Over the last year, I feel like I've grown up way too much. I don't know what did it, but some sort of weird transformation has taken place within me. You ever get that feeling that you've been stuck in the past a bit too long and you've got to catch up as fast as you can?
Anyways, this is all about video games; not about me. Okay, that's something of a lie. It's about video games but it's also about me, my relationship with video games. This is the beginning of an essay that we're going to call:
We Need Fun.
I'll preface this by stating I have an incredible backlog of video games on the go right now. Ninety-five percent of the games delegated to that backlog will likely never be finished by me. The majority of those games are likely JRPGs, I'm not going to sit down and start counting what I haven't finished and what's what; that's not really the point I'm trying to make. It's a little too focused, we're trying to look at a bigger canvas here.
It's been almost twenty five years since the Japanese release of one of the greatest video games ever made, Super Mario Brothers. It is a crowning achievement, a gold medal. It is one of the best games we've yet to lay our eyes on because it's so damn fun (this is the key word so critical to our analysis it borders on fetishism).
There may be only a few key games that exist that could possibly be funner than Super Mario Bros. If it is the gold medal of the video game world, then what title could we possibly give to the best game Nintendo has ever made? Let's talk about the true experience of fun in a video game, Super Mario Brothers 3.
So, what makes Super Mario Brothers 3 deserving of such a title? It took everything that the first game did and tweaked it for the maximum amount of enjoyment. The original game was something of an experiment in a myriad of ways; it showed off the capabilities of a story which could be told in few words by making it so inherent to its own context that it's hard to interpret it outside of it. Mostly, the real experiment (and the one that brings the fun (I must use as many italics as possible within this review)) was with the playing mechanics and the implementing of the physics engine. Yeah, back in the 80's, games had such things. No joke! Mario has such a particular momentum in his every action; the acceleration of his run to his maximum speed, at this point you can hammer back on the control pad to make him skid to a stop, but not in an instant. His jumping is as nuanced, the pull of the control pad's movements against an airborne Mario is such a great thing that I may just shut up about it before I fail to explain it!
If the game had a failing, something it didn't really have but for the sake of argument was there, it's in the nature of the level design. The game will ramp up on you, giving you longer jumps in danger zones and springing merciless enemies on you (the sheer power of the original Hammer Bros. I feel has never been matched, seriously. play the game again and realize just how vicious these bastards are). By the end of the game; it all feels a bit the same. I'm not calling the game repetitive, because it's not. It just seems to stick to a formula.
Mario 3 throws it all out the window. We've got more levels, the greatest set of Mario power ups to ever grace any of the games, and some seriously fun, difficult moments. The original Mario felt like training compared to this and Mario 3 is the obstacle course of video games. It maintains that perfect feeling that you're always playing the level, the enemies are simply obstacles which the course manipulates and employs to defeat you. The focus is not on the enemies, it's on the level, and it's so clear through every level in the damn game, especially as you get further on.
It's weird; the more I think about video games I had a lot of fun with, the more I end up getting into some nostalgic mood. Despite my tastes becoming more refined as I grew older (I turned twenty just recently), it seems that the search for fun was more apparent during my childhood. Although that's reasonable; what does a kid care about, really? When you were renting games; you wanted the most fun out of that weekend in which the game was in your possession. That was your weekend, right there.
What does story mean in a video game? It's pretty safe to say that it doesn't really mean anything. There is the off chance that they are well written, but usually, they are of mediocre quality. Story in video games, its presence as the narrative backing the game; it should be a limited thing. It should never control or disrupt the flow of the game and most certainly should never disrupt the fun. Some game stories just seem to connect to me without much effort, though the instances in which that occurs has become extraordinarily rare.
If you're getting in the way of the fun, you're trying a bit too hard to make something that isn't necessarily going to work as a video game. This isn't just relating to narrative either, let's look at an example in Super Mario Galaxy (the review of Super Mario Galaxy 2, btw: forthcoming (by that, I mean within the next six months (i do not honestly know if i'm joking))). There are some fun moments in that game, but they are often interrupted by the instances in which the game assumes you aren't fit to be thinking and playing games at the same time. Whether it occurs in straight up dialogue (usually without even button prompts, just appearing when you're in the sweet spot, so to speak) or by the game "carefully" adjusting its camera to show a specific location that is instantly the answer to questions you hadn't even asked yet. I mean, fuck!
This is so critically flow interrupting that the idea should be brought out behind the woodshed and shot to death. I will always agree to the notion that we should be allowed to learn a video game without it ever feeling the need to really teach us.
I'm sitting on my floor, energy drink in hand; committed to the idea that life is doing its best to pass me by as fast as it can, without ever feeling the least bit of remorse. Still, any of my current woes seem so faulty in their existence that they feel nearly artificial. As much as this site is here for me to talk about video games, I can't help but find that my own personal issues and feelings creep their way onto here.
Last we were talking, the discussion was focused on not disrupting the flow of fun and enjoyment within a game. There can not be a point where the game says: "Enough fun, let's take a break". And believe me, it happens. Whether or not its a cutscene, or taking away the player's ability to actually think for themselves, it feels like games are going much further to the concept of "interactive entertainment" (this term is bad, but I can't think of anything more fitting right now) than they are of being fun video games. Realistically speaking, the only interaction between the player and the game should be the mechanics of the game themselves; we don't need these breaks for exposition or explanation. A game should be like pulling an infinitely long chain of entertaining moments out of your TV screen with no interruption or major hindrances.
I've always had nothing but confidence for video games to be a high form of entertainment, ever since I became of the thinking age, when I started rationalizing why exactly I was finding the damn things to be fun in the first place. That might just have ruined it all for me; if I could maintain the childish mindset that just had fun because it was hard wired to do just that. Adults ruin everything after all.
This article feels different to almost all my other ones. I'm currently in the midst of likely being ripped off by a certain large retail company which will not be named over the purchase of a three hundred dollar camera. Short version of the story: it malfunctioned within the period in which returning it is valid. The employee who I guess is in charge of determining whether or not the store will replace it (let's call him "jackass" for the remainder of this tale) decides that, because he (jackass) is skeptical that the camera could have such a malfunction within about a week of its purchase. Jackass decides that all he'll do for me is send it off, hopefully to be repaired by the manufacturer. It's one of several inconveniences plaguing me right now and the only one worth mentioning in written form.
These are not responsible for the more pessimistic tone of this essay, as much as the previous paragraph and the antics of the antagonistic jackass would imply that they are. I've been playing video games for fifteen years now and for the longest time, I was pretty firm on the outlook that it was just something I was gonna do forever. So lately, when I find myself having less and less enjoyment with more recent titles, I question that commitment. Ironically, I expect myself to have a ridiculous rebirth within the next few years and start loving video games again (that's my small dose of humorous musings for this article).
(the "grab bag" portion of the article begins in full in the next paragraph. trying to complete this over so many different sessions left a lot of loose ends, creativity wise. so i have decided to fill space by talking about other video game related things! <3)
Some people have told me, whether it's in person or in testimonials written on the Internet (thus confirming their validity outright, with NO possible embellishments or twisting of the facts (there was a lot of sarcasm right there)) that they have cried about a video game. No human being with any self respect as ever cried over a video game! I have never cried at a video game, except for like once or twice, and for the sake of this article (and my own pride) those are going to be ignored. A good journalist knows what facts to use! Why would we cry over a video game? Was the story compelling, or were we just sad to see it end? It's hard to say, in my experience, only a few games have anywhere near the writing quality or a scenario crafted well ever enough to bring about an emotion like that. I appreciate the efforts to bring a great narrative to a game, but they'll never replace the notion of having actual fun to me.
This is something of the most recent picture of me that I, for some weird desire or another, would like to post to this site, attached to this essay like some sort of leech. My complexion looks pretty bad, doesn't it? I guess it's not terrible, but it's not optimal either. This is the first time in about seven months that I've decided to have short hair too. Something spurred in me around my twentieth birthday that convinced me to make that change! Perhaps that is tangentially related to the fact that I lose interest in nearly every video game that I touch (no)? Everyone is trying to make something with some sort of a message nowadays, I'm currently watching some footage of Warren Spector at Nintendo's E3 presentation, dealing with Epic Mickey. I just don't get it. Nintendo had what I felt was a good E3 but there are definitely some things I just didn't get, didn't care about, or even felt radically opposed to. The 3DS looks interesting, and Zelda: Skyward Sword has potential. Most of the other stuff didn't matter to me.
Donkey Kong Country Returns left a hole in me. Is there some particular reason that fun we've already had must be marketed back at us? I suppose it's cyclical and not too surprising. Nintendo will always be reusing old concepts and trying to reinvent, frankly, they're rather talented at doing so. I don't feel anything too strong about DKC Returns, but the feelings that are there are a bit on the negative end of the spectrum. To me, the DKC games were fun, harmless affairs that succeeded based on personality and craftsmanship. The mechanics were simple and there was a sense of reward to nearly every action. Donkey Kong Country Returns is being handled by Retro Studios, a company that revolutionized the Metroid series with the three Metroid Prime games, and it strikes me as odd that they would be given this project. It seems to be a simple nostalgic romp, which the Prime games were most certainly not. Their job in this case is to not reinvent, but to reaffirm. Can they handle it? I don't care!
The 3DS shows potential, but its flagship title doesn't (outside of great handheld console graphics). I am talking of Kid Icarus: Uprising. What exactly is it trying to be? Watch the trailer (this is when you start opening another tab and going to Youtube) and try to sort out the hodgepodge of gameplay that is occurring. It just looks like a clusterfuck of so many different ideas, one second its a 3D platformer or beat 'em up (that reminds me of Kingdom Hearts, so expect to press buttons over and over while your character does all the work and then you "win") and then it's a weird on rails shooter? Stop being so hyperactive, game. Settle down for a second and think about who you are, then call me.
The rest of E3 didn't matter. Sony nor Microsoft really showed anything of much promise that caught my eye. We're going to get off the topic of E3 and maybe try to wrap this article up within the next hundred or so words (...yeah right!).
So what have we figured out? We have deduced that video games need to be fun. Yes, this was unfortunately something we had to deduce. As of late, the weird "non-game" trend has been apparent. We are having successes in video games that aren't really games so much as they are things disguised as such. I don't really want to get into examples because I believe you're smart enough to know what I'm talking about. That is the one nice thing I'll say about any readers I have, I think you're probably a pretty smart person. Unless you start sending me hate mail, then you're either a douchebag or someone who is trying to appeal to me in a new way, by just ruthlessly hating on me. Maybe you'll hate me so much I'll feel obligated to mention you in an article. "Hey, fucker! Stop sending me terribly written emails on why my opinions are garbage and why I should stop writing. You should know by now that I'm just going to keep writing, simply to spite you." We can then be best hate friends forever.
We might want to make sure that we understand that I don't HATE video games. No, that's simply not truthful at all. I don't hate all of them! I'm actually really enjoying Dragon Quest IX right now (when I find the time (and the right mindset) to play it. It's cheerful, it's fun, it's a Dragon Quest game. They have this knack, I guess it's responsible for why the Japanese buy so many copies of them. It thankfully has enough class not to take itself so very seriously. Is it perfect, well no. I think it's about time we stop expecting perfection out of games. Hell, out of anything. I don't think any New England Patriots fan on the planet ever expects the team to come so close to a 19-0 season again. We only see glimpses of perfection now and again.
Let's just go ahead and declare Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies the ThirtyFiveSeconds Game of the Year for the year of 2010 (we're gonna go with the North American release date this time, but if I were to start analyzing it, I might be able to put this over most 2009 releases if I were to use its Japanese release date). This is without any thought put into the declaration, because I'm sure if I were to think hard enough, there might be something better. I did really enjoy No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, but there were moments in that game were I felt unsatisfied, maybe a little confused (and not in the usual good Suda51 way of being confused) and wanting a bit more out of a cup brimming with potential.
I'm not really sure how I'd like to conclude this article, so I'm just going to wind it down by saying that if anyone is reading this site, I'm thankful for your interest and I offer up a pretty halfhearted apology for making you wait so long between legitimate articles. If you're at odds with this website, for whatever reasons (be they personal or professional, maybe you're a developer and I offhandedly insulted a game you made), feel free to fire up a nasty email! I am always looking for more hate friends. Knowing that people will put effort into hating another person, going far enough to inform that person (usually with a volley of curse words and insults), it's kind of flattering! Anyways, I'll hope to be back with a new article soon, but that's certainly not a promise. I need to get a few things back on track before I can start considering to write on a somewhat full time basis again. More importantly, the quicker things start being fun again, the higher the chances of seeing me again rise.
self indulgent credits
~myself, for being a bad (am I self deprecating enough yet?) writer and also something of a man who loves (and hates) his video games
~rockstar energy drinks, for providing the caffeine, taurine, and other things that may as well be the only thing keeping me going
~foobar2000, for playing the music I like to listen to without any issues ever
~blogger's on-site text editor which invariably has HTML errors every damn time I write an article, despite the fact I never touch the HTML.
and...finally...
~Yuji Horii, for making Dragon Quest IX and making me feel like I have something worth playing, but who unfortunately could not offer us any advice regarding "leveling up" or getting that new equipment.
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