In my last post I talked about developers unable to utilise the game mechanics at their disposal in order to create a truly moving experience. After posting it, I quickly told my friend about my new blog post. She then mentioned FFXIII, and it clicked.
One game, one singular moment, brings together the defining qualities of a genre and mixes it with story telling. In one moment, the gamer bawls tears of sadness because of the actual gaming qualities. In one moment, a game managed to take this emotional depth and turn it up to 11.
I'm talking about Final Fantasy VII and surely by now you all know what I'm talking about. The moment of Aerith's death.
Cloud losing arguably, the love of his life, was pretty hard for gamers. If you were just watching, you could sympathise with Cloud, a stone cold character finally showing some raw emotion. But for gamers, this was a defining moment in time where they could empathise with him. The death of Aerith was as hard for gamers as it was for Cloud. That's the difference. Empathy and Sympathy.
It was due to attachment. Yeah you could be attached to Aerith because of her angelic qualities, but in the end, the attachment wasn't caused purely and simply because of the graphics, or her own theme song. No it's because you levelled her up. Organised her armor, her weapons and her materia. Countless hours spent grinding, getting her to a suitable level. For once, the attachment was based on gaming attributes.
Then she was cruely taken away from you. As I said to my friend "the pain of losing her is 10 times more because you've grown attached to her, not through her qualities as a character for storytelling, but her qualities she's grown as a part of the video game..."
At the end of the first disk, the game asked countless gamers across the world to change disks. But I'm guessing they were all too shaken up to even reach for the gaming case. A singular moment, where gaming had evolved.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Speak to me in a language I can hear
Going on 17 years and I've played a lot of games. Waited for a lot of big releases, bought consoles for just one game and generally always been excited about what the industry has to offer. Dreamt about saying 'I write about video games' when someone asks me what my occupation is. It's been 17 good years.
17 good years. It hasn't been spectacular, and there have been times where a game has failed to reach my expectations, where a game has made me frustrated purely because of bad design. Who am I to complain though? Developers probably thought it sounded good at the time...
Anyway this is me beating around the bush. As I said before I've played games, played through them, reflected on the good and bad points. I've played games that I've been moved, by the characters, and the cinematics, the rich dialogue. But rarely because of the actual game design.
There's the difference. It's been decades since the inception of video games, countless technological upgrades. Yet a game has ever rarely moved me because of it's game design. Playing through God of War 3, I can be moved by the trials and tribulations of what Kratos has faced, the mammoth goals he's been tasked with. But when it comes to what makes a video game, a video game, God of War 3 more or less has me mashing buttons, square, square, triangle, triangle etc. I'm not moved by pushing buttons.
And even though my friends will know about how I rag on about Silent Hill 2 had sheer emotional depth, it wasn't because of the clunky combat system, or the awkward control mechanics. It was because of the dialogue, the graphics, the haunting soundtrack, the tale it told about a tortured soul. Something that any movie can achieve.
So that's what I'm saying here. The difference between movies and games is that I'm in control. This control is what makes games so appealing. Yet developers have hardly found a way to make game design a way to move the player emotionally.
There's two games in which I can think of that incorporate game design to move the gamer in some emotional way. The first is Batman Arkham Asylum, in which one scene inspires fear into the gamer. Yes actual fear, not because of some lurching monster in the distance, but raw fear that would make any gamer freeze in terror. The other is Metal Gear Solid 4, right near the end, where through mashing triangle, you can feel Snake's pain. The first example is better, and ironically enough, it doesn't require any sort of control, but still manages to tap into the gamer's heart and draw fear.
So that's what I'm saying. Games have the ability to move players, but rarely because of their actual game design. Developers spend truckloads of money on pimping out the graphics abd getting large orchestras, when really they should be focusing on what makes games so different; game design. Games attract me because they have attribute that makes it so appealing. They turn me off when they rely on generic attributes that aren't so different to other art forms.
Surprise me. Move me.
17 good years. It hasn't been spectacular, and there have been times where a game has failed to reach my expectations, where a game has made me frustrated purely because of bad design. Who am I to complain though? Developers probably thought it sounded good at the time...
Anyway this is me beating around the bush. As I said before I've played games, played through them, reflected on the good and bad points. I've played games that I've been moved, by the characters, and the cinematics, the rich dialogue. But rarely because of the actual game design.
There's the difference. It's been decades since the inception of video games, countless technological upgrades. Yet a game has ever rarely moved me because of it's game design. Playing through God of War 3, I can be moved by the trials and tribulations of what Kratos has faced, the mammoth goals he's been tasked with. But when it comes to what makes a video game, a video game, God of War 3 more or less has me mashing buttons, square, square, triangle, triangle etc. I'm not moved by pushing buttons.
And even though my friends will know about how I rag on about Silent Hill 2 had sheer emotional depth, it wasn't because of the clunky combat system, or the awkward control mechanics. It was because of the dialogue, the graphics, the haunting soundtrack, the tale it told about a tortured soul. Something that any movie can achieve.
So that's what I'm saying here. The difference between movies and games is that I'm in control. This control is what makes games so appealing. Yet developers have hardly found a way to make game design a way to move the player emotionally.
There's two games in which I can think of that incorporate game design to move the gamer in some emotional way. The first is Batman Arkham Asylum, in which one scene inspires fear into the gamer. Yes actual fear, not because of some lurching monster in the distance, but raw fear that would make any gamer freeze in terror. The other is Metal Gear Solid 4, right near the end, where through mashing triangle, you can feel Snake's pain. The first example is better, and ironically enough, it doesn't require any sort of control, but still manages to tap into the gamer's heart and draw fear.
So that's what I'm saying. Games have the ability to move players, but rarely because of their actual game design. Developers spend truckloads of money on pimping out the graphics abd getting large orchestras, when really they should be focusing on what makes games so different; game design. Games attract me because they have attribute that makes it so appealing. They turn me off when they rely on generic attributes that aren't so different to other art forms.
Surprise me. Move me.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
Hooray! I haven't posted in a while, so I'll make up for it with not one but TWO posts. Here's the first one, I wrote this up about last year and recently I've hit a maaad Power Rangers faze (thanks SELINA!!). Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers that is. Not any of the new ones, ew who do you think I am?
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
If you want to put an everlasting connection between video games, movies and TV series, that connection would have to be video game versions of those movies and tv series (and vice versa...to an extent). And most, if not all the time, the end product ends up screaming "I'm made for money and that's it". And in turn, this means that the game is a steaming pile of dog droppings. That's the kindest way to put it.
So it's a bit of a mystery as to what exactly transpired when Bandai and Natsume got together. Sure money was the main player in the game, but did they discuss anything about 'loyalty' or 'good game play'? Something that is so often severely lacking when a movie/television series to game conversion is released.
In short, probably not.
The most surprising thing that gamers will notice when first loading up Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition (MMPR: TFE because it's too long to type) is that the rangers aren't going to be used. Nope, you'll be in control of various Zords and monsters, spanning the three seasons and the movie. And they don't look too bad, with the whole anime feel certainly being seen as an influence. It works a treat here, because simply put, Robots and Zany monsters, combined with anime style drawings is a match made in heaven.
You can see that Bandai and Natsume paid some sort of reverence to the series, something that is never really seen in licensed games. Instead of throwing a few putties, the rangers themselves and Rita into the mix, they've decided to utilise the zords and some instantly recognisable monsters within the game. Except for the original Megazord, all the other major Zords are present within the game ranging from the Thunder Megazord to the Shogun Megazord. On top of this, they also have the Lipstick Syncher as a playable character, a monster that was so outrageous in the series, it became in an instant fan favourite. While all this may not mean much to the uninitiated, for a Ranger fan (i.e. ME!) , it's a sign of respect from the creators, and is certainly a treat. Combined with the wonderful theme music and the awesome zord transformation scenes, it shows that Bandai and Natsume discussed some sort of reverence towards when designing the game, something that I stress, is never seen in a movie/tv series to game conversion.
But for the untutored this probably means absolutely nothing. It isn't an entire shame, but the rest of the game isn't any different to what was on the market at the time. It's a fighting game, and unless it rivals the Street Fighter series for gameplay and originality, it'll probably fade into obscurity, which happened to MMPR: TFE. Unfortunately for the story mode, only the Thunder Megazord and Mega Tigerzord are available for use. And there really isn't any story to be seen, you'll fight the Thunder Megazord/Mega Tigerzord (depending on which one you use), then fight the Lipstick Syncher, then fight all the other zords, then Lord Zedd, followed by Ivan Ooze. But wait? Ivan Ooze wasn't in the series? Why am I fighting another Zord in the command centre? Why isn't Zordon stopping this? These questions really add to the lack of any coherency in the story mode. Of course, it works both ways, for the uneducated, it shouldn't really matter, but for the fans, it's a real kick in the nuts from Bandai and Natsume. It could've been an opportunity to use the evil characters and change the whole Power Ranger time line. Unfortunately, this is probably where 'respect' was forgotten and 'money' started creeping into the picture.
Other than the lackluster story mode, you've got the regular two player fighting mode (which allows players to use the other zords and monsters) and the time trial mode. Sadly that's pretty much the rest of the game, and unless you and your mate are a) Massive fans and b) have played the game long enough to work out all the nooks and crannies of the game, there isn't much replayability in this game.
You feel that MMPR:TFE was teetering on the edge of good and complete mediocrity. Unfortunately, with the lack of decent game modes and something different in the fighting engine, it doesn't do enough to bring in the unknowledgeable of the whole Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger universe. Likewise, the lack of a coherent story mode is a real disappointment to those who constantly watched the series in it's heydays, and can still remember all the things that made Power Rangers great. Sure, you get the feeling that Bandai and Natsume did try to pay some reverence to the fans, but sadly, the allure of money, money, money got to their head and ultimately made this a cash cow of a game. Nothing more.
6/10 (cause I'm a fan of Power Rangers).
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
If you want to put an everlasting connection between video games, movies and TV series, that connection would have to be video game versions of those movies and tv series (and vice versa...to an extent). And most, if not all the time, the end product ends up screaming "I'm made for money and that's it". And in turn, this means that the game is a steaming pile of dog droppings. That's the kindest way to put it.
So it's a bit of a mystery as to what exactly transpired when Bandai and Natsume got together. Sure money was the main player in the game, but did they discuss anything about 'loyalty' or 'good game play'? Something that is so often severely lacking when a movie/television series to game conversion is released.
In short, probably not.
The most surprising thing that gamers will notice when first loading up Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition (MMPR: TFE because it's too long to type) is that the rangers aren't going to be used. Nope, you'll be in control of various Zords and monsters, spanning the three seasons and the movie. And they don't look too bad, with the whole anime feel certainly being seen as an influence. It works a treat here, because simply put, Robots and Zany monsters, combined with anime style drawings is a match made in heaven.
You can see that Bandai and Natsume paid some sort of reverence to the series, something that is never really seen in licensed games. Instead of throwing a few putties, the rangers themselves and Rita into the mix, they've decided to utilise the zords and some instantly recognisable monsters within the game. Except for the original Megazord, all the other major Zords are present within the game ranging from the Thunder Megazord to the Shogun Megazord. On top of this, they also have the Lipstick Syncher as a playable character, a monster that was so outrageous in the series, it became in an instant fan favourite. While all this may not mean much to the uninitiated, for a Ranger fan (i.e. ME!) , it's a sign of respect from the creators, and is certainly a treat. Combined with the wonderful theme music and the awesome zord transformation scenes, it shows that Bandai and Natsume discussed some sort of reverence towards when designing the game, something that I stress, is never seen in a movie/tv series to game conversion.
But for the untutored this probably means absolutely nothing. It isn't an entire shame, but the rest of the game isn't any different to what was on the market at the time. It's a fighting game, and unless it rivals the Street Fighter series for gameplay and originality, it'll probably fade into obscurity, which happened to MMPR: TFE. Unfortunately for the story mode, only the Thunder Megazord and Mega Tigerzord are available for use. And there really isn't any story to be seen, you'll fight the Thunder Megazord/Mega Tigerzord (depending on which one you use), then fight the Lipstick Syncher, then fight all the other zords, then Lord Zedd, followed by Ivan Ooze. But wait? Ivan Ooze wasn't in the series? Why am I fighting another Zord in the command centre? Why isn't Zordon stopping this? These questions really add to the lack of any coherency in the story mode. Of course, it works both ways, for the uneducated, it shouldn't really matter, but for the fans, it's a real kick in the nuts from Bandai and Natsume. It could've been an opportunity to use the evil characters and change the whole Power Ranger time line. Unfortunately, this is probably where 'respect' was forgotten and 'money' started creeping into the picture.
Other than the lackluster story mode, you've got the regular two player fighting mode (which allows players to use the other zords and monsters) and the time trial mode. Sadly that's pretty much the rest of the game, and unless you and your mate are a) Massive fans and b) have played the game long enough to work out all the nooks and crannies of the game, there isn't much replayability in this game.
You feel that MMPR:TFE was teetering on the edge of good and complete mediocrity. Unfortunately, with the lack of decent game modes and something different in the fighting engine, it doesn't do enough to bring in the unknowledgeable of the whole Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger universe. Likewise, the lack of a coherent story mode is a real disappointment to those who constantly watched the series in it's heydays, and can still remember all the things that made Power Rangers great. Sure, you get the feeling that Bandai and Natsume did try to pay some reverence to the fans, but sadly, the allure of money, money, money got to their head and ultimately made this a cash cow of a game. Nothing more.
6/10 (cause I'm a fan of Power Rangers).
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