Thursday, October 31, 2013

And Now: A Confusing Word from Our Sponsors

Image from PopMatters
Don Draper would be proud of this week's PopMatters column: it's about ads.

More specifically, it's about how this season's video game ads don't make much sense to me. I expected to be buried in commercials for the new systems. It's been eight years since a new Xbox, but people have more options now: free to play games, social games, the explosion of the mobile scene. If there was ever a time to get people whipped into a buying frenzy, this is it.

Maybe it's good I'm not in marketing, because the game ads I've been seeing are a suprise to me. Drake songs accompanying 18th century period pieces, commercials for the Xbox 360 (what?!), and Call of Duty spots without any Call of Duty footage suggests that publishers' goals are more complicated than simply blanketing a general populace. To put in Call of Duty terms: instead of firing a shotgun blast at everyone, they are sniping at precise cross sections of players.

On a side note, writing this column made me realize just how far I've strayed from traditional broadcast television. If it weren't for football, almost all my media would be streaming. Because of this, I never really get to see ads alongside the media they subsidize. Seeing a trailer on YouTube or scrolling through a promoted tweet doesn't make as strong a connection between different types of media. Why is the Xbox 360 shown to people watching Parks and Rec while Assassin's Creed 4 is targeted at NFL fans? Aside from the NFL's obvious love of swashbucklers (although I've never seen the Buccaneers or Raiders equipped with wrist blades).

None of these commercials really inspire me to buy what they're showing (largely because they aren't showing much of anything). However, I'm pretty comfortable with being out of touch and just observing the spectacle. I can't wait for the next year's inevitable Miley Cyrus Titanfall trailer.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

EXP Podcast #248: Animal Lovers

Big Buck Hunter Screenshot
I ran over a deer today in GTA V and I felt nothing. What monster have a become!? This week on the podcast, we're inspired once again by a Gameological Q&A to discuss our animal-killing ways. Join as we talk about tiger royalty, scarcity, cute baby animals, and so much more. As always, we encourage you to hop into the comments and let us know your strategies for making people feel guilty for the slaughter of digital creatures.

- 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: 27 mins 28 secs
- "Why Can't We Be Friends?", via The Gameological Society
- Music by: Brad Sucks

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

10/28/2013 Spelunky Daily Challenge

This week I tried to record an epic game of League of Legends. While I failed to record successfully, I lost painfully anyway. Let's watch Scott lose instead! This week, he tries his hand at another Spelunky daily challenge with always humorous results. He also shares some thoughts on video game marketing, so let us know your thoughts on Jimmy Kimmel, Nintendo penguins, and "powerful psychic blasts".

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Playing Detective in The Wolf Among Us

My latest PopMatters article is now live: Playing Detective in The Wolf Among Us

I use this article mostly to praise Telltale's ability to take the same core systems from The Walking Dead and apply them better in a pulp detective story. I love The Walking Dead, don't get me wrong, but The Wolf Among Us capitalizes on the natural output of their interactive elements, self-doubt and mystery, to harmonize so well with the narrative and their wonderful world-building.

Now let's put that aside for a moment and talk a bit about actual Fables, the comic series by Bill Willingham that inspired the game. Aside from maybe  the first story arc, Fables is not some pulp detective story. In fact, at times quite on the nose, the story is more an alegory for modern-day Israel and its large diaspora community than anything else. Yes, the narrative draws heavily on classic fairy tales, but it's also its entirely own work. The story doesn't just get dark, it gets downright deeply upsetting. While occasionally Fables can be a little disappointing, it's still one of my favorite comics for its willingness to take pre-established story tropes and tweak them to deliver its own powerful dramatic moments.

Like its own source, I fully expect The Wolf Among Us to deviate from its source. Bigby, and certainly my version and reading of Bigby in The Wolf Among Us, is actually quite calm and measured than Willingham's Big Bad Wolf. He's a keen detective instead of a Sheriff who is more hired muscle than wise law man.

Other character also follow suit. Snow White, in The Wolf Among Us, is surprisingly docile and meek. In her first appearance in Willingham's work, Snow establishes as a strong and boisterous character, more than a match for Bigby's own temper. As a fan of Willingham's work, it's actually a little disappointing to see her so timid and even afraid in Telltale's work. The reason they made the change, I suspect, is to add more pressure on the player to take on the detective role. She asks Bigby who she thinks the killer is precisely because Telltale want's to remind the player to constantly consider character motivations when interacting with the world.

That being said, the subordinate and passive role of women in pulp fiction, historically, is immensely common. There are certain genre conventions that may undermine the existing Fables story for fans of the comic series. Even so, there's still a lot of Wolf Among Us yet to come, and I'm eager to see what Telltale has planned for the world.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

EXP Podcast #247: The Heroes We Hate

Image from Giant Bomb
We have plenty of heroes in the video game world, but how many of them are likeable? That's the question the Gameological Society staff recently discussed. We run through their picks and throw a few of our own personal picks in the mix. It turns out that there are plenty of video game heroes that range from a bit annoying to downright terrible. Join us with your picks as we talk about sociopaths, 90s baditude, and the Gorton's fisherman.

- 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 40 sec
- "The Heroes We Don't Deserve," by via The Gameological Society
- Music by: Brad Sucks

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Awesomenauts: Still Awesome After All These Years

Scott and Jorge return to their favorite sidescrolling MOBA game and take the youngsters to school.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Disappointing Discoveries in 'The Cave'

Image from PopMatters
This week I channel my inner Andy Rooney and talk about disappointing discoveries in The Cave.

I'm not sure it ever comes across, but I don't really like writing negative columns. There are so many great games these days that I find my time is usually better spent dwelling on the positive things. Additionally, I know how hard it is to make a make a game (even a bad one) and that designers usually know whether or not a particular title is a winner. Unless there's something overtly offensive, I'm more inclined to let an unremarkable game fade into obscurity.

That whole preamble is mainly to justify my sharp words about The Cave. I'm normally an unabashed fan of anything Double Fine puts out, but questionable decisions pervade throughout the game. The core conceit, an adventure game where you directly control the characters, is novel but actually serves to illustrate why point and click adventure games were a good idea in the first place: the platforming isn't the point. Uninteresting obstacles and meaningless death make it seem like busy work meant to fill time between puzzles.

However, the biggest disappointment comes on the technical side. I played it on iOS and soon realized that The Cave is a port of a game clearly designed for a controller, or at the very least a physical keyboard. The dragging and swiping gestures are nowhere near precise enough for platforming and even seem to have trouble differentiating between a tap to pick something up and a quick swipe to jump. This results in repetitive deaths and sloppy, imprecise character movement. Additionally, the game hitches and drops frames quite often, despite the fact that I have the most recent version of the iPad.

The sad part is that all this seems so avoidable. Spend more time optimizing or implement an on-screen control pad; others have proven if can be done, so why not do it? Any answer I can think of: they were pressed for time, they ran out of money, or they simply didn't care are all equally depressing. Double Fine has built up a reputation of caring about the people who do the right thing both for their team and their players, and it just doesn't come through in the iOS version of The Cave.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

EXP Podcast #246: Halo 4 Debrief

Halo 4 poster by 343i
The Master Chief has been floating in space for the past four years, but the entire time, the folks at 343 Industries were busy thinking of ways to reinvigorate the franchise without pissing off millions of fans. This week on the podcast, with a healthy heaping of post-release distance, Scott and I discuss the much anticipated Halo 4. As always, we give ample spoiler warning for those cautious about the narrative, so hop on in and let us know what you thought of 343's first efforts and making Halo their own!

- 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: 36 min 58 sec
- Music by: Brad Sucks

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

League of Legends: ARAM Jax OP

I play a lot of League of Legends. In fact, it's easily one of my most played games of all time. And if I do say so myself, I'm actually pretty good at it. Now I have proof!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Shooter's Aren't Built for War

My latest PopMatters article is now live: Shooter's Aren't Built for War.

I basically use this week's article to undermine the Red Cross intent to incorporate international law in military shooters. I should make it clear again here immediately, their intent is admirable. While I don't believe shooter fanatics are more likely to commit genocide, I do believe misconceptions about the efficacy of international laws, treaties, and organization are more likely to remain if they seldom appear in pop culture. Even so, adding a punishment mechanism into a game is a poor solution to convey the importance of regulations on war.

As systems that favor physical repercussions, shooters in particular have few tools to address social repercussions. Yes, locking up a player character for killing civilians might get players to consider the real world implications of their digital violence, it's a poor solution to a larger problem. For the most part, the characters we play in games have no duties or obligations to larger wholes. Any limitations imposed upon us are tested and flexed and punishment itself is an unsatisfying feedback mechanic.

A better solution is to create more powerful roles and embed player into the larger systems that influence real world behavior, from those who wage war and those are are victims of it. Modeling these invisible repercussions is painfully difficult and, just not in the "shooter" wheel house. If the ICRC wants to have some persuasive influence on a wider gaming population, they should encourage a diversity not just of stories, but of the primary systems that shape them.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

EXP Podcast #245: Taking Action in Open Worlds

Image from Giant Bomb
Technically, you could play GTA without breaking any laws, but wouldn't that be like playing Mario without jumping? This week, thanks to Mitch Krpata's article about verbs in games, we talk about the gap between the theoretical potential of a game's rules and the practical realities of the actions you can take. Along the way, we do a check in on some recent open world games we've been playing, as that genre seems particularly prone to tension between what you could do and what your available actions steer you towards. We're not here to get in the way of your action, so 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 28 sec
- "Verbs," by Mitch Krpata, via Insult Swordfighting
- Music by: Brad Sucks

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

FTL: Safety in Space

Watch as Hanah and Scott's stance towards extraterrestrial slavery vacillates wildly while they make as many Star Trek references as possible.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Learning from 'Gone Home'

Image from PopMatters
This week at PopMatters, I write about the lessons we can learn from Gone Home.

It's not really about the "after school special" types of lessons the plot offers; we've all seen plenty of artistic works about the value of tolerance, family tensions, and the difficulty of facing the past. Gone Home certainly deals with such themes more gracefully than most other games, but the bigger point is that it addresses them at all.

Gone Home is unique in its normalcy, both in terms of its characters and the actions you take as a player. There are things to learn from this normalcy: the "put back" mechanic is genius. Being able to rummage around in drawers is indulgent, but it makes the house feel full. An intricate environment can be as impressive as a sprawling open world. On a thematic note, Gone Home is a great example of how stories can be dramatic without having to fight a supervillain bent on destroying the world. Everyday struggles can inspire just as much empathy as galaxy-wide wars if they're told with honesty and respect for the characters.

One thing I didn't get a chance to talk about in the column is the idea of a game as a period piece. There are plenty of games set in both the distant (sometimes mythical) past and plenty set in the far-flung future. However, I'm not so sure that are many in which the actual time period is very relevant. True, you can't have guns in a "bronze-age" game, but I can't help shake the feeling that time periods, and settings in general, are mostly aesthetic. Does it really matter that Prince of Persia is in Persia (or mythical Persia?).

Does Gone Home do a good job of justifying its 1990s setting? The pre-Internet world definitely justifies the preponderance of paper notes and the extreme isolation a school-yard outcast has to endure. The punk soundtrack and trappings of the pacific northwest (I do love those X-Files tapes) also evoke very specific cultural touchstones. Then again, could this just as easily be a story about a 1920s kid getting into jazz? I haven't decided yet.

In any case, Gone Home teaches us that these sorts of storytelling and mechanical decisions are valuable, even if they seem ordinary.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

EXP Podcast #244: Steam Machine: Hot Air or Hot Commodity

Valve is shaking up the games industry again with a set of three recent announcements (none of which were Half-Life 3 unfortunately). Leaping bravely into the Next Gen Console space, Valve will soon release their very own operating system, set of customizable Steam Machines, and controllers, all to make playing games in your living room easier. While the news was a long time coming, the mix of the three may actually cause quite a stir. Join us this week as Scott and I discuss Valve's endless money-making loop.

- 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: 34 min 17 sec
- News from Valve here.
- Music by: Brad Sucks

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Things Get Weird in Saint's Row: The Third

Scott and I recorded a raucous dip into the world of Saint's Row: The Third that included helicopter flights, pedestrian slaughter, and body-surfing on cars. Unfortunately the recording was too awesome for mankind and the file deleted itself. But never fear! Ever an adventurer, Scott once again dove into the strange world of Saints Row. Check out the video below to see exactly how weird things can get.