This post touches on life and videogames, and is a kind of mild rant, which means it sort of covers all three of my blog's subheadings. Excellent.
This post will also be a break in the Memoires series. Think of it as that quiet moment of reflection in a war movie, where all the gunfire fades out and the reflective music is turned up to 11, and the main character looks at the faces of his dead comrades and asks himself (or herself, lets not be sexist here): what is it all for?
All that time, effectively spent jacked-in to the matrix of Azeroth. What was it all for?
No doubt by now, if you've been reading this series of posts, you will hopefully have realised that MMORPGs hold in themselves complicated challenges and lend themselves to the construction of completely new social structures as well as allowing people to connect in completely new ways.
You may also have thought that the whole thing was pointless, especially if you weren't a gamer (although I have my doubts that anyone who has read this far falls into this category). Be that as it may, I hope the following discourse will still provide fresh food for thought.
To answer the question of "What is it all for?" I think it's best to start from the basics.
What are video games? How do we classify them? I think the clue is in the title - they fall under the category of "game" along with such things like Chess and Backgammon (which I have no idea how to play). This differs however from what I perceive to be general perception of the video game; that it is a form of mindless entertainment like watching the TV, where one consumes content but does not interact with it (or even in some cases, create it). Of course, it's a bit of a sliding scale as far as video games are concerned, as some games are quite mindless whereas others require ample amounts of mental dexterity and lateral thinking.
By extension then, this means that the popular perception of the gamer as a media consumer is fundamentally flawed. Video gaming is actually a hobby, like pursuing a craft such as writing or depending on the game, even a sport. If we look at video gaming from this light, then it's easy to see why people get passionate about it, notwithstanding the fact that games are inherently designed to dole out certain rewards for the work which a gamer puts in.
Right, let's go back to our initial question: What is it all for? Why do people write? Why do people play games?
If we ask this in the context of say, creative writing, a multitude of answers can arise: some people will write because for them it's a release and an escape from the stress of daily life. Others will write because they want to show their skills to the world, and they want to be appreciated for their work and others still write because for them it's how they can study the world and the people around them.
The same applies to video games. For some it is again, an escape. Others play to showcase their skills and to win (for example, there is a growing professional eSports scene surrounding games like Starcraft 2, which is also incidently a fun spectator sport). Finally, and most excitingly to me, social games allow people from all different creeds and classes to connect and be on equal footings, which broadens the horizons of all involved, and they also allow a unique and valuable view of various aspects of the human condition which are difficult to study in real life.
So, what is it all for, for me? Well, at first, playing World of Warcraft was my way to get away from the boredom that was life outside school. It turned into something different altogether; it became my way to prove myself - to try and find meaning in my teenaged existence, it became a way to satisfy my competitive urges and it also turned into a surprisingly good social experience too. Amongst that online space in a world where slaying dragons was the norm, I found somewhere where I really felt accepted and appreciated, somewhere which taught me how to lead and manage a diverse range of people, somewhere where I made long lasting friendships, and somewhere where I experienced visceral highs and crushing lows, all wrapped up in one neat little package for £8 a month.
Funnily enough, Badminton fills most of these criterion too, and that's been another activity that has been a staple of my life for as long as I can remember. However, if I spent hours a day training Badminton, it could easily be considered a noble pursuit. If I spent those same hours researching and theorising about how to maximise the healing potential of my priest, well...you get where I'm going with this.
This is the one thing that frustrates me a lot; the perceived lack of "validity" of video gaming as a pursuit. By this I mean that even though I don't have any interest in something like Major League Baseball, I recognise that it takes skill, dedication and talent to play well and to rise to the top. On the contrary, when a video gamer achieves something, the common reaction of joe public is to go: Good for you, but it's only a videogame - it doesn't matter!
It's a viewpoint that's sold readily by the media and along with all the other stereotyping that's applied, has pinned a very negative stigma on people who play games. This of course, isn't helped by the fact that "video games" is an umbrella term which covers all sorts, from simple puzzle games like Tetris to an extremely complicated game like Civilization IV - a strategy game where the objective is to build a civilization and dominate the world. To use the writing analogy, the difference between the two games is like the difference between a haiku and a full blown fantasy epic: you can of course find meaning in both, but the fantasy epic is more complex, deeper and one would expect the more satisfying read.
If you're good at Tetris, well, you're good at Tetris. If you're good at Civ IV, it shows sound strategic thinking, resource management and tactical thinking, it shows that you are good at balancing competing demands and are able to prioritise as needed - in short, it shows you are able to perform well at a lot of high level cognition tasks; the sort of thing which is valued in pretty much any job.
According to Google, one can define a "game" as a form of play or sport, esp. a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck. Using this definition, we can say that there is fundamentally no difference between Starcraft 2 and Football, and the two are only perceived differently by society and given different weights of importance and validity accordingly.
In a way, even passing exams and getting a degree is a game: the examinee is trying to maximise points scoring by providing answers which conform to an arbitrarily chosen set of criteria. You could argue that the importance of getting a degree comes about since it relates directly to your earning potential, however, given that there are now monthly Starcraft 2 tournaments that pay out $100000 in prize money and there is a growing market in the sale of virtal items and money for real world cash, it should no longer be considered strange that one can make a living from video games. But anyway, I digress.
The point I'm trying to make is: so much of what we do in life is actually just playing games. These games go under various pseudonyms such as exams, job interviews and climbing the career ladder and so are artfully disguised by the cloak of cultural norms, but they are still games nonetheless. It seems odd then, that when we play games that are labelled as games, society as a whole is all too ready to look down on it.
Showing posts with label videogames. Show all posts
Showing posts with label videogames. Show all posts
12 July 2011
30 March 2011
My Life of Videogames
Warning: Gratuitous amounts of nerd content. You have been warned!
I've decided to take this evening off from revision, for not very much reason other than the fact that I'm tired and "The Fear" hasn't really worked itself into me enough to motivate me to work.
This was good, because well, I didn't have to do any work. On the other hand, I've spent a lot of my time pining for my PS3, which unfortunately is locked up in an inaccessible store cupboard.
Seeing as how that avenue of entertainment was unavailable to me, and also as I am ridiculously excited by the impending release of Portal 2, I spent some time playing the flash version, which is still pretty good fun!
I then got a bit contemplative, as you do, because when you spend your downtime solving death traps by jumping through inter-dimensional portals, you get contemplative. Maybe.
Anyway, I got musing on the subject of why I have such a soft spot for video games. I know this is nothing special, and is in fact pretty common nowadays, but still amongst most of the people I know (with the exception of a few friends from home), I appear to be the biggest aficianado.
I can't even remember when I started gaming or who introduced me to it, as some of my earliest memories revolve around an old SNES that my parents had in China. They would let me play once a week on Saturday nights. I can only ever remember playing two games - Contra, which I could never get past the first level of, and another game which I don't know the name of, which I could never get past the first level of.
Believe me, I tried my best, but at 4 years of age there is only so much hand eye co-ordination one can muster.
Then I came to England. Videogames went out of my life for a little while - if I remember correctly, which I probably don't.
Anyway, I remember when I was maybe 8 or 9, getting my first Playstation - good day of my life right there. It came with two games, V-Rally and Gran Turismo. I remember being overawed at how a product could fuse the two fascinations of my life - cars and gaming, into one seamless, playable package. God I played those two games to death. None of my friends could touch me at either of them, although I suspect that was because they were more interested in football (I still can't fathom why).
One particularly vivid memory sticks out when I couldn't sleep one night, and woke at 3am. With the flawless reasoning of my 10 year old self, I decided that if I couldn't sleep then I may as well complete a race on GT. I crept over to the TV and turned it on, aware that if I woke my parents all hell would break loose. Then I raced 5 laps around Autumn Ring - the tensest laps of my life. My ears were standing on stalks, listening for the slight creak of floorboards. 10 minutes later, I won it, my hackles were up the whole time. Just as I saved my progress, I heard footsteps on the landing. I shut off the console and the TV and pretty much flew back into bed. My mum checked in on me several seconds later and was none the wiser. Huge result.
Anyway, time passed and I grew, nursing this addiction. When my mum took me shopping, I would just go to the magazine section for the 40 minutes it would take her to do the weekly shop and read the latest Playstation Magazine from cover to cover - I was never allowed to buy it, of course.
Secondary school rolled around, and soon I had graduated from Playstation onto PC Gaming, and I played everything I could get my hands on, particular favourites included Starcraft, Warcraft and Counterstrike.
Back in the day, I think the reasons for my addiction to jeux vidéo were pretty clear - pure and simple escapism; from restrictive parents, from the awkward / geeky existence that comprised most of my school life, escape from the mundanity of the real world into something interactive and engrossing and fantastical.
I never really got into puzzle games or things like that, I always preferred the more complicated and complex RPGs, and games with a long longevity and replayability (this was probably also because my parents would only buy me two games a year, once for my birthday and once for Christmas; I had to make sure they lasted!).
Fond memories exist from those times - late night multiplayer HoMM3 sessions lasting hours, multiplayer Worms - in the end I got bored of the normal game and would just do rope races.
And then, I discovered MMORPGs...boy, did that nearly screw me up educationally for life! But, I think I'll talk about my adventures in World of Warcraft in a separate post; it deserves that much.
Fast forward to today - why am I still so into gaming? Well, the truth is, the desire isn't the same as it used to be, however, when I can play without feeling guilty, I can still happily sink days into a game and feel pleased about it afterwards. I guess there's just something intrinsically satisfying about understanding, mastering and then beating a system, but more and more I find that gaming is a fantastic way to consume a gripping and engaging story, and many publishers and developers are exploring the medium and delivering great offerings.
At first glance, you would probably say the medium is more film than book, but actually, I think it may well be more like the latter. By having direct control, there is a link established between the player and his/her character that cinema just can't replicate, but anyway, exploring video gaming as an art form is a whole different topic in itself, and not something I can do justice to in this post.
Back to the point! Err...yes. Video games - good. Football - boring.
Anyway, a spiel about a love for videogames wouldn't really be complete unless I included my favourites, so here it is, my Top 10 Favourite Games of All Time (to date!).
10) Warzone 2100 - I will always remember this being the game that introduced me to Real Time Strategy gaming. I played through the campaign of this maybe four times by the time I traded it in, exploring all the different modes of difficulty. Shame they never made a sequel. It was a groundbreaking RTS effort at the time, with base continuity, a first for 3D on the Playstation, combined with great graphics for it's time and a story and scenario which I found quite appealing. It also had a custom tank designer, which as you can imagine I spent hours fiddling with.
9) House of the Dead series - Right, an arcade rail shooter. This game used to draw me to it at the arcades with morbid fascination when I was around ten or so, however, I would never dare play. Too scary. It was only years later that I plucked up the courage to put in some coins and have a go, only to get my ass kicked time after time. There have been 4 iterations of it now, but the first one is the one I'll always remember.
8) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - I guess you could say it was the spiritual successor to Crash Bandicoot in a way. A balls to the wall adrenaline rush from start to finish, packed with humorous touches and unbelievable polish. This is the Hollywood blockbuster of video games and a massive rollercoaster ride that grabs you and doesn't let go. It pushes the boundaries of the action genre for sure, with massive set pieces and such well defined characters. Although the plot is rather standard action fare, it's in the telling of it that this game really shines.
7) Starcraft/Starcraft II - An iconic classic. There's not a whole lot to say about this game which hasn't already been said by many thousands upon millions of people. It's just really good, and if you want to play competitively online - really hard, think Chess on steroids against an overclocked Deep Thought.
6) Warcraft III: Frozen Throne - The Warcraft universe is possibly one of the most fleshed out fantasy worlds in existence, and Blizzard offered a polished and compelling RTS set within it with a great character focused story and a new hero mechanic which was almost RPG esque. Not to mention the map editor, responsible for such addictive things like Hero Siege and DoTA.
5) Mass Effect series - Whilst the trilogy isn't yet complete, the first two parts were more than enough to get it up to 5th on this list. I am a huge sci-fi fan, and having the chance to take part in my very own space opera was like a dream come true. The first game has possibly one of the most epic climaxes of any game on this list, and it was just so moving.
4) World of Warcraft - This game took out 2 intense years of my life. I don't regret it and I would do it all over again. Although, perhaps it wasn't the game though, so much the amazing people I met whilst playing this game that made it so good, but then, without Blizzard putting those compelling raiding challenges together, who knows whether I would have even met them in the first place.
3) Gran Turismo - What's there to explain? I love cars, Polyphony Digital obviously love cars too. A match made in heaven.
2) Metal Gear Solid series - Konami's signature series of Tactical Espionage Action essentially redefined a whole genre, but let's put that aside. At the time of playing, I found it hard to appreciate the subtler aspects of this game - the social commentary, the philosophising, which now, after completing MGS4 I'm finding quite fascinating. When I first played, I rememer being engrossed with the sneaking around, the stealth and figuring out the guard and camera patterns so I could sneak by. Alerts were high adrenaline and an unbelievable rush. I will also never forget some of the boss battles - Mantis of course, for screwing with the controller, but also Sniper Wolf, partly because her character was memorable, but also because duelling across a frozen wasteland with sniper rifles, whilst the wolves howled and the snow tore around the screen was something quite special indeed. And of course, the infamous torture scene, responsible for friction burned knuckles the world over.
Subsequent games have not been without their high points - most notably the microwave duct crawl in MGS4 and the final battle - damn, that was heroism defined, but, for me, nothing in the series can quite match up to that first title on the PSX.
Oh, and the main theme.
1) Final Fantasy VIII - This was the game which showed me the possibility that video games could have as a storytelling format. It was also the game which introduced me to the Final Fantasy series, and to role playing games in general. Even looking back on it today; whilst the gameplay lacks the refinement of today's offerings, the core of it still holds up excellently, and the story, essentially boiling down to the character study of a traumatised young adult, following in his footsteps as he tries to reconcile the fear of being hurt with the human need to not be alone, is one that is timeless and one I hold close to my heart. Wrap this up in a universe dripping with a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi detailing and a world shattering plot, combine with a fantastic soundtrack - the orchestral mixes of which I still listen to today and you get a game that's as good as it comes. Others come close, but none equal.
I've decided to take this evening off from revision, for not very much reason other than the fact that I'm tired and "The Fear" hasn't really worked itself into me enough to motivate me to work.
This was good, because well, I didn't have to do any work. On the other hand, I've spent a lot of my time pining for my PS3, which unfortunately is locked up in an inaccessible store cupboard.
Seeing as how that avenue of entertainment was unavailable to me, and also as I am ridiculously excited by the impending release of Portal 2, I spent some time playing the flash version, which is still pretty good fun!
I then got a bit contemplative, as you do, because when you spend your downtime solving death traps by jumping through inter-dimensional portals, you get contemplative. Maybe.
Anyway, I got musing on the subject of why I have such a soft spot for video games. I know this is nothing special, and is in fact pretty common nowadays, but still amongst most of the people I know (with the exception of a few friends from home), I appear to be the biggest aficianado.
I can't even remember when I started gaming or who introduced me to it, as some of my earliest memories revolve around an old SNES that my parents had in China. They would let me play once a week on Saturday nights. I can only ever remember playing two games - Contra, which I could never get past the first level of, and another game which I don't know the name of, which I could never get past the first level of.
Believe me, I tried my best, but at 4 years of age there is only so much hand eye co-ordination one can muster.
Then I came to England. Videogames went out of my life for a little while - if I remember correctly, which I probably don't.
Anyway, I remember when I was maybe 8 or 9, getting my first Playstation - good day of my life right there. It came with two games, V-Rally and Gran Turismo. I remember being overawed at how a product could fuse the two fascinations of my life - cars and gaming, into one seamless, playable package. God I played those two games to death. None of my friends could touch me at either of them, although I suspect that was because they were more interested in football (I still can't fathom why).
One particularly vivid memory sticks out when I couldn't sleep one night, and woke at 3am. With the flawless reasoning of my 10 year old self, I decided that if I couldn't sleep then I may as well complete a race on GT. I crept over to the TV and turned it on, aware that if I woke my parents all hell would break loose. Then I raced 5 laps around Autumn Ring - the tensest laps of my life. My ears were standing on stalks, listening for the slight creak of floorboards. 10 minutes later, I won it, my hackles were up the whole time. Just as I saved my progress, I heard footsteps on the landing. I shut off the console and the TV and pretty much flew back into bed. My mum checked in on me several seconds later and was none the wiser. Huge result.
Anyway, time passed and I grew, nursing this addiction. When my mum took me shopping, I would just go to the magazine section for the 40 minutes it would take her to do the weekly shop and read the latest Playstation Magazine from cover to cover - I was never allowed to buy it, of course.
Secondary school rolled around, and soon I had graduated from Playstation onto PC Gaming, and I played everything I could get my hands on, particular favourites included Starcraft, Warcraft and Counterstrike.
Back in the day, I think the reasons for my addiction to jeux vidéo were pretty clear - pure and simple escapism; from restrictive parents, from the awkward / geeky existence that comprised most of my school life, escape from the mundanity of the real world into something interactive and engrossing and fantastical.
I never really got into puzzle games or things like that, I always preferred the more complicated and complex RPGs, and games with a long longevity and replayability (this was probably also because my parents would only buy me two games a year, once for my birthday and once for Christmas; I had to make sure they lasted!).
Fond memories exist from those times - late night multiplayer HoMM3 sessions lasting hours, multiplayer Worms - in the end I got bored of the normal game and would just do rope races.
And then, I discovered MMORPGs...boy, did that nearly screw me up educationally for life! But, I think I'll talk about my adventures in World of Warcraft in a separate post; it deserves that much.
Fast forward to today - why am I still so into gaming? Well, the truth is, the desire isn't the same as it used to be, however, when I can play without feeling guilty, I can still happily sink days into a game and feel pleased about it afterwards. I guess there's just something intrinsically satisfying about understanding, mastering and then beating a system, but more and more I find that gaming is a fantastic way to consume a gripping and engaging story, and many publishers and developers are exploring the medium and delivering great offerings.
At first glance, you would probably say the medium is more film than book, but actually, I think it may well be more like the latter. By having direct control, there is a link established between the player and his/her character that cinema just can't replicate, but anyway, exploring video gaming as an art form is a whole different topic in itself, and not something I can do justice to in this post.
Back to the point! Err...yes. Video games - good. Football - boring.
Anyway, a spiel about a love for videogames wouldn't really be complete unless I included my favourites, so here it is, my Top 10 Favourite Games of All Time (to date!).
10) Warzone 2100 - I will always remember this being the game that introduced me to Real Time Strategy gaming. I played through the campaign of this maybe four times by the time I traded it in, exploring all the different modes of difficulty. Shame they never made a sequel. It was a groundbreaking RTS effort at the time, with base continuity, a first for 3D on the Playstation, combined with great graphics for it's time and a story and scenario which I found quite appealing. It also had a custom tank designer, which as you can imagine I spent hours fiddling with.
9) House of the Dead series - Right, an arcade rail shooter. This game used to draw me to it at the arcades with morbid fascination when I was around ten or so, however, I would never dare play. Too scary. It was only years later that I plucked up the courage to put in some coins and have a go, only to get my ass kicked time after time. There have been 4 iterations of it now, but the first one is the one I'll always remember.
8) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - I guess you could say it was the spiritual successor to Crash Bandicoot in a way. A balls to the wall adrenaline rush from start to finish, packed with humorous touches and unbelievable polish. This is the Hollywood blockbuster of video games and a massive rollercoaster ride that grabs you and doesn't let go. It pushes the boundaries of the action genre for sure, with massive set pieces and such well defined characters. Although the plot is rather standard action fare, it's in the telling of it that this game really shines.
7) Starcraft/Starcraft II - An iconic classic. There's not a whole lot to say about this game which hasn't already been said by many thousands upon millions of people. It's just really good, and if you want to play competitively online - really hard, think Chess on steroids against an overclocked Deep Thought.
6) Warcraft III: Frozen Throne - The Warcraft universe is possibly one of the most fleshed out fantasy worlds in existence, and Blizzard offered a polished and compelling RTS set within it with a great character focused story and a new hero mechanic which was almost RPG esque. Not to mention the map editor, responsible for such addictive things like Hero Siege and DoTA.
5) Mass Effect series - Whilst the trilogy isn't yet complete, the first two parts were more than enough to get it up to 5th on this list. I am a huge sci-fi fan, and having the chance to take part in my very own space opera was like a dream come true. The first game has possibly one of the most epic climaxes of any game on this list, and it was just so moving.
4) World of Warcraft - This game took out 2 intense years of my life. I don't regret it and I would do it all over again. Although, perhaps it wasn't the game though, so much the amazing people I met whilst playing this game that made it so good, but then, without Blizzard putting those compelling raiding challenges together, who knows whether I would have even met them in the first place.
3) Gran Turismo - What's there to explain? I love cars, Polyphony Digital obviously love cars too. A match made in heaven.
2) Metal Gear Solid series - Konami's signature series of Tactical Espionage Action essentially redefined a whole genre, but let's put that aside. At the time of playing, I found it hard to appreciate the subtler aspects of this game - the social commentary, the philosophising, which now, after completing MGS4 I'm finding quite fascinating. When I first played, I rememer being engrossed with the sneaking around, the stealth and figuring out the guard and camera patterns so I could sneak by. Alerts were high adrenaline and an unbelievable rush. I will also never forget some of the boss battles - Mantis of course, for screwing with the controller, but also Sniper Wolf, partly because her character was memorable, but also because duelling across a frozen wasteland with sniper rifles, whilst the wolves howled and the snow tore around the screen was something quite special indeed. And of course, the infamous torture scene, responsible for friction burned knuckles the world over.
Subsequent games have not been without their high points - most notably the microwave duct crawl in MGS4 and the final battle - damn, that was heroism defined, but, for me, nothing in the series can quite match up to that first title on the PSX.
Oh, and the main theme.
1) Final Fantasy VIII - This was the game which showed me the possibility that video games could have as a storytelling format. It was also the game which introduced me to the Final Fantasy series, and to role playing games in general. Even looking back on it today; whilst the gameplay lacks the refinement of today's offerings, the core of it still holds up excellently, and the story, essentially boiling down to the character study of a traumatised young adult, following in his footsteps as he tries to reconcile the fear of being hurt with the human need to not be alone, is one that is timeless and one I hold close to my heart. Wrap this up in a universe dripping with a mixture of fantasy and sci-fi detailing and a world shattering plot, combine with a fantastic soundtrack - the orchestral mixes of which I still listen to today and you get a game that's as good as it comes. Others come close, but none equal.
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