Movie Review: Gamer

So I just saw the movie Gamer, and I have to admit it was fun. I'm no film critic, and I have pretty low entertainment standards when it comes to movies (I own and enjoy Into the Blue), but I feel obligated to throw my thoughts up on the blog due to the related theme. First of all I'd like to note that although it is indeed titled 'Gamer' this movie was not made by gamers, anyone who actually knows a gamer, or anyone who cares about what gamers would like to see in a movie. There was a dissapointing lack of inside jokes, exclusive lingo, jackass comaradarie, or anything else that the gamer community thrives on. They did try a couple times - there was useage of the words 'teabag' and 'frag' - but it was pretty desperate. Which leads me to what the movie really was: a political statement on society and it's perverted pursuit of entertainment.

I don't think they were trying to attack video games in particular with the movie (or at least I prefer not to think so), but rather the general trend in popular entertainment toward 'reality' media, and the pleasure society seems to take in watching other people be glorified, challenged, humiliated or degraded. The argument was that people will go to any lengths to control others or give up control. We should all stand up for 'humanity', preserve our morality and sensibility as upstanding citizens, blah blah blah. I get it. Don't find joy in seeing real people demoralized or killed. (But by the way the government IS ok with it.)

As dramatic and political as they made it, there's definitely plenty to think about in their story. After all, millions of people (myself included) who play CoD4 and Halo play against other people, real people, slaughtering them by the dozens and then humping their dead bodies. Represented with polygons or no, isn't that wrong? Shouldn't our morals say that it is bad? Honestly I had to contemplate my answer  for a long time, and I'm not even sure what I have to say is a solid retort, but here it is.

I am not a gamer because I want to see the death of others. I am a gamer because I enjoy victory, and glory, and that feeling of pure mutual awesome when my Dad gets 23 wingman medals for every one of my kills with the Puma (lol). It really is just a game, and at least personally I do not associate it with murder or death. Maybe a little domination and superiority, but what's a little ego boost now and again? I can't speak for the entire world of gamers when I say this. And I can't argue that playing Halo is morally defensible. But art life, life art. Games, like movies, books, and paintings, no matter what their subject, are defined and created from existing ideas. Given power by their audience, they may gain influence, but it all must stem from people and their ideas. As a game designer, I will have to accept that my games may eventually influence the way some people think. Following my beliefs, I will avoid gameplay involving violence or subversion of other people. But I'm still gonna play Halo.

Regardless of all this deep psychological contemplation, I really did enjoy the movie. I like explosions, awesome music in surround sound, firefights, futuristic gaming platforms, and Gerard Butler kicking ass as much as the next girl. The acting was sweet, the visual effects were intense and actually well tuned to the style of the games they portrayed. Did I mention that Gerard Butler kicks some serious ass? A little bit of Sparta made the movie totally worth it :)

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Game Review: Tag

Don't judge a game by it's cover... That being said, Tag is a pretty nifty game. It was made by a four student team at DigiPen Institute of technology and was included in the Indie Games Festival at the 2009 GDC. That right there is quite an accomplishment. Not to mention they had to create the engine themselves - everything was done in C++. I've programmed in C++ before... Even 2D dynamics are hard to grasp in such a stark code environment. The game is physics based with paint being the main mechanic. There are three colors, each with a different effect when you step on them. Green paint makes you jump, red paint makes you speed up, and blue paint makes you stick to a surface. It's an impressively creative idea, and they pulled it off with technical near-perfection. The visual presentation could be a little more intentional... And the actual feel of playing the game is a bit reminiscent of GoldenEye's slippery 20th century physics. But the premise is solid, and I think if you gave these kids a design team and a publisher they'd have a DLC sensation on their hands.

"It was a design choice for us to go with the art style, but even if it wasn't we really couldn't pull off a more realistic looking art style; we're mainly four programmers! We can do boxes really well, but anything apart from that is kind of not cool" says Tejeev Kohli, the engine programmer and spokesman for the team. And on the color scheme, every color in the game world is useable, not unlike Mirror's Edge, therefore the grayscale environment is implemented to clearly differentiate between interactive areas and backdrops. I'd like to say here that I was not at all a fan of Mirror's Edge... or its visual design choices. But I do agree that there is beauty in simplicity, and if they actually put some work into designing the look (or signed on an artist to do it for them) I think it could be pretty intriguing. I am sad to say that there is a token female standing in front of the 4-man team in the interview who was responsible for the cover art and 'some textures' - if she was their visual guru why didn't she speak up and get some cool stuff going? Oh well. I shouldn't judge.


YouTube video here includes game footage and an interview with the team at 5:40.

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Look! Up in the blog! It's something academic

Game Reviews.
And man do they look awesome.

This is something I've been wanting to do for a reeeally long time. But it's a lot of work. Which is why it took a reeeally long time. A new link has gone up on the nav menu, and with it another facet of my pursuit of becoming a game designer appears on the site. With each review I'd like to look at the things that I can take from the game, whether it's a blockbuster or a flop, and synthesize those qualities into my ability to design. They will also be an opportunity to brag about how many games I've played.

I will be writing the reviews within the blog for personal convenience, but they will be linked to the reviews page with spiffy presentation. Hopefully I can post a review with some regularity. Over the next week or so I'll be filling in the reviews I have completed up to this point. Fingers crossed, because there are a lot...

Disclaimer: My reviews are candidly biased according to what I like to see in a game, and I don't have the obligation to protect the developer's feelings, so I'll call a game horse poop if that's what I think it is. If you disagree, please state your educated opinion within the comments section :)

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Game Review: Dog's Life

Going through life as a dog certainly sounds like fun - eat, sleep, play. Sounds great, doesn't it? Unfortunately, I don't think this game really captured the playful carefree spirit of a dog's life. They turned it into a collaboration of prepubescent fart jokes one after another. Parts of it were well done; the transition to the pause screen was very fluid. Other than that, I didn't spot much. Final thoughts are that it would probably capture the minds of children easily with its simple goals and bright colors, but their parents would hate it. As for all the other gamers out there, its only use is to laugh at.

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Game Review: Crayon Physics

Bright idea, nice presentation, poor follow-through. Crayon Physics looks like it should be the most awesome indie game ever. Well, maybe second most awesome after World of Goo. But unfortunately, it just doesn't have the merit to hold attention. A world where you can draw reality with crayons is every child's dream, but the dream falls flat with limited possibilities and mechanics that are too simple for the vast possibilities of a world drawn in crayon. I wanted to see a version of The Incredible Machine (remember that old relic?) in which I could draw my own gadgets and see the contraption come to life, but instead I got to draw... a box. And then a line. Then a pivot point, which was kinda cool - and then another box.  So while the crayon world could have been brought to life, it lies limp and dull as a flat canvas.

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Game Reviews: My Top Ten

I'll fill this in with actual info soon, but for now, enjoy some cool cover art :)

The list is ever changing, but the games are beloved. They are the reasons I am where I am today, and my inspiration to make a game of my own that is truly great.

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