the father of the Tactics branch and the main creative guy behind FFXII (though he was ejected before the game was completely done.) Sakaguchi and Matsuno were both shown the door, and that's the first problem. Yes, I'm sure other folks could step in and make us actually care about characters, but they don't seem to be trying.
Tetsuya Nomura has risen steadily at Squenix over the years. He's their main character designer now, on (I think) all of their Japanese RPG releases, and man, I am tired of his designs. Yeah, the asymmetrical zipper thing was interesting the first fifteen times I saw it, but now ... ugh. Bored now.
I wonder, at times, if there's on overemphasis on presentation with Final Fantasy now, and a total lack of regard for rich and compelling characters.
If you're not quite on the same page with me here, please do the following: play Lost Odyssey (Sakaguchi) on 360, then play FFXIII on PS360, and then get back to me. Lost Odyssey is the best Final Fantasy game I've played since FFIX. Final Fantasy XIII ... had its moments, but none of the characters elicit any feeling from me (except for Hope, who I kept hoping someone would 'accidentally' kick over a railing.)
Another aside - Japanese publishers: listen to the English voices of Tidus from FFX, Hope from FFXIII, and that awful Canadian from Resident Evil Code: Veronica, and don't ever do that to us again. Thanks.
The problem with Final Fantasy isn't with changing approaches or design, it's with the characters. Sakaguchi and Matsuno both developed strong personalities in their characters, and built interesting relationships between them. The casts from both FFX and FFXIII were 'blah' to the extreme, and show a lack of proper development. Both of those games focused tremendously on new technology and features being brought to the series, but were painful in terms of storytelling. Tidus would go down as the worst Final Fantasy protagonist ever, if not for the emo douchebag, Squall.
What's interesting about each of those characters is that it seems like their personalities were put in place in order to explain their appearance, as though the whole character was built from the character design, instead of having a character design that complements what the writers established.
It's almost as if a character designer has too much clout, and that story and writing is being treated as secondary ... hmm ...
But what do I know?
Final Fantasy XII shows that the series can not only handle change, but excel with it. What the series is missing is human relationships. It's a rich and compelling series, and can easily be restored to its former glory, but they need to change the approach.
Or maybe bring back Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshitaka Amano, and Nobuo Uematsu? Just a thought.
What say you?
Blaine
Buy my book!
20120510
I Am Not a Gamer
So, the goal here is to post here every Thursday. Maybe Tony will even contribute here and there.
Also, I tried to keep this light-hearted, but I'm such a fire-breathing eogmaniac that quickly went off the rails.
I was once an ardent gamer. I started out with the Atari 7800, then went to the NES, then envied the neighbor kid's SNES (he always got whatever he wanted as soon as it was out), then went multiplatform with the N64 and PSX and never looked back. In recent years, I've transitioned 90% of my gaming to the PC, but still play my consoles whenever there's something exclusive there, like Forza, Uncharted, Gears, whatever.
I was once proud to call myself a 'gamer,' as it was an easy way to establish a common language with someone, and we could discuss games in a heated and decadent fashion, comparing notes on games that we shared, and recommending games to each other. Before we were all online, back in the 80s and 90s, these were enjoyable discussions, often shared during a cigarette break, or while toiling at a restaurant or retail job, or maybe at a party.
Now, we're all online, and I'm an IT professional. I'm plugged in all day, whether I like it or not.
A lot of things have changed, too, in addition to the internet becoming the focal point of all of our lives.
I've reduced my gaming time, since I have a family and a job, and love both. That's natural, I think. There are two factors, though, that have pushed me to disassociate with the gaming community at large.
One, my tastes have narrowed. I've always been drawn to games that tell stories, and games have been getting better and better at telling mature, compelling stories (see: The Witcher 2.) Almost everything I play now is a rich, epic RPG. I still squeeze in the occasional Forza, Uncharted, or Gears (I love cars, Uncharted games tell great stories, and I love playing Gears with friends), but the lion's share of my time is spent crunching numbers and weaving my way through 40-100 hours interactive stories.
Two, the 'gamer community' sucks. Let's be honest. A lot of 'gamers' have allowed themselves to focus so intently on the games and the surrounding industry that they lose perspective. Instead of being an enjoyable hobby, it becomes not only a way of life, but a constituency that demands 'respect.'
Specifically, where they lost me was the games-as-art thing. I believe games are art. My only concern about someone else believing that is insofar as games qualifying as 'protected speech' under the first amendment. Beyond that, I care fuck-all what Roger Ebert or anyone else thinks. I'm secure in my hobby, and I'm really the only one who needs to care whether it's art or not. Now that I think about it, I don't even really care whether I think it's art. I enjoy it. End of discussion.
By the way, this same discussion applies to reviews and the incredible amount of attention that is, sadly, focused on what some dude rated a game, regardless of what he actually wrote in the review, and equally regardless of what his review history can tell you about his tastes. Just like all art, it's subjective. Who cares what other people think?
Besides, 'art' is a nebulous term. Even getting people to agree on what qualifies as 'art' is an exercise for which I have no patience.
I really feel like many 'hardcore gamers' have straight-up lost their damn minds, and the games-as-art discussion is symptomatic of that. Gaming shouldn't define your lifestyle. Your lifestyle should dictate how you game.
I remember fighting against inevitability when my wife and I had our first child. I tried so hard to retain the 'gamer' lifestyle, buying a ton of games because they might be cool, staying up late drinking, smoking (outside), and gaming, and just making myself miserable after a few months. Slowly, my priorities forced a lot of that out, and I'm glad for it. I still game a bit in the evenings, and I'm actually spending more time, overall, with each game. My pile of shame is reasonable, and life is good.
I'm at a point now in which I don't care what the medium is. A good story is a good story. Whether it be a comic, a novel, a film, a TV show, a web series, or a game, if it's got a good story, I'm there.
The 'gamer' discussions that really interest me have more to do with the business, honestly. I think many of us can all agree that playing videogames is fun, and can be a healthy hobby, so that discussion is over. I find that the artistic side of games is in much the same sorry shape as the film industry. Artistic expression is secondary to marketing factors, and I find great joy in trying to suss out how to 'fix' that. I'll pore over the industry numbers and find that it's actually possible to figure out who's working on what by following the money.
Back to the review thing, there are great discussions to be had with reviewers if you approach them in a reasonable fashion. I love finishing a game, then going back to the published reviews, and engaging the reviewers in discussions. Reasonable discourse can be had on the internet, if you separate yourself from the shambling horde.
There is a reason that 'gamers' are portrayed as 20 and 30-somethings that haven't moved out of their parents' basement and engaged the rest of the real world. It's true in a lot of cases. Gaming can be addictive, especially if your life sucks. I sympathize. I've been there. I blatantly use it as escapism at times, but I'm always conscious of the fact that my wife can find someone better than me, so I limit my game time and give her the attention that such a stunning woman warrants.
Like all things in life, the truth lies somewhere in balance and moderation. From politics to lifestyle, I've found that happiness and clarity lies in the middle. Applying this attitude to my gaming has led to greater enjoyment in the hobby for me.
Anyway, this turned into more of a rant than I intended.
What say you? How have your gaming habits and attitudes toward the gaming community changed as you've gotten older?
Thanks for reading!
-Blaine
Buy my book!
Also, I tried to keep this light-hearted, but I'm such a fire-breathing eogmaniac that quickly went off the rails.
I was once an ardent gamer. I started out with the Atari 7800, then went to the NES, then envied the neighbor kid's SNES (he always got whatever he wanted as soon as it was out), then went multiplatform with the N64 and PSX and never looked back. In recent years, I've transitioned 90% of my gaming to the PC, but still play my consoles whenever there's something exclusive there, like Forza, Uncharted, Gears, whatever.
I was once proud to call myself a 'gamer,' as it was an easy way to establish a common language with someone, and we could discuss games in a heated and decadent fashion, comparing notes on games that we shared, and recommending games to each other. Before we were all online, back in the 80s and 90s, these were enjoyable discussions, often shared during a cigarette break, or while toiling at a restaurant or retail job, or maybe at a party.
Now, we're all online, and I'm an IT professional. I'm plugged in all day, whether I like it or not.
A lot of things have changed, too, in addition to the internet becoming the focal point of all of our lives.
I've reduced my gaming time, since I have a family and a job, and love both. That's natural, I think. There are two factors, though, that have pushed me to disassociate with the gaming community at large.
One, my tastes have narrowed. I've always been drawn to games that tell stories, and games have been getting better and better at telling mature, compelling stories (see: The Witcher 2.) Almost everything I play now is a rich, epic RPG. I still squeeze in the occasional Forza, Uncharted, or Gears (I love cars, Uncharted games tell great stories, and I love playing Gears with friends), but the lion's share of my time is spent crunching numbers and weaving my way through 40-100 hours interactive stories.
Two, the 'gamer community' sucks. Let's be honest. A lot of 'gamers' have allowed themselves to focus so intently on the games and the surrounding industry that they lose perspective. Instead of being an enjoyable hobby, it becomes not only a way of life, but a constituency that demands 'respect.'
Specifically, where they lost me was the games-as-art thing. I believe games are art. My only concern about someone else believing that is insofar as games qualifying as 'protected speech' under the first amendment. Beyond that, I care fuck-all what Roger Ebert or anyone else thinks. I'm secure in my hobby, and I'm really the only one who needs to care whether it's art or not. Now that I think about it, I don't even really care whether I think it's art. I enjoy it. End of discussion.
By the way, this same discussion applies to reviews and the incredible amount of attention that is, sadly, focused on what some dude rated a game, regardless of what he actually wrote in the review, and equally regardless of what his review history can tell you about his tastes. Just like all art, it's subjective. Who cares what other people think?
Besides, 'art' is a nebulous term. Even getting people to agree on what qualifies as 'art' is an exercise for which I have no patience.
I really feel like many 'hardcore gamers' have straight-up lost their damn minds, and the games-as-art discussion is symptomatic of that. Gaming shouldn't define your lifestyle. Your lifestyle should dictate how you game.
I remember fighting against inevitability when my wife and I had our first child. I tried so hard to retain the 'gamer' lifestyle, buying a ton of games because they might be cool, staying up late drinking, smoking (outside), and gaming, and just making myself miserable after a few months. Slowly, my priorities forced a lot of that out, and I'm glad for it. I still game a bit in the evenings, and I'm actually spending more time, overall, with each game. My pile of shame is reasonable, and life is good.
I'm at a point now in which I don't care what the medium is. A good story is a good story. Whether it be a comic, a novel, a film, a TV show, a web series, or a game, if it's got a good story, I'm there.
The 'gamer' discussions that really interest me have more to do with the business, honestly. I think many of us can all agree that playing videogames is fun, and can be a healthy hobby, so that discussion is over. I find that the artistic side of games is in much the same sorry shape as the film industry. Artistic expression is secondary to marketing factors, and I find great joy in trying to suss out how to 'fix' that. I'll pore over the industry numbers and find that it's actually possible to figure out who's working on what by following the money.
Back to the review thing, there are great discussions to be had with reviewers if you approach them in a reasonable fashion. I love finishing a game, then going back to the published reviews, and engaging the reviewers in discussions. Reasonable discourse can be had on the internet, if you separate yourself from the shambling horde.
There is a reason that 'gamers' are portrayed as 20 and 30-somethings that haven't moved out of their parents' basement and engaged the rest of the real world. It's true in a lot of cases. Gaming can be addictive, especially if your life sucks. I sympathize. I've been there. I blatantly use it as escapism at times, but I'm always conscious of the fact that my wife can find someone better than me, so I limit my game time and give her the attention that such a stunning woman warrants.
Like all things in life, the truth lies somewhere in balance and moderation. From politics to lifestyle, I've found that happiness and clarity lies in the middle. Applying this attitude to my gaming has led to greater enjoyment in the hobby for me.
Anyway, this turned into more of a rant than I intended.
What say you? How have your gaming habits and attitudes toward the gaming community changed as you've gotten older?
Thanks for reading!
-Blaine
Buy my book!
20120504
Gaming of 2012 ... so far
soundtrack - Brad - 'United We Stand'
Yeah, so I bit off way more than I could chew with that 'best of 2011' thing I was trying. I actually did lay out all the groundwork for it. I really did. I was just way more than effort on the execution side than I was willing to put in.
But, I already posted about that kinda stuff in my personal blog.
I'm here to talk about what I've been doing gaming-wise so far this year.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
To knock out over half of it, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Dude. Wow. I can't say enough great things about this game. Including the beta, I've put about 280 hours into this game. There is so much to do in this game, it's unbelievable. It plays a lot like a single-player Bioware game, and I've soloed nearly all of it. If you play it, though, let me know. I'd love to play with someone else for more than a handful of missions. I've got a Consular, Trooper, Sith Marauder, and Bounty Hunter, so let me know.
Really, your enjoyment level in this game comes down to one of two things.
First, did you enjoy Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? If so, you'll love this.
Second, have you ever enjoyed any Bioware game? If so, you'll probably like this.
I've heard people say it copies a lot of things from World of Warcraft. I wouldn't know, since I've never played WoW, but if it does, it works really well.
Oh, and by the way, I tend to not enjoy playing MMOs, and I love this.
Here's the key thing: every mission is fully voice-acted with no text boxes and this makes everything you do feel meaningful. Period.
Anyway, if you're interested, I'm on the Darth Bandon server.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC)
I actually really dug this. For about 20 hours or so. It plays a lot like Jade Empire (PC), which I really, really liked, but a few things kinda bug me about KoAR.
First, the characters. The color scheme works very well, but something went wrong with the character models. They're all dead-eyed at all times, and the facial animations are barely there. They're like talking dolls. It really hurts the storytelling.
Second, the dialogue scenes. They're hindered greatly by the dead, talking dolls I mentioned, but the worst part is that you can't turn off the subtitles. I don't know about you, but my eyes are inexorably drawn to subtitles when they're on, so the dialogue scenes get real boring, real fast. I wonder, at times, if they realized that the character models were so badly animated that they forced subtitles on so people wouldn't stare at the horrid presentation.
Also, some really irritating accents and 'performance choices' by the voice actors don't help matters, either.
That being said, the rest of the game feels like pretty solid. It's really big, and makes me wish it was the only game I'd been playing when it came out.
I've really cut back on the number of games I buy, but games like this, which deserve attention, make me want to cut back more.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)
Hmm. Kind of a mess. I got stuck in a very boring and terrible casino as Sazh and had to reboot in order to back out of it and swear to never go back. Kind of brilliant in terms of 'level structure' by using selectable time periods as ways to manipulate the overall hame a la Chrono Trigger. The problem is, it's nowhere near as compelling. Maybe the best Final Fantasy titles are all mutiples of three? I mean, FFVI, FFIX, and FFXII are in the discussion for 'best Final Fantasy,' right? After the PlayStation One era ended, this series has been a mess. FFXII is the only one that's really been a great game. FFX, FFXI, and FFXIV were all plagued by serious issues, and while FFXIII was better than all of them (except XII), it just never stopped feeling flat, especially after FFXII.
But this isn't a dissertation on what's wrong with the series. Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a lot of good things going for it, but it just isn't compelling. I just don't give a shit. I want to, but I can't. I think Tony actually had a much better experience with this one than I did.
If Squenix wanted to fix this series right now, they'd do the following: bring Sakaguchi-san back, point at Lost Odyssey, and say 'more like that.'
Guild Wars 2 (beta)
This is MMOs done right. Where SWTOR goes to great lengths to disguise its MMO-ness, Guild Wars embraces them and makes them fucking work. The world is dynamic, and feels huge and alive. I was running around some farms when all of a sudden I got a notification that a nearby farmer's crops were being burnt by bandits. I, as well as several other players, ran over there, fought off the bandits, dumped water on the crops, and earned some XP in the process. These kinds of events pop up every so often and are a nice optional way to do things like engage other players, or even grind, if you want.
Oh, and since I've been harping on story and presentation so much here, let me tell you how well GW2 handles it. It eschews the hyper-cinematic approach to which Bioware adheres, and puts the time and effort in that 38 Studios wouldn't, and instead creates their own very stylized approach, in which two characters are super-imposed over a nice-looking background. I know I've seen this kind of thing before in some JRPGs, but they don't immediately come to mind.
However, it moves the story along well and I actually laughed out loud several times. It's well-written, well-acted, and moves things along.
Okay, this turned into way more blabbing than I intended. I'm sure I'll be back with more game-blabbing soon.
Whatcha been playin'?
Blaine
Buy my book!
Yeah, so I bit off way more than I could chew with that 'best of 2011' thing I was trying. I actually did lay out all the groundwork for it. I really did. I was just way more than effort on the execution side than I was willing to put in.
But, I already posted about that kinda stuff in my personal blog.
I'm here to talk about what I've been doing gaming-wise so far this year.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
To knock out over half of it, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Dude. Wow. I can't say enough great things about this game. Including the beta, I've put about 280 hours into this game. There is so much to do in this game, it's unbelievable. It plays a lot like a single-player Bioware game, and I've soloed nearly all of it. If you play it, though, let me know. I'd love to play with someone else for more than a handful of missions. I've got a Consular, Trooper, Sith Marauder, and Bounty Hunter, so let me know.
Really, your enjoyment level in this game comes down to one of two things.
First, did you enjoy Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic? If so, you'll love this.
Second, have you ever enjoyed any Bioware game? If so, you'll probably like this.
I've heard people say it copies a lot of things from World of Warcraft. I wouldn't know, since I've never played WoW, but if it does, it works really well.
Oh, and by the way, I tend to not enjoy playing MMOs, and I love this.
Here's the key thing: every mission is fully voice-acted with no text boxes and this makes everything you do feel meaningful. Period.
Anyway, if you're interested, I'm on the Darth Bandon server.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PC)
I actually really dug this. For about 20 hours or so. It plays a lot like Jade Empire (PC), which I really, really liked, but a few things kinda bug me about KoAR.
First, the characters. The color scheme works very well, but something went wrong with the character models. They're all dead-eyed at all times, and the facial animations are barely there. They're like talking dolls. It really hurts the storytelling.
Second, the dialogue scenes. They're hindered greatly by the dead, talking dolls I mentioned, but the worst part is that you can't turn off the subtitles. I don't know about you, but my eyes are inexorably drawn to subtitles when they're on, so the dialogue scenes get real boring, real fast. I wonder, at times, if they realized that the character models were so badly animated that they forced subtitles on so people wouldn't stare at the horrid presentation.
Also, some really irritating accents and 'performance choices' by the voice actors don't help matters, either.
That being said, the rest of the game feels like pretty solid. It's really big, and makes me wish it was the only game I'd been playing when it came out.
I've really cut back on the number of games I buy, but games like this, which deserve attention, make me want to cut back more.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)
Hmm. Kind of a mess. I got stuck in a very boring and terrible casino as Sazh and had to reboot in order to back out of it and swear to never go back. Kind of brilliant in terms of 'level structure' by using selectable time periods as ways to manipulate the overall hame a la Chrono Trigger. The problem is, it's nowhere near as compelling. Maybe the best Final Fantasy titles are all mutiples of three? I mean, FFVI, FFIX, and FFXII are in the discussion for 'best Final Fantasy,' right? After the PlayStation One era ended, this series has been a mess. FFXII is the only one that's really been a great game. FFX, FFXI, and FFXIV were all plagued by serious issues, and while FFXIII was better than all of them (except XII), it just never stopped feeling flat, especially after FFXII.
But this isn't a dissertation on what's wrong with the series. Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a lot of good things going for it, but it just isn't compelling. I just don't give a shit. I want to, but I can't. I think Tony actually had a much better experience with this one than I did.
If Squenix wanted to fix this series right now, they'd do the following: bring Sakaguchi-san back, point at Lost Odyssey, and say 'more like that.'
Guild Wars 2 (beta)
This is MMOs done right. Where SWTOR goes to great lengths to disguise its MMO-ness, Guild Wars embraces them and makes them fucking work. The world is dynamic, and feels huge and alive. I was running around some farms when all of a sudden I got a notification that a nearby farmer's crops were being burnt by bandits. I, as well as several other players, ran over there, fought off the bandits, dumped water on the crops, and earned some XP in the process. These kinds of events pop up every so often and are a nice optional way to do things like engage other players, or even grind, if you want.
Oh, and since I've been harping on story and presentation so much here, let me tell you how well GW2 handles it. It eschews the hyper-cinematic approach to which Bioware adheres, and puts the time and effort in that 38 Studios wouldn't, and instead creates their own very stylized approach, in which two characters are super-imposed over a nice-looking background. I know I've seen this kind of thing before in some JRPGs, but they don't immediately come to mind.
However, it moves the story along well and I actually laughed out loud several times. It's well-written, well-acted, and moves things along.
Okay, this turned into way more blabbing than I intended. I'm sure I'll be back with more game-blabbing soon.
Whatcha been playin'?
Blaine
Buy my book!
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