Making Time for Gaming and Difficulty Modes

I probably won't get to play Starfield, Buldur's Gate 3, FF16 and many other games anytime soon, if ever. These games are being called genre-defining or ‘all-timers’ by many yet there's not a chance I'll play all of them because the time-sink would be too great. So, I’ve played the games that I know I didn’t want to miss like RE4 Remake, Zelda, Mario Wonder, Goodbye Volcano High and other quirky indie games that don't take tens of hours to complete. It's just such a shame as 2023 was one of the best years ever for videogames and 2024 could be looking pretty good too. Will I ever catch up? No. No, I won’t.

As a 43 year old married man, I only have a finite amount of time and I want to feel like I'm progressing. If it were my uni student days, where I had all that free time between lectures, then that would a different matter. For me, who completed Operation Wolf on the green monochrome screen of the Amstrad CPC 464 on the keyboard, the idea of challenge is nothing. No, facing enemy combatants in a jungle setting on a green screen was my #Legend moment. Additionally, as you get older your reaction times slow and, whilst they don't calcify, they are definitely significantly slower than they used to be- it's simple biology. Thus, some games become incredibly challenging but that doesn't mean I don't relish the fight. 

One of my greatest (and earliest) gaming achievements.

I've never understood the 'Git Good' tribalism that exists for some of these games. Life is hard enough so for many videogames are a leisurely escape in their downtime. I always start on the regular mode but, when there are unfair difficulty spikes or the need to resource farm to progress, I slide down to easy to progress before reverting to the regular mode again. I'm a child of the 80s and I did my time on incredibly hard or borderline unfair games in the arcades and on the home computers of the time. I've completed Katana Zero, Nier: Automata and many other recognisably 'hard' games but I can swallow my pride when needed and alter the challenge. For when I am feeling particularly hardcore, I play From Software games but I haven't completed any except Elden Ring, due to the farming needed when there is a huge difficulty spike. I only completed Elden Ring due to the fact that I could wander around a huge world when I met a creature that was too powerful and get OP-ed in the process.

Elden Ring is my most played game and took me over 160 hours to beat.

I am already saturated with so much media; if it's not games it's books, audiobook, magazines, podcasts, music albums, YouTube short and long form video essays, graphic novels etc without the added complication of playing all these videogames too. Gaming would dominate all my free time and, when you are a teacher with a young family, manage this level of gaming would be detrimental to my family life not to mention mental health.

My gaming pile is quite high and that’s before I account for digital games like Alan Wake 2, A Highland Song and a few others.

I have a huge backlog across all media forms and the Backlog Guilt Spectrum is real. I look at my 'to do' pile then inexplicably proceed to purchase more. I regularly go through massively productive periods where I make a dent in this backlog. Traditionally, I have a calm January where stay away from games and read or watch films and TV series. Usually, that is followed by the Summer holidays where I read prodigious amounts to make good on my promise to finish all the books I've purchased over the past year. I did that this year and felt immensely proud, before buying a load more books and feeling that tension rise again.

I have a real choice paralysis as I have always been quite informed about a lot of pop culture so not having experience of certain things seems anathema to me but that's what age, work and life does to you, it forces you to face your commitments to other things and realise that there is too much media to be consumed so slow down and enjoy the ride.

The Year Ahead in Gaming

Okay, I've joined the fray- after the usual flurry of end of year gaming reflections there's the typical 'looking to the year ahead' SEO thing, and I'm no different so here's my version of that, strictly tongue in cheek mind. Now, no-one can predict exactly what is going to happen but why let that stand in the way of an article? Let me gird me loins and let's get cracking.

In January, I abstain from any form of videogaming and usually catch up on the books, comics, graphic novels, podcasts, films and TV series that I've been meaning to get to but haven't. It has been building up quite a lot after the Summer holidays last year, where I went on a massive reading binge whilst in Cape Verde for the week and inhaled a load of books.

I read through a lot but this January my plan is to go through this lot... I'm sure I'd have a good old go and finish a lot though so I've probably bought more by the end if the month and given myself another huge to do list... Anything to ignore the fact that life is entropy and we are all slowly one step closer to death. Ahem. Onwards!

So, February will see me hitting the games big time. Catching up on this sweet stash. Finally I'll finish Mario Wonder and pause to think what the mustachiod err wonder will do next. Also, I'd have bought the Another Code: Remake Collection, which would have come out on Jan 19th, and will lose my mind over how they translate *that* puzzle which used the reflective power of the DS screens.
Final Fantasy Rebirth will also come out at the end of the month but the £70 price tag won't sit right with me so I'll probably get it near the tail end of the year, after the hype and zeitgeist has worn off and get it at the second hand or sale price of about £30. That and I still have FF7: Crisis Core Reunion to finish off.

This is my ‘to do’ list.

I'm sure by the time March hits there'll be loads of games in my digital store and pile from the sales where I would have scooped them up. Heaven's Vault, a game I bought over 3 years ago on the Switch will have to wait, yet again... alas.

Summer will brig the release of Llamasoft: A Jeff Minter Joint-a film about the singular Jeff Minter. I love the games the guy makes and, with the exception of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the only guy who really gets synaesthesia in the game space.

PlayStation Foamstars will come out, riding in the coattails of Splatoon but, like PlayStation All Stars compared to Smash Bros, will lack the charm, finesse and flair. I predict it will be short lived and by Winter, we will hear of a dwindling player base numbering in the tens.

By now, Switch 2 model predictions would have gone nuts. I'm guessing that it won't start too far from the current model but will be higher powered, more like a PS4, but it will have the ability to play a screen on the TV but have the pad play as the touch control screen like we had in the DS and 3DS- this would allow Nintendo to port over or virtual store hundreds of old DS and 3DS games onto the library.
I would have pre-ordered one as Nintendo casually announce it in a Direct whilst I'm teaching in class. Game will have one and I will reorder but the gits will let me down (yet again) as they can't fulfill the order... sods!

The Autumn season will see the release of the Elden Ring DLC and, as usual, the totally rational and not at least elitist Git Gud crew will discuss the merits of having a rock hard game which doesn't take into account accessibility needs. This conversation will be coherent, logical and not in any way excluding to those who are colour blind, have difficulties with gross motor control or are women. I will buy it of course and love it with all my heart as Elden Ring is my most played game ever with 168 hours of play.

To coincide with Halloween, Silent Hill 2 will be released to much disappointment as all that made the game a masterpiece will be removed. Fog? Gone as now we can see where we are going! Nuanced writing? Gone as AI made the whole endeavour cheaper and better! It will also have DLC where James can wear amazing hats and you can buy different shapes heads for Pyramid Head... Dodecahedron Head? Sign me up!

The year will be peppered with AI, NFT and Games As a Service nonsense and when it doesn't work out, executives will say targets have not been met, award themselves huge pay rises and deals and sack a lot of the workers who actually produce the work. The whole failing upwards trend will continue.

The next Ubi sandbox game is released and, in a surprise move that astounds everyone, has even more icon splooged nonsense it has an over and underworld as well as a usual map: that's three layers of icon filled definitely essential to story beats and not time wasting nonsense. They have played Zelda: TOTK and have learned the lessons built on from that Zelda-like Greek gods themed Immortals: Fenyx Rising.

Also, COD is announced by Activision and in no way consistent with real world politics features a story containing an entirely fictional country called Falestine where the evil women and children must be killed for some totally legit reasons. It will take into account complex legalese framework to sympathetically put geopolitical questions under a microscope… psych! It’ll be the usual ‘do this and shoot that POC.’

Overall, I'm looking forward to the year ahead and predict it will be amazing. I don't foresee Silksong and Metroid 4 coming out but look forward to all the Nintendo Directs and the other not-E3 shows getting blasted for the fact, even though no-one announced a date for either game.

Gamesmaster: The Oral History- Book Review

Gamesmaster turns 30 this year and, to mark this occasion, a new book has been released about the making and evolution of the show.

The book is well made and has good paper stock, giving it a premium feel.

For the uninitiated, Gamesmaster was a challenges based show where gamers would compete with each other and challenges to earn the coveted 'Golden Joystick'. I watched the show religiously as a kid as it was the only gaming show available and was typically zeitgeisty. The show was very 'extreme' 90s, with all the positives and negatives of that era including lads, ladettes, booze, innuendo and casual sexism. Now, a lot of the stuff wouldn't fly today but it was of its time and so, reading about it whilst watching the show on YouTube has been a fascinating look back at this moment in time.

The book covers the heady highs, cratering lows and the redemptive arc of the show and main host, Dominik Diamond. The fact that they were able to get all the core people involved, including the Producers, Executives as well as Diamond, Dexter Fletcher and Dave Perry is amazing as there were quite a few egos on the show that caused friction but also gave the show its anarchic dangerous feel.

I also enjoyed reading about the process of deciding what theme each season would be, often a tiny budget meant the economy of design led to the set designer doing magic with very little. The Atlantis set for season 6 was the real standout and Dominik agrees in this book too.

The inclusion of photos, production sketches and other material really brings the stories to life and the anecdotes are amazing. The hedonism of the main players, young men who found success early and didn't always know how to cope with the attention and money, shows the pitfalls of fame and Dominik is very honest about his chemical demons.

The whole book was a fascinating read, but there were several sections in the book that really struck me, such as how much Dominik hated the red coat in season 2 and how it led to his decision to leave. Also, when he was brought back in season 4 after ailing ratings in season 3 when Dexter Fletcher took over, how he doubled his pay after they killed his character off at the start of season 3. I was fascinated to learn about season 7, which was commissioned after the memo saying the show was over was never read or sent. They had a grand send off in season 6 and had then scattered to the wind, only to be reunited once again for one last blowout.

It's a redemptive story of a plucky underdog of a show that could, a host who came from very little, found success unexpectedly then worked extremely hard to make the show better and, towards the end, all parties decided to have more fun and be less serious about it all.

I loved the book and consumed it within a few days. As a fan of Gamesmaster, it was insightful and often hilarious. The honesty and candidness of all involved makes this a fascinating and essential read.

Lost in a Good Game: Why We Play Video Games and What They Can Do for Us- Book Review

'Lost in a Good Game’, by gamer and psychologist Pete Etchells, takes us on a journey through the most pertinent questions facing the video game medium in this part memoir, part exploration of video game psychology, and, surprisingly, part research primer. The book looks behind the various demonising headlines which are often in the tabloids about how video games are leading to the degradation of society (re: violence, addiction etc) and considers if these are true. He also looks at how the research is carried out in these area as well as the broader sciences and identifies the limitations and failures of current research methodologies whilst providing solutions to improve all future research. That’s quite the remit but does Etchells achieve what he sets out to do?

Lost in a Good Game

Well, firstly I going to say that it’s a bit of a novelty that the author is British as most books and podcast I’ve read and heard/listen to are primarily American so there are some significant events that I cannot relate to. The Video Game Crash of 1984 was a huge deal in America but here in Britain, and Europe as a whole, the microcomputer revolution was chugging along just dandy (dandily?), so it's great to get another angle. Etchells is earnest and honest with his stories and this lends the whole book a feeling of relatability and self-reflection. His personal stories about how video games have played important roles in different parts of his life, gives the book an emotional weight. The places and events he mentions from his own childhood were familiar to me and relatable and so I found myself able to empathise with him. However, irrespective of the background of the author the 13 different chapters covered in the book are universal themes that cover the medium across the globe.

Chapter 1, Dungeons and Demons, looks at Warcraft and how there are many ways to play this MMORPG- there are pacifists, mages, warlocks as well as the usual warriors and fighting classes. WOW is more to do with the sense of community and collegiate responsibility than just loners, sitting in their basements. Etchells discusses why WOW was so important for him as it helped him process the death of his father. He says that through video games we live many lives and through death in video games we learn about our own mortality, to take risks and learn.

Chapter 2, A Brief History of Video Games, sees Etchells briefly talk about the evolution of early computers and video games. He discusses the Power Out Video Game Exhibition (which is found in the Science Museum in South Kensington), The National Video Game Arcade (which is found in Sheffield), and the non-linear evolution of video games. It's useful stuff for those who want a quick potted history of the medium.

Etchells talks about how the sounds of the arcade reminds him of his childhood and the holidays he had. He's not wrong, playing Final Fight and R-type always reminds me of Heathrow Airport as it was there I first played these games whilst waiting for my uncles and aunties to arrive from Pakistan in the 80s.

Chapter 3, Why Do We Play Video Games? looks at the different reasons people  play games. For the author, it enabled him to parse the fact that his father was seriously ill. For others it's based on Richard Bartle's anecdotal data that helped him create his work on the 4 archetypes of players: Achievers, Explorers, Socialisers and Killers. Etchells looks at the robustness of the research carried out and argues that there has not been enough good quality research done on the subject and that the scientific process has been left wanting, often with studies already assuming that the player will fill one of these archetypes or a derivative of one. However, Etchells argues, successfully in my opinion, that there are many different reasons why people play games and even within the same individual the reasons they play may change.

I wrote a little about how video games have helped many during the Coronavirus pandemic and me personally to process the new normal (link here). I have had Skyrim for many years and only during Covid did I pour over 200 hours in as I was seeking escape and an openness that was missing in my life. Beforehand, I'd found the game too vast and unknowable, during Covid.... No problem. Now, after Covid, I play it to enjoy the peace and calm afforded by the landscape.

Chapter 4, Control and Imagination, looks at how games are an emergent phenomenon which many moral guardians do not understand and so are vilified. Etchells discusses how Minecraft was a cultural touchstone, enabling unrivalled creativity but how many saw it as being a danger to youth as it was addictive etc. Etchells also discusses how many who look down on the medium have very little to do with it-cherry picking examples of violence to say that this is what games are but obviously there are different genres so it's a very simplistic argument.

Chapter 5, A Brief Interlude, looks at the research which is being done on video games and its influence on society and individuals psychology. Etchells discusses the problem with how scientific studied that are exciting and cutting edge are often brought to the fore and heavily advertised yet replication (repeating the experiment to see that the results track and are accurate) are not, thus you have ludicrous situations such as an experiment claiming psychic abilities exist. The test was fair and carried out well but wasn't possible to replicate but in the wide community there existed the thought that psychic abilities exist. The fact that research is funded and often the outcome will result in further funding and job opportunities means that much of Social Psychology has been found to be based on questionable research and selective data tampering, these are generally called Questionable Research Practices (QRPs). It's this that has affected many of the Sciences and led to a general weariness of headline discoveries. Etchells says that when replication experiments were carried out on hundreds of published papers nearly 3/4 were not replicable. That's means that the data and science that exists in social sciences is based on false data and the whole house of cards topples.

This chapter was particularly illuminating and paints a damning picture of the sciences, especially the social sciences where the replication procedures have shown that most of the claims made and approved in scientific papers were wrong.

Chapter 6, Are Violent Video Games Bad For Us? has Etchells looks at the issue and how scientific methodology to answer this question have not been stringent. Etchells discusses the various studies and explains how they are flawed but mentions that generally, the research shown does not link correlation with causation.

Chapter 7, Moral Panics, talks about how there are periods of time where 'folk devils' are created. This is where a narrative is pushed that an individual, group or idea is deviant and is to blame for societies ills. This occurred with the printing press, women in theatre, books, comics, rock music, Dungeons and Dragons ,
and now video games and the Internet. Etchells says that often moral panics are, more often than not, based on anecdotal data and that the scientists who pursue new media as a 'folk devil' do so because they feel like they want to better society and often have a halcyon view of their morality, childhood as a whole and their childhood. Generally, those who had more experience and interactions with youth and video games were more positive than those who didn't.

Chapter 8, Are Video Games Addictive? looks at how the usual way to measure addiction is by creating a facsimile of alcohol and drug addiction. However, whereas there is plenty of evidence about substance related harm there is very little evidence as regards harm and gaming addiction. Etchells discusses the issues raised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) categorising Gaming Addiction alongside these other addiction- primarily that there is no clear evidence to support this fact. The fact that there are Bootcamps to overcome this 'addiction' is worrying, especially when news of ‘correctional camps’ in China with some suicides comes into play *cough* Uyghur *cough*

Etchells does discuss the worrying trend of loot boxes, gambling mechanics and freemium models entering the gaming space and how, in the long run, this could cause societal problems for those with addictive personalities or neurodivergent. He wrote the book in 2018 and so the recent House of Commons discussion regarding gambling mechanics hasn't been covered but he was very prescient.

Chapter 9, Screen Time, looks at the concerns surrounding screen time. Much like in chapter 8, Etchells argues that the headline grabbing hot-takes dominate the mainstream news media but actually they somewhat misrepresent the data as it is not as clear cut as they are presented. Many of the concerns are based on anecdotal rather than empirical data and this raises concerns as the conversation is affecting policies without careful thought. Etchells isn't saying that there isn't an issue with screen time or addiction but rather than the quality of research and discourse needs to be better.

Chapter 10, Immersion and Virtual Reality, has Etchells looking at the way people see virtual reality- either Matrix style subjugation by the machines, of people plugging in and dropping out of society like in Ready Player One or of a way to play games to deal with real world issues like PTSD. Etchells worries that companies will create exploitative VR worlds that maximises profit rather than build worlds that would be for the embetterment of society. We shall see but I don't disagree with him.

Chapter 11, Wayfaring and Wayfinding, looks at how video games can be used to collect data, not for nefarious means, but for scientific endeavours. Etchells talks about how the data gained from Sea Hero Quest provided lots of data for scientists researching dementia. The findings were fascinating and shows how video games can be a force for good.

I've spoken about how crowdsourcing work has helped solve problems that would have taken many years to resolve. This collective effort to solve problems could have huge real world problem solving implications.

Chapter 12, Digital Spectator Sports, looks at the rise and dominance of esports. Etchells looks at the nascent beginnings in South Korea to worldwide viewing figures surpassing the NFL viewership. He also discusses how schools and organisations are using esports to develop communication and teamworking skills. Etchells discusses how, rather than being a leveller, the leagues often have huge majority of male players, even if there are excellent female players. He cites the exclusion of an outstanding South Korean Overwatch player who wasn't picked up by any team and the lame excuses they gave.

I don't always get esports but then I rarely watch sports except the World Cup and Olympics. However, I can see the attraction of esports as it has heroes and villains in its cast and I don't mean the online avatars. I just wish the homophobic, xenophobic and mysogyny wasn't a huge part of the game. In light of the #MeToo and #BLM movement esports should be a great equaliser but it rarely is.

Chapter 13, Loss, looks at the precarious situation regarding video games. Because they are part of a planned obsolescence many studios don't keep the code or materials and as a result much is lost to time. Where games have been stored they slowly deteriorate, for example many cassettes, carts and cds don't work anymore. Rather than dwell on this Etchells believes that we should be preserving the stories surrounding the games as their cultural relevance and impact lies in this, not just the tangible objects slowly deteriorating behind perspex. I'm reminded of a small local library exhibition I used to often take my pupils to, it shared the story of 5 immigrants into England. Behind the glass were shabby suitcases, old passports and paperwork and faded fuzzy photos but what stuck with me were the phones where you could listen to the people who these items belonged to. It brought the items to life and rathe than just see these things as artifacts they became something more-that dirty old teddy with the eye missing was the most precious thing to this old lady on the phone when she was 5, escaping Austria and the Nazis. Context is everything and so, letting the artifacts die is sad but inevitable with gaming but its the larger story we should be preserving.

I like this attitude as with recent retro games prices it makes the most sense. With YouTube this is happening as some fans have started to create portfolios including Jeremy Parish with his Gameboy series and Frank Cifaldi with the Video Game History Foundation. I've kind of spoken about my personal journey with video games through my ‘Nintendo- My One True Constant’, 'What Video Games Can Teach Us’ and ‘Did Videogames Just Save the World?’

Videogames are an artform whose primary form is agency but, more than that, they offer an escape and some hold up truths within. In some story-based video games, we get to understand people and gain a deeper level of understanding of humanity and ourselves. Etchells’ book looks at a myriad of different issues and eloquently discusses them. I loved the book and would highly recommend it for anyone looking at a deep dive into the medium.

LINK- The Last Guardian- Video Games As Art

LINK- The Stone Tapes (BBC)- Cult TV Review

LINK- The Rise of Retro Gaming During Covid

LINK- Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- An English Geek in Saudi

LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.

Press Reset- Book Review

Press Reset is Jason Schreier ‘s follow-up to Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, which looked at the inside story of how video games are made. Press Reset takes a further look behind the curtain and reveals what it really takes for the games we love to be created. In light of the constant news including #MeToo and #BLM much of this won't come as a surprise for those who follow the gaming news behind the big AAA announcements and promotional pieces but what Press Reset does is give you the inside track, often with big names sharing their experiences.

Over the course of the half dozen or so games, we hear tales of crunch, abuse, corporate buyouts leading to the scrapping of hundreds of hours of work, burnout and systematic layoffs after games have just released to make the balance sheet appear more profitable. Schreier is a video game journalist of some repute and writes with passion and a clear knowledge of the subject matter. It is refreshing to see an honest insight into the creative process of the biggest entertainment industry in the world without the glossy sheen of promotion or soundbites.

Press Reset- Jason Schreier

Chapter 1, The Journeyman, looks at the creation of Epic Mickey by Warren Spector. Epic Mickey was a title I owned and was excited about but ultimately disappointed by due to its shonky camera, floaty jump and surprisingly gloomy graphics. I wanted to love it but it felt a little rough around the edges, however I felt it was a worthy effort. The follow up, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, garnered less praise and wasn't as charming as the first game. Many commented that it seemed like a rush job with little passion or care shown. We learn from Schreier that Disney Interactive had moved the deadline for release forward, got rid of a lot of the workers and tried to introduce elements from Facebook and mobile games, which they thought were going to change the gaming landscape. They were wrong. I feel for Spector as he seems like a stand up guy who just wanted to make niche immersive sims a la Dungeons and Dragons but the suits consistently let him down.

Chapter 2, Project Icarus, looks at the creation of Irrational's Bioshock Infinite. The original Bioshock game became a beloved and bona-fide masterpiece which took narrative to another level in gaming but the follow ups and Infinite were difficult and some of that seems to be due to Ken Levine's divisive managerial style. It's fascinating as I played and completed the game and felt like, even though everyone was praising it to high heaven, it was a straightforward, boring corridor shooter with a very pretty coat of paint and cod-philosophy and quantum physics thrown in. A few months later, the hype had calmed down and I think much of the industry realised that the Emperor had some okay but not high-falutin' clothes.
The end of Irrational was due to Ken Levine's leaving and this is the auteur problem; you get to work with an ideas guy but when the guy decides to leave, the lights go out. And so it was.

Chapter 3, Rafting Upstream, looks at some of the staff that left Irrational setting up their own idea studio and releasing isometric rogue like puzzler The Flame and the Flood (which I haven't played). It looks at how Kickstarter and digital distribution made indie games a more viable solution for smaller teams to pursue. It also looks at how big name players can come in seeking to mooch in and disrupt things but can often lose interest and leave people hanging (Google and EA come to mind).

Chapter 4, The Case of the Missing Studio, looks at the interesting Studio Marin situation where a studio had mass layoffs but wouldn't say it had, saying it was 'reallocating resources.' As a worker it made it more difficult to get a job as usually when studios shutter companies rush to pick up talented staff. However, due to the closure of the studio many of its alumni went off to make successful independent games such as Gone Home (which I loved) and Kine (which i have yet to play).

Chapter 5, Workaholics, looks at the creation of Visceral Studios and the critical success of Dead Space and Dead Space 2. Then with EA' s 'Games As a Service' agenda it was mandated to make Dead Space 3 as a strange multiplayer shooter to compete with the likes of PUBG. I played Dead Space 1 and 2 and loved the creeping dread feel of being alone. By inserting a companion, I felt that Dead Space 3 would lose its identity and so it seemed as many fans turned away from the series. EA shuttered the studio after its poor decisions led to a poorly received game. The bean counters had struck again and affected the lives of so many for the benefit of so few through in terms of balance sheets, stocks, shares and self-awarded pay rises. At the time of writing this review news has just come in that EA are seeking to revive the series with a reboot but I don’t trust them to do anything worthwhile after they shuttered the studio due to their own corporate hubris.

Chapter 6, Bloody Socks, looks at the shuttering of 38 Studios, a studio created by an American Baseball star player, Curt Shilling. A huge fan of World of Warcraft, Shilling wanted to create his own MMORPG. Unfortunately, lack of business acumen and knowledge of the working side game development studios, and unfortunate legal wrangling with Rhode Island State meant that a sad fate awaited his much-hyped game Kingdom of Amalur.

Chapter 7, Big Huge Problems, looks at how Big Huge Games was bought by THQ and the problems that arose when their parent company became bankrupt. When 38 Studios and Curt Shilling came calling to buy the studio and support their in-progress MMORPG, BHG thought its problems were solved. This chapter is another angle to the tale told in chapter 6 and looks at how Shilling's meddling, upper management's confused messaging and video gaming experience and unrealistic expectations led to BHG's downfall too. After 38 Studios closure, the BHG team were out of a job, even though it had a completed game that was ready to ship. Luckily, it was bought by Epic who liked what the team had done before it too decided to close the door after only 8 months. It seems like the early 2010s had companies trying to push the 'Games As Live Service' and micro-transaction model, meaning games well into production were pivoted to produce Frankenstein’s-monster games where pieces of games were carved out to sell on digital storefronts, to the detriment of the game quality.

Chapter 8, Gungeon Keeper, looks at the ouroboros nature of video games and studios. This chapter looks at EA’s habit of buying studios, and then pulling the plug. And so it is was with Mythic, who were tasked with creating a game for the burgeoning mobile games market. Mythic was asked to pitch mobile games alongside working on Ultima Forever. Looking through the back-catalogue, Mythic Entertainment fell in love with Bullfrog's Dungeon Keeper 1 and 2. The game, created by the legendary game designer/ hype man Peter Molineaux, was a dungeon crawler but viewed askew as it was from the point of view of the 'bad guys'. Unfortuanely, EA insisted that the new game had to follow the freemium model (where the game was free but you paid micro-transactions to speed up 'cooldown timers') as the suits were looking to ape the huge financial success of Clash of Clans, which had earned hundreds of millions in the previous couple of years. It didn't go to plan and the studio was shuttered but a few of the team decided to go independent and from this came Indie hit, Enter the Gungeon. I hadn’t played Enter the Gungeon but after hearing this chapter I decided to support the plucky studio and I gotta say, the game is a blast!

Chapter 9, Human Costs, Human Solutions, looks at the cost of making games and offers possible solutions to the sometimes toxic environments and conditions that exist; dedicated outsourcing houses, freelance consulting and unionisation of the video game industry,

The AAA videogame industry is unsustainable as it currently stands. It has a high drop out rate and the brain drain is huge as many seek more stable work to support themselves, especially if they are looking to settle down, buy a house or start a family. In many countries, unions have helped protect worker's rights but in many parts of the videogame industry unions are considered one step away from Communism. However, Covid may have changed the way we think about work and remote working may be the way forward.

Whatever the case, Schreier has brought to light the highs and lows of the industry and in a thoroughly engaging way. This book is a must read for anyone with even the slightest bit of interest in the video game industry or the creative process.

LINK- Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK- Uncharted 4- Video Games As Art

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK- ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’

LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.

LINK- Mario Odyssey- Video Games As Art

The Wonder of Walking Simulators

The term 'walking simulator' is used to describe a genre of games where a person is asked to explore a setting but there are little to no action buttons to press. As a result many gamers speak of 'Walking Simulators' in a derogatory way claiming that they are not in fact ‘games.’ It may seem like semantics but how we label the genre implies that all you do is walk from one side to the other in a guided tour fashion. However there is more to these types of games than belies the title assigned to them.

Walking simulators have gone through a bit of a journey themselves, gaining prominence with Dear Esther and Proteus, which initiated the debate on whether they were games or not. The games did well, but some people asked for a refund from Steam, an online gaming marketplace, claiming there was nothing to do and that these were not ‘real’ games. Since then, games like Firewatch, Edith Finch, Gone Home and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter have raised the profile and respectability of the genre amongst many ‘hardcore’ gamers but there is still a stigma attached to this genre for many.

In these games, the story is told by journeying through the world and finding elements within the world rather than through traditional storytelling narrative and the players input is often minimal. However I find that they are incredible experiences that reward exploration and discovery to understand the bigger narrative. Often by finding diary entries, audio files and environmental clues you get to understand the mystery box structure of the narrative, told slowly and carefully throughout the game.

This genres provides immersive worlds to engage and interact with. In the same way that art has many different forms so do computer games. I recently played through Control, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Call of Cthulhu and whilst I loved those games sometimes it is great to try something more calm, cerebral and emotional.

During the first few weeks of Covid lockdown I recently revisited The Chinese Room’s ‘Everybody's Gone To The Rapture’ and it struck me again how wonderful and immersive this ‘walking simulator’ is yet also prescient. I won't spoil it for people who haven't played it but the game sets you in an English village where some catastrophe has occurred and you are the lone survivor. You spend the 4 or so hours of the game exploring the silent and empty village finding orbs of light that relay events which occurred in the village, like some voyeur. It feels almost like survivor’s remorse in that you hear peoples pains, anguish and worries. There are some profound moments in the game that will stick with me forever, more deeply embedded than some forms of media because I was the active agent that made these things occur. The way the narrative is presented eschews the typical linear chronological route and instead you have to piece things together, almost like a David Mitchell or Haruki Murakami novel, which is quite an achievement.

During the weirdness that is Covid, the sight of an isolated empty English village took on a bigger significance as I had experienced it virtually first. The connection between myself and the game were even more deeply bound than when i played the game initially as I had the ludonarrative connection… something similar was happening around me. Okay, not the rapture but lockdown when streets were empty, shops were shut and people were just not around. This game, and many others like it, are examples of how an interactive narrative can deliver an emotional pay-off like no other medium.

'Walking simulators' are a wonderful genre of video games and they encourage us to immerse ourselves in new worlds and scenarios. They are rather passive and sometimes that is what I look for in gaming, it’s a bit of a change from the norm. Along with much of the world I was inside but with video games I went on some incredible journeys.

Blood, Sweat and Pixels- Book Review

Whilst flicking through Audible, I came across ‘Blood, Sweat and Pixel’, a book looking at the process of video game creation. The topic obviously appealed to me but what really sold me was that it looked at many games I had played. So, alongside looking at Naughty Dog, creators of blockbusters like the Uncharted series and CD Projeck Red, who created the Witcher series, you had solo developers or smaller teams who created Shovel Knight and Stardew Valley.

I purchased the Audible version of the book and enjoyed my time with it.

I purchased the Audible version of the book and enjoyed my time with it.

I knew the author, Jason Schreier, from his long form investigative games journalist work from sites like Kotaku and magazine like Edge. He is a video game fan but was also not afraid to research where there were problems or issues in the industry. He was the writer who uncovered the unhealthy attitude to crunch at Naughty Dog, the mismanagement at Bioware with Anthem and the inappropriate behaviour of management of several high ups in big gaming companies. Using my backlog of Audible credits I bought the audio books and dived in.

Each chapter of the book focussed on the story of a particular game and they were all engaging, entertaining, emotional and enlightening in equal measure as we hear of teams and solo developers overcoming (for the most part) some extreme adversity.

It kicks off with Obsidian's last ditch effort to save itself when it pitched Pillars of Eternity pitch on crowd funding site Kickstarter. This story was inspirational as it showed how to adapt, play to your strengths and use your moxie to forge your own path.

The Uncharted 4 chapter deals with the issue of expectations and what happens when a project becomes unwieldy, struggling to find a way forward. In the case of Naughty Dog's highly anticipated Uncharted finale, it required firm hands at the tiller and thousands of hours of crunch to achieve. Unfortunately this took a huge mental, emotional and physical toll on many of the people behind the games creation... because, making games is hard.

In Stardew Valley we learn how the game was made by sole creator Eric Barone and how the internet has democratised publishing and creation of video game creation. This democratisation of creativity was last seen in the micro computer era of the 80s where lone bedroom coders could create a game and become legends. This gentle simulator game, where you play a desk jockey who gives up the rat race to become a farmer, took 5 years to complete but was a labour of love.

The Diablo 3 chapter is a look at how a much lauded series can carry a heavy weight as expectations are high. When a day 1 network issue rendered this game unplayable for most players due to an overloaded online server, it looked like the writing was on the wall as this was not a good way to endear yourselves to fans. When this was followed by days of players not being able to play the game they had paid for the situation seemed to escalate, and once they were on the grindy gameplay and online auction further compounded issues against the game. However, in a mea culpa the game underwent a transformation and with patches aplenty arose to become a much loved addition to the series.

The Halo Wars chapter looks at how Ensemble Studio, the creators of RTS Age of Empire, turned a classic PC genre stalwart into a console RTS, something thought impossible at the time. It's a heartening tale of trial and error and years of research and development.

The chapter on Dragon Age: Inquisition looks at how Bethesda created a redemptive game after the flawed Dragon Age 2 received a critical battering from reviewers and fans alike. The creative process was chaotic but by being focussed and inventive the game came out to much fanfare, gently massaging the poor profile of its parent company EA, who had won 'Worst Company in the US' 2 years in a row.

The Shovel Knight section is the tale of 3 creators leaving job security to build a passion project based on the nostalgia of 8bit NES games. Their story of risks and the rewards they reaped are heartening to hear.

In the Destiny chapter we learn how Bungie broke  free of their Microsoft overlords and were able to stretch their creativity away from Halo to create a... FPS! But, they do say be careful of what what you wish for. They planned the game to run for 10 years. And to be made independently of all other big conglomerate company interference. This looks at what worked and what went wrong.

The Witcher 3 chapter looks at how a Polish company worked closely together with the author of the books and across the team to create an inspired RPG that is seen by many as the highlight of this gaming generation, even though it was released way back in 2015.

Schreier shows that all these games went through a baptism of fire to get made. It wasn't easy but the games were released. However, he ends with a cancelled game to show how fraught the game creating process can be. With Star Wars 1313, he looks at how Lucas Arts, underwent a tailspin burning through 4 Presidents within 10 years, which resulted in confusion and lack of vision from a studio that had built a reputation of excellence. When momentum finally built with Star Wars 1313, Disney purchased the studio and shuttered it after a short time.

Over the course of the 10 games we see tales of crunch, iterations, scrapping hundreds of hours of work and burnout because making games is hard, the creative process is hard. This peek behind the curtain is a great look at the video games industry as a whole and is an excellent and compelling read. Schreier writes with passion and a clear knowledge of the subject matter and it is refreshing to see an honest insight into the creative process of the biggest entertainment industry in the world.

LINK- The Offworld Collection- Book Review

LINK- Uncharted 4- Video Games As Art

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

Celebrating Video Games As Art

I’ve been playing video games for as long as I can remember and being 39 years old, that’s a long time! I’ve been saying for years that video games are an art form. In the same way that not all music, films or books are ‘high art’, not all video game are high art but they are art.

Over the years I’ve created quite a portfolio of video game captures from my gameplay and today marks my 50th game. To celebrate I’ve put 50 of my favourite images that I’ve created into a gallery. Sit back and enjoy!

My Life Described Through Video Game Titles

I like to play video game and on occasion I think about aspects of my life and put them to video game titles. It’s like opening a box of Pringles, once you pop you can’t stop and over the course of a few hours I can often come up with loads. Often they hit me at the weirdest times; going for a walk with the kids, cooking roast dinner, on the toilet…

Anyways, have a look at what I’ve come up with and think of your own too!

(Please note that these are all said tongue firmly in cheek and no offence is meant.)

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Living in Barking

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Getting home at night from Barking Station

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Saying goodbye to my asian family

(as opposed to spending hours on the doorstep)

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Leaving secondary school at the same time as the other local secondary

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Parents bring up prospective arranged marriage to some random Auntie’s niece

Getting married

Getting married

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Telling the wife that she needs to calm down during an argument

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Having kids

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Retiring early and having a good pension as a teacher in Britain

Being a millennial and trying to get on the property ladder

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Being a millennial and trying to get on the property ladder during Brexit

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Passing my driving test after 60+ lessons and driving a 2008 Honda Jazz (in 2019)

Being An Elder Statesman of Gaming

Recently, I turned 38 and it dawned on me… I’m approaching 40 and what used to be called ‘middle-aged.’ Now amongst my father’s generation middle-aged meant they’d take up a hobby, usually golfing, tinkering with old cars or going through some form of a mid-life crisis but for me I’m not sure what it will entail.

As many people of my generation approach 40 we are less likely to own our own homes and so we have this weird stage of ‘man-baby’ males who are not on the properly ladder or even settled on what they want to do in life. I’m lucky as I’m a teacher and happy to be so (most of the time), married with a wife and two kids and I’m kinda on the property ladder. What middle-aged means to me is not new hobbies but an old one, the constant I’ve had since I was about 5 years old… gaming. I play a couple of hours of games most days and it shows no sign of abating. Even when people said that having children would put a dent in my gaming it really didn’t and hasn’t. Now I know this doesn’t reflect well on my parenting skills but I only play games when my wife and children are in bed and never during their waking day so it’s all good and healthy.

I have been reflecting though; will I be playing games when I’m proper old and crinkly? Will I plug in the Nintendo Holocube, Xbox Infinity, PlayStation 69 or Spectrum Revival II in my mancave and play some Final Fantasy 42, Zelda: The Kazoo of Space Time or Half Life 3. I don’t know but I hope so. However, I could become more reflective and look back and finally play the games of my formative years, Dizzy, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Mario Bros. 3. It’s what the older generation do isn’t it? Look back with nostalgia on past glories and milestones.

Whatever the case, I’m sure I’ll be a gamer until my (probably arthritic) body gives out or my spirit is crushed through the constant talk of Brexit… whichever comes first!

V and A Video Games: Design/ Play/ Disrupt- Exhibition Review

The world famous Victoria and Albert Museum in London (V&A) is currently running the Video Games: Design/Play/ Disrupt exhibition. The real boon of the exhibition is that it allows the wider community to understand the gaming community and the lure of the virtual world.

The beautiful V and A museum in London is a great setting for the Video Games: Design/Play/ Disrupt exhibition.

Many contemporary video games are creative, immersive and innovative and some are having a huge social and cultural impact across the globe, not always for the best but it is important to consider the positives alongside the negatives which is what the media seems to focus on. The exhibitions focus is quite narrow as it doesn't really look at the history of video games but rather issues around the medium including the portrayals of violence, race and sexuality, which I feel are very important in an artform that is still quite young and seen as the enfant terrible of pop culture.
Across the exhibition well known big budget games and characters rub shoulders with some indie and cult classics but all are accorded respect and lovingly curated. There are large-scale immersive multimedia and interactive installations alongside the usual display stands and cases.

As I entered the space I was welcomed with a rush of colour and a wall of sound, with an extremely large screen showcasing some of the games I would be seeing.

A large screen greeted me as I entered the exhibition.

A large screen greeted me as I entered the exhibition.

Passing a material mesh doorway, there was another large screen, this time showing the beautiful images from Journey. Austin Wintory's BAFTA winning soundtrack played and its beauty washed over me. The design documents and concept are from the game were on show and the information accompanying the pieces was informative and rich. The concept art sketches and paintings were wonderful to behold and creator, Jenova Chen, had his storyboard based on the classic Hero's journey on display.

The next doorway led to The Last of Us and had the same layout, a large video screen showing images from the game and some of the minutiae that went into its creation. A highlight was the original cork board from creators Naughty Dog with the notes and ideas that helped to consolidate the narrative arc of the game and characters. Within the same room was Bloodborne, the classic hard-as-nails gothic horror game by From Software. There was a playthrough of the Beast Cleric with a voice over by hilarious YouTuber Matt Lees that discussed the strategies needed to defeat the boss and play the game. Also featured were original sketches and a short documentary  covering the creation of the soundtrack.

The next room did a complete volte-face as it featured one of the most colourful games of the current generation, Splatoon. Some concept art and early prototypes were on display but the wall featuring the logos and street art inspired fashion was the thing to look for here.
Also in the same room was an indie game I had never heard of called Consume Me. It was a fun mobile game with elements of Tetris but with food and details of its calorie content. It features a cute aesthetic and I can see why it was placed with Splatoon.

Following on, we had Kentucky Route Zero, the magical realism game which features beautiful art. The original Rene Magritte painting Le Blanc Seing was beautiful to behold and spoke about the inspiration for the game.

On the other side of the room was Tale of Tales' The Graveyard, in which you play an old woman with a walking stick walking through a graveyard and remembering her past. I had played the experience many years ago and found it moving, however I remember there being a backlash amongst many gamers as they claimed that the title wasn't really a game but more of a walking simulator. The sketchbooks and original wire frame animation offered a real insight into how Tale of Tales came up with their concepts. Their 10 point manifesto challenged what video games could be and how they could emotionally resonate with people, much like the Dogme 95 manifesto did for film.

Afterwards I entered a room which contained No Man's Sky, the much maligned but recently patched and actually wonderful procedurally generated space exploration game. As you entered there was a wall of screens, showing GIFs of the worlds you could explore in-game. It was beautiful and looked like an art installation. There were also animal concept art and books that inspired the look of the game, including Asimov’s Foundation books and Ralph McQuarrie’s Star Wars film art.

The next room was a large one and had several stations which asked deeper questions: Are video games political? Why are video games so white? Why are video games aimed primarily at boys? There was a super wide screen that features talking heads discussing these questions and asking the audience to consider their opinions.

After weaving my way through a black curtain I entered a large room with a huge screen showing a variety of e-sports, showcasing how huge it had all got. There were montages of Eve Online battles, Overwatch matches and League Of Legends world finals. There was also a video on the creation of Westeros from Game of Thrones in Minecraft.

After that I entered an arcade area that reminded me of entering a beachfront arcade in the 80s in Southend or the like... Some muted neon lighting added to the industrial look of the area but it was good to play some of the experimental games.

V and A Video Games: Design/ Play/ Disrupt

And so I had reached the end of the exhibition. So, after all this was it worth a visit. In a word, YES! The whole exhibition was well crafted and placed video games in an interesting space that requires people to examine it further. There is more that can be done but as the first major exhibition of its kind in London it is very worthwhile.

My One True Gaming Constant in Life- Nintendo

In late March 2015 my wife and I welcomed our beautiful daughter, Jasmine, into the world. In the last couple of years since her birth we've been through a massive amount of change- some of it good and some of it bad; staying up most of the night to her howls and calling NHS Direct worriedly at 3 a.m. only for her to fall asleep inexplicably happy after half an hour, hearing her say her first word ('Dada' if you were interested) and seeing her walk for the first time with a huge grin on her face. As a parent these moments of joy and and fear make up much of your waking life and you'd be surprised at how quickly you adapt to it- it becomes a part of your life as naturally as breathing. I've written already about how my gaming life has been impacted by the introduction of a baby into my life but something that has not changed in all this is the presence of Nintendo. 

My second mancave was in a much smaller room which I was given as a favour from my wife. It was full of DVD's, CD's, graphic novels, models and plushies. It was great but felt a bit crammed!

I first came to gaming when I was 6 and lived opposite a video rental store in East Ham, East London. The shop had a few arcade machines including the sit-down Pacman table, Space Invaders and some other ones which I can't remember. I fell in love with the colours, lights and sounds and blame it for getting me run-over when I was rushing with my pocket money across a busy street. Luckily I only had a graze on my head and lived to tell the tale and play games. I asked my parents for a computer but money was always tight so I had to content myself with playing my friends' computers. They had a ZX Spectrum and Spectrum +2 and the games wowed me but when my best friend got an NES for his 10th birthday my whole world changed- Nintendo was in my blood now. Together we would play our way through Double Dragon, Mario 1 and 3, Zelda, Micro Machines and many more. At the time I was playing the NES I was bought an Amstrad CPC 464 with green monochrome screen for my birthday. I loved the aged Amstrad machine, particularly enjoying Rainbow Islands, Bubble Bobble, Dizzy and Target Renegade, but wanted an upgrade and so worked hard on my car-washing round to purchase a Master System as the NES was still very expensive. The Master System was a good machine but the NES was much better in terms of gaming catalogue and so I still played it much more around my best friends house.

When the Megadrive came into the picture with Sonic my friend got that for his birthday and again I played through many of the best games with him, including Streets of Rage 1 and 2, Aladdin and Street Fighter 2. These were the times of the console wars and you were either Sega or Nintendo but never both. I was definitely Sega but this changed when another friend of mine gave me his beat up old Gameboy. It was scratched up real bad and had no back for the battery casing but that didn't matter, I loved it! So between my fix of the Megadrive and Gameboy I was all set. Later on I would swap my Master System and library of games to get a second-hand Megadrive. I missed out on the SNES as none of my close friends had it but I came back to it once the new console generation began. This was when Nintendo would become my gaming constant. I got the N64 second-hand and completed Zelda: The Ocarina of Time and Goldeneye. The N64 was awesome at the time but due to the huge gaps between games I also purchased a second-hand Playstation 1 and loved that too- completing amongst others Final Fantasy 7, Syphon Filter and Parasite Eve II.

My bedroom was spacious, light and piled high with my 'pile of shame'... comics, books and games I wanted to complete.

My bedroom (which I'd had since I was 11) was a geeks paradise and very spacious.

I even had a projector plugged in to play games. This was especially good for scary games like Project Zero 2 on the Wii.

My projector is used a lot to play games on this portable machine. The sounds not great but the gameplay is spot on.

The image is pretty clear on the wall but it's a definite step down from my original room.

When the Gamecube came out in 2002 I bought it on the day of release with my brother, giddy from the money from my weekend jobs at a clothing chain and a youth centre. It was the first ever console that I bought brand new and so it has a special place in my heart. Even though it had quite a small library it did have some of my favourite games ever including Zelda: Windwaker, Resident Evil 4 (an exclusive at the time) and Metroid Prime. As the consoles library dried up I purchased a second-hand Playstation 2 specifically to play Ico. The game had me intrigued and so I brought a shrink wrapped copy of that game and the console one Saturday after work at the youth centre and devoured the game in a few days. Of course I played loads of other PS2 games but Ico was my in, a strange in to be sure.

I bought the Xbox 360 in 2007 and loved that system, it's online service was amazing and I played some phenomenal games including Bioshock, Assassins Creed 2, Gears of War, Red Dead Redemption and Deadly Premonition. However I noticed something; all those achievements and the quest for useless XP points was getting in the way of the games for me. The simplicity of the games were being diluted with fetch-quests and the search for random doodads, a lot of the games coming out had no respect for my time and I started to dislike them for this; why did I need a 3 hour tutorial on how to move my character around a screen?

When the Wii was released I was one of the lucky few who had pre-ordered at from Game and got it on the day of release. The system was a revelation and yes I am one of those people who have the story of 'my parents never played any computer system but they did play Wii Sports.' The image of my dad playing tennis with my older brother by waggling the Wii-mote around is a happy memory for me and not at all as sinister or sordid as it sounds. The Wii had some amazing games including Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Muramasa: The Demon Sword, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 and Donkey Kong Country Returns but as usual the games dried up and the shovelware came in. When my wife and I moved to Cambodia for 2 years she bought me a cracked Wii and I had over 200 games on it. She went away for a girlie weekend and found me in a catatonic state, sleep-deprived and I'm sure a bit smelly as I am a completist and had stayed up pretty much the whole weekend playing loads of the games worrying about how I would complete them all. That is obviously not a good state to be in and so I decided to relax about games and not get caught up in the whole 'complete everything' spiral. I went back to the Xbox 360 but was very picky in what I played as so many were very padded experiences, I started critical pathing some of the games which made them still very worthwhile in my opinion. I also only played the Wii games I was interested in and completed pretty much all the ones I had wanted.

I then bought a Wii U and even though it has been a commercial failure, it has had some phenomenal games; Bayonetta 2, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (which incidentally has one of the greatest soundtracks ever) and Rayman Legends. I've found myself more relaxed about my gaming habits and again have only played the games that have interested me and respect my time.

And so on to the Nintendo Switch. I've pre-ordered it and am awaiting it with bated breath. Even though many of my friends and colleagues are worried about it as they feel Nintendo's last few entries into the console market have been underwhelming, for me it doesn't matter. I play Nintendo games for the Nintendo experience. They very rarely create games that have fat and take liberties with your time. Their games are usually polished and refined to the highest degree and this is what I pay for.

I've found that even though I have more responsibility in terms of finances and family, Nintendo has been a constant. It offers me hours of comfort and pound or pound has given me more joy than any other media. I often get people asking me when I have the time to play games and the funny thing is that even though I don't have the time I used to have when I was in my adolescence or teens, I do have a spare couple of hours most evenings.

My daughter goes to sleep at 7 ish most nights and my wife is close behind at 8:30, being a lark whilst I am most definitely an owl. This means I get a couple of hours gaming in most nights and have smashed through tonnes of games in the past couple of years. I could spend a few hours working my way through tutorials on some 360 games but most Wii U games don't have long-winded openings and so I just jump in and there I am collecting bananas and trying to stop my island from freezing, or there I am trying to smash Peach off the arena with my Falcon Punch... it goes on.

Nintendo is a constant in my life and even though the company doesn't always get everything right, what it does to is provide a library of bonafide classic games that stand the test of time (for the most part). I hope that as my daughter grows up I can share my passion for gaming with her and show her the Nintendo universe and the wonders contained within.

Children and Video Game Certification

(Film clips not suitable for under 18's and this is an opinion discussion piece)

As a teacher and a renown gamer, at least in my school, I occasionally get parents coming up to me asking for my advice about video games and whether specific titles are appropriate are suitable for their children.
I normally tell the parents that they should look at the game cover as there is an age certification there. This way I cover myself by making sure I follow the school policy but also ensure that the parents are following the video game certification system, of which they may be unaware.

This got me thinking about when I was a kid and the media I consumed which was often way too mature for me. My father would get VHSs of Jaws, Rambo, Robocop, Predator and many other 80's action films which featured high body counts and blood but it doesn't seem to have desensitised me or warped me in any way, well not that I can tell anyways!

However, I do remember once going to a friends house when I was 8 years old and him excitedly telling me that he had a copy of the latest Freddie Krueger film. I proceeded to watch Nightmare on Elm Street 3 as Freddie invaded a young girls dream, turned into a giant worm in her dolls house and then proceeded to swallowed her. I had nightmares for months afterwards and this scene was seared into my mind.

I'm guessing that my father was aware of the film age ratings and content but he allowed me to consume the media from an educated position; he never brought home psychological horror films or anything salacious but blood and guts were fine.
Every year, without fail, I see queues on parents with their young children buying the latest Call of Duty or Halo game and usually I find myself tutting to myself, thinking that the parents are ill-informed or not taking the responsibility of parenthood seriously. This may be true for some but recently I've been thinking in this day and age of easy information and research maybe the parents have looked into the video game that their child wants and made an informed decision. Speaking to a few of the children at school on the matter, some interesting points were made on the issue of age rating, a few children said that their parents allowed them to play Halo as they were killing aliens and there was no red blood, only goo coming out. Others said that they played the more violent games with their parents only and were not allowed to play it alone. Yet others said that their parents didn't mind the violence but it was the swearing and more adult material that they were protected from.

I have a daughter who is 23 months old at the time of writing and I am very conscious of what media I consume around her. I never play any video games around her but I hope that when I do I'll make sure her screen time is minimal as I know from friends that once you introduce electronics to kids that's it, they'll be very hard to focus on physical real-world activities. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right but I hope by making informed decisions I can help my daughter develop and consume media healthily and raise her to make her own decisions on what she knows works for her and what doesn't. There are no easy answers and, in this day and ages when everything is available online, I'd like to hope that she make informed decisions based on her knowledge of herself and her character, like my parents did for me.

The Last Guardian - Video Game Review

It's been over 11 years since video game auteur Fumito Ueda released his last game, Shadow of the Colossus and so after a protracted development period, which saw a whole console generation go by with no release, to say that I was ready to devour The Last Guardian whole in big gaming chunks on release is an understatement. As a huge fan of both Ico and SOTC I, like most of the gaming world, was excited to see what Ueda had been working so hard and long on but instead of playing it from start to finish I decided to savour it like a nice glass of Shloer and I'm glad I did.

The game itself is a slow, meditative game centred around the interactions between the boy and a bird, chicken gryphon-type creature called Trico. Their relationship is beautifully realised and the trust that builds between them feels well-earnt over time. Unlike other AI in other game I have played Trico feels like a real being with his own thoughts and feelings. As a former cat owner the love Trico gives you when you stroke, talk and pull out the spears from his flanks feels wonderful and has a truthiness to it .

There are times in the game where I have wanted to stay in the moment with Trico and not move forward, because I am afraid of what might happen to him. I know that Ueda creates wonderful narratives but they always end in a powerful downbeat way and I don't want that for these characters, maybe that's why I'm playing this game so slowly and cautiously. Instead I'm enjoying seeing Trico run through the fields after struggling through tight corridors, and I'm loving seeing him roll in a huge puddle and shaking himself dry.

Ueda is a world builder but he does it all through symbolism. In this mystical, silent world less is more but it feels like there is a whole mythos and backstory there if you look hard enough for it.

The music is beautifully subtle and complements the game, emerging at key moments and there is no onscreen HUD, except for controller hints which I wish I could turn off, and so the beauty of the world is there for you to enjoy.

The game has its faults and does feel unpolished which is surprising for a game which has been in development for over 10 years. The camera and controls can be clunky, some gameplay elements and transition scenes aren't smooth or clear and it's not always clear which route to take but all this didn't ruin the game for me. Ueda has created something, which like the rest of his back catalogue is timeless, it isn't perfect and many will gripe at it's shortcomings but for those willing to look beyond these it has been well worth the journey. I've enjoyed it so far.

Video Gaming Bucket List

One of the perks of being old, and there are only a few that balance out the failing health, mortgage payments, the 'man' getting you down etc, is to be able to look back and recall fondly on what has gone before. No I don't mean in the 'Only 80's Kids Will Remember This' type of thing but rather really recall things.
I have had the privilege of living through the most exciting time in computing history. I was there when the British microcomputers emerged, thrived, then gave way to the Nintendo and Sega 8 and 16-bit console wars. I was there when the future seemed to be in FMV gaming (Hi Night Trap, I'm looking at you) and I was there when disc based gaming blew open the possibilities of what games could look and sound like.

Night Trap looked to be bring a new maturity to gaming- it didn't do very well.

When choosing an aesthetic for TheDeadPixels, which I started 4 years ago, I selected a predominately 8 and 16 bit look as these was the most formative years of my gaming when I was aged between 8 to 15.

People often ask me if I still play retro games and my honest answer is yes, not as often as Id like to as being a father and running a house takes up a lot of my time, but whenever I'm between modern games I often go back to revisit old classics, often to fill myself with the glow of nostalgia or to beat games I didn't have a chance to in my youth, either due to not being good enough or simply by not owning it.

Recently I've been working through my gaming bucket list, a list of video game achievements I'd like to fulfill before I die. This list is due in part due to my tendency to be a completist or to feel like I really have enjoyed all the best that the medium has to offer.

I went to PLAY Expo Margate and fulfilled a couple of my dreams by playing Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar and Musha on the Megadrive 3. This got me thinking as to what else I'd like to achieve in my time on this mortal plain and this list is what followed:

  • Complete Rainbow Islands on the Amstrad CPC 464- I got near the end when I was 11 in 1992 but never finished it.

This game is very hard to complete, even though it looks all cutesy and sweet it has a rock hard heart!

  • Finish a Dragon Quest game as they are a big deal in Japan.
  • Play Final Fantasy 5 and complete IX. I have completed FFIV, VI, VII and VIII and own IX but haven't completed it. I haven't ever seen a FF V cart in the wild and I'll be darned if I play the iOS version!
  • Play any Football Manager. I feel that as a Brit I'm letting the side down by not getting on this most British of institutions.
  • Complete Majora's Mask. I completed Ocarina of Time and it is my favourite game of all time but I only played Majora's Mask briefly (I own the cart), moving onto the PS 1 at the time.
  • Complete Monkey Island 1 and 2 as they are a big deal. On iOS I recently completed other classic point and click adventure games such as Beneath a Steel Sky, Broken Sword 1, 2 and 5 but having bought the first two Monkey Islands on iOS I haven't got around to finishing them.
  • Complete Persona 3 and 4. I own both and have poured about 30 hours into them but this is Persona and over 100 hours are needed for each game. Who has time for that?
  • Play Skyrim. I bought it years ago and just never got around to it. I find I'd rather play games with a finite amount and feel like I'm making progress.
  • Complete Fallout 3. I bought this a few weeks after it came out and after 5 hours gave up, the pace is deliberately slow and world building but I want progress darn it!
  • Play the Zelda Philips CDi games even though they are supposed to be terrible!

The Zelda CDi games are supposed to be terrible but I'd like to play them!

  • Complete all the Metal Gear Solid games. I've played a bit of 1 and Peacewalker but that's about it. I really should rectify this tout-suite!
  • Complete Super Mario World. I have it and was working through it recently but with the housing renovations being done I had to move out and left my RetroN5 at home. It still awaits my return!
  • Complete Streets of Rage 3. I've finished 1 and 2 plenty of times but played 3 briefly at a retro games centre as I never owned it due to it being really expensive at the time and it coming out right at the end of the Megadrives life span.
  • Complete any original Megaman game and Megaman X. I didn't own a Super Nintendo as a kid so never played X but I did play the first two Megaman games around a mates house and 9 on the Wii when it came out a few years ago. They were brutal but I'd like to revisit and complete them.
  • Play Thunderforce 5 as I completed 3 and 4 on the Megadrive and thought they were brilliant.
  • Complete Okami-den. I loved Okami on the PS2 and completed it. I also purchased it for the Wii as I though the motion controls would enhance the game further. Okamu-den was a rare DS game and I only managed to buy it recently at the London Retro Gaming Expo. It's the game I'm currently working through.
  • Complete Zelda on the SNES. I completed Links Awakening and Oracles of Ages and Seasons as I had a Gameboy and whilst I have played up to the forth dungeon in ALTTP I haven't completed the game.
  • Complete Castlevania: SOTN and Super Metroid. I love both these series and have complete Metroid Prime 1 and 3 (I didn't taken to 2 with the Dark World mechanic) and I have completed Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Super Castlevania but I haven't played what is widely considered the high watermarks of the Metroidvania genre.
  • Complete Wonderboy IV. I loved the Wonderboy game in the arcades and on my Amstrad but the high point was Wonderboy 3: The Dragons Trap. It was the jewel in the Master System crown and I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when I completed it. I bough the Monster World pack via Xbox Marketplace but haven't put much hours into 4, I feel I need to do this as its supposed to be amazing and was unavailable for a long time in England.

I'm not even sure that this was released in the UK but boy does it look wonderful.

  • Complete Mario 64. I played it lots but never got all the secret stars.
  • Play Panzer Dragoon Saga. I loved Orta on the Xbox but heard that this was much better.

Panzer Dragoon Saga fetches a pretty penny nowadays.

That's pretty much my bucket list. As I work through these I'll highlight these in red and date when they were accomplished. As well as playing current games, being a father and doing my day job this is a pretty comprehensive list of things I'd like to achieve in my life. Let's see how many I can do Give me your gaming bucket list in the comments section below

Dear Esther Concert Was Emotional

Dear Esther is the game that helped to create a sub-genre in video games upon its full arrival in 2012; the walking simulator. As I've mentioned before the genre divides opinion amongst gamers but for me it doesn't matter. As soon as Dear Esther started and I was confronted with the sound of crashing waves, views of an old abandoned building and a melancholic voiceover I was invested.
But even more than the game it is the music that has remained with me. Even after all these years I can still remember the sound of the delicate piano theme.
I am a big fan ofthe composer and game co-creator, Jessica Curry and it was through this game that I discovered her. So a chance to see the score performed live with a playthrough of the game with Dan Pinchbeck, the other co-creator of The Chinese Room and Curry's husband , was unmissable for me and I can honestly say that I wasn't disappointed. The venue, the Milton Hall at the Barbican, was a sellout and there was a diverse range of audience members. On a huge projected screen the game was set up ready to be played, the opening scene left for all to admire as the auditorium filled up.

I wasin the front row and so had an amazingly close view of the concert.

Upon starting the game Pinchbeck made his way through the game, stopping at opportune moments to show the beauty of the game, and the live narrator read excerpts from the games script, which sent warm waves of nostalgia through me. The orchestra played the entire soundtrack andalongside the perfectly frames shots, it shows that Dear Esther is still a handsome game.
The concert lasted 1 1/2 hours and was a wonderful experience, reducing the elderly lady sat next to me in the front row to tears. At the end of the concert Curry came on stage to receive a bow and thank the orchestra and her husband. After the concert I headed down to collect my bag from the cloakroom and overheard many people sharing their opinions about the game and reminiscing about the game, it was great being amongst my nerdy peers and the environment being inclusive and non-toxic.
I hope this concert starts a trend for other game studios to perform their soundtracks live with a playthrough of their games as I do feel that there is definitely an audience for it.

IT16 Conference and Exhibition- Ashford, Kent

Today I was lucky enough to attend the EiS IT 16 Conference which had keynote speakers, hands-on workshops and a choice of electives. I had been fortunate enough to attend the BETT Show earlier this year but this was a chance for a more relaxed and calmer approach to computing rather than the rush to see everything in the intensity of the BETT weekend.

The Conference started off with a brief introductory message from the event organiser which was followed by a keynote speech by Tim Rylands, who went through a myriad of ways to engage pupils through the use of many (free) tools, apps and resources to engage them in the topic of animals , although any topic could use the resources shown. I came away full of ideas and inspired. 

The next session I went to was my favourite; a hands-on session with the BBC Micro:Bit, the small easily programmable device which is being provided, free of charge, to every year 7 school pupil in England. The session only lasted 40 or so minutes but in that time I was able to easily programme the LED lights, create a simple animation and scroll a message to playfully insult a colleague.... wonderful!

After a short break I attended a session about coding and how to show progression in coding through the use of tools such as Kodable, Scratch Jr and Tickle on the iPad. This was an excellent session as it allowed me to think about our current practice at school and think about how we could use programmable robots and drones to help show pupils how coding works with real world examples

The second keynote looked at the strategies and practices of a variety of case-study schools in their implementation of mobile digital devices. It threw up a lot of questions but mostly spoke about how ownership of the object was important for the pupils to get out of it and also how mobile device use should be integrated into daily practice instead of sporadically.

The final elective I chose was with Tim Rylands again and concerned using video games to inspire games based learning. I found it interesting and satisfying going into this quick 30 minute session as I had been par of the Redbridge Gaming Network for several years and in that time we had used numerous games as a contextual hub for learning. On this website I have discussed and shown how I have used Endless Ocean, Limbo and numerous other games to get the children inspired to write. It was great to see one of the originators of the idea speak.

Overall the conference was a great event and even though I could be more verbose and thorough of my review, it is late and I am fasting tomorrow so I have kept this brief. If you get a chance to go, please do as it is well worth it... even just to network and share good practise.