Super Mario 64

Cmon.  I had to blog about this eventually...

Super Mario 64(SM64) certainly has one or two things to talk about.  Not only was it a game that introduced revolutionary mechanics for a newer system, it was also another iconic piece for Nintendo's Mario series.  This game is rather well-known amongst all gamers alike.

The funny thing is that this game is completely broken.  Sure, it has a bit of leeway since it was one of the first N64 games that came out.  However, the amount of collision, geometry, and gameplay problems are hard to overlook.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then perhaps you should take a look at this...
Especially check out 2:02, 3:04, 9:22, and 9:42 as these are the glitches used in speedruns of this game.

Glitches in a game like SM64 can be seen in two ways: an indication of how bad of a job the designers did or simply more interesting easter eggs that the designers put there unintentionally.  Depending on who you are, you may have the mindset that exploiting these game-breaking glitches is cheating or you may think it's the coolest thing ever.  Whoever you are, these glitches are here to stay.

However, for how broken of a game that SM64 is, very few people could have possibly known some if any of the glitches portrayed above if they were just doing a casual play through of the game.  Most people don't think that if you use Mario's long jump backwards that he can gain incredible amounts of speed because the programmers never put a limit on it.  They never would have thought that catching the Bomb-Omb as soon as it explodes would aid you in clipping through thin walls.  Nobody thinks of these things.  And that's just it.  Most developers won't make a game to be extremely broken.  They make them for the entertainment value (and the money).

I played SM64 as a kid and, to be honest, I never really liked it that much.  I guess I never really took the time to learn all of the mechanics and controls necessary to complete certain parts of the game.  However, just recently I started playing it again.  I can't stop.  What got me back into it was the speedrunning communtiy.  Something about exploiting major glitches in games to beat them faster than they were intended intrigued me to no end.  I never could have imagined that you could squeeze so much replay value out of an old game.

And I guess that's the moral of the story.  The glitches in a game are obviously an indication of bad programming, but rarely do we think that we can use them for extra replay value.  That's essentially the concept of emmergence: making a game out of a game.  It's not necessarily bad that glitches are in a game.  There are some glitches that make a game implayable, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm not saying that the games industry should throw caution to the wind and program games with poopy framework, nor am I saying that they should odst every single glitch that they come across throughout the game's life.  In fact, I don't think they should do anything astray from what they're doing already.  It's not the developer's duty to break the game; it's the gamer's.

So the next time you encounter a glitch in your favorite game, don't rage because you may have just gotten the chance to make a game of your own.

Tomb Raider

Throughout gaming history, there have been many topics that have been the center of massive debates.  The more significant topics include violence, sex, and drugs.  Another topic that is highly controversial but not often brought up is a video games' depiction of gender. 

What's the big deal, you ask? 

Video games rely on several key components for it to thrive in the world.  One of these components is the story.  The story will certainly make or break the game under the right circumstances.  Perhaps the most recognizable (and over used) stories is about saving the damsel in distress.  Many a game has used this iconic tale to lure in players so there must be something interesting about it.  Right?  Actually, at this point the story has probably been used so much that people simply accept it as a tradition of sorts.  When we play a game like that, we know that the hero has to go and save the princess from the clutches of the villain.  A princess.  There's almost always a princess to be saved.  Not a prince or a lord, but a princess.

Before many Womens' Rights activist started coming to light, the ladies weren't usually treated on the same level as men were.  They were not thought of as equals.  Today, that has changed.  Any woman can have the same authority as a man can (at least, in America).  Yet, for some reason, video games will still represent them as weaklings or even trophies to the player.  Since the majority of gamers are teenage boys to middle aged men, women are more often than not portrayed in a sexual manner.  Large breasted and hourglass figured, these women are what the game industry thinks that these gamers want.  They're probably right.  However, it's all rather demeaning to females.

Of course, there are still games that exist that give the girls some respect.  There's Samus Aran from the Metroid series, Catherine, and of course Tomb Raider.  The newest product of the Tomb Raider series brought back the iconic mummy-fightin' heroine to fight the odds once more in a grappling adventure.  Lara Croft is a great example for a tough woman in video games.

It's interesting to note that the earlier games in the series show a Lara that was obviously designed to be sexually attractive to the targeted audience whereas this latest installment shows her as an average looking female.  In other words, there was less emphasis on the big boobs.  Why the designers felt this was a good decision, I'm not sure.  I imagine that the growing population of women gamers has influenced the producers to take this into consideration.

This game also boasts a more serious tone throughout the story.  Intead of a girl that starts out by running into a battle guns a-blaze, this Lara was shipwrecked and seperated from the rest of her team.  She is terrified of what could happen to her but musters up the strength from deep within to overcome the obstacles that lie ahead.  This is so much different from what she has been in previous titles. 

I'm not trying to say that all games should exclude any form of defacement of the female gender; nor am I saying that woman is the only gender that is discraced.  Men are often represented as heavish brutes and are almost always the enemy.  There are many games that don't represent women in a demeaning way that have been super successful.  If you're gonna put a woman in you game, don't just resort to the sex appeal right away.  At least give it a little thought...

Bioshock: Infinite - Firearm Backstories

As most people did back in May this year, I played Bioshock: Infinite for the first time these past couple of weeks.  Being a newcomer to the Bioshock series I didn't really know what to expect.  This game is awesome.  I never would have thought that I could like this game so much.  Just about every part of this game attracted me.  Whether it was the colorful art style, the ability to loot every corner of every level, or the phenomenal story, this game always had me coming back for hours upon hours at a time.  Infinite seems to take many of the fine points of a common FPS and enhance them.

However, what I'm concerned about discussing in this post is the loot drops; namely the weapons and ammunition.  It would probably be best if I started out with a situation that I encountered while playing the game.

As I entered yet another battle-ridden building in the floating city of Columbia, I encountered approximately fifteen dead bodies strewn across the floor.  Just like any other normal, everyday person, I proceeded to loot all of the corpses.  I had just been through numerous strenuous battle sequences so not only was I low on health, but low on bullets as well. After a while of searching, I realised that there was no guns lying on the ground and absolutely nothing on any of the bodies.  Why in the world would the developers do this to me?

In my opinion it's really not the developer's fault at all.  In fact, now that I look back at the incident it was a rather ingenious move on their part.

Level design is obviously a key component to making a great game.  If a level doesn't flow properly, neither will the game.  When creating levels for Bioshock: Infinite the developers packed in quite a bit of realism.  To help the player along, the designers will provide various items at key points in the game such as guns, ammunition, and health packs.  To keep the gamer submersed in gameplay, the designers surround these items with a purpose.  If you want to introduce a new gun to the player, then place it next to the body of some poor soul who wouldn't go down without a fight.  If there's a health kit that would be useful for later skirmishes, put it under a bathroom sink.  It's just as important that the environment tells the story as much as the rest of the game does.

Now, in my situation above there was an obvious lack of supplies amongst the corpses.  That's not to say that the designers simply got lazy and didn't finish the level.  Since I walked into the room with no knowledge of how these people died, I also have no idea how they lost their weapons either.  I simply thought that because they were killed by someone else, the killer must have taken the guns and ammunition from them.  And I didn't have to think twice about it.  The game moved on.  What I'm trying to say is that a level will only flow properly if the player can easily come up with a valid reason as to why each object, wall, character, corpse, tree, or wildebeest in a level is where it is.

Another game where I've seen this element hinted at is Half Life 2.  The ammo in this game is presented to the player in a similar sort of manner.  However, it wasn't utilized as well as it should have been.  To provide the player with more ammo, the designers just decided to place a futuristic machine gun on a shelf in a common house.  Sure it's beneficial, but wouldn't that seem just a bit odd?  I suppose that since they do this throughout the game it must seem to blend in to the back of the mind.

Of course, if the story is crap to begin with, you don't leave the player to come up with much of anything.

Really taking the time to think about the placement of items in any given level can mean all the difference in the world for the entirety of the game.  Perhaps something out of place won't cause the title to crash and burn but maintaining this mindset can certainly give any game that much extra flair.  Providing the player with the ability to create the story in their own mind can be very beneficial to any game and it should be implemented to some extent.

Give it some meaning...

Super Ghouls n' Ghosts

This game is relentless.  I could sit down for a good half hour and still not be able to beat the first level.  It's such a challenging game for such simple mechanics.  In fact, I believe I could seriously devote much of my spare time to attempts at beating any of the levels.  Super Ghouls n' Ghosts captures the essence of one of a gamer's greatest weaknesses: the addiction to a challenge.

Two dimensional side-scrolling platformers have been one of the most iconic symbols of the video gaming industry for many years.  Time and time again they have shown their virtual prowess amongst even the most skilled gamers.  It just goes to show that even such a simple idea can push a player to their limit in skill and reaction time.  So how does this sort of concept challenge a player to the point of addiction?  How is it addicting?

One of the most infamous aspects of a typical platformer would probably be the insta-kills.  A great example of this is falling of the edge of the screen.  Everyone knows that when Mario touches the bottom of the screen whilst avoiding Goobas and Pirhana plants he's gonna lose a life.  It's very rare to see a platformer that doesn't include this mechanic.  The insta-death has been around since Space Panic and Donkey Kong because of its simplicity, applicability, and downright rage inducing trollness.  That being said, it's the perfect challenge for a dedicated gamer.  What gamer doesn't want to get to the end of a level and feel the accomplishment they would of had if they had just run a marathon on their hands?  Sure.  Every once in a while, a player may just want to grind zombies or launch birds through the air.  But for those who really want to put in the work there is a genre out there that will give you that great feeling.

Now, as for Super Ghouls n' Ghosts, this game seems to push the challenge aspect to it's very limit.

As you can see by this perfectly acurate technical drawing, I would classify SGnG's right around the red line.  It just barely remains in the flow section without being difficult enough to rage quit.  Although it was not one of the first platforming games or even the first of its series, this title shows that its primitive mechanics and character maneuverability offer a gameplay experience similar to the previous era.  It is very relateable to the early NES titles whos mechanics were almost better than those of SGnG's.

Not many games out there today offer a challenge through simple, traditional mechanics.  The ability to make a game flow is something every industry should strive to have.  If a game has flow then there's no telling how long a player will sit down staring at the television attempting to master a particular level.  If not, then that controller just might find itself as part of the plaster in the wall.  There's a fine line between the challenging, addicting game and the one that should have stayed as an idea.