Disqus - Latest Comments for MikeBBetts

Re: Why Play Video Games?

MikeBBetts — Wed, 06 May 2009 01:16:06 -0000

I'd like to attack the concept of games being a waste of time. I think it's rather relevant to the discussion, given how awkward most of the responses are. Ashley spends the opening sequence of his podcast stammering about just that. "Isn't this all a waste of time?" he wonders aloud (paraphrase). Later, he interviews a designer who is attempting to wrestle all of this "wasted effort" into something useful. Is it really a waste though?

Well, no, and not just because human beings need to relax. See, what bothers me about this whole premise is the idea that when I am playing a video game, I am replacing productive time with wasted time. Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but human beings have been playing games and making recreation and being lazy for thousands of years. Video games are not new, as a diversion; they're just a new type of recreation.

In short, when the work is done, we play. The idea that every second not spent being productive or being social is wasted is just silliness. I'd like gamers to realize that their hobby is no different from any other, be it TV or working on the car or drinking some beers or playing cards or whatever, and stop being so defensive about it.

So your answer is the best. Fun. Answers like escape or immersion are all basically turns on that idea. We need fun; immersion is always fun. Etc etc.

Re: Game Design Roundtable 1: The Death of Death

MikeBBetts — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:16:01 -0000

The problem I have with the "evolution" of death idea in games like Bioshock, Prince of Persia, and Fable 2 is that developers have simply substituted one execution ("You Have Died" screen followed by level reset) with another (blank screen or no screen followed by checkpoint reset). Whether or not the player's avatar has actually died is irrelevant, as Hoffman pointed out.

I would argue that "death" or failure states is intrinsic to the concept of a "game". There is a failure state in every game, from basketball (you did not prevent a score) to Jenga (tower falls) to Prince of Persia (Elika steps in). Without a failure state of some kind, there is no challenge to overcome and, therefore, no game.

I generally hate quibbling over definitions, but perhaps some games (such as The Path) are less a game and more of an interactive experience. This is not a bad thing, but it can be problematic for critics. It brings up questions like, "Does this need to be fun?"

The only problem I see here is, indeed, a problem of misapplication. Since the invention of the checkpoint system, the idea of "lives" - losing all of which entails a game restart - is more or less obsolete. Games that insist upon a lives mechanic (Super Mario Sunshine, Golden Axe: Beast Rider) may ramp up tension, but forcing a player to mechanically replay the same content over and over to get to the same challenging boss again is not making a demand of their skill set, it's making a demand of their patience. But it is generally accepted, I believe, that now you should put in checkpoints and/or quicksaves. Is there really an issue here, nowadays?

Re: Embrace

MikeBBetts — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:11:21 -0000

There is also a difference between cut-scenes the move the action (every cut-scene in RE5) and cut-scenes that provide context or tell a story (cinematics in Starcraft). One, I think, has no purpose other than to remove the player and present some showcase special effects sequence. The other's purpose is to flesh out a world.

Re: Embrace

MikeBBetts — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:27:51 -0000

I dunno, man. You know what really drew me into games like Starcraft? The fucking book - in this case the game's manual.

Obviously, a book (whether in-game or not) should never become a substitute for discovery or interactivity. On the other hand, I think the notion that the video game is this completely different media that should eschew literature and cinema in order to be a pure gaming experience is.. snobbish? No, movies do not often pause and present a paragraph of text for the viewer to read, but I do not think we should restrict our definitions of media. Should a painting never display a line of poetry?

I know I am straw-manning your point a bit. I'll accept that - I just want to suggest that the biggest problem with movies/books in games is not that they are in games but that they suck. You know, the writing and movie-directing in Blizzard's games was compelling enough that I sometimes cheated through missions just to hear the dialogue and watch the cinematics. Yeah, I'm playing a game, but I still like movies and I enjoy reading. The main difference between storytelling in MGS4 and Starcraft is that MSG4 had horrible writing and poor cinematography.

In short, while games like Portal and Bioshock are great in their storytelling, I would not want every game to be that way. Sometimes, the best reward for pulling off a great feat of gameplay is not more gameplay but a stunning and engaging cinematic. Emphasis on the adjectives.

Re: Why EGM Died, Part two

MikeBBetts — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:05:28 -0000

How much would a sub have to charge to have survived? Just curious

Re: Why EGM Died, Part two

MikeBBetts — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:10:58 -0000

You may be beating a dead horse (literally), but you are beating it in the most fascinating way.

Re: Sore Thumbs

MikeBBetts — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:25:43 -0000

I was about to say the same thing, which is weird, because my name is also Mike.

Re: Sore Thumbs

MikeBBetts — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:04:34 -0000

Oops, didn't mean to post this one. Please see my second comment... It's the one that doesn't sound stupid?

Re: Sore Thumbs

MikeBBetts — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:03:20 -0000

In a way, it makes perfect sense to keep your achievements. Money is replaceable. $60 may be a lot, but you'll get another $60 on your next paycheck, indistinguishable from the first. A record, so to speak, of your accomplishments is not so easily replaced. After all, the entire reason we play - and sometimes finish - games is to feel a sense of accomplishment, however small in the grand scheme of things.

Re: Sore Thumbs

MikeBBetts — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:58:46 -0000

Wait, so if it came down to keeping games you've already paid money for or keeping a list of how much game you've played, you'd rather have the list? I guess you already know the answer...

But yeah, I really don't care about Achievements. There's so many games out there to play, if I got caught up in playing every game to the full and then some, I'd never get to anything new. Not to mention my enormous backlog...

Re: Shit lit

MikeBBetts — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:08:12 -0000

Are you hiring?!

Re: Shit lit

MikeBBetts — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:58:10 -0000

I personally cannot stomach the PR side of the gaming industry, especially the writing that comes out of it. We all know it's fake. We all know the press releases are the bullshit candy coating the simple morsel that reads, "We're making a sequel to our popular game." And we all complain about it too. But I wonder if we really would prefer candidness.

I guess my point is as simple as this: when you have game journalists writing up 500-word reviews for every game that comes out, no matter how crappy or low budget, and news bits for every press release that gets sent their way, it is no wonder the writing is bad.

Well, I know they don't write about everything. But, boy, it sure is a lot!

Re: Shit lit

MikeBBetts — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:16:08 -0000

Losing Shawn Elliot as a voice in game journalism was, I think, one of the saddest things to happen to Ziff (and game media) since I got into CGW some 10+ years ago.

Re: Shit lit

MikeBBetts — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:07:55 -0000

Luckily, I pay more attention to writers like yourselves or Shawn Elliot. I can't say if that makes my writing great (I hope so!), but at least I know drivel from, you know, not.

But in any case, I think you're right. It is very hard to find magazines and websites that offer writing quality above undergraduate-school-newspaper quality. No magazine that I know of is perfect about it, and I don't know how I feel about EGM in particular, but at the very least, there is a certain level of sophistication to be had at 1UP that you just don't see anywhere else.

But I'm thinking there's more to it beyond bad writing. For one thing, game journalists have to write about so much of the same shit. Press releases, for example, all read more or less the same. There can only be so many ways to report on that. Not to mention all the trash you guys go through - the same, recycled non-sense even in AAA titles. Maybe when the games we all want to hear about aren't the same damn game we've played before (I'm looking at you, Gears 2), we'll get writing that's a little different.

Re: A few random things

MikeBBetts — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:17:38 -0000

Fair enough.

Re: A few random things

MikeBBetts — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:59:44 -0000

That's a shame, because I actually like reading shit that isn't censored to satisfy PR people - or advertisers. Way to take one for the team?