Opinion Hated Episode 6

Opinion Hated Ep 5

The Game Changer

I've made it no secret that I am a huge fan of Tim Schafer. Anything he or his studio puts out is pure gold (I just so happen to be the owner a beautiful signed Psychonauts poster). This has been an incredible week for Double Fine and Tim. First there was the news the Notch (the guy behind minecraft) basically offered to publish a Psychonauts sequel. Then there was this, the KickStarter Revolution.

Last month one of my favorite bands, Five Iron Frenzy, came back from the grave using Kick Starter. Now Double Fine has done something similar, but with different implications. While Five Iron was able to call on old fans to revive a band broken up for 8 years, which is amazing, Tim Schafer did something a bit more important. Now this isn't an article about how great Kick Starter is, we all know it's awesome. No, this is how Kick Starter could change the way games are made.

More than anything Double Fine's success is a wake up call (or warning) to publishers. Middle men might not always be necessary. Just because Tim managed to make a million dollars in a day doesn't mean that now every game will have easy funding. The fact of the matter is there are already tons of game projects on kickstarter, and most haven't even broken $1000.

What Tim Schafer and Double Fine are proving right now is that fan funding can work, and incredibly well at that. Granted Tim has a lot of goodwill behind his name with gamers (just look at his resume), so not every game/developer will get a million dollars in under 24 hours. The important thing here is that he did. The best outcome is that publishers start to act with a bit of humility when handling someone else's property, knowing in the back of their minds the power fans now have.

Games have been waiting for something like this. Every medium of artistic expression eventually finds it's way to the masses, and in doing so, becomes easier to execute on a higher level. Film just recently went through this transition, literature did a long time ago. Now, games are becoming easier to make, and have a new way to be funded. This is good, very good.

I'll leave you with this delightful tidbit. Fox news once said that a fan funded project was out of the question at the moment (the moment being several years ago). The show in question: Firefly.

Opinion Hated Episode 4

Jeremy and Matt discuss many things including but not limited to: Resistance 3. Fable 3. Battlefield 3. 3 Stooges. 3's a crowd. 3's Company. okmaybenotreally

When We Retire The Old Guard

We live in an incredibly fascinating time. The rate at which technology is changing and integrating with what we consider standard day-to-day life is increasing at an exponential rate. This leads to an interesting thought; so much of what we live is "unprecedented". This plays a particularly intriguing role in our so called "gamer culture", that niche little section of society that most people reading this blog live in or around.

Gaming as a medium is still rather young, and as such, the first generation of children weened on this wondrous art have since entered adult hood. These men and women are now gamings "Old Guard". those nostalgia loving, console war surviving, 8 bit heroes who now control the b/vlog-o-sphere which our societal niche dotes upon. The problem is, gaming is no longer a niche hobby. Video Games are growing up, but the "Old Guard" of gaming isn't.

This really does boil down to being an opinion, but I am tired about hearing how games used to be more engaging, difficult, and all around better experiences. The reason this gets under my skin is because it is [for the most part] nostalgia. There is nothing wrong with nostalgia, I think it's awesome, the difference is I can admit to myself that the games I played as a child have evolved into something greater than the sum of their original parts.

I believe we will get to see this evolution first hand as the PS2/Xbox/Nintendohadsomethingright? generation gets older. I'm honestly curious to see how these kids fair amongst the hordes of now older and entitled Gen X'rs. The kids that grew up playing PS2 games are going to defend Jak and Daxter with the same furver that someone who grew up playing Nintendo defends Super Mario Bros 3. Further than that, children who are growing up with Xbox 360 now are going to defend their time and console.

My son's first (generational) console will probably be the Playstation 4 (or whatever the next gen is). I can only imagine how things will be when he is older. Defending the legitimacy of the PS4 against the nostalgia laden hipsters claiming 360 was the greatest console of all time. I just barely missed out on being a part of gen X. I remember playing NES, but my first console was a Genesis. So I went straight to 16 bit, and did my catching up a few years later. I was an odd duck, I never bought into the "Sega does what Nintendon't" console wars. That wasn't my prerogative, playing good games was (and still is).

Don't get me wrong, I love retro games. I even think they hold their own in the "games as art" discussion. But it just seems silly to me to act like the NES is the end-all when it comes to gaming, or that things aren't (at the very least) just as good as they were 20 years ago.

From Mass Negelct to Mass Affection: The Story of Matt Shepard

I was finally able to play through Bioware's acclaimed space opera Mass Effect 2 recently and if you listen to my ramblomatic podcast OpinionHated then you already have a decent gauge as to my opinion on said game. I wanted to further flesh out my opinion though, because if you did indeed listen to OpinionHated then in addition to being an incredibly charming and handsome person you are also well aware of the fact that I was quite tired when said cast-o-pod was recorded. And if you don't listen to OpinionHated, then you are probably sick of me mentioning it and would like me to get on with the article.

I really, really enjoyed my time with Mass Effect 2. The universe they created for the game feels vast, but manageable at the same time. I never felt overwhelmed, but I did feel at times as though I were a mere speck on a magnificent canvas. This point of scope stuck with me into my daily life as I catch myself frequently looking up at the stars at night and simply contemplating the vastness of it all. I'm reminded of a quote from Jayne Cobb "I've been to the edge, just looked like more space"

The setting, I found, was so magnificent that it seemed to cover up a flaw I had no idea existed until after the endgame. The story and [new] characters aren't all that interesting. The first half of the game is spent building your team for the suicide mission, and the last half is spent running errands for your crew. I just felt like there wasn't enough time to get to know people.

Basically you get one mission to learn more about a particular crew member then from there on out they are just support (barring the occasional conversation aboard the Normandy). The issue I have with this is that the characters are left with one defining trait... well, two perhaps, they are the (Initial Impression) with the (secondary attribute gleaned from Loyalty Mission), so for instance: Miranda is the (By the books Cerberus Officer) with (family issues). Jacob is the (former Alliance Officer) with (family issues). Thane is the (slick assassin) with... (...family issues...). Samara is the (crazy Justicar) with... yeah... (family issues)...

Alright, put on your hipster glasses cause here comes the part where I get pretentious and pick apart a genuinely good game to fit my own taste: I just wish there were more gameplay-driven story elements with getting to know your crew. Every time it goes back to the Normandy it's as if the game pauses. Honestly Mass Effect is akin to Sci-fi Football. You start a level, shoot a few guys, then go back to the Normandy to talk. The way the game is broken up is just plain jarring. Sure there are the occasional planet side trips where you have to talk to someone before the shooting starts, but the characters you bring along with you are silent, even during most conversations they just kind of hover. Even back as far as the SNES days we had this type of story telling down, no excuses Bioware.

As I eluded to earlier, the new characters in Mass Effect 2 are all pretty samey. You meet: the cold calculating assassin Thane; the cold calculating robot Legion; the crazy because of rules Samara; the crazy because of no rules Jack; the boring bland Jacob; and the boring bland Miranda. Kasumi is a thief, and Grunt is a Krogan. On the other hand the returning characters were terrific. I was, in short, an idiot to play the 2nd game and think I could get away with it. I need to play the first game (the issue there being that I also need a. better computer or b. xbox 360). I got Mass Effect 2 on the word of the developers who swore up and down that you could go into the sequel having not played through the first and have a full and complete experience. They lied.

The characters who return from Mass Effect 1 are fabulous. They are a tad bit more fleshed out, and I imagine had I played the previous entry I would have even more of an attachment to them. Honestly, I was bummed when I found out I couldn't romance Garrus, he was freaking cool. Then again, I quite enjoyed have Tali around, despite being an alien she had the most human and endearing qualities out of any woman on the ship. I genuinely enjoyed her character, which set up the final mission perfectly *SPOILERS AHEAD*

The main reason I left this game with a positive feeling, despite previously deriding it, was the fact that I knew the suicide mission could mean the end of my entire team and crew. Here I can say that Bioware did their job, because all it takes is one. You need only care about one team member, and the stakes will be raised. By this point I wanted to keep Tali alive, because my suave, amnesia ridden, pencil-stache sporting Shepard couldn't live without her and her nervous-adorable nature. I kept Tali on my team for the entire mission, figuring that would be my best chance at keeping her alive. After I defeated the big bad there was a cutscene in which the platform you are on breaks apart and Tali fell to her [near] death. At that moment I let out a tasteful and restrained, but still audible "no", followed by a smirk, and a "good job bioware".

Tali ended up surviving, to which I was extremely grateful, but alas, Legion didn't make it. I can only image how epic that mission would have been if I had truly cared about all the characters. Also, I know this is a cheap shot, the voice actor for Male-Shep is terrible.

So that is Mass Effect 2. I have high hopes for ME3, namely that I will be able to get to know my crew (or at the very least my current team configuration) outside the Normandy. Also, I'm praying the story is better than "The Big Bad is coming. Assemble your team, save everything", but Bioware would never do something like that... right?

Opinion Hated Episode 3

Matt and Jeremy talk about stuff like Catherine, Mass Effect 2, Toy Story 3, Breaking Dawn and Title Fight. Not in that order.