Trying to Get Gunpoint

This week, Jorge and I talk through my hesitation around Gunpoint. The video is a little choppy, so feel free to treat it like an extra podcast.

Much of the conversation hinged around how seemingly basic things that can distract from a game's strong points. In this case, it's the visual perspective. Simply put, it's the perspective: I find the game zoomed out to the point where trying to figure out what the objects are and what they will do is a chore. Maybe it's just me being slow, or maybe Gunpoint has steep learning curve, but I want to like this game. Like Jorge says, it's well written, the soundtrack is excellent, and it's extremely satisfying to see a well-laid plan come to fruition.

I'm interested in hearing whether anyone else has gotten over the hump with this game or any other game. What changed about your approach or the game itself?

Postcards from 'Proteus'

This week at PopMatters, I send some postcards from Proteus.

When Proteus first came out, it re-ignited the "What is a game debate?" that tends to crop up every spring when the holiday rush dies down. Alright, that's a bit snarky, but only because I'm not sure such a debate is even that useful, or even a true debate at all. Mathew Burns says it better than me, but having a dialogue between experimental interactive experiences and big-publisher, "triple-a" Video Games isn't tenable or necessarily valuable.

Proteus' importance doesn't reside in a definition, but rather in the kind of thought it inspires in the people that play it. At the very least, the fact that people are forced to question their assumptions of what they consider a game shows gives it merit. On a more practical level, there are real mysteries that can be uncovered in Proteus that require attention and dedication. The thing is more than just a nature video on loop. Check out Jorge's and my stream for some concrete examples.

Finally, I threw in some screenshots to help convey the narrative of one of my playthroughs. I'm interested to see if they are similar to other people's experiences. Regardless of what Proteus in an ontological sense, it's clearly a great discussion-starter.

EXP Podcast #228: Game and Watch

Image from Gamasutra

This week, we take a mid-week breather from all the E3 madness to talk about a subject that's actually one of the bigger features of both Microsoft and Sony's new consoles: screencasting. What once started out as "Let's Plays" on obscure corners of the internet have now become regular events for a growing multitude of players. Inspired by Kris Ligman's article on the origin, evolution, and struggles of the Let's Play scene, we discuss everything from intellectual property to editing techniques. We're still pretty new to this entire scene, so we're interested to read your thoughts in the comments!

- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes
- Find the show on Stitcher
- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format.
- Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.

Show notes:

- Runtime: 28 min 11 sec
- "Opinion: Let's Play crackdown is an attack on game culture," by Kris Ligman via Gamasutra
- Music by: Brad Sucks

The Year of the PC

I am smack dab in the middle of E3. Like every year, the cacophony blends into a general chorus of "look at me!" While actual games make up the majority of the show, the feud between Microsoft and Sony (and after this week's Sony conference, it's certainly a feud), is clearly the hot topic on everyone's minds. For the most part, the consensus is on the side of Sony. Yet looking at the consoles on display, it seems pretty clear this is the year of the PC.

During both Microsoft and Sony's press conferences, particularly the latter, all the game highlights and montages seem to express the inaccurate message that they are completely console exclusives. For the most part, the biggest or most exciting games, from Triple A to Indie, are platform agnostic. Those games that are exclusive are either new and untested franchises or dated far enough in the future to award those patients for a console price drop.

Of course the DRM features of the the Xbox One boggle the mind and completely sway me away from any early purchase of the hardware. Still, I'm also not entirely convinced that Sony will earn my dollars either. The indie games I was so please to see on stage are easily acquired on the PC, so while its positioning itself as indie friendly against Microsoft, it has no sole claim to that title. Likewise, Sony's decision to charge for multiplayer gaming deters me from embracing the console as a base for social gaming.  

The price may not be exorbitant, but when I have a system that is, one hundred percent, free and open, I see no reason to migrate to another that barely competes with its hardware. My computer is endless upgradeable, but this "last gen" console cycle will forever remain a stagnant.

It was strange during Sony's press event when the crowd went absolutely wild when the company announced it would allow players to share games freely. The celebration was more intense than any other announcement at the conferences. What sort of bizarro world do we live in where allowing us to lend things we ostensibly own is a gifted feature to celebrate?

I have my weapon against this madness already. It's customizable, playable on my TV, supports controllers, and offers free multiplayer and frequent sales. Next-gen consoles? Maybe one day, but so far, I'm not sold.

Ethical Decision Making in Quandary

Screenshot from Quandary

My latest PopMatters article is now live: Ethical Decision Making in Quandary.

I want to put this out there right from the beginning. If you're reading this right now, you probably won't enjoy Quandary all that much. The game is not particularly thrilling, the systems not terribly complex, and the story not incredibly well crafted. The game was made by a group of educators and psychologists to educate, and, like an unfortunate amount of "edu-games", it's just not that exciting.

That being said, it's interesting and makes some procedural arguments that I adore. Quandary manages to be deeply political without being overly didactic or preferential towards one paradigm over another. The core arguments the game makes promotion critical, thoughtful, community informed judgments free of deceit or personal gain. It advocates a type of conversation about tough decisions that, at least for the targeted age group of 8-14 year old kids, is all too rare.

I also think anyone interested in ethical decision making in traditional games give the game a look. It may not solve the problem if meaningful decisions in games, but I think it offers an interesting, albeit not always applicable, method of systematizing decision making in games. In particular, the input, sway, and opinion of NPCs in the game are fundamental to the decision making process. While BioWare games and the like create repercussions around decisions that affect secondary characters, rarely are choices inherently influenced or confined by the input of others.

I'm always looking for interesting ways to explore choice, particular meaningful ethical dilemmas in games, so when something simple and unique like Quandary pops up, I am compelling to recommend it to others. The game is free to play here. Also, if you have kids, I'm especially interested to here your thoughts about the game whether you play it alone or as a family. There are definitely features worth exploring further.

EXP Podcast #227: Stories from the Humble Bundle

A tranquil scene from Proteus

The Humble Indie Bundle 8 is in full swing, so this week we discuss some of the games we've been able to play so far. The bundle's wide range of games means we discuss everything from the competitive, skill-driven systems of Awesomenauts and Hotline Miami to the experiential, story driven environments of Proteus and Dear Esther. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, the Humble Indie Bundle is a great buy for both economic and philosophical reasons: you pay what you want (or what you can) and you support independent, DRM-free games that also happen to be some of the more thought-provoking games on the market. Alright, enough schilling. As always, feel free to jump into the comments with your thoughts.

- Subscribe to the EXP Podcast via iTunes
- Find the show on Stitcher
- Here's the show's stand-alone feed
- Listen to the podcast in your browser by left-clicking here. Or, right-click and select "save as link" to download the show in MP3 format.
- Subscribe to this podcast and EXP's written content with the RSS link on the right.

Show notes:

- Runtime: 31 min 34 sec
- The Humble Indie Bundle 8
- Music by: Brad Sucks

Pondering Proteus

Jorge and I go for a walk in Proteus and make at least five Game of Thrones references. On a more serious note, we discuss the nature of storytelling and the increasingly diverse nature of video games as a creative medium. There's also some squirrel chasing.