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Fun in Theory
Posted on 2009-09-17 by Konstantin
Scribblenauts!
What an amazing concept for a game. It really is so sad that it stops right there. The 5th Cell guys had the balls to develop a game with 30,000 semi-unique objects, and I commend them for that. But much like their previous effort with Drawn to Life, there is just not enough game behind the premise to make it truly enjoyable.
Playing a level where I had to get past a couple of guards without hurting them just didn't work quite the way I wanted. Invisibility cloak? Guard saw me anyway. Sleeping gas? Didn't affect them. Tranquilizer dart? Didn't affect them. Bribe? They beat me to death with it. The game design is such that it could never possibly be playtested thoroughly enough, so I'd love to cut 5th Cell some slack, but people are paying for it, and they shouldn't need to concern themselves with how hard it would have been to make it better.
Add in the fact that the game outright stifles creativity by rewarding solutions using the fewest amount of item and throw in very sloppy platforming controls and the game is a notable disappointment. Maybe some refinement in the sequel or Wii port can alleviate these issues, I won't be playing much until then.
Rape's Got Me Thinking
Posted on 2009-06-02 by Konstantin
What? E3's going on? I have better stuff to talk about, namely rape.
It seems that some people Japan are getting all in a huff about it. Specifically about video games that let you (that are made for the sole purpose of letting you, really) rape girls. Long story short, rape games will no longer be sold in Japan. This isn't something I have a problem with.
But wait, I say to myself, just why is that? Why would I defend a game publisher's right to sell games where I shoot people in the face, but not a rape game? If one immoral act is acceptable in digital form, shouldn't all of them be?
From a purely legal standpoint, you could say that the majority of games have you killing in self-defense. Fine, but that just leaves me with games such as the venerable controversy regular, Grand Theft Auto. The only argument left is based entirely on a moral standpoint: Rape is worse than murder. Oh, now there's an interesting debate.
Essentially, the violent video game debate exists because of a difference of opinion across America. People are willing to accept different things from the media. What should and shouldn't be taboo in our society is inconsistent, transient, and always under debate. Is it not hypocritical to denounce censorship of one form of game content while agreeing with another?
I say slap an 18+ sticker on it and let them rape away.
Madworld comes out this week for the Wii, just in case you need some context for the comic that just went up. It certainly isn't the first violentgamefortheWii. That's not what's got me all excitable, it's the ballsy move to use such stark black and white stylized graphics. Video games require a lot of visual clarity and differentiation between objects in order to be playable, so watching someone try this will be interesting, particularly considering the Wii's paltry 480p maximum resolution. I really hope it works, and I really hope it gets a port or sequel to a console that can do the game visual justice.
I'll post my thoughts on how/if the game succeeds once I get my hands on it.
Street Fighter IV Is Broken
Posted on 2009-03-02 by Konstantin
Street Fighter IV is not designed for me, and probably not you, either. If you have the time, read SSF2THDR Dev David Sirlin's various criticisms of it. If you're lazy, let me break it down for you.
Remember that comic I made? Well it kind of applies to every kind of controller. The game designers made a conscious choice of making the control difficult. Special moves require needless control manipulation to execute, super and ultra moves will be impossible for a lot of players and unreliable for almost all, and the best moves (link combos) are locked behind an button input test wall so thick that most people shouldn't even bother considering it.
Oh, there will be players who master these attacks. Probably many players, but you know what? Fuck them. I want to play this game, too. I don't want to play a game that is essentially a series of button input tests with almost no relation to what my opponent is doing.
The most hilarious thing is that this is exactly what Capcom was trying to avoid. The focus attack system? Brilliant. Simple inputs with a very strong strategic focus. Combos were minimized for this reason, too. It's too bad that the game wasn't designed carefully enough to avoid link attacks though (which remind me of games like Streets of Rage where you could stop your combos midway and then precisely time the start of new ones in order to do an amount of damage never intended by the designers) or it may have even worked. Instead, the outcome was that the new combo-esque system is even harder to pull off than the old one.
Street Fighter desperately is in need of RE:4-style reboot. Capcom's probably too timid to consider such a thing, but an series offshoot is possible. Look at Smash Bros., there's plenty of opportunity for deep gameplay with simple input commands. Get to work.
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