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Music and Video Games
I recently picked up Rob Sheffield’s book Talking To Girls About Duran Duran. Sheffield, a contributing editor for Rolling Stone, recounts life’s hazy yet magical memories growing up in the 80′s through a series of songs reminiscent of a mix tape. One song triggers recollections of the dangers of crossing a bridge on his way home from school if the high schoolers got their first. Any and every American school boy has been in this situation. Actually, in light of today’s health crisis, this is a good way to make kids walk a little bit more every day. Plant a bunch of older, scarier, but emotionally hollow kids in their path home. Adios weight gain.
And this book, although I’m only a few chapters in, has shown me insight into my own synaptic wiring. Music has and always will be an integral part of my life, but it means more to Sheffield than it does to me. However, my love for video games matches his love for music. Anytime I hear Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera, I think of my high school girlfriend’s hot tub. When I hear Thunderstruck by AC/DC I am instantly in the tunnel waiting to run out onto the basketball court. Music puts me in a time and place, but I don’t necessarily share those times and places with other people. I have closed that chapter without need for rehashing, and not because they are not fond memories.
I can, however, dip into a state of sorrow and vengeance for Sephiroth that ended Aeris’ time on Earth. I have never shared a hatred for another character, in book, film, or game, like I have for that guy. Sephiroth was to me as Neo was to the trenchcoats. Final Fantasy VII can do that for me, Duran Duran can’t.
I can also transplant my mind to the grassy plains upon hearing “Zelda’s Lullaby” for Nintendo 64′s The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time. And no matter how hard you try, try getting pissed off while listening to the Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. You can’t. That’s not even a challenge, it’s a fact.
Everybody has that one thing in their life that autosaves memories. For Sheffield, it’s music. For me, it’s video games (and their music). I never counted myself in with the musical crowd in my adolescence, and I don’t mean fucking choir. I mean mix tapes (although I made them) and concerts. Music was never the bridge, video games were.
Why Compelling Narrative In Gaming Is Rare, And Why That Is All Right
Chris Rock, during one of his stand-up routines, lambasted the audience for expecting him to come up with new material for each show. If bands get to play the same music in Philadelphia as they did in Chicago, why can’t he go on stage with the same routine for two different cities?
Avid gamers don’t expect every new title on shelves to have an elaborate, intimate storyline with both compelling narrative and empathetic characters. More often than not, games spend wasted time going into narrative about how robots came to take over the planet. We don’t need to be told this, probably because every movie made from this storyline has the same fucking plot. It’s just that Terminator landed Arnold Schwarzenegger, so we default to that story.
Most of us who played through the earlier Final Fantasy games fell in love with the Shinra backdrop to the Cloud front story. We became unconsciously addicted to 8- and 16-bit soundtracks that hovered around five basic notes. The naive simplicity to the end product was astonishing: a culture that worshipped linear movement and the imagination of sound.
Today’s games are tackling new obstacles; hence, they look and feel different. We have voice-overs instead of text, and straffing and duck-and-cover instead of turn-base or hack-and-slash. Graphics have evolved, and so have the characters and story. The evil ambiance of Shinra was wholly realistic at the time, but that time is over. Now, if a game is lacking motive, it classifies its driving force as destiny. This is why Final Fantasy XIII was a narrative disappointment. But the more blatant destiny is used as a driving force for a character’s motivation, the less sequels you get.
One of the reasons Final Fantasy has spawned so many side-stories, sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, is because there was always an excess of empathy for its characters with an absence of backstory. That, and the writing was excellent.
Compelling narrative in gaming is rare because it’s really fucking hard to pull off, let alone pull it off in a series. Millions of dollars are poured into the creation of these games, and I’m sure most companies would spend a little extra coin to bring in the better writers. Cross this problem with the fact that gaming is an interactive art, and we get many games that fall short of our expectations, and most times not for the lack of trying.
Believable narrative is the benchmark we set as an active audience, but we must temper this against the notion that it is a difficult art that changes with technology.
The Fascination With Backstory
With the advent of origin titles released in the past few years, the paradigm of narrative entertainment has shifted from, “what can he do?” to “why can he do it?” We are no longer as concerned with the superhero’s future as we now are with his past.
Some video game titles have struggled with this shift of late. For example, Final Fantasy XIII pandered to a new demographic while mincing it’s story line up between past and present. Outcome? Admirable sales, but mixed reviews at best.
As I play through Rockstar’s new release: Red Dead Redemption, I can’t help but become aggravated when John Marston reveals his past to complete strangers while on horseback. I complete a few Wanted missions, help dispatch some pistoleros, and escort a train to safety, and now I’m friends enough with a stranger to delve into stories about my wife and kid.
I don’t want backstory. Leave it at the first meeting during the narrative inclusion of the story process. Or, at the least, make that a wholly optional aspect of the game.
John Marston is a quite invigorating character actually. He is willing to lend a hand, but the moment he feels taken advantage of his posture changes, he squints his eyes, and becomes a force to be reckoned with. Just let me draw my own conclusions as to what he did in his past, who he killed, what sins he committed.
Parceling out backstory bit by bit, in games of tremendous longevity, quickly becomes either the hook or the sinker. Most fall into the latter, and the earlier does not guarantee a quality game. Narrative backstory is a high-risk, moderate-reward formula that has quickly become the industry standard.
Imagine a game that starts like this. Initial cut scene / tutorial that allows the player to select the weapon with which to kill Bill Williamson (antagonist to Marston’s protagonist). You have 8 choices involving the always fun sawed-off shotgun, german pistol, knife, or bare hands, among others. Then next option is how to dispose of his corpse. Once again, a plethora of options. You may turn him in for reward, bury him out of respect, or Achilles-style tie his ass up to your horse and saddle as you ride away as a message to the townsfolk.
You beat the game, drink a beer, and watch the ending.
A decent-sized cut scene ensues. You realize Bill Williamson really was a bad motherfucker, and you did the world a favor. It’s just that Bill’s son, whom you recognize from game play, is walking up to your family house with a cocked hat and even more cocked shotgun. The end.
No narrative parceling, imaginations can run wild, and you still have room for a sequel. Maybe you even get to play as Bill Williamson’s son next time.
For the mature gamer, our imaginations are so fucked up already, you’re handicapping our limit by selling us on story. Even a pretty damn good one.
PS3, Reviews, Video Games, Xbox 360
Red Dead Redemption Mid-Game Thoughts
Leave it to Rockstar to create a game where you have to kill to atone for your prior sins. You can even gain honor and fame in the process.
Many games lack convincing narrative, and many more lack narrative altogether. Red Dead Redemption certainly excites the player through the take on life by James Marston. Dialogue during missions, rides, and general game play does not leave much to be desired. Marston’s resilient yet cynical outlook on life, post crime-phase, intrigues the player to at times pay attention to what’s being said more than the guy shooting you in the face with a wicked revolver.
The actual mechanics of riding, ground movement, and firing your pistola (or sawed-off shotgun if you prefer to get real close), are fluid and meaningful. Because this is a Rockstar game, you experience a “dead eye” version of bullet-time in which you can lock-on to an appendage or eyeball and quickly fire up to five shots in a split second depending on the weapon. Also, during the hectic encounter when you are hopelessly outnumbered, you can actually hide behind a barrel or a wagon and not look like an idiot when doing so. Remnants of Gears of War pop in my mind, but you don’t lumber as much.
The real fun starts when you have your first “Ah-ha!” moment during combat. For example, I tried my hand at Metal Gear Solid-”ing” one mission where there was a shootout in an abandoned mansion. I knew the npc on the other side of the door was reloading, so I used this advantage to give him a shotgun facial. What I did not expect was a quick cut scene of me grabbing his vest, pulling him in closer, and blowing his cabeza off his shoulders. Immediately I began thinking of what it will look like when I go in next time with a different weapon…like a knife.
For being roughly half way through this game, I am entranced by it’s dialogue and invigorated by its playability. Now if only I didn’t have anymore Bonnie the Farmhand missions. She’s hot, but her mission’s ain’t.
FTW: What Does it Really Mean?
For the Win. That’s what FTW means, if you go for the straight translation. But do you know what it really means? If you have no idea what the included photo is in reference to, then I can guarantee that you don’t know what FTW really means, because you’re probably way too young. The Last of the Mohicans, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, arrived in theaters in 1992, when the majority of you were still probably swimming around in your daddy’s testicals. Daniel Day-Lewis knows exactly what FTW means, because he lived it by going on a fucking Medal of Honor run at the end of the film that will never be forgotten. FTW not only means winning emphatically, but on an EPIC stage. In video games there aren’t too many instances, at least in single player mode, that I can think of. Multiplayer is a different story of course, as when you’re playing with friends or online you’ll have countless opportunities to really win in epic fashion – sports games included. So which single player campaigns truly offer FTW moments? Double tap the link below to find out, and to add your own.
Gears of War 3 Preview
Maybe BP should try using a lightmass bomb to stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Kidding aside, the Gulf scenario isn’t too far off from the problems still plaguing the fictional planet of Sera, where hordes of Locust Horde (like that?) are spilling out of the center of the planet like it’s cool, and the only solution to finally stop them won’t arrive until April 2011. That being said, the spill on Sera might just be solved before the real one here on Earth! Gears of War 3, which according to creators Epic Games will be the final edition to the series, is gearing up to put an emphatic explanation point on a trilogy that ultimately started as a diamond in the rough in the Xbox 360′s infancy. Double tap the link below for what we know so far, what we’re hoping for, and the usual amount of sarcasm nestled in between.
Mass Effect 2 Mid-Game Thoughts
Yeah so I’m well aware that Mass Effect has been on store shelves for nearly seven months now, but let’s exercise some common sense shall we? How many people actually fucking read Glitchoris on a regular basis? Three? So who cares if I’m six months late. With that out of the way, if you’ve read some of my other articles around the Glitchoris Network (Retroade included), you’ll know that I have a Twilight-level man-crush with Bioware and everything they put out. The original Mass Effect? Outstanding, although I still rank the original KOTOR as their best game to date, with probably Baldur’s Gate numero dos as, well, numero dos. Getting back to Commander Shepard’s sequel, I originally picked this title up back in January when she was released, although I have to admit, God of War 3 cut into my ME2 time quite a bit. Having picked ME2 back up, and being asked to pop in the second disk, I figured there wasn’t a better time to serve up some mid-game thoughts.
CNN Wants You to Go Play Outside
In a recent Health.com article, everyone’s favorite Cable News Network posted a shocking story on video games, and how they may affect your child’s attention span. I’m not a betting man (I’m a drinking man – unless I’m in Vegas, then I’m a drinking-betting man), but If I was I’d bet that the author of this wonderful, not at all misleading article to be a “concerned mother”. Why do I say that? Forget the article itself – let’s start with the damn title. Notice I italicized the word, “may”; CNN should have done the same thing, because the entire conclusion is that video games “may” lead to shorter attention spans later in life. Second, the article is a slap to the face of those of us who believe that video games aren’t just for kids. I’m 27 years old, and will be gaming in the grave if it’s technologically possible one hundred years from now (yes, I plan on living that long), so what about those of us who have bachelors and masters degrees, that still list gaming as their primary hobby? Click below for more steam blowing and a link to the actual article.
Features, PS3, Reviews, Video Games, Wii, Xbox 360
Everybody Wants An Extra Life
The title beckons escapism. To Tom Bissell, an extra life is a double, or even triple identity; not a life that begins when the first one ends. Is it possible to live vicariously through an Eastern immigrant venturing the streets of Liberty City? Can we share in the horror of sending a barely twenty-something femme fatale through a deserted town of zombies? It’s absolutely possible to share in the emotions. In fact, sometimes we become so attached to characters that we cannot associate with lesser characters. Feel like real life at the office? It should. That’s the idea Tom Bissell’s Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter hints towards the fascinating idea that not only does the video gaming industry possess a critical framework: it’s staring us in the face. Only it’s staring us in the face a way a nightmarish dream won’t let you run as fast as you want to. We know what we want to do; we just can’t do it yet.
Too Human 2 Could Use Some Crank Voltage
As if public speaking isn’t terrifying enough for people, many who stand up in front of a crowd will start off their speech or brief with easily the worst thing you can say to your audience. In the public speaking world, it’s called brief suicide, and I would argue that we’ve all done it at some point in our lives. Starting off a speech with, “I’m sorry you have to sit through this thing”, or, “I know this isn’t the best but …”, will immediately turn off your audience and force you to fight uphill to turn the crowd back in your favor. So WTF does this have to do with Too Human and Jason Statham, aka The Transporter up there? It starts with Silicon Knights, who after releasing Eternal Darkness for the GameCube back in the day (2002), announced a new upcoming “trilogy”, which is (3) different games for all my home-schoolers out there, called “Too Human”, starring a dude who ends up looking mysteriously like Mr. Statham (with a really girnormous, bloated head). By announcing that, Silicon Knights essentially committed game suicide, or at least threatened, because when Too Human finally hit shelves in 2008, it was all over.
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Glitchoris World of Warcraft Rush Video
Added on 11 July 2010
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- Glitchoris World of Warcraft Rush Video
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When we originally created the wonderful world of Glitchoris, we created what we thought was a hilarious college fraternity-style “rush video” for the World of Warcraft. Enjoy.
Talking Points
- Review: Mass Effect 2
- He’s a Lone Wolf, With Many Enemies
- The Fascination With Backstory
- Music and Video Games
- Review: Red Dead Redemption
- FTW: What Does it Really Mean?
- Red Dead Redemption Mid-Game Thoughts
- Massive Erection…Err Massive Affection for Mass Effect 2 (Mid-Game Thoughts)
- Why Compelling Narrative In Gaming Is Rare, And Why That Is All Right
- GameFly: Take One
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Review: Mass Effect 2
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Massive Erection…Err Massive Affection for Mass Effect 2 (Mid-Game Thoughts)
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GameFly: Take One
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He’s a Lone Wolf, With Many Enemies
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Review: Red Dead Redemption
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Music and Video Games
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Why Compelling Narrative In Gaming Is Rare, And Why That Is All Right
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The Fascination With Backstory
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Red Dead Redemption Mid-Game Thoughts
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FTW: What Does it Really Mean?
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Tebo: Two scenes that crack me up: 1. Garrus hitting ...
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raffman: I kept waitin for Joker to say, "Hey Shepherd, tel...
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