Future Tense: Wii Are Not Amused

Posted 01/26/2011 at 12:24pm | by David Gerrold

I have a holiday tradition. Every December, I buy myself a present. That way I guarantee I will get at least one gift I actually want. (I have a closet full of sweaters and shirts that other relatives thought were “just perfect” for me. No. Just no.)

This year, I ended up standing in the aisles of Fry’s Electronics, debating with myself. I really wanted a new camera—the Sony DSC-F828 is 7 years old and I’ve been studying the specs on various high-end DSLRs. But there’s also this great new game from Disney called Epic Mickey. I don’t have a Wii, but Epic Mickey looks so good that I was tempted to buy a Wii just for Epic Mickey alone.

But … I hesitated.

One of my nephews has a Wii, and he got Epic Mickey for his birthday early in November. So I invited myself for dinner one Sunday and afterward he set up the game for me. He showed me where all the controls were and walked me through the first few moments of the game.

I’m a big Disney fan and Epic Mickey opens up with some great references to classic Disneyana: Mickey Through The Looking Glass, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, all those Disney anthologies with the animated paint brush creating whole landscapes with a stroke, early Disneyland, Night On Bald Mountain (and/or The Blot), and a calendar that acknowledges Mickey’s early films as the pages fall off.

After a spectacular setup, the game reveals Mickey in a place called The Wasteland. We meet Oswald the Rabbit, who Walt created before Mickey, in the laboratory of a mad scientist. This is an introductory level, a teaching level for the mechanics of the game. Your job, playing as Mickey, is to destroy one control console by spinning (shake the controller), leap across a broken platform and destroy a second control console. You leap by holding down the A button.

Like all platform and jumping games, it requires fast reflexes.

I do not have fast reflexes.

I like games of logistics and strategy (Starcraft II), skill (chess, poker), logic (Sherlock), real-time simulation (Sim City, Flight Simulator), tower defense (Plants v. Zombies), puzzles (Portal, Angry Birds), and games of exploration (Nethack, Diablo). And way back in the Cretaceous era, I loved First Person games like Doom. But what I liked about the First Person games was not necessarily the shooting, but the exploration of the environment and the challenge of solving the puzzles. You had to find specific keys to unlock the different sections of each level. The increasingly bizarre monsters of Doom made the exploration scary and intense.

When the First Person games evolved into First Person Shooters, I started to lose interest. The graphics got better, the monsters more detailed, the scenery more intricate, the weapons more spectacular—but too often the games seemed less and less interesting.

Yes, I’m generalizing here and yes, there have been a lot of great games in the First Person genre. I loved the single-player versions of Unreal not just because they were an ambitious attempt at epic storytelling, but because they were also about exploration and discovery. Some of the levels in the first Unreal were so vivid, I can still see them in my mind’s eye today.

I suspect this is why I’ve had a lifelong love of science fiction. As a literary genre, it’s about visiting new landscapes and exploring them, unraveling their mysteries, discovering how they work, all their beauty and all their horror. Unfortunately, the greater visions of science fiction are being swamped by the adolescent ones—where science and technology are put in service of action, not exploration.

Robert A. Heinlein gets credit for inventing the military-SF subgenre with Starship Troopers. While most casual readers can read the novel (skip the movie) as a great military adventure, Heinlein also intended it as a powerful examination of the responsibility of the individual to the community that created him. But Starship Troopers and all of its subsequent descendants in that genre are more about the way we fight off the threat than discovering the essential core of it. Not quite anti-science, but certainly science in service of destruction instead of discovery. Most so-called “science fiction” movies today are about how to destroy things, not create them.

Before computers had graphics, we had text-adventures. The great granddaddy was Colossal Cave Adventure. And the most profitable was Infocom’s Zork. These games were about exploring the landscape of imagination, finding treasures, solving mysteries—and only occasionally dealing with pirates or dwarves or trolls. The fun was the exploration, the discovery, and the triumph of solving intricate puzzles.

Now that we have the ability to dress up our games with spectacular graphics and action, game publishers seem to have forgotten about exploration and puzzle adventures. Browsing through the gaming magazines or standing in the aisles at GameSpot studying the racks of plastic covers, it feels like everything is aimed at the adolescent male—boys between the ages of 15-35. From a marketing point of view, it’s not a bad strategy; these are the most enthusiastic buyers of games. But focusing solely on that niche ignores everyone else, especially those of us who do not have the reflexes of a hyperactive ten year old.

Where are the great adventure games of exploration, discovery, and puzzle solving? Take me to a reinvigorated Colossal Cave or drop me onto the surface of an alien world to search for a crashed scout ship. Push me down a rabbit hole to explore Lewis Carroll’s wonderland or crash me onto Larry Niven’s Ringwold and challenge me to find my way off again. Don’t just walk me through a narrative, give me a whole world to discover! The creation of such a game would require a different kind of mindset by the creators, a different way of thinking about landscapes and levels, an outside-the-box approach to creation, but it could also create a whole new genre of adventure—one that appeals to a much broader market.

I came to Epic Mickey hoping that Disney had done just that. Certainly the artwork was fantastic, the graphics and animation lived up to the standards of excellence we have always expected from the entertainment colossus. And after seeing the advertising and the cut scene, the reviews and the interviews, that seemed to be the promise.

Unfortunately…I never got past the first level.

See, in the very beginning of the game there are these two consoles you have to destroy. You shake the Wii to do it. That I can do. After you destroy the first one, there’s this gap you have to jump to get to the second one. It took me twenty tries to make a successful jump and another ten tries to make a jump without getting knocked off or falling off. And then there’s still another gap to jump. And if you fall off that one, you have to go back and jump the first one again so you can get to the second one. And that’s where I turned to my nephew and said, “How much jumping is there in this game?” And he said, “It’s all jumping.” And that’s where I quit.

No, I did not buy a Wii, and I did not buy Epic Mickey.

I’m sure it’s a spectacular game and lots of children and some of their dads will probably have a lot of fun with it. It will deliver its promise to its target audience. Just not me.

There is no “granny mode” for those of us who don’t do jumping games well. Yes, I’m a curmudgeon. Jumping is not what I want to do in a game. It’s not a skill I want to master. I don’t want to struggle with the mechanics of getting through a game, I just want to explore a spectacular environment and discover things that will delight and amuse me. I want to solve puzzles that will exercise my brain, draw upon my intellectual abilities, and make me feel smart and triumphant.

Someday, someone will make such an adventure game. I certainly hope so. (And you know where to find me if you want my input.) But Epic Mickey isn’t the game I hoped it would be, so I’m enjoying my new camera instead. It’s a Sony A55 and it’s terrific!

—————

David Gerrold is a Hugo and Nebula award-winning author. He has written more than 50 books, including "The Man Who Folded Himself" and "When HARLIE Was One," as well as hundreds of short stories and articles. His autobiographical story "The Martian Child" was the basis of the 2007 movie starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet. He has also written for television, including episodes of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Twilight Zone, and Land Of The Lost. He is best known for creating tribbles, sleestaks, and Chtorrans. In his spare time, he redesigns his website, www.gerrold.com

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sniggler

January 28, 2011 at 12:25pm

Dave, you should try The Ball

It's made by a small company called Tripwire. If you like puzzle solving + FPS with scary monsters it might satisfy you.

Also, Amnesia is a great puzzle-solving FPS that will leave you feeling satisfied without having to alt-tab to Google too often.

dmanrocks22

January 27, 2011 at 12:52pm

This is random and off topic but does anyone else feel as though the comment system is backwards? It just feels like you should have the first comments first, not be reading them in reverse-chronological order.

Wolfwerx

January 27, 2011 at 10:56am

In the years that I've been reading this website, I've bothered to log-in to make a comment probably only once or twice. I felt the need, here.

It is incredibly sad that in our Twitterfied world that this is considered a "long" article.

In hopes that the hordes of ignoramuses don't convince the "powers that be" to cut intelligent and/or conversational aritcles, I would like to voice my opinion: namely, that I like to read. I'm really good at it. I would prefer that my intelligence not be insulted with little 50-word-or-less "articles" that are merely just headline blurbs and links to other sites.

Aside from all of that, it seems that many posters missed the author's point. I used to be able to buzz through Super Mario Bros and many other platformers with no problems. It's less interesting, now. I want something more than D-Pad, button press, button press, D-Pad. I want to be entertained, not trained to button mash.

Mighty BOB!

January 27, 2011 at 10:11pm

Agreed.

lolfang

January 27, 2011 at 10:24am

MPC's tweet explains this article well, but not quite well enough.

Should be:

"David Gerrold takes on Epic Mickey, reminding himself of his poor platforming skills, and what platform games are."

m31337

January 27, 2011 at 9:34am

I would tend to agree about the monotony of a jumping game but recent games like Braid and Super Meat Boy have renewed my interest. Beat a couple levels of SMB and tell me you don't feel like you accomplished something.

sladeofdark

January 27, 2011 at 8:59am

You are old, and should be playing a different sort of game. I agree with you entirely in paragraph 14 though. I feel the same way about most new games and new movies for that matter.

I can not help but notice that paragraphs 9-13 lose the reader. you should get rid of them or tie them to the thesis better. I , as a gamer , can follow what you are saying and trying to convey. But like me you are a bit long-winded and probably a great conversationalist. However, the Academic Writing class that i am currently taking and hating has turned me into an editing machine. I hate the english language in its academic form to be honest, but now i can not help seeing composition errors everywhere.

David Gerrold

January 27, 2011 at 11:02am

I've done 19.575 billion miles in a circular path around a flaming ball of gas and I'm probably good for another 19.575 billion miles. You don't journey that long and that far without learning a few things.

I like computer games, I started playing computer games in 1973 on a Dec-10, when the only games in existence were Hammurabai, Colossal Cave Adventure, and Space War. The games were the reason I bought my first computer in 1978, a North Star Horizon runninga 2mhz Z80 on an S-100 motherboard, and I built it myself. I've been playing games ever since, and even wrote my own version of Lunar Lander in Turbo Pascal.

So at my advanced and decrepit age, I also have the special perspective of having watched the game industry grow from nothing to the point where it rivals the film industry for income and impact. Computer games are one of the greatest uses of technology ever, teaching all kinds of skills. (Everything but social skills, it seems.)

But some games have a built-in exclusivity. Anyone who doesn't have the reflexes for certain games can't play. It's not that I'm so old and clumsy that I can't play a platformer -- it's about all the other people who can't play them either, including the hundreds of thousands of children with disabilities who now have one more way to be excluded from the games that their cousins and brothers and friends all enjoy.

The point of the article isn't that platformers are bad -- they certainly are not -- but that the gaming companies are overlooking a huge potential market. Those of us who aren't thirteen year old boys (anymore) still like to play games too. And perhaps, in another 19.575 billion miles, some of the readers of this column will understand that point....

Zazubovich

January 27, 2011 at 6:14pm

My fiance can't see in three dimensions on-screen because of issues with her eyes. She bought a Wii but can't play many of the games that are the Wii's "killer app" like the Mario world, paper mario type games. She can't watch 3D movies because they make her barf, even ones she really wants to watch. And I get bored of pointless platform hopping because I have done it before, been there, done that, but only since pong, the Sears knockoff Atari 2600, and the TI99/4A.

But she will play timewaster games and word games until you are purple in the face. Wii could have more than just platformers and the interface, but they are definitely dragging in terms of content innovation. Luckily with a pc and walmart/target/kroger selling amazing games for five bucks (Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and Civil War, Diablo 1/2, Activision's MechWarrior and Heavy Gear games, NovaLogic's voxel warfare games) you can extract lots of time wastage at minimal additional expense.

Keith E. Whisman

January 27, 2011 at 7:31am

You know I still go back to old favorites like Company of Heroes because it did make me feel smart and intelligent when I was able to destroy the axis forces massed against me with the game set to expert hard level.

Microsoft produced some of the best combat games ever in my opinion and I still play them ever once in a while, Close Combat.

Lately I too have been burnt out on games and perhaps it's because I'm nearing 40(next year) but the games just don't do it for me like they once did. Perhaps DNF will be able to bring a smile to my face.

So I pretty much agree with everything you have to say.

DanaWheels

January 26, 2011 at 10:00pm

When will the gaming companies realize that not just kids buy their stuff? I would love to play some newer games... but being physically disabled, I don't want to waste my money on a Wii. I already have a Playstation 3, that's basically playing Blu-Ray discs in my entertainment room. I don't play games on it. But I want to. I can't do physically demanding stuff, but I love games where you have to THINK.

Sure, the Wii has this great interface for physical stuff, but come on, there's got to be thinking SOMEWHERE in that... we are all not 'normal'! I wonder if it's going to take a letter writing campaign to get the gaming companies to invest in some serious designing of 'thinking' games for those of us that don't want to jump, run, or do anything physical when playing a video game.

So, David, what do you think? A Star Trek type of letter writing campaign to let the folks at Nintendo know we want more 'thinking' games?

jedisamurai

January 26, 2011 at 9:38pm

An interesting perspective, but you really shouldn't judge console games by one game. There is as much variety to be found in consoles as there is on PCs, you just have to hunt for it. If you want exploration, play an RPG. If you want a feeling of wonder play an adventure game that encourages exploration. If you want a game that isn't about destruction play a music game or a puzzle game, ect.

I am a long-time game hunter, and I have played games on everything from an NES to a PC, from a Saturn to a 360. The best games are hidden gems, and that's what keeps me interested in games as a hobby. If you want to experience something unique, go a game specialty store and ask the owner for help finding a console game to match your tastes.

I have a feeling the author of the article would have been better off with Halo Wars, Prince of Persia, Enslaved:Odyssey to the West, or Rez.

Peace Out

SirBC

January 26, 2011 at 8:23pm

OK, so I know a whole shit ton of Geese is called a Gaggle, and I know that a bunch of Lions haning at the watering hole is called a Pride, but what do you call all of the ass clowns that have posted in this thread? Douches? is that the correct term? Yeah, that sounds about right.

eternally

January 26, 2011 at 7:49pm

I agree with the author's general premise that intelligent games are far superior to simple tests of ones' ability to mash the buttons in a pre-determined pattern correctly.

However, all the whining about not being able to get a kids' game to make a simple jump was a bit much and makes me worry the writer is suffering from some kind of neurological disorder.

eastbayrae

January 26, 2011 at 7:35pm

So you're butt hurt because you couldn't play a game aimed at kids? Stop writing articles like this.

LARRYROD77

January 26, 2011 at 6:50pm

thanks for that david. i like to think that ive progressed to more intricate and mind-consuming (for lack of a better term) games. wether it be console or pc. i play borderlands and bioshock among other games. and while those games are fast paced sometimes i like the lulls that come in between the action. let me explore a dungeons, dont force me through it! i will always love platforms becuz they brought me into gaming but some of us have evolved. make games that have our favorite characters that are more adult themed. i am just one voice and im sure ill get grief for my comment but its my belief and ill stick to it!

HeartBurnKid

January 26, 2011 at 6:46pm

If you can't enjoy a good platformer, I feel sorry for you. You've missed out on some of the greatest games in history, from Super Mario Bros. to Castlevania III to Yoshi's Island to Psychonauts to Mario Galaxy to Little Big Planet to Braid to Epic Mickey.

Yes, I know that's a lot of Mario games in that list. Can I help it if Nintendo keeps putting him in awesome and innovative games?

wk

January 26, 2011 at 6:04pm

as an old gamer i find less and less play worthy games except these excellent games, i.e;

oblivion, fall out3, dragon age, the witcher

Baer

January 27, 2011 at 12:38pm

I think that one of the biggest disservices done to the gaming public was EA buying then screwing up and droping the Ultima series. Yes, Oblivion, Dragon Age, Civ Etc make you think and feel like you have acomplished something. Yes, I have consoles but they sit unused for the most part. I would rather buy 3 to 4 good, challenging P C games a yeat then get a bunch of console flintch games, even if they were free.

Demo3

February 03, 2011 at 12:13pm

My thoughts exactly.

Ghok

January 26, 2011 at 4:01pm

I don't know about your reflexes, because I rather enjoy a good platformer, but I will say I agree with you a lot about First Person Shooters. I used to really like the genre, but over time they've become far less interesting because they've become more about shooting and less about exploring, story, and puzzles. I guess I'm not the type of player that the genre targets, but I know there's plenty others who feel the same way.

MeanSquare

January 26, 2011 at 3:32pm

Once again, David, you have expressed my own feeling with an eloquence that I lack. We do own a Wii and I bought Epic Mickey for my daughter. Watching her play it was both intriguing and frustrating. I was fascinated by the multi-hub, problem solving, scavenger hunt aspects that were my favorite parts of Raven Software's Heretic and Hexen games, but turned off by the agility and reflex tests that made up the rest of the game. I wonder if there really isn't a market for no-agility-required games or if it's just a self-fulfilling prejudice.

NayusDante

January 26, 2011 at 2:48pm

I believe that Skyrim will fit what you described.

jth

January 26, 2011 at 1:53pm

Sooo.. you went into a platformer thinking that jumping wouldn't be an essential part of the game... ok.

sweetjeebus

January 26, 2011 at 3:49pm

So agree! What was he thinking? Platformers are all about reflexes and agility. This whole article is pointless based on this. Maybe buy a comic book if you like Mickey that much.

sladeofdark

January 27, 2011 at 9:02am

word

Ulrich

January 26, 2011 at 1:52pm

Try:

Kingdom Hearts for the PS2 (final fantasy with Disney characters) and my wife could control it... so you might be able to. Some jumping

Fallout 3, or Oblivion (PC, PS3, 360) those games you can explore tell no tomorrow. Not much jumping..

Uncharted 1 and 2 (PS3) some 3rd person shooting, but it does have exploration and puzzles. Lots of Jumping... but very forgiving.

Although if I was talking to you at the water cooler I'd recommend Heavy Rain.

Shalbatana

January 26, 2011 at 1:44pm

You said exactly what I've been thinking. I don't have epic mickey, but with all the wii and DS games I've seen (and to be fair, most console games in general...though disclaimer: I only buy the big kid games for the PC) are all about mastering the ability to use the game system, not about challenging the player's brain.

That's not to say I hate all games like that. Spyro is one of my all-time favs, and toy story 3 has been a lot of fun too so far.... but perhaps that's because they do have an element of exploration to them. Even if superficial, and even though they don't challenge the mind.

For those of us who want to think as we play...there's strategy, and there's retro.

sladeofdark

January 27, 2011 at 9:03am

You said exactly what you said, twice.

Dysthymia

January 26, 2011 at 1:44pm

Okay, my attention span was challenged. But that is my own failing. He had a point to make and he expanded on it in an effective manner. Would you have rather read "Tw1tch g4m1ng sux0rz!" and that's it?

Bigbootie

January 26, 2011 at 1:26pm

You took that many paragraphs to say that you suck at games? That was several minutes of my life I will never get back.

linkmaster6

January 26, 2011 at 1:01pm

Dear god you are getting more and more long winded

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