Tag: Gaming

Gaming Disappointments

Source: https://makeameme.org/meme/disappointment-disappointment

A YouTuber that I sometimes watch by the name of Mortisimal Gaming recently did a post describing the most disappointing game experience that he’s had as a gamer. I liked the video and it got me thinking about some of the gaming experiences that I’ve had that were disappointing in some way, so I put together this post just to (briefly) talk about some gaming disappointments that I’ve had as well. I generally don’t have as many disappointments these days because I now generally wait on reviews, and thanks to school and work and all of my many responsibilities, I now end up getting games generally around Christmas time even though they are released during the year. In other words, it has to be a special game for me to purchase it during the year–most of my gaming purchases are now within the last 3-4 months of the year, so I have a pretty good consensus of what the game is like, what the reviews for the game gave it, and whether it is in my “wheelhouse” as a game I would probably enjoy. Basically, I’m pretty much always “late to the party” on all but a few of the “top tier” releases that I would enjoy. This has helped to greatly cut down on gaming disappointments for me (looking at you Cyberpunk 2077).

Sword of Sodan (Sega Genesis; published by Electronic Arts (EA))

Source: https://archive.org/details/sg_Sword_of_Sodan_1990_Electronic_Arts_Innerprise_EU-US_en

My #1 gaming disappointment of all time is Sword of Sodan published by EA (then Electronic Arts before it shortened its name to be more “hip”). Sword of Sodan was a game that I bought for my birthday and it was such a disappointment because I was really into Golden Axe at the time (beat em ups were extremely popular) and based on the back cover artwork and copy, it looked like a bigger, more intense version of Golden Axe, which is what I was looking for at the time. However, the game was a simple side-scroller, and worse yet, it was a mess of half-implemented ideas and terrible controls. It was ridiculously difficult to play and getting off of the very first level was both difficult and tedious. Worse yet, it was a birthday game, meaning it was the game that I spent birthday money on and so wasted that money for that year. And when I was a child, money (for games especially) wasn’t something that could easily be obtained, so I had to make every dollar count. Spending money on this game was a bitter lesson in advertising vs reality. And the final insult? I had to wait until Christmas to get any new games after I got my “birthday game.” Since my birthday is early in the year, that meant months and months of waiting–with only this crappy and poorly designed game as my only new experience for all those months. I learned the value of video game magazines and reviews and made buying issues of magazines a priority after purchasing this game. I still have the cartridge–to remind myself that “all that glitters isn’t gold.”

YouTube Longplay of Sword of Sodan

Mass Effect Andromeda (Playstation 4; EA)

Source: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1238000/Mass_Effect_Andromeda_Deluxe_Edition/

This game is one of the few times that I let my “hype” get in the way of my good sense. I had so enjoyed the original Mass Effect trilogy (especially Mass Effect 2) that I was completely “sold” on the idea of going to another galaxy and having an “open world” Mass Effect style of game, but that’s not what we got. To be fair, the ideas were there, but it needed another 6 months to “bake” to get rid of the bugs and another 1 – 2 years to “bake” to iron issues with narrative and story. This game had the potential to be something special, but was handicapped by EA’s need to release “under-finished” products to satisfy their investors and upper management. They’ve released too many products like this for my tastes (as if getting burned by Sword of Sodan wasn’t enough), so while I do still buy EA products, they go onto an “automatic waitlist” now. I will NOT buy an EA game without reviews/significant discount in price.

Evolve (Playstation 4; 2K)

Source: https://www.pcinvasion.com/evolve-failed-because-4v1-didnt-work-pricing-and-more/

The final game for this post (don’t worry, there have been others that I could have talk about and I may revisit this topic again) is Evolve from 2K Games. Now, I could talk about 2K Games as its own separate post because none of the games from this publisher that I’ve purchased have been ones that I’ve enjoyed and the others in its catalog (Grand Theft Auto) are not ones that I care to play (despite their enormous popularity). Evolve was especially painful as the Playstation community never got the Left 4 Dead (L4D) games during the PS3/ Xbox 360 era, and I was especially looking forward to a sci-fi version of this (with aliens instead of zombies). However, their decision to make the “alien monster” a human player really robbed this game of any tension. Most of the time players chosen weren’t good monsters/enemies (myself included) and the few that were were “god-like.” This idea to have humans as monsters was great for the developer as they 1) didn’t have to come up with complex enemy AI and 2) 5 people had to buy the game instead of 4, but in terms of gameplay, this decision basically “knee-capped” the game and really robbed it of the chance to become as popular as their L4D games. I basically had written off this developer, but they’ve managed to redeem themselves with Back 4 Blood which I bought based on the strength of reviews and a demo. Without that, I probably would have passed the series up as I had been burned by the developer in the past. Still, Evolve could have been the series that brought them back, if they hadn’t chased “industry trends” and put the work and effort in to have developed an AI system for their sci-fi monsters. They ended up having to do it for Back 4 Blood, so imagine what a game like Evolve could have been if they’d been willing to do it sooner.

Well, that’s all I have time for today–have a great week!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (January 2022):

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Missing in Action Video Games–The PlayStation Edition

Shigeru Miyamoto sitting with a black background in the back. A quote in white letters says, "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad."
Image Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/799459371338916598/

I hate to do this, but I’m going to have to call out one of my favorite YouTube channels, Eurogamer. I generally find the Eurogamer’s video game coverage, especially on their YouTube channel to be very fair and mostly unbiased. They have a love for all the systems and (generally speaking) don’t play favorites, although it often appears that PC is their platform of choice (and while not appearing on the channel a lot, I can tell the the Switch is near and dear to most of the team). However, what actually gets the views are the Playstation and X-Box games even though they generally are considered second-fiddle to the PC & Switch (Switch, while popular, doesn’t really seem to get the same level of views as PCs, Playstation, and X-Box.)

However, in one of their latest videos (of this writing), they focused on games that have been missing in action for a while. That’s not what got my dander up–it is good to point out games that have been announced, but not actually released, especially when that goes over the normal 2-3 year development cycle for most games. No, my problem is that Eurogamer chose games that were either X-Box/PC specific and completely left out several, super interesting games from the Playstation side. There is at least one game for the Playstation that have been missing in action for the ENTIRE 7 year life-cycle of the Playstation 4 and yet it didn’t receive a mention. Two games that are then ENTIRE reason that Microsoft (aka Micro$oft) bought Zenimax (the parent company of Bethesda, the game publisher) are EACH ON THE FREAKING LIST, taking up two slots. To imply these two games are “missing in action” is disingenuous at the least, and (if I’m not in a gracious mood), more of a marketing move than anything else. These two games ARE COMING OUT and they are coming out for the X-Box. Microsoft/Micro$oft bought the company for these two games! There is NO WAY that Microsoft/Micro$oft would have purchased this company had those two games been in distress.

So, this is my attempt to correct the imbalance and discuss some very intriguing games on the Playstation side that should have made the list and we, as customers, should inquire about at every opportunity.

Deep Down (2013, Capcom)

Yup, that’s right. This one is in the announcement stream for the Playstation 4, a full seven years ago. Now, normally when you don’t hear about a game for this long, it generally means it has been cancelled along the way. However, the last time the creator spoke about it, he specifically said that it wasn’t cancelled. I don’t believe there’s been any significant information since that last interview, but here we are–in the giddy honeymoon period for the Playstation 5 seven years later, and a game that was announced for the previous generation of game consoles STILL hasn’t been released. And this one wasn’t worthy of finding out more information on, but Elder Scrolls 6 was, even though E.S. 5 was ported to every major (and minor) system since its release (with the running joke that if Bethesda could find a way to port it to your refrigerator, they would).

Below is the trailer for the game, but in essence, it is a medieval role playing game that had some insanely impressive graphics (especially for 2013), but which still hold up decently well with 2019/2020 games. I’m not sure that it will hold up in 2-3 years time, so if Capcom does have plans of releasing this game, I would hope they do it fairly soon because, to me, in about 2-3 years graphics will have probably surpassed the innovations in the trailer and the game will need a graphical overhaul (which means more time and expense) for a game that is already 7 years late.

Deep Down YouTube Video

Biomutant (2017, Experiment 101)

This one is a particular “bug-a-boo” of mine. This game was shown off in 2017 and really seemed like a game right up my alley. I kept my eye on it and the preview coverage gave the impression that it was far along in development and that it would only be approximately another year/year and a half of normal development time before it would be released (generally games get preview coverage at the 1-2 year mark.) Sometimes, if development is particularly fraught, it often slips to 2.5 to 3 years after the game as been initially shown to the public for the first time. However, this has been (for the most part–especially where Sony is concerned–become less frequent due to fan backlash).

This game is post-apocalyptic game that takes a squirrel-like creature and pits it against the many different creatures to survive in this new post-apocalyptic world. Biomutant features an open world and a “kung-fu” weapon-based combat (martial arts and guns). I thought this one looked awesome and kept an eye on it as time passed and passed . . . and passed. And here here we are in 2020 and about to go into 2021, and so far, no Biomutant. This one has actually a bit of an update as the developers released a trailer (3rd, 4th, 5th) for the game in the middle of the year with a cheeky update that said the release date would be “when it’s ready.” Now, normally I don’t mind that sentiment as I would prefer a well made game rather than a rushed release (Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem I’m looking at you). However, I don’t believe that the developer should have shown their game that early–as it was an extensive gameplay demonstration. See for yourself and judge if what they showed looked like a polished game that was only a year or so out from release:

BioMutant YouTube Video

Project Awakening (2018, Cygames)

So, this is the game that I really thought that Eurogamer was going to cover in their video as this game caught the attention of the gaming public (although most of its thunder was undercut by Elden Ring–a game in the over-popular Souls-Born series that includes a collaboration with George R. R. Martin which is enough to make games media and gamers alike salivate.) However, for the brief time before the ER trailer was released, Project Awakening garnered massive amounts of attention and generated massive amounts of hype. This game is one that really resonated with many gamers–me included, especially after the success of Monster Hunter World.

Basically, this game’s video (linked below) puts me in my of a cross between Elden Ring and Monster Hunter World. However, it is the animation and textures that really set off this particular project and makes me think that it really could be an awesome game. However, like all trailers, I’m aware that it is something that is a project that is in-progress, but the idea of playing a fantasy warrior going up against fantasy monsters (without the “dark world”/”grim dark” that the Souls-Born games fall into).

Project Awakening YouTube Video

Final Thoughts

So, to be clear–these are not the only games out there that have been announced, but have gone MIA. These are just 3 that I’m interested in and want to know more about — I don’t need the entire development cycle, but having periodic updates would be nice (even a yearly/bi-yearly update would be helpful). I wanted to point these out as Eurogamer should have featured these three games in their roundup. Elden Ring, Starfield, and Elder Scrolls 6 aren’t really “M.I.A.” games (instead they are just games with popularity and internet cachet.) The latter 2 will eventually come out (and will have a sizable coverage on Microsoft’s/Micro$oft’s stage–as probably will Elden Ring knowing Micro$oft’s penchant for having “the MOST POPULAR” game series on their systems — the same Halo/Gears of War strategy that they’ve been using since the late Xbox/early Xbox 360 era). I had hoped that we would hear more about these games that I discussed earlier in this post during the 2020 Video Game Awards, but that wasn’t the case. Hopefully, in the upcoming year, we’ll get an update on all 3 of these games as I feel like each one has significant potential (especially over the hype-generating games that were originally covered the Eurogamer article).

Until next time!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (11/2020):

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    Out to Market
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    Out to Market
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    Out to Market
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Mini-Review: Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Video Game)

Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_WbvIDAcA4

This mini-review is going to be a departure from the norm–I normally reserve mini-reviews for movies and I do video games either standalone or with the Video Game Log posts. However, I actually finished this game about a month ago this time (has it really been that long ago? Wow, time flies when I’m not actually blogging). I wanted to make sure I got my thoughts out on this game as 1) I have some issues with it and 2) Tomb Raider is one of my favorite “franchises” and it spans multiple mediums.

The Good

Surprisingly, there are some things that I liked about this game. Out of the “trilogy” of rebooted games, I think Rise of the Tomb Raider is the best, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the 2nd best, and the rebooted Tomb Raider is the worst of the lot. I’m glad they didn’t do the “living world” story as they did in the first game, but they did do an apocalyptic story-line in this last game and, while I thought it could have been done slightly better, I still felt this was a compelling plot device to get the story moving and to continue the tension throughout the game. I liked most of the characters and the hub worlds. I liked the graphics and some of the game-play elements (although some I did not like–which I’ll touch on in a moment). I feel like they development studio (which is different from the previous 2 games) tried hard and I could see what they were going for and, while I didn’t think that they ultimately reached their goal, I could at least see what they were trying to do.

The Bad

Ultimately, the first 2 games used the “real world” mythology as a jumping off point to set up a fantastical story which involves Lara Croft and her adventures, but it doesn’t necessarily stay in the “real world.” I felt that Shadow tried too hard to stick with the Mayan mythology that they used as they used it in pretty much every aspect of the game. From the story, the creation myth, the apocalyptic story arc driving the game, to the treasures and artifacts, to the conquistador story running throughout out the narrative, all of it was Mayan overload. The other two games knew when to leave Japanese and Judaeo-Christian myth and veer into fantasy, but because we know so much about the Mayan culture, I feel this was detriment to the creation of the story, rather than an aid to it as they stick to the various myths and gods rather than using them to tell an interesting story of redemption–which is what I feel they were trying to do.

I also didn’t really care for the way in they created a new character to act as a “love interest” for Jonah, Lara’s best friend. I’m not sure of how the original development studio intended it, but the long dramatic pauses of Rise and the bickering in both Rise and Shadow seemed to indicate Jonah (at least) has feeling for Lara. However, it felt like the way the new developers introduced the “forced” love interest, they couldn’t imagine Lara and Jonah together in any other context but “friends” because they are of two different races. Or to be more blunt, Lara would only date someone of her own race, not someone who’s stood by her again and again, and who (in the context of the stories the creators have told) would literally give his life to save her as his race doesn’t match hers. A grim bit of (probably unintentional) meta-commentary there on diversity in storytelling, and the limits thereof.

Lara Croft with a bow and arrow cocked and ready to shoot and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back in a bluish green jungle with branches, leaves and tree trunks all around her.

The Ugly

While the “ugly” should have probably been reserved for the above observation on the trilogy’s lackluster response to diversity, what really hindered my enjoyment of the game were some of the game play mechanics that this installment introduced. They were really annoying and frustrating; it was almost as if they were designed to hamper the game play experience.

Tomb Raider is known for its underwater sequences, but I have to say that I found the piranhas in this game to be an especially aggravating game play element. They swim around in packs and circle endlessly (never deviating from their scripted paths). The goal (as the player) is to hide in tall underwater grass (conveniently placed) as they pass and then to “sprint” away to the next clump of underwater grass–a sort of underwater stealth run. This is so boring, however. There’s no excitement and the only tension comes from the camera and not being able to see exactly where they are when they swim “behind” you. I hated this sequence so much that I didn’t do several optional missions because I saw that it involved piranhas.

Another game play mechanic that irked me was the fact that even though one earned high powered guns (shotguns, uzis, etc.) through the game’s in-game currency, there were a couple of optional (and story) missions that wouldn’t let you use them. They gave you a rationale in the story that was an off-handed comment that the people of this fairly sophisticated hidden town (many of whom had come there from the outside world) shouldn’t have to know about firearms.

I’m sorry–what? The vendors in this location are selling me the very weapons that they should never have to see or hear about to maintain their “innocence?” It doesn’t make any sense storywise, but more importantly, it let them craft fights that would have been fairly simple with guns that were nigh impossible with bow weapons. For example, one fight (which I knew was coming having played it and died once already), I equipped the maximum amount of arrows that I could carry, went in, survived 3 or 4 waves (maybe 5), but ran out of arrows and another wave came in and I was dead. As this was an optional mission, I just reloaded the save, left the area, and headed back to the main mission which was the final mission to end the game. Normally, I like to do as many side missions that I can before finishing the game to get my character as ready as possible (experience, weapons, gear, money/currency, whatever). I was so weary of this game and all of its annoyances, that I didn’t even bother to with this mission–I just went on to the final mission just so I could finish it and play something else.

Overall Rating: 75 (C)

Rating: 3 out of 5.

While I didn’t like the first Tomb Raider game (the reboot), I have to say this one is better–but not by much. This was a mediocre game with some really good elements, brought down by a lot of questionable game play mechanics and an insistence on realism in a game that isn’t about realism, but fantasy and adventure. The idea that Jonah was not an “appropriate” love interest for Lara was something that I feel was unfortunate, if unintentional, but sent the wrong message unfortunately about the way in which the character is ultimately viewed by her creators. All of these issues really affected my time with the game and ultimately, made me weary of the game and glad when it was over (and not in that excited glad way as I am for most games). This was more of a chore than a game, something that needs to be addressed before I purchase another one in the series.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (10/2020):

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Gaming Log: September 2020

Black PS4 controller set against a bluish gray background with several popular game screens framing the controller--Bloodborne, Day's Gone, Doom, Red Dead Redemption 2 to name a few.
Image Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/best-ps4-games/

These past two weeks have been difficult–more difficult–for me than normal. In addition to the Covid-19 remote learning, I’ve spent the past 2 Sundays going up to Murfreesboro to clean out my apartment since my lease ended my lease on August 31st. Normally, I would read fantasy and sci-fi books and play video games to reduce my stress level, but since my schedule has been all over the place, so too has my writing and recreation schedule. I’m very much afraid that gaming and reading have taken a major hit over the past 2-3 weeks, as readers can tell by the inconsistency of the blog. I do have a trio of games to discuss for the gaming log section–although it will probably be more of a wrap-up than a long detailed analysis/review of the games.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

So, this is my main game for the month of August. For the few times that I’ve gotten to play it, I managed to move pretty far in the game. I think I’m halfway to two-thirds of the way through it. I’m not liking it nearly as much as I liked Rise of the Tomb Raider. I think its story, while trying to do an admiral job of showing an indigenous population unaffected by colonization and the perils of an encroaching modern world on the society, just isn’t as appealing in terms of story as a more fanciful, made-up story that made up the last game. This story is trying to weave Central American myths and deities into an end of the world scenario that, for me, just isn’t mixing together well. The puzzles, always a highlight in the TR games, just aren’t that fun. I’ve even bypassed a couple of “challenge tombs” just to complete the main story and finish the game (something that is normally inconceivable to me as the puzzle aspects are often some of the things that I find most fun in a TR game). They’ve added several annoying mechanics (piranhas anyone? Who thought it would be a good idea to make you have to “hide” from piranhas and that hiding from piranhas would make a fun gameplay loop). There are other design choices, like limiting you to bow and arrows in certain sections even though you have heavier weapons, like shotguns, assault rifles, and revolvers in your arsenal–silly things like that which just (ultimately) mar the gameplay experience for me. This one is headed for a solid C average game unless the puzzles and gameplay experience improves markedly in the latter portion of the game.

The Crew 2

I love my racing games–anyone who knows me will attest to that fact. While I don’t love all racing games, all the time, I do have an affinity for them and will pick up many/most of the games in the racing genre as I enjoy the sense of speed that racing games provide.

The Crew 2 is a game that I first hated for not being the original game, The Crew. Then I came to like it as it had more exploration opportunities and more cool “easter eggs” to see even if you couldn’t track your progress as to what roads you’d driven like you could in the first game. I learned to love it as I figured out the “mission” structure and began to slowly conquer each of the challenges. I hated it as I had to do missions/event types that I didn’t want to in order to earn the platinum trophy and then loved it as I finally achieved the Platinum Trophy in the game for doing all of the games “events.” Unfortunately, I’m back to hating it and I’ve deleted it from my PS4’s hard drive due to the fact that a car that I was “gifted” from the game’s publisher’s (Ubisoft) reward program got “taken away” from me and locked behind that game’s “season pass.” Now, if I want to pay them extra money, I can access the car that I’ve been using for the past 2 years in the game again, but that is such a “slap in the face” that I simply uninstalled the game. This is an example of why I often have blog posts that decry corporations: their own rewards program allowed me to have the car, but now, in a bid to force me to put more money into the game, they’ve removed the car from me who earned it legitimately (for buying and playing their other games and racking up reward points and then “purchasing” said car with said rewards points when it was offered in their rewards “store.”). I won’t go off on corporate greed here, but one of the easiest ways to make me angry is to offer me something that I legitimately earned through legitimate means and then to take it away because you want “more” for it. I’ve not decided yet, but I may not buy the newest Assassin’s Creed game in protest–how do you like them apples Ubisoft? You may have endangered a 59.99 dollar purchase, all because you want to sell a $29.99 add-on to a 2.5 year old game, where the game (and season pass) is often on sale for below $20, and that I can probably get for $7.99-$9.99 on pre-Christmas sales). So, in your mind, Ubisoft, 7.99 > 59.99? Okay, good for you. That type of math is not going to be sustainable for long.

Eliminating the Backlog: Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

In an effort to get rid of my backlog, I decided to start pulling games from my backlog, installing them, and then try to play them from where I left off. If I can continue and get into it, then I will play it and keep it on the list of games to play. If not, then I will give it away or put it on the shelf, watch a YouTube video of the gameplay and move on to the next game, thereby playing the games that are fun and not wasting time with those that aren’t.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was the first game on the pile. I loaded it up and then played the mission that I was on. I got to the first town and snuck in, but I went “loud” to try to take out the guards (really I just wanted to see if I could “shoot” my way out rather than trying to finesse the mission with stealth). While I could, shooting was the much more difficult option. However, I hit a dead-end when I came up against enemy “supernatural” special ops as I tried to complete my first extrication mission. This game wants stealth and I’m NOT on-board. So, I decided to shelve this game and move on.

I’ve never really cared about the Metal Gear series. I bought (and still have) the original MG for the NES back in the day and I didn’t like it because it relied on hiding/timing for the guards. I never made it far in the game. I skipped all subsequent MGs and MGSs (Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid) games from then on, only relenting with MGS 4 on the Playstation 3 because it seemed like that one was going to be the last game–but, in reality, it was MGS 5. I bought Kojima’s newest game, Death Stranding (which is also on my backlog), but I think that stealth games just aren’t my genre. Even if it looks cool, I may just have to give stealth games a hard pass from here on out.

Well, that’s all I have for today! Have a great weekend!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (8/2020):

  • “Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
    Drafting: 2nd Draft
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Gaming Log: The Division 2, Knack 2, and The Crew 2

Black Sony Playstation 4 Pro with a black controller laying against it on a beige table with a gray background.
Image Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/video-game-system-reviews/sony-playstation-4-pro-review/

Over the “Lockdown” period, I’ve played quite a few games (although not as many or as much as one might think). I’ve converted my class to “Distance Education,” so much of my time has been devoted to that–grading, checking email, and the like. However, I managed to finish 3 games over the period (all strangely sequels with the number “2” in the title–go figure), so I thought I’d briefly talk about them.

The Division 2

This is a game that I finished during the Covid-19 Pandemic and “quarantine.” It is a game about reforging America (specifically during Washington DC) during a Pandemic. So, to use the current term for this one, it was so “meta.” I was playing a game that had elements of what was happening in the real world. Now, to be clear, the pandemic in the game is mostly over and you’re using your “military” training to “rebuild” the city from roving “factions.” In a way, this is a power fantasy of good over evil, or what I wish both Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead had been instead of the “man’s inhumanity to man” plot lines that inhabit most of both shows’ runs. I finished the “main” game and saw the “ending” cinematic, before the game “reset” and tasked you to redo the most of the game over again–just on a harder difficulty (won’t go into more detain due to spoilers on how that happens in the game). I finished the “main” story-line and I’m happy with the resolution of the game, so I will be moving on to other games. I thought it was worth the purchase price (I got it on sale), and enjoyed my time with it. GRADE: B

Knack 2

Okay, so Knack 2 is something that only I like. It (along with the first game in the series) is roundly criticized as a game that should not exist. It is an “old” design, repetitive, and the story is too “traditional” as it is “good vs evil.” Or, at least that is the critical and popular opinion. However, Knack 2 is definitely a game for one person–me! I love the series. Knack has its issues, don’t get me wrong. It is no Grand Theft Auto (GTA) by any means, but that’s not a bad thing. Gamers decry the fact that there’s no variety in the game offerings any more, but just as I am NOT the target audience for The Hunger Games, so too are most gamers NOT the target audience for this series and it seems to make them angry–just look at the level of vitriol because this series exists. However, the game is an action platformer that I can put my brain on cruise control as I play. It does have some weird difficulty spikes, but for the most part, is simply mindless fun–something that I want after a hard week of reading, writing, and grading papers. Over the break, I’ve finished the “main” story and I’m going back and replaying it to try to get all the trophies (100%) for the game. Again, although no one else likes its combat and platforming, I really do and I hope they keep making them despite the gamer “rage” that it seems to inspire. Grade: B

The Crew 2

This is a racing game that I finished recently. It is set in a (truncated) open world version of America and let’s you travel to various places in America while taking parts in different race types. You can either race in various events scattered throughout the map or you can drive the open world and explore. They have many U.S. cities (although outside of New York, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake, and maybe Seattle, as well, the smaller cities don’t have any correlation to what they look like in real life. They even have a version of Chattanooga & Nashville (areas where I live/work as Murfreesboro is about a 30 minute drive from Nashville) in the game. Surprisingly, no Atlanta or Boston–two cities that are more populous/well known than Chattanooga or Nashville, but hey, I’ll take it. I finished the game and all the event types and I’ve done every trophy except for two. Unfortuntely, both are multiplayer trophies and depend on getting someone else online to do those two activities with you. I tried over the weekend, but no one wanted to “join” me, so it’ll be a matter of luck to get those now–when the game was “young,” tons of people wanted to do those trophies–now, not so much.

It’s a shame, really, as the game was technically a Christmas gift. I’d really like to get those two trophies to get 100% to show that I really enjoyed the game and my time with it. A mini-rant: game designers–please, please, please STOP putting multiplayer trophies in your games. They work “early” in the game’s life-cycle (sometimes), but are almost always impossible to get without “boosting” or “cheating” in some way later on. Yes, we know you’d like us to do your marketing for you by convincing our friends to buy your game. No, we’re not going to do this (in most cases), so please stop. Also, while you’re at it, please stop with the “Drifting and drift events.” They’re not good in this game and they’re rarely ever good in racing games, in general. Thank you. Mini-rant over.

Outside of the fact that I’ll probably be stuck at 96% completion for the rest of my time with the game, I enjoyed it. I hope they bring out a sequel for the next generation consoles (without multiplayer trophies this time).

Edit: I was able to find a player who wanted to “partner” up and I got one of the two trophies that I needed. So now, I’m currently at 98%. It was super-lucky that the player wanted to partner up — this player just wanted to drive around (which is fine–that’s mostly what I do in this game which is why it has taken me so long to get all the activities done), so I wasn’t able to get the other trophy done — which is to “team up” to do an event, and this player didn’t seem to want to do this. Still, I was happy and surprised to knock out one of these two trophies.

Grade B.

Sidney

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The YouTuber vs The Director: Why Hollywood Needs to Stop Being a “Closed” System

Gameplay capture from a “modded” version of Empire at War (Star Wars Fleet Battle Strategy Game)

Hi Everyone,

So sorry for taking an extended break from the blog. There are reasons, which I will articulate, but probably in a post sometime in the New Year. Right now, I just want to say thank you to those who have stuck with the blog by reading older (and liking) many of the older posts here. I will be posting more regularly here (I haven’t gone away from blogging; I just needed to take a break–again, I’ll go into those reasons later). Again, a big thank you for sticking with the blog!

Right now, however, I really want to talk about Star Wars for a moment, now that the newest movie has released. Now, I’ve NOT seen Rise of Skywalker as of yet. Will I see it (at the theaters)? I’m not sure–so far, the reviews that I’ve seen have been mixed. I think I will probably email a professor that I know who is an ardent Star Wars fan to see what their reaction is and, if the professor likes it, I’ll probably attend a matinee showing in January before the new semester starts again. However, while watching a YouTube video, I discovered another reason why the previous movie (w/Rian Johnson at the helm) didn’t work for me and that has to do with an “amateur” (as Hollywood would see them) seeming to know and care more about the Star Wars universe than the director (and “professional” as Hollywood would brand them) does based on the content that both have “created.”

The Case Against Rian Johnson (and the script of The Last Jedi)

So, I’m probably “blacklisting” myself as I have designs of writing screenplays in the future, but in watching the YouTube video that I linked to above (don’t worry–at over 50 minutes I don’t expect anyone to watch the whole thing, but watching 10 mins or so, especially in the middle, should make it clear to readers why I chose to include the video). Now, before I lay out my major argument, let me be clear: while I respect Rian Johnson as both a person and director (I’ve never met the guy, so I have no opinion on him outside of his work–for me, it is the “content of one’s character”) in ALL situations), I’m not a fan of his science fiction efforts. Looper was something thing I couldn’t even finish, while The Last Jedi was disappointing to me as a lifelong Star Wars fan. While I understand the need to distance the old characters and invite the new characters, I felt that there were so many better ways that this could have been accomplished. Going against conventions just to be “radical and new” doesn’t necessarily mean that it is good. And that’s the main problem that I saw with The Last Jedi: its desire to show the main protagonists in the story in a different light that had already been explored. I won’t go into a long diatribe about it, but will ask all those who liked Knives Out–his currently critically acclaimed movie–a question: what if I took the characters in that movie and wrote a sequel in which none of them acted liked they had in the first movie and rewrote the ending so that none of it happened the way the first movie made it appear? (Don’t worry, there’s no spoilers as I’ve yet to see the movie) .Would you then think that this new movie was “cool and unique?” Chances are good that you would hate my script because neither the characters nor the world had anything that made them who they were–just changing them “to subvert expectations” would likely appear arbitrary, capricious, and dare I say, stupid (for an exercise, I may just write that script whenever I do see Knives Out just to show how subverting expectations isn’t really “clever” when it is done to something that someone else likes–when the person doing that subverting doesn’t really like it themselves–assuming, of course that I don’t like Knives Out).

Why Does a YouTuber Display More Reverence for Star Wars Than a Director (or Producer)?

Yet, for all my whinging on about Rian Johnson (and by extension, the producers of the newest trilogy), there are many people who are passionate about the series–but more importantly, who are knowledgeable about the Star Wars universe. In some ways, it seems like there are fans who know (and care) more about the property than the creators of that series. Now, there is a YouTuber who goes by the handle of TheXPGamers who produces quite a bit of Star Wars content. In this particular case (for the video that I linked above), he is playing a Star Wars game published by Lucasarts Games before the Disney buyout that deals with giant spaceship fleet battles between the forces of the Empire and the Rebels. Even though he is playing a “modded” copy (meaning that another software author has created a patch that changes the look, feel, and gameplay elements) of the original/base game, just from viewing a short portion of the video, one can see two things are evident: 1) his passion and 2) his knowledge about the SW universe. First, his passion is clear–he loves this series and learning more about it and he’s clearly invested in the lore. Second, he has both knowledge of the lore, but also strategy and how it applies to the SW universe. He is clearly a master of the game and of the tactics used to win.

And here’s my ultimate point: Rian Johnson got criticized for many things, but one of the major things that people called “BS” on was his fleet interactions. Now look, I know how hard writing is, but this where being a “closed” system hurts Hollywood. How hard would it have been to call in TheXPGamers as a “consultant” or even as a reader to help “punch up” the scenes dealing with the fleet? And if he did a good job there, then perhaps touch on characterization and other things in order to improve the script? Oh, but that’s not the way Hollywood does things–they don’t want to be sued for “stealing ideas.” Granted, that is a thing, but Hollywood wants a hit, but isn’t always sure what will deliver one. In dealing with art, the only time they seem to want to take risks is when they already have an established property (a la SW) that has a built in fanbase–but to actually open themselves up to 1) original properties/screenplays or 2) allow outsiders to come in and help shape there projects–no, that is NOT allowed. Yes, I’m aware of the “guild” structure and the like, but my point remains: if you have resources at your disposal to help you and you chose not to use them, then you cannot very well become upset when the fans call “BS” on a story/story elements. The “chase” in The Last Jedi was central to the storyline, but based on what was written in the script and presented onscreen, the director knew little-to-nothing about the “boring” ship-to-ship battles in the SW universe, so let’s make it “exciting” with a “chase” sequence (because “chase” scenes = tension, see Bullitt). However, as linked in the video, TheXPGamers knows how large fleet warfare works in SW, can describe it effectively, and can illustrate the reasons and rationales for certain decisions to be made, so why not use him as a resource as well, not to mention Lucas and any other SW alumns who are still working with (Filoni, Chow, or even other SW directors/artists/conceptual designers, even actors) come quickly to mind. And that doesn’t even count the legion of fans who have produced content (via the internet or in other forms) who have massive amounts of knowledge as well (but because they aren’t “professional”–i.e., known in Hollywood industry circles–their opinions and knowledge doesn’t count). Look, I get it, we all have to “pay our dues” if we want something, but not all “dues paying” looks exactly the same. If some pay there dues through YouTube videos, some through extensive reading and writing, and some by directing, shouldn’t that count for the same? Why does directing a moderately successful Sci-Fi movie give you access to the reins of the biggest, most important Sci-Fi franchise out there, but producing content (in the form of YouTube videos) on that very same large, successful franchise earn you nothing but contempt and being ignored by the very movie studio/entity producing that franchise?

Until Hollywood realizes that not everyone who isn’t “in” the industry is not the enemy, I predict there will be more fan/community backlash to Hollywood’s seemingly increasing arbitrary decisions to their franchises. Instead of more control, it might be better in the long run to relinquish the tight grip on their franchises and bring in fans (especially fan-based experts) to help craft the stories and shape the ultimate direction of the narratives. Otherwise, like Princess Leia predicted to Grand Moff Tarkin: “The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”

P. S. Alien 3 and Me

And lest I be called a Rian Johnson hater (as I am pretty harsh about him in this entry), I’ve already had my moment with “fandom” with the release of Alien 3 and that is when I learned how horribly wrong a sci-fi movie can go in the hands of an “avant garde” director. Alien and Aliens were my favorite films outside of the SW universe and I was ecstatic when A3 was announced. I went to a showing at U.T. Knoxville, where I was a sophomore at the time. Words cannot express my disappointment in the film. As there was no internet at the time (not in the way there is now–AOL was just beginning to be a thing . . . I think, but it may have been a couple of years before even that if I remember correctly), there was no “fan outrage” that happened. However, I never saw another David Fincher film (I made sure to note the director of that travesty) and after the lukewarm Alien Ressurection, I’ve basically sworn off the Aliens franchise until the reviews indicate that they (the filmmakers) truly intend to make good movies again (so, no I’ve not seen Prometheus, nor Alien Covenant, nor the AvP films, nor do I intend to). So you see, I don’t hate on directors or franchises when they disappoint–I just deny them my business. That’s why Leia’s quote is so appropriate–a closed system means that you (the filmmakers) have no margin for error, so the director/writer/producer had better love the franchise as much as the fans because, like The Last Jedi (and Alien 3) shows, it is painfully obvious when they don’t.

Sidney

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Game Day: The Confluence of Gaming and Writing

Man typing outside at a table with his laptop, coffee, plant, water, and writing journal
Image Source: https://medium.com/read-watch-write-repeat/pursue-your-writing-projects-on-the-weekend-6fcee00848dc

Fall is here and I’m back. I’m in the midst of a flurry of last minute reading for my test on Friday. I don’t really feel all that confident about it, but it is what it is. I wish that I had perfect recall–at least on names. I really want to mention theorists and scholars as a lot of the test depends on “name dropping,” but, except for the biggest names in the field, most names are gone the moment I close/put down the book. Sigh.

Anyway, I’m back after a nearly two week drought. It isn’t that I haven’t wanted to write, but between grading and reading, I just don’t seem to find an hour in the day anymore to write. However, I get discourage when my favorite YouTubers don’t post on time, or go long periods without putting up new videos, and here I am, doing the same. So, not to be hypocritical, I thought I’d take a quick “study break” and dash out a blog post before reading some more and then going to bed.

Saturday is “Game Day”

So, Americans will get this pun as, I feel, will a lot of Europeans. In both countries, Saturday is a prime “sports day.” For Americans, at this time of year, it is “college football,” which is American football played among various university teams in which there are long-standing rivalries. In Europe, a lot of “football” matches (soccer) takes place, again with long-standing rivalries.

However, for me, Saturdays are my primary “gaming” days. Friday evenings are usually too draining, so I don’t usually start my gaming until Saturdays. While I use to bounce from game to game, what I’ve been doing these past couple of years is really investing in one game every week and really digging into it and making myself a “master” at the game (Assassin’s Creed Origins, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, and Gravel are all games in which I earned the maximum achievement for–the Platinum Trophy–in terms of achievement.

My “backlog” of games to be finished, however, continues to grow, so much so that I’ve come to despair of ever finishing them all before the next “generation” of consoles (i.e., the PS5) arrives Holiday 2020. Recently, however, I found myself switching between two games (God of War and Rise of the Tomb Raider, 20th Anniversary Edition) on a biweekly basis–one week I play GoW and the next week I play RotTR. One game is a Physical game and the other is a Digital Game. When I finish either of these two games, my plan is to simply pick another in the respective genre and start playing. In this manner, I hope to bring my “backlog” down to a reasonable size.

Saturday Morning = Needs to be “Writing Game Day”

My goal is to get to where I can do the same on Saturdays for my writing. Usually Saturday mornings are when I’m just starting to recover from the week, and while I don’t feel fully creative (that’s actually Saturday evenings when I’m usually watching a movie), I do feel much more more creative.

While I can “write” during that time (draft), what I’d like to be able to do is to work on Rough Drafts during that time. I feel that I can probably write (draft) on the current story that I’m working on during the week by creating scenic “milestones” to get to for that week. However, like my gaming, I’d like to have a second project in the wings that I could write out (longhand with a pen/pencil) every weekend and then when I finish the “weekday” draft, I’d move the weekend draft to that spot, start writing (drafting) it, and then move in new Rough Draft during the weekend spot.

I wanted to start that this previous weekend, but was enamored with “cleaning,” that I, of course, procrastinated until it was too late. I’m going to try it again this upcoming weekend and I hope by putting it up on the blog, I will be able to hold myself accountable for actually getting it done. I’m pretty sure two projects in writing, just like gaming, is probably going to be my limit, but, just like gaming, my goal is to shrink my “backlog” of games and writing projects down and get them finished, so any strategy that I find that I can use to do that successfully is one that I plan to implement (& hopefully use it to thrive as a writer).

Sidney

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It’s All About the Games, EA!

Image Source: https://www.dexerto.com/business/ea-shares-plummet-after-battlefield-v-delay-announcement-151830

Recently, Andrew Wilson, the current CEO of EA said some things in an investor call that illustrate why I no longer purchase EA games until they are severely discounted, if at all. His comments underscore a deeper problem with EA. It, as a company, is far too invested in what its investors want and not enough invested in what its customers want.

The Customer is Always Right

“The customer is always right” is the primary adage in the business world–that is, until you reach a certain size (Megacorporation size, is what I term it) where the customer no longer becomes the focus (or core) of your business. EA is a gaming company–it creates video games and sells them to people (customers) who enjoy playing them as a diversion or hobby. Like all entertainment media, there is a risk involved that the buying public will not like the product and you will lose money. It is in EA’s interests to minimize this as best they can in order to make a profit, stay in business, and grow as company.

The problem is that based on Andrew Wilson’s comments in the investor call, (and I’m paraphrasing here), he seems to think that most of the problem is a presentation one and that the old ways of marketing don’t work and the company needs to have a conversation with its fans.

Andrew, no. Just no.

I’ve been a “gamer” since 1984 and I saw the rise of EA (then Electronic Arts) from a small game publisher of unique titles (Starflight, Skyfox, The Bard’s Tale series) to their growth with sports titles, into the megacorporation they are now. In their early years, they were focused on compelling content and the selling of games.

Now they are too focused on the idea of services, gimmicks, and the latest gaming crazes put into their games to increase their revenue, whether or not it makes sense to their games (loot boxes anyone?) How does this serve consumer (and please don’t give me the laughable line about “added value”–which is corporate doublespeak for pay us now for the game and pay us later for additional stuff we created in the hopes you’ll give us more money for the same product so we don’t have to take a risk and develop a new product you, as consumers, might not buy from us because its not very good).

The Investor Wants a Quick and Maximum Return on Their Investment

While not wrong, investors don’t really care about games as “art” (good experiences for their company’s customers). They want to get a much money back from their original investment as possible in as short amount of time as possible. Their goals are almost antithetical to that of the company in which they invest (in most cases). They look for the quickest, easiest way of getting money, whether or not that makes sense for the business in question. Don’t believe me, well when EA’s prime competitor Activision, fell on hard times recently, an unnamed investor apparently wondered why Activision didn’t have a game like EA’s suddenly (& surprisingly) successful Apex Legends in its portfolio–or so the story goes–again paraphrasing from sources.

Say what? EA itself didn’t know it was going to be a hit, so how could Activision have known? And now that they do know, what is Activision supposed to do? Make an Apex Legend “clone?” But wait, we already have Apex Legend, why do we need another?

In that particular investor’s mind (which I’m going to extend to cover to most megacorp investors), that thing “over there” is successful and “printing money,” so go do that thing and then we’ll be just as successful and printing money too. The problem is, that in most cases, especially entertainment, that’s not how success works. It has to be both very good and, at the very least, at least mildly original (but usually highly so, or at least original enough within a fairly established genre–which is what Apex Legends was, a “new” & “fresh” take on the Battle Royal genre). Derivatives rarely fare as well as the original, but try telling that to an investor–good luck with that!

Simply put, EA won’t get itself under control (and no other gaming company will either) until it remembers that investors are not its focus–its customers are. Stop trying to “monetize” customers with gimmicks and services and the like for your investors and return to creating compelling content that customers crave and cannot bear to be without and you’ll find that customers will buy your products and your quarters will be (mostly) safe.

In other words, you know those “games” that you think are “old fashioned?” They’re actually what we, your customers, are looking for. Please stop treating us a “resource” to be exploited, but as customers looking for a great product with great value at a reasonable price. If your investors don’t like it, then I humbly submit, that may very well be where your problem, as a megacorporation, actually lies.

Sidney

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Weekend Round Up #15

Image Source: https://www.rocketcitymom.com/weekend-roundup-november-8-11/

This blog entry is me formalizing a format that I started earlier in the year of just giving a quick rundown of some of the highlights of my weekend. As I tend to do most of my writing, gaming, and media consumption on the weekends, it makes sense to give a brief summary/overview of some of the more important aspects of my weekend life, considering they all have relevance to my life in general, and the blog, in particular.

Gaming

Nothing major to note. I got closer to finishing the driving game Gravel. Actually, I’ve already finished it (seen the credits roll after completing the main campaign, but I’m hopeful that I can earn the ultimate reward for my dedication, a Platinum Trophy, in which I complete all the required conditions. I’m currently sitting at 97% complete on the game–needing only 2 online trophies to finish the game. However, that might be a hard task based on the fact that no one is really playing the game online anymore that I can see (on the PS4 anyway). We’ll continue to see, however.

Writing

Managed to send off a story (reprint–Faerie Knight) to a YA podcast looking for Halloween, Christmas, and Dinosaur stories (Faerie Knight falls firmly in the Halloween category). I’ve had very little luck (none at all, if I’m honest) in the reprint category–none of my stories have ever been reprinted in a different magazine from their original publication, but since FA was a Halloween story (it takes place on Halloween night), I thought I’d give it a try. In other news, I started planning a short-story “duology” over the weekend. I’ve actually already written the first story (I, Magi) and I now have a “sequel” for it in mind. I will be working with it over the week to get a “rough draft” down on paper and then put it on hold until I finish Project Dog, Project Skye, and Project Independent. I feel as if I have too many outstanding projects and I really need to finish some of them off before moving on to others.

Media

Not much to see here this week. Not into Game of Thrones. I hate the whole “Bad things happen to Good people” sub-genre, no matter the genre (fantasy, sci-fi, etc.), so I refuse to be a part of the cultural conversation here. I did start the Amazon Prime show Hanna, but didn’t actually finish the first episode–although I will. I don’t think it would be right for me to give my impressions until I do, however.

School

So, this is where the bulk of my writing time went this weekend. I had a school assignment due at 11:00 pm Sunday night for my Victorian Literature class (on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol). I finished it right around that time (after working on it since approx. 7pm). I really feel the Sunday night time-frame is a good writing time (when I’m not writing until 11:00pm or 12:00am), so as soon as school’s out (i.e., I’m finished with my classes, I would like to use this time-frame to actually work on some of my (many) “Projects.”

Well, that’s my weekend for this week–hope this week is a good one for both you and me!

Sidney

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7 Games that Influenced Me: Golden Axe

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Okay, so this blog post was inspired by a video on Playstation Access that talks about 7 different games that inspired the staff at Playstation Access.  Gaming, along with reading and writing, and watching movies and television shows, make up a large part of my free time, so I thought that I would also do a blog post that covers seven influential games for me.  I will revisit this post several different times, each time updating it with a new game.

Here are mine are in no particular order:

Golden Axe

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So, I puzzled and puzzed until my puzzler was sore for what I should do for my last game for this post.  I have so many games that I’ve played that have had an influence of on me.  I had to really think about a game that affected me and I finally settled on Golden Axe.  As a beat’em-up much like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage, where you take control of a character and use the controller to “beat up” your opponents.  While inevitably violent, most of these were never really bloody in the way a “slasher” film might be–the violence (to me) was always cartoony (a la Tom & Jerry).  Essentially, Golden Axe is a side-scrolling game you move from right to left defeating monsters and creatures.  You choose from one of three characters and you can play it alone or cooperatively with a 2nd player.  In the late 1980s, Golden Axe was the closest thing to fantasy movies like Conan the Barbarian and fantasy novels like The Lord of the Rings.  There is even a magic system using gnomes and jars that added variety to the game.  I cannot tell you how many times that I’ve played this game or how many times that I’ve enjoyed going all the way though it, either by myself or with my uncle.  This game is one that I played all through my teenaga years.

Street Fighter 2

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Street Fighter 2 is a game that I discovered while I was in college.  It became super popular  during my second year at UT Knoxville.  As a fighting game, it allowed one player to challenge the computer or 2 players to challenge each other.  It became all of the craze at the Gameroom at the University Center and in the “arcades” that lingered on “The Strip” (the road just off of campus that divided the campus from the off-campus apartments and led into downtown Knoxville).  The game was intense and even though there were only 8 characters at the time, they were so different that it was easy to pick a favorite and learn all their moves and then challenge others (strangers or friends).  I remember that my best friend from high school came up to UT Knoxville during my 2nd year there and we used to have epic battles on this game.  My main character was Chun Li because I loved her speed and agility and her move set (especially the Lightning Kick and the Spinning Bird Kick).  My friend played Bison (aka M Bison) because of his power and powerful moves.  I was so in love with the game, that I asked for a Super Nintendo just to get an arcade perfect port of the game (I didn’t need to because a later edition also came to the Sega Genesis a little later on with the ability to fight against the same character that you were playing).  This is one that my uncle and I had loads of fun playing, although I think he was a little disappointed that it was just a “fighter” and didn’t have more depth.  For me, however, I was enraptured.  Once I learned Chun Li’s moves, it became a mini-game to see how I could beat opponents with as many of the different moves as possible.  This game to this day, still is one that when the latest iteration comes out, I will at least give it a look/play, even when it steps away from the core gameplay.  SFII as it is affectionately known by fans is a game that truly had an effect on me as a gamer.

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The Bard’s Tale II: The Destiny Knight

So this game is one that I played religiously during my childhood.  I got into D&D through the boardgame Dungeon! and bought quite a few D&D and AD&D rulebooks and supplements.  I saw an ad for this in a magazine (I think) and I got it for a birthday (or Christmas) present.  Rolling a character and creating a party was immensely fun for me as was adventuring in the town of Skara Brae.  I, along with my uncle, scouraded the land and the dungeons.  I seem to remember that there were seven dungeons (not including the “starter” dungeon in the world.  We managed to map out and beat the first two dungeons (if I remember correctly), but not the “starter” dungeon, weirdly enough.  I think we might have gotten one finished, but I’m not really sure at this point.  I remember the puzzle that stopped us, “What is No. 9’s favorite wine?”  I’m assuming there was a clue that we missed somewhere because I think this was in Dungeon 4 (???), but where ever, it stopped our progress.  Even though we didn’t technically finish/beat the game, we spent hours and hours on the game, and even invested in graph paper to map out the dungeons and the game world (before “automapping” was a thing.  Even without finishing, the experience of the playing the game and creating characters still helps to inform me as a writer today and that’s why this game is one of the influential games of my childhood.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

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So, Call of Duty was a franchise that I knew a lot about, but didn’t actually pick up until Treyarch’s World War II game, Call of Duty 3, and I really liked the game, but shortly thereafter Infinity Ward announced that they were moving out of the WWII arena and moving the game into the modern era.  I really found this to be provocative and I followed the development with considerable interest.  When the game released, the campaign just blew my mind.  It was tense, fun, and graphically well done and I found it to be one of the best stories that I’ve experienced in any medium.  The online component also sucked me in after I finished main campaign several times.  It extended my enjoyment of the game and I played the online portion religiously for the better part of two years.  Modern Warfare is a game that not just influenced me, but also influenced the entire gaming industry for the better part of 8-10 years.

 

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Galaga/Galaxian

Okay, so I’m cheating a little bit on this entry as technically, Galaga and Galaxian are two separate games.  However, they came out at about the same time, they play so similar, and they are ones where I played either of them no matter what, depending on the location–some places would have one, other places would have the other, and I personally had no preference between the two.  Basically, these two games are what’s known in the gamer community as “top down shooters.”  You shoot aliens as they move though space, but your view is from the top as if you were looking down on your own ship and the aliens.  Much like the classic game Space Invaders you find your ship confined to the bottom of the screen, but instead of aliens coming down in straight lines, they swirl around the play area, making your job of hitting them, much harder.  On Galaga,  there is an extra wrinkle in that some ships are able to send out a tractor beam and capture your ship.  If it was your last ship, then the game is over, but if you have another ship and can hit the alien that has captured your ship, you have the chance of getting it back and doubling your firepower.  It has a great risk/reward system in place with that mechanic.  Galaxian is essentially the exact same game minus the alien ship with its tractor beam.  These two games were favorites of mine and earned my quarters every time I saw them in an arcade, or where ever they might have been located.

Tomb Raider 2

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This is probably the most influential game for me in the “modern” era of gaming in that it was the one game that I played when I still had my entire family available to me (my uncle, my grandmother, and my grandfather), so there is a nostalgia factor with this game.  Most people, scholars/journalists will cite the rise of Lara Croft as this feminist icon in video games, and while this is true, TRII is most notable to me because of its proto-narrative structure.  From the introductory cutscene, all through the in-game dialogue, you can see a narrative trying to be told by the game designers.  While not nearly as polished as a movie, you can see early attempts at dramatic irony, a sarcastic heroine, and a narrative structure (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution), all wrapped around a larger-than-life character in Lara Croft.  There was also an element of “world-hopping” similar to the best adventure movies with the game taking place in various real-world settings–from Venice, to Nepal, to other exotic locals.  However, what I remember most about the game were the puzzles.  The puzzles were clever and inventive.  I remember, up until that point, I hated games with heavy puzzle elements because I felt that I just wasn’t very good with them–however, TR II, helped to change that for me.  With help from my uncle, I began to be more patient with puzzles and began to really enjoy the challenge of trying to figure them out.  We had the “cluebook,” and used it early on in the game, but later in the game, it became a secondary challenge, a mark of distinction, and a badge of honor, to see if we could figure out the puzzle without the cluebook.  I credit this game with helping me become a better “library assistant” as it came out during the first two years of my time at the CPL.  This game had a profound effect on me during my mid-20s and is still one of my favorite games of all time.

Pacman (Arcade and Atari 2600 editions)

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Image Source: https://www.retrogames.cz/play_017-Atari2600.php

So, Pacman had a profound effect on me.  While it was the most popular of the 1980s “first wave” of video games, it was also influential on me in that it was a game that helped to cement my  love of video games at that particular time period.  It wasn’t the first video game I played (no, that honor goes to Galaga), but it was the game (along with Galaga, Galaxian, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Turbo, Spyhunter, and Missle Command) that set me firmly in the camp of a gamer.  While I was never really very good at the game–I never wanted to memorize patterns–I always just wanted to “play” it, it still was something that I would always gravitate to and want to play.  If I (or my parents) ever had spare quarters, they would end up in the cabinet at some point before the night was over.  When the game came home, I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t exactly match the arcade version, but I can still remember hearing the “dun-na-na-dunm” of the start-up screen as Santa’s elves set it up on Christmas Eve.   For a game version that I was mildly disappointed with initially, I have to say I spent an inordinate amount of time playing it.  I really liked the game and it was very influential for me as both a child and a gamer.

Sidney

  • Current Work-in-Progress: The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story – 2nd Draft)
  • Current Work-in-Progress: Project Star (Sci-Fi Short-Story -1st Draft)
  • Current Work-in-Progress: Ship of Shadows (Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – Script, Issue #1, Currently on Script Page 28)

 

 

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