GameblurgKids Talking About the Future

I’ve expressed my feelings on critiquing videogames before. The self-induced caveat in posting about reviews this lies within crying about antiquated problems about the dire need for intense interpretations in videogames, but that’s fine. Hopefully, you’ll understand how strongly I feel about the dismissal of the core experience that flutters amongst dry videogame examinations and realize that this isn’t just another rant. To put it quite clearly, I don’t personally enjoy stereotypical reviews because now that I have an understanding of the elements of videogames, I don’t need to rely on an external source to enlighten me about the monotonous elements that cohesively create the experience: game controls, graphics, longevity, etc. These elements are the easy part that lies with creating a game, as well as the easy part that lie within creating a review/analysis.

Naturally, from a developer’s standpoint, in order to create a functional game it must contain concise controls, appealing graphics and technological housekeeping (steady frame rate, lack of graphical malfunctions, etc.). The underlying challenge lies within generating a desire in the player to discover an artificial universe and mold it into his/her personal playground. Not necessarily promoting “freedom” and interactivity, but promoting the feeling of embracing a role with the identical passion that rivals that of its creators. The latter is what I want to discover as I read about games that I’ve expressed interest in playing: a logical, comprehensible and precise discovery of an experience through another’s eyes. The effects that the game will have on the player’s psyche, the discovery of why adopting certain roles is rewarding, and other things beneath the radar should be addressed in order to assess situations such as why it’s so appealing to murder aliens, play the bad guy or why the gamers enjoy chilling, scary experiences.

I personally haven’t been able to discover a consistent source for introducing personal experiences that one has felt while playing the game. Questions such as: “If you know enough about the game, then why don’t you just play it for yourself, instead of relying on someone else’s opinion?” are valid, but I don’t believe reviews and critiques have one simple goal of merely explaining how good or bad a game is.

Much like movie critics, videogame journalists have the inherited objective of preserving videogame history. Being that I am fairly young, I am dawned with the fact that I could not have played older acclaimed titles such as Panzer Dragoon Saga (1998) or Vagrant Story (2000) when I was younger and use reliable information to judge videogames with influences other than the “cool” box art. Critiques should have the distinctive goal to explain why the entire experience is either a timeless, engaging tale of glory or a rotting pile of cringing embarrassment. From reading the text, critiques should evoke an emotional response, cultivate interest and lead to the direct discovery of the videogame.

I am not upset about the current state of reviews, I am just in the mood for something different that holds my attention as a growing “gamer”. My ideal critique (reading, or writing) would just encompass the ability to clench readers and allow that reader to adequately understand the critic’s train of thought as they transgress throughout the complexities of specific stages of the game. However, there are a few bumps in the road to the transfer of these experiences from one to another. The global vernacular, or lack thereof, that enables journalists to educate and inform videogame industry veterans and passive games alike is the partial blame for thea absence of penetrating views of videogames. Another attributing portion of our problem could be that some games are on such a minuscule scale that some believe that the lack of substance doesn’t warrant a profound analysis. Possibly the “vultures” of our community of online users who swarm from source to source in search of quick material that can be digested within minutes could be the cause of the disregard of long & thoughtful summaries.

In the end, it’s merely my curious appetite that greedily lurks about the endless resources that the internet and publications provide, searching for more than just the graphical capabilities and controls in a game. There has always been speculation, and attempts, but the concept hasn’t gained an audience, or a performer for that matter. Partially this path is abandoned, out of fear, and partially out of an obscure road that hasn’t proven to become successful enough to accompany (or rival) the platitudinal review system that comfortably resides without a physical threat to suggest change. Maybe “we” should just…try? That is, afterall, what these platforms of unsupervised expression are for: to let go and express new intriguing ideas. So we’ve decided to do so, and give our opinions on what you all truly care about: videogames. In due time, we’d like to think that GameBlurg will become a source for intelligent analysis. Surely, there are people with experience in our field that eclipses that of our own, and there are those who are more than capable of delivering comprehensible experiences, but instead of continuing the wave of countless whining (except for what’s above!) and speculation, we’re just going to give it a shot. The road will probably be shaky, but if you’re not making a mess, then you’re probably approaching your problems a little too carefully. Look for more information soon and wish us luck!

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America: Delivering Freedom Faster Than Your Local Pizza Guy

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A few notables:

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
Hulk Hogan

Did we forget anyone? Let us know in the comment section!

(We are working on the punctuation problems. As you can see on the footer, our content is too American for the foreign Wordpress theme to handle.)

The entire idea of role-playing started out with the ability to create your own characters and venturing on a journey that existed outside of our daily lives. This sense of fantasy gave people the chance to step out of reality, become someone they are not, and have fun doing it. Within the comfort of your own home, games such as Dungeons & Dragons You were able to gain that same sense of fantasy right in your own home without venturing into the backwoods wearing your moms cooking pot for a helmet. That was what the beauty of taking the idea of a fantasy character placed in a imaginary world and making it a video game. However, over time, many games were becoming too similar giving us the same predictable characters and story lines that have now grown stale in this current day and age.

The role-playing genre (RPGs) has given us many memories: some happy, while others sad, along with those controller breaking bosses. When RPG’s were still young companies’ fresh ideas, they enticed the interest of gamers young and old with great characters and compelling stories. The RPG genre we all know and love is dying out for many reasons. Many fans love clutching on to the great ideas of the past, not realizing that comparing RPGs of the present to those of the past is what is really hurting this genre. What does the future hold for this genre: a completely new uprising or an ultimate death?

The main problem I see with the role-playing genre is that every year so many titles get pushed out into the market with only a few subjected to stand out from the rest. However many of these titles don’t live up to their hype which projects the “best” the company has to offer. For example Final Fantasy: Crisis Core was supposed to deliver new experiences for the fans of Final Fantasy 7. Unfortunately, we were given a game with horrific dialog, an even worse combat system, and it was all covered up with beautiful unstoppable cut scenes. Being a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series, I was disappointed with Crisis Core especially knowing that this was a four year project. There could have possibly been many games that were better than Crisis Core, but they had to take a backseat to the bigger franchise. Nothing against them, but its just a crime that a smaller company’s game would only get recognized by word of mouth of a person who took a chance on a title no one has heard of.

The other faults I see in this genre vary from the most obvious to the tiniest detail. The battle systems we have now have been done over and over again (no matter how hard you try, I believe turn based fighting is dead). Character personality’s being rehashed since the early ages of RPGs with recycled storylines with the same end result. In the most recent games, we still have random battles transitioned to with blurred screens plagued with the basic commands. Many RPGs constantly emphasize on building up your character’s attributes which can consume time that can be used to enjoy the story. The formula for making an RPG has become too simple for companies and it leads to gamers receiving the same product time after time again.

As of 2008, the role-playing genre is sitting on life support. What could be the possible reasons for such a lack of creativity? Are companies running out of ideas or are companies so focused on making money they lose sight of engaging their players. Being a huge fan of this genre, I loved the many things that these games offered for instance the deep story that consumes your attention, the characters that you love and hate, and the epic journey that you must complete to achieve balance in your world. The element of fantasy that takes you away from reality achieving that childhood dream of being a knight, pirate, etc. is now lost. The future outlook for role-playing games does look promising especially with E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) on the horizon and companies showing us whats in store for this genre in the upcoming months. With many titles on the horizon like Last Remnant for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Final Fantasy XIII for the Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) coming soon both are shaping up to be very promising for their respective systems. Will we possibly have another genre defining game to defiantly raise this dying genre from the grave it has dug itself or will we suffer through playing mediocre title after mediocre title? I, for one, am tired of it.

I will continue to have faith in for this genre and hope things will start to bounce back. I think its time to let go of the past and bring forth new ideas that will strike the interest of old gamers and entice new ones. With so many major titles coming hopefully a smaller 3rd party developer can get a chance to showcase their creations and stand out for a change. Its time for innovations and new ideas to come and revive this dying genre and correct the many faults that have been looked over in the past. 2008 and 2009 will hopefully be good years for all RPG fans across the globe. I myself happen to be very excited for Last Remnant for the Xbox 360. I only hope that more RPGs will start coming to the Xbox 360. Will this genre be able to get off life support? Only time will tell.

 

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