Nintendo Revolution Final

Nintendo Revolution

The presentation explores the history of Nintendo and the innovations it brought into the gaming industry, as well as the world. It starts with the company's origins and it's eventual rise to power. It then goes on to talk about the successes and important aspects of pop culture that the systems individually brought, from the handhelds (Game Boy and Nintendo DS) to the consoles (NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and Nintendo Wii). Afterwards, it mentions the top franchises of Nintendo (Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong), as well as what their cultural significances.

Final Project Proposal: The Nintendo Revolution

Nintendo is considered he high-mark of the gaming industry. It is the oldest company in the business, both in terms of existence and production. Not only that, but many of the products have become have become billion dollar properties that expanded into multi-media markets that have left an imprint that can't be erased. I want to explore the various successes and cultural watermarks the company has left in its properties and systems. The fact of the matter is, many practices emerged that would be implemented in the games, consoles, and business models that Nintendo brought, and have stuck since. I want to explore how these singular moments evolved over time. Key examples would include the implementation of third party licensing, mass on-board multiplayer, introduction of key franchises, etc.

Anna Anthropy: An Interview

Anna Anthropy is certainly an intriguing individual, a person who breaks free of the constraints of modern-day gaming. Despite what some may thing of games today, there are certainly quite a lot of factors that are becoming apparent, namely that we seem to have the same type of portagonist (hetero men of manly caliber) and uninspired gameplay that doesn't really involve. That isn't to say that these games aren't fun (I'd be lying if I said I still don't have fun with Call of Duty regardless), but it's disconcerting when you realize that few people really attempt to break out of this. Anna certainly tries to do this and succeeds in spades. The interesting thing though is that in the interview, she doesn't try to focus on herself, but rather those around, and how she herself is just one amongst a huge ocean of potential game-makers.

In the interview, she talks about her experiences, many of which are outlined in the book, and how they relate to the idea of getting out there to make something new. She talks about how conventions in big corporate gaming are somewhat crushing the spirit of what can make it great, including her own experiences as to why she went into independent gaming. She talks about another person who had a similar experience to try and relate to others, such as the story of someone who contacted her, saying how depressed he was that his new job prevented him from creating his own properties because it "promoted competition within the company."

Another interesting concept she brought about the independent gaming world was the idea of goals in terms of money verses accomplishment. She basically argues how within the corporate world, the idea of making a "masterpiece" is somewhat gone, as the company has to act based on profit, and how it somewhat limits quality and performance. She then contrasts this compared to those she's seen online, who work on hours on end, speaking not of money, but of pride in their work, and how much more inspiring it is.

She uses these ideas to inspire anyone to make games, showing that you don't need a budget or a huge set of people to make something; all a person really needs is idea, passion, and practice. She admits that she herself did something similar, adding games based on freeware programs to her portfolio. She also goes as far to say that those who are "different" from "normal society" can probably go further, as they have a greater sense of freedom and ideas. I'd be inclined to agree; those who aren't bound by conventions in life can find ways to break them in art and make something revolutionary.

Anna Anthrophy: 2 games and a Book

I tried out to off Anna Anthropy's games: "Mighty Jill Off" and "Jill Off With One Hand." Both had similar mechanics, but implemented in different ways. "Mighty Jill Off" was used in a way that is more reminiscent of old-school platformers; it's doable but difficult, requiring precision in movement and timing. "Jill Off With One Hand," however, is more of an endurance test, simply testing one's timing in avoiding obstacles (namely flying heads and spikes). Both games get progressively harder over time, having a good sense of pacing. Both games also explore the sadism that goes behind what gamers will put themselves through in order to get to a goal (and in the case of JOWOH, even if there is no real goal in sight). In a sense, the masoschism that we are willing to go through isn't much different from that one gets from the BDSM community; it's suffering for the sake of pleasure and thrills (and in all fairness, I put myself through such masochism from a variety of games).

Anthropy's book, "Rise of the Videogame Zinesters," explores both the desire to create games, the origins, and the fundamental flaws that exist within them. In a review from Tom Auxier of Nightmare Mode, he talks the core argument that everyone should and can make video games. Anna Anthropy is a clear example of this, as she is probably the most "out there" developer you can find, standing as an epitome of anyone being able to do so. Nothing about her is "natural" by any stretch of the animation; she is a transgender woman with strong ties in the BDSM community, who uses homosexual heroines as the protagonists. These ties are strongly evident in her games, but uses them in an organic way that compliments it. The main issues the reviewer had though was that Anna tended to use examples to talk about the way games are devloving without having the greatest facts to back them up. In essence, she talks about functions without explains HOW it functions. Still, he praised her enthusiasm and how it is quite inspirational in making one want to be a developer.

Game Proposal: The Darkling

Games are continuously evolving, as is the idea of choice. It is supposed to express consequence not only for the character, but for the player as well. Truth be told, I always wanted to see an older platformer/ fighting game that incorporated this (such as Streets of Rage, although the only choice they give in the end is weather or not to be the final boss' right-hand man). I propose such a game, which I dub "The Darkling."

"Darkling" is heavily inspired by comic-book heroes/ anti-heroes, such as Batman and Rorschach from "Watchmen." The game would be a side-scroller in which you control "The Darkling," a vigilante with his own personal agenda in an investigation involving a girl he saves, fueled by his own delusional vendetta, rather than the justice in which he fights for. As time progresses, he inadvertently starts a gang war between a gang harboring a killer and himself, bringing about consequences not only for himself, but those around him.

The gameplay would be simple, but allow for growing diversity. It would be a linear side-scroller, having you go from point A to point B, rather than a Metroid-Vania style of gameplay (a side-scroller in which the player is given a non-linear map in which areas become more available over time, in the style of Metroid and Castlevania, hence the name). In the beginning, you are given basic moves: moving, jumping, ducking, punching, kicking, and blocking. Over time, the more people you fight and save, the more experience you get to unlock new moves and increase your stats, based on aspects such as speed and power. For example, your character can eventually unlock combos or the ability to counterattack.

Logically speaking, you earn more experience points and a higher score through fighting enemies rather than saving people. However, therein lies the kicker: the "better" you do, the worse things become in the story. Your actions affect transpiring events and the relationships of other characters. The idea of settling a score (both figuratively and literally) bringing repercussions is inherent in your actions and the score you accumulate over time, showing that "winning" isn't necessarily winning, and the age-old idea that those who follow through on acts of revenge can get what they want, but will end up with more than they bargained for. Are you willing to let go and stop when you've completed what you need to, attempting to end things on a happy note? Or will you go further to get what you want, at any cost? These are the choices inherent in being a hero or a vigilante.

Jack's Rum Session Report

For the most part the game played out well, aside from some minor confusion. My game, Jack's Rum, played out in a similar fashion to Black Jack. The first round was used as a means to explain the rules, using all three of my partners to play. While it took some time understand them, the gist of the game was understood. However, in order to reexplain certain factors of the game, we restarted and everyone received new cards. This time the game went by more quickly, despite several draw games, although some parts of the game were forgotten in regards of how cards are played. The third time, however, the game went smoothly. No rules were forgotten and the game went by quickly and easily, lasting only a few minutes.

In terms of feedback, there were a couple things that were made evident, including simplifying the rules in terms of words. While things were clear, I could have been more concise. The other issue was that some functions of certain cards weren't fully explained, and I simply went by assumption that people would understand what the cards stood for in regards to aces (which should have been 1) and face cards (which should be 10).

Passage

Passage is a strange experience. It isn't really a game, but rather an interactive story. You play a young man who is moving through the passages of time. Along the way, you meet a woman and scenery changes. The game is given a very slim viewing window and blurry preceding landscapes in which you are able to move around. As I moved around, I initially found it difficult to move around, not really understanding what really hindered me (as well as the narrow viewing angle coming into play). As time went on and I traversed the ever changing landscape, the viewing angle became wider and the preceding locales became slightly clearer. However, my characters also began to age, their hair color changing (and for the man, he began balding as well). I also noticed that, as time went on, my characters slowly shifted from the left of the screen to the right (for the most part, the character "moving" is actually the landscape moving). Eventually, the woman died, and my character inched forward at a slow pace, before he himself died, before ending with the title appearing and viewing window closing on it.

The game is quite intriguing, as it represents not the passage that your characters take, but rather the passage of time, invoking many ideas that are inherent in life: ideas of spending your time wisely, time wasting you if you waste it, etc. The story is simple, but somehow creates a strong emotional resonance. The controls are easy to comprehend, although it is somewhat difficult to navigate around in the beginning, due to heavy amounts of obscurity (which is intentional). The graphics are reminiscent of of the 16-bit era; while not particularly fancy, they give it great appeal.

The game finds a way to use all these aspects in tandem to tell a heartfelt story that hits you in the core, while generating questions of how one spends time. It also makes it clear that no matter what, there is no winning or losing, but simply an end that comes for all of us. It's not really sunny in disposition, but it finds a way to bring it's message across simply and effectively.