GAMES THAT MOVE

i've been thinking a lot lately about what kind of gamer i am, and what i want to see in the future. last fall, i spent more time playing through new products than i had in many years. and that period was thoroughly enjoyable. first katamari damacy... then grand theft auto: san andreas... followed by halo 2, metal gear solid 3: snake eater, need for speed underground 2, metroid prime 2: echoes, half-life 2, vampire the masquerade: bloodlines, mechassault 2: lone wolf, and more recently resident evil 4. i played a bunch of other stuff too, but to a lesser extent than these titles. some of these games are good, most are great, and at least two or three are completely outstanding. i wanted good gameplay and polished presentation; i was getting it.

i often wondered why carlos wasn't playing some of the stuff i was. he'd spent the summer with the world of warcraft beta and at some point returned to playing warcraft 3: frozen throne with our roommate, phu; and they continue to play daily. he played through half-life 2... he was as anticipatory as i was when it came to the prospect of a new narrative-driven fps from valve. but he wasn't interested in playing anything else. no halo, no metal gear, etc.

MARC ECKO'S GETTING UP: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE

we had long discussions that would often lead to arguments about the state of gaming and what it was that was keeping him away from what i considered to be a few pretty monumental gameplay experiences. it always came down to the fact that some piece of the puzzle -- the narrative content, the presentation, or even the game's basic premise -- was unsettling or imperfect. though i agreed with his assessment, i never had a problem looking past a game's flaws and enjoying the experience for what it was.

then i hit pause.

real life took over for awhile and instead of gaming daily, i wasn't playing at all. and something happened. now i too, for whatever reason, am looking at the software i'm presented with more critically; that's not to say i had always been critical of the games i play... hell, it's my job. but instead, i started to value my time more. sure, i could be playing a game, or i could be writing, working, talking to friends, thinking, feeling depressed, whatever... and it's not that there isn't great software coming out. the opposite is, in fact, true. the year has started off splendidly with several five star games hitting the shelves no more than two weeks after the start of the new year.

as previously mentioned here, raymond, zoe, and i hit the d.i.c.e. summit, which is always a treat. i never feel like i'm worthy of being in the presence of so many of the industries greatest minds, when so few are admitted. last year, jason rubin made a wonderful speech about the importance of the developer; it was his opinion that the talented individuals who make the games should be empowered to take the focus off the publishers and off the rest of the hoopla that our industry endorses. i'm having trouble properly summing up the speech, but you can get the lowdown here. all told, it was pretty powerful stuff, and those in attendance pretty much loved or hated what he had to say. i fell into the former category.

this year, another speaker had the gusto to speak his mind about the overall state of the gaming industry: fashion designer, marc ecko. to make the summary move more quickly, i'll point you towards raymond's write-up of the speech, the video interview with mr. ecko that zoe and i put together, and our d.i.c.e. experience video; the final piece is nice as it features interviews with some industry leaders, who spend some serious time talking about what marc had to say. i took what he was saying to heart because his thoughts seemed to be similar to my own. read what he said... watch and listen to what he had to say to zoe. see what you think.

MR. ECKO

the main point he makes that i tend to agree with is that our industry needs a breadth of new intellectual properties on a regular basis. i see it this way: great developers know how to create great gameplay experiences. in general, with each consecutive game, a developer's technique improves and new features are added to enhance the experience. graphics, sound... they'll always improve with time. but the ip, the package that wraps-up that gameplay and those graphics... that's the variable. and presently, the market is not evolving in a way that encourages developers to pursue unique narratives. hideo kojima was tired of the mgs series after the second game. he claimed that he would give directorial control of the license to another; he was interested in pursing something else. while it's not my place to speculate why he chose to work on mgs3, i do find it disappointing in some respects. the game is wonderful, don't get me wrong; it's by far my favorite entry in the series. that said, i can't help but wonder what else he might come up with if he wasn't still telling snake's story. i mean, sun sensors on gba cartridges? crazy. cool. different. what else? i want more!

after the cameras stopped rolling on marc and zoe, i talked to the man a bit about his game, which is sounding increasingly interesting to me. he's not saying much about it yet. but something he said made me think. "i'll know i've succeeded if after playing my game, you walk out into the city and look at it differently; i want you to see the world like a graffiti artist does. i want you to notice paths, ledges... you should be figuring out how to get up." and that's it. really great artwork -- and more specifically, really great games -- tend to make me observe the world differently. in college, when i was playing half-life multiplayer daily, i would notice things... almost like i was hallucinating... the sound of a grenade bounce or the distinct 'schplung' of a crossbow bolt being fired... i'd see ventilation shaft covers and wonder where they lead or notice a spot that would only be reachable with a jump assisted by a charged gauss blast. am i crazy? probably a bit. but it happens. gran turismo, wipeout, and ridge racer have undoubtedly made me a better driver. the best narrative games contain characters that i would befriend. when such a game ends, i'm saddened as if i've lost them. the great games, the real games, the art... it changes the player. i can't help but want that to be the standard rather than the exception.

Posted by ryan at February 10, 2005 11:28 AM | TrackBack