Controversy Part I - Will the Real Frankenstein’s Monster Please Stand Up?

Gender. Race. Religion. Politics.

Video Games have, in many ways, dodged a lot of bullets. Any debate about them tended to fall in two camps: 1. Are they art? and 2. Do they cause violence?

These debates have largely faded, thanks to the mainstream success of various consoles and titles. With that mainstream success, however, comes a new type of critical debate. A more complex type.

Gender. Race. Religion. Politics.

A good narrative deals with fundamental questions about humanity, about the society humans create, about the ideas that humans create to explain themselves and their world. A good narrative explores where humans have come from, who they are now, and wonders at where they are going. Not obviously, not directly. But enter any advanced English Literature class and you will find debates about the meaning of any narrative that goes far beyond what an author may have originally intended.
(more…)

About the Author

This month’s topic turns the literary focus from the medium, to the author. [...] In literature we frequently “hear” the author’s voice in their work. Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Tom Robbins–these are excellent examples of authors whose voices are quite recognizable. Through reading their works, we feel we come to feel we know them, to understand their philosophies. There are a handful of games where the “author” can clearly be heard through the work. How closely tied is this to the thematic content of the games and how exactly did they communicate these themes to their audience? And should they have, or should video game designer try to remain out of their work, allowing the player to establish their own themes through gameplay?

On reading this month’s topic for Blogs of the Round Table, my thought’s went instantly to Hideo Kojima, who designed the Metal Gear Solid series. The Select Button had already used that example, however. The second name that came to mind was Sid Meier - who has cornered the market in “empire building” strategy games.

I think Sid Meier’s games stand out - aside from the fact his name is on the box - because his games do carry a particular type of game-play. The “expand and conquer” mind-set can be applied to almost all of his more famous titles. (more…)

Audience Expectations

The type of audience we cater for will dictate a large portion of what we create. In previous years, the video game market was pretty much one audience - split only by which console they used, or what the hardware specs of their PC’s were. Sure, we all had preferred genres, but on the whole the style and substance of the games were aimed at a specific kind of person.

Recently, of course, video games have gone mainstream, and the need to capture older, younger, casual, female gamers has preoccupied many of those who are in the industry to make money.

The market for traditional ‘gamer fare’ continues unabated, of course. Shooters, RPG’s and war games in general continue to dominate the shelves of Game. But out of the sidelines comes a new breed of diverse titles. Fun, cute, casual games on the one hand. Adult, indie, complex ‘concept’ games on the other. Hybrids are rampant. There is a blend of nostalgia and looking to the future. Downloadable games costing a few dollars on PSN and XBox Live are starting to make headlines. Small companies and monolithic companies co-exist fairly peacefully. The internet removes many difficulties of distribution, whilst simultaneously putting thousands more games in competition with each other.

It is an odd fact of recessions that entertainment industries tend to do well. In times of stress, video games let us de-stress. They allow us to socialise with our families and friends. They provide an escape from overwhelming worry. If you were wondering when to make your game idea a reality - that would be now. There’s never been a better time to jump in. The audience has widened so that almost any game can now find itself a niche to market to, the costs of distribution and marketing have never been lower (get yourself some webspace and a twitter account), and the potential for making a profit has never been higher.

The Ghost of Gaming Future

What role will gaming play in your familial relationships in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? Having already explored both the past and the present, this month’s round table asks us to turn our eyes to our future gaming expectations.

Video Games are mainstream. In the past week I’ve had co-workers in my office job discuss Rock Band and Wii Fit, I’ve seen four-year old children called upon to say what they want for Christmas and asking for a Nintendo DS or PSP games, and I’ve watched a virtual affair in Second Life make headlines across the country. Our local McDonalds has an Xbox in the break-room, and video games are now an integral part of a party.

If I was going to point at one thing that helped this explosion, I would say it was community. It’s about both competition and team-work, guilds, playing rockstars with your best friend, and teaming your sniper with a tank. In short, it’s about connecting with other humans, which is something we all like to do in one way or another.
(more…)

Of Old, New and Somewhere In Between

Ever notice how much gaming has changed throughout the years? — How what was once popular seems now to be ignored, forgotten?

I remember when I was growing up, the game was the first Legend of Zelda and I can remember spending hours running around on what looked to be fields exactly the same trying to find that white sword so I could beat the final boss. As I got older, the games became more complex, but the ones that kept my attention seemed to have a common theme -an adventure undertone, here is your hero, with the princess in need of saving. From Legend of Zelda to the Super Mario Bros series, all the old games shared that in common - it was a different approach to a similar storyline; they started something new. Zelda was a game where you played as a child who became something special and Mario - well, who hasn’t played at least one of the Mario games? Puzzles versus straight up run-along game play, but both had an addictive feature, both were entertaining and it was exciting to beat a castle or a dungeon even when you got that “The Princess is in another castle!” message. It felt like there was something to strive for; a simple, yet pleasurable goal.

To be totally honest, though, I can’t say that I’ve actually played any new game through since Twilight Princess, which was finished on merit of being a Zelda title alone. My main problem is that new games seem to focus very heavily on graphics and effects, rather than a storyline that I can sink my teeth into, or a new puzzle system that I’ve never seen before. Am I the only one who notices that? In playing through Twilight Princess, I have to admit, I felt a lot of the dungeons were very similar to those of Ocarina of Time… especially the Water temple. There’s definitely some unique factors, in that it’s not totally the same dungeon, but the layout and scenery is very similar. Don’t get me wrong — I love Twilight Princess as much as any Zelda fan does, but I’ve seen what Nintendo can do. Majora’s Mask is proof of how much they can branch out the Zelda games, or even Wind Waker — so why did they settle for such similarities to one of their most popular works? A prettier version of Ocarina of Time?

(more…)

It’s a Family Affair

This month’s Round Table invites you to explore your earliest memories of playing games with your family. Although this is slowly changing, video games have traditionally been seen as an isolating medium. This isn’t true in every family, or group of friends, but it’s been true enough that the stereotype has stuck. But before video games, when games were the exclusive domain of cards, boards, dice, markers, stones, and even endless stacks of monster manuals, campaign modules, and player guides, games were a very social experience. Further, they were a social experience commonly shared by family. Grandparents, parents, and children, all playing the same game together (Wow–has it really taken so long for Wii Sports to reintroduce this concept to the average family?).

This month’s Round Table asks you to share your early experiences playing games, any games, with family. Good or bad, how did those early gameplay moments affect your approach to games now? Can you trace your current enjoyment of video games back to these memories? Or, perhaps, you didn’t play games with your family. Was it a lack that you noticed at the time? How do you feel it has it impacted your “use” of video games now?

I was one of the lucky ones. My Dad owened an Atari and a Commodore, and owned plenty of games for both. He had absolutely no problem with sharing them with me and my brother. From the brain-twisting puzzles of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders to the classic Joust and Bubble Bobble, gaming for me has always been a social activity.

In fact, my Dad even wrote his own game - sort of. Preceeding Buzz! by several decades, he wrote a buzzer program that allowed my brother and I to use our joysticks when playing Trivial Pursuit. The result was a bright red or blue screen with the scrolling text “Player One!” or “Player Two!”. It was hardly the most complex of programs, but it impressed my seven year old self, and probably instilled in me my fascination for code, and how some relatively simple commands could create visual effects.
(more…)