Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Website Design Class Reflections.
Honestly I knew next to nothing about web site design when I started this course. Now that I have finished it, I feel that I at least understand the basics. This blog is an older blog that I have had for a while now but haven't updated in a year or two. Feels very strange to upload to it again. Honestly I'm worried I didn't learn enough through this course. I had trouble with some of the greater concepts of computer science and just plain couldn't figure out how to do some of the later assignments. I blame myself more than the class for this though, I should have put more effort into it. I also learned that plain old image design never quite goes as you plan it. With my midterm website and the final website I had an image in my head that I thought would be very simple to commit to computer, yet each time the details proved to be difficult to realize and both websites ended up looking pretty shabby. I feel that this class was a great introduction to the world of web design and I feel that if I had a little more time to experiment with a lot of the more complicated ideas I could get this stuff down.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Genrebusting
Once again Extra Creditz has said exactly what I want to say in a way that I never would have thought of. This time it is about genres, particularly how busted the genres of video games are today. The way that we currently classify games is confusing, imprecise, and outdated.
The way that we classify games has risen mostly out of convenience for what mechanics one can see in the game, FPS, RPG, etc. This has led to sort of an in-club amongst the, dare I say it, gamer community. Those non-video game players have to learn what is meant by most of these terms and what they imply. The current genre terms don't even really make sense to the community. The terms don't really encompass the core mechanics of what games have become.
To clarify this think about RPG's and Zelda games. Now traditionally role playing games mean a game in which one plays a role that is not themselves. The terminology comes from the tabletop games of old in which players did just that (I'm an elf wizard) and did combat with an abstract system of numbers (I cast magic missile for 2d4). Where the strange part comes in is that in the transfer from Tabletop RPG's to video game RPG's the abstract numbers kept their meaning while the role playing elements were essentially eliminated. Most games nowadays have the players take new roles, but most games are not RPG's. This is where Zelda games come in. By traditional thinking, Zelda games would be RPG's, since the player takes the role of Link, but in the current genres they are clearly not. This is due to a lack of a numerical system of progress (outside of the simple hearts and damage systems which aren't really the focus).
So what are RPG's nowadays then? Many games use complex numerical combat systems (Borderlands, Mass Effect) but really don't fit into the modern idea of an RPG. The term has become obsolete due to the blending of elements that are present in most modern games. The quintessential RPG is a game that takes place in a fantasy universe with numerical interactivity in combat and progress that uses a level up system to allow greater control of said numerical combat. Let me remind you that this is supposed to be one of gaming broadest genres.
So all this blending and mixing of previous genres has left game classification in a sorry state. Rarely can games be classified with less then three terms nowadays. For example, Mass Effect is a Sci-fi third-person shooter action RPG. Even that doesn't really tell us anything about the game other then it there are guns and numbers in it. The solution is to classify games not on their mechanics, which have blended, but what makes us want to play the game (this is where Extra Crediz comes in). Mass Effect shouldn't be a Sci-fi third-person shooter action RPG; it should be a Sci-fi adventure game. In Mass Effect you are in a science fiction universe, going on an adventure, game classified.
Essentially what this classification system is going for is what the PLAYER wants to do in a game, not the developer. This leads to a lot less confusion in what a game is trying to do. For example, it limits the idea of what a shooter is. The old classification meant any game with a gun in it, which leads to problems with games like Portal. With the new classification a shooter game would be anything in which the act of shooting things is the reason for playing the game. This means Gears of War and Call of Duty would fit in this genre, but not Portal.
The best part about this new system is that not all games need to be reclassified, we just need to rethink why they are classified. Real-time strategy games remain essentially unchanged (for now) due to the fact that people play these for their strategic elements. Puzzle games would be broadened to include not just Tetris-style block fitting but games in which the main focus is solving puzzles. This makes Zelda an adventure puzzle game.
The system is far from perfect, as it would lead to a massive broadening of the adventure genre, but it is way better then the mess that we have now. It allows games that were previously difficult to classify due to *gasp* not having a central gameplay mechanic easy to define. Games with overlapping genres (such as the broad term fighter) can be simply modified to clarify where in gaming they belong. I don't expect every one's views to change overnight, but I think as a whole we are already moving in this direction for genre classification as games become less definable by their mechanics. If I hear the term "RPG elements" one more time I'm going to hurt somebody.
The way that we classify games has risen mostly out of convenience for what mechanics one can see in the game, FPS, RPG, etc. This has led to sort of an in-club amongst the, dare I say it, gamer community. Those non-video game players have to learn what is meant by most of these terms and what they imply. The current genre terms don't even really make sense to the community. The terms don't really encompass the core mechanics of what games have become.
To clarify this think about RPG's and Zelda games. Now traditionally role playing games mean a game in which one plays a role that is not themselves. The terminology comes from the tabletop games of old in which players did just that (I'm an elf wizard) and did combat with an abstract system of numbers (I cast magic missile for 2d4). Where the strange part comes in is that in the transfer from Tabletop RPG's to video game RPG's the abstract numbers kept their meaning while the role playing elements were essentially eliminated. Most games nowadays have the players take new roles, but most games are not RPG's. This is where Zelda games come in. By traditional thinking, Zelda games would be RPG's, since the player takes the role of Link, but in the current genres they are clearly not. This is due to a lack of a numerical system of progress (outside of the simple hearts and damage systems which aren't really the focus).
 |
| Hearts are more of a measure of how many times you can screw up something |
So what are RPG's nowadays then? Many games use complex numerical combat systems (Borderlands, Mass Effect) but really don't fit into the modern idea of an RPG. The term has become obsolete due to the blending of elements that are present in most modern games. The quintessential RPG is a game that takes place in a fantasy universe with numerical interactivity in combat and progress that uses a level up system to allow greater control of said numerical combat. Let me remind you that this is supposed to be one of gaming broadest genres.
So all this blending and mixing of previous genres has left game classification in a sorry state. Rarely can games be classified with less then three terms nowadays. For example, Mass Effect is a Sci-fi third-person shooter action RPG. Even that doesn't really tell us anything about the game other then it there are guns and numbers in it. The solution is to classify games not on their mechanics, which have blended, but what makes us want to play the game (this is where Extra Crediz comes in). Mass Effect shouldn't be a Sci-fi third-person shooter action RPG; it should be a Sci-fi adventure game. In Mass Effect you are in a science fiction universe, going on an adventure, game classified.
Essentially what this classification system is going for is what the PLAYER wants to do in a game, not the developer. This leads to a lot less confusion in what a game is trying to do. For example, it limits the idea of what a shooter is. The old classification meant any game with a gun in it, which leads to problems with games like Portal. With the new classification a shooter game would be anything in which the act of shooting things is the reason for playing the game. This means Gears of War and Call of Duty would fit in this genre, but not Portal.
 |
| Street Fighter becomes a competitive fighter, while Devil May Cry remains a fighter |
The best part about this new system is that not all games need to be reclassified, we just need to rethink why they are classified. Real-time strategy games remain essentially unchanged (for now) due to the fact that people play these for their strategic elements. Puzzle games would be broadened to include not just Tetris-style block fitting but games in which the main focus is solving puzzles. This makes Zelda an adventure puzzle game.
The system is far from perfect, as it would lead to a massive broadening of the adventure genre, but it is way better then the mess that we have now. It allows games that were previously difficult to classify due to *gasp* not having a central gameplay mechanic easy to define. Games with overlapping genres (such as the broad term fighter) can be simply modified to clarify where in gaming they belong. I don't expect every one's views to change overnight, but I think as a whole we are already moving in this direction for genre classification as games become less definable by their mechanics. If I hear the term "RPG elements" one more time I'm going to hurt somebody.
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Super Late on Everything Post
Lots of cool stuff today! The first big change that you have already noticed is the redesign! The first design was really just me learning the ropes of blogger and sticking up whatever works, so a redesign was definitely in order. I think it looks much better now and I hope you agree!
So about one month ago I went to Magfest. Now originally there was going to be a post right after I got back, but the worst case ever of con-plague hit me along with the new semester and so it is going up now. Short and sweet, Magfest was awesome.
On the longer side, Magfest is a really great con with a lot of cool stuff at a much more relaxed pace then some other cons (Otacon). There are a ton of people from every part of the video game industry and everybody has something interesting and unique to say. Nothing proved this more then the (Going to bold specific panel talk) Intellectual Gamers Panels. These panels were all fascinating and really ended up being the major highlight of the con for me. Each one had a different feel to it but they all brought up some interesting questions about where the industry is. James Portnow in particular is brilliant. I really wish I had gotten a chance to talk with him longer. The Overclocked Remix After Dark Panel was fun but far from what I expected. Pretty much just watched the guys from Overclocked Remix do some crazy and funny stuff. Not the highlight of the trip, but a good panel. Going to the Destructoid Live! Panel was like being invited to a party. Except nobody at the party is really your friend and everybody else is really close friends with lots of inside jokes. It was a fun panel and they gave out TONS of stuff, but really geared towards active members of the Destructiod community. The Extra Creditz Q&A was a great panel, but it went on for FOUR HOURS. In that FOUR HOURS we got to hear not only from James Portnow and Daniel Floyd, but Paul Saunders, Graham Stark, and Stuttering Craig. We got to hear the start of the anti-ESA anti-SOPA movement that went on a few weeks ago, and just hear the opinions of some of the biggest game enthusiasts on the internet. Loved it, but FOUR HOURS. Egoraptor Panel was a blast. Arin Hanson is every bit as charismatic as he comes off in his videos and the whole panel was hilarious. The What is the Best Movie Ever and Why is it Diehard Panel was your premier source for late night Jon St. John. I can pretty much guarantee that no other panel had as much Jon St. John as this one did. Silly? Yes. Unnecessary? Maybe. Fun? Hell yes.
More posts are coming!
So about one month ago I went to Magfest. Now originally there was going to be a post right after I got back, but the worst case ever of con-plague hit me along with the new semester and so it is going up now. Short and sweet, Magfest was awesome.
On the longer side, Magfest is a really great con with a lot of cool stuff at a much more relaxed pace then some other cons (Otacon). There are a ton of people from every part of the video game industry and everybody has something interesting and unique to say. Nothing proved this more then the (Going to bold specific panel talk) Intellectual Gamers Panels. These panels were all fascinating and really ended up being the major highlight of the con for me. Each one had a different feel to it but they all brought up some interesting questions about where the industry is. James Portnow in particular is brilliant. I really wish I had gotten a chance to talk with him longer. The Overclocked Remix After Dark Panel was fun but far from what I expected. Pretty much just watched the guys from Overclocked Remix do some crazy and funny stuff. Not the highlight of the trip, but a good panel. Going to the Destructoid Live! Panel was like being invited to a party. Except nobody at the party is really your friend and everybody else is really close friends with lots of inside jokes. It was a fun panel and they gave out TONS of stuff, but really geared towards active members of the Destructiod community. The Extra Creditz Q&A was a great panel, but it went on for FOUR HOURS. In that FOUR HOURS we got to hear not only from James Portnow and Daniel Floyd, but Paul Saunders, Graham Stark, and Stuttering Craig. We got to hear the start of the anti-ESA anti-SOPA movement that went on a few weeks ago, and just hear the opinions of some of the biggest game enthusiasts on the internet. Loved it, but FOUR HOURS. Egoraptor Panel was a blast. Arin Hanson is every bit as charismatic as he comes off in his videos and the whole panel was hilarious. The What is the Best Movie Ever and Why is it Diehard Panel was your premier source for late night Jon St. John. I can pretty much guarantee that no other panel had as much Jon St. John as this one did. Silly? Yes. Unnecessary? Maybe. Fun? Hell yes.
More posts are coming!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Anarchy Reigns Delayed, massive shockwave of depression stuns internet
You heard it here first people, Anarchy Reigns has been delayed. You can cry now, I'll wait.
This news should come as a surprise to just about no one considering the only thing we've seen about the game are those little character introduction trailers Platinum scattered into the public earlier this year.
Despite almost no information about the game, the hype for this game has been disappointingly low. Why doesn't the internet care more about this game? This isn't one of those setup questions that I ask now to answer later, I really don't know.
Anarchy Reigns is being developed by Platinum, these guys have a pedigree for awesomeness for goodness sake! The only game they made that can even be considered mediocre is just guilty of being grimdark and disliked by Yahtzee (a little repetitive too, but nobody would know that since five people bought Madworld). A competitive 3D brawler? NOBODY HAS DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE! In addition, Anarchy Reigns is being made by a company that ONLY MAKES AWESOME 3D BRAWLERS!
Get excited people! This is big! Right now this delay is seen as barely a fart in the ocean of video game news. This is a tragedy. Anarchy Reigns looks awesome dammit. Yes I am mad, that is all, you may return to your Skyrims and your Minecrafts now.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
The Not Saya no Uta post
So originally this post was going to be about Saya no Uta. But I've kinda lost interest in doing a post about it recently. Once the official release comes out I'll reread it and do a post about it. Saya no Uta does some really interesting things that no other VN I have read even attempts and I really want to talk about, so a full post will come later. For now I'm just going to rant about some stuff that I really like.
Bastion- If you haven't played Bastion yet, go play it right now. While the game isn't perfect it does so many things right that it is impossible to not enjoy. The narrators voice sounds like Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood had a sexy cowboy baby. The background art is absolutely stunning and I bought the soundtrack immediately after finishing the game. Combat can be hit or miss and you get so many weapons that you will never have time to use them all. Other then that the game is borderline perfect. I am seriously thinking this is game of the year here. Plant it.
Sundome- A pure and innocent manga about a young couple and the joy of abstaining before marriage. Sundome really excels in its ability to swap tones between its humor and seriousness. The characters growth is handled with stellar precision so even the side characters feel like real people. The pacing can be a little slow at times, but it all leads up to a stellar finale. Also they get off by peeing on each other.
G-Senjou no Maou- While not at Saya no Uta levels, 'Maou' is a great read. A suspenseful page turner, 'Maou' is the story of the son of a Yakuza boss and his struggle between humanity and his lust for money and power. While being a Japanese visual novel, 'Maou' reads like an English paperback novel. Normally this would be a demeanor rather than a highlight, but I just couldn't keep the damn program closed. Some of the characters fall a little too well into anime archetypes (the genki girl imoto in particular) but it never detracts from the great writing. Some of the voice acting is great too, especially the best friend character who channels a young Wakamoto disturbingly well.
Fate/Zero- They must have pulled this anime straight out of my dreams. It is everything the Fate/Stay Night anime could have been and wasn't. Nasu fan or not, don't skip this one.
More target focused posts to come. I plan to update more frequently on winter break.
Bastion- If you haven't played Bastion yet, go play it right now. While the game isn't perfect it does so many things right that it is impossible to not enjoy. The narrators voice sounds like Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood had a sexy cowboy baby. The background art is absolutely stunning and I bought the soundtrack immediately after finishing the game. Combat can be hit or miss and you get so many weapons that you will never have time to use them all. Other then that the game is borderline perfect. I am seriously thinking this is game of the year here. Plant it.
Sundome- A pure and innocent manga about a young couple and the joy of abstaining before marriage. Sundome really excels in its ability to swap tones between its humor and seriousness. The characters growth is handled with stellar precision so even the side characters feel like real people. The pacing can be a little slow at times, but it all leads up to a stellar finale. Also they get off by peeing on each other.
G-Senjou no Maou- While not at Saya no Uta levels, 'Maou' is a great read. A suspenseful page turner, 'Maou' is the story of the son of a Yakuza boss and his struggle between humanity and his lust for money and power. While being a Japanese visual novel, 'Maou' reads like an English paperback novel. Normally this would be a demeanor rather than a highlight, but I just couldn't keep the damn program closed. Some of the characters fall a little too well into anime archetypes (the genki girl imoto in particular) but it never detracts from the great writing. Some of the voice acting is great too, especially the best friend character who channels a young Wakamoto disturbingly well.
Fate/Zero- They must have pulled this anime straight out of my dreams. It is everything the Fate/Stay Night anime could have been and wasn't. Nasu fan or not, don't skip this one.
More target focused posts to come. I plan to update more frequently on winter break.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Gotta Move That Gear Up!
So remember back when I said I would update once a week? Well that kinda
didn't happen. To make up for it, I've posted everything from my side
blog on this website. I've also got a couple posts planned out that will
be up soon. In short, cool stuff added, expect more updates.
 |
| This post will happen soon dammit |
Backlog Review: Catherine
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| Catherine is owned by Atlus |
Catherine is a puzzle game about adult relationships. If that doesn't seem like the kind of thing you would like to play turn back now, it only gets worse from here. I should also mention that when I say adult relationships I mean marriage and commitment and maturity, not sex (though there is a healthy amount of that too). Still here? Good. Lets get into the nitty gritty.
Catherine stars Vincent, a typical average Joe in a steady relationship with his high school sweetheart Katherine (with a K). Katherine is pressuring Vincent to tie the knot, while Vincent is unsure due to a mix of fear and resistance to change. While getting drunk at the bar with his friends he runs into a girl named Catherine (with a C) who he has a drunken affair with. Meanwhile a string of mysterious deaths has afflicted the town, and Vincent starts having strange dreams, which is where the real gameplay comes in.
Most of the game takes place in Vincent's dreams, which consists of a block pushing puzzle. The rest of the game takes place in both the bar Vincent frequents, and lengthy cutscenes that change depending on Vincent's decisions in the rest of the game.
The block pushing part of the game is very entertaining and surprising deep. Solutions for the various puzzles are numerous and require serious noggin use to figure out. Some of these puzzles get agonizingly frustrating (I almost threw my controller during the clocktower stage) and take a lot of fun out the game. Sometimes I wish I could have just skipped the dream segments and seen the rest of the story. When a player wants to skip the actual game to watch a cutscene it doesn't exactly scream praise for the design of the game.
The bar bits of the game are a nice break up of the more intense block climbing segments. Vincent can talk to his fellow alcoholics and learn about their problems. Turns out a lot of them are having the same strange dreams as Vincent, I wonder why. Who Vincent talks to can change a good portion of the story, as many side tales are hidden with other characters. Another delightful side point to the bar is the random alcohol trivia that is given out whenever Vincent finishes a drink. These quickly became my favorite part of the bar scenes.
The story of Catherine is somewhat disorderly. Towards the beginning it tries to be a horror game, but it sort of fails due to the repetition of the levels. The story then focuses very heavily on Vincent's relationship to K/Catherine. After a while this focus gets downright tedious. Then, the story makes a 180 degree turn and pulls all sorts of strange stuff out of its ass. It leaves off being one of the strangest endings I've ever seen; not really satisfying, just strange.
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| Surprisingly, this isn't the strangest thing the game has to offer |
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