Great Characters - Despite Gender

Let's have a chat about Gamergate. Just kidding! Don't worry I won't bore your ear-holes with more of that drivel. However, I would like to take the topical nature of the subject in order to mention some of my favorite female characters. Now these selections aren't meant to feature strength or even be anti-sexist selections. They instead exemplify well-written characters and also represent their gender in a more-or-less accurate way. 
I want to highlight two characters from games I have personally enjoyed. This is to say, I am not making a definitive list, nor am I excluding anyone. I am simply outlining 2 good examples. 

Samus (Metroid):

I am going to take a moment to push my own personal agenda. There is an elephant in the room. Metroid the Other M and its depiction of Samus as a character. Before The Other M, Samus more or less lacked a voice. Apart from stilted text boxes, Samus was a silent hero. However, this doesn't make her a strong female, or even a good character. Strong, sure, but anyone can make a strong entity that overcomes all obstacles. It is in the small moments where you see real character shine through Samus. The strongest of these is during the climax of Metroid II. Samus has dispatched the last of the metroids. During her escape she encounters an egg. As it hatches, the metroid inside is instantly bonded to Samus. Hinting at motherly affection, Samus stays her hand. Identifying with the orphaned metroid they make an escape. This is a decision, it shows emotional depth. It is a decision arrived at from Samus' past experience. It shows a soft side and that she is capable of thought beyond being a shell for the player. 
The Other M plays into this- justifies it. By delving into Samus' backstory: the struggles she endured,  her relationship with superiors, and her feelings for that baby metroid. You gain insight to why Samus is the way she is. The Other M frames Samus' state of mind. Yes, sure it may show her in a weak light. But is that bad? Samus has proven she can take of herself. She has shown her strength. Her own foibles are where she draws this strength from. It shows she has depth. That she can be motherly. That she is a badass. And most importantly, that Samus Aran rules. 

From metroid.wikia.com

Ellie (The Last of US): 

Ellie will probably be the most important entry to this list-thingy. Both her gender and age play a strong role in the narrative and define both her actions and interactions. She is a teenager in a world that has fallen to ruin, Ellie is a new generation burgeoning into this new life with no pre-bias of what society is. She has the potential of a blank slate. As she grows and travels with Joel, she learns what she can do- how she can help. As the relationship between her and Joel develops it you see her desire for fatherly support, not only to protect her, but to help rebel against. Joel allows her to prove she is her own person who can take care of herself, but he also teaches her and shows her the way. The dynamic between them echoes a very Freudian style. Her feminine nature affects Joel and changes the way he sees the post-apocalypse.  It is hard to capture the absolute shit-storm of puberty. Naughty Dog has done a fantastic job, and allowed her gender to play well into the narrative and her character. 

From cdn2.omnigamer.com

What Mechanics Could Truly Be

The last game I played that was new to me was Aliens: Colonial Marines. I remember playing it. I can recall some cutscenes and story elements. Even many of the rooms and firefights come to my mind. I reloaded multiple dozens of times, and killed many enemies. I remember this. This is gameplay. These are the mechanics that made up the game. This separates games from other media.

So we are all aware that games are an amalgamation of mechanics and story. However, the two have issues being married. Mechanics are interactive. The repeat and players master them. It can be jarring to be pulled out of the interactive experience and thrown into a cutscene or narrative piece, switching the game to a passive experience. I may be coming as saying I dislike cutscenes. I enjoy story elements as much as the next guy, maybe even more. It’s because of this, that I want to see games go further. I want to see more.

Metal Gear Solid 5 - From Gamespot

Each media has its ups and downs. They have strengths. It has been an increasing trend in videogames to try and be movies. To get the cinematic feel. I feel this is the wrong direction to take. Because games have something different, something integral. They have interactive mechanics. Games can change, they can be breathing and living. A switch to passive experiences, with long winded cutscenes and actors may not be the best option for playing into the strength of gaming. Games like Minecraft can tell a story based on mechanics. Based on change. The world is crafted and created by the player, and reflects who the player is. Bioshock: Infinite, while amazing, cannot ever change. The same thing will happen every playthrough; the same hallways, the same twists.

I think we can step away from this. Games are getting bigger and pricier. If instead however, we make smaller games. Games with solid mechanics that show and reflect the player, we can start moving games towards their true potential. Imagine instead of an open world city, a house. One house with excruciating detail. In this house are two or three NPCs. Every action the player commits, affects the actions of the NPCs. They can form opinions and ideas on the player. The player would form their opinions of any NPC based on how they are treated, and would treat the NPC accordingly. It would simulate true relationships. As this idea evolved, so would its scale and depth. This has been tried on larger and simpler scales of course in games like inFamous or Fable. But I believe the scale was too large to have the impact really hit home. The narrative was lost on the player who was lost in the mechanics.

The mechanics have to be the narrative. The mechanics have to create the narrative. By starting smaller scale projects that give players direct control over the environment, and truly reflect every individual would truly set games apart. It can be done.Long winded cutscenes are not necessary, and they hold games back. Let games be truly interactive. Let’s see more effort to intertwine gameplay and narrative truly. Pull back and use a smaller scale. Perfect the technique. 

For more on this subject:   Extra Credits - Digging Deeper - Do Games Have Less Value than Other Media?

Cool-onial Marines. 8/8 m8

Expectations are an easy-come-easy-go situation. When you look forward to something, it often times has to be better than your expectations. Aliens holds a lot of expectations. It has influenced gaming since gaming was new. So whenever a rumor of a new Alien game surfaces, expectations start expecting.

It’s almost unfair. Colonial Marines never really had a chance. I picked up my copy at the store for around 9 bucks. When I brought it to the register I said “I was waiting for it to drop below $10 so it would be worth the money.” The clerk's stale response was “It still isn't.”
I didn't play Colonial Marines right away. It sat in stack among other games waiting for me to get an Alien itch that needed scratching. he recent release of Isolation gave me that itch.

Colonial Marines started off with dull graphics, that cannot be denied. However, I was surprised by the environment design, and how true the game kept to the Alien feel. To the guns and ship design, the ambiance of the lighting, this game felt like Aliens. Sound was perfect as well, with jarhead marines spewing nonsense over an intercom. The guns gave off their iconic riffs of audio as well. Even through dull textures, this was Aliens.

Gameplay was bog standard. Expected controls for any shooter. Run of the mill doesn't mean bad. It controlled competently and everything functioned how it should. Enemies hide behind cover and try to flank you. The aren’t the brightest, but sometimes manage to elude bullets all the same. Nothing is too hard to kill. Most enemies will go down with a few bursts of fire. Aliens themselves die with a shotgun burst or two.

I think what I liked most about the game was the story. Sure it didn’t take too many risks, but the locations you visited all felt authentic. As the game progressed I never got tired of waiting to see where I’d be taken next. What enemies they threw at me. The progression from location to location based on story progress felt organic. The cast of characters were as thick-headed and throw-away as their counterparts in the film Aliens.

Aliens is not my favorite film in the franchise (I am an avid supporter of Alien 3.) Despite that fact I still enjoyed the game. It really captured the action/shooter vibe the film had going for it. Sure it had a glitch or two, but all-in-all the game performed adequately. The gameplay functioned properly, with nice controls and movement. The story plugged along, and even had me emotionally attached by the end. Graphics leave a bit to be desired, but the design of the game is top notch. I would recommend the game to any fan of the Alien franchise. I enjoyed it.

We grabbed an extra life.

I added three new authors to this blog. Hopefully it picks up again.

Nothing to report

     I don't want this blog to die, but sadly I have been very busy with school and nothing in gaming has piqued my interest. I apologize, I will try to update more soon. Hang in there!

Gamer Bias

     Today I attended a seminar/forum on Gamer bias, hosted by James Portnow (Writer of the Youtube show "Extra Credit") also including author of Game Addiction: The Experience and Effects Neils Clarke, And Ben Williams (Head of PR at the 2013 Gaymercon) as well as a representative of Xbox live, Sela Davis. The forum focused on the ideals of gamer bias, and the representation of different races, genders, and sexual orientation of characters in games and people in the games industry as whole.
     The seminar covered three overall points: How people of different sexuality, gender, and race are viewed, how this is reflected in gaming culture, and how this is affects gamer interaction- be it online or purchase wise. Much of the seminar discussed the specific statistics and surveys conducted that show the number of female gamers, and the chicken/egg situation involved in their inclusion to the industry. Many AAA titles are not geared towards women, this is obvious. Is the problem that females do not buy as many games, or is it that games are not made for them, so they do not buy them. It's self perpetuating. It is an issue that cannot be solved. One particular woman who attended disclosed that her young daughters preferred to use their brother's Xbox because people would then think were boys. This was to avoid the abuse and sexualization involved in them playing as a female avatar. This story itself connects to ever sour aspect of the debate. Why is this? Can it be changed? Does it have a solution?
     In short, probably not. Many things have been put in place to counteract issues in the industry. For every AAA shooter, there is an indie game that deals wonderfully in gender equality; Sometimes, Always, Monster being cited specifically. For every gamer "troll" online there is a system put in place to judge and weed out players who are mean or rude. Such as the system in League of legends.
     One major contributor to this culture is the anonymity of a gamer. Companies like Sony and Microsoft try to cut down on this by now implementing social media aspects to a console. This reduces poor behavior, because the mask has been removed. This itself has an issue however. Female players who wish to remain anonymous to continue enjoying their games are then exposed.
     This is a difficult and convoluted issue. Many of the members of the board that attended had specific examples to cite of misdeeds or mistreatment in the industry. Calling out also, games that deal well with gender, such as Mass Effect or Saints Row. Player customization plays a huge roll in equality in gaming, which is why I believe open world RPGs have seen a huge roll in recent years. But in the long run people will be people. Game developers write games for themselves, or to their assumed audience. Gamers and trolls alike act as they will because of how little impact they feel it has. Woman or gays don't get into gaming because it is not aimed at them. You can't force a developer or user's hand- because that is fuffing with artistic expression. But at the same time the industry is perpetuating itself with white male interest, seeding new white male interest.
     Though I have considered this before, and been involved in prior discussions, the forum was a nice way to see what others had to say. It was the essence of gaming as a whole; an interaction of people with a similar love for gaming. I would love to be involved in such events again.

Miiquality

     For whatever reason, homosexuality is a touchy subject. Whether it be fear or ignorance- or both- it continues to perplex companies and government agents alike. But let's continue to the point of this post. Nintendo is releasing a brand new game called Tomodachi Life; a game advertised to simulate real life situations and tasks, including romantic relationships. This in itself is no issue. Okay, whimsical Miis being whimsical in their life, fine whatever. The issue arises in the manner in which the romance is presented- not allowing for any relations besides hetero-normative ones. A campaign was started on twitter under the hashtag Miiquality, urging Nintendo to include same sex couples, so that everyone can have an equal and personal experience. A game involving emulation of real life should include real life, right? Not according to Nintendo.

The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that all of our fans will see that Tomodachi Life was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary. (Nintendo)

This is a strange response. On one side, it would be unfair to expect Nintendo to throw itself neck deep into an arena of personal rights and morals, in a country they themselves don't belong to. But it is also fair to say that they create social commentary simply by adding relationships at all, then purposefully excluding a section of them, even after fan outcry. Nintendo is making games for kids, and is natural they want to avoid such subjects in a children's media, but this presents the largest problem.
     The fact they included relationships at all shows that they think kids can handle it. The mistake is is that they make a discernment between heterosexual ones, and a relationship of a gay or lesbian couple. Somehow "normal" relationships are considered "whimsical" whilst that of anyone else are taboo and would ruin the child-like quality of the game. If they didn't want to over complicate the situation, it begs the question "Why include relationships at all?"
     Anyone can understand Nintendo's position, and why they took it. No one can tell them to take a position either. The best that can be done, is what has been done already; stating your displeasure in this move. The only way to change the game industry, is to show the game industry that you desire change, by telling them so. Because of #miiquality Nintendo is now aware people desire this, and from here on in ignoring these requests will make every move on their part social commentary. This was their free pass, they can no longer claim ignorance to the desires of their fans. It will be interesting to see what Nintendo has to offer in the future- using this event as a jumping off point.