As I talked about last thread, there are some rotten practices, and people within the industry. Phil fish of all people had to open his big mouth again recently telling us we didn't "deserve" Fez 2. Sure I could go on about how he has the industry backwards (put effort into a good game and you might "deserve" our money), but that's not quite the point I'm going to make. Instead I actually just brushed off the news. It might be because Fez seems like the kind of annoying puzzle game that stops you from making progress at a decent rate, but personally I think it has more to do with how happy I've been to play Journey, how happy I've seen a guy enjoying GTA5, how excited I've seen some people get over the otherwise lowly discussed Diablo 3 ultimate evil edition, and how exciting it is anticipating games like Far Cry 4, and the Ratchet and Clank remake. As the Journey credits rolled during my 3rd playthrough yesterday (yup, was really in a journey mood) and I was holding back tears I began thinking "you know there's an internet full of angry people right now talking about how doomed this industry is, but all I can feel is happiness now." Now some days I am one of those guys. I don't exactly think the industry is doomed, but I can't deny all the things that disappoint me with it and how I am truly concerned about its direction. I'm not going to pretend I'm always uplifting on the game's news. I've got an article on the way that's slowly being pieced together talking about skinner box vs bare bones with action games and its mostly bashing the common skinner box form. Its like my classic rant time all over again with a small mix of "back in my day, things were better" tone. Still I also know how to step out of that, and games like Journey, almost any of the Ratchet and Clank games, Alpha Prime, and heck... even Watch Dogs sort of all reinforce that side of me that just loves being a gamer. You have to be able to step out of the hate, fear mongering, and the toxic comments/forums to be able to sit there and know why you put up with the crap. Otherwise you're just some dude being an angry bit of poison within an entertaining hobby. So... why do we game anyways? Well personally I note 3 core things that will grab my attention within a game.
Adventure & Discovery
This should actually be the most obvious thing, but yet also one that's quite easy to pass off for others. A lot of the reason we play is for the thrill of the adventure. No its not about being the hero necessarily, as I noted long ago with Spec Ops not everyone is here trying to pretend they're a hero. It just so happens that most games paint you in that light. The adventure itself whether it be seeing new creatures, using mystical weapons you never imagined, or reaching exotic places like a Castle in the sky... those are the moments that keep our enthusiasm fixed for the thrill of adventure. While it has the most limited appeal of most of these games, its still got a long lasting appeal for gaming in general. Besides while its strongest charm is discovery everything for the first time, a lot of things from good studios that put effort into their work will be good enough worth playing over and over again. Sometimes in the same day. Again, Journey, 3 playthroughs in a day, and every single one was beautiful. The imagination and artistry that has been crafted within many fine single player games is a massive inspiration to continue gaming. Its kind of why I'm far more hooked on a good linear game than something like say Minecraft. Yes Minecraft will have its own sense of adventure and a good sense of mechanical and natural discovery, but it all comes down to randomized calculations and a quest that is left too open to allow for many incredible handcrafted moments found elsewhere.
Immersion & Escapism
Ok so this kind of sort of plays a bit off the last one above. However I feel its just different enough to warrant its own piece, and honestly with an increase in tech we've gotten more interesting about this. Its immersion. That moment when your character pushes up against a wall, seeing enemies react to the impact of bullets hitting them, or simply enjoying the adventure and novelty of the game so much that it breaks that dividing factor of playing a game and feeling like you're somehow there to experience it without all the hazards and awful things that would come with it (like the heat in Journey or actually being shot in Uncharted). I remember the snow level in Uncharted 2, one of my very first PS3 experiences, and rolling into the snow to watch it not only leave a mark but put specs of snow and wet dampness to the texture of the coat's back. My mind was blown away at that little subtle feature of immersion. I've always enjoyed those subtle touches all the way back when Metal Gear Solid 2 was doing amazing stuff to pull you in and consider the elements. Actually it goes even further. Like Spyro further. I remember just the simple pleasure of seeing that impact of bumping a wall after charging being one of the coolest things ever at that time. Later down PS2's cycle I remember that same feeling of wonder while exploring the starship phoenix for the first time and just losing myself in that amazing world, thinking there was now this hub that felt truly real to the purpose and interests of this game. These things help make the game's adventure that much more complete. For these small traits, and this simple joys, that stack into something big... that's a bit part of what I enjoy finding within a new game.
Mechanics & Freedom
Well we've got adventure, wonder, escapism, and that essence of surprise and suspense that comes with those qualities. However they wouldn't go anywhere or mean anything without mechanics to back them up... at least not to me. What makes MGS so immersive? Well the fact that you have hundreds of tools and maps that have their own special subtle traits to discover, like having the ability to capture and throw a live snake at someone in MGS3. What makes the world of Journey worth exploring, and the adventure that much more fulfilling? Well the seamless but anonymous multiplayer system is a huge helping factor in that, but so are the hidden secrets and giant maps that are encouraged to work in sync with by your floating and chirp abilities. What makes Ratchet and Clank so darn addictive that you relive the adventure over and over again? The mechanics, and how they work together with player input to provide an amazing experience alongside the adventure that makes gaming unique. You don't get a choice at what gun someone uses in an action movie, how they go about their ammo conservation, how they prioritize their tactics, or even the ability of whether or not to engage the enemy. In a good shooter, linear or not, you have some of those choices and maybe more. Heck even Battlefield Hardline is getting this stuff right, the trailer shows great promise over their past entires because of the change in direction for its mechanics and how they treat the player as a gamer rather than a viewer. Mechanics effect how you view the game, how immersive it is, and determine whether or not the adventure and this form of escapism appeals to you. Or maybe its only the mechanics, and your enjoying a really well tuned card game or MOBA that constantly fuels your emotions of joy towards the clever design used. I know that for as much as I adore adventure, mystery, and discovery, its just as much fun to discover a superior tactic on a character in Awesomenauts. Actually while I'm at it, mechanics are especially important in multiplayer games above all else, since they don't have the same adventure or immersive value as a single player driven game can charm you with. I guess that's why I find myself frustrated with most FPS games now, they claim to be primarily about MP but usually lack a lot of the mechanical depth they used to in favor of odd gimmicks that are sadly hard to repeal.
However above all I adore games that use high mechanical depth in mix with a large list of customization, like a good RTS with bot support or an old arena shooter like UT04. That allows you to almost make your own adventures, tournaments, and discovery through tweaking the games mechanics. Maybe I want a space marine campaign of a crew that suddenly starts turning to heresey in Dawn of war... so I set up some matches with me being space marines, have them turn at some point and fight other space marines in another match, and later on have them conquering lands as the Chaos space marines until I play a match where the sane space marine AI is set up to an insane difficulty that I can't win... thus concluding the story of a space marine legion turning to heresy. Ok so I don't do that sort of self-imposed role playing as often as I used to when I was little, but occasionally I still do and its a huge step towards getting me where I am in gaming now. I still respect games that give me that sort of customization to craft pretty much my own stories through the mechanics, and its fun to see others do that to. I recall an interesting video where someone basically turned their Dark Souls 2 character into Darth Maul from Star Wars. That is freakin' cool.
Expecting the unexpected....
Yeah I know I said three things, but its important to throw in this 4th curve-ball. If you're a frequent and pretty hardcore gamer, there is no excuse to play things safe all the time or come to any certain conclusions. I've been blown away not once, but twice this year by things that really shouldn't have appealed to me. Actually three if you count Tomb Raider Legend, but I'll just keep to this year's releases. I downloaded some motorcycle game demo out of boredom and it turned out to be a physics based speedy platformer that was amazing to play and came with a big track editor that I could simply get lost in. I don't know why I enjoy it so much, as its not a huge adventure, not quite too immersive being on a 2D plane, and the mechanics can be broken down to "go fast and steer perfectly" yet it was a blast to me! Then I started thinking about it a bit and realized there's something strangely amusing about certain medal chaser games... not all, but enough to indeed warrant a good look into and wonder why I love some of them. I just can't figure it out for sure though. Then Watch Dogs shows up, and I was laughing at the hype, calling its bluffs out early, and expected yet another unappealing open world game that is fun for one adventure. Well damn was I wrong. Well no, I was also right... but I was wrong to. Its a very strange case. It all leads back to my statement of how in-your-face average it is, but yet at the same time it does all the right tweaks and odd pieces to blow my mind and leave me thinking and talking about it up to this point in the year. I haven't even bought it yet, but I plan to one day alongside its season pass to get more out of it, and redo it all over on the PS4. I could make two articles worth of nitpicks, and tearing it to pieces, but on the other hand it still came through as leaving me pleased. I might even go as far as to say its the secondary inspiration for this article, because it shows that even a corrupt, sloppy, and buggy triple A game shrouded in ugly PR disaster can still deliver a powerful impact. So again... despite all the hate this game deserves for its ugly practices, the company treatment, and how its a text book example of overboard hype, it can still be a fun game when its on your screen being played and enjoyed as it should. On top of that, I'll repeat myself again that its open world, and its really rare (if not a 1st time here) for me to find and open world game that left me with this much of an impact from its adventure and campaign, and even certain mechanics. Oh and it left me with potentially my favorite character in a video game ever. Aiden Pierce's take on the Punisher vigilante stayed on my mind for over a week, and to this day I still think most of my original impression holds up.
What's my point with this? Don't play things safe. There's rentals, sales, and a 2nd hand market great for testing out unsure games, and you may find a ridiculously good gem where you don't expect it. However you don't even have to do that, sometimes it pays to just go in and take a dive on a brand new game you don't have much expectations for. You may find something incredible, and in a way that's kind of a fun thing about gaming on its own. That feeling of finding something totally special and different from what you usually like, and having your mind blown by its presence. Meanwhile with Dark Souls 2 and heck even 1 I can't get myself to sit down and finish it. Its one of the best games to ever exist, fits me perfectly, yet for whatever reason I just can't get myself to complete it. I'm not really sure why. Likewise I don't know why I've stayed away from true multiplayer shooters for long, even good ones like Killzone shadow fall and TeamFortress 2. The world is weird, and not everything goes to our expectations and desires as we imagine it. Sometimes maybe you'll find yourself rather playing the same old adventure game you already beat 20 times, or some simple card game, instead of a precious new ambitious game you were hyped for. It can happen. I keep asking myself why I loved Mario Kart so much, as I don't feel like it has anything of the above 3 categories. Its just ridiculously good fun though, and that's all that matters. So I think there's more to this than what can be named. We can't map out everything that makes games amazing to us, and there may always be that surprise that catches us with the simple joy of liking it more so than the surprises of the game itself. That wont stop either, though if it does... well we've had plenty years of amazing and great things to fall back on. Whatever the future of gaming is, we'll probably keep finding things to amaze us, things to discover, and things that engage and grip our minds. Sometimes we don't always know what our new favorite thing will look like, until we've got our hands on it and are enjoying it. So no matter what happens, keep gaming, keep discovering, and keep loving this wonderful and unique hobby.
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