August video games highlights
Recap and thoughts on the industry news for the month
Posted by
Nechrol
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August (particularly the end) is the equivalent of a man starving himself before a large buffet, making sure his stomach is as barren as possible before gorging himself on various foodstuffs. It is at the end of August when the industry starts to pick up speed with its catalogue of releases. So far, the main focal point of the month has been deservedly on Deus Ex in terms of balancing anticipation and payoff from critics and gamers alike.
Aside from the relatively Spartan release list there has been far more goings elsewhere in the industry, here are some highlights.
“What we got here is… failure to communicate.”
In a scene reminiscent of the operator of a back street bar during prohibition, copies of Deus Ex were hauled off the shelves and hidden from popular consumption. It seems a classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left is up to, as Square’s package contained an Onlive coupon to play the game on the company’s online streaming service.
This is a peculiar way of industry cannibalisation due to Gamestop and Onlive both being in the business of selling games on differing media platforms. It’s similar to Schrödinger’s cat in that you could’ve purchased the game from Gamestop and obtained a free copy, so your money occupied an unusual quantum state of both having/not having your money and having/not having the game.
The quantum physicists at Gamestop quickly remedied the imbalance in the space-time continuum by simply removing the codes from the games. They presumably then used the vouchers to stuff a makeshift effigy of Onlive’s CEO and set it alight.
Square on the other hand was busy locked in its office with its fingers in its ears rocking back and forth in its own bout of quantum imbalance. On the one hand, they had included the coupon in their game package then on the other, they claimed it was not their responsibility; more so, it was Gamestop’s to decide what does or does not go in their release package.
It is a strange stance to occupy in this day and age of gaming. With sales outlets dwindling, more people choosing to shop online, digital copies, and streaming games, showing what may be construed as ‘plugging’ to a certain medium could produce criticism from other outlets.
Though I hold no animosity to any online forms of gaming, I still feel uneasy being told when I can and cannot play my games. It feels like a liberty has been infringed and another cog placed in Skynet’s machine which no doubt ends with me sucking on an Ethernet cable for sustenance.
I understand the need to increase sales as all forms of business come down to the bottom line. I just hate seeing companies touting ‘exclusive’ products to entice me. However, this predicament with Square is not exactly straddling that line it still feels as if there were handshakes of favouritism involved.
In short, can’t we all just get along?
Penny Arcade’s expo came to the home of grunge and Frasier in late August and all the big boys of the industry came out to play and tout their various wares.
As with most of the events over the past year, this span of time is not one focused on new IP’s, a disappointment I’ve aired before. Obviously, the only logical conclusion is to take matters into my own hands and write a strongly worded letter filled with expletives to vent my frustration.
The game I was interested in beyond all others was the discussion on Dragon Age III. The second game was met with some disdain and I was one of the people who shared that, feeling as if the developers’ had taken a step backwards and fell down a mineshaft.
Dragon Age II did take a risk, and one that perhaps was needed in its genesis. One of the most prominent criticisms of the first game was that its battle system lacked the tenacity in which western-based console RPG players expect. While this aspect was certainly improved in their latest offering, many felt it lacked the overall depth of the first, the most glaring of all its closed and recyclable settings.
So in an attempt to right previous ‘wrongs’ in players minds, the devs have looked to ‘us’, the gamers, in how to improve their next offering. This type of open developmental approach is a double-edged blade as your average Joe isn’t a game designer. To put it in perspective, it can come across like a fanboy telling George Lucas how he should’ve written Star Wars. While player input is of course valuable, a wish list is not always the definitive way to go about reconstructing a game as there are too many variables to account for.
One part that came across as interesting in the discussion was how players wanted to have control over their companions armour sets. Aesthetics, unsurprisingly play a large part of RPGs in particular as the whole premise is that ‘you’ are the character. In practically every game where we can customise our avatar, it in some way conforms to our own sense of ‘cool’. In terms of DAIII, I personally would like to see a marrying of both purchasable armour and companions own unique style because dress sense; though purely aesthetic is ultimately a reflection of character.
As mentioned above, scope was also an issue and one that was addressed, notably by scaling through the now larger and hopefully improved areas and the crowd seemed to love it, like when you jingle keys in front of an infant. This however, seems like a problem that can be easily remedied and one that is progressing. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I look fondly on the next instalment.
Obviously, you want to create a good game, any dev does. However, you don’t want the situation to turn itself into a game version of the film Misery where a demented Cathy Bates threatens, then subsequently breaks your legs for not creating the game how they see fit.
And with August officially over (if you trust calendars), we now look fondly towards September with expected highs of “Dead Island”. Also, to a lesser extent, “Bus and Cable Car Simulator: San Francisco” which, if the title is anything to go by, should provide me with an experience that shakes the very foundations of my fragile being to the core.
Happy gaming.