Overseas Gaming Journal: Survival Guide

August 9th, 2010

When living overseas, we often have to make concessions for the comfort activities we enjoyed when at home. Maintaining our interest and hobbies is a way for us to re-connect with an identity that can sometimes feel suffocated by the new environment and its surrounding culture. Currently, I’m working abroad in China, so for me, playing video games is a way for me to temporarily relieve myself of my predetermined role as an outsider, a foreigner. Video games, as with long distance phone calls and family photos, are comfort food for the soul, and that’s pretty important. Maintaining a hobby like video games abroad is rather tricky though, so I’ve written a list of suggestions that may help others in their relocation overseas.

Bring a Portable Console

A no-brainer, huh? Personally, I chose to bring my original DS along since it can play both DS and GBA games and I have games on both console to complete. The carts are quite small, so the DS is a relatively low fuss option if you’re willing to drag the media itself overseas. I didn’t invest in a carry case for my gear (I play portable games at home), so snap-lock Glad bags have proven sufficient for storying my cartridges. The DSi has an online store for downloadable DSiWare games, so there’s incentive to bring the newer model overseas, if you’re not interested in GBA functionality. Whether the online store still works overseas I can’t say, so it may be a good idea to stock up on games prior to leaving.

The PSP is another option, but one which can be less favourable if you’re less willing to bust the firmware. The UMD discs are a tricky to cart around in comparison to the DS game cards and the open-faced system isn’t exactly portable-friendly. Fortunately, the PSP does allow you to install games onto the device, but with PSP games ranging from 500mbs to 1.6gb in size, the option isn’t so ideal for storing multiple games.

The PSPgo, on the other hand, is an ideal solution with its 16gb harddrive. Topped with PSN classics and PSP Minis and you’ve got yourself a handy travel companion without the need for excess baggage. There’s also travel software like the Passport to [Europe] series and Talkman [Asian and Europe].

In an email, Sony Australia believe that the Playstation Store should be accessible while in China (and thereby most countries), so long as there is no interference from the web filter (a VPN is an easy solution for the latter). I personally would recommend modding your PSP for back ups. However, tread carefully as modable PSP models are no longer in production and the majority of new PSPs floating around on eBay only support temporary modification in the flash memory which is extremely fiddly.

Your iPod/iPhone doubles as a Portable Games Console

The iPod is probably the most user-friendly device for playing games overseas. It’s ultra portable, games are cheap, but above all else, you can access any of the iTunes stores from any country in the world. If you already own an iPod or iPhone and have iTunes and a computer/a wireless connection for internet access, then there’s little reason for your life overseas to hinder your mobile gaming.

Laptop, rip isos, use steam, plain installs, patches

Like the iPod/iPhone, a laptop, even an older laptop, is a great way to stay in tune with gaming. My Macbook has a Windows XP partition which houses my Steam collection, games installed completely to the harddrive, isos of games which won’t run without the CD/DVD, games patched to run without a CD/DVD in the drive, files from Good Old Games, some emulators and games (my Amiga 500 video outputs are busted) and a hoist of indie games. All in all, I have roughly 30-40 games on my Windows partition, enough to last any one a long time.

For Steam, I recommend downloading your games at home and then setting the service to ‘offline mode’ just in case anyone at home decides to boot up Steam and you’re account is suspend etc.

Web Games

Maybe you haven’t considered it, but there are literally bazillions of online games which can be enjoyed at home or in an internet cafe. NewGrounds and Kongregate are great sites for free flash games. Given everything else I’ve set up over here, I don’t often play browser-based games, but that’s by no means an assertion that they’re not worth your investment.

VPN

Since I’m living in China I’ve decided to secure my connection and avoid the internet filter by purchasing a year long membership to a virtual private network service. Depending on the country you’re living in, content may be filtered by the government and a popular target for internet filtering are games websites. Not just news and information websites like Kombo, but Flash game websites, websites for independent developers and general downloading sites which offer video game content.

Accept the Indie Scene

When I am away from the home consoles I like to veg out on indie games, because they’re just so worth your time. Here’s a couple of links to get you started.

Conclusion

On my side of the fence, being away from home offers up the opportunity to try out games which might otherwise be forgotten when at home, and there’s something very rewarding about that. I’m not a big PC gamer and I’m not as invested in the indie scene as I’d like to be, so living abroad allows me to remedy these issue, and along with the comfort food games provide, there’s really no sacrifice to my gaming diet.

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R&D1: Deconstructing the Mario franchise on the Game Boy

August 1st, 2010

Portable game development has always acted as a test bed for experimental ideas. The handheld platforms are inexpensive to develop for and widely regarded as second-tier products to their console counterparts, making them the ideal haven for experimentation. Knowing this, R&D1, a technically-minded internal studio at Nintendo (now absorbed into Nintendo Software Planning & Development), used the newly released Game Boy as a way to expand the company’s most famous property: Mario. The design sensibilities and the innovations which evolved from the early Game Boy games Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins would find themselves not only canonized into franchise lore, but also playing a wide-reaching role in further developments of the series.

Super Mario Land

Prior to, and even since Super Mario Land‘s release in 1990, no other Mario title has modeled itself on real world cultures. Perhaps in a move to justify the “land” part of its title, Super Mario Landwas no longer set in the Mushroom Kingdom, but Sarasaland. Sarasaland was divided into 4 parts: an Egyptian-themed environment, an alien water world, ancient Aztec ruins and a Japanese oriental garden whose final act was set amongst the clouds. This was Super Mario Land‘s core conceit, and although no game in the series has since replicated world culture, Super Mario Landpaved the way for environments far removed from the realm and influence of the Mushroom Kingdom. Chocolate Island in Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island in Super Mario World 2 and Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine are good examples.

In relocating Mario outside of his stomping ground, R&D1 also replaced franchise staples: Bowser with Tatanga, Princess Peach with Princess Daisy and all familiar enemies – minus goombas – for stage-specific variants. Super Mario Land drove momentum for new and diverse enemies sets which could, at least for their respective titles, take a prominent role in the main cast. Princess Daisy has since been recognized in series cannon, playing a recurring role in the Mario sports andMario Kart series.

Not only did Super Mario Land go global and shed the Mushroom Kingdom attire, but the items and mechanics which remained were subversively tweaked and altered. Fireballs could now bounce off walls and surfaces, collecting coins in its wake. This lead to some cleverly designed puzzles as coins were often placed outside of Mario’s physical grasp. The end of level bonus was also reworked so that instead of being rewarded with a 1UP upon landing on top of a flagpole, players would have to navigate tricky platforms to reach a second floor which would prompt a small mini-game granting power-ups. The princess was still in another castle, however this time she was a facade whom would transform into one of Tatanga’s minions; one of the more obvious acts of tomfoolery. Further still, R&D1 undermined players with the koopa-esque bomb turtles who would detonate shortly after jumped upon. Nabbing a mushroom in mid-air would no longer cut Mario’s forward momentum. Not all of these tricks were intentional though, because of the Gameboy’s monotone graphics and Super Mario Land‘s tiny sprites, 1UP mushrooms were changed into hearts so that they could be easily discerned from power-ups. By tinkering with the player’s prior understanding of series norms, even minutely as some of the examples prove, Super Mario Land acknowledged a form of general trickery, and humor for long-time players which has permeated through most iterations of the series. Wriggler and Mecha-Bowsers in Super Mario World, Flower-head Shy Guys in Yoshi’s Island are further examples.

Totally new to Super Mario Land are the shoot-’em-up inspired levels where Mario mans a submarine (marine pop) or a plane (sky pop) to shoot down his enemies. The submarine level replaces the usual under water, swimming levels which are absent in this iteration. Even though these sections are tangential to the platforming, you can see elements of this design in Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy where other gameplay modes, such as pull stars, 2D gravity switching and manta ray surfing sequences are interspersed with the platforming.

Perhaps, above everything else though, Super Mario Land established portable design sensibilities.Super Mario Land wasn’t merely Mario on a portable console; it was a game designed for dedicated play in front of a TV adapted to the needs of playing on the go. This sense for quick, short bursts of play has been pivotal to many of Nintendo design sensibilities both in the console and handheld space. The star system in the 3D Mario games are examples of portability-minded design on a console, the “turning the machine on everyday” design of the Wii is another such example.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Super Mario Land 2 isn’t as radical as its predecessor, but it’s still pretty far removed. This time Mushroom Kingdom environments are mixed with properties of suburban reality. In many ways,Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is reminiscent of the 1989 movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.Super Mario Land 2 is a slower-paced, exploratory platformer, so all of the sprites are enlarged which makes the world feel large and expansive. The overwhelming nature of the world works in combination with the assembly as household pests which populate the world alongside goombas and koopa troopas. This ordinary form of reality is revisited somewhat in Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine and the Princess’ castle in Super Mario 64.

Two of the themed worlds deserve particular mention though. The first is the moon stage which would arguably foreshadow the release of Super Mario Galaxy. The second is the bizarre toy Mario level. An obvious piece of self-reference in the series at the time, later preceded by Special in Super Mario World. This type of irreverent self-reference would become a common theme throughout most of Nintendo’s games. It’s worth adding that Super Mario Galaxy (Toy Time Galaxy) also features a mechanical toy as one of its planets, taking liberally from Super Mario Land 2.



Super Mario Land 2‘s greatest work of subversion comes with the introduction of anti-hero Wario. Labeled as a temper tantrum tyrant, Wario was jealous of Mario’s position as a Mushroom Kingdom socialite and literally dethroned him from his castle. Wario spun out his own sub-series of games and gave a sense of character, sophistication and self-deprecating humor to the villains of the Mario universe. Waluigi, Fawful and even the toads in Super Mario Galaxy are additional examples.

In contrast to Super Mario Land, which utilized the original Super Mario Bros. as its design template, Super Mario Land 2 is a hybrid of Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World‘s overworld. Levels may be connected via a hub world, but structurally 6 Golden Coins is completely open. On completing the initial tutorial stage, the player is free to tackle any of the 6 worlds at their leisure. This open-ended approach forgoes linearity and therefore, in order to be even-handed, the difficulty remains constant throughout the entire game. Even though Super Mario Land 2 is well designed, the element of challenge is significantly muted and is the only Mario title to employ such a structure. Super Mario 64 is inspired by this structure, but rather than unlock the entirety of the game’s content from the onset, it locks more challenging content behind a level completion system represented through the quantity of stars.

Otherwise, Super Mario Land 2, similarly to its predecessor, toys with series tropes. Collecting 100 coins will result in an invincibility star appearing on screen. Players can collect up to a maximum of 999 coins and gamble them away for lives at a slot machine in the center of the overworld.



Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is more of a continuation of Super Mario Land‘s break from tradition. It takes the elseworld’s approach of Super Mario Land and drives it into a more suburban, natural setting. Self-referential elements feature prominently and the difficulty system is muted across all levels, which has never been seen in other Mario games.

Conclusion

In creating games as ceaselessly imaginative as Super Mario Galaxy, a continuous stream of innovative ideas isn’t just important, it is pivotal to the development process. Understanding the design of titles like Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2, those which flourished under freer development conditions, gives us a glimpse at the backbone of the philosophies which have gone on to characterize not just modern Mario design, but the evolution of Nintendo as developers and game designers.

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Rationale and Authorship (Heavy Rain)

July 27th, 2010

Now that we understand the different roles the player commandeers in a video game, we can begin to understand the rationale behind our choices made in Heavy Rain.

Because of the subject matter, I will obviously be divulging major plot spoilers, so I urge you not to read on if you haven’t already completed Heavy Rain. If you have, however, then please feel free to include your own rationale in the comments section below. Perhaps we will compile the most interesting responses in a separate article if there’s enough interest.

Trial #1
Driving into Head-on Traffic

Being the initial trial, the parameters of the Origami Killer’s twisted game aren’t yet so clear. Like many, I presume, I accepted this trial partly under the assumption that the game wouldn’t hurt me – that so long as I followed the rules, Ethan would remain unscathed. This assumption and the supposition that “hey, it’s a game and I should just play along” overrid the consideration set outlined in the previous article. My assumptions turned out not to be true — whether by my inputs or by design, I don’t know — as I completed the challenge, but flipped the car and could not reach my reward.

Trial #2
The Electricity Plant

Considering the pain Ethan went through in the prior trial, I felt a little uneasy about the electricity plant. You could just tell that things were going to get worse. There are two stages to this trial but only one decision, since you cannot bail out of crawling through the glass-filled chamber. The question is whether you’re willing to walk through the electric minefield. The generators instill a sharp sense of fright and my knee-jerk reaction would have been to steer clear. However, above all else, I wanted to relieve Ethan of this burden and I knew that irrespective of me, he would have seriously contemplated this decision. I don’t know very much about power stations and while venturing ahead would obviously put Ethan at high risk, this unfamiliarity with the danger allowed me the waver the ethical dilemma of any unfortunate consequences. As such, I made my way through, but misread the signs and nearly killed myself, prompting Ethan to automatically forfeit.

Trial #3
Cutting off the End of Your Finger

The third trial will always stick in my mind as its the most savage of Heavy Rain‘s emotional string-pulling, and the first time a game made me feel immense frustration and self-hate. You’re situated in a vacant room and asked to cut off the end of your finger in front of the camera with any of the utensils available in the room. The stress is compounded by the fact that you will fail to cut your finger from the bone on your first attempt and have to fight the agony in a second attempt.

This decision prompted a primal sense of rationality, so I was quick to make and execute on my decision. I decided to go ahead with it. There was, of course, some conflict. As a viewer and a director, I knew that I would be putting Ethan in a world of agony that he would never wish to experience and I would certainly condemn myself for watching, let alone participating in. The chips were stacked against me though; I’d failed the last two trials which meant that Shaun would drown to death if I didn’t produce results. There was nothing in my way this time. I could get a tangible result, all I needed was to go through with the torture. Furthermore, having gone through this much pain already, I imagine that cutting off a part of a finger would be within Ethan’s threshold of pain. I acted quickly and chose the first tool I could find: a pair of scissors. I didn’t even look for anything else; who knows, the game might go back on its rules, but I needed to ensure a win here.

Trial #4
Killing the Drug Dealer

Would you kill someone to save someone else? The rational answer is “no.” It doesn’t make sense to forfeit someone else’s life for the potential of saving another’s. Heavy Rain played on these assumptions though. The target is a drug dealer who, when spurred, tried to end your life. In which case, killing a violent drug dealer can almost be regarded as an act of community service; if caught, Ethan could vouch for self-defense. Another fold to throw your deliberation occurs right before you make the decision, when the drug dealer quivers that he too is a father and pleads against his potential retribution.

I chose in favor of my understanding of Ethan, who I believed wouldn’t go so far as to kill someone else. I made this decision before I even went to the house as I believed quite strongly in my interpretation of the avatar. I am pleased with the decision I made.

Trial #5
Drinking the Vial

The final trial is a fitting apotheosis to the game: would you sacrifice your own life for someone else’s? I had a feeling that it would all come down to this, but the means at which it does (drinking a vial of poison allowing enough time for you to free your son) removes any potential distraction; it all comes down to principles.

I chose not to drink the vial. I figured that given my completion of only one trial, it was likely that Shaun would die and that it would be better to let Ethan survive and live with Madison (who can counsel him) as opposed to letting Shaun survive but live with the anguish of watching his father die. In this way, it was better for Ethan as he had an emotional attachment which could aid him if his son did in fact die in the rain. This decision was universal amongst the roles. It is an ethically sound decision that I wanted to see happen and believed that Ethan would too.

End Game

My endgame hinged on my final decision before I left the hospital as Madison: the orchid in the hallway. This opened the way to the house of the Origami Killer, which I successfully escaped from. I also guessed the proper password for the address of Shaun’s whereabouts which lead to the final confrontation. I couldn’t solve the crime as Jayden, so it came down to a battle between Ethan and the Origami killer which I won. In the end, Madison, Ethan and Shaun move into a new apartment together and Jayden retires.

Conclusion

There you have it, the reasoning behind and outcomes of my Heavy Rain adventure. Despite failing terribly at points throughout the game, I succeeded in the end. What about you? What was your rationale and how did you manage your different roles in deciding on your actions? Please let us know through the comments.

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