Variety Friday: Mixing Medias

Just because a game is a game, doesn’t mean it can’t incorporate aspects from other media.  Actually, they may do this more often than you think.  When I say other medias, I can mean anything from anime to movies, to books and comics, to even some of the less obvious ones such as music and even lifestyles. 

Now movie games are a type of game well known, for them simply being bad.  These can range from the Tron Legacy and Thor games, to the, actually good, Star Wars Battlefront and Knights of the Old Republic games.  Now, games based on movies are finally starting to go in the right direction, game companies are starting to directly copy the movie story into a game less often, which is good, really good actually.  It really works in games like Star Wars Battlefront and KOTOR, in which the games are based on, not the movie’s story, but the world it takes place in, these games really show how it can be done good.  Though, that doesn’t directly relate to success, in cases such as Tron Evolution, in which the story fit itself between the first and second movie, but was ruined by bad controls and uninteresting gameplay.  The problem with most movie games are that they are rushed, which is always bad.

When you hear the term music game, you probably first jump to Rockband (or Guitar Hero if you still live in a world before Rockband stole their thunder) but you probably don’t think of Brutal Legend, which is a much better example of a game actually based on music.  Another example is the newer title, Child of Eden.  In the future of the industry, I believe that we will start using great and different genres of music to supplement gameplay.  Sure most games have soundtracks, but having a soundtrack is different from crafting your world around music as Brutal Legend did, or directly linking sound with gameplay as Child of Eden did.  If the industry starts crafting games around music (but not all mind you), we can really deliver some much more rich and fulfilling experiences.

Now another form of media that can influence games, which gave me the idea for this article in the first place, is anime.  I’m talking specifically about Catherine.  Catherine is a very…interesting game, but in a good way.  It takes risks in the way that it is designed as a story and psychological puzzle game.  Honestly, it is similar to Portal in many ways, yes you do get to know much more about who you are playing, but it is still a puzzle game, with psychological elements mixed in.  Most anime games are just fighting games, but this one is different in that it tells a story.  Honestly, a lot more games could take inspiration from an anime and do well in the market, if they tell a story with it, and have interesting gameplay, something I believe Catherine has done, just from playing the demo.

As far as books are concerned, there aren’t a lot of games based on books, but if there were more book based games instead of movie based games, it would probably be much better as far as the market and industry is concerned.  Because books are very good at explaining a world, which is the core of any game, the world in which it takes place.  Taking that world and making a game out of it is a great way to make a great game, as long as you don’t make the game based solely on the book’s story, that is.

The last type of game influenced by something else may not be an actual media, but it is close enough so that it still shows my point of how games are now affected by more and more outside sources of inspiration, this one being lifestyle choices, specifically, parkour and Mirror’s Edge, and even Brink.  This shows a way of how outside sources can fully create gameplay experiences for games, parkour in a game was a great innovation when Mirror’s Edge came out, and still is because it has barely been expanded on.  Parkour games are just a small step in our industry, which is taking more and more inspiration from life itself.  Another quick note is the Sims, because the game is based on life, which may not seem like anything special by now, but it is still a good innovation and continues to show my point!

Now those were just a mere few examples of how games are affected by other media, and on a large scale.  Sure tons of games have minor details based on other media as well!  But to simply show how the industry is expanding I used big games with big ties to other media as examples, because as games expand to other media, it can only get better for the industry, because not only will games be more different, but more widely accepted.

Variety Friday: Retro Games vs Modern Games

No, I’m not going on some rant about how retro games are infinitely superior to modern ones.   Yet I am also not going to go on a rampage about how modern ones are infinitely superior to games from 10+ years ago.  Instead, I’m talking about the differences and how each is superior in their own way. 

Now while there are clearly very large differences in games from over 10 years ago, and games from 6 months ago, those aren’t exact what I am going to be focusing on.  Yes, the graphics are infinitely superior, and you don’t have to pay for games in quarters, I’m going to be focusing on the actual gameplay aspects.  Now, let’s hop into a time machine and jump back about 11 years ago.  It is a time of great innovation and huge technological advancement (I so didn’t steal that line from Deus Ex: HR) people are stepping into the PC market with next gen hardware, while some without said hardware.  More and more 3D games were being released for the personal computer, no longer requiring gaming consoles.  Now, I’m not going to focus on it too much since I already gave it its own article, but Deus Ex.  It was a 3D game which can support resolutions nearly unheard of back then.  But what really made it shine was the freedom of gameplay.  Even today we have tons of linear shooters with outright pointless stories, yet deus ex did better than our industry today does, by making not only an FPSRPG, but making a game which lets the player decide their fate, and the fate of the world.

See now that is something the industry today has still not grasped, and that is giving the player not just the freedom of choosing multiple options, but simply letting them play how they wish and then making sure the game revolves around how they do so.  Even better than Bioware and their famous dialog system, it doesn’t just revolve around dialog options marked good or bad, it revolves around how the player plays the game, and their actions towards NPCs.  The reason this is superior is because one, it reflects the actual player much better than a few dialog options, because they do what they believe is right, or wrong depend on how they play.  Then the world simply merges with their choices and not with simple dialog options with action in between, frankly it makes for a more engaging experience.  And two being what I hinted at in one, being that if you really think about it, Mass Effect’s story boils down to dialog options advancing the story, with near pointless action in between, the story is told through dialog alone, while in deus ex it allows the story to not only be told through dialog, but actions and your reactions to said actions.  Now you may give me crap about comparing an Old Stealth RPG against a modern action RPG, but at the core, both games are trying very hard to tell stories, and both of them succeed, just one more than the other.

Now, stepping forward a few years to 2003, was the release of one of the, if not the first FPSMMO, Planetside.  It brought FPS multiplayer to a new level nearly never before seen!  Letting near infinite players battle over large continents, requiring each player to fill a role, weather infantry, gunner, pilot, anti-vehicle, heavy infantry, energy gatherer, repairer, and etc.  Allowing players to play in many ways, across large battlefields with skill based progression, allowing you to spec in what you want to do.  This showed how to do large scale multiplayer right, sure there is MAG with its 128 v 128, but you can’t really beat the thrill of Planetside, since there is much more land, better skill progression, and overall a more enjoyable experience which is still fun to play today!

Now, heading farther back in time to the great days of the N64, the days where Nintendo knew how to make games, and had partners who also knew how to make games…good ones.  For this example, I’m going to first be talking about Banjo Kazooie.  What I personally loved about it, was how it conveyed the feeling of an entire world, while still maintaining a classic cartoony feeling, which surprisingly worked out well!  The wacky characters were great and really helped advance the story, and the world and sceneries also helped.  Some (keyword being some) games in modern times really should try taking themselves not seriously and trying to convey a story in a world which isn’t related to earth today (AKA modern, sci-fi, or medieval…or fantasy as well for that matter).  One really great example of a non-realistic game telling a story through the scenery and atmosphere is Brutal Legend.  It taking place in an alternate metal universe was a great idea which really shined, and the atmosphere in the game was great, and it shows how not all games need to be serious, to be good.

My other example being Ocarina of Time, which showed how puzzle elements should be implemented into games (I’m looking at you Valve).  Now, I’m going to take a long shot and compare Ocarina of Time to Portal 2.  What the games have in common is how they both focus on puzzles, and they both have a story.  But Zelda is much more than that; it has much more freedom of play, side things to do, and frankly much more gameplay even after Portal 2 co-op.  Now, I’m going against myself here on this one and I’m not going to come out and say Ocarina of Time is better than Portal 2 because they are just so different, but what Ocarina of Time did do, is incorporated puzzles perfectly into a game with combat, something that hasn’t been done so well over the past years, for example Half-Life 2 and the pointless physics puzzles.  But now Nintendo is just milking The Legend of Zelda franchise and the series is dead to me so moving on.

Now moving back to even older games such as Super Mario Bros and Missile Command.  What these retro games excelled at most is doing what I call “Tell story through implied narrative” they don’t actually give you all the context of the story, they set you on a goal, and you have to figure out the story for yourself, but what many fail to notice is how the games do in fact have aspects as games today.  Such as Missile Command, it has the same moral choice system as Bioware games, you need to choose if you try to save all cities, or focus on defending one and let the others perish, you may not notice it, but the moral choice is there.  Then in Mario, the game has implied narrative and simply gives you one goal of saving the princess, but you have to figure out how to complete this goal for yourself, it is a great example of letting a player figure out how to play.

Now, again I’m not saying one is superior to the other, but for this industry to truly advance, we need to look back at our classics and move on from them, because some of them are great, and are still great.  

Games I Finished in April/May

 

Well it's that time again. My monthly record of all the games I played and completed in April and May. Some good ones in there. Mortal Kombat, Crysis 2, and L.A. Noire were the big time sucks. A few great small games in there like Pulse, League of Evil, and Outland too. So here's my list, what games have you guys finished lately?

• League of Evil
• Crysis 2
• The Dishwasher Vampire Smile
• Outland
• Pulse
• L.A. Noire (Review)
• Sonic Colors
• Mortal Kombat
• Portal 2 (Review)
• Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

Variety Friday: An Indie Game PSA

“Indie Games” means a different thing to everyone.  To some it means those crappy wanna be games, others, those small games which aren’t much more than 2D Platform and zombie games.  Then there are those that actually understand that Indie Games are games generally created on a low budget and created by a small studio/group of people.  There isn’t really a set line between Indie and full on Commercial games, but they are usually easy to spot because they weren’t created by a big studio or a large known publisher. 

What people usually don’t understand is that Indie Games play a very large part in the larger picture of gaming.  Usually the best place to find innovation in the gaming industry is indie games, and innovation is one of the major factors that moves the industry forward.  I’m not saying innovation can’t come from publishers (one example being Portal) but that you can generally find a lot more innovation from indie titles.  One of the biggest pluses for indie developers is that they usually aren’t under the pressure of deadlines or budgets, so they can work at their pace and make good games and not have to worry about the profits as much.

Also, simply, a lot of good indie games come out which can bring hours of enjoyment.  There are a few main factors for why this is; one of which being their relatively low price.  Indie games generally range from Free to $20 max.  So whether you’re gaming on a budget or are just looking for some cheap fun, indie games really are the perfect fix.  This may sound contradictory, but in some ways indie games are more polished/complete than AAA titles.  Yes the commercial titles have the large amount of testing under their belt, but Indies don’t work on strict time tables.  So while they may be slightly more buggy, they usually don’t suffer from what most games do, which is feeling like the game was rushed and isn’t finished.  The other plus is that indie devs can focus more on the gameplay aspects and if something doesn’t work, change it.

Another thing about indie development is that they can be on nearly any platform.  Such as flash, as just about all flash games are technically small indie games.  Others include the 360 (with their Indie Games Marketplace) iPhone, Android, and PC with the numerous engines available even for free (such as Unity and Source SDK) along with the multiple development platforms that accept indie games from Steam to even OnLive, just to name a few.

Right, well since it hasn’t been apparent yet, the point of this Variety Friday is to inform you that you should support indie games.  Even if you’re a COD fanboy, the magic about indie games is that there are games that can appeal to almost anyone.  From the puzzle lovers, to the story based game lovers, to the shooter/zombie lovers there is something for you on many platforms.  Though, why specifically you should support them, is for the reasons I listed above.  They really do bring great innovation to the industry and are probably going to end up playing an even larger role in the industries future.

How do you support indie games you ask?  Well it is actually quite simple.  Go checkout Steam, the Xbox marketplace, the app store, or whatever your preferred form of distribution is, and just look at some indie games, and find a few that seem like they’ll interest you and play them.  Next, try to keep track of the indie trends and watch for some new releases and just try to be a little involved, it would make the industry better for everyone.

Now, some of my favorite indie games.

PC

• AaaAaaaAAaa: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
• Trine
• Braid

Flash

• One Chance
• Today I Die
• Loved

Xbox Live Indies

• Solar
• Kaleidoscope
• Abadddon
• Breeze

Xbox Live Arcade

• Monday Night Combat
• Super Meat Boy

Enjoy!

Games I Finished in March

It's that time again, March was a busy month for my gaming habit. The biggest surprise for me on this list is Batman: The Brave and the Bold which was a surprisingly fun beat 'em up. So what games did you play or finish in March? Leave a comment below and let me know.

• Killzone 3
• Fight Night Champion
• Beyond Good & Evil HD
• Inertia
• Homefront
• Lilt Line
• I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1
• bit.trip Flux
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold
• Pokemon Black