Critical-Gaming: An Interview: Carl

Monday, May 5, 2008

An Interview: Carl

Memory Speedometers

I don't remember exactly how I met Carl Pinard (a.k.a.NJzFinest) a Karter from New Jersey age 19. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I've never met him in person. It was on the tracks that I met this racer via Mario Kart DS online play. Back then I considered him to be my rival. Needless to say, we were both pretty good at the game. And for us, in the world of Mario Kart, 1st place was expected. They say for members of a band, it all comes out on the road. This is a phrase that takes on new meaning in a Mario Kart race. So when we both sat there at the starting line with out engines humming, waiting for the Lakitu to start us off, I knew it would soon be all behind us.

I kept Carl in my contacts long after I stopped playing Mario Kart DS competitively and after Carl's copy of Mario Kart DS was stolen. In my interview I found out that he has a lot of experience with the Mario Kart series. Here's what he had to say.

------------------------------------------------------------------

KirbyKid: How many mario kart games do you have experience with?
Carl: All of them but Mario Kart Wii

KirbyKid: Which is your favorite? And why?
Carl: My favorite one is Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the GBA. It took some of the new elements presented in Mario Kart 64 with Super Mario Kart. Unlike MK64, it had many more courses, given the fact it had every course from Super Mario Kart. It was basically 2 games in one.

KirbyKid: What about the racing mechanics in Super Circuit?
Carl: Well, it brought back the oldschool controls from the SNES one, such as the different method of drifting were you simply hold ’R’ until the mini boost comes, instead of turning left and right as in mk64. It just felt a little tighter. Also, every kart had more of a completely different feel. Sure, in MK64, there were different weight classes and such, but in MK for the GBA, there was more of a difference between each character; completely different turning for example. Some were extremely hard to turn into sharp angles. Some were much easier. This element started what was later presented into MKDS, MKDD, and I’m assuming also MK for the Wii.

KirbyKid: How do you feel about snaking?
Carl: Snaking, I both love and hate it. I did it a lot in Mario Kart Double Dash and Mario Kart DS. In Mario Kart 64, it wasn't too bad since it barely existed (given the fact it was nearly impossible to continually drift on a straightaway). I recently won a Mario Kart DD tournament where I basically snaked my entire way through. Many people gave me negative remarks about it, but I didn't mind too much. I like how it defines more experienced players compared to lesser, but I hate how it's simply too easy to abuse. Like, in MK64 (where it wasn’t as bad), people wouldn't call you a cheater since it wasn't something you could simply do all match. In MKDD and MKDS, I just felt like it was a contest of who can mash left/right and R better, rather then an actual race. Advanced techniques in videogames should be situational, not something you should always do no matter what. Such as l-canceling in Melee. There was no reason to not ever do it. That was "fixed" in brawl where most characters "automatically" cancel their lag.

KirbyKid: How would you rank the Mario Kart games?
Carl: Super Circuit, MK64, MKDD, MKDS, SMK

KirbyKid: So, I take it you really like MKDD?
Carl: Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It was the first one to introduce different karts and all.

KirbyKid: Do you think the level design of MKDD started to depart from racing tracks?
Carl: What do you mean by that?

KirbyKid: Like... in MKDD you're racing on a cruise ship. That's not really a racing track. That level has parts where tables are sliding around, and there's the hole that drops to the lower level. How do you feel about such elements?

Carl: I didn’t really mind them actually. I loved that course, almost got a world record. It's actually my favorite. If it wanted a more serious type of racing, there was always F-zero GX for me. But courses like Daisy's cruise was something I’d expect playing a Mario game.

KirbyKid: Do you miss not having coins in MKDS or MKDD?
Carl: I didn't really mind actually. The coins seemed pretty weird to have in the game. Then again, snaking in DS/DD kinda replaced the aspect of collecting coins to speed up to for me.

KirbyKid: How do you feel about items in Mario kart? Do you think MKDD pushed things a bit too far?
Carl: Definitely. However, the option of changing it, was very nice. In the tournament I won not to long ago they put the items on "basic." So the best item you can get was a 3x mushroom and simple items were very popular. It was based way more on actual skill. It relates to no items in smash. In the MK64 and MKDS tourneys I’ve been to however... items ruined them mainly because of the fact that you couldn’t control them.

KirbyKid: So that little bit of control in MKDD made a big difference?
Carl: Definitely. Getting hit by a green shell or banana was nothing compared to getting hit by a barely avoidable blue shell of doom. Even red shells spawned rarely.

KirbyKid: Which Mario Kart would you say is best suited for a variety of competitive play?
Carl: I would have to say Mario Kart Double Dash. It seems to involve the most amount of skill in it.

KirbyKid: Do you play MKDD with 2 people in a single kart ever?
Carl: Nope. I tried it on the first day I bought the game. Then I saw how lame it was. My partner didn’t even let me switch in.

KirbyKid: [laughs] That's my favorite part of MKDD.
Carl: [laughs] Well, attacking people is cool, definitely, but it didn’t feel "Mario Kart-ish" Still, the thing about MKDD is that better players win consistently. Those who should win will win. MK64 did have a lot of skill in it, but…those items. 3 red shells...come on now! That's why I only did time trials for that game. I had the most fun doing time trials for that game actually.

KirbyKid: Did you get a chance to play battle mode on GBA?
Carl: Yes, it was pretty great. It was just as fun as the N64 one, but handheld. Battle mode in MKDD was terrible. The courses were extremely small. I only enjoyed Luigi's mansion. MKDS had it right, but there was no online battlemode if I recall.

KirbyKid: Do you think the item boxes on the floor like in SMK should come back?
Carl: Nah, they looked pretty weird looking to me. [laughs]

KirbyKid: What about being able to use up an item box to where it won't respawn?
Carl: That's pretty good. Since that box wont respawn, you'll have to focus more on actually racing rather then relying on a handicap.

KirbyKid: Other than mkdd with items on basic, do you think items in Mario Kart need to be tweaked more.... so that a player in 2nd won't get a blue shell?
Carl: Yes, I really dislike how they have the 2nd player treated as a 4th player in a 1v1. The 2nd place player can be inches away then bam, star power, or blue shell. He keeps it, and then just keeps racing along, barely in back.

I had a match online in MKDS were it started and neither of us moved. Since we both wanted to be in 2nd, we stood still for about 10 seconds. Then my opponent drove backwards, and I tried to catch up. Racing games shouldn’t be about camping items at all.

KirbyKid: True that. How do you feel about the spinning roulette in Mario Kart and random items in general?
Carl: It seems very unnecessary to have gameplay wise but it's pretty cool looking and makes the game more "Nintendo like." It's like, character entrances in Smash64 and Brawl. It’s just a little thing to make players a little more entertained with flashing colors and funny sounds.

KirbyKid: I was trying to come up with ways around the roulette part. And I was considering if players could pick up items from the level naturally like in a Mario game. If they see a Koopa crossing the road, they can hop on it and then get a shell item, or something like that.
Carl: ooohh. That would be amazing. Kind of like how you kill a Goomba or you run into a mushroom kart to get mushrooms to spawn in MKDD?

KirbyKid: Yeah!
Carl: Or how in rainbow road sometimes a star comes out of nowhere onto the stage?

KirbyKid: Exactly! I'm thinking, Mario Kart could use a new vision, and things like that would be cool.
Carl: yeah, nintendo should do more with that. It would make people work for items.

KirbyKid: [laughs] It was good talking to you. Thanks.
Carl: Yup, no problem.

------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know if Carl remembered that the legendary match he described where both players didn't race at the beginning and one started driving backwards, was between me and him. I can't blame him. It has been a while, and I didn't have KirbyKid as my racing name. For that match, it was a race for second, an odd side effect of the way item boxes were treated in Mario Kart DS. Perhaps it's comforting to some that the Mario Kart games change with every iteration. If you don't like the way something works in one Mario Kart, you can expect the next one to change it at least slightly. This makes every race different, and every encounter something unique. Even waiting at the starting line, I knew from that point forward, nothing would be the same. After the light turns green, racers like us are gone forever with only our memories to remind us how fast we were going.

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Updated Critical-Glossary

All + All -

Critical-Glossary

+ - Alphabetical
- + - abstract mechanic
  - Some gameplay mechanics are completely artificial, meaning they do not make logical sense based on the form of the game. When such mechanics are privileged within a game's design, we tend to label these games as being "arcade" like. I describe these gameplay mechanics as being abstract.
    ~ see article
- + - accordion level design
  - Folded level design that folds back and forth at multiple creases that creates a pattern either in the types of creaes or a patten of some concerte nature.
    ~ see article
- + - asynchronous time (async)
  - It is a design innovation that applies to games that are played in real time. By taking the progression of real time and breaking it down in specific contextual ways, a new level of game design can be reached. This is the essence of asynchronous time, or async.
    ~ see article
- + - clean design
  - Following form fits function and relatively simple gameplay that is layered for effect.
  - ~ see article
- + - cluttered design
  - Design elements/choices that create more negative space than actual space. Also, design elements that ignore form fits function.
    ~ see article
- + - conceptual variation
  - adding or subtracting a different elements than what was modified in the previous step.
  - ~ see article
- + - counterpoint
  - In music, Counterpoint is the writing of musical lines that sound different on their own, but harmonize when played together. How the melody of a song interacts with the other lines is the focus of Counterpoint.
    Counterpoint, in gaming, is a word for the way gameplay develops past optimization by layering interactive elements into a single gameplay experience. When each layer influcences, interacts, and enhances the functions/gameplay of each other layer the gameplay emerges into a medium of expression that reflects the individuality of a player and the dynamics that reflect the complexity of the world we live in.
    ~ see article
- + - crease
  - The point at which a level folds upon itself.
  - ~ see article
- + - diminishing trend
  - A diminishing trend is one where game elements are either added or subtracted that reduce the amount of consequences and allow for mechanics to be executed less precisely.
    ~ see article
- + - direct (mechanics)
  - A measure of how the changes in the method of input are paralleled with the action in the game according to the form of the mechanic. If you quickly press the green button on your controller, does the game quickly press the button on the screen? If you hold the button on your controller, is the button on the screen held down as well?
    ~ see article
- + - distinct section
  - When a section contains an individual gameplay idea that isn't significantly and directly related to another section, then that section is considered a distinct section.
    ~ see article
- + - dynamic (mechanics)
  - An measure of how the game world responds to the action. According to the form of the game world and the mechanic, does the world react realistically? What is the extent of the properties of the mechanic? Are the reactions to the mechanic special cases or can the resulting actions continue to effect the game world?
    ~ see article
- + - elements
  - Any variable element in a videogame.
    
       * player: character(s), cursor, avatar, HUD
       * level: non aggressive interactive (physical) pieces
       * enemy: hostile/aggressive forces
       * audio: sound effects, music
       * visual: non-interactive on screen elements
       * rumble: force feedback
    ~ see article
- + - elemental variation
  - see conceptual variation
- + - emergent structure
  - the coming together of a few rules in "unexpected" ways.
- + - expanded game idea
  - In counterpoint, If the player must combine secondary functions with primary functions to progress, then the game idea is considered to be expanded.
    ~ see article
- + - feminist criticism
  - Like Marxist criticism, the most successful Feminist critique of a game involves analyzing how the range of player functions that affect female characters directly or indirectly reveal the operations of patriarchy. When the player is encouraged or forced to play in a way that depicts men as strong, rational, protective and women as weak, emotional, submissive, and nurturing, then the game can be said to support and reinforce patriarchal genders roles and ideologies. Patriarchal values work to oppress women, and all feminist theory and criticism works to promote women‘s equality. A Feminist analysis can become more complex when finding examples of actions toward women if a game doesn’t feature any women or the game allows for limited interaction with women. Writing essays about such games often leads to finding evidence by absence. In other words, a Feminist critic’s central piece of evidence may be what can’t be done to women instead of what can.
- + - flow
  - How a game accelerates or creates forward momentum. This factor of gameplay isn't necessarily about speed. More specifically, it looks at how a game's interactions feed back into the player's options/experience like a snowball rolling down hill.
- + - folded level design
  - Level design that resuses a space with the second use containing an extra layer to the gameplay that builds on the knowledge and experiences established on the first layer.
    ~ see article
- + - form fits function
  - Form fits function is a powerful game design principle that has powered many of Nintendo's greatest games. Using familiar visuals, games can use their form to communicate to the player. If there is a ball resting on a tee and the player avatar has a golf club in their hands, they better be able to swing the club and hit the ball. Otherwise, why put such things in front of the player in the first place? Keeping the form true to the functions and limits of a game creates the cleanest most easily enjoyable experiences.
- + - function creates form
  - When a game's mechanics inspire, shape, and define the creation of ancillary parts of a game. ie. story, setting, premise, characters, music, audio
    ~ see essay
- + - game idea
  - The influence of a game element or group of game elements on a game's mechanics in a specific way.
  - ~ see article
- + - gimmick
  - A sometimes hidden innovation intended to attract attention and increase the unique value of a product or work. dictionary.com
- + - individual (mechanics)
  - A quality of a mechanic. Does the input yield the same action every time? Or can the input result in a variety of different actions?
    ~ see article
- + - interplay
  - Interplay is the back and forth encouragement of player mechanics between any two elements in a game. Put simply, interplay is where actions and elements in a game aren't means to an end, but fluid opportunities that invite the player to play around with the changing situation.
    ~ see article
- + - intuitive (mechanics)
  - A measure of the degree to which input method matches the form of the game. If there's a green button on the screen, and a green button on your game controller, the form of the game is liked to the input of pressing the green button on the controller.
    ~ see article
- + - linear variation
  - adding or subtracting a single game element or fixed group of elements in a specific arrangement.
  - ~ see article
- + - marxist criticism
  - Like Psychoanalytic criticism, Marxist criticism can seemingly critique a game by looking solely at a its fiction. However, both of these critical modes, in relation to videogames, achieve a deeper, more profound level of analysis when the elements of interactivity between the game and player are taken into consideration. Many Marxist critics of literature believe that film, literature, art, music, and other forms of entertainment such as videogames are the primary bearers of cultural ideologies. While we’re being entertaining by these medias, our defenses are lowered making us all the more susceptible to ideological programming. A Marxist critic of videogames looks for how a game supports or condems capitalist, imperialist, or classist values. Perhaps the best and most obvious place to look toward in games is the role and function of money. Some games represent money with actual U.S. dollars or some other form of real world currency. Others use fictional currency from bell, to gil, to star bits, or even points. What the player can purchase, how these items or services function, and how the money circulates within the game world all become important areas of analysis.
    ~ see essay
    ~ see example
- + - minimum difference
  - The smallest degree of change needed for a change to be significant for a particular mechanic. (minimum degree of difference)
    ~ see article
- + - momentum
  - is created when player mechanics layer and/or link into resulting states that create opportunities with a higher amount of risk/reward
- + - multi-element whole
  - emergent gameplay
- + - multi-fold level design
  - A level that is designed with multiple layers and creases that fold onto each other more than once.
  - ~ see article
- + - negative space
  - see static space.
- + - new classical criticism
  - "New Classical criticism focuses on identifying a game's primary function/action that sums up all of the player's actions, functions, and abilities into a single expression. This expression can be thought of as the interpretation of the game or what the gamer is actually doing when he/she plays. Sometimes the primary function can be encapsulated in a single word. For example, the primary function of the Super Mario platforming series is "jump". After the primary function is identified, the New Classical critic then looks at a game's formal elements to analyze how they promote the primary function. The formal elements include Sound, Music, Art style, Story, Graphics, level design, enemies, etc. Because the New Classical critic privileges interactivity over passivity (especially when focused into a limited number of rules and actions), such a critic is only concerned with how these elements shape the gameplay experience, and assumes that any formal element in a game is only meaningful when it supports the primary function and exists in a lower state of priority to that function. In other words, elements like story can't be more stressed and more important to a game than the gameplay. Even if a game is designed according to the conventions and assumptions of Western game design, it can still be critiqued in the Classical mode."
    ~ see essay
    ~ see essay 2
- + - open variation
  - Doesn't look at examples from the game, rather it focuses on arrangements and groupings that the researcher creates. Such an approach looks at possible scenarios than existing ones.
    ~ see article
- + - origami level design
  - A type of multi-fold level design where the creases and layers are so flexible and/or dynamic that considering the possibilities within a single level are interconnected and complex. Considering the shape created from a multi-fold level is similar to observing an origami figure.
    ~ see article
- + - primary mechanic
  - Whether a game is defined by an action or a group of actions, a small set of mechanics rests at the core of every game. This mechanic is the primary function.
    ~ see article
- + - psychoanalytic criticsm
  - For those who aren’t careful, a Psychoanalytic critique of a game appears to only be concerned with the fiction of a game and the relationship of the characters. Unless the game is Psychonauts, most games seem to have little to nothing to do with the human psyche. Neglecting how the game fiction and the gameplay (or game rules) come together to create the Psychological work in a game is a common pitfall. Another easy pitfall is to get wrapped up in Psychoanalyzing the developers of the game, or what may be infinitely more embarrassing, accidentally analyzing one’s own psychological state while trying to pass it off as an analysis of the game. Though it is true that the fiction of a game is an important part of any Psychoanalytic analysis, the gameplay is where the most profound sources of material because the interactivity of the game can influence and transform the player in more powerfully subtle ways than a passive medium.
    ~ see essay
    ~ see essay2
- + - quantification
  - Breaking down the range of possibilites for a game mechanic into distinct parts for the purpose of analysis.
    ~ see article
- + - refining trend
  - And finally, the refining trend is one that increases consequences that force the use of mechanics in a more precise manner by adding or subtracting game elements.
    ~ see article
- + - secondary mechanic(s)
  - The set of mechanics that do not make up the set of primary mechanics. These mechanics usually aid and help shape the primary mechanic.
- + - sections (sub-sections)
  - All games can be broken down into sub-sections or sections. Whether a game is broken down by rooms, loading sections, cut scenes, stages, levels, rounds, or turns, if a game has a mechanic that is repeated, then it can be divided into sections.
    ~ see article
- + - species
  - The 4 varying levels of counterpoint with the last being a combination of the previous three.
  - ~ see article
- + - static space
  - The static distance between player and objective. Can occur when a strategy is repeated without escalation.
- + - static trend
  - A static trend is where there is no change between sections, or when the changes are inconsequential because they fall short of meeting the minimum requirement for the quantified mechanic.
    ~ see article
- + - strict variation
  - Examines the exact way the game "levels" are arranged or grouped
  - ~ see article
- + - structuralism/deconstruction criticism
  - Structures are probably the most recognizable feature of videogames. Because structures create the foundation for the game rules and player to learn these rules, analyzing structure develops a clearer insight into how a game works at its core. We're all familiar with the structures of genre. Any gamer can instantly recognize a first person shooter like Halo from a puzzle game like Tetris. Each gaming genre has a certain look to it that is the result of the gameplay structures. Like with any genre, the degree to which the conventions are followed or deviated from varies greatly from game to game. Recognizing a game's structure is an acute way of talking about how a game works in or outside of its genre.
- + - suspension
  - In counterpoint, when a game element or game idea is offset form the established pattern of game ideas to create scenarios where the element/idea can carry over and influence other game ideas.
    ~ see article
- + - tertiary mechanic
  - Any mechanic that is contextual to external forces to the players natural state.
- + - translation
  - The rewording or paraphrasing a game idea into another medium (typically words).
- + - variation
  - how a game's elements influence the use of game mechanics over increasingly larger segments of the game
    ~ see article

...about Critical-Gaming

We have come to a point where how we talk about video games is insufficient in expressing how we feel and think about them. With each year comes increasingly complex games, yet we are still, for the most part, writing and talking about games on a shallow consumer level.

It is time to start thinking and writing critically about games. However, before we can do this, we must approach gaming from a critical mode or mindset. To do this, we must first understand of how the different parts of a game work together (game design). Unfortunately, many of the who have experience in this area spend their time making video games. Beyond that, the body of knowledge that does exist is scattered at best. For this reason, it is hard for a thorough understanding of game design and critique to become widespread.

I have started this blog in efforts to inform both gamers and non-gamers of the complexities of gaming and how it compares to any other art form (music, literature, movies). Using literary critical theory and music theory as a starting point, I have developed a comprehensive set of critical modes for video game critique. By writing in these critical modes, and by critiquing other video game reviews, I hope to raise our understanding and expectations of video game journalism, critique, and even video games themselves.

We already have a loose idea of what it means to be a core gamer. A casual gamer. And a hardcore gamer. I hope with the right mindset, we can become critical-gamers, who don't shun our fellow gamers for thinking deeply about games but embrace the change we wish to see in the world.

Monday, May 5, 2008

An Interview: Carl

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