Backhand of Justice

People (mouth-breathers) like to demean games as silly wastes of time. They’re probably right, at least if you’re referring to the current crop of games. Can they be harnessed towards something useful? We’ve seen labeling pictures turned into a game. We’ve seen manipulating proteins turned into a game. What about teaching Microsoft Office?

A new game called Ribbon Hero attempts to turn learning and practicing Microsoft Office techniques into a game. This is just the first step: soon everything will use games to teach. read more

Fans always want remakes of their favorite games. Final Fantasy VII is one of the perennial frontrunners for the remake treatment, and there is always speculation that Square Enix would make a bundle if they just updated the game with HD graphics. It’s rare, however, that you see the opposite.

A fan remade a portion of Mega Man 9 in HD, and while it’s identical to the original game (which was a retro throwback anyway) but with HD graphics, fans have not been kind to it. Critics say it removed the soul of the game. Are 8-bit graphics really that charming and expressive? read more

There are changes afoot at Activision. As you may have heard, the two heads of Activision’s most successful studio, Infinity Ward, have been fired for ‘breach of contract and subordination.’ Dubious Quality has a nice little summary of events.

Activision has tasked Sledgehammer games (run by the former developers of Dead Space) with making the Call of Duty game for 2011 which will potentially be in the action-adventure genre. Activision believes they have created a self-sustaining franchise separate from the individual game quality, the same mistake Electronic Arts made with their sports franchises. Call of Duty, meet Madden, the ghost of Christmas future.  read more

Whether you’re discussing the rise of MMOs, the increasing use of digital distribution or the prevalence of online multiplayer, it is undeniable: we’re living in an online world.

Why are so many upset, then, when Ubisoft introduces DRM that requires you be online for game saves? Why are so many upset when there are delays to updates, or the Playstation Network goes down, or World of Warcraft server maintenance takes slightly longer than expected? Sure it’s inconvenient, but there are as many if not more benefits to having game services move online than there are drawbacks. Why fight it conceptually? read more

Interactivity distinguishes games from other forms of entertainment. What constitutes interactivity, however? What if a TV show required you to raise or lower the volume every 5 minutes in order to continue? Would that make the TV show interactive (not just by definition, but in the spirit of the word)?

Heavy Rain is a unique product that pushes games in a direction that few have attempted in the past decade. Where does ‘experience’ end, however, and ‘game’ begin? read more

Arcades were once great gaming meccas. Kids from across the neighborhood would converge to spend many quarters and hours on their favorite hobby. Back then, videogames were a social hobby, as you would encounter countless kids with whom you had a common interest while waiting for the next game.

While the home console changed the face of gaming forever in primarily positive ways, one negative side effect was the death of the arcade and the emergence of the fat loner slob videogame stereotype. Can new 3D games reinvigorate the arcade scene? read more

Self-described videogame connoisseurs have long claimed that graphics don’t matter. ‘It’s all about the gameplay, obsession with graphics is for immature plebeians who can’t recognize real quality!’

This is a ridiculous notion. Videogames aren’t merely about the story or the gameplay; they’re about the total experience. A big budget film like Avatar can offer a different and equally valuable experience as a small art house film, and a graphically stunning videogame can offer the same.  read more

Developers have sold the idea to gamers that if they continually support a game long after release, it offers greater value. As long as a CoD: World at War map pack comes out every few months, that $5 charge to access it is more than justified.

This is a fallacy that takes advantage of consumer inability to judge value at the very low end of the price scale. Relative to the price of a game, DLC offers terrible value, and gamers who want more from a franchise would be better served by encouraging developers to start on a sequel rather than by paying for subpar DLC.  read more

Dragon Age had many skeptics pre-release. It was seen as a throwback niche product, attuned to hardcore RPG fanatics that were hidden in some dungeon somewhere, rolling dice for the last decade. An antiquated, hardcore RPG couldn’t really be successful in today’s sophisticated and streamlined market, could it?

Now that we know Dragon Age sold 3.2mm copies since its release date, putting it on pace for over 5 million, we have to ask whether there are any niche products anymore. I believe there’s no good product that won’t find an audience. If your game doesn’t sell well, it’s probably because it was crap, not because there’s some missing audience for your phenomenal game.     read more

Bioware has announced that only Mass Effect 2 saves in which Shepard survives the ending can be imported into Mass Effect 3. Considering the trilogy is Shepard’s story, this is understandable. 

Will restrictions like these eventually cripple the breadth of choice available in a game like Mass Effect 2? Choose your own adventure novels are frequently crap because it’s hard to develop a compelling multi-thread storyline, after all. read more