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The Game Boy: Mundane Is The New Epic

Nathan Grayson — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:15:16 -0500

Oh the life I’ve lived. I’ve skipped across the tops of skyscrapers with the ease of a child playing hopscotch. I’ve busted out of prisons that were said to be inescapable, that were patrolled by minigun-toting mechs, among other things. I’ve completed the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs. I’ve slain Balrogs (of both varieties). I’ve covered wars, ya know.

The moment I remember best, though? I was sitting in a small apartment, on a couch made more of dust than fluff. Minutes earlier, I’d gunned down some 20 mafia goons, but that didn’t matter. She leaned on my shoulder, half-asleep, and we watched an old black-and-white rendition of “To Kill a Mockingbird” on a teensy television. For more than an hour.

And that’s when I thought, “This game is incredible.”

That game was The Darkness, an Xbox 360 shooter from Starbreeze studios. Sure – as I implied earlier – the game certainly had me behind the barrel of a gun (or a giant hell-borne tentacle-snake) more often than not, but even among countless epic shootouts and swelling operatic scores, that mundane moment with main character Jackie Estacado (you) and his girlfriend dozing on a couch stands out the most. It was simple. It was quaint. But most of all, it was entirely believable.

In that moment, I got a feel for exactly the sort of guy Jackie was. Of course, he was no saint. Many of his actions weren’t even forgivable. Intimidation, “necessary force,” and even murder – Jackie wasn’t afraid to sully his hands if it meant getting the job done. But he wasn’t a godless killing machine. He simply hated his enemies and loved his friends. And so, even though, at that very moment, made men were probably sporting itchy trigger fingers that only Jackie’s death could scratch, he chose to take care of his girlfriend.

That hour passed like any other. There were no swoons, no studio audiences going “D’aaaaaaaw” – not even a makeout scene. Just people being people. Still though, more than in any other game, I knew how Jackie felt about his romantic interest. He loved her. Truly and sincerely. I imagine that he spent time with her like that whenever he could. Because, when it came time for me to see Jackie’s true colors, I didn’t have to take some character’s word for it. I actually experienced it.

Too often, videogames just pass us a handful of characters and tell us, “This guy loves this girl, and this guy hates this other guy. Why? Because.” The logic supposedly holding such relationships together is about as flimsy as a young child’s game of dollhouse. It’s like when you reach the epic conclusion of a movie or TV series, and the main guy and gal finally move in for a slow-mo smooch, and all that time, you’re just thinking, “That pairing would never work out in real life.” Sure, two or however many people may have endured some huge or ordeal together, but as we all know, there’s no such thing as happily ever after. Or at least, not the knight-in-shining-armor Disney conception of the phrase, anyway.

Games, though, can let us live those little, seemingly unimportant moments that make or break interpersonal relationships. So why don’t they do it more often? Well, you could blame the relative lack of top-notch writers working in the industry, or you might point the big, bad blame finger at gaming’s perceived macho, explosion-loving, pigskin-tossing audience. After all, why put so much effort into crafting a scene that much of your audience will just write off as “mushy stuff”?

Honestly, though, I don’t find either of those reasons acceptable. Gaming’s potential audience is bigger and more diverse than ever before, so taking a little focus off the Tough Men Fighting and putting it on real character development might even help some games sell more copies. And between Valve, Starbreeze, BioWare, Bethesda, Obsidian, and 2K Boston (BioShock’s developer), I think we’re long past the days when a plumber’s quest to defeat a giant ape with a very real case of jungle fever constituted a quality storyline.

So come on, developers. Anyone can toss together a nice pyrotechnics show and some showy gun-fu, but The Darkness – along with a few other select titles – has proven that games can believably portray relationships that go quite a bit further than the typical “Ugga, ugga. You Jane. You wife” approach. I mean, look at the most recent Prince of Persia game; its main characters communicated frequently, laughing and joking like normal people. Little touches like that are all I’m asking for. But really, with all the talent in this industry, I’d be pretty disappointed if you guys only fulfilled my expectations, and didn’t blow them away.

3D Realms Countersuit Says Duke Nukem Forever Still Alive, Reveals Another Duke Game

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:14:16 -0500

Most of it’s either legal jargon or refutations of previous claims, but this week’s news from the frontlines of the battle between Take-Two and DNF dev 3D Realms does contain a couple interesting nuggets – foremost of which being that Duke Nukem Forever isn’t dead after all. We knew the world seemed a little too intact for the apocalypse to have occurred.

According to 3D Realms, development on Duke Nukem Forever continues to chug along. However, the company apparently "released the majority of its employees working on the development" because of a "lack of funding to sustain the high level of development." Sounds the game won’t be out for a long time. Shocker.

Meanwhile, another Duke game, titled Duke Begins, was also revealed, and has apparently been in development since 2007. The game was being handled by another “well-known videogame developer,” but development screeched to a halt in April 2009, right in front of May’s giant, nearly lethal Duke Nukem Forever pileup. 3D Realms claims Take-Two stopped Duke Begins’ development in order to harm 3D Realms and the Duke franchise, thus “pressuring [3D Realms/Apogee Ltd.] to sell the Duke Nukem franchise rights to Take-Two for less than their true value."

Click through the first link if you’d like to watch more of the world’s slowest trainwreck. Or don’t. Either way, we’re sure Take-Two will say it’s all hooey come next week. And then 3D Realms will bite back the week after that. It’s like the damsel tied to the train tracks and the mustachioed villain switch places each week. But the train never hits anyone. Please, someone, put an end to the madness.

Justice is Served: Anti-Videogame Lawyer Jack Thompson Permanently Disbarred

Nathan Grayson — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:45:11 -0500

For a man supposedly on an anti-videogame "crusade," Jack Thompson hasn't really accomplished much. He attempted to give Bully the legal equivalent of a swirly -- and lost. He tangoed with The Sims 2 -- and lost. And most famously, he mustered every last bit of his legal prowess against the Grand Theft Auto series -- and, well, you know where we're going with this.

So, today, we'd like you to join us in congratulating Jack Thompson for taking a definitive step toward his goal. See, now that he's been permanently disbarred with no hope of reinstatement, maybe a real lawyer can finally hog the anti-gaming limelight. Hip-hip hooray!

Said the press release:

"Over a very extended period of time involving a number of totally unrelated cases and individuals, [Thompson] has demonstrated a pattern of conduct to strike out harshly, extensively, repeatedly and willfully to simply try to bring as much difficulty, distraction and anguish to those he considers in opposition to his causes. He does not proceed within the guidelines of appropriate professional behavior, but rather uses other means available to intimidate, harass, or bring public disrepute to those whom he perceives oppose him."

The proceedings, which began in June, brought 31 counts against the man fondly referred to by gamers as "Whacko Jacko." He was found guilty of 27.

In addition to a cushy new spot in the unemployment line, Thompson has also been granted the mandatory privilege of paying $43,675.35 in legal fees to the Florida Bar.

The disbarrment will be official 30 days from now, assuming Thompson doesn't nab a retrial. Regardless, however, we doubt Thompson's questionably-sane ramblings are at an end. With the Internet at his fingertips, we're actually kind of looking forward to seeing what Thompson will do next. You know, in the same way we're looking forward to the inevitable day when our doctor diagnoses us with a nice infertility-cancer double-whammy.

EA Finally Drops Bid to Acquire Take-Two

Paul Lilly — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:49:45 -0500

It doesn't matter that you rarely, if ever, saw Scrappy-Doo get into a fight, because you always knew that given the chance, he'd be ready to throw down no matter who the opponent was. Apparently that same spunkiness doesn't translate into the tech industry. How many times did we hear about Microsoft promising a hostile takeover of Yahoo its demands weren't met? Skip ahead a few months and Microsoft is still Microsoft, while Yahoo is still Yahoo.

Now it's Electronic Arts who is backing down in its hostile takeover bid, who earlier this year took it unsolicited $2 billion bid public for rival game maker Take-Two Interactive, best known for the Grand Theft Auto series. EA tried unsuccessfully to buy Take-Two back in February for $26 per share, and after the offer was refused, EA tried its hand at strong-arming Take-Two with threats of a hostile bid, only to extend the deadline multiple times.

The hostile bid official ended in August, and now one month later, so too has EA's interest in the company. Perhaps Spore is doing better than the Amazon customer reviews would indicate?

Gaming Roundup 8/18/08: One Human

Nathan Grayson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:17:57 -0500

Each year, we ask, "Was this the best year ever for games?" A good deal of the time, our answer tends toward "Yes," with a few nostalgia-maniacs vehemently worshipping 1998 instead. "Oh, they're just raving fanboys," I've always thought of those stuck in '98. "Their opinions are rooted in so much misguided subjectivism that even a bulldozer couldn't budge them."

However, a recent post at the always-interesting Sexy Videogameland gave me some insight into another, altogether more-acceptable reason for gamers' unyielding grip on the past. The post, by Leigh Alexander, of course, took a look at our tendency to play a game once, shove it into a nice, dusty shelf corner, and leave it there with no hope of excavation. Why do we do this? Especially when, as Leigh pointed out, many of us were happy to bury months of our lives in a single game back in the day.

But the answer's simple, really: You're reading this column.

As a bleeding-edge gamer, when you're not playing a game, you're probably reading about other games -- basking in the ever-brightening glow of a new title's hype -- and getting yourself psyched to play them. This column, with its daily dose of the latest gaming news, only helps propagate this trend.

Really though, does it matter? As Leigh pointed out, our consumer-focused society breeds hit-driven industries. Movies, TV, sports -- you name it. "15 seconds of fame" is an apt phrase. So we're just like other media. Big deal. But I think it does matter. I think games, by virtue of their interactivity, are meant to break the typical, rapid-fire hype cycle. And that's why so many gamers love 1998. The year was chock-full of top-notch titles, but gamers still spent hundreds of hours with their favorites -- testing boundaries and pushing limits. Why? The hype train as we know it hadn't quite picked up steam. Print was still strong and the Internet wasn't the all-knowing force that it is today.

And therein lies the problem. As the gaming industry grows -- as the press expands and the hype train takes on new carts -- it defies its own potential. Someday, games will shrug off the shackles of linearity, but will gamers stick around to experience those trailblazers in different ways? Or will our own anticipation for The Next Big Thing get the best of us?

Today's Roundup details a couple of initiatives that could grab at gamers' ankles and never let go, but will they work? Can't say. But for now, my commentary will have to suffice. It's all past the break.

BF Heroes will be "a phenomenon" - David Perry

$60 is nothing to scoff at. That amount could feed you for a week, propel you for hundreds of miles (price of car not included), or even purchase 2.25 subscriptions to Maximum PC -- an incredible value! Yet publishers expect you to starve, stay at home, or not read MPC (!) just to buy a single game. How ridiculous is that? What if you could play games for free, and then plunk down a little cash from time to time if you like them? That very mindset, says Acclaim's David Perry, will drive Battlefield Heroes to become "a phenomenon."

"Could you imagine if you were to take Halo and offer it free-to-play? How much money do you think some people would spend on Halo if they had a huge array of items that they could buy? I recon there's a cap out at about USD 10,000. When you think about it, the most we ask for is USD 60 and when you get those people spending a lot of money it brings the average up. On Acclaim Games right now we average USD 75 per person," Perry explained.

It's the iTunes mentality, really. A nickel here, a dime there -- no one will notice. Simple psychology to be sure, but I'm with Perry: If EA does this right, we could be looking at a new, longer-term method of both reeling in consumers and sustaining games.

Dyack: Epic 'Defrauded Us and a Major Portion of the Industry'

A history lesson: A few years ago, Silicon Knights licensed the Unreal Engine 3 in order to create their latest title, Too Human. However, Dyack and co. whiffed a fishy tinge to their deal with Epic and soon claimed that Epic had witheld a more complete version of UE3 for its own in-house games, leaving other devs to tinker around with outdated software. Naturally, Silicon Knights sued, and here we are. Or there we were -- more than a year ago. In a recent interview with Develop, Dyack broke the silence, sort of.

"Well the trial is proceeding, we feel really good about our claims, and we’re hopeful that justice will be done," he said. "We all feel really strongly that they have defrauded us, and a major portion of the industry."

Among other things, Dyack also discussed indie devs, Nintendo, Konami, Microsoft, and Canada. Definitely give the interview a read if you have the time.

Dragon Age: Origins - Toolset Confirmed

Following in Neverwinter Nights' footsteps, Dragon Age will sport a versatile toolset. With any luck, BioWare will take another page from NWN's book and spotlight intrepid players' best creations. And if we rub our lucky rabbits' feet really hard, maybe BioWare will even drop a few modules in the pipeline for the recently announced console iterations of Dragon Age. But even if we stroke those rabbits' feet aflame, I doubt Microsoft will allow such mods on their favorite white box (hint: it's not your PC). Shame, that.

EA won’t extend Take-Two deadline, deal to lapse

This is less of a dish-flinging divorce and more of a "Mwahahaha, you haven't seen the last of me!" EA obviously plans to keep a close eye on Take-Two while their stock prices draw ever closer to an inevitable splat, and then, when EA sees fit, they'll strike again.

Bill Roper speaks out at last

The Hellgate-gate was an exciting tale full of twists and turns. Now, finally, after months of nail-biting suspense, here's the epilogue. The twist: it might just be longer than the story that inspired it. See for yourself.

Bunnies Can't Win Gold Medals, New Raving Rabbids Olympic Trailers

I'm two-for-two with Olympic stories. Will I be able to hit Michael Phelps' magic number? Also, Rabbids are funny. Watch them.

Gaming Roundup 7/29/08: The Double-D Word

Nathan Grayson — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:37:00 -0500

What are you playing right now? FPS? RTS? Peggle? Who developed it? Do you even care?

I imagine you do; as a presumably-hardcore gamer, you've likely cultivated a few brand alliances here and there. But what happens when we change the question up a little? Do you think your favorite developer cares about you?

No, I don't mean on an individual, person-to-person basis. What I'm asking is: do you think those oh-so-dreamy devs slave over games for their fans, or for themselves? Yes, yes, gaming is a business, and there's certainly money involved. But at the end of the day, do you think the aforementioned designers look at themselves in the mirror and nod in satisfaction because they created a game for you, or because they calmed the cries of their wild inner artist? Sound off in the comments section. Let's start a discussion that doesn't involve sarcasm and commas (though both are certainly allowed)!

Anyway, today's Roundup shines the spotlight on developers of both breeds, though some trumpet their allegiance louder than others. If you'd like to find out who's who, what's what, and which of them might soon end up in the pit of Microsoft's belly, read on.

EA generated $90m through digital distribution in Q1

"Present, meet the Future. Oh, that guy? Yeah, that's the Past. He should've been out of here, like, years ago, but the NPDs won't stop clinging to him."

It's 2008. Do you know where your PC game sales are? Because NPD sure doesn't. As EA is kindly demonstrating, DLC is where it's at, and the S.S. Digital Distribution has been afloat in a sea of cash for quite some time now.

To put things in perspective, EA's $90 million made up 11% of its total revenue for Q1. Now try chopping 11% out of your total earnings each year. That's what the NPD reports do to the gaming industry. High-five for that one, guys!

Seeking Alpha: “Microsoft is a likely bidder for Take-Two”

“Microsoft could become a serious player in the video game industry if they made a console and sold the two best selling games on the planet," said an unnamed author on investor site Seeking Alpha. "Making GTA exclusive to the Xbox (just like Halo is) would be a terrible decision, but providing some, incentive, like an earlier release date, could drive additional Xbox sales too.”

Er, if I'm not mistaken, aren't they already doing that? And why would having GTA as a console exclusive -- and snatching it away from Sony -- be a terrible idea? 'Cause, you know, when someone's trying to attack you, pushing the knife in their direction is a brilliant plan of attack. (Block with the face!)

I'm not saying Microsoft isn't gazing longingly in Take-Two's direction, but doesn't being an analyst actually involve some, well, analysis?

Nintendo Joins 54 Companies to Battle DS Piracy in Japan

Although piracy is running rampant throughout the world, the lawsuit in question pertains to Japan. In addition to the Big N, publishers like Capcom, Square Enix, and Sega are hoping to bring the hammer down on Nintendo DS flash carts. These carts, of course, allow users to play downloaded, mostly-illegal DS titles, which siphon money away from those who actually create games.

But, the same carts more or less support the entire DS homebrew scene, which certainly houses a few burgeoning developers. Somehow, though, I don't think Nintendo and co. will lose much sleep over a few innocent corpses found in the rubble of their industry-saving crusade.

Free Live play “won’t last,” says Microsoft

Would a few permanently free Live games segment the community? Maybe. But it'd still be a cool a nice gesture from-- oh, right, Microsoft.

BlizzCon 2008 Will Be Televised

“Meeting and interacting with our players at BlizzCon is always a great experience for us,” stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re also pleased to be working with DIRECTV this year to bring the show, for the first time, to those players who are unable to attend.”

Very cool move by Blizzard. Sure, it's a thinly-veiled marketing ploy, but there are worse ways to give back to the fans.

StarCraft II Colossus Web Cam

Wireless webcams are cool and all, but when one looks like it might, if agitated, plunge a sharp object into my skin, I get a little leery.

Only 2,676 Gamers Apparently Offended by GTA Hot Coffee Scandal

Paul Lilly — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:29:24 -0500

With all the crowing over Rockstar's hidden sexual content unlocked through the now infamous Hot Coffee mod, you'd have thought it was Vivid Entertainment and not Take-Two Interactive who published Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. As it turns out, most gamers weren't so offended after all, and it appears the lawyers were the ones looking to cash in more than anyone else.

The issue came to a head when it was discovered Rockstar included a hidden mini-game allowing gamers to consummate the main character's relationship with different in-game girlfriends, and do so in a variety of explicit sexual positions. The content proved to be too much in a game originally labeled as Mature by the ESRB (San Andreas was later given an Adults Only rating), ultimately resulting in a class action lawsuit and settlement agreement. But despite the well publicized controversy and status as a top selling software title, less than 3 thousand people chose to participate in the settlement, prompting Seth R. Lesser, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, to admit being "disappointed."

Image Credit: Spong.com

No BS Podcast #59: The "Happy Hollister" Edition

The Maximum PC Staff — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:15:17 -0500

Today, Dave, Will, Gordon, and Andy give you the second Maximum PC podcast for this week! We're eschewing the reader questions this time around and opening up the floor for a general discussion of a few big issues: EA's attempt at a hostile takeover of Take-Two Interactive, how we acquire movies and music nowadays, big technology purchaes we've got our collective eyes on, and the various bits of daily life that make Gordon so gosh-darn angry.

And yes, we're trying our hardest to not swear on this podcast. Can we make it the whole 45 minutes?

To learn more about our Intel-sponsored LAN parties, mosey on over here.

Do you have a tech question? A comment? Just need someone to talk to? Email us at maximumpcpodcast@gmail.com or call our 24-hour No BS Podcast hotline at 877.404.1337 x1337, operators are standing by. Also, get your game on with the editors of Maximum PC by joining our Steam group or Facebook Page.

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