So Adam, a friend of mine who is in fact absolutely evil in every way, shape and form, suggests to me, months ago, that I need to read Jack Kerouac's classic book about seeing America. He says it'll make me want to pack up everything and throw it on a train or something and just go, go, wherever it happens to take me, as long as I'm out and traveling. He knows this, because at some point familiarity becomes indistinguishable from mind-reading, and he is fully aware that if I had my way I would do that anyway.
In fact, it's my opinion that people are naturally nomadic, and that settling down in one place takes an act of sheer will because we're supposed to be up and seeing and moving and doing and experiencing.
At any rate, I go out and buy On The Road, but I wait to read it. This was a big, big mistake, because I waited until the middle of the Iowa winter, when my natural wanderlust is already at a yearly high. Fair warning to anyone who has the same inclinations as me; DO NOT READ "ON THE ROAD". It will take your desire to hit the road, and ratchet it up to 1,000.
Of course, this is all somewhat of an exercise in nostalgia. The road Kerouac describes takes you through an America that is long gone. The year is 1947, I think, and the post-war U.S. is filled with opportunities to hitchhike, and places a resourceful person can find to stay, so that when Sal (Jack's proxy) reaches California, he has spent less than a hundred bucks. Today, provided you manage to find anyone willing to pick up hitchhikers on the interstate, you're still going to run a very different road.
Connections are a wonderful thing, and thanks to cell phones, the interstate and the internet, more people are connected to more places. But the price of that is Kerouac's America, because division creates difference, and when the division disappears so, slowly, do the differences. The onset of suburbia has made most places the same as the last place. There are small towns that don't fit the idea of suburbia, sure, and for my money those are the places worth visiting. But even in 1947 America was still discovering itself. Now that it has found more or less an answer and settled down, it's a much more cohesive place, but one with a lot less going on for someone who wants to hit the road.
What Kerouac's book still gives us is nonetheless more powerful than nostalgia. He doesn't paint America in wonderful rainbow colors all of the time; we get to see first hand what a type of life lived by so many (and glorified in a lot of works) was like while actually being lived. Even if we can't live it any longer, it is still a valuable service.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A little mind changing
OK. So. This was supposed to be all about video games.
Only one problem; my interest in gaming comes and goes like the wind these days. I think I thought that by writing about them, my interest in actual playing them could be returned to previous levels, and this was not the case.
I still have absolutely no intention of telling a bunch of strangers on the web about every bad day I have, because that's entirely pointless. I've been reading a ton instead, so maybe I'll just talk about that. Who knows?
Only one problem; my interest in gaming comes and goes like the wind these days. I think I thought that by writing about them, my interest in actual playing them could be returned to previous levels, and this was not the case.
I still have absolutely no intention of telling a bunch of strangers on the web about every bad day I have, because that's entirely pointless. I've been reading a ton instead, so maybe I'll just talk about that. Who knows?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Dead Pixels 5: The Way They Were
Raise your hands, or varied appendages, if you kind of sort of think games used to be better. I don't mean better technologically; after experiencing Bioshock and Gears of War I doubt anyone could return to the original Doom with a straight face. I think what I mean is more creative.
If you're only recently new to gaming, you may not even know what I'm talking about here. But there was a time in gaming when you could take the most insane, possibly acid-induced plotline, mix it with characters straight out of a fever dream, and have a hit for the ages. To cite the most obvious example, I seriously doubt anyone could get away today with a game starring an overweight plumber stomping on living mushrooms. But there were others. Jump for joy if you remember, say, The Adventures of Lolo, in which your fearsome powers included block-pushing and turning enemies into eggs. Congrats, you recall a day when gaming was one big trip.
Anymore, those types of games would be relegated to DLC or handhelds. They don't possess the major component that makes for a hot seller now: guns. Guns and more guns.
This isn't to say I don't like guns. I do, at least in a virtual sense. It just bothers me that every original game that hopes to be a major hit absolutely must have them. Yes, many games that fit that mold really are great. Bioshock took my breath away, and the Ratchet and Clank series blends classic gaming with modern gunplay in a way that is consistently entertaining and hilarious (penguin gun=best thing ever).
There are exceptions to this rule, sure. Assassin's Creed flew off shelves lacking a single firearm. Of course, many people sold it back when they realized they had to be patient and planning and not kill something every five seconds. But that's beside the point. The point is, Altair is the exception to the rule. Take a look at the major hits of the last handful of years: Gears of War. Call of Duty. Halo. Half-Life. Resistance. Killzone. Resident Evil. And of course, perennial video game scapegoat Grand Theft Auto.
A lot of these games have a lot more to them than violence. Resident Evil 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV have a hallowed place in my personal collection. But the thrust of my gist is, it's the violence that draws people in. Witness the number of used copies of Grand Theft Auto IV you find, sold by people who found out they had to actually endure a story and characters instead of just kill people.
Whether I agree or not, it is honestly not too much of a shock that gaming gets such a black eye in the general press. Sales drive development, and as long as gems like Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Zack and Wiki endure dismal sales while even the blandest new bloodfest shooters fly off shelves, gaming will not break the reputation of being a blood-drenched adolescent power fantasy.
If you're only recently new to gaming, you may not even know what I'm talking about here. But there was a time in gaming when you could take the most insane, possibly acid-induced plotline, mix it with characters straight out of a fever dream, and have a hit for the ages. To cite the most obvious example, I seriously doubt anyone could get away today with a game starring an overweight plumber stomping on living mushrooms. But there were others. Jump for joy if you remember, say, The Adventures of Lolo, in which your fearsome powers included block-pushing and turning enemies into eggs. Congrats, you recall a day when gaming was one big trip.
Anymore, those types of games would be relegated to DLC or handhelds. They don't possess the major component that makes for a hot seller now: guns. Guns and more guns.
This isn't to say I don't like guns. I do, at least in a virtual sense. It just bothers me that every original game that hopes to be a major hit absolutely must have them. Yes, many games that fit that mold really are great. Bioshock took my breath away, and the Ratchet and Clank series blends classic gaming with modern gunplay in a way that is consistently entertaining and hilarious (penguin gun=best thing ever).
There are exceptions to this rule, sure. Assassin's Creed flew off shelves lacking a single firearm. Of course, many people sold it back when they realized they had to be patient and planning and not kill something every five seconds. But that's beside the point. The point is, Altair is the exception to the rule. Take a look at the major hits of the last handful of years: Gears of War. Call of Duty. Halo. Half-Life. Resistance. Killzone. Resident Evil. And of course, perennial video game scapegoat Grand Theft Auto.
A lot of these games have a lot more to them than violence. Resident Evil 4 and Grand Theft Auto IV have a hallowed place in my personal collection. But the thrust of my gist is, it's the violence that draws people in. Witness the number of used copies of Grand Theft Auto IV you find, sold by people who found out they had to actually endure a story and characters instead of just kill people.
Whether I agree or not, it is honestly not too much of a shock that gaming gets such a black eye in the general press. Sales drive development, and as long as gems like Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Zack and Wiki endure dismal sales while even the blandest new bloodfest shooters fly off shelves, gaming will not break the reputation of being a blood-drenched adolescent power fantasy.
Dead Pixels 4: The Greatest Thing Ever
I am currently in possession of a Game Boy Advance cart featuring, among other things, a Legend of Zelda version of the original Super Mario Bros. Yes, there are other things on the cart, including even a few games that have not been modded, but really, what else do you need? The fireballs are swords, the Goombas are Octoroks, and Bowser, of course, is Ganon. It just occured to me to check if two-player mode lets you use Zelda. Remember, don't be a second-playa hater.
There's also a Sonic version of the game. I imagine that had to be more difficult to create, having to make Sonic sprites up from scratch and all, but it's not nearly as exciting...Bowser isn't even Robotnik, it's just some random bot. Still..."Good Job Sonic! Sonic got a Chaos Emerald!" will now have new meaning for me.
I'll have to remember to explore the rest of this package before I get over my recent illness. I have a feeling it won't be nearly as entertaining off medication.
There's also a Sonic version of the game. I imagine that had to be more difficult to create, having to make Sonic sprites up from scratch and all, but it's not nearly as exciting...Bowser isn't even Robotnik, it's just some random bot. Still..."Good Job Sonic! Sonic got a Chaos Emerald!" will now have new meaning for me.
I'll have to remember to explore the rest of this package before I get over my recent illness. I have a feeling it won't be nearly as entertaining off medication.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Dead Pixels 3: A Prince Among Men
12-06-08
The dry period in gaming has already begun. The Hot Christmas Titles have rolled out and are in stores, and we've entered a period in which few worthy new releases are due us, which is actually sort of a godsend. The industry decided November was the perfect time to roll out every single triple-A title in their arsenal, and they spewed forth from the land of silicon as from a broken dam, thus giving us all a chance to go completely broke.
That's not to say we're not getting any good games between now and the actual official goshdarn holiday itself. There's some stuff.
The other day I got my grabby little hands on Prince of Persia. It immediately confirmed something I've suspected since Assassin's Creed, a suspicion enhanced by Far Cry 2 and now soldified. Ubi Soft has almost no interest in pumping out traditional action titles. There's no doubt Prince is inspired heavily by Altair, but it also strikes a new path. Not everything on this new path works perfectly, but whatever you end up thinking of it you'll be unable to deny that Ubi Soft is charting a new direction for action-platformers.
This is another in the recent trend of cannot-die-games. Every time you get in severe trouble, your new friend Elika will rescue you with her magic. Sure, bosses can heal during this time, but since you cannot die you just jump right back in the fray. This is going to seriously piss off the sort of gamer who thrives on proving he is better than his entire Xbox Live friends list. Ubi Soft has created a game in which being top dog isn't just not the top concern, it's not a concern, period. They are in this for the experience, and you're going to have to be too. The visuals, obviously the stand-out feature, are evocative of the sort of Persia we see in the old 1,001 tales stories. It's the sort of place I see on the backs of my eyelids when I dream, and for me personally is quite frankly a wish come true. I never could pinpoint where a lot of otherwise amazing fantasy game worlds let me down in the past, but Prince seemed to just sort of know, a knowledge he took and ran with. Imagine Hayao Miyazaki meets Rogue Galaxy and you're pretty much there.
The platforming is elegant, the combat is cinematic and reminiscent somewhat of God of War. Since you can't really die, action afficiondos are going to loathe it. Those who are tired of slogging through waves of enemies and dream of something more like playing an epic scene from a swashbuckler (like me) will be at home, snuggled in the warm sounds of ocean waves.
Elika, your AI-controlled partner, is quite an experience. She reminds me of the Princess in Ico, and if you didn't play that and have no idea what I'm talking about, for shame. That princess would find you the right piece to a puzzle and actually aid you in your escape from an evil tower; this one does pretty much the same thing. The difference, of course, is the difference that seven years of tech can make to visuals, not to mention a game's ability to tell a story through character. Being able to question Elika at any time is engrossing.
The dry period in gaming has already begun. The Hot Christmas Titles have rolled out and are in stores, and we've entered a period in which few worthy new releases are due us, which is actually sort of a godsend. The industry decided November was the perfect time to roll out every single triple-A title in their arsenal, and they spewed forth from the land of silicon as from a broken dam, thus giving us all a chance to go completely broke.
That's not to say we're not getting any good games between now and the actual official goshdarn holiday itself. There's some stuff.
The other day I got my grabby little hands on Prince of Persia. It immediately confirmed something I've suspected since Assassin's Creed, a suspicion enhanced by Far Cry 2 and now soldified. Ubi Soft has almost no interest in pumping out traditional action titles. There's no doubt Prince is inspired heavily by Altair, but it also strikes a new path. Not everything on this new path works perfectly, but whatever you end up thinking of it you'll be unable to deny that Ubi Soft is charting a new direction for action-platformers.
This is another in the recent trend of cannot-die-games. Every time you get in severe trouble, your new friend Elika will rescue you with her magic. Sure, bosses can heal during this time, but since you cannot die you just jump right back in the fray. This is going to seriously piss off the sort of gamer who thrives on proving he is better than his entire Xbox Live friends list. Ubi Soft has created a game in which being top dog isn't just not the top concern, it's not a concern, period. They are in this for the experience, and you're going to have to be too. The visuals, obviously the stand-out feature, are evocative of the sort of Persia we see in the old 1,001 tales stories. It's the sort of place I see on the backs of my eyelids when I dream, and for me personally is quite frankly a wish come true. I never could pinpoint where a lot of otherwise amazing fantasy game worlds let me down in the past, but Prince seemed to just sort of know, a knowledge he took and ran with. Imagine Hayao Miyazaki meets Rogue Galaxy and you're pretty much there.
The platforming is elegant, the combat is cinematic and reminiscent somewhat of God of War. Since you can't really die, action afficiondos are going to loathe it. Those who are tired of slogging through waves of enemies and dream of something more like playing an epic scene from a swashbuckler (like me) will be at home, snuggled in the warm sounds of ocean waves.
Elika, your AI-controlled partner, is quite an experience. She reminds me of the Princess in Ico, and if you didn't play that and have no idea what I'm talking about, for shame. That princess would find you the right piece to a puzzle and actually aid you in your escape from an evil tower; this one does pretty much the same thing. The difference, of course, is the difference that seven years of tech can make to visuals, not to mention a game's ability to tell a story through character. Being able to question Elika at any time is engrossing.
Dead Pixels 2: Tis the season to give to Child's Play
http://www.childsplaycharity.org/
See that link there?
Beyond it is possibly the only hope for some pretty sick kids to have a pretty nice Christmas (note to the P.C. police: I'll be calling it that, despite my Agnosticism, because I'm used to it. Deal).
Every year, Penny Arcade, that home of Tycho and Gabe in video game comicland, runs Child's Play, which gets toys and games to kids in children's hospitals. If you have ever been involved in the life of a kid that sick, you know how important charities like Child's Play are. If you haven't, I'll not try to tug at your heartstrings, I'll just say this: those kids need you. Times are tough everywhere, I know, but for sick kids that Santa skips, they're toughest.
I'm running a local event this coming week, at a gaming center, and all proceeds go to Child's Play. I spurred and encouraged the event myself, and I'll be there to guide it...after I talk it up to the entire town for the next week. This doesn't cost me a penny, just effort. It should be well worth it.
If anyone can think of any place in their town that might be inclined to do this, do it. Push it. Organize it. Publicize it. Imagine being ten with no presents, then compound it by being sick. I don't know about you, but in the face of that my schedule suddenly becomes unpacked.
See that link there?
Beyond it is possibly the only hope for some pretty sick kids to have a pretty nice Christmas (note to the P.C. police: I'll be calling it that, despite my Agnosticism, because I'm used to it. Deal).
Every year, Penny Arcade, that home of Tycho and Gabe in video game comicland, runs Child's Play, which gets toys and games to kids in children's hospitals. If you have ever been involved in the life of a kid that sick, you know how important charities like Child's Play are. If you haven't, I'll not try to tug at your heartstrings, I'll just say this: those kids need you. Times are tough everywhere, I know, but for sick kids that Santa skips, they're toughest.
I'm running a local event this coming week, at a gaming center, and all proceeds go to Child's Play. I spurred and encouraged the event myself, and I'll be there to guide it...after I talk it up to the entire town for the next week. This doesn't cost me a penny, just effort. It should be well worth it.
If anyone can think of any place in their town that might be inclined to do this, do it. Push it. Organize it. Publicize it. Imagine being ten with no presents, then compound it by being sick. I don't know about you, but in the face of that my schedule suddenly becomes unpacked.
Dead Pixels 1: Hiya
The name's Ryan. There, that's all you need to know.
For a writer, talking about myself and what I'm writing about is my least favorite thing in the universe. So I'm just going to tell you what this blog will be about. It's going to be about video games. Actually, it'll be more about entertainment and pop culture in general, but it will slant toward gaming, hence the title.
I know there's a lot of these out there. Fortunately for you readers (once there are some of you), I tend to approach the topic a little differently. Specifically, I tend to compare the media I consume to the culture that produces and purchases it. This means there are some things I will not likely do.
A. I will not bore you with endless lists of the top ten this and the top five that. These will occasionally crop up, but generally speaking I don't operate that way.
B. I will not insist on my iron-clad righteousness in all matters of taste and cultural consumption. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion, even if that opinion is stupid.
C. I'll do my damndest to avoid wasting space informing you of things you already know. For example, statements along the lines of "Final Fantasy is amazing!" need not appear here, nor such lovely insights as "Man, Too Human sucks." I'll try to provide a bit more insight than that.
So that's that. And now I have to make my first entry, which consists of something quite important.
For a writer, talking about myself and what I'm writing about is my least favorite thing in the universe. So I'm just going to tell you what this blog will be about. It's going to be about video games. Actually, it'll be more about entertainment and pop culture in general, but it will slant toward gaming, hence the title.
I know there's a lot of these out there. Fortunately for you readers (once there are some of you), I tend to approach the topic a little differently. Specifically, I tend to compare the media I consume to the culture that produces and purchases it. This means there are some things I will not likely do.
A. I will not bore you with endless lists of the top ten this and the top five that. These will occasionally crop up, but generally speaking I don't operate that way.
B. I will not insist on my iron-clad righteousness in all matters of taste and cultural consumption. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion, even if that opinion is stupid.
C. I'll do my damndest to avoid wasting space informing you of things you already know. For example, statements along the lines of "Final Fantasy is amazing!" need not appear here, nor such lovely insights as "Man, Too Human sucks." I'll try to provide a bit more insight than that.
So that's that. And now I have to make my first entry, which consists of something quite important.
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