Well.... That was awkward

So according to blogger the last time I actually posted anything on here was in march.  Do you know what was in march?  If you have been reading this blog at the time or now... or ever really, you would know that mass effect 3 released and caused a great and many splashes in many gaming focused communities.  So that was 9 months ago.  So what brings me back today? hmmmm?

Well this and that.  Go ahead and check em out real quick - you'll need to know at least the basics to fully immerse yourself in my train of thought. 


Welcome back! Hope you didn't get lost on the internet for hours wondering how you got started down the rabbit hole in the first place, so you may be asking yourself what story and a video game cover have in common.  Or you may be really smart or smarmy and already have an answer.  So here where it gets interesting. 

The game cover is designed to give a consumer and idea of what they will get when they get home and open the game and start playing.  Just like any industry this means that there is pop, indie, and various other genres to appeal to.   Now imagine for a second you know nothing about a title in your hand except what the cover tells you.  Does it say action? Does it move you in ways you can't yet realize and does it make you wanna buy it?  For almost every cover art the answer is generally no.  I'm sure that there is market data out there that like to believe that suggestive colors and poses, types and sizes can affect the purchase habits of a consumer.  However most of the time a consumer falls into a couple different categories - either they know something about the game and what's in store for them, or they were told about it from a friend or an associate working there. 

So the game informer article postulates that story is perhaps secondary to game play mechanics, that the way we dress up our mechanics shouldn't be the focus.  In various articles Mr. Miyamoto has said that the story is not important, that game play is the star of the show - check it here for his exact words.   So if one of the most famous people in game development history says that, maybe a budding game designer should re-evaluate how he looks at games.  I see them as an amalgamation of all art - trying to desperately put together all the needed aspects to drive someone to continue playing a title through pixels, colors, story, purpose, reward, programming and sound.  Perhaps I'm thinking too deeply about the actual conception of a title and should re-prioritize my view. 

Now how is cover art and story connected?  The cover really doesn't tell you as much you'd like about a game.  Halo 4 is a great example of what a cover art can and cannot tell you about a game.  Knowing nothing about the title you could tell its futuristic, it has guns and that you'll probably play as the machine dude on the cover.  A great many of you might actually say," Dude you haven't even scratched the surface of what this game is about!" Now what does the cover tell you about the story?  The same amount if not less, given that most people won't analyze a cover and will just a quickly move on to the next. 

The entirety of this post is dedicated to really one thing - That is covers and story don't tell us anything about the actual game mechanics, the thing that actually is compelling us to play it.  If a game controlled like crap and you felt less rewarded for your actions or didn't get what you were emotionally looking for out of it, then you stop playing.  So my question for anyone reading this is go look at your favorite game cover and tell me if it tell you what you need to know about the game mechanics or story - if so tell me in the comments I'd like to see it from your perception.

Since everyone is talking about it....

If you have been living under a rock - Mass Effect 3 has released this week and by all that is good in the world - It is an undertaking.

The sheer amount of planning and dedication and persistence that comes through in this game is uncanny.  Then to actually take a minute to think about it.  I mean really think about it.  Creating this massive universe and every mission and side mission and lore bit.  To top that off you have to start thinking about what you didn't see. 

I'll never see Ashley Williams in my game and what she could have been thought or said. 
I'll never see Kasumi and get that moment and scene with her. 
I'll never see what Femshep experiences in the way of choices for a romantic part of the game. Like there's a heavy curtain keeping me from seeing it.
I'll never see what really would have played out if I had let Udina die at the end of ME1.

This is literally a scratch on the mountain of items that could have been different in this game.  My experience is shaped by the choices I've made over the past 5 years and multiple playthroughs.  I know that I'll have some similar experiences to my friends and customers but it's those little moments in the game.  A line, a quip, an action that will make my experience more than memorable. 

This series has been wonderful over the past 5 years and through it all it even compels me to think outside of the game - what would Shepard do?  Now I realize that it's 'what would my Shepard do?'  How will those actions affect those around him and what can he do about it. 

I could talk about this series for hours and still not be bored with it.  But for now - I've taken my shore leave, back to stopping the reapers!

DLC and Opinions

So over the past week or so there have been a lot of rantings and ravings and over all complaints about the issue of DLC in the gaming industry.  So quick lesson here.

DLC stands for DownLoadable Content in which a consumer has the option to purchase more content for a game that they may happen to like playing.  This content doesn't affect the overall experience but could be and is usually a vehicle for one just to expand the nature of the game they are playing.  Like everything else in a money driven economy - You don't have to buy it if you don't want it.  For a bit more on the sordid history of this topic click here.


Mass Effect 3 (dropping next week BTW) has a collectors edition and inside this soon to be monument of a game is DLC called 'From Ashes" in which you go back to Eden Prime and pick up a Prothean team member.  Now this extra piece of content is also available for everyone to purchase separately from the main game for an extra $10.00.  So even if you didn't pre-order the CE or can get your hands on it next week you can still get one of the main draws - which is the DLC. 

So there are two sides to this issue. Ya ready?

Side normal - You don't have to buy this content. As it doesn't affect the main story.  Yes there's some spoilers there. Yes it costs money.  However if you don't want it then don't give Bioware/EA/digital content your money.

Side "Butt-hurt dweller" - How dare they release information about a game that I want to play so bad before it even gets here! How dare that tell me that they want money for their work! How dare they try to expand upon something I like enough to spend money on! I'm gonna say I'm boycotting this product but I'm a butt hurt dweller and can't not know what happens in this game!


In fairness a "Butt-hurt dweller" is really just worried about the integrity of the story and that they aren't being ripped off by being forced to purchase more content to actually get the full version of the story.  I've been hearing a lot of the above opinion and it saddens me that people are judging everything before they've truly spent any money. 

My real point of view on this is that it's wonderful to have the option  to get the content that typically wouldn't be available except within a collectors edition.  If you want it - you can have it!  Now I don't need to truly pull my hair out looking for a collectors copy just because I don't wanna miss anything.  If I'm a consumer I feel like I should always have the option but that I should always have the ability to say that "I'll keep my money for something else that looks like its worth my time and money".