Dave's Decisions

Once upon a time... storytelling in games

2006-11-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

Ever since men could paint on cave walls with coloured berries, there have been stories told. Admittedly, they involve stabbing large hairy monsters a lot less in some cases (except for little red riding hood, a story thats all for the encouragement of stabbing big hairy monsters).

Stories are an important part of our culture; they allow us to use our imaginations and experience things that we would be unable to otherwise; go places we've dreamed or feared, would love or loathe. Do things we couldn't; become a knight fighting dragons or the leader of an army, or even a god. Games themselves, for the most part, are basically interactive stories told to us by the game's creators and visionaries.

There are some people who don't like a story to their games, and in some cases, it is not needed. Few people care why their go karts are whizzing around a track firing missiles or heat-seeking shells at the drivers in front of them. Likewise, in shooting games, some like to just release tention by blasting big hairy monsters to bits (the poor things just want to make friends! will you all stop being so prejudiced!)
Indeed, there are times when a story isn't really used. But that doesn't mean to say it couldn't or shouldn't be. Why not give a racing game a story? Chances are the guy behind the wheel is just a speed freak or wants to get rich, but this is a game, after all. There are a time and a place for stories, but they are very important. They can be used to break boundries and introduce originality and interest to old genres that may not otherwise appeal if these games didn't have a story.

Stories are used to attract people to a game, and they are used to tie together different parts of the project. If people are interested enough to want to know what's going to happen to their character next, they will gladly wade through the levels you have so meticulously planned.
And becoming attached and forming a bond with a character is an equally important part of a game. It is this attachment that gets a player involved in a game; and this is often done even better with the use of a story, to give the characters within the game motive, reason, hopes, dreams, fears, desires... life.

There are two kinds of story to games; the kind where you contribute to or make the story and the kind where you are very much an observer. The former is encapsulated well in MMORPGS (massively multiplayer online RPGS) where the players themselves become the characters. Although theres a basic storyline in the background somewhere, it takes a back seat to the experiences and adventures of the player. It is perhaps this level of interactivity that makes them so appealing to many; they can live their own legend.

The latter method of story telling is often found in games; you lead a character through their world or a level, to a set part in the game to reach another twist or part of the story. You watch as it unfolds, and play as the character journeying through their own adventure.
I don't have a problem with this method. It has been used effectively many times. However, there is nothing to say this could not be more interactive than it has been in the past. I wonder why it's so rare that people create games where the player chooses their path for the character, to shape the destiny of the person onthe screen they've spent so much time with.

This is the main difference between films and games. A game is more interactive than a film, because, generally, it can be. It would be nice to see games head in the direction (and they will if I have any say in the matter. Which I do) where you can make your own story and play upon this interactivity that is available to you. Don't just read the story. Be the story. Make the story.

Art director - the conductor of visualization

2006-11-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

I touched upon the subject of what an art director is in a previous blog, so I'll just recap here;
an art director is someone that conducts the flow of art from the various artists into one direction, taking different styles which artists on the team have and forming them into a cohesive one.
It is important for a game to have a cohesive art style, otherwise the look and atmosphere of the game is in danger of ruination

*cough* kingdom hearts 2 port royal level *cough*

An art director is also basically the ambassador of a company, and it is their job to communicate with the other staff members and keep things running smoothly. They work closely with the lead artist for the creative side of things, and ensure that everyone is on the same page in the design of the game, so everything is running like a well-oiled machine. Like robocop but with less guns.

Art director is a creative role, and to be able to perform the job efficiently and effectively, you need to have a grasp of creativity as well as people skills for communication amongst the team. You also have to be able to get your vision across to others well so that the company will remain working fluidly towards the same direction. It is also important to keep the peace amongst the staff members; every one is going to be working a long time on the project in question, and they will all want to add to a vision in creation and see their ideas come to life and you can't say yes to every idea. The last thing you need is the programmers at war with the concept artists. It is a creative job not only in the art sense, but also creative in terms of communication.

I think an art director's job is similiar to the style used in films; both jobs involve trying to get a vision across to multiple people, and getting ideas out of your head and into fruition. They both also involve keeping a set style and standard going to make the visual experience cohesive and fluid for the player/viewer.
However, the difference between film directors and art directors for computer games is that a computer game art director has to work with a level of interactivity that a film director doesn't. In films, the basic idea is to tell a story, and where as its true this is of high importance in most games too, films are designed to be watched and enjoyed.
Games are more of an interactive experience, and it is this that is a defining difference; art directors also need to be aware of how the player will interact with the world he is creating, where as film directors can portray their world on a level of a storyteller to an observer without thinking about how their viewers will interact with this world.

Architect of invisible worlds - game design theory

2006-11-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

The most important thing to me is how a game plays.
As previously stated in my other blog, to me, that is all the parts of the game which join together like one of them power ranger robots to create one big experience. Or big robot, if you're watching power rangers.
Anyhoo, a game to me is the sum of it's parts. And this is something that a lot of games seem to be lacking. They try to focus on one point instead of everything at once (yes it takes more effort, but you're being paid to work, people!) A good game can't be a really enjoyable experience without most of it's elements being at least remotely enjoyable.

So less of the 'lets make a game with great graphics but forget the originality and the storyline' for the love of any god you believe in, games companies!

One of the most important things for me is a story behind a game, because it's what keeps the player going from one point of the game to the next. Even with a bad game, it's shortcomings can be ignored to an extent if there's an enjoyable story tying it together. However, a system that keeps you coming back for more is also important.
Innovation also gets my salute (and not the two-fingered one either) because it is always refreshing to play something that attempts something different, and this is why I'm fond if nintendo for their peripherals (and the wii's new remote controller intrigues me, I must admit).

With regards to game design, I found this link quite interesting.

http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Coverpage.html

Although a bit long-winded, it covers many of the reasons why people play games and the basic sequence that some game designers use. It also looks at the game devlopment process from the point of view of marketing and behind the scenes of the company rather than from a philosophical 'what is a game all about' point of view, which is useful for those planning to get into the business to make their own companies.

http://www.randomterrain.com/game-design.html

This link is also an interesting one. It covers a lot of the philosophical questions behind game design and quotes from people in the industry who have tried and tested methods of making successful creations; always invaluable to those willing to listen.

Grand Design - computer game design overview

2006-11-27T18:14:00.000-08:00

So what is game design?
well, it is the process of designing a game. Damn, I'm good at this! next!
But seriously, game design has changed a lot over the past of computer games. In the days of bedroom programming (thats programming from a bedroom, not programming the actual bedrooms) game design could be done by one person and games could be created in a week .
Now, as time has gone on and games have become inevitably more complicated, it takes teams of people and years of their lives to create a game. Thus, if people are spending said years on a project, sometimes its unavoidable they would like to make an important contribution.

'What's your point?' I hear you cry. Or is that just the voices in my head? anyhoo, the point is that the time for a one man company is long since over. Game design encorporates a team of people and even if the initial idea is provided by as ingle person as it is i come cases, it is often developed and changed further by people adding ideas to the melting pot of creation, or the need to change a design for technical or practical reasons.

The topic of game design is a very flighty one to pin down, and even if I had a net big enough, its unsubstantial to a point; finding its habitat and describing it is tough. And this is where the art director comes in.
The art director has an important job (yes, directing art, but I won't win a prize for guessing that job function). It is their job to make sure that a game has a cohesive style of art throughout, which is often difficult when you have several artists all working on the same project but all with completely different visions (and artists often like to add their own vision to a project where they can. Its a creative thing). Art is also an important part of the game's appeal, to try and shout out it's own identity in a market often full of mindless clones

(ah yes, another random shooter with a manga name and colourful box. An example of bad art dierection there:
'It's colourful! It's name is incomprehensible! It's bound to sell!' Nice marketing. *slow hand clap*)

The art director also works in collaboration with the whole game team in general, but most closely with the lead artist. It is often the art director's job to design the game's substance and give it it's basic shape, but it's in conjunction with the rest of the team that a game gets it's solidity and becomes something more alive than just an idea.

Gameplay is even more tough to define, but for me, it is the whole of the game, the experience, that makes the gameplay; that includes atmosphere, sound, look, difficulty; as the word suggests, how the game plays, but this includes all the little elements that add to such a result.

NGJ is not the name of a rapper or DJ

2006-11-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Ah, NGJ. Sounds like a rapper or a gang member. Like T-bone, or Mr. T, or Twopac. Or possibly like a boyband. There's so many of the damn things, I swear there's a machine that makes them, they all look like clones.
Anyhoo, NJ - or New Journalism - is an approach to writing that uses a subject as a springboard and/or a constant undertone to look at an entirely different subject. So NGJ is New Games Journalism, which is very much the same. But with games. And that's how you suck eggs.

I've been given some articles to review that have examples of NGJ at work, so here are a few. For a start, im gonna begin with this one:

www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2002/10/26/sex_in_gamesrezvibrator.html

For a start off, I'm just gonna say, for the love of whatever deity you worship, what was the makers of Rez even thinking by making that peripheral, cuz they clearly weren't thinking about gaming of the orthodox kind. And while I'm no prude, the pair need to get a life; there's loving your games, and there's loving your games, y'know? artificial insemination, here they come. Reminds me of that weirdass game on the Dreamcast, Seaman... (and sadly, I didn't make that name up either). In light of not being able to review a topic about using a rumble accessory as
mastabatory aid due to the horriffic thoughts of what they'll do next with Lara Croft, I must move on. Seriously. What the hell. There's some scary people out there.

www.quartertothree.com/inhouse/columns/82/

(Saving Private Donny) is, however, a good article, I must admit. While it uses games as an undertone throughout the whole artical, it also uses them to show how they relate to our own contemporary culture. Though perhaps quite unintentional, the main thing that captivated me about this article wasn't the subject about the guys trying to keep the young Donny from joining the army. It was how our culture has changed and contradicts itself so much; such as Donny not being able to play the manhunter game and yet being allowed to watch the R rated Saving Private Ryan movie because it's 'educational'. Perhaps that links to the 'computer game violence' issue that is so old and tired it needs to rest. I thought this article was a good example of NGJ at any rate. It also enlightened me as to how mentally scarring the game Wario Ware is, with it's dancing cats and aliens in sunglasses. Who needs war, the minds of gamers are scary places indeed. I should know, I live there ;)

Lastly, I'll look at the Prince of Persia: Sand of Time review:

www.edge-online.co.uk/2005/02/prince_of_persi.php

by edge magazine. Generally, I appreciate edge magazine's sophisticated approach to reviewing games, as they always seem to take them seriously, which is something that is surprisingly refreshing. They're indepth and thorough with their views and opinions, as well as keeping you interested with some nice structure to their reviewing. But what's perhaps more important is that it's constructive and makes you want to play the game; this must surely be a powerful force in boosting sales for those who can win edge's favour with their projects.

The sad thing about all of this, and perhaps the reason behind the slight decline in games writing as a whole, is that people aren't getting much interesting in the industry. Yes, I'm an old school gamer and may in fact sound like I'm stuck in the past (damn, my abacus has jammed again) but it would seem to me that there needs to be more of an effort made by developers to bring in something new and innovative onto the scene. I can only hope that this will be the case with the next generation of consoles (I salute you, Nintendo, for your Wii) but in recent times, there has been precious little, in the grand scheme of things, to stand up and shout about, and so magazines and articles have lost the interest of the general public. That, and skyrocketing prices can't have helped.

In any case, I'm not saying that games recently have all been bad. There are, as always, exceptions, but the bad far outways the good, as developers seem to focus on impressive looks, when it would be quite easy with today's technology to master both looks and gameplay into a nice tasty treat for the eyes and mind far more often than it is currently done.
C'mon people, focus that effort on story and originality, and we're almost there! perhaps then, the industry would be taken as seriously as films and other such media are. With graphics that can replicate films, interactive movie experiences are but a stone's throw away.

Quote of the Day: The downhill path is easy, but there's no turning back

Game writing? What sorcery be this?!

2006-11-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

Game writing could well be sorcery too, as the written media can have a magic effect on the games industry on the whole, at least from my point of view. Well, class, allow me to rant for a while, and I'll allow you to listen. Hey, who's that kid in the middle row with the glasses and lightning bolt scar? Put the wand away, boy, or get out of my lecture!

Released games will often become the engine for written media. This comes in the form of reviews about the latest releases, previews about those to come, advertisements for upcoming releases, interviews by the staff behind the game... the list goes on.
It is an important media to the public because it is their gateway to the world of upcoming game titles and innovations; games writing is to the industry what Narnia is to the wardrobe. Without the perverted goatman and the snow 'queen' of indeterminate gender.

Written publicity, although not as popular as it once was, can help to bolster the sales of a game, and any extra sales can help cover production costs. It is just as important to games companies, asit can give them a valuable ally if they fall into the media's good graces.

The obstacles of a games reviewer for the written media may not seem big at first (sit down and play games until your eyes bleed, right?) but things are not what they seem, rather like the film Labrynth, except without the singing or David Bowie (a fact of which I am eternally greatful for). The reviewers are constantly on a tight schedule and as you can imagine, talking to games developers and the staff behind the production process in time for a tight deadline when the developers are busy themselves is no easy task.
Plus they have to wade through reams of - to be brutally honest - crap which seems to smother the games industry of late. And playing games until your eyes bleed would be so much more enjoyable if the games were good and not generic rubbish for the most part.
This does mean, however, that creating an interesting and - heaven forfend - half decent attempt at a game will bring the media's favour to a title.
If a games company can impress the more hard-to-please games reviewers (and not the ones with their heads so far up a game company's ass they need an atlas to find their way out. No names mentioned *cough* Official Nintendo Magazine *cough*) then you know you're onto a good thing.

If you'll pardon the tangent I'm going to go on here (and if you don't pardon it, then watch me not care, I'm gonna carry on anyways) I'm not against Nintendo, which are in fact one of my favoured games companys, but most official magazines of any description are, of course, heavily biased to the point of worship to their respective companies and hardly say a word against them. Which is great, except that in reviews, you need honest opinions.

Which, in a roundabout way, brings me off my tangent and directly to where I was loosely guided to by the course blog objectives.
The thing with writing about games is all you can offer is your opinion. I don't think there's such a creature as an objective approach to a review, and even if there is, I've never found it squashed between the pages of a magazine.

The best thing a magazine or written article can provide you with is a constructive perspective of a game or feature; if something is good or bad, it needs to be stated why, so that the reader can make up their own mind about such things. I would prefer a person's constructive opinion; and I feel the need to state constructive once more as many seem to think that saying something's crap is good enough information.
A games journalist trying to be objective would be of no use to me as a reader, because it has no solid grounding in what the reviewed subject is actually like, just what features it has, which is all very amorphous. With regards to my own writing, I always aim for honesty and state where my personal opinion is affecting my view and why.

Quote of the day: Opinions are like noses. Everyone can pick their own.

Thou Shalt Play Games! - Daveism, Book 1, verse 133

2006-10-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

You've had to sit there through my gaming history rant, and now I'm gonna make you sit there through my personal gaming history rant. No, it's no use in trying to escape. Those are indestructible adamantium straps that have just closed around your limbs. Struggling only makes them tighter. Now, let's get dangerous!

As stated in previous blogs, I started gaming when I was 5 on the Atari 2600 and my very first game was Q-Bert. That might explain why I'm so disturbed. Anyways, after that nothing could stop me. I ate up everything gaming would throw at me (not literally, the repurcussions of that would be horriffic) and me and my sis dragged my mum around countless carboot sales in the search of an ever growing number of game cartridges.

From then on, I got a master system and spent a large amount of time playing on that with my friend Joe, when we weren't playing on his NES and trying to kill ants with hot tomato soup (but thats a story for another time. Dammit, stop looking at me like that! everyone knows an ant's one weakness is hot tomato soup!)

Anyhoo, That propelled me along until I played on my friend John's commodore 64 (which he later sold and I ended up having for Xmas. Funny old world, aint it). The commodore 64 lasted me a long time - admittedly because the games on tapes took so long to load. I was the one hitting the keyboard when the Ed The Duck game stopped loading after 25 minutes. It taught me patience. Or possibly how to become a coiled spring of rage.

John was also the one who introduced me to the SNES, and i got that console as another Xmas present. I spent my christmas beating up my dad, which is probably not something every child can claim. Though, not every child can claim to be a green monster from the brazillian jungles either. What?! have none of you ever played streetfighter 2?!

Regardless of whether I am in fact a mutation or not (and that is a point of much debate) I flitted around between consoles for a while and collected most of the ones I didn't own. At this time, my SNES was still my favourite and had some of my favourite RPGs on it of all time, including the Secret of Evermore and the Secret of Mana.

After that, my memory gets mashed and I don't quite remember which console came next for me. I Guess dates aren't important, but one of the more memorable moments of gaming in my life was, after months of talking non stop to my parents about the N64 and them telling me we couldn't afford it, I got home from school one day and they'd bought one for me. That was a moment that has stayed firm in my mind, and one shared by my friend Joe (previously stated Joe who I used to play onthe NES and master system with) as I called for him shortly after so I didn't experience the first fully 3D game in the world - Mario 64 - alone.

I've also - naturally - owned a playstation (the Final Fantasy series is amazing, as was the Oddworld games), a saturn (it was good for RPGS and guardian heroes is a cool rpg/scrolling beat em up) a dreamcast (some innovative ideas there. Samba de amigo with maracas anyone? house of the dead 2? great stuff) and many more. During this time, I worked in the computer game shop Another World (now known as Forbidden Planet) for three years, so there was much discount being used to buy games and consoles. Free promotion copies of games were also recieved. The pros almost made the crazy sword-thefts, knife fights and shoplifters carrying bags of syringes that happened during my time in the store worth it.

Currently I own a playstation 2, dreamcast, pc, gamecube and my gameboy is a permanent feature on my travelling list, especially when I go on holiday. I eagily await the new wave of next generation games, and I'm gonna be there to buy a Wii and Playstation 3 ASAP. I also need to buy a Nintendo DS at some point in the near future.

And that's the end of that chapter! *dusts hands together*
I'll release the adamantium restraining devices now. See you tomorrow, class!

Quote of the day: I serve no master but my own ambition

Gaming history, the year 2000: to the future... and beyond!

2006-10-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

As the dreamcast fell into decline, and the Nintendo 64 clung on for dear life, Sony brought out their monstrous 128 bit Playstation 2.
The other companies spent the first year of 2000 exploring new ways to interact with games, and the voice recognition feature seemed to be prominent, with games like the Dreamcast's Seaman (stop giggling at the back!) and Hey you! Pikachu! on the N64 (apparently, Pikachu doesn't like being swore at) making an appearance.
All this time, Nintendo still had free reign of the handheld console market, and the gameboy has been a huge moneybank for the Japanese company, a fact that I think has kept it in the market for so long even under such heavy competition and sales lost to the massively popular Sony. Their success could also be attributed to the affordability of their consoles.

In 2001, Bill Gates decided to add to his evil empire and try to turn gamers to the Microsoft dark side, turning his hand to the console market and introducing the X-box. Which ultimately cost more money to produce than it was making in sales at the end, but Bill Gates has money to burn and was therefor not a problem.
It was also during this time that Squaresoft, the hard-hitting company responsible for the hugely successful Final Fantasy RPG series whose games have graced many platforms including Nintendo's and Sony's, merged with the Japanese giant games company, Enix.
This horriffic amalgam produced Square Enix, which was, to me personally, a mistake. Since this merge happened, they have been nowhere near as successful as Squaresoft were and the titles they have produced have been very hit and miss, though they have produced a couple of titles worthy of the Square name.

The 2000s have also been the birth time for the Gamecube, Nintendo's new console, which has managed to stay the course and has made the company ready for the next wave of competition and the next generation of consoles. Sega, however, fell along the way and pulled out of creating game consoles. Though they have become a shadow of their former self, they have remained in the market by becoming a games producer, gracing other consoles with their characters and games. Sonic on a Ninteno console anyone? who saw that one coming?

We are now on the cusp of a new age, waiting for the next generation of consoles to take the market by storm. Microsoft have already got the jumpstart with the X-Box 360, and the Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii are set to be unleashed. What will the future hold?

Games are heading more towards realism now, though there is an uncharted market for successful 'gimmick' ideas, like Nintendo's new motion sensor controller, which could push the balance in their favor. Interaction with games are becoming more diverse (the touchscreen on the Nintendo Gameboy DS, for example) and the rise of handhold gaming is growing more by the day with the appearance of Sony's handheld playstation, the PSP.

I think this interaction between games, and the never-ending search to find new ways to envelope people in new worlds and experiences will only grow from here. Now seems to be the time when games will be heading more towards virtual reality. Though it has been tried mostly unsuccessfully in the past, mainly due to expense and the lack of available technology, I think the human-computer interaction will end up in a very similiar place to virtual reality now that technology is progressing more and is becoming more affordable to the general public as well as cheaper to produce.

Quote of the Day: I don't care for what you're doing, so much as the idiotic way you're doing it

Gaming history, the golden ages - 1990s

2006-10-30T07:29:00.000-08:00

As the war between companies began to reach fever pitch in 1990, Nintendo brought out their own secret weapon, the Super Famicon (as it was known in Japan, or the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, a.k.a. the SNES in the UK). This system had better 3D graphics capabilities and audio than any of its current competitors. During the 1990s, it would show off it's 3D graphics capabilities with Donkey Kong Country (bringing the angry ape wearing nothing but a tie to new heights) and Starfox, a flying shooter with polygonal graphics, primarily made to flex the SNES's 3D FX Chip's muscles. Fox, on the other hand, did wear more clothes than Donkey Kong. Words cannot express my relief on that score.

Many more companies also tried to compete with the gaming giants, and SNK brought out the Neogeo to try and fight against the rising forces.
Nintendo proved its worth with the symphony score featured in the game Actraiser, and the Sega Genesis (or Megadrive as it became known in the UK) brought out their scrolling beat em up streets of rage, which was quickly followed by the mega CD addon in 1992 to keep up the pace with its new rivals
(they CDs also made handy frizzbies, so I'm told).

In 1993, the Atari Jaguar was released, which was a 64 bit console, as opposed to its 16 bit competitors, but it would seem it was too far ahead of its time for its own good and it ultimately flopped in the market; poor old Atari thought that their cat was a meanie, but it turned out that their tiger was tame.

During this period, games became a lot more flexible and the increase in both graphics and gameplay was quite impressive; the competitiveness of the market and the need to satisfy growing consumer expectations no doubt fueled the companies to keep surpassing themselves at every turn. This is an incredibly significant time, and some of the best games created - or at least the largest milestones, the foundations of the games played today - made themselves known.

In 1995, the bar was pushed further however, and Sega brought out their Sega Saturn, Nintendo reached for the stars in 1996 with the Nintendo 64 and the seemingly unstoppable Sony Playstation was set upon the public like a rabid dog. Release the hounds!

With enormous financial backing and a more 'mature' approach to games (at least, it aimed for an older target market) the Playstation was perhaps the strongest and most prominant superpower on the market. Like Superman, but without the underpants problem (why did he never turn the light on to get dressed in the morning?)
The others did manage to hold their own, though, even against such a powerful opponent. The Sega Saturn was the biggest failure and despite not acually being a bad console, it just couldn't compete with it's competitors, and it fell under a weight of the hugely successful titles from the other companies.
Nintendo revolutionized the way we look at 3D games with the game Super Mario 64, which featured a fully explorable and interactable 3D environment and even those who aren't a fan of Mario games can't deny the significance of the title, even though Mario is just a fat itallian plumber (but he does crush tutles exceedingly well, probably due to his weight. Your shells are no escape! now all I need to do is pit him against the ninja turtles and watch the fun commense!)
Many other games followed suit, and jumped on the bandwagon with this rise of 3D gaming. Sega's swansong in the world of consoles, he Sega Dreamcast which was, once more, a good console but ultimately unable to keep up, made its debut in 1999; the last attempt by Sega to keep in the console race.

Quote of the day: Perseverence is failing 19 times, and succeeding on the twentieth

Video Games - the middle ages, 1980s

2006-10-30T06:22:00.000-08:00

After society was hypnotised by the flashing lights and bargain basement sounds (at least by today's standards) of the games of yore that blessed the arcade, a new age was reached - the age of computer consoles.
Now, the big brains behind the arcade games realized that, if they could bring games to the homes, there was a great market here to be part of, and this growing interest was helped along the way the introduction of the PC revolution.
It was in 1980 that IBM hired Paul Allen and Bill Gates to make a new operating system for the PC; needless to say this proved to be a big success, and the evil all-encompassing empire that was to be bill gates' own took off from there (insert the Star Wars imperial march theme tune here, as blogs don't have a sound track). The PC's success was swift and progressive, steaming it's way unstoppably through all of the 1980s, making achievements by the year, and perhaps this growth of technology is what helped to incubate the interest in home consoles (incubate. Anyone else having images of Bill Gates trying to hatch an X-Box? Anyone? Just me, then).

Consoles such as the commodore 64, Amstrad (if they can be classed as consoles, though thats rather disputable) and the Atari 2600 arose during the 1980s, which were a part of my own personal childhood, though i refused to call them mum and dad. They kept me busy, but they didn't make me dinner.
Throughout this time, the classics of arcade games were brought to the home, and people could have barrels thrown at their head by an irrationally angry gorilla from the comfort of their sofas (why does donkey kong wear a tie, but no trousers?! why?!!). Pacman, Donkey Kong, galaxian and space invaders became big hits.

And then there arose new powers.

Industry super-power Nintendo brought out their home console in 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) which was followed shortly a year later in 1986 by Sega's Master System, and the war began. These two companies fought visciously like psychotic cat and dog for purchase of the market, and would continue to do so for some years to come.

Tetris, Mario Brothers and Zelda went head to head with Alex The Kidd and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker in a no holds-barred battle, but it would seem that Nintendo had the big guns in this fight. This era was also the launching era of the Final Fantasy gaming series on the NES, which debuted in 1987. Sega was far from finished though, and they picked themselves off the ground, dusted themselves off, and put up their fistycuffs for some queensbury rules, game-industry style.
Things were starting to becoe brutal towards the end of the year with the start of a new wave of gaming soldiers, from both Nintendo and Sega.
In 1989, the Gameboy was introduced, which despite now looking like a small breeze block and being almost indestructable, made a big impression on the market, and its predecessors would do until present day.

I myself was right in the thick of it. During this time I owned a master system and spent a lot of time with a childhood friend playing on both that and on his NES during the summers, which seemed so much longer back in the day when all of this (the internet) was just fields.

New company Nec brought out The TurboGrafx-16, which could also play games stored on CD, and Sega brought forth the Sega Genesis in 1989 to combat this new threat.
The battle lines were drawn, and they were weighing each other up with a glint in their eyes.
None could still work out why Donkey Kong only wore a tie and no trousers, though.

Quote of the day: If you want peace, prepare for war

Game history 1950s - 1970s

2006-10-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

Well, i don't quite know where to start here, so I'll start in the err 1950s like I'm supposed to. I'm a genius!

The history of games is hard to track and not many people can agree on where it all started. This information can vary depending on your source, but my network of spies and minions have leaked the information that they started life as expensive mainframes that were mainly used to crunch numbers (not literally, this would have made the numerical system a mess) in the early 1950s. These were made by scientists, mathematicians and other men in white coats - a sight I'm scarily familiar with but always manage to escape - but in 1952, a man called A.S. Douglas created the first computer game program while doing a human-computer interaction degree (worrying title there). It was a very basic computerized version of Tic-Tac-Toe.

I think that this was a significant development in history and potentially changed the history of games as we know it (perhaps had Douglas not have decided to create his program, then the playstation 2 would now be in a laboratory adding things up for my mortal enemies, the men in the white coats).
However, the first real video game building blocks was produced in 1957 and was called 'Bouncing Ball' (anyone wanting to guess what this game featured can send their answers to me on a postcard).

Often agreed on by and large, the first video game ever created was in 1961 and was invented by a 24 year old research student called Steve Russell. This was produced on the first minicomputer called the DEC PDP-1, that was more compact and affordable than the previous bulky mainframe versions (and now the X-Box has reverted to said bulkiness. Shame on you, Microsoft).

It was expected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Russell was working with the DEC PDP-1, that the invention would bring great things, and indeed it did. But not quite what they were expecting.
Russell was inspired by the US-Soviet space race, and created a game called Spacewar! which featured two different shaped ships that fired missiles and tried to destroy each other. The first competitive video game was born!

I think that it is this competitiveness and the communication between players that has made the video game industry thrive. Who doesn't like to shoot their friends with a machine gun and have them congratlate you afterwards through gritted teeth on a job well done?

The 1970s was the age of arcade gaming, where people crowded into small dark rooms lit by multi coloured screens and strange sound effects (so it's said. I stick to my story that I was not part of this age, though there are rumours that I'm an ancient evil and/or the meteorite the killed the dinosaurs. I refuse to comment on these speculations). Speaking of dinosaurs, these arcade machines were the dinosaurs of the games as we know them now, and they are the foundations upon which many popular types are based. This was the era of games such as donkey kong, pacman, joust, pong and space invaders. They also guzzled coins like hungry monsters. It was during this time that games really started becoming popular, and there was a growing market for them, as the industry realized what a money-spinner computerized entertainment could turn into. The people were not bothered about the gorilla throwing barrels that ate their money. They were entertained by its antics (and quite frankly, who isn't entertained by gorillas and monkeys) and freely gave their money to its insatiable coin lust.

Now we come to my own personal history (ooh your reward for reading through the history of video games is more info about me :-P)
I first started playing video games when I was 5 years old on the old atari 2600 games console. The first game I ever played was called Q-Bert, featuring a weird alien who had to hop onto coloured blocks while avoiding miscelaneous and none-too friendly creatures that would make E.T. cry and go home. That was back in the day when it was easy to snap the prongs off cartridges and had they been expensive, would have put my folks out of house and home repaying for damaged games (had we not found them all at old carboot sales, anyways).

After that, nothing could stop me and I marched my way through all kinds of computers and consoles, from the commodore 64 (games on tapes that took half an hour to load then stopped working when it had 4 minutes to go, anyone?) to the Sega Master System (ah, Alex the Kidd, how you taught me much about eating celebratory burgers after achieving success). I went through the Snes and the Megadrive and pretty much through every age of game console to present day, owning them all at one time or another.

What kept me gaming through all those years? well, I love using my imagination (bet you couldn't tell that, now, could you?) and these games drew me into different worlds and into the visions of other people's imaginations. The thing about games is that they allow you to visit places and do things that you could never do in the real world, and this has a definate appeal to it. So here I am, doing a course on game art where I will get to use my imagination and draw other people into my own (naturally incredibly twisted) visions and imaginary worlds.

There is no limit to the things you can do, the places you can go, and the things you can create on video games apart from the limits imposed by a lack of imagination. You can command armies of monsters, hunt demons, save the world or condemn it and fight back the tides of evil with nothing but a sword (and in the case of warrior women, a tight bikini. You'd think that the heroines of video games would dress more for the occasion, wouldn't you).

My dream is that, in time, my imagination will take you to worlds you have never dreamed of, and they will remain in your mind as landmarked experiences. My imagination will become your playground, as well as my own. Should you dare to venture into it.

Quote of the day: "I am the architect of invisible worlds."

Plagerism Fairies

2006-10-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Ah, DMU, you steered me in the direction of blogging. I don't think you realize what a powerful tool you've given me; it's like giving a psychopath a chainsaw.
I'm still waiting for my chainsaw.
Anyhoo, it's time for another wonderful history lesson, on your favourite subject, me! If I'm not your favourite subject then I'm still gonna rant anyways, and if you don't pay attention you'll flunk BA: Daveism.

Note: Yes, Daveism is an aknowledged growing religion (it's aknowledged by me) and the paperback version of the good book of Dave will be in print soon. Order your copy now, before it sells out.

So then, Plagerism, folks. It's not big and it's not clever, as I can testify, having caught the brunt of it. This anecdote from my mysterious and intrigueing past isn't quite as interesting as the time I fought back the threat of the Carnivorous Leprechauns of Brigadoon (I have the scars to prove it) but almost.
When i was a nipper at 16 (I've since moved on to biting) and working in a computer game shop, I was approached by a guy and asked if I would design some fairies for him to go on a line of merchandise.
Well, needless to say I jumped at the chance and spent many a week (even while ill with the flu. I can tell you I had some messed up fever dreams about butterfly wings then) designing characters.
When all was done and dusted, I sent them off to him, and he said that they were good enough, he would send me a contract to sign and I would be paid for the hard work. I sent off the designs to the address he'd given me (I didn't copyright them. I was 16, naive, had barely heard of copyright, and was a lot more trusting) and I heard nothing from the guy for weeks. He fobbed me off with excuses when i did finally get through to him, and I eventually thought he'd given up on the idea and left it at that.
What a surprise when over a year later, I see one of my designs - admittedly rejiggered by a professional, but blatently mine - on a T shirt in a shop window. And me, having not copyrighted the designs, could do nothing about it.
This concludes my cautionary tale. If you do something like this, make sure you do the following:

1. Never send off original works.
2. Make sure you have plenty of copies of your work.
3. Put the original works in a stamped, self-addressed envelope and post them to yourself to ensure more securely they're copyrighted.

Now, I'm not going to mention the brand of products that I contributed to. Lets say it sounds like CRock Hard Fairies with less sea if you catch my drift ;)
Anyhoo, I'm still waiting for my chainsaw. Soon as I get it, I'm taking a trip to the fairy stealer's house...

Quote of the day: Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.

Dave's Decisions: Manga: The Anti Christ?

2006-10-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

Dave's Decisions: Manga: The Anti Christ?

Dave's Decisions: I hate Luigi

2006-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Dave's Decisions: I hate Luigi

Dave's Decisions: I'm all about me

2006-10-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Dave's Decisions: I'm all about me

Dave's Decisions: Introduction to me, 1.01

2006-10-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Dave's Decisions: Introduction to me, 1.01

Manga: The Anti Christ?

2006-10-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

"And the lord said unto the masses, Thou shalt not draw manga for it is an offense unto DMU!"

Warning: for those of you who found that religious connotation an offense... you shouldn't get offended so easily :P I regret nothing!

If there has to be one thing about Demont Uni that I don't agree with, its the fact that all of the art courses seem to hate manga. I don't get it. Really. I mean, OK, they must get it happening a lot, and it's not classed as 'traditional art'. The twist is?

IT'S NOT EVIL, PEOPLE! IT WON'T STEAL YOUR SOUL!

That's left up to me.

The fact being, Manga is a growing media and it is growing to be something that is accepted as an art form. It's been around since feudal japan, for crying out loud!
admittedly, the women had smaller breasts, fewer guns and were etched into wooden blocks, but nevertheless, there's no accounting for some people's lack of imaginaton :P
The problem to which I've not even touched on, is the fact that this style is even more established in the art of computer games. It's been evident in them since the 1990s and long before then, too, if my memory serves me right.
And if my memory doesn't serve me right, then, hell, what do you expect, I was like 7 then :P

Now, I can hear the ghostly echoes of DMU tutors throughout the ages screaming at me 'but that's why we don't like it! it's so common!' and touche to you. But that is a very bad argument.
People paint a lot, and yet there's no one telling the painters that their 'style is too common'.

Whats that, ghostly echoes? Because painting has many different styles? Then I'm afraid you know very little about manga, as there is also different variations of style to it. There is some highly realistic styles to manga out there beyond the cartoony approach often seen by the masses. You also need, for most manga styles except the chibi and super deformed types, a basis in how to draw realistically before you can even begin to use it. Check out the artwork on www.epilogue.net for some awesome artwork, digitial, manga, and otherwise for the proof in the pudding. mmmmmm pudding.
Now, ghostly echoes, quieten down and let me talk, or I'll get your asses ghostbusted. Just like I did with Patrick Swazie in Ghost. Hah! Yes! it was me! I also left an annonymous call but an hour ago, so Casper will be finding himself squashed like a sardine spectre in the containment unit even as I speak.

My point is that Manga is an artistic style, as is public knowledge by now. You shouldn't be able to ban a style merely because you don't like it, its a matter of personal opinion. And yes, I'm sure you're doing it because 'the industry wants to see something new in it's art'.

Well, beyond the fact that boycotting a style goes against the very idea of art (to express yourself in a creative way fitting to yourself). Which may or may not mean that people who draw it have big eyes and large heads, I'm not one to judge. Nah, just kidding ;)
Here's some food for thought. If you like to eat with your brain, that is (I've tried it. Ice cream in your ear doesn't taste nearly as nice going down that way as it does through your mouth).

Making originality in art isn't just about style. It's about how you take a style and make it your own, adding your own creativity to it, and it's that which will draw the attention of the industry. Design, appraoch, character creation and more go into game art.
Tutors should look past the manga to the creativity to behind it, as that is what the industry is craving, as is evident in the lacklustre games - longing for originality - that are out there on the market.
If anyone agrees with me, add a comment. Or sign a petition. That would be great. But adding a comment could be my blog equivelent, so let me know what you think, if there is indeed anyone reading my rants.
If there's not, I'll get your asses ghostbusted. It would be great to see the looks on the ghostbuster's faces when they zap someone with lasers then realize they've just committed murder.

Quote of the day: Free your mind, free your bladder

Pokemon Shimmy

2006-10-13T05:17:00.000-07:00

Hah! You lucky people! I don't blog as much as I talk.
Anyways, first, for all of you who are interested (anyone? no? the snorers at the back? well, I'm gonna carry on anyways! how'd you like them apples?!) here's a history lesson.
It's not quite as interesting as when I single-handedly fought back the dragons with my magical sword excalibur in the NAM war (I have the scars to prove it). Nevertheless, let's get dangerous.
Anyone who's part of the online RPG maker community might know me better as Trueform Darkside (if you don't, then I'll write you an autograph. Then you can tell your grandchildren you have the signature of someone you've never heard of. It'll be unique).
Anyhoo, I spent about three years under the name making pixel art and sprites for various incarnations of RPG maker until for several reasons, I stopped. Due to my lack of interest in 3D wheelie bins, I am now occupying some of my spare time making sprites again.
What does this have to do anything? well, not much, but I had nothing else to write, so I'm boring you with my tale. Though, I am starting to make a new Pokemon game with the sprites im making.
Chances are it won't be called Pokemon Shimmy (though I can't promise anything). I've found some interesting hacks for Pokemon ROMS though so I can potentially make a virtually unique game that is nowhere near as bad as some of them out there (one word, people. Effort. Use it).
I wish I could say I was being arrogant by saying that, but sadly, there really are some awful ones out there.
There's one called Pokemon Chaos Black. The evolutions dont make sense, the moves the Pokemon learn are out of balance for the game difficulty, the mapping is almost bad enough to make me cry and the game's filled with bugs (not bug type Pokemon. That would be almost as bad as there needs to be better bug types). No, things like invisible pokemon and no new pokedex entries for the new monsters. The worst part is that you can only get as far as the end of mount moon before the hideous mapping cuts off the exit with an impassable river. I think this version was made by monkeys. They were too busy throwing poo at each other to make a good game.
Its a shame that pixel art and spriting is of no use whatsoever to the game art course I'm doing, as it means I have no useful skills to specialize in as of yet.
But I can make 3D polos. It's progress.

Quote of the day: It is a rare man who is taken for who he truly is.

I hate Luigi

2006-10-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Blogs are weird.
I've never liked diaries, because the past is passed and it's better off left there; it's important to remember the good things, but the best ones stay fresh in your head, regardless of whether you write them down or not.
And blogs are like online diaries, except that you can't say some of the things you really want to, on account of knowing full well that people are reading.
Just thought I'd add that, as my opinion on blogs fluctuates wildly.
So, my course, then. Still not really enjoying it, what with making 3D wheelie bins, which I have to say is an insult to my imagination. I understand the idea that you have to learn the basics and that everything stems from them, but... wheelie bins? Ah, I see I'm getting my money's worth so far.
The Grouch would be rolling in his grave. Which was, in fact, a bin. Or at least it was until he was thrown into the back of a dustbin truck and crushed to death. A tear goes out for the hideous mutant.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, wheelie bins in 3D. Not nearly as exciting as it sounds. Also, there's so many students that we have to learn through trial and error, which would be great if I knew where to begin with the trialling. I have the error part down great, though, so I'm halfway there. Though the incredibly long wheelie bin-making day was made up for.
Me and a group of friends decided to have a session on super smash brothers melee, which was a blast, even though my mind was a little too haunted with the looming wheelie bin threat and bound together with the looming horror of horizon lines, so I was playing a little crappy, to say the least.
I now hate Luigi. Before, I had no strong opinion one way or the other for Mario's slimmer and less popular brother, but now, he needs his head severing and parading on the end of a plunger.
We all spent a long time, taking it in turns and joining up in teams of two against the advancing threat of two highest difficulty-level computer-controlled Luigis. In Pink.
And It was a long time before victory came, as they mercilessly slaughtered all of us without breaking a sweat. The sheer logic of it is mind-boggling. Both me and one of my other friends have defeated three highest level computer controlled characters on one team on our own before, but these two pink Luigis were making a monster mash out of each of us.
What a dark, dark day. I fear I may never be able to sit on the toilet again without fear of surfacing plungers from the depths of the bowl.
Though victory did eventually come, so the threat of the Luigis has been averted... for now.
But I just know they're out there somewhere.
Watching...
Waiting for their time to unleash their hoardes and lay waste to the land.
Knowing none will be able to stop them...
We shall all have to be on our guard.
Don't talk to me about pink plumbers...

Quote of the day: If wishes were fishies, we'd all have cod for tea

I'm all about me

2006-10-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's get dangerous.
Beings as I'm being forced to write this here blog by my course tutor (seriously, he's holding me at gunpoint now. Don't shoot me, Mr. Powell! Yeah, ok I'm lying, I admit it. Don't sue me, Mr. Powell!) then here it is. Here's some more things to know about me. Wake up, you at the back!
I have some questions here to answer... *ruffles through notes*... ah. Here we are. Ahem.
How do I perceive me? Well, you already know my name and some of my interests. I'm not much for self reflection, but here goes. I'm generally easy going, though I can get quite fiery when I think it's called for.
I like to debate (or, some people would say, I'm opinionated) though I don't think my opinions are the be-all and end-all. Like picking noses, everyone's entitled to pick their own (just not in public, please). I like to hear people's opinions, as long as they're not downright offensive. It broadens the horizons.
I have a quirky sense of humour, and I try to be as friendly as I can with people. I'm brutally honest (don't ask me if your bum looks big in a skirt. Especially if you're a guy.)
I'm fiercely loyal to my friends, and trustworthy.
I'm not a religious man, but I am spiritual. I consider myself to be loosely wiccan, and have been referred to as a witch on many occasions, sometimes by myself, more often by other people.
How does it feel to be blogging? well, kinda weird. I've never wrote one before, but i like writing, so yes it's an objective, I wouldn't do it on my own accord, but i have to admit I'm enjoying boring you people who read this senseless. Makes me feel all warm inside. Its a little odd writing to people who aren't here, but they are out there, much like the truth in X-files but less unusual. The unusual-ness is left up to me ;) and I'm damn proud of it. I like to be an invididual, which is a good thing really, as it happens naturally.
Ok, one last thing. I except people for who they are, and I expect them to do the same of me. If they don't do that, then people aren't worth your time, I always say. You are who you are, so always be true to yourself.
That pretty much covers it for now, really. Theres only so long I can talk about me (before others start to think im doing it too much anyways) so I'll leave it there. Take it easy.

Quote of the day: It's better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you're not

Kingdom Farts 2

2006-10-06T03:53:00.000-07:00

Beings as I'm doing a game art course, here's some creative reviewing for you.
I bought Kingdom Hearts 2 by Square Enix last week. This was under apprehension, as the first game was very good, but the company's effort at Final Fantasy X-2 was an abomination unto me. I'm only 12 hours into KH2, so I can only review the parts that I've played so far and it may get better as it goes along, but that's just the problem.
The game's about a boy called Sora who teams up with Donald Duck and Goofy of Disney fame to fight against the world-threatening monsters that steal hearts who, not surprisingly, are called the Heartless. The party have to travel from world to world, sealing up the breaks in the worlds with a powerful weapon known as a keyblade (or in layman's terms a big, honking key that can stab people). There's also a threat from another group of heartless off-shoots with their own agenda called Nobodies, part of Organization XIII.
There is little that wants me to get further. It's not that it's a bad game in it's own right, but the continuity from the first game is non existant. For a start, in the first game they were firm about how the worlds couldn't know of each other as it would threaten their existance and here the characters are running around practically announcing it to everyone they meet and the worlds are crossing over by themselves. The main characters also needed to use disguises in the first game in each world, but this rule seems to have been all but forgotten in the earlier levels.
It all feels a little choppy, as the earlier worlds are hideously similiar to the first game to the point of some of them just feeling like a rehash. though I would expect more later on, it's just finding the enthusiasm to get there.
The other thing is the port royal level, which is based on pirates of the caribbean. The story for this level is almost identical to the film - a big disappointment. The voice acting isn't by the real actors (to say it's bad is an understatement) and Square Enix have tried to mould together a realistic style with Donald and Goofy in it, resulting in something that looks vaguely like a cut and paste job.
I know I'm probably being a little hard on it, but as I said, gameplay wise, it's enjoyable, it's just the influx of old levels and there seems to be something udefinable missing. It feels like the effort has been left out, but I still reserve final judgement until I complete it, when I'm eventually called back to it.

Quote of the Day: "God! Zeus! Satan! You owe me!" - Proffessor Farnsworth, Futurama

Introduction to me, 1.01

2006-10-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

I'll begin at the beginning. My name's Dave, I'm doing a BA Honors in Game Art Design at DMU. I love many things including - naturally - computer games (anything except racing games and sports games), martial arts and movies, comics, anime and manga, reading and - big surprise - art. I've also been known to talk too much, though its debatable on whether I actually say anything. That's a matter of personal opinion.
I've just been through the chaos of fresher's week (I ignored the chaos until it went away) and I am now into the chaos of the first week of the course.
Intimidating. Everyone seems to be better at drawing than me and the rants about 3DS Max have left me feeling like I need to learn another language, which, quite frankly, I'm crap at, so not a great start all in all.
Which isn't to say I'm sitting here at my blog crying like a schoolgirl and going 'boo hoo, woe is me'. Would be a waste of my time. It does mean, though, that I need to pull my thumb out and rise to the occasion. I've been waiting a little too long to break into the games industry and make a difference to the generic crap out there at the moment to hand in my chips. Besides, I like chips and I'm hungry. I think I'll keep my chips.
In any case, I've made some great friends and I am enjoying all the time I spend here, so thats something. So, a shout out to all my friends. You know who you are, if you don't then you're missing out on your moment of fame.
We shall see what can be done. Until I have something else to say (not uncommon) or until I get bored, cya laters.