Why Do Video Games Suck at Stories?

game stories ocarina of time

The Achilles’s Heel of gaming, at least from the perspective of a serious contender as an artistic medium, has always been the lack of decent storytelling. While there are a few great examples here and there that highlight exactly what video games can accomplish if they have ample development time and a strong writer in the design team, gaming has sort of let this facet slip away.

In a recent article on The Escapist, Jonathan Davis digs a little deeper into this issue and points out a few games that have successful narrative structures, mostly through their adherence to Joseph Campbell’s concept of the “monomyth”, or Christopher Vogler’s famous “The Hero’s Journey”. Mr. Davis makes a strong argument that the reason games lack narrative punch is because most gaming protagonists don’t have an internal conflict that needs to be resolved, cutting out the all important step of “Resurrection” where the hero overcomes their personal demons and solves the external conflict.

Since most of the characters we control only confront external obstacles, there’s very little room for development, leaving even the coolest action scenes feeling hollow and uninvolved. Games like Ocarina of Time, BioShock and Braid are all singled out for having stories that actually matter to the player, mostly because they have a satisfying resolution to the hero’s issues.

The whole article is really well thought out and examines video games through the lens of a very tried and true structure that most developers ignore. While we’ve taken a look at the issues games face from a similar standpoint, this gives us a new way of thinking about things. If only game designers would consider this in the future, then we might get some titles with a better focus on what matters story wise. What do you guys think about this? What games do you enjoy that follow “The Hero’s Journey” and are stronger because of it? Go!

Source – The Escapist, Link picture by Justin Cherry

Today’s WTF: Obsidian Regrets New Vegas Bugs

Obsidian

Seriously, Obsidian?

I’m not trying to be a troll or anything, but this one really gave me a combination of laughs and head-scratching. You remember all of that fuss last year, back when Fallout: New Vegas had its buggy launch? Well, so does Obsidian, and they are none too pleased, thank you very much.

Here’s what Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart had to say about his company’s reputation for releasing buggy games in a recent article with Play Magazine.

I think it’s fair and unfair at the same time, because in the same conversation that I hear how buggy KOTOR and Alpha Protocol were, I also hear how great they were… Now in the case of Fallout: New Vegas, we made a gigantic game, and I’m proud with what we were able to do but I wish it wasn’t as glitchy when it came out. The criticisms people had are fair but it’s difficult to get a game the size of New Vegas bug free. But that’s an excuse and it doesn’t matter when someone’s paid $60 for a game. It’s something we need to work on.

He goes on to pump their new game Dungeon Siege III, but that was the meat of it. Maybe I’m reaching a bit here, but in my mind, if you’re the CEO, why don’t you do something to ensure that the games don’t go out the door with so many bugs? You’re in charge, last I checked. Delay the game if you have to, or work with your managers to get a better schedule for release so your developers aren’t cramming like crazy. On the flip side, it really is nice to see a CEO being open and honest about this kind of criticism, rather than just brushing it aside. So kudos for that.

What do you guys think? Fair or foul here? Go!

Source – NowGamer

Bro Game Reviews

Alright nerds, it’s time to get real around here. When I’m not busy slamming beers and stealing your girlfriends, I sometimes play video games. As a guy who really knows his stuff, I thought I’d do all you dweebs a favor and tell you which of these upcoming games are worth your time and money. I’ve been convinced by the other dudes around here to use the grading scale to rate these games, so let’s pop those collars and get down to business. This is gonna be boss. Continue reading Bro Game Reviews

What Should the Setting of Assassin’s Creed 3 Be?

assassins creed 3 settings

Now that we know all about Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and its place in the series as the conclusion of Ezio’s story, people are starting to wonder what the future settings of Assassin’s Creed will be. Judging by your comments on the article, we’re all a little sick of the Renaissance (and the annualization of the titles) so which time period should the games visit next?

This has been investigated a bit over at IGN, who can turn out an interesting feature when they want to. They suggest four unique settings that haven’t really been explored in the gaming space outside of a few recent titles. While a Wild West Assassin’s Creed would end up being unfavorably compared to Red Dead Redemption, a post-World War 2 (that conflict being a period the developers wanted to avoid) game focused on the hunting down of Nazi war criminals who escaped prosecution would fit rather well into the existing fictional framework as well as provide players with a relatively fresh setting to discover.

One of the most appealing things about Assassin’s Creed has always been, at least for me, the dedicated recreation of parts of our history not usually explored in video games. While I’m practically gagging for an AC game set in feudal Japan, a post-WW2 or Industrial London game would be tip top as well. What do you guys think will be the setting of the next Assassin’s Creed? Will it be another slice of the past, or will we finally get to see Desmond steal the spotlight? What would make for interesting multiplayer arenas? Go!

Source – IGN

Skyrim for Console Could Include Mods

CE LogoThe biggest reason I would never get an Elder Scrolls game for a console may be going out the window with the upcoming installment, Skyrim. This news is huge and is something that would change console games dramatically. Todd Howard, Bethesda’s executive producer, was spotted as saying user created content may come to the consoles.

The Creation Kit, part of the development engine used to make Skyrim (Much like the Construction Set used for Morrowind and Oblivion) will be available to users on the PC to create their own content. This feature allows users to mod the game and extends gameplay beyond what even DLC can do. Todd Howard was quoted with the following

“It works on all the consoles,” he said. “As far as the 360 and PS3, right now there’s not an avenue for us to make that available, but we’d very much like to find a way. We have talked to Microsoft and Sony, and so there’s a chance it might happen one day, [but] I don’t see it happening for release.”

He also makes mention that there is no problem with content made on the PC running on consoles. Apparently 90 percent of Elder Scrolls gamers use consoles; meaning only 10 percent gets to see the wonder of modding. Hopefully this will be a feature that is extended into Skyrim and will allow the console world to enjoy the extended gameplay that the Elder Scrolls series has to offer. So what do you guys think about this news? Are you worried this will blur the line too much? Does this change what platform you will get Skyrim on?

Source: Next-Gen

GamerSushi Asks: Do Games Fail at Endings?

Red Dead Redemption

We’ve talked about video game endings multiple times on this site, but I just had to bring the issue back up after reading an excellent article about today by Christian Higley over at Digital Hippo about How Video Games Fail to End.

In it, Higley explores the idea that many games fail at a very basic level of storytelling: narrative structure. While stories typically have a first, second and final act, most games end the game right after the second act, before the real conclusion can actually set in. Red Dead Redemption is one of the few games I can think of that actually gives gamers a third act (and does it to great effect), in that Marston is allowed to return home, and the player spends time winding the story down before its sad but powerful conclusion.

While that’s not a new argument, the writer goes a step further by pointing out that most games are even missing the first act, choosing instead to thrust players right into the second act. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it is: games typically begin at the “inciting incident”. It’s the equivalent of starting A New Hope at the very moment Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed. Or in many cases, even after that. Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Do Games Fail at Endings?

Today’s Awesome: Portal 2 in Halo: Reach

So Portal 2 is awesome, and all you guys love it. Well, I don’t like it (as much), and all of the other GamerSushi editors are pretty sure the reason is because Portal 2 is not a “bro” game (e.g. Call of Duty, Halo, Gears). Well, thankfully, some kind soul has cooked up an amazing Forge World creation that puts the reality-bending mechanic of Portal in the dudetacular world of Halo: Reach.

Pretty wicked, no? I was surprised that the Halo: Reach teleporters actually transfer momentum as you travel through them, so hats off to the creator x 7revorBlack x. What do you guys think of this odd mash-up?

Ezio is Back for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations this Fall

assassins creed revelations

How do you guys feel about the Renaissance? I hope you’re not sick of it yet because Ubisoft just announced that Ezio Auditore will be back for another adventure this fall in Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. VG247 has the whole wrap up about Revelations, but for conveniences sake here’s the juicy part of Ubisoft’s PR blurb:

In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of his legendary mentor, Altaïr, on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

In addition to Ezio’s award-winning story, the acclaimed online multiplayer experience returns, refined and expanded, with more modes, more maps and more characters that allow players to test their assassin skills against others from around the world. The latest chapter in the Assassin’s Creed saga also includes revolutionary gameplay, allowing players to manipulate the construct of Desmond’s memories and the Animus to decipher the mysteries of his past and gain insight into the future.

So there it is, fellas. Looks like Revelations is shaping up to be a Brotherhood type sequel. Not necessarily the worst thing in the world, but I think this is probably the last time that Ubisoft can get away with this. I’ll obviously play it, but as Eddy told me in chat this morning, if it has gimmicky blue and orange robes it is an automatic hate. Here’s the first screenshot of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, showing Ezio (with a grey beard?) climbing a tower in Constantinople.

So now that we know a bit more about the next Assassin’s Creed chapter, what do you guys think about Revelations? Sick of Ezio? Where do you want the series to go next?

Source – VG247

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 27: The Portal One

Well, it was only inevitable that when we all finished Portal 2, the next podcast would be mostly dominated by that discussion. So, Episode 27 is the fruition of that idea. In it, we chat for a very long time about Portal 2, and then we move on to other big topics from the last couple of weeks, including Nintendo’s Project Cafe and the crazy huge hack of PSN.

After all of that tomfoolery, we jump into an exciting game of Fill in the Blank that was extremely well-played by myself. Trust me, you’ll want to hold onto your butts from my amazing vocabulaciousness. Anyway, be careful of the Portal 2 section, which makes up the first half hour, because the discussion comes complete with single player spoilers. If you’re not wanting to hear those, feel free to skip about 30 minutes ahead, as indicated by the time chart below.

What are you waiting for? Listen, rate and enjoy, yo. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 27: The Portal One

Today’s Sadface: Mass Effect 3 Delayed to 2012

Mass Effect 3

Say it isn’t so!

Well, it looks like the first of the AAA delay casualties has struck, and boy if it isn’t a big one. It was only a matter of time before one of the many gaming titles threw up the white flag for 2011, and it looks Mass Effect 3 is the first. Today a Bioware employee posted a quote on the Bioware forums from Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series, announcing the delay.

Today we have confirmed that Mass Effect 3 will be released in the first three months of 2012. The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone’s expectations.

Pretty standard delay business, really. Honestly, I’m not too surprised, seeing as how the turn around time between ME2 and ME3 seemed to defy all logic anyway. We can only hope that this makes the game better in the long run. In the short term, my wallet can breathe a little easier this fall.

So what do you guys think? Upset? Disappointed? How do you feel about the reason for the delay, which seems to be to adjust mechanics that will increase Mass Effect 3’s market opportunity? Go!

Sources – Bioware Forums, Joystiq

GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Hardware Horror Stories

gaming hardware horror stories

It’s a sad thing, but sometimes we lose our precious gaming hardware through the cruel machinations of an uncaring universe. I know the pain of lending a GameBoy to a friend only to have it returned minus an intact screen and case, or felt the sting of seeing all my game discs laid out bare in the hot afternoon soon, or resting upon the heat dispersal vent for the Xbox 360.

I’ve never had anything really truly horrible happen to me aside from the aforementioned GameBoy incident, but I do know of a computer that has melted not once, but twice. The first time my friend booted up his PC only to be greeted with an unfamiliar beeping noise was a harrowing experience, and when it happened again recently, we knew the device was toast. In both cases, it had been the video cards that had melted; they were originally in a RAID configuration, but over the six years of that computer’s life span, they both bit the dust.

As is so often the case here on GamerSushi, I bring this topic up because I was wondering if any of you have a similar story, or perhaps worse. Ever throw your Wiimote into the TV, or cracked a controller in a fit of rage? Let us know in the comments, you crazy kids.

Square Enix to Publish Dead Island

Dead Island

In honor of Zombie Awareness Month (Look it up, it’s a thing), we’ve been given some undead corpse-related news from our good friends over at Deep Silver, the developers of the highly anticipated FPS/co-op with a twist of melee zombie game known as Dead Island. They’ve found a publisher and it might raise your eyebrows and the dead from their graves. OK, I got carried away with that last one.

Square Enix, the publisher of Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and other games where buckles, zippers and spiked hair reign supreme, will publish the game, due out something before the end of the year, as IGN is reporting. This is pretty smart because Square Enix still knows how to market a blockbuster game in a crowded field of contenders.

But it also gives us the chance to make jokes. So, other than an emo main character who can’t remember what’s going on, what JRPG stereotypes would you like to see in Dead Island? (I realize the real answer is “none”, but just play along, OK?) Do you think Square will try to change anything before release? GO!

Source – IGN

Top Six: Mitch’s Favorite Video Game Theme Songs

Music is an inextricable part of gaming, as much as it is for every other visual medium. Music can pull us into the moment, bring up the appropriate feelings and make something unforgettable. Throughout our hobby’s long history, we’ve had a great many composers gift us with some incredible songs, all the way from the NES era (and before) to today. Anthony did something similar a while back with his weekly music posts, but I thought I’d collect my favorite songs in one handy dandy top six list. Why six, you ask? Because six sells.
Continue reading Top Six: Mitch’s Favorite Video Game Theme Songs

Relic Talks Being an OG Space Marine in Warhammer 40K

I know that we’ve sort of reached the point around here where developer diaries are kind of passe with everyone and their Nintendogs talking about how their game is the awesomest. That said, I do kind of have a soft spot for Relic and their skills in bringing the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40K to PCs with their Dawn of War series. Now that they have that genre nailed down, they’re taking a stab at third-person action by dropping you into the boots of a Space Marine. Take a look at this new trailer which details what it’s like to be a Space Marine, and what you’re doing to stop the enemies of the Imperium.

I have to say, the game has a very Dawn of War feel, and given that that series has been getting progressively more about controlling a small selection of characters rather than a giant army, this seems like a natural step. The action looks brutal, the Space Marines look stoic and the Orks are ripe for the killing. What more could you ask for from a Warhammer 40k game?

Gamestradamus Predicts: E3 2011

Every now and then, we like to pay a little visit to our good friend, Gamestradamus, the Gaming Fortune Teller. Last year, we asked him his predictions about the Nintendo 3DS, which turned out to be largely true, minus a few small quibbles. Gamestradamus is different than the rest of us lowly gamers in that he is gifted with the ability to see into the great beyond, the ever-future, the swirling blender of time – and he can tell us bits of what he knows.

As the E3 fervor is getting ready to build into complete mania over the next few weeks, we thought we’d pay Gamestradamus a visit to glean his secrets before the rumors broke. What we found was shocking, titillating (tee hee) and worth reporting about here at GamerSushi. Beware, gents. Spoilers. Continue reading Gamestradamus Predicts: E3 2011

Poll: What’s Your Current Game of the Year?

Seeing as how we’re almost five months into the glorious year of 2011, and given that we’ve already seen a slew of quality releases, I thought I’d conduct an informal poll (TWSS) and find out what your current Game of the Year is.

While we do have a few luminary titles coming at us in a few weeks, the recent release of Portal 2 gave us undoubtedly one of this year’s critical juggernauts. Gaming is for all types though, so maybe you liked something else? Let us know which game you’re rooting for in this handy-dandy poll we cooked up. Chances are, you’ll like a game with the number “2” in it. Just a guess.

For anyone wondering why I picked these games, I basically selected big ticket titles over a score of 87 on Metacritic. If you’d like me to add something else, please let me know in the comments!

What's Your Current Game of the Year for 2011?

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What Are You Playing: Easter Edition

mincraft 1.5 weather

Happy Easter, everyone, hope you got your fill of chocolate and/or religious significance this weekend. As a godless heathen (aka, non-denominational well-wisher), I’ve been using this time off to play a few games like Minecraft, Portal 2 and the Gears of War 3 Beta. I might sound like a broken record on a couple of those, but what they hey, it’s not like anything is coming out until L.A. Noire hits.

Every since the 1.5 update of Minecraft, I’ve been getting back into that game in a big way. I’ve been playing cooperatively with my buddy and it’s been going rather well, except for the two occasions where he lured a Creeper into my tower and demolished my ground floor. Oh, and there was that instance where he built a giant pyramid but forgot to stock the inside with torches, so all the monsters spawned inside the darkened interior and we had to flood it with lava to kill them all. Good times. The weather effects are also pretty neat, and I’ve witnessed a couple of decent thunderstorms. Even though you spend most of your time underground, coming up to a different atmosphere is a nice change of pace.

What have you guys been up to these past few days? Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, or polishing off the backlog? I’ve told you what I’ve been up to, what you got?

GamerSushi Asks: What Genres Do You Suck At?

sucking at marvel vs capcom 3

How’s your holiday weekend going, GamerSushi-ites? Me, I’ve been tucking into the Gears of War 3 beta again after doing a marathon Portal 2 session where I polished off the whole game, both single and co-op. I’m pretty sure that we’re going to do a “What Are You Playing” sometime this weekend, so we’ll table that discussion for later. Segueing from that, I am planning on checking out Mortal Kombat soon, which frightens me mostly because fighting games are one of the genres that I totally suck at.

To be totally honest, in a multiplayer standpoint, I’m really only good at first person shooters. Even though I’m loving the Gears 3 gameplay, I’ll admit that my Kill/Death ratio is pretty terrible, with one often outpacing the other (guess which one). The same thing goes for real time strategy games, where I can maybe hold my own in a campaign or a comp stomp scenario, but once I get out into the wild, everything just goes right down the tubes.

All that pales in comparison to how badly I perform at fighting games like Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Tekken and the like. I’ll maybe win the odd round, but more often than not I’m getting Hadoukened back to last week.

It’s rare that anyone admits that they’re bad at games, but we’re all friends here, so go ahead and let us know what genres you aren’t that great with. Fighting, racing, shooting? Drop them comment bombs, yo.

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 26: Nintendo Power

Another week, another podcast. This week’s cast covers the big happenings from last week: namely, the rumors of Nintendo’s new console, as well as the massive-but-actually-less-massive-than-everyone-first-though Portal 2 ARG. We actually kick things off a little differently in this episode, starting first with the game of percentages.

After all of that riveting discussion (and my consequent victory), we dive into a lengthy conversation about our video game level bucket lists, and the levels we think everyone should play before they keel over. I’m curious to see if you guys like the format of the game first, or if you like it the way it’s been. Let us know!

No podcast will be out next week, since it’s a holiday weekend and all. Which saddens me, as it means we’ll have to wait that much longer before giving our Portal 2 impressions.

So, listen. Then rate. And of course, enjoy. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 26: Nintendo Power

The Making of AC: Brotherhood’s Multiplayer

AC: Brotherhood Multiplayer

As much as I still love a good old-fashioned bout of death match and the ever-exciting game of capture the flag, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s multiplayer mode was something fresh and new to sink my teeth into. It took the normal humdrum affair of online play and flipped everything on its head. You weren’t a super assassin out killing other super assassins – you were being hunted and could only defend yourself long enough to run away, rather than engage. You couldn’t just run through a match killing everyone in sight – you gained points for the more methodical, well-placed kills. All of these things enthralled me as I played, and I hope to see more out of it in the franchise in the future.

It’s because of my love for this multiplayer mode that I was excited to see a feature about it up on CVG about how AC: Brotherhood’s multiplayer was made. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was the team behind Splinter Cell’s fantastic multiplayer mode, the beloved Spies versus Mercs game mode that was so spellbinding at the time of its release.

If you’re banking on being a game designer of some kind in the future, I’d highly suggest reading this. I love their breakdown of the design process and just how the mode progressed over the course of several years (yes, years).

So what are your thoughts? What other types of multiplayer modes do you wish we’d see more of? Personally, I’d love to see better variations of CTF, or perhaps something more along the lines of a super-powered Juggernaught mode that we find in Halo. Go!

Source – CVG