Final Fantasy was the first RPG I ever played, and I was a major fan of the series for the next three games. However, after that my interest started to wane in a serious way. I'm not entirely sure why, although I found the linearity of Final Fantasy X dissapointing and the story of XII, while not bad, didn't grip me in the way the previous games had. The combat system was also a little too close to the sort of thing you'd see in an MMO, which I do not generally play for their thrilling battles.
So I haven't really been anticipating Final Fantasy XIII all that much. This trailer, however, may have changed my mind.
One reason is that it seems to bear quite a large similarity to Toward the Terra, which as you can probably tell from the fact that I'm doing a Let's Watch of it, I enjoyed quite a lot. More than that though, the story just seems interesting. Square have kind of gone off the deep-end lately with overblown nonsense like Advent Children (I don't care how cool the fight scenes were, the damn thing made no sense), and even though XIII is obviously replicating it in some aspects of it's combat system, the story looks a lot more mature. Plus: a protagonist who isn't annoying or boring. And a woman.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Let's Read Gunnerkrigg Court
(This review will evaluate Gunnerkrigg Court based on chapters 1-23, plus chapter 24 up to page 23)
I've always been fascinated by the idea of webcomics. A medium where creativity can be free to roam, unconstrained by issues of profit, sounds like a great concept.
And then I tried reading some webcomics and found out they're all cross-gender furry porn.
Okay, that was mean of me. Obviously that's not true, but there's no denying it: most webcomics suck, whether it's a case of an author ripping off every other story in sight instead of coming up with their own idea, or an artist who's trying to ride a jet-powered unicycle while juggling chainsaws before they can walk, or just someone who wants to saddle their story with some kind of cancerous fetish tumour. There are some great comedy webcomics out there, but I've always wanted to read a story driven comic, something with a proper overarching plot and well-developed characters. In spite of all the crap I've spent a long time searching, convinced that somehwere out there is a genuine diamond in the rough.
And then I found Tom Siddell's Gunnerkrigg Court, and while I won't be ready to call off the search until it's finished, let's just say I know where I'm placing my bets. Gunnerkrigg Court is, to me, far and away the best story-driven comic on the internet (and since it's in print now it also gives most "normal" comics a run for their money). So that's why, inspired by the Let's Watch I did of Toward the Terra and this annotated Re-Read of The Wheel of Time (which I am incidentally enjoying far more than trying to read the actual books themselves), I've decided to do my own little commentary project for Gunnerkrigg. The sensible way to do this would be to handle it by chapter, but since I'm an uber-fan I'm going to pull out all the stops and do it by page. All 300+ of them. This is clearly going to take a while.
Anyway, the first page will probably be up tomorrow some time. Enjoy.
I've always been fascinated by the idea of webcomics. A medium where creativity can be free to roam, unconstrained by issues of profit, sounds like a great concept.
And then I tried reading some webcomics and found out they're all cross-gender furry porn.
Okay, that was mean of me. Obviously that's not true, but there's no denying it: most webcomics suck, whether it's a case of an author ripping off every other story in sight instead of coming up with their own idea, or an artist who's trying to ride a jet-powered unicycle while juggling chainsaws before they can walk, or just someone who wants to saddle their story with some kind of cancerous fetish tumour. There are some great comedy webcomics out there, but I've always wanted to read a story driven comic, something with a proper overarching plot and well-developed characters. In spite of all the crap I've spent a long time searching, convinced that somehwere out there is a genuine diamond in the rough.
And then I found Tom Siddell's Gunnerkrigg Court, and while I won't be ready to call off the search until it's finished, let's just say I know where I'm placing my bets. Gunnerkrigg Court is, to me, far and away the best story-driven comic on the internet (and since it's in print now it also gives most "normal" comics a run for their money). So that's why, inspired by the Let's Watch I did of Toward the Terra and this annotated Re-Read of The Wheel of Time (which I am incidentally enjoying far more than trying to read the actual books themselves), I've decided to do my own little commentary project for Gunnerkrigg. The sensible way to do this would be to handle it by chapter, but since I'm an uber-fan I'm going to pull out all the stops and do it by page. All 300+ of them. This is clearly going to take a while.
Anyway, the first page will probably be up tomorrow some time. Enjoy.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Let's watch Toward the Terra: 14
Episode 14: Identical Memories
Toward the Terra is a sci-fi space opera series that went under a lot of people's radar for whatever reason, possibly because the first three episodes suck, but many who gave it a chance found it to be an overlooked gem. And by many I mean "me" of course.
So here's a Let's Watch, in which I make fun of low-resolution screenshots of the series and then review the episode in question, starting with episode 14 because that's when I got the idea. Grab some popcorn and get ready:
Toward the Terra is a sci-fi space opera series that went under a lot of people's radar for whatever reason, possibly because the first three episodes suck, but many who gave it a chance found it to be an overlooked gem. And by many I mean "me" of course.
So here's a Let's Watch, in which I make fun of low-resolution screenshots of the series and then review the episode in question, starting with episode 14 because that's when I got the idea. Grab some popcorn and get ready:
Morality in video games, part 1
I've been watching my brother play inFamous for the PS3. It seems like a pretty great game- good story, interesting combat, excellent use of free-roaming ablities.
The one thing it doesn't really excel at is probably the most hyped feature of the game- the morality choices. Giving the player the choice to be good or evil has been around for awhile, but mostly in the medium of western RPGs like Knights of the Old Republic. Lately it's entered the mainstream in a big way, but almost none of the games usng the idea seem to be doing anything interesting with it. Here are some ways I think the concept could be improved:
There are more than two sides to every story
inFamous isn't exactly subtle about it's choices. In fact you get a big preamble spelling out what exactly what it is you can do, and in each case there are two and only two choices- for example, kill some starving civilians to get more food for yourself, or only take as much as you need.
Really? Is that seriously the only way that situation could have resolved itself? Why can't I not kill anyone but take the food anyway? Or threaten to kill some people instead of actually doing it?
GTA IV had an interesting scenario where you were put in the situation of having to choose to kill one of two characters at the request of the other, both of whom were quite sympathetic. Even here though, why do I have to kill either of them? Why can't I just tell them both to resolve their dispute themselves? If writers made an effort to depict situations where the main character was realistically and believably forced into only having two options that would be one thing (and I'll give an example of such a situation later), but that almost never seems to happen.
Don't tell the player which choice is right and which is wrong
inFamous does another annoying thing in relation to it's choices- you are explicitly told which decision is the right one and which is wrong, in the most obvious and ham-fisted way possible. And of course, there's a little morality meter to quantify exactly how much of an asshole/saviour you are.
Why is this needed? Why not let the player choose for themselves which course of action is the right one? Why not get rid of the morality bar and let the consequences speak for themselves?
Of course, even if this was done it wouldn't matter much because....
Shades of grey do not exist, apparently
Ignore everything else I've just written- this is the crux of the problem. In video games your actions are either the vilest, most depraved evil or you're a selfless paragon of virtue. Where a third alternative does exist it's usually to simply do nothing.
News flash: this is not how the world works. In real life people find themselves having to choose between the lesser of two evils far more often than they choose between two totally polar opposites. Realistic situations in which you're forced to make an agonizing decision between two undesirable outcomes have been done (see Fable 2's infamous final decision), and have been widely praised for it. Why don't more games have this?
Although that said, there's still the matter of....
Consequences
This is the last stumbling block, and probably the one that frustrates me more than anything else, even if it's not the worst thing a game can do in regards to morality, so I'm giving it special attention here.
So you've been faced with this big epic choice between good and evil, and you make your choice, and then.... what? In most situations, a little bar in your status screen goes up or down a notch, or you get a different amount of items then if you had made a different choice.
Well, that was harrowing.
I think the main problem here is that in video games you're usually acting as a free agent- if the consequences of your actions affect anyone at all, it's some faceless NPCs you just met. Decisions that affect major characters, like that bit in Mass Effect with the bomb (if you've played the game you know what I'm talking about) are good, but you can't do that too much unless you want to run out of characters too quickly.
I've been playing Sins of A Solar Empire lately, and whether or not my ships get blown up illicits way more of an emotional response than any moral choice in a game ever has. So how about this: a game where you play as the leader of a group of refugees fleeing a much more powerful enemy, lets say in a spaceship in a sci-fi setting. You're presented with the following scenario: you and your people are cornered and the only way to break out of the situation is to take action that will result in a large number of enemy civilians being killed. On the other hand, if you do nothing a small number of your own people will die. Ideally the game would have a large number of fully fleshed out characters who are incidental to the plot, and you know if you choose not to kill the civilians some of them will die. Situations like this would crop up often, with the choice being between acting ruthlessly or losing characters. You could decide to be an idealistic paragon of virtue, there would be nothing stopping you, but by the time you got to the end of the game you'd have no characters left.
I really think taking away autonomy and having the burden of other people's safety on the player's shoulders is the way forward here. There's an excellent flash game called Last Stand 2 where you barricade yourself in against zombies. You can pick up survivor allies and use them to search for weapons and supplies, which are vital to winning. But the more you do, the greater the chance of one of them dying. You don't get to see it happening or anything, but I always felt a moment of trepidation when the report on the day's activities came in in case there was anything greater than a zero in the "survivors killed" box.
(I'll have nore to say about this soon)
The one thing it doesn't really excel at is probably the most hyped feature of the game- the morality choices. Giving the player the choice to be good or evil has been around for awhile, but mostly in the medium of western RPGs like Knights of the Old Republic. Lately it's entered the mainstream in a big way, but almost none of the games usng the idea seem to be doing anything interesting with it. Here are some ways I think the concept could be improved:
There are more than two sides to every story
inFamous isn't exactly subtle about it's choices. In fact you get a big preamble spelling out what exactly what it is you can do, and in each case there are two and only two choices- for example, kill some starving civilians to get more food for yourself, or only take as much as you need.
Really? Is that seriously the only way that situation could have resolved itself? Why can't I not kill anyone but take the food anyway? Or threaten to kill some people instead of actually doing it?
GTA IV had an interesting scenario where you were put in the situation of having to choose to kill one of two characters at the request of the other, both of whom were quite sympathetic. Even here though, why do I have to kill either of them? Why can't I just tell them both to resolve their dispute themselves? If writers made an effort to depict situations where the main character was realistically and believably forced into only having two options that would be one thing (and I'll give an example of such a situation later), but that almost never seems to happen.
Don't tell the player which choice is right and which is wrong
inFamous does another annoying thing in relation to it's choices- you are explicitly told which decision is the right one and which is wrong, in the most obvious and ham-fisted way possible. And of course, there's a little morality meter to quantify exactly how much of an asshole/saviour you are.
Why is this needed? Why not let the player choose for themselves which course of action is the right one? Why not get rid of the morality bar and let the consequences speak for themselves?
Of course, even if this was done it wouldn't matter much because....
Shades of grey do not exist, apparently
Ignore everything else I've just written- this is the crux of the problem. In video games your actions are either the vilest, most depraved evil or you're a selfless paragon of virtue. Where a third alternative does exist it's usually to simply do nothing.
News flash: this is not how the world works. In real life people find themselves having to choose between the lesser of two evils far more often than they choose between two totally polar opposites. Realistic situations in which you're forced to make an agonizing decision between two undesirable outcomes have been done (see Fable 2's infamous final decision), and have been widely praised for it. Why don't more games have this?
Although that said, there's still the matter of....
Consequences
This is the last stumbling block, and probably the one that frustrates me more than anything else, even if it's not the worst thing a game can do in regards to morality, so I'm giving it special attention here.
So you've been faced with this big epic choice between good and evil, and you make your choice, and then.... what? In most situations, a little bar in your status screen goes up or down a notch, or you get a different amount of items then if you had made a different choice.
Well, that was harrowing.
I think the main problem here is that in video games you're usually acting as a free agent- if the consequences of your actions affect anyone at all, it's some faceless NPCs you just met. Decisions that affect major characters, like that bit in Mass Effect with the bomb (if you've played the game you know what I'm talking about) are good, but you can't do that too much unless you want to run out of characters too quickly.
I've been playing Sins of A Solar Empire lately, and whether or not my ships get blown up illicits way more of an emotional response than any moral choice in a game ever has. So how about this: a game where you play as the leader of a group of refugees fleeing a much more powerful enemy, lets say in a spaceship in a sci-fi setting. You're presented with the following scenario: you and your people are cornered and the only way to break out of the situation is to take action that will result in a large number of enemy civilians being killed. On the other hand, if you do nothing a small number of your own people will die. Ideally the game would have a large number of fully fleshed out characters who are incidental to the plot, and you know if you choose not to kill the civilians some of them will die. Situations like this would crop up often, with the choice being between acting ruthlessly or losing characters. You could decide to be an idealistic paragon of virtue, there would be nothing stopping you, but by the time you got to the end of the game you'd have no characters left.
I really think taking away autonomy and having the burden of other people's safety on the player's shoulders is the way forward here. There's an excellent flash game called Last Stand 2 where you barricade yourself in against zombies. You can pick up survivor allies and use them to search for weapons and supplies, which are vital to winning. But the more you do, the greater the chance of one of them dying. You don't get to see it happening or anything, but I always felt a moment of trepidation when the report on the day's activities came in in case there was anything greater than a zero in the "survivors killed" box.
(I'll have nore to say about this soon)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sony jumps on the Motion Control bandwagon
This is old news, obviously, but now that I'm a proud owner of Sony's obelisk I'm starting to pay a bit more attention to their new motion controller (apparently still called "the Sony motion controller").
Just to get it out of the way: yes, Sony ripped of Nintendo. However, Nintendo really wasted the Wiimote's potential so I think it's about time someone else had a shot with it.
From what I can tell the controller is definitely more sensitive than the traditional wiimote, and seems to be about on the same level as the Wiimotion+. One big worry for me is the apparent lack of any nunchuck-style analog attachement- in fact it doesn't even have a D-pad. I can't think of a single Wii game except Wii Sports Resort and on-rails shooters like House of the Dead that doesn't use the nunchuck that's worth playing. Not including such an option would seem to invite the sort of simplistic shovelware that's been choking the Wii since luanch. On the other hand though a director's cut of Resident Evil 5 is apparently being released that will use the controller, so presumably there must be some sort of equivalent to the nunchuck, even if you just use the SIXAXIS's analog stick with one hand. I'm hoping it's something better than that, though.
As you can see here it even looks quite nice..... apart from the stupid light-bulb at the end of it. The idea of having it flash to simulate a gunshot is kind of neat, but does it have to look like you've got a balloon taped to the end of the controller? Even making it smaller would be better than what it looks like now.
(Natal still looks more exciting, for what it's worth, but as my Xbox 360 will be broken for the forseeable future it's hard to get excited about it).
Just to get it out of the way: yes, Sony ripped of Nintendo. However, Nintendo really wasted the Wiimote's potential so I think it's about time someone else had a shot with it.
From what I can tell the controller is definitely more sensitive than the traditional wiimote, and seems to be about on the same level as the Wiimotion+. One big worry for me is the apparent lack of any nunchuck-style analog attachement- in fact it doesn't even have a D-pad. I can't think of a single Wii game except Wii Sports Resort and on-rails shooters like House of the Dead that doesn't use the nunchuck that's worth playing. Not including such an option would seem to invite the sort of simplistic shovelware that's been choking the Wii since luanch. On the other hand though a director's cut of Resident Evil 5 is apparently being released that will use the controller, so presumably there must be some sort of equivalent to the nunchuck, even if you just use the SIXAXIS's analog stick with one hand. I'm hoping it's something better than that, though.
As you can see here it even looks quite nice..... apart from the stupid light-bulb at the end of it. The idea of having it flash to simulate a gunshot is kind of neat, but does it have to look like you've got a balloon taped to the end of the controller? Even making it smaller would be better than what it looks like now.
(Natal still looks more exciting, for what it's worth, but as my Xbox 360 will be broken for the forseeable future it's hard to get excited about it).
Monday, September 21, 2009
On Religion
I'm not really religious myself- in fact I'm an atheist, so I guess calling myself "not really religious" is like Luxembourg referring to itself as "not really fond of the ocean". If it could talk, which it can't.
Man that was a terrible analogy.
Anyway, I'm not religous but I do have some opinions on religion. For example, earlier to day I saw this article:
Man that was a terrible analogy.
Anyway, I'm not religous but I do have some opinions on religion. For example, earlier to day I saw this article:
A Christian couple have been charged with a criminal offence after taking part in what they regarded as a reasonable discussion about religion with guests at their hotel. Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang were arrested after a Muslim woman complained to police that she had been offended by their comments.
They have been charged under public order laws with using ‘threatening, abusive or insulting words’ that were ‘religiously aggravated’.
The couple, whose trial has been set for December, face a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record if they are convicted. Although the facts are disputed, it is thought that during the conversation the couple were challenged over their Christian beliefs.
Incidents like this often make me want to go to the nearest rooftop with a megaphone and politely ask everyone to stop what they're doing, take a deep breath and calm the fuck down.
There's this pervasive belief in society at large, one that seems to be growing, that religion is a topic that you need to treat with kid-gloves lest you offend someone. Not only that, but there's an assumption that people have some sort of inherrant right to not be offended, ever, and that if you are offended you can sue the people responsible, or maybe even get them sent to jail. It doesn't just happen in relation to religion, but that seems to be where the attitude finds its most dramatic outlet.
And it's no use pointing the finger at Muslims- every religious group does it. I can guarentee you someone, somewhere, was offended by the very fact that I jut said I'm an atheist, and is even now fuming at this blog as if their human rights have been violated. Hell, while we're on the topic, even atheists do this.
Let me just spell it out for you: you do not have a right not to be offended. People can express whatever opinion they want, and if you don't like it, too fucking bad.
Right then, that's my rant over.
Friday, September 18, 2009
So I got a PS3
As you all know, Sony recently announced/released a slim version of their towering ebony behemoth (is it out yet?). What this means for stingy folk such as myself is obvious: obsolete hardware selling for cheap! I took a trip into town today to find that this is indeed the case, and came home (somewhat slowly) with 500 tonnes or so of gaming hardware in tow, carried by several donkeys, along with Stephen Fry's Voice LittleBigPlanet and InFamous.
After lugging it up the stairs with the help of a hastily constructed elevator (in case I'm being too subtle here: the PS3 is really, really heavy) and playing LBP for a few hours, here are my initial impression:
Stuff I like:
+ It comes with a HDMI port
+ Wireless internet access out of the box
+ Controller is rechargeable
+ Attractive, user-friendly OS
+ Online services are free and easy to use/set-up
+ Boots up and runs quickly
Stuff I don't like
+ It's really heavy
+ Generates more heat than a flamethrower
+ Game updates download very slowly
+ Games seem to load more slowly than on the 360
Overall, I'm very happy with my PS3. I was resistant to buying one for a long time due to the price and Sony's attitude at the start of this generation, but a string of current and future exclusives, a massive reduction in price and the fact that four of my Xbox's have now broken have curried a lot of favour with me.
After lugging it up the stairs with the help of a hastily constructed elevator (in case I'm being too subtle here: the PS3 is really, really heavy) and playing LBP for a few hours, here are my initial impression:
Stuff I like:
+ It comes with a HDMI port
+ Wireless internet access out of the box
+ Controller is rechargeable
+ Attractive, user-friendly OS
+ Online services are free and easy to use/set-up
+ Boots up and runs quickly
Stuff I don't like
+ It's really heavy
+ Generates more heat than a flamethrower
+ Game updates download very slowly
+ Games seem to load more slowly than on the 360
Overall, I'm very happy with my PS3. I was resistant to buying one for a long time due to the price and Sony's attitude at the start of this generation, but a string of current and future exclusives, a massive reduction in price and the fact that four of my Xbox's have now broken have curried a lot of favour with me.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Silent Hill sequel confirmed?
IGN is reporting that a second Silent Hill movie is going to start filming next year.
As a huge Silent Hill fan, I have mixed feelings about this. The first movie was..... conflicting. The story was garbage, while the visual style was excellent, but it wasn't the same excellent visual style that the games had. I wouldn't say I'm optimistic about a sequel, particularly as Roger Avery is back on board to write the script, but I want to see a good Silent Hill movie so I'm happy they're trying again. That said, here are a few ways they could help this movie suck less (warning: spoilers for the first two games and the movie below):
As a huge Silent Hill fan, I have mixed feelings about this. The first movie was..... conflicting. The story was garbage, while the visual style was excellent, but it wasn't the same excellent visual style that the games had. I wouldn't say I'm optimistic about a sequel, particularly as Roger Avery is back on board to write the script, but I want to see a good Silent Hill movie so I'm happy they're trying again. That said, here are a few ways they could help this movie suck less (warning: spoilers for the first two games and the movie below):
Monday, September 14, 2009
King of Thorn
There's this manga I've been seeing on store shelves all over the place called King of Thorn. Every time I see it I think "hey that looks interesting, maybe I should buy it" but for some reason I never do. I think it's because while the opening scenario sounds great, I'm half convinced the actual execution wil spoil it.
And so it seems to have. Witness this trailer for the upcoming King of Thorn movie: intruiging sci-fi concept! Artsy shot of a petrified woman falling out of a building! It's not set in Japan!
And then they wake up and there are badly rendered monsters everywhere. The trailer also loses browny points for ripping off Evangelion: Death and Rebirth* and for the engrish ("What happened on Earth?" What indeed).
* Or Weevilgelion: Death^2X+3/ True Rebirth Super God Edition or whatever the hell version is the "definitive" one
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Gabe Newell brainwashed by monolithic modders
In a sort of sequel event to those Left 4 Dead boycotters who got flown to Valve HQ to see the object of their scorn first-hand (see here), a modder jokingly offered to fly Valve head honcho Gabe Newell to Australia to play his mod.
That's not the interesting part. The interesting part is the amount of money he's managed to raise to do this: $3000. All from donations given over the internet. In the space of two days.
Who do I need to pretend to fly over to Ireland to get that kind of money?
That's not the interesting part. The interesting part is the amount of money he's managed to raise to do this: $3000. All from donations given over the internet. In the space of two days.
Who do I need to pretend to fly over to Ireland to get that kind of money?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Lucidity
So Lucasarts is making a new game. I don't have that same nostalgia for the good old days of point and click adventures most people do, so this isn't as earth shattering for me as it might be for others, but there's no denying their game looks nice. It's another quirky puzzle platformer with a unique art style riding the wave of such games initiated by Braid, this time with Lemmings-like mechanics where you drop elements of the level in front of a main character who moves on her own.
Granted, going by the trailer the actual gameplay doesn't seem very exciting- something about the collision detection of the objects looks off- but then again maybe it's one of those games you have to play to appreciate.Check out the trailer and decide for yourself:
Friday, September 11, 2009
Weekly Videogame News Roundup
When it comes to video games I trawl the internets daily in search of news. I think it's about time to do something with all that information: give it to you. Free of charge, too.
Helloes
Hi. Welcome to the party. You're late. Did you remember to bring the Doritos?
This is roughly the five billionth time I've attempted to start up a blog (warning: numbers on this blog may be slightly exaggerated). My problem is that I have the attention span of a gnat and have at various times wanted to review anime, make fun of anime, review webcomics, talk about video games and discuss Serious Business. So then it hit me- why not do all of those things? Or just jot down whatever whim enters my head at the time?
Every guide to blogging I've ever read (all one of them) suggest that this is a Bad Idea, but what the hell, I'm feeling adventurous.
Tune in next interval of time for something!
This is roughly the five billionth time I've attempted to start up a blog (warning: numbers on this blog may be slightly exaggerated). My problem is that I have the attention span of a gnat and have at various times wanted to review anime, make fun of anime, review webcomics, talk about video games and discuss Serious Business. So then it hit me- why not do all of those things? Or just jot down whatever whim enters my head at the time?
Every guide to blogging I've ever read (all one of them) suggest that this is a Bad Idea, but what the hell, I'm feeling adventurous.
Tune in next interval of time for something!
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