--------{The Sound of Destiny; it reverberates against the Soul Struck Sky.}--------

• 20Jul 09

  A Neverending Final Fantasy

  In 1996, I discovered a game, that revolutionzed how I felt about computer games, and moreover the depth they could reach. Final Fantasy VII re-wrote my entire gaming attitude. Over 10 years later, and over 6 titles later, Im more passionate about it now than ever. Confessing recently that I had never played 1 - 6, Ive decided, with the use of my *cough* PSP to play the originals through. In honour of both Dissidia and FFXIII, I am goin to recount to you my new faves and the rewrite my entire passion, once again.

  I hope you enjoy. Bear with me tho, Ive got 2, 5 and 6 still to finish. WATCH THIS SPACE.

  • Posted Jul 20, 2009 10:14 am GMT
  • Category: Opinion
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• 26Feb 09

  The Uncanny Valley

  'Sooner or later audiences all over the world will be playing their movies.'

  The fantastical idea that the universe of cinematics is being challenged by the gaming industry is one which asks many questions. So why then does the gaming industry feel the need to cry out to be noticed? It is only too obvious to anyone who has played a game in the past ten years that has been driven by a story at its core. Why are developers being considered now for the BAFTA award? Computer games are a vehicle for development. An engrossing story either lain out by the games director or a game where the player is given the tools to unfold the story themselves is now integral to most titles. There is however a gulf that remains to be crossed. In the industry it is known as the "Uncanny Valley". This is when a game's graphical output borders so close to being real, that one small mistake can ruin the entire experience. So then how do developers chose to avoid this? Do they make a game that allows for so much suspension of disbelief that we already know there is no reality and therefore easily accept the title? Or do developers work hard to build the fascinating illusion of reality through focusing on what is real the most? Both are solid questions and the truth is there is no right answer. Both paths work.

  'Player agency is vitally important to a medium that has interactivity at its core, but developers are blurring the line between the two with increasing success. Once upon a time the concept of a novel was deemed absurd. For its first 20 years cinema was devoted to documentaries. Developers of story driven games should be allowed more time to construct the appropriate language before judgement is passed.' Says GamesTM regarding the massive influx in games becoming more cinematic in their review of 2007's Mass Effect.

  Mass Effect may not have revolutionized the in-game conversation system, but it did start a whole new revolution in story-telling and cinematic scale.

  BioWare have always been well known for creating extremely large games with deep role play elements at their core. Mass Effect was different; it created a universe so unique and diverse that the player was all but immersed. The game was not so much surprising as it was stunning. Throughout the entire flesh of the game the character models were so well animated, and the motion capture was so realistic that suspension of disbelief was achieved easily just by the game's narrative.

  'The way that BioShock fused its narrative and gameplay was a great achievement, giving your actions weight beyond mere button presses.' States GamesTM.

  Mass Effect has not been the only game that has delved deeply into the cinematic/narrative sea. There are games that place all of their weight upon the idea that story outranks gameplay. This is not to say that games are suffering for the right to be seen as cinematic, but that games with simplistic systems compliment a strong narrative. The entire Final Fantasy series has depended entirely upon structural complexity, and conceptual simplicity. Therein lays another perfect point, the Final Fantasy games have never attempted to look real, and therefore have expertly dodged the Uncanny Valley. The stories and the characters in them are accepted whole heartedly by the community that follows.

  However the introduction of masterful voice talent in games has raised the bar once more. Samuel L. Jackson voiced one of the main bad guys in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Keith David can be found in Mass Effect along with Lance Henriksen and Seth Green. Gary Oldman and Kiefer Sutherland offer their talents to Call of Duty: World at War. So there is no shortage of high ranked actors stepping out and taking games as seriously as they do films. So why then is it harder for the general public to accept a computer game as a meaningful vehicle for story telling?

  'BioWare's Mass Effect is a brilliant continuation of that hopefully growing trend. Just as BioShock was a shooter with RPG leanings, Mass Effect is an RPG with tendency for action, but they are united by a reverence for story that transcends traditional gameplay conventions'

  It is this very step into the unknown that has thrust games into the multi-billion pound market and beyond. It is this strength of innovation that has made games like World of Warcraft inch ever closer to being as popular as football, and Blizzard achieve that through minimal cinematics of perfect execution and text driven quest-lines.

  A prime example of cinematics over gameplay is the colossal Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Developed years ago in the form of Metal Gear by genius story teller Hideo Kojima. The Metal Gear series follows the exploits of clone soldier Solid Snake and documents one of gaming's greatest narratives. Only in the recent years, since the Playstation 1 when Metal Gear Solid was first released, have we seen the increase in cinematics in our games. This could be attributed the technology at the time allowing for fully 3d rendered worlds. Affording any director greater control of the in-game camera. Obviously back then, the Uncanny Valley was not so much of a problem due to technological capability.

  'This is how Guns of the Patriots begins - cinematic cut-scene, ten seconds of gameplay, cinematic cut-scene, ten seconds on gameplay - and for a brief moment it occurs to us that this could be an example of Kojima's ironic humour, satirising critical perception of his own work for kicks.' GamesTM talks about the opening display of Guns of the Patriots in issue 71, and even within the confines of the review do we see the continuing evolution of narrative. Even if eight issues ago they stated that the Playstation 3 would need more than Metal Gear Solid 4 to contend with Mass Effect. That is beside the point. Metal Gear Solid 4 was considered a love letter from developer to fan, and in the game's strict cinematic confines is this most prevalent. If one were to play the game through without sidetracking or skipping any scenes, one would find themselves watching a story unfold more than they would find themselves playing. Is this a failure of a game then? The answer is quite definitely 'no'. Metal Gear Solid 4 is a triumph of philosophical depth and complex narrative drafted into a magnificently rendered world, where every detail is as rich and believable as Mass Effect. There is also no sign of the Uncanny Valley.

  'Such intellectual depth is unusual for this medium, but to both its creator and its fan this is a deeply personal game.'

  This feeling of unity within a set community is what emboldens the industry's momentous climb to cinematic flair. The very feeling that any one fan has over a game can match that of any classic film. So where does this leave film and cinema? If so many actors wish to voice games, or games are making such an effort to be believable enough to be considered cinematic what then does the future hold? We have already seen the mix of game and film in the Command & Conquer series wherein rendered gameplay is blended with actual real life characters portrayed by actors of varying prestige. We have seen movies being made into games, and then games made into movies. All with differing degrees of success. I am not sure anyone would forget the Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat films all that easily.

  Where games and their cinematic dreams may go from here is anyone's guess really. One thing is for sure, that with the exponential increase in humanity's technological growth and its applications in microchips and eventually gaming consoles will see reality ever closer mixed with unreality as games continue to evolve with us.

  • Posted Feb 26, 2009 9:19 am GMT
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• 2Aug 08

  The Death Knight, The Dark Knight, one helluva long night.

  This year sees the coming of two of the best class of Knights, EVER. The Dark Knight with Mr Ledgers, AWESOME swan song, and the long awaited return of the Death Knight in WOTK.

  I MUST PLAY THIS CLASS!!!!

  • Posted Aug 2, 2008 1:16 pm GMT
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