Bad End
by Tupperwarez
Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2007And that jolly romp lead to I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, featuring a cast of characters with deep psychological flaws being tormented by malevolent supercomputer with a burning hatred for humanity. The object of each scenario is to confront the fact that your character is a horrible person and attempt to redeem them. But thanks to the supercomputer's machinations, the closest thing to winning is to 'lose well,' to die at the exact moment you reclaim your humanity.
So you could say I rode the express train to Bleaksville by the end. Pretty invigorating, really. Encountering a game that isn't obligated to make you feel comfortable or shower you with praise is a breath of fresh air. Granted, there is a whiff of grave dirt and misery, but the change is welcome. I mean, since day one games have operated on stringing the player along with treats like high scores, plot exposition, and the venerable bright lights and loud noises. This usually makes the player feel like they're King Bigdick the Badass.
"Well of course, you gin-soaked cretin," you would say. "That's the point of a game: rewards and escapism! No one wants to play a game that punishes and upsets them! They'd rather hammer nails into their urethra!" And you'd be right. Hell, some of my favorite games involve the screen exploding into multi-colored eye-rape (i.e., shoot-'em ups and modern puzzle games).
Goodness knows it's a scheme has worked for years. But there seem to be signs that game makers are starting to chafe at the idea that games necessarily have to be a series of pats on the back. They've all heard that horrible 'A' word and want to make 'interactive experiences' now, and they're wising up to how limited the "Great job for intersecting your vectors with that polygonal solid!" setup is.
I think horror games set off in the right direction, in the sense that they delight in messing with the player's emotions. Good horror games don't have any qualms about fucking with your head. Those good old fashioned gut reactions make for great gaming experiences. However, you'll notice that all the manipulation and mind games are still reined in by the classic setup. You complete a goal, you get a treat, in this case the treat is usually a carefully rationed bit of exposition.
But what element is being reined in, exactly? Shit, I don't know. A wave of games like I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. Downer games. Anti-rewards. Games that are less concerned with giving you an audio-visual hand job, and more concerned with getting a response out of you, good or bad. I've seen the good side of it a lot, but where the hell has the bad gone? A downer ending doesn't always have to mean that the player failed. Look at the proper endings for Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts: Covenant.
I do think that we're getting closer to that point where we can start dealing with uncomfortable subjects with some subtlety. Right now the craft is still a bumbling infant, a toddler at best. There's ham fisted gore, pseudo-intellectualism, 'freedom of choice' that is anything but, puerile attitudes to women and sex, it's a laundry list of failures big and small. The thing is though, is that they're getting better with each experiment. A few more cycles, and they'll get the hang of it, at least I hope.
I liken it to a new technology, as bad of a simile that is. Every time a new technology is introduced to gaming, it's used with shameless abandon, with no regard to subtlety. It's only a cycle or two in that developers really get the hang of things and start to make decent, if not good content. And as the audience grows, so will its capacity to digest this content.
But why has writing in particular been such a miserable bitch to master for video game makers? Mainly because writing is a miserable bitch to master in general. But then you've got additional obstacles. The tradition of showering the player with rewards, the player's ability to murder your narrative in cold blood, gamers being fickle douches--
It's like crawling on broken glass, writing for an audience that's been conditioned to expect happy endings that tie up the loose ends. But again, that's okay. Habits can be broken. Think of it as learning to finish all your vegetables. I look forward to the day when it finally clicks for game makers out there. It'll be like that joyful day when I first saw colored lighting that didn't make me gouge out my eyes. Article Permalink
It’s “Casting a shadow upon my floor”
by alzabo
Posted on Saturday, July 28, 2007
Ok, it’s not mine; it belongs to my brother. But it sits next to my Wii in our living room, hooked up to the HDtv, looming over the diminutive Wii like the Monolith from Auther C. Clarke’s famous novel. The conversations I’ve had with people about having it in my house are far more fun and interesting than actually playing it. Hold on, lets get the clichés out of the way. . .
Boring PS3 Facts:
1: FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS (or soon to be) FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS
2: (lol) BROWN
3: The best game for it is Folding@Home
It’s hard to describe the response people have when they see the George Forman Grill in my living room. My knee jerk response that it belongs to my brother doesn’t quell their ire, I usually have to explain the situation that led to the Grills arrival. My brother got it for $250 and some old car stereo equipment. Even with that explanation, most people still curl their lips and roll their eyes, I can see it written on their faces: “What a rip-off.”
I often liken Sony’s Folly to "The Raven" of Poe.
“But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, `Nevermore.' “
I honestly think this every time I see that damned thing sitting next to my TV gathering dust. A proverbial albatross around my neck, placed there for some past mistake that I cannot remember. . .
I’ll level with you, I’ve lost interest in writing this. I care so little about the PS3 that I can’t even be bothered to keep making fun of it.
“. . . And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,” I fear the PS3's curse shall be lifted -nevermore.
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