So, I don't have as many new games to play recently, so these posts are gonna be somewhat irregular. Anyway, here goes:
Games I've been playing this week:
Mario Kart Wii: This is the first Mario Kart title I've properly played. Others, I've done about one race and then given up. Since I've been playing Burnout, I've got much better at racing games, so I gave this one much more of a go. However, my skills at Burnout don't quite translate to Mario Kart. Using the Wii remote in the wheel accessory is very different from using an analogue joystick on a PS2. There's no real limit to how far you can turn the wheel, so it can be hard to judge how much to turn it when taking a corner. Despite this, it's a highly enjoyable game. The nature of the game of course makes it fun, but, as with most Wii games, it's the physicality of playing that really makes it. Also, the vast selection of tracks, covering every Mario Kart game, means you can have an extended session, over a variety of tracks, without it getting repetitive.
Sunday 27 April 2008
Capitalism is cannibalism, violence is violence
So, first post after Easter and I'm talking about violence in video games. Talk about starting with a bang! I'm gonna start things off with a recent video from G4TV's X-play. It features Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson talking about their new book, "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do".
So, as you can probably tell from my previous posts talking about what games I play, I have no problem playing violent games. I'm no psychologist, so really I can only have an insight into my own experiences and the experiences of people I know. Quite obviously I'm not going to prove anything about the nature of violence in games and what it may or may not cause, but I can still give my views.
There seems to be two main sides to the violence debate, that either playing violent games encourages people to be violent, or that playing violent games discourages violent tendencies as it acts as a way to "blow off steam". As is mentioned in the video, most studies seem to be inconclusive. Any that apparently prove a causal link between playing games and being violent either ignores that the "resulting violent tendencies" are not actual violence or that short-term results don't necessarily translate to a long-term effect.
In my personal experience, I play violent games and I'm not a violent person. In the same way I can play Burnout and make my way around a circuit at blistering speed but don't think it would be a good idea for me to go out and get behind the wheel of a car. So, obviously violent games don't make everyone violent (and I'm sure I could go out and find a very large group of people who would say the same is true). But that doesn't rule out the possibility that violent games could be the trigger for someone's violence.
But then, if it's not the case for every single person, then surely it's not the fault of the games. In the same way that just because some people don't like cherries but cherries are still sold to those who do. Some people are horrible drivers, but cars are still available to those who aren't.
It's an age-old debate where people try to blame an inanimate something in order to relieve themselves from personal responsibility. Personally, if there were some real reasoning behind removing violence from games, I wouldn't care. But right now, every argument given is hugely flawed. If your child plays a violent game intended for an adult and they decide to emulate something in the game, then blaming the game is the wrong way to go. There's a gap between games and reality and it's not up to a game developer to teach people that.
So, as you can probably tell from my previous posts talking about what games I play, I have no problem playing violent games. I'm no psychologist, so really I can only have an insight into my own experiences and the experiences of people I know. Quite obviously I'm not going to prove anything about the nature of violence in games and what it may or may not cause, but I can still give my views.
There seems to be two main sides to the violence debate, that either playing violent games encourages people to be violent, or that playing violent games discourages violent tendencies as it acts as a way to "blow off steam". As is mentioned in the video, most studies seem to be inconclusive. Any that apparently prove a causal link between playing games and being violent either ignores that the "resulting violent tendencies" are not actual violence or that short-term results don't necessarily translate to a long-term effect.
In my personal experience, I play violent games and I'm not a violent person. In the same way I can play Burnout and make my way around a circuit at blistering speed but don't think it would be a good idea for me to go out and get behind the wheel of a car. So, obviously violent games don't make everyone violent (and I'm sure I could go out and find a very large group of people who would say the same is true). But that doesn't rule out the possibility that violent games could be the trigger for someone's violence.
But then, if it's not the case for every single person, then surely it's not the fault of the games. In the same way that just because some people don't like cherries but cherries are still sold to those who do. Some people are horrible drivers, but cars are still available to those who aren't.
It's an age-old debate where people try to blame an inanimate something in order to relieve themselves from personal responsibility. Personally, if there were some real reasoning behind removing violence from games, I wouldn't care. But right now, every argument given is hugely flawed. If your child plays a violent game intended for an adult and they decide to emulate something in the game, then blaming the game is the wrong way to go. There's a gap between games and reality and it's not up to a game developer to teach people that.
Sunday 6 April 2008
20/03/08 - 03/03/08
So, due to the fact I haven't had exposure to any new games recently (due to not buying them, among other things), I thought I'd use the past two weeks to reflect on games that I've spent a large amount of time on. Games I keep returning to.
PC:
Total Annihilation: I've spoken before about Total Annihilation. It's a game I've always loved, even from before I had a computer that could actually run it properly. I have fond memories of playing skirmish battles and only building air units and just bombing everything I could find. I've recently discovered there's a fully 3D remake called "Spring" available (it even runs on Linux!), so I shall be looking into that soon.
Worms 2: A game I will definitely never get tired of. I even have a version of it on my old phone. The humour and the fun of the damage you can cause when using suicidal tactics is great. Also one of the few games I've ever completed, though with only 17 short missions, this is no great feat.
Dreamcast:
Shenmue: Now almost 9 years old, this game still stands up as excellent. Games like GTA might have made the idea of a fully explorable environment somewhat commonplace, but Shenmue is still great, thanks to an excellent storyline and great characters. It really saddens me that Shenmue 3 (and thus the end of the Shenmue saga) will likely never see the light of day.
Soulcalibur: Like driving games, I've always enjoyed fighting games on a basic level, but I've never been that good at them. While I'm still not exactly great at Soulcalibur (I still get beaten in multi-player games fairly often), I've managed to complete a fair amount of the missions (though they are fairly one-dimensional, you're fighting someone, just the why or how changes) and I've made it through arcade mode a few times. I mostly play for enjoyment, rather than because I feel the need to complete and unlock everything.
Playstation 2:
Canis Canem Edit: Another of the few games I've actually completed (storyline-wise, at least). The storyline and the humour of this game just make it insanely fun to play and quite addictive to boot. One of the best parts of the game is how the richness of the environment really encourages you to explore and do things your way. This definitely ties into my post on narratives as while there is a definite pre-defined story but it allows you to explore that story with a great degree of freedom.
Kingdom Hearts: Again, a game where the story and the characters are the draw. The great part is that while most of the characters are familiar, they're used in interesting and new ways and the story of the game is still very strong.
Burnout 3: I think I've said enough about this game before. Definitely another game I've become addicted to. The lure of just doing one more race is something that can easily eat away at my time...
PC:
Total Annihilation: I've spoken before about Total Annihilation. It's a game I've always loved, even from before I had a computer that could actually run it properly. I have fond memories of playing skirmish battles and only building air units and just bombing everything I could find. I've recently discovered there's a fully 3D remake called "Spring" available (it even runs on Linux!), so I shall be looking into that soon.
Worms 2: A game I will definitely never get tired of. I even have a version of it on my old phone. The humour and the fun of the damage you can cause when using suicidal tactics is great. Also one of the few games I've ever completed, though with only 17 short missions, this is no great feat.
Dreamcast:
Shenmue: Now almost 9 years old, this game still stands up as excellent. Games like GTA might have made the idea of a fully explorable environment somewhat commonplace, but Shenmue is still great, thanks to an excellent storyline and great characters. It really saddens me that Shenmue 3 (and thus the end of the Shenmue saga) will likely never see the light of day.
Soulcalibur: Like driving games, I've always enjoyed fighting games on a basic level, but I've never been that good at them. While I'm still not exactly great at Soulcalibur (I still get beaten in multi-player games fairly often), I've managed to complete a fair amount of the missions (though they are fairly one-dimensional, you're fighting someone, just the why or how changes) and I've made it through arcade mode a few times. I mostly play for enjoyment, rather than because I feel the need to complete and unlock everything.
Playstation 2:
Canis Canem Edit: Another of the few games I've actually completed (storyline-wise, at least). The storyline and the humour of this game just make it insanely fun to play and quite addictive to boot. One of the best parts of the game is how the richness of the environment really encourages you to explore and do things your way. This definitely ties into my post on narratives as while there is a definite pre-defined story but it allows you to explore that story with a great degree of freedom.
Kingdom Hearts: Again, a game where the story and the characters are the draw. The great part is that while most of the characters are familiar, they're used in interesting and new ways and the story of the game is still very strong.
Burnout 3: I think I've said enough about this game before. Definitely another game I've become addicted to. The lure of just doing one more race is something that can easily eat away at my time...
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