Alrighty, thanks for the interest folks. Like I said, payment will be a point gift on the game service of your choice once I pick one. 20 bucks (American) sound good?
Willingness to tweak and make a few changes to the banner are also a must, but it won't be anything time consuming. If you got em, post in the comments below and I'll pick one by tommorow afternoon. Make sure there's some way for me to contact you (via your blog, twitter, etc.) so we can work out the tweaks. Points given upon receiving final, tweaked banner.
I'll pick one on Monday when I get back from a long trip to the woods.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Parables of Gaming
As another salvo in the ongoing campaign to commit career suicide, an article that will in no way be controversial or tick anyone off. The Youth Minister at my church also happens to enjoy video games so we ended up playing a lot together. The Escapist got to asking for an article about religion & games, so we end up talking shop a lot.
I expanded the issues tackled beyond merely how he would use games to teach religion and also criticized current religious games and various gauges for morality religious websites use. Given the choice between writing something tepid and being bold, I predictably opted for the latter.
If you are going to visit Paris, you may as well go see the Tower.
I expanded the issues tackled beyond merely how he would use games to teach religion and also criticized current religious games and various gauges for morality religious websites use. Given the choice between writing something tepid and being bold, I predictably opted for the latter.
If you are going to visit Paris, you may as well go see the Tower.
The Hipsters of Gaming
I've never cared much for the terms hardcore or casual. From their nebulous origins to today, where they are chiefly used to define something that is not on the Wii, the terms have always reeked of PR bullshit. Whether it's used to defend a mindless brawler's lack of any innovation by saying it's for the "hardcore" or to dismiss a person's gaming tastes because they don't relish in FPS titles, the term mostly gets thrown about as a defense. Companies wishing to justify making yet another game in genre X that brings nothing new to the table will claim that they are supporting the hardcore. Games that do not support a 90's aesthetic of empowerment fantasies are considered casual. Games that do not play on a certain console are considered casual.
The problem, with either term, is that they are not defined by what they are. A game with cute graphics is not automatically casual nor is a game with mountains of complexity automatically hardcore. These terms are mostly applied by the community and press to impose an aesthetic and sense of appeal in a game.
The issue I take with this is that defining yourself by what you are not is a never-ending process. The hardcore aesthetic, if it continues unabated, will continue to marginalize itself into steadily more irrelevant and more unpopular standards. Kieron Gillen made a similar point in an Escapist article way back (which I can't seem to find) with a different analogy: the hardcore is becoming the equivalent of 80's rock. I opted for a nastier comparison.
You don't need a weather man to tell which way the wind is blowing.
The problem, with either term, is that they are not defined by what they are. A game with cute graphics is not automatically casual nor is a game with mountains of complexity automatically hardcore. These terms are mostly applied by the community and press to impose an aesthetic and sense of appeal in a game.
The issue I take with this is that defining yourself by what you are not is a never-ending process. The hardcore aesthetic, if it continues unabated, will continue to marginalize itself into steadily more irrelevant and more unpopular standards. Kieron Gillen made a similar point in an Escapist article way back (which I can't seem to find) with a different analogy: the hardcore is becoming the equivalent of 80's rock. I opted for a nastier comparison.
You don't need a weather man to tell which way the wind is blowing.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Actual Art Patronage
Okay, in lieu of this week's post, something has just popped into my head. Can anyone make a Banana Pepper Martinis Banner for this blog? Just a JPEG that's in the same spirit of the above images: a bunch of weird photos, strange background, Banana Pepper Martinis written somewhere, and you have to keep Thalia on the far left. She's the Muse of Comedy. Yes, it has to be that image of her specifically. Otherwise, I'm open to suggestions.
I'll figure out which one I'm going to go with (if this actually works) and gift you some points on your game downloading service of choice. WiiWare, Steam, that kind of thing. I'm still broke, so don't expect much, but I consider this a worthy investment.
I'll figure out which one I'm going to go with (if this actually works) and gift you some points on your game downloading service of choice. WiiWare, Steam, that kind of thing. I'm still broke, so don't expect much, but I consider this a worthy investment.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Moving Pixels
I've been really happy with the new faces appearing at Moving Pixels lately and I just wanted to mention them for anyone who hasn't checked around the blog.
My current editor, G. Christopher Williams, plans to start alternating the monthly column with me and has just put up a discussion on creating a sense of roleplay in games. Nick Dinicola seems to have taken up residence on the Friday slot and has delivered four interesting posts so far. The necessity of having the romantic interest be the secondary character in Gears of War 2 is my personal favorite but more is to come.
The thing I have always enjoyed about Popmatters is that they do not expect the video game writers to go into some dark corner of the website while other mediums like films or books are given more respect. A column about an indie band gets the same treatment as one about an old video game. Same with features and blogs. This can be seen throughout the writers and critics there and it shines through whenever a writer discusses their favorite topic. They don't just have to persuade a like-minded person, they have to deal with every kind of fan and pop culture aficionado.
My current editor, G. Christopher Williams, plans to start alternating the monthly column with me and has just put up a discussion on creating a sense of roleplay in games. Nick Dinicola seems to have taken up residence on the Friday slot and has delivered four interesting posts so far. The necessity of having the romantic interest be the secondary character in Gears of War 2 is my personal favorite but more is to come.
The thing I have always enjoyed about Popmatters is that they do not expect the video game writers to go into some dark corner of the website while other mediums like films or books are given more respect. A column about an indie band gets the same treatment as one about an old video game. Same with features and blogs. This can be seen throughout the writers and critics there and it shines through whenever a writer discusses their favorite topic. They don't just have to persuade a like-minded person, they have to deal with every kind of fan and pop culture aficionado.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Female Archetype
A post over at Brainy Gamer lamenting yet another year of male empowerment fantasies in video games reminded me to finally post this.
Back when I was doing researching for the Jung piece I had originally intended to write about female empowerment archetypes along with male ones. After flipping through several essays and sources, the best book I found was Clarissa Pinkola Estes Women Who Run With the Wolves. Finding a pack to belong to, self-preservation instincts, the body, territory, motherhood, etc. It mixes mythology, religion, and psychology in precisely the same manner that Joseph Campbell and others have used to describe the male psyche. Out of all the stuff I looked through, it seemed like the best bet.
I gave up on writing the essay because, like I said in Part 4, I'm not equipped to really understand much of it. Mary Shelley made a very good point about men in Frankenstein when she explained that childbirth, to a man, seems to mostly involve stitching people's flesh together and then wandering off. In my case, that's pretty accurate. God only knows how I'd connect that to playing a JRPG or Civ 4.
I just wanted anyone to know whose interested that the research and work is there.
Back when I was doing researching for the Jung piece I had originally intended to write about female empowerment archetypes along with male ones. After flipping through several essays and sources, the best book I found was Clarissa Pinkola Estes Women Who Run With the Wolves. Finding a pack to belong to, self-preservation instincts, the body, territory, motherhood, etc. It mixes mythology, religion, and psychology in precisely the same manner that Joseph Campbell and others have used to describe the male psyche. Out of all the stuff I looked through, it seemed like the best bet.
I gave up on writing the essay because, like I said in Part 4, I'm not equipped to really understand much of it. Mary Shelley made a very good point about men in Frankenstein when she explained that childbirth, to a man, seems to mostly involve stitching people's flesh together and then wandering off. In my case, that's pretty accurate. God only knows how I'd connect that to playing a JRPG or Civ 4.
I just wanted anyone to know whose interested that the research and work is there.
Art Patronage in Games
It's always interesting what kind of market scenarios will induce innovation in a medium. Saturation, for example, means that in order to stand out you're going to have to do something new. As the FPS reaches an all-time glut, companies are trying to do more innovative content or game designs to stay distinct. Another example would be reducing the costs of production so that the barrier for the more eclectic artists is not quite so high. As the indie scene continues to expand and outpace AAA games, it's impressive that the only thing holding many folks back is simply motivation.
Which can be a very tricky thing to maintain. It's hard to justify the labor, particularly the massive amounts that go into games, when you're not getting paid. It's even harder when the thing you're making is strange and probably won't sell. And yet it's those kinds of games in particular that need to be made the most right now. You don't need thousands of people to think your game is awesome.
You just need the one person who can foot the bill.
Which can be a very tricky thing to maintain. It's hard to justify the labor, particularly the massive amounts that go into games, when you're not getting paid. It's even harder when the thing you're making is strange and probably won't sell. And yet it's those kinds of games in particular that need to be made the most right now. You don't need thousands of people to think your game is awesome.
You just need the one person who can foot the bill.
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