The System is Down, The System is Down

As most my readers know my current system of choice is Sony's Playstation 3. Many of my readers also probably know that last week the Playstation Network was intruded upon by some rather unscrupulious characters. I've been meaning to write on this topic for a while but nothing has really come to mind. Yes it is a tragedy, no Sony didn't deserve it, yes the people that did do it should be shot in the kneecaps and thrown in prison, but that's aside the point.

What bummed me out last week wasn't hearing about how my credit card information may or may not be compromised, it was the reaction. Across every message board and comment page you would find the same ugly thing, fanboy's starting flame wars. This is one of the "being taken seriously as an industry" topics.

Right now video games are only taken seriously, in large, as a way to make money. There is not much we as "gamers" can do or say to defend that when tragedy strikes and the only way the majority of people know how to respond is by taking advantage of it to boast how superior they're system of choice is. It's just disheartening to see things like "Sony deserved it" and "all you retards that use PSN had this coming".

No matter where you go or what you do there will always be a concentration of bad apples. It just seems that there is a pretty ridiculously high concentration among our ranks. We need to stop and take stock of whats important; having fun playing video games, or arguing about why the system your mom bought you is superior to the system your friends mom bought them. We're not all grade-schoolers anymore people.

A lot of people are pegging the PSN crack on the fact that Sony sued Geohotz for cracking the PS3. Honestly, I was never on either side during this debate. I think that if you buy a machine you can do whatever you want with it. That said, cracking something is generally (read: almost always) used to pirate games and software. I think Sony has a right to protect their investment. Geohotz is not some robin hood, fighting for the people, and neither are the ones that broke into the PSN, but I think that painfully obvious now.

Substantially less funny IRL

The most terrifying part of all of this is that it could have been done in part or wholly by a "rogue element" of Anonymous. This group of hackers has their own agenda and claims to represent the voice of the people. I certainly would avoid doing anything to upset them, and that right there is the problem. This group leverages its unique power with fear to attempt to control or alter situations. How is that any different from the government or large corporations. It seems far to easy for a group like Anonymous to lose sight of its original goal.

If you were wondering, no I'm not going to jump ship from Sony. First and foremost the PSN being down didn't phase my gaming at all. My wife was able to play Castlevania: Lords of Shadow without issue and I was able to enjoy Folklore without error. I understand how the story is different for a great many people who enjoy playing online, but for me personally, it wasn't a big deal.

The people at fault here are those that would, without conflict of conscious, steal and attempt to sell the private information of millions. I don't care what system you own, that is wrong on a colossal level. Sony took a lot of precautions with the PSN, including encrypting customer data. Yes, you will find other websites on the internet that say otherwise, and honestly there is no way to prove it unless you work at Sony, but Sony has said as much and I'd like to believe them. The fact of the matter is that the people the Sony pissed off (unjustifiably) were very, very good at what they do.

On Sushi and Fanboys

Final Fantasy IX

When someone asks me what the best RPG is I want to immediately shout Final Fantasy IX (that's 9 for you non-Romans) and start listing the plethora of reasons that I hold this particular gem above all others. Instead of doing that though I will generally say that the best RPG that I have played is Final Fantasy IX, and then list the reasons why it resonated with me. Yes, even I have an inner fanboy, we all do. I've written on this subject before so I hope you're ready for another small helping of today's topic: Fanboys (and girls).

An observation I made with my wife recently refreshed my interest in the subject. You see, we go out to Sushi a lot, and here in beautiful southern California there happens to be a Sushi place on every corner. The sheer number of Sushi joints might seem amazing, but that's not what is. What's actually amazing is the amount of these places that are "the best". I just have to chuckle to myself every time I hear the phrase "this is the best sushi place" or "they have the best sushi in California". I'm oft reminded of a certain quotable quote "Napoleon, like anyone could even know that".

Best, as an adjective adverb or noun is almost always subjective. Now, is it a bad thing to let excitement grab hold of us? Well, yes and no. Excitement can be contagious, but in effect of opinions it can also be dangerous. I'm not excluded from this myself. More than once I've come across a person with similar taste in "bests" and it creates an atmosphere that is nearly electric. Giddy is a good way to describe it when I can talk to someone about the clever undertones of FLCL, or the impact Pokemon Red/Blue had on our youth, or that The Bouncer is actually a fun game.

We use best as a way to translate complex emotions into one word that says it all. This (object) is the best, it is #1 to me, and that is largely (or entirely) based on my opinion. If someone agrees, awesome! If they don't, awesome! Because they're entitled to their own opinion as well. I can (and do) say that I have the best wife in the world, and I can admit to having a bias, but I know several good friends that would disagree with me and say they have the best wife. This sort of back and forth is fine, it's well within the definition of a fanboy (yes, I'm a fanboy of my wife, she's freaking awesome) but avoids the dark and gloomy borders of that other type of fanboy.

That other type, as I wrote in my last blog, is the one who is blind. Their game, movie, band or whatever has no faults, and they will defend it to the death. This leads to trolling, flame wars, and incessant name calling among other things. These are the dangerous waters. Things like the "Console Wars" are raged by the fanboys, the ill mannered kind who find the best way to build up the system they purchased is by knocking all the others down. Sony, Apple, Nintendo, and Microsoft do not care what you think, they are big boys and can defend themselves.

As for "best", it's all just semantics, but I prefer to limit its use. After all, if we live in a California where all the Sushi places are the best, are any of them really?

Dr. Halo, or, How I Learned to Stop Being a Fanboy and Love Video Games

My latest blog entry has spurred me on to finish a piece I have had in the works for quite some time. You see, with the incredible reception of Black Ops there was a misunderstanding. Many people just denounced this as Fanboys doing what they do. The success of this game, however, reaches far beyond that. Here we will make a clear distinction between a fan, and a fanboy, and how a horde of fans can set a world record, and change our industry.

Lets start with the Fanboy/Fangirl (we have to be PC after all). Now then, it can be very easy to confuse a fan with a Fanboy. They will both say things like "This is the best game ever/of all time/is awesome/is epic!" In short, they will love the game. Where the two groups divide (unintentionally, mind you) is in knowledge. A Fanboys greatest weapon (in his/her mind) is the knowledge they hold of their beloved franchise. It's more than a game just being fun, they will defend characters, story, gameplay elements, even the development studio.

"It's 'Aerith' you troglodyte!"

This is the gap between a fan and a fanboy. You honestly can't believe that "Dark Knight" did so well because of fanboys. Yes, there are a great many Batman fanboys, but there are is an even bigger mass of fans. It was the fans that pushed the box office take of Dark Knight through the roof, and the same can be said of Black Ops.

Lets take a closer look at a fan. A fan is simply a person who enjoys something, they would 'like' the profile for Scott Pilgrim Vs The World on Facebook, but they wouldn't spend their spare time writing reviews for every product released (oh snap, what did I just say about myself). Fans tend to enjoy something for face value, and while they might encourage others to experience it, they won't attempt to convince in any way other than "It's really good, you'll love it"

To go back to fanboys, they take things to the next level. They dissect and evaluate, the good ones will criticize elements that deserve it and compliment those that are above and beyond. The flip side, obviously, are the fanboys that ignore all faults and praise the glory of their franchise to the ends of the earth. In short, they lack either reasoning skills or critical thinking. We need to put an end to the rampant fanboyism people, this is a detriment to the game industry. I don't have a problem with games that are "Middle of the road", but praising mediocrity will only result in mediocre games. It's ok to be a fanboy, but don't let it blind you.

Hear no, See no, Speak no evil against your favorite franchise

So What does it all mean? This represents a change in the tide, this is the rock solid proof of the industry turning mainstream. What was once niche and surviving because of fanboys has grown into something that a great many people enjoy and appreciate. This happens with every medium and its about time it happened to games. If this sounds frightening, well… it is and isn't. This is growth, and good for such an amazing medium. At the same time it could represent growth in the wrong direction. We want video games to grow upward, strive for goals that are artistic and have value. Publishers (the people that actually spend money for a game to get made) want to see it grow large (think: fat instead of tall). This will result in the continuation of "Trend Gaming" where the publisher only green-lights games that are selling now (see any military FPS' set in current day lately? How about set in WW II a few years ago).

Fans have officially power-grind the game industry to a level up, and now you know what, in my opinion, that means for our future. We are at a cross road and must decide whether we will become bloated and stagnant, or push toward diversity and something better. So let's encourage publishers to take chances, and for developers to express themselves.

As an Endnote: If you're wondering about the title being Dr. Halo, that is because in my humble opinion, there are more Halo Fanboys than Fans. If you're insulted by how that sounds don't be. People love the games and they are quite good for the most part. Also, one more thing, it is perfectly acceptable to be a fanboy of my blog. In fact, you probably should. Go get a T-shirt made.

Characters with character

My recent foray into character design got me thinking about characters in general. I made a statement something to the tune of "most space marines suck because you can't see their face." That really got me thinking about characters, and how we come to care for them, because a face isn't everything.

Lets try an exercise. Picture a game with great facial animation, say Heavy Rain. There are some spectacular moments in that. It was a game that's real purpose was to make you feel the emotion. I can say that I grew attached to most of the characters over my play threw. Now think further back, picture a game from your childhood that resonates with you, like an early Final Fantasy (if you were into that). NES and SNES games had a very limited emotional range, yet we could still get attached to the characters.

Only one of these characters can suplex a train

There is a simple answer to why we resonate with these pixelated jumbles, it is the relatable humanity injected into each character. The game uses our experiences to guide us through this fantasy world emotionally. That said, this relies heavily on characterization. If the character doesn't have a clear face, give them a voice, no voice? give them emotion. A good Dev could make you care about a tiny square by giving it relatable a quality.

This really fascinates me, we are such emotional creatures. We want things to connect, feel, and in the end be right and happy. Give that square a problem and the player will want to solve it. Make the square experience something that by chance the player has, say, heartbreak, and you instantly create a report. As humans we tend to want to project our emotions onto just about anything, and we can if the person/animal/object etc lends itself to this.

That said, looking at today's market it's pretty pathetic. I mean, by those standards over half the games on the store shelves have characters that are complete and utter failures. Characters so hollow and devoid of life the only thing they can do is let you puppet them and kill things vicariously through them. Sometimes it's because the writing falls short, other times it is literally all the developer is shooting for (no pun intended).

I do not think the industry really needs to grow past this, honestly there is mindless fun to be had (look at the movie industry). What I want to see is the games industry to try harder, and I want to stop hearing fanboys talk about how amazing their favorite Space Marine is (yeah, looking at you Halo fanboys). There will always be that immature aspect to gaming, just like in film. I really want to stress that, games and movies share many elements and honestly games aren't going to rise above and be placed on some holy artistic pedestal. We just need to work on the ratio. How about this: for every Expendables let there be a Scott Pilgrim, for every Piranha 3D let there be an Up, for every Last Airbender let there be an Inception. The movie industry has balanced itself, now its time for games. The important thing is not to step backward but to keep striving forward. Find new ways to make people connect with characters in games. The industry can't rely on Gordon Freeman forever.