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Michael Abbott of the Brainy Gamer recently pointed readers to the Versus CluClu Land blog run by Iroquois Pliskin (Metal Gear?!). Both of these authors write intelligent pieces about videogames—something I used to do often but have slowed down on while doing game studies in grad school and juggling all sorts of other outside projects. Every so often I read a post that sparks me to respond and I wanted to share one of those with you today.
Iroquois Pliskin writes about moral rewards in games and points to an article from Patrick Klepek on the MTV Multiplayer blog in which he asks four game developers who they chose to kill in the Playboy X / Dwayne feud in Grand Theft Auto IV. *SPOILERS AHEAD*
Pliskin contemplates the meaning of rewarding certain choices and says attaching a reward "represented a failure of nerve on the part of the designers" in creating morally ambiguous situations. Pliskin also notes that walkthroughs can be used to help game players learn the outcomes of their decisions without having to take risks. Go read the article and then read my response on the Versus CluClu Land blog or right here below:
The use of walkthrough to make moral/gameplay choices is a very poignant one. Toward the beginning of the game I looked at a guide to see what the result of my choice of to-kill or not-to-kill was going to be, though by the time I got to Playbox X / Dwayne I had stopped referencing outside material to make my own choices.
This observation raises a handful of questions. The first relates to the use of walkthrough. While walkthroughs are not cheating, they do lay outside of the game's gameplay/narrative structure that you laid out. It's extra-narrative and extra-mechanic in terms of the game's world, but has become an ever-increasingly important part of the game industry. After all, Rockstar gave Brady Games the material needed to have their strategy guide published the day the game came out. And game publishers are also aware of the tenacity of the game playing public and their quick GameFAQs submitting fingers. This begs the question of how many people actually look at these walkthroughs when it comes to making moral decisions. If it is indeed a lot, then something needs to be done to make these decisions more surprising and impactful.
Another question is revealed in terms of decision-reward structures. If you're not looking at a walkthrough and choose to kill Playboy X and are rewarded for doing so does this necessarily show a bias for the "right decision" in the game. I felt that Rockstar has set up that bias in terms of narrative already. It's really hard to empathize with Playboy X. He lives outside the way of life with which Niko has aligned. The heavy-handed narrative from Rockstar seems to imply that getting Playboy X's apartment shouldn't be considered a reward so much a not getting it is punishment. This of course may just be my reading of the game, but I felt that the designers had a general trajectory for Niko's character even though it was "open" on the surface.
People get down on Grand Theft Auto in this area because they expect "open world," whereas I've found that the GTA games are anything but. Grand Theft Auto games allow freedom on one axis of your gameplay/narrative structure, but the latter is much more finely controlled. Sure CJ can fly around on a jetpack to the top of Las Venturas buildings and snipe people from the roof, but that open play will not progress the game, as you've written. It's up to the designers to strike the balance of what moves the game forward.
So what do we do about this climate of decisions affecting gameplay. Should all games look like Knights of the Old Republic with an alignment system that changes the narrative? Does a different-but-equal reward system mitigate the inherent problems with moral decisions in narrative? What about randomly or procedurally generating results so that everybody's gameplay experience is slightly different? Or is it okay to reward decisions based on the ideology of the game?
What's most important is that game designers try all these different things so that we continue to have a wide variety of game playing experiences.
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Anybody who is anybody
has played this game. Released in 1988, it's generally considered the
first "real" Mega Man game... since it established in a strong way what
the series would be all about. The story is simple. "In the year 200X,
a super robot named Megaman was created. Dr. Light created Megaman to
stop the evil desires of Dr. Wily. However, after his defeat, Dr. Wily
created eight of his own robots to counter Megaman." In the first game,
Megaman defeated Dr. Wily who had stolen a bunch of evil robots... so
now Wily's pissed and has decided to create eight robots of his own.
The amazing thing about Mega Man 2 is that it gives you the freedom to
choose in which order to defeat the eight master robots. I'll begin my
review where I always begin my game: Metal Man's stage. Metal Man's stage is the epitome of what is good about the game: variety. The stage doesn't even begin with any enemies. Conveyer-belt floors and crashing spikes familiarize the user with the game play and how our little blue hero moves. Then he moves into those little corn-on-the-cob looking things that drill up from the floor and down from the ceiling (a good place to bulk up on health as we've learned). This stage also has the enemy that dances and walks atop a huge gear (called Gear Clowns, I believe) which comes crashing down to run you over. Then there are those stupid little metal blobs that pop up like a slinky at you (further proving that the most difficult obstacles generally cannot be shot to death). Metal Man himself is quite the character. One thing the game designers did really well was make their bosses evil. They all are scowling at you while hurling everything they have to ensure your quick demise. In some games, the bosses just seems like something that has to be thrown in there to make the level feel complete. Because the Mega Man stages are designed with the boss's theme in mind (or vice versa) the boss truly is the climax of the stage. This is different than Contra or Super Mario Bros., for examples, because the point of both of their stages is to move onto the next stage. Since they can be played in any order, Mega Man 2 packages each stage as a separate entity unto itself whose goal is for you to destroy the evil robot at the end. The implication of this is that no boss can be given a ranking based on the order they appear in the game. In most games the first bosses are the easiest and the last bosses the hardest. This type of order can only be given to the second area of the game when you enter Dr. Wily's castle. Until then, all the robot masters are basically equals based on the design of the game. Not too many platformers had avoided linearity before the Mega Man series. The way the game creators established a cohesive order by having Mega Man gain a power from each robot that would be strong against one or two specific other bosses (or their level). Now, Nintendo Power always got the order wrong, as far as I was concerned. They told you to begin with Air Man. Why would you do that when the Metal Blade from Metal Man was the most useful weapon in the game (especially useful for peksy flying things in Air Man's stage?) Fortunately, the Metal Blade is finally recognized as being the first thing you should get by most gamers. The end of each stage makes the player feel accomplished. Not only has the robot master been blown to smithereens but you gain their power. The Mario series finally took a cue from this in Super Mario Bros. 3 and gave little presents at the end of each Land to reward the player. After all, you deserved it, didn't you? Also, before Rush (not the band but the dog) there were Items 1, 2, and 3. These added versatility to Mega Man's arsenal and revealing how you can get some of those hard to reach power-ups and one-ups. The other stages are just as good and each pose unique challenges. Bubble Man's stage forces the you to control the pressure of your jump button while under water for fear of impaling yourself on the ceiling spikes. Air Man's stage has you take leaps of faith as your balance high above the clouds. Crash Man's tower has moving platform tracks, sometimes frustrating ladders, and that creepy background that gets darker as you get higher up. Wood Man has freaky running chickens, Rabbots shooting mechanical carrots, and that crazy swinging ape. Heat Man introduces the player to those ever annoying disappearing block puzzles while warming things up. Flash Man is a slick character and his stage is there to prove it while living up to his name (get it? cuz the floor is slippery and flashes!!! Man, I'm funny.) And then, of course Quick Man's stage shoots beams across the screen which will kill you if you touch them as you're freefalling from like 10 stories above the ground. No two stages feel the same, keeping the game play fresh every time through. In fact, you can sit down and beat only the eight robots and turn off the game feeling accomplished. The 'second' part of the game is Dr. Wily's castle. It's designed in a more traditional manner: a linear move forward with ups and downs eventually leading to the final battle. Armed with eight new weapons and three new items you get to take on a host of baddies including a robot dragon, a weird block dude, the Gutsdozer, the eight robots again, and some freaky alien. The alien ending is quite advanced as far as story lines go. You show up at the end expecting to blow the ass of Dr. Wily and instead you find yourself in the middle of space with stars all around. An alien comes in and challenges you. After tearing him up with the Bubble Lead (finally it's worth something, right?) he falls to the ground only to reveal that it was Dr Wily in a costume and 'space' was actually just a hologram created by one of his machines in some dank room. Pretty intense for a simple game about blowing away robots. If you're not paying attention you might forget that the series even has a story. But once you've learned what it's all about a level of depth is added to the game play. As far as late 80's NES games go, Mega Man 2 ranks among the best for graphics and sound. Enemies and stages are well detailed and vibrantly colored to give an effect most games weren't able to accomplish for many years. The audio also has surprising depth considering the limited audio channels of the NES and the beats and rhythms have stood the test of time.
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As published in the University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily
Resident Evil 4 delivers gruesome survival-horror action in Capcom's best title in the series to date. RE4 combines all the elements of the genre's heart-racing atmosphere and story with blood-pumping new, over-the-shoulder shooting action. Great gameplay and graphics make RE4 a must-have title for both long-time Resident Evil fans and newcomers alike. The story of RE4 is simple but effective. The main character, Leon, is investigating the kidnapping of the president's daughter in a small European village. Trouble arises when the Spanish-speaking natives of the village -- wielding pitch-forks, axes, knives and chainsaws -- mob Leon inexplicably. Using fairly standard Resident Evil puzzles, Leon must navigate a variety of creepy locations swarming with these crazed enemies. RE4 emphasizes gun fights between puzzle-solving more than the puzzle-solving itself. Unlike other Evil games, the crazed residents of the town are not zombies, so part of the mystery is finding out what sent these people over the edge. The story itself unfolds through beautiful cinematic sequences and written notes left around the towns and countryside. The voice-acting is well done -- the dialogue is curt, but not dry. Unlike many games that rely on cut-scenes, RE4 balances its duration with the speed of the rest of the gameplay so that cinematics don't interrupt the action --- short cut-scenes come during the heat of combat while longer ones come during lulls in the fighting. Some of the more action-packed cinematic sequences have trigger events, in which the player presses a combination of buttons that appear on screen during cut-scene to avoid imminent danger. Capcom has also revamped the gameplay for the latest edition in a number of different ways. The in-game camera is fixed over Leon's shoulder for first-person shooter style aiming and there's more ammo available than in previous games. A laser sight allows players to aim with more precision, though Leon's unsteady hand, gun recoil and enemy attacks affect his accuracy. The sheer number of brutal enemies often surrounding Leon give a sense of the threatening situation, but switching weapons requires a pause menu, which interrupts the game's flow. Action commands also appear when Leon shoots or knifes an enemy, knocking them off balance -- the "A" button pops up when Leon can physically attack the enemy to conserve ammo. Both useful and gruesome, these physical attacks often result in roundhouse-kicking an enemy's head off. Even though there's more emphasis on combat than ever before, RE4 still requires thoughtful strategy. Some levels need to be re-played a number of times to form a winning strategy -- whether victory requires barring Leon in the corner of a house or finding a great vantage point from which to take out distant enemies. The player also decides how to spend Leon's money and manage his limited inventory. The boss fights in RE4 are nicely varied -- winning doesn't come from laying out a rain of bullets but rather requires strategy, fast reflexes and, oftentimes, problem-solving skills. RE4 features excellent visuals, ambient sound and atmospheric music. When these are combined with extremely fun gameplay, GameCube owners not already immersed in Capcom's Evil world can't resist the cult of Resident Evil 4.
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As reviewed in the University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily
Polyphony Digital's ground-breaking, expansive Gran Turismo series has defined the racing simulation market for the last eight years. Director Kazunori Yamauchi takes pride in mechanical detail and realism, and Gran Turismo 4, out now for the PlayStation 2, takes the series to the next level. For immediate racing action, GT4's arcade mode allows players to choose from an array of cars and tracks in time trial, versus and single race events. But the core of any Gran Turismo game has always been its simulation mode -- GT4's exhaustive track, car and race roster is incomparable. Fifty different courses keep races fresher than previous series installments, and automotive enthusiasts are sure to find their favorite rides amongst more than 700 modern and historic cars. Over 80 manufacturers contribute in-house tune shops and make-specific races, which revive new and classic championships such as the Aston Martin Festival and the "Type R" Honda race. Unlike Gran Turismo 3, players can purchase used cars as they get started in the racing world. Used car showrooms are a great place to save money and find vehicles no longer in production. The Gran Turismo series has always trained players as skilled and technical drivers, and 4 features the most comprehensive in-game license tests yet. Gran Turismo 3 players need not worry about the first two licenses, however, as GT4 imports both B and A licenses from GT3 save file. GT3 players also have the option of transferring up to 100,000 credits to their cash reserves at the beginning of GT4. Unfortunately, GT4's racing physics haven't advanced much since 3, though new game mechanics are marginally more realistic. While heavily modified cars can win earlier races with ease, "Extreme" events and newly created "Driving Missions" require precise driving. Some races now begin with a rolling start, with videos that are often too long, and load times, while sometimes slow, are not unbearable by any means. GT4's graphics set the new standard for the PlayStation 2. Side-by-side comparisons with GT3 show a remarkable attention to detail. Distant scenery looks realistic and natural, while lighting and reflection effects compliment breathtaking views. Cars also have slightly more detail than GT3, though some auto bodies show no significant visual improvements. GT4 boasts a number of new features, though not all prove successful. Photo mode gives players a chance to memorialize their car collection. Photos are still cars posed amidst beautiful scenery or action shots from individual races. While there's not much to do with photos saved to the memory card, players with USB thumb drives can download high resolution jpegs to their computers. B-spec mode, also new to GT4, is interesting but frustrating, allowing players to instruct drivers to maneuver positions and negotiate the race track. Limited commands are imprecise, and simple races are easily lost. On the upside, players can relax during longer races and earn easy money if their car is significantly better than the competition. Polyphony Digital chose not to include online racing in GT4, but dozens of race tracks and hundreds of cars are enough to keep players busy. Despite flaws in the new, inadequate gameplay modes, series fans will not be disappointed by Gran Turismo 4, and new players will surely marvel at its size and detail.
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Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is truly unlike its predecessors. The
focus is taken away from stealth action and instead directed toward
moving the plot and action along at a smoother pace than the previous
two games in the MGS series. The dynamics of the stealth action are
changed to fit appropriately with the time-period of the game – gone is
the radar screen and the sneaking suit. Instead, camouflage is
introduced to keep this Snake hidden in the proverbial grass.
Now that the focus was taken away from stealth, the player has been freed to give Snake whatever kind of weapon he needs to get the job done. Pulling out an AK-47 and laying down a hail of bullets is not as taboo as it once was. Incentives for sneaking come via the rankings one gets at the end of the game. But if you’re just playing through for the story your first time, there are only a few places in which you can’t just run through at full force (although, sneaking has been ingrained in the mentality of MGS players.) Also introduced is the cure system and the food system, in which Snake performs medical fixes on himself to maintain his health while eating objects in the environment to retain his stamina. It might seem inconvenient at first, but it quickly becomes a natural process. Once again, the boss battles are the pinnacles of the gameplay. While not perfect, they feel much more like the battles of MGS1 than Sons of Liberty – a better variety of strange characters with interesting ticks and hang-ups. There’s some interesting environment stuff going on for a few of them, one boss that’s hardly a battle yet manages to retain an eerie intensity, and one boss that will eat up a good portion of your game clock. One of the most impressive battles comes toward the end; displaying dynamic camera angles unlike any other game I’ve played (imagine getting the chance to play during a cut scene). Perhaps the biggest draw of the game is the expectations for plot resolution. As a prequel, Snake Eater had the opportunity to fill in a lot of holes, tie some loose ends together, and self-reflexively comment on the series’ own history. As a result, Snake Eater’s ending is far more grounded than that of Sons of Liberty. Though the series has always been focused on plot and cinematics, Snake Eater feels the least like a “movie that you can sometimes play.” In that regard, Snake Eater is also the most well balanced of the three games. MGS3 also shows the possibilities of the PlayStation 2 hardware. It was one of the first visually stunning PS2 games, and helped to usher in a new era of well done graphics. While graphics aren’t everything, well done visuals compliment a well done game. Snake Eater pays obvious homage to James Bond films, as seen in the opening movie and title song. One can’t help but get goosebumps when the MGS theme finds its way into the game subtly. Overall, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is a fantastic play. It does have a few problems, such as length, but at least it’s not artificially lengthened. This can be compensated for by the replay value, in which there are more incentives than ever in the form of unlockables. Players who are unfamiliar with the first two games won’t find the plot nearly as satisfying, but it can hold up on its own if necessary. MGS3 is a game that should be on every PlayStation 2 owner’s shelf.
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Knights of the Old Republic is an exciting romp through the Star Wars
universe, with a fun combat system, a memorable story, and always
something to do. It does have a few downfalls, however, which can be
attributed to the genre more than anything else. But now that KOTOR
wears the 20 dollar price tag, these annoyances can be overlooked to
find a game that still holds up.
The first four or five hours of the game are a little slow. While I won’t spoil any of the plot for people who have not played it, I will say that I spent this time just waiting for my character to become “cool”. Bioware simultaneously did something neat as well as trying when they created these worlds. Crossing long distances can be quite a pain, especially because you have be attentive to every step even when you’re not in any sort of danger. Often times, forgetting to open a footlocker somewhere or traveling back to a cantina meant a long run with no shortcuts. The recall system to the home-base (whether the apartment or ship) was a nice feature, but I never had reason to use it all that often when it was available and wanted to use it when it was disabled. Besides the lightsabers, the upgrade system proved fairly worthless as I played through the game. I could see how it would become important for a certain party of characters, but it would have been nicer to see more customizable armors with different slots for upgrade pieces. The variety of weapons was fantastic – something for everybody. The swords became arcane quickly, however, as lightsabers came into play; they basically seemed to be created to start the main character down a melee path so that they could use lightsabers later on. The environments of the different planets were all surprisingly unique. This design really set each area apart from the others. It’s unfortunate that going to a new planet meant only being able to travel to a solitary new city and its surrounding area, and not a couple of locations on the planet’s surface. It’s obvious that doing so would have been a huge undertaking, but that doesn’t mean the hypothetical wouldn’t be fun. The game progresses quickly throughout most of it, but does get hung up in a few parts. There are times when I wished that I could do the missions on a planet in between missions of other planets. With the exception of a few sidequests, it always felt as if the game encouraged me to just beat one planet at a time. It was nice that they left the order of the planets open, though now I wish I had visisted Kashyyk sooner. The voice acting was fantastic, considering the sheer number of lines that had to be delivered. You did, however, begin to recognize all the alien speech patterns (as there were only 5 or so stock lines per race to cycle through). The original score also fit perfectly into the game, as if John Williams had composed it himself. All in all, PC owners looking for a solid game that won’t empty the wallet or fail graphics card tests should turn to KOTOR to see what all the talk has been about.
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| Date Joined: | July 21, 2008 |
| City: | Atlanta |
| Gender: | Male |
| Alignment: | Neutral |
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tokyochicken thinks more people need to jump into the giantbomb IRC because its awesome. 4 hours, 24 minutes ago |
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SuperMooseman is totally back! 4 days, 13 hours ago |
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dannyodwyer is on the way to Leipzig baby! www.citizengame.co.uk 15 hours, 21 minutes ago |
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Carrie |
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Jeff guhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 13 hours, 21 minutes ago |
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Jimbo_N
Very tragic.
Vinny
Braid Conspiracy Theory...Spoilers?
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Rediscovering Burnout...
MrCHUP0N
Trigames.NET Podcast Episode 102 - I ...
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Websites of the Past
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Bionic Commando Rearmed query
LuckyWanderDude
Regionalism In Games
Jeff
New Genres or Themes?
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as strong as stupid
dannyodwyer
Fat Chicks Love Cake
Yatesy
Accepted!
Brad
No more mods for now
Ryan
Game Pages I Would Like to ...
Rich
Congratulations!
on July 28, 2008
on July 28, 2008
on July 23, 2008