Cut to the Chase: Undressing the Video Game Plot

More thoughts on Deus Ex this week. However, they are really thoughts about game design (more specifically game revision and editing) that Deus Ex has provoked from me.

I watch too much Project Runway. I concern myself too much with appearance. As a result, I worry a bit about how video games present themselves to the player.

I think that is what this is about:

Cut to the Chase: Undressing the Video Game Plot

Moving Pixels Podcast: More Great Flash Games for 2011

Well, with all my flash game talk of late, I guess another podcast on flash titles was inevitable.

We are very short handed this week, so the whole conversation is between Nick Dinicola and I, and we talk about several titles that I suggested: Skinny, Alphaland, and Rebuild.

Links to all three games can be found in the article below, so feel free to play before you listen (though Rebuild is probably much more involved than most flash games usually get--it's easily a four hour investment, I think).

Moving Pixels Podcast: More Great Flash Games for 2011

Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Its voice acting is bad, many of its side quests are tired video game plot devices, and it starts very, very slowly.

But Deus Ex: Human Revolution really grows on you. Its homages to Blade Runner are actually very appropriate, and the gameplay as the game advances just gets better and better. If I had the choice, I'd play it on PC, rather than on the 360, nevertheless, the central plotting is tight, the gameplay is--again--a pleasure, and it really does a great job reinvigorating late 80s and early 90s cyberpunk themes. I'll probably have to write on that latter idea more later, but in the meantime, here's my more detailed review:

Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The Five Games That Actually Should Be on the Nintendo 3DS

So, yesterday I talked about games and art. Today it is all about games and schlock.

I don't have very much respect for 3-D as a technology because I feel like I can see just fine as it is. So, this list is presented in a manner that is more than a bit facetious.

The Five Games That Actually Should Be on the Nintendo 3DS

Vampire Vision: A Study of the Player, A Study in Incentive

Write, write, write. Review, review, review.

Another review of a flash game here (something triple-A by Friday I think). It's a funky little "educational" game called Vampire Vision (a link to it is available in first line of the review). It's simple, answers the question: what would vampires look like if they were muppets?, and is also weirdly addictive due to some Zynga-style incentivization to play.

Not a bad way to hook research subjects... err... players, I guess.

Vampire Vision: A Study of the Player, A Study in Incentive

Why Video Games Might Not Be Art

I admit right off in this post that the title may be misleadng regarding my own position in the "games as art" debate. However, I wanted the chance to point out that the opposition to this position is not crazy for calling this premise (that games are obviously art) into question, and I also wanted to take the opportunity to discuss some issues that I have with my side not really addressing aesthetics clearly at times.

That being said, I have done a bad thing and really largely not named names regarding who I am directly responding to on either side, which may make my argument appear to be more than a bit of a straw man. However, I just really didn't want to pick a fight with any of the folks that I am speaking of. Bad pool on my part, I guess.

Finally, though, picking fights is part of my problem with having this discussion at all. Probably a lot of readers will find my discussion a bunch of presumptuous gobbledygook, while another part of the audience will be irritated that I haven't grounded my discussion in enough research. So be it. I just needed to get a few general thoughts off my chest about aesthetics and games that I probably should have written awhile ago.

Hopefully, someone finds something interesting in there.

Why Video Games Might Not Be Art

Moving Pixels Podcast: Misogyny, Misandry, and Catherine

Today's episode of the Moving Pixels podcast is one of the more enjoyable (to me) conversations that I have had about a game in awhile. Kris Ligman of PopMatters, Skyler Moss of Gamepad Dojo, and I chat about Catherine.

I should warn folks though that we absolutely comb through just about every granule of the game's plot and characters, so it is spoiler heavy. I think we mention the main thrust of each of the major endings as well as a host of other details along the way. So, if you haven't played it yet, you may want to just bookmark it for later listening.

Moving Pixels Podcast: Misogyny, Misandry, and Catherine

Grey Story: A Boy, a Girl, and Invisibility

A review of a bittersweet, little flash game.

Maybe next week we'll return to our regularly scheduled reviews of very expensive $60 titles.


Grey Story: A Boy, a Girl, and Invisibility

Sorry, But Our Princess Wants to Be in Another Castle

This is a classic style of blog post, I think (unlike, my usual tendency to turn blog entries into full on essays).

It's just an observation that I had during a recent gameplay session that made me think a little bit about games and storytelling. Nothing earth shattering here, but it made me go, "hmmm..."

I've been thinking about plotting a lot since encountering the RPG Fiasco, which many describe as "the Cohen brothers RPG." Essentially, this is a game that through some simple parameters about character and motivation is capable of provoking Cohen-brothers-style plotting in a couple hour RPG session.

A really simple sequence in Uncharted 2 concerning Chloe made me think of how just adding clear motivations to supporting characters can complexify plots in fairly interesting ways.

The observation follows, as usual, at PopMatters:

Sorry, But Our Princess Wants to Be in Another Castle

Rebuild, a Game about Zombies and the Economy

A review of sorts early today, though I have a smallish (for me, I think) blog post on Chloe from Uncharted 2 coming a little later on.

This review is from a game released much earlier this year over at Kongregate. Rebuild is a turn-based strategy game by Sarah Northway, which has a pretty lengthy playtime for a flash game. The graphics are pretty stripped down and the play is pretty much simple decision-making, but I think that it has a really intuitive interface (important to me in games of this sort) and is definitely a different approach to a zombie-themed game than usual.

This is zombies and economy, not a mix that I would think of as working right off the bat, but I think it is a pretty solid approach to both. You can also find a link to the game at the bottom of my review if you want to play it first before reading.

Rebuild, a Game about Zombies and the Economy

The Taming of the Dude: Catherine and the Sex Comedy

Okay, so more discussion of Catherine. I really like the game and keep talking about it. In fact, we'll be recording a podcast on it tonight (probably a couple of weeks out before that goes live, though).

This time I focus on Catherine as a traditional farce, so it is much more a discussion of the plot and how it compares to some cinematic forebears than the gameplay issues I discussed last week (which you can find a link to a few entries below).

I think that there are some good things in here, but I am not sure because my wife didn't read it before it went live for a change. Wish I had her opinion beforehand. She usually catches the obviously dumb stuff if there is any.

The Taming of the Dude: Catherine and the Sex Comedy

Moving Pixels Podcast: Subjectivity and Interpretation in Child of Eden

Having had no opportunity to get a hold of Child of Eden, I did not participate in this week's Moving Pixels podcast, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't listen to it (indeed, perhaps, my absence is even more reason to do so).

This weeks 'cast finds a house more or less divided with half of the crew largely positive about this release and the other half, well, less so. Another reason to tune in is that long time PopMatters contributor and former Multimedia Editor, Mike Schiller, filled in my vacant seat. I wish I had been there just for that reason, as Mike and I have worked together for years and haven't actually ever spoken beyond written communication. Maybe next time.

Moving Pixels Podcast: Subjectivity and Interpretation in Child of Eden

On the Clock: Narrative and Gameplay Tension in Catherine

So, I'm pretty into Catherine. (I'm not supposed to say that, am I?). But it's good. Like Vincent, I can't help myself.

I wrote this week in defense of the game, as a game, because I've seen a lot of lukewarm reviews that are especially critical of how the gameplay relates to the storytelling.

I think that I probably want to write a bit about the game's possible relationship to the genre of bedroom farce and obviously sex comedies more generally. Maybe next week, though.

In the meantime, my discussion of time pressure in the game's play and narrative can be found by following the link below:

On the Clock: Narrative and Gameplay Tension in Catherine

Moving Pixels Podcast: Holla Back with Fat, Ugly or Slutty?

Credit for today's podcast goes to Kris Ligman for setting up an interview with a number of the admins from Fat, Ugly or Slutty? and serving as host. Additionally, props to Nick Dinicola for once again getting all of our editing done and also being a genial and thoughtful participant in our discussion.

I'm on this 'cast, but I believe in a post-surgery semi-haze. So, it may be best if I just allow Kris to introduce our guests and the topic of dealing with distasteful behavior in online gaming:

Moving Pixels Podcast: Holla Back with Fat, Ugly or Slutty?