Creativity Is Dying

Creativity has long been a goal of game designers to reach in there different creations. Older games’ creativity level was to the point of how you played the game like (the original Super Mario Brothers game) there was no creativity to the player, except how to go about playing it. Someone could play it aggressive and run through the level, or slow and safe and walk through it to save the princess at the end of the game.

Now, game design has come further from that level of creativity. We’ve got games like Minecraft, Little Big Planet, and the Sims to satisfy our creative minds, but, just how creative can you be in these games. For a minute, think of the most creative thing you’ve ever done in a game. Any game, even games like Angry Birds. How did you beat that really hard level? Was It different that how your friend did it? Did you make Mount Doom in Minecraft?

What if someone told you “Grand Theft Auto is more creative than Minecraft.” (For those of you who haven’t played Minecraft, it’s a game where you a free to create whatever you want with textured blocks similar to Legos.) Minecraft may be able to give it’s players the ability to create worlds of there imagination, but it’s lacking something. These games like Minecraft all have one problem. Your creativity is limited. Creativity doesn’t always mean happy sunshine rainbows. It can be the dark twisted side of culture too. Grand Theft Auto was able to give its players that ability.

During my younger years, I picked up a copy of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. My younger self loved the freedom it gave me from the start; the lifelike people in the game, and the real scenarios you could get into. After I had beaten the main story, something compelled me to keep playing. At the time of course I didn’t know why, but it was difficult to put it down. Now, I can see why. In the game’s freedom aspect, I was able to create my own story. I could craft a story that kept me interested in the story of the main character, CJ.

One of my creations was that CJ had acquired some gambling debts, and in order to pay it back, he was forced to go as low as to mug enemy gang members for their money. In another story, CJ had gotten dumped by one of the many possible girl friends in the game, so to get revenge. He stole her car and drove it into the airport to blow it up. Of course with the amazing hospitals he would survive the explosion. These were simple and silly stories but it gave the game depth that game’s like Minecraft, and The Sims can’t bring. Yes, they can provide similar experiences, but not like Grand Theft Auto could. Minecraft and The Sims fall short in the ability to create a story by just playing. When anyone plays Minecraft, rarely ever do you just create a story. Someone would go into the game, with a preconceived idea of what they want. That’s where the creation falls short.

Play Station 4

Sony, the developer of the Play Station Consoles, has tossed their hat into the ring for Next Generation Consoles. Sony’s new addition to the family is obviously the Play Station 4.  As unveiled on Wednesday at the Sony press release.

The console will be featuring the new controller, and a new console. However, in the new Console release Sony didn’t show the actual CONSOLE. Sony never once showed the new console at the press release. However, they talked about it the whole time.

The PlayStation 4 will now be a more “Social” System. It will be featuring a enhanced picture output, and new operating system to boot. The next PlayStation is pushing to be more, “Social.” Along with this, “Interesting” new step, Sony is keeping out backwards compatibility. (For those who don’t know, basically the new system can’t play Play Station 3 games.) Sony’s new Play Station also won’t bring your PSN purchases onto the new system.

However, in a lighter note, the Play Station 4’s controller is a serious step in a good direction. If you don’t follow controller schematics very closely, the Play Station 3’s controller has minor motion control. Just basic movements, not Wii remote level, but close to it. The new controller has both updated motion control, a touch pad, increased battery life, increased rumble features, and it is show casing the new “Eye” software/hardware for the new Play Station. The new “Eye” software is a new paten from Sony for the PlayStation. Not much has been released, but it could be the new PlayStation version of the Xbox’s Kinect, from the old PlayStation 2. Controllers stepping forward is great for an industry constantly pushing to redesign older creations into new and improved designs. We have for far too long accepted these outdated controllers and accepted them.

At the press release, developers announced new games to be released. The old controllers have worked for their time, but now newer technology is surpassing the current day technology. In the new game line-up announcements were: Watchdogs, Infamous, Killzone, Bungie’s new Destiny, and Diablo 3. Yes. Diablo 3. Blizzard has announced it’s first steps at becoming a console studio, but with Diablo 3?  A few other studios tossed their hat in too saying they will be creating new games for the new system. Hopefully Sony doesn’t repeat in their trip up for the PlayStation 3 release, when it had such a small pool of games to pick from. As far as Social goes, the console has a “Share” button built into the controller, and a headphone jack on the controller for ease of use. The system also was said to have a focus on connecting with your friends.

The Story Behind the First Person Shooter

Have you ever thought about why there are so many games about being a single one-man army of unstoppable force left to take on impossible odds? Why are there so many copies of certain name brand games, or every spin off knock off game? Does it poke at your curiosity? Have you noticed the lack of these types of games in other countries? (Actually, the last one is a slight stretch)

There is a reason for this trend of First Person Shooter games, but to explain it you must first think about where did games start? Simple answer: Japan. Now Japan, as the birthplace of games, wouldn’t you think that there would be a wide range of games in Japan? Honestly, no.  Japan, like America, fills the desires of the public. Japan has made a fortune in this, and America is doing a similar job. The cravings of American people are very different than that of the peoples of Japan.

This difference isn’t in our current day culture, but it stems from the legends and myths passed down from olden days. In Japan, warriors weren’t supposed to see their weapons as a tool to kill, but as an extension of the body. The weapon took on a whole new purpose than just another weapon to kill. Think about The Legend of Zelda Link has the Master sword, but he doesn’t use it as a sword all the time. He uses it to accomplish his goal. Now, think about American ideals. We always support the everyday man, picking up his TOOL and defeating the enemy. Americans don’t see our “warriors” as men that use their guns as a part of them. American’s idealize the gun and you can even see it in our military training. In our military we train the MAN. In Japan, they train the Man to use his gun as an extension of himself. Think of the Samurai of old. These ancient warriors never quit training. They strived to make a their sword as apart of them, as their arm.

Think about this. What does the Call of Duty game have you do? You, as a lone soldier, must defeat (honestly the entire enemy army) a horde of fully trained enemy soldiers. American’s have such a fantasy to see this done over and over. We play our Call of Duty’s as almost a wet dream. (Also it’s because one game sold way better than Activision expected, and Activision is a corporate sellout that forces Infinity ward and Treyarch to slave off making these games.)

These long held beliefs have caused the different countries to have a more selective in what types of games can be produced.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Iconic cover with the American warrior.

So You Want to Work on Games

Do you, like many others, think that it would be fun and easy to work on games? Many people think games would be great to work on, but the truth is, it can be very different.

The gaming industry rarely ever has fun and easy jobs like that. The people that really back the games you love, and spend hard time and effort to make that game come true, are people with great work ethics and commitment. A typical game industry employee works from 9AM to late at night, such as 8 or 9PM, for two or three days straight, and then is off for three or four days. Also, the “game tester” job among gods is nearly impossible to get. These people are generally going to do these jobs till they die or get too old to play the new games coming out. However, these jobs also pay very poorly, and work horrid hours (sometimes twice a month.) Game testers people almost always do something else as a full time job (meaning they have another job where they clock in at least 40 hours a week). The gaming industry can also be a little cutthroat. People will fight to get the steady jobs that pay decent and get to be in the studio they want. However, don’t be discouraged if this is truly what you think you want to do. This industry is blessed in the sense that a vast majority of the people in it are there because they are doing what they love, and not people in there just to have a job. The industry is also pretty low on the chances an employee will get laid off, but, should you get laid off, other studios would gladly accept a veteran in game design versus a new person fresh out of college. The gaming industry can become your new home away from home, or it can chew you up and spit you out. It all comes down to how you preform.

Now, obviously I have not worked in this industry, but I’ve done extensive research, and emailed people currently in it to ask different questions about this industry. Here are a few tips and other bits of advice:

• People should be able to openly talk to others and remember faces to names well. As a big way to get a job is to have connections, and to do that, you have to meet as many people as you can.
• If you have ideas for new games, unfortunately, that doesn’t count for a lot. Most game designers can have tons of ideas they want to create, but probably will never see come to life. However, if you want to see this even possibly reviewed, the best way to pitch a new game idea is to create a working prototype. Make a working idea to show to people.
• This industry also rewards those who can work well with others. Obviously you won’t be working alone on pretty much anything, so you have to be able to work well with others.
• Being able to think quickly on your feet and not get stressed if things don’t work. You will constantly run into problems and all sorts of computer glitches, and you as a dedicated employee would have to be able to manage this hurdle and overcome it.
• Try to play as many games as you can so you can see how every game comes together. Knowing what is being made can help you see your goals. Also, it doesn’t hurt to play more than your few favorite games.
• Never limit yourself to just one type of game. Try multiple types of games, and try multiple games in different areas.
• Support the studios that make good quality games.

These tips cannot guarantee a job making games, but can surely help you in your “quest” to get a job in this industry. If you want any further information, please don’t hesitate to email or contact me for help.

Girls in Games

In our industry of video games, there are certain…stereotypes that we need to see broken. Think about it. How often do you see a female portrayed in a video game in a non-sexual way, or even a normal girl? You might be able to think of a few, like Alyx Vance from the Half Life series. It’s not impossible for a game to have a non-stereotypical female character, but the ratio is too great for typical females.

Now, you might ask/think why does this matter? I like sexy girls in games; it’s not hurting anyone. Truth is: this stereotypical female is holding back our medium. When our industry is accused of being immature, or corrupting the children of the world. How can we defend ourselves when every female is being portrayed as a girl who can’t deicide whether to wear a bikini, or even wear cloths at all?

Take the old series of Tomb Raider. Lara Croft was always seen wearing the same outfit, the cutoff shorts, and her shirt that was many sizes too small. She became a symbol of sex. This inlays the problem. Her idea of a character was great. A tough girl exploring caves and ruins for priceless treasure, and running into ancient curses and monsters in doing so. None of that needed the visualization of a girl with short-shorts and a tiny shirt. That was added just to make the game sell better, and it definitely did. This can’t continue to happen. It’s holding our industry back. Females always see games as a guys’ way to see scantly clad girls dance around on the screen. I stand against this reasoning. I want to keep seeing more girls like Zelda. She fights her own fights. She might be a princess, but she also has the ninja side to her too, Shiek. If our industry would make more characters like that, we’d see a vast increase in the diversity of both games and it’s players.

Sheik (AKA Zelda) from the Legend of Zelda series

This is why if we could see this change, it could reshape what people think about games. Wouldn’t it be great to have your girlfriend play more games with you because she doesn’t have to see girls like Ivy, From the Soul Caliber series, all the time? I’m not saying we can never have a sexy girl in a game again. Look at Beyonetta, or Catherine. Both of those games have a sexy female protagonist, and both still make great games.

Lastly, you might be thinking. What can I do? Small town Owensboro, no one notices anything I do. Wrong. Boycott certain games. If a game is just a sex appeal game – don’t buy it. Don’t rent it. Don’t borrow it. Try and convince others not to. It will diminish the sales of that game, and as much as it pains me to say it. That’s what drives our industry. Then when those jewels show up, buy those games. Games like Half Life, or Portal; both have strong female protagonists. If more and more people do this, then we could see a change in our industry. Making it all the greater in its ability to tell a story with truly defined and carved out characters.

Bethesda Playing Fair? Or Biased to the Xbox and PC?

Skyrim is a multi-platform AAA title game that was released Nov. 11, 2011. Bethesda, the developing studio, made Skyrim as the fifth installment of The Elder Scrolls series. Skyrim was one of the top games of the 2011 lineup, and still is even this far into 2012. Although recently beat out by two new games, Bethesda has fallen behind on delivering property to its different fan bases. Dawngaurd, Skyrim’s first D.L.C. (Down Loadable Content), came out June 2012 for the Xbox, and early July for PC, but has still yet to come out for the PS3. Hearthfire, the second Skyrim D.L.C, came out for the Xbox September 4^th, and September 8, 2012 for PC, but still yet to come out for PS3. Starting to notice a trend?

Now, ask why? What does Bethesda gain from this delay? The answer: nothing. Bethesda actually is loosing some of its PS3 fan base. It isn’t completely Bethesda’s fault, nor is it Sony’s fault, the corporate brand owner of the PS3. The reason the Xbox obtained the D.L.C. so soon is because Microsoft sent Bethesda money to help Bethesda speed up the production of the D.L.C.

Money pushing production happens more often than not.

Sony, on the other hand, didn’t send money to Bethesda. Which is fine to do too. Sony could have saved money and resources for other projects. The PC got it earlier, because the Xbox is similar to program for the PC. When Bethesda released the Dawngaurd D.L.C. for Xbox, the fans of the PS3 were upset that they still hadn’t gotten the D.L.C. The problem is, Bethesda realized that the D.L.C. was much harder to program for the PS3. While this wasn’t recognized as a problem at first, but recently it has started to become a problem. PS3 fans have gotten incredibly mad at both Sony and Bethesda for not getting the D.L.C. Bethesda’s original stance blamed Sony, then said, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Bethesda claims that Dawngaurd is a big D.L.C. and wanted to make sure that when they released it for the PS3 that it would preform above average. Which I personally, as an owner of both systems, am glad they want to make sure the quality of the D.L.C. is to the standard they want it to reach.

New information that Bethesda will soon be done and releasing the D.L.C., Hearthfire, was kept in secret until two months ago during a PC update. One of the PC players found a bit of code that when translated to English, was a file named D.L.C. for Xbox Hearthfire. There was speculation for a while if it as true or not, until Bethesda publicly released news about Hearthfire in late August 2012. Recently, in a new PC update, players found a few files hinting to PS3 users finally getting Dawngaurd and Hearthfire, and a PS3 exclusive D.L.C.

A screenshot of a translated PC update showing PS3 downloadable content, or D.L.C.

The new D.L.C. seems to be called Dragonborn (original right?), but with a D.L.C. for the PS3. This means that Bethesda would have figured out how to program for the PS3, and the other two D.L.C’s must be soon after. It is still just speculation, but Hearthfire was found in the same way: speculation at first, and then proven to be true. Leave your comments and tell me what you think below.

Borderlands 2 Review

Salvador Driving the new Bandit Mechanical into one of the new monsters.

Borderlands 2 was released September 18^th. Gearbox’s first person shooter/role playing Game was a smashing success; for those of you who haven’t bop on over to http://digitaldevil.org/ and look for the Borderlands 2 article. The game’s new features work wonderfully into the Borderlands formula. The new classes (the Commando, the Siren, the Gunzerker, and the Assassin) are fun to play as and play with. Each class offers a unique gameplay style to use. Example, the Commando, the class I primarily use, is a head-strong character that has a powerful turret that can be molded into any type of turret that is needed. You can use the turret as another gun, as a big explosive, or as a shield to block enemy fire. Each of the other classes all can be molded to fit an individual player’s play style. The classes being very distinct offers a wide range of replay-ability to the game. The game’s new features also add new experiences to the game. The enemies aren’t as formulaic to take down now. Some turning to kill each other, some switching sides to help you, and some dance around you doing small amounts of damage. These enemies mix it up to make sure the game doesn’t get too repetitive to the point of hold the trigger till everything stops moving; although, the mass amounts of “loot” boxes and such will be slightly overwhelming. The vast majority will contain nothing but $4, but after a while that money stacks. Plus money plays a much bigger role to the player if used correctly.  The game also has a more substantial plot than Borderlands 1 did. Borderlands 2 has each of the original four characters from the first game, plus a new group of cast to add in. With this multitude of people in the game, players will come across a wide range of missions assigned to them. Borderlands 2 also is scheduled to have four D.L.C’s (Down Loadable Content) that are supposed to be longer than the longest one from 1. These four D.L.C’s will offer an even father horizon to the game. Plus Gearbox, the creative studio behind Borderlands, has announced more D.L.Cs to be released such as new characters, vehicles, and new types of weapons. These add-ons once again will make borderlands 2 even better than It was on ship day. The game comes highly recommended to anyone looking for a new game to get. You and 3 friends can go tear apart Pandora with joy and glee.

Assassin’s Creed 3

Assassin’s Creed 3 will breathe new life into the Assassin’s Creed series.

The Assassin’s Creed series has been around since 2007. The series has had 4 game installments and a few other media forms. The series is growing onward from the Middle East, to The United States of America before it was a country.

The Assassin’s Creed series is slightly tricky to follow, but it can be done. The series may seem to be about assassins in the past, but actually is about the story of a man named Desmond Miles. He is a current day assassin who ran away from his family and friends because he believed they were crazy. The assassin’s are an order that have been around sense before Christ, and they have been in battle with a group called the Templars the entire time. The Templars seek out religious artifacts, such as the apple of Eden, and use these items to enslave the world. The assassins fight to stop this and keep these artifacts out of the hands of the unjust. The Templars invented a machine called the Animus, and this machine allows the user to relive the memories of his ancestors through the memories locked in an individual’s DNA. Desmond, not knowing who his family is and what they stand for, gets captured by the Templars to find a map that one of his ancestors saw by using the Animus. The Animus has one side effect that the Templars didn’t know about. The Animus has a “bleeding” effect. It causes the user’s body to gain the muscle memories of their ancestors too. Desmond is forced to relive the memories of two of his past ancestors, Altaïr ibn-La’Ahad, a Muslim assassin, and Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an Italian assassin. Both of these men are heroic leaders of the assassin order’s past, and Desmond is the descendant of them. As the story progresses through these games, we learn more and more about Desmond and his past. Now the story progresses to it’s 5^th installment, Assassin’s Creed 3.

Connor holding his bow

This game follows a new ancestor named Connor. Connor is a half Native American, and half British man. Connor is cast out of his tribe and finds the assassin order, which then he decides to take part in. Connor is trying to eliminate the Templar leaders that are commanding the British army, so naturally he aids the enemy of his enemy, the rebellious colonists. Assassin’s Creed 3 has been taken down to scratch and started over. The game designers wanted this game to feel fresh and more natural Connor will be the first character we play as to climb tree’s, among other things. Connor also sports new weapons to his arsenal, such as the bow, tomahawk, and snap-able hidden blade. Connor will still have the iconic hidden blade, but he will be able to snap it out of it’s socket and wield it like a knife. The mechanics of this game also are revamped, in the part that Connor now can climb tree’s, rock walls, and run through building to escape pursuers. With all the new additions to the game, it will truly bring back the series. This comes with very high remarks, highly suggested to anyone who likes adventure games with cleaver sneaking. Assassin’s Creed 3 is released Oct 30 for $60.00 at any major retailer.

Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2.

Why You Should or Shouldn’t Get It.

Borderlands 2 is the sequel to Borderlands an Xbox/Ps3 game. For those of you who haven’t played the first game, Borderlands takes place on a fictional planet called Pandora. Pandora is a mostly desert-like map with no law to the land. You play as one of four characters with varying abilitys. There as an old story of a vault that has untold riches and you are tasked to find and open the vault. The players will encounter numerous alien beings, bandits, robots, and a corrupt police force. The game also has a kind of crude humor to the game that veteran and new players alike will come to love.

The game has had minor overhaul since the first game has been released. The basic mechanics haven’t been changed too much, with minor changes to streamline the flow of the game. The creators have added in newer vehicles, new enemies, new characters, and a new weapon-randomizing feature. This randomizing feature randomizes the stats of the weapons you, as the player, find. This keeps every person to person’s game different. In addition to the weapon-randomization, bosses are randomized. The different play trough’s will yield different bosses to the player. Such as in one demo mission at E3, the mid summer video conference, the players encountered a giant robot named Titan. Then when the same people replayed the mission, they encountered a similar giant robot, with different abilities, named Saturn. This randomizing is a good feature but also a problem. It adds a replay-ability to the game, but this also means it would be harder for each person to ask for help should the random boss over whelm him/her.

The game overall looks great for someone who loves an F.P.S (First Person Shooter) or an R.P.G (Role Playing Game). The game also has an interesting visual look. It looks more comic-like. This game is great in single player, but also offers a wonderful experience to people who want to play with their friends offering 2 Player offline, 4 Online/LAN (Local Area Network). I would highly recommend this game to anyone who’s looking for a newer game to play alone or with a group of friends. You can pick up Borderlands 2 for $60.00 at any major retailer.

“The Dark Knight Rises” review

“The Dark Knight Rises” continues the trilogy of the Batman movies. If you haven’t seen the other movies then this review probably isn’t for you. I will try and refrain from spoiling the movie for those of you who haven’t seen “The Dark Knight Rises”. I will caution you with a spoiler warning.

For anyone who has read the comics or knows the story of Batman, this movie follows the story theme well. You may be able to guess the next happening in the movie and be right!  “The Dark Knight Rises” was a great movie! The director did a fantastic job at following closely to the comics.

“The Dark Knight Rises” starts with the caped crusader living in retirement because of the events ending the previous movie. With the arrival of Bane (the main villain) Batman is forced out of the self-imposed retirement to save Gotham City.

In the original DC Comics, Bane was a master strategist and incredibly adept in hand-to-hand combat. With these skills, Bane was part of the League of Shadows (the ninja group that trained Batman).  The League, now under Bane’s control despite the League casting him out, has shown up in Gotham to finally destroy it.

This movie has a great story, plot, cast list, and visual effects. One would think this should be perfect, and in theory it is. However, the problem comes in that it’s a little redundant. In the first part of the movie when Batman resurrects himself to fight crime, one first thinks of the title and assumes Batman is rising to defeat the new villain Bane. Then we find out this is not true.

SPOILER WARNING

When Bane fights Batman and breaks his back (thus completing what Bane was created for in the comics) Batman is forced to re-rise. I felt as if the first half of the movie was a bit tedious and actually a waste of time.  Though it isn’t a big flaw, just drags the movie in length.

There are other flaws, mostly minor, but with impact:  Bane’s story and Catwoman’s. Catwoman lost most of her flirty charm that she had in the comics. Plus, in the comics she never fully showed an interest in dating Bruce Wayne. Bane however I felt was too simplified. In the comics, Bane was born and raised in a prison. After a long time of fighting and killing other prisoners. Bane was selected, because he was the strongest and thus the leader of the prison, to test out a new drug called venom. Venom under most circumstances would kill the host, but for bane, it made him incredibly strong, but it also grew an addiction to the drug for Bane. Bane in the movie was just another League of Shadows graduate. As a side note, I really wanted to see Osito, Bane’s teddy bear. I did  enjoy Robin going into the Bat cave.  For anyone who didn’t notice, Robin’s jacket was showing the color scheme for Nightwing (the original Robin). Nightwing is the first (of three) Robins.

Overall I would give “The Dark Knight Rises” an 8.5 out of 10 due to superb cast performance, but slightly boring middle.