With a recent lecture held last week, we discussed - entertainingly - quantitative thinking, and marginally explored the advertising; the impact of this and how simple words advertised well, or poorly, can individually challenge our minds.
Six separate words where used for this classroom test, with each promoting it's own marketing, based around the word. For example, the word 'disruption' was shown as an image of itself - the exact piece I couldn't find, but looked similar in approach to this:
With these seemingly simple prepositions, we individually established the image's impact; with 'low', 'medium' and 'high' being the qualifying answers.
One word that stood out for me was one that many of the class had either voted as 'medium' or 'low', which was then briefly discussed as an example of it's impact, or lack there of, after the test.
The image shown was 'advertisiNg'.
What stood out, blatantly to me was the capital 'N' used in the lower-case word. Our lecturer projected that even though rated poorly within the class as an impacting image, the image - just for the 'N' had married with the word, and overall concept of good advertisement. With the 'N' glaring the viewer in the face, this in fact stood out, and was hinted as a metaphor for successful advertising - to stand out.
This whole exercise in quantitative thinking, in particular the example above, had me jotting down notes in my notepad, specifically aimed at advertising within the mainstream world, and the emotional impact and connections it can often have on it's audience.
I reminded myself during this note-taking of the film They Live, by director John Carpenter. Released in 1988, the film's plot is essentially based on subliminal advertising throughout mass media outlets by an alien species that conceal their appearance, blend into society and manage social human affairs through mixed signals in television and billboard adverts.
This is discovered through the character Nada who finds a box filled with sunglasses that, when worn, reveal billboards, magazines and even money as their blatant and bold intention.
A billboard's true intention/message is revealed when wearing the sunglasses. The bold, black and white adds to the message's blatant intent towards the viewer, as it's subliminally advertised within the 'come to the.... CARIBBEAN' image.
The film itself is an absurd, off-the-wall sci-fi comedy/action flick that's plot is in the realization of an alien species and the ways of solving this politically charged dilemma - gun fights and catchphrases.
Still, as ridiculous as the premise sounds, the film's exploration of the satirical agenda of media-based advertising and it's abolishment, there of, of free thinking is an unlocked door into the potential exploration of this kind of practice throughout a video game.
"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."
So yesterday I was reading articles and watching videos and decided - as always - to make some notes and NOT publish them. This, I think, was mainly due to the consistent stream of information being fed to me through these sources, and that yesterday I just felt like I was in the right mind state to study.
Even though video games, and the study there of, is one of my major passions, some days it's hard to focus, especially when you know you have to be doing something productive in a specific field.
It's often that when I'm away from the computer, and not thinking about working, that my brain starts to function properly; imagination starts to replenish, and ideas, concepts and questions begin dominating my thought processes again.
YouTube has an endless supply of 'Top Lists', a lot of which - statistics; unknown - portray a user's input on their top favourite video games, their top least favourite, their top underrated and overrated games... the list goes on and on. It was only when I continued playing Quake II - of which I'd recently been replaying for the God-only-knows-th time - that I then began to realize elements of this, and many over video games, that I'd always loved and appreciated, but had never really explored before; intricate, game-pace inducing design aspects that either added great value to a video game, served as a change of pace, or halted the game entirely into non-escapable encounters - namely; boss battles. So I began taking notes during game play and started discovering considerably relevant video game trademarks and niches to potentially analyze and discuss.
Upon my play through of Quake's boss encounters, I discovered that - in my opinion - although considered a classic, critically - and of course; I agree - the boss battles leave very little to the imagination, and literally place the player in a large, pillar-friendly room to battle it out with a specific end-of-chapter boss.
The style of this mirrors id Software's previous franchise Doom's boss encounters, as the player would also have specific arenas in which they'd duke it out with a demon, with a rocket launcher for an arm, or a minigun for a stomach.
To me, however, this style reflected Doom's gameplay perfectly, and added to the absurdity and genuine intimidation the encounters gave off - as one rocket to the face and BOOM; dead. The tension was, specifically with the Cyber Demon (rocket launcher for an arm), raised in most encounters as the threat level and health of the creature was so high that it would need 20+ rockets to take it down. This boss, however, has balance, in which it's slow movement makes up for it's deadly arsenal and ridiculous amount of health.
If anything, just facing the Cyber Demon is an event, and one which can be played over and over again; dodging rockets can become an art form, making mincemeat of the terrifyingly intimidating creature with quick movement and good aim, yet one or two foul steps and you're player explodes into a virtual array of body parts.
The game's first use of the Cyber Demon. The player is pitted against this rocket-launching creature, in a large arena with hidden ammunition, small amounts of health and fast-paced flamed skull creatures that serve as a juxtaposition to the main boss' slow, heavy movement.
I think what worked for Doom, doesn't necessarily work for Quake II, nor Doom's 2003 sequel; Doom 3, and the reason for this initially was perplexing to me. All the same set-up was there, essentially the same scenario - player's placed in an area with only the boss to face and defeat - yet it all doesn't appear to have the same emotional impact. While Doom's encounters were, for the most part, challenging and rewarding, Quake II's feel tedious and somewhat, dare I say, easy. It was essentially; 'here's a boss, all the weapons you have at the ready, shoot the shit out of it and dodge behind conveniently placed pillars when it slowly strikes back, then re-appear and shoot the shit out of it again - repeat until enemy's dead'.
It's hard to explain, on the face of it Doom's encounters also appear like that, but I think the fast paced action - and the fact that in Doom your player ran at 100mph - made it more intense and satisfying.
The build up to the boss battles in Quake II and Doom 3, however, have the edge of build up - often having the player explore desolate areas, hearing subtle demonic laughs and groans drawing the player closer to their imminent doom (pun).
And to me that's what I've often discovered with a boss battle; a lack of innovation, something to act as a bookend for the world the player had come to the end of. The concept of the boss battle finale, especially when built up, can be a very satisfying experience, of which can then serve as a purposeful event, or a highly disappointing pace-halting encounter.
Sometimes it's not even that the boss lacks originality, it's that it can be so crushingly hard that it either has you shouting with victory after finally defeating, or turning off in a fit of rage, vowing to never play again. Until the next day.
Some classic, yet highly easy boss encounters have come from the original Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario games - albeit, the former having more imagination and initial challenge, aesthetically - and some exceedingly difficult from the maturer late 80's, early 90's period such as Contra, Metroid, Gradius, to name but a few.
Within the Sega Megadrive days, Sonic's boss battles with Dr. Robotnik (now Dr. Eggman) where varied and often matched the surrounding levels the player had just explored; requiring, in this screenshot, Sonic to use his spindash move to gain momentum from side to side, or his bumpers to bounce on top of Robotnik's head. Around 6 hits would often defeat the boss.
With Sonic, getting damaged means any rings stored fly out from all angles, as the player desperately panics to get some back to survive another possible hit. Yet with Metroid - in this case, Super Metroid - the player's character, Samus, often acts as a sponge for enemy attacks, as encounters such as this one require intense accuracy and skill in order to perfectly hit the enemy or dodge one of it's many projectiles, environmental hazards - spikes - and erratic body movement.
A boss battle isn't an essential part of a video game but has served as a traditional segment throughout the years and can be an inviting and memorable experience, if done right. Of course, some awful boss encounters are also remembered for being so, yet a dynamically engaging, or simple yet ingenious scenario can provide reason and relevance for the boss to be present in the first place, often adding to the story and plot development. Otherwise it's there, just because it's there.
I enjoy a boss battle with puzzle-solving elements, something that's highly rewarding in that you're really having solve problems in order to eventually discover the weak point(s) and satisfyingly attack.
I also enjoy dramatic battles that serve as a somewhat large occasion, namely those present in God of War - of which you're often against a creature that's height matches skyscrapers, and it's battle marries that with the challenge of having to actually scale it's body and attack perfectly intricate damageable features:
I stumbled across this video from self-proclaimed and highly popular The Angry Video Game Nerd; Cinemassacre. It's essentially him and his friend - James Rolfe - playing through and discussing two Super Mario and Legend of Zelda fan-created 'homebrew' video games on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
What I found intriguing about this video - other than their analysis towards these unofficial games - is when Mike Matei (Cinemassacre) is asked what his favorite Mario game is and why; to which he reminisces on his chosen title and flourishes in memories of receiving and playing the game as a kid. It's important for me to be able to have this unscripted access to a video game enthusiast's cherished childhood.
Matei clearly loves video games, the justification of this is evident in the shelves of video games, consoles and accessories in the background of the video; displaying a wide range of yearly releases; from old arcade-like mini-consoles to updated generational titles from the PlayStation.
I think that in exploring these off the wall fan-made games, I get to see some insight into the duo's fascination and imagination when describing and discussing specific events that occur and unfold in front on the viewer.
Often reminisce, but also personally exploring and questioning why small and often unnoticeable sub-plots are used. When discussing the first game's plot - of which Mario's whole quest is based around saving Yoshi, instead of the Princess - they question, humorously, the logic - or lack there of - in playing through the entire game to save a character that they would then use as a throw-away device in another game, namely; Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo.
'You know in the first Mario game, the goal is to get the Princess and then it's 'oh, the Princess is in another castle', in this you try and save Yoshi, and you know what's ridiculous; why do you even care so much about saving Yoshi if when you actually have Yoshi [referencing Super Mario World] a lot of times you just commit suicide and jump off of him anyway? So it's like you're gonna spend all that time saving Yoshi just to kill him...'
Although here Rolfe asks this as a rhetorical question, it's clear that he's developed a narrative, within a narrative, and is himself justifying a scenario based on another. It's these kinds of insights that generate from nostalgic memories, and creativity when discussing and exploring established story and plot.
Bare with me... this has been typed up from my notepad in order to easily present it to my current 10 followers, and am not used to presenting unedited work such as this out in public view.
So yeah, unedited, mostly bollocks ramblings, based on thoughts I had while watching The Crystal Maze yesterday. Amazing show. Makes me yearn for more like that in this X-Factor/Big Brother world of ours.
I need to teach myself to NOT write things down and keep them, unedited like this, to then NOT put them on here - I am not used to the 'Dear Diary' form of write-ups you see.
What is nostalgic to me, isn't necessarily nostalgic to others. How can I explore this?
What triggers a person's nostalgia? Childhood memories? A scenario where someone played Super Mario, for example, as a kid will define their bias opinions on the game.
Being critically panned or acclaimed doesn't adjust or alter a person's childhood experience with a game. I, for example, played Croc on the PlayStation and have fond memories, but playing it today I notice how stiff the controls are, how childish the music and design is and how it compares to a game released a year earlier - Super Mario 64; not favorably.
Should, in some cases, then the past be left in the past? Like, an experience is better off not tampered with. Something I loved as a kid, could technically not translate well to others. It's like trying to explain a traumatic nightmare or dream to someone - it will not have the same impact as it would the person experiencing it, on showing someone a date video game - it's hard to really understand a game like Ocarina of Time with new audiences, as the graphics, music/SFX, design - are all dated compared to todays standards. However, the impact and critical acclaim of the game must be respected and appreciated, even if it's difficult, potentially, to play today.
Thus, HD reboots are great ways of capturing a new and old generation.
In conclusion to this, I want to discuss and explore reboots and HD conversions of old IPs.
How a reboot or HD version compares and/or pales to original, with today's gaming trends in mind - online, achievements, DLC, etc.
To explore emotional triggers, based on nostalgia, and how they affect a person's approach to wanting to play or own something to capture those features - as I potentially aim to make a video game prototype based on such things. A game that displays and replicates nostalgia, giving the game an old school approach - whether it's based on the characters, humour, look and feel, etc, with new school visuals and approach - crisp, clean visuals, music/SFX that reflect a retro vibe, yet have a fresh spin on them.
With the video game EDGE, the entire basis and approach is like a futuristic 80's video game, the design is very simple, with the basic glowing primary colours reflecting a 1980's approach to futuristic, and electronica music using old school drums, keys, and synths to give it a Tron-like vibe. Same applies to Sword and Sorcery EP, yet the design is an artistic use in pixelisation to offer a seemingly primitive, yet modern approach.
Explore nostalgia; link in nostalgic elements to the conception of the prototype - design elements?
style? A nostalgic reaction could be 'Yeah! Action Man; I remember that suit he had...' and then how that's implemented.
How certain colours, sounds; can trigger emotional feedback. Base mechanics on this? How specific sounds and colours can potentially draw in or reject a player, or signal to them basic feedback such as, specifically, a remembrance of what that all represents (colours, sounds); but only having these as small things and glimpses, and not game defining mechanics - not solely basing these triggers as the whole game, but just as a reference for older players.
In my last post I discussed, in slight detail, Super Mario Bros.; reading numerous articles and watching multiple videos that suggested it was indeed one of the greatest video game franchises of all time - with Super Mario Bros. being labeled in various sources as potentially the greatest video game, of all time.
I wanted to post up some specific articles and videos that really capture and justify the importance of Super Mario Bros., not just for me, but also for important industry figures such as Hideo Kojima - Metal Gear series creator - and his nostalgic memories of the game;
"...I think it was one of the first to nail down the idea of permanence in games. Even simple actions like running and jumping have deep gameplay implications."
Something else I stumbled across is a video feature; 'Top 100 Video Games of All Time' from G4TV's website, where Super Mario Bros. is labeled as the greatest, coming in at number one.
Along with a small write-up, the page features a video dedicated to the title; with celebrities - sadly - giving their fond memories of playing the game, and even the day it was released. Tony Hawk, professional Skate Boarder states,
"Super Mario NES definatly got me into home systems, home console; I would sit in my room.. I remember sitting in my room, not realizing it had gotten dark outside"
WARNING: The video features some ridiculously annoying and seemingly irrelevant 'celebrities'. Some of the comments from the interviewees, however, help to reinforce my understanding of OTHER people's nostalgic views and opinions towards such art forms, instead of just my own.
Not to mention some of the website's user comments below the video. Among the ramblings and bitching that often occurs on opinion-based lists such as these, I discovered a few noticeable, coherent statements.
Shawn Slaughter states,
'SMB is the reason we have video games today. If not for Nintendo, Mario, and the NES, we might not be where we are in the video game industry, and that's a fact. This game deserves to be at the top for the rest of history, and I know it's my opinion, but anyone who doesn't think so is dead wrong'
Yet, to counter-balance Shawn's statement, Evan Sunderman argues,
'Super Mario Bros as #1? What a copout. This whole list can't seem to decide if it's a list of "best games" or "most important/influential games", and there is a big difference. SMB has had a huge impact on gaming, and in terms of importance, it's in the top 3, if not the top spot, but that does not automatically make it the best game ever. I have very fond memories of playing SMB with my sister as a kid, but don't let nostalgia push a game to the front of the pack. Important, or best, pick and meaning and stick to it G4.'
The problems video game franchises encounter in their lifespan, more often than not, is a bad sequel(s).
Sometimes franchises end, even a great run of titles, after a while - whether because the designers and developers wanted to end the series on a high and solidify this batch of video games as justified and complete, or simply because they're not generating good financial comeback.
There's a lot of great franchises, characters, solo video games that often struggle to find mainstream success, yet receive critical acclaim and cult fan bases. These sometimes rise up from the underground to become a new standout IP, and then develop into sequels and merchandise to reek the benefits of their currently acclaimed position - resulting in either continued acclaim, or comparison-based biased critiques from original players.
This doesn't just happen within video games of course; with films and music finding popularity in a film or an artist/group and milking them to death with work that barely reflects any of the original pro's that made them so successful in the first place.
With video games, an established character can triumph into further and continuously successful outings, while others can provide a mere shell of their former 'glory' with overused gimmicks, genre and design-style changes.
Some video games reflect this, yet, benefit more from the change. Yeah, Nintendo; you old dog. Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon.. are all prime examples of 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it', and suggestively add to the next video game with perfectly intricate design and combat-enthused choices that provide a whole new design and approach to an old franchise, rather than mere additional 'gimmicks'; of which most could argue that these could appear to be, on the face of it.
Super Mario Bros is a video game franchise that spans the 2D and 3D platforming universe, and thus has both 2D and 3D-based counter-parts/releases. The 2D games have always based their designs from the franchise's earliest outings on the Nintendo Entertainment System; with the basis being emphasized on the games design and level design. The 3D versions are very similar; in which they incorporate both style and substance. These Mario games have been going since the franchise successfully transitioned from 2D to 3D with the release of the Nintendo 64.
With this, and indeed many over cross-genre releases - sport-related titles mainly - Super Mario is an example of a franchise that can, and has survived multiple genres and yearly transitions, still being ridiculously popular and critically acclaimed - Mario is a franchise that has been replicated, and rarely rivaled, far surpassing many video game mascots, yet still maintaining the charm, gameplay and FUN it's consistently renown for.
Super Mario Bros. released 1985 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) birthed the Platformer genre, and has served as a STILL perfectly paced placeholder for future release and third party imitations.
With the evolution of games consoles, the Super Nintendo (SNES) provided further potential, based on the many NES Mario titles proceeding it, with radical graphical updates and the addition of long-lasting powerups and characters; namely Yoshi the dinosaur.
One of the latest releases in the Super Mario franchise; Super Mario Bros U for the Nintendo Wii U continued to embrace the nostalgia and charm of the previous releases with further design choices and updates - alternate level themes, more multiplayer-based level designs and mini games, to provide players with more reason to play solo or with friends.
To me, a bad gimmick is something that's just etched into a game, rather than a good gimmick; something that is used throughout a game and used to radically change the potential design and feel of the game; ultimately giving a new spin, on an old idea.
Using the original Nintendo DS's microphone to blow into within some games, for example, gives a new way of play, and makes it more interactive, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's a good mechanic as it can hinder performance, pacing and often come across as tacky and kitsch. Whereas the potential of dual screens, of which one has touch screen capabilities, gave whole new design and gameplay to Nintendo and potential third party developers.
ERRRM. So my potential project basis, I've figured, is the marriage of old and new within video games. Essentially; to explore what made those old-school video games, and to translate that into a new experience, for both younger and older audiences. I base this concept simply on my love for classic video games from the 90's, that have seen a resurgence in style, presentation and popularity of recent years, with the boom of Apple's iPad/iPhone and indie companies transforming small projects into multi-million dollar franchises.
Not that I intend on making millions of dollars, for one I'd prefer pounds; call me ignorant.
I'm going, or at least HOPING, to explore both areas of old and new-school through online articles, magazines, reviews and features to help justify and satisfy why I could be working potentially on this project.
Throughout this 'typing in google' exercise I found numerous pages dedicated to write-ups on new games, reflecting an old feel; whether it was graphics or overall design based nostalgia.
Brutal Doom is a mod created and released a few years ago by SGtMarkIV (his page) as a humorous exploration into today's modern shooting and first-person action, in Doom's 1993 engine.
Intentionally humorous, as it nods towards the old-style of gaming - not just with the engine and game's design - but with the often rarely used aesthetics such as excessive, almost cartoonish, blood and gore - of which was vastly imitated throughout this genre explosion in the 1990's.
I stumbled across a feature within Edge Magazine's online feed exploring this mod's attempts at bringing 'today's trends to id Software's 1993 opus'.
Edge have always nothing but professionally written feedback, especially within there reviews and features such as this. Notable quotes such as,
'Returning to a game so long after its debut with your guarded glossy memories of those lost house together at the forefront of your mind can be a crushing, sobering experience. Perhaps that's why the recent remake and HD rerelease culture has been so popular of late, as developers attempt to offer us experiences that live up to our memories when the originals don't.'
and,
'It's also a mod that will open the game up to a newer audience with more twitch-gaming tastes and less patience. And for the players birthed into the age of social and communal gaming, Brutal Doom features the mod-cons of co-op, horde and deathmatch modes, too, with stable servers rumbling beneath all the controlled chaos.'
help reimburse my project, and provide baby steps towards the additional evidence and research-based features I'm yet to stumble across throughout the year.
I was introduced to Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP some time ago via one of Steam's many weekly sales. Well, I was given the inclination to buy the game at such a cheap price AFTER coming across in-game screenshots and video footage of this pixel-based adventure title.
I intended to base the following play-through - of which I played 1 of 4 sections - on a review-style basis, so bare with it; it's mainly my interpretation of what I've played so far.
So far, the game seems to play as a modern/up-to-date interpretation of a classic adventure game.
The game's style of humour, dialogue, fighting mechanics, the point-n-click use for exploration, pacing and unraveling of narrative based on unique and landmark-filled environments to explore through.
This is a unique landmark that's introduced to the player as an eyesore/way-point, of which must have the draw bride (tongue) accessed through a small, easily accessible puzzle.
The game's narrative is present, yet rests on the player to 'make the move' in terms of furthering progression - with mouse clicks, left and right-buttons - the player is presented with simple text-based commands such as 'look', 'listen' and 'tip tap' - the latter of which becoming the game's unique term for 'double-clicking' to move the player's character and interact with objects/other characters. The use of 'tip tap' in the game's opening, to me, suggests how humourous and characteristic the further text-based - and sometimes vocal - dialogue
will become. The developers seemed content in homing in on their own personal use of slang, with dialogue such as,
'Logfella knew all about our woeful errand & he agreed to lead us
up the old road',
followed by;
'Still we definitely got the feeling that he wasn't super
jazzed about this'.
This use of traditional, adventure-style dialogue - of which you'd expect to see in a game that fits the genre - then follows with comedic slang such as '...he wasn't super jazzed...' which to me is a unique feature, as you wouldn't often see potentially serious, straight talking dialogue spoken in the form of a teenager's slang output.
This is a traditionally tried and true method of adventure game dialogue/speech output. With the perils of the quest ahead overshadowing any forms of humour, or slang use.
So far the game suggests a wonderful marriage of old and new; old being the tried and true elements of pixel-based design and story, and new being the game's sub-focus on the humour, it's approach to combat - of which is based around drawing the sword to initiate a battle and having the option of 'tip tapping' either
the shield or sword to defend and fight your way through an enemy's fighting patterns and strategies.
I'm partial to a good adventure game, and though I've heard this is a very light one - can be completed in less than an hour - the design and how they've crafted an almost obscene amount of detail using pixels as their paintbrush baffles and ignites my senses. With the added character and charm in the dialogue and plot-development, sounds and sights; it's impossible not to base my love for video games on examples such as this.
So today Lima's 23rd build was put onto the internet.
Still broken and unfinished; still, not bad for a few weeks work, and considering it's our first playable video game.
To commemorate this no doubt future CLASSIC i'm allowing you, yes YOU - that one person viewing my blog - play it.
So have a go, tell a friend, spread it like the plague. It's a mere quick project that helped me flesh out my design and animation skills; which is a wonderful marriage of skills for the future, learnt in such a small space of time.
Time will, of course, tell (future classic).
_(En,Fr,De)-10.jpg)
-10.jpg)
