Art and Games....

Most of the time when I write I feel so amateurish... but gotta start somewhere, right?

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Like everyone on this site, I love gaming. It's a fun diversion. I'm also a chick, which means I follow Oscars*. This year, as always were some pretty heavy stuff. Precious, Avatar, Hurt Locker... not lite faire. Which gets me thinking...

Where is the true art in gaming? Yes, games can tell a story... but the stories they tell are not the stuff of epic dramas.  What we have so far is pretty much a straight summer blockbuster. Nothing wrong with a summer action flick... but it sure doesn't transcend the human condition. And I agree, there are some great stories: I have been told that Heavy Rain is such a game. But if we are honest (and literate) we can admit that the games we play, while fun, are not necessarily high culture.

For a game to really be called art, it would transcend the media: non-gamers would hear about it and think "Damn... I would love to experience that." Books, TV, plays, movies are all forms of entertainment that can, and have become more. Gaming isn't there yet.Why not? What is getting in gaming's way?

Gaming isn't an evolution of something we already have. We have had plays since the cave-man days. We became literate, and then we took our oral storytelling and wrote it down into books and scripts for plays. We don't know how the oral tradition changed once it became written. Or maybe we do... but that is stuff for eggheads smarter than I. Screw that, I only do so much research.

Movies were the first time technology drastically changed an artform. It started off as an entertaining, but technical feature. You could pay a dime and watch such riveting vignettes as "Man walks Down Street." Then we got silent movies that had a simple story, eventually telling great stories. These silent movies were still basically plays, but with a camera in front of it. Talkies came around and the genre had to adapt. Today movies are much more complex than these simplier times, however much is the same. You have actors acting out dialogue. There is a script written by a writer (playwright). A director takes charge. Yes, of course there are so much more to movies than this, but the evolution is still there... plays transformed into movies.

What about gaming? Gaming didn't come out of plays, but out of playing. Games didn't have a "high" tradition, but rather were the outcome of some geeks who wanted to have fun. And so, games aren't like anything we have seen. Okay, we have some movie elements: actors, scripts. Read the credits for a game and it really does seem like credits for a movie. However there are two main differences that we may not have our heads around yet.

The player controls the action. Let's think about this. I would love to sit Kathyrn Bigelow down ask her to make Mass Effect as a movie. "Okay We got a trilogy. Each segment is going to around 60 hours long, and the audience can stop and start the game at any time. It will take about a month for most people to finish your movie. The audience will control the camera angle. The audience will control the pacing. The audience will control which characters live and die. The audience controls what parts of the story happen and what time. Oh did I mention that someof the audience will have access to other storylines. There will be a bunch of different endings depending on the choices you make and these choices follow you from part one through part three of the trilogy. Okay... go." 

This sounds like an impossible task, even for directors that are great. Too many choices, too many variables. When you think of it that way, I am not sure that game developers have their heads around this mechanic. How do you give so much control to the audience, yet still maintain artistic integrity?

Tied in with player control is the reason for player control. That is gameplay: games kinda need that .. you know. To be a game and all. What does that mean? It has to be fun. What is "fun." Tragedy is universal. Fun is different to different people. Let's think of one genre, the first person shooter. Halo players do not find Call of Duty fun and vice versa**. What is fun for a Halo player is not fun for a Call of Duty player. You even get thin slices within a game. Some people play Halo, some play MLG Halo. Some people are serious Call of Duty players, some like to fuck around and shoot friends in the head. Each person has fun, but in a very different way.

Lastly, gaming is a very techinical persuit. A dude with a camcorder and some buddies can make a movie, and throw it up on youtube. But to make a game there needs a wide variety of talents. A writer (who can write this user controlled script). Animators to make a character move properly, and a voice actor to breathe life into that character. Some guy who can code all this shit. It seems to be such a diverse group of talents, some artistic and some incredibly technical. And importantly, someone to bankroll this venture. Someone who is willing to take a chance, to make a game that is artistically relevant, but may not make the money back in sales.

Perhaps the problem is that gaming came into being at a time when making money is key, and artistry is not.

But on the plus side... think about gaming in the 80's. The games usually didn't really have an ending, there was no real story at all. Gameplay regulated to platformer. Twenty years later and the medium has grown by leaps and bounds. No other media has grown so far, so fast. So maybe it will happen, and happen soon.


* Okay I only follow enough to be able to beat my man in our annual Oscar pool. I lost this year. James Cameron, you fucker. Try harder next time. And RDJ was HAWT and can pull off sneakers and a tux.

** Be quiet. I know that some people like both. But let's face it, even within a genre there are games we like and games we don't. Others disagree with our choices. So settle fanboy.

Final Fantasy XIII: First Impressions

Final Fantasy XIII

In 2008, I was still on Mat leave and got to watch the "Big 3" E3 conferences live. Microsoft had ended their spiel... or had they? The lights went down and Final Fantasy XIII was announced for the 360. I freaked. I am an unabashed FF fangirl. I cut my teeth on Japanese role playing games (JRPGs). I was seriously thinking of buying a PS3 for one game and one game only. That game was Final Fantasy XIII

But I have my eyes wide open. My love of JRPGs has waned for a number of reasons. I find the stories complex, but not compelling. Characters are often tropes and not realized. Gameplay can border on tedium. JRPG women are atrocious and make me weep for womenkind.

So how would this game fair? I've played a couple of nights, so about 6 hours total. For a working woman, that's about all the gaming time I can get in two nights. The bottom line: If you love JRPGs: it's great. If you are skeptical about RPGs in general, but want to give one a try: stay the hell away and send me a PM: I can guide you on your path, grasshopper.

Game Mechanics

The game mechanics for the first 3 hours are exceedingly simple. Press "Autobattle" to win. You have a timer that fills up: the higher it fills, the more actions you can take. Pretty simple stuff. You only control the party leader and you cannot choose your party. The standard "attack or item" menu will be familiar to any fan of FF.

When it gets interesting is later in the story when you get to use the "paradigm" system. Your own party is controlled by AI, and a paradigm controls the AI "scheme" of each party member. For example one paradigm sets each member to a "Ravager" or what we all know as a black magician. Ravagers concentrate all their hits on one enemy. Another paradigm might set your party to one medic (healer), one sentinel (tank) and one commando (damage dealer). When I read other reviews, I was under the impression that you could individually change each party member's individual paradigm. That is not the case: you change the whole party at one time. You *can* customize your list of paradigms any way you like.

At first, I didn't think that paradigms would really matter. I prefer a defensive style game, so when the game's tutorial recommended that I use a certain paradigm to "stagger" an enemy in order to deal critical hits, I ignored the advice. And did zero damage. Turns out... you gotta switch up your paradigms to win. I see lots of potential here. Since there is no penalty to switching paradigms, it turned out pretty fun to do.

You may have heard that the game is linear. That's not true. It's *extremely* linear. It's as close to on the rails as you can get without actually being... well... on the rails. Your party travels down corridors with no branches. I have heard that the game opens up later, but for now... go forward... beat on enemies. If you see a tiny branch: that's where treasure is located. Easy stuff.

RPGs can rise or fall by their leveling mechanics, and like the level design, Final Fantasy XIII's leveling up process is on the rails too. And yes, while there may seem to be some decision making, there really isn't. I haven't played enough to see how all the paradigm types fit, and how well they match against each other, so let's wait and see.

But JRPGs are necessarily about gameplay, they are about story. Or so I've been told...

Story and Characterization.

All the JRPG tropes are here. Strong, but silent woman with iron balls. Some dude who tries wa-AY too hard to be a "hero," the kid, comic relief and the chick that you want to remove her voice box. For a bit of variety, the annoying chick is also a bit of a pedophile! Yup: the chick who wiggles when she walks gets the pre-pubescent boy to do what she wants by giving him a rather long hug... and she doesn't stop touching him.... It's creepy.

In all seriousness, only two of the five are cringe worthy. Another party member shows up later, I believe and if that character is okay then only one third of the members make me weep tears of blood. Not bad for a JRPG.

In my mind, SquareEnix gets a huge miss on their female characters. One of the mains, Lightning is the exception. She is a strong, steely-eyed realist who has to deal with a painful situation. She is a woman that is going to get shit done, and beat those who get in the way. The other one, Vanille, is your typical stupid as a ton of bricks JRPG stereotype. No one walks that way, no one talks that way, no one acts that way. Lightning's sister, Serah, plays a minor role, and sadly is regulated to a simple "damsel in distress" with zero backbone.

The lads don't get a pass either. Serah's fiance, Snow is a boy pretending to be a man, overly concerned with telling everyone that he's a Hero without demonstrating why others around him should consider him one. It's typical JRPG: characters tell you what they are: "I'm a HERO!" instead of demonstrating it, or letting others do the talking. I would rather see a NPC say something like "Snow has helped me and my family out of some tight spaces, I would follow him wherever," instead I have to deal with this moron. I can't tell if Snow's boneheaded actions are due to grief or because he's stupid, or because the writers need his idiot actions and speeches to make the story to move forward.

Much has been made out of Sazh, the black character in the game, who keeps a Chocobo in his afro. I am going to completely sidestep any controversy of race here and just say that he is the most real of the characters. Yes, he's the comic relief, but has a much juicier role. He's a realist, even more than Lightning. He's confused. He doesn't know what to do, but given the circumstances of the story, it's forgivable, understandable and it rings true.

Hope, the young boy that was touched by Vanille (it's okay sweetie, it's not your fault...) is... neutral in my mind. However his character is not written as strongly as it could. After a (SPOILER ALERT) major loss that he blames on another party member, I couldn't tell if he was consumed by grief and sadness, or by anger. I suspected the former, until my "datalog" recap of the story told me the later. Perhaps another sign of poor storytelling? Let's see how this plays out.

The story itself is intriguing so far. Lots of diverse characters with no previous history are thrown together by fate. They don't have the same motivations and so they want to do different things. The world itself seems rich, the history is interesting. However, once again, my datalog tells me more about the story, than the story. Granted, the story catches up, so perhaps the datalog wasn't written "properly" in that it's a bit ahead of the game. Either way, it's a bit of a ruiner.

Visuals and Sound.

Excellent. It's a SquareEnix game... they are gorgeous. Music, in my mind is over the top. Swelling Orchestra? I guess this is a dramatic scene and I should feel something, huh?

What I want to see by the end of the Game.

* I want to be wrong on the horribleness of some of the characters. I want them to get better. That may not mean likable, but give me a fleshed out realistic person... not a 2-D cut out.

* I want to see more information on what the AI paradigms actually mean. Will my medic only ever cast variations of a heal spell, or will she also provide buffs? When will my tank provoke the enemy, and will he ever actually do damage?

* I want enemies that force me to think and use my paradigms to their fullest extent. If I find "the perfect combination" and I never switch paradigms again... I'll be mad.

* I want SquareEnix to realize that a great story doesn't have to be complex, it has to be compelling. There is a difference, and in the past they have gotten it wrong.

Bottom Line

This is a harsh first impressions, but JRPGs have been losing me as a fan. I see them making the same mistakes in character time after time and so it's easy to see when they do it again.

All this being said... I am enjoying it. I really am. I was looking for a "lite" RPG after Mass Effect 2 and Dragon's AGe Origins. And this fits the bill. Not a lot of customization. Not a lot of side questing. It looks pretty. The combat is fun. I'm having fun. It's not a great game... but there is nothing wrong with "good".

Gaming Budgets... Do you have one? Do you stick with it?

Both this gaming season and last gaming season, I created a gmaing budget and, for hte most part I stuck with it. I found that I was wasting lots of money on games I didn't *love*. What I found worse than losing money was losing time. I don't game as much as some (most?) of the folks on this site. If i can get 3 hours a night in I am SO lucky... but that doesn't happen too often. I'm looking at 2 hours usually. I never game Fridays, and rarely Saturday nights (unless I'm sick) and usually during the week I get somewhere between 2-4 nights in. Sometimes it's none. Considering I swear some of you are on all night, every night: my gaming time is tight. So all this translates into something from 4-12 hours in a week. Again, unless I'm sick and it's just what I want to do instead of feeling miserable with a cup of tea and a book.

So, in light of my tight time budget, I decided to not purchase games that I wouldn't have time for in order to make time for the genres and game that I would love. This means FPS games have all but gone from my library. Last year, if I remember correctly, I budgeted for Fallout 3, and Batman Arkham Asylum. I know there was one more, but I can't remember it. But after all was said and done, my man said to me... "Hun, Fable 2 has a dog... you KNOW you want it..." And since I had the time... I went against my buget. Lo and behold, I did love Fable 2. So it wasn't a waste of my time.

This year on my budget I have Mass Effect 2, Dragon's Age: Origins, Final Fantasy XIII and Spliinter Cell: Conviction as well as their respective DLC. So that means I have eaten up my budget my mid-April... and next "season" doesn't start until fall. That is it for moi.

So... how do you guys (and gals) set a gaming budget? Or do you? Is it $ that is the driver, or time? When do you create this budget? Is it like me, where I know at the start of the year what games I will purchase, or do you day "I get one game a month." and wait and see what tickles your fancy at that time?

EdIT: Dammit... I wanted to change my avatar... but my pic is too small... gotta go crop it. In the meantime, ya'll get pixelated moi

holy geez... getting ready for baby

Yikes... it just kinda hit me. I'm pregnant... that means a baby is on the way. (yeah... I have a biology degree... what?) It's actually odd thinking of having a wee little one around the house again. We have some things to get (basinet, rocker chair or swing) perhaps clothes.... Not many if we have a girl, but lots if we have a boy. Actually... not THAT many, we bought Erica lots of boy clothes: boy pants fit better for active kids, and girl shirts are often over the top girly... not our thing. We have been talking names. We have a girl name picked out, but no boy names have grabbed us. Maybe I'll have a "name J-Cat's Baby" contest.

So... for now we are looking at a 4 bedroom house. And that means selling this one. Which means that we have to (gulp) clean up this one and get rid of the junk. Ottawa has a really hot housing market, so selling won't be a problem. Finding a house that is close the the school we want will be tougher. But not impossible. Or so I'm told.

On the gaming front: I am playing FFXIII. I have a first impressions written up. Now I used to be a JRPG total fangirl... but Is ee the same mistakes in character over and over. THis game is no exception. I like it, but I have lots of critisms. Or maybe things I want to see get better.

What else: Looking forward to the podcast with Caesar, LB and Doodi... or rather version 2 of the podcast with the guys. I miss podcasts. I love doing them and it's been way too long since I did one. You guys and gals have anything that you think we should talk about?

Well... I'm off. I have a cold and Dr. Erica has promised to make me feel better.  Send help

I know you are never supposed to spill what goes on behind clan doors

But one of my clans is talking about how ugly Uggs are. Yes. They are talking shoes.

And no... it ain't TheCabal.

Do Uggs really make guys this ... crazy?

Me: I go GaGa for Fluevogs: wanna lend me $350 for these?