Link Out (19/3/10)
March 19th, 2010
There’s been a few articles circling around in regards to the hopelessness of earning money in the enthusiast press. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs. Information yearns to be free, painting a rather bleak outlook for those professionals. Although the topic has very little to do with me personally, it has made me consider why I put such an effort into a production which offers no monetary rewards.
What I realised after thinking through this question was that money is entirely irrelevant. I’ve become addicted to writing about games, because it’s a form of education. An education that if left absent I’d never feel satisfied with putting a completed game on the shelf. Understanding, or at least an attempt at understanding, has become a pivotal point of my game playing process, and considering that I don’t wish to give up my favourite hobby anytime soon, I feel that the writing will therefore continue.
I guess this is what they call “writing for the passion”. I don’t think of it as a passion though, I write for purely selfish reasons and the fact that you might consider reading this is uhh…cool, so thanks for that! Talking about people who write for the love of it and those who write to survive, I have a killer collection of links to share with you this time. And hey, if they have ads on their website, toss ’em a bone and click through, I’m sure that it’ll help.
The Death of JRPGs – But Not Really
Kurt makes a strong argument against a contentious Gamasutra post which discussed the now clichéd topic of the death of the JRPG. Kurt lays it straight which is bloody good to hear, considering the number of haters fueling the largely unfounded cynicism. Specifically, his point on the current state of transition in the genre (I would love to read some game-specific case studies explicating on examples of the transition) and the decline of anime in western countries are very interesting and well substantiated.
The first time I landed upon Racketboy’s blog I was awestruck at the material on display, loved it. However, this kinda died out in my mind as the articles became a little too formulaic. The 8 or so podcasts that have recently been produced have rekindled my enthusiasm for the website. I’m just so floored by not just the selection of guests, but their appropriacy and the thoughtfulness of the entire production. Some great grassroots retro coverage right here.
An Excitebike World Rally Developer Q&A – Retronauts
There’s been hardly any coverage on the new Excitebike: World Rally title for WiiWare which is quite sad. Thankfully, Jeremy Parish showed the initiative and interviewed some of the key members behind the production. Typically of Parish, there’s some thoughtful questions thrown in and the interview as a whole does a good job at introducing the title. Well worth a read.
The Peak of the ‘Mario’ Franchise – Popmatters
In this post, L.B. Jeffries discusses why Super Mario World is his favourite Mario platformer, referring to the game’s experimental nature, flexibility and devious exploration elements which individualise it from other Mario platformers. Quite a good read.
Bonus Round Episode 402 – The State of the Industry
Jason Rubin freaking gets it. I’ve always enjoyed what Jason has had to say about the games industry and was very pleased to see him back on Bonus Round. This time though there was a bit of confusion regarding his comments made in the second part of the show and he later elaborated on his thoughts via Geoff Keighly’s blog based on angry responses from commenters. I don’t think that Jason needed to supplement what he said on the show with an explanation, it’s quite clear that his comments were washed around with the generalities which the show sometimes takes as given fact (eg. hardcore/casual gaming dichotomy, Wii 3rd party games not selling). It’s not all bad though, as Jason has started his own blog which is awesome, check it out.
Iwata Asks – Zelda Handheld History
The Iwata Asks interviews is like being given a golden ticket into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. I’m really digging this stuff! You can find a directory of articles here and the initial Wii interviews here. The interviews have a Japanese feel in that there is an undercurrent emphasis on relationship-natured subjects and the unity of the group. The translation of the interviews are fantastic, accompanied by video and picture footnotes. I encourage that you read them all. The Zelda handheld interviews, which I’ve linked to, are quite interesting. I’m very happy that Iwata addressed the individualism of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and the relationship with Flagship and Capcom with the later titles. Above all else though are included images of design docs for the original Zelda and Super Mario Bros. I guess I’ll leave it at that!
Third Party Puzzle – Eurogamer
I’m just going to quote what I said about this article from Twitter:
Basically good games with strong marketing sell, Nintendo’s presence seems to be an excuse to pass blame for under performing in these areas. Even Nintendo have weak sellers like Battalion Wars 2, Walk with Me, Excitebots, Chibi Robo and Custom Robo – same reasons.
The Carrot On A Stick Approach To Game Design – Siliconera
I’ve been quite fortunate in being able to discuss Zelda and Okami with Ishaan from Siliconera. Ishaan is very astute and has a great knowledge about games. I’m pleased then that our discussion evolved into a post which he wrote for Siliconera. There are a few points that he didn’t mention which I might churn out into an article myself.
Dead Space Extraction – Side Commentaries
March 16th, 2010
Fugly Boxart
I bought Dead Space Extraction cheap for $20 and even then I almost regretted buying it. Never have I felt so prompted to go back and refund a game I just bought for the sole reason of offensively bad boxart. Take a look for yourself.
Despite looking blatantly cheap, the horrified woman and the angry dude in the background don’t really resemble the respective characters in the game. In fact, the cover simply fails to represent the high production found in-game. It’s an abomination.
PR Shenanigans
Visceral Games coined the term “guided experience” (or something to that extent) to distinguish Dead Space Extraction from the swath of other rail shooters on the Wii. It kinda reminds me of a similar PR move made recently by Atlus who went to great lengths to separate Shiren the Wander from the association to rougelikes. For those unfamiliar with the term, a roguelike is an ultra niche style/genre of game which bears a likeness to the classic game Rogue. I will throw some links in at the bottom of the article for reference. Anyways, Shiren is clearly a roguelike, yet Atlus wanted to dissociate its game from the genre because roguelikes have a bad connotation. The same can be said for Dead Space Extraction‘s PR shenanigans where Visceral are clearly trying to distance themselves from a genre which is seen as derelict in this industry, unfortunately. Although Dead Space Extraction is a very unique rail shooter, it’s still a rail shooter.
Head Spin
People have winged in the past about how these games can be very disorientating as the camera wobbles around. I agree with the complains, it’s true, but you do get use to it and it becomes significantly less of a burden as you adjust. At the same time it makes you sympathetic towards the Japanese who tend to feel motion sickness from playing first person shooters.
Wiimote Speaker Logs
Throughout Dead Space Extraction you can pick up text, sound and video logs. The video logs disrupt the flow of the game as do the text logs. The sound logs though, come through the Wii speaker, and although they only last a few seconds, they do a tremendous job at inserting you into the atmosphere. Probably the best use for the Wiimote’s speaker yet.
Apeing Silent Hill
On completing the first level of the game, a chapter which runs deep with psychological hallucinations, I pondered just how liberally Dead Space ripped from Silent Hill. I guess it’s not really stealing considering that Silent Hill owns that entire psychological horror space, but I just feel that the level preps players up into thinking that the franchise is nothing but a pretender. Fortunately, my perceptions changed over time and Dead Space has its own justifications for all the psychological and religious undertones, all of which will most likely be brought to the forefront in Dead Space 2. Still, the first level genuinely overdoes the visual illusion thing.
Untimely Instructions
Just a little nitpick this one. Quite frequently text cues appear on screen after completing a suggested action which obviously defeats the purpose.
Multicultural Cast
Dead Space Extraction sports a surprisingly varied cast of both males and females coming from a range of different cultural backgrounds. Lexine Murdoch, the female lead, is quite clearly Irish, the protagonist (Nathan McNeill) is American, his gung-ho war buddy seems to be English as does the suspicious Warren Eckhardt. Along the way you also encounter an Indian lady who later becomes a playable character and there’s an American-born-Chinese in the prologue too.
Viewpoints of Many
To coincide with the multicultural cast, Dead Space Extraction places you in the role of several different characters which exposes some personality traits and plot lines not seen through the other members of the cast. It’s a great idea, but isn’t hugely capitalised on in a medium-specific way, since each protagonist plays the same.
Additional Readings
Active Time Babble Roguelike (Episode IX)
Dead Space Extraction – An Inspired Take on a Conventional Genre
March 14th, 2010
Dead Space Extraction is the most progressive of its Wii rail shooter brethren, and probably the most groundbreaking title in the genre in recent memory. The proportioning of gameplay states (which tends to emphasise atmosphere and storytelling) along with a diverse myriad of other mechanics culminate in the realisation of a different breed of rail shooter, one which I think is long over due. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m going to talk about the various points which make Dead Space Extraction unique, however, if you need a refresher, or haven’t yet heard of this title, the video review below lend a hand.
Narrative and Atmosphere
As much as Visceral Games attempts to dissociate their game from the term, Dead Space Extraction is fundamentally a rail shooter. Perhaps a better way to describe it is a rail shooter with lots of narrative and atmosphere. Guesstimating for a second, maybe 40% of the game is purely narrative and atmosphere setting, the 60% is representative of the time you’ll spend shooting at things. That might sound measly, particularly considering the 7 hr length of the main story, but Dead Space Extraction marries the atmosphere, narrative and shooting so well together that each part feels necessary to complete the experience, in turn justifying the excessive amount of passive play time. (And anyways, theres an entirely separate mode which contains nothing but shooting).
Some might interpret this change in agenda as a fundamental change to the genre, but it’s not, structurally there’s just greater padding between the shooting sequences. The re-proportioning does, however, give Dead Space Extraction a unique feel and in fact gives credence to the “guided experience” mantra put forth by EA’s PR folk.
Each of these 3 main gameplay constituents supports and justifies the presence of the others. Since it’s difficult to explain on paper here’s a list of examples to back up my case:
- The proportion of shooting sequences increases as the story, and panic therein, progresses
- The atmosphere draws the player into the environment which makes the shooting more engrossing and meaningful
- The inclusion of a narrative and supporting class of characters add realism and a human element to all the horror and necromorph dismemberment
- The narrative and atmosphere setting allows the action to breathe into phases of warming up and cooling down
- Since the atmosphere supports the shooting, moments of suspense and jack-in-the-box scares don’t feel cheap, they bleed into the gameplay
- Traditional rail shooters are very rigid, every turn of a corner leads to a shoot out, Dead Space Extraction surprises the player with its lack of shooting, shooting therefore becomes more important and suspenseful
Patented Dead Space Elements
Dead Space sported a few nifty mechanics set around the Resident Evil 4-themed framework which splintered the franchise off in its own direction. Fortunately these original elements have been adapted to Dead Space Extraction and work a treat.
Strategic Dismemberment
A real game changer, I think. In the Dead Space games the most effective way to down Necromorphs (the angry, disfigured space mutants) is to blow off their limbs. “Strategic Dismemberment”, as it’s called, adds a new dimension to the traditional shooting formula, since what was once a single main target (head shot) is now shared amongst the limbs. This change allows the individual design of the space mutants to be more meaningfully characteristic. They’re not all zombies, they have limbs in different places, some short, some large, and that affects the traditional method of play greatly.
Paralysis
Paralysis is a supplementary mechanic which supports the dismemberment. As firing holes into your foes’ head (or body) is no longer suffice–instead players needs to bang off several specific parts of the body–targeting requires greater precision than usual, the action therefore needs to slow to support the required boost in precision. The paralysis technique allows the player to temporarily freeze their enemies so that they can dismember with ease. Surprisingly, this little addition breathes a great deal of strategy into the shooting as it’s a finite, self-charging resource which ought to be used tactically. Also, the other Necromorphs tend to que up and wait their turn while one of their buddies is right in your face, so the paralysis allows the player to take control of the pacing of the alien onslaught, it gives them strategic wiggle room.
Grabbing Objects
Many rail shooters have a grabbing mechanic, however Dead Space Extraction does it a little differently. The grabbing mechanic isn’t technically the same as the shooting (place reticle over and fire to pick up an item), but an actual reach into the screen (via some white light super power) followed by the object floating in front of you, think Elebits instead of, say, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Although a very simple trick it allows for some nifty applications such as dragging debris, scavenging for items and tossing gas cylinders.
Zero Gravity
Zero gravity sequences are fixed chunks of gameplay which mostly involve no shooting (save for a single boss battle), where the player scans the environment for a predetermined landing area and pushes themselves towards it. Occasionally they’ll need to clear space debris obscuring their path. These sections do a great job at relaxing the pace without withholding the player from interaction.
Alternative Fire
Alt fire isn’t anything particularly new, but Dead Space Extraction puts an interesting spin on the formula. To initiate alternative fire, you simply tilt the Wii mote 90 degrees. With some weapons, the types of fire correspond to the respective Wiimote orientation, for example with the line gun or plasma cutter holding the Wiimote horizontally will send out a horizontal slice, while holding the Wiimote vertically will send out a vertical slice.
Puzzles on Demand
Inter-spliced between the gunplay are small puzzle sections where the main character has to solder wires on a malfunctioning terminal to open a door, refer to the video for reference. Generally speaking, they’re a neat distraction, however at times you’ll be forced to solder wires and fend off an aggressive hoard of Neromorphs at the same time which creates an invariably tense atmosphere when trying to steady your hand. In co-op, each player is assigned mandatory sections wires to solder which keeps things fresh.
Freelook
Another minor trick which Dead Space Extraction employs is the occasional opportunity to freely scan the environment for a designated number of seconds. These brief moments act as preparation for you to nab some equipment before an oncoming series of shootouts. As with the branching paths, this is another way that Dead Space Extraction gives players the freedom of control which is otherwise absent in this genre.
Ripper
The Ripper is a weapon with Turok-like ingenuity, a gun which fires saw blades. Sure. Big deal, right? Well actually, the player can manipulate these saw blades with the Wiimote by reaching into the screen and directing them at alien fodder. I was greatly surprised by this nasty little weapon. Again, please refer to the video to get a clearer impression.
Glow Worms
Glow worms too, are quite inspired. Basically the Ishimura lacks torches, so the engineers instead use glow worms (think glo sticks) for light. You light up the little wormy by shaking the nunchuck.
Conclusion
The final few points are rather self-explanatory and perhaps not worth the effort of writing in words, however, these smaller points combined with the atmosphere, narrative and the Dead Space franchise frills give Dead Space Extraction a distinct flavour. It’s one of those games that feels inspired by good ideas which are cleanly implemented and well thought out, a game which stands as both a great Dead Space game, but also a great rail shooter and narrative experience.
I’ve also been playing Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles recently, so please look forward to some writing (possible comparative) on that particular rail shooter. You can also find similar commentaries on Link: Crossbow Training and House of the Dead II and III: Return, if you’re interested. I’m very interested in mapping the current state of the rail shooter, so expect more to come.
Additional Readings
Developer Commentaries – Gametrailers
Dead Space Extraction – Dead Space Wiki
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