"It's Time We Have The Talk" ~Jonathan Blow

These are sad times for the video game industry (at least for some developers). These are sad times because someone like Jonathan Blow felt compelled to present a talk attempting to explain/teach developers that they should look carefully at their games as they build them and push themselves to be more creative. While listening to this talk I couldn't help but think nearly everything that Blow said was common sense and/or instinctual for the good developers. But because there are so many bad games made by bad, supposedly clueless developers Blow had to adress these issues. It's times like this that make me feel like the video games industry is still in a period of nonage, and insightful individuals like Blow have to father us by telling us to brush our teeth and to use soap. The gaming industry has sprung up all of a sudden it seems. We're all relatively new to the medium that we're defining as we go along, and it doesn't help that we anre't well supported by academia.

The way I currently see things, if a developer of a bad game didn't know to monitor the level of "conveyance" between the game and the player throughout development and he/she didn't bother to "push" their ideas past their initial conception, then such a developer needs to go back to game design school (if there is a school that teaches such important skills). Making good games is no harder than making interesting movies or writing captivating books. Each medium has their limitations and their core method of effective communication/conveyance. Understanding these things, for most people, requires study and discipline. And beyond understanding the intricacies of a medium, being creative and expressive are two skills that are difficult to teach.

Video games are inherently complicated. Rules, mechanics, and half-real game worlds are some of the newest and most dynamic qualities in any artform. What's interesting about understanding game design is that it's nearly identical to the design found in everything that already exits. Paintings. Music. Architecture. Scholastic systems. Movies. Literature. Actions. Toothbrushes. Anything. Drawing inspiration from life for the development of a video game requires a certain understanding of how the world "works" or how it functions. And it is to this end that I plan on redesigning the critical-casts.

Previously, the critical-casts served as a supplementary production that was centered around responding to popular industry podcasts, in house indie development, and setting up design challenges. While all of this content had a purpose, it took too much time to organize and plan. Though I still want to cover these topics when they come up, I'd rather focus on discussing the design of things that aren't video games. If the Critical-Gaming blog covers video games in detail articles, then Critical-Casts should cover my critique and commentary on the rest of life so that a bridge can be established between the two.

Another problem with the old critical-casts formatt, is that I was restricted to recording on my desktop PC. This was a problem because all of the natural, free flowing conversations I have with the B.E.S team happen everywhere but near my PC. So I'm looking into getting one of these. Hopefully, this will allow me the freedom to capture the content straight out of the spontineatiy of life.

Don't expect the new cast too soon. I'm still bogged down in articles I need to write. But keep the channels and your mind open.

Glad to have had this talk, son.

Critical Casts #5 Everyday Guitar Bros.

In this podcast we, my brother and I, talk about Everday Shooter and GuitaRPG. The show also features a "special guest." As I promised there is a new design challenge ready and waiting for all of you to tackle.


DOWNLOAD CRITICAL-CASTS #5 HERE

I'll have the latest GuitaRPG demo and the Design Challenge post up soon.

Show Notes:

• Mass Effect Review on the blog
• Everyday Shooter Website
• Geometry Wars
• IGN: Ikaruga
• Design Challenge #3: Spoony Bard
• IGN: Glory Days 2

We out.

Critical Casts #4: Music Merging with Games

In this cast, I discuss how GuitaRPG has progressed, where it fits in the grand scheme that is the merging of videogames and music, and some thoughts I'm tossing aroudn about GuitaRPG's level design.

The link to the cast...

DOWNLOAD Critical Casts #4

You can always subscribe to the Critical Casts podcast via iTunes. The links to the feed/itunes is located to the right under Critical Casts.

DOWNLOAD GuitaRPG Demo #2

Show Notes:

• Guitar Rising
• Guitar Wizard
• The Guitar Zeros
• WiiWiiWiiWii

There is no new design challenge for this week. Keep working on the last one.

Thanks,

Critical Casts #3 GuitaRPG

This podcast is all about listening....

You can download Critical Casts 3 HERE

Now you can watch it...

GuitaRPG youtube tutorial

Show Notes...

Download the GuitaRPG demo..HERE

• If you don't have a guitar hooked up to your PC, try using 1-5 for the fret buttons and to strum.
  

Use this GlovePIE script (just copy paste it)


Key.i + Wiimote.Rumble= wiimote.RawAccz > .75
Key.m + Wiimote.Rumble= wiimote.RawAccz < .30

Key.1 = Wiimote.Classic.A
Key.2 = Wiimote.Classic.B
Key.3 = Wiimote.Classic.X
Key.4 = Wiimote.Classic.Y
Key.5 = Wiimote.Classic.ZL
Key.6 = Wiimote.Classic.R
Key.8 = Wiimote.Classic.Minus
Key.9 = Wiimote.Classic.Plus
Key.Backspace = Wiimote.Classic.Down
Key.Backspace = Wiimote.Classic.Up

Wiimote.Led1 = true
Wiimote.Led4= true

Key.P = Wiimote.Plus
Key.M = Wiimote.Minus

Critical Casts Episode 2

This week, I address game design issues, elements, and problems from a variety of different angles. Get in on the discussion, and get started on the hands on application. There are adapters to buy, games to try, and a design challenge that may blow your mind.

Download Critical Casts 2 HERE.



Show Notes....

Wiimote + Bluetooth

• Adapter Compatibility Chart
• WiiLi Main Page
  

Neo*RPG (I'm going to try and post my design postmortem document as well)

• Neo*RPG Game Download

Guitar Hero Type Games

• Flash Hero
• Frets on Fire
• Tenacious D Flash game
• Amped guitar Flash game

Hybrid Game

• Breakris Game Website

Critical Casts are GO!

This is the first go at it. I'm starting off small and controlled and fully intend on ramping up the content and excitement in the coming shows.

In the cast, I run through the concepts behind future segments for future casts to give you a glimpse at the scope of Critical Casts.

Also, I plan on getting guests to be a part of the show with me.

Listen to the podcast here.

You can check out a permanent link to the feed over to the right under Critical Casts.

ShowNotes:

• Playing to Win Excerpt from Gamasutra
  
• Charlie Wilson's War Trailer
• The Brainy Gamer Blog
• Graffiti Gamer Pie Chart Review
  

Thanks and enjoy.

Critical Casts ->12/05/07

Developing a critical eye and ear for gaming will not only allow you to delineate the quality between games, but it will also allow you to be more critical of comments and opinions from any gaming community. Critical Casts is a blog series where I will highlight any noteworthy comments from the weeks worth of podcasts and video reviews. The aim is to give listeners the opportunity to identify and ponder issues and ideas raised in the podcasts and compare their reactions to mine.

For the first entry in the series, I've selected three podcasts from the weeks surrounding Thanksgiving. With the Christmas break ahead of me, I will be more prompt with posting my responses.

GFW Radio 12/5/07

• 29:29: Flip-Flop: "Letting something critical slip through and then immediately back tracking and apologizing it away"
  

Flip-flopping is fairly common and it was one of the issues I pointed out in my Game Informer Mass Effect Re-reivew. I believe part of the problem stems from a lack of a sound foundation in videogame critique. It seems that many reviews don't know how the conflicting impressions and feelings they have after experiencing a game can exist simultaneously. Understanding the difference between a well designed game and a game where you can have fun requires understanding the relationship and balance between game mechanics and their execution. Without such a working knowledge, it is immensely difficult to write about a complex game cogently in a review. Not only does this require knowledge of game design, but competent writing skills, both of which are hard to come by.

• 40:33: "Disparity between content between previews and reviews"

I've found that when writing previews, many videogame journalists or "enthusiasts" will keep their "niggles aside" under the assumption that the game is still being polished and little issues will hopefully be removed before the release of the final product. However, these issues often go unfixed when the game is finished. Even when they are, such tweaks are often insufficient to warrant the high scores the previews have projected these games might receive. This disparity leads into the next highlight...

• 41:10: Judging early builds accurately. "Dishonesty by omission"
  

Because developing games is such money and labor intensive undertaking, as the project moves past the middle stages of its development, it becomes increasingly difficult for the game to change in significant ways. At some point, the graphics can't be tweaked. Some issues, however small, would simply require too much time and money to fix. Assassin's Creed suffers from pop-in despite the stunning graphical presentation of its environments. Additionally, Mass Effect has terrible frame rate and loading issues. We were well aware of these graphical issues throughout the multiple previews of the game. Obviously, hoping they would be fixed wasn't enough. These are just two games out of many.

Because of this resistance to change, critically judging early builds of games does have merit. The reviewing industry stresses playing a game as completely as reasonably possible before reviewing it, which is a good policy. However, for the purposes of understanding and speaking critically about games, small sections of a game can provide plenty of material for discussion. Generally speaking, controls, graphical style, and presentation are consistent from the beginning of a game through the end. Lair's lack of adequate controls and Assassin's Creed's lack of variety are two issues that are apparent from previewing the game. Yet, many previews gave glowing reports about the potential of these games. By not talking about these crippling issues, as time has shown, the reporters effectively lied by omission.

For the experienced gamers, often times a bad preview for a game "turns out exactly like you [were] thinking." Keying in to the structures that support the foundations of game design is an effective way of judging whether a game works or not upon limited impressions.

1up Yours 11/30/07

• 15:40 Geometry Wars Galaxies is "unplayable if you don't have a classic controller"

This is a strong statement claiming that the default controls for this game are insufficient. Are we really to believe this? Any critical listener should want such a statement to be supported by arguments or valid points. John does just that. He claims....

• The Wiimote pointer moves the tip of the laser sight.
  
• The Wiimote pointer controls the extremity of the screen.
• You "wipe it around" to shot in various directions.
  
• You are unable to quickly and accurately shoot in various directions.
  
• The control are unintuitive.
  

A critical listener who has not played Geometry Wars Galaxies, assuming all of these points were valid, would most likely accept John's claim. I, however, own the game and have experience with the Xbox360 version, DS version, and the Wii version with the both sets of control options. For Geometry Wars controls, I have much experience. Here are my impressions...

• The Wiimote pointer shoots where you point and isn't restricted to the tip of the laser sight.
• The Wiimote pointer does not control the extremity of the screen.
  
• Pointing and shooting is as accurate, intuitive, and versatile than the duel stick counterpart or more so.
  

The only way our two impressions can be so conflicting is if John played an earlier build of the game that supported an alternative control method. Otherwise, my only other conclusion would be, John is a poor judge for discerning nontraditional controls.


IGN Wii-k in Review11/20/07

• 8:00 "even if you don't have a classical controller, you can still play Geometry Wars [Galaxies Wii]. It plays fine."
  

Even without having access to Geometry Wars Galaxies, Casamassina and Bozon have stated that the Wiimote controls that were supposedly "unplayable" (according to 1up) are in fact "fine."

• 20:09 "terrible Wii Sports Boxing"... "[Throwing] punches just doesn't feel good when you have no contact"
  

Being a Wii Sports Boxing fan, I find the lack of support for these bold claims detracts from Casamassina and Bozon's credibility. Technically, you don't have any contact with the tennis ball, golf ball, baseball, or bowling ball in any of the other Wii Sports games. If Wii Sports Boxing is no different, then this claim falls apart with IGN's praise and support of the other Wii Sport Games. "It's like air boxing." Likewise, the whole game is like air sports.

• 22:55 A listener writes in inquiring about IGN's lack of understanding and appreciation of Wii Boxing.
  

It's disheartening to hear the conversation regress into name calling. With that aside, the only statement Casamassina offered in his defense was that many other reviews dislike Wii Sports Boxing. After making up statistics about the percentage of reviews who dislike Boxing, he goes on to make huge generalizations about how the game is neglected because "nobody" plays it. Unfortunately, this kind of unprofessional-middle-school-antics does nothing to support Casamassina's stance on Wii Sports Boxing. Granted this is an informal podcast, the truth of the matter still stands. Of all the words that were said, listeners still know little about what makes Wii Sports Boxing good or bad.

• 37:23 Forgiving Ambitious Games
  

Casamassina expresses his tendency to lean toward a double standard for reviewing "ambitious" games like Mass Effect: "If that happened in Galaxy we would knock a point off for that... But I guess because Mass Effect is so huge in scope... you have to forgive all these crazy things that happen... I find it really hard to forgive stuff like that." Fran Mirabella backs him up saying, "When a game is super ambitious you do that. It's hard because you gotta balance out like how you feel about it over all."

Reviewing games is difficult due to the different types of elements that composes a game (art, technology, sound, music, mechanics, design). Clearly here, the reviewers at IGN have to figure out their own way to compare these elements and the short comings found therein.

I feel that the industry as a whole has grown too forgiving toward "ambitious" games and efforts. Any company can be ambitious. It's easy to bite off more than you can chew. Not enough credit is given for the companies who make great polished games within their limits like Super Mario Galaxy. At the end of the day, a bad frame rate is just bad, and no amount of the game's story is going to make the game smoother.