This isn't just because I'm getting older - I've always thought about games as eminent time-wasting, and nothing else. But the reason why it's nothing else, is that game-developers rarely try. And games are generally thought of as impossible to shape into something in the high art range of for example a tv-serial. Or a bubble-gum commercial.
It's not really a very strange view - after all, the most popular games are published with a very conscious budget and target audience. Where niche-audiences have proven to be too small to justify the larger development cycles.. comparative to, say, a tv-serial or a bubble-gum commercial.
Therefore I've always rated games in terms of exceptions to the rule, and how well or bad they turn out in spite of inevitable problems having to do with budgets and so on.
So here's the list of games from 2010 that were the least embarrassing for everyone.
8. Bayonetta.
SEGA made Sonic for adults, and no one noticed how laughably shameless this game really was. Bayonetta is a witch. She doesn't wear clothes, but is covered by her magical hair. The hair can be made into demons, who eat more or less angelic beasts for lunch. At some point in the game, you will torture a Seraphim with very female appearance - by strapping it to wooden horse until it orgasms into a burst of blood and golden rings.
And the way it's done effectively hides any sort of lewd appearance of it all. Well done, SEGA.
7. Alpha Protocol.
Alpha Protocol was Obsidian Entertainment's attempt at translating a spy-film into a video-game. (Vaguely reminiscent of how Bioware would translate a science fiction novel to a video-game with Mass Effect - and again building on Obsidian's earlier attempt with The Sith Lords). And it succeeds quite far along thanks to the writing, and the pacing of the game in the story-sequences. Unfortunately, the game relies heavily on mechanics that are quite difficult to pick up on for non-gamers, and even difficult enough for very experienced gamers - and this makes the dominant part of the game very often chore to play. The ceiling is simply too high for casual gamers to climb past. While the presentation with hobbling crouch-animations, and strangely unintuitive hotspots make the game problematic.
Going back to the writing, this is the game's high point. And the choice-system is created in such a way that you do not need background with Zork to understand it. Nor do you need prescient abilities to guess the game-designers' intentions.
The system is, however, made slightly unwelcome for new players in that there's a time-limit on your choices that is too quick in the beginning. A great story-telling device in itself, of course - that you might make a genuine choice in a pressured situation, rather than the real choice you were going to make, had you had the time to think. But if you are not familiar with the controls, you are going to struggle. And the impression we are left with would typically be that you need to invest time in this game, and decide to do so yourself on beforehand. It's not something you, say, might pick up and try for a while, and see if you fancy it. Gamers of that sort are going to be trounced.
It is, on the other hand, no more embarrassing to watch than a normal James Bond movie, or an episode of 24.
6. MAG.
Simple name, simple objectives - complex context, and complex rules. This was a game that was easy to show others - it was not typically video-game, with powerups and boosts. It wasn't a typical shooter either - having focus on functionality and battle-field control rather than shooting mechanics, or individual heroics. In fact, the game was created out of the fact that 256 human players were taking part in the game, creating their own impact on the game world.
This is instantly a win in my book, because it means the game itself isn't the point - it's just a medium for creating a context where people can interact. And humlemjød, it becomes something more than "just a game" very, very quickly.
In fact, if you did show this game to someone who were not into a game, they would only comment on how the controls seemed a bit light, and laugh at the instantly healing blue "pixie dust". For a shooter, this is quite high praise.
Not in the least because the game didn't actually achieve this high accolade by accident, but because it was designed this way from the bottom up.
Unfortunately, Zipper and Sony decided to make the game appeal more to their hardcore video-game crowd, and ruined the class balance system, lessened the opportunities for outsider tactics, and started to reward grinding along with run&gun "tactics".
Ironically, Sony feared the game would be too niche if it was not changed this way. But no fear - the game is, through the wonder of forced patching on consoles, now eminently embarrassing to play again.
5. Battlefield: Bad Company 2.
DICE, or Digital Illusions CE is a legendary developer who is now a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. This means certain things for the development of their titles, and it means adopting a style that cannot be thought offensive to anyone if seen at a glance.
Bad Company 2 is such a game. The game's setting is ultimately generic - Russia vs. the United States. The characters in the game are, from start to finish: the older sergeant who will never retire (and is too old for this shit), the mostly speechless (but supernaturally deadly) protagonist, the comic relief, and the dependable sidekick. The game also features the eastern European war-criminal, the 100% predictable traitor, the stuttering Japanese scientist - and yes, the barking commander of a super-secret organisation within the military's super-secret groups.
It's what you might find in the dictionary if you flipped open the page where you could read the definition for: "least offensive to the Northern American audience".
Meanwhile, the game is actually a quality production - the sounds are well placed and defined, while still being smooth to the ear. The graphics are possible to look at without instantly seeing something unnatural. And the way the game advances is logical and obvious to anyone, with appropriate amounts of chaos put into the pauses between the firefights. Rarely are you actually going to do something in this game that appears completely out of whack. The game even hides the fact that you cannot walk past a foot-high obstacle, or walk through a passageway smaller than the length from your left elbow to the right - strangely often.
Meaning that if someone watched you play, they would actually not have their attention drawn to something silly with the game that your gamer brain decides to disappear - but is instead drawn to the action in the game itself.
4. Resonance of Fate.
While still being an archtypical video-game - with typical yes/no dialogues, and rapid numbers flashing around on the screen. And while still being throughly a Japanese Role-playing Game, in terms of obscure plot and an esoteric opening sequence so embarrassing that it can not be watched in company with anyone - the actual game is different. Specially when you turn off the - in terms of games and low-production entertainment - tremendously well done dub.
Whether it is the moody but beautiful world, or simply Leanne's physics based skirt - the eye is drawn to the battles in a way that Final Fantasy titles cannot accomplish.
Lack of emphasis on embroidery, lace, belts with chains, and androgynous heroes certainly also help.
3. Vanquish.
All right. So it is an unashamedly ridiculous action-game with burly males on steroids shooting big guns. But on the other hand, it doesn't try to be something else at all. It has a core gameplay mechanic - and that is all. Everything else is just frills on the sleeves. It also looks incredibly good while in motion. The action has suspense and friction. In much the same way as Resident Evil 4. Except now you don't have the thoroughly embarrassing dialogues, the very obvious video-game mechanics - and in addition the graphics are as pretty as the explosions are large.
It seems this game is so unashamedly video-game, that it takes everyone by surprise and just goes with it till the end. This is less embarrassing to watch with friends than, ..oh, I don't know.., an episode of Sex in the City.
2. Heavy Rain.
Heavy Rain is an interactive novel - or so it's creators dub it. In a very similar way to other Ps3 exclusives, this game has been called a failure, and everything negative in the thesaurus worse than that. But then suddenly it sells 1.5million discs, which is quite high for a console-exclusive title in general - and certainly more than anyone, including Quantic Dream and Sony, expected.
There are probably two reasons for that:
1. It's not really a video-game at all.
2. The production value of this game is laughably high.
In other words, the appeal of this game is lack of arcade controls, while plugging into the wave of popularity associated with what we experts like to call "things with stories in them". Being one not entirely too complicated story, while also being something fairly interesting and new - this title became a relatively easy sell for an adventure video-game.
So it is, strangely enough, possible to get people to play parts of this game without having laughter-fits while taking a stroll in uncanny valley. Certainly, the ambition of the game's director might not be reached - few will delve so deeply into the game as to start filling in the thoughts of the character while playing. And yet, the game's direction is set up in such a way that you do, to an extent, partake interactively in a scene with movie-quality writing.
This doesn't happen, and as such the game is a thorough success in all kinds of ways. I still remember scenes from this game - obviously because I felt something very strongly when playing them. Like I would a good film, or a good book. And I know people who never play games that were successfully tricked into playing scenes in this game - without laughing at the game itself, or what it tries so very hard to accomplish.
1 . Gran Turismo 5.
The winner this year is without a doubt GT5. Obviously the presentation is horrible, the spectacular effects are nowhere to be seen, and there is no money-shot during the introduction. In fact, the game comes off as such a pretentious mess that it's hard to believe anyone watched this and said: "Yeah, this is kinda good". I'm just going to point out the highlights: Earth seen from space. Iron in an ironworks. Metal being made. Cars being assembled in fast film. This is obviously a tribute to cars, and probably also a pointer to Polyphony Digital and their approach to the game..
And then you get to the menu-screens.. good grief. It's a complete, complete mess.
The mess continues to the beginning of the first race, where you're treated to a stressful camera bouncing back and forth across different views, apparently in an attempt to get your attention away from the road and the race.
The game is also littered with "imperfect" angles, due to the dynamic lighting model and how no "perfect" view-distance was chosen.
But then you start to drive, and it simply is a pleasure. There's no need for explanations, there's no need for spectacular effects. It's just driving, and it's all very pretty. A slow sunday drive on the Nurnburgring in a classic car - sure thing. It's all so cleverly made that you will quickly forget about how terrifyingly bad the interface and the game progression is.
Meanwhile, this is the first car-game - and probably game in general - that has a fully dynamic lighting model. Where shadows fall naturally on the scenery, and light-sources illuminate your dashboard believably. Again, something that simply appears very natural to anyone who isn't a hardcore gamer.
Sadly, none of the time-step aware game-modes unlock during the entire course of the single-player game unless you happen to pick some particular special events, and clear them with nigh on impossible lap-times.
Nevertheless - when seen in action.. By Freya's sharp fingernails, this is great. This is what games dream they can become one day. The physics model, and the lighting model - all captures "realism" so neatly that games can easily be given a unique place in entertainment media afterwards.
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JoeTheDestroyer - December 21, 2010 (10:05 PM) The sad thing is I haven't played a single game on this list. I hate being perpetually broke. |
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