Loser Created Content

Best of 2008, late: A moment's peace

2009-01-07T01:11:00.015Z

There is an incalculable amount of distinctive moments comprising Grand Theft Auto IV, both imposed upon and created by the player. No other game this year was so ruthlessly scrutinised, with each mechnical and thematic element broken down and picked apart as subject to a wholly granular reduction. For every player keen to enjoy the game despite its imperfection, two more decried its success due to disappointment or disinterest. Personally, I've yet to play a game which was immune to such criticism, on account of no title being all things to all people.

There were many for whom the sheen wore off quickly. Others found the whittled-down openworld too restrictive in the wake of San Andreas, while some couldn't reconcile the dichotomic central character, who grimaced at the irony of the deflated American dream inbetween bouts of ultraviolence. Many simply took a dislike to the gameplay, mission structure or pace of the game. In truth, a book could be filled on the subject of the game's successes and failures, on what the series lost in order to gain something new, and on what it represented to us as gamers. However, I do not plan to draw out the subject any further here, or touch on whether the game deserves the 'Game of the year' awards it has garnered recently. Instead, I'll recall the first (but by no means most important) of my best gaming moments of 2008.

Fairly late on in the game, at a point which the whole city was open to me, I began to play the game less and less. Not from fatigue or disenchantment, but rather to avoid those potential pitfalls. If I felt frustration or boredom of any sort, I put the game away until it seemed an appealing prospect again. Due to this, I was able to enjoy the game right through until the final moments, whilst also understanding the arguments levied against it.

During one such play session I felt a moment of frustration creeping in, and rather than switching off, decided to take a slow and measured drive through the city. I stopped at lights, avoided altercations and switched my in-game phone off. I was struck by the oddness of this; an alternate reality in which Niko could abide with and adapt to the rules which governed his new home. It felt genuinely strange, a sliver of a glimpse into what he might have been. As I began to reach the city limits, the Smashing Pumpkin's '1979' began to play on one of the many radio stations. I pulled over and sat in silence, watching the sun set over the city as the song played out. The denizens of Liberty City went about their powerless existence all around me. Shuffling from one spot to another, fussing with shopping or possessions, worrying about themselves and each other, about life and love and sex and death. This was of course an illusion, but an exquisitely powerful one. I was struck by the significance of Rockstar's achievement, they had built an entire city out of nothing but motivation, imagination and expertise.

The sun sank below the landscape of the horizon, and the song reached its end.

"Forgotten and absorbed into the earth below
The street heats the urgency of sound
As you can see there's no one around"

For a moment I was one of them, nobody. Just another anguished soul in a city of millions, as faceless and anonymous as everybody else. This inverse moment of being held unexpected power and poignance, and took me utterly by surprise. It felt more meaningful and illuminating to wish for less than it has ever done to strive for more. For a moment I was truly Niko, yet entirely because I felt sadness over his circumstance and the desire for him to live a normal life. I took a breath, stepped back into the car, and slowly headed back into the dark heart of the city. I knew, just as Niko would have known, that his life was on a different path, one that would never be travelled but with tragic consequences and ghostly alienation.

For all the highs and lows of the gameplay, the peaks and troughs of the storyline, this simple moment of empathy and reflection affected me more than any other throughout the game, and perhaps the year.

Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for the next in the series, coming shortly.

Best of 2008, late.

2009-01-05T23:49:00.009Z

It seems that all gaming discussion of the past fortnight has centered on "games of the year", with every site and podcast providing their own take on the matter. It's a topic which inspires such heavy debate among bloggers, commenters and forumites that I've tried my best not to think about it up until now. After all, thinking back through every game I've played this year and trying to weigh each against the other is a task fraught with difficulty. Are they to be measured on artistic merit? Perhaps the amount of fun they offered, or how about their ability to further the medium in some way? Maybe we can simply let the sales figures decide, as I suspect a surprisingly large portion of newly-ensconced casual types would submit Wii Fit as their game of choice anyhow!

Areas in which one game may have succeeded, another may have failed entirely. Some games dared to try new things, often with mixed results, whereas other games presented an unsurprising but consistently enjoyable experience. Can we penalise a game like Far Cry 2 or Mirrors Edge for failing to completely succeed at something new, whilst still granting kudos to the most safely-played of releases? Besides, no one person can claim to have played every game this year, therefore these type of discussions will always lack objectivity.

My inability to see the relevance and reasoning behind the need to declare a "game of the year" results in something of a quandry. You see, I've very tempted to do just that myself. 2008 has been a great year for gaming, with a pleasant surprise for every disappointment, and unprecendented drama surrounding some of the biggest releases. For example, who could have predicted that LittleBigPlanet, Sony's all-inclusive boundary-breaker, would become embroiled in a recall furore over religious content, sparking anguish and glee in the hearts of fanboys in both camps? Who among us could have foreseen the often positive mainstream media coverage that GTA4 received, or the truly awestriking sales domination of the Wii? We've also seen our first complete system software refresh in Microsoft's excellent NXE, and pioneering sales models like Burnout Paradise become an unquestionable success. Blizzard's World of Warcraft simultaneously reinvigorated and helped to further quash PC gaming as we know it, and EA galloped out of stagnation with a wide offering of original IP. A dramatic and exciting year indeed, and one I don't feel nearly authoritive or decisive enough to categorise into 'best of' categories.

I've decided therefore, to simply discuss some of my most memorable moments in gaming of the past year. These are in no particular order, and are not indicative of any favouritism toward those games as a whole. That said, these moments really stuck with me beyond all others, and while they are highly subjective, they constitute what made gaming in 2008 such an exciting and satisfying pastime. The first of these will follow shortly, enjoy.

Oh, and happy new year!

Peripheral Schism

2008-12-15T15:51:00.007Z

Currently I'm in the process of writing several reviews for games I'm not playing. You see, I would be playing them, were it not for the all-consuming timesink Rock Band 2. This weekend I could barely tear myself away from the maddeningly addictive waterfall of coloured gems, mine to pop and whammy with glorious abandon.

It's a simple and brilliantly economic format, and one that is in great danger of invoking player fatigue. There is a razor thin line for both Rock Band and Guitar Hero to walk, as adding to or changing the format too much could over saturate the experience with needless fluff. One might argue that Guitar Hero World Tour has already fallen into this trap, as evidenced by my playing habits over the weekend despite having picked up both titles lately.

While the core mechanics of both games are resolutely similar, Rock Band 2 has a much more appealing UI, a complete lack of cringe-inducing celebrity cameos, and most importantly a more well-rounded soundtrack. There is certainly fun to be had with Guitar Hero World Tour, and the instruments are unquestionably superior. However, the experience lacks the passion evident with the Harmonix title, and feels piecemeal and uninspired. Rock Band 2 is altogether a more staid effort, especially in comparison to the diluted IP of Activision's somewhat unwitting cash cow. I feel a little sorry for Guitar Hero World Tour, as having not played a title since '2', each new addition appears increasingly desperate and cumbersome. It's hard to shake the feeling that Activision have set about bloating and crippling the series with content and features that only serve to detract from the experience. I also wonder if the move to adopt a full band setup was a good idea, or simply a reactionary answer to the Harmonix effort. It isn't handled with nearly as much care and attention, never mind vision or affection. For example, there is a curious lack of meaningful co-operative play modes, with nothing on offer that touches the depth of Rock Band 2's world tour and challenge modes. Also, when playing with a friend, the lack of true co-operation is exacerbated by the shared Star Power meter, which repeatedly led to grumblings of 'Star Power theft' during my play sessions.

I noted with some sadness today that Rock Band 2 was outsold by Guitar Hero World Tour in the US last month (628,452 copies to 978,000). However, Rock Band sales had increased by 65% from last November, while Guitar Hero branded sales were down 25%. Ultimately, I suspect Activision's intent to push the brand in so many different directions may prove to be their downfall. I foresee a 'Tony Hawks' style brand meltdown, and I truly hope that Harmonix will continue to provide meaningful platform updates rather than laboured yearly iterations. This is assuming Rock Band 2 is the former of the two, which it certainly feels like. I would rather not see a Rock Band 3 at all than have it be a smattering of minor updates. Coupling this with continually solid DLC, not to mention the upcoming Beatles title, I predict success for Harmonix in the long haul.

It remains to be seen whether or not Neversoft can grow their franchise or simply spread it too thinly, and whether Harmonix will succumb to the siren's song of quantity over quality. Furthermore, the question of the music genre's longevity has been raised by the likes of industry pundit Michael Pachter. Can the genre outlive our expectations, or will it outstay its welcome? Only time will tell.

Going home again: The long walk back to Xbox Live

2008-08-20T23:05:00.002+01:00

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Caveat: The following is a reposting of an entry originally posted at Gamerdork on August 20, 2008. Due to this, the tone may differ somewhat to the articles to follow. However, I would prefer to repost verbatim.
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After a year without Xbox live, I signed into the service last night. Having spent the last few months with the PS3, I’d all but forgotten the impact of Xbox Live on both the individual user and the industry as a whole. How then, after a prolonged experience with PSN, does a return to Xbox Live feel?

I must firstly confess to being something of an anti-fanboy. I’m usually skeptical of any new console, and throughout my 15 years of gaming have usually gone where the best games are. I find this approach lessens both the cost and disappointment inherent to early adoption.

I abstained until a year after launch before purchasing a 360. When I finally coughed up for one I was met with an imperfect but robust set of social gaming tools. These tools were all-pervasive, available at any time from any game via the blade system. Within no time at all I was nurturing a steadily swelling list of gaming friends, with whom I could communicate and play with, all with relative ease. Unspoken rivalries percolated everywhere, notably a summer-long battle of Guitar Hero II one-upmanship with a neighbour. Single and multiplayer games alike provided me with an extra incentive to continue playing, often way past the point where I would usually resign them to dust collection.

There are those among us who flatly abhor the gamerscore. But for many it’s simply too much of a temptation to ignore, like the leaderboard in a childhood arcade or pre-online era console. For many the opportunity to write NOB, BUM or COK on someone else’s property was too much to resist.

During a now thankfully failed attempt at University attendance, I grudgingly sold my 360 to better concentrate on my studies. I unsubscribed from my gaming podcasts, ceased to visit my favourite gaming sites and tried to put my favourite pastime behind me. In other words, spent several months boldfaced lying to myself. After the reality of Uni life set in, I fled the debt and stalled career advancement to return to work in the I.T. field. My bank balance breathed a sigh of relief. I felt the burning urge to own a shiny console again. Due in part to the recent trumping of HD-DVD by Blu-Ray, I plumped for the monolithic PS3 as my console of choice. I’d loved the PS2, and after a grotesquely shaky start, the PS3 had started to ripen and mature. I’ve really enjoyed the majority of PS3 games I’ve played over the last few months, and don’t regret my purchase at all.

But.

This week as part of an agreement with my brother, I happily took ownership of his 360. After a shocking reminder of how loud the damn thing is, I signed into XBL. Friend requests by the dozen poured onto my screen, messages wondering where I’ve been began to arrive. I instantly felt a part of a wider community of people, all tied together by one common goal; staring googley eyed at a screen and mashing plastic buttons. Gamerscores throughout my list had exploded, with previously laughable scores now making mine look miniscule in comparison. All in all, a compelling reason indeed to crack out old favourites like Gears, Halo 3, Bioshock and so on.

Truly, though I pride myself on never taking sides in a console war, it’s clear to me that Sony have some massive strides to make before they can compete with the ease of use and sense of community and competition offered by the 360. In failing to embrace the services that Xbox live offered from the get-go, Sony have missed a chance to build a real community, and in turn a fully compelling environment to play within.

Despite the 2.4 firmware update, the PS3 community feels fractured and confusing. The multiplayer component functions feel distinctly tacked-on, whereas they are an integral part of the 360 experience. For all its whooshy, red-ringy technical inferiority, my return to the 360 was a pleasant one, with a real air of ‘coming home’, and I can’t help but feel like the 360 is currently a more forward-looking system.

It is my sincere hope that Sony are able to deliver on the potential caged within their gorgeous black beast of a box. It’s still a beautiful chunk of hardware, but I fear for its longevity in the face of the ever-bulging XBL community. The 360 might tail off in terms of sales before too long, but I suspect its successor will continue the momentum and success of XBL to the detriment of the PSN multiplayer experience. The PS3 may go on to become the dominant console/blu-ray player in terms of sales, but aside from dwindling PS3 exclusives, it may be destined for a secondary role in my household.

I’m eager to see how the situation develops after the upcoming dashboard redesign. The party features certainly seem exciting, though the avatars definitely don’t. I worry that Sony may have missed the boat when predicting the future direction of the industry, and that they’ll be forever destined to play catch-up this generation.

I say good luck to ‘em. It’s surprising how Microsoft can act in a market where they genuinely have some legitimate competition.

Guilty gaming: Breasts

2008-06-18T20:13:00.004+01:00

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Caveat: The following is a reposting of an entry originally posted at Gamerdork on June 18th, 2008. Due to this, the tone may differ somewhat to the articles to follow. However, I would prefer to repost verbatim. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarely has any part of the human anatomy been so disproportionately represented as the humble breast. From the jellylike mammaries of ‘Dead or Alive 4′ to the right-angled pyramid smuggling of the original ‘Tomb Raider’, we are endlessly strolling through the darkest recesses of the male mind. Please don’t get me wrong, there is nowt better on our little planet than a perfect pair. However, I feel it might be time to take a long, hard look at just how your average female is portrayed to us in videogames.

Far too often a game will squander any goodwill felt toward its character design by strapping a pair of embarrassingly giant, gravity-defying, uncomfortable looking breasts three inches below a characters chin. Our leading men come in all shapes and sizes, and yet our leading ladies appear to have spent their lives performing in some pneumatic hyper-porn troupe of the future. Plenty of people have objected to the portrayal of women in games before now, but I doubt their reasoning matches mine. I would argue that in presenting the player with overly sexualised, one dimensional women, the game suffers as a result. While most would object on the grounds of the gender being discriminated against, I’m far more worried about the effect the portrayal of women has on the game itself.

As a medium, games have the best possible opportunity to provide wish fulfillment for the player. In movies, Neo gets to fly and Leo gets the girl, but the viewer is left to experience the adventure vicariously. We might be excited or appalled by the decisions, actions and consequences of the characters onscreen, but we are never able to revel in them as our own experiences. In a game however, the onus is on the player to seek such reward. Every explosion is an interactive experience, every decision instigated by the player. Even during the lengthiest of cutscenes, we still feel a sense of reward. We took down the boss or traversed the environment which prompted the cutscene to play. Gaming offers us the opportunity to experience narrative in a way no other genre can, and as such it seems incongruous to limit ourselves to interacting with such basic, uninspiring women.

And so it comes to this; is the average depiction of the female form in gaming really what we want? Tomonobu Itakagi would no doubt argue it was, but I for one would love to see a more realistic type of woman. Having a more naturalistic, everyday leading lady (whether hero or damsel in distress) would surely provoke a more sympathetic emotional response from the player. Even in a game as charged and red-blooded as Ninja Gaiden, where the story ultimately means nothing, I find the inclusion of Rachel’s ludicrous breasts both embarrasses the player and detracts from the game.

Itagaki is by no means the sole offender here, but serves as a perfect case in point. Until gaming is genuinely photorealistic, only the strangest among us will find their female avatar genuinely physically attractive. So why do so many female characters sport massive, bouncing breasts? At best their design provides them with a degree of blunt sexuality. At worst it can turn a potentially compelling character into a caricature. It can alienate gamers, especially anyone outside of the male 13-30 bracket. For example, would you feel happy taking your family to see any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, if Keira Knightley was replaced by Lolo Ferrari in bondage gear? Movie characters can exude beauty and sexuality without the need for a grotesque figure. One look at the Dead or Alive movie (hint: don’t) tells you all you need to know about the dichotomy between real women and their gaming counterparts. Resolutely beautiful women such as Jaime Pressly, Devon Aoki and Holly Vallance look completely at odds with the vapid realdolls contained within Tecmo’s code.

There is some hope for those of us without the oedipal need for ginormous ladylumps around every corner. Take for example Uncharted’s Elena Fisher. Elena is a strong character with a mostly believable personality, and as such is all the more compelling. Half Life’s Alyx Vance is another equally expressive character, boasting an attractive personality which really compliments the emotional motivation felt by the player during key scenes.

Ultimately, as gaming stumbles through another generation of console, we can only hope to see characters that are able to engage us in more subtle ways than we are led to expect. I’m not under any false impressions as to how far gaming still needs to go in order to truly engage us emotionally, and yet every tiny step in the right direction brings a little joy to my shrivelled-up peanut of a heart. It’s something akin to being brought a terrible picture by your child. Ok, so it doesn’t look much like a house, but you still stick it on the fridge right? We need to be proud of every baby step gaming takes toward a more engaging and interesting future.

Of course, our female characters should quite rightly remain as downright foxy as possible. After all, no-one wants to play Amy Winehouse’s giant mouthed velociprator adventure, or slog through 60 hours of JRPG mayhem only to be rewarded by eternity with Judy Finnegan. But, there must be more people out there that don’t find a pair of beachballs up a jumper sexy.

I’m interested to hear your thoughts in the comments below, perhaps I’m just reading too much into it. I’m off to shake a Sixaxxis at Rosemary.