Short Game

As I wrote last time, I'm tired. My job keeps me occupied, which most certainly pays the bills, as well as it allows me to be able to put some extra off to the side. Still though, this leaves me with little time to do the thing that I love: gaming. Reason being, is that on nights that I work, I only have about four and a half hours when I wake up to when I have to leave for work. That isn't all that much time to invest into a video game.

With limited time on my hands, I've just been spending my days playing games that I don't really need to invest in. Mainly, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit on the Xbox 360. It's a quick fix of action, speed, and really cool cars. Each race lasts about five to six minutes, and is usually a full experience. Whether you're racing against the AI or the clock, each race comes down to that final stretch. I enjoy the experience because it's quick, and there's usually another race to be had immediately afterward. There is little to no investment required in each race. Pick my car, and hit the road. Though, I miss taking the time and pouring into a grandiose roll-playing game.

I have a huge backlog of games, that I will one day get around to playing. However, each one of these games does require a certain mood to play. My backlog spans the board of genres, from platformers, to shooters, to Japanese RPGs, to classics that every gamer should play, but I just haven't gotten around to playing them simply because I just don't feel like it. I really don't have the time to do something like start up a new game. I don't feel like the experience would go over well, or rather that it would go entirely well, and I would be severely disheartened when my experience is cut short because I had to go to work. I love marathoning games when  I can, but those opportunities are few and far between these days. Yet, when the mood does strike me, I can stay dedicated to that game and finish it out rather handily.

Recently I finished Saints Row IV. I had a blast playing it. The format of the game was such that I could take on a mission at a time, and be satisfied with what I had accomplished. I played this game nearly every night, working to complete as much of it as I could. I stuck by this game to do my best to finish it. I was invested in the story, characters, and gameplay. Each element of the game drove me to the end. Part of this completion was the game for being so much fun to play, and the other was my self control and planning out how much of the game I could play before taking off for work.

An even longer while back I finished Bayonetta. The game took me about ten hours to complete, but I stuck by it even though I died time and time again, and was driven to near controller smashing madness. Yet, I did no such thing. I saw it through, and I feel proud of myself for doing so, and for beating a tough game. It was a thrilling experience to be able to finish a game, as it always is, but it felt even more so with the dedication that I had shown toward Bayonetta.

A few weeks ago, PBS Game Show had posted a video proposing that games are too long. I had a discussion with a friend about it, as we were both a bit skeptical of the hosts analysis and execution of the idea. I, myself, enjoy games no matter the length. Games can be whatever length that the developer, or player desires them to be. If a game is a complete, and satisfying experience, then I think that is fine. Dragon Age: Inquisition is a recent title that claims to have over eighty hours of gameplay from the main story missions alone. That is indeed quite a bit, though if the game doesn't jerk you around, and it gives you a good experience, who is to declare the value of that? What if you take the time and complete the game and all of it's side activities? Did you enjoy yourself? What if there were times when it felt like a grind to get through? Does that take away from the experience?

I understand a developers desire to put in as much content as possible for their players, $60 is a lot for a game. Gamers want the most bang for their buck, as do all consumers. Though, it always bothers me when folks start to complain about the length of the game, even though the experience was really good. I remember having this discussion with the same friend over The Last of Us. I really enjoyed the game, and recommended it highly, though he wasn't willing to pay full price for the game. It made sense. $60 for a thirteen to fourteen hour experience. That's $4.29 an hour. But can you measure the emotional endeavors of a game like that monetarily? I don't think so, but then again, video games are what I like to spend my money on. I am single. I do not have a wife or family. I have a job, of course, but the only bills that I need to take care of fall well within my budget. I can willingly and freely spend my money on things such as video games. It's different for everybody. I think that games are a worthwhile thing, and that they should be enjoyed. The great thing about games is that players still have that agency to take as much or as little time as they want with the game. Even though some of that time might be taken up by being stuck at a really hard part. Either way, video games are art, and they should be treated as such. While they can take up a lot of our time, we should have the ability to discern what is worth our time and money and what isn't. This applies to everything, not just video games. Time is constantly fleeting, so you should spend it doing things that you enjoy: be it video games or no.

Rest At The Inn?

It has been quite some time since I have updated my this blog. I apologize. I do my best to upload a new post on a weekly basis, but I am tired. My job is one that keeps me working long hours as well as six days a week. The only day that I get off is Saturday, which I try to do my best and work on writing something for you all, but I need a day of rest. For as much as I love writing, it does take some work to be able to put something out there for people to read. I do the same thing in video games too.

The thing about video games, especially these days, is that the characters that we control are all but invincible. They can go anywhere, and do anything within the game world, and barely get a chance to sit down, but that's okay because they just down a health potion and get right back at it. I think that I try to do this, but with coffee instead. In games, I just stock up on potions and various other quick fixes so that I can continue on. I feel somewhat defeated if I have to retreat back to a town to rest up my character. Yet, there is something extremely comforting about finding an inn at a town. After traveling through the wilds of any RPG you're bound to take a few hits on your way to the next town. When find out there's a way to heal your characters to full HP and restore all of their mana for a cheap price, you put down that money so fast the inn keeper doesn't have time to finish his line.

There is no defeat in this. It is okay to rest and relax. That is part of the journey. We are not invincible, and neither are our video game counterparts. I'd rather see the screen fade to black knowing that my characters are getting some rest, rather than see the words "Game Over" show up.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am by no means done here. There are many more articles and writings to come, but I need you to know that I am working hard both on this blog, at my job, and a few other ventures that I am very excited to work on. So, take some time to remember to rest. It might seem like nothing is getting done, but it will do a world of good for you.

The Secrets of Journey Revealed

A while back, I wrote about Journey and how it reflected the events that were happening in my life. I still find myself going back to that game, as my life goes in, seemingly, every which way. When I last wrote about Journey, I said that I was at the summit, and that I was about to enter into a world of chaos. It seems as though that time in my life has come and gone.

In the game Journey, right before the end, you fall. You are beaten, and thrown back and forth by the strong winds at the top of the mountain and you meet what is most certainly your end. Then, you are picked up. The gods of the game come to meet you, and beckon that you get back up. When you do get up. You fly like you have never flown before. You fly so high, that you breach the clouds. Up there, the air is clear and crisp, and the music is that of victory and relief. You have made it. As you fly, your character dances in the air with its companions that were there to help you along the way to the top of that mountain. When you reach the end of the game, you slowly walk towards the light at the top of the mountain and you are enveloped by it. The camera cuts to a wide angle shot of the peak, as a shimmering comet shoots out of the top of it. The credits roll as the comet travels through all of the areas that you traversed during the game. It's going backwards, towards the start of the game.

This is also how the game opens. With a shimmering comet zooming over the landscape, until the camera focuses on your character. That shimmering comet was you. Each new game of Journey is another trial that you must face. Life is a series of ups and downs. There are highs and lows throughout each journey that we go through in life.

I think that this is represented rather well in the second section of the game. In this area, you have to make a bridge. Players do so by finding large ribbons scattered throughout the area, and singing your song to them. The ribbons disperse and reassemble into sections of the bridge that is built. What's interesting about this is where the ribbons are kept. Throughout the section, there are these long grey.... things; containers that the ribbons are coming out of. Having gone through the game already, you would recognize these containers as the corpses of the dragons in the game.

The last time that I wrote about Journey, I said that these dragons are the manifestations of our fears, doubts, and all of the negativity that holds us back. Here they are now: defeated. In life, when we are working to overcome something, we have our doubts and fears, but we always make it through. We are able to overcome these obstacles, and we then can use them to make it past whatever life throws at us next. This is represented in Journey by these fallen dragons. Before, these dragons scared us, and even attacked us. Now they are a way in which we can build bridges that help us ascend and reach new goals.

Journey is one of the most beautifully crafted games because of moments like this. Its minimalist style lends itself to interpretation and discussions such as these. We need more games like this, where the game can speak for itself, and not rely on a thick script. A game where players can both enjoy the experience and find hidden meaning in it. I love Journey because of how it pulls this kind of stuff off. It is a game that is still helping me get through some of struggles in my life. I am sure that I will be going back to it again in the future when another obstacle obstructs my journey.

Balance Is Key

 It seems to me that there is a constant imbalance in video games. Games tend to either focus on story or gameplay. Rarely is a balance struck. It is not impossible to create a game with both engaging mechanics and story, it has been done before. However, developers seem to sacrifice one for the sake of the other.

A while back, I decided to play all the way through the first Bayonetta. It was sitting in my backlog, and I decided to dust it off. Bayonetta is a game that has really well made game mechanics, and it is a lot of fun to play. However, I couldn't understand a lick of what was going on in the story. That being said, the game had loads of style, but it lacked substance. I wasn't quite sure of any of the characters motivations, save for one who wasn't even the main character. On the other end of things, the controls and combat of Bayonetta were fantastic. Button presses felt responsive, and when I failed, I knew it was my own fault. The game challenged me more than most other games do. To the point where I'd like to revisit the game so that I can improve my score and earn higher ranks. It's a lot of fun to play Bayonetta, but I just don't quite understand why I was doing the things that I was in the game.

On the other side of the spectrum, there is The Wolf Among Us. A game by Telltale Games, which I completed a longer time ago. This game stuck with me because of it's well written characters, dialogue, and plot. A friend of mine had the game as well, and we were both in the process of playing through the game as the episodes were being released. After each installment we would geek out about what happened in that episode and the different choices that we made. That was a fun experience. Telltale has a crew of extremely talented writers and bring a lot to the table when it comes to engaging their audience. However the one thing about the game that didn't shine as bright, were the gameplay mechanics. The gameplay was broken up into two different segments: searching for clues in crime scenes, and quick time events. Searching for clues feels a bit clunky, and sometimes I made mistakes in interacting with certain objects because it was not clearly communicated to me what he button I pressed would do. The quick time events in the game were worse. At times, the game would ask the player to swipe the right control stick in a specific direction, or pull the left trigger, as is the standard for quick time events. However the game would forgive me, as I would move the left stick instead of the right, or pull the right trigger instead of the left. Quick time events are never fun, and never seem to work properly. The gameplay didn't seem to reflect the character of Bigby Wolf, the games protagonist and player character. Bigby may be strong headed and can make snap decisions at times, as he is often faced with these, but I could tell from his character and how he acted that he wanted to do things right and that he wanted to take his time. Most quick time events were action sequences, though I feel that they could have been executed a bit better by giving me more control over the sequences, as opposed to playing a forgiving game of Simon Says.

So then, what does a balance between story and gameplay look like? How is it executed? What games showcase this? To be honest, I'm not quite sure. I've played lots of games that really had an impact on me, but did they have that balance between story and gameplay?

I think that games strike this balance when the character is shown through the actions and animations that the characters perform. Joel of The Last of Us is a good example of this. I like Joel as a character because I see it in the way that he moves about the game. I see his brutality in the way that he takes out the enemies that stand in front of him. Even when he has the drop on them, he still ferociously brings them down. Or when Joel enters a fist fight; each one is tense, and each blow can be felt with a certain kind of "oomph". Each thrown punch was meant to do some damage. There is a certain kind of desperation to the way that Joel moves and attacks. The same can be said for the supporting character Ellie. There is a point in the game where players can take on the role of Ellie, and it plays out in much the same way. Ellie is only a 14 year old girl, and she skirts past enemies, in an attempt to go unnoticed. When Ellie has her shot to take down an enemy, she leaps on their back like an animal and tossed about as the enemy attempts to throw her off. Ellie's switchblade being her only point to hold on to as she stabs again and again into the chest of her enemy. It is vicious, and it is difficult to watch, as this girl might not be able to take down her foe. In Ellie's movements, there is fragility, and that same desperation to survive, just as Joel. Both of these characters shine in both cut-scenes and gameplay, and we as the audience get to take them in.

Another example of character and story meshing together is Spec Ops: The Line. This was a gmae that went rather unnoticed, despite the massive praise from critiques. Most of that praise came from how the game delivered it's story and characters. The character that stands out the most is the one which the players control. Captain Walker, voiced by the talented Nolan North, is a soldier of the Delta Force who was to survey Dubai after a catastrophic sandstorm nearly destroyed the entire city. His orders were to call for support when he determined that it was time to extract civilians. Instead, Captain Walker decided to go on a conquest to rescue a general that he once served under. In this crusade, Walker chooses to take many actions to justify his end goal. Players see how this affects not only his outward appearance, but his persona as well. Captain Walker evolves from soldier to psychopath. Walker is ruthless in his pursuit to accomplish his mission, and it takes its toll on him. His uniform becomes tattered and torn, and instead of trying to resolve any conflict that comes his way with tact or stealth, by the end of the game he actively seeks it out, and mercilessly kills anything that stands in front of him.

Let's move on to something a bit more lighthearted. Shadow of the Colossus is a game about Stabbius Horatio McDudeman III Esq. and his quest to stab big monsters with a sword that he stole in an effort to raise a girl from the dead. Well, the main character's name is actually Wander, but that's only mentioned in the instruction manual that nobody reads, so it doesn't count. What I like about Shadow of the Colossus is how it demonstrates character. Wander, or SHMDIII, is not a soldier. He is not coordinated, and I'm pretty sure that he hasn't hunted a day in his life, but he can shoot a bow with the best of them. The game illustrates this by the way that the character stumbles about when he's attempting to walk on one of the sixteen hulking beasts. When standing idol, players can swing Wander's sword, which he does with very little finesse. It's almost forced, and it looks like he nearly throws out his shoulder in the process. Shadow of The Colossus showcases character in its nonhuman characters as well. Agro is your horse that is miraculously with you through all of the crazy stuff that you have to do in the game. I'm not an expert on horses, but I'm pretty sure they would bolt after having to help me fight the second Colossus, but for some reason this horse stands by you through the thick and thin. Agro is definitely Wander's horse, and is as loyal as they come. Another example of nonhuman characters, are the Colossi themselves. Each one has a distinct personality. So far as you can tell, they were just minding their own business until this kid with a sword shows up on their doorstep. Some just kind of fly about, others just stare at you, others try and kill you immediately. They may literally be stone faced  creatures, but they have character. This helps to tell their stories. There is a reason why the bird Colossus just sits atop its perch, there is a reason why Agro always comes back, there is a reason why Wander has no idea how to properly use a sword.

Meshing both story and gameplay together helps to make a game more of an immersive experience. This is what games need to strive for, if they are to tell a compelling narrative.

On the other hand, I don't think that every game should be striving to accomplish equilibrium between gameplay and story. Some games just put the story on the back burner and let that set as the extremely vague reason for why the characters are doing what they do. John Carmack said that his design philosophy was that game story should be like that of a porn-o, it should only serve as the setting for the action in the game. I'm not a huge fan of that notion, however there are some games where it works. I certainly don't want to become emotionally attached to the block in Tetris, those things leave as soon as they arrive. There's also Super Meat Boy, where the game does just that. The reason for Super Meat Boy to run through these super complex levels full of saw-blades and pain is as simple as "get the girl". I'm not even sure why I do half of the stuff that I do in Just Cause 2. Well, I guess the answer is in the title on that one.

 Not all games need to have an engaging story, and some games don't need to have super tight gameplay. If a story is good enough, it can trump how the game plays. The same goes for a game that is fun to play. Games are art, and they can be whatever they want to be. Though, in my opinion, a game is a masterpiece when everything comes together to make a cohesive whole.



(This song has nothing to do with video games, and the meshing of gameplay and story, but it's just my jam right now)