December 7, 2014 · 9:46 am

Painting Pictures with Video Games

“Video games and paintings have nothing in common,” a cranky person might say.

Two summers ago, I found myself wandering through an art gallery and wondering if such a cranky sentiment could be right.

I realize now that two paintings I saw would destroy the cranky person’s argument, like a foot stomping on a sand castle.

Problem is that I couldn’t remember or find the names of the paintings. So I can only share my impressions of those fateful moments in the gallery. And ask that you indulge me.

Let’s see; where do I begin…

I was staring at the first painting and admired the two figures in it. One seemed to move through a desert-like setting toward an uncertain horizon, a mountainous region. Then a thought hit me like a hammer on the head: the painting reminded me of Journey. I’m talking about the video game, not the band. Anyway, one of the figures in the desert setting reminded me of that game’s adventure.

In fact, there were several, perhaps superficial, similarities between the painting and Journey. You can’t really identify the people in the painting, just like the mysterious figures in Journey. Like the main character in Journey, one figure in the painting, with his or her back turned to the viewer, wears a long robe. There are objects, which look like wooden poles, sticking out of the sand, and one object has a red sash on it. The sashes reminded me of the floating scarves and, for lack of a better term, “carpets” in the game.

Of course, there are some differences between the game and painting. The figures in the painting obviously do not match the game. Some of the objects scattered throughout the painting, like the shoes on one figure, do not appear in the game. Overall, the painting is more realistic in that it does not have floating objects, and the figures are human. By contrast, Journey’s characters might not be human, and it features multiple floating objects.

After I did this internal analysis, I was still struck by this painting’s resemblance to Journey.

Then a second painting reminded me of Uncharted 2. I’d say Uncharted 2 because that game had a bit of an Eastern vibe. The painting shares that setting because it depicts a scene from the Byzantine empire. This is the kind of exotic locale where Nathan Drake loots treasure.

The buildings in the painting look like they’ve weathered a storm or two. What a perfect setting for uncovering lost artifacts! I can almost see Drake hopping out of one of the buildings to evade the soldiers below. Or, maybe, he’d shimmy across the ledges and ditch the soldiers on the roofs.

Well, there’s one problem: the soldiers lived well before Drake’s time. Last time I checked, Drake could not time travel to the Byzantine Empire. Although I guess Naughty Dog could add time travel in future installments of the game.

Perhaps I was stretching evidence, though, to prove to myself that video games are art. Perhaps comparing two paintings to video games was not a very useful exercise. However, I was critical and still found myself struck by the similarities between painting and game.

Even if these paintings did not resemble scenes from video games, the games remain beautiful. The games have awesome visuals and stunning music that we probably consider art. Though I will refrain from offering a robust definition of art at this time; that’s a whole other post.

We often hear people debate the question: “Are video games art?” But have you ever sat down and qualitatively compared a piece of art, from a different medium, to a video game? Have you ever seen a painting that reminded you of a video game? I mean a painting that was not inspired by video games. Share the details below.

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November 30, 2014 · 8:37 pm

Video Games and Gratitude

Many of us sat down and gorged ourselves on turkey this year. We are lucky and hopefully grateful.

I’m grateful for all the people in my life and what I can do for others. I’m grateful for so many things in my life that have nothing to do with this blog.

But I want to take a break from the serious business of living life to talk about games now. Of course I’m grateful to have games in my life. My face lights up like a Christmas tree as soon as I think about them.

I started to reflect on feeling grateful about video games, and I came up with a list.

1. Time and money to play and blog about games

I’m grateful and lucky to have both spare time and money. This blog exists because I have spare time.

I’m also grateful for the moments where I’m bored because they give me a chance to write. I’ve said it before: boredom is a blessing!

2. The gift that keeps on giving

You can keep playing a great game and never tire of it. If the downloadable content (DLC) is a fair price, it becomes like a cherry on top of a great cake.

I also hope that games could provoke discussion about problems in our world and potential solutions. That would be a gift that gives more than mere entertainment.

3. Games help me relax

Some days I look at a clock so often that I swear my head will fall off. After that, I love to open up a game, let it breath and consume it. Playing helps me unwind and brings joy into my life, even when I’m feeling blue.

4. So much choice

I can choose between games made by one person and games made by a large studio. I can go through lists of genres. I can find games with high artistic merit. I can find games on sale. I’m so lucky.

5. Game prices

Video games prices have fallen with time. It’s hard not to be happy about that.

But what am I most grateful to video games for? For the joy they bring me. I take that with me and try to share that feeling with everyone I meet—gamer or not. One cannot number something this important.

Why are you grateful to have video games in your life?

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November 23, 2014 · 9:29 am

Don Quixote Stumbled into a Video Game?

What would a video game inspired by Don Quixote, the 17th century masterpiece novel written by Miguel de Cervantes, look like? What would a “literary video game,” if such a thing exists or could exist, look like? Could literature and video games live together in a healthy relationship, or would video games cheapen the beauty of Cervantes’s exquisite art?

Well, I can’t answer all of these questions, but I think I have the opening scene for you.

***

A brave hero and his loyal lackey were wandering through a forest one day. The mesh of tree branches above them almost blocked out the sun. Yet, the sun shone through tiny gaps among the branches that acted like greedy arms reaching for gold.

A nearby cave, lit up by sunlight, caught our hero’s attention. Our hero remained silent and pointed his lance at the cave.

“What could go wrong this time?” the loyal lackey thought. He rolled his eyes halfway, but he grunted, regained his concrete faith in the fearless hero and tagged along.

They did not get very far.

Suddenly, the ground shook beneath them, and the world felt like it had turned upside down.

His loyal lackey trembled and yelled, “Somebody help us!” Before they knew it, the two heroes were flying off their animals and rolling down a hill. The birds, tree stumps and rocks that they hit dented their armor until it fell clean off of them. But they were lucky. A pile of soft manure broke their fall.

They staggered up to their feet minutes later and washed up in a nearby pond.

Our hero shook his head to make sure his head was still on straight. Then he flicked dirt off his armor’s shoulder with his finger tips. A haughty laugh erupted from him.

That is, until he noticed his lance was not the same. It looked blocky. He also noticed that his loyal lackey looked different: rough edges covered his body.

“Your grace! What has happened to us?”

Our hero stood still and dumbfounded. He assumed it was another magical mirage that plagued his cloudy mind. In fact, our two heroes stumbled into an eight bit video game!

No book about chivalry could have prepared him for this. He would need to level up, as well as upgrade his armor and weapons.

Just then a towering, red dragon swooped down from the heavens. It spewed fire all over the countryside and turned wheat into black ash. Then it centered its sites on our heroes.

The hero grabbed his lance and mounted his horse. This was going to be an epic boss fight.

Literary Video Games?

So I think Don Quixote would make a great video game. At the very least, it could inspire a great video game. I mean “inspire” loosely; in the same way that movies are “based on a true story.” It might be impossible to turn the entire book into a game, but it might be possible to capture some of the story and expose other people to a masterpiece.

Here are seven reasons why I think Don Quixote would make a good video game:

1. A Sense of Humour

Don Quixote has humour in spades. The knight and his squire go on tons of silly misadventures, and video game writers could mine much from Don Quixote. You might agree that most video games in the action genre could use some humour. Even Some humorous games could learn a thing or two from the masterful writing in Don Quixote.

And many of us want to see video games improves their stories, character development and overall writing.

2. Double your Fun

Don Quixote could be an excellent two player video game. Someone could play as the knight and the other could play as his partner, Sancho. Perhaps they would find greater success than in the novel, though.

3. Location, Location, Location!

You could make Don Quixote into a fantasy role-playing game. The book’s medieval setting could work well in a video game. After all many games have this setting, or at least have fantasy version of the medieval period.

Or developers could surprise us and go with a modern setting. I haven’t got a clue.

4. A Good Epic Fail?

You always save the princess or the world in video games.

Well, Don Quixote fails a lot of his quests in hilarious ways. What if a game made it more difficult to save the princess and finish quests?

You’d certainly learn a lot from your mistakes, wouldn’t you? You might appreciate that game because of its challenge. Or you might want to throw your controller at the wall in rage.

I think I’m on to something here. But it’s up the professional game designers to make it work.

5. The Odd One

How do you make a unique video game? You put Don Quixote in it. Then you make sure the game is fun to play.

6. Imagine

Don Quixote often sees things that no one else sees. In the novel, side stories also interrupt the main tale. How would all of this look and play like in a video game? There’s a lot of creative potential here.

7. Double Your Fun with Double Fine

Double Fine could develop it since they excel at making creative and quirky games. In case you don’t know them, they developed video games like Psychonauts.

So there you have it. I think Don Quixote would at least inspire a unique video game. Even if you disagree, I encourage you to read the novel; it is a classic that is well worth your time.

Have you read Don Quixote? (As an aside, you really should). Do you think Don Quixote could be the basis for a good video game or loosely inspire a good video game?

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November 17, 2014 · 10:04 am

How I Fell in Love with Video Games

“Oh, so if I jump off that bridge I’ll die.”

I remember thinking something like that when I played Mario on the NES. It was probably the first video game I had ever played. I wasn’t any good.

So it’s a good thing that the NES was a home entertainment system that didn’t eat quarters. Otherwise, I’d have been broke. And maybe I would have broken the console after I took out my frustration on it. That console was sure was lucky.

After the NES, I dabbled in classic computer games like Wolfenstein and Doom. Blasting bad guys and bad creatures was a great way to kill time. And I think I was pretty good at them too. But I never fell in love with games at this point. It was probably because there were too many high energy hobbies to occupy me as a kid. Maybe I preferred to play video games with friends too.

I loved and played the hell out of Golden Eye on N64 with everyone I could find. Yet, the game I couldn’t stop playing, because of all its options in single player and multiplayer, was Perfect Dark. I spent so much time playing Perfect Dark with friends that I mastered it. Then, gaming was one of my major hobbies.

I partly expected a new Perfect Dark for GameCube. But I was disappointed when Microsoft bought the game’s developer, Rare. I enjoyed the GameCube for a while, especially Smash Brothers and other games, but I never really fell in love with the system.

I knew Perfect Dark Zero, a sequel to the N64 game, was on Xbox 360. I bought an Xbox 360 thinking that, even if Zero wasn’t as good as the original game, I could still play Halo 3.

I don’t remember a thing about Perfect Dark Zero, but I fell in love with Halo 3. That was partly because I had always loved Halo: I enjoyed playing it at a friend’s house in high school. Probably the highlight of the Xbox 360, for me, was 2007 when I got the Orange Box, Halo 3 and Mass Effect.

After that, I never lost interest in video games again. My love only grew.

Did you ever lose interest in video games? Who or what renewed your interest and why?

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November 9, 2014 · 10:15 am

The Death of Graphics in Video Games?

If you visit a video game site, you’ll be struck by all the beautiful high-definition videos and photos that capture life-like moments. Turn on the TV and game ads will hit you in the face with their large explosions. Walk down the street and . . . you get the picture.

One might think that these ubiquitous fancy graphics and explosions are what defines video games. But you could be forgiven, if you looked only at advertising, for thinking that.

In case you didn’t know, popular games can have simple graphics.

“But wait,” one might say, “you’re talking about games that were popular. You’re talking about the old school.”

Not quite.

I can think of at least two popular indie games that have simple graphics. By indie game I mean a game not produced by a large studio, without a traditional publisher, and it doesn’t look like its mainstream counterparts.

One example of an indie game with simple “graphics” is Zach and Tarn Adams’ Dwarf Fortress. In Dwarf Fortress, a player controls a group of dwarves who try to build — you guessed it — a fortress and survive.

Better yet, check out the pop cultural heavyweight Minecraft. Will you fight monsters or just hit things with a stick all day? Well, you can do both of those things and more in the pixellated world of Minecraft.

Would you believe that these two games are making plenty of money? Of course, everyone knows Minecraft is a success. Microsoft also seems to love it and paid $2.5 billion for it. In addition, The New York Times says Tarn Adams earned $50, 000 from Dwarf Fortress in 2010. That’s not bad.

The Next Big Game?

So we know indie games with simple graphics can do well.

But I wonder what the next major indie game will do to stand out from the rest. I mean, and I say this somewhat facetiously, can developers keep out-doing each other in simplicity?

This would be like a tech striptease where eventually there will be nothing left to strip. Just a black or white box will remain on the TV screen, and maybe a contemporary art museum will mount it on a wall.

But maybe there’s one way to stand out from other games with simple graphics. A developer could make an old school text adventure. You know, the ones were you see nothing but text on the screen. I mean, you can’t get much simpler than only having text.

Also, it would be nice to see a game that focuses primarily on telling a deep story. We all like a good story.

Now, I like games with gorgeous art work and graphics. You probably do too, and that’s why so many games have stunning graphics. But who knows for sure what the next major indie game will look — or read — like?

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November 2, 2014 · 9:50 am

“Wow! You Got a New Console”

When I was a kid, I didn’t dream about cars. My urge to escape had nothing to do with speeding on the highway in a Ferrari. Instead, I hoped to get the latest video game console. A video game console, for me, was fun without end in a far away land.

A console was a luxury item that my parents bestowed upon a good kid. They reserved the console for special events like Christmas and birthdays, making those days even better. I anticipated the gifts under the tree, the feel and peeling sound of unwrapping, the reveal and joy. Of course, I had to share the console with my older brother too, and I never got a console on launch day.

So for me as a child, a video game console seemed to be the pinnacle of luxury. For me, a console was the childhood equivalent of a new car. After all, the average adult, who isn’t weighed down by the gold in their pockets, doesn’t buy a luxury object, like a new car, on a whim. They need to plan and make a major investment. From my naïve perspective, a new video game console was a major investment too. And it was the only major investment that I wanted as a kid.

So a new console, like a new car, was always a big surprise to see. “Wow you got the N64!” That’s something I probably said when another kid told me about their new gift. And I wanted my own.

My parents, wiser and more experienced than I, may have wanted to keep me from getting everything I wanted. Maybe they didn’t want me to become spoiled. They kept me in the fridge, in a sense, to make sure I didn’t become rotten.

But now I don’t need to wait for them to buy me a new console for a special occasion. I’ve grown up and don’t consider a video game machine to be the most important thing in the world. Now I understand money, have some of my own, and I can afford to save and budget. Now a car or owning a house is a luxury, though consoles still aren’t like one cent candies.

As I’ve grown up, the wonder and excitement of owning a new console has worn off. I could save to buy a console whenever I want. Well, almost whenever I want because my super powers do not include turning base metals into gold.

But I didn’t write this post to talk about how I can buy a console now . Instead, I wanted to look back on those childhood days with fondness. I want to keep that child-like sense of wonder and love for simpler times and things. When I unwrapped that console, I had a sparkle in my eyes that transcended a desire for mere consumer things. It’s called joy. I want to keep that sparkle alive as I live my life.

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October 27, 2014 · 12:14 am

Talking to Strangers about Video Games

Imagine you met someone who has never played a video game. Now imagine you had to explain a Mario game to them. In this silly post, I imagine the conversation would go a little something like this.

Me: Hey, so I played this awesome Mario game the other day. It’s brand new.

Stranger: Who’s Mario?

Me: He’s a plump Italian plumber with a bushy mustache, overalls and a red cap. The cap has an “M” on it. He also has a lanky brother named Luigi who also has a matching cap.

Stranger: Oh, so it’s some kind of plumbing simulator? How thrilling.

Me: Ha, no that’s hardly the case. See, Mario travels fictional worlds to save a princess from evil forces.

Stranger: Oh, cool, it sounds like a medieval legend. Is there a fire-breathing dragon?

Me: Well not quite. There’s an evil dragon-like creature named Bowser. He breathes fire too. Bowser also has a lot of evil henchmen who try to stop Mario.

Stranger: Are the henchmen dragons too, or magicians or knights or warlocks?

Me: Uh, among others, there are giant bullets, flying turtles, evil concrete blocks and toad-like brown creatures with permanent sneers and fangs.

Stranger: That sounds weird. Well, what’s the setting like? I mean what’s the world like?

Me: Well, sometimes you visit a magical Mushroom Kingdom full of giant mushrooms. You’ll even find people in that world wear mushrooms on their heads. Sometimes the mushrooms are painted in bright neon colours. And you can touch mushrooms to become invincible or grow bigger and stomp on every bad guy.

Stranger: All those rainbow coloured mushrooms makes the game sound very psychedelic. Far out man! Are the main characters high on drugs?

Me: Gee, ya know, I guess it does sound kind of psychedelic. I never thought about that before. But no—the main characters are not high on drugs.

Stranger: Oh, man, this conversation has given me the munchies something fierce.

Me: Well, see you around. Go check out the Mario games when you get a chance.

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October 19, 2014 · 3:26 pm

The Video Game that has Everything

A bunch of suits sit in silence and stare with cloudy eyes. On the top floor of a large black building, in a glass encased room, they sit behind an infinite wooden table. Then a tall man walks in, he towers above the rest, and his suit outshines everyone at the table. The suits sit so far away that only the color of their tie distinguishes them.

“Right, what have you got for me today ladies and gentlemen?”

“We want,” said a young man who trembled as she presented his ideas, “to make a super creative adventure game about zombies. They say zombies have risen again in popularity… from the grave. Ha ha”

“Ah,” shiny suit replied, “There are tons of games about zombies out there. We need something fresh. I mean that literally. I want to put the word fresh on the box. Rotten and decomposed zombie corpses are anything but fresh.”

A short, man with a double chin stuttered and spoke, “What about Nazis zombies? Nobody likes them; they’re perfect cannon fodder for gamers.

Shiny suit rubbed his chin and stared at the ceiling. “Hmmm I think Nazis are good enemies, but others have done it. We need something different.”

“Ok, ok I got it,” said the double chin man. “Aliens abduct the Nazi zombies and equipped them with advanced weaponry. Sometimes the alien zombies’ arms fall off and the guns become useless. The falling arms will set the game apart.”

Before the shiny suit could open his mouth, a cadaverous gentleman spoke. “I’ve got it: evil demons, who were buried on ancient burial ground, possessed the alien zombies.”

“Hmmm,” shiny suit mumbled.

The cadaverous man interrupted,  “Ok, so the alien zombies have chainsaws too and use them to mince and to eat human pâté.”

“Still sounds like it’s been done before. And what about the costs?” said shiny suit.

“We’ll cut down on costs,” said the double chin, “because the enemies will be waves of clones. They’ll all look the same. And the hero will also be a copy and past job from our last game. He’ll have a shaved head, white skin and a square jaw. Oh, and he needs a bad attitude too.”

Then the cadaverous man asked, “but do you think we have enough monsters?”

Shiny suit interrupted: “Yes, that’s a great idea. If we aim for a Halloween release date, we can throw in some other monsters for the season. But no one has talked about explosions yet. Have we met our quota for this game?”

“You’re right sir,” said double chin. “As you can see from this chart, we’ve got have the obligatory guns and explosions.

“Ok,” said shiny suit, “but let’s recap what we agreed on today.”

Everyone at the other end of the table spoke up. “The game is about waves of demon infested and chainsaw-wielding nazi zombies who turn into bloodthirsty werewolves during a full moon.”

“Okay,” said shiny suit as he slammed his gavel on the table, “This matter is settled. Let’s get started.”

“Next order of business: world domination,” Double chin said.

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October 13, 2014 · 1:52 am

The word geek doesn’t describe me very well. I am a well-rounded guy with many interests who happens to love video games.

By geek, I mean someone who has an intense love and insider’s knowledge of an often stereotyped sub culture. That might include something like comic books or video games. Sometimes others tease geeks for their love of these hobbies.

If you fit that description, by all means call yourself a geek and act proud. I think that’s wonderful. Wear your pride on your shoulder like a badge for everyone to see, and you could start by writing a blog. WordPress.com hosts plenty of self-proclaimed geeks who love to blog about their hobbies.

I can handle it if some people lump me in with the self-proclaimed geeks. I wont cry. In fact, I have a good sense of humour. My problem has nothing to do with being teased: “geek” does not tell you everything about me.

I am a guy with a surname, occupation, place of residence, beliefs, and interests besides games. I love to write fiction and non fiction, to bike, volunteer and so on. Not even the word “gamer” can neatly encapsulate all of what makes me unique.

You might say that I am a well-rounded geek or a geek with many interests. But that puts me in a melting pot with tons of other faceless people.

I can’t stop you from calling me something, and I’m fine with that. But I’m a complex human being, and you should know “geek” doesn’t do me justice. Instead, call me Adam and then get to know me.

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October 4, 2014 · 9:48 pm

Why I Play Downloadable Games

I carry around a heavy stack of paper everywhere I go. Only this is not a burden that weighs me down. The paper’s in my head.

See, I have a never-ending list of games to play these days. As soon as I play through one, I can think of another one to add. The list is always evolving and always fresh.

I noticed a recent change in this list: I stuffed it with downloadable games. And I can’t wait to sink my teeth in and devour these digital goodies.

Here’s five reasons why I only play downloadable games these days.

1. PSN, XBLA and Steam all have amazing games

I’ve played a bunch of great, exclusive games on PSN and XBLA. That includes Journey and Shadow Complex. Of course, the indie and PC exclusive games on Steam are great too. Steam, in case you don’t know, is an online store for PC games, and Valve Corporation owns and operates it.

2. Big sales on indie and PC games

Steam makes it easy to find plenty of great games. They make it even easier to buy them during their enticing sales.

3. Variety is the spice of digital life

You can download a variety of fun and creative games online. I really like platformers, or games that have platformer elements, and I don’t see this genre often on store shelves. However, I have found and enjoyed them on Steam.

4. Excel at one thing …

I like the idea of shorter games that do one thing really well. This describes a lot of downloadable games I’ve played.

5. I love short games

I like downloadable games that aren’t too long: that way I can play through a ton of them. I might then have time to play through a longer Mass Effect type game.

I’ll still play games like Mass Effect, but I’ll probably play less of them. I only really want to play one or two of these huge games a year, if at all. Smaller games will devour most of my time.

The shorter downloadable games will be like the staples of my digital diet. The bigger games will be like dessert: I’ll consume them now and then.

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