Thankfully we wont be swinging axes too much when it comes to the bad points in the course, as there’s a fare amount of good things that I’ve seen this year on the course. So since there are so few lets start with the bad’uns shall we?
Visual design, the big pdf that listed all the projects was awesome, it certainly made it easy to look up on upcoming projects, only problem is that when you add or change the projects it can get confusing, doubly confusing when there isn’t anywhere to look up on the changes without having to poke you and asking what it is. Perhaps if you sent a message on facebook when you made any changes, then any confusion can be avoided, we’re all connected on there so there isn’t any reason why we shouldn’t get the message and it shouldn’t take too long to do if you kept the description of the project brief.
Game production, myself and a number of other students tend to find the tutorials on blackboard to be confusing and unclear at times. I had less of a problem than perhaps the others but its certainly something that people have been talking about repeatedly.
Critical studies, this is more of a preference than a problem since I know some people on the course wont like it but, 200-300 words is far too small for me. I find that there are points that I want to make and feel are necessary, but find that the word count is always cutting me off. I do realise that to make all the blog tasks around 500-600 words, means that its less of a blog and more an essay, but like I said its a personal preference.
And now for the good points,
Course overall, all the resources that you give us via blackboard is immense and extremely helpful. I’ve been using them since day one and have found them to be a good source of reference for the work.
And for improvements, well the ideas that you have put forward are certainly good ones, especially having more formal lectures on stuff like art theory as by myself and a few others on the course are a bit weak in that area. And the video tutorials are also a great idea, it means that I have a resource that I can take home and watch whenever I get confused on a project, or if im looking for some more info on a certain subject.
I’ve throughly enjoyed the course so far and hope to continue to do so in the future.
Thursday 29 April 2010
11th hour change - Realism vs Cartoons
For any one that may have been watching the progress of Borderlands, a action rpg set on the planet pandora will take note that the game at the start had a realistic art style, and yet changed that art style very late in the development stage. This was due to the fact that at the beginning they had created a range of art styles, so that they could decide which one was for the game.
Problem was that this need for high quality artwork for the game meant that A - it was difficult to make and there were various levels of quality in the work created. B - It took long to make and it wasnt a problem that would be fixed by throwing money at it. Plus since the games action was over the top, (people exploded when shot, massive boss monsters and a ridiculous jump height) it didnt mix well with the realistic art style. And so after looking at their earlier concept art, the art director decided to risk it all and make a secret prototype, this would come to be the Borderlands we knew.
And because it caught the artists interest, didn’t require them to make extremely high quality assets, meant that most of the artists on the team, regardless of talent would be able to create the work. This continued until they showed the prototype to 2K, which thankfully they loved the work and so now instead of a realistic art style, they could work to a more cartoony art style.
This shift in art style meant that the action was no longer over the top, it stood out from the crowd of other fps games and it still looked pretty good. This story of Borderlands shows that making games is difficult, especially when people demand realistic high quality graphics, this puts a huge amount of pressure on the art team, who may not be up to the task, but they dont have to give in, as by changed the art style you can create a different look for the game, which still looks good, yet is far easier to create.
Problem was that this need for high quality artwork for the game meant that A - it was difficult to make and there were various levels of quality in the work created. B - It took long to make and it wasnt a problem that would be fixed by throwing money at it. Plus since the games action was over the top, (people exploded when shot, massive boss monsters and a ridiculous jump height) it didnt mix well with the realistic art style. And so after looking at their earlier concept art, the art director decided to risk it all and make a secret prototype, this would come to be the Borderlands we knew.
And because it caught the artists interest, didn’t require them to make extremely high quality assets, meant that most of the artists on the team, regardless of talent would be able to create the work. This continued until they showed the prototype to 2K, which thankfully they loved the work and so now instead of a realistic art style, they could work to a more cartoony art style.
This shift in art style meant that the action was no longer over the top, it stood out from the crowd of other fps games and it still looked pretty good. This story of Borderlands shows that making games is difficult, especially when people demand realistic high quality graphics, this puts a huge amount of pressure on the art team, who may not be up to the task, but they dont have to give in, as by changed the art style you can create a different look for the game, which still looks good, yet is far easier to create.
Looking to the future
People talk about the future in a way that is always bright and cheery, in that its always going to be better tomorrow than it is today, but very few seem to have a true grasp on what their future holds, its only those that have the desire, the will and the ability to plan that can grasp their future dreams.
A for me thats no different, I have already spent the past 3 years of my life preparing myself to enter the Game industry in some form, originally as a programmer, but now as an artist, and enrolling in Games Art at De Montfort is but a “step” in what I believe is the right direction. The course will certainly help me achieve 2 things, to have a greater ability to create traditional and digital artwork and a greater proficiency at 3D modelling. The fact that the course has many contacts in the industry itself certainly helps, but its not something to be relied on.
Do I think that I will spring straight from the course, into the Games industry? No probably not, the current financial climate is a bit shaky, with a number of companies already gone under, its certainly a time where companies are more likely to fire people than hire them. So unless something drastic changes in the next few years, I’ll most likely be stuck either having to do freelance work.
And I’m happy with that, I have a few friends that have set up a company that caters to getting artists work, kind of like an agent for a writer or actor, it allows me to concentrate on the work, without having to worry about finding it and while I wont get the all the money from the work, I will certainly have money coming in. Which will give me time to figure out what to do next.
A for me thats no different, I have already spent the past 3 years of my life preparing myself to enter the Game industry in some form, originally as a programmer, but now as an artist, and enrolling in Games Art at De Montfort is but a “step” in what I believe is the right direction. The course will certainly help me achieve 2 things, to have a greater ability to create traditional and digital artwork and a greater proficiency at 3D modelling. The fact that the course has many contacts in the industry itself certainly helps, but its not something to be relied on.
Do I think that I will spring straight from the course, into the Games industry? No probably not, the current financial climate is a bit shaky, with a number of companies already gone under, its certainly a time where companies are more likely to fire people than hire them. So unless something drastic changes in the next few years, I’ll most likely be stuck either having to do freelance work.
And I’m happy with that, I have a few friends that have set up a company that caters to getting artists work, kind of like an agent for a writer or actor, it allows me to concentrate on the work, without having to worry about finding it and while I wont get the all the money from the work, I will certainly have money coming in. Which will give me time to figure out what to do next.
Creativity
Just what is creativity, the view on creativity is unique with each person and with no right or wrong answer, which just makes it harder to sort it, which to me is great! Creativity to me is the ability to see beyond our “perceived” reality, that “view” is coloured depending on the way that the person is trying to see beyond their boundaries, whether that is in the visual arts, writing, programming, mechanical engineering or the realms of quantum mechanics, and with so many ways to show creativity it makes it hard to point down how its manifests.
But do those boundaries limit our creativity? I believe that depends on said boundaries, for an artist if it is to create a new look for an existing well known character, like Batman for example, then rather than being diminished, their creativity is enhanced, with so much reference material to look back on, allows the artist to create a new look for the character. This of course answers another question people ask about creativity, “Does it have to be unique to be creative?”, we all have our own different ways on creating something and by making something, we are making something unique.
But what is creativity in games?
In games, just about everyone involved in creating them are creative and work together to create the best possible outcome, which can be found in both a band identity and the gameplay of the game itself. Whether its a new game mechanic, or a unique way of visualising the game, for example in black, white and red only.
And for me I shall show my own creativity through art by showing my experiences and knowledge, I have a large number of topics and media to draw from, from films, books, different cultures, history and other areas. And by making sure I do whatever is the most obvious first, so that no matter what, whatever comes next is always more interesting than what came before.
But do those boundaries limit our creativity? I believe that depends on said boundaries, for an artist if it is to create a new look for an existing well known character, like Batman for example, then rather than being diminished, their creativity is enhanced, with so much reference material to look back on, allows the artist to create a new look for the character. This of course answers another question people ask about creativity, “Does it have to be unique to be creative?”, we all have our own different ways on creating something and by making something, we are making something unique.
But what is creativity in games?
In games, just about everyone involved in creating them are creative and work together to create the best possible outcome, which can be found in both a band identity and the gameplay of the game itself. Whether its a new game mechanic, or a unique way of visualising the game, for example in black, white and red only.
And for me I shall show my own creativity through art by showing my experiences and knowledge, I have a large number of topics and media to draw from, from films, books, different cultures, history and other areas. And by making sure I do whatever is the most obvious first, so that no matter what, whatever comes next is always more interesting than what came before.
Talent Vs Creativity
So why do some want highly trained graduate artists/programmers, while others claim they prefer creative individuals with a Liberal arts background, the reason is this, while talent is most certainly important, you don’t always get great creativity from such a person, whilst someone with a Liberal arts background has a wider general knowledge of the world and is able to use that when creating their work.
So what would be a perfect graduate? That would be someone who does have the technical ability and yet knows a wide range of topics of the world, whether that is films, games, music, cultures, food or anything really. But how would a course get around that? One possible way is to show the students different media from around the world, get them to do projects on different cultures, have them research topics that are outside their area of work, music and films are a good example for someone to study if they are doing art.
But the problem is, if you do that, then your students are rushing everywhere, trying things that might not seem to be relevant to them, as hell how can food be relevant to designing a character concept. As such you should make sure that any knowledge that you guide them towards, is used in a project that does involve their skills, for example if you told your students to go and research a certain area in the world, you should ask them later on to perhaps make a panting of a landscape, or an animal.
But of course while they are rushing about you have to remember, Game developers also want skilled graduates, not a walking encyclopedia, so remember to make sure your students are still improving themselves, while going off researching weird and strange subjects.
So what would be a perfect graduate? That would be someone who does have the technical ability and yet knows a wide range of topics of the world, whether that is films, games, music, cultures, food or anything really. But how would a course get around that? One possible way is to show the students different media from around the world, get them to do projects on different cultures, have them research topics that are outside their area of work, music and films are a good example for someone to study if they are doing art.
But the problem is, if you do that, then your students are rushing everywhere, trying things that might not seem to be relevant to them, as hell how can food be relevant to designing a character concept. As such you should make sure that any knowledge that you guide them towards, is used in a project that does involve their skills, for example if you told your students to go and research a certain area in the world, you should ask them later on to perhaps make a panting of a landscape, or an animal.
But of course while they are rushing about you have to remember, Game developers also want skilled graduates, not a walking encyclopedia, so remember to make sure your students are still improving themselves, while going off researching weird and strange subjects.
Gaming Audio - Beep boop beep
Sound in games in one of the unsung heroes, on the surface it seems that the only important aspect is the ambient music that you hear, but what many dont realise that everything that you hear in games, from weapon fire, rain falling, footsteps, voices and a huge number of different things are part of what the sound guys use to help create a visceral experience.
And with people like Martin O’Donnel, Yoko Shinomura, Jeremy Soule and Koji Kondo working on creating audio for games, means that we can be assured that games will continue to have excellent audio work, and with each of these composers having games which I consider to be excellent in the area of audio.
And as for my own key moments when it came to audio in games, I would have to say that a number of recent games have certainly caught my ear whilst playing, but Halo ODST is the most recent one for me to take interest. The feeling of solitude is evoked when travelling the empty city of New Mombasa thanks to the music and this sensibility continues on even in the action scenes of the games.
And whether the Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards ‘Good Times’ being one of the most influential recordings in the 20th century, well I have no clue, due to a recent interest in music with most of it being very modern or that which I play, means that very little of the influence that may have occurred to exist. I did take the time to listen to the song and search for information, but couldn’t see why it was influence. I’m sure that it was influential to people, Duran Duran have said to been influenced by the song, but apart from that I found very little influence.
But then so long as people continue to make great music, then all is not lost.
And with people like Martin O’Donnel, Yoko Shinomura, Jeremy Soule and Koji Kondo working on creating audio for games, means that we can be assured that games will continue to have excellent audio work, and with each of these composers having games which I consider to be excellent in the area of audio.
And as for my own key moments when it came to audio in games, I would have to say that a number of recent games have certainly caught my ear whilst playing, but Halo ODST is the most recent one for me to take interest. The feeling of solitude is evoked when travelling the empty city of New Mombasa thanks to the music and this sensibility continues on even in the action scenes of the games.
And whether the Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards ‘Good Times’ being one of the most influential recordings in the 20th century, well I have no clue, due to a recent interest in music with most of it being very modern or that which I play, means that very little of the influence that may have occurred to exist. I did take the time to listen to the song and search for information, but couldn’t see why it was influence. I’m sure that it was influential to people, Duran Duran have said to been influenced by the song, but apart from that I found very little influence.
But then so long as people continue to make great music, then all is not lost.
Game Engines
Just what is a Game engine? Well a game engine is what the game is built on, it handles the physics, the rendering of the game world, sounds, animation, networking and a bunch of other things, each one being an important part of the engine.
But that doesn’t mean that it comes up all roses, game engines have to be continually updated to be compatible with todays technology, for example multi-core processors (in essence its 2 processors in one), its pretty common to have a dual core processor, but few games make an effort to take advantage of dual core, or even the recent quad core processors. Which is what the current developers are trying to do, this is because you could get different cores to do different jobs, and work together when more processing power is needed.
And since according to Moore’s law, computing technology doubles in power each year, 10 core processors are looking to be a possibility next year, so when you think about all that processing power that could be on tap, its not surprising that Game Developers are trying to make technology to take advantage of that.
And there are 2 types of game engines, subtractive and additive, subtractive is where you carve out your game world from a pre existing block, whilst additive is where you add to a seemingly infinite space. For example Valves source engine is an additive game engine, whilst the Dark engine, used by Thief and System shock 2 is subtractive. But you dont have to make a game engine, you can buy one!
And there are many advantages to buying someone elses technology, for one you dont have to spend time making it and there is usually already tutorials and a free version so that you can get to grips with it easily. But of course there are also disadvantages, in that your already spending money on something before you even get round the making it, and depending on how you purchase the technology you may even have to pay royalties on your product.
But that doesn’t mean that it comes up all roses, game engines have to be continually updated to be compatible with todays technology, for example multi-core processors (in essence its 2 processors in one), its pretty common to have a dual core processor, but few games make an effort to take advantage of dual core, or even the recent quad core processors. Which is what the current developers are trying to do, this is because you could get different cores to do different jobs, and work together when more processing power is needed.
And since according to Moore’s law, computing technology doubles in power each year, 10 core processors are looking to be a possibility next year, so when you think about all that processing power that could be on tap, its not surprising that Game Developers are trying to make technology to take advantage of that.
And there are 2 types of game engines, subtractive and additive, subtractive is where you carve out your game world from a pre existing block, whilst additive is where you add to a seemingly infinite space. For example Valves source engine is an additive game engine, whilst the Dark engine, used by Thief and System shock 2 is subtractive. But you dont have to make a game engine, you can buy one!
And there are many advantages to buying someone elses technology, for one you dont have to spend time making it and there is usually already tutorials and a free version so that you can get to grips with it easily. But of course there are also disadvantages, in that your already spending money on something before you even get round the making it, and depending on how you purchase the technology you may even have to pay royalties on your product.
Gaming Culture
Throw away your misconceptions of what a gamer is, far are they from the loner in a dark room, for nowadays just about everyone has been influenced by video games in society, your kids, your parents, even your grandparents are a part of the global phenomenon and I do mean global!
In the past the lone gamer stereotype was created due to the games themselves, being for a single player only, thus forcing players to find escape on their lonesome. But these days gamers are connected to thousands of like minded people, allowing them to form communities around their favourite past time. For example, World of Warcraft (WoW) has thousands of players from around the globe, which has formed a community that is rooted in the game world and the game itself. The only problem with this, like all communities is that you need to spend time in it. I personally have been a part of the WoW community, but never really became an active participant, as I only played every now and again and only by myself or with friends.
But a gaming community doesnt just play games, there are entire communities devoted to creating content for said games, or creating entirely new ones. The Modding community is just as big as the other gaming communities, due to the fact that many games these days are released with SDK’s (Self Developer Kits), so that just about anyone, including myself are able to get in on the action.
But there is one thing that sets these communities apart from real life examples, in that many people that form these merry bands, might not have met in real life and only know each other through the Internet. I myself have had friends that I only knew online, but fell out of contact with them in the end, as while talking to someone across the world is all well and good, but face to face communication has its merits.
In the past the lone gamer stereotype was created due to the games themselves, being for a single player only, thus forcing players to find escape on their lonesome. But these days gamers are connected to thousands of like minded people, allowing them to form communities around their favourite past time. For example, World of Warcraft (WoW) has thousands of players from around the globe, which has formed a community that is rooted in the game world and the game itself. The only problem with this, like all communities is that you need to spend time in it. I personally have been a part of the WoW community, but never really became an active participant, as I only played every now and again and only by myself or with friends.
But a gaming community doesnt just play games, there are entire communities devoted to creating content for said games, or creating entirely new ones. The Modding community is just as big as the other gaming communities, due to the fact that many games these days are released with SDK’s (Self Developer Kits), so that just about anyone, including myself are able to get in on the action.
But there is one thing that sets these communities apart from real life examples, in that many people that form these merry bands, might not have met in real life and only know each other through the Internet. I myself have had friends that I only knew online, but fell out of contact with them in the end, as while talking to someone across the world is all well and good, but face to face communication has its merits.
Game industry - Is it going up, or is it going down?
The Game industry is massive and fairly lucrative industry with people spending a millions on digital entertainment, makes you think that the industry is fairly healthy, but you would be both right and wrong.
The industry as a whole is fairly healthy, but individual companies are at risk of becoming bankrupt, thanks to our current economy, the average Joe is far more interested in keeping his wad of cash in the wallet, than spending it, which thanks to the sheer number of video games out there, means that a lot of developers either have to make something that dwarfs the 2nd coming of Jesus, or go under the wing of a fellow games developer and have them help. Video Game Piracy is certainly far more prevalent than before as well, since if you can get a game for free, why bother spending money on them!
And so developers like Bioware are forced to team up with other companies (EA) just to ensure that the company itself doesnt go under and to have them shoulder some of the costs. And how do the employees feel about this? For most it seems to be a case of “Don’t complain and hope you don’t get sacked!” For it seems that while they might be getting more money into their pockets, the people who develop games are finding that there are less jobs to go around than before.
And because of all of this developers are less likely to develop new ips, (and if they are new ips, they are likely going to be clones of successful games) due to the high risk of not turning a profit and so more sequels are being churned out. And in an attempt to combat piracy, games are being sold with Downloadable Content (DLC), which you can only aquire through buying the product, this forces people to buy the game if they want the content.
So is it going up, or is it going down?
The industry as a whole is fairly healthy, but individual companies are at risk of becoming bankrupt, thanks to our current economy, the average Joe is far more interested in keeping his wad of cash in the wallet, than spending it, which thanks to the sheer number of video games out there, means that a lot of developers either have to make something that dwarfs the 2nd coming of Jesus, or go under the wing of a fellow games developer and have them help. Video Game Piracy is certainly far more prevalent than before as well, since if you can get a game for free, why bother spending money on them!
And so developers like Bioware are forced to team up with other companies (EA) just to ensure that the company itself doesnt go under and to have them shoulder some of the costs. And how do the employees feel about this? For most it seems to be a case of “Don’t complain and hope you don’t get sacked!” For it seems that while they might be getting more money into their pockets, the people who develop games are finding that there are less jobs to go around than before.
And because of all of this developers are less likely to develop new ips, (and if they are new ips, they are likely going to be clones of successful games) due to the high risk of not turning a profit and so more sequels are being churned out. And in an attempt to combat piracy, games are being sold with Downloadable Content (DLC), which you can only aquire through buying the product, this forces people to buy the game if they want the content.
So is it going up, or is it going down?
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Gameplay – Really needed? Or can we leave it?
Gameplay is one of those tricky things, very hard to describe, but hopefully I can describe it for you.
To be exact gameplay is a set of rules that is enforced on a player, so that the players can have fun, why is this fact important? Since without the rules there is nothing for the players to push against for them to compete against one another.
Since I said they were rules I guess they must be definable yes? Well yes, but there’s so many rules that it would be impossible to list them all, and just because they are defined, doesn’t mean they cant change, the beauty of gameplay is that people can add and take away what they want, change existing rules slightly and so forth, all so that some variety can be added to a game and make it more fun.
But the question is do we design games, or do they just pop up in our heads, most likely the latter, so many things that we do are easily changed into games, just tells us that as animals human beings are much like otters, dolphins, apes and such. All intelligent creatures create games because they are stimulating. So as you can see its pretty important, or at least when we were walking on all limbs and went “Ug”. Nowadays, games are just for pleasure and unlikely to enhance our intellect like they did before.
So is gameplay really needed? Well it would be a boring world if it weren’t around.
To be exact gameplay is a set of rules that is enforced on a player, so that the players can have fun, why is this fact important? Since without the rules there is nothing for the players to push against for them to compete against one another.
Since I said they were rules I guess they must be definable yes? Well yes, but there’s so many rules that it would be impossible to list them all, and just because they are defined, doesn’t mean they cant change, the beauty of gameplay is that people can add and take away what they want, change existing rules slightly and so forth, all so that some variety can be added to a game and make it more fun.
But the question is do we design games, or do they just pop up in our heads, most likely the latter, so many things that we do are easily changed into games, just tells us that as animals human beings are much like otters, dolphins, apes and such. All intelligent creatures create games because they are stimulating. So as you can see its pretty important, or at least when we were walking on all limbs and went “Ug”. Nowadays, games are just for pleasure and unlikely to enhance our intellect like they did before.
So is gameplay really needed? Well it would be a boring world if it weren’t around.
Game Design – Story and Characters
Story and Characters, something which can be found in books, tv and films, they can move us to tears, feel joy, shock and fear. You can feel any kind of emotion towards a character thanks to the story and it’s acting, so long as both are of a good quality.
When its bad, you feel removed from what is being displayed in front of you, its just a list of pictures or words, none have any emotional content, While good storytelling and acting that allows you to relate to the characters, is good storytelling/acting, for it allows you to feel any emotion that the creators want, be it joy or sadness.
By why do we feel emotions towards what is essential fictional characters, by making them as human as possible, by giving them flaws, virtues, allowing them to make sacrifices or to steal due to greed. These are what people are made up of character traits and the more traits the character has, the more likely people will relate to them.
This of course is dependant on the script, something that a character encounters in a magical fantasy setting, or the far future of Sci-Fi is harder to relate to, we have nothing to draw from, but we can still take from similar situations seen in life to conjure up the right emotions. So long as the actors display the right emotions as to the mood of the situation, it is easy to draw upon the characters emotions and our own experiences to generate the feelings that the film/books creator desires.
Appearance to me means very little, books, are all writing and so long as the tv show/film isn’t a collection of children’s drawings then I am still capable of enjoying the piece of fiction that I desired to see.
But what stories do I find irresistible? Magical fantasy and Science Fiction are my 2 great loves of fiction, for they show me experiences that are impossible to have, for magic does not exist and the Science is usually so far away that I most likely wont see it in my lifetime. And so I feel richer for adding to the collection of experiences I have seen, whether they are my own personal ones, or they are ones I have seen as a viewer.
When its bad, you feel removed from what is being displayed in front of you, its just a list of pictures or words, none have any emotional content, While good storytelling and acting that allows you to relate to the characters, is good storytelling/acting, for it allows you to feel any emotion that the creators want, be it joy or sadness.
By why do we feel emotions towards what is essential fictional characters, by making them as human as possible, by giving them flaws, virtues, allowing them to make sacrifices or to steal due to greed. These are what people are made up of character traits and the more traits the character has, the more likely people will relate to them.
This of course is dependant on the script, something that a character encounters in a magical fantasy setting, or the far future of Sci-Fi is harder to relate to, we have nothing to draw from, but we can still take from similar situations seen in life to conjure up the right emotions. So long as the actors display the right emotions as to the mood of the situation, it is easy to draw upon the characters emotions and our own experiences to generate the feelings that the film/books creator desires.
Appearance to me means very little, books, are all writing and so long as the tv show/film isn’t a collection of children’s drawings then I am still capable of enjoying the piece of fiction that I desired to see.
But what stories do I find irresistible? Magical fantasy and Science Fiction are my 2 great loves of fiction, for they show me experiences that are impossible to have, for magic does not exist and the Science is usually so far away that I most likely wont see it in my lifetime. And so I feel richer for adding to the collection of experiences I have seen, whether they are my own personal ones, or they are ones I have seen as a viewer.
Game Technology – Joysticks vs Enhanced Reality
Game technology is always advancing, some to make nicer looking games, but we always forget that the feel of the controllers and the control system that the games use are the most important part of gaming, so why in over 30 years they have only just started to change, well its time to look into it.
When most people think of games they will at some point think of the humble controller, these days the controllers are not much different than what was made in the beginning, a couple of joysticks and a bunch of buttons. The only change is that there are more buttons and joysticks and that the shape has changed to make it more comfortable to play with.
But these days we have controllers that are capable of sensing how we actually move the controller, allowing us to do real life movements to correspond with what’s on screen, plus video cameras, which allow us to use our body to play games, sans controllers. So why is it not the standard of today’s control systems? The reason is that its finicky to use at times, your movements doesn’t correspond too well with what’s happening on screen well and so the humble gamepad is still the best way to play.
Does it look like the coolest way to play? Nope, the idea that you can swing a controller and have that play out on screen, except instead of a controller your character has a sword is a lot better than pressing a button. Which is why the Wii is the future of game control systems, gamepads and joysticks are dying out and will eventually phase out of gaming, reserved for only old games or for simulator games, where having a joystick is more realistic than waving a controller around.
We will continue to move to motion control tech, till we eventually get to the point where are games are played out in cyberspace, with us jacking into the game directly through our minds, so we can be in a world which feels as real as the world outside the game, the virtual counterpart to our normal reality.
When most people think of games they will at some point think of the humble controller, these days the controllers are not much different than what was made in the beginning, a couple of joysticks and a bunch of buttons. The only change is that there are more buttons and joysticks and that the shape has changed to make it more comfortable to play with.
But these days we have controllers that are capable of sensing how we actually move the controller, allowing us to do real life movements to correspond with what’s on screen, plus video cameras, which allow us to use our body to play games, sans controllers. So why is it not the standard of today’s control systems? The reason is that its finicky to use at times, your movements doesn’t correspond too well with what’s happening on screen well and so the humble gamepad is still the best way to play.
Does it look like the coolest way to play? Nope, the idea that you can swing a controller and have that play out on screen, except instead of a controller your character has a sword is a lot better than pressing a button. Which is why the Wii is the future of game control systems, gamepads and joysticks are dying out and will eventually phase out of gaming, reserved for only old games or for simulator games, where having a joystick is more realistic than waving a controller around.
We will continue to move to motion control tech, till we eventually get to the point where are games are played out in cyberspace, with us jacking into the game directly through our minds, so we can be in a world which feels as real as the world outside the game, the virtual counterpart to our normal reality.
Game Storytelling – a requirment? Or an easy sacrifice?
Ah we come to what can be one of the most slippery of all the subjects in Game Design, the story. Does a game need it? And does it make it a better game?
Well to question 1 – No, but it depends on the game and to 2 – yes, but at the same time no.
Still here? Guess I best elaborate then!
Now on to the messy confusing bits, does a game need a story, no it doesn’t, there are a lot of games that don’t need a story, or they only need something that is loosely made, something that doesn’t jump into the players face all the time. And there are some games in which the need for story is so great, that without it would make the game a chore and more punishment than a form of pleasure.
For example games like Battlefield 2, Counterstrike Source, Team Fortress 2 are all multiplayer games that have no story and have no need for it, the players have fun by just playing it and any story behind it beyond “there’s the other team, go kill” would just get in the way. (Please note all are online games)
While games like World of Warcraft, Aion and RF online have a loose story, its there if you want it, but you don’t need it to play the game. (We’ll come back later to this, just make note that these are all MMORPG Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)
But most games do require story, games like Fear 2, Final Fantasy 12, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident and other games need it to make it a good game, without it, it would just make the game boring as hell.
Why the difference between these games and the others? Because they are single player based, a game for a single person rather than several, yes some have multiplayer features but they are not the main part of the game, without the story in Fear 2, you have no idea why this little girl appears and scares the hell out of you, why in Final Fantasy 12 your stealing an airship and why in Nexus: TJI you are trying to rescue this ship.
Because without it, the game is boring, confusing and often frustrating, this is because the game needs the player to have a working knowledge of the world he is in to make informed decisions and without that knowledge, he has no idea what to do and what’s going on!
So why don’t the others need it? Well they are all multiplayer games, designed with more than 1 person in mind so they must tailor the game so that the experience a player has is with a group, not a single individual. But there is story in these games, where you ask? In the situations that the players get themselves into, on purpose or accident. Instead of a characters plight, the stories that the players make for themselves are often more enjoyable than those made for them.
Now onto the 2nd question does a story make a better game, this is most definitely no, there are plenty of games that have a story and yet it is what ruins the game. Enchanted Arms is a RPG for the Xbox 360, the story is based on your character having a special arm, which is capable of destroying Golems easily, his friend has been kidnapped and he is trying to save him. Simple enough, good games have similar stories to them, so this one should work?
Nope not in the least as the story written makes a complete hash at character interaction, plot development and the final ending is down right horrible. The real problem lies with the lines spoken by the characters, since the game is developed in Japan, its possible that the Japanese wouldn’t find the lines so bad, but to me a westerner, someone who has been brought up in English, knows its syntax, grammar and form better than many born English speakers, it makes me want to cry every time a character opens his or her gob.
But why does Super Mario Galaxies work, when it doesn’t have a solid plot and this doesn’t? Its because Super Mario Galaxies gameplay, is fun to the point that it makes up for the lack of plot. While Enchanted Arms is the opposite, the gameplay isn’t fun enough that you would want to play without a good story to drive you.
Well to question 1 – No, but it depends on the game and to 2 – yes, but at the same time no.
Still here? Guess I best elaborate then!
Now on to the messy confusing bits, does a game need a story, no it doesn’t, there are a lot of games that don’t need a story, or they only need something that is loosely made, something that doesn’t jump into the players face all the time. And there are some games in which the need for story is so great, that without it would make the game a chore and more punishment than a form of pleasure.
For example games like Battlefield 2, Counterstrike Source, Team Fortress 2 are all multiplayer games that have no story and have no need for it, the players have fun by just playing it and any story behind it beyond “there’s the other team, go kill” would just get in the way. (Please note all are online games)
While games like World of Warcraft, Aion and RF online have a loose story, its there if you want it, but you don’t need it to play the game. (We’ll come back later to this, just make note that these are all MMORPG Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)
But most games do require story, games like Fear 2, Final Fantasy 12, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident and other games need it to make it a good game, without it, it would just make the game boring as hell.
Why the difference between these games and the others? Because they are single player based, a game for a single person rather than several, yes some have multiplayer features but they are not the main part of the game, without the story in Fear 2, you have no idea why this little girl appears and scares the hell out of you, why in Final Fantasy 12 your stealing an airship and why in Nexus: TJI you are trying to rescue this ship.
Because without it, the game is boring, confusing and often frustrating, this is because the game needs the player to have a working knowledge of the world he is in to make informed decisions and without that knowledge, he has no idea what to do and what’s going on!
So why don’t the others need it? Well they are all multiplayer games, designed with more than 1 person in mind so they must tailor the game so that the experience a player has is with a group, not a single individual. But there is story in these games, where you ask? In the situations that the players get themselves into, on purpose or accident. Instead of a characters plight, the stories that the players make for themselves are often more enjoyable than those made for them.
Now onto the 2nd question does a story make a better game, this is most definitely no, there are plenty of games that have a story and yet it is what ruins the game. Enchanted Arms is a RPG for the Xbox 360, the story is based on your character having a special arm, which is capable of destroying Golems easily, his friend has been kidnapped and he is trying to save him. Simple enough, good games have similar stories to them, so this one should work?
Nope not in the least as the story written makes a complete hash at character interaction, plot development and the final ending is down right horrible. The real problem lies with the lines spoken by the characters, since the game is developed in Japan, its possible that the Japanese wouldn’t find the lines so bad, but to me a westerner, someone who has been brought up in English, knows its syntax, grammar and form better than many born English speakers, it makes me want to cry every time a character opens his or her gob.
But why does Super Mario Galaxies work, when it doesn’t have a solid plot and this doesn’t? Its because Super Mario Galaxies gameplay, is fun to the point that it makes up for the lack of plot. While Enchanted Arms is the opposite, the gameplay isn’t fun enough that you would want to play without a good story to drive you.
Art Director – putting the director into art, then taking the art right out
The title Art Director is both a contradiction and a pretty good description of what he does, he most likely does very little “Art” when compared to his underlings, but he will “Direct” said underlings so that all their work looks similar, set them tasks and makes sure they complete them.
The job is very much that, a lot of not doing Art and a lot of delegating the work to others, but they also help guide their team so that the work they do fits together, they help to guide their team in developing their strengths, all that plus they have to be able to show his/her teams work to the rest of the company, to show their progress, to ask for constructive criticism and to find out what tasks they have to tackle next.
So not exactly a creative role, its more about solving problems (tasks – design a level) with the resources you have, (aka – your artistic underlings).
Of course you can swap art in the title for programmer, designer, tester and various other roles and you will find that it translates mostly the same, a lot less of what a lower employee would normally do and a lot more managerially work.
Now since the art side in games in very similar in films we should have a quick look at similarities and the differences.
Similarities – Both go through the same design process, each have to make resources which can either be used to show financers that the project is something that might make some cash, or the work is used to help others or themselves create props, settings and characters (swap settings for levels). They get their tasks from the Design team and will often have to show their work to the upper management to show their progress and any ideas that may have popped up whilst designing.
Differences – Games have a shorted time period for the art to be made, a lot more often has to be made, with a good portion not even finding it into the game (same as films, except there is a lot more of it), the range of styles that they may use for their work will be more varied than a film as well.
So not much difference, and its mostly how much is made in comparison with each other.
But what qualities might you need to become an Art Director? Well for one thing you work with a team, so you have to be able to work with them, to be able to recognize each individuals strengths and weaknesses, while to be able to develop them in each individual and to be able to delegate tasks to people according to their strengths.
Everything else you will need is already there, for you either start from the bottom and work your way up to director, or you already have enough knowledge in that subject and so start as a director.
The job is very much that, a lot of not doing Art and a lot of delegating the work to others, but they also help guide their team so that the work they do fits together, they help to guide their team in developing their strengths, all that plus they have to be able to show his/her teams work to the rest of the company, to show their progress, to ask for constructive criticism and to find out what tasks they have to tackle next.
So not exactly a creative role, its more about solving problems (tasks – design a level) with the resources you have, (aka – your artistic underlings).
Of course you can swap art in the title for programmer, designer, tester and various other roles and you will find that it translates mostly the same, a lot less of what a lower employee would normally do and a lot more managerially work.
Now since the art side in games in very similar in films we should have a quick look at similarities and the differences.
Similarities – Both go through the same design process, each have to make resources which can either be used to show financers that the project is something that might make some cash, or the work is used to help others or themselves create props, settings and characters (swap settings for levels). They get their tasks from the Design team and will often have to show their work to the upper management to show their progress and any ideas that may have popped up whilst designing.
Differences – Games have a shorted time period for the art to be made, a lot more often has to be made, with a good portion not even finding it into the game (same as films, except there is a lot more of it), the range of styles that they may use for their work will be more varied than a film as well.
So not much difference, and its mostly how much is made in comparison with each other.
But what qualities might you need to become an Art Director? Well for one thing you work with a team, so you have to be able to work with them, to be able to recognize each individuals strengths and weaknesses, while to be able to develop them in each individual and to be able to delegate tasks to people according to their strengths.
Everything else you will need is already there, for you either start from the bottom and work your way up to director, or you already have enough knowledge in that subject and so start as a director.
Game Design - I wish it was to be paid to play
Game Design is something that is a part of every games creation process, without Game Designers there would be no games, period! But what is Game Design is it about A - Gameplay, the actions the player is allowed to do, formed in a way so that it is fun? Or is it B - the story of a game? Aka the reasons why the player character is driven to slay aliens, take revenge etc.
Most people would say B, but in reality it is mostly A! Something that people like Shigeru Miyamoto, a game designer that tries to be at the cutting edge, because he realizes that Game Design is not about writing cool stories, its about making excellent and “unique” Gameplay. When you look at the Super Mario Games from the N64 onwards, you’ll see that each one has had a unique game play feature for its time.
Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, was big worlds and relative freedom to tackle said worlds. Super Mario Sunshine for the Gamecube was to use a backpack that sprays water in different ways to combat and get around the world. And Super Mario Galaxies for the Wii puts in simulated gravity for their “worlds”, using them to create a new form of challenge not found in platformers before.
But where does all of this take place with the developer? Well right at the beginning, without a Game Design document to work from, if you don’t have a set goal to work to then your game will only wander aimlessly and it needs to be updated through the entire design process, as things change and if you don’t change it with it, then your stuck in the same problem.
But don’t worry your not alone in this; most companies have dedicated Design teams that think up new content for games all the time, some of the designers are specialized, for example in making levels, while most are usually just general designers. But of course if you are a freelance worker then you are on your own.
Now not all games require the same things in design, you tailor it to the genre that you are making it for, you know that you wont need to control vast armies in a FPS, it would just be confusing and you know that in a RTS you don’t need to put in a stealth feature like a Stealth game would. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but they are not many exceptions, as its hard to make both the FPS and the RTS sections of the game fun, thanks to you splitting your resources.
But what do I think is most important is that, the gameplay must be something that’s fun and doesn’t get stale easily, so I can do it again without it getting old and boring, otherwise the game is shelved in 30mins and I start thinking that I wasted some money.
Most people would say B, but in reality it is mostly A! Something that people like Shigeru Miyamoto, a game designer that tries to be at the cutting edge, because he realizes that Game Design is not about writing cool stories, its about making excellent and “unique” Gameplay. When you look at the Super Mario Games from the N64 onwards, you’ll see that each one has had a unique game play feature for its time.
Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, was big worlds and relative freedom to tackle said worlds. Super Mario Sunshine for the Gamecube was to use a backpack that sprays water in different ways to combat and get around the world. And Super Mario Galaxies for the Wii puts in simulated gravity for their “worlds”, using them to create a new form of challenge not found in platformers before.
But where does all of this take place with the developer? Well right at the beginning, without a Game Design document to work from, if you don’t have a set goal to work to then your game will only wander aimlessly and it needs to be updated through the entire design process, as things change and if you don’t change it with it, then your stuck in the same problem.
But don’t worry your not alone in this; most companies have dedicated Design teams that think up new content for games all the time, some of the designers are specialized, for example in making levels, while most are usually just general designers. But of course if you are a freelance worker then you are on your own.
Now not all games require the same things in design, you tailor it to the genre that you are making it for, you know that you wont need to control vast armies in a FPS, it would just be confusing and you know that in a RTS you don’t need to put in a stealth feature like a Stealth game would. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but they are not many exceptions, as its hard to make both the FPS and the RTS sections of the game fun, thanks to you splitting your resources.
But what do I think is most important is that, the gameplay must be something that’s fun and doesn’t get stale easily, so I can do it again without it getting old and boring, otherwise the game is shelved in 30mins and I start thinking that I wasted some money.
New Games Journalism – Just what is up with it?
Games Journalism is a tricky subject, because like art, there is always room for debate and thanks to the magic of the internet, there are a large number of people to debate with, or depending on your forum, a huge flame war, with insults being flung left and right by the new age cultists of Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and the PC, foaming mouths are not optional, but a required tool of the workplace.
But I’m moving away from the subject here; Games Journalism is indeed a tricky subject, thanks to a short time table (they have to pretty do everything in a little under 3 weeks, only to start again for next month), the internet stealing the magazines customers and so perhaps a short road to being laid off, down to boring games developers being unable to exude enough charisma, so that little Bob can take his life giving quotes in exchange for a pay check, so that he may stuff his little face with life giving pies, means that Games Journalism is no piece of cake, its not just about playing games, nor a rock and roll lifestyle of going to places, being treated like a king by games developers, all so that you can give them these few golden words.
“It wasn’t bad, 7/10”
And yes that does mean Peter Monxyew is adored by the press, for the sheer fact that to them, he makes their life a damn sight easier, while for the people who actually play his games for relaxation and find the reality is not the vision that was painted for us (see every game by Lionhead), journalists praise him for the fact that he hands out quotes by the bucket loads, has enough charisma to paint a beautiful world filled with lambs and chuckling kittens and actually gets back to them, something which apparently not many developers do, or at least not in time.
But lets not say that there are no problems with Games Journalism at this moment! Oh no, I for one consider the most damning thing that anyone can do is put a bloody number to an experience (which is what a game is), and the bastards plaster em all over the damn magazines, it reeks of unfeeling, mechanical science and if we go down that route, all games should come with a endorphin filled syringe, filled to the prescribed enjoyment level and then plunged into my brain, for that is what numbers fitted to an experience is to me and if anyone does try that on me in person, I will actually work out for the sole purpose of kaber tossing you into a tree.
If anyone gets the irony in that, then you are either very smart, or very Scottish.
Of course this kind of anger can only be prescribed against those that talk about the experience of the game, but if your talking about the machanics of the game, (good camera, excellent graphics blah blah blah), then yes a number ranking system is good for it, in fact I require it for the sole purpose of glazing over it and then trying the games demo instead. Because if there are any mechanics that spoil the game, then they spoil the experience, and the other guys will tell you that.
And that is what New Games Journalism is all about, talking about the experience rather than the mechanics, to know that you will most likely feel like a kid again when you play this indy game, and you know what?
That’s good, its what my own writing is going to be like if I play a game because I can only write about my own experience and what I felt whilst playing, although most likely a tad more long winded then most journalists, it will have the same character, the joy of a guy who never did grow up fully and thinks that to be an adult all the time is stupid and boring.
But I’m not the only one, there are many people with differencing ways of telling people what’s out there, Yahtzee from The Escapist, a online community solely catered for Gaming, creates Zero Punctuation a kind of video podcast where he reviews games for a living, using simplistic characters and artwork to push forward his thoughts on the matter.
And then he swears and cracks jokes all over it, with the speed of a Lion trying to decide whether to give the Cubs tofu, or a slice of Gazelle, the Gazelle wins of course, much tastier! Not so much for the Gazelle. Thankfully Yahtzee doesn’t butcher the review with all this and actually makes sense and is funny at the same time. He is both objective and subjective, he talks enough about the problems of the game mechanics that ruin the experience, yet he always describes the experience he has had with the game, which means that it all works, because you can be only subjective and only objective in a review, as you need both sides to truly explain the whole experience
And like me, he prescribes to the same idea that number based reviewing is stupid, because we all have our own minds and can make our own decisions. Its just a shame that most people seem to be sheep and will bleat with the herd.
I of course pretty much ignore most reviews and buy and play what games I want to, even if reviewers have said its bad and even enjoy them, why does this happen? Because compared to the bleating herd, I am a Bear that sits in a cave, smoking a bubblegum pipe, occasionally heading out to hunt some mutton for lunch.
But I’m moving away from the subject here; Games Journalism is indeed a tricky subject, thanks to a short time table (they have to pretty do everything in a little under 3 weeks, only to start again for next month), the internet stealing the magazines customers and so perhaps a short road to being laid off, down to boring games developers being unable to exude enough charisma, so that little Bob can take his life giving quotes in exchange for a pay check, so that he may stuff his little face with life giving pies, means that Games Journalism is no piece of cake, its not just about playing games, nor a rock and roll lifestyle of going to places, being treated like a king by games developers, all so that you can give them these few golden words.
“It wasn’t bad, 7/10”
And yes that does mean Peter Monxyew is adored by the press, for the sheer fact that to them, he makes their life a damn sight easier, while for the people who actually play his games for relaxation and find the reality is not the vision that was painted for us (see every game by Lionhead), journalists praise him for the fact that he hands out quotes by the bucket loads, has enough charisma to paint a beautiful world filled with lambs and chuckling kittens and actually gets back to them, something which apparently not many developers do, or at least not in time.
But lets not say that there are no problems with Games Journalism at this moment! Oh no, I for one consider the most damning thing that anyone can do is put a bloody number to an experience (which is what a game is), and the bastards plaster em all over the damn magazines, it reeks of unfeeling, mechanical science and if we go down that route, all games should come with a endorphin filled syringe, filled to the prescribed enjoyment level and then plunged into my brain, for that is what numbers fitted to an experience is to me and if anyone does try that on me in person, I will actually work out for the sole purpose of kaber tossing you into a tree.
If anyone gets the irony in that, then you are either very smart, or very Scottish.
Of course this kind of anger can only be prescribed against those that talk about the experience of the game, but if your talking about the machanics of the game, (good camera, excellent graphics blah blah blah), then yes a number ranking system is good for it, in fact I require it for the sole purpose of glazing over it and then trying the games demo instead. Because if there are any mechanics that spoil the game, then they spoil the experience, and the other guys will tell you that.
And that is what New Games Journalism is all about, talking about the experience rather than the mechanics, to know that you will most likely feel like a kid again when you play this indy game, and you know what?
That’s good, its what my own writing is going to be like if I play a game because I can only write about my own experience and what I felt whilst playing, although most likely a tad more long winded then most journalists, it will have the same character, the joy of a guy who never did grow up fully and thinks that to be an adult all the time is stupid and boring.
But I’m not the only one, there are many people with differencing ways of telling people what’s out there, Yahtzee from The Escapist, a online community solely catered for Gaming, creates Zero Punctuation a kind of video podcast where he reviews games for a living, using simplistic characters and artwork to push forward his thoughts on the matter.
And then he swears and cracks jokes all over it, with the speed of a Lion trying to decide whether to give the Cubs tofu, or a slice of Gazelle, the Gazelle wins of course, much tastier! Not so much for the Gazelle. Thankfully Yahtzee doesn’t butcher the review with all this and actually makes sense and is funny at the same time. He is both objective and subjective, he talks enough about the problems of the game mechanics that ruin the experience, yet he always describes the experience he has had with the game, which means that it all works, because you can be only subjective and only objective in a review, as you need both sides to truly explain the whole experience
And like me, he prescribes to the same idea that number based reviewing is stupid, because we all have our own minds and can make our own decisions. Its just a shame that most people seem to be sheep and will bleat with the herd.
I of course pretty much ignore most reviews and buy and play what games I want to, even if reviewers have said its bad and even enjoy them, why does this happen? Because compared to the bleating herd, I am a Bear that sits in a cave, smoking a bubblegum pipe, occasionally heading out to hunt some mutton for lunch.
Thursday 14 January 2010
A Personal History of Gaming
Hmm my personal history of gaming, now that's a question and a half! I've played so many games it makes me head spin thinking about it, guess we'd best start at the beginning and I'm afraid its a long one, so make sure your comfortable.
My foray into gaming started when i was about 5-6 my dad had given me a NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) along with a bunch of games. These games are which I think started me off on a lifetime of gaming and were the first games I would have ever played and I will always have fond memories of the NES in my heart, I can still remember the time I spent with friends, or on my own, happily letting the hours go past and loving every second of it. But games hadnt fully gotten their claws into me yet, I was still a normal, average kid that preferred to play outside in the sun with his friends, rather than stay cooped up inside with a bleeping machine.
No it was only till the N64 came out did the claws of gaming sunk deep within. It was the first console I bought with my own money, I bought it about a year after its release and took with me Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64 again for those outside of Europe), I spent the rest of the day playing it and being awed by what I was seeing, it looked beautiful (at the time, plus I only had graphics from the NES as comparison) and the game played so well, but this was only the start. At that point games had their spell over me and I was hooked, I started to play games like never before, plus I sought out other consoles and other games, since if they were fun, why not give them a go!
This has continued to the present day, I guess the reason I have continued playing games is due to the effort that people spend making these games, all that hard effort spent making the games great shows through, it is a labour of love and it shines through when you play the game, very few games truly encapsulate that feeling, but the ones that succeed are usually at the top of their peers. But not all games are good, many have become “cookie cutter” games, basic clones of games that have achieved great popularity in the market and so are looking to get a slice of the action.
Thanks to this I have actually spent time playing old games, while these may not be as pretty as modern games, they have a freshness of originality not found in new games, with both story and game play usually being better than what’s being released.
I find it sad that the gaming market has become what it is, originality in games is far and few between, which creates such blandness in what I felt 5 years ago to be a thriving, energetic industry. But like all industries, they must cater to its market, which is as shallow as a puddle in the middle of Africa in the summer. But while the industry may be wallowing in a wake of Grand Theft Auto clones and vanilla flavoured FPS games, I would like to see it look back on the games that made the industry what it is, to see what made it so great and to maybe try to capture the spirit that games had. But while I may wish for games to go back to its roots, I certainly acknowledge that it is unlikely, which may be a good thing, if the likes of Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins live up to their expectations then I can see hope on the horizon for this industry.
And while I can certainly see the nearby future of gaming, I do not dream of what it could become, as a young art form, created in a time when the world is no longer truly divided by boundaries and held back by societies misconceptions. Millions of people of all ages, religion and racial heritage experience what video games have to offer everyday, it is not a closed off hobby to those that people consider to be social outcasts and as such it will benefit greatly by the influx of different experiences, views and creativity.
It has already become what I have dreamed, a shared experience for the entire world of which where no boundaries exist, the only thing left is for me to either be of the ones that stay on the side lines, watching what comes by, or to take an active hand in what comes before me, to shape and mould it, to work with like minded people to create something that can be enjoyed and appreciated by others.
My foray into gaming started when i was about 5-6 my dad had given me a NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) along with a bunch of games. These games are which I think started me off on a lifetime of gaming and were the first games I would have ever played and I will always have fond memories of the NES in my heart, I can still remember the time I spent with friends, or on my own, happily letting the hours go past and loving every second of it. But games hadnt fully gotten their claws into me yet, I was still a normal, average kid that preferred to play outside in the sun with his friends, rather than stay cooped up inside with a bleeping machine.
No it was only till the N64 came out did the claws of gaming sunk deep within. It was the first console I bought with my own money, I bought it about a year after its release and took with me Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64 again for those outside of Europe), I spent the rest of the day playing it and being awed by what I was seeing, it looked beautiful (at the time, plus I only had graphics from the NES as comparison) and the game played so well, but this was only the start. At that point games had their spell over me and I was hooked, I started to play games like never before, plus I sought out other consoles and other games, since if they were fun, why not give them a go!
This has continued to the present day, I guess the reason I have continued playing games is due to the effort that people spend making these games, all that hard effort spent making the games great shows through, it is a labour of love and it shines through when you play the game, very few games truly encapsulate that feeling, but the ones that succeed are usually at the top of their peers. But not all games are good, many have become “cookie cutter” games, basic clones of games that have achieved great popularity in the market and so are looking to get a slice of the action.
Thanks to this I have actually spent time playing old games, while these may not be as pretty as modern games, they have a freshness of originality not found in new games, with both story and game play usually being better than what’s being released.
I find it sad that the gaming market has become what it is, originality in games is far and few between, which creates such blandness in what I felt 5 years ago to be a thriving, energetic industry. But like all industries, they must cater to its market, which is as shallow as a puddle in the middle of Africa in the summer. But while the industry may be wallowing in a wake of Grand Theft Auto clones and vanilla flavoured FPS games, I would like to see it look back on the games that made the industry what it is, to see what made it so great and to maybe try to capture the spirit that games had. But while I may wish for games to go back to its roots, I certainly acknowledge that it is unlikely, which may be a good thing, if the likes of Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins live up to their expectations then I can see hope on the horizon for this industry.
And while I can certainly see the nearby future of gaming, I do not dream of what it could become, as a young art form, created in a time when the world is no longer truly divided by boundaries and held back by societies misconceptions. Millions of people of all ages, religion and racial heritage experience what video games have to offer everyday, it is not a closed off hobby to those that people consider to be social outcasts and as such it will benefit greatly by the influx of different experiences, views and creativity.
It has already become what I have dreamed, a shared experience for the entire world of which where no boundaries exist, the only thing left is for me to either be of the ones that stay on the side lines, watching what comes by, or to take an active hand in what comes before me, to shape and mould it, to work with like minded people to create something that can be enjoyed and appreciated by others.
"More Bloom! More! More! More! SHAZAM!"
If you get the joke in the title congratulations, you have no life!
Moving on.
Ah the present, what a wonderful time to talk about games, and yet what a terrifying time to talk about games. It is in no other part of its history have change and developed so rapidly, for so long were we stuck in a slump when games were first born, unable to fully grasp at their potential, now a days it’s the opposite, the big companies are getting out the big guns and are stopping at nothing to make a buck, or are the game developers trying to make sure that the feeling of fun is still kept in games, whilst they are being bombarded with new technology, pressure and sometimes, a slightly harsh and overbearing workspace.
But at any rate now is the time of the video game, for they have progressed to the point that they now rival movies in telling stories, thanks to them having a deeper connection with the viewer, plus they are becoming more realistic looking by the day.
The development of games has very much continued on as it has done in the mid 90’s, only the stakes have been raised, High-Definition quality graphics, motion control and the expansion into the Casual area of gaming has made some immense changes in the world of gaming. For one thing HD gaming has become the be all and end all of games, an arms race of digital beauty, has pushed gaming for years and most likely years to come, but that isn’t entirely good.
HD content is difficult to make, plus it takes a long time and a lot of space to store it, because of this the other areas of the game can suffer, plus games are far shorter than they were, there were games that went on for weeks, months even because they were so big, now they can barely fill a weekend. Add to the deadlines, stubbornness of a Game Developer’s clients can often break a team, forcing them to can a project and losing both time and money in a failed product.
Motion control is also an important development since it has opened up gaming to those that originally wouldn’t touch it at all, like my Grandparents for example, Nintendo’s Wii, with its Wii Sports is something that my Grandparents would happily play, yet anything else is usually classed as boring, or for kids. Plus the motion control of the Wii Remote (yes its shaped like a remote) means that you can do things in game like you would do in real life, like opening doors, swinging swords, punching and dodging in a boxing match, helps newcomers get into games quickly without having to learn all that much to play.
And while HD is often more of a hindrance than anything in development, technology is constantly being developed and so something new will come up, like the devices that use your mind as a controller being developed by Sony, the millions being spent in creating Virtual Reality devices.
The future has many possibilities and I feel privileged that I will get the chance to see them.
Moving on.
Ah the present, what a wonderful time to talk about games, and yet what a terrifying time to talk about games. It is in no other part of its history have change and developed so rapidly, for so long were we stuck in a slump when games were first born, unable to fully grasp at their potential, now a days it’s the opposite, the big companies are getting out the big guns and are stopping at nothing to make a buck, or are the game developers trying to make sure that the feeling of fun is still kept in games, whilst they are being bombarded with new technology, pressure and sometimes, a slightly harsh and overbearing workspace.
But at any rate now is the time of the video game, for they have progressed to the point that they now rival movies in telling stories, thanks to them having a deeper connection with the viewer, plus they are becoming more realistic looking by the day.
The development of games has very much continued on as it has done in the mid 90’s, only the stakes have been raised, High-Definition quality graphics, motion control and the expansion into the Casual area of gaming has made some immense changes in the world of gaming. For one thing HD gaming has become the be all and end all of games, an arms race of digital beauty, has pushed gaming for years and most likely years to come, but that isn’t entirely good.
HD content is difficult to make, plus it takes a long time and a lot of space to store it, because of this the other areas of the game can suffer, plus games are far shorter than they were, there were games that went on for weeks, months even because they were so big, now they can barely fill a weekend. Add to the deadlines, stubbornness of a Game Developer’s clients can often break a team, forcing them to can a project and losing both time and money in a failed product.
Motion control is also an important development since it has opened up gaming to those that originally wouldn’t touch it at all, like my Grandparents for example, Nintendo’s Wii, with its Wii Sports is something that my Grandparents would happily play, yet anything else is usually classed as boring, or for kids. Plus the motion control of the Wii Remote (yes its shaped like a remote) means that you can do things in game like you would do in real life, like opening doors, swinging swords, punching and dodging in a boxing match, helps newcomers get into games quickly without having to learn all that much to play.
And while HD is often more of a hindrance than anything in development, technology is constantly being developed and so something new will come up, like the devices that use your mind as a controller being developed by Sony, the millions being spent in creating Virtual Reality devices.
The future has many possibilities and I feel privileged that I will get the chance to see them.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
80s-90s Mad hair, clothes, music and Video Game market crashes
Ho my, again I have to look at a period of game development, last time it was the 50s to the 70s and now I have to do the 80s/90s? The work never ends!
Now it is during the 80s that games really start to hit off, arcades started to become popular in society, the first true home consoles to appear, along with home computers being cheap enough for the average chump to buy, in a way it’s the beginning of the modern gaming society. There is so much that I can only really scratch the surface. And yet at the same time an event, which people call “The video game crash” or “Atari Debacle”, made a good portion of the video game world bankrupt and forced out of business, we are lucky that what we have now is even here!
And why did this happen? Well one of the reasons, is the same as why I can’t go into much depth of what happens in the 80s, there was so much variety in the business and to be frank, a lot of consoles and games were copied and sold which further hurt business, along with poor development (which is shocking considering how little effort was needed to make the games then) just meant that companies had to fold due to financial difficulties. A good example is Atari, they made a game of the E.T. film, but so few copies of the game sold, that they were forced to dump the thousands of copies into landfill in Mexico city along with a bunch of other Atari related goods.
Because of this by the 90s there wasn’t such a glut of different consoles and home computer systems, only a few companies had the money to make consoles, and so in the end they were the only ones that could make them, forcing everyone else into to develop games for their systems, that or go bust. Because of this, the consoles more readily became a part of the household, with Nintendo, Sony and Sega becoming the big boys on the block and the beginning of the present platform of gaming that we have today.
But still games were a little different in the 90’s compared to the 80’s, which is mostly thanks to the onset of 3D, yes my friends we upgraded a dimension and now we can go and revel in worlds of beauty, or at least that’s want I want to say, they unfortunately still looked like something made at the last minute, plus the guy making it was smoking something and I’m not sure that something had any business being put in a pipe. But at least there was 3D, which became the standard rather than the norm by the late 90’s thanks to Nintendo’s N64, a console of which every game seemed to be made in the 3D realm.
And thank god for that, for who knows where we would have gone without the blessings of the 3rd dimension!
Now it is during the 80s that games really start to hit off, arcades started to become popular in society, the first true home consoles to appear, along with home computers being cheap enough for the average chump to buy, in a way it’s the beginning of the modern gaming society. There is so much that I can only really scratch the surface. And yet at the same time an event, which people call “The video game crash” or “Atari Debacle”, made a good portion of the video game world bankrupt and forced out of business, we are lucky that what we have now is even here!
And why did this happen? Well one of the reasons, is the same as why I can’t go into much depth of what happens in the 80s, there was so much variety in the business and to be frank, a lot of consoles and games were copied and sold which further hurt business, along with poor development (which is shocking considering how little effort was needed to make the games then) just meant that companies had to fold due to financial difficulties. A good example is Atari, they made a game of the E.T. film, but so few copies of the game sold, that they were forced to dump the thousands of copies into landfill in Mexico city along with a bunch of other Atari related goods.
Because of this by the 90s there wasn’t such a glut of different consoles and home computer systems, only a few companies had the money to make consoles, and so in the end they were the only ones that could make them, forcing everyone else into to develop games for their systems, that or go bust. Because of this, the consoles more readily became a part of the household, with Nintendo, Sony and Sega becoming the big boys on the block and the beginning of the present platform of gaming that we have today.
But still games were a little different in the 90’s compared to the 80’s, which is mostly thanks to the onset of 3D, yes my friends we upgraded a dimension and now we can go and revel in worlds of beauty, or at least that’s want I want to say, they unfortunately still looked like something made at the last minute, plus the guy making it was smoking something and I’m not sure that something had any business being put in a pipe. But at least there was 3D, which became the standard rather than the norm by the late 90’s thanks to Nintendo’s N64, a console of which every game seemed to be made in the 3D realm.
And thank god for that, for who knows where we would have gone without the blessings of the 3rd dimension!
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